1. I have GOOD NEWS… AND… I HAVE BAD NEWS.
a. Don’t you just hate that? Good news & Bad News.
b. I always think, “couldn’t you just give me good news?!”
c. But they usually comes as a couple right?
NOTE: Well today, I want to share with you the GOOD NEWS.
• Jesus Christ is Alive & Is coming again soon!
John 14.1-3 "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 "In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
• This has been & continues to be the most encouraging promise of Jesus Christ that Christians have held onto over the centuries!
• Flip over to 1 John 3:1-3
• That’s just the best news I can hear as a Christian.
• My Savior, My Lord, Our King is returning!
YES… times can be tough right now. YES… difficulties abound.
• Notice 1 Peter 4:12… don’t think it’s strange. Not surprised.
• Yet the good news is that Jesus is coming again and we get to be a part of His work on the earth!
I. (4:1-6) LIVE IN NEWNESS OF JESUS
1. (1-2) A new Direction!
a. With all this talk of suffering, Peter reminds us that true suffering is seen in Jesus.
b. He died for us, he took our sins upon Himself.
c. And by our faith in Him, when He died, we died!
d. The battle He fought was not for His sin, He was sinless.
e. But it was for our sin! And Jesus won that fight!
Romans 6.1-2 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
REALIZE now that since you died to sin, you don’t have to live for your fleshly desires anymore! You’re dead to them all!
• And now we can live for the will of God!
• The will of God is to live for Jesus!
ARM YOURSELVES… Peter says. Why? Because living for Jesus Christ is a battle!
• FIRST OF ALL, there is a battle against the flesh.
• Flip over to Galatians 5:16ff
• So there’s this constant question… who will we present ourselves to? The flesh or the Spirit?
• Because if we WALK IN THE Spirit we will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh…
BUT FOR SOME OF YOU, there is also the battle against FRIENDS!
2. (3-5) You don’t hang with them anymore.
a. For some of you, this is so true isn’t it!!
b. We lived so much of our past doing the will of the world.
c. Lewdness & Lusts. Drunkenness, fights, parties, idolatries!
d. But now our lives aren’t just being spent & wasted.
e. They’re being invested & redeemed!
So what’s the response of our friends?
• Peter says in v4, they think it STRANGE.
• Next to that you can write, “FOREIGN, ALIEN”
• They think from a another planet. What happened to you!?
1 Cor. 2.14 (NLT) But people who aren’t Christians can’t understand these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them because only those who have the Spirit can understand what the Spirit means.
THEY just don’t understand you anymore… You puzzle them.
• Hey, want to go to a great party tonight? No bro, I have Bible study. -- What!? Bible study? C’mon man!
• Hey, want to catch that latest flick with all the sex & violence?
• No, I have a home fellowship group we’re praying for our city!
• Are you crazy?! That’s it, they think we’re nuts!
• Sometimes, your friends can become your persecutors!
• That’s why you rub them the wrong way.
• They just can’t understand you and so they try to pull you back into their world… But you can’t go guys.
Peter described that journey back in some pretty graphic terms.
• Let’s flip over to 2 Peter 2.21-22
• Lately we’ve seen our dog Molly make that decision.
• We have to let her out of the house real quick, and then after a few minutes of sickness, she goes over and well… you know!
• I’m thinking, “MOLLY WHAT IS WRONG WITH You?!”
• But it’s even worse with us…
• And so when our old friends want to stumble us, we can just say look, I can’t go, “I’m not a dog anymore, I’m a sheep!”
LET ME BOTH CAUTION & ENCOURAGE YOU HERE…
• Your old friends are a wonderful mission field guys!
• Jesus said in Matthew 28 to “GO INTO ALL THE WORLD”
• And some of you are in worlds that I will never be able to reach!
• So yes, don’t’ run with them, but don’t forsake them either!
• You may just be the tool Jesus uses to reach them for eternity!
• Let’s pray for them (and us) right now…
NOTE: Remember this too… the reason I’m here today, is because an old friend of mine prayed for me… reached out to me.
• We can do the same without falling into sin again!
V6 is interesting because it sounds like there is a 2nd chance for salvation after death. No way guys. The Bible’s clear.
Hebrews 9.27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
You need to know that the MORMONS use this verse to justify their false teaching of baptizing themselves on behalf of the dead.
• Peter was reminding them that the gospel is good news and needs to be shared with this lost & dying world!
• And how important it is for us to preach the gospel to those that are dead, spiritually dead.
• Jesus has a life of freedom & peace & forgiveness!
• The glorious gospel of Jesus is preached to those who are dead in trespasses and sins so that they might know the wonders and the glory of being alive unto God in the Spirit!
II. (4:7-11) LIVE WATCHFUL LIVES
1. (7) Prayer-FILLED LIVES
THE EARLY Church believed that Jesus was returning soon!
• They were anticipating His return at any time and so there was always that reminder to be SERIOUS & WATCHFUL in prayer.
Romans 13.11-12 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
IT’S TRUE you know. We’re living in times that are amazingly swirling out of control!
• We are closer to the Lord’s return than ever before!
• Jesus can come out of heaven at any moment with that glorious trumpet sound…
PETER knows what He’s talking about here in v7.
• He was sleeping in the garden while Jesus was praying.
Matthew 26.40-41 Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, "What? Could you not watch with Me one hour? 41 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
APP: I’ve been blessed to hear the increases in numbers of those participating in church prayer meetings lately.
• To hear of your homes filled with prayer. Home fellowships.
• But Jesus is asking us the same thing.
2. (8) LOVE FILLED LIVES.
a. Above all things, have a FERVENT, on fire love for other.
b. And one way to check the temperature on our love for one another is whether we are covering sin.
c. The intent is not to EXCUSE sin but to FORGIVE.
Let’s turn to Genesis 9:20-23
• After many days of tossing and turning upon the flood waters.
• The ark rests. Noah and his family exit the ark to repopulate the earth. They are excited about new life!
• It appears that Noah got a little TOO EXCITED… Let’s read.
What a picture of the 2 types of people in the church.
• One we can call UNLOVING & the other LOVING.
ONE SIDE: Ham. He sees it and turns around to EXPOSE & ADVERTISE. – Hey bros… look at dad… He’s wasted! What a sinner!
SIDE TWO: Shem & Japheth. What do they do? Walking in backwards, not even wanting to see him… THEY COVER HIM!
Proverbs 17.9 He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates friends.
Peter says that “Love covers a multitude of sins”.
• Not talking about them, not calling a special prayer meeting, or making 5 different phone calls… but walking in backward… covering, helping, restoring…
Galatians 6.1-2 Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
3. (9-11) SERVING THE Lord FAITHFULLY
a. This is so cool… we get to minister to one another.
b. It’s a glorious stewardship God has given to us.
c. It’s the GRACE OF GOD that moves our hearts to serve!
d. Oh Lord, you’ve been so good to us, we just lay our lives down before you to be used!
NOTICE v10, EACH ONE HAS RECEIVED A GIFT.
• Every single one of us in the Body of Jesus Christ has received a spiritual gift to use for the Glory of God.
• A gift is different than natural talent.
• BY THE WAY we did a study in Ephesians 4 on spiritual gifts that I encourage you to pick up.
But maybe you sit here today and wonder? What gifts do I have?
• First of all, pray through the different lists given in the Scriptures of gifts: Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4
• Then just begin to pray for clarity from the Lord.
• Here are some practical considerations. Ready?
#1 – What comes naturally? In other words, what happens in your life automatically when there is a need placed before you?
• Do you like to administrate? Do you like to help? Do you like showing mercy? Those are all God given gifts…
#2 – What moves you spiritually? Are you the type that can’t hold back when you meet someone new? You just have to share with them the love of Jesus? Evangelist.
• You may try to shy away from the call but it just pushes you spiritually and you can’t shake it.
#3 – What is blessed by God? Having been there myself, many people think the only important calling is the pastor.
• He’s the man, big cheese, the head hauncho.
• So I want to teach and be up front and lead others.
• It doesn’t come naturally but I just think I’m supposed be in charge for God.
• You have your first Bible study and people walk out, fall asleep, give you dirty looks. WAIT…
If it’s not blessed of God you may want to continue in prayer and step into other areas of ministry…
Oh that God might be glorified through Jesus Christ in our lives!
• All the glory, credit, dominion, and focus is on Him!
