Dear Discouraged – Part 8
“THE GLORY ROAD”
1 Peter 4 (NASB)
Dr. Randy Deal
Review:
Part 1: Remember God’s amazing grace!
Part 2: Dare to be different!
Part 3: Remember who GOD says you are!
Part 4: Our integrity will be tested by how we respond to temptation, authority and suffering!
Part 5: Have the courage to glorify God by giving up our rights to meet another’s needs!
Part 6: Pursue relational harmony instead of hostility!
Part 7: Set apart Christ as Lord in our heart!
Today’s Big Idea:
MAKE YOUR STORY ABOUT GOD’S GLORY!
“so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,” (v. 11b)
1 Peter 3:18, Ephesians 6:12, 1 Peter 5:8-9, Philippians 2:5-8
How? Arm yourselves with the purpose of Christ…
1. RESIST anything that distracts you from living FOR THE WILL OF GOD!
(vv. 1-7)
• Cease from sin. (v. 1-3) 2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:5-7
• Don’t run with “Gentiles.” (v. 4-6)
• Be clear minded & self-controlled. (v. 7) 1 Peter 1:13
Our primary weapon here is prayer. (v. 7) Psalm 51:17b
2. RESPOND with a FERVENT LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER! (vv. 8-11a)
Our primary weapon here is love. (v. 8) Matthew 18:21-22, 1 Peter 1:22, 1 John 3:16-18
• Be hospitable. (v. 9) Hebrews 13:2
Share: Join a Home Group! (Front Porch begins April 19th)
• Employ your spiritual gifts, of speaking and serving, in serving one another. (v. 10-11a) Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 13:3-9, 1 Corinthians, Ephesians
Serve: Live generously with your time, talent, treasure & testimony!
Why? “So that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ,” (v. 11b)
1 Corinthians 10:31
The Narrow Road vs. The Wide Road – Matthew 7:13-14
BENEDICTION (vv. 12-19, NLT)
Dear Discouraged – Part 8
“THE GLORY ROAD”
1 Peter 4 (NASB)
Dr. Randy Deal
Opener Video: Live on Purpose (3:03) from “Facing the Giants”
What’s the purpose of THIS team, the Rock Point team? What’s OUR main goal? Life is NOT about US! God put us here for Him! To love God and to love others! Jesus DIED for US, so we could LIVE for Him! WIN or LOSE, will our actions and our attitudes PRAISE Him? What are we living FOR? Are our lives about our own glory or God’s glory?
Today…week 8…series through 1 Peter…“Dear Discouraged.”
A letter written, TO BELIEVERS, by that great fisherman and disciple of Jesus…
• A man who like us - knew both the thrill of victory & the agony of defeat…
• A man who knew what it was like to walk on water – and who also knew what it was like to sink into the crashing waves…
• A man who Jesus called the “rock” – and who sliced off the servant’s ear when Jesus was being arrested in the Garden…
• A man who was an EYE WITNESS to the sufferings of Christ…
• A man who refused to pick up a towel & wash Jesus’ feet…
• A man who knew what it was like to leave everything to follow Jesus and who also knew what it was like to deny even knowing him…
• A man who loved Christ and loved his church so much that he was crucified - upside down…
Turn to 1 Peter 4…Therefore…(what’s the therefore there for?). Therefore….if we’re going to suffer for the right reason…if suffering is going to make sense…if we’re going to truly understand the purpose of our trials, our tribulations, our struggles, our challenges, our discouragement, our suffering, if we’re going to…
Part 1: Remember God’s amazing grace!
Part 2: Dare to be different!
Part 3: Remember who GOD says WE are!
Part 4: respond to temptation, authority and suffering WITH INTEGRITY!
Part 5: glorify God by giving up our rights to meet another’s needs!
Part 6: Pursue relational harmony instead of hostility!
Part 7: Set apart Christ as Lord in our heart!
1THEREFORE, SINCE CHRIST HAS SUFFERED IN THE FLESH, ARM YOURSELVES ALSO WITH THE SAME PURPOSE (NIV: ATTITUDE), …SO THAT IN ALL THINGS GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, TO WHOM BELONGS THE GLORY AND DOMINION FOREVER AND EVER. AMEN. (NASB)
Today’s Big Idea is in v. 11: MAKE YOUR STORY ABOUT GOD’S GLORY!
SO THAT IN ALL THINGS GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST,
Jesus Christ suffered for us! He literally “suffered death.” Goes back to 3:18…18For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;
Since Christ suffered for us, just as He suffered for those persecuted Christians to whom Peter wrote this letter, there are TWO THINGS things we’ve got to do when faced with hardship, when faced with discouragement. Peter chose words that would cause his readers, and us today, to be moved to action!
HOW do make our story about god’s glory? PETER SAYS…Arm yourselves with the same purpose/attitude as Christ!
“arm” only here in NT. Gk. hoplezo from root word hoplon: any implement or instrument used to prepare something, later came to be used in the plural, “arms,” for weapons of warfare. Verb form: means “make ready or equip.” MILITARY TERM! Metaphorically: “take on the same mind.”
Peter calling us to arm ourselves with the same purpose, the same attitude as Christ when He suffered…even death on the cross. We should be as Christ and WELCOME opportunities to suffer in His name.
Quote: Christian Author Leif Enger (Peace Like A River, So Brave, Young & Handsome) “We and the world, my children, will always be at war. Retreat is impossible. Arm yourselves.”
When you are getting ready to go into battle against a powerful enemy; it really is a good idea to arm yourself! (GET “LAST STAND ON SKULL HILL” SERMON SERIES!) When Satan tempts you with discouragement, arm yourselves! When facing suffering, arm yourselves! When facing adversity, arm yourselves! When trials come, arm yourselves!
Jaye in bootcamp. Camp Leonardwood, MO. Army National Guard. Active Duty. Issued his first weapon recently! Bootcamp isn’t just about physical fitness and readiness, but also about equipping our soldiers with weapons!
Paul…Ephesians 6:12 (NASB) 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Later in 1 Peter 5:8-9 (NASB), Peter…8Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.
Unless we want to be defeated, we WILL arm ourselves! Satan and his demons are very powerful! Don’t be deceived into thinking that he is going to allow us to MAKE OUR STORY ABOUT GOD’S GLORY without a fight! You may never have thought of the purpose of Christ as being a weapon, but it is!
Paul writes…Philippians 2:5-8 (NASB) 5Have this ATTITUDE in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but EMPTIED HIMSELF, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8Being found in appearance as a man, He HUMBLED HIMSELF BY BECOMING OBEDIENT TO THE POINT OF DEATH, EVEN DEATH ON A CROSS.
In our suffering, we need to have the same attitude Christ took toward His suffering! Suffering for what is right!
The purpose of Jesus, the attitude of Jesus, is a weapon! A powerful weapon! Peter gives us TWO PRIMARY WEAPONS that we can use to ARM OURSELVES with the purpose/attitude of Christ. Picture yourself as suiting up for battle when we look at these TWO PRIMARY WEAPONS!
Like old Peanuts cartoon, Lucy demands that Linus change TV channels and then threatens him with her fist if he doesn’t. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus. "These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they are nothing, but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a WEAPON that is terrible to behold." "What channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can’t you guys get organized like that?"
HOW do make our story about god’s glory?
1. RESIST anything that distracts YOU from living for THE WILL OF GOD! (vv. 1-7) THE WILL OF GOD!
Cease from sin. (v. 1-3)
1THEREFORE, SINCE CHRIST HAS SUFFERED IN THE FLESH, ARM YOURSELVES ALSO WITH THE SAME PURPOSE (NIV: ATTITUDE), because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for THE WILL OF GOD. 3For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries.
If we suffer FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS SAKE, our chains of sin are gone in our lives!
Not that have stopped sinning altogether!
If we suffer for right reasons, sin no longer reigns our hearts!
When we’re no longer enslaved to sin, we spend our lives pursuing God’s will and not our own!
Only 2 standards of living: one we formerly lived by (lusts of the flesh) and the one to live by from now on (will of God)!
Because of our faith in Christ, as long as we’re still on this earth, we are to seek the will of God and not the earthly desires of our lives before Christ.
Peter…we’ve spent enough time in the past doing what unbelievers do! Our time in the past was sufficient he says! Sufficient here: “more than enough” - too much in fact!
Ever talk to someone who says then need more time before they can give up a certain sin in their life? You speak truth to them, they agree, but they need more time? REALLY? REALLY!
Some say they can’t get baptized for the same reason! REALLY? REALLY!
Time to be DONE with our sinful ways! CAN I GET AN AMEN!?!?!?!?!
Hear me…Yes, SANCTIFICATION is a process - over TIME we become more like Christ. Takes time to rid ourselves of old habits! But the chains of sin are broken when we accept Christ into our lives!
Paul…2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB) 17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Old ways of life die when commit lives to Christ! No reason to hold on to them!
No reason to believe that Jesus’ finished work on the cross was insufficient to completely overcome the darkest recesses of our hearts!
No reason that victory over sin has to be progressive over time, instead of complete, once and for all! AMEN??? AMEN!!!
Peter lists 6 different sins - prevalent then, prevalent now. Gk. plural form: wide categories.
Can’t look at these sins and say, “None of them apply to me.” Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart for any sin that may be holding you in your former way of life!
Paul also…Romans 6:5-7 (NASB) 5For if we have become united with Him IN THE LIKENESS OF HIS DEATH, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DONE AWAY WITH, SO THAT WE WOULD NO LONGER BE SLAVES TO SIN; 7for he who has died is freed from sin.
Don’t run with “Gentiles.” (v. 4-6)
4In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; 5but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God.
Peter…moves us from thinking in the past to thinking in the PRESENT. Now we look at the reaction of our unsaved friends toward our faith and why it should further motivate us to arm themselves!
Peter…those we used to “run” with as “surprised!” Not surprised in the sense of our old friends are saying, “Oh, how neat. You’re one of those born again believers. We think it’s great that you’re not going to party with us anymore. Good for you!”
The unbelievers, the “Gentiles” in our lives, should be surprised, AMAZED by the changes in our lives! As believers, our unbelieving friends should be looking at us as strangers now! They should be looking at us and saying, “Have you lost your minds?” Do they?
Peter calls the activities of our past life as “dissipation.” Gk. word here also: to live “a vicious course of life, [or] a state of being abandoned in moral principle and in vice.” It also means to be excessively wasteful with money and time.
At that time…unbelievers were so upset about the Christians faith that they went out of their way to destroy the reputations of those who professed faith in Christ. Peters says, “they malign you.” Sound familiar? Or does it? Peter saying…even though those we used to run with may turn on you, even with a vengeance, STAND FIRM in our faith!
Then Peter says…look to the FUTURE! Although life may be very difficult now, although you may be feeling discouraged, there will come a day when everyone who’s maligned us because of our faith will have to stand before the final court and the Supreme Judge! We will ALL face our Creator one day, believer or unbeliever, dead or alive!
Then explains that “the gospel” was “preached” so that NO ONE WOULD BE WITHOUT EXCUSE on that final day of judgment, even those who’ve since died!
Last he refers to those believers who had been martyred for their faith. They had been “judged in the flesh.” Although they had been sentenced to death by men, for their faith in Christ, their sentence from God is one of acquittal. Their sentence is the reward of eternal life in Christ Jesus. Even though they died a physical death, their hope is in the fact that they will live for all eternity with God.
Be clear minded & self-controlled. (v. 7)
7The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
“The end of all things is near.” IOT, “there’s time for action, but there is no time to waste.”
Remember what he said in 1:13 (NASB) 13Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Peter’s calling us to look FORWARD! We’re not to focus on our trials and tribulations, but to the future coming of the Lord.
2 urgent commands–to be of sound judgment and a sober spirit. Gk. = synonymous, sharing the idea of mental alertness.
IOT: be clear minded, self-controlled, temperate, discreet.
Peter well aware, from his own past, how easy it is to lose control and lash out at our detractors. Remember, he was the one who cut the ear off the servant who was with the group of men that came to arrest Jesus in the garden.
Not easy! We want to say, “I’m mad as heck and I’m not takin it any more!”
And people will even bait us into losing self-control! They’ll use our loss of sound judgment to justify their own lack of self-control. Then they can say they’re no different from you and Christians are no different from the rest of the world.
People will persecute Christians because they hate what Christians stand for, but also because they hate themselves! Seeing Christ in someone can cause an unbeliever to see the emptiness in their own life without Christ, and instead of submitting TO Christ, they attack!
Since suffering may hurt us, but CANNOT harm us, and Christ’s return is imminent, exercise self-control with confidence, regardless of the kind of trial or suffering we may face in the future!
We CANNOT allow our past to dictate our response to present suffering.!
Our primary weapon here is prayer. (v. 7)
The purpose is so that we will be effective in our prayers. Being clear minded and self-controlled for the purpose of prayer. It’s a weapon!
Prayer: plural in the Gk. Every kind of prayer!
QUOTE: D.J. Kenyon: “It does not take much in the way of carelessness and disobedience to turn our prayers into confession sessions to clear ourselves with God rather than into communion sessions to increase our strength in Him.”
When “THE ESCREMENT HAS HIT THE OSCILLATOR,” (DID I JUST SAY THAT?) our prayers turn to PANIC! We need to approach the Throne of Grace with sound judgment and a sober spirit on FULL ALERT so we can pray effectively, intelligently, purposefully and confidently, knowing that God is sovereign, in complete control, and ever-present.
Only ONE prayer to pray: “Lord, break my heart for what breaks Yours!”
Psalm 51:17b (NASB) A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.
OUR PRIMARY WEAPON TO RESIST ANYTHING THAT DISTRACTS US FROM LIVING FOR THE WILL OF GOD IS PRAYER!
2. RESPOND with a fervent LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER! (vv. 8-11a)
8Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
Our primary weapon here is love. (v. 8) (GET “PEOPLE” SERIES!)
Peter moves from our individual responsibilities to the entire Body of Christ. He says “Above all.” IOT, Love trumps everything! It’s a weapon!
Gk. agape same unconditional love Christ has for us.
And it should be “fervent.” Gk. “to stretch out with intense strain or to exert to the limit of [one’s] strength.”
Are some people REALLY unlovable, or are we just not loving them like we should?
If we are loving “fervently” we don’t focus on one’s shortcomings! Doesn’t mean that we overlook sinful behavior and don’t hold each other accountable, but “love covers a multitude of sins!”
“LOVE SHOULD ALWAYS WIN OUT!”
Means: we will love each other so much that when someone sins against us, we won’t seek revenge, we won’t gossip about it, but we’ll come alongside them and lead them to repentance and reconciliation.
Remember, Peter was one who asked Jesus in Matthew 18:21-22 about how many times we’re to forgive when someone sins against us, 7 times? And Jesus said 70 x 7!
Not 1st time Peter talked about this in his letter…1 Peter 1:22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, FERVENTLY love one another from the heart,
John, Peter’s fishing buddy, wrote in 1 John chapter 3:16-18 (NASB) 16We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
We are called to help each other out! TO LOVE FEREVENTLY!
Quote: LOVE is the lubricant that makes everything run smoothly;the seasoning that makes everything taste better;the glue that holds everything together;the medicine that heals every wound;the light that brightens the darkest corner;the food that satisfies every hunger;the drink that quenches every thirst;the gift thats perfect for every occasion;the nutrient that makes everything grow; THE WEAPON THAT CONQUERS EVERY ENEMY!
LOVING ONE ANOTHER FERVENTLY INVOLVES SHARING AND SERVING…
Be hospitable. (v. 9)
9Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
Hebrews 13:2 (NASB) 2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.
We love fervently by being hospitable to each other without complaint. The word “hospitality” describes a person who has an affectionate concern for strangers. Gk. plural form. Peter says to practice hospitality repeatedly and regularly.
Being hospitable can sometimes be time consuming, tiresome, frustrating and expensive. We all lead busy lives! Peter says “without complaint!”
Gk. “complaint” “muttering or low speaking as a sign of displeasure.” It would be like answering your door and saying with excitement, “Hi! I’m so glad you’re here,” only to later mumble under your breath, “How soon until you leave.”
And hearing this you might say, “Well, hospitality is not my gift.”
I have some good news for you! Peter is not talking about hospitality as a gift. He’s talking about it as a normal course of action by every believer involved in the body of Christ!
Being hospitable with one another is one of the best ways for us to just not DO church, but BE the church! Being hospitable is really about letting people into our lives! How do we help you do that at Rock Point?
Join a?...Home Group!
Rock Point Church exists to guide others into a fully engaged relationship with Christ. A fully engaged follower of Christ is one who will: KNOW God Personally, GROW in Biblical Community and GO live generously! Home Groups are the environment where you will GROW in Biblical Community. Home Groups are where sustained, life-changing growth takes place, where real people can live out real life while Fostering Loving Relationships, Applying Gods Word and Living Generously together.
CONVINCED! You CANNOT get through times ALONE! April 16th will be one year since Randy Jr’s car accident that changed our lives forever, for the GOOD by the way, but we couldn’t have done it with our Home Group!
REGISTER FOR Front Porch! BEGINS April 19th. ENVIRONMENT TO HELP YOU MAKE THAT STEP TO JOIN A HOME GROUP!
Front Porch is a non-intimidating four week environment held during our first service with the purpose of experiencing first hand biblical community through home groups. Front Porch offers childcare through our children’s ministry in order to make it as easy as possible for those that are trying to take the next step at experience biblical community. Each attendee will have the opportunity to check out different groups while participating in a study (ReGroup) on the purpose of biblical community.
Employ your spiritual gifts, of speaking and serving, in serving one another. (v. 10-11a)
10As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies;
Jesus said in Matthew 20:28 & Mark 10:45 (NASB) 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, BUT TO SERVE, and to give His life a ransom for many."
Peter could write this because he WAS THERE in John 13:3-9 (NASB) 3JESUS, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God, 4got up from supper, and laid aside His garments; and taking a towel, He girded Himself. 5Then He poured water into the basin, and began to WASH THE DISCIPLES’ FEET and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, "Lord, do You wash my feet?" 7Jesus answered and said to him, "What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter." 8Peter said to Him, "Never shall You wash my feet!" Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." 9Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head."
Everyone of us have been given gifts, talents, skills, abilities that we are to use to serve other people. God did not give you those things just for you, He gave those to you for Him!
“WE ARE BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING!”
The Holy Spirit has endowed every believer with spiritual gifts. If you are a Christian, you have been given a spiritual gift. Paul’s teaching in First Corinthians and Ephesians shows us that the body of Christ doesn’t have any useless members. Everyone has been gifted through the Holy Spirit by the grace of God.
Peter isn’t saying the only gifts are speaking or serving. These are merely 2 broad categories. Basically, you either serve with your mouth, teaching God’s Word or sharing your hope, or with your hands, serving at church, in your Home Group, elsewhere in the Body of Christ, AND in your world.
Every one of us is obligated to use our gifts, whatever they may be, to serve the rest of the body of Christ.
How do we help you do that at Rock Point? GO TO THE GO TABLE IN THE LOBBY! Register for our Volunteer Orientation to discover your gifts! We have FIRST SERVES! You can JUMP IN! JUMP AROUND! JUMP UP!
AT RPC, WE BELIEVE IT’S ABOUT 4-T GENEROSITY! WE ARE CALLED TO Live generously with our time, talent, treasure & testimony!
OUR PRIMARY WEAPON TO respond with a fervent love for one another is just that….love! TO love deeply!
WHY DO WE NEED TO ARM OURSELVES WITH THE PURPOSE OF CHRIST? WHY DO WE NEED TO RESIST ANYTHING THAT DISTRACTS US FROM LIVING FOR THE WILL OF GOD? WHY DO WE NEED TO RESPOND WITH A FERVENT LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER?
SO THAt in all things god may be glorified through jesus Christ!” so our story will be about god’s glory!
(v. 11b) SO THAT IN ALL THINGS GOD MAY BE GLORIFIED THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!!!!!
Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NASB) 31Whether, then, you eat or drink or WHATEVER YOU DO, do ALL to the GLORY of God.
EVERYTHING we do should be done for GOD’S GLORY, always remembering that it is only possible to glorify Him through Jesus Christ!
It’s not enough to simply invoke Jesus’ name! It’s not enough to just believe the facts about who He is! It’s not enough to just do good things by participating in church activities!
Jesus Christ must be the center of everything we do, the very center of who we are! If we are in Christ, if we have been saved by His finished work on the cross, then we don’t just hope for the right attitudes in times of suffering. Since He has made us holy in Him, we can live victoriously in Him and assert the right attitudes, no matter what the circumstances, glorifying GOD in all we say and do!
God shares His GLORY with NO ONE! It’s not about us! Never was! It’s about Him!
ARM YOURSELVES WITH THE PURPOSE OF CHRIST! ARM YOURSELVES WITH THE WEAPONS OF PRAYER AND LOVE! LIVE FOR THE WILL OF GOD AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER FERVENTLY!
BAND RETURNS TO STAGE…
I entitled this message “THE GLORY ROAD” because Peter understood…The Narrow Road vs. The Wide Road…the GLORY Road versus the GORY Road. He WAS THERE when Jesus preached His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 6 & 7 and said in Matthew 7:13-14 (NASB) 13"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Caving in to sin, going back to our old ways, going back to what’s comfortable, running with “Gentiles,” lacking self-control, not sharing our lives with one another and not serving one another is taking the WIDE ROAD OF DESTRUCTION!
But…ARMING YOURSELVES WITH PURPOSE OF CHRIST, taking up the weapons of PRAYER and LOVE, RESISTING anything that distracts us from living for THE WILL OF GOD and RESPONDING with a fervent LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER IS TAKING THE NARROW ROAD OF LIFE!
My Story: Randy Jr Accident/Settlement/Commissioner/No lawsuit!
Is YOUR story about God’s Glory? TAKE THE GLORY ROAD!
BENEDICTION (vv. 12-19, NLT) PLEASE STAND…
(NLT) 12 Dear friends (DEAR DISCOURAGED), don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. 13 Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. 14 So be happy when you are insulted for being a Christian, for then the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you.[g] 15 If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. 16 But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! 17 For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? 18 And also, “If the righteous are barely saved, what will happen to godless sinners?” 19 So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
