Get Busy, the Boss is Coming!
I Peter 1:13-16
“Therefore” = he moves from describing our salvation to explaining how we should respond to that salvation.
Because we have been saved into such a privileged position…
Because of all that Jesus Christ has done for us…
We are now confronted with the challenge to allo0w our behavior to be changed/to be different.
There was a man who had been away from his home church for a few years. He had become involved in all kinds of shady practices and criminal activities. But when he came back to his home church and testimony time came—he was ready to talk.
He stood up and said, “I’m so glad to be back in my home church, and I want to tell you that while it’s true I’ve beaten my wife, and I have deserted my children,…I have stolen and lied and done all kinds of evil and served several times in jail—but I want you to know brothers and sisters, that not once, in all that time, did I ever lose my religion!”
People, if your religion is nothing more to you than an eternal life insurance policy, and it has no effect on how you live and how you treat others right now, you are missing the point of salvation. Christianity is good religion because it works in everyday life.
In the parable of the faithful steward in Luke 12, Christ told his disciples, “To who much is given, much is required.” Since we have been given so much, we should have a greater response.
Now, notice something in vs. 13 – Peter talks about the coming of Christ. These people lived expecting Jesus Christ to come in their lifetime.
Vs. 4 talked about their inheritance
Vs. 7 talks about the revelation of Jesus Christ
Vs. 13 talks about when Christ is going to be revealed.
In II Peter, all of chapter 3 talks about the consummation of the end times…
There is no greater motive for Christian work and holy living than to realize that Jesus is coming soon.
Peter makes three points in these verses about the life we are supposed to be living:
1. It is to be a focused life
2. It is to be an obedient life
3. It is to be a holy life.
Let’s look at these three points.
It is to be a focused life. Vs. 13
“Prepare your minds for action…” The word means “tuck in our robe so you can run or fight.”
“Keep sober in spirit…” = be calm, steady, under control. Don’t go running off on tangents or fads.
During the Revolutionary War, a loyalist spy appeared at the headquarters of Hessian commander Colonel Johann Rall, carrying an urgent message. General George Washington and his Continental army had secretly crossed the Delaware River that morning and were advancing on Trenton, New Jersey where the Hessians were encamped. The spy was denied an audience with the commander and instead wrote his message on a piece of paper. A porter took the note to the Hessian colonel, but because Rall was involved in a poker game he stuffed the unread note into his pocket. When the guards at the Hessian camp began firing their muskets in a futile attempt to stop Washington’s army, Rall was still playing cards. Without time to organize, the Hessian army was captured. The battle occurred the day after Christmas, 1776, giving the colonists a late present--their first major victory of the war.
God, forgive us if we get too busy with other things so that we aren’t ready for the battle we are supposed to be fighting. God, rattle us if we aren’t alert and focused on the race we are supposed to be running.
Get your mind focused on the race or the battle that is in front of you. Don’t slough you way through your Christian life—get disciplined…get focused.
I Peter 4:7 “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
I Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil roams around seeking whom he may devour.”
Hebrews 2:1 “For this reason, we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we don’t drift away from it…”
There is the real possibility of becoming lazy in our spiritual lives.
You need the discipline of daily Bible reading.
You need the discipline of memorizing God’s Word.
You need the discipline of daily focused prayer time.
It’s too easy for us to just be mediocre Christians and then when the battle gets difficult around us, we fall apart because we’re flabby and out of shape…or we stumble and trip because we have those extra things in our lives that aren’t helping us become more godly. It’s too easy for us to be entangled with the world’s hindrances. It’s too easy for us to be distracted by what the world says is important.
Hebrews 12:2 reminds us to keep our eyes focused on Jesus as we run our race.
Notice what we are supposed to be focused on:
1. Prepared for ACTION = there is a battle out there…there is a race to run… we are supposed to be ready to serve…not just lay around waiting for Christ to come again. People get busy for the Lord. PERIOD!
2. Looking at grace. NO WHERE does he say we are supposed to serve because of the rewards we might get. No where does it say we serve because we want to get crowns. We need to keep focusing on the fact that God saved us by His grace—simply because He wanted to pour out His love on us. Never stop singing Amazing Grace. Never stop singing Wonderful Grace of Jesus. Never stop singing “this is my story, to God be the glory, I’m only a sinner saved by grace.”
It is to be an obedient life. Vs. 14
The way this phrase is constructed, it assumes obedience. It assumes that if you are a child, you are obedient, in contrast with the unsaved who are disobedient. It’s almost as though Peter wants to go back and re-write the whole New testament so that every time you read about a child of God, you really will read about an obedient child of God. This is who we are—obedient children.
I was reading about 23yr. old Jeff Lewis, a supply clerk that was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division of the army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Due to some sort of clerical error, he was sent out to make a parachute jump without any formal training.. He landed unhurt—and said he was “just doing what a good soldier would do. The army said I was airborne qualified—a member of the 82nd Airborne division, so I wasn’t going to question it.” It was assumed he would obey!
This verse does not say “children who obey” or “children should obey”…it says children OF obedience…children whose parenting implies obedience… When you are God’s child, it is assumed you will want to obey God. This shows how ridiculous it is when unsaved people out in the world claim that we are all God’s children. If that is the case, why aren’t they acting like their Father? Why don’t they want to obey God’s commandments?
IT IS ASUMED you will follow God’s Word.
It is assumed you will set aside your old way of life.
It is assumed you will want to do what God says. In former way of life, you followed whatever lusts or desires your mind and body was attracted to. You did what you thought you wanted to do.
Now, you live in obedience to God.
Romans 1:5 “we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith…”
II Corinthians 10:5 says we need to “bring every thought captive to the obedience of faith…”
Listen to Colossians 3:1-10 Notice the contrast with the old way of life—being a child of disobedience.
You are not your own…seek to live in obedience to God. Start every day committing yourself to God and saying, “God, show me where I need to obey you today.”
Becky has been working with the Bright Beginnings pre-school. She has two little boys (who will remain nameless) who don’t get along with each other. Becky has been trying to get them to understand “Be Ye Kind One To Another.” The other day, they were going at it again and one of them got into the other boy’s face, pointing at him, and demanding, “Be ye kind to one another!!!” The other one shot right back, “No, you be kind to one another!” They have learned the Bible verse, but are having difficulty obeying the concept.
We know the Bible, but we sometimes have difficulty applying the concepts to our everyday lives.
These are the verses you are supposed to be memorizing from II and III John –
II John 6 “And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard it from the beginning, that you should walk in it.”
III John 4 “I find no greater joy than to hear of my children walking in the truth.”
God wants us to live out our beliefs by obeying Him in our everyday walk.
It is to be a holy life. Vs. 15,16
I John 3:3 says, “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purified himself, just as He is pure.”
Genuine hope in Christ’s return results in purity of life.
Did you hear about the boss who was walking through the office one day and came up to one of the employees and asked, “How long have you been working here?” The girl answered, “Ever since I saw you walking down the hall.”
Don’t live a holy life because Christ is coming soon.
Don’t live a holy life because you are afraid of judgment.
Those are good reasons, but live a holy life because your God is holy. Your father is holy. We’re supposed to look like our Father.
Vs. 14 says DON’T imitate the world
Vs. 15 says DO imitate your Father
Ephesians 1:4 says that God’s purpose in saving us was so that we would grow in holiness and become like Him. Romans 8:29 says that God called us so that we could be conformed to what Christ looks like.
Vs. 15 talks about behavioral holiness. Positional holiness came when we were saved.
Romans 5:1 says we have been justified by faith.
Ephesians 4:24 put on the new self that, in the likeness of God, has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
We have this positional holiness and righteousness—we now have a divine nature. (II Peter 1:4)
But now we need to work on behavioral holiness.
Romans 6:19 says to give yourself as a servant of righteousness to holiness.
II Corinthians 7:1 says, “Therefore, having these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. CHOOSE HOLINESS.
What am I going to do this Saturday night? CHOOSE HOLINESS
What am I going to watch on TV? Choose holiness
What am I going to read? Choose holiness
Who will I choose as my friends? Choose holiness
Where will I go? Choose holiness…
Holiness does not mean sin-lessness. That’s impossible as long as we live in this old body on this old earth. But holiness means righteousness. It means avoiding sin as much as possible. It means choosing God’s way. It means wanting to be like Jesus.
I’ve told you this story before, but it fits so well…two weeks ago we visited the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. One of the heroes of the Alamo was James Butler Bonham. On a wall near the main entrance to the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, is a portrait with the following inscription:
“James Butler Bonham—no picture of him exists. This portrait is of his nephew, Major James Bonham, deceased, who greatly resembled his uncle. It is placed here by the family that people may know the appearance of the man who died for freedom.”
No literal portrait of Jesus exists either. But the likeness of the Son who makes us free can be seen in the lives of His true followers.
