Given on 7/3/11
Opening Scriptures
Luke 4:18-19
John 8:36
2 Corinthians 3:17
Galatians 5:1
Prayer for the Nation & Leaders
1 Timothy 2:1-4
Cross Allegiance Report
Prayer Requests from Online (Handout)
Library Announcement
Message: 1 Peter 1:13-21
1 Peter 1:13-21
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
We discussed last week that the Prophets longed to see the Messiah and saw glimpses of who He was. Yet they were much before Jesus was born. We, however, are in the age of Grace -- Jesus has come, has offered Himself as a sacrifice, and we need to grab a hold of Him, rejoice in what He has done, and cherish the eternal inheritance in Heaven that He has promised us who believe!
So here, we meet the next paragraph, verses 13-21, where we are told that we need to live in a very serious way before God -- living to please Him out of love for Him. He has redeemed us in a very serious and complete way, so we need to live holy lives before Him as we wait for Jesus' return!
Before we go further, let's open in prayer:
(Opening Prayer)
Let's go through the text, starting in verse 13:
13
Literally, we are to 'gird up' our minds -- get ready to go and live life to glorify God! In the Middle East, people would wear long robes, and to really get running, you would have to 'gird up' your garments so you wouldn't trip or be slowed down by them. We have to run this race, and the imagery here is similar to that in Hebrews 12 -- we run a marathon, and we have to fix our eyes on Jesus.
Ultimately, we have continual hope -- the grace of God, revealed in Salvation.
We are to set our hope on His return and our future with Him, when the salvation we've received will be made totally complete.
And as we're waiting for His return, Peter discusses that:
14-16
We need to live an exemplary (outstanding) life!
----- Don't 'operate in the flesh' -- don't conform to the old nature with its passions
----- Be holy! Live a pure life before God!
We are to be imitators of God! He is Holy. We can't be as holy as He is, but we can seek His power to live in ever-increasing holiness before Him.
Peter brings us back to Leviticus 19:2, where Moses is told to tell the entire congregation of Israel -- "Be holy, for the LORD your God is holy!"
God desires us to be of the best caliber people.
We are not called "Christian" to ignore His commands! If we love Jesus, we will do His commandments. We don't do His commandments for the purpose of making us feel good about ourselves or to boost our own egos -- we do it in a response of love for what He has done for us!
Jesus' work for us should lead to us living lives pleasing to Him.
Colossians 3:17 - And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Colossians 3:23-24
23 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men,
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
Parallel image: A1 Thick & Hearty sauce -- full, rich, high quality sauce, also very tasty. We are to work heartily unto the Lord -- work hard, work with all your might, and do your best for Him!
17
We will all be judged -- and thankfully, impartially
----- Any time we are misjudged wrongly in this life by others will be dealt with justly come the Last Day
----- The Lord knows everything about us -- the number of hairs on our head, our heart condition, our passions, and our standing with Him.
Peter says to 'conduct yourselves with fear'
-- Should we be terrified of God?
Reverent fear -- sobriety. Seriousness before God as well as a sense of awe of who He is.
We have been redeemed in a very serious way, so we need to live our lives in a very serious way.
18
We have been ransomed from futility (emptiness).
Redeemed -- literally as a slave out of bondage.
We are set free by Christ, and the price that was required was what Jesus has done as a sacrifice for our sins!
"Emptiness"/Futility -- useless ceremonies, fears, goals that lead nowhere in God's sight.
We are ultimately to focus our efforts on building God's Kingdom.
All things that fade away can be good for a time, but they do fade away. The principle and 'heart' behind these pursuits is more important, and even then, all believers do should be pleasing to God and useful for the increase of God's Kingdom.
19
We have been rescued in a very serious way -- by the Blood of Christ!
----- ONE WAY to God -- through Jesus.
----- If there's a key lesson from the Old Testament, it's that when we approach God, we need to do it in the way He has made.
---------- e.g. offering bad sacrifices = bad news
---------- Likewise: today, we need to approach God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Not our own good deeds or achievements.
----- We haven't been redeemed by things that fade away.
---------- Gold and silver are beautiful, and if they are purified, they're even more beautiful…however, we will not our earthly wealth to Heaven.
----- We have been redeemed by a sacrifice that is good for all generations and that will not fade away!
---------- As a lamb without spot (best sacrifice)
20
Jesus' Sacrifice was foreknown, revealed in the last times for us
----- This is it! We're in the last times!
----- But what about the end of all things?
---------- Jesus said three things:
---------------1. He will return
---------------2. No man knows when
---------------3. We always need to be ready!
21
If we put our trust in Jesus -- we show that we believe in God who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him.
Do you know that it's a commandment from God to believe on Jesus? We can either accept or reject Jesus, but again, it's not considered an option for us to obey. If we have heard about Jesus, we need to grab hold of Him for salvation --
1 John 3:23 - And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
God raised Jesus from the dead -- the Resurrection is the power and sign of approval of Jesus' Sacrifice!
----- If Jesus died and were not raised, He would have either been guilty of sin or rejected by the Father
----- Paul said that if Jesus were not resurrected, then we would be most miserable people!
----- However, Jesus was raised from the dead.
---------- He did not sin -- He was not guilty
---------- The Father approved of His sacrifice -- He is the true and only way to God.
---------- Jesus rose first -- He would do what we will do through the same Holy Spirit.
So with this text, let's take some things from it as we go about our daily lives:
Application
----- Be redeemed by Jesus. Again, it's a commandment from God for us to come back to Him, and it's through the way He has given us -- Jesus. If you don't know Jesus, make a commitment to Him. Confess your sins and believe in Jesus -- any time you disobey God's commands in any way, you've broken the Law. Whenever you steal, cheat, are jealous of what others have, hate others, think evil thoughts of others, etc., you've displeased God. He is willing to forgive if you come to Him. Trust in Jesus -- He has died for you and offers you forgiveness and redemption -- a path back to God.
----- As we have been redeemed by the Blood of Jesus, let's give thanks to God for His selfless sacrifice. He gave up His own Son so that we could come to know Him and enjoy Him forever!
----- Since we have been redeemed in a very serious way, let's live our lives in a very serious way, doing our best for God and living out our lives in holiness, knowing that it is God who gives us our ultimate reward in Heaven.
Let's close in prayer.
(Closing Prayer)
