1 Peter 2:3-5 Gods protection, help through persecution and the future for His own (Sermon) Oct 2014
Illus:A young boy went to a grocery store and asked the grocer for a box of Duz detergent.
The grocer was puzzled and asked why he wanted a box of Duz. The boy said that he was going to wash his cat. The grocer said, “Young man, you shouldn’t wash your cat with this kind of soap.”
But the boy insisted that it would be okay.
A few days later, the boy returned, and grocer asked about his cat. “Oh, he died,” said the boy.
The grocer said, “Well, son. I warned you not to wash your cat with Duz detergent.”
The boy replied, “The soap did not hurt him a bit. It was the spin cycle that got him.”
Often it’s the spin cycle of life we get caught in by persecution, trials and troubles.
But, God says throughout the Bible we are to look to Him for strength because of His love for us and what the future holds for those who belong to Him.
1 Peter 2: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ
INTRODUCTION: 1 Peter was written at a time when it was dangerous to declare one’s faith in the Lord Jesus. Christianity had been outlawed, and Nero was doing all he could to stop Christianity.
Thank God we still have freedom and it’s not cheap..ask any soldier ...ask any parent who has lost a son or daughter in war …..But, Christians will be persecuted more and more in these last days.
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Just look at what’s happening today. We as Christians try to teach our children and grandchildren the morale way of life by teaching them ….God said marriage is between one man and one woman.
That was shot down by our government and today 60% of the states have gay marriages.
***One Senator said “who are we to tell people who they can love and who they can’t….
I would like to tell her that Love has nothing to do with it…but it has everything to do with a lustful heart and living a life acceptable to God.
I love our country as much as anyone but, I’m afraid we are heading in the direction of Gods judgment upon us real quick. The majority of the people are looking to our government for protection and the most are putting their trust in it instead of God.
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People can believe what they want to but, every Christian should see the writing on the wall…..our government takes prayer out of our schools….and kids are killing kids…..our government allows gay marriages and a few short weeks a silent killer virus slips into our nation called Ebola….and before that …terrorist are threaten another attack. …..Our economy is on the verge of collapse……the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. …..
***What are we to do?....we do what King David always said “In the Lord I put my trust.”
****You remember when King David and 3 of his mighty men were fighting the Philistines in 2 Samuel chapter 23 and the Bible says in verse 10 He arose, and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave unto the sword: and the LORD wrought a great victory that day;
What is the sword to us?.....it’s the word of God…Bible says in Hebrews 4:12 Gods word is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword
*****David hung on to God promises …..David fought back with God’s word until it clave to his hand…he couldn’t let it go…he couldn’t let go until the victory was won!!
That’s what we are to do….hang on to Gods word because the victory has already been won by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by the way of the cross!
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We can’t depend on our government for protection …we can’t depend on our government to do the right thing and live a life pleasing to God….
But we can depend on God and His promises to His own… He loves us and said He would never leave us nor forsake us and He also promised to take us out of here before that great and dreadful Day of Judgment upon this earth.
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Apostle Peter is writing this letter in our Scripture today to encourage and give Christians hope in times of persecution, trials and troubles..to help take away the fear and worry of things that threaten Gods people ….and it’s still in effect today.
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Verse 4.5….Peter says, that Jesus is a living stone rejected by men But, chosen by God and precious.
He also says that we are living stones…so we are precious to God also….We are precious to God because of what Jesus has done for us
*If we are precious to God and he calls us a living stone so….we must be a precious stone…
What is a precious stone?...A Diamond would be an example of a precious stone
..Just a chuck of coal..not worth much at all...But, God saw something different in all His children.
He saw us before there was coal...even before there was ground...God saw something precious.
He sees the finished product. Because our God is the first the last there is no other.
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The day we ask Jesus into our heart…a miracle happened…even more of a miracle than a chuck of coal turning into a Diamond over time.
We became a stone in the spiritual house ..a holy priesthood acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
2co 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
reconciled: means to.. restore to friendship or harmony : SETTLE, RESOLVE
A living stone that will never die again. A living stone that rest upon a corner stone by the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. There is none greater.
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No matter how righteous we think we are , we can never be good enough to come into the presents of God without Jesus Christ our Lord.
THE BIBLE SAYS IN:
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
But, Peter said in 1Peter 2:5 acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
When we accept Jesus into our life, we become a precious stone in the eyes of God
****Illus:How does something like a piece of coal that is only worth a few cents become a Diamond and become valuable?
What does it take to make a piece of coal into something that becomes precious?
It takes pressure and chipping away at its deformities.
Over time God applies pressure to the stone and it starts to take on a transformation.
And when it’s chosen as a Diamond it goes to the stone master’s hands to chip away the rough edges until it becomes a precious stone called a Diamond.
One wrong blow and it becomes worthless..that’s why we call him the Master.
***Bible says in:Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
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God does the same with us …to those who belong to Christ….those who’s names are written in the Lambs book of life.
He chips away at our iniquities and flaws by way of trails and troubles.
Peter says in
1pe 4:12 Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:
1pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
Most of the time we never see those trials and troubles coming into our life.
You might have heard the story about Chippy the parakeet
CHIPPY ILLSU: Chippie the parakeet never saw it coming. One second he was peacefully singing in his cage. The next it was a rough day for Ol Chippie
The problems began when Clippie's owner a sweet little Ol Lady decided to clean Clippie's cage with a vacuum cleaner.
She removed the attachment from the end of the hose and stuck it in the cage. The phone rang, and she turned to pick it up.
She'd barely said "hello" when "ssssopp!" Chippie got sucked into the vacuum
**The Lady was horrified, she put down the phone, turned off the vacuum, and opened the bag.
There was Chippie -- still alive, but he was a mess He was covered with dust and soot, she grabbed him and raced to the bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held Chippie under the running water.
**Then, realizing that Chippie was soaked with water and shivering cold,. . .
She reached for the hair dryer and blasted with hot air.
Poor Chippie never knew what hit him. A few days later, a neighbor calls to see how Chippie's was getting along after his ordeal.
"Well," the little Ol Lady said, "Chippie doesn't sing much anymore -- he just sits and stares."
******That’s the way we are aint it?...trials take the song out of our life sometimes...but when we come around...we become stronger.
You know I noticed one day that my new Log chain has a stamped with a limit ...ButGod knows us...
God knows our limit and sometimes He takes us to that very limit…..
That’s when you find out when there's nothing left but God ….God is all you need.
*****Sometimes we go through a trial or trouble and cry woo as me..
Sometimes we cry out to God when our foundations start shaking, just to find that its God that doing the shaking
Just like cutting a Diamond ...He's cutting away at our iniquities and flaws
Chipping away at our deformities ...making us fresh and ready for whatever comes along in this life.
……Illus: Up in the Northeastern part of the USA cod fishing is a big business. The fishing industry wanted to sell codfish all over America but they had a problem.
The problem was shipping the codfish from the Northeast to other parts of the country.
First, they tried freezing the fish but after transporting them a long distance the fish lost their taste.
So, they tried filling up big tanks with codfish and shipping them. But because the fish wasn’t active they were soft and mushy and tasted bad when they arrived.
One day a fisherman had an idea. The fisherman put some catfish in the tank with the codfish.
Catfish are natural enemies of the codfish. So, as the codfish traveled to all parts of the USA they had to stay alert or the catfish would eat them.
When the tank of codfish arrived thousands of miles from the Northeast they were tasty fresh as if they had been caught.
The point is .… when your satisfied, content,…in the place your in…God might drop a catfish in your tank …..persecution….trial or trouble…its coming.
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But, God keeps a watchful eye on our every move to keep us safe while we are in the storms. Because we are precious to Him because of what Jesus Christ did for us.
You remember when Jesus and His disciples were crossing over Galilee and Jesus was asleep and the Bible says:
Lu 8:24 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm.
Lu 8:25 And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.
He is in control...we are in the hands of the Master.
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We can sing that Ol country song…
I'm just an old chunk of coal
But I'm gonna be a diamond some day
I'm gonna grow and glow till I'm so blue pure perfect
I'm gonna put a smile on everybody's face
I'm gonna kneel and pray every day
And last I should become vain along the way
And I'm just an old chunk of coal now Lord
But I'm gonna be a diamond some day
We were nothing but, God sees something precious in each one of His children because of Jesus Christ our Lord ….the one that saved us from the darkest part of the world where the prince of darkness (Satan) can’t touch us anymore.
God may allow him to cause us pain and suffering and much persecution while were here but, praise God when the last trumpet sounds the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a with a shout of an arch angle and when we take hold of the Nail Perched Scared hand of our Saviour and He takes us into the presents of God Himself
We’ll be shouting the victory with a multitude of Angles singing, Holy, Holy to the Lamb of God the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords.....there is no other.
Love in Christ Jesus, Ronnie Miller. wwwthemillersbiblestudy.com
