UNLEASHING YOUR SPIRITUAL VITALITY-I—1Peter 1:13-21
Attention:
Chicken Plants:
A life-long city man, tired of the rat race, decided he was going to give up the city life, move to the country, & become a chicken farmer. He found a nice, used chicken farm, which he bought. Turns out that his next door neighbor was also a chicken farmer. The neighbor came for a visit one day & said, "Chicken farming isn't easy. Tell you what. To help you get started, I'll give you 100 chickens."
The new chicken farmer was thrilled. Two weeks later the new neighbor stopped by to see how things were going. The new farmer said, "Not too good. All 100 chickens died."
The neighbor said, "Oh, I can't believe that. I've never had any trouble with my chickens. I'll give you 100 more."
Another two weeks go by, & the neighbor stops in again. The new farmer says, "You're not going to believe this, but the second 100 chickens died too."
Astounded, the neighbor asked, "what went wrong? What did you do to them?"
Well, says the new farmer, "I'm not sure whether I'm planting them too deep or not far apart enough."
The noobie farmer needed to know how to release the chicken’s vitality!
Need:
Due to the privilege which we have in the gospel of salvation in Christ by faith....We can exemplify a vitality others desire.
This begins & is exemplified in a personal attention to one’s mindset.
Peter steered the Christians of Asia into the vitality born of their privilege in Christ.
The vitality born of the extreme privilege in Christ is released specifically.
What releases that vitality?
The means of unleashing the vitality born of privilege in Christ.
1—To unleash the privilege of spiritual vitality....
Prepare The MIND(:13a)
Explanation:(:13a)
:13a—“Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind,....”
Due to the preciousness of the extreme privilege which we have before us—in having lived in & after the time when the Good News of salvation in Christ by faith has been plainly revealed—we are thus to display a particular manner of vitality in our choices & actions.
This is displayed in a personal attention to one’s mindset. A ‘roll up your sleeves’ attitude.
A runner prepares himself mentally.
1Cor. 9:24-26—“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.”
“Gird/Gird up”—anazwnnumi—To gird up; metaph.—Be prepared.—The Middle Easterners, who in order to be unimpeded in their movements ...when starting a journey or engaging in any work, habitually bound their long flowing garments closely around their bodies & fastened them with a leather belt. Strong—To gird afresh. Used 1X.
From—ana—a primary preposition & adverb; properly--Up; but by extension(used distributively)--Severally, or (locally)--At (etc.)—&—zwnnumi—To bind about(especially with a belt).
“Loins of your mind/Minds for action”—osfuav thv dianoiav umwn
“Loins”—osfuv—The hip(loin); A loin, the (two)loins.
“Mind”—dianoia—The mind as a faculty of understanding, feeling, desiring;Understanding; Mind, i.e. spirit, way of thinking & feeling; Thoughts, either good or bad.
From—dia & nouv—‘Through thinking’—‘Deep thought’, imagination, mind, understanding.
“For Action”[NASB/NIV]—Implied—Interpretational addition only.
Argumentation:
Rom. 12:1-2—“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind[nouv], that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.”
Job 38:1-3—“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, & said: “Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, & you shall answer Me.”
Job 40:6-14—“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, & said: “Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, & you shall answer Me: “Would you indeed annul My judgment? Would you condemn Me that you may be justified? Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? Then adorn yourself with majesty & splendor, & array yourself with glory & beauty. Disperse the rage of your wrath; Look on everyone who is proud, & humble him. Look on everyone who is proud, & bring him low; Tread down the wicked in their place. Hide them in the dust together, Bind their faces in hidden darkness. Then I will also confess to you That your own right hand can save you.”
Prepared to be called out for personal sin. Prepared for soul-searching.
Ps. 119:9-16—“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You! Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes! With my lips I have declared All the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.”
Eph. 4:17-19, 22-25—“This I say, therefore, & testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding(dianoia) darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.”....“that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, & that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, & put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness & holiness of the truth. Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”
Illustration:
When we lived in NC, our house had gutters & the house was surrounded by trees—A beautiful setting indeed!/BUT—I had to Clean gutters at least 3X a year!/Not an easy task—arduous & dangerous due to the height & sloping ground/PREPARE the MIND
Errand to run/Getting out of Lazy boy/Mental effort must precede any action/I always say, ‘I’m getting up....Here I go...This is it!...I’m movin’ now!..../PREPARE the MIND
Sam’s driving/Won’t anticipate or drive defensively/PREPARE the MIND
Application:
?You PREPARE YOUR MIND with the privilege in Christ?
?You unleashed the Vitality of your privilege in Christ?
2—To unleash the privilege of spiritual vitality....
Protect/Sensitize the Mind(:13b)
Explanation:(:13b)
:13a—“Therefore, .... be sober, ”
Sobriety here is not so much about drunkenness as it is about Unclouded thinking or ‘Keeping your wits about you.’ We cannot properly or rightly think due to something which unrealistically(chemically) focuses it elsewhere.
Think of these official terms:
Driving ‘Under the Influence’—‘While Intoxicated’—‘While Impaired’
?What do these designations relate to?—Drivers need Unclouded/Unhindered/Unstifled/Unrestrained thinking.
We are also to ‘drive’ in the same manner Spiritually!
“Be Sober/Be Serious/Be Self-controlled/Keep Sober in spirit”—nhfw—1)To be sober, to be calm & collected in spirit; 2)To be temperate, dispassionate, circumspect. Strong—of uncertain affinity: To abstain from wine(keep sober), i.e. figuratively--Be discreet Used 6X.
Argumentation:
Rom. 12:1-2—“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind[nouv], that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.”
A drunk loses their inhibitions(PROTECTION) from other, damaging sins/‘Under the Influence’
Avoid influences of the world—Learn to say “NO!”
Lk. 12:35-40—“Let your waist be girded & your lamps burning; “& you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes & knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself & have them sit down to eat, & will come & serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, & find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched & not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
If your mind is consumed with things other than God’s things, then we have allowed the world to cloud our thinking. We must guard against such because the devil can use such against God.
Prov. 31:1-9—The words of King Lemuel, the utterance which his mother taught him: What, my son? And what, son of my womb? And what, son of my vows? Do not give your strength to women, Nor your ways to that which destroys kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, It is not for kings to drink wine, Nor for princes intoxicating drink; Lest they drink & forget the law, And pervert the justice of all the afflicted. Give strong drink to him who is perishing, And wine to those who are bitter of heart. Let him drink & forget his poverty, And remember his misery no more. Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, And plead the cause of the poor & needy.
1Thes. 5:6-10—“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch & be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, & those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith & love, & as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.”
1Pet. 5:8-9—“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”
This assumes “vigilance” is tied to sobriety of thinking.
Acts 2:38-41—“Then Peter said to them, “Repent, & let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; & you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you & to your children, & to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” And with many other words he testified & exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; & that day about three thousand souls were added to them.”
2Cor. 6:14-7:1—“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” “I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons & daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.” Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh & spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
Heb. 10:22-25—“let us draw near[to God] with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience & our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love & good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, & so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Church involvement is a means of Protection for our understanding/mind.
Illustration:
Soldiers in Vietnam & Iraq war/Native ungodly(no appreciable Christian influence) populace recognizes no appreciable difference between military & civilian populations—All are combatants to them, even though many may be ‘innocent’/Lines separating good from evil are blurred/Our American soldiers face(d) a constant temptation to kill anything that walks/BUT...They are there to protect the common good-innocence of the civilian population/PROTECT the MIND
Our country may again face nuclear threat from foreign nations(return of the cold-war)/Defensive weaponry will be escalated in order to secure our borders/Regardless of the threat, we must PROTECT the MIND from paranoia.
Opportunities to sin arise—Internet Pornography/PROTECT the MIND
Friends purchase land to build/Look at your bank account/PROTECT the MIND
Application:
?You PROTECT The MIND with Your privilege in Christ?
?You unleashed the Vitality of your privilege in Christ?
3—To unleash the privilege of spiritual vitality....
Secure the Mind(:13c)
Explanation:(:13c)
:13c—“Therefore....& rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
“Rest/Fix your hope fully upon the grace...”—Interpretational addition....actually =‘Completely Hope’
Literally=“Hope ‘fully/completely/perfectly’ upon the grace”....
God’s “grace” is where the believer places “hope.” The believer trusts that God will remain unchanging, that will always be who He claims to be & do what He says He will do. Thus His “grace” bringing us salvation thru His only-begotten Son Jesus will always stand.
If I believed God was as the Greek or Roman ‘gods,’ then His desire would be tied to His emotions. His ‘fancy’ would change at a moment’s notice & all would live in absolute insecurity. There can be no actual promise from such changeability.
God’s Unchangeableness:
Heb. 11:6—“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists & that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
Js. 1:17—“Every good gift & every perfect gift is from above, & comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
Eph. 2:1-10—“And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses & sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh & of the mind, & were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), & raised us up together, & made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, & that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Rom. 5:1-4—“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, & rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; & perseverance, character; & character, hope.”
Jn. 10:7-11—“Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves & robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, & will go in & out & find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, & to kill, & to destroy. I have come that they may have life, & that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”
Rom. 5:8-11—“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”
1Pet. 5:10-12—“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, & settle you. To Him be the glory & the dominion forever & ever. Amen. By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting & testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.”
Rom. 1:23—Incorruptible God
Heb. 6:16-18—“For men indeed swear by the greater, & an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability[unchangeableness] of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us.”
Heb. 12:28—“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence & godly fear.”
“Hope”—elpizw—To hope; In a religious sense, to wait for salvation with joy & full confidence—Hopefully to trust in.
“Fully/To the end/Completely”—teleiwv—Perfectly, completely. From teleiov meaning ‘Brought to its end, finished; Wanting nothing necessary to completeness; Perfect; That which is perfect.
“Grace”—cariv—Good will, loving-kindness, favor.
“That is to be brought to you...”
We do not hunt it down & bring it down or up but it is “brought to” us by grace thru faith!
Rom. 10:4-11—“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.” But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or,” ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth & in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus & believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, & with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
“To be brought”—ferw—To carry; To bear, i.e. endure, to endure the rigor of a thing, to bear patiently one's conduct, or spare one(abstain from punishing or destroying); To bring, bring to, bring forward.’
“At the revelation of Jesus Christ”—Rapture...Our resurrection to glorified bodies—OR—Demise of Antichrist’s kingdom—OR—Christ’s Millennial Reign—OR—Great White Throne judgment— OR—Given a place in heaven, with the One who loves me—OR—When time blends into eternity as all the things of Christ are surrendered to the Father, that God may be all in all.
Mat. 24:23-27—“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. “For false christs & false prophets will rise & show great signs & wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. “For as the lightning comes from the east & flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
1Cor. 15:23-28—“But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule & all authority & power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”
Argumentation:
Rom. 12:1-2—“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind[nouv], that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.”
Rom. 8:23-25—“Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”
Heb. 9:27-28—“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
Tit. 2:11-14—“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness & worldly desires & to live sensibly, righteously & godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope & the appearing of the glory of our great God & Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed & purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
2Tim. 4:7-8—“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; & not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
2Cor. 4:18-5:4—“while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life.”
Rev. 1:7—“Behold, He is coming with clouds, & every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”
Rev. 22:20-21—“He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
Jn. 9:4—“I[Jesus] must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”
Illustration:
Suppose you are Lost at sea/You want to be rescued but you soon pin your hopes upon an ability to obtain water & then food/SECURE the MIND
Social Security or Worthwhile work?/SECURE the MIND
My hopes pinned on Job security—Home ownership & Family/SECURE the MIND
Application:
?You SECURED The MIND with Your privilege in Christ?
?You Unleashed the Vitality of your privilege in Christ?
Conclusion:
Visualization:
Chicken Plants—The noobie farmer needed to know how to release the chicken’s vitality!
Action:
To unleash the privilege of spiritual vitality in Christ....
1. PREPARE THE MIND(:13a)
2. PROTECT/SENSITIZE THE MIND(:13b)
3. SECURE THE MIND(:13c)
Pts. 1-3 Presented 08/02/15pm to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SW(A Ave. SE)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
Pts. 1-3 Presented 05/02/04am to:
Providence Baptist Church
975 Providence Road
Whigham, GA 39897
