CONSIDERED ALIEN-II—1Peter 1:1-2
ALIEN ENOUGH?
Attention:
Remedy?
We must consider the way Christians appear to a lost world—To many we are strange, weird, alien & thereby, a little fruity.
There was a song some years back by DC Talk entitled ‘Jesus Freak.’
“I saw a man with tat on his big fat belly
It wriggled around like marmalade jelly
It took me a while to catch what it said
Cause I had to match the rhythm Of his belly with my head
'Jesus Saves' is what it raved in a typical tattoo green
He stood on a box in the middle of the city
And claimed he had a dream”
Then the chorus follows with—
“What will people think when they hear that I’m a Jesus Freak? What will people do when they know that its true. I don't really care if they label me a Jesus freak. There ain't no disguising the truth.”
True Christians are indeed ‘Considered Alien’!
Peter addressed his circular letter to those who were considered as aliens in the world.
Why are Christians considered aliens?
4 reasons Christians are considered aliens.
?Am I ‘alien enough’ to garner an audience for Christ?
?Are you ‘alien enough’ to call attention to Christ?
We have discovered that Christians are considered alien by...
1. ASSOCIATION(:1)
a. Apostles
b. Jesus
c. Christ
2. SOJOURNING(:1b)
3—Christians are considered alien by...
ELECTION(:2a-e)
Explanation:(:2a-e)
:2a-e—“elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience & sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you & peace be multiplied.”
These who reside as pilgrims/strangers/aliens/sojourners/temporary residents(:1) in the world & live in various geographical locations are identified as being the “elect” of God.
“Elect/Who are chosen”—eklektov—Adj.—1)Picked out, chosen. Strong—Select; by implication--Favorite.
a. Foreknowledge(:2b)
“according to the foreknowledge of God the Father...”
God has Himself “elected”/chosen based on His perfect “foreknowledge.” In this He is well aware of who will trust & who will not trust, who is true & who is a pretender, who is righteous & who is lawfully moral.
The “elect” are the “elect” in the sense that their election is in “accordance” with “the foreknowledge of God”, i.e., They have been “known” from before the time that the world’s very foundation was laid.
Eph. 1:3-6—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy & without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved.”
“Foreknowledge”—prognwsiv—1) Foreknowledge; 2) Forethought, pre-arrangement. Used 2X.
English= ‘Prognosis’—A likely forecast of an ailment.
From—proginwskw—To know beforehand, i.e. Foresee.
b. Sanctification(:2c)
“in sanctification of the Spirit,...”
This tells us how the elect become elect...
The elect are elect solely because of “sanctification of the Spirit” of God. It is not a choice forced upon us but rather a willful choice to which we are compelled. “Sanctification” is not our work but that of the Spirit. The Holy “Spirit” working in the believer brings our flesh into compliance with His design & His desire to fulfill that design.
Apart from one’s personal trust/belief one cannot be “sanctified” by the Holy Spirit.
Rom. 8:5-9—“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life & peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
“Sanctifying/Sanctification”—agiasmov— 1)Consecration, purification; 2) The effect of consecration—2a) Sanctification of heart & life Strong—properly--Purification, i.e. the state--Purity; concretely (by Hebraism)--A purifier. Used 10X.
From —agiazw— meaning 1)to render or acknowledge, or to be venerable or hallow; or 2)To separate from profane things & dedicate to God; or 3)To purify. The root of this is where we get our words “Saint” & “Holy.”
c. Obedience(:2d)
“for obedience...”
*1Pet. 1:13-16—“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, & rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” ”
*Eph. 4:17-24—“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 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. But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him & have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, & be renewed in the spirit of your mind, & that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness & holiness.”
*Col. 3:12-17—“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy & beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, & forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; & be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching & admonishing one another in psalms & hymns & spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
All are choices & action words on the part of the elect.
“Obedience”—upakoh—1) Obedience, compliance, submission; 2) Obedience rendered to anyone's counsels, an obedience shown in observing the requirements of Christianity. Strong—from upakouw[ To listen attentatively]; Attentive hearkening, i.e. by implication--Compliance or submission.
d. Blood(:2e)Sprinkling
“& sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ...”
Symbolized Israel’s participation in the Mosaic covenant. The blood of Christ covers our lifetime sin once for all time & signifies our participation in the New Covenant.
*Ex. 24:3-8—“So Moses came & told the people all the words of the LORD & all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice & said, “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.” And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, & built an altar at the foot of the mountain, & twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings & sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the LORD. And Moses took half the blood & put it in basins, & half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant & read in the hearing of the people. And they said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, & be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, & said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words.”
Rev. 7:9-14—“After these things I looked, & behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, & tongues, standing before the throne & before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, & crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, & to the Lamb!” All the angels stood around the throne & the elders & the four living creatures, & fell on their faces before the throne & worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Blessing & glory & wisdom, Thanksgiving & honor & power & might, Be to our God forever & ever. Amen.” Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “Who are these arrayed in white robes, & where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, & washed their robes & made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Rom. 3:19-26—“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, & all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law & the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all & on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just & the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
“Sprinkling”—rantismov—1) A sprinkling (purification)—1a) Blood of sprinkling—1a1) i.e. Appointed for sprinkling(serving to purify). Strong—Aspersion(ceremonially or figuratively). Used 2X.
“Blood”—aima—1) Blood—1a) Of man or animals, 1b) refers to--The seat of life, 1c) Of those things that resemble blood, grape juice; 2) Blood shed, to be shed by violence, slay, murder. Strong—of uncertain derivation; Blood, literally(of men or animals), figuratively(the juice of grapes) or specially--The atoning blood of Christ; by implication--Bloodshed, also--Kindred.
Argumentation:
Deut. 7:6-11—[To Israel]“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, & because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand, & redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant & mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him & keep His commandments; & He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them. He will not be slack with him who hates Him; He will repay him to his face. Therefore you shall keep the commandment, the statutes, & the judgments which I command you today, to observe them.”
1Pet. 2:9-12—[To the Church]“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners & pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
Mat.24:21-27—“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. 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.”
Jn. 15:16-19—[Jesus to His disciples]“You did not choose Me, but I chose you & appointed you that you should go & bear fruit, & that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. These things I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
**Rom. 8:28-37—“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; & whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, & furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
Eph. 1:3-10—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy & without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom & prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven & which are on earth--in Him.”
Church=called out
Illustration:
My interview at Coastal Transport(CT) in Savannah/CT is a flatbed trucking company/Applicants had to 1)Have a valid Commercial driver’s license & 2)Be able to lift a rolled up tarp from the ground & place it onto the bed of the trailer/ELECTION
Job applicant/Forms & interview determine whether a person is qualified or unqualified/Reveals what they are capable of & where their allegiances lie, what is important to them— & do these align with the vision of the company/ELECTION
Many look at us Christians with a smirk, assuming(in ignorance) that we consider ourselves ‘better’ than others because we’re ‘going to heaven’ while they are not.
Application:
?You an Alien by ELECTION of God?
a. Foreknowledge(:2b)
b. Sanctification(:2c)
c. Obedience(:2d)
d. Blood(:2e)Sprinkling
?You ‘Christian Enough’ to be considered an Alien?
4—Christians are considered alien by...
RECEPTION Of GRACE(:2f)
Explanation:(:2f)
:2f—“Grace to you...”
Someone has said that grace is...
‘God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense’
Involves—Totally undeserved Love from God to the believer
Peter’s desire as an apostle of Jesus Christ, was that believers would experience all the richness of God’s “grace” which their election has potential to provide.
“Because of His justice, no sin will ever go unpunished, yet because of His grace, no sin is beyond forgiveness.”—MNTC
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.”
Mercy is contained/maintained under the umbrella of Grace.
“Grace”—cariv—1) Grace—1a) That which affords joy, pleasure, delight, sweetness, charm, loveliness: grace of speech; 2)Good will, loving-kindness, favor—2a)Of the merciful kindness by which God, exerting his holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, keeps, strengthens, increases them in Christian faith, knowledge, affection, & kindles them to the exercise of the Christian virtues; 3) What is due to grace—3a) The spiritual condition of one governed by the power of divine grace, 3b) The token or proof of grace, benefit—3b1) A gift of grace, 3b2) Benefit, bounty; 4) Thanks, (for benefits, services, favors), recompense, reward Strong—Graciousness(as gratifying), of manner or act(abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, & its reflection in the life; including gratitude).
Argumentation:
2Chron. 6:18-3—“But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven & the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built! Yet regard the prayer of Your servant & his supplication, O LORD my God, & listen to the cry & the prayer which Your servant is praying before You: that Your eyes may be open toward this temple day & night, toward the place where You said You would put Your name, that You may hear the prayer which Your servant prays toward this place. And may You hear the supplications of Your servant & of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven Your dwelling place, & when You hear, forgive. If anyone sins against his neighbor, & is forced to take an oath, & comes & takes an oath before Your altar in this temple, then hear from heaven, & act, & judge Your servants, bringing retribution on the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, & justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness. Or if Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, & return & confess Your name, & pray & make supplication before You in this temple, then hear from heaven & forgive the sin of Your people Israel, & bring them back to the land which You gave to them & their fathers. When the heavens are shut up & there is no rain because they have sinned against You, when they pray toward this place & confess Your name, & turn from their sin because You afflict them, “then hear in heaven, & forgive the sin of Your servants, Your people Israel, that You may teach them the good way in which they should walk; & send rain on Your land which You have given to Your people as an inheritance. When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sickness there is; whatever prayer, whatever supplication is made by anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows his own burden & his own grief, & spreads out his hands to this temple: then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, & forgive, & give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know(for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men), “that they may fear You, to walk in Your ways as long as they live in the land which You gave to our fathers.”
1Pet. 1:13-14—“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, & rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;”
2Cor. 13:14—“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, & the love of God, & the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”
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.”
2Tim. 1:8-11—“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us & called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose & grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death & brought life & immortality to light through the gospel, to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, & a teacher of the Gentiles.”
Rom. 11:1-7—“I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, “LORD, they have killed Your prophets & torn down Your altars, & I alone am left, & they seek my life”? But what does the divine response say to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, & the rest were blinded.”
Rom. 3:19-28—“Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, & all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law & the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all & on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just & the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”
Saving faith is never hard, but it is always deadly serious!
Rom. 4:1-5, 13-14, 16—“What then shall we say that Abraham our father has found according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, & it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,.....“For the promise that he would be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the law are heirs, faith is made void & the promise made of no effect,.....“Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all...”
Gal. 2:15-21—“We who are Jews by nature, & not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ & not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; & the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me & gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
Illustration:
*While living in Wesley Chapel, Fl, my appendix burst/I drove myself to Tampa at University Community Hospital(where my wife worked)/Dr. ?? literally saved my life!/RECEPTION Of GRACE
A Lavishly Humbling Gift that I cannot repay—
An established Foundation or Trust/Meant to accomplish a specific purpose/Those on the receiving end—RECEPTION Of GRACE
Application:
?You an Alien thru RECEPTION Of GRACE(God’s)?
?You ‘Christian Enough’ to be considered an Alien?
5—Christians are considered alien by...
MULTIPLICATION Of PEACE(:2g)
Explanation:(:2g)
“...& peace be multiplied.”
Peter’s desire as an apostle of Jesus Christ, was that all believers would experience all the richness of God’s “peace” which their election has potential to provide.
By means of the “grace” provided by God & experienced by the believer, in turn, “peace” will grow be expressed in all our dealings & doings.
Jn. 14:25-27—“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, & bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Acts 20:22-24—“And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, “except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains & tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, & the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
Heb. 12:25-29—“See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the things which cannot be shaken may remain. 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. For our God is a consuming fire.”
Jer. 17:7-9—“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?”
A further bestowal of the “multiplication/fullest measure” of God’s “grace & peace” is appropriately applied & expected of the Christian.
?Why are God’s “grace” & “peace” so vital to the Christian that an apostle would desire these to be possessed by, present with, & lived out in them?
*When grace & peace are multiplied, there is a continual refilling, refining, expansion, & sharing of their effect/power/work.
*The term “multiplied” informs us that it is possible & even probable that God’s “grace” & “peace” can be more commonly experienced on a lower level, thereby not experienced by the Christian to the full extent of their intent/power. The Christian must submit his/her will to God in order to have these are “multiplied”, so much so that their lives give evidence of God’s power.
“Peace”—eirhnh—1)‘The tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, & so fearing nothing from God & content with its earthly lot, of whatsoever sort that is.’....2)‘Security, safety, prosperity, felicity, (because peace & harmony make & keep things safe & prosperous)’—Thayer
“Multiplied/Fullest measure/Abundance”—plhyunw—To increase or multiply. Strong—To increase (transitively or intransitively).
Argumentation:
2Thes. 3:16—“Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all.”
Mat. 5:9—“Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.”
Dan. 3:28-4:3—“Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel & delivered His servants who trusted in Him, & they have frustrated the king’s word, & yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, & their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.” Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, & Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar the king, To all peoples, nations, & languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. I thought it good to declare the signs & wonders that the Most High God has worked for me. How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And His dominion is from generation to generation.”
Dan. 6:21-27—“Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! “My God sent His angel & shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; & also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” Then the king was exceedingly glad for him, & commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, & no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God. And the king gave the command, & they brought those men who had accused Daniel, & they cast them into the den of lions--them, their children, & their wives; & the lions overpowered them, & broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den. Then King Darius wrote: To all peoples, nations, & languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble & fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, And steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, And His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers & rescues, And He works signs & wonders In heaven & on earth, Who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”
Illustration:
A live oak tree planted/It thrives & grows if given the proper soil, fertilized, watered, shaded, sunned, etc./Eventually(many years) changes the landscape surrounding it/MULTIPLICATION Of PEACE
A local, true Christian Church—Its various ministries make an impact upon the community/People are brought to saving faith/As a result...People’s lives are changed...Habits are changed...Pastimes change...Incomes are changed...Families are changed...Expectations change...Government is changed...etc./Everything begins with personally accepting & knowing the Lord Jesus/MULTIPLICATION Of PEACE
The godly couple whose infant son died in an accidental fall/They exuded God’s peace thruout the tragedy/Many wondered at their stalwart faith/Some were saved as a result!/MULTIPLICATION Of PEACE
An abundance/accumulation of peace...
?What is ‘multiplied’ in/thru your life—Peace or Friction?
Application:
?You an Alien thru MULTIPLICATION Of PEACE(God’s)?
?You ‘Christian Enough’ to be considered an Alien?
?What happens when “grace” is not ours & “peace” is not had?
?What happens when neither is experienced in the fullness with which God intended?...
Lack of trust in God’s...love, direction, purpose, choice, call, power, assurance, security, confidence.
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
DC Talk's ‘Jesus Freak’—Christians are Considered Alien
Action:
Christians are considered alien by...
3. ELECTION(:2a-e)
4. RECEPTION Of GRACE(:2f)
5. MULTIPLICATION Of PEACE(:2g)
1. ASSOCIATION(:1)
2. SOJOURNING(:1b)
Presented 09/21/2014pm to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
