God’s Priorities in a Pressure Cooker world
By Andrew Chan, PBC, Vancouver, BC, August 15, 2001
I Peter 3:13-19
A group of friends went deer hunting and paired off in two’s for the day. That night one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the weight of a 200 pound deer. The group asked, "Where’s Ah Fatt?" The lone man replied, "Oh, Ah Fatt had a stroke of some kind. He’s a couple of miles back up the trail." "You left Ah Fatt laying there, and carried the deer back?" "Yeah, it was a tough call," nodded the hunter, "but I figured no one is going to steal Ah Fatt."
In life of faith, in following Christ as our Master, we are faced many times with tough calls, what can we do and how can we decide what to do, how can we cope. Sometimes we feel like compromising our faith? This may or may not surprise you but I do! Especially, feel intimidated, put down by the powerful, the famous, the elite, the boss, your peers, your co-workers, your finance. Like on a hot summer day, all you want is relief. Like you and I we all need help to ward off the temptation to give in. Some take vacations, but come back face same old pressures. Can’t afford long vacation, some go to the beach for the day, and yet can’t seem to get away. Battling the traffic just to get to your favorite spot on the beach, has already wrecked your nerves. Then the crowds get to you. Then, you decide just cross the border, things quieter there, get to the Peace Arch border crossing, there is a line-up 5 kms long of cars trying to get across. Suddenly all your sanctification is lost. Perhaps u do not have a well-thought out plan. Just get by with no focus other than to get relief. God is not in the picture, what preoccupies their thoughts are like the Rolaids ad “How do you spell RELIEF.” Let me suggest that u can spell it with setting the right priorities.
Whether we consciously think about it or not, we all live according to priorities. A "priority" is that which is "of first importance." When we speak of "priorities" we mean those things that we place a higher value on and attempt to attain or fulfill in the course of our daily decisions and activities.
The founder of McDonald’s, Ray Kroc, was asked by a reporter about his order of priorities. "I believe in God, my family and McDonald’s," he said. Then he added, "When I get to the office, I reverse the order." You see, this is how many good folks try to live out faith, God comes last all of a sudden, as they enter the public arena.
Many go about life with the wrong priorities. Many feel they have to keep up with the Wongs next door. So they set their priorities consciously or not, as they move in to that neighborhood, to have money, success, comfort, perhaps to stay in the game further they pursue a good name, fame, reputation. It don’t matter if they run a huge debt. After all, those seem to be the measure of “success.” Then, perhaps only when something tragic happens, they begin to reassess their priorities, choosing to focus instead on those things in life that really are the most important. They realize the importance of health, family, good friends, their faith. For instance, it was reported that eleven millionaires went down on the Titanic. Major A.H. Peuchen left $300,000 in money, jewelry, and securities in a box in his cabin. "The money seemed a mockery at that time," he later said. "I picked up three oranges instead." When faced with certain circumstance, we can see very clearly what truly is important in life and what is not.
The question is "how can we get our priorities right from the start" instead of waiting for some kind of "wake up call"? It may be a tad late when the wake –up call suddenly comes. Prayerfully, this message will help you to discover and determine God’s priorities for you life. So, what are God’s priorities for your life?
To discover, I want to transport u back in time. To the days when Peter wrote these words: 1 Peter 3:13-18 to get his readers to prioritize. Lets’ read it. Realize that world is much like ours, intense pressure cooker world, Christians are persecuted, killed, property confiscated, tortured (1:6,4:12-14). Tired out constantly being challenged to stand up for their faith. These Christians are in place where they are quickly facing wake-up call, what is the advice given to live out their faith practically? Like today, many would like to persuade us to abandon the Lord Jesus Christ, friends try drugs, sex, belittle Christians, get into get rich quick schemes, try a religious sounding formula for success, religious counterfeits like Mormons, JWs. Let’s listen in to see how Peter the Apostle offer tips to his readers to rise above the pressures they’re facing.
1. GET REAL - about life. Admit there problems living life here. Sometimes it feels like hell on earth. Affirms the reality of pressure filled life (1:6). Don’t deny it. Everyone face pressures, he just addressed internal pressures of desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul (2:11), dictatorial oppressive Roman government whose emperor is out to get rid of Christians (2:13) slaves and masters who control their lives (2:14), homes with husbands that are clueless and wives who think outward beauty is the way to get noticed(3:1-7), tensions perhaps rising in midst of pressure-packed world in dealing in church with each other “finally all of you” (3:8). All of us need to get real and need help to stay grounded in reality and not end up in some institution somewhere.
Yet in the midst of pressure filled life Peter’s counsel is v.15 a “but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord” (NRSV)
So second pt. is…
2. BE REAL: Be real about who’s running the universe.
Jesus is Lord, to be blunt, that’s what the Bible teaches. The question is settled when Jesus rose from the dead. Proves He is God, power over life and death. Not my opinion… But so what, u may say? If he is Lord, we still gotta respond… Response is as the Bible says: “Set apart” (NIV) this word “sanctify” is same word Jesus used in Lord’s prayer “hallowed” i.e. hallow Christ in your heart” But what does that mean?
Set Him apart as number one in life, let God be the first thought, be your Master in life, give him the driver’s seat in life, let him steer you to right course. Put God in highest place, number one on the agenda esp. in the world that will be filled with pressure. Get the picture? First thing in life you gotta decide on is God’s my #1 agenda in my day.
(Matthew 6:33) Jesus teaches us to do "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness." It means our number one priority in life is to decide to seek God and have a personal relationship with Him, “in your heart.” In not out, it is felt from the inward, like a relationship with your loved ones. In your heart, not in your face attitude.
Are there benefits for these in your heart relationship? You bet.
Hebrews 11:6, "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe he exists and that he REWARDS those who earnestly seek him." Do u get that? Be real with God, God will bless! Tiny book, selling like hot cakes, highlighting these Bible verses:
9 There was a man named Jabez who was more distinguished than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful. 10 He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and extend my lands! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.
I Chronicles 4:9-10 (NLT)
I believe God granted his request because Jabez put God first not merely because of the content of his prayers, but that he had the attitude of seeking God, dependence on God, putting God first. He knew his life is filled with "pain". He was being real and in the NIV he “cried out to God” he knew where to go in a pressure packed pain-filled world, as we know, his very name means pain. Imagine going thru’ life “Yo Pain” yet - “more honorable” title (NIV) given to him in the bible. He understands well that God is the one who could give or withhold blessing in his life, he understands that they will be days of trouble and pain, “Let your hand be with me” meaning that God will be in his life directing him. Jabez overcame life of pain by trusting in God first, and that God will bless,as advertised in the Bible.
1 Peter 3:14 brings out that thought “you are blessed”, even suffering is seen as means of God blessing. See Romans 5:3-5 (NIV) “we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” Sense touch of the Spirit’s work in life, what a blessing! That is if set heart apart with Christ as Lord. Let the trials/pain drive u to God becoming dependent not on self, but Him to pull u through.
The alternative to that life of blessing in midst of pain, as spelt out in the text, is a life of fear (v.14). Fear of pain, suffering! WHY? There’s no reward in it. Just plain hell, suffering for no good reason, produces FEAR. Pro athletes do go through body torturing pain filled training just to make pain number one priority? no way! Yet they don’t fear pain, but welcome it. Number one priority is go through it with an eye for the reward… multi-million dollar contract and the chance to be recognized as the best of the best. But let’s say if Michael Jordan asks me to train with him to get in shape with him for his return to the NBA, after a while, I’ll say forget it, not worth it, cos’ I know I won’t be rewarded with a contract. I just can’t get the reward. Even my 10 year old son, Mike, has moves that just make me look really sick. No matter what type of body torture I know I’ll never be good enuff.
That’s where Christ steps in, when I set Him as first in my heart. He makes me good enuff, for His rewards. So trust God will u? You’ll be good enuff to get the reward, why? Cause he died on the cross to make sure your sins won’t get you into trouble in God’s court of law. In Christ we get the best lawyer in the universe and He get us off, home free, good enuff to get heaven’s rewards, blessing. That’s why now we go thru’ pain without fear, for we’ve got a God who’ll bless us.
In Mark 12:30, Jesus spelled out what a personal relationship with God would look like. Jesus said that we are to "love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." When He is number one in our life, it leads to an integrated spirituality that brings wholeness and fulfillment to life. Basically this means loving God in our emotions and "life-breath." Jesus further instructs us to love God with our mind. This means our intellect. When loving God is our priority in life, we will seek out ways to learn His word. We will learn what the Bible teaches. We will involve ourselves in thinking through current issues based on the teachings of the Bible. Our faith must be grounded and grown mentally as well as emotionally. Lastly, Jesus included loving God with all our strength, which refers to our physical bodies. 1 Corinthians 6:19 & 20 say, "Or don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who live in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body."
This is essentially what it means to hallow Christ, sanctify Christ as Lord. Question is do u? It’s most beneficial.
So make sure your heart is in the right place. Have him in heart, no one, no pressure can take Him away from you, if He is in your heart! Not even open-heart surgery.
3. REAL and READY DEFENSE (v.15b). I believe the text tells us a step in dealing with pressure the next practical step is a real and ready defense. Next question is what constitutes a ready defense. In soccer, defense is set - left fullback , right fullback, center back, sweeper. Set system to handle the attack of the other team. How about Christian life Is there a set system? In Christian life, I have to say NO. No set defense. “Reason for the hope that you have” , i.e. not the reason Bro. Mutusamy has set in his life, Rev. O’Brien has, Dr. Billy Graham has, gotta be your OWN hope, that you have. The hope that’s in you as you put the Lord Jesus first in your heart. Bible does not specify the reason, right ? The reason for that is everyone has a different story why they hope in Christ, some maybe due to the fact that God delivered u from illness, found Christ to be credible, you studied the resurrection story and became convinced like Josh McDowell, Good Friday story, Christmas, eternal security doctrine, community, but the cults all parrot the same story, same pat answer. Bible discourages pat answers, in fact it encourages to give some good well thought-out reasons for your own hope in Christ. The Bible leaves room for God to deal with people individually. Is your hope defense ready? You cannot copy another’s person’s hope, it’s gotta be yours or else come crunch time, pressure gets to ya, ya’ll melt like spilled ice-cream on a hot side-walk . Time to sit and reflect, what your reason for your hope is. And when hope is sure, you’ll get deep satisfaction, you’ll honor the Lord, you are sanctifying Him as Lord. Ready defense helps in prioritizing amidst pressure packed world as u know u have a sure footing when the wind and waves hit ya. Tells world I got a reason to live, got a reason to hope for better future, got a reason to not give in and give up the faith, got a reason to be joyful in midst of pressure, got a reason to sing even when the blues hit ya.
4. REEL OTHERS IN with your life (v.16). Instead of the world reeling you in like a fish caught on a line. With a ready defense, you can deal with others gently and with respect, i.e. by your character. Since you are not threatened, got a hope, you can be real in a real world of pain pressure. because nothing the world throws at u will stick you can stick-handle with tact and grace through a changed life transformed by a real hope with Christ as Lord in your heart. Insecure people are ones who always need to win arguments, come up on top. BUT U know who u are, u know why u believe, what u believe, stake your life on it, don’t need someone else to validate you, you’ve got the Lord of the universe validating u in your heart, as you hallow him in the most intimate way.
This is how we follow up on Mark 12:31 says, "Love your neighbor as yourself." When we are sure about our relationship with God we can finally take our eyes off ourselves, with no need for self-protection, knowing God will bless no matter what and at last SERVE others with God’s great love. We most often equate the concept of "love" with feelings we get because of some other person. However, the Bible’s understanding of "love" is not something we "fall into" or simply "feel", rather love is something we do proven by a character change. It is an intentional way of relating to another person, where the thoughts, feelings, and well-being of that other person become our main concern instead of our own thoughts, feelings or well- being being the main concern. When we love somebody, we serve them, we give of ourselves to them, for their good, not only our own.
5. Lastly, Peter offers us the KEY motivation to keep priorities right in pressure packed world. Jesus! Look at Him, He suffered for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous. If we are to follow Him, we are to follow Him, in suffering, especially when someone is nailing you to the cross. Suffer for their sake, as Christ suffered for our sins and took us off the penalty of eternal death and separation from God. He did not nail them back, he did not protest even saying “you know you shouldn’t do this, you’re gonna be sorry” rather He modeled this “Father forgive them…” as they arrested Him he didn’t say “No touchy”, but was led away.
Christ suffered and he did not deserve it, yet He went through it, cos there is a bigger picture than just the torturing moment on the cross, lost people’s lives are at stake (v.18), He knows that the higher purpose, got His priorities right that is to reel others into the kingdom of God, bring all of us to God!
This is how Christ kept His head clear, esp. when the pressure starts to build, for no one can say that His conduct was in any way evil with a life that is consistently hopeful, gentle and reverent before God. Keep conscience clear in pressure packed world. How?
"keep conscience clear" How? Some suggestions:
First, take a look at your schedule. What is your calendar like? What do you spend most of your time doing? What gets scratched out when you’re in a hurry? Does your spouse, or family, or church get bumped when your schedule gets full? By looking at your schedule, what is your priority? Projects? People? Paying off debt? Partying? A number of years ago, White House domestic policy advisor Bill Galston resigned his position after receiving a letter from his 10 year old son. The letter read "Dad, baseball is not fun when no one is there to applaud you." So Mr. Galston told the President, "You can replace me, my son can’t." Charles Francis Adams, a 19th century political figure and diplomat, kept a diary. One day he entered: "Went fishing with my son today--a day wasted." His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary, which is still in existence. On that same day, Brook Adams made this entry: "Went fishing with my father--the most wonderful day of my life!" Does your schedule reflect the priorities that really are important?
Second, take a look at your spending. Pull out your checkbook, or bank statement and look at what you spend your money on. If you got into a situation where you needed financial counseling and had to show your bank statements to another person, how would you feel? Would you be embarrassed when they saw what you bought and how much you spent? Would you be proud because your spending reflects godly priorities? A statistic from years ago showed that Christians gave over 4 billion dollars to Christian causes that year. While that sounds impressive, the study further revealed that Christians spent 34 billion on diet products and another 40 billion on recreation. Jesus said, "Your heart will be where your treasure is." When your budget is tight, what gets cut? Are you living within your income? Or, are you going into debt If you really want to get your priorities in line, invest financially in the Kingdom of God. If you make the financial commitment to give to God first from every paycheck, God is faithful and will provide for your needs.
Third, to assess your priorities in life, look at your speech. What do you talk about? What topics occupy your conversations? When you get really excited and "just need to tell someone" what is it about? Is the way you talk with people here with the church the same way you talk when you’re with co-workers or family who are not "church-types"? Jesus taught, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of the heart his mouth speaks.." Another way to put it is, "Whatever is in your heart determines what you say." The eyes may be the window to the soul, but it is our words that are the living room that the person looks through those windows into. Through your words, what do people see?
A fourth tool for assessing our priorities is our solitude. What are you like when no one else is around? What do you think about? Who are you when no one is looking? Having the wrong priority in life is much like buttoning a coat incorrectly. If we get that first button wrong, all the others line up according to that misplaced first one. In the same way, when we get that first button right, all the others line up just where they’re supposed to be.
Who’s on first? Have you set Christ #1, sanctify Him as Lord.
Do you consider your relationship with God through Jesus Christ that which is of first importance in your life? Is He hallowed, sanctified and first? Are you u being real with your pressures? What changes do you need to make? Perhaps today God has laid it on your heart to set His priorities, make it right today.
