Intro:
During the winter of 1940 Josephine Kuntz’ husband, a house painter and textile worker, was temporarily unemployed because of the weather and a seasonal lay-off. It was a difficult time for the family. They literally had no money. Their eighteen month old daughter, Rachel, was recovering from pneumonia and wasn’t doing well. The doctor insisted Rachel eat a boiled egg each day, but even that was beyond their means.
"Why not pray for an egg?" suggested a young friend. They were a church-going family, but the idea of actually praying for their needs was something they had never really considered. Josephine wasted no time. On her knees she prayed that God would provide an egg each morning for her daughter.
Later that morning Josephine heard some cackling coming from the hedge fence in front of their home. Among the bare branches sat a fat red hen. (This is a true story.) She had never seen this hen before and had no idea where it came from. She just watched in amazement as the hen laid an egg and then proceeded down the road. In a moment the hen was gone but an egg sat in her yard.
What do you do under such circumstances but thank God? The next day Josephine was startled once again to hear cackling in the hedge. The red hen came by every day for over a week and repeated this routine. Each day little Rachel had a fresh boiled egg. The little girl got better, the weather improved, and Josephine’s husband went back to work. "The next morning I waited by the window and watched," Josephine says, but the red hen did not return.
Discussion:
We are told that God will provide all of our needs. We are told in the Bible that God will make us new, the words…as white as snow, come to mind. We are told that he has given us this ability to have life. We are told by God over and over the promises. I know people who have put their trust, their hope in God and have been honored. I know people who don’t want to fully give everything to God, and don’t understand why God doesn’t bless them just the same. They often see God as unfair, maybe even unfaithful.
I hope your life hasn’t been like this – but I remember my coaches in High School shouting at the team – “DO WHAT YOU ARE TOLD!” I remember my dad, after I disappointed him, he would tell me – “DO WHAT YOU ARE TOLD!” On The baseball field, or the basketball court, doing anything less than what I was told would get me out of the game. With my dad it would get me grounded. But where does it get us in life? Where does it get us with God? He tells us to do something through his word, either the word that is read, or the word that is preached, and we don’t do it, what does that get for us? In the great words of Dr. Phil – “How’s that working for you?” He asks that question and usually the response is, “It’s not.” If it was working they wouldn’t be on national TV crying their eyes out. We might get this idea that God works the same way – he’s going to destroy every moment of happiness we have until we are his, but he never gives us any of our freedoms back. God doesn’t work like that. If the situations in your life need adjusting – seek God’s face, seek his will for your life, Read his word. The Bible says that if you seek his kingdom first everything else will be added, or given to you. Another versions says Matthew 6:33 – Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
If you would turn with me to our text this morning – 1st Peter 1:22-25 (read)
I believe as we go through this text we should ask ourselves 3 questions.
I. Are you Purified? (22)
The quick answer would be yes. The churchy answer would be of course, but listen….we should ponder in our hearts if we are purified. Have we been made clean? Let me suggest to you that once you are clean... God has laid a foundation for you to renew yourself in him.
a. If you have been purified
i. Act like it.
Our text this morning assumes a purified Christian. It assumes that if you are Christian, you act like it. Are you purified…if you are, act like it.
1. Remove the un-pure things from your life (count the cost)
a. Physically if you have to
Just like the alcoholic should physically pour the liquor down the drain…you add the cost of what you spent on the liquor, figure up what it will cost if you don’t stop – your family, your children’s health, your own physical health, your marriage – any way you add that, you should get rid of the problem.
2. Replace the old with the new
When you remove something from your life – you should replace it with something else. I am not saying that you should start smoking, because you quit drinking. I am saying that you should find something to do with your time. I think our text gives us a few tips on what we will do with our lives if we are purified.
b. We will obey the truth
i. First of all we will recognize when something is true (if that’s correct, the just the opposite is true as well)
ii. You will know when something is not true.
The harsh reality is – the world will throw things at you and me make us believe they are true and lovely and worthy and honorable, when they aren’t. When a Christian is watching TV and he sees something the Bible says is un pure, and something that God despises, why do we get excited about it? When a Christian hears music on the radio, or better yet their own CD collection filled with words that are un holy and are just spewing with horrible ideas about women, and sex – why do we get excited about it? Is there something about M&M, Madonna, Harry Potter or (You fill in the blank) that makes our HOLY God excited? Is there something eternal about those things, those people that is holy?
Should purified people of God get excited about something that is truly evil? I know the Bible says there are no tears in heaven, I believe that it hurts our heavenly father when his people (you and I) trade the temporary for the eternal. When God offers us a beach front resort in heaven and his people would rather play in the sand box, I think it makes him sad. See this Christian life is a calling to be a child of obedience, because this obedience that I offer him must embrace my whole life. When my mind and heart are set on the eternal I am able to do the next thing the verse 22 says:
iii. Have sincere love for your brothers
1. You help those who need help
a. You give yourself
b. your time
c. your money
You count the cost, and then you help. Your Christian life demands it. Your purification in Christ demands it.
2. You hurt when others are hurting
3. You give of yourself when it’s not easy
Jesus said it this way:
Matthew 16:24 –"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
This call to purification demands that I give all of myself to you, and to Christ. Peter says love one another deeply from the heart. The word heart in scripture rarely means the muscle in your body that pumps blood. Here it means the seat of intellectual and spiritual life.
The second question our text asks this morning – follow with me as I read (verse 23)
II. Are you Born Again? (23)
Possibly a better question is: Are you acting like you are born again? At one point in time a large section of our society makes a commitment to Jesus Christ. The word picture here is the same as the parable Jesus told. Luke Chapter 8
a. A Farmer went out to sow his seed
i. Some fell along the path
1. It was trampled on and the birds of the air ate it up
ii. Some fell on rock
1. The plants that came up withered because they had no moisture
iii. Other seed fell among thorns
1. Which grew up with it and choked the plants out
iv. Still others
1. fell on good soil
a. it came up
b. yielded a crop
c. 100 times more than was sown.
If you have been born again, if you are living a lifestyle that is worthy of the calling if you have surrendered everything to Jesus Christ – you are in the last group. Peter throws around this word “seed” – he uses two words to describe it – Perishable and Imperishable. His emphasis is more on the seed that is planted and the process of planting the seed than it is on the seed itself.
b. He’s Speaking more about farming, than he is about storing grain.
Peter says the thing that makes you born again the seed from the
Word of God:
c. Living
d. Enduring –
Have you ever seen the cartoons – one of the characters is being chased. He quickly grabs his bag of concrete and sets a trap for the one who is chasing him. Oddly enough the concrete dries about the time the chaser runs through it, and he can’t go anywhere. He’s stuck, forever planted where the cement dried. That “not being able to go anywhere” is the word endure. It means you stay. Jesus used this word – it meant to stand firm, to pass the test or remain steadfast.
Philippians 1:6 – being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
The word planted within us is only good if it grows. It’s only worth something if we share it. We have to share God’s word. If you are born again and you don’t act like it, it will limit your ability to share God’s word. If the seed was truly planted on good soil, you will grow as a Christian and not go backwards….Are you Born again? Act like it.
The third question is:
III. Are you Listening to the Word? (23-24)
a. Men are like Grass -- *quotes Isa. 40:6-8
i. Your glory – it won’t last forever
ii. The enjoyment that you have – it won’t last forever
iii. The car that you have
iv. The balance you have in your bank account
v. The home that you have
1. IT WON’T LAST FOREVER
Don’t set your sights on the temporary – Men are like grass – their glory – that which is not found in Christ Jesus is like the flowers of the field.
My senior year of high school I remember taking a Senior Trip. We went to Texas. While we were in Austin we got to see the state capital. The Blue Bonnet is the state flower in Texas. I remember seeing this amazing field of blue bonnets in front of the state capital – like nothing I have ever seen since or before that point. Our glory that is not found in Christ Jesus on the surface looks like that blue bonnet field. We were there in the spring time – they were beautiful. I would guess if we’d gone back during the winter months the field would have been nothing but dirt. All the flowers withered away.
He does say there is one thing that is eternal – Church, you can grab this one thing and never let go. Peter continues his quote – “But the word of the Lord stands forever.” It will last regardless if it’s in our courtrooms or not, it will last regardless if it’s in our school or not, it will last regardless if it’s in our homes or not. God desires all three.
Are you listening to His word? I’ve heard about a man one time who look at himself in the mirror – he sees what he looks like and then walks away from the mirror – but he quickly returns not to get something, not because something changed, but because he forgot what he looked like. Actually that’s the picture that the apostle James puts on this listening to the word and then doing nothing about it. One of the commentaries said it like this: Obedience to Christ can not be separated from obedience to his messengers and to the message they proclaim. Such obedience must work itself out in the life of the Christian. We have to be obedient to God’s word. We have to measure up to his calling.
Conclusion:
If you can answer those questions yes, then no problem. Yes! I am purified and I act like it. Yes! I am born again and I act like it. Yes! I am listening to God’s word and I am doing what he says. If you can answer yes, that’s great. Honestly – Let’s take a step outside these four wall for just a second. You are at work tomorrow morning – someone cracks tells a dirty joke….You are at school tomorrow morning – someone uses language you know isn’t proper…You are in the grocery store – someone stops to tell you the latest gossip...What do you do? Do you take a stand for Christ? Do you offer your love and support when someone is hurting? We can play church for a really long time. Every Sunday morning, you play your part, I play mine – everyone is happy. We take the line from Shakespeare – “The world is a stage and everyone must play their part.” And we apply it to our church. You don’t affect me, I won’t affect you – Listen, we all lose when that happens.
Let me suggest that the obedience to Christ is obedience that we offer in faith. We can do nothing greater this morning than to renew our faith, and renew our hope in him. He alone is eternal, he alone will keep his promises.
Maybe you are here this morning and your actions before this point are not what they should be. They don’t match up to the questions very well – Do you act like you are purified? No, -- certain things happen, and certain people are around – and you can honestly say that you don’t act purified. Do you act born again? No, you see, that was such a long time ago, things have changed my life has changed. Church, God doesn’t change, his words of truth and life – they don’t change. I asked – Are you listening to God’s word? And maybe your answer is no – You don’t pick up your Bible and read, you aren’t here on Wednesday night during Bible Study, Sunday night – it’s not that you don’t want to listen, He would just have to scream to get you to know that he’s talking to you.
If God is in heaven looking down on us right now – shouting “DO WHAT YOU ARE TOLD!” My last question for you – What are you going to do about it? Are you going to renew the relationship with him and walk where he leads and do what he says? Are you willing to put aside your desires, and the easy thing for a greater calling, for fellowship with his people.
If you are – come as we stand and sing.
