The Superior Value Of A Sanctified Heart-2

The SUPERIOR VALUE Of A SANCTIFIED HEART-II—1Peter 3:13-17

Attention:

“An Alabama sixth-grade teacher said he learned a valuable lesson on kindness with a special note from one of his students this week.

Price Lawrence, who teaches at Highlands Elementary in Huntsville, said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that his students could tell he wasn't himself.

When prompted about why he was "a little off," Lawrence told his students that his father-in-law passed away over the weekend & that he was worried about his wife.

"They all said they were sorry & then we got started on our work," he wrote.

When the students were leaving the class to go to their next period, Lawrence said one little girl stopped & put something in his hand.

"She told me: 'This is for your wife. I know it was real expensive when my daddy died & I don't really want ice cream today anyways,'" he wrote.

The little girl handed him three quarters & a note that said: "Ms. Lae[w]rence, I'm sorry."

"I wish the world would pay more attention to children. We could learn a lot from them," Lawrence concluded in his post.

Such loving & experiential concern must have helped the Lawrence family tremendously.

When your heart is set apart(‘sanctified’) to discovering & living out God’s will, then others, who have never heard or have merely ‘heard of’ God’s truth, will hear it from & thru you & thru the ministries in which you are involved.

Need:

Our society must realize that the Church does not gather to be entertained, nor to celebrate their own achievements, nor to merely socialize with their friends—Which are all too common misperceptions & misconceptions.

Rather the Church gathers together regularly & repeatedly in order to prepare themselves & their world for the return of Jesus & for the final judgment of God upon the earth...In that, we experience personal growth in holiness by the Holy Spirit, & due to that growth we also share the good news of salvation by grace thru faith in Christ alone.

Peter causes his audience to examine the superior value of a sanctified heart.

Peter’s audience is brought to examine the superior value of a sanctified heart.

The superior value of a sanctified heart is exposed.

How is the superior value of a sanctified heart evaluated/measured/determined?

5 means/ways of evaluating the (superior)value of a sanctified heart:

We’ve found previously that, The (superior)value of a sanctified heart is evaluated thru...

1. Your Relationship With HARM(:13)

2—The (superior)value of a sanctified heart is evaluated thru...

Your Relationship With BLESSING(:14)

Explanation:(:14)Sway/Influence

:14—“But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.””

If there is any thought that :13 might mean God’s people will be kept from any suffering, then this verse dissolves & resolves that false idea.

There is a definite probability that the ‘committed’ Christian—one living their life under God’s governance—will indeed “suffer.” The born-again believer will indeed “suffer”, but the “suffering” they face will be only “for righteousness sake.”...At the hands of those who will not appreciate or accept God’s objective righteousness.

This is no guarantee that all Christians will suffer in the same way. We all live in different societies & cultures, & have different stations in life, & different giftedness. Each of these in turn, present very different challenges to Christian living.

Example:—Asian churches—excerpted from an IMB article-‘Christmas in Asia: Finding the Heart of the Holiday’ by: Eliza Thomas--Dec. 25, 2017:

“Asia is the continent where, for the most part, Christmas hasn’t come. I’m not talking about Santa Claus or garland & lights. I mean real Christmas—the arrival of God Incarnate, the completion of every prophesy & the very hope of every nation for all time.”

“Asia is the continent with the highest percentage of people with no access to the gospel in the world. This is the continent where Islam, Buddhism, & Hinduism eclipse Christianity in sheer numbers of believers. It’s the place in the world where Jesus is least likely to be known & worshiped.”

“Celebrating Christmas here[in Central Asia] is astronomically different than in the States. Literally 100 percent of our children’s friends are Muslim, & most of our adult friends as well. We live in a city of more than two hundred thousand people & almost no one here worships Jesus.”

“There is no church to advertise a Christmas program, there are no lights, no trees, no Christmas music, no Santa Claus, no decorations of any sort anywhere. There’s not even access to a Bible if someone wanted to learn about the Christmas story.”

“When we wake up in our country on Christmas morning, everyone goes to school & work as if it’s just another day. It’s eerie. The good news is that this has helped refocus our heart on what really matters.”