0:03 reading the word of God from 1 Peter chapter
0:05 chapter
0:09 2 beginning at verse 11 and concluding
0:14 with verse 25 1 Peter
0:16 2:1 it sounds like the beginning of a
0:19 wedding dearly
0:24 beloved I beseech you as sojourners and
0:27 pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust which
0:30 wor against the soul having your Behavior
0:32 Behavior
0:34 honest and you can translate that word
0:37 if you want to
0:40 beautiful having your behavior beautiful
0:41 among the
0:45 Gentiles that whereas they speak against
0:46 you as
0:49 evildoers they may by your good works
0:51 which they Shall Behold glorify God in
0:53 the day of
0:56 visitation submit yourselves to every
1:01 ordinance of man for the Lord's sake
1:03 whether it be to the king as supreme or
1:06 unto Governors as unto them that are
1:08 sent by him for the punishment of
1:10 evildoers and for the praise of them
1:12 that do
1:15 well for so is the will of God that with
1:18 well-doing you may put to silence the
1:20 ignorance of foolish
1:23 men as free and not using your Liberty
1:26 for a cloak of maliciousness but as a
1:27 Servants of
1:31 God honor all men love the Brotherhood
1:35 fear God honor the king servants and
1:37 this means household
1:40 slaves be subject to your masters with
1:43 all fear not only to the good and gentle
1:45 but also to the
1:49 perverse for this is thankworthy if a
1:51 man for conscience toward God endure
1:53 grief suffering wrongfully for what
1:55 glory is it if when you are buffeted for
1:58 your faults you shall take it patiently
2:01 but if when you do well and suffer for
2:04 it ye take it patiently this is
2:07 acceptable with God for even here unto
2:09 were ye
2:12 called because Christ also suffered for
2:15 us leaving us an example that ye should
2:17 follow his
2:21 steps who did no sin neither was guile
2:22 found in his
2:25 mouth who when he was reviled reviled
2:27 not again when he suffered he threatened
2:30 not but committed himself to to him that judgeth
2:32 judgeth
2:35 righteously who his own self bore our
2:38 sins in his own body on the
2:41 tree that we being dead to sin should
2:43 live under righteousness by whose
2:44 Stripes you were
2:48 healed for ye were as sheep going astray
2:50 but are now returned unto the shepherd
2:55 and Bishop or overseer of your
2:59 souls the overall theme of First Peter
3:03 is the the grace of God chap 5 and verse
3:07 12 Peter tells us this the key to this
3:10 book is hung at the back door by
3:13 sylvanus a faithful brother unto you as
3:16 I suppose I have written briefly
3:19 exhorting and testifying that this is
3:24 the true grace of God in which she stand
3:25 now if there's a true grace of God
3:29 there's also a false grace of God and
3:31 one reason why Peter wrote this letter
3:33 was to correct this attitude that some
3:35 of the people had that they could be
3:38 saved by God's grace and live any way they
3:38 they
3:42 please there are three basic parts to this
3:43 this
3:47 letter in chapter 1 verse 1 to chapter 2:
3:48 2:
3:51 10 he talks about God's grace and
3:54 salvation the whole theme of H of
3:56 chapter 1 the first half of chapter 2 is
3:57 God's grace and
4:00 salvation in the passage we read today
4:02 211 through
4:05 3:12 it's God's grace in
4:07 submission you'll notice the emphasis on
4:11 the word submit verse 13 submit
4:14 yourselves Verse 18 household servants
4:18 be subject to your Masters uh chapter
4:21 3:1 ye wives be in subjection to your
4:24 husbands verse 5 being in subjection
4:27 under their own husbands so from 211 to
4:31 3:12 he talks about God's grace in
4:33 submission because submission always follows
4:34 follows
4:36 salvation then 3:13 to the end of the
4:38 book the end of the letter he deals with
4:40 God's grace and
4:42 suffering if you'll read this section at
4:44 your leisure you'll find over and over
4:47 again the word suffer verse 14 chapter 3
4:49 if you suffer for righteousness sake
4:52 Verse 18 Christ hath once suffered for
4:56 sins chapter 4 Christ has suffered for
4:59 us he that hath suffered In the Flesh
5:02 down in verse 13 partakers of Christ
5:04 suffering over and over again in these
5:06 last two chapters it's suffering so when
5:08 you read first Peter you remember the
5:10 first part of the book God's grace and
5:13 salvation the middle of the book God's
5:16 grace and submission and submission is
5:18 the result of Salvation and suffering is
5:20 the result of submission the last part
5:22 of the book God's grace and
5:25 suffering now the result of this
5:29 submission ought to be a Godly life this
5:33 paragraph that I read emphasizes living
5:36 a Godly life verse 12 they speak against
5:39 you as evildoers that they may by your
5:43 good works verse 14 for the punishment
5:45 of evildoers for the praise of them that
5:49 do well verse 15 so is the will of God
5:51 that with well doing you may put to
5:54 silence the ignorance of foolish men
5:57 verse 20 but if when ye do well and
6:00 suffer for it you take it patiently
6:02 so the whole theme Here is doing well
6:05 living what Peter calls a beautiful life
6:08 verse 12 having your behavior beautiful
6:10 among the Gentiles that the Greek word
6:12 there is one of the great words of
6:15 description of character it talks about
6:18 finess of life it talks about beauty of
6:22 Life Grace of Life a charm of Life some
6:25 people's lives are very angular they're
6:27 very abrasive and every time they run up
6:29 against you they peel some bark off of
6:32 you Peter's not talking about that he's
6:34 talking about the kind of Godly living
6:39 that is beautiful and comely and fine and
6:41 and
6:43 graceful and this of course is the
6:46 result of submission now this raises a
6:48 question and I think Peter's answering
6:51 this question why in the world should I
6:52 bother to
6:55 live a Godly
6:58 life that's a good practical question
7:00 he's talking here about living in a
7:02 world that's a difficult world even our
7:04 lord Jesus when he came on Earth was
7:06 crucified for living a Godly life now
7:09 why should I live a Godly life I can
7:11 compromise if I want
7:14 to no problem I can figure out ways of
7:16 compromising I can sneak in and out of
7:18 the will of God I can
7:21 rationalize so can you perhaps some of
7:24 us are doing it why should I seek to
7:27 live a Godly life why have good works
7:29 why have well-doing why seek seek to
7:33 cultivate a beauty of life well he gives
7:36 us three very wonderful reasons why we
7:37 should they're so down to earth and
7:39 practical they could only have come from
7:43 a fisherman like the Apostle Peter verse
7:47 11 we live a Godly life a beautiful life
7:51 for our own sake verse
7:53 12 for the sake of the
7:57 unsaved and then 13- 25 for the Lord's
7:59 sake now that's as practical as you can get
8:00 get
8:02 in verse 11 he says to us you should
8:05 live this kind of a life for your own
8:07 sake let's begin with
8:11 you let's take care of number one quote
8:14 unquote for your own sake then having
8:16 discussed that in verse 11 he moves on
8:18 to verse 12 and says look you ought to
8:20 live a Godly life for the sake of the
8:22 unsaved he calls them the Gentiles this
8:24 doesn't mean that the Jews were better
8:28 than or different from the term Gentiles
8:30 back in that day meant the outside crowd
8:32 the unsaved people then he gets to the
8:35 highest reason of all verse 13 submit
8:38 yourselves for the Lord's sake and he
8:40 develops that so we'll take these three
8:42 reasons and think about them tonight
8:44 then examine our own lives and see
8:45 whether or not we're building a
8:48 beautiful life verse 11 we should live a
8:53 beautiful life for our own sake dearly
8:57 beloved I beseech you as sojourners and
9:01 pilgrims abstain from fleshly lust which
9:03 war against the soul what he's saying
9:06 here is this because of the love of God
9:09 for us dearly beloved because of the
9:11 work God has for us to do we're
9:15 sojourners and pilgrims and because of
9:18 the battle that we are in Waring against
9:21 the soul if we're going to take care of
9:24 ourselves we had better live a Godly
9:28 life dearly beloved when we live a Godly
9:30 life we are responding to the love of
9:34 God did you know that the first person
9:37 who is called beloved in the Bible in in
9:40 the New Testament is Jesus
9:42 Christ when Jesus came to the Jordan
9:45 River and was baptized God the Father
9:47 spoke from heaven and God the father
9:49 said this is my beloved
9:53 Son now when I got saved I was put into
9:56 Jesus Christ if I'm in Jesus Christ
9:57 whatever God the father says about him
10:00 he says about me
10:01 I'm accepted in the
10:04 Beloved and so God looks down upon you
10:07 and me tonight who are born again saved
10:08 people and he says you are dearly
10:12 beloved now if I am his beloved Son you
10:15 are his beloved Sons and Daughters our
10:22 submission we love because he first loved
10:23 loved
10:26 us if you love me keep my Commandments
10:30 the highest motive for obedience is love to
10:31 to
10:34 God several times in these letters the
10:37 Apostle Peter uses this uh little word
10:40 beloved 211 dearly beloved I beseech you
10:42 over in
10:46 4:12 beloved think it not strange
10:48 concerning the fiery trial that's going
10:50 to try you when he gets to his second
10:53 letter we call second Peter chapter 3
10:55 and verse one he just falls into this
10:57 thing over and over again The Second
11:01 Epistle beloved I now write unto
11:05 you down in verse 8 but beloved be not
11:09 ignorant verse 14 wherefore beloved be
11:13 diligent verse 17 ye therefore beloved
11:15 seeing that you know these things you
11:16 see over and over again Peter is saying
11:19 look you're the recipients of his love
11:22 now as the recipients of his love
11:24 accepted in Jesus Christ there's only
11:25 one way to
11:28 live that's to abide in his love and
11:30 obey his
11:33 word I used to wonder at a little
11:35 statement over in
11:37 Jude when I began to study my Bible
11:39 seriously and I got to the little letter
11:41 of Jude I thought to myself what is this all
11:42 all
11:46 about but uh verse 21 of the little
11:50 letter of Jude he says this keep
11:53 yourselves in the love of
11:55 God and I read that and I said keep
11:57 yourselves in the love of God so I got
11:59 another translation said the same thing
12:02 keep yourselves in the love of God said
12:04 how how's this happen doesn't God love
12:07 everybody you know if I'm saved surely
12:09 I'm in the love of
12:12 God well then you fall in
12:15 love then you find out hey there is a
12:19 special special sphere of relationship
12:22 in love Judah is not saying keep yourself
12:24 yourself
12:27 saved Jude is not saying keep
12:30 yourself so that you pleas God he's
12:32 including that what he's saying is so
12:34 live your life that you're in the love
12:37 of God so that God can really share his
12:40 love with you I think that Jesus had the
12:42 same thing to say in his Upper Room
12:48 discourse John chap 14 verse
12:51 21 he says this he that has my
12:53 Commandments and keeps them that means
12:57 obeys them he it is that loveth me and
12:59 he that loveth me shall be loved of my
13:01 father and I will love him and will
13:04 reveal myself to him he's talking here
13:06 about a deeper
13:09 relationship so we should obey God and
13:11 live Beautiful lives for our own sake to
13:13 enjoy God's love keep yourself in the
13:16 love of God then he tells us in verse 11
13:20 not only should we enjoy God's love but
13:21 we should fulfill God's purpose we are
13:24 sojourners and pilgrims we must never
13:26 forget that far too many
13:29 Christians are living their daily lives
13:33 as though they belong to this
13:36 world far too many decisions are made
13:41 with reference to the values of this
13:43 world Peter says if you want to live a
13:45 beautiful life just keep reminding
13:49 yourself this world is not my home I'm
13:52 just a passing through my treasures are
13:55 light up somewhere beyond the
13:57 blue the people that Peter was writing
13:59 to were going through suffering because
14:01 of their faith their their unsaved
14:04 friends thought they were crazy they
14:06 think it's strange said Peter that you
14:08 aren't running with them to the same old
14:10 places doing the same old dirty things
14:12 you used to do but I'll tell you why you
14:15 aren't doing that Peter tells us you are
14:17 sojourners and pilgrims you are resident
14:27 heaven now the unsaved World lives for
14:29 this world and lives on this
14:33 world we Christians don't live on this
14:36 world though we are a part of this
14:38 globe we've been called from this world
14:40 and I want you to know something a 100
14:43 years from
14:45 now the approval of this world won't
14:47 mean a
14:49 thing but whether or not we live to
14:51 please Jesus Christ is going to mean
14:54 something and so we live a beautiful
14:57 life for our own sake to enjoy God's
15:00 love and to fulfill F God's purpose as
15:02 sojourners and pilgrims we're like
15:04 Abraham we pitch our tent we build our
15:07 Altar and we dig our well and God moves
15:09 us along and we pitch our tent we build
15:11 our altar we dig our well that's all
15:14 Abra Abraham didn't build a house now
15:16 I'm speaking in spiritual language I'm
15:18 not saying it's wrong to own a house
15:20 what I'm saying is he lived as though
15:23 nothing in this world really counted now
15:25 lot was just the opposite lot had to
15:28 move into Sodom and live for Sodom and
15:30 get the approval of Sodom and the wealth
15:33 of Sodom and all of it burned up abstain
15:36 from fleshly lust which wore against the
15:39 soul we should live a beautiful life for
15:43 our own sake to enjoy God's love and to
15:48 fulfill God's purpose and to succeed in
15:51 God's Victory I don't know about you but
15:54 we're fighting a battle fleshly lust
15:56 that war against the soul and some of
15:59 you say well Pastor we're a little old
16:01 older now these things don't bother us I
16:03 would remind you that David was not a
16:07 college student when he committed
16:10 adultery and Noah was not enrolling in
16:16 drunk let him that thinketh he standeth
16:18 take heed lest he
16:21 fall we're involved in a battle not only
16:25 are we sojourners but we are soldiers
16:28 and the word he uses is abstain some
16:31 folks don't like that word some folks
16:33 say now as Christians we should be
16:36 tolerant and we should just have a sort
16:39 of a balance in our life just enough sin
16:41 to please the world and just enough
16:44 Holiness he says no that's not the way
16:45 we do it we
16:47 abstain now he doesn't name things here
16:49 he didn't give us a list of things from
16:51 which to abstain he says those things
16:54 that cultivate fleshly lusts stay away from
16:55 from
16:58 them just abstain Jesus said if you're
17:01 right man makes you to sin cut it
17:04 off don't wrap your knuckles just cut it
17:06 off now he's talking spiritually of
17:07 course he's saying when something in my
17:10 life makes it easy for me to sin get rid
17:13 of it and so I should live a beautiful
17:14 life and you should live a beautiful
17:17 life for our own sake that we might be
17:19 victorious soldiers that we might be
17:21 sojourners and pilgrims that we might
17:23 enjoy the love of God but he moves in
17:25 verse 12 to another
17:28 reason he says not only does my conduct
17:31 affect my own soul but my conduct
17:33 affects other people having your
17:37 behavior beautiful among the unsaved
17:41 that whereas they speak against you as
17:44 evildoers they may by your good works
17:47 which they Shall Behold glorify God in
17:49 the day of visitation now what's the day of
17:51 of
17:53 visitation there are those who say the
17:55 day of visitation means when God comes in
17:56 in
17:58 judgment but I don't think the unsaved
18:00 people are going to glorify God in the
18:02 day of judgment now they are going to
18:04 have to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is
18:07 Lord to the glory of God the Father
18:08 every knee is going to Bow and every
18:12 tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord I
18:14 think this day of visitation is what
18:16 Jesus talked about when he wept over the
18:17 city of
18:21 Jerusalem he said oh Jerusalem Jerusalem
18:23 how often would I have gathered you
18:26 together but you knew not the time of
18:29 your visitation what is this visit ation
18:31 you know what I think Peter is saying
18:34 here he's saying Christians you've got
18:37 neighbors who lie about you you've got
18:41 men and women at work who lie about you
18:43 there are people who are undercutting
18:47 your reputation they are speaking evil
18:50 of you your first tendency is to fight
18:53 back say all right I can fight fire with
18:56 fire he said don't do that just keep on
18:58 living a good life keep on doing good
19:01 Works keep on living a beautiful Godly
19:03 life because one of these days God's
19:04 going to visit those people and they're
19:05 going to get
19:07 saved and they're going to get saved
19:09 because of your witness and then they're
19:11 going to come and glorify God because of
19:13 the life that you live now I've
19:16 experienced that you've experienced it
19:19 I'm sure there are people we have prayed
19:21 for and witnessed to and they've
19:24 criticized us they've laughed at us they
19:26 have done things against us and it would
19:29 have been so easy for us to say hang it
19:34 nose but you kept on
19:36 praying kept on
19:40 loving kept on living a Godly life and
19:42 one day those people got
19:46 saved God used your witness and they
19:47 came and said you know what we want to
19:50 thank you for the life that you live we
19:53 want to thank you for your consistency
19:54 for your prayers we don't know how you
19:57 ever put up with us but we want to thank
19:59 you for it that's what Peter talking
20:01 about we should live a Godly life not
20:03 only for our sake but for the sake of
20:04 the lost you see the Lost World's
20:07 watching us oh you see nobody watches me
20:09 don't kid
20:11 yourself don't kid yourself they're
20:14 watching us they know what we're doing
20:15 they're listening to us they know what
20:19 we're saying they're watching for
20:22 inconsistencies they want to use you
20:24 they want to use me as a weapon to fight
20:26 against somebody else who witnesses to
20:29 them the unsaved world watch es
20:31 Believers and they have every right to watch
20:32 watch
20:34 us after all we're
20:37 Witnesses after all we're lights let
20:39 your light so shine before men that they
20:41 may see your good works and glorify your
20:43 father in Heaven that's what verse 12
20:45 says that whereas they speak against you
20:48 as evildoers they may because of your
20:50 good works in the day of visitation
20:52 glorify God we have every right for them
20:55 to watch us we're the salt of the earth
20:57 we have every right we're a city set on
20:59 a hill
21:01 in fact one of the best ways to win
21:04 people to Christ is let them watch us
21:05 let them listen to what oh you say there
21:07 are things I've done then we shouldn't do
21:08 do
21:11 them I recall when I first became a
21:13 Christian back when I was a
21:16 teenager and um we had some very dear
21:18 friends they are still dear friends
21:20 although I haven't seen them for years
21:21 but I know they pray for me regularly
21:23 and they prayed they prayed for me when
21:25 I was saved if it hadn't been for their
21:27 faithful prayers I don't know what would
21:29 have happened but after I became a
21:30 Christian they tried to guide me in the
21:34 Christian Life and I had certain things
21:36 in my life that I didn't think were too
21:39 wrong but uh they were concerned about
21:41 the direction I was going in so they
21:43 prayed about it and God dealt with me
21:46 and we got rid of those things and they
21:48 said to me you know one thing you've got
21:51 to remember it may not hurt
21:53 you but it might hurt somebody
21:56 else and I said oh but that's a kind of
21:58 a narrow way to live I mean do I have to
22:00 determine my life by what it will do to
22:04 some unsaved person they said yes
22:06 because the winning of a lost soul to
22:10 Christ means much more than the pleasure
22:13 of our own lives that's true I'm glad I
22:15 learned that early I haven't always
22:17 practiced it God knows but I'm glad I
22:19 learned it early we should live a
22:21 beautiful life not only for our sake but
22:23 for the sake of the
22:26 lost now sometimes the Lost honestly
22:29 accuse the Christians
22:31 I remember Abraham went down to Egypt
22:34 and he lied and he got spanked for it
22:36 and Pharaoh said what kind of a person are
22:37 are
22:40 you same thing happened to
22:43 Isaac same thing happened to
22:46 Jacob David after David had sinned the
22:49 prophet said to him because of your sin
22:52 you have made God's name to stink among the
22:57 Heathen more harm is done by a good
22:59 person doing
23:02 bad than by a bad person doing bad and
23:04 you and I have got to be very careful
23:06 because unsafe people are listening to
23:08 us and watching us they know if we pay our
23:12 bills they know whether or not we take
23:15 care of our
23:17 property they know what kind of work we
23:20 do in the office they know and they use
23:23 it as an excuse not to trust the
23:25 Lord think of how embarrassed we would
23:28 be standing before the Judgment seat of
23:29 Christ discover that instead of being
23:33 Witnesses we've been excuses for unsaved
23:36 people live a beautiful life for the
23:38 sake of the unsaved but the great reason
23:42 and here we wrap it up verses 13- 25 for
23:45 the Lord's sake submit yourselves to
23:48 every ordinance of man for the Lord's
23:50 sake now Peter says that these
23:53 ordinances are ordinances of man Paul in
23:55 Romans 13 says their ordinances of God
23:58 and both are true he's talking here
24:00 about about serving the lord why should
24:03 we do what we do to serve the
24:05 Lord and yet there are Christians who
24:14 law I confess to you that uh all of us
24:16 have been tempted at one time or another
24:18 to sneak around the law he says you
24:23 don't do it in verses 13 through 17 he
24:26 talks about the will of God now what's
24:29 the will of God that I submit myself
24:31 to every ordinance you say but Pastor
24:33 suppose the ordinance is contrary to the
24:35 Bible Well Peter answers that back in
24:38 the book of Acts he says we ought to
24:40 obey God rather than
24:43 man the city of Chicago passed an
24:45 ordinance against my preaching the word
24:47 of God I'd preach the word of God
24:48 because they have no right to pass that
24:51 kind of an ordinance he's talking here
24:53 about the will of God submit yourselves
24:56 to every ordinance of man for the Lord's
24:58 sake whether it be to the King now we
25:01 don't have Kings today we have a
25:03 president Governors we have those people
25:06 who are sent to punish evildoers for the
25:08 praise of them that do well sometimes
25:11 you think that's backwards don't you
25:12 sometimes in the city of Chicago you
25:14 wonder if they aren't praising those who
25:16 are evildoers and criticizing those who
25:18 do well but they're supposed to do it
25:20 the other way around why for this is the
25:23 will of God what's the will of God with
25:27 well doing you may muzzle the ignorance
25:29 of foolish men men somebody came to
25:31 Socrates one day and said did you hear
25:34 what so and so is saying about you yes
25:36 what are you going to do I am so going
25:38 to live that nobody will believe
25:41 it that's what Peter is saying friend of
25:43 mine if you start running around putting
25:46 out every fire that somebody starts you
25:48 better get a lot of fire
25:49 extinguishers and you better find
25:51 somebody to subsidize you while you're doing
25:52 doing
25:56 it Peter says it's the will of God that
25:58 you live a Godly life and that's
26:01 silences the mouth of the accusers by
26:03 the way there are some people who if
26:07 they were praising me I would be afraid
26:10 I'm glad they're accusing me then he
26:14 talks in verses 16- 20 about the
26:17 approval of God 18- 20 about the
26:20 approval of God servants be subject to
26:23 your masters with all fear there were 60 million
26:24 million
26:29 slaves in the Roman Empire
26:31 and these were educated people they were
26:33 prisoners of War who were captured in
26:35 other countries they could take
26:36 shorthand they could read four or five
26:39 languages they were brilliant people
26:41 many of them and here they were slaves
26:42 in some
26:44 household and they got to be saved they
26:46 were Christians and Peter writes to
26:48 these slaves he says look I know you're
26:51 slaves he says don't Rebel don't make a
26:58 down you household slave aves you be
27:01 subject to your own masters with all
27:03 fear not only to the good and gentle but
27:05 also to those who are hard to get along
27:07 with now maybe you're not a slave you
27:08 may feel like one you say there's
27:10 somebody in my office who's so hard to
27:12 get along with somebody in my apartment
27:14 it's just impossible to live with maybe
27:16 somebody in your family who's impossible
27:20 to live with he says you be subject now
27:24 why verse 19 this is thank worthy you
27:26 know what that word is in the original
27:28 language Grace
27:31 he the same thing down in verse 20 this
27:34 is acceptable it's a word Grace let's
27:36 read it that way for this is
27:40 Grace if a man for conscience toward God
27:42 endure grief suffering
27:44 wrongfully doesn't take any Grace to suffer
27:46 suffer
27:49 rightfully if I open my big mouth and I
27:51 say the wrong thing and I get into
27:53 trouble I can't say oh Lord I'm
27:55 suffering for your sake I'm suffering
27:56 because of my
27:58 stupidity some Christians has never
28:00 learned the difference between the
28:02 offense of the Cross and being an offensive
28:08 Christian what glory is it if when
28:10 you're buffeted for your faults you
28:12 shall take it patiently anybody can do
28:15 that but if when you do well and suffer
28:19 for it you take it patiently this is
28:22 great you see what he's saying is not
28:24 only is it the will of God for us to
28:27 live a beautiful life for the Lord's
28:30 sake but it is the approval of God God
28:32 say I'm going to give you
28:35 Grace we sang oh to Grace how great a
28:39 deor verses 21- 25 he brings it to the
28:41 Pinnacle he's been saying to me in verse
28:44 11 I should live a beautiful life for my
28:48 sake I'm the object of God's love I'm a
28:51 pilgrim and a Sojourner I'm a Warrior
28:54 fighting against the Flesh in verse 12 I
28:56 should live a beautiful life for the
28:58 sake of the unsaved they're watching and
29:00 listening and God will visit them
29:02 someday and our good works will help to
29:05 win them and then in 13- 25 he's saying
29:07 we should live a beautiful life for the
29:09 Lord's sake it's the will of God it's
29:13 the grace of God and 21- 25 it's the
29:17 example of God our lord Jesus gives us
29:21 the example of how to suffer
29:24 reproach when we're doing what's
29:26 right it always amazes me when a
29:28 Christian comes and says pastor I've got
29:31 a problem what's your problem Oh I work
29:33 in this office I work harder than
29:37 anybody else I keep better papers I am
29:39 more accurate I'm trying to serve God in
29:47 trouble and my reply sometimes is and
29:48 what did you
29:51 expect I had a friend who got fired
29:53 because he worked too
29:56 hard he was working here in the city of Chicago
29:58 Chicago
30:00 he was a ministerial student and he was
30:02 going through college and he was working
30:06 in this warehouse and he the boss came
30:07 to him one day the foreman came and said
30:08 look you're you're showing up the rest
30:10 of the
30:12 guys now we start our work and then when
30:14 nobody's watching we kind of sneak off
30:16 he said I can't do that I'm a Christian
30:17 he was
30:20 fired I don't think he suffered for
30:22 it what do we do what he tells us what
30:25 we do even here unto were you called
30:28 called to what called to suffer
30:29 later on Peter is going to say don't
30:32 think it's strange when God allows the
30:34 furnace to get turned on that's not
30:37 strange expect it there's a brand of
30:40 theology going around today that says if
30:41 you live a Godly life you'll never have any
30:43 any
30:45 problems my Bible says yay and all that
30:47 will live Godly in Christ Jesus are
30:49 going to suffer
30:52 persecution he tells us here that this
30:54 is the way you were saved you were saved
30:56 and I was saved because of a person who
31:00 was willing to suffer un justly look at
31:04 it because Christ also suffered for us
31:06 leaving us an example that you should
31:09 follow his steps you School teachers
31:11 ought to learn what that word example is
31:13 it was an educational term back in
31:17 Peter's day it's the word for a copy
31:19 book back in Peter's Day when the kids
31:21 went to school they were taught how to
31:23 write and they copied it from the top of
31:25 their book I've seen over here in the
31:27 Historical Society over here in the
31:30 historic IAL Society I have seen the old
31:31 copy books they used to have there would
31:33 be an alphabet across the top and you'd
31:36 write it in there that's what this word
31:38 is I had an awful time learning how to
31:40 write I began to print in seventh grade
31:42 and I haven't written since my printing
31:44 is not much better than my writing but
31:46 at least I can read it but we had to
31:48 learn how to write by copying and they
31:51 gave us a whole long list of A's and so
31:53 we copied that's what Jesus
31:56 did Jesus said now when you read Matthew
31:58 Mark Luke and John you're seeing what
32:01 you ought to copy notice how I dealt
32:03 with my enemies notice how I dealt with
32:06 people who opposed me and do what I did
32:09 he left us a copy book that we should
32:13 follow his steps who did no sin neither
32:16 was gu found in his mouth we're told
32:19 here who the person of our Salvation is
32:21 the Lord Jesus
32:24 Christ a sinless person a suffering
32:27 person he's the only one who could save
32:30 us now now suppose he had not suffered
32:34 unjustly he couldn't save us Peter seems
32:36 to be saying here don't follow the
32:38 example of the world follow the example
32:41 of Jesus Christ he is the person of our
32:45 Salvation he tells us in verse 23 how he
32:47 did this who when he was reviled reviled not
32:49 not
32:53 again when he suffered he threatened not
32:55 now you and I don't threaten outwardly
32:57 we don't say boy I'll get you maybe we
33:01 do but deep inside sometimes we say I'll
33:02 pay you
33:05 back in fact there are some people who
33:07 will spend the rest of their adult lives
33:10 paying back their
33:12 parents mother or dad or somebody did
33:13 something they shouldn't do and so they
33:15 spend the rest of their adult lives
33:17 paying them back never hurt their
33:19 parents they only hurt themselves Jesus
33:20 did not
33:23 revile when he suffered he threatened
33:25 not but committed himself to him that
33:28 judgeth righteously I didn't realize
33:29 until the other day that that word
33:32 committed means he kept committing
33:35 himself not just once we have the idea
33:37 that in the garden our Lord once and for
33:40 all said Lord here I am he did but at
33:43 every step of the way he kept committing
33:45 himself to God when they slapped him in
33:48 the face he committed himself to God
33:49 when they pulled out his beard he
33:52 committed himself to God when they
33:54 mocked him with a robe and with a
33:56 scepter of of a reed he committed
33:58 himself to God
34:00 how was he able to pray father forgive
34:03 them he committed himself to God you see
34:05 you and I think that because we walked
34:06 an aisle or did something it's once and
34:08 for all settled oh no while they're
34:11 lying about us we commit ourselves to
34:14 God while they are abusing and accusing
34:18 us we're committing ourselves to God the
34:19 person of our
34:23 Salvation Jesus Christ the price of our
34:27 Salvation verse 24 who his own self bore our
34:28 our
34:31 sins in his own
34:33 body you know if nothing else should
34:36 Inspire us to live a Godly life it's
34:38 right there he was willing to take my
34:41 sins in his own body on the cross where
34:43 on the tree that's the place of our
34:46 Salvation not the Jordan River your
34:50 baptism didn't save you not Mount sini
34:52 the law didn't save you the
34:56 tree what's the purpose of our Salvation
34:58 that we being dead to sin should live
34:59 under righteousness that's what he's
35:01 been talking about well-doing living a
35:04 beautiful life doing well doing
35:07 patiently what God calls us to do by
35:09 whose Stripes you were
35:12 healed Peter seems to suggest here that
35:15 people before they're saved are
35:20 sick spiritually sick morally sick and
35:22 because of Christ's death on the cross
35:23 they were
35:27 healed for ye were a sheep going astray but
35:28 but
35:31 now now you got to take your concordance
35:34 someday and Trace the but Nows in the
35:37 Bible very interesting he's saying in
35:40 times past here's the way you lived but
35:43 now you have returned unto the shepherd
35:46 and the overseer of your souls now if he
35:49 is your Shepherd follow him if he is your
35:50 your
35:54 overseer obey
35:57 him so the big question is not what am I
35:59 doing the big question is why am I doing
36:05 in are you in the job that you're in for
36:07 your sake for the sake of the lost and
36:10 for the Lord's sake why are you living
36:11 where you're living or moving where
36:14 you're moving is it for your sake will
36:16 it help you spiritually is it for the
36:19 sake of the Lost is it for the Lord's
36:21 sake the question is not what am I doing
36:24 it's why am I doing it and most of us can
36:25 can
36:28 rationalize we have excuses and we have
36:31 arguments and we can slice them very
36:34 thin and God still looks at our hearts
36:35 and he says all right do you want my
36:38 approval or don't you will you submit or
36:40 won't you now if you'll
36:42 submit I'll be your Shepherd and I'll
36:44 guide you I'll be your overseer and I'll
36:46 take care of you if you won't submit you
36:48 got to take the consequences so to put
36:50 into one simple sentence all he's been
36:54 saying in these 14 verses is this
36:57 surrender or else that's what it boils
36:59 down to for my
37:02 sake for the Lost World's sake for the
37:04 Lord's sake surrender
37:06 surrender
37:08 submit to the
37:12 shepherd and to the bishop of our
37:15 souls gracious
37:18 father I pray that some word from your
37:20 word tonight will start us thinking
37:22 perhaps even arouse
37:24 resentment that will face something in
37:27 our lives that needs to be dealt with
37:29 Lord we like to talk about surrender and
37:32 sing about surrender but when it comes
37:37 to that place where life touches our
37:40 motives sometimes we
37:42 resist and so father we do want to be
37:45 submissive we want to be submissive to
37:47 you as the
37:51 Lord we want to be used in your will oh
37:53 Father We Fear more than anything else
37:55 living a life outside of your will just
37:59 to please ourselves and so guide us and
38:02 help us to take whatever steps are
38:04 necessary to be
38:07 submissive to your will for in
38:10 submission we find
38:13 fulfillment in finding our Master we
38:14 find our
38:17 freedom our fulfillment oh may it be so
38:21 with each of us tonight I pray in jesus'
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