Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] He is good.
[00:00:03] You may be seated.
[00:00:06] Before we come to our time of offering, I wanted to share just something exciting with you this morning. You know, many of you know that we have been in a five year vision together and we're getting ready to embark on year number four. And one of the exciting things about our deep roots, broad reach vision has been that as we've gone through this only in year three, we actually are very close to accomplishing most of the goals that have been set out before us. But there's been one that's kind of been lingering off to the side untouched. And it's probably one that I have been the most passionate about. And that was the start of a residency program here at Westgate. God put on my passion, on my heart a number of years ago that we need to be a church that is constantly raising and developing leadership and sending people out to go and share the good news of Jesus. Whether that's his international workers and missionaries with the Christian Missionary alliance or whether that's raising up future pastors to work in the church there is such a need. And I'm excited to tell you this morning that beginning September 1st, we are going to launch the first part of our residency program here at Westgate Chapel. And you may know the people that we're going to have in this role, but we're going to launch the missions side first. You'll see a picture up here on the screen. Josh and Alessia Cook will be our first residents.
[00:01:29] We're excited about that. They're going to join over the next two years, our staff department team and we're going to be working on training them for future service with the Christian Missionary alliance to be sent back out and to serve the Lord with their lives, sharing the good news of the gospel all around the world. The other thing I'm excited about, I've been working with Shane Henry quite a bit. He is going to be working as kind of a layperson, helping to not only develop our residency program but to help to mentor our residents. And as we are planning and preparing our goal and our hope is that in September of next year we will also launch the pastoral side of that. God has been faithful and he has provided. My timing would have been a little bit sooner than this, but he has provided the resources for us to be able to do that. And so I just celebrate what God is doing and especially what God is going to do through Josh and Alessia as we get the opportunity to develop them and to prepare to send them out to serve The Lord with their lives. And so as we come to our time of offering, I am just recognizant that I am blessed to be honest with you and that you are so faithful in your giving. As you faithfully give to Westgate Chapel. You enable us to do things like this to bring Josh onto staff and to be able to work and develop him to be sent out. And my hope and prayer is that will be multiplied over and over and over again in the years to come as we continue to develop people to go out and serve within God's kingdom. As we come to our time of offering, would you just take a moment and join me in prayer?
[00:03:01] Lord, thank you so much for this morning and again the opportunity we have to gather as your body in this house.
[00:03:08] Individuals coming together, unified in our love for you and in our love for each other.
[00:03:16] Thank you for giving us this family.
[00:03:18] And thank you God that we get to be a part of the work that you are doing, Lord, in not only changing our lives, but bringing more people to a saving knowledge of your son. Thank you for Josh and Lesia and thank you God for the opportunity that we have to develop them as a church family and prepare them for years and years of service of you.
[00:03:37] Lord, we pray your special blessing over them. And we thank you God for the provision that you have given for us to be able to do this. And so Lord, as we give of our offerings today, whether it's in a bucket or whether it's we give online, we just acknowledge God, all we have comes from you. And it is our great joy to participate with you and what you are doing in this world. We love you and we thank you. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. So we take our offering. The offering buckets are here in the center aisles. You can pass those out to the sides. They're in the corners up in the balcony and so you can pass those in. And we'll just take a moment to continue worshiping the Lord through our giving together.
[00:04:45] Well, before we continue worshiping the Lord through jumping into his word together, one other exciting thing to share with you and then one other issue I wanted to tell you about, just in case you ask. One exciting thing.
[00:04:59] In about a week and a half, we're going to finally be installing a brand new sound system in this room.
[00:05:05] I don't know. Yeah.
[00:05:08] For years we have had major sound issues with the sound being different based on where you sit in this room. And our hope is that what it's going to do. Our hope because I can Just hear myself. You're going to be like you said, said it'd be fixed.
[00:05:24] But our sound system is also on the end of its life, and so we're finally going to be replacing that. The Lord has made provision for that to happen. So we're grateful and thankful. So in just a couple of weeks, it'll sound a little bit different in here. But then, number two, one issue that we have, and you may notice it, especially if you come into service early, which is only like a quarter of you. But I watch the lights in the ceiling. You see tons of them up there. Our lighting system is as old as this building. And this past, we've been dealing with issues with it breaking, and there are no parts to replace certain things. And we came in on Saturday morning and none of the lights in the ceiling worked. And so we had to call in an electrician. And you'll see a picture here of the panel where something went out. Yeah. Doesn't that look like something from Back to the Future? Like, seriously, it's, like, super old and archaic. We have known for some time it is very much on its end of life. So they had to hotwire our lights into the computer up there. Not even going through that, to my understanding.
[00:06:27] So when you walk in, the lights will usually be pretty dim. We can't control them until that computer gets turned on. And so this is just another challenge that we've got in front of us. We're going to be looking for a way sooner rather than later to be able to replace the entire lighting system. It's a fairly expensive venture, I would say. We maybe have a third of that in hand. And so we do have a commitment as a church not to go back into debt after we paid off our building. And so we're just praying that the Lord would provide and give us the ability to fix what is quickly breaking. So just in case you ask questions, if you see issues with the lights, that is what's taking place. All right, let's get to the good stuff.
[00:07:08] How many of you people have loved the heat and humidity the last couple weeks? Anybody here just like, man, I love it. What is wrong with you? Like, seriously, it's the setup every time, guys. It's the setup every time. Doesn't change how many people are looking forward to snow in winter. Anybody here? Yes. Look at those hands. I love it. People after my own heart. All right. You know, I am not a big fan of heat and humidity. All right.
[00:07:35] Did you know, though, that on July 29, just a few weeks ago. The humidity in Toledo that day likely equaled or even surpassed the humidity in the Amazon rain forest. Isn't that incredible? I was reading that. Yeah, I was the dumb guy that decided to go for my morning walk and then go work in the yard that day.
[00:07:56] I came inside, felt like I was dying. It reminded me, though, of what I've always considered to be one of the absolute worst nights of my life.
[00:08:05] I've told you before, in 2004, for the very first time, I took a whole group of students, 11 of them, to Cambodia on a mission trip. And while I was there, I learned what real heat and humidity is.
[00:08:18] It was a little bit brutal. I had never experienced anything quite like it. And we didn't have air conditioning where we were staying. We were staying in this dorm building that was on this busy street.
[00:08:29] But the one thing we did have is what I call these high power jet engine fans. I mean, these things moved fast, they were big and they moved air like crazy. So it made it really easy for us to be able to deal with the heat and humidity. However, that was until the entire power went out on the whole block. I remember that coming home from English camp where we had been teaching. One day, we came home to our dorm building and all of the power was out, the fans were not moving, and we walked into the dorm. I know. Isn't that the craziest picture? Big guy, little guy. Okay, so, so many things I want to say, but we're in this dormitory, and it was the most stifling, oppressive heat that I think I have ever felt. Being inside, no air circulation, it was incredibly hot. And the worst part is, is that we would now end up spending the entire night that way. The long story short is this is that apparently a guy riding a moto ran into the power pole at the end of the street, knocked out power for the entire block. And when the police showed up to hold him accountable, their answer to us as to why they let him go was he was a really big man.
[00:09:41] Cambodian people typically are a little bit on the shorter, smaller side. He was a really big man. So they literally let him, told the block, you guys gotta figure it out. So we spent the entire night in 90 degrees with 100% humidity in an enclosed dorm. It was horrible. I was so bad that literally I woke up every 15 to 20 minutes during the night. I would go into the shower where it was lukewarm water, get myself wet, lay back down in bed, and try to fall asleep for just another couple minutes. In the morning, when I Got up. This is no joke. I literally wrung my pillow out like it was a washcloth that had been sitting under a running water. It was. I know you're like, ew. Don't worry. I didn't take it home. So later that day, though, one of the best parts is that the next day was Sunday. We went to an international church.
[00:10:32] First time we had gone to this church where it was where international workers could come and have an English language service and just worship together. And when we walked in the door, it was the coldest air I think I had ever felt in my life.
[00:10:46] It felt like winter in Ohio. It was beautiful and glorious. It was so good. And even more, there was a water fountain that was cold, and I mean ice cold. We had been drinking hot to lukewarm water all week long, and my students were fighting over that fountain. We're all yelling at them, get out of the way. There was no Christian love that was happening. And I'll tell you what, in the middle of a fairly miserable existence that we had just gone through that night, the Lord provided an oasis air conditioning in the middle of bewildering heat. And it was a very welcome respite. Honestly, today's passage feels like that.
[00:11:30] It feels like relief from a very harsh heat that we experience in this world, especially when we understand the opportunities that we face and that come with suffering.
[00:11:44] We've been in a series together entitled A Living Hope. We've been going through the book of First Peter together. And before we dive into our passage again, I want to give you just a quick reminder of our background and setup for the passage this morning. If you have your sermon notes, pull them out. You can use them to follow along with me today.
[00:12:02] But letter A, what we see is this is Peter is writing to encourage the church in northwestern Asia Minor that is facing persecution and suffering.
[00:12:13] Now, when we talk about suffering, it's really hard here, because suffering, in the time that this was written, that Peter was writing to the church in Asia Minor, their suffering is very different than what we experience today in America. I find that our suffering typically falls into a few different categories. The first one I like to call bougie suffering. This is where our creature comforts are taken from us. And we feel like the world is coming to an end. Right? The air conditioning breaks. It feels like a personal betrayal that is leaving you sweating like you are auditioning for a survival reality TV show, or your wifi and data go down and you're forced to confront the void of existence without Netflix or social Media. Suddenly you're suffering by having to read a physical book or talk to people face to face.
[00:13:02] What will that ever be like?
[00:13:04] Or when your Starbucks runs out of oat milk and you're forced to brew your own coffee, which is basically Little House on the Prairie level hardship, right?
[00:13:12] Seriously, when we talk about suffering, sometimes we use this word rather flippantly. And it's not really suffering, but there is suffering and difficulty and hardship that we face all the time in the Christian life.
[00:13:26] Financial hardship and suffering. Whether losing a job, facing unemployment, being unable to pay off debt that sits heavy over our shoulders, sometimes it's emotional suffering, whether it's facing or dealing with depression or anxiety or any other sort of thing like that.
[00:13:45] Relational difficulties and suffering. When we experience brokenness in our relationships, sometimes that suffering is physical, especially as we get older and our bodies are breaking down.
[00:13:57] Maybe we get a bad health diagnosis, we get some sort of injury and we go through difficult moments.
[00:14:04] And there is the type of suffering we do experience because of our faith. Now, definitely not the same as what Peter's people are experiencing. You know, we might face ridicule, name calling, loss of friendship in the name of Jesus, but Peter's world was very different.
[00:14:18] The suffering in Peter's time was this.
[00:14:21] Each of these believers he writes to and what we know as modern day Turkey, each of them were considered to be non citizen residents of the Roman Empire. They were below citizens and above slaves. What did this mean? It means they had limited legal rights. People were not on their side, especially locally. There was a much heavier taxation that they would face that put a heavy burden on their families. Did you know, I read this this week, that upon death, assets that they had would actually become state property. They were not allowed to give an inheritance to their family. I mean, think about the hardship that that would put families in when the head of the household passes on all of these different things. Also facing discrimination. Why? Because the greatest persecution and suffering that they faced was because of their faith in Jesus.
[00:15:14] Because they did not worship the gods of Rome or worship the emperor. And they believed that you could only worship God in that there was constant suspicion and accusations that would be made against them. There was a prejudice that people had against them, especially in legal matters. No one had their side or had their back. They could even at times, if they found themselves in a difficult situation, face things like mob violence. They were constantly the scapegoat for things that went wrong. We see that just a few years after Peter writes this letter that when the great fire happens in Rome, Nero does what blames the Christians, and now they're facing even greater persecution, like death. And not just death, but we're talking about being hung on a cross, we're talking about being fed to animals, being burned at the stake. Horrific things that this world can do to a person.
[00:16:08] So while the context of suffering differed greatly from Peter's day to our day, what Peter's letter does do is it reminds us that even in the midst of all suffering, there is comfort to be had.
[00:16:22] And even more, that our faith has meaning and it has purpose, especially when it costs us something.
[00:16:31] And so I want to ask you this question, letter B in your notes. When you encounter suffering or difficulty in your life, how do you typically respond?
[00:16:39] What is your response?
[00:16:41] Do you sink into a dark place?
[00:16:45] Do you find yourself in a whirlwind of chaos, desperately searching for a way out?
[00:16:50] Does it affect your moods and the way that you treat other people?
[00:16:55] Do you turn to things like alcohol or drugs or other self destructive habits as a way to cope with what's happening in your life?
[00:17:03] Do you push people away and isolate yourself? Or even more, do you run from God as opposed to running to him?
[00:17:13] As I think about my own life, there have been different points and times in my life where I have done a handful of these things.
[00:17:21] And yet what I find is that Peter's words in this letter to the church in Asia Minor have always been a reminder to me that within suffering and within difficulty, there is a great opportunity to be had.
[00:17:35] Why is there a great opportunity?
[00:17:37] Because what I recognize as this truth is that in the midst of suffering, God is still pursuing me.
[00:17:45] And in the midst of suffering, sometimes I need to go to the lowest and to the hardest places that this life can hand me in order to turn and see that God has been pursuing me and to yield and to trust my heart and my life to him. And so what Peter does letters see is this is not only does he remind them of the hope that they have and call them to live a life of holiness and devotion to God, but he also reminds them of how they can still love life and see good days. I want say that with me. He wants us to what, Love life and see good days?
[00:18:23] How many of you, when you're walking through a hard time, think loving life and seeing good days mixes right? When we're walking through hard moments, when life hands us a bad hand, the last thing we think to ourselves is man, I love life. I'm seeing the best days that God has for me. And what Peter is saying is, is that because of Christ. And in Christ, even in the midst of persecution, suffering, death and everything that the people in Asia Minor are experiencing, they can love life and see good days. And he's going to give us the recipe for that.
[00:19:00] So go ahead and flip your notes to the next page with me, but open your Bibles to one Peter, chapter three. We're going to begin together in verse eight. It's going to be up here on the screen this morning. I'll be reading from the niv.
[00:19:14] But what Peter is going to do as we continue in the text is he's going to give us the prescription of how even in the midst of suffering, that we can love life and still see good days.
[00:19:26] Here's what he says.
[00:19:27] He says, finally, all of you, be like minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing. Because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For whoever would love life and see good days must keep their tongue from evil and their lips from deceitful speech. They must turn from evil and do good.
[00:19:59] They must seek peace and pursue it.
[00:20:02] I want us to take a look at this. What is the prescription for loving life and seeing good days? The first thing I see that Peter addresses letter A is this is that we must nurture and protect the faith community that God has given us. Now when I'm talking about faith community, I'm not just talking about when we walk in the doors of the church and sit in this room with a whole lot of people. When I talk about faith community, I'm talking about people in your families, your family who knows Christ. I'm talking about your friendships even outside of the church, people who know Christ, your faith community. And I am most definitely talking about the church body as well. But what we need to understand is that one of the greatest gifts that God has given to us as his followers is the church.
[00:20:49] With the church, we have the opportunity to be surrounded by people who are just like us.
[00:20:55] People that are sojourning and struggling through life in a broken world. And in the midst of that broken world, God has given us each other with like minded hearts. For him. We have a family within the church body that can lift us up, that can encourage us, that can hold us accountable, that can help by carrying us when we feel so weak that we don't feel like we can go on.
[00:21:20] It's one of the very reasons that here as a church we emphasize greatly getting Involved in life groups. One of our five year goals is to have 80% plus of our adult population in small groups, in life groups. Why? Because we know that God created us as believers to be in community with each other. We grow best, and we grow best in him when we are connected to each other. Because he created this body for us so that we have that encouragement, those people to challenge us, to hold us accountable and to walk with us through hard times. When we get into life groups, it takes big church and it makes it small. It gives us that intimacy of relationship that we were designed to have within the body of Christ.
[00:22:04] What Peter says here is, if you want to see love, life and good days, you've got to protect that faith community that God has given to you. How is this accomplished? He lists a number of things. First, he says be like minded. Literally, the Greek word is translated same think. It means that we are to pursue unity with each other. Now, obviously we don't all think the same. We all come from different backgrounds and different cultures, different races. We come in with different thoughts about how we see the world. But the idea that he says here of being unified means do we think the same thing as those who are pursuing God and following God with all of our hearts and minds? Are we unified together in Christ? He says be like minded. And how do we do that?
[00:22:51] By being sympathetic. Sympathetic? Literally, again, in the Greek, it means to share the same feeling.
[00:22:59] In other words, we're called to put ourselves in the shoes of those that are around us. To not just be consumed with ourself, but to look at another person and not just go, oh, that's their problem, that's not mine. But to be sympathetic, to have a heart for them, to feel what they feel.
[00:23:16] He says to love one another. And the Greek word that is here, that he uses here is philadelphos. It's the word that we recognize as the city of Philadelphia. And why is the word Philadelphia important? Anybody know why the city's name? That it's not just because they have great cheesesteaks. All right. By the way, Pat's King of steak, fifth and passyunk, the best. Don't know how I know that. But aside from that, what does the word Philadelphia mean? It's the city of brotherly love.
[00:23:45] You see, this Greek word that Peter uses here for love is a familial love.
[00:23:51] It's a blood type of love to illustrate how as a body, how as a family, we love and care for each other when we are hurting and broken.
[00:24:02] Love one another he says, be compassionate. In other words, a word that means to not only it's a lot like being sympathetic, but it means to feel so deeply the plight and difficulty of others that it actually moves us to action. We don't just feel pity, but our hearts are moved to love and to care for those that are struggling. And in that, he also says to be humble. To be humble, in other words, to put others before yourself. I think of Philippians, chapter three, or where the church is exhorted to honor one another above yourselves. And the perfect example that is given to us is that of Jesus Christ.
[00:24:42] That Jesus himself came down from heaven a perfect place where he didn't have to deal with this mess. And he allowed himself to be put to death at the hands of his creation so that we could be restored to God. It says, he humbled himself.
[00:24:58] He put us before himself. We're called to be humble with each other in the same way. And he moves now, Peter moves from these positives to some negatives. He says, don't repay evil with evil. In other words. In other words, don't do an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth. But he reminds us, and it causes us to remember what Jesus said in the New Testament, which is, whoever slaps you, do what? Turn the other cheek to them. Repay them with love and blessing, not with evil. He says, keep your tongue from evil. He says, your lips from deceitful speech. And he boils it all down and says, the way that we nurture and protect the this faith community is to do good.
[00:25:42] Do you want to love life and see good days?
[00:25:47] Then ultimately, what Peter is saying is, be like Christ has been to you, to each other, because he has given you this body for your good and for your growth and to walk with you in this life. And how do we be like Christ? Christ number two, he sums it all up at the end of this and says, by being a peacemaker and pursuing peace.
[00:26:13] And I ask you these questions this morning. Are you seeking to develop this kind of faith community in your homes, in your relationships and friendships with others here at the church?
[00:26:26] Do you extend grace to others the way that Christ has extended it to you?
[00:26:31] Do you look for ways to love and care for others no matter what the personal cost or inconvenience to you may be?
[00:26:38] Do you look to put others first before yourself and prioritize caring for them?
[00:26:44] Do you guard your tongue and what you say to others or say about others? You know, there's a reason that in James chapter three that James harps on this very issue. He says, the tongue is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. I mean, those are harsh words about the tongue, but the reason that he shares it is because that tongue, especially within the body of Christ, can be a destroyer of the Christian family that God desires to be built among us for our good and for our faith flourishing. Do you keep short accounts with others when they've offended you? Do you pursue reconciliation? Do you seek to create a place of safety for others where trust in relationship can be built? Peter begins by exhorting the church as they face this struggle and the suffering that they are walking through. And he reminds them that this church, this family that God has given you is one of the prescription for how you can love life and see good days.
[00:27:53] But he continues with these words. First Peter, chapter 3, verses 12 through 14. He says, for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Who is going to harm you? If you are eager to do good, but even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear their threats. Do not be frightened.
[00:28:17] How is it that we can love life and see good days? Letter B. Don't be caught flat footed.
[00:28:24] Expect suffering.
[00:28:27] Now, I think I could illustrate this in one way for you. One of the great things that I got to take on this summer after finishing school is coaching my youngest daughter's softball team. And I'm getting to help coach. There's a picture I took of Gracie last week at one of her games. And one of the things that I've recognized is we're trying to work through the fundamentals of how to be prepared when playing defense. And when they're playing defense, I noticed something with young girls that haven't played a whole lot. You put them out in their position at third base, shortstop, second, first, and they just kind of stand there like this with their hands to their sides, and they wait for the ball to be hit in their direction.
[00:29:09] The problem is that usually when that ball gets hit, it looks a little something like this, right?
[00:29:15] They aren't ready. They're not anticipating it. And so one of the drills that we spent a lot of time working on this last week is what you might call a ready position.
[00:29:24] We want them to get down and to have their knees bent, to be on the balls of their feet, for their hands to be out, looking for the ball to come to them, ready to receive it, expecting that it's going to come. Because when you're in an athletic position, when that ball gets hit, you can react more quickly to it and actually accomplish what you're setting out to do. You see, when I look at this, what Peter wants us to understand is that we shouldn't be caught flat footed. We should expect that suffering is going to come. We should be in that ready position, literally. Peter just said in our text last week in chapter two, that as Christians we are called to suffering. We should expect it. This is the reason that the prosperity gospel preachers don't preach from first Peter, by the way, because Peter says without equivocation that suffering is the norm in the Christian life. And so what Peter does here in these verses is point to different kinds of suffering. Look at it with me, number one, he says to expect it as a consequence of doing wrong and of evil.
[00:30:31] He says, for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? It's a consequence of wrongdoing and of evil. Think of like Pharaoh in the Old Testament. When he's pursuing God's people and he's looking to do harm to them, he's doing evil. His lot did not end up well because of that choice. Or think of Jonah. When God comes to Jonah and says, hey, look at all those evil people over in Nineveh, I want you to go share with them a message of confessing their evil and their sin and getting themselves right with me. And what does Jonah do? He says, nope, I'm headed to Tahiti. And he jumps on a boat, right? Maybe not Tahiti, but he says, I want to get out of town. I don't want to do what you want me to do, God. And because of that choice to reject God and God's desire, he faces suffering as a consequence. You think of King Saul, the first king of the nation of Israel. And all of a sudden he went from being put in this position by God to thinking that he himself was something special. So he began to ignore what God desired and begin to glorify himself and do his own thing. He faced consequences as a result of the wrong and evil that was in his heart. Here's the deal. We should expect consequences as a result of wrong and evil, but also not all suffering. In this life is a consequence of evil. Number two. Expect it. As a follower of Jesus Christ, what does Peter say? Even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear their threats and do not be frightened.
[00:32:09] You can suffer in this world for doing what is right. We think of somebody like Joseph in the Old Testament and his brothers who threw him into a pit and left him for dead. And even as he continued to try to do right and do what was good, we find that he finds himself consistently getting into harder and harder situations, even while doing good.
[00:32:29] And here's the deal.
[00:32:31] Even for those who love God and do good to others, we can face persecution because of our love for God and our pursuit of Him.
[00:32:39] But we can allow that to be something that causes us to crumble. Or even more, we could be like Joseph, that even when facing evil or difficulty or suffering, that we can pronounce and say what you or this world meant for evil, God meant for good. More to come on that one thing that Peter doesn't mention, and I want to mention this morning, because we see it all throughout Scripture, is this number three. When we expect suffering, we expect it as a part of living in a broken world.
[00:33:10] Sometimes we face persecution for no perceivable reason other than the fact that we live in a world system that has been broken by our own sin and our own rebellion.
[00:33:23] And this is hard because while we don't always understand why God has allowed does push us to lean into his goodness that he has proven to us through sending His Son Jesus to die on a cross and to raise to life that we might be rescued from our brokenness and the brokenness of this world.
[00:33:43] God, even in our rebellion, did not leave us to our own devices, but he has been pursuing us from the very beginning of time.
[00:33:52] So though we face at times unexplained suffering in this world, it can be sickness or any sort of brokenness. We know that God is there, that he is present, that he is good, and that he is pursuing us. Peter says, don't be caught flat footed. Expect that it is coming. Be in that ready position.
[00:34:13] So that letter C, you will see life through the lens of your faith in Jesus.
[00:34:19] The very first part of verse 15 just simply says, in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord. If you're to read it in the esv, it says, set apart Christ as Lord. In your heart, set apart Christ as Lord. In other words, put him first.
[00:34:38] Have him be first in your life. You know that he is good. He's proven it through Jesus Christ, put your faith and trust in him and let him be the one that is guiding you the steps of your life. Because here's the deal. When Jesus is first, and when you look at life through the lens of what God is doing in and through Jesus Christ in your own life, what you'll begin to realize is, is that the sky is not falling. Do you recognize what I'm saying? Anybody here ever see that movie Chicken Little? Right? Chicken Little. The chicken that runs around town getting hit in the head by an acorn and, and starts telling everybody that the sky is falling, that we're doomed because everything bad that is happening is out of our control. There's nothing that we can do.
[00:35:23] That's not true.
[00:35:24] The sky is not falling, people. Because the One who loves you, the One who gave everything for you, the one who is in control of all things, promises you the hope of eternity through His Son, Jesus Christ.
[00:35:39] This broken world is not your final destiny, destination. He is making and will continue to make all things new, your life and everything for eternity. You can trust Him.
[00:35:52] So put him first and see your suffering through the lens of your trust, your belief, your faith, your following of Jesus.
[00:36:02] When you begin to do that, you will see letter D that you can turn your misery into ministry. And I should rephrase that.
[00:36:12] It's not that you can do it. He will do it. He will turn your misery into ministry. First Peter, 3, 15, 17. Peter says, in your hearts, revere Christ as Lord.
[00:36:26] Always. Be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. For it is better if it's God's will to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
[00:36:48] Peter begins this by helping us to understand, number one, that we should live our life so different that it evokes questions from people about us and about God. And I would ask you this morning, when was the last time someone asked to give the reason for your hope in the midst of pain and suffering?
[00:37:08] Does the hope that you have in Jesus radiate from your being not only in the good times, but especially in the hard?
[00:37:17] Because it's one thing for people to hear about your faith when things are good, but it is a completely different and transforming thing for them to see it in action when they know that you are suffering.
[00:37:28] The hope that you live with causes others to crave that same exact hope. Because as we all journey together through this life, Christian and non Christian, we are looking for that answer to push our suffering away and to find hope. And I will tell you this morning that the world cannot find the hope that you have in Jesus, but they will be able to see it if you are living it out in your life. And it can create a hunger in them to desire to know the God that you love.
[00:37:56] Live your life so different that it evokes a question.
[00:37:59] Christopher Hitchens, who was a renowned atheist, I got to see him debate William Lane Craig at Biola University when I was in college. It was riveting. This guy hated God, hates Jesus. I mean, he just spoke horribly about Christians. But one of the things I learned about him, he passed away a number of years ago. But one of the things I learned about him is that even in the midst of this hate of God and hate of Jesus and ridicule of Christians, he had one of his closest friends was actually a Christian pastor. And they would have private conversations all the time. And this Christian pastor, after Christopher Hitchens died, wrote a book about their intimate and private conversations. Christopher Hitchens died from cancer. And when he received that diagnosis and his body began to fail him, what he recognized is in his friend that when he faced difficulty and hardship, that he lived with incredible hope, while Christopher felt nothing but complete despair.
[00:38:58] And he began to ask very intimate and profound questions about why and about faith and about God.
[00:39:06] You know, the truth is, nobody knows to this day whether or not Christopher Hitchens actually gave his life to Christ. But I want you to hear this clearly this morning. Effective evangelism doesn't come from mastering an evangelistic presentation. It comes from living in a way that evokes a question.
[00:39:23] And when that question comes, what does Peter say? Number two, share why your life is different because you have a story to tell.
[00:39:33] Sometimes we forget that the good news of Jesus is not just bound up in our Bibles, but it is living and active in our lives. You have experienced God's grace. You have experienced his sustaining in moments of difficulty. You have had hope in times of despair. You've experienced his grace and love and forgiveness in your greatest moments of failures. Share your story of how God has changed your life and why you have hope in Him. This is the hope that the world is craving for.
[00:40:05] So not only do we have a story to tell, but number three, Peter also wants us to understand how to share the good news of Jesus in a world of biblical illiteracy.
[00:40:16] Take time to learn how to articulate the gospel Straight from God's word to share with people the good news of how Jesus died for them, for their sin, to take their place, so that if they would put their trust in him, they can have the same hope that you do. The hope of salvation and of eternal life.
[00:40:38] And Peter gives one final admonition to the church and he says, number four, don't forfeit your witness with open or veiled hate towards those who are opposed to you.
[00:40:50] It doesn't matter how good your answer is or how compelling your life is.
[00:40:56] If you answer without gentleness and respect, you will forfeit your witness to other people.
[00:41:02] Screaming at someone in Jesus name does not change them.
[00:41:07] No one ever gets converted through you saying mean cutting things on Facebook or picketing gay pride parades.
[00:41:15] Gentleness and respect is what Peter says.
[00:41:19] That's what's supposed to describe our defense of the gospel of the good News. You can do everything that's right. You can be a great defender of theology, adopt a kid, be a model Christian. But the minute you speak hatefully towards someone else, you undo all of it and it makes the rest of your life feel like nothing but a sham.
[00:41:42] You are called to share the good news of the hope and love of Jesus Christ with others, remembering that you too, before you came to the saving knowledge of Jesus, were in that same place of despair, separate from God, dead in your sin, and desperately need of his grace.
[00:42:00] Are you sharing that hope with others and doing it in a way that communicates God's love for them?
[00:42:08] Finally, as Peter continues and wants us to understand in the midst of suffering how we can love life and have these good days, he says these words in chapter three, verses 18 through 20. He says, For Christ also suffered once for sin, the righteous, for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body, but made alive in the spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits, to those who were disobedient long ago, who God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it, only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water. Now I read this passage, I'm not going to sit here and tear the whole thing apart. I will tell you, it is the most one of the most debated passages in all of scripture. What in the world does Peter mean? Is Peter saying that Jesus himself, after he died, descended physically into hell to preach to spirits? Or does it mean that somehow Jesus was present in the time of Noah, ministering through Noah to people? I mean, there are a lot of ideas about what could be meant. And I'll be honest with you, I don't think anybody truly has. Could say 100%. I totally get what Peter is saying here, although on the big picture we do. And what is that big picture, letter E? Remember that there is nothing outside the bounds of God's control in this life. He is pursuing every single person because he is in control of all things. And he is using every circumstance of our lives to cause us to see our need for him and to turn our hearts to Him. He is proclaiming the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ through His spirit, and he is coming for us.
[00:43:48] The question is, will we surrender our hearts and our lives to Him? He continues in 1st Peter 3, 2122 and says this and this water symbolizes baptism. That now saves you not the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. Again, another passage that is often talked about and debated in theology.
[00:44:18] What is Peter saying? Is Peter saying that if you're not baptized, then you're not saved? I would say no, it sounds like that. But let me give you an example of what Peter is saying.
[00:44:29] Years ago, almost 25 years ago now, Rochelle and I were married. We exchanged these rings.
[00:44:37] We were married when these rings that we wear on our fingers were exchanged.
[00:44:42] That's what happened in the ceremony.
[00:44:45] But here's the deal.
[00:44:47] These rings, while an intricate part of the ceremony, and you would say that when we put these on each other's fingers, we were married.
[00:44:55] What we understand when we say that is this, is that they are a huge symbol of the unbroken marital union that we have committed to with each other and with God. Right?
[00:45:07] What married us was not these rings, though they are a significant symbol.
[00:45:12] What married us was the commitment that we made between ourselves and God. And that is a holy commitment.
[00:45:21] In Peter's day, baptism was a little bit different than what we do sometimes in the church today. When a person came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, they went and found water and they got baptized. It was that symbol. It was that picture of Jesus dying and raising to life and our identification with him in his death and us being raised to new life. And people went immediately to the water. In the church today, what happens oftentimes we might get baptized immediately. When we come to faith in Christ, it might be a week, two weeks, a few months, a Few years, some of you, 25, 30 years, you know, not pointing out anybody. But I want you to think about that because when Peter uses it here, what he's wanting us to understand is that it was a symbol of the commitment that had been made. When you read this passage, you have to read it in what we call canonically at looking at the whole of Scripture. And what does Paul say all throughout the New Testament? What does Jesus say all throughout the New Testament? You are saved by what faith alone in God, not by works so that no one may boast in the same way. What Peter is articulating here is not only that there is nothing outside of the bounds of God's control as he persevered, but let her ask. Jesus alone is the One who saves. He alone is the One who transforms our lives. And that is an incredible hope. I want you to think about this with me here as we think about everything that we have looked at.
[00:46:57] What is the prescription to love life and to see good days?
[00:47:00] Peter says to nurture and to protect the faith community that God has given us. Because that community is meant for your good and for your flourishing as a follower of Jesus Christ. To be a place where you are surrounded by like minded people who will walk with you in your hardest and even darkest moments or your greatest moments of failure.
[00:47:19] He tells us to not be caught flat footed, but to expect that suffering is going to come as we expect suffering is going to come. It allows us then to view it through the lens of our faith, faith in Jesus Christ.
[00:47:34] And as we view it through the lens of our faith in Jesus Christ. It's what gives us hope and helps us to see that we don't have to, even in our suffering, be miserable, but we have an opportunity within that that God is going to use for the purposes of ministry.
[00:47:51] And we understand that there is nothing outside of God's control. Jesus is the One who comes and saves and transforms our lives. So in closing, what opportunities are presented through our suffering? Letter A To press into deeper intimacy with God I know from my own experience that God allows us to go through suffering because sometimes he's trying to get our attention.
[00:48:22] He allows us to go to a place where we see our need for him because he is pursuing us and he calls us to press into deeper intimacy with Him. I can tell you guys there have been moments in my life that have been so painful, but I would not exchange them because of what God has done in changing and transforming my heart. By walking through those difficult moments, he has taught me true Truly what it means to let go of the things of this world and to put my hope and my trust in him no matter what comes my way, to be in the ready position to know it's going to come. But when it comes, I don't have to worry because I know that my salvation is secure in Jesus Christ and I will live with him forever. And that gives me a hope that this world cannot have. It teaches me Letter B to trust him in deeper and more significant, significant ways in my life.
[00:49:17] To not just allow my faith to stay at a surface level, but to truly mean it when I say that I can trust him with anything.
[00:49:26] Letter C.
[00:49:27] We have the opportunity and suffering to experience what the world cannot, which is true joy and true peace. It sounds crazy to say, because the truth is when we walk through hardship and difficulty and suffering, they are not joyous moments, necessarily doesn't feel good. We don't like it. But we can experience the joy of the Lord.
[00:49:47] What does the scripture tell us says that when we face trials of many kinds, that we can have joy because we know that God is at work transforming our lives and accomplishing his purposes in our life.
[00:49:59] And not only that, but we can experience a peace that God gives through His Holy Spirit that this world cannot have because we have the hope of eternity that is yours and suffering.
[00:50:11] Letter D. He wants to use our experience of brokenness to show Jesus faithfulness to a world that is watching.
[00:50:21] If I say can say one thing to you this morning, I want you to hear that there is a world that is watching and your life is telling them about God whether you ever open your mouth or not.
[00:50:37] And when they watch you go through difficulty and brokenness and suffering, what is the message they're receiving about your God and your trust and hope that is found in him alone?
[00:50:48] Because Letter E, the greatest call we have is to call people to the truth that only Jesus saves.
[00:50:59] This morning you may be here and you may be walking through some really hard things and maybe even you are here this morning and you've been going through this life and you feel the heaviness of the brokenness of this world.
[00:51:12] And you might even say to me, I have, you know, I have maybe even believed that there is a God and that there is Jesus. But I've never truly put my faith and my trust and my hope in Him.
[00:51:24] And maybe today is the day you choose to do that. Because as we've walked through this service, the gospel is clear that God loves you. He's been pursuing you.
[00:51:36] He wants you to know that he has your best in mind, not just now for this life, but when this broken world passes away. He has an eternity in a perfect relationship with him planned for your life. And, and it can be yours if you would choose today to trust him with your whole heart and your whole life.
[00:51:54] So I'm going to invite you to bow your heads with me and let's pray together.
[00:51:59] If God is speaking into your heart this morning and you know you're at that place at the end of your rope and you want to take that step of putting your faith and trust in Jesus for the first time today, truly yielding your life and your heart to him. In the quietness of where you. You sit in your heart, I just ask you to pray these words. God, I confess to you that I am a sinner, and I confess to you that I have been running from you.
[00:52:27] But I believe in you.
[00:52:29] I believe that you sent your son Jesus into this world to die on a cross to pay the penalty for my sin, and that he was raised to life conquering sin and death so that if I would put my faith and trust in him as he took my punishment, that I can be restored in a right relationship with you today. God, I actively choose to trust you.
[00:52:55] I put my faith in you and I declare that today I choose to follow you.
[00:53:02] Come into my life, God, change and transform for me and help me to experience, even in difficulty and suffering, the hope that only you can give me through salvation.
[00:53:15] Thank you for that gift.
[00:53:18] As we continue to have our heads bowed, I would just say to you, if you prayed that prayer this morning, I am so thankful. You are beginning a new incredible journey with Christ as your Lord and Savior. And in the midst of difficulty and suffering and the. The brokenness of this world, he has so much hope and so much blessing to pour into your life.
[00:53:37] I would just invite you that today before you leave, you'll see in the pew in front of you a small card. It says I said yes on the front. And I'd encourage you to fill that card out. Just as people are leaving, take a moment to fill it out. You can drop it in the giving buckets in the back, or I'll tell you a little bit later, you can bring it up front because I would love that opportunity for. For you to experience what it's like to truly be a part of this family as we walk with you in your journey of following Jesus. We have a Bible we want to give you. We have devotional materials we would love to give you, and we would just love to make that connection as you begin that journey.
[00:54:13] Church let's pray together, God, I also know that there are many people here this morning that are walking through hard things, that are grieving, that have felt lost, that would confess that they've run from you, that they've pushed others away, that they've allowed their suffering and difficulty to bring out their worst rather than the best of what you have for us in the midst of our suffering.
[00:54:48] And I pray today, God, that through your Holy Spirit and the preaching of your word, that you would speak into our hearts and transform us and remind us, God, that there is such great opportunity for us to experience something totally different that this world can't. When we put our true hope and faith in you, would you bring comfort to those who are hurting and grieving?
[00:55:09] Would you draw near to those who are suffering and struggling?
[00:55:14] Would you give us peace in our hearts and joy that can only come from you? And would you create within us, Father, a testimony to share with the world so that as they see our lives, they ask questions because they want desperately the hope that we have.
[00:55:32] And so God minister to us today and create this within us that the world would see that our hope comes because Jesus saves and he has saved us. In Jesus name, amen.
