Stand Firm in the True Grace of God
First B Jackson
2018-11-25

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Good morning, everybody. How are you? So good. That's what I like to hear from the back row back there. How about we stand up and get going early?

There's a long winded preacher in the room. So if you all would stand up, we would get rolling and we'll sing the people in from the festival. How about let's start with hymn number 11? Come now fountain of every blessing.

Come now fount of every blessing tune my heart to sing thy grace streams of mercy never ceasing call for songs of loudest praise teach me some melodious son and sung by flaming tongues above praise his name I'm fixed upon it name of God's redeeming love hitherto thy love has blessed me thou hast brought me to this place and I know thy hand will lead me safely home by thy good grace Jesus on me when a stranger wandering from he to rescue me from danger interposed his precious blood oh to grace how great a daily I'm constrained to be let thy goodness like a better find my wandering heart to thee prone to wonder lord I feel it prone to leave here's my heart oh take and seal it seal it for thy courts above Amen.

How about the love of God? Do you all know this song? This is such a poetic song. I love it. There's a verse in the end of the gospel of John where John says that if everything that was written about Jesus that ought to be written about Jesus, there's not a way that this world would contain all of the books that would be written and this kind of says that in its last birth.

The love of God, hymn number one fifty seven.

Amen.

Y'all can have a seat. We'll go through the announcements rather quickly, I hope, today. We're still meeting and we're still eating on Monday nights. What's going on tomorrow night, Carl? James chapter three on taming the tongue.

That ought to be really good. We also have meal and music before that message tomorrow night. Soft start around six, 06:15 or so. Awana will be happening in this room too, pouring scripture into the minds to reach the hearts of the kids from about age two up through fifth grade. After fifth grade is youth group, sixth grade through high school is a youth ministry.

Mike Demetrius is our youth director. There's his phone number. If you don't have it, take it down. He is doing youth group these days. On Tuesdays, it's from 06:30 to eight.

And we have a kind of a children's choir, but it's a voluntary thing that, do you wanna say anything more about it, Nancy? All the children we can get. December 23, fantastic, about five songs. And the children that will voluntarily do this is are going to be there. But we also probably need a couple of adult volunteers too, right?

Sure, why not? Perfect. Alright, volunteers are needed. Information is in the bulletin and Nancy would be the person to talk to about that. We are having the caroling, Christmas caroling and the chili cook off.

It's an annual event. It's gonna be December 9. It'll start at 04:30 with the caroling part. And usually we carol all around town until a little after dark, and then we come back about six, we'll have the chili cook off starting. It's a friendly competition.

That's a lot of fun, always a lot of fun. Just so you know, if you look at the front of your bulletin this week, there's a Boy Scout on there with a pancake, He's holding it out. Next week, this is a reminder, next week if you want to have breakfast, you can come in between services and the Boy Scouts will be preparing either pancakes or biscuits and gravy or something. They always do a good job with it. So breakfast is our specialty though.

So, Boy Scouts will be doing that between services next Sunday and if there's any other information about any Bible studies or anything else you need to know including prayer request, that should be in your bulletin. Nick does a good job of keeping up with that. Jane helps out by doing, proofreading on it. So anything else you can check-in the bulletin? Is there something I've forgotten?

Crickets. Nothing. Alright. Good. If you would, stand up and greet one another.

We will rather rapidly come back together with a song.

I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, thy power throughout the universe display, and sings my soul, my savior God to thee. How great thou art, how great thou art, and sings my soul, my savior God on the last when Christ shall come with shout of and take me home what joy shall fill my heart then I shall bow

Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Are we singing in moments like these? Let's don't sing in moments like these, alright? I'm going to save a little time for the sermon.

Can I get the frontline team to come forward? Would you all pray with me too? Lord, we thank you for the living hope and the sure salvation for the incorruptible, undefiled hope that we have to look forward to and God, I pray that our lives would be lived out in such a way that others around us would see and know that you are God. Lord, that you are in the business of transforming lives and changing us. I I pray lord that we would submit our will to yours and in that lord, I that we would recognize that people need the Lord.

People need Jesus and so God, would you take all that we give whether it be our time, our talents, or our best resources, our finances even more. That you would use all of those things to further your gospel. The kingdom purpose would be advanced. Lord, by the obedience of your humble servants, acting as the body of Christ here on earth. Lord, would you work your salvation into the lives of those who at this point don't know you?

Would you use these funds that we're gonna place in these places, plates to do just that. In Jesus name, across all the places on this globe. Amen. Find me, Lord.

What have I ever done to deserve even one of the pleasures I've known? What did I ever do that was worth loving you or the kindness you've shown. I can show someone else what I've been through myself on my way back to you. Lord, help me, Jesus.

Thank you, Doyle and Carl. It's a good Thanksgiving song. Lord, help me Jesus. Why? Why me?

I think we ask why me more often when we're thinking about bad stuff, right? Instead of good stuff. What have I, what have I ever do? Deserve even one of the blessings you give. We're up to first Peter five twelve through 14.

If you're keeping up in your Bibles, that is three verses at the very end of first Peter. So, I only have three verses to preach today, right? Normally, that would be the case. It this is the big finale, but it goes out kind of as a whimper. It's a big finale to the variations on big various themes of the book.

If you came in today and you're thinking, he's gonna finish up. Just three verses. It's going be short. It's not. I'm just going to tell you right now.

I woke up at 02:30 this morning and I knew what I had attempted to do for this the last of a series on first Peter. This book is so so good. It's so so good. If you're going through hard times, if you're going through joy inexpressible times, it's still good, the whole thing but I'm going to go through the three verses. I'll preach those like I normally do.

Taking em apart, expository But I'm also right in the middle, we're gonna have this like a sandwich of a sermon. The bread of the service is these last three verses. That's the the bread on the bottom and the bread on the top. But there's a ton of meat in between the two of them, and that's the way we're gonna look at it. Black slides are verses we haven't covered, white slides are ones we have, but here we go.

The last three verses of first Peter, we'll close it out. So the major themes, a very, very high view of Christ. The highest Christology, I think, in the New Testament and that's hard to do because Christ is supreme, right? In all of the New Testament but there's an incredibly high Christology or a high view of Christ. Listen for that.

If you want to scribble down in your new notes page, look for a high view of Christ when we're in our meaty part of the sandwich, okay? Unjust Christian suffering. Now, that will be repeated at least five times throughout this but really depending on how you count it. It's over and over and over again. Unjust Christian suffering or suffering for righteousness sake is met with eventual exaltation by God.

That's a strong theme of first Peter. So, if you're going through it right now, whether it be you're going through it for purely for righteousness sake or you're just going through with the ringer, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God and he will exalt you unjust, suffering. Obedience to the gospel particularly, it says, obedience to the truth. Obedience to the truth or obedience to the gospel or obedience to Jesus Christ through his resurrection. That is layered in there multiple times too.

So, that goes along with the high view of Christ but it's obedience to the gospel because that is the way that God has made and then, humility. So, those four things, there are probably others, the doctrine of the church, and several other things but these are the four that stood out to me. When Carl said, how shall I build the song service for this week? And I said, well, I'm preaching the last three verses of first Peter and he's like, okay, it talks about Silas and it talks about Mark and a holy kiss. Let me think about this.

So, I said, go with those themes and it was a beautiful kind of service this morning from there and all of these songs lined up with it too but these are the four things. Here we go. Through Sylvanus. Sylvanus, if you look at that through Sylvanus, it's the same guy as Silas. It's difference in Greek and Aramaic or Greek and people argue over what exactly the difference is but there's no doubt about it being this guy.

Silas is often pictured in art with a scroll and this one, it's Acts sixteen thirty one. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. That makes sense, right? Because it's Silas and Silas was in the Philippian jail when the Philippian jailer asked that question, what must I do to be saved? If you look, y'all can't see it very well from there but there are chains right there that are broken chains that he's holding in his hand.

And often times in art, especially old icons of art, it there's an iconography that's kinda like a code for who this guy is instead of just writing their name. It says, Silas right here by the way. But instead of just doing that for those who couldn't read, he'd have a broken chain. So, you know that's Silas. Are you with me?

Through Silas, our faithful brothers, the next thing that Peter first Peter says, he was a leading member of the church accompanied by Paul. He accompanied Paul and on parts of the first and second missionary journey. John Mark was in there. You know, Mark was in there too. Paul, Silas, and Timothy are listed as the co authors of first and second Thessalonians because they were traveling together at that time.

And Peter says that his gospel, those first two words was through Sylvanas or through Silas. First Peter was written through that. He's also a preacher. He's an elder, a leader, but he's also a preacher. Second Corinthians says, for the son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me, and by Silas.

So, I don't know if you just thought Silas is a running buddy and a sidekick more like Robin than Batman. He's a pretty important figure in the New Testament. He and Judas Barsabbas were selected by the church elders to return with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch after the Jerusalem Council, really, really important thing in the early part of the church around forty nine AD or so. Silas was selected by Paul to accompany him on his second missionary journey after Paul and Barnabas split and they split over Mark's leaving during the first. Do you remember that?

Mark kind of bailed on him when they got to the mainland off of an island and Paul was like, I'm not going back with that guy. He's a deserter. He left us last time and Barnabas like, come on, Paul. Then they had a sharp disagreement and they separated. It's nice to see that all these guys get back together in the end, okay?

So, Silas is there with him. This is the passage from Acts 16 that after midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. Now, they're in jail while they're doing this, praying and singing hymns to God and the other prisoners were listening to them and hearing the gospel being sung and suddenly, there was a such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken and all at once at the prison, the doors flew open and everyone's chains came loose and that's why he's pictured with these loosed chains. The jailer woke up when he saw the prison doors were open. He drew his sword and he was about to kill himself and Paul and Silas shouted, don't harm yourself.

We're all here. The jailer called for lights and rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas and he then brought them out and asked him, sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they replied, yes. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. You and your whole household.

Okay, so that's Silas. That's the guy. Through Sylvanus or through Silas, who's our faithful brother? For so I regard him. I have written to you briefly.

Now, the briefly here gives me some confidence to do what I'm gonna do today. Peter considered this a short letter. It's five chapters in our Bibles. It's a 105 verses total, and it's 1,684 Greek words, and he considered that brief. Alright?

It's not Romans. It's not Hebrews. It's not Revelation. It's not a long, long one. But he says, I've written to you briefly, and what I'm doing in this is exhorting.

Exhorting means encouraging towards that which is good, and testifying, just stating it that it's true, testifying that this is the true grace of God and that this right there, preposition. I mean, I'm sorry, pronoun. This pronouns gotta refer to something. So, what does it refer to? This is the true grace of God.

Now, the last thing we heard right before this sermon, two weeks ago, I preached on this and this is where we ended up that God himself. If you will humble yourselves and be of sober spirit and be on the alert and resist the devil. God himself will perfect and confirm and strengthen and establish you. Now, you could go with that and just go this. This is the true grace of God because he doesn't have to do that but he will do.

Does that make sense? That's God's grace right there. So, that's where you could say that and that's the short version of that but I'm not going to do the short version. These are the verses that I just quoted. He says, be doing these things.

Humble yourselves and be of sober spirit and be on alert. Resist the devil. You got an adversary. He's roaring or prowling about like a roaring lion. Resist him and God himself will perfect and confirm, strengthen, and establish and I don't know what this passage dislodged two weeks ago but I was glad that I didn't have to preach last Sunday because there were so many people that were saying, that's that hit me right where I live and what I want is for God to confirm and perfect and establish and strengthen me and so, I'm working on humbling myself and I want you to help and pray with me about this that I'm going through.

Amen. That's good. When he says, stand firm in it. Stand firm is from this word, this Greek word, and it is continue to be standing. You're already standing.

You've already put your faith in Christ. Continue standing on that. Don't go backwards. Okay? Don't shy away from it.

Be standing by. Be standing ready. Be standing firm, and be being steadfast. Just go with what you know. Okay?

Go with what you know to be true, and keep on being vigilant. Are you with me? Yeah. Stand firm in it. Now we gotta deal with the it.

Again, it's pronoun. Stand firm in it. What is the it? Well, we could say that it's that. Humble yourself.

That's the immediate context and maybe that's good enough. But I am convinced and the more I pray about it, the more I read this book, the more I'm convinced that he's talking about stand firm in everything that I have written to you. And so now, the the white slides always mean that that's something we've already covered. I'm gonna cover a 102 verses. Okay?

I'm gonna try my best to read them and not preach them. You all have already heard this if you've been here. If you wanna close your eyes so as not to have death by PowerPoint, because I'm literally gonna read to you for right now, okay, it's gonna take about eighteen minutes. We're gonna go through it. I want you to just take it like a bath.

Alright? It's really, really, really good for us to hear and this is the way that this letter would have been delivered when it was delivered to the churches. This is one who is sent out by Christ. In fact, let's just start right there. Peter, one who is sent out by Christ.

Jesus, to those who are residing as aliens, sojourners scattered throughout Pontus and Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, those who are chosen. Now, I wanna stop right here and say, this is the R McD version. This is the Red McDaniel version. It's not the new American Standard. It's not the ESB.

I have been up, like I said, since 02/30. I came in here at 03:00. Can I put all these slides in the middle of this sermon? Because it matters. And I feel like God is saying, this is what we need.

Here we go. Those who are chosen, to be chosen of God. Eclectus. You know the word eclectic? Somebody's got an eclectic style.

They that means that they are someone who is selecting. They're picking out their favorites and putting things together that are disparate. They don't really go together necessarily, but they are select and pulled out of lots of different places. There's a consignment shop here in town that's called Eclectic, and she's very select about what she takes in. Chosen, elect, choice, select.

In the Bible, it refers to people who are chosen out by God for the rendering of special service to him. In the Old Testament, this concept is about the Hebrews, the race of the Hebrews, and then the Messiah and or Christians. So here we are. Peter, once sent out by Christ to those who are residing zealings, sojourners scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Asia, who are chosen. And they were chosen according to the foreknowledge of God, the father by the sanctifying work of the spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.

May y'all have grace and peace multiplied to you. Now, I'm throwing in the y'alls because that matters too. I think that often we read scripture as if it was just individually for us and that comes from our culture as individualistic Americans. But he's saying this to a body of believers. So, may all of y'all have grace and peace.

May it be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his great mercy, having birthed us again, being born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Towards an inheritance. An inheritance is imperishable and undefiled and unfading and reserved in heaven for all of y'all who are being guarded. Those of you who are being guarded by the power of God through faith for a salvation.

That salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this salvation in which you greatly rejoice. Even though now, for a little while if necessary, you have, are having been put to grief by various trials. I also am trying to pay very particular attention to the grammar because it makes a difference. It recognizes that we have been put through grief.

Some of you it's been extended medical stays for yourself or for a loved one. For some of you it may be something you're going through right now, the grieving death of a loved one, or something you yourself are personally battling. You having been put to grief by various trials so that the proven genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold, which is itself perishable, even though it's tested by fire. Your faith may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revealing of Jesus Christ, whom not having seen him, you love him and though you're not seeing him physically right now, but you are believing y'all yourselves may now greatly rejoice with joy and expressible, filled with glory, receiving as the outcome of y'all's faith, salvation of souls. Now, I've skipped a couple things.

If you're reading along in the NASB or ESB, that often says, the salvation of your souls but that your is not in there. Receiving as the outcome of y'all's faith. The way that you live out your life, the way that you live out what it is that you believe will result in the salvation of souls, not just yours but other people. Concerning the salvation, the prophets having prophesied of the towards you kind of grace searched out diligently and they were seeking all that while to know what or in what manner or time, the spirit of Christ within them was indicating it. He was testifying beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would then follow.

Do you see the unjust suffering immediately followed by exaltation by God? The glories that will follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but they were serving you in these things which have now been proclaimed to you. Those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Things into which the angels long to look.

Therefore, since it's true that people have proclaimed the gospel to you and you've accepted it. Since that's true, having guarded up your minds for action and being sober in spirit, do this. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revealing of Jesus Christ. Set your mind completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revealing of Jesus Christ as children of obedience, not conforming to the former desires that you had in your ignorance, but like the holy one who called you, be holy. It really is a call to holiness.

Also, in all your behavior because it is written and this is exactly what it says in the order that it says it in Greek, okay? I know it's not the way we normally hear it because it's not the way typically English is spoken but I think it makes a difference and so here it is. Holy, you shall be because holy I am. God says this. It's an old testament quote.

Holy, you shall be because holy I am. Who is it that's going to establish and confirm and perfect you? It's God. Holy you shall be because holy I am. If you address as father, if you call God father, the one who impartially judges according to each one's work, then conduct yourselves in reverent fear during the time of your sojourn, or the NASB says, during your time here on Earth.

Time is going to go on, right? According conduct yourselves in reverent fear during the time of your sojourn, knowing that you are not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from the futility of your way. The way of life that was handed down from your fathers. But you are redeemed by precious blood as a a lamb unblemished, spotless, the very blood of Christ. For he, having been foreknown.

He indeed before the foundation of the world, having been revealed in these last times for y'all's sake, y'all who trust him are believers in God. The one who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that y'all's faith and y'all's hope, it's all in God. Are you with me? Barely getting going. Since you have an obedience to the truth, purified your souls for a sincere of the love of the brothers and sisters in Christ, then do this.

Fervently will love one another out of a pure heart. Having been born again, not of seed which is perishable but imperishable. That is by the living and abiding word of God. Do you see the high Christology, the high view of Christ in this? He's called the living and enduring word of God.

The one who saves, the one who went to the cross and through the grave. Old Testament quote here, for all flesh is like grass and all its glory is like the flower of grass, the grass withers, and the flower falls off. But the word of the Lord endures forever and this is the word which was preached to Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and all hypocrisy and all envy and all slander like newborn babies and this is a direct command. Crave. Be craving the pure milk of the word.

So that by it, by the pure milk of the word of God, you may grow up in respect to salvation. We need it to nurture us. And then he does this little apostolic dig. He's like, if in fact you are a Christian, okay? The word is good for you.

This gives me a little bit more biblical cover, alright? For this morning, reading five chapters to you. If you have tasted of the kindness of the Lord, crave the pure milk of the word. Come into him, to Jesus, as to a living stone which has been rejected by men but it's choice and precious in the sight of God, you yourselves also as living stones. Y'all, as living stones are being built up into a holy priesthood as a spiritual house.

That's one way of reading it and that's a good way of reading it but the parenthesis right there, the middle voice translation of this is good for us to consider. Y'all are building yourselves up as a spiritual house into a holy priesthood. God's doing the work, but y'all have to be complying. Does that make sense? Into a holy priesthood.

Some someone to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are accepted, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, more Old Testament. It's contained in scripture therefore, behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, and he who believes in him shall not be put to shame. Amen. This preciousness, direct translation, this preciousness then is for the believing, but for those who are disobeying. Now he sees those as two distinct groups.

There are those who are believing and there are those who are disobeying. It's not belief and disbelief, it's believing and disobeying. He sees them as two separate things. The stone which the builders have rejected, this has become the very cornerstone. And a stone of stumbling and a rock of a fence.

How can it be that it's the only way? That's the rock of offense for a lot of people in our day. A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense where they stumble because they're disobedient to the word. Several times he says obedient or disobedient to the word. Several times he says, obedient or disobedient to the truth.

Several times he says, obedient or disobedient to the gospel. And to this end, they were also appointed. You, believers, Christians. You, however, you, Peter says to them and he's saying still to us today, you, if you've believed in Christ, you are a chosen race. Ecclesia, call that one.

You are a royal priesthood. You are to yourselves a holy nation. You are a people for his own possession so that you may proclaim the excellencies of the one who's called you out of the darkness and into his marvelous light. For once, you were not a people. But now, you are people of God.

Now, I could say of those of us who are gathered right here, the the primary group here, we are here because we're here gathered in Jesus name, right? Do we have anything else in common? I have plenty of stuff in common with some of y'all but I don't have anything in common with all of y'all except this. Do you agree with that? Yeah.

We're from all kinds of backgrounds. We're from all kinds of geographic backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, regional accents. We've got lots of different ways of looking at things but Christ is what pulls us together. You were not a people but now you are a people. You're the people of God and you had not received mercy but now, you have received mercy.

Beloved, I urge you then as aliens and strangers, sojourners to abstain from the fleshly lust, those things which wage against the soul. Keep your conduct honorable among the outsiders, the Gentiles, the hidden in some translations, those other nations. So that in the very thing in which they slander you as evildoers, that they may, because of having witness to your good deeds, they may glorify God in the day of visitation because of how you live your life. Y'all submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution. Be good citizens whether it's to the king as one who is in authority or to regional governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.

For this such is the will of God that by doing right, doing good, you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act then as free men. Act as free people and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil but use it as servants of God. Specifically, these are commands for em in in order. Honor all people.

Be loving the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Servant. And he starts to list.

This is kind of a household code. He'll go servants, wives, husbands. Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect. Not only to those who are good to you and gentle but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor and if for the sake of conscience toward God, a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly, there it is again.

What credit is there if when you sin, you're harshly treated and you endure it with patience, you do the crime, you get the time, right? But if when you do what is right and you suffer for it and you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God. They're not a whole lot of things in scripture that it says, this finds favor with God but this is one of em that you can be certain of because it's over and over and over again. For y'all, believers have been called for this very purpose. Since Christ also suffered for y'all, leaving y'all an example for y'all that y'all should follow in his steps.

He who committed no sin nor was any deceit found in his mouth. He never shaded the truth to make himself look better. There was no guile, no deceit found in Jesus' mouth. And while he was being reviled, he did not revile in return and while he was suffering, he uttered no threats. In fact, we see him saying, father, forgive them for they know not what they do even as it's being mailed to the cross.

He uttered no threats but he kept on. I love this. This one hit me hard. I I don't remember ever having seen this until I started preaching through this this time. He kept on entrusting himself to him who judges righteously.

Now, this says this of Christ. In another chapter, he'll be telling us to entrust ourselves to our faithful creator. He kept on entrusting himself to him who judges righteously. Think of his garden prayer when he said, if there be any other way, let's do that but your will be done to the father. He was willing to go even through the uncomfortable and difficult times.

He kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously and he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross. He nailed those sins to the cross so that having been dead to sin, we might live to righteousness. For it is by his wounds that y'all were healed. Can you consider that? You didn't pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

It is by his wounds that y'all were healed. There's a lot of comfort in knowing that the punishment has already been suffered for your sin. If we could live in that place where we understood it, it would help us not to return to that sin. For y'all were continually straying like sheep, but now y'all have returned to the shepherd and to the guardian of your souls. Likewise, wives, be submissive to your own husbands.

So that even if any are disobedient to the word and there will be, they may be one without a word. By the behavior of their wives as they witness your pure and your respectful behavior, Your adorning is not to be merely external but like braiding of the hair or wearing gold jewelry or putting on dresses but in the hidden person of the heart. With this imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which before God is of great worth. I'm I went painstakingly to make sure I said exactly what it said in Greek. This is as accurate a rendering as I can muster.

For in this way, in former times, the holy women also, hoping in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, just as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him lord and you have become her children. If you do good, not fearing any consternation. Husbands, old print. Likewise, dwell with your wives in an understanding way as with the weaker best vessel. With the female rendering her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life.

This was absolutely revolutionary in the time this letter was written. Honor her as a fellow heir of the grace of life so that your prayers, guys, will not be hindered. To sum up, all of y'all, be harmonious and sympathetic, brotherly, kind hearted, humble in spirit, not repaying evil for evil, or insult for insult. On the contrary, however, giving a blessing instead. For you are called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.

So, be a blessing to other people. For the one who is desiring of life, to love, and to see good days, then, let him keep his tongue from evil and let him keep his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good and let him seek peace and let him pursue it. Those are all third person commands. We don't do that in English to let him.

That's like not me commanding myself or commanding you but let this person, whoever that person is, if you're desirous of a righteous and good life. Let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace and let him pursue it because the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears attend to their prayer but the face of the Lord is against those who are doing evil. We'll see it in a few minutes too that God resists the proud but he gives grace to the humble. Who is there to harm you?

If you prove zealous for what is good, but even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, y'all are blessed and y'all should not be afraid of them. You should not be afraid of them, neither should you be troubled but sanctify Christ as lord in your heart. Ready always to make a defense to everyone who is asking you to give an account concerning the hope that's in you yet with gentleness and reverence. If by your actions, people come to you and say, what is it that sets you apart that makes you different? What is it?

Where did you get whatever it is you got? And be ready with a word with gentleness and reverence, not with arrogance or pride. Keeping a good conscience so that the very thing in which you might, they might speak evil of you, they shall be ashamed. Those who revile your Christ like manner of life or here it is. Again, it is better if God should will it so.

For you to suffer for doing good rather than for doing evil. For Christ also died for sins. He did that once for all. Sounds like Hebrews right there, doesn't it? The just for the unjust and so that he might bring all y'all to God.

Having been put to death indeed in the flesh but having been made alive in the spirit. Now, right here, Peter uses an analogy that I think would be lost on most of us. He starts talking about a time way back when. So here we go. In spirit, Christ also went and he preached to the spirits who are now in prison having disobeyed back in the day when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah.

During that time, when the ark was being prepared, Noah was preaching. He was preaching in the spirit of Christ. He's preaching that people would repent and turn and people didn't. They just didn't. But it was the spirit of Christ that was preaching through Noah to look to God and they did.

While the ark was being prepared in which a few, that is eight souls, only eight souls were saved through the waters. This also prefigures for you saving baptism before you get confused, Peter says, not the removal of filth from the flesh. I'm not talking about an actual bath or an actual submersion in water. I'm talking about saving baptism which is an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I know that may sound offensive to the world but that is the way that God has made.

We can either humbly accept that or proudly reject it but we do so at our peril like the rest of the people who around Noah. That's the illustration he's using. So, Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, who is having, having gone into heaven, angels, and authorities, and powers, all having been subjected to him. All the verb tenses right there are important. Christ did not know and we don't know how things are going to go.

The battle's over. When he said it was finished, it's finished. He put an end to sin. He did away with that. He's at the right hand of God, interceding for us, Paul says.

Having gone into heaven, angels and authorities powers having been subjected to him. So, if there's anything that's acting on you from the outside, on your life that you feel overburdened with, it's not something that is taking God by surprise. The angels and the powers principalities are all subject to Christ even at this moment right now. Having been subjected to him. Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, you yourselves, arm yourselves with the same purpose purpose or same mind as a good translation too because one, having suffered in the flesh is done with sin completely.

So, as to live for the rest of time in the flesh, no longer unto or after the lusts of men but unto the will of God. He's saying, the one who died, Christ, he has made an end to sin. For the time already passed is sufficient to have carried out all the desires of the Gentiles, the other nations, the hidden, having pursued a course of sensuality and lust and drunkenness and carousing and drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In this, they think it's strange that you're no longer running with them into the same excesses of dissipation and they will malign you. They will talk ugly about you.

But they also will have to give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead. It's been, he's saying all the way since the days of Noah. God's always been active and the spirit of God has always been active and he's always been broadcasting to turn to him and he would say, the gospel is preached even to those who are now dead. Lot of these people would have been receiving this letter.

They had had people who had died as martyrs already. They're wondering, what's going on with them? For the gospel is preached even to those who are now dead that though they might have been judged indeed in the flesh as men, they should now be living in the spirit according to the will of God. Now, listen to this, the end of all things is near. Therefore, be of sound judgment.

How many times does he say that? Like be sober, be of sound judgment. It's like five times. Be of sound judgment and be of sober spirit for the purpose of your prayers. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins and be hospitable to one another without complaint.

Be a friend of the stranger without complaint. This is my this is my passage right here. This is banana sermon right here. Just as each one of y'all has received a gift, be employing that gift and serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Now, Imma stop right here for a minute.

If anyone speaks, I try my best to speak. I study ahead of time, all that stuff, you know, And I try my best to deliver the message in an easily manageable bite sized piece. Today, I'm not doing that. But I discovered a gift that I don't have this week, in the last few weeks. I have been trying to memorize this whole book, these five chapters, these 105 verses, 1,684 words.

I've been trying to memorize this for weeks now because when I was in seminary, there was a professor and he was the president of seminary. He challenged all of us as students to memorize first Peter with him. And he started the first week. If you're gonna break it up evenly over the weeks of this semester, then you need to learn this much each week. And so we started filing this stuff into our head trying to do that.

And I was working because I wanted it to be in my heart. It's it to me is the most pastoral book and the most helpful book in the New Testament for me personally. So, I tried and at the end of the semester, this guy got up and he from no notes, no screens. He just recited from memory. I have straight chapters of first Peter and I wanted to do that so bad.

And when I got up here, I wanted to do it and I have been trying for the last four or five weeks. I have taped myself. I have tried every kind of way. I have no gift for memorization. Just as each one of y'all has received a gift, if I had gotten up here and memorized it, it would have been completely pride.

But I can't do that but when God wakes me up and says, do this, not not that he speaks to me audibly. I don't ever hear that but when he impresses that this is what we need to hear, I try my best to do. So, if anyone speaks, let him speak as one who is speaking the very utterances of God and if anyone serves, let him do so as one who is serving by the strength what God supplies so that in all things, God's the one who receives the glory through Jesus Christ. To whom belongs the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

So beloved, one more time with the suffering here. Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you which comes upon you for your testing as though some strange thing were happening to you. But as you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, you keep on rejoicing. Just as you have shared in the sufferings of Christ, you keep on rejoicing. So that also in the revealing of his glory, you may also rejoice with exaltation.

If you're reviled for the name of Christ, then you're blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rest on you. Indeed, on their part, the outsiders, the God is blasphemed but on your part, he's glorified. Make sure that none of you is suffering as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or even as a troublesome meddler and the troublesome meddler is another way of saying gossip by the way. If anyone suffers as a Christian, he's not to be ashamed but he is to glorify God in that name for it's time that judgment would begin. Actually, the grammar on that is actually, it is already past time that judgment would have begun.

Okay? It's already past time that judgment would have begun with the household of God and if it begins with us first, then, what would the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it's with difficulty that the righteous is saved and let me tell you, it was with difficulty that anyone was saved because Jesus went through that difficulty. It's pointed to it over and over. If it's with difficulty that the righteous is saved, then what will become of the godless man and the sinner, the one who rejects the way that God has made.

Therefore, let those also who are suffering according to the will of God. Let those of us be entrusting our souls to their faithful creator and doing what's right. Jesus kept on entrusting himself to God and we are to keep on entrusting ourselves to the faithful creator and continually doing what's right. Therefore, fifth chapter, we're almost through it. Exhort the elders and leaders among you.

As a fellow elder myself and witness firsthand eyewitness, Peter says, through and to the sufferings of Christ and as a partaker also of the glory that's going to be revealed, he says, emphatically, a command. Shepherd the flock of God that is among you. Wherever you find yourself, be shepherding the flock of God that's among you. Exercise an oversight, not under compulsion, not under compulsion but voluntarily according to the will of God and not for sordid gain but do so with eagerness not as lording it over those who are allotted to your charge but proven to be examples to the law and when that chief shepherd appears, capital C, capital S, Jesus, appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders, lead or follow.

Right. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another. For God is opposed to the proud but he gives grace to the humble. Amen. God is opposed to the proud but he gives grace to the humble.

That said in Peter, said in James, it said in Proverbs, it said in Psalms, it's all over the Bible. And then we'll get up to what we went through together two weeks ago. Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you at the proper time. Having cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be then of sober spirit and be on the alert and your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.

But resist him. Firm in your faith knowing that the same experiences of suffering that you're going through are being experienced throughout the world. They're being accomplished by your brothers and sisters who are still in this world. And after y'all have suffered for a little while, the grace of God who called y'all into his eternal glory in Christ will he will himself. Perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you and to him be dominion.

That's power forever and ever. From this age into the next age, amen. Then, we get back up to where we started today. That's the meaty part of the sandwich, okay? This is the other slice of bread and we'll close out.

She who is in Babylon. The she might catch you by surprise there but she, the word for church, ecclesia in Greek is a feminine word, and so she who is in Babylon is the church. I think that's confirmed by she who is in Babylon, chosen together with you. Peter is writing this from Rome. He was writing to people who've been scattered out and exiled, but he felt like he himself in Rome was in the very belly of the beast, and Babylon throughout the Old Testament was that.

So he's using Babylon as a moniker for Rome. Somewhat like, I hate to say it. I did a I did a wedding last week in Las Vegas and I loved it and it was great and the couple's here and it was wonderful and I had a great time. It was wonderful but Vegas, I've heard referred to more than once as Sodom or Gomorrah. Okay?

This is kinda what he's doing here. Babylon is Rome. That's what he's doing. And one guy who sits back here in the back in the summertime said, oh, if he don't destroy that place, he's gonna owe Sodom and Gomorrah an apology. I disagree.

There's a lot of good that goes on in Vegas too. They keep most of that there, but she who is in Babylon chosen together with you sends you greetings. So he's saying that from this church here, from this little fellowship of believers here, we're sending greetings to you. And a lot of churches in the old days, they used to have people stand at the beginning of the service and bring greetings. If we did that in Jackson every week, we'd have people every week that would get take the whole sermon time.

She who is in Babylon chosen together with you sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark. When he says my son, he's meaning my true son in the faith, Mark, we see pictured like this, usually with a lion. He's almost always in the ark. He has a lion or a winged lion, a winged lion right there. This is a statue by Donatello in Florence.

And this, I don't remember who the painter is on that but he's almost always has a gospel or a book that he's writing. Right there he does and right here he does and he has a lion right there and right there and that's a normal way to view Mark. This is probably a better way to view Mark because Mark is telling Peter's story. Like I said at the beginning, it's through Sylvanas or through Silas that Peter has written this letter to those far flung stretches of the empire. And Peter told his story to Mark, and Mark's gospel is Peter's story.

It was the first gospel that's written, and most theologians and most archaeologists of the of this time believe that Peter's story is the one told through Mark. So Pasqualeottini in about 1620 painted that painting of Mark, listening to Peter and writing down his words. So does my son, Mark, my true son in the faith, Paul called Timothy and Mark was that for Peter and he says right there, greet one another with a kiss of love. Now, this morning, we had a full house in the first service and I was like, I almost want to tell him, just turn to your neighbor and kiss one another. I didn't do it and I'm not gonna do it in this one either, but show one another that you love one another.

Okay? Is that enough of a threat? Because next time I might say kiss one another. No. Show one another.

If you love one another, show that you love one another. Okay? Greet one another with a kiss of love, something Paul called a holy kiss that set apart and then he ends exactly where he began when he said, may peace and grace be multiplied to all of y'all. He says, peace be to all of y'all who are in Christ and that is the end of first Peter. So, that's the end of it.

I thank you for sitting with me through the whole book of first Peter. In Jesus name, lord, I pray that you'd bless the reading of your scripture. I know that you say in Revelation and lord, I don't know any other way to to preach revelation. You said, blessed is he who will read publicly this book. I pray lord that that would extend and that your spirit would illumine your word and that you would attach this to our hearts in a way, lord, that we cannot get away from it.

Whether we memorize it or not, it would be something that would come to us as we are going through unjust suffering or as we are going through your eventual exaltation, we'd remember it, lord, the joy inexpressible that's filled with glory. I pray that you would apply your word to our lives and our lives to your service so that other souls may come to know you so that your salvation would be evident in Jesus name. Amen. Would y'all stand with me? We're going sing I Surrender All.

I have to tell you, I surrendered all because I had three verses to preach and then surrendering it in the middle of the night. Would y'all just sing what comes up? I I would call it an audible but you can do the you can do the first service one if you can find it, Blake. Thank you. If you're baptist, you've sung it a thousand times anyway, right?

All to I surrender

Thank you. If y'all would like a copy of the whole book of first Peter and you want to take it home, you hadn't had enough of it. I know you're a junkie for Jesus. There are some up here on the pulpit, okay? Would you pray with me?

God, thank you for your word. I thank you that it does its job. It never returns void. I thank you lord that we've got that assurance and I pray lord that you will do your will through it and as we are building ourselves up into a holy priesthood and into a sacred space. Lord, I pray that we would be holding fast the confession of our hope without wavering.

For we know that he who promised us faithful. And Lord, may we always be considering one another to stimulate one another and stir each other up into love and good deeds in Jesus name. Amen. Amen.