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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Happening. Information about that is in the bulletin. If you would like to be a part or if you know somebody who wants to be a part, get that information too. We will have the caroling and the chili cookout on December 9 at 04:30, 04:30, and six. The cross.

That's what God has done with our sins, past, present, and future. He has nailed them to the cross. We are righteous because in any righteousness that we have, guess what? It comes from him. It is from him.

It's in him. I think this is what God wants for us. Sit here. I really do. I have planned on it, and I preach everything that I'm gonna say today before.

I want it to wash over you and me because scripture is great. It's so good. I think it was meant to be heard in context. Context is king. You're less likely to misunderstand it if you get it all at once.

And so here we go. Big knowledge. Variations on various big things. So the last three verses is what's gonna close it out, but the major themes are this book has an incredibly high Christology, a high view of Christ. He is the savior.

He's the Lord. He is the one who directs. He is the one who came in humility and suffered, and he is now exalted, seated at the right hand of father interceding for us. There's a very high view of Christ in first Peter. It's wonderful if you concentrate just on that aspect to be doing well.

It's got a tremendous amount of unjust Christian suffering, suffering for righteousness sake. So I want you to be thinking about this. You got a little notes page on the back of your notes in there. If you're thinking about it, high view of Christ, unjust Christian suffering, maybe put those two and the next two up there and then keep a tally of every time he hits them in the center part of this meaty sandwich up there. There's a high view of Christ, unjust Christian suffering with resulting exaltation, I should say.

Obedience to the gospel actually comprehending what it is that Jesus has done and why and accepting that as your the only way. Okay? Are you with obedience to the gospel and then humility? Humility is what we did two weeks ago. So two weeks ago, preached a sermon about humbling yourselves under the mighty hand of God, therefore, and he will exalt you in new time.

That you'll be hearing that, but you'll hear it probably four or five times before we get to that closing passage. It's something else. Humility is very important because God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. So through Sylvain's, this is the way it starts off this week, five twelve. Through through Sylvain's, that's also most likely Silas.

That's just different renderings of the name. Sylvain's or Silas are the same person. Silas, if you ever see him in art, is often shown like this. He's holding a broken vein in his hand. So his icon or his iconography would say, if it's a guy holding a broken chain and oftentimes some piece of scripture, that's Acts sixteen thirty one right there.

That's Silas. He, along with Paul and Timothy, are the coauthors of both of the books to the Thessalonians. We always said Paul wrote it. Paul did write it, but Silas and Timothy are also listed as coauthors. And first Peter was written through Silas.

Now some people look at that and go, so Silas was the guy who would write it down. Peter was dictating it. That's good. That's okay. We can go with that.

Or it is through Silas' travels to take this to the folks that Peter was having him take it to to the outer reaches of the Roman Empire. It was written and delivered through Silas. He was also a preacher, God, for the son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you Anyway, he's a trusted guy. He's a leader in the church. He's one of the people that Peter would have been right to when he says, I exhort you as a fellow elder.

Okay? Good guy. You remember the story of Paul's house? The reason he's he is usually shown with broken chains and heart is because he was praying and singing hymns to God with Paul in jail at Philippi when all of a sudden, there was a such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken in all at once. The prison doors blew open and everyone's chains came loose.

That's why he's shown that way. So Paul and Silas, this is a guy who's been around a long time. Thessalonians was written around '49. This is about fifteen, sixteen something years later. Bruce Silvanus, our faithful brother, who's so hard regarding, I have written to you briefly.

This gives me cover. He says it's a brief letter. This is the way this letter would have been delivered at all at once to those who are listening. There are five chapters in our Bible, a 105 verses total. 1,684 good words for you.

Alright. He says what he's doing is exhorting or encouraging towards the good and testifying, proclaiming it that this is the true grace of God. Now that this there, what is the this? What does the this Thank you, Carl. I got to watch on Facebook last week.

And the message from James about not just being hearers but doers also. God will prophetic. He will confirm his strength and establish. That's the nearest context It's to him that be the dominion, power, forever and ever. Amen.

So we have those four imperatives. Humble yourselves. Be of sober spirit. Be on the alert. Resist the devil, and God will perfect, confirm, establish, and strengthen.

That's the nearest thing that the best could mean. When he says, this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. Now, we got an id to deal with But he said, stand firm. To stand firm if you hear the end of a lot of New Testament letters, because most of them were written, almost all of them, were written to Christians.

And so as they're written to the Christians, they're saying stand firm in that which you have already believed, brothers and sisters. Continue standing. Be standing by. Be standing at the ready. Be standing firm.

Be stead steadfast. Be being vigilant. Stand firm in it. I try, and I try, and I try to get it to be something really short. I am afraid that it is this whole book.

And so would y'all just sit back? If you don't like the PowerPoint the hall. This is where it begins. Peter, once sent out by Christ, and this is a Romanian version. I actually got in this morning really early here and just went back through as a meditate moment and kinda played up some of the Greek verb tenses and played up some of the things.

It's gonna be an unfamiliar version for you this morning, but it's one that I've been through over and over. So Peter, one who was sent out by Jesus Christ, to those who are residing as aliens, you been tested by various trials? You've all had. By Yes. That the proven genuineness of your faith more precious than gold, which is itself perish, believe in, though tested by fire.

Your faith may be found to result in praise and glory and honor and the revealing of Jesus Christ. Whom not having seen him you love and who you are not seeing him now physically, y'all are believing and y'all yourselves may now greatly rejoice with this joy inexpressible and filled with glory and receiving as the outcome of y'all's faith, salvation of souls. It's not just the salvation of your soul because of how God is filling you. Other people's souls will be saved. Does that make sense?

Concerning the salvation, the prophets having prophesied of the toward you kind of grace, searched out diligently, and they were seeking all that while to know what or in what manner of time the spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he was testifying before him the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow that suffering. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, these prophets, but you. In these things which now have been proclaimed to you and through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Things into which angels long to look. Therefore, having girded up your mind, thrashing, and being sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace.

Fix your hope. Set your minds completely on the grace each one's work. Then conduct yourselves in redneck fear during your time of your sojourn here on earth, is what it says in the New American Standard. Knowing that you are not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from the futility of your way life that was handed down to you by your fathers. But you have been redeemed by precious blood as of a lamb unblemished, spotless, blood of Christ.

Or he, Christ, having been putting aside all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander, like newborn maids, this is a command. Crave crave the pure milk of the word so stone which has been rejected by man but his choice and precious in the sight of God. You yourselves also as living stones. Wow. He just compared us as Christians to Christ.

You come to him as a living stone, which has been rejected. There's choice in the sight of God. You yourself also as living stones. You are being built up. Mary is reading right here in the middle voice.

It's you. Are two distinct groups. This preciousness, man, is for the believing. But for those disobeying the stone which the builders have rejected this has become the bare cornerstone, and You, however, to strong adversity of conjunction, very strong. You, however, you, Christians, are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, nation, a people for his own possession so that you may proclaim the excellencies of the one who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

For you, once were not a people. You know, this group of people sitting in this room right here, right now, I bet y'all don't have anything more in common than that you'd lean into Jesus. Does that make sense? All of the backgrounds in this room are quite Still sounds that is sufficient for you to have carried out all the desires of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lust, and drunkenness, and carousing, drinking parties, abominable idolaters. In this, they think it's strange that I little quirky for some people.

Does that even mean she is the church? I don't think from this. Could've been Peter's wife. Some people speculate that that is so I'm pretty sure it's the church. She, feminine, word.

She who is in Babylon, who is chosen together with you, that's saying it's the church. Send you greetings. This today. God, would you protect our brothers and sisters that are headed out and lord, those who are coming back from a Thanksgiving the other way. I pray that you'd bless, lord, and that we would pay attention to this very benediction that we would hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering.

For he who promised us faithful, Lord, I pray that we would consider how to stimulate one another after our many good deeds. In Jesus' name, amen.