Annual mission Illinois offering, week of prayer

Last week, last verses of chapter 3, Jesus’ suffering to bring us to God, his resurrection is our salvation, and he’s ascended to throne where he currently rules and reigns.

Remember a few weeks ago, Peter goes back and forth between gospel and application.

1 Peter 4:1-6

Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding—because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin—2 in order to live the remaining time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will. 3 For there has already been enough time spent in doing what the Gentiles choose to do: carrying on in unrestrained behavior, evil desires, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and lawless idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you don’t join them in the same flood of wild living—and they slander you. 5 They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead, so that, although they might be judged in the flesh according to human standards, they might live in the spirit according to God’s standards.

This is the Word of the Lord.

Arm Yourselves for the internal battle of suffering (1)

1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding

Peter tells these Christians to “arm yourselves”… with understanding. ESV says “the same way of thinking”.

Isn’t most of the battle to be faithful in hard times inside? It’s a battle of the mind, the will, and the heart. And how you think will result in how you live.

Romans 12:1-2: Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship. Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Think of it like a weapon you wield in battle. You are in the midst of suffering and you say, “Christ suffered. He faced what looked like defeat, what looked like God had forsaken Him. But look what happened.”

That’s why the Apostles in the first days of Christianity were so bold—nothing you threatened them with could scare them.

“We’ll beat you.” “My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings,”

“We’ll kill you.” “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

“We’ll destroy your message by murdering you and all of your followers” “Didn’t you already try that on Jesus? How’d that work out for you?”

“Well then, we’ll just shut you up in prison.” Awesome, I had some writing I needed to get to anyway!”

You are going to have to do battle in your mind if you’re going to live a faithful Christian life.

Arm yourself with a deep understanding of the work of Christ, how he suffered, died, raised, ascended.

Remind yourself that God uses pain and suffering in Jesus’ life to accomplish His work on earth, and ultimately our pain, our defeat, will be swallowed up in victory, like Christ’s was.

have a gospel framework of time (1)

History itself is split into two sections, BC and AD.

Same is true of your history.

Your time before Christ was long enough.

(however long it was).

He gives this list of what that looks like.

This is where a preacher says, “sounds like today, doesn’t it?” Preachers have always been saying that, because it’s always sounded like every day since the Fall.

It’s long enough. You’ve already spent enough time doing that.

Sowing wild oats. No. You reap what you sow.

your time after Christ is for doing his will.

All of it, not just Sunday morning at 10:40.

Psalm 90:12: Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.”

This is day 12,366 for me. Google it. Remind yourself. One day my number will be up, so will yours.

understand that people won’t understand (4-5)

4 They are surprised that you don’t join them in the same flood of wild living—and they slander you. 5 They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead.

They can’t understand why you wouldn’t do these things. Why? Because they don’t have a hope that goes beyond this world; so naturally, they try to get the most out of this world:

Feel good. Chase your dreams. Make the most of what you have. Do what you want. Spend all your money on yourself and your children. Make a bucket list. What else is there but earthly happiness?“Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.”

When you don’t live that way, it disturbs them, because it tells them the whole basis of their life is off. And they will slander you, say mean things about you.

Who would go to live in a unreached people group? I mean, who wants to live in another culture 12,000 miles from their family? (some of you may want that, but not for the right reasons!)

The reason is we believe there is a God everybody has to answer to and we have only one shot, only one life, to preach the gospel to them…

Who would give away their money?

People who believe that there is a reality beyond this world, and a God we have to answer to…

And that there is an new creation coming that will make the nicest place in this current fallen state look like living in a garbage can, and so we pile up treasures in heaven rather than treasures on earth, waiting with living hope for the day heaven comes to earth.

Realize that they will judged… that’s why the gospel must be preached (4-5)

5 They will give an account to the one who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was also preached to those who are now dead, so that, although they might be judged in the flesh according to human standards, they might live in the spirit according to God’s standards.

We’ve said it before in 1 Peter, and we’ll say it again: nobody is getting away with anything. They will be judged—they’re heaping judgment on themselves when they make fun of you because your living for Jesus makes them feel uncomfortable.

1 Peter 2:23: …when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

How did Jesus handle the Pharisees? Pilot? Judas? The cross?

By putting his trust in the one who judges justly.

How should that affect us? Just five letters for everyone out there: R E L A X.

Peter doesn’t say, “Then you get all bent out of shape, lose sleep over it, talk about how bad it was to all your friends”

when you don’t respond, it’s actually taking control of the situation. Jesus on trial, it’s obvious who was in control.

Coming judgment is motivation for evangelism… and for putting up with their nonsense! Because we hope that they might be persuaded, that God use us to change their life for eternity.

Conclusion

Do we really believe in the judgment of God? If we do,

We’ll leave our sin behind us. That’s BC in my life.

We’ll be able to respond with God’s grace when we’re insulted and abused for righteousness. They’re not getting away with anything, he’s just graciously giving them time to repent.

We’ll continue to share hope with them, why we act this way, because we want them to follow Christ.

When you think about your life in the future, does “the will of God enter your thought process? More than a platitude?

Have you turned away from sin? It’s been long enough, friend, hasn’t it? Today is the day of salvation. To leave it all behind and move forward into a new life that doesn’t have an expiration date.

Everything in this world has an expiration date. Not in the world to come.

Jason Isbell, won Grammy for Best American Roots song 2018

If We Were Vampires

It’s not the long, flowing dress that you’re inOr the light coming off of your skinThe fragile heart you protected for so longOr the mercy in your sense of right and wrongIt’s not the way you talk me off the roofYour questions like directions to the truth

It’s knowing that this can’t go on foreverLikely one of us will have to spend some days aloneMaybe we’ll get forty years togetherBut one day I’ll be goneOr one day you’ll be gone