Ramsey Creek Baptist Church

*Due to technical issues, the audio from today's message was pulled from the livestream video. As elders are to be subject to the Chief Shepherd, so church members are to be subject to the elders, and humility ties it all together [v.5b - "clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another"]. Humility not only recognizes the greatness of God but is submissive to the greatness of God. Anxiety and pride are inseparable because both are rooted in an attempt to control. God cares, therefore, I cast.

*Due to technical issues, the audio from today's message was pulled from the livestream video. - Do we demonstrate love for one another no matter the circumstances? - Do we demonstrate love and do good even when suffering? - Have we entrusted our souls to the faithful, trustworthy Creator? If and when we suffer because of Jesus, we should glorify God in that name. Because when we suffer according to God’s will, God uses it to speak to the ungodly and the sinner.

"The end of all things is at hand..." How should we be ready? By doing the things He’s called us to do while we wait: • be self-controlled & sober-minded [v.7] • be vigilant in prayer [v.7] • keep loving one another earnestly [v.8] • show hospitality without grumbling [v.9] • serve one another with the gifts God’s given [v.10] There is a direct relationship between self-control & prayer. The end of all things is at hand, so…pray. But also love earnestly, be hospitible, and use your gifts to serve the church in God's strength for His glory.

When Peter says “arm yourselves with the same way of thinking…” [v.1], there’s a connection between understanding suffering and having the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:1-8). Even in the Christian, there’s conflict between the mindset of living for the yourself and living for God. But Peter says that we shouldn’t live the rest of our time in the flesh, according to our sinful human passions, but for the will of God. There isn’t a person who is living or a person who has already died who does not fall under the authority & rule of God - all must give an account. If we are to have the mind of Christ, there is no better way than to read, study, think, memorize, and prioritize God’s Word.

When Peter introduces the idea of suffering and it sometimes being God’s will for the Christian, he immediately draws our attention to the suffering of Jesus [v.18]. The only way an unrighteous person is brought to God as righteous is through Christ’s suffering. In Christ, Christians have died to sin and made alive in the Spirit. In the challenging verses here, Peter seems to be focusing on the safe passage of a few (eight) faithful people through water. This might have been the picture that came to Peter’s mind because, compared to the whole population of the Roman empire and the world, the church in that day felt like a tiny group of people (8). No matter the scale of judgment that’s coming (a worldwide flood, persecution, or opposition), God can and will save His people, even in incredible ways. Peter’s great assurance to Christians is the same great assurance that Jesus left Christians in the Great Commission - Jesus rules over all.

Peter wants Christians to be prepared to give people a reasonable and settled answer for the hope that lies within them. What really determines how a person lives is what penetrates their heart, but the heart and the mind must stand together. Christians are to provide not just a feeling for the hope that is within them, but a reasonable defense. The primary encouragement & challenge to “always being ready” is not flashy = carefully study your Bible. Peter's sermon in Acts are good case studies of apologetics. Three things Peter does in each sermon are quickly seen: 1. He knew the Scriptures. 2. He knew Jesus well. 3. He was ready and willing to put his faith into action and give a defense of his hope. Peter’s example teaches us to know Scripture and be ready to go with it.

If you desire to make life worth living (to love life & see good days), then Peter says your life must exhibit a watchfulness over your words and actions; you must keep control of what passes over your lips when you speak. If Christ is ruling your heart as He should, then He rules your words & life as well. God’s gracious eye of blessing rests on the one who seeks to be a blessing, and His ears are open to their prayers. Believers live their witness in front of the world, but they don’t bring only their words with them; Christians bring the power of a godly life.

It’s so easy to get Easter wrong, but there was someone who seemed to get it right. Matthew 27:54, “When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, ‘Truly this was the Son of God!’”. The Roman soldier witnessed the earth shake, dead people coming back to life, and darkness in the middle of the day. Butu he also saw Jesus forgive His abusers, not revile when He was reviled, and welcome the thief crucified next to Him to paradise. These things likely changed this centurion's eternity, and they change hearts still today. **Sections of The Biggest Story Bible Storybook were read during this sermon.

Peter lays out 7 ways that instruct the church in their health and well-being: 1. unity 2. sympathy 3. love 4. tenderhearted 5. humility 6. forgiveness 7. be a blessing In doing these things, Christians obtain the blessing of their incorruptible inheritance. In doing these things, Christians demonstrate to a watching world the unusual & incredible power of God to live and love others the way Jesus taught them. In doing these things, Christians apply one of God’s greatest evangelistic tools. Only the Spirit of God Himself empowers and compels people to live this way.

Christians live differently than the world in relation to their governing authorities, in the workplace, and with their spouses. I think the biggest similarity between these things might be the condition for submission - there isn’t any. Followers of Christ don’t respond to anything the way they once did. The only way believers can really submit to authority is when they are first trusting God. Married ladies – if you desire your attitude to be precious in the sight of God and beautiful in the sight of your husband, Peter says a gentle and quiet spirit are what brings it about. Husbands are to “live with [their wives] in an understanding way, showing honor” to them. Paul says that husbands should love their wives as their own bodies – caring for her, nourishing her, and cherishing her (Ephesians 5:25 & 28). In Christ, husbands and wives are equally heirs of the promise.

Because Christians submit to and trust God fully, they recognize that He establishes earthly authorities over them and calls them to submit to them as well. Christians submit to earthly authorities when God calls them to “for the Lord’s sake” [v.13]. In different levels of government, in the workplace, in the home, and in the church, God has established roles and calls His children to submit to them in varying ways, as expressed in enduring His Word. Peter makes the point that suffering punishment as a result of sin isn’t all that extraordinary, but when believers endure & persevere in the midst of unjust suffering, something special happens. What’s so special? You look like Jesus [v.21-23]. The conduct of believers in the midst of suffering is a picture to a watching world of who Jesus is and what kind of affect He has on a Christian's life. Everything Jesus did He did as an example, but also as a sacrifice. He suffered and went to the tree (cross) for you [v.21]. Jesus

God’s new people will do new things, so what does that look like in our normal everyday lives? Peter tells us throughout the rest of the book: o How we interact with governing authorities. [2:13-17] o How we treat our bosses and employees. [2:18-25] o How husbands and wives respond to each other. [3:1-7] o How we relate to one another in the church. [3:8-5:14] God's Word is enduring & true regardless of the policies of the previous, current, or future administrations. His Word always supersedes our current situation. Since God establishes all authority, they are tasked with punishing wrong and praising good. It’s the will of the Lord for His new people to do good while submitting to authority whenever they can. But what are Christians to do when it seems like governing authorities are punishing those who do good and praising those who do evil? First remember that the Christian’s allegiance is to God first and foremost. They cannot give to earthly authorities what they should only giv

Jesus is the Cornerstone, and He's also a stumbling block to those who refuse to believe. These people are disobedient to the Word of God and therefore stumble over Jesus. Peter is explaining that Jewish people don't have a "corner" on God's mercy. Salvation is based on God’s sovereignty, not on inward goodness or a family tree. God chooses & uses ordinary people and, because He works is in them, they are special. No one who has truly been born-again believes they were worthy of being called by God. It's simply by grace through faith in order to avoid pride (Eph. 2). Peter tells Christians to keep their conduct pure so that everyone may see their good deeds and give glory to God. The lives of unbelievers can be changed by the way Christians live their lives.

Peter's strange analogy of living stones only makes sense in the context of a building that is alive, with a Cornerstone that is alive. When a person comes to Christ, they come to a Stone that is alive. Not only is Christ living, chosen, & precious in God’s sight, but so is anyone who participates in His life and is identified with Him. Christians were once as dead as rocks but are now alive and being built into a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices. The thing that makes any offering we bring to God acceptable and precious is that they are offered through Jesus [v.5]. Without Christ, our worship would be unacceptable to God. It’s no surprise that people would “trip” over Jesus. If the Spirit doesn’t breathe new life into your dead heart, it’ll never beat to the rhythm of saving grace.

How are Christians to respond to the enduring Word of God? Put away & grown up. Put away things that aren't respresentative of who born-again people are and grow up in salvation. Just as you would take off a coat, Christians are to "take off" their old self that's ruled by things like malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, & slander. Likewise, Christians are to be like babies who desire/need milk to grow up and be healthy. Believers "grow up" in their salvation by craving the Word of God like a baby craves milk. A person only craves it this way if they have been born of His Spirit.

Peter says that obedience to the truth produces the purification of our souls, but obedience is something that must be practiced. It's cyclical - obedience (to the truth) feeds purification and purification feeds obedience. This all happens to Christians on an individual level, but it also does something on the corporal level - “for a sincere brotherly love…”. My ability to love earnestly is tied to my obedience to the truth (God's Word, the Gospel). This Word is forever alive. It endures. It stands. “Hammer away, ye hostile bands. Your hammers break; God’s anvil stands” (Richard Wumbrand in his book The Answer to the Atheist’s Handbook).

Christ’s willing sacrifice for the redemption of sinners was the plan from the beginning (foreordained before the foundation of the world). God’s timing in the course of the history of this world is perfect, and that should lead us to believe that His timing in our own lives is just as perfect. The redemption of sinners through Jesus was God’s good plan from eternity past.

Just as God is different [set apart] from the world, so are Christians to be set apart & different from the world. But why? What's the motivation for godly living? Because God is the impartial Judge of all, but He's also a caring Father who has sent His Spirit to direct His children. Psalm 112:1 says that the person who truly fears the Lord also greatly delights in His commandments! Michael Reeves says, “The Gospel both frees us from fear and gives us fear. It frees us from our crippling fears, giving us instead a most delightful fear.” This directs the lives of Christians "throughout the time of their exile". Christian exiles haves been ransomed from the futile ways of the world & their unbelieving forefathers. The way of life that seeks to be justified by something other than the mercy of God alone is futile. Our redemption, salvation, & inheritance hangs on Jesus' purity, not our own.

Real biblical hope is looking into the future with the full assurance that God will keep His promises. With such a great inheritance comes a great responsibility for Christians: - "Prepare your mind for actions" - get ready to think deeply. Unapologetically filter the world & your human experience through Scripture, not your feelings or outward circumstance. - "Be sober-minded" - have an attitude of self-discipline that avoids the extremes. The more we understand the truth of God, the more we will be gripped by it in our hearts and changed by it. Where does Peter say to place our hope? Firmly and only on God's grace, because "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy" (Titus 3:3-7).

The hope of a Christian lives because Jesus lives! This concept is especially important to remember when studying [v.6-12] when Peter adds suffering into the equation. Trials/suffering were an expected part of the Christian experience, but they can’t stamp out real joy. God intends our pain to serve His purpose in our lives through His divine providence (Gen 50:20). Peter says the testing of our faith will result in a purer faith, one that perseveres (James 1:2-4), and one that allows joy to rule our lives regardless of our circumstances. Peter’s words in these verses are meant to encourage Christians who are experiencing trials to keep eternity in the front of their minds (2 Cor. 4:17-18).