— Welcome and Pauling 1 Peter Context — I'm following Joel Gregory once again, who was with you last week. And we're going from prime rib to cold cuts. So it's always a dubious, challenging thing to follow Joel Gregory. I know you enjoyed hearing from him.
You know, you've probably noticed with the rotation of Mark and Gerald and myself, we're going through 1 Peter and trying to go through verse by verse, covering the entirety of that book. And this morning, I would invite you to open your Bible, your smart device, whatever it is you use to follow along. We pick up the story, pick up the narrative at chapter 3, 1 Peter chapter 3. And I'm picking up with verse 13 and going through the end of the chapter. Now, you know that what Peter is dealing with, he's writing to an audience that is struggling. They are discouraged. There is a falling away. And he's really writing a letter of encouragement for them to persevere and endure.
The backdrop of this letter, as you have already seen in previous messages that have been delivered to you, the backdrop, the context, is one of these believers are having to deal with the hostility of the unbelieving culture in which they find themselves. And it's not that different from our world today, where we sometimes face some hostility. There's hostility regarding the people of God. And that's the backdrop that we have here in this context. Just for reference purposes, you could go back and notice the context in these verses, all the way from chapter 1 to chapter 2, even to chapter 3 somewhat. We have this context of hostility that is being lived out towards this believing community. Now, I'm picking up in verse 13. This is the beginning of the last section, the last major section of 1 Peter.
It extends, will extend into chapter 5 and verse 11. And in these previous verses as you will recall through the series he has been dealing with the character of Christians in the midst of this hostility. What is to be the character of God's people?
It talks about their individual character as believers and followers of Christ. Their character in relationship to the faith community. Their character in personal relationships with one another. Their relationship with the larger community in which they find themselves. What is to be the character of God's people? How are they to conduct themselves and carry themselves? And so what we're going to find now is somewhat of a shift but it is very much an appropriate shift.
— Shifting from Character to Response — The shift from character to our response. The response that we would have to hostility. The response that you and I as followers of Christ would offer in the midst of hardship and trials and opposition in life. And these are significant words. I was telling Patty this morning as I was just perusing through my manuscript one last time before coming up here. I never cease to be amazed by the Word of God that after 45 years as a believer, someone who is seeking to be obedient to the call of Christ, didn't become a Christian until I was 21, didn't grow up in church, didn't become a follower of Christ until age 21. And then soon feeling the call to preach God's Word. After 45 years of living the faith, 40 years of preaching and teaching God's Word, continuing to seek to live it out obediently in my own life. And I'm going to talk about that in a minute.
I still get enthusiastic. I'm still awestruck. And I was telling Patty how much I was looking forward to this message this morning. Because it's just a reminder that no matter what your stage in life, the Word of God always speaks in a way that is new and fresh. And your station in life comes to play into this. How you hear God's Spirit speaking to you through His Word. And this is one of those things that I've been talking about in the Bible. And I'm going to talk about that in a minute. But first, I want to talk about one of those passages, if not the book in its entirety. This is one of these kind of passages that I believe with conviction will speak to every one of us this morning. We may not deal with the persecution necessarily, which Peter describes, in which he's dealing with not just in its entirety, there's other issues. But it has application to when we have trials and adversity in life. If you haven't experienced yet, I'm going to let you in on that. I'm going to tell you something that's going to happen. That if you haven't experienced it yet in your life, most of us are in an age where we have experienced this. But at some point, life is going to introduce to each one of us a degree of pain. Disappointment. That simply cannot be imagined sitting here in an air-conditioned room on somewhat soft chairs. That's the nature of life. And so it's significant, and Peter's helping us to recognize this, it's significant that when those times come, when we face the unexpected, when the uncomfortable is introduced into our life, it's important as the followers of Christ, it's important how we respond. How we react. It's important for each one of us in our own faith journey. If I'm going to continue to grow, if I'm going to continue to progress, to move forward. In my faith journey, it's important that I respond appropriately to the unexpected things that would be introduced to my life. The ever-changing circumstances that inevitably come our way. But not only is it important for our own personal growth and progression and going forward, much more importantly, our response is significant because it bears testimony, it bears witness to the world. The world around us that is watching us, your friends and family who know that you're a believer, that you're a follower of Christ, that your faith informs your life, that you take your faith seriously, the world is watching you.
They want to see how are they going to respond to this crisis in their life. Because people who would never go to church, people who would never read their Bible, they'll read you.
And they're going to make determinations based on your faith. They're going to make determinations based upon how I respond, how you respond to the trials of life. They're going to make determinations about the genuineness of this so-called faith that we hold dear in our lives. It was Tertullian, one of the early church fathers that said that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.
He's right. You show me a church anywhere in the world where the people of God are being persecuted, where the context and the culture around them in which they find themselves, that the people are, that the community is hostile towards them, I will show you a church that is vibrant. I'll show you a church that is alive. I will show you a church that is invasive, that is on the offensive in the community. And I'll show you a church that is persuasive in their convictions. I like the way Peter describes this when he's talking about the response. He talks about, I'm going to borrow from him a bit this morning, and I'm going to talk to you about a better way.
A better way, borrowing from his phraseology in verse 17, I want us to think about a better way to respond to persecution. What's a better way for you and I to respond to the unexpected trials and adversities of life that are inevitably going to come our way? Instead of disappointment, instead of anger, instead of despair, instead of pouting, instead of questioning, why is this happening to me?
Now there's a better way that bears testimony to our conviction, our belief, our faith in the resurrected Christ and the plan and the purposes that God would have in store for us.
So what is a better way? That's our question this morning. What is a better way? What is a better— Adversity as an Opportunity for Growth — response? Well, I'd say first thing, and this is a preface to each of the four things I would share with you this morning from the text. I believe that we need, if you look at verse 13, I believe that we need to understand that we need to understand persecution and adversity first of all as an opportunity. Opportunity to be seized. Don't miss an opportunity in adversity and trial. Don't miss the opportunity that is before us to be instructed, to learn, to grow, to reflect. Now there is some good news in this when it comes to persecution. I want you to listen to what Peter says here in verse 13 and how he says it. He says, and who is there? To harm you, asking the question. And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? Same word that we all know what a zealot is. Someone who is enthusiastic. Zealotis in the Greek. Zealots in the New Testament in the Gospels are held in a negative light. But here Peter is saying who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? In other words what Peter is saying to us statistics are on your side that it's very unlikely that you're going to be persecuted because you have a zealousness for good. I think he's right. I mean it's hard to imagine even in an unbelieving culture it's hard to believe that there's those that would actually persecute you because you have this eagerness, this zealousness to do good. Peter frames it as if it's unlikely that you're going to be persecuted for doing good. So it becomes all the more important. Follow me out on this. It becomes all the more important that if it does happen, if you are persecuted for doing good, listen, in those times of persecution, hardship, trial, seize the moment. Embrace it. Embrace the discomfort. I used to always tell our players at Tech and working with them the past 15 years what is significant for their growth is you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable. We're going to create a range. We're going to constantly do things to make you uncomfortable.
We're going to, your entire training in off season is about being uncomfortable. How do you? How do you adapt to the unexpected?
It begins with the strength coach that will call all the guys each group that, you know, had three different groups coming in for their lifts and first thing he does is pull together all the players and he goes over to the big screen and says, fellas, here's your workout for the day. This is what we've got to get through, this list right here. It's five of this, four of this, three of this, five of this, six of this, six of this, you know, it's a long list and at the end we're going to do you know, we're going to do 10 110s. Well, the first thing the strength coach does is he starts a program that has nothing to do with that list that he just showed them.
Well, I thought we were going to do this. Well, I thought you said we were only going to do this. You know, you didn't say anything about us doing this. He said, wait a minute.
He said, all this was a test to see how you respond to the unexpected. You go into every football game, you have a script, you have a plan, you have a playbook. It never goes by, never goes by the, but game never unfolds the way you expect such as life. We can have a plan, can't we?
And we've all lived long enough to know that man plans and God laughs. How many times have you had plans for your future and it takes an unexpected twist? And when it does, how are you responding? How are you reacting to the discomfort of life?
But Peter says this persecution for good, it's probably not going to, probably not going to happen. But if it does, how do you respond? When King Philip of Macedon was reigning, King Philip of Macedon was the father of Alexander the Great. Conquered all the known world at that time.
Alexander did. On one occasion, Philip was getting ready to invade and to seize the Greek city-state of Laconia. And as he surrounded that city-state of Laconia, he sent word to the Spartan leaders. And he said that, he said, if I invade Laconia, you will be destroyed.
Never to rise again. The Spartan generals sent back a one-word response. If. If.
If is an awfully big word. How much time, I wonder, do we spend worrying about the ifs of life? Worrying about pain. Living in the fear.
Of pain. One of the great tragedies, I believe, in our Western culture is that we have been led to believe that pain is bad and relief is good. Becomes a softened culture. Whatever we, it seems to be the first generation that thinks somehow that suffering should not apply to us.
And we have this false notion that pain is bad and relief is good. But. I wish we had the Waters family here who could talk to us about the value of pain.
— The Value of Pain and Suffering — Bob and Kristen Waters are a couple that live in the UK outside of London. They have three daughters. Who all suffer from a common condition. Congenital analgesia.
Congenital analgesia. They have a lot of pain. It means that they have no response to pain. It's a disorder where they have lost all sensitivity to pain.
And so they are constantly injuring themselves because they have no sense of pain. They can't feel pain. Their youngest daughter, Victoria, has broken her leg five times. And each time it's been reset without anesthesia.
Without anesthesia. Because she has no sense of pain. Ben Franklin says that the things which hurt instruct. The things which hurt, they instruct.
Pain in our life. Pain in our existence today. Pain is not an unfortunate thing. It's not an unfortunate mistake.
Most of us will spend our days praying that there would be no pain. But this particular family, the Waters family, they know the value of pain. That there's life lessons to be learned in pain. That God forges character in the crucible of hardship and the unexpected.
But think about it. Just as Peter is challenging his readers. These are people that are living in fear. They're wondering if it's even worthwhile being a Christian.
Is it worth being a follower of Christ? If it means being persecuted for what I believe and their minds running ahead. What if this? What if that?
Thinking about outcomes. What is going to happen? If we do this? If I continue to live for Christ, what sort of outcome is it going to have?
How much pain am I going to suffer? Working with Texas Tech football these past 15 years before my retirement. One of the things that we've emphasized the past year with the coming of Joel McGuire to lead Texas Tech football. Joel McGuire to lead Texas Tech football.
We talk about the process. The process of becoming the brand. You know, if you follow Texas Tech football, you hear a great deal about the brands being the toughest, hardest working, most competitive team in the country. Well, that doesn't just happen just because you put it on a sign on the wall.
There's a process where you have to develop that mindset. And what we tell our players from day one, this is our constant sermon. This is what we pour into them on a daily basis. Is that we as a team, we are process oriented.
We are not outcome oriented. We are process oriented. You take care of the process. You buy into our process.
And outcomes will take care of themselves. The process is, is you control what you can control. Or the process is, is that I make choices and decisions today that will stack up in a way. If I'm seeking to pour myself into this day, into this moment.
If I embrace the process of giving all my energies now. Instead of allowing my concerns about the outcome to steal away my energy. If I pour myself into these moments and I stack up these choices and decisions. Greater likelihood you're going to get the outcome that you want.
Outcome will take care of itself. All I need you to do is for every. Rep in this off season. Every rep in this off season.
Listen, it doesn't just happen at kickoff in September. Right now in January. You've got to start giving me everything you've got. For every rep, for every run.
Everything we do. I need you to make choices and decisions about what you eat. About how much you sleep. Those are things that you can control.
And those are the things that when you do them on a daily basis. They will incrementally get you ahead of your opponent. Who probably is not going to do those things. With the same diligence that we expect of you.
We are process oriented. You do the process.
— Adversity as a Divine Blessing — Outcomes will take care of themselves. Listen. God is process oriented. He's already taken care of the outcome.
Through the death and burial and the resurrection of our Lord Jesus. As His followers. God is taking care of the outcome. God has assured our outcome.
But there is a process. John 15. You abide in me. And I will abide in you and you will bear fruit.
God is process oriented. He's already taken care of the outcome. But there is this process. Pain and adversity being part of it.
That molds us and shapes us into the people that He would have us to become. Seize the moment. Seize the opportunities that present themselves. This is a better way.
A second thing. We just followed the text here in verse 14. I think a better way is to understand not just the importance of seizing the moment. But also seeing these trials and persecution, hardship.
Whatever it might be in this context as persecution. But to see this as a blessing to be received. Now this isn't part of the health, wealth, prosperity gospel. You know unfortunately in the Western church the only time we seem to talk about blessing is when there is some financial windfall.
Oh God just bless me. Or when favorable circumstances in which we find ourselves. When the circumstances that are favorable. In our life.
We say well God is blessing me. But that's a departure from really what Peter is saying here. He uses this word blessed in verse 14. But even if you should suffer.
He's already said it's going to be rare that you're going to be persecuted because you're so zealous for doing good. But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness you are blessed. He quotes. He quotes here from, he's really paraphrasing Isaiah chapter 8 verses 12 and 13.
And do not fear their intimidation. And do not be in dread. But even if you should suffer he says. Let's look at that more closely.
But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness you are blessed. Do you know in the Greek there are two words for blessed. The word that he uses here is the word makarios. Fortunate.
Happy. Fulfilled. Purposed. You know when Peter is saying when you face persecution, hardship, trials.
Listen. You're very fortunate. You're blessed. Because you're in a position now where God can do some things in your life that he otherwise couldn't.
But he says, makarios cannot do when you're trusting in your circumstances. When life is hitting on all cylinders. Makarios. This is a blessedness of divine origin.
The other word in the Greek is eudaimonia. Translated as blessed also. It's a word used by I think Plato in the Nekomonian ethics. He used it.
But the word eudaimonia is a word of human origin. It's being the captain of your own ship. That's when you're happy and fortunate. When you're calling the shots.
You're the captain of your own ship. It's not the word that Jesus would use in the sermon on the mount. It's not the word that Peter uses here. Makarios.
It's a word of divine origin. And the blessed state that we are to receive as the people of God. Through our suffering and our hardship doesn't mean God caused it to happen. It's a word of divine origin.
But it means that God is able to take that which evil may have intended for you. God is able to take these trials and circumstances that are but the result of a broken created order. Even God in this providentially can take those circumstances and he molds them and fashions them in ways that become a blessing to you. You are fortunate because you're being molded and shaped into something.
It's challenging isn't it? It's easier to preach about these words than to hold it true in my heart. It's how we're going to train our mind to think about this. That when adversity comes to think of it as a blessing.
It's hard isn't it? But it's used throughout scripture. If you were to go to the sermon on the mount. Matthew chapter 5.
Listen to the words of Jesus. Blessed. Same word. Macra Rios.
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice. Be glad.
For your reward in heaven is great for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You're in good company. You're persecuted when you face trials. And listen.
This is important. He's talking about suffering. Now you may need to underscore this. For the sake of righteousness.
That's very distinctive. When you suffer for the sake of righteousness. He's not talking about when we suffer because our first world problems. Arise to the surface.
It's not unlike a friend of mine. I actually made fun of him for doing this. But he kind of became a martyr on Facebook one day. They were on the first leg of their 14 day trip to Europe.
And he posted on Facebook about the person that the persecution that he and his family are facing. Because the airlines lost his luggage. First of all, I couldn't believe he had the audacity to put that on there. And what was even more.
Does he really believe this? That somehow the inconvenience of losing his luggage on his 14 day vacation to the UK. And to all of Europe. Now he considers himself to be persecuted.
It's not what Jesus is talking about. He's not speaking to a first world culture. He's speaking to a people who have no leverage. No power.
No influence. People who are impoverished. People who are the outcasts of society for the most part. You're blessed.
Because you're in a position to hear what God is doing. Now Paul would say it this way. Listen to how Paul expresses this in Romans chapter 5 beginning in verse 3. He says, And not only this, but we also celebrate. That's some odd language we wouldn't expect. But we also celebrate in our tribulations knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance. And perseverance, proven character.
And proven character, hope. And hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. James has that same attitude. The brother of our Lord James says, Consider it all joy. Chapter 1 verse 2. Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
He's saying, listen, as you persevere, you endure through these trials, you respond the right way. And it makes you all the more perfect for what God would have you to become in his providential purposes. But you've got to endure. You've got to persevere.
There's more in store on the other side of this hardship. And I'm especially mindful of what James says in verse 9. Now the brother or sister of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position. For those who are poor in spirit, the very first beatitude back in chapter 5 verse 3 of Matthew.
When you are in a state of humility, a state of brokenness, listen, I want you to know you're in a high place. You're in a position to hear God and to see God working in ways that you have never imagined. But you're not. Because it's in your humility and it's in your brokenness.
And the positive side of adversity is that if you've been through times of trial and tribulation in life, unexpected disease, illness, brokenness, doesn't it have a way of just washing away the non-essentials in life? All the things you once thought were so important. All those things in tread.
They seem to just be swept away. And you return to that base starting place of what's really essential and what is necessary in life. So Peter says when you understand the blessing. When you understand the blessing that can emerge from these trials and these circumstances of life.
James says you learn. Peter says you learn to hear and see and understand life's narrative in a different way.
— Learning to See Beyond Surfaces — Yousef Karch is one you may have heard of. Famous photographer. I was moved and stirred one time into thought about the story he told about a photograph he took on one occasion of Pablo. He was a great photographer.
He was Pablo Casals, the famous cellist. And he said it was the first time in his work that he had ever faced the subject away from the camera. You've seen the picture. It's kind of odd that Pablo Casals is faced away from the camera.
He's photographed from behind. He says the first time I ever did that. I never did it again. But it seemed right for that moment.
He said I was stirred and moved. As I saw him sitting there with his back to me while he was playing Bach. I was mesmerized. To the point of distraction.
I actually forgot sometimes to even photograph. And to do the work of photography that I was to be tending. He said I was fascinated by that shot. Well years later.
Jump ahead. When the great master had that photograph. When it was on display. On loan and in display in Boston.
The Museum of Fine Arts. The curator told Karsh sometime later. He said the curator was telling him the story that the oddest thing. He said we had this elderly gentleman.
Who every day would show up and stand in front of that portrait of Pablo Casals. For minutes at a time. And he would just stand there and stare. At that photograph.
This went on for the months that it was on display. That gentleman was there every day. Just standing there staring. The curator finally got up the nerve to go up and tap the gentleman on the shoulder.
And he said excuse me sir. He said I see you every day. Would you mind explaining to me what you're looking at. And what you're doing.
So the man looked at him. Gave him a withered look. And said shhh. Hush.
Hush. Hush. I'm listening. I'm listening.
You see in the references. Scriptural references I've given to you. I believe that Jesus and Paul. And now Peter.
I believe they're saying the same thing. I think they're saying to us in life's narrative. Learn to listen. Beyond mere words.
Learn. Train yourself to see. Beyond the surface. Because when you learn to see more.
When you learn to hear more. Then. It's in those moments that you understand. That God is able to do more.
— The Vindication of God's Sovereignty — And that you've achieved the sense of presence of God. In times and places. Where you would never expect God to be. When you learn to see that way.
When you learn to hear that way. You see. And you understand God's presence. When many others would assume him to be.
Absent. That's a better way. To respond. There's a final thing I would share with you.
About this subject matter. Notice. In verses 18 through 22. I'm just going to say regarding these verses.
That this is. This is. This captures a confidence. To be embraced.
And. A confidence to be embraced. Let's pick it up in verse 18. For Christ also suffered.
He's saying you're part of the company. What you're going through. What you. What you're enduring.
Christ has been there. It's always good to know somebody else has been where we've been. Christ is our example. For Christ also suffered for sins once for all time.
But just for the unjust. So that he might bring us to God. Having been put to death in the flesh. But made alive in the spirit.
In which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison. Who once were disobedient. When the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah. During the construction of the ark.
In which a few. That is eight persons were brought safely through the water. Corresponding to that. Baptism now saves you.
Not the removal of dirt from flesh. But an appeal to God. For a good conscience. He's speaking to the baptism of the spirit.
Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The spirit of the resurrected Christ. Who is at the right hand of God. Having gone into heaven.
After angels and authorities and powers. Had been subjected to him. Now I would imagine that your mind is drawn immediately. To verses.
18. In particular 19 and 20. In which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits. In prison.
And I want you to know this morning. That your curiosity will not be solved. I read. I'm part of an academic reading group.
About a year and a half ago. We read a significant scholarly work. That dealt with verses 19 and 20. In particular.
And essentially it was 300 pages. Of rehashing. All the theological speculations. And theological history.
For the past 2000 years. And how are we to understand these verses. And our western minds. Are curious about such things.
But we don't want to get so caught up in the weeds. That we would miss out on what Peter is really saying. Because whatever else Peter is saying. In verses 19 through 20.
And there's some compelling things. That are said about Peter. About that passage. No matter what else Peter is saying.
In this verse. He's saying this. That hardship and adversity in our lives. That it can be faced.
Without fear. And it can be faced. Positively. Because of the person.
And the person. That is the work of Jesus Christ. Who achieved and accomplished. The righteousness of God.
Through his death. Burial. And resurrection. And that.
Because of God's omnipotence. Because God's power has been vindicated. Because God's power has been proved out. It means that you will be saved.
You and I do not need to be living our lives in fear. Whatever else Peter is trying to say. And portray in this portrait. God's power.
Peter says. It restrained the powers of evil. Now hear that. The power of God.
It has restrained. The powers. Of evil. This power that was proved out.
Through the death and the burial. And resurrection. That it is proved out. That God.
Is triumphal. Over life. And death. Especially over the powers.
That promote. Evil. Soon after. Her father.
Passed away. In a Nazi prison camp. Cory Tinboom was writing. To a relative.
Explaining her father's death. And she wrote to that. Relative. In summary.
She said God did not let his sovereignty. God did not let his sovereignty. God did not let his sovereignty. slipped through his fingers.
Whatever else Peter is saying in this passage, he is saying first and foremost, God did not let his sovereignty slip through his fingers 2,000 years ago on a hill called Calvary. That because of that crucifixion, because of that resurrection, God's sovereignty has been vindicated.
God's sovereignty has been proved out. Because it's been proved out, because it's been vindicated, it means that you and I can live victoriously.
It means we can live positively. We can live fearlessly.
— Rules for Endurance and Perseverance — And it means we can endure. We can persevere. Two things, practical things, I would offer to you regarding endurance and perseverance in whatever trials you may face in life. Etch these into your mind. There's two basic rules I would leave with you when facing trial. One, the first rule, the second rule is take one more step. One more step. That's how you grow. That's how you go forward.
Whatever else you do that day, take one more step. When you feel like pulling the covers up over your head, not getting out of it, just one more step. And when life takes you to that point where you don't think you can even take one more step, rule number two is remember rule number one. Take one more step.
That is the better way. Let's pray together. Our Father, our Father, how grateful we are for a word that is such alive, so alive and dynamic. This word of yours that Lord continues to speak to us in every season of life. That Lord is it, that is itself alive with meaning and purpose. That seems to come alongside our hearts and our minds at the most appropriate times. A word that is there to bring encouragement, a word that is there to sustain us for those times in life when Lord, we literally are just enduring, persevering. But to know that we can do it in a way that is triumphal and in victorious expression, bear testimony to the world of a Savior that is alive and well. Make him your God. Make him self-evident through the life and the testimony of his people, his church, the body of Christ. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.