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Hope Beyond the Culture How to Shock the Pagan Crowd Msg 1117 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: If you have ever traveled abroad, you know the feeling
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  Speaker 1: of being the foreigner. Anyone who has done that for
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  Speaker 1: the first time finds that it makes an incredible impact
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  Speaker 1: upon him or upon her. Most people I know can
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  Speaker 1: remember quite vividly stepping on foreign soil and being in
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  Speaker 1: the midst of a language and a culture, really a
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  Speaker 1: whole world that is not their own, And the unusual
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  Speaker 1: accompanying feelings that one feels at that time, they're enormous.
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  Speaker 1: My first experience with this happened while I was in
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  Speaker 1: the military. We had finished a 17-day voyage in a
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  Speaker 1: troop ship going overseas, and we were about to step
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  Speaker 1: on Japanese soil. It was back in, I think, late 1957,
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  Speaker 1: early 58. The company commander called all of us down below,
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  Speaker 1: about five decks below, and he got us all together
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  Speaker 1: in this tight place and he looked at all of
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  Speaker 1: us as we were anticipating being on land for the
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  Speaker 1: first time in 17 days and on foreign soil for
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  Speaker 1: some of us for the first time in our lives.
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  Speaker 1: And he looked deeply into our eyes and he said,
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  Speaker 1: I want all of you men to remember that for
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  Speaker 1: the first time in your life, you are the foreigners.
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  Speaker 1: This is not your culture. This is not your country.
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  Speaker 1: This is not your language. These are not your people.
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  Speaker 1: They know nothing of your homeland except what they see
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  Speaker 1: in you. It was one of those behavior self pep talks,
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  Speaker 1: I guess we could say. And I think what he
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  Speaker 1: was saying to us is don't become another example of
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  Speaker 1: the ugly Americans. Live a life that will cause the
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  Speaker 1: people in this country, even though they don't know your
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  Speaker 1: language and they don't know your culture and they don't
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  Speaker 1: know your roots and some of them will never see
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  Speaker 1: where you have lived all your life, live your life
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  Speaker 1: here in such a way that you will create an
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  Speaker 1: interest in what it must be like to be in America.
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  Speaker 1: It occurred to me recently that that's the kind of
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  Speaker 1: pep talk we need to give every new convert. Shortly
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  Speaker 1: after they're converted, we need to communicate to the new
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  Speaker 1: convert that they're now living in a foreign land. And
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  Speaker 1: the people they're living around and living with have a
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  Speaker 1: culture that is no longer theirs. Many of them speak
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  Speaker 1: a language that they no longer speak. They represent a
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  Speaker 1: philosophy of life that is no longer theirs. And if
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  Speaker 1: I may coin the word, don't become an ugly Christian.
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  Speaker 1: Live a life that will create an interest in the
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  Speaker 1: place which you call and will someday literally call home.
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  Speaker 1: I love the story of the missionary couple that came
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  Speaker 1: home after 30, 40 years of faithful service in Africa.
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  Speaker 1: They came home on a ship. It so happened that
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  Speaker 1: there was a very important diplomat also on the same
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  Speaker 1: ship who got special treatment and special attention and When
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  Speaker 1: this couple arrived, they stood back and they watched on
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  Speaker 1: the deck as the band played and the people had
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  Speaker 1: gathered and there was great applause. And he walked down
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  Speaker 1: this gangplank and he was whisked off in this lovely
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  Speaker 1: limousine to the sounds of music and applause. And this
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  Speaker 1: dear fellow put his arm around his wife and he
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  Speaker 1: walked off with her and got into the streets of
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  Speaker 1: New York. And he said, honey, it just doesn't seem right.
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  Speaker 1: after all of these years, that we would have this
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  Speaker 1: kind of treatment. And here this fellow is, just because
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  Speaker 1: he happens to have a certain position, he gets that
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  Speaker 1: kind of special treatment. And she put her arms around
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  Speaker 1: her husband and said to him, but honey, we're not
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  Speaker 1: home yet. You and I live our lives as Christians
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  Speaker 1: away from home. We are citizens of another land. Remember
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  Speaker 1: the old men's quartet song, this world is not my home,
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  Speaker 1: I'm just a passing through, my treasures are laid up
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  Speaker 1: somewhere beyond the blue. That's the truth. We live in
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  Speaker 1: a pagan culture surrounded by pagan folks who embrace a
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  Speaker 1: pagan philosophy, a pagan way of life. And we're left
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  Speaker 1: here on purpose. We're left here to demonstrate what it
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  Speaker 1: is like to be a member of another country, to
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  Speaker 1: have a citizenship in another land so that we might
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  Speaker 1: create a thirst and an interest in that land. All
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  Speaker 1: of this provides a perfect, perfect introduction to the fourth
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  Speaker 1: chapter of 1 Peter. I'd like to have you open
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  Speaker 1: your Bible or your New Testament to this great section
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  Speaker 1: of Scripture. Let me read these six verses as we
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  Speaker 1: get going here and then I just want to make
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  Speaker 1: some comments along the way as we work our way
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  Speaker 1: through this passage. It isn't all that difficult, but it
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  Speaker 1: is insightful and it is a helpful reminder to all
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  Speaker 1: of us who live our lives away from home. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also
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  Speaker 1: with the same purpose because he who has suffered in
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  Speaker 1: the flesh has ceased from sin so as to live
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  Speaker 1: the rest of the time in the flesh. no longer
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  Speaker 1: for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.
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  Speaker 1: For the time already past is sufficient for you to
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  Speaker 1: have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued
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  Speaker 1: a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties, and
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  Speaker 1: abominable idolatries. And in all this they are surprised that
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  Speaker 1: you do not run with them into the same excess
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  Speaker 1: of dissipation, and they malign you. But they shall give
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  Speaker 1: account to him who is ready to judge the living
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  Speaker 1: and the dead. For the gospel has for this purpose
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  Speaker 1: been preached, even to those who were dead, that though
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  Speaker 1: they are judged in the flesh as men, They may
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  Speaker 1: live in the Spirit according to the will of God.
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  Speaker 1: You'll notice that the chapter begins with a word that
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  Speaker 1: always forms the beginning of a summary. It is the word, therefore.
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  Speaker 1: Every time, I'm honest, every time I read this word,
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  Speaker 1: I have in my mind a mental arrow that points
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  Speaker 1: back up to verses that have preceded it. Because in
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  Speaker 1: light of what the writer has written, he says, now, therefore,
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  Speaker 1: these things are true. So you always have to integrate
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  Speaker 1: that single word with the context in which it appears. See,
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  Speaker 1: the chapter begins, therefore, since Christ. Now, what has he
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  Speaker 1: said just before that would cause him to come back
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  Speaker 1: in summary with this paragraph that follows? We'll go up
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  Speaker 1: to verse 18 of chapter 3. Christ also died for sins,
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  Speaker 1: the just for the unjust, in order that he might
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  Speaker 1: bring us to God, having been put to death in
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  Speaker 1: the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. And with that,
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  Speaker 1: look at verse 22 that follows. Who is at the
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  Speaker 1: right hand of God, still referring to Christ, having gone
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  Speaker 1: into heaven after angels and authorities and powers had been
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  Speaker 1: subjected to him. Therefore, you see how it all ties together?
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  Speaker 1: Since Christ has died, the just for the unjust, and
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  Speaker 1: since he has been seated at the right hand of God,
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  Speaker 1: and since all authorities have been subjected to him, therefore,
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  Speaker 1: verse 1, Since Christ has suffered in the flesh, let's
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  Speaker 1: don't go any further. That states the provision that we
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  Speaker 1: have because of Christ's death. Christ has died for sins,
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  Speaker 1: verse 18. Christ has been seated at the right hand
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  Speaker 1: of God, chapter 3, verse 22. Therefore, in light of this,
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  Speaker 1: we are to arm ourselves, verse 1, chapter 4, with
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  Speaker 1: the same purpose he had when he was on this earth.
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  Speaker 1: I find those words, arm yourselves, intriguing. Kenneth Wiest, now dead,
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  Speaker 1: taught for many years at Moody Bible Institute in the
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  Speaker 1: Greek department. While there, he put together a series of
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  Speaker 1: books that provide real insight into the New Testament text.
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  Speaker 1: From one of his works, I have found this explanation
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  Speaker 1: for arm yourselves. He exhorts the saints to arm themselves
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  Speaker 1: with the same mind that Christ had regarding unjust punishment.
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  Speaker 1: The Greek word translated arm yourselves was used of a
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  Speaker 1: Greek soldier putting on his armor and taking his weapons.
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  Speaker 1: The noun of the same root was used of a
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  Speaker 1: heavy armed foot soldier who carried a pike and a
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  Speaker 1: large shield. The Christian needs the heaviest armor he can
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  Speaker 1: get to withstand the attacks of the enemy of his soul.
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  Speaker 1: In light of what you and I have to face,
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  Speaker 1: And in light of what Christ has provided us in
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  Speaker 1: his death, we are to take up arms. Spiritually speaking,
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  Speaker 1: we are to ready ourselves for life lived on foreign soil.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, we're not left here to be tourists.
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  Speaker 1: We're not left in this land to be people who vacation, relax,
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  Speaker 1: kick back, take it easy, and wait for heaven to unfold.
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  Speaker 1: We are engaged in a battle. The battle is at
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  Speaker 1: times fierce and it is always relentless. In light of
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  Speaker 1: the fierce and relentless battle that we face living on
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  Speaker 1: pagan soil, we are to arm ourselves with the strength
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  Speaker 1: that Christ gives because our purpose in life is the
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  Speaker 1: same as his. He who has suffered in the flesh
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  Speaker 1: has ceased I think what it means is ceased from
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  Speaker 1: sin's domination, from its power. Just as Christ faced unjust sufferings,
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  Speaker 1: so will we. Never forget that. I had a fellow
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  Speaker 1: call me this past week remembering that we are in
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  Speaker 1: this letter of 1 Peter and he said, I just
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  Speaker 1: want to let you know Chuck that Peter is happening
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  Speaker 1: in my life. 1 Peter is happening in my life
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  Speaker 1: and I probed a little deeper. He said, let me explain.
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  Speaker 1: And then he described to me some unjust suffering he's
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  Speaker 1: going through. He said, the things you've been talking about
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  Speaker 1: recently came back to my mind. He said to me
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  Speaker 1: this morning, after the call and after prayer for him
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  Speaker 1: and after concern over his situation, he said to me
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  Speaker 1: this morning, he said, I just want you to know
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  Speaker 1: the cloud is lifted. Between the time the attack came
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  Speaker 1: and a few hours or a few days later, He
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  Speaker 1: had sensed the beginning of deliverance from this attack that
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  Speaker 1: he was going through. I don't know how many people
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  Speaker 1: hearing me right now are going through a similar phase
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  Speaker 1: in your life. Most Christians I know cannot spend very long,
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  Speaker 1: not even a month, without experiencing some kind of unjust suffering.
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  Speaker 1: You just don't sort of walk through this casually. You
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  Speaker 1: sort of ricocheted. from one wall to another, bouncing your
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  Speaker 1: way back and forth, making it to the next day.
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  Speaker 1: And it's very, very difficult, especially if the attack comes
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  Speaker 1: because of your testimony, because of your walk with Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Some of you who live in the competitive jungle of
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  Speaker 1: the business world face this rather regularly. You may work
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  Speaker 1: for a boss who requires of you or asks of
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  Speaker 1: you compromise in the realm of ethics and integrity. And
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  Speaker 1: you have the tension between pleasing your boss who has
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  Speaker 1: the ability to fire you or to certainly demote you
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  Speaker 1: or put you on the spot or compromise your commitment
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  Speaker 1: to Christ. You live with this tension. That verse, arm
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  Speaker 1: yourselves with the same purpose, is applicable for you. You
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  Speaker 1: need the inner equipment to stand firm and to make
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  Speaker 1: it through the tension. The provision Christ gives you is sufficient. Now,
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  Speaker 1: the transformation is also mentioned beginning at the end of
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  Speaker 1: verse 1 down through verse 3. He who has suffered
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  Speaker 1: in the flesh has ceased from sin. It doesn't mean
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  Speaker 1: you stop sinning altogether. It means you've ceased from sin's domination.
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  Speaker 1: Ready for a real shocker? We who are living in
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  Speaker 1: Christ We who draw our life from Him have ceased
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  Speaker 1: from sin's control. Before Christ, we had no equipment, we
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  Speaker 1: had no power to withstand. When temptation came along, we yielded.
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  Speaker 1: When the weakness of the flesh appeared, we fell into
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  Speaker 1: the trap. We had no inner stability. But when Christ
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  Speaker 1: took up residence in our lives, He gave us strength.
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  Speaker 1: so that we could cease serving sin as a master.
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  Speaker 1: Romans chapter 6 is a wonderful section on it. We
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  Speaker 1: have gotten a release from sin's control because Christ now
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  Speaker 1: lives within us. Now, let me point out four things
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  Speaker 1: in verses 1b through 3 that will help you. First
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  Speaker 1: of all, we no longer serve sin as our master.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 2. We no longer spend our days overcome by
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  Speaker 1: the desires we once had. Verse 2. So as to
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  Speaker 1: live the rest of the time in the flesh. No
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  Speaker 1: longer for the lusts of men, but for the will
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  Speaker 1: of God. We no longer serve sin as our master.
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  Speaker 1: That's what the end of verse 1 is teaching. We
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  Speaker 1: do not spend our days overcome by desires as we
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  Speaker 1: once did. Called here the lusts. Third, we now live
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  Speaker 1: for the will of God, end of verse 2, but
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  Speaker 1: for the will of God. And verse 3, we have
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  Speaker 1: closed the book on godless living. The time has passed.
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  Speaker 1: The time already passed is sufficient for you to have
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  Speaker 1: carried out the desire of the Gentiles. I like the
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  Speaker 1: way that reads. You've had plenty of time to sow
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  Speaker 1: your wild oats. You did that in your unconverted days.
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  Speaker 1: You have had sufficient time to see the end result
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  Speaker 1: of a lifestyle of loose living. And he even describes
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  Speaker 1: it here. Having pursued at one particular time of your
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  Speaker 1: life a course of sensuality, lust, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties,
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  Speaker 1: and abominable idolatries. Look at the very strong contrast between these.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 2, the will of God. And verse 3, the
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  Speaker 1: desire of the Gentiles. Strong contrast between those two lifestyles.
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  Speaker 1: You and I are surrounded by lost people, whom I
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  Speaker 1: am liberally calling pagans. People who do not know the Lord,
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  Speaker 1: whose lives are marked by the desire of the Gentiles.
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  Speaker 1: And we who live in this foreign land, away from home,
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  Speaker 1: live for the will of God. There is a marked
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  Speaker 1: contrast in our lifestyles. Let me take a few minutes
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  Speaker 1: with each of these words in verse 3. Having pursued
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  Speaker 1: a course of, first, sensuality. The word means actions that
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  Speaker 1: excite and shock public decency. Actions that excite and shock
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  Speaker 1: public decency. that excite disgust, I should say, and shock
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  Speaker 1: public decency. Sensuality. Lust is the next word, and it's
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  Speaker 1: not limited to sexual promiscuity. It would have to do
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  Speaker 1: with any passionate desire that is in the realm of sin.
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  Speaker 1: Could be a lust for revenge. Could be a lust
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  Speaker 1: for money. The whole problem of greed. Could be a
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  Speaker 1: lust for the opposite or the same sex. Lust has
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  Speaker 1: to do with any evil desire. That's the part of
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  Speaker 1: the lifestyle of the Gentiles. And look at this next group, drunkenness, carousals,
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  Speaker 1: and drinking parties. You don't even need to know what
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  Speaker 1: the Greek means in that to understand what that's all about.
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  Speaker 1: You thought that was 20th century living. My friend, that's
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  Speaker 1: every century living. That's the life of a lost person.
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  Speaker 1: They live their lives. driven by the desire for someone
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  Speaker 1: else's wife or someone else's husband or carousals or from
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  Speaker 1: one drinking party to the next. It is the word
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  Speaker 1: orgy that we could use to describe all of it.
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  Speaker 1: Wild crowd, drinking bouts, the wild frenzy of a lifestyle
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  Speaker 1: of unrestrained alcoholic consumption and drug abuse. It's the whole
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  Speaker 1: scene right there in verse 3. And if you don't
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  Speaker 1: partake of that lifestyle, you are weird. I'm representing the
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  Speaker 1: pagans when I say that. You are weird. They notice it.
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  Speaker 1: Every time it seems I'm traveling on a plane and
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  Speaker 1: they start passing around the booze and I say, no
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  Speaker 1: thank you, no thank you. Somebody around me says, it's
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  Speaker 1: a matter, it's free. Why don't you drink it? Well,
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  Speaker 1: I don't want to drink it. Well, let me have yours.
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  Speaker 1: They'll usually say something like that. I don't know. I
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  Speaker 1: don't care how many you have of mine, but I'd
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  Speaker 1: rather not. You're weird if you don't do what they do.
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  Speaker 1: Part of the reason is it makes them feel uncomfortable.
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  Speaker 1: And secondly, I've even had them ask me, who do
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  Speaker 1: you think you are? The better they get to know you,
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  Speaker 1: the freer they feel. to say, usually the more they drink,
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  Speaker 1: the freer they feel to say those things. But that's
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  Speaker 1: the way it is without Christ. I don't judge them.
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  Speaker 1: I get along marvelously with people like that. They're my
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  Speaker 1: kind of folks. No, I don't mean that to sound
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  Speaker 1: the wrong way. I understand their whole lifestyle is spent
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  Speaker 1: in a realm of lustful drives and carousals and one
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  Speaker 1: drinking party after another. I understand that. I deal with
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  Speaker 1: people like that a lot. But what an emptiness there
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  Speaker 1: is when the party's over and everybody goes home. You're
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  Speaker 1: left with the horrors of the sunrise and a hangover.
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  Speaker 1: And usually guilt and even some shame as you crawl
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  Speaker 1: out of somebody else's bed, wondering what disease you got
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  Speaker 1: this time. So horrible lifestyle. I don't care how beautiful
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  Speaker 1: the commercials look. It stinks. But if you haven't any
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  Speaker 1: power to overcome it, the only thing you have to
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  Speaker 1: look forward to is the next party. And if they
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  Speaker 1: play the music loud enough and if there's enough booze,
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  Speaker 1: you can kind of drink your troubles away. What a lie.
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  Speaker 1: Troubles are never drunk away. Now you get the picture.
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  Speaker 1: Verse 3, the time already passed is sufficient for you
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  Speaker 1: to have had your fill of Gentile lifestyle. You've had
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  Speaker 1: enough of that. You've tasted of it, you've entered into it,
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  Speaker 1: you've experienced it, having pursued your own course of things
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  Speaker 1: that excite the disgust of the public. It's amazing when
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  Speaker 1: Christ fills the void, how he takes away a lot
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  Speaker 1: of that garbage and removes a lot of that drive.
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  Speaker 1: It's amazing. It's miraculous, really. Remember, if you think you
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  Speaker 1: can get away with another kind of lifestyle than the
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  Speaker 1: one described in verse 3 without being noticed, you are
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  Speaker 1: kidding yourself. You stand out like a sore thumb in
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  Speaker 1: a neighborhood. You stand out like a sore thumb in
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  Speaker 1: a dormitory. And at the office party. At the New
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  Speaker 1: Year's Eve party. And on and on and on. You
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  Speaker 1: stand out even without saying a word. You're noticed. Remember now,
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  Speaker 1: you've been transformed. You're no longer a helpless slave to sin.
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  Speaker 1: You're not overcome by your glandular drives. You are now
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  Speaker 1: interested in God's will and you've pretty well closed the
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  Speaker 1: door on godless living and that causes a reaction. The
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  Speaker 1: pagan sits up like a Doberman. Eyes open, ears perked.
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  Speaker 1: What in the world is wrong with Sam? Remember when
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  Speaker 1: we used to run around together Now he's got religion,
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  Speaker 1: or whatever they may say. Look at the reaction in
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  Speaker 1: verses 4 and 5. Some of you by now are
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  Speaker 1: really getting into this. You understand exactly what I'm talking about.
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  Speaker 1: And now the pagans. And in all of this, they
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  Speaker 1: are surprised that you do not run with them into
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  Speaker 1: the same excess of dissipation. And they malign you. Don't
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  Speaker 1: answer out loud, but have you had that happen in
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  Speaker 1: your life? Have you had your former friends start passing
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  Speaker 1: the word about you that you're getting a little weird,
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  Speaker 1: that you're getting a little fanatical, that you're looking a
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: lot like St. Francis? You have a few folks passing
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: the word that you're a little holier than thou. Look
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: at the reaction. First of all, it's one of surprise.
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: They are surprised. that you don't run with them. Did
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: you know that was in the New Testament? Do you
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: realize that was in the Bible? They're surprised that you
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: don't run with them into the same excess of dissipation.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: I think some of them are saying, look, misery loves company.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: If I'm going to get this miserable, you ought to
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: get miserable with me. You used to. I don't want
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: to do it alone. And they, here's the other reaction,
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: they malign you. Your former friends, says the Living Bible,
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: will be very surprised when you don't eagerly join them
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: anymore in the wicked things they do and they will
• 24:34
  Speaker 1: laugh at you in contempt and scorn. Some of you
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: have discovered that your whole set of close friends has
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: changed now that you're in Christ. I want to warn
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: you and then I want to commend you. First I
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: want to warn you about running with only Christians. Be
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: careful that your entire circle is nothing but Christian people.
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: Or you really will get fanatical. You really will get idealistic. Unrealistic.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: You really will. You really will. You really will come
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: across as holier than thou and you'll be out of
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: touch with their life. So be careful that all the
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: people you're around are Christians. And then I now commend
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: you for changing close friends. Some former close friends do
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: you no good. Most people who fall into gross sensuality
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: do not do it alone. They're usually prompted by a
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: few other people. Country Western group Alabama released a song
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: several years ago. I happen to be a country Western freak.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: I like some of their stuff. And And they released
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: a song on one of their albums several years ago
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: called I'm Not That Way Anymore. It's a song that
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: grows out of, not out of the Christian life, because
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: as far as I know, they're not a Christian group.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: But they talk about the way their lives have changed
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: now that they've gotten a little older. Back in the
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: days of the 60s, they were burning campuses and wearing
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: certain kind of clothes. But now that they've come full circle,
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: they've lived a few years. They're now into cowboy boots.
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: They've traded in their loafers. And they're now into into
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: pickups and they traded in their BMWs and they're now
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: into a casual lifestyle. And there's a line in it
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: that says, time has closed yesterday's door. I like the
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: way that sounds. That's the way it is with the Christian.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: You're not like that anymore. Time has closed yesterday's door.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: Christ has closed yesterday's door. Thank God. But you won't
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: be on their popular hit parade. They will be shocked
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: and they will malign you. The point of all of this,
• 27:04
  Speaker 1: you're going to go through unjust suffering. Once again, we're
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: back to the theme of the letter. Simply because you
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: desire to live for Christ, you will have people who
• 27:18
  Speaker 1: once again Really enjoyed your company. Now talking about you
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: behind your back. And that is tough to take. Because
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: you know they aren't representing you fairly. Verse 5. But
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: they must someday face the judge. This is a serious verse.
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: They shall give account to him who is ready to
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: judge the living things. and the dead. If in your
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: Christian growth you can come to the place where you
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: continue to have a very soft and tender heart, but
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: you build a good thick rhinoceros skin, you'll be happier.
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: The longer I live, the more I see the value
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: of having a thick skin, but a very tender heart.
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: That way, those maligning and ugly words that come across
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: from other people that misrepresent you can kind of glance off.
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: You don't feel the need to attack back or defend yourself.
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: Let me tell you what's happening. The pagan will never
• 28:32
  Speaker 1: tell you this, but down deep inside, in many of
• 28:35
  Speaker 1: their lives, not all of them, but in many of
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: their lives, they will envy you. They will wonder, how
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: does she do that? How can he no longer do
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: these things? I'm not able to stop. What in the
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: world has made the difference? And when you get them alone,
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: it's remarkable how many of them will really listen to
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: what transformed your life. That's the joy of being left
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: on foreign soil. You get to acquaint them with a
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: life that is now yours and it can be theirs.
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: that only give their lives to Christ. Don't beat them
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: up for their lifestyle, okay? Let's understand that. Nobody ever
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: got saved because he was rebuked for his drinking or
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: taking drugs or sleeping around. I'm surprised everybody in the
• 29:38
  Speaker 1: pagan world doesn't do more of that. to fill the void.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: So don't even talk about their lifestyle. They can't help it.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: Sometimes it's the hardest thing in the world to put
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: up with, especially if you don't like profanity and you
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: resent that That whole scene you once partook in? One
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: of the men that used to lecture at Dallas Seminary,
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: Carl Armarding, during the lectureship series on one occasion went
• 30:14
  Speaker 1: to the local barber shop to get a haircut. And
• 30:17
  Speaker 1: Armarding was just, boy, he's just tough as nails, just
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: pure as a driven snow. But he said what he thought.
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: And the barber didn't know who he was, so he
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: sat down in the chair. The barber began to cut
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: his hair. A friend of mine happened to work there,
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: and he overheard this conversation. And this barber was just
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: letting out one oath after another, just cursing here, cursing there.
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: Here sits Carl Armaday, you know. And he just got
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: his belly full of it. And he looked right at
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: the barber. He grabbed his hand, pulled his arm around,
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: looked the barber right in the eye. I imagine that
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: has happened maybe never before in the barber's life. It's
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: twisted around it. Armerding said as he pulled on his earlobe,
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: does that look like a sewer? Sometimes you just get
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: your fill of it. You just can't stand it. I
• 31:11
  Speaker 1: especially resent it when there's a lot of profanity and
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: my wife is present or my children are present. It's
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: not that they've never heard it or can't handle it.
• 31:20
  Speaker 1: I resent that. And so do you. There are times
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: you just have to say something. But you cannot clean
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: up the lips of anybody until you've cleaned up the heart.
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: And that's Christ's job. He's a master at it. So
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: stand it as best you can and realize those are
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: all simply signs of being lost. Makes them be tough.
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: Makes them seem rough and rugged because they talk like that.
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: But down inside, they're frightened little children. And they're scared
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: to death of death and of facing a judge. And
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: you're not. Their judgment is in front of them. Your
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: judgment is behind you. Christ took your judgment and he
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: bore it on the cross. And he's given you the
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: power he had now that you're in Christ. They got
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: to face the judge who is ready to judge the
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: living and the dead. And when he mentions the dead,
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: by the way, I've got to make a correction on
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: my outline. When he mentions the dead, he turns his attention,
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: I believe, having studied that a little further, to the
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: believers who have now died. many of them having been martyred.
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: I thought at first when I studied this passage that
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: this is a reference to those who are spiritually dead,
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: but just listen to it once again. For the gospel
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: has for this purpose been preached even to those who are,
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: may I add the word, who are now dead. That
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: though they are judged in the flesh as men, While
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: they were on this earth, they were maligned. They were
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: judged as mere men. They now live in the spirit
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: according to the will of God. I think it's the
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: saved person who has died and perhaps died as a
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: martyr for the faith. For the gospel has for this
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: purpose been preached even to those who are now dead.
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: In honor of them, perhaps, is the idea. The words
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: those who are dead refer to Christian believers who had died,
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: writes Kenneth Wiest. The gospel had been preached to them
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: as they had become Christians. As a result of this,
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: they had been judged according to men while they were
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: on earth. This judgment was in the form of persecution.
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: Because of their Christian testimony, these Christians died, many of
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: them as martyrs. In their disembodied state, they were serving
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: the Lord in the future life. By the way, you
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: owe it to yourself, if you've never done it, to
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: at least read the beginning chapters of Fox's Book of Martyrs.
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: It is a classic. Fox lived in the 16th century.
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: He was born 1517, John Fox. And he, like no
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: other writer, has traced the eras of great persecution from
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: the first martyr Stephen all the way to early American
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: missions and he traces in vivid and sometime tragic detail
• 34:50
  Speaker 1: the martyrdom of saint after saint, saint after saint. You
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: need to buy your own copy and read at least
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: the first series of great persecution eras and you will
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: have a new appreciation for those who have gone before
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: you in the faith. I mean you talk about paying
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: a price. And those are the ones I think he
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: has in mind here. Am I a soldier of the cross,
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: a follower of the Lamb? Shall I fear to own
• 35:19
  Speaker 1: his cause or blush to speak his name? Sure, I
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: must fight if I would reign. Increase my courage, Lord.
• 35:26
  Speaker 1: I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, supported by thy word.
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: It's a great hymn. It applies to businessmen and women
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: today who live in an office and live with the
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: verbal attacks of their fellow employees. It applies to people
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: on a ball team who live for Christ and refuse
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: to live the lifestyle of the others on the team.
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: You're a soldier of the cross. What more can you expect?
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: You're not a martyr. You're just taking a few verbal punches.
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: It's good for you. It's good for me to be
• 36:01
  Speaker 1: talked about like that. It drives us back on our
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: knees to Christ and reminds us of our dependence on him.
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: A letter was received from John Hus by his friends
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: in Bohemia prior to his appearance before the Council of
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: Constance in 1414. And it read, I shall not be
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: led astray by them to the side of evil, though
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: I suffer at his will. Revilings, imprisonments, and death. As
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: indeed he too suffered and hath subjected his loved servants
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: to the same trials, leaving us an example that we
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: may suffer for his sake and our salvation. If he
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: suffered being what he was, why should not we? I
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: love that last sentence, if he suffered, meaning if Christ
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: suffered being what he was, perfect, the ideal model, Why
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: should not we? Now, you're probably thinking, as I did
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: toward the end of my study, so, well, what do
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: I do? What do I do from now on? Because
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: after all, you're becoming a shock to the pagan crowd.
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: You want to know how to really shock them? Live
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: an authentic Christian life. No fanfare whatsoever. You don't have
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: to carry a big flag that says Jesus saves. You
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: don't have to wrap yourself in an enormous Bible. You
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: have to quote verses all the time. In fact, it's
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: best if you don't. You don't have to carry yourself
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: like a freak. Just live an authentic, godly life and
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: you will shock the pagan crowd. You'll blow them away.
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: They will not be able to stay quiet about the
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: difference in your life and theirs. And so, my counsel
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: to everyone is in three parts. Number one, continue living
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: for Christ. Game plan, keep doing the same thing. Continue
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: living for Christ. That means being different on purpose. Second,
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: expect to be misunderstood. We're going to read a little
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: later in this chapter that we're not to be surprised
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: by the fiery ordeals which test us. Expect to be misunderstood.
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: Don't be surprised when ugly things are said or false
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: accusations are made or twisted statements are passed along about
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: your life to someone else. You know they're wrong and
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: your life will prove that they're wrong. Expect to be misunderstood. Third,
• 39:01
  Speaker 1: keep your eyes fixed on Christ. Stay on a steady course.
• 39:11
  Speaker 1: Keep on being different. Don't be surprised by the reaction
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: that your life will create and stay on a steady course. Remember,
• 39:22
  Speaker 1: we're not home yet. We're on our way. We'll get there.
• 39:29
  Speaker 1: Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus. Find yourself saying that
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: a lot lately? I usually do toward the end of
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: the month, you know. I usually do when I start
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: getting it in the chops and I feel like I'm
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: the number one martyr of the year and want to
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: have a big pity party and nobody comes. Come on, Lord,
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: I need you to come back. Make it all right.
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: What a beautiful time it is for Christians to gather
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: around the table of the Lord. It is easy to forget.
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: Now listen carefully. It is easy to forget that when
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: this ordinance was established, it was the night before the crucifixion.
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: It's easy to forget that. It's easy to forget that
• 40:27
  Speaker 1: perhaps Christ's hands trembled when he held the cup. And
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: perhaps his voice quivered. Remember, he prayed in the garden
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: after the table with his disciples. Father, if it be
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: at all possible, let the cup pass from me. He
• 40:43
  Speaker 1: was a man. Very God, but nevertheless, true humanity. And
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: that night he observed that last supper with his twelve
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: and finally Judas left and with his eleven he was
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: living in the immediate moment of his crucifixion. He saw
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: it coming. The shadow of the cross was now etched
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: across his mind. And he held a piece of the
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: loaf in his hand and he passed it among his
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: men and He told him that it represented his body
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: and to pull a piece of that loaf off and
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: to eat it in remembrance of his body. And then
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: I think he had a single chalice, a common cup,
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: and he took it from the table with some of
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: the wine that remained from the meal and he asked
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: each of them to sip from that cup. He said,
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: that liquid represents my blood. Paul tells us years following
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: that the church had been handed the baton and were
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: to continue this same act of worship until Christ returned.
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: This is one of the few things we're told to
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: do regularly until Christ returns. We as a common people
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: are to come around the simple elements of the bread
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: and then the cup of juice. And we're to eat
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: the bread and remember his body given for us. and
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: we're to drink the cup, and remember it represents his
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: blood given for us. Because he, that dark day following,
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: was the most maligned and misunderstood individual who had ever lived.
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: Can you imagine the only perfect individual crucified like a
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: common criminal? But it had to be for the payment
• 42:46
  Speaker 1: of sin to be made. I'd like us to bow
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: our heads for just a few moments of preparation. We'll
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: let time stand still. We'll imagine that we are sitting
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: at that table with our Lord and we'll turn our
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: lap into that table. And we'll relive the moment when
• 43:14
  Speaker 1: Christ passed the bread and then the cup to his men.
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: And as these elements are passed among you in this
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: quiet hour, take the time to prepare yourself before you
• 43:31
  Speaker 1: even taste the bread or the cup. In fact, we're
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: told in the Corinthian letter that we're to examine ourselves
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: and then take of the bread and drink of the cup.
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: Are you sure you were Christians? You see, if you're
• 43:50
  Speaker 1: not a Christian, you shouldn't partake of these elements. You
• 43:54
  Speaker 1: really ought to let them pass. I warn you. And
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: if you're a Christian who's walking in the flesh and
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: stubbornly refused to come to terms with that this moment,
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: I plead with you to let the elements pass right
• 44:09
  Speaker 1: by in front of you. This is the most serious
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: time of public worship, and you and I are to
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: take it in that light. As you eat the bread,
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: you will have confessed your sins, all known acts that
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: could have broken fellowship with the Lord. As you drink
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: the cup, you drink it with a pure heart. The
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: main thing is that you meet with Christ and bear
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: your soul before him. This is a perfect time to
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: receive him as your Savior. Lord God, meet with us
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: in a particular way in these moments that pass. We
• 44:51
  Speaker 1: all understand those words that time has closed yesterday's door.
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: And we don't live like that anymore. Not because we've
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: been strong and good and noble, but because you have
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: transformed our life, Lord. And we sit in this time
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: of worship with a heart full of gratitude that you've
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: changed our course of directions. Even though you've left us
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: on foreign soil, we have a home in the skies.
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: Hear the prayers of your people this moment as we
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: in silence call out to you in confession and in
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: worship and in praise. For Jesus' sake. Amen.
• 45:52
  Speaker 2: Hope Beyond the Culture, How to Shock the Pagan Crowd,
• 45:55
  Speaker 2: was copyrighted in 1989, 1990, 1996, 2006, 2011, and 2023,
• 46:03
  Speaker 2: and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2023 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc.
• 46:10
  Speaker 1: All rights are reserved worldwide.
• 46:12
  Speaker 2: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.