Latest / Mount Eaton Church / The Word - God Said - “Christ, My Ever-present Help In Times of Trouble.” - 1 Peter 3:8-22

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The Word - God Said - “Christ, My Ever-present Help In Times of Trouble.” - 1 Peter 3:8-22 · Mount Eaton Church

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  So let's read. Let's pray and then we'll read.
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  Father, I want to thank you so much for this
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  wonderful letter. I pray that, Lord, that as
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  we open up your word and we finish this chapter
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  of 1 Peter 3, that we'd really grasp the importance
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  and understanding of why we suffer. and the reality
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  of the sacred, that we would really grasp the
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  importance of the payment you paid and our future
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  in you. Lord, we do praise you and thank you
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  for your faithfulness and goodness. In Jesus'
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  name, amen. Finally, all of you have unity of
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  mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart,
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  and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil
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  or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary,
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  bless. For to this you were called and that you
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  may obtain a blessing. For whoever desires to
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  love life and see good days, let him keep his
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  tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
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  Let him turn away from evil and do good and let
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  him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of
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  the Lord are on the righteous. And his eyes are
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  open to their prayers. But the face of the Lord
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  is against those who do evil. Now, who is there
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  to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?
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  But even if you should suffer for righteousness
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  sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them,
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  nor be troubled. But in your hearts, honor Christ,
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  the Lord is holy. Always being prepared to make
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  a defense to anyone. who asks you for a reason
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  for the hope that is in you. Yet do it with gentleness
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  and respect, having a good conscience, so that
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  when you are slandered, those who revile your
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  good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
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  For it is better to suffer for doing good, if
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  that should be God's will, than for doing evil.
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  For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous
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  for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to
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  God, being put to death in the flesh, but made
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  alive in the spirit, in which he went and proclaimed
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  to the spirits in prison, because they formerly
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  did not obey when God's patience waited in the
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  days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared.
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  in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought
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  safely through the water. Baptism, which corresponds
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  to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt
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  from the body, but as an appeal to God for a
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  good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus
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  Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the
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  right hand of God, with angels, authorities,
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  and powers having been subjected to him. So a
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  couple of things I want us to really make sure
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  that we're paying attention to as we're dealing
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  with this. And I did this sermon in three particular
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  principles. As you guys have noticed over the
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  last several years, we've been doing an expository,
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  exegetical synopsis of the letters. The reason
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  why I'm doing that is because in order for us
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  to really start grabbing and digging in deep,
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  we need to understand why, hermeneutically, why
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  the letter was written, the context by which
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  it was written, and the context by which Peter
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  is talking in order to ensure that the context
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  by which he wrote the letter is consistent. So
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  we know that specifically this group of people
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  have been scattered, dispersed. They're living
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  in caves and throughout the region. So he gets
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  to this point after he talks to husbands and
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  wives, he gets to this point and he starts to
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  deal with the reality of how we as believers
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  should behave individually, not only specifically
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  on how I live with my family and live around
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  those who are in my community, but also in how
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  we live together as believers. So principle number
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  one. Having the same mind as Christ and being
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  people like -minded, we must live as he lived.
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  Having the same mind of Christ, since we have
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  the mind of Christ, we must be like -minded in
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  the mind of Christ so that we live according
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  to how he lived, obediently. That has been a
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  theme for a while now. Real true biblical obedience.
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  You cannot say you're a believer and not obey.
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  The reality of the fruit of the Spirit is seen
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  in our obedience to Christ. 1 Corinthians 2,
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  16. For who has understood the mind of the Lord
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  so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of
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  Christ. You do have the mind of Christ, which
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  means, as it's stated by Peter in 1 Peter 3,
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  8 -12, finally, all of you. Who is all of you?
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  He's talking to everyone in the church. All of
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  you, specifically the brothers and sisters of
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  that day. You have unity of mind. You be of one
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  mind. Be like -minded. How? The mind that we
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  have is Christ's mind. And Christ's mind is about
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  his truth. And so we should be. thinking and
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  living and obeying and believing as he did. And
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  that's really what like -mindedness means. Am
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  I unified in my mind with you? Are we committed
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  and unified in our minds with Christ? He also
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  commands us to have sympathy. The word sympathy
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  is sympathy. There is no other word for sympathy.
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  We can use compassionate, but it's kind of weird
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  to say that you must be like -minded, compassionate,
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  brotherly love, compassionate. Because brotherly,
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  tenderhearted literally means compassionate.
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  So the word sympathy means to have a deep feeling
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  of sorrow, a concern for someone else. And that
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  should be reflected in how we love each other
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  like brothers. Very similar to Jonathan David.
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  They weren't brothers, but they loved each other
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  like brothers. King David and Jonathan were very
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  close. And they stuck closer than a brother.
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  So that's the idea of loving each other like
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  brothers and sisters. We are family after all.
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  Tenderhearted, compassionate. Are we being compassionate,
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  concerned for others in a way that we want to
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  meet the need? And a humble mind. Now what's
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  interesting about this humble mind, it just means
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  to be friendly. Sounds really nice when you read
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  it. Finally, all of you, be like -minded. Show
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  sympathy. Love like brothers. Compassionate and
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  friendly. I like that. It's very practical. And
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  then he says, do not repay evil. The word evil
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  here is wickedness. Do not repay wickedness for
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  wickedness. Or reviling. The word reviling here
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  means insult or slander. Do not insult or slander
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  for insulting and slandering. So if someone insults
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  you and slanders you, do not insult or slander
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  back. That's kind of hard when you watch stuff
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  on TV. Just saying. But we got to be careful.
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  But on the contrary, but instead bless. Now what's
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  interesting about this word bless is to praise.
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  It's one thing to, do you think I'm going to
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  bless somebody by giving them something? It's
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  another to bless somebody with words. And that's
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  really what's implied here. So if we're not repaying
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  wickedness for wickedness, then we're not. slandering
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  and insulting with slander and insults, then
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  what is the opposite of that? Praise. And that's
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  really what this word blessed literally means.
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  Praise. And kids, parents know this. When their
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  kid does something good, what do you do? Insult
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  them. No. You praise them. You give them praise.
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  Like, you did a great job. You know, God is glorified
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  in you because of this. And that's really what
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  he's talking about here. Why? Because we are
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  called. We are summoned to praise. Are we just
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  so quick to condemn and to malign or to slander
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  or to say something wrong or evil about somebody?
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  People get on your nerves. Instead of the first
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  thing that you say is, cursing them how about
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  if the first thing you do is you pray for their
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  issues and then you praise them for what they
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  do that actually is a blessing don't be so quick
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  to curse but be quick to bless and that to you
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  are called why so that you too may obtain praise
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  god loves to praise his children for whoever
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  desires to love life and see good days Let him
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  keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking
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  deceit. Interesting term, keep. This is Psalm,
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  I want to say 43, but I think I'm wrong. Somebody
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  can look that up and let me know. But this is
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  from the Psalms. Whoever desires to, I had it,
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  but it literally just, whoo, right out of my
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  mind. So whoever desires to love life and see
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  good days, let him keep, let him stop. Let him
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  cease his tongue from evil. What's he mean here?
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  It's not to keep my tongue closed in the sense
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  that I'm closing my mouth. It's literally to
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  stop saying evil things. Say things that are
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  blessings, praises. There is a time for rebuke
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  and correction. And that must be done with the
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  Word of God. After all, right, the Word of God
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  was given to us. It's inspired. And it must be
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  used for rebuke and for correction and for training
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  and teaching and righteousness. And so if we
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  want to see good days and we love life, then
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  we should keep our tongue from speaking evil
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  or stop speaking evil and our lips from speaking
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  deceit, saying things that are... Purposely harmful.
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  Notice what it says in verse 11. Let him turn
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  away from evil and do good. In other words, don't
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  do evil, do good. Let him seek peace and pursue
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  it. God's people should be seeking peace. And
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  the reality is, blessed are the peacemakers,
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  for they shall be called sons of God. And we
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  must, at all costs, as we have said over at least
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  a year, to keep the unity of the Spirit in the
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  bond of peace. We must be people who pursue peace.
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  Why? Why should we pursue peace and seek peace
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  and desire peace? For the eyes of the Lord are
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  on the righteous. He is watching you. and his
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  ears are open to their prayer. God hears your
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  cry. That's really what he's saying here. God's
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  eye is on you because you belong to him and his
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  ears are attentive because he hears your cry.
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  But the face of the Lord is against those who
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  do evil. I'm like, I looked at this and I was
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  like, these are actually very common phrases
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  in the Greek and the Hebrew. It's a term to show
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  that real true favor is not based on what you
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  receive. Just because you get something doesn't
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  mean God's favor is on you. Real true favor from
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  God is that his eye is upon us and he hears our
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  cry and that he conforms us and molds us into
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  the image of his son. He is faithful to us. All
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  the other things he does because he's a good
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  father. After all, if earthly fathers who are
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  evil know how to give good gifts to their children,
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  how much more does the heavenly father would
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  give to you who ask? And so this issue, but the
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  face of the Lord is against those who do evil.
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  We kind of understand this. I don't know if you
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  really grasp the reality of the... Of the evil
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  eye. If you guys ever watched. What's that? Five
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  -0 Goes West. You never watched Five -0 Goes
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  West? You got to watch. It's a great children's
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  cartoon. He gives them the stink eye. You know.
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  You know when you're a kid. The kids know. Because
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  when they do something wrong. What do they get?
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  Because mom and dad's face are upon you. That's
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  literally what it means. That God's judgment
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  and wrath are against you because you are evil.
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  You've done something wrong. And so if mom and
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  dad's face are against you, you know, don't run.
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  It will be worse. Second principle, when Christ
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  is sanctified in our hearts and we suffer for
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  what is just and good, it allows us the opportunity
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  to proclaim the truth of Christ. Do we really
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  look at the reality of our suffering as an opportunity
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  to proclaim the gospel? I find it when people
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  are at their very lowest moments, when they feel
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  they're at the end, to preach the gospel even
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  more. It's the greatest desire. But that's the
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  reality of what suffering should do for us. Suffering
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  should not cause us to shrink into a corner.
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  But it should bring us boldly out into the open
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  for all to hear the truth of Christ. And so Romans
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  8, 38 and 39. For I am sure neither... Death,
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  nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things
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  present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
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  height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation
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  will be able to separate us from the love of
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  God in Christ Jesus our Lord. There is nothing,
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  does not matter how bad life gets. The truth
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  is our suffering is our badge. First Peter 3,
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  13 through 16. Now, who is there to harm you
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  if you are? zealous, most eagerly desirous of
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  for what is good. Interesting that this term
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  really means my deepest eager desire to imitate.
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  This word what is not the word what in actually
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  an original language. It literally means to imitate.
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  Mimites is the term. And we get this word to
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  mimic. Are you an imitator of what is good? So
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  if we were to read this this way, it says, now
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  who is there to harm you if you are most eagerly
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  desiring to imitate good? Makes a lot more sense
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  now, doesn't it? It's not that I desire what
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  is good, but that I must imitate the good. I
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  must live it out. And hermeneutically, within
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  the context of what Peter is saying here, that
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  makes a lot of sense. They could have done a
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  little bit better job on the word what? To imitate
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  good. Now, but even if you should suffer for
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  righteousness, that means for what is just, you
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  will be blessed. Why? Because our reward is Christ.
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  Doesn't matter what man may take. There's many
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  evils in our day. Many trying to be in control.
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  And what we're going to read later is that really
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  Christ is in control anyway. Doesn't matter who
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  sits on a throne. There is only one throne worth
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  sitting in. And that only goes to one man, one
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  God. His name is Jesus Christ. Have no fear of
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  them. Interesting. Why should we not fear them
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  who would cause us to suffer, persecute us? Because
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  our reward is Jesus. Nor be troubled. That means
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  to be disturbed. That makes a lot more sense
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  for me too. When I think about the reality of
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  suffering for Christ, there's no need to fear.
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  And there's no need for me to be disturbed. And
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  what happens with many people when they go through
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  very difficult things, they get disturbed. They
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  lose their focus. They don't really want to deal.
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  So they walk away from what is true. And they
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  try to cling on to what is false because they're
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  disturbed in their heart. They're just really
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  not feeling it. But. In your hearts, hagiazo,
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  sanctify, set apart, make holy Christ the Lord.
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  That's really how it should read. Not honor.
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  You must make Christ holy in your heart. He is
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  holy. It's not that we're like it's some type
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  of to bestow. This is an imperative. You are
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  to do it. It's not a suggestion. But in your
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  heart, make holy Christ the Lord. Sanctify Christ
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  the Lord. Set apart Christ the Lord. He is sacred
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  is the understanding here. Why? Because we should
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  always be always being prepared to make an apologia.
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  There is no other word for apologia besides defense
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  or defend. We must make an apologia, a defense
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  to one who asks for the reason or for a reason.
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  The word here, reason, is not reason. It's logos,
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  meaning the word. The word. Who lives in you?
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  Christ. And if Christ is in you, the word is
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  present in you. And if the word is present in
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  you, then you should be prepared to make a defense.
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  It's implied. It's understood. And this is how
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  it should read. If you've made Christ holy, always
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  being prepared to make a defense to anyone who
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  asks for the word of hope that is in you. That's
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  really the understanding here. In this word,
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  hope is joyful and confident expectation. Can
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  you not? Do you not know that you can joyfully
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  and confidently expect that the word of God will
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  do exactly what he says he will do? Of course.
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  So how many times have you come and you were
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  like, someone asked you a question and you don't
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  know how to answer it or you're nervous. Well,
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  how do I share the gospel? Well, he lives in
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  you. You can share the gospel. I mean, after
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  all. Christ did tell Paul that, listen, I will
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  give you the words to say. I will tell you what
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  to say. Why? Because I'm in you. The logos is
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  present. And we can joyfully and confidently
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  expect that he will do it. And notice, he says
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  this joyful and confident expectation of the
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  word that is in you. But do it with gentleness
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  and respect. Do it with gentleness and respect.
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  Pretty simple. Meekness and reverence. Meekness
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  and reverence. The idea of reverence towards
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  Christ and reverence towards those who are in
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  the image of God, the image bearer. Having a
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  good conscience. If I am joyfully. If I am joyfully
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  and confidently expecting that the word of God
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  will do what he says he will do and the word
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  of God will do what it says it will do, then
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  I can know with a good conscience so that when
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  you are slandered, those who revile or insult
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  you, insult your good behavior in Christ may
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  be put to shame. They have nothing to say. The
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  reality is if I'm really truly living out the
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  word of Christ in me and through me, then they
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  have nothing to say, though they will try. And
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  we see this a lot, especially today. Let them
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  say whatever they want to say. The reality is
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  my life is clearly above reproach because I live
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  obediently to the word of God. That should be
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  what we're thinking. And committed to. And I
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  don't need to be perfectly doing it. But I need
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  to be intentionally doing it. Because Lord knows
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  sometimes my thoughts. And the deep intentions
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  of my heart are wicked. Things I don't see. But
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  thank God for the word. Which judges rightly
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  the thoughts and intentions of man's heart. Christ
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  is our hope. We have nothing to fear. You have
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  nothing to fear. At all, ever. This period of
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  time that we live on the earth is short. What
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  do you have to fear? What do you lose? In reality,
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  when you die, you go to Christ and you gain him.
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  You already have him now. Hebrews 13, 6. So,
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  we can confidently say, the Lord is my helper.
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  I will not fear. What can man do to me? Nothing.
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  So please let your mom know, Massey, nothing
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  can harm you in Christ. Nothing. She is free
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  in Christ. Doesn't matter what kind of regime
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  she lives under. She is free in Christ. Doesn't
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  matter what man would take away. We are free
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  in Christ. For it is better. The term better,
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  I like English. Not really. Because like better
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  is always less than greater. It's slightly less
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  than best. Which kind of like is frustrating.
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  Because I kind of like greater better than better.
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  And best better than better, but I never really
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  wanted better than greater. Just saying. For
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  it is greater to suffer for doing good, if that
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  should be God's decisions, God's will, than for
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  doing evil. In other words, if I'm going to suffer,
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  it's greater for me to suffer for doing good
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  because it's God's decision that I should suffer
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  for doing good. I mean, that's the whole point
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  of being righteous, living rightly, is that if
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  we should suffer for doing good, that's what
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  God would want anyway. Not that we should suffer
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  for doing badly. What kind of benefit do you
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  receive if you suffer for your sin? But if we
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  suffer for righteousness, what great value is
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  that? For Christ also suffered once for sins.
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  And this is the idea that the reality of the
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  goodness of Christ is that he suffered for doing
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  good for you. So when we think about this, what
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  does Christ say? I lay down my life on my own
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  accord. No one takes it from me. And the goodness
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  of Christ in reality is on display because he
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  suffers for the good, for the will and the purpose
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  of God the Father. It was his decision for Christ
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  to suffer. And that's the implication here. The
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  righteousness for the unrighteous or the righteous
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  for the unrighteous. We who are the unrighteous
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  have become the righteousness of God because
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  of Christ, our righteousness that we might bring.
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  Now this word might bring English. It's English,
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  not so good. So this word might bring is not
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  might bring, kind of bring, sort of kind of bring.
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  And that's what the English is here, sort of
• 27:12
  maybe, maybe bring. No, this word literally means
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  that he would bring us near to God. What's the
• 27:20
  purpose of Christ's suffering for the unrighteous
• 27:25
  so that he, maybe, maybe bring me close to God?
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  It's kind of pitiful. The reality is, is he does.
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  And that's really what Peter is implying here,
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  that the righteous God of all creation brings
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  us near to God. It's not a eh. Okay? Being put
• 27:52
  to death in the flesh and made alive in the spirit.
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  That's why I don't like the word might, because
• 27:57
  it clearly says that we are. Verse 19, in which
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  he proclaimed, preached. To the spirits in prison.
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  Now, this word prison means to guard or watch.
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  Literally, that's what it means. And when we
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  read this, you go, oh, he went to hell and he
• 28:18
  preached to the spirits. Spirits, the word here
• 28:22
  is pneuma. And it implies a spiritual being.
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  And you and I are spiritual beings. And these
• 28:31
  are those who are under guard or under watch.
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  So Christ goes and proclaims, he preaches the
• 28:41
  gospel to those who are under guard and under
• 28:44
  watch because they formerly did not obey. They
• 28:47
  did not believe by faith when God's patience
• 28:50
  waited in the days of Noah. What do we mean?
• 28:56
  What do we know about Noah's story? We know that
• 28:59
  Noah preached for how many years? 120 years.
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  He preached the good news. What was the good
• 29:08
  news? God has commanded me to build an ark. And
• 29:13
  if you come in, you will be saved. 120 years.
• 29:18
  God is going to flood the earth. No one ever
• 29:21
  saw rain. They're like, what is rain? And they
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  didn't believe him. They disobeyed. They rejected
• 29:27
  the gospel. While Noah. was building the ark.
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  That's what it says here. While the ark was being
• 29:38
  prepared in which a few, that is eight persons,
• 29:41
  were brought safely through the water. Why does
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  he use this analogy? Don't you feel like sometimes
• 29:51
  you feel like Noah? Preaching and preaching and
• 29:55
  preaching and preaching and it doesn't matter
• 29:56
  how much you preach the truth of the gospel,
• 29:59
  they don't want to hear it. You're like, get
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  into Jesus the ark or you're going to die. They
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  just reject it, faithless. They disobey the command
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  to repent and believe the gospel. It's really
• 30:16
  the issue. What's interesting is these eight
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  persons were brought safely. This word means
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  to bring safely out of God's wrath through water.
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  But they had to be in something to be brought
• 30:32
  through something. The water is a symbol of the
• 30:36
  wrath of God. That's what you see here. And the
• 30:41
  ark is a symbol of their safety. They're saved
• 30:48
  in the ark. Not floating outside of the ark.
• 30:52
  Not hanging on by a string on the ark. They have
• 30:57
  to be in. And that's the gospel, isn't it? And
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  he uses this analogy in verse 21. Baptism, which
• 31:06
  corresponds to this, now saves you. Now, what
• 31:11
  baptism? Is it water baptism? No. It's not the
• 31:14
  water that 12 people got baptized last week in.
• 31:20
  It's not that kind of a baptism. The baptism
• 31:23
  means to be immersed into. To be immersed into
• 31:27
  Christ. The reality of the ark is Christ. Christ
• 31:31
  is your ark. And we are immersed into Christ.
• 31:35
  And we are out of the wrath of God. And he saves
• 31:40
  us through it. Now I want you to get that. This
• 31:44
  is important here. Especially when you're dealing
• 31:47
  with end time stuff. Christ is our ark who saves
• 31:51
  us through the wrath. Not as a removal of dirt,
• 31:57
  such as we saw, not last week would be an example
• 32:01
  of emerging in water from the body, but as an
• 32:06
  appeal to God for good conscience. That if we
• 32:10
  are in Christ, that we are safe in him, and that
• 32:14
  as a result, we are before him as not guilty.
• 32:22
  That God's wrath will not remain on us because
• 32:25
  we are not children of darkness, but children
• 32:27
  of light. Not children of wrath, but children
• 32:30
  of God. And we see this analogy throughout the
• 32:34
  scripture. So, through the resurrection of Christ,
• 32:39
  what is the reality of our saveness? The resurrection
• 32:45
  of Jesus. How can we clarify this? Romans chapter
• 32:51
  6. Romans chapter 6. This is not on my notes.
• 32:58
  Something that the Lord brought to my mind today.
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  What shall we say then? Are we to continue in
• 33:03
  sin that grace may abound? By no means. How can
• 33:06
  we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not
• 33:11
  know that all of us who were baptized into Christ
• 33:14
  Jesus were baptized into his death? We are not
• 33:20
  under the wrath of God because the wrath of God
• 33:23
  was poured out on the Son. We were in Christ
• 33:27
  through the wrath. That's the idea here. He took
• 33:33
  the blunt. In the same way, the ark took the
• 33:37
  blunt of the flood. We are buried, therefore,
• 33:40
  with him by baptism into death. So we are no
• 33:45
  longer objects of wrath. In order that, just
• 33:49
  as Christ was raised from the dead, by the glory
• 33:52
  of God the Father, we too may walk in newness
• 33:55
  of life. Because we are no longer objects of
• 33:58
  wrath, we are raised with Christ as a new creature.
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  Praise God. So, through the resurrection of Jesus
• 34:11
  Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the
• 34:16
  right hand of God, with angels' authorities,
• 34:19
  powers having been subjected to him. Now I want
• 34:21
  you to get this. This is one of my sticklers.
• 34:25
  It's one of my little soapboxes, I think. All
• 34:30
  authority is given to Christ. All of it. Everything.
• 34:38
  Every iota, every dot and tittle. Christ is in
• 34:42
  charge. He is the sovereign king. Christ is king.
• 34:46
  Period. Does not matter what man says. Does not
• 34:49
  matter what a preacher says. God is on the throne.
• 34:54
  And Christ, all angels, all authorities, all
• 34:58
  powers have been subjected to him. And he says
• 35:02
  that. All authority has been given unto me. Everything.
• 35:09
  Nothing happens in the world without the authority
• 35:11
  and the approval of God the Son. He is in charge.
• 35:17
  The Father has given this to him because it was
• 35:19
  his from the beginning. We read that. And we
• 35:23
  know that, Colossians chapter 1. He created all
• 35:26
  things by the word of his mouth. He is in control.
• 35:30
  Don't get it twisted. And we must understand
• 35:35
  that. Because if you don't understand that, you
• 35:38
  will continue living a life being defeated. Christ
• 35:45
  is king and he rules whether we like it or not.
• 35:51
  So now that we've gotten through chapter 3, I
• 35:57
  will remind you the key, the absolute key to
• 36:01
  understanding how to suffer well is for Christ
• 36:06
  to be Lord, Master, holy in your heart. He is
• 36:12
  holy. Christ the Lord is holy, and you must sanctify
• 36:18
  him as holy in your heart. He is, period. That's
• 36:25
  the key. You want victory? Let Christ live in
• 36:31
  and through you. Okay? Father, I want to thank
• 36:36
  you so much for your goodness and faithfulness.
• 36:38
  Thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for
• 36:40
  what you're doing in our lives. And as we partake
• 36:43
  in this table, that we would understand the importance
• 36:46
  of the sacred, that we would reflect in all that
• 36:51
  we do, you being the Holy One in us. We praise
• 36:57
  you and thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.