Living a Good Life

Turn to 1 Peter 3:8

Reminder we are having church service for Christmas Eve & Day! Please come.

Recap

2 THEMES of 1 Peter:

Enduring suffering/trials w/ living hope

Exiles & Sojourners, far from home.

LIVING as EXILES/SOJOURNERS…HONORABLY B4 NONBELIEVERS, MAIN IDEA SECTION....closes today w/ focus on living before both believers & nonbelievers.

**Read Text & Pray

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Intro:

(Q) How many of you here today want to live a good life?

Followup:

(Q) What does it mean to live a good life?

As a CHRIST-FOLLOWER, what COMES to MIND when you THINK of LIFE being GOOD?

Not a white picket fence

Not two cars in the garage

Not a huge family @ Christmas time

Retirement

Personal reminder w/ Xterra!

A good life for us as Christians shouldn’t be defined by what we receive or have, but by what we give and who we are, for the glory of God.

NICE THINGS = OK…BUT, “He who dies with the most toys is still dead” (D.R.)

Need:

We all NEED to know WHO God wants us to be and HOW we are to BE GOOD.

And this is what we find in the text today.

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Text:

Thought 1: Christians in Community (V8-9).

1 Peter 3:8–12 (ESV)

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

If you FELT LEFT OUT last week, DON’T WORRY this week.

“Finally, All of you”

FOR ALL CHRISTIANS,, Christianity 101

5 Virtues (v8):

Unity of mind

This word has the sense of things being in harmony, specifically, for us as believers to be thinking harmoniously, or having unified thoughts and attitudes (Grudem).

Essentially, for us to all be like-minded (BDAG).

**TUNING 100 PIANOS in separate rooms to SAME FORK. - played in harmony.

CHRISTIANS, TUNE to SAME FORK…BIBLE, H.S., FELLOWSHIP...

Sympathy/Understanding

Brotherly Love

BROTHERLY = FAMILY

Church = Family

Tender Heart/Compassion

Humble Mind

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Tom Schreiner - Pattern

Unity/Harmony of Mind —Humble Mind

SEEKING INTERESTS of OTHERS…PHIL. 2...

Sympathy & Tender-heartedness/Compassion

**Center attribute = brotherly love… THE CHRISTIAN DISTINCTIVE…

**All these FIVE VIRTUES are INNER DISPOSITIONS that MANIFEST in OUTWARD ACTIONS...

God’s sanctifying work is total, transforming even our inner person!!

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QUALITIES - CHRIST-FOLLOWER EVERYWHERE

V8 - aimed PRIMARILY at CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP…in the MIDST of PERSECUTION, church HAS ONE ANOTHER!

LIVE for the BENEFIT of OTHERS....SOMTIMES YOU’LL BE "THE OTHERS”... & need compassion, sympathy, love, etc. —FOUND within CHURCH!

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(V9) BEING a CHRISTIAN…WHEN MISTREATED

(HOPEFULLY NONBELIEVERS, NOT BELIEVERS!)

Not retaliating, or seeking vengeance!

Not answering “in kind”

USPS CUSTOMER SERVICE....NOT RESPONDING ATTITUDE W/ ATTITUDE.

We RESPOND w/ BLESSING…ASKING GOD’S FAVOR & hand on them...

SO THAT we might RECEIVE a BLESSING. That God would bless us as well!

If you want a blessing from God, one thing to do is to bless those who don’t deserve it in your life.

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(T) So after sharing about how we are to live and the resulting blessing we receive from God, Peter backs up this claim with a quotation from the OT let’s see what it says.

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Thought 2: God’s Blessing on the Upright (V10-11).

10 For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;

11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.

(Q) How many of you want to hate life and have bad days?

HOW WE LIVE.....

Living a good life = how we live.

**Remember PETER’S AUDIENCE is PERSECUTED BELIEVERS.

Blessing doesn’t always = good & easy life.

HE’S NOT TRYING to FIX THEIR PROBLEMS...

REMINDER: GRACE doesn’t always OVERRIDE REAPING & SOWING!

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In (V10-11) 5 Intentional Ways to Live for God.

COMMANDS, not suggestions!

Keep tongue from evil & lips from speaking deceit.

Speak godly and honest things...

Turn from evil

Do good

Seek peace

Pursue peace!

CHRISTIANS = PEACEMAKERS!! (NOT KEEPERS)

NOT getting VENGEANCE, & NOT brushing PROBLEMS under RUG.

Any AREAS of LIFE that NEED PEACE??

It starts w/ you!

This is all how we are to intentionally live a good life as a Christ-follower.

CHRISTIAN in COMMUNITY attributes that are found in (V8)

REFRAIN FROM RETALIATION (V9)

(V10-11)

KEEP our WORDS PURE and TRUTHFUL,

we are to TURN FROM EVIL and DO GOOD

and we are to BE PEACEMAKERS

(T) Now, this quotation from Psalm 34 doesn’t just end with commands, it ends with a response from God. Let’s look now at verse 12 and see how Peter concludes this section and the implications it has for us today.

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Thought 3: God’s Response (V12).

12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

LAST WEEK-- man’s PRAYERS HINDERED if problems w/ marriage

Sin affects our communion w/ God!

DON’T WORRY about SINNING YOURSELF OUT of the KINGDOM…but there are still CONSEQUENCES..!

RIGHTEOUS Living = GOD’S ATTENTION (eyes & ears!)

Wayne Grudem, “that he is looking after them [us] for good, recognizing and meeting their [our] needs”

GOD, CREATOR, omnipotent & omniscient, cares enough to INVOLVE HIMSELF in our LIVES, isn’t this so amazing!

SELAH, DESPERATE FOR ATTENTION....GOD WATCHES OVER US…MORE KIDS THAN I HAVE FOR SURE!!

(Q) How many of you have seen God work in the details of your lives before? God-moments, not coincidences?

D.A. Carson: “Whether under the terms of the old covenant or the new, the privilege of belonging to God’s redeemed people brings with it the grateful, grace-drive responsibility to pursue righteousness and holiness, not to presume on God’s grace while trying to live no differently from the world” (p. 1037).

**Reminder, Peter is NOT advocating for SALVATION by WORKS…He’s plainly writing to Christians who are SAVED.

YET, CONNECTION BETWEEN FAITH & WORKS MUST BE THERE!

SINNING/PRESUMING ON GRACE ---TRULY SAVED???

Big Idea/Intention:

So we learn from this passage today that while grace is active, there is still the law of reaping & sowing and that God’s blessing is upon those who live good, and godly lives in Christ Jesus, with the ultimate blessing of eternal life.

Our response to God in worship this morning should be striving to live the good life that he has laid out for us in this text!

DOESN’T MEAN, LIFE = EASY

GREATEST GOOD for BELIEVERS,,, ALWAYS YET TO COME - ETERNITY.

“IF YOU’RE LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE NOW YOU AREN’T BORN AGAIN AND HEADED FOR HEAVEN”--- THAT’S THE BEST LIFE.

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Cross/Gospel

IRONY or DILEMMA....CALLED to BE GOOD & TOLD we AREN’T GOOD.

GOD’S EYES are on the RIGHTEOUS…but ISAIAH tells us our RIGHTEOUSNESS is FILTHY RAGS!

GOD’S GREATEST BLESSING came in a PERSON…the L.J.C.!!…who went about doing good (Acts 10:38)

HE was GOOD because he WAS GOD…who is BY NATURE, GOOD.

ONLY one SINLESS.

(2 COR. 5:21)...He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we could become the righteousness of God…& this is how we have God’s eyes turned to us.

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(V12 today) God’s eyes on the righteous…turns his face from wickedness...

***JESUS EXPERIENCED being FORSAKEN when he BECAME SIN for us...

The darkest moment in Jesus’ life wasn’t:

The REJECTION by the RELIGIOUS establishment

The CONSISTENT THREATS of those who were jealous

Facing the MAN w/ LEGION of DEMONS

the STORM that NEARLY SUNK their BOAT

The BETRAYAL by JUDAS

The 3X DENIAL of PETER

The DISCIPLES all ABANDONING him

The CROWN of THORNS

The CAT of 9-TAILS being drug across his back

The NAILS/CROSS..

It was when he became sin for us and the FATHER TURNED His FACE AWAY from the Son.

ONLY 1 to PERFECTLY, ALWAYS DO FATHER’S WILL…UNBROKEN COMMUNION…THEY WERE 1!

And yet on the cross he says, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me??”

The saddest moment in all of history became our greatest blessing.

NOW HE’LL NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, LEAVE US/FORSAKE US.

It is only by GRACE ALONE THROUGH FAITH ALONE in CHRIST ALONE that SOMEONE can be SAVED from their SIN and EXPERIENCE this CONNECTION with GOD,

that WHILE it can be HINDERED by SIN, will NEVER be BROKEN...

HE DID THIS FOR YOU, & YOU CAN BE BROUGHT INTO RELATIONSHIP TODAY...

***AGAIN, NOT a LICENSE to SIN.

But because he was forsaken, I never have to fear being forsaken.

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Takeaways:

CHURCH = FAITH FAMILY-

brotherly love, sympathy, & compassion abound.

Safe place from the rest of the world!

A GOOD LIFE = WHO WE ARE not what we have/receive

God may bless you naturally, but this shouldn’t be our aim!

WE WILL NEVER BE FORSAKEN...if we are in Christ..yet unrepentant SINS cause SEPARATION between us and God and HINDRANCES to our PRAYERS...

Application:

CHRISTMAS SEASON....GIVING & RECEIVING GIFTS..

THINK of the THING from this PASSAGE (see list in bulletin???) that you STRUGGLE W/ MOST, & the GIFT you can GIVE OTHERS by striving to BE GOOD for the glory of God.

Give peace, or compassion, or sympathy, or kind words, etc...

CLOSE IN PRAYER