Refining our Righteousness

Introduction

Darlene and Bob Rupp --- JODY’s Birthday

Welcome and Good Morning

We are on the road to Resurrection Sunday. Easter is TWO weeks away.

We will finish 1 Peter next week and then celebrate Easter Together.

We will finish this Series with a Message on Being a Shepherd

and our Easter Message will be on the GREAT SHEPHERD

We will celebrate together the Great Shepherd.

the love that the Shepherd has for His Sheep

that He would lay down His Life for them.

Our journey since January 15th has been in the vehicle of 1 Peter, and on the Highway to deep understanding and relationship with Him.

We have studied and learned and I pray you Review your notes prior to the next week.

We have discussed:

Living Hope and Holiness

being Living Stones on the Foundation of Christ

That Christ is the Cornerstone

We talked through Suffering, Submission, and Service

We learned to be Stewards of Grace

and living with the END in MIND

And we must.....

We learned that Our Conduct matters;

Our Conduct reveals Our Character and Our Character shows Our CHRIST to others.

We are called to be different, and separate ourselves from the world

Refining

1 Peter 4:12 (ESV)

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Do not be surprised

Honestly, when we sit and ponder on this verse

there is a side of us that KNOWS that the trials will come.

If we are not facing opposition, we may not be publicly living out our BLESSED HOPE.

If we live to glorify HIM, then we cannot GLORIFY the WORLD

sorry but you don’t get it both ways

Being refined is a rough situation --- I understand that BUT

Things are refined to bring out their true value

Gold is refined

Diamonds are refined, cut and shaped

Oil is refined to bring power to our house, industry and vehicles

Refining is where the dirty, rough, and useless slag of our prior life is removed.

Our Christian walk is not a BUFFET

we live like that at times.... thinking we are in control and picking what we want and don’t want

BUT rather A fully catered dinner

Planned by the CREATOR

with a Dessert that is out of this WORLD.

Do not be surprised when it gets tough we are Being REFINED

We often complain about little things...

Oh i get it, but will the matter

---matter in

10 min, 10 hours, 10 days 10 days or 10 years

Part of the Refining Process is choosing our perspective

If I gave you a bucket of rocks from out front of our door,

and ask you to refine them and showed you the final result was the same rock only cleaner --- no motivation

BUT if I would give you a bucket of rocks and show you the GOLD that you would have--- then you would likely be excited to do the work for the result

Friends this is our life in Christ

we were once dirty rocks and GOD called us and we answered

But GOD KNOWS THE VALUE __ THE GOLD IN EACH OF US

Then the refining starts and it is not easy

BUT the reality is that

we are more precious then gold or diamonds.

We must learn to concentrate on what matters

Do you know the answer to the QUESTION?

What matters?

In the end what matters?

to Glorify God and to GROW Others in CHRIST

we must fear God and OBEY HIS commands

To Hear the WORDS - WELL DONE...

Rejoice

1 Peter 4:13 ESV

13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

Rejoicing in Trials is a matter of mentally choosing your perspective

You can choose to ask why? or WHAT?

WHY GOD WOULD YOU?

or

WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?

Do you remember back to Week 2 of this study when we discussed a Living Hope?

1 Peter 1:3–5 (ESV)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

sometimes when we study verse by verse

we need to review and look back to see the earlier parts of the letter.

We can REJOICE in good and in bad , in easy and rough for GOD is ALWAYS WITH US

Recognition

1 Peter 4:14 ESV

14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.

Does the WORLD see CHRIST in YOU?

Are you living for Christ?

Are you standing for what is RIGHT?

no matter what. No matter what the world says.

Spurgeon stated:

If worldly people rebuke and reproach us — we can take it for granted that they discern something of Christ in us?

we can all be guilty of doubt

we all live in fear

YET we are told here that to be insulted for Christ is an opportunity for blessing.

Will you stand and say MURDER IS WRONG

and NOT conditional

Life is given by GOD

Life is precious

Keep your hands off of ours thing

Do you realize that everyone would follow Christian values… we would not need to lock our homes, have passwords and two function verification

God Chose us to be DIFFERENT ---

To Stand apart.

Ephesians 1:4 (ESV)

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

We need to be Holy and Blameless

ouch

there is no “except when others don’t agree”

there is not exception --- when it is a TOUGH DECISION

We are called to be Holy and HOLY is obeying GOD fully and completely.

We must align our conduct in church, with our conduct in life

We don’t make SUNDAY CHRISTIANS

Reality

1 Peter 4:15–16 ESV

15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.

We don’t engage in EVIL just so that we suffer.

paul writes this in Romans\

romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

If we suffer for doing GOD’s Will

to stand up and SHOUT HIS NAME

to stand up for THE TRUTH

to HONOR HIM in all things, at all times

These are the things that matter

Character is WHO you are when no one is looking

BUT it is also WHAT you are, when the time comes to stand up

Righteousness

1 Peter 4:17–18 (ESV)

17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

We need to understand that we will stand in front of the throne of God

When the Saints, oh, when the Saints come marching in

OH how I want to be in that number,

When the Saints come marching in

Lets talk about verse 18 in brief:

Peter is quoting from the Septuagint the Greek translation of the Old Testament used in these times

proverbs 11:31 “If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!”

it is NOT hard to be SAVED --- we are saved by faith

Romans 10:9 “9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

ongoing faith, committed faith, actual faith in CHRIST

not by a simple set of words said in a sad time.

We must BE IN CHRIST ---ABIDE IN HIM --

like a tree pulling water up from its roots to the most outstretched leaf

we must be living depending on HIM as our WATER OF LIFE

the BLOOD of our Salvation,

Resolution

1 Peter 4:19 ESV

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

THERE IS THE THEREFORE

when we suffer according to God’s Will we are GLORIFYING HIM

Focus on HIM things they matter

Friends ---- let me leave you with this

the world only matters for a time

our Salvation matters for eternity

We have so many POLITICAL JUNKIES in this world

Why?

I have lived on this earth for almost 57 years

I have lived with 10 different PRESIDENTS in office

I can think of NOTHING that any of them have DONE that directly effected me

I am who I am today because of the CHRIST Change in me

not the temporary change in my pocket

Friends

we are in the midst of being Refined, and because He Loves Us we REJOICE

we must live a life that gets us Recognized in this WORLD

We must where the BLOOD and LOVE of CHRIST

a hat or t-shirt identifies us to the world

Live a LIFE worthy of your Calling.