The Key to Victorious Living, 1 Peter 4:1-6

1 Peter 4:1–6 (ESV)

Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

The key to victorious living is to embrace the cross

Embracing the cross means that you resolve or choose to face ridicule, loneliness, poverty, pain, and even death rather than do evil or be loved by the world.

Ridicule- this means your life is laughable in the eyes of others, and by others we mean unbelievers. I would hope that Christians would never ridicule one another for being faithful… but it happens when those who are immature and attempting to dabble in the world while living for the Lord want to be loved by the world rather than do what pleasing the Lord. Those Christians should consider the error of their ways and repent… my hope would be those actions are simply the error of the moment and not reflective of the way and true direction of your life.

Loneliness- this is isolation, the feeling of sadness that can only be known when you are alone. It’s heavy, overwhelming, cold, and dark… This can be experienced when you are in a crowded room, all it takes is for you to say no, speak up, choose what is right, etc… and you can experience loneliness while the eyes of every person in the room are looking at you.

Poverty- poverty is the state of lacking financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living…

Jesus said in Matthew 16:24–28 (ESV), 24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. 28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Pain- suffering or discomfort than be mental, emotional, and physical. This isn’t figurative pain… its real. It accompanies ridicule, loneliness, and poverty, and when there is physical harm in the case of persecution we experience physical pain.

Death- in this context we are not talking about dying of old age or natural causes… we are talking about dying at the hands of unbelievers because of your faithfulness to Christ.

In the Bible:

Stephen was stoned to death for preaching the gospel to the jewish leaders. Later all of the disciples except for John were killed for their allegiance to Christ.

Jesus experienced ridicule, loneliness, poverty, pain, and death for the sake of the world, at the hands of those in the world.

There is no greater reminder or motivation for what is at stake than the cross. You cannot think about the cross without reflecting on the love of God. You cannot consider the crucifixion of Christ without being reminded of the gospel.

And, Peter builds on the centrality of the cross to help us to draw a line in the sane when it comes to our own lives.

Through the cross Jesus has broken the curse of sin, and by embracing the cross we demonstrate that we have broken with sin.

Surrendering to suffer for the sake of Jesus is the mark of those who truly love Him more than life itself.

You may not see a reward in this life that looks worth it to the watching world, but in the end, your life and your decisions will be vindicated by the inheritance you receive- eternal life.

6 Characteristics of Victorious Living:

Embrace the cross of Christ over the acceptance of the world

We have covered this so far in our sermon, but its foundational to everything else.

Empowered by the Holy Spirit

You cannot do this without the power of the Holy Spirit… and you cannot and will not have the power of the Holy Spirit until you have surrendered to Christ by faith and received the grace and mercy of God in salvation.

The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our salvation, and Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to be our helper in the new life He has given us.

John 14:15–17 (ESV)

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Dependent on prayer

In was reading this week and was blessed by the thoughts of Erik Raymond on the significance of prayer when it comes to living for Christ.

He points out that sin will always keep you from praying, and that prayer will lead you out of sin. As he says prayer is like the rescue chopper from the captivity of sin. It’s like making contact with the search and rescue team, it discloses our location and our position.

Sin at its core is pride and in our pride we run from God, but prayer is humility expressed as we come to Him and plead for his mercy and grace.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Hebrews 4:15–16 (ESV) and it says, “15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

This passage reminds us that our access to Christ is not based on our sinlessness, but Christ’s.

That truth is what you need to know and then believe to hit your knees and pray. It’s the truth that Jesus earned your access to the Father that pierces through the fog and helps you to cry out to God in the moment of struggle, temptation, pain, etc… And it’s knowing the truth that leads me to the next characteristic…

Armed with theological truths, rather than your feelings.

“Theology is essentially a study of scripture. Theology comes from combining two Greek words: theos, meaning God, and logos, meaning word or rational thought. So theology is God-thought or rational reasoning about God.” - Jeff Augustine

Psalm 119:9–16 (ESV)

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. 12 Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! 13 With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. 14 In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. 16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.

John Calvin writes, if we are united to Christ “we are really and effectually supplied with invincible weapons to subdue the flesh.”

Ephesians 6:10–20 (ESV) says, “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

You cannot fight sin with your feelings… in fact, it is your desires and feelings that are so often the culprit that lead you into sin. Which, is why we must arm ourselves, not just guard ourselves… we are armed with weapons appropriate for the fight…

Surprising self control

Peter writes, “3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you;”

The unbelievers around you should be surprised at the things you don’t do.

I have thought that there are a couple of things to think about related to this:

Is anyone around you surprised by your self-control? Do you have relationships with anyone who doesn’t claim Christ? Or, have you considered the spiritual condition of those around you? And in considering their spiritual condition do you find yourself giving in to temptation or acting like people who don’t know Jesus?

Holy and Happy

Holiness is a joy!

There is a misnomer that denying the flesh to do the will of God is a loss… but it’s not a loss, it’s a gain. And the gain is joy and gladness that can only be found in your relationship with God.

It’s the satisfaction of knowing you did what He says to do.

It’s the comfort of walking with Him rather than away from Him.

I remember in the 80’s & 90’s there was a push for Christians to prove that we could have fun too. Much of it was related to music and the drug culture that was developing in teenagers and young adults. This was a carryover from the 70’s and I know that to be true, but I don’t remember the 70’s well… that’s true for many people, but I don’t remember them because I was born in 77… other people don’t remember them for other reasons.

But, in the late 1900’s rock, hip-hop, r&b, rap, etc was happening. MTV and VH1 played music videos, and the church found itself in a fight for a generation of ears, minds, and hearts. So, we tried to recreate the fun of the world but without the alcohol or drugs. We created our own versions of the music but with God honoring lyrics. We made cartoons, tv shows, and often cheesy and low-budget movies.

I don’t think these things are bad… in fact I think they are good. But, I can tell you what was missing in all of that… and it’s been missing in the generations before who have tried to have a Christian version of the world…

The thing that is missing is learning to be holy and happy in the Lord. There’s nothing wrong with godly forms of music, entertainment, etc… But there is something very wrong with a Christian… and very wrong with a church that isn’t satisfied by the Lord.

When you are holy and happy in the Lord things may not be fun. There may not be a movie to watch or a song to listen too… In fact, this is really at the heart of what God is saying to us in this passage.

Being holy and happy is a characteristic of the person who has embraced the cross and chosen to face ridicule, loneliness, poverty, pain, and even death rather than do evil or be loved by the world.

Holy and happy is the state of being content with Christ and looking forward to the reward of God’s presence and love.

I’d like to read you an example of what this looks like…

This is an excerpt from Foxes Book of Martyrs:

In June 1900, a fierce nationalist reaction in China against Christian

missionaries and churches claimed more than thirty-two thousand

lives. The worst massacres occurred in the northern province of

Shanxi. The pregnant Lizzie Atwater wrote a memorable letter home

before she and six others were martyred.

“Dear ones, I long for a sight of your dear faces, but I fear we shall not meet on earth. I am preparing for the end very quietly and calmly. The Lord is wonderfully near, and He will not fail me. I was very restless and excited while there seemed a chance of life, but God has taken away that feeling, and now I just pray for grace to meet the terrible end bravely. The pain will soon be over, and oh the sweetness of the welcome above!

My little baby will go with me. I think God will give it to me in heaven and my dear mother will be so glad to see us. I cannot imagine the Savior’s welcome. Oh, that will compensate for all these days of suspense. Dear ones, live near to God and cling less closely to earth. There is no other way by which we can receive that peace from God which passeth understanding. I must keep calm and still these hours. I do not regret coming to China." - Lizzie Atwater

On August 15, 1900, soldiers took Atwater and ten others away

from the relative safety of a nearby town and hacked them to death with

their swords, tossing the bodies into a pit.

This is what it means to arm yourself in the same way of thinking… this is what it means to embrace the cross and the way of Jesus.

The key to victorious living is to embrace the cross

Have you embraced the cross and all that it means?

Have you said yes to Jesus while at the same time letting go of the world?

Embracing the cross means that you resolve or choose to face ridicule, loneliness, poverty, pain, and even death rather than do evil or be loved by the world.

May we pray together and resolve together today, to choose ridicule, loneliness, poverty, pain, and even death rather than do evil or be loved by the world.

Christ has taken on the shame of your sin, and if you would like to come and be saved come forward this morning…

If you would like to come and pray and resolve here on your knees this morning, in fact, I would challenge you to come today and choose and resolve to live holy and happy in the Lord…

The steps are open if you want to come and pray

The arms of Jesus are open if you want to come and be saved.