Disciples in Distress - Lesson 2
Disciples In Distress • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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INTRODUCTION:
A- Recap Last week’s lesson.
B. Preparation for Action (1 Peter 1:10–2:3)
B. Preparation for Action (1 Peter 1:10–2:3)
10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you.
11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.
15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.
16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”
18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.
19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.
21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.
24 As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades.
25 But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.
1 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.
2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,
3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
1- Don’t take your salvation for granted. (1 Peter 1:10-12)
10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you.
11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
a. The Gospel was something that was progressively revealed to the prophets, but not fully understood by any of them.
(Hebrews 11:32-39)
32 How much more do I need to say? It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets.
33 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.
35 Women received their loved ones back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.
36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons.
37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated.
38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.
39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.
This is what the Apostle Paul referred to as the mystery of the Gospel.
(Ephesians 1:9)
9 God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan.
(Ephesians 3:2-10)
2 assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles.
3 As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me.
4 As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ.
5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.
6 And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.
7 By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.
8 Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ.
9 I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.
10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
They did not understand about Christ’s suffering (beatings, death and resurrection).
They did not understand about the Kingdom of God being open to all people (Jews and gentiles).
They did not understand the ultimate glory of Christ’s coming kingdom.
b. The Gospel is announced through Holy Spirit-empowered witnesses. (Acts 2)
c. The Gospel is so wonderful that the angels of heaven are amazed.
2- Live out your salvation in the midst of distress. (1 Peter 1:13-25)
a. Pursue holiness (1 Peter 1:13-17)
13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.
15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.
16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
17 And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”
Pursue holiness by preparing the mind for action and discipline.
“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control.” (v. 13 a)
(ἀναζωσαμενοι τας ὀσφυας τῆς διανοίας = [an idiom, literally ‘to bind up the loins of the mind’] to prepare oneself for learning and thinking—‘to get one’s mind ready for action, to be ready to learn and to think, to be alert.’ διὸ ἀναζωσάμενοι τὰς ὀσφύας τῆς διανοίας ὑμῶν ‘so then, have your minds ready for action’
(νήφοντες = ‘to be sober, to not be drunk,’ probably not occurring in the NT; see 88.86) to be in control of one’s thought processes and thus not be in danger of irrational thinking—‘to be sober-minded, to be well composed in mind.’
(1 Th 5:6.)
6 So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.
Pursue holiness by putting all of your hope in the completed gift of salvation.
(τελείως, ἐλπίσατε ἐπὶ τὴν φερομένην ὑμῖν χάριν ἐν ἀποκαλύψει Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ.= completely put all of your hope in the grace coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.)
Pursue holiness by persevering in obedience.
(Luke 6:46)
46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say?
Pursue holiness by perceiving the example for life.
Pursue holiness by planning life with your eternal home in view.
b. Remember the high cost of your salvation (1 Peter 1:18-20)
18 For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.
19 It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
20 God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.
God paid the ransom to save you.
From the empty live you inherited from earthly ancestors.
The ransom was not paid with things of temporal value.
The ransom was paid with the blood of Christ.
Jesus was the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
Jesus’ death and resurrection was determined before the world began.
c. Seek to reflect the transformed character God has placed within you. (1 Peter 1:21-2:3)
21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.
24 As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades.
25 But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.
1 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.
2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,
3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
Reflect a transformed character through demonstrating sincere love (1 Peter 1:21-22)
21 Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
Reflect a transformed character through obedience to the Word of God. (1 Peter 1:23-25)
23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.
24 As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades.
25 But the word of the Lord remains forever.” And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.
Reflect a transformed character through radical pursuit of spiritual growth. (1 Peter 2:1-3)
1 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.
2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,
3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
Forsake behavior that contradicts your profession of faith in Christ! (1 Peter 2:1)
1 So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.
Cultivate an insatiable craving for consuming and activating scriptural teaching in your life. (1 Peter 2:2-3).
2 Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment,
3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.
CONCLUSION:
Questions to Ponder:
What does 1 Peter 1:10–12 reveal about the prophets' understanding of salvation?
How are believers encouraged to prepare their minds for action according to 1 Peter 1:13?
What should we do with the old ways of living according to 1 Peter 1:14?
Why is the blood of Christ referred to as a ransom in 1 Peter 1:18-19?
Which scripture says, 'You must be holy because I am holy' and how does it relate to our behavior?
What does it mean to live as 'temporary residents' according to 1 Peter 1:17?
What does Peter say about craving 'pure spiritual milk' in 1 Peter 2:2?
