MAR 01 2020 "Viral"THE GOSPEL CHANGES OUR EXPECTATIONS" 1 Peter 3:8-17

Trying to capitalize on that. We should have named the series Saints make it to the Superbowl and I would have come true. Anyways, we are winning the series viral because the best effect of the Gospel is that the gospel and it will when you put your faith in Jesus, it begins to spread and transform every part of your life and then turn the church becomes up people that begins to multiply and spread all over the world and I can change the world like a good virus. Anyways today. We're going to be in 1st Peter chapter 3. I am start turning there are topic today is suffering. I'm some light material. All right, but we're going to look at the White House. Jesus changes. The way that Christians will experience being mistreated being slandered being ridiculed being sinned against And all the things that they did to Jesus that we can expect them to do the same to us. The main point bank today is that is the way that we think about suffering will directly shaped the way that we experience it Peters going to he's going to show us how to have a Suffer Well how to thrive when life gets hard instead of being crushed in a naturally different people. They have different responses to suffering some people just ignore it, you know, they disappear when they're having a hard time maybe because they feel ashamed or or they avoid other people who are going through a hard time cuz they just they just don't want to be around that other people day when they suffer they all they did right and they they exalt that they want everyone to know suffering it becomes their identity with me. how to put on a victim mindset often use that as an excuse to send I've got the biblical view which we'll talk about today and that's that's to see suffering the way that God sees and the key to thriving in the midst of hardship it is thinking rightly about it on the front end. Your expectations will shape the way that you experience something if you have the wrong expectations going into and then you'll miss understand it or you'll miss you something. So for example, if I expect that I can use my Watch like a hammer. I try to drive some Nails in I'm going to have a broken watch right and I can't be like who designed this terrible carpentry tool? No that's on me. I'm going in I'm looking at my watch with the wrong expectations the same for same movies. You can't. Watch Schindler's List and say you didn't like it cuz it wasn't very funny. Like I don't make comments about the Holocaust must have Quentin Tarantino. Y'all y'all get that right? You know, if you going to watch a chick flick you get the tissues out cuz you're expecting to feel some feelings. We're going to watch an action flick you pop some popcorn cuz you don't really want to thank you. Just want to watch and have a good time or if you put on Twilight you get a bucket ready? Cuz he might throw up a little bit.

Anyone have the mr. Yuck sticker on your phone growing up. We just Poison Control. We just put that on the Twilight DVD and keep that under the sink and it was feeling sick. Anyways, when we have the right expectations will prepare in the right way, right like for the movies there because we'll understand God's intention and allowing us to experience suffering and it will understand his purpose through it and most importantly what will find him in the midst of a hardship to go forgot your Bibles 1st Peter chapter 3 verse 8 going to start slow just one verse. Finally all of you have Unity of Mind sympathy Brotherly Love A Tender Heart The Humble mind. Cancel if you've been with us for the past 3 weeks what we've been talking about is our relationships with people outside of the church because when we begin to see Jesus as the Cornerstone to our lives, we begin to realign everything about ourselves to Jesus and and by doing that naturally puts us out of sync with people who aren't Christians because their life is built on a different Cornerstone, this can cause things like conflict taken some past cause suffering and Peter gave us three different ways to model Christ through submission when this happens talked about showing respect to a Godless Emperor. He talked about working hard for an unjust master and what it looks like just met and unbelieving spouse and the common thread for the past three weeks with it with those were all circumstances that we had either no or very little control over, you know. Don't choose which nation were born into we don't choose to be a slave. We don't, you know, if you convert to Christianity and your spouse doesn't there's no way to force Jesus into their heart. Look like a verse eight. It says finally all of you. Peter is concluding the section by turning the focus from people outside the church on to us the people inside the church today is Texas going to focus on the things that we can control. We're going to look at the choices. We can make when we suffer why they matter what effect will have and when you share God's expectations for your suffering. You'll make the kind of choices that give glory to him. I took two petersii starts out the section by focusing on the place where we will find our greatest support you Injustice and suffering the church.

And the first thing we should expect from suffering is number one expect our suffering to reveal our need for the church. It's hard, right Christians are going to have 99 problems with the church ain't one.

How do you spice up your sermon Jay-Z? Alright, thank you for laughing at that guy's. I appreciate it now. I'm fortunately The church can sometimes be a source of your problems right drama always seems to happen when you gather all the Sinners together and put them in one room. And so Peter what he does there he gets that Peter was once part of the problem. So he gets us a couple checks for a heart so that the church can actually function as a refuge during a storm. So the church can be a place of healing instead of a place of hurt and Sookie turkey gives us five adjectives, but those up Why we got Unity of Mind sympathy brotherly love a tender heart and a humble mind right now Peter. He's list of these things out in a particular order is he's using a literary technique. You're called a chiasm chiasm does it shows us how the things on the list relate to each other? There's a logic to the order he put these things on you see how that the first one and the last one are similar ideas Unity of Mind The Humble mind same with the second one on the fourth one sympathy in a tender heart kind of won the pairs that cause each other to resonate you get more with them together than you would with him apart. So unity and humility two things go together cuz humility is what makes you going to be possible. It's Thinking rightly about yourself knowing that Jesus had to die for you. What does Rob's unity in the church? Pride self-centeredness, it's why Jesus tells us to look first blanket around eye before we go around pointing out the specs and other people's eyes. You know what when you're aware of your own shortcomings it completely transforms the way you deal with other people it shapes the tone and it makes it much much easier to extend forgiveness than to extend Grace when you understand how much grace you've been shown gospel gives us a special tool here at the church so we can squash and beef instead of Causing trouble gives us the capacity to forgive one another it gives us the ability to look past the little things because we realized that when you realize you're not perfect, you don't expect anyone else to be perfect. It kind of you can make allowances for that fact and you can be okay with the fact that people can let you down sometime and because You're going to let people down sometimes the great thing is Jesus won't the next we have sympathy and a tender heart some some translations. Call the ladder 1 compassion. The sympathy with that is that's that's actually feeling another person's bird on what someone else is going through suffering you feel that as well as treating someone else's needs as though they were your own. When one part of the body suffers in the church that the whole body suffers with it and then we have compassion or tenderheart and what that is is that when you actually near you go beyond just sympathy and you take the extra step to do something. I don't think of the parable of the Good Samaritan. So the Good Samaritan. He he shows think of the difference between how does Samaritan response The Stranger versus the complete indifference the priest and levite the priest and levite that yeah, they understand the guy hasn't made his beat down but they don't do anything. I just keep walking on the Samaritan his sympathy move some to take action. He's got a tender heart. That's what happens when God's people are invested in one another. We Rejoice with those who Rejoice we weep with those who weep. when someone suffering you don't come out them with geology. Don't be jokes friends.

I know you don't someone's having a hard time. I'm not going to go Waltzing in and saying we'll G if you just had the right expectations, you would be experiencing this differently. No, that's not good for anyone. Just got to sit with them and wait till they're out of the valley. And then you can help prepare them for next time. That's why I kind of having to write expectations is important before you suffer is cuz you got a kind of front load it. The last time that you really have time to think about why? All right. So sympathy and a tender heart that's what enables us to see people the way that God sees people it's what enables us to share in each other's suffering from the support one another then you got the one in the middle. Brotherly love that's in the list that functions as the focal point, then give it like the climax. It's is the Common Center out of which all the other four radio doubt Brotherly Love is the reason that we commit the other four. church as a family we've all been down together by the blood of Christ. We've all been adopted same crazy family. Anyone here always get along with her family. Nope, same here at church. But at the end of the day, even when you fight you're still family still love each other, even when you're the middle of a fight with your brother someone else comes and tries to hurt him cut the full no one talked some like that, but me.

Love is a choice. It's a commitment to stick together like to the feeling. Or family. We resolved to love stick together even when we don't like each other.

And so the thing the fight the five of these things all have in common is that they all require intention there. They're not going to happen by accident. You've got to commit to it on the front end and undecided haven't we're not going to do these things perfectly. But still we have a perfect standard that we strive for that we want to align ourselves with and if you have the right expectations church will be great. I will be a great refuge in the middle of a crazy crazy world, but the purpose of church isn't just us it's not just about high fives and pool parties. It's it's to be a support network. We have a mission. Jesus wants to save this crazy world. That's what Pete has been talking about this whole book. So when we gather together and Sundays, it's this for the purpose of building up our strength before we scatter out the light in the darkness the rest of the week and next Peter is going to cover why we're going to need the support network. backyard text starting in verse 9 Do not repay evil for evil or a violin for revealing. Kids revealing. Is this a fancy word? That means Throwing Shade on the contrary bless. Where to this you were called so that you may obtain a blessing? So when they go low we go high first time for whoever desires to love life and see good days. Let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking the seat let him turn away from Evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. His ears are open to the prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.

All right, if you thought that getting along with Christians was a hard command now Peter is telling us we are to love our enemies. The people were doing evil lost to us and causing us to suffer. big ass guys the tall order he's not just telling us that we needed up to let little things go. Is not just telling us ignore the mean people and their go away. It is calling us to something much much more difficult. When people do evil to us when they treat us unjustly unfairly. What are we to do? We do the opposite looking first time. On the contrary we bless.

if it's optional Now if only it was like a Christian elective, nope for this for this purpose. We were called This is the purpose for which God has saved us. when we do this, we bless those who hurt us and bring some Glory so bless bless his kind of a $5 Church word. What what is actually mean to bless is to ask God to show his favor his grace to someone as to actively seek the good of the people who hurt us. Where we heard this before? Father forgive them. They do not know what they do.

This goes against human nature doesn't not. It literally takes a miracle happening in our heart to be able to do this take a look at the Cesspool. That is your Facebook feed there is A lot of slander going around but not a lot of people out there blessing those who slander them. Yeah, even a Christian circles. It seems our default response when someone hurts us as we we we call for a boycott. We try to get someone fired. What someone does austerity we want payback we want to hurt. God calls us to something bigger. He doesn't want us to just do things the way the world goes things. Why does God want us to do this verse 9? That you may obtain a blessing. Then we turn the other cheek. What we're doing is worth putting God's kingdom about their own. We're putting his reputation above our own rather than seeking to take justice into her own hands. We entrusted or trusting him to restore that which was taken to us there. If there's a text or that I can speak to this. It's in the book of Jeremiah 29:7. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into Exile and pray the Lord on his behalf or in his welfare, you will find your own. So the context of this verse was it was written after Israel was taken into captivity by up a condition in Babylon. You think you've got a bad so Daniel and his friends they were kidnapped. They were turned into units and they were renamed after pagan gods. Put yourself in the shoes from your home robbed if your family jewels renamed little Satan. What is God asking you to do? Seek the welfare of the people who treated this way. Why because of their welfare, you will find your own. I turned the other cheek doing their jobs. Well, giving God glory Daniel and their friends were elevated positions where they were able to make a difference and the Peg and Nation. They were taking them to Godfather battles for them. The world seems broken because it is. Seems unfair and unjust because it is. Non Christians are often hostile to Christians. Why because they need Jesus. God saved us instead of support didn't just Beam us up to heaven. He left us here. Is X-Files on a hostile and because we have a mission to save this world haters are going to hate the Sinners going to send people without Jesus don't have the Holy Spirit. They don't they don't have the thing. It takes to obey what do you expect they lack the one tool that makes up against God possible for them to do evil is inevitable. That brings us to our second expectation of their number to expect God to be the one who vindicates are unjust suffering. You get so he's doing a big ass Converse 9. So he follows it up with with verses 10 and 12 and he's he's quoting from the Old Testament hear Psalm 34 verses 12 through 16 specifically. This is a song in which a suffering man Praises God as his ultimate deliver. He he prays that God will be the one that who judges the wicked. So when the world doesn't dirty when it hits us with a sucker punch God is giving us to church. The actors are cut man. Just back up a god. That's the one who fights for us in the battle of the Somme is saying look back at versus 1011. or for whoever desires to love life and see good days. Let him keep his tongue from evil his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from Evil and do good. Let him seek peace and pursue it. Have you ever heard the expression? Don't wrestle with a pig you both get dirty and the pig likes it.

Same thing here. We have different things in South Carolina where I'm from.

Same thing here when you send against don't send back. So just make things more difficult for yourself. Things will just escalate. You just making a mess. So I got to make things worse in to respond. Evil is our default. That's what we're born knowing how to do you got to actively turn away from it and choose to do good instead and it's it's impossible to enjoy life when you are carrying a grudge is not

What's worse is you know, when you return with the evil You've Lost Your moral High Ground? What good is Christianity if we just act like everyone else? Turning the other cheek isn't just setting the bar. So low that you never get disappointed. It's it's about actively Turning Away From Evil turning to something better verse 11 says you have to seek peace. This is an act of her pieces and going to happen on a so, it's not just going to come to you you have to hunt for it. You have to pursue it. Forgiveness is not for going Justice. Look at verse 12. He's handing it off to God. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous is here ears are open to their prayers, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. There are two ways to take this first the first of which I like to call a Johnny Cash approach God's going to cut you down with Thanking us. It's very gratifying. Mine said to have we love to see people get theirs, right? We love to see Instant Justice, especially that's what you get.

Here's the problem with that approach. You used to be one of the bad people.

The right way to take this first is the Jesus approach the father forgive them. They don't know what they do want to see the Redemption of their soul.

They were people who wanted to see God Cut You Down but God made a different call you saved you. Now he wants you to see non-christians the same way that God wants to know you. As a lost sheep that needs Jesus.

See people of the way that God sees people aren't disclaimer here. Someone has committed a crime against you. You can forgive them and pray for them and also report them to the police.

Some reason churches have trouble with that concept sometimes but remember what Peter said back in chapter to church and government have been established by God for a different purpose than the church.

But the courts are slow. Human Justice is imperfect. So you probably going to need to work things out in your soul. Before I could settle in the court. Otherwise the bitterness will eat you alive.

I like to say pray that they end up somewhere with a good prison ministry, you know.

So anybody not even of the courts feel you? Have confidence that Justice will one day be satisfied by God. Either in the future on Judgment Day or it'll be covered on the cross right next to your son's.

I'm praying for God to bless. Someone who has hurt you. It requires the exact same humility that was acquired back in the first nine the humility that we need in order to do Churchwell in order to forgive. You have to have a good grasp how much you've been forgiven of I know some of you have probably been to some some jacked up stuff. Maybe you were abused. Maybe you had a lousy prep parent maybe high school was like hell for you because of the way you're treated. Maybe you feel like you had years stolen from your life when someone stabs you in the back and you're thinking Trade on the what? I've been through. You're right. You are absolutely right. I don't know what you've been through. I do know this. Cross is big enough to handle it. and then

sometimes forgiveness is a slow process. That's okay. That's okay. But if you refuse to start the process you close yourself off from it. What you doing is you're effectively spitting in the face of Jesus. You're telling him his death is not enough to cover the sins of the people who hurt you.

So extending Grace extending humility out to each other. That's that's the key for dealing with both people here and our family. And people outside the church and once once we get those two things sorted out. Will be able to free up all of our bandwidth. The thing that God has called us to do the leverage our suffering for his glory.

All right back there a text versus 13 to 17. Now who is there to harm you if you were is zealous for what is good? the logic here is If we're able to be zealous for what is good, it's because Jesus has transformed our hearts first, so it's so even when someone hurts you. It's only temporary. It's not lasting harm. Our soul is safe. There's fourteen but even if you should suffer for righteousness sake you shall be blessed. Have no fear of them nor be trouble but in your hearts honor Christ the lord as holy always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you do it with gentleness and respect. All right. See you in the original Greek gentleness and respect means don't be a jerk. All right. AR-16 Having a good conscience so that not when not if but when? You were slandered those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame to those who do evil. They will eventually be there on I'm doing or 17 for it is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's Will and for doing evil. What is Peter saying with all this? Is saying that we should Point number three? Expect God to use our suffering the save the world.

The good news is that the cross is always followed by the resurrection. Ness this is the hope that drives us forward to heed the call of Jesus to take up around cross and follow after him. Only by having confidence only by having joy and what's on the other side? Will we be able to get through? Hard things is called us to do.

Several times in this text Peter is told the church to to expect to be slandered. He lied about who spoken in us just as true. Now as it was then people will say a lot of things about us. Lots of which will not be true.

The way we see this typically now is know that the term used to put Christians into a box on the news is evangelical, right? What that word actually means is someone who believes that there is no salvation apart from Jesus apart in the gospel hits It's rooted in the Greek word. You ain't gallion which means good news. So someone who is defined by the good news. Honestly, I would say that term has lost all meaning.

alright, so this this was a From LifeWay research they are the research and statistics arm of the Southern Baptists stuff is usually spot-on is very well done. They did a study about two years ago to see what people who call themselves evangelicals actually believe first. They would ask people and would you identify yourself as an Evangelical and whether or not they said yes or no, they followed up with additional questions real basic questions about Christianity is the Bible the highest Authority in your life is Jesus death on the cross the only sacrifice that can remove the penalty if your sins basic Christianity 101 questions and here are the results they found that while 25% of Americans identify as Evangelical. Just under half those people actually have Christian beliefs about Jesus's. So while one and four Americans identify as an Evangelical only one in eight actually have Christian beliefs. Thunder half for what? It's worth. They found the word born again to be more useful to actually identifying someone who has Krishna beliefs. I just want to separate from stigma regardless. I think I found is that there is a big gap between what people say they are and what they actually believe and Peter's day. There was a social cost identifying as a Christian, the world is still at Sea now in the Northeast there still as a social cost us with Jesus here in the Bible Belt in the midwest. We have the opposite problem. There is a social benefit to being associated with Jesus. So we've got the problem we've ended up with his is half the people representing us don't actually share our beliefs. I don't know about you, but this really frustrates me. I really hate being lumped into the same category as someone who only uses their Bible to fix a wobbly couch at home.

What do we do about this? What can I do? What is the text say? Tells us to trust God will sort it all out one day. Our call is to keep doing what he's called us to do make disciples.

He was one of Jesus's Parables. We should just let the wheat continue to grow beside the tears. Let the thing of substance continue to grow beside the thing that's worthless. Prescott Resort out man Master out there preaching a false gospel will call you out to engage with every false thing that said about us. It's it's a bottomless pit. It's an endless time sync a task that will never end. It will take up as much time as you are willing to give it. And if you spend all your time talking about what we don't believe and you'll never actually have time to talk about what we do believe.

Our time is so limited guys. We don't have very much. So we need to spend every bit of it. As much as we can sharing the gospel, what are words with her actions? That's what the text means by doing. Good good show The Gospel show that you care about the things that Jesus cares about show that you see people the way Jesus sees people as lost sheep who need your compassion. Really unfortunate whenever Christians. Become better known for what we're against and what were four cuz what were four will save the world. We have very important work to do. We can't waste your time on Petty arguments with non-christians. Will they insult you stick the punch move on? You get down to the pic then you will never get out. the back of verse 15

you just as Petty as the world is that it looks like you've got no hope. You've thrown away one of your most valuable tools the text tells us that we should be able to explain always the reason for a hope. when people ask No one is going to ask you about your help. If you're running around like chicken little cuz it looks like you don't got any. S14 have no fear of them. Don't let them trouble you if we fear the same things of world 4 years. What good is Our Gospel? Notice of a text doesn't say don't fear. It says don't get them. What are you doing said first 15? Honor Christ the lord as Holy See has encouraged. It's not about the absence of fear. It's about the direction of your fear your God. Not men. I want my friends in college and he actually like someone to Christ because he kept cool when a strand someone spit in his face. I'm a stranger was watching and came up and said hey you weigh 280 LB. Why is that guy still walking? Why did you not just open up a can of whoop grass? And I thank and my friend said well, you see I follow Jesus and he has been helping me to be more like him. Jesus also had people spit in his face. And the door was wide open the rest of the Gospel.

Jesus has a lot of fair weather friends. Rumba LifeWay study but the minute there is a social cost to cost someone to be a Christian will scatter. It will be here anymore. a lot of people

they don't give two Hoots about your faith. Until they see you endure suffering. That's when its value has demonstrated people people will take notice. When you get a call from your doctor. You still hold on the peace cuz you know that death is not the end. People will take notice when you lose your job. You still function as though you have the freedom to seek first the kingdom of God and trust God to take care of the rest. People will notice when life presses on you, but you still have hope because you know, it will not Crush you. people notice when they strike you down, but you still seek their good because you know, they can't destroy you.

And when your non-Christian friend goes to their own suffering, who are they going to turn to? All the Chicken Little the sky is falling. With a friend who does not fear the storm because he has built his house upon the rock. I want to know where you got that hope Alaska.

10 / 17 or does better to suffer for doing good if that should be Scott's wealth and doing evil. We're going to suffer and if you suffer make sure. Is because you're doing the right thing not because you're being a jerk.

Yes boldness for the gospel is important good news, that will save the world. But the other side of the coin is the way you say it also matters you say the right thing the wrong way you are still wrong.

One of the times people don't even remember a single word you said but they will remember the way you made them feel.

Remember your attitude the expression on your face. What's your goal to build them up if they're good? Or was it a tear them down so that you could win an argument?

relationships matter so much guys

a survey Raise your hand if you became a Christian because someone out the baited you their latte logic you and the kingdom of heaven. That's what I thought. Nobody. Raise your hand if you became a Christian because someone was unkind to you. Raise your hand if you became a Christian because of a Facebook post. Isam Facebook poke Maybe

raise your hand if you became a Christian because someone took the time to invest in you. Someone stuck with you, even though you were acting like a fool. Do relationships matter both inside the church and with the people outside the church don't throw away your hope to wrestle with the pigs guys. osprey

God you have asked a lot from us today. And let's be honest. This is more than any human being can handle on their own. So we we thank you. You haven't left us to follow it on failure, that you have given us every tool we need to succeed in this. Thank you though. I'm going to church with people who would take a bullet for their brother. I think that you've given us the Holy Spirit and power so you always got sized things. I thank you for Jesus. It was perfectly fulfilled everything you've asked for us to do in this in our place. Thank you. Most of all for not leaving us to play Enter Sandman.

She came up with a gracious glorious plan to save us. Help us to extend the same Grace. We've been forgiven. Even of the people who hate us. Even the people who want to destroy us help us asleep there. God Amen.

Going to stay in forest.