The Joy Filled Life
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Good Morning church, well it sure is good to be able to be back with you again this morning. Would you please turn with me in your Bibles this morning to 1 Peter 3:8 and as you turn there I want you to remember what we discussed last week. Namely that we all have preconceived opinions and ideas that we come to the Bible with. We all have opinions and God has revelation That means when I have an opinion that is all well and good but when it comes to the revelation of Gods word then we must allow our opinions to change.
Submission to God’s word and God’s authority is the supreme calling on the life of the Christian, to submit and honor Christ and His divine revelation. When I face difficult decisions I look for the divine revelation and we all should.
We live in a fallen world, and sometimes things happen as a direct consequence for our sin, we reap what we sow in time as well as in eternity. Sometimes consequences of choices come to roost. Sometimes God allows things to happen for our maturity and the trials we face are opportunities for growth. It is very hard to know which one is which.
Nothing just happens to God’s children, everything that comes to us in our lives, comes first through the hand of almighty God. Every event every circumstance we arrive at in life is an opportunity for growth.
The word submit is used repeatedly it begins with the idea that we must submit to government authority, and I wanan remind you that the government in Peter’s day was Nero. It dont get much more wicked than Nero. Then He goes on to say we are to submit to our Earthly masters, and its not talking about something cute and pretty it is talking about Christian slaves and it says they are to be Christians who submit to their masters whether they are harsh to them or kind to them their primary responsibility is to honor god in their submission to authority.
Then He moves on to talk about submission in the Christian home the situation was where two lost people get married but one gets saved and turns their life over to the Lord and the other one does not, and it says to the Christian wife to live out your life in such a way that you love your husband towards Jesus Christ.
Now nine of these situations is easy, all of them are extremely difficult. It is hard to live with someone who has a completely different outlook on life which was the position of this wife who was married to someone who does not believe in the same God as she does and therefore they do not see life in the same way.
Peter says much like Paul that these wives should submit to Christ, in that situation.
Then beginning in chapter 3 verse 8 is a summary statement and you can look in your Bible and see that he is making his final point. He says finally, he says based on this whole subject of submission I wanna say one more thing.
Peter now comes to a conclusion, now when he gets to (13) the subject shifts toward suffering and he points out that our suffering has a purpose in God’s plan of redemption. That we should live as Christ lived and suffer as Christ suffered.
Remember this book was written to a group of hurting Christians to say hang in there I am in control. you need to hear this this morning GOD IS STILL IN CONTROL JESUS IS STILL SEATED ON HIS THRONE AND THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS LIFE THAT IS HAPPENING THAT HE IS UNAWARE OF BUT HE EVEN MAKES WHAT SATAN MEANT FOR EVIL TO BE TURNED AROUND FOR GOOD
PERSEVERE HANG IN THERE
The fact that suffering is covered not once, not twice, but 4-5 even 6 times in such a short book means that this idea of suffering well is an important theme in Christianity, and it is one we must be welcome to.
It is like we should listen to Job in our day when he said are we to expect only good things from God and not evil.
In which h meant are we only going to praise God in the good times and not praise Him in the bad times?
Certainly not He does not stop being God just because life is hard for those who follow Him. If we follow the Lord there will be times when we hurt and when we suffer but that does not mean we are alone.
To sum up this idea of submission, as we said last week none of us like authority, none of us do.
Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble,
ALL OF YOU BE- this is a command for every member of every church, this is guideline for all believers on how we are to react in times of decision making and in Peters case in times of terrible persecution against the things they really had no power to change or effect.
how do we live out our lives seeking to have a joy filled life.
ALL OF YOU BE WHAT?
Like minded
We are commanded to be of one mind, of one accord
Now I wanna remind you of Jesus’s prayer in the garden of Gethsemene as Jesus is about to go to the cross we get to catch a glimpse into what the heart of Jesus cared about.
I am no longer in the world,
but they are in the world,
and I am coming to You.
Holy Father,
protect them by Your name
that You have given Me,
so that they may be one as We are one.
Jesus is praying for His disciples and he prays that we may be one as even as the Son of god and god the Father are one.
But in verse 20 he is gonna transition now from the disciples as they they are about to carry the wieght of the entire church on thier shoulders.
These Palestenian untrained fishermen the weight of the Great Comission is about to fall on them.
I pray not only for these,
but also for those who believe in Me
through their message.
May they all be one,
as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.
May they also be one in Us,
so the world may believe You sent Me.
I have given them the glory You have given Me.
May they be one as We are one.
I am in them and You are in Me.
May they be made completely one,
so the world may know You have sent Me
and have loved them as You have loved Me.
This is a cry for Christian unity and I have preached on this alot, I have preached on this subject before pastors, I have preached on this at our community worship gatherings we were having when I preached at mt Enon I have preached this topic at revivals as some have asked me to do.
Really it is coming into focus for me that if there was a special cause that I desire to fight for in my time as a pastor and preacher it is for the cause of unity.
If there is one thing that hurts the church of Jesus Christ, if there is one thing that hurts the Christian home it is disunity.
Unity was on the mind of Jesus as He prayed one of His final prayers before He left this Earth so unity is one of the most important things within the Christian church and home we can strive for and defend.
One thing our deacons should seek to be devoted to is the defense of the unity and peace within the body of Christ they commit to this cause as they become deacons as well as Cory and myself.
This is call to CHristian unity were all with Jesus but we are al fallen sinful people. I am commanded here but its not just here its in Jesus’ prayer and (Philippian 1:27 and 2:2) Paul says it again.
That you be one in mind, now I dont know how were gonna get one in mind....
Part of the reason the church in America find itself in conflict is that we have grown up in America where individual rights are accentuated I get to vote I get to be I get to control my own life, I get to do what I want to… NONE OF THAT IS BIBLICAL
So I think were more influenced by the declaration of independence than we are the NT and we want our rights and we want our way and we want our two cents and we wanna give our opinion./
I HATE BUSINESS MEETINGS THEY ARE NECCESARRY BUT I HATE BUSINESS MEETINGS.
I’ve worked for months and years to get sensitive Christians back into church who have been hurt or wounded and get them back and they make one business meeting and thats all it takes....
usually the business meeting is over what wall paper we should use in the nursery wing.
(obviously that hasnt been a real issue since I have been here)
But its something random and non essential like this that becomes the source of animosity and division.
I think its important that we state our opinions and that we are free to share differences among us but I am going to continue to say we are supposed to pray before we speak and we are supposed to speak in His image when we do.
When that is the desire of our heart then we really wont care what wall paper we use amen.
THERE ARE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE THAN OUR ORGANIZATIONAL STUFF!!!
THIS IS SOMETHING THE LORD IS TRYING TO TEACH US CHURCH!
IN THE END THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IS CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED
RELATIONSHIPS
DISCIPLESHIP
GODS HOLY INERRANT WORD
BIBLICAL MARRIAGE/PARENTING
THESE ARE HILLS TO DIE ON!!! THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT MATTER AND ISNT IT INTERESTING THAT OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS IF YOU HAVE BEEN PAYING ATTENTION THESE ARE THE ONLY THINGS WE HAVE HAD TO WORK/FOCUS ON
god has separated all churches in order for churches to appreciate coming to church, and appreciate the people they have within their churches.
IN your marriage arr you striving to have your own way or are you seeking to out serve your spouse....
Now finally, all of you should be like-minded and sympathetic, should love believers, and be compassionate and humble,
Everybody should be sympathetic to one another try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
When you see someone who has a different opinion than you, do not villify them but instead just understand that they see things differently than you do.
It doesn’t mean they are wrong they just have a different perspective than you.
so the Bible commands us to be sympathizers, and to love one another to be compassionate, because at the end of the day you dont know what position someone else is in.
Now I wanna focus primarily on the marriage right here, there are times when I look at my wife and I think we cannot be more different.
We but heads from time to time, but I have come to learnt that she just sees things differently than me and it is a good thing! She has helped me in many ways over the years bc she sees things differently than me.
He calls us to be humble in spirit, this is a tough one, because when we here humble we think weak as did the Romans but the truth is there are two people caled humble in the Bible MOSES and JEsus so it becomes a unique quality in Christianity.
It is the word submit put in a different way, we dont always have to get our way, we dont always have to have our ideas affirmed or agreed with.
There is a quality in the people of god when we finally recognize the mess that the Holy Spirit found when we came to Christ amen!
He then commands us
Do Not Aim to Get Even!
Do Not Aim to Get Even!
not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing.
Now this is present ongoing
We are to daily ongoingly not return evil for evil, this is a metaphor for forgiveness.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
As he goes on after that you will see that list where Paul says do not repay evil for evil…
Now we ask you, brothers, to give recognition to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you, and to regard them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are irresponsible, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.
Rejoice always!
Pray constantly.
Give thanks in everything,
for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Don’t stifle the Spirit.
Don’t despise prophecies,
but test all things.
Hold on to what is good.
Stay away from every kind of evil.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
I need to ear that over and over again, because my sight is not always right neither is yours I have the indwelling holy spirit and the way I look at things is different from the world and yet I am still in the world and the world can cause a fog to cover our eyes but in that fog is the light of the Lord.
The word of God cuts the fog and clears up the darkness
This is how we must act differently than the world Jesus said they will know you are my disciples by the love ye have for one another
The world is out for self while the church must be out for others. The world wants to see us act differently than they do not go along with whatever they say is right in their own eyes.
the world needs to see that we will Not be divided over politics, race, tradition or preference.
the world needs to see a church united in one cause to glory the true and living god and loving our neighbor as ourselves
When someone insults you to begin to come up with ways to give it back to them?
Or do you lookfor a way to bless them?
not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing.
God says there is blessing attached to blessing instead of cursing, there is a caling a blessing we are called to love and bless our enemies to seek the unity of the body of Christ both in the assembly and in the home!
Unity is the Key to a Joy Filled Life
Unity is the Key to a Joy Filled Life
For the one who wants to love life
and to see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit,
Do you hear what this means?
Gossip wil destry your joy and others, strife among the brethren will only destroy the Holy Spirits power on display among you!
Lying and decieving will rob you of a life you can love, and rob the few days we have on this Earth. Think about Jesus when He was mocked He did not mock in return, when He was cursed He did not curse in return, when He was lied about He did not defend His honor but rather stood in His integrity.
When He was attacked He blessed
I dont think He felt good in all those situations either
Give a blessing means to speak well of you it is the same word we get eulogy. I can disagree with you and still love you and speak well of you.
For the one who wants to love life
and to see good days
must keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit,
God has a inheritance for us church! let us not squander it because we allow our tunge to be unguarded and we decide the best thing to do when someone harms us is to get them back!
and he must turn away from evil
and do what is good.
He must seek peace and pursue it,
There is always an opporunity when someone wrongs you to do evil in return isn’t there?
There is always an opportunity to pay them back good isn’t there?
But the Bible says we must turn away from evil we must sink to the level of the person who has hurt us but instead seek to show them Jesus so that we may witness to them and enjoy our life.
You know it is so freeing to forgive someone, bc like the Bible teaches all unfrogiveness does is keep us in a prison of our own making.
Why should we behave this way?
because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and His ears are open to their request.
But the face of the Lord is against
those who do what is evil.