Time to Deal with Loose Ends - Part 4
Notes
Transcript
Time to Deal with Loose Ends - Part 4
Time to Deal with Loose Ends - Part 4
13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;
15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,
16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
This is the fourth and final part a 4-part series titled “Time to Deal with Loose Ends”. We all have loose ends in our life. They tie us down and hold us back from God’s perfect will being accomplished in our life. We get distracted, depressed, and sometimes just plain hit in the head with all the chains from the past we carry around. It is time to live in the freedom of Jesus Christ. It is time to cast off the chains of tyranny.
13 For now I will break off his yoke from you, And burst your bonds apart.”
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Part 1 - We are redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ and it will NEVER be destroyed.
Part 2 - Protect and strengthen our mind. Rest completely in Jesus Christ.
Part 3 - Be holy and God is holy. Be holy in mind, body, and action.
Part 4 - We are only passing through. The focus is on verse 17
17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
Do you call upon the name of the Lord? It is crucial that we have all called upon the name of the Lord.
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
11 For there is no partiality with God.
God will judge us for what we have done with the time He has given us.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
The word for work here in our text this morning in 1 Peter 1:17 is:
ἀγαθοεργός (agathoergos), οῦ (ou), ὁ (ho): n.masc. [BAGD adj.]; ≡ Str 18 + 2041—one who does good (Ro 13:3 v.r. NA26); not in LN
This word can be a noun or an adjective. It is not necessarily about doing works per-say as we understand it. It is about doing good. Sharing Jesus Christ in word and in deed.
40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Rich Mullins said:
“Faith without works
Is like a song you can't sing
It's about as useless as
A screen door on a submarine”
https://www.google.com/search?q=faith+without+works+is+like+a+screen+door+on+a+submarine&rlz=1C1JZAP_enUS881US881&oq=faith+without+works+is+like+&aqs=chrome.0.0i355i457j46j0j69i57j0i22i30l4.15975j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
We have so much we can be doing to show who Jesus Christ is to us. Not a specific task we do, but the way we live our lives. The difference we can make in this world. Then our Great King will judge us for the the privilege of living for Him. Paul stated in
8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.
WOW!! Can you believe that? We are rescued from the punishment we rightly deserve, we get the honor and privilege of living our lives for Him, and then He gives us a crown of righteousness. We are only passing through as we look toward our new and wonderful home. It is a WIN - WIN no matter how you look at it. That’s not all. He gives us tools to not only defend ourselves but to advance forward. If we could get a grasp of who we are in Christ, we would be unstoppable. We would turn this community upside down.
But there are those and maybe some here this morning would say, Pastor, you are living in a dream world and I have to live in the real world. This ideals might be nice and work for some, but what on Monday when I have to go to work and I face trial and temptations. What then?
I hear you. I understand. I work a job outside of the church. I know what trials and temptations are. I know what loss and heartache are. There is not one human being who has not been touched by the heartache of sin. Jesus Christ carries those scars of sin also. But Jesus Christ is the only thing worth living for. People will hurt you and disappoint you. But Jesus Christ never will. The word of God endures forever. It will never faith.
Steven Curtis Chapman wrote and recorded a song called “More To This Life”
Today I watched in silence as people passed me by
And I strained to see if there was something hidden in their eyes;
But they all looked back at me as if to say
Life just goes on
The old familiar story told in different ways
Make the most of your own journey from the cradle to the grave;
Dream your dreams tomorrow because today
Life must go on
But there's more to this life than living and dying
More than just trying to make it through the day;
More to this life, more than these eyes alone can see
And there's more than this life alone can be
Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
He gives a peace that passes all understanding.
He is a God of reconciliation.
He came to give us a powerful and sound mind.
He came to give us an abundant life.
He came to pay the price we could not pain. To redeem us from the chains of sin. To set us free.
He is preparing mansions for us and He will be coming back.
He is everything. He the answer to our problems. He is our hope and our peace. He is what burns in our heart when we read the Word of God and urges us forward. He is the one who said, Greater things than this will you do because I go to the Father. He is everything!!!
Conclusion:
Do you call upon the name of the Lord? Are you a stranger or alien just passing through? Or are you a resident and do you want to emigrate to a new and much better country? A country free of problems and strife. A country free of death and destruction. A country of true peace and happiness. We look around us and see all the turmoil and think that such a place could not exist.
So where do we start to find every part
Of what makes this life complete;
If we turn our eyes to Jesus we'll find
Life's true beginning is there at the cross where He died
https://genius.com/Steven-curtis-chapman-more-to-this-life-lyrics
A- Acknowledge
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
B - Believe
31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
C - Confess
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.