1 Peter 2:21-25
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Prayer Request-
Prayer Request-
Unspoken- Rachael Baby
Unspoken- Lauren Baby
Dennis King - surgery next Wednesday
Glenn Collins- found some other concerning things
Les Jordan- Pain
Blaine Phillips
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The church is being built by Jesus.
The church belongs to Jesus.
The church will succeed because of Jesus.
The church is a body that holds each of its members accountable to their confession of Christ.
The church is a worshipful people.
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
We are a suffering people.
This one may surprise you a little.
You may be thinking “That seems a little weird to focus on.”
And I would tell you that it is only weird because you and I really don’t know what suffering means or is.
We have lived comfortably as Christians. In fact in our culture, especially in the south, going to church was the politically correct thing to do.
But now we are seeing more and more of these churches that started out strong and vibrant, wasting away.
In 2020, 50% of Americans claimed to be religious and claimed that they “belonged to a church.”
In 1999, just 21 years difference, that percentage has decreased by 20 percent.
As many as one in five churches could permanently close as a result of shutdowns stemming from the coronavirus pandemic, according to David Kinnaman, president of the prominent Christian research organization Barna Group.
Y’all remember when Dorothy gets to the land of OZ.
Toto, We aren’t in Kansas anymore.
We are to that point.
I said it the other night. We are living in a different world, now.
Pastorally, I would be unfaithful to paint a better picture than what we have.
Our “tolerant” context and culture is becoming less and less tolerant of us. ‘
But as believers, we ought not think that we will just escape suffering.
This first verse tells us this
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,
You have been called.
Now generally when we refer to someone being called of God, we tend to be speaking more toward positions.
but this is a different calling. This isn’t a calling to an individual, but to the whole of the church. the you here he mentions three times in this verse is used in the plural every time.
You have been called for this purpose.
Since Christ also suffered for you.
For you to follow in His footsteps.
Who is he speaking of?
Believers.
Believers have a special calling.
and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this.
Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
We should expect this. You should not expect to escape suffering. He has promised that we will escape condemnation and judgment by God, but he has not promised that we will escape suffering in this age.
We were saved by Christ suffering. What makes us think we will be saved from suffering in this life?
“Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
Christ suffered for believers.
And Christ has set the example for believers.
He suffered for us.
What does this imply? If he set the example by suffering, How will we follow his example?
By suffering like he suffered.
But how do we do that?
But how do we do that?
who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth;
We do so as Jesus did.
We live holy lives.
We live holy lives.
If we are going to suffer, we ought to suffer as Jesus did.
He didn’t do anything wrong. He suffered for doing right.
This is why Pilate had such a hard time punishing Him. He washed his hands because Jesus had done nothing wrong.
“I find no fault in this man.”
This is how it should be with us.
if you go up just two verses he tells us that when we suffer, we ought to suffer for what is right.
For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.
And he has told us that we will be blessed if we do the same thing .
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus suffered while having committed no sin .
Believers follow Jesus’s example when we do that .
We can’t claim to be following Jesus when we suffer when we do wrong.
(Don’t go rob a bank and think that it is persecution when you are caught and jailed).
James Coates. Thats persecution.
How else ought we to suffer?
We suffer while trusting.
We suffer while trusting.
and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;
Christ the whole time he suffered, trusted God.
While being judged unrighteously.
He trusted the righteous judge.
He didn’t look for justice in this life. He was treated unjustly, and instead of “fighting the system” he trusted that the Father would make all things right.
In fact he even prayed for them on the cross that crucified him.
We live and suffer with the assurance of salvation.
We live and suffer with the assurance of salvation.
and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.
I think he is pointing out for us here that Jesus did not suffer for His sins.
He suffered for our sins.
And now we are empowered to live Christ centered lives because of him.
And we do so with assurance because of suffering.
This is why the cross is such a beautiful thing.
Because we see that it is through suffering that we hope.
We live and suffer as sheep of the Shepherds pasture.
We live and suffer as sheep of the Shepherds pasture.
For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
We have all strayed, but he says here we have returned to the shepherd and guardian of our souls.
We forever rest in him.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
The rod was used to fight wild animals and the staff to direct the flock.