Exiles- The Foundation for Foreigners

Introduction

Missions over the last 10 years. Planting a base in 2016.

Over the past 10 years I have served as a Christian Missionary in various contexts throughout the world. In 2016, we decided to move to South Asia and at that time we had an 18 month old and my wife was 26 weeks pregnant. We flew the 26 hours, took a 6 hour car ride, and arrived at our little homestay full of zeal, adventure, excitement, and a whole lot of ignorance as to what the next 3 years would be. Knew nothing. But had to start with Maslow’s hierarchy. But to do anything we needed to be able to communicate. So Day 1 I decided to get us cell phones.

Ganpati Story

I was a foreigner. Have you ever been a foreigner? A stranger? An Exile?

You have to learn. Adapt. Peter helps us with that. He has given us a manual on how to live as foreigners.

If I could title today’s sermon it is Foundation for Foreigners.

Elect Exiles

Read 1 Peter:1.

Peter the author. Don’t give all the reasons, but the same peter called to be a fisher of men, transfiguration, betrayal, and powerful sermon on Pentecost. Galatians 2:8.

Exiles- “Sojourners; strangers; temporary residents; aliens; pilgrims.”

These were most likely Jewish Christians (Acts 8:1).

Due to persecution fled to Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. q

Yet, I don’t believe Peter was only writing to Jewish background believers, but all believers.

1 Peter 2:10 — once you were not a people, but now you are.

So we can believe that he is writing to any follower of Jesus who has fled their home due to persecution and now resides as an exile, or a foreigner in a foreign land.

Political and temporal sense yes, but and this is significant to understanding 1 Peter… they were, exiles spiritually.

The temporal is a shadow of the spiritual.

As Christians we are

Paul says Philippians 3:20, “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior.”

Hebrews 13:14, “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”

Ephesians 2:19, “you are fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God.”

So then, we too are the audience here. We too our exiles of this world, for our citizenship is in heaven.

But notice the audience were elect exiles

Elected, just as the Jews were the physical elect of God, these believers were to be the spiritual elect Israel.

Means chosen.

John 15:19, “If you were of this world, the world would love you as its own. ; but because you are not of the world, for I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

1 Peter 2:9-10, “But you are a chosen race, a royal people, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.

Ephesians 1:4, “even as he chose us in him. before the foundation of the world.”

So, they and we are not exiles because they chose to be. But they were elected… chosen by God to be exiles.

And this election, as well as our inclusion as exiled people is due to 3 reasons! : Read 1 Peter 1:2.

According to the foreknowledge of God the Father.

This was by God’s choice, and not based upon any merit.

in sanctification of the Spirit,

The Spirit of God has taken these chosen by the Father, and set them apart to be holy and for His purposes.

sprinkling of Jesus’ blood

And He is sanctified by the Spirit because of Jesus Blood for obedience. We don’t obey and then are sprinkled. We are sprinkled for obedience.

Hebrews 10:10, “We have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

This is what exiles look like. Chosen by God, set apart by the Spirit, cleansed by the blood of Jesus, and obedient unto Him.

If you have been redeemed by the Trinitarian work of salvation, and obedient as a follower of Jesus then you are God’s elect, and you are the audience here.

This is key for us because of the society and culture we live in! I’ve lived on 3 continents and in my experience, but more authoritatively the Bible shows that ll human culture dishonors Christ. Phil 3:19, “All are enemies of the cross. The end is destruction. Their minds are set on earthly things.”

This includes America!

America is not our home. It is the place in which we were placed, but we didn’t chose that either.

India Beggar.

The place in which we are placed is a work of grace, inwhich we can be grateful; however, it is not our primary citizenship. Our citizenship is in heaven.

So we should not live our lives in way that tries to settle here! But to live as exiles, and Peter tells us how to do that.

Beginning in 1:13 he tells us that exiles are to be holy.

In chapter 2 he tells us how exiles are to regard human government and human employment.

In chapter 3 he tells us how exiles are to behave as husbands and wives.

Also in chapter 3, how exiles are to suffer.

In chapter 4 how exiles are to steward God’s grace, and once again how to suffer.

And in chapter 5 he tells us how church elders should lead the exiles as exiles in our exile.

But we can’t just skip to these behavioral recommendations. We need a foundation, in which they are built upon. That is the topic of today’s sermon. A Foundation for Foreigners.

BY GOD, FOR US, TO HIS PRAISE AND GLORY

By God: Read 1 Peter 1:3-5

By God we are born again.

As much as your physical birth had nothing to do with you, so your spiritual birth was caused by God. As much as your placement in this place was a work of grace, so was your new birth.

This birth has come through the living and abiding word of God. (1 peter 1:23).

It has nothing to do with your own wisdom, strength, or power, and everything to do with God. It is BY GOD.

We were by nature, children of His wrath. Dead in our sins. But now, BY GOD we have been made alive together with Christ. (eph 2:1).

When God caused me to be born again, I had new desires. OPTIMUS PRIME. I was a new creation. Given new life. If you think you can leave today and just be better, or do better. You misunderstand the word dead. A dead body doesn’t say to itself… alright start breathing. GOD CAUSED THAT.

By God’s Mercy.

Not just any mercy, but abundant, overflowing, infinite mercy. He has every right to punish us for our sins. The consequence of sin is death, and we desire His wrath. But it was HIS GREAT MERCY that held his hand and placed it on Christ instead.

By the Resurrection.

So he had mercy on us, yet placed the penalty and judgment on Christ. Forgiveness of sins was wrought in his death. Reconciliation with God was wrought with his death.

But we are exiles… aka citizens of heaven because of His resurrection. We have victory of this foreign world, and when we die we can rest assured of a resurrection to eternity in heaven.

All of this is By God. By His mercy. He has caused our new life. By the resurrection of Jesus. The foundation of our life as exiles is BY GOD.

For Us:

But what is the result for us, by God?

A Living Hope.

Peter can emphatically say that our hope is alive, and that the resurrection of Jesus is sure. Why? HE SAW HIm.

Often we misunderstand hope. We say things like, well I hope the dawgs win this weekend. Or I hope taxes aren’t raised. But those aren’t hopes they are empty wishes. Hope is concluded confidence. So because of everything BY GOD, we have real, alive hope.

An Inheritance (Read 4-5).

Reference to the “Promised Land. Same greek word in the septuagint for Promised Land. But that inheritance

Will perish. Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words never will.

It has been defiled. Ezekiel 36:17, “Son of Man, when the house of Israel lived in their own land they defiled it by their ways and deeds. Like menstraul cloths.”

It has and will fade. 1 John 2:17, “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but those who do the will of the Lord (the exiles) will live forever.”

Inheritances are for heirs or family, yet the inheritance that has been left for you or that you plan on leaving behind for your children will perish, can be defiled, and will fade away.

But the inheritance of God is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.

Not kept in a your 2 car garage. Not kept in the stock market or depreciable items… but in Heaven.

And we can’t claim any of this process either. It is BY GOD, and a gift FOR US. And that gift. That living hope, and imperishable inheritance is kept in heaven for you by God. And being guarded by God’s power.

But just like any inheritance. We won’t fully realize it until when? At ultimate salvation in the last time.

So until then, we have to wait. We have to be in this world, but not of it. Learning to live as exiles on the foundation by God, for us, and finally: to the praise, honor, and glory of Jesus Christ.

To His Praise: Read 6-7.

In this: In these deep theological truths just expounded. In all these things by God, fo you… you REJOICE even in the face of trials and sufferings.

These exiled peoples had fled due to persecution, and the Roman government would continue to hound them. It would only get worse in the time of Nero. For us today, as exiles we are going to suffer trials due to our faith in Christ.

But it isn’t without purpose. Their trials, our trials, prove the genuineness of our faith. and the Genuineness of our faith results in the praise, honor, and glory of Jesus Christ.

That value of your genuine faith is valuable. Much more valuable than gold.

Fire hasn’t been used in a few centuries to test the purist of gold. Instead we use nitric acid. If you drop a little nitric acid on a sample of gold and:

it burns ever so slightly you’re looking at 88%-91% pure gold.

It burns more than slightly 78%-84%

It burns completely it was less than 30%.

That acid burn tests the genuineness of the gold. As does the trials of this life tests the genuineness of our faith as exiles.

And gold even if 100% pure… perishes. But your faith will live forever. And that testing, proving your purity, results to HIS PRAISE< HONOR< AND GLORY when he returns.

The Foundation:

By God

For Us

To His Praise and Glory

Response:

Perhaps you are struck by all that is BY GOD… worship. Thank him. Praise Him.

Perhaps you are seeing what is For Us… Receive it. Thank Him.

Perhaps you have lost sight of the purpose in suffering. Petition that it would result in His glory.