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Shoeboxes are HERE - Due Nov 14

Giving

Trunk or Treat (Oct 31)

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Have you ever purchased something that you were SURE was going to be worth the PRICE you paid, only to find out that you got gipped?

I learned a long time ago that you get what you pay for when it comes to technology.

When Tonya and I were first married I would upgrade my laptop every year or two because they just weren’t made very well.

I finally made the leap over to APPLE products, but it wasn’t easy because they cost so much more.

I had to ask the question, “Is it Worth the Price?”

There was a GREAT PRICE paid for you and me, and today we are going to consider whether our lives demonstrate that we appreciate the PRICE paid for us.

But before we do, let’s CATCH THE CONTEXT from last week when...

we kicked off this new series

from an ancient text, written by one of the closest disciples of Jesus, pointing beleaguered believers to their heavenly HOPE in the middle of difficult days.

So, if you ARE struggling in the present, or WILL struggle in future, then listen closely to the encouraging & challenging words of Peter who writes to give Hope for Suffering Saints.

Last week we concluded and were challenged to test ourselves and see if these words are true of us.

1 Peter 1:8–9 (NIV)

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

We asked this question: Do you LOVE Jesus?

What evidence from your life would demonstrate that?

If He returned today, do you think He would say that you really do love Him?

PRAY

Alright.

Let’s dive in and consider whether our lives are WORTH THE PRICE.

1 Peter 1:10–11 (NIV)

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.

As a teenager, one of the things that blew me away was what the prophets wrote hundreds of years before the time of Jesus that predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.

Let’s look at one of them written 700 years before Jesus fulfills them.

Isaiah 53:10–11 (NIV)

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life an offering for sin, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

After He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied; by His knowledge my Righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities.

Just consider all that’s in here (and go read the rest of the chapter).

This ONE will be punished by Yahweh.

WHY? His life is an offering for sin.

The previous verses (8-9) say He would die with wicked people (criminals on left & right) and be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Joseph).

But that isn’t the end.

After His suffering He would see the light of life.

And sure enough, Jesus did just that - RAISING from the dead!

This Righteous Servant would justify many - making them right with God by trading their sins for His righteousness.

And this is only a chunk of the entire chapter, and one of several other writings where the prophets predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.

If you haven’t spent time looking at these prophecies, you SHOULD.

Go read Isaiah 53 & Psalm 22 this week.

While some of these prophecies could be applied in the lifetimes of these prophets, there are some prophecies that weren’t fully fulfilled until Jesus steps onto the planet.

That’s why Peter continues with this:

1 Peter 1:12 (NIV)

It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

Even angels long to look into these things.

Those who preached the gospel (i.e.

good news of Jesus) in the 1st century often quoted from the past prophets to prove that Jesus was the Messiah.

And those prophets weren’t applauded by people nor living in mansions.

Instead, the prophets were often frowned upon by their own people - often persecuted for communicating God’s message to their culture.

They must have had moments when they wondered, “Is this really worth it?

These people aren’t listening and I’m tired of being mistreated.”

But their message was not always meant just for THAT B.C. generation, but for THIS A.D. generation.

When they spoke of the coming Messiah THEY didn’t always understand what it meant either.

But generations later, those who brought this good news of Jesus were empowered by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

And this gospel message - that the Creator would step out of heaven and step into skin to live in purity, to sacrifice Himself and suffer indignity, raise from the dead, & ascend into heaven - is something that angels long to look into.

They are amazed by the story that played out before them.

The One they worshiped in heaven would be whipped on earth?

Their Creator would be crucified by His creation?

And yet, this incredible sacrifice of Jesus would reconcile sinful mankind with their sinless Creator.

Incredible! That’s what the angels think!

David Helm puts the weightiness of all this in perspective of how the 1st century audience of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia might have responded.

• Prophets labored their entire lives to present the true gospel...TO US.

• Preachers have traveled around the globe to ensure that it has gained a hearing…BEFORE US.

• Angels would like nothing better than to gaze into what God has done...FOR US.

“Surprise!” says Peter. “This is how much God cares for you.”

I can almost hear the shouts of joy rolling across the rugged topography of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

This is amazing love.

Ancient prophets, itinerant preachers, and exalted angels have for ages stood in service to this salvation that has come TO US!

The fullness of your salvation has been the joyful business of God’s servants over the centuries.

[David R. Helm, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude: Sharing Christ’s Sufferings, Preaching the Word (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), 53.]

In light of this great grace, Simon Peter challenges believers to walk in the purity that Jesus died to provide.

1 Peter 1:13 (NIV)

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming.

In other words, we should be living like He’s returning.

And here’s the kicker - for those who are, we don’t sit and shake in fear over the return of Jesus.

NO!

We set our hope on the GRACE to be brought to us when Jesus comes back!

Again, let’s be reminded of who is writing - the apostle Peter - one of the men who WATCHED as Jesus ascended into the clouds and saw two angels who looked like men tell them these words:

Acts 1:11b (NIV)

This same Jesus, Who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”

And you know what!? Peter and the others actually started living like He was returning.

They didn’t know WHEN, but they knew He WOULD.

And that’s why Peter writes this:

1 Peter 1:13–16 (NIV)

Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at His coming.

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.

But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

[Lev 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7]

This word for “conform” is referring to being shaped or molded into a preset pattern.

[Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 506.]

In case you haven’t noticed, our culture is attempting to mold us into people who explore & dabble with evil rather than expose & deny evil.

But there is another influence at work…an powerful influence WITHIN us - the evil desires you had before you turned from them and turned to Jesus.

We are no longer to walk in those things: lust, pride, gossip, anger, filthy talk, etc.

Instead, we are to commanded to be holy in all we do!

Sadly, there are many who claim the Name of Jesus who dilute this command and refuse to live pure.

Those who do so JUSTIFY their sin rather than JETTISON their sin and kick it to the curb.

Consequently, these disobedient ‘Christians’ often refer to those who want to “be holy” as being ‘legalistic’.

Sadly, it seems to me that many of us might be considered “cultural Christians” but not “Biblical Christians”.