Sermon Tone Analysis

Prepared to give an answer…

1 Peter is filled with truths of how to live a godly life in Christ Jesus.

In a paragraph or two, here’s a quick synopsis of what we have seen so far.

When we started this series, I called it, “Holiness in an unholy world.”

There is only one way to be holy, that is by believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He is our Rock, our foundation, our Cornerstone.

Because of this, we hare called to be holy, set apart to God.

As Christians, we need to be alert and aware of the things that are going on around us.

We are in a spiritual battle and we may have to suffer because of this battle.

Peter also spoke about respect and honour for those in authority over us whether governments, bosses whether good or bad, our spouses, and each other.

We’ve looked at keys to unity: having the same mindset, be sympathetic to others, loving each other, being compassionate, and humble.

Last week, we looked at retaliating with blessing when evil is done against us.

This morning, I’d like to focus on being prepared to give an answer.

Peter starts with a question?

Who will harm you if you are eager to do good?

This leads us in to where we want to get to this morning.

You might ask yourself, “If I’m doing good, if I’m doing right, who would do anything against me?”

It doesn’t make sense that anybody would get upset if I’m doing what is right and what is pleasing to God.

You can do good, and you can be eager to do what is right, but not everybody is going to agree with you.

Not everybody is going to see things your way.

When we look at morals or ethics, many people do what is right in their own eyes.

As Christians, we are called to live according to Scripture.

God gave us His word so that we will be thoroughly equipped.

As we apply God’s word to our lives, He changes us into the people that He wants us to be.

Even if you suffer because you have done right, you are blessed.

Psalm 1:1

Do not fear their threats.

Fear can be paralyzing.

We can fear people.

We can fear sickness.

We can fear things that have happened in our pasts and we can fear the future.

Fear can prevent us from the destiny that God has for us.

Fear of failure can stop us from trying again.

I don’t want to minimize the hurts and the disappointments that you might have faced during your lifetime.

Even Peter, James, and John had fished all night and caught nothing.

Jesus was standing on the shore, and He yelled out to them to cast their net onto the other side of the boat.

The catch was so big that they couldn’t hardly haul it in.

Fear God

There is only One who is All-powerful.

There is only One who has been given the name that is above every name.

Let’s honour Him.

Let’s love Him.

Let’s hold Him in highest honour, because He alone is worthy to be praised.

As we trust, as we believe in the Lord we can say:

Be prepared to give an answer...

You don’t need to be a theologian or a Bible scholar to share the hope that you have in Christ.

He is the strength of your life.

He is the stronghold in which you can find refuge.

Let’s tell the story of what Christ has done in our lives.

Here where it says,”Be prepared to give an answer,” in some translations it says, “to give a defense.”

Over half of the Christians in the world are in countries that face persecution.

What would you say if you were hauled off and dragged into court for your faith?

Have you ever thought about what your defense would be?

Apologetics is a term we use for defending our faith.

Jesus said in Matthew 10:18-20

Doesn’t this encourage you that we have the promise of the Holy Spirit to be speaking through us as we give the reason for the hope that we have in Christ.

Be prepared...

These words jump out at me.

For somebody that has given presentations such as: book reports, sales presentations, maybe you’ve been asked to be a witness in court, or maybe as teacher, pastor, Sunday School teacher, leader of a Bible Study, we need to prepare.

It’s important that we take time and make preparations so that when we are asked, we are ready to make a defense or to give an answer for the hope that we have in Christ.

Here’s just a day to day example, but let’s bring application in our own lives.

Henry Petkau was a friend of mine.

He was a trucker by trade.

He hauled logs out of the bush.

He hauled cattle.

He even hauled freight or grain.

He was very versatile in his abilities.

When he turned 65, he decided that he only wanted to drive tandems rather than truck and trailer.

He went into the license issuer to do this and when he walked out, he realized that the issuer had cancelled his ticket for air brakes.

he went back in to explain the situation, but they told him that he’d have to take the test again.

“When can I write?”, Henry asked.

“Any time,” was the response.

Henry wrote the test on the spot and did the practical as well.

He asked the Lord to help him.

He got 100%.

Henry knew his stuff.

He had lived it for years.

We too need to be ready before the test comes.

How to give an answer...

We may have all the right answers but if we have the wrong tone, we have nothing.

Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “You won the battle, but you lost the war.”

It does us no good to be rude.

It does us no good to be arrogant.

People don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.

I’m sure that each of us have had discussions or will have discussions with others about God, Jesus, Christianity, evolution, etc.

We can know all the facts.

We can say it really well, and yet seem to get mixed reviews or even rejection.

Somebody else walks up to a door with a Coop gift card or a bag of groceries and gets a totally different response.

Love and kindness goes a long way.

As you walk love, gentleness, and respect, you can have a clear conscience that you have not only honoured others but you have also honoured the Lord.

We don’t have to be ashamed on the day we meet Jesus that we have not run or laboured in vain.

I believe that when we are falsely accused, the Holy Spirit can bring conviction on our accusers.

God will fight for you.

The truth will eventually come out.

If not here, it will come out when we stand before God.

Courageous

In the movie, Courageous, there is a group of men that make a covenant before God that they want to honour Him with everything that they do.

Javier is put in a hard place where he has to make a decision to fudge an order sheet.

He comes back to his employer the next day, and tells the boss, “I’m sorry, I can’t do what you are asking for.”

Javier thought he’d be fired for sure, but was given the position because of his integrity.