1 Peter Part 6

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on October 22nd 2023  by Colin. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

1 Peter 5:1-13 – PART 6

Peter talks more about suffering than any other book in the New Testament. Peter wrote during the reign of Nero. He is writing to the persecuted church, and he is encouraging them that there is something to look forward to.

Peter is addressing the Elders in the church in this chapter and then the young people. He encourages us all to be humble.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8

Verse 8 – He asks us to be alert to the enemies' schemes.

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: - 1 Peter 5:1

Verse 1 Peter is the great apostle > He is the most mentioned person after Jesus in all the 4 Epistles. Yet he addresses himself as a fellow elder and a witness to Christ’s suffering.

V4 We will share in his glory as a result of our suffering. Paul also reminds us that these sufferings are “light and momentary”.

Elders – Leaders of God’s church. Peter uses 3 words: Elders, Shepherds, and overseers. These refer to the same person who has different functions. Peter uses a common language so that people can relate to him. He calls the church flock and the elder a shepherd.

Jn21 Jesus uses the same language as Peter: “Feed my sheep”.

The flock belong to God, and it is God’s church and God’s people. The elders are under-shepherds who serve under the great shepherd.

Willing – if you have the gift of leadership, you need to serve (2 Cor 9:7), willingly and not under compulsion.

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. - 2 Cor 9:7

Humility – not lording it over .1 Pet 5:3 – Perhaps Peter remembers Mk10:43 “Who will sit at the right and left hand”.

not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. - 1 Pet 5:3

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, - Mark 10:43

Do you have a servant's heart? How do you react when you are treated as a servant when you are not acknowledged? Leaders do have authority but lead by example.

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. - 1 Peter 5:4

V4. There is a promise to elders and pastors – there is a special reward for them.

There are many crowns mentioned.

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”[a] - 1 Peter 5:5

V5. YOUNG MEN/WOMEN

Be submissive to those who are older. Youths tend to be arrogant. There is value in life experience.

EVERYBODY clothe yourself with humility towards one another. WHY? God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humility delights the heart of God. Even Ahab got a second chance because he humbled himself before God.

We need to be intentional in being humble. It is easier to be humble with those above us in authority than with our equals of those who serve us. We need to be humble with all!

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7

V7. Cast all your anxiety on Him.

Are you anxious? Throw your burdens at Jesus' feet because HE cares for you.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. - 1 Peter 5:8

V8. Be self-controlled and alert. Why? The enemy is on the prowl. The moment you became a Christian God became your Father and the devil your enemy. He is known by many names.

2 Cor 2:11 – Do not be unaware of the devil's schemes.

Peter tells us to resist him and stand firm in the faith. Job stood firm in faith. “Even though He slay me, yet will I praise him”.

Trails test your faith. Will you trust God or give in to the lies of the enemy?

Be self-controlled and alert.

Be sober.

Resist the devil.

Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of suffering. - 1 Peter 5:9

V9. We are not alone in our suffering. Many Christ followers do not have the freedom to meet the way we do. We need to keep our eyes on the glory that awaits us. Satan may roar but we have the Lion of Judah who roars.

Resist – what does that look like? We need to respond to problems differently.

She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. - 1 Peter 5:13

V11-13 She is in Babylon – it was a secret way of referring to the church in Rome.

God will give us grace to endure suffering and God watches over us and we need to remind ourselves that we have a great hope and future. Let us grow in humility, love and serve one another. Amen.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.   

 This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on October 15th 2023  by Kavitha Emmanuel. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Write Your Story

¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. – John 10:10

Zoe

What is Zoe? It is an eternal life, purpose-filled, fruitful and divine life. It also means life yet to be created. The uncreated life with full potential.

¹⁰ Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” – John 4:10

What happens when living waters flow? It just flows. If you put a box there, it will flow into the box and then overflow. As a church today, that is the kind of church we are supposed to be.

Imagine you are writing a story. If you check on Google how to write a story, it may show you 5 steps or 7 steps. But here are 3 major steps to write a story –

1.     Write a compelling beginning.

2.     Create a powerful ending.

3.     Write the middle.

Stephen Covey says, “Begin with the end in mind.” We know our destiny. We must live with the end in mind. Our own lives are uncreated but with full potential.

Robert Clinton says, “Leadership is about recognizing and responding to God’s providential shaping in your life.”

Life – an art of God. It is unique, an expression of their inner potential, new and beautiful. God created us with passion. Passion is to bring something to life. When you see a piece of art, it speaks volumes without any words written on it. But it is still a static piece of art.

1.     We are God’s work of art.

Our life is an art of God. When God breathes into us, Zoe started rolling. This life is not just for us but for the outside world.

You are beautiful. Culture may say you must fit into the box. But Zoe doesn’t fit inside a box. The scripture reminds us that God designed us intricately inside out. Everything is unique about us.

You are original and unique but not a photocopy. God loves you and wants you to be powerful.

¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10

We are God’s masterpiece, and we bear His image. Many think that they may have to give up their talents when they come to Jesus. No! He is the one who has put all the talents in you. He motivates you to do His will with all your talents. He inspires you. That’s your beginning. You are co-creating your life with God.

2.     We are God’s ambassadors of love to all the people.

An artist hangs the artwork on a wall for everyone to see. God wants to do the same with us too. Our primary ministry is not just what we do but who we are. It is to demonstrate God to the world. In his book, “Thank God it’s Monday”, Mark Greene writes how we could be ready to let God work through us so that the world can see God.

Wake up and be a blessing!

Wherever you work, music, film making, adventure, anything, your ministry is to show others that they too can have Zoe.

¹⁴ For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵ And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. ¹⁶ So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here! ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. – 2 Corinthians 5:14-20

Our ministry is reconciliation. God has committed to us and given us the message of reconciliation. God is appealing. Don’t forget that. It is about carrying the message of reconciliation but not creating our own kingdom.

3.     We are God’s disruptive ammunition.

¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. – Ephesians 2:10

Salvation is disruptive. It disrupts us. It changes us. If you are the same after hearing the gospel then you are not really saved.

If you really allow God to enter your life, he disrupts. Sometimes it is messy and painful. But that discipline is needed because he loves us. We know the beginning and also the ending. In between, we will be edited and modified.

We must find creative ways to do church and deal with real problems. You may have a unique call.

In India, we need to disrupt culture. Toxic culture needs disruption. Jesus did that. We must be both salt and light. Salt is invisible but still disrupts. Light is seen. The wisdom of God tells us when to be salt and when to be light.

Salt also kills. If you dig up the soil under a plant and put a lot of salt on and around the roots, cover it with soil and start watering the plant everyday, the roots absorb the salt and the plant dies a slow death.

We must be like that. We must uproot and throw the toxic cultural deeds.

Our lives are spiritual weapons. Integrity, authenticity, grace, forgiveness – this is what we are. We must stand out as a powerful weapon. We have the power to redeem and give back what God has created.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.   

1 Peter Part 5

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on October 8th 2023  by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

How to live in the midst of suffering 

Sandwich analogy.  

Today’s passage is like the prosciutto and meat of a good sandwich. 1 Pet 3: 8-22 and 1 peter 4: 12-19, Peter speaks about suffering to people who are undergoing tremendous suffering. He gives their suffering a purpose. He reminds them of Jesus who also suffered in the flesh - the righteous for the unrighteous so that he might bring us to God. And that now he is in heaven, at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers being subject to him. 

1 Peter 4: 1 - 11: “Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking(thought out attitude), for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions (epithymia) but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Let’s pray 

While Peter is talking to the Christians about suffering, right in the middle of the passage, he talks about what to do in the middle of suffering? How to suffer well. And the model for us is Jesus Himself - Jesus willingly and even joyfully endured suffering, yet did not excuse sin. 

In our daily lives, we tend to look at sin as the solution to suffering - when we are rejected, we tend to lie and people please, when we feel lonely, we tend to comfort eat, when we’re stressed, we tend to gravitate towards drinking or porn or endless entertainment. 

So Peter says, arm (fortify) yourself with the same thought-out attitude as Christ who embraced suffering, but scorned sin - because those who suffer in the flesh have a completely different view of sin. They don't see it as something to excuse, but something to get rid of. (illustration of having to read the Bible in my bathroom) 

When we equip our minds with the kind of thinking as Christ we will live differently - not for our human passions / epithymias (Over desires) but for the will of God. Over desires, don't have to be evil desires - our desire for a family can result in dating and marrying an ungodly person, our desire for success can cause selfish ambition. But living for the will of God, is completely different because his desires become our desires. 

1 Thess 4:3-8 “3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, … 7 For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. 8 Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”

The will of God for our lives is to say no to sin and yes to him. How do we do this? What is the greatest commandment? Love God, love one another. So the will of God in suffering is that we are sanctified by loving God and loving one another. 

1.     Loving God 

Past: For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.  Peter is echoing the sentiment - that’s enough of that. Don’t procrastinate righteousness. A lot of us when we sin, invite shame instead of the fear of God. shame becomes a chain and keeps us stuck in our sin. 

Present: With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.  They malign you because they’ve not had victory over something that you have.  (When David defeated Goliath, it only attracted more trouble for him- his brother and his king hated him because he showed them up) 

Future: “But they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” 

Purpose: v. 7 - The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Eternity perspective - the time we have to live on earth is a blink of an eye compared to eternity. 

self-controlled and sober-minded - alert in your heart and mind so you can give yourself to prayer. 

Why does prayer require us to be alert - The AMP version says ”so that your communication will be clear, reasonable, specific and pleasing to Him”. Our prayers are very different based on what we’re focused on. When we’re focused on the things of God, we start praying for a breakthrough, not a blessing, we pray for his kingdom to come and his will to be done and not just for our daily bread. 

 

2.               Loving one another 

Above all, love earnestly for love covers a multitude of sins - (ektenes (“love deeply”) is from ek “out” and teno “to stretch or strain.” Our words tension and tense are from this root.) - (illustration of Bollywood couples running towards each other v. an athlete or a basketball player dunking the ball) ektenes is an athlete’s word; think of straining in effort or stretching out every sinew. Think of an athlete or a basketball player dunking the ball. We need to love one another earnestly because we are straining to reach the kind of love that God showed for us. 

The book To End All Wars, written by WWII veteran Ernest Gordon tells the true story of Gordon’s time in a Japanese prison camp along the River Kwai. The torture turned the prisoners into something like desperate animals— as each man fought for his own skin and “to hell with everyone else.” One day a shovel was declared missing. The guards demanded the man responsible step forward. No one moved. The guards raised their machine guns, warning unless the guilty man stepped forward everyone would be executed. One prisoner stepped forward and was beaten to death. It was soon discovered no shovel was missing after all; there had been a miscount. The prisoner who stepped forward had sacrificed his life to save the others.

Comparison with Jesus’ own sacrifice that saved the lives of so many - covering a multitude of sins.

Peter suggested 3 areas of loving and said what ektenes might look like:

1.      Hospitality  - without grumbling  (illustration of long-staying guests)

2.      Speaking - as one who speaks oracles of God/ the very words of God. (illustration of my first sermon)

3.      Serving - as one who serves by the strength that God supplies (illustration of set-up teams) All the able-bodied people here have the grace gift of serving on the set-up or clear-up team. The strength comes from God and that is an inexhaustible resource. (illustration of Colin and Navaz’s business and church etc. Look at the fruit of that.) 

Purpose:

In order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.   

Rolling stones to living stones -1 Peter Part 4

 

This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on August 27th 2023  by Lasya. For the audio & video please click here.  For the worship please click here.

Rolling stones to living stones- Discovering Identity and Purpose in Christ

We have been going through the book of 1 Peter. The letter is written by the apostle Peter to a scattered group of Christians undergoing severe persecution in present-day Turkey. We don't read this word simply as a historic text but as the word of God - breathed by the Holy Spirit- sharper than a double-edged sword. The word of God is inerrant and our ultimate authority. There are descriptive and prescriptive passages in scripture. Today we will look at a prescriptive passage. 

1 Peter 2:1- 12 (Read) 

In light of the previous passage(1 Peter 1: 23-25 “23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever.” And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”)- Peter urges the exiles to do 3 things - an internal work(v.1-3), embrace their identity (v-4-10) and an external work (v11 onwards). 

The Internal Work:

1. So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 

Example of cleaning house. Matthew Henry’s commentary defines these words 

1. Malice- settled overgrown anger

2. Deceit- flattery, falsehood, and delusion, 

3. Hypocrisies. counterfeit piety, counterfeit friendship or pretend friendship when mischief lies in their hearts.

4.  All envies - grieving at the good and welfare of another, at their abilities, prosperity, fame, or successful labours. 

5. Slander - speaking against another, or defaming him; backbiting 

Action Point - Identify and throw it out clean house, and have nothing to do with it. 

2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Once you clean the house, you need to fill it with good things. Illustration of a crying child in the plane. Peter commands the people to long/ crave for pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk i.e. the Word of God. So craving is not a natural thing that happens, but something we can do. Illustration of craving for Bamboo Shoot Chicken. How do we crave pure spiritual milk - if we have tasted that he is good. Have you tasted the goodness of God in his word? (Psalm 34:8) Write it down. Reading Psalm 91 when we were sick. (Action Point). We are commanded to crave because he can satisfy us. He sets a table before us, in the presence of our enemies - even in the valley(Psalm 23). 

Embracing our Identity:

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 

Our understanding of who we are always starts with knowing who Jesus is. When Peter describes Jesus as a stone, the image is not of something harsh and rough - the image is of something strong and foundational. It is a fortress, a place of refuge and safety. They would go to the temple to meet with God, and the temple was made of stones. As refugees in a foreign land, these people would have been longing for the temple at Jerusalem. But Peter is saying, he has come to you. He is a LIVING stone. 

5 You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

Think about who is saying this- Peter (meaning rock) and his prophetic call was to be the rock on which Jesus would build the church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

 As He is, so are we in Him. As he is chosen and precious, so are we. Don’t fall into the trap of self-identifying. He gives us identity. 

Being built up: Like a stone Mason first gathers other stones for the building to the cornerstone, we are gathered to Jesus. But the gathering itself is not the end - it is to be built up as a house. 

Illustration of a group project. If you see yourself as an attendee, you will think that it doesn't matter if you go to this local church or that. Or if you stay in this city or another. But when we realise that we ARE the church, we understand that when you take one stone out of the wall, it affects the entire wall. We cannot build with rolling stones. So would you commit to a local church and give yourself to be built up and united? 

Spiritual house: The Jews had the temple, a physical building where they would gather to offer their sacrifices. In the same way, today Christians also have a temple, but this is not a physical house, but a spiritual one. That is why, we can meet in any building, any house, any format and it is the house of God - it is the church. Our GYM meetings are a church, our prayer meetings are a church, and you having meals with your family and sharing about God’s goodness around the table is the church. It is NOT a physical building, it is a spiritual one! 

To be a holy priesthood: The purpose of this gathering is to be a holy priesthood. It is a community of priests who have been set apart. So we are not gathering to a priest/ pastor so he can bridge the gap between you and God. We are gathering as a community of priests, to encourage each other, so that we can go out there and bridge the gap between the unbeliever and Jesus. Your 9-5 job, your classroom, our reach out Sundays is church scattered like salt in the community- it is the work of the priesthood in the world. 

What is the work of this holy priesthood when we gather together - it is to minister to God. 

To offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God: Romans 12: 1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” It is not your wealth or your gifts - you are the treasure - can you give of yourself - not under compulsion or reluctance, but cheerfully (2 Cor 9 :6-7). 

Action Point: How can you present your bodies as a living sacrifice? 

6 For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
    a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (Is 28:16) 

7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,” (Psalm 118:22)

8 and

“A stone of stumbling,
    and a rock of offense.” (Is 8:14)

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

The cross is offensive. The gospel is offensive, but by the grace of God, we were able to respond in repentance and receive his mercy. 

Summary: 

9 But you are a chosen race(Hebrew word Segulla meaning a special treasure), a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

This is the summarization of what he was establishing in the last 5 verses. Peter is saying that since it is true that believers have a new life principle (chosen generation), a new access to God (royal priesthood), a new government (holy nation), and a new owner (His own special people), it will affect the way the believer lives life. 

The External Work:

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honourable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

We may never get the glory for our good works, but the object is that God gets glory from it in the end. 

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.