Friday, November 02,
2012, 7:01 a.m. – the Lord woke me this morning with two songs playing in
my mind, the second of which was “Servant
of the Lord”. Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. I read 1 Peter 1 (NIV 1984):
Peter, an apostle of
Jesus Christ,
To God’s elect,
strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia
and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus
Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Grace and peace be
yours in abundance.
Praise be to the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new
birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the
dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in
heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming
of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you
greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief
in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth
than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and
may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 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 goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
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 Christ and the glories that would follow. 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.
Therefore, prepare
your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to
be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 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.”
Since you call on a
Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers
here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such
as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down
to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb
without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but
was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God,
who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are
in God.
Now that you have
purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your
brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born
again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and
enduring word of God. For,
“All men are like
grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of
the field;
the grass withers and
the flowers fall,
but the word of the Lord stands forever.”
And this is the word
that was preached to you.
God’s Elect
I think we could possibly write an entire sermon just based
off these first two verses. Oftentimes I will casually read through the
greetings at the beginning of a book and concentrate mainly on the body of the
text. The Lord has lately been stopping me and showing me how much meat there
actually is in just the opening statements.
God’s elect are God’s chosen people, who were chosen by God
for salvation through Jesus Christ. They are those who now believe in Jesus
Christ as Lord and as Savior, and those faithful ones who have since gone on to
be with Jesus, and those who are yet to become children of God through faith in
Jesus Christ, and heirs of eternal life with God. So, for those of us who are
in Christ Jesus through faith, we are the elect of God.
As God’s elect (chosen people), we are:
- Strangers in the world
- Chosen by God through the sanctifying work of the Spirit
- For obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood
Strangers in the
World
What do you think it means to be a stranger in the world?
Some of us are stranger than others, but I don’t think that is what it means. J A
stranger is someone who does not belong; is a visitor or is a guest; who is not
a permanent resident; who is not familiar or acquainted with a particular thing;
or who has become distanced or alienated from somebody or something (see:
Encarta Dictionary). Awesome! Do you see the application here?
The world, Biblically speaking, is a reference either to the
physical earth (Matt. 25:34), the people of the earth (see John 3:16; Matt.
5:14), or it is a reference to the possessions, thinking, attitudes, and
behaviors of a sinful world outside of Jesus Christ (see Matt 16:26; Rom.
12:1-2; 1 Co. 3:3; 1 Jn. 2:15-16). In this context, the world is a reference to
the sinful cravings of man, the lust of his flesh, and his sinful attitudes,
behaviors, and philosophies, etc. Because we are strangers, we are not to
belong to the sinful practices and ways of this world, we are not to be
familiar and personally acquainted with the patterns of this world through practice
and experience, and we are to be distanced and alienated (estranged; separate)
from the sinful customs and traditions of this world of ours.
Instead of conforming to the evil desires of this world, as
we did when we were outside of Christ, we should obey Jesus Christ and his
word, we should daily put on the armor of God so that we can fight against the
devil’s schemes against us, we should keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ and
what has eternal value, and we should be holy (set apart from this world for
God) as God is holy. We should live as strangers here in reverent fear (awe;
respect; honor) of God. Our generation has so lost the fear of God and his
holiness, and this is a serious problem, and is reflected so much in attitudes
and behaviors, and in the diluting of the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the
teaching of a Jesus other than the Jesus of the Bible.
Work of the Spirit
We are chosen by God through the sanctifying work of the
Spirit, i.e. the Holy Spirit of God draws us from sin toward holiness. He
transforms our hearts away from lives of sin to lives of obedience to Jesus
Christ and to his commands. He cleanses our hearts from sin, and he gives us
new lives (new birth) in Jesus Christ, our Lord. All this is ours because of
God’s great love and mercy toward us, and because of his grace provided for us
through the death and blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross for our sins, and
through his resurrection from the grave, back to life, so that we could be free
from slavery to sin, and so we can have an eternal inheritance with God in
heaven. Our inheritance in Christ can never perish, spoil or fade. It is kept
in heaven for us, “who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the
coming of salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time,” when Christ
returns and our salvation is completed. We are saved by grace, through faith,
and we are shielded by God’s power for our eternal inheritance with God also
through faith. Faith is the key!
So, what does it mean to have faith? The Bible speaks of
true faith as faith that forsakes a life of sin, that is transformed in heart
and mind by the power and working of the Holy Spirit within us, and that puts
on our new lives in Christ, created to be like Christ in true holiness and
righteousness (see Eph. 4:17-24). Jesus said that if anyone would come after
him, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily (die daily to self and sin)
and follow (obey) him (see Luke 9:23-24). True faith means death to sin,
transformation of heart and mind by the working of the Holy Spirit, and it
means turning to God in faithful obedience and surrender to his will for our
lives. It does not mean sinlessness or absolute perfection, but it also does
not mean we use our imperfections as an excuse for willful continuous sinful
behavior, either. True grace is not a license to live however we want thinking
we have our ticket into heaven. True grace frees us from lives of slavery to
sin and sets us free to live for Jesus Christ. Amen! That is true grace, and it
is true freedom!
For Obedience
We were chosen by God for obedience to Jesus Christ. In the
Great Commission, Jesus commanded his disciples to make disciples of all
nations, teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded them (see Matt.
28:19-20). Jesus said, “If you love me, you will obey what I command… My Father
will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him” (Jn.
14:15-24). The Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God (see Acts 5:32). Jesus
became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (see Heb. 5:9). We
know we have come to know God if we obey his commands (1 Jn. 2:3). And, in the last
days, the dragon (Satan) is making war against the saints of God, i.e. against
those “who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (see
Rev. 12:17). “This calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who
obey God’s commandments and remain faithful to Jesus” (see Rev. 14:12).
Grief in Trials
When you hold to the testimony of Jesus and to the truth of
the gospel of Jesus Christ, and you obey God’s commandments, though not with
absolute perfection, you will be hated and persecuted for your stand for Jesus
Christ. Jesus said so and the apostles said so. They know from personal
experience. Yet, these trials come to refine our faith so that our faith may be
proved genuine. And, true faith is shown in how we love God and one another,
not with a “feel good” mushy kind of feeling that just tries to make everyone
feel good, though there is nothing wrong with that if it is done in all sincerity
and truth and true love. True love expresses itself in a willingness to lay
down our lives (reputations, time, and energies) for the legitimate needs of
others, including and most importantly their need of Christ.
His Word Stands
Forever
I had an interesting experience today. I woke out of a dream
where I had lost my purse or someone had stolen it and I was upset, but then
the Lord woke me with the song “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind
is stayed on Thee.” Then, my husband and I went out to lunch and then my wallet
went missing out of my purse, so we checked the parking lot and the restaurant,
but no success. I had another bag with me with CDs of the song the Lord gave
me, “For Our Nation,” because the Lord has led me to hand out the CDs (with
lyrics and scripture) to people as my testimony for him and for the gospel. My
husband looked in that bag, and there it was, safe and secure. My treasure was
hidden with the gospel of Jesus Christ and with his word, and it was secure.
Life may throw some curve balls at us; and money, houses,
the things of this world, and the people of this world are going to pass away,
but the word of the Lord stands forever! And, this is where we need to have our
security, not in the things of this world. Amen!
Servant
of the Lord / An Original Work / July 26, 2012
Based off
Romans 1:1-17 NIV
Servant
of the Lord;
For
the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised
through the prophets of old:
Jesus,
Son of God.
Through
Him, and for His name alone,
We
receive His grace
To
call people, Him to obey;
Coming
from their faith.
Servant
of the Lord,
For
the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised
through the prophets of old:
Jesus,
Son of God.
You
belong to Christ;
Loved
by God, and called to be saints;
Serving
God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching
Jesus Christ;
Always
praying for others’ needs;
Helping
hand to lend;
Giving
courage to others’ faith,
For
the praise of God.
You
belong to Christ;
Loved
by God, and called to be saints;
Serving
God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching
Jesus Christ.
Servant
of the Lord;
Of
the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For
salvation, power of God
To
those who have faith.
In
the gospel find righteousness:
Being
right with God.
Turn
from sin, and trust Jesus Christ.
By
faith, live in Him.
Servant
of the Lord;
Of
the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For
salvation, power of God
To
those who have faith.
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