1 Peter 3:13-22 King of Hearts

Welcome to the podcast of Recast Church in Madawan, Michigan. This is a message from Pastor Don Filsack from the series Ready for the Storm on 1st Peter. If you'd like more information on Recast Church, please visit us on the web at www .recastchurch .com.

Here's Pastor Don.

Good morning and Happy New Year Recast Church. It is our first gathering here in.

2015.

Hard to believe that but here it is and so hopefully you had a good time celebrating the new year some opportunities to reflect on this past year 2014 on the way out and looking forward to this next year and Hopefully you were able to identify some of the things that God has done for you in this past year and some of the things That you can give him thanks for and then equally as we recognize there are some probably difficult things that happen in your life this Past year as well, but looking forward to God's blessing moving forward into a new year.

I'm glad that you're here and be sure to check out the worship folder you received when you walked in. It's got different activities and events and announcements that are in there. And then you also received a connection card if it's your first time with us and you fill one of these out and turn it in.

In the black box that's under the clock back there. We ask that you please also take a free coffee mug. Just our way of saying thanks. But take advantage of this and if you are not currently getting the e-cast our weekly email the way that you Receive that is by sharing your email address on this.

It does have a lot more information than what is just found here in the worship folder. So take advantage of that. There's also a place on this card to put down prayer requests and we do faithfully pray.

Keeping in confidence those prayer requests that are put on here just amongst the elders, but we pray for those every week. So take advantage of that if you'd like. There's also a special announcement in here about registration for a marriage enrichment weekend that's coming up.

I would encourage all of you. I mean, it would be awesome to see all of you attend. We're bringing in a speaker John and two speakers John and Kendra Smiley are coming in and this is going to be held down in Ship Shawana, Indiana at the farmstead in down there.

It's $50 registration is going to be taking place on January 11th yeah, January 11th, and then also. The hotel room is up to you as well. So it's a $50 registration fee for the conference and then your hotel room.

You need to make your own reservation for that. But we're hoping just for it to be a really good time for couples to get together here at recast and connect. It's one more opportunity just for you to get to know other people in the church.

If you're sitting here and you're going man. Do you look over at your wife you look over your husband and you're like our marriage is awesome. We don't need this all the more reason for you to attend so that you can rub shoulders with those who need you.

Okay, and if you're sitting here and you're normal then you're going we need this and you're getting you know. An elbow in the rib or something like that. So take advantage of that and That's there for you.

And then offering envelope is provided for you. Not to be presumptuous. You can just recycle this if you choose but simultaneously recognizing that. Giving is an actual spiritual activity that we do out of the overflow of what God has given to us.

We in turn return to him. And so if you take advantage of this envelope, then you can turn in any offerings in the black box back there. But as we shift gears from the holidays kind of thinking going diving back into first Peter I want to ask you a question to focus our thoughts on the theme of the text from this morning.

Who is? The king of your heart. Who is the king of your heart in order to answer this question? It might be a good idea to remind ourselves. What a king is like you don't really think in terms of King very often in your life.

Do you you've got a president you've got we've got a governor. We've got people that are in Congress at the state level and at the government at the federal level over us. And so we have a very different form of government.

So the concept of a king could be something that could potentially be far removed from our minds. And so we need to remind ourselves that when we think about Jesus Christ as King or we think about a king a king is one who calls the shots.

Definitively a.

King is the one who is served by his people. A king Governs and sets forward what is and is not right behavior. The people in a kingdom are deeply influenced by every single decision that is made by the king.

And so when I ask you.

Who is king over your heart? I'm asking you simply who calls the shots in your life. Who's calling the shots who receives the honor in your life when things are going? Well, who who gets the credit for that?

When push comes to shove and you're faced with difficult decisions in 2015 moving forward Who gets the final call on those decisions? In our text this morning Peter is going to issue to us a command to reach out and expand the kingdom of God by being always being prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within you and the position of our heart towards the king is The starting point of expanding his kingdom in this next year.

So let's turn in our Bibles to first Peter and be in first Peter chapter 3.

Verses.

13 to 22 if you don't have a Bible on your lap and you could just raise your hand and we've got two guys back Here ready to bring you a Bible. So if anybody needs one you can raise your hand there. But follow along as we read You got to get there first Peter first Peter 3 Verses 13 to 22.

This is God's word to us this morning recast Church. Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good. But even if you should suffer for righteousness sake you will be blessed. Have no fear of them nor be troubled but in your hearts honor Christ as the Lord as holy.

Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do it with gentleness and respect. Having a good conscience so that when you are slandered those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.

For it is better to suffer for doing good if that should be God's will then for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins the righteous for the unrighteous that he might bring us to God. Being put to death in the death in the flesh But made alive in the spirit in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison.

Because they formerly did not obey when God's patients Waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared in which a few that is eight persons were brought safely through water. Baptism which corresponds to this now saves you not as a removal of dirt from the body But as an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels authorities and powers having been Subjected to him.

Let's pray as the band comes to lead us in worship this morning father. I rejoice in the opportunity that we have to gather together this first gathering in 2015 it's a glorious thing to just be together as your people and to recognize your faithfulness in the past and then Contemplate and consider in this new year your ongoing faithfulness in whatever comes our way.

Brothers we as we study and we read a passage that that deals with issues of suffering in this life and suffering in community and suffering for the for your cause and Ultimately with still maintaining in the midst of difficult times a motivation for sharing hope and even having hope.

Father I rejoice just in and that we are a gathering of hope. That here in this place we come each week to be reminded and remember the great and awesome Sacrifice of Jesus Christ that gives us hope to that propels us to take what comes in our lives and to say this is not Ultimate this is not the end and whatever suffering may face us in 2015 we are a people of Amazing hope because of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice and so I pray that from that place of hope we would rejoice.

We would lift our voices up together. We would be Enthusiastic and excited in our worship this morning with the power of your spirit alive in us in Jesus name. Amen. Are you guys grateful for the love of God?

Are you thankful for that? I know that I am and it is amazing and glorious to just think that he loves us. That's that's awesome. So thanks a lot to the band for leading us. Encourage you to keep your Bibles open.

I'm on your laps to first Peter chapter 3 verses 13 through 22. As we're gonna dive in and I want to tell you maybe even as I read this text Some things came to your mind. It can be pretty difficult to understand if you if you're just sitting down in your quiet time and you read this text there are some things that maybe are familiar to you verse 15 might be one of those but in your hearts honor Christ as The Lord is holy always being prepared to make a defense.

How many of you have heard that verse before and it just stands out to you? Maybe some of you have memorized it. It's one that's often used for Pertaining to evangelism or sharing our faith with others or being ready to share the gospel with others and all that.

But by the time you get down to verses 19 through 22 Things start to get a little squirrely and a little bit confusing you get it all of a sudden Noah appears in the text and there's this analogy of Noah and the floodwaters to baptism and Jesus is preaching to spirits in prison and Anybody get a little confused near the end of this text as I'm reading they kind of go.

Okay.

You know and it'd be very easy for us to lose sight of what we were talking about here at the beginning by the time that We get to the end and I want to clarify for you guys that You know, I don't have the superpower of of Bible interpretation.

Instantaneously this stuff doesn't always come easy to me. So I have to work at it and just like we all ought to be working at it sometimes a text just almost kind of like I open the Bible and you might think that like a 3 .3 points and an illustration all just fall right out on my lap every every week and it's not necessarily like that.

So some of these take more work for me. Some of them take more interpretation and more understanding and more research and more digging in and this was one of those. But let me briefly set the table before we feast on God's Word.

And by the way, I want to clarify that this is God's Word that just because if it gets more difficult. Sometimes we have a tendency to skip over those things and say I'll get back to it and never get back to it.

But this is God's Word this is something that he desires for us to understand and so we dig into these things that can be hard for our minds to wrap around and Simultaneously, it is a feast every time we come to God's Word.

There's something there for us to take but let's remember that Peter is writing to Christians in the first century. Around the time that a major persecution happened was coming from the Jews, but the Roman persecution hasn't happened yet.

So historically there were two major persecutions the initial one by the Jews that pushed the gospel out from Jerusalem. The Book of Acts records that for us that all except for the Apostles fled Jerusalem as Christians and wherever they went they took the gospel with them and that's the persecution that we're talking about but we know that most of them fled to parts of the Roman Empire where the Romans are gonna start to oppress Christians and Starting with the Emperor Nero and on down and it's gonna be a even harder persecution for the Christians.

With hardly anywhere to flee if you can think about how vast and wide the reach of the Roman Empire was. It was a lot broader persecution than just the Jews. So many Christians have been forced to flee and Peter has identified his audience early on.

He told us who he's talking to he referred to his audience as the elect exiles. That is as I've said many times elect in regards to God chosen by God to be his children chosen in him and at the same time exiles.

There's a lot of theological and.

Cultural implication packed in those two terms that he uses. It's a really powerful title to think of yourselves as elect elect. Exiles exiles pertaining to how the world views us the way that the world often views Christians as as a Perspective of exile they are on the outs and have you ever been in a conversation where you suddenly felt?

Exiled from the Conversation because they were talking about things that you know. You can't really in good conscience talk about and it's like I guess I'm on the outs here and as Christians There's a variety of things but these guys were literally exiled from their homes.

Physically had to flee for their lives and most of them are in what is modern-day Turkey. So that's reminding us where we're at in this book. Peter took his first chapter to explain in clear terms the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Reminding these persecuted Christians that Jesus Christ is their living hope so he's saying basically to them. He's takes them in the early early parts of the book of first Peter Back to the gospel back to the roots and says this is where you should find encouragement regardless of what's going on around you in society regardless of what's going on in your life regardless of persecution the the anchor point for the Christian is The good news that Jesus Christ died for you and has offered you an inheritance and has basically sealed your inheritance with him.

That's a glorious thing. In other words knowing where your ultimate destiny lies. Helps us to recognize that what we endure on this planet is truly as Paul said it light and momentary afflictions compared to the eternal weight of glory that is awaiting us in our inheritance and and Peter likes to eat when he talks about our Inheritance this thing that we have to look forward to regardless of what happens in this next year regardless of what happened in this past year.

He talks about an inheritance that is imperishable unfading. Undefiled kept in heaven for you by God. That's what we have to hold on to as we cling to what what is your hope for 2015? What are you hoping happens?

And and what and there's a how many of you have some good things that you'd like to see happen in 2015. I mean It's wise for us to have some plans and to have some goals and to have some things that we're reaching out for that.

We're saying boy I hope I'm further along in my walk with Jesus at the end of this year than I am right now where I stand. I hope that there's some things that are are going better but but our hope isn't in those goals our hope ought not to be in those plans because how many of you have ever seen Those things turn on a dime and not even leave you any change.

I'll leave you a lot of change, right? We've seen that life can just take some wicked twists and we know that and and and he's gonna talk about some of those. That type of twist that sometimes that's that's the will of God in your life.

That's what he desires is for some hard things to come into our lives and that can be very difficult for us and at the same time our hope is not does not rest in the goodness the riches the the you know our goal of getting healthy this next year and working out every day and all of that stuff and whatever plans you're making and You're buying your exercise equipment now.

It's all on discount. So great, you know get it so that you can. I'm dry your clothes on it. You know six months from now. It'll be lined up with the clothes. Lined up there and it'll be in the garage sale next year.

But with all of that Peter explained that the gospel is the centerpiece of our hope it is the place Where knowing where our ultimate destiny is helps us to recognize that these are light and momentary afflictions.

Peter then explained to a large degree the civil responsibility of Christians giving us hope in the midst of persecution and saying you have some Responsibility as well to be submissive to authority structures in your lives in the middle of persecution.

We might think rebellion is a good idea. Scripture is straightforward saying no it's not submission to authority when you are the when you are the Underclass when you are the people that are being persecuted is not necessarily a great idea to push back.

But submissive submission to authority structures in their lives was the command to the Christians during this time. Showing that we are to engage the world around us while striving to remain untainted unstained by sin and that's.

That's a big theme throughout the book of first Peter is Engagement in the culture while remaining holy to God focused on him and Remaining unstained by the world despite being in the world, but not being of it.

Our last time in first Peter the author began an explanation that our Calling is to bless others and to do good to others. That was a few weeks ago. And he talked with us especially about showing brotherly kindness to others having a mind of humility showing sympathy and kindness Towards one another and now we pick up this theme of doing good towards our culture here in verse 13.

He says who who's gonna harm you if you have a passion for doing good? That's that's kind of how he starts up now now who's there to harm you if you're zealous.

For what is good?

Now right out of the gate. I need to explain that Peter is clearly speaking a proverb here. This is proverbially speaking. He is giving a general statement like we often do in routine conversation. How many of you you know, if you were to really analyze your speech, sometimes you generalize do you do that?

I think that's a that's a nature of communication. We know that it is generally true. That if you go through life with a hard attitude that is excited about doing good to others. How many of you think people by and large are gonna like you by and large?

Is that is that is that a truism? Is that a good proverb? That if you are kind and doing goodness to your culture and doing goodness to those at your workplace. By and large people are gonna like you and that's what Peter is saying.

I mean who's gonna you know, he's saying let's let's face it if you are doing what you're supposed to do. Then it's okay. I mean people some people are gonna like you and that's and that's okay. But immediately our minds turn to the contrary because have you ever been persecuted for doing good?

You ever anybody ever have anybody like maybe a co-worker who thought you were just trying to get on the boss's good side or something like that and they they start to put the barbs in because they recognize that you are Doing good and they don't like that or maybe someone who just thinks you're you're Holier than now because you're a Christian or something like that.

And so they begin to persecute you or mock you or something to that effect. Well Peter recognizes that. He doesn't just leave the proverb hanging without recognizing that some of your minds are gonna go to the opposite side and say well.

Yeah, sometimes people do persecute those who are doing good. He says, yeah, of course they do. So in verse 14, he says even if you should suffer because you have done good things. You'll still be blessed.

You will still be blessed. It's as if Peter wants us to know that there is an even deeper motivation for doing good out in the world around us specifically in the life of a believer. We could live a good life so that.

People will like us.

We could be guilty of just doing good strictly so that things go well for us so that people won't harm us. I'm sure there are people who would do some horrible things but they feel somewhat restrained by the violence or or Punishment that they would receive that might come back on them if they do bad.

And so they it's like I just don't steal. The only reason I don't steal is because I might get caught. Well, that's how many of you think that might be kind of a subpar Motivation in the life of a Christian right.

A little bit a little bit subpar. That would be a verse 13 kind of Motivation. Who is there to harm you if you're zealous for what is good? So I don't want anybody to harm me. So I'll just go do good.

But he ratchets it up. He ratchets this concept up in verse 14. Peter says do good and even if you suffer for it you will still receive a.

Blessing in.

Other words, there's a deeper motivation for doing good in our culture. The surface is doing what we do for human recognition. But the deeper motivation is the pleasure and blessing of God. Who is he talking about blessing you.

You might look at this and you might say well. Is he talking about getting more money? Is he talking about having more people like us. Is he talking about well clearly not because you're being persecuted.

The person that he's speaking to is going through hard times. They're being rung out right now. Okay, they've done good and others have are persecuting them for the good that they're doing. So you see the blessing that he's talking about here is not just good things coming to you in this life.

No, he's acknowledging that because of your righteousness because of your good behavior. Sometimes you're gonna get rung out for that and when you do take. You know take comfort. Because you have a blessing to look forward to.

What blessing is he talking about? What could that be? Well, I believe it's the blessing of the inheritance that he's talked about all throughout this letter. It's clearly that he has in mind that that it is our the forward look of the Christian to the eternal.

That helps us to endure. So how can a person do good to those who persecute them? How can a person not grow cynical and jaded when they've been beaten down by co-workers? Rejected by family and friends or even physically assaulted for the cause of the gospel.

And I would dare say that maybe maybe none in this room. Have ever been physically assaulted for the cause of the gospel have been physically assaulted because you did good. I Want to hear your story if that has actually happened to you.

But how does a person stay. You know not grow cynical not grow jaded in the midst of a culture. Where there is indeed some hostility and by the way, I want to clarify that there are people. There are brothers and sisters in Christ who even today will be assaulted for the cause of the gospel.

Because they are believers all around the world. This happens routinely. We live in a very privileged place and we need to recognize how. How we don't we want not to take that for granted that we are not persecuted significantly for our faith.

So, how can we proclaim the gospel without fear and without shame? To a world that will at times seek to shame us and seek to cause fear. It is that we know that we will be blessed. Our hope is not in everybody liking us.

Despite the fact that if we were to look look significantly in our hearts I think we'd be uncomfortable with how much we are motivated by how much people like us. There's a lot that we do for the cause and the sake of being liked by others.

That ought not to be our motivation and let's let's let's pray that that's not our motivation moving forward in this next year. But then our motivation is the blessing and pleasure of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that it is for him that we live 2015.

It is for his honor and for his glory and it is a recognition that he has granted to us an inheritance.

That is ours.

That none can take from us. So that we can share boldly without fear of persecution and love even in the face of persecution. Because we know that we will be blessed. We don't earn this blessing by Suffering.

Nobody gets into the kingdom and has an eternal inheritance because they've suffered rather in just a couple of verses. It's clear that we receive this blessing because Jesus suffered for us. It's not our suffering that earns our salvation.

It's it is suffering. However, it's the suffering of Jesus Christ. He suffered once for for sins the text says the righteous for the unrighteous. The righteous for the unrighteous. His suffering is what has brought us.

Blessing.

But for the Christian we should not be driven by fear of what others can do to us. We know that nobody can take away what matters most that we have indeed received the favor of our God. Not earned it received it.

And now we come to our central command of our text this morning. Rather than live with fear of them. We are commanded to honor Christ the Lord as holy in our hearts. This is the main command if you're taking notes write that one down.

That's the main point for this morning. Honor Christ the Lord as holy in your hearts. In your heart. In the core of your essence. Not this four-chambered blood pump that's in your chest that hopefully keeps ticking for a while.

But in the seat of everything that rules you. Your thoughts your emotions your will your passions your affections the things that you set your attention to your will all that drives you as a person is.

Is encapsulated in this Greek concept of the heart the seat of you? The place where you sit in there and what is Christ doing in there? Is he holy. Is he set apart. Does he have free reign in you? Heart.

Your emotions your will your mind your thoughts. It's there wasn't this huge distinction like we have in our culture in our society between the mind and the heart your thoughts were. Encapsulated in this concept of heart in the Greek in Greek philosophy.

What's going on in your head and what's going on in your heart? And we talked about the longest distance being between here and here and we understand what we mean by that. But when it really comes down to it.

Our heart is all that we are and he is saying let Christ be holy in all of it and all that you possess. Who sits there in? That place. Is Christ King in that place in your life. Or is he an invited guest.

Who you asked to leave after hours? Kind of have some posted times for him to show up Sunday morning. Yeah, you're welcome there. You're welcome for just a little bit of time while I pray in the morning or just just a moment before every meal.

Just just want to let you in for just a second kind of maybe keep you on the doorstep for just a little bit. Have a little conversation, but you know what? I need a little me time. Jesus time to take a break.

If you could just step out for a second. I've got some stuff I want to do. And by the way Christ when you stay here, sometimes you can stay overnight. I've got a guest room just don't go nosing around kind of stay to the areas that I let you in, you know.

Don't poke around in the closets. Basement is off off. It's you're not allowed there. Fact the matter is making Letting Christ be holy in your hearts. Jesus wants to reorder you. He wants to reshape you.

He wants to remodel. He wants to reorder your priorities. He wants to clean out your closet. He wants to clean out the basement. He is in the business of remodeling hearts. But he must be given honor as holy there first.

Is he holy? Set apart. King is he Lord in your heart? And there's an interesting result that we might not expect. When we honor Christ as holy in our hearts. We might think well. We'll be super awesome and we'll be all that in a bag of chips and everybody will want to be just like us and things.

Like that. Well, there's a little bit of that in here but not the the construction of this Greek sentence leads me to the conclusion that Always being prepared is a byproduct of honoring Christ in a heart.

Look at verse 15. But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy and then this subordinate phrase always being prepared. This is reflexive always being prepared. It's passive you are being prepared.

It's not saying go prepare yourself. Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you yet do it with gentleness and.

Respect.

If he has first place in your heart if you are setting aside Christ as holy in your heart He is welcome to have free reign in you and through you. Then you are being prepared to make a defense for the hope that you have.

This is not this. This verse isn't some promotional statement about taking some classes in evangelism. Boy. I'm just not prepared. I need some classes. I need more work. I need more theological education now.

None of those would be bad things. It wouldn't be bad to take a class in evangelism. It wouldn't be bad for you to get more theological training. But if you want to be most prepared to share your faith in a powerful way with those around you.

Let Jesus have the throne of your heart. Let him reign supreme in you. Let him clean house. Notice the text tells us that we are to be always being strange construction. But we are to be always being prepared.

It's an ongoing process in our lives. I have not arrived. Billy Graham did not arrive. Josh McDowell has not arrived. Matt Chandler has not arrived. Robbie Zacharias. You can name all of these Guys who you might think or some ladies that you think have arrived.

But all are being more and more prepared more and more equipped to spread the glory of the king. The second thing that I notice is that Peter takes for granted that you and I are hopeful people. What are we to defend?

But in your hearts Honor. Christ the Lord is holy. Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for the reason for the what? The hope that is in you. Others Should see hope in you. Others should see hope in you when you talk with them about the future.

When you talk with them about what's going on. I I fear that we can become quite cynical. We can become quite disgruntled at this world around us and in that process we lose our joy. And in the process of there's I think there's there's.

Almost nothing more obnoxious than a Christian who has lost their joy. I've been there. I know and I've been obnoxious in it. And so when you lose your joy, I mean any of you relate to me on that. You recognize what that feels like to be a joyless Christian is an oxy.

It ought to be an oxymoron. Those two words don't go together. A joyless Christian. Have you have you thought about what Christ has done for you? Just to reflect on that for a moment should snap us out of our malaise into joy and exaltation and glory.

He died for me. That he has bought me an inheritance. How can I lack joy and they should see hope we should be the life of the party. We should be the ones who are the most vibrant and people are like attracted to you because they see your hope.

They're like and they're asking.

Why?

What what is it about you?

What is it that makes you so hopeful in the midst of this dark economy in this dark time with? Isis and all of this stuff going on. How can you how can you have so much joy? Why are you always whistling a tune when I see you?

Why is it like there's always something about you? There's an expectation that we are a hopeful people and as society gets darker the contrast of the brightness of the Christians joy should be growing stronger and stronger and stronger as we're offset by a darkening world and Peter's time when the church was suffering they did so with kindness and hopeful expectation of the blessing yet to come and the church.

Expanded.

Exponentially and. As a society around us gets darker. Will we be seen as a people with mercy in our eyes? Shining out glory. The glory of Christ and the hope of eternity. Will we be seen as a people of joyful hope and expectation?

Expectations that are not placed on gadgets.

401ks.

Nice houses new cars Caribbean vacations you see. It's only when all of these things are stripped away that our culture can truly see the difference Christ makes in our hearts when the things of this world are stripped away.

And and like the story of Corrie ten boom who Observed a German soldier kill her sister in a concentration camp and then was moved to forgive that soldier years later When Elizabeth Elliot goes back to the tribe of Ecuador that killed her husband to proclaim the gospel to them the world stops at that kind of hope and they stare.

And As they try to pick their jaw up off the floor Christ is shown to be glorious. And they see it.

Through our lives.

But it's when that stuff is stripped away. I Don't look forward to it. I mean, I'm gonna be honest I mean how many of you are like signing up for a 2015 where all the good things in your life are stripped away You're looking for.