Overview of First Peter

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Lord's Day, we will be embarking on another journey through another general epistle.
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With all that happening, with all this happening globally in our world today, and ever -increasing violence such as the days of Noah, we see fear on every hand.
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Actually, in third world countries, there's persecution toward Christians in a severe way, and I'll be honest with you, we need to be preparing ourselves because persecution is coming.
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I'm telling you, it's on the horizon and it's already among us in America and the western world here, but it's also going to increase.
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I just want to tell you that. I'm not trying to be a prophet of gloom or doom, but it's the truth.
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We might as well brace ourselves. So I believe this book is going to be very timely for us going through. It's going to be very encouraging.
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There's a great decline in morals, great falling away in the faith among the churches, evangelical churches, apostasies happening.
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You see false teachers on every hand. They don't even dare touch on persecution among Christians.
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It's about your best life now, how you can be rich in Jesus. It's another gospel.
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It's another Jesus. You see idolatry everywhere. These things could be very distressing and depressing.
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Corrie ten Boom, who went through some persecution of her own, said that, you know, when you look within, you get depressed.
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When you look without, you get distressed. But when you look at Jesus, you get, you are at rest.
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And that's the truth. And that's what we need to look at, is look at Jesus. Our answer is not in the
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White House. Our answer is in God's house and it's in God's word. And this, you and I can make a big difference.
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Maybe we may be very small, but little as much when God's in it. So again, persecution is coming to our homeland and we might as well brace ourselves and get ready.
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And the greatest encouragement I can give you is from God's word, not my opinions, but God's word.
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If you notice all the hymns that we've already sung about, firm of foundation, the church is one foundation, Jesus Christ our
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Lord, Jesus, one Lord, one faith, one birth. This is what we need to focus on. This is the gospel.
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So it's a message of hope. And that's what Peter talks about. Peter is the apostle of hope.
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We're going to look at this. So the book of First Peter, no doubt, is a gem. It's a rich jewel, a great encouragement to persecuted believers in that time and can be very much an encouragement to persecuted believers in our time.
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Persecution can cause either growth or bitterness within the Christian life.
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Ravenhill says really persecution sifts the tares among the wheat, and it shows who the true
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Christians are. Because I'm telling you, when persecution hits, many people is going to start believing, even more so.
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The real Christians will stay and endure the fire to the very end, even if it costs their very life, because we've already counted the cost.
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Christians have already counted the cost, and our eyes are upon Jesus because we recognize that this life is a vapor and this life is nothing in comparison to eternity.
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Now, the right response determines the result of persecution as well.
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And in writing to the Jewish believers and struggling in the midst of persecution, the apostle
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Peter here encourages them to conduct themselves courageously for the person and actually for the work of Jesus Christ.
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Isn't it wonderful? This is the head apostle. This is the lead apostle. He's the leader of all the apostles, and he was the spokesman for all the apostles.
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And as a leader and the apostle, which he had the credentials and the qualifications for, he always points to Jesus Christ, who is the head of the church.
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Now, Jesus is the head, and also both character and conduct must be above reproach.
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And having been born again to a living hope, as Scripture says here, we'll be looking at this, and the
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Christians are to imitate the Holy One of Israel, who is Jesus Christ, who has called them, called us in a wicked and a fallen world to be light, to be salt.
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And the fruit of that character will be how we conduct ourselves that is rooted and grounded in the submission to God.
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Everything will flow from submission to God and from God. And our submission is, first of all, to God, and then our submission is to one another and to even the government, unless they are against the gospel.
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But up until that point, we are to submit. And Peter speaks about that all the way through this book.
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The Lord Jesus Christ, we're ultimately under His lordship.
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Citizens to the government, servants to masters, Peter writes to, wives to husbands, husbands to wives, and Christians to one another.
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You know, only after submission is fully understood, and you'll see this as we go through the book of 1
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Peter, only as submission is fully understood does Peter deal with the difficult area of suffering.
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Now, that's important to realize. So the Christians are not to be surprised at all at the fiery trials that comes upon us, which comes upon us, and it's for our testing, our testing which comes for a reason and as though some strange thing is happening to you.
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You see, don't count this as a surprise. Don't count this as strange. Know that this is nothing surprising, but rejoice in the midst of this.
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And he tells us and he instructs the Christians that are being persecuted in that time and also in this time to do that.
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And we are to rejoice, and we are to rejoice as partakers of the sufferings of Christ.
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Isn't this the way God makes us? Isn't this the way God makes His mature believers in Jesus?
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It's through suffering. No wonder the Christians overseas are so strong.
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They even say, don't even pray that God delivers us out of suffering, but that God will keep us in the suffering because they know they're closer to God in Jesus Christ.
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It's foreign to us, but I'm telling you, as God allows this in His sovereignty and suffering to come,
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I'm telling you, it will purify us as believers in Christ. And this is the theme.
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This is why I'm talking about this, because this is the theme of the book of 1 Peter, submission, suffering.
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It's the response to life that is truly the climax of one submission to the good hand of God Almighty, who is our creator.
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Christians, true Christians, just don't fit in. And that's not easy.
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It's not easy for the first century church, and it's not going to be easy for us, and it's not easy, and you know what
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I'm talking about. So Christians are suffering all over the world, right? And the Christians in modern day
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Turkey, in that time period in which he refers to, needed to know why.
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They needed to know how to deal with the suffering. They needed to know how to live in the midst of suffering.
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And most important, most important, they needed to know that all this suffering was not in vain.
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There was a reason for it. There was a reason for that suffering. And that's what
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Paul, that's what I'm sorry, that's what Peter speaks of. Paul speaks about it too. But Peter specifically speaks to it here.
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So the Apostle Peter writes to these persecuted Christians a letter. He addresses to them as a pastor, not just an apostle, but as a pastor as well, like James.
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We saw this with James. And you know, where did they get this instruction from the greatest sermon ever preached?
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From the Lord Jesus Christ Himself on the Sermon on the Mount. This is where they got the foundation.
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Actually James, and Peter, and John, and even Paul, and everything there. It's all commentary on the teachings of Jesus Christ from the
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Gospel. From Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. So these issues were very important.
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There's two issues here in the intro here. Number one, to testify the truth.
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To testify the truth, the truth. The more they know Jesus themselves, the more they know themselves, and the vile world in which they live in that's so depraved, the better they will understand and get a grasp on how to live holy in the difficult situation which they were facing.
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And secondly, it exhorts them to live accordingly, to live holy.
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In a nutshell, basically the book of First Peter reflects this focus, and Peter explores on the doctrine first, like Paul, and then he encourages the
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Christians to apply it to their own personal lives. So, before we do an overview, and that's what
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I'd like to do today, there's no way I'm going to cover everything, but I'm going to try to do a quick overview of further details of this wonderful epistle, and there's going to be selected scriptures, and just kind of get acquainted with everything, with the author, with Peter, and who wrote it, and the people whom he sent it to, and particularly the situation, the message that prompted him to write it.
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Now, turn with me very quickly, let's open up to First Peter, isn't that a wonderful thing? We begin this new series in the general epistle of First Peter.
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Let's just look at one verse here, the introduction verse, and it's going to be beautiful what comes afterwards, oh my goodness.
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But let's look at just verse one, verse one, hear the word of the living
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God. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout
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Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Pathenia, who are chosen.
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Let's stop right there and let's pray. Our Father, we just sense your presence now, and we know that you're here among us.
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And Jesus Christ, your Son, and the blessed Holy Spirit, Lord, we bless you and we bless your name.
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Bless the Lord, oh my soul, all that is within me, as David said, bless your holy name. Your name is to be hallowed, your name is holy.
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And Lord, we not only bless you, we praise you, we thank you. We thank you,
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Father, with thanksgiving our hearts for the holy word of God. Your word, this is the revelation that you've given to us.
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There's nothing that compares to it on the face of this entire world. It's so precious, it's so precious.
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Lord, we pray as the song says, Spirit of God, our teacher be, show us the things of Christ in me.
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Father, may you be glorified and honored as we study this wonderful epistle. And Lord, I pray that you would anoint each and every one of us today.
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Give us eyes to see Jesus, give us ears to hear Jesus, give us a heart to perceive and to understand and obey the truth that's before us,
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Lord. There's so much, it's so deep, deep calls into the deep.
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But Lord, you bring it to where we can understand it through your Holy Spirit because we're born again of the
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Spirit of God. Lord, we pray this all for your glory. In Jesus name we ask, amen and amen.
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Well, as I broke ground already, I'd like for us to look at just three parts of this verse before as an overview of 1
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Peter. And again, it's not going to be an exhaustive one. I'm just going to consolidate just as much. There's much more material
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I could have put in here, but because of time, it's just utterly impossible to put everything in here.
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But there's much that could be said about this. But there's three aspects of the overview that I'd like to draw to your attention that we will look at.
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First of all, number one, we will look at the writer, the writer. Number two, we will look at the recipients, the recipients.
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And number three, I'd like for us to look at the message. Those three things, please keep before you because it's critical and important to see where we're going as an overview here.
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The writer, the recipients, the message. Let's look at the writer. The writer is identified.
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He identifies himself without question. There's no question whatsoever that the text in verse one says
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Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
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He's qualified, isn't he? He's a qualified apostle. He's a sent out one.
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Apostle is one who has seen Jesus Christ personally. Now, there are some liberal teachers that have questioned whether a common blue -collar fisherman, and that's no surprise to us, right, that a blue -collar fisherman like Peter could have ever penned this letter, especially since Peter and John were both called unlearned and ignorant men in Acts 4 .13.
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That's the way the world looks at it, and the liberals still look at it just the same way. But however, this phrase actually only means laymen without former schooling.
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That's all it means. That is, they were not professionals. They were not professional leaders.
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And we must never underestimate the training that Peter had for three years with the Lord Jesus Christ, and he learned from the greatest.
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That is the one that counts. Amen. I'd rather sit under Jesus and think of it for three years than to sit in 30 years in a scholarly synagogue learning from priest and so forth.
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I tell you what, three years would be more than enough, and nor should we underestimate or ever minimize,
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I should say, the work of the power of the Holy Spirit in Peter's life. Because if you read through the Gospels, you and I know that Peter was a changed man, especially when it comes to the day of Pentecost.
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And we're going to look a lot, we're going to look, first of all, a lot from Peter here, and Peter is a perfect illustration of the truth that is expressed in 1
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Corinthians. I wrote this down, and I thought this is good for the introduction of Peter. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse 26 through 31, you could go there if you like, these are the words of the
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Apostle Paul. And Paul understood this, and this is a man that was once a
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Pharisee of Pharisees, a scholar of scholars, and Paul the Apostle had to unlearn everything and learn from Christ himself in three years in Arabia, in a desert.
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And Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and this is the way God considers the calling, and we're going to look at Peter's calling, the
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Apostle calling, and Paul says this, for consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, not many, but God, there's the transition, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world, and the despised things,
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I'm sorry, the despised God has chosen. This is what God's chosen, the things that are not so that He may nullify the things that, so that no man may boast before God, but by His doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption, so that just as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the
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Lord. Now, that's Peter, Peter is chosen, he's called from the
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Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the writer, Peter, he was also given the name
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Simon, that's his Gentile name in Scripture. If you look at it, every time he's called
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Simon, Simon, that is this sinful, carnal, yes,
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Gentile name. Anytime he's rebuked from Jesus, he says, Simon, Simon.
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In other words, that's your sinful condition, and it also identifies him as the
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Gentile, Simon, but Jesus changed it to Peter, and anytime there's a change in a person, remarkable is this, it's changed, his character's changed, which means,
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Peter means a stone, so a stone, a living stone, and the
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Aramaic equivalent to Peter is Cephas, so Peter was a man with three names, wow, could you imagine having three names, but anytime he's referred to Simon, he means he's sinful, and you notice sometimes,
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I think there's a few scriptures that mention Simon Peter, well, I guess John was trying to put together that whether he's
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Gentile, he's in the flesh, or he's in the spirit, he couldn't determine his heart, so that's pretty much the sum of it.
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So, we have the name Peter, and Peter means rock, and God made him a rock,
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Jesus made him a rock, Jesus renamed him. Nearly 50 times in the
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New Testament, he's called Simon, 50 times, and perhaps again, and I get this from Warren Roosby, quote, perhaps the two names suggest a
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Christian's two natures, an old nature, Simon, that has proved to fail, and a new nature,
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Peter, than can give victory, end quote, and that is so true, isn't it?
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Simon, yes, Romans 7 right there, and Simon, he was only another human piece of clay, but Jesus Christ made him a rock,
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Jesus made him a rock. Now, he was raw material, and if you notice, he was always the apostle, that was the leader, that was always asking questions, you can picture him, he's right behind Jesus, constantly asking questions, separate questions, and we'll be looking a little bit into that more, or what else, he just constantly, he's the spokesman, and any time you read in the gospel, his name is always first, there's a pecking order, and Peter is always at the top, he's the head apostle, no one speaks in the gospel as often as Peter did, and Jesus spoke more to Peter than any other individual,
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Jesus rebuked Peter more than any other disciple, isn't that the truth?
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Amen, he was wounded a lot, and he learned a lot, but you know, that's the substance, and that's the qualities of a leader, he asked questions, he's constantly asking questions, after questions, and he's right there,
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Peter was the only disciple who dared to rebuke Jesus, and I'm sure he regretted it, and he did,
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Peter was the one that confessed Jesus more boldly, and accurately than any other disciple, he was the one that actually said, thou art the
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Christ, the Son of the living God, and Jesus said, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my
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Father who is in heaven, Peter denied Jesus more forcefully and publicly than any other disciple,
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Jesus praised Peter more than any other disciple, think of this, Jesus addressed
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Peter as Satan alone among the disciples, could you imagine the
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Lord looking at you and saying, Satan get thee behind me, that happened, he was in the flesh one moment, next moment, he understood,
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I'm sorry, he was in the spirit, he understood who Jesus really was in his person, but he didn't understand his work, that he came to die on a cross, and he said, be it far from you
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Lord, and he said, Satan get thee behind me, Jesus said that,
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Jesus addressed him, just about more than any other disciple,
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Peter was right there, since Peter is so prominent in the gospel records, it is worthwhile to remind ourselves some of the important mentions of Peter in the record of biblical history from the gospels, and I wrote these down, this is not a exhaustive list, you could probably find more, because there's so much there with Peter, his name is mentioned more than any other in the gospel records outside of Jesus Christ, think of that, in Mark 1 .35
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-39, in Mark 1 .35 -39, the scripture says, when
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Jesus woke up early in the morning to pray before the sun came up, Simon Peter, there's that, led the other disciples on a hunt to find
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Jesus and tell him what he should do, in Matthew 10, chapter 10, verse 1 -42,
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I'm not going to read all that, but in a nutshell, Peter went on a unique outreach trip with the other disciples, in Matthew chapter 14, 24 -33,
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Peter stepped out of the boat during a raging storm and walked on the water, defied the laws of gravity more than any other man that ever lived, outside of Jesus the
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Lord himself, walking on the water, and you know the story there, in John chapter 6, verse 68 -69,
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Peter, it was Peter who said, Lord, to whom shall we go?
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To the Lord, for you have the words of eternal life, also we have come to believe and know that you are the
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Christ, the Son of the living God. In Matthew chapter 17, 1 -9,
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Peter saw personally Jesus transformed, along with James and John, in His glory, together with Moses and Elijah.
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Actually, Peter is the one that spoke out and said, let's build a tabernacle, one for Moses and one for Elijah, and then the
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Father himself rebuked him. Wow! Isn't that the truth?
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The Father says, this is my beloved Son, hear Him. Peter was the one that asked
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Jesus how many times we should forgive a brother that sins against us, quoting the high number of seven times, and Jesus said more than that, 70 times seven.
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In Matthew chapter 19, verse 27 -30, Peter was the one who asked
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Jesus after the encounter with the rich young ruler, what the disciples would receive for giving everything up to follow
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Jesus. In John 13, 16 -20, Peter was the one who insisted that Jesus would not wash
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His feet, and then, and then he commanded Jesus, wash all of them.
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Peter is a character, isn't he? But he speaks for all of us, isn't he? He speaks for all of us.
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Matthew 26, 30 -35, Peter heard Jesus predict that He would deny
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Him three times, and Peter replied, even if I have to die with You, I would not deny
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You. I would not let You go all the way to death with You, Lord. And in Matthew 26, 35, and the rest of the disciples agreed.
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In John 18, 1 -11, Peter was the one who cut off the right ear of Malchus, and we know he was not just aiming for the ear either.
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And the servants of the high priest, the servant of the high priest, I'm sorry, when the soldiers came to arrest
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Jesus. In Matthew 26, 26 -75,
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Peter denies Jesus three times. He was actually cursing and swearing that he did not even know the man, refusing to even name the name of Jesus.
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And in John 21 -10, Peter was the one who ran with John, the disciple, and we know
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John outran him, to the tomb on the morning of the resurrection, and after hearing the report of the women that the body of Jesus was not in its tomb.
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And in Luke 24 -34, Peter was the one who received a personal visit from the resurrected
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Jesus on the day of the resurrection. And in John 21,
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I love this, after even the denial three times, Peter received a public restoration from the
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Lord Jesus Himself in front of the other disciples and restored them back into the fold after the resurrection of Christ.
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No doubt, no doubt, Peter is a very significant and important apostle.
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And the letter begins, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Isn't that beautiful?
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Commentator Grunem says this, quote, the supreme importance of the apostles is suggested by first,
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I'm sorry, by the fact that the phrase Jesus Christ is attached to no other
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New Testament office. We do not read of teachers of Jesus Christ or prophets of Jesus Christ or evangelists of Jesus Christ, only of apostles of Jesus Christ, end quote.
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No doubt, this letter is by the apostle
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Peter. And he says he's an apostle of Jesus Christ.
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There's also someone else that's associated with him. And you read this in 1 Peter 5, 12, that this letter was associated with Silas.
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Silas or Silvanus. And it's Silas, which was one of the chief men in the early church.
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And we see him in Acts chapter 15, 22. And he is actually a prophet.
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Silas was a prophet. We see he accompanies Paul in Acts 15, 32.
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And this means that he communicated God's messages to the congregation as he was directed by the
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Holy Spirit. So the apostles and prophets work together. They are the one that laid actually the foundation of the church, according to Ephesians 2, 20.
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And once that foundation was laid, they passed off the scene. And the elders, basically, after all the apostles dies out, elders was known to lead the churches.
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But just to note this, also, there are no more apostles and prophets in the New Testament in the church today.
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And if anybody calls himself a prophet or apostle, it's not so.
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It is interesting that Silas, Silvanus, was associated with Peter's ministry. Isn't that interesting?
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And as I was studying this, I thought, wow. And because he originally went with Paul as a replacement for Barnabas, according to Acts 15, 36 through 41,
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Peter also mentioned John Mark in 1 Peter 5, 13.
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If you look at it, look at 1 Peter 5, 13 very quickly. He says this,
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She who is in Babylon chosen together with you sends you greetings. And so does my son,
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Mark. My son, Mark. So certainly, that would maintain a concern for him.
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And no doubt, one of the early assemblies met in John Mark's home in Jerusalem, according to Acts 12, 12.
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And in the end, Paul forgave and accepted Mark as a valued helper in the work of the ministry, according to 2
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Timothy 4, 11. Peter indicated that he wrote this letter at Babylon.
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Babylon. That's what it says. She who is in Babylon. Now, where's
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Babylon? You know, this is interesting because there was an assembly of believers here and there was another town in Babylon in Egypt also.
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But we have no proof that Peter ever visited that. So here,
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Babylon is probably just another name for the city of Rome. And that's more accurate because we do have reason to believe that Peter ministered in Rome and was probably martyred there in Rome as well, along with his wife.
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We know he was married. Tradition says that at Peter's martyrdom, that he was not worthy to be crucified like his
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Lord. So they crucified him upside down and he wanted that.
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And his wife was crucified as well. That's what tradition,
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Christian tradition says. So, Rome is called Babylon in Revelation 17, 5 and 18, 10.
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So it was not unusual for persecuted believers during those days to write and speak in code as they were persecuted.
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And that pretty much tells us a little bit about Peter. There's much more we could say about Peter, but I'd like to move on.
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Let's go to the second part, the recipients. The recipients. We know the apostle, no doubt, is
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Peter. The recipients, as the text says in 1, are to those who reside as aliens or strangers or pilgrims, foreigners, scattered throughout
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Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. So Peter called them aliens.
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No, it's not the aliens people would think today from Mars and Venus. But it actually refers that we are aliens as believers in Jesus Christ.
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And all believers in Jesus Christ are strangers, pilgrims, just passing through. This world's not our home.
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Our home is beyond the blue. Amen. And that's the way the Christians is addressed here.
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Better translation, like I said, strangers, sojourners. They were called strangers and pilgrims in 1
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Peter 2, 11. If you look at that very quickly, look in 1 Peter 2, 11.
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He says this, Beloved, I urge you as aliens, strangers, and strangers to abstain from fleshly lust, which wage war against the soul.
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Abstain from it. Run from it, James says. These people were citizens of heaven through faith in Jesus Christ, according to what
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Paul said in Philippians 3, 20. And therefore, we're not permanent residents on this earth.
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And that's the way we are to look at it. Abraham looked at it like that.
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And in the eyes of faith, the center on the future, the city of God. And that's the way we should look at it as well as believers in Jesus Christ.
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And they were in the world, but not of the world, according to how Jesus prayed in John 17, 16.
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So, he begins his letter by calling Christians aliens, strangers, foreigners.
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Foreigners. It's what we are, believers to the
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Roman Empire, to the world. Then goes on to explain the relationship between suffering and salvation.
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Now, I want you to think of that for a little bit. There's a relationship between salvation and suffering.
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Suffering is temporary, just lasts now, momentary. But it proves our faith so that joy and glory can come later.
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And when the true Christian gets a glimpse of Jesus Christ and who He really is in the glories of that other world, this flesh is nothing.
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This life is nothing in comparison to what awaits us. Therefore, the
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Christian should be holy as he awaits the Lord Jesus Christ to come back or as he enters into glory, and to that day he enters into glory.
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But he is to be holy until then. He's to be sanctified. He's to be set apart. He's to be different.
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And I question people if they're not different from this world. Because Scripture says,
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Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
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Now, I didn't say that. The Word of God says that. But if there is people loving the world, you cannot love the world and love
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God at the same time. Jesus said that. You cannot serve two masters. But the
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Scriptures say, the believers are one who loves God and they love one another.
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And they long and they love the Word of God. If they love God, they're going to love
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God's Word. And stay in God's Word. And cherish
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God's Word. And hide it in their heart. Treasure it in their heart. Now, after Peter explains why about the relationship between salvation and suffering,
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Peter goes into what the Christian family is. What is the Christian family? We're going to be looking at this.
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Spiritual house. A chosen generation. A chosen race. A royal priesthood.
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Royal. A holy nation. A people for God's own possession.
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Don't you love that? God's own possession. And that's found in 1
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Peter chapter 2. Well, therefore, Christ is all in all to them.
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And Christians ought to keep their behavior excellent. We'll be looking at that. How do we keep our behavior excellent before a lost and dying world?
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So that even though oppressors will glorify God when they see Christ in you.
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And you know, the believers ought to submit to the authorities. As hard as that is sometimes.
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As long as it's not contrary to the Word of God. They should submit to the authorities. You see that in Scripture.
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They submit to one another. They honor their spouses. They demonstrate kindness even when suffering as a
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Christian. Even in suffering. Wow. That's so much to set before us.
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It's going to be so good. And honestly, as I was thinking about these things. Who set the greatest and finest example of suffering to the glory of God?
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Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, Peter brings this out too. And we see this.
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And therefore, the Christian should live to the will of God. And use their spiritual gifts to serve one another in the church and the body.
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And to glorify God. And then that ultimate purpose. It's not about one person being one above the other.
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We're actually, according to what Paul says. We're to esteem others more than ourselves. We're to serve one another.
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And that's the attitude that we should have. And Jesus is the head. But we should come as a servant attitude.
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Peter knew about humility, didn't he? Oh, he was changed.
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You see him later on when he was pretty rough around the edges. And he's very boisterous. And he's speaking out.
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But Jesus and his loving rebukes to him. He was being made in the furnace.
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And he was being made more humble. And at the day of Pentecost, he was a totally different man, wasn't he?
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Well, suffering tests us, doesn't it? Suffering is a way to humble us, isn't it? Suffering can humble us.
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It's the great university that God chooses. It's the backside of the desert. Where God makes his men and women.
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It's a way we identify with Jesus our Lord. Paul even said this, that I may know him. And the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings.
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It never gives us an excuse to sin. Never, never. But it tells us in Christian suffering, we should still do what is right.
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So to Peter, suffering is something that the Christians should always see coming. And they're as aliens and pilgrims, foreigners here to be different.
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Until Jesus Christ comes in glory. And he speaks about the second return of Jesus Christ. And that is the living hope.
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That is the blessed hope. Isn't that what you're thinking about now? With all this junk and all this violence that's going on.
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And I say junk, there's much more to it. There's so many lies and so many things that's going on in our nation.
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Not the nation, but the world itself. We see things, God's just wrapping things up and Jesus is going to come back.
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And when he comes back, and that's our blessed hope. That should comfort us. And he comes back with power and glory.
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Let's look real quickly, 1 Peter chapter 5. This is at the end of it. But notice what he says in verse 10 and 11.
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After you have suffered for a little while. Don't you notice that a little while? It's just temporary. It's just for a short time.
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Just a little while. And we're talking about suffering. These people are really suffering. They've been thrown, they've been burned.
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They've been torched. They've been thrown to the lions. Children, women, wives,
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Christians. And what does he say? The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ.
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Will himself perfect and confirm and strengthen and establish you.
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To him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. The glory, that's the way to forward seats the suffering.
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That we would endure. Even if it's torture. But he knows that suffering's not easy.
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So he encourages them. And that's what we'll see through this.
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So suffering is no doubt the theme. But glory is the theme as well. And he speaks about the fiery trial.
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Notice that. There's a fiery trial that is to come about. You see this back in the beginning.
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In the first chapter, I believe. The fiery trial. The fiery trial is going to come.
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Verse 6 and chapter 1. You greatly rejoice. Where do you get that from,
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Jesus? When you're being persecuted for Jesus' sake. Even though now for a little while.
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There it is again. Just a little while. It's temporary. If necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.
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Fiery trial. So that the proof of your faith being more precious than gold.
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Which is perishable. Even though tested by fire. May be found in the result in praise and glory and honor.
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At the revelation of Jesus Christ. And notice what he says. And though you have not seen him.
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You love him. Though you do not see him now. But believe in him. And you greatly rejoice.
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Notice that. Greatly rejoice. With joy inexpressible or unspeakable. And full of glory.
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Full of glory. Obtaining as the outcome of your faith. The salvation of your souls. That's the end result.
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He talks about that fiery trial. Now think about the persecuted believers in the Roman Empire. Several events occurred that helped to precipitate that in this fiery trial.
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To begin with, Paul. Paul had defended the Christian faith. Before the official court in Rome.
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You read that in Philippians 1 and 12 through 24. And he also had been released.
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But then he was arrested again. Now that's Paul. And notice that the second defense.
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And you read this. When it failed. Paul was martyred. Under Nero.
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In 2 Timothy 4, 16 through 18. Next. We see this.
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Who was the man in charge under the Gentile world under Rome? His name was Nero. Nero was a deranged maniac, folks.
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I personally believe he was demon possessed. He was a very evil emperor. And matter of fact, he was so evil.
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You can read this in the church history books. That he literally took the Christians and bound them up.
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And put them on poles. And lit up, burned Christians to the stake to just alight his garden.
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He loved fire. He was actually the one that burned down Rome.
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Nero blamed the fire of Rome, by the way. As it said that Nero fiddled while Rome burned.
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Actually in July AD 64. And he blamed his own
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Christians. He blamed them. It was a scapegoat. Using that as a scapegoat.
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Peter was probably in Rome about that time. And then he was slain by also.
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He was as well as Paul. Peter the apostle was slain by Nero. Who is also who killed
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Paul. Nero's persecution of Christians was local at first.
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But then it spread. In all parts. And at any rate,
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Peter wanted to prepare the churches. To encourage them. This is what you must do.
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I don't know about you. We can't imagine living in a place like that.
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And then you lose everything you got under a fire from a maniac. And if he found out you was a
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Christian. You were going to be burned up. You were going to be persecuted severely. You're going to lose your life. That's all there is to it.
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That's why people dare not join the church of God. No, it's not worth following Jesus.
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No, no. To die like that. No. I guarantee you that would clean up church quite well.
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If something like that came. It would be tough. It would be hard. I'll be honest with you. You lose your job.
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You lose everything you got. Everything gets burned. Next thing you know. You could be burned up too.
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You could be martyred. Slow torture. But you know.
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We must not get the idea that all Christians at this time. Every part of the empire were going through the same kind of trials.
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At the same degree. At the same time. It was different degrees all over. And I was reading this. It varied from place to place.
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Then through the suffering opposition. But it was pretty general. And Nero.
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Actually Nero was the one that introduced official persecution to the church. And other emperors at that time followed his example later on.
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This man was a maniac. And it's possible that Silas. Also was a bearer of this letter.
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Peter to the believers. In the provinces of that area. And also is a possibility that he was
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Peter's secretary. And that's very well possible. Who wrote the epistle.
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And you see that now. I don't have much time. I got to get to my points here.
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But last. Let's look at the message. And this is the most important. I think. And that's somewhat of a background.
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There's so much more we can say about that. But the message is basically summed up. If you go.
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If you look at 1 Peter chapter 5 again. Look at verse 12. Through Savannas.
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Which is Silas. Notice what he calls him. Our faithful brother. In parentheses he says.
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So I regard him. I have written to you briefly. Exhorting.
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And testifying that this is the true grace of God. And what does he say? Stand firm in it.
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You need grace to stand firm. Especially in hard and cruel persecution.
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Under a man that's in leadership like Nero. Could you imagine having a president like this?
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That hates Christians. But that's the way it was in that time period.
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Wasn't it? But Silas was a faithful brother. And he regarded him like that.
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And now he says. I've written to you briefly. Exhorting. Testifying that this is the true grace of God.
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Stand firm. Stand firm in it. So the theme of 1
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Peter is really suffering. And go with me just a chapter back. Notice in chapter 4 verse 16.
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Chapter 4 verse 16. Notice what it says. But if anyone suffers as a
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Christian. He is not to be ashamed. And what's he to do?
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Amen. Isn't that the chief end of man? Isn't that everything? We live for the glory of God.
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He is. But is to glorify God in this name. That would be the key.
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That is the theme of this whole book. Beloved. But also.
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There's another thing that runs right along with suffering. It's glory. It's glory.
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You know you got suffering just for a little while. But there's glory forever. There's glory.
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Glory. You see this in chapter 1. Notice verse 7 and 8.
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So that the proof of your faith be more precious than gold. Which is perishable even though tested by fire. May be found to the result in praise and glory.
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And honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Verse 11. Seeking to know what person or time the spirit of Christ within them.
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Was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ. And the glories to follow.
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Look at verse 21. Who through him are believers in God.
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Who raised him from the dead and gave him glory. So that your faith and hope are in God.
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It's all worth it. It's all worth it. Glory.
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Not only suffering but glory. One of the encouragements that Peter gives suffering saints.
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Is this blessed assurance that the suffering will one day be transformed into glory. The suffering is just temporary.
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It's not everlasting. I tell you what people should be worried and concerned about. An everlasting suffering in the torments of hell.
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You see they need to be thinking of that. To fear God and knowing that that is eternal folks.
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That is there's no second chances. Once a person is into the everlasting flames of torture and torment forever.
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But for the believer he only temporarily goes through the sufferings and tortures here.
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But he has God with him. Upholding him gracefully. And it's only for a short time.
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And then everlasting glory forever and ever and ever. No regrets.
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That's the way we should look at it. What is temporary and what is everlasting.
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We should get the right eternal perspective. So Peter gives to the persecuted church a message of hope.
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That's the hope. And by the way this is all in the gospel isn't it? Who provides this?
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Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ. He's gone before us. He suffered the torment of the cross.
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A slow horrible death and not only physically. He took on the whole wrath of God upon him.
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So Peter gives to the persecuted church a message of hope. Peter is preeminently the apostle of hope folks.
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Paul was the apostle of faith. John was the apostle of love. Peter is the apostle of hope.
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And as believers we have a living hope. Because we trust in the living Christ.
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This hope enables us to keep our minds and our hearts under the control of the hope to the end.
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And that's what we need. So we must not be ashamed of our hope of our blessed hope of the return of Jesus Christ.
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He's the hope of glory right? He's the hope of glory. That's what Paul says. But we must always be ready to explain and defend the hope that is in us.
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To give an answer. So as we study 1st Peter. We will see how the three themes of suffering, grace and glory unite, form and encourage a message for believers experiencing times of trials and persecution.
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The themes that are summarized in 1st Peter 5. And a verse we would do well to memorize.
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1st Peter 5 10. Let me say that again. I think I already quoted it. But again. After you have suffered for a little while.
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The God of all grace who called you. Notice that. Called you to his eternal glory in Christ.
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Will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. Isn't that beautiful?
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A good verse to memorize. So this confident hope gives to us encouragement.
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And enables us that we need daily. It does not put us in a rocking chair.
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Where we are complacent. Awaiting the return of Jesus Christ. No. No. It instead.
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It puts us in the marketplace. In the highways. In the byways. To compel people to come to Jesus.
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There's an urgency that we need. And on the battlefield. Where there's a war that's going on.
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And we're soldiers of Jesus Christ. Fighting the good fight of faith. Until the very end.
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Where we keep on going until the very end. When the burdens are heavy. And the battles are hard.
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We know that God is with us. Warren Wearsby said this.
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Hope is not a sedative. It's a shot of adrenaline.
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A blood transfusion. End quote. I like that. It's like an anchor of the soul.
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Because our hope is in Jesus Christ and Him alone. No one else. As a matter of fact.
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If our hope is in anything else. It's going to fail. It's sure to fail. But not
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Jesus. He's the boulder isn't He? Peter might have been the rock.
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A kind of like a pebble. A living stone on top of the boulder.
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But Jesus is that boulder. And Jesus Christ is the one that stabilizes us in the storm.
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Like the anchor. But unlike an anchor. Our hope moves us forward. And it does not hold us back.
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So it's not difficult to follow Peter's train of thought is it? Everything begins with salvation.
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We will see that flow of thought. Our personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If we know
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Christ is Lord and Savior. Then we have a living hope. And we have the hope until the end.
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When we can walk in holiness and love. I just got an outline.
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I don't have the commentary with me here. But actually I took a picture of it.
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Sent it to Brother Keith. I meant to get everybody a copy of it. I did that with James.
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But I'll do my best to do that. We'll see if we can get this copy to put out. But this is what we're going to be looking forward to studying.
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First of all, it's under the outline. And I get this from Pastor John MacArthur. I love his outline here.
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Suffering Christians, number one, should remember their great salvation. This is all the way from chapter 1 to chapter 2, verse 10.
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Secondly, it's broken up. Suffering Christians should remember their example before men. And suffering
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Christians should remember their Lord will return. Under suffering,
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Christians should remember their salvation. They will be looking at the certainty of their salvation. It is preserved by the power of God.
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It is proven by the trials from God. It was predicted by the prophets of God. Then there's the consequences of their salvation.
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The priority of holiness. There's the power of the Word. And there's the priesthood of believers.
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We'll be looking at that. And then under the suffering, Christians should remember their example before men.
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To live honorably before unbelievers. Submission in the civic realm. Submission in the workplace.
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And submission in the family. So submission is very important. So we'll see what the Word of God has to say about submission.
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And then it says living honorably before believers in chapter 3. And then living honorably in the midst of suffering.
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The principle of suffering for righteousness. The paragon for suffering for righteousness. And the purpose for suffering for righteousness.
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Then last, from chapter 4 to end of chapter 5.
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Suffering Christians should remember their Lord will return. The responsibilities of Christian living. The reality of Christian suffering.
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And the requirements for Christian leadership. And the realization of Christian victory. So there you have it.
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That's pretty much an outline of what we will be studying with the
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First Peter. Well, I'd like to close with just a quick application. Anytime there's suffering, it's going to be difficult.
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And this is far from us right now. But I would say, and I would encourage you to prepare. You know, right now at a time when we can, we should be digging in.
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Memorizing all the Scriptures. We can't hide God's Word in our heart. Praying, interceding.
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We should be laboring hard for the Kingdom. We should be evangelizing. We should be doing, being servants of the living
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God and reaching out. But when suffering does come, and when we suffer as Christians, what happens there?
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We identify more with Jesus Christ. We share His hardships. We share in the
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King's glory. That's why suffering is a privilege. You know, Elizabeth Elliot said this.
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She's with the Lord now, and she was such a wonderful, godly woman. But she said this.
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I remember her on the Christian radio broadcast when she spoke on Back to the
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Bible. And basically said, you know, Christians, count it normal to suffer.
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Because it's normal in the Christian life. When you are a true Christian, a true Christian will suffer.
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They will suffer. And she's right. It should be normal. It is normal.
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And we should look at it as normal. But suffering is also an opportunity to prove our faith. It's an opportunity to do what is right, even when we're wronged.
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Oh, how many times it glorifies God in the midst of suffering. Jesus Christ Himself set the example of suffering for us to follow.
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And the way we deal with persecution will bring our persecutors to glorify God. Isn't that amazing?
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So, when we do what is right, no matter what the circumstances,
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God is pleased. Excuse me. So let's close.
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Praise God. Lord, we thank
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You. We praise You. Lord, we want to love
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You more. Help us to see things from the eternal perspective.
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Lord, this life on this earth is so temporary. It's like a vapor.
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It's here for just a small time and it vanishes. Lord, we are called here, not for ourselves, but for You in Your holy name.
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And it's better if God should will it, as Peter said, to will it so that we suffer for doing what is right rather than doing what is wrong.
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For Jesus Christ died for our sins once and for all, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the
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Spirit. Lord, nothing compares to this. Lord, help us to see this.
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Lord, help us as we study this wonderful book together. Lord, give us a greater desire to love
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You even more so and love Your Word. See all the glories that's prepared for those that love
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You. Lord, should cause us all to examine our own self, to see whether we're in the faith.
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So much, so much before us. But oh Spirit of God, the
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Spirit of the truth, Lord, You're the great teacher. Just draw us closer to Yourself and to Your side, to the bleeding side of Jesus.
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Oh, how we thank You. We praise You that salvation is by faith alone in Jesus Christ.
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Nothing else is going to do and that leads us to obedience, the fruit, salvation. Thank You, Father, that You have laid hold of us.
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Thank You, Father, for this small group, redeeming grace. Lord, just be with us as we reach out.
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May we remember the great salvation that's before us, the great example, and may we not forget that You will return.
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May we keep these things ever before us for Your glory. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.