This broadcaster has 792 podcast archives available on-demand.
Keep up-to-date with this broadcaster on social media and their website.
July 25, 2022 12:00 am
Welcome to the intense podcast for Monday, July 25 you influencing the answer everyone you meet.
Let's continue to study and first Peter to see how your life contributes to someone else's understanding of God, how much influence do you have all the people you will have influence all whose life is your life influencing is it a good influence or baobab influence someone to look at this passage on the theme of the power of a godly influence that listen to what Peter is saying writing these people now who are undergoing persecution already getting read to heat up on them, and a whole theme of this book is living triumphantly through trials and they are entering them and they are deciphering them and it's getting ready to increase and so he says as a caution of them. First of all, he says here's the first challenge. Beloved urge you, as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly loss, which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles of the pagans. The unbelievers, so that in the thing which they slander you as evildoers which they were already doing.
They may, on account of your good deeds as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. So the first challenge is the challenge here of separation listen. He says I urge you, as aliens and strangers abstain from fleshly loss. Now what is the nature of the separation they were to experience, he says you to abstain from fleshly loss now. Oftentimes, we want to categorize that merely as some form of sexual lust. But look, if you will, in Galatians chapter 5 because this is the work of lost. This is the flesh when he says in verse 19 of the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are immorality, impurity and sensuality idolatrous sorcerer and enmities, strife, jealousy, outburst of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, Indian drunkenness and carousing, so when he says, abstain from fleshly lust, which wage war against the soul that is from anything that we talk about fleshly lust, fleshly lust, which wage war against the soul. What is the flesh, but merely the lifestyle, for example, if a person is living a fleshly life they are living a life that is characterized as life without God. That is when you living a spiritual life. We talk about a life that is the result of the overflow of the spirit of God within us so that we could go back to fleshly kind of life we are attempting to live the kind of life we live before we had gotten live so he said undergoing persecution. People watching you, these are the first challenge is to abstain from fleshly lust which war against the soul waging war that is Satan. All of his forces are waging war against the soul of that does not mean just one segment of Mama the truth here is he's talking about your whole life your body your soul your spirit, your mind, you will your emotions, all of it that is Satan is waging war that is it isn't something we just fall into happened face once in a while he says that there is a force. There is a power there is one who is literally and determinedly waging war against us.
He says abstain from those fleshly loss, which he says wage war against the Soviets. The private life of us that listen verse 12 here's the public part. He's is not only abstain from fleshly lust, but guard your behavior. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, the unbelievers, so that in the process of doing so in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may, on account of your good deeds as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. Now what we have to remember is this that in the society in which they lived as Christians. It was totally unlike our society and sometime one of the reasons we have difficulty interpreting the word of God correctly is because what we do is take the passage and put into our society and interpreted no way to interpreted in the society which was written and then take the principal and apply to our own society which I want to do here in a passage that may give you little different perspective on something.
So when he says when they slander you as an evildoers now what they were saying was not true but that's missing. That's the way the unbelieving world so when they slander you as evildoers. He says you are to so live in such a fashion that only account of your good deeds as they observe them they will glorify God in the day of visitation out that word visitation here. Some people translate that when Jesus comes, but I really believe you could equally translate that are to interpret that rather demean that on account of your good deeds they may observe them and glorify God in the day that they are confronted with the gospel and their say now what did Jesus say in the sermon on the Mount. He says let your light so shine before men that they may see your what and glorify whom your father which is in heaven. So Peter say listen in these days of persecution and you being slandered from every direction. All the things they're accusing you up, he said. First of all, you keep your private life like it ought to be and your public life you guard that so that when they slander you on account of the good that they see you do your good is going to prove their slander incorrect, evil, untrue, and as a result, they're going to end up glorifying God begin say so that he says in these slanderous days these days of persecution, we have an awesome opportunity to greatly influence the unbeliever because it is what happens is almost as if God does it this way since the righteous up what was the unrighteous attack and they attack and they attack now if the righteous are able to respond correctly what happens is this they attack and attack and attack and attack, and before long was happening they become one of us so he says now when they attack you. You don't fight back you let them say anything they want to say anything they want to do, but by your good deeds. They go to see them and before long you will overcome them. You see whenever God's people live godly lives, we can let the world say anything they want to say do anything they want to listen, the more the attack is what happens the more contact we have with it and we will, the more they attack us, the more contact we have and the more they attack us, the more they intricately look into our lives to watch and the more they see of godly conduct and of righteous behavior and father begin realizing themselves that they're not telling the truth.
The more that they do, the more susceptible they are to get say so what should we do but praise God when persecuted, praise the Lord because when we are attacked. We have our greatest opportunity to influence for godliness. Those are attacking us and so this is what Peter saying he says don't get discouraged. He's is the more they hate you. The more they attack you listen. They may, on account of your good deeds as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. So first of all the challenges the challenge the separation separation unto a godly life in the end result is highly influencing them for God.
Now a second way we exercise that influence is the challenge here. The challenge of submission look in verse 13, submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, now to governments, for example, children not to submit in the home. Was it a submit in the home with a submit in the church to those whom God has placed in authority over spiritually to the government authority. In this day is is highly in question. For example, speaking to two or three schoolteachers is what they said this past week is so much more difficult to teach school today than it was 30 years ago and the problem is not the children cannot learn they can learn just as fast and often times faster. The problem is and in the learning ability of the children. It is in the lack of discipline that lack of respect for authority, and so we have a generation of children today who say I don't have to obey you, and we have a generation of parents who are worse to say to the principle of the teachers that's right my kid doesn't have to obey. So we have a society that is reaping the rewards of a humanistic approach the life it says there is no God, man is sufficient within himself. Therefore, we have the right to rebel against what we don't like and we have the right to gratify all of our desires all about fleshly desires and it's nobody's business. How we live, but ourselves. I'm here to tell you.
Society is getting unfit to live in and it is the result of rebellion and when you have rebellious parents listen when rebellious parents rebel against God. What they do but they grow up children who are rebellious against them.
And since they don't want to assume responsibility rebellious to listen about the school for the public schools or private screws and then rebel in the schools and listen since mom and dad not in the habit of submitting to authority that you will not used to submitting to authority and when somebody wants the disciplined and in some fashion. Don't mess with my kids as if they're protecting the children what to do. New term is not protecting them but destroying them what they're saying by their example, their lack of authority they're saying there is no authority son and daughter, do what you please insist on. If someone doesn't like it will mom and dad are going to protect Beverly like another that's a society we got the school to listen problem of the folks of this company to be prayed for as much as anybody in the world. Schoolteachers imagine walking into a room of six. The rebels on Monday morning who know that authority is in great question and they don't have to do anything they don't want to do that. Thank God for godly strong principals and teachers who don't put up with what will come from has always been that way. No when they close this book. No Jesus and no Bible what you have is the natural outflow of no authority you have rebellion and anarchy and so that's what we're facing. Peter said to those undergoing persecution.
It's not enough for you to be challenged to abstain from fleshly lust in your private life, it is enough. You have to guard your behavior daily among the people around whom you live, but he says there's something else you must submit yourself to the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a keying as one authority onto governors, that is as sent by him. That is the key for the punishment of evildoers in praise of those who do right, so God is acknowledging authority and he chooses that you not acknowledge a card and I want to look at something when he says submit yourselves the Lord's sake to every one of these know what is a meatless like this in the in the day which it was written in those days there was one count of authority. What was the keying all the Emperor and they were absolute dictators.
They had final of sovereign authority over their particular domain so they could do is yield and submit. Now is what you not have to remember oftentimes we read these passages and we say will that's exactly what it means for us to date now to some degree, that's true.
But there's another side of that on the top of the side that says I am to yield to those in authority over me on till they require me to violate a principle of Scripture and then I choose not to adhere to the government authority and assume the penalty without rebelling and without being critical. That's true ballistic of the sadness in our society we do not have a dictatorial form of government in America we have a president we have senators and representatives, and so that the truth is, all of us are involved in the rule of this nation. We do not have one man who has final and ultimate unquestionable editorial authority, sovereign authority over America. We don't have anybody like that. So when he says will yield ourselves to authority.
We are to submit to the rules and the laws of the land, but as a Christian I have another responsibility not only to yield to authority, but I have a responsibility to get involved in the authority making process. I have a responsibility to get involved in the lives of those men and influencing godly men in places of authority so that they will make the rules and pass the laws listen not only a group of the whole nation but protect our rights of freedom and worship in this country. So you see, as I believe I can just walk back and say well you know my Christian responsibilities just to submit to authority whatever the president says whatever Congress as one of the mayor says one of the government says that is my responsibility but I have another responsibility. I think it is equally as much required that you and I who have the right in this nation to be a part of making godly laws we get involved and we motivate and we pray that God will raise up godly men in places of authority to pass laws that are in keeping with the word of God. I think of all the knowledgeable Christian men and women who have the courage to do what needs to be done.
Sitting in church pews, listening to sermons, they all be an exhibitor authority Fran if we submit, we need to get involved and be a part of the process and you don't do that 30 days before a presidential election is start getting involved now. Now he says submitting to authority analysis verse 15, for such is the will of God. What's the will of God that we submit to those in authority over us, what's the will of God, such as the will of God, that by doing right you put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. He was saying to them by submitting to the authority of those above them we he says we put to know these slanderous statements made by these foolish men because when they look to lessee than we had godly men and women submitting to those who are in authority above us, such as the will of God was the will of God that you and I submit, and we get this is because we have the opportunity as salt and light because every single one of us has info just I don't have any influence. You see, you do have influence, but the issue is are you exercising that God given influence that you have always it lying dormant in the most people is like don't but I tell you this.
I thank God that that's much of everybody. He says not act as free men know you're under authority to act as free men do not use your freedom as a covering for evil that is with to be free, but that does not give us the right to be rebellious but use it as a bondslave of God that is under the leadership of Almighty God, we are to be free they were to be free in that in that sovereign society a dictatorship.
One man had the right to execute or not to execute the end, sovereign domain, as it were. He says you not to live like freemen on the submission to the rules and principles that God is given to us as bondslave's of God our submission. First of all is to the Lord God pieces written by our conduct, which honor all men with to love the brotherhood, the Christian brother. We are to fear God in which honor the king that is our behavior is to be above reproach and is as it is above reproach. Here's what he says will happen.
He says in verse 15 will be put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. He says in verse 12. As we live our lives submissive to him that on account of our good works that the unbelievers will observe these good works and minimal get converted so that in the society in which Peter was writing. He says these days of persecution are days of tremendous powerful opportunity to enter influence for good. Those who are evil. Someone asked again whose life is your life influencing is it for good is it for evil does your life carry with it, and influence.
That's ongoing with eternal consequences for good. All you trying to sort of wrap yourself up in a cocoon and you just don't want to get involved in anything. Did you know that that in itself is a bad influence PC as as as believers we can have one or two kinds of influence. Everybody does it to be good is not going to be good at all. Jesus said you are the salt of the earth.
You are the light of the world is replace the Bible where he says put your light out zero say that no does he ever say crawl back in the boxes salt close the lid doesn't say that he says that you not to so live that men may see the fruits of our labors, and as a result not look at us, but look at God and move the same God who is transformed our life. Using very soberly about the power of your influence its reach its depth and the effect is having. Thank you for listening to the power of godly inflaming.
If you like to know more about Charles Stanley for intense ministries that intense tantalizing back after the presentation, intense ministries Atlanta, Georgia