The Exile Commands

We are in a series right now called together we endure it as a study through the book of first Peter in the Bible New Testament. So grab your Bible and turn there if you have not yet I've fact if somebody there right there in your living room. If you're with other people.

If they don't have their Bible just look at them and shake your head in disgust and say just because Pastor can't see you that mean that you shouldn't have your Bible right so grab your Bible and let's talk for a minute while you're getting mad about the theme together.

We endure first Peter was was written to a church is a letter to a church that was going to an especially difficult time persecution had scattered them to regions all around the world. Miles away from their homes. The apostle Peter explains in first Peter how to endure in such situations in a key component of the fact is that they are to do this together people to whom Peter was writing more physically together, but they were united by a hope that bound them together even when they were isolated will of course that is true of us. Also, we may not be scattered like like they were around the world, but many of us are going through a difficult time of isolation and by the way, maybe your difficulty started long before the lockdown started I you're you're in a bad marriage or your job is just not going that well you got health problems. There's something that you're struggling with it just won't go away in your your problem just makes you feel isolated it out for a while. You feel alone together we endure.

We want to come together and press into this common hope that peters is unfolding for us recently. One of the coaches at the gym where I work out CrossFit United use this illustration. He said when I heard of towels.

Since is a storm coming, they run away from it scattering as they go. Of course, the storm always catches up with them because cows are not to to speedy and it's especially hard on them because because there now alone they were in the another alone buffalo. By contrast, when they sense storm coming, they instinctively do the opposite.

They huddled together and actually walk into the store.

I'm sure that their cow cousins think that they're crazy for walking the storm but but that gives them at least three advantages. First, it shortens the length of the storm for them because they are literally walking through it. Second, they find a fine additional protection from being huddled together.

Third, the first sticker on the front side than on the backside which gives them extra protection and extra warmth. Now I'm not sure I'll be honest about how that illustration supposed to motivate me to do more Burpee's but I know that it illustrates what were going after in first Peter together we endure. When I got a run away from his problems were in a press incident working to do it together all of the Christians armor is is designed to protect you when you engage the battle from the front. Now when you run away from it. Last week we introduced the book by explaining the key identity in first Peter, do you remember what that identity was a give you it is one of these for a believer, the exile, see beloved son or daughter, or the stupid sheep which one was it right your answer there in the comments are turnaround tells about your sit next to you at 10 seconds. Go give your answer. The correct answer is rent rhymes with textile that's right exile Peter calls the people to whom he is writing exiles in exile is somebody from one place that is temporarily taking up residence in another, in exile, I explained, is not an immigrant and immigrant wants to to make their new place of residence.

Their permanent home in exile is not like that they that they they may have to live in this new place for a while, but their heart still belongs to their home country and exiles also not a tourist or tortious passes through a new country with little concern about the people around them, maybe they have some sense of bemused curiosity, but that's it. Peter says we shouldn't be like tourist either. We are exiles we temporarily take up residence. We make our dwelling place in this new place that is not our permanent home. We care for, we invest in it, but we never lose our longing for true home we saw last week was this if you live as in exile, you know what that means that you will be in the society you're living in different you know exile is spelled in Greek WEIRD weird you are different. How can you not be different you are from a different place you speak a different native language all the different set of values as of this last week so let me say it again sensitively, but seriously, if you've been spending time with with lost people and they cannot tell that you're not from around here while I'm sick maybe you're not if somebody tells me that they grew up in eastern North Carolina but they don't say y'all and I don't care about college basketball leg emitting barbecue is gross.

I promise it well.

I doubt that you're actually from Eastern North Carolina. Either that or it's been so long that you completely forgot your roots. If someone would describe you in the word different didn't come out of their mouths. You got a legitimate reason to doubt your salvation. Have you actually been born into this new birth Peter talking about. I use these nine verses verses 13 to 20 want to give you the six commands that Peter gives to an exile number one is get dressed. Verse 13 therefore he says with your mind ready for action. Be sober minded with your minds ready for action.

The old King James version that I first memorize this verse and translated that verse is this, gird up your loins for action, which is literally what the verse would say in Greek. If he does, translated the words directly gird up your loins. In other words, get dressed for battle. You're showing up somewhere dressed totally wrongly when the last Star Wars came out, my family have one extra ticket so we invited one of our single student leaders to go to go with us. I will tell you his his initials but his name was Parker McGoldrick. I told him that the one catch was that we were all dressing up like Star Wars characters so he should also which of course we were dressing up like Star Wars characters. So he showed up at the restaurant and full Star Wars costume. We are all just sit there in regular clothes. He walked up to the table. He's like a where your costumes were like gotcha now that's all fun and games but but showing up somewhere dressed wrongly can really hurt you if it's in the wrong situation you imagine a friend asked you to come over and help and do some construction unusual thinking he's invited you do it due to a dinner party you got on your loafers and sweater vest.

What you really need is it our work boots and jeans.

The worst would be of course show up for battle dress for leisure your opponent is suited up with all kinds of gear or weaponry in your loins or girded about with a towel in your feeder shod with flip-flops. You wouldn't just feel silly in a moment like that you be putting yourself in mortal danger. Yet this is exactly what many Christians do when it when it comes to the spiritual things. Peter says that you still take the battle that seriously their lazy in their approach to Scripture. They rarely pray and plead for God's strength in situations that they're undergoing through they don't take temptation seriously and they have no accountability was sin in their life and the and the floor was sent often, they treat sin in areas of compromise in their lives lightly here. The bad thing with most sin is not the action itself.

It's that you give Satan a foothold into your life. By the way, I know that I'm talking to somebody out there right now that it is entertaining the sin right now you're in compromise you're looking at porn you're in a relationship that your godly friends are all worried about your start in a relationship that that's wrong or you're doing something unethical.

Whatever I I'm not sure exactly what is. But you've given a foothold to the devil and he is going to destroy you with it.

I'm telling you from the Holy Spirit do not play around. That's what Peter is saying you need to have your minds girded with you your heart started with with truth. There is a lot of Christian parents that don't take seriously the battle that is going on for their kids arts. I don't care if your kids are in public school, private school homeschool God hold you, the parent responsible for the shaping of their hearts. That's never something you give away to somebody else he's holding us responsible to protect our kids from the lies that the enemy is trying to seduce them with Peter is going to say and in chapter 5 that Satan walks about in our society like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Listen. If I knew that there were some kind of predator on the loose in my neighborhood and I let my kids go out completely unsupervised. How would I not be considered a delinquent parent. Listen to far more dangerous enemy than any sexual predator is hunting your child in mind that predator's name Satan and he is using the winsome lies of the culture to destroy them. Petersons wake up and get dressed. Close your mind and Scripture bade your heart and prayer. The second command in that the second part of that verse.

If you look there is lift your eyes, set your hope.

Peter says completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, that we spent a lot of time last weekend. I'm talking about this, but Peter is urging us to set our hope exclusively on what God has promised to us as our eternal inheritance and what is that you recall that we will know Christ that we will be like Christ and that one day we get to be with Christ in a place where there's no more crying and were pain and all sad things, untrue.

Peter says, set your hope completely on those promises don't cut it or water it down with anything you ask, how do Christians watering down what they set their hope for their happiness on on other things that God needs to provide for them. In order for them to be happy. I'm glad I know Christ you might say I'm glad I is making me be like Christ but have the promise to be with him one day. But I also really really need you to provide me with with good health with good kids.

Great marriage, lots of money and then when God doesn't come through with one of those things we accuse God of letting us down. But let me just ask you to consider what you feel like God has to provide for you.

In addition to the promise to know Christ to be like Christ and to be with Christ. What else does he have to provide for you in order to fulfill his promise to you and I before I I I teach on this any further when we just take one minute. Once you answer this question for yourself. Once you reflect on writing down, tell it to somebody sitting around you.

What ever figure out what that thing is what has to happen in your life for you to feel like God loves you and is keeping his promise to you. Okay now that you know what that is what you consider this but a lot of things I want God to provide for me. I hope he gives me health. I hope that he gives me success my job.

I even ask him to give me prosperity financially and in God is a good good father. So I anticipate that he may give me a lot of these things but my hope my hope is exclusively in knowing Christ it's been made like Christ to me with Christ. And so if in God's sovereign plan. I do without some of those things that I would love for him to give me or I suffer. I can still be satisfied because my hope is in whom God is for me and what he is doing in me and through me in a Christians love the verse Romans 828 we know that God's promise to work all things together for good to them that love God, who are called according to his purpose. Just ask what is that purpose will Paul answers the question of the next verse, you know, sometimes I want to do a series on the great verses that come right after the great versus we memorize a lot of verses that we memorize in the next verse actually explains the real meaning of the verse that that we gravitate toward this is one of those cases. Paul says here's God's purpose.

Here's the good thing that he's pursuing in all these things, those that God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. His purpose is for you to know Christ and to be made like Christ. That is how all these things are working together for good. Lots of persons memorize Romans 828 all things work together for good part but I don't want to memorize the next verse which tells you that the good purpose of God is after and everything in your life and that is to make you know Christ to his image.

So yes, pray and ask God to bless you and take care of you now but but put your hope your hope exclusively in knowing Christ and be made like Christ to be with Christ, and if in a particular season that is. That's all that he gives you. You can be satisfied with that. Here's command number three don't look back. Here's what he says. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance before you came to Christ. Your life aspirations arose out of a wrong way of looking at the world. Peter says, calls them the desires of your former ignorance wrong desires that grew out of wrong ways of looking at the world you fought for example, the making lots of money would make you happy. And then if you saw the people who made the most money didn't seem to be the happiest or maybe thought romance was a key ever. This just find that that special person.

The love of your life. You also an interview recently with a hip-hop start Drake where he said one of the most profound things about the human human. So here's what he said there was a point where I felt like I needed to keep the company of a different woman every night.

It was trying to fill a void in those moments after sex. I know that it wasn't working. There's quiet moments are the realist moments that a man will ever have in his life. The next day I would commit myself to do it again. But during that time. I always knew it when working in summer thing Matt Dillon on Saturdays at the Hollywood stories of most hardwood people or relationship junkies you get you get high off a new relationship like a drug and then you crash off of it and so you go from one it to the next. Maybe you thought that being liked by others, was the key.

So here I'm reminded of what Katie Peary said last year, and Instagram hundred million digital singles and still insecure or maybe thought you'd find this by being the best you like everybody else. Right now I'm watching the Michael Jordan documentary on the last dance it. Here's a guy who is literally the best that there ever was and did leave them to happiness. It led into emptiness into it to an unsettled list that you can see come through these interviews you assumed maybe that that life with you in charge which is gonna make you happy but something woke you up to the fact that it just wasn't true. Or maybe, maybe this consider the cross of Jesus Christ is true, then the way of rebellion against God leads only to doubt that's what the cross shows you real life is is found only from the resurrection. And so, we realize that you turned your back on yourself will way of living and you surrender to Christ.

You demonstrated that by being baptized by declaring that you will be buried to your old way of living in, and raised to new life in Christ.

What Peter is recognizing is that even after that profession of faith and even after that realization, that moment even after that conversion your baptism. It's it's easy to fall back into those old ways of thinking you.

For example you set some unhappiness or your your your discontented and in the first impulse you have is I just needs more money that will be okay. How did he do different living situation.

I need to get vengeance on somebody in Peter says. Remember, you recognize once that doesn't work, don't go back where you were. You were buried by baptism into death to those old things don't go back there.

Those old desires came out of ignorance about 10 years ago I developed in an acid reflux problem that kept me up throughout the night with a really upset stomach.

I didn't know it was acid reflux.

I assume it was something only babies God. So I just assumed it was an upset stomach that came from eating too much meat or too much spicy food before bed. I just thought I needed to eat something else right before bed to settle my stomach and popcorn yogurt felt right. So I just ate that every night literally every night. It made sense to me. It's what my stomach desired. I did that for a few months and of course eating those things was not really helping the problem. It was just making me gain weight will later when I went to the doctor. He told me what the real problem was and he gave me a prescription for it not cured it immediately.

Now at night if I feel I have an upset stomach. I I shouldn't go back to the popcorn yogurt.

I know better now right you had desires that came from wrong ways of thinking about the emptiness in your heart, Peter says, don't go back your old way of ignorance. Don't assume I just need more money. I just need out of this marriage. I just need to get married. I just need to get even with this person. If you're unhappy. Press into the hope of knowing Christ is will the cross and resurrection show you about happiness and purpose that they are you to find your purpose of knowing Christ to be made like Christ and be with him one day. Hey, why don't we just take a minute and endless confess this to God. I want to put your little prayer the screen. I want you to take a minute and you write it out or calling out. Okay God forgive me for continually running back to you. Fill in the blank command. Number four is be weird. Now some of you have instinctively been obeying this command from birth and you don't need any kind admonition what I'm talking about a different kind of weird cake verse 15 but is the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all of your conduct were 16 for it is written, be holy because I am holy. Quoting from Leviticus 11 holiness.

Holiness that is a strange word for most Americans and to be totally honest, it's not very attractive to most Americans. Because the word conjures up images of something sterile and boring bright white colorless light or maybe sanctimonious, pious, prudish religiosity that is no fun. But think of holiness as wholeness, WHO, LEM ESS, which is actually where we get the English word holiness. Holiness is holy, perfect goodness holy perfect just as wholly perfect integrity holy perfect love.

Now all attracted to those things right perfect just as perfect beauty, perfect love. Who wants a government that is partially unjust.

No girl wants to marry a guy that is only partially true for partially faithful or partially loving God is pure goodness insert things like injustice and impurity and deception are repulsive to him.

Habakkuk 113 says that that God is of such pure eyes that he cannot even behold evil doesn't mean that evil is is invisible to him. It means he can't look on evil with neutral emotion and think about watching something that you find repulsive torturer person, injustice. You see something presented a movie or a documentary on cruelty or abuse or the damages of marital infidelity or racial injustice, and you just just can't watch and and and feel neutral you react viscerally. That's what God is like with all unholiness and Peter is telling us to to be like God and that the Hebrew word for holy is the work I – means literally to cut away your cut away from the world you're separated you're totally different.

You seem weird to everybody around you now because your literally cut from a different cloth. So again I will say to you if you don't seem weird everyone around you it possible that you're more like the world your God, is it possible that you're not actually born again that you're still a member of the world's family and not actually a member of God's if you are holy.

If you're separated, it's going to show up in indifferences. Let me ask financially.

Are you out of sync with this world. You explain this before, but if you're doing with your money what God says to do your to be at least three steps behind the people who make the same amount of money that you do. Let me explain. The average person in the triangle carries they say about $15,000 in unsecured credit card debt God tells us as much as possible to live without debt.

So for following God's counsel were not spending above our income for the latest TVs are nice cars are going to the best vacations. God also tells us to give away at least the first 10% to him which of course the world doesn't do and he also tells us to save wisely, which again you think of is about 10%, which also most people do not do if you do those three things a Bible tells you to do with your money. That put you at least three steps behind everybody else who makes the same amount of money as you do money telling that's noticeable you drive a different car you to go on a different level vacation you can live in a different different kind of house you wear different clothes. If your spending habits don't differ from everybody around you in big ways. Again, you might be more like the world than you realize you have reason to question if you're actually a citizen of heaven with the new birth, you know, the book of Leviticus repeaters quoting from with this command to be holy. God commanded the Israelites to leave the edges of their field unharvested there only to harvest the middle of the field and leave the edges easily accessible for the pores of the pork and could glean from those sections for themselves and eat not nobody else in the ancient world did that farmers in those days would like most business owners today try to ring out every last cent of profit from their yield rights of smart business but God wanted Israel to be different so that when foreigners would walk past Israelite fields, they would say hey why did you harvest the edges and then they can say what's because we serve a God who cares for the board shares with them in and we do also listen to be wealthy is not to be simple but you need to have edges you have bigger fields you can harvest more, but you should also have bigger edges sexually.

Are you out of sync with the world. Always love the words here. St. Augustine is a Christians are our most out of sync with the world in their relationship with three things, money, power and sex. The world is stingy with his money and and and with its power, but it is promiscuous and it sucks.

Christians, by contrast, are promiscuous with her money and power, which means it is given away, but but they're very guarded with their sex you even you sort stingy meeting that is just reserved for one person, which is the exact opposite of the world. We do that see because we know that sex represents a love like God's love for you.

Give yourself entirely to somebody so so that's reflected in how we approach sex that we know that our resources are to be used like Jesus is. Which means that there poured out to bless and help others to work crazy generous with our money are you out of sync with the world how you handle your anger or frustration. How do people the world handle their anger with a rage or the go for vengeance or this avoid conflict, harbor grudges and gossip what Christ do we never saw vengeance. Often he confronted and always selflessly and impatiently, but he confronted in the for gave and moved on.

He kept no record of wrongs. Peterson be holy be so separate and how you act that people notice the difference. You can get into this in chapter 3 didn't ask you what's what motivates you is to assure that you have a different hope in a different judge in a different a different perspective on life and everybody around you, so much so that they ought to have to ask okay command number five or 17 stand amazed. If you appeal to the father who judges impartially according to each one's work, you are to conduct yourselves in reference by the way many translations there was a fear which is literally what the Greek says there you will live and in fear during your time as strangers literally what he is saying there in Greek is live in fear which sounds like the opposite of what we usually say the gospel message, as we say upper shot. Perfect love casts out fear. That's true right but the best way to think of fear here is not in contradiction to that. It's think of it is all which is why that the CSB translators of road that way. Why are we to stand in awe of Peter says because we serve a God who judges impartially. Everybody is to be judge fully and impartially based on what they did and why they did.

Nobody's getting away with injustice. God is not a respecter of persons. But Peter goes on verse 18 for you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold. Verse 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb. What Peter saying is usually stand in all the same God who will judge everybody impartially gave Christ for you to satisfy God's judgment against you. Though our deeds and our motives were bad like everybody else's and God was not shown as partiality. God redeemed us by suffering judgment in our place to save us. It cost God something in minutes he didn't save us through some trifling gesture of a wave of the wind or the uttering of a spell or a set of rules that he is dictated for us to follow to purchase our salvation. He had to give his own son to be cursed and humiliated and tortured in our place and to make us stand in reference all I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, I wonder how he could love me, a sinner, condemned unclean see from his head his hand his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down there. Such love or sorrow meter joy compose a richer crown were the whole realm of nature mine, that will be a present far too small. Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all I King David said that the same thing this way in Psalm 130. He says there is forgiveness with you all. God, that you may be feared but usually they will forgiveness means you don't have to fear but begins talking about all their same think Peter is talking about meditating on the price of our salvation. Think about how great the judgment of God was against us. How right that judgment was how much God paid to redeem us. That ought to make a stand and wonder of God and to make us afraid from ever being apart from him again and make us stand and all the treasure that he is now given us its fear and all, but it's is a confident fear of fear of what your life would be like without God in all how secure you are with him the price of our forgiveness makes us stand in awe, there is none like our God, there is none besides him. He is worthy of all the praise we could ever bring to him. So what we just pause and just declare through song. Our great joy in God and then will come back really briefly for Peter's final command C and praying that a man name and and and and and that man all is you and me being me the name of an and and and you on and you me and okay lastly Peter's last command number six love extravagantly. Verse 22 said you purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth so that you show sincere.

Brotherly love for each other from pure heart. Love one another constantly.

The last command that he gives us is to love. We do that because were part of a new family are united by common salvation and a common hope. The gospel gives us remarkable ability to love people the gospel gives us patience. For example, the flaws of others because we recognize in the gospel that we had a bunch of flaws of her own. When Jesus saved us and for gave us the gospel frees us from the tyranny of meeting other people to be happy so that we can stop using them and start loving them. Humans are codependent on somebody. You can't get away love them you you you use them when you need somebody else to recognize you so that you can find meaning in their admiration that cause you to be nice and kind and good to go recognize your goodness for that means that you're not nice and kinda good out of your own goodness or you're doing it because you want to win their affection and that's that selfish your good deeds are serving you.

Not not loving them when you need to be the best in order to feel valuable. That put you always in competition with everybody else. You can't love them because you're competing with them for a sense of self-worth. The gospel gives you the ability to love it makes you completing God so that you can be free to love others. It shows you patience and love so that you are compelled to show it to others.

We can love John says because he first loved us. So there are six exile commands obedience to all these commands flows out of the hope in this imperishable inheritance.

Obedience is fueled by our hope in Christ. Look at the last verses in this chapter. Verse 24 brawl flesh, he says, is like grass all its glory like a flower of the grass. The grass withers, the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever that the quote from Isaiah 40 everything LCC and we live for the fate every other hope every foundations got trouble. But Christ, Peter says Christ is eternal.

His love went farther for us than anybody else ever gone for us is it is love will endure longer than everything else on earth will endure compared to his love even the most permanent things on earth are like the grass that appears one week and it banishes the next Peter's question to you is you found this hope that makes obedience of these commands easy.

I think a number of you have had your foundations rocked in the last few weeks.

Maybe God has finally got your attention for some of you will tell you he's trying to get your attention. The greatest invitation ever given came from the lips of Christ, he said, in the me all you who labor and just feel heavy laden, and crushed by that the way the world and I I will give you rest. If you give your life to him. He can forgive your sin he can give you new life and new birth eat.

He promises to bear you up under all your troubles you will be your guide when you feel lost will be your support. When you feel broken help will be your comforter when you feel overwhelmed as even speaking to you since Corning started as you been inviting you to come to him as is he doing that now. Why not. When I give into that now and receive an invitation to before we sing and just declare our our hope in Christ before we worship.

Could you take a minute just pray with me right now with your head bowed. If you if you know God is been drawing you and you want to surrender your life to him say God I'm ready to give my life fully to you say to them in your own words. I receive the offer of salvation and forgiveness of sins that you purchase for me in Jesus saved you in your own words. I receive your offer of salvation, and I surrender my life to you. Thank you Jesus, thank you for saving me. Hey listen, if you pray that would you let us know just prayer@summitrtu.com. Let us know you made that decision would love to follow up with you