The Exile Commands

JD Greer, the Hebrew word for holy is the work – means literally take away your cut away from the water separated totally different. You seem weird to everybody around you now because your literally cut from a different cloth. You don't seem weird everyone around you is it possible that you're more like the world worked on your host Molly. Okay, so we may not be literally exiled. Right now like believers in the Bible sometimes found themselves can still relate to those early Christians were scattered today pastor JD shares a message from first Peter that speaks to us under these pandemic conditions being physically separated from our brothers and sisters in Christ we can still find hope and peace even in these circumstances, open your Bible to first Peter and let's get right into God's work first Peter what was written church was a letter to a church that 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 I your 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 house for a while. You feel alone together we endure. We want to come together and press into this, and hope that peters is unfolding for us last week we introduced the book by explaining the key identity in first Peter two Peter calls the people to whom he is writing exiles in exile as somebody from one place that is temporarily taking up residence in another, in exile, I explained, is nonimmigrant and immigrant wants to make their new place of residence. Their prominent home in exile is not like that they they they they may have to live in this new place for a while, but their heart still belongs to their home country. 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 should 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. If you live as an exile. You know what that means that you will be in the society you're living in 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. If you've been spending time with with lost people and they cannot tell that you're not from around here will also maybe or not. If someone would describe you in the word different doesn'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 21.

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 mind 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 you just 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 told him that the one catch was that we were all dressing up like Star Wars characters so you 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 and we're all just sit there in regular clothes.

He walked up they will. He's like anywhere your costumes were like gotcha now that's all fun and games but but showing up somewhere, dressed wrongly, could really hurt you if it's in the wrong situation you imagine friend asked you to come over and help and do some construction unusual thinking he's invited you do it do it 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 feet are 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 have no accountability was sent in their life and the and the floor was sent often, they treat sin in areas of compromise in their lives lightly. 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 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 am not sure exactly what it 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 larded 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 of 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. A 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 bathe 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. 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 in 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 I 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 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, Paul says here is 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. So yes, pray and ask God to bless you and take care of you now but but put your hope your hope exclusively and no in 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 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, to 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 evidence just find that that special person. The love of your life. You also an interview recently with the hip-hop start Drake what he said one of the most profound things about the 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.

I 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.

Maybe you thought that be light by others, was the key 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 and here's a guy who is literally the best that there ever was and did leave them the happiness that led into emptiness into it to an unsettled this that you can see come through these interviews, you assume 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, I declare 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 Petersons. 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.

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 to find your purpose of knowing Christ to be made like Christ and be with him one day command before his 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 date. Verse 15 but as 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 justice only perfect integrity holy perfect love. Now all attracted to those things right perfect justice, perfect beauty, perfect love. Who wants a government that is partially unjust. No girl wants to marry a guy that is only partially truthful or partially faithful or partially loving God is pure goodness and certain 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 a torturer person, injustice. You see something presented a movie or a documentary on cruelty or abuse for 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 – and it 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 is it possible that you're more like the world that you are 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 if your spending habits don't differ from everybody around you in big ways.

Again, you might be more like the world and you realize you know the book of Leviticus were Peter 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 orchid 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 right system. Our 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 could say what's because we serve a God who cares for the poor and 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 and 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 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 gopher vengeance or this avoid conflict and harbor grudges and gossip what Christ do we never saw vengeance. Often he confronted and always selflessly and impatiently, but he confronted him and 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. They can ask you what's what motivates you is to show 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 is weak, 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. Why are we to stand in all 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 is saying is, here's what you 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 that to make us stand in reference all 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 sin 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 remember 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 okay lastly Peter's last command number six is love extravagantly.

Verse 22 said you have 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 patients, 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 you and your codependent on somebody.

You can't get away love them you you you use 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 loves her 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's a 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. Peter's question to you is you found the soap that makes obedience of these commands easing 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 the promises to bear you up under all your troubles you will be your guide when you feel lost of your support and you feel broken help of your comforter when you feel overwhelmed as even speaking to you since Corning started as you been inviting you to come to him is he is he doing that now. Why not. When I give into that now and receive and allow God to be your guy lies your support when you feel broken.

Has he been speaking to you since the pandemic started inviting you to come nearer to him surrender to that right now if that's you would love to pray for you.

Just call us at 866-335-5220. I think it's safe to talk about Christmas. Now right and being only a few days away from Thanksgiving and were starting to put out our decorations were. We arty have them out and they remind us of the manger and baby Jesus that shepherds and angels. You probably have some of that to right JD yeah sure I mean… A manger scene.

Growing up, there is the something quaint about the manger scene in some of the moves our hearts and makes a smell sentiment thing about family, but really, you know there's there's deeper questions. One of things a lot about Christmas is there's a longing we experience.

Maybe it's a longing for a family to be put back together. Maybe it's longing for meaning in life is just one of those times. A God is built into our our calendar that reminds us that there really is more to life. So I wrote a book called searching for Christmas and basically it's an exploration of what God promises about his presence to us in very dark times we had a year that's been filled with a lot of darkness in this bogus export promises. It doesn't around the names that God gave to this Messiah that were common. And now he would be the wonderful counselor.

The everlasting father, the mighty God, the Prince of peace and what this means for your life love to give you two copies of his new book want to keep you want to give away during this holiday season.

You could reserve those@jdgreer.com you can see other things, there is good JD read, all that information is there like Pastor JD said we'd love to hear from you. To be sure to get in touch today so we can get you copies of Pastor JD's newest back, searching for Christmas when you give a donation today at $25 or more, actually copies of the one for you and went to giveaway this holiday for me to thinking bigger with a gift of $50.05 copies copies with the gift of $100 excited to get this but maybe Kansas this Christmas Alice right now at 865-8665 23 can get easily online.com and Molly that events invite you to join us again next more of our teaching theory together right here in Senate life