This is a sermon that continues in our Devotional: Becoming a People of Overflow, SURPRISE! 1 Peter You can watch more here.
This morning, we are continuing through a new series called “Surprise!” 1 Peter is a letter
in the New Testament written to a people who were experiencing ups and downs in life.
These people were living under an unjust government with Nero as the Emperor of Rome.
They had been run out of their homes in Jerusalem. They were wrestling with the question,
“What does it look like practically to be a follower of Jesus?”
God’s Word teaches us when we become a Christian it isn’t because we start going to
church. God’s Word teaches us we become a Christian when we believe in Jesus’ life, death
and resurrection.
In that moment we were dead in our sin and through faith in Jesus we are made alive. We
are reborn. We are made new, but what does that look like practically to be a follower of
Jesus today?
If you look at our culture today we have one group of people telling us if you are a follower
of Jesus you are a Republican. You are MAGA. You love guns. You love the constitution.
You love America and Jesus!
We have another group of people who are saying, “If you are a follower of Jesus you are a
Democrat!” You are progressive. You care about people. You have compassion. You care
for the poor.
And we have both sides yelling at us “This is what Jesus would do” so that today it’s easy to
get confused. It’s easy to become indifferent. It’s easy to think, “Well, if this is Christianity,
I’ll pass.” Anyone else feel that tension? (Raise hands)
Well, the New Testament is literally written under the oppressive government of the
Roman Empire. 1 Peter is literally written to a people’s whose world is being turned
upside down by an oppressive government, and God’s Word doesn’t call us to anarchy, but
instead on the individual heart of the person.
It doesn’t mean we don’t get involved politically. It just means our involvement politically
might look different for different people, and this morning we will see what it looks like for
the individual person. Let’s look at verse 13:
1 Peter 1:13, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope
completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Verse 13 begins with a “therefore” and it is a literary word to throw our attention back to
the previous verses that we talked about last Sunday.
Last Sunday we walked through verses 1-12 to see the Apostle Peter describe this great
salvation we have been given in Jesus.
I love it because Peter walked with Jesus, spent time with Jesus, saw Jesus’ life, saw Jesus’
resurrection, and in verses 1-12 it’s like Peter is just going off on the glory of God made
known through Jesus.
In verse 13 it’s like Peter uses that “therefore” to transition us into what it looks like
practically to live out this “glorious faith in Jesus.” Does that make sense? Verses 1-12 is all
theology. Verse 13 is doxology, what it looks like practically to live out our faith in Jesus.
Listen to me, the order of this letter is important, because if God’s Word starts off with the
description of “what it looks like practically to live out our faith in Jesus” then our faith in
Jesus just becomes a list of rules of do’s and dont’s. It’s not.
Before Jesus we are dead in our sin and spiritually separated from God, but through faith in
Jesus’ life, death and resurrection we are made alive, so that verses 1-12 are the glorious
gospel made known, and then in verse 13 we start to see the practical. Does that make
sense?
Therefore, prepare your minds for action! In those days, men and women wore flowing
robes, so when it came time to run you would tuck up robe into your belt to get ready,
therefore, God’s Word says, “Lock in with your mind!”
It’s great to have emotion. It’s great if you “feel” something emotional this morning, but
feelings only take us so far. Our feelings are up and down, but our faith in Jesus moves us to
think.
It’s like our passage last Sunday where Peter writes, “The Old Testament prophets made
careful searches and inquires with the mind” so that God’s Word is teaching us to think as
we put our thoughts on things above and not on things below, so that we aren’t tossed too
and fro but firmly rooted and established in Him. It starts with our thoughts!
This is why we teach through God’s Word verse by verse. There are 66 books in the Bible;
Old and New Testament. 40 different authors from all walks of life. Three different
languages. Three different continents. Written over a period of 1500 years, and it all
points to Jesus.
The Old Testament is talking about a Savior to come. The New Testament is talking about a
Savior that did come and will come again, therefore, we want to “lock in” on God’s Word,
learn how to study God’s Word, memorize God’s Word, so as to “prepare our minds for
action!” Look at verse 13 again:
1 Peter 1:13, “Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit…
Remember, God’s Word is teaching us what it looks like practically to live out our faith in
Jesus. The phrase “sober in spirit” means we are putting ourselves in places to be
spiritually alert because everything around us, seen and unseen, is intentionally trying to
make us spiritually dull.
The word “sober” is an interesting word because it means to be “judicious.” It means that
we are learning how to critically think and evaluate. Sometimes people will say, “Being a
follower of Jesus” means you are dumb and just believe anything, but God’s Word is
teaching just the opposite.
What if God was real? It’s easy to say, “I think we’re just atoms who spontaneously
combusted into complex organism.” But, what if God was knowable?
It’s easy to say, “I think love is just an illusion of two people having a chemical reaction.”
But, what if the greatest example of love is demonstrated at the cross?
What if the beauty of creation spoke of His wonder? What if humanity was created and
designed for a purpose? How do you not consider the difference this makes on a person’s
life?
Our culture says, “When you die, that’s it, so that nothing you do in this life really makes
any difference.” And then we wonder why people are so depressed?
What if you’re eternal, and everything you do in life matters? God’s Word doesn’t want you
to drift into mindless followers. God’s Word invites us into thinking about the deepest
parts of life, so that any culture, any language, at any point in history can know Him and live
for Him. Amen? Look at verse 13 one more time:
1 Peter 1:13, “…fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation
of Jesus Christ.”
Again, remember, God’s Word is answering the question, “What does it look like practically
to be a follower of Jesus?” At the end of verse 13 we see God’s Word pointing us to “fix our
hope completely on the grace to be brought to you.”
Remember the Apostle Peter is writing to a people who have just had their world turned
upside down. They are living in a foreign land. They are overwhelmed by the ups and
downs of life and God’s Word is saying, “Fix your hope on His grace!” Circle that word
“grace.”
Grace is a biblical word that means we are getting what we don’t deserve. (Repeat) In
those moments in life of ups and downs we start focusing on the chaos, right? MAGA is
crazy. Libtards are crazy. Economy is collapsing. World is ending! Right?
We are focusing on everything going wrong, and God’s Word is lifting our eyes to focus on
His “grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” God’s Word is lifting our
eyes off the chaos!
Let the gospel wash over you! There’s coming a day when Jesus is going to return. Jesus is
going to take account of all the injustice in the world. Justice is going to roll down like a
mighty stream! Jesus is going to make all things new, so that when we are getting spun out
with anxiety, worry, and fear God’s Word is saying, “Lock in, sober up, fix your head and
heart on Him!”
The circumstances of the day are always up and down! Our stability in life can’t come from
the headlines. Our confidence can’t come from a romantic relationship. Even my wife, I
love her, she’s amazing, but I can’t anchor my soul in her or my job or my country!
Therefore, God’s Word says, “Fix your hope on His grace!”
Chapter one, verse one. He chose you before the foundation of the world. He’s called you
out of darkness to walk in His marvelous light. He took on death for you. He conquered
death for you. He’s coming again. Trust in Him! Look at verses 14-16:
1 Peter 1:14-16, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were
yours in your ignorance, 15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in
all your behavior; 16 because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."
It's possible that some of us are uncomfortable with that language “obedient children” but
we need to remember God’s Word isn’t calling us to obedience like a drill sergeant or a
mean coach up in heaven.
This is our Heavenly Father who created us and knows what is best for us. This is
obedience to our Heavenly Father understanding that there are a lot of distractions in this
world that are ultimately going to hurt us and make life more complicated, so like a loving
father He is calling out to us a child running into the street of traffic and saying, “Hey, stop!
You’re going to get hurt. Listen to Me. Obey Me!”
So that when we ask the question, “What does it look like to be a follower of Jesus?” It
means through faith in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, you become a person who
actually wants to obey God’s Word.
Before faith in Jesus, you think God’s Word is stupid, but now through faith in Jesus you’re
curious about God’s Word, because verses 15 and 16 are teaching us that we were created
to be holy. Sit in that for a second.
It is only Jesus who has lived a holy and perfect life, but God’s Word is teaching us through
faith in Jesus we have been reconciled to God, so that positionally we are made holy, and
practically we are discovering what it looks like to live holy lives under His reign and rule.
This is important because sometimes we hear the word “holy” and we think of spiritual
gurus who live in the mountains.
In addition, we look at our lives and we think, “I’ve done some pretty stupid things, there’s
no way I could be holy.” But when verse 15-16 says “be holy” it’s not describing us but
Christ in us.
It’s like when I watch the movie Fast and Furious. Stay with me! When you watch Fast and
Furious, it will affect you. You will want to live your life a quarter mile at a time! You will
want to drive your car like Toretto! Why? It’s because you have spent time with Fast and
Furious!
In the same way, when you are with Jesus, He will affect you. When you spend time with
Him, read about Him, talk to Him, you won’t look 100% like Him, but over time you begin to
discover practically what it looks like to live holy lives under His reign and His rule.
Sometimes you will find yourself with unusual courage or compassion and you will think to
yourself, “Where did that come from?” It’s not you. It’s His transforming work in you!
Amen?
I am guessing we are all at different places on our spiritual journey, so it might look
different for all of us, but “living holy lives” is aligning our everyday choices and habits with
God’s character. It is asking the question, “Is this what He wants in my life, so that I can
obey Him, because He knows what’s best?
It is important to clarify that we aren’t making ourselves holy. It is through faith in Jesus’
life, death and resurrection that we have been made holy.
Looking at the habits of our life like food, social media, shopping, alcohol, sex and asking
ourselves, “Am I interacting with these things in a way that is honoring to the Lord or
dishonoring to the Lord?”
Here’s three R’s for you: There are things in the world we want to receive, reject, and / or
redeem? Write that down! So, there are things in our culture like greeting one another
when we meet. We can receive that and apply that to our life. It’s neutral. But there are
also things like heroin, assassinations, sex with animals; we want to reject those things.
Redeem means, because of our faith in Jesus, we are going to take things in the world and
we are going to look for ways to use them in a way that is helpful to others and honoring to
Him.
We can use money to be greedy or we can use money to bless others. We can drink alcohol
into drunkenness or we can drink alcohol to celebrate His grace in our life with a friend.
We can participate in politics in a healthy way or we can become a weirdo!
When take the things of the world and use them for His glory we are taking that which was
in darkness and bringing it into the light and redeeming it for His glory.
Therefore, each of us should take a moment in our lives right now and think, “What does it
look like for me to discover what it looks like practically to live out the holy lives we have
been given in Jesus? Amen?
When we see those areas of our life that are inconsistent with the holiness of God, and that
applies to all of us in the room, then we would do well to confess those things to Jesus, turn
from those things and ask for His help to live out the holy lives we have been given in Jesus.
Let’s look at verse 17:
1 Peter 1:17, “If you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each
one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth.”
Verse 17 speaks to the urgency of our passage this morning. Remember, we are asking,
“What does it look like practically?” Verse 17 is reminding us there is urgency to this
question.
Sometimes our culture will say, “If you don’t speak out on this political topic, you’re a
coward!” Silence is violence! That’s stupid! Verse 17 is where we should have urgency!
In verse 17 we see our Heavenly Father is going to hold us accountable for how we
“prepare our minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fixing our hope on His grace, and living
out lives that are honoring to Him!”
Think about it this way, if someone of importance walked in the room, we would probably
change our posture, our attitude, behavior, words, because we would be so excited, not
because someone told us to be excited, but because we were genuinely excited about
meeting this person that we considered really important.
Verse 17 is saying, in the same way, the glory of God has walked into the room, called you
into His life through faith in Jesus, therefore, not out of obligation, but out of delight, out of
wonder and awe, at this new life we have in Christ, we would deeply consider what it looks
like to live out our faith in Jesus practically.
With urgency we would consider what it looks like for the whole of our life; food, social
media, shopping, alcohol, sex, marriage, children, money, and politics to come under His
reign and His rule for His glory.
This is why we have community groups. We need to be around other men and women who
are wrestling and talking about what it looks like practically, because this is the most
important part of our life. Look at verses 18-19:
1 Peter 1:18-19, “Knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or
gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious
blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.”
Verses 18-19 are important, because when we talk about “what it looks like practically to
follow Jesus” we can start to think about all the areas of our life where we aren’t following
Jesus and we might have these thoughts of shame or feelings of sadness, and it’s almost like
God’s Word knows our heart so that verse 18 says, “Remember, you weren’t redeemed
with perishable things like silver or gold?”
There are going to be times we get swept up in the ways of this world. There might be
times we turn our back on God and we tell Him, “I don’t want anything to do with you” but
look at verse 19.
The word “but” is to contrast verse 18. But you were redeemed with “precious blood.”
God’s Word is lifting our eyes us to Jesus.
This language of an “unblemished and spotless lamb” is the second time we have seen the
Apostle Peter take the reader back to Old Testament sacrifice where over and over we see
an animal stand in the place of the people.
There are animal sacrifices because their thoughts, words and behavior have fallen short of
God’s glory, so an animal’s blood would be shed, because the wages of sin is death, and the
animal would stand in their place over and over, until one day the ultimate sacrifice comes,
the lamb of God who takes the sin of the world. His name is Jesus!
There might be times we take one step toward living out our faith in Jesus, and 10 steps
back, but in Christ, we weren’t redeemed with perishable things like silver and gold. We
were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus! Look at verses 20-21 to close out:
1 Peter 1:20-21, “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has
appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21 who through Him are believers in God,
who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
The phrase “foreknown before the foundation of the world” means Jesus is God in the flesh.
He is eternal.
He is the image of the invisible God.
All things were made by Him, through Him and for Him! Things in the heavens and on
earth, visible and invisible, thrones, rulers, and authorities, and verse 20 caps it off, “For He
has appeared in these last times for the sake of you!” Amen? So that our faith and hope are
in Him!
Listen to me, you can vote Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, but being a follower of Jesus
isn’t about picking one of those political parties. A follower of Jesus has confessed with
their mouth that Jesus is Lord. It’s believing that Jesus took your sin at the cross and
conquered your sin in the resurrection, so that you might have life in Him!
Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in Spirit, fix your hope on His grace
that is now and is coming, so that every day we are looking, wrestling and thinking about
what it looks like practically to honor the Lord with our lives, because He is worthy of our
lives. Amen?
North Village Church
This sermon is brought to you by North Village Church, a non-denominational church in Austin. established in 2009 and built around Jesus and Bible teaching.
Are you looking for a church in Austin? At North Village Church we put Jesus at the center of our church family. We worship together every Sunday at 10:30am, encourage Christ centered fellowship through groups, and host special events such as Bible studies and Theological Training, to ensure that we are rooted in in God’s Word. We also serve our local community in association with several Austin based organizations.
North Village Church is made up of professionals, married couples, singles, and families who are wanting to experience the life-transforming power of Jesus. If you are a family with children or teens, we can support you with either or both our Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry.
You are welcome to contact us if you would like more information.
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