Not My Home #6 - Seeking the Will of God
1st Peter 4:1-6 - Victory Fellowship
May 21, 2023 - Rev. Roderick Grabski
I. This is not our Home
a. Peter's audience in the early 60's A.D. was being severely persecuted for their faith. The Holy Spirit inspired Peter to share encouragement with them (and us) for how to live out our faith in such an environment.
b. Peter gives the best advice for any church in challenging times. He knew if the church was to prosper, the believers would need a proper perspective. They would need to chase after the will of God and not the ways of the world.
II. Jesus is Our Example (1a) So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too.
As he sought to challenge and encourage the church, Peter knew there was no greater example of faithfulness in the midst of trials and suffering than the Lord. He reminded the church of the suffering Christ endured on their behalf. He willingly endured the mockery and rejection of men, the abuses of the cross, the weight of sin, and the judgment of God in order to secure our salvation. All of this was endured by an innocent Man, one who knew no sin, had committed no crimes, and was falsely accused and sentenced to death. Christ is the great example believers are to follow.
A. Peter then offered this perspective to the church – arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. (Reminds me of Philippians 2:5-8: Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.)
B. Just as Christ bore the cross to provide our redemption, we too are to take up our cross, and crucify the flesh in order to faithfully follow Christ. We must resist the temptation of the flesh, and chase after the will of God in our lives.
C. Seeking God’s Will (1b-2) For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.
Those to whom Peter wrote were familiar with suffering. They were different, living separated lives that bore witness to their faith. Their denial of sinful behavior demonstrated their desire for God’s will in their lives.
D. This is the biblical expectation of all believers. When confronted with temptation to sin, we have two choices – we can willfully engage in sin, or we can arm ourselves with the mind of Christ in order to refrain from sin. Those who choose to refrain from sin and the lusts of the flesh will suffer because of their denial of that which the world seeks to promote.
E. The Result of Faithfulness (3-4) – You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you.
Peter declared that faithfulness unto the Lord, ceasing from sin, (not living according to the lusts of the flesh,) but according to the will of God, will be evident within the believer’s life for all to see. In a society known for sin and indulgence, they would certainly be noticed due to the different lifestyle they have chosen - one that honors God instead of indulging the flesh.
a. Peter talks about Our Past Rebellion. At times, it may be good for us to be mindful of what the Lord delivered us from. Peter reminded believers that they too were once like the world, living to satisfy the flesh rather than seeking the will of God. While every Christian may not have engaged in some of these past sins, the principle remains – apart from Christ we sought to indulge the flesh rather than live pleasing unto the Lord.
b. Then Peter talks about Our Present Situation. Peter reminded the believers of the rejection they now suffer because they no longer engage in the sins of their past. Those with whom they used to party, now speak evil of them because they have chosen to resist temptation and refrain from sin. Old friends were unable to understand and embrace the change these had made in their lives.
F. Future Reality (5) – But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead. Peter also revealed a sobering reality for everyone. We all will stand before the Lord and give account of the lives we have lived. Both the quick and the dead will stand before the Lord in judgment. This refers to both the saved and the unsaved, those who have received salvation, choosing to live their lives to honor Christ, and those who have denied the Gospel, choosing rather to indulge the flesh and reject salvation. Believers may have been judged by those who ridiculed their restraint from indulgence, but all will stand before the Great Judge one day.
G. The Power of the Gospel (6) – That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead—so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit. Here Peter referred to the need for the Gospel and how God provided for all who lived before Christ to hear it, and become changed by it. (1st Peter 3:18-19 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,)
H. Live your life as a testimony of pursuing the will and God and not chasing after the ways of the world.
PRAYER
SONG: Loving My Jesus
1st Peter 4:1-6 NLT
So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.
Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead. That is why the Good News was preached to those who are now dead—so although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit.
