More than a story

This is a short recap of Sunday's message, which can be heard here: bit.ly/MoreThanStory

1. More than words
1 Peter 1:17 "And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,"

Your right to call God father is coupled with the responsibility to live obediently to His standards.
A child of God is compelled toward obedience because they are in a relationship with God through Christ.
As a result of that relationship, God gives the Holy Spirit to guide in obedience and equip for obedience.
Therefore, if you claim to be a child of God yet have no desire to live obediently to God’s word, you are either ignoring the Holy Spirit or you are making a false claim.

Why would you choose to honor God in the difficult times?
Your circumstances do not determine your behavior, your relationship does!

2. More than a sacrifice
1 Peter 1:18-19 "knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot."

Here, we see God as one who pays a ransom.
To be ransomed is to be set free, or liberated.  Circumstantially, the Christians of Peter’s day were not living in freedom.
That was a temporary circumstance.
Spiritually, they had been liberated by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
That is an eternal truth.

Based on that statement, listen to its impact on us…
Focusing on the eternal will get you through the temporary if you are in a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ.
Neglecting the eternal will render you powerless as you try to endure the circumstances of this life.

How do you show your appreciation and love for His sacrifice?
Showing up a couple of times per month is nice, but does that describe someone who has been rescued from an eternal hell?
Since experiencing salvation, your life may have changed, but have you changed the way you live life?

3. More than a story
1 Peter 1:20-21 "He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 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."

Before the world and its surroundings came to be, Jesus was.  He is eternal, with no beginning and no end.
The plan of redemption was established before creation, knowing God himself would have to die in our place to save us from ourselves.
Yet, He created us and loved us in spite of our rebellious nature.
The perfect judge became the perfect sacrifice to satisfy His perfect judgment for us.
It is through His life, death and resurrection…
Jesus brought us to Faith.
He led us to Repentance.
And He gave us Hope with His promise of salvation.

The reality of His death is that it is not just a religious story. It is not just good material for a movie.

The one, true, living God came to this world to personally experience your death.
He bore your sin.
He paid your penalty.
He suffered.
He felt pain.
He was rejected.
He was separated from God the Father.
He took His last breath.

Some would say, he was thinking of you.
I would say He was thinking of eternal matters.
He was thinking of obedience to the Father to the point of death.
He was thinking of completing the Father’s mission.

Since it is more than a story, He must impact our lives in spite of our circumstances.
Scripture says,
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

Hope and Holiness

1 Peter 1:13-16

Now, because of the previous 12 verses, God commands His children to… 

Have hope and Be holy.

1. Have hope.

a. By preparing our minds for action.  

Hope will not come on its own. We must be responsible to prepare our minds for renewal.  It is then we can know the will of God SO THAT we can take action with that knowledge. Romans 12:2

The Bible!  We carry it, read it, sing it, pray it, talk about it and hear others talk about it – but until we decide to be prepared to learn, we are missing out on a key ingredient toward living in hope.

You and I cannot  be transformed and continue conforming to this world at the same time.

Prepare your mind by asking God to reveal His holiness to you and to show the adjustments required in your life to be transformed into His image.  Then – search with expectation!

b. We also have hope by being sober minded.

Be self controlled.  By nature of the living God dwelling within you and Christ being the Lord over your life – You must be growing in self control.

How does this apply spiritually? Rather than being controlled by outside circumstances, 

be controlled by the Holy Spirit within you.

With an eternal perspective, we will be able to see the end of the temporary trial and choose to have confidence in what God promised.

The result is - we have hope NOW. 

2. Be Holy.

a. As obedient children… 

Obedience is a consistent theme throughout God's word.  

• Living in obedience leads to the place of the Lord’s blessing.  
• Living in obedience is how we show our love and dedication to Jesus.  
• Living in obedience is the natural response for those who surrender their desires and ways to the Lord.  
• Living in obedience is a reflection of Jesus.

What are we to do as obedient children?  

b. Do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.

In other words…

• Do not let the world shape you.
• Do not follow the desires of your past life when you were ignorant of God.

• Do not live as you once lived.

Isn’t this what it means to be holy?

You are made holy by the work of Jesus, but you are responsible to yield to the leading and working of the Holy Spirit within you to BE holy now. If you have surrendered your life to the lordship of Jesus Christ, you are a follower of Christ.  As a follower, God provides expectations for His children.  

Not expectations to keep your salvation, but expectations in light of salvation.  

If You choose to ignore those expectations, you remain unchanged – even though You are a follower of Christ.

Listen how this impacts us…

If we are content where we are, we are ignoring God’s expectations. 

By ignoring God’s expectations, we choose to be conformed to this world as disobedient children.  

By choosing that lifestyle, what can we reasonably expect in our walk with Christ? 

To be distant. To not grow. To not be the church as described in the Bible.

If we choose to be far from Him in our disobedience, the hope we desperately need will not be found and we cannot fulfill the command to be holy.

The burdens you carry will keep you from the peace and hope in Christ.  

The burdens you carry will restrict your growth in holiness.

So, cast your burdens at your Lord’s feet, Have hope and Be holy - even in the midst of troubling times.