Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Last week we began a journey through 1 Peter with the stated theme of hope.

Throughout this epistle, Peter gives the Christian real, personal, powerful and transformative hope.

He does not give this hocus pocus hope that so many television evangelist do.

They teach and preach that God wants us to be prosperous, pain free, popular, and possessing many material things.

Yet, Peter, writes about an altogether different Christian experience.

He writes of a Christian experience that includes suffering, being buffeted, experiencing trials and temptations, and having the world speak evil of our faith.

In spite of all these things activities that works against Christians, we can still have a powerful and transformative hope.

If we are to have this kind of real, impactful and transformative hope then everything depends upon our view of God and not the situation.

Let me explain: Several years back, in the mid 70’s, before the plastic soda bottles came out, sodas were in 16 ounce glass bottles.

If you wanted several soda bottles at one time, then you could purchase a carton of 8.

The carton was cardboard, with four bottles in each side, and a carrying handle in between the two sides.

There were times you would have to carry the carton of soda from the bottom because the cardboard became to flexible or lost some of it’s strength.

One particular afternoon, mom sent me to the neighborhood store, S and S Deli to get 8 bottles of Diet 7 Up.

As I am making my way home from the store with the soda, the bottom of the carton gave way, and all the bottles came crashing down on the sidewalk.

My initial thought was this is going to be tough to clean up.

It was not until I looked down and saw blood oozing out of the right side of my right foot that I realize I was injured by the glass.

My response was to scream, yell, cry, and run home.

I had completely lost control.

My focus was on all the blood leaving my foot.

The only way my parents were able to clam me down was when they shifted my focus from my foot to their faces and words.

This is Peter’s point as he lays the foundation on hope.

If we want real hope then our focus has to be on God! Peter did not go into the finer details of life, until he laid down God as the foundation of hope.

John Bunyan, the Puritan who was imprisoned in Bedford, England for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, said, “Hope is never ill when faith is well.”

Peter is building their faith and confidence in God so that their faith stays strong.

I read this the other day: “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.”

Once we realize that God is all we have and need then we will see hope through every problem.

Why? First, because of God’s great love where with He loved us.

Never mistake verse 2 for anything other than God’s amazing love for us.

This morning Peter build’s upon that foundation of love with another truth about God that enhances our faith in Him and strengthens our hope.

He is adorable.

Adorable

Now I know for us guys, we tend not to use the word “adorable” very often.

It is as if we are losing some of our masculinity.

In the New Testament Peter comes across as a man’s man.

After all, he is a fisher men, he walked on water, he was the first to confess Jesus to be the Christ and the Son of God, and he was ready to single handedly start a revolution the night of Jesus arrest.

Yet, when he thought about God, the word that came out of his mouth was adorable.

Peter said “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord jesus Christ.”

The word “blessed” in the Greek is where we get our word eulogy.

It was used to praise or to celebrate someone.

In the New Testament this word was only used referencing God.

Strong for the New Testament Greek is like Webster for the English.

Strong defines “blessed” as “adorable.”

This morning our focus is why did Peter view God as adorable and how do this relate to building our faith and strengthening our hope.

Adorable

Relationship the Father has with the Son

Peter first says that God is adorable because He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Consider three truths that flow from that statement that gives us reason to praise God.

Submissive

God is a triune God.

Each person in the Trinity (God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost) is equal with the others.

Therefore, God the Father is not more powerful than the Son because He is the Father; nor the Son more powerful than the Holy Ghost, even though the Holy Ghost bears witness of Jesus Christ.

Each member of the Trinity has different responsibilities but they are unified in their equality.

Yet, for Jesus Christ to allow Himself to be the Son took great humbling.

This humbling was not towards the Father because they were coequals and Jesus did not feel cheated out in His responsibilities; rather, took a great deal of humbling towards humanity because Jesus Christ the Son of God would have to condescend to become our redeemer and mediator).

How so?

Throughout the Gospels Jesus said He must be about His Father’s business, and he came to do His Father’s will.

In His Sonship He submitted Himself to the Father, even though they were equals in every respect.

7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

Suffering

Suffering

There is one verse that captures from many different angels.

In , Phillip was moved by the Spirit of God to go to the Ethiopian Eunuch who was on his way back from Jerusalem.

The chariot was stopped at the Eunuch was reading out of Isaiah.

When Philip arrived he asked the Eunuch if he understood what he was reading.

The Eunuch could not understand what he read because there was no one to teach him the text.

He was reading 53:7, “The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.”

The Eunuch wanted to know who did this verse refer to.

Philip knowing the answer began to “preach unto him Jesus.”

32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:

Led as sheep to the slaughter - The heathens would not offer any animals to be sacrificed to their gods, if the animal if the animal was contentious through the process.

Jesus did not fight the process.

Jesus knew what was coming and He still allowed the murderers to lead Him.

He did not open His mouth - Jesus is God, and with His very words He could have consumed all those who wanted His life.

Even in His arrest, Jesus says to Peter, who wants to defend and protect Jesus, “Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword” ().

Solutions

Within we can see the violence, passion, and degree of His sufferings but what makes this passage come to life is Jesus purposely allows this to happen.

The sufferings of Jesus all fit within the wonderful plan of God.

Now put this in context to some of the great ancient books.

In Literature class, I had to read Gilgamesh and the Iliad.

Gilgamesh goes as far back as possibly the time of Moses or before.

Iliad was written a few centuries before Christ.

These books gives us insight into how people viewed their gods.

They were warring, hated filed, and immoral beings, who could never get along.

Yet, here is Jesus, working in concert with the Trinity bringing about salvation in the most humbles and selfless of ways.

52 Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.

Solutions

Solutions

Right now, you may be thinking, this does not make sense.

We should praise God the Father because of the kind of relationship He had with the Son but the Son is doing all the work.

He is the one that was submissive and suffered, not the Father.

The Father loves the Son more than anyone else.

He loves the Son more than He loves you or I. Never think it was easy for God the Father to turn His back on jesus Christ; someone He supremely loves.

No, it took everything the Father had to not intervene.

There is a reason for this.

Relationship the Father has with the Stranger

Mercy

Method

Message - a Lively Hope

Means