1 Peter 3:8-12
Open up to 1st Peter chapter 3 or kind of hitting back into a regular rhythm as we're going through this letter don't have a Bible. We have some on the back table. They're yours. If you'd like one you can take it home with you.
I want to read this to you here this morning. We're going to pick back up and verse 8 from where we left off back at the end of November says finally all of you have Unity of Mind sympathy Brotherly Love A Tender Hearts and a humble mine. Do not repay evil for evil or revealing revealing but on the contrary bless4 to this you were called that you may obtain a blessing for and just as we read in the song today with Peter's drawing from whoever desires to love life and see good days. Let him keep his tongue from evil his lips from speaking to seat, but I'm Turn Away From Evil and do good seek. Peace and pursue it for the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to the prayer for the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. Let's pray real quick to see if we read and hear and taking the word. To expound on the scriptures and to have the Holy Spirit move on our hearts as we know your word is activated living sharper than any two-edged sword that you speak and move in our lives. We invite you to do. So be glorified in your people as we praise your name. Amen. Amen, but you guys should just take a quick moment and think about a time when something so big so life-altering a has happened to you one of those Huge Grand moments in your life and some of you may have a lot some of you may have a few one of those defining times.
Hoping that you're actually thinking you got something right now want to share with you. I have a story. I've actually cycled the story through a few times. Have you been here since the beginning? Please don't roll your eyes at me Stephen Marley. Now, I got to share this story when I spoke out of your family reunions few weeks back or few months back, but I have this memory of a very life-altering life-changing event that had to do with my idea of what love is when I was 17 and there was a girl her name was Rachel Smith. Rachel Smith know I was on the slow game with Rachel Smith. I really really like chai met her on a missions trip to Mexico. So you thought man this should be a great good faith and for about eight or nine months, I worked my way pretty good into friendzone. It was wonderful. We hung out all the time. She called me when she had problems. She had a boyfriend that she would talk to me about sometime. So I kind of got to undercut him when that was all going on and lift myself up. It was wonderful and she finally became single and so I can remember this evening is the long version Stephen Marley. You're lucky you guys. I can remember this moment when I said hey, do you want to go to church with me as a Saturday nights and I'm a high roller will go out to Dairy Queen beforehand. So I was 17. All right, then we're going to get a blizzard on top of dinner. It was a good thing and I said and I said just you and me. And she said yeah, right. This is awesome. So I didn't Jacksonville there in southern Oregon and I drove into Medford to pick her up and then we drove out to our churches in the Applegate Valley area. We drove back out to Applegate but I want to do this thing. Right? So like on the time I went and got her and brought her just back to the same area that I lived in was like a 30-minute round-trip thing. Right so pick her up and we're eating dinner and we're talking or laughing and how we get these blizzards and I'm like mid blizzard and I look at her go Rachel. I said I like you and she looked at me and then she goes I know. And it got quiet and I don't think you heard me Rachel like you. And it went dead silent.
She's going to be a terribly long night. So I said hey what's up in my car? And we drive out to church and I try to act like this whole thing didn't happen yet. It did happen. I'm taking the back of my head while our pastors preaching. How am I going to recover from this right here thing. He said so we are getting ready to take off for summer camp. That was like a Saturday night. We're getting ready to leave on Monday. Now, there's another guy. His name is Matt Smith. And that was one of my good buddies. And Matt was just like a smooth talker. That was this good-looking guy. I didn't stand a chance and I actually introduced them as friend and I found out that he liked her as well and right before we get ready to go to Camp. You actually went to her house and he dropped off flowers and chocolates before camp. But the thing about summer camp is it has a strong power for Romance. Right, you ever been to summer camp? You know what I'm talking about something and no big deal. I'll still win this thing out somehow. So we go to summer camp Rachel and I and I monopolize our time we hang out the whole time and finally on the way home. I sitting next to on the bus and I say Rachel I really like you. Are you going to be my girlfriend or not? And she said yes. I went to a couple of days went by this night of worship and then afterwards as a group, we always collecting we went down to the volleyball courts and played volleyball every every time we went to this worship night afterwards. And that showed up wonderful Matt, and I'm there and Rachel's there and Rachel didn't even talk to me. She's my girlfriend. So I thought so I finally pull her aside. And we have this conversation of bread. I just don't like you. I don't like you that way that's never going to happen. So I'm crushed and I go home in tears and I'm just bawling my eyes out. I can say this was the first time I ever thought that I was in at 17 years old and I was getting ready to leave for San Francisco to help my brother on a used trip and he was taking 6th grade graduates down to a Giants game and we're going to go to some theme park that was down there and I knew I had to get up at about 5:30 in the morning and yet I was up to about 2 in the morning. I wrote her this letter and dropped it off at her doorstep and went home slept for a few hours and I got on the bus. And the 7th grade kid 6.0 Center kid looks at me to do horrible. HG Banks, and he goes are you kidding me? Her sister just dumped me. And we sat there for six and a half hours just crying about our struggled and troubles and how awful the Smith girls on. How could they found some comfort in my friend Ben Weaver? It was really wonderful. I we continue to have a friendship and I decide with him throughout his years can hit all these Great Moments with in it but something about it. It was one of those not so much on the grand scale of things but life-altering moment in my life because for the first time I had felt what it felt like to have your heart ripped into Is actually set me up for this idea that well the love Department may not always work out for me or maybe I should go about things in a different way and not slow play it and friends on myself and be the nice guy and so what'd happened in that moment is a change in Outlook that I had in a certain area in my life. Defining moments in our life have the capacity to do this to each and everyone of us. Think about it the first child that you gave birth to mixed emotions lot of excitement a lot of sleepless nights. Some hormone imbalances some loss of control of emotions. I'm not going to change your outlook on further things in life, or or maybe you've had life-altering life-changing moments where you've been rejected. Person you loved walked away from you. Are you experienced some sort of loss in the family are lost in friendship and these moments we can shape and Define Our Lives now some believe that these events and his collection of events are actually what determine who we are. They believe that we are collection of our experiences. We are so these things happen to you. They shape they mold you in fact, they determine what you're going to be like how you're going to ask how you're going to view every experience going for their what are building a foundation within our lives like all three moments we can tend to shape us, but they do not have to actually Define us. You don't have to put the determining Factor on what the future of Love or relationship or what work or family actually looks like. To reduce ourselves down to Simply a collection of our event is simply a humanistic standard that does not define and apply to individuals. It doesn't have that bearing effect on us. For God's has something very very different about us doesn't he? He tells us in Genesis chapter 1 we are created in the image of God. That is who we are. We are not a collection of our experiences. Know what we're looking at here in 1st Peter is cute and important because 1st Peter is out laying this life-altering event that has come to somebody who is now a follower of Jesus were once maybe we thought we are simply a collection of our experiences defining ourselves by what we've gone through that determines. How were actually going to live Peter talks about something so big so Grand so great outside of us has come upon a and 1st Peter chapter 1. He says you are born again. That's a pretty life-altering event, isn't it? This idea that at one point you were distant from God walking in a complete opposite direction and truly that is what the find your life. That is. What told you your significant important. But whatever you play True Value on and sought-after in if you could receive it and get it and achieve its than you felt good about yourself always trying to work our way. But this event happens and Peter says look you have been born again in Chapter 2. He says this this idea being born again actually shapes and changes your identity how so It says in 1st Peter 2 you are a royal priesthood. It does not say you are a collection of your experiences. It says I know you're real priest to do you are a holy nation that you're living stones that you're being dumped into the dwelling place of God, then we get to the end of chapter 2 and 3 chapter 3 at talks about how this new identity brings in reality and application into our lives. We looked at this a few weeks back the first to talk about how we respond to governing authorities. It also talks about what relationship in marital relationship looks like and now it's talking about relationship in the church. And what must be the foundation for this is that these postures that we're going to look at their developed. And use as a result of Grace the fact that we have been born again. What does it mean to be born again? What's a sinking and processing this this week and just looking at some other ways to explain it? We moved from a place of acceptance from the world's or maybe shared views of the world. And they were moved into a place. unacceptance with God remove from acceptance of the world and Alien Nation from God to accept it from God being close to God. We're not in relationship with God through what kind of an effect does it have on our lives it means individually and collectively as the church. We're going to look different things different and act different our mission our values and what were about is going to be wildly different. In the rest of the world around us. So at one point we were unified with the ways of this world than there has Paul talks about futile thinking we acted responded and behave according to our flesh. All the while being alienated and separated from God upon coming into relationship with God. We're now Rock close to him and that's flip-flops when we look at the world. I want to be different different from it. She also says here finally acute. Excuse me. Finally, all of you. Anybody's talking about is this is what it looks like when you're born again at 6 in the church that stems from Grace not something that we worked to obtain. That's something that we have to strive to be. But because God has changed us. This is what's going on in our lives all of who the church and these are five postures will call them below the waterline. Do you fly fish or just like being out in the scene? If you can go out to the Crooked River and it's a very muddy Dirty River and you don't really know What Lies Beneath the water line. Confusing sometimes we should take 4th through 6th graders rafting on the Rogue River and whenever we didn't want the kids to get in the water to the newest section was coming up. We told them there was giant sturgeon that eat children that would come out of the water. I couldn't go against their in their the river. They just had no idea that I would never ever take place is below the waterline. It's murky and she's me look in scripture. This is where some scripture becomes a little tricky and hard because we always want to quantify what God wants from us.
Peter. This Lord, I forgave this guy 7 times, how am I doing? He's like Peter. 70 * 7 meaning don't even try to quantify it. Pastor please. Just tell me how generous I need to be to make sure I'm good with God.
How many prayers and how much time devotion do I actually need to spend and we're always wanting to quantify regardless put on these great things seem to pursue me pursue true generosity pursue kindness and our response is okay, but how much is enough so I'm good with you and I can continue to live my life and that's where some of this gets tricky in our hearts and in our minds. And this is always a way of doing pragmatism. Just tell me what to do. So I make sure that I am good and this is far Messier. The more we like in our hearts and in our minds, the first thing Peter says here is Unity Unity of mind. First of all, first of e Unity of mine we need to have the same mind as Christ as Peter Paul talks about in Philippians chapter 2 having this mind amongst you it should include being harmonious with one another and attitudes and thought and understanding as a local church. We have to be on the same page feel logically as we're moving forward in how we worship and handle life and do things Unity of mine is this attitude and understanding that we have together and Paul says in Philippians to have this mind among you that is a Christ was the mind of Christ that he humbled himself that he gave himself to one another.
This is what God is calling us to as the church. We love to live in the land of individuality. We love to live in the land where we just get to neatly check out the boxes cuz we did it, right. But you have Unity of Mind means we're actually coming together caring for one another. It's a willingness to not only submit to Christ but in Ephesians chapter 5 right before we get this beautiful section on marriage. She says you're actually to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Unity of mine to sync we are coming under the lordship the kingship of Jesus is the part of his kingdom. That means we are Serving and caring and tending and taking care of one another.
sheep We live in a world. We're constantly competing against one another and I don't mean this in just a sense of you know, the playoffs and sports but I mean in life. He probably felt it. Few weeks back my wife took our middle or oldest and third to The Nutcracker to my daughters and I had my son and my other daughter and is on a Saturday night. I need to get some work done still do we also had a dinner to go to that wasn't until 8 way to plan that one with kids. And so anyways, I go to a coffee shop. It's like 6:30 at night and I pop down and give my son my phone and I give my daughter a show and I'm finishing work and I just felt all Judgment of All Eyez on Me. How dare you let your kids watch some media while you get some work done. Dare, you forgot a media frenzy family, but we can feel this as parents. We can feel this as we're working at this world is in competition with one another maybe we can even feel this within the church at times maybe within Church bodies that act as if they're competing against one another for growth and other ideas and being the biggest baddest best thing that there is Peter saying we need to have Unity of Mind serving one another
I was just looking and going in your life in your friendships. And the relationships that you have around you Unity of my number to he says sympathy having compassion. This is Drawing Near to people who are hurting now in the English language. We have qu words we're going to actually see the other use of it's not a synonym and antonym for similar innocence kind of meaning but not quite empathy and empathy and sympathy or very different sympathy is coming close to somebody who's hurting sympathies offering yourself and giving advice and wisdom spending time with others empathy is actually being able to enter into the situation and experiencing what they've experienced. Maybe it's because you have walked through and some fast at what they walk through so you can serve them in that capacity. Maybe it's at your heart is actually breaking in that moment with them. You can relate with them and Hebrews 4:15. It says we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weakness. We have one who has been tempted in every way. As we are yet, he did not sin. I don't want to use these two words, but no, I'm not using them interchangeably today because they're not interchangeable words. Play the we are called as a church to show sympathy towards other people. It's an attitude that admits other people around me have hardships and whether I actually have experienced similar things. I can empathize with them. I have an experienced but God has called me to draw near to them to enter into their world and to encourage them to be sympathetic towards one another no one change something about being sympathetic or empathizing is costly it is costly when you enter into others worlds new entrance their needs. It can be draining and it can draw something out of you. Have you ever placed yourself in somebody else's mess? I mean something literally when you can just walk away from it like that one that have no bearing effect on my life.
Just because I stepped out of it doesn't mean my whole world's going to fall apart. When we enter into somebody's world. Somebody's life. It can drain us how so it takes of our time. It takes of our energy. It can take a physical strength and mental strength. Maybe you've been there in the phone rings. And you said not today? Nikki Bella at Costco and you saw them down the aisle and you said not today and you went the other way. Why do we do that? Cuz we know it costs us something to enter into somebody's life yet as the church as a countercultures. We're going to see where to be a people who are pursuing sympathy empathy and Gage and people's lives in a real radical way that is manifested with our present next to them. We are called to be sympathetic, you know, what an enemy of sympathy as though self-centeredness. Always always gets in the way. At this last week. I rewatched home alone for the first time since I was like nine. And I can almost pulled the entire movie Stills terrible and there's the scene where they realize they've left Kevin at home and they're on the plane. And the mom there is freaking out and Uncle Frank. Do you guys know Uncle Frank? He's the worst Uncle Frank. Look Saturn goes. Well if it makes you feel any better, I forgot my reading glasses and I have been processing that line and that's how a lot of us engage in sympathy. We're self-centered and we're focused. And so we give some kind of trite words to related to say well if it makes you feel any better, this is what I forgot. I know you forgot your kid at home and they're about to get robbed. But hey, who cares? I forgot my reading glasses. That should make you feel a little bit better. Often we try to enter people's World in a wrong manner when we sympathize with them rather than sit and listen and be presents. We often want to say here's what you need to do. Here is how you need to fix it. Here's how you need to be and at some point there is a sense in which we need to say because of him Christ has made you and what God has done in your life. Absolutely. There's to be a joy also called to enter into your world right now and the word says it were to have sorrow with those who have sorrow when one member of the body hurts. We all hurts. Get our culture wants to fixed everything rather than be present with people. If somebody is hurting around you. Quit trying to tell them what to do to make it better. There may be a time for practical advice and wisdom. Do not hear me wrong on that. But until you sit with somebody for a little bit and spend some time with them. And then he just doesn't happen unless you walk through the similar situation. Maybe you're not even the best person for it. But until that happens until you see that you're going to miss it going to miss what you're called to be doing in helping them learn to ask questions and not give answers seat fine understanding or somebody is coming from rather than telling them where to go. Redeemers, let's be a church that sympathizes with people. Because sometimes until I know where somebody's coming from or as the saying goes until I walked a mile in their shoes. How can I cast judgment and throw my thoughts on their lives? Must be less quick to judge and quicker to sympathize with one another next. She says your brotherly love this is the idea of a new family identity. relational intimacy
read your commentary in one of the guy said this may be the only family someone in your church actually has
that really struck me. And I hit me deep because some people the families abandoned and left them. Some people were never able to marry her able to have children. Some people may be lost children a lost spouse and this is all they have
TV show brotherly love Are we caring for one another? No notice in the section of scripture. It doesn't say how are you doing at receiving brotherly love? I stupidly what we do me look at a church. Did they show me love? And they show me love did it come my way? Oh my goodness. They're the worst. They're not kind they didn't talk to me. The call here in scripture is to show brotherly love never talked about in prayer last week a video of body committed to praying for one another everybody gets covered and we would take it upon ourselves not safe. How are they going to show me love? But same, how can I make sure everybody is loved. How can I care for every single person in here? How can I give myself to them? How can I engage in The Community of Christ the church and I was going to share my community group for a second and my community group. There are young and older there are single there are married. There are people have no kids. There are people with kids in their people with grown adult children who are married. We're not unified because we all like sports or we all like to craft. Are we all like to play outdoors and we all have dogs? No for unified because of what Christ has done and this community group is just a small scale picture of what the church locally and globally ought to look like we don't show brotherly love to one another just because we have a whole bunch of things in common we show brotherly love because we submit to the same King who has placed Us in his kingdom. Do we love one another when was the last time you came here on a Sunday to come here regularly and thought I'm going to just pursue somebody out invite him to lunch kit coffee with them and chat with them. Do we show brotherly love? Engaging in The Community of Christ never for he says to be tender-hearted some of your virgins might say compassionate and this is tough. And here's why my story that I opened up with I said to myself after Rachel crush me. Not again. I'm going to lock this hard up. And I don't want to risk it being hurts. We can tend to grow bitter and frustrated over time. We get let down over and over again in the Hertz begin to pile up and we think you know what I can't be compassionate and tender-hearted. I can't let others in my life. It's easier just to stay isolated and to my 70 easier to be shut-in and all alone and they continue to show compassion and care, but I'm not receiving it back. There is some misinformation in your brain know when that's happening because of your follower of Jesus first and foremost You Been Loved by God allows you to love others freely without them even have to respond with love in return because your eyes get itchy your sense of value and worth is not whether or not they love you back. But is that he loved you first? Recalled to love and continue to love even when it seems ridiculous in the eyes of the world to pursue and show that kind of love because the world has love as long as your love back. I got to find something to radically different for you to love even when you're not loved. Or you can go the route of locking it up. One of my favorite CS Lewis quotes Asher this often on Sundays Asher to the counseling room to love at all is to be vulnerable love anything and your heart will be wrong and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact. You must give it to No One not even an animal wrap it carefully round with hobbies in little luxuries avoid all entanglements lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket safe dark motionless airless, it'll be changed. It will not be broken into becoming breakable impenetrable. Irredeemable to love is to be vulnerable.
Powerful. I posted this week on Facebook for y'all. Listen. He said some of you you've been hurt and Trust so many times he's going to lock up your heart. Maybe you want to just fish and sleep, but he cook or sports but don't love you keep love at a distance. But you do that will mean you have an impenetrable hard Hearts here. We're supposed to be the opposite. Open our hearts to continue to love number 5 have a humble mine. She know I could have done weeks on all of this were condensing it. Bahama mind what this is It's the doing and applying. You're constantly always looking at everyone else and going here's what's wrong with them. Cuz why my version is better, here's why they are horrible at parenting and I'm not you'll never love well. You never loved well.
Are people that are coming to church and just constantly critique and condemn and say Here's what you're not doing. Well in the next body and then the next body and then the next body.
Pregnancy, how can I engage and help a relationship in their chops? What would it look like to have a humble mind? Say I'm not number one, but I'm going to act and humility. So I'm going to show love and compassion and sympathy. I'm going to engage in care of one another what would that look like and that's what the letter of Peter is getting it. What he's saying is we need a safe community. I missed an unsafe Community. We need a countercultural place a refuge in the midst of chaos years has been to say this is why you should join us and hears everything wrong out there. peak week and am we never received me. We rarely create and cultivate a lot of these words using these words. A lot of this. Next season is reason for it at is the world's pretty bad out there a voided get away from it need to be doing on the other end of things a sink. But here's what we're creating. We're creating as Jesus said a city on a hill that cannot be had because he is the light of the world that the chief Shepherd the king of this local Gathering and the head of all churches and we're in trusting ourselves to him. I'm over being told this is where to be a counterculture to what's going on out there. It's okay to look at the Brokenness of the world and say yes, something needs to be fixed. We see the need for acceptance receiving need and the desire to find yourself Dean righteous. We all know something's gone wrong rather than just condemn it and critique it or we can say we see the wrongfulness of the abuse of power. I mean justices that have been committed. Has to be a better way, what do we do what Jesus said match by 14 talking about a city on a hill? What does it mean to be a city on a hill city is actually seen.
Jesus Never waste a metaphor.
chooses these words very carefully What is a city house? City has lots of people as diversity has lots of different languages does lots of different cultures food this world of the United States over here on the West Coast and east coast in North America Forest City. What else does the city have a city has creativity farts beautiful things cities do this. What it what else do you cities have? Cities are striving for order they're striving for peace, but it's not always obtained. So when Jesus use this metaphor, he says you are to be a resemblance of every other city in this way. UW mixed together weather radar Church young and old I see people who are in different places in life. I see people who come from other countries. This is what we're to be a collective group a city filled with them who were the study of creativity and the Arts and Beauty sing today in to worship and to glorify God understandably the city is not some perfect Utopia that we've arrived to yet. What Jesus is getting at and what he's trying to say is the church the church ought to be this Refuge the safe place for people it's countercultural with the city is out. There's all the bad that we see in the city out there. Would it be opposite of that poor? People are trampling over one another trying to get ahead where to be generous. When people won't go out of their way to do something nice for to be at city that goes out of our way collectively not just individualistically were individuals who make up this city on a hill the church we go out of our way to love and to care for other people. We look at the city. We don't just say look at how much they're failing. But we say what can we create? And then how can we cultivated to be distinctly different because of what God has done and our lives. He was going to give a very Vivid example in verse 9. I'm about ready to end with this says do not repay evil for evil.
This is what a bass majority of people do. You hurt me? I want revenge I want to make you suffer often. We don't want to just have exact payment either Revenge entails something far worse. A Sheridan if you've read it or seen at The Count of Monte Cristo you watch that movie and you get an idea of what it looks like. They're really really want revenge Edmond Dantes. He wants to do something far worse or worst count mondego was even done to him. That's what it often looks like. That's what the city looks like out there.
Your city on a hill you forgive where you were wronged? You show Mercy, you show Grace you show love you show kindness because this world out there desperately needs a Counter Culture because it's failing them and it's falling apart and this Brokenness all over the place. God has called us to be distinctly different. Well, how am I able to do that at some point? We have to say we even in justices have been wrong to us and done to us. I'm not going to add them up and count them up. I can repay them back. I'm going to say God you are judge. I know that I'm called to be a blessing as he says in here. We're blessed to be a blessing. This is an impossible task left to itself. How many cities have tried to be the city that ends all crime I start to be the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia. Anybody been to Philly man. That is a crazy place. We stayed in the ghetto there with our kids wants that the ghetto it was gnarly. Okay, then called the City of Brotherly Love.
How does it actually know happen? Unless your foundation shaken up and changed. Unless you been born again. You will die trying to create this perfect world, but when you submit to the king and radically Alters your thoughts your feelings. Your opinions are no longer collection of your experiences. But now, you know the true and living God and his love is washed over unit has defined unit has told you that you don't have to pay people back for the wrong they done in your life. He'll take care of it one way or another to come under the blood of Jesus other than judgment-seat either way. God is in control of those wrongs and in justices that we are a people than pursuing Justice and peace that we do desire to see that Garden City. Once again that we are pursuing love and kindness and generosity and that is to be a definitive Mark upon the body of Christ. That is Who We Are It's not done by trying harder, but by loving God more. a loving God more suing him. It's seeking his face. Redeemers, this is so important for us. This is who I desire for us to be. City on a Hill cuz God is transformed and changed us and he's calling others out to be a part of this. You don't know this God heard about this God and bite you to talk with whoever brought you here. Sick myself out. The city is countercultural goes against the grain of society to get the going with the grain of God. And it says this is what we want to be marked out for and distinctive cuz God is radically changed and given us the grace to carry this out father. Thank you so much for your word. Got to pray that we would our redeemers live this out. They're not just a gathering.
That we are truly a people of God in the rule of God.
Calling others to be a part of this wonderful Kingdom. We're living out your word and we've been radically transformed and changed. We know there's Grace where we have failed and there is Mercy in your cupboard.
What afraid of these distinctive really get into who we are as a body and maybe sheet to serve and live for you? Love you. We thank you in Jesus name. Amen.