Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction to 1st Peter 1st Peter 1:1-2

Intro: Maybe tell a story of a POW or something here (emphasize great stress and loss of control)

Situated at the top of each of our kidneys is a very small body organ called the “adrenal gland.”

Each of these glands measures about 2” in diameter and consists of a medulla, (the inner core) and a cortex, (which makes up the outer shell).

The adrenal gland secretes a fluid hormone known as adrenalin.

You know what adrenalin does… it helps the body to adjust to situations of sudden stress.

For example: when you become very angry… or when you are extremely frightened, the adrenal glands infuse large amounts of adrenalin into your bloodstream.

This adrenalin causes your bodily system to react in at least one of three different ways:

1.

It increases the velocity of your heart rate.

2. It raises your blood pressure.

3. It rapidly speeds up the conversion of glycogen into glucose, which produces energy that flows to your muscles.

Glycogen is a readily mobilized storage form of glucose and is a good source of energy for sudden, strenuous activity.

So when we are faced with a situation, which is fearful or stressful – adrenalin is released into our bloodstream and prepares us to do one of two things:

FIGHT or FLEE!

Fight or Flight it is often called.

1. your heart rate speeds up!

2. Your blood pressure rises!

3.

And glucose is released directly into the muscles enabling us to react… stand or Run.

This is just an amazingly marvelous mechanism of our human anatomy, right?

But what would happen if you faced a situation where there was great stress; or great danger; or great fear – BUT you had no control over the situation.

In other words, you cannot fight and you cannot run – you can’t react!

*Mark It – You are afraid – worried, you are stressed, perhaps you are angry!

The adrenalin kicks in: your heart rates jumps; blood pressure rises; glucose levels are peaked out… you want to fight OR you want to run from the situation – BUT you can do neither.

Your body is saying “Do Something!”

But you can’t.

The inability to respond to this sudden flow of adrenalin leads to an erratic heart- beat.

The heart is ready to do something – but you’re not able to.

Stress is now put on the heart muscle; nerves begin to react and damage to your heart can occur.

Transition: We all know what a predicament is, right?

It’s a negative situation in which you have no options.

Ever been there?

Perhaps we all have at one time or another.

We are frightened, we are angry, we are stressed… the adrenalin is flowing, our heart is pumping faster and faster, and you feel the strain as your muscles tense up… but the situation is of such a nature that you cannot, you are unable, to do anything.

You can’t fight it and it won’t go away… That’s quite a predicament isn’t it?

Predicaments with no options can not only lead to heart damage, but it can also lead to a miserable state of insecurity.

And mark me here – prolonged spats of insecurity ultimately lead to despair and hopelessness.

Interject: Say, “James, How do we cope with a situation that we can’t change – AND can’t avoid either?

How are we supposed to deal with that?”

Transition: Great news is that is exactly the focus of this Book, 1 Peter.

The apostle is writing to a people who were afraid; who were angry; who were incredibly stressed and at the same time were powerless to affect the situation.

They had no options and consequently they were moving toward despair.

They were in critical danger of losing all Hope.

Through this Book we get an opportunity to peek over their shoulder as they read this letter from the apostle.

We get to see God move to counteract their potential despair with divinely orchestrated words of Hope!

Now as we jump in I want to state a principle that you will see permeated throughout this Book.

And this is my proposition this morning:

Insecurity then despair and hopelessness occurs when we place our hope in things we can lose… jobs, people, material possessions, friendships, health, life, money… all things we can lose.

Peace and Security and Hope comes when we place our trust, our hope in things we can’t lose – the Word of God, Jesus Christ, Eternal Life, Heaven.

What we are going to see God do through this book is to redirect their focus from the things they can’t change and that they can lose to things they can never lose.

Consequently our focus can be redirected too.

I.

The Situation @ Hand (1:1)

II.

The Shifting of Focus (1:2)

1.The Situation @ Hand

We can gather an idea of just how dire a predicament these people were in just by looking at verse 1. “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,”

The key word in that verse is “scattered.”

It comes from the Greek word “diaspora.”

Diaspora is a technical term referring to the Jews driven from their homeland, Israel.

“Diaspora” is a compound Greek word.

The prefix “dia” means through or throughout.

“Spora” carries the idea of scattering a seed over a field.

So “diaspora” literally means to scatter seeds throughout a field – from one end to the other.

The word was carried over in the technical sense to describe the scattering of the Jewish race as a seed throughout the field of the world… like seed scattered throughout a field.

Now even a cursory look at history reveals that the Jewish race has suffered persecution like no other race of people has ever experienced.

Holocaust after holocaust has been their fate… The Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes & Persians, Greeks, Romans, & Germans have all attempted to annihilate this race of people.

And aside from physical persecutions they have suffered social persecution as well.

Because as these Godless nations would conquer Israel they would then force the Jewish people out of their land and scatter them across the world.

The most severe of these scatterings was to come in 70 A.D. when the Romans swarmed in to crush the Jewish uprising and killed over 1,100,000 Jews and then drove the remaining population out of Israel scattering them among the nations of Europe, Asia and Asia Minor.

The Jews became like Gypsies.

Where do gypsies live?

Here and there, right?

This country, that country, they’re homeless.

Speaking of Gypsies I got an opportunity to see this firsthand when I travelled to Romania following the fall of the dictatorship of Ceacesceu.

We were there bringing relief supplies to the people in the churches and the pastors.

While there, we had to make our way through Transylvania and throughout that region we encountered gypsies.

Living in their covered wagons, dressed like you’ve seen them depicted on TV and yes, even scorned by others throughout the area.

That was the social status of the Jews – they were seen as no better than gypsies and wherever they set up camp, whatever country they called home – they were hated.

They were scorned.

But the insult doesn’t end there.

Not only were these people Jewish but they were also Christians.

People from all of these areas mentioned: Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia would have been present @ Jerusalem during Pentecost and would have heard Peter preach.

Doubtless, some of these were converted to Christianity and took their new found faith back with them to these areas.

Additionally, the Apostle Paul had travelled this region extensively and many Gentiles had also been converted.

And it is to these Jewish and Gentile converts that this letter was first sent.

These were people who had recognized Jesus as the Messiah, taken Him as Lord and Savior… and that commitment to Christ made their lives even more problematic.

Some of you are probably asking yourselves why would their being Christians make their lives more problematic?

To answer that let me give you a date from history.

July 19, 64 A.D. That was the day that Rome burned.

The Emperor, Nero was considered maniacal and he was the prime suspect.

He had an insatiable desire to build and the only way he could continue to build was to tear down what was already and build it back bigger and better.

The city of Rome was divided into fourteen districts and by the time the blaze was quenched three of these districts had been completely consumed.

Rome was a city of narrow streets.

And on both sides of these streets were high wooden houses where over 1,000,000 people resided.

Once the fire started – it would easily leap from one side of the street to the other, consuming everything in its path, including people, like kindling.

Those who tried to extinguish the fires were hindered and when one fire was stopped another one started.

Historians tell us that Nero had a front row seat in the “Tower of Massinus” and he is described as being “charmed by the flames,” at one point calling them “quite lovely.”

Many people perished.

Religious shrines and artifacts were consumed as well.

Lost in the flames were the temples of Luna, Aira Maxima, Jupiter and the Shrine of Vesta.