Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

A. Monologue: In a distant region of the world, the shadow of physical persecution is driving many Christians from their land.

Closer to home there is a type of social persecution.

People are increasingly viewing the Christian Community as strange and even dangerous.

We look around at the rampant immorality and we wonder how they think we are the strange ones.

We see the violence everywhere and are shocked they think we are dangerous.

Some of this immorality has even seeped into some churches, not just its members but some of its leaders as well.

Why is this happening to us?

We are the people of God.

Why do we suffer and evil seems to win?

It just seems so backwards!

Its more than I bargained for when I signed up for this.

This sounds like something some of us may really be thinking today at this very moment, but I am actually attempting to convey how the early Christian church in Peter’s day around AD63 probably felt.

B. Peter was probably in Rome during this time, witnessing first hand the shadow of persecution from Emperor Nero.

Persecution that would eventually become so severe, he would even burn Christians on poles, to use as large candles to light the way to his home.

Somehow Peter recieved word from some Christians in Asia Minor hundreds of miles away, telling him of localized persecution and of problems in their churches with it members and leaders.

Some of them were struggling to make sense of things, if they were children of God, why were they still suffering?

Why were they experiencing difficulties in life.

Why was the church so messed up.

Don’t we ask these same questions today?

So in response, Peter writes a letter to be delivered to several churches all over Asia Minor (Modern Day Turkey).

We call this letter 1 Peter.

He discussed suffering repeatedly in the letter.

One could argue that suffering is the theme of the book.

C.

But it is more than a book about suffering.

In this great book, we get a total picture of what it means to be the people of God in a world where evil seems to win and good seems to lose.

The people of God have a certain lifestyle because of WHO we are and WHOSE we are.

In other words, it is very important that we understand that the most important matter is not WHAT we believe, but rather IN WHOM we believe!

This is the theme of the book.

It was not just written for them.

It was written under inspiration of the Holy Spirit for the church today.

It was written for us.

D. The letter is full of encouragement, but also exhortations and commands.

Some times the idea of a command is a turn off to some people.

But the Bible tells us that every command from God is for our good.

The Psalmist writes that God’s commands are sweet as a roll, like honey in the mouth.

We are going to look this morning at one of these commands.

Transition sentence: This is a comforting command and I say that for four reasons.

Four ways we can be comforted by this command:

Before we get into the text itself, we need to take a step back and think about the man who wrote it.

The Apostle Peter.

A brash young man who was always putting his foot in his mouth.

Here he is 30 years later.

1. Comfort from the encouragement gained by seeing how much the Apostle Peter had matured in his faith.

It is really amazing we even have the book of 1 Peter at all.

You remember Peter right, he wasn’t always on the right side of things.

It is such an encouragement to see how much this man who had made so many mistakes had matured and grown in the Lord.

It gives me hope.

As soon as Jesus began telling the disciples that they were going to Jerusalem where he would be handed over to the authorities and would be beaten and killed and on the third day he would rise again.

This man fought the plan of God to the very end.

Jesus began telling the disciples that they were going to Jerusalem where he would be handed over to the authorities and would be beaten and killed and on the third day he would rise again.

Peter rebuked Jesus for saying it.

Thats when Jesus said, Get behind me Satan.

When Jesus told Peter that Peter would deny him three times, Peter told Jesus He was wrong.

Have you ever questioned Jesus?

In the upper room, when Jesus clothed himself with the servants towel, Peter initially refused to let Jesus wash his feet.

In the garden, while Jesus was praying, Peter couldn’t stay awake to pray.

Can you relate to that?

I know I can.

Sometimes my prayer time is more dreaming than praying.

When the authorities came to arrest Jesus, Peter brandished his sword to fight them off.

Jesus rebuked him.

Then in the courtyard outside Jesus trial, Peter denied he even knew Jesus and cursed God in the process.

Have you been there?

Jesus was on a mission, doing the will of His father, heading straight for the cross to die for the sins of mankind.

Peter was trying to stop it at every turn.

Have you ever fought God’s will for your life?

Why is it that God’s will for our lives can sometimes be so opposite of what we think it should be?

You see, Peter could not see the plan of God.

Instead of trusting Jesus, he thought he knew better.

Can you imagine the anxiety he was feeling during that time?

We really can’t blame him can we?

I mean, Peter had given up everything to follow Jesus, he had hoped that Jesus would be setting up his earthly kingdom soon.

Death of the leader was not on the radar!

So he fought it and fought it and when all seemed lost, he cursed God and denied he even knew Jesus at all! Just as Jesus said he would.

Can you imagine the shock when that rooster crowed and Jesus was lead out of the building and looked into Peter’s eyes?

Now read these amazing words Peter has written,

Clothe yourself: Jesus clothing himself with the servants towel.

The context here is he is addressing elders and young people in the church.

Serve each other.

Humble: written in the passive which would be best understood as “allow yourself to be humbled by the mighty hand of God.” Like the hand of a surgeon that cuts to remove the cancer.

Like the potter who smoothes and shapes the clay.

We should not resist the surgeon, our clay should be soft.

The word humbled is written in the passive which means, not for you to humble but rather to allow yourself to be humbled by the might hand of God.

Like the hand of a surgeon that cuts to remove the cancer.

Like the potter who smoothes and shapes the clay.

His is the hand that brings low and the hand that lifts up. he touched the leper and he was made whole, he touched the blind and he could see, he touched the lame and he could walk, he touched the desperate and she was restored.

He even touched the dead and they lived again.

And for some reason he touched me and I have been made new.

His is the hand that brings low and the hand that lifts up.

He touched the leper and he was made whole, he touched the blind and he could see, he touched the lame and he could walk, he touched the desperate and she was restored.

He even touched the dead and they lived again.

And for some reason, He stooped down and he touched me and I have been made new.

So the first way to draw comfort from this command is just knowing that Peter made the same kinds of mistakes we make, yet he learned to humble himself before God and matured into a great man of faith.

If God did it it him, he will do it in us, if we allow ourselves to be humbled under His mighty hand.

Note: What did Peter learn?

Peter watched Jesus.

describes it perfectly.

Jesus said in ,