Hope for Misfits - 1 Peter 1:3-5
Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Sunday July 12, 2009
Hope for misfits
1 Peter 1:3-5
A follower of Jesus is a misfit – 1:1. I believe that the majority of people don’t think you strange because you believe in Jesus, but because you take Him so seriously that the rhythms/patterns of your life have been altered. Cf. 1P4:4 Don’t do/go/value… you just don’t fit in anymore. If you value abstinence until marriage – freak!
Peter: here’s why you’re a misfit and here’s the hope of the misfit -
You have been born again – What: God breathed into Adam’s lifeless body/man’s dead spirit. Bornagain.ppt S#1/S#2 in 3 layers – Dove/Regeneration. This changes everything.
As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,... which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12
Just as soon as psychologists can explain what happens to a Christian believer, that believer has been defrocked! Just the moment that a man's experience in Christ can be broken down and explained by the psychologists, we have a church member on our hands—and not a Christian! Tozer Pulpit Church member not a misfit, believer is.
Reason: because God is merciful. Mercy is the emotion caused by the misery/suffering of man. Mercy in a judge was seen as a liability for it made him partial. But God is partial to you. Mercy – keeping you from full weight of what you deserve - hell. Some don’t know mercy -
“Seven Pounds” – man overwhelmed with guilt seeking redemption. Smith wasn’t driven by altruism – driven by guilt and a weight on his soul that he needed to have removed.
How: through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The res. ff Jesus is the foundation of all life/hope/theology. W/o res. of Jesus we are all church members and not Christians.
Purpose: to a living hope (called ‘inheritance’ v4/salvation v5)
“No Exit” by Sartre. Two women and one man are doomed to hell for all eternity. No torture, per se, but they are fated to remain in the same room forever – w/ no sleep and they have no eyelids. They all have romanticized their past. The man pretends he is a hero when actually he is a coward. The two women have lived sordid lives. In the forced intimacy of the room, all the secrets are wrung out – nothing can be hidden and nothing can be changed. The moral of the play is: “You are – your life, and nothing else.” clowney
You WILL receive an inheritance
An inheritance is the wealth of the father passed on to heirs. When Constantine died, the empire was divided into thirds. When Alexander the Great died, the empire was divided into quarters. God’s kingdom isn’t divided into billionths. All receive all!
If I was told someone’s will was read and my name was there and I was to inherit some of the wealth, I’d want to know what it was.
Rev. 21-22
5 truths about this inheritance
As to substance - Imperishable. Not subject to decay/rot/mold – no expiration date.
As to its purity - Undefiled. No sin can touch it and the death that sin brings can’t pollute and corrupt it. It’s in another realm.
As to its beauty - Will not fade away. DaVinci’s “Last Supper”, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel painting – both faded/needed retouching. What our inheritance is now it will be in 20/100/10,000 years. The paint on our cars oxidizes, but the glory of God doesn’t lose intensity.
In heaven, everything is fresh and new always. The angels can’t stop crying ‘Holy’. They are blown away each time they see God. We look at something once and are stunned/we stare/it grows stale – but not in heaven. Put up little tent for Eli and Phia the other day. Eli walks in and says, “This is amazing!” Heaven will blow his mind – and yours.
As to its location - Reserved in heaven. No wonder it’s imperishable/undefiled/will not fade away.
As to its time - Revealed in the last time. The fullness of what God has for you will not be experienced while on this earth. Cf. v13.
You will get more of what you don’t deserve!
Don’t look to squeeze all you can out of life – there’s more to come.
In Disneyland/frantic to get it all in/then told not to worry, you have a five day pass! Nothing happened that had you died earlier you would have seen it – angel parade.
Missionary couple not greeted at docks and the Lord told them they weren’t home yet.
You are protected NOW until THEN
v4 - Something is kept for you – your inheritance. But what use is it that something is reserved for us if we are being attacked now? We’ll never make it. Peter now says: v5 - something is kept from you –
What are you protected from?
* Israel out of Egypt – protected from Pharaoh/hindrances/hunger/ thirst/elements… God moved in and covered them.
* Peter speaks of these enemies to be protected from:
An attitude of rebellion – C2 | A spirit of fear – C3 | A surrender to lustful passions – C4 | An attitude of pride – C5. Rebellion/fear/ passion/pride will lay siege to your soul. As you yield to these things, your hope will fade and you will live for this world. As you take cover under the wings of God, your enemies will be defeated.
All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. Heb. 11:13-16
They died in faith for they lived in faith.
* Here’s what their faith worked in them:
o A love for the promises of God
o A recognition that they were strangers and aliens on the earth
o A desire for heaven
Boris, the washing machine repairman in San Jose – born in Latvia (then part of USSR). No hope of returning – nothing there for him. He no longer desired it – wasteland.
Do you desire heaven? As you do what the Patriarchs did, you will be kept from rebellion/ fear/passion/pride. As you, in faith, look to God, the powers of this world will be defeated by the power of God.
You may be a misfit on earth for a while, but you’ll be a perfect fit for heaven.
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Hope for misfits
1 Peter 1:3-5
A follower of Jesus is a misfit – 1:1. I believe that the majority of people don’t think you strange because you believe in Jesus, but because you take Him so seriously that the rhythms/patterns of your life have been altered. Cf. 1P4:4 Don’t do/go/value… you just don’t fit in anymore. If you value abstinence until marriage – freak!
Peter: here’s why you’re a misfit and here’s the hope of the misfit -
You have been born again – What: God breathed into Adam’s lifeless body/man’s dead spirit. Bornagain.ppt S#1/S#2 in 3 layers – Dove/Regeneration. This changes everything.
As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,... which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12
Just as soon as psychologists can explain what happens to a Christian believer, that believer has been defrocked! Just the moment that a man's experience in Christ can be broken down and explained by the psychologists, we have a church member on our hands—and not a Christian! Tozer Pulpit Church member not a misfit, believer is.
Reason: because God is merciful. Mercy is the emotion caused by the misery/suffering of man. Mercy in a judge was seen as a liability for it made him partial. But God is partial to you. Mercy – keeping you from full weight of what you deserve - hell. Some don’t know mercy -
“Seven Pounds” – man overwhelmed with guilt seeking redemption. Smith wasn’t driven by altruism – driven by guilt and a weight on his soul that he needed to have removed.
How: through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. The res. ff Jesus is the foundation of all life/hope/theology. W/o res. of Jesus we are all church members and not Christians.
Purpose: to a living hope (called ‘inheritance’ v4/salvation v5)
“No Exit” by Sartre. Two women and one man are doomed to hell for all eternity. No torture, per se, but they are fated to remain in the same room forever – w/ no sleep and they have no eyelids. They all have romanticized their past. The man pretends he is a hero when actually he is a coward. The two women have lived sordid lives. In the forced intimacy of the room, all the secrets are wrung out – nothing can be hidden and nothing can be changed. The moral of the play is: “You are – your life, and nothing else.” clowney
You WILL receive an inheritance
An inheritance is the wealth of the father passed on to heirs. When Constantine died, the empire was divided into thirds. When Alexander the Great died, the empire was divided into quarters. God’s kingdom isn’t divided into billionths. All receive all!
If I was told someone’s will was read and my name was there and I was to inherit some of the wealth, I’d want to know what it was.
Rev. 21-22
5 truths about this inheritance
As to substance - Imperishable. Not subject to decay/rot/mold – no expiration date.
As to its purity - Undefiled. No sin can touch it and the death that sin brings can’t pollute and corrupt it. It’s in another realm.
As to its beauty - Will not fade away. DaVinci’s “Last Supper”, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel painting – both faded/needed retouching. What our inheritance is now it will be in 20/100/10,000 years. The paint on our cars oxidizes, but the glory of God doesn’t lose intensity.
In heaven, everything is fresh and new always. The angels can’t stop crying ‘Holy’. They are blown away each time they see God. We look at something once and are stunned/we stare/it grows stale – but not in heaven. Put up little tent for Eli and Phia the other day. Eli walks in and says, “This is amazing!” Heaven will blow his mind – and yours.
As to its location - Reserved in heaven. No wonder it’s imperishable/undefiled/will not fade away.
As to its time - Revealed in the last time. The fullness of what God has for you will not be experienced while on this earth. Cf. v13.
You will get more of what you don’t deserve!
Don’t look to squeeze all you can out of life – there’s more to come.
In Disneyland/frantic to get it all in/then told not to worry, you have a five day pass! Nothing happened that had you died earlier you would have seen it – angel parade.
Missionary couple not greeted at docks and the Lord told them they weren’t home yet.
You are protected NOW until THEN
v4 - Something is kept for you – your inheritance. But what use is it that something is reserved for us if we are being attacked now? We’ll never make it. Peter now says: v5 - something is kept from you –
What are you protected from?
* Israel out of Egypt – protected from Pharaoh/hindrances/hunger/ thirst/elements… God moved in and covered them.
* Peter speaks of these enemies to be protected from:
An attitude of rebellion – C2 | A spirit of fear – C3 | A surrender to lustful passions – C4 | An attitude of pride – C5. Rebellion/fear/ passion/pride will lay siege to your soul. As you yield to these things, your hope will fade and you will live for this world. As you take cover under the wings of God, your enemies will be defeated.
All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. Heb. 11:13-16
They died in faith for they lived in faith.
* Here’s what their faith worked in them:
o A love for the promises of God
o A recognition that they were strangers and aliens on the earth
o A desire for heaven
Boris, the washing machine repairman in San Jose – born in Latvia (then part of USSR). No hope of returning – nothing there for him. He no longer desired it – wasteland.
Do you desire heaven? As you do what the Patriarchs did, you will be kept from rebellion/ fear/passion/pride. As you, in faith, look to God, the powers of this world will be defeated by the power of God.
You may be a misfit on earth for a while, but you’ll be a perfect fit for heaven.
Greetings Pastor Tim,
I am blessed to visit your website and listen to your messages. Hope to be back in November in ate Sonjeh an my brother George. God bless.
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