Leaning into God - 1 Peter 1:10-13
Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Sunday July 26, 2009
Leaning into God
1 Peter 1:10-13
Curiosity about the Gospel - 10
I am reading a book entitled “The Sign and the Seal” in which the author writes of his search for the ark of the covenant in Ethiopia – Sheba/Menelik/Falashas/Axum – I want to know more. My curiosity has been stirred. So, too, the prophets of old. Those to whom the Holy Spirit revealed the gospel had a great curiosity about it. They had part of the story and they wanted to know the whole thing.
A thirst for the knowledge of God had captured their spirit and they yearn for more. God had shown them something of the glory of His salvation and they couldn’t get enough. 3 times it is mentioned that they were seeking more than they had. They wanted to know more about Messiah and just leaned into it. They knew that they didn’t have the fullness and were incomplete.
This leaning into God, this I want to see more and know more, has to be one of the strongest signs of spiritual maturity and an obvious indication that someone’s heart/imagination has been captured by the Lord. Moses got here when he pled to see the glory of God. Joshua got here when he lingered in the presence of God in the tent of meeting after Moses had left. Heb. 11:13 – the patriarchs desired a better country. I think David and Daniel were born here! Heb. 11:6
“How’s your prayer life?” = How is your lean into God? Being who we are, we lean into other things – captured w/ what is less than God
SOME: “I think it would be awesome to have been Isaiah/to receive so much revelation of the Holy Spirit/prophesy of things to come and to stand before a nation and call them to repentance.”
Isaiah would say, “Oh no, you don’t get it. Your privilege is much greater than mine. I only spoke of Christ, you know Him. I only saw Him in the distance, He abides in you. I would give anything to be you.” “What, you’re famous. Why would you want to be me?” Isaiah would say that it’s not about fame, it’s about knowing Christ.
SOME: “How awesome to be an angel who is constantly in the presence of God. To behold God’s glory and beauty and to be able to declare it again and again. To be able to take flight and go from heaven to earth would be a tremendous experience.”
An angel would say, “Oh no. Your position is much higher than mine. I have never known the rescue of redemption or the filling of the Holy Spirit. Your place is higher than mine (1 Cor. 6:3). I would give anything to be you.” Angels want to switch places w/ you!
The most carnal Christian has a greater experience than the holiest prophet and occupies a higher position than the mightiest angel. Being you is as much greater than being Isaiah as fulfillment is greater than prediction. Being you is as much greater than being an angel as the judge is to the defendant.
If the person sitting next to you is a believer, then they are greater than Isaiah and Jeremiah and higher than Michael and Gabriel.
Content of the Gospel - 11
What they did know – the sufferings of Christ/the glories to follow.
* Suffering – Ps. 22:1,14-21/Glories – 22ff | Suffering - Is. 53:4-10/Glories – 11-12
What they didn’t know – what person/time. The future was revealed/then the future was veiled. They could know only so much and no more. They were told they were servants. A servant is one who provides something that they can’t have to someone who can have it. A servant touches the wealth w/o partaking in it – it passes through their hands. To them was revealed the what/why. To us is revealed and given the what/why/who/when. You possess what prophets/angels can only long for – this should astound you. Respond w/ obedience/holiness/christ centered worship (C2). Psalm 25:14-15
Communication of the Gospel - 11-12
The gospel came to the prophets by means of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The predictions of a Savior who will rescue us from the curse of sin aren’t the longings of pious men, nor the arguments of learned philosophers. The predictions of the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow were spoken by the Holy Spirit into the minds of the prophets. The prophets were only vessels. Cf. 2P1:21
The gospel comes to us in the power of the Holy Spirit. The revelation came through the Spirit to the prophets and from the prophets to the preachers and by the Holy Spirit through the preachers to us. The Holy Spirit is involved in the process from start to finish. Through the process of inspiration He guided the prophets into the truth and through the process of illumination He guides us into the truth. By inspiration the truth is received and recorded. By illumination the truth is understood and believed. There is an intellectual and spiritual dimension to the gospel. The gospel can be understood w/o being believed personally.
The only way the gospel can have an impact upon a person’s life is if the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to it. The gospel is more than just the story of Jesus – it is the power of God unto salvation.
Conforming to the Gospel - 13
The Holy Spirit imparted revelation/prophets prophesied this revelation/preachers preached this revelation/we are to practice this revelation
Be like the prophets – gird your minds for action/be sober/lean into God. Lean forward - the prophets were leaning forward to the 1st coming of Messiah and we are instructed to lean forward to the 2nd coming of Messiah. Hurricane Katrina – people on housetops anxiously waiting to be rescued. But no one was rescued who didn’t want to be rescued. One report had a man on a roof who then went back down into the house after the arrival of the helicopter – he didn’t reemerge. Fix your hope completely – live on the housetop!
If you wait at this corner, sometime in the next 7 days, Bill Gates will drop by and give you $10M. Would you do it? Would you go w/ your buddies to the beach/movies…?
You have a greater revelation, deeper experience, higher position than prophets and angels – lean into it…lean into God.
Michael Hyatt, CEO for Thomas Nelson Incorporated, wrote:
We need to live our lives on-purpose. In my experience, the best way to do this is to create a life plan - if you don’t have a road map, you could end up anywhere.
V13, if not a great roadmap, is a great compass -
NFL Quarterback Steve McNair: What Legacy Will He Leave? By Jim Bomkamp
Steve McNair was widely known not only as being a talented and successful NFL ¼back, but also as being a family man/a man who made an impact on his community/a Christian man of character who, in April of 2008, McNair retired from football after 13 seasons.
Since his death reports have emerged that for years McNair was often seen partying late at night around town/long term affair with the young woman who murdered him/at time of murder, his blood alcohol limit was twice the legal limit for drunkenness.
NFL football coach Tony Dungee on Steve McNair’s life and legacy:
In my mind, the lesson is that no matter how successful we are, no matter how many good things we do in life, we are all susceptible to temptation/bad choices - one bad choice can ruin your life; just as it appears to have happened to Steve McNair, it can happen to me.
As a Christian, I believe in the Bible, and it talks a lot about temptations/about the consequences of sin and bad choices. Christians aren’t immune from those temptations or consequences. It appears that Steve McNair made a bad decision as a married man, just as Governor Sanford of South Carolina did, going down a disastrous path with another woman. Those relationships could have started out very innocently, and maybe even with good intentions in mind. However, at some point, both men had to make decisions on the direction those relationships would take, and both men apparently made the wrong choice. Unfortunately, those decisions will have terrible consequences for them and their families. We have to constantly be on guard and pray about all of our decisions. We can’t fool ourselves into thinking that bad decisions won’t have bad consequences.”
Michael Hyatt, CEO for Thomas Nelson Incorporated, wrote in his blog these five lessons that we ought to learn from Steve McNair’s life:
We never make decisions in a vacuum. Everything matters. Our words and actions will echo into eternity.
One moment of indiscretion will be remembered forever. It can wipe away a lifetime of good deeds, all of which will be forgotten.
We are all vulnerable to lapses in judgment. If we think we are not, we are setting ourselves up for failure.
We need to build a support system of family and friends who will care enough to challenge us when we veer off course.
We need to live our lives on-purpose. In my experience, the best way to do this is to create a life plan - if you don’t have a road map, you could end up anywhere.
V13 is a great roadmap – lean forward into God. Fix your hope COMPLETELY on the grace of God that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ… 35
Download | Duration: 00:43:41
Leaning into God
1 Peter 1:10-13
Curiosity about the Gospel - 10
I am reading a book entitled “The Sign and the Seal” in which the author writes of his search for the ark of the covenant in Ethiopia – Sheba/Menelik/Falashas/Axum – I want to know more. My curiosity has been stirred. So, too, the prophets of old. Those to whom the Holy Spirit revealed the gospel had a great curiosity about it. They had part of the story and they wanted to know the whole thing.
A thirst for the knowledge of God had captured their spirit and they yearn for more. God had shown them something of the glory of His salvation and they couldn’t get enough. 3 times it is mentioned that they were seeking more than they had. They wanted to know more about Messiah and just leaned into it. They knew that they didn’t have the fullness and were incomplete.
This leaning into God, this I want to see more and know more, has to be one of the strongest signs of spiritual maturity and an obvious indication that someone’s heart/imagination has been captured by the Lord. Moses got here when he pled to see the glory of God. Joshua got here when he lingered in the presence of God in the tent of meeting after Moses had left. Heb. 11:13 – the patriarchs desired a better country. I think David and Daniel were born here! Heb. 11:6
“How’s your prayer life?” = How is your lean into God? Being who we are, we lean into other things – captured w/ what is less than God
SOME: “I think it would be awesome to have been Isaiah/to receive so much revelation of the Holy Spirit/prophesy of things to come and to stand before a nation and call them to repentance.”
Isaiah would say, “Oh no, you don’t get it. Your privilege is much greater than mine. I only spoke of Christ, you know Him. I only saw Him in the distance, He abides in you. I would give anything to be you.” “What, you’re famous. Why would you want to be me?” Isaiah would say that it’s not about fame, it’s about knowing Christ.
SOME: “How awesome to be an angel who is constantly in the presence of God. To behold God’s glory and beauty and to be able to declare it again and again. To be able to take flight and go from heaven to earth would be a tremendous experience.”
An angel would say, “Oh no. Your position is much higher than mine. I have never known the rescue of redemption or the filling of the Holy Spirit. Your place is higher than mine (1 Cor. 6:3). I would give anything to be you.” Angels want to switch places w/ you!
The most carnal Christian has a greater experience than the holiest prophet and occupies a higher position than the mightiest angel. Being you is as much greater than being Isaiah as fulfillment is greater than prediction. Being you is as much greater than being an angel as the judge is to the defendant.
If the person sitting next to you is a believer, then they are greater than Isaiah and Jeremiah and higher than Michael and Gabriel.
Content of the Gospel - 11
What they did know – the sufferings of Christ/the glories to follow.
* Suffering – Ps. 22:1,14-21/Glories – 22ff | Suffering - Is. 53:4-10/Glories – 11-12
What they didn’t know – what person/time. The future was revealed/then the future was veiled. They could know only so much and no more. They were told they were servants. A servant is one who provides something that they can’t have to someone who can have it. A servant touches the wealth w/o partaking in it – it passes through their hands. To them was revealed the what/why. To us is revealed and given the what/why/who/when. You possess what prophets/angels can only long for – this should astound you. Respond w/ obedience/holiness/christ centered worship (C2). Psalm 25:14-15
Communication of the Gospel - 11-12
The gospel came to the prophets by means of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The predictions of a Savior who will rescue us from the curse of sin aren’t the longings of pious men, nor the arguments of learned philosophers. The predictions of the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow were spoken by the Holy Spirit into the minds of the prophets. The prophets were only vessels. Cf. 2P1:21
The gospel comes to us in the power of the Holy Spirit. The revelation came through the Spirit to the prophets and from the prophets to the preachers and by the Holy Spirit through the preachers to us. The Holy Spirit is involved in the process from start to finish. Through the process of inspiration He guided the prophets into the truth and through the process of illumination He guides us into the truth. By inspiration the truth is received and recorded. By illumination the truth is understood and believed. There is an intellectual and spiritual dimension to the gospel. The gospel can be understood w/o being believed personally.
The only way the gospel can have an impact upon a person’s life is if the Holy Spirit opens their eyes to it. The gospel is more than just the story of Jesus – it is the power of God unto salvation.
Conforming to the Gospel - 13
The Holy Spirit imparted revelation/prophets prophesied this revelation/preachers preached this revelation/we are to practice this revelation
Be like the prophets – gird your minds for action/be sober/lean into God. Lean forward - the prophets were leaning forward to the 1st coming of Messiah and we are instructed to lean forward to the 2nd coming of Messiah. Hurricane Katrina – people on housetops anxiously waiting to be rescued. But no one was rescued who didn’t want to be rescued. One report had a man on a roof who then went back down into the house after the arrival of the helicopter – he didn’t reemerge. Fix your hope completely – live on the housetop!
If you wait at this corner, sometime in the next 7 days, Bill Gates will drop by and give you $10M. Would you do it? Would you go w/ your buddies to the beach/movies…?
You have a greater revelation, deeper experience, higher position than prophets and angels – lean into it…lean into God.
Michael Hyatt, CEO for Thomas Nelson Incorporated, wrote:
We need to live our lives on-purpose. In my experience, the best way to do this is to create a life plan - if you don’t have a road map, you could end up anywhere.
V13, if not a great roadmap, is a great compass -
NFL Quarterback Steve McNair: What Legacy Will He Leave? By Jim Bomkamp
Steve McNair was widely known not only as being a talented and successful NFL ¼back, but also as being a family man/a man who made an impact on his community/a Christian man of character who, in April of 2008, McNair retired from football after 13 seasons.
Since his death reports have emerged that for years McNair was often seen partying late at night around town/long term affair with the young woman who murdered him/at time of murder, his blood alcohol limit was twice the legal limit for drunkenness.
NFL football coach Tony Dungee on Steve McNair’s life and legacy:
In my mind, the lesson is that no matter how successful we are, no matter how many good things we do in life, we are all susceptible to temptation/bad choices - one bad choice can ruin your life; just as it appears to have happened to Steve McNair, it can happen to me.
As a Christian, I believe in the Bible, and it talks a lot about temptations/about the consequences of sin and bad choices. Christians aren’t immune from those temptations or consequences. It appears that Steve McNair made a bad decision as a married man, just as Governor Sanford of South Carolina did, going down a disastrous path with another woman. Those relationships could have started out very innocently, and maybe even with good intentions in mind. However, at some point, both men had to make decisions on the direction those relationships would take, and both men apparently made the wrong choice. Unfortunately, those decisions will have terrible consequences for them and their families. We have to constantly be on guard and pray about all of our decisions. We can’t fool ourselves into thinking that bad decisions won’t have bad consequences.”
Michael Hyatt, CEO for Thomas Nelson Incorporated, wrote in his blog these five lessons that we ought to learn from Steve McNair’s life:
We never make decisions in a vacuum. Everything matters. Our words and actions will echo into eternity.
One moment of indiscretion will be remembered forever. It can wipe away a lifetime of good deeds, all of which will be forgotten.
We are all vulnerable to lapses in judgment. If we think we are not, we are setting ourselves up for failure.
We need to build a support system of family and friends who will care enough to challenge us when we veer off course.
We need to live our lives on-purpose. In my experience, the best way to do this is to create a life plan - if you don’t have a road map, you could end up anywhere.
V13 is a great roadmap – lean forward into God. Fix your hope COMPLETELY on the grace of God that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ… 35
Comments