Everyday Exiles
Sermon Notes
Intro:
Today we’re continuing our teaching series called Exiles, which is about living with a greater purpose in life! How can you personally live with a greater purpose in life? We want 2021 to be A Year of Multiplication here at City Awakening, meaning we don’t just want to be recipients of grace, we also want to be instruments of grace! We want to be instruments of grace so we can bring much hope and joy to the people in our city. Do you know somebody who needs hope? Do you know somebody who needs joy? If you had a chance to bring hope and joy to them, bring hope and joy to the people in our city would you do it? Yes, you would. Both skeptics and believers want to bring hope and joy to those they love, and today we’ll talk about how to do that. We’ll talk about how to live as everyday ministers, so let’s turn to 1st Peter 2:9-12 and get into it. You’ll find 1st Peter in the last quarter of your bible. We’ll start in 1st Peter 2:9, and end in ch 3:13-16. The title of today’s message is Everyday Exiles, and here’s the big idea. We’re everyday ministers, with an everyday ministry. We’re to view every day as an opportunity to declare and display our hope.
Context:
Peter’s writing this letter to Christians suffering persecution for their faith in Jesus. They’re suffering even to the point of being kicked out of their homelands, so they are literally living as exiles in a foreign land. But in ch 2 Peter starts talking about living not just as exiles, but as exiles who are living as everyday ministers. It’s the 3rd D in our 3D discipleship, which stands for discover, deepen, and display. We want to help you Discover your identity in Jesus, Deepen your walk with Jesus, and Display your faith in Jesus as instruments of grace in our city. This week Peter’s talking about Displaying our faith in Jesus as everyday ministers. He’s talking about being an everyday minister, with an everyday ministry. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
1st Peter 2:9-12 states, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood...” This is where we get the big idea that we’re everyday ministers. In vs 5 Peter says we’re a holy priesthood, here in vs 9 he says we’re a royal priesthood. Like Alex said last week this means every believer, every follower of Jesus is a minister. Ministry isn’t something reserved for pastors, church staff, and missionaries, it’s something for every believer because every believer’s a minister. It doesn’t matter if you’re a doctor, nurse, or 1st responder. It doesn’t matter if you’re a builder, engineer, or sit in a cubicle. It doesn’t matter if you’re a teacher, student, home schooling mom, or retiree. Every believer’s a minister and we’re to view every day as an opportunity to minister to others and glorify Jesus. Jesus scattered the priesthood of believers into many different professions, and empowered us to live as ministers in those professions. The janitor mopping floors in a school is no less significant in ministry than the pastor preaching in a church. We’re to live as everyday ministers with an everyday ministry, and Peter’s about to teach us there’s 2 ways we do this.
Again vs. 9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” There’s the 1st thing Peter teaches we’re to do as everyday ministers, he teaches we’re to proclaim, we’re to declare the praises of the one who called us out of darkness into the marvelous light, which is Jesus. What he’s saying is when opportunities arise we’re to talk about praiseworthy things regarding Jesus, and the eternal hope we have in Jesus. For example a few weeks ago I was at the doctor’s and noticed the doctor looked exhausted. She said she was exhausted from the pandemic. So I said “Yeah a lot of people were hoping 2021 would be a new chapter, but what if it isn’t? What if it’s worse than 2020? We have to find hope not in the uncertainty of a new chapter, or in temporal things that’ll eventually be taken away. We have to find our hope in something that’s eternal. My hope is in Jesus, and so I always have hope, even as I’m facing the possible death of my father.” She let out a deep sigh, shared a few personal things, then I bought her a coffee to help her get through the day. My point is no matter where you are or what you’re doing, you are an everyday minister...You’re an everyday minister with everyday opportunities to declare praiseworthy things about Jesus, and the eternal hope of Jesus.
Vs. 10, “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul. 12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.” There’s the 2nd thing Peter tells us to do, he tells us to do good works, to display good works. So as everyday ministers we’re to both ‘declare’ and ‘display’ the eternal hope of Jesus. Last week Alex mentioned something Tim Keller said that’s critical and worth elaborating on. Keller talks about the human body having input and output. Input is where you eat, drink, sleep to recharge your batteries. Output is where you drain your batteries by working, exercising, serving others. Input without output isn’t healthy for your body. It isn’t healthy to just eat and sleep all day. It also isn’t healthy for you to have output without input, because you’ll burnout if you don’t recharge. Keller states, “If you really want to thrive as an organism, you need both input and output, and the same is true spiritually. Input means someone is ministering to you. You’re being instructed. You’re being encouraged. You’re being counseled. You’re being supported. You’re being loved. You’re being served. That’s input. What’s output? It’s you doing that for others. You’re instructing. You’re encouraging. You’re serving. You’re volunteering. You’re being trained. You’re ministering. It’s input and output.”
Now the way this works is Jesus is the primary one who ministers to you, which then empowers you to minister to others. In vs 10 Peter says at one point we didn’t have Jesus’ mercy, but now we’ve received his mercy and we’re to display his mercy to others. It’s both input and output. This means you’re hurting the health of our church if you’re only coming to receive input. You’re hurting the health, the growth, the impact our church can have on this city if you’re not financially supporting, serving, or giving any output. Keller states, “There are always people who come to get and not to give. But if you’re here it’s because God says, ‘You should be part of the priesthood of all believers...If you’re too busy, too timid, or too selfish to do output as well as input, then you’re out of alignment with the cornerstone of Christ, which is bad for you, the church, and our city.” Everyday ministers need to be about input and output. Jesus ministers to you, but he also ministers through you!..Jesus ministers to you, but he also ministers through you, including to those who are skeptics. Peter says in vs 12 that even some skeptics will come to glorify God through our good works. Not every skeptic you try to reach will become a believer, but some will. How do you handle those who criticize you for your faith? Peter addresses this in ch 3. So let’s turn to ch 3:13-16, and see what he says about facing criticism in sharing our faith.
Ch. 3:13-16 states, “Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated.” Notice he focuses again on doing what’s ‘good,’ on displaying our hope in Jesus by doing good deeds for others, but he also says we might suffer for this. In ch 2 he said sometimes we’ll attract others with our good deeds, but here he’s saying we might be attacked by others for our good deeds. Why? Why would somebody attack us for doing good deeds? One reason is because they might not agree with a biblical view on what’s considered good and righteous. For example when many Christians fought for the abolition of American slavery, they faced suffering from those who disagreed with their biblical view that slavery was a sin. In an article I recently read Christianity Today said, “They were the most hated men and women in America. All across the South rewards were posted for their lives. Southern postmasters routinely collected their pamphlets from the mail and burned them. In the North these radicals were mobbed, shouted down, and beaten up. Their houses were burned, and their printing presses were destroyed. For 30 years, to the very Eve of the Civil War, the word ‘abolitionist’ was considered an insult.”
But despite their suffering these Christians still stood up for what’s good and righteous. It was Christians like Quaker farmer John Woolman. He freed his slaves and spent his life trying to persuade his neighbors to do the same. He’d ask them questions like “What’s it mean to own a person?...What’s it mean to will a person to your descendants, as if they’re a piece of property?...” His courage to stand up for what’s good and righteous regardless of suffering eventually led to every Quaker in America releasing thousands of slaves. It also led to many Quakers to join the abolitionist movement...Peter’s saying you’ll sometimes attract people, or be attacked by people for your good deeds. But as everyday ministers have the courage to suffer for righteousness, because you know your suffering won’t last forever, since Jesus rose form the dead. When Jesus rose he proved victorious over suffering and death, which means we can be fearless in declaring and displaying our faith even if we’re facing suffering and death. It’s like Jonny Lawrence in Cobra Kai “Fear doesn’t exist in this dojo!” Well fear doesn’t have to exist in the church’s dojo either, because we have a greater sensei who defeated our greatest opponent which is death!
Vs. 15, “But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy...” Everyday ministers need to treasure Christ ‘in their hearts,’ above everything else. One of the reasons we don’t talk about Jesus as much as we should is because we don’t treasure him in our hearts as much as we should. I mean people talk about the things they treasure most in life. If a young lady gets engaged she’ll talk about it. She’ll show everybody the ring and tell them how her fiancé proposed. Men do this with their food. If we eat a good steak or brisket we’ll talk about it and tell our buddies where to get it. It’s because people talk about the things they treasure in life. If you’re not a Christian you shouldn’t get offended if your Christian friends talk with you about Jesus, they’re just trying to share their greatest treasure in life with you. You wouldn’t get insulted if they invited you to their wedding, you’d get insulted if they didn’t. In a similar way don’t get insulted if they invite you to share in the treasure of Jesus, get insulted if they don’t. Christians if you treasure Jesus you’ll talk about Jesus, and if you treasure your friends you’ll talk about Jesus with your friends. If fear is preventing you from talking about Jesus, it’s a sign you’re treasuring something else in your heart over Jesus. It’s a sign you’re treasuring things like your reputation, your desire to be liked, your perfectionism in sharing your faith without making a mistake. But we need to let the treasure of Jesus be the fuel that drives out fear, and motivates us to live as everyday ministers.
Again vs. 15, “But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” Peter’s saying everyday ministers need to be ready to ‘give a defense,’ and the word defense comes from the Greek word apologia, which is where we get the word apologetics from. It means to defend or to give an answer. But pay careful attention as to what he’s saying we need to give an answer for. It isn’t answers to tough questions like the existence of God or the problem of evil, although we should certainly grow in theology to intellectually answer such questions. But that isn’t what Peter’s talking about! He say’s we need to be ready to give an answer for the hope that’s in us, which is something every Christian can do because every Christian has hope! Peter’s saying every Christian can do this in their everyday conversations at work, school, the gym, the grocery store, and neighborhood. We need to be ready to give an answer for why we treasure Jesus so much and why he gives us so much hope, even when facing suffering and death. Now what causes people to ask about the hope you have, is if your life’s displaying something different than the hopelessness they have. It’s one of the ways the early church grew. The early church grew because Christians lived differently than the rest of society and it caused people to ask why?
For example they were extremely generous to the poor, including non-Christians who were poor. In 361 AD the Roman Emperor Julian declared himself as a public enemy of Christianity. But even he couldn’t deny the loving impact Christians were having on the Roman Empire. Julian said, “Christianity’s been specially advanced trough the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It’s a scandal that there’s not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the Christians care not only for their own poor but for ours as well.” This coming from a Roman Emperor who declared himself a public enemy of Christianity. Historian Eberhard Arnold states, “Most astounding to the outside observer was the extent to which poverty was overcome in the vicinity of the communities. Christians spent more money in the streets, than the followers of other religions spent in their temples.” They were radically different in their love for the poor, but they were also radically different in their love for human life. They were very multi-ethnic welcoming all ethnic groups into the church, and they even saved babies from the Romans abortion methods. If the Romans had a baby girl or a baby with disabilities, they’d just toss them outside in the trash. But the Christians would do what they called baby runs. They’d walk around the streets at night listening for discarded babies to save them and take them in their homes. It was things like this that caused people to ask why Christians were so different. They wanted to know why they had such a different hope, love, and view of life. My concern with Western American Christianity is that we’ve blended in with the world so much, that people can’t even tell there’s a difference! But Peter’s saying we’re to live differently! We’re to engage our city in such a loving way that it causes people to ask about the great hope we have in Jesus. And the opportunities to engage our city in loving ways is endless!
· Check in on your friends.
· Have dinner with your neighbors.
· Be a model employee.
· Have lunch with a co-worker, ask how they’re doing, and follow up with them.
· Share a meal with the homeless, get to know their name, and get to know their story.
· Listen to the silent tears of hurting people.
Whatever you do be consistent in your display of love, because some people need time to observe and ponder what’s different about your life, before they turn to Jesus for hope in their life. Simply put, we’re to live a lifestyle filled with selfless love and good deeds, in a society that isn’t doing that. We’re to engage our city in such loving ways, that it causes people to ask about the hope we have in Jesus. It’s a task for every Christian because every Christian has hope.
Vs. 16, “Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.” So it’s not just about what we do, it’s also about how we do it. Peter says we’re to do all this with gentleness and reverence, the ESV says with gentleness and respect. This is important because some Christians are very argumentative when sharing their faith. They care more about winning an argument than winning the heart of the person. They might be right in their defense and answers, but they’re wrong in their conduct and actions. But others are so gentle and respectful that they never actually share their faith. They say “Preach the gospel use words if necessary” thinking their lifestyle’s preaching the gospel. But your lifestyle isn’t always a good reflection of the gospel, so you have to use words to declare that Jesus is the perfect display of the gospel. Your lifestyle can be a good gospel primer, but it isn’t a good gospel proclamation. So we need to strive to display the gospel, but also use words to declare the gospel, and do it in gentle and respectful ways like Peter says. We need to display and declare Christ, in a Christly way.
The Big Idea:
Look the big idea is we’re everyday ministers, with an everyday ministry. We’re to view every day as an opportunity to declare and display our hope. If you’re a skeptic, I don’t know what this chapter of 2021 will bring you, but I know the kind of hope Jesus can bring you. It’s an eternal hope that’ll never be taken away. You can have that eternal hope if you believe he’s your eternal God who came to live the perfect life you haven’t lived, died the death you deserved to die for your sins, and rose again to prove it’s all true. If you believe that, if you put your hope in Jesus today, you’ll receive eternal life and an eternal hope that not even death can take away.
If you’re a believer, remember you can’t reach everybody, but you can reach somebody. You can live as an instrument of grace and declare the hope you have when opportunities arise. Jesus has empowered you with his hope, empowered you with his love, empowered you with a power that has no limitations. He’s the one who has the very hope and power we need, the very hope and power the people in our city need! So let’s turn to Jesus for hope not just for our own lives, but also for the lives of the people in our city. Let’s remember Jesus ministered to you, but he also wants to minister through you. Let’s live as an everyday minister, with an everyday ministry, viewing every day as an opportunity to declare and display our hope. Let’s pray.