August 7, 2016 A.D., by Pastor Ben Willis

1 Peter 1:3-16 [NLTse]

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in Heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

8 You love Him even though you have never seen Him. Though you do not see Him now, you trust Him;

and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting Him will be the salvation of your souls.

10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when He told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and His great glory afterward.

12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God Who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

Sermon

There’s a lot of talk going around our community and our nation these days about foreigners and immigrants; a lot of talk about building walls and not granting visas, on the one hand, or legalizing everybody and giving everyone citizenship, on the other.

There are 10 things a person needs to do to become a citizen of the United States of America:

  1. You must be of age [18];
  2. You must be a permanent resident of the United States and,
  3. be able to prove it;
  4. You must be able to prove that you’ve spent at least 30 months physically in the country;
  5. You must have lived in the state where you applied for citizenship for at least 3 months;
  6. You must live according to good moral standards;
  7. You must demonstrate “an attachment” to the principles and ideals of the U.S. Constitution;
  8. You must be able to read, write, and speak English;
  9. You must have a basic understanding of U.S. history and government; and,
  10. You must take an oath of allegiance – an oath of loyalty and commitment – to the United States.

A citizen of the United States is then entitled to the protection of the United States and all of its blessings.

We began Worship listening to Peter remind us that we Christians are “living as foreigners” here in our communities and neighborhoods. Our faith in Christ has made us citizens of Heaven! but we are temporarily living here on the earth until our Country and our King call us home. This letter, First Peter, is all about what our lives are to be like: Living as citizens of Heaven, as we are “living as foreigners” here on the earth.

First, as citizens of Heaven we need to know that ours is a new life here and now. Just as to be a U.S. citizen people need to be permanent residents of the United States and be able to prove it, we need to guard ourselves against going back and forth between the ways of Heaven and the ways we used to live when we were merely citizens of the earth. Just as the U.S. requires people to live according to good moral standards, what we say and do or do not say and do not do are the ways should make clear to all those around us, believers and non-believers, that we are citizens of Heaven living here on the earth.

And just as those wanting to be citizens of the U.S. need to have lived in one of the fifty states for a certain period of time, we, Christians, need to be an active part of a local church: Participating in the life of the Kingdom of Heaven as it’s being lived out there, and doing our part to grow and expand the influence of Christ’s Kingdom through that church.

Bible Study is critical to help us get to know Heaven’s history and government, and to help us live allegiant – loyal and committed – to Heaven and to our King, Jesus Christ.

Living as citizens of Heaven is a call to be different. The word “holy” in the Bible is just a fancy word for being different: God has set us apart, made us His Own, so that we might live His way, differently from those around us. And, I know it’s hard to be different – to go against the grain, to swim against the flow – but the ways of Heaven are better than the ways of the earth and the leaders of Heaven are better and more trustworthy than the leaders of the earth, and our neighbors and friends and those around us need us to show them here on earth life as it is in Heaven.

As far as our life “living as foreigners” here, I’d like to highlight a couple things from Peter’s long list.

First, I want to highlight that living as foreigners is a life of war. Verse 13 says, “Prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control.” Passions, temptations, troubles, and trials are all weapons the devil strives to use to tear us down and destroy us from the inside and the outside. But the best defense is still a good offense. So, reading the Bible, praying and praising, worshiping, serving others, sharing our faith, getting to know and growing closer to other Christians… are all actions we are called to take to enjoy Christ’s victory in our battles. Don’t misunderstand me: We’re not on our own in these fights and we don’t need to figure out how to fight by ourselves; no, the Holy Spirit provides the grace we need to fight, and the Scriptures teach us God’s ways of fighting, ways that are so very different from the ways of the world. That being said, “living as foreigners” is war: A war to destroy sin and death by acts of love and self-sacrifice, a war to overcome evil by doing good.

Which leads us to a second aspect of our “living as foreigners” I want to highlight. 1 Peter 3:9 says, “Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and He will grant you His blessing.” God’s ways of fighting this war are not what we might think.

Proverbs 22:24-25 says, “If your enemies are hungry, give them food to eat. If they are thirsty, give them water to drink. You will heap burning coals of shame on their heads, and the Lord will reward you.” The Apostle Paul quotes this Proverb in Romans 12 as an example of how we advance the Kingdom and overcome evil with good.

The Lord Jesus encourages the same kind of strategy when He commands us, “Love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.” (Luke 6:27-30) Selfish sinner that I can be, I admit that it helps me to not retaliate against those who have hurt me, but to do good to them instead, when I can remember that my doing good to them heaps burning coals on their heads in the spiritual world.

And one last highlight, we citizens of Heaven “living as foreigners” here must always be ready to share our faith. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “Worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” Are you ready to tell someone else what Jesus has done for you, and what you’re hoping for from Him in the future? If you aren’t, I’d encourage you to get yourself ready.

For me, the Lord always being with me is what has changed (and keeps on changing) my life, that and that through prayer and the Bible, God talks with me, helping me see things as they truly are, and guiding my life. As for the future, the promises from Revelation hold my hope: Of a day when we will live with the Lord face-to-face, and He will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain, and all things will be made new!

We are Citizens of Heaven, not just citizens of the United States and the earth. We have been given new life in Christ so that we would no longer live with just the moment or with just this world in mind; no, we citizens of Heaven are a people living here on the earth, but with our hearts and minds set on eternity and the things of Heaven.