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Mar 10, 2013

The Good Life (Part 15)

Passage: 1 Peter 3:8-12

Preacher: Tim Badal

Series:Strangers in a Strange Land

Detail:

Take God’s Word in your hands and turn with me to 1 Peter.  As we turn in our Bibles to 1 Peter 3, I want to remind you that you can be involved in greater study of this passage in community with other believers through many of the small groups we have.  If you’d like to be part of one, it’s not too late to join a small group this spring.  Just sign up in the friendship registry with the time and location that works well for you and we’ll get you plugged in right away.

We find ourselves in this series entitled “Strangers in a Strange Land,” a verse-by-verse study of the Book of 1 Peter.  Today we come to 1 Peter 3:8-12.  Over the last few weeks, we have been reading and studying Peter’s exhortation for us to submit to all different types of authority.  He has gotten specific and has dealt with authorities in the government, in the workplace and in the home.  Now he turns to the churches he’s writing to and says, “I admonish you to submit to each other in many ways because when we serve each other with a brotherly love—when we are tender-hearted and like-minded—we will have a powerful witness to the community around us.”  Peter articulates when this happens, we will begin to live the good life that is in Christ.  Maybe today you are feeling like your life isn’t where it needs to be.  You can become a little more equipped in the pursuit of that good life and the supernatural blessings that can be yours by turning your hearts to this passage.

Today we’re going to hear from both Peter and King David.  Part of Peter’s passage today is a direct quotation from Psalm 34:12-16.  The great thing is not only are we hearing from two men of old—the Apostle Peter and the great King David who was a man after God’s own heart—but we are also hearing from God.  Let us always be reminded when we open this Book, we don’t just read the words of men—we read the words of God.  So let’s turn our attention to this passage and read 1 Peter 3:8-12.  The Word of the Lord says:

8 Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.  9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.  10 For

“Whoever desires to love life

    and see good days,

let him keep his tongue from evil

    and his lips from speaking deceit;

11 let him turn away from evil and do good;

    let him seek peace and pursue it.

12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

    and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” 

Let us pray and ask for Peter’s words to make us wise unto salvation and help us find abundant life in Christ. 

Lord, we come before You and recognize that You are the holy God.  When we view Your glory and holiness—as Isaiah did—and see the seraphim announcing to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,” it is our job to look at our own lives and see our sin (Isaiah 6:1-7).  You have said in Your Word that we can have the good life; we can see good days.  The definition of that good life is different from what the world says.  It is a life found in You.  I pray through the teaching of Your Word—through Peter’s words that were directed by the Holy Spirit Himself—that we would pursue the good life in Your way by pursuing Your things.  Speak to our hearts today.  Get rid of the things in our lives that keep us from this type of life so we can live such wonderful lives amidst an evil and depraved world that they may see and ask the reason for the hope we have (1 Peter 3:15).  We ask for Your blessing on the reading, teaching and receiving of Your Word.  We ask it in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Many of you know based on my absence the last couple of weeks that my family had the opportunity to enjoy some vacation time.  We traveled down to Florida and spent some time in the wonderful place called Disney World.  One day—after a long day of amusement park fun—I was tucking in my four-year-old son Luke and asked him what he thought of the day.  With his eyes wide open, he said, “Dad, I never want to leave this place!”  I said, “Son, at some point we have to go home.”  He said, “No we don’t, Dad!  We can stay here forever.”  That little four-year-old had come to know he was living the good life.  My boys were excited each day as they would say things like, “My friends at school are in math class!”  We would look at the weather channel and I did some ribbing on Facebook that while you were enduring snow, we were enduring 80-degree temperatures.  It was glorious.  We learned as a family that there are some good times in life.  My boys had an absolute blast.  Disney World isn’t so much for adults, but as adults you get the joy of watching your kids’ faces light up with all the great things going on there.

Luke’s comment tells me that there is a hunger inside each one of us for good days and a good life.  The Bible doesn’t say it’s wrong for us to pursue that, but we learn over and over again in this passage to pursue the good life by pursuing the right things.  What inevitably happens as we start to enjoy life is that we elevate the things bringing us joy rather than elevating God Who is to be glorified for those things.

In verse ten of our passage, Peter quotes David and says, “Whoever desires to love life and see good days…”  This comes in the midst of a passage talking about submission where the people have heard repeatedly to submit to the governing authorities in their lives.  They have been saying, “Yeah, Peter.  I get it.  Submit to my boss even if he’s a jerk.  I need to submit and do what he says.”  The women say, “I have to submit to my husband.  Alright Peter, I get it.”  The husbands say, “I have to treat my wife well and love her.  I get it, Peter.”  Then this verse came quoting David.  I wonder if the original audience’s ears perked up when they heard the phrase “the good days.”  They probably said, “Yeah, Peter!  Preach that.  We’ve heard enough about submission.  Preach about the good life.  Tell us how great things can be.”  Amidst all the difficulties and persecution those people were struggling with, Peter was now speaking their language.  “Tell me about good things.  Speak positively.  Preach it, Peter.  We’re listening.”

All people—both saved and unsaved—long for good days in life.  One of the wonderful things and great mercies God gives to all His creation is the ability to have some semblance of happiness and joy in life.  Not too long ago, there was a beer commercial showing a group of men out fishing and enjoying a beautiful sunset.  They were sitting back, popping open beers one after the other and saying, “It can’t get any better than this.”  Let me tell you something—as great as Disney World is for a four-year-old or as great as fishing on a lake with friends and kicking back beers may be for some, the good life Peter is talking about is far greater than what we would ever ask for or imagine.  The abundant life Jesus gives is greater than what this world has to offer.  Peter is reminding us that Jesus said we should not find our joy, peace and contentment in the things where rust destroys, moths devour and thieves come to steal (Matthew 6:19-20).  The good life comes when we as the people of God seek first the Kingdom of God.  It comes when we pursue God in His ways, following the ways of Christ because He alone is the One Who can give us life to the fullest.

Yet many Christians—and many of you here today—are not living the abundant Christian life.  At best, you’re living it adequately and you wonder why that is.  One of the first responses I have when I’m unhappy and disappointed is to point to God and say, “Hey, that thing You’re offering—the abundant life You say we should have—isn’t there.  Something’s wrong.  You need to fix it.”  Peter reminds us the problem isn’t what Christ has done and what He’s offering to us; it is our sin and selfishness.

What does the good life Peter shares from David look like?  It is a life of peace no matter the trouble around you.  It is a life of contentment whether we have plenty or find ourselves in want.  It’s a life of hope in the good and bad times.  It is a mindset that practices the presence of God each day, enjoys the grace God gives us every moment of this life and does all that while looking forward to the world that is to come.  It’s a life of holiness.  It’s a life conditioned not on our circumstances but rather on the Person and work of Jesus Christ.

Our text is going to tell us how we can pursue that life.  We are going to look at this passage today under the heading “The Good Life.”  I want you to see how this good life is found.  It is found by:

  • Promoting partnership with fellow Christians
  • Pursuing peace when we are wronged
  • Practicing purity in an evil world  

1.  Promoting Partnership with Fellow Christians

Let’s hammer these things out.  The first process or way we get to this good life is by promoting partnerships with fellow Christians.  Notice how Peter changes the subject in verse eight.  Before, he had been speaking specifically to certain groups of people in specific areas and situations of life.  Now he turns and says, “Finally.  I want to close out this section.”  He says, “Finally, all of you…”  That means we all need to be listening.  This passage isn’t for husbands, wives, employees or employers.  This is for all of us.  “Finally, all of you...”  He wants to speak to the issue of the church—the fellowship within the body of Christ.  That means the people we sit with when we are at church.  He says, “Finally, all of you, the way you live your life must be different from the way the people interact with one another in the world.”  The way we worship together should be different.  Our fellowship, gatherings and times of interaction with one another should look very different from the dog-eat-dog world in which we live.

This would have been a wonderful opportunity for the people of that day who were listening and responding to Peter’s message.  They would come in on the Lord’s Day after a hard day of work being harassed and ostracized for their faith.  Some of you are feeling that way today.  It is good to be in the House of the Lord where we don’t have to fight about what we believe in; we don’t have to be the minority.  We have the opportunity to gather with the people of God, worshiping Him, proclaiming His name and hearing His Word taught without fearing harassment or mocking.  Peter says, “When you gather in that day, make that experience the best it can be.”

Sadly, if you’ve been around the church very long, you know that many times within the church our gatherings aren’t any different from those of the world.  There is backbiting and devouring going on within the church.  You hear gossip in the neighborhood and the workplace but then there is also gossip within the church.  You have people who won’t speak to you in the workplace or hold grudges against you in your neighborhood or family and then you come to church and the same thing happens.  It doesn’t take us very long to know that many times within the church, we act no differently than the world.  Instead of walking into church and being blessed by the people and the time spent there, we leave more bruised and broken than when we arrived.  This must have been true in Peter’s day, too.  If it wasn’t, Peter wouldn’t have talked about it.  We don’t address things that aren’t true of our circumstances.  Peter says, “Alright all of you, there are some things that have to be part of your life if you are going to enjoy life.”

So what do we understand from this?  First—many of you know this—here at Village Bible Church the first thing we want to work on is the atmosphere we have as a body.  In our vision statement, we say, “Village Bible Church desires to be a family…”  Now there’s a reason we put that statement in there.  We didn’t want to simply be a group of people.  We want to see this group of people—who come from all different places and circumstances—gather together and be a family.  Yet I will tell you, that idea and commitment is a detriment to our growth.  Do you know many people come into this place who are not looking for a church with that type of commitment to one another?  They’re not looking for that.

I recently spoke to someone who visited our church for a while and then made the decision to no longer stay.  I casually asked, “What is one of the reasons why you are leaving?”  The response was, “We want to be anonymous in the church.  We don’t want everyone in our business.  We want to just come and go.  That’s not what you’re all about.  You’re all about getting more involved and more into the lives of people and we’re not there.”  Sadly, far too many American believers are like that.  Far too few of us want to be actively involved with the people of God.  We should want this not so we can be part of some community organization, but so we can be part of a family—because that is what we are.  The elders didn’t come up with that idea.  The Scriptures themselves tell us we are the family of God.

To be a family—to be a group of people who love one another—requires more of us.  It requires time and attention.  It means that I’m going to be a part of this body no matter how I might be feeling on any given day because there are people who are counting on me.  Do you recognize that today?  You are here and need to be here because people are relying on you.  They need your encouragement.  They need your admonition to live the holy life.  They need a shoulder to cry on and someone to walk through their dark days with them.  People are depending on you—I’m depending on you—to play your part.  This is what Peter is getting at.  If the church is going to have any opportunity to serve God in this world, then it needs to be a people who love one another and show that love.

How do we show that love?

This involves attitudes that can revolutionize our relationships.  Notice in verse eight, Peter gives five attitudes we need to have, “…unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”  When we live out these attitudes, it will change the way we relate to one another.  To have these attitudes, we need to see first that we must be united in our minds.  Peter says this unity of mind means you and I are partners.  We don’t just sit by one another because we enjoy the same spot in the sanctuary.  We are gathered in this place to serve with one another.  How do we serve with one another?  We do it by helping one another become fully mature in Christ.  Therefore I need you and you need me.  We are partners.  We cannot live this Christian life on our own.  So Peter says, “You have to be of one mind in this.  You have to have one purpose.”

Now Peter’s audience would have loved this idea because they were continually on a collision course of being the odd man out.  In all of their lives and world, they were people going a different direction.  They would come into the church and what a balm to their souls it would be as they gathered together and sang the goodness of God in one voice.  Like them, we no longer have to fight the conflicted world that is pursuing a different way when we are gathered together.

How do we get there?  I want you to notice when Peter speaks of “unity of mind,” he doesn’t mean uniformity.  We’re not trying to put you into a mold and make you all the same.  This is unity amidst diversity.  The elders are to lead in this.  The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that one of the jobs of the church leadership—especially the elders—is to lead and model this unity.  We do that here at Village Bible Church by being a team.  We lead the church by consensus.  That means we gather together and make decisions—not by vote or by one person having veto power, but we lead as a group of men who pray, discuss things and seek the wisdom of God to make decisions.  We make decisions for the best of the whole body. 

We also model this unity by serving one another as elders.  I hope when you look at your elder team you can say, “Yeah, I want to live out that model.”  I hope you don’t see Tim and another elder fighting and quarreling with each other.  If there is a fight or quarrel, you see us dealing with it in a biblical and godly way (Matthew 18:15-20).  I hope you can look at the elders here and say, “They are men whose lives we can imitate as they interact with one another.”

That united group of men then affirms and implements the doctrine of the church.  They say, “Here are the things we are going to agree on.  Here are the things we are going to hold with a closed fist and those are things we are going to hold with an open hand.  These are the things we believe to be essential and those things are not so essential to the faith.”  That way, we can then lay out a vision.  We lay out a vision so we all can pull in the same direction for the glory of God.

Hold your place in 1 Peter but turn to Philippians 2.  This passage speaks to us of the importance of like-mindedness.  Paul is praying this for the Philippian church.  He says in Philippians 2:2, “…complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.”  How do we do that, Paul?  He goes on to say in verses three through five, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.”  Then he goes on to speak of the humility of Christ.  We need to be a people who love one another by living together in unity.

That leads to the next word—sympathy.  Peter uses a Greek word (sympathēs) that is actually two words compounded together.  The first word means “close association” and the second word means “suffering.”  So it means “close association to suffering.”  Sympathy is when I closely associate with one who is suffering.  That is what Peter is trying to get across.  It means that you and I have a fellow feeling.  When you are hurting, I am hurting.  In Romans 12:15, Paul says, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”  That is sympathy.

This is going to mean a couple of things.  First, it means that if you and I are going to live out Peter’s words, then there has to be close proximity to one another.  It means we have to put ourselves into each other’s shoes.  When we see each other hurting, our heart bleeds because we put ourselves into the shoes and lives of those around us.  This sympathy will change the way we deal with one another when each of us falls into sin.  There is a lack of sympathy when we judge.  If you see your brother or sister fall into sin and you’re quick to judge them, “How could you do that?  What kind of person does something like that?” and respond with condemnation, then you are living a life that does not sympathize and does not recognize the lure and power of sin.  Instead of beating each other down when we fall to sin or find ourselves hurting, we must do our best to understand what Peter is trying to communicate—we must sympathize with each other.

This sympathy is going to come with a brotherly love and a tender heart for one another.  This tender heart Peter speaks of is a Greek word (eusplagchnos) that says “this love comes from the gut.”  It literally means “from the bowels.”  It’s everything.  It affects everything we do and it moves us.  When Jesus looked at the people, Scripture says He saw a harassed and hurting people and was “torn to pieces” (Matthew 9:36).  The idea is that He was literally undone.  When we see and serve one another, it should be done from the heart, not superficially.  Christians should not simply share the same building on a Sunday morning.  We are to live our lives with one another and strive to show each other love.

Let’s just stop here for a moment and ask, “Is this true of us?”  Is this really true of us or is our casualness toward this time and this moment moving us already to what needs to be done in our day?  You see, this is where a humble mind comes into play.  It means the world has to stop revolving around us.  We are not the only ones who matter.  God has brought us together for one purpose: that you and I might be the best we can be in Christ.  We can’t do it on our own.  We have to live this out in community together.

This involves actions that can ruin our relationships.  Amidst this admonition is the call not to pursue things that will destroy the church.  What are those actions?  One thing you can do as you study your Bible is—this is what I do—every time you come to a list of things to do, flip them around and ask what the opposite things are.  If it is a positive list, flip it around and ask, “What are the negative things?”  Let’s do that here.  What happens to a church that is uncompassionate and lives uncaring lives?  Trouble is going to come.  What happens when we are unwilling to live out the mindsets and attitudes of verse eight?  It will reinforce actions that go against what God has recorded for us in Scripture.

How do we know this?  Look at what Peter says.  He reminds us of what Jesus says, “…for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).  “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit” (Psalm 34:13).  One way you know your heart is doing something wrong is by asking the question, “What is my mouth saying?”  Do you have a tender heart toward the people around you?  Do you have a brotherly love?  Well, let me ask you the question Peter is asking.  Are you speaking well of the people around you or do you gossip?  Do you tell lies about each other?  Do you break each other down through your words?  Are your words wholesome or do they bring hurt and pain?  When you have to speak the truth, do you speak it in love or do you do it so you can get a pound of flesh out of someone?  The Book of James reminds us that if we can’t handle our tongue, then we won’t be able to steer the whole ship (James 3:4-5).  A church that cannot handle its tongue will never do anything of value for God.  We’ll never be blessed as a people.

2. Pursuing Peace When We Are Wronged

You might ask, “Tim, what happens when someone wrongs me?  What happens when someone within the church hurts me?  What am I to do?”  Notice our second point involves pursuing peace when we are wronged.  How do we resolve conflict?  Peter says in verse eight, “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”  But what happens when that isn’t happening?  “Peter, what happens when we live contrary to that?”  Peter goes on in verse nine, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”  This admonition means Peter understood the way things are within the church.  Even though you and I are called to live this tenderhearted, brotherly love kind of relationship within the body, he knew the church is full of sinners and we won’t always live according to the Scriptures.

So Peter says, “When that happens, this is what you are to do.”  Please notice there’s no disclaimer for any certain offenses.  He doesn’t say, “Okay, if someone gossips about you don’t revile back.  You need to let the small things go but when it’s really big, you can pound them!”  He doesn’t say that.  He uses broad words.  Notice in the text the first word is “evil.”  This speaks of general wickedness.  When someone does a generally wicked thing against you, you are not to retaliate.  He also uses the word “revile” (loidoria).  It means verbal abuse.  If someone uses their mouth to hurt you, you are not to respond in kind.

So what are we supposed to do?  We are supposed to pursue peace.

This pursuit involves a present reminder about evil.  When Peter says, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling,” he is warning us that the church is capable of terrible things in our responses to one another.  He’s saying, “It is very easy for us to bring great hurt and pain into each other’s lives.”  Wars can be started by the smallest of sparks from the tongue or by some small action.  We need to recognize what Peter understands—the devil wants nothing more than to bring dissension amongst us as a body.  We have to be keen to his schemes.

We have to recognize there is a devil who does not want Village Bible Church to be a church of unity but one of disunity.  He wants us to be a place not of order and compassion but of disorder and chaos.  Paul reminded the Galatian church of this when he said in Galatians 5:15, “But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.”  That means it starts small.  “Someone said something bad about me so I respond back” and the war gets bigger and bigger and involves more and more people.  Before you know it, our church is destroyed because of two people.  It starts with two people who can’t get it together and do what is right.

This pursuit involves a proper response to those who wrong us.  So what do we do?  Peter’s words are simple: “Don’t retaliate.  Don’t repay evil with evil.”  Where did he get this?  Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:38-39, “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’  But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil.”  Don’t retaliate.  Don’t pursue those things.  Don’t think when you’ve been hurt you then have the opportunity to make everything right.  If someone wrongs you, forgive them.  If someone hurts you, show them forgiveness.  Does that mean we are doormats?  No, but it means that suffering is more of an opportunity for rejoicing than it is for retaliation.  When was the last time somebody hurt you and you saw it as an opportunity to rejoice?  If you’re like me, I start putting together the battle plan.  “Ooh, they hurt the wrong person.  Wait until I get my hands on them!”

So what do we do when hurts and offenses come our way?  We use Matthew 18 to guide us.  We’ve talked about this passage recently.  If someone hurts or offends you, go and show them their faults with a desire to win them over.  You do this not to get a pound of flesh out of them, but to show them their error and win them back to righteousness.  Why would we do that?  Let’s look at Peter’s advice.

This pursuit involves a powerful reason to show mercy.  Peter moves on to the powerful reason why we must show mercy.  He says in verse nine, “…for to this you were called.”  God has called us to live at peace with men.  We are not just to live at peace with men when they treat us rightly, but as far as it depends on us, we are to live at peace with all people.  We can’t live the abundant Christian life when we’re at odds with one another.  We can’t live at peace with one another unless we are quick to show mercy, grace and forgiveness.

You might say, “But Tim, you don’t understand how badly I’ve been hurt.”  Let me tell you something.  Some years ago, Amanda and I were greatly wronged by someone in the church.  If I shared the details of it, you would understand when I say this sin was unforgivable from a human standpoint.  When it happened, I wanted justice.  I wanted retaliation.  Then the time came for me to confront this person.  I walked into the office where the meeting was going to take place, ready to let that person have it because they totally deserved it.  But at some point, God gave me a glimpse of Calvary.  As I looked at that person, I couldn’t see the individual who had wronged me.  All I could see was myself.  God kept reminding me, “What about your sin, Tim?  You think this sin is bad?  What about these sins you’ve committed against Me?”  I thought, “But God, those are different!”  He said, “No, they are the same.  You have offended Me, Tim.  You have wronged Me, Tim.  And you know what I did, Tim?  I sent My Son to Calvary to die for you and show you mercy.”

The reason we have to forgive within the body of Christ is because God has forgiven us.  When you start understanding you have been forgiven much, you will forgive much.  When you understand  you are a sinner in utter need of God’s grace and mercy or you would be on your way to hell, then you will understand what it means to show grace and mercy when someone offends you just a little.  Think about it: our offenses to one another are small when compared with our sinful offenses to a holy God.  “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  How much more then should we show mercy and grace?

The Scriptures tell us we receive a blessing when we do this (1 Peter 3:9).  What does that mean?  When we don’t show mercy and grace to someone in their hour of need, we will not receive mercy and grace from our Father in Heaven in our hour of need.  Let me tell you something—I can look out there on a Sunday morning and I see people who are at odds with one another.  One of the worst things about being an elder is knowing all the garbage going on in the church.  I don’t want you to think, “Well, that’s not happening here.”  You had better believe it is.  I can see people in this room who are at odds with one another and will not forgive one another.  I want to tell you something—if you want grace and mercy in your hour of need, then you had better go say sorry to that person and forgive him or her.  The Scriptures tell us we will not get it from God until we give it to our fellow brother or sister.  This is something we have to deal with because if we don’t, we will destroy the church God is building here.  You will not live the abundant Christian life.  You will not have that good life when you hold things over people’s heads.

3.  Practicing Purity in an Evil World

We have to practice purity.  Do you want the good life?  Do you want to live a life of abundance?  Then you have to live pure lives in an evil world.  Amidst all the hurts, pains and struggles the original readers were enduring, Peter said they could see good days by practicing purity.

Now let me be clear—you will never experience the abundant Christian life when you are playing around with sin.  Some of you are blaming God right now because your Christian life isn’t very special.  You’re blaming the wrong person.  Jesus Christ came to give us life in abundance but we’re buying what the thief is selling (John 10:10).  We’re taking it in and thinking we can play both parts.  We think we can come in on Sunday, live the special life and do what we need to just one day a week.  Then we can go back to our old way of living Monday through Saturday and come back on Sunday to do it all over again.  We think this life of schizophrenia will bring forth abundance.  Brothers and sisters, it will not.

So what do we need to see happen?

Practicing purity begins with the right desire.  Notice Peter quotes David and says in verse ten, “Whoever desires…”  It’s an open invitation.  It’s not only for the special ones or those who have met the criteria.  He says, “Whoever desires to love life and see good days…”  Do you want that?  Let’s see a show of hands.  If your hand isn’t up, something is wrong with you.  You have a problem.  “I don’t want the good life.”  Are you kidding me?  Get some help.  We all want to see good days.  As Christians, it must be our desire to want to live the abundant life.

Where does it begin?  It begins with a desire.  That word desire (thelō) speaks of an emotion that leads to action.  Peter is saying, “If you want it, then you have to position yourself.”  Some of us say, “We want it.”  Let me tell you something, I “want” to be 50 pounds less on the scale.  I want that.  But if I don’t position myself to do it, then I can desire something all I want and it won’t matter.  The desire has to lead to something.  Our desire is a pipedream unless we have a change of the will.  When Peter says, “Whoever desires to love life and see good days,” he’s saying, “Christians, put that on your bathroom mirror.”  Put the good life and the good days up there.  It’s like taking that picture of yourself at 18—toned and 50 pounds lighter—and putting it up on the mirror to remind yourself, “That’s my goal.”  When you think of that picture, you can’t go to McDonald’s right afterwards and eat 40 things off the $1 menu.  You can’t do that.  The desire says, “I want the good life so now I’m going to build into my life things that are going to bring me to that point.”  Peter is saying, “Put this reminder up there.  Do you want the good days?  Go after them.”  Pursue the good life.  Doing so will then move you in the right direction.

Practicing purity moves us in the right direction.  We see the word “evil” (kakos) five times in this passage.  You have a decision to make.  Are you going to move in the direction of the good days in Christ through pursuing Him or are you going to pursue evil?  That’s your decision.  All of us—young or old, rich or poor, male or female—have to make that same decision.  When we desire to live the good life, are we going to try to live it through the good ways of God or the evil ways of the world?

I would be remiss not to read one of my favorite passages here.  Psalm 1:1-2 says, “Blessed is the man…”  You could read it as “Happy is the man…”  What has he done to be so happy?  He’s gone in a different direction.  The Psalmist goes on to say, “…who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers [he doesn’t go towards evil]; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.”  I want that.  I want to be like the tree the Psalmist describes next.  Psalm 1:3 says, “He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.  In all that he does, he prospers.”  If you want that kind of life, put it on your refrigerator and start heading in the right direction.

Practicing purity allows for good days ahead.  Notice what Peter says in verses 10-11, “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.”  The way to the abundant life is by walking in purity with your God.  Pursue Him.  When we do, we are allowed good days ahead.  Notice that the evil ones will find themselves opposed by God, but the prayers of those living in holiness will be productive.  Peter says in verse 12, “His ears are open to their prayer.”

Some of us are praying right now for God to do something but His ears are turned from us.  Why is that?  Because we are involved in evil.  We’re not living the life God has asked.  One of the ways God prospers you is through answering your prayers.  You might ask, “Why isn’t He answering my prayers?”  One of the reasons may be that you’re involved in sin.  Get out of sin.  Then—in holiness and with a contrite heart—give that request to God and see what He will do.  We have to turn our hearts and minds to this passage because if we desire a long, healthy and spiritually vibrant Christian life, then we have to do some things differently. 

Let me close by reading this passage again.  First Peter 3:10-12 says:

For “Whoever desires to love life

and see good days,

let him keep his tongue from evil

    and his lips from speaking deceit;

let him turn away from evil and do good;

    let him seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

    and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

 

Stop trying to find the good life in what the world offers.  Jesus Christ came to give us life in abundance. 

Let’s pray.

Father God, we have some work to do.  I pray that amidst our tiredness and busyness, we would stop and do some real work and business with You.  I pray we would recognize that if we want the abundant Christian life, it begins here with this body of believers.  I pray that we as an elder team would lead this body well so the people of God might be thoroughly and fully equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:17).  One of those works is that when trouble and strife comes, the people of God here at Village Bible Church would be able to show love, forgiveness, grace and mercy to one another.  We know that in each of our hearts is the opportunity to derail the work You are doing here.

Lord, I pray a special blessing over Village Bible Church for You to allow us to be likeminded.  I pray You would allow us to have tender hearts living out brotherly love.  Help us to be sympathetic toward one another, caring for one another and involving ourselves with one another.  When someone hurts us, help us to not look to the world.  Help us look to Your Son Who gave all things over to You.  He entrusted Himself to You Who judges justly.  Let us do that as well.  I pray that in this world of evil and sin, You would empower us and guide us by the truth of Your Word to live lives of purity.  I know in a group this size there no doubt are some here who find themselves dying in sin.  I know I too have struggled this week in some key areas of my life.

Father, I pray we would make this phrase—“to love life and see good days” —the banner of our lives.  Help us make that the impetus to live out lives of holiness.  We want the abundant life.  We’ve come to You by faith pursuing that abundant life.  Now give us the strength, power and motivation to do so.  Give us people in our lives who are willing to gently and lovingly push us toward that end.  Let us see those good days by pursuing Your things. 

We’re going to go out into the world and see that they pursue things very differently.  They long for the good life as well but find it in many things that will one day be destroyed.  Don’t let us be distracted.  Let us keep our eyes on the prize.  Let us keep our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).  When we do that, I pray we will find victory and peace in this world of trouble.  We love You Jesus and thank You for coming and giving us this abundant life.  We give our lives as a sacrifice for it.  In Christ’s name we pray.  Amen.