Yesterday, we finished our walk through 1 Peter with a look at getting back to the basics in our faith. Peter certainly doesn’t cover all of the basics. Nevertheless, living a life of glory to the Lord must include each. Here is a skeleton of yesterday’s outline. Feel free to open up discussion or make a comment.

GLORY ROAD: STUDIES IN 1 PETER

Sermon Thirteen: In Conclusion

1 Peter 5:6-14

The Christian life consists of basic-fundamental truths. Are you building your life on them? As we conclude our study of this awesome book, we here Peter give some of these essential principles that should make up every believer�??s life. I want to discuss these three truths this morning. Hopefully, we will all choose to make them a greater part of who we are.

I. TRUST GOD

A. Trusting God involves two actions. First, it involves submission to God. Peter encourages us to humble ourselves before God.  We can�??t seem to get away from the concept of submission! Submit means give up rights. Fact is, unless start here, won�??t get to the second part. We must give up our right to be in control because we believe that God knows more than we know and can do more than we can do. Ps 46:10.

B. Secondly, it involves dependence on God.  �??Cast�?? means to throw off with vigor. One commentator said that this is the picture of a hiker at the end of a long day unhooking his pack and tossing it down. We trust God by continually turning over our burdens to him.

C. What do we cast? We cast our anxiety on him. �??Anxiety�?? comes from a root that means �??to divide.�?? Anxiety is the feeling over anything that makes us distracted, disturbed, confused, frustrated or burdened. It’s a load that will make our lives miserable and make us less than effective in the kingdom. We need to get rid of it!

D. How can we do it? Peter says we can cast our cares upon him because,  ”He cares for you.” PS 145:13-14   That’s the hard part. We must truly believe that God’s glory is in our best interest. We must believe that He will be faithful and will never leave or forsake us. He cares for us and he proved it by sending his own Son to die for us.

II. RESIST SATAN

A. While we trust God, we also watch our back. Peter says that we should be sober and watch. For what? Keep watch for the enemy. He is the devil, prowling around like a roaring lion and if he has his way, we’ll be on his menu for dinner.  Satan is like that. He�??s crafty, cruel, restless, vicious and brutal.

B. Our defense against Satan?  Resist. JAS 4:7. Because of the completed work of Christ on the cross, Satan no longer has any real power over us. We have the option of saying no.  So we must resist him by standing firm in the faith. That is, we know the truth, from God’s word, and in the truth, we refute the lies of the tempter. James says (as Jesus’ own experience proves) that when we resist him, he has no choice but to flee. He may not flee immediately, but if we stand firm, he will back down.

III. LOOK HEAVENWARD

A. Peter says, Look beyond the present to the future. He reminds his believers that while they have suffered, that suffering will only be for a little while. This is time as compared to eternity. Peter says, “Hey, it’s not going to last forever.” That should encourage them. But what encourages more is what God will do when that time comes.

B. Peter uses four words to describe what the God of grace will do when believers are called to glory. I believe also, that He will grant these things during times of suffering by his grace.

·                     �??Restore�?? Giving back what we have lacked.

·                     �??Confirm�?? Giving whatever you need to complete the task.

·                     �??Strengthen” God  will strengthen that which is weak.

·                     �??Establish” God himself will set you on a firm foundation.

C. So, the encouragement is that while dealing with the troubles of this life, always keep the eternal perspective that will see us through the tough and trying times.

I thought I’d try something new. If it works, at the very least it will force me to write one blog post a week. Here’s the idea. I will repost a brief outline of the sunday morning sermon. Your job is to comment on it. Of course, if you have a criticism, that will be acceptable, but what I’d really like to see is an expansion on an idea, an illustration, or even a personal testimony of how something has been true in your own life. It’s sort of an electronic round-table discussion.
One word of warning. This is my blog. I moderate all comments and I choose what or what not to put up. I have no problem putting up something critical, but won’t consider any derogatory remarks. So, if your comment isn’t posted, it’s because I’ve determined it not to be suitable for the discussion. That being said, here goes the Monday Morning Quarterback.

GLORY ROAD: STUDIES IN 1 PETER

Sermon Twelve: Matters in the Church

1 Peter 5:1-5

Everybody�??s got a place in the church. The question is, do we understand what that place is? As Peter begins to close out his letter, he takes a slight detour, turning his sights on matters in the church. Specifically, he discusses responsibilities and attitudes for believers within the body of Christ. God uses these words to show us critical nature of those same matters in the church today.

I. RESPONSIBILITY

A. Primarily, Peter points toward the differing responsibilities within the local congregation. Technically, the term “Elder” is used for those who are given the responsibility of pastor of a local congregation. However, for our discussion, we are interchanging the word leader. Why? Because the leadership principles Peter gives will apply to any position of leadership within the church. In essence, we have individuals who are responsible as leaders over many areas such as Sunday School, deacons, etc.

B. Peter addresses those who are “younger.” While scholars debate who he was actually talking about, we looked at this from the standpoint of those who were not elders, or leaders. So, these are the followers.

C. Leadership principle: Peter’s simple, but profound principle of leadership in the church: Leaders should lead….followers should follow.

D. Leader’s responsibilities. Leaders should lead. Two words describe the functions of a leader in the church. They shepherd and they oversee. Again, while these principles certainly apply to the office of pastor, they also should apply to all leaders. As shepherds, leaders are responsible to feed, care for, and lead the sheep for which they are responsible. As overseers, leaders see to it that the functions of their charge are carried out effectively.

E. Follower’s responsibilities. Followers should follow. Peter tells the younger one’s to be subject to their elders. To be subject, or submit, means to willingly give up one’s rights. In this context, Peter is saying that followers need to give up their right to be the leader. They don’t give up the right to be heard, help, or disagree. Nevertheless, they are charged to follow their leaders wherever their leaders take them.
F. Churches are failing today because of a breakdown in these responsibilities. We have leaders who don’t lead. We have followers who aren’t willing to follow. When that happens, nothing happens.

II. ATTITUDE

A. Peter then challenges leaders and followers to fulfill their responsibilities in the correct way. While he addresses elders directly, when he turns to the younger believers he says, “likewise” or “in the same way.” So, the right attitude is commanded for both leaders and followers.

B. Willingness: Leaders lead and followers follow not because they are forced to do so, but because they want to.

C. Eagerness:Leaders lead and followers follow not to experience personal gain, but becasue they are eager to do it. We will be blessed in our faithfulness, but that’s not our primary motivation.

D. Exemplary: Matt 20:25-27. A good leader doesn�??t demand leadership; rather, by the quality of his life he commands it. A good follower sets an example of servanthood.

E. Peter says that having this outlook is a result of an overall quality. That quality is humility. Humility is most perfectly described in Phil 2:3-7. What if we don’t have humility? First, without humility, the attitudes previously described won’t be present. Secondly, without humility, God will oppose us because “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

That’s a synopsis of the sermon points for yesterday. I’ll be looking forward to what you might have to say.

I just ran across this old email. I though everyone would get a kick out of these modern proverbs.

Since most of you find my new posts on the link provided on the Calvary Baptist Church website, you already know what a great site it is. If I remember right, I started the site in 2002. For the most part, it remained relatively unchanged until Justin Grice took over the reigns. I just want to say how much I appreciate all of the time and hard work Justin has put into this project. It’s made all the difference in the world. Not only has the site actually become informative and useful, more importantly it is inspirational, helping to fulfill the church’s mission to help people become like Jesus! Thank you, Justin! Keep up the good work!

I know, I know. I promised a report and it hasn’t come yet, nearly a week after we’ve returned. Sorry, but ministry and life tend to get in the way. Nevertheless, here is a brief report on our Alaska Mission trip.

We flew to Anchorage, Alaska on July 8, landing at around 6:00 pm. Our missionary contact picked us up at the airport. Her name is Brenda Crim. Brenda took us out for dinner and briefed us on our week’s activities. After a quick trip to her home, we headed down the Kenai Peninsula with Nathan, a summer missionary from Longview, Tx. We arrived in Kenai, Alaska late that evening. The strange thing, it was 11:30 pm and still daylight! Right now, Alaska is receiving almost 24 hours of sunlight! After day one, however, sleeping wasn’t really a problem.

We rose on Wednesday and after breakfast, had a lesson on tying egg knots on a Russian river fly.

We then left the house in Kenai and headed to Soldotna to get our licenses and equipment. Then, we went up the road to Cooper Landing where the Russian River empties into the Kenai. Our mission? Reaching salmon fishermen (and women) fishing the salmon runs on the Lower Kenai Peninsula. We had opportunities to do one on one outreach on the Kenai, Russian, Anchor, and Kasilof Rivers. We handed out New Testaments, the Gospel of John, Russian River flies (the only thing you can fish with on the Russian) on cards with scripture and tracts. The evangelistic DVD, Life Alaska, didn’t make it to us in time, so we couldn’t pass those out. We also took part in a small project, doing some painting and work with another group at College Heights Baptist Church in Soldotna.

The highlight of the week came on Sunday evening as we ministered to fishermen on the Kasilof at Crooked Creek Campground. David Jacks cooked up a BIG pot of gumbo and we set up and fed folks and talked to them about Christ. We estimate 40-50 ate with us and received bibles and other materials.

Observations:

It was a great trip simply from the standpoint that 3 of the 5 of us had never been on a misson trip before. Also, these guys had probably never shared their faith. Yet, here they were, among fellow outdoorsmen, talking about Jesus. We didn’t see any professions of faith. Nevertheless, we count it a success when we can sow gospel seeds in people’s lives.

Salmon fishing is hard when the fish aren’t running! We were between runs. In fact, I checked the numbers after we left, and the three days after we left, over 170,000 red salmon ran the Kenai. When we were there, daily numbers were in the 100s! Salmon don’t bite bait. They are running the rivers to spawn and ultimately die. Catching them is a matter of “flossing.” That is, you flip your line out and try to run it through his mouth and snag him. Not so hard if 170,000 are swimming by. Tough if a fish comes by you once every half hour! Slow runs meant less people on the rivers, but it also means people are more willing to stop and talk.

Alaska is beautiful! But you knew that already, didn’t you!

It never got above 60 degrees while there! We saw moose, bears, caribou, dall sheep, and more bald eagles than you could imagine! Romans 1:20 is certainly proved to be true in this place! We had many who doubted the validity of Jesus. We had no one who denied the existence of God!

This is a great opportunity for outdoorsmen. Alaska is like everywhere else. You can’t expect the lost to come to church. Most of them don’t even know where your church is. If you are going to tell them about Jesus you have to go where the people are. In Alaska, that means picking up a rod and reel and going fishing. To my knowledge, nobody else is doing missions this way there. I pray that God will continue to allow men and women from Calvary the opportunity to go reach outdoorsmen in Alaska and other places for Jesus Christ.

Well, we returned from Alaska late last night (15th). Sorry I wasn’t able to post while we were gone. I didn’t have any internet access where we were staying and didn’t have time to go to a wifi location while we were there. We were pretty busy most of the time as you can imagine. Anyway, I’ll try and post a report in the next day or two.

Tuesday, four men and I will travel to Cooper’s Landing, Alaska via Anchorage for a mission trip. This trip is being sponsored by the Alaska Baptist Convention and the North American Mission board. It has been described to us in this way through the Outdoor Ministry Network.

Your church now has the opportunity to take your outdoorsmen on a trip to wild Alaska and share Christ during the summer Salmon runs.  Literally, people from all over the world will descend on Alaska in a very short period of time trying to hook up with the Salmon that run upstream to spawn.  Alaskans live for this short window of time where they can get up to 22 hours of daylight … and they pretty much live it out on the rivers!   The locals actually call it “combat fishing” because you have to work your way into a spot to fish!
Your main mission … to pass out a DVD OMN produced specifically for these type efforts.  The DVD uses Alaskans, who hunt and fish, to share the gospel.  You’ll go up and down the rivers simply handing out a DVD in order to sow seeds for the harvest.

 

Actually, we will be doing several types of activities to engage the outdoorsmen for Christ. This is a new kind of mission trip and we are the first to do it. Pray for our effectiveness in meeting and engaging people. Pray, as God sees fit, that His gospel will go forth from us. Pray for our safety and our families as we are gone.

I don’t know what kind, if any, internet service we will have. If possible, I will post updates daily.

How about four?

One of the theme verses of my life is Romans 8:29. It says, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.” (ESV) Among other things, this tells us that God’s purpose for all believers was that each one be like Jesus. We know that when we are finally glorified in heaven, that purpose will be completely fulfilled. But, until that time, what? Until that time, believers should be ever moving toward that goal, becoming more like Jesus every day. The problem with most churches, mine included, is that we have historically focused on numerical rather than spiritual growth. If we could show an increase from year to year, we were happy. Sadly, the church has suffered with “believers” whose lives never reflected the change that God says should be happening.

Let’s pray that churches in general and Calvary Baptist Church in particular will take this task seriously. It is our mandate. The Great Commission has only one imperative verb, to make disciples. That is our command. It is God’s purpose. Christ follower, are you taking this task seriously in your church and in your own life?

I found this powerful video on another blog. Though I’d share it with you to illustrate the difference Christ makes in the lives of others. Enjoy.

Well, another convention goes down in history. Sorry, but I have to hold back a yawn. I stopped going to conventions years ago when I discovered that much of the business, especially elections, were foregone conclusions. I have never really been a poster boy for the SBC. I am baptist through and through, but I hate the politics, which I believe were at the center of the so called “conservative resurgence,” 30 years ago. Those of you who know me know that I am fiercely conservative. I am not, however, a fundamentalist. Fundamentalism for me is more of a political designation than theological. However, I digress. Two years ago, something happened. A relative unknown became SBC president. It wasn’t the “chosen” one! Maybe the tides were shifting! Many SBC pastors, particularly those under 40 had become disillusioned about the direction of the convention. Many of the “old guard” were being challenged. History will have to determine whether or not Frank Page’s election was indeed the beginning of  change, or rather a blip on the screen of SBC history.

While I haven’t followed SBC 08 events closely, one decision has given me hope that change really may be coming and that the “old guard” is losing their grip on the reigns of the convention. On Tuesday, the convention passed a resolution “On regenerate church membership.” Why? For one, our convention leadership has, for years, touted the fact that we are 16 million strong. However, on any given Sunday, only 6 million or so show up for church. Where are the other ten? Are they wandering with the lost tribes? Who knows. The thing is, more than reflecting numbers of a convention, they reflect the state of churches, like my own, who have scores (sometimes hundreds) of names on a roll and we can’t even find them. My church calls them non-resident. What we are actually saying is that we don’t really care enough to try and find and encourage these “believers” to come back or find another place of worship. Several in the convention have brought this problem to light and offered a resolution about it. Note that resolutions are non-binding. Nevertheless, it is a way that we as a convention can declare what we believe to be important and, if necessary, to draw a line in the sand. In fact, this is how some of the issues that became part of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 should have been dealt with, in my opinion.

Here is the text of the resolution in full. The bold print indicates amendments to the original resolution made from the floor.

WHEREAS, The ideal of a regenerate church membership has long been and remains a cherished Baptist principle, with Article VI of the Baptist Faith and Message describing the church as a �??local congregation of baptized believers�??; and

WHEREAS, A New Testament church is composed only of those who have been born again by the Holy Spirit through the preaching of the Word, becoming disciples of Jesus Christ, the local church�??s only Lord, by grace through faith (John 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9), which church practices believers�?? only baptism by immersion (Matthew 28:16-20), and the Lord�??s supper (Matthew 26:26-30); and

WHEREAS, Local associations, state conventions, and the Southern Baptist Convention compile statistics reported by the churches to make decisions for the future; and

WHEREAS, the 2007 Southern Baptist Convention annual Church Profiles indicate that there are 16,266,920 members in Southern Baptist churches; and

WHEREAS, Those same profiles indicate that only 6,148,868 of those members attend a primary worship service of their church in a typical week; and

WHEREAS, The Scriptures admonish us to exercise church discipline as we seek to restore any professed brother or sister in Christ who has strayed from the truth and is in sin (Matthew 18:15-35; Galatians 6:1); and now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, June 10-11, 2008, urge churches to maintain a regenerate membership by acknowledging the necessity of spiritual regeneration and Christ�??s lordship for all members; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we humbly urge our churches to maintain accurate membership rolls for the purpose of fostering ministry and accountability among all members of the congregation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we urge the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention to repent of the failure among us to live up to our professed commitment to regenerate church membership and any failure to obey Jesus Christ in the practice of lovingly correcting wayward church members (Matthew 18:15-18); and be it further

RESOLVED, That we humbly encourage denominational servants to support and encourage churches that seek to recover and implement our Savior�??s teachings on church discipline, even if such efforts result in the reduction in the number of members that are reported in those churches, and be it finally

RESOLVED, That we humbly urge the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention and their pastors to implement a plan to minister to, counsel, and restore wayward church members based upon the commands and principles given in Scripture (Matthew 18:15-35; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15; Galatians 6:1; James 5:19-20).

I think this is extremely significant. But only if churches in general and pastors specifically take this problem seriously. I am certainly praying about how I as a shepherd can do a better job than I have in keeping track of the sheep. Pray for me as I do.

Oh, and don’t be concerned about my take on convention politics. I’m still the same. And, as much as I have disagreed with some of the things that have happened in the SBC over the years, I’m still here.