How should we live as Christians when the dominant cultural and political forces are at odds with our faith? The apostle Peter’s first letter says that we should live as exiles. In fact, he refers to the first century Christians as exiles three times in his letter. So, over the next three weeks we’re going to look at those three instances. In Peter’s first letter, he told believers who were living as exiles in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) that they could live with great hope in Jesus Christ. We too are living as exiles in a hopeless world and can experience a life of hope through Jesus Christ.
Speaker: Gary Combs
Stand Firm…In God’s Work
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Work. Many of us consider work something we have to do in order to pay for the things we really want to have and to buy the time to do the things we really want to do. Americans have made play a higher goal than work. But that’s a low view of work. It diminishes it to an activity that we have to put up with, rather than a fulfilling and meaningful purpose for living. We place such a high value on entertainment and recreation that it has become a kind of idolatry. We celebrate idleness over work. We have made an idol of idleness!
God has a much higher view of work. As Jesus said, “My Father is always working, and so am I” (John 5:17). As soon as God made man, He gave him a job to do. And He has a job, a purpose for your life too! In the apostle Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, he told them to stand firm in doing the work to which God had called them. We can stand firm in the work that God has given us to do.
Stand Firm…In God’s Word
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We can be confident and not easily deceived or shaken if we are rooted in the Word of God. We can be confident in our salvation, and then get a firm grip on sound biblical teaching in order to pass the baton of the Gospel on.
Stand Firm…Against False Teaching
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Perhaps you’ve been alarmed and shaken by today’s headlines. Terrorist attacks, non stop news about the upcoming election, hurricanes and flooding. And that’s just last week! How are we supposed to face these things? And what do we do about all the fear-mongering that we hear people offering? The apostle Paul told the believers in Thessalonica not to be shaken by the false teaching that they were hearing concerning Christ’s return, but instead to continue to stand firm.
Stand Firm…in Suffering
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Suffering often causes a theological problem for us. We put our trust in God, yet bad stuff still happens. We pray for healing, yet a loved one dies. We pray for reconciliation in marriage, but it ends in divorce. We share our faith with a neighbor, and they reject both our message and our friendship. Suffering tests our faith! Are you going through a time of suffering today? The apostle Paul told the believers in Thessalonica that they could stand firm in their faith in Christ Jesus during times of suffering.
Worship and Witness is…Missional
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In the 96th Psalm, the Psalmist wrote that the nation of Israel should worship and bear witness to the glory of God so that all the earth would join in. The mission of that nation was to let their worship of God be a witness among the nations. We too can be missional through our worship and witness.
Worship and Witness is…Relational
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Why is there divorce, murder, and war? Why are we relationally broken? Our sin has separated us from God. We need to be relationally restored. We need to be reconciled to God and with others. In Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, he told them that God’s reconciling love should move them to be in right relationship with Him in our worship and in right relationship towards others in our witness. We too can let the reconciling love of God as expressed in Christ lead us to a right relationship with Him through worship and a right relationship to others in our witness.
A Shared Focus
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The early church had a shared language–– it was the language of prayer. It was a shared focus, one that focused on spending time together talking to God in prayer. How are you doing in this area? Do you pray? Do you pray with your spouse, with your kids? Do you pray with your family? How about with other believers? Are you devoted to praying together with God’s family? We can experience the same devotion to prayer that the early church did.
A Shared Food
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There’s something about shared food, a shared meal that leads to authentic community. Every culture has its own distinct food. So does the family of God. However, isn’t the physical, but the spiritual food that makes for an authentic Christian community.
A Shared Faith
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The first century church had four devotions. The first was the apostle’s teaching. They were devoted to the preaching, teaching, study, and obeying of God’s Word.