back to indexBerean Community Church Wednesday Night Bible Study 1 Peter 1:20-25
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We're going to go ahead and get started with Bible study. 00:03:24.620 |
So if you haven't yet, please go ahead and find your seats. 00:03:45.700 |
Thank you for your provision, for giving us this time 00:03:53.940 |
and that you've given it to us as a way for us 00:03:57.020 |
to learn more about you and to grow in our faith 00:04:03.160 |
We thank you for your love and your blessings 00:04:11.460 |
and what this world has to offer is temporary. 00:04:14.900 |
We pray, Lord, that we wouldn't get so caught up 00:04:18.540 |
in the things of this world and the distractions, 00:04:27.460 |
So would you give us just this desire and this love to you, 00:04:40.180 |
We pray for this time of praise that you would be praised. 00:06:16.080 |
of the guilt within, upward I look and see him there, 00:06:30.840 |
Because the sinless Savior died, my sinful soul 00:06:41.560 |
For God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me. 00:07:22.280 |
The king of glory and of grace, one with himself I cannot die. 00:12:34.880 |
As you get settled in, I just want to make a quick announcement. 00:12:40.080 |
As you guys volunteer for parking, you're helping just coordinate the foot traffic and 00:12:47.080 |
Again, for the entirety of the session, there's 17 weeks, and so it's really helpful to have 00:12:52.040 |
everybody contribute to that, just sharing in the load and the responsibility. 00:12:56.760 |
But one question people had was, we're sending out emails for volunteering for cleaning on 00:13:03.000 |
So just as a brief recap, the way that we decided to do it was using a system through 00:13:07.920 |
our small groups where we're allocating three small groups and a home group for a month. 00:13:14.680 |
Please consider that not just simply as a sign-up request, but what we're doing is actually 00:13:21.840 |
seeing that more so as an assignment for your group. 00:13:24.240 |
And so if at all possible, please make sure to look at the link and sign up to serve. 00:13:29.800 |
And that's primarily because we had so many of you guys help out with Sunday cleaning, 00:13:33.560 |
but now as the facilities get bigger and the use gets expanded, it's quite a big bear. 00:13:38.320 |
And each week, there's 20 volunteers that help out in the cleaning efforts. 00:13:43.120 |
And then what would happen is actually over time, we saw the same people just signing 00:13:48.420 |
And so conscientiously, the leadership decided this is a responsibility where we're all using 00:13:53.000 |
the facilities, and it's how widespread it is, it's more helpful to have people who see 00:13:58.760 |
the need, people who are using the facility just help out in cleaning it up. 00:14:03.120 |
And so we made the conscientious decision to make sure that the responsibility is spread 00:14:08.220 |
And as many hands make the work light, we want to make sure we're all involved in it, 00:14:13.440 |
However, we know that some of you guys are already really involved on Sunday where you 00:14:15.960 |
have to come early for something else and stick around later for something else. 00:14:19.840 |
In those cases, obviously, there's exceptions. 00:14:21.700 |
If you have any questions at all about volunteering for those things, please shoot me an email. 00:14:26.640 |
But again, when it comes to your month and you see that email come out and say, "Hey, 00:14:30.480 |
please volunteer," please go ahead and see that as an opportunity just to come together 00:14:34.280 |
as a small group and serve and put your name down for that opportunity, okay? 00:14:45.080 |
Let me read for us tonight's passage, and then I'll pray. 00:14:51.480 |
Actually, I'll go over the questions, and then we'll pray together. 00:14:59.400 |
For he was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last 00:15:04.360 |
times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from 00:15:10.320 |
the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God. 00:15:16.440 |
Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, 00:15:24.560 |
For you've been born again, not of seed which is perishable, but imperishable. 00:15:29.720 |
That is through the living and enduring word of God. 00:15:32.140 |
For all flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. 00:15:38.400 |
The grass withers and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever. 00:15:44.520 |
And then this is a word which was preached to you." 00:15:47.280 |
So this is the end of chapter 1, and there are a lot of descriptions of what God has 00:15:56.040 |
And so tonight we're going to be going over these six verses. 00:16:05.840 |
But question number 3 is pretty important for this study. 00:16:13.020 |
"What is the relationship between a Christian's life of love and his or her understanding 00:16:22.060 |
And can a Christian live in bitterness and unforgiveness? 00:16:29.020 |
Okay, so I want you guys to discuss this, and then at 8.20 we'll get back together for 00:16:39.140 |
But let me pray for us, and then we'll get our small group time started. 00:16:43.940 |
Lord, we are very thankful for the 19 verses that we've already been able to cover together 00:16:56.540 |
And as we wrap up chapter 1, help us to really trust that Your Word is timeless and that 00:17:10.980 |
I pray that You would give us eyes to see things and ears to hear things that You've 00:17:20.180 |
And I pray, Lord, that we will not be so eager to show off what we know, but rather to glean 00:17:27.540 |
from the text so that we can better apply in our lives. 00:17:32.100 |
Lord, we come here with different burdens, different requests, different needs, but we 00:17:39.820 |
do pray that Your Word really would refresh and rejuvenate us tonight and give us just 00:17:50.660 |
And Lord, that we would leave here longing to apply the things that we've learned. 01:18:37.940 |
All right, if I can ask you guys to just turn your attentions 01:18:53.300 |
Father, help us not to be just stubborn and nearsighted, 01:19:05.180 |
where we only see this as an academic endeavor 01:19:12.980 |
But help us, Lord, really to seek to know your heart, 01:19:17.340 |
not just for us, but for those who've wronged us, 01:19:36.100 |
no matter how hard we try, that we can do well. 01:19:39.460 |
So this has to be something that you compel us toward. 01:19:43.340 |
So we pray for your help as we look in your text. 01:19:57.460 |
where it said this is like a giant salvation baton 01:20:08.340 |
were in light of the fact that this whole human history, 01:20:14.540 |
the gospel message was kind of the central point. 01:20:21.140 |
be holy in our behavior, and conduct ourselves in fear. 01:20:34.580 |
So this is today's passage, starting for he was foreknown. 01:20:50.500 |
I discovered that there is no for in the original language. 01:21:14.500 |
And then I noticed some like eternality theme in here. 01:21:19.420 |
From the beginning of time, enduring, forever. 01:21:22.380 |
Hebrews 13.8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, 01:21:25.380 |
The eternality theme, I just highlighted all of those 01:21:31.700 |
says before the foundation of the world, imperishable, 01:21:39.900 |
So it was like, OK, I know where my eyes can go. 01:21:44.300 |
And then the blue bolded was all the stuff that God does. 01:21:50.380 |
And I put it all on the kind of the side to make it easier. 01:21:54.340 |
So there's a foreknowing, there's an appearing, 01:22:01.020 |
and then there's a birthing again, and then a preaching. 01:22:06.620 |
Do you guys see how I kind of put that there? 01:22:09.300 |
And I bolded it so that I see that there's at least six 01:22:14.700 |
And there's only one thing I'm commanded to do. 01:22:20.940 |
And the reason I do this is not to make it more appealing 01:22:25.140 |
But the reason I do this is so that I can kind of track 01:22:29.420 |
like what's commonly or what's emphasized here, 01:22:37.020 |
And the main point I see is that there's an expected response. 01:22:46.660 |
And I noticed I look through the whole thing in the Greek. 01:22:51.140 |
That's I think the only command in this section. 01:22:57.500 |
And the only command that there is for me is fervently love. 01:23:20.940 |
But it seemed like the last five weeks there was so much 01:23:33.340 |
things that mention the power of God and the will of God. 01:23:37.700 |
And if you notice the purple, I'm not comfortable 01:23:44.300 |
But there's almost a foreknowing aspect of God. 01:23:56.500 |
Because emotionally that's what it feels like. 01:24:01.180 |
it seems like God is in control of everything. 01:24:11.780 |
Okay. And then I noticed that there's a holifying, 01:24:26.980 |
And then Jesus being raised from the dead, I noticed, oh, 01:24:35.100 |
So I just listed all the stuff that God does. 01:24:38.260 |
And there's only like four imperatives in here, right? 01:24:43.500 |
And what am I supposed to do with all of this? 01:24:47.780 |
So it's helpful at the end of every chapter just 01:24:54.340 |
Because verse 23 said, "You have been born again, 01:24:58.260 |
not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, 01:25:02.460 |
Right? And your faith and your hope are in who? 01:25:18.780 |
Okay? My hope is not in Berean Community Church 01:25:36.900 |
So when I was trying to memorize chapter one, 01:25:52.220 |
Since you have an obedience to the truth, right? 01:25:54.660 |
Purify your souls for a love without hypocrisy. 01:26:06.740 |
there's a lot of conditional clauses in verse 22. 01:26:13.580 |
So the translations are like grammatically funky. 01:26:40.700 |
All right? That's the thrust of the tense of the participle. 01:27:24.500 |
And the command is to use this new love that's in me 01:27:37.500 |
And so one of the questions I came up with is, 01:27:41.180 |
what's the difference between love and fervent love? 01:27:46.620 |
We fervently love because he fervently loved us. 01:27:59.300 |
But why does it say fervently twice in 1 Peter? 01:28:06.260 |
So I looked at the word in the Greek for this is ektinos. 01:28:26.420 |
I am like, I don't have dexterity in my body. 01:28:29.940 |
You tell me to do the splits, I'm doing them right now. 01:28:46.820 |
And that fervent love one day will continue to grow 01:29:01.140 |
Because when a lot of, let's say there's chaos, 01:29:09.020 |
the government forces a mandate or forces like a vaccine, 01:29:41.860 |
human beings have a tendency to hate on each other 01:29:47.180 |
I'm not talking just like what we understand as riot, 01:30:12.420 |
Do we love people even if they don't deserve it? 01:30:20.100 |
Nod your heads yes or no, or shake your heads. 01:30:22.820 |
If they don't deserve it, should we love them? 01:30:30.180 |
So you're either doing this or you're like, okay. 01:31:04.260 |
Can a Christian live in unforgiveness and bitterness? 01:31:17.180 |
and how that affects our love going outward, right? 01:31:25.340 |
There's enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, 01:31:49.500 |
that doesn't mean God's going to send you to hell, okay? 01:31:59.380 |
The only sin that you will not be forgiven of 01:32:09.340 |
that doesn't mean you're going to immediately, 01:32:22.060 |
But a man changed by God for the fruit of the Spirit 01:32:25.700 |
piety, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, right? 01:32:50.260 |
I'm going to ask you to first let me remove my phone, 01:33:15.300 |
But let's say our church guys decide to grab me, okay? 01:33:23.260 |
Can I get into the ocean and come out be dry? 01:33:40.660 |
It is impossible for me to be hit by a tsunami 01:33:51.700 |
All of the stuff in chapter 1 that God has done 01:34:01.260 |
He, from the beginning of time, is unchanging. 01:34:17.700 |
So for you to say, "I've gotten immersed into this God," 01:35:33.220 |
you cannot, it's impossible for you not to forgive, 01:35:52.180 |
It's less, it's more possible that you go into an ocean 01:35:55.340 |
and come out dry than for you to be a Christian 01:36:37.020 |
"for love is from God, and everyone who loves 01:36:40.940 |
"The one who does not love does not know God, 01:36:47.740 |
I don't like 1 John, because 1 John makes everything 01:37:39.460 |
that the one who loves God should love his brother also. 01:38:09.820 |
Because what's the first fruit of the Spirit? 01:38:17.900 |
"that guy, he did this and this and that to me, but... 01:38:42.300 |
Romans 12, 18, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, 01:39:06.140 |
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, 01:39:07.940 |
"and that not of yourself, but as a gift of God, 01:39:09.940 |
"not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." 01:39:12.060 |
And that's a verse that everyone memorizes as a kid. 01:39:34.660 |
because that's just a byproduct of knowing God, 01:39:40.900 |
Here's a passage that I want to read for you. 01:39:47.700 |
This is the parable of the unforgiving servant. 01:39:52.700 |
"'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me?' 01:39:57.980 |
"Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you up to seven times, 01:40:06.340 |
"'who wishes to settle accounts with his slaves.'" 01:40:11.900 |
but it's a parable to explain a heart of something. 01:40:17.980 |
So there's a slave who had an unpayable debt, 01:40:29.620 |
"But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves 01:40:39.500 |
"'Have patience with me, and I will repay you.'" 01:40:45.300 |
"Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave 01:40:53.580 |
"until he should repay all that was owed him. 01:40:56.340 |
"My heavenly father will also do the same to you 01:40:58.540 |
"if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." 01:41:02.300 |
well, if you, in the event you are a Christian, 01:41:05.700 |
but you can't forgive this person, you will go to hell. 01:41:11.020 |
if you really understand what you were forgiven from, 01:41:30.300 |
And there are people who have victim mentalities 01:42:03.420 |
We are protected by the power of God through faith 01:42:05.500 |
for our salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. 01:42:07.660 |
We rejoice greatly, even though we suffer for a little while. 01:42:15.060 |
And that's that heartbeat of the passage that we read today. 01:42:20.380 |
And I wanna just read, Matthew 24 came to my mind, 01:42:28.180 |
"You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. 01:42:43.580 |
"and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes 01:42:57.020 |
"Then they will deliver you to tribulation and will kill you 01:42:59.940 |
"and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 01:43:03.060 |
"At that time, many will fall away and betray one another 01:43:06.980 |
"Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many." 01:43:09.980 |
And I think one of the false prophets that's around is, 01:43:21.140 |
I really don't like the thing called deconstruction. 01:43:28.820 |
'Cause you know what's gonna happen when you deconstruct? 01:43:36.020 |
And that everyone else around you is a sinner. 01:44:17.060 |
But the one who endures to the end by the power of God, 01:44:23.100 |
who are protected by the power of God through salvation 01:44:24.780 |
for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time, 01:44:35.500 |
in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations 01:44:38.780 |
So the point of tonight is, have you met this God? 01:44:53.140 |
and unforgiveness, and lovelessness, and hate? 01:45:03.460 |
'Cause I think at times I wrestle with vindictiveness. 01:45:20.780 |
everyone I've had a falling out with in college, 01:45:40.420 |
Right before COVID, I ended up meeting for dinner 01:45:50.060 |
I don't think of the person, I push them out of my mind, 01:45:59.100 |
And I will say, that is not something that's coming from me. 01:46:02.580 |
It's the Lord just, mm, go reconcile with that person. 01:46:08.020 |
It's like, go, go reconcile with that person. 01:46:11.420 |
And when he guides me there, he provides great compassion, 01:46:19.060 |
And I can't meditate on his word and stay bitter. 01:46:29.420 |
is when I'm not paying any attention to his word. 01:46:33.140 |
I'm still coming to church, I'm still serving. 01:46:35.700 |
But when I'm confronted with the word of God, 01:46:50.140 |
you probably haven't been reading or praying much, 01:46:57.780 |
even if the worst possible thing has ever happened to you, 01:47:01.060 |
if you are a child of God and you've been dunked 01:47:10.820 |
And that's something supernatural that God does to a heart. 01:47:17.180 |
And if you're a Christian, he's done that already. 01:47:29.980 |
so you can do the spiritual splits like crazy 01:47:35.820 |
Here's a question that I want you guys to break up 01:47:42.220 |
And that's a different question than are you nice. 01:47:48.620 |
Some of the nicest people are the most bitter. 01:47:56.700 |
Is there evidence of the effectual love of Christ 01:48:00.020 |
Is that the fruit of the spirit that comes out 01:48:10.860 |
Is love something that's characteristic of you? 01:48:17.020 |
and encourage you to love a kletos, fervently? 01:48:21.620 |
Okay, so those are the things I want you guys to discuss. 01:48:47.180 |
and ultimately, Lord, that we would spend our lives