Okay, well, this morning we continue to work through the book of 1 Peter in our series, The Splendor in the Furnace.
Now, if you're new to Watermark this morning, you're joining us in kind of the climax of our series.
We've been working through the book of 1 Peter, and this is the part where we really get to find out about the furnace and affliction and suffering.
And it's around this time that we get to see why we call this series The Splendor in the Furnace,
because Peter is writing to a bunch of Christians who feel like they're being thrown in the furnace of affliction.
They are going through a hard time.
They are being persecuted and maligned for their faith, for following Jesus.
They are being ostracized because they weren't worshipped, the household gods, etc.
And Peter writes them to say, though this may feel like you're being thrown in the fire,
something beautiful and splendid is going to come of it.
God is going to do something majestic and beautiful in the season.
And your faith, which is like gold, is going to be tested in the fire and is going to be purified and fortified and strengthened.
And so this book really is about how walking with God through pain and suffering really does produce something beautiful inside of us.
Now, if you're here this morning and you're not yet a Christian,
I guess you've probably got a whole bunch of questions around pain and suffering and evil and how can God allow these things.
And there's many good, those are good questions and there's many good answers.
The book of 1 Peter is just one of Jesus' answers to us, to this question.
Why does God allow these things?
Well, he does it partly to shape us and to form us and to fashion us.
And so if you're still trying to make sense of the claims of Jesus, we're so glad you're with us this morning.
Now, today's passage follows on closely from last week's passage.
If you're here last week, I felt like I did a very inadequate job of opening up the scriptures and I apologize for that.
So let's hope that we can make more sense of this today.
Summarize briefly last week and then dive into today's passage.
Okay.
So the big idea for today, this sounds very loud.
Is it loud to you?
No?
Okay.
I'll just bear it.
The big idea for today is this.
Watermark, let us not waste our time of suffering, but let suffering drive the gospel deeper into our hearts so that we become a community which is gospel sacrificial rather than self-indulgent.
Okay?
So, Watermark, when suffering comes our way, don't waste the opportunity that suffering produces to drive the gospel deeper into your heart.
Let suffering make us the kind of community which is gospel-saturated, that is gospel sacrificial rather than self-centered and self-indulgent.
And there's four points today.
Okay?
And so let's dive into the first one, which is the splendor of the gospel.
Now, the main idea from last week was this.
1 Peter 3, verse 9 says,
Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but bless those who persecute you.
And the way to bless them is to pray for them.
Someone's giving you a hard time, you pray God's richest blessings on them.
And the motivation for this was found in chapter 3, verse 18, where Peter writes and says,
For Christ suffered for sin, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.
And this verse really is a kind of summary of the entire Bible.
Everything from Genesis to Revelation is pointing to this one truth, that Jesus Christ, the righteous one,
suffered for sins, for your sins and my sins, that he might bring us to God.
Christ, the perfect one, died in the place of the imperfect ones.
Christ, the sinless one, died in the place of sinful ones.
Christ, the righteous, died for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.
You know, there's an amazing verse in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel chapter 14,
where a lady in Israel comes to King David and says,
We all deserve to die.
Let me just get it for us.
But like water that's been spilt on the ground and cannot be gathered up again.
But God does not take away life.
God goes out of his way to find ways to devise means so that banished ones do not remain estranged from him.
So here's what she's saying.
She's saying, like if you take a bottle of drinking water and it spills on the ground,
on sandy ground, it becomes muddy.
There's no ways you're going to be able to drink that water again.
It's gone, right?
It's unsavable, unsalvageable.
He says, that's how we are in the natural realm.
But God finds a way to save the unsavable.
God goes out of his way to find ways of doing the impossible,
of taking those that are far from him and bring them back to him.
And how did he do it?
Well, Jesus, the righteous one, died for sins,
the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.
This is the gospel.
And so this is what we've been talking about.
This is what the whole of 1 Peter is all about.
However, that's not all there is to the gospel.
You see, the gospel is magnificent and it's deep and it's beautiful,
but it's not one-dimensional.
There's many aspects to it.
And so consider this.
Consider how Christ's death on the cross was not only the means by which God purchased our forgiveness.
It was that.
But it was so much more.
Christ's death on the cross was the means by which God made his enemies his friends or his children.
Romans chapter 5 says,
For while we were enemies of God, God reconciled us to himself by the death of his son.
Consider how Christ's death on the cross was the way that God made those that were spiritually dead alive again.
Ephesians chapter 2.
As for you, as for me, we were dead in our sins, but now we've been made alive with Christ again.
Consider how the cross is the means by which God's unusual way of defeating his enemies.
Colossians chapter 2 says,
God disarmed the rulers and authorities, put them to open shame, triumphing over them in Christ on the cross.
Well, consider how the cross is the way by which Jesus glorified God the Father.
Remember, just before he dies, he prays and says,
Father, the hour for my death has come.
Now glorify your name.
The cross is the way by which Jesus puts on display the infinite majesty and the holiness and the justice,
as well as the kindness and the compassion and the mercy of God.
Well, consider how not only that, the cross is the means by which God makes a new community.
He takes those that are banished and estranged and individuals, and he brings them back together as a family.
You know, sometimes we think, Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.
And that's true, but that's not the whole truth.
The truth is also that God makes a new community, a family, a royal nation, a people for his own possession.
Friends, Jesus dying on the cross to take people like you and I and bring us back into his family
is like a great shepherd going after the lost sheep and bringing them back to the fold.
It's like a father who goes to the judge and says,
I'll serve my son's prison sentence so he can be released from jail and reconciled with the family.
Jesus' death on the cross makes a new community.
But not only that, as we saw last week, Jesus' death on the cross, in all its anguish, in all its pain,
is a picture of how living for the will of God, though it will require you to die initially, actually leads to life.
Karen Job said it like this.
Christians know that Christ's death was both purposeful and victorious because death was not the final word.
Christians followed Jesus' footsteps through death to victory and life.
You see, Jesus' death shows us that death is not the final word.
It's part of the journey towards real, eternal life.
And for the Christians, this is the pattern of our lives.
Christ calls us to come and die when we follow him that we may find true life.
And all of this is because Jesus died on the cross, what Christ accomplished for us,
the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, the splendor of the gospel.
And that leads us to today's passage, chapter 4, verse 1, and to point 2.
And so point 2 is this, the splendor of the gospel and the furnace of affliction.
Okay?
So let's look at verse 1 of 1 Peter, chapter 4.
Peter starts off like this.
He says,
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, so that's everything we've just spoken about, okay?
Since Jesus died on the cross, the righteous for the unrighteous, to accomplish all of those things and more,
therefore, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.
Okay?
So Peter's saying this to these Christians that are facing the mill, right?
Things are not very comfortable for them.
And he's saying,
When persecution comes, when you suffer unjustly, when hardship and difficulty comes your way,
remember how Christ suffered unjustly on the cross.
Arm yourself with the same kind of thinking.
And it's interesting that he uses the word arm yourself.
What's he saying there?
He's saying,
Take up your weapons.
Take up your arms, right?
So when unjust suffering comes your way,
when people are persecuting you and ridiculing you and you're going to suffer for following Jesus,
when your boss refuses to give you a promotion because you won't flirt with him or sleep with him,
when your boyfriend breaks up with you because you won't sleep with him,
when your family ridicules you because you won't worship the ancestors or pray to them,
when you lose out on a financial deal because you choose to do the path of integrity rather than dishonesty,
arm yourself.
Take up these weapons.
And what is the weapon we should take up?
Is it swords and spears?
Is it guns and ammunition?
No, no, no.
Take up this weapon, he says,
which is to arm yourself with the thinking of the gospel.
Set your heart and your mind to think about Jesus and how the way he died on the cross.
Because last week Peter said,
well last week I said,
I was trying to say what Peter said,
that one of the ways we respond is to pray for our enemies.
We bless those who persecute us.
And now he gives us a second means,
and that's to arm ourselves with gospel thinking.
Friends, if you're a Christian here today,
and you're suffering,
or maybe if you're suffering because you're a Christian,
that will produce in us one of two responses.
Okay?
One of two responses.
Either opposition to the gospel will tempt us to try and live lives of self-preservation,
of self-centeredness.
It will either tempt us to try and find our joy and happiness in ourselves,
or it will drive the gospel deeper into our hearts.
Okay?
So in Matthew 24,
Jesus says this,
just before he dies on the cross.
He says,
the end of the age is drawing near,
and because wickedness will increase in the world,
the love of many will grow cold.
Okay?
So think about this.
You've got a massive fire.
Okay?
You've got a barbecue pit.
You're going to barbecue some roast lamb.
Okay?
And busy barbecuing there,
and next to it is a tin of see-through liquid.
And so I say to you,
hey,
what's in this liquid?
And you say,
I don't know.
Let's throw it on the fire and see.
Okay?
Now,
if that liquid is cold water,
let's say it's a big jug of cold water,
you throw it on the fire,
what's going to happen?
It's going to quench it,
right?
It's going to put it out.
It's going to kill the fire.
But if that liquid is paraffin,
or gasoline,
or something like that,
what's going to happen?
You're going to throw it in the fire end?
It's going to be an explosion,
right?
It's going to be a combustion.
Well,
Jesus is saying the same thing.
He's saying,
when persecution comes,
when suffering comes,
there's two ways that you can respond.
The one is it's like throwing cold water
on your affections for Jesus.
It's going to dampen.
It's going to cause the love of many to grow cold.
It's going to tempt you to retreat
into self-preservation.
But the other hand,
if you arm yourself with gospel thinking,
it's like throwing high-octane paraffin on the fire.
It's going to combust with explosion,
right?
Either persecution will make our sinful hearts
and temptations more appealing
and more tempting,
or it will open our eyes to see what sin is
and make sin more disgusting
and the beauty of Jesus more glorious.
And this is what Peter's saying.
Look at how he says it in verse two.
He says,
either suffering will make us feel sorry for ourselves,
and as a result,
we will look for joy and happiness and pleasure.
And what does he use the word here?
He says,
human passions,
okay?
That's self-seeking desires.
That's what makes me happy,
what satisfies my desires.
Or,
he says,
Peter says,
don't let that happen.
Rather,
combat the temptation to feel sorry for yourself
by seeking joy and pleasure and happiness
in what does he say?
In the will of God.
And so,
look at how he says it here.
He says,
since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh,
arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.
For if anyone has suffered in the flesh,
if they respond with gospel thoughtfulness,
if they respond by reflecting on Jesus and his death,
they have ceased from sin,
so as to live for the rest of their time,
no longer for human passions,
my desires,
and what makes me feel comfortable,
but for the will of God.
You see that?
See that there's two responses here.
So either,
suffering and hardship will drive us
to become more self-focused,
self-aware,
self-centered,
and self-entitled,
as we feel sorry for ourselves,
or,
it will make us selfless,
others-focused,
generous,
and servant-hearted.
Okay?
The reformers used to say it like this,
the same sun that bakes the clay
also melts the ice.
The sun bakes the clay.
In one sense,
it makes you hard,
it can harden your heart
towards God and the gospel.
But the same sun can also melt the ice,
can also soften your heart
towards the gospel.
How do you know which one
it's going to do to you?
Well,
how are you going to respond
when hardship and difficulty
comes your way?
And so this is what Peter's saying.
He's saying,
don't waste your suffering.
Don't waste the opportunity
that opposition brings
to drive the gospel deeper
into your hearts
and to fall more in love with Jesus.
And this is why this book
is called
The Splendor in the Furnace.
When the heat is turned up,
when you feel like you're being thrown
in the furnace of affliction,
when difficulty comes
because you're following Jesus,
not genus,
Jesus,
the furnace will do something
in you and to you
which you'd never have discovered
apart from it
if you arm yourself
with gospel thinking.
Tim Keller,
gee,
I can't speak today.
Tim Keller,
I really do apologize.
Tim Keller
wrote the most incredible book
and I wish I'd brought my copy
to show you.
I really want to encourage you
to buy this.
It's called
Walking with God
Through Pain and Suffering.
Probably one of the best books
I've ever read in my life.
And in it,
he writes this.
It's quite a long quote
and I forgot to put it on the slide
so you're going to have to
listen up carefully.
It says this,
No matter what precautions we take,
no matter how well we have put together
a good life,
no matter how hard we've worked
to be healthy, wealthy, and comfortable,
something will inevitably ruin it.
In a secular view,
suffering is never seen as meaningful
but only as an interruption
to my good life.
Christianity teaches
that while suffering is overwhelming,
while it's real,
and contrary to karma,
suffering is often unfair,
it's not without meaning.
There is a purpose to it.
And if faced rightly,
it can drive us like a nail
deep into the love of God,
into more stability,
into spiritual power
you could never imagine.
While other worldviews lead us
to sit in the midst of life's joys,
foreseeing the coming sorrows,
Christianity empowers its people
to sit in the midst of world's sorrows,
tasting the coming joys.
You see that?
The gospel says that suffering
is not without meaning.
It's not always comfortable,
it's not fine,
it's not nice,
it's terrible,
it's overwhelming,
but it's not without meaning.
And so this is what Peter's saying to us.
He's saying don't waste the opportunity.
Friends, don't waste your suffering.
Don't run away from it.
Don't retreat into self-preservation.
Let God use the furnace of affliction
to open your eyes
and to fall more in love with Jesus,
to see the ugliness of sin
and the beauty of Christ
and the splendor of His glory
and to long for heaven.
And so this is what Peter's saying.
When you suffer for the gospel,
arm yourself with gospel thinking.
Fix our eyes on Jesus.
Remember the cross.
Remember what Jesus did for us.
For whoever suffers in the flesh
has ceased from sin
and spends the rest of their time
living for the will of God.
Okay?
So the splendor of the gospel,
the splendor of the gospel,
the furnace of affliction.
Thirdly, a community of self.
Now, what we see in this next section
from verse 3 to 11
is that one of the ways we know
how we will respond to the gospel
or how we will respond to suffering
is by observing the nature of the community
that we are part of
or more specifically,
our view of community life.
Okay?
So how do you know
which way you're going to respond?
More self-entitled
or more other-centered?
Feeling sorry for yourself
or more selfless and sacrificial?
Well, one of the ways you know
is by observing the nature
of the community you're part of
and how you view community.
Because in verse 3 to 4,
we have a picture
of what some people
might consider to be a fun community.
Okay?
Lots of passion.
Lots of excitement.
Maybe it's the kind of community
you want to be part of.
But there's something sinister about it.
And so let's see if we can pick it up.
Look at verse 3 and 4.
He says,
Peter talks about people
that are living in sensuality.
That means just living
for what feels good in the moment.
People who are living for passions.
That's what excites you.
Living for drunkenness.
Okay?
Living without any restraints.
Living for orgies.
Fulfilling all your sexual desires.
Drinking parties.
And lawless idolatry.
Now that may be,
maybe that sounds exciting.
Maybe you think
that's exactly what I'm looking for.
Sign me up.
Where can I join?
Right?
But there's something sinister
about this.
Because the problem is
that this lifestyle,
like a community
that's focused on this,
cannot sustain itself.
It's going to come to an end.
It's going to unravel
at some point in time.
Because look at how Peter
shows us this
in verse 3 and 4.
He says,
this is how you used to live.
Remember,
this is how you,
you were once part
of this community.
But now,
they are surprised
when you do not join them
in the same flood of debauchery.
And they malign you.
They ostracize you.
They persecute you.
Why?
Because a community
that's built
around pleasure seeking,
around self-indulgence,
around fulfilling
humanistic desires,
does not love you
and accept you
for who you are.
It merely loves you
and accepts you
because you join them
in fulfilling
self-gratifying desires.
Does that make sense?
So the community
doesn't say,
hey,
I love you
because I love you.
It says,
you can be part of us
as we both try
and fulfill
our own pleasures together.
Let me see
if I can tell a story
to demonstrate this.
When I was in high school,
so back in South Africa,
in high school,
you finish high school
when most people
turn 18
in their final year
of school.
And in South Africa,
everything happens at 18.
You finish high school,
you also get
your driving license
and you can drink
legally at the age of 18.
So most people
turn 18
in their final year
of high school
except most people
have started drinking
many years before that.
14,
15,
et cetera.
And so when I was
at school,
my final three years
of school,
I was in the boarding house
which was the best
three years
of my high school career.
We had a lot of fun.
But I had decided
that I wasn't going
to drink alcohol
before I was 18.
It's just a personal decision.
And so while I had
a lot of friends
in the boarding house,
I was always slightly
on the outside.
I was never really
in the circle
with the guys
because I wouldn't
drink with them
on weekends.
I'd go to the parties
but I would drink soda
and I was a little bit
on the outside.
A bit nerdy.
But when I turned 18,
I had a motorbike
in the boarding house
and so I went
out of the school grounds,
I went to a liquor store
and I bought
a whole case of beers
and I brought them
back to the hostel
and I said to all
the guys in my year,
I said,
listen,
I've turned 18 today,
we're going to go down
to the rugby fields
and we're going
to have beers together.
And so we went
down to the rugby fields
and we all cracked
open these beers
and had a couple
of beers together.
And it was amazing.
For the first time,
I was right in there.
I was part of the crowd.
Maybe that's what happens
if you buy beers
for other guys, right?
But something changed
that day
where I was part
of the crowd.
I was part of the men.
I was welcomed
into the circle, right?
Because I had bought
beers for them.
But the problem is
that the fickleness
or the ease
with which you join
a community
is the same ease
with which you'll be
excluded from the community
when you no longer
participate
or you dress differently
or you no longer
listen to the same kind
of music,
you're out.
And that's exactly
what's happening
to these Christians.
They were excluded
because they no longer
participated in the activities
of the same interest.
You see, friends,
a community which is formed
around similar ideas
of self-indulgence
or personal gratification
or what makes me happy
is self-defeating
because the very thing
that brings them together
is the same thing
that actually undermines
true community.
True community is formed
when you say
we have common commitments,
common convictions
where together
we are united
about a commitment
to something outside of us,
something bigger than us.
And in the Christian context,
it's the person
of Jesus Christ.
Communities form
not just around
common interests
but common convictions
and commitments.
And friends,
one of the challenges
for us as a church
is that a Christian community
can actually be
just as secular
but just around
Christian personal
self-gratification.
So we can pretend
and think we're part
of a Christian community
but it's not because
we actually committed
to loving and serving
one another.
It's because I fulfill
my own religious
self-gratification
and you fulfilling
your religious gratification
and we're doing it together
but as soon as
one of us is different,
as soon as one of us
has a different idea,
what do we do?
We shun the person.
We kick them out.
You're no longer allowed
to be our friend.
And Peter writes and says
that kind of community
is always self-defeating.
And that leads us
to the fourth
and the final point
which is a community
of gospel sacrifice.
And so let's look
at what a community
which is forged
in the furnace of affliction,
which is thought deeply
about the gospel
and Jesus looks like.
Let's read verse 7
to 11 together.
Peter writes this,
The end of all things
is at hand.
Therefore be self-controlled
and sober-minded
for the sake of your prayers.
Now just pause quickly.
It's interesting,
this is the third time
in three weeks
that the passage
of scripture we've looked at
has mentioned
for the sake of your prayers.
It's interesting,
Jesus is telling us
that God takes our obedience
to his word very seriously.
There is a correlation
between our obedience
to Christ
and our relationship with him.
Three weeks in a row
the passage has spoken about
obey Christ
for the sake of your prayers.
Then verse 8,
he gives us
four characteristics.
He says,
Above all,
keep loving one another
earnestly
since love covers
a multitude of sins.
Show hospitality
to one another
without grumbling.
As each has received
a gift,
use it to serve one another
as good stewards
of God's varied grace.
Whoever speaks
is one who speaks
the oracles of God.
Whoever serves
is one who serves
by the strength
that God supplies.
In order that in everything
God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ.
To him belong glory
and dominion
forever and ever.
Amen.
Four things that Peter
gives us.
Four marks of a gospel
community that's been
forged in the furnace
of affliction
but has thought deeply
about Christ
and who he is.
First thing is this.
Love one another
for love covers
over a multitude
of sins.
You see,
every community
whether Christian
or secular
is going to have
times of misunderstanding,
miscommunication,
difficulty,
disappointments,
right?
Chris mentioned earlier
this week,
he said,
a lot of people
get disappointed in church
because church
can be disappointing.
And it's true,
right?
As churches
we're not immune
from that.
We're full of sin,
we're full of pride,
we're full of stuff
and we get in the way
and we hurt each other.
What's going to stop us
from distangling
and becoming self-centered
and self-orientated?
The gospel community
is one whose association
is determined
not by self-interest
or what makes me happy,
by a common commitment
to love
and serve one another.
Jesus said,
as I have loved you,
so you love one another.
And how did he love us?
By dying on the cross,
by covering our sin
with his blood.
Christ's love
speaks
to Christian community.
You see friends,
Christian love
is not soft
and mushy.
It's not like,
oh,
rosy
and gentle,
right?
It's robust,
it's strong,
it's healthy,
it covers over sins.
And when someone
hurts you
and maligns you
and does something hurtful,
the Christian community
is able to say,
because Christ suffered
for me,
I can forgive you.
The gospel calls us
to love one another.
Secondly,
verse nine,
he shows that
a community
shaped by Christ's
selfless,
sacrificial death
is one that
is marked
by incredible
hospitality.
In Hong Kong,
because we have
small homes
and because
time is of a,
is a very precious
commodity,
the temptation
is to give in
to our secular culture
and to never have
people in our homes.
Friends,
I want to encourage us
not to go that route.
I want to encourage us
to let the gospel
shape us
and to become
incredibly hospitable,
to open up
not just our homes
but our hearts
to one another.
You see,
opening up our homes
is a way of showing,
of letting people
into the most private
areas of our lives.
It's a way of allowing
people to see the good
and the not so good,
right?
It's allowing people
to see our lives
when we're not putting
our best foot forward
but when our kids
are messy
and there's stuff
in the lounge
and the music
is too loud
and Claire
patiently puts up
with me
and I get frustrated.
When people
in my homes,
they get to see
the real me.
They get to see
all the sin
and all the mess.
Friends,
consider how Jesus
opened up
not only his home
but his heart to us.
Consider how Jesus
suffered in order
to bring us
into the family.
Remember how Jesus
welcomed us
with open arms.
Remember how Jesus
said,
I welcome you
and then you change.
I don't ask you
to change
before I welcome you.
Rosario Butterfield
wrote an incredible book
called
The Gospel Comes
with a House Key.
In this book,
she tells her story.
She was an antagonistic
anti-Christian,
didn't want anything
to do with Christians.
What changed her life
was she met a couple,
an older couple,
that welcomed her
into their home.
For two years,
they would just
welcome her at any time.
They said,
we have dinner
at 5.30 every night.
This is in the States,
not in Hong Kong.
We have dinner
at 5.30 every night
and you're welcome
any time you want.
Just pull in
and there will always
be food for you.
And this hospitality
challenged her.
She says this,
for two years,
I was loved and welcomed
by a Christian community
that I mocked,
despised,
and rejected.
I accepted them
when it worked for me
but all the other times
I rejected them.
But eventually,
this couple won her heart
and she explained
the gospel to her
and she became
a follower of Jesus.
And she writes this
in a book.
She says,
the gospel calls us
to engage in radical,
ordinary hospitality,
which means we provide
the time necessary
to build strong relationships
even with people
who think differently to us,
as well as strong relationships
with people
within the family of God.
Of course,
it takes planning,
intentionality,
and sacrifice
to create margins
of time and money.
but it won't take
anything from you
that you don't already have
in Christ
and the gospel.
Friends,
because of what we have
in the gospel,
God calls us
to spend ourselves
for the sake of others.
Thirdly,
Peter says this
in verse 10,
that such a community
born of the gospel,
shaped by affliction
and thinking about Jesus,
will live not for themselves
but for the well-being
of others.
Remember in chapter 3,
we spoke about this
two weeks ago,
in chapter 3,
Peter says,
husbands,
use the strength
that God has given you
to serve your wife.
Whatever strength
God has given you,
you use it
to build up
and encourage your wife.
Now,
Peter says the exact same thing
to all Christians.
He says here,
each of us
has received a gift.
So think about
the gifts you've received.
Maybe it's your natural talents
and gifting.
Maybe it's your resources,
finances,
or a house,
or a car.
Maybe it's connections
and contacts that you have.
He says,
use the gifts that you've got.
Each one has received a gift.
Now use it
to serve one another
as stewards
of God's gracious gift.
I think one of the best examples
I can think of
of this
is Franklin and Teresa.
Franklin and Teresa
have been really blessed
by God in many ways.
Good education,
good family,
blessings,
work,
opportunities.
Franklin is always
asking the question,
how can I use
the gift that God
has given me
to bless and serve others?
I think of the way
he even bought a car
a year ago.
I mean,
it's just Franklin and Teresa
in their home, right?
There don't have any kids
staying at home.
He bought a seven-seater car
and the thinking was this,
I'm sure there are going
to be people
that are going to need
lifts to and from things.
I'll give people lifts.
So he bought a bigger car
just to help people out.
But he's constantly
asking the question,
how can I use
the gifts that God
has given me
to love and serve others?
And then finally,
Peter gives us
the fourth,
I guess,
proof of gospel community.
And look at what he says
in verse 11.
He says,
Let him who serves
serve by the strength
that God gives
in order that in everything
God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ.
To him belong glory
and dominion
forever and ever.
Amen.
Friends,
if the gospel is true,
if Jesus Christ
went to the cross
to bear our sin
upon his shoulders,
if Jesus Christ,
the righteous one,
died for unrighteous
you and me,
if God does not
hold our sin against us
but rather welcomes us
into his family
and into our arms,
friends,
if God loves us
and forgives us,
not because of what
we've done but because
of what Jesus did
on the cross for us,
is there any room
left for boasting?
Is there any room
left for self-glory?
Is there any room
left for arrogance
or self-sufficiency?
Peter writes this,
to him,
to Christ,
belongs all the glory
forever and ever
and ever
and ever.
Amen.
Right?
A gospel community
forged and shaped
by the gospel
be one that says
Christ to you
be all the glory.
Watermark,
if there's one prayer
I've prayed for our church
the last year,
there's one prayer
I've prayed over
and over and over
again is this,
God make us
a gospel church,
make us a gospel
community,
get the gospel
deep into our hearts,
make us a community
which is formed
and fashioned
and shaped
around the person
of Jesus Christ
and what he's did
on the cross.
And I've prayed
that prayer for myself,
say God,
I want to be
a gospel man,
I want what you did
on the cross Jesus
to shape every area
of my life,
I want to be
a gospel man.
And you know what,
I think God is starting
to answer that in my life.
By 1%,
very slowly,
God is doing stuff
in my life.
But you know what,
there's two things
that are happening.
One,
the way that God
is doing it
is he's exposing
all sorts of sin
and rubbish in my heart.
I'm seeing things
that I've never seen before
and it hasn't been
very comfortable.
And secondly,
he's taken me through
probably the most
difficult trialing season
of my life.
But God is doing something.
And friends,
I think Jesus wants
to answer that prayer
for our church.
I think Jesus wants
to make us
a gospel community,
a gospel church.
But chances are
when he does it,
he's going to expose things.
The things that are
hidden under the surface
that are going to come up.
But secondly,
there's chances are
he's going to do it
by taking us
to the furnace of affliction.
He's going to dial up the heat.
He's going to allow us
to suffer a little bit.
But as he does that,
let's respond.
Let's arm ourselves
with the gospel.
Let's think about
Christ on the cross.
And let's become those
who don't waste suffering,
but use it to get
the gospel deeper
into our hearts
so that we're
a gospel sacrificial community.
Let's pray together.
Oh, Heavenly Father,
these things are good ideas
and they're nice theory,
but God, we need you.
We need a work of your grace
and a work of your spirit
to really do this
in our hearts.
Jesus, we need you
to make each one of us here
a gospel man,
a gospel woman, God.
We want to arm ourselves.
We want to think
carefully and intentionally
about you
and your death
on the cross
and what you accomplished
for us.
God, won't you
shape our hearts,
we pray, God.
And Father,
as you do that,
won't you shape
our community.
I pray, God,
that Watermark
really will be
a gospel community, Lord.
That we will be those
that love one another
intensely and deeply.
We will be those
that are extravagantly
hospitable and open.
We will be those, God,
that use the gifts
that you've given us,
not for our own benefit,
but for the well-being
of others.
And Father,
you'll make us
a community
that lives
and that the song
of our heart
is to the glory
of Christ,
the praise
of your name.
God, I pray,
make us different.
Make us a counter-cultural
community.
May we be a light
in the city, God.
May we swim upstream.
May people see
the wonder
and the beauty
of Jesus
because of what
you've done in our hearts.
We pray this
in your wonderful name.
Amen.