In this sermon series, we are listening to the words of Peter, written towards the end of his life in his circular letter, which in our Bibles is called 1 Peter.
Today is Pentecost, which commemorates a moment roughly thirty years before 1 Peter was written, when the church was born, and Peter stood up to explain what the Holy Spirit was doing:
“‘In the last days, God says,
Acts 2:17-21
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Peter summed up the implications of his message as:
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 2:38-39
Repentance is getting a new way of seeing the world, which is increasingly unusual in our world
“Reasoning can take us to almost any conclusion we want to reach, because we ask “Can I believe it?” when we want to believe something, but “Must I believe it?” when we don’t want to believe. The answer is almost always yes to the first question and no to the second.” “If you want to change someone’s mind about a moral or political issue, talk to the elephant first. If you ask people to believe something that violates their intuitions, they will devote their efforts to finding an escape hatch—a reason to doubt your argument or conclusion. They will almost always succeed.”
Jonathan Haidt – The Righteous Mind
The outcome of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was seen in the radical way the church started to relate to one another:
Acts 2:42-47 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
Peter’s life had shown him that the Holy Spirit is active and seeking to sanctify us (the process of making us holy)
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:
1 Peter 1:1-2
30 years later, Peter is calling his readers to again live out their faith in a radical way
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
1 Peter 2:11-12
After discussing how we are to relate to politics, our employers, and as wives and husbands, he now turns his attention to the church:
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble.
1 Peter 3:8
30 years earlier Peter had heard Jesus’ prayer that the way we related to each other would be so dramatically different to the world that people would believe the truth of who he is:
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
John 17:20-21
Because our faith and hope are in God (1:21) and not in the normal things people put their faith and hope in, we are to relate to each other differently than normal people relate to each other.
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:9
We are to be circuit breakers. We are to love those who hate us and bless those who curse us. We are to be peace makers and not peace keepers.
For, “Whoever would love life
1 Peter 3:10-11
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
They must turn from evil and do good;
they must seek peace and pursue it.
The reason we break the cycle is because the cycle was first broken on the cross, and we know that the one who was on that cross is now alive and watching.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
1 Peter 3:12
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
This approach is most likely to result in surprised, but positive responses. But even if it doesn’t, their threats are hollow.
Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened.”
1 Peter 3:13-14
This circuit-breaking approach to the people in your life is only possible if Jesus is the center of your life, something the Holy Spirit is at work to increasingly do through the process of sanctification:
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord
1 Peter 3:15
As you hold on to Jesus, your hope in the face of hopelessness will become increasingly evident, and people will: want to know why.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander.
1 Peter 3:15-16
This is how the people of Hobart discover the hope they desperately seek.
Are you open to the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work so you can become a circuit-breaking person of Hope?
Small Group Questions:
- Peter says the Holy Spirit’s work is to sanctify us — to slowly make us more like Jesus. Looking back over the last few years, where have you noticed change in yourself? Where do you still resist the Spirit’s work?
- Peter says Christians are to be “circuit breakers” who repay evil with blessing. Why is our natural response usually to return hurt with hurt? Can you think of someone who broke the cycle for you?
- What is the difference between being a peacekeeper and a peacemaker? Which one feels more natural to you — and why?
- Peter says our hope should eventually look strange enough that people ask questions. If people watched your life for a month, what would they conclude your hope is really built on?
- Imagine Citywide fully lived Acts 2 and 1 Peter 3 — radical generosity, compassion, humility, blessing enemies, and unusual hope. What would surprise Hobart most?