5/29/22 1 Peter 3:13-22 “Do Everything in the Name of Jesus!”

27 May 5/29/22 1 Peter 3:13-22 “Do Everything in the Name of Jesus!”

5/29/22   1 Peter 3:13-22       “Do Everything in the Name of Jesus!”

This is the time of year when we have graduations.  It’s a time to celebrate when our young people, and some older, who graduate from high school and college.  I used to be a part of the baccalaureate services in two communities.  I always looked forward to these because it was good to see our young people move on to something new.  I think baccalaureate services are important and if you don’t do that in your community, then I suggest that you start one.  But thinking of those services made me think realize that I am sure glad that I am not graduating into this world where we have done such a poor job of saving it for the next generation.  This can be seen in communities where they have dumped the baccalaureate service because God just isn’t that important.  Anyway, today’s seniors have a lot of obstacles to get past before they can even start in life.  But then someone asked me what it was like when I graduated from high school.  Things were sure a lot different.  There was a war going on and that should be no surprise as there always seems to be a war.  Because of this, there were no jobs to be had for the graduating seniors.  People didn’t hire you because you might be drafted into the army.  For you younger people, this draft meant that you had to go into the army if you were drafted.  You had no choice like you do today.  Anyway, there were lots of obstacles then also.  I think that every generation has had its share of hard times to get to adulthood.  And depending on your point of view, it might seem to be a lot harder to cope in the adult world if you are a Christian.  However, if you have been living right, it might be easier. Today, we are looking at 1 Peter again as he tells us what it is like to be a Christian.

Marc Axelrod gives a couple of examples on how it is not easy being a Christian.  Young Christians sometimes run into trouble when they attend some of the parties that other young people have.  They go and they might find that the music is highly objectionable because many of the words are swear words or they are singing about things that are just plain foul.  So they go to leave and the host or someone asks why they are leaving.  They say, “I gotta be honest here.  I’m a Christian and this music makes me a little uncomfortable.”  Suddenly this friend is all over them saying that this is great music and since when had they become a religious fanatic.  “Who do you think you are to judge my music like that?”  When this young person gets home and he or she asks God why they had to suffer such embarrassment.  Just as a sidebar here, the non-Christian will be the first to say something like we are not to judge.  This is wrong.  We are told over and over in the Bible to judge so don’t believe the devil when he confronts you like this.

Or there is the person who has always worked hard at their job.  One day the boss calls him into his office and says that they have a really big contract that is due and they will have to work 7 days a week including Sundays.  This Christian says that he can work anytime except Sunday mornings.  The boss says that he has to learn to be a team player.  He will never be promoted if he won’t work on Sundays.  He has to put the company first.  The man comes home and says to his wife, “Boy, the sermon this Sunday better be a good one, because I’m taking a lot of heat from the boss just because of my commitment to church. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it.”

I don’t know if there is a person here today that hasn’t had to put up with some kind of religious persecution or religious intolerance.  It seems that the left is very good at being very intolerant!  And that is ok.  That is who you are and Peter tells us so 2000 years ago.  And if you are still in doubt, then look at what Jesus went through as far as intolerance and persecution go.  This intolerance and persecution is still alive and well in the UMC today.  And all these terrible things happened to Jesus and look where He is today.  He is in heaven and He wants all of us to join Him some day.

Peter begins by asking, “Who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good?”  Notice that Peter doesn’t answer this question.  If you think about it, who in their right mind would want to harm you if you are eager to do good?  Right?   And yet look at all the people who try to do us harm in our world today.  What might have been a rhetorical question in the day of Peter, has some real meaning to it today.  We are not liked by non-believers.  They will try to discredit us every chance they get.  One of the funniest statements that I hear is, “How dare you try to impose your Christian ideas upon me.”  I think that it is funny because that is our job.  We are supposed to be telling people about Jesus all the time and this comes directly from the Bible.

I think we get into a little bit of trouble here once in a while.  I think that we often times do things and we don’t mention Jesus.  Satan told me one time in the form of a UMC church official that we couldn’t mention the name Jesus in a new chapel being built on a reservation.  I couldn’t help but think, “Then why build it?  What is the point?”  This was my first run in with the UMC hierarchy.  Everything we do needs to be in the name of Jesus.  He is responsible for everything we have.  Give Him the credit even if it is something small like your lunch, or your clothing or a visit to someone who is sick.  If you are giving Jesus credit, then the enemy will have less ammunition to attack you.

Then Peter goes on to say that you will be attacked and you will suffer for following this wonderful God of ours and God will reward you for being obedient.  If I was one of those ‘feel good’ pastors that masquerade in our pulpits, especially UMC pulpits, I could really take off here.  I could say that if you wanted that new car, you will be rewarded with it if you just follow Jesus.  Or maybe it will be a new house or something else.  Do you see where heresy can creep into the Scriptures if you are not careful?  You need to keep reading.

Peter says not to worry or be afraid.  Peter has not been talking about rewards that are physical.  He isn’t talking about cars or trucks or horses.  He is talking about peace of mind for one thing.  I have been pastoring for almost 16 years now here are a couple of things I know even if I don’t know you that well.  Some of you are real worry warriors.  Some of you just worry sometimes.  Some of you are afraid of what people might think of you if you become “too” Christian.  When we find ourselves in these little bad habit ruts of life, we should stop and ask ourselves if we think that we are smarter than Jesus.  Does your worry help anything?  It does not!  Just as a little tip, I would suggest that instead of worrying, go to Jesus in prayer.  Pray continually about what ever needs it.  Take this worry that you are addicted to and turn it into a prayer for someone.  It sounds so much better and will do so much better if you are praying for someone instead of worrying about someone.  Pray don’t worry!  Worry is a waste of time.

In the very next line, Peter tells us this as he says, “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life.”  Worship Him by telling everyone that the things you do are in the name of Jesus.  Give Him the credit.  Give Him your load.  We think we are so good at doing things on our own but we are not and we don’t have to so we shouldn’t even try.  Jesus only wants to make your lives better.  This is why we have this book called the Bible.  There is not one thing in the Bible that we are forced to do.  On the other hand, everything that we follow from the Bible will give us a better life.  This isn’t that hard.  When I say let’s give it up for Jesus, I’m not talking applause.  I’m talking about giving up some of your little habits that keep you from Jesus.

Finally Peter says, “And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.”  Here is a part that you may not like that much because Peter is saying that we are all evangelists.  We have a little problem with this because of our modern definition of evangelist.  We think of this person as someone who is on TV telling people to come to Christ.  Or it may be me telling you most Sundays that you are to confess your sins and make Jesus the Lord of your life.  Or it may be someone in the street who asks passersby if they know the Lord.   But this is just the tip of the iceberg.

You are all evangelists.  Each one of you has a story so tell it.  Each one of you has a history with Jesus so tell it.  Each one of you has something that you can show that has happened in your lives so show it.  You do not have to be flashy or a good speaker.  You only have to give credit to Jesus for your life and you will be giving the best witness that you can.

I remember reading in one of my textbooks from school.  I don’t use these materials very often in a sermon because generally they get a little too technical.  It is not that you wouldn’t understand it.  It is that I don’t understand it.  Anyway, this book was talking about evangelism.  This fellow liked being ‘fishers of men’ so he would go to a bar.  He would go into the bar and ask the bartender to pray for him.  Then the bartender would say that he had come to the wrong place.  So the author would say something like, “You mean that you can’t even pray for me.”  The conversation was off and running.  The seed had been planted.  That is all we are asked to do is plant the seed.  Each and every one of us can plant a seed like this in some of the most unlikely places.

I guess that one of the main points of this passage is that it is better to suffer for doing ‘good’ than for doing wrong.  People will see that you are trying to do ‘good.’  They will see you out there trying to make a difference.  There will be people who will try to stop you by whatever means possible.  This is ok.  Let them.  The people who do these types of things are going to be convicted.  You may never know it but they will suffer for what they do.  Therefore if you are the person who is doing wrong, you will suffer the consequences.  And if this world is trying to harm you, it can only do things of this world and therefore is very limited.  God will not be punishing you for doing what is right and good.  But beware to those who go against Him.

The next thing Peter tells us is why all of this is true.  You see, God made this world and everything in it for you.  Out of His tremendous love for you came this world.  Then in His infinite wisdom, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ to show us the way.  Jesus was with us as He showed us the way to glory.  He did this in many ways but He was always pointing to a place in eternity with Him.  And then He died for our sins.

The only way that He could do this is if He had never sinned himself.  Jesus was the perfect man.  He was unblemished.  He was righteous and He died for the unrighteous, us, you.  I want you to think about this for a moment.  When was the last time you were actually perfect in the eyes of God.  Have you ever been perfect in the eyes of God?  Jesus lived a whole life and He was perfect.  He never did one thing wrong, never!!  And still these murderers grabbed Him and put Him to death for being perfect.  Next time you think that you have it bad when someone calls you a name or something because you love Jesus, think about what He went through.  Jesus went to bat for all of our sins, and He hit the ball right out of the ballpark, out of the universe.  Now I don’t know about you but this is someone to whom I will pay attention and follow.

We are so fortunate in this day and age that we have so much proof that Jesus is exactly who He said He is.  We have had 2000 years of proof.  I am proof.  Many of you are proof.  We do things every day that are proof.  All Jesus wants us to do is to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him and give Him the credit for all blessings.  You didn’t earn that raise.  Jesus helped you.  You didn’t grow a great crop.  Jesus helped you.  The only time that we do things on our own is when we don’t know Jesus or are away from Him.  For people who don’t know Jesus, they do things on their own and their lives end up being a mess.  This happens 100% of the time and the only exception may be if God has to use the non-believer for whatever reason.  But for those who believe, everything we do comes from God so let’s give Him credit.  In return He will bless you richly and you will have the greatest retirement home that can ever be imagined.  I have lived on both sides of this and the life we have in Jesus is so, so much better than without that there is no comparison.

It all takes a commitment on your part.  I know that most of you don’t like the word commitment.  I know that you are all too busy to take on anything else.  I know that you don’t have enough minutes in the day.  I also know that it will never get any better for you unless you give yourself to Christ.  Open yourself up to this wonderful life today by giving yourself to Jesus.  This commitment will be the best thing you ever do and you will never regret it.

Bruce Howell tells this great story of a wealthy American who made a trip to London.  He was really impressed by Buckingham Palace, where the Queen lived.  So one morning he went to the gates and he expected to go right in.  He was used to going where ever he wanted because he was so rich.  Anyway, two soldiers stuck out their bayonets and stopped him.  The rich man took out $1000 from his pocket and said to them, “Take this money.  I can pay my way in.”  One soldier replied, “You can’t buy your way into the Queen’s palace.  You have to be invited.  And if the Queen invites you, you can go in for free.”

It is exactly the same way with heaven.  Jesus extends the invitation to all of us.  It is up to you to accept.  Jesus has done all these things.  He has done all the work.  He loves you so much that He wants you to spend eternity with Him in heaven.  I think that this is one commitment that is really too good to pass up.  Accept Jesus and live.  And thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.