Today we wrap up our study on 1 Peter; a letter sent to a group of churches who were experiencing the cost of following Jesus. You see, it was a time that bearing the name Christian was a difficult thing to do. It brought great challenges and suffering and tremendous persecution every day – just because they were called Christians.
And in the midst of all of this suffering, they starting thinking to themselves, maybe I should just dump this whole Christianity thing because it’s going to be a lot easier if I just stopped following Jesus and started acting like everybody else.
And some were even thinking that their suffering was some kind of cosmic act of God because God was mad at them or he had forgotten about them.
And that's when Peter steps in and writes this letter of encouragement; letting them know that they are not alone, God hasn’t left you, God isn’t angry with you. He’s as close to you now in your suffering as he’s ever been.
In fact, God has chosen you . . . by his grace; he has set you apart as a holy people and he is doing something spectacular with you.
He takes each of you, who are followers of Jesus, and he places you side by side, living stone, next to living stone and He builds you up into a spiritual house, a place where God's holiness is revealed.
In other words, He's creating a movement made up of people who together reflect the Glory of God.
After laying out this theological framework, Peter makes this transition as to how this works out in our lives and in our relationships with those who are not Christians.
And in light of what he said, you'd think that Peter would suggest that they should shelter themselves from the hostile world around them by huddling with other Christians.
But Peter says that Christians are not called to abandon the surrounding culture. Instead, they're to engage culture, with a robust faith, willing to lay aside their rights in order to imitate Christ's example in serving others, even when it's not easy.
And for these first century Christians, who were experiencing persecution and death just because they were called Christians . . . this was not easy.
And so Peter brings them back to the church and he says; “As you engage culture with a robust faith, you guys are going to need each other. So love one other deeply, praying, encouraging, being compassionate and humble, and just doing life together with all of its ups and downs.”
And as he wraps up his letter he gives them a warning; “Stay alert because Satan is poised to pounce.”
And he uses this imagery of a lion. Now most of us aren’t used to hanging out and seeing lions in our back yards so the imagery might get lost. So I’ve got this short video to help us grasp his words.
The way a Lion attacks is with patience. It crouches down and waits for prey that has wandered away from the herd and isn’t paying attention and when it least expects it; the lion will pounce, attack and devour its prey.
Peter is saying . . . when you’re suffering and discouraged, you are more vulnerable to be attacked and devoured because suffering has a way of isolating us and causing us to lose focus from the real threat.
You see, as these early Christians were experiencing suffering their focus was on the people who brought the suffering upon them. That’s all they could think about.
Maybe you know exactly what that’s like . . . Someone has hurt you so bad that you get consumed with thoughts about that person. You go to sleep and you wake up, and you eat lunch, and try to take a vacation and all you can do is think about that person and how much they hurt you.
Peter is saying don’t get consumed with thoughts about those who are causing you to suffer because crouching behind them is a real adversary who is ready to pounce and attack and devour you.
He wants you to feel alone and isolated and questioning God’s sovereignty and wondering how a good and loving God could allow this to happen to You because the adversary wants nothing more than for you and me to walk away from our faith.
He certainly doesn’t want you to surround yourselves with the church . . . the place where his glory is revealed. The place where we gather together to support, love, encourage, and pray for one another. The place where we gather together to worship and remember that Jesus himself suffered so that we might have life.
And so Peter is saying, stay alert and stand firm in your faith and the way you do this is to remember that there are Christians all around the world who are also suffering, just as you are suffering.
You see, when you don’t’ feel like you’re the only one going through it, you don’t have as much self pity. When you don’t have as much self-pity, you’re not as prone to discouragement. When you’re not as prone to discouragement, you’re not as prone to despair or anxiety or anger or entitlement; those things that will tempt you to isolate yourself and abandon your faith.
If you are suffering and struggling with your faith . . . remember that there others who are suffering as well. Don’t isolate yourselves but instead lean heavily into each other. Be the church to one another.
And if you notice that people within the church are isolating themselves; reach out, follow up, send a text or an email, facetime, or actually make a phone call to check up on them and encourage them.
Because if we isolate ourselves . . . we will get devoured.
I can’t help but think that as Peter was writing these words, he was recalling that last night as he and the other disciples gathered around the table for one last meal with Jesus.
Now remember, the disciples are stoked because they’re pretty sure that Jesus has come into Jerusalem as the Messiah, God’s king to over throw the Roman government and to restore his Kingdom. So in their minds, this is like the last meal before the battle, before it all goes down . . . which in a sense, they were absolutely correct.
So, they’re all lying around the table and a dispute breaks out among them about “which one was going to be the greatest in the kingdom?”
But instead of getting angry with them, Jesus simply redirects them and tells them that if you want to be the greatest then you serve. If you want to be first, go to the last.
Which doesn’t make any sense . . . but that’s cool. Whatever you say Jesus, we’re with you!
But then Jesus singles out Peter; who is not only one of the top guys in the inner circle but he is also really good friends with Jesus . . . and he refers to him as Simon; which is his old name before Jesus came into his life and he was given a new name.
And so when Jesus calls him Simon, what Peter hears from Jesus is, “You’re going back to your old ways. The way you used to be before you met me. You are isolating yourself with your independence”
And then Jesus says, “Peter, Satan has come to me and he asked to sift you like wheat.”
In other words, “Satan is crouching and ready to pounce and he has asked to tear you apart and this is going to be a very dark moment in your life because he wants you to see yourself as a failure; He wants you to feel alone and be consumed with thoughts that you are destroyed and hopeless.”
But Jesus says, “I have prayed for you that your faith will not fail”.
Did you notice what he doesn’t pray . . . he doesn’t pray that Simon doesn’t fail; he prays that Simon’s faith doesn’t fail.
Jesus knows that Simon will fail him, because that’s what happens to broken people living in a broken world. We fail God all the time.
So Jesus prays that in the midst of his failure and in the midst of the pain that Simon will have faith in the knowledge that God loves Him and that in Christ he is not alone and he is not hopeless.
And Peter says, “No way. There is no way that I will fail you. You can depend on me. You can count on me . . . because I would go to prison for you. I would die for you, Jesus!”
But Jesus answered, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
Soon after this exchange, Jesus is arrested . . . and as he is being brought to the high priest’s house, Peter was following them at a distance. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them, hoping to just blend into the crowd.
Then a servant girl . . . . a poor, powerless, teenage servant girl . . . sees him in the light and says, “This man was also with him” but he denied it, saying “woman, I do not know him”
A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”
Peter fails Jesus at his moment of desperate need. Peter was supposed to be Jesus’ right hand man. He was supposed to be the rock in which the church would be built upon . . . How could he have been the one to have betrayed him like that?
In that moment, he felt completely alone and he went and he wept bitterly.
But perhaps . . . Peter had to fail in order to fully understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
You see, if this were the end of the story, it would be completely devastating and utterly depressing.
But the story doesn’t end here . . . you see, we haven’t talked about Jesus yet. In just a few short hours, Jesus will go to the cross where he suffers and dies.
And Jesus is on the cross and he says, “Father, forgive them” and then he says in a loud triumphal cry, “It is finished”
Three days later, Jesus rises from death and the word gets out, “Jesus is alive” and they run to the tomb, and who is the first one there? Peter.
Although Peter failed Jesus, Jesus never fails Peter.
A few days after they had seen the risen Christ, the disciples are fishing and trying to figure out things, Jesus once again appears and he says “come have breakfast” and when they finished eating, Jesus pulls Peter aside for a private talk and what you would expect him to say is “Peter you’re such a coward. You are a complete failure. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
But instead, he looks Peter right in the eye – just as he had done as the rooster crowed - and he asks, “Do you love me?” . . . not just once but three times . . . reminding Peter of his failure; not just once but three times.
But there is more going on in this interaction than Jesus reminding Peter of his failures. He’s teaching him about Grace. He was telling Peter that you can’t do what I have done for you. You can’t love as I have loved. You can’t forgive as I have forgiven.
And when Peter recognizes this truth, Jesus gives Peter three commands – feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, follow me. Each time, Jesus conveys to Peter that he’s entrusting him with a Spiritual responsibility. No matter what Peter’s past failures, no matter what is going on in his life, Jesus loves him and has forgiven him and he has a job for him to do . . . take care of my church.
It’s amazing that God would use someone like Peter . . . or people like us.
It was out of this profound experience that Peter wrote this letter.
You see, Jesus also says to us come follow me, let me transform your life, let me build you into a movement of people who will reflect my glory and then go out and be agents of my love and my grace . . . and do this by becoming humble and serving the least of these.
And Peter is saying let me tell you what’s gonna happen when you respond to God’s call to be His church; to care for people and love on people and show the grace of God to people . . . You are going to fail. You are going to mess up. You are going to make mistakes. You will also face trials and perhaps even persecution.
And the evil one wants nothing more than for you to see yourself as a failure and feel that you can’t do this. He wants you to feel destroyed and hopeless and alone. He wants you to give up.
But Jesus said something else at that table that night. He took the bread and he broke it and he said this is my body which is broken for you and he took the cup and he poured it and he said this is my blood which is shed for you . . . do this in remembrance of what I have done for you.
When you feel hopeless . . . find your hope in what Christ has done
When you feel dirty . . . find cleansing through the blood of Christ
When you feel condemned . . . find freedom in the broken body of Christ.
Don’t give up . . . Don’t give up . . . Don’t give up.