Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Today is Epistles Sunday. 1 Peter 1-3. I’m calling today’s episode “Not My Will.” 

Comments on 1 Peter 1 and 2

In chapter 1,  Peter called the people to holy living. He told them not to slip back into their old ways of living to satisfy their own desires. “…their own desires…”

And then in chapter 2 when talking to slaves he said that they should submit to their masters with all respect. Not just when the master is kind, but when he is cruel.

And then dropping down again a few verses, Peter says, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering…”

The common thread here is that we are not to put our own desires or our own rights above all else. We are to remember that we are slaves of God, and put His desires and His agenda ahead of ours. 

Let me complete the thought, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.”

When Peter says this, he does so as he remembers that horrible night and early morning when Jesus did suffer for me and for you. Peter was an eye witness to the horrible ordeal Jesus suffered. Jesus could have, at any time, called down a legion of angles to wipe out those who were beating him. He could have released Himself from the pain and the chains that held him. He could have insisted on His rights as the Sovereign of All that is!

But He didn’t. He suffered so that we could be saved from the wages of our sins. And we must follow His example. If God puts us in a position of suffering, then we must prayerfully submit to His will, knowing that He loves us and trusting that His will is right. 

Since I know how much He loves me, I do trust Him. And any suffering I have gone through in my life truly has brought me closer to Him. It is worth it.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-2 NLT; Ch. 3 NCV

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Transcript

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STEVE WEBB – 0:00
He was an eyewitness.

INTRO S12E312 – 0:09
Well, hi there. Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today’s Epistle Sunday. We’ll read the first three chapters in the book of 1 Peter, and I’m calling today’s episode, “Not My Will”. The show notes page for today’s episode is lifespringmedia.com/s12e312. And my email address is st***@*************ia.com. Let’s get started.

1 PETER 2 (NLT) – 0:41
1 Peter, chapter 1. (1) This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. (2) God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

May God give you more and more grace and peace.

(3) All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, (4) and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. (5) And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

(6) So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. (7) These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

(8) You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. (9) The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.

(10) This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about the gracious salvation prepared for you. (11) They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.

(12) They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

(13) So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. (14) So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. (15) But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. (16) For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”

(17) And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.” (18) For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. (19) It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. (20) God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but now in these last days he has been revealed for your sake.

(21) Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

(22) You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.

(23) For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. (24) As the Scriptures say,

“People are like grass;
their beauty is like a flower in the field.
The grass withers and the flower fades.
(25) But the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.

1 PETER 2 (NLT) – 4:44
1 Peter, chapter 2. (1) So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. (2) Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment, (3) now that you have had a taste of the Lord’s kindness.

(4) You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.

(5) And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. (6) As the Scriptures say,

“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem,
chosen for great honor,
and anyone who trusts in him
will never be disgraced.”

(7) Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.”

(8) And,

“He is the stone that makes people stumble,
the rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.

(9) But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

(10) “Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”

(11) Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. (12) Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.

(13) For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, (14) or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.

(15) It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you. (16) For you are free, yet you are God’s slaves, so don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. (17) Respect everyone, and love the family of believers. Fear God, and respect the king.

(18) You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect. Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. (19) For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. (20) Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you.

(21) For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.

(22) He never sinned,
nor ever deceived anyone.
(23) He did not retaliate when he was insulted,
nor threaten revenge when he suffered.
He left his case in the hands of God,
who always judges fairly.
(24) He personally carried our sins
in his body on the cross
so that we can be dead to sin
and live for what is right.
By his wounds
you are healed.
(25) Once you were like sheep
who wandered away.
But now you have turned to your Shepherd,
the Guardian of your souls.

1 PETER 3 (NCV) – 08:27
1 Peter, chapter 3. (1) In the same way, you wives should yield to your husbands. Then, if some husbands do not obey God’s teaching, they will be persuaded to believe without anyone’s saying a word to them. They will be persuaded by the way their wives live. (2) Your husbands will see the pure lives you live with your respect for God. (3) It is not fancy hair, gold jewelry, or fine clothes that should make you beautiful. (4) No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit that will never be destroyed and is very precious to God. (5) In this same way the holy women who lived long ago and followed God made themselves beautiful, yielding to their own husbands. (6) Sarah obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him her master. And you women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid.

(7) In the same way, you husbands should live with your wives in an understanding way, since they are weaker than you. But show them respect, because God gives them the same blessing he gives you—the grace that gives true life. Do this so that nothing will stop your prayers.

(8) Finally, all of you should be in agreement, understanding each other, loving each other as family, being kind and humble. (9) Do not do wrong to repay a wrong, and do not insult to repay an insult. But repay with a blessing, because you yourselves were called to do this so that you might receive a blessing. (10) The Scripture says,

“A person must do these things
to enjoy life and have many happy days.
He must not say evil things,
and he must not tell lies.
(11) He must stop doing evil and do good.
He must look for peace and work for it.
(12) The Lord sees the good people
and listens to their prayers.
But the Lord is against
those who do evil.”

(13) If you are trying hard to do good, no one can really hurt you. (14) But even if you suffer for doing right, you are blessed.

“Don’t be afraid of what they fear;
do not dread those things.”

(15) But respect Christ as the holy Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have, (16) but answer in a gentle way and with respect. Keep a clear conscience so that those who speak evil of your good life in Christ will be made ashamed. (17) It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong if that is what God wants. (18) Christ himself suffered for sins once. He was not guilty, but he suffered for those who are guilty to bring you to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit. (19) And in the spirit he went and preached to the spirits in prison (20) who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for them while Noah was building the boat. Only a few people—eight in all—were saved by water. (21) And that water is like baptism that now saves you—not the washing of dirt from the body, but the promise made to God from a good conscience. And this is because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. (22) Now Jesus has gone into heaven and is at God’s right side ruling over angels, authorities, and powers.

COMMENTS – 11:47
In chapter 1, Peter called the people to holy living, he told them not to slip back into their old ways of living to satisfy their own desires.

And then in chapter two, when talking to slaves, he said that they should submit to their masters with all respect. Not just when the master is kind, but also when he’s cruel.

And then dropping down again, a few verses, Peter says, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering…”

The common thread here is that we’re not to put our own desires or our own rights above all else, we should remember that we are slaves of God and put his desires and his agenda ahead of ours.

Let me complete the verse that I started a minute ago when Peter said, “For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering…” And then he continued, “…just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example. And you must follow in his steps.”

Remember, Beloved, this is Peter writing. And as he writes this, he remembers that horrible night and early morning when Jesus did suffer for me and for you. He was there. He was an eyewitness. Jesus could have at any time called down a legion of angels to wipe out those who were beating him. He could have released himself from the pain and the chains that held him. He could have insisted on his rights as the Sovereign of all that is.

But he didn’t. He suffered so that we would be saved from the wages of our sins, and we must follow his example. If God puts us in a position of suffering, then we must prayerfully submit to His will, knowing that he loves us and trusting that His will is right.

Since I know how much he loves me, I trust him and any suffering I’ve gone through in my life truly has brought me closer to him. It is worth it.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e312. Scroll to the bottom of the page and let me know what you’re thinking. Tomorrow is Epistle Sunday, and we’ll read Deuteronomy 10 through 12.

Boost!

ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY – 14:02
On this date in church history, July 10, 1746, David Brainerd, a colonial-era missionary to the American Indians reflected in his journal, “I saw plainly there was nothing in the world worthy of my affection. My heart was dead to all below yet not through dejection, but from a view of a better inheritance.”

CLOSING PRAYER – 14:31
Let’s pray shall we? Our heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you that Jesus willingly gave himself so that we might have eternal life. Help us to also be selfless and to yield to your will when you ask us to. I pray this in Jesus name, amen.

If you have a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com

OUTRO S12E312 – 15:00
Comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e312. Send me an email at st***@*************ia.com. Kirstie, Sean of San Pedro and Denise, thank you so much for your help. And thank you to those of you who faithfully stream sats and send boosts. And thanks to those of you who send weekly or monthly donations. And thanks to those of you that have sent gifts at other times as well. I appreciate each of you and I pray that God will bless you. You truly are a blessing to me.

And, Beloved, thank you for inviting me into your life today. I love opening the word with you.

Support the show at lifespringmedia.com/support, please.

And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb.

Bye.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai
Corrected by Denise