1 Peter - 2022

We're gonna turn to our reading now. We're going through the book of 1 Peter, Peter and Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ wrote this book to people that were suffering. Around the Black Sea area, I think it is. So it's a very relevant book.

We're just seeing how alive it is. This old book has so many truths so helpful for how we live today, which shows us this really is God's word. We're going to start at It says chapter 3, but I'm going to start at the end of chapter 2 and then into chapter 3 and verse 12. But at the end of chapter 2, Peter writes, to this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving an example, that you should follow in his steps. He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate. When he suffered, he made no threats, instead, He entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross. So that we might die to sins and live for righteousness by his wounds, you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the shepherd and overseer of your souls.

Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that if any of them do not believe the word, may be they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self. The unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves.

They submitted themselves to their own husbands like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You or her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. Husbands in the same way, be considerate as as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life. So that nothing will hinder your prayers. Finally, all of you, be like minded, be sympathetic, love 1 another, be compassionate and humble, 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 for Whoever would love life 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. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those.

Who do evil. Well, thank you for reading that. And let me just have my welcome to Pete's. If you don't know me, my name is Tom. I'm 1 of the past us here and really good to have you with us this morning.

Welcome to anyone who's still joining us from home and now let's let's begin as we come to this passage by asking for the Lord's help together. Here's words from Romans 15 that Paul wrote about the Bible. Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us so that through the endurance that is taught in the scriptures, and the encouragement that they provide we might have hope. Father, we thank you that wherever we come to in your words, there is that 1 great purpose that these things that were written in the past were written to teach us, to inform us, to give us knowledge and wisdom. So that through the endurance that is taught in the scriptures, and through the encouragement that they provide, we might have hope.

And we pray father that as we look at this passage now and think about We'll continue to think about life in this world as believers, and all the the suffering and difficulty that that can bring with it. We pray that these scriptures might give us the endurance that they were designed to give us, and they might provide us with the hope that we need. In order to live faithfully for Jesus. And we ask these things in his precious name, amen. Well, a strong urge towards a particular way of life.

A strong urge towards a particular way of life is 1 way that the dictionary defines calling. A calling is a strong urge towards a particular way of life, and it's half true. It's at least half true because a calling can and often does include our own desires and the things that we want. It may not. So for instance, if you are called to serve in the army, if you are summoned to give up your regular job and serve in the army, that's the kind of calling that is laid upon you from the outside which may not include your own desires and the things you want in life, but nonetheless, it is a type of calling.

But mostly, it does include our own our own desires. Now it seems to me that Christianity is a is a mixture of those 2 things. So when the Lord calls a person, the call comes from outside of ourselves. Doesn't originate from within. It is laid upon us by the Sovereign God of heaven, but the way the calling works is by changing our desires so that we do long to live his way.

So, it's a bit of a mixture. It comes from outside, but includes the reorientation of our desires towards God. Some people call it an effectual call. It is 1 that comes from outside, but affects a change. It really works.

It does what it was intended to do and affect a real change in life and emotion and thinking. So the Christian calling seems to me to be a bit of a mixture of those things. And when you turn to this letter of 1 Peter, you see that the apostle Peter just loves calling. He loves to talk about calling. He loves the idea that Christians are called people.

If you turn back with me in your Bibles to chapter 1 and verse 14, He said there, as obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance, but just as he who called you is holy, So, be holy in all you do. The holy 1 outside of ourselves calls us, and part of his calling is to give us a love for holiness. To be like him. Then if you look at chapter 2 verse 9, Peter says, you are a chosen people A royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praise of Him Who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. A calling that comes from outside leading us from the darkness of sin to the light of truth giving us a desire to declare the excellencies of this 1 who called us.

Chaps 2 verse 21, just had it read, to this you were called. Because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. Then chapter 5 verse 10, perhaps the high point of this calling language. And the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ. After you have suffered a little while will himself restore you, the God of grace who called you to the eternal glory, which is in Christ.

Peter loves the idea that Christians are called people. And you can see that in today's passage, it ripped this idea of calling really is at the beating heart of what Peter is saying. Chapter 3 verse 9 do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult on the contrary repay evil with blessing. Why? Because to this, you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.

Now, in the past 3 or 4 weeks, we've been learning that these Christians that Peter is writing to are the same in that they're scattered throughout the world. They're aliens and strangers, but we've also seen that they're different In the sense that they don't all do the same thing, they have different lives to lead. Some of them are slaves under good masters, Some of them are slaves under cruel masters, some of them will be free people, some of them may even be those masters, Some of them may be husbands, some may be wives, some may have believing family, some may have unbelieving family. But here, He is now saying to the whole community that whoever you are, husband or wife, slave or free, there is a way of life to which you all have been called. No matter what your lives look like, Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, there is a way of life to which you all have been called And Peter tells us that this way of life invites the smile of God.

It is a calling which leads to a blessing. It is a blessed life to which we have been called. And as we're gonna see this morning, there is both a 1 another side to this calling. In other words, there's a calling to behave a certain way within the church, and there's a life in the world side to this calling. So every Christian is called to live a certain way amongst his or her brother or sisters, and that is to flow out into their engagement with the world.

Now, as we're gonna see, they're all they're actually part of 1 and the same thing. But, you know, we can break it up for, you know, for structure's sake. So The first point this morning is this and hopefully this will click on to that first point, although perhaps not. So, Catherine, if you wouldn't mind, thank you. To this you were called, love 1 another.

To this you were called, love 1 another. Now, we have seen this as well back in chapter 1. If you look at chapter 1 and verse 22, Peter says now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth, so that you have sincere love for each other, love 1 another deeply from the heart. And here, in chapter 3 verse 8, what he's going to do is to give some color and texture to that love. He's gonna give us 5 ways in which that love works itself out in the life of the church.

And the way to think about these is not so much as 5 individual things, though they are, but like the fingers on your hand. They're kind of 5 things that radiate out of the same palm. So there's loving 1 another and 5 fingers which come out of that, but they're all connected to the to the same thing. The center of it is love. And in verse 8, the first thing he says is finally, all of you be like minded.

Or literally, be of 1 mind. Brothers and sisters, no matter what you do, 9 to 5, when it comes to your brothers and sisters, be of 1 mind. Now, I don't know about you, but personally, I I am very willing to be of 1 mind, providing that that 1 mind is my mind. As long as everyone agrees with my way of thinking, we all share the common 1 mind that is my mind. Then normally, I'm very happy.

Of course, he's not saying that. There will be lots of things in the life of the church on which we think differently But he's saying to us here that we are to share the mind of Christ, and we are to unite together around gospel priorities. In our membership course, when we're welcoming new members into the church, we always go through the statement of faith. And 1 of the things we say there is we look through those various points, is that the point of a statement of faith is not to work out where you divide from us, but to give some statements which we can unite around. A statement of faith is designed to produce unity not to work out how we can divide from 1 another.

And so, 1 of the ones from our statement of faith is about the church. Is is this, and hopefully this will come up as well. This is the statement of face. This is what we believe as a church. The universal church is the body of which Christ is the head, and to which all who are saved belong.

It is made visible in local churches like ours, which are congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the word, the administering of baptism in the Lord's supper, which we'll take later, for pastoral care and discipline and for evangelism. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between churches by mutual love, care, and encouragement. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the gospel. Now, length of sermon and number of hymns, And whether you should sit on pews or chairs is not in there. Why?

Because there is freedom for us to think differently, sometimes very differently on those things. But you see when it comes to the nature of the church, of who we actually are, of what Christ has called us to be. When it comes to the nature of our mission in the world, and what we are basically about, which is to see the glory of God lifted high in this world. When it comes to those things, be of 1 mind. Be like minded brothers and sisters when you think about 1 another and are calling to the world.

Verse 8, he also says, be sympathetic. Now, remember we had this read as well last week verse 7, When Peter is talking to husbands, he says, husbands in the same way, be considerate as you live with your wives. And sympathy is is a way of unpacking what that looks like. To be considerate to 1 another is to be sympathetic, to try to understand 1 another. You know, when Paul commands us to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice, he's describing sympathy there.

It's a kind of entering into somebody else's hardships and joys in order to share with them to understand what life life must be like for them. So you can share. I was reading something this week. There's nothing nothing to do. It's not a Christian author.

It's not Christian book. It's just a just a novel actually. And in the story, this lady is walking with a friend of hers who just will not stop talking about her partner. She's just talking about her partner constantly, and she confesses this in the in the book. It's nearly impossible at least in my experience to listen to someone telling a story about their partner and not wish they'd get to the point a little faster Okay.

So you're saying he likes long walks. You're saying she's a capricorn. Skip to the end. It's easy to understand why someone might love a person But far more difficult to push yourself down into that understanding, to pull it up to your chin like bedclothes, and feel it settling around you, as something true. Now, there she's talking about romantic love, but I think the imagery is quite useful for understanding sympathy.

What she's saying there is that naturally, we do find it hard to sympathize with 1 another. We find it hard to actually push ourselves down into somebody else's understanding and see what life must be like for them. PC Peter says Christian love has got to take that shape. Because in the gospel, this is exactly what The eternal son of God does for us. He pushes himself down into our understanding.

He comes to walk on the earth that he has made in order to share in our sorrows. And those who were born again by his spirit want to follow him in that way. You see, what do sympathy and compassion mean, if not I'm gonna make every effort to try to understand what life must be like for you. I may not be a slave, and I may not have unbelievers in my family, but I'm going to try by the grace of God as hard as I can to enter into your reality, into the different a situation in which you find yourself so that I can share in your world of needs and concerns and joys. How vital would that have been for these first heroes?

All in different situations, Peter is saying be sympathetic, enter into 1 another's lives. So that you can share in each other's lives. That's what love looks like. And of course, when we consider that kind of sympathy, it is a 2 way street, isn't it? In the sense that being compassionate to 1 another means we let each other in.

This language of, you will never understand me. You don't know what it's like to be me. How could you possibly speak into my life? You don't know what I'm going through. Is in some ways strange language because it's so obviously true, isn't it?

No 2 people are ever going to share exactly the same life experiences, and no 2 people, even if they do, will process those things in the same way. So it's a true statement. The trouble with it is that that language is often used to exclude other people. It's a way of saying, I really don't love you enough to let you in. Peter calls us to a type of sympathetic love, where we try to push ourselves down into each other's worlds.

And allow others to be sympathetic to us. That's what it means to be sympathetic to them, to allow them to be sympathetic. Towards us. Verse 8, the sympathetic also he says love and humility go together. Now, in our world, it's the opposite.

People want to try to put pride and love together. That pride is about love and love is about pride and pride and love go together. But in reality, it's very hard to think of 2 words that are more opposed to each other. Than pride and love. How can I ever love you?

How can I ever really share in your sorrows and your joys, if it's always me before you? If the self is something to be defended at all cost, to not given, then this sort of love is gonna be very difficult. So the truth is that There really is nothing that spoils community more than pride. This list of things, that Peter is saying are to exist within the church. They're all related.

Love 1 another. Be 1 minded sympathetic, compassionate, and humble. These are things that are worth fighting for together. It's interesting I was reading reading a book recently by a chap called Jack Miller, who was a who was a pastor and a missionary. And he's got a book called The Heart of a Survant Leader, where he's written loads and loads of letters over the course of his ministry to people in different situations, to those who are missionaries, to church members, to elders, pastors all kinds of different people, and this book of his letters has been compiled.

And it's it's sad in a way that the largest single section of letters in the book is to try to help Christians who've fallen out with each other. It's the largest single section is written to Christians and churches who have divided against 1 another. He says, for anyone who has been in ministry, it will come as no surprise that this is the largest section of letters in this book. But Peter is reminding us here that whoever we are, slave, free, husband, wife that we have been called to a way of life with 1 another. Unity in Christ is something that we already have It's a fruit that's been purchased by Christ.

And here he's saying, live it out. Jack Miller in the book also says this is a quote that will come up. He says, what I long for is a love that is big enough to be disturbed. By what people are doing and strong enough and patient enough to carry them to the place where Christ wants them to be. Or in the words of verse 8, finally all of you, be like minded, be sympathetic, love 1 another, be compassionate, and humble.

To this you were called, love 1 another. And if that calling isn't radical enough, He then says, secondly, to this you were called repay evil with blessing. Repay evil with blessing. See, in verse 9, I think Peter is still talking about life in the church. In other words, he's saying that love means, don't repay, insult for insult, and evil for evil within the church.

Don't have that ecosystem going on, around you, insult for insult. But he's also moving now towards how we live in the world. And this is gonna be tough. You see, to live out verse 8 in the church is hard enough, isn't it? But in theory, it it is made slightly easier in that we all subscribe to it.

Yeah. It it it should be easier if we're all convinced of verse 8 and try try to live it out amongst 1 another. But what if you live among people who don't share in the ideals of verse 8? What if you suffer for what is right? Verse 14.

What if they speak maliciously against your good behavior verse 60? How do we respond when people do the opposite of verse 8? He says verse 9, Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult on the contrary, repay evil with blessing. Now, repaying insult for insult has hit the headlines in a major way this week. So you may have seen last Sunday when the when the Oscars took place.

It would have been hard to have missed this news. I think You had Chris Rock, the comedian, who was on stage hosting at least that part of the Oscar ceremony. And he made he made a joke about Will Smith's wife and the condition that she's got called alopecia. And Will Smith responded by going onto the stage and giving him what can only be described as a as a mic busting slap. And then returning to his seat, and just bellowing at him in in front of a stunned hushed crowd.

And there's a picture of it coming up. There it is. It's become altogether famous. It's been used in about 2000 memes at the last count already. And that's it.

And it was quite shocking. It was a shocking thing to watch. The clips of it were shocking. And in their kind of days afterwards, they were all kinds of reports and analysis being done on this, and some people were trying to say that what we have there or what we had in that picture was a display of strength from Will Smith. So here is a man, unafraid, on stage, willing to put his career on the line to defend the honor of his family.

It's a display of strength, his courage. But then you think, well, that can't be, can it? Because real strength is strength under control. To be out of control, in this sort of way is a sign of weakness. It's a sign of a bully.

And it's a sign of somebody who needs who needs help. Standing up for the honor of your wife is a noble pursuit. But whatever you think of Chris Rock's joke, that kind of insult for insult. Requires no spiritual power. And yet, how often when our own pride is wounded.

Do we believe that's the way to deal with it? Not that most of us would have the courage to actually do that to somebody else, but it's easy to replay that kind of fantasy in our minds, isn't it evil? For evil, insult, for insult. What Peter says in verse 9 is absolutely radical. See, whatever you think of Chris Rock and that joke, if you watch the clip, I think we might agree that he handled that quite well.

Shocked undoubtedly, but managed to compose himself, not to repay evil for evil and to sort of carry on. But the Holy Spirit creates something altogether different. Even more, than just turning the other cheek for another slap, but repaying evil for blessing. Now, as we saw a few weeks ago, when we were looking at slaves and masters, to bless means to seek the highest good. And that's really important because in some cases, like the slave master case, the evil being done against someone might be so great that in order to bless the evil doer, we should blow the whistle, report it to the authorities, take it down the proper channels, and make sure it doesn't happen again.

Praying that that evil doer would be convicted and converted. In other words, blessing our enemies is more of a posture of the heart. Right? Isn't it? It's a posture of the heart.

I'm not going to exchange like for like. I'm not gonna repay evil for evil, but will seek the best for this enemy. We'll pray for this enemy will try to do good to this enemy. Also, chapter 2 verse 12, they might see our good deeds, and glorify God on the day of visitation. Do the highest good in order to lead this person to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Not to repay evil for evil is for those people's sake. But it's also verse 9 for our sake. Do you see that? We live that way, both for their sake, And, for our sake, 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.

And so what he's saying there is that this cycle of insult for insult, evil for evil, malicious talk for malicious talk brings decay. And it collapses in on itself. But to live this way is to seek our own highest good. Is to seek our own blessing, not just the blessing of our enemies. And this I think is the way of trying to summarize how how radical this is.

It in a world where not avenging yourself is a sign of weakness. Peter says to these imperishable, you get even by blessing your enemies. That's how you get even in the world. You bless your enemies, and in doing so, You bless yourselves. Now, I don't know where that lands for you at the moment.

Whether it's the temptation online to quickly fire something back, insult for insult evil for evil. Whether it's a real life situation. In which you've been wronged, and everything in you says, insult for insult is the way to go. But Peter calls us in the power of the spirit. To live a different way, to repay evil for blessing, to get even by blessing those who insult us.

And in doing so to be about our own joy and our own freedom. Now at this point, we've been taking these 2 things separately. And in a moment, we're going to sort of land with the final application. But just briefly, I want to show you how love for church and love for the world in the way that this this describes are actually 1 and the same thing. So we've considered them separately.

But actually, as you read it, it's hard to know. Is he talking here about the church or is he talking here about the world? And I think that's exactly the point. These things flow in and out of each other, what we are together, we are in the world. And I just want to briefly show you that in this third point.

So the third point is this, to this whole life you were called, to this whole life you were called, and it's back to chapter 2 verse 12. If you've got a bible, Do go there. Chapter 2 verse 12, Peter says 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. Now, what is is the question, what is the good life that he has in mind here. Well, see the last 3 weeks sermons, submission to authorities.

That's part of what he means by the good life. But it's also loving 1 another. In other words, the way that we treat 1 another is itself a blessing to the world. How we love together is a blessing to the world. Here's John 13 34.

Should come up behind me. Famous words from the Lord Jesus. A new command I give you Love 1 another, as I have loved you, so you must love 1 another. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples. If you love 1 another.

What he's saying there is that there is a witnessing power in church love. We want everybody including our enemies to see verse 8 in action. We want enemies to see verse 8 in action here to know that we are Jesus' disciples and themselves to become Jesus' disciples. So, these callings are actually 1 and the same. 2 sides of the same coin.

Loving 1 another well is a way of blessing our enemies. Because it shows a kind of supernatural Christ love that exists between us. But it's also how we survive. Loving 1 another in verse 8 language is how we survive when life gets tough. Some years ago, I worked for a ground engineering company, and 1 of the things that we had to do or I had to do most days was to test these concrete blocks that were given to us.

They were samples, cubes of concrete, and construction companies would send us these concrete blocks so that we would put them through our big squasher machine and make sure that they didn't crack and crumble and were safe to use in construction. And so what we would do is we would put them in this machine and you have these hydraulic presses on all sides surrounded by this thick, you know, plastic stuff to protect us, and that you would basically just crush the concrete until it failed. And most of the time, it would fail just just it would just crack and at the right kind of, you know, right kind of weight and mass, and we would send the results back. But just occasionally, and this was very exciting. When they were really bad samples, they would just explode almost instantly within the machine.

And you, as a worker, you were just longing. For that. So you could fail the company and sort of break up the the the blandness of the morning, really, and see this thing explode. And of course, when that happened, you knew straight away, you didn't need any training at all, to know that there was something really wrong with that sample. There was some there was some fault with it.

It failed too easy. It failed too dramatically. But to look at, you wouldn't know that. In fact, it was only when pressure was applied that the cracks began to show themselves. And I think the reason this kind of verse 8 love is so essential is because we live in a hostile world.

Where the church is put under pressure, it is even unity is even more necessary in a hostile world. If we are divided against ourselves, then we won't face pressure from outside. In fact, when it comes, we're just gonna crack and fall out and devise and fail perhaps quite dramatically. So verse 8, love is both a witness to the world and it's a survival guide. We need it in this world of hostility.

Just a short point, but I wanted to show you how these 2 things flow into 1 another. Lastly, fourthly, mainly as an application, the help we need to live this life. And now look with me at verse 10. This is a quote from Psalm 34 verse 10 to 11 for whoever would love life 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 for the eyes of the lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. It's interesting when you turn back to Psalm 34, You learn that David wrote this Psalm when he was thinking about his enemies. This is a this is a Psalm for life in a hostile world. And notice those 2 things again.

He says, those who love life and wanna see good days should do what. They should keep their tongue from evil. That's a kind of passive point. In other words, they shouldn't repay evil for evil or insult for insult. They should hold their tongue, keep their tongue from evil.

But positively, he then says, and then seek peace and pursue it. That's the kind of active repay evil with blessing. Side, don't just hold your tongue, repay with blessings, seek peace with neighbors and friends and those who don't know the Lord. And now we're asking, well, how do we do that? Well, at the end of chapter 2, you see that Peter uses the example of Christ.

Look with me at 2 21, we had this read. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps. And what was that? Verse 23, when they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate. In other words, he did not repay, insult for insult or evil for evil.

In fact, he blessed his enemies. With humility and truth. The savior that we desperately need, and the number 1 example for this way of life. Is Jesus Christ. But the main help today comes in chapter 3 verse 12.

4, the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their prayer. But the face of the lord is against those who do evil. See, if you think about it, why? What makes this So hard, repaying evil with blessing, partly because it rubs up against our old nature. We don't like that economy of life.

We think insult for insult evil for evil is a better stronger way to live. But partly because if we're honest, As a general rule, evil can be rewarded quite quickly, but the fruit of goodness can take a long time. And actually, may never be seen in this life. That's right, isn't it? Often, insult for insult and evil for evil.

It sort of gets things done, doesn't it? It produces something. It hurts back, it hits back. You can see results. There's results of evil behavior, but repaying evil with blessing Well, we may not see the fruit of that life for a while.

And so we can become disillusioned with that. Is that really the way to live? When it doesn't seem to get things done. But verse 12 tells us, no, don't don't get disillusioned with your calling. Because the eyes of the lord are on the righteous.

Whatever you see in this life, Know that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. His ears are attentive to their prayers. He listens to your cry for help as you're desperate to repay insult for insult, but you cry to the Lord. He is attentive to that prayer. And 1 day, the fruit of that life is gonna be seen.

See, chapter 2 verse 12, the motivation for this life is that enemies might be converted. But alongside that, we have this. Live out this calling. Why? Because just know that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.

And those who persecute his church will not get away with it forever. God is not going to put up with evil forever. So keep going. It's interesting that Psalm 34 is really, really big deal for Peter. He quotes it a number of times in this letter, and it seems for him to kind of underpin the whole Christian life.

So in chapter 2 verse 3, he quotes it again, where he takes this verse from Psalm 34. Taste and see that the lord is good. Blessid is the 1 who takes refuge in Him. And so he says, in order to live this radically different life, this life of love in the church this life of repayment evil for blessing in the world. Take refuge in the Lord.

Know that he hears you, and that his ears are attentive to your prayer, and know that justice is coming. You see, what did our Lord Jesus Christ do when they hurled their insults at him? Peter tells us that he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. And he calls us to do the same. In trust yourself, the eyes of the lord are on the righteous.

He sees you, and justice is coming. So a strong urge towards a particular way of life is part of how we might think about our calling. Something laid upon us from outside, something which changes our desires, to love each other well, and to live for Christ in this world. Let's bow our heads and pray that God would give us the help we need to live this way. Father God, we thank you that no matter what our lives look like during the week that as Christian people, we have all been called to this way of life.

To love 1 another in a sympathetic, one-minded, compassionate, humble kind of way. We pray that you would help us to do that, and more and more so. We pray that you would help us as well when the insults come from outside, when people speak slanderously, against our good behavior in Christ, when people talk maliciously about us, we pray that you would help us to find Christ honoring ways of repaying evil for blessing. Lord, we pray that as a church, you would help us to be united so that when the pressure comes from outside, we would not fail and crumble. But that we might stand firm together as a united witnessing body of believers.

And father, we thank you for this comfort that we have here, that when we are so tempted to repay, insult, for insult, We can simply remember the eyes of the lord are on the righteous. And by your grace, we can we can let it go and seek ways to give blessing in return. Father, we know that naturally these things are way beyond us. They are so opposite to what we are inclined to do. So please give us the power of the Holy Spirit to live this way for the glory of Christ.

Omen.