4 Prepare For Action 1 Peter 1:13-16, Adapted from a sermon by Steve Shepherd http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=133683

1. Prepare For Action 1 Peter 1:13-16 Adapted from a sermon by Steve Shepherd http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=133683

2. Prepare for action. Prepare for what? It could be anything. 1 Peter 1:13-16 NET Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

3. 14Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance, 15but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, 16for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.” (Lev 11:44, Lev 19:2)

4. One morning a man went out to start his car to go to church. He had a flat tire. Luckily, he had a spare tire. He changed the tire quickly and was on his way. But he didn’t think to drop the spare off to be fixed. He thought, "I’ll get around to it.“ Within five days he went out to his car to go to school. He had another flat tire. Only this time he had no spare! He had to roll it to nearest service station and wait while it was fixed.

5. When something breaks, fix it now. Some things need to be fixed right now! It’s called preparation. Prepare for action. Prepare for breakdowns. Prepare for flat tires. In fact, it’s better to check your tires regularly and perhaps you won’t experience a flat tire.

6. If a person keeps the maintenance up on their car, then hopefully, it won’t break down in times of stress, bad weather, etc. And if a person keeps the maintenance up on their faith then it, too, won’t let them down in times of difficulty and stress. PREPARATION IS THE KEY.

7. In the 1969 movie “PAINT YOUR WAGON,” Lee Marvin plays a drunk named Ben Rumstead. During the closing scene, Ben Rumstead is standing in the rain on a muddy street talking with the proprietor of a local store. The store owner looks at the passing wagons, loaded with people and furniture moving out of town and says, “There are two kinds of people in this world. There are those who move on and those that stay. Ain’t that the truth, Ben Rumstead?”

8. “No, that ain’t the truth,” Ben Rumstead replies, with a swagger enlarged by the half-empty bottle in his hand. “There are two kinds of people in this world. Them that is going someplace and them that is going no place. That’s the truth.” It’s true that some people are going somewhere and some are going nowhere. This is especially true spiritually. Many people are going nowhere spiritually

9. There are "doers" and there are those who do little in regard to the really important matters of life. I don’t know if it is because they don’t care or perhaps they don’t think they can make a difference in their own lives or the lives of others. Either way, doing nothing will get a person nowhere and fast!

10. The Boy Scout motto is what? BE PREPARED. Be prepared for what? For anything that might come our way in life. And to me, there is only way to be prepared and that’s in the Lord! To be prepared for anything that life throws at us we must be in the Lord and continually seek His will. OUR FATHER KNOWS BEST. The best place to be and the best preparation is in the Lord!

12. Our text speaks of preparation for living a successful Christian life. Prepare what? 1- Prepare your mind 2- Prepare your hope 3- Prepare your heart 1 Peter 1:13a NET Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, PREPARE YOUR MIND

13. A strong young man at the construction site was bragging that he could outdo anyone in a feat of strength. He made a special case of making fun of Morris, one of the older workmen.After several minutes, Morris had enough. "Why don’t you put your money where your mouth is?" he said. "I will bet a week’s wages that I can haul something in a wheelbarrow over to that outbuilding that you won’t be able to wheel back."

14. "You’re on, old man," the braggart replied. "It’s a bet! Let’s see what you got."Morris reached out and grabbed the wheelbarrow by the handles. Then, nodding to the young man, he said, "All right. Get in."

15. That old man Morris was a smart old buzzard. We all need the ability to think quickly and smartly. Wouldn’t that be great?Prepare your mind. Thinking doesn’t get better unless we help it along. Our thinking doesn’t improve by doing nothing.

16. Right thinking doesn’t happen without thinking right. (Isn’t that brilliant?) Right thinking is needed. Two scriptures. Two examples.Romans 1:27 NET and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

17. 28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done. 29They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, Why do people do perverted things? The answer is simple. They think that way. Yes, and most don’t even think!

18. "as they did not see fit..." "Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God..."They don’t think and they don’t think about God. That’s why people do perverted things! If they truly used the brains that God gave them they wouldn’t think the way they do! They would think UPWARD and certainly not perversely!

19. Now the other side of the coin is this:Philippians 4:8 NET Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.

20. Right thinking will produce right actions. When a person thinks about things that are true and right, they seek after those things. They will DO those things.Proverbs 23:7KJV “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…”You are what you are and you are where you are today because of your thinking. Your thinking has brought you to this point in your life, be it good, great, or otherwise.

21. But we all must prepare our minds for action in the future. The future is ahead. How will we do? It depends on our thinking. President Nixon, when talking to Winston Churchill’s son, told him how much he admired the prime minister’s great ability at giving ’extemporaneous’ speeches. Churchill’s son replied, "Oh, yes. I’ve watched my father work for hours preparing those extemporaneous speeches."

22. Most worthwhile things take time to prepare. Life is the most worthwhile thing we will do. We MUST prepare our minds for this worthwhile adventure.How do we prepare our minds for action? With scripture and prayer! There is no better way!Psalms 119:11 NET In my heart I store up your words, so I might not sin against you.

23. Matthew 26:36 NET Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to the disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray." 37He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and became anguished and distressed. 38 Then he said to them, "My soul is deeply grieved, even to the point of death. Remain here and stay awake with me."

24. 39Going a little farther, he threw himself down with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if possible, let this cup pass from me! Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Our Lord prepared His mind in prayer. He prepared for the horror of the cross while in prayer, while talking to His Father. Surely, this should tell us how to prepare our minds for life!

25. PREPARE YOUR HOPE 1 Peter 1:13 NET Therefore, get your minds ready for action by being fully sober, and set your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. He tells them to set their hope on the grace which is going to be given to them when Jesus Christ comes. It is the great characteristic of the Christian that he lives in hope; and because he lives in hope he can endure the trials of the present.

26. Any man can endure struggle and effort and toil, if he is certain that it is all leading somewhere. That is why the athlete accepts his training and the student his study. For the Christian the best is always still to come. He can live with gratitude for all the mercies of the past, with resolution to meet the challenge of the present and with the certain hope that in Christ the best is yet to be. (DSB)

27. Peter has told us a lot about God’s grace. He greeted us with grace. (1Peter 1:2) He told us of the grace that came to us in Jesus, predicted by the prophets of old. (1Peter 1:10) Now he goes further, writing of the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus is revealed (He comes back.) The only way we will be able to stand before Jesus on that day is because of the unmerited favor He gives and will give to us. (Guzik)

28. Hollywood, California—many people come there from around the world frantically seeking success, fame, and fortune. For most, however, the quest is a futile one. Only a few have actually "made it" to the sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard, where embedded bronze symbols bear the names and faces of the famous. It appears that these men and women, in worldly terms, have mastered their destinies.

29. And yet, upon passing this way and looking at these small monuments more carefully, one cannot help but be touched with a sense of irony. The same sidewalk in which the coveted star has been firmly laid is cluttered with debris, splattered with mud, and ground over in places with patches of gum. In stark contrast, the promise of God to His people says "I lay ... a sure foundation." ...

30. The reward of walking this "established" path is only found in God's Word. There is no bronze star waiting to be laid in concrete by the hands of man and tarnished by the passage of time. Rather, the redeemed of the Lord—those whose lives are built upon the sure foundation by God-shall shine forever. (From Living and Praying in Jesus' Name by Dick Eastman and Jack Hayford)

31. Hope is what we want but cannot see and what we will not have until sometime in the future. My older sisters both had a “hope chest,” a term not commonly used today as it once was. But it certainly illustrates what hope is. A “hope chest” is a physical evidence of my sisters’ desire to be married. They did not yet know who that man would be, and yet theywere preparing for the time when they would become husband and wife.

32. Though hope is what we desire but do not have, yet we trust, by faith, that we shall have it in the future. Love is the evidence of our faith and hope. Indeed, our hope includes those whom we love: 1 Thessalonians 2:19 NET For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you? 20For you are our glory and joy!

33. What then does Peter mean when he instructs us to “set your hope… ?” I believe he means we are to set our affection and desire on heavenly things as opposed to earthly things. This is what Jesus taught His disciples: Matthew 6:19 NET "Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

34. 20But accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:33 NET But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

35. When our affection is set upon heavenly things, we will gladly endure the trials and difficulties of this life: Matthew 5:10 NET “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. 11“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me.

36. 12Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way. 2 Corinthians 4:16 NET Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day.

37. 17For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison 18 because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. When Peter resisted our Lord’s teaching on His coming suffering, our Lord dealt with “heavenly desires” versus “human desires” in Peter’s life:

38. Matthew 16:21 NETFrom that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. 22 And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.”

39. 23 But He turned and said to Peter, 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s. “If any one wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.

40. 26For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and WILL THEN RECOMPENSE EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS. 28Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

41. It is especially interesting to note our Lord’s analysis of why Peter was so wrong that He refered to him as “Satan:” “you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” (Matthew 16:23b) How about the translation found in the King James Version: “For thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”

42. The word “savourest” conveys the idea of “appetite” or “desire.” Peter wanted what natural men want, not the things of God. Peter had the wrong hope, for his hope was fixed on the things of this world and not the things of God’s kingdom to be brought to him at the second coming.

43. The fixation of our desire must be total, complete, and undivided. The term “completely” is usually rendered “perfect.” 1 Peter 1:13 YLT Wherefore having girded up the loins of your mind, being sober, hope perfectly upon the grace that is being brought to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ, Peter wants us to understand that our devotion and desire for heavenly things must not be diluted with desires for earthly things.

44. PREPARE YOUR HEART 1 Peter 1:14 NET Like obedient children, do not comply with the evil urges you used to follow in your ignorance, 15 but, like the Holy One who called you, become holy yourselves in all of your conduct, 16for it is written, “You shall be holy, because I am holy.” (Lev 11:44, Lev 19:2)

45. Be holy. This should be our heart’s desire in life: to be holy, to be better, to grow in the likeness of our holy God. But I think most of the time our hearts are far from this desire. We are far more worldly than we are holy and we are not sure we want to be holy. Maybe just a little but no more.

46. I think perhaps we fear becoming more like God. We’re afraid perhaps that we will lose our taste for the things of the world and we like the things of this world.1 Timothy 6:6 NET Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit. 7For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either. 8But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that.

47. 9Those who long to be rich, however, stumble into temptation and a trap and many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evils. Some people in reaching for it have strayed from the faith and stabbed themselves with many pains.

48. We know this scripture very well but it’s sometimes hard to practice. We should be more content with food, clothing and the basic necessities of life but often, we want more and more.

49. Actor Michael Douglas said in the 1987 movie, “Wall Street,“ “Greed is good.” Douglas played the part of an unscrupulous Wall Street player. And greed seems good to most people, however, as we mature in Christ we begin to realize that greed for money and greed for material things can be harmful, detrimental and damning.

50. Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was a brilliant theologian whose sermons had an overwhelming impact on those who heard him. One in particular, his famous ’Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," moved hundreds to repentance and salvation. That single message helped to spark the revival known as ’The Great Awakening" (1734-1744).

51. From a human standpoint, it seems incredible that such far-reaching results could come from one message. Edwards did not have a commanding voice or impressive pulpit manner. He used very few gestures, and he read from a manuscript. Yet God’s Spirit moved on his hearers with great conviction and power.

52. Few know the spiritual preparation involved in that sermon. John Chapman gives us the story: ’For 3 days Edwards had not eaten a mouthful of food; for 3 nights he had not closed his eyes in sleep. Over and over again he was heard to pray, ’O Lord, give me New England! Give me New England!’

53. When he rose from his knees and made his way into the pulpit that Sunday, he looked as if he had been gazing straight into the face of God. Even before he began to speak, tremendous conviction fell upon his audience.“ Holiness was Jonathan Edwards’ heart’s desire in life. And so should it be in ours but it won’t happen without work, without preparation.

54. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (who was a justice on the Supreme Court nominated by Theodore Roosevelt) said: To reach the port of heaven we must sail, sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it, but we must sail and not drift, nor lie at anchor.

55. We must sail, not drift. Drifting will get us nowhere. The Christian life is a life of action, doing, working, and serving. Because of this action, we must prepare ourselves; we must prepare our minds, our hope and our hearts for serving the Lord. We must do whatever it takes to be a doer in the kingdom of God.