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This morning, I want to speak kind of

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a Mother's Day sermon.

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Happy Mother's Day, by the way.

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On Does Your Conduct Convict the Lost to

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Come to Christ?

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And we find in Peter's letter to the

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suffering Christians, he explains an important role of

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our godly behavior and how it can help

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in winning the lost to Christ.

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Our conduct that the lost see can convince

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them of the truth of our message.

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That's a very important principle that we need

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to remember as Christians.

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And Peter, he gives this general principle we're

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going to look at in 2 Peter 2,

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verse 12, but then he gives a specific

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application of it in 1 Peter 3, verses

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1 and 2.

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So let's read 1 Peter 3, verses 1

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and 2.

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Then we're going to look at verse 12

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and explain that, and then we're going to

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go back to the specific example he gives

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of this general principle in regards to the

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Christian wife seeing her lost husband saved.

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So 1 Peter 3, verse 1.

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Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands,

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so that even if some do not obey

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the Word...

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Do not obey the Word.

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2 Peter 2, verses 7 and 8, it

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speaks about those who disobey the Word and

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he synonymously says there are those who do

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not believe.

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So I believe this is talking about a

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lost husband, not a husband who's a Christian

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and has fallen in sin.

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So that even if some do not obey

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the Word, if your husbands are lost, they

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may be won, gained to Christ without a

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word in what's used of God in a

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mighty way by the conduct of their wives.

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Verse 2, when these lost husbands see your

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respectful and pure conduct.

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Amen.

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So we're going to look at that.

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Let's pray.

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Father, Lord, I thank You for allowing us

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to gather here and assemble this morning.

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Lord, we know that one of the reasons

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You've given Your Word that should happen when

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we come together is that we might stir

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one another up to love and good works.

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And so, Lord, I pray that You would

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use this message in some way to specifically

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stir people up to good works, to love,

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to being exemplary in conduct, in a manner

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of life that's worthy of the Gospel.

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Lord, that You might use us in a

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greater way to win souls and convince the

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lost of the reality of the truths that

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we have proclaimed to them.

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And so, Lord, I just ask, help me

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now.

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Lord, I'm weak.

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In Jesus' name.

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So, it's a well-known verse.

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It's a very good verse to run to,

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especially if you're in a situation where you

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have a lost husband who's not a Christian.

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And we've had many sisters who have rightly

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sought to lay hold of this passage, these

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verses in 1 Peter 3, 1 and 2.

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And I hope this message will all the

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more help them to want to lay hold

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of that truth that the conduct of the

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Christian is a mighty evangelistic tool in someone

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being convicted and coming to believe the message

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of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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So, we see a specific example in 1

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Peter 3, 1 and 2.

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But I want to look at chapter 2,

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verse 12.

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Many would argue that this verse teaches the

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general principle in verse 3 and 1 of

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chapter 3.

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Verse 1 and 2 are a specific example

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of this general idea that Peter is trying

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to convey to these Christians who are in

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the midst of trials, suffering at the hands

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of unjust bosses, unjust husbands, unjust governments.

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So, let's look at verse 12 of chapter

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2.

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Peter here, verse 11, he's speaking to them

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as what we are.

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We're sojourners and exiles in this world.

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This is not our home.

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And he calls us to abstain from the

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passions of the flesh that wage war against

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your soul.

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Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable.

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And he gives a reason.

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So that when they, the Gentiles, speak against

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you as evildoers, so they're slandering us as

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if we're evildoers, even though it's not true.

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He's not saying that the Christians are being

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evildoers, but rather the lost are saying they're

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evildoers.

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When they speak against you as evildoers, instead

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of a response that is one of reviling

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them, they may see your good deeds.

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And this, something happens, and they glorify God

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on the day of visitation.

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And that word the, it's not in the

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Greek.

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It's referring to a day of visitation.

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There's some day of visitation that happens, and

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what comes out of these individuals' mouths is

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glorifying God.

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Which either means they acknowledge that He's Lord

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as they're perishing, or it means they're acknowledging

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out of natural overflow and praise of thanksgiving

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for God's salvation in their lives.

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So I'm about to put forward that I

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believe v.

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12 is teaching the same idea that we

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find in v.

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1-2 of chapter 3, but here, Peter

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is speaking in a broader sense.

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This isn't just about wives with lost husbands.

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You could apply this to all sorts of

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situations.

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A lost husband with a lost wife.

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Lost parents with a lost children.

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A saved church with a lost world that's

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watching us.

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So, Gentiles, let's think of some of these

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phrases here.

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Keep your conduct.

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That word conduct, the manner of life, Peter

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uses that eight times in this letter.

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And ultimately, the manner of life that he's

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pointing to is the example of the Lord

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Jesus Christ.

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He gives Christ as our example, but Peter

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gives all sorts of specifics for different people

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in their different situations of life on what

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this conduct looks like.

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But he says here, keep your conduct among

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the Gentiles, the non-Jew honorable.

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Later in chapter 4, he speaks about the

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Gentiles again in v.

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3, For the time has passed that suffices

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for doing what the Gentiles want to do.

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Gentiles, the non-Jew, you get the idea

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what Peter is saying is the lost.

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He's not saying that there aren't Jews that

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are lost, that our conduct matters before the

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Jews.

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But the conduct of the Gentiles, these types

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of sin, that's often how the Scriptures speak

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about the lost.

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They're Gentiles.

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There are Jews who are Gentiles because they're

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not actually Jews truly in the heart, circumcised

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of the heart.

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And so there are Gentile Jews.

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And Peter in this letter clearly has a

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correct view of who the true church is

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and who the true Israel is.

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So he says, keep your conduct among them

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honorable.

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And then he has that amazing phrase, the

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phrase you always want to stop when there's

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a therefore or so that honorable, so that

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something happens.

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When they speak against you as evildoers, we're

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going to have people slander us.

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They're going to see in our conduct good

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deeds.

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They're going to see that we're not really

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evildoers and they're going to glorify God on

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the day of visitation.

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To glorify God, that's what is going to

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happen.

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Now he says here, when they see your

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good deeds, what's it mean?

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See.

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It means they're watching.

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They're observing what we're doing.

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And this word see is only used two

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times in the Bible, the Greek word.

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It's only used two times and it's in

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verse 12 and it's in chapter three, verse

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one or verse two.

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When they see your respectful and pure conduct.

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These are the only two verses in the

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Scriptures that this Greek word is used.

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And so Peter is saying there are people

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observing you.

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They're watching you.

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They're looking at your conduct.

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Their eyes are on the Christian.

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The world wants to be able to say

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Christians are hypocrites.

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Right?

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The Christian wants to be able to say,

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I don't know of anything.

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I'm not thereby acquitted.

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It is God who will judge me, but

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I'm not aware of anything against myself.

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Even though they're saying we're evildoers, even though

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they're slandering us.

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So they're watching us.

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They're speaking evil about us.

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And then they see good deeds.

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And something happens.

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The lost glorify God.

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They glorify God on a day of visitation.

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What's He mean there?

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Is this glorifying God natural praise from being

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saved?

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Or is it their forced acknowledgement?

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You know, every knee will bow and confess

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that Jesus Christ is Lord.

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I believe it's a natural acknowledgement that comes

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from someone who has been saved.

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But when does this happen?

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It says the day of visitation.

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Let's think about that term for a moment.

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On a day of visitation.

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A day of visitation.

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When it says the day of visitation, some

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people could read this and their initial thought

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is He's talking about judgment day.

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It says the day of visitation.

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The thing is, as you read 1 and

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2 Peter, Peter doesn't refer to judgment day

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in that way.

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In 2 Peter, he says the day of

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judgment and destruction, or he says the day

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of the Lord.

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So in Peter's mind, he's using some different

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terminology when he wants to make it clear

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he's referring to the day of final judgment.

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So that's one thing to consider here.

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Also, Peter in Acts 15-14, it says

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related how God first visited the Gentiles.

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People like Cornelius, to take from them a

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people for His name.

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So there he's using this idea that God

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visited the Gentiles to take for Himself a

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people for His own name, meaning God visited

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them to do what?

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To save them.

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To bring them to the truth.

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Luke 1-68, Zacharias said in regards to

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Christ's birth that God had visited and redeemed

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His people.

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That God was visiting His people in the

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person of Jesus Christ and Christ is coming

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to redeem a people for His own possession.

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So this idea of a day of visitation,

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Peter himself even uses this idea of being

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visited to refer to God coming and saving

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someone.

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So I would take when it says there

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glorified God on a day of visitation, that

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a day of visitation is referring to when

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God visits them like Cornelius experienced with salvation.

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And that's what causes them to naturally now

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praise God.

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And what led to this, what he says

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00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:44,000
here is a factor is that they saw

275
00:12:44,000 --> 00:12:48,120
the good deeds and then glorified God.

276
00:12:48,180 --> 00:12:49,900
But something happens between this.

277
00:12:50,500 --> 00:12:53,540
They don't just see the good deeds and

278
00:12:53,540 --> 00:12:54,780
then they believe on Christ.

279
00:12:55,520 --> 00:13:00,300
Something else is going on here that's happening.

280
00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:06,220
Look at a few verses here about what's

281
00:13:06,220 --> 00:13:06,540
happening.

282
00:13:06,620 --> 00:13:14,130
2 Peter 2.15. I'm sorry, not 2

283
00:13:14,130 --> 00:13:14,450
Peter.

284
00:13:14,650 --> 00:13:15,210
1 Peter.

285
00:13:15,250 --> 00:13:16,830
I was hearing the pages turn and I

286
00:13:16,830 --> 00:13:18,170
thought it's not that far away.

287
00:13:18,770 --> 00:13:25,510
Sorry, 1 Peter 2.15. This is a

288
00:13:25,510 --> 00:13:27,170
few verses later after v.

289
00:13:27,250 --> 00:13:27,510
12.

290
00:13:27,510 --> 00:13:29,350
For this is the will of God that

291
00:13:29,350 --> 00:13:32,650
by doing good..." This idea again of conduct.

292
00:13:32,810 --> 00:13:33,330
What happens?

293
00:13:34,190 --> 00:13:36,910
"...by doing good, you should put to silence

294
00:13:36,910 --> 00:13:39,070
the ignorance of foolish people."

295
00:13:39,070 --> 00:13:41,910
So doing good gets people to be quiet

296
00:13:43,370 --> 00:13:46,630
with their accusations against you.

297
00:13:48,330 --> 00:13:51,730
He also says in 3.16, having a

298
00:13:51,730 --> 00:13:52,510
good conscience.

299
00:13:52,670 --> 00:13:55,430
That's the idea of a manner of life.

300
00:13:56,030 --> 00:13:57,350
You've got a good conscience.

301
00:13:57,490 --> 00:13:58,530
Your conduct is pure.

302
00:13:58,630 --> 00:14:00,630
Having a good conscience so that what happens?

303
00:14:01,470 --> 00:14:04,210
When you're slandered, that's the very thing he

304
00:14:04,210 --> 00:14:05,130
mentions in v.

305
00:14:05,210 --> 00:14:05,550
12.

306
00:14:05,730 --> 00:14:08,030
They're going to speak against you as evildoers.

307
00:14:08,710 --> 00:14:11,090
Having a good conscience so that when you

308
00:14:11,090 --> 00:14:14,930
are slandered, those who revile your good behavior,

309
00:14:15,490 --> 00:14:18,010
whether it's a lost spouse, a lost co

310
00:14:18,010 --> 00:14:20,670
-worker, whoever, what happens to them?

311
00:14:20,730 --> 00:14:24,730
As they're reviling your good behavior, they may

312
00:14:24,730 --> 00:14:25,410
be what?

313
00:14:26,270 --> 00:14:27,870
Put to shame.

314
00:14:29,950 --> 00:14:31,590
Put to shame.

315
00:14:31,670 --> 00:14:32,670
Something happens.

316
00:14:33,910 --> 00:14:35,490
And their mouths are silenced.

317
00:14:36,570 --> 00:14:38,150
And they're put to shame.

318
00:14:39,010 --> 00:14:42,170
They're ashamed about the accusations that they were

319
00:14:42,170 --> 00:14:43,830
railing on you the Christian.

320
00:14:44,870 --> 00:14:47,070
The words they were saying, their mouth is

321
00:14:47,070 --> 00:14:47,850
now shut.

322
00:14:48,930 --> 00:14:52,670
And Peter's saying, what led this to happen

323
00:14:52,670 --> 00:14:55,050
was your conduct.

324
00:14:55,630 --> 00:14:58,910
That was a massive factor in their mouths

325
00:14:58,910 --> 00:15:04,790
being shut and in them now being ashamed.

326
00:15:05,650 --> 00:15:06,310
Ashamed.

327
00:15:06,870 --> 00:15:09,550
And that's the same idea in 3 with

328
00:15:09,550 --> 00:15:10,070
the wife.

329
00:15:10,230 --> 00:15:11,690
So that even if some do not obey

330
00:15:11,690 --> 00:15:13,810
the Word, they may be one without a

331
00:15:13,810 --> 00:15:16,850
word by the conduct of their wives.

332
00:15:16,850 --> 00:15:20,590
So conduct, the manner of life, is being

333
00:15:20,590 --> 00:15:23,310
used of God to convict these people, to

334
00:15:23,310 --> 00:15:25,010
get them to shut their mouths, to be

335
00:15:25,010 --> 00:15:27,390
ashamed of their sin, and then you're able

336
00:15:27,390 --> 00:15:29,550
to tell them what it says in 1

337
00:15:29,550 --> 00:15:34,650
Peter 2, 6, that whoever believes in Christ

338
00:15:34,650 --> 00:15:36,150
will not be put to shame.

339
00:15:36,910 --> 00:15:38,150
And you tell them that.

340
00:15:38,650 --> 00:15:41,450
That husband who's so convicted over his sin

341
00:15:41,450 --> 00:15:42,550
to his Christian wife.

342
00:15:43,390 --> 00:15:45,490
You tell them, you know what, you're ashamed.

343
00:15:45,490 --> 00:15:48,270
And you should be ashamed of all the

344
00:15:48,270 --> 00:15:49,530
slander and the reviling.

345
00:15:50,170 --> 00:15:52,130
But Christ has come, and if you believe

346
00:15:52,130 --> 00:15:54,350
in Him, you will not be put to

347
00:15:54,350 --> 00:15:54,670
shame.

348
00:15:55,050 --> 00:15:58,130
And that husband believes on Christ, supernaturally is

349
00:15:58,130 --> 00:16:00,310
born again by the living, abiding Word of

350
00:16:00,310 --> 00:16:05,110
God, and now he glorifies God on that

351
00:16:05,110 --> 00:16:08,210
day that the Lord has visited his household

352
00:16:08,870 --> 00:16:10,650
with salvation.

353
00:16:13,010 --> 00:16:17,090
So that's my present understanding in verse 12.

354
00:16:17,630 --> 00:16:20,750
That it is Peter putting forward a general

355
00:16:20,750 --> 00:16:26,170
principle to the Christians about their conduct being

356
00:16:26,170 --> 00:16:30,450
used by God as a means to convict,

357
00:16:30,750 --> 00:16:34,590
silence, and put to shame the lost world

358
00:16:34,590 --> 00:16:37,530
who is slandering us that they might then

359
00:16:37,530 --> 00:16:42,690
be visited by God and ultimately glorify God

360
00:16:42,690 --> 00:16:44,330
on this day of visitation.

361
00:16:46,190 --> 00:16:49,190
So those who were once slandering us are

362
00:16:49,190 --> 00:16:50,110
now glorifying God.

363
00:16:50,210 --> 00:16:51,670
That's the radical transformation.

364
00:16:51,990 --> 00:16:54,770
The Lord takes a Saul and He's no

365
00:16:54,770 --> 00:16:57,310
longer cursing the Christians and wanting to kill

366
00:16:57,310 --> 00:16:59,010
them, but He's now praising the Lord.

367
00:17:00,230 --> 00:17:02,450
Now, what Peter is not saying is that

368
00:17:02,450 --> 00:17:03,430
we don't use words.

369
00:17:04,310 --> 00:17:05,210
I mean, it's amazing.

370
00:17:05,310 --> 00:17:10,589
Peter says without a word in chapter 3,

371
00:17:10,670 --> 00:17:11,190
verse 1.

372
00:17:11,310 --> 00:17:13,550
They may be one without a word.

373
00:17:14,310 --> 00:17:16,470
But Peter's idea is not that there is

374
00:17:16,470 --> 00:17:17,849
no speaking involved.

375
00:17:18,030 --> 00:17:20,089
He's not saying that a person is born

376
00:17:20,089 --> 00:17:23,030
again by the living, abiding example of a

377
00:17:23,030 --> 00:17:23,430
Christian.

378
00:17:23,950 --> 00:17:24,690
Not at all.

379
00:17:24,790 --> 00:17:27,910
Peter says right before verse 12 in chapter

380
00:17:27,910 --> 00:17:29,950
2, verse 9, he says this, that we

381
00:17:29,950 --> 00:17:33,990
proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you

382
00:17:33,990 --> 00:17:36,510
out of darkness into His marvelous light.

383
00:17:36,510 --> 00:17:41,090
So clearly we are proclaiming the truth.

384
00:17:41,290 --> 00:17:42,890
Chapter 1, verse 23.

385
00:17:43,390 --> 00:17:46,170
You are born again, not of perishable seed,

386
00:17:46,270 --> 00:17:49,150
but of imperishable through the living, abiding Word

387
00:17:49,150 --> 00:17:49,590
of God.

388
00:17:49,670 --> 00:17:51,110
So someone is preaching the truth.

389
00:17:51,250 --> 00:17:52,770
The Spirit of God takes the truth of

390
00:17:52,770 --> 00:17:55,210
the Word of God and regenerates someone and

391
00:17:55,210 --> 00:17:55,910
they're born again.

392
00:17:56,010 --> 00:17:57,190
They're made into a new creature.

393
00:17:57,490 --> 00:17:59,310
It doesn't say they're being born again by

394
00:17:59,310 --> 00:18:00,310
someone's example.

395
00:18:01,650 --> 00:18:03,290
That God's using the Word.

396
00:18:03,290 --> 00:18:09,350
But the life is a convicting assurance to

397
00:18:09,350 --> 00:18:12,710
them that the message that has been proclaimed

398
00:18:12,710 --> 00:18:15,430
that they have heard is true.

399
00:18:18,940 --> 00:18:22,400
So, Peter is saying that once they know

400
00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:26,100
your message, it's your conduct that will make

401
00:18:26,100 --> 00:18:29,000
all the difference as a clear sign to

402
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:31,100
them that you have the truth.

403
00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:33,240
Your conduct will make all the difference.

404
00:18:35,120 --> 00:18:38,260
Just last week, our neighbor Louis, he needed

405
00:18:38,260 --> 00:18:40,500
a quick ride down a couple blocks away.

406
00:18:40,940 --> 00:18:42,340
And so I said, alright, I'll give you

407
00:18:42,340 --> 00:18:42,740
a ride.

408
00:18:43,320 --> 00:18:44,820
And he hopped in the car and he

409
00:18:44,820 --> 00:18:46,560
started to say that the person's house he

410
00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:48,400
was going to, he said, this man, he's

411
00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:49,760
a real Bible scholar.

412
00:18:50,260 --> 00:18:51,500
You know, he really studies the Word of

413
00:18:51,500 --> 00:18:51,780
God.

414
00:18:53,140 --> 00:18:54,380
And then he paused and he said to

415
00:18:54,380 --> 00:18:57,440
me, but you know, by the things he

416
00:18:57,440 --> 00:18:59,440
says, I don't know if that's really true.

417
00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:02,060
And I thought that's right.

418
00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,780
James 1.26, whoever does not bridle his

419
00:19:05,780 --> 00:19:09,100
ton, his religion is worthless.

420
00:19:10,640 --> 00:19:13,740
If a man can't control the ton, it

421
00:19:13,740 --> 00:19:16,040
shows his religion is worth absolutely nothing.

422
00:19:16,740 --> 00:19:19,520
And so if that guy's trying to evangelize

423
00:19:19,520 --> 00:19:21,080
my neighbor Louis, it's not going to do

424
00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:21,600
any good.

425
00:19:21,880 --> 00:19:23,680
Because Louis himself can see that the man

426
00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:25,500
is a hypocrite, a play actor.

427
00:19:27,420 --> 00:19:30,500
But the same idea of the conviction that

428
00:19:30,500 --> 00:19:33,260
the Christian's life can be on the unbeliever.

429
00:19:33,380 --> 00:19:34,820
Paul dealt with that in Philippians 1.

430
00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:36,300
And I looked at that years ago.

431
00:19:36,500 --> 00:19:38,520
But he said, as you live a manner

432
00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,020
of life worthy of the Gospel in Philippians

433
00:19:41,020 --> 00:19:43,880
1.27-28, he then says it's a

434
00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:45,380
clear sign to them.

435
00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:48,820
You not being frightened by your opponents is

436
00:19:48,820 --> 00:19:51,640
a clear sign to them of their destruction,

437
00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,100
but of your salvation and that that comes

438
00:19:55,100 --> 00:19:55,760
from God.

439
00:19:56,640 --> 00:20:01,980
So not being frightened convicts them that we're

440
00:20:01,980 --> 00:20:03,080
really saved.

441
00:20:03,460 --> 00:20:04,860
We actually have a hope.

442
00:20:05,400 --> 00:20:07,560
In the same way, Peter, even as he

443
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,080
looks at Sarah here in chapter 3, there's

444
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:12,840
a sense he's saying, look, this woman, her

445
00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:15,580
husband sees that she's not living in this

446
00:20:15,580 --> 00:20:16,820
constant fear.

447
00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:18,700
There's a hope and a trust that she

448
00:20:18,700 --> 00:20:19,160
has.

449
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:21,320
And as he sees that conduct, as she

450
00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:23,380
reveres God, it convicts him.

451
00:20:23,460 --> 00:20:25,180
I don't have that hope that my wife

452
00:20:25,180 --> 00:20:25,500
has.

453
00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:27,600
And it's able to convince him of the

454
00:20:27,600 --> 00:20:29,140
power of the Gospel.

455
00:20:29,140 --> 00:20:30,440
And this message is true.

456
00:20:31,840 --> 00:20:34,080
So once they know your message, your conduct's

457
00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:35,660
going to make all the difference.

458
00:20:36,820 --> 00:20:38,700
In a good way or a bad way.

459
00:20:41,180 --> 00:20:42,960
Another thing we see here, Peter has a

460
00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:44,160
correct view of true Christianity.

461
00:20:45,860 --> 00:20:47,720
Peter understands if you're a Christian, you've been

462
00:20:47,720 --> 00:20:48,300
born again.

463
00:20:49,120 --> 00:20:51,380
Chapter 1, verse 15, He who called you

464
00:20:51,380 --> 00:20:51,880
is holy.

465
00:20:52,260 --> 00:20:54,100
You will also be holy in all your

466
00:20:54,100 --> 00:20:54,460
conduct.

467
00:20:54,740 --> 00:20:57,420
Peter expects that Christians are going to live

468
00:20:57,420 --> 00:20:57,860
different.

469
00:20:58,360 --> 00:20:59,700
They're going to be set apart.

470
00:20:59,700 --> 00:21:03,600
There's a distinction that you will see by

471
00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:05,560
the works of the Christian.

472
00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:08,300
Not the works don't say, but they vindicate

473
00:21:08,300 --> 00:21:10,640
and prove that the faith is genuine.

474
00:21:13,090 --> 00:21:15,230
And that points people to the message that

475
00:21:15,230 --> 00:21:16,670
changed us.

476
00:21:16,750 --> 00:21:19,150
The lost, as he says in chapter 4,

477
00:21:19,210 --> 00:21:21,770
verse 4, with respect to this, when they

478
00:21:21,770 --> 00:21:24,790
don't join you in their drinking parties, they

479
00:21:24,790 --> 00:21:25,830
are surprised.

480
00:21:26,950 --> 00:21:28,730
The lost should be surprised.

481
00:21:29,690 --> 00:21:31,150
I mean, they should see your conduct.

482
00:21:31,490 --> 00:21:33,270
And they should go, wow, this is really

483
00:21:33,270 --> 00:21:33,750
surprising.

484
00:21:35,190 --> 00:21:37,650
I can't believe they're actually being consistent.

485
00:21:38,930 --> 00:21:40,750
I mean, I thought they just didn't cuss

486
00:21:40,750 --> 00:21:42,330
when they were around their family.

487
00:21:42,510 --> 00:21:44,970
But even at work, in the back room,

488
00:21:45,050 --> 00:21:46,990
so to speak, they're still having a pure

489
00:21:46,990 --> 00:21:47,770
speech here.

490
00:21:49,730 --> 00:21:52,010
Or wow, that Christian, he left his phone

491
00:21:52,010 --> 00:21:52,270
out.

492
00:21:52,690 --> 00:21:53,170
You know what?

493
00:21:53,290 --> 00:21:54,630
I wonder, is the guy a hypocrite?

494
00:21:54,670 --> 00:21:56,270
Let me go look at his Internet history.

495
00:21:57,550 --> 00:22:01,190
Wow, there's nothing here that bothers me.

496
00:22:01,390 --> 00:22:02,710
I thought he was going to have all

497
00:22:02,710 --> 00:22:04,310
sorts of filth being looked up on his

498
00:22:04,310 --> 00:22:04,570
phone.

499
00:22:05,810 --> 00:22:06,610
They're surprised.

500
00:22:07,210 --> 00:22:07,570
You know what?

501
00:22:07,590 --> 00:22:08,470
It should be surprising.

502
00:22:09,130 --> 00:22:11,090
God radically changing a person and giving them

503
00:22:11,090 --> 00:22:12,630
a new nature and new desire should be

504
00:22:12,630 --> 00:22:14,590
pretty surprising to a world who knows nothing

505
00:22:14,590 --> 00:22:16,290
but living in sin and eating their sin

506
00:22:16,290 --> 00:22:18,330
like a dog that returns to its vomit.

507
00:22:19,890 --> 00:22:21,010
So they should be surprised.

508
00:22:21,130 --> 00:22:23,290
And this surprise should cause them to either

509
00:22:23,290 --> 00:22:27,230
suppress what they saw or ask.

510
00:22:28,670 --> 00:22:29,470
Or ask.

511
00:22:31,350 --> 00:22:33,890
Look at 3, verse 1 again.

512
00:22:35,090 --> 00:22:36,870
The husband might be won without a word

513
00:22:36,870 --> 00:22:40,030
by the conduct of his wife when they

514
00:22:40,030 --> 00:22:43,530
see, so they're watching respectful and pure conduct.

515
00:22:43,690 --> 00:22:44,630
And you know what might happen?

516
00:22:45,210 --> 00:22:46,590
You know what that husband might do to

517
00:22:46,590 --> 00:22:47,150
that wife?

518
00:22:47,490 --> 00:22:50,230
He might do what 3.15 says.

519
00:22:51,390 --> 00:22:53,650
In your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as

520
00:22:53,650 --> 00:22:54,010
holy.

521
00:22:54,670 --> 00:22:59,190
Wives, Christians, always being prepared to make a

522
00:22:59,190 --> 00:23:04,230
defense to anyone who asks you for a

523
00:23:04,230 --> 00:23:08,090
reason for the hope that is in you.

524
00:23:09,010 --> 00:23:11,690
So people are going to ask us for

525
00:23:11,690 --> 00:23:13,990
the reason for the hope that is in

526
00:23:13,990 --> 00:23:14,210
you.

527
00:23:14,990 --> 00:23:17,130
And Peter here uses an example of Sarah

528
00:23:17,130 --> 00:23:18,970
3.5. He says this is how the

529
00:23:18,970 --> 00:23:21,970
holy women who hoped in God used to

530
00:23:21,970 --> 00:23:22,610
adorn themselves.

531
00:23:23,210 --> 00:23:25,650
That husband sees his wife hoping in God.

532
00:23:26,270 --> 00:23:27,950
And he goes to his wife one day.

533
00:23:28,030 --> 00:23:32,610
Rather than suppressing, he says, honey, tell me

534
00:23:32,610 --> 00:23:34,810
the reason for that hope that's within you.

535
00:23:35,530 --> 00:23:36,990
And now that woman can use all the

536
00:23:36,990 --> 00:23:38,430
words in the world she wants to.

537
00:23:38,490 --> 00:23:40,250
Her husband's opening the door saying let's have

538
00:23:40,250 --> 00:23:41,410
a conversation about it.

539
00:23:43,110 --> 00:23:47,070
The life, the hope in God, put him

540
00:23:47,070 --> 00:23:47,790
to silence.

541
00:23:47,790 --> 00:23:50,070
He stopped slandering her.

542
00:23:50,530 --> 00:23:52,510
He was ashamed of his conduct and his

543
00:23:52,510 --> 00:23:52,930
treatment.

544
00:23:53,650 --> 00:23:55,930
And he says to her, what's the reason

545
00:23:55,930 --> 00:23:56,530
for the hope?

546
00:23:57,890 --> 00:23:59,410
That's what we're talking about.

547
00:23:59,490 --> 00:24:02,090
And in all situations of the Christian life,

548
00:24:02,150 --> 00:24:04,550
it's not just the wife with the lost

549
00:24:04,550 --> 00:24:04,990
husband.

550
00:24:05,230 --> 00:24:07,710
It's the husband with the lost wife.

551
00:24:07,870 --> 00:24:10,470
It's the parents with the lost children.

552
00:24:10,570 --> 00:24:11,710
The last thing I want to be to

553
00:24:11,710 --> 00:24:13,590
my children is a hypocrite.

554
00:24:13,750 --> 00:24:15,090
Where I come in here and I present

555
00:24:15,090 --> 00:24:16,650
myself in some way and I go out

556
00:24:16,650 --> 00:24:18,430
there and I'm another person.

557
00:24:22,150 --> 00:24:26,880
So, Peter too is speaking to believers who

558
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:32,160
are facing suffering, persecution, fiery trials, and it's

559
00:24:32,160 --> 00:24:34,860
like Peter expects that God's given us the

560
00:24:34,860 --> 00:24:37,820
strength, and as he says in his second

561
00:24:37,820 --> 00:24:41,360
letter, the divine power necessary to do all

562
00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:41,980
of these things.

563
00:24:42,500 --> 00:24:44,600
So Peter has a view of Christianity that

564
00:24:44,600 --> 00:24:47,180
the power is available for God to give

565
00:24:47,180 --> 00:24:49,380
you the day-by-day help to live

566
00:24:49,380 --> 00:24:49,920
this out.

567
00:24:50,460 --> 00:24:54,160
This is not some task that is impossible

568
00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:58,460
to consistently strive to live out.

569
00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:03,520
Our conduct in the midst of suffering is

570
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:06,540
a vital time to shine as opposed to

571
00:25:06,540 --> 00:25:09,520
when all is normal and all is easy.

572
00:25:10,980 --> 00:25:12,240
So we don't want to be like Romans

573
00:25:12,240 --> 00:25:13,680
2.21 says.

574
00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:15,740
Those who teach others, do you not teach

575
00:25:15,740 --> 00:25:18,660
yourselves why you preach against stealing?

576
00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:19,760
Do you steal?

577
00:25:19,760 --> 00:25:23,360
Or Matthew 23.

578
00:25:24,700 --> 00:25:27,380
Don't observe what those Pharisees tell you.

579
00:25:27,980 --> 00:25:30,160
Observe whatever they tell you, but don't do

580
00:25:30,160 --> 00:25:30,820
the works.

581
00:25:31,860 --> 00:25:32,640
They had the issue.

582
00:25:32,760 --> 00:25:34,680
They preach, but they do not practice.

583
00:25:37,870 --> 00:25:40,990
So, maybe just a few brief things here

584
00:25:40,990 --> 00:25:45,750
about what specific conduct Peter is referring to.

585
00:25:45,990 --> 00:25:48,310
Verse 21 of chapter 2, for this you've

586
00:25:48,310 --> 00:25:51,890
been called because Christ also suffered for you,

587
00:25:51,890 --> 00:25:55,270
leaving you an example, so that you might

588
00:25:55,270 --> 00:25:57,410
follow in His steps.

589
00:25:57,890 --> 00:25:59,950
What type of conduct is a manner worthy

590
00:25:59,950 --> 00:26:00,650
of the Gospel?

591
00:26:01,010 --> 00:26:03,330
A conduct of imitating the Person of the

592
00:26:03,330 --> 00:26:06,230
Lord Jesus Christ, loving as He has loved,

593
00:26:06,370 --> 00:26:07,850
imitating Him.

594
00:26:08,110 --> 00:26:09,910
But Peter says in this letter, 2.13,

595
00:26:10,110 --> 00:26:11,630
submit to every human institution.

596
00:26:11,810 --> 00:26:15,270
2.18, submit to unjust masters who are

597
00:26:15,270 --> 00:26:15,690
harsh.

598
00:26:16,310 --> 00:26:18,470
2.23, have no deceit in your mouth.

599
00:26:18,630 --> 00:26:21,510
2.23 speaks of Jesus was reviled.

600
00:26:21,510 --> 00:26:23,710
That means verbal and physical abuse was heaped

601
00:26:23,710 --> 00:26:24,350
upon Him.

602
00:26:24,750 --> 00:26:26,450
And He didn't revile in return.

603
00:26:26,930 --> 00:26:29,170
With men in the Old Testament like Moses,

604
00:26:29,370 --> 00:26:30,890
they did revile in return.

605
00:26:31,530 --> 00:26:35,070
And God dealt with them for doing that.

606
00:26:36,350 --> 00:26:38,030
Jesus didn't seek to get even.

607
00:26:39,230 --> 00:26:41,390
Someone mentioned an example years ago and it's

608
00:26:41,390 --> 00:26:42,230
always stood out to me.

609
00:26:42,290 --> 00:26:45,350
They mentioned they were driving their car, someone

610
00:26:45,350 --> 00:26:46,250
cut them off.

611
00:26:46,810 --> 00:26:48,570
And then they felt they started to drive

612
00:26:48,570 --> 00:26:50,410
close to the guy trying to make a

613
00:26:50,410 --> 00:26:50,850
point.

614
00:26:51,910 --> 00:26:52,690
Trying to get even.

615
00:26:52,950 --> 00:26:53,930
And it convicted them.

616
00:26:54,070 --> 00:26:56,010
That's not the Christian conduct to win the

617
00:26:56,010 --> 00:26:56,470
lost.

618
00:26:57,790 --> 00:26:58,190
Right?

619
00:26:58,570 --> 00:27:00,690
That doesn't work.

620
00:27:02,050 --> 00:27:02,990
So they stopped.

621
00:27:04,650 --> 00:27:05,810
Jesus didn't threaten.

622
00:27:06,630 --> 00:27:08,150
Do we respond in a way to give

623
00:27:08,150 --> 00:27:10,550
our enemies anxiety that we might get back

624
00:27:10,550 --> 00:27:11,410
at them at some point?

625
00:27:12,170 --> 00:27:14,030
You were on me, so I'm going to

626
00:27:14,030 --> 00:27:14,950
try to give you some anxiety.

627
00:27:14,970 --> 00:27:16,310
I'm wanting you to have a little anxiety

628
00:27:16,310 --> 00:27:17,370
for the next couple of weeks.

629
00:27:17,450 --> 00:27:19,990
I might try to get back at you.

630
00:27:21,590 --> 00:27:22,490
He didn't do that.

631
00:27:22,590 --> 00:27:24,070
Imagine the wife who does that to the

632
00:27:24,070 --> 00:27:24,730
lost husband.

633
00:27:26,870 --> 00:27:27,750
Not going to be helpful.

634
00:27:29,070 --> 00:27:31,830
They didn't repay evil for evil, but on

635
00:27:31,830 --> 00:27:33,070
the contrary, they blessed.

636
00:27:33,670 --> 00:27:35,650
They didn't join in the drunken worldly parties.

637
00:27:35,790 --> 00:27:38,790
They were not grumbling, 4.9 speaks of.

638
00:27:39,650 --> 00:27:42,390
As elders, we were not domineering over those

639
00:27:42,390 --> 00:27:43,030
in our charge.

640
00:27:43,090 --> 00:27:44,130
We're being examples.

641
00:27:44,710 --> 00:27:47,010
That's some of the practical conduct that Peter

642
00:27:47,010 --> 00:27:48,170
deals with in this letter.

643
00:27:48,730 --> 00:27:50,470
And all of it falls under the main

644
00:27:50,470 --> 00:27:52,790
head of seeking to follow and imitate the

645
00:27:52,790 --> 00:27:54,030
example of Jesus Christ.

646
00:27:55,290 --> 00:27:57,670
And that conduct puts the person to shame

647
00:27:57,670 --> 00:27:59,430
who is reviling us.

648
00:28:00,070 --> 00:28:01,070
At least it can.

649
00:28:02,690 --> 00:28:07,900
So, Peter says in 2.11, we're waging

650
00:28:07,900 --> 00:28:10,480
war against the passions of our flesh that

651
00:28:10,480 --> 00:28:11,800
wage war against our soul.

652
00:28:12,860 --> 00:28:14,500
Well, another way to look at it is

653
00:28:14,500 --> 00:28:14,860
this.

654
00:28:15,560 --> 00:28:18,080
You abstaining from the passions of the flesh

655
00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,940
which wage war against your soul is not

656
00:28:20,940 --> 00:28:23,740
just you waging war for your own soul,

657
00:28:24,680 --> 00:28:27,940
but waging war for others' souls.

658
00:28:29,260 --> 00:28:33,120
You see, this isn't just about me and

659
00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:34,120
I'm waging war.

660
00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:38,080
No, I want the lost people's souls to

661
00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:40,780
be won and gained for Christ.

662
00:28:41,260 --> 00:28:43,120
And so when he says in 1 Peter

663
00:28:43,120 --> 00:28:45,600
1.9, obtaining the outcome of your faith,

664
00:28:45,720 --> 00:28:48,300
the salvation of your souls, there's a final

665
00:28:48,300 --> 00:28:51,660
salvation the Christian is pressing on towards.

666
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:53,680
We're wanting to take as many people as

667
00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:54,460
we can with us.

668
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:56,660
And so we're proclaiming to them the excellencies

669
00:28:56,660 --> 00:28:57,660
of Jesus Christ.

670
00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:01,420
But then a big differentiating factor is our

671
00:29:01,420 --> 00:29:04,880
lives are a convicting example that shames them,

672
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:08,120
silences them as they see our good deeds,

673
00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:10,220
and it causes them to ask us for

674
00:29:10,220 --> 00:29:11,760
the reason of the hope within.

675
00:29:12,020 --> 00:29:14,100
And we tell them about Jesus Christ that

676
00:29:14,100 --> 00:29:15,720
if you believe on Him, you will not

677
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:16,620
be put to shame.

678
00:29:16,620 --> 00:29:18,160
And they believe on Christ.

679
00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:19,500
They have a day of visitation.

680
00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:21,500
They're supernaturally born again by the Word of

681
00:29:21,500 --> 00:29:23,640
God through the Spirit of God using the

682
00:29:23,640 --> 00:29:24,260
Word of God.

683
00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:26,280
And now they glorify and praise the Lord.

684
00:29:26,580 --> 00:29:28,580
And so the Lord is glorified not just

685
00:29:28,580 --> 00:29:30,100
in the conduct of our life, not just

686
00:29:30,100 --> 00:29:32,100
in the fact that we didn't sin and

687
00:29:32,100 --> 00:29:33,960
give into the passions of the flesh, but

688
00:29:33,960 --> 00:29:35,520
the Lord's glorified in that there have been

689
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,000
people who've been bought by His blood who

690
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:39,600
we've been the means of seeing them come

691
00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:40,800
to Christ and be saved.

692
00:29:47,020 --> 00:29:49,020
So it's not just I'm trying not to

693
00:29:49,020 --> 00:29:49,620
be captured.

694
00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,640
We're trying to set free the capture.

695
00:29:59,100 --> 00:30:01,820
Okay, so that was kind of the first

696
00:30:01,820 --> 00:30:02,180
part.

697
00:30:02,420 --> 00:30:03,120
Now the second part.

698
00:30:03,200 --> 00:30:06,200
The first part was putting forward that there

699
00:30:06,200 --> 00:30:08,620
is a general principle that Peter puts forward

700
00:30:08,620 --> 00:30:11,440
in verse 12 about the conduct of our

701
00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:15,820
life being used by God as a big

702
00:30:15,820 --> 00:30:19,260
difference maker in someone seeing the message we

703
00:30:19,260 --> 00:30:20,100
already proclaimed.

704
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:22,740
They're living in such a way, that message

705
00:30:22,740 --> 00:30:23,560
has got to be true.

706
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:27,020
And he gives a specific example in 1

707
00:30:27,020 --> 00:30:29,760
Peter 3, 1 to 2.

708
00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:34,560
And that is with this woman who's a

709
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:38,160
Christian and her husband is lost.

710
00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:42,440
Now, the verse it reads, maybe one without

711
00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:45,080
a word by the conduct of their lives.

712
00:30:45,220 --> 00:30:48,440
Well, the word there is not there in

713
00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:50,080
the Greek, in the original language.

714
00:30:50,080 --> 00:30:54,340
So some would say that you could take

715
00:30:54,340 --> 00:30:57,380
from that, that Peter isn't just thinking about

716
00:30:57,380 --> 00:31:00,880
the conduct of the Christian woman, specifically how

717
00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:02,360
that relates to her husband.

718
00:31:02,940 --> 00:31:06,140
But some would draw out that Peter's actually,

719
00:31:06,240 --> 00:31:08,300
whether they're right or not, that Peter's actually

720
00:31:08,300 --> 00:31:12,300
saying Christian women as a whole, their conduct

721
00:31:12,300 --> 00:31:15,740
is a testimony to all lost men.

722
00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:17,660
And obviously that's true anyways, because that's the

723
00:31:17,660 --> 00:31:19,060
broader thing Peter's dealing with.

724
00:31:19,780 --> 00:31:23,720
But the wife of the husband, that woman

725
00:31:23,720 --> 00:31:25,580
is the main thing that husband's going to

726
00:31:25,580 --> 00:31:25,780
see.

727
00:31:25,940 --> 00:31:29,020
And so obviously the most convicting example a

728
00:31:29,020 --> 00:31:30,860
wife can be is to her own husband.

729
00:31:31,200 --> 00:31:33,960
Does her testimony before the whole world and

730
00:31:33,960 --> 00:31:35,440
other husbands matter?

731
00:31:35,540 --> 00:31:36,040
Absolutely.

732
00:31:37,100 --> 00:31:39,660
But I think Peter's main thing here is

733
00:31:39,660 --> 00:31:42,980
the wife specific to her own personal husband.

734
00:31:43,580 --> 00:31:48,960
So because he established in verse 12 a

735
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:51,860
more general idea, obviously this isn't just one

736
00:31:51,860 --> 00:31:53,000
specific situation.

737
00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:55,680
You could change out these terms and the

738
00:31:55,680 --> 00:31:58,400
conduct that Peter mentions to put a husband

739
00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,180
who has a lost wife, et cetera.

740
00:32:03,440 --> 00:32:05,240
Peter's main thing is he's concerned about the

741
00:32:05,240 --> 00:32:06,740
Christian community as a whole.

742
00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:09,400
And here he gives this encouragement to a

743
00:32:09,400 --> 00:32:10,380
wife specifically.

744
00:32:11,280 --> 00:32:13,960
And you could see his heart wanting to

745
00:32:13,960 --> 00:32:14,560
encourage the women.

746
00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:18,400
You know, the woman's in a situation where

747
00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:21,200
she's submitting to the authority and the control

748
00:32:21,200 --> 00:32:23,260
and the orders of a husband who's probably

749
00:32:23,260 --> 00:32:24,820
not living in an understanding way.

750
00:32:25,620 --> 00:32:27,140
He might even be reviling her.

751
00:32:27,580 --> 00:32:29,620
And Peter is coming along and encouraging her

752
00:32:29,620 --> 00:32:31,520
in her conduct that it's not in vain.

753
00:32:33,940 --> 00:32:36,000
It's not in vain even if the husband

754
00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:38,080
never gets converted, God gets glorified.

755
00:32:38,420 --> 00:32:40,400
You see, Peter's bigger thing is not just

756
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:41,340
do they get saved?

757
00:32:41,500 --> 00:32:43,380
Peter's bigger thing is God being praised.

758
00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:49,720
So let's think for a moment just about

759
00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:50,440
women in the Bible.

760
00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:55,540
You know, it's a Mother's Day and women

761
00:32:55,540 --> 00:32:57,600
can be very influential in a positive or

762
00:32:57,600 --> 00:32:58,300
a negative way.

763
00:32:59,220 --> 00:33:00,880
And I'm gonna read through a quick list

764
00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:03,480
of some positive examples and some negative examples.

765
00:33:06,830 --> 00:33:09,150
Proverbs 14, one is maybe a good starting

766
00:33:09,150 --> 00:33:09,410
point.

767
00:33:09,410 --> 00:33:12,790
The wisest of women builds her house, but

768
00:33:12,790 --> 00:33:14,610
folly with her own hands tears it down.

769
00:33:14,690 --> 00:33:16,930
So the woman has the ability to either

770
00:33:16,930 --> 00:33:21,330
build up or to tear down.

771
00:33:22,170 --> 00:33:24,010
He doesn't give a middle ground there.

772
00:33:25,730 --> 00:33:27,150
So let's think of some women in the

773
00:33:27,150 --> 00:33:27,350
Bible.

774
00:33:27,490 --> 00:33:29,630
One man's wife was in the religious community.

775
00:33:30,370 --> 00:33:32,090
She was fleeing a city about to be

776
00:33:32,090 --> 00:33:32,690
under judgment.

777
00:33:33,430 --> 00:33:35,730
And in her heart of hearts, she loved

778
00:33:35,730 --> 00:33:36,170
the world.

779
00:33:36,290 --> 00:33:37,210
She loved her sin.

780
00:33:37,210 --> 00:33:40,350
And Lot's wife looked back and perished turning

781
00:33:40,350 --> 00:33:41,410
into a pillar of salt.

782
00:33:41,990 --> 00:33:43,130
So that's a negative example.

783
00:33:43,790 --> 00:33:46,210
Here, a positive is a wife can be

784
00:33:46,210 --> 00:33:49,970
like Abigail and save their lost, drunk husband

785
00:33:49,970 --> 00:33:51,590
from causing his own death.

786
00:33:52,470 --> 00:33:56,050
Now, he shortly thereafter died and David married

787
00:33:56,050 --> 00:33:56,430
Abigail.

788
00:33:57,190 --> 00:33:58,710
But the point is she used wisdom.

789
00:33:58,890 --> 00:34:00,170
She protected her husband.

790
00:34:00,310 --> 00:34:03,070
She showed respect to him to some degree.

791
00:34:04,270 --> 00:34:06,730
Here, a negative example is wives can manipulate

792
00:34:06,730 --> 00:34:09,330
and entice their husbands as Samson's wife did.

793
00:34:09,650 --> 00:34:11,969
Judges 14, you only hate me.

794
00:34:12,270 --> 00:34:13,370
You do not love me.

795
00:34:14,010 --> 00:34:17,050
Manipulative language to get their own way, to

796
00:34:17,050 --> 00:34:18,510
get that riddle out of Samson.

797
00:34:18,630 --> 00:34:20,489
She wasn't looking out for her husband's good.

798
00:34:21,949 --> 00:34:24,630
Some wives say, as Deuteronomy 13, six says,

799
00:34:24,690 --> 00:34:26,389
let us go and serve other gods.

800
00:34:27,170 --> 00:34:28,989
Sadly, Solomon faced that.

801
00:34:29,830 --> 00:34:32,909
Proverbs 27, 15 says a continual dripping on

802
00:34:32,909 --> 00:34:36,090
a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are

803
00:34:36,090 --> 00:34:36,449
alike.

804
00:34:36,449 --> 00:34:37,050
They're similar.

805
00:34:37,929 --> 00:34:39,010
How, how are they similar?

806
00:34:39,550 --> 00:34:43,150
To restrain the quarreling wife is to restrain

807
00:34:43,150 --> 00:34:43,850
the wind.

808
00:34:44,489 --> 00:34:46,670
Meaning you can't restrain the wind or to

809
00:34:46,670 --> 00:34:48,370
grasp oil in one's right hand.

810
00:34:48,449 --> 00:34:50,449
You can't do it.

811
00:34:52,310 --> 00:34:54,350
Wives, they could be good at home defense.

812
00:34:55,050 --> 00:34:58,130
Judges four, Jael, the wife of Heber took

813
00:34:58,130 --> 00:34:59,590
a tent peg or took a hammer in

814
00:34:59,590 --> 00:35:00,150
her hand.

815
00:35:00,730 --> 00:35:03,170
And then she went softly to him and

816
00:35:03,170 --> 00:35:05,730
drove the peg into his temple of his

817
00:35:05,730 --> 00:35:05,910
head.

818
00:35:05,910 --> 00:35:06,770
And then she killed the intruder.

819
00:35:06,890 --> 00:35:12,970
Maybe that's a bad example, but wives can

820
00:35:12,970 --> 00:35:15,330
encourage their husbands when they're in despair, not

821
00:35:15,330 --> 00:35:16,190
thinking correctly.

822
00:35:16,930 --> 00:35:20,790
Judges 13, Manoah said to his wife, we

823
00:35:20,790 --> 00:35:23,390
shall surely die for we have seen God.

824
00:35:23,730 --> 00:35:25,970
He's just, some would say he's in despair.

825
00:35:26,110 --> 00:35:28,270
Maybe something's wrong with his response there.

826
00:35:28,750 --> 00:35:31,870
His wife said to him, honey, if the

827
00:35:31,870 --> 00:35:33,590
Lord had meant to kill us, He would

828
00:35:33,590 --> 00:35:35,510
have not accepted a burnt offering and a

829
00:35:35,510 --> 00:35:36,990
grain offering at our hands.

830
00:35:36,990 --> 00:35:39,070
So the wife helps him to think correctly

831
00:35:39,070 --> 00:35:39,350
here.

832
00:35:39,470 --> 00:35:40,730
God's not going to strike us dead.

833
00:35:40,790 --> 00:35:42,570
He wouldn't have done that thing earlier.

834
00:35:42,730 --> 00:35:44,690
So the wife is encouraging the husband.

835
00:35:47,720 --> 00:35:49,840
Titus 2, 5, what a verse.

836
00:35:50,980 --> 00:35:52,940
Just talks about being pure, working at home,

837
00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:54,380
submissive to their own husbands.

838
00:35:55,060 --> 00:35:57,020
And it gives a reason that the word

839
00:35:57,020 --> 00:35:58,440
of God may not be reviled.

840
00:35:58,740 --> 00:36:01,540
I can revile the word of God by

841
00:36:01,540 --> 00:36:03,520
how I conduct my life.

842
00:36:04,340 --> 00:36:05,740
Peter doesn't want us doing that.

843
00:36:05,860 --> 00:36:07,740
He wants our conduct, not reviling the word

844
00:36:07,740 --> 00:36:09,460
of God, but holding the word of God

845
00:36:09,460 --> 00:36:11,480
in high esteem where the world sees this

846
00:36:11,480 --> 00:36:12,640
isn't just something we preach.

847
00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:14,420
It's something we live.

848
00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:19,220
But the most amazing thing, one of the

849
00:36:19,220 --> 00:36:21,000
most amazing things the Bible says about the

850
00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:23,060
wife is right here in 1 Peter 3.

851
00:36:24,460 --> 00:36:28,580
It says that the woman can win her

852
00:36:28,580 --> 00:36:31,840
husband without a word by her conduct.

853
00:36:32,820 --> 00:36:33,780
That's incredible.

854
00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:36,240
You can win someone.

855
00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:38,880
I mean, there's a lot of things that

856
00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:41,120
I don't have the ability to win.

857
00:36:41,520 --> 00:36:43,380
I don't have the ability to gain.

858
00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:44,780
It's out of my reach.

859
00:36:45,760 --> 00:36:48,740
And Peter is saying another soul coming to

860
00:36:48,740 --> 00:36:50,660
Christ, that's not an impossibility.

861
00:36:51,380 --> 00:36:54,740
Even a lost person who's reviling you, that's

862
00:36:54,740 --> 00:36:55,920
not an impossibility.

863
00:36:56,560 --> 00:36:58,560
There's a lot of encouragement there.

864
00:36:59,300 --> 00:37:02,020
This person can be won as opposed to

865
00:37:02,020 --> 00:37:03,840
not being won.

866
00:37:05,020 --> 00:37:07,380
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9, 19, he

867
00:37:07,380 --> 00:37:09,480
uses the same word that I might win

868
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:10,380
more of them.

869
00:37:10,920 --> 00:37:12,540
You see, Paul lived a life wanting to

870
00:37:12,540 --> 00:37:13,140
win people.

871
00:37:14,300 --> 00:37:16,200
While you do what you do, while your

872
00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:19,260
witness and testimony of your life is the

873
00:37:19,260 --> 00:37:20,980
way it is, one of the factors is

874
00:37:20,980 --> 00:37:22,500
you're wanting to win souls to Christ.

875
00:37:22,620 --> 00:37:24,340
Ultimately, you're wanting to do what's very precious

876
00:37:24,340 --> 00:37:25,120
in God's eyes.

877
00:37:25,700 --> 00:37:27,160
Right, it's all about the Lord.

878
00:37:28,300 --> 00:37:30,060
But one of the things you see God

879
00:37:30,060 --> 00:37:32,520
doing where you recognize your conduct is not

880
00:37:32,520 --> 00:37:35,580
in vain, is that God can use this

881
00:37:35,580 --> 00:37:39,580
to bring that soul to the truth, to

882
00:37:39,580 --> 00:37:41,640
be the big difference maker in the message

883
00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:44,180
they've already heard about the excellencies of Jesus

884
00:37:44,180 --> 00:37:47,140
Christ that they've rejected, but they see the

885
00:37:47,140 --> 00:37:50,440
consistent, habitual, continual conduct of your life.

886
00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:54,060
They're put to shame, silenced, and they ask

887
00:37:54,060 --> 00:37:56,240
for a reason for the hope that you

888
00:37:56,240 --> 00:37:56,560
have.

889
00:37:58,180 --> 00:38:01,900
So a lot could be said here about

890
00:38:01,900 --> 00:38:07,280
verses three and four and five on the

891
00:38:07,280 --> 00:38:13,280
conduct that Peter calls these women to specifically.

892
00:38:13,500 --> 00:38:16,380
But just briefly here, what does it look

893
00:38:16,380 --> 00:38:18,920
like if you're a Christian woman and your

894
00:38:18,920 --> 00:38:20,300
husband is not saved?

895
00:38:21,900 --> 00:38:24,400
He says, verse one, obviously he says be

896
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:24,820
subject.

897
00:38:25,180 --> 00:38:28,020
So he talks about submission, submitting to his

898
00:38:28,020 --> 00:38:28,720
authority.

899
00:38:28,840 --> 00:38:30,620
That's how God's designed it, right?

900
00:38:30,620 --> 00:38:33,780
The roles were equal in personhood, man and

901
00:38:33,780 --> 00:38:35,420
woman, but were not equal in roles.

902
00:38:35,560 --> 00:38:37,420
God has designed different roles for the man

903
00:38:37,420 --> 00:38:38,780
and a different role for the woman.

904
00:38:39,840 --> 00:38:41,840
And the woman is submitting to the man.

905
00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:43,520
And so this Christian woman is submitting to

906
00:38:43,520 --> 00:38:45,880
a lost husband who's most likely not living

907
00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:47,300
with her in an understanding way.

908
00:38:47,680 --> 00:38:52,060
He's not submitting to him unto sin because

909
00:38:52,060 --> 00:38:54,060
he calls her to what type of conduct?

910
00:38:54,620 --> 00:38:56,660
Peter says here when they see your pure

911
00:38:56,660 --> 00:38:57,820
conduct, verse two.

912
00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:00,480
So obviously this doesn't in any way mean

913
00:39:00,480 --> 00:39:02,180
submitting to do something that is sinful.

914
00:39:03,620 --> 00:39:05,860
But they're watching and they see this pure

915
00:39:05,860 --> 00:39:07,080
conduct, this submission.

916
00:39:08,060 --> 00:39:10,000
That's one of the factors here.

917
00:39:11,740 --> 00:39:14,140
Another is respect.

918
00:39:14,700 --> 00:39:17,320
When they see you're respectful in pure conduct.

919
00:39:17,520 --> 00:39:20,820
Now that word respectful, it means fear.

920
00:39:21,320 --> 00:39:23,100
Some people would argue that it's talking about

921
00:39:23,100 --> 00:39:24,620
when they see your fear of God.

922
00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:26,920
I know John Piper believes that.

923
00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:29,560
Whether it does or it doesn't, obviously they're

924
00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:31,000
seeing a reverence of God.

925
00:39:31,240 --> 00:39:33,060
But there's other verses that talk about the

926
00:39:33,060 --> 00:39:34,320
wife respecting her husband.

927
00:39:34,460 --> 00:39:37,060
I tend to lean here that this fear

928
00:39:37,060 --> 00:39:39,740
he's speaking of here is this idea of

929
00:39:39,740 --> 00:39:45,040
the wife's respectful conduct towards her husband is

930
00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:47,340
what he is saying.

931
00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:47,880
Respect.

932
00:39:48,680 --> 00:39:49,440
Think about respect.

933
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:50,720
One husband wrote this.

934
00:39:51,940 --> 00:39:55,580
There's a husband who got converted.

935
00:39:56,100 --> 00:39:59,420
He said, when my wife's friends voiced negative

936
00:39:59,420 --> 00:40:02,360
opinions about me, she never joined in.

937
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:05,100
And when other men sought to be consoling,

938
00:40:05,480 --> 00:40:08,520
she refused to open herself emotionally to them.

939
00:40:08,860 --> 00:40:11,740
She showed me respect when I did not

940
00:40:11,740 --> 00:40:12,460
deserve it.

941
00:40:12,500 --> 00:40:15,140
And that pure conduct, that respect was a

942
00:40:15,140 --> 00:40:19,220
factor in this individual coming to receive the

943
00:40:19,220 --> 00:40:20,780
knowledge of the truth.

944
00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:24,360
A gentle and quiet spirit he mentions here.

945
00:40:24,360 --> 00:40:25,820
He says, do not let your adorning be

946
00:40:25,820 --> 00:40:26,380
external.

947
00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:28,400
The braiding of hair and the putting on

948
00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:30,820
of gold jewelry or the clothing you wear.

949
00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:32,740
So obviously he's not saying you can't braid

950
00:40:32,740 --> 00:40:34,140
your hair or he'd be saying that you

951
00:40:34,140 --> 00:40:35,040
can't wear clothing.

952
00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:37,320
And obviously he's not saying you don't ever

953
00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:40,260
use words when he says without a word.

954
00:40:42,080 --> 00:40:44,700
But the emphasis here is what?

955
00:40:44,780 --> 00:40:48,420
Verse four, let your adorning, let the focus

956
00:40:48,420 --> 00:40:50,320
of what you're wearing not be the external,

957
00:40:50,580 --> 00:40:52,960
but the hidden person of the heart.

958
00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:55,860
With the imperishable beauty of a gentle and

959
00:40:55,860 --> 00:40:57,020
a quiet spirit.

960
00:40:57,760 --> 00:40:59,640
A gentle, there we have it, a gentle

961
00:40:59,640 --> 00:41:00,580
and a quiet spirit.

962
00:41:02,060 --> 00:41:04,020
And what's God think about it?

963
00:41:04,080 --> 00:41:05,520
Because who cares what the world thinks about

964
00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:05,860
it, right?

965
00:41:06,240 --> 00:41:08,000
We're not looking to the world's approval.

966
00:41:08,420 --> 00:41:11,100
Which in God's sight, is very precious.

967
00:41:12,540 --> 00:41:14,860
What a reminder, this is precious to God.

968
00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:16,100
The world isn't going to say it's precious.

969
00:41:16,640 --> 00:41:18,340
Peter says the precious blood of Christ.

970
00:41:18,460 --> 00:41:19,760
Does the world say the blood of Christ

971
00:41:19,760 --> 00:41:20,220
is precious?

972
00:41:21,160 --> 00:41:22,980
No, Christians say the blood of Christ is

973
00:41:22,980 --> 00:41:23,320
precious.

974
00:41:23,700 --> 00:41:25,320
And Christians are saying this type of conduct

975
00:41:25,320 --> 00:41:26,980
is precious in God's sight.

976
00:41:27,800 --> 00:41:29,100
And if he bought me with the precious

977
00:41:29,100 --> 00:41:30,620
blood of Christ, I want to live in

978
00:41:30,620 --> 00:41:32,960
a way that's precious in God's sight.

979
00:41:33,840 --> 00:41:36,540
One who's been bought by the blood of

980
00:41:36,540 --> 00:41:37,920
his only son, whom he sent to be

981
00:41:37,920 --> 00:41:41,020
our redeemer and pay our price of redemption,

982
00:41:41,240 --> 00:41:43,960
to pay our ransom and let us go

983
00:41:43,960 --> 00:41:45,180
free.

984
00:41:46,760 --> 00:41:48,320
So a gentle and quiet spirit.

985
00:41:48,320 --> 00:41:50,020
The word gentle is the word for meek.

986
00:41:50,640 --> 00:41:54,580
The idea is being lowly, considerate, not self

987
00:41:54,580 --> 00:41:55,380
-assertive.

988
00:41:57,020 --> 00:41:58,440
Not self-assertive.

989
00:41:58,700 --> 00:42:01,000
And there's a biography I read a pastor

990
00:42:01,000 --> 00:42:01,800
a hundred years ago.

991
00:42:01,920 --> 00:42:05,320
And this example came to mind.

992
00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:07,100
This is what he said about his wife.

993
00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:08,720
This is an example of a woman not

994
00:42:08,720 --> 00:42:09,660
being self-assertive.

995
00:42:10,960 --> 00:42:12,680
If there happened to be on our table,

996
00:42:12,980 --> 00:42:14,760
one thing better than the other, one type

997
00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:16,180
of food better than the other type of

998
00:42:16,180 --> 00:42:21,800
food, she would modestly, but cheerfully and earnestly

999
00:42:21,800 --> 00:42:26,620
resist all opportunity to partake of the better

1000
00:42:26,620 --> 00:42:30,500
food until she ascertained that there was enough

1001
00:42:30,500 --> 00:42:32,840
for us both.

1002
00:42:33,580 --> 00:42:35,000
You say that's really subtle.

1003
00:42:35,540 --> 00:42:38,600
Well, don't subtle things make a big impact,

1004
00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:40,480
right?

1005
00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:42,180
Subtle things right there.

1006
00:42:42,340 --> 00:42:44,000
I mean, you go reverse that situation.

1007
00:42:44,580 --> 00:42:46,760
He got the lost husband and the wife,

1008
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:49,040
it's like give me half of the steak.

1009
00:42:52,410 --> 00:42:54,210
Is that really a right you wanna fight

1010
00:42:54,210 --> 00:42:54,730
for there?

1011
00:42:55,850 --> 00:42:57,970
Is his soul more important than the belly's

1012
00:42:57,970 --> 00:42:58,310
appetite?

1013
00:42:59,170 --> 00:43:00,890
Little things like that God used.

1014
00:43:01,010 --> 00:43:02,050
I mean, why did it get in this

1015
00:43:02,050 --> 00:43:02,790
guy's biography?

1016
00:43:02,990 --> 00:43:05,930
Because it stood out about the character of

1017
00:43:05,930 --> 00:43:06,330
his wife.

1018
00:43:06,430 --> 00:43:08,910
So this meekness, it's not being self-assertive.

1019
00:43:09,370 --> 00:43:10,630
This quiet spirit.

1020
00:43:12,790 --> 00:43:16,870
Quiet spirit means possessing an inward, calm, quiet,

1021
00:43:16,870 --> 00:43:19,690
tranquil, peaceful, at rest.

1022
00:43:19,910 --> 00:43:21,470
This is a woman in the midst of

1023
00:43:21,470 --> 00:43:24,610
trials and she's at rest.

1024
00:43:24,750 --> 00:43:27,510
Remember, the husband might ask his wife, what's

1025
00:43:27,510 --> 00:43:28,590
the reason for the hope?

1026
00:43:29,030 --> 00:43:30,850
He sees she's not over there in anxiety

1027
00:43:30,850 --> 00:43:31,670
and fear.

1028
00:43:32,330 --> 00:43:34,250
Habitually, she might have fear, but it's not

1029
00:43:34,250 --> 00:43:35,090
the pattern.

1030
00:43:35,690 --> 00:43:37,070
And he asked for the reason for the

1031
00:43:37,070 --> 00:43:37,390
hope.

1032
00:43:38,290 --> 00:43:40,470
You see, he sees there's something there that

1033
00:43:40,470 --> 00:43:41,170
she has.

1034
00:43:41,950 --> 00:43:44,530
She's not anxious and loud all of the

1035
00:43:44,530 --> 00:43:44,930
time.

1036
00:43:47,560 --> 00:43:51,040
Look, she's not always speaking before her husband

1037
00:43:51,040 --> 00:43:51,620
speaks.

1038
00:43:52,540 --> 00:43:55,660
There's something bigger here about a quiet spirit.

1039
00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:58,700
There's this sense of respect and honoring the

1040
00:43:58,700 --> 00:43:59,060
husband.

1041
00:44:00,340 --> 00:44:02,580
Where you're not just quick to speak, where

1042
00:44:02,580 --> 00:44:05,520
people might, whether you're leading the family or

1043
00:44:05,520 --> 00:44:07,200
not, they might get the perspective you are

1044
00:44:07,200 --> 00:44:10,340
by the way you speak and handle yourself

1045
00:44:10,340 --> 00:44:12,120
publicly.

1046
00:44:12,520 --> 00:44:15,420
And then that looks bad with people's perception

1047
00:44:15,420 --> 00:44:16,100
of your husband.

1048
00:44:19,720 --> 00:44:21,680
This quiet spirit does not mean the woman

1049
00:44:21,680 --> 00:44:22,420
is not bold.

1050
00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:23,960
She's obviously fearless.

1051
00:44:24,840 --> 00:44:27,240
Doesn't mean she's not going to speak up

1052
00:44:27,240 --> 00:44:30,360
and tell the truth with emphasis of what

1053
00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:31,140
Christ has done.

1054
00:44:32,160 --> 00:44:35,220
But Peter, obviously, he's dealing with all women

1055
00:44:35,220 --> 00:44:35,440
here.

1056
00:44:35,520 --> 00:44:37,700
He just dealt specifically with the conduct of

1057
00:44:37,700 --> 00:44:38,860
women who have lost husbands.

1058
00:44:39,580 --> 00:44:42,820
But Peter's warning us, don't let your primary

1059
00:44:42,820 --> 00:44:45,680
focus, sisters, be about external adorning.

1060
00:44:46,180 --> 00:44:47,980
It's not all about the external.

1061
00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:52,560
That's not the main emphasis for the Christian.

1062
00:44:54,180 --> 00:44:55,800
It's rather the internal.

1063
00:44:56,220 --> 00:44:59,400
And Peter here, he even appeals to history.

1064
00:45:00,260 --> 00:45:01,820
He says here, verse five, for this is

1065
00:45:01,820 --> 00:45:03,680
how the holy women who hoped in God

1066
00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:05,260
used to adorn themselves.

1067
00:45:06,240 --> 00:45:09,720
Peter's saying the same style of heart thousands

1068
00:45:09,720 --> 00:45:12,020
of years ago is still in style today.

1069
00:45:12,380 --> 00:45:14,180
The way they used to adorn the heart,

1070
00:45:14,180 --> 00:45:16,960
that's still how you adorn the heart today.

1071
00:45:17,200 --> 00:45:19,600
Now he gives this example of Sarah calling

1072
00:45:19,600 --> 00:45:21,040
her husband Lord.

1073
00:45:21,160 --> 00:45:23,920
Obviously, that idea of Lord, that was in

1074
00:45:23,920 --> 00:45:25,540
the culture, that was a term they used.

1075
00:45:25,560 --> 00:45:27,500
We don't use that term now.

1076
00:45:27,720 --> 00:45:30,400
You might say something like sir, or something

1077
00:45:30,400 --> 00:45:32,020
more than that, but most people, they're not

1078
00:45:32,020 --> 00:45:33,120
going to call their husband Lord.

1079
00:45:33,220 --> 00:45:35,500
That would be odd, right?

1080
00:45:35,540 --> 00:45:36,860
But there's a sense of respect.

1081
00:45:37,180 --> 00:45:39,420
And it's interesting the example that Peter refers

1082
00:45:39,420 --> 00:45:39,680
to.

1083
00:45:41,520 --> 00:45:43,320
Some would argue it's in Genesis 18.

1084
00:45:43,320 --> 00:45:46,160
And Genesis 18 does not necessarily look like

1085
00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:48,520
Sarah was being a really good example of

1086
00:45:48,520 --> 00:45:52,720
a woman who did not fear anything that

1087
00:45:52,720 --> 00:45:53,240
is frightening.

1088
00:45:54,260 --> 00:45:55,620
And Tim did a whole sermon on this

1089
00:45:55,620 --> 00:45:56,980
called Thank God for Sarah.

1090
00:45:57,100 --> 00:45:57,860
You should listen to it.

1091
00:45:57,900 --> 00:45:59,320
It was I think eight years ago.

1092
00:46:00,300 --> 00:46:02,100
But I think part of the point is

1093
00:46:02,100 --> 00:46:02,600
this.

1094
00:46:03,040 --> 00:46:06,480
Peter refers to an example of Sarah and

1095
00:46:06,480 --> 00:46:09,260
he puts emphasis on the one thing she

1096
00:46:09,260 --> 00:46:12,060
did right in that whole situation.

1097
00:46:12,940 --> 00:46:14,320
And that was what?

1098
00:46:14,760 --> 00:46:17,640
When she was caught there, the Lord said,

1099
00:46:17,740 --> 00:46:18,320
did you laugh?

1100
00:46:18,360 --> 00:46:19,040
And she lied.

1101
00:46:20,720 --> 00:46:22,420
She called her husband Lord.

1102
00:46:22,940 --> 00:46:23,900
That was right.

1103
00:46:24,300 --> 00:46:25,320
And what does that indicate?

1104
00:46:25,760 --> 00:46:28,520
What was the natural response of this woman

1105
00:46:29,640 --> 00:46:31,140
when put on the spot?

1106
00:46:31,340 --> 00:46:33,680
How did she regard her husband?

1107
00:46:34,020 --> 00:46:35,060
She just said Lord.

1108
00:46:35,720 --> 00:46:39,480
Her natural response was to speak well of

1109
00:46:39,480 --> 00:46:40,680
her husband.

1110
00:46:40,680 --> 00:46:42,460
And so I think that's part of what

1111
00:46:42,460 --> 00:46:43,540
Peter's emphasizing here.

1112
00:46:43,580 --> 00:46:45,040
He's looking at an example of a woman

1113
00:46:45,820 --> 00:46:48,180
who did do something right in that situation.

1114
00:46:48,320 --> 00:46:50,240
She called her husband Lord.

1115
00:46:50,300 --> 00:46:51,300
She showed him respect.

1116
00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:55,300
That was the natural overflow of her heart

1117
00:46:55,800 --> 00:46:57,680
in that situation.

1118
00:47:00,600 --> 00:47:03,700
You know, Peter's basically saying Proverbs 31 30

1119
00:47:03,700 --> 00:47:04,660
here in another way.

1120
00:47:04,780 --> 00:47:06,760
Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain.

1121
00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:09,140
But a woman who fears the Lord is

1122
00:47:09,140 --> 00:47:09,940
to be praised.

1123
00:47:10,520 --> 00:47:15,380
A woman who fears God is to be

1124
00:47:15,380 --> 00:47:15,620
praised.

1125
00:47:15,660 --> 00:47:17,580
You're not going to win a lost husband's

1126
00:47:17,580 --> 00:47:21,300
soul with a focus on external.

1127
00:47:22,480 --> 00:47:24,340
You know, it's so easy to put excessive

1128
00:47:24,340 --> 00:47:27,740
time into the outward, to stare at the

1129
00:47:27,740 --> 00:47:30,400
mirror on the wall rather than the mirror

1130
00:47:30,400 --> 00:47:31,300
of God's Word.

1131
00:47:31,660 --> 00:47:33,200
It's so easy to want to fix the

1132
00:47:33,200 --> 00:47:36,340
outward blemishes and we forget the internal blemishes

1133
00:47:36,340 --> 00:47:37,740
of the heart.

1134
00:47:37,740 --> 00:47:39,940
And obviously, social media has made this so

1135
00:47:39,940 --> 00:47:42,780
much more of a focus because you can

1136
00:47:42,780 --> 00:47:44,740
have your own profile picture.

1137
00:47:45,520 --> 00:47:46,920
People get to see how you look.

1138
00:47:47,000 --> 00:47:47,780
There's just a focus.

1139
00:47:48,020 --> 00:47:49,140
And then you get all these comments, you

1140
00:47:49,140 --> 00:47:52,440
look so pretty, and everyone's praising you publicly

1141
00:47:53,080 --> 00:47:54,160
about the external.

1142
00:47:55,080 --> 00:47:58,020
We want to be praising people primarily about

1143
00:47:58,020 --> 00:47:59,100
the internal.

1144
00:47:59,360 --> 00:48:00,940
I'm not saying don't encourage someone.

1145
00:48:01,540 --> 00:48:03,000
But let's focus on the internal.

1146
00:48:03,180 --> 00:48:05,500
That's what God puts His focus on.

1147
00:48:05,720 --> 00:48:07,180
Man looks at the outward appearance.

1148
00:48:07,180 --> 00:48:08,580
God is looking at the heart.

1149
00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:10,500
He's caring for the heart.

1150
00:48:11,260 --> 00:48:13,640
Imagine encouraging that sister, wow, I saw your

1151
00:48:13,640 --> 00:48:16,620
incredible example where you resisted asking for a

1152
00:48:16,620 --> 00:48:18,100
piece of that steak at dinner.

1153
00:48:19,560 --> 00:48:21,340
I mean, I saw that drool coming out

1154
00:48:21,340 --> 00:48:23,180
of your face and you just said no!

1155
00:48:24,900 --> 00:48:27,300
Because you didn't want your lost husband there.

1156
00:48:27,360 --> 00:48:28,880
You thought he might have snapped at you

1157
00:48:28,880 --> 00:48:30,160
there because he loves his meat.

1158
00:48:31,220 --> 00:48:32,120
Who knows?

1159
00:48:34,660 --> 00:48:35,920
We need to have our eyes on what's

1160
00:48:35,920 --> 00:48:36,800
pleasing to God.

1161
00:48:38,850 --> 00:48:42,660
Which in God's sight is very precious.

1162
00:48:43,420 --> 00:48:44,220
Very precious.

1163
00:48:44,740 --> 00:48:47,440
Breaking very costly ointment to pour on Christ's

1164
00:48:47,440 --> 00:48:49,100
head is precious in God's eyes.

1165
00:48:49,360 --> 00:48:51,040
The world and religious people, they don't look

1166
00:48:51,040 --> 00:48:51,740
at that as precious.

1167
00:48:53,540 --> 00:48:55,240
Now one thing to think about here is

1168
00:48:55,240 --> 00:48:55,440
this.

1169
00:48:55,640 --> 00:49:00,160
How on earth is a wife living like

1170
00:49:00,160 --> 00:49:04,140
a godly Christian, how is that convicting conduct

1171
00:49:04,140 --> 00:49:05,500
to a lost husband?

1172
00:49:06,060 --> 00:49:08,460
Doesn't the lost husband look at godly Christians

1173
00:49:08,460 --> 00:49:09,700
and say that's old school?

1174
00:49:10,960 --> 00:49:13,060
Doesn't he mock that?

1175
00:49:13,640 --> 00:49:14,120
You know what?

1176
00:49:14,420 --> 00:49:15,980
I think this shows something.

1177
00:49:16,620 --> 00:49:17,680
Peter recognizes.

1178
00:49:18,340 --> 00:49:20,960
He recognizes mankind is made in the image

1179
00:49:20,960 --> 00:49:21,540
of God.

1180
00:49:23,020 --> 00:49:26,320
Men, whether lost, they could be as lost

1181
00:49:26,320 --> 00:49:28,840
as they could be, but they know what

1182
00:49:28,840 --> 00:49:31,260
it's like when someone shows them respect and

1183
00:49:31,260 --> 00:49:31,720
submission.

1184
00:49:32,720 --> 00:49:34,620
It doesn't matter how lost you are.

1185
00:49:34,620 --> 00:49:37,460
When someone shows you respect, when they're submitting

1186
00:49:37,460 --> 00:49:40,380
to you, they're agreeing with your ideas, and

1187
00:49:40,380 --> 00:49:43,100
they're saying let's do it, that speaks in

1188
00:49:43,100 --> 00:49:43,640
volumes.

1189
00:49:44,900 --> 00:49:48,260
Even to the lost person, it's compelling.

1190
00:49:48,400 --> 00:49:49,700
A gentle and quiet spirit.

1191
00:49:50,880 --> 00:49:53,960
We were watching some bluegrass band.

1192
00:49:54,060 --> 00:49:55,240
There's this family in Branson.

1193
00:49:55,420 --> 00:49:57,200
They have this bluegrass band and there's this

1194
00:49:57,200 --> 00:49:58,060
interview being done.

1195
00:49:58,140 --> 00:49:59,860
And in the interview, there's one of the

1196
00:49:59,860 --> 00:50:02,080
girls from this Christian bluegrass band, and then

1197
00:50:02,080 --> 00:50:04,380
there was another woman in the interview.

1198
00:50:05,400 --> 00:50:08,540
And one, you could tell, the focus was

1199
00:50:08,540 --> 00:50:09,340
on the external.

1200
00:50:09,980 --> 00:50:13,160
There was a stiffness there, a self-awareness

1201
00:50:13,160 --> 00:50:14,580
of being on camera.

1202
00:50:14,920 --> 00:50:16,220
And then you had this girl from the

1203
00:50:16,220 --> 00:50:17,100
bluegrass band.

1204
00:50:17,660 --> 00:50:19,580
She was just quiet, gentle.

1205
00:50:20,900 --> 00:50:22,760
She wasn't focused on the external.

1206
00:50:23,720 --> 00:50:25,140
And you know what people in the comments

1207
00:50:25,140 --> 00:50:25,740
were saying?

1208
00:50:25,860 --> 00:50:28,000
They were commenting and saying, that girl is

1209
00:50:28,000 --> 00:50:29,040
life material.

1210
00:50:29,940 --> 00:50:31,120
That's the lost world.

1211
00:50:31,740 --> 00:50:34,100
The lost world can watch that interview and

1212
00:50:34,100 --> 00:50:36,780
see this one might be, as they say,

1213
00:50:36,860 --> 00:50:37,920
more fun at the party.

1214
00:50:38,560 --> 00:50:40,880
But this one is wife material.

1215
00:50:41,900 --> 00:50:44,680
Even the lost world recognizes that.

1216
00:50:45,600 --> 00:50:46,940
They acknowledge that.

1217
00:50:47,180 --> 00:50:48,400
They're compelled by that.

1218
00:50:50,000 --> 00:50:52,560
They know what wife material is and it

1219
00:50:52,560 --> 00:50:55,040
finds its roots in submission and how God

1220
00:50:55,040 --> 00:50:56,140
has designed us.

1221
00:50:56,460 --> 00:50:58,040
The truths of Christianity.

1222
00:51:00,660 --> 00:51:07,760
So, we've got 1053.

1223
00:51:08,040 --> 00:51:09,060
So I'm gonna wrap this up.

1224
00:51:10,300 --> 00:51:12,340
Look, it's gotta be said, Peter is not

1225
00:51:12,340 --> 00:51:15,460
guaranteeing 100% that the lost spouse always

1226
00:51:15,460 --> 00:51:17,280
gets saved, right?

1227
00:51:17,360 --> 00:51:18,380
That's not in the text.

1228
00:51:18,820 --> 00:51:19,780
It's a possibility.

1229
00:51:20,680 --> 00:51:22,540
But again, as I said earlier, what is

1230
00:51:22,540 --> 00:51:24,600
a guarantee is God will get glory.

1231
00:51:25,500 --> 00:51:28,960
God will get honor and praise as you

1232
00:51:28,960 --> 00:51:32,180
abstain from passions of the flesh and wage

1233
00:51:32,180 --> 00:51:33,420
war for your own soul.

1234
00:51:33,680 --> 00:51:36,440
Hopefully, that lost person is gonna come along

1235
00:51:36,440 --> 00:51:37,340
and see the truth.

1236
00:51:40,140 --> 00:51:42,760
And Peter says here, verse three, he says,

1237
00:51:42,920 --> 00:51:46,500
so that even if some do not obey

1238
00:51:46,500 --> 00:51:49,180
the Word, it's an interesting language, even if

1239
00:51:49,180 --> 00:51:52,460
some, meaning it seems Peter's idea is the

1240
00:51:52,460 --> 00:51:56,060
majority in the church have a saved spouse.

1241
00:51:56,720 --> 00:51:59,060
Now, if that's what he's implying, why would

1242
00:51:59,060 --> 00:51:59,940
that be an encouragement?

1243
00:52:00,500 --> 00:52:02,380
Obviously, a lot of people tend to marry

1244
00:52:02,380 --> 00:52:03,660
a Christian and that's why they have a

1245
00:52:03,660 --> 00:52:04,260
saved spouse.

1246
00:52:04,620 --> 00:52:06,120
But this is here, in a way, the

1247
00:52:06,120 --> 00:52:07,760
beginning thrust of Christianity.

1248
00:52:08,120 --> 00:52:09,600
I imagine a lot of these people had

1249
00:52:09,600 --> 00:52:11,720
already been married when they got converted.

1250
00:52:12,260 --> 00:52:15,080
And yet, Peter says, even if some do

1251
00:52:15,080 --> 00:52:17,000
not obey the Word, what could the encouragement

1252
00:52:17,000 --> 00:52:19,140
maybe be that you could pull out of

1253
00:52:19,140 --> 00:52:19,280
there?

1254
00:52:19,340 --> 00:52:21,440
It could be the fact that it's only

1255
00:52:21,440 --> 00:52:23,440
some because others have already been converted.

1256
00:52:24,300 --> 00:52:27,840
Because of this conduct being the difference maker

1257
00:52:28,190 --> 00:52:33,180
that these people saw that ultimately won them

1258
00:52:33,180 --> 00:52:35,420
to believe on the truth.

1259
00:52:37,400 --> 00:52:40,000
Another thing here in closing, is Peter expecting

1260
00:52:40,000 --> 00:52:41,240
perfection out of the wife?

1261
00:52:41,680 --> 00:52:42,440
No, he's not.

1262
00:52:42,520 --> 00:52:44,040
Again, he refers to Sarah here.

1263
00:52:44,500 --> 00:52:46,760
Sarah was not by any means an example

1264
00:52:46,760 --> 00:52:47,600
of perfection.

1265
00:52:48,220 --> 00:52:49,720
So you don't want to set the standard

1266
00:52:49,720 --> 00:52:51,000
too high, but you don't want to go

1267
00:52:51,000 --> 00:52:51,500
too low.

1268
00:52:51,920 --> 00:52:55,000
She habitually sought to be a woman who

1269
00:52:55,000 --> 00:52:58,560
hoped in God and feared the Lord.

1270
00:53:03,690 --> 00:53:04,770
Let's see here.

1271
00:53:09,870 --> 00:53:11,050
How do you live like this?

1272
00:53:11,870 --> 00:53:13,730
There's all this conduct here.

1273
00:53:13,810 --> 00:53:15,430
Well, again, you've got to read the whole

1274
00:53:15,430 --> 00:53:15,710
letter.

1275
00:53:16,610 --> 00:53:18,050
And you get to chapter 4.

1276
00:53:18,730 --> 00:53:22,710
And you basically have, as some say, chapter

1277
00:53:22,710 --> 00:53:26,990
4 is Peter's Romans 6, basically.

1278
00:53:27,710 --> 00:53:32,070
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, meaning

1279
00:53:32,070 --> 00:53:36,230
Christ died, arm yourselves with the same way

1280
00:53:36,230 --> 00:53:38,750
of thinking or with the thought as it's

1281
00:53:38,750 --> 00:53:39,050
rendered.

1282
00:53:39,230 --> 00:53:39,910
What thought?

1283
00:53:40,450 --> 00:53:42,350
The thought that whoever has suffered in the

1284
00:53:42,350 --> 00:53:44,190
flesh has ceased from sin.

1285
00:53:44,570 --> 00:53:46,950
The idea there is the Christian has died.

1286
00:53:47,150 --> 00:53:47,830
They're a new man.

1287
00:53:47,910 --> 00:53:51,130
Their old man has been crucified with Christ.

1288
00:53:51,410 --> 00:53:53,310
They're no longer enslaved to sin.

1289
00:53:53,590 --> 00:53:55,070
So how can I live out all of

1290
00:53:55,070 --> 00:53:55,710
these realities?

1291
00:53:55,870 --> 00:53:57,510
Because I'm a new man in Christ.

1292
00:53:57,690 --> 00:53:59,010
That's why I can live the rest of

1293
00:53:59,010 --> 00:54:01,030
my time for the will of God.

1294
00:54:01,250 --> 00:54:04,050
Or 2 Peter 1, he says we're partakers

1295
00:54:04,050 --> 00:54:05,250
of the divine nature.

1296
00:54:06,090 --> 00:54:08,970
So we've been changed by God.

1297
00:54:09,310 --> 00:54:11,710
His divine power has granted us to all

1298
00:54:11,710 --> 00:54:13,430
things pertaining to life and godliness.

1299
00:54:13,670 --> 00:54:15,950
So the power is here to live this

1300
00:54:15,950 --> 00:54:16,090
out.

1301
00:54:16,150 --> 00:54:17,470
Don't say there's not the power.

1302
00:54:18,110 --> 00:54:19,550
There absolutely is the power.

1303
00:54:25,500 --> 00:54:27,520
So what does the lost world see in

1304
00:54:27,520 --> 00:54:28,320
your manner of life?

1305
00:54:29,280 --> 00:54:29,620
Right?

1306
00:54:29,660 --> 00:54:30,300
What do they see?

1307
00:54:31,680 --> 00:54:34,380
What in your own life is behavior or

1308
00:54:34,380 --> 00:54:36,420
conduct that negatively affects your witness?

1309
00:54:36,660 --> 00:54:39,820
It could be conduct online, in person, wherever.

1310
00:54:41,260 --> 00:54:43,480
Your lack of godliness may be the very

1311
00:54:43,480 --> 00:54:45,960
reason you lack influence upon those you are

1312
00:54:45,960 --> 00:54:46,340
around.

1313
00:54:48,630 --> 00:54:49,870
So are you saying that we should be

1314
00:54:49,870 --> 00:54:51,930
worried about the lost, what they see?

1315
00:54:52,850 --> 00:54:54,410
I'm saying you should be worried about what

1316
00:54:54,410 --> 00:54:56,510
God sees and God cares what the lost

1317
00:54:56,510 --> 00:54:58,350
see because you're bearing His name.

1318
00:54:59,450 --> 00:55:01,650
You have His name tag on you.

1319
00:55:02,850 --> 00:55:06,130
Don't shame your heavenly master with how you

1320
00:55:06,130 --> 00:55:10,010
conduct yourself because it will reflect the head.

1321
00:55:15,550 --> 00:55:17,250
And obviously this conduct is not referring to

1322
00:55:17,250 --> 00:55:19,770
some one-time act, but a continual, consistent

1323
00:55:19,770 --> 00:55:20,410
witness.

1324
00:55:20,570 --> 00:55:23,130
When we are hypocritical, let us not fail

1325
00:55:23,130 --> 00:55:25,490
to admit it, but come clean and have

1326
00:55:25,490 --> 00:55:28,810
an honest confession to the lost who witnessed

1327
00:55:28,810 --> 00:55:29,690
our hypocrisy.

1328
00:55:30,570 --> 00:55:32,950
If it goes unacknowledged, it will only cause

1329
00:55:32,950 --> 00:55:34,470
them to think we are numb to it

1330
00:55:34,470 --> 00:55:35,150
and insensitive.

1331
00:55:35,310 --> 00:55:35,850
They won't know.

1332
00:55:36,850 --> 00:55:37,410
Again, it's simple.

1333
00:55:37,550 --> 00:55:39,430
I sin against my children, I don't not

1334
00:55:39,430 --> 00:55:40,250
tell them about it.

1335
00:55:40,370 --> 00:55:40,950
I tell them.

1336
00:55:41,050 --> 00:55:41,730
I confess it.

1337
00:55:42,210 --> 00:55:44,170
I don't want them to perceive that that

1338
00:55:44,170 --> 00:55:45,990
hypocrisy is something I'm blind to.

1339
00:55:47,330 --> 00:55:48,610
You've got to be transparent.

1340
00:55:51,610 --> 00:55:54,220
So, think of it, brethren.

1341
00:55:54,600 --> 00:55:57,180
The hope expressed here, the lost can be

1342
00:55:57,180 --> 00:55:57,540
won.

1343
00:55:58,820 --> 00:56:00,800
The lost can be won.

1344
00:56:00,800 --> 00:56:03,840
Absolutely, we've got to preach the excellencies of

1345
00:56:03,840 --> 00:56:04,660
Jesus Christ.

1346
00:56:05,620 --> 00:56:08,220
We've got to be proclaiming the Word of

1347
00:56:08,220 --> 00:56:09,920
God, that the Spirit of God would take

1348
00:56:09,920 --> 00:56:12,600
that Word, visit a person, and cause them

1349
00:56:12,600 --> 00:56:14,660
to be born again by the living, abiding

1350
00:56:14,660 --> 00:56:15,340
Word of God.

1351
00:56:15,680 --> 00:56:18,180
But Peter doesn't just say that's all you

1352
00:56:18,180 --> 00:56:18,480
do.

1353
00:56:19,820 --> 00:56:22,100
Peter points at our conduct and our manner

1354
00:56:22,100 --> 00:56:22,700
of life.

1355
00:56:23,200 --> 00:56:24,500
And he says it can be a clear

1356
00:56:24,500 --> 00:56:25,300
sign to people.

1357
00:56:25,440 --> 00:56:26,520
It can put them to shame.

1358
00:56:26,780 --> 00:56:28,320
It can get them to shut their mouths.

1359
00:56:28,700 --> 00:56:30,060
You're able to win them over.

1360
00:56:30,060 --> 00:56:31,620
That can be the difference maker.

1361
00:56:33,340 --> 00:56:37,020
There might be some hypocrisy that's hindering your

1362
00:56:37,020 --> 00:56:37,540
witness.

1363
00:56:39,100 --> 00:56:41,240
It's being a difference maker in the negative

1364
00:56:41,240 --> 00:56:41,660
way.

1365
00:56:42,020 --> 00:56:45,460
It's turning them away from seeing the truth.

1366
00:56:45,660 --> 00:56:48,640
And look, whether someone is a hypocrite or

1367
00:56:48,640 --> 00:56:50,380
not, if you're lost, you can't blame them.

1368
00:56:50,460 --> 00:56:53,400
If you reject the truth, your blood's going

1369
00:56:53,400 --> 00:56:55,340
to be on your own head, as we

1370
00:56:55,340 --> 00:56:56,700
looked at a couple of weeks ago as

1371
00:56:56,700 --> 00:56:57,680
I looked at the watchman.

1372
00:56:57,680 --> 00:56:59,200
You know in that watchman sermon, there's a

1373
00:56:59,200 --> 00:57:02,420
great emphasis on our responsibility to speak.

1374
00:57:03,380 --> 00:57:06,060
Here, there's a great emphasis on your responsibility

1375
00:57:06,060 --> 00:57:09,200
to live and conduct your manner in a

1376
00:57:09,200 --> 00:57:12,020
life that is worthy of the Gospel of

1377
00:57:12,020 --> 00:57:12,640
Jesus Christ.

1378
00:57:12,720 --> 00:57:14,640
So this strategy, it worked 2,000 years

1379
00:57:14,640 --> 00:57:15,880
ago, it will work today.

1380
00:57:16,540 --> 00:57:17,760
And we need to believe the Lord.

1381
00:57:17,880 --> 00:57:18,780
Don't lose heart.

1382
00:57:20,540 --> 00:57:22,380
If you're a sister here and you have

1383
00:57:22,380 --> 00:57:25,080
a lost husband, don't lose heart.

1384
00:57:25,700 --> 00:57:27,980
Keep pressing on, trusting the Lord.

1385
00:57:28,140 --> 00:57:29,460
God's able to use this.

1386
00:57:30,460 --> 00:57:31,020
Let's pray.

1387
00:57:36,970 --> 00:57:42,220
Father, Lord, I thank You that Your Word

1388
00:57:42,220 --> 00:57:45,160
time and time again reminds us that the

1389
00:57:45,160 --> 00:57:48,560
things we do are not in vain, that

1390
00:57:48,560 --> 00:57:49,760
they're not without a purpose.

1391
00:57:49,940 --> 00:57:51,860
Lord, You do not have us floating around

1392
00:57:52,520 --> 00:57:53,840
doing things without a purpose.

1393
00:57:54,540 --> 00:57:55,840
And Lord, we do want You to be

1394
00:57:55,840 --> 00:58:00,120
glorified in the maximum way that You can

1395
00:58:00,880 --> 00:58:02,100
out of our lives.

1396
00:58:02,100 --> 00:58:04,120
Lord, I pray that You would save.

1397
00:58:04,260 --> 00:58:07,980
Father, would You save people, Lord, who we

1398
00:58:07,980 --> 00:58:10,680
have sought to conduct ourselves in a God

1399
00:58:10,680 --> 00:58:11,880
-honoring way before.

1400
00:58:12,540 --> 00:58:15,620
Lord, despite our failures, despite our fears, despite

1401
00:58:15,620 --> 00:58:19,040
our inconsistencies, Lord, we're appealing to Your mercy.

1402
00:58:19,500 --> 00:58:21,700
We're appealing to You, not wishing that any

1403
00:58:21,700 --> 00:58:22,300
should perish.

1404
00:58:22,760 --> 00:58:24,700
We're asking that You would come down and

1405
00:58:24,700 --> 00:58:25,600
save the lost.

1406
00:58:25,740 --> 00:58:27,380
Lord, that You would send Your Holy Spirit

1407
00:58:27,380 --> 00:58:29,780
that it activate the Word of God and

1408
00:58:29,780 --> 00:58:31,440
that these people would be born again into

1409
00:58:31,440 --> 00:58:32,400
a living hope.

1410
00:58:33,540 --> 00:58:35,580
Please, Lord, that their souls could be one.

1411
00:58:36,320 --> 00:58:37,220
Lord, have mercy.

1412
00:58:38,500 --> 00:58:42,400
Please, Father, we want, Lord, we're longing for

1413
00:58:42,400 --> 00:58:43,860
people to come to the truth.

1414
00:58:44,180 --> 00:58:45,680
Lord, that's what we want them to be

1415
00:58:45,680 --> 00:58:48,280
convinced about is the truth.

1416
00:58:49,400 --> 00:58:50,960
In Jesus' name, Amen.

1417
00:58:55,890 --> 00:58:57,690
Okay, well, we'll have a break if you're

1418
00:58:57,690 --> 00:58:58,070
visiting.

1419
00:58:58,950 --> 00:59:01,870
We have a 25-minute break.

1420
00:59:05,090 --> 00:59:06,690
We're going to take the Lord's Supper, so

1421
00:59:06,690 --> 00:59:08,890
we might start earlier than 1130.