*** This study precedes the one I did on 2 Peter 3:15 on 11/26/17 ***
Jesus told Peter to love Him by FEEDING MY SHEEP!!!! It’s all about RELATIONSHIP.
•Peter wrote to encourage persecuted Christians amidst their suffering.
•How does persecution happen? Through PEOPLE! How do we fight it? With PEOPLE!
•Satan wants us to fight AGAINST each other in little personal wars.
•God wants us to fight ALONGSIDE one another in a spiritual battle.
•The key to victory is SUBMISSION! First to God, then to each other.
•Relationships aren’t about you and your spouse/friend/brother/sister/etc but about you and Jesus.
•Relationships are the opportunity to live and love like Jesus.
•Peter shows us a pattern - Salvation - Submission - Suffering.
•God allows suffering so we can learn the value of submission.
•In our world submission means defeat, but in God’s world submission is the greatest weapon for victory!
•In 1 Peter 2 he tells us to submit to authorities and bosses, then he shows how Christ submitted to the point of death - all of which brings God glory.
•1 Peter 3:1 - “In the same way” - here’s what this looks like in a marriage relationship.
•“so that” - submitting is about getting something - so that “they may be WON….”
•Submission is the way we play to win!
•vs 2 - Men need RESPECT - this is about admiration.
•Two ways to show admiration to a man:
•1) Thanks - thank him for what he does.
•2) Praise - praise him for who he is.
•vs 7 - Women need HONOR - this is about prioritization.
•Men show she is priority through sacrifice (Ephesians 5:25).
•Three cycles:
•1) US cycle - when a woman feels prioritized and the man feels respected they are energized by each other. They “respond” to each other.
•2) Me cycle - when a woman doesn’t feel prioritized and the man doesn’t feel respected they drain each other. They “react” to each other.
•*** We typically withhold what they need when we don’t get what we need.
•3) God cycle - when one spouse chooses to meet the need of the other UNCONDITIONALLY.
•This is where the idea of submission comes in - we do it “as unto the Lord.”
•In this cycle we have the opportunity to earn a heavenly reward.
•Matthew 25:40 - “whatever you’ve done to the least of these……”
•Matthew 5:46 - “if you love others when they love you, what reward will you get?”
•In summary, in all relationships we are to be:
•1) Harmonious - this is about MUTUAL SUPPORT.
•Harmony occurs when different voices all sing from the same sheet of music.
•This is about embracing each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
•2) Sympathetic - this is about SHARED SUFFERING - deliberate participation in the suffering of someone else.
•The key to being sympathetic to step into someone’s experience.
•3) Brotherly - this is all about ACCEPTANCE.
•Acceptance is the foundation for intimacy - “in-to-me-see.”
•4) Kindhearted - this is about MAKING PEOPLE FEEL GOOD INSIDE.
•Our goal is to make someone feel good inside.
•5) Humble in spirit - in the Greek this means a “LOVING MIND.”
•Our hearts will go where our minds take them.
•We need to “proactively think positive thoughts” about each other.
•vs 9 - Submission is about getting a reward!
•Our greatest blessing should be God getting glory through us.
1 Peter 3:1-9 (11/26/17)
Building Relationships Through Submission
November 26, 2017 • Benham Brothers
1 Peter 1:5-7 (11/23/17)
November 23, 2017 • Benham Brothers
* This verse makes me think of a power drill with a cord. * It’s capable of such good but not unless it’s plugged into the source of power. * We are the same - we are powerless unless we’re plugged into God through FAITH. * I was at a billionaire’s home and they had a big wall around their property. * So long as we stayed inside that wall his security team would protect us. * If we stepped outside we were not protected. * Our faith is what keeps us inside God’s boundaries - obedience proves our faith. * When we’re there we get his protection and His power. * vs 6-7 - our faith is built through trials.
1 Peter 1:10-12 (11/26/14)
November 26, 2014 • Benham Brothers
Disclaimer - We're not trying to be theologians with this study (that's not our gifting!), but to simply convey what we have learned through researching many books along with the Bible on the subject. Most of what we talk about below comes from a book entitled "The Gospel Of The Kingdom" by George E Ladd. When Adam sinned death entered the world and Satan was given authority to reign. God had a plan to deal with this - to bring His kingdom to the earth do destroy Satan, sin, and death. In the OT, through the prophets, God foretold the coming of His kingdom to the earth, but none of them knew exactly what it would look like. They did know this about the kingdom of God - it was: 1) The redemptive rule of God manifested in Christ. 2) The destruction of God's enemies (satan, sin, death). 3) The realm in which the blessings of God can be experienced. The mystery of God's kingdom, that which angels long to look into, is this: God's kingdom is here now, even though evil still exists. Here's why it's a mystery - the prophets prophesied that God would send a Messiah (Christ) Who would usher in His kingdom where God reigned supreme and that God's enemies would be destroyed and where God's people could enjoy it's blessings. Everyone expected a physical king with a physical kingdom. Then Jesus shows up: 1) He didn't look or act like a king and He didn't take a physical throne. 2) Satan, sin, and death still existed - God's enemies weren't destroyed. 3) It sure didn't "feel" like God's kingdom was here - the experience was different than they thought. People were like, "wait a second, you mean the Messiah came and died and rose again, and now God's kingdom is here but we can't see it?" "Yes," the apostles would reply, "but you can experience it." Here's what happened: 1) Christ was killed and shed His blood as the final sacrifice, thus redeeming all mankind once and for all. 2) Christ "defeated" satan, sin, and death by His ascension, but He hasn't destroyed them yet. 3) We can now experience God's kingdom in our lives where we can be victorious over satan, sin, and death. God's kingdom is here now in partiality but not in totality. God gave us more information about His kingdom in the New Testament, thus revealing the "mystery" of the kingdom. It will take place in three stages: 1) At the arrival of Christ (this is The Age To Come) - He came to set up God's spiritual kingdom in the hearts of people before God would set up His physical kingdom. 2) At the return of Christ (beginning of Millenium) - Satan is bound in the abyss, but he's not destroyed. 3) At the end of the Millenium - Satan, sin, and death are once and for all destroyed. If we just had the Old Testament we would have thought that at the arrival of Christ we would be at stage three, but it didn't work out that way and therefore was very mysterious! A mystery - they didn't have all the information in the OT times but now they did in the NT times.
1 Peter 1:13 (11/22/18)
November 22, 2018 • Benham Brothers
* Everything in your life rises and falls on the thoughts you think. * Peter tells us that the power of Christ in our lives starts with our thinking. * He’s telling us to “take control of your thinking!” * Whatever you think you will become. * Good thinking leads to life. * Bad thinking leads to death. * Brain science has caught up with this truth as we see the thoughts you think actually create physical cells in your brain. * Good thoughts look like flourishing trees. * Bad thoughts look like dead trees. * Good thoughts are based on truth. * Bad thoughts are based on lies. * vs 2:11 - lust takes place in the mind and wars against your soul.