In this crucial installment in our study in the epistle of First Peter, Pastor Landis is explaining how believers must choose to serve God and one another in order to experience proper spiritual development and progress. Listen and learn from the majestic truths contained in the sacred text along with the saints of Straight Gate Ministries!
Old Testament Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 6:9 – 16 (NASB)
Jer 6:9 Thus says the LORD of hosts, “They will thoroughly glean as the vine the remnant of Israel; Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer Over the branches.”
Jer 6:10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Behold, their ears are closed, And they cannot listen. Behold, the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.
Jer 6:11 But I am full of the wrath of the LORD: I am weary with holding it in. “Pour it out on the children in the street, And on the gathering of young men together; For both husband and wife shall be taken, The aged and the very old.
Jer 6:12 “And their houses shall be turned over to others, Their fields and their wives together; For I will stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the LORD.
Jer 6:13 “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely.
Jer 6:14 “And they have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ But there is no peace.
Jer 6:15 “Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down,” says the LORD.
Jer 6:16 Thus says the LORD, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
New Testament Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 4:3 – 9 (NASB)
1 Pet 4:3 For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousals, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. 1 Pet 4:4 And in all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you; 1 Pet 4:5 but they shall give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 1 Pet 4:6 For the gospel has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God. 1 Pet 4:7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. 1 Pet 4:8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Pet 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
Transforming Power Statements:
#1) One of the most fascinating characteristics of the transition of being saved from being lost, is the new ability caused by the new birth in the Holy Spirit, that equips believers to receive a stream of the knowledge of the truth. This new ability allows us to understand many things that the unsaved may only speculate about.
#2) Believers in Christ Jesus, must constantly be reminded of the certain facts as they pertain to God’s unfolding revelation in that there are many things in this world competing for the attention, devotion, and support of God’s people, many of which are misleading and oppose the teachings of Christ. #3) Believers must learn that others who are saved still have the flesh to deal with also, and learn always to operate tempered with mercy for fellow believers.
