October 15, 2023
Morning Service

1Sam 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

            This quote came in a time that Israel was looking for a king to lead their nation.  Their first choice was Saul who looked the part on the outside, tall, strong and good looking, but on the inside did not have the qualities God required.  David was a small, ruddy man who did not appear to be a leader on the outside, but God saw “a man who was after the heart of God.”  Today as we continue our study in I Peter, keep this in mind.  Our society seems to be more fixated on the outward appearance of things, but remember “the Lord looks at the heart.”  Who we really are is not defined by our appearance, but we are defined by who we are on the inside; our faith, actions, and motivations all which come from the heart.  God rewards those who seek Him diligently and have the desire in their heart to follow Him faithfully.  For many of us that journey includes the relationship of marriage.  Peter this morning briefly touches on how God has designed that relationship to operate.  He is socially correct today as he allows the ladies to go first.

 

 1Pe 3:1-2 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, (2) when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.

            Right off the bat Peter follows the teaching of all scripture and commands the wives to be in submission to their husbands (Eph. 5).  This is the role God has chosen for the wives and when you acknowledge that authority of your husband, you are acknowledging God’s authority in your life. This is even true in a marriage where the husband is not a believer.  Peter here instructs the wives to be in submission to them, praying that their submissive, respectful behavior draws their husband to Jesus.  Marriage is a holy estate as the relationship between man and wife is to mirror the image of Christ and His church.  When we choose to allow our marriage to move away from how God designed it then we are walking from the light into the darkness.  We are telling God we know better that He does, which we all know is not true.  If God owns and controls our heart then we will choose to work to make our marriage line up with His design of it, even if it is really hard to do.  God has placed the husband to be accountable for all that happens in the home and given him a wife to be his partner, helper, and supporter; not his slave and servant.  What does that look like?  It starts in the heart because “the Lord looks at the heart.”

 

 1Pe 3:3-6 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— (4) rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.  (5)  For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, (6) as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.

            If a lady comes and asks me what is proper to wear or how to dress, I send her to this scripture.  I encourage her to read this and then use what the Spirit reveals to her to choose her wardrobe.  Our society spends more time worried about our outward appearance rather than the more important aspect of who owns our heart and directs our path.  True beauty resonates from the inside out as Peter calls it; “the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious is the sight of God.”  How you dress, how you act towards others, and how you submit to the authority of your husband is a subject of the heart; who you are on the inside and God sees that.  If God is in control, then you will yield to the Spirit’s call seeking to have that inner beauty and gentle spirit that is precious to God.  You then will naturally yield yourself in submission to your husband, loving him, respecting him and encouraging him to be the leader in your home that God desires him to be.  You do this as an act of obedience and worship to your Savior and Lord from the heart.  Because “the Lord looks at the heart.”  Is He pleased with yours?

 

 1Pe 3:7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

 

 

            Husbands we are not to view our wife’s submission to us as a free pass to do whatever we want whenever we want.  Peter calls us to dwell with “understanding, giving honor to the wife.”  We do not honor our wife by lording over her, we dishonor her and dishonor God in doing that.  In our wife, we have a partner to walk our journey of life with.  Peter says we are “heirs together of the grace of life.”  Your choice to wed her was a lifetime commitment “until death do you part.”  Keeping that in mind we must strive to fulfill our role of leading our family in a direction that allows all in our house to flourish in God’s eyes not just us.  We as servant leaders, following Jesus’ example, should put the needs of our wife and family before our own needs.  We are to imitate Jesus and we know He gave up everything for His church.  If you are sacrificial in your actions, and your wife is fulfilling her role properly, when you fill their needs, she will be there taking care of your needs.  That is how God designed it to be with each of us looking out for the needs of the other not our own needs.  In creating a household that functions as God designed it, we are obeying God and worshiping Him through our actions.  It again, is an act of the heart.  “The Lord looks at the heart.” Is He pleased with yours?  Peter now turns to all of us with some very practical commands for us as he quotes various scriptures from the Book of Psalms (written by David).

 

1Pe 3:8-12 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; (9) not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.  (10)  For "HE WHO WOULD LOVE LIFE AND SEE GOOD DAYS, LET HIM REFRAIN HIS TONGUE FROM EVIL, AND HIS LIPS FROM SPEAKING DECEIT.  (11)  LET HIM TURN AWAY FROM EVIL AND DO GOOD; LET HIM SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT.  (12)  FOR THE EYES OF THE LORD ARE ON THE RIGHTEOUS, AND HIS EARS ARE OPEN TO THEIR PRAYERS; BUT THE FACE OF THE LORD IS AGAINST THOSE WHO DO EVIL."

            Peter here reasons with us to be in obedience to our Lord by displaying these attitudes in our life.  These are not just actions coming from a decision to be more obedient, but they are a part of the transformation that occurs in our life of becoming a “new creation” in Christ.  We show compassion for each other through being loving, tenderhearted and courteous.  This is on display as we rejoice with our brothers and sisters in good times and also hurt with them in difficulty times; doing life with them.  When a prayer request comes over the prayer chain comes in and we know our brother is in need, we pray for them not only from our lips but from our heart.  It is not what we do, it is who we are.  Our heart belongs to God and that creates the love and compassion for those around us.  In this way, even within our church family, we are never alone; we are better together!

            Peter gives us the pathway to “love life and see good days” by being mindful of our words and turning from evil.  We are to “seek peace and pursue it.”  To pursue something takes effort and rarely comes easily so we must be ready to work at it.  The Lord promises to see us as we pursue peace and to hear our prayers.  He also promises the opposite as well.  If we choose evil by going our own way, He promises to turn His face from us.  Which do you want?

            Life is full of relationships and this morning we have briefly covered marriage and also some aspects of our relationship with those around us.  If we are struggling in this area, I encourage you to look first at your relationship with Jesus.  Are you pursuing Him with your heart or just your actions?  We can try to do the right things, going through the motions, but we are not fooling God, only ourselves.  God is after your heart.  He wants you to want Him.  He loves you to love Him.  Once that foundational relationship is right then He will guide you to mend the other troubled relationships.  He will see us and hear our prayers as the scriptures promise.  Following Jesus faithfully is a matter of the heart because “the Lord looks at the heart.”  Does He like what He sees in yours? 

 

Heavenly Father we come to You this morning knowing that we are an open book to You.  You see our heart and know the state it is in.  Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.