Last Sunday’s Pulpit Notes from 1 Peter 1:13


Text:  Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed  (1 Peter 1:13-16).

Introduction:  The first word of verse 13 is “Therefore….”  This points to the previous paragraph.  Peter has been talking about our salvation, and he’s going to say three things about it:  It is incredible precious to Christ and to us (v. 3-9).  It was a subject of great yearning for the Old Testament prophets (v. 10-12a).  It is an object of great intrigue among the angels (12b).  Suppose you walked into the most exclusive jewelry store in the world and saw three men behind the counter studying a necklace.  You recognized them as Jesus Christ, the prophet Isaiah, and the angel Gabriel.  This necklace was so valuable not one person on earth could afford it.  It was precious in Christ’s eyes, an object of yearning for Isaiah, and a matter of great curiosity for Gabriel.  Seeing you walk in, Jesus beckons over, hands it to you, and says, “This is yours.  I have bought it for you as a gift.”  How would we want to treat that necklace?  What kind of person would we want to be in wearing it?  That’s the importance of the “Therefore” in verse 13.  Therefore…

1.  Spend Some Time Every Day Reading and Thinking (v. 13).  Prepare your minds for action.  Literally, bind up the hips of the intelligence of you, or bind up the loins of your mind.  This harkens back to the way people in biblical times would tuck the hems of their robes in their belts if they had to run.  We would say, “Roll up the sleeves of your mind.”  Turn down some of the entertainments and amusements that are crowding into your minds and stealing your time and your thoughts.  Read.  Study.  Meditate.

2. Bring Some Habit in Your Life under Control (v. 13).  One by one, we have to bring every careless habit under the self-control of the Holy Spirit.

3.  Live as if Jesus Were Coming Today (v. 13).  Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  If we somehow knew for certain that Jesus was coming this week, would it make a difference in your priorities, your activities, the emphasis of your life?  We don’t know the day or hour of His coming, but we should train ourselves to live as though He were coming imminently. 

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