Pastor Jonah Sage preached 1 Peter 3:18-22. He said that the Creeds remind us that Jesus will bring us safely home. Lector: Asia Filipiak
Pastor Jonah Sage preached 1 Peter 3:18-22. He said that the Creeds remind us that Jesus will bring us safely home.
Lector: Asia Filipiak
Text: 1 Peter 3:18-22
Title: Good News for Us
Big Idea: The Creeds remind us that Jesus will bring us safely home.
What do you do when you don't feel safe?
Have you seen the debate raging in our local schools these past weeks and months?
As evil people enter our schools to harm our most precious ones, many want to put weapons into the hands of teachers.
Some respond to fear and danger by increasing firepower, building defenses.
A recent survey revealed the majority of American teachers think doing this would make our schools less safe, though.
Only 1/5 thought armed teachers would make our schools safer.
What should we do?
That same survey reported that the #1 safety concern from teachers was bullying.
The author of the report, Heather Schwartz, said, "bullying, not active shooters, was teacher's most common...safety concern." Followed by fights and drug use.
When some of us feel threatened, we want to fight back.
Some of us want to calm down.
Marijuana use, and it's watered-down cousin Delta-8, are on the rise.
Some of us want to numb out, so we shut down to feel safe.
Escapism in its many forms is on the rise.
We all have strategies for safety, and we all need one, because we don't feel safe, we can't make healthy decisions.
So...what do YOU do when you don't feel safe?
Fight back? Shut down? Numb out?
I remember the days before COVID lockdowns. In my office staring at twitter.
Everything was getting cancelled. Do you remember?
Professional sports. NCAA tournament. I gasped and said "oh no..."
Do you remember your first trip to the grocery store during lockdown?
We had our plans and our strategies. Emergency food supplies..
Maybe you moved out to the country years ago.
Maybe you bought guns or precious metals. We all have strategies to feel safe.
But then something unexpected, invisible, and unpredictable comes and tells us in many ways You. Are. Not. Safe.
I remember wiping down our groceries. I remember the angry emails when we suspended in person services. I remember realizing we are not safe.
This was so unexpected for us. We live in a time where people are safer than they've ever been in human history. Did you know that?
Yet we're also living in the most anxious time of human history.
People are scared more than we've ever been.
Into that society came something unseen, unexpected...and our world imploded
We are not prepared for things we cannot see...maybe cancer, maybe a pandemic...
We cannot be prepared for every tragedy. We cannot plan our way out of fear.
And we are not the first people to face unexpected fears, either.
The scriptures tell us there is an entire world around us we cannot see.
An unseen realm, a cosmic war between good and evil.
At one point, Paul puts it to us plainly in the Bible:
Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:11-12
We don't think about this much, do we?
We roll our eyes at the idea of demons or evil spiritual forces...but they didn't.
Paul didn't. Our Jewish ancestors didn't. The early church didn't.
We have plenty of things we CAN see to be scared about right now
Now the Bible, if we're willing to see it, tells us that there is an entire WORLD we can't see that's filled with evil spiritual forces.
What do you do when you don't feel safe?
What are WE to do in a world so full of seen and unseen dangers?
Confusion creates chaos. Chaos creates carnage. But Creeds provide us the clarity we need...and clarity creates safety.
Into our confusion, the creeds remind us of what is real and what is true.
They help us to stop chasing ghosts. They free us from the anxiety of creating plans and back up plans and back ups to our back up plans.
And ultimately, these creeds invite us to follow Jesus. Not just repeat the words, but embody them and live them.
The NT Creeds provided simple, memorable antidotes to the chaos of confusion
Souls cannot thrive under chaos and confusion...anymore than we could drive on the highway without guardrails.
Creeds remind us we are safe, now and forever.
Let me show you.
Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God.
-1 Peter 3:18
Guilt is pain over what we've done, real or perceived.
Pain feels like danger. Your body knows no difference. Guilt is unsafe.
What's YOUR strategy for the pain of guilt?
Many of us try to work our way out of it. Do more to make up for it.
If that's you...have you noticed it's never enough?
You cannot give enough away to cover the guilt over your greed.
You cannot buy enough flowers to ease the guilt of your harsh words.
No amount of achievement or success can wipe away the guilt over past failures.
and if that guilt keeps rolling long enough, it will eventually bleed out into everything.
You'll feel guilty about the direction the wind blows or how much it rained.
Have you noticed how hard it can be to come to Jesus when you're so guilty?
Peter'S creed reminds us, though, that our guilt is paid in full.
What can wash away my sins? NOTHING but the blood of Jesus.
To those suffering the weight of guilt, Creeds remind you that you are safe because Christ suffered for our sins ONCE for all time.
No more sacrifice is required.
You are safe, because you are forgiven, because Christ has died for sinners...why?
Did you see? to bring you safely home to God.
You are safe, you are loved, you CAN come to Jesus.
He didn't suffer to make something possible or give you a fresh start, but to finish it.
Now things get strange in this Creed to our ears...
So he went and preached to the spirits in prison
-1 Peter 3:19
The who in the where?!
The Bible attests to a supernatural world. Again, powers and principalities.
Evil authorities in the unseen realm.
Christ handled your guilt. He removed and covered our failures...but is simply not feeling guilty the same as truly being safe?
I didn't feel guilty during COVID. I didn't feel guilty during the tornado a few weeks ago
You can be forgiven and still not feel safe...especially if you ever have an encounter with these evil powers of the unseen realm.
So...who are they?
Those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat.
-1 Peter 3:19
If you're curious about this, we preached a sermon on this in our Desecrated series. You can find it in the app or podcast.
To put it simply, there were a group of rebels from the heavenly realmv at work during the days of Noah.
This was a direct cause of the Flood. God imprisoned them.
Having claimed victory over death and sin...Jesus' FIRST STOP is to descend to them and ANNOUNCE HIS VICTORY.
Believers in Jesus' day believed that the demonic invasion of Genesis 6 was one of the fundamental causes of the world's problems...as fundamental as Adam and Eve's rebellion in the garden.
They believed that if Messiah were ever to come, he would need to once and for all end the rebellion. They were counting on him to protect them from unseen forces.
So this Creed, memorized and recited as the church gathered, reminds us that not only are we safe from the consequences of our sin, but safe from our spiritual oppressors, too.
Peter tells us that Baptism is like the flood waters...and it is the blood of Jesus that has become for us Noah's true Ark.
Conscience cleansed, effective because of Christ's resurrection.
To be baptized is to agree with the TOTAL VICTORY of Christ.
Not just over sin, not just over death, but over all the powers of evil, too:
Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.
-1 Peter 3:22
Creeds remind us we are SAFE.
This creed emphatically, memorably, and simply tells us that ALL AUTHORITY, in heaven and on earth, belongs to JESUS.
And if you are safe, but even more so if you want to feel safe, then follow Jesus.
Here's some of what that might look like.
At some point this week, a little voice will appear telling you how bad you are
"It would be like this if you weren't like that"
Your kid would be different if you weren't so awful
Your husband would be different if you weren't so awful
This Creed tells you, though, that your guilt is forgiven.
Which means that God no longer accuses you.
What could you do with that voice if you knew it was not God saying it to you?
What might you say to that voice when it throws your guilt in your face?
I wonder if you could say something like "Christ suffered once for sins to bring me safely home to God."
I wonder what it might look like to engage the complex issues of our day from a place of safety, rather than fear or anxiety
If we believed Jesus had all authority, what might we do when he tells us to love our enemies?
What might he do when he tells us to turn our other cheek to those who strike us?
I wonder what it would mean to bless those who curse us.
I wonder what it would mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness.
What could it mean to become peacemakers? Not number-outters, shutter-downers, fighter-backers...but peacemakers?
If we knew we were safe, I wonder what it could look like for us to follow Jesus.
When intrusive thoughts come, when anxiety rises, when the unseen realm stops being so unseen...our strategy is the same.
The creeds remind us we are safe because Jesus is with us
Christ is risen and seated now in heaven.
All powers accept his authority.
So, be it in this life or the next, be it from things we see or things we cannot, be it pandemic or persecution, satan or circumstance, creeds remind us we. Are. Safe.
We are safe, because Jesus is with us.
Thanks be to God.
Let's pray.