Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, July 26th. Let's continue in our study of 1 Peter. The third chapter reveals principles for developing meaningful Christian relationships. Let's continue in our study of 1 Peter.
The third chapter reveals principles for developing meaningful Christian relationships. Let's continue in our study of 1 Peter. Let's continue in our study of 1 Peter. Let's continue in our study of 1 Peter. Let's continue in our study of 1 Peter. Let's continue in our study of 1 Peter. Let's continue in our study of 1 Peter. Let's continue in our study of 1 Peter. Be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly.
Do not be wise in your own estimation. Be of the same mind. So when he says be of the same mind, it does not mean that you and I always will agree, but what is the spirit in a person? You see, as a believer, you and I relate to each other on a whole different level than a lost person does. When you and I relate to each other, we not only speak to each other mentally, and we feel something emotionally, but remember that you and I have the same Holy Spirit living within us. So we really never are able to discern another person's spirit until we're able to touch that spirit. And you see, because two people are harmonious together, there's something about their sensitivity to each other. You feel something. You're able to sense.
You know something going on in the other person. He says that we're to live harmoniously, that is, individuals in the church, in the home, in the business, harmony, unity, oneness of mind, thinking the same spiritual way is absolutely essential to our Christian testimony. In Psalm 133, look at that psalm for just a moment. It's a familiar one about us dwelling together, but it's a beautiful way the psalmist wrote this. He says in the first verse, behold, that is, look how good and how pleasant it is for brothers or brothers and sisters or sisters to dwell together in unity.
Now what is it like? He says it's like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard, coming down upon the edge of his robes, it is like the dew of Herman, coming down upon the mountains of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing life forever. He says harmony is a peaceful, that is, it's like something that comes over you, that is, when two people are harmonious in their spirit, they may not always agree on some issues, but they have agreement in their spirit. And this is what Peter's talking about here when he says let's sum all of this up, what he's been saying about relationships.
So he says first of all, he says to sum it up, first of all, let all be harmonious. Second characteristic that he tells us here, he says secondly, sympathetic. Now what does he mean by being sympathetic here? Sympathetic does not mean, oh yes, I understand your problems. Being sympathetic says not only do I understand, but I'm able to get under it with you and willing to suffer something that you're suffering in order that my presence with you will make your pain easier. That is, being sympathetic isn't simply an attitude that is non-touchable.
We're talking about touching people. We're talking about creating an atmosphere of harmony. We're talking about being able to feel what people are feeling and trying to understand what they're understanding because you see all of us respond to every circumstance in life on the basis of the way we see it.
All of us do that. The way we see a situation is the way we respond. So if we have the Spirit of God within us and our goal is to be diligent in peacemaking, breathing harmoniously with each other, and being sympathetic and understanding, and both of these things go right together. Sympathetic and understanding with each other, sharing each other's feelings, understanding, reaching out to help. I think every believer should be willing to pray this.
I'm not going to tell you to pray it. But I believe if you're going to be used of God, you've got to be willing to bleed and willing to be broken. When you're hurting deeply, who is it that comforts you the most? Is it not somebody who has been hurt, who deeply hurts, who's been there, who's suffered, who's come through it, who's experienced the grace of God? Is it not true that that person is the one who can comfort you the most? When somebody says, oh, I understand how you feel, and you know they don't. You see, that has no comfort in it at all, but when somebody says to you, puts their arm around you and says, hey, I just want you to know that I love you and I'm praying for you, and I want to encourage you, and I do know that God is sufficient no matter what, to be able to feel. That's what sympathetic is all about. That is feeling what the other person is feeling, and what he's simply saying in this passage is that to sum up our relationship with each other, that being diligent to keep the peace, secondly, being able to reach out and feel what other folks are feeling and hurt where they're hurting, being able to be sympathetic. Now, if you and I are so totally busy keeping our own little world intact, we'll have a hard time being sympathetic with someone else, and I believe that many people need a good dose of pure old hurt because, my friend, the truth is we can get awfully selfish, can't we?
Me, myself, and I, my little world, my family, my car, my house, my clothes, my job, my money, my bank account, my, my, my, my, my. What a mess that is because the Bible says that God saved us to minister to other people, but first of all, Peter says, if you're going to minister, you've got to practice harmonious spirit, one of sympathy, and then he says, listen, then he says, brotherly, to be brotherly and in some translations to be loving. Now, I want you to look, if you will, in 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, listen to what he says about this. It's interesting what Paul writes concerning their love in the Thessalonian church.
He says, now, as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you all yourselves are taught by God to love one another, for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia, but we urge you, brethren, to excel still more. Now, let me ask you a question, excluding your family, I want you to think for just a moment. Can you think of three people, excluding your family, now I know grandmothers and grandfathers, anybody including this, can you think of three people that you have no blood relationship to that you just absolutely love to death? You just love them. Now, I don't mean you say, hi, good to see you. You know, you can do that and never love anybody.
I mean, genuinely love them. Now, let me tell you how you can tell you love somebody now. Would you like me to tell you how? Let me ask you this question. Is there anybody that you have a relationship with that when you think about them, you smile on the inside?
Anybody? That when you think about them, you just sort of smile on the inside. That is, when you think about them, the very thought of that person brings you joy. Oh, my friend, are you so wrapped up in yourself that beyond your family, you can't think of anybody that you genuinely love. How many folks would be in your circle of genuine love? You smile when you think about them. They bring joy to your heart when you think about them.
Is there anybody else out of your family? If you don't have anybody like that, you need to start real fast finding somebody that you can love. You know why? Because you're going to go through life, and listen, one of the most important things in life is being able to experience loving somebody. And if you can't love anybody, there's something wrong with your relationship to the Lord. You say, well, it's not wrong with my relationship to the Lord. Well, if you can't love somebody, there is, well, he says to be brotherly.
We need to move on. Fourth, he says, notice he says, kind-hearted. To sum it all up, be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kind-hearted. Now, what is he talking about being kind-hearted? Look in Ephesians chapter 4 for a moment, and the 32nd verse is a wonderful verse.
Everybody should know it by heart. He says, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you. Did you know that kind-heartedness includes being tender and forgiving and loving? Would you consider yourself kind-hearted? Now, you see, the problem is that nobody sees us like the way we see ourselves.
And sometimes we are misinterpreted, and you can't always do anything about that. But would you say that people who know you consider you to be tender-hearted? A tender-hearted person can be touched in their spirit.
It doesn't take a whole lot. A person who is crude, harsh, arrogant, self-sufficient, selfish, self-seeking, self-centered, there's nothing tender-heartedness about that. Peter says this is the way our relationship should be with each other, and Paul says the same thing.
He says Christians relating to each other should be peaceful and loving and compassionate and tender toward each other. That is, if I'm tender-hearted, I'm going to be sensitive to what you're feeling. If I'm tender-hearted and you maybe just drop in some little passing way that you're hurting, if I'm tender-hearted, I'm going to pick up on that. And if I'm tender-hearted, I'm going to treat you with tenderness and kindness.
You're not going to be rude or crude or harsh, insensitive and unkind. This is just the way Christians ought to live together, and then he says, if you'll notice, he says, and humble in spirit. Now what does it mean by humble in spirit? If I should ask you tonight, would you say that you fall into the category of being humble in spirit? You'd say, well, if I raised my hand, then I wouldn't be humble, I'd be proud.
Well, that's probably true. But humble in spirit simply means that you and I don't take the credit. We're not self-seeking and self-centered, but a person with a humble spirit is a person who acknowledges their absolute and total dependence upon the Lord, who's not always out there wanting to be up front and take credit, a person who's willing to do and to give and to be without recognition, humble in spirit.
They make the greatest kind of servants. You see, the truth is, it may be that you have more power and more influence in your witness, not by how many verses of scripture you can quote, but rather if you are harmonious, a peacemaker, tender-hearted, loving, kind, understanding, compassionate, and humble in spirit. He says, now, a word of caution, when you're mistreated, don't return evil for evil, insult for insult, but he says, rather, you give a blessing. The truth is, you and I should expect the world to treat us that way. They're not going to treat us like who we are because our very presence rubs them the wrong way. So believers are to learn to be, that is, we are to live out who we are. So you're not acting out anything when you're harmonious and loving and tender and compassionate and humble in spirit. You're not acting out, that's who you are because you and I are indwelt with the very presence of Christ himself so that when we exercise those qualities, we're just doing what comes naturally for us. We're just being who we are. That's who we are, peacemakers, tender-hearted, loving, compassionate, humble in spirit, kind, reaching out to people who are hurting.
That's who we are. And if we act any other way, then we're playing the hypocrite. You see, you're not playing the hypocrite by doing all of these things.
You and I play the hypocrite when we are not, when we act other than who we are. He says, don't do what the world does. Don't fight back. Don't retaliate. You say, but you don't know what they did to me.
It doesn't make any difference. He says, do not return evil for evil, insult for insult. The truth is you and I never have a right to return evil for evil, insult for insult. Did you know that sometimes God puts us in very sticky positions in order to demonstrate something? Now let me tell you first of all that God knows that I'm a long ways from being everything I'd like to be and that God's in the process of making me to become. But one of the privileges God gave me, I look back and see that it was a privilege. One of the privileges God gave me, it was a privilege not in order to demonstrate my abilities, my talents, or my gifts, but in order for God to teach me something and to demonstrate something. God by His grace, and it was His grace, kept my mouth shut. It was by His grace, I'm telling you. And that is for some reason I never felt any antagonism or that I had to get back, retaliate. Now once in a while I'll have to admit that I'd like to have, but the truth is God allowed me to demonstrate something. And how many young pastors have said to me, I can't tell you how much I learned just watching how you reacted. All that I had to do, friend, is blow it one time.
That's all, just one time. And you see in your office, and it's not to say that I haven't blown it lots of times, but God gave me the opportunity to demonstrate something, that you don't have to fight those who are your enemies. You just love them.
You just respond in the right fashion. Now in your office where you work, there may be a bunch of pagans in there. You think, well, what in the world did God put me in here for?
I'll tell you why. It may be that God put you there to suffer a little bit and to take all of their animosity and all their persecution, all their criticisms and all their mocking and jeering, not because God doesn't love you, but because God's more interested in demonstrating something through your conduct that you could never get across preaching to them a thousand sermons. They're watching how you live. That's what Peter's talking about. Amidst persecution, as the world watches how we live, how we respond, it doesn't mean we're going to be perfect.
It doesn't mean we're not going to make mistakes. But he says, don't return evil for evil, insult for insult. But he says, give a blessing instead. Now, how do you give a blessing to somebody? How do you bless somebody? You say, well, bless you, brother. Haven't you heard evangelist pastors all bless you back there, brother? Raise that hand, stand up, bless you.
What in the world does that mean? There's something involved in blessing somebody. Now, back in the Old Testament, a blessing was given to someone.
A lot went into that. But let me just say this. When you bless somebody, what he's saying here is this. There's several things involved in a blessing. And one of them is to touch somebody. Now, we're going to bless folks.
We got to give them something that's tangible. But you and I need to get serious about what he says. And he says, we're to live in such a relationship. And you see, this is an intimate relationship of being harmonious and sympathetic and loving and tenderhearted and humble in spirit, putting the other person before us, and then blessing them. Is that not the way God wants to build up his body? Listen, he says, for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. Now, what does God do to us? But he touches us. He speaks to us. He encourages us. He gets involved in our life. When you and I bless somebody, we get involved in their life. This whole passage says one thing, stop living for yourself and give yourself away the folks around you. Thank you for listening to Christian Relationships. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
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