 So, we have, I have been asked by your elders and your pastor to speak this weekend on walking in wisdom. And boy, if there is a topic that is needed right now, it is walking in wisdom because ladies, if you read any news, you know there's not a lot of wisdom going around in our world right now. A lot of foolishness, right? But not very much wisdom. And so we're going to be looking at five things that I have been asked to speak on. The first one, this evening is walking in wisdom in the world. How should you and I be walking right now in a world that has gone nuts? What ways do we need to be effective in this world that is lost? And so tonight, we're going to consider six ways in which we need to walk in wisdom in the world. And then after we have a little break, we're going to come back and we're going to look at walking in wisdom in the church. The church of Jesus Christ is in a mess and it was in a mess before COVID-19 and it is still in a mess. I don't know how many of you recently heard John MacArthur's message on why the riots have happened, but he mentioned four things. And one of those four reasons why he said the riots are going on and all these other things is not just because we don't have a conscience anymore, not just because the government, we can't trust anymore, not just because the family, there's a breakdown in the family, but the fourth one is what we're going to look on in this second session and that is the church. The church is no longer doing what we should be doing. And so we're going to specifically look at our role as a woman. How as a woman are we to behave in the house of God, which is the pillar of the living God, the foundation of the truth? And so we're going to be looking at that on walking in wisdom in the church. And then tomorrow morning, we are going to start with walking in wisdom in our home. And again, that was one of the four things he brought out. There is a breakdown of the family. I don't know if you've noticed that. There is a breakdown of the family. No longer do families eat meals together. And if they do, they're all on their iPhones. And so there is a breakdown in family. And ladies, we need to be walking in wisdom in our home. And so we're going to consider that in the morning. And right after that, a subject I've never spoken on. So walking in wisdom in your singleness. Now, I know not all of you are single, right? How many of you are not single? I'm not, I was still, I actually just talked to my husband. We married 45 years next month, can't believe it. But walking in wisdom in your singleness. Now, I don't want you married women to exit. Because even though I have been asked to speak on walking in wisdom in your singleness, and I am going to bring out some pitfalls of what I have seen as a pastor's wife now for 45 years, I am going to bring out some pitfalls I do see among single women. But this message is for you as married women as well. Because we're going to be looking at some mandates that are very important, not just for single women, even though I will address some issues, but for those of us who are married as well. So don't, and you know, even if you're married, ladies, we need to realize we're a body, right? We are a body of believers. And so even though you may be married, you may be discipling a single woman, you have single women that are sitting next to you, and you need to help her, right? And she needs to help you with your pitfalls as a married woman, and you need to help her with her pitfalls as a single woman. So we are a part, and I always get frustrated, I guess is a word, maybe not a good word, when people bail out on certain topics, well, that's not for me. Well, if you're a part of the body of Christ, it is for you, right? And so we are one, and we should be helping one another. So we'll be looking at that. And then last but not least, we're gonna be considering walking in wisdom in our calling, ladies, those of us that have been chosen before the foundation of the world we have been chosen so that we will be holy and without blame before him in love. And we certainly, as believers, we need to be walking in wisdom in our calling. And so we're gonna be looking at what does it mean to walk in wisdom? What are some characteristics of godly wisdom? What are some characteristics of demonic wisdom? I was talking to some girls yesterday, and one of them said, I didn't know there was such a thing as demonic wisdom. And I said, yes, there is, and the Bible talks about it. And we're seeing a lot of it go on right now, and I'll talk about that a little bit tomorrow. There's a lot of demonic things going on right now. But we, as God's children, need to be walking differently in godly wisdom. So that will be our final session before our Q and A time. So anyway, that's where we're going. I don't know about you, but I like to know where I'm going. I'm one of those people that, you know, where are we going? How are we gonna get there? And do I really have to wear a mask on the plane? And yes, I did. And I will tell you, if you haven't flown yet, I couldn't breathe. I really couldn't. And one time I tried to sneak it down and the flight attendant came by and she said, put that back over your nose. I'm like, oh yeah. But I was trying to actually study, and I couldn't. I guess I had no oxygen in my brain, so I took a nap instead. So anyway, if the messages are bad, just blame it on that, because I had to wear a mask and I couldn't think on the plane. So anyway, in Oklahoma, we're still a free state. We haven't had any mandates and, but who knows, it may happen. So anyway, but that's another whole story. Why do we always get on that topic right now? Well, let's open our Bibles and the Word of God. That's why we're here. First Peter chapter three, and we are going to look at six ways to walk in wisdom before the world. So let's pray and we will begin our time together. Oh Father, what a great and glorious God you are. We have just sung about your greatness. You're our rock. You're our strength. You are our redeemer. And Lord, we are so thankful that we have been called by your name. We are so thankful that we do not have to live in fear as the world is right now, Lord. We can walk in peace. We can walk in joy. We have nothing to fear but our Lord. We have, we don't need to be fearful of man. We don't need to be fearful of COVID-19. Lord, we need to fear you. And because of that, we need to walk in wisdom before a world that has gone crazy. And so Lord, I pray that you will help us this evening. Oh Lord, help our minds to be focused on the thing that is needful. Help us not to be like Martha with all these scattered thoughts and things that we think we need to do. But Lord, help us to be like Mary that chose the good part that could not be taken away from her. To sit at your feet, to listen and to learn, and to be forever changed as a result of being together this weekend. And I would ask this, Father, for your glory and your honor alone in Christ's name. Amen. Well, Tom Skinner, who is a black evangelist, several years ago, wrote a book entitled If Christ Is The Answer, What Are The Questions? That's a great title for a book, right? If Christ Is The Answer, What Are The Questions? Now, we as God's children believe He's the answer, right? You guys believe He's the answer? Do you women believe He's the answer? Well, there's one amen over here. I believe He's the answer. If He is the answer, then what are the questions? And why don't more people ask us about the hope that is within us? In fact, when is the last time that somebody asked you about the hope that is within you, about your faith? Has COVID-19 given you opportunities for people to ask you why you're not afraid? What is different about you? Does your life manifest anything different to a lost world so that they're standing in awe at you right now and just wondering, why is she peaceful? Why is she joyful? Why is she not afraid? What's different about her? We should be asking ourselves. If no one's asking us, why aren't they asking us? Well, Peter's going to perhaps help us to understand maybe why some are not asking us what makes us different. What about that hope that is within us? And he's gonna mention six ways in which you and I should walk in the world in wisdom so that they can look at us and see that we are different. And so Lord willing, I hope that this lesson will help you in perhaps sharpening up, shoring up some areas that perhaps are a little weak. So let's read the text together. First Peter 3, 13 through 17. Peter says this, and who is he that will harm you if you be followers of that which is good, but and if you suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are you and do not be afraid of their threats nor be troubled, but sanctify the Lord God in your heart and be ready to give an offense to everyone who asks you of the reason of the hope that is within you with meekness and fear, having a good conscience that when they defame you as evil doers, even though they revile your good conduct in Christ, they may be ashamed. For it is better if the will of God be so that you suffer for doing good than for doing evil. Now ladies, we need to remember, one of my pet peeves is jumping in the middle of a text, but we need to remember this, middle of a book I should say, and we need to remember that Peter is writing to a group of persecuted Christians and you think we have it bad now, you ain't seen nothing under Nero. He was a sadistic leader, he hated Christians so much that he made up a bunch of false accusations about them. You know the story about Nero, I know you're well taught, but he hated Christians so much that he killed them, many of them, he would roll them up and pitch and tar and set them on fire to light his gardens at night. He also would so many of them up in the skins of wild animals and let other animals come and tear them apart from limb to limb. And so this is the group that Peter is writing to, to those who are scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Asia, and Biphenia, these are scattered Christians because of the persecution that is going on. And so it makes Peter's words very sobering, but my friend, listen up, it cost to be a Christian in that time and I will tell you, if you are reading the signs of what is going on in our world, it is going to cost you to be a Christian. I really believe that unless the Lord has mercy on our nation, I know I've been preaching this message to you year after year after year, but believe me, it is going to cost you to be a Christian. Do not fool yourself into thinking that the day has not come that you and I will not have to suffer for the name of Christ. When you consider that same-sex marriage is now the law of the land, when you consider that over 61 million abortions have happened since Roe versus Wade, which means 61 million babies have been murdered, then it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that we as a nation are doomed. We are doomed. Ladies, study history, not just church history, not just biblical history, study history. Once a nation turns its back on God, which we have, that nation is history. That nation is history. In fact, we have seen even during COVID-19, the unthinkable, the unthinkable along with the riots and the tearing down of statues and burning people's businesses that have worked hard all their life to build these businesses. And you know what, in my opinion, we're just seeing a small smidge of what is to come. We are seeing a small smidge of what is going to happen. And so, for those of us in this room that stand for moral absolutes in a wicked and a perverse nation, we are going to be persecuted, especially when we bring the gospel upon a lost world and the conscience of the unbeliever. So Peter has just encouraged, right before this verse 13, he's just encouraged these believers that if they wanna see their days as good, even difficult days, they should have an attitude of loving life. And he encouraged them in the verse before, I love this verse, verse 12, he encouraged them that even though they're being persecuted, that the eyes of the Lord are over them and he's actually bending down to hear their prayers. And the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. And so, ladies, that should encourage you as we go through suffering and persecution. The eyes of the Lord are upon us. His ears are bending down to hear our prayers, but his face is against those that do evil to us. And so Peter has just given them some encouragement. How do we live in this hostile world that hates Christians? And now he tells us how to be an effective witness in a hostile world that hates Christians. And so he goes on to see him in verse 13 and he says this, who is he that will harm you if you are followers of that which is good? Who is he that will harm you? Because God takes care of the righteous, then who is he that will harm you? In fact, the word harm here actually means to injure, to physically hurt you. Who is he that will physically hurt you if you're a follower of that which is good? Paul says in Romans 8.31, what shall we say to these things if God is for us? Who can be against us, right? Nobody can. Or as John Knox used to say, with God on his side, man is always in the majority, right? So what does Peter mean here when he says, who is he that will harm you? Well, listen very carefully. Peter is not guaranteeing that no harm will ever come to you or to them as he's writing to them. But if it does, God will vindicate. He's already mentioned that in verse 12, right? The Lord is against those who do evil. But what he is saying this, if you are a follower of that which is good, the percentage, the chance of you suffering harm is lessened. And he says if you're a follower of that which is good, then your suffering will be lessened more than likely. Interesting word here for a follower. It actually means a zealot, a zealot. You know what a zealot was? They were fanatical. They were fanatical. In fact, they pledged to liberate their native land by every possible means. They burned with zeal. They would risk their life. They would risk their homes. They would even risk their families because they love their country that much. I wish we had some of those patriots right now. I don't know what's happened to all our patriots, they're gone. And they were zealots. They were zealous. And they were zealous not because they had to be, but because they wanted to be. Ladies, listen to what Peter's saying. If you love goodness like that zealot loves his country with that intensity, then the chances of you being injured or harmed will be limited or lessened. Now you might say, wait a minute, Susan. I mean, Jesus went about doing good, didn't he? I mean, he didn't even let his left hand know what his right hand was doing. He just went about doing good. I mean, he was persecuted. He was hated. He was crucified on the cross. True, that is true. And Susan, what about the apostles? I mean, the apostles, they went about doing good, right? We read the Acts of the Apostles. We read the Gospel accounts. They went about doing good and all of them died a martyr's death. So what's Peter saying here? Well, it is true. Those who live a life of integrity and goodness, yeah, many of them are, but ladies, they are less prone to persecution if you follow and do what is good, even in a wicked world. You know, it's like Proverbs says, Proverbs 16, 7, when a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Have you ever thought about that? If your ways please the Lord, you will even make your enemies to be at peace with you. Well, Peter goes on in verse 14 to encourage those who are still pursuing good and yet still might suffer. And he goes, but here's the but, even if you do suffer for righteousness sake, you're blessed. So even though the chances are that you might, you know, be not be injured, if you're a zealot for what is good, he says, but guess what? If you do suffer for righteousness, right, indicating some of them will and some of us will in this room, some of you may get by with no suffering, I don't know. But many of us in this room probably will suffer for righteousness. In fact, I had a lady even, I think it was this morning, said, I don't know how this day's been very long. But anyway, she texts me, she goes, would it be okay during this time if I committed suicide? And I got, no, I don't think so. I said, you need to embrace suffering as a means to your sanctification. And, you know, we don't like suffering. We don't like persecution. And she sees what's coming on the horizon. And she says, is suicide a sin? Is it okay if I kill myself? And I said, no, it's not okay. If you kill yourself, embrace the suffering. But Peter says, even if you do suffer for righteousness, so there's a possibility we will suffer for righteousness. In fact, the word for suffer here means to experience pain, a sensation, painful, something that is painful. In fact, do you know that this word is used in First Peter more than any other book because it's a book on suffering? In fact, I'm getting ready to teach First Peter to my ladies this fall. And I'm sure it's not by coincidence that that's what the Lord laid upon my heart to do. So Peter says, if you suffer for righteousness, you're blessed, you're happy, you're fortunate. Ladies, if you're called upon to suffer for the sake of Christ, do you know you are spiritually prosperous? In fact, do you know the women that I know that have suffered for the gospel, for the sake of Christ are some of the most happiest women I have ever seen? They're blessed, they're happy, they're fortunate. Now this doesn't mean you're gonna find enjoyment. You know, you might not find enjoyment in the suffering, in the persecution. I mean, these believers, some of them are watching their loved ones being burned at the stake, being torn apart from limb to limb. They were, many of them were being robbed of their homes. They had nothing. I mean, I'm sure that was a painful time for them, but it was also a privilege for them to suffer for the Lord. In fact, Peter says later on in his epistle, First Peter 4, 12, and 13, beloved, do not think it's strange concerning the fiery trial which is sent to test you as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice why inasmuch as you are partakers of Christ's sufferings. Ladies, have you ever thought about that? It gives you an opportunity to partake in Christ's sufferings and what he went through. In fact, Peter says rejoice with exceeding joy. I remember the first time this happened to me years ago. I hadn't been a believer very long and I lost one of my closest friends. It was really hard. She was my walking buddy, she was my best bud and I lost a friendship with her because I stood up for what was right and it was a very, very painful time in my life, but you know, after I went through the process of mourning and grieving, I finally came to the point was thank you, Lord. I've gotten to know what it's like for you, what it was like for you when you suffered and the disciples forsook you and fled and you were spit upon. I mean, I didn't even, I mean, what I went through was nothing compared to what Jesus went through, but I could feel some of that resentment and that hatred that he had from those that he thought loved him. In fact, Peter may have had something in mind when he heard the Lord say in the Sermon on the Mount, blessed are those who have persecuted for righteousness and say, why? For theirs and theirs alone, the Greek says, for theirs and theirs alone is the kingdom of heaven. In fact, remember the account in Acts chapter four, when Peter and the apostles were sharing the gospel and they were beaten for sharing the gospel and it says they went away rejoicing. Why? Because they were allowed to suffer for the sake of Christ. Ladies, do you think if we start getting beaten for sharing the gospel, beaten? And then, you know, usually it was, I mean, you've had lacerations in your back. You know, we whine if we have a blister on our toe, right? But if you're gonna have, if you're gonna be beaten or thrown into jail for sharing the gospel, do you think that you will go away rejoicing? My husband's preaching through Philippians right now on Sunday night and he was talking about, he said, I really believe when Paul got his head lopped off by Nero, that he was singing, it is well with my soul. And he probably was, I don't know. It wasn't written then, but he was probably singing it. So ladies, it is probable that we will suffer for the sake of righteousness, especially as the world morally declines. The ungodly world hates righteousness. The ungodly world hates righteousness. Well, Peter goes on to say, don't be afraid of their threats, don't be troubled. This means do not fear the fear of them. Don't be alarmed, don't be threatened, don't be afraid. You know, sometimes people try and scare us with their threats, don't they? And in the case of their readers, it was probably happening and Peter says, don't let them scare you, which means don't let them stir you up or agitate you. In fact, it describes the feeling of being tossed to and fro with feelings and distractions. Ladies, it's easy to be troubled when people are trying to harm you. Do not allow your fears to run rampant. I hope that hasn't described you, even though that's not what we're talking about in this text, but I hope that fear has not been the virus that you've really had the last few months. We have nothing to fear, right? Except Christ alone. In fact, Jesus makes this clear in Matthew 10, 28. Do not fear those who kill your body, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both your soul and your body in hell. That's who we need to be fearing, right? That's who we should be afraid of. Well, instead of being troubled or fearful, Peter says in verse 15, but sanctify the Lord God in your heart and be ready to give an answer to every man that asks you of the hope that is within you. Well, these readers would probably be naturally tempted to give in to fear, right? But Peter says, don't do that. Instead of being fearful about being persecuted, what you need to do in said is sanctify the Lord God in your heart. You might say, Susan, what does that mean? Well, sanctify means to set Him apart. Set Him apart in your heart as first place. He is to have first place in your heart. Ladies, in that inner sanctuary inside of you, your heart, your soul, He is to be number one. If Christ is not first place in your heart tonight, I can guarantee you will be fearful when persecution comes. If Christ is not number one in your heart, you will be afraid. So number one on how to walk in wisdom in this world is this. We must have Christ first in our hearts. We must have Christ first in our hearts. You might say, why, Susan? Why is this walking in wisdom in the world? How does this relate? Well, think about it. Because it sets us apart from unbelievers. Unbelievers do not have Christ as first place in their hearts. And may I say this? This is the most important point because if you are not having Christ first place in your heart, you will not be an effective witness for Him. There's no way you will not be an effective witness to a lost world. If you do not have genuine saving faith, if you yourself have not been changed by the amazing gospel, then how can you be effective witness in the world? How can you walk in wisdom before the world if you yourself haven't been changed by the gospel? You can't. You cannot walk in wisdom. If you don't have the Holy Spirit living within you, you're not walking the victorious Christian life, right? And you can't share the gospel without that. Well, this would be of utmost importance to the readers of First Peter because by having Christ first in their hearts in life, they might have opportunity to be a vessel for sharing the gospel, which would definitely make their suffering worthwhile, wouldn't it? Wouldn't it make your suffering worthwhile if you had an opportunity to share the gospel with your persecutors? Now, these readers were not only to set apart the Lord as first in their lives, but notice what he says. They're also to be ready to give an answer to these persecutors who are attacking them. They should not be afraid to speak of the hope in them. Peter says this, be ready to give a defense to everyone that asks you of the reason of the hope that is within you. Ladies, this is the second way in which believers must walk in wisdom before the world. We must be ready to give an answer. We must be ready to give an answer. We must be prepared. We must be willing. We must be bold to share with those that ask us. In fact, this might be at any time and most often when we least expect it. I was talking to a family member the other day and one of my siblings who's lost and she's terrified. She has not been out of her house since February and she doesn't plan to come out until there's a vaccine. She's absolutely terrified. And she said, I wanna talk to you about the afterlife. And I said, well, what are your questions? And she said, well, I wanna go where my husband goes when I die. And I said, you're not, well, I said, well, he's going to hell. I said, he's going to hell. I said, he hates God, you know he hates God. So again, I got another opportunity. I said, there's two places you can go after death, heaven or hell. And I shared the gospel with her again. I was not prepared for her to say that. I wanna talk to you about the afterlife. And we've gotten to talk one other time since then. She always has to wait till he's gone because she can't talk about it when he's there. So she has to wait till he goes to the store or something like that. And then she calls me. Ladies, we never know when those opportunities are gonna come up. Are we prepared? We must be prepared. We must buy up those opportunities. Paul says it in another place in Colossian. Walk in wisdom towards those that are outside, the unbelievers. Walk in wisdom towards those that are outside, redeeming the time. Buy up the opportunities like garage sale hunters do. You know how they buy up the opportunities. That's what that really means. And he says, let your speech be always with grace, season, with salt that you can know how to answer every man. Ladies, we must be prepared. Now the Greek word here in 1 Peter when he says that we prepared to give in a defense, it means apology. And it doesn't mean we apologize for our faith. You know, I'm getting ready to share the gospel with you and I'm really sorry, I'm a Christian and I just apologize for that. That's not what it means. I'm sure some of you're wishing that what it means but that's not what it means. An apology is a defense. In fact, it was used of the attorney that would present a verbal defense for his client that enabled him to be clear of the charge against him. In fact, some of you might be scared to death of the theological word apologetics. It's really not a scary word. It's a good word. I hope you do study theology. But apologetics is just part of theology that deals with defending your faith. Ladies, do you know what you believe? Do you know what you believe about Jesus, the gospel? Do you know how to defend your faith? When someone comes to you and asks you all those questions, do you know how to defend the faith? That's apologetics. That's what Peter's saying. Be ready to give a defense of your faith and we should all be ready when people come and ask us questions. Paul says in Acts 22, one, brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now and then he gives a defense of his faith. Now, Peter says this defending of our faith would be to anyone who asks or inquires about it. Now, this doesn't mean that I only share, I know some of you are hoping this too. Oh, I only have to share the gospel with those that come and ask me. No, that's not what it says. But you should be ready if they come and ask you, right? Because if that's only what it meant, then we'd have to negate the Great Commission, right? Which says go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. So you're not off the hook. We all have to be ready at all times. Now, I will say this, especially in this hostile world we live in, this needs to be said. We do marry this with what Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount. Do not cast your pearls before swine. Do not give holy things to dogs. With dogs, least they turn upon you and lacerate you. And so when you're out there and you're sharing the gospel with people that hate Christ and hate Christians and they start getting angry and Jesus says don't stop it unless you like to be lacerated, then you go right ahead and keep on doing it. And so we walk in wisdom, right? Remember when Jesus sent the disciples out, what did he said? Be wise as a serpent, harmless as a dove. And so ladies, as we give a defense of our faith, we need to walk in wisdom and we're gonna see some other way, things that we must do. But ladies, we must be ready when the opportunity comes. We must be ready to open our mouths and share the gospel. When the time comes, we should be ready to share the hope that is within us. In fact, the Greek word here, the hope that is within you is literally the inn you hope, I love that. The inn you hope. In fact, that's how Peter started this letter in 1 Peter 1-3, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is according to his abundant mercy has begotten us into a living hope, right? By the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Peter says you've been blessed. Your readers have been blessed. You are born again. You have that living hope within you. Now go share that. Go share that hope with others. Ladies, look out. I mean, I've been out to a few places in Florida just in the 24 hours I've been there. There is no hope on people's faces. They are terrified. They're scared. They're sad. They're depressed. They're suicidal, right? You know, suicide has gone up 20% since COVID-19? 20%. You've been blessed. God has saved you. Now go out and share that hope even with a mask on if you have to share the hope. It's a glorious hope, right? Grant salvation and hope of future glory. So Peter is admonishing them, go and share that hope. And ladies, if you don't know how to share, I'll talk about that in just a little bit, but we need to be able to defend the blessed gospel. Now, Peter goes on with three attitudes that should accompany our defense of the truth, and they are not arrogance, aggressiveness, and abrasiveness, okay? As one man said, we are not prosecuting attorneys. We are defending the faith. We are not winning an argument. We're winning souls, right? Ladies, the first attitude we must have is meekness, and this is the third way in which we should walk in wisdom before the world. We must have a spirit of meekness. We must have a spirit of meekness. This means we must be gentle. We must be humble. Paul says to Timothy and second Timothy, the servant of the Lord must not quarrel, must not quarrel, but be gentle to all, able to teach patient in humility, correcting those who are in opposition. Do you know why? So that they might be recovered from the snare of the devil who has taken them captive by his will. Ladies, when we share the gospel, we must be in meekness, humility. Be strong in your sharing, but have strength under control. Consider yourself. Do you not remember what you were like before Christ? That should make you meek in your gospel presentation. Realize your frailty. Realize that you too were unworthy to be saved, right? Realize, except for the grace of God, you would be out on the streets rioting too, and tearing down all the statues, right? And then going into people's home and gunning them down as we're seeing more and more. Ladies, you were in wickedness. You were in darkness too. And so you should have meekness as you share the gospel. In fact, it's the same word that Peter uses about the wife who's married to an unbeliever. She is not to preach at him, she's not to nag at him, but she's to win him with what? A spirit of meekness, strength under control. Well, the second attitude we should have as we share the gospel, and the fourth key to walking wisely in this world is we must have a spirit of fear, Peter says, a spirit of fear. Now this is not fear of man, otherwise that would be a contradiction, right? Of what he just said, don't be afraid of them. But it is a fear or a reverence of God when we share the gospel. Ladies, when you share the gospel, do you realize God is listening to your gospel presentation? He sees all, he hears all, and because of that, there should be a seriousness when we're sharing the gospel, right? Reverential fear. We don't wanna say anything that's inaccurate. We don't want to misrepresent the gospel. We don't want to present a cheap grace gospel, right? We wanna present the gospel in all of its fullness. God is listening to our presentation. Keep that before your mind. Martin Luther says, then must you not answer with proud words and bring out the matter with a defiance and with violence as if you would tear up trees. But with fear and lowliness as if you stood before God's tribunal, so must you stand in fear. Do not rest on your own strength, but on the word and the promise of Christ, end of quote. You know it's possible that as Peter's writing this, don't be afraid. You remember he failed in this, remember in Matthew 26? He denied the Lord three times so much so, it says he cursed. I don't know what swear words he used. I don't know what were the swear words back then. But he cursed and denied him with an oath. I don't even know this man. Are you kidding me? I don't know him. And so Peter's probably remembering this as he's writing. He certainly wasn't gentle. He wasn't respectful. He wasn't meek. And he didn't share in a spirit of humility. Peter failed, right? He failed in this point. And he says, don't be afraid. Well, the third attitude that should accompany our defense of the faith and the fifth way to walk in wisdom in this world is found in verse 16. He says, have a good conscience that when they defame you as an evildoer, those who revile your good conduct in Christ will be ashamed. Ladies, this is the fifth way to walk in wisdom before the world. You must have a good conscience before God and others. You must have a good conscience before God and others. Now you might say, well, Susan, what is a conscience? What is my conscience? Your conscience is that internal judge that witnesses to you and lets you know whether you're doing good or evil. It's that, you know, it says, uh-uh, you shouldn't be doing that. That's the wrong thing to do. A good conscience will know right from wrong. It will obey by acting on the good. Remember what Paul said? I strive to have a good conscience before God and before men. I wanna keep short accounts with God and with men. Ladies, if you have a good conscience, especially when you're undergoing persecution, you can have courage. Why? Because you know you're right with God and men. In fact, I imagine many believers, there are some believers right now that are very fearful of dying with COVID-19 and I really believe it's because they don't have a clear conscience. They don't have a clear conscience. If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear, right? The same as you share the gospel. How can you go out and share the gospel if your conscience is defiled? Or if you know you have ought with someone in your heart, you're hating your brother in your heart, you haven't reconciled with someone or you've sinned against the Lord and you haven't confessed that and repented that of that sin, it's very difficult to go out and share the gospel, right? When we have a guilty or defiled conscience, it drains our energies. We cannot be bold for Christ. You know why? Because we know we cannot preach what we do not practice, right? And so ladies, we need to have a clear conscience before the world. Profession without practice has no weight. Now why should we have a good conscience and a meek and reverent spirit when defending the faith? Well, Peter says that when they defame you as evil doers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. In fact, the word for ashamed here means to blush or to be disgraced. Peter says, you know, even they're defaming you, even though they're slandering you, even though they're calling you evil doers, they're gonna look at your good conduct and they're gonna be ashamed. They're gonna blush at it. So ladies, the sixth manner in which we must walk in wisdom before the world is this. We must have good conduct before others. We must have good conduct towards others. Ladies, when a Christian's conduct or behavior is meek, reverent, when their conscience is clear and good, then the unbeliever is put to shame by their own slander, their own slander. They will come to see that they were wrong regarding your character and they will be ashamed and perhaps see that Christ is indeed who he says he is and they will repent and be saved. Well, Peter ends this section with these words. For it is better if the will of God be so that you suffer for doing good than for doing evil. Peter says it's better. It's better if the will of God be so, in fact it's a probability in the Greek, a possibility that the will of God is that you will suffer. Peter says it's better if the will of God be so to suffer for doing good than to doing evil. You know, here's proof right here. Where I come from Tulsa, Oklahoma, they tell me, because I live in the heresy capital of the world, it's not God's will for us to ever suffer. I'm like, well, what do you do with this verse? My Bible says for it's better if the will of God to suffer for doing good than for doing evil, right? I don't know how they interpret this verse, but I'm sure they do some spiritual gymnastics and also all those who live godly in Christ Jesus. Well, what? Suffer, persecution. Let's add that word. We will suffer persecution. In fact, later on in 1 Peter 419, Peter says this, therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls unto him as unto a faithful creator. So right there he says it's the will of God for us to suffer. In fact, Paul tells us in Philippians 1.29, it is given unto you on the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on his name, but to suffer. It's a gift. Did you ask for that this year for your birthday? You know, I want suffering, honey. Could you give me some suffering? In fact, I've talked to a couple of you out in the lobby asking you how your year was. How's it been since I was here? Two women already said it's been rough. There's been a lot of hardship, trial, suffering, right? But one of the ladies I said, but I bet you've grown a lot. She said, oh yeah, grown a lot in the Lord through the suffering, right? Suffering draws us close to the Lord. So it's a gift. Ladies embrace it, it's a gift. So as we share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost and hostile world, we can count on the fact that most will not accept, they'll reject the gospel, and that's gonna cause suffering for us. But ladies, we can take courage in the fact that many have gone before us, including the apostle Peter, who suffered and even lost his life for sharing the gospel. Remember, he was crucified upside down because he didn't feel worthy to be crucified like his Lord. So ladies, it's better to suffer persecution from men by doing what is good, by living right, by sharing your faith boldly and clearly than to encounter the judgment of God by doing wrong, by living unrighteous, by being ashamed of the gospel, even in a hostile world. In fact, some of the suffering might be loss of your job, loss of friends, ridicule, persecution. But as one of my mentors said to me many years ago, Susan, you will never regret doing what is right, but you will always regret doing what's wrong. And she's right, she still is right. So my friend, are you walking in wisdom in this world? Is the way you walk making an impact on your world? Do people ask you, what is different about you? Why are you so happy? Why are you so positive? Why aren't you fearful? Remember, these readers had a bigger challenge than you and I as they were undergoing tremendous suffering which would make these six areas a little more challenging for them. Nevertheless, if you wanna make an impact on your society for the gospel of Jesus Christ, you must walk in these six ways to be effective. Number one, Christ must have first place in your heart. Is Christ number one in your heart? If not, who is? What is? It might be a material thing. It might not be a person, it might be a thing. Have you yourself embraced Him as Lord and Savior? Has the gospel made a radical impact in your life? Does Christ have first place in your home, your marriage, your friendships, your time, your activities? If He does, it will make an impact on the unbelieving world. They'll see you're different. Number two, we must always be ready to give a defense of our faith. Do you know how to share the gospel in a convincing and clear manner? If not, what's keeping you from getting prepared? Find somebody that knows how to do it. Get involved in some kind of program, the way of the master evangelism explosion. Tell the truth by Will Metzger. Go with someone to the park, to the mall, wherever people are and share the gospel. By the way, when's the last time you shared the gospel? Number three, you must have a spirit of meekness as you share. As you share the gospel, do you come across as arrogant and aggressive? Or are you gentle and humble as you share? If I asked the last person that you shared your faith with, what would they tell me? Also, meekness would include everyday living. Ladies, the world's watching the believers. And I'm afraid they are seeing very little humility among us. In fact, just get on social media. Don't get on social media. But if you have social media, there's very little meekness going around. It's embarrassing, it's embarrassing. Number four, you must have a spirit of reverence. When you share your faith, are you aware of God's awesome presence with you and do you share in a reverent manner, realizing his eye is watching and his ear is hearing all you say and do, even the motives of why you're sharing the gospel? This would include your daily walk before God and others. Do you look at God as the man upstairs? Are you so familiar with the word of God that you know his marvelous attributes and that he is God is worthy to be revered? Number five, you must have a good conscience before God and others. Is your conscience clear as you walk in wisdom in this world? Is there anyone with whom you need to clear up a matter with? Somebody you need to reconcile with. Do you have unconfessed sin in your life that you need to get right with God? Ladies, this reason here alone may be perhaps why the Lord doesn't use us in sharing the gospel because we live in an age where sin is minimized and many of us have quenched and I'm afraid grieve the Holy Spirit of God. Our conscience are desensitized to sin. You know, holy living is really archaic. It really is. You think about it, you're looked at as an oddball but that's okay, right? Number six, we must have good behavior towards the lost world. Do unbelievers look at your life and see a difference in how you behave? Is your life any different than theirs? How does the lost world see you living in the workplace at the grocery store, the doctor's office, your child's school traffic? If you and I wanna make an impact on our lost world and if we want to expand the kingdom of God by fulfilling the Great Commission, we must maintain the highest standard of Christian living and seize every opportunity to witness and we must do it God's way, not our way. We must have genuine faith ourselves. We must be ready to defend the faith. We must share with meekness, fear and a good conscience and we must have holy conduct and we must be ready to suffer for the gospel if need be. My friend, Christians are making an impact in the world but I'm afraid often it's a negative one. But you and I have an opportunity right now and what an opportunity we have to change that, that negative influence by determining with the grace of God to walk in wisdom by walking in these six ways. Will you walk in wisdom before the world? I pray you will, let's pray. Father in heaven, we are so thankful that we know you. We are so thankful that we can walk in wisdom in this world, we can walk in love, we can walk with no fear. We are so thankful Lord that you have allowed the recent events in our world. They're not pleasant but they certainly have given us opportunities to share our faith with those who are without Christ. And so Father I pray we would watch how we're walking. I pray we would be wise as serpents, harmless as doves especially before unbelievers who are watching us. They know we're Christians, they know we're to be different. So may we not look like them, may we be different and may our lives so impress them with godliness and holy living that they will come and say, I want what you have, it's real, I see it's real and I want to know how to be saved. So Father we would pray, we pray that you would give us the grace that we need for living in these days. Lord we don't know what's gonna happen, we have no idea, I'm thankful that you do. And Lord may we echo with Paul to live as Christ, to die as gain and may we rejoice in this fact that we know you, the living God. In Christ's name I pray, amen.