I Peter 1:13-15  "Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, as obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but be you holy yourselves also in all your behavior." 

Introduction: It could very well be that this one little verse will ignite the minds, the wills of some of you who are studying with me.  I am sure of one thing and that is that this little verse is one of the most neglected truths in the arsenal of the believer.  Will you just stop and read and study with me as we look at this verse and the implications for our life as believers.  Peter is telling these people who had lost their homes, their jobs, their security, to stop and do something with their minds.  Strange advice for people in such a situation. Again,there is no quick, subjective, easy, painless solution.

I. THE MENTAL ATTITUDE ASPECT OF HOLINESS    1:13

                A. THERE IS FIRST THE ILLUSTRATION OF A  RIGHT ATTITUDE:  V. 13

                                l.  “wherefore” (wherefore in the light of what we have taught you previously, here is what we ought to do as believers.)

                                2. “gird up.” ( The New English Bible: “you must therefore be like men stripped for action, perfectly self controlled.”]  This is an oriental picture of a long, flowing robe.  The robe had to be bound up if you were going to move without falling.      

                                                                1. How important is the word GIRD in the New Testament?

                                                                                a. Ephesians 6:14...”stand firm therefore, having GIRDED your loins with truth.” [Paul is dealing with the believer and his ability to withstand the attacks of the devil.]  He uses the little word GIRD..... it must be an important word for the believer.

                                                                .

                                                                2. Two scriptures that help to explain:

                                                                                a. Exodus 12:11....here it  used of PREPARATION for activity of some kind.  Israel was getting ready to move out of Egypt.

                                                                                b. John 13:4....here it is an illustration of getting ready to perform a WORK. Jesus was getting ready to wash the deciples feet.                                         

                                                                 3. Get the order?

                                                                                a. The binding up of the mind comes before the holy behavior attitude of v. 15.  ATTITUDE is first,   DOING is after BEING...Attitude must precede CONDUCT.  Note v. 6 which says "In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials." In the light of v. 6, the girding up of the mind is of paramount importance, since our natural tendency is to  “fall apart"  when trials come into our lives.

                                                                4. Some comments and observations about believers:

                                                                                l. first, if you were in the midst of testing, COULD YOU PULL YOUR MIND TOGETHER? (the fact that you cannot Biblically pull yout minds together when in a crisis, is also the reason you run to the pastor's office.  There is nothing wrong with this, but in some cases, it is unnecessary. It could well be that many reading this little study have NO  ability whatsoever to control  their minds.  If you cannot control your mind, then of course, you could not “pull your mind together.”

                                                                                2. second, if you could “pull your mind together” then with WHAT would you pull your mind together?  (in other words, what would the content be like) What Biblical content have you really learned in the last year that you could fall back on and use to actually GIRD UP YOUR MIND???  I must be candid with you in saying that spiritual illiteracy is sweeping the church. What have you personally learned from His Word in the last week that would enable you to pull your mind together in a crisis?  Do you have any consistent study habits in your life from His Word that would prepare you if  the doctor told you, you have a terminal illness, or you lost your job or your home or your spouse or a child?    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         3. third, this is an observation....the church is filled with subjective or emotional Christians. There really is little demand in the average evangelical church for a disciplined Christian with a disciplined Christian mind.  (because we no longer require input of the word each day as requirement for Christian living....we really do not think DAILY INPUT IS THAT NECESSARY.) We go to church today for a “spiritual fix” that we hope will keep us until the next Sunday or the next crisis. Many church services are nothing more than a “band aid” approach to our problems.   

                B. THERE IS THE DEFINITION OF A RIGHT ATTITUDE:   “be sober.”

                                l. meaning of the word, “be sober.”  [this little word means to be “self controlled’ and to be “calm” and to be “balanced.”  Also, I must mention that this little phrase “be sober” is in present tense, which means that we are to be calm, self controlled ALL THE TIME. A person who is SOBER MINDED is a person who has freedom from every form of mental drunkenness, excess, rashness.

                                2. How important is the word SOBER for the believer?

                                                a. Romans 12:3  “I say through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think SOBERLY.”    

                                                b. I Thess. 5:6...”Let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.”  [note also v. 8]

                                                c. II Tim. 4:5...”But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship....”

                                                d. Titus 2:6....”young men likewise exhorted to be sober minded.”

                                                e. I Peter 4:7  “But the end of all things is at hand; be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer.”

                                                f. I Peter 5:8...”Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

                                                                              1. It is obvious that being SOBER is quite a theme with the Holy Spirit.  Notice also the several other qualities that are connected with being sober minded....such as “alertness,” “enduring hardship,” “prayer” “vigilance.”

                                                                              2. Please remember:  Being sober minded is not just some decision of the will, but it begins with the GIRDING UP OF THE MIND.  Sober mindedness is the result of that discipline of GIRDING up the mind.  Then you have soberness and then notice all of the other qualities associated with soberness.  [REALLY, KIND OF A CHAIN REACTION]

                C.THERE IS THE REQUIREMENT FOR A RIGHT ATTITUDE:   “hope to the end.”

                                l. again, the order is most important:   the activity of the mind comes first. The organ of THOUGHT is critical in production of Hope.  How many disappointments have you had when your HOPE WAS IN THE LORD?  Notice again, that there is no mention about the “removal” of these believers problems.  Notice the difference in the method  Peter is using to cope with their trials  and those on the average Christian television program.  Their solution is always REMOVAL OF THE PROBLEM. 

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

1. You must re read v. 13 and note how much is pending on the one little phrase, “gird up the loins of your mind.”  There is no ability to be “sober” (or calm or balanced or collected) without the quality of being able to “pull the mind together.”  The Hope aspect in the latter part of v. 13 is tied into the “girded mind”, and then in v. 15 holiness of conduct is a direct result of nothing less than a “girded mind.”  All of these little words are joined, tied, connected with one another. GIRD is connected to SOBER and sober is connected to HOPE and the Hope is connected to the HOLINESS of v. 15. 

2. Remember: the Unbelted Mind is as much of a nuisance as was the Unbelted Robe.  We have a church filled with people with UNBELTED MINDS.  In a time of crisis, the average Christian cannot do any “spiritual recalling,” and if called to “gird up their minds” they would have little Biblical content with which to gird the mind.  (Subjective preaching, observation preaching, lesson preaching, exhortation preaching leaves you with little content with which to gird up the mind in time of crisis.)

3. I hate to say it, but believe it to be true in my own life...that there is a far more intimate connection between LOOSE THINKING and LOOSE LIVING than we concede.  (Do you really believe you would have any ‘real” problem with loose living as a believer if you were daily, weekly “girding up the loins of your mind” with Biblical truth?) I will tell you one thing for sure....it is nearly impossible to live LOOSE when your HEAD IS GIRDED WITH TRUTH. In fact, I would go so far as to say it would be IMPOSSIBLE.  

4. By the way, Peter  who instructed us about the BELTED MIND was one who never made any pretension to scholarship....so don’t think for a minute that this study is dealing with I.Q. I would mention that in many evangelical churches that the emotional, subjective, and entertainment side of preaching has become so popular,  you would think we were in the business of the MINI MIND....(How much of the Word do you hear each week to help you GIRD your mind?)

5. What can I do about this Ungirded Mind?  Well, you can do what many of us have begun to do which is to start with the TELEVISION SET.  Begin tonight to “gird up your mind” as it relates to what you look at.  I promise that you will have a short evening of television.  There are just too many programs that will have to go unseen if you gird the mind up spiritually. Then you can continue by girding up the mind as to what you read, what you listen to musically.  I would think that within two weeks, you will begin to see some progress.  Of course, you will then have much more time for study of and meditation on the Word of God. 

6. Remember those three “sweat” words in v. 13.  They are: GIRD, SOBER, FIX.  All three of these words involve the use of discipline, input of time, they are all hard, difficult, nothing instant about any of these three words.  They really are “sweat” words for the believer.  If they are included in your daily life, they will completely change your life spiritually.  In case you still think I am exagerating, then try “fixing your mind” on His Word for thirty minutes.