1 Peter 1:13-16

              We are going to continue on with our 1 Peter study today. We will be covering verse 13 today.

 

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1Pe 1:4  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

1Pe 1:5  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1Pe 1:6  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

1Pe 1:7  so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:8  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

1Pe 1:9  obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1Pe 1:10  Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,

1Pe 1:11  inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

1Pe 1:12  It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

1Pe 1:13  Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

 

 

 

 

          The first thing that I would like you to notice is that it starts with the word “Therefore” Peter is about to go from indicative to imperative and this is the transition word. The first 12 verses have been about facts. Who we are, Who Christ is, and who are we in Christ and what our inheritance is and how great it is and how wonderful is our God that he would offer His son for our sacrifice. Remember verses 3 through 12 are a result of Peter saying at the beginning of verse 3 that we are to bless God. Keep in mind that this letter was primarily written to Christians scattered across the land who were suffering persecution for believing in Christ as their savior. It was an encouragement, a reminder of why their suffering is worth it.

          So, therefore or because you have this reminder of how wonderful your salvation is and how wonderful your savior is, remember it is so great that angels long to look at it, Peter is saying now in light of those truths now go live it out. This is a classic example of indicative and imperative. What you believe should manifest itself in your behavior.

          I put in a bid on a large commercial job about two weeks ago. Well, the call came about a week and a half ago from the assistant of the owner of the building and told me that I had won the bid, the job was mine. So because I believed that truth, I immediately began to act on it. I called my distributor and ordered the equipment that I needed. I made sure that I had lined up the workers that I needed for those days and I blocked those days off from our schedule. I knew it to be a truth so I didn’t say “I’ll wait until the day of the install to order the equipment” because then it would have been too late because it takes 3 to 5 days to get the equipment in.

          If you are waiting for something to happen today before you will totally surrender to the obedience of God then I would like to caution you that in a twinkling of an eye it can be too late. We are called to, as it is drilled into us on all these commercials that we see to, “Act Now”

          Maybe you’re saying, how do I do that? I don’t know what to do. Well Peter thought you might say that so he tells you.

 

          The next phrase is…preparing your minds for action. KJV uses the phrase “gird up the loins of your mind.”

 

In Israel an ordinary person would wear a long, sleeveless shirt of linen or wool that reached to the knees or ankles. Over this a large fabric like a poncho might be worn, although this poncho would be laid aside for work. The shirt was worn long for ceremonial occasions or when visiting at the local market but for most duties, such as work or war, it was tucked up into a belt at the waist to leave the legs free and unrestricted

This example by Peter is to show the needful preparation for the intense conflict to come. Whether work or war, girding of the loins gives a picture of courage and resolve that is necessary for the task. It is sort of a “rolling up the sleeves” moment.

But Peter here is telling us to gird up the loins of our mind, or to prepare our mind. We are to have our thinking in order with no entangling doubts, fears, or reservations. Our mind should be prepared to act without hesitation.

We see the same command from Christ in Luke.

Luk 12:35  "Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,

Luk 12:36  and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks.

Luk 12:37  Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.

Luk 12:38  If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!

Luk 12:39  But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into.

Luk 12:40  You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

 

This is Spurgeon’s commentary on this phrase…

These are days of great looseness; everywhere I see great laxity of doctrinal belief, and gross carelessness in religious practice. Christian people are doing to-day what their forefathers would have loathed. Multitudes of professors are but very little different from worldlings. Men’s religion seems to hang loosely about them, as if it did not fit them: the wonder is that it does not drop off from them. Men are so little braced up as to conscientious conviction and vigorous resolve, that they easily go to pieces if assailed by error or temptation. The teaching necessary for to-day is this: “Gird up the loins of your mind,” brace yourselves up; pull yourselves together; be firm, compact, consistent, determined. Do not be like quicksilver, which keeps on dissolving and running into fractions; do not fritter away life upon trifles, but live to purpose, with undivided heart, and decided resolution." (Spurgeon, C H: A Seasonable Exhortation)

          It is interesting to me that something written so long ago could have so much truth and relevance for today. A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD’S-DAY MORNING, JULY 11, 1886,

 

     The next phrase is…Be sober minded

 

          The intent here is to “make sure you keep your faculties fully operational.” This is not just a command to not get drunk, stay sober like you’re dad or pastor would say. It would include that, but it is much, much more than that. This is calling us to be free from every form of mental and/or spiritual “drunkenness”, from excess, improper passions, rashness and confusion. We should be well balanced and self-controlled, and here is the tough one for you ladies, without undue emotion and panic.

          This is written in a present tense. Continually we should be making the choice to be watchful, calm, temperate and circumspect. Remember that in order to do this we had to gird up our loins; this is going to be hard work, even like going into battle. Peter implies alertness and a proper evaluation of circumstances because your mind isn’t clouded with intoxicating influences that are so prevalent in our old nature and is just barely under the surface for some of us waiting for an excuse to rear its ugly head. Later on in this same letter from Peter in chapter 5 verse 8 he writes…

 

1Pe 5:8  Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

 

          There will always be some new fad. Some new religion that tickles the weak and immature’s fancy. I have seen some come and go. I have seen some come and become huge mega churches. Sadly, it is because people were not prepared, vigilant and sober and the adversary saw his opening and took it.

          Paul even warns people against himself and says that even if he tells of a different gospel than what he has written and preached about than don’t believe it.

 

Spurgeon…

Be sober—quit yourselves like men that have their wits about them. A very necessary word is this in times when everybody seems excited and some are so bewildered that they do not know their head from their heels! Crowds are prepared

to follow any kind of foolery, whatever it may be, as long as it is advocated by clever men and is made to tickle their fancy. 

 

Without sobriety vigilance and preparation is impossible.  

 

 

          Now we get to the how part. Being prepared and sober minded is our goal but how do we do that. We know that we must be otherwise we will be thrown around by every wind of doctrine. We have all tried at one point or another to just pull up our bootstraps so to speak and we have all failed at one point or another. Our Christianity is not about our works, it is not about how disciplined I can be, it is not about our abilities. It is about Christ and His saving grace. It is recognizing our extent of our depravity and the extent of His glory. The next phrase in verse 14 is…

 

…set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

          Many of us, including myself at times would have to confess that our hope is not always in the right place. If you recall I touched on this a couple of weeks ago. Our hope is lacking usually because we are hoping in the wrong things; Things that perish and will let us down. We see things as dark and dismal; we are full of fear and are quick to despair. Peter knew this and it is why he explains to us what we should set our hope on. Remember he was writing this to people cast out of their own land suffering persecution. He knew there outlook on life could be pretty bleak.

          It is true that many of us could be going through some terrible times and things appear and feel like there is no hope. You can’t see any light at the end of the tunnel. But, I would challenge you that you cannot see the light because you are looking in the wrong direction. If you focus your sight on the wall of the tunnel, you will never be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Does that mean that the light does not exist? Of course not. The light is just as bright as ever but you are looking in the wrong direction to see it. Have you prepared your mind to see the light? Are you staying sober and not spinning around in circles trying to figure and “easy” way out? If you are prepared and are sober and vigilant then you will be looking in the right direction and you will see that the light was there all the time. We must hope and not fear and be confident in God’s word and then if the worst comes it does not cause you to sway and wander. Your hope is in God and His grace that brought you to Him and in His grace that will bring you home.

 

 

So how are we to prepare our minds and be sober? Focus on our Savior and His grace that He has lavished on us. How do you do that? Study His words, communicate with Him in prayer, fellowship with people who are of like mind who will hold us accountable. Grow to love your Lord and Savior so much that there is nothing that you would rather do but to Praise, bless and honor Him for who He is and what He has done.

:Spurgeon…

Put these three exhortations into one—pull yourselves together, be steady, and be hopeful. There you have the practical run of the text. I desire earnestly that, by God’s Spirit, we may carry it into practice from this day on and always.

 

 

1 Peter 1:10-12

               We are continuing on with 1 Peter chapter 1. We will cover verses 10 – 12 today, but we will start reading from verse 3 to remind us of the context of the scripture.

 

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1Pe 1:4  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

1Pe 1:5  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1Pe 1:6  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

1Pe 1:7  so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:8  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

1Pe 1:9  obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

1Pe 1:10  Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,

1Pe 1:11  inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.

1Pe 1:12  It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

 

 

As you may recall last time I spoke we covered verses 6 through 9 about how faith is considered more valuable than gold. We looked briefly at the gold refining process and how faith increases in purification and gold decreases as it is purified. It was a continued encouragement from Peter that our trials can be for our benefit and that we are to look to our full and final salvation.

 

          A question that I would ask you today is… Is that enough for you? Is the promise of a full and final salvation enough for you to endure and persevere even when things seem at their worst?

There have been many times in my life that if I were to be honest I would have to say no. My joy and hope has not always been in my salvation and even still if I allow my flesh to control my body I still struggle in that area. Praise God, by His grace, I struggle much less. But, none the less, I still find myself from time to time looking to my family or my wife or my job or my possessions or even my vacations for my hope and joy. Not that these things, in themselves are bad. But I look in hope to them as a requirement for my joy. There are even times when I feel like I have no hope and no joy. I disregard the wonderfulness of my salvation and what salvation really is and how if understood properly is everything that we need to overcome adversities.

          As Christians what should give us our hope and joy of course is our relationship with Christ and our hope of our full and final salvation. Out of this hope and joy it can and will affect all of those other areas in a positive way, but only if Christ is the center and the focal point. Jesus is the foundation, or as He is described as the chief cornerstone, which if that stone is removed the building will crumble. But as long as He remains as the foundation the rest can be torn down and rebuilt or improved upon repeatedly.

          Sadly, there are many Christians who have never really realized the splendor and glory of their salvation. They just see salvation as that necessary thing to gain access into heaven and it stops there. Salvation, they will say, is important but they don’t see their relationship with Christ as their cornerstone or as being their hope and joy both now and when we experience our full and final salvation.

 

          If we can recall Peter has explained to us how God works in us to increase our faith through our suffering and make Christ not just another god but THE GOD the creator and sustainer of our salvation. God does this through the trials and challenges in our lives. When our chips are the lowest, so to speak, we as Christians should be able to focus more clearly on what really matters. We typically begin to consider what am I living for? It forces us to contemplate that age old question of “What is life all about?” Those that are on death row or those with a terminal illness often become born again on their last days. Why? Because they have come to a point where they have to face the truth of their sins and the punishment becomes more “real”.  Of course those that don’t know Christ as their savior or refuse to believe, have no hope and will usually medicate themselves with drugs or things of the like so that they don’t have to face the truth of where their life is leading them.

 

          Peter was writing to people enduring affliction in a strange land, in some cases suffering persecution. I am sure that some of them wondered at times, if they didn’t I am sure that I would have wondered…Is it really worth it? Peter’s encouragement, and mine to you today is to look beyond your suffering to a salvation that is so great that it is indescribable. A salvation so great that the prophets of old struggled to understand and that which angels long to look as our text says. It is worth it!

          Peter spends some time trying to show us the greatness and the certainty of our full and final salvation and the joy that should give us now in the midst of our trials. How wonderful it is to have promised to us something so wonderful that even the wise prophets and angels have not fully grasped.

          All of us would agree that we are to live the example that Christ was for us. Not that we can be perfect as He was, but our end goal that we strive for should be holiness. Just as Christ suffered on earth and then was glorified, so we also should expect to suffer for His sake with anticipation of the glory ahead of us. If we put all of our weight on the cornerstone knowing that it cannot fail, then we can rest in Him and joyfully endure trials, knowing that no wind, rain, fire or flood can destroy our position and future in Christ.

 

                   Is this hope of salvation really worth it? I want us to look a little deeper into our salvation. If we need to return to the joy of our salvation as Psalm 51 says then we should understand why His salvation for us is so significant.

 

          As we look at the text we are going to see five ways that salvation is significant.

The first that we see is salvation is significant because it points to God’s grace.

As we grow in Christ we see more and more how desperately we need a savior. We see ourselves as more and more deserving of punishment and hell which shows us how incredible a God we serve that made a way for us to not serve the sentence that we deserved. Like the pendulum that JD talks about the more I see my sin as an atrocity to God the more I am amazed and see the love of God in His provision for forgiveness. So salvation is so significant because it shows God’s grace to me and to others. There is hope for all sinners.

 

          Salvation is so significant because it points to God’s longevity and security. It has stood the test of time.

We discussed last week about the fact that our salvation was predestined before we were even born. He offers a salvation so significant that even these great men of old spent their lives looking for it, studying it. We have seen and heard of people trying to disprove Christianity almost since the beginning of time. Many people question God when a national type disaster happens. How could God allow something like this to happen? Perhaps God does not even exist. What if I am suffering for nothing? Peter is reassuring us that salvation is so significant that it is rooted in prophesies that were made hundreds of years before Christ ever came. The prophets may not even have understood what they were writing about, but they were accurately predicting what we now call the past. Salvation is significant because it has withstood the times and scrutiny of a depraved society.

 

          Salvation is so significant because it points to God’s guidance and comfort. Salvation is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us.

 It is our comfort and our instruction, in us to cause us to grow in sanctification and obedience. Just as the Bible was penned by men filled with the Holy Spirit so are we who are in Christ today. The same Holy Spirit that was the divine inspiration of the writing of scripture is in you prompting you to preach the gospel so that God will be revealed to all men. Salvation is significant because it allows the Holy Spirit to work within us.

 

          Salvation is so significant because it points to Gods magnificence, so magnificent that angels long to look at it.

 Many people think of angels as gods but this proves that they are not. They obviously know a lot about God; they are in His presence and sent out to do His will. They have tremendous power and authority and yet even the angels long to have the privilege that we have in our salvation. Salvation is significant because it shows God’s magnificence.

 

          Most importantly, salvation is so great because it points to God’s son, Jesus Christ, and how glorious of a Savior He is.

Our salvation is a tangible proof that Jesus is real, that the word of God is real. We can see in the text that this is all about Christ. Our salvation is the fruit of Christ’s work, from the beginning of time to His time on the earth, His dying on the cross for our sins, His resurrection and His rising up to heaven, even His return to earth to gather His saints. Our salvation is significant because it portrays the glory of Christ.

 

 

          Peter is encouraging us that our salvation is so great that whatever we must endure for Christ’s sake is absolutely worth it. We may have trials and hardships in this life but we can draw strength on our hope and joy of our salvation, both, our salvation now and our full and final salvation. Have you ever had a moment where you just saw how magnificent God was and been so grateful for your salvation that you couldn’t hardly do anything but weep? Not out of sadness but out of an awe and reverence for God with a solemn joy that you can’t even explain. We all need to be searching for that. We have incredible strength to endure and press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

          I pray that today you would find a refreshing in your soul as you grow in experiencing the joy of your salvation. I pray that you would find your salvation “worth it” remembering how significant your salvation really is.

1 Peter 1:6-9

              We are continuing on with our study of 1 Peter this week. We will be covering verses 6 through 9 but we will read verses 3 through 9 to keep the context fresh in our minds.

 

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1Pe 1:4  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

1Pe 1:5  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1Pe 1:6  In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,

1Pe 1:7  so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:8  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

1Pe 1:9  obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

 

          As you may recall I spoke last time about first that Peter has challenged us to bless God even in the midst of our trials. Then I spoke about the Lord’s worthiness to be praised in spite of our condition, God is still God and worthy to be praised. He has given us a hope beyond this World of a salvation that has yet to be revealed to us. But when it is revealed…we will like it!

          Here, we see Peter continuing on in much the same manner starting in verse 6 but with more detail than the previous verses. Peter reminds us again that we have a reason to rejoice. Our hope is in the promise, guarded by God Himself, of a full and final salvation.

          Peter then immediately lets them know that he knows that they are suffering trials. He is taking any excuses away from us to not praise God. He recognizes, God recognizes your difficulties, your trials and your challenges. But you are still called to bless and praise God anyway. Yes, this is difficult. No, I have not achieved this yet. I still tend to get all depressed and wallow in self-pity every time things are hard or challenging or I am suffering. I am not saying that when things are particularly challenging that we have to be all happy, clappy. But we should continue to be a witness for God in our attitude and actions and be able to still proclaim His mercy and love in the middle of those times.

          If we look at Paul’s writing in Romans, we can see that he is greatly distraught.

 

Rom 9:1  I am speaking the truth in Christ--I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit--

Rom 9:2  that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

Rom 9:3  For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

 

          Paul speaks of great sorrow and anguish. He is crying out for the salvation of loved ones. Can anyone here relate to that? Are there loved ones that you cry out to the Lord for? I have several that I don’t know if they are saved, they are not living like it. I can quickly become depressed and anxious about this and take my focus off God and put it on myself and what can I do to fix them. That is not my place, nor is it yours. God calls who He wills. There is nobody that is going to go to Hell because you or I did something wrong or didn’t do anything or did too much.

Eph 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

Eph 1:4  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

Eph 1:5  he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

Eph 1:6  to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

 

          As you can see, God has predestined us for adoption. If we look at the book of John it confirms this. One of my memory verses.

 

     Joh 1:12  But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Joh 1:13  who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

                    God can and does use His people to lead others to Christ, but if it is not you it will be someone else. God’s ultimate goal will be accomplished regardless of your obedience or disobedience. He is God after all and He does the calling. We are just to be faithful and obedient to Him and do what we are called to do. First, praise God in all that we do. Many times you don’t realize that people are watching how you react to circumstances. They are checking to see if what you have is real. If you are a fake a non-Christian will be the first to notice. Second we are to share the gospel, not shove it down their throat. Share… Share with them the love of Christ. If God is calling them they will respond. If God is not calling them at that time they will not respond. That doesn’t mean give up, it means trying to force someone or scare someone is not effective. When the fear subsides or the pressure is gone they will have, what I call, buyers remorse. They will regret their decision.

 

          We were talking about Paul being sorrowful and anguishing.

This is the same Paul who talks about in many places about joy. He writes in Romans 14 that the kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  In 2 Corinthians 7 he writes that he is overflowing with joy. One of the fruits of the Spirit that Paul lists in Galatians is joy.

So why or how can Paul be sorrowful and anguishing while at the same time have the joy that we are supposed to have? How are we, as Peter suggests, to rejoice in times of trials and difficulties?

          Let’s look at verses 7 through 9 and see if we can find any answers.

1Pe 1:7  so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

1Pe 1:8  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,

1Pe 1:9  obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

 

                   The trials that we face as Christians are meant to try our faith. In some cases trials are put purposely in your life for that single reason. Not always, it could be for someone else’s benefit or even just so that God’s ultimate plan will be full-filled. But it is never there for your destruction. We are persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down but not destroyed; Paul writes in 2 Corinthians. Actually to the contrary it is for our advantage.

                   Afflictions come for a test of our faith, to prove the value and strength of it. If you consider that our Christianity depends on faith, should we not embrace that which will strengthen it. If our faith is weak, our whole spiritual walk will be found wanting. Without faith, we have nothing. Let me just interject that faith is not something that you yourself create. You have faith because God gave you the gift of faith. Not because you gave all your money to a TV evangelist and then said I am going to have faith in God to pay my past due bills. Faith does not work like that. Your faith is given to you by God and he is refining it in you day by day.

          We see that Peter uses gold as an example of faith. Gold was the most valuable, pure, useful and durable of all the metals. So is faith to the Christian, and it will last until it brings you to heaven, that full and final salvation. But faith is even more precious than gold. To increase the value of both it requires purification, which is done by separation. It is the process of heating and melting so that the dross can be separated from the pure, making the pure more valuable and usable. But here is the big difference between gold and faith…As you remove the dross from the gold, the pure gold becomes less and less. But as faith is improved it becomes more and more! Gold does not increase in the fire but faith does. Eventually that gold will perish, faith never will because it is guarded and protected and given by God, the very sustainer of the universe.

          The writer of Hebrews says that we are running a race and that we should do it with endurance. As I chewed on these scriptures I was picturing a race, perhaps a marathon. I haven’t done much running in my life. I have done a lot of walking and hiking, but not much running, but I do know that to run you must be constantly conditioning your body. That is what trials do for our faith. It is conditioning us so that we can continue running the race. It encourages us every time we pass a mile marker. As we run that race there, of course, are people around us cheering us on and throwing water on us. Those are the fellow Christians that we should be surrounding ourselves with. And as we continue to run the race, as in all races, there is a finish line. You see the runner holding his arms out and reveling in the fact that he has completed the race. Even those that are not in first place are excited and joyous at the fact that they had the endurance and the conditioning to finish. The pain of exercise and the dedication to training were all worth it as they passed the finish line. Our finish line is our full and final salvation, the outcome of our faith.

 

          2 Timothy says…

                   2Ti 4:7  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

 

          We are just called to have perseverance. Keep our focus of Christ no matter what is what that means. The trophy for our perseverance is our full and final salvation.

 

Jas 1:2  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

Jas 1:3  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

Jas 1:4  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

 

 

1 Peter 1:3

1Pe 1:1  Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

1Pe 1:2  according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1Pe 1:4  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

1Pe 1:5  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

                   As you may recall last week we covered verses 1 and 2 and we learned a little about who Peter was and who he was writing to and why.  Peter wrote this epistle to people just like you and I; people who are servants of God, who have believed in Jesus and are in this world, perhaps enduring hardships, feeling like a stranger, but looking forward to a mansion just over the hilltop. Looking forward to a permanent place, where Jesus Himself, has prepared for us.

          But for now we are strangers in this world and the Jews that Peter was writing to were living in persecution, exiled to strange lands with people who were not like them. They were surrounded by people of different cultures, different religions, perhaps even different languages or dialects that they didn’t understand and even having idols that they worshipped. They had been stripped of their physical inheritance, their land and their homes.

           I shared with you last week that I recently took a vacation. We went to Quebec City in Canada. We were quick to realize that we were no longer in the states as making a simple purchase in a discount store quickly became a frustrating lack of communication between me and the cashier who spoke no English. A friendly lady behind us became a translator and we finally figured out that the store can’t accept an American debit card. When you are in a strange land even simple things can become a trial and a challenge. We had several small issues similar to that as we tried to order dinner at restaurants and things like that. But our real challenge came when we were stranded with a flat tire in an area that almost only spoke French. Trying to find a garage, use the phone and things like that were frustrating and my patience was tested. We finally made it to an open garage and thought we were well on our way to recovery but try to explain to someone who doesn’t speak a word of your language that you need a flat tire repaired. It is not as easy as it sounds. They were not exactly pleasant about the fact that I did not speak their language. Some people that we encountered actually showed disdain at us for not speaking French. I was quickly reminded of a statement that I hear often and have even said myself. If they can’t speak the language they should go home. That day I became much more tolerant and determined to not get so frustrated with my customers who speak Hindu or Spanish.

          These were Jews scattered in a land that was not their own and had to deal with the challenges that come with that, which included much more persecution than we may have encountered in Canada. We were able to have some fun with it and knew we were going back to the states in a few days. They were not. They were not there on vacation. They had lost their inheritance and were just trying to live a life pleasing to God and suffering persecution for it.

          So, it is interesting that immediately after Peter’s introduction to an epistle written for those who are going through such challenges that his next phrase is blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter here is not just offering a doxology to God. It is written more as an imperative. In the original the word “be” does not exist. So Peter is in essence saying… Bless God.

          Peter, knowing that he was writing to persecuted Christians, is telling them, or us, that we should be praising and adoring God. Peter is reminding them that they may have lost their worldly inheritance but they have gained a far better inheritance. Let me encourage you today that you may have given up your worldly inheritance. You may have no tangent possessions left in this World, but you have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. No matter how difficult this life is, no matter how much may have been taken away from you, wait patiently and praise God for the inheritance He has promised you.

          Let’s read our text again…

 

1Pe 1:3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope (we get to live this hope now!!) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (We would have no hope if it weren’t for Jesus, not just that He lived and died on the cross, but because He arose from the dead.)

1Pe 1:4  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,

1Pe 1:5  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

         

                   Let’s take a few minutes to talk about this inheritance. As verse 5 says…our salvation is our inheritance and it will be revealed in the last time. Perhaps you are saying to yourself…”Wait a minute; I thought I already had salvation. I was saved back in 1977, I remember the day. Let me give you a little example of what Peter was writing about.

                   I have a granddaughter; her name is Haleigh, who is almost 4 years old. She is smart as can be and even cuter than she is smart. Let’s say I have a million dollars in a bank account that is hers as an inheritance from Cindy and me. If I sat down and told her about it now she would have no idea what that meant. She wouldn’t even really understand what that much money could do. Her world is happy if she can get a chocolate milk and fries from McDonalds. Now as she begins to grow older she would begin to understand a little more about money and that having a lot is desirable. And as she becomes a young adult she is excited about the prospect of having a million dollars and has probably already figured out what she is going to spend it on. Maybe even secretly getting excited about Grammsy and PopPop getting older because she knows the time to receive her inheritance is drawing closer. But she doesn’t truly know what it will be like until that money is in her hands. It won’t be revealed until she actually receives the inheritance.

          Yes, we were saved, we are being saved and we will be saved, but as of right now we have only experienced the first two. As we grow up spiritually we begin to understand little by little what our inheritance really means. As we grow up and mature we begin to really understand that we are children of God and that the even though we can’t completely understand it now we begin to have faith that the inheritance is a real thing. It is something to be looked forward to, something to get excited about.

          Our inheritance is our full and final salvation that will be revealed in the last time.

                   The word salvation here means rescue or deliverance. We have not yet been fully rescued from this world. Our inheritance, our full and final salvation is us being delivered from the curse of the law. We have already been saved from the penalty of sin but we get to look forward to being saved from the power of sin, the presence of sin, from the temptation of sin, the grief of sin, the pain of sin, saved from all death, all punishment, all judgment and all wrath. We will be completely, fully, forever delivered from sin and judgment. That is our ultimate eternal inheritance. That is why we should be blessing the Lord as Peter is saying.

          Paul said in 1 Thessalonians that Jesus is who delivers us from the wrath to come. We are to look to the future for our joy and our hope; when we are united with our Lord and Savior sharing in the inheritance that is going to be even more than you can imagine.

Mat 25:34  Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

                   What an honor and reason to praise God. That was Peter’s goal. To encourage strangers in a strange land that they still have a reason to praise God. I don’t know about you but when things get rough, I have matured enough that I don’t blame God and can even pray to God for help, but I need a reminder from time to time that God is God and worthy of my praise no matter what.

My situation does not change who God is, or lessen His worthiness for praise.

 

Let’s pray…

Father, we thank You for the way in which You have revealed to us Your love, generosity and Your goodness. We thank You for the absolutely unending and eternal mercies which You have given to us, that we have done nothing in which to deserve. And we want to come to You in praise. We want to come to You in adoration. We want to thank You for the gift that You have given to us. We praise You, Lord, for our eternal inheritance, for our salvation; past, present and future. We thank you for giving us hope beyond this world to look forward to.

And, Lord, we pray that our praise would go beyond Sunday morning. That it would go beyond once or twice a week. We pray, Lord, that it might stay with us so that we remember day in and day out to offer You our praise. Father, that we would live and breathe praise and worship to You in all that we do. And, Lord, if there is any part of our hearts, ingratitude, discontent, or any part of us that rejects or resists praise to You, forgive us and cleanse us, fill our hearts with joy, contentment and submission.

Lord, help us to be faithful to give to You what You are due, no matter how deep the trouble, no matter how anxious our hearts, may we be filled with praise. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.