Old Llantrisant Hill
Introduction
- This morning looking at v1-2
- Tonight looking at v3-9
- A question: what marks your life?
- Marriage
- First job/significant promotion
- Something I achieved in life
- A tragedy
- Reading 1 Peter 1:3-9
- What marks your life?
- Blessing or tragedy
- How would the scales tip?
- Paul never made a comparison of his achievements to his sorrow
- He put everything on one side of the scale compared to the eternal things to come
- Rom 8:18
- Examples of Paul's sufferings (from 2 Cor 11:24-27)
- Paul's sufferings cannot be compared to the weight of glory
- Our suffering is temporary - 2 Cor 4:16
- Our suffering is working for us an eternal weight of glory - 2 Cor 4:17
- We tend to focus on what we can see
- However, there are many troubles in life
- The things of God are eternal - we need to look at these things
- Peter is doing this in 1 Pet 1:3-9
- He calls them pilgrims - they are passing through this world
- He says they are cleansed in the blood of Christ
- 2 Cor 5 - our earthly body is like a tent, but heaven is like a house, a permanent dwelling place
- Trials yes, but let us consider our position
- Quote from songs
- Peter reminds people of their position
Hope and joy in adversity
- Believers were rejoicing (v6)
- In the midst of trials and persecutions
- How can this be?
- Example of Jayne
- Examples in the New Testament of suffering believers who are joyful - Acts 5:40-41
- Example from book - "Evidence not seen"
- Luke 6:23
- Heb 10:34
- v8 - rejoicing with joy inexpressible and full of glory
- Heb 11:13-14
- Christians in Scripture rejoice through the Holy Spirit
- If our hope and joy is placed in material things, we have nothing, because this can be taken away from us
- Peter is full of joy and encourages them
- There is a tremendous sense of joy in these verses
- Rom 8:35-37
- Hope and joy
What is the basis for such hope and joy?
- Every teaching is based on the gospel
- From the cross and the resurrection of Christ
- (v2) - the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ
- Christianity centres on the Son of God
- Example of black lady
- What marks the history of this world - God giving us His Son
- All 4 gospels focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus, His final week
- v2 - the blood of Christ, v3 - the resurrection of Christ
- This is the basis of all hope and joy
- Without this we could not overcome
- Without this there would be no inheritance
- This is the basis of eternal life
- v3 - Peter is overflowing with praise
- We have such mercy and hope
- We have a living hope
- v4 - an incorruptible inheritance
- Not corruptible like our bodies
- It will never grow old / will be perfect
- Heaven will be glorious and undefiled
- We live in a world cursed by sin
- Example
- No sickness, no death
- Does not fade away
- Our lives are like vapours / very short
- In Christ - our lives are very long
- v5 - we are kept by the power of God
- God works in us
- God keeps us
- Jesus prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail
- Reading Rom 8:19-23
- When Christ comes again, we will be given a new body
- Not just the soul but the body
- 2 Cor 5
- There is great suffering in this life
- Examples
- Christians serve at great risk - they are looking forward to their inheritance
- The basis of this hope is the gospel of Jesus Christ
The purpose of trials?
- Why cannot we just go to heaven without any trials?
- Part of the answer is given in v6-7: temporary trials to refine our faith
- We enjoy Old Testament stories of trial, because we see them proving God
- God uses trials to refine the faith of believers
- Example of Peter
- Example of refining
- So we learn to that God for those trials as we see what He has done in and through us
- We pray for grace in trials
- God is always in us and always working in us
- Peter prays that God's grace and peace be multiplied to believers
- May this be our expierenece
- 'Let the peace of Christ reign in your heart'