August 26, 2015
Trust in the Lord
True Faith and a Sure Hope
1 Peter 1:2-12
(Advance Slide #1)
Introduction
(Advance Slide #2)
Who do you trust?
- Is it family, friends...do you trust in the Lord?
- Maybe you do but is is only when circumstances get really bad.
- Do you trust Him with the small things as you do with the larger things?
Peter writes to Christians who are facing difficulties, they had been scattered/dispersed!
- There was something that would get them through and that was their trust in the Lord.
- When we trust in Him we are also saying that He is a source of hope for us too.
(Advance Slide #3)
What do you hope for?
- Financial security, a good future for your children...eternal salvation?
This morning we will begin a lesson series titled “Trust the Lord.”
- The text for this lesson will be 1 Peter.
- It is my prayer that as we study this letter we will learn to trust Him more!
(Advance Slide #4)
Text
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, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5
Peter has identified himself as the author of this letter.
- He is writing to Christians that have been scattered in what is modern day Turkey.
- Peter has a mouthful to say to them.
(Advance Slide #5)
He explains that, as Christians, they are chosen; set aside, and sanctified by the Blood of Jesus!
- He does not address them based on their nationality, ancestry, or social status.
- These things are important, but not of most importance.
- It is easy to forget our identity in Christ and it is important to be reminded on a regular basis.
They are a people that have a true faith and is filled with a sure hope!
Lesson
(Advance Slide #6)
If we want to learn how to Learning how to trust Him more there are a few important things we need to learn.
- This text helps us to answer these important questions:
- Who we are, and what God’s purpose is for us.
(Advance Slide #7)
Who We are
Peter tells his reader that we are people who, by the mercy of God, have been chosen for a purpose.
- Peter addresses the readers as ‘foreigners.’
- He does this not because they have moved or relocated there but because they now have ‘dual citizenship.’
- They are citizens of their home country or district (Pontus, Galatia, or wherever).
- At the same time they are also citizens of the kingdom of God!
(Advance Slide #8)
God’s Purpose
To set aside people from other uses so that they can be a ‘signpost’ for the kingdom of God.
- This kingdom has come into being through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
- Through this sacrifice, God has set apart people to be living signals of the kingdom...how?
- They/we are to be ‘holy.’
- Holy in a technical sense that God has set them apart for His purpose.
- They are also to be holy in practical sense that their lives have been transformed.
(Advance Slide #9)
Praise Him
Peter suggests that God should be praised because of His mercy.
- We can see what that mercy means because, no matter who our actual parents were, God himself has become our father.
- A new life had come to us.
- A new life has come to birth in the world through the resurrection of Jesus as the Messiah.
This new life is not just about individuals being transformed.
- God has, through that great action, created His new kingdom!
- And one day the curtain will be drawn back.
- When that happens the ‘incorruptible inheritance’, that’s being kept safe in heaven, will be made known.
- In His kingdom we will be transformed soaking in God’s presence, His love and His mercy.
Conclusion
(Advance Slide #10)
Quite a bit of this letter is concerned with the suffering of the early Christians.
- Here Peter states the theme which he will develop:
- That this suffering is the means by which the quality of the Christian's’ faith will shine.
- And we praise Him now, but when Jesus returns this will result in an explosion of praise.
