Trust in the Lord - True Faith and a Sure Hope

August 26, 2015

Trust in the Lord

True Faith and a Sure Hope

1 Peter 1:2-12

(Advance Slide #1)

Introduction

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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!

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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

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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!

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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.