"Just Like Me"

“Just Like Me”

Did you ever compare yourself to a biblical character?

Maybe there is someone in God’s Word that reminds you of yourself.

As Christians we are to imitate Christ but since He was perfect and we are far from that, most likely there is someone in the Scriptures we could compare ourselves to.

With that said we must realize that could be good or bad. I hope no one sees themselves as Herod, Judas, Pilate, or any other characters like them.

There are many people in the Bible, both male and female, that did great things but I believe that if we are honest about our lives Peter would probably be a good comparison.

Because Peter did both good and bad which is a category we all fall under.

Peter was a disciple, we are disciples. Peter loved Christ, we love Christ. Peter evangelized, we evangelize. Peter was stubborn, we can be stubborn at times. Peter’s faith faltered at times, our faith sometimes falters.

But what really should allow us to make the statement that; Peter is just like me is, is his knowledge of promise.

The promise of knowing what is in store for those who are faithful to God’s commands.

This morning I want to look at four things we are promised and if we don’t take advantage of them it will be devastating.

Illustration: A rich relative. Hope we get an inheritance that is worth a lot to make us happy.

That is the same four things that Peter wrote to the churches in Asia Minor.

1 Peter 1:1-9

Peter was writing to the churches of Asia Minor to encourage them because they were being persecuted for their faith.

At the time of this letter the church was only about thirty-five years only so Peter didn’t want them to give up their faith.

Every one of us experience times of trouble and get discouraged when things go wrong but we probably have never been persecuted because of our faith, at least not to the point these people were.

Nero was burning Christians nightly in his garden.

Imagine being denied necessities such as food, or having your life threatened. That could very well happen to us in the near future.

So in order to keep from being discouraged we must remember the promises of God.

In verse 3 Peter tells them they have hope through because Jesus Christ was resurrected from the grave.

Many times we talk about how the blood of Christ saved us, which it did, but only because of the resurrection.

If Christ would have never risen from the grave then Satan would not have been defeated and the blood He shed would have been for naught.

So we have hope only because of God’s Grace through His Son’s death and resurrection.

We should never take this hope for granted and we must rely on it to get us through the tough times.

Then in verse four Peter talks about the inheritance we have waiting for us.

An inheritance is only awarded when a death is involved. If we are in line to inherit something from someone on earth that person must die.

In order for us to get our inheritance from God we must die.

Now nobody wants to think about death but if we knew exactly what we had to look forward to in Heaven we would all want to go right now.

So even though death has been made to be a grim subject the death of a Christian will be glorious.

Peter knew this and wanted the people to keep this thought right up to the time of their death be it by Nero or natural causes.

Then in verse seven Peter explains to them that the hope of this inheritance will be worth more than something as precious as gold.

Peter compares it to gold because not only was it a very high in value but it also can be destroyed and the inheritance God gives us can not and will not be destroyed.

And finally Peter talks about the joy we will receive through this hope of a worthy inheritance.

There is joy in knowing Christ and if you don’t Him then you have never experienced this wonderful feeling.

The faith is all about believing.

I wasn’t around when Abe Lincoln came through Indiana but I believe he did.

I never got to see Babe Ruth play a game of baseball but I believe he did.

I wasn’t born yet when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor but I believe it happened.

I believe all these things because someone who actually witnessed it wrote it down for others to know.

Peter who was a disciple of Jesus Christ was an eye witness to His life. His teachings, His suffering, His death and resurrection and His account of the promises of our Father in Heaven.