Reading: 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 10-11.
Quote: Life’s lessons (and ages at which the person learned them)
• Lending money to friends and relatives causes them to get amnesia. (32)
• You shouldn’t leave your fork on the plate when you reheat food in the microwave. (13)
• When you’re too busy for friends, you’re too busy. (48)
• Life is like a 10-speed bicycle—most of us have gears we never use. (59)
• When parents say, “It doesn’t matter what we think—you are the one dating him,”
• They actually mean it does matter and they hate the guy. (24)
• Keep your words soft and tender because tomorrow you may have to eat them. (38)
• The more mistakes you make, the smarter you get. (13)
• If you are still talking about what you did yesterday,
• Then you haven’t done much today. (21)
Quote:
• This well known Roman saying that we still use today, it goes:
• “Where there is life, there’s hope!”
• And like most adages it has an element of truth,
• But no guarantee of certainty.
• Note: It is not the FACT of life that determines hope,
• But the FAITH of life.
• Peter tells his readers (Christians) in chapter 1 verse 3 that they have ‘a living hope’
• Note: Don’t miss what he says; not just hope but a hope that has ‘life’ in it;
• Because our hope has life,
• Ill: Fish pond and the imitation flower & the real thing!
• Because our hope has life,
• It grows and becomes even greater and more beautiful as time goes on.
• Ill: seed grows into a plant with flowers or fruit!
• For many people time often destroys most hopes, they fade and then die,
• Ill: Question as a child; “What do you want to be when you grow up”
• If we are brave enough to look back and examine our lives;
• How many of us have actually hit the targets that we set for ourselves?
• For many people time often destroys most hopes, they fade and then die,
• But the passing of time only makes a Christian’s hope that much more glorious.
(1). Our God is adequate (vs 10a):
“…the God of ALL grace,”
Ill:
Years ago a question was being discussed at a conference.
• The question was:
• ‘What makes Christianity different from all the other religions of the world?’
• The discussion grew heated.
• And none of the delegates could agree on an answer.
• C. S. Lewis, who was a strong defender of Christianity,
• Came in late to the discussion,
• He sat down, and asked, “What’s the rumpus about?”
• When he learned that it was a debate about the uniqueness of Christianity,
• He immediately commented, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace.”
• How right he was!
• Grace is at the very heart of the gospel:
• Every single person who has ever been converted and made right with God;
• Has been saved by His infinite grace.
• Not by moral character, works of righteousness, commandment-keeping, or churchgoing.
• When we could do nothing - God did everything!
• And the God who saves is the God who keeps!
• Of course you can save in two ways ill: rescue. Ill: money in the bank.
We are saved by grace and we are kept by grace:
• In chapter 1 verse 6 Peter talks about: “All kinds of trials”.
• Every Christian as they live their life faces difficulties and trials.
• That is part of being alive!
• Life is often hard and difficult!
• But this little expression found in chapter 1 verse 6 is so encouraging;
• Peter talks about: “All kinds of trials”. It literally means; “Many coloured”.
• The point being that because we have overcome one type of trial;
• It doesn’t mean we will easily overcome them all!
• e.g. Because we overcome our blue Monday;
• Does not necessarily mean we will overcome our green Tuesday or our red Wednesday!
Note:
• Peter uses the same word “All kinds” or “Many coloured”.
• In chapter 4 verse 10: When he talks about God’s grace.
• In life we will face a variety of trials;
• But God matches our trials with his grace.
• Whatever type of trial we are facing;
• His grace is sufficient to help us overcome that trial.
• Ill: God’s grace is like a Chameleon;
• It matches whatever our situation may be.
• Therefore said Peter in chapter 5 verse 7:
• “Cast all your cares/worries/anxieties upon God because he cares for you"
• Ill: Man with heavy load given a lift, sat in truck still carrying his load!
(2). Our God has chosen us (vs 10b):
“…who CALLED you…”
Ill:
• The city Strasbourg (in north-eastern France ) was bombed during WWII,
• As well as peoples houses, a small church was also destroyed during the bombing,
• The people went into the bombed out Church to inspect the damage,
• It did not look good:
• The people saw a great deal of broken glass and rubble,
• The roof had caved in and everything was destroyed,
• Everything was destroyed, except one statue of Jesus,
• It was centuries old and was hand carved,
• The statue was in perfect condition except for one thing;
• The statues hands had been severed by a falling beam,
• The towns leaders went to a sculptor to see if the hands could be replaced,
• And the sculptor offered to do it for nothing - as a service to the church,
• The church leaders insisted that the statue was left as it was,
• The reason being - the people of God are the hands of Christ,
• We are how God does His work, God works in us and through us!
• And God calls individuals into his service!
Ill:
• In the gospels it was Peter’s brother Andrew who met with Jesus first;
• Andrew was then chosen by God to introduce his brother Peter to Jesus;
• When Peter met with Jesus, he heard the call of salvation;
• And responded by trusting Christ.
• Later he heard Christ’s call of discipleship;
• He left his fishing nets and willingly started to follow Jesus as a disciple.
Note:
• Those experiences of being ‘called’ made a lasting impression on Peter.
• So much so that he uses that word ‘called’ again and again in his letters.
(a).
• Ill: In chapter 1 verse 15;
• He reminds us that we are ‘CALLED to be holy.’
• That means we are to live lives that are different to non-believers.
• Ill: Different in our language, our behaviour, our morals etc (ill: ‘set apart’)
(b).
• Ill: In chapter 2 verse 9;
• He reminds us that we are ‘CALLED out of darkness into his wonderful light.’
• That means not only are we saved (‘in the light’);
• But we enjoy fellowship with God himself (‘walk in the light as he is in the light’).
(c).
• Ill: In chapter 2 verse 21;
• He reminds us that we are ‘CALLED to suffer and follow the example of Christ.’
• When Jesus was insulted and abused he did not retaliate;
• But trusted God to sustain him and enable him to return blessing for evil.
• Peter tells his readers that following Christ will take us down the same pathway;
• He suffered for doing good and at times so will we!
(d).
• Ill: In chapter 3 verse 9;
• He reminds us that we are ‘CALLED to inherit a blessing.’
• Peter reminds his readers that their present trials and the persecution they are facing;
• It is all temporal,
• The glory that is to come is eternal!
• Be encouraged says Peter; ‘there is a lasting eternal future in glory for all believers!’
• Ill: Chapter 1 Peter says the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is proof of that!
(e).
• Ill: In our benediction - chapter 5 verse 10;
• Peter reminds his readers that we are ‘CALLED to his eternal glory.’
• In other words we know that we are going to heaven;
• Because God himself has promised it! And God always keeps his promises!
Ill:
• This was the promise of Jesus to his disciples in John 14;
• Twice he told them in verse 1 and 27:
• “Do not let your hearts be troubled”.
• “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”.
• In other words there are difficult days ahead;
• But don’t give up, look up!
• You have a home in heaven;
• Old gospel song: “Who can mind the journey when the road leads home?”
• In other words the sufferings we have endured on earth;
• Will be insignificant by “an eternal glory that far outweighs them all”
(3). Our God is in control (vs 10c):
“…suffer a LITTLE while,”
• God’s plan for us starts with grace and finishes with glory;
• But in between these two experiences we must expect to “Suffer a LITTLE while,”
Notice: Our suffering is for a season ‘a little while’;
• The Bible always looks at the bigger picture;
• This life is short, but eternity is forever!
• Quote: Chapter 1 verse 6:
• “All men are like grass…” we might say; “Here today and gone tomorrow”
• That which we experience in this life will pass…for the Christian death is never the end;
• Death is never the final chapter; it is the entrance to a wonderful new beginning!
• Be encouraged says Peter; ‘there is a lasting eternal future in glory for all believers!’
• Ill: once again the resurrection of Jesus from the dead & his ascension is proof of that!
• Ill: Receipt – proof of purchase.
Note: Peter teaches throughout this letter:
• That suffering in this life is not valueless;
• It is not simply something that we have to endure.
• God uses suffering to draw us nearer to him;
• And to mould us into what he wants us to be.
Quote: Chapter 4 verses 12-13 (The Message):
“Friends, when life gets really difficult, don't jump to the conclusion that God isn't on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced.
This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.”
• For the readers of Peter’s letter, life was grim indeed.
• Many, many Christians perished under Nero's merciless persecution.
• Many believers were maliciously victimized,
• Ostracized by Roman society, and ruthlessly hunted as traitors.
Peter twice refers to their trials as:
• E.g. Being "tested by fire" (chapter 1 verse 7)
• E.g. And a "fiery ordeal" (chapter 4 verse 12).
Ill:
On a wall in his bedroom;
• The great Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon had a plaque with;
• Isaiah chapter 48 verse 10 quoted on it: “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”
• On one occasion he wrote
• “It is no mean thing to be chosen of God”.
• “God’s choice makes chosen men choice men;
• We are chosen, not in the palace, but in the furnace.
• In the furnace, beauty is marred, fashion is destroyed, strength is melted, glory is consumed;
• Yet here eternal love reveals its secrets, and declares its choice.”
• He recognized that along with the pain;
• Comes something that cannot be gotten through other means!
• Ill: A clay pot sitting in the sun will always be a clay pot.
• It has to go through the white heat of the furnace to become porcelain.
• This principle is still true today.
• The furnace of trials refines our hearts and sanctifies our spirits.
• We may not be facing persecution and suffering like those in Peter’s day:
• But all of us at times face a variety of trials, mistreatment and suffering!
Ill:
• A Christian man who in a time of business recession lost his job,
• He then also lost a sizable fortune, and his beautiful home.
• To add to his sorrow, his wife died; and having no children, and very few relatives;
• He found himself very much alone.
• The man was a Christian and despite his hardships;
• He tenaciously held on to his faith - the only thing he had left.
• One day when he was out walking in search of a job,
• He stopped to watch some men who were doing stonework on a large church.
• One of them was chiselling a triangular piece of rock.
• ‘Where are you going to put that?’ he asked.
• The workman said, ‘Do you see that little opening up there near the spire?
• Well, I’m shaping this stone down here so that it will fit in up there.
Peter reminds his readers:
• That God is shaping US down here so that it will fit in UP there.
• God is preparing us for life and service yet to come.
• Nobody yet knows all that is in store for us in heaven;
• But this we do know;
• Life today is a school in which God trains us for our future ministry;
• Both in this life and in eternity.
(d). Our God is equipping us (vs 10d):
“will himself RESTORE you…”
• The Greek word translated as ‘restore’ in our English Bibles:
• Is a very full descriptive word.
• It means to ‘equip’ to ‘fit you’ to ‘make you suitable’ to ‘adjust you’;
• It was used in New Testament times in a variety of different ways:
• Ill: To a sailor it meant; to rig a ship for a voyage.
• Ill: To a physician it meant; to set a broken bone.
• Ill: To a soldier it meant; to equip an army for battle.
• Ill: To a fisherman like Peter it meant; to mend broken nets.
Ill:
• This term ‘restore’ or ‘equip’ carries the idea of;
• ‘Repairing, helping along, giving encouraging thoughts’
• Ill: Approaching Christmas we use the name “Emmanuel”
• Question: “Where is the emphasis, what is it saying?” “God with US!”
• In other words;
• God is not fighting against us but for us!
• God is not even passively sitting in the stands watching us struggle.
• Instead he is along side us cheering us on.
Ill:
• J. Stuart Holden tells of an old Scottish mansion;
• Close to where he had his summer home.
• The walls of one room were filled with sketches made by distinguished artists.
• They were a beautiful gallery of art.
• The practice of drawing on the walls of that room;
• Began after a pitcher of soda water was accidentally spilled on a freshly decorated wall.
• The soda water left an unsightly stain.
• One visitor to the house was the noted artist, Lord Landseer,
• And one day when the family went out for a walk across the moors,
• He stayed behind.
• With a few masterful strokes of a piece of charcoal,
• That ugly spot became the outline of a beautiful waterfall, bordered by trees and wildlife.
• He turned that disfigured wall;
• Into one of his most successful depictions of Highland life.
• God the master artist takes our failings, our struggles, our difficulties;
• And as we trust him, he too brings out of them something beautiful in our character!
(e). Our God is maturing us (vs 10e):
“...make you STRONG, FIRM and SREADFAST”
Ill:
“The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
That stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To heaven from the common soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man,
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow in ease;
The stronger wind, the tougher trees;
The farther sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength;
By sun and cold, by rain and snows,
In tree or man, good timber grows.
Where thickest stands the forest growth
We find the patriarchs of them both;
And they hold converse with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and of much strife —
This is the common law of life”.
Notice: Peter uses three words to describe the kind of character God wants us to have:
• (a). ‘Strong’ or ‘Established’.
• The word means; ‘to fix firmly, to set fast’.
• Strength is a sign of growth.
• Ill: Little babies struggle to lift up their heads.
• Ill: Little lads often flex their biceps in vain looking for their muscle.
• Ill: Tease Arlo by saying: “You are sop strong…..in smelling!”
• As we mature and grow older physically we gain strength.
• (b). ‘Firm’ or ‘Strengthen’.
• God gives us the strength needed to meet the demands of life:
Ill:
• News story of Duane Chambers;
• He of course took anabolic (up-building) steroids;
• The word used here in Greek is ‘sterizo’;
• It is related to our modern word ‘steroid.’
• Peter is telling his readers that God wants to make them super-strong;
• So that they can handle any situation!
• Quote Thomas Fuller the Puritan preacher and writer who once prayed;
• “Lord, either lighten my burden or strengthen my back”
• We can only guess that God did the later!
• (c). ‘Steadfast’ or ‘Settle’.
• The word means; ‘To lay a foundation’.
• Ill: Wise and foolish builders.
• Ill: Psalm 127 verse 1:
• Quote: Man who said; “I finally got to the top of the ladder;
• Only to find it was leaning against the wrong wall!”
And finally: The true evidence that we are being matured is:
• Verse 11:
• “To God be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”
Ill:
• J. S. Bach headed all his compositions: “J. J.” “Jesus Juva”;
• Which means “Jesus help me.”
• He ended them “S. D. G.” “Soli Dei gratia”;
• Which means “To God alone the praise.”
That is why we are here this morn/evening:
• Jesus has helped us! And He continues to help us day by day!
• And so to him goes the praise!
