WHY ARE YOU LIVING
1 PETER 1:4-5
Many years ago, there was found in an African mine the most magnificent diamond in the world’s history. It was presented to the king of England to blaze in his crown or state. The king sent it to Amsterdam to be cut. It was put into the hands of an expert lapidary: a cutter, polisher, or engraver of precious stones usually other than diamonds
2 : the art of cutting gems. And what do you suppose he did with it? He took the gem of priceless value, and cut a notch in it. Then he struck a hard blow with his instrument and—lo!—the superb jewel lay in his hand cleft in two. Did he do this out of recklessness, wastefulness, and criminal carelessness? Indeed not! For days and weeks that blow had been studied and planned. Drawings and models had been made of the gem. Its quality, its defects, its lines of cleavage had all been studied with minutest care. The man to whom it was committed was one of the most skillful lapidaries in the world.
Was that blow a mistake? No! It was the climax of the lapidary’s skill. When he struck that blow, he did the one thing which would bring that gem to its most perfect shapeliness, radiance, and jeweled splendor. That blow which seemed to ruin the superb precious stone was, in fact, its perfect redemption. From those two halves were wrought two magnificent gems which the skilled eye of the lapidary saw hidden in the rough, uncut stone as it came from the mine.
Sometimes, God lets a stinging blow fall upon your life. The blood spurts; the nerves wince. The soul cries out in agony. The blow seems to you an appalling mistake. But it is not, for you are the most priceless jewel in the world to God. And He is the most skilled lapidary in the universe.
TELL YOUR NEIGHBOR, “God really loves you. He knows what is best for you.”
Answer the questions, why are you living the way you are? Why are you enduring what you are enduring? Why?
When faced with tough decisions, I always choose the easy route!
PICTURES OF OLD TO NEW; BEFORE AND AFTER.
PRAY- God in this life we have it backwards. Often we have the physically best life at first, but then we lose it as we get older. But spiritually, we can get better with age.
READ VERSES.
Remember Peter describes these people as elect or chosen of God, sanctified, and obedient.
They didn’t feel chosen. They left their first class citizenship for second class.
They didn’t feel sanctified. They had left their city, Jerusalem, the very place of worship.
They didn’t feel obedient. They were being persecuted. They left, not because they wanted to leave, they left because they were forced to leave.
Book of Acts 1:8; 8:1. Jesus told them they would do this. Then they got this new restaurant called Gondeliers. After worship everyone started talking about the restaurant. So they all went to eat there. Then everyone started talking about others, and completely forgot the message! 8 chapters later, Jesus reminded them of His message.
Some of you are relating to these people. And you like they are asking, “is it worth it?” Is what I am going through really worth it? Peter answered this question with an adamant, and emphatic YES. God has begotten us to a living hope, and an inheritance.
Tell your neighbor, “pay day is coming.” Do you ever ask yourself, “Is my job worth it?” But after payday you realize that it is. Your pay may not be money; it may be the impact you had on someone. That is how it will be in heaven. In fact, when we get there we will say these words, “We should have endured more.” I wish I had endured more!
· Our inheritance is described as incorruptible. This word means that it cannot
perish; it does not age; does not deteriorate, or die; it does not have the seed of corruption within it.
Matthew Henry points out that “everything on earth changes from better to worse, but not our inheritance. It is perfect and incorruptible. It never changes, and it shall never cease to be the most perfect inheritance and gift imaginable.”
God in you will make a difference! God in you will change the corruptible to incorruptible! God in you will overcome that which appears to be overcoming you. God in you has led you to the impossible to show you that nothing is impossible with God.
We live in a corruptible world. A world that perishes, a world that deteriorates, a world that eventually dies. BUT He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 1 Jn 4:4.
25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Mt. 19
God wants to you to experience the impossible so that you will have a God story of the impossible made possible!
Have you noticed your body lately? When you were younger you had strength, beauty, the ability to concentrate, time, and much more. Today you can’t think clearly, little on concentrate! Your body is experiencing what we are talking about today. Those disciples asked a similar question. Lord we have left all to follow you. We have nothing else to give! 27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”
28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife[k] or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first. Mt 19.
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 1 Cor. 15:42-44
· Our inheritance is described as undefiled.
This word means that it cannot be polluted or defiled, or dirtied or infected. It means that our inheritance will be without any flaw or defect. It will be perfectly free from sickness, disease, infections accidents, pollutions, and dirt from any defilement whatsoever. There will never be any tears over what happens to oneself or over the damage or loss of possession.
Your inheritance is a promise of health! It is a promise that you will not experience what you are now experiencing! So why does God allow you to go through it now? How do you know what sweet tastes like? You don’t know sweet unless you have tasted sour. How do you know what hot is? You don’t know hot unless you have experienced cold. You don’t know the depths of good until you have experienced the depths of bad. Now I understand that at some point this runs its course. But you get my drift. Sin entered the word through one man. And because of that, we all have sinned and fallen short. But God will use all things to the good for those who love Him. And Jesus will use your situation no matter how defiled it may be to bring glory to Him in heaven!
· Our inheritance is described as something that doesn’t fade away.
It will last forever. The splendor and beauty of it all; of life and of all the positions and possessions which God shall give us. None of the splendor and beauty shall fade or diminish whatsoever. Nothing, not even our energy and bodies shall wear out or waste away.
Things fade too quickly here- AMEN? My curtains fade within a year. The sun bleaches it. My wooden floor is bleached by the sun. You wax your car so the sun won’t fade your paint job. When you buy a computer, 6 months later it is outdated! A car may last 5 years if you are lucky. Think for just a moment. What will be here in 10 years? 20? 50? 100? 150? Who will be here? None of us! How much of our time and resources are wasted on the materials that won’t be here tomorrow? How much better off would we be if we put our energies and resources into people? Because souls last forever!
· The location of our inheritance is heaven.
It gives us the location of our inheritance: heaven. It is reserved for you. God is actually holding it there for us. God is simply waiting for us to finish our task here on earth and to come to Him. Then He will give us our inheritance. In order to receive this inheritance, you must receive Jesus! You must be born again!
What if you go through this life, what if you experience all of the garbage of life, all of the rubbish, the problems, and never get your reward? Your reward is in heaven. To get to heaven you must know Jesus as your savior!
Our inheritance is described as incorruptible, undefiled, doesn’t fade away, and is in heaven!
Is life worth our inheritance? Is what you are going through worth it? Listen to this:
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “ O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Cor. 15:50-58
A man confined to bed because of a lingering illness had on his sunlit windowsill a cocoon of a beautiful species of butterfly. As nature took its course, the butterfly began its struggle to emerge from the cocoon. But it was a long, hard battle. As the hours went by, the struggling insect seemed to make almost no progress. Finally, the human observer, thinking that “the powers that be” had erred, took a pair of scissors and snipped the opening larger. The butterfly crawled out, but that’s all it ever did—crawl. The pressure of the struggle was intended to push colorful, life-giving juices back into the wings, but the man in his supposed mercy prevented this. The insect never was anything but a stunted abortion, and instead of flying on rainbow wings above the beautiful gardens, it was condemned to spend its brief life crawling in the dust. That gives me the idea that God knows what He is doing. It’s a fact that you can depend on Him—even when it seems the struggle is hard and meaningless.
God will look you over, not for medals or degrees, but for scars.
Edward Sheldon
Is what you are going through worth what God will give you? You better believe it! But to get it, you must follow Jesus. Will you follow Him today?
PRAY
15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[f] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Eph 1
