WHAT’s So GREAT About GOD?-III—1Peter 1:3-12(:3-9; 10-12)
Attention:
What’s so great about a Washing machine?-an Automobile?-a Boat?- Hunting?- the Beach?——Ask anyone who uses &/or loves these!
We can sometimes miss the power of God preferring rather to enjoy the social aspects of ‘our church.’ And when confronted with our fears in such situations, we come to a standstill, not realizing ‘What’s So Great About God!’
Need:
Peter recalled basic justifications for glorifying God.
Blood-bought believers are justified in their glorifying/pointing to God.
Why are believers justified in glorifying/blessing/pointing to God?
Why is God considered Worthy?
10 governors for blessing God.
WHAT’s So GREAT About GOD?
Previously, we found that,
God is Great because He offers...
1. GOD(:3a)
2. His MEANS OF SALVATION(:3a)
3. MERCY(:3b)
4. REGENERATION(:3b)
5—God is Great because He offers...
VIBRANT HOPE(:3b-c)
Explanation:(:3b-c)
:3—“Blessed be the God & Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,”
This 2nd birth was a birth into a “living hope.” This hope is not centered on something ‘dead’ such as human ability &/or wisdom.
?What gives Christian hope its life?
This “living hope” was secured by means of the “resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”(Rom. 10:9-10; Rom. 4:25).
Rom. 10:9-10—“...if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus & believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, & with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
Rom. 4:25—“...Jesus our Lord”.....“who was delivered up because of our offenses, & was raised because of our justification.”
“Living”—zaw—1) To live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead); 2) To enjoy real life—2a) To have true life & worthy of the name, 2b) Active, blessed, endless in the kingdom of God; 3) To live i.e. Pass life, in the manner of the living & acting—3a) Of mortals or character; 4) Living water, having vital power in itself & exerting the same upon the soul; 5) metaph.--To be in full vigor—5a) To be fresh, strong, efficient,, 5b) as adj.--Active, powerful, efficacious. Strong—a primary verb; To live (literally or figuratively).
“Hope”—elpiv—1) Expectation of evil, fear; 2) Expectation of good, hope—2a) in the Christian sense—2a1) Joyful & confident expectation of eternal salvation; 3) On hope, in hope, having hope—3a) The author of hope, or he who is its foundation, 3b) The thing hoped for. Strong—Expectation(abstractly or concretely) or confidence.
“Through”—dia—Preposition—
“Resurrection”—anastasiv—1) A raising up, rising (e.g. from a seat); 2) A rising from the dead. Strong—A standing up again, i.e. literally--A resurrection from death(individual, genitive case or by implication [its author]), or figuratively--A (moral)recovery (of spiritual truth).
Argumentation:
Rom. 5:1-6(See below)—“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, & rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; & perseverance, character; & character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”
Rom. 8:22-25—“For we know that the whole creation groans & labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.”
Rom. 12:9-21—“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless & do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, & weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
If your ‘god’ provides you no constant & continuous focal point of “hope,” then your ‘god’ is anemic, secondary & empty...& you need to leave it!
Rom. 15:13—“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy & peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Col. 1:21-23—“And you, who once were alienated & enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, & blameless, & above reproach in His sight-- if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded & steadfast, & are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
Col. 1:27—“To them[the saints] God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Titus 2:11-14—“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness & worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, & godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope & glorious appearing of our great God & Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed & purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.”
Heb. 6:17-20—“Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure & steadfast, & which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
1Jn. 3:1-3—“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; & it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
Concerning RESURRECTION:
Rom. 8:10-11—“And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
1Cor. 15:12-21—“Now if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty & your faith is also empty. Yes, & we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up--if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, & has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead.”
Eph. 2:4-10—“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), & raised us up together, & made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, & that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
Rom. 4:21-5:2—“& being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our offenses, & was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, & rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
Illustration:
Purchasing something in another town—Tallahassee, Panama City, etc./For Pastor Appreciation Day we received some giant honeybuns from Dan-D Doughnuts in Panama City/They were absolutely delicious!/If we get a hankerin’ for a great honeybun we know where to find them/So suppose we head out for Dan-D Doughnuts/Our whole trip there is built around the prospect of connecting with a delicious honeybuns/We travel in the power of the certainty of connecting with Dan-D Doughnuts’ honeybuns!/VIBRANT HOPE
Though it begins here, our journey here is lived out in the certain knowledge that our life’s journey will end in our presence with God.
Visit with only infrequently seen family members/Your trip anticipates the good times you will have catching up on their lives & sharing yours/VIBRANT HOPE guides your trip!
Application:
?You accepted God’s offer of VIBRANT HOPE?
?Is God Great/to be Blessed for you?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
What’s so great about a Washing machine?-an Automobile?-a Boat?- Hunting?- the Beach?
Action:
God is Great because He offers...
5. VIBRANT HOPE(:3b-c)
1. GOD(:3a)
2. His MEANS OF SALVATION(:3a)
3. MERCY(:3b)
4. REGENERATION(:3b)
pts. 3-4 Presented 01/11/2015am to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave.(SE Ave A) SE
Carrabelle, FL 32322
