Sermon Central
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The Secret Of Saint Who Series
Contributed by Timothy Andrew Stephens on Jul 21, 2011 (message contributor)
Summary: The secret to Abiding In Christ is immersing our hearts and minds in His Word.
The Common Made Holy Series
“The Secret of Saint Who”
Review of Saint Who – Who is a Saint?
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
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. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
• A saint is a person who is “SET APART” by God to OBEY Jesus Christ.
o Through personal faith in Jesus Christ sacrifice on the Cross a person is transformed from COMMON to PRECIOUS in God’s sight.
• A Saint lives as an ALIEN in a foreign land.
• A Saint Obtains an Everlasting INHERITANCE.
Are you a saint?
Are you living like a person “set apart” to obey Jesus Christ?
Two weeks ago we looked at the Birthright of Saint Who. The Who is every person who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. You are a saint.
I gave you some instruction on understanding who you are in Christ and how to denounce the lies of the enemy that contaminate your true identity.
You are a Saint. But my guess is many of you feel more like a squirrel than a Saint.
Squirrel Cage Example: Life seems to consume more and more energy but you don’t feel like you are getting anywhere.
Secret of the Ages Treasure Box intro.
In this box is the secret of the ages. It contains the secret to living a life set apart to obey Jesus Christ.
It contains the power for living a life that is pleasing to God.
But before we unveil this incredible secret, lets look at the next verses in 1 Peter. As we explore the Secret of Saint Who.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
I. A Saint LOVES Christ.
1Peter 1:8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory…
Last week we looked at the kind of love this is, a selfless, unconditional love, the kind of love that God has for us Agape. A love where we love Christ more than ourselves. That is a process. Peter had to get there by being stripped of pride. Often times so do we. But the very stripping is exactly what we need to press on to real life.
• Loving Christ with a selfless love results in Inexpressible JOY.
