What would you feel in response to being saved by a future king?

Transcription

1 I don t know whether you saw this is an article from a couple of years ago. Prince William saved a man's life during a military helicopter rescue mission. Gym worker Greg Watkins was stuck up Mount Snowdon, in stormy conditions after suffering a suspected heart attack. The 28-year-old prince was part of a four-man crew scrambled to rescue Watkins. "If it wasn't for him and the rest of his crew, I'd be dead," Watkins said "Hearing his helicopter getting nearer and nearer was the best sound I've ever heard. He and his crew saved my life. "He'd probably say he was just doing his job but, to me, he and his crew are heroes. What would you feel in response to being saved by a future king? That s the question we re faced by the opening verses of 1 Peter. What do you feel in response to being saved by a king? Jesus, God s king, has saved us. How should we respond to that salvation? Peter the apostle wrote this letter probably from Rome in the early 60 s AD. He wrote to Christians in what is now Turkey. They were facing tough times because of their faith in Jesus Christ. The culture around them thought they were strangers, they were different, they didn t fit in. They were facing temptation to give up on their faith and blend in with the culture around them. So, Peter wrote this letter to remind them of the gospel and to urge them to stand firm on that truth. Our culture is exactly the same. Peter would write the same to us today. The culture we live in looks at Christianity with suspicion. We don t fit in. Our faith is mocked. Our ethics are despised, particularly on issues of life and death and on issues about sexual morality. Our hope in the future is thought of as pathetic naivety. At times it s hard to keep going as a Christian. At times we feel the pressure to fit in. If you re not a Christian after hearing that description, you may well be thinking why would I ever want to sign up and join that group? A life of sticking out, not fitting in, being mocked, even despised. Not the greatest sales pitch. Why would you ever want to become a Christian? Well, it s because of what God has done for us in saving us; what he is doing for us in transforming us; and what he promises to do for us in eternity. And that s why right at the start of the letter Peter gives a call to PRAISE GOD! Even though you may stick out, even though life may be tough, even though you may be suffering, even though whatever is happening in your life, PRAISE GOD!! 1

2 1. Praise God! Your salvation is secure (3-5) NIV 1 Peter 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, In his great mercy. God is merciful, that is he gives us what we don t deserve. All of us are sinners; we ve rejected his right to rule us. The Bible calls that sin. And the consequence of sin is death. We all deserve to die. But, God is merciful; he doesn t give us what we deserve. Look at what he does give us. In his great mercy he has given us new birth. We all get what birth is, all of us have been born at some point. It s a new life, it s a new creation, it s a new beginning. And that s what God has given us. We have a new birth, a fresh start, a new beginning, a new creation. We are born into God s family. We belong with him. And it s a new birth into a living hope. We ve started our new eternal life now, but it s not just about the now, it is a living hope. It has a future completion to it. It s started now, but it is a living, active, solid, secure hope in the future. The future will be one with no mourning, no crying, no pain, no death. Can you imagine that? It s a future when the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords will himself come and wipe away the tears from our eyes. That s the living hope we have. How does that make you feel? But, how do I know this is so secure? That all sounds nice, but what confidence is there that it ll actually happen like that? Well look at what Peter says to give us this confidence. 1 Peter 1:3 through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, If Jesus had died and stayed dead we d have no hope, no security, nothing. We d have an aimless, blind, irrational faith. It would be like hoping to win the lottery even though I don t do it. If Jesus was still dead we d still be dead in our sins. But, JESUS IS ALIVE! Jesus rose, death is not the end, eternal life has begun, there is hope for the future and it s a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. If you don t believe that it s worth asking, do you have a philosophy of life that can cope with your death? Does whatever you base your life on give you confidence to deal with your own death? 2

3 The reality of Jesus resurrection makes our salvation totally secure. Our salvation is just the Bible s way of saying being saved forever, having eternal life, having our sins paid for by Jesus on the cross and made secure by his resurrection. And look down at verse 4 and see what that security gives us. 1 Peter 1:4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you, When my dad died I got two things, I got this watch. This watch is very precious to me, but, I don t wear it because it s knackered. It s perishing, it s spoiled, it s grandeur is faded. Not with our inheritance with God. Our salvation, our eternal life living with King Jesus in his kingdom will never perish, it will go on forever. It will never be spoilt, each moment will be positive and affirming and secure. And it will never fade, we ll never have doubts, or fears, or worries. And this future is made even more secure by God. 1 Peter 1:5 who through faith are shielded by God's power Our salvation is kept secure by God s power. Just think about that for a moment. God is all powerful. God is in control of all things. He is the one who will keep us shielded. Think of it like an impenetrable force field. Nothing can get to the person inside that shield. It s not saying life will be easy, or we won t face suffering. What it is saying that we will be kept safe from giving up on our faith in God. That will be safe, secure, protected until, see verse 5. 1 Peter 1:5 until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. The thing to be revealed in the last time, the salvation that is coming is the return of the King. It s when the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed. But, whilst we wait for Jesus to return our salvation is secure. Secure not because we re strong enough to keep going; we re not. Secure only because God is protecting us, preserving us, keeping us going. And how do we respond to this secure salvation. Just one way, we PRAISE GOD, we rejoice in what he has done. Our praise of God, our rejoicing in what he has done isn t superficial, airy fairy, it is deep and long-lasting and utterly transforming. The truth is we can: 2. Rejoice! Even when you suffer (6-7) 1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, 3

4 That seems a complete no brainer. That amazing salvation, that amazing future, the fact it s secure, what s not to rejoice in? But, hang on, we can praise God, we can rejoice even when we suffer! Look again at verse 6. 1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. What kind of trials might we face? Well there are trials we face for being a Christian. It s becoming increasingly difficult to stand up and say we re a Christian. Christianity is mocked by the media; well at least the Christianity that says it believes in the Bible and wants to stand firm on what God s word actually says. Less than 10% regularly go to church. If you make a stand on Christian ethics you might lose your job, your business, very likely you ll get severely reprimanded. A reality show in the US was cancelled because the twins appearing on it just affirmed the Biblical teaching on sexuality. The pressure is on us. We can feel isolated as the only Christian at work, or in our family. We can feel discouraged by the lack of growth in the church. Embarrassed by how we re perceived by the media. Scorned for our views on abortion or euthanasia or homosexuality. But, we also face trials of life. Physical illness, getting old, children being exhausting, the drudge and hardness of daily life. Loved ones get ill, they die. We have emotional trials, psychological trials, physical trials. And in light of this we re told to rejoice greatly! Is Peter making out the Christian life is one of delusion? Do we just ignore the reality and pain of trials and suffering and float around on some superficial holy cloud? Not at all, Peter knew all about trials, he is realistic about how tough they are, but in the midst of intense trial and suffering he can call us to rejoice. Why? Because our salvation, our eternal life, our membership of God s family is far deeper, more important, more real than any suffering or pain. Look at verse 7, our faith is of greater worth than gold. Gold which we think is so valuable, will perish, it s temporary. Our faith is more precious, long-lasting than gold. God will use his power to shield our faith, but we also need to use all our strength and effort to keep trusting him, particularly in tough times. And when we come through them we will find our faith is stronger. And then look at verse 7. See the result of keeping going, of not giving up. 1 Peter 1:7 These have come so that your faith may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 4

5 When Jesus Christ is revealed it will result in praise, glory and honour for us. This isn t praise and glory and honour that we ve earned. It s much, much better than that. We get to share in King Jesus praise, glory and honour. When King Jesus returns, it will be with the armies of heaven, the choirs of angels, the trumpets blasting, all of creation will bow low. Everyone will acknowledge the Jesus Christ is Lord of all and King of Kings. Think of a great parade, a massive celebration with bands and crowds and cheering and excitement. That s a tiny impression of the reception Jesus will receive when he returns. And we get to share in that adulation, praise, glory and honour. Not, because we ve earned it, not because we deserve it. But, because of the new birth we have through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We get this because of what God has done. So is our life now just keeping our head down and persevering in the drudgery of this life waiting impatiently for the life to come? Not at all!. It s not just about the future. There is also the deep, relational intimacy of being in a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. 3. Love Jesus! You ve been saved (8-9) 1 Peter 1:8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. It s true that the completion, the perfection, the intense reality of our salvation will only be fully understood, experienced, realised, when Jesus returns. But, to expect nothing now and all in the future would be to massively undersell the glorious nature of the Christian life. The truth is that our relationship with God impacts our day to day life. It s not just a get out of jail free card that we keep in our wallets never looking at it until the day we might need it. That massively undersells the Christian life. Its thinking it has no impact on our day to day life. If you have faith in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour you are RIGHT NOW, TODAY, in a relationship with the living God who is King of kings and Lord of Lords. Your eternal life has already begun. If you are young or old, healthy or unwell, if you have children or not, if you re married or not, if your family are well or suffering, if you have problems or life is going well. 5

6 Whatever situation you are in, whatever context you live in. As a Christian you are in a relationship with the living God, you belong in his family. We ve never seen Jesus, we can t see him now. But we love him, we believe in him. We know we ll see him and be with him in the future. But, Peter says that our present, our reality right now as Christians, is that we are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. Why? Because we are, right now, present tense reality, we re receiving the goal of our faith, the salvation of our souls. It s not a question of how much you understand about the truth of the gospel. The real question is are you living it, experiencing it. Is your relationship with Jesus Christ based on love, joy and praise? A lovely, caring elderly spinster died a few years ago. She d never married. During her adult life she d always worn the same locket round her neck. Over the years lots of people in her church had speculated what was in it. The most popular guess was that she d been engaged during the war and her fiancée had been killed and it was his photo. And because of her deep love for him she d never moved on and found someone else. They thought it must represent some tragic love story of loss and loneliness. No one was sure. So when she died her friends opened the locket. Inside was a piece of paper which just said, 1 Peter 1 verse 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. That faithful lady had all that she needed in this life. She d not missed out on anything. The reality of our future transforms our present. We ve been saved by a King; so praise God! Let s Pray! 6