I had the honor to preach at Foothills Bible Church last weekend on 1 Peter 1:1-12. To hear the sermon, go here.
Why should we hope for heaven? Peter gives us some reasons through his words to this scattered group of believers under heavy persecution.
Did you know that around 250,000 people die each DAY around the world? That is around 3 every SECOND. That means the eternal destiny of these folks hangs in the balance. The Bible promises that each one will either go to heaven or hell. This is very sobering and worth thinking on. If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are promised eternity with God forever. As believers in Jesus, we should be excited about this. It should give us comfort, help and hope for living life today. We fix our eyes on the shores of heaven longing for Jesus to return.
Peter shares with the group of believers who are “strangers in the world” truck loads of hope. It is our eternal destiny. How much should we be homesick for heaven because this is our temporary home. I shared this video before the sermon.
Verse two reads: “…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.” We have been picked first by the King of the Universe to be in relationship with him (chosen). God knows where we are going, what we are going to do and what we are thinking He wrote our biography before we were born (foreknowledge). This should cause us to want to please God and bring him glory (Obey).
Verse five reads, “who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.” We are shielded by God’s power in ways we can’t even see sometimes. He protects us even when we don’t know it. This should cause us to fall to our knees in gratitude. The pain we experience is part of God’s overall plan to grow us into the likeness of His Son, Jesus.
Verse six and seven: “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” There is always purpose behind the temporary pain. God is teaching us things. Warren Wiersbe said, “When you are in the furnace, God keeps His hand on the thermostat and his eye on the clock.”
Look at verses ten and eleven: “Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.” The Gospel is a mystery in some respects and certainly was to the Prophets of old. The Prophets wanted to fully get it, but they did not have the whole redemptive plan. Now, with the Word of God in hand, we can see the beginning, middle and end. We look forward to Jesus’ return.
Bottom Line: If the moment that appeared the most hopeless for Jesus (suffering while hanging on the cross) was actually His finest hour, shouldn’t His followers retain hope in times that seem difficult for us knowing that our suffering could be for His glory!? God can make all things work together for good to those who love Him. There is Hope for today.
Keep your eyes on the shores of heaven.
His Name is Jesus!
