In the sermon 'A Heavenly Hope That Prevails' by Jim Tsantles, the speaker explores the key themes of faith, hope, and perseverance in the Christian journey. Drawing from 1 Peter 1:3-9, Tsantles emphasizes the transformative power of divine mercy, which offers believers a 'living hope' through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The sermon highlights the importance of trials and persecution as a means to test and reveal the genuineness of faith. Tsantles draws parallels between Peter's life, who moved from being a zealous fisherman to a shepherd of God's people, and the journey of modern believers. Emphasizing the perseverance of the saints, the sermon reassures listeners that salvation is maintained by the power of God, not by human effort. Tsantles urges the congregation to live their lives as living sacrifices, prepare for suffering, and align their lives with Christian teachings, while keeping a perspective of eternal glory that outweighs present trials.

Who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and on the file and that does not fade away, reserve in heaven for you, For you who are kept by the power of God though through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice though now for a little while if need be you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ whom having not seen you love though now you do not see him yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Amen. A couple of weeks ago we began a journey that Jason introduced us to. And in the journey and the introduction, we got to see a before and after picture of a man.

We had the picture of the before Peter and the after Peter. It was a survey that was quite honestly very encouraging to me. And it ought to be to all of us. Imagine what it would be like for us having to see all the saints of God that have been saved, like, perfect. It would be such a discouragement, because we know what we have inside of us.

And we can relate to a guy like that, a guy like Peter who is so full of zeal. He's got all these great intentions. And Jason went through that survey of Peter's great zeal and how he so often, yes, I would die for you. And he promptly falls right on his face. So that's extremely encouraging.

What I want to do before we start this text is go to a section of scripture that Jason touched on in his introduction. So turn with me to John chapter 21. I think this will be so helpful by way of introduction to this text today that we're going to go through, 1 Peter 1, 3 through 9. This will help set our minds where Peter must have been. So John chapter 21.

You know the story. This is the Sea of Tiberius where Peter's got a group of men, about six or seven of them, they go fishing all night long and they catch nothing. And so in the beginning of chapter 21, it identifies they're in Tiberias, they're fishing all night. And then Jesus in his resurrected state comes and he appears before them again. So now jump down to verse 15.

It's important that your eyes see this. Let your eyes rest upon these words. So if you're not there, get there. Open to John 21. Look at verse 15.

They're at the shore now at the Sea of Tiberias. So when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? And he said to him, yes Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, Feed my lambs. He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?

And he said to him, Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. And he said to him, notice the difference. He says, tend my sheep. Verse 17, he said to him the third time, Simon son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, do you love me?

And he said to him, Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus said to him, feed my sheep. So you notice the transition? It is feed, tend, feed.

In the Greek it's this, It's Bosco, Poimane, Bosco. Bosco, Poimane, Bosco. It's critical for our understanding of what's happening in this text because here's what Jesus is saying to Peter. Do you love these more than me? And then he tells them Bosco, he tells Peter, Bosco, feed my sheep.

Feed in that context is this, nourish them with my words. Bosco, Peter. Then he says to Peter the second time, poimane, Peter, poimane. Tend to them as a father would. Tend to them.

Care for them as a loving father. As somebody who not just nourishes their soul with My holy words, but loves them and cares for them as a father would. And then he says to him finally a third time, Bosco, How do you love them like that, Peter? You feed them with My holy words. This is the restoration.

We know this text is the restoration of Peter. But this is a pure calling. Jesus Christ is saying, do you love these things you're doing, the nets and everything else, more than you love me? And there's no evidence in all of Scripture that suggests that Peter goes back to the nets. And in this context of where we are today, some 30 years later, roughly 30 years of time have gone by.

And what we see is Peter, he is boscoing and poimaning and boscoing this group of dispersed believers. He is pouring his life out. This is his reasonable service. We see in chapter 5 in 1 Peter that he says, I who am a fellow, what? He says, I who am a fellow elder exhort you elders.

So you see that he's fulfilling the very calling that Jesus has given him. He is poimating and boscoing if those words exist. That's what Peter is doing in this text. And oh, let me tell you brothers and sisters, when we go back and we look at what was going on in that era, These brothers and sisters were in desperate need of Boscoing, poimaning, and Boscoing, just like we are. They were in desperate need.

We know that roughly in that era, in and around 62 to 64, this is the time when a wicked emperor of Rome was in control. His name was Nero. It's well chronicled. Fathers, you can tell your children as much as you want to about this, but the details are horrible of what Nero did to our brothers and sisters in those days. He takes the throne roughly at the age of 17 and he might be in his mid-20s in this same era.

And whether or not this is the exact persecution that's being written and spoken of by Peter, we don't know. But we know that certainly there was tremendous persecution that was heading the way. If not, they were in the middle of it. In fact, if you turn, turn your Bibles to 1 Peter now. Let's look at something in 1 Peter.

Turn to chapter 4 before we dive into this text. So look at 1 Peter chapter 4. And we're going to pick up in verse 12. So we get an understanding before we get into this letter. Okay, Verse 12, let your eyes see this.

Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing were happening to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you. For the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. We don't know the exact context of the persecution.

We know, however, that Peter's motivation was so fatherly, was so loving. If you and I face persecution today, how much we would long for those letters from Scott and Jason and our elders, how desperately we would need them. If we're at the abortion clinic and Taylor gets carted off in a police escort and they throw him in jail and they persecute him, we're not in those days now, but you can see that isn't too far in the horizon in our day. And so though, brothers and sisters, we're not in this state of persecution, is it at hand? We don't know.

I can tell you right now, in 2010 there were roughly 300 requests for political asylum from Egyptians. Christian Egyptians. In 2011. Political asylum is the request you make to a government because you're being so persecuted by your own you need to get out. Do you know what it was last year in 2012?

Almost 3, 000. That was just to the United States alone. Forget the Netherlands, forget all the other European nations that are there. And right now, as Nero did, Nero, tradition states, many blame the great fire that happened in Rome On Nero, saying that he was playing the liar as Rome was burning his motivation to destroy all the old stuff so he can rebuild all the new. That he was playing a liar.

That's what tradition holds. And what do you think he did after when everybody pointed the finger at Nero for doing this. Who do you think he blamed? He blamed your brothers and sisters. He blamed those strange people.

Those ones who would actually greet each other with great affection and love. And guess what's happening right now to our brothers and sisters in Egypt who are true followers of Christ. Guess what's happening. Guess who's being blamed for the political overthrow right now that's happening in Egypt. Right now.

So Brothers and sisters, we're not in this. It doesn't affect us per se here. But our attitude toward these things should be great. I don't pray enough. We don't pray enough for our brothers and sisters in the persecution that's happening around the world.

Right now, right now, I'd be willing to bet somebody is being martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ. Somebody, somewhere. And though we don't know here exactly what was happening, they were in desperate, desperate need of what I've titled this sermon. The title I've given this sermon is this, A Heavenly Hope That Prevails. A Heavenly Hope That prevails.

Let's pray before we enter into it. Oh Father, we desperately need your help to understand these things. We live in America. Many of us have never gone through the kind of persecution that I'm certain is happening at this moment for our brothers and sisters around the world. Oh God, help us to understand greater.

Help us to have a perspective, a heavenly perspective. God, help us glean from these things you're teaching us today for your purposes. To prepare us for whatever you may have for us, Lord. We pray for our brothers and sisters being persecuted now. In Jesus' name.

Amen. Okay. Open up to 1 Peter, or turn back, we were in 1 Peter 4, turn back to the beginning of the chapter. We had the introduction of the text, Jason gave us the first two verses, Now we're going to go to verse three. So before we start and read this, here's what you need to know about this text.

I fired a question over to Bregui asking about the Greek. I said, Steve, give me the idea about this, because I had studied that this is a doxology. This is an introduction that Peter is giving. A doxology is words of eulogizing, words of praise. So in the Greek, this is one sentence that runs from verse three all the way to verse nine.

And so the difficulty is you could fragment this up and break this up and lose the idea of what's happening. Peter's running this through one solid sentence through verse 9. You got me on that? So though we're going to break it up here, it is one solid sentence through verse 9 in the Greek. So when you go back and look at it again, understand it's all together here.

It's one big opening that Peter is giving. And so, let's take a look at verse 3. 1 Peter 1.3. Blessed be the God and 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. Brothers and sisters, what does he begin with here?

What are the first two words of this text? Look at those words. Ask yourself this question, why does he begin here? Why does Peter begin with blessed be? Other versions render it praise be.

Why does he begin here? Because this is the only right way for a man or woman who was so bathed in sin, so born into this nature of sin, it is the only right way for somebody who was once sin covered and hell bound to express words fitting to a glorious king who's done this for Him. Matthew 13 goes through a series of the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus' teaching parables, and He says, the Kingdom of Heaven is like, the Kingdom of Heaven is like, the Kingdom of Heaven is like. And then He gets to verse 44 and he says, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that's hidden in a field. And the man that finds that treasure, what does he do?

He's willing to get rid of everything he has. He's ready to get rid of it all because he realizes this. He's never had a gift like this one. He's never had a gift like this before. He's willing to sell it all.

It's what Paul says in Philippians. He's saying, I count it all but Rubbish. It's all but rubbish. When he's talking about the exchange that had occurred, the things that he lived and he was before, I count it all rubbish now. For the knowledge of the surpassing greatness of Jesus Christ, it's all rubbish.

That man that starts with blessed be understands that the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. You see, The saved man understands he begins his world with praise be to God. Blessed be God because he knows what he's saved to and he knows what he's been saved from. Like we sang this morning, the song that we sang, why should I gain from His reward?

Are you kidding me? Why should we gain What is worthy in us? It's absolutely nothing. So Peter is reminding his readers as he begins with the opening of this doxology and saying, praise be, blessed be, He is holy and He is worthy of the praise of the lips of those whose lives he's changed. Amen.

Now look at the rest of this text. Blessed be the God and 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. He takes us through this sequence. I hope you're looking at this. Here's the sequence.

Peter identifies the who, the why, the what, and the means. You got that? He identifies the who, the why, the what, and the means. You got that? He identifies the who, the why, the what, and the means.

The who is what? What does he say here? Who's the who? It is exactly what he says. It is God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The who is this? The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The why. Do you see the why in the text? The why is because of His abundant mercy.

That's exactly what the why is. The what? The what is that we're begotten again. And it's to a living hope. That's the what and the result of what He's done.

The means is how? You see the means as he's identified it here? The means is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. So let's break this down a little bit. Let's begin to focus on the who.

Peter says it is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Hey, these are fighting words. These are fighting words in those days. Why are they fighting words? Because to equate a man from Nazareth in the view of the first century Jew or any Jew, that you would equate a man with Yahweh in Elohim.

That you would equate a man with Yahweh in Elohim. That you would equate a man from Nazareth, isn't this guy but a carpenter? Is what they had said in those days. That you would equate him with the holy God in that view. Peter is making it clear.

This is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is a triune God. He's already identified that in verse 2. And in verse 3, he's simply saying it again. It is God the Father, and it is Jesus Christ, and they are one God.

They are one. And Peter's leaving no room for error. Hey, you and I live in a world right now, brothers and sisters, you know this is true, where everybody says God. God, God. We're meeting in the building over there.

They do these these alcoholics anonymous meetings. It's AA. It's a great work, right? So you think, who's their God? Who's their God?

They all say God. Choose your God. You notice how they insert your? Because what they're saying is the inner power, whatever you call it, let's just call it God. That's what they say, rely on your God.

Oh, But they won't tell you who that God is, will they? The politicians of our day, how many times we hear it constantly, don't we? At the end of whatever message they give, oh, let's pray to God. Let's identify God and let's Invoke God, the name of God. People say it all the time.

And so, how different is it in today's evangelical circles? Much of, not all of, much of the evangelical circle. It's comfortable in the evangelical circle to sprinkle Jesus in there. As we talk of such light terms as the big guy in the sky, you know the one who's wringing his hands and biting his nails, nervously waiting for you to decide to choose him? That God that's preached today?

Compare that to the God that Peter is introducing. As they sprinkle in their Jesus talk, they say proudly to you, we know this because we see him on Monday nights, as they come out and say, yes, yes, you mean the Jesus who gave me my get out of hell free card? Look, I've got the card and look, I can show you the date that I prayed and made my decision for him. I'm good and I was even baptized. That's the God that's identified in our day.

Peter would have none of that. This is the God that I love how Paul Washer puts it. Paul Washer says, Oh, you mean that God who loves me more than I love me? That God? Yes, give me that God.

The one who will make every day like a Friday for me? Amen! I love that God because I love Me too and He loves me. And He can give me my best life now. But the moment you identify God as the true God, the one who actually requires something of you that you lay your life down to follow Him, the world wants nothing to do with it.

Nothing to do with it. A brief story. We're doing a devotion on our vacation on a deck outside. We're just doing a devotion. We end with amazing grace.

And as we're singing amazing grace, we had a beautiful time. I was so thankful to the Lord. You know, when you're on vacation, the tendency can be to, God had given me grace here so I'm sitting outside and up walks these two couples who had left a dinner they were at. And they walk right up to us, these elderly couple, and he leans over. We're outside so we've got this deck and he leans over the deck and he begins to sing with us.

And I'm thinking, God, this is incredible. You're ministering to others who are coming. This guy lit up the place. All personality. You guys, he stopped.

He stopped singing Amazing Grace. And he says, that's the song for my funeral. You know that? Oh God, this is so wonderful. And he's hugging the kids, he brings his wife over and his friends, you've got to meet these people, this is so great.

And we start asking him. So tell us about your church life. So how long have you been following Jesus? Well, I'm really more of an Old Testament Christian. You what?

He left about 30 minutes later and that smile and that joy and that excitement, he was furious mad. Because we said Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. And you're saying and You're singing Amazing Grace and that's the Amazing Grace. He's the grace part of that. Are you schizophrenic?

What's wrong with you? The joy that was there at the beginning when you identify who your God is, as Peter is here, will soon discover, you'll soon discover that you don't walk too much with the same God that the world walks with, as you shouldn't. So, this God that Peter identifies, he is triune, he is holy, he is the law giver, He requires this of you, that you lay down your life, that you take up your cross, that you follow Him in obedience. He who loves me follows me. Peter has nothing to do with this kind of God.

Zero. No room. This is the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, now, he tells us of One of the greatest attributes of this God as he moves to the next portion of the why? Listen to what he says According to his abundant mercy According to his abundant mercy, you know some translations including ESV and NIV and others call it great mercy.

I give Taylor a hard time about ESV. We have this running joke. But they render it great. We say great a lot. We say things are good.

No, they're really great. I'm having a great day. But the word in the Greek here is not that kind of great. The word in the Greek is, the word we're all familiar with, it's poly. Poly meaning many.

So the concept here is that the abundance of God's mercy is, It's many. It's manifold. I mean it's not like great as in good, better, great. This is abundant as in number. Polly.

It is unspeakably, Unfathomably. What other word could we use? You can't number it. Try. Try.

Are you saved? If you're saved, why don't you go ahead and start tonight when you get home. Start your list of the many ways in which God has been merciful to you. And he's shown you abundant mercy because I know your testimonies and I know mine. And you start listing them out in God's work of abundant mercy in you.

How about this morning? And you describe that and when you're done in about seven years Bring it to me and I'll tell you how incomplete it is, as well as my own. There is no way. There's no way. So here's a few that I wrote down.

How about this? God's abundant mercy. The one offended is willing to die for the offender. Where the chain covered slave is cut free and set free. Where He turns thieves and everyday criminals into saints.

He takes the heart of stone and makes it a heart of flesh and makes it alive. He frees you from that dead life of yours, deadness, emptiness. And he implants and imparts into you the divine. I want to say that one again. Are you with me?

He delivers you from the dead life and implants within you the divine. Oh, how great is this God. I dare you to try to make a list of His abundant mercy. Good luck trying. Listen to what Titus says.

This is Titus chapter 3. I'm just going to read it for you. You don't have to go there. Listen to this. This is Titus chapter 3 verses 4 through 7.

Let these words touch your soul. But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy. He saved us through the watching of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us Abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior. That having been justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Oh, brothers and sisters, this should make us want to scream, it should make us want to jump for joy, it should fill us with absolute splendor of God for us here that are saved today.

That should be our response. So the what? Peter now identifies the what. We said the what is this, that you are begotten again. You are begotten again.

You were made into one thing and he converts and translates you and transforms you completely into another. Let's open your Bibles to John chapter 3. These are words I want everybody to take your eyes to this text. Please let your eyes see this. Every child in this room, If you've got a Bible close to you, lean over to it.

Mom and Dad has it. Open up to John chapter 3. Let every eye look upon these words. The power of God is displayed by His words. Let's look at John chapter 3.

There was a man, this is verse 1 obviously, John chapter 3 verse 1. There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these things that you do unless God is with him. Jesus answered and said to him, please let your eyes see this. Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot, he cannot, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus said to him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit. He cannot enter the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh.

That which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, You must be born again. And so it is with you. You must be born again. Why?

Because there is no place for your sin and a place without sin where God keeps the keys and will not allow your sin to enter in. He must condemn it. He is holy and He is righteous. He will not allow your sin to enter into His perfection. You are flesh.

You are flesh in your sin nature. Unless you are born again, you will not inherit this kingdom, is what Jesus tells him. Peter then goes on to describe this being born again, that we're begotten again. I want you to look at the text. Turn back.

I'll give you a second to turn back to 1 Peter. I want you to look what he says and how this is phrased. Look at the order of this, the structure of this. He says, by His abundant mercy has begotten us again to two things. I want you to see the two.

The one's in verse three, the other's in verse four. We're going to expand on verse three. But I want you to see that He puts two together. He says that you have begotten, You've been begotten again to what? You see that?

That's the first one. A living hope. Then he gives the means of how that happens, right? And then he carries it on to verse 4. Remember, this is one sentence altogether in the Greek.

To an inheritance. These two things. You got that? The first one is what? It's a living hope.

The second thing is that it is an inheritance. I just want you to see that here before we go into verse 3 so we don't chop it up. It's the two things Peter's pointing out. You've been begotten and it produces these two. So, now Peter's going to give us a little bit more about the means in the first and the nature in the second.

This hope, This hope that He gives us, He's describing here. It is what kind of hope? It's a living hope. It's alive. It's a living and breathing hope.

How is it living and breathing? The same power by which the stone was rolled away and in which Christ was raised from the dead. It's the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus said to Martha, if you remember this text, Jesus said to Martha, He said, I am the resurrection. When he came back to heal Lazarus as they're walking, some disciples were saying, well Lazarus, you know, he's asleep and Jesus said, no, no, he's dead.

Trust me, he's dead. It was for my purpose that he's dead. It's for you to be able to believe. And he shows up and he has this dialogue with Martha. He says, I am, this is the words of Christ to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life.

He who believes in me, though he may die, He shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. And then he says to Martha these words. You ready? Remember what he says to her at the end of this?

Martha, do you believe this? Do you believe this? That's how he finishes his dialogue with Martha before he does his miraculous work. I want you to see this text and turn to 1 Corinthians. It's going to give us a little bit more detail on this.

1 Corinthians, You're going to go to chapter 15. I know I'm turning you several places. Come on. Get to 1 Corinthians 15. You can do this.

1 Corinthians 15. We're going to cover verse 3 and 4, and then we're going to jump to 12. In fact, I'm going to give us the first four. Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preach to you, which also you received, and in which you stand, by which also you are saved. If you hold fast that word which I preach to you, unless you believed in vain.

For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received." That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. That He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. And then He gives the proofs. Well, He appeared to all these people. Now he jumps down because he has a purpose in the Corinthian church.

Jump down now to verse 12. Now he's trying to reason with the people in the Corinthian church. And it's the same appeal we get from Peter here. He's basically saying this. Not the same appeal, but it's regarding the resurrection.

Now if Christ has preached that He has been raised from the dead, how is it that some among you say that there is no resurrection from 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, and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God because we have testified of God that He did in fact do this, that He raised Jesus from the dead. He raised up Christ whom He did not raise up.

Let me start that verse again. Yes, and 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. Your faith is futile.

You are still in your sins. Continuing verse 18. Then also Those who have fallen asleep in Christ, they've perished. If in this life only we hope in Christ, we are of all men most pitiable. Of all men we are most Pitiable.

Think about this. Seriously, brothers and sisters, if Christ isn't resurrected from the dead, we are a bunch of fools. We are a bunch of fools. Because this was the argument that Gamaliel used, if you remember, in Acts 5, when Peter and the disciples are arrested because they're teaching in the temple and the Jews are saying, You're perverting our doctrine. They arrest them.

They're out again preaching. And they come back and they gather them up. And the councils, they're outraged. And Gamaliel stands up and he gives a great piece of wisdom. And He says, hey, there was a man named Theodos who rose up and he amounted to nothing.

We killed him. His followers were dispersed. There was a Judas who rose and thought he was somebody special. We killed him and their followers dispersed. Well, we already got their guy.

He's gone. So now his argument, my paraphrase is, his argument is look, unless you find yourself fighting against God, let these men alone. Let them be because the evidence will prove for itself whether it was genuine or not. And we know that it was genuine because of what? The resurrection of Jesus Christ and their seeing a risen God.

They saw Jesus again, they witnessed Him, He came and He instructed them. So Gamaliel's counsel was actually right. Lest you find yourself be fighting against God. And so this hope that we have is alive through the resurrection. And that is the point of all of our hope in the future, is the resurrection of our souls, the resurrection in a bodily state.

Now the second part is a transition he makes to verse 4. Let's look at verse 4 together. Turn back to 1 Peter. Now he's going to describe, he's going to give us the nature of this. He's going to say in verse 4, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.

Reserved in heaven for you. To say to an inheritance implies what? To say you're going to somewhere means that you're coming from somewhere. If I'm going to the store, it's because I've come from wherever. And now, Jesus is, or Peter rather, is pointing to the greatest two.

He's saying you've come from this through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, from death, and now you're going to this. Here's the two. He describes it. The two is an incorruptible and undefiled, reserved in heaven, glorious reservation for you who believe in faith. It does not fade away.

Let's break this down a little bit. So we see, first of all, he describes it as one. Incorruptible. Incorruptible meaning what? There is no sin that can enter there per our previous statement, right?

No sin can enter heaven. It's incorruptible. Man can't touch it. It is what? Second nature of it in the text.

Look at verse 4. It is undefiled. There is no defilement there. And then he says it's unfading. It's unfading.

It does not go away. The glory that will be revealed. It cannot, cannot be touched. Man's hands can't do anything to God's eternity. And then he says, it's finally reserved for you in heaven.

This is a permanent place. It's a permanent place that God has affixed for you. Jesus said in heaven there are many mansions. If it weren't true, I wouldn't have told you so. That's His promise to you.

Eternal resting place for you. It's reserved in heaven for you, who by faith have believed in Jesus Christ. It can't be touched. Man's hands cannot do anything to this. Man's hands did not make it.

It is not perishable. It is not perishable. Revelation chapter 7 verses 16 and 17 gives us these words as revealed to John. Speaking of those whose robes who have been made white in the blood of the Lamb. Listen to these words.

Oh, they shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore. The sun shall not strike them nor any heat. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of water and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes Every tear our eternal our eternal state is secure in Jesus Christ It is secure and that's what He's going to go to next in verse 5. It's the natural progression of this one sentence He's giving. Let your eyes see verse 5 now.

Look at verse 5. You, I'm adding you from verse 4 because it's part of the same sentence. You who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. You are kept by the power of God. I want to say it again.

You are kept by the power of God. I want to say it again. You are kept by the power of God. I want to say it again. Did you hear me?

You have faith in Jesus Christ. You are kept by the power of God. Do you know why I repeat that? You know in the Old Testament, and Jesus often did this, he would say, verily, he'd repeat it. He'd say verily, verily, for emphasis.

Because this is really critically important that you understand this. So I say it again, you are kept by the power of God. If you are saved and Jesus Christ is in you, you are kept by his power. Why is it so important that you understand this? What is this doctrine called?

We don't have time to get into all of it. It's called Perseverance of the Saints. Lot of debate about this And there's many people who believe even today that you can lose your salvation. They would say on the front end, well, God is sovereign in electing and saving, but somehow you can lose your salvation. And there are even those that say, well, hey, if it was my decision on the front end anyway if I flipped on the switch when I walked into the room If I flipped on the switch of my faith when I walked in the room Well, the only naturally makes sense then is I leave that room if I leave by my choices of sin I flip that switch back off Just by my own power.

How ridiculous is this idea? Peter gives no place for such damaging doctrine here. There is no place, he says emphatically, you who are kept. You're not kept by your own power. That's impossible.

He said in the first place in verse 3, how were you saved to begin with? By His what? It was His abundant mercy that did that. It wasn't your divine enlightenment made by your own, well that wouldn't be divine, your human enlightenment. You came to a self-actualization and realized that this hole in your heart needed to be filled one day.

This is nonsense. Peter has nothing of this in this text of Scripture. It was God's mercy to produce this in you. So, There are some texts of scripture that seem to be confusing if you read them out of context or if you don't look at the whole of scripture that would appear to some as they read it that you could lose your salvation. But this is not at all what the clarity of scripture says.

Listen, if you don't believe what I'm telling you in the one text which says it very clearly, you're kept by the power of God. How about what Jesus says himself? Let's try this on. Ready? Ready?

John chapter 6. Here's Jesus' words. John chapter 6, this is verses 37 through 39, if you want to write it down. Or go there if you want. All, all, did you hear that?

All that who, all that the Father gives me will come to me. And the one who comes to me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that of all he has given me. Oh, brothers, sisters, listen to the rest of this statement from Jesus himself.

Listen to the rest of this statement. That of all that he has given me, I should lose what? Nothing. I, Jesus is saying this, I should lose nothing. Jesus won't lose you.

His power is greater than your power. His power will keep you in the last time. It wasn't your power that produced your salvation, nor is it in your power to unproduce it. This is not the work of our triune God. What should this make us do?

What should this make you feel? It should give you such a joy in your soul. Yes, you will falter with sin. Yes, you will struggle with sin. Yes, you will have difficult days.

But it's not going to be based on those days. It's not going to be based on that terrible thought that you had. If you are saved, you are kept assured by the power of God Himself. Not on the power within you to keep yourself. No holy living can do this for you.

Jesus Christ in his power alone, the power of God does this for you. And now he says in verse six, look at verse six. First Peter, verse six. In this you greatly rejoice. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you've been grieved by various trials.

In this you greatly rejoice. What is the in this? What's the in this? Come on. It's everything you just told you.

It's the first five verses until he gets to this point. In this, in this, Everything I just told you, everything that I just reminded you of if you were a believer, in this you greatly rejoice. Though now for a little while if need be you've been grieved by various trials. Oh, for a little while. Trials don't always seem like a little while, do they?

Trials often feel like they're not going to end. The sickness of the stomach, the knots and the turning from within seems like it'll never end, does it? You see, Jesus' promise was, blessed are those who mourn. You've been grieved, right? You've been grieved by various trials.

So you see, rejoicing and grieving in the same text. We can rejoice because of all the promises, but yet brothers and sisters, Jesus Himself said that blessed are those who mourn. We will grieve. Grieve. We should grieve.

We should grieve at our sin. We should grieve at loss. We should grieve at trials. But there's a right way to grieve and a wrong way to grieve. You understand this?

There's a right way to grieve and a wrong way to grieve. And that's what Peter's reminding those who are receiving this letter of. And they needed this. So you see a trial is a great divider. Stay with me here.

Follow this. A trial is a great divider. Here's what I mean. Doesn't mesh with our flesh, does it? Don't want it.

I have a question. A question I pose to myself in preparation. It's a question I pose to you now. Are you afraid of the trial that may come? Are you afraid of the trial that may come?

Or are you afraid of what that trial might reveal about you? You follow what I'm saying? Are you afraid of the trial, or are you afraid of what it will reveal about you? I am. Be honest, I am.

You hear these stories of the martyrs, and you think, you've had these thoughts, have you not? Like literally they're singing as they're being burned. As I read the account of Stephen stoning, they are pelting him with stones and cursing him. What is Stephen doing? Stephen's praying for them.

Lay not charge, my paraphrase, lay not this charge against them. They don't know what they do. And he's saying, I see Jesus sitting at the right hand of God as He's being stoned. And all he did was what? He just told them truth.

Stephen just told them truth. Are you afraid of the trial? Or are you afraid of what the trial will reveal about you? Jesus himself said, the storms will come, the waves and the winds will come, and it will reveal what your foundation is, will it not? That's what a trial will do.

It will reveal what's inside of you. And he says, though now for a little while, if need be, you are grieved by various trials. Brothers and sisters, we are not in this season at the moment. Maybe you've had some personal trials. Maybe you're going through a season of trials.

But Peter's asking us to have perspective, holy and divine perspective in light of the grace of what God has given you. How great is that trial. And that's exactly what he's doing to those who are receiving this letter from him. Peter is being so fatherly and so caring. He is writing a love letter to these brothers and sisters, though now for a little while you're going to be enduring these trials.

It's a letter written with such love, like a father, like you would write to your children if you knew your children were going through trials. If they're in jail, it would be those letters that you would send is what Peter's doing. Here's what I want to exhort you to. To understand this. A trial.

A trial reveals what you have. And the truth is, without Christ, you have nothing. You have nothing. What does the atheist say? What does the atheist say?

What does the atheist say when the trial takes his wife? What does he say? She doesn't look so lovely in that box. It's a shame she's going to turn into just dust, and that's it, and lights are out. What does an atheist say?

The trial reveals that there's emptiness. That was Paul's argument to the Corinthians. Wait, the resurrection, that's like the whole point, that it leads to something. What does atheism lead to? Lights out, baby.

That's it. You are nothing but dust. What hope is that? There's no hope there at all. You know, I was a fool for 28 years of my life, full of thinking I knew so much.

And I had One of the greatest trials of my life when my son almost lost his life. I'll never forget it. It's one of the greatest calls of my life. I was probably 26 or 27. A pool party throughout that day led my son to just take his swimming wings off and he runs and he jumps in the pool.

We were both unsafe. I had made my life full of the world. Everything the world had is what I made appetite of. My wife is eight months pregnant with Allison, and she sees the wings on the floor and realizes, oh, where's Taylor? And she runs.

There he is at the bottom of the pool. Her sister who's in the pool dives down and gets him and brings him up. That night is a night I'll never forget in my life. My son was asleep. He was fine that day.

They revived him on the scene. That night I'm sitting at the side of his bed and I'm looking at his gray ash colored appearance because he was without oxygen for a period of time. And the moonlight, I'll never forget it, the moonlight is coming through and I'm seeing his body there and I'm sitting on the side of his bed and I'm thinking, this could be me looking at my son in a casket right now. I could be standing over a dead son. No, he's not dead.

He's breathing. And I walked outside. I said, oh, oh, God? Who? My gut was so sick Because I had nothing.

I was empty. It was Paul's point. He was saying our faith is empty if not for the resurrection. Well that's what I was. I was empty.

I had zero. I was bankrupt. And I felt so hollow inside because My son was spared from sure death. And I wanted to thank somebody, but I had no one to thank. Do you see the power of the trial in what it does?

For the unsaved, if you are unsaved today, don't wait for the trial. Don't wait for the trial. You see, I got mercy. My son was spared and the Lord then saved me. And He gave me His mercy, His abundant mercy and grace.

But don't wait for the trial. Don't wait for God to put you on the doorstep of death or somebody you love to have you in that moment where you realize I have nothing without Christ you have nothing that's the power of the trial Don't waste it for you and I, brothers and sisters who have been saved. Let's not waste the trial because now as he moves on, as he moves on to verse 7, We see what it produces. The genuineness of faith. Oh, it is much more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire.

May be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Do you know that there will be a revelation of Jesus Christ? He will come and judge the living and the dead. But that trial, the intention of that trial, The purpose of the trial, the purpose of what you may be going through, or that you may have on your doorstep tomorrow, has one purpose for the believer. It has this.

Actually, it's a couple purposes. That one, the genuineness of your faith is produced. So when the foundation is blown away, you see that you are built upon the solid rock of Jesus Christ. It reveals your foundation and then, As it's tested by fire, at the end of your day, you can say that it resulted in the glory, praise and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. We have the revelation of Jesus Christ, don't we?

Through the Holy Spirit you have the revealed Word of Scripture. What happens when you read Job now? What happens when you read Job? What does it result in in your soul if you're saved? What does it result in?

Glory and praise and honor to the name of God. You can't help but read Job and say, I don't know if I could ever go through stuff like that, but God I see what you've done by exalting your name in a man who says to his wife, oh no, I will not. I will not turn my back on God, regardless of what I face. Blessed be the name. He's given and he's taken away.

He says the same thing Peter began our text with. Praise be to God in spite of it all. And God now is glorified as a result of it. That is the purpose. Verse 8 and 9.

Having not seen you love, though now you do not see him, yet believing you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your soul. Hebrews 11 says, faith is what? Hebrews 11.1, you know this. You know this. Faith is the substance of the things hoped for.

And it's the evidence of things not seen. It's the evidence of things not seen. You remember that moment where Jesus reappears to Thomas in his resurrected state. As he reappears to Thomas, the words, you remember the words he said to Thomas? Some of them?

Let me give them to you. This is in John chapter 20, verses 28 and 29, if you want to write it or look at it now. This is Thomas' response to actually witnessing that substance of the resurrection. He's standing before that substance and His response as He beholds and He puts His fingers into that substance. His response is what?

Oh Lord, my God! It's Thomas' response. Oh my Lord and my God. Jesus' response back to Thomas is what I want you to focus on. Listen to his response back to Thomas.

And this is the response we should have, or at least the one that should blow us away. Thomas, because you have seen me, You have believed. I had to put the evidence right in front of you, Thomas. Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen yet believed.

That's you. That's you if you're saved. Blessed are you. Blessed are you. If your hope is such that whom not seeing, we put all of our faith, all of our trust, and all of our joy in Jesus Christ with great joy.

The salvation, brothers and sisters, the thrust of our text is this. The salvation of your soul should cause such a rejoicing in you that no matter what you face, the salvation of your soul produces the freedom from death, the freedom from sin, and liberty to do what a Christian should do, to lift up praises and adoration and wonder to a holy God. I want you to turn and look at this text as we approach our close and applications. I want you to turn to 1 Samuel chapter 2. 1 Samuel chapter 2.

1 Samuel chapter 2. Listen to Hannah as she applies 1 Peter and the exhortation given by the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit has illuminated Hannah. And now she's writing the divine words of Scripture and speaking them. Look at 1 Samuel chapter 2. And Hannah prayed and said, My heart rejoices in the Lord.

My horn is exalted in the Lord. I smile at my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation. No one is holy like the Lord, for there is none beside you, nor is there any rock like our God. Nor is there any rock like our God. Turn again with me to Psalm 34.

I can't leave out Psalm 34. Just look at these first three verses of Psalm 34. Let these words ring into your soul. Psalm 34, verses 1-3. I will Bless the Lord at all times.

His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord. The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me. And let us exalt his name together.

This is where we are. Let's exalt his name together. What are some of the applications? The applications are so many here. Oh, we could make applications all day long of this text and the Lord can do that for you.

There's a few that I want to highlight. So, Application number one. So what about you? What about you? Where's your hope?

Who's your hope in? Yourself? Good luck. Your knowledge, your brain power? Good luck.

Where's your hope? Your hope should be in Jesus Christ our Lord who gave all the evidence we need. Place your hope there. It's a sure foundation. Repent today.

Repent now. Put your faith in Jesus Christ. Number two. What Peter did, the Bosco, Poimane Bosco, is he followed his Savior. He followed.

He was obedient. Jesus said, follow me, as he says to you. Christian, follow me. Follow me. Have you laid your life down?

If you're a Christian, have you? Is there a calling, perhaps, that God would clarify over time? I don't know. This is for you to wrestle with. But Have you laid your life down?

If you're a Christian, have you? Is there a calling, perhaps, that God would clarify over time? I don't know. This is for you to wrestle with. But have you laid your life down?

Romans 12.1 tells us, I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, present your bodies how? As a living sacrifice. Children? Children who say you're saved? The Holy Spirit may be living in you.

Are you laying your bodies down as a living sacrifice in your own home? That's what you're called to do. Living sacrifice. Are you living as sacrifices? Application three.

The text here had us in a place where people were in a terrible state. Our brothers and sisters, we're in a terrible state. And I know we have trials. We have things that we go through that are difficult. But let me ask this.

Of myself and of you, Are you given to complaining? Are you given to complaining? I know it's in your flesh because I know it's in mine. Is it your propensity to complain and focus on the problem? I had a good friend who said to me one time, there was a problem I was going through, and he was such a good friend and he said this to me, he said, Jim, the problem isn't the problem.

Okay, is this a riddle? The problem isn't the problem. The problem is your lack of love for God. That's the problem. I was, that same response I had, I looked at him like, what, my lack of love for God, I love God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.

What are you talking about? No. He said it's your lack of love for God that's your problem. Because you see, you're no different than Psalm 13. Where you see in the text as we went through a few weeks ago, it's me, my eye, me, my eye, me, my eye, me, my eye, my problem, my problem, my issue, my issue, my issue.

And then finally in verses 4 and 5 he gets to where he should have started. Where Peter started this text, blessed be God. Regardless of what I'm going through, no matter what's happening, I'm going to find a way to praise God. So if that's your propensity as it can be mine, I say stop it. Let me be a friend to you.

Stop it. Stop complaining all the time. Stop finding everything that's wrong. Turn your heart, correct it in the middle of it, and stop and praise God as you should. And I need to follow my own counsel in that.

Stop and praise God. Your meager affliction, what you're going through now, I'm not trying to debase or say that you don't have legitimate trials. That's not what I'm saying. You know what I'm saying. In light of the hope of glory, in light of all that God's set forth, that's the whole point of this text.

No matter what you're going through, rejoice because it's a light affliction and it's for a short time. Though now for a little while, you're tested. So I say, brothers and sisters, repent of a complaining spirit. Repent. Put your focus on Jesus Christ.

Set your mind on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Four. Are you prepared for suffering? Are you prepared for suffering? The truth is, we don't want suffering.

We already said this rails against our flesh. But you have to ask yourself this question from this text. It begs the question for your soul. Are you prepared to suffer? Because guess what?

To that you've been appointed. News flash for us, for me. Stop living your best life now. The American Dream ideology that so contaminated us. We have brothers and sisters right now as we said before who are marching off likely to their deaths.

Are you prepared to suffer? Are you equipped mentally? Are you ready to suffer? We should be. We should be praying as well for those who are in the midst of suffering as we're meeting here.

We should be praying for our brothers. I should be. I confess I'm terrible and I shouldn't be. This is wrong. I need to repent.

I'm not praying more for my brothers and sisters. So as we close, I just want to exhort you this way finally. In where Peter began, in this time, If through all of this and even some of the application leaves you perplexed or however the Lord would leave you, make sure you include the whole purpose of this text in your takeaway here. It's this. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad.

Rejoice. Find rejoicing in your soul if you are saved. Turn. Take the counsel of Peter here and turn and rejoice and praise God regardless. Strengthen your feeble knees.

Let the long loving arms of God your Father, who gave us this amazing letter, very paternal, very loving, let him minister it to your soul regardless of where you are. And let's rejoice together as he's given us this blessing. Let's close in prayer. Oh God, what a delight your word is to our souls. You come and minister in ways we never expect.

And God, we need you. We love you, God. We say at the end of this text, blessed be our God. Praise be to our God. Oh, Lord, we love you.

Thank you for this body and thank you for your work to put us in it. God, we thank you for this time. In Jesus' name, Amen.