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SERMON:
Pain
has a way of stretching out time. Perhaps you’ve experienced a night lengthened
by pain. A night in which your mind wrestled with some problem, and refused to
let your body sink into slumber. Or maybe it was a night lengthened by bodily
pain. Perhaps it was the pain of contractions, a sore back, or a persistent
fever that kept waking you through the night. And each time you looked you
found that only minutes had passed since the last time you glanced at the
clock.
Pain
has a way of stretching out time and making it feel like nothing is ever going
to get better.
Today
we continue our study of Peter’s first letter. As we’ve mentioned previously,
the apostle Peter wrote this letter to encourage Christians who were facing
persecution.
Perhaps
the Christians Peter wrote to were experiencing the time stretching and
perspective shrinking power of pain. In our reading Peter enlarges their
perspective to show them the greater picture. Peter wanted them to see that
some things are temporary, and others eternal.
1 Peter
1:18b-25 (NASB)
18…you were not redeemed with
perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited
from your forefathers, 19but with precious blood, as of a lamb
unblemished and spotless, the blood of
Christ. 20For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world,
but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 21who
through Him are believers in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory,
so that your faith and hope are in God.
22Since you have in obedience to the
truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love
one another from the heart, 23for you have been born again not of
seed which is perishable but imperishable, that
is, through the living and enduring word of God.
24For,
“All flesh
is like grass,
And all its glory
like the flower of grass.
The grass
withers,
And the flower
falls off,
25But the word
of the Lord endures forever.”
And this is the word which was
preached to you.
▬
Peter
never says, “I’m writing this letter because you guys are being persecuted.” We
gather that this was the case because Peter mentions persecution so many times.
For
example, in chapter 4 Peter writes…
“Dear friends, do not be surprised
at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were
happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ,
so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (1 Peter 4:12-13 NIV).
In
other places Peter encourages his fellow Christians not to repay evil with
evil, and to refrain from threatening those who were persecuting them. Instead Peter
encourages them to rejoice that they have been given the opportunity to suffer
for the name of Christ, who saved them.
In
our verses for today, Peter directs his fellow Christians to back up and get
some perspective. This time of trial is temporary, but the salvation of God
is eternal. And by eternal, I don’t just mean un-ending. God’s plan of salvation
is eternal in both directions! Before the foundation of the world, God the
Father had chosen his Son to be the Savior of sinners.
Peter
directs his fellow Christians to think about how far back God was preparing
good things for them. All the way back in eternity. And now the Savior had
come, and they had heard about how he died in their place, for their sins. They
had come to trust in him for forgiveness. They had come to know the God who
created them, and that he was a God of love and compassion. A God who really
cared about them and was preparing a future for them greater than any they could
possibly imagine.
The
persecutions they were facing because of their faith would end one day, but
their relationship with God would not. Man’s persecution is temporary, but
God’s salvation in Christ is eternal.
▬
Now,
I don’t think that human beings have ever really enjoyed waiting for things.
But it seems that today the human race is less patient than ever. We want
everything NOW. On demand. Right here, right now, on my phone, downloaded to my
computer, delivered to my door.
But
God doesn’t work that way. He doesn’t order his agenda according to our
desires. He orders his agenda according to his divine wisdom. He knows what we
need now. And sometimes what we need is to simply WAIT for his plan to unfold. In
Psalm 27 it says…
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take
courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14 ESV).
Waiting for
the Lord is an exercise in faith. When we wait prayerfully and patiently on the
Lord we are saying, “Okay God, you’ve got this covered. I know your promises.
I’ll hang tight here and depend on you.”
And when we
do this, remarkable things happen. Like it says in Isaiah 40…
“…they who wait
for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 ESV).
Which is better? To try and walk to
your destination, or to wait for the plane to take you there? It’s not hard to
figure out why waiting on the Lord is a better plan.
▬
From Peter’s letter, we learn that
Christians in Asia Minor were enduring all sorts of different trials. And some
of these trials included accusations and ridicule from non-Christians.
In chapter 2, Peter writes…
“Live such good
lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may
see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Peter 2:12 NIV).
Their pagan neighbors thought it
bizarre that these Christians wouldn’t do all the same things that they used
to. And this led to ridicule. In chapter 4, Peter writes…
“They are
surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they
heap abuse on you” (1
Peter 4:4 NIV).
It’s been said “Sticks and stones
may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” But anyone who has ever been
the butt of a joke knows different. The things people say about us can hurt a
lot. Perhaps unending ridicule was taking it’s toll on the faith of the
Christians in Asia Minor. So, Peter reminds them that the words of man are
temporary, but the Word of God is eternal. In verse 23 Peter writes…
“…you
have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring
word of God.
24For,
“All flesh
is like grass,
And all its glory
like the flower of grass.
The grass
withers,
And the flower
falls off,
25But the word
of the Lord endures forever.”
And this
is the word which was preached to you” (1 Peter 1:23-25 NASB).
▬
Insult and ridicule from people who
don’t trust in Jesus can hurt. But those words only have so much power. And
that power will not last.
But the Word of God is different.
When God spoke in the beginning he said, “Let there be light” and there was
light. And as you can see, that light is still around today. When God speaks
his promises to us in the pages of Scripture, his voice bears the same creative
power that it did in the beginning. The fact that God’s own Son suffered and
died to erase our sins forever, that message has the power to create faith in
the hearts of sinners. And because that faith is based on God’s Word and not on
man’s word, that faith has he power to endure forever.
Man falls apart. Man’s ideas get updated.
But God? He’s eternal. And God’s Word, that which has endured through the
centuries by the power of the Holy Spirit, that Word of promise will endure
into eternity. And Peter tells his suffering friends in Christ, “…this is the
word with was preached to you”! The words of man are temporary, but the Word
of God is eternal.
▬
I don’t know what kind of
discouraging words have been directed your way lately. Words that suggest that
God isn’t real. Words that suggest that the Bible can’t be trusted. Words meant
to make you doubt God’s love. I don’t know what you’ve been facing recently. But
what I do know is that in the end we will stand before God, and the truth will
be known. Cling to the God who made you. Cling to the God who authored your
salvation. Cling to the God who promises you forgiveness of sins and life
eternal as his gift to you. His promises have never failed, and they never
will. As the Bible says,
“Scripture
cannot be broken” (John 10:35 ESV).
▬
Okay, so far we’ve been reminded
that persecution is temporary, salvation is eternal. We’ve been reminded
that man’s word is temporary, God’s Word is powerful and eternal.
Peter’s final words for us today draw a distinction between man’s love and
God’s love. Man’s idea of love is temporary, but true love, God’s love, is
eternal. Look finally at verse 22. There Peter writes….
“22Since you have in
obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren,
fervently love one another from the heart,” (1 Peter 1:22 NASB).
First of all, we have to understand
that phrase, “obedience to the truth.” It’s not too hard to comprehend. If
you DO A COMMAND, that’s called OBEDIENCE. If you OBEY A TRUTH that’s called
FAITH. Do you get it? Peter is basically saying, “You have believed
Christ’s promise of forgiveness, and so your souls stand purified in Christ.”
And one of the effects of your faith in Christ is love for your fellow
Christians.
Now, Jesus also directs us to love
our enemies, to love everyone like God loves them. But that’s not what Peter is
talking about here. Peter is directing these words to Christians who were
undergoing persecution for their faith. So he directs them to ramp up their
love and support of one another. FERVENTLY love one another from the heart,
Peter says. And in this way you will carry one another through the trials you
are enduring.
Man’s idea of love is often tainted
by selfishness. The world describes romantic love as a strong desire to have
someone for yourself. The world’s idea of love is frequently all about ME
getting what I want. But God’s love is different. The love that God teaches is
all about ME putting myself in the backseat for someone else. God describes
love as a desire to improve the condition of someone else.
The apostle John put it like
this…
“16 This is how we
know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay
down our lives for our brothers and sisters” (1 John 3:16 NIV).
Self gratification is temporary. Man’s
idea of love is temporary. But God’s definition of love is lasting, and
powerful. God’s idea of love has eternity in mind, not just the here and now.
This is the love Peter encourages us to have for one another. A love that
supports and nurtures the faith of our fellow Christians.
The Bible says “God is love” (1
John 4:8 ESV). And so I’ve got to bring us back to that concept that Peter
brings up here. The concept that through faith in Christ, Christians are BORN
AGAIN. We are born into God’s family, and through the power of the Holy Spirit
we begin to take on the family resemblance. We begin to love one another
fervently, from the heart.
When we do this we create a little
shelter in the storm of this world for our fellow Christians. A little shelter
where the storm can be weathered. A little shelter where we can both look to
God in faith, and rest secure in his promises—not matter what trials are
weighing on us.
▬
Pain has a way of stretching out time.
Making us dread each second. But the pain of this world, pain of mind, heart,
or body, that’s all temporary. God has mapped out our path, and it takes us to
his side. Jesus Christ has pioneered the way by his selfless cross which erases
the record of our sins. And God has placed us together here, with Christians
who know God’s eternal Word, and God’s everlasting love in Christ. May our
great God teach us how to love one another fervently, from the heart, that out
time here may not only be bearable, but full of support, and joyful worship, as
we wait for our Savior’s return, and the end of all trials.
Dear Christians, cling to the
Spirit’s words: the here and now is temporary. The promises of God, those are
eternal.
Amen.
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