1 Peter series – “Holding onto Hope in a Hostile World”

1 Peter 1:3-5

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, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealedin the last time.

 “Holding onto Hope in a Hostile World”

Review – Last time we saw Peter calling the church to hold onto Hope in a Hostile World.  He called Christians living in a hostile culture to know who they are, where they are, why they are here and what they have. Today we will see Peter expanding on who we are, what we have been given and why we are here. Today we will discover together that God guards what He gives.

1. PRAISE – Vs 3

Peter starts with praise because preaching without praising is pointless. Praise prioritizes, putting things  into their proper order. It takes the focus of off our fears bringing God the Father into focus. Peter starts first with God not the garbage. Many of us start with everything else and hope that at the end there is room for God. What priority does God have in your life, is it first or furthest? Are you giving God your left overs or your love? Praise puts the spotlight on Christ and not on our cares. Is Christ your central focus or are there things that are crowding out Christ in your life? Have you lost your perspective, are you giving your problems the priority instead of the prince of peace? Then Peter’s prescription for you is praise.  

As Peter praises he uses a three-fold title– 

• Lord – 

Refers to the Old Testament name Adonai, meaning master or owner. Who is in charge in your life, are you submitting to His supremacy or to self? For to say NO lord is really an oxymoron, because if He is really Lord then the only answer is YES. Are there any areas in your life where you are telling Him know? 

• Jesus – 

Means Savior, we love this title because this is where we get, we are the recipients of salvation. The problem is that as much as we love and seek the mercy that comes with this title we seem to hate and reject that which comes with the first. But you can’t get the mercy without the master. This is the problem with the church today we want the Salvation just not the service. Its time for the church to stop trying to choose the parts of the Prince of Peace that we like. You can’t have Mercy without the Master and you can’t have salvation without service. 

• Christ –  

Christ comes from a Greek word meaning anointed or chosen One, He is Gods anointed one sent by God to be the king and deliverer. Anointing was a symbolic act to indicate God’s choosing. In ancient Israel, when someone was given a position of authority, oil was poured on their head to signify they had been set apart for God’s service. The Bible says Jesus was anointed with oil on two separate occasions by  women. But there are two other anointing’s that for me are even more significant, in Acts 10:38 it says that Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit. But my favorite anointing is the one that never happened, it’s the one that again involves women who came to anoint his dead body with spices and ointments but could not do so because he had been raised from the dead! Are you praising Him as Lord and Master of your life? Do you praise Him as Jesus the Savior of your life? Do you praise Him as Christ, God’s anointed king and deliverer? What amazes me is how many Christians are constantly adding to their prayer list but rarely to their praise list. One of the reasons we are miserable ministers is that we focus on the petition of prayer more than the praise of prayer. Here is my challenge for you in your prayer life: before you petition God in prayer over any problem I want you to praise Him for two things. Peters praise was not private it was public and then published to provide us with an example. Parents what example are you providing for your kids is it one of praise? Are you setting an example of worship or worry? If you want to instill an attitude of gratitude in your kids then start provide them with a perspective of praise. How many of us give thanks to God for a sink full of dirty dishes, my guess not many. We see a mess but a sink full of dirty dishes usually means that we have been blessed with food to eat. Over two thirds of this world goes to bed hungry every night, yet we complain because after eating a great meal we have some dishes to do. It’s easy to get caught up in the complaining were the only thing we can see is the mess and we miss the blessing. In the Greek this section in verses 3-9 make up one sentence. Once Peter starts praising he can’t stop. What about you do you get carried away in your praise? Peter begins with wonder and worship instead of with worry. He chooses to praise instead of focusing on problems and persecution. Are you going to start with God or the garbage? Praise reminds us of just how big a God we serve, and when we see how big God is, it puts our problems into proper perspective. When we allow our problems to control everything, we rarely and barely see God. Look the principle of praise is a powerful principle in the Kingdom of God. The walls of Jericho fell when the people praised God. The earth shook and prison doors opened when Paul and Silas praised God. 1 Peter 1:3 is identical to 2 Corinthians 1:3 and Ephesians 1:3. Both Peter and Paul couldn’t help but praise when they contemplate what is ours in Christ. When you’re going through problems or persecution the best thing to do is to praise God. Are you going to make it about the Messiah or the Mess? 

1 Peter series – “Holding onto Hope in a Hostile World”

1 Peter 1:1-2

This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. ² God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more and more grace and peace.

Not only do you need to know who you are, where you are and why we are here but you also need to know:

4. What you have been given 

Look at the last phrase of verse 2: “May God give you more and more grace and peace” we have:

• Redemption through grace. 

The word grace means gift. Specifically, it refers to God’s unmerited favor poured out on people just like Peter. God pursued Peter with grace, the coward who denied Christ. Peter didn’t just get God’s grace he gave it, he mentions grace in every chapter of this letter. Is grace your go to word, is your life grounded in grace. Oh we sing about amazing grace but do we soak in it. I think we would rather lip sync about grace than live it. Parents you want to grow Godly kids give grace, Husbands you want a godly wife give grace. You are either going to focus on the grace or the groaning. Not only do we have redemption through grace but we have:

• Reconciliation through Peace. 

Our sin didn’t just separate us it caused us to wage war with God. It’s only through the shed blood of Christ that we can be people of peace. Peter reminds us to pursue God’s peace not the counterfeit peace this world offers. You will either focus on peace or you will panic. Christianity has always advanced when under attack. God’s grace and peace are multiplied in the midst of the mess. Believes in Peters day suffered because of their stand for the Savior and so will we. You can get angry and argumentative or you can chose to live an attractive and appealing life. Look adversity is the Almighty’s specialty. This week I want to challenge you to live for Christ in the midst of a crooked culture. If you are saved spend sometime this week sowing the seeds of salvation. Share your faith with a friend, share Christ with a coworker. Second choose to live out your convictions don’t cower to the culture. If you’ve been compromising; come back to conviction, don’t be afraid of being an alien. If you have allowed yourself to become calloused because of the culture then choose to share Christs compassion. Live in God’s peace as you live out His grace.