1 Peter 1: 1:13-25

¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” ¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s workimpartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear.¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. ²² Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply,from the heart.^[b] 23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴ For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, ²⁵  but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

After teaching us the truth about trials, that trials are temporary, timely, tough and yet can be transforming, that trials can actually bring us treasure, Peter now positions us to face the pull and the pressures of this world so that we can live out our purpose. Starting in verse 13 we see the mood of the letter changing as it moves from the indicative (what is true) to the imperative (what we need to do). We see this in the very first word: “So…” After establishing what it is that we believe, now we’re challenged to behave accordingly by living it out before a lost world. When we go through problems we need to remember our position in Christ and then practice what we have in Christ. It’s here that Peter calls Christians to live confident, consecrated and committed lives. But he doesn’t just tell us to be confident, consecrated and committed he tells us how. 

1. Be Confident –Hopeful Vs 13

Peter starts by calling Christians to be confident, to hold onto our hope, which is not an easy thing to do in a culture that is constantly putting down Christ. Our confident comes from our hope in Christ, its tied to Christ’s work on the cross and His second coming not our competence. We need to consider the second coming of Christ, and not just to consider it but to concentrate on it. When we are being clobbered by the culture and we’re trudging through the trials, we need the reminder of His return. In the midst of the problems Peter provides a pivotal focal pointing, we win the war. We need to stop focusing on the chaos and focus on His coming. Stop focusing on the trial and start focusing on the truth. When we forget what we belief, not only do we get bogged down in the battle but we get blindsided. But when we live out what we belief we can be bold. Are you going to walk out and witnessing to the world what you believe, that we win or are you going to whine and wince and live like a loser? When we get caught up in the culture it’s easy to forget that Christ is coming back. But Peter reminds us to focus on the facts of God’s Word not the foolishness of this world. Don’t worry about what the world has to say, stand on the Word. Verse 25 reminds us that we can stand on God’s Word because only the Word stands the test of time, it’s eternal. World’s principles are constantly changing because they are based on circumstances, but the Word is constant because it is based on Christ. Don’t let the chaos of this culture keep you from concentrating on Christ and putting Him at the center. Verse 13 says: “Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.” The problem is that many of us try to put part of our hope in Him, part in our health, part in our home, part in… We are so parted out that it’s no wonder we fall to pieces. What are you putting your hope in? Are you finding you confidence in His coming, and resting in His return? Putting your hope in Him is not just looking to the Lord but it’s a longing for the Lord, it’s the idea of eager expectation. But I fear that many followers of Christ have lost their longing for His return. 

1 Peter 1:6-12

⁶ So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. ⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.⁸ You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. ⁹ The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.¹⁰ This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. ¹¹ They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.¹² They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.

• Trials can deepen our love for the Lord. 

Verse 8 says, “You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.” The word for love here is agapeo, which refers to an unconditional, not an emotional love. Trials have a way of getting us to what really matters. We might skate along on the superficial and emotional level for a while but when problems come, we’re forced to either say “later” to the Lord or to love Him at a much deeper level.

• Trials can grow our joy in Jesus. 

You can have joy in the midst of the junk. In the bible sadness and gladness often coexist side by side, its one of the greatest paradoxes of Christianity. In Acts 5:41 we find Peter and John “rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name.”

• Trials help us put our hope in the Lord. 

Verse 9 says, “The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.” Our hope is in what is ahead, our home in heaven, its not in our earthly homes or our health. Sometimes it’s only when suffering has strips us of everything but the Savior that we realize how rich we are. What if we were to stop focusing on the garbage and start focusing on the glory? Are you going to focus on the hurts or the hope? For believers all of our bad days on earth will be better than one day in Hell. The mark of maturity isn’t so much what you know but what happens to your worship in the winter, when the winds of worry blow and things go from bad to worse. Are you going to be a fair weather worshipper or a fearless one? Mature Christians don’t waste there energy moaning and groaning they chose to give God the glory. Praise is not a denial of problems, Peter doesn’t deny or dismiss the problems and the pressures of this life but he says that they don’t have to dominate us. He is telling us to stop giving priority to the problems and to start making praise our priority. Look our problems are for a little while but praise is for eternity. What if instead of getting worked up over worry we start getting worked up over worship? As you go through this season of suffering are you going to chose to seek the Savior and sing or allow your suffering to sour and suffocate you? What are you going to do with your pain? As a pastor people will often come to me and share their pain. Once as I was greet people coming in to church a man place in my hand 5 silver coins. He said I don’t want to hold on to these anymore it’s too much pain I’m giving them to God so that he can use them for his glory. As a young man he had chosen to serve his country and join the military. His parents were so angry at his decision that they disowned him and gave his stuff away which included these 5 silver coins that his grandfather had saved and given to him when he was a boy. Many years later a cousin who had gotten the coins returned them to him, but they only stirred up hurtful memories. So that Sunday morning he let go of them and the painful memories they stirred up. After much prayer I decided to keep the coins and use them to share his story and every time I did give to a ministry the amount those coins would be worth. Over the years I have given those coins away many times over. What once was painful is now productive. I wonder what could God do with your hurts if you placed them into His hands? What if today you gave your hurts to the Healer.