Judy Packard of Lake Leelanau, Michigan, talks about the time her neighbor, visiting the Holy Land, sent a letter describing the beautiful gardens.
Her 6-year-old mused, “I wonder if he saw the rose.”
“What rose?” Judy asked.
“You know,” said her child, “like the Bible women saw. They went to that garden where Jesus was buried and they saw Christ had a rose!” (Judy Packard, “Kids of the Kingdom,” Christian Reader, www.PreachingToday.com)
Bad joke, I know, but when Jesus came out of the grave he had not a rose, but so much more for those of us who believe in Him. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Peter 1, 1 Peter 1, where we see how Christ’s resurrection benefits us today.
1 Peter 1:1-2 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 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. (NIV)
The Apostle Peter is writing to a group of believers who found themselves to be “strangers in the world,” “scattered” throughout all of Asia Minor, in what is now Northern Turkey.
That word, “scattered” (in verse 1), is the word diaspora, and i was used in Bible days of the Jews who were separated from their homeland. Here, Peter uses it of Christians who found themselves dispersed (or scattered) from their own homes in places that were strange to them.
You see, The Roman government under Nero had just started to persecute Christians, and many of them had fled for their lives. Even so, there is hope for them, AND there is hope for us who sometimes feel like strangers in a world hell-bent for self-destruction.
1 Peter 1:3 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. (NIV)
The resurrection of Christ gives us a “living hope” in the midst of difficult times. That means it is a sure hope, a certain hope, not a dead hope.
George Dixon was a lieutenant in the Confederate Army, who carried around a $20 gold piece that his fiancée had given him in the early days of the war. During the battle of Shiloh, a union musket ball struck him—actually it struck the gold coin, which saved his life. From then on, that dented, gold coin went with him wherever he went. It was his good luck piece, which he was often seen kneading with his fingers.
Eventually, Lt. Dixon took the coin onto the C.S.S. Hunley, a confederate submarine he staunchly believed could break the Union blockade. After sinking the U.S.S. Housatonic, the Hunley herself sank, taking Lt. Dixon and his crew to their deaths. Recently the coin was found when the submarine was raised, a silent testimony to the fact that his golden, good-luck piece could not save him. (Scientists Find Gold Coin in Confederate Sub, www.CNN.com; www.PreachingToday.com)
It was a false hope, a dead hope. But in the resurrected Lord, Jesus Christ, we have a living hope, a sure and certain hope. One pastor put it this way: “The world offers promises full of emptiness, but Easter offers emptiness full of promise. Empty cross, empty tomb, empty grave-clothes … all full of promise.” (Carolyn Arends, What's So Good About Good Friday? Kyria.com, 4-10-09; www.PreachingToday.com)
Jesus rose from the dead, so we have a living hope. That means we can live our lives with confidence. We can be sure. We can be certain of a glorious future no matter how bad things get today.
The resurrection of Christ is a sure and certain fact of history. His empty tomb and his post resurrection appearances together form two irrefutable pieces of evidence for the resurrection of Christ.
If the disciples stole Jesus’ body, as the Jewish leaders first claimed, then there is no way to explain His appearances to hundreds of people over a 40 day period after He died, many of which refused to give up their faith in the resurrection even in the face of persecution and death.
On the other hand, if Jesus’ followers were hallucinating when they claimed to have seen Him, then all somebody had to do was go to the tomb and show them Jesus’ body. The only explanation that fits both pieces of evidence is the fact that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead. It is an irrefutable fact of history.
I like the way Peter Larson once put it. He said, “Despite our efforts to keep him out, God intrudes. The life of Jesus is bracketed by two impossibilities: a virgin's womb and an empty tomb. Jesus entered our world through a door marked ‘No Entrance’ and left through a door marked ‘No Exit.’” (Peter Larson, Prism, Jan/Feb 2001; www.PreachingToday.com)
Think about it. People say that a virgin birth is impossible. There is no possible way to enter into life that way, and yet that’s how Jesus came into this world. In the same way, people say there is no exit from the grave, and yet Jesus literally walked through that door as well.
Dear friends, sometimes it seems that there is no exit from our problems, but if Jesus found an exit from death, then He can certainly help us find an exit from whatever problems we are facing today. As the songwriter put it, “Because He lives, I CAN face tomorrow…” So put your faith in Christ and…
BE SURE.
Be certain of a glorious future no matter how bad things are today. Specifically, be sure of your permanent possession in heaven. Through faith in Christ, God has given us new birth into “a living hope…”
1 Peter 1:4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you. (NIV)
Notice, our inheritance can never perish – It lasts forever. It can never spoil – lit., it is pure or untainted, and it can never fade – Its beauty will never be diminished.
How many of you can remember your first car? I remember mine. It was a brand new, blue Toyota Corolla, deluxe model, with stripes down the side and air conditioning on the inside. Now, back in those days, air-conditioning was special – it didn’t come with most cars, but my car had it! My parents gave the car to me as a gift when I was getting ready to graduate from college. Do you know: I washed that thing every week? It was a beautiful car.
Then came 12 years of use and half a dozen accidents in those 12 years. By the time I traded it in, there were scratches in the paint, the door on the driver’s side was rusting out, there was a big dent in the hood, and the right fender was bashed in. My beautiful car was turning into a pile of junk.
And that’s the way it is with all of our earthly possessions. They don’t last; they get spoiled; and their beauty fades. But that will never happen with our heavenly possession. It is an indestructible inheritance. Christ rose from the dead, so be sure of your permanent possession in heaven.
More than that, be sure of your secure salvation. Be certain that God will protect your soul from now until eternity.
1 Peter 1:5 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. (NIV)
When we put our trust in Christ, God puts up a garrison or a stronghold of power within to protect our souls until our ultimate salvation is revealed. The word for “shielded” is a military term, which refers to a garrison of soldiers designed to protect a city from enemy forces. And nothing can get through that garrison to take us away from God’s love. Nothing can get through that garrison to take our salvation away – not Satan, not demons, not sickness, not even death!
We are protected by God’s power, not our own. For if it was up to us to keep our own salvation, then we would lose it every time, because we are just not strong enough.
Peter, the man who wrote these very words, understood his need for God’s power to protect him. On the eve before Jesus’ crucifixion, Peter had boasted that he would never forsake or deny his Lord. He was strong. He was able to follow the Lord to death, or so he thought. But that very night, when a little servant girl suspected that he was one of Jesus’ followers, he denied even knowing Jesus, not once, not twice, but three times. His own strength had failed him, but not God’s. The resurrected Christ restored Peter to service, and Peter went on to boldly lead the church in God’s power.
Peter was guarded by God’s power, not his own, and that’s the only way any of us keep our salvation.
Just this last fall, on October 19, 2010, researchers conducted a test at the Institute for Business and Home Safety in Richburg, South Carolina. They constructed two 1,300-square-foot houses inside a $40 million laboratory and then observed how a simulated hurricane would impact the homes.
The first home was built according to conventional standards. The second home included reinforcement straps that connected every level of the building, from the foundation all the way to the roof. Then the researchers turned on giant fans, creating gusts of wind up to 110 miles per hour (equal to a category 3 hurricane).
In the first two experiments, which lasted under ten minutes, both homes survived the intense winds. But when they tried a third experiment, turning on the fans for more than ten minutes, the conventional home began to shake and then collapsed. In contrast, the home with the floors and roof reinforced to the foundation sustained only cosmetic damage. (“US researchers create hurricane to test houses,” BBC News, 10-19-10; www.PreachingToday.com)
That’s the way it is with those of us who are connected to Jesus Christ, the only firm foundation there is. The winds of adversity may blow, and we might receive some cosmetic damage, but we remain standing, reinforced by the power of God Himself.
So get connected to Jesus, who died for you and rose again. Trust Him with your life. Call upon Him and ask Him to save you from your sins. Then you too can have the same assurance we have.
Jesus is risen from the dead! That gives us a living hope, a sure and certain hope. So dear friends, BE SURE of your salvation today. BE SURE of a glorious future with Him. Then…
BE GLAD even during the hard times.
Rejoice even in times of pain. Celebrate even in times of grief.
1 Peter 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. (NIV)
Since God shields us with His power, since He puts a garrison of His power within, we rejoice – and not just a little bit – we “GREATLY rejoice;” literally, we are extremely joyful even though we are grieved by all kinds of trials.
Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision, visited a church in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, nearly a year after the devastating earthquake. The church's building consisted of a tent made from white tarps and duct tape, pitched in the midst of a sprawling camp for thousands of people still homeless from the earthquake.
In the front row of that church sat six amputees ranging in age from 6 to 60. They were clapping and smiling as they sang song after song and lifted their prayers to God. The worship was full of hope … [and] with thanksgiving to the Lord.
No one was singing louder or praying more fervently than Demosi Louphine, a 32-year-old unemployed single mother of two. During the earthquake, a collapsed building crushed her right arm and left leg. After four days both limbs had to be amputated, but she was leading the choir, standing on her prosthesis and lifting her one hand high in praise to God…
Following the service, Stearns met Demosi and her two daughters, ages eight and ten, who were living in a tent just five feet tall and perhaps eight feet wide. She had lost her job, her home, and two limbs, but she was deeply grateful because God spared her life on January 12th last year (2010)… “He brought me back like Lazarus, giving me the gift of life,” says Demosi… [who] believes she survived the devastating quake for two reasons: to raise her girls and to serve her Lord for a few more years.
Richard Stearns comments: “It makes no sense to me as an ‘entitled American’ who grouses at the smallest inconveniences – a clogged drain or a slow wi-fi connection in my home. Yet here in this place, many people who had lost everything… expressed nothing but praise.” Then he continues, “They have so much more to offer me than I to them. I feel pity and sadness for them, but it is they who might better pity me for the shallowness of my own walk with Christ.” (Richard Stearns, Suffering and Rejoicing in a Haitian Tent Camp, www.Christianitytoday.com, 1-12-11; www.PreachingToday.com)
When our hope is in the Lord, we can rejoice no matter what life throws our way. In fact, we can GREATLY rejoice just like these Haitian believers. Jesus is risen, so be glad even in times of pain.
Be glad, because of the PRAISE that will come. Rejoice, because of the glory our refined faith will produce. That’s the promise in verse 7. Look at it.
1 Peter 1:7 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. (NIV)
Trials come only to test our faith, literally to prove it genuine, so much so that in the end we will praise our Lord for what He has done in our lives through those trials.
In his book, Life before Death, Ian Leitch, a Scottish preacher, talks about three luxury ocean liners, the Queen Mary, the Queen Elizabeth, and the QE2. He says, “When they built [these ocean liners], they did not test them in dry dock. They didn't leave them in dry dock and get big hoses on them to see if they would leak. They got those ships out into the open ocean to put them through sea trials. These trials were not intended to sink the ship. These trials were to prove that the ship was seaworthy. (Ian Leitch, Life Before Death! A Restored, Regenerated, and Renewed Life, Green Acres Press, 2007; www.PreachingToday.com)
In the same way, God sends trials our way, not to sink us, but to prove that our faith is real! Then, when it is all said and done, we will give Him the praise, the glory and the honor for the great things He will have done has through our magnificent faith in Him.
Warren Wiersbe put it this way: A realist is an idealist who has gone through the fire and been purified. A skeptic is an idealist who has gone through the fire and been burned. (CT Classics, www.christianitytoday.com, 10-26-06; www.PreachingToday.com)
If your faith is in anything else but Christ, you will be burned by your trials. But if your faith is in Christ, those trials will only purify that faith. So be glad even in times of pain. Be glad because of the praise that will come.
And be glad because the purpose of your faith is being realized. Rejoice because our trials are right now bringing us to the goal of our faith, which is our ultimate salvation.
1 Peter 1:8-9 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (NIV)
Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is being…certain of what we do not see.” We don’t see Jesus, but we love Him and we are extremely joyful. That’s true faith, my friends, and because of that faith, we are right now in the process of receiving the goal of our faith. The verb in verse 9 is in the present tense. That means it is a present, continuous reality in the life of every believer. We are right now in the process of receiving the goal of our faith, which is total and complete deliverance from all sin.
Dr. David Osborn at Denver Seminary says, “Too often we try to use God to change our circumstances, while He is using our circumstances to change us.” (Compass, April 2003; www.PreachingToday.com) You see, God is right now in the process of making us like Christ.
Think of the process of refining maple syrup. Maple trees are tapped with buckets hung under the taps, and out drips a sap which is thin and clear, like water. On a good day, 50 trees will yield 30 - 40 gallons of sap, but it is essentially useless at this point with only a hint of sweetness.
Then as the buckets fill, they are emptied into large bins that sit over an open fire. The sap comes to a slow boil; and as it boils, its water content is reduced and its sugars are concentrated. Hours later, it has developed a rich flavor and golden-brown color, but it must be strained several times to remove impurities before being reheated, bottled, and graded for quality. In the end, those 30-40 gallons of sap are reduced to one gallon of pure, delicious maple syrup, which is far better than the cheap, imitation, colored sugar-water that passes for maple syrup in the grocery store.
So it is when we come to faith in Christ. We start like raw, unfinished sap, which could have been tossed aside as worthless. But God knew what he could make of us. He sought and found us, and his skillful hands are transforming us into something precious, sweet and useful. The long and often painful refining process brings forth a pure, genuine disciple easily distinguished from cheap imitations. (Michele Straubel, Red Lake, Minnesota; www.PreachingToday.com)
So be glad even in times of pain. Be glad because of the praise that will come. Be glad because the purpose of your faith is being realized.
And be glad because of the privilege that is ours through faith in Christ. Rejoice because of the grace we have received in Him.
1 Peter 1:10-12 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. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things. (NIV)
In essence these verses are saying, “We have it better than the prophets and angels.” They longed to see and experience the grace we are experiencing today as believers in the resurrected Christ.
Jesus is alive, my friends, so be sure and be glad today. Be sure of a glorious future, and be glad even in times of grief today.
Because He lives I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future.
And life is worth the living just because He lives. (Gloria and William J. Gaither)
