Good morning to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
I’m sure you have had the experience of something unexpected occurring for you and when it’s all over you pause and wonder why? Perhaps you say to yourself, ‘I wonder why that happened to me’ or ‘what that was all about’ or ‘what was I supposed to learn from that unexpected experience’?
Let’s rejoin Peter as he’s writing a letter of encouragement to Christians living in a very difficult time in history, the first century in the Roman empire. Peter writes: “In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 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. Though you have not seen Jesus, 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.” (1 Peter 1:6-9)
Oh my, what a powerful statement. Can you imagine friends how this would encourage a small group of Christians gathered in someone’s house, listening with rapt attention to the reader who has brought this scroll from Peter to their town? This powerful statement is so relevant for Christians today in many parts of our world, especially Central Asia, Russia, China, and several African nations where living as a follower of Jesus Christ may bring horrific persecution, even torture at any time. Do you see Peter urging his fellow Christians to view persecution as having been allowed by God for a purpose? What purpose? The purpose of proving to them, and to the watching world, that the power of the Holy Spirit living in them can give them physical strength and emotional support and even spiritual joy in the midst of heavy persecution! It’s miraculous but it’s true my friends, have you experienced this? From the first century to the present day the power of this miracle of strength in suffering has drawn many skeptics, even many of the persecutors, to turn their lives over to Jesus and trust in Him for their salvation.
Once again, we see Peter emphasizing the importance and power of FAITH in God, FAITH in the assurance of salvation, FAITH in heaven after death, FAITH in a new, glorified, heavenly body no matter what happens to this earthly body, FAITH in the inheritance awaiting us, which Peter wrote about, and we’ve already discussed. That great FAITH is even right now, at this moment, sustaining courageous men, women and even children, as they face terrible persecution in many parts of our world.
They refuse to denounce Jesus. They refuse to doubt the truthfulness of heaven and God and their eternal salvation. They hold on to faith in God and in response to their great faith God sustains these courageous, faith filled people as gold is refined in the fire. These people live daily for God’s glory. They withstand persecution and even death as martyrs for the glory of their Savior and Lord Jesus Christ who suffered and was martyred for them!
And then Peter culminates this very encouraging paragraph with this powerful statement: “Though you have not seen Jesus, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him, and you are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:8,9) It was one thing for Peter to withstand horrific persecution and even, according to history, Peter was crucified upside down! But Peter had been one of the disciples who had the closest relationship with Jesus. Peter had been on the mount of transfiguration with Jesus (Matt. 17); Peter had walked on water with Jesus (Matt. 14); Peter had been with Jesus when he watched miracle after miracle. Peter had been in the upper room that evening with Jesus when Jesus washed their feet and spoke to them many new and powerful truths. Peter had been in the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus and yes, sadly, Peter had denied three times that he even knew Jesus. (Matt. 26) But Peter had seen the risen Jesus several times and had been restored into relationship with Jesus and commissioned by Jesus to be one of His most powerful spokesmen (John 21). Finally, Peter had been on the hillside as he watched Jesus elevate into the sky returning to heaven and Peter had been with the others when the Holy Spirit had come upon them at Pentecost in Jerusalem. (Acts 1,2)
So, for Peter as he withstood the horrificness of persecution, Peter did so with a thousand memories of his time with Jesus filling his heart and mind. But not so with most everyone Peter was writing his letter to. They had not seen Jesus, not seen Jesus do His miracles, they had not heard Jesus speak. So, Peter was commending them for their great faith in Jesus, even though like you and me, they had never seen Him. Peter was commending them that they were filled with the joy of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit of God, the assurance that they were ‘born again’ and the risen Jesus was in heaven interceding for them and awaiting the day they would join Jesus in heaven!
That confidence, that certainty, that FAITH is what was sustaining them and my friends that is what shook the entire Roman empire! No one had ever seen such courageous faith in the face of persecution. No one could explain it, and therefore thousands of people turned from being persecutors to fellow followers of Jesus as the Gospel spread across the region and nothing could stop the Gospel! Not whips, not prisons, not stones, not even the executioner’s sword!
So, friends we must pause right here. Do you and I have that type of strong faith relationship with Jesus as our Savior and Lord, that we accept persecution as fire refines gold and we stand filled with an inexpressible joy that we are representatives of Jesus, and we know He awaits us in heaven? Is your faith, your courage, your strength so strong that it is drawing other people to Jesus, and it is pushing back the darkness of evil in your town?
Let’s ponder that with this song of worship and let’s pray for that strength of faith today my friends...
Today’s Scripture is 1 Peter 1:6-9.
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Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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