As I was thinking about where to go next, Peter had popped up in my mind a few times lately, and I finally got that lightbulb moment–oh, let’s go to Peter and see what he has to say.
We quite extensively take a look at Paul’s letters, and that’s because Paul wrote half of the New Testament. And as we took a deep dive into two of his letters recently–Paul’s letters to Timothy; I thought we’d take the same approach to Peter’s two letters next.
However, we’re actually going to start by looking at what both apostles had to say about the same subject–and what Jesus also had to say in the Beatitudes. So if you have your Bibles, please turn with me first to 1 Peter 1:3-9. That is where we’re going to share the bulk of our sermon today, and then the beatitudes in Matthew 5, and then, at the end, I’m just going to read the words of Paul in Philippians 4. So if you would like, you can set your bookmarks to those places. 1 Peter 1; Matthew 5 and Philippians 4.
But first, let me go back to Paul again and read to you a quick set of verses, First Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Did you catch that? Give thanks in all circumstances. Although this is not Thanksgiving weekend, it should be noted that thankfulness should be a way of life year-round, naturally flowing from our hearts. It’s difficult in our day-to-day lives, and it may not come naturally, so we need to be reminded constantly to develop an attitude of gratitude.
And this is especially important to those whom Peter is writing because of the situation they are in.
Here’s a brief overview of this letter from Biblegateway.com:
First Peter teaches that God can use difficulties to strengthen Christians and their witness. [We read] 1 Peter to discover how faith, refined by suffering, can help [us] see the Lord more clearly. It gives valuable advice for holding firm in difficult times. The apostle Peter saw that increasing hardship and persecution had scattered believers, which spread their witness but caused some to wonder if God had abandoned them. Peter wrote to encourage them, offering them hope and meaning in the midst of their suffering.
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3-9
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 revealed in the last time.
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 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, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
If you want to turn with me to the beatitudes of Jesus in Matthew 5, I’ll be reading it in its entirety in just a moment, but before I do, I’m going to sort of skim through it first, then come back to it. As you know, Jesus begins each statement with the phrase, “Blessed are…” and the Greek word for blessed in this sense is the word, ‘happy’ or to ‘make happy.’ Ironic, isn’t it, when you consider these things:
- Blessed are the poor in spirit,
- Blessed are those who mourn,
- Blessed are the meek [humble],
Jesus goes on to say that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; those who show mercy; and those who are peacemakers will be blessed–now those beatitudes (or, in plain English, a list of blessings) make sense. And then he goes on to describe the “odd lot” again.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness; and then he ends with, Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
It’s odd that the people who go through these things should see themselves as blessed, or happy. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel happy when I go through things. In fact, I’ve gone through depression and grief. But Jesus said that with each of these blessings comes a reward. It’s similar to what Peter is saying. Even though there are great trials that we face–and even more so the people Peter was writing to–there is something that we don’t see on the horizon. And so, we need to keep our eyes focused on the blessings yet to come.
If you have your Bibles turned to Matthew, let’s read the Beatitudes, only this time with the promises that go with it:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
The point that Jesus and Peter are making here is to keep our eyes focused on the blessings rather than the sufferings. There is so much to be grateful for, and there are promises of blessings for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. What God said to Moses and the Israelites applies to all of God’s people: Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified…for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.
Going back to 1 Peter again, if we start with verse 1, we read that his letter is intended for those who are dispersed, or exiled, through the region of Turkey. Now, why is this important? It gives you a glimpse of the state in which his readers are and the purpose of this letter.
Asbury Bible Commentary states that:
The readers had found that their life in grace involved a basic conflict with the prevailing norms and customs of their society. That conflict had expressed itself in a variety of ways that together comprise the readers’ suffering. We should not understand this suffering as a state-organized campaign of persecution against Christians. Rather, the suffering of the readers resulted from the social tensions created by their distinctive lifestyle. Their way of life inspired discrimination, slander, ostracism, and reproach from the non-Christians around them.
Sound familiar? Not that we have experienced anything that the early Church had experienced, but our society isn’t what it used to be in regard to Christianity. It used to be that we were looked up to. We were the prime examples of American citizens. Everyone wanted to call themselves Christians, and even if they didn’t act like it Monday through Friday, they still showed up in church because they wanted to come back to and–as I preached as a topic in another sermon–recalibrate their spiritual and moral grounding, and they wanted their whole family to be brought up in the spiritual and moral grounding of the church.
Parents who did not go to church would send their kids to Sunday School or Vacation Bible School because they wanted that foundation of God and Godliness in their children’s lives.
But not anymore.
Now, we’re looked upon as sexist, racist, homophobic bigots–oddly enough.
This is a bizarre time in which we live…and I believe we are gearing up for The End Times. We are seeing hedonism not seen since (correct me if I’m wrong) the Greek and Roman empires. And here we are living it out in the United States of America (of all places) and all over the Western world. Imagine going back in time and telling our grandparents this would be the world of the 21st century.
Without delving into it any further, I really believe we are gearing up for Christ’s return. In fact, I believe the natural disasters we’ve had recently might just be the beginning of the birth pains that Jesus talks about a few chapters later in Matthew. All of this to say, we can relate to what Peter is trying to tell his audience here–to a degree.
But, our sufferings should not be our focus. Why? Because we are God’s children. And as his children, his love for us is far greater than anything the world can offer.
So how does Peter address these outcasts? What’s the first thing he says to them?
Verses 3-6:
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 revealed in the last time. 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
So he doesn’t dismiss their sufferings, but he gives them hope, right up front. He gives them something to rejoice about. He presents them the continual presence of the love of God available to them in any circumstance.
D. Edmond Heibert, who was a noted author, teacher, and Bible commentator, said, “This beautiful passage is the outpouring of an adoring heart. Only one who has devoutly contemplated the greatness of our salvation could utter such a magnificent praise, one that prepares and encourages the suffering soul to steadfastly continue the spiritual battle.”
And David Guzik said, We are born again to a living hope because we have eternal life in a Savior who has conquered death Himself. The hope lives because it is set upon an inheritance incorruptible that can never fade away because it is reserved in heaven. This is a significant contrast to any inheritance on this earth.
Going back to verse 6 and reading through verse 7 again, Peter says,
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
So, you notice, there is a purpose in our pain–which gives us all the more reason to rejoice. I know, easier said than done, “God, why does it have to be this way, I mean, can’t you just make us happy and get it over with?”
I was just watching a snippet of a conversation between Joe Rogan and Mel Gibson the other day, and they were talking about this–the pursuit of happiness. We can’t be happy all the time, can we? No one can, not even those in Christ.
But there’s an old saying, “God is more concerned with your heart than your happiness.”
If we go to 2 Peter, he says, “5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.”
There’s a purpose to our pain, and we need to focus on that purpose, which is a spiritual development that God is doing in us. I was talking with a passenger this week who is in physical therapy, and she’s pushing herself more than the therapists are asking her to do because she wants to get better. But boy, is she sore afterward. But that soreness is a sign that she’s pushing forward. No pain, no gain. The same is true spiritually.
James famously said 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
A few chapters later, James says 10 Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.
Did you hear that last part? Even after all that Job lost, what did God do? Restore to him his fortunes and twice what he had before. Why? Because “The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.”
And speaking of Job, what kind of attitude did he have? Job had an attitude of praise, even in the face of death. He said, “The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
Isn’t that remarkable? This is the example of Jesus’ point in the Beatitudes. Though you are suffering, you will experience God’s goodness, whether in this life or the next. It’s a matter of keeping our eyes focused on the blessing rather than the curse. It’s a matter of keeping our eyes focused on the promises ahead, and in the meantime, having an attitude of gratitude.
I mentioned Job, but what about Paul? For those of you who want to follow along in Philippians 4, you can turn with me there now. As you do, let me read to you what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, which was in a similar, if not harsher position as Peter’s audience.
Paul said this:
24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn?
Now keep in mind, having endured those circumstance, Paul says this to the Philippian church in chapter 4, verses 4 through 13:
He said: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Talk about an attitude of gratitude. I don’t have time to delve into those verses today, but I would encourage you to go through that set of verses on your own and let them speak to you if you have a quiet time this week, just between you and the Lord.
As we close today, let me share another example from Paul’s sufferings. Actually, this is from Paul and Silas. Many of you know this story.
In Acts 16, we read: 22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.
Now apply that to our spiritual life. We might be “in chains” so to speak–whatever mental, physical, emotional “chains” we might be in–but if the praise of Paul and Silas could set them free from literal chains, imagine what that attitude of gratitude would do for our spiritual, emotional and other types of metaphorical chains that we might be under.
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