By Randy Franklin Keene
Pastor, First Baptist Church, Minor Hill
Focal Passage: 1 Peter 1:1-9
The lesson today is going to help us understand that the hope we have in Christ is sure and certain. Peter’s first epistle was written in a time of uncertainty and newfound confusion in the church.
They were scattered from here to there, worried about their current problems and issues. So led by the Spirit of God, Peter is led to write to them and assure them of that blessed hope we believers have in Christ Jesus. He wanted to affirm that our source of hope was rock solid and sure.
In verse 1 we see Peter refers to them as “aliens,” strangers so to speak in a land not their own. They were waiting on the inheritance promised to those called out and chosen by God. They had been saved by the wonderful grace of almighty God.
God had planned it, He completed it and it was sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Peter included the work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that they would have a firm and strong foundation to rest their heads upon as they longed for grace and peace in the fullest measure for the next day.
I have never seen so many people so worried about tomorrow as I do today. Even in my own congregation the fear that grips God’s people is beyond me. I went to church at a pastor friend’s church recently and the fear was so real you could cut it with a knife. I wonder today, amid all that is going on, are we too like those in Peter’s day who were gripped with the uncertainty, doubt and mistrust that had taken hold of God’s children.
Perhaps like them, we need to hear the message that our inheritance is imperishable, undefiled and unfading. You see, because Jesus rose from the dead we can be certain about what the future holds for His children. Nothing can take our inheritance away from us. And as is brought out in the lesson God is protecting us until our inheritance is revealed in the proper time. Amen?
I preached a sermon once on this very text. My outline was, “Guided by His truth, Guarded by His power and Gladdened by His promise.” In verse 6 Peter reminds us that even though now we have been distressed by various trials, God’s purpose in allowing trouble is to test the reality of one’s faith.
How many times have I heard Adrian Rogers say that “our faith is best developed in the darkrooms of life.” We can rejoice today because of what His promise holds for His children. What is coming? Can I say this without stutter or apology? It’s all good! The trouble we face today to build our faith for tomorrow is necessary as we grow in Christ.
When we see Jesus face to face, whom we have already met heart to heart, our faith will turn to sight. What a day that shall be when Jesus I shall see.
