This morning we continue in our study of 1 Peter. As for the text, we consider 1 Peter 1, verses 6 through 9. The portion that we'll read from chapter 1 is verses 3 through 9. Again, 6 through 9 being the text. Once you have found that place, turn back a page or two to James chapter 1. As we read together the first 18 verses of James 1. James 1, beginning at verse 1, as we give our attention to the reading of God's Word. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations, greetings. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does. The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position, but the one who is rich should take pride in his low position because he will pass away like a wildflower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant. Its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business. Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death. Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created. And then turning back over to 1 Peter 1, beginning at verse 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, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade, kept in heaven for you, 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. In 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 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. Let's bow together in prayer, beloved. Father, we have read Your Word and we thank You and praise You for that Word indeed which is a lamp unto our feet and a light upon our paths. And our prayer this morning is that You would illumine us by the power of Your Holy Spirit to see Your Word clearly, to understand it. Be with Him who seeks to bring it. He is weak, but You are strong, O Lord. And speak through Him that Your Word may go forth to these ears of Your people clearly That He might be able to explain it in a way that is understandable. That as Your people, we can take it with us, O Lord, each and every day of our lives. We thank You and praise You for Your goodness. Hear our prayer for Jesus' sake and in His name alone. Amen. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ. No pain, no gain. Have you ever heard that? If you have ever heard that phrase, Maybe you've heard it, most likely you've heard it in the context of getting our bodies into shape, becoming more physically fit. You see, as the saying goes, if there's no pain involved, don't expect to gain anything. If it doesn't hurt, you see, then obviously you're not getting anywhere. Of course, I've heard experts say that that's not totally true. If you're hurt, if you're hurting, it might be because you're doing something wrong, because you're stressing your muscles out in a way that you shouldn't. Yet it is true, beloved, that as we work out and try to get physically fit, we feel something different. We feel a tightness in our muscles. There is a discomfort involved with it. But you know, the slogan is not just for getting into shape physically. It can also be true with regard to other things like school or in the business world. If there is no pain, if there is no mental pain or anguish, no struggle, no thinking that causes us to sweat, If there's no work involved, then there is no gain. There are no good grades. There's no advancement up the corporate ladder. The truth is, sometimes the greater joy comes at the cost of something that's not so joyful. And that is a bit of the sense that Peter is talking about in this text this morning. Last week, we saw that Peter was singing of salvation still to come. These privileged pilgrims as we call them, those boys and girls traveling through this land who are not at home here in this life, but whose citizenship is in heaven, these privileged pilgrims already have an inheritance then waiting for them in heaven all because of what God has done. And now we come to the second stanza of Peter's song as he is singing of joy in the midst of suffering. And as these pilgrims worked to live distinctively Christian lives among pagans, they experienced the pain of suffering. But at the same time that they were experiencing that suffering, they were able to rejoice because of the gain that was waiting for them, all because of what God had done through Jesus Christ. Waiting for them at the end of their pilgrimage. And as Peter sings this song of joy in the midst of suffering, We noticed these four points this morning. The occasion of rejoicing, the purpose of suffering, the result of faith, and then finally the goal of everything. First of all, the occasion of their suffering. The text begins, in this you greatly rejoice. But now what is the this that Peter is talking about? Well again, Peter is singing about salvation and now he refers back to that first stanza of the song. All the things that we talked about in connection last week with verses 3 through 5. 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 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. Kept in heaven for you, 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. You see, they are rejoicing in their God and Father who has given to them a new life and He has set aside that inheritance that cannot and it will not be destroyed and who protects and preserves them for that inheritance. They will enjoy it. These Christian pilgrims had the joy of all of this. The greatest joy that anyone could ever have. the same joy that you and I ought to have. And it was visible in their lives. Peter says, in this you greatly rejoice. He doesn't say, in this you ought to rejoice, as if they're not rejoicing. Instead, Peter is acknowledging that they're rejoicing as a fact. It's real. They had all the reason in the world to rejoice and they took advantage of it. They didn't just hide their joy inside their hearts. Their joy could be seen on their faces. It could be witnessed in their conduct and how they lived. It could be heard in their praise to God. As well as in their gratitude for what He had done for them. You see, beloved Christians have all the reason in the world to rejoice. Yet, unfortunately, too often Christians seem stuffy. They seem joy-less, not joy-ful. Without joy, instead of overflowing with joy. And sometimes Christians can be as grumpy as the world around them, and then it's very hard to tell the difference, isn't it? But we have all the reason in the world to rejoice. Do you have that reason? And is your joy easy to see? Can the joy that you live in be seen on your face and in your eyes? And isn't it true that many women, when they become engaged to be married, you can see it on their face. Their eyes sparkle. They're happy. You can tell a difference. Or when a wife becomes pregnant for the first time or for the sixth time or for the twelfth time, you can see it. We say they glow. It's there. Do your eyes sparkle? Does your face glow, beloved, with the joy of your salvation? And young people, can the joy of your salvation be seen in your conduct? Can it be seen in the way that you conduct yourselves when you're out and about with your friends in public places as well as in private places? Can it be seen? Is it there to be seen? It should be. Because if we really understand salvation, then joy is automatic. The sad truth is we do often forget, and that's why we need to be reminded each and every Lord's Day of the mercy and the grace of God. That which we have because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, redeemed from sin and shame because of the good news of the Gospel. Peter acknowledges the pilgrim's joy, but then he goes on to show that there is something even more wonderful about the rejoicing than simply the fact that they are rejoicing. And that is the situation in which they are doing it. And it's a reminder to us that as we have said before, that even though they have this inheritance in principle, now, today already, it's not yet a full reality. They and we still live in a world of sin. Peter says in verse 6, In this you greatly rejoice, though now, for a little while, you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. Now the word translated grief here can also be translated to be distressed, to sorrow, to experience pain. And the point is life was not easy for these pilgrims. And at the same time that they were rejoicing in the Lord, saying with Nehemiah, the joy of the Lord is our strength, they were also distressed, grieved by various trials because of the world around them. We need to understand, congregation, that these various trials that Peter is talking about were not simply certain situations in life that can affect believers and unbelievers alike like sickness or losing your job because of economic reasons or struggling to pay the bills or having a flat tire in your car out on the freeway somewhere. No, these various trials you see that he's talking about in this situation were the direct result of being Christian. and of trying to live distinctively Christian lives in a pagan world. Therefore, they lost their jobs because they were Christians. No one would do business in their stores because they were Christians. They were slandered and cursed because they were Christians. They lost their possessions because they were Christians. They lost their lives, they were put to death because they were Christians. And do you know what? They were willing to lose all these things and more. Do you know why? Because they were Christians. And they had something greater to rejoice in. It's very possible that these Christians lived during the time of the wicked Roman Emperor Nero who hated Christians and he despised Christianity. And some of the things that Nero would have done to Christians included the fact that He would clothe them with animal skins and allow them to be attacked by the dogs, let the dogs tear them apart. He would crucify them. Or He would throw them into an arena and allow the wild animals, the wild beasts, to maul them to death. Or He would cover them with flammable substances and light them on fire at night so they would become human torches. But these Christian pilgrims confessed with the psalmist David, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers Him out of them all. The suffering that they face and the suffering that you and I might face does not last. Peter says, though now for a little while. You see, these trials do not last forever. And what's more, they are nothing compared to the glory, the inheritance that Peter talked about before that awaits these pilgrims. Paul says in Romans 8, verse 18, For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. And in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 17, he says, For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comprehension. Momentary and light compared to eternal. These trials are momentary and light. They're temporary compared to heavenly glory. And it's possible that we might not even have to face them in this way. Oh, we all struggle with the effects and the results of sin, don't we? Hardship, trials, different kinds of things. But we don't necessarily struggle because of our faith, do we? Peter says again, in this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while. And then he adds, you may have had. You may have had. It's translated in another version as if necessary. A Christian's suffering is not constant, we know. Praise God for that. It's not every minute of every hour of every day. And you may never be called upon to suffer in that way. But then again, you might be called upon to suffer for the sake of Jesus if necessary. But God will not allow His people to suffer more than is necessary. And you say, well, necessary for what? How could it be necessary? Well, necessary for yourselves. Necessary to strengthen your faith. Necessary to produce patience in you. Or necessary for you to praise and honor and glorify your Creator. Necessary to draw you closer to God. Necessary to cause you to put your trust completely and unashamedly in Him. Or necessary, maybe, to remind you to whom you belong. But the comfort here, beloved, is that God is in control even in our suffering, especially in our suffering. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10.13, No temptation has overtaken you, but such as is common to man. And God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it. You see, the occasion of rejoicing for these Christian pilgrims was their salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. And they were able to rejoice, beloved, even when being torn apart by dogs or wild beasts. Or even when being made into human torches to light the night sky. You see, as we've said before previously in this short series so far, they didn't go into isolation and try to hide themselves, lock themselves behind closed doors. They didn't try to isolate or hide their faith from the world. And neither, to the other extreme, did they try to accommodate themselves with the world and water down their faith and try to blend in with the world so that they couldn't be distinguished. Instead, they openly lived their faith and did as James says, consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials. Now, brothers and sisters, I trust that you have a reason to rejoice today in the God of your salvation. But if you are called upon to suffer persecution for the sake of Jesus Christ, can you do it joyfully? Can you do it cheerfully? Well, you can't on your own strength, but you can if the joy of the Lord is your strength. Remember the Bible says, And indeed all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. In the second place, Peter talks about the purpose of this suffering. He says in verse 7, after talking about suffering, grief, and all kinds of trials, he says, 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. Notice that Peter compares your faith with gold. We know that gold has always been considered to be the most precious and most valuable substance known to man, especially once it has been refined. gold is refined with fire it's brought up to very hot temperatures in order to remove any and all impurities and in order to get the purest quality of gold possible and just as gold is heated up to remove the impurities to purify our faith God turns up the heat our faith is refined and tested by suffering and trials trials and afflictions test our faith to strengthen it and to reveal, to uncover the luster and the beauty of true faith. And it's for our good, you see, in order to prove the value and strength of our faith. Trials and suffering are some of the means God uses to establish, to improve, and to multiply our faith. God tests the believer to see if his faith is genuine. Not because he needs to know. He knows already. But for your benefit and my benefit, so that we might know, that we might have the confidence and assurance that our faith is genuine. Another gift from him. Think of Job. God allowed Satan to take away everything he had, including his health. Or Abraham. Abraham was told, God told him to sacrifice his only son to prove his love for God. And both of these men had genuine faith. The purpose of suffering is so that the genuineness, the realness of your faith may be found. Think of the parable Jesus told about the sower sowing the seed on the different kinds of soil. And one of those soils was shallow, stony soil. And the grass which sprang up quickly represented people who immediately sprang up when they heard the word of God. But when the sun came out, when the heat of trials and persecution came, they were scorched. They withered away. They did not have genuine faith. What this means, congregation, is that being distressed or grieved by various trials is a cause for rejoicing, because it reveals true faith. Again, the world would say, you're nuts. How can it work that way? But we know the truth. James 1 verse 3 says that the testing of our faith develops perseverance. In other words, God uses this means to help us go the distance in this pilgrimage. We grow in the assurance of our salvation by these trials. So rejoice in your suffering, beloved, because God is proving your faith. Again, it's not easy. It's very difficult. At times we ask, why? How can this be? And sometimes we don't even understand it until after. Gold is precious. But faith that has been proven genuine is more precious because it does not perish like gold eventually does. In fact, proving the genuineness of your faith is not the final purpose. Peter says that our faith, the proof of it, the proven genuine faith may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. You see, even the testing of our faith will turn out for the praise and honor and glory of our God and King. Even the suffering of God's people gives glory to God, especially when we look to Him and Him alone for strength in the midst of that suffering. But that alone is enough reason for you and I to rejoice in the midst of suffering trials for Jesus' sake because it brings praise and honor and glory to the King of kings and the Lord of lords when He comes to rescue you and me. And to put an end to sorrow, suffering, sin, death, and Satan forever and to take his pilgrims out of this pilgrimage. James says, Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. Beloved, how do you respond to suffering for Jesus' sake? Any suffering, to be sure, but especially to suffering for Jesus' sake. Because you are a Christian. How do you respond to that? Do you hide in a corner? Feeling sorry for yourself? Lock yourself behind doors? Or do you rejoice when you suffer for Jesus' sake? Because that brings glory to Him. Remember, the physical world watches Christians. They watch to see how you and I deal with the adversities of life. Even the things they go through. Losing a job. Losing a child. and other difficulties, but they also watch. Not that they care, but they watch to see how you and I stand up in the face of persecution for Jesus' sake. Is our faith real? Rejoice when God tests your faith, because Peter then goes on to explain the importance of genuine faith as he gives the result of a life of faith. Verse 8 says, 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. Hebrews 11 verse 1 says, Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. These privileged pilgrims demonstrated Hebrews 11 verse 1. They had the assurance of salvation of that inheritance and they were also convicted and convinced that Jesus Christ was living and true. You say, big deal. So what? You see, we've got to understand here that they, like us, unlike Peter. See, Peter had walked with and talked with Jesus. He watched as Jesus was crucified, died and was buried. He was a witness to the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. And he watched Him ascend to heaven on the clouds. But these Christians, whom Peter addresses, never saw any of these things. They never saw Jesus in the flesh, yet they loved Him, and they believed in His saving work. You see, without genuine faith, one cannot believe in an unseen Savior. But they, like we, the Lord willing, were a living commentary to Jesus' words to Thomas when He said, Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see and yet believe. You see, it's not easy to love someone you've never seen, is it? no doubt every husband here fell in love with his wife because he could see her he could admire her beauty and he could get to know her personally and enjoy her company and I imagine and trust that the same is true with every wife toward her husband and we have engaged couples in this congregation and dating couples here who have fallen in love with each other because they spend time in each other's presence but for these Christians that Peter speaks to and for you and me that's not the way it is with our relationship with Jesus we love him we believe in him not because we have seen him physically but because we have seen him spiritually with the eyes of faith which too is a gift from God we see him through the preaching of the word of God we see him through the faithful administration of the sacraments by the illumination of the Holy Spirit. We see the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us on Calvary's tree. We love Him and believe in Him because He first loved us and because of what He has done for us. He died so we might live and He lives and reigns today that we might live and reign with Him for all eternity. And because of this, as Peter says, you are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy. Some of you know, I don't know, because I don't know how to read Dutch or speak it, but I've heard from some of you here and even in my previous congregation that you know that when you are translating, they tell me, from the Dutch language to the English language, sometimes you just cannot find the right word to say in English what is said so beautifully in the Dutch. The Christian has within himself a joy that he's not even able to express. It's inexpressible. It is a joy that is full of glorying in the God of our salvation. It is rejoicing in what God has done. It is that peace that passes understanding. It is the Holy Spirit that bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God. How can you put that into words, beloved? Rejoicing in the midst of trials. Whether those trials are common with unbelievers as well, that we face, or the trials of being a Christian, is a life of faith that one cannot fully explain. It can be seen. It has to be lived. And there are those today who, like Thomas, would only believe if they could see Jesus and touch Him. If only we could prove scientifically and even more so historically that Jesus actually lived and breathed and walked on this earth, then so many more would believe. If only we could find a piece of His cross or His empty grave clothes or the empty tomb, then again, so many more would believe. Not true, congregation. Not true, the Bible says, so faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ. This is the result of a life of faith that we love and believe in a Savior that we have not seen with our eyes, that we rejoice with a joy inexpressible and full of glory. But then finally, what is the goal of all of this? Now this, of course, should be no surprise to us. Peter says in verse 9, For you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Faith looks forward to receiving that prize called salvation. See, you and I as Christians ought to be farsighted. Boys and girls, I'm what they call nearsighted. I can see things without my glasses close up. It's getting closer every year, it seems like. If I take my glasses off, it's fuzzy, even right here. Someone who's farsighted can see things farther away fairly clearly, and they might need glasses for reading. But we are, as Christians, we're to be farsighted. We are to look beyond today. We are to look beyond tomorrow. We are to look beyond the here and beyond the now to what lies ahead. Hebrews 12 says it beautifully, Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who has already finished the race on our behalf and is at the finish line for us. Of course, this doesn't mean that we ignore this light as if there were no benefits to be received as we follow our Lord. There are so many benefits. How vast the benefit is divine, huh? We are made to live, to enjoy life, even this life, to enjoy all that God has given to us in a way that glorifies His holy name because He indeed is the giver of every good and perfect gift that we enjoy. But as well, you see, in the Christian life, there is what we call the already and the not yet. We receive in this life already a taste of the life to come. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, we already enjoy fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ by faith. And we enjoy the power of God, as 1 Corinthians 1.18 says, For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved. It is the power of God. We have salvation already now, congregation, but it is also not yet. One day it will be perfected. It will be completed, and we will enjoy the full possession of it. That's the goal. And it's guaranteed. It doesn't just come with a 90-day money-back guarantee. It doesn't come with a two-year or five-year warranty. It's eternally guaranteed. It's for us. Is there any greater reason to have joy? If you are called upon to suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ, Are you ready? And do you love and believe in Jesus Christ enough to rejoice in the midst of that suffering? Or when that heat is turned up? Or when Jesus Christ comes again on the clouds of heaven, will you head for the hills and cry out for the mountains to cover you from His majestic sight, as those who reject Him will do? See, only by genuine faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, can you sing of joy in the midst of suffering. And only by genuine faith can you sing, O Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight. The clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound and the Lord shall descend. And even so today, it is well with my soul. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, again we rejoice in Your Word. Your Word which is illumined to us by Your Holy Spirit. And Father, we pray that we would walk in the joy of the salvation You've given to us. That we might walk boldly, confidently, yet humbly in your strength alone. That we would not shrivel up and crawl under a rock when we face temptation for being Christians. That it would not be our desire to blend in and not be distinctive. Because that would dishonor your name. But that indeed we would honor and glorify you, O Lord, by standing bold and firm in the midst of persecution for Jesus' sake. that you would indeed refine our faith, O Lord. Prove it genuine. And indeed, strengthen that faith as only you can. Father, help us to walk before your face in a way that is pleasing to you, which glorifies you, which you might use for the advancement of your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray these things. Amen.