If you have your copies of God's Word, I'd invite you to turn with me to Peter's epistle, 1 Peter chapter 1. We'll read verses 3 through 9. 1 Peter 1, 3 through 9 reminds you that the Bible is the inerrant, inspired, infallible Word of God and the only rule for faith and practice. Here now, God's word from 1 Peter 1, 3. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Let's pray once more for God's blessing on the preaching of His Word. Heavenly Father, thank You again for the privilege that we have to hear Your Word. We pray especially now for the ministry of God the Holy Spirit to illuminate our minds and our hearts to receive Your Word. For we know that as the rain and snow fall down from heaven and do not return there empty, We know that Your Word in the same way will not go forth from Your mouth without accomplishing its purpose. So we pray that You would produce fruit in us. We pray that You would uphold the Lord Jesus Christ and all His glory and that we may be transformed from one degree of glory to the next by beholding Him by faith. Father, we ask it all in Christ's name. Amen. Well, I actually would like to start by looking at the end of 1 Peter. I think Peter, at the end, chapter 5, verse 12, gives us his purpose in writing this letter. And I think it'll be helpful to understand where we fit here in 1 Peter. So 5, 12, Peter says, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. So this whole letter that Peter has written to the church is encouraging the church to stand firm in the grace of God to which he's written about. The grace that he's described in chapter 1 verse 18, the grace of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is specifically that you were ransomed from your futile ways that you inherited from your forefathers and that you've been purchased by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Much more precious than that of a lamb or a goat. So you've been purchased. Peter is apt to share the grace of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he's encouraging this church in particular to stand firm in that grace of the gospel. This church that Peter's writing to was a suffering church, a church that endured persecution, a church that would go through fiery trials that's mentioned in chapter 4, verse 12. The church was familiar with being ostracized and maligned by the culture that was around them. And so Peter's writing this epistle to encourage this congregation to stand firm in the grace of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. To not give in, to not capitulate, to not waver, but to remain steadfast in their confession and love of the Lord Jesus Christ. and he begins interestingly enough with praising God encouraging the church in the midst of your persecution to praise and bless God for what he has done for you and that's exactly where this epistle starts in verse 3 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ the persecuted church the suffering church here that Peter's writing to can still bless and praise God despite the persecution that they're going through. And Peter begins by listing some 10 or 11 reasons to bless and praise God. Can you imagine that for a second? Being in the midst of persecution and ostracism from the culture around you, and someone's writing to you and encourages you to thank God in the midst of your persecution. Could you come up with maybe 9 or 10 reasons to praise God. Peter gives about nine or ten here in this whole section to praise God for the goodness that he has displayed in Christ. And it all begins with that first verse, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ according to his great mercy, for he has caused us to be born again to a living hope. The church in all ages, but specifically the church in this persecuted context is encouraged to bless God really for three things because God has worked out three things that the church can bless and praise God for. Namely, the church blesses God because they've been born again. Secondly, the church blesses and praises God because they've been born again to a living hope. And thirdly, the church blesses and praises God because they have joy in the present. So those three points will organize our time this night. We can bless and praise God because He's caused us to be born again. God is the sole and chief cause of our new birth. This word, born again, specifically points to regeneration, to conversion, the act when God has taken out your heart of stone and given you a heart of flesh. It is referred to in Ezekiel 36, 26. I will take out your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit upon you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. So it is the work of God himself in changing your heart and giving you a love for himself. That is what it means to be born again. It means to have a new heart. It's also talked about in Titus 3, 5. So this church blesses and praises God because they've been born again. But the most important thing about this word is that it's not anything that you can contribute to. Your new birth, the act of being born again, is not something that you decided to do. Rather, you were entirely passive in your spiritual birth. It is something that God has caused, something that God has orchestrated. No, you were the one who was dead in your trespasses and sins. You had no ability to choose God. Rather, you had to be chosen. Your heart had to be changed. You were entirely passive in the process. You had no pulse for God. You made no decision for God. You made no contribution for God. God is the one who chose you. God is the one who changed your heart and gave you a love for Himself in the same way that you did not contribute to your physical birth. You did not choose who your parents were. Likewise, spiritually, you did not contribute or choose to be born into God's family. He chose you. He is the sole cause of your spiritual birth. And it's not just God generally, but God the Trinity was active in giving you a new birth. The Father has predestined you before the foundation of the world. The Son has purchased you with His own blood. And the Spirit has sealed the righteousness of Christ to your own heart. So God, the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit, all were involved in making you born again. in giving you a new heart. But notice the motive behind this. Notice the motive of God in changing your heart. It's according to His own mercy. Mercy deals specifically with man and his misery, man and his guilt. Mercy seeks to alleviate one in a miserable state from their misery. And so God looked upon the human race and their sin and sinfulness and mire and all the filthiness in which they found themselves in. And God, out of His mercy, sovereignly elected them and chose them out of that and brought them into His family. God has adopted those who were in the pit of despair. Psalm 103, to which we sang earlier, the church blesses God and forgets none of His benefits, specifically that He has forgiven all our iniquities. He has healed all our diseases. Thirdly, He's redeemed your life from the pit. And not only that, not only has He redeemed your life from the pit, He's crowned you with loving kindness and tender mercy. God has taken you from the pit and brought you into His palace. He's made you His son, His heir. You're not just an orphan that has been cast out, but you have been brought into the family. It would have been gracious and merciful of God to make us a servant in His family. It would have been merciful of God to just pardon our iniquity, but He has gone further to make us sons and daughters, heirs of the kingdom of God. We are adopted into His family. That is what it means to be born again and is all motivated by the mercy of God. He had pity on you. He had compassion on you. And He alleviated you from your situation of misery and crowned you with loving kindness and tender mercy. this new birth means that your relationship with God is completely changed. God is your father now. You are his son. You are an heir, a fellow heir with Christ. You are now an inheritor, as we see in this specific passage. You have been adopted into his family, so you have a completely different identity. You have a different identity because you are a child of God. You have gone from being an orphan to an heir, a son, a daughter. I think, actually, perhaps you know the story of Jehoiachin in the end of 2 Kings. It's a wonderful story about a man who was in prison, in exile, king of Judah, in exile at the time. And this one particular king, king of Babylon, decided to have mercy. He decided to show grace to this one particular man, Jehoiachin. And I actually think it would be best if I just read this section. Notice the mercy that this king demonstrated to a man in prison. He graciously freed Jehoiachin, king of Judah, from prison, and he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above all the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments, and every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table. And for his allowance, a regular allowance was given to him by the king according to his daily needs as long as he lived. Do you see the grace and the mercy that was demonstrated to this man who was in prison? He was graciously freed from his state in prison. And he was given a seat in the king's house above all the other seats in the palace. He was given the highest seat above everyone else. And the king took off his prison garments. And the king gave him his own clothes, gave him robes to dress himself in. and he regularly dined with the king for the rest of his life. Likewise, brothers and sisters, the Lord has shown us a great degree of mercy in adopting us into his family, in causing us to be born again, so that we can be children of God, heirs of God, fellow heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in Christ, we have a completely new identity, a completely new relationship with God. And because of that, because we have been born again, we now, for the first time in our lives, have hope in the future and joy in the present. Because we've been born again, now, secondly, we have hope in the future. We have been born again to a living hope, verse 3, a living hope. Hope is not something that is the way we tend to use it in our vernacular today. I hope so. You know, I hope that they win the game this weekend. I hope that things go well for me this weekend. I hope I can catch my flight this weekend. The way we use hope today has such a degree of uncertainty in the future. But that's not the way that the Bible describes the word hope. Rather, hope is a confidence. It's a conviction, a certainty. It is a forward-looking confidence that something will take place in the future. It's not just a, I hope so. It's a, I know so. I know that this is going to take place. I place my hope in something and I'm certain that it will come about, that it will take place. But as Christians, the object of our hope is no longer in this world. Our hope is not on what this world offers to us. and constantly the world is telling us to hope in these things. Hope in this, hope in that. It's begging for us to hope in these earthly, temporary, and transient things. Think about how much hope people put in politics, particularly within the last few years, but even before that. Think about the slogan. I'm sure you remember it, the 2008 slogan, Barack Obama. Hope, change is coming. You think about how easy and natural it is for our hearts to put so much hope in a political leader, thinking that that leader will alleviate and solve our problems. Think about how much hope people put in money, in finances, in stocks, in bonds, in retirement, thinking that this will meet my needs, this will solve my problems, that I don't have to worry about the future because all my hope is in my bank account. And yet this lets us down as well. This cannot fulfill our hopes because it wasn't destined to. Which is why Jesus said in Matthew 6, Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. No, store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy nor thieves break in and steal. Think, too, about how much hope people put in relationships. A child, a parent, a spouse, a loved one. Resting all their hope in this particular individual. Thinking that this person will finally meet my needs. This person will finally make me happy. Think about how much hope, particularly, I would say, young people put in social media. And their reputation or their image or their identity. They are in social media creating themselves. And they seek the approval of those around them. Think about how much pressure that is. How much hope young people put in their reputation. And what their social media tells about them. But all of these things dissolve. These things cannot sustain our hopes. They cannot fulfill our hopes. Which is why we sing with the hymn writer, My hope is built on nothing less but Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. And that's true. Our hope is not in this world because all that is in this world cannot fulfill our hopes. Which is why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15, As Christians, if we in Christ have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. Imagine that. As Christians, if our hope is restricted to this life only, of all people on the planet, we are most to be pitied. So our hope is not in this world. Rather, it's in the world to come. It's not in this life, but in eternal life. Eternal life with God. Our hope is in heaven. It is not on earth. It's not in this life, but it's in the life to come. And the hope that we have, the inheritance that we have, the inheritance which we place our hope in, is imperishable, undefiled, and it's unfaded, and it's kept in heaven for you, verse 4. And think about, contrast that for a moment with what we just talked about with hope in this world. The hope that we have in heaven, the inheritance that we have in heaven, is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, and kept in heaven. That is to say it's permanent. It's pure, it's glorious, and it's protected by God Himself. It cannot be stolen or taken. It cannot be defiled. It cannot be lost. It cannot be faded. The hope that we have in our eternal inheritance is permanent and fixed. It's free from death. Imagine that. we as Christians, we hope in something that cannot die or decay. We hope in something that cannot be defiled by sin. We hope in something that cannot be ravaged by time or worn away by time. We hope in something that is eternal and cannot be taken or stolen. And the hope that we have is specifically the inheritance that Christ has for His church in heaven. And what is that inheritance? Well, if you mentioned inheritance in the ancient world, it likely conveyed this idea of land or property or place. It was a home for God's people. When you said you had an inheritance, it likely meant that you had an estate or a home that you lived in. And God promised His people in the Old Covenant land, a promised land, a land flowing with milk and with honey. But what God's people found out in that promised land, it was perishable. It wasn't imperishable, it was perishable. The land would yield crops that would decay. And the land that they went into was continually defiled by the sins of God's covenant people. It was not an undefiled land. And its glory was transient and temporary. So the inheritance that we have is not on earth, but we do have an inheritance that is like a home in heaven. It is a place that God has prepared for us, which is exactly what Jesus said in John 14. Do not be sorrowful, for I go to prepare a place for you. And this is exactly what the old covenant saints were looking for. Even when they were in the promised land that didn't produce the crops and continually was defiled by sin, They looked to a land and an inheritance and a country beyond this one. Their eyes were not focused on the here and now they looked above and beyond to the eternal and the heavenly. Hebrews 11, 16. They desired a better country, that is a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for he has prepared for them a city. The inheritance that we have is not only imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for us, but it's a place that we can call home. It is the home of the Christian because this place is not our home. Our hopes are dissolved and unfulfilled, but there in the eternal inheritance of the Lord Jesus Christ and the heavenly glory, there our hopes will be fulfilled because that's where Christ is. That's where God is. That's where our Father and Brother is. That is our home. This place is not our home. Not only, though, is God keeping and protecting this inheritance in heaven, but He's also protecting you on the way. Verse 5, Who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time. God is guarding you. He's not only concerned with your inheritance in heaven, He's also concerned with you on earth. He's guarding you. It's a military term. He's protecting you. He's surrounding you while you are in this earth. He's looking out for you. He cares for your inheritance, but he also cares for you. And he's protecting you on the way until he comes back or until he calls you home. And how can we have a hope in heaven? For what reason do we have hope in heaven? It's not because we're really optimistic people. It's not because we just think happy thoughts and we dream big and we know I have an inheritance in there because I've lived good and I've done enough good things. No, the reason why we have an inheritance in heaven is because Jesus Christ was raised from the grave. Not because of anything we have done, but because the grave could not hold Him. And so we can sing as a church, O death, where is thy victory? And O grave, where is thy sting? Death has been swallowed up in victory because Christ has conquered the grave. We are the only people who can look death in the face with hope for the future life because we know that death will not have the last say. But God will raise our bodies on the last day and so we can say with Job, I know my Redeemer lives and because He lives, so shall I. Our hope is not in this world. Our hope is not in an earthly inheritance. Our hope is in an eternal inheritance and it's only because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Therefore, we can look forward to the future life with confidence, knowing that Christ will come back and return and raise our bodies from the grave. But not only does the church have hope for the future, They've been born again to a living hope. And they have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. But they also have joy in the present life. Joy in their present trials. Because they have a new identity. Because they are now children of God. They have a new relationship with the world. If you're a child of God, it means you're a stranger on earth. This is not your home. You are, as Peter would later say in chapter 2, verse 11, you're aliens and strangers. And he addresses them actually in verse 1 of chapter 1 as the elect exiles of the dispersion. The people of God, our identity, because we are identified with Christ, we are no longer identified with this world. And the world maligns us because of that. Because of our identity with Christ, we have a completely different relationship with the world. And it's one of costility. It's one of trials and persecutions from the world. And that's exactly what this church was about to suffer. It's likely, at least limited to this epistle, it's likely that the suffering and the persecution that they were enduring now was just restricted to verbal persecution, to slander and malicious talk and false accusations. It's not likely that they endured physical persecutions, but that is likely to come. They can feel it. They can sense it. They know that it's probably in the air. They can sense the fact that they are at odds with the culture around them. And so they know that there is an antagonism breeding between them and the world and the culture that they live in. And so they were suffering degrees of persecution from the world around them. Just read with me. Flip over to chapter 4, verse 3, just to get a sense of the kind of suffering that this church was going through and persecution. Chapter 4, verse 3, For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to these things, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery and they malign you. They're surprised that you don't join them in the same flood of debauchery and their response to you is that they malign you. And Peter encourages the church in verse 12 of that same chapter, don't be surprised. Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in the glory of God. Rejoice in the sufferings. So the church was enduring a number of sufferings because of their identity with Christ. And it should be no surprise to the church, which is why he says in chapter 2 verse 21, for to this you have been called. You have been called to suffering because Christ Jesus has set an example for you that you may follow in his steps. He suffered, but he did not threaten. He was reviled, but he did not revile in return. He continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. That is the Lord Jesus Christ. He suffered, but he did not retaliate. And he continued to entrust himself to God, the judge, in the midst of his persecutions. And so this church is suffering from the culture around them, from the persecution that the culture is subjecting on them. But not only are they going through various trials because of persecution, but also because they have not yet seen Christ. Their faith is tested because they believe and love and serve A savior that is not visible to them right now And so their faith is being tried we walk by faith not by sight you believe in him whom you do not see But you continue to trust him and that is a test of your faith And it strengthens your faith, which is why jesus said to thomas Blessed are those who believe in me even though they don't see me Because thomas was the one that came to jesus and said i'll believe you if I can touch your hands and your feet and know that you have been raised from the grave. But no, we as Christians, we believe in a Savior whom we do not see. That is a test of our faith, and it's especially a test of your faith in the midst of persecution. And so the church is being tried, a type of trial that's actually compared in verse... I can't find the verse. Seven. A trial that's compared to fire, to gold that is refined in the fire. Fire is often a metaphor for affliction and adversity and suffering and trial. And God is allowing for His covenant people to endure the trials of fire because it is to result in the testing of their faith, the provenness of their faith. Verse 7, So that the tested genuineness of your faith may be found to result in praise and glory and honor, the purity of your faith, The genuineness of your faith is tried and tested by trials. The sincerity of your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ is tested when the fires of trial come upon you and God allows those things to happen in order that your faith may be strengthened in Him so that your faith may be found to result in glory and honor and praise at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And so in the midst of this trial and in the midst of this persecution what's most amazing is that the church continues to rejoice and praise god we often think that trials and suffering inhibits or prevents our joy and is an obstacle to our joy but for the christian we can still have joy in the midst of our trial and in the midst of our persecution because god has given us a living hope that is beyond this world so the christian is able to rejoice in suffering and notice here specifically that it's not a command Peter's not commanding the church I know your trials are really hard and rejoice in these trials he's saying that you are rejoicing because the spirit of God is at work within you and he producing the fruit of the spirit of joy is working within your heart and when Peter says these things he's not minimizing the grief and agony of persecution and suffering. But he's trying to highlight the ministry of God, the Holy Spirit, to give you the joy that you cannot find in and of yourself. But it is all solely of the gift of God. And that is true. That is true if you have seen someone suffer persecution. You've seen someone who has endured various degrees of trial. If they have joy, you are surprised and you know it's not from that individual and you say, how can you have so much joy? It's because the God of our Lord Jesus Christ has given joy, even in the midst of persecution, in the midst of trial, in the midst of suffering. And that is how it has been for the church in all ages. Peter himself, the one writing this epistle, was persecuted in Acts chapter 2 or three I believe and he walked away he and John walked away from the persecution rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to suffer for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit provides joy in the present joy even in the midst of our trials because there is a purpose to those trials we often think also that there is no purpose to our trials God is a God of providence he is a sovereign God he is working all things that take place in your life for his own glory and your good and the result of your suffering and the testing of your faith is that it may result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ so that God may be glorified so that when they see your joy in the midst of your persecution in the midst of your trial they may give glory to your God the God whom you serve. So we bless God because He has caused us to be born again. And do you see how much of a difference that's made in our lives? Now, because we have a new heart, now because we are adopted into the family of God, now that we are children and heirs of God, we have hope. This world does not have hope. The world cannot offer you hope. Hope can only be found in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. And not only do we have hope in this life because of a confidence that we have in the future. We also have joy even in the midst of our trials, in the midst of our tribulations and sufferings because God the Holy Spirit is at work within us producing the joy that we could not produce in and of ourselves. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we do praise You and bless you for the great salvation that you have accomplished for us in the Lord Jesus Christ. We praise you that you have given us an identity as children of God. We praise you that we have been brought into your family, that we have been given hope, a hope that is alive and living and lasting. We praise you that you have given us joy, real, true, lasting joy, only because of God the Holy Spirit. We pray, O God, that you would grow in our hearts a deeper love and praise for you for all the blessings that you have accomplished for us in Christ Jesus. And we ask it in his name. Amen.