Keys of the Kingdom 2 – Grounds For Faithfulness

How do we maintain faithfulness to the Lord when opposition is coming against us or trials are pressing upon us? Open with us to First Peter, chapter one, and consider that question. Good morning to you! Would you open your Bibles to First Peter, chapter one? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one.

First Peter is right near the end of the Bible, after the books of Hebrews and James, and right before Second Peter.

I heard there's some sort of sporting event today; it's like the lawn bowling tournament or something.

First Peter, chapter one, verse one: "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. To you and peace be multiplied."

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Lord, as we open now the Scriptures, we pray that You'd open our hearts. By Your word, which we esteem as given by inspiration of You, which is useful for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, we ask that we, who are Your followers, Your people, would be thoroughly equipped for every good work this week.

We pray, God, that Your word, which is living and powerful, would expose in our lives any area that is incongruent with Your nature. Transform us by the renewing of our minds so that we would be able to show our faith in action on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week.

Week after week, we seek to understand what is your good and perfect will in our lives, that you would be glorified. Lord, we exalt you and we exalt your Word here at Cross Connection. We pray, God, that you would be exalted over our lives and that your Word would take deep root in our hearts. By the power of your Spirit, make us glorifying to you. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

It happens from time to time that I'll be out and about in the community, maybe at a store. I think the last time it happened, I was waiting for an airplane down at Lindbergh Field. The plane that had just landed was deplaning when someone came out, walked by me, stopped, and came back. It was a friend of mine that I graduated from high school with. We started to talk, and of course, there comes that point in the conversation when you see someone you haven't seen for a while, and they say, "So, what do you do now?" I said, "Well, I'm a pastor," and always the reaction is the same: "Oh, what a pastor!"

I remember it very clearly. I was in full firefighter uniform as a chaplain with the Escondido Fire Department. We have quite a few firefighters here in our fire department, and there were guys I'd never met before. I was with a group of guys that I do know at one of the stations. We were walking around when we came out and saw a firefighter I had never met before. He was down cleaning the wheels of the fire truck here at Station One. He started talking with these guys, not even noticing that I was there. He was talking and dropping some words that I don't normally use.

Finally, about two or three minutes into the conversation, the two guys I was with were kind of chuckling because I was standing there. This guy looked up at me and said, "Who the blank are you?" One of the guys replied, "This is Miles, our chaplain," and everything changed.

I'm sorry, I didn't know who you were. I wonder if Peter ever had someone say to him, "Peter, I haven't seen you in so long," or "Simon," which was his given name. What are you doing these days?

"I'm Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ." An apostle of Jesus Christ! Well, that certainly wasn't the life that his parents thought he would have. It wasn't the life that he was expected to have. It's likely, at least from what we can deduce from a few things in Scripture and history, that he was probably the oldest in his family. His father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather probably all applied the same trade; they were all fishermen.

He lived and grew up in a city on the northern banks of the Sea of Galilee called Bethsaida. It was expected that he would take over the family business, that he would take care of the family, and that he would continue that work. From a very young age, in that culture, he was likely there on the Sea of Galilee fishing with his dad, maybe with his grandfather and others within the family—uncles, cousins—working as a fisherman.

One day, maybe when he was in his late teens or early twenties—we don't know, but we don't think that he and the others were very old—his brother, probably his younger brother Andrew, came to him and said, "Peter, I have met a man. I think he's the Messiah."

Now, there was an expectation and anticipation in that day, in the first century, that the Messiah of the children of Israel would soon come. There was this feeling among the people that something had to give, that something had to change. Politically, it was a nightmare—the politics of their own nation and the politics of those who were occupying them. It was a nightmare, and they wanted someone to come who would save them from all that was going on in their nation. Sound familiar?

So now, there was this one traveling about. There had already been one just previous to this; in fact, there were more than a few that people were going, "Maybe it's this one." There was one down baptizing people, saying all kinds of crazy things, and people were wondering, "Wow, who's this guy?" Even the political...

The elite of the day sent down some priests to find out who this guy was out in the wilderness. John looked very prophetic, wearing camel's hair and a big old sash, and eating locusts and wild honey. He must be a prophet. Then there was another one, Jesus of Nazareth, going around the countryside preaching. Simon had a brief interaction with Him, which is recorded for us in the Gospel of John, chapter one. There, when Jesus met Simon, He changed his name on the spot to Cephas. "You shall be called Cephas," or Peter, as it would be translated for us.

Then there came another meeting. Nothing really changed from that meeting to the next, but Peter had an idea of who this Jesus was, and Jesus's fame and name were spreading. He had heard about Him. One day, this Jesus came with a multitude of people following Him. As was the custom of the day, He was preaching, teaching, and talking as He walked. He came to the edge of the Sea of Galilee, where Peter and others had fished all night. Peter was cleaning his nets.

With the multitude pressing in against Jesus, He said to Simon Peter, "Hey, can I stand in your boat? Can we push out a little bit from the shore so I can preach from there?" Peter agreed, saying, "Yeah, that's no problem." He continued to clean his nets. At a certain point during the message, as Peter was casually listening to this Jesus of Nazareth preach, Jesus said, "Hey, Peter, put out a little bit from the shore and cast your net into the water for a catch."

Now, Peter was a fisherman by trade, and he knew that this was not the way to do it. This was not the time for fishing; it doesn't really work that way. He had worked all night long and caught nothing. He had just finished cleaning his nets. "Why would I?" he thought. But at Your word, I'll do it. The next thing he knew, he had a net full of fish. So great was the catch that he knew it was a miracle. It doesn't work this way, but he had to call to others to bring their boats over to help catch this huge haul. Maybe it was James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were also there.

In amazement, Peter looked at this Jesus on his boat and realized that this man had just performed a miracle. He said, "I'm not worthy to be in Your presence." Jesus, turning to Peter, said, "This amazes you? You're going to see greater things than this. Follow Me, and I will make you a fisherman." Luke, chapter 5, says that Peter forsook all.

No doubt, this was much to the concern of his parents, who expected that he would take over the family business and care for the family long into the years. So, what are you doing? Are you going to follow this Jesus?

Peter and others became followers of Jesus, disciples. That's what a disciple is: merely a follower. If you're a follower of Jesus today, you're a disciple. Peter became a disciple of Jesus for the next three and a half years. At one point in that following, Jesus commissioned Peter and eleven others to be Apostles, which means "one sent with a message." They were to take the message they were hearing from their Master, their Rabbi, and go preach it elsewhere.

Not only were they given a message, but they were also given power and authority, the same kind of power and authority that Jesus had to cast out demons and heal the sick. They went forth and proclaimed that message, and they surely expected that this Jesus was and is the Messiah. Their expectations of him were purely political, and ultimately, he did not fulfill their political expectations. He was crucified, raised from the dead, and now they are at the same edge of the Galilee, as we considered together last week in John chapter 21.

Jesus and Peter have a conversation after three and a half years of seeing Jesus do amazing things, teach amazing things, and being a part of that. Jesus now says, "Okay, now is the opportunity for fishing for men." That was all just training, an apprenticeship. Now it's time to go and do the work.

So, I want you to follow me. But here's the thing: if you follow me, you're going to suffer shame for my namesake. You're ultimately going to be killed for my namesake, but I want you to follow me and tend my sheep.

Now, some forty years later, after originally being called and commissioned by Jesus, Peter is still fulfilling that Apostolic Commission. This is in spite of seeing Jesus suffer and die by crucifixion, in spite of himself experiencing persecution, and in spite of knowing that continuing to follow faithfully will...

The mean crucifixion for him, in spite of watching those that he loved and was close to being persecuted and killed for their faith, was a heavy burden. James, the brother of John and the son of Zebedee, was also a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. Peter probably knew him from the time he was just a little boy; they likely played together in Capernaum or Bethsaida and fished together on the Galilee. In the year 44 A.D., James was killed by King Herod for his faith in Christ.

Ten years later, in the year 54 A.D., Philip, another one of the twelve disciples, was crucified in Phrygia, near modern-day Turkey. Shortly after that, Matthew, the tax collector who became a follower of Jesus and wrote the Gospel of Matthew in the year 60 A.D., was killed with a spear for following Jesus. Andrew, the brother of Peter, the one who introduced him to Jesus, was also close to him. It was in the year 60 A.D. that Andrew was crucified in Western Greece. Bartholomew, another one of the disciples, was beaten to death, while Thomas was run through with a spear in the country of India.

At this time, Paul was in prison in Rome. Peter had witnessed all of this suffering and death for the name of Christ, and in spite of it all, he maintained faithfulness to the commission and the call of Jesus. Knowing that persecution was about to ramp up, he called the church to the same measure of faithfulness.

Peter's life, in the face of all these challenges, teaches us an important lesson. Point number one: faithfulness is more important than giftedness. Peter and the other apostles, along with the other followers of Jesus, were just unlearned, untrained men. There was nothing great or special about them; they did not have training in the best religious schools of the day. They were just common tradesmen. Yet, what they lacked in giftedness, they made up for in faithfulness. They may not have been gifted, talented, or trained, but they had a commitment that surpassed their abilities.

The pedigree of the day should have been there to make them what they would be for the Kingdom of God. Yet, what they lacked in giftedness, they made up for in faithfulness. This begs the question for me, for us: How do I become more faithful? I will touch on that a little bit more in a moment.

Maybe Jesus calls the foolish, the weak, those that are nothing, the despised, to come and follow Him. In that calling, we all find ourselves. Even though we live in a culture that constantly tells us to build ourselves up and show how great we are, when we are alone and look at ourselves in the mirror, we know that we fit that bill more than how great we are. We are weak and foolish, and God has chosen the foolish things. First Corinthians chapter 1 says He has chosen the foolish things to confound the wise. He has chosen those things that are weak to put to shame those things that are mighty. He has called those that are nothing, and in all of that, we find ourselves knowing that He calls the weak, the foolish, the base, and the despised. This gives me great hope.

What He calls us to is faithfulness. First Corinthians chapter 4, verse 2 says, "Moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found faithful." That is what the Lord is looking for: faithfulness. What those early apostles lacked in giftedness, they made up for in faithfulness. Faithfulness, in the eyes of God, is more important than greatness.

Now, forty years after the first calling and commission, Peter writes this letter. In First Peter chapter 1, the second part of verse 1, he addresses "the pilgrims of the dispersion" in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. These are regions east of Rome. Peter is in Rome, and the year is about 63 or 64 A.D., right at the beginning of 64 A.D. He writes to those who are living about a thousand miles east of Rome in what is modern-day Turkey, and he calls them "the pilgrims of the dispersion." You see, the first-century Roman world was hostile to non-conformist outsiders.

The Christians quickly became seen as non-conformist outsiders. It happened first among the Jewish people, as all the early Christians were Jews. Christianity found its birth in Jerusalem, and Acts chapter 2 tells us that story. All of the early followers of Jesus were Jewish followers of Jesus, but it didn't take long for the gospel to move outside of that. That was God's goal and plan from the beginning. Jesus told his disciples in Acts chapter 1, "You shall receive power, and the Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and you shall be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the world." They were going to take the gospel to people who were not Jewish.

It didn't take long for the majority of Christians to be of Gentile origin, non-Jewish origin, rather than Jewish. Consequently, those who were followers of Jesus began to be considered outsiders of the Jewish community. As the gospel spread into Syria and north up into Asia Minor (Turkey), west into Greece, and throughout the Roman Empire, it reached far and wide. Thomas carried the gospel to India, and Bartholomew carried it down into Africa. As the gospel began to spread throughout the Roman Empire, these Christians were different. They were not like the Romans; they were not like the Hellenistically focused Greco-Roman people of the day who worshiped many different gods and engaged in very immoral and strange practices at the temples, such as those of Diana, Apollo, and Jupiter.

The Christians did not participate in these practices, and so they were immediately seen as outsiders and non-conformists. Additionally, just before the first century A.D. and the first century B.C., there was the growth of what was called the Roman Imperial cult. The Caesars, the leaders of Rome, did not only see themselves as political leaders coming from the Senate or aristocratic families; they began to see themselves as gods. It became required that they be worshiped as such. People were expected to offer an annual offering to the Caesar, presenting a bust of Caesar and offering incense while proclaiming, "Caesar is Lord."

This created a significant problem for Christians, who believed that Jesus is Lord of lords and King of Kings. It was not possible for them to say, "Caesar is Lord."

Jesus is Lord. This was a problem in the early church as early as the church spreading through Ephesus, which is about the year 50 A.D. to 54 A.D., just about 12 to 22 years after Jesus ascended into heaven. Already, this was a problem. What did the Jews say about the Christians? They believed that Jesus is Lord and not Caesar. This was part of their case against Paul as he was being tried in Jerusalem. As a result, Christians were put out as outsiders; they were excluded from daily life, mistreated, and seen as treasonous to the Roman Empire.

Early Christians were in the Roman world and culture of the day, but they were quite clearly not of that world and culture. There was an evident difference in the lives of the Christians, and they simply didn't fit in. As is always the case, humanity tends to pick on those who are different. Because they were a minority, it was easy to target them. Whenever Christians in history have been a minority, their differences are accentuated and often lead to oppression.

It's important for us to remember this in the 21st century. I have said for many years, and I am not the only one, that many have been saying this in churches across the United States: the world in which we live is becoming more and more like the first-century Roman world.

We need to be reminded of this. Point number two on our outline is that faithful followers of Jesus will always feel displaced. Given this reality, stop trying to fit in. You never will. Fitting in with the world will come at the expense of faithfulness to Jesus. As the world in which we live shifts and changes even more, and as Christians in the United States move from a majority position to a minority position, trying to fit in with the things of this world will diminish your faithfulness to Jesus. To be in with the world will put you on a path away from Him.

Out with Jesus, conversely, to be in with Jesus will put you on the outs with the world. Just as James, the brother of our Lord, wrote, it is just one page, two pages in my Bible to the left of where we're at in First Peter. Look at James chapter 4, verse 4. Right about the middle of the verse, James says, "Friendship with the world is enmity with God. Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."

Jesus said in John chapter 15, verse 19, "Because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you." The Christians in the first century, in 64 A.D., there in Galatia, Pontus, Cappadocia, and Bithynia, in modern-day Turkey, were beginning to feel more and more as though they were outsiders, displaced. Peter says, "Listen, I don’t want you to think it’s strange."

So, Christian in the 21st century, don’t think it’s strange when we become more and more displaced. Understand that God is in the displacement; He wants us to be displaced and placed out into the world to bring the light of Christ to those who are in need and in darkness.

He continues in First Peter, chapter 2, at the beginning of the verse, to these dispersed pilgrims. He says, "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." If you are a follower of Jesus today, you need to know that you are chosen of God. This is it right there: "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God."

We are in a political campaign season. This November, we will elect, we will choose a new president. Here, he says that if you are a follower of Jesus, even though you’re displaced in a world that might be contrary to you, you are chosen by God the Father. That is such good news! That gives me, and it should give you, great peace in knowing that God chose you, that He selected you.

In fact, at the end of verse 2, Peter writes, "Grace to you and peace be multiplied." Remembering that God, by His grace, has chosen me multiplies my peace in a world that is contrary to me. It increases my peace knowing that He selected me.

Now, there has been an ongoing argument among Christians for centuries about this idea, this concept of God choosing and electing. Mostly, although it's not only during this time, in the last 500 years since what has been called the Protestant Reformation, we have two major camps in the church that grew out of the Reformation. One camp sides strongly on the area of the sovereign selection and election of God of people, while the other sides more on the area of man's responsibility in that. There is a contentious divide in the church between God's sovereign election and man's responsibility.

Questions abound: Did God choose me because He foreknew, as this passage seems to say? He foreknew that I would choose Him. Did He choose me because He knew I would choose Him, and He likes to choose winners? Did He choose me regardless of my choosing of Him? Did He choose me, and it has nothing to do with my involvement? Or did I play some part in this? There is still this back-and-forth contention going on today. It divides churches, Christians, and the body of Christ. I don't think any Christian knows perfectly the answer to these questions, and I am convinced that those who say they do are overselling themselves.

That said, whatever the case, however we answer these questions of God's choosing, it is very clear here in First Peter chapter one: God chose us by the work of His Holy Spirit and grace. He chose us for a purpose, and He sealed us, completing the work of choosing us by the shed blood of His Son on the cross. That's what Peter says here in this passage: "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father."

Sanctification of the Spirit for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ highlights the Triune aspect of God: God the Father, God the Spirit, and the Son, Jesus Christ. In this passage, we see that we are chosen by God through the gracious work of the Holy Spirit. God saved you and chose you, if you're a follower of Jesus today, for a purpose.

What purpose? Well, point number three on your outline is that God chooses and sets us apart. This is the meaning of the word "sanctification of the Spirit." God the Father chooses and sets us apart for obedience. You see it there: elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctification of the Spirit for obedience.

It is important to point out that our salvation is secured by Jesus's shed blood and not our obedience. However, we are saved and secured for obedience. What is obedience but faithfulness? Obedience is an evident outcome in the life of the Christian. Those who are saved by Jesus show their love and devotion for Him and for His salvation through their faithfulness and obedience to Him.

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 14, verse 15, Jesus said to His followers, "If you love me, keep my commandments." In verse 21, He states, "He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

In verse 23, Jesus answered and said to one of His disciples, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." In verse 24, He adds, "He who does not love me does not keep my words, and the word which you hear is not mine but my Father's who sent me."

As followers of Jesus, we show our love and devotion to Him for His salvation and for who He is by faithfully obeying Him. So, Peter continues in verse 3 of 1 Peter 1, "Blessed be the God and Father of our..."

Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, has given us an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away, reserved for you in heaven.

Bless Him. Now, that word that begins verse three, "blessed," can be translated as "praise." What Peter is doing here is something that I heard many times growing up in my house from my mom, Genie. "Praise the Lord!" If you know her, you can hear her saying it. Can I get a "praise the Lord"? There you go! I must have heard that a million times. "Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!"

Peter here says it: "Praise the Lord!" Praise to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy, we are praising God for His abundant mercy by which He has made us born again unto a living hope. You see the progression of what Peter is saying here. We praise God, and if you're a follower of Jesus, we praise God for what? For His abundant mercy.

Have you ever thought for a while about the mercy of God? I am so grateful for the mercy of God. I know that the turning point in my life, the transformation in my life, came about because of the mercy of God. I know it specifically. In fact, in our Wednesday night gathering last week at the table with the Men's Ministry, we were talking about our testimonies. I know my testimony; the transformation in my life came about by seeing an image, a picture of mercy, and how my life did not have mercy. God transformed my life by His mercy, and I am so thankful for the mercy of God.

When I think about the mercy of God, I think about all the innumerable attributes of our God: God is love, God is good, God is holy, God is just, and God is perfect. If you go down the list of all the things that God is, I am convinced—my personal belief is that among all of God's attributes, His mercy is, in some way, even if it is in an infinitesimal way, the smallest micrometer of a way, elevated above all else. I am convinced of this. If it were not the case, we would not be here. In fact, Lamentations chapter 3, verse 22 says, "If it were not for the mercies of..."

God, we would all be consumed. I do believe that there's scriptural support for this belief, and it's found in the book of Exodus. There, Moses— you remember him— is in awe of the grace and awesome power of God. He says, "God, show me Your glory." God replies, "Moses, I can't show you my glory because if you see my glory, you're done."

But here's what I'll do: I want you to go stand in the corner of this rock. I'm going to set you in this corner, and I'm going to appear in your presence. Then, I'm going to disappear from your presence, and you can turn around and see my afterglow. You can see the glory that remains. You see, God has so much glory; it's like that grandma we all knew who wore too much perfume. When she left the room, you still smelled her, and you knew she had been there. How do you know? Well, I can smell it.

God's glory is like that; it permeates everything around Him. He says, "Okay, Moses, you go stand in the corner over there, and I'm going to appear right here. Then I'm going to leave, and when I leave, you can turn around and see my glory that stays there after I'm gone." This way, you won't come in contact with the full weight of it and be consumed.

But there's something else He does, which is recorded in Exodus 34. He comes into the presence of Moses and declares His name, which reveals who He is. He defines who He is for Moses. In Exodus 34, verse 6, He stands there in the presence of Moses and says, "The Lord, the Lord God." The first word He uses to describe Himself is merciful, and we should all be grateful that He did.

Oh, the abundant mercy of God! Peter says, "Blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, because of His abundant mercy, has made us born again." He has begotten us again— that's born again. The ESV version says "born again." Born again unto what? Unto a living hope. Point number four on your outline is that it is God's abundant mercy that gives us a living hope. It is God's abundant mercy that gives us.

A Living Hope is a living and lively hope that we have been given by God's mercy. We have been born again, and now the New Living Translation says we live with great expectation. I like that. God has given you His mercy and made you born again through Jesus Christ. He has given you great expectation because Jesus is alive.

We have great expectation. If Jesus did not raise from the dead, we would have no expectation. But because Jesus is alive, we have great expectation. The resurrection of Jesus assures us that His word is true. That's always what the miracles of Jesus were given for in the Gospels. The miracles were to substantiate the message. The works of Jesus prove that His words are true.

When Jesus said to a woman named Martha in John 11:25, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And anyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die," there is not a person alive who cannot read those words and say that is good news. I wish it were true. I hope it is true.

What do all men fear the most? Death. Anyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. No one can read those words and not say, "Man, I wish that were true." The resurrection of Jesus proves to us that it is true. His resurrection, therefore, gives me, gives you, and gives us as followers of Jesus a lively hope, a living hope—not a blind, wishful thinking kind of hope that says, "I really wish the Chargers would win a Super Bowl," but the kind of hope that is an absolute certainty. A living hope that we live with great expectation. So, God's abundant mercy has given us this hope.

This kind of living hope is a living hope unto something great. Let's look at verse 4 of 1 Peter 1:4. It speaks of a living hope unto an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled, one that does not fade away, reserved for you in heaven. The "you" here is specific to each of us as followers of Jesus. We have been born again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ unto a living hope of an eternal inheritance in heaven that is perfect and imperishable. This inheritance does not go away; it is forever.

I was in a meeting with a group of pastors a few weeks ago, and one of the pastors shared a praise report with the group. He said, "Hey guys, I have to share this." Last Monday, a man came into their office. This man has always been down and out, constantly in need. The church has helped him many times with benevolence. Every time he comes in, he is looking for assistance.

So, the pastor received a call from the front desk saying that this man was there. He expected that the man would be asking for help again. However, when he went out to meet him, the man had just walked out the door. The pastor wondered where he had gone, but then he noticed that the man had left an envelope behind. When he opened the envelope, he found a check for eighteen thousand dollars.

They called the man to ask about it, and he explained, "I got an inheritance." Can you imagine receiving an inheritance? I bet you've imagined it before; I know I have. How great would that inheritance be? We all would love to receive an inheritance, but I fear that most of my imaginings of such have been vain.

What a statement that is, coming from the mouth of my own mother! My goodness gracious, she loves to speak the truth. If you are a Christian today, a follower of Jesus who has put your trust and confidence in the risen, alive Jesus of Nazareth, then you have reserved for you in heaven a bank of eternal securities. This is not backed by the FDIC but by something far greater.

You have an inheritance reserved for you, an eternal inheritance which is far greater than silver, gold, stocks, bonds, cash, or money orders. It is far greater.

Well, that's all well and good, Pastor. I'm so glad that I have that reserve for me in heaven, and it is incorruptible, undefiled, and does not fade away. But what about me? I'm not sure that I am not going to fade away in the face of trial and difficulty. I don't know if I can stand that. If I can't stand it, what about me and what about that inheritance?

Well, Peter continues in 1 Peter 1:5. You have been saved to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, that does not fade away, reserved for you in heaven. You are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. If you're a follower of Jesus, you are kept by the power of God, held, protected, preserved, and maintained by His power and your trust in Him.

Isn't it interesting? Every single one of us tends to trust in ourselves, but we always let ourselves down. We are kept by the power of God through our confidence and trust in Him.

Earlier, I asked the question: How do I become more faithful? I want to encourage you with point number five on your outline: Resurrection is the firm foundation upon which faithfulness is built. The resurrection proves that God is powerful, and my confident trust in the resurrecting power of God strengthens my faithfulness to the very same God who can keep, preserve, protect, and guard you. My trust in Him and His power, which is powerful enough to raise the dead, is what gives us His power.

Us the ability to stand. He says we are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

What's this? Point number six on the back of your paper: listen, Church, there is a greater salvation awaiting the saved. It is a wonderful thing, and I think we can all, who are followers of Jesus and have received His grace for forgiveness, attest to this. It is a wonderful thing to have forgiveness. It is great to have been given the Holy Spirit of God and His power. It's fantastic to have hope, joy, and peace in believing in Jesus here in this life.

However, all of those spiritual blessings—hope, joy, peace, a clear conscience, and forgiveness—barely begin to scratch the surface of the great salvation that awaits us. An inheritance incorruptible that does not fade away is reserved for us in heaven. It is far greater than what we have here. Even though what we have from God is wonderful, it pales in comparison to that.

As Paul, quoting Isaiah in 1 Corinthians 2:9, says, "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him." We can't even begin to grasp, with our finite minds, the infinite wonder of all that God has prepared for us in eternity. Ephesians 2:7 says that throughout all eternity, God is going to be revealing the riches of His grace towards us who believe. It will take all eternity for us to see the riches of His grace.

So, what does that mean? There is a greater salvation awaiting the saved. How does that stir my faithfulness? Well, Paul in Romans 8:18 says, "For I am convinced that the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us."

So, how do I increase my faithfulness to the Lord in the face of opposition in a world that is contrary? The author of the book of Hebrews wrote in Hebrews 12:1, "Let us lay aside every weight and sin."

That does so easily ensnare us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Therein lies the lesson of faithfulness. Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that is set before Him endured the cross, went through suffering, and maintained faithfulness.

How do I maintain faithfulness? It has everything to do with the focus on the end. There is an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, which fades not away, reserved for you in heaven. Amen.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father God, I thank You for this truth. The grounds for our faithfulness is not our strength, not our abilities, not our training, not our connection to a church, not our pedigree, and not our financial picture and standing. The grounds for faithfulness is a focus upon You in eternity, waiting to welcome us home.

Lord, help us to have that focus this week and to run with endurance the race that is set before us, that You would be glorified in our lives. Whatever we go through, that You would be exalted. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.