Keys of the Kingdom 3 – Tried, Tested & Still Trusting

Amen, amen. Good morning, church! Happy Valentine's Day! May the love of Christ be with you. Would you open your Bibles, if you have them, to the book of First Peter? Please stay standing if you would. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. We are a Bible church; we believe that God speaks through His Word.

First Peter is near the end of the Bible, right after the big books of Hebrews and James, and right before Second Peter. There is a table of contents in the front if you can't find it. We are in First Peter, chapter 1, verse 6 today.

Also, just a few minutes ago, we said goodbye to a group of people from our church who were headed up to Central California to serve with a ministry called Gleanings for the Hungry this week. We will pray for them in just a minute when we pray for our service. Please keep in mind that this week, some people from our church are serving at that ministry.

Now, First Peter, chapter 1, verse 6: "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious

Of your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." Father, that word there is a heavy word: "Be holy, for you are holy." It is a call that none of us could accomplish in and of our own strength. Nothing can atone for sin. We just sang, "Not of good that we have done." It's not our own righteousness or our own holiness that makes us right before You, but Jesus, Your death on the cross in our place gives us grace, salvation, and forgiveness. Lord, we rejoice in that today.

So speak to us as we open the pages of Scripture. We ask that You, by Your Spirit, would speak to our hearts and minds and give us insight and understanding, that we would know You more fully. Help us to show forth Your goodness and Your grace more completely to people who are not here—people in our families, perhaps in our workplace or our school—that they would see in us Your grace, Your forgiveness, and Your joy. So God, work in us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen."

Amen. You can be seated.

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but we are now fully engaged in the 2016 campaign season, and I am sure that all of you are very excited about this. It will be a very short time until all of the prescription drug commercials are replaced with political ads on TV. On every corner throughout our nation, not just here, we will see political signs for candidates as they put forth their agenda at the local, county, state, and then federal levels.

If you have been paying attention in any way to the crowded race at the federal level, then you know and have seen that in this campaign season, as in other campaign seasons, every political candidate running for office always presents what marketers refer to as a VAP—a value-added proposition. They are speaking to certain groups and constituencies, saying, "If you choose me, if you elect me, then I will do this for you. This is the value that you will get if you choose me on that day in November. So choose me, because this is what you're going to get."

At the presidential level right now, we're already hearing that Hillary Clinton is saying Barack Obama has done such a wonderful job. She claims that if you choose her, she will continue to move forward with his agenda to bring more jobs, health care, and a better future.

On the other hand, Marco Rubio argues that Barack Obama has done a terrible job with jobs, health care, and security. He asserts that if you elect him, he will do a better job, get rid of all the things Obama did, and ensure you have a better future.

Then there’s Bernie Sanders, who will say that Barack Obama has not gone far enough. He promises that if you elect him, he will take all the money that Obama gave to Wall Street and give it to you for health care, jobs, and to pay off your student loans, leading to a better future.

Donald Trump comes along and claims that Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, and Hillary Clinton will all impose huge taxes. He states that if you elect him, he will provide a tax cut and better security, resulting in a better future.

At the end of the day, they all ultimately boil down to the same message: you will have a better future. That is their value-added proposition—a better future. Political candidates do this because they understand that every single human being has an innate desire and drive for a better future.

The 19th-century British author Samuel Butler said, "Self-preservation is the first law of nature." We all desire a better future, even if we have different ways of articulating what that future looks like. Every political candidate has a certain path toward that better future. They may disagree on what that path should be, but in the end, they are all saying, "This is the better future that we're looking for."

This is the vision they are trying to convey: "This is my vision for our better future, and if you like me, that's where we're going." Back in 2008, President Obama, when he was running, focused on hope for a better future. His one-word slogan, if you will, was "hope," playing upon the reality that every single human being has a hope for something better, looking forward to a better day. Apparently, each of these politicians believes they have the ability, through their agenda, to deliver that hope.

To satisfy that hope for a better future, I'm not entirely convinced. But what if a revolutionary leader came along and, instead of a stump speech like that, he said, "I want you to join my revolution. I want you to follow me, but if you do, it may mean suffering. It may mean pain. If you follow me, it might be difficult. You will not, in this life, experience the health, welfare, security, and safety that every heart desires."

No, it's not in this life, he would say, but your health and welfare will actually probably diminish in this life. If you follow me, you will be hated for my name's sake and potentially persecuted. You might even need to watch those whom you love suffer because you follow me.

Now, of course, I'm not talking about a fictional character; I'm talking about an individual 2,000 years ago who actually lived and spoke those things. That was, if you will, his stump speech. Why would anybody agree to that? Why would anybody follow that?

In fact, some of the most oft-repeated words of this individual go like this: it's recorded in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament, Matthew 10:38. You can write it down and look at it later if you'd like. Jesus said, "He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake, the same will find it."

In another place in Matthew's Gospel, Matthew 16:24, Jesus said to his followers, "If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross." Remember, a cross was not jewelry in the first century; it was an instrument of pain and death. "Let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, the same will find it."

The Gospel of Mark 8 records the same words. The Gospel of Luke 9:23 states, "Then Jesus said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake, the same will find it.'"

Finally, in Luke 14:27, it says, "And whoever does not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Those may be the most oft-repeated words.

The repeated words of Jesus in the Gospel serve as His stump speech, if you will. This revolutionary leader comes and says, "I want you to come and follow me, but if you do, it's going to be difficult." He followed this up right after the verse I just read in Luke 14:27. The very next verse, verse 28, says that you need to count the cost. Following me is costly, Jesus said 2,000 years ago. Why would anyone follow that if that's the pitch?

The amazing thing is that within 40 years of Jesus saying those words, there were tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people who were following Him. Fast forward two millennia, 20 centuries later, and there are more than two billion people who identify as followers of this one who said, "Come, follow me." You have to take up your cross and deny yourself. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake, the same shall find it.

How is it possible to go from 120 followers mentioned in the early chapters of the Book of Acts to two billion in 20 centuries when that's the stump speech? When that's the pitch, "Come, follow me, and it is going to mean that people will hate you for my name's sake"? The only answer to that question, "Why would anybody follow?" must be that the guy who promised those things—promised in this life the potential of persecution, suffering, and pain—also promised something better after that.

Of course, He did promise something better after that. He said, "I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly. I have come that you might have everlasting life. I have come to give reward in eternity, but not here in this life; it's going to come in the next life." But that seems so far away, and that seems so hard to grasp and wrap your mind around. How is that even possible?

I suggest that all of Jesus's earlier followers, when He was here during His earthly ministry, followed Him for immediate gain. That's what they were looking for; that's what they were hoping for. That's why all of His immediate or early followers ran away from Him when things got difficult.

It was hard because they were looking for and hoping for something tangible, a reward. He kept telling them over and over again, "No, that's not what's going to happen now; it's after this life."

But what changed? The same one who promised possible persecution and martyrdom with salvation in the end, Himself, suffered crucifixion and martyrdom. Three days later, He rose from the dead. That individual is the King of kings and Lord of lords, and He sits at this moment on a throne in heaven. There were over 500 witnesses to His death, burial, and resurrection. They were so convinced of His resurrection that they went towards potential suffering, and almost all of them faced martyrdom, enduring painful deaths while proclaiming their belief in a man who had died on a cross and rose from the dead. They went to painful deaths trusting that He would also be good on the promise He made about resurrection in the future.

About 40 years after Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, one of His early followers, Peter, was writing a letter to Christians who lived in what is modern-day Turkey, near the Mediterranean Sea. He was writing to remind them that there is suffering in this life, but there is a great salvation that is to come after this life.

Why is he doing that? At the moment he wrote this letter, which we are studying through First Peter in about the year 64 AD, nearly 2,000 years ago, a persecution was beginning against Christians. This was a nationally sponsored and enforced persecution. The ruling Empire of the day, the Roman Empire, led at that moment by a man named Caesar Nero, was beginning to focus its aggression and anger against the followers of Jesus. Peter knew that this would mean things were going to get hard for the followers of Jesus.

So, he writes to some followers of Jesus and says, "Listen, it's going to be painful, but remember there is a great salvation." Look at 1 Peter 1:5. He says to this group of Christians, followers of Jesus, "You are kept, that is, preserved and guarded by the power of God through faith, trust unto salvation, ready to be..."

Revealed in the last time, Peter is going to talk about suffering, pain, and difficulty for those who follow Jesus. He says, "But I want you to remember, God will guard you by His power in the midst of that for a salvation that will come in the end."

Then he continues in verse 6, "In this you greatly rejoice." Where does joy and rejoicing come from in the midst of trial, difficulty, and potential suffering? It is not in suffering and trials; nobody rejoices in pain. Those who say they do are sadistic. No one rejoices in suffering and pain. Here, Peter emphasizes that our joy and rejoicing are not in the suffering and the pain; they are in the salvation that is to come after that. So, in this, you greatly rejoice, even though, as he goes on to say at the end of verse 6, "if need be, you have been grieved by various trials."

Listen, Christians 2,000 years ago were getting ready to face difficulty and were already going through hardship for their faith in Christ. He says, "Listen, you rejoice in a salvation that is yet to come, even though you're going through hardship right now."

Now, a little bit on these trials: the trials they were facing were not physical illness, foreclosure on a home, failure of a marriage, or the loss of a loved one. The things he is talking about are not the normal sort of suffering and pain that we all experience in a fallen, sinful world. The suffering, pain, and trials that Peter is speaking of, which Jesus foretold for His followers, were suffering for the name of Christ. It was intentional hardship imposed upon followers of Jesus because they were followers of Jesus.

He says we rejoice in the midst of that, not because we like to suffer, but because we know that our joy and rejoicing come from salvation, ready to be revealed at the last day. Peter, in this letter, is constantly pointing his readers, followers of Jesus, to that fact: your salvation is not here. That is the exact thing that Peter's Master, Jesus, told Peter and the other disciples when they were following Him: your reward is not here; your reward is heaven.

So, point number one on your outline: you have a sermon guide there.

The hope of Heaven makes joy in trials possible. Joy in suffering seems absurd; let's just call it what it is. It's absurd to say you can have joy in trials, that your joy would be in that suffering. And yet, nearly all of the early Christian writers—Peter, James, John, Paul—wrote of joy in the midst of trials. Where does the joy in the trial come from? It doesn't come from the trial; it comes from seeing through the suffering to the salvation. This is what Peter is always pointing us back to, and Paul, and James, and Jesus, always pointing to the hope of Heaven that makes joy in trials possible.

Now the question is: is that hope or joy in trials merely theoretical, or is it practical? Is it something we can actually experience, or is it just something that we strive for? I suggest to you that it is not only theoretical; it is not only something that we strive to have, but it is something that is actually true and something we can sink our hands into.

Why? Well, this group of apostles—Peter, James, and all of these men who were early followers of Jesus—experienced that joy in trials. It's recorded in the book of Acts, specifically Acts 5:40-41. There it says that this group of apostles was beaten by the religious leaders of the day who didn't agree with them. They called for the apostles, and when they had beaten them, Acts 5:40 says they commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go.

Then, in the very next verse, verse 41, we see that Peter, James, Bartholomew, Thomas, John, and all these followers of Jesus, who had just been roughed up for preaching the risen Lord Jesus Christ, departed from the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. Why would they be rejoicing after being beaten up? It seems completely insane; let's call it what it is—it's foolishness—unless they had trust in Jesus for something.

What is that something? In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5...

Verse 10: Jesus said, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." The blessing is not the persecution; the blessing is the salvation. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

In verse 11 of Matthew 5, Jesus personalizes it: "Blessed are you." When those who are against Jesus revile and persecute you, they speak against you all kinds of evil falsely for His sake. Rejoice!

In verse 12 of Matthew Chapter 5, Jesus says, "Rejoice and be exceedingly glad." How is that possible? For great is your reward in heaven. Jesus always points His followers, who are going through trial and suffering, to the joy of the reward on the other side of it. He is essentially saying to go through it with joy because of a reward that is to come.

Not just in the Gospel of Matthew, but also in Luke, we find this message. In Luke 6:22, it says, "Blessed are you." This means, "Oh, how happy!" Happy are you when men hate you. Does that not go counter to everything our brain tells us? Happy are you when men hate you and when they exclude you.

Does anyone remember being excluded in grade school when you didn't get picked for the team? That was not a happy moment. Yet, Jesus says, "Happy are you when they hate you, when they exclude you, when they revile you." This means they gossip against you, say evil things about you, and cast your name as evil for the Son of Man's sake.

You are being persecuted because of Jesus' sake, not because you were a bonehead. If you get spoken ill of because you were a bonehead, that's on you. But if they speak evil of you, hate you, and persecute you because you are a follower of Jesus, which was very real and tangible in the first century, rejoice!

In verse 23 of Luke Chapter 6, it says, "In that day leap for joy." Why? For indeed, your reward is great in heaven. Jesus always follows this.

Teaching that great is your reward in heaven, Jesus appeals to our desire for reward. It is important for us to recognize that it is not carnal to serve Christ for the reward He promises in eternity. In fact, He tells us to do that, which is phenomenal. Many biblical ethicists would say no, but Jesus says yes, which is an interesting thing to consider.

Jesus calls people to follow Him in the face of potential devastating harm. This harm may come upon you because people do not like Jesus. We can see very clearly that people do not like the Jesus revealed in the Scriptures because He is too exclusive, He speaks very hard sayings, and He calls people sinners. No one likes to be called a sinner, but the reality is that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. We have all failed; we have all messed up. When we are honest with ourselves, when it is just us looking in the mirror, we know we are a bunch of screw-ups. When He says you are a screw-up, we can respond, "Gosh, that's true." But here He offers grace, forgiveness, and pardon for our mistakes. That is good news.

He says, "Come, follow me," in the face of potential danger. Why? Because there is a heavenly reward. The cynic may ask how this is not different from the radical Muslim who will take their life to try to gain some sort of heavenly reward. We have all heard that cynical argument, especially in the 21st century. How is this appeal to reward in heaven different from that appeal?

The answer is very simple. This appeal is for you to die to yourself and experience suffering at the hands of others for the glory of Christ. The appeal of radical Islam, on the other hand, is for you to take your life and the lives of others to try to gain something in eternity. There is a very clear difference: one is the denial of self and the potential harm that would come to you while loving other people for their sake and their potential salvation, whereas the other is a declaration of hatred, where one says, "I will take my life to take your life."

There is a very clear difference, and don't let anybody try to hang you up with that as a red herring. We'll see it's the same, but it's not the same. Future long-term benefits in salvation enable joyful perseverance amid temporal suffering. Paul the Apostle said in Romans 8:18, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time in this world are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us."

Now, the question seems to me obvious: If God is all-powerful, and we believe that the Scriptures reveal God to be all-powerful, why does He not guard us from trials? For the name of Christ, He says, "I'm going to guard you in trials." Why not just guard us from them so we never go through them? Because no one wants to go through trials. Yet, Jesus, on the night that He would be betrayed, prayed. It's recorded in John 17. He says, "Father, I don't pray that you take them out of the world, even though the world is going to hate them, but that you preserve them in the world."

Why does He do that? Well, look at what Peter goes on to say: "that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Point number two on your outline: God allows trials to prove our faith. God allows trials to prove our faith. "Yet for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials and suffering." Why? So that the genuineness of your trust in Christ, which is more precious than gold that is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

God allows and even assures the possibility of trials for followers of Him because they preach the name of Christ. He says, "You will suffer." It is very likely that this is the norm. Don't think it strange when it happens. He says, "You're going to go through this," so that we're not surprised by it when we do. He says, "But as you go through it, understand that this is going to be that which shows that you genuinely trust in Christ."

Jesus Christ, it proves to you and it proves to naysayers that you genuinely trust in Jesus Christ. Now, it doesn't need to be proved to God. God, who knows all things, knows whether or not we will stand in the midst of that. He is not up there saying, "Well, I'm not really sure that you're going to make it through this, but I'll just watch and see what happens." That's not what's happening. He is saying that so you know your trust and faith are genuine, and so that others know you really do trust in Christ.

I'm going to allow you to go through suffering. When you read through church history, you find that this is always the outcome of faithfulness under trial. Faithfulness under trial and persecution to the followers of Jesus ultimately causes other people who didn't believe in Jesus to believe in Him. You read through church history, and that's always what it is. Why? Because they see it, and they go, "These guys really actually believe what they're saying."

If I can say to you, "Well, I don't believe that you really believe in Jesus, so here's what we're going to do, Peter. We're going to crucify you and see if you will recant and say you don't believe in Jesus," and there he goes to his death, saying, "No, I've seen the Risen Lord," and he does not recant. They go, "Man, he must really believe what he said he believed," and the genuineness of his faith is revealed.

Now, the awesome thing about this verse, verse 7, is that it says the genuineness of your faith will be tested and shown to be true. Ultimately, it is going to produce praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Let me read this verse, verse 7, in another translation. The New Living Translation says this: "So when your faith remains strong through trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of Christ Jesus's reveal."

This is not necessarily saying that your strong faith in trial is going to bring Him praise, honor, and glory. That is true, but what is being said here by Peter, and in other places in Scripture, is that you, follower of Jesus, as you remain faithful in the face of persecution and opposition, it will bring to you praise, honor, and glory when Jesus comes again. That's phenomenal!

Jesus says it like this: "On that day when you come before Him, you will hear Him say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord.'" What is that? Praise, honor, and glory for you from the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now, that's an incredible reward; it's hard for us to wrap our minds around.

Point number three on your outline: our trust in Jesus will be rewarded with praise, glory, and honor in eternity. To be very candid with you, that's hard for me to wrap my mind around. As if going to heaven is not enough, He says, "I'm also going to bestow upon you praise, honor, and glory." Why? Because your trust in Me is rewarded with praise, honor, and glory in eternity at the revelation of Jesus Christ. When He is revealed in all of His power and all of His glory, we have a book in the Bible, the very last book, called the Apocalypse or the Revelation. It is the revealing of Jesus in all His glory.

Christians believe that one day Jesus will return and be revealed in all of His glory. He says that when Jesus is revealed in all of His glory, you who have been faithful are going to receive praise, honor, and glory from Him. That's amazing to me, and yet that's what the Bible says. We are just seeing what the Scriptures say.

Now, look at 1 Peter 1:18. Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love. That word "love" means you are devoted to Him. The Greek word "Agape" refers to a love that is fully committed and devoted. He says to these Christians in that region of the world, in Asia Minor, 2,000 years ago, "You've never seen this Jesus, and yet you are devoted to Him."

Though now you do not see Him, yet believing and trusting, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, which is the salvation of your souls. So listen, if you are a follower of Jesus today, we normally say that you have received salvation from Jesus. But understand that that salvation is not really complete.

If you are a follower of Jesus, you have been saved from the power of sin over your life. You've even been saved from the penalty of sin. But there is coming a day when you will be saved from the presence of sin, no longer in the midst of a fallen, corrupt, broken world. That's what the Scriptures describe. Here He says, "Listen, you've never seen Him, and yet you believe," which is a phenomenal thing because Peter was an eyewitness of Jesus.

He got to see the Risen Lord Jesus. There was another one of Jesus's disciples who, after Jesus rose from the dead, some of the disciples told him, "Listen, Jesus isn't dead. He's not in the tomb anymore; he has risen from the dead." This disciple said, "That's not possible! That's insane!" Like a lot of people, he thought there was no way he would believe unless he saw the nail prints in Jesus's hands and touched the area where his side was pierced with a spear. He declared, "I will not believe."

Well, the next week, Jesus appears in a gathering of disciples, and this guy is there. His name is Thomas. Ever since then, we call him Doubting Thomas. So, there’s Thomas, and Jesus appears to him and says, "Hey Thomas, behold my hands and my feet. Stick your hand in my side." What is Thomas's response to this? It’s recorded in John chapter 20. He falls down and says, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus then says something awesome to Thomas: "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe."

Now Peter is talking about them and us. You've never seen the Risen Lord Jesus, and people might think you're nuts for saying you follow the Risen Lord Jesus because, quite frankly, it sounds nuts. Yet all evidence points to the fact that he rose from the dead 2,000 years ago. More than 500 eyewitnesses, who went to their deaths by being tortured, said, "We saw the Risen Lord Jesus." Now, two billion people on the face of this planet identify themselves as followers of a man who died on a cross and rose from the dead.

Peter writes to these outcast Christians 2,000 years ago who are about to face difficulty, pain, and suffering because they follow this Jesus. He says, "You trust in him even though you have never seen him. You are devoted to him even though you have never seen him. You are rejoicing in the midst of suffering with inexpressible, unspeakable, glorious joy because you're looking forward to the salvation of your soul."

On this salvation, Peter continues in 1 Peter 1:10, "Of this salvation that causes unspeakable, inexpressible joy in the followers of Jesus, the prophets inquired and searched carefully who prophesied of the grace that would come to you. They were searching what manner or what time the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them, it was revealed that not to themselves but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you.

The Holy Spirit is sent from Heaven to reveal things which angels desire to look into. I love run-on sentences. He says, "Listen, Christian follower of Jesus, you have been promised a salvation so great, so amazing, so awesome that angels and prophets stand in amazement of it."

Point number four on your outline: Christians are promised a salvation so great that angels and prophets long for it. For thousands of years, prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible, which comprises the first two-thirds of the Bible, prophesied and foretold about this great salvation. They were excited about it and looked for it. Now, if you're a follower of Jesus, you are a recipient of this salvation, which Peter says angels in Heaven marvel at.

Why are they saying this is amazing? Because they look at you and me and think, "God, really? You're going to give them an inheritance for eternity? You're going to bestow upon them glory, grace, praise, and honor? The King of Kings is going to give that praise to these unfaithful, wicked, sinful people? You're going to save them and bestow grace on them?" This is what angels are doing in Heaven, at least according to Peter. They look at us and see how much we fail. We all fail, and they wonder, "Really? That's glory, honor, and praise?"

We are promised a salvation so great that angels and prophets long for it. What is Peter doing here? He is trying, with words, to express how awesome this salvation is. But this salvation is so great that it breaks the backs of words; words don't do it justice to describe how amazing and awesome the salvation that we have is.

So, Peter says in verse 13 of 1 Peter 1, "Therefore," what does that mean? Because you have this promise of great salvation, therefore gird up the loins of your minds and be sober. I know that probably every one of you uses words like "gird up the loins of your minds" every day.

This week, I want you to totally grasp what that means. The New Living Translation or the New International Version says, "Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober," minds that are fully engaged. He says this because you've been promised a great salvation that I can't even begin to describe to you. Everyone who tries to describe it can't even do good justice to it.

Paul the Apostle, in his second letter to the Corinthians, says, "I knew a man once," and he is speaking about himself modestly. This man was caught up to heaven and saw things and heard things that he can't even put into words. Every time prophets try to put into words what they saw when they had a vision of the glory of God, they give us these strange images. We find ourselves scratching our heads, wondering, "What in the world is that?" They were saying, "I don't know; I can't put it into words, but that's what I saw." Then we try to make up weird ideas about what it means. All they were doing was expressing that they didn't know what to tell us other than it was amazing.

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober. Rest your hope fully upon Him. Put your hope and your trust completely upon Him, not on a political candidate, not on an earthly ideology, and not on some utopia here for generation after generation. Rest your hope fully upon Him, upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

If you're a follower of Jesus today, you've already received grace. That is undeserved favor. He is going to give you more grace when He comes—grace ready to be revealed at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not conform yourselves to the desires and former lusts of this world, as in ignorance. But as He who has called you is holy, so also you be holy, completely set apart to Him in all of your conduct, because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy."

Peter reveals here point number five: purified faith, which is purified by trials and suffering for the name of Christ. Purified faith produces holiness. Why does God not just take me out of the trial or suffering for His name's sake? Because purified faith produces holiness—a life that is completely separated to Him. That is what God has called you and me to: a life that is totally devoted to Him.

Consecrated to Him, that’s the idea of holiness: a life that is completely separated and consecrated to Him. God said, "Be holy, for I am holy," and He is the one who enables us to be consecrated to Him by grace, not by our own works. We sang that song, "Not of works that I have done, nothing but the blood of Jesus." His death on the cross made it possible for you to be forgiven and pardoned of sin and failing, so that He could make us holy and preserve us and protect us in the midst of trials.

For a salvation ready to be revealed in the last days, it’s not here in this life. Those who say they are preaching the Bible and claim, "Come to Jesus and you won't suffer; everything's going to be wonderful and great," are going against the teaching of Jesus. So, you choose: who do you want to believe, Jesus or those who say there is no suffering? That is completely against the Bible, against all experience of following Jesus, and against all church history. You decide, but I am going to align with Jesus.

Our hope for heaven makes joy in trials possible. God allows these trials to prove our faith and to produce holiness. As we stand steadfast and trust in Him through the midst of that, He preserves and protects us. For doing that, we will be rewarded with praise, honor, and glory in eternity. We have salvation that we can't even begin to describe with human words. Prophets and angels looked into it and just said, "This is awesome."

Although, at this moment, February 14th, 2016, Christians in America still receive a social benefit for following Jesus, that’s going away. There may come a day when, because you are a follower of Jesus, you have people who revile and persecute you. Some of that is already starting; some of you have experienced that. People have shared that with me. Listen, don’t think it strange. Jesus said, "This is what it is to follow Me." But those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, great is their reward in heaven. For so persecuted they the prophets who were before you.

Jesus said to His disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many dwelling places. Were it not so, I would..."

I have told you, "I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also." Thomas, doubting Thomas, said, "Lord, that sounds great, but we don't know how to get there." Jesus replied, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me." Amen.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father God, I thank you for your word, and I pray that we would take this in our hearts and minds and think about it this week. Use your word in our lives to transform our understanding of the present difficulty that we might be facing. Lord, keep us ever mindful of the reality that this life is not heaven and that you have a great salvation prepared for us. Help us to follow you faithfully and to have our hope in you, resting steadfast and cemented there with you.

As we stand here in an attitude of prayer today, if you find yourself in a place of hopelessness and you don't have that hope of eternity and salvation with Christ, and you want that salvation that He came to give, remember that Jesus came 2,000 years ago. God became a man to lay down His life for us, to take care of the penalty, the punishment, and the power of sin. He died in my place and your place to give us pardoning grace and salvation, to give us a future and a hope greater than the political future and hope being espoused in our day.

If you want the pardoning forgiveness of God, would you just raise your hand wherever you're at this morning? I want to give you an opportunity to receive His grace. I see you in the back. Is there anyone else? Right here in the middle, I see you in the back. Praise the Lord! Over here on the left, I see you on my left. If that's you today and you want to receive His grace, forgiveness, and hope for eternity, would you just, where you're at, pray out loud with me?

"Dear Jesus, I recognize that I'm a failure, but I know you died for my failures and you rose from the dead, proving your power over..."

Sin, would you come into my life? Give me Your grace and forgiveness, and give me a hope for eternity. Help me to follow You faithfully. In Jesus' name, amen.