Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem.
This series from 1 Peter is titled, Live as People Who are Free. Today we want to consider how the freedom Christ bought for us changes the way we face hardship. On a visit to Egypt, Rich spoke to a man selling leather wallets at an outdoor market. The man held a lighter up to the wallet to prove its quality.
Because it was genuine leather, the flame didn't ruin it. Like leather, genuine faith in Christ endures through trial. 1 Peter 1, 6-9 delves into the beautiful work God accomplishes in His people through hardship.
Let's listen in on this message titled, More Precious Than Gold. Here's the final part of the message, which was first preached on July 24, 2022. Beautiful testimony that is. But there's also the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. God gives us His Spirit, and that Spirit witnesses that we are children, joint heirs with Christ. He confirms that to us. So the point that Peter is making here is that the focus of a believer's faith is not on abstract knowledge, but on the person of Christ. You see, when we're dealing with Christianity here, we're not just dealing with a creed, with a philosophy. We are dealing with a person who walked in history, he died and he rose again, and he ascended, and he promised to come back.
That person. This is not myth. This is history. And there's plenty of transformed lives to witness to that. He is the object of our living hope. He is alive.
He is good. He is sovereign. He demonstrated that. He is gracious.
He is sacrificial. And the believers placed their trust, they had their confidence in this person, this Jesus, that has been preached to them. They placed their confidence in him, and they entrusted themselves to him. Which is what Jesus said to Thomas in John chapter 20. He said, Tom, you remember what Thomas said? The others had come to him, they'd seen Jesus, came into the room.
He said, peace be to you. And Jesus is alive, resurrected from the dead. And they tell Thomas, Thomas wasn't there that first time. And he says, unless I see the nail scars in his hands and touch his side, I will not believe. Jesus appears again. And he speaks directly to Thomas. And he says to Thomas, look at my hands.
Touch my side. You know what that is in philosophical terms? That is empirical evidence.
This man walked out of the grave. But then Jesus said, blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. There is an empirical adequacy to Christian faith.
There's no doubt about that. And a logical consistency. We'll talk about the experiential relevance here. He says, you've not seen him, but you love him.
What is that? That's experiential relevance. Your lives are transformed and your lives manifest the fact that you love Jesus Christ.
Because you live the gospel. You see, it's a relationship that leads to transformation. It's not myth. It's not ideology. It's not concept. It's not philosophy.
Although there could be plenty of philosophy involved in it, but ultimately that's not what it is. It's a person. He is a person. Our hope is a person. The person of Jesus Christ. The anchor of our hope. Lastly then, bringing it to conclusion in this paragraph, Christ is the object of the Christian faith. What are the outcomes of the Christian faith?
Let's just talk about two of them. Look what he says here. Let's begin at the end of verse 8. It can 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. Verse 8, though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. You rejoice with joy that is inexpressible. Again, he's not given a command here.
This is not an imperative. He's still writing in the indicative mood. You rejoice with joy inexpressible and filled with glory. William Edgar is a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary and his latest book that has just come out is entitled As Supreme Love, the Music of Jazz and the Hope of the Gospel. He committed to dive into and study the history of jazz music in America which started about shortly after 1900 from people, a people that had experienced incredible hostility and oppression. And he says, in this jazz music there's both the sorrow and the joy found in jazz to resonate with the deep pain and the incredible hope that stand at the heart of the Christian faith. He says this toward the end of the book, growing to love jazz may take a lifetime, yet it moves us from deep misery to inextinctible joy.
I invite you to have a jazzed up life. You know what? In this life under the sun there will be deep sorrow. Can I have a witness? There is deep sorrow. There are some in our number, in our congregation that are experiencing incredible deep sorrow and it's extended. And yet, and yet, there is inexpressible joy and inextinctible joy.
Listen folks, that is only possible in Jesus Christ. Joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory. In other words, this subtle satisfaction. People experiencing deep sorrow and adversity and yet they still have this subtle satisfaction that seems to contradict the harsh realities of broken existence. Joy inexpressible, it's like it's an unspeakable. In other words, it cannot be expressed in words. That, by the way, is one of the powers of music, which is what jazz is all about. They are expressing themselves the deep sorrow and yet at the same time the inextinctible joy.
Music is a very powerful language. That's why God gave it to us. We should use it for the way that God intended. Because this person that has this inextinctible joy, this person that has this subtle satisfaction in God's goodness and His love and His sovereignty, that subtle satisfaction will translate into a radiance in this person, inexpressible joy filled with glory. You probably know somebody like that who experiences deep sorrow in their life and yet has a radiance about them because they have this subtle satisfaction in God who is good and loving and sovereign. Lastly, the outcomes of Christian faith is the salvation of our souls. Verse 9, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
What is that? It is the realization of the promise. This is what God has promised. Our mind is focused on what He has done in the past and what He has done gives us the anchor for the promises that He has made, what He has waiting for us. The inference there is that He's working in us now, walking with us through the adversities and the fiery trials. And the salvation of our souls is the realization of the promise.
Let me put it this way. The salvation of our souls is realized purpose. In other words, success. That's what defines success. What were you made for?
As an image bearer, one who bears the imago Dei, you were made to know God and enjoy Him forever. You do that and you're successful. You might live a productive life.
You might live a very comfortable life. But if you miss that, you have failed at life. Realized purpose. The salvation of our souls is realized purpose. In other words, you will be fully functioning according to design.
All the brokenness gone. And again, like John said, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. Isn't that a wonderful truth? That's our hope. That is what we have in Jesus Christ.
I was going to offer some time for some insights and illustrations, but time is getting away. But I want you to think of there might be somebody you know, people that you know, that are going through and have gone through deep adversity and yet exude a settled satisfaction in God's goodness and His love and His sovereignty. Learn from them. Spend time with them. But most of all, walk with your Creator.
Because that's where it comes from. Would you stand with me, please? Father, it is with joy that we confess before you that you are good. You are love.
You define it. And you are sovereign. There is nothing, Father, that is outside of your control.
You are absolutely free to do your pleasure. And Father, it is our joy to worship a God like you who is good and loving. Who will make all things new, recognizing that we are the objects of your loving concern and have been from eternity and will be for eternity. So Father, for your people here this morning, settle our hearts and our minds into a satisfaction in your love, your goodness, and your sovereignty. Father, if there are those here this morning that do not know you, may your goodness lead them to repentance, Father, to recognize that you are good. You are the Creator. We exist by you and for you.
You are a benevolent sovereign. And we thank you for that. So Lord, I pray that you would guide our hearts this morning, that we will leave here this morning changed because we have encountered your self-disclosure afresh. May your Spirit work in us, Father, to mold in us the character and the purpose of Jesus Christ.
In whose name we pray, Amen. We're so glad you've joined us for Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. You can hear this message and others anytime by visiting our website, www.delightingrace.com. You can also check out Pastor Rich's book, 7 Words That Can Change Your Life, where he unpacks from God's Word the very purpose for which you were designed. 7 Words That Can Change Your Life is available wherever books are sold. As always, tune in to Delight in Grace weekdays at 10 a.m.
Whisper: medium.en / 2023-03-13 17:22:22 / 2023-03-13 17:27:01 / 5