The Attitude of Faith, Part 1

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, Pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem.

An attitude is simply a habit of thought. Our attitudes can sabotage or aid us in our love for God. 1 Peter 1.13 says, Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Let's examine this verse with Pastor Rich in today's sermon titled The Attitude of Faith. Peter calls us to live as people who are free. Chapter 2, verse 16. That's the theme of this whole series through his letter, the first letter of Peter.

Live as people who are free. In the first 12 verses of Chapter 1, we considered the identity of a free people. Now, in this second paragraph, what Adam just read, living by faith is liberating. That's the theme of this four part series, living by faith is liberating. We began last Sunday by looking at the basis of our faith, which is the word of God, the basis of our faith, God's self-disclosure that he has made himself known to us. Today, we're looking at the object of faith. The object of faith. The most important thing about faith is its object. It's not about how much faith you have. The most important thing about your faith is its object. What are you trusting? You came in today, you sat down in that chair, you entrusted yourself to that chair, that chair became the object of your trust. What are you trusting?

You might say, well, this chair. Well, we're talking about the object of your faith. Listen, everyone, everyone has faith of some sort. Everyone has some kind of a belief system.

There are no exceptions to that. Everyone has an object of trust. Your object of trust is what defines you. Your object of trust is what you devote yourself to. Your object of trust is what you live for. Your object of trust is the anchor of your affections in your attitudes. Your object of trust is what you build your life upon and around. Your object of trust is what you worship.

What things might be the object of our trust? Well, let's begin probably with the most common one. You. Me.

What's the problem with that? Well, let me name three. Number one, you are limited. Number two, you are transient. Number three, you are a contingent being. You depend on something outside of yourself for your very existence. You are not an adequate object of trust. That self-reference and self-reference leads to a life of self-preeminence.

That's what we're rescued from. Others may be your object of trust, whether it's in a relationship or however that might look, or a boss or whatever, you know, but others, you know, could be a politician, could be a celebrity. That's a lot of people trust celebrities today or experts.

But here's the problem. First of all, they are just as limited and transient and contingent as you are. But also, if your object of trust is others, they could very well be biased, they could be manipulative, they could be self-serving. An object of trust may be a cause or an ideology. This is who I am. This cause defines who I am. Ideologies come and go and they are inherently flawed because they're human. Material things might be your object of trust.

No one would really want to admit that, but many of us live like that. Material things are object of trust. What do you have that cannot be taken away or destroyed? Insufficient objects of trust.

Well, here's one that might be confusing. Well, my faith is my object of trust. That is also insufficient. My faith, I have faith in my faith. That's not adequate because you could have a wrong understanding. You could very well have created God in your image and that's your faith. And if you are worshipping a God who's created in your image, you have the wrong object of trust. It's so important that we know God in the way that he's made himself known. That's why he has disclosed himself to us. This is what Peter is bringing to bear upon our understanding this morning. And today I want to talk about three ways that Jesus Christ is uniquely qualified to be your object of trust from this text. Now, we're looking at verses 18 to 21. We have to understand it, of course, in the context of this whole paragraph, the whole book, but the whole paragraph that Peter is writing here from verses 13 to 25. And of course, 13 begins with the therefore, so Dwight's brain is clicking like, right? You know, it's like you got to go back and understand why the therefore is there.

So go back and listen to it online. All right. But look, we're going to begin at verse 18, knowing that you are OK, and he's beginning right in the middle of a sentence. Let me begin with the point number one, three reasons, three reasons Jesus Christ is uniquely qualified to be the object of your trust. Number one, he alone transcends history. He alone transcends history. He is not limited or bound by time and space. He is above and beyond history.

He was in history. And yet he, in his essence, in his existence, is above and beyond history. He is an infinite being. But we know from history that he invaded history and entered our world. God came to us in person.

That's a beautiful thought. Look at with me at verse 20, because it's speaking directly of Jesus Christ here. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but was made manifest in these last times for the sake of you, who through him are believers in God who raised him from the dead, gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God.

He was foreknown. What is Peter getting at here? The problem of humanity, the mess that the world is in, all the intrigue, all the wars, all the conflicts, all the heartache, all the conflicts, all the separation, the pain, the agony, all of that.

Where does it come from? And God who is looking down, a God who is infinite, a God who is good, and he is a God of love and justice. How did all this happen? Let me tell you what Peter is saying. Jesus Christ coming was not God's plan B. It's like God is looking at all this mess in this created order and he's saying, oh, what do I do about this?

Maybe I'll send Jesus. That's not what happened. He, Christ, was foreknown before the foundation of the world. It's God's eternal plan and his purpose of grace from eternity. Before creation, God's plan was set in place and it was this. Christ, his son, would come to rescue and reconcile the objects of his love.

That is a powerfully comforting thought, isn't it? He says he was foreknown before the foundation of the world and yet he was made manifest in verse 20. He was made manifest in these last times.

In other words, in space and time, what is he saying there? In history, God came to us in person. There was a man who walked this earth among people in space and time who was God.

The prophets foretold him there is a scriptural continuity and the Son of God came to earth as was foretold. A verse that depicts this beautifully is Hebrews chapter 1, verses 1 and 2. Long ago and many times, in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. Your Creator has walked this earth, looking like one of us. You see, this was the culmination of God's self-disclosure. God making himself known to us and he came humbly in the form of a man as a servant who became obedient to the point of death.

One way we can know this is true is that in our humanity, we would never make something like this up. This is God. This is his doing. But it says in verse 20, at the end of verse 20, for the sake of you who through him are believers in God. For your sake, he says, meaning you are also foreknown. Again, a very powerfully comforting thought.

He chose us as Ephesians 1 says, he chose us in him before the foundation of the world. 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.