Destined for This or God's Grace

[0:00] and go to 1 Peter, or 1 Peter. If you're visiting with us, you can pull out the black Bible in the chair in front of you, and go to page 180, towards the back of that Bible, page 180, and you'll find 1 Peter chapter 1.

[0:30] We're going to do verses 10, 11, and 12 this morning. It seems kind of hot. It's ringing? Is it just me?

[0:45] No? Okay. Oh, you guys are cold. It feels great up here. Oh, yeah.

[0:56] 1 Peter chapter 1, 10, 11, and 12. I told my wife, I don't know what to do with myself. I like three verses.

[1:06] I'm like, what do I do? I don't know. I'm used to like, you know, 20. This has been a good thing for me. 1 Peter 1, 10 through 12.

[1:17] Ah, let's start in verse 1, chapter 1. We should read the whole thing. Let's do something fun. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, were chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father by the sanctifying work of the Spirit that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood.

[1:46] May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who, according to His great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead unto an inheritance imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith unto a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

[2:18] In this, you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, since it is necessary, you've been distressed by various trials that the genuineness of your trust, more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom you've not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but because you believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, obtaining as the outcome of your trust the salvation of your souls.

[2:58] as to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that was destined for you, made careful search and inquiry, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

[3:19] It was revealed to them, verse 12, that they were not serving themselves, but you, and these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

[3:40] The article was titled, Simone Biles fulfills destiny, wins gymnastics all-around gold at Rio Olympics.

[3:55] Did anybody watch her and her last thing, Simone Biles? Okay, so one person did, alright. The three-time individual all-around world champion Simone Biles came in as a heavy favorite to win the all-around at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the American star did not disappoint on Thursday with a gold medal winning performance.

[4:20] That was the first paragraph of the article. She was destined to win gold. Can I steal that? Gold is valuable, as Peter said earlier, not as much as faith, and not as valuable as grace.

[4:45] As followers of Jesus Christ, we're destined for something as well. Not for gold, no. Something else that starts with the letter G, though. We're destined for grace.

[4:57] We were destined to receive God's great grace. The overall theme of Peter's letter is by God's grace, be a wise, winsome weirdo in this wicked world.

[5:16] And today, in our three verses we'll look at is, we're destined for this grace. We're destined for God's grace. Just last night, I was reading an email, and someone signed it, kept by grace.

[5:34] They signed their name. I wrote back, I said, you're exactly right, you're kept by grace, and you were destined for that. Have you ever thought about that?

[5:45] You're destined for grace. Christian, has that ever crossed your mind? God destined you. Your destiny was for His grace.

[5:59] Can you imagine that? Why? What does this mean? What is this all about? What's this, Peter will tell us?

[6:12] The Old Testament prophets, which I'll abbreviate as OT, they prophesied that we, after Jesus' suffering and salvation, would be destined for God's great grace to sinners, to us.

[6:30] because Jesus Christ was the recipient of suffering and glory, we will be the recipients of God's saving grace, though we suffer now.

[6:46] And yet this is the principle. Suffering, then glory. Suffer, then grace.

[6:57] This is something that the Old Testament prophets predicted. And this is the pattern. And this is going to be our purpose. There's your three points for this morning. This grace was predicted, that we are destined for this.

[7:12] It's the pattern of grace that you see, and this is our purpose. Grace. Grace. God's grace. You might say, well wait, that doesn't make sense.

[7:23] You mean to tell me, Jesus Christ, the pattern that, He suffered, He was given grace? No, no, no, no, no. Jesus doesn't need grace. He was sinless. He was perfect.

[7:36] But as He suffered, there was glory to follow, or salvation came. And so in this pattern, comes us. Jesus suffered, there's come salvation.

[7:47] We will suffer, and yet we will have salvation. God will give us grace. See, Peter's thinking about eternity. He's got the eternal outlook, that we spoke about, last week.

[8:01] Christ does not need grace, He's sinless. We need grace, because we are sinners. And yet, that's why we're destined for it. So why did Peter take the time, to say these things?

[8:18] Why does he do this? Because he's trying to connect salvation, or this grace, to the glories after suffering. It was meant for us, to take part in God's amazing grace.

[8:36] The two part theme, of the Old Testament prophets, the grace destined for God's people, and the sufferings and glory, destined for God's Savior.

[8:49] Two main themes, salvific themes, of the Old Testament. And it's still meant for us to suffer. We follow our Savior's example.

[9:02] We will suffer, just like he did. We are unbelievably graced, more than the Old Testament prophets, could ever have imagined.

[9:17] And then, Peter's going to say, we'll look at it, in just a moment, that they said these things, for our benefit. For us. To be given this grace.

[9:32] Unbelievable. So I'll give you the first two points, we'll look at that. These two points, they come right after the other. Grace was predicted, grace is the pattern. Verses 10 and 11.

[9:47] Notice how he begins. As to this salvation, which salvation, what salvation? We just said in verse 9. Obtain it as the outcome of your faith, your trust, the salvation, of your souls.

[10:01] Pointing us back to verse 5. Unto a salvation, ready to be revealed, in the last time. He's looking to the future. That salvation, is in the future.

[10:15] When everything's said and done. Having that eternal, outlook and perspective. So, it means that the salvation, word salvation, is synonymous, with the word, or the phrase, that we will look at, grace destined for you.

[10:34] We'll see that in just a moment. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied, notice here it comes, the grace that would come to you, or the grace, the grace destined for you, is a better way to translate that.

[10:53] Another way to describe this, is salvation. Another way Peter describes this, is inheritance. Another way Peter describes this, is living hope. And it's a result, of God doing a work, in your heart, changing you, transforming you, called the new birth.

[11:12] From the new birth, the result of that, is a living hope. Or another way to say that, inheritance. Or another way to say that, is salvation. Or another way to say that, is grace.

[11:24] God's grace. What is grace then? How do we define this? He gives us different words, salvation, inheritance, living hope.

[11:38] Grace, God's grace, is God's undeserved favor, on his people. That's grace. His undeserved favor. Salvation.

[11:51] His mercy. So this is what he's saying. This salvation, this grace, destined for you, the prophets, prophesied of this.

[12:04] This grace that would come, they made careful search, and inquiry. Verse 11, seeking to know what person or time, the spirit of Christ within them, was indicating as he predicted, the sufferings of Christ, and the glories to follow.

[12:20] We've got to unpack this. What is he saying? These Old Testament prophets, regarding this salvation, this grace, destined for you, they searched, and sought diligently.

[12:39] Similar to searching through a house, a tent, city, a country, in order to find a person, or a thing. You ever lose your keys? You're searching diligently, for your keys.

[12:50] I need to leave. Where's my key? Where did I put them? So the prophets, were searching, their own writings, and the writings of the other prophets, of the other, of scripture.

[13:05] They're searching diligently, what? What are they trying to find out? We'll look at that in a second. The prophets actively searched, and examined, because, they didn't always understand, what the prophecies meant.

[13:20] Plus, they didn't understand, the initial, and then later, and then total fulfillment. They didn't understand that. So they're frantically searching, trying to figure out, what all their prophecies, was talking about.

[13:35] About what? Peter says, what person, or time? Who, or what time?

[13:47] Who, or when? They were trying, to figure out, who it would be, and when that one, would come on the scene.

[13:58] Who? Messiah. Who was going to be this Messiah? When was he going to come? They didn't have all the information.

[14:10] They only had bits and pieces. A side note here. Peter believed, and taught, verbal inspiration of scripture.

[14:24] So they're searching. Wanting to know, what person, or what time, the spirit of Christ, within them. Who's this?

[14:38] Well, because, Peter involved the Holy Spirit, in the process of revelation, 2nd Peter, chapter 1, verse 21, it's better to see, Peter's description here, as another way, to describe the Holy Spirit.

[14:53] Paul, gives the same phrase, spirit of Christ, in Romans, chapter 8, verse 9, talking about, the Holy Spirit, saying, the spirit of Christ. How is he, in the Old Testament prophets?

[15:07] I don't know. Peter doesn't tell us that. So he says, the spirit of Christ, in them, was pointing, or, showing, or, indicating, when, or as he predicted, or foretold, the sufferings of Christ, and the glories to follow.

[15:31] So what's he saying? The spirit, did a, revealing process, by, predicting, or, foretelling, through the Old Testament prophets. Foretelling what?

[15:42] So the spirit of Christ, is, speaking, through them, and then they're, searching, they're, speaking, they're, prophesying, and they write this down, what did I just say?

[15:54] I don't know, so they're, they're writing this, and they're, trying to figure out, what does it all mean? Who, when is he going to come? About what? Regarding, Messiah. The sufferings, destined, for Christ, or the sufferings, that were to come upon Christ.

[16:14] Interesting, this phrase here, the sufferings of Christ, is parallel to the phrase, grace destined for you. In other words, we are the recipients, of God's grace, because Christ, was the recipient, of God's judgment, or of suffering.

[16:37] We were destined for grace, He was destined to suffer. He would do that, in our place. Already, the idea of substitution, is coming.

[16:51] And not just His suffering, but also, the sufferings, and the subsequent glories, the glories to follow, or after these things. majesty, majesty, and privilege, were in store, for Christ, after He suffered.

[17:06] So, what exactly, would the glory include? His resurrection, His ascension, His session, sitting at the right hand, of the Father, His future coming kingdom? So, Jesus suffered, and He was glorified.

[17:23] So, Peter, He's trying to explain to us, this grace, destined for you, as the Spirit, was working, and the prophets, and they're searching frantically, and the Spirit, was predicting, who and what, was going to come, the sufferings of Christ, and the glories to follow.

[17:43] So, they meditated, and searched, their own writings, to find out, who would be Messiah, and where He would come to suffer, and be glorified.

[17:56] The Spirit predicted this, through the prophets. So, the pattern, was set forth, in the Old Testament, for God's people.

[18:08] What's the pattern? Glory, follows suffering. A crown of thorns, comes before a crown, of glory. Or, to put it in, slang, no guts, no glory.

[18:24] Right? Suffering, comes first, then glory. Difficulty, comes first, and then, glory.

[18:36] A crown of thorns, comes first, and then, a crown, that's glorious. See, this, this helps, make sense, of our own sufferings.

[18:47] If it was predicted, that, the Messiah, had to suffer, and then have glory, the same with us. We would suffer now, but yet, we would face, glory, salvation, grace.

[19:01] You are destined, for grace, Christian. God's grace, is being poured out, upon us. And, not only do you have, specific passages, in the Old Testament, that talk about this, what, Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Psalm 16, Leviticus 16, the Passover, I mean, Exodus 12.

[19:32] But, then, you also have, the, acting out, of the lives, of those, who, lived historically, in the Old Testament. Like, Abraham, Joseph, Joseph, Joseph is a perfect example, of someone, who suffered, and then he was glorified.

[19:54] Suffered, and then blessing came. That's the pattern, for us. We're destined, for grace, it was predicted, and that's the pattern, for us.

[20:06] So, if, specific passages, and, specific lives, pointing to the fact, that God's people, will suffer, then be graced. And, if certain passages, also say, that Christ himself, would suffer, and then be, saved, it should bring us, great courage, joy, and contentment, when we suffer.

[20:32] doesn't this, give us, such great hope? Doesn't this, give us, such great joy? In the midst, of the times, that you are suffering, right now, how are you, suffering now, Christian?

[20:50] How are you, what difficulty, are you facing, right now? What struggles, do you have, right now? God's grace, is destined for you.

[21:03] It will not, continue forever, it will end. That's the pattern. So grace, it's predicted. Grace is the pattern, for us.

[21:17] And then we come, to the last point, grace is our purpose. Verse 12. It was revealed, to them, that they were not, serving themselves, but you, in these things, which have been, announced to you, through those, who preach the gospel, to you.

[21:39] I want to stop there. So to them, the prophets, it was revealed, they were not, serving themselves, but you.

[21:53] that is, the church. Jews and Gentiles, as one now. It was meant, for the prophets, to serve us.

[22:08] I mean, this is amazing. It was amazing, that God's plan, was that the prophets, are going to serve us, and then it, he told them, you're not, doing this for yourselves, you're doing this, for them.

[22:23] Wow. This is grace. Oh, and then he says, they were not, serving themselves, but you, in these things.

[22:35] What things? Well, grammatically, the things, connects back up, to what he says, about the sufferings, and the glories, destined for the Messiah.

[22:49] These things, the sufferings, and glories, destined for Messiah, these are the things, that are now, proclaimed to you, through the preaching, of the gospel.

[23:03] God is the ultimate agent, he used these men. Twelve were commissioned, they're called, the apostles. They were the ones, that preached the gospel, that's the ones, he's talking about here.

[23:15] who announced you, who announced you, through those, who preached, or proclaimed the gospel, to you. They were the ones, they were commissioned, by Jesus. In Luke chapter 24.

[23:27] Do you remember, when Jesus appeared, to them, and then he opened, opened their minds, so that they understand, the scriptures, and then he said, this is what the law, and the prophets, spoke about.

[23:39] What? That the Christ, would suffer, and be resurrected, and then, repentance, unto forgiveness, of sins, will be proclaimed, to everyone. You are witnesses, of these things, said Jesus.

[23:53] So he commissioned, these men. You're going to preach it. You're going to proclaim, this gospel. You're going to proclaim, what the prophets, were predicting, the sufferings of Christ, and the glories, to follow.

[24:08] It was these messengers, who showed, the true meaning, of the Old Testament prophets. It was God's plan, to bring, the redemption, of his people, through the life, death, and resurrection, of his eternal son.

[24:22] I mean, just take the Passover, for example. I mean, the Passover, in and of itself, pictures the fact, that the angel, of Yahweh, was going to come, and wipe out, the firstborn, but the substitute, was the blood put, there on the doorpost, of the lamb.

[24:40] There's the substitute. There is the acting out, to the fact, that the Christ, would suffer, and then, there would be glory. We will suffer, but yet, we will be saved, will be graced.

[24:55] What they foretold, that is the content, of the gospel message, of the church. So here's a key principle. The proclamation, of the gospel, is identical, with the predictions, of the Old Testament prophets, about the sufferings, of Messiah, and the glories, to follow.

[25:14] Friends, there's only one, gospel message. Whether you're talking, about the time, for Abraham, or you're talking, about all the way, to us, in the 21st century. It's repent, and trust in Messiah.

[25:27] We got a lot, more information, than Abraham does. Amen, hallelujah. Praise the Lord, for that. But he still, had to put his trust, in Messiah. Messiah. See, the Old Testament, is looking forward.

[25:43] The Old Testament, is a forward, looking book. It begs, the Old Testament, begs the coming, of the New Testament, because it begs, the coming of Messiah, who would fulfill, these prophecies, and also bring in, God's, intention, for humanity.

[26:02] That is to do what? To tabernacle, with humans, once again. The whole point, of this, is relationship, with his creation.

[26:15] And the only way, that God, can have relationship, with his creation, once again, is through, grace. It's the only way.

[26:27] God shows grace, to you. God shows compassion, to you. God shows gentleness, to you. When he should, destroy us.

[26:38] When he should, judge us. When he should, completely, annihilate us. In his just, perfect wrath, he should, condemn you.

[26:51] And yet, he shows you, grace. Who was I, talking to? Oh, on Friday morning.

[27:02] I was talking, to a guy, and I said to him, isn't it such a, good thing, that God's, arms are wide, open, to sinners.

[27:14] That he, calls them, to come to him, and he will, save them. Isn't that such, a good thing? It's a good thing.

[27:24] A theme, a theme in the Old Testament, is the story, of the nation of Israel, and their relationship, with the one true God. And it was promised, to Israel, that from her, would come one, who would be, the hope of salvation.

[27:43] And that hope, is fulfilled, in the Lord Jesus Christ, spoken, in the gospel message. He's the one. He's the hope.

[27:55] He's the fulfillment. Back to the text. He says, those who preach, the gospel to you, so they're the human agents, but they did it, by the Holy Spirit.

[28:10] The Holy Spirit, was the means, through whom the gospel was, as one writer puts it, activated, and empowered. The Holy Spirit, he says, sent from heaven.

[28:20] Well, what is this talking about? He's talking about, Pentecost right there. Acts chapter 2, right? So, God is the ultimate author. God is the one, the ultimate author.

[28:32] God is speaking, but he's using, the apostles, to speak this gospel message. And he's doing it, through means, of the Holy Spirit. Spirit speaking, through them.

[28:46] So, the fact that, the Spirit was sent, from heaven, was the sign, that the new age, has been inaugurated. We are in the last days.

[29:00] He's the one, who enabled the apostles, to preach this message, of grace. Are you here, and you need to respond, to this message of grace?

[29:10] Are you here, and you have not responded, to this message of grace? Are you here, and do you need, to respond, to this message of grace? God should judge you, but his arms, are wide open, to you.

[29:26] He loves it, when people come, and they say, I am a sinner, I need, your grace. That's, that's why Jesus, died for sinners. And he resurrected, from the dead.

[29:40] So you, can have life, if you turn, from your sins, and put your trust, in Jesus alone. That's the gospel. That's the gospel message. So this gospel message, proclaim the gospel, to you by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven, things, okay, what things, is he talking about again, the pattern of Christ, suffering the glory, to follow, things, these things, into which angels, long to look.

[30:14] What's he saying? The angels long for, or desire to, stoop forward, to look into it. They desire, the angels desire, to understand, more about the sufferings, of Christ, the glory to follow, and the fulfillment, of this redemption, for God's people.

[30:35] It was intriguing, to them. Look into, means to gaze at, with an outstretched neck, kind of looking, through a window, if you will, kind of looking, like whoa, look at how that's happening.

[30:49] They desire, to learn about, God's fulfillment, of his plan, through the church. They long to see, the outworking, of God's purpose, of grace, to us.

[31:01] Because grace, is the purpose. It's our purpose. It's what's meant, for us to be. We exist, in the last days. The age, of the fulfillment, of the prophecies, concerning the Messiah.

[31:16] The Old Testament, prophets, from Moses, to Malachi, or Malachi, the Italian prophet, serve the church, which was a mystery. But, and it was hidden, but it's now, disclosed, says Paul.

[31:31] What did the prophets, not understand? That the Christ, would suffer, and die for sinners, and be raised. Forgiveness of sins, would be proclaimed, to the whole world. The coming, of the Holy Spirit.

[31:43] God would create, this new thing, called the church. And the angels, were looking into this, how this was all, being fulfilled. Intrigued them. Here's a long statement, for you, to try and sum it up.

[32:00] The Old Testament prophets, predicted this salvation, this grace, destined for us. Which comes, in the suffering, and salvation of Messiah. These prophets, were told, they were serving us.

[32:13] And now, the fact that, these promises, have come to pass, is being told, through the power, of the Spirit, who has come. The world scoffs, at this message.

[32:25] But angels, look, to stoop in, to see God's, amazing purpose, of grace, unfold. It's amazing, that we're more privileged, than angels.

[32:40] It's amazing, that we're more privileged, than the Old Testament, prophets. Angels, who desire to see, these things, played out, in fulfillment, in fulfillment, of grace, for God's people.

[32:57] There's one people, of God, stretching out, stretching throughout history, and now, it's Jews, and Gentiles, we're now one, in Christ, in this thing, called the church. And though, we suffer, we have received, special favor, or grace, from God.

[33:16] We are, a privileged people, like Jesus, mentioned, in Matthew chapter 13, verse 16 and 17, Jesus, was speaking, to his disciples, and he says, blessed are your eyes, and blessed, are your ears, because your eyes, are seen, prophets, they long, to see, what you see, they long, to hear, what you hear, we are blessed, in this way.

[33:47] This confirms, that the Christian experience, will be just like Jesus, suffering, and then salvation. And it gives a solid foundation, for the future hope, that God will keep his promise, for Jesus to return.

[34:06] He will return, as Jesus suffered, and was saved. That we suffer, we are saved, we are graced.

[34:20] Christian, do you have confidence, right now, that you're living, in God's undeserved favor, in and because, and through, because of Jesus Christ?

[34:31] Do you have that confidence? Do you have the confidence, that you have this, transforming grace, now? You have it now. now? So that we, can live, drastically different lives, from this world, from the culture, of this world.

[34:49] Do you have that confidence, now? You are destined, for grace. Thank you, Father, for your undeserved favor. Thank you, for showing, that favor, in Jesus Christ, Christ, who is the model, for us.

[35:09] He suffered, and yet, you vindicated him. Though we suffer now, we are in grace. We are overwhelmed, with your grace.

[35:25] Jesus, remind us, remind us, remind us of your grace, this week. For those, who are suffering now, whether it's sickness, disease, heartache, struggles, and, remind us, that we were destined, for your undeserved favor.

[36:05] Take a few moments, if you would, and ponder, what we've seen, in God's word, this morning. We'll have a few moments, of silence, for you to do that.

[36:17] And then, after a few moments, of silence, for us to ponder, we'll do our time, of giving, worshiping the Lord, and giving, singing our last, two songs, and then our closing prayer.

[36:36] So take some time, and ponder, what we've seen, in God's word. er, if you can'taga...

[36:48] ponder, and on... ... for us to be on, ponder, to heal our clan. To joy to soul, to heal our own, this morning. Have a great vedset, MOAPE 갈 finding, true for us, the Saturn... ... ongoing pattern, .

[36:58] To honor our longer and offer mistakes, and now we'll do this, this morning time, the previous year, we're just elf to the Lord, and then our last, once again time, find us to give up our answers, for us to struggle to make our answers, to go ahead and morepo 혹, our ex-dip, it'll be on the path, and this lifeokers, us to grow.