[0:00] I'll just, my pleasure to invite again Rory Stott, Reverend Rory Stott, to minister to us this evening. We enjoyed his preaching this morning. Rory is ministering for Throws in the Black Isle.
[0:13] And as I said this morning, we went through college together. Basically, I got him through, so that's what's leaving him here this evening. But we are good friends. We were good friends then and still good friends.
[0:26] So it's my pleasure to welcome him to lead us in worship this evening. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. He hasn't changed one bit.
[0:39] Let's worship God and let's just hear the word of God before we sing. In Psalm 138, I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart.
[0:53] Before the gods, I sing your praise. I bow down towards your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness.
[1:08] Let's worship God. And we're in Psalm 146, Psalm 146, on page 191. Psalm 146, verses 1 to 8, on page 191.
[1:25] Praise the Lord, my soul, O praise him. I'll extol him all my days. While I live to God, my Savior, from my heart I will sing praise.
[1:38] Let's stand to sing. Praise the Lord, my soul, O praise him.
[2:09] Do not put your trust in princes, mortal men who cannot save.
[2:23] All their plans will come to nothing where they perish in the grave.
[2:36] Blessed is the one who truly looks for help to Jacob's God.
[2:50] Blessed is the one who places all his hope upon the Lord.
[3:03] He who made the earth and heaven and the seas with all their store.
[3:18] He who keeps us every promise, who is faithful evermore.
[3:30] He delivers from oppression and relieves the hungry's plight.
[3:45] He releases those in prison to find the Lord's side.
[3:59] Amen. Please be seated. Let us unite our hearts in prayer. Let us pray. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
[4:25] We worship you this evening, almighty God, triune God, who reigns on high. Your power is far greater than we can understand.
[4:38] We come to you this evening, our Father, as those who are weak, as those who are imperfect, and those who are unwise.
[4:49] But we thank you that you are strong. We thank you that you are perfect. And we thank you that you are wisdom itself. And you are the God who is worthy of all praise and honor and glory.
[5:06] Hallowed be your name above all other names. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
[5:18] And we praise you this evening for the one who is our righteousness. We praise you this evening for the one who is the foundation on which your people stand.
[5:33] The psalmist said, my rock and my redeemer. And we praise you, Lord God, for the hope that we have in Christ. We bless you for all the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ.
[5:48] We worship you. We praise you. And this evening, Lord, we long to hear from you. Would you give us that sense of expectation?
[6:00] Would you make your word come alive for us? And would you speak to us? And we ask these things in the name of Jesus, our Lord and our Savior.
[6:11] Amen. Amen. Let's sing again. We sing now in Psalm number 13. Psalm 13, singing verses 1 to 6 in sing psalms.
[6:32] Psalm 13, singing verses 1 to 6 on page 14. How long will you forget me, Lord? Will you forget always? How long, Lord, will you hide your face and turn from me your gaze?
[6:46] How long must I be sad each day in deep perplexity? How long will my opponents stand in triumph over me? Shall we stand and sing to God's praise?
[6:59] How long will you forget me, Lord?
[7:11] Will you forget always? Will you forget always? How long, Lord, will you hide your face and turn from me your gaze?
[7:32] How long must I be sad each day in deep perplexity?
[7:46] How long will my opponents stand in triumph over me?
[8:01] How long will you pray? How long will you pray? How long will you pray? How long will you pray? How long will you pray? How long will you pray? How long will you pray?
[8:12] How long will you pray?
[8:22] How long will you pray? The sleep of those who die Then would my enemy declare At last I've laid them low And so my foes would sing for joy To see my overthrow But till I thrust your constant love You save and set me free With joy I will extol the Lord
[9:27] Who has been good to me Amen Well can we turn in our Bibles If you have a Bible with you To the letter The first letter of Peter The first letter of Peter And chapter 1 1 Peter And chapter 1 Peter An apostle of Jesus Christ To those who are elect Exiles of the dispersion In Pontus, Galatia Cappadocia, Asia And Bithynia According to the foreknowledge Of God the Father in the sanctification of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood.
[10:36] May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
[10:55] To an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
[11:13] In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
[11:42] Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
[12:02] Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
[12:23] It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you, in the things that have now been announced to you, through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
[12:45] Amen. This is the inspired and inerrant word of God. And we do pray God's blessing on that reading. Shall we just bow our heads again in prayer as we come to the Lord in prayer?
[13:08] Father, we thank you for the privilege of coming into your presence this evening to worship you and to share from you. We do thank you for your word, which is alive and which is sharper than a double-edged sword.
[13:25] Lord, we long to hear from you. And our prayer this evening is that you would make your word come alive for us by the power of your Holy Spirit and that you yourself would speak to us.
[13:40] Father, we do not seek the wisdom of man, but we seek the wisdom of God. Give us, heavenly Father, a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
[13:53] And we pray for your people here. We thank you for them. And we pray that you would sanctify your people. We pray that your people here would grow into the likeness of Christ.
[14:06] We pray that you would build your people up, edify them, and again, make them more like Christ. We do pray, Lord, for those who do not know you, perhaps here this evening, perhaps for the first time in this church.
[14:24] And we pray, heavenly Father, for anyone who does not know you as personal Lord and Savior. And we pray by your Spirit that you would open their eyes, that they would see their need for you, their need for forgiveness, and turn away from self, away from the world, and turn to you, the living Christ.
[14:49] We pray for the leadership of this church. We thank you for Calamurdo and Joanne and their children. And we pray for them as a family. We pray that you would grant them tokens of your faithfulness.
[15:03] We pray that they would be encouraged in the Lord and work in there. Give to them, Lord, the joy of the Lord. We pray for the eldership and the deacons.
[15:15] We ask, Lord God, that you would grant them wisdom, that you would guide them from on high, and that your will would be done amongst your people here. And we pray, dear Lord, that you would fill the vacancy with the man of your choosing, and that you would work in their hearts, Lord, a desire to serve you in this place.
[15:38] We pray for the community. We pray for the neighbors around us. We pray for this town. And we ask, Lord God, for the work of the gospel.
[15:49] We pray for a work of your Spirit. We pray for good to prevail over evil. And again, we pray for that turning away from the world and turning to you.
[16:01] Lord, we pray for the bereaved again this evening. We remember the tragedy on Friday evening. And we pray for all who are involved. We ask, Lord God, that you would bring comfort.
[16:15] We ask, Lord God, that those who are involved would be aware of the everlasting arms of Almighty God. And so we pray for those who are grieving.
[16:27] We pray, Heavenly Father, for any this evening who are facing tragedy, who are facing distress, who are facing relationship breakdown or bad news or illness.
[16:39] You are the great physician. You are the great comforter. And we pray that even tonight, that your word would be a healing balm for us.
[16:50] And so, Lord, we humble ourselves before you this evening, knowing that we bring nothing to you. You are the all-sufficient God.
[17:01] You are the God who created the universe. You are the God who upholds all things. You are the God to whom we turn this evening.
[17:14] Would you speak to us? Would you continue with us? Oh, Lord God, we pray. And we pray this in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen. Amen.
[17:27] We sing now, friends, in Psalm 43. Remember, Psalm 42 and 43 are psalms that they go together. And they are what we might call psalms of lament, crying out to God in distress.
[17:43] Come, vindicate me, O God. So Psalm 43 and sing psalms on page 54. Come, vindicate me, O my God.
[17:55] Against this nation plead my cause. Deliver me from wicked foes and hypocrites who break your laws. You are my stronghold and my God.
[18:07] Why then have you rejected me? Why must I go about in grief, downtrodden by the enemy? And the last stanza, Why are you downcast, O my soul?
[18:19] Why are you so disturbed in me? Trust God, for I will praise him yet. My Savior and my God is he. Let's stand and sing to God's praise.
[18:30] Come, vindicate me, O my God.
[18:42] Against this nation plead my cause. Deliver me from wicked foes And hypocrites who break your laws.
[19:04] You are my stronghold and my God. Why then have you rejected me?
[19:20] Why must I go apart and grieve, downthrottened by the enemy?
[19:35] O send your light for God, your truth. Let them direct me in your grace.
[19:52] And bring me to your holy hill, Into your sacred dwelling place.
[20:07] Then to God's altar I will go, To God my joy and my delight, And I will praise you with the heart, O God you are my God of might.
[20:40] Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why are you so disturbed in me?
[20:56] Why are you so disturbed in me?
[21:26] In verse 6, In 1 Peter, 1 Peter, 1 Peter, and chapter 1. And if I can just read verse 6 For us to have a focus this evening.
[21:43] And verse 6 says, In this you rejoice, Though now for a little while, If necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.
[22:07] Well, solid foundations are important in a lot of aspects of life. I was helping a friend just yesterday with two really, really big pot plants.
[22:22] And we had to just level the ground and sort the stones out and level two pieces of ground so that there was a solid foundation for these two pot plants.
[22:38] So that when the prevailing wind came, these pot plants would be on solid ground, would have solid foundations.
[22:50] Having grown up in South Africa, we had a tennis court. We had a privileged sort of situation to be in on the farm, and we had our own tennis court. And there was a wall on the one side of the tennis court that we used to hit the tennis ball against.
[23:06] And I remember one day looking out at the tennis court from the window after a really, really strong wind, and the tennis court wall had fallen down.
[23:19] And that wall had been built with no foundations. What we are reminded about in this first letter of Peter is that spiritual foundations are really, really important.
[23:35] And when we read the letters of the New Testament, more often than not, the letters begin with the foundations, the spiritual foundations on which we build our lives, on which we grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.
[23:53] So in these first few verses of 1 Peter, we have the solid foundations of Christianity. Now, what is the sort of general background of the letter is that Peter is writing to Christians who were a little bit like rabbits in the headlights.
[24:14] They were a little bit bewildered, and they were suffering persecution because of their love of Jesus Christ. And so the purpose of the letter was to encourage them in their bewilderment and in the vagaries of life.
[24:31] We all know that life is full of uncertainty. We, in very trivial ways, coming on the ferry on Friday evening, our ferry was delayed for an hour because of the tragedy that took place here on Sunday evening.
[24:54] It was a reminder for many, those who are affected, particularly of the uncertainty of life. As you go on in the pastoral ministry, you realize how uncertain life is because you are involved with those who are grieving, with those who are going through distress.
[25:12] Maybe it is the receiving of bad news. When the doctor says across the table from you, he or she says, I'm really sorry, but I have bad news.
[25:25] When we are thrown that curveball that we were not expecting. The bad news of living in a fallen world. And so Peter writes this letter, giving the solid foundation on which we build our lives, but to encourage his people in the uncertainties of life.
[25:49] There is hope on which we rest. And I just want to notice three things this evening. As we look at this section, we're going to notice grief, gladness, and glory.
[26:07] Three characteristics, if you like, of the Christian life. Grief, gladness, and glory. And the first thing that we see here is that of grief, that of suffering.
[26:20] There is a reality to the suffering that we face. And Paul tells us the same thing in that wonderful chapter in Romans 8.
[26:40] I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. And so here we have the reality of suffering in a fallen, broken world.
[26:57] But the reality of suffering for the Christian. There is a book with the title of Lament for a Son, written by a guy by the name of Nicholas Walterstorff.
[27:13] And Nicholas lost his 25-year-old son in a mountain climbing accident. And he, you know, when that tragedy occurs, he went into a long, unwanted journey.
[27:29] And as he sought to come to terms with his grief, he wrote this book, Lament for a Son. And in that book, he uses this phrase, he said, sorrow is no longer the islands, but the sea.
[27:46] And how tragic and real is that phrase, perhaps for somebody this evening here in this room. Sorrow is no longer the islands, but the sea.
[28:02] Let's have a look at the grief that Peter is talking about here. These trials that the people that he is writing to are experiencing.
[28:14] And we can notice three things. First of all, very simply, that they are varied. He uses the phrase, you are facing all kinds of trials. And part of that would have been persecution because of their love of Jesus Christ.
[28:28] But he uses a phrase which explains the varied nature of our trials. And you know that, we all know that, there is a sense in which there are times where there is something one after the other.
[28:42] But our trials are varied. They are different. They come in different forms. Whether they are through relationship or ill health or whatever it might be for us, they are varied.
[28:53] And we notice secondly, that the trials are not easy. The trials are not easy. The word that is used there is the word heaviness.
[29:07] The word heaviness to experience grief or pain. And as you go on, as I go on in the pastoral ministry, you realize that the varied nature of what people are going through.
[29:26] And that there is a heaviness to people's trials. Even as we come here this evening, many of us have come into the room this evening. And there is a heaviness.
[29:36] There is a burden which we carry. And it is tough. And so there is this reality that we face our troubles and our struggles. And it takes us to the cross, doesn't it, as those who are disciples of Jesus Christ.
[29:53] We always go back to the cross and we reflect on the cross. And if you are partaking in the Lord's Supper this weekend, you will go back to the cross and you will be reminded of Gethsemane.
[30:06] You will be reminded of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane where he cries out to his father and he says to his father, Father, if there is any way could you take this away from me, but not my will, your will be done.
[30:24] But it is in the garden where he faces sorrow. He began to be sorrowful and troubled. And one of the implications of that is that Jesus understands your pain this evening.
[30:38] He is able to empathize with us. When we are walking through the deep, dark valley, he knows what it is to go through the deep, dark valley. And we can cry out to him with confidence, knowing that he understands where we are.
[30:53] He understands what it is to walk in that deep, dark valley. He understands your grief. He understands your pain. And so you can talk to him with confidence. Psalm 34, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
[31:11] He is close to those who are grieving. We notice as well as we continue to explore these trials that Peter is talking about, he says as well that the trials are controlled by God.
[31:25] He takes us here to the providence and the sovereignty of Almighty God. The God who holds, as it were, the lives of his people in the palm of his hands.
[31:36] And he doesn't take us through anything that we cannot handle. He is sovereign. He is in control. Talk about his sovereign grace. And these trials that Peter is talking about, our trials, do not last forever.
[31:51] They are, as it were, for a season. And we might say to each other, it will pass. John Calvin said, life is but a moment of time.
[32:06] And if you are a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ this evening, then you have something far better by far to look forward to. It will pass.
[32:17] Recently, I was reading the circumstances of Joseph. And when he was taken by his brothers and forced into slavery and sold off into slavery, and he goes off into Egypt.
[32:34] And it just caught my attention, that section where we are told about Joseph as he gets into Egypt. And he is put in charge of Potiphar's household.
[32:46] And his life is going swimmingly. And we get a sense in which he is really using his gifts and things are really going well. And all the arrows, if you like, are going in the right direction.
[32:57] And there is a sense in which Joseph is sitting back. Everything is going swimmingly for him. But then we know the story. Everything crashes around him when he is accused of adultery.
[33:10] Everything is going swimmingly. Everything is going absolutely wonderfully. And then something happens in his life. Something happens in our lives which we least expect.
[33:21] And he is thrown into prison. And such is the way of life for us so often, isn't it? His world just crumbles when he is accused of that affair which he is innocent of.
[33:37] And life sometimes seems like that. One thing after the other going wrong. If it's not one thing, then it's another thing. One thing after the other seems to be going wrong.
[33:51] Peter, in a sense, he is saying to us this evening, Do you know what, Christian? That is par for the course. We will face our trials.
[34:02] We will go through hardships. That is what the Lord is taking us through. How do you deal with the trials that you face?
[34:17] Can I commend the Psalms to you? The Psalms are a wonderful resource, aren't we? And we've already sung some of the Psalms of lament.
[34:31] And there is a third of the Psalms are Psalms of lament. They are real. They talk about the trials of life. Like Psalm 13, the psalmist calls out to God in his distress.
[34:44] But at the end of that Psalm, he says, But Lord, I will look to you. I will trust you. I will continue to have faith in you. I will rest in you. And to lament is to talk to God about our pain, to be honest, to be authentic about our suffering, to be authentic about the pain that we go through.
[35:07] And to lament has a unique purpose. And that purpose is to trust in God. We might say that it is a divinely given invitation to pour out our fears, to pour out our frustrations and sorrows for the purpose of helping us to renew our confidence in God.
[35:29] Because it is only in God that we will find our strength. It is only in God where we will find grace to endure the things that we go through.
[35:40] And I wonder this evening if anybody is tempted to run away from God because of what you are going through in your life at the moment.
[35:59] Is that our temptation? To run away from God, turn to God in lament, in authenticity, in reality, and be honest with him about your trials.
[36:16] And so Peter says there are things that we will go through that make us sorrowful. Let's notice secondly, gladness.
[36:27] Gladness. Gladness. Because again in verse 6, the verse starts with, In this you rejoice. And this is another characteristic of the Christian walk, isn't it?
[36:40] Of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. There is a joy unspeakable when we are in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we are to rejoice in and praise God for what?
[36:56] What is it that we are to rejoice in? Well, Peter tells us that we are to rejoice in everything that we have received through Christ's death on the cross.
[37:11] And we see that from verses 3 to 5 in this section. We are to rejoice in everything that we have received through Christ's death on the cross.
[37:22] And we are reminded this evening that we are, if you are a follower of Jesus, you are united to Christ. And that means that you receive all the benefits of Christ.
[37:34] That everything that is due to Christ is due to you. Because we are co-heirs with Christ. And isn't that a wonderful thought this evening? If there is nothing else that we take away with us this evening, that we are co-heirs with Christ.
[37:50] And all the benefits of Christ, the second person of the Trinity, God himself, are our benefits. Everything that belongs to him belongs to us.
[38:01] As we are united to Christ. And so there is a joy that Peter talks about. That the believer is able to experience.
[38:13] Joy unspeakable. There have been two, forgive me for just getting personal just for a moment. And reflecting on two really, really joyful occasions in my life.
[38:29] And the first one was my marriage. My wedding day. It had been, as far as the weather went, it had been wet, as it often is.
[38:41] It had been gloomy. And on the day of the wedding, the sun came out. And it was probably one of the best days of my life.
[38:53] But there's another day that I can think of. And maybe you can think of days and experiences that were wonderful and full of happiness. The other day was the birth of our daughter.
[39:07] Who came along six and a half years ago. And so perhaps you, this evening, can think about moments or experiences. Perhaps it was a wedding.
[39:17] Perhaps it was a birth. Perhaps it was when you graduated from university. When you received something that made you incredibly happy. When we think about the joy that Peter was talking about, it is far greater than anything else, isn't it?
[39:38] It is far greater than that wedding day or the joy that comes when our children are born. It is a joy that there is a sense in which we want to tell people.
[39:53] We want to tell people about those great days that we want to share with other people. But this joy is an indescribable joy. This joy is something else.
[40:04] It is a wonderful joy. It is a joy that bubbles over because we are in Christ. Because of that unity we have in Christ.
[40:16] We died with him and we were raised with him. And there is a sense in which mysteriously we are united with him as we sit here.
[40:28] And so there is a joy in that. Let me just explore two things that we are to rejoice in as we think about being united to Christ.
[40:41] And Peter talks about a living hope. And this is an idea of confidence and energy that flow from the expectation of future blessing based on facts and promises.
[40:58] I know that's a mouthful but that's simply again resting on what Christ has done for us. The historicity of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Meaning that we can look ahead with purpose and meaning and confidence.
[41:15] And the other thing that we are to rejoice in is our salvation. Again somebody described it like this. Believers are not logs of wood.
[41:49] We feel pain. We suffer. We fear danger. We feel and are affected by evil.
[42:07] And persecution is hard. But he said this. But it is mitigated by faith. And they that's believers cease not to rejoice.
[42:27] And so all the bad things in a sense that we experience are mitigated by faith. And we see that in verse 5 here. The gift of faith that God gives us.
[42:41] All the bad things are mitigated by the faith that we have and the joy that we have in Christ. It's almost like when you have sort of sprinkled water onto a flame or onto the coals to try and put them out if you're camping.
[43:03] The flames, perhaps just think about the flames as all that is bad in the world and all that is bad in our lives and the sin, etc. And joy being that water, sort of dosing the flames.
[43:19] Gladness for the believer. Now Presbyterians have that reputation, haven't they?
[43:29] Of being dure, being unhappy, having no joy. And yet, perhaps not a big smile on the face, no.
[43:45] Perhaps from the outside a sort of a dure look and a serious look on the face. But a joy that is inside, that quite often we can't describe to anybody.
[44:02] And many of us know that joy. Do you know that joy for yourself this evening? Perhaps you share this evening, and a lot of what I've been saying is just simply going over your head.
[44:18] But perhaps when I talk about joy and happiness, happiness for you and joy for you has just been elusive. Where you've tried all sorts of things that haven't made you happy.
[44:31] Perhaps they've given you a temporary fix, a temporary joy like alcohol and drugs and sex and such like. And they've been temporary. But they haven't given you that deep fulfillment and joy that you've been longing for.
[44:43] And let me share with you this evening, my dear friend, that Peter is talking about a joy that is available to every single human being when we turn from the world and when we turn from ourselves and turn to Jesus Christ.
[44:58] And only in him will we find true fulfillment and true happiness and true joy. It is only in Christ where we will find that happiness.
[45:13] There is a man in Fort Rose who is connected to our congregation. And his name is Sandy.
[45:24] And Sandy always greets you with a smile. He is a most wonderful, godly Christian.
[45:35] And his smile is genuine. And his first words to me always are, it's a lovely day, isn't it? He has this disposition that is just so infectious.
[45:46] And we all know people like that. Now some of our Christian friends are not necessarily outwardly joyful. It's not like always having a big smile on our faces.
[45:57] But there is something inside that is just wonderful. There is something inside that Sandy has. And there is something infectious about Sandy.
[46:09] And there is something about Sandy that makes me want to spend time with Sandy all day long because he has Christ inside of him. There is another lady that I thought about when I was preparing this.
[46:23] Her name is Irene. And she was in Ayrshire. And she had the same disposition. See, she was somebody who was affected constantly by pain because she had polio when she was a child.
[46:36] But Irene always greets you with a question about yourself, asking, How are you today? In fact, I remember the time that she had a stroke.
[46:46] And the minute I came to her in her hospital bed after she had a stroke, I said to her, Irene, how are you? She said, no, how are you, Rory? She was so concerned about how I was.
[46:59] But she had the same disposition. And I wonder about us this evening. What will your legacy be? What will my legacy be?
[47:10] Despite all the trials, and we are all imperfect, and we all go through suffering and different degrees of suffering. But despite all that, will people know us as having something of the joy of the Lord in our lives?
[47:30] And isn't it wonderful to dream about being able to glorify God and to give Him glory with the way that we speak to other people? And we all know people that are such wonderful and have been such wonderful examples to us.
[47:45] Because you want to spend time with them. Because despite what they're going through, they have that inner joy. Something that is contagious. Something that is infectious. And something that just brightens up our day.
[47:58] Are we known as people who have something of that in our lives?
[48:08] Or do people look at our lives and sadly say, well, I want nothing to do with their God, if that is what their God means to them.
[48:21] I want nothing to do with their God, if that is how they live their lives. With their God.
[48:35] What is our legacy going to be? And then the last G, if you like, is the G of glory. As we think of these characteristics of the Christian life.
[48:48] And Peter talks here about the inheritance of the Christian. In verse 4. Something better by far.
[49:19] That is to come. Something far more glorious than anything. Anything. Any sense of joy or happiness or wonderful experiences in this life is going to be multiplied so much more in that place where our inheritance is going to be.
[49:41] Is not going to be. We are going to experience. And the idea here in Jewish sort of culture and understanding, the idea of an inheritance comes from the promised land which the Israelites inherited.
[49:59] God spoke to his people about the inheritance that he would give them. The land flowing with milk and honey. The land that you have never experienced in your lives before Israelites because it's just going to be so wonderful and glorious.
[50:16] And this was a foretaste, of course, of the new heavens and the new earth that the New Testament talks about. Romans 8, 16 and 17. The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
[50:30] Now, if we are children, then we are heirs. Heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. If indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
[50:41] This time of the year, and I don't think I'm used to the winters in a sense in Scotland yet. But we begin to look ahead and almost, as it were, look over the horizon to the springtime, don't we?
[50:59] And in our lives, we begin, if you're a believer here this evening, we begin to look over the horizon for what is to come because of all that we experience in this life.
[51:11] And so glory awaits the believer. But also, we can also turn our suffering into glory today. And Peter explains to us how we might turn our difficulties in this life into glory today.
[51:30] How can we glorify God today through our suffering? And there are four things, I think, four things that Peter says to us.
[51:41] And the first thing, way, is that we can love Christ in verse 8. And I won't go into that or expand that in any way. But that is the one way in which we can glorify God here.
[51:55] We can love Christ today. We can love Christ today. And secondly, we can trust Christ today.
[52:07] Again, in verse 8. We can love Christ. We can trust Christ. Again, the idea of faith and putting our faith and our trust in Jesus.
[52:19] And thirdly, we can rejoice in Christ. In Christ. In Christ. Connected to Christ.
[52:30] It's all about Christ. And again, in verse 8. How can we glorify God in this life? We can receive from Christ in this life.
[52:40] All the benefits that are yours, that are mine in Christ, we can receive from Christ today. What have we seen?
[52:52] We've seen grief. We've seen gladness. We've seen glory. I wonder this evening, how will you be remembered?
[53:05] How will I be remembered? In all our imperfection, and none of us are perfect, but in all our imperfection, and all the trials and uncertainties of life, how will we be remembered?
[53:24] How will we be remembered? Is our faith in Jesus Christ? And one last thought, maybe just to leave with us this evening, to have that biblical perspective.
[53:36] And this evening, we've been looking at the biblical perspective of suffering. That we are on the solid foundation of Christ.
[53:48] And nothing can separate us from the love of God. We are on the sure foundation. We can have assurance because of what Jesus has done for us. But do we have that biblical perspective?
[54:04] The perspective that puts Christ first. I was talking to a friend this afternoon about Cape Town and Table Mountain in Cape Town.
[54:19] And he came into, when he was in shipping, he came into Cape Town. And he viewed Table Mountain from the perspective of the sea.
[54:30] A different perspective as anybody else viewed Table Mountain from the land. Viewing the mountain from a different perspective.
[54:43] And the mountain itself can be hazardous. The mountain itself can be temperamental and harsh and unpredictable as our lives can be.
[54:54] And yet with that biblical perspective, we know that we look ahead over the horizon to something that is far greater by far.
[55:07] We look ahead to glory, knowing that nothing will separate us from the love of God. And what awaits us is far better by far.
[55:19] Let's pray. Father God, we thank you for your words. And we thank you for the solid foundation on which our lives rest if we are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ this evening.
[55:37] Lord, grant to us strong faith to rest in trust in you in the uncertainties of life. Bless us. Continue with us, we pray.
[55:48] In your name we pray. Amen. Amen. Friends, we're going to finish off on page 314.
[56:00] Page 314. As we sing Psalm 72 and verses 16 to 19.
[56:12] Let's stand to sing to God's praise.
[56:33] Amen. Of Cornish singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, singing, The city shall be flourishing, our citizens abound.
[57:20] A number shall like to the grass that grows upon the ground.
[57:35] His name forever shall endure, lost like the sun it shall.
[57:50] Men shall be blessed in earth, and blessed all nations shall him call.
[58:05] Now blessed be the Lord our God, the God of Israel.
[58:20] For he alone doth wondrous works in glory that excel.
[58:35] And blessed be his glorious name to all eternity.
[58:50] The whole earth let his glory fill. Amen, so let it be.
[59:06] Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory, with great joy, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen.
[59:31] Let's pray.
[59:52] Thank you.
[60:22] Thank you.