2018 is winding down, as I'm guessing everybody knows,
and a new year is rapidly approaching.
It's a good time to take a step back
and sort of take stock of the last year
and reflect on 2018 a little bit.
Many of us in this room would look back
and point to significant life events,
whether it's difficult health things,
whether it's job transitions,
whether it's new life added to our family,
going off to college, etc., and so forth.
Others would look back and say,
we're still kind of waiting to see how this decision is going to pan out.
We had to make some kind of decision here,
but we're still kind of unsettled about the results that we see.
It's also not just a time to look back and reflect,
but a time to look forward, right?
That's why we have these New Year's resolutions
that some of us will be making.
We wonder with anticipation,
what is 2019 going to bring?
There will be upcoming milestones,
just like there are past milestones.
Graduations, retirements,
sending our children off to college, and so on.
One of my favorite things to do in this season of the year
is not just to reflect on kind of what has happened in my life,
but to reflect on what God has done
and to look forward in anticipation
of what He is going to do in the future.
Commend this practice to you, church.
It's so sweet.
And if we're honest, we'd look back on 2018
and we'd be able to point,
all of us in this room could testify
to the ways that God has been faithful.
Maybe He's given you strength
to complete a major work project
that you've been working on for a long time,
and by His grace, you endured,
and you persevered,
and you did something that you could be proud of.
Maybe He's provided a new friend for you
just at the right moment
when you felt desperate for fellowship.
Maybe you've just sensed His ongoing presence
and comfort to you in the midst of hard things.
But even that, you'd say He's faithful.
He hasn't gone anywhere.
He's here.
And we've all sensed His loving correction, right,
that has grown us into greater and greater degrees
of godliness and faithfulness to Jesus.
We should be expecting more of the same in 2019.
Our lives are just chock full of the reality
of the grace of God.
And it's because of this child born to us, isn't it?
The Christ who was born in a manger
in the city of Bethlehem,
who lived this perfect life in obedience to God the Father,
who shed His blood for us on the cross
and then was raised victoriously from the dead.
The past work of Jesus
is why we can point to the faithfulness of God
day in and day out.
But not just that, right?
Now the risen and radiant and reigning King Jesus
is coming back one day
for all of His people
to redeem creation,
to eradicate sin,
to wipe every tear from the eyes
of His long-enduring people.
These realities,
the Jesus Emmanuel, God with us,
and His return at some point in the future,
they bookend our very lives
here in Kenosha, Wisconsin
on December 30th, 2018.
And they do it every single day of our lives.
So we must say that He is worthy of praise.
He is worthy of all of our praise
day after day after day.
His provisions,
His mercy,
His love,
His protection and correction.
We serve and know a God
who is deserving of all of our thanks and praise.
And this is what our text in 1 Peter
is really all about today.
The praiseworthiness of God.
If you haven't,
I invite you to turn to 1 Peter chapter 1.
God's call from this text this morning is
pretty straightforward.
Lord,
in light of the praiseworthiness
of our God,
church,
we are to persist
in praising
the God of our salvation.
To persist
day in and day out
in the good times
and in the bad,
in the highs and lows,
in the big transitions,
in the monotonous daily routines.
We are to have a heart of praise.
We're to be postured
to persist
in praising Him
in all things.
Persist in praising
the God of your salvation,
church.
If you've got one resolution
to make in 2019,
make it this.
Persist in praise.
Well, the context of our passage
this morning,
we can kind of
walk through it
from verses 1 and 2.
We see that it's Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ,
who is writing to
this group of people.
Now, this is the Peter
who's walked with Jesus
as one of His 12 disciples.
He saw Him
transfigured
and shiny bright
on the mountain.
He saw the empty tomb
and he saw the nail-pierced hands
of His risen King.
And he writes,
with all of the authority
bestowed from Jesus
on an apostle.
It's the very Word of God.
And we see the readers then
in verse 1 as well
that these folks
who Peter identifies
as elect exiles.
And they're in Asia Minor,
not unlike the churches
that John has been writing to
in the book of Revelation
that we've been in.
Very similar kind of location
in the world.
And in calling them
elect exiles,
Peter essentially says,
chosen nomads.
They're handpicked
for the kingdom of God
and then they're handed
a suitcase saying,
you're just going to be
kind of not home yet.
And yet possessed by God.
Bound for an eternity
in a homeland.
The new Jerusalem.
In verse 2,
we see these amazing
theological claims
surrounding this status
as elect exiles
that we can't really
get into a ton,
but essentially,
here's what Peter's saying
in verse 2
to these folks.
Their status,
their identity,
is foreknown
by the plan of God,
the Father.
And it is by the power
of the Holy Spirit
that they have both
been handpicked
out of their current
situation into this
new reality
and will be sustained
in it until the end.
That's the sanctification
of the Spirit.
We see the aim,
the goal of it
is for obedience
to Jesus Christ
and for sprinkling
with His blood.
This is covenant language.
The obedience
of the people of God
that is sort of
pointed to
and officially
kind of sanctioned
by the sprinkling
of sacrifice.
Peter's pointing back
to Exodus chapter 24.
So here's who's writing
and who he's writing to.
Folks not too much
unlike us today.
This sermon,
the way we're going to
walk through this passage
now is a sermon
brought to you
by the letter R.
Billy has inspired me
to try and get
some repeated letters.
So we're going to
give it a shot.
So if you look
in verse 3,
we're going to see
the first R.
It's the recipient
of our praise.
Peter starts out
after kind of
addressing formally
his audience.
Blessed be the God
and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our praise is aimed.
It doesn't meander.
It's focused
on the one
who Peter identifies
as worthy
of all praise.
He's the one
who created
the universe,
sustains it
powerfully
right now
and forever.
He exercises
sovereign control
over all things.
The king's heart
is like water
in the hand
of the Lord
and he makes
armies do his bidding
around the world.
He is present
everywhere
at all times.
He never gets tired.
He never takes naps.
He never changes.
He's all powerful,
all knowing,
all wise.
He is holy,
holy,
holy
and righteousness
and justice
are the foundation
of his throne.
This God
is perfect
and his greatness
is unsearchable.
It's no wonder
that this word
blessed
every time it shows up
in our New Testament
is reserved
for this person,
this being,
God,
who is deserving
of all of our praise.
He's not just
somewhat worthy
or sometimes worthy,
right?
But totally
and forever
worthy.
the God
and Father
of our Lord
Jesus Christ
is now
and forever
the only one
worthy of all
of our praise.
That's who Peter
says is to receive
the praise
of his people.
And if we knew
nothing else
about God
other than this
kind of descriptive
list,
we'd have
infinite reason
to praise him.
But if we keep
reading in verse 3,
we come to the second R,
we see the reason
that Peter
is going to give us
to praise
this God.
Look at verse 3
and we see this
astonishing reason.
He has caused us
to be born again.
There's a bunch of
phrases and terminology
surrounding that,
but before we kind of
get into all of those
details,
let's just kind of
savor this reality.
It's the core
of what Peter's saying,
why God is worthy
of praise.
Because he has
caused us
to be born again.
What does Peter
mean by this?
Essentially,
it means that God
creates new life
where there previously
was none.
It's not unique
to Peter.
The Apostle Paul
in 2 Corinthians 5.17
says it this way,
if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation.
The old has passed away,
behold,
the new has come.
In Ephesians 2,
verse 10,
he says that
we are God's workmanship
created in Christ
Jesus
for good works.
Jesus.
This is sounding
a lot like
Genesis 1.
In the beginning,
God created the heavens
and the earth.
He said,
let there be light
and there was light.
God saw the light,
saw that it was good.
Except this is now
talking about
the spiritual birth
of Christians.
God says,
let there be a Christian
and there was a Christian
where there formerly
was not.
God.
The Gospel of John
gives us
the same kind
of language.
In John's introductory
remarks of chapter 1
in verses 12
and 13,
he says,
for everyone
who receives Jesus
and who believes
in Him,
God has given the right
to become children
of God.
And then listen
to how he says
it's born not of blood,
not of the will
of the flesh,
nor of the will
of man,
but of God.
You hear the language
born again,
born of God,
created in Christ,
a new creation,
a God-produced
spiritual birth.
When Peter says
that God has caused us
to be born again,
he is speaking
of a moment in time,
an instantaneous occurrence
in which a man
a God-generated
spiritual heartbeat
begins.
If you're a Christian
in this room,
this is true of you.
God has brought
new life
where there was none.
This is why
there's no such thing
as a boring testimony.
If you realize
you realize
exactly
how amazing
salvation is,
you won't be bored
sharing it with people.
Whether you were
saved when you were
just a young kid,
and you grew up
in a Christian home,
and you haven't really
struggled with any kind
of real hard
addictions
or difficulties,
or whether
you've got a life
of just kind of
doing your own thing,
and you came to faith
late,
this is miraculous
and amazing.
And it's the core
of the reason
why Peter says,
this God is praiseworthy
all the time,
forever.
He's caused us
to be born again.
You probably realize
that this is
fine spiritual China
we're holding
in our hands.
This is a precious gem
that we're talking
about this morning.
God is teaching us
about deep realities
of our life
in Christ.
God intends
His truth
to bring praise.
We're to praise Him.
Christian,
you are alive
because God
has made you alive.
You don't need
to turn there,
but over in chapter 2
of Peter
in verse 24,
Peter brings
his reality
right to the cross.
He says that
it is Jesus Himself
who bore our sins
in His body
on the tree
so that we might
die to sin,
the only life
we ever knew,
and might live
to righteousness.
This life
that God puts
in us
because of Jesus.
This gift
of life
is precious.
Jesus,
and now
Peter begins
to kind of
hold this gem
up
and just start
kind of rotating
it so that the
rainbow light
would just be
glittering in front
of our eyes
as it dances
around the room.
So we're going to
take a look at these
sort of rays of light
that are shining here.
Look back at
verses 3 and 4.
The first one
is that it is
according to
God's great mercy.
Does anyone
in the room
ever ask,
why did God
save me?
Maybe out loud
or maybe just
in your heart
you just kind of
wonder,
God,
what did I ever
do to deserve
this?
Peter would say,
absolutely nothing.
Mercy is your
answer.
You can't
manipulate it,
you can't
manufacture it,
it is God's
to freely give
and instead of
deciding to
judge us
and to punish
us for the
guilt of our
sin,
God shows
mercy and he
decides to
save and
rescue instead.
It is God's
mercy,
Peter says,
that governs
his decision
to save
sinners.
He's
praiseworthy.
second ray
of light
off of this
gem we see
in verse
three is that
he's caused
us to be
born again
to a living
hope,
present,
here and
now,
real hope.
It's kind of
a funny word,
isn't it?
When you and
I kind of use
hope,
a lot of times
it's,
well,
I've got a
tea time at
Muni later to
hit some golf
balls and I
sure hope it
doesn't rain.
I've checked
the forecast
and it's
kind of 50-50.
We come out
of an exam
that we'd
studied and
prepared a
long time
for and we
say,
well,
I sure hope
I did well
on that
exam.
I worked
really hard.
The Bible
here is using
it differently
for us.
The hope
that Peter's
talking about
is not a
fingers crossed,
wishful thinking,
rabbit foot
kind of hope.
hope.
It's the
expectation
that God
is faithful
and he will
fulfill all
of his promises
in Christ
Jesus.
Everything
he's promised
will come
to pass.
That's the
hope that
Peter's getting
at.
It's certain
to happen
because God
has said
so.
He never
lies.
And he
wants this
hope to be
contrasted
between
something
that's alive
and vibrant
and fresh
and something
that's rotting
and dead
and decaying.
It's like
the king
salmon on
the end
of your
fishing line
that's peeling
off drag
as it buries
into deep
water versus
the dead
half-eaten
bloated one
that washes
up on the
shore of Lake
Michigan.
Living hope.
Real hope.
Certain hope.
It's a
difference
between that
stick that
lands in your
yard that
you have to
pick up
before you
mow the
lawn and
the giant
oak tree
that gives
shade to
all of your
property.
Living.
It's oak
tree hope
that Peter's
talking about
here.
There's reason
to praise him.
There's another
ray of light.
Peter says
hope isn't
the only thing
alive,
friends.
We are
born again
to a
living hope
through the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ from
the dead.
Jesus,
our Lord,
is alive.
There's a
past resurrection
and a past
new life,
and his
resurrection is
how God
gives new
life to
us.
It's the
resurrection
life of
Jesus pulsing
through your
veins.
Jesus
isn't
alive.
None of
us are
either.
Neither do
we have a
living hope.
But God
has raised
him from
the dead.
He's alive
and so too
are all of
God's
people.
There's one
more ray we
look at in
verse 4.
Future
inheritance.
This
inheritance
word is
family talk.
Right?
You inherit
what is passed
down from your
mother and
father.
Though it's
not obvious,
the God and
Father, the
Lord Jesus
Christ, is
calling us
his children.
Rightful
inheritors of
all that is
God's.
That's
everything by
the way.
This is our
place and our
possession in
the kingdom of
God, the
new Jerusalem,
where nothing
wears out,
where there is
no lack or
any need.
This is
ours in
Christ.
Notice the
descriptors that
Peter gives.
It's imperishable
and undefiled
and unfading.
It means that
time will never
harm it.
That it's never
going to be
defiled or
tarnished by
anything impure.
And it has
unending beauty
and value.
It's kept in a
place that's
more secure than
a bank vault.
It's in
heaven.
It has our
names on it.
blessed be the
God and
Father of our
Lord Jesus
Christ.
This mercy
driven, new
life given,
dead raised and
inheritance keeping,
praiseworthy God.
And as if that
wasn't enough,
verse 5 kind of
concludes this
section of the
reason to
praise him.
It's not just
keeping an
inheritance.
He's keeping us
too.
He's keeping
all of the
people of God
for a salvation
ready to be
revealed in the
last time.
See that in
verse 5?
Who by God's
power are being
guarded through
faith for a
salvation ready to
be revealed.
Well the thing
to notice in this
verse is the way
that God's power
and our faith
kind of work in
tandem.
They cooperate
with one another.
Sometimes we can
kind of go
through life sort
of thinking that
it's really our
faith that's going
to get us to the
finish line.
And in part that's
true.
Peter wants us to
see here in verse
5 that God's power
is the greater
reality and our
faith is the
lesser.
If it were
dependent merely
on us, we might
be in trouble with
the waves tossing
our faith around in
life.
But God's power is
constant and
unchanging and
certain.
It's an anchor for
all of us that
will hold.
The one who raises
the dead is
guarding us for
salvation.
And the
salvation is ready.
God has no
finishing touches to
put on it.
He's not
constructing it.
It's ready and
waiting for the
moment Jesus returns
for his people.
people.
So to recap this
reason, God's
already caused us
to be born again.
God has given us a
living oak tree
hope.
And we have a
future inheritance
and salvation of
epic proportions.
This is the
reason Peter gives
to praise the God
and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ.
Now let's look at
verses 6 to 9
to see our
response.
Our response
is to rejoice.
It's to praise him.
It's to delight in
him.
What I love about
what Peter does,
he's been talking
about really deep,
weighty, heavy,
abstract, invisible
things.
Hard to understand
and really kind of
imagine what he's
getting at.
And now Peter
knocks on our
front doors.
And he enters our
living rooms and he
sits down on our
couches and he props
his feet up on our
coffee table.
And he says,
I want you to know
that I'm not aloof,
I'm not ignorant of
any of the real
problems in life.
The ways that our
faith is causing
hardship,
struggles that we're
going through as
Christians.
Peter's saying,
I understand,
I want you to know
that I understand
and I want you to
take heart in the
midst of these things.
Whether you're
battling a temptation
that just,
you can't shake
free of and you're
stumbling more than
you're succeeding.
Whether you have
family tensions
because an unbelieving
sibling or an
unbelieving child is
just kind of running
amok and maybe
they're distancing
themselves from you
because you want
them to know Jesus
and they're just
resistant to the
gospel.
Maybe it's a
godly grief that you
see as you look out
from your home and
you say,
Lord, look at all
these people around
here and they don't
know Jesus.
They're perishing in
their sins.
Some of us in this
room, some of us
dear to this church
have had unrelenting
physical or mental
difficulties that are
threatening to
dismantle our faith
altogether.
And around the world
there's folks suffering
persecution for their
faith and Peter says,
I know it all.
I understand it all.
I'm not making light.
I'm not minimizing any
of this in your
lives.
We can say what I'm
getting at here because
in verse 6 he says,
though you've been
grieved by trials.
These are grievous,
real things.
Life is hard.
Peter understands that.
He's not living in a
vacuum just saying,
rejoice and praise God.
I'll see you when you
get through this mess.
He's in it.
He understands it.
And not only that,
he says, there's another
thing that makes it
really, really hard to
praise God now.
If you look down at
verse 8, he says,
he recognizes that as an
apostle, he was someone
who saw Jesus.
He walked with him.
He saw the miracles.
He saw him on the
cross.
He saw the empty tomb
and then he saw him
alive.
And all of the
recipients of this
letter, they didn't have
that luxury.
He says, though you
have not seen him.
And then he goes on,
though you do not now
see him.
That's the reality too,
right?
People going, Lord, I
see hardship.
I see trials.
They're right in front of
my face.
And Peter says, yeah,
I know.
Rejoicing and praise
require faith now.
They require us to walk
not by what we see, but
by what God has declared
in Christ to be true.
That's why four times in
verses 5 to 9, Peter uses
this word faith.
You can look at them.
In verse 5, it's that we're
being guarded through faith.
Verse 7, that the tested
genuineness of your faith.
Verse 8, it's a little
tricky because the word
believe just means you
have faith in him.
You believe in him.
And then verse 9, it's
this inexpressible joy is
because, verse 9, you're
obtaining the outcome of
your faith.
Peter understands, church,
that present circumstances
and what we can see with
our two eyes
always threaten to steal
the praise that's due our
God.
When we focus on our
circumstances,
the trials and sufferings of
our lives, we end up
focusing on ourselves.
ourselves.
Our eyes are off of God
and praise is far from
our lips.
When we live by what we
see, we can easily, right,
become so discouraged
and discontented
and even deceived.
Peter says, if you want to
honor God and respond to
this call to persist in
praise, your focus needs to
be here on your living hope
in a future resurrection that
began when God raised you to
a new life.
You focus on your living
hope, your oak tree hope for
a future salvation because
God has given you life in
Christ.
You rejoice by faith.
Friends, if you're in the
room struggling to rejoice,
I just encourage you, check
your faith.
It's probably on empty.
Ask God by His Holy Spirit to
impart faith into your
hearts.
strengthen your resolve to
believe this truth because
when you believe it,
rejoicing comes.
Just three quick things to
notice in these verses.
Verses 6 and 7, Peter says
that legitimate faith is
tested faith.
Right?
God uses trials to test and
refine and strengthen our
faith.
It's how God operates.
This isn't something
strange.
God forges faith in the fire
of affliction like a
goldsmith forges and
purifies gold in fire.
That's what Peter's getting
at.
And we see this lived out by
our Lord and Savior Jesus,
who for the joy set before
Him endured the cross,
despising the shame.
Hebrews 12.
This means that grumbling,
anxiety,
despair,
by faith ought to be
replaced with praise.
If faith is precious to us,
church,
we can rejoice in trials,
in the midst of them,
because they strengthen our
faith that is precious to us.
Second thing to notice,
verse 7,
is that this tested faith
will be celebrated by God
in the last day.
God applauds the forged
and purified faith of His
people.
That's the honor and praise
and glory language there.
When Jesus comes back,
God will say,
well done to all of His
people who by faith were
tested in trials and
endured,
continuing to praise His
name regardless.
And the last thing to notice
in these verses is that our
focus just matters so much.
Peter starts verse 6 with
this,
in this you rejoice.
maybe better worded,
because of this.
And he's talking about these
invisible spiritual realities.
This new birth that God
has given to us in Jesus
Christ.
The inheritance and the
salvation that's coming.
Peter says,
in these things you're
rejoicing,
though right now,
life is difficult.
And in verse 9,
he says,
you're rejoicing with an
inexpressible joy because
you're obtaining salvation.
Faith has a finish line,
friends,
when Jesus comes back.
Essentially,
Peter is saying that
rejoicing now requires
a faith gaze.
We must gaze by faith to
remember who God is,
to remember what God has
done,
to remember what God is
doing,
and to remember what God
will do.
We persist in praise by
faith today.
One day,
we will persist in praise by
sight when Jesus returns.
Well, if we had time to
jump into 10 to 12,
the R I would use would
be research.
Research that validates
the praise that Peter is
calling all of the people
of God to.
The prophets of the Old
Testament and the angelic
host are just dying to see
the salvation of the
people of God.
Just give me a glimpse of
this.
Where do I have to go to
figure out who they're
talking about and what
God means?
If you don't think
they're diligent inquiring
and searching validates
praise,
I'll try and build a case
a little bit later,
but it's amazing.
They're just astonished
by this salvation,
and they want to see it.
They want to look into it.
And this is angels.
People are in the,
beings who are in the
presence of God.
Blessed be the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
That's what Peter says.
He's praiseworthy,
so persist in praising
him always.
That's the message of our
text today.
To conclude, I just want to
try and answer for us,
how?
Okay, I see it in the text,
I'm going to persist in
praise, but how do I do
that?
Remember that first and
foremost, praise is a
matter of the heart.
Peter is not here
primarily interested in
arms waving and falling
on our face, kind of
external things.
Right?
Those are important, but
he's addressing our
hearts.
Praise flows from a
heart that is glad in God.
God, we praise who we
adore.
If you're not sure how to
grow in your delight for
God, I just encourage you
to meditate on your
salvation.
Here's some scripture
verses that you might want
to go to.
If you've got a pen, you can
write them down.
This passage in 1 Peter is
great.
There are many others.
Ephesians chapters 1 and 2.
Colossians 1 verse 13 and
14, and then get into some
of chapter 2 as well.
The book of Titus has two
glorious descriptions of
salvation in chapter 2
verses 11 to 14 and
chapter 3 verses 5 to 8.
Of course, Revelation 5 where
we see the Lamb worshipped
because he was slain to
ransom people from every
tribe, nation, language, and
tongue.
Reflect on these passages and
ask God to fill your heart
with praise.
He will.
He's jealous for the praise
of his name.
He'll fill your heart with
praise.
Second, in answering how, we
need to engage in it.
Engage in praise.
large variety of what this
could look like.
Let me give you a couple.
Prayers that tell God of his
great worth.
Singing praises even if you're
tone deaf.
Being present here in this
place week after week after
week for worship.
So that you join your voices
and your hearts with the
body of Christ and praise.
Well, how do I engage in
praise and hardship and hard
things and trials?
You need to see them as God's
means of building your faith.
God intends to use them for
good in your life.
You need to turn your eyes away
from your circumstances and
away from yourself and put them
on to the God of your
salvation.
You'll find that praising is
possible because God is good
all the time.
Even in the hardest things of
life, God is good.
Finally, how do we persist in
praise?
Well, it's really a lifestyle.
It's not like, well, from 11 in
the morning until noon I'm going
to praise God and then I'm
going to go back to baking
biscuits.
It's not what the Bible would
call us to.
It's a lifestyle.
It goes beyond a church service
on Sunday mornings.
It goes beyond being in a life
group.
It goes beyond the singing of
praise music.
It's a life aimed at him.
Living for him and for his glory
alone.
It's a life that prioritizes the
kingdom of God above all things.
Essentially, it's committing to a
lifestyle that obeys God.
We adore and honor God when we
keep his word.
It's praising him.
It's why in verse 2 of 1 Peter 1, it
says that this whole deal is for the
obedience to Jesus Christ.
Peter starts with worship and the
praiseworthiness of God and then the
rest of the letter, he goes into all
these ways that high and low, good and
bad, we praise God by pressing into the
world and into life and obedience and
faith.
And it's a lifestyle in which we are
eager to share Jesus with other people.
We praise God by speaking to others
about the greatness of God.
That Psalm 145, one generation shall
commend your works to another.
We commend the works of God over and
over to our wives and husbands, to our
children, to our friends, to our
families.
And we share him with those who don't
know him.
Telling them how they too can come under
this glorious, precious, saving reign of
God in Christ.
That's how, church.
We do it together by faith.
That's what God wants for us at the end
of this year, as we launch into a new
year, to persist in praising the God of
our salvation.
God, be praised as we do.
Let's pray.
Father, thank you for your word.
You're praiseworthy.
And so we praise you.
Thank you that we have a chance to
immediately respond by opening our
mouths, singing this final song.
But I pray more than that.
God, as we leave this church building,
we would still be poised to praise you
in everything we do.
Holy Spirit, please help us.
We need your help.
God, as we go about our lives praising you,
we pray that Jesus would be glorified and
made much of.
It's in and through him we pray.
Amen.