Gtcotr/ss031614
Less
than a decade before the Apostle Peter was imprisoned at Rome and subsequently
executed by order of Nero, Peter was believed by many to have visited the
ancient city of Babylon on the Euphrates. This is the city where great kings
had ruled the world and where men and women of faith had lived and trusted
their lives to God centuries before Messiah was born in Bethlehem. (2 Kings 24;
Daniel 2:49)
Believed
to be written from this city between AD60 and AD63 by the hand of Peter to
those Christians living throughout the provinces of Asia Minor, the book of
First Peter continues to serve as a standard to all who have faith in Jesus as
the Christ, the Son of God and Savior of the world.
This
mature Apostle who had walked on earth as a close friend and chosen disciple of
Messiah hungered for others to know the love of Christ and the joy and peace
available through faith in Him. Peter had witnessed the hardships this world
could offer and had at one point bowed to the temptations of the devil and had
denied ever knowing Jesus of Nazareth.
Now,
late in the season of his life this pillar of the Church is found busy
spreading the Gospel of Jesus both in his travels to foreign countries and by
way of letters to those in far reaching places where he might never go. This
letter which we will read from this morning was written with a special purpose
in mind. For near 2000 years now, Peter has continued spreading the Word and
Will of God around the world. Today, these words will speak directly to us with
the same purpose they’ve carried for centuries.
What
is the purpose of his message? Let’s turn to 1 Peter 1 and begin.
1 Peter 1 (NLT)
1 This letter is from Peter,
an apostle of Jesus Christ. I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living
as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia.
2 God the Father knew you and
chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed
Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. May God give you more
and more grace and peace.
3 All praise to God, the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born
again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great
expectation,
4 and we have a priceless
inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled,
beyond the reach of change and decay.
5 And through your faith, God
is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready
to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
1. God chose you before the foundation of the
world.
2. When you say “Yes” to Him, you are eternally
cleansed.
3. Only then can a person live with great
expectation.
4. There is a priceless inheritance beyond the
reach of change or decay.
5. Through faith God’s children are protected
until their inheritance is revealed for everyone to see.
God
has a family. Some live on earth and some have already gone to heaven. Life is
not always easy on earth, even for the family of God. Nonetheless God’s
children have a priceless inheritance, an inheritance which is kept in heaven
beyond the reach of change or decay.
We are
Saved ~ We are being Saved ~ We will be Saved.
You,
your children and your children’s children can know the grace and the peace and
the eternal provision which God gives His to every member of His family. Are
you living with a great expectation of that priceless inheritance?
Have
you figured out the purpose of this letter yet? It is found in:
1 Peter 5:12 … My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure
you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand
firm in this grace.
