Amen. Well, I would invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to the book of 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 1. The last time that I preached at Waco Family, I had begun a series in 1 Peter, and the last two sermons that I had preached were covering 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 3 through 9. Now, it's been a while. It's been a number of months since that time, and I was going to move forward today in this sermon to verses 10 through 12. But I decided, because it's been so long, it would be a good idea to go ahead and bring back verses 3 through 9 into 10 through 12, and we're going to cover all of those verses today. Don't worry, it won't be three sermons' worth of time. We will have lunch, but we will cover verses 3 through 12 this morning of 1 Peter chapter 1. Please read with me the Word of God. 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, 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. 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, though it perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 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. 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. It was revealed to them that they were not serving 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. Let's pray. God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, we approach your holy throne this morning in his name, in his resurrected righteousness, trusting that in Christ you will hear our prayers, that you will bless this preaching of your word, that you would guide the preacher in truth, that you would guard the preacher from false teaching, that you would work by your spirit in this preaching in both the preacher and in those who are hearing this preaching. We pray that this word, that your word, would be worked in us for our good and for your glory. We pray this in Jesus' holy name, amen. Well, it goes without saying that we are living in historic times, that this COVID-19 pandemic has swept across America and the whole world, causing a anxiety, suffering, trials, and affliction for many people, and to varying degrees. There are those who are taking advantage of this trying time, as many often do, who would promote self-care as their gospel, self-help, who would tell us, who would have us to believe that the way to make it through this trying time is to indulge in first world luxuries, to avail yourself of all the privileges that we have, to watch Netflix, to enjoy face creams or whatever else might help us to feel good in this time, that that is our hope. There are others who would have us to believe that the way to avoid getting sick, to avoid contracting this virus or anything else that would be a threat to our health and prosperity is just to have enough faith, that if you have enough faith your life will be good. Those that would have us believe that to enter into the Christian life is to enter into a good and easy and comfortable life here on earth. Those who would preach a gospel that goes, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him would not endure trials, but would have an easy life. This is a false gospel. This is a false gospel that does not offer much. It offers no more than worldly ease. It raises no higher than the heights of this world. The true gospel, the gospel of God, the gospel that we read in scripture, tells us more and gives us more. God does not hide from us the fact that life happens, that hardships come, that trials will arise in our lives. they might, but that they will. That we are not called out of this world, but that we are called to be lights in this world. And in doing so, that we have to endure and to be a part of this fallen world in which we live. God has not promised to give us an easy life, a comfortable life, as many would have us to believe. He has promised us a fulfilling life, a content life, and a joyful life. Christ, but that is apart from and despite the pressures and hardships and trials of this world. So as Peter writes this letter to suffering Christians, and as he writes to Christians who are going to suffer even more than they now are, he begins the body of this letter in verse 3 with a doxology, with a praise to the God of Scripture. And he says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. What kind of a letter on suffering begins with a doxology, with a praise to the God who is allowing these trials and afflictions to continue to go on and on in our lives? Many might ask. Many Christians might ask. What place does a doxology have in the beginning of a letter that is written to encourage us in trials? And the answer is that Peter could not begin this letter in any other way. That to write of encouragement, to give Christians the Christian perspective on suffering and trials in this world, Peter had no other place to start than with a praise to the holy God. And so he does, and so he praises God at the very beginning of this letter. Calvin puts it this way. Calvin says that the purpose of this letter, is not to keep us in this world or to elevate us in the world. The purpose of this letter, Calvin says, is to raise us above the world. And that's Peter's purpose, and that is God's purpose in the gospel. We're not promised an elevated or raised status in this world. We're not promised a more comfortable life. We're not promised to ascend to the heights of this world. We're promised the heights of the world above. We're promised greater glory. We're promised to be elevated in Christ, to be sons and daughters of the God Almighty of the universe. That is far better than any promises that concern this world below. And so Calvin and Peter and Jesus Christ and the God whose word this is would not have us to hope in this world, but would have us to hope in the things above, in the things of Christ, to raise our gaze from this world up to God and the heavenly things. If we're to have a right Christian perspective, our sight is to be set upon God. And Peter doesn't just give us this general advice saying, well, put your gaze upon God and everything will be better. No, he gives us specifics. He goes on to say, in the second part of verse three, that 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. Brothers and sisters, our hope is a living hope. The hope that God has raised us to is in Christ and not in this world. Peter is saying, consider, remember what God has done. Don't consider the things of the world. Consider what God has done. God has chosen you as his elect. God has caused you to be born again. He's given you the second birth that allows us life in Christ after death in this world. God has chosen us, and he has caused us to be born again, and he has united us to his son in his death, burial, and resurrection. And then Peter says, not only remember what God has done, remember who you are. Remember who you are in Christ. Because God has united us through faith in Christ, we as the church are the bride of Christ. And as our modern wedding vows remind us, Marriage is a union for better or for worse. And our union with Christ includes the worst and the best. Our union with Christ includes the sufferings that he endured. And our union with Christ includes the glories that he enjoys. We cannot leave out either side. We're the bride of Christ. All that is his is ours. Our reward in Christ, Peter says, is imperishable, undefiled, 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. As we go through life, we rejoice because we're in Christ. We rejoice that our citizenship is not primarily in this world, but that our citizenship is in heaven, that our primary identity is not in this world, but that our primary identity is in heaven. And so as we go through trials and afflictions, as we talk to our neighbors and our loved ones and hear about the sufferings that they're enduring because of the sin and the fallenness of this world, we remember that this is not our hope. We remember that there is more to come. We remember that our hope comes later in subsequent glories Christ Jesus. And so Peter would have us to remember our citizenship above, but we still do have a citizenship below. Peter reminds us that we are a part of this world. Later in this letter, he tells us that we have an adversary, the devil, who is prowling around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He is seeking your destruction, Christians, Ephesians 6, Paul gives us a very similar warning. He tells us that we should watch for the fiery darts of Satan, that they are coming for us as Christians. But Peter and Paul, the message of Scripture does not only give us a warning, a promise of danger in this world, a promise of suffering and affliction and trial to come in this world, They also promise protection. Later in Ephesians 6, Paul continues to say that we are guarded by a shield of faith. And Peter says here in 1 Peter that by God's power, we are guarded through faith. By the strength of God, we are being preserved. We will endure the trials of this world. We will endure the fiery darts of Satan. and we will enter into the glories of Christ to come. So we're promised protection. But normally when trials arise, protection is not the first wonder or the first concern of either Christians or non-Christians. Usually when troubles arise, anyone asks the question, why? Why these troubles? Why me? Why this? Why now? It's not uncommon to hear in the times of trials, someone say, if I just had a reason for this, I can go through hard things if there's a light at the end of the dark tunnel. If only there was a purpose behind this. And meaning well, there are many teachers who would say that when troubles come, God is not responsible. That when trials come our way, we have to attribute that not to any sovereignty of God, but to man's free will and God's relinquishing of control over how the universe is to go. These people forget that God is sovereign over all things that come to pass and that that is not good news, that that does not say anything bad about God, that does not attribute any wickedness or evil to him, but that it gives us hope in God's goodness because he is not wicked and evil, but because the God that we serve is righteous and good. And so we trust that God does have purposes in all that comes to pass. Those trials that are not easy, those trials which try us, are a grace of God. And Peter gives us here two purposes for trials in our lives. First, the trials serve the glory of God. And second, they serve our edification. sanctification, our being built up and conformed to the image of our Holy Lord Jesus Christ. And so every trial works to those two goals, the glory of God and the good of God's people. So Peter says, in this you rejoice, verse 6, 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." So we're reminded that in ancient metallurgy, at the time that Peter wrote this letter, in the working of precious metals of gold and silver, gold is the metal used here, we're reminded that fire served a purpose. That something as hot, something that burns as bad as fire, is used for good, it serves a purpose. And the first purpose that Peter mentions here is that it purifies, excuse me, that the purity of gold is tested. That when someone claims that this gold is truly pure, we can subject it to heat, we can melt it down, and that in doing so, we can see how pure the gold really is. We can assess the workmanship and the truth of the gold in question. It is to the glory of God that his workmanship is tested. And we're reminded that we are God's workmanship. We are new creations in Christ Jesus, worked for good works, which God has predestined beforehand that we should walk in them. One of my favorite memories from childhood comes from spending the afternoons with my granddad in his woodworking shop. And they were great afternoons for me. I learned a lot. I learned from him how to work with saws, how to work with wood, how to measure twice and cut once. He helped me to make simple things like boxes and bookends. That was about the height of my woodworking career. But what I loved most is the things that he would make. The more intricate, the more complex. pieces that he would create with his own talent, with his own handiwork. And I remember especially the puzzles that he would make with pieces that moved and had to be cut just exactly in the right ways to unlock and to come back together in this wood puzzle. And I remember most of all the joy and the happiness that I had in going to his woodworking shop when he had completed that workmanship to test it and to see if it would actually work, to see if he had built something well, something that would stand the tests that we would give it, if it would do what it was meant to do. And when those puzzles worked, it was a testament to the craftsmanship and the skill of my granddad. How much more, when we as God's workmanship are tested will his workmanship and the glory of his creation be magnified and known throughout all the ends of the earth on that last day? How much more will God be glorified? But these trials don't only stand to test us for the glory of God, they also test us for our own good. Gold was purified by fire. It wasn't only tested by fire, it was also purified by fire. Solid gold would be heated by fire and melted into liquid. The dross, or the impurities, would rise to the surface, and those impurities could be scraped off the top, leaving only the pure gold. This is a picture that Peter gives us of the trials that we go through, the trials by fire, which we endure and which work for our good. James chapter 1 beginning in verse 2, he says something very similar to what Peter has to say. He says, Paul in Romans 5 says yet another similar thing. He says beginning in verse 3, Not only that, he says, but we rejoice in our sufferings. This joy in suffering is a common thing through all these authors of scripture. We rejoice in our sufferings knowing that the suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame. Our trials purify us, our trials serve by the working of God to sanctify us and to purify us and to give us hope, to conform us to the image of Christ. And they serve as one more reminder to us that we are being conformed to that holy image, that in everything that we endure, we can trust that God is going to be glorified and that we are going to be made more like Christ. So we rejoice in our trials. We actually not just put up with them, We can't just make it through them, but we rejoice in our trials because they are for the glory of God and for the good of his people. Now Peter uses gold to illustrate this, but he quickly acknowledges that there's a problem with gold. He says the problem with gold is that it perishes though it is tested by fire. Even the purest gold, Peter says, that has been tested by fire still perishes. The problem with gold is that it is of the world, and that it is vain, that it is a mist that vanishes at dawn. It's not lasting. You can heap up for yourself piles of gold in this world, and it gets you nothing in the next. Gold is vain. It perishes. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, acknowledges this same point. He exhorts us, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But he says, lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Christ is telling us the same thing that Peter is telling us, and that is that we are not to look to the world for our riches, we are not to look in the world for our treasures. Jesus is not commanding poverty here, He's not commanding that we cannot own gold in this world. He's not commanding that we must give up all worldly blessings. God has blessed us, and we should enjoy those material blessings. But, as with the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, and as is in perfect harmony with Peter's point here in 1 Peter, the heart is what matters. You can enjoy blessings in this world. You can enjoy those material things that God has given us to enjoy. but the focus is on the heart, and your heart must not be in this world. For Christ says, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We must not focus on material things. Whether that be the job that we have, because you could be jobless tomorrow. Whether it be the home that you have, because you could be homeless tomorrow. And that is not so outside of the realm of possibility. Not too long ago, I received a prayer request for a family whose house burned in the middle of the night. They all escaped, but they were left with absolutely nothing but the clothes on their backs. You may lose your home. You may have loved ones with whom you're spending time today who may enter into eternity tomorrow. You may enter into eternity tomorrow. We cannot set our hearts in this world, we must set our hearts in Christ and on the things of Christ. We must seek first the kingdom of God. And so Peter says, our hope is in Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and you rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. And so we find our hope in Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we love Christ for this salvation that we have in Christ, which Peter outlines in verses 3 through 9. And so then when we come to verse 10, Peter says, concerning this salvation, concerning all of the glories that Peter unpacks for us in verses 3 through 9, concerning the very salvation that God worked for you, brothers and sisters. Peter says, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully. Now we have a different experience in our own lives than did the Christians to whom Peter initially wrote this letter. For those of us listening to this today, we have lived our entire lives in a world marked by church history. We've entered into a church with almost 2,000 years of history of Christians older brothers and sisters who have gone on before and share the same faith once for all delivered to the Saints. The Christians in the first century to whom Peter wrote this letter had a slightly different experience. Yes, they were part of the same faith, but the world around them told them otherwise. To the pagan nations around them, to the pagan religions, Christianity was new on the scene. It had no real roots. It was considered a branch off of Judaism, but the Jewish scholars and authorities in Jerusalem shunned Christianity as a heresy. The Christians were told by everyone around them that they were new, that they were novel, that their faith had no roots, that they had abandoned their roots, that they had no older brothers and sisters who had once held to the same faith, and it's understandable that when sufferings began to come their way, that they would wonder, as it is natural to wonder, are we suffering because we've been unfaithful to God? Is God pouring out suffering on us because we have turned from truth to this new religion called Christianity? And so Peter comes in and says in chapter 1, verse 10, he reminds the Christians that their faith is That they have not turned from truth to untruth. That their religion is not novel. That it is rooted in the very creator of all things. It is as old as can be. And that the prophets of the Old Testament, that the grace of which those prophets searched and inquired, the grace of which they wrote and they prophesied and they studied and they prayed about, that was the same grace that was to be delivered to you. as Christians. These prophets, Christians said, had two questions. They inquired what person and what time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating. They wondered when the Messiah would come. They knew there was a Messiah and that he was to come, and they wondered. They didn't have all the information about him that we now have. They wondered who will he be? When will he come? Could he be alive now? Could I live to see the Messiah? There were things they did not know. But there were also key, essential doctrines of the faith which they did know. Doctrines that are enough for salvation. Doctrines that define the gospel of Christ and that these prophets knew and believed. We are told that the Spirit of Christ in them predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. They knew that not only would Christ come, but that he would suffer, and that thereafter he would be glorified. They knew the gospel, not in as much detail as we do now, but they had it, and they trusted in it, and they were saved in it. We see this gospel in the later prophets, we can find it in Isaiah, we can find it in Ezekiel, this theme of suffering and subsequent glories of the Messiah, of the Christ. But we can go all the way back to the earliest piece of scripture, to the earliest time, the story that is told beginning in the beginning. And we go to Genesis 3, verse 15, after Adam has sinned and plunged humanity into sin and death. God promises to Adam and to Eve that there will be a seed of Eve who will redeem humanity from Adam's sin. And it is promised that he will crush the head of the serpent. But that victory over death, that victory over sin, that victory over the serpent does not come without a cost. And the cost is that the serpent would also bruise the heel of that Messiah. And so even as far back as Genesis 3, we see this gospel of the sufferings of Christ and of the subsequent glories. they saw Christ who suffered and was glorified. And as they looked forward to that Christ who suffered and was glorified, they looked to the same Christ and the same sufferings and the same glorification that we now look at in retrospect and prospectively for all of eternity. We should expect to suffer as did Christ. We should remind ourselves, as we did before, that we are the bride of Christ, that all that is his is ours. Christ promises his disciples in John 15 that a servant is not above his master, and that if the world persecuted Christ, that it will persecute his disciples also. Paul writes that all those who wish to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. It's a promise. Suffering will come. Our life will not be as easy as it would be if we were not Christians, but it's worth it because of the glories that are to come. Peter makes clear here and scripture makes clear all throughout that suffering and glory are two certainties in the Christian life and that they must not be considered apart from each other. There is no glory in the Christian life apart from suffering. and there is no suffering apart from glory. Remember the words of Paul in Romans 8, that wonderful chapter where he says that we are made co-heirs with Christ provided that we suffer with him in order that we might also be glorified with him. There is no glory apart from suffering in the Christian life. And on the flip side, there is no suffering apart from glory. He continues in the very next verse to say that he considers that the sufferings of this world, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glories that will be revealed to us. When we endure these sufferings, no matter what they may be, whether they be general sufferings like this virus that is raining on the just and the unjust alike, or whether they be specific sufferings as we are persecuted for our faith, or anything in between, the sufferings that we endure are to be viewed in perspective of the glory that is to come. And we should remember that we are following in Christ's footsteps, that he would not have us go anywhere which he did not first go. He was willing to suffer and to die for us, knowing that there would be glory to come. and not only glory on his own part, but glory that would include all of us who are in Christ. He died for us. How would we not be willing to die for him? Our sufferings should be held in this light. And then we are told that these prophets, it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you. And it is for us to know that the prophets were not serving themselves, but were serving us. Paul says in Romans 15.4 that whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures, we might have hope. The prophets wrote for us that we might have hope, that we might endure, that we might be strengthened in the knowledge that our faith is historic and is true and is the faith of our forefathers. and is worth suffering for, and is worth dying for. The prophets serve to further prove to us the historicity and the veracity of our salvation as they prophesy the very gospel, the very grace that is to be given to us. It is no coincidence that the grace which we have received is exactly the same grace which they predicted. It's no coincidence that The Christ who brought us that grace is the same Messiah whom they predicted. Micah predicted long ago that the Messiah would be born in the unlikely place of Bethlehem. Zechariah predicted that the Christ would be sold out for exactly 30 pieces of silver. Psalm 22 predicts in surprising detail the crucifixion of Christ long before that method of torture and death was known. Psalm 16 promises us that the Messiah will not see corruption, which makes necessary his glorious resurrection, which promises us that after suffering comes glory for the Messiah and for all those who are in the Messiah, who are in Christ. So they were serving not themselves, but you. And so the same gospel of grace that they wrote of thousands of years ago is the same gospel of grace that is preached to you today, that has been preached to you, that will be preached to you by those who preach you the good news by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Brothers and sisters, this grace of the gospel, this gospel, the good news that Christ suffered and died and was glorified, that he might bring many sons to glory. that God would accept as sons in Christ those who previously sinned against him. That gospel of amazing grace is something into which even angels long to look. Brothers and sisters, we are the most privileged of all of creation to have, after sinning against that holy God, be given sonship in his heaven. It is beyond imagination. It is beyond comprehension. It is infinite grace, and it is amazing grace, and we should not look past it. We can't underestimate it. We can't undervalue and underappreciate this grace. We must look to see it for what it is. We must pray that we would appreciate the amazing grace of God in this gospel, and that we would keep it in view even when sufferings come. our way. For those of you, friends, who might be watching this or listening to it, who have not repented of their sins and placed their trust in Christ alone, now is the time. Do not lay up for yourself treasures here on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal, those treasures, friend, are not worth it. They will not satisfy, they will not bring you joy. Christ alone will bring you joy. So repent, cling to Christ. Cling to Christ. For it is only in him that there is salvation. For his is the name given under heaven and the only name by which all men must be saved. Repent and place your trust in Christ. and take part in this glorious resurrection. Come to appreciate your citizenship in this world above so that you don't have to be downcast by the sufferings here below. But friend, if you do not place your trust in Christ, you have nothing beyond this world. Thomas Manton puts it this way, Puritan Thomas Manton, Affliction, he says, does not make the people of God miserable. There's a great deal of difference, he says, between a Christian and a man of the world. His best estate is vanity. If you're a man of the world, if you are a person of the world, your best position is vanity. But he goes on, a Christian's worst is happiness, even in suffering and affliction. We Christians cling to Christ, we love Christ, we rejoice in Christ, and our worst estate is happiness. The world can do no more to us than to usher us into the presence of Christ. So brothers and sisters, cling to Christ, rejoice in Christ, love Christ, because Christ is our everything.