SPEAKER_00 0:00

This morning scripture is 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 6 through 12. 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's 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 suffering of Christ and the subsequent glories. 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 preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. This is the word of the Lord.

SPEAKER_03 1:34

Okay, Stephen. I'm wanting us to do a video about suffering, rejoicing in trials. What do you got ideas for? Man, um wait.

SPEAKER_02 1:47

Perfect idea. What's that? Back in the James series, uh kind of talked about the same thing. Remember we did that video with like rejoicing, and we had the air horns and the confusion.

SPEAKER_03 1:56

Yeah, no, that was that was ridiculous. It was a great video. People loved it. Now, okay, well, like what else you got?

SPEAKER_02 2:04

I mean, I I don't know at all. I'll tell you what, let me go think about it and and I'll just get something ready for Sunday. I got you, man.

SPEAKER_03 2:11

All right, all right. I'll just trust you to come with a banger. My email has not been working all day. I can't see any. This is frustrating.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

What causes our joy to flourish? That is the question of the morning. But before we can answer that question, we have to define our terms. What is it that we're causing to flourish in the first place? What exactly is joy? The world gives us some shallow answers to that question, some shallow definitions of joy. I don't know if you've ever heard of that candy, almond joy. Apparently, joy is coconut covered in melted chocolate and sold to you for 99 cents. Or perhaps you've met somebody new, and as you walk away from the interaction, that person says, It was a joy to meet you. Apparently, joy is a positive interaction with someone new. Or maybe you've said about one of your hobbies before. You know, golf brings me so much joy. Apparently, joy is doing something you like. Now, don't get me wrong, candy's fine. I have a sweet tooth. I love meeting new people, I have hobbies, but that can't be all there is to joy. There's a deeper definition of joy, a better definition of true joy. Here's a definition of Christian joy adapted from John Piper. It's this: True joy is a God-given good feeling in the soul that transcends our circumstances. Let me say that again. True joy is a God-given good feeling in the soul that transcends our circumstances. That's true joy. It doesn't come from within us. True joy doesn't well up inside of us, it comes from outside of us. It's given to us by God. And it also transcends our circumstances. It doesn't matter if almond joy is out of stock at Walmart, or you have a rude interaction with someone new, or your 18-hole golf game ends in the triple digits, it doesn't matter. True joy transcends your circumstances. And so if true joy is a God-given good feeling in the soul that transcends our circumstances, what causes it to flourish? What causes true joy, Christian joy, biblical joy, what causes it to flourish? Well, Peter has some principles regarding this question for us in 1 Peter. So if you haven't already, turn with me in your Bibles to the book of 1 Peter, chapter 1, 1 Peter chapter 1, and I'll meet you there in just a moment to discuss what causes our joy to flourish. Well, this morning we are continuing our living hope series through the books of 1 and 2 Peter. We began the series last Sunday, and as we discussed last Sunday, the Apostle Peter is the author of these letters. Now, the author of these letters is also the name of the letters, 1 Peter, 2 Peter. That's not always the case. I think about 1 and 2 Timothy. The name of those letters and those books is also the recipient of the letters. But here in our series, 1 and 2 Peter, the names of the books is it's the author of the books, the Apostle Peter. And that's really important, brothers and sisters, because you know Peter. Other than Jesus, Peter is the person written about the most in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And then in the book of Acts, Peter goes on to accomplish some great things for the early church. You know Peter. And it's that Peter who you know that wrote this letter. Also, as we discussed last week, the original audience for 1 and 2 Peter is Jewish converts who have been exiled to Gentile territories. Now that audience is important for a couple of reasons. One, they are Jewish. Throughout the letter, throughout 1 and 2 Peter, Peter will make reference to Old Testament verses and stories and images, and he won't explain the reference as if his audience just knows what he's talking about because they do. They're Jewish, they have familiarity with the Old Testament. They're also Jewish exiles in Gentile territories. They're living in a foreign land. They're living somewhere they don't belong. And as a result of being exiled, they suffer. They go through persecution and trials and tribulation. And so oftentimes Peter will reference in his letters persecution and trials and tribulation. And today we'll be one such instance. You'll see Peter talk about trials in verses six and seven. Now, as the Holy Spirit inspired Peter to write these letters, he did have an original audience of literal exiles in literal Gentile territories in mind. But the Holy Spirit also had you in mind, brothers and sisters. You and me, we are spiritual exiles in this land. As Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 3, verse 20, our true citizenship is in heaven. Our citizenship is not here on this earth. As a result, we should live differently. We should be set apart and we should long to go home. Our citizenship is in heaven. One of the ways we should live differently and be set apart is the way that we have access to true joy through Jesus. And that true joy flourishes in our lives. That's one of the ways that we're set apart as citizens of heaven, exiled in this land. And so what causes our joy to flourish? Well, let's take some notes this morning, brothers and sisters. Let's take some notes. Number one on your notes is this responding to trials God's way. What causes our joy to flourish? Well, responding to trials God's way causes our joy to flourish. Look with me in verses six and seven of our passage today. 1 Peter 1, verses 6 and 7. In verse 6, Peter says, In this you rejoice. Now we have to pause there and figure out what is the reference, what is the antecedent, if you will, for the word this. To what is Peter referring? You see, between verses 5 and 6, at our church, we've taken a one-week break. But Peter took as much as a breath between verses 5 and 6. And so we look back at verses 4 and 5, and we learn that Peter told us last week in verse 4 about the inheritance that is awaiting us. And he also told us about the salvation from the very presence of sin that is awaiting us. In verse 6, Peter tells us that in those future realities we rejoice right now in the present. In this you rejoice. He's referring to those future realities described in verses 4 and 5. But then Peter goes on in verse 6. And he says, While you wait for those future realities to materialize, you will suffer. While you wait, you will experience trials of various kinds that will grieve you. You see, brothers and sisters, if you thought that following Jesus was your ticket to a pain-free life, then I'm sorry to inform you, you were sold a false gospel. Jesus on the cross, he was agonized and he suffered in your place and in my place. And when we follow Jesus, we suffer. We experience trials of various kinds. And some of you may still be struggling with that concept. How could a good and loving God allow anyone to suffer, especially his children? I heard one preacher put it this way: if God has nothing at all to do with our suffering and our trials, then we of all people are most to be pitied. It is God's very control over our trials and his purpose in them that gives us comfort and allows us to rejoice. God has control over the trials and he has a purpose for them, and that allows us to rejoice in the midst of those trials. Peter tells us that our trials are varied. We experience various trials. You see, you will experience a trial or a series of trials in your life, and it'll be different from what the person to your left goes through or the person to your right goes through. But I heard one preacher say this that though our trials may be various, our response as Christians should be uniform, rejoicing. When you experience trials of various kinds, you should respond by rejoicing, no matter what the trial is. Perhaps the most intriguing part of verse 6 to me is Peter's mention of grief. He says that when you experience trials of various kinds, it may grieve you. This is interesting to me because that word grieve or grief comes just moments after and just words after Peter mentions joy. Did you know joy and grief are not incompatible? The same trials that cause you to grieve may simultaneously be causing your joy to flourish. Joy and grief are not incompatible. Peter goes on in verse 7 to give us the purpose and the reason for various trials in our lives. Peter says that God is testing the genuineness of our faith. Now we know from James chapter 1, verse 13, that God cannot tempt us. God is incapable of tempting us to sin, but he can test us. He can test our faith to see if it's genuine. And Peter tells us in verse 7 that when our faith is tested and proven genuine, he says the result is we praise God, we glorify God, and we honor his name. That's what it says in verse 7. In the middle of verse 7, Peter gives us a built-in illustration of how trials test our faith to see if it's genuine. He says that trials to our faith, it's kind of like fire to gold. Gold has timeless value. Gold is valuable today. Gold was valuable back then. You think about the gold standard or the golden age or the golden rule. Gold has timeless value. And Peter is saying that fire to gold is kind of like trials to our faith. You see, here's what a first century goldsmith would do. A first century goldsmith would put gold in the fire long enough to melt the impurities away, but not too long to damage the gold itself. Check this out, church. I don't want you to miss this. This is super cool. What a first century goldsmith would do, he would put the gold in the fire long enough to melt the impurities away, and he would know that the gold had been in the fire long enough when he could see his face reflected in the gold. How cool is that? God allows trials in our lives to melt away impurities. And he knows it's been long enough when he can see his face reflected in our lives. I heard one preacher put it this way that when we're going through trials, when we're being refined, when our faith is being tested, God has one eye on the clock and he has one hand on the thermostat. God is in control of our trials and he has a purpose in them to refine our faith and to prove our faith genuine. He wants to see his face reflected in our lives. And it's when we respond to trials God's way with rejoicing that joy can flourish in our lives. There's a parallel passage to 1 Peter 1, 6 and 7 in the book of James. We saw some of that passage in our pre-sermon video today. James chapter 1, verses 2 through 4. James says, Count it all joy when you experience trials of various kinds, because those trials produce in you steadfastness. God cannot tempt us, but he can test us. He allows trials in our lives for a reason, for a purpose, and he's calling us to respond the right way. You know, back in the 1920s in the Great Plains of the United States, some farmers tried some innovative farming practices. They plowed up millions of acres of native grass, and in its place, they planted wheat on that acreage. And for a couple of years it worked really well. The wheat flourished, the wheat grew, the farmers profited, the economy was booming until a storm came. In the 1930s, this season was known as the Dust Bowl. The storms came rolling through the Great Plains, and the native grass that used to hold down the topsoil was no longer there. And so all the soil got picked up into the air, and there were these giant dust storms that covered crops and killed crops. And these dust storms, they covered livestock and killed livestock and covered homes and ruined houses. A crop and an economy that was booming all of a sudden collapsed when a storm came rolling through. You see, the wheat was indeed flourishing, but it was flourishing because there were perfect external conditions, not because of the soil it was planted in. And the moment a storm came rolling through, the wheat withered and died. I wonder about you this morning, brothers and sisters. I wonder if your joy is flourishing for the right reasons. Is your joy flourishing today because of perfect external conditions? Or is your joy flourishing because it's planted in the person and work of Jesus Christ? Your joy should be flourishing because it's planted in the person and the work of Jesus Christ. And here's the thing: when your joy is planted in Jesus, you're not just ready to withstand a storm. You're not just ready to withstand a trial. The divine irony is that suffering and trials actually causes your joy to flourish. If your joy is planted in Jesus and not in external circumstances. When we respond to trials God's way, that causes our joy to flourish. Hey church, let's take some more notes this morning. Number two on your notes is this. Number two, operating in unwavering faith. What causes our joy to flourish? Well, operating in unwavering faith causes your joy to flourish. Look with me in verse eight of today's passage. In 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 8, Peter says, You did not see Jesus like I saw Jesus, but you still love him. And you do not see Jesus today like I saw Jesus, but you still believe in him. Peter got to see Jesus in some pretty special ways, didn't he? Peter got to see Jesus walk on water. Peter got to see Jesus calm a raging storm. Peter got to see Jesus transfigured on a mountain. He saw Jesus give the blind their sight. He saw Jesus heal the sick. He saw Jesus feed the hungry. Peter saw Jesus hanging on a cross. Peter saw Jesus risen from the dead. Peter saw Jesus ascend back to heaven. We did not see Jesus like Peter saw Jesus. And we do not see Jesus today like Peter saw Jesus. But you know what, brothers and sisters? We see Jesus in better, more powerful ways, and as a result, we believe in him and we love him. We get to see Jesus in the completed 66 books of God's Word. Something Peter never got to see. We see Jesus every Sunday morning when the body of Christ gathers together. I see Jesus in the room right now. We see Jesus every time someone gets in the waters of baptism and declares their faith in Christ. We see Jesus every time we take the Lord's Supper and we remember the broken body and the shed blood of Jesus. We see Jesus every time addiction is broken, a prodigal child comes home, a marriage is restored. We get to see Jesus in better and more powerful ways than Peter ever did. And as a result, we believe in Jesus and we love Jesus. Verse 8 of 1 Peter chapter 1. Peter goes on in verse 8 to say, as a result of your belief in Jesus and your love for him, you should rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible. Now that phrasing at the end of verse 8, it seems a bit redundant. You should rejoice with joy. Well, Peter is trying to describe something indescribable. He's trying to express something inexpressible, and all he knows to do is just repeat himself. Rejoice with joy. Rejoice with great joy. Rejoice with joy that is inexpressible. You know, it reminds me of Matthew chapter 2, verse 10. In Matthew 2.10, it was the story of the birth of Christ. And in Matthew 2.10, the wise men, they hear that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and that verse says, they rejoiced with great joy. It's a very similar phrase. And when Jesus was born, the wise men, no matter what was happening around them, Roman occupation, Roman oppression, they were able to rejoice at the presence of Jesus in Bethlehem. And brothers and sisters, something very similar is true for you today. No matter what is happening around you, you are capable at any time of rejoicing at the presence of Christ in your heart. Rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible. Have unwavering faith. This is why the writer of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 23, tells us to hold on to our faith with an unwavering grip, he says. Because ultimately, Hebrews 10:23, the object of your faith, Jesus Christ, he is faithful and he is infinitely reliable. Operate in unwavering. And when you do that, it will cause your joy to flourish. You know, a couple weeks ago, my mom, her grandma's name is Nana. Nana bought a new shirt for my two-year-old son, uh, Gunner. And so Nana bought my son an Orlando magic shirt. And I wasn't sure if I'd be up for talking about the magic today, but we won on Friday, so here we here we are. Okay, so Nana bought a magic shirt for Gunner, and Gunner basically forgot that he owns any other shirts, okay? This is like the only shirt he owns in his mind. And when he first got the shirt, the boy wore the shirt for three days straight. He did everything in the shirt. He took naps in the shirt, all of it. And at the end of three days, Hannah and I were like, we've got to wash this shirt. And so reluctantly, Gunner took the shirt off, but he elected to just walk around the house shirtless, checking the washer and dryer every five minutes until the moment when he could put his magic shirt back on. All he wanted to do was wear his new blue dry fit Orlando magic shirt. It's a miracle he's not wearing that shirt to church today. Now we could all tell a silly story about one of our kids or our grandkids being stubborn or unwavering like Gunner with his shirt. But the point of the story is: shouldn't we treat our faith like Gunner treats his new magic shirt? Hold on to it with an unwavering grip. Ultimately, it's not up to your grip strength. God's grip strength is infinitely stronger, and he's never going to let go of you, but we should reciprocate with an unwavering grip. We should hold on to our faith and operate with unwavering faith, and when we do, that will cause our joy to flourish. Hey, brothers and sisters, let's take one more set of notes here. Number three on your notes is this Cherish salvation in Christ. What causes our joy to flourish? Well, cherishing your salvation in Christ will certainly cause your joy to flourish. Look with me in verses nine through twelve of 1 Peter chapter 1. In verse 9, Peter talks about how you will experience the outcome or the end of your faith, the salvation of your soul. Now, when Peter uses that word salvation in verse 9, he's referring to the same salvation that he first introduced in verse 5: your glorification, salvation. One day you will be saved from the very presence of sin when you are in the very presence of God Himself. Salvation from your soul. Now you might see that and think to yourself, wait, wait, wait, what about salvation for my body? I was promised a resurrection body, a restored body one day, and I'm kind of looking forward to it. I am too, I get that. Peter did not say salvation of your souls and bodies, but you're still going to receive a restored resurrection body in the new heavens and the new earth. You see, when Jesus comes back one day, I hope it's today, when he comes back one day, he will judge the living and the dead, he will establish the new heavens and the new earth, and each of us in Christ, we will receive a restored resurrection body forever. What Peter's referring to is what happens between now and then. If you pass away before the new heavens and the new earth, what happens? As Christians, we don't believe in purgatory, we don't believe in soul sleep or anything like that. We believe what Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5, verse 8. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. If you pass away today, you're in the presence of the Lord immediately. Salvation for your soul. Peter is addressing what happens between now and the new heavens and the new earth, the immediate, the intermediate state. Peter goes on in verses 10 and 11 to talk about the Old Testament prophets. He says that the Old Testament prophets, they were, they were addressing some things that were contemporary to them, but they were also prophesying about the Messiah. Verses 10 and 11, they were prophesying about Jesus Christ yet to come. In verse 12, Peter tells us that the Holy Spirit, this is really cool, in verse 12, Peter says, the Holy Spirit revealed to the Old Testament prophets that the promises they were prophesying about would certainly be fulfilled, but not in their lifetime. In verse 12, the wording Peter actually uses is he says that, he says that these prophets understood they were not serving themselves, but they were actually serving you, Peter says. You see, here's the thing. I'll often get asked a version of this question. How were people saved in the Old Testament? And the answer is actually a lot simpler than you may think. People were saved in the Old Testament in the same way that people are saved in the New Testament, in the same way people are saved today. Faith in Jesus alone. In Genesis chapter 15, verse 6, Moses tells us that Abraham believed and it was credited unto him as righteousness. Today, if you believe, it is credited unto you as righteousness. People were saved the same way back then as they are today. You are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. You see, the difference between Old Testament prophets and Old Testament saints and New Testament saints and Christians today, like you and me, it's not the mode of our salvation, it's the clarity of the gospel, the clarity of the message. You see, in the Old Testament, these prophets and Old Testament saints, they placed their faith in Jesus who was coming one day. They placed their faith in what theologians call a shadow of the cross. In the New Testament, you have the cross casting a giant shadow on the Old Testament. And the Old Testament saints, they placed their faith in Jesus, but it was kind of the message was kind of fuzzy. They placed their faith in a shadow of the cross. You and me today, we have the cross in full HD 4K. The message is clear. We get to place our faith in Jesus, having the full, completed Word of God. You see, the prophets who've long ago gone to heaven, they're with God right now. But when they were here on earth, they longed to see what you see. They longed to hold what you're holding in your hands right now, the completed word of God, the gospel clearly articulated. Same mode of salvation, but the message is so much clearer today. Peter goes on in verse 12 to talk about angels. He says that the angels long to look upon what we look upon. You know, we have something in common with angels. We are distinct from angels in most ways, but one thing we have in common with angels, angels were created, we were created. So, in a similar way, angels relate to God as creator, we relate to God as creator. A big difference though, we get to relate to God as redeemer. A way in which the angels will never get to relate to God because they have no need of redemption. Now it is true that our sin and our fallness really hurt God and broke our relationship with Him. But our restored, redeemed relationship with God through Jesus is the most intimate relationship with God available in the universe. It's a level of intimacy with God that the angels long for, but they will never experience. You see, the prophets of the Old Testament, they longed to see the gospel as clearly as you see it today. The angels in heaven, they long for intimacy with God that you have, but they'll never experience it. Your salvation in Christ, brothers and sisters, is something to be deeply cherished. And when you cherish your salvation in Christ, that will cause your joy to flourish. This is why Paul tells us in Philippians chapter 3, verse 8, that he considers everything else to be loss because of the surpassing worth and value of salvation in Christ. There are other valuable things in the world, but nothing should be more valuable to you. You should cherish nothing more than your salvation in Christ. And when you cherish your salvation in Christ, your joy will flourish. You know, in uh in 2016, just a decade ago, a New Jersey man inherited several things from a relative who passed away. One of the things he inherited, this is a true story, you can Google it later. One of the things he inherited was he inherited his relative's house. And he was working his way through the relative's house and he made his way into the attic and he found a box of old baseball cards. It was dusty. It clearly hadn't been, it hadn't been opened in years. And so he opened it and he started flipping through the baseball cards, and he stumbled upon a card of Honus Wagner. I feel like Coach Larry might be the only one in the room who knows who Honus Wagner is, okay? Wagner was a baseball player in the early 1900s. He mostly played shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was a champion, he was a Hall of Famer. But only about 50 cards, five zeros, 50 of Honus Wagner's cards were put into circulation. And it's a collector's dream to get a hold of a Wagner card. And so what this New Jersey man did 10 years ago is he found the card, he took it to auction, and he sold the Honus Wagner card for $3 million. That's a lot of zeros. You see, the relative of this man had no idea the value that was just sitting in his attic collecting dust. And I wonder about you this morning, church. I wonder if your salvation is sitting in the attic somewhere collecting dust. You possess it, it's yours. You're never gonna lose your salvation. You're gonna be in heaven one day with Jesus. But this side of heaven, I wonder if you realize what you've got. I wonder if you realize how valuable your salvation in Christ truly is. I wonder if you're cherishing your salvation in Christ. If you feel like your joy is not flourishing today, if you feel like perhaps your joy is stagnant or withering, maybe you should ask the Holy Spirit today to help you better cherish your salvation in Christ. It's better than anything else in the world. It's surpassing worth and surpassing value. Well, hey, brothers and sisters, as we conclude our time of Bible study this morning, we've talked today all about joy. And we said in the beginning of our Bible study that true joy is a God-given good feeling in the soul that transcends all of our circumstances. But what causes that kind of joy to flourish? Well, responding to trials God's way, operating in unwavering faith, and cherishing our salvation in Christ. Those things, Peter says, cause our joy to flourish. But hey, maybe you're here today and you're not a Christian, and you're listening in on this message and this Bible study for Christians, and you're saying, you know what, my circumstances are not good, and I do not have a God-given good feeling in my soul to get me through them. In fact, my soul feels empty, my soul feels broken. Hey, if that's you today, I want you to know that you're in the right place. And more importantly, you've come to the right person, Jesus. God wants to plant true joy in your heart this morning if you will believe in Jesus. If you will become a Christian today, you will walk out of this place with true joy forevermore. And if you want to become a Christian today, we want to give you a chance to do that. Hey, let me tell you what's about to happen. In just a moment, I want to pray and ask God to help his word take root in our hearts. And when I say amen, everyone in the room is going to stand and we'll sing one more song of worship. As we sing, you'll see many of our members come to pray all across the altar. The altar will be open this morning for anyone who wants to pray about anything. But as we sing and as we pray, myself and some other members of our team, we'll be standing across the front. And if you want to become a Christian today, then you walk down the aisle and grab one of us. We would love nothing more than to talk and pray with you about how to become a Christian today. It's the best decision you'll ever make. Let's pray. Father in heaven, God, we love you and we praise you. We're grateful today for the gospel, for the resurrection of Jesus. Because Jesus is alive, we can have joy. Even in the midst of trials, we can have joy. Even when we're grieving, we can have joy. God, I pray for myself and my brothers and sisters in the room that you would cause our joy to flourish. That you would help your words from 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 6 through 12 take take root in our hearts and produce fruit in the days and weeks ahead. God, I pray for that person in the room who's not a Christian, who does not yet have a relationship with you through Christ. God, would you make today the day of their salvation? As we sing and as we pray and as we reflect, would you give that person the clarity and the courage to walk forward and place their faith in you? Place their faith in Jesus. And would you help them to leave here with true joy for the first time and forevermore? God, we give this time over to you. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.