This broadcaster has 792 podcast archives available on-demand.
Keep up-to-date with this broadcaster on social media and their website.
July 12, 2022 12:00 am
MTD – my Paternal family July 2007. Calamity can say just like any motion on earth. Today's podcast continues the first when you can find stability on the unshakable foundation of our security. If you are going through some very difficult times in your life. Probably the first thing that you want somebody to do is at least tried to encourage you. That's what your heart would desire most of all, that is exactly what Peter is doing what he writes his first epistle here he is writing to encourage those people who are going through difficult to trial, who was suffering and who are about to go through very, very, very difficult persecution under Nero now where would Peter naturally and normally began to encourage these people, but by first of all, reminding them of who they are reminding them of where they are reminding them of who they are in Christ Jesus. And so even this first chapter, he gives them a tremendous affirmations now. When I got to deal with all of those because we just can't take the first five verses but you can see in the very beginning that peters goal here is to encourage these believers in the Christian life and persecution.
Some of it is Artie begun, but it is about to be unleashed against them in a very dramatic fashion so let's begin with verse one Peter and apostle of Jesus Christ of those who reside is alien scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Parthenia who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the father, by the sanctifying work of the spirit that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood may grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure. Then he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, that is for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation read to be revealed in the last time then he goes on to something else and so we want to stop there that he is the danger oftentimes of a book like this and many of them in fact, it's easy to get bogged down in big gigantic the broad words like for example in the book of Ephesians we can stay in the first chapter divisions for long long time and so what happens if you stop at some words you saw to lose the context of where you hated so not going to do that in this one as we have done and some others. I want you to get the message of the book, and some going to explain what these words may, but I want you to get the message of the book in his the message. The message is that when you and I go through difficult trouble. Some trying times no matter what they are is not to be persecution from other people.
It can be. There is a reason for us to be confident and bold and assured and triumphant through those troubles, no matter what they are and so that is the theme we are approaching this under that is that we living triumphantly through troubles all through trials and so what do you suppose he does. Once he identifies himself and identifies his readers listen to what he said. He says to you who are elect. I want to explain what he means by elect here about what I want you to see is these first chapters of so here first chapter and 1/2 what he wants to say is, now that you going through this difficult and heart ache. I want you to remember something I want you to remember what your position is. He says I want to bill for you.
The spiritual foundation so that no matter what happens you can always refer back and read and refocus your attention on who you are and where you are. So he says beginning the three. The latter part of the first verse. The second verse again.
They will go back. He says you who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the father, by the sanctifying work of the spirit that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood may grace and peace be yours in fullest measure.
Now when he says, you who are chosen, you who are elected is is first of all he's going to say three things in these first five verses.
First of all, he's dressing them and reminding them that first of all, they are chosen are elected by the foreknowledge listen by the foreknowledge of God the father when he says, elected or chosen to be chosen at up to be picked out.
He simply saying that God the father has elected them to be. Say is they will know what a minute. Does that mean that God the father has elected others to be lost.
No, it does not end there because there are other people who would choose to interpret this to mean that he only elects people to service never to salvation but the truth is that every person who will never be saved is ever been saved is been chosen to be saved by the Lord God is and what about free will. You cannot separate free will and God's election.
It's like two tracks of trying to not run on a single track. It must have two you have the election on the one hand, and the free will of man, on the other. So who is elected.
Those who are elected by the Lord Jesus Christ and respond by nectar their free will to the offer of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ belong to those who are the elect so that every single believer falls into the category of the elect. There's nothing in the Bible. It even begins to imply that God elects some to salvation and some the hell know where would you ever find. So when he says you all the elect. What is he saying he's is first of all, he says, look, addressing them, you who are chosen by God the father every single one of us has been chosen. If you had not been chosen, you would not be say every single one of us has been offered the gospel of Jesus Christ and we responded every person who responds will respond out of an act of their own free will, but will respond to the offer of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says to you who are chosen or elected according to the foreknowledge of God, because God knows beforehand what is going to happen does not mean that he predetermines what is going to happen because God knows that somebody is going to be saved, does not make them say that because he for knows ahead of time who is not going to be say, does not mean that he determined they not be say so man has a free will to choose whether to respond to God's offer of salvation, not and he says they were elected, according to the foreknowledge of God, what Pete is trying to do here is to assure them and remind them of who they are and what their position is as they go through this persecution trial and heartache.
He says now, according to the foreknowledge of God the father, by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit what is the mean he means though on the Holy Spirit sets us apart to understand the truth in the respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ and he sets us apart for the work of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ and so he says God the father choses in him. Listen by foreknowledge. He also says in Ephesians 1 he chose us in him when he chose you in Christ Jesus. When before the foundation of the world peace is the sanctifying work of the spirit that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood, which is the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus Christ. Now some the very beginning of this epistle to assure them and to give them comfort and reassure them. He says look who is involved in your life who is involved in your life, God the father, God the son God the Holy Spirit so that God the father, God the son God the Holy Spirit has been, is now and forever shall be involved in your life and mine so he begins with reassuring them that you have been chosen by God.
Listen chosen by God, set apart by the Holy Spirit and cleanse the precious blood of Jesus Christ, which is his way of saying to them, look how secure you are in the Godhead you not out there just facing your troubles and trials and heartaches alone.
But God has secured you in him and he involves all the three persons of the Trinity, then look if you will, what he says in verse three, he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again.
He's is first of all, we've been chosen. We have been elected by the foreknowledge by the grace of God. Secondly he says we have been made to be, or cause to be born again now to be born again means that God does something inside the human spirit that is before we were born again. The Bible says we were dead in trespasses and sins through the work of the Holy Spirit are convicting us of our sin and revealing to us the sacrificial all sufficient substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, the Holy Spirit revealed to us the truth revealed to us. And lead and brought about by the regenerating work of the spirit. What the Bible calls a new birth that is something happen to swear by God says we have become new persons in Christ for dead in trespasses and sins now made alive in Christ Jesus before it was our life now is his life living within us, we may act like what we used to be. We may think at times like we used to think our conduct may be as fleshly as it can be because we have been born again we are brand-new creatures in Christ Jesus can ever be what we were because of the new birth experience. Now you remember in John chapter 3 Jesus conversation with Nicodemus, except of the man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God except a man be born again he cannot see and understand the kingdom, nor can he enter into the kingdom of God and what he saying in this passage is this not only have you been chosen by God and he says you have been cause to be born again by that his great mercy, and not by your works. Listen, if you will, he says, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he is saved as according to Titus 35 according this person to think about this for a moment if you think about how you been saved and how you were saved, if it were not for the great mercy of God. God took the initiative, God shows you God chose to sin.
The Holy Spirit to convict you of your sin. If it were not for the great mercy of God. Every single one of us and be bound by eternal separation from God is not one thing we can ever take credit for there is anything we've done.
We have all been continuously responding to God's offer of grace, not by works of righteousness Melissa he said, but according to his great mercy God reaching down to undeserving sinners reaching down revealing himself by his grace is undeserved favor taught us chose to bring about the new birth experience going ask a question.
How can a five-year-old ever take any credit for being say to you how merciful God is to a five-year-old. The place that child in the home where those parents were loving and considerate and unselfish and decided surround that child with godly parents taken to a church where the Bible is taught and very gently and lovingly lead that child to receive Jesus Christ as their personal savior and God the father, reaching down the mind of a five-year-old child, listen you think about this the God the father and all of his infinite everything could make himself known to a five-year-old unanswered question how much grace and mercy did it take to save a five euro well it's going up the scale to an 80-year-old man who, having spent 80 years of his life coming to the end of his life.
Somebody approaches him and presents the gospel of Jesus Christ and for the first time in his life. He acknowledges that he needs to be saved, and so on bended knee. He confesses and repents of his sins and places his trust in Jesus Christ, and he saved them and asked the question how much mercy did it take to say the five-year-old how much mercy did take to say they-year-old. My friend, it takes the same amount of mercy. The only differences he just gets to the five-year-old earlier but look what God does in his mercy when he saves a five euro look when he delivers that child from an look at the 80-year-old man who has spent and wasted his life, but it took the same blood of Jesus Christ, atoning death at the cross to save the five-year-old boy as it did the 80-year-old man, but no one about you think about where you might be denied if God in his mercy had not saved you. It was God's great mercy that he sent somebody to you and confronted you with the gospel.
He was God's mercy that he surrounded you with somebody who either kept telling you that you need to be saved.
You keep hearing that is God, so to it in his loving mercy to you that you had the opportunity and God put enough pressure on you and you are wise enough to respond, but all the glory and the credit is God's not by works of righteousness which we do not by our works would buy the mercy of God is not a single one of us and listen.
He says that great mercy of God, and you think about how merciful God is been to you and to me and to others who have resisted. Let me ask a question how many of you resisted God Army resisted him in a very strong way before he saved you. I will tell you, you know why you saved the great mercy of God. Suppose he said well, but so are you going act fully on you and is let you die and go to hell, but it listen you resisted God and resisted God and resist God and it's in his great loving mercy that he persisted in sending the Holy Spirit into your life into you through somebody or something, until finally you said yes Lord Jesus, the great mercy with which he has brought about this whole new life for you and for me, never somebody says, he says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ took on this great mercy has caused us to be born again to what to a living hope, not a day and hope of a living hope now look in verse 13 of the same chapter verse 13. Listen what he says. Therefore gird your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit thinks you're a hole listen thinks your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. That is when the Lord Jesus Christ comes and he takes his wife. He says thinks your hope. Well, he says that again and now a different way. In verse 21 who threw him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in whom are in God shall chapter 3 verse 15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who ask you to give an account for what the story says this verse sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts always listen out to believers undergoing persecution, he says, always being ready to make a defense to how many people to everyone who ask you to give an account of the reason why you have a hope that is to give an account for the hope that is in you.
He says you to do that he says yet with gentleness and reverence. Now why would he mention hope so often in these five chapters because these people undergoing persecution needed hope now what is the basis of your hope friend he realized that only Christians have any basis whatsoever for any old of life beyond this one that has anything about it that you and I would desire you not the only ones only believers have a living, vibrant hope because our hope is based upon the invisible, unquestionable, undeniable historical resurrection of the living Christ and that's why we saying I know that he lives because he lives where in our heart. Thank you for listening to the foundation in our security. If you'd like to know more about her family for intense ministries – that electing Is the presentation of intense ministries