Latest / The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal / 1 Peter 1:1-9 - Faith Through Trials

Transcript

1 Peter 1:1-9 - Faith Through Trials · The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Life Audio. Hi, faith listeners, Welcome to the Bible Explain
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: podcast and welcome to the Book of First Peter. Now,
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: for those of you who are new on the podcast,
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I discuss the New Testament, and
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: on Mondays and Wednesdays, I talk about the Old Testament.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: So now we are in a First Peter chapter one,
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: and I'm excited to dive into this book because Peter
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: has a very unique writing style in my opinion, and
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: also today he gives encouragement for anybody who is struggling
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: through a trial or a problem, and he reminds everybody
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: to continue to have faith. But before we dive into it,
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: here is a message from a sponsor. All right, so
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: let's read it First Peter one one through nine. I'll
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: be reading this as usual from the web. For those
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: of you who don't know what that version is, that
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: is the World English Bible. You can find it for
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: free on Biblegateway dot com. I believe it's also on
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: you version for free, but it is the go to
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: version that I use because other versions of Scripture are
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: not within the public domain. They are copyrighted, so I
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: could get in trouble potentially for sharing them on the podcast,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: especially since I'm going through the entire Bible, so the
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: world English Bible or the Web is completely in the
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: public domain, which is why I appreciate it so much.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: So let's read first Peter one one through nine. Grab
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: your cup of coffee, and let's dive right in Peter,
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: an apostle of Jesus Christ to the chosen ones who
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: are living as foreigners in the dispersion in Pontus, Galicia, Kapitacia,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: Asia and Bithynia, according to the foregn knowledge of God
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: the Father in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood. Grace
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: and Father of our Lord, Gesus Christ, who, according to
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: his great mercy, caused us to be born again to
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: the dead, to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn't
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who by the
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: power of God are guided through faith for a salvation
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: ready to be revealed in the last time. In this
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: you greatly rejoice though now for a little while, if
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: need be, you've been grieved in various trials, that the
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: that perishes, even though it is tested by fire, may
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at
• 2:34
  Speaker 1: the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom, not having known, you
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: love in him, though now you don't see him yet.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: Believing you rejoice greatly with joy that is unspeakable and
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: full of glory, receiving the result of your faith, the
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: salvation of your souls. So, before we get into the
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: meat of what this chapter is saying, a little introduction
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: to the Book of First Peter. Firstly, it was written
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: by Peter, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: was the most famous of all of the disciples for
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: many reasons, his rebuke of Jesus, where Jesus called him
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: Satan at one point in time, and obviously him denying
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: that he even knew Jesus three times. So Peter is
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: certainly one of the most well known disciples, and even
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: in the Book of Acts he's mentioned for the first
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: handful of chapters. Because he was a great preacher that
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: brought a lot of people to Christ through the words
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: that he would speak. And if you go back and
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: listen to some of Peter's earlier sermons, he's really softened
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: a lot by this point, which the Book of First
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: Peter would have been written between sixty two and sixty
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: four AD, right around the time that Rome was beginning
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: to suffer through pretty extreme persecution under Nero the Emperor,
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: and Church tradition says that Peter was crucified by Nero,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: possibly upside down during the year sixty eight AD when
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: Nero really ramped up his persecution on the church. So
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: Peter wrote this letter very soon before he was martyred,
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: according to church tradition. So that's important in noting because
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: Peter is an older man by this point in time,
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: and he has learned a lot throughout the years. You know,
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: he started out not being the most loving disciple, not
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: being the most faithful disciple, and now at the end
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: of his life he is extremely loving and extremely faithful
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: to Jesus because in my estimation, he's been softened by Jesus.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: He has seen what love and faith can really do.
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: I would actually say that out of all the letters
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: we've covered, so far. James is probably the most blunt,
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: and the letters of Peter are probably the most gentle
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: out of all of the letters so far. But regardless,
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: they're all the truth. It just shows the difference in
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: writing styles between each of these men that wrote these
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: letters to the churches. So with all that being said,
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: it says Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ to the
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: chosen Ones who are living as foreigners in the dispersion
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: in Pontius, Galicia, Capitacia, Asia and Bithynia, according to the
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: foregnoledge of God the Father in sanctification of the Spirit.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: So Paul here is writing to it says the foreigners.
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: Some versions might say exiles, some might say aliens that
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: are living in all of these different communities scattered in
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: modern day Turkey. So the reason he addresses these people
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: as foreigners is not because you know, they came from
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: Jewish communities and started living in Turkey. But more so,
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: he's talking to anybody that does not make this home
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: their home, somebody that is waiting for their heavenly home,
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: who is kind of just passing through on earth to
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: their final destination of eternity. And it does not distinguish
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: if Peter is writing only to the Hebrews or if
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: he's writing to a mixed group, which is why most
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: people think that this letter is for a mixed group
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: of Jews and Gentiles who believe in Jesus, who are
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: just waiting for their eternal home. And here's the reason
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: for his letter. According to the foreknowledge of God the Father,
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: in sanctification of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: and be sprinkled with his blood. Grace to you and
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: peace be multiplied. So he's writing this letter so that
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: the church can learn to obey Jesus and be sprinkled
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: with his blood. Now, the first part of that, the
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: obeying Jesus, that is part of the Great Commission. What
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: does Jesus tell his disciples right before he ascends up
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: into heaven. He says, go and make disciples of all
• 6:42
  Speaker 1: the nations, baptizing them in my name and also teaching
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: them to obey the commandments that I have given you.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: So that's the third part of the Great Commission that
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: a lot of people leave out. But once you become
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: a Christian, it doesn't just end there. You have to
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: learn obedience because that's where true faith really comes in
• 7:05
  Speaker 1: Faith and obedience go hand in hand, as we've talked
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: about in the Book of James. So that's why Paul
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: is writing this letter, firstly so that people can learn
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: to obey Jesus and also that they may be sprinkled
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: with his blood. Now this is an interesting idea because
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Peter is going back to the Old Testament where the
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: priest would actually dip his fingers in the blood and
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: sprinkle the blood on the people, and blood has a
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: spiritually cleansing property to it because the wages of sin
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: is death. That is a verse we've covered many times
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: on the podcast before. Basically, the penalty for sin is death,
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: and the only thing that can remove that penalty is
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: a substitute taking the place of it. So basically a
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: substitute dying in place of the person who sinned, and
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: an Old Testament day, that was the lamb, that was
• 8:02
  Speaker 1: the sacrifice that the people would do, and so the
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: sprinkling of the blood on the people was a picture
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: of how they are being cleansed through the blood of
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: that animal. But of course animals cannot possibly take away
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: sin permanently because they're animals, they are not perfect. Somebody
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: had to come and be a perfect sacrifice, and that,
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: of course was Jesus. So we're no longer sprinkled with
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: the blood of the animals any longer, but we're sprinkled
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: with Jesus's blood. And this is important to note because
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: sometimes people like to take the idea of Jesus's blood away,
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: as if it's like too gruesome to really talk about,
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: or as if it's really weird to discuss. But it
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: is important to know that Jesus actually shed his blood
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: for us. His blood was everywhere when he died up
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: on that cross. His blood flowed for us. And that's
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: important to note because the blood is what takes away
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: the sins of the world, because the Old Testament says
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: on multiple occasions that the life is in the blood.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: So Jesus shed his life his blood for all of us,
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: and so now we are sprinkled with Jesus's blood. But
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: why does Peter want to remind all of these Christians
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: about that particular fact Because it invokes a sense of
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: reverence for who Jesus is and what he has done
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: for us, And a lot of times Christians forget the
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: reverence part. They forget what Jesus truly did for them,
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: and they think more about what more can Jesus do
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: for me? Like if I worship God, what can I
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: gain in return? What more can he do for me?
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: But he already did enough because he sacrificed his life,
• 9:52
  Speaker 1: he allowed his blood to flow out of him for
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: all of humanity, for everybody. So finding the Church of
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: this fact is kind of reorienting them, saying, remember Jesus's
• 10:07
  Speaker 1: sacrifice and what he has done, and be sprinkled with
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: that blood. Understand the forgiving nature of Jesus's blood, the
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: love that he has for all of us, and obey
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: Jesus because he loves you that much. And then he says,
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: grace to you and peace be multiplied. This is something
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: that many of the apostles when they first start their letters,
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: will say to the churches, grace and peace be to you.
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: Both those things are again something that I think the
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: Church tends to struggle with. This is something that Jesus
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: talked about in the churches in Revelation, that a lot
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: of them have lost their love, lost their grace, and
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: unfortunately we're being gracious towards people they shouldn't be gracious
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: to inviting theology in that was corrupt. That is not
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: what we're supposed to be gracious to. But we are
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: supposed to be gracious for our fellow brothers and sisters
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: in Christ. And we're also supposed to have peace in Jesus.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: And remember the grace that Jesus gave to us. So
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: now in verse three it says, blessed be the God
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: his great mercy, caused us to be born again to
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: the dead. So the idea of being born again was
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: first talked about by Jesus himself in John chapter three.
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: This is when a religious leader named Nicodemus came to
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: Jesus by night, and so Jesus answered some of his questions.
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: And here's what it says, starting in verse three. Jesus
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: answered him, most certainly, I tell you, unless one is
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: born anew, he can't see God's kingdom. Nicodemus said to him,
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: how can a man be born when he is old?
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: and be born? Jesus said, most certainly, I tell you,
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: unless one is born of water and spirit, he can't
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: enter into God's kingdom. That which is born of the
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: flesh is flesh, but that which is born of the
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: spirit is spirit. Don't marvel that I said to you,
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: you must be born anew. Now. The one thing in
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: John three that stumps a lot of people is where
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: Jesus says, you must be born of water and spirit.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: If not, you cannot enter into God's kingdom. People wonder
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: is the water referring to baptism? Is it referring to
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: the washing away of sins? Like? What is it referring to? Exactly? Well? Personally,
• 12:28
  Speaker 1: I think that that's answered in John chapter four, which
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: is the very next chapter, where Jesus goes to a
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: well and a woman is there, a woman of Samaria.
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: And Jesus says to this woman in verse ten, if
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: you knew the gift of God, and who says to you,
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: give me a drink, you would have asked him and
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: he would have given you living water. Then she says, sir,
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep,
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: So where do you get that living water? Are you
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: and drink from it himself? As did his children in
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: his livestock. And Jesus answered her, everyone who drinks of
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: this water will thirst again. But whoever drinks of the
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: water that I will give him will never thirst again.
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: But the water that I give him will become in
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: him a well of water springing up to eternal life.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: So that's what I think Jesus meant when he was
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: telling Nicodemus, you must be born of water and spirit.
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: In other words, you must be born of the living
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: water Jesus himself, who produces this spring of eternal life
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: inside of you. And you also must be born of
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: the spirit. In fact, Jesus mentions that to the woman
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: as well in verse twenty three of John four. But
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: the hour comes, and now is when true worshippers will
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: worship the Father in spirit and truth. For the Father
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: seeks such to be his worshippers. God is spirit, and
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: So basically, Jesus told Nicodemus, if you do not have
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: the living water inside of you, the water that Jesus
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: gives you, and if you also don't have the spirit,
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit, guiding your life, then you have not
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: been born again, So you must have these two things
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: in order to be born again. So that is what
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: being born again means, and Peter mentions it in First
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: Peter one, verse three. Blessed be the God and Father
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his great mercy,
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: caused us to be born again to a living hope
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that doesn't fade away, reserved
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: in heaven for you. So a couple things I want
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: to mention about that first thing is that he's referring
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: again to the foreigners, the Christians that are living as
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: exiles on this earth, who are waiting for their inheritance,
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: who are waiting for their true home. He says, you
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: are going to go to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance
• 14:54
  Speaker 1: that doesn't fade away, reserved in heaven for you. And
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: that's a really beautiful thought that God is actually setting
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: aside stuff for us, like rewards personally reserved for each
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: one of us. If you go to Revelation two and three.
• 15:10
  Speaker 1: Jesus talks about this in some length to his letters
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: to the churches, he says at the end of every
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: single letter, to the one who conquers, I will give
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: him this, And one of them is interesting because he says,
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: to the one who conquers, I will give him a
• 15:25
  Speaker 1: white stone that has a name on it specifically for
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: you that nobody else will know except you. So you're
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: going to be given like a brand new name from Jesus.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: And these are just some of the things personally reserved
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: for us. And that's really interesting because God knows each
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: and every individual person that comes to him. Going back
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: to first Peter one, that's what it says, who, according
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: to his great mercy, caused us to be born again
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: from the dead. And then in verses one and two,
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: he also says to the chosen ones, according to the
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: foreknowledge of God the Father in sanctification of the Spirit.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: So God knows us, and he has known us from
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: the beginning of the world. Is what scripture says. He
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: knows each and every individual person that is going to
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: come to him because he has infinite knowledge. I've always
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: taken this as Jesus lives beyond time because he created time.
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: You know, you and I. We only have a linear
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: time period, so we can't see what goes on ahead
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: of us. We have no clue even a second from
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: now what is going to happen. We don't know anything
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: could take place that we don't have fore knowledge of.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: But God has all the foreknowledge because he is outside
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: of time and he is not bound by the rules
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: of time, so he can see ahead of time every
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: single person that is going to come to him. He
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: knows us and he loves us. That's why it says
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: in Jeremiah chapter one that before Jeremiah was in the womb,
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: God foreknew him because God has all the power. But
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: going on to verse five, it says, who by the
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: power of God are guided through faith for a salvation
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: ready to be revealed in the last time. In this
• 17:10
  Speaker 1: you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: need be, You've been grieved in various trials. So, yes,
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: salvation has been revealed to the world. In the Old
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: Testament days it was hidden. People didn't quite understand the
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: message of salvation. They knew that they needed a savior
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: to save them, and for them that was the Old
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: Testament sacrifices. But they didn't quite understand who Jesus was
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: going to be, who the Messiah is going to be.
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: Hence why when Jesus came to earth, people had a
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: huge misunderstanding of who he was. Even his brothers didn't
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: believe in who he was. Everyone, even Peter, had a
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: misunderstanding of who the Messiah was going to be. And
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: now it's been revealed, and Peter has seen this firsthand.
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: Remember he was there before Jesus died and before Jesus
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: was resurrected. One of those people who didn't understand the
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: message of salvation until its mystery was revealed, until Jesus
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: rose from the dead. Then Peter understood it and understood
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: it that he was called to be a witness of
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: Jesus for the Gospel, so that the gospel message could
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: be shown to the rest of the world. That's why
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: the Twelve Disciples were chosen. They were chosen to be
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: witnesses and messengers of Jesus's resurrection, and they are still
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: witnessing to this day through the letters that have been written.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: And Peter is one of these witnesses who helped people
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: see the mystery of salvation revealed in Jesus. He says,
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: in this mystery, in this salvation, you greatly rejoice verse six.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: Though now for a little while, if need be, you've
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: been grieved in various trials. That proof of your faith,
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: which is more precious than gold that perishes, even though
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: it is tested by fire, may be found to result
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: So even though we rejoice in salvation, and we should
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: be rejoicing in salvation as Christians, understanding that Jesus's shed
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: blood is his life given for us, we should be
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: rejoicing at what God has done for us. But in
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: this joy that we have of salvation, we are also
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: going to be grieved with various trials. That is what
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: Peter says, and that's actually what Jesus said as well.
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: He said, even when you become Christians, you are going
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: to experience trials and tribulations. But take heart, because I
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: have overcome the world. So becoming a Christian does not
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: free us from the pain and suffering of this world. Unfortunately,
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: even though we would love for it to be that way,
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: it just doesn't work like that, because pain and suffering exists,
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: because we are still in the sin nature, because people
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: hate Christianity, and because we are going to be persecuted
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: for the sake of Jesus. Because if Jesus was persecuted
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: God himself, who showed miracles and who did nothing but
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: help people through his entire ministry on earth, then the
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: followers of Jesus will certainly also be persecuted as well.
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: So we are going to be grieved by these trials.
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: And notice that Peter uses the word grieved here. He
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: is not saying, Oh, trials are so fun and just
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: have joy through them. No, he says, these are grievous trials.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: They are no fun. We all hate them. We don't
• 20:27
  Speaker 1: want to go through trials. Trials are terrible. My first
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: pastor that I remember used to say something really depressing.
• 20:36
  Speaker 1: He used to say, you're either in a trial, about
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: to go into a trial, or just coming out of
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: a trial. In some ways, he's not incorrect. There are
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: going to be a lot of trials on earth, disappointments, irritations,
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: even small things that just stack up over time. These
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: are all trials that we have to learn to get through,
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: and as Christians, have to learn to have faith through
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: these trials. And these questions that we have about God.
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: We have to learn to trust in God and have
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: faith in Him in spite of the irritations and persecutions
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: and trials that we're going to experience. In fact, Peter
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: actually says right here that the trials that we experience
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: are actually for the proof of our faith. So we're
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: being tested by how we respond to these trials. And
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: that's kind of scary to think about, because I know
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: in the trials that I've gone through in the past,
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: that I don't respond very well a lot of times.
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: You know, as gold goes through the fire to make
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: it more pure, So we are refined also by the
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: trials that we go through. I don't know about you,
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: but the times when I get closer to God is
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: through trials and tribulations. It is not during the good
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: times in my life. That's when I forget about God
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: a lot of times. So our trials actually produce in
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: us a greater faith, So they can be good for us,
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: especially because they show whether or not our faith is genuine.
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: They're good for gauging our spiritual health. Do we truly
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: have faith in God that He is with us during
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: these trials, that He is using them for some sort
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: of benefit, or do we not have any faith? And
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: that's revealed. You know, we might think we have faith
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: in God, but then the second some sort of problem arises,
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: we lose faith. We forget about who God is and
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: the things that He has promised us, and that we
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: are going to go through trials and tribulations and sufferings,
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: and how we respond to those problems that we deal
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: with can really show if our faith is genuine or
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: if it needs a little bit of work or a
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: lot of work. So now it says, even though these
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: trials are tested by fire, they may be found to
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, whom, not having known, you love in him,
• 23:00
  Speaker 1: though now you don't see him yet, believing you rejoice
• 23:04
  Speaker 1: greatly with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory,
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: So the result of faith is salvation, is what Peter
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: says right here. And also it mentions that even though
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: we don't know Jesus, we love him, and even though
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: we don't see him, we believe and we rejoice with
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: great joy that is unspeakable and full of glory. I
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: believe there's a verse. I think it was when Thomas
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: was doubting the resurrection of Jesus. I think he said
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: to Thomas, you see and believe, but blessed are those
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: who have not seen and still believe. That's what Peter
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: is saying right here. You know, Peter was one of
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: the ones that saw Jesus, but he is writing to
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: the Christians that have not seen him and yet still
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: love him and still believe and are full of unspeakable
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: joy because of the salvation that Jesus has given us.
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: So you and I, if we believe in Jesus genuinely,
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: if we have true faith in him, we are blessed
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: because we have chosen to believe in Him who we
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: have not seen. Well, faithful listeners, I hope you enjoyed
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: the start of First Peter, and if you're following with
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: me on the Old Testament side of stuff, I hope
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: you also enjoyed the start to season twelve yesterday where
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: we talked about the first chapter of the Book of Esther.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: So we're off to a great start in season twelve
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: so far. Well, faithful listeners. Before I wrap this episode up.
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: Please listen to this quick message. I think in summary
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: of what we read, Peter is doing his best to
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: encourage these Christians because they're probably experiencing trials, They're probably
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: experiencing persecution. And maybe Peter is able to read the
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: room and what is happening with Rome and their hatred
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: of Christianity. Maybe he could see that violence against Christians
• 25:06
  Speaker 1: was on the rise. So he reminds them that they
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: are just passing through on this earth, that this earth
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: is not their permanent home, that they have a permanent
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: home waiting for them, where Jesus himself has set aside
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: and reserved rewards personally for them. And that is true
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: for each one of us. You know, these words are
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: not just for the early Christian Church. These words are
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: for us now, and so when we see issues arising
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: in our lives, we have to remember that this earth
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: is not our home, and that the sufferings that we
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: experience now, though they are grievous, though they are miserable,
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: in the grand scheme of eternity, which is what we've
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: been given through Jesus's sacrifice, they are short in comparison
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: to that. Though it seems like we are suffering long
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: and hard. Now because we've been given the gift of
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: eternal life by Jesus, we are not actually suffering all
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: that long in the grand scheme of eternity, and I
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: think that's what Peter is trying to encourage all of
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: these Christians in this first portion that we read today. So,
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: faithful listeners, I hope you all enjoyed it, and I
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: hope that you were encouraged by it if you were
• 26:17
  Speaker 1: a share it on their social media platforms, tell people
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: that the Bible Explained Podcasts exists. Maybe share this episode
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: with an individual who is struggling right now, or you
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: can always go over to Apple Podcasts and write a
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: nice review and I might read your review up on
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: the podcast and thank you personally. So faithful listeners, have
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: a fantastic and wonderful day. Hope to see you guys tomorrow.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: As we're back in the Book of Esther discussing the
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: introduction of Esther herself, because the first chapter doesn't talk
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: about her at all, kind of just sets the stage
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: for her to come into it. So we're going to
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: talk about Esther essentially being taken from her home to
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: be made queen and everything that transpires. With that, faithful
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: listeners have a fantastic and wonderful day. See you guys tomorrow,
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: happy listening, and God bless. I just want to take
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: a second to thank the team at Life Audio for
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: their partnership with me on the Bible Explain podcast. In fact,
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: if you go to lifeaudio dot com you'll find dozens
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: of other faith centered podcasts in their network. They've got
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.