SPIRITUAL
DIARY FOR 6/2/2012 10:56:37 AM
My
Worship Time Focus: Be Hopeful
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: 1Peter 5:10-14
Message
of the verses: The title of Warren
Wiersbe’s commentary on 1Peter is “Be Hopeful,” and so that is what he has
entitled the last main point found in 1Peter.
We will also look at several sub-points as we attempt to finish the book
today. I mentioned earlier that I began
my study of 1Peter on 11/24/2003, but for some reason, reasons known only to
God, I did not finish it or have lost the commentaries from my computer files,
and so it was because that our Pastor is preaching through the book of 1Peter
that I desired to finish my commentaries on it.
I can surely say that it has been a blessing from God to do this.
In finishing this letter Peter again
looks at being hopeful because he knows that God is always in control, even
when we have doubts and fears that He is not, He still is. Peter will give several reasons for having
hope and having a hopeful attitude. “10 After you have suffered for a little while,
the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will
Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 11 To Him be dominion
forever and ever. Amen. 12 Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I
regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this
is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it! 13 She who is in Babylon, chosen
together with you, sends you greetings, and so does my son, Mark. 14 Greet one
another with a kiss of love. Peace be to you all who are in Christ.” (NASB-95)
“10 In his kindness God called you
to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have
suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he
will place you on a firm foundation. 11 All power to him forever! Amen. 12 I
have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I
commend to you as a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you
and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for
you. Stand firm in this grace. 13 Your sister church here in Babylon sends you
greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet each other with Christian love.
Peace be with all of you who are in Christ.”
(NLT)
We
have God’s Grace. The grace of God
is most important to those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and
Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 shows us that we
have been saved by grace through faith and it also shows us that this is a gift
from God that was given to us by God.
1Peter 1:10 says something similar:
“As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would
come to you made careful searches and inquiries.” When we look at 1Peter 1:2 we will find out
that God called us before we called on Him, and this too was grace: “according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be
sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.” Notice that all persons of the trinity are
evolved in the salvation process. Now
let’s look at another aspect of God’s grace:
“If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” “And
so you will, if you have already tasted the goodness of the Lord (Phillips).” We
have tasted the graciousness of God (1Peter 2:3 (AV). “As each one has received a special gift,
employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” In 1Peter 4, Peter speaks of spiritual gifts
and in verse ten he states they come about by the manifold grace of God.
Now there are times when we think
that we need more grace because of situations that we are going through. Let us remember that grace is God giving us
something that we do not deserve, and something that we can never earn. If we go back a couple of books to the book
of Hebrews we will learn that “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to
the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. There are days when we need more of God’s
grace and this passage from Hebrews 4:16 shows us that God will give us the
grace that we need to get through the situations that He leads us into. Now
let’s look at James 4:6, “But he gives more grace. Why he said, God resists the
proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
There are two more verses on grace that I want to look at: “12 Through Silvanus, our faithful brother
(for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying
that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!” This is part of our text from today’s SD,
1Peter 5:12. “1 Therefore, having been
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have obtained our
introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope
of the glory of God.” Romans 5:1-2 also
shows us along with 1Peter 5:12 that we must stand in that grace.”
We
know we are going to glory. This
also comes from 1Peter 5:10 where Peter writes that “He has called us into His
eternal glory by Christ Jesus.” Dr.
Wiersbe writes “This is the wonderful inheritance into which we were born
(1Peter 1:4). Whatever begins with God’s grace will always lead
to God’s glory (Psalm 84:11)”: “For
the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing
does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” If we depend on God’s grace when we suffer,
that suffering will result in glory (Peter 4:13-16). The road may be difficult, but it leads to
glory, and that is all that really counts.”
Our
present suffering is only for a while.
This is also found in verse ten. When
I think about this suffering being only for a little while I have to think
about the Lord Jesus Christ and the example that He has set for us. We know from Philippians 2:5-11 that Jesus
emptied Himself in order to come to earth to become a man that He might do the
will of His Father in order to provide salvation for the lost. There is a song that we used to sing that
speaks of this and I want to place it in this Spiritual Diary at this
point:
“My
Lord has garments so wondrous fine,
And
myrrh their texture fills;
Its
fragrance reached to this heart of mine
With
joy my being thrills. Refrain:
Out of
the ivory palaces,
Into a
world of woe,
Only
His great eternal love
Made my
Savior go.
His
life had also its sorrows sore,
For
aloes had a part;
And when I think of the cross He bore,
My eyes with teardrops start.
His
garments, too, were in cassia dipped,
With
healing in a touch;
In
paths of sin had my feet e’er slipped—
He’s
saved me from its clutch.
In
garments glorious He will come,
To open
wide the door;
And I
shall enter my heav’nly home,
To
dwell forevermore.
I think that this song says much
about what Jesus Christ did for me in coming from heaven, leaving the ivory
palace, to come into this world of woe in order to take my place on the cross
of Calvary, taking my sin upon Himself and then giving me His righteousness to
that I may someday enter the ivory place where He is now. His example to me is that His trials brought
glory and so when I go through trials that God has ordained me to go through
then there will be glory later on as Peter writes.
We
know that our trials are building Christian character. Dr. Wiersbe writes “The Greek word
translated ‘make you perfect’ means ‘to equip, to adjust, to fit
together.’ It is translated ‘mending
nets’ in Matthew 4:21. God has several tools
which He uses to equip His people for life and service, and suffering is one of
them. The Word of God is another tool
(2Timothy 3:16-17, where thoroughly
furnished means ‘fully equipped’).
He also uses the fellowship and ministry of the church (Eph
4:11-16). Our Savior in heaven is
perfecting His children so that they will do His will and His work (Heb.
13:20-21).”
We will next look at three words
that Peter uses to describe the kind of character God wants all of His children
to have.
Established: This word is found at the end of verse ten
and it means “to fix firmly, to set fast.”
When trials and temptations come we must be firmly in our stand for
Jesus Christ. How is this to happen, how
are we to be established so we do not move when troubles come? 11 Now may our God and Father Himself and
Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; 12 and may the Lord cause you to increase
and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for
you; 13 so that He may
establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at
the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” (1Thes. 3:11-13) Be you also patient;
establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draws near.” (James 5:8 AKJV) Dr. Wiersbe writes “The believer who is
established will not be moved by persecution, or led away by false doctrine
(2Peter 3:17)
Strengthen: This word is also found in verse ten and it
means just that: “God’s strength given to us to meet the demands of life.”
Settle: We see this word translated “a firm
foundation” in the ESV. Hebrews 1:10
says “And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and
the heavens are the work of your hands.”
(ESV) When Jesus spoke of the
house built upon a rock we see the same usage of the word there (Matthew
7:24-27). Dr. Wiersbe writes, “A
believer who is equipped by God will ‘continue in faith grounded and settled’
(Col. 1:23). He will not be ‘tossed to
and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine’ (Eph. 4:14). When unbelievers go through sufferings they lose
hope, but we as believers are to be hopeful when we go through trials: “2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you
encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces
endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be
perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
(James 1:2-3) “3 And not only this, but we also exult in our
tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and
proven character, hope; 5 and hope does
not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts
through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
(Romans 3:3-5)
Dr. Wiersbe writes near the end of
his commentary on 1 Peter these words, “Paul always ended his letters with a
benediction of grace. Peter closed this
epistle with a benediction of peace. He
opened the letter with a greeting of peace (1Peter 1:2), so the entire epistle
points to ‘God’s peace’ from beginning to end. What a wonderful way to end a
letter that announced the coming of a fiery trial!
“Peter has given to us a precious
letter that encourages us to hope in the Lord no matter how trying the times
may be. Down through the centuries, the
church has experienced various fiery trials, and yet Satan has not been able to
destroy it. The church today is facing a
fiery trial, and we must be prepared.
“But, whatever may come, Peter is
still saying to each of us—BE HOPEFUL!
The glory is soon to come!”
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: As I see
more and more attacks upon the Church in the U.S. and around the world it makes
me think that the Lord Jesus is ready to come and take His bride out of the
world to be with Him in heaven. I
believe we are on the doorstep of what the Bible calls the Tribulation
Period. I have never been a date setter,
and never will be, but I am not the only one who believes we are close to the
end of the world as we know it now. If
this is not true I am to continue to be faithful to the Lord who called me unto
His salvation.
My
Steps of Faith for Today:
Abide “Remain” in the Vine in order to do what God has called me to do
for His honor and glory.
6/2/2012
12:34:41 PM
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