P. Schaller

I like that part where it says if you don’t move the mountain, what happens? I will trust in you. Let’s change it. If you do not move the mountain, I’m done with you. If you do not answer my prayer, that’s it. I’m finished. I’m done. The song was beautiful. Even if you don’t move the mountain, what a good word that is. Are we ready for our message?

1 Pet. 1 is our text. Let’s stand and have a good attitude.

1 Pet. 1, the sentence starts in vs 3 and goes to vs. 9. It’s one sentence. Let’s read it out loud. What does it say? We are born of God unto a lively hope. What kind of hope? Lively. Some hopes are kind of dead hopes but this is a lively hope, a living hope, a sure hope. Sometimes hopes are probabilities. I hope the bus is coming. I hope I win the lottery, but maybe it doesn’t happen. This hope is 100% sure and is a lively hope.

vs. 4. Three things in vs. 4 that describe our inheritance: incorruptible. It can’t rust or decay. Undefiled, it can’t get dirty or fall into a mud puddle. It can’t be defiled by your sin or unbelief. Your inheritance is incorruptible. It does not deteriorate. It’s undefiled and the third is a time it does not fade away. It doesn’t wilt like a flower. Flowers fade away. Holy things can become unholy. Living things can die. This inheritance cannot. None of the elements in physical science, in the laws of our physical universe can deteriorate, decay or take away from our inheritance. It’s sure. You get your lousy rotten hands on it and it can’t be defiled. I get my unbelieving heart on it and it can’t be changed. It’s beautiful.

vs. 4. Reserved in heaven for you. It’s kept for us.

vs. 5. We are kept by the power of God. Where this is going is something that is in my mind, something we need to hear and that is we tend to fall away or move away from God. We tend to get troubled. We fall into a crisis of unbelief. God invites us into mission. He invites us into mission. We are on a mission in life. I do not mean foreign missions though it may be that. But all of us are called into mission, purpose. He invites us. He calls us. We are called. This is the invitation. It starts here. We are called into and he speaks to us. We are born again and we have the nature of Christ in us and are able to hear from God in prayer and in communion and in love. God loves us. He fills us with the H.S. and we have something in heaven reserved for us. That is the guarantee we live in in this world of decay and change and this world sometimes of crisis. God leads us into – he calls us and leads us into trouble, testing. He leads us into – well, life is this way. Life is sometimes very challenging. Before we get into this trouble designed of God for us, he wants us to know we are in heaven reserved for us something that can’t be changed or defiled. He wants us to have an anchor or reference. That he will never leave us or forsake us. That he sends the Comforter and that Christ is living on our behalf forever. We are not an accident. We are called into mission, made for a purpose and its relationship with God. God is a relationship God. God is a loving God. A patient God, a serving God, a going God, a resting God. He never tires or wearies.

It says in Is 48 that God never tires. How easily we tire but God is not tired. Everything in the universe can go wrong. He doesn’t get weary. We would tire out each other but never tire out God. We could disappoint each other to the nth degree but not God. He is the almighty God who is the anchor for our life.

vs. 6. Wherein you greatly rejoice. This is a reference for life. It is rejoicing. Reference for life is God. In the presence of God is fullness of joy. God loves me. Our reference for life is rejoicing in him.

In the early service, we made note of the first five books of Moses. The first book is Genesis, the book of beginnings. We have the beginning of the universe, the human race, and the Jewish people. After the beginning book, you have them coming out of Egypt. The saving book. God saves us. Salvation is God taking us out of the world, out of Egypt. The third book is the holiness book, Leviticus. Being holy and clean, talking to God and God talking to us in the tabernacle. This is the point of life. Holiness. We have the salvation and holiness. This is the important thing believers miss. This is the whole point of what it means to be a child of God. We are holy and born again and have a new heart and are worshippers of God. The Spirit of God and the anointing of God. In Leviticus, you come with blood, oil, water, cleaning the animal, fire for burning. It’s all about the people being special. We are coming before God different. We are born again. We come with J.C. The blood of J.C., the Spirit of Jesus Christ. We come to the Father of J.C. We relate to God as a holy people. This is the reference for everything else. The fourth book of Moses is wanderings. Being lost as believers. Being disappointed. Being afraid. Being discouraged. Being angry with God, angry with Moses and the plan. I’m angry with the plan of God. This is Numbers. Deuteronomy is Moses repeating what happened with the law and the wanderings. Deuteronomy is like the capstone for the five books. It’s a lesson for us. It happens to believers. They are made, born again, made holy, wander, and can’t find their right way and they don’t get out of it. This is the principle. The text here reflects this. Wherein you greatly rejoice though now for a season if need be you are in heaviness. The meaning is distress. You are in distress through many different kinds of trials.

vs. 6. I’ve seen this happen as a pastor. I’ve gone through it myself. I’m in distress, God speaks, and we come to this place of comfort. Trials. It doesn’t seem that God has made any living thing with personality and free will that he doesn’t test not for his knowledge but he does it for our sake and in his wisdom and the unfolding plan. Whether it’s Lucifer or the angel in heaven or Jesus in the temptation in the wilderness or your life or my life, there is some designed trial or crisis of faith, a crisis of belief. Do I believe God? We started with the guarantee, a lively hope of an inheritance that is in heaven for us. In this life, we find ourselves with different kinds of trials and tests. We are learning what this means. If I can find God in my crisis or in my trial, I can find God in a way I go from Numbers where I am wandering and I’m happy in the wilderness. I don’t like it. If I go back to Leviticus in principle and stand before a holy God, I can make it. If I realize God has called me and speaks to me and loves me and cares for me and sent the Comforter and that God will help me, I can be like a Joshua or Caleb or Moses and know what is going on in my trouble. It must be that God has all of our trials and difficulties measured out because he says the balance is in the Lord’s bag. A just balance is his delight. He knows you and me. When he tested Abraham, he said give me your son. Abraham was so clear in his heart and mind regarding the unfolding plan of God, Abraham was able to do it without much trouble. He did it. Jesus also said remember Lot’s wife. In the gospel of Luke, remember Lot’s wife. Three words. She left Sodom and Gomorrah by the angels. They brought her and her family out of Sodom and Gomorrah and she turned back to look. Her heart was there. She is a good example of someone who is going along with the group but her heart isn’t there.

Like Jeremiah 29, Christ saying your words are right but your heart is far from me. Like us in our Christian religion, we might have our right words but is our heart exercised in a crisis where we can say I am not only saying these things, but I want to believe them in my heart. I want the H.S. to show me and lead me in my life. We believe God and there is an adjustment. We adjust. We say okay. I’m not living where I want to live but this is what I got. I will find God in my life. I never planned this. But this is what I got. I got something what I got and God wants to show me what I have and it is in me deeply by the H.S.

1 Peter 1:7, I’m turning away. I don’t believe this stuff anymore. If I’m a child a God, I’m just in more trouble. Not only my trial on the outside, but I have to deal with myself on the inside. What is the nature of man on the inside? The nature of man on the inside is he has fears, inadequacies, vanity, purpose, hedonistic, maybe living in lust and bad habits and that’s what they have. We don’t have anything if we don’t go to God. If we go to God and we find both God and us. If we don’t go to God I turn away in my trial. If I was in the Spirit, I wouldn’t say I don’t like that person. I love that person in my heart because God does. I say I don’t like that person and the neighbor is bothering me and I don’t like my job like I used to. It’s not a blessing for me to turn away from God. The greatest thing I have is a hunger for God. To delight in God. Delighting in God. There is nothing there but when you delight in it, you delight in it. Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. It doesn’t mean you get what you want. It just means when you delight in God, we end up delighting in God in the nature of God. Delighting in him and then we find freedom. We find his character. We find victory. We find a new life. The trials of your faith. Don’t turn back in your faith. You’re going to grow. Don’t turn back. The trial of your faith is valuable. It’s going to be satisfying. It’s going to happen. You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be better than ever. You’ll make it. It’ going to be awesome. The trial of your faith is more valuable and precious than gold that perishes though it be tried with fire. There is something that will result in your decision to praise and honor and glory. You will be very happy you continued. We are not here to go through routine. We are here to be believing that J.C. in our lives 24/7 all our lives has a real meaning. It has real value. It’s the most precious thing we have in our lives is our relationship with Christ. The greatest thing we can do is be trusting him and believing him in every area of our lives. Remember Lot’s wife. She’s saying I don’t want to be here. I argue with my husband and about this whole thing. I don’t care about it. If that’s in me, I need to know that. I want to know that. I believe we are all this way and the answer is J.C. The book of Leviticus is saying that Christ became everything we need in order to be who he is. He became everything we need in order so that when I go out of Sodom and Gomorrah, I’m saying thank you for delivering me and I’m agreeing with my husband, Lot. This is it.

Do you remember Herod and he liked John the Baptist in Mk 6:20? He knew he was a just man. He had respect for John the Baptist. Herod feared John….observed him. …heard him gladly. Herod liked to hear John the Baptist. There are people in the world that may know you and are fascinated by your life and your convictions and may have respect for you. They might say he is a good man or he is a faithful man or he is the man that goes to church all the time. Ungodly people or people at work or wherever you meet people they might say something in their hearts about us like this.

Then it says the daughter of Herodias came in and danced in vs. 22.

Mark 6:22-24. She said the head of John the Baptist. vs. 25. What would you have done in that situation? I like John the Baptist. I’m in front of these people. I made a promise. I guess I’m going to have to do this. That’s a tough one. He should say no. No head of John the Baptist for you. He couldn’t do it. It says he was very sad. We are believers and what Herod doesn’t have he may like him but he doesn’t have the character, the wisdom, the ability. He got himself in a situation and he felt like he had to follow through. What is right is right. He did a stupid thing anyway. The stupid thing led to something worse. Listen to me young lady. That’s not going to happen. If you ever ask me again, your head will be on a platter. He couldn’t do that. If you and I do not handle these crises of our faith – the crisis of your identity, the crisis of doctrine, and the crisis of circumstances. You just say who am I or what do I believe or what about these circumstances. But Christ is in you and has given us the Spirit. The doctrine is the only thing that we have is our reference that we can find Christ conformed in us. We are changed from glory to glory. We are changed. You and I can cave. We don’t have it. We are like Herod. What? The head of John the Baptist? Oh no. Now I can’t go back on my word. Ok, behead John the Baptist. There it is. You and I cannot live like that. I am like that but this text is saying to me that when I have my trial and I’m believing God, God is producing in us his character. Jesus character, it glorifies God and God gets glory and honor for what you and I become. We become like him. A bad marriage, job, car accident, a bad prison sentence, rejection at work or school or financial problems or health problems. I don’t like trials more than anyone does. I want to believe that God can help me and I can make this adjustment.

That they that wait on the Lord will not get weary or tire in Is 40:31. I want to believe God will uphold us and build in us this character. I’m not tempted to go away from God but more than ever delighting in him. He is the point and finding him means everything to us. We have not seen him but you love him.

1 Peter 1:9, simplicity, the Greek word is HAPLOTES. God is present with us. It’s his life and joy and it is beyond human speech. It doesn’t mean emotional. It’s just solid, quiet real peace and joy in your life. A solid sense that God is carrying you. God has increased you. The fear and respect that we have for God. Receiving the end of your faith, the consequences, even the salvation of your soul.

vs. 9. You are a better soul for it. Increase. You are not like Herod the coward but Christ the hero. We are all cowards and can cave but we find the living Christ and rejoice in him. I have seen people depart. They get hurt and their anger goes into bitterness. They are more alone. They associate with people that have the same kind of problems. It collapses under its own weight. Not joy, not freedom, not simplicity, not holiness, not clarity, not authority, not ministry. I have no strength to minister to people like God would like me to have because he has called us to mission.

One of the things God leads us in is manifold trials. He leads us there and guides us into the way of thinking and the spirit of worship. If we lose worship in Leviticus, we wander in Numbers and find ourselves disappointed and blame everyone else including God for our miserable life. You are the miserable person in life. We need not learn to be in Leviticus in a place of holiness and delight in God and the whole thing turns around. We delight in a precious trial and temptations and the fruit of those decisions and knowing God more personally and glorifying him in life with a lot of love and energy that is able to serve and care.

Please enjoy these sermon notes from the messages preached at Greater Grace Church in Baltimore. These notes are provided to aid in your study and understanding of the Word. Note that these notes do not represent complete, word-for-word transcriptions. Also, they may contain omissions as well as some errors in spelling and structure, etc., as we attempt to provide them as soon as possible. Our hope is that these notes serve as a way to help you search and connect with messages on related subjects and passages. Thank you for your interest in the ministry of Greater Grace.