Be Holy, & 2 other important ways to live

Being holy, and 3 other wonderful and important truths.

See 1st Peter 1:14-25

There are at least 4 main areas that Peter is focusing on in this section of his letter.

1. Be Holy.

2. Conduct yourself in the fear of the Lord.

3. Love one another fervently.

4. God's Word lives and abides forever.

Being holy, or being set apart to God. This speaks of our commitment to the Lord. Living our lives for Him. We are called to live this way, "Be holy" because, God is holy. God is set apart. God is above all of His own creation. He is light, and there is no darkness in Him.

Conducting ourselves in the fear of the Lord. Or, living our lives in a coordinated way with God. Bringing our lives into conformity with His will. Showing that we do live in the fear of the Lord, by obedience to His will and His Word.

Loving one another fervently. This really goes to the heart of what God calls us to, of what He commands us to be like, and to do.

God's Word will abide, when all else perishes and goes by the wayside. It's through His Word that we have been born again. This speaks of how precious, God's Holy Word is. It's through His Word, that God has given us eternal life.

If you read through this portion of Peter's first letter, or epistle, you can see how these are like four legs to a chair. They speak of very, very important truths to live our lives on, and to be like day by day.

Lord, Your Word lays out Your way and Your will to us. Thank You for laying it out for us in a simple, and understandable way. May our lives bring honor and glory to You. Please fill us with Your Spirit. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Application/Promise

1. God only calls us to what we can be.

2. The calling of God includes the comfort and power of His Spirit.

3. Setting our lives apart to God is what Jesus did when He was on earth.

4. Loving another person, is what we would like others to do for us.

5. God's Word feeds our souls day by day if we take it in.

Gird up the loins of your mind

Girding up our minds, and two other things to do.

See 1st Peter 1:13 

1Pet 1:13 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

In light of the Word of God, and the truth of Jesus Christ that has been brought to you says Peter, here's what to do. 

( by the way, the normal sequence of things in the Bible, seems to be, that first of all, God tells us what He has done for us, given to us, or will do for us, and then calls us to do something. First we receive what He has done, and then we can and ought to respond to what He is calling us to do. Such is the case here )

1. Gird up the loins of your mind. 

2. Be sober.

3. And rest your hope fully upon the grace that's coming.

What do these things mean? 

First of all, to gird up the loins of your mind, means, to be prepared. Taken from a custom of that day, to be able to be unimpeded in their movements, they were accustomed, when starting a journey or engaging in any work, to bind their long flowing garments closely around their bodies and fastened with a leather belt. 

So, the idea for us, is simply, that of being prepared as we follow Jesus.

Secondly, "Be sober" or Watch, be calm, and be collected in spirit. Be temperate in what you do. Be circumspect, ( or keep your guard, observe )

Don't be intoxicated by the world, and the things of the world. Keep a sober head and heart.

Thirdly, "rest your hope fully the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ"  God has been gracious to you, and He is being gracious to you right now, but He is going to be gracious to you in the days ahead, at the revelation of Jesus Christ. What a moment that will be. 

We see Him through a glass darkly now, but then face to face, and we will know, even as we are known. We are going receive more grace, and will have that grace revealed to us, for all of eternity, ( of which there is no end. It will be a revelation of grace forever )

So, the idea here, is just rest in hope. And hope is a good resting place as we travel along this path to heaven. We can rest even while we walk and run. While we work, and battle. We can rest in hope. 

Thank You Father for these things given so clearly to us in Your Word. 

Application/Promises

1. God's Word is our roadmap for life

2. God's Word explains how to live and walk.

3. God's Word is full of comfort and hope.

4. God calls us to hear and do His Word.

5. Let's try and do these 3 things today. 

We love Him

We can't see Him, but we love Him...........

That's the exact blessing and fact that Peter states here in verse 8, and then he brings out another blessing that is coming our way. 

Let's look at both of these today. 

1st Peter 1:8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

1st Peter 1:9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.

First of all, the readers of this letter in his day, are just like believers in Jesus Christ today. They had not seen Jesus Christ personally, they had never met Him in that sense. They had only heard about Him from others. ( 1st Pet 1:12 )

That's pretty much the case with us also. We have had other people tell us about Jesus. However, like the readers in Peters day, and like countless millions of others down through these centuries, around the world, we also love Him. When we believed in Him, upon hearing about Him, and turning to Him, we were born again ( 1st Peter 1:3 ) and, from that moment on we have come to love Him, and do love Him now.  In fact, John tells us 1Jo 4:19* We love Him because He first loved us.

The second thing that Peter says in verse 9, is that we will receive the end of our faith, the salvation of our souls. We are saved now, ( 1st Pet 1:2-7 )

but, Peter seems to be referencing the completion of our salvation, that is, when we will be given new bodies, and will be in His visible sight, and He in ours. So, through faith we have been saved, we being saved and kept as it were through faith, and by His power. Yet, there is coming a day, one day, when we will experience the end of our faith, as mentioned above, the completion of our salvation.  And, from that moment on, we will be in eternity with God forever, and forever. What eternal blessings lay ahead for each of us in Christ. 

Well, 1st Peter is chock full of wonderful truth from God. It will be a continued blessing to read through it, and study it with you. 

May God bless you richly, may He cause His face to shine upon you, and may He lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. 

Application & Promises

1. There is literally no end to the blessings in store for us. 

2. What God has done, is the just the start.

3. The Lord wants us to enjoy these blessings now. 

4. It's even hard to express the joy we have sometimes.

5. If your not truly saved, You can be today.

6. Just turn to Jesus, received Jesus.

7. Believe in Him, give yourself to Him.

8. Ask Him to become your saviour.

9. He loves you, and you will begin to love Him. 

Why do we go through trials?

Why do we go through trials?

That question is answered in the first chapter of Peters Epistle.

See 1:6-9

1Pet 1:6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,

1Pet 1:7  that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

1Pet 1:8  whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 

1Pet 1:9 receiving the end of your faith--the salvation of your souls.

First of all, while we rejoice in Christ Jesus, though now for a little while ( IF NEED BE ).....that's the first thing about trials, this is partly why the Lord allows them in our lives. It's if NEED BE. In other words, there is some need in our life that that the Lord is seeking to minister to. 

Secondly, we are told that the ( GENUINENESS OF OUR FAITH )  will come shining through. 

So, for these two reasons. One, we have a need, and the Lord is tending to that need, and secondly, that our faith being tested by fire will be found to praise, honor and glory. In other words, our faith will be developed and made stronger. 

These two truths can help us as we face trials, to see them from God's perspective, and then to embrace them, and patiently go through them, letting the Lord do His work in us and through us. 

In short, when God takes us through a trial ( which He does if we let Him, He is always faithful to get us through them ) we never come out the other side the same. We are changed, we are transformed, we are equipped to better serve Him and His people. 

Thank You Father for these truths. They are such an encouragement to us. They shed great light on our lives and ministries. We welcome Your work, and pray to trust You as we go through trials, and to just patiently wait on You to do Your work. In Jesus name. Amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia

Application/Promise.

1. Trials only come when needed.

2. They are to refine our faith

3. Trials are fiery, but not destructive

4. Trials purify us.

5. Trials make our faith shine all the more.

6. Trials fit the plan of God for our lives. 

7. Hang in there, God will get you through. 

8. Be faithful to God. He is faithful to You. 

Your inheritance/what is it?

A closer look at Your inheritance in Jesus Christ.

What is the inheritance that you have in Christ?

In the verses below, much is said about the inheritance you have been given in Christ. 

Peter 1:4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

1st Peter 1:5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

There are 8 things brought out here. 

1. You do have an inheritance. 

2. This is given to you by God.

3. It's incorruptible.

4. It's undefiled

5. It's not going to fade away.

6. It's being reserved for you in heaven.

7. You are being kept by God's power.

8. You are being kept by God through faith.

Essentially, these truths mean, that you are currently an heir, who has been brought into the will of God by adoption as an equal son with all other believers, and are a joint heir with Jesus Christ. God has given you something that is permanent, nothing can happen to it, such as it becoming corrupted and defiled. It's reserved for you, and you are being kept for it by God's power as you walk by faith. 

Lord, it's beyond our ability to say the things that we ought to say in thanksgiving. What can we say? We stand in awe, especially because of your grace. Your Word lays these things out for us. And we thank You that we indeed have this inheritance from You, and pray that we become rooted and grounded in the truth of what You have done for us. In Jesus name 

Pastor Bob Grenier

Calvary Chapel Visalia

Application/Promise. 

1. It's true, He has given us an inheritance.

2. We have what Christ has. 

3. We are joint-heirs with Christ.

4. What can we do in response Lord?

5. How about giving our lives to You?

6. Serving You, is logical. 

7. In light of what You have done for us. 

Count your blessings

Some blessings from God.....let's count them.

Peter is going to address them later on, as those who were going through suffering and trials. But, before he does that, he recounts for them, what God has blessed them with. This is a good and encouraging way to view our own lives and situations. You may be going through a difficulty, but, let's not forget the truths of God's many, many blessings in our lives. 

1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,

1:2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

1:4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

1: 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We are now pilgrims, whose citizenship is in another land, that land of heaven with God and Jesus Christ. 

We have been chosen by the Lord in His foreknowledge, ( or in His forethought, and pre-arrangement ) The Lord has had us in mind, long ago, in eternity past.

We have been set apart ( to be holy ) by God through His Spirit.

We can have God's grace and peace multiplied in our lives. 

We have received God's abundant mercy.

We have been begotten again, or born again.

We now have a living hope in Jesus Christ.

We have an inheritance in Jesus Christ.

We are kept by the power of God through faith.

There are many more things that are said here, and in the days ahead, we will look at them more closely. But, for now, these are wonderful, and given to us by the Lord.

Thank You Father. In Jesus name

Application/Promise.

1. You have given us so much Lord.

2. We deserved none of these.

3. These are all from Your grace.

4. How can we ever thank You.

5. Would You help us appreciate these blessings.

6. You are so good to us.