Knowing God through His Word … Day by Day

Notes on Pastor Mark Driscoll’s message on 1 Peter 1:3-9 

Born Again to a Living Hope

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Driscoll starts in the middle and works his way back to the beginning and end of this passage, with the fact that we WILL have TRIAL in this life.  He then goes on to ask, “How do I FEEL about my trials?”  (Grieved) He concludes with our response as followers of Jesus…to rejoice!  Here’s the outline:

EXPERIENCE–>Trial

FEEL–>Grieved

RESPOND–>Rejoice!

TRIAL:  There are many types of trial we face, physical, emotional, financialy, relational.  A key to remember is that each person’s trial is important to them.

What we FEEL:  Jesus felt emotions, too.  The Gospel accounts tell us Jesus rejoiced, was sad to the point of weeping, angry.  “Grieved” implies a gut-wrenching heaviness.  Sometimes the stress of trials leads to prevailing darkness, loss of hope and motivation.  Charles H. Spurgeon battled depression and likened it to fighting against the mist.  He was so miserable that he once had to take a 6 month break from ministry.

We may get “counsel” from other people that is trite, foolish and childish. People may offer all kinds of remedies to us.  Or, like Job’s friends, they may accuse us of sin in our life. They may offer simple cures that have worked for them, like a book on positive thinking or “Just read a Psalm every day…” or “sow a seed…” 

Point to remember:  God doesn’t stand aloof and immune to our suffering.  He has come into history.  Jesus doesn’t fix it all, but walks through it all with us!

Our RESPONSE: (what we DO when confronted with TRIAL)

• Judge God?  No, He is GOOD! …
• Envy others? Wish for a better wife, job, life? No…
• Self-pity?  “Woe is me” and become self-obsessed.  No…
• Run to a “functional savior” We want to escape our trial so we turn to drugs, alcohol, TV, exercise, etc.  No…
• Rejoice!  This is NOT faking, pretending or avoiding.  This kind of JOY is “inexpressible” which means it is hard to explain, hard to preach.  The WEIGHT of our TRIAL and GRIEF must be balanced by the greater weightiness of GOD!  GOD can never be taken from us!

10 REASONS from 1 Peter 1 to REJOICE:

1. God’s GREAT MERCY (v3)
2. We are BORN AGAIN (v3 and John 3)  We live differently.  The old is gone, the new has come!
3. We have a LIVING HOPE through Jesus’ resurrection! (v3)
4. We have an INHERITANCE that can’t deteriorate! (v4)
5. It is KEPT IN HEAVEN for us! (v4) We are exiles (v1) and this world is not our home.  This life is as close as we will ever get to hell!
6. SALVATION is guarded by GOD! (v5) He holds on to us, carries us, will never leave us!  We will get through this!
7. Trials are for A LITTLE WHILE….((v6)it’s just not that big a deal-it’s just LIFE!  Bad life vs bad eternity
8. FAITH greater value than gold.  (v7)Trials refine us, purify our faith, mature us, sanctify us(v2) and in the end, we get Jesus.
9. God LOVES you and you LOVE Him (v8)
10. You BELIEVE in Him, even without seeing. (v8)  If we really believe the Bible promises like Romans 8:28, we will rejoice.

Pastor Mark’s closing prayer:  “Father God, I pray against the enemy, his servants, their works and effects.  I pray, Lord God, for those who at this moment would be so obsessed with their grief that it would obscure sight of their Savior.  God, I pray for two things:  God, let us grieve in our trials, that we would not deny our feelings or emotions, but that in additon, Lord God, that we would REJOICE with a joy that is enexpressible, a joy that we can’t articulate or explain, that God, by grace, through faith, that we would by the power of the Holy Spirit respond with rejoicing.  That we would raise our hearts and our minds and our voices in song of praise!  God, I thank you that you don’t fix everything, but You are sufficient for everyone! Amen”