“FACING THE TWISTS AND TURNS ON THE ROAD OF LIFE-DELAYS”
1 PETER 1:3-5
INTRO: As we travel this road of life we will face many hurts, pains, troubles,
and trials. It is during these times of crisis that we can pour our
hearts out to God and know He will hear us. Psalm 34:17 says, “The
righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all
their troubles.” “The LORD heareth”—what a comfort those words give!
But what happens when the Lord delays. When the answer doesn’t
come quickly? Having to wait for someone or something is difficult.
What we want, we want now. Our fast food must be just that-fast.
Instant pudding, instant rice, and instant results are part of our way
of life. One individual prayed for patience and told the Lord that he
wanted it "Right away!" However, we know so agonizingly well that
the Lord does not work on our time table. Having to wait upon the
Lord (Psa 27:14; Psa 37:34) can be painful at times! The principle of
the Lord working as He wills requires faith. He is never late! His
promises are sure. May we have the faith and patience to wait! The
Lord will work out His plan, His way and in His time. We must
remember that God’s delays are not necessarily God’s denials. As we
face delays on the road of life we must learn to wait on the Lord! As
Isaiah 40:31 tells us, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew
their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run
and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Simply wait on
him. So doing, we shall be directed, supplied, protected, corrected, and
rewarded. -- Vance Havner, Christian Reader, Vol. 32, no. 4.
For those who are hurting, for those trying times and dry spells and
lonely places of life, places where it seems God delays, there is “The
Song of the Afflicted.” This song is found in Peter’s wonderful message
which will put things in perspective when we are suffering. These
times of suffering, hurt, affliction, trials, and pain are never something
we chose. We have two options: We can either despise the moment
and become discouraged, or else, We can learn from it as we
understand God’s Word in this difficult, yet divine, moment. Every
word in Peter’s letter to these “elect sojourners” is founded on this bed-
rock song. Every encouragement comes from this, every insight for
our life finds its root in this truth. Etch these words in your heart so
that you might be steadfast in your life, especially when the battles
rage and it seems like God’s delays. As God’s Children, we have
strength and hope because our hope is protected by the very power of
God! Note four things with me as we think on the subject, “Delays”:
(1) THE AUTHOR OF OUR HOPE
1 PETER 1:3a—“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ…”
A. HIS ADORATION. Peter begins with an anthem of praise of “blessing
to God”—“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The
word “blessed” here is translated from a Greek word which means
“adorable.” To “bless God” is to adore HIM and to declare His
excellence, His greatness, His character, and always His Grace! Surely
He is worthy of our praise and adoration! As Romans 11:33-36 says,
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his
counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed
unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things:
to whom be glory for ever. Amen.”
ILLUS: James Denney, the saintly Scotch preacher/teacher/theologian
used to warn his students against thinking they could learn all
there was to know about God during their university and
seminary studies. “Gentlemen,” he would tell them, “To study
infinity requires eternity” (1).
Even when facing the twists and turns on the road of life we are still
exhorted by the Scripture to praise and adore God! Philippians 4:4
tells us to, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” As
the Apostle Paul wrote these words he was sitting in a prison cell. It
seems strange that a man in prison would be telling a church to be
joyful. But Paul’s attitude serves to teach us an important lesson—our
inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circumstances. Paul
was full of joy because he knew that no matter what happened to him,
Jesus Christ was with him (2). Vv. 3-12 form one great anthem of
praise for what God has done for “sojourners”. Peter’s adoration isn’t
mere religious jargon, but is heartfelt adoration and praise for what God
has done!
B. HIS ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY. Not only are we to “bless God,” but
we are also blessed by God. From our earthly viewpoint, it is God’s
gracious gift of “our Lord Jesus Christ” which is the most demonstrative
feature of God’s mercy and grace! Only the Redeemed can truly call
God “God and Father.” Those two terms stress for us His eternal
Sovereignty and Grace by His gift of His only begotten Son to be our
Savior! Galatians 4:4-5 tells us, “But when the fullness of time was
come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To
redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption
of sons.” Oliver B. Greene wrote in his commentary on Ephesians, “In
Genesis 3:15 God promised the seed of the woman. From that moment
until the day Jesus was born, all hell did everything possible to prevent
the seed that would bruise the serpent’s head. Nevertheless, Jesus was
born as prophesied. A virgin conceived (in spite of what Bishop Pike
and others say) and brought forth a son, and called His name Jesus.
The Holy Ghost overshadowed Mary and she brought forth a son named
Emmanuel, interpreted ‘God with us’…God always does exactly what He
promises, exactly as He promised (3). The glorious gift of God’s Son was
merely an act of His sovereign grace.
The Song of the Afflicted begins with praise of God’s great grace through
“our Lord Jesus Christ.” God’s gracious work has established Jesus as
both our MASTER—“Our Lord,” and our MESSIAH—“our Christ.” Both
titles designate Jesus as clearly the centerpiece, Whom Peter later
identifies as the “chief Cornerstone” of God’s marvelous grace to us—
simple “sojourners” on the road to glory!
ILLUS: Our normal, ordinary view of salvation is hopelessly and
ridiculously inadequate. Our trouble is that we always start
with ourselves instead of starting with God. Instead of going to
the Bible and looking at its revelation and discovering there
what salvation means, I start with myself and certain things
that I want and desire, certain benefits that I always want to
enjoy in this life and in this world. I want forgiveness of sins; I
want peace of conscience and of mind; I want enjoyment and
happiness; I want to be delivered from certain sins; I want
guidance; I want this and that; and my whole conception of
salvation is reduced to that level. ... The most wonderful thing
of all is not that my sins have been forgiven, nor that I may
enjoy certain experiences and blessing as a Christian. The
thing that should astound me ... is that I am a child of God,
one of God's people. -- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones in Safe in the
World. Christianity Today, Vol. 34, no. 7.
As we face the delays on the ROAD OF LIFE, let us remember THE AUTHOR OF OUR HOPE, but also let us remember…
(2) THE AMAZING NATURE OF OUR HOPE
1 PETER 1:3b—“According to his abundant mercy hath begotten us
again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead.”
A. THE REASON FOR OUR HOPE. We must remember, it is not because
of what we have done, nor our merit, or our strength that we possess
this hope. It is “according to his abundant mercy..” there is the source
of the hope. The source is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The living hope comes by the mercy of God. This is the basis of our
hope; it could be no other way. Man is just so sinful he has only one
hope: the hope that God will have mercy upon him. (Preacher’s Outline
and Sermon Bible, New Testament 12, 1 Peter-Jude Commentary). The
hope we possess as Believer lies in the great fact that God is merciful!
As Titus 3:4-7 tells us, “But after that the kindness and love of God
toward man appeared. Not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of
regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; That being justified by his
grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
When we are suffering the first place we should turn is to the glorious
truth of what God’s grace has done through Jesus Christ, “according to
his abundant mercy”! Peter’s words offer joy and hope in times of
trouble, and he bases his confidence on what God has done for us in
Christ Jesus. We’re called to live in the hope of eternal life. Our hope is
not only for the future: eternal life begins when we believe in God and
join his family. The eternal life we now have gives us hope and enables
us to live with confidence in God (4). Even as we face delays on the
Road of Life, we can rest in the great hope we possess because of the
mercy of God! But let us also see…
B. THE REALITY OF OUR HOPE. We are grounded in a “living hope”
because we have been “born again”. We have “hope”—a “living hope”
and Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is the crowning point of all our
hope! As the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:17-19—“And if
Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they
also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we
have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” If the hope we
possess is based on anything less than a living Savior than we are as
Paul said “..of all men most miserable.” This hope is ours today as
“sojourners” because God chose us in Him before the world began and
sent His Son, Jesus to die for our sins and rise again for our
justification! Oliver B. Greene said, “If Jesus did not return from the
grave, then our faith is empty and to no avail; it has produced no
eternal results (5).
ILLUS: A extremely educated man once said to a little who believed in
the Lord Jesus: "My poor little girl, you don't know whom you
believe in. There have been so many Christs. In which one of
them do you believe? The little girl replied, "I know which one I
believe in. I believe in the Christ who rose from the dead!"
Praise God, for a living Savior! Peter first mentions our “living hope” as
an anchor for our souls. An anchor that will hold even during the
delays and disappoints in the twists and turns on the road of life. Why
did Peter mention this first? Because so often in this life we find our-
selves in a place of pain and suffering, as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians
1:8, where he “despaired even of life.” Many of us know this place.
Some of you today may be in this place. It is often a crippling darkness
where we lose hope. Peter also knew that place. When He watched
Jesus did on the Cross, everything ended and Peter lost hope. Not only
that, but His hope of dealing with his denials of Jesus ended also! It
was a bitter end for Peter to face. I want you to see that when we suffer
we often lose hope. We feel like the life is drained out of us. But Peter
says We have an Anchor! And it is the hope we have, because of the
new life we have, because Jesus lives! This sinful world that surrounds
us and all that it can ever throw at us cannot destroy this hope! Peter
says, we have been “begotten again unto a lively hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
When the women came early to Jesus’ tomb to finish preparing His
body, they found that He was gone. The angelic messenger said to
them, “…He is risen, He is not here: Behold the place where they laid
Him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that He goeth before
you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you.” (Mark 16:
6b-7) Luke and Paul both record a personal time that took place
between Jesus and Peter. It was during that time that Peter grasped
for sure that first anchor for those who suffer. It is the Living Hope we
have in the Living Jesus! We’re grounded in Living Hope! This is the