Kept Strangers

Q: What does the Bible say about being kept by God?

The Bible teaches that God's people are kept by His power through faith for salvation, as stated in 1 Peter 1:5. In 1 Peter 1:5, the Apostle Peter emphasizes that believers are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. This encapsulates the assurance that God actively sustains and protects His elect. If God were to withdraw His sustaining grace, we would surely fall away, but His promise guarantees our preservation. This teaching reassures believers that their salvation is safe and secure in the hands of a sovereign God who will not let any of His chosen ones be lost.

Q: How do we know election is true?

Election is affirmed in Scripture, notably in 1 Peter 1:2, which identifies believers as 'elect according to the foreknowledge of God.' Believers' election is rooted in the foreknowledge of God the Father, as articulated in 1 Peter 1:2. This verse highlights the doctrine of election, which asserts that before the foundation of the world, God chose a specific people to save. This choice is not based on foreseen faith or works but solely on His sovereign will. By recognizing that our salvation is entirely His work and not our own, we understand election as an act of grace, emphasizing the glory of God rather than human effort.

Q: Why is grace important for Christians?

Grace is vital for Christians as it is through God's grace that we are saved, as highlighted in 1 Peter 1:2. Grace is the cornerstone of the Christian faith, as expressed in 1 Peter 1:2 where it states, 'Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied.' This illustrates how grace is a divine favor bestowed upon sinners, enabling salvation and the transformation of lives. It underscores the principle that we do not earn our salvation but receive it through faith, which in itself is a gift of grace. Recognizing grace fosters humility in believers, encouraging them to rely on God's strength instead of their own, highlighting the character of God as merciful and loving.

Q: How are Christians kept safe in their faith?

Christians are kept safe in their faith by the power of God, as reiterated in 1 Peter 1:5. The assurance of being kept safe in faith is directly tied to the power of God, which is a prevalent theme in 1 Peter 1:5. This scripture reassures believers that their faith and salvation are not dependent on their own efforts but on God's unchanging power and promise. His active preservation means that even when believers face trials or falter, they remain secure in His hands. The faithful God will finish what He has started in every believer, thus providing an unwavering hope that anchors the soul amid uncertainties.

Q: Why do Christians feel like strangers in this world?

Christians feel like strangers in this world because their faith and hope are rooted in Christ, differing from worldly values, as seen in 1 Peter 1:1. In 1 Peter 1:1, believers are referred to as 'strangers scattered throughout.' This designation arises because Christians are citizens of a heavenly kingdom, and their values, beliefs, and ultimate hopes are contrary to those of this present world. This inherent strangeness results from their identification with Christ, which sets them apart from a culture that often opposes the truths of the Gospel. As such, believers may experience feelings of alienation and disconnection, reminding them of their true home and the responsibilities of their faith amidst a secular society.

Turn with me back to 1 Peter 1. 1 Peter 1. The goal of this message is to give all of the credit and glory to Christ and none of it to man. That's the whole goal of this message. Let's read these first five verses again. It says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through sanctification of the Spirit and obedience, sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.

The subject matter that we're gonna focus on tonight is kept. Kept by the power of God. It is continually made clear to me, I am continually reminded of the fact, personally, that if God's people are not kept by the power of God, they are not going to be kept. I just went on vacation for a week and I went on vacation. I went on vacation from everything.

I was just talking with a brother here just a moment ago and told him it's so hard to get your mind to flip back once you let it go. Once you let it go, no responsibility. Okay, now just go into the world. And it's constantly in the world, don't get me wrong on that, but I don't just let it go.

I got work to do. There was a time in my life I had another job and I could do it like clockwork. I didn't have to think about it. It took no, you know what I'm talking about. I could zone out while I did it. I can't do that anymore. If I zone out, that's just time lost. I have to constantly zone back in. And so I go on vacation for a week and I just, just go. You know, everybody's like, did you have a rest? Oh yeah, I just shut down. I just completely, I talked to somebody on the phone and said, I'm a slug on a beach. That's it.

I am constantly reminded that if the Lord would let me go, I'd be gone. I'm honest. I'm just honest. If we are not kept by the power of God, we are not going to be kept. If he would let me go, I'd be gone. And so would you. If he would let you go, you would be gone so fast, it would make your head spin.

But he's not going to let any of his people go. He's not going to let any of his people go. God's people are kept by the power of God. God's people, you know, I'm talking about God's chosen, elected to salvation people. They are the most prone to wander people on the face of this earth. They are the most prone to wander people on the face of this earth.

None of us elected ourselves. I vote for me. How about me? None of us elected ourselves. None of us called ourselves. None of us produced faith within ourselves. None of us. None of us redeemed ourselves. And none of us will keep ourselves. None of us. We didn't start this work. We're not going to finish it. None of us. If we are going to be kept, it will only be by the power of God. It will only be by the power of God.

Brother Henry Mahan one time ran into a man that he had not seen in many, many years. He ran into a man that he, from a long time ago, this was an unbelieving man, but a very religious man. And this man said, brother Henry, he, you know, met up and all that kind of stuff. He said, brother Henry, are you still saved? And Henry said, well, I don't know.

Is God still seated on His throne? If He is still seated on His throne, then I'm still saved. This thing is totally dependent on Him. It is just totally dependent on Him. The song says, Praise the Lord for full salvation. God still reigns upon the throne. He still reigns upon the throne. Still. We are being kept Still, still by the power of God. We are still being kept by the power of God. Well, who exactly is being kept by the power of God? And how are they being kept by the power of God?

Let's look at this right here. Verse one, it says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia." Who is he speaking to? Who is he saying will be kept by the power of God? The strangers. That's who he's speaking to, the strangers. What does he mean by the strangers? Who are God's strangers in this world?

We'll turn with me over to Hebrews 11. Hebrews 11 verse 13. It says, These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. That's who God's strangers are.

It's those who have received faith and by that faith, or my center margin says according to that faith, they have received the promises of God. They've received the promises of God in his word, all the promises of God that are in Christ Jesus our Lord. They have been caused to see them in Christ. And they've been caused to be persuaded of them in Christ. To believe them. That's what persuaded is. I believe that. And they've been caused to embrace that them. That means love them.

And they've been caused to confess that they are strangers and pilgrims on this earth because their hope and their faith does not match the hope and the faith of this world. They don't line up. They just do not line up. Their religion does not match the religion of this world. They are not trusting in man or man's works at all.

And that's what the world is looking to, and that's what the world is trusting in, and that's all the world knows to talk about. Man and man's works, but the strangers of God are trusting in Christ. They're so strange to the world. It's because they're trusting in Christ alone. They're trusting in Christ works alone. And people hear that and say, that's so strange.

And that faith and that trust is so foreign to this world, that particular faith, that particular trust. God's people cannot have fellowship in that with this world. Therefore, God's people know they're strangers in this world, strangers to this world. But here's the good news and the glory of their hope. They're not strangers alone. They're not strangers by themselves.

Turn with me over to Psalm 39. I absolutely adore this verse of Scripture. Psalm 39 verse 12 says, Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry. Hold not thy peace at my tears, for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. Lord, I'm a stranger, but I'm a stranger with you. I'm a stranger with you. If you are not of this world, then I don't want to be of this world either.

That's who God's strangers are. It's those who have nothing but Christ. It's those who believe on and hope in nothing but Christ. Nothing. Go with me back to 1 Peter 1. First Peter 1. Who are God's kept strangers? Look at verse 2. It says it's the elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Now let me ask you a question. Do you believe that God the Father elected a people to save? Do you believe that God the Father elected a people to save? Many people don't. Many people don't. The vast majority of this world does not. Therefore, if you do, you might be a stranger. You might be a stranger. You just might be one of the ones that the collective work of God made to be a stranger.

In verse 2 right here, we have the work of God the Trinity. This is what we have in verse 2, the collective work of God the Trinity. Verse 2 says, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Through sanctification of the spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood, of Jesus Christ. That is the whole salvation of all of God's strangers. That is the whole doctrine of all God's strangers. That is the whole hope of all of God's strangers, the collective work of God, the Trinity.

That is what man calls Calvinism. All right, that right there is what man calls Calvinism. Something that God in his three-person office did. God ordained it, God accomplished it, and God applied it. And then man wants to call it Calvinism. That's all that Calvinism is, the collective work of God the Trinity. It's the reason for the work of God the Trinity. It's the result of the work of God the Trinity. Why did we need the work of God the Trinity? Here's why. It's because humanity was ruined by sin. Complete, total depravity. Complete, total depravity.

But God the Father elected a people to be in Christ. He chose a people to be in Christ. God the Son redeemed those people in himself by the shedding of his own blood. And God the Spirit separated those people from the ruin of this world by placing them in Christ and calling them in Christ and quickening them in Christ.

That's point one, two, three, and four of Calvinism. Total depravity, but the Father, but the Son, but the Spirit. What was the result of that work of God the Trinity? That's point number five. Certain eternal security with Christ. All right, that's Calvinism, but that's not Calvinism, that's God-ism. That is God-ism. No man shares the glory with him in his work and his accomplishment. And that's what verse two is telling us right here.

This is the work of God, the Trinity. It says, elect according to the foreknowledge of God, the father. Through sanctification of the spirit, the father chose in Christ and the spirit set apart in Christ. Sanctification is the work of the spirit. It's not the work of man. It's the work of the spirit. And in Christ, everything that needed to be done for the sinner was done. Verse two says elect according to the foreknowledge of God, the father. Through sanctification of the spirit. Unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.

Now watch this. Okay. Really watch this. That is not our sprinkling of blood. Do we, do we understand that? That is not our sprinkling of blood. That is Christ's sprinkling of blood. And that is not our obedience. Everybody thinks that's our, you naturally read that and think, okay, they did all that unto our obedience. No, that's not our sprinkling of blood. That's Christ's sprinkling of blood. And that's not our obedience. That's Christ's obedience. His blood and His righteousness.

That's what redeemed every sinful stranger of God. Verse 2 says, We were elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto the obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. That's what we were elected to. That's what we were set apart to. The righteousness of Christ. the obedient righteousness of Christ, and the redeeming, sin-paying blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And with that work of God the Trinity being finished, the message to all of God's saved, kept strangers is, the end of verse two says, grace unto you. This is where we come in. This is our part. Here it is right here.

Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied. Grace and peace in the election of the Father, the redemption of the Son, and the sealing security of the Spirit, grace to you. And peace be multiplied. Another way of saying that could be Christ unto you. And Christ be multiplied unto you.

Verse three says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. By the will and the work of God, All of his people will be kept. I love this announcement. I love this announcement.

I'm so glad I don't have to tell you to do anything, because you can't do anything. And if you did, you'd mess it up. You wouldn't do a good job. But he did. And he does all things well. He does everything perfectly. And he finished the work. And this announcement is rest. You're taken care of. That's what this is saying. You are completely, totally taken care of. By the will and the work of God, all of his people are going to be kept. That's Peter's message. You're going to be kept. If God the Trinity did all of that for us, he will not let his work go to waste. He will not.

Nothing will separate us from this incorruptible, undefiled inheritance that will never fade away. Because it's being reserved, it's being actively reserved in heaven for every soul who's being kept. That reserved inheritance is Christ. He is the inheritance. And God's people are being kept in him, and God's people are being kept unto him. And nothing will allow us to fall away from him.

Nothing. Nothing. Now, I thought of so many examples in the scripture, I was going to show you some examples of people who are being kept. I just wanna show you one. I'm gonna end the message. However long this takes, we'll just end the message. I'm gonna show you one of these examples in the scripture of how God's people are kept. The reality and truth that God's people are kept. Turn with me over to Luke 22. This is one of those secure, faithful examples. Luke 22. Luke 22, verse 31, it says, And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, he's talking to Peter.

The Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not. And when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And Peter said unto him, Lord, I'm ready to go with thee both into prison and to death. And the Lord said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.

That cock crowing today, that's very early in the morning. I don't know what time early, early morning this was, but it was still dark outside. And he said, that rooster is not gonna crow. We have a rooster right now in our yard. You know where we live. We live in town. And across from John B. Dennis is some kind of a, farm auction place or something by the hospital, and we think that somehow a rooster got away and came across John B. Dennis, and it basically lives in our yard, and Hannah is loving it. Honestly, this is, she's wanted a farm, and this is the closest she's gonna get to a farm with me in town. And we thought this rooster would have been gone for whatever reason, but this rooster has hung in there. And every single morning, every morning, it's early. And we set our alarm early, but it's even sometimes earlier than our alarm.

And what the Lord was saying was, Peter, this is going to take no time at all. It's going to take no time. I don't care how full of faith you feel right now. I don't care how strong you feel in the Lord right now. It's going to take no time at all. Verse 34, he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. You're not even going to acknowledge that you know who I am. Look right here at verse 54.

Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest's house, and Peter followed afar off. And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them. But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.

And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not. And after a little while, another saw him and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not. And about the space of one hour after, another confidently affirmed, saying of a truth, This fellow also was with him, for he is a Galilean. And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest.

And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew, and the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out and wept bitterly. Oh, he denied him three times. Now turn with me to John 21. Boy, you want to see the goodness of the Lord. John 21 verse 1, After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and on this wise showed he himself. There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples.

Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, We also go with thee. They went forth and entered into a ship immediately, and that night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. And Jesus said unto them, Children, have you any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find. They cast their fore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, for he was naked, and did cast himself into the sea. And the other disciples came in a little ship, for they were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits, dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon and bred. Jesus saith unto them, Bring up the fish which you have now caught. Simon Peter went up and drew the net to land, full of great fishes, and hundred and fifty and three. And for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.

Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou, knowing that it was the Lord? Jesus then cometh and taketh bread, and giveth them and fish likewise. This is now the third time that Jesus showed himself to his disciples after that he was risen from the dead. So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?

He saith unto him, yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He said unto him, feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved, because he said unto him the third time, lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee.

Jesus saith unto him, feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither thou wouldest. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this, he said unto him, Follow me. Follow me. He said, Peter, do you love me? Denied him three times. I don't know him. I don't know him. I curse him. Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?

He said, if you do, you go feed my sheep. And what did Peter go and do? He wrote an epistle. He wrote a letter to all the strangers scattered throughout the world. You're going to be kept. Trust me. I don't care what you've done. I don't care what you are, and I don't care what you've done. If the Father elected you and the Son died for you and the Spirit has called you, you're going to be kept.

You say, but I'm the worst sinner that's ever walked this earth. Peter said, I denied God. I cussed God. I cussed Christ crucified. And the Lord said, come on. You go tell my disciples and Peter. Don't leave Peter out. Come on. Follow me. You're going to be kept. Still kept. Faithfully kept. By the power of God. By the power of God Almighty. That is His gracious word of promise to us. Grace unto you. Grace unto you. I'm so wretched. I'm so... Grace unto you.

And peace be multiplied because you're being kept by the power of God through faith. How do we get faith? by coming into this room. Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. You're being kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, and it's going to be revealed real soon, ready to be revealed to you in the last time. Amen.

Kept Strangers

What does the Bible say about being kept by God?

How do we know election is true?

Why is grace important for Christians?

How are Christians kept safe in their faith?

Why do Christians feel like strangers in this world?

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Kept Strangers

What does the Bible say about being kept by God?

How do we know election is true?

Why is grace important for Christians?

How are Christians kept safe in their faith?

Why do Christians feel like strangers in this world?

Sermon Transcript

About Gabe Stalnaker

Comments

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