Just briefly, I want to remind
you that these people Peter wrote to, wrote both of his letters,
his epistles to, at the time were suffering greatly. They were being persecuted under
the Emperor Nero. He had blamed them for the burning
of Rome, which most likely he did himself. But he needed a
scapegoat, so he blamed Christians. And they were persecuted. Notice
Peter calls them in verse 1, refers to them as scattered,
scattered. They've been driven from their
homes and they were murdered, murdered by various means. Nero used them as torches to
light his gardens, dipped them in tar and set them on fire to
light his gardens. So now They needed some good
news. They needed some good news. They
were going through real difficulty, real trials. In verse 6, Peter
uses the term heaviness and manifold temptations. Manifold temptations. Not just one, but many. Many and various from every source. You remember when God gave Satan
permission, permission to tempt Job. You remember how Satan went
about it? He didn't send everything at
once. One after another. One messenger
after another came to Job One woe after another, one on the
heels of another until, I think it was Satan's intention, the
last one would be, as we would say, the last straw. The adversary,
the devil. And like Job, there were manifold
temptations with these believers. The psalmist said, and every
child of God can testify to this. Every true believer knows this. This is his experience. Many
are the afflictions of the righteous. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous. For the child of God is the Lord
Jesus Christ said, the world's hated me. They'll hate you. They'll hate you. And the reason
they'll hate you because you're not of this world. So expect tribulation in the
world, our Master said. Again, many are the afflictions
of the righteous. But that's not the entire verse,
is it? But, but, the Lord delivers him
out of them all. All of them. These believers
were being tried, verse 7, with fire. Fire. Their suffering was
real. This is not a fable. This is not a fairy tale, what
they were going through. Their suffering was real. Their
pain was real. What they suffered, their losses
were real. Death was real. As I said, they
could use some good news, and Peter gives them exactly that. Throughout this epistle, as their
suffering abounds, Peter reminds them that their consolation of
God in Christ abounds much more. To you mercy, he says in the
introduction, mercy and peace be and grace rather unto you
and peace, verse 2, be multiplied. Don't you like that, child of
God? What do you stand in need of the most? What do you stand
in need of the most? What is it that you, as you make
your journey through this world, What is it that you cannot possibly
do without? Much we can do without, but this
you can't, and that is grace. That is God's grace. Salvation
in its entirety is all of grace. Peter says we're kept. We better
be. We're kept, not by our own will,
not by our own strength, not by our own determination. Man,
we're feeble, fickle creatures. We may pretend otherwise. We may not want to admit that.
But just as our Lord said to that multitude, when he said
some pretty hard things and they turned and walked away and he
asked the disciples, do you want to join them? Do you want to
join them? And the only reason they didn't
was God's grace. Peter said, where can we go?
Where can we go? Louis, if God has given you the
grace that that makes Peter's answer, your answer, that's exactly
the reason why. It's because of God's grace.
If God would withdraw his grace from me or you, for one moment,
we'd run back like that pig to the watering in the mire. That's
just a fact. That's just a fact. But the good
news is this. God doesn't withdraw his grace. He multiplies His grace. The
multiplied sorrow, as those to whom Peter wrote, He gives His
multiplied grace. James said, He giveth and He
giveth, never withdraweth. Never taketh away, but he giveth
and he giveth and he giveth more grace. That's good news. It was
to them. It was to them. And I believe
if God is pleased to bless it to our hearts, it will be so
to you and I. Peter tells them and us of their
sure hope in Christ. They may have lost every earthly
possession they had. When they fled from the persecution
of Nero, They, perhaps as we say, only took what was on their
back. They'd lost everything. Earthly
possessions, inheritance. Or what Peter tells them, you
have an inheritance in heaven. Verse 4, an inheritance incorruptible,
undefiled, and that fades not away. Never grows dull. Never loses any of its luster.
It's beauty, it's worth, it's wonder, it's glory. It's always
the same, like Jesus Christ himself, yesterday and today and forever. God's power keeps them until
the day of that inheritance, because he's the God of all grace. The God of all grace, one of
my favorite, I've got quite a few favorites, but one of my favorite
old hymns is, God leads his dear children along. And He leads
all of them along, not just some of them, but every one of them.
John said, behold, what manner of love the Father, our Father,
has bestowed upon, what, some of His children? No, upon us,
upon us, all of His children that we, all of us, should be
called the sons of God. Yes, God leads all of His dear
children along. I like to hear a man with experience,
don't you? Don't you, Lester? I like to
listen to a man that's experienced some things. That's why I believe
Brother Henry. was so much of a blessing to
people. The man had experience. The last
time I heard Brother Henry preach was in Danville, Kentucky. And
he said his message was the experience of 80 years. And that's been
several years ago. He just had a birthday. He's
several years older than that now. But he spoke of his experience
of God's grace. And Peter does the same thing.
He tells them what he learned from his own experience. Peter
learned what he would do if left alone for a moment. Let me just
read you just a portion of this. Peter learned that he had an
adversary, the devil. He learned how foolish it is
for him or any child of God to lean upon the arm of flesh. He
learned it the hard way. That night, before our Lord went
to the garden and was betrayed, he said this, he's with his disciples,
and he said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan had desired to have you,
that he might sift you as wheat. He forewarned him. But, You're on your own, Simon. Oh,
no, but. He giveth and he giveth and he
giveth more grace. But I have prayed for thee that
thy faith fail not. And Peter, even while he was
cursing, and calling down oaths from God out of heaven on his
own head to prove that he couldn't be a disciple of Jesus Christ,
he still believed. He could not quit believing,
Mike. God gives that precious gift
of faith into a soul and that soul will never quit believing,
regardless of what they may say. Peter was told by his great faithful
shepherd, I pray for you that your faith fail not and when
thou art converted, I like these little words. We sometimes rush
over them. But notice, when thou art converted,
not if you're converted, Peter. No, when you're converted. When
I, by my grace, turn you again. When I turn you back to myself
again and you see again my grace, my sufficiency, my everlasting
love. When you're converted, strengthen
your brethren. And that's exactly what Peter
does in this epistle. But listen to what Peter answered
to our Lord on that occasion. He just wasn't listening. He
had some things to learn. And Peter said unto him, Lord,
I'm ready to go with you both to prison and to death. So that's pretty bold talk, isn't
it? Pretty bold talk. And our Lord
said, Peter, before the clock crows this day, doubt shall deny
three times that you even know me. Peter didn't believe that
was so. My daddy used to tell me, son,
if you can't listen, you're going to have to feel. Boy, he wasn't
politically correct. Not at all. He didn't try to
be. He said, son, if you can't listen,
if you can't listen, you're going to feel. If you can't do what
I've told you, you're going to be made to feel. I'll give you
a little persuader. And that's what our Lord allowed
to happen to Peter. Peter failed. So he's speaking
from personal experience. When he says what he does in
chapter 5, look at it. You have your Bible with you?
Look at it here. 1 Peter chapter 5. This is a
sinner saved by God's grace, a weak sinner just like you and
I. And he is speaking from personal
experience. This is not hearsay. Peter is
not talking about a hand-me-down. No, no, no. He's speaking of
his own experience here in verse 6 of chapter 5. Humble yourselves,
therefore, under the mighty hand of God. Peter learned that, didn't
he? That He might exalt you in due time, casting all your care
upon Him, for He careth for you. Be sober, just like our Lord
told Peter. Be sober. Watch and pray. Don't
lean upon the arm of flesh. Be sober. Be vigilant. Why? Because your adversary, the devil,
Peter was made to know that. As a roaring lion, walketh about
seeking whom he may devour, whom resist, steadfast in the faith,
knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren
that are in the world. You're not alone. You're not
the only one that has experienced such sufferings or trials, but
look what else Peter says. he had experienced this too. This man who is now in glory,
beholding the king in his beauty, tells us, but the God of all
grace, the God of all grace, man, I need a heap of grace. Now I hear men, people profess
to be believers and they seem to just go along with the flow. There's no battle. There's no
denying themselves whatsoever. They just go along with the flow. No conflict. No problem whatsoever. Just walking hand in hand with
the world. That's why. That's why there's
no battle. Oh, but a believer that swims against the tide of
this world, and I mean this religious world, they'll have a battle. And they need a heap of grace,
a heap of grace. And God of all grace has it. God has a heap of grace for needy
sinners. Peter says he's the God of all
grace. Don't you like that? Don't you
like that? All the grace you need. All the
grace you'll ever need, no matter what. No matter what may come
your way, Peter says, God has enough grace. There'll never
be less. You always prove to be sufficient. Isn't that good news to God of
all grace? Does that matter? Does that matter? Oh, that makes all the difference. After that, you've suffered a
while, Peter said. After that, you've suffered a
while. There's an end to suffering, child of God. There's an end
to it. David said, weeping may endure
through the night. And my soul, when we're doing
that, when we're lying on our bed and sleep, is impossible
to us because our mind is in such turmoil, and our heart is
breaking, and the tears are flowing. We feel like this will never,
ever end. Will it ever be daylight again?
Oh, but Peter said, but the God of all grace, after that you've
suffered a while, there's an end to our suffering. But there's
no end. There'll never be an end to God's
grace. After this, there'll be this. After this life of trial and sorrow, child
of God, so shall we ever be with the Lord. Again, on that night
when our Lord told his disciples, I'm going away and you can't
follow me now. And Peter says, why can't I follow
you now, Lord? And the Lord Jesus said, Peter,
you can't follow me now, but you shall follow me afterwards. You shall follow me afterwards,
Peter. And Peter did. Because believers,
true believers, I don't mean every religious professor, because
find me somebody who hasn't had a religious spasm. Just about
everybody by the time They're in their teens, have had a religious
spasm. No, I'm not talking about that.
I'm talking about a true work of grace in the heart. I'm not
talking about a decision. I'm not talking about something
you've done at all. I'm talking about something God
does in you. If any man be in Christ, he's
a new creature. He's a new creation. What happens? What happens as
a result of that mighty work of grace? Behold, all things
are passed away and all things become new. No doubt about that. Peter, thou shalt follow me afterwards. But the God of all grace, that
makes up my sinful deficiencies. the sufficiency of his grace.
You remember when our Lord fed the multitude on both occasions
with a few fish and loaves? As long as there was somebody
in the crowd hungry, he kept feeding them. It didn't run out. It didn't run out until everybody
was full. And so it is with God's grace,
multiplied grace, multiplied grace over and over again. Now let's look. Here at verse
4, Peter says, he reminds them, these suffering believers, reminds
them of that inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled, that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven for you. Now think about that. My soul, just think about that.
Just the fact of it, child of God. A reservation in heaven? You admit, are we understanding
that right? I mean, can it be? Can a sinner
here on earth have a reservation in heaven, in glory? That's what Peter said. And nothing
Nero could do, nothing that ever transpired in their lives, Theirs
or any other child of God. Every child of God sitting here
this morning has a reservation in heaven. And nothing you do
can change that. You can't mess it up. You can't
mess it up. Isn't that good news? It can
never be taken away. I've had the need a few times
in the last month or so make me reservations at hotels,
motels. And I use some of those services
online that'll get you a better deal than if you do it yourself.
So I use them. And there's quite a few of them. And they offer different prices
for the same room at the same place because they all claim
to have the best deal, but some of them included certain things.
but didn't include other things. That's why the price varied.
And some of these services didn't get very good reviews. I glanced
at some of the reviews because I wasn't familiar with them.
I hadn't used them before. And some person wrote, this is
not what I paid for. This is not what I booked by
your services. I didn't get the room that I
booked. This is not the service advertised
on your website. A lot of uncertainty. A lot of
uncertainty. But not with this reservation.
Read it again. Look at it again. Does it sound
like any uncertainty there? Does it sound like any elbow
room whatsoever for doubt? I mean, Peter writes under divine
inspiration of God's Holy Spirit and he says, I'm telling you,
you have a reservation in heaven right now, right now, right this
very moment. What did the Master say? I go
to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, who made the reservation? Jesus Christ himself. No uncertainty
about that. And it's been confirmed. It's
been confirmed. It's been paid in full with his
own precious blood. And there won't be anything like
him, like a reservation you may make down here. No. Jesus Christ shall have everything
he paid Everything he earned as a representative of his people.
Father, I will also that those whom thou has given me be with
me where I am that they may behold my glory. Paul said it's not
entered into our thinking. our imagination. We cannot get
a hold on the glory that God has prepared for us, but it's
awaiting. It's awaiting. We have a reservation
in heaven, and we're kept, verse 5, by the power of God until
we arrive there. My soul, a reservation in glory. Is that not good news? Is that
not good news? Is that not good news, child
of God? We're going to heaven, going
to be with our Redeemer, Brother Scott Richardson. The last service
he attended at Katie Baptist Church, that church he pastored
for so many years. Brother Marvin Stoniker is the
pastor there now, and he was the pastor when this happened.
But the last service Brother Scott attended, that faithful
man of God, He shared this with the congregation. He said, I've
come across some things that helped me, and I want to pass
it on to you. We understand more about what
heaven is and will be to us by what is not and what will not
be there. And he said, there'll be no more
sin, no more pain, no more sorrow, crying, war, death, no more sickness,
no more heartache of any kind, no more fear, confusion, No more
of lacking anything. No more going astray. No more
darkness. No more troubles. No more curse.
No more dishonoring God. And when we take our last breath,
Brother Scott said, and go into that world, we'll feel good about
it. since we know a little about
it and what it will be. And he said, I myself experience
it every day. I know that I'm going to die
in not very long. And I'll be glad if I make one
turnover in bed tonight and I go to sleep and go to be with the
Lord, I'll be happy about it. I'll be happy about it. That's
what grace does. That's what grace does. All that
Jesus Christ has prepared for us assures us of our inheritance
of it. Why would he prepare it? Why
would he even bother to prepare an inheritance incorruptible
and undefiled for anyone that won't partake of it? No. Religion talks that way. Oh,
but the Son of God doesn't. The Son of God says, Father,
I will. I will they be with me where
I am. The Son of God says with absolute certainty, with all
power to bring it to pass, with all merit by which he earned
this. The Son of God says he wants
us with him where he is. The Son of God says if I prepare
this place for you, rest assured, don't doubt that I'll come back
for you. to be with me forever. Jesus
Christ himself made this reservation. He has given those for whom he
came the right to enter in through the gates into the city. Look here in 1 Peter chapter
3. Look at verse 18. Verse 18 of
chapter 3. Here's what secures our reservation. Jesus paid it all. Jesus paid
it all. Verse 18, for Christ also hath
once suffered for sins. Why? So those for whom he suffered
may go to hell anyway? Hmm. How dishonoring that, how
dishonoring such thing, such talk is. The very idea that Jesus
Christ should die for nothing, how dishonoring to him. Verse
18, for Christ also has suffered once. Once. Once was enough. Once got the job done. Once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust, and what's the glorious result
of that? That he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the spirit,
without doubt, that he might bring us to God. I hear folks
talk about, well, I hope I'll get saved by this. even if it's
just by the skin of my teeth. You're not saved by the skin
of your teeth or anything else. You're saved by the mighty grace
of the mighty God. And when he died, by his death,
he reconciled us to God. He brought us to God. He did,
and he has, and he will. Complete, everlasting, uttermost
salvation. That's what Paul said when he
was facing death. There was laid up for me a crown
of righteousness. Oh, Paul, were you unique? Were you some super Christian? He said, oh, no, no, no. And
not for me only, but for everyone, every child of God, everyone
redeemed, everyone that shall love his appearing. Jesus paid
in full our reservation in heaven. Remember what Paul wrote in Ephesians
4, exhorting believers to forgive one another. Don't hold grudges. Now, we're still in the flesh,
believers. And being so, we'll have misunderstandings. It's going to happen. As long
as we're in the flesh, it's going to happen. But Paul says, forgiving of one another, love
one another. And he gives the greatest possible
example that he could possibly give. He doesn't say, well, if
you don't, you might lose a little reward. No, what kind of carnal
reasoning is that? No, he says, forgive one another
even as God has, for Christ's sake, forgiven you. Now, I can
lay down on that. I think that'll hold all my weight. that God, for Christ's sake,
has forgiven me. Mike, when I was a young fella,
we would sometimes pile in a car, maybe one of our friends had
a car, on a hot summer day and go swimming. Someone heard about
a good swimming hole, so-and-so, such-and-such a place. And we'd
go, but not being familiar with the place. Someone, and it would
be perhaps a cliff you would jump off. That was fun. But not
knowing exactly how deep it was, somebody would walk down and
get in, walk into the water and swim. Swim and dive down and
come back up and look up and say, it's deep. It's deep. Go ahead and jump in. It's safe.
You don't have to worry about hitting the bottom. Oh, when
I hear these words that God, for Christ's sake, has forgiven
me, that God accepts me for Christ's sake, that he receives me for
Christ's sake, that all that he does for the child of God
is for Christ's sake, oh, my soul says, well, Larry, just
jump in. Just jump in, just dive on in because there's no bottom
to God's amazing grace. You can swim around all you want
and you'll never touch bottom. Jump in, like Bobby sang a moment
ago, arise my soul arise. Shake off your guilty fear. The
living sacrifice on my behalf appears. Just jump in. There's
no bottom. There's no bottom to His grace
and mercy. For Christ's sake, God says all
charges against His people are dismissed. For Christ's sake,
God says, I will not impute iniquity to them. For Christ's sake, God
looks at every sinner that Christ bore their sins away and says,
not guilty. Just dive in. Dive in. There's no bottom to his everlasting
grace. For Christ's sake, God says,
they shall receive grace and glory. There's a reservation
in heaven. It's secure. It's secure. It's ordered in all things insure. God doesn't play pretend with
his people. He doesn't do that. Christ doesn't
toy with his little children. He's the faithful witness and
his very presence in heaven, his very presence in the Father's
house assures and guarantees the same for all those he represented. I don't want to hold you too
long, but when you read scriptures like in 1 Corinthians 15 and
20, that Christ is now risen from
the dead and become the first fruits You know what that means. That means His resurrection guarantees
the resurrection of all His people. He's the firstfruits. In Hebrews
6 we read that He has entered into the presence of God, our
forerunner for us. It doesn't just say our forerunner
has entered. It says He has for us entered. And God accepts His Son. God
accepts His Son. He's the forerunner of all His
people. Does that matter? Does that matter? Child of God. His presence before
God is as our surety does exactly that. It assures our reservation. It assures our inheritance. One when he died, one when he
arose, one when he triumphed over his foes, one when in heaven
he took his seat, and heaven sang all hell's defeat. I'm one
with the Son of God. God loves me like he loves his
Son. Oh, dive in. Dive in, Larry,
and swim around. What a glorious, glorious Redeemer. Is it any wonder that we read
of this inheritance being reserved in heaven for you. I'm one with
Him. And God says, that's enough. That's enough. That's more than
enough. And pretty soon, Mike, pretty
soon, in a few more days, in a few more days, He's going to
say, for Christ's sake, For Christ's sake, he's going to say, enter
in. Enter in to this rebel that he
chose in Christ before the world began. I don't understand that. I don't understand why. I don't.
And Christ agreed to the Father. Yes, I'll take him. I'll take
him. And I'll do everything you demand. Everything you require, Holy
Father, I will do to bring him to glory. To bring him, I'll
live for him. I'll be made like him, flesh
and bone. And I'll live a perfect life
before you for him. And I'll die for him. And Father, I'll bring him and present him
back to you, you who gave him to me, without a spot or a blemish
or any such thing. Hallelujah. What a Savior. For Christ's sake, God shall
say, enter into the joy, the joy of eternal salvation, of
everlasting inheritance prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. And until that day comes, Verse
5 says we're kept by the power of God. The power of God keeps
us. That should do it. That should
get the job done. God bless you. Thank you for
you too.