Count Your Blessings

Q: What does the Bible say about trials and difficulties for Christians?

The Bible affirms that Christians will face trials and difficulties, but we are called to rejoice in God's blessings despite them. The reality of trials in the Christian life is clearly articulated in Scripture. 1 Peter 1:6 acknowledges that although we experience heaviness through various temptations, these trials serve a purpose in testing and proving our faith. Believers are not exempt from suffering; in fact, it is a common part of the human experience. However, these trials, when faced with faith, can lead to spiritual growth and a deeper reliance on God's mercy and grace. The message is clear: while we endure trials, we also have a hope that remains eternal, rooted in the promises of God.

Q: Why is God's mercy important for Christians?

God's mercy is essential because it grants us hope and assurance despite our unworthiness. The concept of God's abundant mercy is pivotal in the life of a Christian. In 1 Peter 1:3, the Apostle Peter praises God for His abundant mercy, which has begotten us again unto a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This mercy is not just a one-time act; it is continuing and renewing, offering believers daily comfort and strength. God's mercy reveals that despite our sinful nature and the trials we face, we are loved and restored through Christ. It assures us that our worth is found in Him and that His grace is sufficient to sustain us in every circumstance.

Q: How do we know that we are chosen by God?

We know we are chosen by God's foreknowledge and sovereign decree, as stated in Scripture. The biblical assurance of being chosen by God is rooted in passages such as 1 Peter 1:2, which speaks of being elect according to the foreknowledge of God. This doctrine reveals that God's choice is not based on anything foreseen in us, but on His sovereign will and purpose. Before the foundation of the world, God established a covenant of grace with those He elected, signifying His love and intention for their salvation. This understanding instills a deep sense of security and gratitude in believers, as it emphasizes God's initiative in salvation rather than human merit.

Q: Why should Christians count their blessings?

Counting our blessings helps Christians maintain hope and gratitude amidst trials. Counting our blessings encourages a perspective that focuses on God's goodness, even during difficult times. In 1 Peter 1:6, alongside the acknowledgment of trials, believers are reminded to rejoice greatly in the blessings they have in God. Reflecting on God's abundant mercy, the hope He provides, and His promises helps to cultivate a heart of gratitude. This practice can transform how believers navigate their challenges, leading to a more optimistic outlook and deeper faith. As the hymn suggests, naming our blessings can indeed surprise us with what the Lord has done.

Q: How does the resurrection of Christ give us hope?

The resurrection assures us of God's acceptance and our future resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is foundational to the Christian faith as it confirms God's acceptance of Christ's sacrifice and the promise of eternal life for believers. In 1 Peter 1:3, it states that God has begotten us unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. This event not only signifies victory over sin and death, but it also serves as a guarantee for our resurrection and eternal life. Thus, the hope we have in Christ is not wishful thinking; it is anchored in the historical reality of His triumph over the grave, which offers believers certainty in their salvation and future glorification.

Let's turn with me please to
1 Peter, the book of 1 Peter chapter 1. I am fully aware that God's people
in this world suffer many heartaches, many trials, difficulties, serious disappointments. If you have faith, your faith
is going to be tried and the trial is going to be a heavy
trial. God will prove the reality of your faith if indeed it's
real. There's no such thing as a believer
who does not have trials, difficulties, heartaches. This religious age
that says that believe on Christ and you're going to immediately
become healthy and wealthy and happy and everything's going
to go well, these fellows are lying to you. They're putting
on a show. It's just not that way. It just isn't that way.
God's people pass through the raging stormy sea. God's people
pass through the refining fire. God's people go through the terrible
times of fire. difficulty. Now, you may as well
be fully aware that that's fact. That's just fact. We have the
trials that all other men in this world have. You're going
to get sick. You're going to have sick children,
sick husband, sick wife, sick parents. You're going to watch
loved ones suffer and die, and it hurts. You're going to feel
it, just like other people feel it. You're going to one day Suffer
and die yourself, and you're going to feel the pain just like
anybody else feels it. Now, it'd be foolish for me,
and contrary to the words for me to stand here and tell you
otherwise, you're going to have fire. As time comes, when in
this nation again we have economic difficulty, time comes when we
have war again, the time comes when we have times of great national
calamity again, you're going to suffer just like your neighbor
suffers. You're going to have the same difficulties your neighbors
have. And yet, at the same time, I'm standing before you telling
you that as believers, as believers, you ought never to be pessimistic. We ought never to be pessimistic.
We ought never to be men and women who murmur and complain
at God's prophecy. Whatever God brings to pass,
he brings to pass for the glory of his name. Now, that's good
enough. That's good enough. Whatever he does, whatever comes
to pass in this world, comes to pass for the glory of God.
I wish, I pray, I hope that God will instill this in my heart
and yours. Whatever God brings to pass in this world, Buddy
Darting, he brought it to pass just like it is. Exactly the
way he intended to bring it to pass. And it's for his glory.
Now that's enough. That's enough. But on top of
that, On top of that, everything that comes to pass, everything,
is for our spiritual, eternal peace. Can you trust God for
that? Can you believe that your Heavenly
Father will do you good and nothing but good all the days of your
life? The psalmist said, surely goodness
and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. Now, wait
a minute, David. What about your son? Surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. What about
Saul's persecution? What about Absalom's rebellion?
What about Ahithophel's betrayal? What about the trials and the
difficulties in your household, in your family, in your kingdom,
among your friends, among your companions? What about those
things? He said, surely goodness and mercy, nothing but goodness
and mercy Follow me all the days of my life, and I'll dwell in
the house of the Lord when this business is over." Now, that's
prediction. If we can believe it, if we can
believe it, it'll give us a calm spirit in this world, in the
midst of trials and difficulties. My subject tonight is just this.
We sang about it a minute ago. Count your blessings. Count your
blessings. The Apostle Paul said, blessed
us with all spiritual blessings." He said, blessed, blessed be
the name, blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus, according as he chose us. Now, look here
in 1 Peter chapter 1. Peter is dealing with men and
women who were pried, severely pried. They had seen some of
their professed brethren forsake Christ. They had been cut off
from their own families and their own kinsmen because of their
faith in Christ. And the Apostle Peter addresses
them like this. He elects according to the foreknowledge
of God. He says, Now my brethren take
cheer, God has chosen you. Elect according to the foreknowledge
of God. God the Father, before the world
was in covenant with it, chose you. He chose you according to
his foreknowledge. Now, let me tell you what that
does not mean. I'll be very brief with that. It does not mean that
God had a previous knowledge of something good in you, and
that he would thereby choose you to be his, because he knew
that you were going to choose him to be yours. That's not what
the text means. The text means two things. It
means, first of all, that you were chosen according to God's
sovereign predestination, according to God's sovereign decree. God,
who knows all things because he predestines all things, who
knows all things because he controls all things, has predestined and
determined that you should be his. Because God Almighty loved
you with an everlasting love, because he knew you. As a man
knows his wife with intimate, loving experience, God set his
heart on you, and he chose you. And on top of that, he knew everything
about you when he chose you. He knew how defiled you would
be. He knew how depraved your heart
would be. He knew how corrupt you would
be. He knew how vile you would be.
He knew how unbelieving and sinful you would be, even after he had
mercy upon you. Peter says he chose you anyway.
He chose you in spite of yourself. He chose you in spite of anything
lacking in you, in spite of any evil in you. He chose you. You're chosen of God. Stand up
then and rejoice! God has chosen you. That's reason
enough to rejoice. I live in this world among perishing
among men and women who do not know God, among men and women
who are under the wrath and curse of God's holy law. I live in
this world among people who are utterly ignorant and destitute
of all gospel truth. And yet, here I stand, a man
in this perishing world upon whom the eternal God has set
his heart. Now, what have I got to complain
about? What have I got to murmur about? What have I got to grumble
about? God has chosen God Almighty is chosen, elect according to
the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification
of the Spirit. Now, Peter is just getting down
and telling us who he's talking to. He's talking about people
who were chosen of God and set apart by God the Holy Spirit,
by his eternal decree before the world was, set apart as the
object of God's set apart for the glory of God's name, set
apart for God's use and God's use alone, men and women whom
the Father chose, whom the Spirit sanctified." That means we were,
from all eternity, preserved by God's Spirit unto the obedience
and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. He set us apart
for the redeeming work of God. Now, Peter says you've been chosen
of God. Not only have you been chosen
of God, but you have been sanctified and preserved by the work of
God the Holy Spirit. And now you have been redeemed
by the blood of Jesus Christ. Chosen of God and sanctified
unto that hour when God the Son will come and by His obedience
purge you from your sins. By His obedience, wash away your
sins. And not only that, but preserved
by the Spirit of God unto that hour when he would come by the
gospel and sprinkle your conscience and purge your consciences from
dead work to serve the living and true God. Peter says, now
I'm talking to you. I'm talking to you folks who
are chosen and sanctified and redeemed and regenerated. That's
who I'm talking to. I'm saying you're blessed with
God. Blessed of God with all spiritual blessings, blessed
of God beyond your ability to calculate, blessed in Christ
Jesus, we ought to behave as men and women who indeed are
chosen, sanctified, redeemed, and regenerated by the grace
of God. Peter says, Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied. This is his apostolic blessing. He speaks not only a wish or
a desire, he speaks that which is forthcoming. He's saying,
inasmuch, inasmuch now as God has chosen you, inasmuch as God
has sanctified and preserved you, inasmuch as God has redeemed
you, inasmuch as God has saved you by the grace of God in Christ,
grace is coming to you. and peace shall be multiplied
to you. Do you see that? I'm saying to
you, children of God, in this world right now, living here
this day, March 2nd, 1986, grace is coming to you. Peace shall
be multiplied to you. You belong to God. You belong
to God. What a privilege. Behold what
manner of glory the Father hath bestowed upon us. that we should
be called the sons of God. What a title! What a title! The sons of God. I'm a child
of the Son of God. Now, tell me a reason. Tell me
a reason why I should murmur and complain. Tell me a reason
why I should grumble against my God. Tell me a reason why
I should be pessimistic. Tell me a reason why I should
not be full of optimism, anticipating what God will do next. In the
Lord Jesus Christ, God has given us all the immutable blessings
of His grace. Let me just give you seven of
them, or I'll just give you the ones that Peter has given here
in verses 3 through 5. First of all, the Lord God has
bestowed upon us His abundant mercy in Christ. Look at verse
3. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's saying praise be God. Praise
be God, which according to his abundant mercy. Do you see that? The Lord God has bestowed upon
us his abundant mercy in Christ. It would be grand if Peter had
said God has bestowed upon us his mercy in Christ. But, he
says, God has bestowed upon us the overflowing bounties of his
mercy in Christ, his abundant mercy. The comfort, the consolation
of our hearts is not in our work. The comfort and consolation of
our hearts is not in our experiences or in our feelings. The comfort
and consolation of our hearts is his abundant mercy, great
abundant mercy that comes to us in Christ. Prophet Jeremiah,
when he began to lament his traditions, when he began to lament the circumstances
around him, he said, it is of the Lord's mercy that we are
not consumed. His compassions, they fail not. They are new every morning. Oh,
the abundant mercy of God. We trust that mercy of God which
is found in Christ Jesus. For where sin abounded, grace
did much more abound. The mercy of God. is that one
attribute of God which causes us joy, peace, and comfort in
this world. Now, I rejoice that God is just,
that God is holy, that God is almighty, that God is true, and
even that God is a God of wrath. I wouldn't have God be anything
but what he is. But those attributes of God in
and of themselves give me no comfort or peace. Justice condemns
me. holiness frowns upon me with
a stern face. The power of God curses me. The truth of God curses me. The wrath of God punishes me.
But when the mercy of God in Christ is revealed, hope begins.
I see that he is just, but he is merciful. I see that he is
mighty, but he is merciful. I see that he's true, but he's
merciful. I see that he's angry with the
wicked every day, but he's merciful. That gives me hope. That gives
me hope. God Almighty is a God of abundant
mercy in Christ Jesus. Blessed be God. His mercy toward
us is abundant. His eternal mercy, all that mercy
which marks out His eternal purpose before the world was. That mercy
which set me as the object of His grace, that mercy which made
me His own dear Son before ever I was born, that mercy which
made the world for my good, that mercy which has done me nothing
but good according to God's eternal purpose, is redemptive mercy
of the Lord. You look at the mercy of God
hanging on that person. Oh, try to get a picture. God,
the Eternal Son, taking the place of Satan. God, in all His holiness, purity,
righteousness, justice, and faith, is made to be sinless, quiet, holy. And, my friend, that's mercy
indescribable. That mercy such as no man can
comprehend, God in his abundant mercy sent his Son to redeem
sinners such as we are. And then I delight in his preventive
mercy as well. That providential mercy of God
so abundantly manifests toward each of us. I look back at the
days of old in my own life before God was pleased to reveal
his son in me, before he called me by his grace, had it not been for his preserving
mercy, his prevenient mercy, I would have perished a long
time ago. I know full well I would have perished a long time ago.
I toyed with death like a child plays with a model car. I was
constantly putting myself in terrible danger, but God, in
his mercy, wouldn't let me fail. Not only that, but in his most
prevenient, providential mercy, he was secretly arranging, secretly
bringing everything together. I can almost see his hands pulling
this event And that is it. I can almost see him bringing
this thing to passion and pulling this thing into place. Gradually,
bit by bit, secretly, in his wise providence, he was bringing
me to that place where he would be merciful to my soul. And he did. He did. I rejoice
in that saving mercy of God, so rich, so free, so abundant
in Christ Jesus. I know his daily mercy. His mercies
are new every morning. Every morning. He got up this
morning. He was refreshed with a good
night's sleep. His lungs were still functioning
well. He took in a breath of God's
air. You sat down at your table and
you had a drink of God's coffee or God's orange juice and you're
fed day by day with God's bountiful hand. I can't imagine, I cannot imagine
how on this earth this man can ever question God's daily provisions. How on earth? There's never been
a day in my life, and I like to Never been a day in my life
when I lacked anything meaningful. Never. There have been lots of
days when I lacked what I thought that I wanted. But I'll be honest
with you, everything I ever thought I wanted, I didn't get. I'm still
glad I didn't get. And there were a few things I
thought I wanted that I got, and I wish I had never seen them.
God, in his wisdom, in his providence, daily survives. and your health,
and your clothing, and your shelter, and your protection, daily he
does it, both physically and spiritually. His abundant mercy
toward us in Christ Jesus, that's a blessing of grace. Secondly,
by his sovereign power, God has given us eternal life in Christ.
He said, 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." Turn over to Ephesians 2. He has begotten us again. God Almighty has implanted within
us an incorruptible life. The new birth is nothing less
than God giving life to dead sinners. Of his own will begat
he us with the word of truth. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, or whither it goeth. So is every one that is born
of the Spirit. To as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God. even to as many as called upon
his name, which were born, not of the flesh, nor of the blood,
but of God." Born of God, the new birth is a divine creation. It is the result of God's sovereign
power and his sovereign will. We were like that infant that
Ezekiel described, naked, polluted in our own blood, cast out into
the open field. And the infant wasn't laying
out there crying and kicking his feet. The infant was laying
out there dead. Corrupt and rotten. He said,
I pass by thee. And I spread my shirt over thee,
and I said unto thee, live. Yea, I said unto thee, live. And thy time is the time of life.
Now there came a time when God did that to you, did you hear?
If it is, there came a time when God came to you naked, polluted,
defiled, corrupt, thiefing, rotten, perishing, and he said, live! He gave you life. He gave you
life. It's here in Ephesians 2. And
you hath he quickened who were dead in trespassers and in faith. I heard a fellow say one time
that that word quickened It's kind of like somebody's victim
and you come along and impeach them. Well, it's kind of like
somebody's dead and you come along and impeach them, if you
want to use the illustration. And if they get up, that means you've
got a powerful thing. We were dead. Dead. Dead. All alive physically. Alive mentally. Alive emotionally. But dead spiritually. Without
any light toward God. without any knowledge of God,
without any desire for God, without any principle of godliness within,
we were dead, utterly dead, incapable of doing anything for ourselves.
But look, he said, you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses
and in sin, wherein in time past ye walked. We were alive, very
much alive, We walk according to the course of this world,
according to the prince of power and the air, the spirit that
now works within the children of this religion. I get humored
a bit when people talk about being independent, you know. You go through that when you're
a kid. I suppose maybe you go through
it with boys more than girls. I was pretty determined and doggedly
independent as a boy. wanted to do my own thing, have
my own way, go my own way, and determine my own actions. Strange
thing is, those doggedly independent fellows, they always do what
all the other fellows are doing. They always walk in the same
path. They always walk in the same
course and get into the same meanness and do the same thing.
Because they walk like everybody else in the course of this world,
under the influence of the God that sent to this world. We are
subject to Satan's power by nature, taken captive by him at his will
by nature, among whom we all also had our conversation in
times past. That's the way we live. In the
lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and
of the mind, that's how men are by nature. They seek after self-fulfillment. They seek after self-gratification. They seek after self-pleasure. That's what we live for. That's
all they've got to live for. See, men and women in this dog-eat-dog
world, and they're going after all they can get. And I blame
them. That's all they've got. That's
all they've got. Children of God, it's different
with us. We've got to hold that. We've got so much more that these
temporary things of time ought to be of great insignificance,
of utter insignificance. We walked according to the lust
of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of our flesh and of the
mind, and we were by nature children of wrath, even as others. That is, we were ourselves subject
to the wrath and the curse of God's holy law, just like everybody
else. I might ought to take a moment
to briefly give a word of explanation. A lot of debate will try to unravel
things they think need unraveling. So there's some squabble as to
whether or not God's children were ever the objects of his
wrath. Yes and no. Yes and no. We are all, by nature,
the objects of God's wrath in the sense that we are justly
condemned under the curse of God's holy law, and also in the
sense that we ourselves have no sense of anything but wrath
from God if we look honestly at what God says and what we
are. However, there was never a time
when God Almighty had anything but love, mercy, and grace intended
for his people. for he looks upon us as being
his children in Christ from before the world began. We were children
of wrath, even as others." Now look at this. But God. But God. God stepped in the way. Like
he said to the whale in the sea, he said to me, hither to shalt
thou go. And no further, the time of mercy
has come. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, hath quickened us together with Christ. He's given
us life in Christ by grace of his grace. Do you see it? Do
you see it? We have been blessed of God. with the abundant mercy that's
in Christ Jesus, and we have been blessed of God with eternal
life that's in Christ Jesus. The Lord God sent a gospel preacher
to us. The Lord God renewed our hearts. The Lord God gave us eyes to
behold Christ, and he revealed Christ to us. He gave us faith
to believe, and he caused us to believe. He caused us to call
upon him with that first trembling word of prayer, God! He gave us life. Now look at
the text again. Blessed be God, 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, the Lord God has implanted within
our hearts a lively hope. I have, I believe, a good hope
of eternal life in Christ. I have, I believe, a good hope
of my soul's eternal welfare before God Almighty, I have a
good, reasonable, well-grounded hope that when this life is ended,
nothing awaits me but bliss and glorious righteousness." How
about this? Do you have such a belief? Having such a hope in my soul,
I'm full of expectation. Hope that is good, hope that's
God-given, hope that is born of faith in Christ, is the anticipation
of all necessary good, both for time and eternity. Hope is the
anticipation of God doing what he said he'd do. Hope is the
expectation that God will fulfill his promise, that God will fulfill
his covenant. Our hope is most reasonable. Hold your hands here and turn
over to Romans 8 for just a minute. Romans 8 chapter. It's the most
reasonable hope. I have this hope in Christ simply
because I trust Christ, simply because Christ is my Redeemer.
simply because I have no hope but Him, because I lean my soul
entirely upon Him, entirely upon His righteousness and His blood,
I have hope before God. A hope that will do for me to
live now, and a hope that will do to anchor my soul in a time
of storm, and a hope that will do in the days that I die, a
hope that will see me through unto God's eternal glory. That's
the kind of hope I have. Look here in Romans 8, so, Pastor,
it's not reasonable for a fellow to have that kind of hope. Oh,
yes, it is. Romans 8, verse 32, He that spared not his own son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with his son
also freely give us If God has given you his son,
the darling of his heart, if God has given you his own beloved
son, if God nailed his son to a tree, if God poured out the
vials of his wrath on his son to save your soul, but he'll
do anything for you. He'll give nations for you. He'll
give people for your life. God Almighty will not let anything
but good come to you if he gave his son for you. That's what
he said. Turn back to Isaiah. Isaiah chapter
43. Isaiah chapter 43. Look in verse 4. The Lord tells
us, said, Fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called
thee by thy name, thou art mine." He says in verse 2, when thou
passest through the water, I'll be with you. And through the
rivers, they'll not overflow you. And when thou walkest through
the fire, you'll not be burned. The flame won't even kindle upon
you. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior.
I gave Egypt for thy ransom. Do you see what he says? I gave
Egypt for you. What did God do for Israel? What
did he do for them? He slew the firstborn in the
house of Egypt, and he took Pharaoh and his armies and he threw them
in the river. He said, I gave Egypt for you. Look what he says
again. I gave Egypt for your ransom,
for your deliverance. I gave Ethiopia and Sheba for
thee. And look at verse four. Since
thou wast precious in my sight, all my soul has met thee. God almighty, says that you,
John Horton, are precious. Precious as the apple of my eye.
Precious as my own dear son. Since you're precious in my sight,
thou hast been honorable, and I have loved thee. Therefore
will I give men for thee, and people for thy life. I'll give
men for I'll give nations for your life. I'll not let anything
happen to you. Therefore, Paul says, brethren,
if God be for us, who can be against us? If God be for us,
who can be against us? The Lord God has given me a lively,
reasonable hope in Christ. It's founded upon Christ, his
person, and his word. It's founded upon his word, his
promise, and his covenant, and that hope is received. just before
you. Oh, the peace of God that passes
and descends, that keeps your heart and mind through Christ
Jesus our Lord. Fourthly, here's another choice,
rich blessing of God's grace. Can't you bless Him? What's He
given you? He's given us abundant He's given
us life in Christ, he's given us a lively hope, and he's also
given us, by the blessedness of his grace, the Lord our Savior
as a risen Redeemer. Look at it, he says in verse
3, he's begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead. The resurrection of Christ is
something more than a good deed thought for a sermon on Easter
Sunday. The resurrection of Christ is the seal The resurrection
of Christ is the seal, the evidence, and the guarantee that God Almighty
has accepted His Word, that God Almighty is satisfied with His
blood, that there's nothing left to be done, that there's no charge
against me. Christ took my sin and He nailed
it to the tree. Now, is God satisfied with the
sacrifice or is He not? Will God accept every soul for
whom he died, or will he not? Let's wait and see, three days.
Let's see if he comes out of the tomb. Look, he's not here,
but he's here. What can that mean, except that
God is well pleased with us? that God no longer charges His
people with sin, that God Almighty will not infuse transgressions
to those people for whom Christ died. That's what Christ's resurrection
is. The Resurrected Savior assures
me that my sin is all gone because Christ Jesus, who bore my sin
at Calvary, is risen. I know that I'm pardoned. I know
that I'm justified. I know that I'm reconciled. The
risen Christ assures me that God Almighty will be merciful
to sinners. Because the Paul says, since
he lives, he's able to say to the uttermost sin to come unto
God by him. The risen Christ assures me that
everything is well. Everything is well. He's the
King. Can you with the eye of faith
see him? You see it on the cross. It absolutely is. I can handle a little bit of
confusion with absolute ease. I am a pretty easy-going fellow,
not so much easy-going by nature as I am easy-going by new nature.
I trust Christ. That makes me easy-going. But
there are times when things get a little ruffled, and I get a
little disturbed. I get a little anxious. I didn't tell you fellows so
during the time we were putting up this building. I spent some
nights in concern. What we going to do next, and
where we going to get the funds from? It's a little uneasy, a
little difficult. I see things happening in the
lives of people that I care about, and it's a little uneasy. He who cares more than I care
is sitting on his throne and is not the least bit uneasy. You know why I ask this? Because
it's going just the way he wants it to go. It's going just the
way he wants it to go. This world is going just exactly
the way he wants it to go. And it's going to wind up the
way he wants it to go. Because he's the king. And as
long as the king is at ease upon his throne Everything in the
kingdom is sacred. Everything. The risen Christ
assures me of my preservation. He who holds the universe holds
the universe. The risen Christ assures me of
my own resurrection and ultimate glorification. For he says, let
not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. Your trouble will soon be over.
I'm going to a fair place for you, and if I go to a fair place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am, there you may be also." Now, look at the text
again. Look at these blessings. The
blessings of God in Christ, given to you. If you're a believer,
if you're one of God's children, these things belong to you. He's
not only blessed us with abundant mercy, and a new life in Christ,
and a lively hope in the resurrected Savior, he's blessed us with
an inheritance that's incorruptible, undefiled, and paideth not away,
reserved in heaven for you. The believer's inheritance in
heaven is one of those things that enables us to persevere
with joy in the midst of our trials. You have difficulties and heartaches,
trials, pain, real pain. I don't pretend we don't feel
it. We're not stoned, we feel it. We feel the agony. Perhaps more keenly than other
people do. Other people say, well, it happens to everybody,
it's the way pain is. We who believe know that whatever
it is that pierces our heart, our father. And we feel it too. But we know full well, we know
full well, a better day is coming. A better day is coming. And God's
going to make everything right. He's going to make us feel that
everything is right. He's going to make it good for
us. He's going to do it. Heaven is something far greater
than we've ever conceived. Far greater than we've ever imagined.
People talk about the streets of gold, and the gates that curl,
and the walls of Jackson. I imagine most people would talk
that way. If they were to happen to get through the gate, they'd
pull the curls out of the window and dig up the gold in the street.
That's what they're interested in. When John describes, and
he describes those streets of gold, He describes the tree of
life and the river of the water of life. John is only giving
us, in human terms, the picturesque grandeur and beauty of that heavenly
tree. He's telling us that it's the
rarest, most precious. most unutterable, most unimaginable
thing that ever could be given to anybody. God's given it to
us. He's given us this inheritance,
incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away. Heaven is not
just a physical place. It's that. But it's spiritual. It's not any such thing as we
have ever seen. Paul said when he went into the
third heaven, he said, I saw things I have not seen or heard.
He said, I saw things that's not lawful for a man to put into
language. I was sitting across the table
from a woman a few weeks ago. She had been so wise to have
kept her mouth shut, but she wasn't that wise. She died, you know. Yeah, she
told me she died. She had had one of those experiences.
She was in the operating room, She heard him pronounced dead
and she had been translated to hell. I said, it ain't so. What
do you mean ain't so? I said, Paul said he couldn't
describe it and you're sitting here describing it to me. The devil
shot you a curve. He lied to you and you believed
it. Listen, listen, heaven, heaven is Christ in all his glory. And it is the full satisfaction
of our best spiritual desires. Can you get that? The full satisfaction
of our best spiritual desires. Holiness. Perfect holiness. Oh, what an inheritance. Love. Perfect love. Peace. Perfect peace. Unity. Oneness with God's people. Perfect unity. Merle, I'm going
to love you eternally like I want to. And all of God's people just
that way. Just like I want to. Perfectly.
one unified selflessness perfect complete denial of self and concern
only for Christ that's what it's all about that's the reason there'll
be no sorrow there and no pain and no tears none because in
that glorified state will see things exactly as Christ
sees them, want them exactly as Christ wants them, and desire
exactly what He desires, exactly, exactly. Heaven, that perfect
glory, will be the endless, eternal rest of perfect fellowship with
God Almighty in His Son. Oh, to live with uninterrupted
communion with Christ. To live constantly in the awareness
of His embrace. To live constantly in absolute
surrender to Him. to live constantly with absolute
commitment of heart to him. It's come in the past. It's come
in the past. He's predestinated us to an inheritance,
incorruptible, undefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in
heaven for you. Who? You. You who are chosen,
you who are sanctified, you who are redeemed, you who are regenerate
by God's Spirit, you who are the people of God, it's for you.
It's for you. He describes it here as eternal. It's incorruptible. Whatever heaven is, whatever
it is, it's changeless. It's eternal. It's undefiled. It's pure. It's without decay,
for it fades not away, and it's reserved for us. Everything, everything that God has to give, that God can or will give to
men, He gives to all who are in His Son, for all eternity. Look at this one. God Almighty
has given us the promise of immutable security. Verse 5, who are kept
by the power of God through faith. With such a promise as this,
we may in the face of every trial sing with confidence When I can
leave my title clear to mansions in the sky, I'll bid farewell
to every fear and wipe my weeping eyes. Should earth against my
soul engage and fiery darts be hurled, then I can smile at Satan's
rage and face the frowning world. Let cares like a wild deluge
come and storms of sorrow fall. May I but safely reach my home,
my God, my heaven, my all. There shall I bathe my weary
soul in seas of heavenly rest, and not a wave of trouble roll
across my peaceful rest. You whom God has chosen, you
who are redeemed by the blood of Christ, sanctified by the
Spirit, born again by the grace of God, Lindsay, God holds you
in his hand. That just simply means your flat
won't perish. That means God keeps you. That
means everything's secure. His hand is secure. The omnipotent
hand of our sovereign God holds us. Holds us. Now look at this. You are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last
time. We have the promise in Christ
of eternal salvation. In one sense of the word, our
salvation is future. I have been saved in God's eternal
purpose. I have been saved by faith in
Christ There came a time when I was translated from darkness
into the kingdom of his dear son, brought from death into
life. In that sense, salvation is past.
It's past. But it's a daily experience.
I'm being saved. I'm repenting. I'm believing.
I'm confessing. I'm praying. I'm being saved. Day by day, my Lord, by the power
of his spirit and grace, rules in me and keeps me, keeps me
from the tempter's power. He keeps me from the trials and
difficulties that would otherwise utterly destroy my soul. He's
saving me. He's preserving me. And there's
coming the time when salvation shall be brought to its ultimate
consummation. And that time will be when Christ
comes and calls us out of the graves, and our body is adjoined
to our souls, and we're made like he is. And he'll present
us before the throne of his master's glory, without spot, without
blemish, without winkle, or any such thing. That's the salvation
that's ready to be revealed. and God's kept us in truth. He's kept us in truth. In that
day, the glory of God shall be revealed in us. Now, for these
many blessings of grace, and many, many more, we praise, honor,
and extol the name of God our Savior. And in these things,
we rejoice with expectation Even in the midst of great trials. Even in the midst of great trials. Look at what Peter says here
in verse 6. Wherein, that is in these things, in these covenant
blessings, in these many, many blessings, wherein ye greatly
rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness
through manifold temptation. Now, if you're in heaviness,
there's a needs before it. Wesley doesn't send it unless
there's a needs bill. But where there's a need, you're going
to have heaviness through manifold temptation. That the trial of
your faith being much more precious than of gold that perishes. I made a comment on this verse
and something I'd written, the fellow wrote me back asking questions,
said, can you say that the trial of your faith is more precious
than gold? Surely Peter's talking about the faith. That's not what
he's saying. He said the trial of your faith. is much more precious
than gold that perishes. Though it be tried with fire,
it might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing
of Jesus Christ, whom, having not seen, ye loved. In whom,
though now ye see him not, yet believe him, ye rejoice with
joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of your even
the salvation of your soul. God's matchless, free, abundant,
eternal grace in Christ gives us security in life, peace in
death, and hope for eternity. Count your blessings. Name them
one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. in the midst of your trials,
difficulties, heartaches. Don't, don't look at these temporary
things. Paul said, our light affliction
which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. For we look not at the things
which are seen, but at things which are not seen. For these
little insignificant details of life, they're just temporary. The things that are seen are
temporary. But the things that are not so are eternal. And we
know, we just know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle
were dissolved, we have a roof. And house not made with him,
eternally with us. Amen. Things of that same faith,
faith, eternal joy. Number 266, faith, faith, eternal
joy. Jesus is mine.

Count Your Blessings

What does the Bible say about trials and difficulties for Christians?

Why is God's mercy important for Christians?

How do we know that we are chosen by God?

Why should Christians count their blessings?

How does the resurrection of Christ give us hope?

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Count Your Blessings

What does the Bible say about trials and difficulties for Christians?

Why is God's mercy important for Christians?

How do we know that we are chosen by God?

Why should Christians count their blessings?

How does the resurrection of Christ give us hope?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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