THIS BRINGS YOU GREAT JOY

1 PETER 1:6-9

Steve Shepherdhttp://www.sermoncentral.com/Sermon.asp?

SermonID=131090

1 Peter 1:6 NET This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time in various trials. 7 Such trials show the

proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable than gold — gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing

away — and will bring praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

8 You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in

him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9 because you are attaining the goal of your faith —

the salvation of your souls.

Bobby McFerrin sang the song, "Don’t Worry, Be Happy,"

in 1988.

Here is a little song I wroteYou might want to sing it note for

noteDon’t worry, be happy

In every life we have some trouble

When you worry you make it double

Don’t worry, be happy......

Ain’t got no place to lay your headSomebody came and took your bed

Don’t worry, be happyThe land lord say your rent is late

He may have to litigateDon’t worry, be happyLook at me I am happyDon’t worry, be happy

Here I give you my phone numberWhen you worry call me

I make you happy

Don’t worry, be happyAin’t got no cash, ain’t got no styleAin’t got not girl to make you smile

But don’t worry, be happyCause when you worry

Your face will frownAnd that will bring everybody down

So don’t worry, be happy....It’s cute but not exactly accurate. Worry is never the answer for our troubles in life but

just to telling someone to be happy, won’t get the job done either.

The angel asked, “How can I help you?”

The poet replied, “I have everything. But I lack only one thing.

Can you give it to me?”

The angel said, “Sure. I can give you anything you desire.”

The poet pleaded, “I want happiness!”

"All right," the angel nodded. And the angel proceed to take away everything the poet

possessed. The angel took away the poet’s talent, destroyed his looks, robbed his riches

and killed his wife. The angel then left for heaven.

A month later, the angel appeared in front of the poet. The poet was lying on the ground, half dead, hungry and struggling for survival. The angel then returned to him everything he

once possessed and left for heaven again.

Two weeks later, the angel paid a visit to the poet. This time, the poet, together with

his wife, thanked the angel profusely. He finally found happiness.

What’s the moral of this story? Most of us already have what we need to be happy. If

we have it taken away from us then suddenly we would realize it.

Peter said, “This brings you great joy.” What brings you great joy? Basically, it’s our

relationship to Christ.

We’ve heard it said that when all else fails, read the instructions. This is especially true when it comes to the Bible. In life, we often

try many things. We try to find joy or happiness in many things, but when these fail, we need to follow God’s instructions in

His Word. And His Word always points us to a

relationship to Christ. Everything good is found in our relationship to Christ. And

lasting and satisfying joy comes through Him as well.

Let’s note how we can rejoice in life through faith in Christ.

1- We rejoice although we suffer trials2- We rejoice in honor of Christ3- We rejoice in hope of salvation

WE REJOICE ALTHOUGH WE SUFFER TRIALS

6 This brings you great joy, although you may have to suffer for a short time in

various trials.I like the words “great joy” but not the word,

“although.” Why? “although” indicates something negative is here or coming our

way.

Most of us have been through some things in life that we would rather not have

experienced.

TRUE?

Declining health. Loss of loved ones in death.

Financial difficulties. Problem or prodigal children. Marital unrest or difficulties.

Two hunters came across a bear. They were so scared that they dropped their rifles and ran for cover. One man climbed a tree while the other hid in a nearby cave. The

bear was in no hurry to eat, so he sat down between the tree and the cave to reflect

upon his good fortune. Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, the hunter in the cave came rushing out, almost ran into the

waiting bear, hesitated, and then dashed back in again.

The same thing happened a second time. When he emerged for the third time, his

companion in the tree frantically called out, "Woody, are you crazy? Stay in the cave till he leaves!" "Can’t," panted Woody, "there’s

another bear in there.“Is there a bear in your cave, and one outside your cave? Often, it seems this way, doesn’t it? We’ve got bears or bear problems coming at us right and left, in front of us and behind

us and sometimes all around us.

"Low on gas while on a vacation trip to Las Vegas, I pulled my van into a service station a man said. As I was turning in, I spied lying on the ground a gas cap that looked like it

might replace my missing one. "I hurriedly parked by the pump, jumped out of the van, ran over and picked up the cap. I

was pleasantly surprised to find that it screwed easily onto my tank. A perfect fit, I thought. And then I noticed the keyhole in

the top of the cap." Poor guy.

Isn’t this the way life goes at times? "About the time you think you got

everything in the bag, then the bag bursts."

If it isn’t one thing, it’s something else. Or we get one problem taken care of and along

comes another one.6 This brings you great joy, although you

may have to suffer for a short time in various trials.

How can we learn to rejoice in spite of trials and difficulties in life? We can either look

them in the eye or else we can look beyond them into the face of Christ. We can live like

most people in the flesh or we can live by faith in the God who promises to care for us

and see us through our difficulties.

Philippians 4:6 NET Do not be anxious about anything. Instead, in every situation,

through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, tell your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and

minds in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 5:5 NET In the same way, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility

toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. 6 And God will exalt you in d(Proverbs 3:34

James 4:6) ue time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand 7 by

casting all your cares on him because he cares for you.

How do we find joy or rejoice in spite of trials? We come to the garden alone and

spend much time there.

We spend much time in quiet with the Lord, talking to Him, pouring out our soul to Him, praying to Him, and praising Him and HE WILL BRING PEACE TO OUR SOULS &

JOY TO OUR HEARTS IN SPITE OF TRIALS.

WE REJOICE IN HONOR OF CHRIST

7 Such trials show the proven character of your faith, which is much more valuable

than gold — gold that is tested by fire, even though it is passing away — and will bring

praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

I think joy will result in HIS praise, glory and honor!

Rejoice because of the privilege of living for Christ. Joy comes when we live for His

praise, His glory, and His honor! We’re not living for self glory!

Charles H. Townes, who won a Nobel Prize for his work in laser technology, opened a talk with a disclaimer: “It’s like the beaver

told the rabbit as they stared up at the immense wall of the Hoover Dam: “‘No, I didn’t actually build it myself. But it was

based on an idea of mine.’ ”

We are often stuck on ourselves and like to pat ourselves on the back when in reality if

we’ve done something good in life it’s because of the grace of God. It’s because

God has been at work in us.

President McKinley was considering the appointment of a minister to a foreign

country. There were two candidates, their qualifications almost equal. Which one did he appoint? The President related a story of an

incident that had decided his choice.

Years before, when he was a Representative, he boarded a streetcar one night and took the last vacant seat. Shortly afterward, an old washerwoman entered carrying a heavy basket. She walked the

length of the car and stood in the aisle, no one offering her a seat.

One of the men, whom the President was to consider later, was sitting in a seat opposite

where she was standing.

He shifted the paper so as not to see her. Mr. McKinley walked down the aisle, picked up her basket of washing, and gave her his

seat. The candidate never knew that this little act of selfishness had deprived him of perhaps the crowning honor of a lifetime.

This story of selfishness or self-centeredness is so very true of our society today. Most people today live for self with

no thought of others or care for others.

J. Sidlow Baxter tells of an incident that occurred in his home. It so happened that

directly in line with a picture of Christ was a mirror. If one were to stand a certain way,

the person’s image would blot out the picture. Dr. Baxter’s little daughter was one

day standing before the mirror and happened to stand directly in line with the

picture. When she moved, the picture again appeared.

She ran excitedly to her Daddy and said, “Daddy, I can see Jesus when I am looking

at myself.” This is the way it’s supposed to be but often we stand in the way of the picture of Jesus

in our lives and HE CAN’T BE SEEN.

People can only see us. But somehow we need to get out of the picture so people can

see Jesus. HE IS THE IMPORTANT ONE.

1 Corinthians 10:31 NET So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do

everything for the glory of God. If we want to find true joy in life it will only

come when we live for His glory and not our own.

WE REJOICE IN HOPE OF SALVATION

8 You have not seen him, but you love him. You do not see him now but you believe in

him, and so you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9 because you are attaining the goal of your faith —

the salvation of your souls.

Have you ever heard of Meliorism? the belief that the world tends to improve and that humans

can aid its betterment (Merriam-Webster) Here is what one person said about it. “I

am neither an optimist nor a pessimist. I am a Meliorist. Meliorism cancels out optimism

as being too bright, too airy; and rejects pessimism as being too dull, too heavy. Take life as it is, says the meliorist, with

much that is dark, evil and undesirable: Life may be difficult but it can be changed.”

At first glance, this sounds pretty good, however, the meliorist doesn’t consider

God. God is not included in the picture of change. And this is where we come in. And

this is what we believe in very strongly! Christ is the author of change in our lives!

And not only is He the author of change, HE IS THE ONLY AUTHOR OF SALVATION!

We rejoice in Him for the hope of our eternal salvation!

Rushing to work, a lady was driving too fast and as a result was pulled over by the

highway patrol. The state trooper noticed that her shirt had the name of a local high

school on it. "I teach math there," she explained.

The trooper smiled, and said, "Okay, here’s a problem. A teacher is speeding down the

highway at 16 mph over the limit. At $12 for every mph over the limit, plus $40 court

costs, plus the rise in her insurance, what’s her total cost?"

She replied, "Taking that total, subtracting the low salary I receive, multiplying by the

number of kids who hate math, then adding to that the fact that none of us would be

anywhere without teachers, I’d say zero." He handed me back my license.

"Math was never my favorite subject," he admitted. "Please slow down."

What’s the point of this story? Here is one thing I would like to make of it. I am sure that

lady was HOPING not to get a ticket. And she did pretty good worming her way out of

it. She "hoped" for salvation from suffering in a

sense.

We, too, have been caught speeding. We have been caught sinning.

And by someone greater than any highway patrol officer.

And he has every right to give us a ticket to jail (or hell). And there is no way in the

world that we can talk Him out of it. Try as we might, our wrangling words or even our

complimentary words mean little. There is only one way out of that ticket to hell and that’s by the grace of the officer

who could send us there. We love Him. We rejoice in Him. We are filled with

inexpressible joy because of the hope of our eternal salvation.

While walking along a busy street one day a man heard someone singing.

His sweet voice was distinguishable even above the noise of the traffic.

When he located him, the man noticed that he had no legs and was pushing himself

through the crowd in a wheelchair.

Catching up with him, the man said, “I want you to know how singing from a person in your condition gives everyone

else a lift.”

He answered with a grateful smile, “When I stopped thinking about what I had lost and

began concentrating on all I had left, I found much for which I could rejoice and be

happy.”

We may have lost some things in life.

And we may not have everything we want.

But we have the Lord Jesus.

And in Him we greatly rejoice.