Endure Part 1
“How to carry your trials”
1 Peter 1:1-2 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ: To those chosen, living as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen.
Endure: To carry on through, despite hardships; undergo or suffer; to hold out against. Life is not always about conquering; it is also about enduring! We need to know when to conquer, but we also need to know when to endure.
Romans 8:36-37 As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” 37 Yet in [all these things] we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong.
We need to conquer, but we also need to stand firm. What good would it be to conquer and not endure?
What good would it be for me to take ground if I am not willing to stand my ground. We are not called to simply separate; we are called to penetrate and make a difference. This is a time to endure; it is a time to hold out against. This is not a time to quit and give up; it is a time to learn how to carry your trouble and pain! Endure during the temporary so you can have an inheritance in the eternal.
1 Peter1:2 “According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”
Peter is not talking about obedience that would lead them to an obvious blessing. It is easy to obey when you can clearly see the benefit you would receive by being obedient. This obedience would lead to trouble; it would bring pressure; it would create new enemies. Overcoming in life is not about what you carry, it is how you carry it.
Peter gives some very important instructions on how we can carry trouble and pain in days of great pressure and burden. 1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has [caused us] to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
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Make hope the center point of life. Peter starts out with these words; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...” Most wake up in the morning looking for a blessing from God; but what would happen if we woke up and blessed God first? Why should we bless God? “… who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again…” The only thing new about God is His mercy. Lamentations 3:22-23 The Lord’s acts of [mercy] indeed do not end, for His [compassions] do not fail. 23 They are new every morning great is Your faithfulness.
We can bless God, because He first blessed us; We can love God, because He first loved us, and we can serve God, because He first served us! This great mercy caused us to be born again. His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope [through] the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
We now have a new nature with new desires and intentions; it is a living God that brings living hope!
You can’t achieve Jesus; you must receive Jesus! He is our living hope! You can have all the things this world can offer, but if you don’t have a living hope you will not survive.
1 Peter 1:4-5 “To obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” Hope comes with an inheritance, and that inheritance will be revealed in the last days by our heavenly Father! “…for a [salvation] ready to be revealed in the last time.” He is a good Father; He knows the perfect time for His children to receive their inheritance? It is hope that relieves the pressure when the world weighs you down. Hope is the counter weight to pain and pressure from this world. The world pounds us with burdens, but God blesses us with tons of hope! Grace, hope and mercy are heavier than the weight of this world!
1 Peter 1:6-7 “In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
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Put purpose to the trials that bring trouble, pressure and pain. He says to “rejoice” even though now for a “little while”, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. How long is a little while? Your entire life! Put purpose to your trials. Trials will expose who you are by digging up the soil of your life, revealing the roots. Trials expose what we are attached to. 2020 was a year of exposure; it revealed our roots. Focus on hope and attach purpose to your trials; carry the trouble you experience in life correctly.
Trials will refine your character and define your calling if you focus on hope and attach purpose to them.
Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days; during this time, He experienced pain, trouble and pressure. Jesus put purpose to His pressure; after being refined in the wilderness where does Jesus go and what does He do? Luke 4:14 “And Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit...”
Luke 4:17-19 “And the scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to Him. And He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, 19 To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
1 Peter 1:8-9 “And though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.