Sanctified Through Suffering

Well this morning in our time in God's Word, we're going to get to dive down into that line that we just sang Onward toward Eternal Glory. What a rich phrase, what an amazing concept. And Peter talked about it here at the end of his letter. First Peter, chapter five, verses 10 and 11. And by the way, I'm so glad that we decided to slow down a little bit so that we could really go a little deeper into these final verses because they've been rich and there's so much great, so many great truths and so many great promises that we've really uncovered here in this last chapter. But this morning we're going to look specifically at verses 10 and 11. First Peter, chapter five, verse 10. Peter writes, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you to him be dominion forever and ever for amen.

Father, we are so grateful for the many truths and promises that you have put in your word for us to read and study and to apply in our lives. And there's some good ones here in these two verses. And so Lord, I pray especially for those who perhaps have come here today and they are experiencing a hard or dark providence from your hand, and life is hard right now. It's difficult, maybe it's even dark, and I ask that you would specifically minister to these folks through these verses and they would leave here comforted and encouraged and built up and strengthened and established Lord and a little more like Jesus because of our time together. We ask this in His name. Amen.

Well, as I've already mentioned this past Friday, we had the privilege of celebrating the life of one of our longtime members, Barbara Rhodes. If you didn't know Barb, she was a loyal, faithful servant of the Lord who served tirelessly behind the scenes using her creative artistic gifts to minister to others in our church, in our community in countless ways, whether it was transforming our entire facility into some other world for kids' camp or coordinating all of the Christmas decorations getting put up every year, the designing unique decor for every single event in the life of our church, whether it was a conference or a banquet or a wedding or a shower or a funeral or a fellowship supper, to making sure there was a custom made flower arrangement in front of the pulpit every Sunday. The only time I ever had to ask her to alter anything that she did was when the pulpit flowers were a little too high and I found myself having to peer through sticks and weeds to see you guys and I'd say, Hey Barb, can you get some scissors out here?

And we just cut this off a little bit. And so I can see I was joking with the folks that were at her memorial that I'm sure she's already taken over the decorating team in heaven and she is already thinking about what kind of centerpiece she's going to use for the marriage supper of the lamp. So anyway, typically when someone in our church passes away, I asked the family if I could borrow their Bible just to look through and it helps me get to know them a little bit better and perhaps discern what would be the ideal text to preach on at their funeral. Well, when I asked Barb's family that they gave me three bibles, all of which were very well worn and very marked up, honestly, I didn't really need to see any of these bibles because I'd already figured out the text that I should preach from based on a picture that Barb texted me soon after she was diagnosed with cancer. Barb would text me from time to time on the days that she would have her chemo treatments, which is something that no one who has cancer looks forward to. And I normally delete all my texts every few days because I'm OCD and I hate clutter of any kind anywhere even on my phone.

But I could never bring myself to delete this picture because I think it beautifully and powerfully represents how we as Christians are to navigate the pain and the sorrow and suffering that God sovereignly ordains for our lives during our sojourn here on this earth. So I want to show you that picture. I know it probably is hard for you to see what it says, but hopefully you get the gist here that this is a Bible, the corner of Barb's Bible on her lap as she was sitting there, as she would call it, getting juiced up with chemo. And this is where our text thread begins, and I'm saving it because this was April 28th, 2021 and this was just about a little less than two years ago, and this was the text that she sent with this picture. Hi, sitting here reading while in chemo time I started reading first Peter, I can't wait for you to preach on this. It was about hope, humility, and to remain steadfast in the faith, perfect timing.

Well, in her mind, it was perfect timing then as she was beginning her cancer treatments. And I had just mentioned that I was going to be teaching through the book of one Peter and we hadn't even gotten into it yet until about three or four months later, but in my mind it's even more perfect timing now as she has gone home to be with the Lord just when in the providence of God we arrived at this text, which obviously meant so much to her based on the fact that she had bracketed it. That's verse 10 right there.

And because Barb modeled this passage so well, particularly verse 10, which we are looking at today, I provided a quick preview of today's sermon at Barb's memorial service. That was my message. Well, it was actually for those of you there, that was the trailer, today's the movie. So thanks for coming. But these two verses are a simple summary of everything that Paul has talked about up to this point regarding suffering, and Barb understood that in light of the fact that she wrote the word suffering underneath these two verses, you can see it right there scribbled out.

And this is where we have come to know as we've studied this, one of the main themes of one Peter is suffering specifically how we can have joy and hope in the midst of our suffering. And Peter introduced this theme of being joyful and hopeful while suffering in the opening verses of the first chapter. And I want you to turn back there with me just so we can be reminded of how this whole thing started. Chapter one, verse three, Peter writes, 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, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in this in the last time in this, you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials so that the proof of your faith being more precious than goal which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And though you've 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 obtaining as the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Now we come to the closing verses of the final chapter and Peter said this, verse 10, after you've suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. I think these are the two bookends of one Peter, and we're back where we started from. Peter's come full circle and this is the conclusion, the climax, the crescendo, the grand finale of his letter to suffering saints who he wanted to encourage. Just one more time, just one more time to hang in there, to hold on to the promise that God will see us through this hostile world until the day we arrive at our home in heaven.

And so what does he do here in these two verses verses 10 and 11, he left us with five reasons that we can have joy and hope no matter how trying the times are or how trying our lives are five reasons why we can have joy and hope no matter how trying the times are or how trying our lives are. Let's look at these five reasons together. Number one reason. Number one, we know that our suffering will not last forever. We know our suffering will not last forever. Notice verse 10, after you have suffered for a little while again, he said that in chapter one verse six, and this you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials. So Peter wants us to know that we will suffer for a little while and I think that little while is while we're here on this earth.

Really when you think about it, 70, 80 years is a little while compared to eternity. And so we will suffer for a little while while we're here on this earth, but after all the troubles, all the difficulties, all the afflictions that we face during our lifetime, we can count on receiving our eternal reward in heaven and in the meantime, we can also count on God to sanctify us through the suffering that we experience. So there isn't this huge gap between who we are now and who will be in heaven. That would be awkward. We get to heaven and we're like, what is this place? This is so different. I'm not even right. We want to keep growing and more and more like Jesus so that the transition, the transformation isn't so drastic right when we get there and we're conformed perfectly into his image. And so we need to always remember that our earthly suffering is temporary, but our heavenly rewards are eternal.

Paul often mentioned this in his letters, Romans chapter eight, verse 18, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. In two Corinthians chapter four verse 16, he says, therefore, we do not lose heart, but through though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day for momentary light of affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison while we look at not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen for the things which are seen are temporal and the things which are not seen are eternal.

I don't think for a second that Paul and Peter were minimizing your suffering. They weren't. They were simply wanting to encourage you in it. And so the pain, the sorrow that we experience in life is not permanent, but the glory that we will experience in heaven will last forever. And knowing that makes our suffering here bearable. The last time I visited Barb, friends and family were coming in and out and I got just to kind of hang back, kind of be a fly on the wall and just watch and listen to the conversations that she was having with her family and friends who were there. And you could tell that she was in a lot of pain from the cancer as it began to press around her spine. But she told someone this, she said, I'm just glad I won't have to experience this pain forever in hell.

And her point was she knew that the moment she died, that pain would cease forever because she wasn't going to hell. She was going to heaven where there is no pain and sorrow and tears and sin. So Barb knew her suffering would not last forever. She confident that her life wouldn't always be this way. The question is, are you that confident? Do you have that confidence? Do you know that your suffering will not last forever? There's a second reason here why we can have joy and hope in the midst of suffering, and that is we know that God is gracious. We know that God is gracious. Notice He says, after you've suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, which by the way is the only place in the New Testament where this title for God is used.

And Peter has mentioned grace multiple times already in this letter chapter one, verse two, may grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure, verse 10 as to the salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries. Verse 13, therefore prepare your minds for action. Keep sober and spirit. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Chapter two verse three. He mentions if you've tasted the kindness or the goodness or the grace of the Lord, chapter four, verse 10, he talked about the manifold grace of God. Chapter five, verse five, he mentioned that God is opposed to the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. And then we're going to see next week in verse 12, how he concludes by saying this, that we exhorted and testified that this is the true grace of God. So what did he mean by the God of all grace? Well, we know grace refers to the undeserved, unearned kindness and favor that God bestows on helpless, hopeless sinners like you and like me and all of God's dealings with us are not based on anything we have done, but solely based on his grace, his mercy and his love. We don't deserve and didn't deserve the right to be saved.

In fact, the only thing we do deserve and the only thing we have earned is to spend eternity in hell. And that's why no matter how hard life might get at times and no matter how bad life may hurt at times we can always be thankful that we're not in hell and we get asked this frequently multiple times a day probably, Hey, how are you doing? How's it going? One of my favorite answers is better than I deserve. And that works. It doesn't matter if you're having a good day or a bad day, guess what? You're always better than you deserve.

We're saved by God's grace. We're sanctified by God's grace and we are sustained by God's grace. Paul said it this way to Titus Titus chapter two, verse 11, for the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Christ Jesus. And so Paul included God's grace and our salvation, God's grace and our sanctification and God's grace in our glorification. How about two Corinthians chapter 12, another familiar passage? This is the thorn in the flesh passage, two Corinthians 12, seven, because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, he just got done talking about how he had gone to heaven, been there and back, and he said, in light of the surpassing greatest of the revelations, God gave me for this reason to keep me from exalting myself and going around the country and telling everybody about what it's like to be in heaven, writing books about it, there was giving me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger saying to torment me to keep me from exalting myself concerning this.

I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And he said to me, my grace is what sufficient for you for power is perfected in weakness most gladly. Therefore, I'll rather boast about my weaknesses so that the power of Christ might dwell in me. Therefore, I'm well content with weaknesses, with insults, with stresses, with persecutions, with difficulties for Christ's sake, for when I am weak, then I'm strong.

God's grace is available to all of us and it is sufficient for any and every situation in which we find ourselves. And in fact, God invites us to come to him for grace. Hebrews chapter four verse 16, therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. James said it very simply in chapter four, verse six, but he gives a greater grace. Barb knew that God is gracious. The question is, do you you know that God is gracious? Well, there's a third reason that we can have joy and hope in the midst of suffering, and that is we know where we're going, we know where we're going. Notice again verse 10, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ.

Again, Peter has already mentioned this concept of calling or being called chapter one verse 15, but like the holy one who called you the holy yourself also in all your behavior, chapter two verse nine, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. In chapter two verse 21, you have been called for this purpose chapter three verse nine. Don't return evil for evil or insult for insult, but give a blessing instead for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. That word calling that Peter has used multiple times refers to God's effectual saving call. In other words, the doctrine of election that we have been chosen by God for salvation. In fact, he couldn't even get out of the first verse without mentioning the doctrine of election. First Peter chapter one, verse one, Peter and apostle of Jesus Christ are those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asian bian who are chosen or in some of your Bible just says elect.

The point is this, that God chose us to be saved before we ever chose to follow Christ. He called us to be saved before we called on him to save us. And the ultimate reason God called us was so that we could share in Christ's eternal glory in heaven. Again, chapter one verse four, we have been born again. He caused us to be born again to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefied and will not fade away reserved in heaven for you. Verse 21, who through him are believers in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God? Chapter four, verse 13, which is really the heart of this theme of suffering. He says this, but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing so that at also the revelation of his glory, you may rejoice with exhalation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you. And then chapter five verse one, therefore I exhort the elders among you as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed. And then in verse four, when the chief shepherd appears, you'll receive an unfading crown of glory.

So this phrase here when he says, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ really just summarizes all that God is in store for us as his people. A great cross-reference to this is Romans chapter eight verse 28, and we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God to those who are called according to his purpose, for those whom he for knew. He also predestined to become conformed to the image of his son so that he would be the firstborn among many brethren and these whom he predestined, he also called and these whom he called he also justified. And these whom he justified, he also glorified.

And by the way, he just completed all those things in Barb's life. That's all true of Barb right now. This is partially true of us right now, but it's all true of her. I like how Paul said it in Second Thessalonians two Thessalonians chapter two verse 13, but we should always give thanks to God for you brethren beloved by the Lord because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the spirit and faith and the truth. That's the mouthful. And it was for this. He called you through our gospel that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, but in order to attain that glory, we must suffer our way unroot to that everlasting glory in heaven, suffering precedes glory just like Christ had to suffer before he was glorified. We too have to suffer and knowing this enables us to look past our present suffering to the day when Jesus gets his prayers answered and we get to be with him in heaven and see him in all of his glory.

John 1724, this is the high priestly prayer of Christ. He said, father, I desire that they also whom you have given me be with me where I am so that they may see my glory, which you have given me. Do you realize that Christ is praying for you right now If you are one of his followers, he is longing for you to be with him in heaven. He wants you to be able to see him in all of his glory. As we were getting ready to run out the door to go to bars memorial on Friday, my wife said to me, Christ is jealous for the presence of his followers. Who are we to stand in the way?

And so Jesus pleaded with the Father on our behalf that we would not just see his glory but also share his glory. Barb knew where she was going. She was confident about where she would end up when she breathed her last. The question is, do you have that confidence? Do you know where you're going? Well, there's a fourth reason that we can have joy and hope in the midst of suffering, and that is this, that we know God uses suffering to make us more like him. We know God uses suffering to make us more like him, and this is really the last phrase of verse 10.

He says, after you've suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. God is like a master sculptor and he has a number of tools that he uses to mold us and to shape us into the likeness of his son Jesus. I think his sharpest tool is obviously his word, two Timothy three verse 16. All scriptures inspired by God profitable for teaching, for a proof, for correction, for training in righteous so that the man of God may be adequate equipped for every good work. Hebrews chapter four, verse 12, for the word of God is living and active and sharper than any twoedged sword in piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

So God uses his word to shape us and to mold us and to conform us into the image of Christ. He also uses the church. He uses the church, he uses this thing right here that we're doing right now. Ephesians chapter four, verse 11, and he gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as pastors and teachers. You may notice that whenever I send out an email, I put my name and then I put the title, I think the biblical title that God gives men in my position. We are to be not just pastors, we're not supposed to be just teachers. We're supposed to be both. We're supposed to feed the flock and we're supposed to love the flock. It's a dual role, pastor, teacher. So God has given some as pastor and teachers for what purpose, for the equipping of the saints, for the work of service to the building up of the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God to a mature man, to the measure of the statue which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

All that fancy language is all about being like Jesus. And as a result, we're no longer to be children tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by crafting this in deceitful, scheming, but speaking to the truth and love, we are to grow up in all aspects into him. Who is the head, even Christ from whom? The whole body. So it's not just the pastor teacher from behind the pulpit, but it's every member of the body As we engage with one another and interact with one another and stimulate one another, we are fitted and held together by what every joint supplies according to the proper working of each individual part causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

So God uses his word, he uses the church and another tool in his toolbox is trials and suffering, trials and suffering, and God wisely selects just the right trial. It's like he custom fits trials for each one of us through which he accomplishes his testing and refining and purifying work in our lives. Again, chapter one verse seven, he talked about how for a little while, if necessary, we may be distressed by various trials so that the proof of your faith being more precious than goal, which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

But look at verse 10 again, don't miss this After you've suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself, will himself. In other words, God is personally actively involved behind the scenes in the ongoing process of your sanctification. My sanctification, unlike by the way, our interaction with that lion who's on the loose that we learned about last week, Satan, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someonem to devour and he appears to be omnipresent. He appears to be omniscient. He appears to be omnipotent. In other words, it feels like we're engaging. He's engaging with us personally, directly, actively all the time. Guess what? Ain't the devil? Most likely it's one of his minions. It would be rare for any of us to say we had a personal interaction with the devil because he can only be in one place at one time and there's a lot of ground to cover, but it's not that with God. Guess what we get to guess personally and directly. God is personally and directly actively engaging with us, not every once in a while, but all the time on a daily basis for the purpose of sanctifying us. And so Peter described God's sanctifying work in our lives with these four successive, nearly synonymous words that all have to do with how God uses pain and sorrow and suffering that we face in life to grow us and mature us and conform us to Christ.

He says he will himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. And so this flurry of pregnant verbs just piled up on top of each other really are the actions that God takes to ensure that we arrive safely home to heaven, that we finally get there in one piece. De Edmond Hebert is a very skillful commentator. He said this quote, the verbs here referring to these four verbs are all in the future indicative and express the firm assurance of what God will do. They express the unquestioned assurance surging through Peter's heart. Peter was absolutely assured that God himself will do these four things in our lives. He was absolutely convinced. He's like, take it to the bank. Trust me on this. I know he's done it in my life. He'll do it in your life.

But what are these four words? He says, God will himself number one perfect you, which means to put something in order to make right something that was wrong to restore. It was used of mending nets, mending fishing nets in Mark 4 21. It's a surgical term here for rehabilitating a broken bone. Galatians six one. It's also used in a nautical context for repairing a damaged ship. So what's the point? God repairs, the damage sin and suffering have caused in our lives and restores us and returns us to service. This word perfect also means to mature or to complete us. I like the way Paul said it to the church in Thessalonica. This is First Thessalonians chapter three, verse 10. He said, night and day I keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face. Why? To complete what is lacking in your faith. That wasn't a put down.

He was just saying, Hey, let's be honest. We all have areas, weak points, areas where we lack in our faith, in our relationship with the Lord that need to be completed. And one of the ways God does that is by ordaining trials for our lives. James chapter one, verse two, considered all joy my brethren, when you encounter various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance and let endurance have its perfect results so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing, and then we have that great promise that Paul made in Philippians one, six. I'm confident of this very thing that he began a good work in You will what? Perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. So God himself will perfect us. Number two, he will confirm us. He'll confirm us, which means just to make solid in. The idea here is that God provides a support and a buttress so we don't totter and we don't fall. He helps us to bear up under the pressure that we feel whenever we're called by God to endure trials and we get a little wobbly and we're like, I'm not sure I can hang on here. I don't think I can endure this much longer. And he confirms us and he also strengthens us. He strengthens us. He enables us to handle whatever he ordains for us. He never gives us more than we can handle. He provides us the strength that we need to not give into temptation or to give up amid the trials of life.

Again, Paul talked about this strengthening to the believers in Thessalonica two Thessalonians two 16. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort, and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. And then in the next chapter, chapter three, verse three, but the Lord is faithful and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. So he will perfect us and he will also confirm us. He'll strengthen us, but then finally he'll establish us. Literally, he'll place us on a solid foundation.

He will make sure that we are firmly grounded in our faith. He will make us immovable and unable to be swept away from Christ by anyone or anything. I think about that classic illustration that Jesus used at the end of the sermon on the Mount Matthew seven, verse 24. Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and slammed against that house, and yet it did not fall for it had been founded on the rock.

God does that in our lives. And so you may feel like the rain won't stop in your life. I mean not here in Texas, but in your life. The rain just won't stop and the floods are rising and the winds are blowing and you feel like you're getting slammed against right by that trial or that difficulty. The God will establish you. He'll cause you to be immovable. Paul used that same word a number of times, Romans 1625. Now to him, who was able to establish you according to my gospel in the preaching of Jesus Christ. Colossians chapter one, verse 23, if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard.

And again, one Thessalonians three 13, so that he may establish you or your hearts that he may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints. So when you step back from this final little phrase, here, he will himself perfect, confirm strength and an establish. You can see that God is above us. He's around us, he's inside of us, and he's underneath us, which makes us totally safe and secure in the midst of any suffering or persecution that we experience. I like how one commentator envisioned verse 10, he said, verse 10 is the picture of a decorated war hero, a seasoned veteran whose muscles of faith have been hardened by battle. It is the portrait of the well-grounded, stable, mature Christian.

And I would add, I think this is a picture of Peter, the self-serving denier of Christ who was later restored, rehabilitated, if you will, and reestablished as the leader of Christ Church. And Christ not only strengthened him, but he strengthened him so he could strengthen others. Luke 22, verse 32. 32, I've prayed for you, Peter, when Satan asked if he could sift Peter like wheat, he said, Peter, just so you know, I prayed for you that your faith may not fail and you, and once you have turned again, strengthened your brothers. By the way, that's exactly what Peter has been doing in this letter. That's why he wrote this letter was to strengthen his brethren, his literal brethren who were living at the same time. He was in Asia Minor during the days of Nero and the persecution that was increasing. But he also wrote this to encourage us we're his brethren as well.

And again, as I mentioned earlier, before we took communion, you may have failed royally. You may have messed up big time like Peter, but you need to know based on Peter's example, Peter wants you to know that God can restore you and reestablish you in your faith. It doesn't matter how far away you feel from the Lord. Guess what? He's right there with you. He never went anywhere. You're the one that went somewhere. He stuck with you the whole time. And we need to remember that no matter how bad your sin might be or how sad and painful your suffering might be, God can and will use it to make you stronger, to make you better, to make you more like Jesus.

And he may accomplish these things on some level in our lifetime. But I think ultimately what Peter's referring to here is when these things will be fully accomplished, when we enter heaven again, Barb is all these things right now. She knew God was using her pain and suffering to make her more like Christ. Do you know that? Well, there's one more reason why we can have joy and hope in the midst of our suffering, and that is this. We know God is in control of all things and is worthy to be worshiped at all times. God is in control of all things, and he's worthy to be worshiped at all times. And as Paul was contemplating the grace of God in our salvation and in our sanctification and in our glorification, he was caught up in worship and he just burst into doxology. Look at verse 11, to him, be dominion forever and ever. Amen. He already said this once, chapter four, verse 11, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, whom belongs to glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

But Peter used the word here, dominion, which was the word for power, which denotes an attribute that a great ruler has who is over and above everyone and everything. In other words, everyone and everything is under God's sovereign control. And no one or nothing can ever thwart God's wise plans and purposes for our lives. And since he is all wise, he's all powerful. He is sovereign overall. He's able to accomplish all these things and fulfill all these promises which makes him worthy to be worshiped. And what's more, he's not only worthy to be worship, but he's also worthy of our complete confidence. And we have every reason to rejoice in Him and to rest in him.

And I think our point here is simply this, that no matter how trying the times are or how trying our lives, our hearts and our minds should be constantly filled with an attitude of praise and worship towards God. Job would be a good example of this. A man who knew a little about suffering, he said the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away what? Blessed be the name of the Lord. Or how about Habakkuk? Habakkuk was the prophet to the nation of Judah, and God had prophesied through him that he was going to send the nation of Babylon to punish and discipline his people. And Habakkuk couldn't figure out, he questioned God. He said, how can you use this evil wicked nation, these ungodly people to judge your people? I know we're not perfect. I know we've messed up, but the Babylonians Scott, really?

And so he finally tapped out on that wrestling match with God and said, this Hebrews, excuse me, Habakkuk three verse 16. I heard in my inward parts trembled at the sound, my lips quivered decay enters my bones. And in my place I tremble because I wait, must wait quietly for the day of distress, for the day for the people to arise who will invade us? Though the fig tree should not blossom and there'll be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there'll be no cattle in the stalls. That may mean nothing to you because we don't live in an agricultural culture like they did. But that was basically describing what would happen when the Babylonians came and decimated their country. That's what it would look like.

He says, yet I'll exalt in the Lord. I'll rejoice in the God of my salvation. Barbara was a great example of how we as Christians should respond with joy and hope to whatever God wisely and sovereignly ordained for our lives. That's how she responded. She responded with joy and hope. When she was first diagnosed with cancer, she responded the same way with joy. And when she got the news that her cancer was incurable and she only had three to six months to live, and she was still responding with joy and hope as she laid there in her bed, knowing that death was quickly approaching. Why? Because Barb knew that God is in control of all things and is worthy to be worshiped at all times no matter what. Do you know that?

Well, Peter's closing words here in verses 10 and 11 are very similar to other, well-known doxology throughout the New Testament verse Thessalonians five, Hebrews 13, Jude 24, don't have time to read those. Encourage you to look those up afterwards. But the simple point is this, wherever you are right now and whatever you're going through right now, you need to move forward in faith each day trusting in these precious powerful promises. Amen. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this text along with so many other texts like this that are in the Bible to encourage us and to comfort us, and to strengthen us and establish us Lord, and help us not to waver or to give in or to give up or to grow weary and lose heart. And so, Lord, would this text have its intended effect on all of our lives today and that you would use it to strengthen us and establish us Lord, and perfect us and confirm us.

Lord, thank you for your sanctifying work in each of our lives, and we want to just worship you and praise you. Come what may for your glory, Lord, so that others would see and hear us respond in these ways with joy and hope, and they wouldn't be able to figure it out. How we could be so joyful, how we could have such hope in the midst of such sorrow and pain and grief. But Lord, then you'd give us the opportunity to tell 'em it's because of you. And that they could know that same joy and that same hope and that same peace if they know Jesus. We pray this in his name. Amen.