December 4, 2022 • Trey Van Camp • 1 Peter 5:1–4
During the advent season, we are called to celebrate the first coming of Christ and anticipate His second coming. This means we celebrate the fact that sin has lost its power over believers and anticipate the day sin loses its presence among believers. But in a season filled with joy and anticipation, we still feel the pain and tension of living between the two comings of Christ. Although the devil has lost its dominion over us, he still has an opinion that can influence us. His lies create in us a spirit of arrogance, anxiety, and apathy. In https://biblia.com/bible/csb/1%20pet%205, the Apostle gives us 3 ways to resist the roaring lies of the devil.
By the grace of God, you will encounter a fork in the road where you have to make a decision: you can live by faith in Jesus, or you can die by fire without Him (https://biblia.com/bible/csb/matt%2025). If you put your faith in Jesus, you can’t help but express your joy through songs like, “I put my faith in Jesus, my anchor to the ground, my hope and firm foundation, He’ll never let me down.” But what happens when it seems like He does let us down? We set ourselves up for major disappointment when we confuse our eternal condition with our present one. Because contrary to popular belief, stepping up your faith is stepping into fire… and that’s a good thing. In https://biblia.com/bible/we/1%20pet%204 are encouraged to look at our trials like a fiery furnace: burning off our impurities & idolatries to further glorify Christ. In this message, we will learn about the three stages of faith that only come from stepping into the fire.
In the Secular West, suffering has no role in the meaning or purpose in life. Therefore, you are considered “blessed” if you somehow find a way to mitigate disappointments and minimize pain. But can anyone really get away with a life free from pain and disappointment? In chapter four, the Apostle Peter gives us hope by paradoxically giving us a dose of reality. In this life, you will experience the pain of temptation (v1-3), reputation (v4-6), and expectation (v7-10). But in Christ, your pain can become a key ingredient to the life God designed for you to live (v3).
