Living Good Lives – Part 1
This newest series of messages on Internet Pastor is called “Living Good Lives”.
In this series we are going to talk about living good lives. It seems good as we begin a new year to talk about what life with God is all about. There is a verse in 1 Peter that says:
1 Peter 2:12 (NIV)
12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
The way we live our lives has an impact on the people around us. So, how do we live good lives? That is what we will talk about in the weeks ahead. Today, we are going to set the foundation by talking about some of the amazing promises that God has given us for life. When we are able to grasp these truths, it will have an impact on the way that we live life.
1. GOD HAS CHOSEN ME TO BE A PART OF HIS FAMILY!
1 Peter 1:2a (NIV)
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, ….
1 Peter 1:2a (Message)
God the Father has his eye on each of you,….
Circle the word “chosen”. God chose you long before you chose Him. He knew all about you and chose you. He took the initiative. Your relationship with Him, your salvation was God’s idea from the very start.
Why would God choose you, or me, to be a part of His family?
Because He is a God of love. He is a God of grace. The more you understand grace the more you’re going to be amazed by it. God chose you. Did you deserve it? Not a chance. Did you earn it? No! Are you good enough to be in God’s family? No. He just chose you. And that’s good news.
On what basis did He choose you?
1 Peter 1:3 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Circle the word “mercy”. It’s based on God’s mercy not your performance. You’ll never earn it. You’ll never deserve it. You couldn’t work hard enough for it. You couldn’t be perfect enough. It’s just God’s grace, God’s mercy, that He says, “I want you in My family.”
2. GOD IS WORKING IN MY LIFE
Not only does God chose you to be a part of His family but God is still working in your life, even when you’re going through problems.
Even though you don’t feel it, even though you may feel God is a million miles away and you are all alone, God says, “I’m working in your life.” He’s working in your life right now, even though you don’t feel it.
1 Peter 1:2b (NIV)
through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
Sanctification is the churchy word for change. The Spirit of God is at work in you, changing you, making you more like God. He’s working on you on the inside even when you don’t feel it.
Even when things are difficult, you need to know that God has not forgotten you.
1 Peter 1:1 (Message)
I, Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten.
One of the things that amazes me about God is that He can even use the difficult times in our lives to help us grow. We don’t need to blame God for our difficulties, they come from a variety of places, (our own bad choices, the consequences of living in a fallen world, the Enemy) but we can find some hope in the fact that he is able to use them.
1 Peter 1:7 (NIV)
These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
1 Peter 1:7 (Message)
Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.
Not only does God love us, He is working is us! You may feel like the situation you’re going through right now is hopeless, but it’s not. As long as you’ve got God, you’re not hopeless. You may feel it’s hopeless. It’s not. We have a living hope. The tomb’s empty, we have a living hope. So no matter what happens, God will love me; no matter what happens, God will help me.
3. GOD HAS SECURED MY FUTURE
1 Peter 1:4 (NIV)
and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade–kept in heaven for you,
God has given us the most amazing of all gifts, eternal life. How long is eternal? Forever.
1 Peter 1:5 (Message)
God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole.
That’s good news.
What’s Peter’s conclusion?
1 Peter 1:6 (NIV)
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.
1 Peter 1:6 (Message)
I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime.
He says don’t worry, relax, rejoice. You will go through go through some difficult times, but in light of eternity and what you’re going to see in reward for the testing of your faith is so much greater it makes the problems seem insignificant.
Get ready to start the New Year by knowing that God loves you, that He is working in you, and that He has promised you a future with Him forever. Understanding these things will help us to truly live good lives, the kind of lives that please and honor God.
Come back often to see the latest sermons or bible studies on your Online Pastor site. We are blessed to be your Pastor Online!
Related posts:
- Living Good Lives – Part 2 This newest series of messages on Internet Pastor is called...
- Living Good Lives – Part 4 This newest series of messages on Internet Pastor is called...
- Living Good Lives – Part 3 This newest series of messages on Internet Pastor is called...
- Living Good Lives – Part 5 This newest series of messages on Internet Pastor is called...
- Living Good Lives – Part 8 This newest series of messages on Internet Pastor is called...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Category: Sermons
