Keith Battle - Living with Great Expectations - Part 2

I’ve started a series last week called «Living with Great Expectations,» and if you are living with great expectations, this word is for you. If you are trying to live with great expectations, I want my expectations to be higher; this word is for you. If you need your expectations to be elevated, this word is for you. We’re going back to 1 Peter chapter 1 where we left off last week. If you have a Bible and you want to join me there now, you can do that. If you don’t have a Bible, no problem; those verses will come on the screen for you to follow along. All right, let the people in! I’m trying to stall for them. Yeah, I see some people coming in. Am I out of order? Okay, y’all doing your job, right? I’m sorry; somebody will say that. Yes, it is a new tradition in our church, but it is a tradition now. We stand for the reading of the Word of God. Amen. As you’re standing, if you have seats near you, there are people coming in trying to find somewhere to sit. If you could just lift your hand up and let them know, «Yes, there’s seating over in this area.» I know you have your pocketbook, your Bible, and your backpack all in the seats, taking up four seats. Hey, you don’t want anybody messing with your holy, sacred space. Praise the Lord! And you just never know who might come. Anyway, in the book of Nehemiah, we see where the people stood during the public reading of Scripture. They would stand for the reading of the Word. In fact, in Nehemiah chapter 8, verse 5, the people had such reverence for the Word of God that it says when Ezra opened the book, they stood up. When he opened the book, they stood. That’s powerful right there. Amen! This book is that powerful; life is in this book, light is in this book. The Bible says, «At the entrance of your word, we get light.» If you just enter the book, it’s light. There’s wisdom in this book; the counsel of God is in this book. How many of you have ever had something taught to you from this book that showed you the next move you were supposed to make? That’s how powerful this is. Some of you say, «I feel like you’re talking to me.» That’s this word—that’s this word coming out, just being taught and instructed. This word is a lamp to my feet; it shows me what to do next. But it’s also a light to my path; it gives me a glimpse into my future, showing me where I’m headed. It provides relationship tips in the Word; financial wisdom is in the Word. Any book that has this much information, this much power, is worthy of my standing. Amen! That’s why we stand. I’m reading 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 3 through 7 from the New Living Translation. It reads like this: «All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! It is by his great mercy that we have been born again because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation because of what God did through Jesus Christ. We have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. Through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.» Verse 6: «So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold, and though your faith is far more precious than mere gold, when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.» Before you’re seated, back to verse 3: the last six words say, «Now we live with great expectation.» You may be seated. Last week, we talked about how much of a blessing it was to have received the great mercy of God that saved us and how we have a priceless inheritance that God has given us. Now, by his power, he is preserving us and protecting us until the day when our salvation is fulfilled. Today, I want to focus on a phrase at the beginning of verse 6 where Peter says, «So be truly glad.» Living with great expectations means we have to learn to be truly glad. It is a posture of gratefulness and gratitude to be truly glad. Why, Peter? Because there is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials. Now, that is a challenge right there, because on one hand, he says, «Be truly glad,» but then he comes back and says, «But you’re going to have to endure many trials.» So, you want me to be glad, but I’m about to experience something sad? That seems like a dichotomy right there. So, I feel a little stuck right here. You want me to be glad and sad at the same time? And no matter what I’m facing, it’s about being truly glad. Before I answer that dilemma in the passage, I thought about how it’s true in life that there are times when we’re both glad and sad at the same time. That’s how life is.