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The Greatest Christmas Gift (1 Peter 1:10-12)
10 Plays12 days ago
What would you say was the greatest Christmas gift you ever received? Among the greatest some people consider the best are gift like…a new vehicle, time, handmade cards from children, birth of a child, extension to life for one diagnosed with a terminal illness, visits from family, cash, voucher booklet from a teenager promising the completion of various chores, etc.
The angel told Joseph in a dream, “She (Mary) will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” An angel announced to a group of shepherds out in the fields, “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Passages like these remind us that salvation through Christ is the greatest Christmas gift we will ever receive!
Peter wrote the letter known as 1 Peter to encourage a group of persecuted followers of Christ back in AD 63. He would remind them of the magnitude of their salvation in Christ despite the loss of material possessions and the cost of martyrdom of family and friends in Christ. As a matter of fact, over the next four years Peter and Paul would both be put to death for their faith in Christ. Yet, they died with courage and hope, cherishing the priceless gift of salvation given to them through Christ.
In this study of 1 Peter 1:10-12, the Apostle will focus on four beautiful aspects of salvation in Christ: the prophets’ investigation of salvation, the Spirit’s inspiration regarding of salvation, the apostles’ instruction about salvation and the angels’ interest in salvation.
Together, let’s admire this precious Christmas gift as we agree with Paul who wrote of it, “Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!” 2 Corinthians 9:15.
The Prophets’ Investigation of Salvation, 1 Peter 1:10-11
The Spirit’s Inspiration regarding Salvation, 1 Peter 1:11
The Apostles’ Instruction about Salvation, 1 Peter 1:12
The Angels’ Interest in Salvation, 1 Peter 1:12
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Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam Street
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Growing in Grace' Series
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message.
00:00:22
Speaker
If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, fbccolumbustx.org. And now, take your copy of God's timeless Word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
What is the Greatest Christmas Gift?
00:00:43
Speaker
Hey, welcome to Growing and Grace. It's Christmas season. Are you excited? i am. I love Christmas and just can't wait to celebrate with my church family and with my family. And I hope that you will have many joyful times of celebration as well.
00:01:00
Speaker
I have a question for you related to Christmas. What would you say was the greatest Christmas gift you ever received? Among the greatest, some people consider the best gift they ever received, something like, let's say, a new car.
00:01:18
Speaker
When I was 16 years old, my parents gave me a Pinto runabout. It wasn't a new car, but it was my car, and I was so excited to get it I would say that some people would say their best gift was time.
00:01:35
Speaker
Someone gave them time during Christmas, and it meant a lot. Others might say, no, it was some of those things that my children made. Maybe a handmade Christmas card that came from a child or a grandchild. Maybe the birth of a child.
00:01:50
Speaker
I mean, my mother-in-law was born on Christmas Day, and I thought, how cool is that? But when I've talked with her about it, she said, no, it wasn't cool at all because I never got a party. you know and so Anyway, I could definitely say that might not be the best day of the year to be born, but I just sort of thought it would be.
00:02:10
Speaker
But anyway, um another one I thought about, how about the extension of your life? especially if you were diagnosed with a terminal illness, and to be able to celebrate Christmas one more time, man, can't,
00:02:25
Speaker
Can't you imagine? That would be a sweet gift. And maybe visits from family. I know a lot of students have said to me, I've been trying to get the right thing to my kids before. And they said, Dad, cash always works. Just cash. And so maybe that's it.
00:02:43
Speaker
I did hear about one teenager, though, who was trying to think of what to give his mom. And so he came up with a voucher booklet. And in the in the little booklet,
00:02:54
Speaker
were all these vouchers for various chores that needed to be done around the house. And so he said, anytime that you give me one of these vouchers, I will try my best to get to it right away.
00:03:09
Speaker
And so anyway, that mother was so excited to get that voucher booklet for those chores and to ah tell them all about it.
True Meaning of Christmas: Salvation through Christ
00:03:18
Speaker
But I don't know if we forget sometimes what Christmas is really all about.
00:03:24
Speaker
But I just think about the angel telling Joseph in a dream that Mary is going to bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins.
00:03:40
Speaker
You know, the angel announced to a group of shepherds out in the fields, watching over their flocks by night, for unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord.
00:03:53
Speaker
You know, passages like these remind us that salvation through Christ is the greatest Christmas gift we will ever receive.
Peter's Encouragement to Persecuted Christians
00:04:05
Speaker
Peter wrote the letter known as 1 Peter to encourage a group of persecuted followers of Christ back in AD 63. He would remind them of the magnitude of their salvation in Christ, despite possibly the loss of material possessions, or maybe they've known family and friends in Christ who had ah laid down their lives the cost of martyrdom.
00:04:32
Speaker
ah But as a matter of fact, over the next four years after Peter wrote this, he himself would be crucified upside down, according to Christian traditions, and Paul would be put to death just within four years after writing these words to encourage others.
00:04:51
Speaker
But yet, you know what? I think that both Peter and Paul and many, many others through the years, they have died with courage and hope. You know why? They've been cherishing, cherishing the priceless gift of salvation, giving to them through Christ.
00:05:10
Speaker
So I want us to look at three verses in 1 Peter 1. It's
Roles in Salvation: Prophet, Spirit, Apostle, Angel
00:05:14
Speaker
verses 10, 11, and 12. 1 Peter 1, verses 10, 11, and 12. eleven and twelve first peter chapter one verses ten eleven and twelve you know, the apostle will focus on four beautiful aspects of salvation in christ He'll talk about the prophet's investigation of salvation, the Spirit's inspiration regarding salvation, and the apostle's instruction about salvation. and the angel's interest in salvation.
00:05:42
Speaker
So let me read about it. And you can go ahead and do whatever it is that you've got going on there if you're listening. but But just listen along. It says, concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring What person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories?
00:06:15
Speaker
It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you in the things that have now been announced to you Fascinating. What passage and what an incredible gift of salvation.
00:06:28
Speaker
love what it says in 2 Corinthians 9.15.
00:06:34
Speaker
to look fascinating what a passage and what ah what an incredible gift of salvation i love what it says in second corinthians nine fifteen Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift.
00:06:51
Speaker
That's what I would say about salvation in Christ. It's just inexpressible because there are no words that seem to be adequate to convey our thanks and our appreciation for our salvation in Christ.
00:07:05
Speaker
So let's look at this passage. Let me unpack it for you, and you can follow along and just think about each one of these different aspects of our salvation. The first thing I noticed in verses 10 and 11 was this reference to Old Testament prophets.
00:07:22
Speaker
I've had some people tell me, you know what? I don't like the Old Testament. Wait a minute. Hey, hey, slow down. The Old Testament is really good. It's so crucial and critical. It's essential.
00:07:36
Speaker
You know, it's almost like, did you ever get a Christmas card in the mail? Well, you know, Christmas cards that are sent through the mail, they have to be sent early, right?
00:07:46
Speaker
I mean, the post office now sends sends a little like a card to my house and says, if you want your Christmas cards to be delivered by Christmas, then you're going have to send them by this date.
00:08:00
Speaker
Well, that's what the Old Testament was like, right? I mean, it was like these Christmas greeting cards that the Heavenly Father was sending out through these Old Testament prophets.
00:08:13
Speaker
I mean, hundreds and thousands of years before Christ left heaven and entered humanity. You know, some have counted up those references to Christ.
00:08:24
Speaker
You won't believe it. They say there's at least 300 Old Testament prophets prophecies predicting the coming of the Messiah. So over Thanksgiving, I spent some time with my mom.
00:08:38
Speaker
And one of the things we did was we put together a fall, an autumn um jigsaw puzzle. And it was fun. We did it together. And my brother was sipping on coffee and watching the football game. And he told me, I'm not a i'm not a puzzle man.
00:08:54
Speaker
So you and mom go ahead. and my daughter was there as well. And so anyway, we did. But you know what? It's like each one of those prophets received a piece of the puzzle and they knew this is about the Messiah, but they didn't all have the complete picture like we do since now we have, well, we have the Old Testament, we have the New Testament.
00:09:21
Speaker
And so all of it together gives us this complete picture of God's redemption and of salvation of of Christ and so forth.
00:09:32
Speaker
Well, let me walk you back through verses 10 and 11, because I think you're going to find that these Old Testament prophets, they wanted to know more.
00:09:44
Speaker
Would you like to know more about Jesus? Would you like to know more about salvation? Listen up. Here's what they it says 1 Peter 1, verses 10 and 11. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time. So let's push the pause button right there.
00:10:12
Speaker
Already we see that these prophets, it says that they were prophesying or they they prophesied about the grace that was to be yours. And then it says that they were searching.
00:10:26
Speaker
They were inquiring and they searched and they inquired carefully. you know They wanted to know more about this coming Messiah. And so let's pretend that we are where they're standing.
00:10:41
Speaker
And we know, because perhaps you've heard this before, but we know that the best and investigative reporter wants to know the answer to certain questions.
00:10:52
Speaker
Questions that are simple but important like who, what, when, why, how. So let me just put it in that form as we look at these verses that I just read again, verses 10 and 11.
00:11:05
Speaker
What were they investigating? Well, verse 10 tells us right off the bat concerning this salvation, the prophets, and then it goes on from there. But that's what they wanted to know more about. They wanted to know more about salvation.
Christmas Message: God's Grace and Forgiveness
00:11:24
Speaker
But also it says, who was conducting the investigation? Well, that's an easy one. That's a Like a t-ball. Do your kids ever play t-ball? It's like, okay, we're going to put the ball up there so you can just hit it.
00:11:37
Speaker
Well, man, it's easy. the profits The prophets were conducting the investigation. But one of the things that I think was amazing to them was why the father was going to send his son anyway.
00:11:53
Speaker
Did you catch what he says? He puts it in here. Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about Jesus, the grace that was to be yours.
00:12:05
Speaker
The grace that was to be yours. That's why Jesus came. That's what Christmas is all about. Christmas is all about God's grace coming at us as the human race.
00:12:18
Speaker
And God is saying, you know what? I love you guys so much. I'm going to make a way where you can have your sins forgiven. I'm going to make a way so that you can be in my family. I'm going to make a way so that you and I can have fellowship together for all eternity.
00:12:34
Speaker
Man, isn't that fantastic? That's why the father sent his son. It was all about grace. But also, how did these men conduct their investigation again? It says they searched and they inquired. But then there's a word used after that in verse 10, carefully.
00:12:52
Speaker
They searched and they inquired carefully. You know, That word reminds me of a word that Luke says at the beginning of the gospel of Luke. If you read verses one through four of that first chapter, he says that he did a lot of interviewing.
00:13:11
Speaker
He talked to a lot of people. He tried to make sure he had it exactly right, exactly in the order in which it happened. But I like the word he uses. It's not carefully. He said, I i studied this over and over closely.
00:13:28
Speaker
do you Do you really feel that you have been careful, that you have tried to know the way of salvation carefully and closely? Well, who was the focus of their search and their inquiry? They didn't know back then.
00:13:43
Speaker
And so that's why here Jesus is simply referred to as what person? Inquiring what person? They didn't even know the time that he was going to arrive. They were thinking, who is this? And when will he be here?
00:13:59
Speaker
So I just think, you know, we're really blessed to live on this side of the of the coming of Christ, the birth of Christ, the the crucifixion of Christ. ah We're on this side of the resurrection of Christ and the ascension of Christ. Man, it's just amazing.
00:14:18
Speaker
We know who he is and we have a copy of God's word. And so I just thought it's really interesting how the prophets were investigating to know salvation more.
00:14:29
Speaker
So I challenge you, sometime during the Christmas break, why don't you take a little time that you don't normally have and say, Lord, I want to learn about salvation.
00:14:40
Speaker
Well, let's go to the second thing, the Spirit's inspiration regarding salvation. The Spirit's inspiration. Why do I say that? Well, it says, inquiring the person or time, the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating, was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
00:15:06
Speaker
If you were to go not to 1 Peter, but to 2 Peter 1, verses 19 through 21, you would read where it says, no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
Prophets and Predictions of Christ's Sufferings
00:15:26
Speaker
You see, the Bible is a book that men wrote, yes, But you know what? Those men were inspired by the Spirit of God. That word inspired there, it means breathed out. It's like God breathed out the wisdom, the truth.
00:15:44
Speaker
that he wanted these men to write down. And that's why I was saying, know, it's not about, men and what they wanted. You know, second Timothy three 16 is another one where it says that all scripture is breathed out, is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God,
00:16:09
Speaker
ah may be fully equipped and perfect for every good work. So just think about that. Well, let's go next to this verse that we have here before us in verse 11, and let's break it down a little bit.
00:16:25
Speaker
You know, it says that um the Holy Spirit, as he was inspiring these men, there were three guiding aspects of inspiration that were mentioned in 1 Peter 1.11. Let's see what the first one was. Inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating.
00:16:47
Speaker
when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. So just think about this, that inspiration was exclusively by the Spirit of Christ.
00:16:59
Speaker
Inspiration was exclusively by the Spirit of Christ. I mean, this is what the Lord wanted us to know about the Lord. And so the Spirit of Christ in those Old Testament prophets was inspiring them, and they were only knowing a little bit. And now as we've got the full counsel of God's will, we know even more about Christ.
00:17:23
Speaker
But then the other thing is, it was also according to soundness about Christ. Look at that word indicating, or just think about that word if you're ah in the midst of doing things. The Spirit of Christ in them was indicating.
00:17:40
Speaker
That word indicating is an interesting word in the original Greek language in which the New Testament was written. You know what it meant? It meant make it plain.
00:17:51
Speaker
So you know what the Holy Spirit was was ensuring? The Holy Spirit was saying, I'm going to make it so plain that this writer of 1 Peter, of the book of Jeremiah, of the book of Isaiah, I'm going to make sure that each writer knows exactly what I want written down. I'm going to make it plain. I'm going to indicate exactly the sufferings and the subsequent glories, which brings me to the other thing.
00:18:21
Speaker
It's shining the spotlight on Christ. Let's remember something about Christmas, okay? I mean, we're right on the front end. We're going into it. Let's remember that Christmas is all about Christ.
00:18:35
Speaker
It's all about Him. and so the spotlight was on Him. It talks about when he predicted. These Old Testament prophets often emphasized either the grace or the glory of the coming one. The grace would be talking about the sufferings of Christ or the cross, whereas the glory of the coming one would be talking about the sovereign reign of Christ, the crown. And so I think it's interesting how right here in verse 11, it ends with these words that the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. Those are the two prongs that these Old Testament prophets were mainly concerned about under the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit.
00:19:23
Speaker
So I just wanted you to know that the Holy Spirit is still alive and well. He inspired the Bible. We have all 66 books here, but if you'll read it, He will speak to you through His living Word.
Apostles Teaching Salvation through Prophecies
00:19:38
Speaker
So I encourage you to say, Lord, help me understand this, and He will. Well, let's move to the third fascinating part of this passage, and that is the Apostle's instruction about salvation.
00:19:51
Speaker
You do remember, right? that whenever they were, ah Jesus was making these disciples and so forth, like Peter and lu ah Luke, John, and all those different guys, they didn't have a Bible.
00:20:07
Speaker
No, the Bible wasn't written yet. As a matter of fact, these guys were going to write the Bible. And so how was it that they were going to ah train and teach and instruct other people about salvation? Well, let's read verse 12. The first part says, it was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the holy spirit sent from heaven You know, I've heard people say before, well, the Bible's out of date.
00:20:46
Speaker
Well, the Bible was a for just for that generation. No, you know what? Verse 12 is saying the Bible was for future generations. These New Testament guys were going back into the Old Testament prophecies, Old Testament teachings, and all of those historical accounts that are recorded in old testament in the Old Testament.
00:21:09
Speaker
And they were teaching these new believers who had placed their faith in Christ. There wasn't a New Testament yet. So they were going back and teaching them and they were saying,
00:21:22
Speaker
All of that, all of that that was back there, it was written for you. And you know what? The Old and the New Testament now, you know who it was written for?
00:21:32
Speaker
was written for you. That's right. Whether you're a man, whether you're a lady, whether you're a teenager or child, whether you're really old, you're really young, it doesn't matter where you are.
00:21:43
Speaker
i want you to know the Bible was written for you and it'll instruct you. It will help you. It will help you to know how to really live life to the fullest.
00:21:56
Speaker
And I'm not saying that everyone who follows the scripture is going to be wealthy and they're all going to be healthy and They'll never have any problems. No people in the Bible actually had problems, but it's that we have Christ to help us when we go through problems, through hard times. And he helps us to know how to have joy, how to love our family, how to love people in our community and so forth.
00:22:21
Speaker
But I wanted you to see that there's a definite part of the scriptures where the role was these Old Testament, I mean, the New Testament apostles were using what the Old Testament prophets had already written.
00:22:36
Speaker
And so they were able to tell them, what was said already. Of course, back then they were oral ah culture. And so they would pass these stories down, not so much by written, but by word of mouth. Eventually it was written down.
00:22:51
Speaker
But anyway, I just think, you know, the Holy Spirit not only inspired Old Testament prophets, he inspired New Testament apostles. The Gospel of Matthew, for example, it's a great bridge between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
00:23:08
Speaker
You know, Matthew reaches back to quote the Old Testament, get this, with 60 different references from the Old Testament. No wonder Matthew remembered Jesus saying these words, this was to fulfill what was spoken. See, some people thought he came to destroy the law and the prophets. He said, I didn't come to destroy the law and the prophets. I came to fu fulfill them.
00:23:34
Speaker
And so they fit together. Do you know that there are only four books in the Old Testament that are not quoted in the New Testament? Those four would be Obadiah, Nahum, Zephaniah, and Esther.
00:23:48
Speaker
All the other books in the ah Old Testament are somewhere quoted even in the New Testament. And so I just wanted you to know that there's so much we can learn from God's word, New Testament, Old Testament, both testaments.
00:24:04
Speaker
And so please spend time studying God's word and asking God to teach you, to instruct you. And, ah you know, it says here that the things they have now been announced to you through those who have preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit from heaven.
00:24:22
Speaker
And so those apostles were empowered so that when they talk, when they speak so would speak, when they would teach people, that the Holy Spirit would empower what they were saying.
00:24:36
Speaker
I believe he can do the same thing for us today. Well, let me wrap it up with one last fascinating point that is found here in verse
Angels' Interest in Salvation
00:24:46
Speaker
12. It says, "...things into which angels long to look." Do you know that the angels have a great interest in salvation, even though they will never be saved because they're not human?
00:25:00
Speaker
That's something, by the way, that Hollywood needs to get straight. So many movies have that theme that someone dies, and then after they die, they come back as an angel.
00:25:11
Speaker
That's not right. Angels and humans are two different creations. And so don't think that angels are just someone that's already passed away. But angels are in the Bible.
00:25:23
Speaker
You know, someone's counted the references to angels in the Bible and discovered that they're mentioned 196 times. So don't think that talking about angels is something anti-biblical or something.
00:25:36
Speaker
No, angels are mentioned in the Bible. As a matter of fact, they're mentioned in 34 books of the Bible. The Bible has 66 books. In 34 of them, angels are sometimes mentioned in some way.
00:25:52
Speaker
But when I was looking at this, I thought, how were the angels a part of God's plan? Like they they didn't bring salvation. Salvation only comes through Christ, right?
00:26:03
Speaker
But have you ever noticed how they were included throughout the process of salvation? Oh yeah, they were around. They were in the background. They were there announcing Christ's birth.
00:26:15
Speaker
I counted at least four different announcements at Christ's birth. They were ministering to Jesus during his testing. You know, there's a verse that talks about how in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew what was coming. It was hard for him, but it said that the angels ministered to him and strengthened him.
00:26:33
Speaker
They were also standing by the tomb after his resurrection. Remember? Remember? When the women went to the tomb, what about ah witnessing his ascension back into heaven?
00:26:44
Speaker
Those disciples couldn't believe that just like some kind of Iron Man or Superman, Jesus just started going up, up, up into the clouds. The angels had to explain that to the disciples so that they wouldn't be afraid.
00:27:00
Speaker
But the angels really did a lot. They were ministering to believers, drawing ah people who don't know Christ to salvation in Christ. They were praising the Lord for his salvation and watching the display of his grace.
00:27:14
Speaker
So many different things. Angels were included throughout that process of salvation that was happening in Christ. But the angels are also, like this passage says, they're interested.
00:27:27
Speaker
I believe they're interested in the praise that comes because of salvation. You know, there's a word that is used here. It says they long to look. They long to look.
00:27:40
Speaker
They long to look. That word long there is passion, strong desire, an overpowering impulse. Makes me think about that song, favorite song of all by Phillips, Craig and Dean, where he says how he says in the second verse, and he loves to hear the angels as they sing, holy, holy is the lamb, heaven's choirs in harmony, lift up praises to the great I am.
00:28:07
Speaker
But then get this, but he lifts his hands for silence when the weakest saved by grace begins to sing. And a million angels listen as a newborn soul sings, I've been redeemed.
00:28:24
Speaker
Cause his favorite song of all is the song of the redeemed. When lost sinners are made clean, they lift their voices loud and strong. When those purchased by his blood lift to him a song of love, there's nothing more he'd rather hear, nor so pleasing to his ear as his favorite song of all.
00:28:45
Speaker
Well, no wonder it says that they wanted to, ah they longed to look. That word look means to inspect. It means to stretch one's neck forward in anticipation or interest. It means that you bend down to look closely at something. Like ah it says in the gospel of John that John did when he looked in the tomb wanting to figure it all out.
00:29:10
Speaker
Oh man, let me tell you, there's some great verses in the Bible about Christmas and about salvation. And I encourage you to spend time in God's word and see what you can ah find out about your salvation in Christ. It's almost like unwrapping, isn't it?
00:29:28
Speaker
Just get in God's word and unwrap it. But anyway, let's pray. In Jesus name, Lord, I come to you and I pray that you would bless our friends And thank you again so much for this time that we can spend together.
00:29:41
Speaker
In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. God bless you. Have a great day.
00:29:52
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.