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The Four Rewards of Faith
*1 Peter 1:5-9*
*5~/18~/03*
* *
Introduction:
On the field of battle, there are a number of medals that can be earned for exceptional and brave service.
-The Distinguished Service Cross
-The Silver Star
-Legion of Merit
-The Distinguished Flying Cross
-The Bronze Star
And there are others.
Imagine how proud you would be, or maybe are, if one of your relatives, say your father has earned one of these awards.
But one thing you’ll notice, is that often these awards are given long after the battle has been fought.
-often times they are given posthumously. . .
after the person has died.
That’s what happened in the case of Will James.
-he was one of 18 members of a reconnaissance platoon who, on December 16, 1944 held off a German battalion in Belgium.
-Few history books take note of the fact that their bravery gave Allied forces the time it took to mount the defense that finally won the Battle of the Bulge.
-Just 18 men, in the face of overwhelming odds.
-After the war, Will James slipped into oblivion for almost 40 years.
-He underwent numerous painful surgeries as a result of wounds he’d received in the war.
-It wasn’t until 1981, after he had died, that he was finally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism.
I often wonder how many soldiers heroically gave their lives in battle, in some lonely place of Europe, who will never receive a reward.
Now. . .
what I want you to see from this is the fact that if you are a soldier of the cross, you will never go unrewarded.
I want to direct your attention this morning to 1 Peter 1:5-9 (read it)
This passage is all about the rewards of genuine faith.
There are four rewards of genuine faith listed here.
Big idea: The rewards of faith are present realities.
You’ll notice that these rewards begin in the present, and extend all the way into eternity.
The benefits of faith don’t just begin posthumously. .
.after we die. . .
they begin in this life.
And there is not a person here this morning who doesn’t desperately need these four rewards of faith.
When we say faith, we’re simply saying that you believe that the Bible is true, and that what it says about Christ is true:
-that He’s the only way salvation
-that He is preparing a place for us in heaven
-that this life is not all there is
Faith has the ability and the strength to see past all the pain and suffering in this life, and to hold onto eternity.
Faith reaches from the present, into the future and brings the realities of eternity into our temporal existence.
Without faith, the Christian life appears highly irrelevant, totally insane, and entirely worthless.
But with faith, you can see the unseen.
So this morning, let’s look at the four rewards of faith.
I.
Faith provides the channel for God’s protective power.
(vs.
5)
Not long ago, during the war with Iraq, one of the embedded journalists was reporting about an incident that had taken place.
Might have been David Bloom before he died.
He had been flying in a helicopter on a certain mission, when for some reason, the helicopter had to land unexpectedly.
They were in a very vulnerable situation, and the Iraqis could’ve easily attacked them.
But before they could do that, a group of American tanks came in and formed a perimeter around the downed helicopter.
The journalist at that point said, “you’ll never know just how comforting it is at a time like this to be guarded in this way.”
Well that is precisely the meaning of verse 5.
Here we as Christians are. . . in hostile territory, under attack from Satan and the world, and what does God do for us.
A.
God keeps us by His “power.”
1. the word “kept” in verse 5 is a very interesting word.
-meant to mount a military guard
-to set a sentinel to keep watch
-and I live that it’s in the present. . .
it’s an ongoing guard being posted.
We are always under the “watchful care” of God. (Wuest)
-His sleepless eyes are always on you.
-And there is never a changing of the guard.
2.
Look at what protects us. . .
“the power of God.”
Is there any power greater than God’s power on this earth?
Think for a second of the powers on this earth that we sometimes feel we’re at the mercy of:
-nature- weather, tornadoes. . .
that’s power. . .
if you’ve been down to Lima this last week, you know that power.
-tombstones broken over
-huge beams thrown around like tooth picks
-the top of the water tower blown away to who knows where
-roofs taken off
-buildings flattened
But doesn’t Christ have greater power than a tornado?
-if He had said, “peace be still” to that tornado would’ve stopped immediately!
-that same power is the power that guards your soul
-people feel they’re at the mercy of governments. . .
but we forget that Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
-we sometimes feel we’re at the mercy of accidents, other people, the economy, other nations, OPEC turning off the valves for oil.
But I’m here to tell you that you’re not at anyone’s mercies but */God’s/* mercies.
These other forces only have power because God */allows/* them to have power.
-and that’s the power that guards you.
1 Peter 2:25 calls God the Shepherd and Guardian of your soul.
3.
Well what exactly does God guard in our lives?
-verse 5 tells us that He guards us unto salvation.
-in other words, He guards those who’ve trusted Christ as Savior, to be sure that nothing keeps them from receiving salvation
-so it’s a present reward with future realities.
John 10 states that once you are in the Father’s hand, no one can ever could ever take you out of it.
There are many things that can touch you in this life:
-sorrow, difficulty, hunger, loss, physical pain
-most of us, when going through these kinds of problems, at least at the outset feel that God is abandoning us.
-We kind of feel cheated by God.
-and it takes a while for faith to do its work. . .
and bring us around to remember that God hasn’t abandoned us. . .
He’s still on guard. .
.
-to remind us that while some things can touch us and our families. . .
*/nothing/* can touch our eternal destiny. . .
because your soul is guarded by God.
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