Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  By His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you rejoice,£ even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Although you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:3-9) (NRSV)

It is a truth that the people of God are promised joy.

The prophet Isaiah said that the redeemed of the Lord would be crowned with everlasting joy - sorrow and sighing will flee away - gladness and joy will overtake them. (Isaiah 35:10).

At this time of year we celebrate the news the angels brought which was "good news of great joy" (Luke 2:10).

And in John 15, 16 and 17 Jesus tells his disciples that they will receive his joy (John 15:11), a joy that cannot be taken away (John 16:22) and a joy that is full (John 17:13).

But we do not only see in Scripture that joy is promised to God's people - it is a reality among God's people.  Here is King David who writes about his relationship with God in the Psalms, saying "You have filled my heart with joy," (Psalm 4:7) and of whom he calls his "my joy and my delight." (Psalm 43:4).  And there he is so full of the joy of the Lord that he is dancing.  Dancing of all things! Dancing and leaping, celebrating with all his might before the Lord as the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God's presence in Israel is brought into the city (2 Samuel 6).

Or here is Paul and Silas chained to the prison walls for proclaiming Christ.  Here they are chained yet singing, singing hymns of praise because of the joy that is theirs in Christ (Acts 16:25).  And you know what happens - the jailer ends up believing in the Lord Jesus and the text says that he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God. (Acts 16:34) This joy was contagious.

So joy is a gift to those who believe in Jesus Christ - it is a promise and a reality in many.  But very often we Christians are not a joyful group.  It is a common misconception held by those outside the church and often by those inside the church that faith in Jesus Christ makes you narrow, inhibited, guilt-ridden and negative.  They have experienced or seen some expressions of Christianity that are narrow, inhibited and gloomy.  And unfortunately some Christians have confused the idea of taking life seriously with taking life solemnly.  They think that because they must take life seriously that they must walk around with a frown on their face and in their souls.  There are many Christians who seem to be strangers to the indescribable and glorious joy that Peter speaks of here in our text.

Those are two wonderfully descriptive words - this joy of ours is glorious and indescribable.  That is, it cannot be compared to anything experienced in this world - it is indescribable.  It is glorious that is it is not of this world - it is a gift from our glorious Lord.

Note that these are not cool, calculating words.  These are “jump for joy” words.  Have you had an experience that is indescribable?  You are lost for words and so with the joy that is yours in Christ it is indescribable.

Is it emotional?  Yes, we have an emotional faith - it is rational too - but never apologize for expressing emotion in your worship, in your adoration of God.  We have a faith that is filled with joy.  Some of you when you shake my hand say that you appreciate the energy and the passion with which I deliver my sermons.  And I appreciate the compliment, but I think how can someone preach without passion and energy when we speaking of such great themes as - God becoming flesh, a risen Saviour, the offer of salvation, the gift of a living hope, and of a peace that passes all understanding?  Our faith is very emotional - never be ashamed of that - I would question an expression of the faith that did not stir the emotions.

So one of the great gifts that Jesus gives to us is joy.  When you open your heart to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit comes and takes up residence within you there is a joy that is both indescribable and glorious.  It is the joy of God himself.  It is that immense, it is that awesome.

But let's be more specific - what does Peter say is the cause of the Christian joy?  What does Peter say is the source of our joy?

Look at what Peter writes - He gives us cause after cause for the joy that is ours (verse 3) - "by his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."

We have a reason for joy because we have a living hope.  I spoke at length last week about our hope in Christ, so I won't detail this again for you.  But notice that it is a living hope.  It is not some dead hope, it is a living hope.  A hope for the past that our sins are forgiven, a hope for today that our God is with us fully, a hope for tomorrow that we will be ushered into God's presence by the grace offered to us in Christ.  It is a living hope that based on the fact of our resurrected Lord.

And does this not fill your life with joy - to know that this is not the end?  O, the joy that is ours in knowing that death is not some fearful leap into the unknown but is a coming into the very presence of God.  O, the joy that is ours because we know that while we may be separated from those we love because of death it will not always be that way - that there will be a great reunion.  The joy that is ours because we have a living hope.

Not only this but we have a permanent inheritance, verse 4 - "and (given us a new birth) into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,"

I also spoke of this inheritance, an inheritance of glory, of being with God fully, of everlasting life.  Here you will notice that it is imperishable.  No one can take away the inheritance that is yours in Christ.  It is undefiled, that is it is unstained, it is pure and it is unfading.

The basis of our joy is knowing that God's gifts to us do not change with time.  They do not fade with circumstances.  We do not need to worry that God is like some celestial Santa Claus who looks down from heaven and notes when we naughty or nice and every time we are naughty He takes something away from us.  No - our inheritance is imperishable, undefiled and unfading because it has been secured for us through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.  It is through faith in Him that we are called children of God.  And so rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy.

But that is not all - the cause of our joy is that God has given us a living hope, an imperishable inheritance, and then this - a divine protection.  That's what he says in verse 5 - "who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

Listen, here is the truth - you and I have our souls protected by the power of God.  If you are firmly in God's hand, there is nothing that can snatch you out of His hand.  I believe the last couple of verses of Romans 8 echoes this verse, “there is nothing - neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation - that will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." We are under divine protection.  And the joy that causes us to have - to know that we are firmly in the hand of God.  Let the world bring what it may, let Satan and all his forces come against us, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  We are protected right up to the end, to when the salvation we experience now will be experienced fully at the end-time.

And Peter will echo this in verse 9 where he says that we rejoice, for we are receiving the outcome of our faith the salvation of our souls.  O, the joy that is ours because we are saved fully and completely by our Lord.

So in all of this we rejoice says Peter, the cause of our joy is our living hope, our imperishable inheritance, our Lord's constant care and protection, and the salvation of our soul.

But notice verses 6 and 7 - “In this you greatly rejoice even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith - being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire - may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

Peter has been giving us causes, but now he stops for a moment and tells us the quality of joy that is ours.  It is a joy that withstands difficulty, it is a joy that withstands sorrows, it is a joy that withstands heartaches.

Why is that?  What kind of joy is this?  We need to understand at this point that the joy that is yours that joy that is given to you by Jesus Christ is not the same as happiness.  Happiness is a nice feeling which is dependent usually upon circumstances.  We often think of happiness as being when all our circumstances are good.

Do you know the musical, "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown"?  It was a big hit there for awhile, and was based on Charles Shultz's comic strip called "Peanuts". And in that musical there is a song entitled "Happiness Is".  "Happiness is two kinds of ice cream, catching a baseball, climbing a tree.  Happiness is playing the drum in your own school band and happiness is walking hand in hand."

That is a good definition of happiness - happiness is circumstantial.  And we need to understand that one of the things the Bible does not promise us is good circumstances.  If you have them enjoy them but that isn't part of the package - of God's commitment to you.

But joy is.  So what is joy?  Joy is a deep inner sense of well being irrespective of the circumstances.  It is a joy in knowing that even these difficulties are for our good, for they are refining our faith.  The heartbreaks and heartaches we experience can be vehicles through which our faith is made more mature and where misunderstandings about God are corrected and our faith is refined like gold.

So these are the causes of our joy, and the quality of our joy this leads closely to the object of our joy - the focus.  And that is Jesus Christ.

Peter is writing this letter to a group of Christians whose circumstances are simply miserable.  Their circumstances are bleak, they are being persecuted, they have been torn from their homes, they have had to leave everything they knew and loved behind.  They have been beaten, trod on and put down.  And yet Peter says "you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy." Are these people nuts?  Do they live with their head in the sand?  Are they ignorant of what is happening to them?  No, their suffering was so great it could not simply be ignored.  Then how can they rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy?  Is it enough to say your faith is being refined?

How can they have joy with all these trials and all this grief they are experiencing?  And the answer is that they have joy because their joy isn't based on their circumstances but in their Saviour.  And so it is with us.

Do know you that Paul wrote about a secret he had?  He writes to the Philippians and tells them that he has learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want (Philippians 4:12).  I've learned the secret of being content.  And we say what's the secret of being content?  The secret Paul says is not to get God to take him out of his circumstances.  That is what most of our praying is, isn't it?  "God change this, change that, bring that along." The secret Paul learned was not to get God to take him out of his circumstances.  The secret was to bring God into his circumstances.  So whether well-fed or hungry, whether being in plenty or in want - I can do all things through Christ, He is my strength, He is my sufficiency.

This is what Peter is saying, and he makes it plain in verse 8.  Our Lord Jesus Christ is our focus, "Although you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice."

Jesus is our focus, He is the one who has given us a living hope, He is the one how has won for us an imperishable inheritance, He is the one who assures and guarantees our Lord's protection.

"But we can't see Him!" some people cry and lament.  Peter says here that we rejoice in a Saviour we have not seen.  Many people say they wish they could see Jesus Christ, they wish He was still here bodily.  But my friends, people who say that don't realize how blessed we are - we have a Saviour we have not seen, we have experienced Him and believe in Him but we have not seen Him.  Instead of being able to see Him in his physical body we have something infinitely better - we have Christ dwelling our heart by the Spirit, with us, around us, in us.

Think of what it would be like to be one of the disciples with Jesus.  I'm not sure it would be such a blessing - waiting for the crowds to subside so you could have 10 minutes with Jesus, being forced to the fringes of the crowd sometimes as the needy and ill force their way into His inner circle, having your joy dashed with the pain of losing Him, your faith rooted in the outward and the physical.

I'm not sure that would be such a blessing - compared to what we now have - to experience that quality of faith, that indescribable, glorious joy in knowing that whatever the circumstances, whatever the situation Christ is with you.  That joy in knowing that you never have to wait for your 10-minute audience with the Saviour of your soul.  That steadfast joy in knowing that whatever comes our way there is nothing that can take our living hope, our imperishable inheritance, and His divine protection away from our lives.

Even though we go through all these trials we rejoice because we have a Saviour who brought us into a living hope, and given us an inheritance, and guarded us with His power - and who is present with us in the midst of our circumstances.  And so our focus is on our Saviour not on our circumstances - he is the source of our joy.

Do you have this joy?  It is our Lord's gift to you as you realize the basis of our joy - a living hope, an imperishable inheritance, a divine protection, the salvation of our souls.

The quality of our joy?  It is more than happiness, it is steadfast and not dependent on our circumstances for it is focused on Jesus Christ who has guaranteed the salvation of our souls through faith in Him.

May this joy be yours today and always.

Copyright MBC and Tom Cullen - December 2002

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