Bridge Church Vancouver

The Rules Have Changed

June 3, 2007

Jonathan Ng

I love to travel.  I especially like visiting other countries and experiencing new culture.  One thing I've noticed when travelling is that foreign countries have different rules.  For example, in Canada, we drive on the right hand side of the road.  In the UK, people drive on the left.  Here at a restaurant, we might say:  "Excuse me, can you show me where the washroom is?"  If you had said that in the States, or the UK, you might get a bewildered look:  Why would you want to wash clothes in a restaurant?

A rather embarrassing but funny incident happened while I was travelling a few years back.  Karen and I were in the UK as part of a missions trip helping a local church plan a youth camp.  Our hosts had asked us to explain to the youth what they ought to bring to camp.  I began by saying that it would be necessary for them to bring along their Bible, a notebook, pen and of course several changes of shirts and pants.  No sooner had I uttered the word "pants", could I hear the giggles throughout.  At the time, I couldn't figure out why my talk was so funny.  I later learned that "pants" in England refers to what we in North America would call "underwear", and "trousers" refer to those things that we wear over our underwear! 

I also learned that day that were I ever to emigrate to the UK, I would have quite a lot to learn!  Although I might have been physically in the UK, I did not act like a Brit; there were some pretty obvious things that betrayed me as a foreigner or stranger.  Along with my misuse of the English language, my attitudes were Canadian, my values were Canadian, my demeanor was Canadian, and I almost got run over crossing the street looking the wrong way!

Think about your journey as a Christian now.  What do you think would be the reaction if you were to step into heaven today?  Would you appear as a fellow citizen of heaven or would you appear as a stranger to heaven?

Perhaps I'll ask it another way:  Does the way you live your life on earth betray you as a citizen of heaven?  Does the way you think betray you as a stranger to the world?

The passage we are about to study, 1 Peter, talks much about being a stranger in the world.  Much like how the same words or actions may have different meaning in different countries, Peter talks about the benefits of salvation using worldly terms but heavenly connotations.  My goal this morning is to help paint a word picture for you.  This word picture will hopefully help you reacquaint yourself with the values of living with heavenly citizenship or as one of God's elect.

Turn with me please now to the first part of 1 Peter, chapter 1.  Follow along as I read the first 15 or so verses for you and listen to Peter as he paints a word picture for you.

<Read 1 Peter 1>

 1Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
      To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, 2who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood:
      Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

 3Praise 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, 4and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, 5who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7These 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 honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

 10Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

Be Holy

 13Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. 14As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."[a]

Peter's own testimony qualifies him to testify to us about identity in Christ

So Peter begins his letter by saying that he is an apostle of Christ.  He addresses the letter and offers his greetings to "God's elect" - those who have been called to salvation in Jesus Christ and those whom Peter calls strangers in this world.   In his greeting, Peter describes the entire process of election namely:

• that God made a choice to save you, (chosen)
• that God knew in advance how you would respond, (foreknowledge)
• that God resides in us to make us more like him (sanctified)
• that God indwells us with His Spirit
• and that God made it all possible through His son Jesus Christ.

Peter knew this process well.  In fact, Peter, probably more than anyone of Jesus' twelve disciples exemplifies our own struggle as Christians to live as strangers in the world.

As we saw last week, Peter, a mere fisherman, an "everyman", probably not much older than Justin, committed the ultimate betrayal of his identity in Christ.  Yet even so, he was chosen to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.  We often give Peter a bad time because we look back at Peter with the benefit of history.  Some of us may have even chuckled at his deficiencies - he was, after all, the disciple that seemed to have permanent 'foot in mouth' disease, the one that always seemed to act impulsively and the only one recorded to have denied knowing Jesus.  Despite all of this, Jesus chose Peter:  Jesus chose him to be his disciple; Jesus chose him in spite of foreknowledge that Peter would deny him three times; Jesus promised the Holy Spirit for Peter; Jesus died for Peter'; God sent the Holy Spirit which sanctified Peter; and Peter became the rock that Jesus said he would become.

So Peter knew personally what it was like to be called God's elect.  Have you ever doubted, perhaps because of your past, whether you are indeed a citizen of heaven?

Well, applying Peter's story to us, we are reminded that (Yes) we are indeed God's children, or citizens of heaven.  Why?  Because God chose us.  How?  Because Christ died and rose again.  Peter reminds us right in the beginning of his letter of our true identity in Christ, that we have immigrated.  Peter reminds us that God chose us, regardless of our past, regardless that we were once strangers to heaven; Peter reminds us that God chose us to become citizens of heaven and in so doing, we become strangers in the world.

But what does all this mean?  It means that if we are to embrace our new identity, we ought to start living as such and that means beginning to learn the language of, the actions of, the values of, the attitudes of how to live life as a citizen of heaven.  In short:  the rules have changed!  Christian authors have often tried to describe this.  Some say it is a paradigm shift; others say it is like funny math.  Well, going along with the theme of travelling and immigration I say it is just like a migrant emigrating from one country to another, the rules have changed!

Learning the language

How has it changed?  Well Peter describes this in the next few verses.  He says in verses 3 through 5:  "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, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."

Several key words pop out at me when I read these verses:

• mercy
• new birth
• living hope
• inheritance

Mercy

The first word is "mercy".  In earthly terms, when I say that I have mercy on someone it means that I have compassion on them.  Often we might use the word like this:  "Because Joe is homeless, he is now at the mercy of the people passing by."  It implies a sense of uncertainty because not everyone passing by may have the same compassion toward Joe.

In heavenly terms, although the definition does not change, the context does!  Consider this sentence:  "Because Joe is a sinner, his eternal destiny now lies at the mercy of God."  Although there is still the sense that it is dependent on God's compassion, we know that God is compassionate.  It is in His very character and we also know that God DOES have mercy on Joe because of what Christ did on the cross, and because of Christ's resurrection.

Birth

The second word is birth, or rather new birth.  In earthly terms, to be born is to say that one is put into existence.  In most countries, citizenship is usually granted based on birth.  For instance, one common way that refugees or illegal migrants attempt to give their children a "better" life is to go to a country and give birth thereby guaranteeing citizenship for their children.  Sometimes it is because of other circumstance.  Just recently a B.C. couple having complications with their birth were sent to Seattle for delivery because of lack of facilities here.  Their baby received American citizenship as a result.  My point is this:  in earthly terms, you can only be born once, and no earthly immigration process will cause you to be born again.

In heavenly terms however, the notion of birth has much more depth.  As Christians, not only are we able to be born again, consider the implications when we look at it in light of Jesus' life, death and resurrection.  Instead of us fleeing this world in order to find a better life, Jesus came down and became a refugee on earth in order to provide us a way to be reborn through Him.  Instead of a mere immigration to life with Christ, God provides the ultimate immigration - a new birth certificate thereby guaranteeing our new citizenship!

Hope

The third is hope.  Have you ever wished for something that you did not yet have?  We tend to think of this as hope.  The only problem is that hope in the earthly sense has no guarantee.  The "not yet" is really a "maybe", or a "perhaps" or a "wish".  Wikipedia defines it as:

a desire for something to happen, while expecting or being confident that it will come true. Hope also implies a certain amount of perseverance, believing that something is possible even when there is some evidence to the contrary. Hope may be directed toward something minor or towards something extremely significant. "False hope" is hoping for something that is extremely unlikely or unrealistic.

Christian hope is very different.  Peter describes it as living hope.  If we read in Romans 8:23-24, our hope is the future redemption of our bodies, the eternal fellowship with Christ, and abundant life in heaven where suffering is no more.   This hope is made possible through the resurrection of Christ, but this hope has not yet been realised.  It will not be fully realised until the coming of salvation revealed in the last time, so it is a "not yet", but unlike earthly hope, it is a certainty.  It is a certainty because it is guaranteed by God himself!  In other words, the context or the connotation of the word changes because God's character is unchanging.  We know that God cannot and does not lie, and therefore we know that God's promise will come true.

Inheritance

The fourth, final and very significant word is inheritance.  If I were to put a definition on inheritance, it would be that which is received as an heir, at the death of a previous holder.  In other words, it is something that we get when someone dies.  It is almost always undeserved and it always costs someone else something, namely their life.  If you have ever been involved in helping with a funeral, you can appreciate the complexities of distributing an inheritance.  Consider all the roles and implications that go along with an inheritance:

• KEEPER & GUARANTOR: An inheritance implies there are things to inherit. These things may include assets or money in the bank, a house, or sometimes even debt. A keeper of assets is usually necessary. This might be, for instance, a bank holding your Uncle Bob's savings or some other person playing the role of protecting that asset.
• WILL: An inheritance implies there is a will testifying who gets the inheritance. This will is usually written by the deceased, umm... before dying, and is a document dictating who gets what after one's death.
• DECEASED: An inheritance implies there is a death.
• EXECUTOR: An inheritance implies there is an executor - or someone who is responsible for looking after the estate and that the will of the deceased is executed.

    Now along with the death, though not strictly related to inheritance, there are two other roles:

• FUNERAL DIRECTOR: who looks after the details of how the deceased should be buried.
• MINISTER: to comfort the grieving.

Let's look again at what Peter says about our inheritance:  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, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."

Did you notice how the rules changed?  In an earthly scenario, you have at least three or four roles.  But look at how the rules change in our heavenly inheritance!

• Who is the provider of the inheritance? God is!
• Who is the keeper of the inheritance? God is!
• Who guarantees that inheritance? God does!
• Who wrote the will? God did!
• Who's will are we executing? God's will!
• Who executes that will? God does!
• Who dies so that we can obtain this inheritance? God does, BUT he resurrects so that .... well:
• Who directs the details of this death, burial and resurrection? God does!
• Who comforts those who mourn? God does!

All because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the rules have changed and our inheritance is enabled by him, and through him.  Our inheritance is our eternal salvation and status as children of God, coheirs with Christ.  (Romans 8:17).

There are a couple more points I want to make about this inheritance:

In earthly inheritance, assets can be lost or destroyed but our inheritance in heaven can never perish, never spoil and never fade because it is God who keeps it safe in heaven free from the stain of evil in our world.  In other words, it is guaranteed, it is assured, it is unimpaired by time - it cannot be taken away or revoked.  Ephesians 1:13-14 says that "...having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is like a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession -- to the praise of his glory."

In earthly inheritance, wills can change.  You might have really upset your uncle Bob in his dying days and he decided to give you nothing!  In earthly inheritance, circumstances dictate what goes in the will.  Not so with God!  God's will does not change and it is guaranteed not by what you did by what His Son did for us 2000 years ago on the cross.

Isn't this exciting?!

PRINCIPLE:
When we as Christians:

• understand the full depth of the mercy that has been shown to us,
• know that we have been given the ultimate immigration - a new birth guaranteeing our citizenship in heaven,
• embrace the living hope guaranteeing the redemption of our bodies,
• rejoice because God, in his mercy has decided to make us coheirs with Christ to an eternal inheritance,

we gain a deeper understanding of who God is and what the kingdom of God is like.  It puts our day to day lives here on earth, our day to day circumstances and our suffering into perspective.  It helps us to live with hope knowing that we one day, we will no longer be living as strangers in the world, but will be going home and living an abundant life in the Kingdom.

Learning the attitudes, Learning our response

The reality TV show "The Amazing Race" has been a hit show for the past few seasons.  On the show, several teams of two, sometimes three,  compete for a million dollars by going all around the world performing mentally and physically challenging tasks.  Over the course of the race, teams often run into trouble.  The episodes that are particularly interesting to watch are those where a team facing elimination is saved at the last minute because the host decides to give them grace.  When this happens, the team is stripped of everything except the clothes on their backs and their passports.  They are left with no money, and no possessions.

Watching the reactions of teams that are saved from the brink of elimination is fascinating.  They know that the next leg of the trip is going to be even more grueling than the last, and that the prospect of having no money nor their possessions will only slow them down.  But yet, almost always, teams that are saved from elimination are overjoyed by the second chance and rejoice despite their immediate circumstances.  Their determination and their eyes are focused solely on the goal of the race: crossing that finish line first and holding onto that prize of a million dollars.

When we as Christians are saved from elimination by the grace of Jesus Christ, we too should be overjoyed. 

Listen to what Peter says in verses 6 through 9:  "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 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 honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Our salvation means that we were saved from the brink of elimination!  Our reaction really ought to be great rejoicing even though we know that until we meet Him face to face, we are going to suffer trials while living on earth.  But unlike "the amazing race" where only one team gets the prize, the grace of Christ is certain for all who believe, the hope of salvation is certain for all who believe, and our inheritance is certain for all who believe!

Peter is so certain about this hope in fact, that even the wording reflects this in verse 6:  "...though now for a little while you may HAVE HAD to suffer grief in all kinds of trials...".  Notice how the NIV renders the verb "had" - it doesn't use simple past tense but rather "past participle" past tense.  In other words, Peter is saying that we can be so assured of our inheritance that we can take the perspective of looking at our trials in the past tense.

On "the Amazing Race", teams who were saved from elimination often do quite well in the race.  The trials that they face in the next round often help the team to refocus on what is important and they usually come out as better players.  Similarly, as Christians, though trials are not fun, they do refine us and cause us to rely more on God.  They cause us to focus on the goal of our faith rather than on our day to day circumstances.

Now I know that rejoicing in the midst of suffering is no easy task.  When faced with day to day circumstances that paralyse us and try us to the brink of exhaustion, how can we rejoice?  Trials are very real, and trials can be very painful.  I, for one, am no stranger to trials:  as a child of divorce, I've had my share of painful experiences that have often caused me to question my own identity and even my faith.  But it is also through these painful experiences that I have gained the deepest understanding of the character of God.  Although my circumstances may have caused me to question "love" - after all, our world and indeed my circumstances teach me that love is fickle and fleeting - God teaches me that love is assured, that it is a decision and that God himself is love.  God has used even my dire circumstances to accomplish His will -- to draw me close to Him and reveal who He is.

Trials and suffering are what mold us to become more like Him.  While we wait as strangers in the world, God can use trials to deepen our understanding of who He is, to enhance our understanding of "how the rules have changed" and to ready us to become citizens of heaven.  This process is necessary so that, as Peter says "our faith may be proved genuine"...which brings me to the final word that I want to define for you in our word picture: FAITH.

Keeping the Faith

Faith is an often used but often misunderstood term that we like to throw around as Christians.  In earthly terms, we tend to think of it as something that we "believe in".  "If I could just have enough faith in ...[insert deity]... then this trial or that trial would go away."

But might I challenge you this morning to rethink your definition of faith in light of what we have talked about today.  Instead of thinking of faith purely as this thing I must work on, or have more of, think of faith as the channel that gives you access to our hope, and our inheritance: our salvation.  Perhaps an analogy will help:

Canadians love hockey.  Here in Vancouver, our beloved hockey team is the Vancouver Canucks.  Die hard hockey fans in this city would love to see the Canucks advance to the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Indeed it would be a dream come true to experience the passion and glory of 1994 when the Canucks advanced all the way to the finals.  They say that the Stanley cup is one of the hardest sports trophies to attain as any team wanting to win it has to compete in FOUR rounds of elimination!

Now I know that the Canucks didn't make it that far this season, but imagine for a moment, that we are in the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs 2008.  The Vancouver Canucks are in the finals.  They've beaten all other teams and now just have the one team left from the Eastern division that they need to beat.  It's game 6 and the teams are in a dead tie.  The good news is that the Canucks are on their way home, ready to beat out this last team on home ice.  You, a very very lucky hockey fan, have a ticket to GAME 7 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.  Let's just say that you have some friends in some pretty high places that thought of you and bought you a ticket ....at the last minute.

So you're sitting there looking at this ticket.  It is a PRIZED, genuine, bone fide game 7 ticket.  You have been dying for years to see not only the Canucks advance this far but it would be such an incredible experience to see the crowning game of the series!  You can already imagine seeing Trevor Linden parading that cup around the ice... the cheers for Roberto Luongo as he kisses the cup in sweet victory.  Your heart and mind are preoccupied, filled with anticipation of what this game is going to look like.

Come game time, you approach the usher and you hand him the ticket.  He checks over your ticket.  Your ticket is indeed genuine.  (Would he have let you in if you had created your own ticket?)  After ensuring it is genuine, he then rips it in half and ushers you in.  You find your seat and...

STOP!  Did you notice what just happened there?  Your ticket that you were prizing over just got ripped in half!  But do you care?  No!  You are at the game!  Your ticket, even though it was near priceless, is ultimately JUST A TICKET.  Although you had full confidence before the game that the ticket would give you access to what you had been longing to see, it was just the channel.  It was simply a piece of paper authenticating that you are indeed entitled to see the game.  The ticket was not the game itself. 

If we envision our faith, which was given to us through Christ, as simply the ticket or the channel to an even greater treasure, we gain the right perspective when reading this passage.  Our faith, of greater worth than gold which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine [ensuring the inheritance goes to the rightful heirs!] and may result in glory, honour and praise when Christ is revealed.

When we define faith this way, many things start to fall in place.  Think of how ridiculous sounding a sentence like: "Oh, well I have created my own faith experience to get to heaven." would sound.  That would be like handing the usher a hand drawn ticket or a ticket for some other event and expecting entry to the game!  It just doesn't make sense.

To carry the analogy one step further, our faith is even better than just the ticket to a very prized and exciting game.  It is the ticket to an inheritance that is assured.  In other words, it is a ticket to a game where we KNOW who the winner is.

Hebrews 11:1 describes faith like this:  "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what you do not see.".  Peter says something similar in 1 Peter:  "Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Conclusion

I started my message by talking about travel and by asking you two questions:

• Does the way you live your life today on earth betray you as a citizen of heaven?
• Does the way you think betray you as a stranger to the world?

The rules have changed because Christ is resurrected.  Because of what God has done and because of his great mercy, language has changed, attitudes have changed and we have received the ability to believe.  As God's elect, we have been given new birth certificates guaranteeing our citizenship in heaven.  Our hope is set fully on the grace of Christ.  Our inheritance is guaranteed.  And our faith given to us by Christ can be proved genuine. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, what betrays us as citizens of heaven is our living hope in the mercy of God, in the new birth given to us by God through Christ, in our guaranteed inheritance and in the faith given to us.  Our only reasonable response should be indeed to rejoice and give all praise, honour and glory to God!  How will you live your life differently in light of these things?

I thought it would be fitting to end with a travel story.

The hymn that we sang today "It is well with my soul" was written by a man by the name of Horatio Spafford.  Spafford was a successful attorney in Chicago in the late 1800s.  He had a wife, and four daughters whom he loved very much.  But in 1871 tragedy struck.  The Chicago Fire of 1871 wiped out most of the family's extensive real estate investments.  To lift the family spirits, Spafford decided he would send his family on a trip to Europe in part to take part in the evangelistic campaigns of Dwight L. Moody and Ira Sankey - a prominent evangelist and music associate of the day.  So in November of 1873, he sent his wife and four daughters on a trans-Atlantic cruise liner.  Because of some urgent business he would join them later in England.  But tragedy would strike again: Halfway across the Atlantic, the ship was struck by an English vessel and sank in twelve minutes.  Mrs. Spafford survived miraculously but all four daughters perished in the accident.  She sent word to her husband in England that she had survived alone.

Later as Mr. Spafford made his way to rejoin his wife, he penned these words at the approximate place where his previous daughters had drowned:

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
that Christ hath regarded my helpless estate
and hath shed His own blood for my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
the clouds be rolled back as a scroll:
the trump shall resound and the Lord shall descent, "Even so"
- it is well with my soul.

It is well, It is well, It is well with my soul!!!

Mr. Spafford knew what it was like to have living hope.  No writer could ever come up with such beautiful words in the face of such tragedy had he not had living hope.  Despite deep suffering, he could still utter the words "it is well with my soul" and to this day, this hymn inspires, teaches, and comforts those who may have forgotten what it is like to be a stranger to the world.

As Pastor Rodney plays for us, I want us to take a few moments to reflect on the message this morning:

1.  If you do not yet know Jesus as your personal Saviour, much of what I have talked about this morning will be foreign to you.  But because of what Jesus did on the cross 2000 years ago, God has made it possible for you to emigrate.  Through His Son, He has not only granted you full citizenship, he has given you the right to His inheritance, and he has provided the "ticket" to victory in your life.  His Son has done all of the work and His Son has paid the price.  All you have to do is take that ticket.  Will you accept his gift of salvation today?  If there is something holding you back, don't just walk away or ignore it.  You are not in this room, at this worship service by mistake.  I encourage you to talk to someone about it and let them pray with you about it. 

2.  For those that do know Jesus:  As you listened to the words of the hymn, can you sincerely say "Whatever my lot, It is well with my soul" this morning?  Does the living hope, that blessed assurance that Christ has regarded your helpless estate and shed his own blood for your soul, control your life?  Peter goes on to say later in his letter "set [y]our hope fully on the grace given you when Jesus Christ is revealed".  How have you been taking this to heart lately? 

Do you get the same excitement as Peter when he looks forward to the day when he will see Jesus face to face? Have you been rejoicing because of what God has done for you or have you been dwelling in the misery of your day to day circumstances?  Only you know if your heart is right with God - if it isn't right, will you take this opportunity to confess this to God?  Ask him to help you live differently in light of what you have learned today.