Restoring the "Forgotten Middle" to Christ's Resurrection Power--Ephesians 1:19-20 (Easter message)

            There’s a song that’s been going around Christian radio lately that reminds us of an important truth regarding Christ’s resurrection. It’s the song, “Same Power,” by Jeremy Camp, and the basic message of the song is captured in the line at the beginning of the chorus: the same power that rose Jesus from the grave lives in us. We have that same power at work within our lives through the Holy Spirit.

            That’s an important truth for us to remember, lest we start to think about Christ’s resurrection only in terms of the past and the future and lose sight of its implications for the present. We can sometimes find ourselves thinking about Christ’s resurrection the same way that we think about a retirement account – it’s good that I started one in the past, and I’ll sure enjoy it in the future when I can begin to draw from it, but it doesn’t really help me right here, right now, on a daily basis.

            We might have that same kind of thought about Christ’s resurrection. Sure – we know it’s great that he rose from the grave all those many years ago, and we know that we too will be resurrected one day because of it. But in the meantime – well, what difference does it make?

            That song reminds us that God’s resurrection power is still active in the world today – and in fact, it’s active within you and me. That truth is expressed in a handful of different passages in the New Testament, but today I’d like to point you specifically to Ephesians 1:19-20. I’m going to start reading in verse 15 to give you the context, and let me ever so briefly give you a summary of verses 1-14.

            In those first 14 verses, Paul gives us a rundown of God’s plan of salvation and how he has worked it out in our lives. If you could master the message of just of those 14 verses, you would have a great handle on the vast majority of New Testament theology. You might want to make those 14 verses the subject of some careful, personal study in your daily Bible reading before long.

            Beginning in verse 15 then, Paul describes why and how he prays for the Ephesian believers. Let’s read his description down through verse 20 [READ].

            The phrase “according to” in v. 19 might seem a bit unclear to you, so let me read for you how verses 19 and 20 are translated in the NIV: “his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.”

            So God’s incomparably great power for us who believe is indeed the same power that rose Jesus from the grave. From this point forward in the book of Ephesians, we could view it as a description of what God can accomplish in us and through us through the immeasurable greatness of his power. So I want to take you today on a quick tour through the book of Ephesians. You’ll get a glimpse of how God’s resurrection power can transform your daily life right now and make a difference for you in the present day, not just in the past and the future.

1. His power gave us spiritual life to walk in His path of good works--2:1-10

            In this section, Paul describes how we were spiritually dead without Christ, unwittingly following Satan, and living for little more than satisfying our own lusts. But through Jesus Christ, God saved us from that situation and gave us new spiritual life, through which we can accomplish good things for him in this world. All of this is summed up in the familiar words of 2:8-10 [READ].

            God has saved us from our sins and molded us to do good works – actions that will bear his fruit in this world and do good for mankind. As we look around our world today, we see problems that leave us staggering because of their size and complexity. But the history of Christianity can be seen from one angle as a story of dismantling difficult problems. Christians in the Roman Empire successfully ended practices like infanticide and the systematic neglect of the sick and handicapped. Christians in the New World effectively put an end to the legal slave trade among English-speaking countries. Christian missionaries have taught jungle tribes how to escape the cycle of revenge killings, and they’ve challenged pagan cultures to put an end to practices like human sacrifice.

            God can work through us to effect lasting change in this world. The immeasurable greatness of his power can accomplish incredible things through his people – and not just on a societal level, but in your homes and in our schools and in our communities.

2. His power allows us to overcome prejudice in order to walk in unity with other believers--2:11-3:13

            In the next section of Ephesians, Paul describes how Christ brought together Jews and Gentiles as one body and one family within the church. That was no small feat when you consider the prejudice that existed between those groups. It would be like Blacks and Whites in the Jim Crow South joining together in true peace and harmony.

            God’s great power can overcome the prejudices that we might harbor against each other, which is highly significant given how deeply held our prejudices often are. These attitudes are often lodged in our hearts rather than our minds, which makes them all the more difficult to change. If you discover that you’ve simply been thinking about something incorrectly, it might not take too much for you to change your mind. But when your feelings and values are tied up in it, watch out! Attitudes like that require an adjustment that can be life altering.

            But God can do it in his power! He can make friends out of lifelong enemies and fellow worshipers out of former antagonists.

3. His power allows us to comprehend the love of Christ and be filled with all the fullness of God--3:14-21

            This section is so beautiful that I just want to read it to you rather than comment on it [READ]. Isn’t a passage like that a feast for your soul? I especially love the notion that it takes strength to comprehend the love of Christ. It’s a love that blows us away, so we have to have God-given strength just to be able to comprehend it!

4. His power equips us to help each other mature in Christ--4:1-16

            In the next two sections, Paul really builds upon the image of walking to describe the way we move through life with our decisions and actions. In 4:1 he writes, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” When you think about how high our calling is as believers, it’s almost stunning sometimes to think that we actually can live up to it – that through God’s power we can live in such a way that the name “Christian” or “little Christ” actually suits us well!

            God’s power can accomplish that in us, and he can also use us to help each other mature in Christ. Notice what Paul writes in 4:15-16 [READ].

5. His power leads us to walk in love and wisdom rather than selfishness and ignorance--4:17-5:21

            In this section, we have a number of commands that all build upon this metaphor of walking. In 4:17, Paul writes, “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds.” Then in 5:1-2 he writes, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

            Next, in 5:8-9 he writes, “Walk as children of light for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.” Finally in 5:15-16, Paul writes, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

            Earlier, Paul had described how those who do not believe are simply led around by their own passions and desires, but through Christ we have the immeasurable greatness of God’s power that can strengthen us to live a different way. Our sinful desires are like gravity – they are always pulling us down whether we realize it or not. But God’s great power strengthens us to rise above our sinful desires and escape their pull so that we can walk a different path.

6. His power allows us to act properly in all our relationships, and for the right reasons--5:22-6:9

            In this section, Paul gives practical instructions to various groups of people to teach us how to live together. As we all know, one of the most difficult challenges we face is simply to live together with other people in ways that are healthy and beneficial and encouraging rather than dysfunctional. So Paul writes to husbands and wives, to children and parents, and to slaves and masters to tell them all how to act properly in those relationships.

            And with each piece of advice, he reminds us that our goal in these relationships is not simply to please ourselves or even other people, but to please Christ. In each of these relationships, we should live in love toward Christ, which will keep us on the right track.

7. His power strengthens us to stand against the schemes of the Devil--6:10-20 (vs. 10-12)

            We have a powerful foe in the devil who is always seeking to do us harm. The Bible describes him as powerful, intelligent, cunning, and even attractive. But his power is no match for the immeasurable greatness of the power that rose Jesus from the dead! God’s power strengthens us to stand against the schemes of the devil.

            And so, let us always remember that the same power that brought a dead man back to life is at work in our lives today to accomplish things that might also seem impossible. When we feel the powerful pull of our sinful desires, it may feel impossible to say no, but through God’s power we can walk a different path. It may feel impossible for us to live in peace with someone from “that other group” of people, but through Christ we can find unity in worshiping him.

            Wives, it may seem impossible for you to honor your husbands, or husbands, it may seem impossible for you to love your wife as you love your own body, but through Christ that can be your love story! It may seem impossible to live up to the high calling to which we have been called or to think that you could actually enhance the reputation of Jesus among the people who witness your life, but through Christ it is possible. The immeasurably great power that brought him back to life is at work within us right now, and it can do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think so that God might receive the glory for ever and ever. Amen!

Gaining Encouragement From a Great Cloud of Witnesses--1 Peter 1:10-12 (1 Peter Series)

            A few years ago, Nike ran a rather ridiculous and over-the-top ad campaign featuring Lebron James that had the tagline, “We Are All Witnesses.” The idea was that we should all celebrate the fact that we are alive at such a glorious time – the reign of King James! – when we get to witness Lebron’s greatness on the basketball court. (And of course, what better way to celebrate our good fortunes than to buy Nike shoes and T-shirts!)

            Well, I don’t know if we need to feel all that special about the fact that we are alive to see Lebron James play a game, but according to Peter in our passage for today, we should feel very privileged to be living during this stage of the history of God’s plan of salvation. There were God-fearing men in the past who longed to understand and know about the things that we are now experiencing as children of God, and as we’ll see, there are also supernatural beings who testify in their own ways to the greatness of our salvation. So today, we can draw encouragement from the fact that:

A great cloud of witnesses testifies to the greatness of our salvation.

Let’s read 1 Peter 1:10-12, and then we’ll take a closer look at these various witnesses [READ].

The First Witness: The Holy Spirit

            The first and greatest witness concerning our salvation is the Holy Spirit. He is the witness who has revealed the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about our salvation. He revealed this truth first of all to the Old Testament prophets, and he continues to reveal it today through the preaching of the Gospel.

            Let us make no mistake about his revelation – although it most definitely was written down and proclaimed in this world by human beings, the source of the message is none other than the Holy Spirit himself. Notice how Peter emphasizes this fact in verse 11, where he writes about how the Old Testament prophets were, “inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.” Peter did not say that “they” (meaning the prophets) predicted these things, he said that “he” (meaning the Holy Spirit) predicted them.

            Let us never forget that this book we hold in our hands, the Holy Bible, is a message from none other than God himself. People have promoted many other ideas about the Bible over the years. Some people have said that the human authors of the Bible were religious geniuses in the same way that Mozart was a musical genius and Shakespeare was a literary genius; and so, they have given us a religious work of art that is exquisite, but nevertheless utterly human.

            Other people have said that the Bible is a record of human beings recording their experiences with God; and so, the really significant thing about the Bible, it is said, is not what the words of the Bible might say or mean, but how they could potentially lead us to have our own unique experiences with God.

            But Peter reminds us that the true significance of the Bible is that it is in fact a message from God himself. The only reason that the prophets could make predictions about the Messiah was because the Holy Spirit was speaking through them.

            According to Peter, the Holy Spirit bore witness about two broad categories of truth concerning the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ – his sufferings and the glories that would follow them. These two seemingly opposite realities would both be experienced by the Lord Jesus.

            The tension between these two ideas created no end of confusion for students of the Old Testament in ancient times. According to Christian scholar Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, some Jewish rabbis in ancient times concocted a “Two Messiah” theory, which taught that one Messiah would come to fulfill the predictions of suffering, and then another Messiah would come after him to fulfill the predictions of glory and exaltation.

            This tension between suffering and glory also caused great confusion for the 12 disciples during the ministry of Christ. What was Peter’s own reaction when Jesus first began to announce to them that he would have to suffer many things, be killed, and rise from the dead? Matthew 16 says that Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked him! And how did Jesus respond? “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

            In God’s plan, the Messiah’s glories would come because of his sufferings; he would be exalted because he was willing to endure the sufferings for what they would accomplish. It is the same today for us! God asks us to patiently endure suffering today in the form of persecution and other difficulties, and if we will, he promises us that our future with Christ will be all the more glorious because of those sufferings.

            The Holy Spirit announced the plan of salvation through the Old Testament prophets as predictions, and now, since New Testament times all the way until the present day, he announces the great truths of salvation as accomplished realities through the preaching of the Gospel. The Old Testament prophets understood that they were being used to proclaim truths that were very significant and profound, and their keen desire to understand these things makes them the second witness to the greatness of our salvation.

The Second Witness: The Old Testament Prophets

            There’s a trend going around social media these days that makes fun of “first-world problems” – like when the barista at Starbucks accidentally puts soymilk in your skinny, half-caff latte. This trend reminds us that even though we do have our problems and inconveniences in this country, there are millions of people around the world who would be happy to trade places with us.

            If we could speak to the Old Testament prophets today, I imagine they might tell us that they would have loved to trade places with us. We might tell them about the trials and persecutions that we face as followers of Christ, but they might say, “Yeah, but those are just “New Testament problems.” You still get to live through some of the amazing realities that we only got to hear about!”

            It’s humbling to read Peter’s description of the prophets’ keen interest in the things that they were announcing and then to realize, as he says in verse 12, that they were not serving themselves but us. Today, we can look back on some of the things that they announced and see them as accomplished facts, and we are living through this great and glorious day in which our ultimate salvation has already begun. They were dying to know the facts that we learn as children in Sunday School and then spend the rest of our lives reminding ourselves not to take them for granted! They were carefully searching the Scriptures they had at that time to try to discover the very truths that are sometimes just like old hat to us today.

            Their zeal and passion to understand all they could about God’s plan is a testimony to us of just how great the salvation realities are that we live with and experience every day. All that Peter has just described to us with our new birth, our inheritance in heaven, our protection in God, the joy that can be ours as God molds us and shapes us through testing so that he might praise us and honor us at the revelation of Jesus Christ – all of these realities were so greatly longed for by the Old Testament prophets, and now they are ours to enjoy.

            Have you ever imagined that if you could speak to one of the Old Testament prophets right now, he might want you to do all the talking? If you could speak to Daniel right now, he might say, “Wow! Have you got it good!” Or if you could speak to Ezekiel, you might want to ask him about his amazing visions, but he might say, “Enough about me! Tell me what it’s like to have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. Tell me what it’s like to have the Holy Spirit testifying to your own spirit that you are a child of God. Tell me what it’s like to hear the words of Jesus echo down through the years – it is finished!”

            What a great time we live in, that even the prophets might be envious of us if they could see us now! And they’re not the only ones—there is a third witness to the greatness of our salvation.

The Third Witness: God’s Holy Angels

            Peter states at the end of verse 12 that the realities of our salvation are “things into which angels long to look.” When I read those words earlier this week, I thought to myself, “Aww-- come on, Peter!” That’s a fascinating claim! It deserves more than just a passing comment, but alas – a passing comment is all we get here in this verse.

            Why might the angels be so fascinated by the salvation realities that we get to experience? Well, we don’t often think of ourselves this way, but we actually occupy a greater and more significant role in God’s plan than the angels do. I believe we tend to think of angels as being greater than ourselves because they are apparently mightier and more powerful than we are, just in terms of brute strength.

            But in terms of our role in God’s plan for the ages, we are actually more significant than the angels. Remember – it was not to angels that God gave the right and authority to rule over this world, but to humans. And as Hebrews 2:5-8 tells us, it is not to angels that God will give authority over the new heaven and new earth, but to mankind. The apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:3 that in the age to come we will actually judge angels!

            So, since angels actually occupy a lower position in God’s plan than we do, the Bible tells us that God has not put in place a plan of salvation for the angels. Please remember that the beings we call demons are angels who sinned against God by joining in Satan’s rebellion. God has not chosen to provide a plan of salvation for those angels who sinned. And even for the holy angels who remained faithful to God, the Lord has not given them the blessings that he is given to us – like adoption into his family or the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

            We receive some clarity on all of this in Hebrews 2:14-18. Why don’t you please turn there with me and follow along with me as I read it [READ]. Notice the great lengths to which the Lord was willing to go for our benefit. He took on flesh and blood – a physical body – like we have, and he was willing to die so that we might be freed from the power of death and the fear of it. He was willing to endure temptation so he could experience what that is like in order to help us when we are tempted and serve as a merciful and faithful high priest before God the father.

            The angels look on at all of these things and they marvel at them! They must be in awe of the love that the Creator has for us that would lead him to do such things! And as Peter seems to suggest – in my opinion – they wonder what it must be like to be the recipient of such love and such great blessings.

            Can you see it, Christian? Can you see it, child of God? Can you see the greatness of your salvation? The Holy Spirit testifies to it by telling us about the sufferings that Jesus endured so that we might hear good news from God. The Old Testament prophets testified to it by carefully and passionately seeking to understand the things that we now know in detail and get to experience as realities. The holy angels testify to it by marveling at all that the Creator has done for us – sufferings that were accomplished not for them, but for us.

            So in any trial or persecution that we might face because of our faith, we can acknowledge that it’s not pleasant, but we had better acknowledge that it’s worth it! To receive the blessings that we have, to be on the path to the glorious destiny that awaits us – boy, is it worth it! When the heat is on, and the hatred directed at you because of your faith is white-hot, don’t forget that the prophets would still be glad to trade places with you. The holy angels still look at you with awe and wonder. Let us stand up with courage under our “New Testament problems” and rejoice that we have received so great a salvation!

Every Grief God Sends Can Give You a Golden Faith--1 Peter 1:6-9 (1 Peter Series)

            During my senior year of college, I had a fairly light load of classes, so I decided to join the soccer team. I had played on a soccer team all throughout elementary school and I really enjoyed it, so I thought I’d take it up again. I quickly discovered that elementary school soccer is a much different game than college-level soccer.

            In elementary school, you basically play what some people have called “herd ball” – all of the players gather around the ball like a big herd, and the herd kind of moves back and forth from one place to another. But college-level soccer is much more like what you see on TV, with grown men or women colliding into each other with elbows and knees, and cleats digging into your calf muscles.

            So, I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into, and since it had been many years since I had played on a team, I didn’t really have the skill to dribble the ball with my feet and look up and around the field at the same time. Consequently, my eyes were always directed downward toward the ball, and all I could see in my peripheral vision were defenders coming at me to take the ball away. And so, I was often kind of panicked when I got the ball, because it was hard for me to look up and see the big picture of the field.

            When we face trying and difficult times in life, our natural inclination is to do what I did on the soccer field – to look down and thus lose the helpful perspective that comes when you can lift your eyes and look at the big picture. Our tendency is to become fixated on our present circumstances, and in the same way that I couldn’t see anything but threats coming at me as I looked down at the ball, we can’t see anything but our threatening circumstances and the pain and fear that they bring.

            The solution for us, then, is to look up, beyond the circumstances of the moment. We must look at God’s promises and purposes for us, and that is precisely what Peter encourages his readers to do in 1 Peter 1:6-9.

Central Idea: In trying times, lift your eyes to see God’s promises and His purposes.

1. God's salvation promises offer joy in the midst of grief (v. 6)

            Let’s remember what Peter reminded his readers about in verses three through five. He reminded them that they had been born again into a new setting in life. This setting involved a living hope that pointed them forward toward a glorious destiny with the risen Lord. It also involved an inheritance in the family of God and protection from God himself so that his plans for them would never be thwarted.

            Peter seems to have all of this in mind when he says in verse six, “In this you rejoice.” But whereas he had previously been talking mostly about their future, which was glorious, he now talks about their present circumstances, which were quite difficult and painful. Let me read all of verse six, and notice the contrast with their joy [READ].

            Notice a couple of important thoughts in this verse. First, notice how joy and grief are not mutually exclusive. They are certainly contrasting emotions and experiences, but they can both be present in your life in the same general period of time.

            I fear that many Christians have a misunderstanding about grief or sorrow. Many of us seem to think that these are emotions that we should never have, and if we do have them, they reveal some kind of flaw in our lives. We have an old hymn in the church by the title of “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” There’s a line in that hymn that says, “we should never be discouraged.”

            In my opinion, it’s more accurate to say we never need to remain discouraged. That would mess up the rhythm of that song, but I think it’s more accurate! Grief is a natural – and, I think, acceptable – reaction to difficult news or circumstances. Feeling sad when you receive bad news is nothing to be ashamed of; feeling a sense of fear when you face an unknown future is no weakness. Yet even in those times, there is joy to be found in God’s salvation promises – and many of you can probably testify to that fact in your own lives right now.

            I think the Psalms give us an excellent perspective on processing our emotions and finding joy even in the midst of grief. In many of the Psalms, the author expresses feelings of despair in very clear terms. And remember – those words are just as inspired by God as John 3:16! Yet by the end of those Psalms, the author always finds reason to celebrate by reflecting on God’s mighty works in the past and his promises of a glorious future for his people. I wonder if Peter, as a Jewish man, had that embedded pattern in his mind influencing him as he wrote this section of his letter.

            Notice a second thought now in verse six – Peter states that these various trials faced by his readers may be necessary. Now that seems like a strange thing to say, but remember who it is who decides whether such things are necessary. It is none other than God himself, the one who chose us for himself according to verses 1-2, the one who has great mercy according to verse 3, the one who has a heavenly inheritance under safekeeping for us according to verse 4, and the one who guards us by his own power according to verse 5.

            Though it still isn’t easy to understand why God might feel that certain trials are necessary for us, at least we know that the one who is in charge is someone we can trust. Like the child who has to get a shot at the doctor’s office, we may ask, “What was that for?” While it could be that God has not revealed all of his purposes to us, he has certainly revealed some of the purposes that he has for trials, and we see one such purpose clearly explained in verse seven.

2. God's purposes for trials offer joy even as we wait to see their full benefit (v. 7-9)

            Here’s a little Bible study tip for you to tuck away in your minds. Words like “so that” announce the purpose that lies behind any action that you may have just read about. So verse seven tells us the purpose for which God may deem it necessary for us to face trials. Notice what it says [READ].

            You likely know that when gold is mined out of the earth it doesn’t come out looking like a beautiful piece of jewelry. It comes out as what we call ore, and it has to be melted down so you can filter out anything that’s attached to it in order to get pure gold – which is then quite valuable.

            But Peter’s bold assertion in this verse is that a tested, refined faith is even more valuable than pure gold. And why is that? Because even gold can become tarnished over time, and in particular, when the Lord returns, he’s not going to be interested in your jewelry box or even how much wealth you have. He is going to assess your life – the quality of your obedience and faithfulness to him. A tested, refined faith that has been purified through trials will lead us to receive praise and glory and honor from Christ, and the lasting value of praise from Christ is worth far more than even the lasting value of gold.

            It is vital that we take the Bible at its word with a claim like this, otherwise we will not be in a good position to endure trials of our faith. Certain trials may cause us to lose our gold or our wealth, so if we don’t believe that a refined faith is more valuable than such things, we will be easy targets for Satan because we will be prime candidates for bitterness, anger, and even apostasy.

            Now, it can be a little bit difficult for us to believe that the reward of praise from Christ is more precious than gold because we haven’t seen that reward yet, have we? I think we can feel God’s approval through the Holy Spirit within us when we obey, but Peter noted that this praise and glory and honor in particular will come at the revelation of Jesus Christ. We haven’t seen that event yet, but Peter reminds his readers and us in verse eight that a lack of sight shouldn’t bother us because our faith right now is placed in someone whom we have never seen with our own eyes.

            [READ v. 8] I think Peter’s point in this verse is that if we can love someone right now whom we’ve never even seen, and if we can trust him and celebrate over him, then it’s not much more to ask for Peter to ask us to believe that Christ’s rewards will be even more valuable than gold. So then, if God deems it necessary to put us through trials so that he can one day give us something that’s even more valuable than one of the most valuable things on earth, we can trust him through that process. Even when it hurts, even when we are grieved by our trials, we can trust that God has good purposes and intentions in mind for us. Indeed – he is at work to give us something that is more valuable than we will probably ever realize in this life.

            We can rejoice in this, according to verse nine, “because we are obtaining the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our souls.” I think including the word “because” here gives us a slightly more complete translation of verse nine. We rejoice because, even though we have not yet received the full blessings of our salvation, we have foretastes of them, and those foretastes become that much sweeter during times of trial and testing.

            Perhaps you were struck as I was by Peter’s description of Christian joy in verse eight. He says that his readers were able to rejoice “with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.” He’s talking about that radiant kind of joy that makes your face glow, and that you struggle even to put into words.

            When I read those words earlier this week, I found myself thinking, “Wow! I wish I could experience that kind of joy all the time.” I certainly do experience it at times, but I’d like to experience it more often. That observation led me to ask the obvious question – why don’t I seem to experience that kind of joy over my salvation more often? Bear with me for a moment as I take you through my thinking from the last week.

            I want to make a point here by drawing a comparison between the KU basketball program in the KU football program. Don’t worry – you’ll see where I’m going in just a moment! At KU basketball games, it has basically become the expectation that the fans will never ever storm the court. No matter who we’re playing, no matter how big the game is, no matter how close the game is in the final possession, the fans will never ever storm the court. And the reason is very simple – KU basketball fans are spoiled brats! We win so often, especially at home, that we now just take it for granted, and so KU fans don’t celebrate with that same kind of exuberance that other teams do when they win a big game.

            Now contrast that with KU football. I’ve been at a few KU football games when we won very unexpectedly, and I will neither confirm nor deny that I was down on the field as the goalposts were being torn down. When the KU football team wins, it’s a big cause for celebration because it’s so rare! No one takes those wins for granted because there might only be a handful of them over the course of five years!

            The point I want to make is this – I think my joy over my salvation is not what it should be at times because I am taking it for granted. In those moments when I lack joy over my salvation, I think in my mind I am allowing my salvation to become simply one more good thing in a long list of good things that surround me in life.

            In our country, and particularly in our community, we enjoy so many good things. We enjoy such peace! We barely have to worry about crime, and there’s certainly no army sitting just over the horizon that’s waiting to come in and conquer us. We enjoy all sorts of comforts in life, like clean drinking water that’s piped right into our homes. We enjoy an overall prosperity that is the envy of the world and totally unique in history.

            And when we have so many good things, how often do we really celebrate any one of them – celebrate them with the joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory? When’s the last time you turned on your faucet and said, “Yes! Here comes that clean drinking water again!”

            My question is this – have we mentally reduced our salvation to the same level as all of the good things that we simply come to expect in our country? For the believers who received this letter from Peter, their joy was passionate and radiant because the foretaste of their salvation was made all the more sweet by the sting of the trials that they were facing at that time. For the moment in our community, we don’t have very many of the external factors that make life unpleasant and difficult. We may not get too excited about the thought of being saved from this world because our world is a pretty pleasant place to live.

            Our blessings are not bad things in and of themselves. But if they lull us into a spiritual condition in which we take even our salvation for granted, then we’ve not responded to them the way that we should. And if our environment doesn’t often lead us to crave the return of Christ and long for the total fulfillment of our salvation, then we have a lot of work to do in our hearts to keep ourselves sensitive to those things, so that when we reflect on the glories of our salvation and all that we have to look forward to, our hearts will leap with joy and burst with celebration, rather than respond with the spiritual lethargy that comes when we take our salvation for granted.

            May we allow the Lord to refine us as he sees fit by taking us through trials. And if he should choose that our trials would increase in their frequency or their intensity, may we remember that as we keep our eyes on his promises and purposes, our joy will multiply all the same in its frequency and intensity. The depths of any trial that we face will be overwhelmed by the new heights to which our joy will soar as we become more like Christ and anticipate his return like never before!