Take Comfort in the God of All Grace

The entire Christian life is sustained solely by the GRACE of God.

I am a firm believer that from the beginning (birth) until the end (death) - our lives are always sustained by the GRACE of God.

Here in the passage we have read, The Apostle Peter closed his letter with a reminder to the church on the importance of remembering, believing, and STANDING FIRM on the TRUE GRACE OF GOD which is at work in their lives and in the church! Reality: Suffering by the attacks of the enemy will cause them to be weak, fearful, hurt, and tired, and in fact some of them died as martyrs for their faith. They were willing to die for their faith in Christ…because they understand that in Christ - they will live forevermore!

I believe we can relate to the readers of this letter...Sufferings, pains, weakness, tiredness is not foreign to us! We too have gone through pain, sufferings, pain, sickness, tiredness or fatigue...

and I want us to be reminded that our Gracious God is fully aware of what you and I are going through…and He wants to comfort us through His Holy Word.

Tonight, allow me to share to you 3 important truths from our passage to help us remain hopeful and joyful despite the presence of suffering and pain in our lives, as we live in this fallen world. 1. A. It is God’s grace that can sustain us in our most difficult hour (v.10)

a. Suffering / Pain is temporary but our glory is eternal.

Is there grace in death?

Grace can be seen in the death of our savior! (Romans 3:23-25)

This is the Gospel: Salvation by grace, through Faith alone, and in Jesus Christ alone.

b. God is at work in all our suffering to strengthen our faith and perfect our character so that Christ maybe glorified!

God will perfect / restore (complete) you = the idea here from the OT is “shalom” (perfect, not just peace but complete peace, what was broken is now restored. When we die, what was broken by sin will now be restored and will be replaced by something better - a glorified body!

2. We can stand firm in the grace of God because he is mighty and eternal (vv. 11-12)

a. He is mighty, His dominion (controlling power, authority) is forever!

He is in control over in our living and dying! He gives life and he takes!

“A Christian is immortal until God’s calls home!”

b. He is eternal, He lives forevermore!

and It means unending grace for the believers (here on earth and in heaven)

For Tita Shirley, because she believes in Christ, she lives forevermore with Christ!

3. We can stand firm in the grace of God because knowing that we are not alone (vv. 13-14)

a. We have our brothers and sisters who walks alongside us, pray for us, and lifts us up.

b. The Prince of Peace (Jesus Christ) is with us until the end.

Justoba family, you are not alone in your time of mourning.

Conclusion:

As we mourn, let us not forget to take comfort in the God of all grace. Because God himself will comfort you and strengthen you by His grace.

Psalm 116:15 (NIV)

15 Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants.