Abundant Life Sermons

His Lead, Her Need, Part 2 – 1 Peter 3:71 Peter 3:7, Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.Just as the wife is to submit to the husband’s lead, the husband is to submit to his wife’s need. 1 Peter 3:7, Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.1. STUDY HER.To serve your wife’s needs well you must dwell with her and understand her. “Dwell with her”One of a wife’s greatest needs is affection. This is the feeling of togetherness and intimacy. “With understanding…”You cannot serve your wife when you have no knowledge of her need. 1 Peter 3:7, Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.2. SALUTE HER.This has to do with exalting her and giving her a place of honor.1 Peter 3:7, Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.3. SHIELD HER.Men and women are different but co-equal.1 Peter 3:7, Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.4. SHARE WITH HER.Teamwork makes the dream work.  Connect with us on Social Media ↴Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/Web: https://livingproof.co/resources/books/Learn more about the A-Life Discipleship Journey: https://alife.livingproof.co/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/

His Lead, Her Need, Part 1- 1 Peter 3:1-61 Peter 3:1-2, Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.1) In relationships, humility eliminates rivalry. Mutual submission eliminates competition and fighting for position. The key in marriage is mutual submission (Ephesians 5:21).In marriage, God’s desire is for the two to “become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). The husband is the “head” (Ephesians 5:22-24); the wife is the “body” (Ephesians 5:25-28).Mutual submission is when the wife is submitting to her husband’s lead, and the husband is submitting to his wife’s need. His Lead, Her Need.1 Peter 3:3-4, Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel — rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.2) Men may fall in love with a woman because of her outer beauty, but they stay in love with a woman because of her inner beauty – humility. Ladies, what attracts a man is not what keeps a man!1 Peter 3:5-6, For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.3) God knows one of man’s deepest needs is for ADMIRATION, and a woman’s is for AFFECTION.Ephesians 5:33, “Let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” The Marriage Cycle to “keep that lovin’ feelin’”The wife gives ADMIRATIONThe husband gives AFFECTION Connect with us on Social Media ↴Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/Web: https://livingproof.co/resources/books/Learn more about the A-Life Discipleship Journey: https://alife.livingproof.co/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/

Being a Contagious Christian - 1 Peter 2:18-251 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”1 Peter 2:11, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”What makes the Church relevant is that we are different. When we quit being different, we cease being relevant. The Scripture calls us “foreigners” and “strangers”—we are in the world but not of the world.1 Peter 2:12, “having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”Contagious Christianity is when people might hate what we say, they still love what they see. It’s having the right “position” with the right “disposition.”Contagious Christianity is found in humility and submission in an age of “rights” and rebellion. Peter specifically says we are to be different in our attitude toward civil authority and workplace authority. (See 1 Peter 2:13-14, 18-20)1 Peter 2:18-20, Servants, be submissive to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh. For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.Your vocation is your place of mission; it might also be a place of persecution.Christ suffered, and as Christians, we are called to suffer like Christ. 1 Peter 2:21, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps.”1)   Be willing to suffer in innocence. 1 Peter 2:22, “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.”2)  Be willing to suffer in silence. 1 Peter 2:23, “who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously.”Isaiah 53:7, He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.3)  Be willing to suffer for others. 1 Peter 2:24-25, “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”You can bear the pain of others’ sin because Jesus bore the pain of yours. Connect with us on Social Media ↴Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/Web: https://livingproof.co/resources/books/Learn more about the A-Life Discipleship Journey: https://alife.livingproof.co/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/

Foreigner1 Peter 2:11, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims…”1. Be a resident stranger.Sojourners and pilgrims – strangers from a strange place.1 Peter 2:11-12, “…abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.”2. Be offensively attractive.To be offensive, it takes courage.To be attractive, it takes compassion.1 Peter 2:13-16, “Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men – as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.3. Be submissively free.Romans 13:1-2, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.”Acts 5:29, But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.”To be submissive, it takes humility.To be free, it takes responsibility.1 Peter 2:17, Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king. Connect with us on Social Media ↴Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/Web: https://livingproof.co/resources/books/Learn more about the A-Life Discipleship Journey: https://alife.livingproof.co/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/

Transformation Nation – 1 Peter 2:4-10Like the Old Testament Temple, the New Testament Church is to be God’s light to the world. Our bodies individually (1 Corinthians 6:19) and the Church collectively (1 Corinthians 3:16) are now the Temple of God to shine forth the Light of God! 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?” 1 Peter 2:4-5, Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.In the Old Testament, worshipers brought a sacrifice to a priest at a specific place. In the New Testament, we are the sacrifice, we are the priest, and we are the place! (See 1 Peter 2:5)1 Peter 2:5, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.We individually are “living stones” God has used to build His Church, but Jesus alone is the cornerstone! 1 Peter 2:6, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.”Matthew 16:17-18, Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, [petros] and on this rock [petra] I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” 1 Peter 2:7-9, Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone,” and “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.1)  As the Church, we are a chosen generation. In the sense Peter uses the word “generation,” it speaks of a group having come from the same source or same seed — the same family tree. “Generation” speaks of “regeneration” from having been “born again.”2)  As the Church, we are a royal priesthood. Revelation 5:10, He has “made us kings and priests to our God…”3)  As the Church, we are a holy nation. The word Peter uses for nation is “ethnos” as in “ethnic” group. We are part of a holy ethnic group having been born again (1 Peter 1:23) and have become “partakers of a divine nature” (2 Peter 1:4).4)  As the Church, we are God’s own special people. The word translated as “special” implies that of ownership or a “personal possession” or “private property.” We are God’s personal people and purchased possession.1 Peter 2:9, “…that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”The Church is God’s only plan to impact culture, transform communities, and change eternal destinies. Colossians 1:27, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”1 Peter 2:10, “who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”As those who have obtained God’s mercy, our purpose is to take God’s Son to all people so they too might obtain God’s mercy. Connect with us on Social Media ↴Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/Web: https://livingproof.co/resources/books/Learn more about the A-Life Discipleship Journey: https://alife.livingproof.co/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/

A Legacy That Impacts Eternity (Exodus 20:4-6)Exodus 20:4-6, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.”As fathers, we pass on a legacy to our family—one that is godly or one of sin and idolatry. Fathers pass on God’s blessing or sin’s curse to their posterity in ways that will last for over a century!A father who refuses to live a godly life passes on to his children a life of sin, idolatry, and captivity. Often a father’s sin is reproduced generationally – the sins of the father are visited to third and fourth generations!A father will pass to his descendants the blessing of God or the curse of sin and control of Satan!  There is a direct tie between generational bondage and generational sin, which is why you find certain sins wreaking havoc on a family line generation after generation.A biblical example of the principle of Exodus 20:5:First generation: King Uzziah obeyed partially. (2 Chronicles 26:4, 16)Second generation: King Jotham compromised spiritually. (2 Chronicles 27:2)Third generation: King Ahaz embraced idolatry! (2 Chronicles 28:1-4) What began in the first generation of failing to take God seriously and obeying God completely was reproduced in the second generation with spiritual apathy and compromise with idolatry. It has now been reproduced in thethird generation with a rejection of God completely and full-blown idolatry. It ends with the fourth generation being sacrificed in the fires of Molech.Fourth generation: Destroyed completely! (2 Chronicles 28:3). Long before his children were offered to idols, those idols were accessible to the young and impressionable mind of Ahaz. But it began when Uzziah left them, and Jotham refused to tear them down. Consequently, the atrocity that Jotham chose to ignore was exactly the atrocity that would snare his own son and destroy his own grandsons.The penalty of a father’s sin on an entire family is great, BUT…God’s promise of blessing on a godly father’s family is even greater! (See Exodus 20:6) While the curse of a father’s sin can impact hundreds in his lineage, the blessing of God on fathers who love Him is multiplied to thousands!Proverbs 20:7 “The righteous man walks in his integrity; his children are blessed after him.”Regardless of your family history, as a godly father, you can begin a “legacy of blessing”!You can tear down the family idolatry, end the cycle of captivity, and pass on generational blessing!You can leave your children a “legacy of blessing” that will stretch clear into eternity! Connect with us on Social Media ↴Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/Web: https://livingproof.co/resources/books/Learn more about the A-Life Discipleship Journey: https://alife.livingproof.co/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/

1 Peter 1:23, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”Lasting change is not self-reformation but spirit transformation.Only once you’ve been “born again” inwardly does God begin to change you outwardly. Romans 8:29, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”1 Peter 2:1-3, Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.Everyone begins in spiritual infancy, but God wants us to grow to spiritual maturity. In 1 Peter 2:1-3, God is saying, “Grow up!” Many of God’s born-again children live forever as spiritual “toddlers.”How do you grow spiritually?1. Put away childish things.Spiritual immaturity leaves you in a life of mediocrity and inconsistency. 1 Peter 2:1 “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking...”Physical and spiritual growth happen gradually. While your justification happens instantly, your sanctification happens gradually.2. Digest spiritual things.Get into God’s Word, so God’s Word gets into you! 1 Peter 2:2, “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby.”You become what you consume physically and spiritually! God’s Word is the spiritual food needed to grow spiritually and to be healthy.Many have a soft “flabby” faith because they eat more of the world’s junk “food” than they do Jesus’ food! Stop allowing the things of this world to satisfy your soul and dull your hunger for God!3. Take your next step.1 Peter 2:2-3, “as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”For God’s Word to change your life, it must be practical and experiential—not simply theoretical and intellectual. t. To become like God demands we obey God’s Word!As you grow in your relationship with God’s Word, you become more like God’s Son!  Connect with us on Social Media ↴Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/Web: https://livingproof.co/resources/books/Learn more about the A-Life Discipleship Journey: https://alife.livingproof.co/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/

Born Again to Be Like Him - 1 Peter 1:17-252 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.” Have you been born again? The only kind of Christian is a “bornagain” Christian. 1 Peter 1:23, “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God who lives and abides forever.”You were born the first time of seed corrupted by sin. You must be born again of Christ’s seed to become like Him! Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”You need more than a physical birth. You need a spiritual birth! (See John 3:1-7)John 3:1-7, There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’1 Peter 1:17-20, And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.The new birth was always God’s plan even before the world began! Revelation 13:8 says Jesus is “…the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”1 Peter 1:2, “elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.”We are born again to bear His image and become like Him! Romans 8:29, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”1 Peter 1:15-16, “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”Becoming like Christ results in a heart of humility, living a holy life, and loving others fervently. 1 Peter 1:21-22, “who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart.”1 Peter 1:23-25, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.Today is the day to make certain of your salvation. Have you been born again? Connect with us on Social Media ↴Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/Web: https://livingproof.co/resources/books/Learn more about the A-Life Discipleship Journey: https://alife.livingproof.co/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/

Make It or Break It: Three Ways to Make It Through Suffering1 Peter – 1:10-16“It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply.” ― A.W. TozerHumility is a posture of the heart that submits to God.1 Peter 1:10-12, Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.1. The messagePsalm 119:50, This is my comfort in my affliction, for Your word has given me life.1 Peter 1:13, Therefore gird up the loins of your mind [ready your mind for action], be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.2. The mentality“Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.” ~ Charles SwindollHope is the result of placing your faith in what cannot be seen.2 Corinthians 12:9, And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” God doesn't give hypothetical grace for our hypothetical nightmare situation. He only gives us sufficient grace for the situation.1 Peter 1:14-16, As obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”3. The mandateDon’t use your suffering as a license to sin. Connect with us on Social Media ↴Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/Web: https://livingproof.co/resources/books/Learn more about the A-Life Discipleship Journey: https://alife.livingproof.co/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/

Tribulation Sanctification - 1 Peter 1:1-91 Peter 1:1-2, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.”The book of First Peter is written for our sanctification: the process of being conformed to the image of Christ. Romans 8:29, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son…”First Peter is a manual on humility – one of the essential character qualities of Christlikeness. 1 Peter 5:5-6, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”1 Peter 1:2-6, “…elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials.”Our sanctification is forged in the fires of life’s trials. TribulationTransformationSanctification.1 Peter 1:7, “That the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”It’s in the fires of life’s trials that God is refining our faith so that we can bring Jesus greater glory! Peter teaches that in the same way a goldsmith uses fire to purify gold, God uses suffering to purify our faith. Remember three things in the fire…1. Hope in the resurrection. (See 1 Peter 1:3)1 Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”Philippians 3:10, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”2. Hope in our reward. (See 1 Peter 1:4)1 Peter 1:3-4, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”3. Hope in our refining. The Greek word “poikilos” is used only twice in Scripture – once to describe our trials in 1 Peter 1:6 as “various,” and once to describe God’s grace in 1 Peter 4:10 as “manifold.”God has exactly the size and shade of grace to perfectly match your specific trial!1 Peter 1:8-9, “…whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith – the salvation of your souls.”God promises that the prize will one day be worth the price of having lived by faith in the fires of life. Connect with us on Social Media ↴Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/Web: https://livingproof.co/resources/books/Learn more about the A-Life Discipleship Journey: https://alife.livingproof.co/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/