“Where’s the altar call? Well, there was none when Peter was called nor for any one else who had been chosen before the foundation of the world!"

One day Simon, who was called Peter, was out fishing with his brother Andrew, just minding their own business, telling stories and jokes no doubt, and Jesus Christ walked up to them and said “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”

Also his surname was Cephas which means stone or petros, i.e. rock.

And Jesus would make him a strong pillar in the apostolic church.

You will see that he had a strong, very animated personality.

Then we have the incident where Mr. Impulsive, this time in his role as a hothead, drew his sword in the garden, over the brook Cedron, when the lynching crew came for Jesus, and proceeded to slice off the ear of the high priest’s servant.

The reason he cut off his ear was because the servant no doubt “ducked”, otherwise Peter would have cut off his head, the object of his swoosh.

Do you remember the account in Matthew 14 where Christ had sent the multitude away and walked up the mountain to pray?

When evening came He was alone and the disciples’ ship was in the midst of the sea being tossed about.

No problem!

Christ just started walking out across the water and when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea they were startled, to say the least, and thought they were seeing a ghost!

But Christ called out to them and said “Hey fellows, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”

Then Peter immediately yelled back “Oh yeh! Well if it’s really you then bid me to come to you and walk on the water too.”

So Peter actually got out there and walked on the water, a gutsy move if you ask me.

And you can be sure the other disciples were watching this brave soul [nut] and Peter knew it and so he probably said, “Hey guys, look at me! I’m walking on water.”

Then reality set in and he saw the wind boisterous and he said “Uh Oh!”

Then he started to sink and his pulse went ballistic.

“HELP!” cried the big man! “Lord, save me!”

Now it’s Jesus’ turn to have big grin on His face.

Yes, there is no doubt about it. You just know this big lovable character had a heart of gold.

And Jesus would use him to feed His flock and be a strong leader in the apostolic church.

And Peter would faithfully obey His Lord’s command.

And it would be this Peter who would stand up on Pentecost Day in Acts chapter two and quote from the Book of Joel and explain to all exactly what they were witnessing.

And yet it would be this same Peter who would deny Christ thrice during the events leading up to His crucifixion.

Peter just told Christ he would give his life for him [he meant as long as he didn’t have to die, of course].

Well, that’s easier said than done, Peter, you human being you.

And it came to pass that Peter did deny Christ three times, just as He said he would. And when Peter realized what he had done, his big heart broke, and he was devastated by his actions, and he wept bitterly.

What a great character this Simon, son of Jona, called Peter was.

Some scholars would argue that he was not really the author of the books bearing his name.

Hogwash!

Their problem is they don’t know Peter, for if they did they would see that he is unquestionably the writer.

The Epistle of 1^st Peter, written by Peter himself, was written from Babylon (5:13) in approximately 60 A.D. and we will begin with chapter 1, verse 1.

And just as you can’t help liking the personality of Peter, just wait until you hear what he has to say!

You’re going to love it.

Are you ready to learn some fascinating things from God's Word through old lovable Peter?

Peter knew the scriptures well and often draws from the Divine dealings recorded in the Old Testament.

Remember how he stood up on Pentecost Day and quoted the prophet Joel?

So we are going to lay some foundation in this study, going all the way back to the beginning of time, to bring us up to speed with some of the basics which Peter will talk about later on.

And not only was Peter sent forth to the early church, but even to this day he has been sent forth unto us to bring forth the teachings of the One with whom he walked side by side and received His personal instructions.

It is extremely important that we notice to whom this letter is written, because it is addressed to the "strangers" who are scattered or dispersed, even the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel.

James in his book would also address the "scattered" tribes: James 1:1 "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting."

Also, the word "strangers" is an interesting and appropriate word used here because if you will take the time to look it up in Strong's Concordance you will discover that it means "pilgrims" and is translated as such in the next chapter in verse 11."Pilgrims" makes one think of the sojourners to America and rightfully so, for they continued the migration to the west of the House of Israel to receive the promises made to their father Abraham to inherit the most resourceful and blessed piece of real estate on earth, which lies from sea to shining sea!

That's right, the Lost Tribes of the House of Israel are not really lost at all.

It's just that you have to be familiar with the Word of God to know who they are and where they are instead of listening to the traditions of men who would have everyone who is not called a Jew believing they are gentiles.What a bunch of malarkey.

The word eklektos (elect) comes from eklegomai (chosen), and what Peter is saying is that there was a time, long ago, when our Father "chose" those who deserved to be chosen to be used by Him whenever and however He so chooses!

Now it is up to you to choose whether or not to believe and understand it.

It is unfortunate that traditional Christianity does not teach about the earth age that existed when Satan rebelled and drew a third of God's children away from our Father (Rev. 12:4).

Oh, they recognize that it happened but seem unable to connect it with the fact that there was once a cataclysmic event that destroyed every structure and every living thing on this planet and the entire global surface was covered with water.

You can read about that destruction in Jeremiah chapter 4.

One needs to know and understand the use of the Hebrew words tohu va bohu, without form and void.

And please note the fact that there was no light, which is why He would first say in Gen. 1:3 "Let there be light".

There was light during the flood of Noah, so let's not be ignorant (or sottish) and try to say this was Noah's flood.

But there was NO MAN here.

No birds like a raven or dove either!

You bet there was and the North and South Poles were plush with green vegetation, too.

All of it was destroyed, broken down, BY GOD HIMSELF!

Hello, wake up!

Again, the earth wasn't destroyed when He created it!

He created it beautiful and to be inhabited in Genesis 1:1.

But it "became" (see NIV translation) that way in Genesis 1:2 when our Father knocked this planet off its true axis, which is why magnetic north and true north are 80 to 90 miles apart depending on the wobble, and slightly out of it's true 360 day orbit around the sun.

Have you ever read the Book of Job?

If so, do you remember after the 37 chapters of traditional church teaching by Job's buddies (which God said was bunk), that He gave Job a little lesson in humility and perspective? God described to Job the creation in Genesis 1:1, not Genesis 1:3, and guess what?

ALL the sons of God, that would include Job and you and me and all those who have died in the flesh and have returned back home (Eccles. 12:7), and those who haven't made the trip here yet, i.e. are waiting to be born in the flesh, SANG FOR JOY at the beautiful handiwork of God.

They/we wouldn't have sang for joy at the condition in which it is described in Genesis 1:2.

They would have said "Yecch!"

He was amongst those singing for Joy!

Job couldn't answer that question and neither can NASA!

But after his rebellion, Satan was judged in that "world that then was", a phrase Peter will use in chapter 3 of his 2nd book, and sentenced to DIE!

That is why Satan is called "Death" and is referred to as the "son of perdition", the son who will perish.

Of course God wasn't too happy with the rest of His kids who sided along with Satan, but rather than judging them and perhaps sentencing them to die, He postponed their judgment until after the Millennium, after His plan to redeem them, the plan of salvation (which means to salvage), has been accomplished.

So He destroyed the earth age that was, the age to which all "Fossils" and "Remains" belong, and gave us this flesh age to be born of woman, innocent, without any prior knowledge of the "world that then was", with an opportunity to decide whether to love God or follow Satan.

Now you know what happened to the dinosaurs, don't you!

God destroyed them all following Satan's rebellion!

The apostle Paul knew all of this, just like Peter did.

They both speak of the time before the "foundation of this earth age" so matter of factly that it makes you wonder why everyone doesn't talk or teach about it.

No!

They were chosen before the foundation of the world, a long time before they would be born in the flesh.

So we see that God predestinated His elect to be used "according to the good pleasure of His will", i.e. however He so chooses.

Our Father knew us all, long before we were born of woman to temporarily dwell in a flesh tabernacle, which we call our body.

That is how He could say in Romans 9:13 "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" even before they were yet born.

Yes, He knew us all long before we were born.

But guess what?

We've left out the best part!

We know that Satan drew 1/3 of God's sons away from Him, but there were some who stood and fought against the dragon [Satan] and made our Father proud of them.

They exercised their "free will" then, (in the first earth age) and chose to love God and not Satan, and so God has chosen them and predestined them to be a part of His plan in this earth age.

He has used them all down through history until even now.

And you know what else?

He chose the last ones, the elect who would be present during the final generation, first!

Now you know the more in-depth meaning to Christ's words that the first shall be last; and the last first.

So no altar call is necessary for God's elect, His chosen, because when He's ready to use them He'll let them know.

He might knock them off their horses (Paul) or have them swallowed by a big fish (Jonah) or just call them away from fishing (Peter, Andrew, James, and John) if they are the type who haven't let their "free will" run riot, like some He has to rescue from themselves first.

If you understand any of that which we are talking about, then you can fill in your own experience.

So it is God's elect to whom Peter addressed this marvelous epistle.

Read Romans 8:29-39 and discover that they were not only chosen and predestinated, but "them He also justified".

Are you one of God's elect?

Whew!

We've covered a lot of ground, so far, but only two verses in 1st Peter.

So today let's get started right away.

But it is not!

If we could put ourselves in Peter's shoes and feel the gratitude and joy and love that he felt towards our Father when he wrote these words, we would never be the same again.

You see, we have a New Covenant in Jesus Christ through His death and resurrection that gives us a "living hope", even a life full of hope, for no matter what we have to endure in the flesh, we can look forward to eternal life and an inheritance beyond the wildest imaginations of mortal man.

Read that again!

Your inheritance is there and waiting under His protection, in the HRB (Heavenly Reserve Bank)!

The apostle Paul also had an attitude of gratitude and spoke of our inheritance of and in salvation.

What a glorious day it will be!

Also, it would seem to me that if one is under the protection of the power of God that there is nothing and no one in the world, including Satan and his cronies, that He can't handle.

Right?

Christ even said in Luke 10:19 "Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."

Nope, God is our Judge.

Tell everyone else to take a hike, unless you can plant a seed.

Maybe some of the "seasons" of life in Ecclesiastes 3 have come up on the negative side and it's not a happy time.

Well, we have an expression that applies especially to God's elect: "When the going gets tough the tough get going."

Deal with the reality of whatever the situation is while at the same time keeping the vision of the last few verses in mind, i.e. salvation, your inheritance and the power of God, which is Christ Jesus.

That's why we have the blessing of repentance.

Sometimes it gets wearisome trying to control these flesh bodies.

The "inner man" is often like the cowboy on the bucking bronco at the rodeo, hanging on for dear life, trying not to let the bunch of bull get away from him.

Suddenly he finds himself flat on his back on the ground with some clown looking down at him.

Yep, that old flesh is a spirited fighter!

So when someone says "I just don't have time to study the Bible", it's understandable, I suppose, not really.

Maybe we could make up bumper stickers like "Skip a shower, not a chapter" or "Just wear a hat and comb through Jeremiah".

But be prepared to have a fight on your hands cause it will be Rodeo Time again!

How good are you at riding your bull? (End digression)

Now would be a really good time to read Romans 7:15-25 which begins with Paul saying "For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I."

Let's return to Peter who brought this subject of trials and temptations up in the first place.

They are only warm-up exercises. So stop whining.

Gold doesn't melt until the temperature reaches 1947^o Fahrenheit.

Check it out.

So only when things get really, really hot can we get rid of the "slag" in our lives!

Slag is what the impurities in gold are called that rise to the surface and are skimmed off when the gold is melted.

Thus is the gold made pure.

God just loves it when His children overcome and score an A+ on their tests.

He probably stamps "Job well done" along side the detailed account in His books.

Knowing that, what should our attitude be concerning our trials and temptations?

Well, Peter just said that they are precious and James says to count it all joy!

Now there's a bucking bronco if I've ever seen one!

Peter just told us though, that Christ will reward the trial of our faith with praise and honor and glory at His coming!

Even through trials and tribulations, because we believe, we have and maintain an inner peace and joy that words cannot describe.

Salvation, which means Eternal Life in a glorious spiritual body (without having to ride a bucking bronco anymore).

And along with that salvation an inheritance from the 1st Title Owner of the Universe.

Then Christ was able to offer salvation to the prophets, which He did while He was yet in the tomb.

Nevertheless, all you have to do is read the 22nd Psalm written by the prophet David (Acts 2:29-30 declares him a prophet), and see how accurately the sufferings of Christ were testified to beforehand.

The prophet Isaiah in the 53rd chapter of his book also testifies.

In fact, the testifying goes all the way back to Moses, the prophet who wrote the words of Gen 3:15.

Now if that isn't the best news that sinners like you and me have ever heard, then there is none.

No wonder Peter begins verse 3 praising our Father.

Next he will exhort us to consider soberly what God has done for us, and to conduct our lives accordingly, to match our high calling.

Be sober!

Now if the thought that "you" should "quit drinking" so much just came to your mind, then that is exactly what it means, for the Greek word nepho, translated "sober", means to abstain from wine (including other adult beverages; so don't try that "I only drink beer" line of self denial bull).

However, Peter also means to be "sober minded" and vigilant and to place your hope on the grace that will be bestowed unto you when Jesus appears at His coming.

(The word "revelation" used here is the same word as "appearing" in verse 7.)

No, no, I don't mean from the "world that then was" in the first earth age, just the un-Christ-like life you lived when you were ignorant and lustful, which for some could be expressed in one word, ignoramus!

Well, there better be a change in your behavior now that you know better and it starts by listening to your Father.

The apostle Paul gave the same admonitions in his letters.

It truly is remarkable how much these two thought alike.

When you engage in unholy conduct it's not just a reflection upon yourself, but you make Him look bad, don't you?

That's not good!

Remember how he stood up on Pentecost Day in Acts chapter 2 and quoted from the Book of Joel?

Well, here he quotes from the Book of Leviticus.

In chapter 2 he will quote from Isaiah 53.

In chapter 3 he will quote from Psalms.

And in chapters 4 & 5 he quotes from Proverbs.

This man knew his Bible.

Do you?

Imagine that!

There are more scriptures that need to be fulfilled, you know.

For instance, there's some "sealing" that needs to be done in Rev 7, like now, and some witnessing and delivering-up soon to come, etc.

Are you or are you going to be a participant in fulfilling them?

Pretty exciting thought, isn't it?

Peter now continues to discuss our behavior.

You see, God is no respecter of persons and He judges a person's works, whether they be holy or unholy.

Rewards will be handed out accordingly.

Just read the 2nd and 3rd chapters of the Book of Revelation and notice that Jesus Christ addresses the works of all the churches, meaning the people in them.

Oh, and if you claim to be a Christian, you are in one of them.

Do you know which one?

There are only two out the seven that Christ finds acceptable.

He paid for you with His very life!

The innocent, holy, perfect Lamb of God gave His life, WILLINGLY.

See appendix 12, as in the 12 signs, in the back of the Companion Bible.

"These last times" means the first advent.

Once again Paul said the very same thing in 1 Thes. 4:13-14.

That's Sad U See!

That's our faith and hope which we just read in 1 Pet. 1:21.

So let your life match your high calling.

Let your light so shine!

We have all the reason in the world to be kind, gentle and loving towards one another.

We have the faith and the hope, the magnificent future is ours already!

Concerning loving one another,

Is that the church, the Church of Philadelphia in Rev. 3:7-13, that you are in?

 That's an excellent choice!

Let's review.

How are you born again?

By the Living Word of God which is eternal.

How does that compare to your flesh?

Your flesh grass is temporary!

And flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God.

If you have it, and love it, and obey it, then you have Him and abide in Him and do you know what that means?

You can stand forever, too!

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