1 Peter 1:1-12

1. Remembering David Wilkerson

Keys – v. 4 – David Wilkerson has entered into the fullness of that inheritance

2. Contrasting Thomas and 1:8

Thomas had to see to believe. Blessed are those who don‟t see and still believe.

3. Asking for the mantle

Remember what has been done to bring this gospel to you. Honoring the generations.
Honoring those who have given, like David Wilkerson. The great cloud of witnesses. We need
to take up the mantle!

Does the Christian faith make a difference? I don‟t ask, “Does MY faith make a difference?” I
ask, “Does the Christian faith make a difference?”

Does CHRIST make a difference? I guess another question to ask would be, “What defines
DIFFERENCE?”

We have walked through Lent. There has been a call from the Spirit to us to wait on him. To
EXPECT.

We have commemorated Good Friday. We have celebrated Resurrection Sunday. Celebrating

Resurrection Sunday is the highlight of the Christian year.

But now… NOW WHAT?

There are some texts from 1 Peter I want us to look into the next several weeks. Peter helps us
with the NOW WHAT. I want to borrow a phrase from Glen Berteau, who spoke at the Equip
Conference. I‟m sure it‟s not new to him, but because it‟s new to me I have to credit where I heard
it.

Berteau used a phrase called “The In Between.”

I want to pick up that phrase because that is exactly what Peter talks to us about. The in
between. There is the power of the resurrection. We now have a LIVING HOPE. There is something
powerful stored up for us in heaven! We have a journey, but the end of that journey will be amazing.

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The Reality of Faith Pastor Dan Thompson
Columbia Heights Assembly of God
 The cross, the resurrection, and then we look forward to being with Christ fully. But there is
this IN BETWEEN.

It is in this in between we really need to ask, “DOES JESUS MAKE A DIFFERENCE?”

I mean, really, is it WORTH living for him while we are on this journey? Because, frankly, this
journey could be tough. It could be incredibly rough. It‟s not all smooth sailing. It‟s not a Cadillac
ride all the way to heaven, you know!

If we have this rough journey, we really MUST ask, “Does Jesus make a difference?” This is
what Peter helps us with in our lives.

1. He lets us know WHO WE ARE.

The letter he writes is to God‟s elect IN EXILE. They were believers scattered throughout
the Mediterranean world. They were in exile in part because of the tension of living in this
world but not really being OF this world.

Living with the HOPE of Christ puts us in tension with the world we now live in. There will be
times when the allegiance of this world will clash with the allegiance of the Kingdom of God.
And in those times the systems of this world will NOT be happy with believers! And it will
appear that in those times the systems of the world would be winning.

We are not simply Americans. We are believers in Jesus Christ. There will be moments of
tension in those two allegiances.

I think of the church in China. The allegiance to the Kingdom of God calls out to them and
clashes with the allegiance that may be demanded by their country.

We are pilgrims on a journey. We may have physical passports stamped United States of
America, or some other nation, but we have a SPIRITUAL passport stamped KINGDOM OF
HEAVEN. Our allegiance calls to us.

We are exiles. We are pilgrims. Peter will fill that out for us through the letter. How do we
live as pilgrims? How do we live as travelers in a land not really our own?

2. He lets us know WHAT WE HAVE.

Verses 3-5
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The Reality of Faith Pastor Dan Thompson
Columbia Heights Assembly of God
 A living hope. We have an inheritance that can NEVER PERISH. It doesn‟t spoil or fade.

There are so many things we can have in our lives that are truly nice.

A nice pen does it for me. A great book. Clothes I like.

But they FADE. They will find a time when they‟ve worn out.

I was talking to my dad yesterday. The man doesn‟t have a “quit” button on him. He was
mowing his lawn and then he was going to weed his garden and then he was going over to my
niece‟s house her and her husband just bought so he could rewire their circuit breakers.

He was commenting that he actually gets tired now. He‟s not 52 anymore. He‟s 72. Bodies
wear out. Even my dad‟s!

But our inheritance in Christ, our SALVATION, does not fade away. It doesn‟t have a date
on it that says, “Best if used by.” No expiration. Doesn‟t spoil.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ has given each of us something that is PRICELESS. There
is nothing that can compare!

3. Peter also lets us know there is THE IN BETWEEN.

Verses 6,7.

There are trials. That is the in between. There are the times when our faith is tested. A lot
of times it may be because of conflicts with the systems of this world.

Other times it is a purifying process to demonstrate the purity of the faith we truly have.

But TRIALS COME. TESTING COMES. When those trials come… Please hear this… WHEN
those trials come… NOT IF…

This is where the rubber meets the road, friends. DOES CHRIST MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
When the trials come and the fire heats up, our faith doesn‟t melt away if it is the faith of
Christ. No. It is purified like gold!

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The Reality of Faith Pastor Dan Thompson
Columbia Heights Assembly of God
 But it‟s better than gold. Gold will even fade away! Not our faith! Not the inheritance Christ
has given us.

Our faith is living hope. It is not just a dry set of beliefs. We serve a risen Christ who gives
us strength for the journey. We have a living faith that can be tried and tested.

The gospel reading today was from John 20 and the story of Thomas. He wanted to see and
then believe. Jesus declared that there would be those who would NOT see and believe.

Peter talks about them. He talks about US.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him…” (1:8)

This faith is REAL. Christ has delivered it. The prophets declared it. They looked for the
hope we now LIVE IN.

But we do live in this great in between. There is the power of the resurrection. There is the
hope of his return. And in between there is this journey. The road can get rough. Hazards.
Attacks. The road gets torn up. All kinds of things can try to throw us off this road.

There are things Peter wants us to remember in this great in between. We must understand
where are our true passport is from. It is about the Kingdom of God. It is about the glory
of God. It is not about this earthly kingdom.

We are pilgrims. We pass through this world. In this journey we tell others of the country
where we are REALLY from, and we live out this faith that is incredibly precious. It is a
faith that Christ delivered, the prophets longed to see, and now we have it. LIVE OUT
THIS FAITH WITH GREAT RESPONSIBILITY.

As I have studied and prayed over this passage this week I have also reflected this week over
the passing of David Wilkerson. The American church lost a prophet this week and my soul has been
mourning.

Many of you would know David Wilkerson as the man who started Teen Challenge, the most
successful recovery program in the world. Many of you may have followed him through the years as
he started a church in lower Manhattan and read his newsletters. His sermons deeply impacted me.
Hearing him preach was a window into what Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, may have sounded like.

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The Reality of Faith Pastor Dan Thompson
Columbia Heights Assembly of God
 As I have thought about David Wilkerson‟s impact on my own life and thought of the prophetic
voice he gave to this nation, I have thought of this passage and some of these great words.

David Wilkerson has entered into the fullness of his inheritance. He doesn‟t have to have it held
back anymore.

He has known trials. He has been tested. The true righteousness of Christ has carried him and
his faith was proved over and over.

You may know this story, so bear with me as I tell it. Hopefully it still stirs you. If you have not
heard it, I hope it stirs you.

On February 9, 1958, David Wilkerson felt the Spirit prompting him to spend late evenings
praying rather than watching the Late Show, and he obeyed. At the time, he was pastoring a rural
Assemblies of God in Pennsylvania, according to George Wood.

"Two weeks and two days later, during his late night time of prayer, he felt prompted to pick up the
February 24, 1958, edition of Life magazine," Wood says. "On pages 30-31, he wept as he looked at
an ink sketching of seven members of the Dragon Gang on trial for killing 15-year-old polio victim,
Michael Farmer. He felt the Spirit say to him, 'Go and help those boys'."

Although Wilkerson had never been to New York City, 350 miles away, he found himself three days
later in a courtroom where the gang members were on trial, Wood explains. According to Wood, the
judge tossed him out of the courtroom, but photographers captured his photo and later gang
members recognized him as he witnessed on the street.

Wilkerson witnessed to gangs in NYC. A skinny country preacher carrying a huge KJV Bible. Not
intimidated. One of the best known gang members who came to Christ was Nicky Cruz. He
constantly threatened to slice Wilkerson up into a thousand pieces. Wilkerson would say, “You can
do that, and every one of those pieces would say, „Jesus loves you!‟”

David Wilkerson‟s faith was tested. It is imperishable.

I think of him as one who definitely knew the faith delivered once for all to the saints, and I
also think of him in the vein of those prophets Peter talked about. The writer of Hebrews talks
about the great cloud of witnesses that calls us on. Be faithful! You can make it!

And David Wilkerson has joined that great number. Calling us on to faithfulness. Calling us on to
passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
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The Reality of Faith Pastor Dan Thompson
Columbia Heights Assembly of God
 I need to be reminded of the great call of God for each of us. I think of what God has promised
us as a church. In times like this, I need to truly fall on my knees and ask God for the mantle. I
need the mantle of a David Wilkerson. I need to hear again the call of God for this place, this city,
this people.

When I first moved to town I would walk these streets and pray. Before I ever knew if God
would allow me to pastor here, I was walking and came to 40 th and Van Buren. The Spirit spoke to my
heart and said, “All I have put on your heart to do you can do here.”

When I was first selected as pastor, I was in my office here one night. I was working a full time
job as we were just getting going, so I would come in during the evening to get work done. One night
in my office I sense the activity of the enemy and the Spirit spoke to my heart, “The enemy has
written this place off. No more.”

But I need reminders. I need Peter reminding me. I need the life of David Wilkerson reminding
me. I need the voice of the Spirit reminding me. There is a work to do! There is fire from heaven to
come down if someone will just stop and seek the face of God!

There is a faith that is REAL and ACTIVE. There is an inheritance delivered to us. The gospel
of Jesus Christ DOES make a difference. And it needs to call out to us! The faith of Peter, the
faith of David Wilkerson, the faith of saints already gone to their full reward needs to call out to
us. We need to hear this call!

We need to respond in FAITHFULNESS to this faith delivered to us. Precious faith. The cost
of the blood of Jesus. The witness of the saints who have gone before. This faith MEANS
SOMETHING! Let us pick up the mantle and call out to God to be used to change our city!

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The Reality of Faith Pastor Dan Thompson
Columbia Heights Assembly of God