Worship

“Jubilee” by Maverick City Music featuring Naomi Raine and Bryan & Katie Torwalt

Scripture

“From Peter, an apostle of Jesus the Anointed One, to the chosen ones who have been scattered abroad like ‘seed’ into the nations living as refugees, to those living in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and throughout the Roman provinces of Asia and Bithynia. You are not forgotten, for you have been chosen and destined by Father God. The Holy Spirit has set you apart to be God’s holy ones, obedient followers of Jesus Christ who have been gloriously sprinkled with his blood. May God’s delightful grace and peace cascade over you many times over!

“Celebrate with praises the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has shown us his extravagant mercy. For his fountain of mercy has given us a new life—we are reborn to experience a living, energetic hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We are reborn into a perfect inheritance that can never perish, never be defiled, and never diminish. It is promised and preserved forever in the heavenly realm for you!

“Through our faith, the mighty power of God constantly guards us until our full salvation is ready to be revealed in the last time. May the thought of this cause you to jump for joy, even though lately you’ve had to put up with the grief of many trials. But these only reveal the sterling core of your faith, which is far more valuable than gold that perishes, for even gold is refined by fire. Your authentic faith will result in even more praise, glory, and honor when Jesus the Anointed One is revealed.

“You love him passionately although you did not see him, but through believing in him you are saturated with an ecstatic joy, indescribably sublime and immersed in glory. For you are reaping the harvest of your faith—the full salvation promised you—your souls’ victory!” -1 Peter 1:1-9, TPT

From Fisherman to Fisher of Men

Peter, the one man mentioned second to Jesus in the Gospels. He’s a man whose life consisted of failure and zeal, unbridled courage, victory, fear, and great faith. He knew what cost looked like, and he knew what it felt like to need to be reinstated by Jesus. His past didn’t define his calling, but it sure shaped it. Grace became the foundation of Peter’s life. And in the midst of persecution and suffering, he calls this baby church to even more, no matter the cost.

On the shores of Galilee as a young fisherman, Peter is called by Jesus to begin a life of impossibility. He was commissioned on the beach by Jesus in Luke 22:32, TPT:  ^“‘But I have prayed for you, Peter, that you would stay faithful to me no matter what comes. Remember this: after you have turned back to me and have been restored, make it your life mission to strengthen the faith of your brothers.’” At Pentecost, 3,000 people were saved as the words of Christ were declared through Peter’s lips. In partnership with the power of the Spirit, this man turned the world upside down. And historians record that he was even crucified upside down on a cross. He carried the gospel power, wrapped in the reformational message of grace to the places God assigned for him. He held back once and never did it again. His life was marked for the sake of the gospel to the very end.

Our Inheritance in Christ

In just these 9 verses, look at what you have been given in Christ!

• We are the chosen and destined ones of God.
• We are temporary residents in a foreign land.
• We are set apart as His Holy ones; holiness is our inheritance.
• He had foreknowledge of us, enwrapped in His omniscience, fully known.
• We are gloriously covered by His blood and made clean.
• Grace and peace is ours for the taking!
• We have extravagant mercy for this journey called life.
• We have a new, living, energetic, extravagant hope.
• We have been reborn and given an incorruptible inheritance that is eternal.
• We are kept by the power of God, and our salvation is secure.
• He has given us the gift of faith to hold on to until Jesus comes.

The Purpose of Testing

These things are true of us, and yet trial will come! Your faith will be tested as you go because it is so precious to the Lord!

“Our faith isn’t tested because God doesn’t know how much or what kind of faith we have. It is tested because we often are ignorant of how much or what kind of faith we have. God’s purpose in testing is to display the enduring quality of our faith. … If gold is fit to be tested and purified by fire, then how much more our faith, which is far more precious than gold? God has a great and important purpose in testing our faith.” -David Guzik, 1 Peter 1 commentary

Peter could go back and strengthen the church because of what he walked through. He could call up the faith of that infant church because he knew the grace and mercy and love of Jesus so deep inside of himself. There was a resolute conviction in his bones that he testifies to in the pages of his letters.

A Personal Testament

I remember a time in my life when I metaphorically took my shoes off in following Jesus. I was disillusioned, distraught, and foundationally questioning the love of God because I couldn’t see His hands of mercy in my pain. And it was not long after I knew I was being called by the Lord to radical faith that the testing came. One December, we were on a snowy, desolate road in Oregon heading to a sledding hill. The girls were little, and we had faced one delay after another just to get on the road that morning. At every turn we were detoured no matter what we did. As we were driving, the snow began to fall and the road required snow chains for us to proceed. We pulled up behind another driver who had also stopped to put chains on his tires. My husband, Mike, got out of the van and began speaking to the man from the other car. As I looked up, I saw my dear friend, Melissa, running to my car. She was my roommate in Santa Barbara during my senior year of college. She had endured a lot in her life, and we had lost touch for some time. I looked at her face and knew that God had miraculously and intimately moved Heaven and Earth that day for me to see and be embraced by Melissa. I knew that if God cared that much about the details of my life on that day, on that random road in Oregon, when we had traveled from Texas and she had come from California, I knew I could trust Him. The next morning, I remember telling the Lord that I would get my shoes back on and I would follow Him no matter what. I decided in my heart and in my will that He was trustworthy, no matter the depth of my faith that was being tested.

What I thought was delay became an encounter with the intimate love of Jesus.

The Nature of Revival

Peter had a choice to take his boat back out and take up fishing after Jesus left, persecution ensued, and the believers were emotionally on the fritz. He could return to what he knew, and I presume Jesus would call and commission someone else. But Peter was so compelled by the love of God that he was willing to risk it all for the sake of the gospel. Jesus was worth the persecution. Jesus was worth the sacrifice. Jesus was worth Peter’s very life. Do we have the same level of conviction? Are we wrapped tightly enough in our identity as daughters, called ones, chosen ones, commissioned ones, marked and sealed ones? There’s a burning in my heart for us to live out the rest of our days so utterly convinced of His love for us that come persecution, suffering, rejection from friends, etc., we are immovable in the love of God, burning for Him, until He comes for us.

That’s revival. This is jubilee.

“Everything about God is extreme in the best possible sense. He is infinitely good, infinitely holy and powerful, infinitely beautiful, magnificent, and glorious. These are just a few terms to describe Him. But none of the endless lists of traits and characteristics confine Him. Religion, which I define as form without power, tends to attempt the impossible task of restricting Him into neat little packages, giving us a false sense of intelligence and ultimately control. But He is bigger and bigger and bigger still. Each virtue gives us a glimpse into that which is beyond measure but is open for observation. You could take one trait and explore it for all of eternity but not come close to exhausting the depths of who He is in that particular virtue.” -Bill Johnson, “God is Good”

A Prayer for Steadfast Faith

If your faith is being tested right now, I want to pray a prayer of immovable resolve over you.

Father, I pray that in Your infinite goodness and intimate power, You would fortify my sisters. I pray that like Peter, we would overflow with conviction, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to love You passionately, no matter what it costs. I pray that we would be anchored in Your love, tethered so tightly to Your heart, and operating with the mind of Christ, that each test becomes a confirmation of Your goodness. Each place of faith that is refined in the fire will bear forth the glory of God in their lives. I declare that in Jesus’ name. I pray for strength and steadfast immovability in her innermost being today, Lord. And I pray that joy would come in the morning; the joy of the Lord that is her strength. Fill her mouth with praise and her eyes with seeing Your hand moving things on her behalf. I pray for the gift of faith to increase, not decrease in this season, in the name of Jesus! Amen!

A Few Key Notes

• Patrice Vines is hosting another Arise study about putting on the armor of God and standing our ground during turbulent times. You can join in-person or over Zoom. RSVP by emailing me at [email protected].

Time: 9:30 a.m. CST

Dates: Friday mornings

Location: Over Zoom or at The Hope Center (2001 W. Plano Parkway, Plano, TX 75075)

• Mark your calendars for two Harvest Day events: one in Waco April 9-10 and one in Midland on April 24. We will be joining other women in Waco and Midland, Texas, for a day of going out to pray for people and share the gospel. Training will be available. If interested, email me at [email protected].