The following is a short message I shared in our Sunday service yesterday, 5/5/19 at Ridgecrest Baptist Church.

 Peter 1:3-8 New Living Translation (NLT)

The Hope of Eternal Life

^“3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, ⁴ and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. ⁵ And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.

⁶ So be truly glad.^[a] There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. ⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

⁸ You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy.”

 

My name is Robin King and I came to know Jesus as my Savior at a Billy Graham Crusade at Carter Finley Stadium in Raleigh when I was 9 years old.

As a Christian, Jesus impacts my life each day in many ways –

• When I have no peace, Jesus gives me perfect peace, not as the world gives but as only he can give.
• When I feel like an orphan – I remember that I am a child of God through faith in His Son, Jesus.
• When I feel alone, I remember His promise to never leave me.
• When I feel unlovable, I remember that Jesus’ love is unconditional and not based on my emotions or feelings or opinions. It is not based on my performance.
• When I feel my life spinning out of control, Jesus is still the creator and sustainer of the world.
• When I have no answers, through Jesus, I am able to Ask, Seek, AND Knock – knowing that God is delighted to give me wisdom.
• When my husband was near death waiting for a liver transplant and when I had open heart surgery, when I lost a baby to miscarriage when I go through fiery trials of many kinds Jesus impacts my life by teaching me to walk by faith and not by sight.
• Because of Jesus, I cannot live as the world lives. I must be different and I know true contentment comes only from Him.
• But As a sinner who messes up daily, I remember that because of Jesus, I can repent and turn back and I am forgiven.

As a teenager and young adult, I was saved but not surrendered.

I never lost my salvation, but I was determined to live my life according to my own will and desires.

But God in his grace was patient with me and by the transforming power of his Word, I was drawn back to Him.

I became a willing participant in his sanctification process for me.

I surrendered.

I prayed often for a passion for His Word and Jesus has graciously given me a heart for His Word and a passion for sharing it with others.

In 2015, God called me to a speaking ministry – one that I am not qualified or equipped for.

But with Jesus as my Savior and the Holy Spirit inside me, I am empowered and equipped to speak at the opportunities God gives me.

Amazingly, Jesus uses me, this unschooled and ordinary sinner to impact His kingdom.

Jesus impacts the perspective I have of death and life.

He has given me an eternal perspective.

I know that death does not have victory over me.

Death does not have victory over those I love who are in Christ.

The grave cannot hold us down.

Eternal life through Jesus is not just something to look forward to, it is something the believer has at the moment of salvation.

Because of Jesus –

I can live the abundant life now – a joyful, Christ-centered life,

My eyes can look heavenward with no fear of the world’s problems or what man can do to me.

I can stand with Jesus now with no fear.

I can live with great expectation for the day Jesus returns and I have the assurance of a glorious future, a future where I will live in the presence of Jesus forever.

Because of Jesus, I can live each day knowing the best is yet to come.

Because, JESUS WINS! JESUS WINS! JESUS WINS!

© 2019 Robin R King