1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:02,640 Good morning, everyone. It is great to see everyone 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:04,600 who's here today. We have a great crowd. 3 00:00:05,120 --> 00:00:08,840 And I'm honored to be able to teach from God's Word, to share 4 00:00:08,840 --> 00:00:12,080 something that God is teaching me actively. 5 00:00:12,080 --> 00:00:15,080 And I pray that we will learn together from the truths that 6 00:00:15,080 --> 00:00:17,320 the Master teaches through the Holy Spirit. 7 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:20,400 And we're going to be learning from an apostle that we don't 8 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:21,880 often hear from in the New Testament. 9 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:23,720 As far as the letters that are written. 10 00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:26,360 We're going to be learning from the Apostle Peter. 11 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:28,880 So if you want to turn with me there, we're hardly going to 12 00:00:28,880 --> 00:00:32,080 make any outside references. We're going to spend almost all 13 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:35,320 of our time on first Peter. So we'll start there. 14 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:40,920 In verse one of First Peter chapter 1, it says there Peter 15 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:45,480 is Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to the pilgrims of the 16 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:50,640 dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bethenia. 17 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,520 So he clearly identifies who's writing this letter as we've 18 00:00:54,520 --> 00:00:56,280 studied some of their letters recently. 19 00:00:56,880 --> 00:00:58,120 Some of them don't have an author. 20 00:00:58,280 --> 00:01:01,480 We studied Hebrews or they don't have a clearly identified 21 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:03,640 author, and there's different reasons for that. 22 00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,120 We learned about the book of Jude recently. 23 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,680 We know that Jude who is written by, but there is some debate as 24 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:13,560 to maybe who wrote James and which James it was. 25 00:01:14,080 --> 00:01:16,760 Even though it says the name, there's really no dispute. 26 00:01:16,960 --> 00:01:20,760 This is the apostle Peter. This is Apostle Peter who is out 27 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,600 in front all the time, sometimes leading with his mouth, 28 00:01:23,800 --> 00:01:26,040 sometimes not leading with his actions when he should have 29 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:28,520 been. This is the Apostle Peter that 30 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:33,960 we have all come to maybe relate with, maybe laugh at sometimes. 31 00:01:34,600 --> 00:01:37,680 This is the man Peter. This is the one who walked on 32 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:42,560 water to Jesus and fell. This is the one that was praised 33 00:01:42,560 --> 00:01:45,520 by Jesus in front of all the other disciples for making a 34 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:47,960 confession of his faith of who the Messiah was. 35 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,240 But he was also the one who was rebuked in front of everyone. 36 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:55,160 He was the one who he was rebuked carrying the work of 37 00:01:55,160 --> 00:01:56,680 Satan. He said, get thee behind me, 38 00:01:56,680 --> 00:01:59,960 Satan. This man Peter is a fascinating 39 00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:02,160 character to study. And it's kind of interesting to 40 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:05,480 me that we don't hear as much from him the rest of the New 41 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,680 Testament. But God has his chosen vessels 42 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:11,560 for chosen works in different parts in time. 43 00:02:11,960 --> 00:02:15,760 Much of the New Testament is written by Paul, and yet Paul is 44 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:18,680 not involved in the life of Jesus the way Peter was. 45 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,480 So as we begin this, we all have our role, and Peter's role, 46 00:02:23,720 --> 00:02:26,760 although it was primarily in the life of Jesus, he had a profound 47 00:02:26,920 --> 00:02:30,360 impact on the people he wrote this to, both in the time and 48 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,520 day he wrote it and hopefully to us today. 49 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:37,440 He's writing, it says, to the pilgrims of the dispersion, and 50 00:02:37,440 --> 00:02:39,680 he's writing to those pilgrims of the dispersion that are in 51 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:43,080 Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 52 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,160 The first thing I want us to recognize is this phrase, the 53 00:02:46,160 --> 00:02:49,720 pilgrims of the dispersion is a phrase used to communicate with 54 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,040 Jews. The Jews had a strong bond 55 00:02:53,240 --> 00:02:57,640 because when the nation of Judah was captured and was overtaken 56 00:02:57,640 --> 00:03:02,200 by Babylon, the Jewish people scattered and they called one 57 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:04,520 another the people or the pilgrims of the dispersion. 58 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:09,040 It's a it's a term of camaraderie in the faith is 59 00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:11,880 really what this is. But we know that first that 60 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,680 Peter is writing this letter to all Christians. 61 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,400 It's not just Jews. So I believe this is a nice 62 00:03:18,400 --> 00:03:21,000 little, it's like an olive branch. 63 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:25,360 It's, it's a unifying statement to all the Christians that now 64 00:03:25,360 --> 00:03:29,760 it's not just us Jews who are dispersed across the world now 65 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,120 it's not just us, it's all Christians. 66 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,240 You are the faith now. You are the pilgrims. 67 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,840 He identifies them as pilgrims just like we are called, because 68 00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:42,040 they are not in their permanent resting place. 69 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:44,400 They're not in their permanent land. 70 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,200 They are not in the final place where they are supposed to 71 00:03:48,200 --> 00:03:50,520 inherit. They are temporarily passing 72 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:54,560 through. And the dispersion, I thought it 73 00:03:54,560 --> 00:03:56,640 might have been the dispersion from the destruction of 74 00:03:56,640 --> 00:03:59,080 Jerusalem, but scholars believe this hasn't happened at that 75 00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:02,040 point. So the dispersion is how the 76 00:04:02,040 --> 00:04:05,120 Christians have spread out because of probably another 77 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:06,600 factor we're going to get to in just a minute. 78 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,640 So just so we know, where is this referring to? 79 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:14,160 What is this region? So if you look at the greater 80 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:17,519 map, you can see the, the southern border of, of, of 81 00:04:17,519 --> 00:04:20,240 Europe over here with the, with Italy on this side. 82 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,040 And as you make your way E, you get into the Near East, which is 83 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:26,400 Asia Minor. And you can recognize many of 84 00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:29,160 the names from churches. You might recognize Ephesus or 85 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:33,920 Colossi, Lycia or Crete. We've been reading a lot about 86 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,280 those letters that involve those cities. 87 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:40,320 And he's talking right now of this northern region as the 88 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:42,840 church spread into northern Asia Minor. 89 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:46,840 And you can see all these larger sections is who he's talking 90 00:04:46,840 --> 00:04:49,080 about. You have Cappadocia, Galatia, 91 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:52,320 Bithynia, and Pontus is way up there on the northern side as it 92 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:54,440 borders, I believe that is the Black Sea. 93 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:59,520 This is a great spread. And this is still the early 94 00:04:59,520 --> 00:05:01,760 years of the church, still in the 1st century. 95 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,160 The church has already grown massively. 96 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:07,880 So what is the context maybe of the dispersion if it's not the 97 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:10,880 destruction of Jerusalem? Well, this was during the time 98 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:14,040 of Emperor Nero's reign. And you, many of you have heard 99 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:17,680 of Emperor Nero. He basically used Christians as 100 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:19,840 a scapegoat for things that happened in the city. 101 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,800 There was a great fire that burned Rome and Christians took 102 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:25,440 the fall. And so Christians were 103 00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:30,440 persecuted, they're arrested, they were beaten, and they're 104 00:05:30,440 --> 00:05:34,640 eventually burned in the city. There's one historian that says 105 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,400 that that the Christians were being burned to light the 106 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:41,840 parties at these places. This was a massive persecution 107 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:43,600 the Christians were enduring during this time. 108 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:47,120 So it's no surprise that there may have been a dispersion of 109 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:51,280 Christians that left that fled into these regions that maybe 110 00:05:51,280 --> 00:05:54,920 were less populated and less consolidated by Roman power 111 00:05:55,000 --> 00:05:59,640 where they could be affected. And so these persecutions were 112 00:05:59,640 --> 00:06:01,600 great. And that's the greater message 113 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:05,080 of this letter is learning to work through persecutions. 114 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:09,520 But remember, I don't want us to feel distanced from these 115 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,440 Christians just because our persecutions aren't the same or 116 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,160 maybe as severe. I don't want us to lose the 117 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:17,600 message to us. The message is going to be the 118 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:22,960 same whether you are going through massive fiery trials or 119 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:27,560 whether you are in 21st century America where we are supposed to 120 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:31,120 have free religion and free speech and all these things. 121 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:35,320 There are still lessons to be learned, so please don't think 122 00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:38,840 that these are the real Christians and we are the ones 123 00:06:38,840 --> 00:06:40,200 that maybe one day will be like them. 124 00:06:40,600 --> 00:06:44,080 It is true that anybody who stands for the faith has had 125 00:06:44,080 --> 00:06:47,000 their faith refined by fire, as we're going to talk, and they 126 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,640 have been clearly identified through their struggle as a 127 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:54,080 faithful Christian. But the message of all Scripture 128 00:06:54,280 --> 00:06:57,640 is have faithfulness wherever it is you stand. 129 00:06:58,880 --> 00:07:02,800 If you're in 21st century America, be faithful here. 130 00:07:03,760 --> 00:07:06,880 There's plenty of people who are not faithful in in 21st century 131 00:07:06,880 --> 00:07:08,920 America. There were plenty of people who 132 00:07:08,920 --> 00:07:11,280 are not faithful in 1st century Asia Minor. 133 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:15,360 The message of all biblical writers is be faithful where you 134 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:18,920 stand and that will lead to the recipe. 135 00:07:20,200 --> 00:07:22,760 I do find it's kind of interesting that we ourselves 136 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:26,560 actually are pilgrims of sorts. Our country was founded from a 137 00:07:26,560 --> 00:07:29,960 dispersion of people who wanted religious freedom, and so we may 138 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:32,480 have something more in common with these pilgrims of the 139 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:34,520 dispersion in that daytime than we realize. 140 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,840 He says in verse 2 to these pilgrims, he goes on to address 141 00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:44,560 them as elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. 142 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:46,680 OK. We have talked about election 143 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:49,120 recently, not political election. 144 00:07:49,120 --> 00:07:51,960 We've talked about election reference in other New Testament 145 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:56,040 letters of conditional versus unconditional election. 146 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:59,840 We've talked about general election versus specific 147 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:04,120 election, but we're going to talk more about, I believe the 148 00:08:04,120 --> 00:08:06,960 greater message of election in the next letter because he's 149 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:10,680 going to dive into it in a way that is very well explained and 150 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:14,600 powerful. And, and so I, I hope you'll 151 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:17,840 just hang on to this and, and excuse me for moving past it a 152 00:08:17,840 --> 00:08:20,440 little bit fast because he's going to deal with it more. 153 00:08:21,000 --> 00:08:23,760 But for now, let's just understand in this introduction 154 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:28,840 that the elect are people that God has chosen for a role in his 155 00:08:28,840 --> 00:08:31,760 masterful plan. I'm going to say this again next 156 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:34,919 week when we or next time when we study into what the election 157 00:08:34,919 --> 00:08:36,919 is. But the election is about the 158 00:08:36,919 --> 00:08:40,960 work people want to focus about election being salvation. 159 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,720 And you read in the Old Testament, the election was I'm 160 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:48,960 choosing you for a role. I'm electing you to be, to play 161 00:08:48,960 --> 00:08:52,840 a part in God's masterful plan in which you, yes, will be 162 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:56,920 saved, but you are supposed to bring the blessing to the whole 163 00:08:56,920 --> 00:09:00,000 earth. And those who would counteract 164 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,880 that blessing, God will deal with them. 165 00:09:03,560 --> 00:09:07,800 So the election I want us to see is we are called and we are 166 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:11,520 chosen for a great work. Don't get bogged down into the 167 00:09:11,520 --> 00:09:15,320 debate about election being so. So don't even worry about that. 168 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:16,640 That's not even the point right now. 169 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:18,880 The point is you and I have a work. 170 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:23,000 So in light of this, let's consider what he's saying in 171 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:26,720 light of the fact that, you know, these people are under 172 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:29,800 great persecution. You have a work, you have a 173 00:09:29,800 --> 00:09:34,000 responsibility, you have a a chosen role during this time. 174 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:41,280 He didn't say there's a job here if you want to take it or I'm 175 00:09:41,280 --> 00:09:43,000 sure I can find something for you to do. 176 00:09:43,000 --> 00:09:46,320 If you want to be a Christian, he says you are chosen, you are 177 00:09:46,360 --> 00:09:49,680 elect. And because of that, you have a 178 00:09:49,680 --> 00:09:54,200 responsibility. You are exactly where you need 179 00:09:54,200 --> 00:09:58,360 to be. Whether you're being persecuted, 180 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:00,920 persecuted, whether things are all unsettled. 181 00:10:00,920 --> 00:10:05,120 Everywhere you look, you have a chosen role to fulfil right now. 182 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:07,320 That's the message to these Christians. 183 00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:09,880 Do you ever wonder where you stand in life? 184 00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:14,320 Can you really do anything with where you're at right now? 185 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,600 Can anything come from your situation for good? 186 00:10:20,480 --> 00:10:21,960 Maybe that's how you feel sometimes. 187 00:10:23,680 --> 00:10:27,480 Maybe that's how they felt. The message to anyone going 188 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:32,320 through these questions or these frustrations or wondering you 189 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:36,040 have a chosen role to fill. It's not a job. 190 00:10:36,040 --> 00:10:38,160 If you want to take it, it's not. 191 00:10:38,160 --> 00:10:39,760 I could probably find something for you to do. 192 00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:40,920 You're going to be an extra hand. 193 00:10:41,000 --> 00:10:46,200 It's you have a chosen role and it was chosen for you by the 194 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:48,800 foreknowledge of God. God knew ahead of time. 195 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,640 God was not. You're not catching him by 196 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:54,920 surprise. You're not in your life 197 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:58,160 situation where you're at right now by surprise. 198 00:10:58,440 --> 00:11:01,400 God knew you were going to be there where you're at and 199 00:11:01,400 --> 00:11:04,360 wherever it is, don't neglect that role. 200 00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:07,960 Identify. I am a chosen vessel of God. 201 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:12,920 I'm in this situation not by accident, but for his, but for 202 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:15,760 His glory and for His work. OK. 203 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,760 He says we are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the 204 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,360 Father. He's addressing these people and 205 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:25,680 he's saying they're elect in the sanctification of the Spirit. 206 00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:27,960 Oh, that's a big word. We don't use that word a lot. 207 00:11:28,160 --> 00:11:32,160 Sanctification just means to be set apart for a holy purpose. 208 00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:35,240 This is going to again, play into our election lesson next 209 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:39,680 time, But sanctification means there's everybody who's doing 210 00:11:39,680 --> 00:11:43,280 whatever they want, and then there's people who are set aside 211 00:11:44,400 --> 00:11:49,120 for a lot of reasons, or maybe in a lot of ways set aside for a 212 00:11:49,120 --> 00:11:54,400 special purpose. You and these Christians were 213 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:58,920 set apart of the Spirit. Who does the setting apart the 214 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:05,680 Spirit of God In the Old Testament, sanctification had 215 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:10,440 some very detailed processes, but really it's just basic 216 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,440 categories. You set something apart as 217 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:16,000 special in every area of life. There were objects. 218 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,800 They were set apart as special. For example, you had the altar 219 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:22,640 where they would perform their sacrifices to the Lord. 220 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:25,240 That was set apart as different. You don't just do anything. 221 00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:26,720 You don't eat your food on this altar. 222 00:12:27,160 --> 00:12:29,040 You don't come up here and just have a meal and kick your feet 223 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:30,760 up on the altar. This is set apart. 224 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:33,400 It's special. There were utensils they were to 225 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:37,320 use that were special and set apart and different. 226 00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:39,840 There weren't just objects. There were places. 227 00:12:40,000 --> 00:12:42,200 Again, pretty much every category, there are places. 228 00:12:42,440 --> 00:12:45,880 There was a temple erected in the middle of the camp that was 229 00:12:45,880 --> 00:12:48,160 going to be a special place, and even within that there was a 230 00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:52,120 special holy of holy places just set apart. 231 00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:55,000 It's just God wants some things to be different and not just 232 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:56,400 normal. Like everything else. 233 00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:00,040 The rest of our lives just becomes the same. 234 00:13:00,040 --> 00:13:01,920 But God doesn't want to be the same. 235 00:13:02,760 --> 00:13:04,520 God doesn't want you to live mundane. 236 00:13:04,520 --> 00:13:06,280 He wants there to be things in your life. 237 00:13:06,520 --> 00:13:08,640 He wanted there to be things in the Old Testament, people's 238 00:13:08,640 --> 00:13:11,040 lives that were separate and set apart. 239 00:13:11,560 --> 00:13:13,560 You have the temple, you have the burning Bush. 240 00:13:14,280 --> 00:13:19,040 As a more individual example, there's so many examples of this 241 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:21,400 in the Old Testament. There was the corporate version 242 00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,880 of the temple, and then there was a holy place where Moses 243 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:27,840 stood on holy ground near the burning Bush. 244 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:30,960 And he approached and God said, take off your shoes, your 245 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:32,480 sandals. This is holding ground. 246 00:13:34,200 --> 00:13:37,680 This is all sanctification. It's just making something else 247 00:13:37,680 --> 00:13:39,560 special. Times. 248 00:13:39,560 --> 00:13:42,000 They had times that were special, like the Sabbath, the 249 00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:44,560 day of rest in the Old Testament, and they had special 250 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:47,080 feasts. Then you have people like the 251 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,320 priests who are designated and set apart from the rest of the 252 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:54,680 people for the service of God. Sanctification of the Spirit 253 00:13:54,680 --> 00:13:59,720 just means there are things that need to be different, not just 254 00:13:59,720 --> 00:14:01,320 normal, like everything else you do. 255 00:14:04,400 --> 00:14:07,960 And that is carried out through the Holy Spirit, He says for 256 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:11,880 obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus. 257 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:16,840 So of all the glorious ways God works through his Spirit, the 258 00:14:16,840 --> 00:14:20,960 Spirit of God in our lives, however he accomplishes that 259 00:14:20,960 --> 00:14:23,800 process, obedience is always part of it. 260 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:29,080 It doesn't matter what we think about how the Holy Spirit works 261 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:31,120 in individual ways. Our obedience cannot be 262 00:14:31,120 --> 00:14:34,440 separated from sanctification. Our obedience cannot be 263 00:14:34,440 --> 00:14:37,320 separated from that how the Holy Spirit will work in us because 264 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:40,320 we know the Holy Spirit teaches us through his word and changes 265 00:14:40,320 --> 00:14:42,960 us inwardly. And you could say, well, I'm 266 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,920 changed inwardly so that my actions reflected or you can say 267 00:14:47,240 --> 00:14:49,760 I don't really feel different on the inside, but I'm going to do 268 00:14:49,760 --> 00:14:52,960 this because I know God says is right and then your insides 269 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:55,600 being changed, it's all the same. 270 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:58,920 It all gets to the result. The end goal is I want to be 271 00:14:59,160 --> 00:15:04,680 acting and and being internally set apart for God. 272 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:08,640 I want to be completely reserved for His purposes. 273 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:12,480 And because of that, all glory goes to God in our 274 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:18,120 sanctification. All of our glory goes to God for 275 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:19,880 obedience. That's our part. 276 00:15:20,840 --> 00:15:23,160 And the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. 277 00:15:23,440 --> 00:15:27,120 Our obedience does us no good without the sprinkling of the 278 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:29,840 blood of Christ. That sprinkling is referring to 279 00:15:30,480 --> 00:15:33,800 the Old Testament sacrifices, how they would sprinkle blood on 280 00:15:33,800 --> 00:15:36,000 the altar. That's sprinkling for the 281 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,160 forgiveness of sins. And the atonement came from a 282 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:45,760 new sacrifice, Jesus Christ. All these things play into our 283 00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:49,680 election and consecrating a new agreement. 284 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:53,120 And in that new agreement, yes, we have a sacrifice of Jesus. 285 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:57,160 But in the covenant that God has, every, in every covenant 286 00:15:57,160 --> 00:16:01,840 God has ever set up, there is an obedience, there is an agreement 287 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:07,880 between both parties. And so may we consider ourselves 288 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:11,640 this morning, just like these people were to be sanctified 289 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:17,080 from the Spirit. May my objects, may everything I 290 00:16:17,080 --> 00:16:21,280 own, may I focus on using it for the glory of God, to be setting 291 00:16:21,280 --> 00:16:24,280 things apart for God. Maybe it's in the giving. 292 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:31,080 May the places I go be set apart for the glory of God, 293 00:16:31,080 --> 00:16:35,360 specifically on days like today. But in how I use my week, may 294 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:40,360 those go to the glory of God. May the times in my life may I 295 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:44,600 set aside special time, whether it's in worship or maybe it's in 296 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,880 time with God on my own day, may I have it set apart. 297 00:16:48,880 --> 00:16:53,480 And may the people I associate with and may the the person I 298 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:58,400 become be set apart and sanctified for God's glory. 299 00:16:59,960 --> 00:17:04,920 He says to to these people who he just described, grace to you 300 00:17:05,560 --> 00:17:14,240 and peace be multiplied. Did you notice that every person 301 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:16,319 of the Godhead was represented in that introduction? 302 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:23,359 That God elected us and we are known by the Father from time 303 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:26,400 past. The Spirit has done the 304 00:17:26,400 --> 00:17:30,840 sanctification and is doing the sanctification, and Jesus Christ 305 00:17:31,200 --> 00:17:33,120 offers the sacrifice of the blood man. 306 00:17:34,320 --> 00:17:37,480 We're reading a letter to people who are struggling in 307 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,560 persecutions. The first thing he wants them to 308 00:17:40,560 --> 00:17:45,320 know is that you were chosen for this work. 309 00:17:45,960 --> 00:17:49,400 And secondly, you are surrounded by the work and the support of 310 00:17:49,400 --> 00:17:52,320 the Godhead. Whatever you're going through, 311 00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:54,720 that applies to them, that applies to you. 312 00:17:56,440 --> 00:18:00,640 You were chosen for the work, and you were surrounded by the 313 00:18:00,640 --> 00:18:02,840 Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 314 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,680 As you do this, I think those people might have already 315 00:18:06,680 --> 00:18:08,760 started to perk up and get a little bit more strength. 316 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:13,680 Now remember, I've all these messages, Peter's going to 317 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:16,200 relate to the struggling or persecuted Christians. 318 00:18:16,800 --> 00:18:19,120 It's all related to a focus, not a fix. 319 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:24,800 It's all going to be them having their attention directed away 320 00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,640 from whatever they're going through and focusing on the 321 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:29,200 things that Peter's teaching them. 322 00:18:30,760 --> 00:18:32,240 That is going to be the answer to our faith. 323 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:34,120 It's not going to be a fix. It's not going to be a quick 324 00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:35,880 fix. It's going to be a focus issue. 325 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:41,560 He goes on to say in verse 3, blessed be the God and Father of 326 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:45,640 our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy 327 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:49,280 has begotten us again to a living hope through the 328 00:18:49,280 --> 00:18:52,400 resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 329 00:18:53,200 --> 00:18:57,680 One man said all his goodness to us bring begins with mercy. 330 00:18:58,560 --> 00:19:01,040 No other attribute could have helped us had mercy been 331 00:19:01,040 --> 00:19:06,880 refused, as we are by nature or you might say by habit. 332 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:12,480 Justice condemns US, holiness frowns upon us, power crushes 333 00:19:12,480 --> 00:19:15,840 us, truth confirms the threatening of the law and wrath 334 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:19,000 fulfills it. Everything else works against 335 00:19:19,000 --> 00:19:23,520 us, but it is with the mercy of our God that all of our hopes 336 00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:27,280 begin. And so blessed be our God, who 337 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:31,120 by his abundant mercy, not because of any of our goodness, 338 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,120 but because of our great and awesome God that we came to 339 00:19:34,120 --> 00:19:38,040 worship here this morning, had mercy on us and continues to 340 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:41,480 have mercy on us. He's given us a living hope. 341 00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:46,840 Jesus Christ was resurrected from the dead, and because of 342 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:50,800 that, our hope does not die with Him, it is resurrected with Him, 343 00:19:50,920 --> 00:19:56,720 and we have hope and life in Him to an inheritance incorruptible 344 00:19:57,040 --> 00:20:01,400 and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven 345 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:04,520 for you. Did you have a long week this 346 00:20:04,520 --> 00:20:08,200 week? Were you underpaid this week? 347 00:20:09,400 --> 00:20:11,240 Were you underappreciated this week? 348 00:20:12,640 --> 00:20:17,480 Were you lonely this week? Were you unable to accomplish as 349 00:20:17,480 --> 00:20:19,280 much as you would have liked to this week? 350 00:20:20,720 --> 00:20:24,720 Maybe it's your own limitations physically, Maybe time wise, 351 00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:28,120 energy wise? Do you ever feel stuck, 352 00:20:28,280 --> 00:20:34,040 frustrated or tired? I'm young and I do, so I know 353 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:38,680 all those feelings can grow even with age. 354 00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:45,840 And his message to these people is they are not only surrounded 355 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:48,480 by the support of the father and chosen, but they have an 356 00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:51,760 inheritance that is incorruptible. 357 00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:56,320 That whatever else they are going through, whatever you are 358 00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:02,160 going through, that's all going to be gone one day and there's 359 00:21:02,160 --> 00:21:04,920 going to be an inheritance that is waiting that is not going to 360 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:10,240 ever tarnish. Everything we do is corruptible 361 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:13,320 on this earth. People talk a lot about right 362 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:17,280 now about generational wealth. That's a hot topic in in all of 363 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:21,240 the whether it's political circles, young people trying to 364 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:22,920 build better lives, generational wealth. 365 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:27,360 You've got to start generational wealth so that I can start my 366 00:21:27,360 --> 00:21:30,400 next, my children off on a better footing than I started. 367 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:33,400 And that's how we help one another going forward into the 368 00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:36,160 future as you build it generation after generation. 369 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:40,040 And well, that's true and that's wonderful. 370 00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:43,160 Everything I do is going to be corruptible. 371 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:45,640 We went to an estate sale yesterday. 372 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:51,440 I find them sad. This person worked their whole 373 00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:56,680 life and they may have done some amazing things with their tools, 374 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:02,920 with their home, but then one day a company comes in, Hundreds 375 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:06,080 of people flock through like vultures, pick through their 376 00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:09,200 stuff at half price, and it's gone. 377 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:12,800 Some of the stuff is still worth something. 378 00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:17,120 Some of it is outdated because it was a tool that was invented 379 00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:21,280 80 years ago. 50 years ago. It's been replaced with cheaper, 380 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:23,720 better things. Some of it is worn out by the 381 00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:25,680 sun and no longer has any structure. 382 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:31,240 It's brittle. Everything we have is passing 383 00:22:31,240 --> 00:22:34,800 away. But there is an inheritance 384 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:37,880 coming and it is better than anything I can give my children 385 00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:42,160 because the best thing I could do for them is going to probably 386 00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:45,080 have some money sitting in a in a retirement account or an 387 00:22:45,080 --> 00:22:46,680 investment account that's growing for them. 388 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:55,240 But even then, inflation, as we learn, there's many things that 389 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,640 can happen in a day to change your financial outlook. 390 00:22:59,440 --> 00:23:06,520 It's all corruptible. It's all fading away except for 391 00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:10,080 our hope and our incorruptible all verse 5. 392 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:14,480 So he says these things are reserved in heaven for you who 393 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:19,120 are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation 394 00:23:19,120 --> 00:23:21,480 ready to be revealed in the last time. 395 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:27,360 I'm amazed that all the people in this room and my brothers and 396 00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:31,040 sisters that have continued to weather the storms of your 397 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:34,000 faith. I'm amazed by the people in this 398 00:23:34,000 --> 00:23:41,440 room and people I know in the faith that glory goes to God 399 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:44,040 because that speaks to the keeping power of God. 400 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:48,280 One translation says that we are shielded that by the power of 401 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:54,400 God through faith, that yes, our faith is tied intricately with 402 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:57,320 God, but in that faith where He is tied in with us, He is 403 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:00,800 shielding and keeping us and protecting us in ways that we 404 00:24:00,800 --> 00:24:07,520 cannot do on our own. It is not a small thing that you 405 00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:13,880 remain firm in the faith and it is speaking to the power of God, 406 00:24:15,280 --> 00:24:18,640 and people are able to glorify God because of you. 407 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:26,640 If I want to make God's name famous, this is where it starts 408 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:29,600 for us. I want to make God's name 409 00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:35,520 powerful in the sense that He can say He took some lame, weak 410 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,240 person like Wade Branch and he's kept him. 411 00:24:39,080 --> 00:24:42,560 He can keep me and God is alive and he's doing great things 412 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:47,760 because through my limitations, God will be strong and God will 413 00:24:47,760 --> 00:24:52,080 hold and uphold those who are in the faith. 414 00:24:55,120 --> 00:25:00,280 And he says we're being kept through the faith for salvation 415 00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,000 that is ready to be revealed. Sometimes we think about when 416 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:04,880 Jesus says, I go to prepare a place for you. 417 00:25:05,120 --> 00:25:07,360 I know Frank has probably mentioned this recently, but 418 00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:09,760 it's like he, he, it's going to take him a long time and he's 419 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:12,560 still building the house and, and he's going to get done with 420 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:13,760 it eventually and he'll let us come in. 421 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:18,040 No, he says it's ready. He just needs to reveal it. 422 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,320 We know that the long-suffering of God on those who are 423 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:23,120 perishing is why the earth still stands. 424 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:29,080 It is ready right now. It was ready so long ago. 425 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,680 Jesus can come back right now and it will be ready for us. 426 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:34,680 It is that real and present. We just can't see it. 427 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:39,480 And for the people who are enduring suffering, it's like 428 00:25:39,480 --> 00:25:42,320 there's a veil and you just push aside the veil and it's right 429 00:25:42,320 --> 00:25:43,960 there. Just keep holding on a little 430 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:47,800 bit longer, keep striving for the faith, keep holding on to 431 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:51,000 God and it's ready to be revealed for you. 432 00:25:54,360 --> 00:25:57,400 So as we continue through, Peter's message to the 433 00:25:57,400 --> 00:26:02,240 struggling is he reminds them of a hope in their future of war. 434 00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:05,400 He reminds them of the resurrection and reminds them of 435 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:10,160 God's power to keep them. Verse 6. 436 00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:14,240 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, 437 00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,000 if need be. You have been grieved by various 438 00:26:17,000 --> 00:26:20,240 trials if need be. What does that mean? 439 00:26:22,200 --> 00:26:23,480 I think it could mean a lot of things. 440 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:25,560 There's a lot of reasons why we might need to go through 441 00:26:25,560 --> 00:26:27,680 something. We've talked about them 442 00:26:27,680 --> 00:26:30,840 recently, but I'll just throw a few couple categories up here. 443 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:35,400 Maybe God's working on us as Frank talk about the pruning and 444 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,160 the trimming that happens to us and our faith in a previous 445 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:42,120 lesson. I don't move forward without 446 00:26:42,120 --> 00:26:45,600 trials. Not only am I weak where I 447 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:48,880 stand, I'm not strong enough to even get myself to the next 448 00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,400 level of my faith without something to push me there. 449 00:26:51,560 --> 00:26:54,960 And so I need trials. That's the hard reality. 450 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:59,360 Maybe God is working through US. God has done wonderful things in 451 00:26:59,360 --> 00:27:03,080 people's lives through their suffering to benefit someone 452 00:27:03,080 --> 00:27:05,320 else. And maybe someone else is being 453 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:09,640 supported because of that. It goes so far beyond this. 454 00:27:11,120 --> 00:27:15,200 And so maybe he says, for a little while you've been grieved 455 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:18,560 with various trials. And if you know about this 456 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:22,040 persecution and it didn't go away overnight, it wasn't a 457 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:25,600 little while like the storm of Nero blew over and that all was 458 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:28,480 fine. That wasn't the little while. 459 00:27:28,480 --> 00:27:31,280 It's all in perspective of eternity. 460 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:33,680 I'm young, many of you are older. 461 00:27:33,680 --> 00:27:37,720 You know how time flies. You look back and you see how 462 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:41,600 life has just passed from children to grandchildren to 463 00:27:41,600 --> 00:27:43,120 great grandchildren just like that. 464 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:49,480 That's the context of this. It's the eternal perspective, if 465 00:27:49,480 --> 00:27:52,160 need be, you've been grieved by various trials that the 466 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:57,120 genuineness, the realness, the trueness of your faith being 467 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:00,000 much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is 468 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:06,160 tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the 469 00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:10,000 revelation of Jesus Christ. He uses a lot of words in here, 470 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:12,600 and so I'm going to try to get the simple piece first. 471 00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:16,800 He's saying that our faith is what is more precious than gold. 472 00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:21,400 We, they understood and we understand on some level how 473 00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:26,600 gold is purified. Gold has to be, has to be taken 474 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:29,760 through a process to remove all the impurities. 475 00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:34,720 And so while you may have a lump of minerals or ores that you 476 00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:37,480 might call gold, it probably has a lot of other stuff in it and 477 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:39,440 maybe more things than actual gold is in it. 478 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:42,640 And so they have to take that gold and they have to superheat 479 00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:46,800 it to the point that the gold, what is heavy, rests to the 480 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:49,560 bottom and the impurities float up to the surface. 481 00:28:50,320 --> 00:28:53,520 And those impurities are then scraped off the top by the 482 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:57,280 whether it's the Smith or the jewel or whoever that is. 483 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:01,320 And he's saying you're, you know how that works with, with 484 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:04,680 metals, He said. Your faith is so much more 485 00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:09,440 precious than that. The ground of the streets of 486 00:29:09,440 --> 00:29:13,440 heaven is described with the precious things of this world. 487 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:17,240 How much more the people who walk the ground to glorify God 488 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:19,360 in heaven. He says. 489 00:29:19,360 --> 00:29:23,400 Your faith is so much more precious than gold and it is 490 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,480 tested by fire just like the gold. 491 00:29:27,720 --> 00:29:31,000 That is how God is going to work out the impurities with us. 492 00:29:32,880 --> 00:29:38,240 That is how God is going to purify our faith. 493 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,920 May we somehow figure out how to welcome the fire. 494 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:48,720 Sometimes we talk about how, you know, there's people who are 495 00:29:48,720 --> 00:29:50,600 always going through something worse than us. 496 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:54,640 There's people overseas who are being beheaded by anti Christian 497 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:56,640 groups who are going through something worse than us. 498 00:29:56,640 --> 00:30:00,360 OK, that's true. But don't lose the the 499 00:30:00,360 --> 00:30:03,360 realization that you have the fire too. 500 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:06,600 Because if you don't think you're in the fire, at some 501 00:30:06,600 --> 00:30:09,040 point you're going to be discouraged when your trials run 502 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:10,800 around because you're going to think that it doesn't have any 503 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:13,160 meaning. And then you're going to be 504 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:20,240 confused and frustrated, and you may even become bitter, and you 505 00:30:20,240 --> 00:30:23,760 may not even take advantage of them to grow towards God's glory 506 00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:26,160 and in your faith, which is the whole point of the trials. 507 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,040 Don't forget that. Yes, other people may have it 508 00:30:31,040 --> 00:30:34,720 hard, but you have trials and fires and heat. 509 00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:42,240 Life heats up even if you live in a society like ours that 510 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:45,200 seems to be very stable relatively. 511 00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:55,920 May God be gracious with us and gently break us, as the song 512 00:30:55,920 --> 00:31:00,680 says, and heat us to the point that he can scrape off some 513 00:31:00,680 --> 00:31:04,800 impurities. Because the metal will cool 514 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:10,080 down, it'll go back to a more solid form, and it will be worth 515 00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:14,440 it once the impurities are gone. And it'll probably have to 516 00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:16,600 happen again because you I don't think you get all of it on the 517 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:20,280 first try. Maybe we'd be humble before that 518 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:24,600 process. It really helps me to consider 519 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:29,600 faith through the lens of muscles because I think faith is 520 00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:34,720 often more of a muscle than a than a gear. 521 00:31:35,200 --> 00:31:39,080 Sometimes we think like, I need to get the fix for this problem. 522 00:31:39,600 --> 00:31:43,080 I need to get the answer to this so that everything stops being 523 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:47,920 hard or it's a quick solution. But as the process with heating 524 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:52,640 is painful, I think our bodies reflect really what faith is all 525 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:55,480 about. In your bodies, as I'm sure all 526 00:31:55,480 --> 00:31:59,400 of you know, your muscle breaks and grows. 527 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:02,040 That's how it grows. And during the exercise 528 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:04,680 movement, if you're not sure what happens is under tension, 529 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:09,120 your muscle fibers tear. They have micro tears that when 530 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:11,360 you stop working out, you stop exercising. 531 00:32:11,680 --> 00:32:14,840 They then heal and grow larger than they were before in order 532 00:32:14,840 --> 00:32:17,360 to handle the new loads that it perceives that you're going to 533 00:32:17,360 --> 00:32:22,120 be taking on. And those micro tears can only 534 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:23,440 come from something that's there. 535 00:32:24,400 --> 00:32:27,440 So I can't have a micro tear between my head and my toe 536 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:29,240 because there's no muscle that connects those. 537 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:34,480 You have to have some fibers connecting 2 joints or two, two 538 00:32:34,480 --> 00:32:37,880 connection points. You have faith. 539 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:40,880 Your faith may be just a couple of fibers. 540 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:43,160 It may be faith like a mustard seed. 541 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:48,840 But if you will hold on through the tension and the challenge, 542 00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:52,920 those muscle fibers that tear and you feel pain through them 543 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:57,080 when you're holding firm, those will come back stronger. 544 00:32:58,440 --> 00:33:01,800 The more you hold, it will come back stronger. 545 00:33:01,800 --> 00:33:06,880 And you know, what's kind of hard and, and difficult is the 546 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:09,440 muscle science is coming out right now more and more in like 547 00:33:09,440 --> 00:33:13,240 current studies is showing that actually your greatest growth 548 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:15,960 comes from a couple key areas #1 hypertrophy. 549 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:19,560 Hypertrophy means you go to muscle failure when you 550 00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:21,200 literally can't do anything anymore. 551 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:24,360 If you really want to grow your muscles, it's not just about 552 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:27,760 doing heavy stuff. It's not just about doing it 553 00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,840 frequently. It's you need to go to failure 554 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:36,120 to get maximum growth. Number 2, they say stretch at 555 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:38,840 your fully lengthened part. So if you're dealing with the 556 00:33:38,840 --> 00:33:40,960 bicep, this is the fully lengthened part. 557 00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:43,240 It's stretched, but it's also load. 558 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:46,760 If I'm fully stretched but there's no load, my muscles not 559 00:33:46,760 --> 00:33:49,080 going to grow. But if I'm fully stretched and 560 00:33:49,080 --> 00:33:53,360 there's a load, scientists are saying that's where the most 561 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:58,760 growth happens spiritually. That's kind of tough news 562 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:02,400 because that means that there's going to be times where we are 563 00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:06,040 stretched beyond what we can think is possible and we're 564 00:34:06,040 --> 00:34:08,159 carrying the load we didn't think we could carry. 565 00:34:08,360 --> 00:34:11,520 But that is specifically when our bodies are designed to grow. 566 00:34:12,719 --> 00:34:15,080 I do believe that is probably where we grow the most in our 567 00:34:15,080 --> 00:34:22,639 faith, not because we just had the answer, but because we will 568 00:34:22,639 --> 00:34:27,000 continue to hold on. Faith is a holding on because 569 00:34:27,000 --> 00:34:29,840 there are some areas of life and some loads where it's like 570 00:34:29,960 --> 00:34:31,560 blocked in, no problem. Got it. 571 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:34,199 This issue is bolted to the wall. 572 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:37,320 It's not going anywhere. But there's other things that 573 00:34:37,320 --> 00:34:42,400 are being held by fibers, by intention that take struggle, 574 00:34:43,280 --> 00:34:48,239 and that is where our faith is refined and we are able to grow. 575 00:34:49,360 --> 00:34:51,800 And may we welcome the load and face the fire. 576 00:34:52,960 --> 00:35:01,440 Because he says that that faith may be found and will be found 577 00:35:01,440 --> 00:35:07,120 to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 578 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:10,760 He didn't say who. Who's he talking about? 579 00:35:10,760 --> 00:35:12,640 Who gets the glory? Who gets the praise, Who gets 580 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:15,680 the honor? Is it us, is it God? 581 00:35:17,200 --> 00:35:19,640 I actually believe he says it this way because it's both. 582 00:35:20,680 --> 00:35:24,680 Think about it. We are honored in the highest 583 00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:32,080 way possible when we have been identified as a faithful child 584 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:36,440 of God, refined by fire through the challenges, through every 585 00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:39,400 difficult thing that came our way, and we still held on. 586 00:35:41,400 --> 00:35:44,880 Can you have a greater honor than to stand on Judgement Day? 587 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,200 God's not going to come down and be like, oh, we're salvation. 588 00:35:48,200 --> 00:35:50,200 Why? You built that really nice car. 589 00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:53,760 No offense, Terry, you built that really nice house. 590 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:57,800 Is that the greatest honour that we're going to have? 591 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:03,480 No, the greatest honour we could possibly imagine having is to 592 00:36:03,480 --> 00:36:08,800 stand at the feet of the master and be greeted by him knowing 593 00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:13,000 that you've been heated up, you've been stretched, you have 594 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,200 been pulled in every direction. You held a lot. 595 00:36:16,960 --> 00:36:19,120 Is there a greater honour? I can't think of a single 596 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:21,760 greater honour. And so when Jesus comes back, 597 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:24,600 you bet there's going to be glory, honour and praise. 598 00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:29,080 That is no doubt in my mind. But absolutely God is most 599 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:32,240 honoured in the way that He can be honoured more than anything 600 00:36:32,240 --> 00:36:38,080 else by standing in front of a Christian that has just 601 00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:46,000 completed their gruelling work and has held on to Him and has 602 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:49,560 shown true faith to Him, to our God is so great. 603 00:36:49,560 --> 00:36:52,880 I would go through anything it took to show faithfulness and 604 00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:54,840 allegiance to you. How is God more glorified than 605 00:36:54,840 --> 00:36:58,000 that? Is God most glorified? 606 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,400 When he gives me something nice and I turn on and say thank you 607 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:04,520 and praise a nice song, Everybody's going to do that. 608 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:08,480 But when I will face the heat of life's fire, think about it like 609 00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:12,920 a marriage for our golden couples in the room. 610 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:19,680 The greatest honor you share between one another is getting 611 00:37:19,680 --> 00:37:23,640 through life struggles, coming down to the wire and enjoying 612 00:37:23,640 --> 00:37:25,160 the golden years together. Why? 613 00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:27,800 Because you faced the fire together. 614 00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:31,000 You were faithful to one another. 615 00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:34,680 You returned to one another through whatever happened. 616 00:37:35,360 --> 00:37:40,200 You held on to one another. That's gold. 617 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:45,480 And you honor your spouse, You appreciate your spouse because 618 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:48,560 of that. They honor you and appreciate 619 00:37:48,560 --> 00:37:51,200 you because of that. Is there any greater honor 620 00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:54,840 between two parties? And that shown when fire has 621 00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:59,680 been faced and faithfulness has been revealed and tested over 622 00:37:59,680 --> 00:38:03,760 the years. And so that praise and honor is 623 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:07,120 going to be in both directions in a way that is more profound 624 00:38:07,120 --> 00:38:10,800 than I can ever imagine. When is it going to happen? 625 00:38:13,720 --> 00:38:16,440 At the revelation of Jesus Christ? 626 00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:21,400 That will be the moment. You will know exactly when it's 627 00:38:21,400 --> 00:38:23,360 coming. There are sometimes when life's 628 00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:25,400 challenges, you don't know what's really going to end, but 629 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:29,520 you will know when it's over because Jesus is going to arrive 630 00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:34,040 and it'll all be done. And at that moment when Jesus is 631 00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:42,120 revealed to us and returns, that's the moment. 2nd 632 00:38:42,120 --> 00:38:45,800 Corinthians verse 4 says it this way, Or chapter 4 says for our 633 00:38:45,800 --> 00:38:49,240 light affliction, which is but for a moment is working for us a 634 00:38:49,240 --> 00:38:53,320 far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. 635 00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:58,560 Again, lightness is not describing the load, it's 636 00:38:58,560 --> 00:39:01,400 describing the load in comparison to the glory. 637 00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:08,960 It's not that the weight is light, but the grind you are 638 00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:12,920 enduring today has ramifications far beyond what we can imagine. 639 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:16,160 Some people never get past the the thought of, well, I got 640 00:39:16,160 --> 00:39:20,480 saved, That's all that matters. Life is more about than just 641 00:39:20,480 --> 00:39:22,760 getting saved. It's about the weight of glory 642 00:39:22,760 --> 00:39:25,160 that's built over your lifetime to stand at the feet of the 643 00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:29,160 Master and show Him honour and to be appreciated in return. 644 00:39:31,760 --> 00:39:35,440 And so our actions have far reaching implications for 645 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:39,080 eternal weights of glory. And I don't know how many of you 646 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:42,400 know the physics behind a lever, but pretty much everybody knows 647 00:39:42,400 --> 00:39:46,240 how lever works. If I set up a lever, I'm able to 648 00:39:46,240 --> 00:39:52,360 lift things much greater than my own strength are because of the 649 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:55,480 length of the lever. So if I have a a load on this 650 00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:59,480 end and it's close to a point where it's tipping, I can I can 651 00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:03,480 lift heavy loads. One man said give me a lever 652 00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:06,600 long enough and a place to stand and I will lift the earth. 653 00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:12,720 The calculations for it if if you run the the physics. 654 00:40:13,080 --> 00:40:15,720 I know there are men in this audience that could attest to 655 00:40:15,720 --> 00:40:19,760 this. If you have 100 foot lever you 656 00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:23,920 can lift a £500 object with only 55 lbs of force. 657 00:40:25,200 --> 00:40:28,520 So a lever reaches a long way. That'd be hard to do, but you 658 00:40:28,520 --> 00:40:33,680 can lift some heavy stuff. This man is lifting a car by 659 00:40:33,680 --> 00:40:36,440 just standing on the end of the lever, and that's not a very 660 00:40:36,440 --> 00:40:42,520 long lever. God has given you a place to 661 00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:46,640 stand wherever you're at right now. 662 00:40:48,200 --> 00:40:51,080 He has given you an eternal lever that stretches into 663 00:40:51,120 --> 00:40:54,480 eternity, and He has given you a load to bear. 664 00:40:56,240 --> 00:40:59,440 But Scripture clarifies it's not too much with faith. 665 00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:04,360 There are people in this audience that are lifting 666 00:41:04,480 --> 00:41:10,440 eternal loads and eternal weights that aren't very strong 667 00:41:10,440 --> 00:41:13,840 physically. Sandra can't lift much right 668 00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:19,080 now, but she is lifting eternal weights of glory to the trials 669 00:41:19,080 --> 00:41:22,680 of life. There are people who are 670 00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:26,000 enduring struggles and have endured struggles that have a 671 00:41:26,000 --> 00:41:29,280 lever attached to eternity that's going to influence an 672 00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:32,160 eternal weight of glory. That's going to happen one day 673 00:41:32,320 --> 00:41:35,840 because the lever's that long and what you're doing matters 674 00:41:35,840 --> 00:41:38,960 more now than we will ever be able to fathom until that day. 675 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:43,360 And so, as I think I've mentioned before in analogy, 676 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:46,400 when I got done with that workout and practice and I 677 00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:49,320 didn't give everything I had, I just felt like it. 678 00:41:50,560 --> 00:41:53,120 Now there's now the exercise. The workout was over. 679 00:41:53,120 --> 00:41:55,280 I could have given more. I had more left in the tank. 680 00:41:56,520 --> 00:42:00,840 I could have given more. I don't want us to end life like 681 00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:06,200 that because the ramifications are going to stretch so far, far 682 00:42:06,560 --> 00:42:09,720 and powerfully into eternity that it's worth whatever effort 683 00:42:09,720 --> 00:42:12,080 we give. And May God give us the energy 684 00:42:12,080 --> 00:42:14,000 and the strength to do it again today. 685 00:42:14,440 --> 00:42:18,640 It is tiring. It is weakening, but God gives 686 00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:24,560 strength each new day to bear this load for an eternal weight 687 00:42:24,920 --> 00:42:36,460 of glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom now having 688 00:42:36,460 --> 00:42:41,860 not seen, you heard, and having not seen, you love this Jesus 689 00:42:42,260 --> 00:42:45,020 who's coming. Having not, having not seen you 690 00:42:45,020 --> 00:42:49,180 love Him, though now you do not see him yet, believing you 691 00:42:49,180 --> 00:42:54,960 rejoice with joy, inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the 692 00:42:54,960 --> 00:42:57,680 end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 693 00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:02,440 There's a show on right now that I'm not going to recommend that 694 00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:05,440 is called Love is Blind. And the whole premise behind the 695 00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:11,200 show is love is more true when it's not dependent on all the 696 00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:14,280 other things that go into what we consider to be love. 697 00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:15,920 But it's focused on the essence of a person. 698 00:43:16,320 --> 00:43:19,520 It's focused on the character of a person. 699 00:43:21,600 --> 00:43:24,840 The premise applies to us as Christians. 700 00:43:25,600 --> 00:43:30,840 While it has its problems with love and relationships, there is 701 00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:34,920 a truer form of love that we get to experience because it is by 702 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:37,160 faith. Jesus says blessed are they who 703 00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:43,400 believe and have not seen them, and we can rejoice with joy 704 00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:48,160 inexpressible and full of glory today of this salvation, this 705 00:43:48,160 --> 00:43:50,840 special salvation. The prophets have inquired and 706 00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:53,920 searched carefully. People have been interested in 707 00:43:53,920 --> 00:43:56,960 this for a long time. Who prophesied of the grace that 708 00:43:56,960 --> 00:44:00,480 would come to you searching what or what manner of time the 709 00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:04,160 Spirit of Christ who is in them was indicating when he testified 710 00:44:04,160 --> 00:44:06,240 beforehand. He's saying there were people in 711 00:44:06,240 --> 00:44:09,200 the Old Testament who for a long time were really curious to look 712 00:44:09,200 --> 00:44:11,160 into this, like what's going to happen, what's going on? 713 00:44:13,280 --> 00:44:18,080 The Spirit of Christ was in them, indicating when he 714 00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:21,640 testified before, beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the 715 00:44:21,640 --> 00:44:26,080 glories that would follow. And to them, to these prophets, 716 00:44:26,080 --> 00:44:30,480 it was revealed that not to themselves but to us, they were 717 00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:34,360 ministering. How about taking the load off of 718 00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:36,520 people and giving them strength when they're going through 719 00:44:36,520 --> 00:44:38,960 something difficult? Realizing there's people who've 720 00:44:38,960 --> 00:44:40,840 been preparing this for me for a long time. 721 00:44:43,080 --> 00:44:48,080 They were serving us the things which have now been reported to 722 00:44:48,080 --> 00:44:51,280 you through those who have preached the gospel to you by 723 00:44:51,280 --> 00:44:55,440 this Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things which angels 724 00:44:55,960 --> 00:45:04,120 desire to look into. Prophets wanted to understand 725 00:45:04,120 --> 00:45:07,840 it, the Holy Spirit gave it, and angels still want to understand 726 00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:08,840 it. The finishing up here. 727 00:45:09,080 --> 00:45:11,480 Therefore, he says we got to get a little bit of application. 728 00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:14,920 He said a lot of things about all the blessings we get and all 729 00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:18,040 these wonderful things, but I want something to to sink my 730 00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:20,000 teeth into and to be able to take forward. 731 00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:22,680 He says. Therefore, gird up the loins of 732 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:25,440 your mind. They used to wear long flowing 733 00:45:25,440 --> 00:45:27,400 garments and you can't run well in a skirt. 734 00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:31,360 You women know, hopefully some of you men don't know, but some 735 00:45:31,360 --> 00:45:33,760 of you might. It's hard to run in a skirt. 736 00:45:34,720 --> 00:45:38,640 And so they would take that, that that cloth, and they would 737 00:45:38,640 --> 00:45:42,000 wrap it up and tie it up to where they could have their legs 738 00:45:42,000 --> 00:45:44,640 free to run. He's telling them tie up the 739 00:45:44,640 --> 00:45:48,520 excess. You don't have time and energy 740 00:45:48,520 --> 00:45:51,640 to to worry about everything, to be dragged down by everything. 741 00:45:51,640 --> 00:45:54,600 You've got stuff to do. You've got faithfulness to be 742 00:45:54,600 --> 00:45:59,520 had. Gird up the loins, take up your 743 00:45:59,520 --> 00:46:03,160 mind and be sober. I call that go mode. 744 00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:06,400 There's a certain mode I get into when I can be very like 745 00:46:06,400 --> 00:46:08,920 lackadaisical. I can complain, I can be 746 00:46:08,960 --> 00:46:11,600 overthinking, but there's times where something has to get done 747 00:46:11,600 --> 00:46:15,120 and I'm in go mode and I have to just move right on through. 748 00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:17,680 Maybe it's on the job site when when something had to get 749 00:46:17,680 --> 00:46:19,520 accomplished, the concrete was being poured. 750 00:46:19,760 --> 00:46:21,720 You don't have time to think about whether you're hungry or 751 00:46:21,720 --> 00:46:25,480 tired or whether that thing is just not just perfect on the 752 00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:26,560 job. You just got to move. 753 00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:33,640 You have to cut the excess. What can be things that have to 754 00:46:33,640 --> 00:46:36,680 be excess? They have to be gotten rid of. 755 00:46:36,760 --> 00:46:39,760 How about sin? Absolutely any kind of sin is 756 00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:42,880 weight that easily besets us. We're told in Scripture we have 757 00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:45,000 to get rid of specific distractions. 758 00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:47,880 Maybe there's things that are in our way, they're distracting us. 759 00:46:49,480 --> 00:46:52,880 Some things are just extra. Maybe it's not necessarily a 760 00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:55,280 sin. Maybe it's not necessarily one 761 00:46:55,280 --> 00:46:58,640 thing, but it like that's a keeping our attention, but maybe 762 00:46:58,640 --> 00:47:02,920 it's just it's unproductive, it's excess, it's maybe worry, 763 00:47:03,480 --> 00:47:06,320 maybe it's complaints. Maybe we're just in a mindset 764 00:47:06,320 --> 00:47:09,400 you got to snap out of and say nobody has time to I don't have 765 00:47:09,400 --> 00:47:11,160 time to deal with this, this worry. 766 00:47:11,160 --> 00:47:14,040 I got to, I got to keep moving. I got to cut it out. 767 00:47:14,040 --> 00:47:16,760 I got to cut that mindset out and I got to sometimes cut out 768 00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:21,800 my idea of perfection and I got to, I got to keep moving because 769 00:47:21,800 --> 00:47:25,040 some projects will never get done if you continuously tweak 770 00:47:25,040 --> 00:47:27,000 and tweak and tweak and just always have to get it right. 771 00:47:27,080 --> 00:47:29,960 Sometimes you have to lay aside the things that are not 772 00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:34,640 productive for you and you know what's your unproductive extra 773 00:47:34,640 --> 00:47:42,400 loins that you need to gird up and rest your hope fully upon 774 00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:46,680 the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of 775 00:47:46,800 --> 00:47:49,800 Jesus Christ. I'm going to have to stop right 776 00:47:49,800 --> 00:47:51,840 there because we're already getting a little long. 777 00:47:53,640 --> 00:48:01,520 May we gird up our our minds and instead of being motivated and 778 00:48:02,080 --> 00:48:06,360 and hopeful in and focused on all the things that make us go 779 00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:08,960 up and down and all the extra things that caused those 780 00:48:08,960 --> 00:48:13,200 worries. May we take our hope and place 781 00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:16,600 it intentionally. Not on whatever might pop up 782 00:48:16,600 --> 00:48:20,760 that's the most intriguing at the time, but on the hope that 783 00:48:20,760 --> 00:48:27,160 is to be brought to us and that will help us eliminate a lot of 784 00:48:27,160 --> 00:48:30,040 the noise that comes from inside and outside. 785 00:48:30,480 --> 00:48:36,360 So we may serve him and enjoy that election in that role that 786 00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:39,960 he has called us into because it's going to have an eternal 787 00:48:39,960 --> 00:48:43,720 weight attached to it. If you have not started this 788 00:48:43,720 --> 00:48:48,320 walk today, please begin. It's never too late. 789 00:48:49,600 --> 00:48:52,720 There are people who great built great business empires in their 790 00:48:52,720 --> 00:48:55,800 lives but neither success came until age 70. 791 00:48:55,800 --> 00:48:59,320 There's amazing things people have done late in the game. 792 00:48:59,320 --> 00:49:01,600 You might say it is not too late to start. 793 00:49:02,080 --> 00:49:05,520 You can start today and begin a new life where God can work 794 00:49:05,520 --> 00:49:08,920 through you. And it begins with hearing the 795 00:49:08,920 --> 00:49:12,400 word of God and believing in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. 796 00:49:13,280 --> 00:49:16,240 And we make a decision to confess, to repent our past 797 00:49:16,240 --> 00:49:20,040 life, to change and turn towards his direction and to follow him. 798 00:49:20,280 --> 00:49:23,520 Confessing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and there's no 799 00:49:23,520 --> 00:49:28,120 salvation in any other. Not a Buddha, not a shaman, not 800 00:49:28,120 --> 00:49:32,000 our own goodness, but through the Lord and Savior alone. 801 00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:35,480 And that we will be baptized for the remission of our sins, to 802 00:49:35,480 --> 00:49:39,160 contact his blood, to have our sins washed away as we see 803 00:49:39,160 --> 00:49:41,800 exemplifying the New Testament. If you've already done that and 804 00:49:41,800 --> 00:49:44,680 you want to get back on the right track, we'd be happy to to 805 00:49:44,680 --> 00:49:47,840 pray for you now if this is, if this is appropriate, while we 806 00:49:47,840 --> 00:49:48,680 stand and while we see.