WEBVTT 00:00:00.330 --> 00:00:02.850 This morning, our scripture is out of 1 Peter. 00:00:02.990 --> 00:00:05.969 We are in our second week in our series on 1 00:00:05.969 --> 00:00:08.710 Peter called Exiles. And we're going to be in 00:00:08.710 --> 00:00:13.150 1 Peter chapter 1, beginning in verse 1. 1 and 00:00:13.150 --> 00:00:17.510 2 we'll be looking at. 1 Peter chapter 1 and 00:00:17.510 --> 00:00:21.929 verse 1 reads, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 00:00:22.030 --> 00:00:26.649 to those chosen living as exiles dispersed abroad 00:00:26.649 --> 00:00:31.890 in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 00:00:31.989 --> 00:00:35.250 chosen according to the foreknowledge of God 00:00:35.250 --> 00:00:38.450 the Father, through the sanctifying work of the 00:00:38.450 --> 00:00:43.149 Spirit, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with 00:00:43.149 --> 00:00:47.009 the blood of Jesus Christ, may grace and peace 00:00:47.009 --> 00:00:56.049 be multiplied to you. This is God's word. Have 00:00:56.049 --> 00:01:00.409 you ever had one of those days? You know what 00:01:00.409 --> 00:01:04.010 I'm talking about, one of those days? I feel 00:01:04.010 --> 00:01:06.510 like most of us know exactly what I'm saying 00:01:06.510 --> 00:01:09.650 when I'm saying one of those days, right? Because 00:01:09.650 --> 00:01:12.170 we all use that term, oh man, today was one of 00:01:12.170 --> 00:01:15.349 those days, right? Well, I had one of those days, 00:01:15.430 --> 00:01:17.549 you know, one of those days where it seems like 00:01:17.549 --> 00:01:20.409 everything goes wrong. Everything that can go 00:01:20.409 --> 00:01:24.099 wrong will go wrong. And I had one of those days 00:01:24.099 --> 00:01:26.760 a couple of days ago, driving with the window 00:01:26.760 --> 00:01:30.739 down, music up. right? One of the best experiences, 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:32.859 one of those things that I love to do is drive, 00:01:33.099 --> 00:01:36.640 music blaring, fresh air blowing in, love it, 00:01:36.659 --> 00:01:38.420 love it, love it. Well, I'm driving down and 00:01:38.420 --> 00:01:39.780 I don't know if you've ever had this happen, 00:01:39.900 --> 00:01:44.599 but for me, I'm 45 years old and 45 years of 00:01:44.599 --> 00:01:47.959 drinking liquids every single day. And for some 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:50.480 reason on this day, my mouth just up and said, 00:01:50.620 --> 00:01:52.379 you know what? I don't know what I'm doing today. 00:01:52.459 --> 00:01:55.099 I don't know how to swallow or contain this liquid. 00:01:55.180 --> 00:01:57.510 And it just goes. Down the front of you. Anyone 00:01:57.510 --> 00:02:04.269 ever had that? You're like, what? All muscle 00:02:04.269 --> 00:02:06.450 memory gone and your mouth just went limp or 00:02:06.450 --> 00:02:08.449 something. I don't know what it is, but how did 00:02:08.449 --> 00:02:11.210 it get out of here? I've done this a lot of times. 00:02:11.550 --> 00:02:16.210 I should be pretty skilled at it. I call it my 00:02:16.210 --> 00:02:18.389 drinking problem. It happens more often than 00:02:18.389 --> 00:02:23.629 not. But it spills out. Well, I get to my coffee 00:02:23.629 --> 00:02:26.319 shop destination where I'm heading. And I head 00:02:26.319 --> 00:02:28.560 to the bathroom to clean up. And oh, that's right. 00:02:29.099 --> 00:02:31.659 The coffee shop that I go to now has a policy 00:02:31.659 --> 00:02:34.699 where every barista is actually, you know, the 00:02:34.699 --> 00:02:37.800 KGB spy who's looking to see if you bought something 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:40.680 before you use their restroom. And if you haven't, 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:42.780 they're going to call you out and say, excuse 00:02:42.780 --> 00:02:47.819 me, did you buy something yet? So I go and I 00:02:47.819 --> 00:02:50.740 buy something. And then I head to the restroom 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:54.939 to clean up after whatever happened with my mouth. 00:02:56.519 --> 00:02:59.219 And as I'm entering the bathroom, I let my guard 00:02:59.219 --> 00:03:02.719 down for two seconds, and I slam my arm into 00:03:02.719 --> 00:03:05.659 a coat hanger hook from hell that's mounted on 00:03:05.659 --> 00:03:09.259 the back of the door. I think it's only this 00:03:09.259 --> 00:03:10.939 big, but it felt like it was this big and made 00:03:10.939 --> 00:03:13.520 out of the strongest metal you could imagine. 00:03:14.060 --> 00:03:16.000 You can actually probably see it. See the little 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:21.080 green mark there? Yeah. Yeah. That's my war injury 00:03:21.080 --> 00:03:29.139 right there. I go. I get cleaned up. I let out 00:03:29.139 --> 00:03:31.520 a little hallelujah, by the way, when I hit that 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:38.719 hook. Hallelujah. And after recovering, man, 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:41.400 I retrieve my drink from the counter. And you 00:03:41.400 --> 00:03:46.520 think, okay, what could possibly go wrong from 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:51.620 here on out, right? And I notice. You know, they 00:03:51.620 --> 00:03:54.099 kind of skimped on the sweet cream this time. 00:03:54.180 --> 00:03:56.639 But okay, I'll let that pass. I'm still in pain. 00:03:57.620 --> 00:04:01.319 I go to sit down and do some study, which is 00:04:01.319 --> 00:04:04.060 a sacred time to me. I gear up for it. I get 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:06.759 prepared for it. I bring my stuff and I bring 00:04:06.759 --> 00:04:09.039 books and I look like a nerd. You know, have 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:10.699 you ever hauled a bunch of books into a coffee 00:04:10.699 --> 00:04:12.500 shop and everyone's like, what's he reading, 00:04:12.620 --> 00:04:17.050 right? So I go in and I get ready to study and 00:04:17.050 --> 00:04:19.850 I open up my laptop and wouldn't you know it, 00:04:19.870 --> 00:04:23.870 battery is dead. Not a problem though, right? 00:04:23.949 --> 00:04:26.350 You just plug in, you charge up. I go to get 00:04:26.350 --> 00:04:28.310 my plug, I get it all untangled, pulled out. 00:04:28.350 --> 00:04:32.230 And of course, this is the one coffee shop in 00:04:32.230 --> 00:04:34.790 this national chain of coffee shops. You guys 00:04:34.790 --> 00:04:36.920 know what I'm talking about, right? And this 00:04:36.920 --> 00:04:39.339 national chain of coffee shops that have amazing 00:04:39.339 --> 00:04:42.120 seating and welcoming environments where they 00:04:42.120 --> 00:04:45.500 put covers over every single outlet and you can't 00:04:45.500 --> 00:04:50.180 plug in. And I went, yeah, just call it a day. 00:04:50.259 --> 00:04:55.779 Let's just go to bed. Like nap time. It was just 00:04:55.779 --> 00:04:59.100 one of those days. We've all had them. Now I 00:04:59.100 --> 00:05:03.100 get it. First world problems, right? All of mine 00:05:03.100 --> 00:05:08.189 were pretty, pretty minor. But it's on days like 00:05:08.189 --> 00:05:11.509 that, when nothing seems to be going right, and 00:05:11.509 --> 00:05:15.370 when all the feelings about it are stirred up 00:05:15.370 --> 00:05:17.629 in our hearts, that we are most prone to forget 00:05:17.629 --> 00:05:20.970 what is most true about reality, and that is 00:05:20.970 --> 00:05:23.930 that our circumstances and our feelings are fleeting, 00:05:24.089 --> 00:05:32.790 but the word of the Lord stands forever. What 00:05:32.790 --> 00:05:38.069 defines us is not what we feel, but who God is 00:05:38.069 --> 00:05:41.689 and what he has declared about us in Christ. 00:05:43.410 --> 00:05:45.750 This is the most important thing. And Peter, 00:05:45.829 --> 00:05:48.790 here on the outset of 1 Peter, is addressing 00:05:48.790 --> 00:05:51.110 believers who are in very difficult situations. 00:05:51.269 --> 00:05:55.910 My situation doesn't even compare. They are enduring 00:05:55.910 --> 00:05:57.990 persecution. They are enduring suffering. Their 00:05:57.990 --> 00:06:02.399 lives are not easy. And if they were to define 00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:05.060 their wholeness and their peace according to 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:07.120 whether or not things are going well, well, they 00:06:07.120 --> 00:06:11.519 are in for a life that is defined by anxiety 00:06:11.519 --> 00:06:15.019 and hopelessness in the face of all their sufferings. 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:18.800 But if they define wholeness and peace by what 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:22.360 is true about who God is and what God says is 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:25.160 true about them, well, then they have built their 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:29.079 lives on the firmest of foundations true through 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:33.540 every storm. And Peter thinks that's pretty important 00:06:33.540 --> 00:06:37.420 for them to know right out the gate. The most 00:06:37.420 --> 00:06:40.360 important place for Peter to start is to remind 00:06:40.360 --> 00:06:43.560 them of what is true. And that is that God is 00:06:43.560 --> 00:06:48.920 the one working their salvation. God is the one 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:52.399 working their salvation. If you're taking notes, 00:06:52.420 --> 00:06:54.600 the first thing I'll have you write down is our 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:59.500 identity. Verse 1 says, to the chosen living 00:06:59.500 --> 00:07:03.600 as exiles dispersed abroad in Pontus, Galatia, 00:07:03.660 --> 00:07:09.220 Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. To the chosen 00:07:09.220 --> 00:07:11.759 living as exiles dispersed. That's how Peter 00:07:11.759 --> 00:07:15.259 addresses the letter to those chosen living as 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:17.339 exiles dispersed. Now, Peter's acknowledging 00:07:17.339 --> 00:07:20.560 that they're living as exiles dispersed. What 00:07:20.560 --> 00:07:24.899 does exiles dispersed mean? Well, an exile is 00:07:24.899 --> 00:07:29.189 this idea of not having a homeland. Being displaced 00:07:29.189 --> 00:07:33.170 from your homeland, not your home. And oftentimes 00:07:33.170 --> 00:07:35.990 by force, being forced out of your homeland is 00:07:35.990 --> 00:07:40.350 how it's often used. And he's saying, well, to 00:07:40.350 --> 00:07:43.410 those who are living as exiles dispersed abroad 00:07:43.410 --> 00:07:46.930 in this geographical area, probably Greeks or 00:07:46.930 --> 00:07:49.529 Gentile believers who live in what is modern 00:07:49.529 --> 00:07:55.100 day Turkey. Most of them. born in the same country 00:07:55.100 --> 00:07:57.259 that they're living in right now, many of them 00:07:57.259 --> 00:07:59.899 in the same area, maybe in the same homes or 00:07:59.899 --> 00:08:02.620 families. So what is Peter getting at by calling 00:08:02.620 --> 00:08:06.000 them exiles when they are Gentile Greek believers 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:07.980 who are probably living right where they were 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:10.779 born? It can't mean that they're displaced from 00:08:10.779 --> 00:08:14.120 their homeland. It must mean something else. 00:08:15.100 --> 00:08:18.779 And I believe that Peter is drawing on a couple 00:08:18.779 --> 00:08:22.699 of other biblical passages, and he's Captured 00:08:22.699 --> 00:08:26.379 this idea that as believers, both them and us 00:08:26.379 --> 00:08:31.379 today, that we live in this world, but we are 00:08:31.379 --> 00:08:36.539 not of this world. That we live in this world, 00:08:36.580 --> 00:08:41.460 but we are not of this world. Paul actually captures 00:08:41.460 --> 00:08:45.519 this in Philippians chapter 3 and verse 20, where 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:50.000 he says our citizenship is in heaven. And we 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:52.379 eagerly wait for a savior from there, the Lord 00:08:52.379 --> 00:08:56.120 Jesus Christ. Where is our citizenship? Heaven. 00:08:57.659 --> 00:09:01.539 So our citizenship's not here? No. Our citizenship 00:09:01.539 --> 00:09:04.360 is in heaven, and we eagerly wait for our savior. 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:06.519 Well, the writers in Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:09.500 11, was talking about those who lived in faith 00:09:09.500 --> 00:09:13.940 in God and how they were like foreigners and 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:16.720 temporary residents on this earth, that they 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:19.720 were always looking forward to a city and a place, 00:09:19.899 --> 00:09:24.019 a heavenly one, where they would belong, that 00:09:24.019 --> 00:09:26.600 they never got comfortable. Those who lived by 00:09:26.600 --> 00:09:29.480 faith in the Old Testament never got comfortable 00:09:29.480 --> 00:09:32.059 and settled down here on this earth, but they 00:09:32.059 --> 00:09:34.840 left their attachments to this earth very thin. 00:09:35.789 --> 00:09:38.389 razor thin so they could be cut off at any moment 00:09:38.389 --> 00:09:41.110 because they were really moving toward and longing 00:09:41.110 --> 00:09:43.870 for a place, a home, a city where they would 00:09:43.870 --> 00:09:49.870 belong with the other citizens like them, a city 00:09:49.870 --> 00:09:56.230 that was a heavenly city. John records in his 00:09:56.230 --> 00:09:59.610 gospel Jesus saying of his disciples, the world 00:09:59.610 --> 00:10:03.529 hated them because they were not of the world. 00:10:05.230 --> 00:10:07.990 just as I am not of the world. I am not praying 00:10:07.990 --> 00:10:10.730 that you take them out of the world, but that 00:10:10.730 --> 00:10:13.169 you protect them from the evil one. They are 00:10:13.169 --> 00:10:17.490 not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 00:10:19.590 --> 00:10:22.509 I believe Peter here in 1 Peter at the very beginning 00:10:22.509 --> 00:10:25.629 is reminding us that all Christians like them 00:10:25.629 --> 00:10:30.519 are exiles dispersed throughout the world. And 00:10:30.519 --> 00:10:34.120 this is not our home or our land. We are sojourners, 00:10:34.179 --> 00:10:37.360 temporary residents passing through. And I think 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:39.740 we even caught a little bit of that in the text 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:43.860 from Job, didn't we? Naked I came into this earth. 00:10:44.799 --> 00:10:47.480 Naked I shall leave. The Lord gives and he takes 00:10:47.480 --> 00:10:51.580 away. Blessed be his name. I'm just passing through. 00:10:55.679 --> 00:10:58.909 Right before he calls them exiles. Right before 00:10:58.909 --> 00:11:01.049 he says that they're dispersed throughout the 00:11:01.049 --> 00:11:03.309 world and that this home is not their home and 00:11:03.309 --> 00:11:05.230 that they're sojourners and temporary residents, 00:11:05.450 --> 00:11:08.590 he also used another word to describe them. He 00:11:08.590 --> 00:11:16.070 called them chosen. Chosen exiles. What does 00:11:16.070 --> 00:11:20.330 it mean to be chosen? Well, other words that 00:11:20.330 --> 00:11:22.450 relate to chosen that you might show up in one 00:11:22.450 --> 00:11:25.649 of your translations are words like elect, as 00:11:25.649 --> 00:11:29.850 in election. That you've been picked or selected, 00:11:30.190 --> 00:11:33.230 right? Any of you guys remember playing on the 00:11:33.230 --> 00:11:35.750 playground and you would line up, right, and 00:11:35.750 --> 00:11:37.950 select teams? Like, you're on my team, you're 00:11:37.950 --> 00:11:40.330 on my team, you're on my team. And then there's 00:11:40.330 --> 00:11:42.429 John, who's last, and I guess you can be on my 00:11:42.429 --> 00:11:45.070 team if you don't talk and you stand over there, 00:11:45.210 --> 00:11:51.929 right? Anyone else relate? Last picked. He doesn't 00:11:51.929 --> 00:11:58.710 look very sporty. Unless it was Red Rover. Then 00:11:58.710 --> 00:12:02.129 it's like, number one, get over here. Like, we're 00:12:02.129 --> 00:12:07.190 sending you over. It's like that. It's like being 00:12:07.190 --> 00:12:09.850 picked. It's like the playground game where you're 00:12:09.850 --> 00:12:13.429 like, you, not you. It's chosen, selected, elected, 00:12:13.889 --> 00:12:17.509 picked. And Paul says that if you're in Christ, 00:12:17.830 --> 00:12:23.590 God chose you. If you're in Christ, God chose 00:12:23.590 --> 00:12:26.190 you. Now, this can cause all kinds of questions 00:12:26.190 --> 00:12:28.460 for people. To start to think about, like for 00:12:28.460 --> 00:12:31.379 instance, God chose me, but didn't I choose faith 00:12:31.379 --> 00:12:34.320 in God? Didn't I have a part in that? Didn't 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:38.120 I choose him as well? And I think the answer 00:12:38.120 --> 00:12:40.700 to both, did God choose me or did I choose God, 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:49.720 is yes. The answer is yes. God chose you and 00:12:49.720 --> 00:12:54.820 you responded to him in believing faith. The 00:12:54.820 --> 00:12:56.940 Bible has no problem presenting both sides as 00:12:56.940 --> 00:13:00.639 100 % true. I can show you John chapter six says, 00:13:00.740 --> 00:13:03.519 no one comes to me, Jesus, unless the father 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:08.519 who sent me draws him. No one can come to me 00:13:08.519 --> 00:13:11.539 unless the father who sent me draws him. But 00:13:11.539 --> 00:13:14.059 then five chapters earlier in John, John also 00:13:14.059 --> 00:13:18.460 said that whoever receives Christ will be given 00:13:18.460 --> 00:13:22.360 the right to become the children of God. Throughout 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:24.740 the book of Acts, over and over again in the 00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:27.620 preaching of Paul and Peter, you see them making 00:13:27.620 --> 00:13:31.320 appeals to people to believe, to repent, to turn 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:33.659 from their wicked ways, that today could be the 00:13:33.659 --> 00:13:37.379 day of salvation. And so the Bible has no problem. 00:13:37.500 --> 00:13:41.720 Did God choose me or did I choose God? Yes. Yes. 00:13:42.600 --> 00:13:48.379 Correct answer. Now maybe an unbeliever might 00:13:48.379 --> 00:13:50.700 say, wait a sec though. That's not fair. You're 00:13:50.700 --> 00:13:54.879 saying maybe God didn't choose me. Maybe God 00:13:54.879 --> 00:13:58.740 didn't choose me. And I love the way one pastor 00:13:58.740 --> 00:14:02.559 responded to a question like that. To the unbeliever 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:04.419 who said, wait a sec, that's not fair. Maybe 00:14:04.419 --> 00:14:07.519 God didn't choose me then, right? The pastor 00:14:07.519 --> 00:14:11.299 said, well, believe and put your faith in Christ. 00:14:12.899 --> 00:14:15.399 Believe, then you can know that God chose you. 00:14:16.940 --> 00:14:19.039 And the unbeliever said, oh, I'm not ready for 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:22.840 that. But that still seems unfair. And the pastor 00:14:22.840 --> 00:14:25.320 doubled down and said, no, no, really, you can 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:28.639 know that God chose you today. Believe and repent 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:31.480 and trust and treasure Jesus today, and you can 00:14:31.480 --> 00:14:36.639 know that you are chosen. And the young man, 00:14:36.779 --> 00:14:40.500 unbeliever, said, oh, no, I'm not ready. And 00:14:40.500 --> 00:14:42.440 the pastor said, oh, well, maybe you aren't chosen. 00:14:44.460 --> 00:14:46.740 And then he followed up with, at least not yet. 00:14:48.379 --> 00:14:52.700 Well, the choice is still there, isn't it? Well, 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:54.639 maybe God didn't choose me. Well, here's the 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:58.259 gospel. Believe in your chosen. That's what the 00:14:58.259 --> 00:15:01.720 Bible says. Oh, I'm not going to believe. Okay. 00:15:05.580 --> 00:15:09.220 The bottom line with these kind of theological 00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:13.470 questions is this. Peter didn't write this. to 00:15:13.470 --> 00:15:16.950 start a debate. He didn't think, man, if I put 00:15:16.950 --> 00:15:19.990 this in here, Christians thousands of years from 00:15:19.990 --> 00:15:22.169 now are going to get in back rooms and they're 00:15:22.169 --> 00:15:23.690 going to divide into two camps and they're going 00:15:23.690 --> 00:15:26.870 to argue to no end about whether it's God's choice 00:15:26.870 --> 00:15:28.850 or it's their choice. It's God's choice or it's... 00:15:28.850 --> 00:15:30.750 Peter didn't write this to start a theological 00:15:30.750 --> 00:15:35.289 debate. He wrote it to stir up joy and desire. 00:15:36.250 --> 00:15:40.350 He wrote it to stir up delight in what God is 00:15:40.350 --> 00:15:43.200 doing. This isn't so much about something to 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:46.840 discuss as it is a truth to bring comfort and 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:51.320 joy to exiles. Those who are far away to know, 00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:54.279 though I may feel far away, though I may feel 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:57.379 lost and caught up in a society that is hostile 00:15:57.379 --> 00:16:00.220 to the gospel and hostile to Jesus, I know that 00:16:00.220 --> 00:16:05.080 I am chosen by God. I know that he loves me. 00:16:06.820 --> 00:16:09.440 And he chose me. And in Christ, we are chosen. 00:16:10.889 --> 00:16:14.389 But what is the ground for that choosing? If 00:16:14.389 --> 00:16:15.850 you're taking notes, the second thing I'll have 00:16:15.850 --> 00:16:18.970 you write down is the ground. Verse 2a says, 00:16:19.049 --> 00:16:21.929 according to the foreknowledge of God, the Father 00:16:21.929 --> 00:16:24.289 we are chosen. According to the foreknowledge 00:16:24.289 --> 00:16:28.850 of God, the Father. The ground of our faith is 00:16:28.850 --> 00:16:32.230 that God chose us in Christ before we were even 00:16:32.230 --> 00:16:35.570 born. In other words, all those who are in Christ 00:16:35.570 --> 00:16:40.139 by faith make up God's chosen people. Which he 00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:42.620 planned and purposed to be his people before 00:16:42.620 --> 00:16:47.299 any of them were ever born. And now in one sense, 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:49.559 this is individual. This is you and you and you 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:52.340 and me, individually. But in a greater sense, 00:16:52.460 --> 00:16:57.620 it's corporate. It's us. He chose us. Ephesians 00:16:57.620 --> 00:17:00.519 chapter 1 and verse 4 says, For he chose us in 00:17:00.519 --> 00:17:04.319 him, Jesus, before the foundation of the world. 00:17:04.940 --> 00:17:06.839 And this is one of those points of debate over 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:08.819 this scripture. It's the difference between the 00:17:08.819 --> 00:17:13.039 individual being chosen and the us being chosen. 00:17:13.779 --> 00:17:16.599 And it goes something like this. One side says 00:17:16.599 --> 00:17:19.680 this scripture is primarily saying that God knew 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:23.920 who he would choose individually before any of 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:27.180 you were born. And his choosing was unconditional, 00:17:27.380 --> 00:17:29.700 meaning it was regardless of whether you wanted 00:17:29.700 --> 00:17:34.589 it or not. It's yours. You are chosen. and there's 00:17:34.589 --> 00:17:37.309 nothing you can do about it. It's unconditional 00:17:37.309 --> 00:17:41.609 election. You were chosen. That's one camp. The 00:17:41.609 --> 00:17:43.730 other one says that this scripture is saying 00:17:43.730 --> 00:17:47.190 that God chose Christ, as he'll say later in 00:17:47.190 --> 00:17:51.930 1 Peter, God chose Christ before the foundations 00:17:51.930 --> 00:17:56.029 of the world as the only way of salvation, and 00:17:56.029 --> 00:18:00.029 that all who by free will choice choose Christ 00:18:00.029 --> 00:18:03.319 respond to the grace of the gospel. then they 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:06.779 are made to be one with Christ, in Christ. And 00:18:06.779 --> 00:18:09.240 if Christ is the chosen one and you are one or 00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:12.779 in Christ, then you are a chosen one, a chosen 00:18:12.779 --> 00:18:16.319 people. And not just you, but everyone who is 00:18:16.319 --> 00:18:21.059 united to Christ. And so whether you think it 00:18:21.059 --> 00:18:23.799 is a sovereign will of God through unconditional 00:18:23.799 --> 00:18:28.779 election, or you think it is Christ, the chosen 00:18:28.779 --> 00:18:32.579 one, and all who are united to him, Our saved 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:35.500 are the chosen ones, which is where I land. That's 00:18:35.500 --> 00:18:39.700 where I hang. I hang on option two. God chose 00:18:39.700 --> 00:18:41.839 Christ before the foundations of the world as 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:43.960 the pathway of salvation, the way of salvation. 00:18:44.140 --> 00:18:46.819 And all who put their hope and faith in Jesus 00:18:46.819 --> 00:18:49.579 Christ are united to Christ. They become one 00:18:49.579 --> 00:18:52.039 and they are chosen just like the son is chosen. 00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:56.700 And that makes us a chosen people because we 00:18:56.700 --> 00:19:03.559 are united to Christ. But either way, you can 00:19:03.559 --> 00:19:07.480 say the ground for our salvation is the sovereign 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:11.819 will and plan of God to make a way. Even if we 00:19:11.819 --> 00:19:14.039 have a choice in responding to what God did, 00:19:14.140 --> 00:19:17.480 it's like you can only grab the rope for your 00:19:17.480 --> 00:19:20.680 salvation from the water if I first throw you 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:23.339 the rope, correct? If I don't throw you the rope, 00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:27.420 there ain't no rope. And so I have to throw the 00:19:27.420 --> 00:19:29.559 rope through. God threw the plan of salvation 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:32.759 out there by his own love and grace. You have 00:19:32.759 --> 00:19:35.559 a responsibility to grab the rope, hold tight, 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:42.880 and then God can draw you in. The ground of our 00:19:42.880 --> 00:19:45.099 salvation is the sovereign will and plan of God 00:19:45.099 --> 00:19:48.640 to make a way. And this is what makes the plan. 00:19:48.819 --> 00:19:51.119 The fact that it's the sovereign will of God 00:19:51.119 --> 00:19:54.079 is what makes the plan unfailing and secure because 00:19:54.079 --> 00:19:56.720 it is backed by the full weight and confidence 00:19:56.720 --> 00:20:01.700 of the very attributes of God himself. The unchanging 00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:05.819 God is the one who backs the plan. He's the one 00:20:05.819 --> 00:20:08.220 who guarantees the plan. That makes the plan 00:20:08.220 --> 00:20:12.440 unfailing and secure. Our status before God is 00:20:12.440 --> 00:20:16.900 not on shaky ground. Our salvation isn't flimsy, 00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:23.039 but it also isn't one and done. It's not believe 00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:25.880 and hunker down until the world ends kind of 00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:29.900 faith. The ground of our chosenness is God's 00:20:29.900 --> 00:20:33.599 sovereign will and plan. The means of our chosenness 00:20:33.599 --> 00:20:36.920 is the active work of the Spirit in our lives. 00:20:37.380 --> 00:20:39.200 If you're taking notes, the third thing I'll 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:45.819 have you write down is the means. According to 00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:49.680 the foreknowledge of the Father, through the 00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:54.039 sanctifying work of the Spirit. What does it 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:58.500 mean to be sanctified? Sanctification has at 00:20:58.500 --> 00:21:01.420 least two key dimensions to it. The first one 00:21:01.420 --> 00:21:05.420 is positional. Positional. The moment a person 00:21:05.420 --> 00:21:08.140 is born again, the Holy Spirit sets them apart, 00:21:08.299 --> 00:21:11.789 marks them as belonging to Christ. Now think 00:21:11.789 --> 00:21:13.710 of it like a garage sale. Have you guys ever, 00:21:13.849 --> 00:21:16.349 anyone garage sale out there? Any garage sailors? 00:21:17.730 --> 00:21:22.430 Any cheap people? No. Frugal, I'm sorry, frugal. 00:21:23.069 --> 00:21:28.009 That's what I meant. You ever been out garage 00:21:28.009 --> 00:21:31.509 sailing and you're like driving down the road, 00:21:31.609 --> 00:21:33.890 you know, like a creeper, you know, looking out 00:21:33.890 --> 00:21:36.170 the window at all the garage sales as you go 00:21:36.170 --> 00:21:39.869 by, rolling down, laying low in the seat, and 00:21:39.869 --> 00:21:43.670 then you see At a garage sale up there, the item 00:21:43.670 --> 00:21:45.730 you've been looking for or a treasure, something 00:21:45.730 --> 00:21:47.650 that just like, oh my gosh, that right there, 00:21:47.690 --> 00:21:50.470 that's valuable or I want that, I've been looking 00:21:50.470 --> 00:21:53.630 for that. You know, and you hit the parking lot, 00:21:53.690 --> 00:21:58.769 get out, right? Run on over, over to the garage 00:21:58.769 --> 00:22:01.650 sale. You run up to the item, you know, and it's 00:22:01.650 --> 00:22:03.690 facing this way. And as you round the corner 00:22:03.690 --> 00:22:07.049 and you look, right there on there is a tag that 00:22:07.049 --> 00:22:18.920 says sold. And you walk back to your car. Our 00:22:18.920 --> 00:22:25.220 sanctification is first and foremost positional. 00:22:27.259 --> 00:22:31.220 We are marked as belonging to Christ. Just like 00:22:31.220 --> 00:22:35.500 that item was marked claimed, marked sold. So 00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:39.150 we too. Are marked as Christ. By the sanctifying 00:22:39.150 --> 00:22:41.609 work of the spirit. The positional sanctifying 00:22:41.609 --> 00:22:48.569 work of the spirit. Says mine. Sealed. Payable. 00:22:50.190 --> 00:22:53.309 Upon Christ's return. The fullness of it. But 00:22:53.309 --> 00:22:55.829 it's sealed by the spirit. That item has been 00:22:55.829 --> 00:22:58.569 claimed. This is what the spirit does. He claims 00:22:58.569 --> 00:23:01.990 what is Jesus. He claims what is God's. He claims 00:23:01.990 --> 00:23:04.569 what is chosen. And he puts his mark right on 00:23:04.569 --> 00:23:08.559 it. And says. You're mine. And he sets you apart 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:11.819 from the world. So you have the world and you 00:23:11.819 --> 00:23:13.900 were once in the world. Every one of you were 00:23:13.900 --> 00:23:17.880 once in the world doing whatever your desire 00:23:17.880 --> 00:23:23.559 was, pleasing the flesh, loving the world. And 00:23:23.559 --> 00:23:25.859 when you put your hope and faith in Christ, he 00:23:25.859 --> 00:23:28.119 marked you and sealed you and took you out of 00:23:28.119 --> 00:23:31.119 the world, set you apart from the world in a 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:35.500 new position, a new place. And place you not 00:23:35.500 --> 00:23:37.940 only apart from the world, but in right standing 00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:41.400 in relationship with God. That's positional sanctification. 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:47.059 That is done for all who are in Christ. No longer 00:23:47.059 --> 00:23:50.700 a part of the world, positionally placed before 00:23:50.700 --> 00:23:55.940 God in right relationship. Corinthians says that 00:23:55.940 --> 00:23:58.319 God has rescued us from the domain of darkness 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:01.380 and transferred us into the kingdom of the son 00:24:01.380 --> 00:24:05.710 he loves. No more darkness, the kingdom that 00:24:05.710 --> 00:24:08.329 the son loves. The first one is that it's positional, 00:24:08.329 --> 00:24:10.390 but the second dimension of sanctification is 00:24:10.390 --> 00:24:15.109 that it's progressive. It's progressive. The 00:24:15.109 --> 00:24:17.410 spirit didn't just claim you, he changes you. 00:24:18.630 --> 00:24:20.750 He didn't just claim you, put a seal on you and 00:24:20.750 --> 00:24:22.190 said, that's good enough, let's put you over 00:24:22.190 --> 00:24:24.269 here for a little while. And then when Jesus 00:24:24.269 --> 00:24:26.250 comes back, he'll have to figure you out. He 00:24:26.250 --> 00:24:29.309 claimed you, he sealed you, and then he changes 00:24:29.309 --> 00:24:35.130 you. From that moment on, the spirit is at work 00:24:35.130 --> 00:24:38.430 daily in your life. He is shaping you. He is 00:24:38.430 --> 00:24:41.450 refining you. All those times around the block 00:24:41.450 --> 00:24:43.910 when you had that hardship that you encountered 00:24:43.910 --> 00:24:46.509 and you, like a knucklehead, didn't listen to 00:24:46.509 --> 00:24:48.910 the word of God and obey him and you had to go 00:24:48.910 --> 00:24:50.829 through it over and over again, that was the 00:24:50.829 --> 00:24:54.670 spirit at work in you sanctifying you. So you're 00:24:54.670 --> 00:24:57.529 still rough around the edges, buddy. You still 00:24:57.529 --> 00:25:01.309 haven't got it. Let's take another loop. Another 00:25:01.309 --> 00:25:04.319 time around. That's the spirit at work in you. 00:25:04.420 --> 00:25:07.319 Some of you can say, I'm not the man or woman 00:25:07.319 --> 00:25:10.839 I used to be. How many can say that? Hallelujah, 00:25:10.900 --> 00:25:13.680 praise, thank you, Jesus. I'm not the man or 00:25:13.680 --> 00:25:18.539 woman I used to be. That was not you. That was 00:25:18.539 --> 00:25:21.359 not the self -help books that you read. That 00:25:21.359 --> 00:25:24.779 was the spirit of Christ in you, changing you, 00:25:24.859 --> 00:25:29.640 refining you, and shaping you. Why? Because he's 00:25:29.640 --> 00:25:33.130 getting you ready for your future. He's getting 00:25:33.130 --> 00:25:36.569 you ready for your future in two ways. Number 00:25:36.569 --> 00:25:38.529 one, he's getting you ready. As long as you are 00:25:38.529 --> 00:25:40.450 here on this earth and still breathing, the Spirit 00:25:40.450 --> 00:25:43.730 is at work preparing you for ministry. Do you 00:25:43.730 --> 00:25:46.910 all know that? You're all ministers. The Spirit 00:25:46.910 --> 00:25:49.250 is preparing you for ministry. The Bible says, 00:25:49.349 --> 00:25:52.390 preparing you for works that God planned in advance 00:25:52.390 --> 00:25:56.430 for you to do. There are things that he has lined 00:25:56.430 --> 00:25:59.970 up. for you to do, and he needs to make you clean 00:25:59.970 --> 00:26:02.369 and purify you and refine you and get you ready 00:26:02.369 --> 00:26:04.589 for those works as you encounter them across 00:26:04.589 --> 00:26:07.950 the timeline of your life. The second thing, 00:26:07.990 --> 00:26:11.089 though, that the Spirit is doing is that he's 00:26:11.089 --> 00:26:12.990 also getting you ready for your future in that 00:26:12.990 --> 00:26:16.849 he is getting you ready for a complete and unmediated 00:26:16.849 --> 00:26:22.029 union with Jesus Christ. He is preparing you 00:26:22.029 --> 00:26:27.230 for glory. How many of you guys need a little 00:26:27.230 --> 00:26:32.049 bit more preparation before glory? Looking a 00:26:32.049 --> 00:26:39.029 little foggy? Little not glory? The Spirit's 00:26:39.029 --> 00:26:42.569 preparing you for glory. The Spirit has glory 00:26:42.569 --> 00:26:46.230 on His mind when He's working in you every single 00:26:46.230 --> 00:26:51.089 day. If the Spirit is changing and shaping us, 00:26:51.130 --> 00:26:53.849 then... then what is the shape he is aiming for? 00:26:53.910 --> 00:26:56.309 And the shape that the Spirit is aiming for is 00:26:56.309 --> 00:26:59.289 the purpose that Peter lays out right here. The 00:26:59.289 --> 00:27:02.470 shape that he's aiming for is holiness and obedience. 00:27:03.069 --> 00:27:05.809 He wants us shaped like holiness and obedience. 00:27:06.970 --> 00:27:09.089 Holiness and obedience. Earlier I read a scripture 00:27:09.089 --> 00:27:15.529 out of Ephesians. It said, for he chose us in 00:27:15.529 --> 00:27:17.789 him before the foundations of the world. Anyone 00:27:17.789 --> 00:27:23.470 know what's the very next part? To be holy. He 00:27:23.470 --> 00:27:26.890 chose us in him, in Christ, before the foundation 00:27:26.890 --> 00:27:29.289 of the world, to be holy. That's what he chose 00:27:29.289 --> 00:27:31.869 us for. That is his purpose. That's the shape 00:27:31.869 --> 00:27:34.309 the Spirit is aiming for. You guys ever done 00:27:34.309 --> 00:27:36.150 any projects like that where you're either painting 00:27:36.150 --> 00:27:38.549 something or you're sculpting and you have a 00:27:38.549 --> 00:27:42.089 prototype? You have a prototype and you're looking 00:27:42.089 --> 00:27:44.529 at the prototype and you're copying it, right? 00:27:45.029 --> 00:27:50.119 Well, the prototype is Jesus. who is holy and 00:27:50.119 --> 00:27:52.799 obedient, the perfect obedient son to the father. 00:27:52.940 --> 00:27:55.640 And the spirit is looking at the perfect prototype 00:27:55.640 --> 00:27:58.480 Jesus. And he's looking at your life and he's 00:27:58.480 --> 00:27:59.960 going, we got to take a little bit off here. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:01.839 We got to take a little bit off here. We got 00:28:01.839 --> 00:28:04.299 a chip here. We got to polish here. We're getting 00:28:04.299 --> 00:28:06.819 close, but we're not quite there yet. He's working 00:28:06.819 --> 00:28:11.240 to move you toward Christ likeness. The last 00:28:11.240 --> 00:28:12.779 point I'll have you write down is the purpose. 00:28:15.079 --> 00:28:18.380 Verse 2, to be obedient and to be sprinkled with 00:28:18.380 --> 00:28:23.160 the blood of Jesus Christ. To be obedient and 00:28:23.160 --> 00:28:27.079 sprinkled with the blood of Jesus Christ. Chosen 00:28:27.079 --> 00:28:29.180 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father 00:28:29.180 --> 00:28:31.579 through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. To 00:28:31.579 --> 00:28:35.420 be obedient and be sprinkled with the blood of 00:28:35.420 --> 00:28:37.599 Jesus Christ. That phrase may sound a little 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:41.140 bit intense and a little strange. I get that. 00:28:41.690 --> 00:28:44.769 There was a time in our Christian life and in 00:28:44.769 --> 00:28:48.049 our society where Christianity and our parlance 00:28:48.049 --> 00:28:51.089 and our way of phrasing things was very common 00:28:51.089 --> 00:28:53.970 for people to know. Everyone kind of either went 00:28:53.970 --> 00:28:55.569 to church or hung out with church or had a grandma 00:28:55.569 --> 00:28:58.190 who went to church. But times are changing. And 00:28:58.190 --> 00:29:00.369 you can't just say some things without people 00:29:00.369 --> 00:29:04.970 needing a little explanation. So the blood, what 00:29:04.970 --> 00:29:07.230 does that mean? Well, if you're not familiar 00:29:07.230 --> 00:29:09.990 with the Old Testament, and particularly the 00:29:09.990 --> 00:29:12.269 first five books of the Old Testament, then that 00:29:12.269 --> 00:29:14.170 imagery might be lost on you, but it certainly 00:29:14.170 --> 00:29:16.289 wasn't lost on Peter when he wrote this. He had 00:29:16.289 --> 00:29:19.569 that in mind. He's thinking about when the first 00:29:19.569 --> 00:29:22.930 covenant was established between God and the 00:29:22.930 --> 00:29:26.269 people of Israel, his chosen people. And he's 00:29:26.269 --> 00:29:28.250 drawing that imagery forward and he's applying 00:29:28.250 --> 00:29:32.549 it to us, his chosen people. And so he's grabbing 00:29:32.549 --> 00:29:34.849 that imagery, pulling it forward, that Old Testament 00:29:34.849 --> 00:29:37.950 imagery of the blood, because the blood was always 00:29:37.950 --> 00:29:40.349 a big deal in the Old Testament. It represented, 00:29:40.650 --> 00:29:44.430 it was a metaphor for life. The life is in the 00:29:44.430 --> 00:29:49.769 blood. Blood represents life. And whenever someone 00:29:49.769 --> 00:29:52.849 sinned or signed a covenant, They would do it 00:29:52.849 --> 00:29:55.170 with blood. They would sprinkle blood as a sign 00:29:55.170 --> 00:29:57.529 of forgiveness or cleansing or commitment. And 00:29:57.529 --> 00:30:00.049 back in Exodus 24, when God made that covenant 00:30:00.049 --> 00:30:03.089 with Israel, he literally told Moses, I'm making 00:30:03.089 --> 00:30:06.069 this covenant with you. Moses, I want you to 00:30:06.069 --> 00:30:08.670 take the blood of a sacrificed animal and I want 00:30:08.670 --> 00:30:12.349 you to sprinkle it all over the people. So that's 00:30:12.349 --> 00:30:13.589 what we're going to do right now. I'm just kidding. 00:30:16.069 --> 00:30:18.930 Hopefully you didn't wear something nice. We're 00:30:18.930 --> 00:30:21.630 going to sprinkle the blood all over one another, 00:30:21.829 --> 00:30:25.109 all over each other as a sign, a symbol. Because 00:30:25.109 --> 00:30:29.529 why? Life is in the blood. Our life, we have 00:30:29.529 --> 00:30:32.410 sinned and fallen short. We've transgressed against 00:30:32.410 --> 00:30:35.009 God, so our life is diminished because we're 00:30:35.009 --> 00:30:37.049 not living the true life. And so you took the 00:30:37.049 --> 00:30:39.269 sacrificial lamb, which was supposed to be spotless 00:30:39.269 --> 00:30:42.549 and perfect, and you took its blood, and it was 00:30:42.549 --> 00:30:46.349 a metaphor, represented the life being sprinkled 00:30:46.349 --> 00:30:49.730 on us to cover us. So that when God looked at 00:30:49.730 --> 00:30:52.390 us, he didn't see our measly little lives that 00:30:52.390 --> 00:30:54.849 had fallen short, but he saw the perfect life 00:30:54.849 --> 00:30:58.410 of the blood of the sacrifice. But what happens 00:30:58.410 --> 00:31:00.089 if I did go through and I sprinkled all you guys 00:31:00.089 --> 00:31:03.009 with blood today? You'd go home and wash it off, 00:31:03.109 --> 00:31:06.809 right? And we'd be back to it next week, sprinkling 00:31:06.809 --> 00:31:10.109 blood again and over and over again, right? Because 00:31:10.109 --> 00:31:15.009 that was never sufficient to last. It was only 00:31:15.009 --> 00:31:21.549 a symbol, a sign. It was really a hope. Every 00:31:21.549 --> 00:31:25.109 time they did it, it was a hope that maybe someday 00:31:25.109 --> 00:31:29.009 in the future a sacrifice would be made and the 00:31:29.009 --> 00:31:31.750 life of that blood would be so precious that 00:31:31.750 --> 00:31:34.630 it could cover once for all all of our sins and 00:31:34.630 --> 00:31:36.789 we wouldn't have to keep coming back to the altar. 00:31:37.470 --> 00:31:41.509 It was a hope. You might even call it a promise 00:31:41.509 --> 00:31:45.069 because it came from God. A promise of what he 00:31:45.069 --> 00:31:58.109 would do. in the future. When the blood was sprinkled 00:31:58.109 --> 00:32:02.369 on the people, it signified not only that you're 00:32:02.369 --> 00:32:05.549 clean, but you're in. The people had to be a 00:32:05.549 --> 00:32:09.210 holy people to be the people of a holy God. They 00:32:09.210 --> 00:32:11.569 had to be a holy people. And to be cleansed with 00:32:11.569 --> 00:32:13.430 the blood meant you're in, you're part of it. 00:32:13.710 --> 00:32:16.680 You're set apart to God now. Yeah, yeah, it's 00:32:16.680 --> 00:32:21.259 messy, but it's holy. And fast forward to Jesus. 00:32:21.299 --> 00:32:23.140 Remember the night when he was crucified or the 00:32:23.140 --> 00:32:25.180 night before he was crucified, he held up that 00:32:25.180 --> 00:32:27.880 cup around the table with his disciples and he 00:32:27.880 --> 00:32:31.059 said, this is my blood of the covenant poured 00:32:31.059 --> 00:32:35.220 out for many for the forgiveness of sins. He 00:32:35.220 --> 00:32:37.380 was saying, I'm starting a new covenant and this 00:32:37.380 --> 00:32:39.980 time it's my blood. And remember, blood is a 00:32:39.980 --> 00:32:42.299 metaphor for life. We're not talking about some 00:32:42.299 --> 00:32:44.680 cultic ritual of drinking blood. We're talking 00:32:44.680 --> 00:32:50.759 about a metaphor for life. This is my life that 00:32:50.759 --> 00:32:54.500 is going to seal it. My life, my perfect holy 00:32:54.500 --> 00:32:58.650 life is going to seal. This new covenant. No 00:32:58.650 --> 00:33:02.769 more animal sacrifices. No more of just the lifeblood 00:33:02.769 --> 00:33:05.789 of an animal sprinkled on the outside to make 00:33:05.789 --> 00:33:07.970 us clean on the outside. Jesus was going to the 00:33:07.970 --> 00:33:11.170 cross to deal with sin once and for all from 00:33:11.170 --> 00:33:15.150 the inside out. And the book of Hebrews makes 00:33:15.150 --> 00:33:19.029 this crystal clear. It says that the old sacrifices 00:33:19.029 --> 00:33:21.529 could only clean people on the outside and only 00:33:21.529 --> 00:33:24.990 for a time. But Jesus' blood goes deeper. His 00:33:24.990 --> 00:33:28.059 life goes deeper. It cleanses our conscience. 00:33:28.880 --> 00:33:32.019 It reaches the parts of us that no soap could 00:33:32.019 --> 00:33:34.619 ever clean off. Our guilt and our shame and our 00:33:34.619 --> 00:33:38.039 past. It purifies us in a way that nothing else 00:33:38.039 --> 00:33:43.160 can. It even goes further in Hebrews 12 to say 00:33:43.160 --> 00:33:46.339 that Jesus' blood speaks a better word than the 00:33:46.339 --> 00:33:50.460 blood of Abel. Abel's blood, he was the brother 00:33:50.460 --> 00:33:53.240 of Cain. He was the first murder victim. His 00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:55.579 brother Cain murdered him because of his jealousy. 00:33:57.500 --> 00:34:01.000 Abel's blood back in Genesis cried out for justice 00:34:01.000 --> 00:34:05.000 after he was murdered. It says the blood in the 00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.920 ground cried out for justice. But Hebrews tells 00:34:09.920 --> 00:34:14.800 us that Jesus' blood cries out for mercy. See, 00:34:14.860 --> 00:34:16.980 we all love justice until it's aimed at us, right? 00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:21.460 And so we all love justice when it's you've wronged 00:34:21.460 --> 00:34:23.880 me, I want justice. But when it's I've wronged 00:34:23.880 --> 00:34:30.230 you, I want mercy. And Abel's blood cried out, 00:34:30.269 --> 00:34:33.929 justice, justice, justice. Jesus' blood speaks 00:34:33.929 --> 00:34:41.110 a better word. Mercy, mercy, mercy. It pleads 00:34:41.110 --> 00:34:46.889 for grace. It doesn't demand punishment. It proclaims 00:34:46.889 --> 00:34:50.809 forgiveness. So when Peter says, we've been chosen 00:34:50.809 --> 00:34:53.210 for the sprinkling of Jesus' blood, he's telling 00:34:53.210 --> 00:34:56.010 us something really profound, that it's a comfort 00:34:56.010 --> 00:34:59.789 to us. Because it means we're forgiven and we're 00:34:59.789 --> 00:35:01.550 cleansed and we're brought into God's presence. 00:35:01.690 --> 00:35:03.989 We don't have to carry our guilt anymore or our 00:35:03.989 --> 00:35:06.849 shame. We don't have to wonder if we belong anymore. 00:35:07.030 --> 00:35:09.130 We've been marked, we've been claimed by Christ 00:35:09.130 --> 00:35:13.550 himself. But it's also a challenge to us because 00:35:13.550 --> 00:35:16.090 it means we're not our own anymore. We've been 00:35:16.090 --> 00:35:18.989 bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus 00:35:18.989 --> 00:35:21.510 Christ. And that means we've been set apart to 00:35:21.510 --> 00:35:24.610 live differently, to live holy. The blood of 00:35:24.610 --> 00:35:27.050 Jesus didn't just cover us so we could go back 00:35:27.050 --> 00:35:29.949 to the life we used to live. It changed us. It 00:35:29.949 --> 00:35:32.769 changes our identity. And now we live as people 00:35:32.769 --> 00:35:35.889 who have been cleansed and called according to 00:35:35.889 --> 00:35:40.070 his purpose. I'm going to invite the worship 00:35:40.070 --> 00:35:43.070 team to join me on stage as I conclude here today. 00:35:43.329 --> 00:35:46.050 But I do want to point your attention to the 00:35:46.050 --> 00:35:47.849 reality there that in the text, you probably 00:35:47.849 --> 00:35:51.869 noticed if you're keen to it, that the whole 00:35:51.869 --> 00:35:56.010 trinity was represented in this text. The trinity, 00:35:56.070 --> 00:35:59.929 the triune God which we worship is one God in 00:35:59.929 --> 00:36:03.170 three persons. If you want me to explain that, 00:36:03.329 --> 00:36:08.559 I can't in one second or one minute. But it's 00:36:08.559 --> 00:36:13.840 a wondrous mystery that our God is one in essence, 00:36:13.980 --> 00:36:18.940 substance, and three in persons. That it is one 00:36:18.940 --> 00:36:23.000 God, expressed as Father, Son, and Spirit. And 00:36:23.000 --> 00:36:25.039 you notice there in the beginning that it was 00:36:25.039 --> 00:36:27.800 the work of the Trinity at work in salvation. 00:36:27.920 --> 00:36:31.780 As Peter said, the Father designed the plan of 00:36:31.780 --> 00:36:35.360 salvation. The Spirit applies the plan of salvation 00:36:35.360 --> 00:36:39.900 and the Son secures the plan of salvation. That 00:36:39.900 --> 00:36:43.579 means you have the whole weight of the triune 00:36:43.579 --> 00:36:47.340 God behind the salvation plan, this rescue plan 00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:51.699 for you and I. This is no accidental salvation. 00:36:52.670 --> 00:36:56.250 This is no flimsy hope that we hold to. You have 00:36:56.250 --> 00:36:58.750 been swept up in the eternal plan of the Father, 00:36:58.849 --> 00:37:01.449 sanctified by the Spirit and sprinkled with the 00:37:01.449 --> 00:37:04.869 blood of Jesus Christ in order to live a holy 00:37:04.869 --> 00:37:09.489 and obedient life. The whole Trinity conspired, 00:37:09.510 --> 00:37:16.789 yes, conspired in love to make you His. And I 00:37:16.789 --> 00:37:20.090 say rejoice and be glad. Sing songs of joy and 00:37:20.090 --> 00:37:23.530 gladness. For God has loved you. God has chosen 00:37:23.530 --> 00:37:29.469 you. God is shaping you for glory. Amen? Trust 00:37:29.469 --> 00:37:34.949 him and love him. Hope in him. And I'll ask you, 00:37:35.030 --> 00:37:43.250 will you live like you've been claimed? Will 00:37:43.250 --> 00:37:45.469 you live your life like you've been marked out 00:37:45.469 --> 00:37:50.750 for something? Will you obey him as one who has 00:37:50.750 --> 00:37:53.710 been bought with the precious blood of Jesus 00:37:53.710 --> 00:38:00.190 Christ? Will you walk through this world like 00:38:00.190 --> 00:38:04.809 someone who's headed home? Or will you cling 00:38:04.809 --> 00:38:10.010 to the very last day to this world as if it is 00:38:10.010 --> 00:38:17.480 your home? I say let the enemies of God howl. 00:38:18.420 --> 00:38:24.480 And let the culture mock. And let comfort flee. 00:38:26.300 --> 00:38:30.559 Because you have been chosen and you are cleansed. 00:38:30.900 --> 00:38:39.460 You are his forever. So now, live like it. Amen.