WEBVTT 00:00:00.910 --> 00:00:04.610 Amen. Well, I remember as a kid, I loved to swim 00:00:04.610 --> 00:00:06.690 during the summertime. Anyone else love to swim 00:00:06.690 --> 00:00:09.830 during the summertime? Yeah. Fun getting into 00:00:09.830 --> 00:00:12.929 a pool, whether it was a kiddie pool or one of 00:00:12.929 --> 00:00:14.769 those ones you buy at Costco, you set up in your 00:00:14.769 --> 00:00:17.250 backyard, right? Or one of those built -ins, 00:00:17.329 --> 00:00:19.230 right? Like, woo, fancy, the neighbor had the 00:00:19.230 --> 00:00:22.789 built -in, right? Woo. Rolling in the dough, 00:00:23.010 --> 00:00:25.730 yeah. But what were some of the games that we 00:00:25.730 --> 00:00:27.690 used to play? Like, you remember playing games 00:00:27.690 --> 00:00:29.769 in the pool? I remember we used to play Marco 00:00:29.769 --> 00:00:33.070 Polo. Anyone play Marco Polo? Yeah? Or Sharks 00:00:33.070 --> 00:00:36.729 and Minnows? I don't know what era these games 00:00:36.729 --> 00:00:41.630 are from. Or some water volleyball or throw the 00:00:41.630 --> 00:00:43.829 ball at each other, right? Or whatever it was, 00:00:43.890 --> 00:00:46.130 right? Splash each other in the face. That was 00:00:46.130 --> 00:00:49.649 a good one. But there was one game that you could 00:00:49.649 --> 00:00:52.649 play in the pool, whether the pool was a kiddie 00:00:52.649 --> 00:00:55.130 pool size or the built -in one, and that was 00:00:55.130 --> 00:00:57.810 how long can you hold your breath underwater, 00:00:58.130 --> 00:01:00.939 right? It was always a competition between me 00:01:00.939 --> 00:01:03.439 and my siblings or my cousins or my friends whenever 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:05.000 we were there. It's like, how long can you hold 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:06.459 your breath? Well, let's see. And we'd both go 00:01:06.459 --> 00:01:08.799 under and hold our breath and see how long we 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:11.159 could hold it. Well, maybe it was 70 seconds, 00:01:11.260 --> 00:01:13.340 maybe a minute and a half. Maybe you'd get a, 00:01:13.340 --> 00:01:16.260 you'd squeak two minutes out of it if you were 00:01:16.260 --> 00:01:19.040 really, a really big lung capacity, right? But 00:01:19.040 --> 00:01:21.060 it made me think as I was thinking about this, 00:01:21.140 --> 00:01:25.219 what is the world record for holding your breath 00:01:25.219 --> 00:01:27.840 underwater? So I looked it up. And I want you 00:01:27.840 --> 00:01:29.920 to listen to the way it's phrased first because 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:33.000 this cracks me up. This is amazing. Listen to 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:35.980 the way it's phrased. The world record for the 00:01:35.980 --> 00:01:40.420 longest time breath held voluntarily underwater. 00:01:43.019 --> 00:01:47.040 The longest time breath held voluntarily underwater 00:01:47.040 --> 00:01:57.280 is 24 minutes and 37 seconds. 24 seconds. You 00:01:57.280 --> 00:01:59.340 know, an average sitcom, if you take out all 00:01:59.340 --> 00:02:03.079 the commercials, is 22 minutes long. The entire 00:02:03.079 --> 00:02:07.219 episode plus a few minutes holding your breath 00:02:07.219 --> 00:02:12.300 underwater. There's a scene in a Mission Impossible, 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:15.139 I think it's called Rogue Nation, where Tom Cruise's 00:02:15.139 --> 00:02:17.219 character is underwater and he's having to make 00:02:17.219 --> 00:02:20.180 some repairs or whatever. He held his breath 00:02:20.180 --> 00:02:24.080 for six minutes to film that scene in continuity. 00:02:25.290 --> 00:02:28.050 Six minutes he had to train to do that. Well, 00:02:28.090 --> 00:02:30.810 he was beat shortly after that by I think it 00:02:30.810 --> 00:02:34.370 was Kate Winslet in the newest Avatar where she 00:02:34.370 --> 00:02:36.849 beat him I think by two minutes and held her 00:02:36.849 --> 00:02:39.789 breath for a scene underwater. Just crazy. 24 00:02:39.789 --> 00:02:42.949 minutes though. And we all know that 24 minutes 00:02:42.949 --> 00:02:47.969 is crazy. Just out there. But why can't we stay 00:02:47.969 --> 00:02:49.729 underwater and hold our breath forever? Well, 00:02:49.789 --> 00:02:53.250 we also know that, right? We need oxygen to live 00:02:53.250 --> 00:02:56.050 and water doesn't provide it in the way we need 00:02:56.050 --> 00:03:00.490 it to stay alive. And Peter here in this book, 00:03:00.530 --> 00:03:03.250 in 1 Peter, he's talking to exiles dispersed 00:03:03.250 --> 00:03:06.949 abroad who are encountering all kinds of difficulties, 00:03:06.969 --> 00:03:10.110 all kinds of trials and sufferings. And for them, 00:03:10.110 --> 00:03:13.590 it could feel like they are drowning. How many 00:03:13.590 --> 00:03:15.250 of you guys have ever felt like, man, society 00:03:15.250 --> 00:03:19.430 is falling apart. We are caving in to sinful, 00:03:19.490 --> 00:03:22.110 corrupt ways. We're giving ourselves over as 00:03:22.110 --> 00:03:24.449 a people to things that we ought not give to, 00:03:24.490 --> 00:03:26.669 that God does not approve. And we see everything 00:03:26.669 --> 00:03:29.490 falling down around us. And we just think, I'm 00:03:29.490 --> 00:03:33.449 going to hold my breath and wait it out. Sometimes 00:03:33.449 --> 00:03:35.909 it feels like that. Sometimes it feels like we're 00:03:35.909 --> 00:03:39.050 underwater holding our breath, just going to 00:03:39.050 --> 00:03:42.340 wait it out until glory comes. Now, Peter's talking 00:03:42.340 --> 00:03:44.539 to a group of people who are right around the 00:03:44.539 --> 00:03:47.560 time of Nero, and Nero's outbreak of persecution 00:03:47.560 --> 00:03:51.599 in the Roman Empire is going to be severe, and 00:03:51.599 --> 00:03:55.479 it's going to target Christians. And so when 00:03:55.479 --> 00:03:58.060 Peter writes this letter and he begins to speak 00:03:58.060 --> 00:04:00.280 to them, this is the context that they're in. 00:04:00.379 --> 00:04:02.659 But he knows something about them too, that these 00:04:02.659 --> 00:04:06.360 believers are made for heaven, that they are 00:04:06.360 --> 00:04:10.479 reborn again of the Spirit, and they need the 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:15.159 air of heaven to survive. Just like you and I 00:04:15.159 --> 00:04:17.160 need the air that's maybe an inch or two or a 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:19.839 foot above us when we go underwater. So they 00:04:19.839 --> 00:04:22.540 need the air of heaven in order to survive because 00:04:22.540 --> 00:04:27.040 they are born of heaven. And so Peter is giving 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:31.740 these believers and us today oxygen for the soul. 00:04:32.800 --> 00:04:35.939 You ready to take a deep breath of oxygen for 00:04:35.939 --> 00:04:37.879 the soul? That's what Peter is all about right 00:04:37.879 --> 00:04:42.740 now. Verses 3 through 12 celebrate the certainty 00:04:42.740 --> 00:04:46.399 and the beauty of our salvation because of God's 00:04:46.399 --> 00:04:49.220 mercy, Christ's resurrection, and believers are 00:04:49.220 --> 00:04:53.100 born again into this living hope. And we're being 00:04:53.100 --> 00:04:55.620 refined through present suffering and trials 00:04:55.620 --> 00:04:59.120 and are promised an eternal inheritance that 00:04:59.120 --> 00:05:02.899 even prophets of old and angels stand in awe 00:05:02.899 --> 00:05:07.860 of. And this secure salvation of ours fuels our 00:05:07.860 --> 00:05:11.939 joy and sustains our faith and anchors our future. 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:16.019 I want to tell you something. The greatest earthly 00:05:16.019 --> 00:05:19.199 joy. Think of all the joys you've experienced 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:21.639 in life or all the joys you want to experience 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:24.579 in life. The greatest earthly joy that a believer 00:05:24.579 --> 00:05:27.639 can experience is the joy of the assurance of 00:05:27.639 --> 00:05:34.639 their salvation. There is no greater joy. And 00:05:34.639 --> 00:05:36.060 that's what Peter is going to give us today. 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:39.259 That's what Peter is going to breathe by the 00:05:39.259 --> 00:05:41.579 power of the Holy Spirit working through him 00:05:41.579 --> 00:05:44.019 into our lives. If you're taking notes, the first 00:05:44.019 --> 00:05:46.240 thing I'll have you write down is a living hope 00:05:46.240 --> 00:05:49.779 through a risen Savior. A living hope through 00:05:49.779 --> 00:05:54.019 a risen Savior. The first breath of fresh air 00:05:54.019 --> 00:05:58.230 that Peter sends to us. is in verse chapter 3, 00:05:58.250 --> 00:06:00.930 which is praise, or blessed be the God and Father 00:06:00.930 --> 00:06:05.649 of our Lord Jesus Christ. Peter starts with a 00:06:05.649 --> 00:06:08.250 word of praise, which is an echo of a frequently 00:06:08.250 --> 00:06:10.550 used Old Testament formula that went something 00:06:10.550 --> 00:06:14.269 like this, blessed be the God most high, or in 00:06:14.269 --> 00:06:17.410 Ruth chapter 4, blessed be the Lord, or in Psalm 00:06:17.410 --> 00:06:21.170 41, blessed be the Lord God of Israel. But Peter 00:06:21.170 --> 00:06:23.769 does something interesting here in his blessing. 00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:28.079 He changes it and adds to it a name that God 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:31.240 never revealed in the Old Testament. God revealed 00:06:31.240 --> 00:06:34.259 himself as all kinds of names based upon his 00:06:34.259 --> 00:06:36.100 character and who he was in the Old Testament. 00:06:36.220 --> 00:06:39.040 But there's a name he didn't reveal himself as 00:06:39.040 --> 00:06:42.000 in the Old Testament that Peter includes in there. 00:06:42.079 --> 00:06:46.139 And that is God and Father of our Lord Jesus 00:06:46.139 --> 00:06:51.360 Christ. And he's referring here to that first 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:54.790 person in the Trinity, God the Father. And one 00:06:54.790 --> 00:06:56.930 thing that we have to remember, just kind of 00:06:56.930 --> 00:06:59.129 a little theological note, like doctrinal note 00:06:59.129 --> 00:07:02.910 here, is the father doesn't mean that he created 00:07:02.910 --> 00:07:06.509 the son or caused him to come into being. Scripture 00:07:06.509 --> 00:07:09.910 is clear that the son has always existed and 00:07:09.910 --> 00:07:16.420 was never created. What it means that the first 00:07:16.420 --> 00:07:19.639 person of the Trinity is the father and how he 00:07:19.639 --> 00:07:21.899 relates to the second person, the son, is as 00:07:21.899 --> 00:07:24.259 a father would relate to his son in normal life, 00:07:24.459 --> 00:07:28.399 not in begotting him or birthing him, right? 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:33.980 It's the father plans and directs, the son responds 00:07:33.980 --> 00:07:39.180 and obeys. The father sins and the son comes 00:07:39.180 --> 00:07:43.319 from the father. The father creates through the 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:48.500 son. And Peter encourages those who have heavy 00:07:48.500 --> 00:07:51.699 hearts. He gives them a remedy like none other. 00:07:51.939 --> 00:07:57.220 Praise God. Is your heart heavy? Praise God, 00:07:57.420 --> 00:08:01.120 the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:08:01.259 --> 00:08:04.360 Not because of how desirable we are. Why? Because 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:08.180 of his great mercy, we are reborn. That's why 00:08:08.180 --> 00:08:11.860 we praise God. Not because of our merit, not 00:08:11.860 --> 00:08:15.230 because of us at all, but because. of who he 00:08:15.230 --> 00:08:19.250 is because of his great mercy through which he 00:08:19.250 --> 00:08:24.470 has given us new birth into a living hope. What's 00:08:24.470 --> 00:08:27.089 this new birth? Well, a new birth is a total 00:08:27.089 --> 00:08:31.370 new beginning. Being born again is not about 00:08:31.370 --> 00:08:34.610 turning over a new leaf in life or trying harder 00:08:34.610 --> 00:08:38.789 or not some self -improvement plan. The new birth 00:08:38.789 --> 00:08:42.590 is about starting over entirely, being spiritually 00:08:45.730 --> 00:08:48.370 Recreated. The new birth is a work of the Spirit. 00:08:48.470 --> 00:08:51.190 Just like you had no part whatsoever in your 00:08:51.190 --> 00:08:54.429 physical birth, so you have no part in your spiritual 00:08:54.429 --> 00:08:58.990 birth. It is a work of the Spirit to regenerate. 00:08:59.419 --> 00:09:02.340 The new birth, though, gives you a new identity. 00:09:02.460 --> 00:09:05.799 You are no longer defined by sin or failure or 00:09:05.799 --> 00:09:09.159 alienation from God, but you are one who is loved, 00:09:09.259 --> 00:09:12.940 beloved, inheritor of glory, and secure in your 00:09:12.940 --> 00:09:17.419 salvation. The new birth means new purpose and 00:09:17.419 --> 00:09:22.720 direction. It gives you a new citizenship. I 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:24.820 don't know if you've ever held a seed in your 00:09:24.820 --> 00:09:27.899 hand. We've got some gardeners here. Have you 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:30.460 ever held a seed in your hand? It looks dead. 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:36.700 It's hard. It's lifeless. It's closed up. But 00:09:36.700 --> 00:09:39.019 what happens when you plant it in the right conditions? 00:09:39.879 --> 00:09:43.879 In the right conditions, it bursts open. It sends 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:47.259 out its roots and its shoots. What we thought 00:09:47.259 --> 00:09:50.200 was dead comes alive suddenly. It's a miracle, 00:09:50.320 --> 00:09:52.899 honestly, if you've ever watched a time lapse 00:09:52.899 --> 00:09:55.730 of a seed. coming to life on YouTube. I would 00:09:55.730 --> 00:09:57.789 encourage you to do it. It's like, that's just 00:09:57.789 --> 00:10:01.649 crazy. Even the smallest seed. Well, new birth 00:10:01.649 --> 00:10:06.590 in Christ is like that. What looked like a spiritually 00:10:06.590 --> 00:10:10.110 dead life, God brings new life, new growth, new 00:10:10.110 --> 00:10:13.870 hope. And just like a growing plant leans towards 00:10:13.870 --> 00:10:17.990 the sun, the life of a believer leans towards 00:10:17.990 --> 00:10:20.929 the light of Christ with hope for the fullness 00:10:20.929 --> 00:10:26.299 of salvation to come. We're told it's a new birth 00:10:26.299 --> 00:10:29.519 into a living hope through the resurrection of 00:10:29.519 --> 00:10:32.539 Jesus Christ from the dead. Well, the part that 00:10:32.539 --> 00:10:37.500 says into, this means a new realm. We move from 00:10:37.500 --> 00:10:41.220 a lifeless, dead realm to a living, hope -secured, 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:47.259 vibrant, glorified realm. Into a living hope. 00:10:47.379 --> 00:10:50.000 Well, I want you to think for a moment about 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:54.100 how we use that word hope. How do we use the 00:10:54.100 --> 00:10:59.919 word hope in our modern vocabulary? I can think 00:10:59.919 --> 00:11:01.759 of a few things. We'd say something like, man, 00:11:01.779 --> 00:11:07.279 I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow. Or I hope I 00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:10.899 get that job that I applied for. Or you might 00:11:10.899 --> 00:11:13.919 say, I hope pastor only has one point because 00:11:13.919 --> 00:11:20.139 he's going really long right now. One of 18. 00:11:20.659 --> 00:11:27.009 Just kidding. In the New Testament, however, 00:11:27.210 --> 00:11:30.929 hope is something that is way stronger of an 00:11:30.929 --> 00:11:34.149 idea than our idea of hope is. In the Bible, 00:11:34.230 --> 00:11:37.309 hope is confident expectation. Everyone say confident 00:11:37.309 --> 00:11:42.870 expectation. Grounded in the character and promise 00:11:42.870 --> 00:11:45.970 of God. It's confident expectation grounded in 00:11:45.970 --> 00:11:48.710 the character and promise of God. It is never 00:11:48.710 --> 00:11:55.649 used by the apostles to mean maybe. Never. We 00:11:55.649 --> 00:11:57.870 use it to mean maybe all the time. It is never 00:11:57.870 --> 00:12:00.409 used to mean maybe. It's like, think of the most 00:12:00.409 --> 00:12:02.889 trustworthy person you can think of. The person 00:12:02.889 --> 00:12:05.070 who does what they say, follows through all the 00:12:05.070 --> 00:12:07.649 time, is a rock and solid presence in your life, 00:12:07.669 --> 00:12:10.029 no matter the circumstance. Now imagine that 00:12:10.029 --> 00:12:12.590 person says, I will be there to pick you up at 00:12:12.590 --> 00:12:15.769 6 p .m. Are you thinking, oh man, I hope they 00:12:15.769 --> 00:12:17.549 get here at 6 p .m. I don't know if they're gonna 00:12:17.549 --> 00:12:19.429 come. Where are they gonna be? What are you thinking? 00:12:19.429 --> 00:12:22.730 You're thinking, no worries. They said 6 p .m., 00:12:22.730 --> 00:12:29.429 it'll be 6 p .m., it's as good as done. Hope 00:12:29.429 --> 00:12:33.970 in the Bible is that multiplied by infinity. 00:12:35.309 --> 00:12:37.409 Because the character of the one who's making 00:12:37.409 --> 00:12:41.389 the promise is infinitely more good, infinitely 00:12:41.389 --> 00:12:45.549 more secure, infinitely more reliable than any 00:12:45.549 --> 00:12:48.090 human you have ever met. And that character of 00:12:48.090 --> 00:12:50.950 the one who's making the promise That's the idea 00:12:50.950 --> 00:12:54.990 of hope in New Testament. Our hope is not a maybe. 00:12:55.269 --> 00:12:59.490 It is a must be because God himself has sworn 00:12:59.490 --> 00:13:05.090 it. So that's what hope is, but why is it a living 00:13:05.090 --> 00:13:07.350 hope? Well, it is a living hope because it is 00:13:07.350 --> 00:13:10.129 a hope that is rooted in the resurrection of 00:13:10.129 --> 00:13:14.090 Jesus Christ, the living one. Because Jesus lives, 00:13:14.409 --> 00:13:19.429 hope lives. If Jesus were still dead, hope would 00:13:19.429 --> 00:13:23.929 be too. But because he walked out of that grave, 00:13:24.090 --> 00:13:29.730 our future is secure. Our future is sure. A dead 00:13:29.730 --> 00:13:32.100 hope. is based on temporary things, things that 00:13:32.100 --> 00:13:34.539 can pass, things that can waste away. A dead 00:13:34.539 --> 00:13:37.620 hope dies when our dreams are shattered. A dead 00:13:37.620 --> 00:13:41.240 hope crumbles in death. But a living hope is 00:13:41.240 --> 00:13:44.320 built on eternal promises made and secured by 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:47.279 the eternal, unchanging one. A living hope grows, 00:13:47.299 --> 00:13:50.100 even and maybe in some cases or in one sense, 00:13:50.220 --> 00:13:56.659 more so in trials and suffering. Grows. Deepens. 00:13:57.440 --> 00:14:02.419 A living hope conquers death itself. The living 00:14:02.419 --> 00:14:04.980 hope that we're talking about is a resurrection 00:14:04.980 --> 00:14:08.299 -centered hope. The resurrection of Jesus is 00:14:08.299 --> 00:14:10.480 not only something cool that happened to Jesus. 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:15.179 It is cool. But it's not only something cool 00:14:15.179 --> 00:14:18.139 that happened to Jesus. It actually is a promise 00:14:18.139 --> 00:14:22.000 to us as well. His resurrection is a promise 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:25.679 to us as well. The tomb is empty, so your hope 00:14:25.679 --> 00:14:32.259 doesn't have to be. And the oxygen of hope in 00:14:32.259 --> 00:14:35.899 our future resurrection is infused into our souls 00:14:35.899 --> 00:14:39.159 as we glory and bask in the effect of the resurrection 00:14:39.159 --> 00:14:42.000 of Jesus Christ on our lives, that it secures 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:44.820 for his people, for us, a future resurrected 00:14:44.820 --> 00:14:50.100 body and a new spiritual life today. See, Christians 00:14:50.100 --> 00:14:53.059 don't receive that new body in this age. How 00:14:53.059 --> 00:14:54.700 many of you guys are feeling that today, right? 00:14:55.639 --> 00:14:57.840 Wishing for that new heavenly body. Well, we 00:14:57.840 --> 00:15:00.860 don't receive it in this age, but God grants 00:15:00.860 --> 00:15:07.669 us renewed spirit while we wait. And we're told 00:15:07.669 --> 00:15:09.789 that because of his great mercy, he has given 00:15:09.789 --> 00:15:13.409 us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection 00:15:13.409 --> 00:15:16.690 of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance 00:15:16.690 --> 00:15:20.149 that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, 00:15:20.169 --> 00:15:25.070 kept in heaven for you. A new spiritual life, 00:15:25.110 --> 00:15:27.730 a new body in the resurrection, and an inheritance 00:15:27.730 --> 00:15:32.360 that we are brought into in Christ. And you think 00:15:32.360 --> 00:15:34.460 of a will or an inheritance that you might receive 00:15:34.460 --> 00:15:36.759 from a family member. You don't receive it because 00:15:36.759 --> 00:15:39.179 you earned it. You receive it because of relationship, 00:15:39.559 --> 00:15:42.620 because you are part of the family. It is yours. 00:15:44.740 --> 00:15:47.279 And what is this inheritance that he's talking 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:50.139 about? Well, this inheritance is this echo of 00:15:50.139 --> 00:15:53.100 this promise that God made first to the people 00:15:53.100 --> 00:15:56.259 of Israel, that he would make them into his people, 00:15:56.360 --> 00:15:59.909 that he would bless them. And that in the end, 00:15:59.929 --> 00:16:02.509 he would give them a promised land, a place, 00:16:02.529 --> 00:16:06.950 an inheritance in Canaan for them. It would be 00:16:06.950 --> 00:16:10.830 theirs. And Peter's drawing on that imagery to 00:16:10.830 --> 00:16:12.769 say, hey, you also have an inheritance. You're 00:16:12.769 --> 00:16:14.490 not the people of Israel, and you're not going 00:16:14.490 --> 00:16:17.830 to get Canaan, but you have an inheritance. You 00:16:17.830 --> 00:16:19.690 have a promised inheritance in the same way that 00:16:19.690 --> 00:16:23.110 God made good on his promise even after 40 years 00:16:23.110 --> 00:16:25.190 in the wilderness and a lot of years in slavery. 00:16:25.269 --> 00:16:28.399 God made good on his promise. to get his people 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:30.940 to the promised land, you also have an inheritance 00:16:30.940 --> 00:16:34.559 and God is the same God who makes good on his 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:38.659 promises. And so I ask, what is our inheritance 00:16:38.659 --> 00:16:40.980 in Christ? What is this thing that we are to 00:16:40.980 --> 00:16:43.720 hope for and get excited for in glory? And well, 00:16:43.779 --> 00:16:47.899 it is salvation to the fullest. We talk about 00:16:47.899 --> 00:16:50.580 salvation and we boil it all the way down to 00:16:50.580 --> 00:16:53.759 a decision on a day at a time in a moment. That's 00:16:53.759 --> 00:16:57.039 not salvation to the fullest. That may be the 00:16:57.039 --> 00:16:58.899 doorway. That may be crossing the threshold. 00:16:59.080 --> 00:17:02.700 But salvation to the fullest is union with Christ. 00:17:03.820 --> 00:17:07.599 It is full redemption of our bodies. It is life 00:17:07.599 --> 00:17:09.980 in the new heavens and the new earth. It is a 00:17:09.980 --> 00:17:15.559 share in the glory of Christ. It is meeting God 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:22.740 face to face. And Peter says, well, it's imperishable. 00:17:23.259 --> 00:17:26.299 Your inheritance can't rot. and it won't wear 00:17:26.299 --> 00:17:29.740 out over time. And he says it's undefiled. Sin 00:17:29.740 --> 00:17:32.420 itself and corruption can't touch it. What does 00:17:32.420 --> 00:17:34.819 that mean for us today? That means when you feel 00:17:34.819 --> 00:17:37.099 like you have screwed up too much, and you wonder 00:17:37.099 --> 00:17:39.279 if your inheritance is being taken away from 00:17:39.279 --> 00:17:44.240 you, no. Your inheritance can't be taken away 00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:47.140 from you. Once it's given to you, it is undefiled. 00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:50.980 It is not, your sin can't reach it. It is kept 00:17:50.980 --> 00:17:57.849 by God. It's all unfading too. Unfading, unlike 00:17:57.849 --> 00:17:59.289 earthly wealth. I don't know if you've experienced 00:17:59.289 --> 00:18:01.829 this, but you get money and it's really, really 00:18:01.829 --> 00:18:05.289 shiny. It's really, really exciting when you 00:18:05.289 --> 00:18:08.029 first get it. Maybe you get a windfall of money. 00:18:08.089 --> 00:18:11.750 You get that tax return, right? We're rich, baby. 00:18:11.869 --> 00:18:20.109 We got $900 back. And then like within a few 00:18:20.109 --> 00:18:23.170 hours, it switches from, we're so rich and we're 00:18:23.170 --> 00:18:26.720 so excited to, It's starting to go away. How 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:29.559 do we keep it? There goes another $20 and another 00:18:29.559 --> 00:18:33.079 $20, and it's fading, and the anxiety starts 00:18:33.079 --> 00:18:35.440 to come in, and the luster and the glow of the 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:37.500 money starts to go away, and pretty soon you're 00:18:37.500 --> 00:18:44.450 mad at it, right? You ruined my life! Our inheritance 00:18:44.450 --> 00:18:46.630 isn't like that. Our inheritance is unfading. 00:18:46.769 --> 00:18:49.569 It's unlike earthly wealth that loses its charm 00:18:49.569 --> 00:18:52.609 and glory. This inheritance that we have in Christ 00:18:52.609 --> 00:18:56.230 never withers, never dims, never loses its beauty. 00:18:56.269 --> 00:18:58.650 In fact, it grows in beauty as we grow in Christ. 00:19:00.210 --> 00:19:02.029 And it says finally that it's kept in heaven 00:19:02.029 --> 00:19:06.170 for you. But it's not just the inheritance that 00:19:06.170 --> 00:19:11.200 is kept. We're told that we are as well. I've 00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:12.900 said this before here at Village. I'll say it 00:19:12.900 --> 00:19:17.599 again. Our salvation is tri -faceted. It's tri 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:21.059 -faceted. It comes in three parts, you might 00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:23.819 say. We break it down this way, in three ways. 00:19:23.980 --> 00:19:28.839 We have been saved. We have been saved. And when 00:19:28.839 --> 00:19:30.960 I say that, I'm talking about the rebirth, the 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:33.680 regeneration. There was a moment when I was saved. 00:19:35.140 --> 00:19:38.619 The theological term is justification. I was 00:19:38.619 --> 00:19:41.039 justified, made right before God on the basis 00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:43.519 of Christ's merit. It was given to me and I was 00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:48.339 saved. It happened already. It's done. That's 00:19:48.339 --> 00:19:51.059 the first facet of our salvation. But there's 00:19:51.059 --> 00:19:54.240 also another facet, which is we are being saved. 00:19:55.180 --> 00:19:58.960 We are being saved. This is a new desire is beginning 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:02.339 to come. We begin to desire what God wants. We 00:20:02.339 --> 00:20:05.559 begin to desire holiness and obedience. We begin 00:20:05.559 --> 00:20:09.019 to hate sin and want to see less of it in our 00:20:09.019 --> 00:20:12.680 lives. We war against it. Holiness begins to 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:16.480 increase. The theological word for that is sanctification. 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:21.039 We are saved. Justification. We are being saved. 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:24.619 Sanctification. And lastly, the third or the 00:20:24.619 --> 00:20:29.079 tri -facet of our salvation is we will be saved. 00:20:29.930 --> 00:20:33.410 We will be saved. Future tense. Glorification 00:20:33.410 --> 00:20:37.490 is the theological term. And that is when the 00:20:37.490 --> 00:20:40.930 inheritance that is promised to us, the new resurrected 00:20:40.930 --> 00:20:43.569 life, the union with Christ, the inheritance 00:20:43.569 --> 00:20:46.670 in the kingdom of God, the keys to Zion City, 00:20:46.849 --> 00:20:50.630 as we'll sing about later, are given to us in 00:20:50.630 --> 00:20:54.410 the future. And it's something we hope for. Even 00:20:54.410 --> 00:20:56.789 as we have been saved and we are being saved, 00:20:56.849 --> 00:21:01.680 we will be saved. That is the fullness of salvation. 00:21:01.859 --> 00:21:04.339 A lot of people just go, hey, I said the prayer 00:21:04.339 --> 00:21:06.259 and boom, I was justified and I'm going to hunker 00:21:06.259 --> 00:21:08.599 down and wait. You have not experienced the fullness 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:11.339 of what salvation is offering you, what God is 00:21:11.339 --> 00:21:13.799 calling you into. And therefore, you can't glory 00:21:13.799 --> 00:21:15.900 in it and see the beauty of it. If you can't 00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:17.500 see the beauty of it, you can't get the hope 00:21:17.500 --> 00:21:21.119 and the joy that comes from it. And he's inviting 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:25.720 us in to see, oh, salvation is bigger than you 00:21:25.720 --> 00:21:29.190 could imagine. Peter says you're being kept and 00:21:29.190 --> 00:21:32.230 carefully watched by God's power to get you to 00:21:32.230 --> 00:21:37.609 glory, to glorification, the final act in the 00:21:37.609 --> 00:21:42.250 drama of salvation. But he says God's power does 00:21:42.250 --> 00:21:45.089 not work to guard and keep you apart from the 00:21:45.089 --> 00:21:49.950 personal faith you exercise as a believer. It 00:21:49.950 --> 00:21:53.589 is God's power through faith that guards us. 00:21:53.869 --> 00:21:56.450 And what is faith? Well, faith is loyal love. 00:21:57.549 --> 00:22:02.170 expressed in obedience. Loyal love expressed 00:22:02.170 --> 00:22:08.069 in obedience. So do you want to have confidence 00:22:08.069 --> 00:22:10.710 that God is guarding you by his great power? 00:22:10.829 --> 00:22:13.529 Do you want to know that you are kept by God 00:22:13.529 --> 00:22:15.970 for the day of salvation, for glorification? 00:22:16.470 --> 00:22:19.630 Well, if you continue to trust God through Christ 00:22:19.630 --> 00:22:23.730 in loyal love expressed in obedience, then God 00:22:23.730 --> 00:22:27.220 is guarding you guaranteed. And you will not 00:22:27.220 --> 00:22:30.900 fall or fail to reach your inheritance. You will 00:22:30.900 --> 00:22:33.440 get there. Because he ain't backing out on his 00:22:33.440 --> 00:22:43.220 promise. Number two of 18. There's only three. 00:22:43.660 --> 00:22:46.960 All you type A's out there are like, wait a sec, 00:22:47.019 --> 00:22:57.710 I gotta know. And the other two are short. You 00:22:57.710 --> 00:23:00.089 rejoice in this, even though now for a short 00:23:00.089 --> 00:23:03.109 time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various 00:23:03.109 --> 00:23:06.089 trials so that the proven character of your faith, 00:23:06.250 --> 00:23:09.230 more valuable than gold, which though perishable 00:23:09.230 --> 00:23:13.589 is refined by fire, may result in praise, glory, 00:23:13.930 --> 00:23:17.410 honor. At the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though 00:23:17.410 --> 00:23:19.630 you have not seen him. You love him. And though 00:23:19.630 --> 00:23:21.869 not seeing him. Now you believe in him. And you 00:23:21.869 --> 00:23:24.750 rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy. 00:23:24.849 --> 00:23:27.329 Because you are receiving the goal of your faith. 00:23:27.390 --> 00:23:31.490 The salvation of your souls. Suffering is real. 00:23:31.630 --> 00:23:35.789 Amen. Suffering is real. And suffering can cause 00:23:35.789 --> 00:23:40.769 all kinds of grief. Amen. Suffering is real. 00:23:40.890 --> 00:23:43.569 And it causes grief. But suffering is temporary. 00:23:45.960 --> 00:23:50.579 It's temporary. It is the nature of our suffering, 00:23:50.619 --> 00:23:53.880 if we are in Christ, is that it is always temporary. 00:23:54.859 --> 00:23:58.099 It's temporary, but it is also something else. 00:23:58.119 --> 00:24:01.259 It's also a trial, as he said. And there's something 00:24:01.259 --> 00:24:03.240 unique about a trial. Well, what is a trial? 00:24:03.339 --> 00:24:05.859 It's where evidence and arguments are collected 00:24:05.859 --> 00:24:08.359 and presented to determine whether something 00:24:08.359 --> 00:24:13.589 is what it claims to be. A drug trial, for instance, 00:24:13.769 --> 00:24:16.210 is to determine whether a pharmaceutical does 00:24:16.210 --> 00:24:19.349 what its creators claim it does without too many 00:24:19.349 --> 00:24:22.829 adverse side effects, right? A criminal trial 00:24:22.829 --> 00:24:25.130 is to determine whether the prosecutor's claim 00:24:25.130 --> 00:24:28.230 against the defendant are able to be proven in 00:24:28.230 --> 00:24:30.549 the court beyond a reasonable doubt. That's what 00:24:30.549 --> 00:24:33.750 a trial is, a criminal trial. And Peter is saying 00:24:33.750 --> 00:24:36.250 that the recipients of the letter and us today 00:24:36.250 --> 00:24:39.029 are encountering various trials that produce 00:24:39.029 --> 00:24:41.680 grief in our life. Amen? Anyone going through 00:24:41.680 --> 00:24:47.059 it? Produce grief in our life, but they are temporary 00:24:47.059 --> 00:24:50.220 in light of eternity and they serve an important 00:24:50.220 --> 00:24:52.680 purpose. And that important purpose is what? 00:24:52.819 --> 00:24:56.819 To prove the character of our faith. To prove 00:24:56.819 --> 00:24:58.960 the character of our faith. We may not like it, 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:03.359 but trials and suffering unveil us. They unveil 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:06.599 us in a way that nothing else can. They expose. 00:25:07.339 --> 00:25:09.640 At least a few things. The first thing is trials 00:25:09.640 --> 00:25:15.039 and sufferings expose our idols. We have idols 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:19.400 of our heart. Where have we put our ultimate 00:25:19.400 --> 00:25:23.180 hope in? What have we attached our future to? 00:25:23.779 --> 00:25:27.039 What in our life, if we lost it, would throw 00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:29.640 us for a loop and cause us to feel hopeless, 00:25:29.880 --> 00:25:33.119 without security, feeling like a wave tossed 00:25:33.119 --> 00:25:36.339 about? Those are idols and nothing exposes them 00:25:36.339 --> 00:25:39.019 like suffering and trials. Brings them right 00:25:39.019 --> 00:25:42.400 to the surface. When our idols fail to provide 00:25:42.400 --> 00:25:45.140 the security and the hope and the future that 00:25:45.140 --> 00:25:47.640 we vested all of our energy and our worship into, 00:25:47.940 --> 00:25:54.599 that's suffering and trials expose that. They 00:25:54.599 --> 00:25:59.099 can't hold up under the weight of it. But second, 00:25:59.200 --> 00:26:01.400 suffering exposes our flaws and the limitations 00:26:01.400 --> 00:26:04.940 of our own self -righteousness. We may go about 00:26:04.940 --> 00:26:07.359 thinking we can save ourselves. We've got it 00:26:07.359 --> 00:26:10.279 covered. But trials and suffering make it very 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:12.940 plain and abundantly clear to us that the person 00:26:12.940 --> 00:26:15.339 over there in my mind, over here, right? This 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:19.140 guy over here, he is freaking out. He's lost 00:26:19.140 --> 00:26:21.940 control. He doesn't seem like a very good God 00:26:21.940 --> 00:26:25.180 at the moment, does he? He's not handling the 00:26:25.180 --> 00:26:28.369 circumstance and situation very well. He's lost 00:26:28.369 --> 00:26:34.029 it. Maybe I can't save myself. Maybe I need something 00:26:34.029 --> 00:26:37.190 outside of myself, a righteousness that is not 00:26:37.190 --> 00:26:39.849 of myself, but is, as the old reformers called 00:26:39.849 --> 00:26:42.390 it, an alien righteousness, something from outside 00:26:42.390 --> 00:26:44.990 of myself that is brought to me because the thing 00:26:44.990 --> 00:26:47.170 that I've manufactured in here is falling apart 00:26:47.170 --> 00:26:49.509 and I can see it happening, playing out right 00:26:49.509 --> 00:26:54.250 before my eyes. Trials and suffering expose the 00:26:54.250 --> 00:26:58.109 places where There's limitations in our own self 00:26:58.109 --> 00:27:00.509 -righteousness. We can't save ourselves. And 00:27:00.509 --> 00:27:04.289 we can see it plain as day. But third, and most 00:27:04.289 --> 00:27:06.869 importantly for this scripture, trials and sufferings 00:27:06.869 --> 00:27:12.029 expose the hidden works of God within us. Expose 00:27:12.029 --> 00:27:14.069 the hidden works of God. Have you guys ever experienced 00:27:14.069 --> 00:27:17.430 that? After maybe a long period of relative ease 00:27:17.430 --> 00:27:20.910 in your life, maybe growth, maybe a hunger for 00:27:20.910 --> 00:27:24.410 his word, time in worship. More intimate times 00:27:24.410 --> 00:27:27.470 in fellowship and devotion with God. After a 00:27:27.470 --> 00:27:30.450 period of time, a trial or suffering comes that 00:27:30.450 --> 00:27:33.470 in the past, the past you would have been thrown 00:27:33.470 --> 00:27:35.690 for a loop. It would have knocked you down. You 00:27:35.690 --> 00:27:37.650 would have been tossed all about. But now it 00:27:37.650 --> 00:27:39.789 seems for some reason that same kind of trial 00:27:39.789 --> 00:27:42.289 coming your way in this moment is actually producing 00:27:42.289 --> 00:27:45.970 hope and confidence in God's goodness and his 00:27:45.970 --> 00:27:48.930 power to sustain you. Anyone ever had that experience 00:27:48.930 --> 00:27:51.369 where you're looking at yourself going, who is 00:27:51.369 --> 00:27:56.309 this? I am not the same person. Well, trials 00:27:56.309 --> 00:28:02.269 and suffering expose that in us. They help us 00:28:02.269 --> 00:28:04.630 to see it. In fact, they're the only kind of 00:28:04.630 --> 00:28:08.230 pressures that apply the necessary pressure in 00:28:08.230 --> 00:28:10.589 order to draw those things out so we can see 00:28:10.589 --> 00:28:12.809 them and ultimately give glory to God, glory 00:28:12.809 --> 00:28:15.029 and honor and praise to God for what he's done 00:28:15.029 --> 00:28:17.430 in my life. Wow, Lord, look what you have done. 00:28:17.490 --> 00:28:21.859 I am not the same. You have changed me. I didn't 00:28:21.859 --> 00:28:23.880 even know it. I was going on as if life was all 00:28:23.880 --> 00:28:26.640 the same. But this trial, this suffering brought 00:28:26.640 --> 00:28:30.380 to bear, brought to evidence that you have actually 00:28:30.380 --> 00:28:33.240 been working in my heart and our patient endurance 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:35.980 through suffering proves the character of our 00:28:35.980 --> 00:28:39.039 faith in salvation. It proves it real that we 00:28:39.039 --> 00:28:42.140 are not the sin -enslaved, unbelieving soul we 00:28:42.140 --> 00:28:45.980 were once, but that we are a new creation and 00:28:45.980 --> 00:28:49.500 we are a work that he has promised to bring to 00:28:49.500 --> 00:28:54.410 completion. Number three, if you're taking notes, 00:28:54.549 --> 00:28:59.750 a salvation worth waiting for. The last three 00:28:59.750 --> 00:29:02.190 verses of our scripture today are actually pretty 00:29:02.190 --> 00:29:05.150 amazing. In verse 10 through 12, Peter pulls 00:29:05.150 --> 00:29:07.690 back the curtain to show just how massive and 00:29:07.690 --> 00:29:10.849 marvelous our salvation really is. And here's 00:29:10.849 --> 00:29:14.069 what he says. He tells us that the prophets of 00:29:14.069 --> 00:29:21.440 old, that Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, They searched 00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:23.799 and they studied the scriptures that they had. 00:29:23.880 --> 00:29:26.000 They studied the revelations and the prophecies 00:29:26.000 --> 00:29:28.119 that God had given. They studied with all their 00:29:28.119 --> 00:29:30.599 heart. And they were trying to understand when 00:29:30.599 --> 00:29:33.599 and how God's great rescue plan would come to 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:36.599 be. They were trying to figure it out. And as 00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:38.619 they're looking at it, the spirit of Christ within 00:29:38.619 --> 00:29:41.079 them was testifying to them. Hey, hey, it is 00:29:41.079 --> 00:29:43.519 working out. It is happening. But it's not for 00:29:43.519 --> 00:29:46.539 you yet. It's for someone in the future. You 00:29:46.539 --> 00:29:49.259 remain true. You remain steadfast. You speak 00:29:49.259 --> 00:29:52.140 what I tell you to speak. But what you're speaking 00:29:52.140 --> 00:29:54.680 is not going to come to fruition, not to come 00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:56.700 to fullness. In your lifetime, it's for something 00:29:56.700 --> 00:30:00.900 future. And it says that they leaned forward 00:30:00.900 --> 00:30:04.460 on tiptoe, longing to see what you and I now 00:30:04.460 --> 00:30:08.500 get to experience firsthand in Christ. Our salvation, 00:30:08.599 --> 00:30:11.799 the prophets got up on their tippy toes to see 00:30:11.799 --> 00:30:14.420 what is this going to be like down in the future? 00:30:16.079 --> 00:30:18.059 Well, we know what it's like. We're experiencing 00:30:18.059 --> 00:30:20.779 it today. The salvation you've experienced is 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:24.220 the salvation they peered forward, leaned in, 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:28.400 and tried to see. And Peter says, well, it's 00:30:28.400 --> 00:30:31.779 not just the prophets. Oh, it's not just the 00:30:31.779 --> 00:30:35.500 prophets. It's actually even the angels. Those 00:30:35.500 --> 00:30:38.519 glorious beings who stand in the very presence 00:30:38.519 --> 00:30:42.019 of God, they are captivated by the beauty and 00:30:42.019 --> 00:30:46.740 the mystery of your salvation. God in his infinite 00:30:46.740 --> 00:30:50.859 wisdom did not think to disclose to them the 00:30:50.859 --> 00:30:53.240 whole plan of salvation, but allowed them to 00:30:53.240 --> 00:30:56.619 witness it unfolding after thousands and thousands 00:30:56.619 --> 00:31:00.119 of years until today. And to this day, angels 00:31:00.119 --> 00:31:03.059 lean forward. They lean forward to see, to peer 00:31:03.059 --> 00:31:06.799 into the unfolding story of grace in awe that 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:10.279 God would pour out such mercy and grace on people 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:19.660 like you and I. Church, do you see it? Do you 00:31:19.660 --> 00:31:23.980 feel the wonder of this salvation? Peter has 00:31:23.980 --> 00:31:27.380 spent these verses breathing oxygen into our 00:31:27.380 --> 00:31:31.180 souls, filling our lungs with the living hope 00:31:31.180 --> 00:31:34.299 of what is already ours and what is being worked 00:31:34.299 --> 00:31:37.940 in us even now and what is waiting for us with 00:31:37.940 --> 00:31:42.099 certainty, confident expectation, and glory. 00:31:43.429 --> 00:31:47.210 Your salvation is not small. It's not uncertain. 00:31:47.569 --> 00:31:49.750 It's not something that you had to be good enough 00:31:49.750 --> 00:31:52.970 to attain. And it's not just for some day. It 00:31:52.970 --> 00:31:59.890 is for today. I love the way this Puritan pastor 00:31:59.890 --> 00:32:02.190 from the 17th century, Thomas Brooks, put it. 00:32:02.210 --> 00:32:04.690 He said, the greatest thing we can desire is 00:32:04.690 --> 00:32:08.710 our own salvation. And the sweetest thing is 00:32:08.710 --> 00:32:12.039 the assurance of that salvation. The greatest 00:32:12.039 --> 00:32:14.759 thing we can desire is our own salvation and 00:32:14.759 --> 00:32:20.000 the sweetest experience is experiencing the assurance 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:25.279 of it. Christians, you can know, you can live 00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:27.880 with full assurance, not just crossing your fingers 00:32:27.880 --> 00:32:30.680 and hoping for the best someday. Maybe, I hope. 00:32:31.480 --> 00:32:34.539 I'm secure. But standing with confidence on the 00:32:34.539 --> 00:32:37.000 finished work of Christ, guarded by the power 00:32:37.000 --> 00:32:40.000 of God, walking toward an inheritance that cannot 00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:43.220 spoil, cannot fade, and cannot perish. Thomas 00:32:43.220 --> 00:32:47.440 Brooks also said this, all saints shall enjoy 00:32:47.440 --> 00:32:51.319 a heaven when they leave this earth, but some 00:32:51.319 --> 00:32:55.619 shall enjoy a heaven while they are here on earth. 00:32:57.500 --> 00:33:00.500 Some of you get to breathe the oxygen of heaven. 00:33:01.200 --> 00:33:05.099 while you're here some of you if you look at 00:33:05.099 --> 00:33:08.380 your salvation and you gaze upon it in glory 00:33:08.380 --> 00:33:11.960 and mystery and wonder you will begin to experience 00:33:11.960 --> 00:33:15.000 the assurance of your salvation which is the 00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:18.099 oxygen of heaven oxygen of hope the oxygen of 00:33:18.099 --> 00:33:20.900 joy and you'll get to experience that here on 00:33:20.900 --> 00:33:23.279 earth without assurance you may still reach heaven 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:29.319 but you'll miss the joy of heaven on earth You'll 00:33:29.319 --> 00:33:31.960 limp along in fear when you could walk in confident 00:33:31.960 --> 00:33:35.099 joy. You'll second guess his love when you could 00:33:35.099 --> 00:33:39.059 rest in it. You'll hold your breath in anxiety 00:33:39.059 --> 00:33:42.799 when you could breathe the oxygen of living hope. 00:33:45.380 --> 00:33:48.660 So I'm going to invite Gabe and Anissi to come 00:33:48.660 --> 00:33:53.259 up as I leave you with these questions. Are you 00:33:53.259 --> 00:33:57.359 living like you have this kind of hope? How many 00:33:57.359 --> 00:34:00.299 of you are living your life in salvation as if 00:34:00.299 --> 00:34:07.440 it's a maybe? Is it a maybe, possibly? Are you 00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:10.619 rejoicing in this salvation, even in the trial? 00:34:11.199 --> 00:34:14.480 Are you leaning forward like the prophets did 00:34:14.480 --> 00:34:17.559 and the angels did, captivated by the glory of 00:34:17.559 --> 00:34:23.119 what God has done for you in Christ? Are you 00:34:23.119 --> 00:34:26.219 looking to Christ for your salvation? and for 00:34:26.219 --> 00:34:28.860 your assurance salvation. I say today, lift your 00:34:28.860 --> 00:34:32.900 eyes up to heaven, breathe deeply the air of 00:34:32.900 --> 00:34:37.000 heaven, and rejoice fully in your salvation, 00:34:37.219 --> 00:34:40.179 because you have been born again into a living 00:34:40.179 --> 00:34:43.880 hope, and that hope will never die.