Chosen Exiles
Series: Summer @ St. Paul's
Speaker: Sam Low
Date: 16th December 2017
Passage: 1 Peter 1:1-12
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Two other self-indulgent moments just quickly.
00:00:02 --> 00:00:06 I have left, for anyone who did want to sign up for prayer updates while we're away,
00:00:06 --> 00:00:12 I left a sheet out on the Connect desk last chance because we will be gone after today.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:13 So please do do that.
00:00:14 --> 00:00:20 And the other thing I wanted to say is we're jumping into a bit of 1 Peter today
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 without the chance to kind of chase the rest of it.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 So I'm leaving it on you to keep reading 1 Peter over Christmas.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:33 It's a good book any time, but hopefully after today your appetite will be sufficiently wetted
00:00:33 --> 00:00:37 so that you will chase that and get all the gold that God has placed in there.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:43 Let's leave me and all the distractions to the side now
00:00:43 --> 00:00:46 and ask that God would focus us on his word and what he wants to say.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:50 Father God, you are incredibly good.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:55 We have already talked about and sung about and prayed about the joy that is Christmas,
00:00:55 --> 00:01:00 the joy and wonder it is that you would enter your creation for sinful people like us.
00:01:01 --> 00:01:04 And so, Father, we ask that this morning as you speak to us in your word
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 that you would reveal yourself to us,
00:01:07 --> 00:01:11 that you would give us a vision for the lives that you would have us live,
00:01:11 --> 00:01:15 that you would give us the ability to grasp even tighter
00:01:15 --> 00:01:20 the substance of the hope that you have purchased for us through the blood of Jesus.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:26 Father, we pray that you would equip us by your spirit to be salt and light in the world.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:27 Amen.
00:01:29 --> 00:01:33 Some of you may not have noticed, but just in late November,
00:01:34 --> 00:01:38 Google, the internet search engine in Australia, made an interesting decision.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:47 If you were to search for, for example, the opening hours of Chatswood Chase on Christmas,
00:01:47 --> 00:01:51 the tagline at the bottom inserted by Google would have read,
00:01:52 --> 00:01:56 this date may be impacted by Family Day.
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 Not Christmas Day, Family Day.
00:02:01 --> 00:02:05 Somebody in Google's office in Australia, it wasn't any other country that I'm aware of,
00:02:06 --> 00:02:08 made the decision that Christmas Day was not inclusive
00:02:08 --> 00:02:11 and that Family Day was a better title.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 They've since changed it back, you'll be interested to know.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:19 But at least for this one person and sufficiently that it made it onto the internet,
00:02:20 --> 00:02:25 the course for inclusion, the course for being more open-minded,
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 is the removal of all things Christian.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 Over the past few months in our country and in our city,
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 because of the new plebiscite,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:41 you will remember that there has been a chorus in our political landscape
00:02:41 --> 00:02:47 declaring that faith and religion must be removed from the political and the public sphere.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 You can have your faith, you can believe in Jesus, just shut up about it.
00:02:51 --> 00:02:53 And don't let it come into our decision-making.
00:02:54 --> 00:02:55 Don't force it on anyone else.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:00 Now, aside from the fact that that completely misunderstands what it is to have faith
00:03:00 --> 00:03:06 and to believe in a Christ who came and entered in and gives us hope for more than this life,
00:03:06 --> 00:03:11 it's interesting that the particular religion that needs to be removed,
00:03:11 --> 00:03:14 at least in our context, is Christianity.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 That's the one that can't have a voice
00:03:17 --> 00:03:22 because it's the one that rubs against the grain of the culture that we exist in.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:30 Over the past few years, you may also remember an enthusiastic little lobby group known as FIIRUS.
00:03:31 --> 00:03:35 It's creatively titled Fairness in Religion in Schools,
00:03:35 --> 00:03:39 which is a euphemism for Stop Teaching Kids About Jesus.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:45 Aside from the fact that scripture or religious education in schools is completely voluntary,
00:03:46 --> 00:03:51 the accusation by this group is that the teaching of Christianity is oppressive and harmful
00:03:51 --> 00:03:54 and shouldn't be taught to teenagers in schools.
00:03:56 --> 00:04:00 It would be fair to say, just these examples and there's plenty more,
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 that if you are a Christian and you are listening to the world around you,
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 the message that you're getting is,
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 keep your faith to yourself.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:16 If you want to believe in Jesus, it stays in your house, it stays in your head,
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 it's not something for public consumption.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:22 And yet, as you hear that message,
00:04:23 --> 00:04:25 and you turn up to church on a Sunday,
00:04:25 --> 00:04:27 you go to your community group,
00:04:27 --> 00:04:28 you open the Bible,
00:04:28 --> 00:04:30 you are also hearing the message,
00:04:31 --> 00:04:33 in fact, the command from God's Word,
00:04:33 --> 00:04:34 to be light in the world,
00:04:35 --> 00:04:36 to declare the hope of the Gospel.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:39 At best,
00:04:40 --> 00:04:41 we're living in a tension.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 At worst,
00:04:45 --> 00:04:48 you might be living in a deep confusion and discouragement.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:51 So how do we live,
00:04:52 --> 00:04:53 as Christians,
00:04:53 --> 00:04:54 with that tension?
00:04:55 --> 00:04:59 How do we walk out of here with the enthusiasm of being gathered with God's people,
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 and the encouragement of the Gospel,
00:05:01 --> 00:05:02 and the hope we have for Heaven,
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 into a world that not only doesn't want to hear it,
00:05:06 --> 00:05:08 but may even persecute us for what we believe?
00:05:08 --> 00:05:13 How do we live in a hostile environment?
00:05:15 --> 00:05:20 Well, 1 Peter is a letter written to Christians scattered throughout what is modern-day Turkey.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:24 And we don't know how the Gospel got to these Christians exactly.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 It could have been people who were converted and travelled there.
00:05:27 --> 00:05:28 It could have been missionary journeys.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:32 But what we do know is that the Christians in those regions
00:05:32 --> 00:05:36 were beginning to experience the kind of hostility and isolation
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 that maybe you're experiencing at the moment.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 The hostility from work colleagues,
00:05:43 --> 00:05:44 the being looked over for promotions,
00:05:45 --> 00:05:47 the avoidance of your neighbours,
00:05:49 --> 00:05:51 the isolation that comes from living in a culture
00:05:51 --> 00:05:54 that you just don't quite fit into.
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 See, the culture in their day was heavily Roman.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 And so that meant that social interaction for them
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 was heavily tied up in pagan rituals.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 So you would gather and you would have your feasts
00:06:07 --> 00:06:11 around different festivals and sacrifices.
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 Your day-to-day existence was dependent
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 on the willingness of your neighbours,
00:06:16 --> 00:06:17 the people you lived around,
00:06:17 --> 00:06:18 being willing to trade with you,
00:06:19 --> 00:06:20 being willing to buy from you,
00:06:20 --> 00:06:21 being willing to sell to you.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:25 And these Christians were experiencing the beginnings
00:06:25 --> 00:06:30 of what would become a bloody and severe persecution.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:33 It's before it gets to its worst.
00:06:34 --> 00:06:35 In the following decades,
00:06:35 --> 00:06:37 the Emperor Nero would unleash
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 one of the bloodiest persecutions of the Christian church
00:06:40 --> 00:06:41 that history will ever know.
00:06:41 --> 00:06:44 And so these Christians,
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 as the hostility slowly ramped up,
00:06:48 --> 00:06:50 were understandably tempted to compromise,
00:06:52 --> 00:06:53 tempted to adjust,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 tempted to keep their faith to themselves,
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 tempted to modernise what they believed
00:06:59 --> 00:07:02 and maybe include some of these other religious festivals
00:07:02 --> 00:07:05 with the Jesus that they were trying to follow.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:08 And so Peter writes a message to these Christians
00:07:08 --> 00:07:10 and it's a message that you and I need today
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 and every day until Jesus calls us home.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:16 It's a message we need
00:07:16 --> 00:07:19 because the reality is we're in the middle of similar pressures.
00:07:20 --> 00:07:22 I'm almost reluctant to use the word persecution.
00:07:23 --> 00:07:26 I think that some of our brothers and sisters in the world
00:07:26 --> 00:07:28 who follow Jesus are experiencing persecution.
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 We're maybe on the beginning of a path of hostility,
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 but it's getting harder.
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 And it's going to get harder.
00:07:36 --> 00:07:39 So how do we live in a world that is hostile?
00:07:41 --> 00:07:46 First, remember who you are.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 Remember who you are.
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 Before we focus too much on the world out there
00:07:52 --> 00:07:53 and how to engage them,
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 on the circumstances, the culture we live in,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:57 we need to take stock of who we are.
00:07:58 --> 00:08:02 We need clarity on our identity as followers of Jesus
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 because it's just as significant a factor
00:08:04 --> 00:08:08 in how we live and how we experience our lives
00:08:08 --> 00:08:11 as anything that can externally influence you.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 I mean, this is simple science.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:18 Any reaction is dependent on two elements.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 If you have just petrol, it's fine.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:26 Petrol and fire equals explosion.
00:08:26 --> 00:08:28 Petrol and water, just a mess.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:34 Any reaction is dependent on what both elements bring to the conversation.
00:08:35 --> 00:08:39 And so even though the world around us might feel like a flame,
00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 might feel hostile, might feel angry,
00:08:43 --> 00:08:49 that's only an issue if we're a flammable element.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:55 That's only an issue if we come to that fire as paper,
00:08:55 --> 00:09:00 with a flimsy identity that's easily burned and easily consumed.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:03 If we're paper, we should be worried.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:05 We should be avoiding the world.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:06 We should be fleeing to the hills.
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 But if we're gold,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 then the flame is for our benefit.
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 The flame is a good thing.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 The flame is something to be pursued.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 It purifies us.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 It strengthens us.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:23 So the first question we need to ask
00:09:23 --> 00:09:27 as we begin to experience hostility in the world that we live in
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 is what are we made of?
00:09:32 --> 00:09:33 What are we made of?
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 So if you're a Christian, who are you?
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 Verse 1 there in 1 Peter 1,
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 that Jess read out for us.
00:09:38 --> 00:10:02 See, you could stop after three words there.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:05 If you are a Christian,
00:10:06 --> 00:10:09 you are God's elect.
00:10:10 --> 00:10:12 That means you are chosen.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:16 He chose you before the creation of the world.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:19 Before He'd made all that we experience and enjoy,
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 He'd already chosen to do Christmas.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 He'd already decided He was going to send His Son
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 for you specifically.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 And now by the power of His Spirit,
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 He has made you His.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 You belong to Him.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 You are His possession.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:40 He chose you to be somebody who is at home with Him,
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 who is more comfortable with Him.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 He chose you for something more than this world,
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 something better.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 In chapter 2 of 1 Peter,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 He goes on to say that
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 He made Christians to be a holy nation.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:56 That means to be set apart for something else.
00:10:56 --> 00:10:59 He made Christians to be a royal priesthood,
00:10:59 --> 00:11:03 meaning that they are representative of something else,
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 representative of the new home,
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 the new identity that He has purchased for them.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:10 If you are a Christian,
00:11:11 --> 00:11:15 this is not your home.
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 This is not your home.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:22 You do not belong here.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 And the upside of that is
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 God has chosen you for something better.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 And so we need to hope for something better.
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 Have a look at verse 3.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:56 You could just re-read those verses over and over.
00:11:56 --> 00:12:00 The hope that Jesus has purchased for you
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 through His death and resurrection
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 is a living hope.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 It's a hope that is so substantial,
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 it will continue to grow
00:12:09 --> 00:12:12 as you begin to see more of how good God is.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:15 It is a hope that cannot perish, spoil or fade.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 See, before Jesus,
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 every single human individual's life
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 has the same boundary.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:25 Death.
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 That's the end point.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:29 For every single human without Jesus,
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 because people reject God and ignore Him,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 we're unworthy of heaven.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 And so the offer of eternal life,
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 the offer of life for more than just your
00:12:38 --> 00:12:40 80, 90, 100 years,
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 is actually off the table.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:45 We all have the same fences.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 You're born, you grow up,
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 you work, you play,
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 and then you die.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 It's all over.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 You can't take anything with you.
00:12:51 --> 00:12:51 Finished.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 And so if that's it,
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 then we should eat, drink and be merry.
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 We should spend our lives
00:13:00 --> 00:13:02 trying to squeeze everything out of it that we can,
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 collecting experiences,
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 collecting stuff,
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 doing whatever we can
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 to get as much enjoyment as possible
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 out of right now.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:12 But,
00:13:14 --> 00:13:16 praise be to the God and Father
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 of our Lord Jesus Christ,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 who's given us new birth
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 into a living hope.
00:13:23 --> 00:13:25 See, because Jesus rose again,
00:13:25 --> 00:13:27 because He's not still in the grave,
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 He proved that He's more powerful than death.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 He proved that when we trust Him
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 with our lives,
00:13:35 --> 00:13:37 when we follow Him
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 with everything that we've got,
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 we get reborn.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:42 We get a new life.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 We get a hope that lasts
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 well beyond the death,
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 well beyond 80, 90, 100.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 It's a living hope
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 that doesn't perish,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 that doesn't spoil,
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 that doesn't fade.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 If you are a Christian,
00:13:55 --> 00:13:58 you have been chosen
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 for unending life.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:05 Death is not your finish line.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 And so that changes
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 how we experience right now.
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 If you are not a Christian,
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 the hope that Jesus offers,
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 the reason that He bothered
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 to come as a baby at Christmas,
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 the reason He lived
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 and died and rose again,
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 is so that death
00:14:21 --> 00:14:23 would not be your finish line.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:26 So that you could stand
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 in the face of sickness,
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 in the face of death,
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 in the face of rust
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 and decay,
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 and know that nothing
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 can take the eternal life
00:14:36 --> 00:14:38 that Jesus offers from you.
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 this inheritance,
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 verse 4,
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 is kept in heaven for you.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:47 No one can take it from you.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 This inheritance is kept
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 in heaven for you
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 who through faith
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 are shielded
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 by God's power
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 until the coming
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 of the salvation
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 that is ready to be revealed
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 in the last time.
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 The inheritance
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 that reshapes
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 our whole existence
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 and our perspective
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 on our circumstances,
00:15:05 --> 00:15:07 that even reshapes us,
00:15:07 --> 00:15:10 the thing that we hope for,
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 the thing that we look forward to,
00:15:13 --> 00:15:17 our hope is for salvation.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 That's what draws us forward.
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 That's not just avoiding death.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 It's at least that.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 But the salvation
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 that God offers
00:15:28 --> 00:15:32 is himself.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 The thing God
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 is keeping for you
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 in heaven
00:15:37 --> 00:15:39 is a place
00:15:39 --> 00:15:39 with him.
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 God is shielding people,
00:15:43 --> 00:15:44 his people,
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 for himself.
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 So in verse 5 there,
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 it's salvation
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 that will be revealed.
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 But if you skip down
00:15:53 --> 00:15:53 to verse 7,
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 it talks about
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 our refined faith
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 being to the praise of God.
00:15:57 --> 00:15:57 When?
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 What is revealed?
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 Jesus Christ.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 Salvation is not
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 some abstract concept
00:16:05 --> 00:16:05 where you just get
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 set free.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 The salvation
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 that God offers
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 is a relationship
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 with him.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 An unhindered relationship.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 A face-to-face relationship.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 The eternal life
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 that God has purchased
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 through the death
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 of his son Jesus
00:16:22 --> 00:16:24 is not just living
00:16:24 --> 00:16:25 forever.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:25 forever.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:27 It's life
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 plugged into
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 the limitless source
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 of life and goodness,
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 God himself.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:34 It's life
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 in an unhindered
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 relationship
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 with God
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 through Jesus.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:41 See,
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 the unfading
00:16:42 --> 00:16:42 inheritance
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 of God's elect,
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 the thing
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 that we hope for,
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 the thing
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 that transforms
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 the way we experience
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 hostility
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 in this world,
00:16:52 --> 00:16:56 is the secure
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 salvation
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 of a place
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 that's prepared
00:17:00 --> 00:17:00 for us
00:17:00 --> 00:17:00 in heaven.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 It's the confidence
00:17:04 --> 00:17:04 we have
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 that because
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 Jesus died
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 and rose again,
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 not only does God
00:17:08 --> 00:17:08 love us,
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 not only is death
00:17:09 --> 00:17:09 defeated,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 but our names
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 are written
00:17:13 --> 00:17:13 in heaven.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 There is a specific
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 place that God
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 has prepared
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 for you
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 that no one
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 else can take
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 and not only
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 is God
00:17:24 --> 00:17:24 preparing that
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 place for when
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 you get there,
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 but he is
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 shielding you
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 every step
00:17:29 --> 00:17:29 of the way
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 from now
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 until then.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:37 it may be
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 hostile,
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 but as God's
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 chosen people,
00:17:42 --> 00:17:44 we're protected,
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 we're secure,
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 and our
00:17:48 --> 00:17:49 inheritance can
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 never perish,
00:17:50 --> 00:17:50 spoil,
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 or fade.
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 How do we live
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 in this hostile
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 world?
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 Remember
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 whose
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 you are.
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 You're
00:17:59 --> 00:17:59 God's
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 chosen
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01 who chose
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01 you
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 and who
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 gave you
00:18:03 --> 00:18:03 new birth
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 through the
00:18:04 --> 00:18:04 resurrection
00:18:04 --> 00:18:04 of his
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 son.
00:18:06 --> 00:18:06 Remember
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 who you
00:18:07 --> 00:18:07 are,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:07 God's
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 chosen
00:18:08 --> 00:18:08 son
00:18:08 --> 00:18:08 or
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 daughter
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 with a
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 glorious
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 inheritance
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 that awaits
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 you.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 In
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 hostility,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 remember
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 who you
00:18:19 --> 00:18:19 are.
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 In
00:18:21 --> 00:18:21 adversity,
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 remember
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 who you
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 are.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 Even
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 in
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 prosperity,
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26 remember
00:18:26 --> 00:18:28 you
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 were
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 chosen.
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 You
00:18:29 --> 00:18:30 have
00:18:30 --> 00:18:30 a
00:18:30 --> 00:18:30 living
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 hope.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:32 Remember
00:18:32 --> 00:18:32 who you
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 are,
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 and the
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34 second
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34 thing
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34 is,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 remember
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 where
00:18:36 --> 00:18:36 you
00:18:36 --> 00:18:36 are.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 Remember
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 where
00:18:39 --> 00:18:39 you
00:18:39 --> 00:18:39 are.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 So
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 Peter
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 is writing
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 this
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 letter
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 to a
00:18:42 --> 00:18:42 diverse
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 group
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 of
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 people
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 scattered
00:18:44 --> 00:18:45 across
00:18:45 --> 00:18:45 a big
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 geographical
00:18:46 --> 00:18:46 area.
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 Their
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 cities
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 would have
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 been
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 distinct
00:18:49 --> 00:18:49 in these
00:18:49 --> 00:18:49 different
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 provinces,
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 the way
00:18:51 --> 00:18:51 they
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 functioned
00:18:52 --> 00:18:52 and
00:18:52 --> 00:18:52 operated,
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 but he
00:18:53 --> 00:18:53 still
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 addresses
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 them
00:18:54 --> 00:18:54 all
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 with
00:18:55 --> 00:18:55 that
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 title
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 elect
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 and
00:18:58 --> 00:18:58 then
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 exile.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 Elect
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 is
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 who
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 they
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 are,
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 exile
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 is
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 where
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 they
00:19:04 --> 00:19:04 are.
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 Now
00:19:05 --> 00:19:05 exile
00:19:05 --> 00:19:05 is a
00:19:05 --> 00:19:05 big
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 Old
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 Testament
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 word.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:07 In
00:19:07 --> 00:19:07 the
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 Old
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 Testament
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 exile
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 talks
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 about
00:19:09 --> 00:19:09 the
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 time
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 where
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 God's
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 people
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 Israel
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 after
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 repeatedly
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 disobeying
00:19:14 --> 00:19:14 God
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 and
00:19:15 --> 00:19:15 worshipping
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 idols
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 and
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 bowing
00:19:17 --> 00:19:17 down
00:19:17 --> 00:19:17 to
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 false
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 gods,
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 finally
00:19:19 --> 00:19:19 they
00:19:19 --> 00:19:19 are
00:19:19 --> 00:19:19 taken
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 into
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 exile
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 or
00:19:21 --> 00:19:21 captivity
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 by the
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 Babylonian
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 army.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 So exile
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 is where
00:19:25 --> 00:19:25 they're
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 removed
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 from
00:19:26 --> 00:19:26 their
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 country,
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 from
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 their
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 homeland
00:19:28 --> 00:19:28 and
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 dumped
00:19:29 --> 00:19:29 into
00:19:29 --> 00:19:29 this
00:19:29 --> 00:19:29 new
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 place,
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 they're
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 forced
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 to
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 live
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 in
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 this
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 new
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 place
00:19:32 --> 00:19:32 without
00:19:32 --> 00:19:32 their
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 culture,
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33 without
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 their
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 routines.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35 So exile
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 is usually
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 politically
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 motivated.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 In this
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 case,
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 the idea
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 was that
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 if you
00:19:42 --> 00:19:42 take Israel
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 away from
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 their
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 home and
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 you dilute
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 them into
00:19:46 --> 00:19:48 the Babylonian
00:19:48 --> 00:19:48 culture,
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 what you do
00:19:49 --> 00:19:49 is you
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 weaken
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 them as
00:19:51 --> 00:19:51 a nation.
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 You
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 take away
00:19:53 --> 00:19:53 the things
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 that make
00:19:54 --> 00:19:54 them
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 them and
00:19:55 --> 00:19:55 you dissolve
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 the culture
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 and the
00:19:57 --> 00:19:57 values.
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 That's
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 Old Testament
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 exile for
00:20:00 --> 00:20:00 Israel.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 Now,
00:20:01 --> 00:20:01 Peter's not
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 just writing
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 to Jewish
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 people here.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 There might
00:20:05 --> 00:20:05 have been
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 some Jews
00:20:06 --> 00:20:06 in these
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 provinces,
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 but he's
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 not writing
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 to just
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 Jewish
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 people.
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 These
00:20:11 --> 00:20:11 people,
00:20:12 --> 00:20:12 and you
00:20:12 --> 00:20:12 and I
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 come from
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 a whole
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 bunch of
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 different
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 countries
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 and ethnic
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 backgrounds,
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 these people
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 are not
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 in geographic
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 exile like
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 Israel was,
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20 they're all
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 spread out.
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 Now,
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 I'm not
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 aware of
00:20:23 --> 00:20:23 anyone in
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 this room
00:20:24 --> 00:20:24 who is in
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 geographic
00:20:25 --> 00:20:25 exile,
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 although you
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 might be,
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 but the
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 point is
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 for these
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 people and
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 for us
00:20:31 --> 00:20:34 is that
00:20:34 --> 00:20:34 they're
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 exiled
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 because of
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 who they
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 now are.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 Now that
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 they're God's
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 chosen people,
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 now that
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 their hope
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 is a living
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 hope in the
00:20:44 --> 00:20:44 death and
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 resurrection of
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 Jesus,
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 their home
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 is now with
00:20:48 --> 00:20:48 God in
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 heaven.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 That's
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 where they
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 belong.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 That's
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 their
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 defining
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 reality.
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 That's
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 their
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 passport.
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 They
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 don't
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 belong in
00:20:57 --> 00:20:57 this
00:20:57 --> 00:20:57 world.
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 They
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 are in
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 exile in
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 this
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 world.
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 And so
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 if you
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 are a
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 Christian,
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 your
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 inheritance
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 and your
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 hope and
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 your
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 identity,
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 your
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 citizenship
00:21:07 --> 00:21:09 is in
00:21:09 --> 00:21:09 heaven with
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 God.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:11 That's
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 where you
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 belong.
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 That's
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 what you're
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 looking forward
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 to.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 That's
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 why you
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 feel
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 frustrated
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 about the
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 world that
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 we live
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 in and
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 the things
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 that are
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 wrong with
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 it because
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 you know
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 you were
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 made for
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 something
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 better.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 Your
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 exile is
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 not
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 Australia.
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 It's
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 this
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 world,
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 still full
00:21:30 --> 00:21:30 of sin
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 and death
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 and opposition.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 Now the
00:21:34 --> 00:21:34 whole concept
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 of exile,
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 and this is
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 why this is
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 really important
00:21:37 --> 00:21:37 for us,
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 the whole
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 concept of
00:21:39 --> 00:21:39 exile has
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 built into
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 it the
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 hope or
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 the longing
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 for return.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:45 While Israel
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 was in
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 Babylon,
00:21:47 --> 00:21:47 initially they
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 longed to
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 return home.
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 They longed
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 to go back
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 to where
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 they were
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 from and
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 where they
00:21:53 --> 00:21:53 were supposed
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 to be.
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 But then
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 progressively they
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 settled into
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 the culture.
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 Some people
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 became more
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 Babylonian than
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 Jewish.
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 And at that
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 point it ceases
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 to be exile.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 It's just
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 immigration.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 You've moved
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 and you're in a
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 new place and
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 you've made
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 yourself at
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 home.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 Exile has
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 built into
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 it that sense
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 that I don't
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 belong here.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 I want to
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 be where I
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 where I'm
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 supposed to
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 be.
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 I want to
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 be at
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 home.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:20 And if
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 you're a
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 Christian,
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 that home
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 is heaven.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:26 This is
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 not heaven.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 I'm assuming
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 that's not a
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 newsflash for
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 people.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 Even though
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 there's plenty
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 of good things
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 that God
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 blesses us
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 with,
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 even though
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 Christmas is a
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 joyful time,
00:22:40 --> 00:22:44 this is not
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 heaven.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 And so as
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 God's chosen
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 people,
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 as his
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 elect,
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 we need to
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 cultivate,
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 we need to
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 embrace a
00:22:54 --> 00:22:57 holy discontent
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 with where we
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 live.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 We need to
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 look around
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 the world
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 that we are
00:23:02 --> 00:23:04 in and
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 long for the
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 something better
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 that God is
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 keeping for
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 us.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 and that
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 God is
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 keeping us
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 for.
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 We need to
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 be very
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 nervous,
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 maybe even
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 catch ourselves
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 if all our
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 dreams and
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 hopes and
00:23:21 --> 00:23:23 aspirations are
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 confined to
00:23:24 --> 00:23:24 what's going to
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 happen to us
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 within our
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 lifespan on
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 earth.
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 If that's all
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 you're aiming
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 for, maybe
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 you've
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 immigrated.
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 Maybe you've
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 forgotten where
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 your home is.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 Maybe you've
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 forgotten who
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 you are.
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 We need to
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 cultivate and
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 embrace a
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 holy discontent
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 and long for
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 the better
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 home that
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 God's keeping
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 for us.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 Verse 6,
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 in all this
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 you greatly
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 rejoice,
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 though now for
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 a little while
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 you may have
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 had to suffer
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 grief in all
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 kinds of
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 trials.
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 One of the
00:24:00 --> 00:24:00 reasons we
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 long for that
00:24:01 --> 00:24:01 future is
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 because we
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 know that
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 where we
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 are is
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 temporary.
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 We know
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 that the
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 suffering we
00:24:06 --> 00:24:06 experience,
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 the loneliness,
00:24:07 --> 00:24:07 the sickness,
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 the hurt,
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 the pain,
00:24:08 --> 00:24:09 the death,
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 it's temporary.
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 It's fading.
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 Even the
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 blessing,
00:24:15 --> 00:24:15 even the
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 good things
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 we know that
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 we have in
00:24:17 --> 00:24:17 this life are
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 temporary.
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 But they're
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 still real.
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 It still
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 hurts when
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 we suffer.
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 It's still
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 unpleasant to
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 be lonely or
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 sick or to
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 lose a loved
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 one.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 people.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 It's
00:24:31 --> 00:24:35 why Peter
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 says you
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 will suffer
00:24:36 --> 00:24:36 trials of
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 many kinds.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 He's being
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 pretty inclusive
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 here.
00:24:42 --> 00:24:42 He's not
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 saying that
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 some of the
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 trials in
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 your life are
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 supernatural
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 spiritual
00:24:46 --> 00:24:48 opposition and
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 other ones are
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 just unlucky.
00:24:50 --> 00:24:50 That's not how
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 life works.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 Life doesn't
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 get compartmentalised
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 into the
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 spiritual stuff
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 and then the
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 other stuff.
00:24:57 --> 00:24:59 our whole
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 lives are
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 part of a
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 broad spiritual
00:25:01 --> 00:25:03 reality and
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 so the trials
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 may come in
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 the form of
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 demonic
00:25:05 --> 00:25:08 oppression or
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 a crisis of
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 faith.
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 But equally
00:25:11 --> 00:25:14 they might
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 come as
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 sickness,
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 financial
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 struggle,
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 relationship
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 breakdown.
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 Those are
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 the tools
00:25:27 --> 00:25:31 that Satan
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 loves to
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 use.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 They're the
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 things that
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 Satan loves
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 to use to
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 distract you
00:25:38 --> 00:25:38 from the
00:25:38 --> 00:25:38 hope that
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 you have.
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 To make
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 you desire
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 and pine for
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 the comfort
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 that the
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 world can
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 offer you
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 right now.
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 But later
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 on in one
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 Peter,
00:25:49 --> 00:25:49 he says,
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 dear friends,
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 do not be
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 surprised at
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 the fiery
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 ordeal that
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 has come on
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 you to test
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 you as
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 though something
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 strange were
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 happening to
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 you.
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 when we
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 forget we
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 are in
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 exile,
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 we begin
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 to wonder
00:26:02 --> 00:26:05 why there
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 would be any
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 difficulty in
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 our lives.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 We begin to
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 measure how
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 happy God
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 is with us
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 by how
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 smoothly our
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 life is
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 going.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 Things are
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 going well,
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 so I must
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 be honouring
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 God.
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 So,
00:26:16 --> 00:26:18 all of
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 these things
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 are tools
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 that Satan
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 would use
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 to turn
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 you away
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 from God
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 and to
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 doubt his
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 goodness.
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 But those
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 struggles that
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 we experience
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 now,
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 while we
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 live in
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 exile,
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 serve an
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 eternal
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 purpose
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 if we are
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 followers of
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 Jesus.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 Verse 7,
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 these have
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 come,
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 the trials
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 have come,
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 so that the
00:26:42 --> 00:26:44 proven genuineness
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 of your
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 faith,
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 of greater
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 worth than
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 gold which
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 perishes even
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 though refined
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 by fire,
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 may result in
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 praise,
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 glory and
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 honour when
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 Jesus Christ
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 is revealed.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 We're not
00:26:56 --> 00:26:58 paper in the
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 face of
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 hostility.
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 We're gold that
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 increases in
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 purity and
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 value as we
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 get put under
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 the trial of
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 flame.
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 The reason,
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 the purpose,
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 the benefit of
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 the trials that
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 you will face,
00:27:11 --> 00:27:11 maybe that you're
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 in right now.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 They're the
00:27:16 --> 00:27:18 Father's tools for
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 refining you,
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 for proving you
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 and to ensuring
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 that you finish
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 the race.
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 See, God in
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 his incredible
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 love has taken
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 Satan's tools that
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 would distract you,
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 that would drag you
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 away and he has
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 transformed them into
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 opportunities to
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 grow you.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:36 Opportunities to
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 strengthen you,
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 opportunities to
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 increase your joy
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 in him and to
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 help you discover
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 that in the grief
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44 and in the loss,
00:27:44 --> 00:27:46 Jesus is better.
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 That no matter
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 what else happens,
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 no matter what can
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 be taken away from
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 you, the
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 inheritance that
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 can never perish,
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 spoil or fade,
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 Jesus is more
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 than sufficient.
00:27:59 --> 00:28:01 We are so wired
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 as people to
00:28:02 --> 00:28:04 avoid suffering.
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 We're all about
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 pain avoidance.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 We're conditioned
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 to aim for the
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 short-term solution,
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 to fix it today
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 and deal with
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 tomorrow's consequences
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 when we get there.
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 We get frustrated
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 with God when our
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 lives are not running
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 smoothly.
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 Why are you allowing
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 this, God?
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26 Why don't you help me,
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 God?
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 What have I done
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 wrong, God?
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 As if comfort was
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 somehow a measure
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 of God's approval.
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 Have we forgotten
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 who we are?
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 Have we forgotten
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 that we are the
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 ones chosen and
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 purchased by the
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 death of Jesus?
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 Have we forgotten
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 that we have a hope
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 for heaven?
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 Have we forgotten
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 that this is exile?
00:28:49 --> 00:28:51 That there should be
00:28:51 --> 00:28:51 a certain level of
00:28:51 --> 00:28:52 unpleasantness?
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 Even if at its very
00:28:54 --> 00:28:56 base level it's just
00:28:56 --> 00:28:56 the fact that it's
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 not yet heaven and
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 we know that's where
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 we're supposed to be?
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 Have we traded in
00:29:03 --> 00:29:05 the living hope
00:29:05 --> 00:29:07 and our unfading
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 inheritance
00:29:08 --> 00:29:10 for temporary comfort?
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 Now I'm not saying
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 go looking for
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 suffering.
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 You don't have to.
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 Just follow Jesus.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 It'll find you.
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 But the reality is
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 there is a daily
00:29:25 --> 00:29:27 temptation for us.
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30 A daily temptation
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 to forget the hope
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 that we look forward
00:29:32 --> 00:29:32 to.
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 To forget that God
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 is shielding us
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 by his power
00:29:36 --> 00:29:39 and so to compromise
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 just to make
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 ourselves a little bit
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 more comfortable.
00:29:44 --> 00:29:46 To be not willing
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 to admit that maybe
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 we believe something
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 different to the
00:29:49 --> 00:29:49 people we work with
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 while there's a
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 conversation about
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 religion.
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 To maybe water
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 down the gospel
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 a little bit for
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 those people who
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 just it's too far.
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 So we say things
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 like yeah you can
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 follow Jesus
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 you're welcome to be
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 part of our church
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 and call yourself a
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 Christian you don't
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 have to change
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 anything just come to
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 church.
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 Rather than the
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 message that God
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 had to die because
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 you are so
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 ridiculously sinful
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 and unworthy
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 and he has a better
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 life for you
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 we just water it
00:30:17 --> 00:30:17 down because that's
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 a bit offensive.
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 Rather than
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 declare the truth
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 of the gospel
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 that there is only
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 one way to heaven
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 and that is in
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 Jesus Christ
00:30:24 --> 00:30:26 we say
00:30:26 --> 00:30:27 whatever you
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 believe is fine.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 There is a daily
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 temptation for us
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 to want to fit in
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36 and make this
00:30:36 --> 00:30:36 home.
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 Temptation to make
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 our life decisions
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 based on what's
00:30:43 --> 00:30:43 going to be most
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 comfortable right
00:30:44 --> 00:30:46 now instead of
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 on the death
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 and resurrection
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 of Jesus and the
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 eternal home that
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 he's prepared for
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 us.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 If we start
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 living like this
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 is home
00:30:55 --> 00:30:59 there's a good
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 chance that we
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 will have traded
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 our internal
00:31:01 --> 00:31:03 inheritance for
00:31:03 --> 00:31:03 this.
00:31:07 --> 00:31:07 If there's no
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 difference between
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 us and the world
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 that we live in
00:31:10 --> 00:31:13 that should be a
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 reason for concern.
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 I was having a
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 conversation with a
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 man at a funeral
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 recently that we had
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 here at St. Paul's.
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 I'd never met the
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 guy just having a
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 conversation about
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 stories about the
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 man who had died.
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 The man I was
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 talking to was a
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 non-Christian and I
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 was telling him
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 about the hopeful
00:31:30 --> 00:31:32 grief that our
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 church family was
00:31:33 --> 00:31:36 experiencing and how
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 our grief was
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 tinged with joy
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 because we celebrated
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 that this man had
00:31:40 --> 00:31:42 been welcomed into
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 his internal
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 inheritance.
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 He was now home.
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 The man looked at
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 me a little confused
00:31:48 --> 00:31:50 and quickly explained
00:31:50 --> 00:31:50 that he was an
00:31:50 --> 00:31:53 atheist and he
00:31:53 --> 00:31:53 said that in the
00:31:53 --> 00:31:55 service instead he
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 would find comfort in
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 the past and in the
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 fact that he knew the
00:31:58 --> 00:32:00 man at all for a few
00:32:00 --> 00:32:00 years.
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 This encounter
00:32:03 --> 00:32:05 reminded me just how
00:32:05 --> 00:32:07 differently I see the
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 world from those who
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 don't know Jesus.
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 It reminded me that
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 without Jesus the
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 fence you have is
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 death.
00:32:15 --> 00:32:16 That's where it ends.
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 That's all you've got
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 and so you must find
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 your joy before then.
00:32:23 --> 00:32:25 But because we know
00:32:25 --> 00:32:27 Jesus, because he is
00:32:27 --> 00:32:30 alive, this life is
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 just the beginning.
00:32:31 --> 00:32:33 So we do not grieve as
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 those who are without
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 hope.
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 There is a finish line
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 for us.
00:32:39 --> 00:32:41 There is an end to the
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 exile.
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 There is an end goal.
00:32:42 --> 00:32:44 Our living hope will one
00:32:44 --> 00:32:45 day be revealed.
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 One day we won't have
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 to put up with the
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 sickness and the pain.
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 We'll be face to face
00:32:49 --> 00:32:49 with Jesus.
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 We'll be home.
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 It'll be amazing.
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 But that doesn't mean
00:32:55 --> 00:32:57 that this life should be
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 really sad and somber
00:32:58 --> 00:33:00 and that God has
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 reserved all the joy for
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 later on.
00:33:03 --> 00:33:05 Even now we rejoice.
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 Verse 6.
00:33:07 --> 00:33:09 In all this you greatly
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 rejoice.
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 Though now for a little
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 while you may have had to
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 suffer grief in all
00:33:14 --> 00:33:14 kinds of trials.
00:33:15 --> 00:33:17 because of who we are
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 even where we are we
00:33:18 --> 00:33:20 greatly rejoice.
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 Or verse 8.
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 Though you have not
00:33:23 --> 00:33:25 seen him you love him
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 even though you do not
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 see him now you believe
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 in him and are filled
00:33:28 --> 00:33:31 with an inexpressible
00:33:31 --> 00:33:34 and glorious joy.
00:33:36 --> 00:33:38 An inexpressible and
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 glorious joy.
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 For you are receiving the
00:33:41 --> 00:33:43 end result of your faith
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 the salvation of your
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 souls.
00:33:48 --> 00:33:50 Just let that sit for a
00:33:50 --> 00:33:50 second.
00:33:52 --> 00:33:54 Inexpressible and
00:33:54 --> 00:33:56 glorious joy.
00:33:56 --> 00:34:05 As we reflect on the
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 opposition that we face
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 in our lives
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 that our brothers and
00:34:08 --> 00:34:10 sisters face around the
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 world in far more severe
00:34:11 --> 00:34:13 situations than we are in
00:34:13 --> 00:34:14 all because they're
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 followers of Jesus.
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 How do you rate
00:34:18 --> 00:34:21 on the inexpressible and
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 glorious joy scale
00:34:22 --> 00:34:23 personally?
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 How do we rate
00:34:29 --> 00:34:31 on that scale as a
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 church?
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 And how do we do it
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 better?
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 Because the opposition
00:34:37 --> 00:34:39 and the trials are real.
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 Pain and grief is a right
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 response to some of the
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 things that we're facing
00:34:43 --> 00:34:45 but how do we ensure
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 that joy too
00:34:46 --> 00:34:48 is a mark of who we
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 are in Jesus?
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 The keys there in verse
00:34:54 --> 00:34:54 8.
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 Though you have not
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 seen him
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 you love him
00:35:00 --> 00:35:02 and even though you do
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 not see him now
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 you believe in him
00:35:04 --> 00:35:06 and are filled with an
00:35:06 --> 00:35:07 inexpressible and glorious
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 joy for you are
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 receiving the end result
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 of your faith
00:35:10 --> 00:35:12 the salvation of your
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 souls.
00:35:13 --> 00:35:16 the joy
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 comes from
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 him.
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 Although we don't
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 see Jesus yet
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 we believe in him
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 and we're filled with
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 joy because we're
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 receiving the end
00:35:26 --> 00:35:27 goal
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 salvation
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 which is just
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 another way of
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 saying we're
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 receiving the end
00:35:31 --> 00:35:31 goal
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32 Jesus himself.
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 That's where the joy
00:35:36 --> 00:35:36 is.
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 The end is when we
00:35:37 --> 00:35:38 get him fully
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 there's no more
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 gaps we'll be face
00:35:40 --> 00:35:40 to face and we'll
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 just be overwhelmed
00:35:41 --> 00:35:43 with a whole
00:35:43 --> 00:35:43 another level of
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 inexpressible and
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 glorious joy.
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 But right now
00:35:48 --> 00:35:50 as we trust in him
00:35:50 --> 00:35:52 as we remember
00:35:52 --> 00:35:54 whose we are
00:35:54 --> 00:35:55 as we remember
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 that he sits on the
00:35:56 --> 00:35:57 throne that death
00:35:57 --> 00:35:58 is defeated that
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 heaven is our home
00:35:59 --> 00:36:01 we begin to enjoy
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 his goodness
00:36:02 --> 00:36:03 and his presence
00:36:03 --> 00:36:04 in our lives
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05 right now
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 by his Holy Spirit
00:36:06 --> 00:36:08 through his comfort
00:36:08 --> 00:36:09 when we suffer
00:36:09 --> 00:36:11 through his
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 patience and grace
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 when we fail
00:36:13 --> 00:36:16 God is present
00:36:16 --> 00:36:17 with us in this
00:36:17 --> 00:36:17 exile
00:36:17 --> 00:36:19 lifting us out
00:36:19 --> 00:36:19 of despair
00:36:19 --> 00:36:21 filling us with
00:36:21 --> 00:36:21 joy
00:36:21 --> 00:36:23 in our living
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 hope.
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 The rest of
00:36:26 --> 00:36:27 1 Peter
00:36:27 --> 00:36:27 which again you can
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 read in your own
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 time goes on to
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 say in light of
00:36:30 --> 00:36:31 that in light of
00:36:31 --> 00:36:31 who you are
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 in light of where
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 you are
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 do good
00:36:33 --> 00:36:34 don't grow weary
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35 in doing good
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 keep doing good
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37 love your enemy
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 entrust yourself to
00:36:38 --> 00:36:38 God who is the
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 real judge
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 continue to do
00:36:40 --> 00:36:40 good
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 serve
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 declare the
00:36:42 --> 00:36:43 goodness and
00:36:43 --> 00:36:43 forgiveness of
00:36:43 --> 00:36:44 God in the face
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 of opposition
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 and do it
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 filled with the
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 joy that comes
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 from a living
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 hope.
00:36:56 --> 00:36:56 How do you
00:36:56 --> 00:36:58 live in a world
00:36:58 --> 00:36:58 like this
00:36:58 --> 00:37:01 that may grow
00:37:01 --> 00:37:02 increasingly hostile
00:37:02 --> 00:37:03 as the years
00:37:03 --> 00:37:03 go on?
00:37:03 --> 00:37:08 remember who
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 you are
00:37:09 --> 00:37:12 you are
00:37:12 --> 00:37:13 God's
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 chosen
00:37:14 --> 00:37:14 people
00:37:14 --> 00:37:17 with an
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 inheritance that
00:37:18 --> 00:37:18 will never perish
00:37:18 --> 00:37:19 spoil or fade
00:37:19 --> 00:37:20 kept in heaven
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 for you
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 you are
00:37:22 --> 00:37:22 shielded by
00:37:22 --> 00:37:23 God's power
00:37:23 --> 00:37:24 until the day
00:37:24 --> 00:37:25 you get to
00:37:25 --> 00:37:25 enjoy that
00:37:25 --> 00:37:26 inheritance
00:37:26 --> 00:37:29 remember where
00:37:29 --> 00:37:29 you are
00:37:29 --> 00:37:31 this is not
00:37:31 --> 00:37:32 home
00:37:32 --> 00:37:33 always keep
00:37:33 --> 00:37:34 lifting your
00:37:34 --> 00:37:34 eyes
00:37:34 --> 00:37:37 and remember
00:37:37 --> 00:37:37 where you are
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 going
00:37:38 --> 00:37:40 cultivate that
00:37:40 --> 00:37:41 holy discontent
00:37:41 --> 00:37:42 and that longing
00:37:42 --> 00:37:43 for your heavenly
00:37:43 --> 00:37:43 home
00:37:43 --> 00:37:47 my prayer for you
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47 St. Paul's
00:37:47 --> 00:37:49 my brothers and
00:37:49 --> 00:37:50 sisters in the
00:37:50 --> 00:37:50 faith
00:37:50 --> 00:37:52 is that as you
00:37:52 --> 00:37:53 joyfully
00:37:53 --> 00:37:54 and boldly
00:37:54 --> 00:37:55 live out the
00:37:55 --> 00:37:56 hope of the
00:37:56 --> 00:37:56 gospel
00:37:56 --> 00:38:00 that the
00:38:00 --> 00:38:00 God of all
00:38:00 --> 00:38:01 grace
00:38:01 --> 00:38:02 who called
00:38:02 --> 00:38:03 you to his
00:38:03 --> 00:38:04 eternal glory
00:38:04 --> 00:38:05 in Christ
00:38:05 --> 00:38:06 after you
00:38:06 --> 00:38:07 have suffered
00:38:07 --> 00:38:07 a little while
00:38:07 --> 00:38:09 will himself
00:38:09 --> 00:38:11 respond to you
00:38:11 --> 00:38:12 and make you
00:38:12 --> 00:38:12 strong
00:38:12 --> 00:38:13 firm
00:38:13 --> 00:38:14 and steadfast
00:38:14 --> 00:38:16 to him be the
00:38:16 --> 00:38:16 power
00:38:16 --> 00:38:17 forever
00:38:17 --> 00:38:18 and ever
00:38:18 --> 00:38:19 amen
00:38:19 --> 00:38:26 that
00:38:26 --> 00:38:27 and