The Incomparable Value of Your Salvation

[0:00] Well, we are in 1 Peter together this morning. 1 Peter. I know it's been a few weeks since we were in this passage together, but hopefully most of it will come back to you as we rehearse some of this this morning.

[0:24] I want to ask you a couple of questions as I tell you about my title here, the incomparable value of your salvation, the incomparable value of your salvation.

[0:35] Now, I want to ask you, what value do you put on the lives of your family and closest friends? Let's think about that for a moment.

[0:48] What value? How do you even do that? How do you measure the value of the lives of those who are closest to you? If you could, say, look into the future and see some tragic end to any of their lives, what might you give?

[1:13] What might you do? What personal cost might you pay to guarantee they would be spared from harm and death if it was in your power to do it?

[1:26] What price would you pay? How far would you go if you knew that something tragic was in their future?

[1:37] Without a doubt. And you could do something about it. What mother wouldn't throw herself into harm's way to save her child?

[1:47] Or what father wouldn't daily deny himself and put aside his own personal goals every single day for the sake of a better future and a better life for his kids?

[2:08] And that's what we're called to do. What husband and wife wouldn't forfeit their lives for each other? The apostle Peter takes us right into the heart of God the Father.

[2:25] And Peter gives us three insights into God's guarantee to save us from the tragedy of sin and death.

[2:37] Here, here is where we meet this sacrificial father who can look into eternity future and know exactly what will happen to us and the lengths that he went to to preserve us from the greatest tragedy any of us could have experienced.

[3:05] Sin and the consequence of eternal death. So Peter wants us to look into that together. And he wants to see, wants us to see something of the heart of this wonderful God in these matters.

[3:22] Let's read the text together. We'll simply be in 1 Peter chapter 1, 10, 11, and 12. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you.

[3:39] So Peter is speaking directly to his readers. They made very careful searches and inquiries. Seeking to know what person or time the spirit of Christ within them was indicating as he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

[4:04] It was revealed to them, these prophets, that they were not serving themselves, but you. In these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

[4:24] Things into which angels long to look. So as Peter deals with this material, he is impressing on his readers, this is truly an incomparably valuable reality that even angels themselves are preoccupied in understanding.

[4:49] What is he talking about? He's talking about you getting saved. He's talking to his readers about what God was even in those moments, hundreds of years before, planning, predicting, and purposing to do in bringing many, many people outside of the Jewish nation to faith in God.

[5:24] So the first point that we want to look at, the first insight that Peter wants to share with us, according to the way I've outlined this passage, your salvation's prophetic grace.

[5:35] Your salvation's prophetic grace. Once again, in verse 10, Peter says, as to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries.

[5:53] Friends, your salvation is rooted in the ancient truth of God's undeserved favor being poured out on you very personally, very individually.

[6:08] It's an ancient reality. It's an ancient truth, a guaranteed deposit in the mind and heart of God for your future.

[6:22] Thousands of years before it would ever come to be in your life in a moment in time. Ancient. Ancient. Just listen to one example of this.

[6:33] You'll be familiar with it. Many of you have memorized it. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way.

[6:44] But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him.

[6:55] Him who? Christ. 700 years before the event of the cross, this is being said. We'll talk about that some more in just a minute.

[7:10] God raised up his prophets. Peter says they sacrificially gave their lives to laying the foundations of what would be your faith in Christ.

[7:24] His readers' faith in the Lord Jesus. God has been faithfully loving you to himself for a long, long time.

[7:36] Even before he made the foundation of the earth. God secured your place in heaven. God's purpose to save you.

[7:54] God's purpose to save you. I'm very grateful for that. I hope you are too. This is precisely what Peter wants to hammer home for his readers.

[8:04] So he says at the very beginning of verse 10, if you'll notice, maybe your translation has something similar to this. As to this salvation. Salvation. Salvation. Salvation. Salvation. Or in another way, concerning this salvation.

[8:18] Now remember that verse 9, which is what he's referring back to in verse 10. Verse 9 is the cap to a long, unbroken sentence that Peter began in verse 3.

[8:36] Now what I'd like to do is have you look with me at what Peter is most concerned about as he tries to encourage these Christians in their suffering.

[8:46] Look back with me at this chapter. Now, your translation may say something a little different, but I think you can still gather with me the flow of thought and the emphases that Peter's making here.

[8:59] If you look at chapter or verse 1 in chapter 1, right at the end of the verse, my translation says those who are chosen. Just take note of all of the different references here that speak to the issue of their salvation in one way or another.

[9:18] Either directly or indirectly. Those who are chosen concerns their salvation, alright? I go into verse 2 and he mentions this. That they would be sprinkled with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

[9:32] That's salvation. In verse 3, he mentions God's great mercy. Who has caused us to be what? Born again.

[9:43] He mentions at the end of verse 3, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which is our hope. In verse 4, he mentions an inheritance, which is salvation inheritance.

[9:59] In verse 5, he mentions our faith for a salvation ready to be revealed. In verse 7, he mentions again the proof of your faith.

[10:14] Later in verse 7, he mentions the praise, the glory, and the honor that will be yours and mine at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

[10:25] A reference to our salvation and our glorification. In verse 8, he mentions our belief. But we believe in him, Christ.

[10:38] Verse 9, obtaining as the outcome of your, once again, faith, the salvation of your souls. Verse 10, right at the beginning.

[10:50] So as to this salvation. Then if you jump over, now I'm being very conservative. I could give you many more. But jump over then to verse 18, where he mentions that we are knowing that you were not redeemed.

[11:05] Our redemption. Verse 19, you were redeemed with the precious blood of the Lamb of God. In verse 20, he mentions for the sake of you that God is doing this.

[11:20] In verse 21, who through him are believers. And at the end of verse 21, our faith. And then in verse 23, for you have been born again.

[11:35] Born again. Now folks, rehearsing all of that, notice how often and how many varied ways Peter speaks of their salvation from sin and death.

[11:49] Just in chapter 1 alone. There are more than 21 references, conservatively, just in chapter 1 alone, dealing with, specifically, salvation.

[12:05] Salvation. God's work of saving people from sin and death. 16 of those come prior to verse 10. Now, if you were going to write a letter of encouragement to suffering Christians in your family or in your circle of friends, I wonder how many times you would mention the wonder of their salvation before you got to the heart of maybe what you wanted to tell them in the rest of your letter.

[12:35] What would the opening sentences and lines of your letter sound like as you tried to encourage them to move through whatever difficulties they were facing in their life as Christians?

[12:47] More than 16 times in the first nine verses of his letter, Peter is mentioning their salvation to them in rich, rich tones.

[12:59] Deep theology. And calling their attention to it. So that before Peter shifts his emphasis in verse 13, which God willing will get there, he repeatedly rehearses God's extraordinary work of favoring them with his blessings of light.

[13:19] Life. Through the gospel of his son, Jesus Christ. This salvation that God caused in us, according to his mercy, that's verse three, is the outcome of saving faith.

[13:37] Our salvation that God causes in us is the outcome of saving faith, which is, as we pointed out, the gift of God. Your faith in Christ. Hear this now.

[13:48] Your faith in Christ brings about a progressive, ongoing spiritual growth. If you're not progressing in spiritual growth, you might want to think about whether or not you're truly born again.

[14:07] Saving faith will bring about progressive spiritual growth. Or you will feel the sting of conviction or you will be disciplined or all of the above.

[14:22] But God will not allow you to wallow in spiritual immaturity. He loves you as a father and he will discipline you as his child.

[14:34] And we're grateful for that because we're fickle people. Once again, all I'm trying to point out to you and what Peter is saying is this. Your faith in Christ brings about a progressive spiritual growth.

[14:47] Listen, into the blessings and benefits of your salvation over the entire course of your lifetime. So it isn't just a matter of Peter emphasizing the fact that we get saved or that God is working even long before it ever happened to save us.

[15:05] But that God then keeps us saved and growing in the glories, benefits and blessings of that salvation. Why did he say this to them? Because that's exactly the kind of stuff that we tend to forget or back burner when we're hurting.

[15:21] When we're sick and depleted and lost all this weight. Right? And it's hard to get out of bed. And everything just seems to be upside down.

[15:32] Or we've lost someone that we love. Or we're facing some crisis in our life. Some traumatic change or upheaval in what we've known as the pattern and the consistency of our lives.

[15:48] We tend to back burner one basic reality about who we are. God has blessed us in Jesus Christ and nothing in the universe can change that.

[16:01] God has blessed us in Jesus Christ. God has blessed us in Jesus Christ. And Peter said that ought to make all the difference. Now here's the question friends. Does it? And why is it that all of us would have to admit at times it doesn't?

[16:17] At times it doesn't make all the difference. I've experienced that in the last few months. Thankfully the Lord doesn't let us just wallow there.

[16:30] You know. Because he's a good father. So Peter says in verse 10 friends. As to this salvation concerning then this salvation.

[16:44] The prophets look. The prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you. Made careful searches and inquiries.

[16:56] The salvation to come through the Messiah. And in the church age. That was the epicenter of prophetic revelation.

[17:09] The revealing that God did through his prophets of these truths. Throughout the Old Testament. God's prophets foretold of God's outpouring of his saving favor.

[17:25] To those beyond the Jewish nation. We tend to think that it was the New Testament. Where we began to first hear and learn about God moving outside the Jewish nation.

[17:36] To save people. Nope. The prophets were prophesying about this. Hundreds if not thousands of years before the event. Not everyone understood that.

[17:48] But it's there. This is a grace. Notice he says in the text. A grace. That would come to you.

[17:59] This isn't something you deserve. This is a grace. This is undeserved favor. Coming. Listen. Listen. To you. Peter says to his readers.

[18:12] This came to you. Over the span of thousands of years. To a specific point in time. In a specific person.

[18:22] In time. Such as the power and love of God. I could say it this way. God never misses what he aims at. I'm glad he aimed his salvation at my heart.

[18:37] I know you feel that way too. So this came to Peter's readers. This came to us.

[18:48] To all of those living in what we understand and know to be the church age. The church age. The age after the cross.

[18:59] And after the giving of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. When the church was born. Okay. There was no church. Prior to Pentecost. Israel is not the church.

[19:12] They're two different entities. And so God instituted the church at Pentecost. And now we are living in that church age.

[19:24] Our salvation. This is just. This was so good for me to study this. And reflect on this. I'm telling you. I needed this. Our salvation.

[19:36] Dominated. The prophets thinking so much. That the text tells us through the apostle Peter. They made careful searches. And inquiries.

[19:47] These two words. To spare you all of the boring details. These two words. Combined to form the idea. Of a very diligent. Ongoing.

[19:58] Intense effort to understand. This is not simple curiosity. This is not. The Da Vinci Code.

[20:10] And mess like that. This is not people looking for secret codes. In the Bible. And nonsense. These men. Are sitting down. And taking painful effort.

[20:23] To try and understand. The kind of stuff. That the Holy Spirit. Is giving them to write. And say. As God's word. And it's blowing their minds.

[20:35] And they want to know more. They want to understand. Better. What they're writing. It's just. They're just captivated.

[20:46] It's just all caught up in it. Now the question is. What did they search? They're making this diligent. Intense.

[20:56] Search. And inquiry. What did they search? Verse 11. Seeking to know. Seeking to know. What person or time. The spirit of Christ. Within them. Was indicating.

[21:08] As the spirit. Was predicting. The sufferings and glories. Of the Christ. In other words. Peter's word. For seeking to know.

[21:18] That's how the New American Standard. Starts. Verse 11. Seeking to know. Peter's word. For this. Seeking to know. Idea.

[21:29] Is used. Elsewhere. In scripture. To refer to. Searching. The scriptures. Let me give you those references. But I won't turn there.

[21:40] John 5. 39. And 7. 52. The same words. Used for. Searching the Bible. Searching the scriptures.

[21:50] The divine written will. Of God. And that's what I believe. He's referring to. Here. The prophets of God. Searched through. Their own.

[22:02] Writings. Scripture. Why? Why were they doing that? Why were they searching so long? Why were they making such a hard.

[22:13] Intense and deliberate effort. Looking through their own. Divinely inspired writings. Going back. And looking up what they wrote. And going over it.

[22:23] And over it. And over it. Trying to. Why are they doing that? What in the world. Are these guys so captivated with. And what are they looking for? Why does it matter? If it's something that's being predicted.

[22:37] And prophesied about. Way out there. And I know that it really doesn't have anything. To do with me now. Other than it encourages me to know. That God's doing this work.

[22:47] Work. Wow. They wanted to know. Because it mattered to them. For their lives. They knew that all that God was doing.

[22:59] Was connected to the way that they understood God. Knew God. Walked with God. Who is this faithful God. Doing this incredible work. That we're writing down. And he's having us talk about.

[23:11] That's way out there in the future. What were they looking for? Again. Look at verse 11. Seeking to know. What person. Or time.

[23:23] The Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Christ. Within them. Was indicating. As the Holy Spirit. He. Capital H. Predicted. The sufferings of Christ.

[23:35] And the glories. To follow. That brings me to my second insight here. Number two. Your salvation's predicted glories. Your salvation's predicted glories.

[23:48] Peter says. That the salvation grace. Was all so very very important. And so foundational. That the prophets themselves.

[23:59] Were seeking to know. The person. And the time. Of this gracious work. Of God. This is where I landed.

[24:09] Excuse me. Battling this stuff. This is where I landed. In my. Study of this. The idea. Here. That I'm. That I'm. Telling you about.

[24:21] Is they sought to know. Is debated. Among conservative scholars. As to what it points to. It was overwhelmingly. Clear to me. In my studies. That.

[24:31] What this can be. Translated to mean. Is that the prophets. Were searching. For a person. They were searching. About a person. And they were searching.

[24:42] About a time. An era. So they wanted to know. Who. And when. Who. And when. Now. When you think about. Eschatology friends.

[24:53] When you think about. End times. And all the stuff. That's written about. When it's going to happen. How it's going to happen. To whom is it going to happen. Isn't that how you and I.

[25:04] Kind of think about that stuff. In the future. We want to know. When's this going to happen. What. What. What. What time frame. Who. Who. Who are these people going to be. What's the mark.

[25:15] Because I don't want it. Right. That's the same kind of stuff we do. And that's what he's saying.

[25:26] Is happening. With these men. Now. And he's telling them. What you received. From God. By his grace. Through faith. What you.

[25:36] His readers. Received from God. By grace. Through faith. Completely captivated. These men. They are just boiled over.

[25:48] And taken by what they're. What they're discovering. As they search what God has revealed. Amazing. The spirit.

[25:58] Of the Lord Jesus. That's mentioned. In verse 11. Is the Holy Spirit. Spirit of Christ. The spirit of God. The father. The Holy Spirit.

[26:09] It is the spirit of God. It was. Working. He was working. And moving in these men. As the Holy Spirit. Predicted the sufferings. And glories.

[26:20] Of who we know. Not them. But who we know. To be Jesus Christ. So it's the Holy Spirit. Working through. The prophets.

[26:31] Of old. And the Holy Spirit. Is the one doing. The predicting. These guys are not. Clevering their way. Through this. They're not decoding. The Bible. To figure this out.

[26:43] The scripture says. This is important doctrine. The Holy Spirit. Is revealing it. To them. Opening their minds. To it. And now.

[26:54] They are recording it. And writing it down. As it's being revealed. To them. By God. The Holy Spirit. Do you know. Why that's so important. And what that gives.

[27:04] To you as a Christian. It gives you. A trustworthy. Bible. They didn't write it. God did. They didn't discover it. God revealed it.

[27:16] To them. How in the world. Would they ever figure that out. Now. There's still much. That they. Don't understand. And don't know. I'll say more about that. In just a moment.

[27:27] Right now. We're talking about. The reality. That these men. Were looking into. How the Holy Spirit. Is working in them. To prophesy.

[27:38] Predict. The sufferings. And glories. Of who you and I know. To be Jesus. So the prophets. Didn't know. Who this would be. Or exactly when.

[27:50] It would take place. And they didn't know. What glories. God's Messiah. Would experience. In absolute. Specific. Terms. But.

[28:01] All of this. Nevertheless. Dominated their thoughts. And spirits. As they served. The Lord. And as they intensely. Investigated it. Now here's a question. That I wanted.

[28:12] To know more about. Did any of them. Ever get their answers. That we're talking. About thousands of years. And lots and lots. Of prophets. Wise men. Diligent men.

[28:24] God fearing men. Did any of them. Ever get. Their answers. Well I'm going to. Take you now. To several passages. Over the next few minutes. We're going to turn. To several different places.

[28:35] As I. As I. Move through. The latter half here. The first place. Is Matthew 13. And we're going to. Answer this question. For ourselves. Matthew 13.

[28:46] So you'll be a little busy. In the Bible. With me. And the question. On the table. Did any of the prophets. Ever get their answers.

[28:57] As to the person. And the time. And all these details. They wanted to know about. Matthew 13. Beginning in verse 16. Jesus is speaking. To the issue. Of how he's teaching.

[29:08] And revealing himself. But blessed are your eyes. To the disciples. Because they see. That is. They see him. They see him. They know him. They know who he is.

[29:19] And your ears. Because you hear. That is. You get to listen to me. Teach. And explain. And tell you. About all these things. Verse 17. For truly. I say to you.

[29:30] That many prophets. And righteous men. Desired to see. What you see. And did not see it. And to hear. What you hear. And did.

[29:41] Not. Hear it. So what's the answer. To the question. No. No. They didn't get. All their answers. They didn't get.

[29:51] The specific answer. About. Jesus. Christ. In the way. That the apostles. Are able. The disciples. Are able. To see. This man.

[30:02] In front of them. Now we know. Do you remember. How difficult. It was. For the disciples. As Jesus. Walked around. With them. Do you remember.

[30:13] How difficult. It was. Did they just. Automatically. Just take right. To Jesus. And yeah. You're the one. I mean. We. Peter. Let's just do. Peter. In one moment. Peter.

[30:23] Is. Answering the question. Who do you say. That I am. You're the Christ. You're the son of God. You're the one man. You're the anointed one. You're the deliverer. You're the guy. And Jesus said. Boy. You know what.

[30:33] Peter. That's right. But. Flesh and blood. Didn't reveal this to you. My father in heaven. Revealed this to your heart. So we're going to give God. The glory for this. Minutes later. Oh. Lord.

[30:44] That's never going to happen to you. Not as long as I'm here. I'm standing between you. And any ability. That anybody would have. To torture you to death. So. I got this. You don't worry about it. Get thee behind me.

[30:56] Satan. Within minutes. We've got that kind of conflict. Going on. This is Peter. This is the guy writing this book for us. What else did he say?

[31:08] Well. They're caught in a storm. And Jesus stands up in the boat. And rebukes the storm. And everything stops. And they all look at each other. And they say. Who is this man. That even thee.

[31:19] Wind and waves. Obey him. Who is this guy? What did Jesus say to him? Oh ye of little faith. Oh ye dull.

[31:31] Hard headed. Stubborn. They struggled with it. Throughout their ministry. With Jesus walking around. In front of them. Helping people grow new arms.

[31:41] And stuff. Struggle. It has to be revealed. The only prophet.

[31:52] Who ever received. A direct answer. About the Messiah. In terms of an Old Testament prophet. Was. John the Baptist.

[32:05] John the Baptist. Was the final Old Testament prophet. If you're in Matthew. Go back to Matthew 11. And look at this account with me. Matthew 11.

[32:17] Beginning in verse 1. When Jesus had finished giving instructions. To his 12 disciples. He departed from there. To teach and preach in their cities. Now. When John. That is John the Baptist.

[32:28] While imprisoned. Heard of the works of Christ. He sent word by his disciples. And he said to Jesus. Are you the expected one. The anointed one.

[32:38] The Christ. The deliverer. The Messiah. Or shall we look for someone else. Here's Jesus answer. Go and report to John. What you hear and see.

[32:50] The blind receive sight. The lame walk. The lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear. And the dead are raised up. And the poor have the gospel preached to them.

[33:01] And blessed is he. Who does not take offense at me. Those are fulfillments. Of Old Testament prophecies. About Messiah. So Jesus answer to him was.

[33:12] Prophecy is being fulfilled in me. Before your very eyes. Yeah I'm the guy. I'm the guy. John got his answer. And what was his answer? Yep. It's me.

[33:23] I'm here. Now is the time. He's the only Old Testament prophet. To have ever received. A direct answer. From the mouth. Of the Messiah.

[33:35] Himself. The Holy Spirit's predictions. Of how Jesus would suffer. Are incredibly. Incredibly. Incredibly. Accurate.

[33:45] Well you're not surprised. To hear that right. Because it's God. Making the prediction. But Isaiah 53. Is one example. Among many. Now I quoted.

[33:55] From that. Earlier. Let's go to Isaiah 53. What I hope this will do. Is just. Make your heart sore.

[34:08] Here. Is the Holy Spirit. Working through. The prophet Isaiah. 700 plus years. Before these events.

[34:19] Will take place. Speaking. Directly. Into the reality. Of what God would do. Through Jesus Christ. In terms of this. Salvation.

[34:29] That Peter is speaking about. Right now. And here it is. Who has believed. Our message. And to whom. Has the arm of the Lord. Been. Notice.

[34:40] Revealed. For he grew up. Before him. Like a tender shoot. And like a root. Out of parched ground. He has no stately form. Or majesty. That we should look upon him.

[34:50] Nor appearance. That we should be attracted to him. He was despised. And forsaken of men. A man of sorrows. And acquainted with grief. And like one. From whom men hide their face.

[35:01] He was despised. And we did not esteem him. Surely our grief. See himself bore. Our sorrows. He carried. Yet we ourselves. Esteemed him. Stricken.

[35:12] Smitten of God. And afflicted. But. He was pierced through. For our transgressions. He was crushed. For our iniquities. The chastening.

[35:23] For our well-being. Fell upon him. And by his scourgings. We are healed. All of us. Like sheep. Then have gone astray. Each of us. Has turned to his own way. But the Lord.

[35:33] Has caused the iniquity. Of us all. To fall on him. He was oppressed. Afflicted. Yet he didn't open his mouth. Like a lamb. That is led to slaughter. And a sheep. That is silent. Before its shears.

[35:44] So he did not. Open his mouth. By oppression. And judgment. He was taken away. And as for his generation. Who considered. He was cut off. Out of the land of the living. For the transgression.

[35:55] Of my people. To whom the stroke was due. His grave was assigned. With wicked men. Yet he was with a rich man. In his death. Because he had done no violence. Nor was there any deceit.

[36:06] In his mouth. The Lord was pleased. To crush him. Putting him to grief. If he would render himself. As a guilt offering. He will see his offspring. He will prolong his days.

[36:17] And the good pleasure. Of the Lord. Will prosper in his hand. As a result of the anguish. Of his soul. He will see it. And be satisfied. By his knowledge. The righteous one. My servant. Will justify the many.

[36:29] As he will bear. Their iniquities. Therefore I will allot him. A portion with the great. And he will divide the booty. With the strong. Because he poured out. Himself to death. And was numbered.

[36:40] With the transgressors. Yet. He himself. Bore the sin of many. And interceded. For the transgressors. That was just one. Did any of that come true?

[36:54] That's amazing. How accurate. All of this is. 700 years before the fact. The glories are also mentioned.

[37:05] Not just the sufferings. In verse 11. But the glories. Are mentioned as well. It refers to Jesus. After he suffered. On the cross. So.

[37:16] These are resurrection. Glories. Resurrection. Glories. Jesus triumph. Over sin and death. His ongoing. Glorious. Ministry. As our once for all.

[37:28] Sacrifice. But also look folks. As our conquering. Prophet. Priest. And king. Not just the suffering one. The conquering one.

[37:40] That's what we have. By God's grace. Here's the remarkable part. We share in the glories of Jesus Christ.

[37:52] We share in the glories of Jesus. He earned them. We get them. By grace.

[38:02] Undeservedly so. He pours out. The glories. That he earned. For us. Through his suffering.

[38:12] And death. And being raised to life. There's. Lots of places. That we could go. But let me show you. Second Thessalonians. Chapter two.

[38:24] It's just mentioned. Not elaborated on. Second Thessalonians. Two. Thirteen and fourteen.

[38:39] But we should always give thanks to God for you. Brethren. Beloved by the Lord. Because. God has chosen you. From the beginning.

[38:51] For salvation. Isn't that great? Now this is Paul. Echoing Peter here. God has chosen you. From the beginning. For salvation. Through sanctification. By the Holy Spirit.

[39:02] And faith in the truth. Man that's good. It was for this. He called you through our gospel. That you may.

[39:13] Gain. The glory. Of. Our Lord. Jesus Christ. So then brethren. Stand. Firm. Why did God do all that? So that you.

[39:24] May gain. The glory. Of Jesus. Man. Peter wants us. To consider. Our salvation.

[39:36] So that we are filled. With a deep sense. Of praise. And thankfulness. Towards God. Knowing. Knowing that. What we read. In the Old Testament. All points. To God's work.

[39:46] Of grace. For us. For us. Please don't ever. Let anybody. Convince you. Or discourage you. With the.

[39:57] Lesser. Ness. Or lesser. Value. Of the Old Testament. It's all the Bible. It's all God's word. And it's all important. And the Old Testament. Lays the foundation.

[40:07] For who we are. And what we are. And what God does. In our lives. In the New Covenant. It's very important. Or it wouldn't be there. Your salvation.

[40:19] is reserved. Is reserved. For you. In heaven. Through God. Crediting. To you. The perfect. Righteousness. Of Jesus Christ.

[40:31] His son. Who is your hope. And glory. On the last day. And that's exactly. What Peter tells us. If you go back to. First Peter. And look at.

[40:44] Verse six. In this. You greatly rejoice. Even though now. For a little while. If necessary. You've been distressed. By various trials. So that the proof. Of your faith. Being more precious.

[40:55] Than gold. Which is perishable. Even though. Tested by fire. May be found. To result in. Praise. And glory. And honor. At the revelation.

[41:05] Of Jesus Christ. And though you have not. Seen him. You love him. Though you didn't see him now. You believe in him. You greatly rejoice. With joy. Inexpressible.

[41:16] And full. Of this. Glory. Obtaining. As the outcome. Of your faith. The salvation. Of your souls. Man. God help us. Live this. God help us.

[41:27] Attain. To this. Even though. The man. Is saying. Even though. Right now. You're distressed. By various trials. He's not saying.

[41:38] Well. Wait till this. Passes. And then you can get back. To being happy again. Then you can. Get back. To being faithful again. No.

[41:52] The Holy Spirit. Himself. Will raise you. To life. In your glorified body. On the last day. Just. As he did. With Jesus Christ.

[42:03] And raising him. From the grave. On the promised. Third day. It. Your. Being raised. Is that secure. Because.

[42:14] Jesus. Is the proof. He's the first fruits. Of the promise. That God. Has made. To raise you. In the same way. Give you. A glorified body.

[42:26] Now. What Peter. Is telling us. Here. Is. That ought to matter. In the times. Of our deepest distress. It ought to matter. That we can look at. What we're going through.

[42:37] And say. This. This. Is commensurate. With. This life. This time. This era. This place. But it won't always.

[42:49] Be like this. Not for me. There will be a time. When all of this. Will be consummated. And I will be taken.

[43:00] Into glory. And given a glorified body. And everything. That's happened to me. Will count. And matter to God. And matter to eternity.

[43:10] It. Will. Matter. It will. What you think. You're being. Slided in.

[43:22] Will matter. To God. And to eternity. It will matter. We tend to think. That when we get up. Into heaven. All of this stuff. Will just drop away. And won't matter anymore. Well in one sense.

[43:32] That's true. But please understand. Your father. Cares. About everything. That happens to you. And everything. Matters. For your eternity. Nothing's wasted.

[43:43] Not one tear. Not one heartache. Not one doubt. Or fear. God deals with all of that. And all of that matters for eternity.

[43:54] It matters to God. This isn't an incomparable. Salvation. There's nothing like it. Nothing. God. And all of that's waiting for you.

[44:10] You. Me. And every other Christian. Are. Or have been. The living fulfillment. Of ancient prophecies. Predicted by God's holy prophets.

[44:22] Through the work of the Holy Spirit. Verse 12 tells us. That God revealed this reality. To the Old Testament prophets. What does it say? It was revealed to them. That they were not serving themselves.

[44:34] But you. His readers. In these things. Which now have been announced. To you. Through those who preach the gospel to you. By the Holy Spirit.

[44:44] That sent from heaven. Things into which angels. Long to look. This I'll be brief. This is my final point. Your salvations preached gospel. This is the third insight. Your salvations preached gospel.

[44:58] What do I mean? Well please notice. That while there was much about. Our future salvation. That the prophets didn't understand. Look. God did reveal to them.

[45:09] They were not serving themselves. But you. God let them know. That reality. These men didn't figure out.

[45:19] Any of this apart from. God's divine revelation. And this is important. As I mentioned before. To our belief and understanding. About the Bible. And the doctrines of our faith. I want to show you.

[45:31] If you go to 2nd Peter. Chapter 1. Just hold on to this now. This is for free. 2nd Peter 1. Beginning in verse 16.

[45:42] For we did not follow. Peter says. Cleverly devised tales. See. There's no da Vinci code nonsense here. We didn't follow. Cleverly devised tales.

[45:54] Or myths. When we made known to you. The power and coming. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. We were eyewitnesses. Of his majesty. For when we received. Honor and glory.

[46:04] From God the Father. Such an utterance as this. Was made to him. By the majestic glory. This is the transfiguration of Jesus. That Peter witnessed. He said. This is my beloved son.

[46:16] With whom I am well pleased. That was what was spoken. On the Mount of Transfiguration. And Peter heard it. We ourselves heard this utterance. Made from heaven. When we were with him.

[46:26] On that holy mountain. Wow. Wow Peter. What an awesome display. Of the goodness of God. That must have really bolstered your faith. Well what does he say in verse 19.

[46:37] So. We have the prophetic word. Made more sure. What are you talking about? To which you do well. To pay attention. As to a lamp shining. In a dark place.

[46:48] Until the day dawns. And the morning star. Arises in your hearts. Know this first of all then. No prophecy of scripture. Is a matter of one's own interpretation. No prophecy was ever made.

[47:00] By an act of human will. But men moved by the Holy Spirit. Spoke from God. He gets all the glory. Amen. The Bible is not the product. Of human invention.

[47:12] It is the revealed work. And word. Of the living God. And he used these men. To put it down. For us. Friends. Everything. About your salvation.

[47:24] Is rooted. In the work of God. From even before. He made the world. And. Even as he used. His prophets. In their ministries. Thousands. Of years ago.

[47:35] God. I say again. Has been loving you. To himself. And securing your salvation. For a long. Long time.

[47:48] During their ministries. God's prophets. Were not serving themselves. But those of us. Living in the era. After the cross. The church age.

[47:59] The text says. As they served us. In these things. Which now. Have been announced. To you. Through those. Who preached. The gospel. To you. By the Holy Spirit.

[48:12] Sent from heaven. All of this. Was superintended. By the spirit. Of almighty God. I'll give you. A couple of more. References. Before I close out. This is. First Timothy chapter.

[48:23] Or second Timothy. Chapter one. Please turn there. With me. Let me give you. Just a couple of more. And then we'll be finished. Come on guys. You got to give me a break. I hadn't been in the pulpit.

[48:33] In three weeks. I hadn't even been in church. Second Timothy chapter one. Beginning in verse eight. What we're dealing with. Is what Peter is telling us.

[48:45] In the text. And these things. Which have now been announced. To you. Through those. Who preach the gospel. To you. Paul. Paul says in Timothy. One. Or second Timothy.

[48:56] One. Verse eight. Therefore. Do not be ashamed. Of the testimony. Of our Lord. Or of me. His prisoners. But join with me. In suffering. For the gospel. According to the power of God.

[49:07] That sounds familiar. That's what Peter's saying. Who has saved us. And called us. With a holy calling. Not according to our works. See it's by grace. But according to his own purpose.

[49:20] And grace. Which was granted us. In Christ Jesus. From when? All eternity. How about that? But now. Has been revealed.

[49:33] By the appearing of. The one that they were searching for. And trying to figure out. Who is it? Our savior. Christ Jesus. Who abolished death.

[49:45] And brought life. And immortality to light. Through the gospel. For which. Paul says. I was appointed a. Preacher. Father. And an apostle.

[49:57] And a teacher. For this reason. I also suffer these things. But I'm not ashamed. For I know whom I have believed. And am convinced. That he is able to guard. What I've entrusted to him. Until that day.

[50:08] So retain the standard of sound words. Which you've heard from me. And the faith and love. Which are in Christ Jesus. Guard through the Holy Spirit. Who dwells in us. Look. The treasure.

[50:18] Which has been entrusted to you. The treasure. The salvation. Of almighty God. Your salvation. Is revealed.

[50:29] In the preached. Message. Of the cross. That is. The proclamation. Of God's forgiveness. For your sins. By grace. Through your faith.

[50:40] In God's son. This final scripture reference. That I'll have you turn to. Is in Colossians. Because I want you to give God. Much glory for this friends.

[50:50] This is all about. Your salvation. Right here. Colossians chapter 1. Beginning in verse 25. Of this church.

[51:00] Paul says. I was made a minister. A servant. According to the stewardship. From God. Bestowed on me. For your benefit. Here we go again.

[51:12] That's just what Peter was saying. About the prophets. They realized. They weren't serving themselves. But you. This is all for your benefit. So that I might fully carry out.

[51:23] What? The preaching of the word of God. That is. The mystery. What the prophets didn't fully see. Understand. Which was hidden.

[51:34] From past ages and generations. But has now. Been manifested to his saints. To whom God will to make known. See. There's your revelation.

[51:45] God will to make known. What is then. The riches. Of the. Glory. Of this mystery. Among the Gentiles.

[51:56] And what is the riches of that glory? Christ. In. You. The hope of glory. Will that preach? Christ. In. You.

[52:07] The hope of. Now look. Here. Is the single. Greatest power. In all the universe. Which killed. What had killed. You. What is it?

[52:22] Which is Christ. In. You. The hope. Of glory. God. Used. Him. To kill. What had killed. You.

[52:33] And then. To give you. New. Life. He killed sin. And death. And didn't leave you there. And then.

[52:44] Credited the righteousness. Of Jesus. To you. To give you. Life. He breathed. The new life. Of Jesus. Into you. And made you. A new creature.

[52:54] In Christ. Deliver you. From sin. And death. Give you. Life. Eternal. And that radiant life. Lives in you.

[53:05] And animates you. Now. Now. That's not something. You're simply waiting on. Till you get to heaven. Jesus. Lives in you. Christ.

[53:15] In you. Now. That's what they wanted to know. That's what they were looking for. That's what they couldn't bring together. Even though Isaiah told them.

[53:31] He's going to suffer to death. They're going to put him on a tree. And kill him. And then three days later. He'll be raised up. Folks.

[53:44] This. This is the gift. This is the power. This is the kept promise. Of the prophets. This is the good news. Of your salvation. From sin and death. By God's perfect.

[53:56] Good. Gift. Of the life. Death. And resurrection. Of his son. For you. Folks. That. That message of hope. Belongs to you. It lives in you.

[54:06] Both Paul and Peter. Both Paul and Peter. Tell us. God has faithfully. Raised up. Preachers. Of this good news. Who sacrificially. And should. Sacrificially.

[54:17] Herald. God's message. And promise. To save all those. Who trust in his son. For the forgiveness. Of their sins. And Peter says. That all of this.

[54:28] Is what even. Angels. Long. To investigate. They're jealous. It's what they marvel. Angels. Marvel.

[54:39] At your salvation. They look at. What God. Has done in you. And they just. They marvel. At Christ.

[54:52] In. In. You. The hope of glory. Man. It's what they want to gain insight into.

[55:08] All because. Your salvation in Jesus Christ. Is so incomparably. Value. Valuable. Valuable. To God. God. Himself. And the angels.

[55:19] See that. The angels. See. How incomparably. Value. Valuable. Your salvation. Is to God. Himself. And they look from God. And to you.

[55:32] And they marvel. Let's put this last quote up there for him. Josiah. God demonstrates his own love toward us.

[55:45] And that while we were yet sinners. Christ. Died for us. So that we shall be saved from the wrath of God. Through him. And the angels long to look into that.

[55:58] And the prophets. For thousands of years. Said. This is what God's going to do. And friend if you're saved.

[56:08] He did it. And that ought to matter. Let's pray together. Almighty God and Father.

[56:22] We marvel. At salvation. Now the truth is Lord God. As soon as that leaves my lips. We also can be very.

[56:33] Very. Apathetic about it. God. Please forgive us Lord. We sometimes. Struggle. In all but losing the joy of our salvation.

[56:49] And I'll confess to you God. That sometimes the pain of this world. And the grief. That it brings. Is so loud. And deep.

[57:00] And dark. And it. And it looks so hopeless. And there's so much hurt in it. That. It's difficult. It's.

[57:12] It's hard to stay focused. And so Lord. We run to you. We run to your goodness. And your love. And your kindness. We run to the hope. That is the Lord Jesus Christ.

[57:25] In us. And we ask you God. To remind us. We ask you to please. Be long suffering. And patient. And merciful toward us.

[57:37] And that you will help us. And hold us. And comfort us. And reassure us. And bring us. Lord God. To the place where.

[57:48] We can look up into heaven. With. A smiling heart. And a confident hope. And trust. That even in.

[57:59] The throes of the pain. And the heartache. And the doubt. And the fear. We can know that you are good. And doing a good. And wonderful work. Beyond anything. That we could possibly know now.

[58:11] But that one day. It will all matter. One day. It will all come together. One day. It will all be the treasure. Of us. Offering to you. Praise and glory.

[58:22] In your physical presence. As your glorified people. And I do pray God. That you would help us. Help us to see. That that matters.

[58:34] And help us to be encouraged. In living that life. And in being faithful servants. Help us to come to terms. Lord. With the fact that. We live in a world.

[58:44] Where there is loss. But one day. We will be taken to a place. Where that will never be again. We give you the glory Lord. And we thank you.

[58:54] For your faithfulness. And your love. And the sweet ways. That you gently lead us. As our shepherd. The shepherd of our souls.

[59:05] We praise you. And give you the glory. In Christ's name. Amen. Amen. Hey. Bye. You're welcome. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.

[59:17] Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.

[59:28] Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye.

[59:39] Bye.