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[0:00] All right, so good to be back with you this morning. And my memory isn't all that great, especially when I see people for the first time or first time in a long time.

[0:13] So how many of you were here last week, last Sunday on the first part? Okay, most of you. Okay. Let me get started here.

[0:24] I want to start and just sort of review or reintroduction to this two-part series. I'm so thankful for the songs we sang this morning already.

[0:39] And the reading of Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 through 14. And just the list of all those, the abundance of blessings, the riches of the glory of God's grace.

[0:50] The things that He has bestowed upon us, all of them come in Christ. And Brother Jeff, I thank you for sort of pausing with some emphasis each time you read in Christ, in whom, in Him.

[1:05] About ten times in those verses, it just keeps coming back in Christ, in Christ. And so the song we just sang, All I Have is Christ. And that's enough.

[1:18] Okay? All I have is in Christ, and Christ is superaboundingly enough. He's more than enough for all that we need as sinners who will one day meet a holy God.

[1:32] As I mentioned last Sunday, in these two messages, I wanted to help all of us to think of the gospel from a couple of perspectives that we might say are less common or less obvious, even though they are thoroughly biblical.

[1:47] But we tend to think of the gospel just primarily as those certain truths that a person needs to understand in order for that person to respond in saving faith unto salvation.

[2:01] Or we may say sort of the prerequisite or the sine qua non, the absolute essential, what a person needs to know in order to get to heaven. And that's fine.

[2:12] Focusing on those truths of the gospel are absolutely essential for our evangelistic efforts of sharing this good news with other people so that they also may be saved and find all the riches they have in Christ.

[2:26] But there are other aspects of the gospel, other facets of, you say, the diamond of the gospel that we don't think about often enough. But they are very important because in those we see other truths of what God is doing in us and through us and even around us.

[2:45] And through that, we see more of how we ought to live. So last Sunday, I tried to explain the gospel's connection to the themes of the kingdom of God and God as the king of kings, the almighty ruler over all.

[3:01] And we also considered how we ought to subject ourselves to him as stewards. And we looked in Matthew 21, the parable of the vineyard, the vineyard owner, the wicked vinedressers, and so forth.

[3:13] And it really emphasizes stewardship because one day there is going to be a day of reckoning, a day when this king, the master of this vineyard, comes to us and says, now it's time to show what fruit you have to your account.

[3:28] So we looked at that last week. This morning, I want to help us consider the gospel's connection to the themes of glory and glorification. But before I do, I want to just briefly return to last week's message and the fact that God is in the process right now, even today, bringing everything and everyone into subjection under the authority and under the feet of Christ.

[3:52] And so Hebrews chapter 2, I want to quickly read verses 1 through 9. Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

[4:05] For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will.

[4:31] For he has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. But one testified in a certain place, saying, What is man that you are mindful of him, or the son of man that you take care of him?

[4:45] You have made him a little lower than the angels. You have crowned him with glory and honor and set him over the works of your hands. You have put all things in subjection under his feet.

[4:57] For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him.

[5:11] But we see Jesus, who is made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.

[5:23] So just, I want to highlight a couple things here. First, the question we see in verse 3. In light of the salvation that we've been talking about, the gospel message, the question comes, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?

[5:39] There is no other way. There is no other means of salvation. It's only in Christ alone. There is no way. And you say, well, escape? Really?

[5:50] Really? You know, just think about when you as a sinner stand before the almighty God, creator of all, who is holy in the extreme, perfectly righteous, set apart from his creation.

[6:08] We will meet him one day. And that will either be a terrifyingly dreadful experience, or it will be like coming home to a home that we've never experienced before, in absolute joy and peace and rejoicing.

[6:33] Romans chapter 14, verses 11 and 12. It says, For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

[6:49] So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God. As we were thinking about this theme of subjection, and I challenge anyone who is not yet a Christian, you're still in your sin, living as a rebel, an enemy of God.

[7:09] God's calling for you to lay down your rebellious ways, to bow the knee to him, to cry out, For Jesus Christ is Lord over all, and he's the only Savior of mankind.

[7:22] And one day, every person will bow the knee, and their tongues will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord over all.

[7:34] Philippians chapter 2, also verses 10 and 11, That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

[7:49] So, I ask you this question, how about you today? Right now? What is the declaration of your heart before God? Are you still living as a rebel?

[8:01] Are you still saying, I still want to do my thing? Or are you coming to God his way? Let's take a moment to pray, and then we will transition into the message for today.

[8:14] Father in heaven, thank you for your word. Thank you for this time where we can study it freely, openly. But God, you have to be our teacher.

[8:28] If our hearts, our minds are truly going to understand your word, your spirit needs to teach us. Lord, there may be some in here this morning who, they still have not yet been made spiritually alive.

[8:41] They're still unsaved, lost in their sins. Maybe they're still trying to do good, to try to earn their way to heaven. But that is a fruitless endeavor.

[8:54] It's a vain journey. God, I pray that you would speak your truth into their lives, that you would cause the eyes of their understanding to be open, to be enlightened.

[9:08] That they would understand their tremendous need of you and the tremendous solution that's found in Christ alone. For those of us who are believers, as we think about these aspects of the gospel, the glory and glorification, Lord, that you would help us to, our minds to perhaps expand in some ways, to gather more truth, to understand more truth, but also to be affected by it today.

[9:36] God, I know I need it. No doubt there are many, many ways that these truths still need to affect me. But Lord, please help us to understand.

[9:47] Help us to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Christ. Renew our minds, transform us, make us more like Christ today. And I pray that you would renew our hope.

[9:59] You would firm up our assurance of salvation. That we'd be able to look ahead with so much more hope and joy and assurance that we'd be motivated to live worthy lives.

[10:13] That we would be motivated to live pure lives. That we would be motivated to be faithful and to the end. Because when we realize the end of the story is going to be so grand and glorious, you will give us an anticipation and an eagerness to see it all resolved once and for all.

[10:34] So this is our prayer. And may you be honored through it all. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Would you turn in your Bibles to Exodus chapter 33. That's the first, or the next passage we'll look at together this morning.

[10:48] Exodus chapter 33. So again, considering the gospel, what the gospel has to do with the themes of glory and glorification.

[11:03] And here is our theme verse that I gave you last week. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 12. Where it says that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His kingdom and glory.

[11:19] Last week we looked at how God's calling us into His kingdom. And this week, today, we're going to look at how God is calling us into His glory. But what is glory?

[11:30] Let me define a couple of words we find in the scriptures. In the Hebrew Old Testament, the Greek New Testament, the words most often translated as glory have the same core meaning.

[11:46] Of course, as all words do, they have a range of meaning. We'll look slightly at those, but we're going to primarily look at the core meaning. The most common Hebrew word translated as glory in our English text is the word kabod, which means to be heavy or to be weighty.

[12:04] That's, when you think of the Hebrew word for glory, it's heaviness. Okay? Now, well, that may sound strange to you. Glory, heavy, what is the connection here?

[12:18] I think we find the connection in the core root word that we get kabod from. It's actually the similar, kabed, which is a word you'd find in the marketplace. So, if you were going to the public market and you were going to buy, say, 10 pounds of potatoes, well, I already gave you a measurement of weight.

[12:37] Okay? I said pounds. But, when you were, when the, you're going to find out the value or the worth of those potatoes, it will be weighed out on a scale, not to see how heavy the potatoes are, but how heavy of the coinage that you would need to pay.

[12:56] Okay? Whether it's the weight in gold or silver, shekels, copper, whatever the coinage was, your coinage would be weighed out to be representative of the worth or the value of those potatoes.

[13:13] So, it's a weight. The heaviness shows the value. We have idioms in English that you're probably familiar with.

[13:24] You may have heard someone say, well, that person or something is worth its weight in gold. Okay. Okay? You're saying the value and weight are connected together.

[13:38] There's an old saying that a certain sailor may not be worth his salt. Hopefully, you know some of the background. If you don't, well, part of the wages of sailors was salt.

[13:51] Their allotment of salt was part of their salary or their wages that'd be weighed out. And they were saying, well, that sailor, he's worthless. He doesn't do his job well, so he's not even worth his weight in salt.

[14:02] Okay? So, you see the correspondence here between the Hebrew understanding of weight and value is a marketplace kind of term. Similarly, well, I'm getting ahead of myself.

[14:16] Let's also imagine perhaps a royal person or a very wealthy person and how the person might dress. You imagine a very wealthy person arrayed in lots of layers of luxurious clothing.

[14:30] clothing. And then to make it even more beautiful perhaps than layers of jewelry, great necklaces, if it's a woman, earrings and so forth, maybe even a crown on the head and a scepter in the hand.

[14:49] And you look at all that and the accoutrements, the attire, the clothing, and you say, that stuff looks heavy. All right? It's weighty and you see the value or the worth, whether it's the financial worth or the social worth of that person as displayed in sort of the weight of the clothing, not how heavy it is.

[15:13] Okay? Like Mr. T. Some of you are from my generation and, you know, the A-team and Mr. T and all the gold jewelry around his neck. That stuff looks heavy and it looks very costly.

[15:28] That's the idea of glory. There's a lot going on there. There's a lot of value in all of that. The most common Greek word is doxa.

[15:42] We know the word doxology, right? The testimony displaying or retelling the worth of God. And you see the definition here.

[15:54] it can refer to an opinion or an estimate, worth, value, a person's reputation, magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, majesty, and splendor.

[16:11] So again, we see the same core idea of value or worth. Someone's glory is their worth. But what is the glory of God?

[16:24] The glory of God can refer to a couple things. First, it can refer to his inherent worth as a person, who he is. And we would say his inherent worth is like his dignity, his excellence, and magnificence.

[16:39] Or it can refer to the display of his worth, which we might describe as his majesty, splendor, or even his brightness.

[16:49] A lot of times in the New Testament you'll see the brightness or this idea of the concept of brightness associated with the glory of God. Well, God's worth is indescribably great and perfect and beyond our estimation.

[17:08] To give glory to God or to glorify God, which we often say, refers to our efforts towards recognizing God's worth and honoring God's worth.

[17:22] We also might call that worship. We get that from worth-ship. Thinking about the honor, the glory of God and we're thinking about his worth.

[17:36] And because God's worth is indescribably great, perfect, and beyond our estimation, our efforts of worship will always fall short of what he truly deserves.

[17:48] We can't even conceive of how amazing God is, much less than as sinners and corrupt people, immortal people, give worship that in any way comes close to what he truly deserves.

[18:04] And yet, in God's mercy and grace, he allows it and he accepts it. to the glory of God, thinking about his inestimable worth.

[18:19] But have you ever considered that there is a danger inherent in God's glory? Moses had the tremendous privilege of speaking directly with God as if face-to-face.

[18:34] And Moses experienced unique instances of the glorious presence of God. For example, at the burning bush, he sees a bush that's burning but is not being burned up.

[18:46] And he's like, I've got to go see what's going on here. And as he draws near, God calls to him from out of the bush and says, take off your sandals, the place you're standing is holy ground. I mean, don't you think you could come here as you are?

[19:00] Also, we think of Moses atop the mountain, Sinai. The mountain was quaking, and was covered with smoke as God was about to give him the Ten Commandments, his law. We think about Moses dealing with God's presence in the pillars of fire and the pillars of cloud, first that led them through the wilderness and then at the tabernacle of meeting when the pillars would descend.

[19:24] Or even in the Shekinah brightness of God's glory in the temple where God manifested his presence in the holy of holies or the most holy place in the temple.

[19:35] In that brightness. And nevertheless, despite all these experiences, Moses wanted to experience more of God. Exodus chapter 33.

[19:47] I want to begin reading verse 7. Moses took his tent and pitched it outside the camp, far from the camp, and called it the tabernacle of meeting. And it came to pass that everyone who sought the Lord went out to the tabernacle of meeting, which was outside the camp.

[20:01] So it was whenever Moses went out to the tabernacle that all the people rose, and each man stood at his tent door and watched Moses until he had gone into the tabernacle.

[20:13] And it came to pass when Moses entered the tabernacle that the pillar of cloud descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. All the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the tabernacle door, and all the people rose and worshipped each man in his tent door.

[20:28] So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, or as if face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

[20:42] Then Moses said to the Lord, See, you say to me, bring up this people, but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you have also found grace in my sight.

[20:55] Now therefore I pray, if I have found grace in your sight, show me now your way, that I may know you, and that I may find grace in your sight, and consider that this nation is your people.

[21:06] And he said, My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Then he said to him, if your presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here. For how then will it be known that your people and I have found grace in your sight, except you go with us?

[21:21] So we shall be separate, your people and I, from all the people who are upon the face of the earth. So the Lord said to Moses, I will also do this thing that you have spoken, for you have found grace in my sight, and I know you by name.

[21:36] I just pause for a moment. You just see the mercy and grace of God there. You know, respond to the Moses. Moses, you know, just please go with us. Please go with us.

[21:46] Please don't. Send me up from here if you don't go with us. So, verse 17, so the Lord said to Moses, I will also do this thing that you have spoken, for you have found grace in my sight, and I know you by name.

[22:00] And he said, Moses said, please, show me your glory. And God said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you.

[22:15] I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion, on whom I will have compassion. But he said, you cannot see my face, for no man shall see me and live.

[22:31] And the Lord said, here is a place by me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be while my glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand while I pass by.

[22:44] Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. God says, you cannot see my face, for no man shall see me and live.

[22:57] There is an inherent danger in the glory of God. Would you turn with me to the last book of the Bible, Revelation chapter 1.

[23:11] And if you happen to also see chapter 20, turn there also. So, see, the book of Revelation, as it is introduced, it's the revelation of Jesus Christ.

[23:22] It is a written record of visions and insights God gave to the apostle John. There were several visions that John saw. The first one we find here is in the throne room of heaven.

[23:34] And you see in the resurrected and glorified Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 10, John says, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last.

[23:51] And what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and Laodicea.

[24:03] Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me, and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

[24:18] His head and hair were white like wool as white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters.

[24:34] He had in his right hand seven stars. Out of his mouth, when a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance, his appearance, was like the sun shining in its strength.

[24:52] Now notice John's response in the next verse. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. Reminds me of Isaiah chapter six, when Isaiah also had a vision of God lifted up in the temple, what his robe filled the temple.

[25:09] And the seraphim are crying out, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. And Isaiah's response was, I'm undone. I am just going to evaporate right here, for I have seen the exalted Lord.

[25:24] There is an inherent danger in the glory of God. Look also at chapter 20, Revelation 20, verses 11 through 15.

[25:38] So this is the great white throne judgment. This is when all the unsaved will be judged, will give their account before God. Look at how it begins, verse 11.

[25:51] And I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was no place found for them.

[26:09] Like, God in his glory, the earth and heavens are trying to hide, and there's no place for them to go. There's no place where they can hide from God's presence.

[26:21] And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and the books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books.

[26:32] The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged each one according to his works. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.

[26:44] This is the second death, and anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. These verses referring to the inherent danger of the glory of God tell us that we have a problem.

[27:01] It's an additional perhaps aspect to the problem of sin that we may have not considered before. Sinners cannot survive a meeting with God in all of his glory.

[27:13] We just cannot survive it. So that tells us the solution, salvation itself, needs to give us more than just a ticket to heaven.

[27:28] And what we have in Christ is a perfect solution. The solution has to prepare us for that meeting. When we see God in all of his glory, face to face.

[27:43] Last week I told you that in the big picture, the meta narrative, God's big plan of what he's doing through creation, is he is in the process of restoring and making everything new again.

[27:57] The gospel comes into this process that he has for all of creation, by which God is calling people by name, calling them out, and saying, you are a sinner, you need to be saved, and I'm willing right now today to rescue you, not just today, but forever more.

[28:15] I will make you new, I will make you a new creation, part of my new creation, and I will restore you spiritually back into fellowship with myself, because there is a day of judgment coming, and there's only one way that you can prepare for that, to be prepared for that day of reckoning, and survive it, that with everlasting life, and it's only found in Jesus Christ.

[28:39] We have a perfect solution in Christ, because part of salvation, part of the dynamics, the facets of the diamond of salvation, is that we are being remade, and one day we will completely be remade, so that we will be able to enjoy and experience the presence of God in all of His glory, face to face.

[29:06] God didn't save you so you could forever live in the barn, Him. Okay? He saved you, bringing you back to Himself so you can dwell with Him forever.

[29:23] But it's more than just a ticket to heaven. We have to be prepared to meet Him. Let's look at Revelation 21 a little bit here.

[29:37] Verse 22. So, now the vision changes of the eternal state. The heavens and earth have been remade by this point.

[29:51] And we see, beginning in verse 9, talking about the new Jerusalem, the heavenly city, descending out of heaven, which will come and rest upon this earth. And then we find descriptions of this everlasting kingdom, the new Jerusalem, and so forth.

[30:07] Verse 22. John writes, But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. What does a temple do? A temple is a place where God would manifest His presence.

[30:21] Okay? Well, God is with us. We don't need another external physical temple. Even right now, our bodies are considered the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the church as the temple of the Holy Spirit.

[30:34] Why? Because God's Spirit is dwelling with us and in us. Okay? Let's move on. Verse 23. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it.

[30:46] The Lamb is its light, and the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shut at all by day. There shall be no night there, and they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it.

[31:01] But there shall by no means enter it as an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

[31:12] When you trust in Christ as your Savior, your name is written in the Lamb's book of life. Look over chapter 22, verses 3 through 5. And there shall be no more curse. Amen.

[31:23] But the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servants shall serve him. Look at verse 4. They shall see his face.

[31:35] And his name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there. They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.

[31:48] Moses, despite all of his privileged, amazing experiences of God's presence, he kept longing for something more.

[32:01] The more he knew of God, the more he wanted to know. the more he experienced of God's presence in his life, he wanted more. He was like, show me your glory. I want all of you.

[32:13] I want to experience all of you. But he couldn't yet. He was not yet fit and able to survive that kind of experience. But what he longed for is something that has been guaranteed to us as believers in Christ Jesus.

[32:31] it is our future. It is our destiny. We will see God in all of his glory face to face. So how does the gospel do this? The gospel of Jesus guarantees our glorification.

[32:45] I'm going to give you three ways that the gospel of Christ guarantees our glorification and how God is preparing us for that. First of all, positionally. When a person places his faith in Jesus for salvation, in keeping with God's promises, God provides a perfect guaranteed salvation with all of its benefits.

[33:10] Ephesians 1, 3-14, our call to worship. Go back and meditate on that this week. And over and over again, not only will you see that phrase, in him, or in whom, or in Christ, you're also going to see multiple references, the riches of the glories of his grace.

[33:29] the bounty, the overflowing bounty of God's gifts to us. And it's of his glory, and they are glorious. Because all of these benefits to us are guaranteed, okay, and because God is eternal, God speaks of these benefits as if they're present realities.

[33:54] But because we have not yet experienced them, we describe them as positional. There are things that we already have in Christ, but we haven't yet experienced the fullness of them.

[34:05] Okay? They're still real, they're guaranteed, it's unchanging, but we, they're not, we haven't experienced them, so theologians, we refer to them as positional realities, or they describe our state before God.

[34:22] Will you turn with me to Romans chapter 8? We read a few verses from this chapter last week. I want to read a little bit more, beginning in verse 18.

[34:36] So the gospel of Jesus guarantees our glorification positionally. We're going to see that God has already given this status, he's already guaranteed it, declared it, in the mind of God, it's almost as if it's already happened.

[34:50] Well, of course, God is not bound by time, okay, so he's always, all time is like now to God, because he's eternal, okay, so it's real in his mind, he's already done it, we haven't yet experienced it.

[35:04] Verse 18, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

[35:15] So verse 18, we see the glory is coming, okay, we don't yet have it, it's future, but it will be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God, for the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope, because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

[35:47] There will be no more curse. God's remaking the heavens and the earth, okay, and creation right now is longing for that. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.

[36:00] And not only that, but we also who have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves eagerly awaiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.

[36:13] We're saying, I just want to be free from the curse. I want to be free from the presence and the temptation of sin. And it's effects in my life. And those of us who may be older than some in here, we're feeling more of those effects of aging, right?

[36:27] You know, some of you may have some disabling kind of health conditions and you just want my body to work, all right, the way it's supposed to. Well, there's a much better day coming, but we're longing for, we're groaning.

[36:40] Verse 24 says, for we were saved in this hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

[36:54] Likewise, the Spirit also helps in our weakness, for we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

[37:05] So we're groaning, creation's groaning, the Spirit's groaning. Verse 27, now he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

[37:17] And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.

[37:31] That also is a reference, I believe, in our glorification. Okay? This is what God is even doing now, preparing us. Why? That he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

[37:42] Moreover, whom he predestined, these he also called. Whom he called, these he also justified. And whom he justified, these he also glorified. So let's focus just real quickly on verse 30 as we think about how does the gospel prepare us for this glorification or guarantee our glorification.

[38:01] We're thinking about it positionally. Verse 30 tells us there are certain things that are absolutely true. God has already done them. The first few, we could look back as Christians and say, okay, they've already happened.

[38:14] Okay? He foreknew us, he predestined, he called, and he justified. Justified is when God says to a sinner, on the basis of your faith in the sacrificial death and resurrection of my son, I am legally declaring you righteous in my sight forevermore.

[38:34] Okay? Or to put it really briefly, declared righteous. And we'd say as Christians, well, God has already done that for us. Now, are we living it perfectly? No, but it is a positional truth.

[38:47] It's already happened, and it's begun, but then he moves on to the next one, which again, in the mind of God, is just as certain because in his mind, he's already accomplished it.

[38:58] What is the last one? These, he also glorified. So, in the gospel, the precious gospel of Christ, our glorification has already been guaranteed to us.

[39:10] It is ours. Positionally. Secondly, the gospel of Jesus guarantees our glorification progressively. You might even say practically. And this is, this is where the, the, the idea of sanctification and glorification start to get really close together.

[39:30] Okay? The process of sanctification is a process through which the Spirit of God makes us more like Jesus.

[39:40] and God is working today. This morning, he's trying, he's doing his work of sanctification to transform us into the likeness of Jesus. And through that sanctification, God's glory is increasingly displayed in us because he's making us to be more like Jesus.

[39:59] Jesus is, is the God of glory. glory. And so, more of Jesus is reflected in our lives. And the Bible describes that as this, as this, God's glory is being displayed in us.

[40:13] 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 18. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

[40:31] Okay, what is he saying here? I believe he's talking about as we look into the Word of God, it's like a mirror and we see Jesus. Okay, we're looking at Jesus as taught to us, as revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures.

[40:47] And as Romans 12, 1 and 2 says, you know, don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. As God is teaching us, the Spirit of God is teaching us through his Word, he's renewing us and he's going to use the truth of God's Word to change us, to transform us, to make us more like Christ.

[41:08] And as he, as Paul writes here in 2 Corinthians 3, it's like from one aspect or degree or expression of glory to another. And as the process continues, to another, to another.

[41:23] And we would say, oh, but I, I'm just thinking of one of my failures this week, that didn't bring God glory, did it? No, but even in that, the Spirit of God convicts you of that sin.

[41:36] And you say, okay, that was not the right way. God has a better way for me to do that. And so then we seek through repentance and faith and dependence upon the Holy Spirit, praying to him, God, help me next time to do that better, to bring you glory, to show your value, your worth in that Word, in that attitude, that behavior.

[42:00] And as we do that, we, we become, God is, he's making us more like Christ, conforming us, not to the world, but to Christ and Jesus, more Jesus is being seen.

[42:12] More of God's glory is being displayed in us and through us. Just let me take a little moment to the side here, a parenthesis.

[42:24] I really started thinking more about this theme of God's glory in the Philippines because for the Bible Institute this year, they chose 1 Peter 3, verse 15 as their theme verse.

[42:36] and their, the motto was to revere Christ and radiate hope. And that verse talks about you always be ready to give an answer or reason for the hope that is within you.

[42:50] Well, I began digging into this, okay, what really is the hope of the believer? And, of course, we would summarize it, well, salvation or I get to go to heaven, right?

[43:03] We go back to those sort of the core elements of the gospel and what God gives us in that. But the more I began digging into the New Testament concept of hope, I saw how inseparable it was from the theme of glorification.

[43:20] Because ultimately, you say, I want to get to heaven, but there is that day of reckoning when we will meet God face to face.

[43:31] so our salvation has to do more than just squeaking in before the door slams, right? It has to fully prepare us. And that, so our hope, I hope, I hope, no pun intended, that our minds are grasping more and more of this understanding this morning that God is preparing us and guaranteeing that we also will be glorified so that we can enjoy him forever.

[43:57] and he's doing that process right now. We have it positionally, he's doing it progressively, and he's also going to do it physically. We already read in Romans 8 about our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

[44:15] Okay? Well, through our ultimate resurrection, or the, if we don't die, it'll be through the immediate transformation that will occur in our bodies when we meet Jesus.

[44:28] Would you turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15? And we look briefly at some of these verses. Last week, this is like the resurrection chapter. And last week, we saw that for Christ to be part of his kingdom and conquering, he will conquer death.

[44:47] It will be the, the last enemy that is destroyed according to verse 26. But I want to begin reading in verse 35 today. 1 Corinthians 15 beginning in verse 35.

[44:59] But someone will say, how are the dead raised up and with what body do they come? And we're, you're wondering about your resurrected body, what it's going to be like?

[45:10] Well, we'll look a little bit at it. And Paul gives an illustration for those of you who are gardeners who ever tried to grow a plant. Okay? He's going to give the illustration of using a seed.

[45:21] Okay? And when you pick up seeds in the little paper packets at Walmart or wherever, you look at those seeds and say, that, that's dead. And how is that broccoli seed going to become a broccoli plant on which grow heads of broccoli?

[45:40] And the seed is very different. You don't plant the whole plant. You plant a seed and that seed is dead. Okay? So, foolish one, verse 36. What you sow is not made alive unless it dies. And what you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but mere grain, just seeds, perhaps weed or some other grain.

[45:57] But God gives it a body as He pleases and to each seed its own body. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.

[46:09] And there are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies or heavenly and earthly. But the glory of the celestial is one and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, another glory of the stars.

[46:24] For one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption. It is raised in incorruption.

[46:35] It is sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness. It is raised in power. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body.

[46:47] There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. Now, in the next few verses, Paul is going to explain our relationships to the first man, Adam, through which we get our physical body and by which we also inherited a sin nature and under the curse.

[47:08] And then he's going to compare him with the second Adam or the second man who is the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven who is spirit now, okay, and we get spiritual life through him and eventually a spiritual body.

[47:25] Okay, so, verse 45, and so it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living being. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first but the natural and afterward the spiritual.

[47:39] The first man was of the earth made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust. And as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are heavenly.

[47:51] And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does corruption inherit corruption.

[48:04] So, if you think you're going to get there on your own, it's just not going to happen. Okay, we have to be changed. Verse 51, Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep.

[48:17] He's referring to death there. We're not all going to die but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet for the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall all be changed.

[48:30] For this corruptible, this old body, must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. So, when this corruptible has put on incorruption and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought the passage saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

[48:51] Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, Hades, where is your victory? The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

[49:04] So, we don't just get a ticket into heaven, we get a brand new body, a heavenly body fit for his presence. This is the believer's hope.

[49:18] It's only found in Jesus Christ. I want to, before we go to our applications this morning, I just want to show you a number of verses here that combine this New Testament concept of hope with the glory of God, with all that's yet coming to us.

[49:32] 1 Peter chapter 1, we're going to read through verses 3-9 but we're going to be on two slides. Verse 3, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again or given us new birth to, what?

[49:50] A living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

[50:12] By summary, if you're a Christian, you've been born again and you have a hope that is in you that is living. It's not dead. It's not stationary.

[50:23] It is alive. It's vibrant and it's all connected to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He didn't stay dead. Okay? If he stayed dead, then he would not have had victory over death for himself nor for us.

[50:38] Okay? So we have a living hope because we are connected to Christ. In fact, we are in Christ, two of the most beautiful words in the scripture, and he is in us and because we are so intimately connected to him, his resurrection will have an effect on us right now and forevermore.

[50:56] And we have this inheritance that will never be taken away. It's incorruptible and our inheritance is being reserved, but not just our inheritance is being reserved.

[51:08] It says, who are kept by the power of God through faith? We also are being kept by God's power. You don't have to try to keep yourself saved.

[51:21] That's what it's saying there. You know, we don't trust in Christ and then have to work to try to maintain salvation.

[51:35] It's all of grace. It's his work. We believers are being kept by their power of God. Through what? Through faith? Through works? No. Just our trust in him.

[51:48] And it's a salvation that's ready to be revealed in the last time. So that's when it's going to get. It's culmination. It's ultimate fulfillment in the last time, but it's already prepared for us.

[52:02] Okay? Moving on. Verse 6. How do we respond? In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it's tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory when?

[52:22] At the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen, you love. Though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy, inexpressible, full of glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

[52:39] God wants you to know your salvation is absolutely secure because you are secure in him. He's the one holding us as much as we try to hold on to him. And he wants us to do that and to walk with him.

[52:51] Our salvation is not dependent on any works we have after we trust in Christ. We can't. Okay? I hope that if you've been feeling that way and so many of us, we often get sort of in this idea of penance when we mess up, when we sin.

[53:13] As if God is very angry with us and we have to somehow get back in his good favor. That is not how God treats us. God welcomes us back.

[53:28] No, he doesn't want us living in a sin. God hates our sin. But he's already made us his children and he will not let us go. It's not dependent upon us and so we can look at this and we can greatly rejoice.

[53:42] If we're suffering and we're going through trials, okay, yeah, because we know that there's a purpose in our trials and our salvation is absolutely perfectly complete because it's coming at the glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ and we have been set free from all that fear that it could bring.

[53:59] The fear of all that danger because we have been made accepted in the beloved one, Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1 verse 13, Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

[54:19] Corral all those thoughts. Get them all thoughts that are obedient to Christ, to the gospel. Think about that. Think clearly. Think soberly and just don't put your hope in anything else, not in any president-elect or anybody else, not in a job, not in the economy.

[54:38] No. Our hope fully upon that day when we're going to experience a grace that wraps it all up for us, the completion of our salvation.

[54:51] When all that we've trusted in and we wait for with anticipation and perseverance, it finally becomes reality for us. 1 Peter 4 verses 12 through 14.

[55:03] Beloved, Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing happened to you, but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

[55:20] If your reproach for the name of Christ blesser you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He's blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

[55:34] God can be glorified in us when we are reproached for His name. Well, first of all, you say, well, why would somebody reproach me for the name of Christ?

[55:46] They'd have to notice something different about us, right? They'd have to notice some connection through probably our life and our words that we are connected to Jesus Christ.

[55:58] and if they choose to belittle us, reproach us, speak evil of us because of that, then glory to God. That's what He's saying here.

[56:11] The Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God rests upon you already. They may blaspheme, but in your life God can be glorified. 1 Peter 5, verses 10 through 12, but may the God of all grace who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus.

[56:26] Wow. After you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.

[56:37] Amen. By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.

[56:50] Romans 5, 2, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand. This is our position in Christ. And we rejoice in hope of the glory of God is coming.

[57:02] Colossians 1, 27, To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

[57:13] Titus 2, 13, Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And one more. 1 John 3, 2-3, Beloved, Now we are children of God.

[57:27] And it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

[57:39] And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. So how do we respond to this? Well, first of all, for unbelievers, I want to read to you sort of the end of the story.

[57:55] Revelation 22, verses 12-17. These are almost the last words of Christ recorded in Revelation 22. Jesus says, And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to everyone according to his work.

[58:12] I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to eat of the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city.

[58:23] But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you of these things in the churches.

[58:37] I am the root and the offspring of David, which is, remember, that's a royal kingdom reference there, the bright and morning star. And the spirit and the bride say come and let him who hears say come and let him who thirsts come.

[58:56] Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. That is an invitation from God the Son to you today. If you're still living in your sin, you have not trusted in Christ as your Savior, you have not cried out to Him and said, Oh Lord, save me.

[59:12] I put my faith in what you have done for me. Amen. He's speaking. Maybe He's speaking to your heart right now through His Spirit. As it says here, it's the Spirit and the bride, which I believe is the church.

[59:27] The church here, the believers here, would echo with the Holy Spirit of God urging you, won't you come? All of us who would hear and understand would say, come to Jesus.

[59:41] Jesus would say, if you're thirsty, if you're recognizing your need and you need the water of life, you need what I have, come, just come to me, Jesus says.

[59:54] I will give you the water of life freely. That's the first song we sang today. Had that same reference. Will you come to Jesus today while you still can?

[60:13] The need is great. The need is desperate. If the Lord is speaking to you, don't harden your heart. For those of us who are believers, we've already trusted in Christ for our salvation, then this hope is fully assured to us.

[60:30] It is guaranteed. It's living within us. And so how should we respond? I'll just, again, review some of these verses. Romans 5.2. First, let's rejoice. Let's rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

[60:44] Hallelujah. All I have is Christ. Hallelujah. Jesus is my life today and forevermore. All I could ever need is in Christ.

[60:57] And this is an absolute guaranteed hope for us. We will be glorified one day and we will be fully reconciled in the presence of God to enjoy Him and experience His absolute fullness forever.

[61:10] 1 Peter 1.13. Gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, rest your hope fully upon that grace that is brought to, is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

[61:20] So let's, let's corral our thoughts. Say, okay, Lord, help me to think rightly, help me to think clearly, help me to remind myself today, my hope is not in this person or that event here on this earth.

[61:32] My hope, it's assured, it's coming one day and I'm just going to fix myself, find my assurance again, my confidence in the Lord today. 1 John 3 urges us to purify ourselves.

[61:45] Why, we should be motivated to live holy lives, sanctified lives, to do what God wants us to do because that is part of, again, His subjecting us, us coming under the authority of Christ but also becoming more like Jesus.

[62:00] That is God's will for us. this progressive sanctification, even glorification, becoming more and more like Christ, more and more of the glory of God being reflected in us and so we have to say no to sin and in purity we have to say yes to righteousness.

[62:15] And 1 Corinthians 15 and 58 urges us to be faithful, to persevere, to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

[62:28] All we do for Christ will be worth it one day. So there's encouragement here, there's motivation. Again, not to gain something from God but because we've already been given everything, guaranteed everything so we are to live in light of that.

[62:44] This is who I am now. I'm a child of God. That's how He wants us to live. And I'll close with our theme verse, 1 Thessalonians 2.12 that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

[63:00] Let's pray together. O glorious God, in the heaven of heavens, you are exalted.

[63:15] We cannot understand your tremendous worth. We cannot put a value upon you. You're just too much.

[63:26] You're too much for us to understand or to estimate. God, we're so thankful today, my brothers and sisters here, when we think about all that you have coming to us, the grace that will be brought to us on that day.

[63:43] We don't just slip into heaven, but because all that you have guaranteed us in Christ, we will be fit to be able to enjoy you in all of your glory forever and ever face to face.

[64:01] Perhaps some of us, we've been chasing after things of this world this week, our pleasures, and perhaps even just being captivated by the gracious gifts that you've given to us.

[64:18] And as one brother already said it this morning to me, seeking your hand instead of your face. Lord, please forgive us.

[64:31] We get so focused on your gifts instead of you as the giver. We're so thankful for all that you've given to us. Thank you for all these blessings we have in Christ.

[64:42] These are absolutely amazing. They're meant to draw us near to you, to cause us to look to you, and to thank you, and to praise you, to honor you, to find all of our treasure and joy in you, because you are more than enough.

[65:00] God, we thank you for this complete gospel that prepares us for your glory. Lord, we just ask you to simply help us to live in a worthy way as we leave here today, to share this great news with others as you give us opportunity.

[65:21] And for those who are lost here today, Lord, I trust that your spirit is doing a work of convicting them of their sin, of your righteousness, your coming judgment. Oh God, that they might be wooed to you today as they consider your greatness and your goodness that you're offering to them today.

[65:44] That as they consider what this world has to offer, that they would not choose that over you. for indeed, what will gain a person?

[65:59] He has everything in this world, but he loses his own soul. God, I pray that you would draw people to salvation today, that they would be restored, reconciled to you, and given this living hope that just fills us with joy.

[66:15] Lord, we love you. You have first loved us, and we are experiencing that. We're reveling in it this morning. We praise you, Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father, God the Spirit.

[66:29]  We thank you for all you've done, what you're doing, and what you're going to do for us. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen.