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Speaker: There's some interesting
credit card perks that are out there.

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I'm not here to endorse credit
cards, so if you're worried about

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that, I'm not, not here to say
one thing, good or bad about them.

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I'm just saying there's interesting
perks that are out there, and I, I

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came across some of 'em this week.

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Uh, bank of America, apparently if
you get one of their credit cards,

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you have access to over 220 museums
that you can get into for free on the

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first full weekend of every month.

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So if you can sort all that out in your
head, uh, there's 220 museums out there

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that if you have a Bank of America credit
card you can get into for free, uh, on

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the first full weekend of every month.

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Uh, Citi uh, Citibank, they, they
have a credit card that with their

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prestige travel credit card, you get
free limousine access with that, which

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I was trying to remember the last
time I saw a limousine on the road.

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I, I remember growing up
it was the status symbol.

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As a kid, I was like, I just
want to ride in a limousine.

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I got to, in my, uh, my senior year,
we took one to prom, uh, because why

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not waste money on something like that?

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Um, so we did, and it was fun, whatever.

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We were in a limousine, but I
can't remember the last time I

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actually saw a limo on the road.

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But if you've got a city card with the
prestige travel level, you get a free one.

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Uh, not to own, but to, to ride in from
time to time and, and then, uh, discover.

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And, and this is unfortunate for
our, our students in the room because

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this has been discontinued, but for
a while they had a perk that they

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would offer 20 bucks a year for up
to five years if you maintained a 3.0

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GPA or above or in school.

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They don't do that anymore.

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And then I know the card everybody
has in the room, which is the

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tractor supply credit card.

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Somebody out there has it.

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I know you do.

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We, we live close enough to
the country that somebody out,

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there's like, yep, I got that.

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I, I don't know why you're laughing.

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It's great.

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Uh, if you've got a tractor supply credit
card, you get 3% back on veterinary

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services, which makes a whole lot
of sense when you think about it.

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And so if you have to have the vet out to,
to take a look at your horses and cows and

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stuff, if you got the tractor supply card,
you're gonna get 3% back on that one.

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Perks are funny, aren't they?

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Um, but, but why do credit
card companies offer perks?

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They, they do it because they want
people to be willing to commit to them

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in exchange for what they're offering.

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They're saying, Hey, we're gonna show that
we're better by what we're gonna offer

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you as far as the perks are concerned, so
that you commit to us instead of Visa or

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MasterCard or this other one across the
street when it comes to the church y'all.

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Have you ever wondered what are
the perks to belonging to Jesus?

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What are the perks to
committing to Christ?

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We may think, okay, well, well,
number one is eternal life.

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Okay?

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Yes.

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That is the first and foremost.

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That is the greatest perk that we have
in our commitment to Jesus Christ.

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Bar none, but it's not
the only one that we have.

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Last week, we focused on how essential
it is for us to be part of the church.

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This week I want us to focus on how
good it is to be involved in the church.

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In the church, we get to experience
these benefits, these perks

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that God gives us as his people.

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And so this week we're gonna
find that belonging to Christ.

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Being a part of his church is not
only essential, but it comes with

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massive benefits for the believer.

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No perk or benefit from any
other earthly commitment can

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rival what we have in Christ.

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And so if you'll take your Bibles
and open up to one Peter chapter.

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Two, we're gonna be in verses nine and 10.

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One Peter chapter two verses nine and 10.

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Before we get headlong into
our text, though, I do want to,

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uh, stop and, and direct your
attention, at least in your mind.

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You don't have to turn there to Romans
chapter 11 in Romans nine through 11.

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Paul is dealing with there
the relationship between

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Israel and the church.

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And Paul's answering the question.

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Okay.

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So what about Israel?

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Since Paul has been all about talking
about the glories of the church

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and, and the gospel and how good
it is and everything else, and, and

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even, uh, an apostle being sent to
the Gentiles, Paul's dealing with,

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okay, but what about the church?

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What about Israel?

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Uh, what about what God's
doing still with Israel?

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And in Romans nine through 11?

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Uh, Paul really establishes
the, the reality that, uh, there

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is still a future for Israel.

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That in the current amount of time,
the current dispensation that we find

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ourselves in, God has set Israel to the
side in order to focus on the church in.

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In fact, he says in Romans chapter 11
that the church has been grafted into,

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okay, so the church is not replacing, the
church is not a new plant by itself, but

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rather the church in this dispensation
has been grafted into the promises that

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God has made for Israel specifically.

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I think the promise that God made
to Abraham that in you will all the

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families of the Earth be blessed.

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And so the church had been grafted
into that, but that doesn't mean

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that the church has replaced Israel.

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Okay?

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That doesn't mean that all the
promises that God made to Israel

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have been fulfilled in the church.

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We have a partial
fulfillment of a lot of them.

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But we believe that there's still
a future for Israel, that there's

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still something that God's going
to do with his chosen people, the

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people of Israel in the future.

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But right now he's focused on the church.

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You say, well, why did you bring that up?

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When we're studying
First Peter chapter two?

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Because as we get into verse nine
and verse 10, you're gonna notice

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a lot of language that Peter uses
here, that God used in the Old

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Testament to apply to the church.

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And so when we, or to apply to Israel.

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Sorry.

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So when we read these, the temptation
can be, okay, so then is Israel done?

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Has the church fully replaced Israel?

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And and that's where we have to interpret
one passage of scripture within the,

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the full context of the entire Bible.

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And when we look at the breadth of
scripture, I think we see clearly

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attested that God's not done with Israel.

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Rather because God is immutable.

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His purposes for his people in the Old
Testament continue to be his purposes

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for his people in the New Testament.

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And his people right now in this
dis dispensation is the church.

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It's the local church, and so as
we get into our passage, we read

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this, but you are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,

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and a people for his own possession.

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You are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, and

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a people for his own possession.

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These are titles and we'll unpack
them as we go on that indicate a

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special status that we have with God.

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Uh, these are our, our titles
that indicate that he has

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set his affection on us.

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And we even read about that early
on in one peter, according to the

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foreknowledge of God, that he set
his affection on us and, and he

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has made us to be these things.

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And as I mentioned to each of these
titles, we can see connections back

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to the Old Testament and how God
had plans for Israel at that time.

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And so we're gonna interpret these
things in light of that, in, in what his

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plans are for us as the church today.

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But as we get into these perks
of the church, right, what is it?

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What are the benefits that I get
to being a part of God's people?

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It's important to note number one,
that, that we have these perks and,

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and they're ours to be enjoyed.

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Uh, if you think about perks that you
get in, in credit cards or travel or

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things like that, you, you don't ignore
those and think, well, yeah, I've got

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all these multiple tens of thousands of
credit card points that I've got over

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here, but I don't use them because it's
wrong to really want to use the perks.

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I should just want the credit
card for the sake of the credit

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card, not the perks, right?

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It's okay for us to want Jesus and
to love the perks that we get in

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being a part of the church as well.

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Point number one along those
lines is this, enjoy the perks

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of being part of God's church.

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Enjoy these things.

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And you say, well, what things?

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Yeah, we're gonna get there.

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Enjoy these things.

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This, this status that you have in
the church as the, the chosen race in

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the royal priesthood as a holy nation,
as a people for his own possession.

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This is a status that's unique to the
church today, and we're gonna unpack

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what these things look like, but I,
I, I don't know who you are when it

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comes to air travel, but I'm a, a two
hours before boarding time kind of a

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guy in the airport, not pulling into
the rental car lot two hours before,

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not pulling into the parking lot
at the terminal, two hours before.

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No.

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Sitting at my gate two
hours before, right?

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I'm through security.

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At my gate ready to go just in
case the plane's there two hours

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early and we're all ready to hop
on the plane and get outta town.

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But unfortunately, I have traveled
with people that are TSA precheck.

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Yeah.

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You guys know who you are out there.

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I love you, but I'm not, and,
and so you guys are not two hours

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early to the airport type people.

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You're 30 minutes early to the airport
type people and, and, and you're, you're

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just there and you've got your status
as TSA precheck and, and you drop me

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off at the back of the security line.

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With my heart rate going up and taking
years off of my life as I'm worried about

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getting through and trying to untie my
shoes and get my laptops outta my bag.

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And, and you're just
waltzing right through.

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No belt off, no shoes off, no bags out.

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And welcome.

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Hi, would you like a martini as you go
through the, the security line here?

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Welcome to our luxurious lounge here.

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And, and why do you get to do that?

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Because you've got the status, so you
enjoy the perks that come with the status.

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Or maybe you've traveled with somebody
who's a, a lounge access person.

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Uh, I, I've traveled with that person too.

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It's the same person in this case.

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Same person.

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And, and, and you get through and,
and then he disappears into the

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airport lounge and just leaves you
outside and you go, wait a minute.

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And he comes back out with
snacks and a diet soda and he's

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just, you know, living life.

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And you're going, where's mine?

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You don't have it.

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Why?

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But you don't have the status.

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So you don't get the perks.

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So we understand in life that, that there
are benefits that come with a status.

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And so as part of the spiritual house
of God that, that God is building

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that we looked at last week, there
are benefits, there are perks that we

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get as being a part of God's church.

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We've already seen some of these
in, in fact, back in verse 10 of in

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verse 11 of First Peter, chapter one,
uh, we found that the, the prophets

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searched to know what we know.

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Okay?

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So we have a perk that, that we know
something that the prophets didn't know.

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That's a perk of being
a part of God's church.

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Or how about the verse 12, that the
angels longed to know what we know?

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I mean, that's another benefit that we
have is being a part of God's church.

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We understand the gospel, something
that the angels don't even understand.

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Or if we go to Hebrews chapter 11,
verse 40, so Hebrews chapter 11 is

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the hall of faith, by faith, by faith,
by faith, by faith, by faith, and,

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and, and he even runs outta room.

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He's like, I, I don't even have
time to tell you about all the

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other people I could tell you about.

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Right.

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Amazing stories.

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You've got Abraham, you've got Moses,
you've got all of these amazing figures

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of the faith from the Old Testament
and, and then he says in verse 40 of

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chapter 11, but we have something better.

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And that's a perk of being a
part of the church, that we have

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something better than Moses had.

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We have something better
than that than Daniel had.

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Right.

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And, and, and so we see that
there's a chronological perk that

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we have just in the fact that
we've been born in this time.

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We have the fullness of the scriptures.

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We can understand the Old
Testament, new Testament.

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We can read it together, we
can understand the gospel.

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We know these things.

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That's a benefit that we exist, that we
have as we exist as the church today.

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But there's more than that.

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There's this elite status that we have.

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It's not just a, a special status.

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Now we're, we're taking it up a notch
to this elite status that we have,

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that God has said of us as the church.

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Not just do we enjoy a
chronological privilege, but

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he's given us special privileges.

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That he's called us a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation

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of people for his own possession.

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This would've been a, a stark
contrast to the status that the

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original audience of Peter's letter
enjoyed in the world at the time.

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Remember, they were political exiles.

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Uh, they were, uh, driven
away from their homes.

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They were despised, they were rejected.

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They were persecuted at this time.

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And, and so these titles, there was
nothing about them that would've

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been considered chosen or royal
or holy or significant in any way.

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In fact, they were.

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Thought of as just the opposite.

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And, and the thing is, we have to probably
work a little bit harder than they did.

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But the same is true for us today.

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Your status in the world by contrast
to what your status is with God.

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It, there's, you couldn't
find a sharper contrast there.

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The, the world in which we
live it, it hates our savior.

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Right?

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Jesus said that to his
disciples, they hated me.

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They're gonna hate you.

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The world in which we live it,
it despises our faith in the

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hope that we have in eternity.

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The world in which we live rejects the
exclusivity of Christ and the fact that

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we would say that there's salvation
in no one other than Jesus Christ.

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We may not be facing persecution
the way that Peter's audience

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was about to, at least not yet,
but I wonder how far away it is.

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There's a current case in the Supreme
Court right now where a Christian

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counselor in Colorado is being sued
for trying to counsel a, a young person

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00:11:56,940 --> 00:12:00,600
to leave their same sex attracted
lifestyle and to pursue the biblical

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precepts for gender and sexual identity.

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That's at the Supreme Court right now.

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And what hangs in the balance of that
decision is whether or not there's

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gonna be Christian counselors all
over our nation that are now all

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of a sudden gonna face lawsuits
for counseling people according to

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the biblical precepts in scripture.

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That's in the United States
of America, by the way.

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And and so will we be persecuted
in our lifetimes more and more?

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It, it's very possible.

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Who knows?

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Nonetheless, our identity regardless
is that we are exiles in this world.

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As we talked about earlier in this
series, and the contrast between our

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status in the world and our status in
God's eyes is something that is sharp

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and stark, and we should rejoice that God
considers us to be a chosen race, a royal

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00:12:41,115 --> 00:12:44,505
priesthood, a holy nation, and a people
for his own possession, that we have

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that status with the God of the universe.

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So let's unpack these terms.

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First, he says that we are a chosen race.

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A chosen race.

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The, the word race there may make
you uncomfortable, uh, but he

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00:12:55,895 --> 00:13:00,515
doesn't mean race the way that
Hitler meant race, a superior race.

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00:13:01,745 --> 00:13:05,375
The word race here that, that Peter
uses, it's a word that actually means

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offspring or descendants, or even seed.

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00:13:09,485 --> 00:13:13,385
It's a word that we see
represented in Deuteronomy 10 15.

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Yet the Lord set his heart in
love on your fathers and chose

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their offspring after you.

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Or Genesis 15, five.

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We see here God's promise to Abraham.

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He brought him outside and said, look
towards the heaven and number the

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00:13:27,585 --> 00:13:29,595
stars if you're able to number them.

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00:13:29,715 --> 00:13:33,585
Then he said to him, so
shall your offspring be.

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00:13:34,455 --> 00:13:38,445
See, what Peter is saying to us is
the church that we are a chosen race.

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00:13:38,955 --> 00:13:41,835
I think he's connecting us to the
promise that God made to Abraham.

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In fact, Paul's gonna say in Galatians
chapter three, that is, it's those who

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are of faith that are the sons of Abraham.

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00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,380
I mentioned earlier that the
church has been grafted into God's

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00:13:52,380 --> 00:13:53,850
promises that he made to Israel.

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00:13:53,850 --> 00:13:57,209
We've been made partial
beneficiaries of, of those, those

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00:13:57,209 --> 00:13:58,500
promises that he made to Israel.

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00:13:58,590 --> 00:14:02,160
And I think that's what Peter's saying
here, that we are a chosen race.

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00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,910
We are now part of the offspring that
God promised to Abraham, that we are part

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00:14:05,910 --> 00:14:09,209
of the, the fulfillment of that promise
to Abraham, that his offspring will be

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00:14:09,209 --> 00:14:11,220
as numerous as the stars of the Heaven.

309
00:14:11,280 --> 00:14:13,110
And so we're talking
about enjoying the perks.

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00:14:13,110 --> 00:14:14,730
What's the perk of the chosen race?

311
00:14:14,730 --> 00:14:17,730
The perk is this, God has
brought you into the family.

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00:14:18,205 --> 00:14:22,045
And brought you into the blessings
of the covenant he made with Abraham,

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00:14:22,315 --> 00:14:25,405
that in Abraham, will all the
families of the Earth be blessed?

314
00:14:25,885 --> 00:14:27,835
And you and I in Christ
are now a chosen race.

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00:14:27,835 --> 00:14:28,345
We're part of that.

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00:14:28,345 --> 00:14:29,245
We're that offspring.

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00:14:29,245 --> 00:14:32,815
We're spiritual offspring
of Abraham through faith.

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00:14:34,765 --> 00:14:35,875
We're not just a chosen race, though.

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00:14:35,875 --> 00:14:36,475
He also goes on.

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00:14:36,475 --> 00:14:38,095
He says, we are a royal priesthood.

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00:14:38,925 --> 00:14:39,735
A royal priesthood.

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00:14:39,735 --> 00:14:42,045
Exodus chapter 19, verse six.

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00:14:42,735 --> 00:14:47,115
God says, through Moses, you shall be
to me a kingdom of priests In a holy

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00:14:47,115 --> 00:14:50,445
nation, these are the words that you
shall speak to the people of Israel.

325
00:14:51,135 --> 00:14:51,525
You shall be.

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00:14:51,525 --> 00:14:55,755
To me, a kingdom of priests, a
royal priesthood, is not to be

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00:14:55,755 --> 00:14:59,025
understood as though you and I are
king, priest and queen priests, but

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rather we are priests of the king.

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00:15:01,725 --> 00:15:02,895
We are priests of the king.

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00:15:03,195 --> 00:15:05,120
In the Old Testament, the office
of priest and King we're separate.

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Uh, the, the priest was unique and
the, the king was unique in Christ.

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00:15:09,435 --> 00:15:12,705
Those two identities, those two
roles, those two offices are united

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00:15:12,705 --> 00:15:17,055
together in him, and so we serve
as his priest, priests of the

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00:15:17,055 --> 00:15:18,645
king and the job of the priest.

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00:15:18,645 --> 00:15:21,405
If you think back to the Old Testament,
it's still the same today in the

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00:15:21,405 --> 00:15:26,715
context of some other religions, is to
mediate between the deity and people

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00:15:27,255 --> 00:15:32,265
to stand between the god and humanity
and represent one to the other.

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00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:36,300
And so here you have God telling
all of Israel you are to be,

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00:15:36,300 --> 00:15:37,530
to me, a kingdom of priests.

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00:15:37,590 --> 00:15:41,100
And yet there was only one tribe that
would serve in that capacity formally,

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00:15:41,100 --> 00:15:42,390
and that was the tribe of Levi.

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00:15:43,290 --> 00:15:46,560
And, and so what did God mean in calling
all of Israel a kingdom of priests?

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00:15:46,560 --> 00:15:50,520
Well, it meant that all of Israel was
to be that mediator between the God of

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the universe and the rest of the world.

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00:15:52,830 --> 00:15:56,130
That God was telling Israel, I have a
job for you and it's a job of privilege.

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00:15:56,160 --> 00:15:57,810
It's a job of status.

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00:15:58,140 --> 00:16:00,720
You should mediate, you
should be my representatives

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00:16:00,930 --> 00:16:02,130
to the world all around you.

349
00:16:02,130 --> 00:16:03,390
You are a kingdom of priests.

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00:16:04,110 --> 00:16:06,450
But the other thing a priest
does is the priest serves

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00:16:06,450 --> 00:16:07,770
the deity that he represents.

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00:16:08,220 --> 00:16:12,750
And so again, Israel was to be the
servants of Yahweh, the servants

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00:16:12,750 --> 00:16:14,100
of the, the God of the universe.

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00:16:14,100 --> 00:16:18,090
He's drawing them and saying, I'm giving
you the privilege of serving me as well.

355
00:16:19,005 --> 00:16:21,765
And so now we as the church
are a kingdom of priest.

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00:16:21,765 --> 00:16:23,235
We are a royal priesthood.

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00:16:23,595 --> 00:16:26,805
The perk here in this one is that
God has chosen us to be a servant

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00:16:26,805 --> 00:16:28,215
and representatives to his world.

359
00:16:29,355 --> 00:16:31,245
He's chosen us for that privilege.

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00:16:31,485 --> 00:16:34,425
Second Corinthians, chapter five, Paul
says, we have received a ministry of

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00:16:34,425 --> 00:16:38,745
reconciliation that we might go and
and see other people be reconciled

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00:16:38,745 --> 00:16:40,125
to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

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00:16:40,395 --> 00:16:42,555
That is a massive privilege
that we have as the church.

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00:16:43,185 --> 00:16:45,555
To be a light to the nations around us.

365
00:16:46,305 --> 00:16:47,715
I wanna make a, a quick comment here.

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00:16:47,895 --> 00:16:51,855
Uh, Luther, Martin Luther looked
at this verse and drew from

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00:16:51,855 --> 00:16:54,465
this verse, the principle of the
priesthood of all believers, right?

368
00:16:54,645 --> 00:16:58,214
And that may be something that you've
heard of before and, and, uh, I

369
00:16:58,214 --> 00:16:59,745
think it's, it's a good principle.

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00:16:59,775 --> 00:17:00,795
I think it's a good concept.

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00:17:00,795 --> 00:17:04,095
And that is that, that all believers
in this essence are individually

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00:17:04,095 --> 00:17:06,675
priests now Peter's right
corporately to the church here.

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00:17:06,770 --> 00:17:08,630
Okay, I'll come back to
that in just a second.

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00:17:08,810 --> 00:17:12,290
But Luther once said this, he
said, we are all equally priests.

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00:17:12,500 --> 00:17:16,310
That is to say we have the same power
in respect to the word and sacraments.

376
00:17:17,180 --> 00:17:19,880
Now, I want to give the caveat, some
have, have taken that to then pit

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00:17:19,880 --> 00:17:23,990
the, the laity in the church against
the, the pastors in the church.

378
00:17:24,020 --> 00:17:24,108
Okay.

379
00:17:24,868 --> 00:17:28,980
As though the, there's a a tension that
should exist there because the priest of

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00:17:28,980 --> 00:17:33,390
all believers, but that's not what Luther
had in mind, and we know that because the

381
00:17:33,390 --> 00:17:37,890
very next thing that Luther said right
after he said, we have the same power

382
00:17:37,890 --> 00:17:39,240
in respect to the word and sacraments.

383
00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:43,770
Luther said this, however, no one
may make use of this power except

384
00:17:43,770 --> 00:17:46,795
by the consent of the community
or by the call of the superior.

385
00:17:47,745 --> 00:17:50,235
And so Luther understood the
priesthood of all believers to be

386
00:17:50,235 --> 00:17:52,935
lived out within the community of
the body of Christ, in other words.

387
00:17:53,625 --> 00:17:57,975
And so in more recent times, Vadi Baam
has, has championed the idea of, of

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00:17:57,975 --> 00:18:01,935
the i, the, the man of the, the house
being his, the priest of his home.

389
00:18:02,325 --> 00:18:04,815
And he said that the man should
be the priest, the prophet, the

390
00:18:04,815 --> 00:18:06,045
provider, and the protector.

391
00:18:06,375 --> 00:18:06,585
Amen.

392
00:18:06,585 --> 00:18:08,805
I say amen to that, and I agree with that.

393
00:18:08,805 --> 00:18:11,145
And we need strong godly
men leading their homes.

394
00:18:11,415 --> 00:18:12,465
100%.

395
00:18:12,465 --> 00:18:14,865
I agree with that, and I will
never disagree with that.

396
00:18:15,450 --> 00:18:19,530
But I would also give this caveat,
I I I would say this, if if the your

397
00:18:19,530 --> 00:18:22,230
spiritual leadership of your home
is leading your family away from the

398
00:18:22,230 --> 00:18:24,870
church, then there's something wrong
with your leadership of your home.

399
00:18:25,770 --> 00:18:28,110
And I'm not saying that the church is
a perfect place, and I'm not saying

400
00:18:28,110 --> 00:18:29,280
every church is a perfect place.

401
00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:33,180
I'm not saying that at all, but I am
saying the church is the bride of Christ.

402
00:18:33,180 --> 00:18:35,790
And if we're gonna be priest of our
home, we need to lead our families

403
00:18:35,790 --> 00:18:37,380
to be a part of the body of Christ.

404
00:18:39,000 --> 00:18:42,540
As we think about this context
though, if I can also challenge,

405
00:18:42,540 --> 00:18:44,160
I, I don't think Peter had.

406
00:18:45,195 --> 00:18:49,245
The priest of all believers as
individuals in mind in this passage,

407
00:18:50,145 --> 00:18:53,145
and I only say that because again,
our context is that of the church.

408
00:18:53,985 --> 00:18:55,965
Remember from last week, as
you come to him, you are being

409
00:18:55,965 --> 00:18:57,615
built up as a spiritual house.

410
00:18:58,365 --> 00:19:00,285
So he's talking about
the corporate existence.

411
00:19:00,285 --> 00:19:04,395
In fact, all of the pronouns that Peter
uses in this passage are plural pronouns.

412
00:19:04,875 --> 00:19:07,755
He's still talking about our
identity as believers together.

413
00:19:08,399 --> 00:19:12,389
And so I, I think what Peter's after
here is this idea that we now together

414
00:19:12,389 --> 00:19:17,100
as the church, get to serve as the
priests to the God of creation.

415
00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:22,560
That was once Israel's role and now in
this dispensation, it's become our role.

416
00:19:22,590 --> 00:19:25,830
We are a royal priesthood and that is a
blessing and a perk that we get to enjoy.

417
00:19:26,129 --> 00:19:30,659
Third, though we are holy nation, holy
for you are Deuteronomy seven, six.

418
00:19:30,659 --> 00:19:32,040
You are a people.

419
00:19:32,070 --> 00:19:33,510
Holy to the Lord your God.

420
00:19:34,215 --> 00:19:36,975
We talked about holiness a handful of
weeks ago in one Peter chapter one,

421
00:19:36,975 --> 00:19:41,025
verses 14 through 16, where Peter said
there that we should not be conformed to

422
00:19:41,025 --> 00:19:45,375
the former passions of our, our flesh,
but as he who called you as holy, you

423
00:19:45,375 --> 00:19:49,185
also be holy in all your conduct to
be holy means to be set apart, to be

424
00:19:49,185 --> 00:19:51,135
consecrated, to be useful to the Lord.

425
00:19:51,525 --> 00:19:54,225
And so here he's applying that
to the church saying, Hey church,

426
00:19:54,225 --> 00:19:58,640
you are set apart, consecrated
for the use of the Lord.

427
00:19:59,879 --> 00:20:04,230
As Israel had been set apart to be used
by Yahweh and to enjoy his presence.

428
00:20:04,230 --> 00:20:07,740
So now the church has been set
apart to be used by the Lord

429
00:20:07,740 --> 00:20:09,300
and to enjoy his presence.

430
00:20:10,379 --> 00:20:13,740
The per inness is that we can grow
in holiness, that we might enjoy

431
00:20:13,740 --> 00:20:14,970
more and more of the presence of God.

432
00:20:15,780 --> 00:20:17,040
We are a holy nation.

433
00:20:17,970 --> 00:20:21,360
The Word nation there doesn't
mean nation as far as the nation

434
00:20:21,360 --> 00:20:22,439
of the United States of America.

435
00:20:22,770 --> 00:20:24,629
It doesn't mean a nation
like Mexico or Canada.

436
00:20:25,410 --> 00:20:27,510
Rather it's, it goes back
to that idea of the race.

437
00:20:27,510 --> 00:20:30,090
We are the, the spiritual
offspring of Abraham.

438
00:20:30,090 --> 00:20:33,300
We have a identity before
him as a distinct people.

439
00:20:33,300 --> 00:20:36,180
We are a consecrated
people set apart for him.

440
00:20:36,990 --> 00:20:39,510
And so he is set his affection
on us towards that end.

441
00:20:39,510 --> 00:20:42,360
Remember we talked about that in
that sermon on holiness, that God

442
00:20:42,360 --> 00:20:46,230
desires our holiness because he wants
us, and that's true of the church.

443
00:20:46,380 --> 00:20:50,760
He desires us to be a holy church because
he wants us to be an effective church.

444
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,700
Final perk that we see here is
a people for his own possession.

445
00:20:54,480 --> 00:20:55,770
Uh, people for his own possession.

446
00:20:56,190 --> 00:21:00,330
Exodus 19 five were called the
Lord's Treasured Possession in Isaiah

447
00:21:00,330 --> 00:21:04,500
43, 21, uh, Isaiah writes there,
the people whom I formed, the word

448
00:21:04,500 --> 00:21:08,370
formed there is the verbal form of
the word possessed or possession.

449
00:21:08,370 --> 00:21:11,850
So it's the people whom I
possessed for myself in order

450
00:21:11,850 --> 00:21:13,560
that they may declare my praise.

451
00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:17,850
And so out of all the nations and the
peoples at that time, God chose Israel.

452
00:21:18,405 --> 00:21:21,615
And so the perk here is that God
has set his affection on us now as

453
00:21:21,615 --> 00:21:25,365
the church in the same sense that
we are his special possession in

454
00:21:25,365 --> 00:21:27,045
this dispensation, in this era.

455
00:21:27,855 --> 00:21:30,285
God loves us and he's
called us and we are His.

456
00:21:31,004 --> 00:21:34,635
And that's a perk that we have, that no
other institution, no other religion,

457
00:21:34,635 --> 00:21:37,395
no other people get to enjoy church.

458
00:21:37,395 --> 00:21:40,995
Jesus bought you with his blood
to be part of his bride, and the

459
00:21:40,995 --> 00:21:42,405
perks don't stop with redemption.

460
00:21:43,035 --> 00:21:46,395
There's blessings and benefits that are
exclusively ours as part of God's church.

461
00:21:47,340 --> 00:21:51,450
A lot of the titles that we just unpacked
though convey not only our status, but

462
00:21:51,450 --> 00:21:54,000
also a, a task of role or responsibility.

463
00:21:54,630 --> 00:21:55,800
You can think about it this way.

464
00:21:56,160 --> 00:22:01,380
When you get married, you receive a new
title, just like we looked at the titles

465
00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:03,540
there that, that Peter laid out for us.

466
00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:05,520
When you get married, you
get a new title, right?

467
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:07,290
When I got married, I became a husband.

468
00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:09,210
I was not a husband before I got married.

469
00:22:09,210 --> 00:22:12,240
But getting married, I became
a husband, and with that title

470
00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:13,560
comes roles and responsibilities.

471
00:22:14,295 --> 00:22:16,275
There are blessings, there are
perks, there are benefits to

472
00:22:16,275 --> 00:22:19,695
being a husband, and, and, and yet
there are also responsibilities.

473
00:22:19,695 --> 00:22:23,505
There are things that I need to be doing
as a husband because I am a husband.

474
00:22:23,535 --> 00:22:24,195
Does that make sense?

475
00:22:24,675 --> 00:22:27,945
There are roles and responsibilities
when you become a parent the first time

476
00:22:27,945 --> 00:22:30,135
that you become a dad or a mom, right?

477
00:22:30,135 --> 00:22:32,745
That's a great blessing
and a great privilege, but

478
00:22:32,745 --> 00:22:33,915
there's also responsibilities.

479
00:22:33,915 --> 00:22:36,435
There's roles, there's things
that you have to do for that child

480
00:22:36,435 --> 00:22:38,740
now that are yours because of
the title that you've received.

481
00:22:39,720 --> 00:22:43,500
And so because of our status that
we have in in Christ, now that we

482
00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:46,890
are a chosen race and we are a royal
priesthood and we are a holy nation

483
00:22:46,890 --> 00:22:50,760
and people for his own possession,
now we have a response responsibility.

484
00:22:50,760 --> 00:22:53,550
Now we have something that, that God
is gonna call us to do, and that's

485
00:22:53,550 --> 00:22:54,960
in the second half of verse nine.

486
00:22:55,290 --> 00:23:00,360
He says, we are all of these things
that we may proclaim the excellencies

487
00:23:00,360 --> 00:23:04,290
of him who called us out of darkness
and into his marvelous lights.

488
00:23:05,580 --> 00:23:10,020
Every one of those titles that we looked
at implies a readiness to serve Christ.

489
00:23:10,830 --> 00:23:13,290
We are his chosen race chosen.

490
00:23:13,290 --> 00:23:16,530
Just like in the Old Testament, God
chose Israel to be useful to him.

491
00:23:17,220 --> 00:23:18,930
We are his royal priesthood.

492
00:23:19,485 --> 00:23:23,400
A a priest job again was, was to
mediate and to serve the deity.

493
00:23:23,940 --> 00:23:25,260
We are a holy nation.

494
00:23:25,260 --> 00:23:29,310
To be holy is to be set apart
for use by God, and we are a

495
00:23:29,310 --> 00:23:30,510
people for his own possession.

496
00:23:30,510 --> 00:23:32,970
Like Isaiah said, that we
may declare his excellencies.

497
00:23:34,635 --> 00:23:38,205
God expects the role that the titles
that we have, the status, that we

498
00:23:38,205 --> 00:23:41,595
have to be translated into something
that we're gonna do now as the church.

499
00:23:41,595 --> 00:23:44,325
And that's why Peter proceeds
to, to say that we may proclaim

500
00:23:44,565 --> 00:23:46,004
the excellencies of him.

501
00:23:46,695 --> 00:23:50,805
This has been our job from the
garden in Genesis chapter one.

502
00:23:50,805 --> 00:23:53,595
God created Adam, Adam and Eve,
and when he created them, he said,

503
00:23:53,595 --> 00:23:56,085
let us create man in our own image.

504
00:23:57,044 --> 00:24:00,075
So man's job from the very
outset, has been to image God.

505
00:24:00,570 --> 00:24:03,420
To the world and, and yet what happened?

506
00:24:03,420 --> 00:24:05,010
Well, the fall happened, sin happened.

507
00:24:05,460 --> 00:24:09,315
And so after that, that that ability
to image God was, was marred.

508
00:24:09,315 --> 00:24:09,565
It was broken.

509
00:24:11,235 --> 00:24:14,504
And what we needed was we needed
something to be able to restore that,

510
00:24:14,504 --> 00:24:18,615
and that's what we have in Christ,
because Christ has brought us out of

511
00:24:18,615 --> 00:24:19,995
darkness into his marvelous light.

512
00:24:20,145 --> 00:24:24,165
Now, our ability to image him, though
not perfect yet, has been restored

513
00:24:24,165 --> 00:24:26,024
enough to the fact that we can do this.

514
00:24:26,355 --> 00:24:28,035
We can declare his excellencies.

515
00:24:28,335 --> 00:24:30,555
This was the very plan of
God from the very beginning.

516
00:24:30,555 --> 00:24:31,905
It was also his plan for Israel.

517
00:24:32,385 --> 00:24:35,834
I read Isaiah 43 1 earlier, but
again, let me go back to that verse.

518
00:24:35,834 --> 00:24:41,024
It says this, God says, the people
whom I formed for myself that

519
00:24:41,115 --> 00:24:45,645
they may declare my praise, Israel
was to be a light to the nations.

520
00:24:45,915 --> 00:24:50,294
Israel was to be a representative of God's
greatness in his glory to the nations.

521
00:24:50,294 --> 00:24:53,415
That would cause the nations to
say, I want the God that you serve.

522
00:24:54,345 --> 00:24:56,445
That's always been God's
design for his people.

523
00:24:56,445 --> 00:25:01,125
And now Peter says, for us that our
job is to proclaim his excellencies.

524
00:25:01,725 --> 00:25:06,225
To proclaim means that we would not
only announce and use our, our, our

525
00:25:06,225 --> 00:25:12,195
words, but it's a word that actually
means to reveal, to uncover, and, and

526
00:25:12,195 --> 00:25:13,754
we're proclaiming the excellencies.

527
00:25:13,754 --> 00:25:17,415
That is the, the moral goodness,
the praiseworthy character of God.

528
00:25:18,930 --> 00:25:22,710
For Ancient Israel, that meant recounting
his faithfulness as God would tell them.

529
00:25:23,010 --> 00:25:25,920
Tell generation after generation of
all the good things I've done for you.

530
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:28,710
Tell them about the exodus
and deliverance outta there.

531
00:25:28,710 --> 00:25:31,230
Tell them about when I raised
up good judges for you.

532
00:25:31,230 --> 00:25:33,330
Tell them about King
David and King Solomon.

533
00:25:33,570 --> 00:25:36,270
Tell them about when I
brought you back from exile.

534
00:25:37,380 --> 00:25:41,820
For us, man, there's no doubt that
the main thrust behind proclaiming

535
00:25:41,850 --> 00:25:44,640
his excellencies has to do with
us opening our mouths to tell

536
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:46,380
others about how God has saved us.

537
00:25:48,135 --> 00:25:52,004
That said, while it's not less than that,
I think it's not limited to that either.

538
00:25:53,625 --> 00:25:54,645
Peter's still addressing.

539
00:25:54,645 --> 00:25:58,695
Remember the church corporately here, and
if there's one thing the church should

540
00:25:58,695 --> 00:26:00,795
be known for, it is exalting Christ.

541
00:26:01,545 --> 00:26:05,025
And yes, we do that through preaching
the gospel and sharing the gospel.

542
00:26:05,205 --> 00:26:09,225
And we do that when we join
our voices together in worship.

543
00:26:09,285 --> 00:26:12,375
And we do that as we serve
one another joyfully.

544
00:26:12,375 --> 00:26:15,765
And we do it as we pray
for and with one another.

545
00:26:15,765 --> 00:26:19,095
And we do it as we stand to honor
the reading of the word of God.

546
00:26:19,095 --> 00:26:22,695
And we do it as we give generously
from all the resources that

547
00:26:22,695 --> 00:26:24,165
the Lord has given to us.

548
00:26:24,585 --> 00:26:28,305
See, all of us proclaim, play a
part in proclaiming the excellencies

549
00:26:28,515 --> 00:26:30,585
of him who called us out of
darkness into his marvelous light.

550
00:26:31,290 --> 00:26:33,570
And it's not just when we're sharing
the gospel, it's also when we're

551
00:26:33,570 --> 00:26:36,030
here, when we're gathered together,
when we're a part of the church.

552
00:26:36,930 --> 00:26:39,150
Second point this morning is
this, play your part in the

553
00:26:39,150 --> 00:26:41,040
testimony of God's church.

554
00:26:41,850 --> 00:26:44,010
Play your part in the
testimony of God's church.

555
00:26:47,700 --> 00:26:51,480
From the very outset of the church
plant, as Pastor Rod and I were, were

556
00:26:51,510 --> 00:26:55,020
thinking through everything back in
California, even, we said, man, we

557
00:26:55,020 --> 00:26:58,890
wanna be a church where Christ is
exalted, where Christ is exalted.

558
00:26:59,925 --> 00:27:01,845
And for that to happen, man,
that takes all of us living

559
00:27:01,845 --> 00:27:03,105
life together as the church.

560
00:27:03,975 --> 00:27:04,425
Do me a favor.

561
00:27:04,425 --> 00:27:06,254
Take your Bibles and flip
over to Romas chapter 12.

562
00:27:07,875 --> 00:27:08,955
Flip over to Romas chapter 12.

563
00:27:08,955 --> 00:27:11,955
Keep your finger in, in one Peter, or, or
put a bookmark there 'cause we'll be back.

564
00:27:11,955 --> 00:27:16,485
But Romans chapter 12, see, proclaiming
the excellencies of him who called us

565
00:27:16,485 --> 00:27:17,835
out of darkness into his marvelous light.

566
00:27:18,105 --> 00:27:23,745
It it, it's going to involve two
facets of that, the, the external,

567
00:27:23,745 --> 00:27:24,764
which we'll get to in just a minute.

568
00:27:24,945 --> 00:27:26,715
And that's the one we most often think of.

569
00:27:27,225 --> 00:27:29,385
That's when we're sharing
the gospel with someone.

570
00:27:30,405 --> 00:27:33,705
But then there's an internal component
of declaring the excellencies

571
00:27:33,705 --> 00:27:35,715
of him who called us outta
darkness into his marvelous light.

572
00:27:36,014 --> 00:27:39,105
That is what it is to be a
part of the body of Christ.

573
00:27:39,764 --> 00:27:43,095
And Paul unpacks for us, as I read during
our scripture reading, and I wanna just

574
00:27:43,095 --> 00:27:46,905
put our eyes on, on the, the text, again,
Paul unpacks for us what it looks like

575
00:27:46,905 --> 00:27:48,405
to be a church that's living that out.

576
00:27:49,004 --> 00:27:52,004
What it looks like for us to be a church
that's been so impacted by Christ,

577
00:27:52,335 --> 00:27:54,915
that when people are around us, they're
gonna say, man, they, they love Jesus.

578
00:27:54,915 --> 00:27:55,155
Here.

579
00:27:55,935 --> 00:27:57,105
Christ is being exalted.

580
00:27:57,660 --> 00:28:00,270
I can tell that the people here
have been transformed by God.

581
00:28:00,930 --> 00:28:03,720
And so we see this unpacked
in Romans chapter 12.

582
00:28:04,140 --> 00:28:05,340
Uh, let's jump in.

583
00:28:05,340 --> 00:28:06,540
Let's just start in verse nine.

584
00:28:08,850 --> 00:28:10,680
Paul writes here, let love be genuine.

585
00:28:11,730 --> 00:28:14,130
Ab whore what is evil, and
hold fast to what is good.

586
00:28:15,210 --> 00:28:17,190
Love one another with brotherly affection.

587
00:28:17,190 --> 00:28:19,560
Pastor Rod preached on that
from one Peter not long ago.

588
00:28:20,610 --> 00:28:23,460
Outdo one another in showing honor, right?

589
00:28:23,460 --> 00:28:25,590
If there's gonna be competition
in the church, let's make it that.

590
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:28,440
How can I honor somebody the most?

591
00:28:29,430 --> 00:28:30,810
I'll do one another in showing honor.

592
00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:34,650
Do not be slothful in zeal,
but be fervent in spirit, man.

593
00:28:34,650 --> 00:28:36,420
Have a passion for Christ.

594
00:28:36,690 --> 00:28:38,250
Have a passion for the Lord.

595
00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:42,840
Worship, as we were talking about earlier,
celebrating God through our applause

596
00:28:42,840 --> 00:28:45,750
after a song or, or through the amen
or through whatever it may be for you.

597
00:28:45,750 --> 00:28:48,660
But man, we, we, we don't wanna
be the frozen chosen, right?

598
00:28:48,660 --> 00:28:52,650
We want to be excited about what God has
done in our, in our lives and through us.

599
00:28:53,534 --> 00:28:54,405
Be fervent in spirit.

600
00:28:54,405 --> 00:28:57,254
Serve the Lord, rejoice in hope.

601
00:28:57,735 --> 00:28:59,175
Be patient in tribulation.

602
00:28:59,655 --> 00:29:01,064
Be constant in prayer.

603
00:29:01,455 --> 00:29:04,544
Contribute to the needs of the
saints and seek to show hospitality.

604
00:29:05,774 --> 00:29:07,635
These are things that
we need one another for.

605
00:29:08,355 --> 00:29:11,250
They're gonna be times where I walk in and
I'm gonna need you to come alongside me

606
00:29:11,250 --> 00:29:14,835
and say, Hey, pastor pj, it looks like you
could use some encouragement this morning.

607
00:29:15,794 --> 00:29:17,720
It looks like you could be encouraged
to rejoice in hope this morning.

608
00:29:19,185 --> 00:29:21,855
Or, or there's gonna be something
that's gonna happen in your life.

609
00:29:21,855 --> 00:29:24,795
You're gonna get the diagnosis or
whatever, and rather than just white

610
00:29:24,795 --> 00:29:27,105
knuckling it by yourselves, you're
gonna need your church body to

611
00:29:27,105 --> 00:29:30,525
come alongside you and love you and
support you and care for you, and

612
00:29:30,525 --> 00:29:32,505
meet tangible needs that you have.

613
00:29:33,345 --> 00:29:35,895
Food rides to appointments,
things like that, right?

614
00:29:36,135 --> 00:29:38,355
The, the body of Christ
being the body of Christ.

615
00:29:39,105 --> 00:29:41,025
Verse 14, bless those who persecute you.

616
00:29:41,025 --> 00:29:42,285
Bless and do not curse them.

617
00:29:43,065 --> 00:29:45,830
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep.

618
00:29:46,815 --> 00:29:47,835
Notice even that, right?

619
00:29:47,835 --> 00:29:50,774
I, I, I have to know you well
enough to be able to rejoice

620
00:29:50,774 --> 00:29:51,764
with you and weep with you.

621
00:29:52,845 --> 00:29:54,225
I have to know what you're joyful about.

622
00:29:54,225 --> 00:29:56,145
I have to know what you're troubled by.

623
00:29:57,675 --> 00:30:00,555
Rejoice with those who rejoice,
weep with those who weep, live

624
00:30:00,555 --> 00:30:01,845
in harmony with one another.

625
00:30:02,985 --> 00:30:05,695
Y'all, if there's one thing that, that
God has been putting on my heart more and

626
00:30:05,695 --> 00:30:08,865
more and more, that I'm jealous for, for
this body of Christ, it's the unity of

627
00:30:08,865 --> 00:30:13,545
the church that we would remain united
together as the the body of Christ.

628
00:30:14,325 --> 00:30:16,875
That we would love one another, that
we would let love cover a multitude

629
00:30:16,875 --> 00:30:20,715
of offenses, that we would understand
those things that are tier one issues

630
00:30:20,715 --> 00:30:24,285
versus tier two issues versus tier three
issues that we would be charitable in our

631
00:30:24,285 --> 00:30:28,185
disagreements with each other, that we
would live in harmony with one another,

632
00:30:29,055 --> 00:30:32,325
that we would not be haughty, do not be
haughty, but associate with the lowly.

633
00:30:32,940 --> 00:30:36,960
Never be wise in your own sight, repay
no one evil for evil, but get thought to

634
00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:38,700
do what is honorable in the sight of all.

635
00:30:38,850 --> 00:30:41,670
And here this, how about this if,
if possible, so far as it depends

636
00:30:41,670 --> 00:30:43,830
on you live peaceably with everyone.

637
00:30:45,390 --> 00:30:47,820
I love that, that mentality man.

638
00:30:47,820 --> 00:30:50,460
If, if, if it's within my power
to maintain peace in the body of

639
00:30:50,460 --> 00:30:53,485
Christ, I'm, I'm gonna do that y'all.

640
00:30:53,595 --> 00:30:59,220
When we live this kind of a, a
body life out, we are testifying.

641
00:31:00,210 --> 00:31:02,280
To the excellencies of the one
that called us out of darkness

642
00:31:02,280 --> 00:31:03,120
into his marvelous light.

643
00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:07,530
Whether it's with an unbeliever in
our midst who walks away from this

644
00:31:07,530 --> 00:31:11,160
place thinking to themselves, what in
the world is wrong with those people?

645
00:31:12,930 --> 00:31:16,890
Or whether it's the spiritual world
that watches what we're doing and

646
00:31:17,040 --> 00:31:20,040
thinks to themselves, what in the
world is wrong with those people

647
00:31:21,660 --> 00:31:23,040
We know nothing is wrong with this.

648
00:31:24,225 --> 00:31:25,815
We've come to faith in Jesus.

649
00:31:25,815 --> 00:31:27,675
Jesus has brought us out of
darkness, into his marvelous light,

650
00:31:27,675 --> 00:31:28,695
and now we are the body of Christ.

651
00:31:28,695 --> 00:31:31,425
We are together in that, and we get
to have fellowship with one another.

652
00:31:31,425 --> 00:31:34,935
As, as John says, talking about light
in one John chapter one, verses five

653
00:31:34,935 --> 00:31:38,055
and seven, he says this, this is the
message that we have heard from him

654
00:31:38,055 --> 00:31:41,505
and proclaimed to you that God is
light and in him is no darkness at all.

655
00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:45,540
If we say we have fellowship with
him while we walk in darkness, we

656
00:31:45,540 --> 00:31:46,860
lie and do not practice the truth.

657
00:31:46,860 --> 00:31:49,200
But if we walk in the light
as he is in the light, we have

658
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:50,520
fellowship with one another.

659
00:31:50,520 --> 00:31:51,540
Notice that one another.

660
00:31:51,870 --> 00:31:54,810
And the blood of Jesus, his
son, cleanses us from all sin.

661
00:31:55,890 --> 00:31:59,010
And so to, to live out being part of
the church, being part of the body

662
00:31:59,010 --> 00:32:02,370
of Christ, this is to proclaim the
excellencies of him who called us out

663
00:32:02,370 --> 00:32:03,930
of darkness into his marvelous light.

664
00:32:03,930 --> 00:32:06,150
And let me just tell you all I love you.

665
00:32:07,350 --> 00:32:08,310
I love this church.

666
00:32:08,910 --> 00:32:12,000
I've, I've served in, uh, uh,
multiple different churches.

667
00:32:12,270 --> 00:32:15,570
I'm getting to the age where I can't
remember them all, but I have, I've, I've

668
00:32:15,570 --> 00:32:20,070
served as a, a pastor in, in different
churches and, and I can tell you 100%

669
00:32:20,070 --> 00:32:22,830
without reservation, I love this body
more than I've loved any other body.

670
00:32:24,060 --> 00:32:28,020
And it's not just because I'm the guy that
preaches every weekend is because of you.

671
00:32:29,190 --> 00:32:33,445
There's a common thing that
happens, uh, with us as a staff.

672
00:32:34,275 --> 00:32:37,605
We will often be texting one
another and we'll be recounting

673
00:32:37,605 --> 00:32:39,735
stories of our people in the church.

674
00:32:40,305 --> 00:32:43,515
And so many times, it's almost like
a weekly thing that happens that one

675
00:32:43,515 --> 00:32:44,925
of us will say, I love our church.

676
00:32:45,915 --> 00:32:47,235
And we do, we love this place.

677
00:32:47,295 --> 00:32:47,925
We love you.

678
00:32:48,615 --> 00:32:51,975
And so I'm, I'm, I'm here
not to say, Hey, be better.

679
00:32:52,005 --> 00:32:54,495
I'm here to say, I think you guys
are doing such a good job at this.

680
00:32:54,675 --> 00:32:55,425
Let's keep going.

681
00:32:56,325 --> 00:32:56,925
Let's excel.

682
00:32:57,195 --> 00:32:58,095
Excel still more.

683
00:32:58,455 --> 00:33:01,905
Let's, let's, let's make the spiritual
forces angry at us as a church.

684
00:33:03,284 --> 00:33:03,555
Right.

685
00:33:03,555 --> 00:33:05,925
I mean, we don't want targets
on our back from, from too

686
00:33:05,925 --> 00:33:06,855
many people, but you know what?

687
00:33:06,855 --> 00:33:09,075
If the demons put targets on our
back, I'm, I'm happy with that.

688
00:33:09,075 --> 00:33:10,155
That means we're doing something right.

689
00:33:11,264 --> 00:33:13,215
And so church, lets love
each other even more.

690
00:33:13,215 --> 00:33:15,975
And, and again, you guys are doing so well
on this, but I found myself thinking this

691
00:33:15,975 --> 00:33:18,135
week, man, what if church became illegal?

692
00:33:18,495 --> 00:33:23,115
How would my, how would my view of what
we do here on Sunday morning change?

693
00:33:24,945 --> 00:33:30,465
I came from, um, California and,
and we were there during COVID.

694
00:33:32,025 --> 00:33:33,795
Uh, man, that was crazy.

695
00:33:35,055 --> 00:33:39,225
I know things all over the, the
country were bad, but it was, it

696
00:33:39,225 --> 00:33:41,355
was, it was crazy when we were there.

697
00:33:42,045 --> 00:33:44,925
And so there was a time that we
were driven outside and we, we

698
00:33:44,955 --> 00:33:46,695
had to meet outside as a church
and, you know, it was fine.

699
00:33:46,695 --> 00:33:49,245
We were in southern California, so it's
not like we were suffering that hard for

700
00:33:49,275 --> 00:33:51,675
Jesus being outside and 75 degree weather.

701
00:33:52,785 --> 00:33:55,095
But it, it, there was
something that was missing.

702
00:33:55,665 --> 00:33:57,975
And I remember just thinking to myself
all the time that we were meeting outside,

703
00:33:57,975 --> 00:33:59,620
man, what, what, why, what's missing?

704
00:34:00,945 --> 00:34:05,475
Like, we're here and, and yet
there was the, the, the distancing.

705
00:34:05,475 --> 00:34:09,284
And there some people had masks
and there was a general, like there

706
00:34:09,284 --> 00:34:11,625
was a tenuous approach to people.

707
00:34:11,625 --> 00:34:13,034
Could, can I shake your hand?

708
00:34:13,040 --> 00:34:14,924
Do, do you want me to,
to stand away from you?

709
00:34:15,735 --> 00:34:18,585
And then everything else
about it, we were outside.

710
00:34:18,585 --> 00:34:21,824
So when we sang together, the
voices just kind of disappeared

711
00:34:21,824 --> 00:34:23,174
into the ether of the atmosphere.

712
00:34:23,864 --> 00:34:26,775
And, and I didn't realize what I
missed until we went back inside.

713
00:34:27,810 --> 00:34:31,170
And when we went back inside for the
first time and, and we had church

714
00:34:31,380 --> 00:34:34,949
and we lifted our voices and it
was contained within the, the room.

715
00:34:34,949 --> 00:34:38,310
And you could hear your, your brothers
and sisters singing and, and you could

716
00:34:38,370 --> 00:34:39,960
hug your brothers and sisters in Christ.

717
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:43,350
And, and we, it just, I was,
oh man, this is what I missed.

718
00:34:44,130 --> 00:34:46,710
I missed being the church together.

719
00:34:48,779 --> 00:34:50,790
And so I started to think myself
this week, man, what, what would

720
00:34:50,790 --> 00:34:53,009
change if all of a sudden it
became illegal to be at church?

721
00:34:53,009 --> 00:34:54,960
How, how would my approach
on Sunday morning change.

722
00:34:56,504 --> 00:34:58,035
What would I talk about when I gathered?

723
00:34:59,084 --> 00:34:59,805
How would I worship?

724
00:35:00,555 --> 00:35:03,794
How would my prayer time be during
the week, and how would I be pursuing

725
00:35:03,794 --> 00:35:04,785
other people during the week?

726
00:35:06,224 --> 00:35:09,134
I think that's a, a good thing for
us to, to think about right now.

727
00:35:09,134 --> 00:35:10,244
Church is not illegal right now.

728
00:35:10,244 --> 00:35:10,754
Praise God.

729
00:35:10,754 --> 00:35:13,394
It's not, uh, and I don't want
it to become, but I'm just

730
00:35:13,394 --> 00:35:15,674
thinking what would change?

731
00:35:16,935 --> 00:35:19,305
Again, you guys are doing
such a, a, a, a good job.

732
00:35:19,425 --> 00:35:22,545
In fact, it was just yesterday, there
was a team of y'all that showed up at

733
00:35:22,545 --> 00:35:26,384
our, our storage unit down in Frisco
to load up a, a truck and bring all of

734
00:35:26,384 --> 00:35:29,085
our stuff from our storage unit down
in Frisco, up to our storage unit up

735
00:35:29,085 --> 00:35:30,795
here in Frisco or, uh, in Prosper.

736
00:35:31,515 --> 00:35:33,435
That's declaring the excellencies
of him who called you out of

737
00:35:33,435 --> 00:35:34,605
darkness into his marvelous light.

738
00:35:34,665 --> 00:35:38,265
And, and we had a, a text thread
on our staff text thread here, just

739
00:35:38,265 --> 00:35:41,384
pictures of you guys that were there
and we were all just chiming in.

740
00:35:41,415 --> 00:35:42,795
We love our church, we love our church.

741
00:35:43,530 --> 00:35:44,580
We love our church.

742
00:35:45,060 --> 00:35:47,550
And so church don't grow
weary in doing good.

743
00:35:47,759 --> 00:35:52,020
As Paul said, let that love that we
have for one another abound more and

744
00:35:52,020 --> 00:35:54,540
more excel still more as we do this.

745
00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:58,500
So that's, that's the, the, the first
way, that's the internal way that

746
00:35:58,500 --> 00:36:00,780
we can declare the excellencies of
him who called us out of darkness

747
00:36:00,780 --> 00:36:02,100
in, into his marvelous light.

748
00:36:02,340 --> 00:36:05,190
But there's also an external
component to this as well.

749
00:36:05,730 --> 00:36:08,310
And, and this is going out
and, and letting the world know

750
00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:09,720
that something is different.

751
00:36:10,290 --> 00:36:12,570
There's a picture for
the New York Yankees.

752
00:36:13,424 --> 00:36:14,775
Named Cam Schidler.

753
00:36:15,585 --> 00:36:15,975
Schidler.

754
00:36:15,975 --> 00:36:16,965
You gotta be careful with that name.

755
00:36:17,985 --> 00:36:22,785
And he made his debut, his major
league debut, right, two weeks ago

756
00:36:22,785 --> 00:36:27,375
and pitched eight innings, gave up
no runs, and struck out 12 batters.

757
00:36:27,884 --> 00:36:29,325
Okay, that's amazing.

758
00:36:30,015 --> 00:36:35,625
Also, it was the playoffs also, it was
against the Boston Red Sox, which happened

759
00:36:35,625 --> 00:36:39,285
to be the team that he grew up rooting for
and that his family grew up cheering for.

760
00:36:40,634 --> 00:36:45,794
And in the stands decked out
in Yankee's gear was his mom

761
00:36:45,884 --> 00:36:47,535
and his dad and his siblings.

762
00:36:48,194 --> 00:36:53,174
These Yankee fans that were there in
the stands had up until that moment

763
00:36:53,174 --> 00:36:55,665
for their whole lives been Boston fans.

764
00:36:55,875 --> 00:36:59,084
If you know anything about
baseball, Boston fans and Yankee

765
00:36:59,084 --> 00:37:00,375
fans, they don't like each other.

766
00:37:00,765 --> 00:37:01,155
Okay.

767
00:37:01,785 --> 00:37:05,295
They don't get along with each other,
and so a Boston fan's never gonna

768
00:37:05,295 --> 00:37:06,975
be caught dead in a Yankees uniform.

769
00:37:07,425 --> 00:37:09,825
What changed for his parents?

770
00:37:11,325 --> 00:37:15,615
The one that they love identified with
a new team, and so for them, they're

771
00:37:15,615 --> 00:37:19,455
like, okay, this is the team because
this is where our allegiance lies.

772
00:37:19,455 --> 00:37:20,475
This is where our affection lies.

773
00:37:21,045 --> 00:37:24,795
His mom was getting death
threats on social media.

774
00:37:25,950 --> 00:37:27,060
We're messed up as a nation.

775
00:37:27,060 --> 00:37:30,450
Like we need to not be threatening
somebody's mom because they're

776
00:37:30,450 --> 00:37:33,480
pitching for a team that is,
is uh, not our favorite team.

777
00:37:34,770 --> 00:37:35,580
Speaker 2: But

778
00:37:35,580 --> 00:37:39,960
Speaker: the people noticed a shift in his
parents, all that to say, and they started

779
00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:41,520
saying, you're not one of us anymore.

780
00:37:42,270 --> 00:37:44,220
You're not a Boston fan anymore.

781
00:37:45,630 --> 00:37:46,710
And in reality, they're right.

782
00:37:47,609 --> 00:37:51,390
But what it drew is the iron,
the hatred of the Boston fans.

783
00:37:53,414 --> 00:37:54,674
What gear?

784
00:37:54,674 --> 00:37:57,674
Whose gear rather are you
repping out in the world?

785
00:37:59,714 --> 00:38:01,424
You've had a change in your allegiance.

786
00:38:02,474 --> 00:38:05,144
I'm not saying the Boston Red Sox are
the world and the Yankees are heaven.

787
00:38:05,144 --> 00:38:08,984
Please don't hear me say that,
but there's been a change in

788
00:38:08,984 --> 00:38:10,124
your allegiance, nonetheless.

789
00:38:10,124 --> 00:38:11,024
More dramatic than that.

790
00:38:11,804 --> 00:38:12,685
More unexpected than that.

791
00:38:13,755 --> 00:38:16,455
When you step foot out of this door,
when you go out into the world throughout

792
00:38:16,455 --> 00:38:18,705
your week, when you're at your local
coffee shop, when you're with your

793
00:38:18,705 --> 00:38:20,865
neighbors, whose gear are you repping?

794
00:38:21,045 --> 00:38:22,695
Can they tell that
there's been a difference?

795
00:38:22,695 --> 00:38:25,845
Are you even drawing some of the ire of
the world in such a way that you would

796
00:38:25,845 --> 00:38:27,615
say, okay, they see that I'm with Jesus.

797
00:38:29,145 --> 00:38:31,965
We need to be like that because that's
the external way that we declare the

798
00:38:31,995 --> 00:38:34,725
excellences of him who called us outta
darkness and into his marvelous light.

799
00:38:36,660 --> 00:38:39,330
I've been praying this week for this
sermon, and as I've been praying for this

800
00:38:39,330 --> 00:38:41,459
sermon, I've been praying for you guys,
and I've been praying that you would

801
00:38:41,459 --> 00:38:45,120
each, all of the, the Christians that are
in this room, have an opportunity this

802
00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:46,350
week to share the gospel with somebody.

803
00:38:47,910 --> 00:38:51,749
And so I, I'm, I'm still praying that,
and so let me just encourage you,

804
00:38:51,870 --> 00:38:54,749
ha, have your radars sharp this week.

805
00:38:55,709 --> 00:38:56,910
I don't even know what that analogy means.

806
00:38:57,149 --> 00:38:59,339
Ha, have your ears attentive this week.

807
00:38:59,519 --> 00:39:01,859
Look for the opportunities,
because I believe that God

808
00:39:01,859 --> 00:39:03,120
delights to answer those prayers.

809
00:39:03,645 --> 00:39:05,745
And so I'm praying for you that
you will have a chance to share the

810
00:39:05,745 --> 00:39:08,265
gospel, whether that's a neighbor
or a coworker, or a family member,

811
00:39:08,595 --> 00:39:10,634
or somebody in line at Starbucks.

812
00:39:11,130 --> 00:39:14,325
I, I, I, I want us to have these
opportunities to say, Hey, I, I

813
00:39:14,325 --> 00:39:16,665
want to take advantage of this to
declare the excellencies of the

814
00:39:16,665 --> 00:39:18,945
one that called me outta darkness
in, into his marvelous light.

815
00:39:19,995 --> 00:39:21,075
And so I'm praying for that this week.

816
00:39:21,075 --> 00:39:22,604
Church, this, this is what we do.

817
00:39:22,839 --> 00:39:26,024
Our, our part in the testimony of
God's church is that internal body

818
00:39:26,024 --> 00:39:28,694
life that we talked about in Romans
12, but it's also the, the going out

819
00:39:28,694 --> 00:39:31,604
into the world and, and pointing to
the, the, the world to Jesus Christ,

820
00:39:31,604 --> 00:39:33,765
the one who has done so much for us.

821
00:39:34,845 --> 00:39:37,725
But all of this, the foundation of
all of this, the perks that we have

822
00:39:37,725 --> 00:39:40,154
as part of God's church and the role
that we play as part of his church

823
00:39:40,365 --> 00:39:43,274
is, is only possible because of the
glorious truth that we find in verse 10.

824
00:39:44,084 --> 00:39:45,794
Look down at verse 10 with
me as we wrap up here.

825
00:39:45,794 --> 00:39:49,334
It says this, once you were not a
people, but now you are God's people.

826
00:39:49,514 --> 00:39:53,504
Once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.

827
00:39:54,434 --> 00:39:56,504
Old Testament is echoing
in the background.

828
00:39:56,504 --> 00:39:58,664
Here again, this time it's Hosea.

829
00:39:58,874 --> 00:40:01,634
Hosea, chapter one in Hosea chapter
one, Hosea and Gomer, his wife.

830
00:40:01,634 --> 00:40:05,624
They have these two children and one of
the children is named, not my people,

831
00:40:06,254 --> 00:40:07,964
and the other child is named No mercy.

832
00:40:08,735 --> 00:40:11,460
And, and the reason God gave them
those names was because he was

833
00:40:11,670 --> 00:40:15,030
indicating in a, a problem in the
current state of the people of Israel

834
00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:18,210
saying, you are going to be set aside.

835
00:40:18,210 --> 00:40:19,140
You are going to be rejected.

836
00:40:19,140 --> 00:40:22,620
This is, is is God's message to
his people and he's telling them,

837
00:40:22,620 --> 00:40:25,020
you have have failed and what I've
called you informed you to be.

838
00:40:25,020 --> 00:40:26,220
And so you are not my people.

839
00:40:26,370 --> 00:40:28,260
You have not received mercy.

840
00:40:29,550 --> 00:40:33,390
But later in the book, during a, a
prophetic section of the book, God

841
00:40:33,390 --> 00:40:35,850
says, it will be said of not my people.

842
00:40:35,970 --> 00:40:36,990
You are my people.

843
00:40:37,455 --> 00:40:39,075
It will be set of no mercy.

844
00:40:39,765 --> 00:40:41,565
I have shown them mercy.

845
00:40:42,615 --> 00:40:46,545
And so again, there's this future that is
going to be full for Israel, and yet now

846
00:40:46,545 --> 00:40:49,365
Peter's saying that we get to participate
in some of that too as the church.

847
00:40:49,935 --> 00:40:51,705
Again, we've been grafted
into some of this.

848
00:40:52,095 --> 00:40:56,265
So, so we get to be made part of, of
God's promise here and what he's doing.

849
00:40:56,444 --> 00:40:59,504
And, and so God has taken us now
as the church Peter saying, who

850
00:40:59,504 --> 00:41:03,254
once were not a people and he's
made us his people and he's taken

851
00:41:03,254 --> 00:41:05,234
us who once had not received mercy.

852
00:41:05,234 --> 00:41:07,274
And he's shown us mercy.

853
00:41:08,475 --> 00:41:11,265
In fact, maybe it's even more
stark as the, the church.

854
00:41:11,475 --> 00:41:14,924
Noticeable as the church because as
you think about our backgrounds, man,

855
00:41:14,924 --> 00:41:18,044
we've, we've, we're, we're not tied by
genetics the way that Israelites were.

856
00:41:19,064 --> 00:41:21,884
We've got all kinds of different
backgrounds, nationalities, everything

857
00:41:21,884 --> 00:41:25,575
else, and, and yet God has brought us
together to form us as the church for Him.

858
00:41:25,814 --> 00:41:28,904
We are the recipients of
his special affection.

859
00:41:29,209 --> 00:41:33,225
And, and Peter highlights here,
specifically his mercy as we're thinking

860
00:41:33,225 --> 00:41:37,544
about this last verse here, that he's
taken us who were not a people and made us

861
00:41:37,544 --> 00:41:38,865
a people, and he's shown us great mercy.

862
00:41:39,194 --> 00:41:40,875
The word that kept coming to
mind this week as I was looking

863
00:41:40,875 --> 00:41:41,805
at this is the word love.

864
00:41:42,705 --> 00:41:44,774
And so our final point this morning,
along those lines is this, remember,

865
00:41:44,774 --> 00:41:45,944
the greatest perk is God's love.

866
00:41:47,339 --> 00:41:50,370
Remember, the greatest
perk of all is God's love.

867
00:41:54,959 --> 00:41:58,830
The specific facet of that love that
Peter emphasizes here is the mercy of God.

868
00:42:00,240 --> 00:42:03,479
Mercy and grace are often used
synonymously and conflated, although

869
00:42:03,479 --> 00:42:06,120
they do have different meanings and
it's important for us to notice that.

870
00:42:07,500 --> 00:42:10,709
See, grace is we often
think of it as a gift.

871
00:42:11,535 --> 00:42:12,194
And that's what it is.

872
00:42:12,194 --> 00:42:16,994
Grace is to receive something, whereas
Mercy is not to receive something.

873
00:42:18,075 --> 00:42:19,035
So you can think about it this way.

874
00:42:19,035 --> 00:42:22,035
Grace is getting something
from God that we don't deserve.

875
00:42:22,934 --> 00:42:24,734
Grace is getting justification.

876
00:42:24,734 --> 00:42:26,325
Grace is getting redemption.

877
00:42:26,325 --> 00:42:27,914
Grace is getting eternal life.

878
00:42:27,914 --> 00:42:29,834
It's getting what we don't deserve.

879
00:42:31,454 --> 00:42:37,904
Mercy is not getting from God something
that we do deserve, and that is

880
00:42:37,904 --> 00:42:40,035
his wrath, his judgment against us.

881
00:42:40,935 --> 00:42:45,314
So Grace May be after a long
day, the kids go to bed and my

882
00:42:45,314 --> 00:42:47,595
wife and I wake them up and throw
them in the, we don't throw them.

883
00:42:47,774 --> 00:42:51,495
We get them in the back of the van and
we drive to Target to get joyride candy

884
00:42:51,495 --> 00:42:52,785
because we love doing that as a family.

885
00:42:52,785 --> 00:42:55,064
And so it's a surprise they
didn't, they didn't earn that.

886
00:42:55,064 --> 00:42:55,725
They didn't merit it.

887
00:42:55,725 --> 00:42:57,254
It's just something
that, Hey, we love you.

888
00:42:57,435 --> 00:42:58,274
It's Grace.

889
00:42:59,354 --> 00:43:02,834
Mercy is not given the spanking
when the spanking is deserved,

890
00:43:02,834 --> 00:43:06,854
but taking that moment in that
instance to say, Hey, you know what?

891
00:43:07,185 --> 00:43:08,745
You do deserve a spanking.

892
00:43:09,734 --> 00:43:11,024
You do deserve the discipline.

893
00:43:12,285 --> 00:43:13,484
All of us do for our sin.

894
00:43:14,055 --> 00:43:17,625
And yet God is merciful to us in that
He has not given us what we deserve

895
00:43:18,345 --> 00:43:20,145
to help teach them what mercy is.

896
00:43:21,165 --> 00:43:22,785
So grace and mercy,
they're different things.

897
00:43:22,785 --> 00:43:24,134
And, and, and the Bible magnifies both.

898
00:43:24,134 --> 00:43:28,214
But, but Peter focuses specifically
on the mercy that we have from God.

899
00:43:28,214 --> 00:43:31,725
And I think the reason is, is because
what a mercy the church really is.

900
00:43:32,850 --> 00:43:36,300
Because God didn't leave us out here
as strangers and aliens from himself.

901
00:43:36,300 --> 00:43:40,170
He didn't leave us out here on
our own, but brought us together

902
00:43:40,170 --> 00:43:42,390
corporately to do life together.

903
00:43:42,390 --> 00:43:45,000
We didn't deserve what he gave us.

904
00:43:45,450 --> 00:43:48,330
What we deserved instead is to try
to just white knuckle it through to

905
00:43:48,330 --> 00:43:51,300
try to just be good enough so that
when we die, he'll look at us and

906
00:43:51,300 --> 00:43:54,509
say, okay, yeah, did your good weeds
way deeds outweigh your bad deeds.

907
00:43:54,509 --> 00:43:56,100
And the problem is
that's never gonna work.

908
00:43:58,095 --> 00:44:02,085
Instead by his mercy, he brought us
into this body, brought us into this,

909
00:44:02,295 --> 00:44:06,075
this group, and, and, and gave us the,
the relationship with brothers and

910
00:44:06,075 --> 00:44:07,424
sisters in Christ that we have here.

911
00:44:08,475 --> 00:44:10,395
And he gave us the righteousness of Jesus.

912
00:44:11,055 --> 00:44:13,515
And so his mercy and
grace are related here.

913
00:44:14,444 --> 00:44:16,545
And his mercy, it's not stopped yet.

914
00:44:16,545 --> 00:44:18,765
He's continuing to show us his mercy.

915
00:44:19,694 --> 00:44:22,395
He gave us another 24 hours to serve him.

916
00:44:22,545 --> 00:44:22,904
Right?

917
00:44:23,384 --> 00:44:24,555
That's an act of mercy.

918
00:44:25,709 --> 00:44:29,549
He gave us a new day to repent from
our sin and pursue him instead of

919
00:44:30,299 --> 00:44:31,979
just wrapping it up and taking me out.

920
00:44:34,410 --> 00:44:39,329
God is is kind and merciful to give me
a wife who loves me and supports me and

921
00:44:39,329 --> 00:44:44,970
is patient with me instead of a wife who
may have given up on me a long time ago.

922
00:44:45,394 --> 00:44:49,709
And God is merciful and kind to
gimme friends who will pray for

923
00:44:49,709 --> 00:44:51,870
me, encourage me and confront me.

924
00:44:53,279 --> 00:44:57,180
Instead of friends who are content just
to keep things at the surface level.

925
00:44:59,310 --> 00:45:03,569
See, I still need God's mercy, and so
often God's mercy is found in the instead

926
00:45:03,569 --> 00:45:06,419
ofs and the rather thans that accompany
the blessings we have in this life,

927
00:45:08,580 --> 00:45:09,959
the gifts that God has given you.

928
00:45:10,560 --> 00:45:13,229
If you think about what would've
happened if you hadn't received

929
00:45:13,229 --> 00:45:14,910
that gift, there's mercy,

930
00:45:17,129 --> 00:45:17,879
God's mercy.

931
00:45:19,859 --> 00:45:23,220
Is the fuel for the praise that we need
to declare his excellencies, right?

932
00:45:24,389 --> 00:45:29,819
God's mercy is the motivation that we
need to go out to the lost person and

933
00:45:29,819 --> 00:45:32,609
say, Hey, when can we talk about Jesus?

934
00:45:34,740 --> 00:45:42,959
God's mercy is the foundation of our
status as those that are a chosen race,

935
00:45:43,139 --> 00:45:46,979
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
and a people for his own possession.

936
00:45:48,149 --> 00:45:48,750
Without his mercy.

937
00:45:48,750 --> 00:45:51,690
We don't have any of that without
his love, we don't have any of that.

938
00:45:52,620 --> 00:45:55,620
And so that's why this love
is the greatest perk of all,

939
00:45:57,629 --> 00:46:02,490
and it's ours within the context here of
the, the body of Christ, our identity as

940
00:46:02,490 --> 00:46:05,399
a chosen race, royal priesthood, a holy
nation of people for God's own possession,

941
00:46:05,399 --> 00:46:08,759
and the privilege that we have to proclaim
his excellences, our ours because he's

942
00:46:09,149 --> 00:46:13,259
called us out of darkness into his
marvelous light because he did that by

943
00:46:13,259 --> 00:46:15,029
his mercy, by his grace in our lives.

944
00:46:16,245 --> 00:46:20,685
Committing to Jesus and his church
is not only essential like we talked

945
00:46:20,685 --> 00:46:23,265
about last week, but I hope this
week we've seen that it's good.

946
00:46:23,835 --> 00:46:28,214
It's so good to be a part of the
church and I'm biased, but it's so

947
00:46:28,214 --> 00:46:29,234
good to be a part of this church.

948
00:46:30,794 --> 00:46:32,325
Um, and you guys are the reason why.

949
00:46:33,794 --> 00:46:36,589
So I, I pray, I, I hope you've made
that first step this morning in

950
00:46:36,734 --> 00:46:39,944
committing to Christ, repenting from
your sins and putting your trust

951
00:46:39,944 --> 00:46:41,145
in Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

952
00:46:42,299 --> 00:46:45,059
And if you have, I, I pray that this
was a good reminder this morning and

953
00:46:45,059 --> 00:46:47,549
encouragement to you this morning that
what we have here is such a good thing.

954
00:46:48,839 --> 00:46:50,970
It's different from anything else
that you're gonna find in this world.

955
00:46:51,479 --> 00:46:53,369
You won't find the perks anywhere
else that you're gonna find here.

956
00:46:54,119 --> 00:46:56,009
You won't find the blessings anywhere
else that you're gonna find here

957
00:46:56,339 --> 00:46:57,450
that is in the bride of Christ.

958
00:46:58,409 --> 00:47:00,119
And God has saved us to be a part of this.

959
00:47:00,689 --> 00:47:02,399
What a gracious and
merciful thing that is.

960
00:47:02,399 --> 00:47:05,970
Let's pray together, Lord God, we love.

961
00:47:07,065 --> 00:47:08,265
Bride, we love your plan.

962
00:47:08,265 --> 00:47:11,835
For us as the church, we love your
mercies that are new every morning.

963
00:47:11,835 --> 00:47:15,555
We love the fact that you have not given
us what we deserve, even what we continue

964
00:47:15,555 --> 00:47:17,984
deserve to deserve as we live our lives.

965
00:47:17,984 --> 00:47:21,645
But instead, you've shown us
your mercy in forgiving us.

966
00:47:21,645 --> 00:47:25,125
You've shown us your mercy in sparing
us the full wrath, but instead poured

967
00:47:25,125 --> 00:47:30,285
out on Christ in our place, which
is whereby your grace you gave us.

968
00:47:30,750 --> 00:47:31,350
Righteousness.

969
00:47:31,350 --> 00:47:32,400
You gave us forgiveness.

970
00:47:32,400 --> 00:47:36,210
You gave us a standing with you that is
not just brought back to a level playing

971
00:47:36,210 --> 00:47:38,735
field, but you've given us the full
righteousness of Christ in our accounts.

972
00:47:39,089 --> 00:47:42,629
And God help us to be people
that are, are so grateful of.

973
00:47:42,629 --> 00:47:46,769
For that help us to be people that want
to proclaim the excellencies of, of the

974
00:47:46,769 --> 00:47:48,539
good news, of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

975
00:47:48,539 --> 00:47:52,589
Lord, we love you so much for the goodness
and the kindness that you've shown us

976
00:47:52,589 --> 00:47:54,059
for your love that you've showered on us.

977
00:47:54,379 --> 00:47:58,250
And so we pray for a great week in front
of us, a week where we would declare

978
00:47:58,250 --> 00:48:01,970
your excellencies both internally
as the church body and externally.

979
00:48:02,420 --> 00:48:04,730
Externally as well as we go out
into the the world around us.

980
00:48:04,790 --> 00:48:07,460
I reiterate my prayer, God, that
you'd bring gospel opportunities

981
00:48:07,460 --> 00:48:09,049
into all of our lives this week.

982
00:48:09,720 --> 00:48:13,440
Lord, and that you would save people
even this week as a result of those

983
00:48:13,440 --> 00:48:15,810
that are here testifying to what you
have done as you've called us out of

984
00:48:15,810 --> 00:48:17,670
darkness and into your marvelous light.

985
00:48:17,819 --> 00:48:19,080
We thank you so much for that reality.

986
00:48:19,080 --> 00:48:20,040
In Jesus' name we pray.

987
00:48:20,400 --> 00:48:20,730
Amen.