1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,060 Well, coming home from vacation is never fun, but the, once the 2 00:00:06,060 --> 00:00:09,390 drive starts, all I can really think about is, is getting home. 3 00:00:10,230 --> 00:00:13,469 We drive when we go on vacation, and oftentimes we're going out to California 4 00:00:13,469 --> 00:00:18,450 to visit family and, uh, we drive because flying, it would cost us some of our five 5 00:00:18,450 --> 00:00:20,189 kids to be able to, to afford to fly. 6 00:00:20,580 --> 00:00:21,210 So we drive. 7 00:00:21,554 --> 00:00:24,854 And, and the drive out is, is never as bad as the drive back because why? 8 00:00:25,214 --> 00:00:26,714 Because you're looking forward to vacation. 9 00:00:26,714 --> 00:00:30,464 In fact, you kind of feel like you're on vacation when you go on the drive out, 10 00:00:30,674 --> 00:00:33,790 on the drive back though, uh, you're really just focused on getting home. 11 00:00:34,620 --> 00:00:38,760 You're focused on safely navigating the roads, the path, the map, 12 00:00:38,760 --> 00:00:42,630 as it's laying it out before you and, uh, you're not sidetracked 13 00:00:42,630 --> 00:00:44,400 by the, the giant ball of yarn. 14 00:00:44,400 --> 00:00:46,740 And, and stop here and see the thing. 15 00:00:46,740 --> 00:00:48,930 You've seen those billboards, I assume out in the middle of West 16 00:00:48,930 --> 00:00:50,160 Texas, in the middle of nowhere. 17 00:00:50,160 --> 00:00:51,780 It's like, stop at this gas station. 18 00:00:51,780 --> 00:00:54,420 And then you do, and it's closed and you can't see the thing. 19 00:00:55,590 --> 00:00:57,815 You're not doing any of that because you're focused on the goal. 20 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:02,639 You're mindful that you're not home and you're thinking to yourself just about 21 00:01:02,639 --> 00:01:06,540 getting home and you think about your bed and you think about, you know, your 22 00:01:06,540 --> 00:01:09,720 pantry and you think about, uh, just being able to sit down on your couch 23 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,920 and watch TV or whatever it may be, and you're just looking forward to being home. 24 00:01:15,900 --> 00:01:19,470 There's a difference that we're gonna talk about this morning between 25 00:01:19,470 --> 00:01:22,080 being on vacation and being in exile. 26 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,190 The book of one Peter is gonna talk a lot about being in exile. 27 00:01:26,235 --> 00:01:30,585 Yeah, and there's a difference between being in exile and being on vacation. 28 00:01:30,585 --> 00:01:34,215 Just ask for example, when you get to heaven, the apostle John, Hey John, 29 00:01:34,425 --> 00:01:36,225 what was it like on the aisle of Papuss? 30 00:01:36,225 --> 00:01:39,075 Did you get drinks with the little umbrellas on the island there? 31 00:01:39,795 --> 00:01:40,725 He's gonna laugh at you. 32 00:01:40,725 --> 00:01:41,865 Is he's gonna be like, are you kidding me? 33 00:01:42,270 --> 00:01:46,380 I was in exile there, or talk to Daniel, he aniah ra Misha say, 34 00:01:46,380 --> 00:01:48,539 Hey, how was exile in Babylon? 35 00:01:48,539 --> 00:01:49,350 What was that like? 36 00:01:49,350 --> 00:01:51,120 Was it, did you enjoy that? 37 00:01:51,780 --> 00:01:55,259 And they're gonna say, well, did you not hear the story of the fiery furnace 38 00:01:55,259 --> 00:01:57,660 in, in all of that, the lion's den? 39 00:01:57,780 --> 00:02:01,890 It wasn't necessarily fun to be an exile or more recent history. 40 00:02:01,890 --> 00:02:03,390 I guess you could talk to Napoleon. 41 00:02:03,390 --> 00:02:06,150 I, I don't know if we'll see Napoleon in heaven or not, but if you got a 42 00:02:06,150 --> 00:02:08,728 chance to talk to talk to Napoleon, Napoleon would probably tell you 43 00:02:08,728 --> 00:02:11,640 there's a difference between being on his throne and being in exile. 44 00:02:12,899 --> 00:02:15,600 In other words, exile is not a place that we like to be. 45 00:02:15,690 --> 00:02:18,630 If we had the choice, we wouldn't necessarily want to be in exile. 46 00:02:19,320 --> 00:02:22,559 And yet Peter's gonna say that's the mentality that we as a church need 47 00:02:22,559 --> 00:02:27,209 to have, is that we are a church, not on vacation, but a church in exile. 48 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,189 And it's strange for us because we're only two years in as a church, and, 49 00:02:32,189 --> 00:02:37,079 and yet for me, my concern is not that we are developing a vacation 50 00:02:37,079 --> 00:02:41,549 mentality, but that the threat exists and, and the threat exists. 51 00:02:41,609 --> 00:02:45,689 I think it's unique for us as well because of the culture that we find ourselves in. 52 00:02:46,619 --> 00:02:49,799 I mean, it's, it's relatively easy to be a believer where we find ourselves, 53 00:02:49,829 --> 00:02:51,629 it's comfortable for us to live here. 54 00:02:51,629 --> 00:02:55,859 After all, we go to church literally in a town called Prosper, right? 55 00:02:56,744 --> 00:03:02,234 It's comfortable for us and there's elements of exile that we feel on a 56 00:03:02,234 --> 00:03:05,114 keenly in, in on a, a regular basis. 57 00:03:05,114 --> 00:03:06,464 And we feel in a, in a keen way. 58 00:03:06,644 --> 00:03:10,184 For example, the fact that this is a cafeteria, not a, a worship center, 59 00:03:10,184 --> 00:03:12,015 that, that we don't have a 24 7 facility. 60 00:03:12,015 --> 00:03:13,575 So we're still setting up and tearing down. 61 00:03:13,575 --> 00:03:18,345 We know that we're not quote unquote, at home in our church, and yet if 62 00:03:18,345 --> 00:03:22,005 we're not careful, we might drift into being a church on vacation 63 00:03:22,424 --> 00:03:23,864 instead of a church in exile. 64 00:03:25,260 --> 00:03:29,280 As we get into our passage in just a moment here, uh, that's the main 65 00:03:29,280 --> 00:03:30,720 reason why we're studying one. 66 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:34,440 Peter, you may wonder to yourself, okay, there's a lot of different 67 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:38,610 books that we could have chosen to study, and yet we landed in one Peter. 68 00:03:38,610 --> 00:03:41,850 And I don't know if you've ever wondered why, or maybe you just implicitly trust 69 00:03:41,850 --> 00:03:44,790 the pastor and you're like, well, this is just what the pastor wanted to study. 70 00:03:45,180 --> 00:03:46,470 Uh, but it goes deeper than that. 71 00:03:46,470 --> 00:03:47,670 There was thoughtfulness behind it. 72 00:03:47,670 --> 00:03:50,100 There's intentionality behind it, and really it boils down to this idea. 73 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:54,150 That we wanna be a church in exile, not a church on vacation. 74 00:03:55,109 --> 00:03:56,850 But what does it look like for those things? 75 00:03:56,850 --> 00:04:00,270 What does it look like for us to be a church on vacation? 76 00:04:00,270 --> 00:04:04,020 Well, it may look like some of these things, and you'll notice not all of 77 00:04:04,020 --> 00:04:07,170 these descriptions are necessarily bad things in and of themselves. 78 00:04:08,084 --> 00:04:10,725 But a church on vacation is content with its size. 79 00:04:10,725 --> 00:04:10,994 You know what? 80 00:04:10,994 --> 00:04:12,194 I, we're, we're good right now. 81 00:04:12,194 --> 00:04:12,915 It feels good. 82 00:04:12,915 --> 00:04:15,465 The, the mass, the body weight is good in here. 83 00:04:15,465 --> 00:04:17,985 I feel like I, I'm able to, to know other people and see my 84 00:04:17,985 --> 00:04:19,035 friends on, on Sunday morning. 85 00:04:19,274 --> 00:04:20,235 Uh, we're we're, we're just good. 86 00:04:20,235 --> 00:04:21,285 We can stay where we're at. 87 00:04:22,545 --> 00:04:23,715 A church on vacation maybe. 88 00:04:23,715 --> 00:04:23,895 Yeah. 89 00:04:23,895 --> 00:04:25,995 Doctrinally sound that that's a good thing. 90 00:04:26,565 --> 00:04:28,965 Church on vacation's, affluent and comfortable. 91 00:04:29,760 --> 00:04:32,520 Again, I, I don't know that those things are necessarily wrong so long 92 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:34,110 as we steward them in the right way. 93 00:04:34,710 --> 00:04:37,170 A church on vacation is content with saying, Hey, we baptized 94 00:04:37,175 --> 00:04:40,170 a, a handful of people last year and that, okay, that's a win. 95 00:04:40,950 --> 00:04:44,550 A church on vacation is maybe preaching deep, and that's good. 96 00:04:44,550 --> 00:04:47,850 We're, we're, we're comfortable with deep, good, solid sound preaching. 97 00:04:48,450 --> 00:04:50,700 Church on vacation is gonna connect in community. 98 00:04:50,700 --> 00:04:52,020 We're part of community groups. 99 00:04:52,020 --> 00:04:53,970 We're not just showing up on Sunday morning, but we're 100 00:04:53,970 --> 00:04:55,560 gonna spend time together. 101 00:04:56,790 --> 00:05:00,600 But a church on vacation also is a church with Instagram families. 102 00:05:01,110 --> 00:05:03,570 And what I mean by that is a church that is a bunch of families 103 00:05:03,570 --> 00:05:06,240 that dress up on Sunday morning and play like everything's great. 104 00:05:06,330 --> 00:05:08,310 Whereas the rest of the week, everything is anything but great. 105 00:05:09,540 --> 00:05:11,670 In other words, we're not honest with each other about our struggles. 106 00:05:11,670 --> 00:05:13,890 We're not honest with each other about our, our hurting marriage. 107 00:05:13,890 --> 00:05:17,970 We're not honest with each other about having kids that are rebellious. 108 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:20,700 We put everything together and put on our, our, our, our masks, our 109 00:05:20,700 --> 00:05:22,605 facades, and we show up at Sunday morning like everything's good. 110 00:05:23,430 --> 00:05:25,680 Church on vacation is gonna pray, but only because we have 111 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:27,180 to, because we're supposed to. 112 00:05:27,690 --> 00:05:30,750 'cause maybe we feel guilty if we don't church on vacation 113 00:05:30,750 --> 00:05:32,280 is gonna read the Bible again. 114 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:34,920 Same reasons because we have to, because we supposed to, because 115 00:05:35,730 --> 00:05:37,140 we're gonna feel guilty if we don't. 116 00:05:38,310 --> 00:05:42,480 The church on vacation is nervous about these other religions like Hinduism and 117 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,480 Islam that's encroaching on our territory. 118 00:05:47,190 --> 00:05:49,170 The church on vacation is nostalgic for the past. 119 00:05:51,105 --> 00:05:54,375 The church on vacation feels secure for now because we've 120 00:05:54,375 --> 00:05:56,115 got a conservative president. 121 00:05:57,105 --> 00:05:59,775 And again, I, I'm not saying this is where we are, my fear is 122 00:05:59,775 --> 00:06:01,545 that this is where we may drift. 123 00:06:02,415 --> 00:06:05,320 And you say, well, some of those things aren't necessarily bad and, 124 00:06:05,415 --> 00:06:08,895 and I would agree and readily admit, yeah, some of those things aren't 125 00:06:08,895 --> 00:06:11,265 necessarily bad in and of themselves. 126 00:06:11,265 --> 00:06:12,195 Some of those things are good. 127 00:06:12,195 --> 00:06:15,465 The problem comes though, when those good things start to 128 00:06:15,465 --> 00:06:18,495 breed, complacency among us. 129 00:06:19,485 --> 00:06:24,285 And start to take us off mission, to take us off course, to cause us to 130 00:06:24,285 --> 00:06:28,485 wanna sit down in the the lounge chairs by the pool with our drinks, with the 131 00:06:28,485 --> 00:06:31,935 umbrellas in them and think, well, we'll just wait here until Jesus comes back. 132 00:06:33,495 --> 00:06:36,975 Rather than being the church on vacation, we wanna be the 133 00:06:36,975 --> 00:06:38,565 church that's ready to get home. 134 00:06:39,585 --> 00:06:41,775 We wanna be the church in exile. 135 00:06:42,525 --> 00:06:46,215 We don't want to just ride things out and not rock the boat until Jesus comes back. 136 00:06:47,325 --> 00:06:50,895 We want to be on mission, we want to be following that map. 137 00:06:50,895 --> 00:06:52,455 We want to be like that drive home. 138 00:06:52,455 --> 00:06:54,015 We wanna be going, okay, what's next? 139 00:06:54,015 --> 00:06:56,085 And how do I get home and let me stay the course? 140 00:06:56,085 --> 00:06:57,465 And what is the course? 141 00:06:58,965 --> 00:07:00,555 So what does the church in exile look like? 142 00:07:00,555 --> 00:07:02,685 Well, the church in Exile may look like this. 143 00:07:02,685 --> 00:07:06,945 The church in Exile is, is passionate for growth because we realize that 144 00:07:06,945 --> 00:07:11,145 part of the reason why we're still here waiting for Jesus to come back 145 00:07:11,355 --> 00:07:12,945 is that there's a mission at hand. 146 00:07:13,395 --> 00:07:15,315 There's more lost souls to be saved. 147 00:07:16,005 --> 00:07:18,105 And until the last soul is saved, then we're not gonna see 148 00:07:18,105 --> 00:07:19,515 Jesus come back for his bride. 149 00:07:19,515 --> 00:07:21,615 And so we are a church in exile that says, I wanna get home. 150 00:07:21,615 --> 00:07:24,525 Well, one of the ways that we can get home is by being passionate 151 00:07:24,525 --> 00:07:27,135 for growth along those lines. 152 00:07:27,135 --> 00:07:29,235 The church in exile is gonna be inviting people to church, like 153 00:07:29,235 --> 00:07:30,165 I was talking about earlier. 154 00:07:30,765 --> 00:07:32,925 We're gonna be taking those cards and handing 'em out, putting them up on 155 00:07:32,925 --> 00:07:37,275 the bulletin bar boards in the, the community centers, asking people at 156 00:07:37,275 --> 00:07:40,335 the the restaurants we go to, Hey, is there a place I can leave this? 157 00:07:41,355 --> 00:07:43,215 We'd love to invite some people to our church. 158 00:07:43,830 --> 00:07:45,570 The church in exile is on mission in our neighborhoods. 159 00:07:45,570 --> 00:07:48,210 We're trying to reach the lost people around us, seeing that 160 00:07:48,210 --> 00:07:49,620 we're not there by accident. 161 00:07:49,620 --> 00:07:54,150 But God put you in your house, in your apartment because he's got people living 162 00:07:54,150 --> 00:07:58,260 around you that he needs you to go out and wants you to go out and be his 163 00:07:58,260 --> 00:08:00,630 mouthpiece to share the gospel with them. 164 00:08:01,260 --> 00:08:04,440 The church in Exile is gonna be doing that Church in exile, is gonna be sharing 165 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:05,850 the gospel, making that their goal. 166 00:08:05,850 --> 00:08:07,950 Hey, weekly I wanna share the gospel with someone. 167 00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,640 I wanna tell the gospel to somebody new every single week. 168 00:08:12,750 --> 00:08:15,120 The church in exile is gonna be baptizing dozens. 169 00:08:15,120 --> 00:08:17,700 And I'd like to even say more than that every single year because we're 170 00:08:17,700 --> 00:08:21,300 gonna see people saved and we're gonna see people coming forward going, Hey, 171 00:08:21,300 --> 00:08:25,200 I'm, I'm ready to publicly declare my allegiance and faith in Jesus the church 172 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:27,210 in exile, like the church on vacation. 173 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:27,480 Yeah. 174 00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,090 Still having deep preaching, connecting in community. 175 00:08:30,090 --> 00:08:31,260 Again, those aren't bad things. 176 00:08:31,260 --> 00:08:32,010 Those are good things. 177 00:08:32,010 --> 00:08:32,705 We need those. 178 00:08:33,808 --> 00:08:36,150 But the church in exile is gonna not necessarily have the Instagram 179 00:08:36,150 --> 00:08:38,370 families, but you know what the church in Exile is gonna have, it's gonna have 180 00:08:38,370 --> 00:08:39,840 healing and strengthening families. 181 00:08:40,965 --> 00:08:42,914 Families that are willing to come forward and say, Hey, we need help 182 00:08:43,365 --> 00:08:46,845 seeking counseling, seeking people to strengthen them and bolster them. 183 00:08:48,135 --> 00:08:52,155 The church in exile is gonna have confessing and repenting from sin. 184 00:08:53,145 --> 00:08:54,225 We're not gonna harbor sin. 185 00:08:54,225 --> 00:08:57,015 We're not gonna hide sin and pretend like it's no big deal. 186 00:08:57,015 --> 00:08:59,475 But we're gonna have relationships with other believers where we're gonna say, 187 00:08:59,475 --> 00:09:03,435 Hey, man, we want to be living lives of godliness, ready for the return of Christ. 188 00:09:03,555 --> 00:09:05,985 Along those lines of church and exile is pursuing godliness. 189 00:09:07,469 --> 00:09:09,630 Church in exile is gonna be praying, not just out of duty, 190 00:09:09,630 --> 00:09:10,829 but because of desperation. 191 00:09:10,829 --> 00:09:13,109 Because we think, man, I God, we have to do this. 192 00:09:13,890 --> 00:09:16,140 We want to pray because we need God to move. 193 00:09:16,140 --> 00:09:16,949 We need God to work. 194 00:09:16,949 --> 00:09:19,290 We need God to be behind all of these other things. 195 00:09:19,829 --> 00:09:21,780 The church in exile is gonna be reading the Word because 196 00:09:21,780 --> 00:09:23,969 that's our lifeline to him. 197 00:09:25,050 --> 00:09:28,140 That church in exile is gonna be memorizing scripture so that we can stand 198 00:09:28,140 --> 00:09:30,479 firm against the attacks of the enemy. 199 00:09:31,709 --> 00:09:34,079 Church in exile is gonna possess this holy discontent. 200 00:09:35,385 --> 00:09:38,444 Uh, that, that's not a grumbling discontent, but a holy discontent 201 00:09:38,444 --> 00:09:39,225 that says, you know what? 202 00:09:39,449 --> 00:09:41,985 I, I, I don't wanna rest on the accomplishments that we've had in the 203 00:09:41,985 --> 00:09:43,875 past, but I wanna keep moving forward. 204 00:09:44,385 --> 00:09:47,265 Pressing on with the Apostle Paul in Philippians, chapter three, striving 205 00:09:47,265 --> 00:09:51,255 forward to the, the prize of the upward call of God and Christ Jesus. 206 00:09:52,064 --> 00:09:55,064 The church in exiles ready to face changing political scenes. 207 00:09:55,064 --> 00:09:57,584 The church in exile is aware that we're not home. 208 00:09:58,064 --> 00:10:02,444 The church in exile is a good steward of our culture and our comfort. 209 00:10:03,569 --> 00:10:08,430 The church in exile is watching for signs at the times, and really 210 00:10:08,430 --> 00:10:11,069 the church in exile is ready for Jesus to come back at any minute. 211 00:10:12,810 --> 00:10:14,370 That's the church I want us to be. 212 00:10:15,569 --> 00:10:17,340 That's the church we, we need to be. 213 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:19,110 I believe that's the church. 214 00:10:19,110 --> 00:10:23,010 That's the biblical paradigm for what the church should be, and first Peter 215 00:10:23,010 --> 00:10:24,660 is gonna cast that vision for us. 216 00:10:25,020 --> 00:10:26,819 And so why First Peter? 217 00:10:26,819 --> 00:10:31,350 Because I, I feel like we are in some ways, out a fork in the road where we 218 00:10:31,350 --> 00:10:33,900 could choose to say, okay, Lord, you're, you're doing some good things here. 219 00:10:33,900 --> 00:10:34,470 It's comfortable. 220 00:10:34,470 --> 00:10:37,380 We, we, we we're great, grateful for the facility and everything else. 221 00:10:37,380 --> 00:10:38,069 You're growing the church. 222 00:10:38,310 --> 00:10:39,360 We'll just kind of ride it out. 223 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:43,110 Or we could say, you know what, Lord, let's go here we are, 224 00:10:43,140 --> 00:10:45,630 send us, we wanna be used. 225 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,000 We wanna be not the church on vacation, but the church in exile. 226 00:10:49,069 --> 00:10:52,905 One Peter, as we study it together, church has the opportunity to transform this 227 00:10:52,905 --> 00:10:56,444 place because it has the opportunity and the potential to transform the way we 228 00:10:56,444 --> 00:10:59,624 look at ourselves and the world around us. 229 00:11:00,884 --> 00:11:03,974 Some of the passages along those lines that we're gonna encounter are passages 230 00:11:03,974 --> 00:11:06,824 like these one Peter 2 11, 1 Peter two 11. 231 00:11:06,824 --> 00:11:09,314 Peter's gonna tell us, beloved, I urge you as notice the language 232 00:11:09,314 --> 00:11:11,714 here, Sojourner and Exiles. 233 00:11:12,660 --> 00:11:13,830 Those that aren't at home. 234 00:11:13,830 --> 00:11:17,310 In other words, to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which 235 00:11:17,310 --> 00:11:19,290 wage war against your soul. 236 00:11:19,290 --> 00:11:22,439 Peter's gonna confront us with the idea that, man, we as a church are our church, 237 00:11:22,439 --> 00:11:24,510 not just in exile, but behind enemy lines. 238 00:11:24,510 --> 00:11:25,620 We have a, a war to fight. 239 00:11:25,620 --> 00:11:28,230 We have a battle to fight, and that's against the flesh and against the 240 00:11:28,230 --> 00:11:30,900 passions that are waging war against us. 241 00:11:32,055 --> 00:11:36,015 Or one Peter two nine, Peter's gonna say this, you are a chosen race, a royal 242 00:11:36,015 --> 00:11:40,995 priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession that you may proclaim 243 00:11:40,995 --> 00:11:45,195 the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness and into his marvelous light. 244 00:11:46,065 --> 00:11:48,435 See, the church in exile needs to understand that, that God has 245 00:11:48,435 --> 00:11:51,555 called us out of the kingdom of darkness, where once we were at home. 246 00:11:51,959 --> 00:11:54,899 And now we still live in that kingdom. 247 00:11:54,899 --> 00:11:57,810 This world though, we now are part of the kingdom of light, so now we 248 00:11:57,810 --> 00:12:00,989 are exiled because now we are part of the kingdom of light and our job is 249 00:12:00,989 --> 00:12:03,599 to proclaim the excellencies of him. 250 00:12:03,599 --> 00:12:05,159 Who did that for us? 251 00:12:06,509 --> 00:12:07,109 Or one Peter? 252 00:12:07,109 --> 00:12:08,040 2 21. 253 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,050 One Peter 2 21. 254 00:12:10,050 --> 00:12:10,290 Four. 255 00:12:10,290 --> 00:12:14,849 To this you have been called because Christ also suffered for 256 00:12:14,849 --> 00:12:21,029 you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. 257 00:12:22,079 --> 00:12:26,280 Y'all first Peter's gonna step on the toes of the idol of comfort for us. 258 00:12:27,329 --> 00:12:29,729 First, Peter's gonna remind us that to follow Jesus is to follow 259 00:12:29,729 --> 00:12:33,389 Jesus in his suffering too, and that that's part of what it looks 260 00:12:33,389 --> 00:12:34,530 like to be a church in exile. 261 00:12:36,749 --> 00:12:40,739 Our first Peter, chapter four, verse seven, Peter writes, the 262 00:12:40,739 --> 00:12:42,209 end of all things is at hand. 263 00:12:42,479 --> 00:12:45,685 Therefore, be self controlled and sober minded for the sake of your prayers. 264 00:12:47,474 --> 00:12:51,165 Uh, Peter's gonna remind us that, that this is, as John would put 265 00:12:51,165 --> 00:12:52,964 it, and first John, the last hour. 266 00:12:53,415 --> 00:12:55,755 Whereas Peter put it, the end is at hand. 267 00:12:55,755 --> 00:12:59,324 The return of Christ is imminent, and we need to be ready for that, and that's 268 00:12:59,324 --> 00:13:00,459 gonna show up in how we live our lives. 269 00:13:02,609 --> 00:13:02,829 One. 270 00:13:02,895 --> 00:13:07,905 Peter's also going to help us learn to live in exile, uh, like in verse 271 00:13:07,964 --> 00:13:10,844 eight and nine of, of chapter five, when he reminds us of the enemy 272 00:13:10,844 --> 00:13:13,004 that is prowling around Verse eight. 273 00:13:13,004 --> 00:13:13,724 Be sober minded. 274 00:13:13,724 --> 00:13:14,234 Be watchful. 275 00:13:14,234 --> 00:13:15,344 Your adversary the devil. 276 00:13:15,344 --> 00:13:19,035 P prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour, 277 00:13:19,124 --> 00:13:22,064 resist him firm in your faith. 278 00:13:23,775 --> 00:13:26,594 See, Peter's gonna confront us with these realities of what it looks 279 00:13:26,594 --> 00:13:27,614 like to be the church in exile. 280 00:13:28,395 --> 00:13:30,824 In some ways, he's going to afflict us in our comfort. 281 00:13:30,824 --> 00:13:33,944 In other words, to remind us it's not about being on vacation. 282 00:13:33,944 --> 00:13:34,875 We're not home yet. 283 00:13:36,060 --> 00:13:36,900 We've gotta get home. 284 00:13:37,650 --> 00:13:41,579 But then Peter's also gonna comfort us as the church in exile too with passages like 285 00:13:41,579 --> 00:13:45,420 we'll look at next week in one Peter one, three through five, when he says that we 286 00:13:45,420 --> 00:13:50,819 have been born again to a living hope in verse three, verse four, to an inheritance 287 00:13:50,819 --> 00:13:54,749 that's imperishable and undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you. 288 00:13:54,900 --> 00:13:59,280 Who by God's power, are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready 289 00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:00,689 to be revealed in the last time. 290 00:14:00,775 --> 00:14:03,775 Peter's gonna remind us what home is gonna be like and the fact that we've got a 291 00:14:03,775 --> 00:14:10,435 living hope that's secure for us as we are in exile or chapter one verses 23 through 292 00:14:10,435 --> 00:14:14,095 25, he's gonna remind us that we have been born again, not of perishable seed, 293 00:14:14,155 --> 00:14:17,395 but of imperishable seed to a living. 294 00:14:17,395 --> 00:14:18,595 Hope that is right. 295 00:14:18,805 --> 00:14:22,105 He's gonna remind us that though the grass withers and the flower falls, verse 25, 296 00:14:22,105 --> 00:14:24,595 the word of the Lord remains forever. 297 00:14:24,595 --> 00:14:28,045 And that word is the good news that was preached to you, the gospel. 298 00:14:28,890 --> 00:14:31,290 This is gonna remind us of your security because you have been born not of 299 00:14:31,290 --> 00:14:35,040 imperishable seed, or not a perishable seed, rather, but of imperishable seed. 300 00:14:35,460 --> 00:14:37,050 So he's gonna comfort us in exile. 301 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:39,090 Verse 19 of chapter four. 302 00:14:39,090 --> 00:14:39,900 He's gonna tell us this. 303 00:14:39,900 --> 00:14:43,590 He's gonna say, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust 304 00:14:43,590 --> 00:14:46,230 their souls to a faithful creator. 305 00:14:47,190 --> 00:14:50,250 He's gonna remind us that we can do that as we walk through exile. 306 00:14:52,035 --> 00:14:55,454 He's gonna tell us in one Peter five, seven that we can cast our anxieties 307 00:14:55,454 --> 00:14:58,125 on the Lord because he cares for us. 308 00:14:59,745 --> 00:15:05,204 He's gonna tell us in one Peter five 10 that God is going to restore us, confirm 309 00:15:05,204 --> 00:15:07,875 us, strengthen us, and establish us. 310 00:15:09,104 --> 00:15:12,074 And so the, the book of one Peter is going to cast the vision for what 311 00:15:12,074 --> 00:15:14,390 it looks like for us to be a church in exile, not a church on vacation. 312 00:15:15,764 --> 00:15:17,954 And two years in, we are still kind of in our nascency. 313 00:15:17,954 --> 00:15:19,364 We are still trying to figure things out. 314 00:15:19,364 --> 00:15:23,175 We are still trying to, to get up and get going, and there's a lot that's, 315 00:15:23,175 --> 00:15:24,944 that's to be encouraged about by that. 316 00:15:24,944 --> 00:15:29,894 But man, there's a very real danger that if we're not pursuing the call that God 317 00:15:29,894 --> 00:15:34,185 has for this church, that we can fall and grow complacent and become that church 318 00:15:34,185 --> 00:15:38,175 on vacation and completely lose our efficacy as we seek to be a bright and 319 00:15:38,175 --> 00:15:39,524 brilliant lampstand in this community. 320 00:15:40,214 --> 00:15:41,354 And so that's why first Peter. 321 00:15:41,625 --> 00:15:45,795 But there's another passage that sets the table for us about what 322 00:15:45,795 --> 00:15:46,935 it means to be a church in exile. 323 00:15:46,935 --> 00:15:50,565 And it's the passage before us this morning, take your Bibles open up to one 324 00:15:50,565 --> 00:15:54,645 Peter, chapter one, and we're gonna be in, in verses one and two, verses one and two. 325 00:15:54,645 --> 00:15:58,845 And what this passage is gonna remind us is this, that our identity as elect 326 00:15:58,845 --> 00:16:04,125 exiles, our identity as those that are not on vacation, but in exile. 327 00:16:04,425 --> 00:16:08,205 Our identity in Christ means that this world is not our home. 328 00:16:09,135 --> 00:16:10,420 That this world is not our home. 329 00:16:11,925 --> 00:16:13,965 And the passage before us is gonna inform us about where 330 00:16:13,965 --> 00:16:15,970 that identity has come from. 331 00:16:17,819 --> 00:16:20,819 One Peter one, one says this, Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ. 332 00:16:20,819 --> 00:16:21,810 Now, what is an apostle? 333 00:16:21,810 --> 00:16:26,519 An apostle is one who was an eyewitness of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, 334 00:16:26,519 --> 00:16:28,499 an eyewitness of the resurrected Christ. 335 00:16:28,499 --> 00:16:28,829 All right? 336 00:16:29,159 --> 00:16:32,459 That's why today we don't have apostles. 337 00:16:32,699 --> 00:16:36,839 That's why today, that's not an office in the church because the, the apostles, 338 00:16:36,839 --> 00:16:40,290 as they're known in the scripture, the 12 apostles were those that were 339 00:16:40,290 --> 00:16:42,869 eyewitnesses of the resurrected Christ. 340 00:16:43,619 --> 00:16:44,880 And so as we read this and Peter says. 341 00:16:45,445 --> 00:16:47,125 That he's an an apostle. 342 00:16:47,125 --> 00:16:49,855 We need to understand that that is a, a role that is imbued with the 343 00:16:49,855 --> 00:16:52,975 authority of Christ and the commissioning of Christ that Peter was sent. 344 00:16:52,975 --> 00:16:54,565 That's what it means to be an apostle. 345 00:16:54,865 --> 00:16:59,305 The A sent one and he sent with the message of the resurrected Christ, 346 00:16:59,305 --> 00:17:01,855 Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ. 347 00:17:01,855 --> 00:17:03,325 And he says this to those though. 348 00:17:03,355 --> 00:17:08,575 Here's his audience, those who are elect exiles in the dispersion in 349 00:17:08,575 --> 00:17:13,315 Pontus, Galatia Cap Asia, and Bethia. 350 00:17:14,385 --> 00:17:18,405 So we believe that the author of One Peter is Peter and, and 351 00:17:18,405 --> 00:17:20,474 that, again, seems pretty obvious. 352 00:17:20,474 --> 00:17:23,925 It's titled that he says it's him, but not everybody does believe that. 353 00:17:24,525 --> 00:17:28,755 And the reason not everybody believes that has to do with where Peter wrote to. 354 00:17:28,965 --> 00:17:32,235 And so the, the region up there with those red boxes, those are the five 355 00:17:32,235 --> 00:17:35,865 cities, the five regions that Peter list in first Peter chapter one, 356 00:17:35,865 --> 00:17:38,745 verse one, that's modern day Turkey. 357 00:17:38,775 --> 00:17:40,905 This was known as Asia Minor at the time. 358 00:17:41,115 --> 00:17:44,415 If you look down where it says Acts one, eight, right to the left 359 00:17:44,415 --> 00:17:46,665 of that is Judea and Jerusalem. 360 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:51,030 So that's where everything went down with the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. 361 00:17:51,030 --> 00:17:53,760 That's where Jesus descended back to heaven and said in Acts 362 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:57,720 one, eight, that you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and 363 00:17:57,720 --> 00:17:59,430 Samaria into the ends of the earth. 364 00:18:00,405 --> 00:18:03,645 And so the reason some people question Petrin Authorship is 365 00:18:03,645 --> 00:18:08,264 because Peter, we know from church history is gonna die under noonan 366 00:18:08,264 --> 00:18:11,504 persecution in AD 64 thereabouts. 367 00:18:11,925 --> 00:18:16,965 So by, at the latest 68 ad, Peter is no longer with us, Peter is, has 368 00:18:16,965 --> 00:18:18,735 died, he's been executed for his fate. 369 00:18:19,530 --> 00:18:23,280 And so the argument is that Christianity would not have had time to naturally 370 00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:27,750 spread through evangelism and the gospel going out through, through evangelists 371 00:18:27,750 --> 00:18:31,980 and missionary journeys from Jerusalem all the way up into those five areas by the 372 00:18:31,980 --> 00:18:34,440 time that Peter dies in in the sixties ad. 373 00:18:35,895 --> 00:18:39,794 So the argument is, if we're gonna say that, that that's how those regions 374 00:18:39,794 --> 00:18:43,605 were reached with the gospel, that it must have been reached later on. 375 00:18:43,605 --> 00:18:45,375 And Peter couldn't have written a letter. 376 00:18:45,375 --> 00:18:49,125 And so people postulate that somebody wrote it pseudonymously, in other words, 377 00:18:49,125 --> 00:18:53,804 under a false name, claiming to be Peter, even though it wasn't Peter that wrote it. 378 00:18:53,804 --> 00:18:56,115 They say it was probably written eighties or nineties ad. 379 00:18:57,465 --> 00:18:58,844 Now we've got problems with that. 380 00:18:58,844 --> 00:19:01,844 Number one, the problem is if this is written by somebody claiming to Peter, 381 00:19:01,844 --> 00:19:07,245 who's not Peter, then we've got a, a, a book that lies in our Bibles, even 382 00:19:07,245 --> 00:19:11,054 if it was with good intentions, even if the author wrote that, so that the, 383 00:19:11,054 --> 00:19:14,834 the good content of the book would be imbued with the apostolic authority. 384 00:19:15,525 --> 00:19:16,575 So we've got a problem there. 385 00:19:16,575 --> 00:19:20,295 We've also got a problem because the one that is the, the bearer of the letter, 386 00:19:20,504 --> 00:19:25,754 if we look here, uh, towards the end, by Sylvanus a faithful brother, I regard him. 387 00:19:25,754 --> 00:19:27,855 I've written briefly to you, the one carrying the letter. 388 00:19:27,855 --> 00:19:30,345 He would've been complicit in the lie as well, because he would've 389 00:19:30,345 --> 00:19:33,075 been purveying this to these other churches saying, Hey, this is from 390 00:19:33,075 --> 00:19:34,545 Peter, when it wasn't from Peter. 391 00:19:35,504 --> 00:19:38,145 But then more than that, we have a problem because we don't have to agree 392 00:19:38,145 --> 00:19:41,115 with the assessment here that it would've taken so long to get the gospel there. 393 00:19:41,445 --> 00:19:44,055 And here's why you didn't know that you were in for a church history 394 00:19:44,055 --> 00:19:47,055 lesson this morning, but you're gonna get one crash course real fast. 395 00:19:47,685 --> 00:19:50,235 Emperor Claudius, everybody remembers Emperor Claudius. 396 00:19:50,235 --> 00:19:52,335 I'm sure I didn't this, this week either. 397 00:19:52,335 --> 00:19:55,125 So if you're a Roman history buff, then great. 398 00:19:55,125 --> 00:19:57,315 If not, then join the the, the rest of us. 399 00:19:57,675 --> 00:20:01,515 Emperor Claudius reigned from 41 to 54 ad okay? 400 00:20:01,935 --> 00:20:02,925 41 to 54 ad. 401 00:20:03,525 --> 00:20:08,120 And during that time, he colonized those five areas that you see there on the map. 402 00:20:08,985 --> 00:20:13,245 Those five boxes, those areas that Peter addresses the letter to, Pontus, 403 00:20:13,304 --> 00:20:15,764 Galatia, capita, Asia, and Bethia. 404 00:20:16,274 --> 00:20:17,595 He colonized those. 405 00:20:17,595 --> 00:20:20,745 And the way that the Roman emperors would go about colonizing a territory 406 00:20:20,955 --> 00:20:23,774 is that they would look at the population in Rome and the surrounding 407 00:20:23,774 --> 00:20:27,135 areas there, they would look for the less desirable people there. 408 00:20:27,314 --> 00:20:29,685 People like Christians, right? 409 00:20:29,774 --> 00:20:33,044 And they would tell them, Hey, you are gonna be sent out and you're gonna be the 410 00:20:33,044 --> 00:20:37,215 new populace of these colonies that we're creating out in these these territories. 411 00:20:38,220 --> 00:20:42,690 And so it is very possible that we can't say with absolute certainty that 412 00:20:42,690 --> 00:20:48,120 when Claudius repopulated these five areas, he did so with believers, either 413 00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:50,370 converted Jews or believing Gentiles. 414 00:20:50,460 --> 00:20:54,659 And so with that, it would've had a rapid expansion of the gospel 415 00:20:54,659 --> 00:20:56,159 up into this region known as. 416 00:20:56,649 --> 00:21:00,100 Asia minor, modern day Turkey in these five areas, and it would've 417 00:21:00,100 --> 00:21:04,060 allowed Peter to write this letter to them as an established church 418 00:21:04,090 --> 00:21:07,479 or as established churches before his death in the mid sixties ad. 419 00:21:07,510 --> 00:21:07,870 Okay. 420 00:21:09,370 --> 00:21:09,669 You're going. 421 00:21:09,669 --> 00:21:11,350 Did we really need all of that information? 422 00:21:12,879 --> 00:21:13,449 Yes. 423 00:21:14,679 --> 00:21:15,159 Why? 424 00:21:15,909 --> 00:21:18,699 Because of his introduction here, number one, because we 425 00:21:18,699 --> 00:21:19,899 wanna be able to trust the book. 426 00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:21,580 Who wrote it? 427 00:21:21,610 --> 00:21:24,399 Well, we can be sure and and confident that Peter wrote this. 428 00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:27,750 And number two, because it matters because of how he addresses 429 00:21:27,750 --> 00:21:30,330 the people as elect exiles. 430 00:21:31,290 --> 00:21:35,610 Were they exiles, in other words, literally or metaphorically? 431 00:21:36,690 --> 00:21:40,410 Well, we know eventually, and later in the book, he's gonna get to this as a metaphor 432 00:21:40,410 --> 00:21:41,760 for how we live the Christian life. 433 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,670 We already read that passage earlier as Sojourners and exiles 434 00:21:45,180 --> 00:21:47,730 abstain from the fleshy lust, which wage war against your soul. 435 00:21:47,774 --> 00:21:52,245 So, so we know already that he's gonna use it metaphorically, but I think the 436 00:21:52,245 --> 00:21:55,544 reason why Peter uses that and chooses that as a metaphor is because they 437 00:21:55,544 --> 00:21:59,294 were also literal exiles because they had been driven away from their homes. 438 00:21:59,294 --> 00:22:01,334 They had been repopulated up in these areas, or they had 439 00:22:01,334 --> 00:22:02,685 been driven out by persecution. 440 00:22:02,715 --> 00:22:06,735 And so Peter is using their historical context in order to drive home 441 00:22:06,735 --> 00:22:10,935 a, per a, a, a principle, a truth about their spiritual realities. 442 00:22:13,725 --> 00:22:15,735 We're gonna have to work a little bit harder than they did. 443 00:22:16,935 --> 00:22:21,555 To understand that we too are exiles, exiles. 444 00:22:22,665 --> 00:22:25,935 Some of you have moved here from other places and you feel that perhaps a 445 00:22:25,935 --> 00:22:29,475 little bit more tangibly for others of you, this has been home your whole life. 446 00:22:31,125 --> 00:22:34,965 And so to, to embrace the mentality of an exile is something that's radically 447 00:22:34,965 --> 00:22:40,815 different, and yet that's who we need to be 'cause we are spiritual exiles. 448 00:22:41,955 --> 00:22:45,465 In fact, that's why Peter uses the other word he uses here, which is the pink 449 00:22:45,465 --> 00:22:49,514 elephant in the room that everybody's waiting for me to get to that word elect. 450 00:22:51,105 --> 00:22:52,335 Elect exiles. 451 00:22:52,605 --> 00:22:54,975 That tells us that Peter meant that this was not just a physical 452 00:22:54,975 --> 00:22:56,355 reality, but a spiritual reality. 453 00:22:57,705 --> 00:23:00,764 And that's the reality that applies to all of us as well. 454 00:23:01,004 --> 00:23:03,885 And so verse two is we get into it is gonna help us understand what it means 455 00:23:03,885 --> 00:23:08,355 to be elect and, and that's a word I understand is gonna make people squirm. 456 00:23:09,435 --> 00:23:12,105 Some of you are squirm squirming 'cause you're giddy with excitement. 457 00:23:12,405 --> 00:23:16,065 You're card carrying five point Calvinists and you're like, all right, finally, here 458 00:23:16,065 --> 00:23:17,925 comes a good solid message on election. 459 00:23:18,315 --> 00:23:22,125 All these are are squirming because you're like, I have been beaten over the 460 00:23:22,125 --> 00:23:27,435 head by the five point Calvinists with the doctrine of election, and I've been 461 00:23:27,435 --> 00:23:32,055 wounded by people that have been less than gracious about the doctrine of election. 462 00:23:32,534 --> 00:23:34,274 And so you're nervous and uncomfortable about it. 463 00:23:35,445 --> 00:23:36,649 I wanna talk to both of us this morning. 464 00:23:37,395 --> 00:23:42,554 Three things that I'd like you to admit or like all of us to agree on at the outset. 465 00:23:42,554 --> 00:23:44,024 And then we'll get into verse two. 466 00:23:44,385 --> 00:23:46,605 Number one, the doctrine is biblical. 467 00:23:47,834 --> 00:23:49,034 It's there, right? 468 00:23:49,034 --> 00:23:51,014 Peter writes to the elect exiles. 469 00:23:52,274 --> 00:23:55,844 And so we have to then look at that word and and understand what does it mean? 470 00:23:56,324 --> 00:23:58,605 And that's what our text is gonna unpack for us actually. 471 00:23:59,745 --> 00:24:00,705 So it's, it's biblical. 472 00:24:00,705 --> 00:24:01,425 It's there in the Bible. 473 00:24:01,425 --> 00:24:02,294 It's not a made up word. 474 00:24:02,294 --> 00:24:03,645 John Calvin didn't make up the word. 475 00:24:05,340 --> 00:24:06,959 It's there 'cause God wants it to be there. 476 00:24:06,959 --> 00:24:09,120 It's part of the doctrine that we have to agree with. 477 00:24:10,199 --> 00:24:12,870 Second is we need to all admit and understand that we don't 478 00:24:12,870 --> 00:24:14,249 know who is and who's not elect. 479 00:24:16,110 --> 00:24:18,060 And that is a grace of God. 480 00:24:19,050 --> 00:24:20,189 It's a mercy of God. 481 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:25,229 Can you imagine how miserable it would be to know of your loved 482 00:24:25,229 --> 00:24:26,489 ones who aren't following Jesus? 483 00:24:26,489 --> 00:24:30,719 Who is and who's not elect that would crush us? 484 00:24:32,310 --> 00:24:33,060 None of us know. 485 00:24:33,675 --> 00:24:37,455 Then the third thing is to the person that's out there going, well, what 486 00:24:37,455 --> 00:24:41,835 if I'm not, listen, you don't have to figure that out to believe in Jesus. 487 00:24:44,505 --> 00:24:49,185 It's not a prerequisite to know whether or not you are elect to come to faith. 488 00:24:50,055 --> 00:24:54,435 We're gonna talk about why in this verse, verse two, but 489 00:24:54,435 --> 00:24:56,505 before we get there, what is it? 490 00:24:56,565 --> 00:24:58,095 What is election? 491 00:24:59,024 --> 00:25:02,024 What does this word, this term mean? 492 00:25:02,175 --> 00:25:03,794 Here's my working definition of it. 493 00:25:03,855 --> 00:25:04,574 It's mine. 494 00:25:04,635 --> 00:25:06,254 If you don't like it, then that's okay. 495 00:25:06,314 --> 00:25:07,455 I'm, I'm okay with that. 496 00:25:07,455 --> 00:25:10,304 It's imperfect, I'm sure, but this is my best shot at it. 497 00:25:10,304 --> 00:25:12,495 Election is first God's work. 498 00:25:14,475 --> 00:25:15,554 It's, it's his work. 499 00:25:15,584 --> 00:25:21,225 He's the one acting, and it's devoid of human interference or influence. 500 00:25:23,084 --> 00:25:26,564 Devoid meaning without, so it's God's work. 501 00:25:26,939 --> 00:25:33,209 Devoid of or free from our interference or influence in which before creation. 502 00:25:34,110 --> 00:25:36,120 Okay, so this is timeframe. 503 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:37,679 This is before any of us were born. 504 00:25:37,679 --> 00:25:39,449 This is before he said, let there be light. 505 00:25:39,449 --> 00:25:43,590 This is before creation, in which before creation, he freely chose 506 00:25:43,590 --> 00:25:46,110 or elected some for salvation. 507 00:25:47,550 --> 00:25:52,199 He freely chose again, freely devoid of any outside influence acting upon him. 508 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:54,540 He freely chose some for salvation. 509 00:25:55,769 --> 00:25:59,070 Finally, who would otherwise be unwilling and unable to choose 510 00:25:59,070 --> 00:26:03,840 him, who would otherwise be unwilling and unable to choose him? 511 00:26:06,090 --> 00:26:10,620 That, I feel like is the, the biblical understanding of what it is to talk 512 00:26:10,620 --> 00:26:11,774 about the doctrine of election. 513 00:26:14,550 --> 00:26:18,389 But this morning, y'all, I I, I want to take this word back and out of the ivory 514 00:26:18,389 --> 00:26:22,469 towers and the spiritual elitist, I also want to take it back from the libel and 515 00:26:22,469 --> 00:26:27,209 slander of those who don't necessarily understand it biblically and show us 516 00:26:27,209 --> 00:26:29,999 that this doctrine isn't something that we need to fear, but something that can 517 00:26:29,999 --> 00:26:31,739 be a great source of comfort for us. 518 00:26:32,729 --> 00:26:36,509 No matter where you are this morning, this doctrine can be a 519 00:26:36,509 --> 00:26:38,040 great source of comfort for us. 520 00:26:38,699 --> 00:26:40,590 And verse two is gonna help us understand why. 521 00:26:43,485 --> 00:26:48,135 And so what is, what does it mean? 522 00:26:48,165 --> 00:26:51,284 What is it to be a part of God's elect? 523 00:26:52,575 --> 00:26:53,085 Verse two. 524 00:26:54,075 --> 00:26:55,485 Well, lemme get a running start in this. 525 00:26:56,145 --> 00:27:01,260 Peter says this, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion. 526 00:27:02,265 --> 00:27:05,895 And then he goes on in verse two and says this, according to the foreknowledge of 527 00:27:05,895 --> 00:27:10,215 God the father, in the sanctification of the Spirit and in obedience or 528 00:27:10,215 --> 00:27:14,504 for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood, the elect elect 529 00:27:14,504 --> 00:27:18,375 exiles according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, and the sanctification 530 00:27:18,375 --> 00:27:21,735 of the spirit, and for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his. 531 00:27:23,235 --> 00:27:24,225 Let's start with the first one here. 532 00:27:24,225 --> 00:27:27,495 You're gonna notice there's a Trin Trinitarian formula here in verse two. 533 00:27:27,825 --> 00:27:30,465 You've got the father, the spirit, and the son all involved 534 00:27:30,465 --> 00:27:32,625 in the process of election. 535 00:27:33,555 --> 00:27:35,865 The first part of it though, the first component of election is this, the, 536 00:27:35,865 --> 00:27:37,485 the foreknowledge of God the father. 537 00:27:38,295 --> 00:27:42,045 That word foreknowledge can mean two things, two approaches 538 00:27:42,045 --> 00:27:42,975 to the word foreknowledge. 539 00:27:43,335 --> 00:27:44,055 The first is this. 540 00:27:44,055 --> 00:27:47,475 People will say foreknowledge is foresight, meaning that God looked 541 00:27:47,475 --> 00:27:50,985 down the corridors of time and he saw those who would freely of 542 00:27:50,985 --> 00:27:53,055 themselves choose to believe in Jesus. 543 00:27:53,265 --> 00:27:55,185 And those are the ones that he made the elect. 544 00:27:56,865 --> 00:27:57,975 That's one option. 545 00:27:58,965 --> 00:28:02,355 Option two is foreknowledge, is determinative. 546 00:28:03,179 --> 00:28:04,739 Foreknowledge is determinative. 547 00:28:05,070 --> 00:28:09,269 That is that God chose the elect in accordance with his def definite 548 00:28:09,269 --> 00:28:14,040 purpose and plan, and determined that they would one day choose him. 549 00:28:15,540 --> 00:28:16,709 So do you see the difference there? 550 00:28:16,709 --> 00:28:20,219 And in the one hand, God elects based on what he knows, people 551 00:28:20,219 --> 00:28:21,540 will freely choose to do. 552 00:28:21,780 --> 00:28:24,090 On the other hand, God elects based on his foreknowledge, which 553 00:28:24,090 --> 00:28:28,620 is determinative and declarative about what people will choose to do. 554 00:28:31,725 --> 00:28:34,335 It's that second one that I think fits with the biblical template. 555 00:28:36,044 --> 00:28:37,185 Acts 2 23. 556 00:28:37,665 --> 00:28:39,284 Acts 2 23 as Peter's preaching. 557 00:28:39,345 --> 00:28:40,004 Same author there. 558 00:28:40,004 --> 00:28:42,135 Peter's preaching this, he uses the same word. 559 00:28:42,135 --> 00:28:46,125 He says this, Jesus delivered up according to and notice the, the parallel 560 00:28:46,125 --> 00:28:50,895 terms here He uses according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. 561 00:28:52,514 --> 00:28:55,125 So he's pointing to the crucifixion of Jesus, saying that it was 562 00:28:55,125 --> 00:28:58,095 in accordance with the definite plan and foreknowledge of God. 563 00:28:59,699 --> 00:29:02,550 That God had set it in place, that this would happen. 564 00:29:04,379 --> 00:29:08,070 Uh, there's a, a doctrine that we hold to known as what's called total depravity. 565 00:29:09,209 --> 00:29:10,110 Total depravity. 566 00:29:10,199 --> 00:29:15,389 And, and that doctrine argues this, that in our unsaved states or condition that 567 00:29:15,389 --> 00:29:22,499 a person is incapable of and unwilling to respond to or seek God on their own, that 568 00:29:22,499 --> 00:29:25,469 without God's intervention, which we're gonna talk about more in point number two. 569 00:29:26,100 --> 00:29:29,610 That a person is unable to respond to, unwilling, to respond 570 00:29:29,610 --> 00:29:31,230 to or seek God on their own. 571 00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,379 So what that means is, is that if we're going to look at foreknowledge 572 00:29:34,379 --> 00:29:37,320 as foresight, if God were to look down the corridors of time to see 573 00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,950 who would freely choose them on their own and of their own accord, that 574 00:29:40,950 --> 00:29:42,780 the answer would be, uh, no one. 575 00:29:45,780 --> 00:29:48,300 Because no one does seek God on their own. 576 00:29:51,955 --> 00:29:55,229 We will get to our responsibility in all this in the third point, but because we 577 00:29:55,229 --> 00:29:58,860 do have a responsibility, but for now, I want us if, if you're in the room and 578 00:29:58,860 --> 00:30:01,530 you're in Christ, I want you to remember back to that moment when you decided to 579 00:30:01,530 --> 00:30:04,350 put your trust in Jesus for the first time, for the forgiveness of sins, 580 00:30:04,379 --> 00:30:08,639 and to realize that that decision was according to the foreign knowledge of God 581 00:30:08,639 --> 00:30:11,040 before any of us was, was or were born. 582 00:30:13,875 --> 00:30:15,554 Our points this morning are gonna look a little bit different. 583 00:30:15,554 --> 00:30:16,754 Normally we have imperative points. 584 00:30:16,754 --> 00:30:18,735 These are gonna be indicative because they're gonna help us understand 585 00:30:18,735 --> 00:30:22,034 our identity as part of the elect exiles, if you're in Christ. 586 00:30:23,054 --> 00:30:25,574 And so our first point this morning, along those lines is your identity 587 00:30:25,574 --> 00:30:27,195 in Christ was point number one. 588 00:30:27,405 --> 00:30:29,324 Determined by the Father. 589 00:30:30,584 --> 00:30:31,905 Determined by the father. 590 00:30:35,145 --> 00:30:39,195 And I know this again, is a, a, a difficult, it's a difficult 591 00:30:39,195 --> 00:30:40,814 doctrine and it ruffles feathers. 592 00:30:41,399 --> 00:30:45,060 But I want you to know that I believe it, not because of the writings of 593 00:30:45,060 --> 00:30:47,580 some reformers or anything else, but be I believe it because I believe 594 00:30:47,580 --> 00:30:49,050 it's what the Bible teaches us. 595 00:30:50,070 --> 00:30:53,310 We studied John not too long ago, and you'll remember back perhaps in John 596 00:30:53,310 --> 00:30:57,959 when Jesus says that no one can come to him unless the father draws them 597 00:31:00,870 --> 00:31:06,959 or this In Acts chapter 13 verse 48, acts chapter 1348, Luke records that as many 598 00:31:07,139 --> 00:31:09,749 were as were appointed to eternal life. 599 00:31:11,250 --> 00:31:11,909 Believed. 600 00:31:12,990 --> 00:31:16,590 Notice that qualifier that Luke gives as many as were appointed to 601 00:31:16,590 --> 00:31:19,860 eternal life believed appointed to. 602 00:31:22,290 --> 00:31:26,580 Then there's the unbreakable chain here in Romans eight verses 29 through 30. 603 00:31:28,080 --> 00:31:32,159 Where the apostle Paul says this, for those whom he for knew, he also 604 00:31:32,159 --> 00:31:36,300 predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might 605 00:31:36,300 --> 00:31:40,169 be the first born among many brothers and those whom, and here's the, the 606 00:31:40,169 --> 00:31:45,090 chain that's connected back to God's foreknowledge, those whom he predestined, 607 00:31:45,629 --> 00:31:50,939 he also called, and those whom he called, he also justified, and those 608 00:31:50,939 --> 00:31:53,999 whom he justified, he also glorified. 609 00:31:55,065 --> 00:31:58,755 And so look at the chain and see the connection back to God's foreknowledge 610 00:31:59,655 --> 00:32:04,995 that those whom God for knew he predestined, he called he justified, 611 00:32:05,145 --> 00:32:12,105 and he will glorify and recognizes well that the actor on all of that is God. 612 00:32:13,245 --> 00:32:14,745 God is the one that predestines. 613 00:32:14,745 --> 00:32:16,155 God is the one that calls. 614 00:32:16,155 --> 00:32:20,445 God is the one that justifies, and God is the one that glorifies. 615 00:32:22,379 --> 00:32:24,870 And so your identity in Christ was determined by the Father 616 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:28,530 according to his foreknowledge. 617 00:32:29,970 --> 00:32:34,710 Now to be fair, there are verses that do speak of human responsibility as well. 618 00:32:35,910 --> 00:32:40,050 Paul, who wrote Romans eight, also said in Romans 10, that, and if you confess 619 00:32:40,050 --> 00:32:45,149 with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus' Lord and God raised 620 00:32:45,149 --> 00:32:46,620 him from the dead, then you'll be saved. 621 00:32:47,145 --> 00:32:49,575 So there's human responsibility, and like I said, we're gonna get to the 622 00:32:49,575 --> 00:32:51,195 human responsibility part of all of this. 623 00:32:53,205 --> 00:32:56,745 And even Jesus in, in John's gospel said this, he said, I am 624 00:32:56,745 --> 00:32:57,885 the resurrection in the life. 625 00:32:57,885 --> 00:33:01,335 Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet he shall live. 626 00:33:02,325 --> 00:33:05,985 So there is a, a, a human responsibility component to this as 627 00:33:05,985 --> 00:33:08,355 well, and I'm not gonna deny that. 628 00:33:08,355 --> 00:33:09,615 And, and the Bible doesn't deny that. 629 00:33:09,645 --> 00:33:11,115 The Bible clearly teaches that too. 630 00:33:12,105 --> 00:33:13,725 And so, how do we resolve this tension? 631 00:33:13,725 --> 00:33:15,345 Well, the answer is, we, we don't. 632 00:33:16,980 --> 00:33:21,780 There have been plenty of books written trying to resolve the tension, and instead 633 00:33:21,780 --> 00:33:24,719 what we need to do is, is understand that the Bible teaches both of these in 634 00:33:24,719 --> 00:33:29,399 parallel with one another and, and rather than resolving the tension, I, I think 635 00:33:29,399 --> 00:33:32,760 what I want us to see, at least in this first point is that this, my conviction is 636 00:33:32,760 --> 00:33:37,800 that though we are responsible to believe, we are unable to believe apart from the 637 00:33:37,800 --> 00:33:39,600 determined foreknowledge of the father. 638 00:33:42,645 --> 00:33:48,465 Because Peter says to the elect, exiles, according to the foreknowledge of God the 639 00:33:48,465 --> 00:33:54,705 Father, your identity as an elect exile was determined by the father, an eternity 640 00:33:54,705 --> 00:33:56,325 past according to his foreknowledge. 641 00:33:58,635 --> 00:34:03,405 That should be a comforting thought for you, and here's why. 642 00:34:04,784 --> 00:34:08,264 As we find it difficult to navigate this world as spiritual exiles. 643 00:34:09,014 --> 00:34:09,524 We can do. 644 00:34:09,524 --> 00:34:13,395 So knowing that the path that we're navigating was laid out for us to walk 645 00:34:13,395 --> 00:34:15,764 by God, part of his foreknowledge. 646 00:34:17,594 --> 00:34:20,205 Again, if I can go back to the, the, the car ride home. 647 00:34:20,864 --> 00:34:23,114 When we get in the car, we open up our maps app and we type 648 00:34:23,114 --> 00:34:24,524 it in what our destination. 649 00:34:24,524 --> 00:34:26,895 It's like you're gonna get there in 20 hours. 650 00:34:28,034 --> 00:34:28,455 Awesome. 651 00:34:30,495 --> 00:34:32,504 And that's gonna lay out this, this, this course. 652 00:34:32,835 --> 00:34:37,543 But what inevitably happens along the way, you run into an adjustment. 653 00:34:38,400 --> 00:34:41,219 Faster route available, click here, and you're trying to click it 654 00:34:41,219 --> 00:34:43,650 and it's not working, and then it disappears and it's like, sorry, you're 655 00:34:43,650 --> 00:34:45,179 stuck on the, the, the slow route. 656 00:34:45,179 --> 00:34:46,440 You're never gonna get home, ever. 657 00:34:47,819 --> 00:34:51,840 Or you watch that red line begin to show up in the distance on your 658 00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:53,250 maps app, and you're going, oh, man. 659 00:34:54,420 --> 00:34:56,549 And it just grows and you're watching your arrival time. 660 00:34:56,549 --> 00:35:00,660 Get later and later and later and later, and you're going, where's 661 00:35:00,660 --> 00:35:02,220 George Jetson with the flying cars? 662 00:35:02,250 --> 00:35:03,480 Why aren't, why aren't they here yet? 663 00:35:04,319 --> 00:35:05,370 My childhood lied to me. 664 00:35:07,140 --> 00:35:07,620 Why? 665 00:35:08,100 --> 00:35:11,850 Because the route that's laid out by the Maps app is not in 666 00:35:11,850 --> 00:35:13,350 accordance with divine foreknowledge. 667 00:35:16,379 --> 00:35:16,740 Duh. 668 00:35:18,540 --> 00:35:23,160 It's according to ai foreknowledge, divine foreknowledge is so much better. 669 00:35:23,850 --> 00:35:26,669 The map of your life has been laid out by God from beginning to end. 670 00:35:27,240 --> 00:35:30,509 The God who exists outside of time has ordained it for you to walk. 671 00:35:30,899 --> 00:35:33,959 The race that you're running, according to Hebrews is one that he has set before you. 672 00:35:34,950 --> 00:35:38,790 And you can have confidence that God who for knew your past, for knew your 673 00:35:38,790 --> 00:35:44,760 present, and has fore known your future and he's not going anywhere, which really 674 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:46,710 does lead us to our comforting thought. 675 00:35:46,740 --> 00:35:49,200 For this one, I hope for a comforting thought, which he, with each of 676 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:53,040 these God for knew your past, your present, and your future. 677 00:35:54,390 --> 00:35:57,510 You can be comforted by God's foreknowledge of you because he for knew 678 00:35:57,510 --> 00:35:59,910 your past, your present, and your future. 679 00:36:01,065 --> 00:36:04,515 And you can have great confidence that nothing is gonna befall you. 680 00:36:04,515 --> 00:36:06,884 That wasn't first part of his definite plan for your life. 681 00:36:09,765 --> 00:36:11,835 And the way you're gonna navigate that is what leads us into 682 00:36:11,835 --> 00:36:13,245 our second point this morning. 683 00:36:13,484 --> 00:36:17,595 So point number one, your identity in Christ is determined by the Father. 684 00:36:17,984 --> 00:36:22,575 Uh, but the next phrase in our, uh, Trinity formula, Trinitarian formula, 685 00:36:22,575 --> 00:36:27,225 here is this one in the sanctification of the spirit to the elect exiles 686 00:36:27,285 --> 00:36:28,879 in the sanctification of the spirit. 687 00:36:30,360 --> 00:36:32,460 Let's talk about the word sanctification for just a minute. 688 00:36:32,820 --> 00:36:34,890 There's three different types of sanctification that we 689 00:36:34,890 --> 00:36:35,940 might be talking about here. 690 00:36:36,270 --> 00:36:39,060 There is what's known as positional sanctification, right? 691 00:36:39,060 --> 00:36:42,360 Positional sanctification is where at the moment of conversion, 692 00:36:42,540 --> 00:36:44,970 you are made righteous, holy. 693 00:36:44,970 --> 00:36:47,190 You are declared to be holy in God's sight. 694 00:36:47,190 --> 00:36:49,350 It's parallel with the concept of justification. 695 00:36:49,980 --> 00:36:53,460 That is a, a, a work that begins at the, the point of conversion, and 696 00:36:53,460 --> 00:36:55,200 it is a completed work in your life. 697 00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:58,170 As a Christian, you have been positionally sanctified, past 698 00:36:58,170 --> 00:36:59,130 tense If you are in Christ. 699 00:36:59,985 --> 00:37:02,535 Then there's another P with sanctification, progressive 700 00:37:02,535 --> 00:37:05,685 sanctification, and that's where most of us in the room, in fact, 701 00:37:05,685 --> 00:37:09,015 if you're in Christ, all of us in this room find ourselves presently. 702 00:37:09,375 --> 00:37:13,875 That is, we are being progressively sanctified, progressively made 703 00:37:13,875 --> 00:37:16,335 more like Jesus, made more holy. 704 00:37:16,425 --> 00:37:16,755 Okay? 705 00:37:16,965 --> 00:37:18,375 That's the life of the believer. 706 00:37:19,410 --> 00:37:22,830 And then there's a final P with sanctification, which is perfect 707 00:37:22,860 --> 00:37:27,390 sanctification, and that is when we are in the presence of God the Father, 708 00:37:27,390 --> 00:37:31,680 when we are like Jesus, when we are given our glorified bodies, and we 709 00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:36,480 are no longer in any way tainted by sin in the brokenness, in the the 710 00:37:36,480 --> 00:37:37,710 fallen human nature that we have. 711 00:37:38,565 --> 00:37:41,865 Okay, so you've got positional sanctification, progressive 712 00:37:41,865 --> 00:37:45,045 sanctification, and you've got perfect sanctification. 713 00:37:45,075 --> 00:37:47,685 And so when Peter writes in the sanctification of the 714 00:37:47,685 --> 00:37:50,985 spirit about the elect exiles, which one is he talking about? 715 00:37:51,015 --> 00:37:54,674 And the answer is yes, all of them. 716 00:37:55,335 --> 00:37:59,145 But I think the emphasis is on the first one because he's 717 00:37:59,145 --> 00:38:02,535 talking about the, the, the, the. 718 00:38:03,075 --> 00:38:07,935 Germination of the, the culmination of the, the words are just failing 719 00:38:07,935 --> 00:38:10,755 left and right here, he's talking about the beginning of our state 720 00:38:10,755 --> 00:38:11,895 as, as those who are elect. 721 00:38:12,405 --> 00:38:15,555 And so it's, it's the, the work of the spirit at the beginning 722 00:38:15,555 --> 00:38:16,665 of our walk with Christ. 723 00:38:16,665 --> 00:38:18,045 And it's, it's referred to in this way. 724 00:38:18,045 --> 00:38:21,405 It's another word that we talk about in the church called regeneration. 725 00:38:22,215 --> 00:38:23,085 Regeneration. 726 00:38:23,145 --> 00:38:23,445 Okay. 727 00:38:23,565 --> 00:38:26,085 And, and that's the work of the spirit, whereby the spirit 728 00:38:26,085 --> 00:38:27,615 causes us to be born again. 729 00:38:28,485 --> 00:38:29,265 That's Jesus. 730 00:38:29,265 --> 00:38:32,655 In John chapter three with Nicodemus, where Jesus is talking to Nicodemus 731 00:38:32,655 --> 00:38:35,475 and he, he's saying, look, a man must be born again, and Nicodemus 732 00:38:35,475 --> 00:38:38,805 is struggling to understand what he means, and Jesus then says this. 733 00:38:38,805 --> 00:38:42,435 He says, you know, the wind blows where it wishes and you hear it 734 00:38:42,435 --> 00:38:45,225 sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. 735 00:38:45,555 --> 00:38:49,965 So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit, born of the spirit, to be 736 00:38:50,115 --> 00:38:52,095 regenerated, to be given new birth. 737 00:38:53,595 --> 00:38:57,045 That is the work of the spirit that takes place at the moment of conversion. 738 00:38:57,525 --> 00:38:59,625 We are caused to be born again. 739 00:38:59,625 --> 00:39:02,655 So in other words, in the foreknowledge of God, things were 740 00:39:02,655 --> 00:39:04,755 settled in eternity past for you. 741 00:39:04,965 --> 00:39:08,805 But it is the spirit who applies the implications of God's 742 00:39:08,805 --> 00:39:10,635 foreknowledge to your present state. 743 00:39:11,415 --> 00:39:12,105 We can put it this way. 744 00:39:12,105 --> 00:39:14,265 Your identity in Christ was rot by the spirit. 745 00:39:15,285 --> 00:39:17,205 Rot by the spirit. 746 00:39:18,435 --> 00:39:22,095 This is how a spiritually dead person can find spiritual life. 747 00:39:24,105 --> 00:39:25,110 Uh, we drive by it. 748 00:39:25,320 --> 00:39:27,720 When we pull into the parking lot here, I don't know if you've ever noticed 749 00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:30,960 it, but right across the street from the school, there's a, a, a cemetery 750 00:39:33,750 --> 00:39:39,810 to try to share the gospel with someone without the spirit's work is like 751 00:39:39,810 --> 00:39:43,830 going into that cemetery and standing over a grave and saying, Hey, wake up. 752 00:39:45,150 --> 00:39:45,900 Wake up. 753 00:39:46,830 --> 00:39:47,880 Get outta the grave. 754 00:39:48,300 --> 00:39:49,020 Let's go. 755 00:39:50,760 --> 00:39:51,600 It's not gonna happen. 756 00:39:52,620 --> 00:39:54,509 What can a dead person do? 757 00:39:55,590 --> 00:39:56,279 Not a trick question. 758 00:39:56,279 --> 00:39:57,390 Church, what can a dead person do? 759 00:39:58,410 --> 00:39:59,009 Nothing. 760 00:39:59,700 --> 00:40:02,970 And so in Ephesians, when Paul says that we were dead in our trespasses 761 00:40:02,970 --> 00:40:07,770 and sins, what is Paul implying that spiritually we are able to do about that? 762 00:40:09,360 --> 00:40:12,240 Nothing hence the need for the spirit. 763 00:40:13,110 --> 00:40:15,030 The spirit is the one that comes in imparts life. 764 00:40:15,030 --> 00:40:19,110 The spirit gives life because all of us born in Adam are born with a sin, 765 00:40:19,110 --> 00:40:22,350 nature, incapable of doing anything. 766 00:40:22,350 --> 00:40:26,340 To overcome that, we need an alien righteousness. 767 00:40:26,340 --> 00:40:30,420 We need new birth and and, and really, even in order to believe we need first 768 00:40:30,420 --> 00:40:36,330 the spirit who cause us to be born again, that we might believe, and 769 00:40:36,330 --> 00:40:37,925 that's what God does for the elect. 770 00:40:39,825 --> 00:40:40,545 So what does it mean? 771 00:40:40,545 --> 00:40:41,805 What does it look like to be part of the elect? 772 00:40:41,805 --> 00:40:42,345 Who are the elect? 773 00:40:42,345 --> 00:40:45,255 Well, the elect are those that are elect according to the foreknowledge 774 00:40:45,255 --> 00:40:48,795 of God and those that are elect because the spirit has sanctified us. 775 00:40:48,795 --> 00:40:50,924 The spirit has positionally made us righteous, and he does that 776 00:40:50,924 --> 00:40:54,585 through the work of regeneration causing us to be born again, giving 777 00:40:54,585 --> 00:40:56,895 us life, opening the blind eyes. 778 00:40:56,895 --> 00:41:01,365 Second Corinthians chapter four, that we might see and that we might then believe. 779 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:04,980 But the good news is here's the spirit who regenerates us. 780 00:41:05,220 --> 00:41:06,330 Doesn't stop there. 781 00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:08,430 What does he do after he regenerates us? 782 00:41:08,910 --> 00:41:14,100 He indwells us, and he's the one that progressively sanctifies us that middle 783 00:41:14,100 --> 00:41:15,990 state of sanctification until what? 784 00:41:15,990 --> 00:41:19,140 Until the very end when he delivers us to the father. 785 00:41:20,460 --> 00:41:22,290 And so part of being. 786 00:41:23,160 --> 00:41:27,540 God's elect means that you have the spirit dwelling within you that whole way. 787 00:41:27,540 --> 00:41:30,540 Our comforting thought point number two is this, the Spirit re who 788 00:41:30,540 --> 00:41:36,690 regenerates you and dwells you and delivers you to the Father, the spirit 789 00:41:36,690 --> 00:41:41,280 that regenerates you and dwells you and then delivers you to the Father. 790 00:41:43,530 --> 00:41:47,130 So yes, you're an exile and yes, this world isn't your home. 791 00:41:48,779 --> 00:41:51,839 But you have the spirit who sanctifies you, living in you, 792 00:41:51,839 --> 00:41:53,220 and you are not left alone. 793 00:41:55,560 --> 00:41:55,950 Alright? 794 00:41:56,069 --> 00:42:00,120 These first two points are centered on God's role in our election, but this 795 00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:04,770 third point, like I said, is gonna show us that we aren't simply passive 796 00:42:04,770 --> 00:42:05,835 spectators in all of this either. 797 00:42:06,990 --> 00:42:09,899 So second, our, our spiritual identity, our identity in Christ is 798 00:42:09,899 --> 00:42:11,220 elect exiles, just wr by the spirit. 799 00:42:11,220 --> 00:42:12,299 But then look at the final phrase. 800 00:42:12,629 --> 00:42:17,609 The final part of the Trinitarian formula is this, we are elect exiles for obedience 801 00:42:17,609 --> 00:42:22,620 to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood, for obedience to Jesus Christ. 802 00:42:22,620 --> 00:42:23,669 Let's talk about that phrase. 803 00:42:24,299 --> 00:42:26,850 What's clear is the obedience in view is our obedience. 804 00:42:27,720 --> 00:42:29,640 What's not clear is what obedience right. 805 00:42:30,285 --> 00:42:31,665 And there's a couple options there. 806 00:42:31,665 --> 00:42:35,085 This could be the obedience of godliness, of sanctification, of growing in 807 00:42:35,085 --> 00:42:38,055 Christ's likeness, and Peter is gonna talk about that in the book to be sure. 808 00:42:39,315 --> 00:42:42,045 But in this particular instance, with the context being about our 809 00:42:42,045 --> 00:42:45,105 election, I think the obedience, here's a different kind of obedience. 810 00:42:45,105 --> 00:42:49,365 It's the obedience that Paul mentions in Romans one, five when he says, 811 00:42:49,365 --> 00:42:54,165 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about this phrase 812 00:42:54,165 --> 00:42:59,565 here, the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among the nations. 813 00:43:00,644 --> 00:43:04,484 Once the spirit regenerates us, now we have new life within us and we 814 00:43:04,484 --> 00:43:07,725 are able to then obey the Father. 815 00:43:07,995 --> 00:43:11,865 And what is the first act of obedience for every single believer? 816 00:43:13,035 --> 00:43:19,455 Faith, the first act of obedience for every single believer regenerated by the 817 00:43:19,455 --> 00:43:24,854 spirit so that we have the ability now as living spiritual beings to exercise faith. 818 00:43:24,854 --> 00:43:28,904 The first act of obedience is faith in Christ. 819 00:43:31,515 --> 00:43:34,484 That faith is then met with the sprinkling of his blood. 820 00:43:35,234 --> 00:43:37,785 It's covenant language that he uses here, and we don't have time to go there. 821 00:43:37,785 --> 00:43:41,984 But if you went to Hebrews chapter nine, verses 18 through 22, Hebrews nine 18 822 00:43:41,984 --> 00:43:46,305 through 22, talks about Jesus as the high priest who goes in not with the blood 823 00:43:46,305 --> 00:43:51,255 of bulls and goats, but with his own blood to purify us and to sprinkle us so 824 00:43:51,255 --> 00:43:52,484 that we would be clenched from our sins. 825 00:43:53,129 --> 00:43:55,799 And so we bring our faith after the spirit has regenerated us. 826 00:43:55,799 --> 00:43:58,799 We bring our faith and and we are met with the sprinkling blood, the cleansing blood 827 00:43:58,799 --> 00:44:01,200 of Jesus, the forgiveness of our sins. 828 00:44:01,200 --> 00:44:05,189 This is the transaction of the gospel, and this is the transaction of the gospel 829 00:44:05,189 --> 00:44:09,240 wherein we receive the righteousness of Jesus and he takes our sin from us. 830 00:44:09,240 --> 00:44:12,689 And this is what it is to have our election actualized. 831 00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:15,839 And so our final point this morning, along that lines is this, your identity in 832 00:44:15,839 --> 00:44:19,950 Christ is actualized by faith in the sun. 833 00:44:21,149 --> 00:44:25,080 It's actualized by faith in the son, 834 00:44:27,479 --> 00:44:31,169 and so our identity was determined by the father and rot by the spirit. 835 00:44:31,350 --> 00:44:34,830 But it's actualized, it's, it's made tangible for us. 836 00:44:34,830 --> 00:44:39,089 It's realized through us putting our faith in the son, and this is why I said that 837 00:44:39,089 --> 00:44:41,040 we have a part to play in all of this. 838 00:44:42,660 --> 00:44:45,629 You're an exile and a sojourner because you repent from your 839 00:44:45,629 --> 00:44:47,069 sins and you trust Jesus Christ. 840 00:44:47,564 --> 00:44:48,705 With the forgiveness of your sins. 841 00:44:48,734 --> 00:44:51,915 And this is again, that apparent paradox in the Bible where God is 842 00:44:51,915 --> 00:44:55,875 entirely sovereign over our identities as elect exiles, and we are entirely 843 00:44:55,875 --> 00:45:00,435 responsible for whether or not we choose to obey the gospel by putting our 844 00:45:00,435 --> 00:45:02,564 trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. 845 00:45:04,365 --> 00:45:06,930 And that's a paradox that we're not called to resolve, but to hold intention. 846 00:45:08,940 --> 00:45:12,930 No one is part of the elect, apart from deciding to put their trust in 847 00:45:12,930 --> 00:45:16,589 Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and yet no one will put their trust in 848 00:45:16,589 --> 00:45:18,089 Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 849 00:45:18,180 --> 00:45:23,009 Apart from being part of God's elect, I know the temptation to get 850 00:45:23,009 --> 00:45:27,120 all twisted up internally over all of this, even wondering whether or 851 00:45:27,120 --> 00:45:29,790 not we're elect and how we could know that, and is it even worth it? 852 00:45:29,790 --> 00:45:33,210 Because if I'm not elect, I'll never believe, and can I just suggest an 853 00:45:33,210 --> 00:45:36,870 alternative this morning that perhaps we've made it too complicated. 854 00:45:40,980 --> 00:45:44,310 If you're here this morning and you are feeling the tug, the the pull to 855 00:45:44,310 --> 00:45:47,640 put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then the call on you 856 00:45:47,640 --> 00:45:48,990 this morning is to believe the gospel, 857 00:45:51,150 --> 00:45:52,320 to have the faith to obey him. 858 00:45:54,360 --> 00:45:56,785 You're not gonna get a pre-qualified letter in the mail telling you 859 00:45:56,785 --> 00:45:57,930 that you're part of God's elect. 860 00:45:57,930 --> 00:45:58,620 So believe 861 00:46:01,290 --> 00:46:03,330 the Holy Spirit's not gonna come up and tap you on the shoulder 862 00:46:03,330 --> 00:46:06,300 and say, Hey, you're one of his. 863 00:46:08,390 --> 00:46:10,920 If you talked to anybody else in the room this morning, it didn't work that way. 864 00:46:12,030 --> 00:46:14,460 They didn't wake up one morning, go look in the mirror and expect 865 00:46:14,460 --> 00:46:17,550 to find bedhead, only to see a, a halo glowing above their heads. 866 00:46:20,610 --> 00:46:24,210 Instead, they all heard the call, Hey, repent from your sins and believe in 867 00:46:24,210 --> 00:46:25,620 Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. 868 00:46:25,620 --> 00:46:28,380 And they felt within a desire to do that, and they put their trust in 869 00:46:28,380 --> 00:46:29,445 Jesus Christ as of Lord and Savior. 870 00:46:33,479 --> 00:46:36,450 Can I encourage you this morning if that's you, let's do that and leave 871 00:46:36,450 --> 00:46:38,040 the sovereign parts of God to work out 872 00:46:40,200 --> 00:46:40,499 church. 873 00:46:40,499 --> 00:46:44,160 If, if you're here this morning and you're saying, well, then why, 874 00:46:44,160 --> 00:46:46,649 why do we even have to bother with going about evangelizing people? 875 00:46:46,649 --> 00:46:49,350 If you're pastor telling us all about the elect, the, the, the answer is 876 00:46:49,350 --> 00:46:52,799 because the, the way that they're election is actualized is when they 877 00:46:52,799 --> 00:46:54,029 put their faith in Jesus Christ. 878 00:46:54,029 --> 00:46:55,859 And God has called us to be his mouthpiece, to go out and 879 00:46:55,859 --> 00:46:56,584 call people to do just that. 880 00:46:58,484 --> 00:47:00,645 I mentioned earlier this morning, none of us know who the elect are. 881 00:47:02,084 --> 00:47:03,854 There's not a Christian that's ever walked the face of the earth. 882 00:47:03,854 --> 00:47:07,125 That's got a radar for election, election detection. 883 00:47:07,214 --> 00:47:07,964 That doesn't exist. 884 00:47:12,314 --> 00:47:15,524 So I'll sometimes say let's, let's believe like a Calvinist, 885 00:47:15,524 --> 00:47:16,604 but witness like an Armenian. 886 00:47:19,484 --> 00:47:24,390 Anyone can come to faith in Jesus from our point of view. 887 00:47:26,879 --> 00:47:32,220 Let's let God work out the election side, but election is actualized when 888 00:47:32,220 --> 00:47:33,750 you put your faith in Jesus Christ. 889 00:47:36,299 --> 00:47:40,649 And so here's the comforting thought here from our point of view, you 890 00:47:40,649 --> 00:47:43,049 have a part to play in whether or not you're part of the elect 891 00:47:46,680 --> 00:47:48,240 in some ways. 892 00:47:48,270 --> 00:47:51,060 Church, from our perspective this morning, in a very real 893 00:47:51,060 --> 00:47:52,169 sense, the balls in your court. 894 00:47:55,860 --> 00:48:02,400 The gospel is this, though we are sinners, separated and alienated from 895 00:48:02,400 --> 00:48:09,089 a holy God, and though we can never do enough good works to earn the forgiveness 896 00:48:09,089 --> 00:48:13,680 of that holy God, he has given us Jesus Christ to die on the cross for 897 00:48:13,680 --> 00:48:16,920 those sins so that we can be forgiven. 898 00:48:18,690 --> 00:48:20,910 And he saw that Jesus would be raised from the dead. 899 00:48:21,720 --> 00:48:23,069 So that we can live with him forever. 900 00:48:24,990 --> 00:48:28,770 And the call this morning to you is this belief. 901 00:48:31,319 --> 00:48:35,759 Trust that, trust that, again, you're not gonna get a pre-qualified 902 00:48:35,759 --> 00:48:37,890 letter in the mail or a tap from the Holy Spirit on the shoulder. 903 00:48:40,080 --> 00:48:40,649 Trust that 904 00:48:43,049 --> 00:48:47,879 there's no elite mystic vision or experience that you need to have. 905 00:48:49,649 --> 00:48:50,250 Trust that. 906 00:48:52,965 --> 00:48:57,615 If you desire that this morning, please don't let the way a, another Christian 907 00:48:57,615 --> 00:49:00,585 or pastor has upset you by hammering only one side of this equation. 908 00:49:00,585 --> 00:49:02,625 Keep you from the open arms of the Father this morning. 909 00:49:07,815 --> 00:49:09,915 You have a part to play in whether or not you're an elect. 910 00:49:09,915 --> 00:49:12,885 Exile for the rest of us. 911 00:49:12,945 --> 00:49:16,845 What a great reminder that we don't know who is and who's not, 912 00:49:18,315 --> 00:49:19,545 and we get to go out and say, Hey. 913 00:49:20,820 --> 00:49:23,730 Will you believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins? 914 00:49:25,200 --> 00:49:27,780 Will you believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of of sins? 915 00:49:28,770 --> 00:49:31,680 It's what gives us the comfort and hope that we should and can view our time 916 00:49:31,680 --> 00:49:35,790 in exile, not just simply as a mission to be rescued, but as a rescue mission. 917 00:49:39,030 --> 00:49:39,960 Two types of churches. 918 00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:41,670 Vacation, exile. 919 00:49:42,990 --> 00:49:47,160 I'll be honest, vacation's way easier, exile's, way better. 920 00:49:49,230 --> 00:49:49,830 Way better. 921 00:49:51,390 --> 00:49:53,250 I'm excited for this series because I'm excited to see what 922 00:49:53,250 --> 00:49:54,510 God's gonna do in this body. 923 00:49:56,880 --> 00:50:00,900 The end of vacation's never fun, but on that drive home, again, all I can think 924 00:50:00,900 --> 00:50:02,550 about is I just can't wait to get home. 925 00:50:04,740 --> 00:50:07,530 Church, we are on the drive home. 926 00:50:10,590 --> 00:50:14,250 Hopefully, as we are looking forward to being home, we stay focused 927 00:50:14,250 --> 00:50:15,555 on the path, the route, the map. 928 00:50:16,604 --> 00:50:18,104 That God has for us to get there. 929 00:50:19,035 --> 00:50:20,714 Will you stand with me and we'll pray together?