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Starts partway through Austin's introduction. Ends with a short transition by another speaker.
They give you maybe a bigger perspective about your life or a bigger perspective around this world. Places that you go that give you a new and different point of view. Okay, maybe for you, it's driving to the coast to just get a view of the beach as the sun begins to set over the Pacific Ocean. - Where are my Camarillo natives in the house today? That photo appeared a little too soon on the screen actually.
Spoiler alert. Maybe it's going down the hill into, wait, I asked about my Camarillo natives, right? Maybe it's going down the hill into Camarillo, watching the sun go down as you head home after your day at work. Maybe it's a view from your backyard. Maybe it's a view from your favorite hike Over the weekend, there's different viewpoints, there's different vantage points that give you a little bit of a bigger picture view, maybe even a bird's eye view of your context, of your community, of your life, of your situation.
Some of my favorite viewpoints and vantage points over the last few months include the following. One was up in Mendocino County, looking out over Black Sands Beach. That was just a beautiful juxtaposition of blue skies and black sand as my brothers and I went out on a 20-mile out-and-back trail up the Lost Coast. Another favorite view of mine this summer was standing at the edge of the water at Fallen Leaf Lake.
Up in Tahoe area. You're familiar with Lake Tahoe, but just off the side there's a campground that's fallen leaflet. And we walked up to the water's edge and it was in this moment that it just felt like the world was standing still. And it just gave me this stillness and this perspective on life that I don't always get in the busyness of our modern world. Another favorite view and perspective that I caught this summer was my kids playing on the sand, running off into the sunset.
At Carmel by the Sea. Has anybody been up to Carmel by the Sea? Just a beautiful, serene, pristine stretch of coastline and a beautiful view of my children playing in the sunset. There was just nothing like that point of view, that perspective. You know, there might only be one point of view that rivals all of those vantage points, and that is staring at my favorite picture. coffee and pastry from my favorite coffee shop up in Monterey Bay, Captain and Stoker, right?
That may have been my favorite view this summer. Now, we all have different views, different vistas, different vantage points that give us viewpoints and perspectives, right? And I think that, I personally think that a big picture view and a bird's eye view is the most helpful right when we get caught up in the busyness of a routine and the busyness of of modernity in our modern lives sometimes it's helpful to just back up and and zoom out and get this big picture perspective and get this bird's eye view because because i think while sometimes we can miss the trees for the forest i think more often than not we miss the forest for the trees
And sometimes we just need to back up. Sometimes we just need to zoom out. Sometimes we just need to see that big picture and be reminded of what it's all about. And what I want to do with you this fall, maybe you're going into this fall with a great perspective. Maybe you're going into this fall with a big picture view of your life and your purpose. Maybe this fall you don't necessarily have that.
That perspective that you're looking for, and what I want to help you do is gain a big picture perspective of your life. I want to help you gain a bird's eye view of this world. I want to help you zoom all the way out and see God's view of your life and God's view of this world. And to do that, we're going to be looking at one of the most unique perspectives, one of the most unique points of view in all of Scripture.
And that is Peter's point of view. And if you've turned with me now to 1 Peter chapter 1, we're going to spend this morning and we're going to spend this fall studying and considering together Peter's point of view. Peter's point of view of God. Peter's point of view of grace. Peter's point of view of glory is our outline today. We're going to zoom in. And then zoom out. And then we're going to zoom in and we're going to zoom out as we study and step into Peter's first letter and consider his view of God, his view of grace, and his view of glory.
And what it's going to do is it's going to inspire us to live with hope and it's going to equip us to always be ready to for every encounter. I acknowledge in the world we're living in today, you need hope. We need hope. Our world is desperate for hope. Our world is looking for hope. And Peter has the answer that all of us is looking for. He's going to inspire us to live with hope, but he's also going to zoom in and help us be ready for every encounter and get very practical through this series.
We're going to zoom out. We're going to see the big picture. We're going to be reminded of God and his grace and his glory and live with hope. And then we're going to zoom in and we're going to be challenged and we're going to be equipped and we're going to be given practical instructions that help us be ready for every encounter. So that's where we're going this morning and that's where we're going this fall.
We're going to journey with Peter. We're going to look at Peter's point of view and we're going to embrace his view of God His view of grace on his view of glory together this morning. Is everybody with me so far today? Let's join and consider Peter's point of view. If you have your Bibles, I would love to introduce to you Peter's first letter. I'd love to read for you verses 1 and 2, and then as well verses 10 through 12.
And next week we'll consider verses 3 through 9 together. So this is God's word, 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 1-2 and 10-12. Peter says, well, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, In the sanctification of the Spirit and for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood, may grace and peace be multiplied to you.
And then in verse 10, he says, Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace That was to be yours. Searched and inquired carefully. Inquiring what person or time the spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you. And the things that have now been announced to you through those who have preached the good news to you.
By the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. God, would you pray with me this morning? Father, we just thank you for this time and for this opportunity to gather together today, this first Sunday of September, as we step into a new season and kick off a new series. Father, we thank you for your word and how it always Gives us a big picture perspective. God, on who you are and who we are in you.
And on how you're working in this world and on how you're working in our lives today. And I pray that as so much is going on in our world and as so much is going on in our lives, God, that we would be able to zoom out with Peter today and remember who you are. Remember what grace is all about today. And remember the glory that is in store for us. And how what is happening right now in our lives are things into which angels long to look.
Oh, Father, I pray that you would inspire us to live with hope. I pray that you would equip us to be ready for every encounter. And that this series in 1 Peter would challenge us to be the people that you're calling us to be. And inspire us to live with hope. Each and every day. Father, we just commit this time to you, and we thank you for our study and our time together this morning. We pray all these things in Jesus' name and all God's people said.
Amen. Again, I want to just welcome you to Living Oaks. I want to welcome you to our church family. I want to just acknowledge that we just spent the last 12 or so weeks through the summer studying the book of Acts together, Acts chapters 1 through 12. And this morning we are now kicking off and stepping into a brand new series in Peter's first letter. And what I want to do is I want to acknowledge how there's actually something that connects these series and these stories together, having wrapped up Acts chapter 12 about Peter's escape from prison, and now looking at 1 Peter chapter 1 and Peter's first letter.
And the things that connect these series and stories together are or the thing or the person that connects these things and stories together is, well, a human named Peter. So we're considering the life and the story of Peter together today, and we'll be considering the life and the lessons that Peter has for us this fall, and consider how all four Gospels, but specifically Matthew's Gospel, Peter's described not only as the first disciple,
but as the first apostle. And I think what is so interesting and helpful about studying the life and the lessons of Peter is that not only is Peter the first disciple that Jesus called, but Peter very well may be the most relatable disciple that Jesus ever called. Is anybody here today ever related to Peter? I think Peter is very relatable because he and his life, He had seasons of up and seasons of down.
He had seasons where he got it and seasons where he didn't get it. Peter had moments when he crushed it in a good way and he crushed it in, well, not so good of a way, right? Peter's life and Peter's story, it's full of ups and full of downs, right? There's moments where Peter, we're told, walked on water. And then what happened in the next moment? He began to sink into that water, didn't he? There's moments we considered last week where Peter confesses Jesus is the Christ, and then Peter goes on to deny that Jesus is even his friend.
There's moments where Peter is arguing that Jesus is the greatest, and then there's moments where Peter begins to argue which disciple is the greatest, right? Peter's life is so relatable because it's full of ups and downs, successes and failures, seasons and moments when he got it and when he didn't get it. And I actually think that Peter's life is a paradigm for us to follow because it reminds us that it's not following Jesus.
It's not about perfection, but about progress, right? Following Jesus is about progress, not perfection. Can I get an amen to that? Like following Jesus is a life of ups and downs, a journey of ups and downs, and it's not about perfection, but it is about progress and about growing, as he goes on to say in his second letter, in the grace of God. and the knowledge of Jesus. Now, Peter's life is an example for us to follow, and Peter's lessons in 1 Peter are things for us to consider together this fall.
It was actually in Matthew chapter 4 that Peter is called the first disciple, and then in Matthew chapter 10, Peter is identified as the first apostle. Now, in both verses, in both places, Matthew 4 and Matthew 10, We're told that the name that Peter's parents called him, which was what? Not Peter, but Simon. And then we're told the name that Jesus called him, which is not Simon, but Peter, which we considered last week.
The word sheeter in Greek means rock. And it's because Jesus promised Peter that he would play a foundational role in the founding of God's church. And Jesus gives him a new identity and a new purpose. And he calls him to leave behind his fishing nets in Galilee to plant churches among the Gentiles. So Peter's given a new identity. He's given a new purpose. And he's called to not just be a disciple, but an apostle of Jesus Christ.
And that's how he introduces himself in this letter. If you look at verse 1 of 1 Peter chapter 1, it says Peter, an apostle. Now the word apostle just means sent one or messenger. And so Peter acknowledges that he's been sent by God to be a messenger. And then he identifies who he's talking to, who he's writing to in 1 Peter 1, verse 2. And he says, to the elect exiles of the dispersion. And then he names five cities in Asia Minor.
So what Peter's doing is much like what you and I would do when we write a text book. or an email, or a card, or a letter. You're identifying the recipient of your message, and then you're identifying the author of your message, and yet Peter's convention is that he switches our convention, where he names himself first and his audience second. What I want you to notice is that he calls himself an apostle, and he calls his audience elect exiles.
That's the recipient and the author of this letter. And that tells us as much about them as it tells us about Peter's view of God and Peter's view of his audience when he identifies himself as an apostle and his audience as exiles. When he says, I'm an apostle, it's not about his credentials. It's not about his accomplishments. It's not about his successes. It's not about his failures. It's about the fact that God had called him, God had chosen him to send him to be a messenger to the churches in the broader Mediterranean world.
And it's not about what he has accomplished, but what God has accomplished. And it's not even about what he chose for himself, but what God chose for him. And we begin to see this idea that Peter has this really big picture view of God. Peter has this big picture view of God's calling on his life. And he has this big picture view of God's calling on our lives. And I want you to notice that after he identifies himself and his title and his audience and gives them their title, he then tells us how it is that he's been sent by God
And how it is that these Christians and these churches have been scattered abroad as elect exiles. And in verse 2, he tells us his view of God. He says that these things are true according to what? The foreknowledge of God the Father. Now, as much as that sounds like a sci-fi movie or a fantasy novel, right? Like something out of Star Wars or Lord of the Rings. It's actually the cornerstone of Christian theology and it's the cornerstone of the Christian life.
And it's Peter's view of God and Peter's view of sovereignty. He begins acknowledging like he is not an apostle of Jesus by his own doing or by his own choosing. He's an apostle of Jesus by God's doing and by God's choosing. He has this big picture perspective of his life. And of God and how everything in his life is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Now what does the word foreknowledge mean?
To know beforehand, right? So foreknowledge, a very simple definition of foreknowledge is to know beforehand. And at face value, that sounds very much like knowing facts beforehand. But it's a little bit more than that. It's also knowing people beforehand. Let me explain. If we know a fact, if we know a concept, that's maybe a piece of knowledge. Like 2 plus 2 equals... I'm just making sure everybody's awake this morning.
2 plus 2 equals 4. a squared plus b squared equals c squared. Those are facts that you can know intellectually, right? But you can also know people relationally, right? Like I can say I know that two plus two equals four and a squared plus b squared equals c squared. It's a fact of knowledge. It has to do with logic. And reason, and I can tell you that I know for a fact that 2 plus 2 equals 4, and a squared plus b squared equals c squared.
I can also tell you that I know a person. And that's less about reason and more about relationship. That's less about logic and more about love. It's less about facts. And it's more about friends. I can tell you I know two plus two equals four. That's a fact. I can also tell you that I know Conrad Wozniak and he's a friend. I can tell you that I know Paul Sutter and he's a friend. I can know facts, but I can know people.
I can know concepts, but I can be in relationship with people that I know personally and relationally, not just factually or logically. So when it says that we are who we are and we are where we are according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, it's not just that God knew a fact beforehand, but God knew us as his friends beforehand. And it's not necessarily rooted in reason and logic as much as it's rooted in relationship and love.
And Peter's view of God is that God chose him to be in relationship with himself before the foundation of the world.
Is anybody's mind bending a little bit this morning?
My goal is to bend your mind every single Sunday. Like if I can just get you to think a little bit bigger about God, if I can get you to think a little bit bigger about yourself, even if I can get you to think a little bit bigger about your life and God's plan for your life, like that is my goal. Every single Sunday is to bend your brain just a little bit. Is anybody feeling their mind bending, thinking about the foreknowledge of God?
I want you to consider the fact that Peter didn't call himself to follow Jesus. Jesus called Peter to follow Jesus, right? God didn't. necessarily say that he factually knew that we would choose him, but he relationally knew that he wanted to be with us and us with him for all of eternity. And so Peter has this rock solid confidence of his view of himself and his view of us and his view of the circumstances and details of our life.
And he says all of it is according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. He knew beforehand that he wanted to love you and be in relationship with you, and he has Called you into that relationship in the present day and in the present moment. And God called Peter to be an apostle and he has called you to be his people. And that's why in verse one, it says that you are what kind of exiles elect exiles.
You are chosen out of this world to be God's very people. And you might be scattered abroad. And you might be scattered throughout and you might not feel a sense of total belonging in this world. And you might not feel exactly like a citizen of this world. And that's because God has called you. God has chosen you. God has redeemed you. And God has brought you into a relationship with himself. And he says to Peter that he is God's chosen messenger.
And he says to you that you are God's chosen people. He has called you. He has chosen you to be in relationship with himself. Now, I don't know the mystery of God's divine will. And I don't know why and how he chooses whom he chooses. But I do know that God chooses whom he chooses because he chooses to choose them. And I'm just trying to bend your mind once again this time. God chooses us for relationship with himself.
And I actually think that this is the most comforting truth that Peter could offer his audience. And this is the most comforting truth that Peter could offer you and this audience. That God has determined your time. God has determined your place. Acts 17 verse 26. Paul says that God determines the season in which we're born and the boundaries of our dwelling place. God has placed you exactly where you are for a reason and for a purpose.
He's placed you in the home that he's placed you in. He's given you to the parents that he's given you to. He's placed you right here in this city and in this community for a reason and for a purpose. And I don't always know why, but I do know who. And it's our good and loving and gracious Heavenly Father who has a plan and a purpose for your life. And you are exactly where you're supposed to be. And you're exactly where God wants you to be.
And even if you're going through a season of difficulty or tragedy or trial or blessing, God has you exactly where he wants you. And you are exactly where you're supposed to be. And I promise that there is a plan and there is a purpose for all of it. I had a friend call me this week. An old friend that I hadn't seen. seen or heard from in a long time and i saw his name on my phone and i was right in the middle of work but i thought i really need to pick up this phone call and i called him and he's a fellow pastor friend of mine and he just said you know austin i'm calling to encourage you today austin did you know you are exactly where you need to be
Austin, you are exactly where God wants you to be. You are doing exactly what God has called you to do. And he has you where you are for a purpose. Never forget that. And I just thought I needed to hear that this week. That I'm exactly where I am for a purpose. And God has exactly me where he wants me to be for a purpose. And I'm here to remind you that you are exactly where God wants you to be. And he has you where you are for a purpose.
Maybe you're in a season of change. Maybe you're in a season of transition. Maybe you're moving down to San Diego or you're moving to Texas. Maybe you're moving just across the county into Camarillo. Maybe your life is in boxes right now. Maybe your life is a little stressed out right now. Maybe you don't have that big picture perspective, but you're kind of in this tunnel view. Maybe you just need to zoom out a little bit.
I think that's what Peter's doing right now. He's zooming out a little bit. He's reminding us that he was called by God and we're called by God and we're exactly where we're supposed to be and that God is orchestrating and weaving everything together. I like to think about it as an invisible hand and an invisible thread. God's hand, though we don't see it, is orchestrating everything in our lives. And that invisible thread of his foreknowledge and sovereignty.
He is weaving everything together in our lives. For our good and for his glory. So let me just remind you. You are God's chosen people. And he has you exactly where he wants you to be. Just sit in that. Just think on that. God loves you. He has not forgotten you. He promises that he will never leave you. And he will never forsake you. And no matter what it is that you're going through, God has you there for a purpose.
And that's what we're going to see as we study the letter of 1 Peter. That in our ups and in our downs, in our trials and in our triumphs, in those peaks and in those valleys, God has us there for a reason and for a purpose. And this is Peter's view of God. And how he was called to be an apostle and how we're called elect exiles in anywhere that we are. Ultimately, this world is not our home, but heaven is our home.
And that's going to be what Peter reminds us of each and every step along the way. Earth is not our home. Can I just remind you of that? Earth is not your home. If you are a citizen of heaven, heaven is your home. And it's the things and the ups and downs of this life that remind us of that. That we belong to a better world. We belong to a better kingdom. We belong to a better city. And that city is what Hebrews chapter 13 verse 14 says.
It says, here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. I love the city of thousand minutes. I love living here. My family and I are grateful to be putting our roots down in this community. Our church is grateful to be putting its roots down in this community. I love living in Thousand Oaks. We've been here for 12 years. God willing, we'll be here for many more years. We love this city and we love the people of this city.
And we want to reach this city. And we want to make an impact on this city. And we want this city to know that Jesus loves them. And that this church is a place for them. But ultimately what scripture reminds us is that we have no lasting city. And so we should seek the city that is to come. And I just want to remind you today. If you don't feel at home on this earth, it's because this earth is not your home.
And we're called to seek the lasting city, which is the city that is yet to come. The city in which God dwells and we will dwell with him as his people. The city of heaven, the city of hope. This world is not your home and we are called to be in it, but not of it. And that's part of Peter's view of God. He goes on then and shares his view of grace. And he talks about in verse 2 these different phrases, these words, these ideas, these prepositions actually in verse 2 to begin helping us understand his view of grace.
One author said this about 1 Peter. He said that its purpose is to establish us in believing, to direct us in doing, and to comfort us in suffering. And I think that Peter actually accomplishes all three of those things just in the first two letters of his verses. He establishes us in believing, he directs us in doing, and he comforts us in suffering. And what I want you to see is how he does that in verse 2 is a series of phrases and a series of prepositions.
Does anybody remember back in the, I guess, 70s and 80s, There's a series of educational videos that were published and aired for children to help teach children things like math and grammar using rhythm and rhyme, a series of educational kind of cartoon looking videos that would sing songs to help students learn different educational concepts like math and grammar. You guys remember this series? It's called Schoolhouse Rock, right?
And so they had songs that taught us legislation. That song was, I'm just a...
Right?
Sitting on Capitol Hill. They had some grammar lessons, some grammar videos, and one of the most popular ones is about conjunctions, right? And the first line of that song or the chorus goes, conjunction, what's your function? Everybody remember these, right? Let me remind you of a not so memorable schoolhouse rock song, and it's about prepositions. Everybody excited to learn about prepositions this morning?
Hard best.
I knew it. It says busy prepositions, always on the go. The location, the direction, prepositions give us specific information.
Now you know why it's not on the popular list.
Yeah, but it's about busy prepositions, right? Always on the go, the location, the direction, they give us specific information. And I want you just to see the busy prepositions in verse 2. There's four of them. I'll list three of them for you. It says, according to, in, and for. These are prepositions. They tell us specific information. The Christian life, following God, being in relationship with Jesus, it's according to the foreknowledge of God, which we discussed.
It's It's in the sanctification of the spirit and it's for obedience to Jesus. And what I want to remind you of in those prepositions is that grace does something very specific in our lives. It cleanses us. It sprinkles us clean. And we're going to talk about that in a moment. But here in these two second and third prepositions, it reminds us that grace, it sets us apart from Right? Grace is at work in our lives.
Grace is working in our lives through the spirit who lives inside of us for the purpose of obedience to Jesus. And I just want to remind you that if you are a follower of Christ, you've been born again and the spirit of God lives inside of you. And this Christian life and the Christian walk is not a life that we do alone and is not a life that is meant to be alone. But we're meant to do life together as the church and we're meant to do life together
By the power of the Spirit who lives inside of us, which Peter had a front row seat to seeing the work of the Spirit in the life of the church, which we studied in the book of Acts. And so now Peter is just reminding us that the Christian life and grace, it's changing us. It's shaping us. It's cleansing us. It's transforming us into the people that God wants us to be. So that's what Peter's going to do in this letter.
He's going to zoom in. He's going to zoom in, right? We've been zooming out, looking at God, looking at the big picture, looking at the forest. And he's going to zoom in on the bark on the trees. He's going to help us see what it looks like to be sanctified. That word means to be set apart, to be made holy, to be made more like Jesus. He's going to help us zoom in and see what it looks like to be set apart from this world, to be distinct and to be different.
He's going to talk about all kinds of categories and spheres and subjects of life. He's going to tell us about marriage. He's going to tell us about politics. He's going to tell us about work. He's going to tell us about worship. He's going to tell us about trials. He's going to remind us of triumphs. He's going to teach us how to serve. He's going to remind us to use our gifts. Like Peter is going to zoom in on all these different aspects of the Christian life.
He's going to help us to learn what it means to be set apart. To look different to engage in those fears and to be ready for every encounter in a way that is set apart and different from the world around us because grace what it does is Grace sets us apart But what I want you to see next is that grace sprinkles us clean and there's a fourth preposition Do you want me to sing the song again? There's a fourth preposition
It reminds us of specific information. And it's about how grace not only sets us apart, but it's grace that cleanses us and sprinkles us clean. And that's at the end of verse 2, it says, and for sprinkling with his blood. Now, I'm in that final stretch. My wife and I are in that final stretch of preparing to welcome the newest addition to our family. We're getting ready to meet baby three in just about a month from now.
And, you know, there's this interesting phenomenon, this, I guess, instinctual urge that happens when you're pregnant. And this pregnancy, it happened to me. And it's an urge to clean, to purge, to organize, and to prepare your home for to welcome this child, right? We call that process during pregnancy what? Nesting, right? And I'm just gonna admit, nesting, that instinctual urge in nesting, it happened to me this pregnancy.
And so I kid you not, I've just spent the last few months just on my hands and knees. I've been scrubbing the floors, I've been wiping the baseboards, I've been in and out of the attic, I've been replacing toilets in the bathroom, I've been organizing the closet. I've been taking trips to Home Depot, drop-offs to Goodwill. I've been taking trips to Home Depot and drop-offs to Goodwill. Couple more trips to Home Depot.
Couple more drop-offs to Goodwill. I've been potting plants. I've been replacing toilet seats. A woman came to our front door during all of this nesting and said, would you like to switch to new home internet? I said, why not? Just throw it in. Let's get new home internet. Don't know what's wrong with the old one, but let's do it. Somehow I even got a new mailbox out of this nesting process. That's a story for another day.
When your neighbor's trailer rolls over your mailbox, you've got to figure out how to replace that. Yet we've just been cleaning and scrubbing and organizing and cleansing every nook and cranny of our house that you would normally overlook or look over any other time of the year. But when you're preparing to welcome a new human being into your home, you're going to turn over every corner. You're going to clean every part of the house, including the kitchen sink, right?
But none of that comes even close to To the cleansing and purifying power of the blood of Jesus in the life of the Christian. There is no spot. There is no blemish. There is no wrinkle that Jesus' blood cannot clean and cannot cleanse. If you've checked out this morning, I understand. I'm going long. But just tune in for just a minute. Tune in with me for just a minute. This is a reminder for sprinkling with his blood is a reminder of the gospel and a reminder of the Christian life.
That there is no sin that Jesus's blood cannot atone for. And there is no struggle that Jesus's blood is not sufficient for. There is no thought that you can think. There is no thing that you can do. There is nothing from your past. And there is nothing in your future that Jesus' blood is not able to cleanse and clean.
Praise the Lord.
You are forgiven. Scripture describes it as God even forgetting our sins and Jesus' precious purifying blood is enough for us. There's nothing that Jesus' cross... cannot forgive and there's nothing that Jesus' blood cannot cleanse and you are forgiven and you are loved and you are free to enjoy all of the grace and all of the peace that comes with the cleansing power of Jesus when you place your faith in him and these prepositions they're important they're giving us specific information about grace and how grace works and it certainly sets it apart
That's us apart. But when there are moments when you don't feel set apart from the world, when you don't feel set apart from your sin, I just want to remind you that the cleansing and purifying power of Jesus's blood covers you and you are forgiven and you are loved. And there is nothing that you can do to ever separate yourself from the love of God and In Christ Jesus. Now Paul goes on to say. Is that a license then to sin?
And he says by no means. Because we are called to pursue. That growth. And that purity that Peter is going to talk about. Even later in this chapter. But there is nothing. That the power of Jesus. Cannot forgive you. And cleanse you from. And you cannot leave today. Without hearing that truth. That Jesus loves you. And he shed his blood for you. And his blood is sufficient and enough for you. And you are forgiven and you are loved.
And that is Peter's view of grace. Finally, his view of glory. And we'll wrap up here. He goes on and he talks about his view of God and how God has chosen him and chosen us. How God loves us and forgives us through the grace that is in Jesus. And then he finally goes on and he shares with us his view of glory. And I took you to verses 10, 11, and 12. They kind of form a fitting conclusion to this passage of scripture, which we will further study together next week.
But what he does is he writes some of the most exuberant and triumphant verses in all of scripture in verses 3 through 9. I hope that you'd read it this week. I hope that you'd join us next week as we consider the most exuberant, triumphant passage in Scripture on this incredible salvation. And then what he does in verse 10 is he says, concerning this salvation, he says, Prophets predicted the glory that's for us, and angels ponder the glory that's in us.
He's talking about, in retrospect, this incredible salvation that God has offered us in Jesus. And he says the prophets predicted this glory that is not for them but for us to experience live now in this moment through a relationship with Jesus and in the future when Jesus returns. And not only did prophets predict the day that Jesus would come and pour out his grace, And promise us his glory. But look at the very ending of verse 12.
It reminds us that angels are now pondering the glory that's in us. Like angels are glorious beings. And they dwell in God's presence. But did you know that angels look at you? Angels, they marvel at you. Because you are the object of God's love. And you are the recipient of God's grace. And you have experienced the gospel. And you are filled with the spirit. And Colossians 1.27 says that the mystery of Christ in us is the hope of glory.
Like angels do not get to experience what we experience. Angels are either fallen or unfallen. And unfallen angels will never experience the work of redemption the way that we do. And so they peer and they ponder and they look and they long to understand what it's like to be us and to be recipients of God's grace and to be promised future glory and that the spirit lives inside of us right now in this very moment.
And that, my friends, Christ in us is the hope of glory. Prophets longed for the day that we are experiencing. Angels ponder with curiosity and awe at what we're experiencing. We are living in some of the most exciting times in human history because we are that much closer to Jesus' return, and we are that much closer to the promise and hope of glory. Have you read the end of the book, guys? Do you know the end of the story?
Do you know where all of this is going? Jesus is going to return. He is going to redeem his church. He's going to give us a glorified body. Is anybody excited for that glorified body? Yes. Yes. There is glory in store for each and every follower of Jesus. The text says subsequent glories, right? Jesus died and he rose again. And the promise is that every follower of Jesus will rise again. And there's a promise of glory in our future.
And it's the hope of every Christian. And it's the hope of Peter's letter. And he's going to constantly point us to the glory that's in store for us. And let me just... Let me just spoil the ending of 1 Peter. I don't know if you like spoiling the end of the story. It's a spoiler alert. If you need to plug your ears, I'll understand. Listen to 1 Peter 5, verse 10. 1 Peter 5, verse 10. Here's the end of the story.
After you have suffered a little while, hang in there. Hang in there, guys. After you've suffered a little while, the God of all grace, Who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you. Like, don't give up. Don't grow weary. God has called you to his eternal glory in Christ and he is coming and he himself will restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
Friends, that is Peter's point of view. A God of grace, of glory, that Jesus is going to return. He's going to make all things new. We know how the story ends, and it is indescribably good. And so I think a fitting way to finish this morning would just be to remind you and remind myself. In fact, would you do this this week? I just want you to take this home with you. I want you to make this real in your life.
I want you to remember what Peter had to say about God and about grace and about glory. I want you to fix your eyes on Jesus. I want you to lift your eyes. I want you to get that big picture perspective. Zoom out for the forest. Get that bird's eye view. I want you to remember this week that Peter's point of view is the best is yet to come. When you fast forward to the end of the book, when you read Revelation chapter 21 and 22, we're reminded that Jesus is coming soon.
In fact, Jesus himself says at the end of the book, Behold, I am coming soon. And the end of Revelation says, Come, Lord Jesus, come. And so if Jesus is coming and Jesus is the best, the truth is the best is yet to come. And when you're going through a tough time, when you need to gain some perspective, when you feel like you're in that valley and you need to get up on that peak, I just want you to remind yourself this week, the best is yet to come.
And I'll prove it to you. If you come back next week and join us for 1 Peter 1, verses 3-9. And if you want, take a sneak peek this week. And read it for yourself. Let's remember Peter's point of view. Say it with me. The best is yet to come. Let's pray. Father, thank you for this morning. Thank you for this opportunity to be reminded of Peter's point of view. God, that you've chosen us. God, that your grace is at work in us.
And God, that there's glory in store for us. So Lord, no matter what we go through in our lives and in this world, God, help us to remember that. that the best is yet to come. We thank you so much for your grace. We thank you so much for the glory that you have promised us by faith in Christ Jesus. Lord, we love you and we love him. We pray all these things in Jesus' name and all God's people say.
Amen. You know, Pastor Austin mentioned that you can know facts about circumstances and things. You can know facts and circumstances about people as well. And he kind of alluded to our friendship, our relationship. And let me give you a little bit of a peek behind that curtain too. We actually have that phrase and we say it to each other.