If you have your Bible this morning, I want to invite you to 2 Peter chapter number 1. The book of 2 Peter chapter number 1. Also, you can find your place in 1 Peter chapter number 1 as well. But for starters, 2 Peter chapter number 1. 2 Peter chapter number 1 beginning in verse 12. Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right as long as I'm in this body to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure, you may be able at any time to recall these things. You know sometimes when you're working on a project, it's good in the midst of all of the detailed work to take a step back and to kind of think about or look at the big picture. Perhaps you've had projects in your life like building a house. You get engrossed in all of the details and sometimes you have to step back and look at the big picture or maybe when you're thinking about your finances. Every now and again you gotta step back and look at all the numbers and look at the big picture or perhaps a businessman who's working out his business. He has to step back and look at the flowchart sometime and see the big picture of all the details that are going into his business plan. Now don't get me wrong this morning. We want to also make sure that in the Christian life that we're not always just standing back and looking at the big picture, because the Bible teaches us to do more than that. The Bible teaches us that we need to be in the Word of God, digging out all of the precious details that God has revealed to us, because it's digging out those details that cause us to mature in the faith. And we have numerous examples of this in the New Testament. Just take for example some of the books of the Bible in the New Testament. You can think of the book of Romans. Paul, he lays out so many doctrinal truths in the book of Romans and then in chapter 12 he begins to talk about all of the practical ways in which the book is to be applied to your life. And there's many details about almost every conceivable subject, it seems. Or you can take other books of the Bible, like Ephesians, or Colossians, or Galatians. They all do the same thing. They lay out propositional truth, doctrinal truth, theological truth, and then tell the Christian, in light of these particular truths, you need to now work out all of the details so as to mature and so as to grow up in the faith. You know, that's a lot of what we've been doing in the book of 2 Peter. We've been looking at, of course, doctrinal truths, fundamental, foundational things about the faith. But then Peter talks about qualities that you need to add to your life. Virtuous things, things that make up Christ-like character, particular details, so that you know, again, how to grow up into Christian maturity and to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. So yes, we must be working out the details, but as I said, sometimes it's good for us to step back every now and again and look at the big picture, and to make sure that we understand the big picture. You know, we've been learning in the book of 2 Peter, in the particular text that I read to you this morning, that there is great value in a ministry of reminding. A great value, there's a great and tremendous value in a ministry that reminds people, the people of God, of the necessary and the fundamental aspects of the Christian faith. And Peter has shown us that by way of his own example as he talks to those believers and says, I know that my departure is at hand. I know that it's not going to be too long, that I'm not going to be in this physical tent anymore, this body. I'm going to leave. And so I'm trying to put some things into your remembrance so that you'll be able to recall those things at any time after I am gone. And that's certainly important. And we need that ministry of reminding. We need to see that. But again for today, what I want us to do is I want us to take a step back from all of the details that we've been looking at in the book of 2 Peter from Peter. And I want to remind you today of some of the big aspects concerning our salvation. We could call the sermon today remembering the big picture. I've been talking to you lately about many of the things that we need to remember, and that always need to be at the forefront of our thinking. But I thought before we departed from this text in 2 Peter, that one more time today, we would bring out some of the things that we need to remember, and I want to put it in the context of the big picture. I want you to see the big picture today of the faith. And for us to do that, I want you to look in the book of 1 Peter. We're going to stick with Peter's instruction today, but we're going to jump over to the book of 1 Peter. I know it's a book that you're familiar with because we studied this book verse by verse when we first started the church. And I want to revisit today this glorious opening section from Peter in chapter number 1, verses 1 through 12. And as we think about this passage today, again, the big picture truths concerning our salvation. Let me give you three thoughts this morning. I want to take it up under three ideas. Number one, I want you to see in the opening section introductory perspective concerning our salvation. In the body of Peter's instruction, I want you to see some different features that make up what we could call today a start to finish faith. In other words, if you were to think of the faith from start to finish, what would be some of the features that would make up our salvation? We're going to talk about that for a while today. And then lastly, as we come to the end of this opening section, we're going to look at a concluding perspective. So two perspectives, one on the front end, one on the back end, and then some big picture details in the middle. Let's begin and look at verses 1 and 2. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood, may grace and peace be multiplied to you. You know, I think what's interesting about these two verses, if you really had to think about one particular detail here, is that Peter is revealing the magnitude of our salvation. And that's the perspective I want you to get a hold of this morning, this introductory perspective. I want you to first think about your salvation, the magnitude of your salvation. You say, Brother Kyle, where do you get that? Well, I get that from Peter revealing to us that our salvation is a Trinitarian salvation. And what I mean by that is that it took all three persons of the Godhead to save you. It took the entire Godhead. God the Father was involved in your salvation. God the Son was involved in your salvation. And God the Holy Spirit was involved in your salvation. What comes to mind when you think of the word magnitude? The first thought about this this morning that I want us to get a hold of is just the magnitude of God. You know, I think many times we don't dwell deeply enough on the enormity of who God is. It was brought to my remembrance this week in Isaiah chapter 40. This section is an amazing section. I encourage you this afternoon maybe to read chapter 40 of the book of Isaiah. But I want to bring out one verse to you that I think shows us a picture, something that even is illustrative, that puts an image in your mind as to the magnitude of God. Listen to verse number 12 of Isaiah 40. Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance? At first statement, who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hands? You ever been to the beach? Can you imagine being at the beach and walking a few feet into the beach and cupping your hands together in the hollow of your hands and trying to scoop up the ocean? How successful would you be? Well, it would be merely a drop in a bucket. But here this text is giving us insight into the magnitude of who God is and that the entirety of all of the oceans in the world can fit in the hollow of God's hand. Isn't that amazing? To think of the magnitude of God. Next time you go to the ocean, just imagine that body of water being in the hollow of the hands of God. What an incredible thought today. Just to think on the magnitude of God. The verse goes on to talk about how He's enclosed the dust of the earth and to measure and weighed the mountains in scales. and the heels in a balance. Can you imagine the Lord having a set of balances up here and all the mountains of the earth just fitting in this little balance that God has? How enormous is our God? What an amazing God we have. You need to think about this today, a perspective of who God is, of how big He is. I think many of our problems today stem from the fact that we have far too low of the magnitude of who God is. But furthermore, as we apply this to salvation, You also need to see the magnitude of your salvation from God. I love the passage in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. It's a transformative passage to help you understand some truth about salvation. But there in verse number 3 through 6, Paul says, if our gospel is veiled, it's veiled to those who are perishing. And in their case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake." When ministers of the gospel stand to preach the gospel, they're not preaching themselves. They're preaching this message of the Lord Jesus Christ alone who can save. But notice what Paul says. For God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness. What's he referring to? Well, he's referring, this is language that has to do with the creation of the world. God, who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus. Speaking of the magnitude of salvation, what I'm trying to say to you today is that if you sat in the pew today as a converted person, if you are a Christian, if you have been born again, you need to understand that the Bible puts the miracle of your salvation on par with the miracle of creation. Is that not amazing? The magnitude of our salvation. And here the Apostle Peter, as he speaks about this, he talks about the work of the Father and the Spirit and the Son in the accomplishment of our salvation, or bringing our salvation to pass. I don't have time today to get into all of these details, but just a few things. What does he say about the work of the Father? Peter's writing to these elect exiles, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Peter reveals to us here that the Father is One who had a plan and included us in that plan. When you think of the Father's work in your salvation, that's how you need to think about it. That the Father had a plan and was gracious in that He included you in that plan. What an amazing thing. Peter uses words like election and foreknowledge. God has set His electing, choosing love upon you. Here we see the foreknowing, we could say decree of God. In other words, when we think about God's plan, it's not that God looked down the corridors of time and foresaw the future of those who would and those who wouldn't, but God, He foresaw a decreeing foreseeing. In other words, the forward knowledge is God's decretive knowledge. That God made a declaration that you would be incorporated and included into this plan. Peter also, as he's unfolding the magnitude of our salvation, he speaks about the Spirit. He says, "...in the sanctification of the Spirit." And here we find that it was the Spirit of God who came along and applied Christ's accomplishments to us. Sanctified by the Spirit. This is a sanctifying separation. It means that it was the Spirit of God that brought you into the realm of the holy. It was the Spirit of God that set you apart. It was the Spirit of God that came to you and gave you covenantal inclusion into the plan of God. And what did that covenantal inclusion bring? Notice what he says, in sanctification of the Spirit for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with His blood. This covenantal inclusion brought to you faith in Jesus Christ and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. We were separated. We were given faith so as to believe. Obedience to Jesus Christ. You demonstrated obedience to the Gospel by exercising faith. And also Peter talks here about sprinkling with His blood. This is just an Old Testament illustration of the blood that it took to cover sin. In the Lord Jesus Christ we are given complete and full forgiveness from our sins. Isn't that a wonderful thing? We talked about that some last week. About how there's no condemnation in Jesus Christ. How there's peace with God in Jesus Christ. And the Holy Spirit included us in this covenant. And we have faith in Jesus Christ. We have forgiveness in the Lord Jesus Christ. And of course, it was the Son, it was Jesus Christ who made this salvation possible. It was through His accomplishments, through His, as Charles Spurgeon would say, the glorious achievements of Christ. Isn't that a glorious thought? So what am I saying to you this morning? I'm saying as you step back and look at the big picture and are reminded today of the big picture of your salvation, you need to see the magnitude of your salvation. You need to see the magnitude of who God is, that He holds the oceans in the cup of His hands and He can take all the mountains in the world and put them in a balance. It's nothing to God. He's huge. He's marvelous. He's so much bigger than what we understand. And also this salvation that we have so that we would highly esteem it, so that we would worship God for it, so that we would appreciate it. We need to understand the great work that it took on behalf of the Godhead to bring you into this amazing salvation. So step back this morning and marvel at this and think about it. Have you marveled at it lately? Have you thought deeply about these things? Have you thought about the enormity of your salvation, the grace of God to you? Have you stepped back and marveled at your salvation? Maybe I could also say, have you been humbled by it? Understanding the greatness of God's grace to you has a way of cultivating humility, doesn't it? Be humble by thinking about the greatness of your salvation. Well, secondly, as we move on to verses 3-9, I want you to see some more of the big picture here that Peter has for us as he begins to talk about some of the different elements or some of the different features of our salvation. And you notice in verse number 3, he begins by talking about the birth of faith. Blessed be the God and Father, and this is having to do with the application of our salvation. How was the salvation of God applied to you? Notice what he says. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, here it is, He has caused us to be born again. to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Of course, Peter, when he's speaking of being born again, the doctrinal term for being born again, of course, is regeneration. And this is the first reality that God has to give a sinner life so that then they can look upon the glories and the excellencies of the Lord Jesus. So that they can demonstrate faith. So that they can believe upon Jesus Christ whom they have never cared anything about before. God reaches in. God gives them life. He causes them to be born again. And Peter talks about how this is a sovereign action of God and how this is a mercy from God. God in His kindness and His grace blows upon the sinner by His sovereign, decretive prerogative. And Peter says, an understanding of this as he begins the verse, says, Blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be God for all of this. This concept of the new birth, of God doing such an amazing work, is reason for us to give praise and give glory to God, to bless His holy name, to see the mercy of God for this. I wonder today, have you personally experienced the new birth? Has this ever happened to you? Have you been brought into the realm of the old? Have you been given eyes to see the glories and the beauties of the Lord Jesus Christ? Can you say out of your hearts today, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ? You know, Jesus said in John 3, you've got to have this new birth if you're even going to see the Kingdom of God. Have you experienced it? Have you seen God's grace in it? Have you worshipped God for the new birth? Have you worshipped Him in that this was His doing? That this was His grace to you? That He just had grace on you? That He had mercy? And He caused you to be born again? Have you seen His goodness for this? Have you expressed gratitude and thanksgiving to God? Maybe you sit in the pew today and you say, you know, I never have experienced this. What do I do? Ask God for it. Ask the wind to blow. You know, I remember when I was in high school, there was a subdivision in town where I live that I got the contract for, for taking care of all of the flowerbeds. And there was a lot of them. This big ol' long flowerbed that was the entrance to this really nice subdivision. Me and my brother, we got the contract. And so, in the summertime, we would be sitting there, we'd be pulling weeds, and I even suckered Bethany a few times into coming over and helping us pull weeds. And I can remember we'd go over there monthly and make sure everything was kept up and nice. We'd trim the bushes, pull the weeds, and all the rest. And we went over there, and the weeds for that particular month were pretty high because it had rained a lot. But it was in the middle of the summer, and the particular day that we were there, it was like 100 degrees. And here we are, we're out there pulling all of these weeds, and it was actually me and Bethany that day that were doing the work. And we remembered sitting there, and we prayed for a good gust of wind, because it was hot, the wind wasn't blowing, and I can remember us saying, you know, let's just pray and ask God to cause a wind to blow. And you know what? The wind blew. And it came, and we remember that still. That's just an answer to prayer. I was unconverted then, too, by the way. Pray. Pray to God. You know, I use that as an illustration to you to say, yes, Peter says that this is by the grace and the mercy of God to do this. According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again. This is the work of God, but that doesn't mean that you can't ask Him to blow upon you and to give you this life. So Peter, what does he say? He says, alright, you need to understand, if you were to think of your salvation in a chronological aspect from the time that it was applied, what was the first thing that happened? Well, there was the birth of faith, that God did this work. He caused His Spirit to blow by His mercy and His grace. Also, Peter next wants us to see the blessings and the promises of this faith. You notice here in verse number 3, He has caused us to be born again. And notice these statements. 2. A living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 2. An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. What beautiful language here. Peter is speaking about this current blessing that the believer has. And what is that blessing? It's a living or an active hope that is set on the promises of God concerning the future. What a beautiful, beautiful thought. F.B. Meyer calls the living hope the link between the present and our future. Isn't that a good thought? That the living hope that we have is the link. This is the link that we have from the present to the future. What is this living hope that God has given us? Why is it that we hope? Well, we've mentioned this many times, but you know that upon your conversion, upon your believing, you were indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God. Paul would comment in Ephesians chapter number 1, verse 13 and 14, "...in Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, you were sealed." with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee, now notice this language, of our inheritance. Peter is going to use that same language. We just read it. Until we acquire possession of it. to the praise of His glory. You see, Paul talks about us having the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as a down payment or as a guarantee, almost like an engagement ring to the full or to the climax. And here Peter calls really the same concept, this living hope. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God and we have confidence that one day we are going to acquire full possession of the inheritance that God has given to us. And of course, these promises having to do with our inheritance, it all lies in the future. Notice what he says. You have an inheritance waiting for you. It's imperishable, undefiled, unfading. It's kept reserved for you and that's such an important concept because we live in a fallen world of corruption and you can have an inheritance or you can gain something by way of inheritance, but it's subject to thievery. It's subject to being lost or stolen. And here the idea is the inheritance that we have that God has reserved for us, it's reserved in Heaven's bank account. And no one can go there and get it. No one can steal it from you. No one can take it away. And it's guaranteed based on the promise of God. And God is a truth teller and God does not lie. And we believe God concerning these things. And what is it else that Peter talks about here? Not only this inheritance, but he talks about a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I think we can make the case from this statement as we talked about on Easter Sunday. that our resurrection is based upon the fact of Christ's resurrection. That we live in hope today that one day God will raise our bodies from the dead. We're going to go to the grave, but we have the promise of it being raised to life. And so, we have this future promise. We have this inheritance that's waiting for our possession of it. What is the inheritance? What is it that Peter is talking about? Well, I think simply put, we could say that it's all that the believer will enjoy in heaven for all of eternity. all that the believer will have and will enjoy throughout all of eternity. And again, the Holy Spirit of God, the indwelling Spirit of God is the down payment for the guarantee concerning this inheritance and concerning this living hope. Well, the next thing that Peter shows us is also the preservation of our faith. Verse 5, "...who by God's power are being guarded, some translations say kept, through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. Now get this statement based on what was just previously said. Not only is the inheritance guarded for Christians, but we are guarded for the inheritance. On the one hand, God guarantees and guards our inheritance. It's safe in heaven. But God also guards us for the inheritance. Isn't that a beautiful thought? Not only is He keeping our inheritance, He's keeping us. He's holding fast to us. What is the doctrine here that Peter's talking about? Well, he's talking about the doctrine of the preservation of the saints. And really there's two elements of this, two things you need to understand about this. And I hope you get this if you haven't yet. If you're a newer believer and maybe you haven't thought deeply about this yet or been exposed to it, you need to understand what Peter's talking about and really the doctrine that's going on in the text is that God preserves the believer and the evidence of His preserving the believer is our perseverance. So you could say on the one hand, from the divine side, there's this power of God that's guarding us, that's keeping us. But then from the human side, we continue in faith. There's God's preserving and there's our persevering. There's our continuing in the faith. I hope you get that. I hope that you understand that. Many times you'll hear in Christian theology the concept of the perseverance of the saints. And the perseverance of the saints is simply the evidence that a person is being preserved by God. That they truly have experienced salvation. This is articulated in many places in the Bible. Perhaps the greatest expression of this in the New Testament concerning God's preservation of the believer is found in Jude. Listen to verse 24 and 25. Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy. Till the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord be glory, majesty, dominion and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen. Did you catch that? This doxology now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, to keep you from falling away. It's God who is preserving. It's God who is holding on to His own. I also love in Colossians chapter number 1, verse 21 and 23. This is a little bit more from the human side, from our perspective of persevering in the faith. Colossians 1, 21, "...and you who were once alienated, and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds." See, there's a description of what we were before Christ. He is now reconciled in the body of flesh by His death, now get this, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel. There it is, that blessed hope, that living hope. which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister." What are the apostles teaching us about these things? What's Peter saying? Peter's saying, yes, you have an inheritance kept for you, but you're being kept for the inheritance. God is doing a preserving work by God's power. You, not just your inheritance, but you are being guarded. And how? What's the human side of that? Through faith. God preserves the evidences that you persevere and continue on in the faith. You know, I love the modern hymn, and I know many of you do too. I think it expresses these concepts really well. He will hold me fast. When I fear my faith will fail, Christ will hold me fast. When the tempter would prevail, He will hold me fast. I could never keep my hold through life's fearful path, for my love is often cold. He must hold me fast. Listen to this statement. Those He saves are His delight. Christ will hold me fast. Precious in His holy sight, He will hold me fast. He'll not let my soul be lost. His promises shall last. That's what we're talking about. The promises of God. bought by Him at such a cost, He will hold me fast. For my life He bled and died, Christ will hold me fast. Justice has been satisfied, He will hold me fast. Raised with Him to endless life, He will hold me fast. Till our faith is turned to sight when He comes at last, He will hold me fast. He will hold me fast. For my Savior loves me so, He will hold me fast." Isn't that beautiful? Peter wants us to understand this big picture concept of our faith. You experience the birth of faith. And with that faith comes all of these wonderful blessings and all of these wonderful promises. And with all of those wonderful blessings and promises also comes the promise of God to preserve you and to keep you and to hold on to you. But here's where the story takes a little bit of a turn in Peter's explanation. And this comes to a subject maybe upon first thinking about it that is somewhat uncomfortable or something that we don't want to have to deal with in our Christian experience. But something that is a truism for all believers and that is the testing of our faith. The testing of our faith. Notice verse 6 and 7. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it's tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Peter shows us here in this passage again that this is a truism for every believer. You know, if you've been walking with the Lord Jesus for very long, you know that this is the fact. That you have gone through certain tests. That you have gone through certain trials. And if you are a newer believer, or maybe one who's even standing back and contemplating the things of the faith and the cost and what it's going to mean if you are a Christ follower. You need to understand that the Scripture doesn't cover over the fact that you're going to go through difficulties. And you're going to go through trials, and you're going to go through troubles. And you're going to face some challenges in life. It's a truism. Just mark it down. Every believer is going to face trials and troubles. Some of you this morning are in the middle of trials and troubles and difficulties. And your faith is being tested. You're being challenged today. This is part of the Christian story, isn't it? It's just part of the experience. But the Bible teaches us that when this happens, it is a grace to the believer. When you step back and think of trials and troubles, do you consider it a grace? Do you think of it in those terms? You should, because the Bible puts it on those terms. That it's a gracious thing that happens to the believer. Because here Peter tells us in verse number 7 that God is working out purposes for our life. He's doing things in the midst of those trials that are for our good. And you say, Brother Kyle, what is the purpose? What is the good that comes out of the middle of the trial? Well, tests are for the purpose of testing whether or not our faith is genuine. How would you ever know that you had genuine saving faith if it was never tested? If it was never tried? If it hadn't gone through the fires of affliction, as it were? You see, when you go through the fiery furnace, it's the fire and it's the heat that begins to press upon you to reveal the true reality of your life. You know the old saying, the illustration that's been used so many times, that of a diamond, it has to go through the heat for all of the externals to come off so that the true diamond can shine forth. All the dross has to be melted away. God has purposes in the life of the believer. He's testing the genuineness. Now think about this for a moment. You say, I don't like trials. It's hard. It's tough. I don't like to be in the middle of all of those things. Yes, but let me give you the encouragement of Scripture as to why you should embrace it, and why you should see it, and why you should understand that this is a big part of the picture of the Christian life. It's important. You need to stand back and look at it and say, alright, this is just part of it. I'm going to go through it. And here's the encouragement behind that. When you have trials and tests of faith, and you go through those trials, and you come out on the other side, and your faith is still intact, and you're still holding to your faith, and you haven't abandoned the faith, and you're still clinging tightly to the Lord Jesus Christ, what does that say about what you profess to have? It's genuine. It's real. It's been proven in the heat of affliction, in the time of difficulty. Your faith has proven true. And when your faith has proven true, what is the result of that for you as a Christian? It gives cause for rejoicing. You understand that Peter connects passing the trial and passing the test. He connects that with your assurance of salvation. Isn't it interesting that Peter does much of the same thing in 2 Peter chapter 1? When he says, you know what, if these qualities are in you, and if they're increasing, and if they're growing, and Christ-like character is being formed in you, you have every reason to rejoice that you're actually a believer. And here he's saying the exact same thing, it's just that the test is something different. In 2 Peter, it's the test of Christian character, and in 1 Peter, it's the test of the trial of faith that's going to determine whether or not you hold fast or become an apostate. It's the test that reveals what you have. You might have heard me tell this story before, but it just came to my mind, so I'll tell it to you again. In the Second World War, World War II, There was a group of German soldiers that came upon a room where there were some Christians that were huddled down and they were reading the Bible together. And they barged into the room with their machine guns and they're standing before those professing Christians and they say, any of you who don't want to lose your life, leave now. And about half of that group got up. Then those German soldiers, they took their guns and they put them against the wall after that group left and they said, now we know who the real Christians are. We want to worship with you. You see, it was a test. It was a trial that proved the genuineness. You see, this is God's purpose in our life. And when God works those trials, as Scripture teaches us in Romans chapter 8, God is working all things together for good. And you say, Brother Kyle, what's the good? You may not know all the good, but at least part of the good is the fact that you would come out on the other side with greater assurance because your faith has stood the test of the trial. By the way, let me also say to you, That if you profess faith in Jesus Christ and then you go through a trial and you don't continue in the faith, but you turn from the faith, the Bible calls this apostasy. And it proves the fact that you never had what you actually professed to say that you had. So this is very important for us to examine. You know, tests and trials can come in so many different shapes and sizes, can't they? It can be tough circumstances, afflictions, hardships, monetary hardships. It can be in the form of relationships that you have with people. It can come in so many different ways. It can come in a hardship. But the true Christian may go through those things. They still say, though He slay me, I will worship Him. Who have I in heaven but You? And who or what is there on earth that I desire more than You? Everything else may fail, right? As the psalmist would say in Psalm 73, but you are my portion. You're my strength. You're my portion forever, you see? Also, one more note before I pass on to the next big picture concept. Mind this well, please, if you're here today and you don't know the Lord Jesus. You need to understand that the trials of life that you go through now are simply a foretaste of your eternal existence in hell. They're just a foretaste. Think of the worst thing that you've ever gone through and understand it's nothing in comparison to the suffering that will be for the person who's outside of Jesus. You see, the Christian can go through the worst kind of suffering that can be known on this planet. And they can say, And you know what? That's as bad as it's ever gonna get for you. Ah, but for the person that's outside of Christ, that's the best that it's ever gonna be for them. Because what they'll experience in the future is far worse. So my friend, I encourage you to think about these things today. If you don't know the Lord Jesus, The next time you go through that trial, understand it's simply a foretaste of what's coming in the future. And should it supply the motivation to respond to the seeds of the gospel that have been sown in your heart through the preaching of the Word, so that you would run to the Lord Jesus for shelter, so that you would see Christ as the safe haven, that you would run to Him and so be saved. Well, next I want you to see, Peter gives us another part of the big picture of our salvation. He talks about the object and the joy of our faith. And what is the object and joy of our faith? It's Jesus Christ. Notice verse number 8. Speaking of Jesus Christ, though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not see Him, you believe in Him. and you rejoice with a joy that's inexpressible and filled with glory. Isn't that wonderful? You know, I think it's interesting that Peter would say this because Peter was a man who had seen Jesus. Peter had a unique experience, and the apostles, that they saw Jesus face to face, but they also had the experience after Jesus left to experience Jesus now the way that we experience Jesus. And Peter is commenting on the fact that these believers, who hadn't seen the Lord Jesus Christ, still love Him. They still love Him. And this is true of us today. We haven't seen Jesus face to face, but what is it that Peter says that's just a truism for the believer? That your love and your affection is set on who? It's set upon the Lord Jesus. Paul would say in 1 Corinthians 16, verse 22, If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Let the one who has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. You know, but the Christian, the anthem of the Christian is that we love Christ, don't we? We stand together and we say, yes, I love the Lord Jesus Christ. No, I have not seen Him, but I love Him. I believe upon Him. My love is set upon Him. And because of Jesus, because of this salvation, My love for Jesus as the object of my salvation produces within me a joy that is inexpressible, that cannot be found in money, or sex, or drugs, or anything else this world has to offer. Because there's no joy that's comparable to the joy and the satisfaction that a soul experiences when Jesus Christ is the object of their affections. This is why Peter would say, you haven't seen Him, but you love Him. You have a living hope because of the Holy Spirit of God who lives within you, that testifies to Jesus, that shows you truth about Jesus, that causes the words of this book, the words of God, to come alive when you hear truth about Jesus. Just the mention of His name. There's no sweeter name, is there? It's a joyful thing. And Peter says, you have joy that cannot be expressed because of what you have in Christ. And by the way, that joy is there even in the midst of the trials. When your circumstances are awful and terrible, you can still say, I have joy. Because it's not rooted in the circumstances. Listen, if you're not committed to Jesus Christ, if you're still floundering around like the Proverbs would say about the one who hasn't made a commitment, the simpleton or the fool who's uncommitted. The only thing they're committed to is not being committed. If you're on that side of the aisle, the message of scripture is that there is a joy that's inexpressible because it's not based on the next circumstance. It's rooted in an object, it's rooted in a person. You don't have to look for experiences in this life or circumstances in this life to find joy and contentment and satisfaction and meaning for your soul. I wonder today, if you think about what Peter's saying, do you love him? Do you have love for Jesus in your heart? Also, Peter says, you haven't seen Him, but you believe upon Him. Are you believing today? I'm not asking you if you believed sometime in the past. I'm asking now, today, this moment. As you sat in the pew and as you listened to the Word of God, can you say today, yes, I am believing this moment right now. I'm believing upon Jesus. True salvation is something that happened in the past that has continual results. Continual faith, continual believing, continual trusting. Do you have this inexpressible joy? Do you have what Peter is talking about? Are these concepts that Peter is mentioning something that's foreign to you? Or you say, preacher, I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know anything about that. Listen, it's here. It's here and it's found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you seen the glory and the excellence of Christ? We're blind to His surpassing beauty. Well, Peter, as he brings the picture of faith to an end, he shows us in verse number nine, lastly, the outcome of our faith. I love this verse. You have a joy that's inexpressible and filled with glory. Verse nine, notice that word obtaining and notice the word outcome. obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Or we could say it this way, obtaining the outcome of your faith, even the salvation of your souls. You know, Peter wants you to understand today, if you say that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, If you have joy in Christ, if you love Him, if you're believing upon Him, although the fullness of your salvation, the bodily aspect of your salvation is future, you need to understand that the salvation of your soul is now a reality. You've already received the outcome of salvation, the salvation of your soul. You possess it now. You know, I've mentioned this verse, so this is another verse that's just kind of been on my mind lately. It's the verse in Corinthians where Paul talks about the outer man wasting away, but the inner man being renewed day by day. That inner man, that soul that has obtained salvation, it's maturing and growing, isn't it? It's becoming more and more like Christ already, right now, in the present, this moment. You've obtained certain elements of your salvation, haven't you? There's this already but not yet tension in the life of the believer that we, yes, we have it now, it's a done deal, it's a for certain thing, we have been predestined to be conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we haven't taken possession of all of that as an actual reality yet. We have received the outcome of our faith, the salvation of our soul, but we still wait for that future aspect. of that bodily resurrection, bodily salvation that's promised to us and reserved for us in heaven. So what has Peter shown us concerning this start to finish faith or this big picture of salvation? There was a birth that brought about faith. We possess the blessings and the promises of faith. God is preserving us and we are persevering in the faith. There will certainly be trials that test our faith. Jesus is the object and joy of our faith and the outcome of our faith in Christ is that it results in true salvation. Our souls now, our bodies later. One more thought this morning. When I began I told you we had an introductory perspective about our salvation and I wanted you to see the magnitude of your salvation. I want you to be reminded of the magnitude of who God is and the magnitude of this great salvation that he's given to you. And then we've talked about this feature, the big picture features of our faith. And then lastly, one more perspective that you need to understand about your salvation. And I've already hinted on it, but it's the privilege of our salvation. That it's an amazing privilege that we have to have this salvation. Listen to what Peter says in verse 10 and following. Concerning this salvation. What salvation? The salvation that you have. Alright, listen. 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, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit. sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look." What Peter is saying here, his point in these verses, is to show us how privileged we are that we know and understand truths about salvation that the prophets of old didn't understand. And truths about salvation that even the angels desire to look into. Is that not staggering? Peter's talking about the prophets of old as the Holy Spirit of God worked in their lives, the Spirit moved upon them to write prophecies. And they would sit back and write the prophecy and then read it, but they didn't understand who the fulfillment of it was going to be. Can you imagine Isaiah? As he writes that glorious Isaiah 53 and he talks about the career of Christ but yet it's hidden from him. Who is this gonna be? God is revealing through His Spirit to the prophets and then here we are on the other side of that and now we take the New Testament and we shine it back on those old prophetic scriptures and we see Christ because He's been revealed to us in the New Testament. And we stand back and we say, wow, what a privilege. These people of old, the prophets of old, they desired to look into these things. They wanted to understand, Peter says, they weren't serving themselves. They were serving you. And here you are on this side of the cross, on this side of the revelation of Jesus Christ that brings us into the last days. And now you stand back and you have full understanding because it's been revealed to us. The prophets of old didn't get it. They didn't understand the specific person, Jesus. You say, what about the angels? What is it about the angels? What do they desire to look into? You know, I would say there's probably a lot of interpretations about this. But what I would say about it is that we experience something about God that the angels don't experience about God. We experience redeeming grace. And the angels don't experience redeeming grace. Now the angels experience grace. It was gracious that God created them. By the way, angels are created beings. It was a grace that God created them, just like it's a grace that you were given life. But when the angels fell, there was no redemption for the fallen angels. And can you imagine? Here we are, a bunch of bankrupt, messed up sinners, and God sends His one and only Son in the world to redeem us from that horrific fall and from sin. And the angels look down on that because they don't experience that attribute about God. And they stand back and they say, wow, look at this attribute of God that we don't know anything about experientially. Have you ever thought about angels yourself and wondered what they're experiencing today? Have you ever taken the position that the angel takes? The angel says, we desire to look into the things that these humans experience. But have you ever said, I desire to look into the things that the angels experience? Have you ever done that? I have. I've wondered what angels are doing. Well, I know they're praising God. I know they're worshiping Christ. But they do a lot more than that, don't they? They're ministers, the Bible says. and they experience things about God that we have not yet experienced about God or seen about God. And even the angels themselves desire to look into this redeeming grace. That's why the hymn writer would say, redeeming grace or redeeming love has been my theme and shall be what class? Till I die. It's a marvel. It's a privilege is the point. That's what we're trying to say. To be the recipient of the knowledge of Jesus Christ that the prophets didn't know about, and to be the recipient of redeeming grace is a perspective that makes you stand back and say, man, I am so privileged by God to have these things. You know, Jesus, even when He walked the earth, He said this, Matthew 13, verse 16 and 17, after the parables here are given. This is what Jesus says, it's amazing. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly I say to you, many prophets and righteous people long to see what you see and did not see it and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. What privilege. A salvation of great magnitude. A big picture perspective that we see all of these marvelous things that God has done in our salvation. And an amazing perspective that this is a wonderful privilege. Really, it should lead us to the same kind of doxology that Paul gave in Romans 11. In verse number 36 he says, for from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever, amen. Don't you see, all of the truth of God is shoving you down a funnel to where you come out the other end where your hands are lifted high saying praise be to God alone. Today I take the perspective of Peter. I think it right as long as I'm in this body to stir you up by way of reminder. Have you seen these things? Have you understood the magnitude of your salvation? Do you understand these big picture concepts, this start to finish faith, this great privilege that you have? Here's my question to you now. If you do, will you take hold of these truths and make use of them for the good of your soul? That's the purpose. Remind yourself of them so your worship will be more informed and transcendent. Listen to me. Your worship of God will become more transcendent the more you inform your mind with the truth about what God has revealed, about Himself and about His Son. That's what increases worship. You know, for most of our churches today, they have to put on light shows and get a rock band and entertain people because they do not have a transcendent view and understanding of God. The greater understanding that you have of God, the more transcendent your worship will be. And you don't need all that stuff. All that stuff appeals to the flesh, not the Spirit. If the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, you need the knowledge of God that's revealed in the Scriptures, and your worship will rise. Make use of the truth of God. Also, remind yourself of these things as a means of encouragement, because we have a living hope, don't we? God doesn't want His people walking around all day with the mully grubs. God wants you to be encouraged. He wants you to have joy. Christianity is celebratory. Also remind yourself of these things as a means to stimulate greater growth and maturity. Remind yourself of these things as a means of fueling personal evangelism. To go to the lost person and say, listen, I have this joy. I have a Christ. I've been saved from my sins. Let me tell you about God. I want you to come along with me. One day we're going to be standing before the throne worshiping and praising the Lamb that was slain from before the foundation of the earth. And I love you, and I care about you, and I want you there with me. Praising God. Giving glory to God. Because that's why I made you. That's why I created you. That's where you're going to find your joy. That's where my joy is at. And I want you to have my joy. That's evangelism. It's not you coming up with some little four-point plan. It's speaking of the joy and the goodness and the glory and the excellence of Christ. Make use of these truths and it will come out of you. Also, remind yourself of these things so that no matter your circumstances, your joy will still be full, no matter what comes. Finally, I need to ask today, have you ever come to know these truths? I'm not talking about in the head. I'm talking about experientially. When I speak of these things today, can you say, I claim those things for my own? He's talking about things that belong to me. Can you say that today? Can you look in this passage and see these glorious things and say, this is me? Have you come to know Him? Have you come to know Him personally and experientially and savingly and intimately? Have you experienced redeeming grace in Christ that the angels desire to look into? Men of old, angels, they wanna understand these things. And here you've been given this great privilege today, but do you know, do you understand, have you made use of the opportunity that God has placed before you? Maybe I could say it this way, to press it on you even more strongly. Will you take hold? Has God worked such a work? Maybe this moment as you sit in the pew, is God working such a work in your heart this moment where you see the beauty and the glory of Christ and say, I will. I will. Will you today take hold of these saving truths in Christ if you haven't? I invite you today. Listen. The sermon today is an invitation. The sermon today is an invitation to saint and sinner alike. It's an invitation to the saint to enjoy greater joy and fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's an invitation to the sinner to say, come into the joy of the Lord Jesus. So I ask you both, saint and sinner alike, will you take hold of what God has provided in this glorious gospel of Jesus Christ? Father, we thank you today for your word. Lord, we thank you for these truths that are meant to be for the eternal well-being of our soul. And Father, only you through the power of your Spirit today can cause anyone to take heed of these things. And Lord, that's the miracle that we pray for. Lord, we've preached, we've explained. Father, I pray that working through me today that your Spirit has given clarity today to the minds of your people. Lord, I pray that the messages come across with clarity. And Father, that it's easy to understand. But Lord, only your Spirit can give the true experiential knowledge of these things. Only your Spirit can make these things effective, effectual. And Lord, again, this is the miracle. Somebody can plant, somebody else can water, but you have to give the increase, you have to give the growth. And Lord, we recognize today as your people that we're not where we need to be. Lord, that we have much to learn, that we have much knowledge that we need to gain, much truth from the Scriptures. And Father, I pray that we would never rest satisfied in what we know or we would be proud and puffed up by what we know. But Lord, that we would be humbled by what we don't know and what we do know. Lord, that your people would have a humble disposition about them. Lord, that we would take on the position of the psalmist crying out to You to teach us wonderful things out of Your law. Father, not only do the saints today need encouragement and building up in the truth of Scripture, Lord, but those who don't know You. Father, I pray this moment as I'm praying, Lord, that Your Spirit is working, convicting of sin and righteousness and judgment. Lord, that Your Spirit is showing the one who is outside of Christ, how good you are, and how much of a willing reception you give to the one who comes to you by faith. Father, help them to see that. Help them to see your goodness and your patience, that you've given them life and breath, and that you haven't struck them down because of their sin, but they're still standing only by grace. Father, bring them all the way home. Bring them to yourself. Show them the beauty of Jesus. We pray all these things in Christ's precious, precious name. Amen.