Well, let me lead us in prayer and we're going to dive right into things this morning. Father, we look to you and we thank you for all that you have been pleased to reveal of yourself. We know there is so much we see and learn of you just in the in the realm of all that you have created in all of its complexity and beauty and wonder. And it certainly points back to you and displays your glory and your power and realities of your nature. But we know even more that you have revealed the fullness of yourself and the redemption that you've designed and accomplished in the Lord Jesus Christ through your word that you have given to us, and this to the end, that we might know you through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that in knowing you we might grow in all of the hope and the riches and the power of all that you have accomplished in the Lord Jesus Christ, the great blessings that you have given to your people in him. And so we pray that our time this morning, not only in this class, but also into the worship service, that you would be exalted and that you would strengthen us in the knowledge of you. For every brother and sister who knows you through faith, that you would encourage, strengthen, and purify that faith. And for any who are with us who don't know you through faith in Christ, that today would be the day of salvation, that you might be pleased to open their eyes and to humble their hearts and to draw them to repentance and faith in you. So we pray all of this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen. Amen. Well, we are in week two of our series entitled Christians and Civil Government, Christians and Politics. And I mentioned at the beginning of last week that we all typically have a lot of questions about how Christians should relate to the civil government and how we should interact with politics. And I would really like to know what some of those questions might be from any of you. And rather than taking any moments right now to just kind of cold turkey ask what questions you have, I do want to encourage you, if you have questions, just shoot me an email. In talking with Tim, who's also going to be teaching a few of these sessions in the coming weeks, we thought it might be good to add a week to the schedule of just questions and answers. Certainly, there's dialogue and things that happen as we go through this week to week. But for that reason, we added another week, as you see on the schedule on the back of your bulletin on December 1st, just a week dedicated to questions and answers. So if you have any kinds of specific questions either now or things that come to mind don't hesitate to email us I think only my email is on the bulletin, but Tim's is just Tim at River City grace org as well so feel free to email us and we'll try to answer those questions specifically either either in the course of our going through things over the coming weeks or certainly in that Q&A time that we'll plan on December 1st. So I want to encourage you in that way. And as always, as we move through things even this morning, if you have thoughts or questions, don't hesitate to raise your hand and we can interact. And I'll try to give a few moments here and there as we go through things for some questions and discussion as well. But for now, as we get back into this this morning, I would encourage you just to make note of the objectives that we're pursuing with this series. I won't go through those, but they're there on the front of your bulletin to be reminded of that. And then again, the outline of the series that's on the back of the bulletin for this six-week series. And we are in week two and these first three weeks we're looking at six foundational biblical truths. We're looking at two of these truths each week and then we're going to take three weeks to explore six key biblical obligations and also taking two of those obligations each week. Now you might ask why these particular Why these foundations? Why these obligations? What is it that ties these topics together? And that's a super valid question. And the answer is that ultimately all of these biblical topics are intended to help inform the way that we who are Christians should think and speak and act in relation to civil government and politics. Now, right up front, I want to acknowledge, I know that probably not everybody in this room is a Christian. Not everybody has come to faith in Christ. But if that's the case for you, then our prayer is certainly that God would bring you to true saving faith in Christ and that you would know the joy and the hope of the forgiveness of your sins and being reconciled to God and having eternal life through faith in Christ. And so we're very, very glad that you're here. But the focus of the course is particularly for those who have come to faith in Christ and to help us with our thinking, with our speaking, with our acting, that it would be informed and focused by God's word. And I want to say just a little bit more about this by way of introduction to help us have a sense of, again, what ties all these things together. Would somebody be willing to read Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2? Romans chapter 12, verses one and two. Could somebody read that for me, please? Yes, Matt, I see that hand. Romans 12, one and two. Romans 12, one and two. I appeal to you, therefore, brothers, by the mercy of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world. And go on through the rest of it. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Okay, excellent. And this is a just a key passage. I mean, what passage of scripture is not key? But this is, of course, a very key passage. And for Christians, having come to experience the transforming power of God's mercies in Christ, which is what Paul unpacks in chapters 1 through 11 of Romans chapter 12, this passage now is telling us that the only proper response to having been transformed by God's mercies in Christ, the only proper response is worship of God with all that we are in all And that's what Paul is saying in verse 1. And then he goes on to say in verse 2 that this means not being conformed to this world. In other words, not thinking, not speaking, not acting according to the world's affections, the world's philosophies, the world's agendas and priorities. But rather, we're to be transformed by the renewal of our minds so that we can discern God's good, acceptable, and perfect will. And this renewal of our minds happens according to God's Word, by God's Word, as we know God's Word, as we trust God's Word, as we obey God's Word. And so what ties the topics in our series together is that these truths that we're looking at should help us to be able to discern and obey God's will for how we're to relate to civil government and politics. And I would just mention the disclaimer I think I mentioned this last week as well this is not exhaustive we're not looking at every truth or obligation that could be looked at and we're not exhausting everything that could be thought about and talked about regarding all of this but we see these as just some very key and foundational truths that help kind of give us a big picture of reality. And so in other words, these biblical truths and obligations that we're looking at are intended to inform our worship and our worldview. Our view and our understanding of reality so that regarding government and politics, among other things, we can think, speak, and act in ways that please God, that we can discern God's will and seek to obey Him and please Him. I did mention last week that our theology determines our politics, and so these topics and obligations are intended to help inform our theology and help impact our politics, if you will, then, in God-glorifying ways. And so that's just a little bit of perspective of why we're pursuing these things and how it ties these things together. Any thoughts or questions about that before we dive into the next topic we're going to look at this morning? Any thoughts or questions? Clear as mud, as they say. Hopefully it's clearer than mud. Well good. Well last week we talked about the path of history as we saw in Ephesians 1 verses 9 and 10 how history is ultimately moving in God's sovereign design and power and control to the uniting of all things in heaven and on earth in Christ. That's the culminating point of history in God's design. We also looked at the depravity of man as Paul speaks of this in Ephesians chapter 2 verses 1 to 3 the reality that every human being that ever has lived is living and will live is dead in trespasses and sins spiritually and alienated, separated from God in trespasses and sins, and are in need of the grace, the mercy, the life that only God can give, that he has accomplished and given in Christ and that he imparts through his spirit. But that is a defining reality for us to understand the nature of humanity, both with regard to where history is going and to the depravity of man. So today, Lord willing, we're gonna look at the hope of the gospel and the mission of the church and see how these relate and then think through implications of how these truths impact our understanding of civil government and politics and our relationship to it all. So first of all, for a little bit, we'll talk about the hope of the gospel. And I want to open this by making reference to a book that was written many years ago, a number of years ago, some of you may have heard of it, called The Audacity of Hope. And it was written by former President Barack Obama. And it was published in 2006, which was when he was still a senator. And it was leading up to his 2008 election as president. And of course, he served two consecutive terms from 2009 to 2017, but this was his manifesto, as it were, and it was entitled The Audacity of Hope. I just want to read you a little bit of the description of this book on Amazon. It says this, In July of 2004, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners' minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we've always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Obama called the audacity of hope. The audacity of hope is Barack Obama's call for a different brand of politics, politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the endless clash of armies. We see in Congress and on the campaign trail a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of our improbable experiment in democracy. Obama explores those forces from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media, those forces that can stifle even the best intentioned politician. He also writes with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor about settling in as a senator seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life and of his own deepening religious commitment. At the heart of this book is Barack Obama's vision, note that, of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats from terrorism to pandemic that gather beyond our shores. It's interesting he wrote this, of course, number of years before COVID. Well, he goes on, this thing goes on to say, and he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his stories about family, friends, and members of the Senate is a vigorous search for connection, the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus. a public servant and a lawyer, a professor and a father, a Christian and a skeptic, which is interesting, and above all, a student of history and human nature, Barack Obama has written a book of transforming power. It's amazing, isn't it? Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, he says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Christians, or ordinary Americans, I should say. End of quote. Lengthy quote. Now, the reason I share all of that is because here we are 18 years after The book was published almost eight years after President Obama left office. And even if we're only looking at America, let alone around the world, but only at America, what do we see of his transforming vision? What do we see of this audacity of hope? Well, I don't know about you, but gazing at the current cultural, political, and moral climate of the country, if I'm looking only at that, I'm not thinking audacious hope. I'm thinking of pervasive despair. It's a myth, it's a myth. But if we fix our eyes on Jesus Christ and if we fix our eyes on the hope of the gospel, he and the hope of his gospel is the source of real, powerful, and genuinely transforming hope. Jesus Christ is the most audacious of all hopes because he is the hope who is true and who is living and who is unchanging. And so again, building on the things we looked at last week about the path of history and about the depravity of man, let's look at the hope of the gospel. And we're going to zero in on one main text of scripture, 1 Peter chapter 1. And we'll look at this a little bit and then we'll think through some of the implications that come out of this together. Now I'd like to again ask for some volunteers to read a few portions of this, and then we'll get to those in a moment. But first of all, would somebody read verses 3 through 5? Or let me just assign it, and then I'll ask for you to read it in a few moments. But would somebody be willing to read verses 3 to 5? 1 Peter 1. Lillian, excellent. And then somebody to read verses 6 to 9. Yes, Chen Wei, got that. And then Lori, I see your hand, if you would read verses 10 through 12. And then Tim, did I see your hand? Verse 13, in a few moments, okay. And before we get into the book itself, and you see the focus of what I want to highlight in the outline here, the hope of the gospel declared in verses 3 to 12, and then the hope of the gospel applied beginning in verse 13. But before we do that, let me set just a little bit of background. Peter tells us over in chapter 5, near the end of the chapter, in verse 12, why he has written this book. You notice there near the end of verse 12 in chapter 5, he says, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it. So he's explicitly telling us his purpose in why he's writing everything that he's writing, to stand firm in God's grace. But I want to couple that thought, stand firm in God's grace, with what we're also going to hear Peter talk about in chapter 1 regarding the hope that we are to set our minds on. So that comes into his thinking as well. So we can just broaden his purpose just a little bit to say, stand firm in the hope of God's grace in Jesus Christ. That's why he's writing this letter. That's why the Spirit of God is writing this through him. For God's people to stand firm in the hope of God's grace in Jesus Christ. Amid the many different forms of suffering that happen through earthly trials in this life, amid the many different spiritual earthquakes, spiritual hurricanes that we face, stand firm in the hope of God's grace in Jesus Christ. And this is the good news. This is the gospel that Peter says at the end of chapter one that was preached to people who would receive it through faith. And so he makes reference to the good news to the gospel in verse 25 of chapter 1. So that's his purpose that God's people would stand firm in the hope of God's grace in Jesus Christ. And then really the outline of the book in its simplest form it begins with a a customary opening and greeting with very rich things that Peter says in verses 1 and 2. And then you see there in your outline the hope of the gospel declared in verses 3 through 12 of chapter 1. And then really the rest of the book from verse 13 of chapter 1 to near the end is the hope of the gospel applied. So that's the simplest outline. And then there's a closing and a benediction in verses 12 to 14 of chapter 5. So that just gives you a little bit of sense of the structure of the book. So at the very front end, with the intent of encouraging and exhorting God's people to stand firm in the hope of God's grace in Christ, he declares the hope of the gospel. That's what we see in verses three through 12. Now I should mention that this is one long sentence in the Greek, similar to what we saw last week in Ephesians chapter one with Paul's declaration of God's blessings verses three to 14. Here in verses three to 12, Peter has one long sentence in the Greek, where again, he's kind of stumbling over himself with words, and he speaks of three aspects here of salvation in Christ. So I just wanna highlight these. First of all, let's hear verses three through five, and Lillian, I think that's you, right? So verses three through five. God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for his salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. All right, excellent. Thank you so much, Lillian. What we see here is that Jesus Christ himself is the living hope of salvation. Jesus Christ is the living hope of salvation. And in Jesus, God has revealed himself. And what we find in all that is there in verses 3 to 5 is that he's shown great mercy and he has brought about new birth to those who believe. He's imparted a living hope through Christ's resurrection. That's why it's living, because Christ is living. He's given us a heavenly and secure inheritance as he describes that in verse four and he's guarding believers by his own power as he says in verse five. So God has given us new life in Christ causing us to be born again into this living hope. And even think about in context of our spiritual deadness as Paul explained in Ephesians chapter 2 which we saw last week in verses 1 to 3. Paul goes on to say there in verse 4 and following that it is God who has made us alive in Christ. We've been saved by his grace and that's what moves us from absolute hopelessness to living hope secure hope eternal hope in Christ. And so that's the first thing that Peter's addressing there in verses three to five, that Christ is the living hope of salvation. Well, then listen to what he goes on to say in verses six through nine. And who has that? Chin Moy? Yeah. Verses six through nine. In this you rejoice, though not for a little while necessary. You have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Excellent. Now, flowing from this reality that Jesus is the living hope of salvation for all who believe, because of that, he's also the inexpressible joy of salvation, as Peter speaks of there. Even amid various trials, because we know him and have living hope in him, There is a joy inexpressible, even as we're tested and refined in our faith through the trials that God ordains. And again, you know, with all of these, there's so much that could be unpacked, but I want you to just see the big picture of the nature of this hope. Jesus is the living hope of our salvation. He's the inexpressible joy of our salvation. And then there's also a third aspect that is highlighted by Peter with what he says in verses 10 to 12. Lori, you wanna read that, verses 10 to 12? Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what persons or time the spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent worries. was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you and the things that they now have 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 go. This passage is building again on what Peter's already said. Jesus is not only the living hope, he's not only the inexpressible joy of our salvation, but I call this the prophetic splendor of our salvation. He's the fulfillment of all that God had been pleased to prophesy of him in the Old Testament. And once again, there's a lot of richness and fullness that Peter describes and speaks of there, but he's expressing that which is intended to bolster believers' trust and faith and confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in God's Word. and with all of the previous prophecy that God had given that was somewhat puzzling and mysterious to the prophets through whom God was pleased to reveal those things and even things in which angels long to look because they're a different kind of being than human beings. They're not made in God's image and so they gaze into the wonders and the riches of this salvation because of the glory of what God is doing. And in all of this, in verses 3 to 12, Peter is revealing, God is revealing through him, the greatness of the substance of the hope we have in Christ. It is Christ, in and through his life, death, and resurrection, who's the living hope, who is the inexpressible joy, the mysterious joy, even in the midst of trials, and the prophetic splendor. He's the substance of all of it. Well, this leads then to the foundation that is then applied through the rest of the letter regarding how we are to live in this hope of the gospel, in this hope of Christ. So beginning with verse 13, this is where Peter now begins to apply this. And you see the therefore, you'll hear the therefore that begins verse 13. Tim, you wanna read just verse 13? Therefore preparing our minds for action and being sober-minded, Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Okay, so this sets the focus for everything Peter's going to go on to exhort throughout the rest of the letter. And I might mention that beginning in verse 13 and going through chapter 2, verse 14, there's a series of more general exhortations, or no, going through verse 12 of chapter 2, there's a series of more general exhortations And then beginning in verse 13 of chapter 2 to near the end of the book, the exhortations become more specific. But you see how they're established in this hope that believers have in Jesus Christ, this living hope, and with that broad but very focused exhortation in verse 13 of chapter one that we are to prepare our minds for action in light of this hope. We're to fix our minds, we're to be sober minded and to set our hope fully on the grace to be brought to us at the revelation of Christ. To rejoice in and recognize the hope we now have and what the full revelation of the grace of God is. when Christ returns is going to be. We're to resolve, in other words, to live in the hope of the gospel. And in scripture, by the way, this concept of hope is not wishful thinking, which is often the way we think of it. I hope such and such is going to happen later today. I hope such and such is going to happen in my life. And it's more of a wishful thought, right? It may happen, may not happen. We don't know. We hope it's going to happen, but we're not sure. But biblical hope is absolute certainty. It is confident assurance that God has done what he has revealed and he will do all that he has promised. And so the writer of Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1, Hope is being sure of what we hope for, or faith is being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see. You see how hope is obviously connected with faith, but it is an absolute certainty. It's truly audacious because it's real and it will happen according to what God has promised. So we're called to resolve with this general exhortation to set our hope on faith. Christ and to set our hope on the grace that will be brought at the revelation of Christ. Now that begs the question, well what's it look like? What does it look like to set your hope fully on God's coming in Christ? And I would just solicit some input for a few moments. What does that look like? As you think about that in your own life, what does it look like to strive to set your hope on Christ and on the grace to come. But we're recognizing that he is in control. Yeah, excellent. That's a great way of explaining it. Yeah, we're not denying the reality of circumstances and things that can be hard, grievous, painful, difficult, as well as pleasant things God brings. But we're not letting those circumstances define our hope, right? But God and what God has revealed. So excellent, yeah. Striving to do that. That's the battle of faith. Yeah. Any other thoughts about what it might look like? Yeah, Matt? that there's hope there. It's like you can get disbonded when you're struggling with sin. It's very easy to do. So keep your eyes on the hope where Christ will help you stop not being disbonded. And when you're doing well, Your hope on Christ is not, I mean, your hope is not in yourself, in your own abilities to keep doing well and doing things great. Because you're powerful. Yes. Yet not I, but Christ in me. Right? As Paul says in Galatians 2 and as we often sing. Yeah, so that's another aspect of it. Not only not finding our hope in circumstances, but also not finding hope in ourselves. and in our performance on any given day for better or for worse. And that's an excellent point to highlight, that if we're doing well, we guard against pride and arrogance and acknowledge it's all God. If we're doing bad, we go back to God and say, God, my hope is in you. Thank you for your forgiveness. Thank you for the grace you have given and will give. So excellent, yeah. Randy, did you have a thought? Yes. To not be conformed to this world purposefully, to be in the world but not of the world. Okay, yeah, okay, which connects with what we heard in Romans 12, right, about not being conformed. And yeah, and that brings up, as we talked about last week too, the reality of ever-present tension, of how does that, how do we live that out, you know, and what that looks like in every decision, every moment, every day of being in the world, but not of the world. Not binary, but excellent. Well, those are, yeah, Laurie. One of the things that helps me is remembering the character of God. So this little phrase, you know, God is God and God is good. And that's the first thing I try to think about whenever anything happens, good or bad, because it puts God in his right place in my mind. Yes. Amen. Excellent. And which we know the character of God because of what he's revealed in his word and just constantly coming back to that. And that is a super helpful summary in many ways. God is God. There's no one like God. He's absolutely holy. He alone is God and he's good in all that he is and all that he does. Excellent. Well, it's a battle. Yes, Tim. In Romans 8, Paul says, hope that is seen is not hope. That by its definition, we're hoping for, like I said, cognitively sure that God will do good things in the future that he is sure to do, but we don't see it yet. And so just the conscious decision to not live by appearances when things look contrary. And sometimes it takes some imagination and even thinking about times in redemptive history when things looked a certain way that now in hindsight it looks, oh, everything was fine. The three days Jesus was in the tomb. We all know Easter came, but how did it feel then? And there have been times when it felt by appearances that things were very dark. and then God delivered on his promises and hope was realized. And just to know we're in the middle, some way or another, we're in the middle of that kind of story. Yeah, that's a great point, yeah. And we don't have to be able to connect all the dots or try to figure it out, which we so often tend to. Yeah, no, that's an excellent point as well. Yes, Gary. Just because 1 Peter, that's why. favorite book. No way. It's one of my favorite books. But I, you know, I think, well what does it look like? And those verses that we read, the three through nine, and it deals with, the subject is salvation. And so for me, it helped me again, getting back to 13, verse 13, in the New American Standard says, gird your minds for ash, and keep sober in spirit. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you. So in other words, I find for me, I fix my hope on salvation, because salvation, when I ponder what God has done for me, salvation, and what on earth do I to deserve salvation. Lord, I better behave myself. I better get in, fix my mind on this scripture, find out why there's salvation. I think it helps keep me on track because I have a lot of difficulties. I'm a sinner. But salvation is, to me, is the key. That's the thing I'm the most grateful for in my prayers every night. It's always, thank you for your salvation. And I don't deserve it. I've got to fix my mind on that salvation. Amen. And it helps me. It gets sweeter as time goes on, right? It sure does. Amen. I appreciate that. I agree. Well, good. Well, we could think through more, but you see the significance of this. And again, this is what undergirds how we're to live. And so I want to just tease out a few implications just to briefly mention these that intersect with different things that Peter goes on to address in his letter. And this is certainly not exhaustive. but just a few implications. So, number one, letter A, the hope of the gospel and pursuing holiness. The hope of the gospel and pursuing holiness. So, right there in chapter 1, verses 14 to 16, listen to what Peter goes on to say as his first thought following that overarching exhortation in verse 13 he says verse 14 as obedient children do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance but as he who called you is holy you also be holy in all your conduct since it is written you shall be holy for I am holy And he's quoting there from Leviticus. So setting our hope on the fullness of God's grace to be given when Christ returns, which means anticipating and waiting for our secure future inheritance in Christ, that is what should motivate our obedience and our holiness. And this is flowing from the assured hope that God has made us his children in Christ. And so Peter says as obedient children. So because our living hopes in Christ we should learn to not live for the desires and pleasures of our sinful passions but live in obedience to God's will and wait and wait for the infinite pleasures of our eternal inheritance in Christ. And so it's our identity in him and the richness of the hope that he's called us to that should motivate our pursuit of holiness not as a list of rules and rigid things but that we would share in the very nature and character of God in Christ and become more like him set apart which is ultimately the sense of holiness unique and set apart that we would reflect his glory. Well a second implication is what I call the hope of the gospel and submitting to government authority. The hope of the gospel and submitting to government authority. In chapter two, verses 13 to 17, Peter addresses this very subject. Let me just read verses 13 and 14. I won't read the whole passage, but he says in verses 13 and 14, be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. And so we see with this and what Peter goes on to say through verse 17 that one aspect of pursuing holiness in daily life motivated by hope is to submit to the government authority that he's put over us and to do that in God exalting, Christ proclaiming, gospel advancing, ways. Now in weeks to come we're going to look more about what submitting to the government does and does not mean. But what I want to emphasize here is for us to see the fact that it is hope in the gospel. It is hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ that should inform motivate and focus our Christ honoring submission to government authority. That's why Peter says, do this for the Lord's sake. And so again, there's more to talk about, more to interact about that concept, but I want you to see that it is hope in the gospel that is to undergird our right interaction with and relationship to the civil government, the political realities that are around us. And because of our hope in Christ, we affirm and are to submit to his ultimate sovereign authority, including his sovereign authority over human governments. In other words, if the King of Kings tells us to submit to earthly kings, then we must do so with hope-motivated obedience to him and not set our hearts on hope in the government or in politics but set our hope in the God who governs all governments and all politics. Well that leads to a third implication which is related and that is the hope of the gospel and enduring injustice. The hope of the gospel and enduring injustice. And Peter is going to go on to speak about injustice in verses 18 to 25 when he talks about it particularly in the context of unjust masters who are abusing and oppressing those who they own and who serve under them. But it's really the context of the whole letter and so this injustice can certainly apply to that which comes from governmental authorities as well. And of course there's other contexts in which we know injustice can occur. But this point may really hit at the core of our being because we generally, all of us, generally have a strong longing for justice and we have an equally strong disdain for injustice. And when we talk about civil governments and politics, much of what can ignite our outrage, our anger, and our indignation is the often blatant and pervasive and unchecked injustices, seemingly unchecked injustices, that can occur at all levels of government. And whether those impact us directly or whether they impact us indirectly, it can easily provoke our anger, and sometimes justified anger, if you will, because it's unjust. And so our cries of, that's not fair, can be very frequent and often very accurate. And of course, unfair injustices often happen not only in government, but in the whole culture, in the workplace, in the home, in school, in neighborhoods, and sadly, can happen even in the church. List all kinds of examples of that in lots of different arenas. But the hope of the gospel is what enables us to endure injustice. Believing that God knows, God sees, God is sovereign, God is powerful, and God will ultimately hold all to account. And all of that will come to bear at the revelation of Jesus Christ, when Christ returns. I think I mentioned the quote last week that everything will be all right in the end, and if it's not all right now, then it's not the end yet, because it will be made right when Christ returns. And this hope-motivated enduring of justice is what we're called to as God's people. Listen to what Peter says in verses 19 to 23 of chapter 2 as he draws upon the reality of Christ and of his example. And so in verse 19 he says, for this is a gracious thing when mindful of God one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if when you sin and are beaten for it you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but he continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. and he died on a cross at the hands of wicked, sinful people. The most unjust reality that has ever happened. And so beloved to know and to live in the hope of the gospel is to imitate Jesus by his grace and to continually entrust ourselves to the God who judges justly. And that's what enables us to endure injustice. That doesn't mean we can't pray for justice. It doesn't mean that in reasonable ways we can't work for and contribute to justice in the many different ways that plays out and certainly in relation to government and to politics. But at the end of the day we're called to trust the Lord. to wait on the Lord and to endure in justice both for ourselves and for others and even within all of creation that God knows and God will make it all right in his way and in his time. And so this is just a little bit of reflection about the hope of the gospel both what it is and why it is so significant and why for us who are believers we are called to live in this hope. And as Peter's going to go on to say in chapter 3, we're to live with this hope in such a distinct and profound way that unbelievers would be aroused in their curiosity to ask us about this hope that possesses us. That our hope's not to be in money, not to be in politics, not to be in this thing or that thing, but to be in Christ and to live with that hope. in such a fashion that it's distinct and that it bears testimony and that gives us opportunity to proclaim the excellencies of Christ who is the source of our hope. By the way it's in 1 Peter 3 15 that Peter talks about that about always being ready to make a defense for to anyone that asks for the reason of the hope that is within us. So just a few reflections and hopefully can see how this plays into how we interact with government and politics and all of these matters. So any thoughts or questions before we'll then shift and talk just a little bit about the mission of the church? Thoughts or questions, anything to be clarified from any of that? Okay, well we'll shift and talk about the mission of the church, which is very much related to the hope of the gospel. Because it's in the church and through the church that God intends to see this hope manifest and to proclaim this hope to a world that desperately needs this hope. So we're gonna look at a couple of passages just briefly. Matthew 28, verses 18 to 20. and then Acts chapter one. And we're actually gonna look at verses one to 11 of chapter one. So again, I'll ask for some volunteers to read some passages. Would somebody read in a moment Matthew 28, 18 to 20? Can somebody read that? Yes, Patty, okay. Lucy, how about you read Acts chapter 1 verses 1 to 7 in a few moments and then would somebody else be willing to read verses 8 to 11 of Acts chapter 1? Matt, okay? So, there are a lot of ways that the mission of the church might be defined. And many different people in many different places and many different churches in many different places have defined it in all kinds of ways, sometimes revolving around political activism issues, sometimes revolving around social justice and human flourishing issues, sometimes revolving around cultural transformation issues, sometimes revolving around unity issues, lots of different ways. But it is God himself who defines permanently the mission of the church. And this is what we see established with these words regarding Jesus and what he says in Matthew 28. And so, who's reading that, I've already forgotten. Yes, Patty, so read Matthew 28, 18 to 20. in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. OK. Excellent. Thank you. And this is often called, rightly so, the Great Commission, which is totally appropriate, because it is the great and the unchanging commission of the church given by the Lord Jesus Christ, the authoritative living head of the church. And he's commissioning his believers. And we know it applies to the entire church because the content of what the disciples are to teach those who follow Christ is what Jesus has taught and taught them, teaching them to obey, which includes this very commission. So this is applicable to the entire church. I've also heard this referred to as the everyday commission, which I think is also appropriate and helpful. Because this isn't just one element of the church or one thing that the church periodically does. This is at the very heart of the life of the church. It's a 24-7, 365 days a year commission in that sense. Now the concept of mission involves someone who's in authority sending someone under that authority with a specific task to be accomplished. And that's what Jesus is doing. He's the one in absolute sovereign authority as the head of the church and he is sending the church to accomplish the mission that he is giving, the task that he is giving. And so that's why he emphasizes his authority in verse 18, and that he is the possessor of this authority. Now with what he goes on to say in verses 19 and 20, the content of His commission, it's very clear, the central verb, the central command is to make disciples. A disciple is a learner, a disciple is a follower, a disciple is an apprentice of the one to whom they belong and who they are imitating. And so this is the central command, not to just make converts, but to make disciples, those who are following and learning from and beginning to imitate more and more the Lord Jesus Christ. This applies to all nations, all people groups. It's comprehensive in that sense. It's not localized to the Jews or to any other group. It's for everyone, for all nations. And then the means of doing this is through these supporting statements that are made in the rest of verse 19 and 20. We're to be going, there's a participle there, going, which has the sense of intentionally going and proclaiming as a pattern of life in general ways and specific ways. We're to be baptizing, which has to do with public identification and confession of faith in Christ when a person is saved, and then teaching them to observe all that Christ has commanded, which involves not only knowledge, but the exhortations that are that are encouraging and exhorting faith and obedience. So not just knowledge, but also obedience. And so the central command is to make disciples and to do this by going, baptizing, and teaching. And then Jesus gives this marvelous promise in verse 20, at the end of verse 20, behold I'm with you always to the end of the age. It's his assurance that his never ending abiding presence is with his people which should bring both comfort and encouragement as well as a right sense of accountability because he is the one to whom we answer. And so all of this is in many ways summarized with what I put in your notes here, this just description of the mission of the church from de Young and Gilbert in their really excellent book on the mission of the church. They say, the mission of the church is to go into the world, make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the spirit, gathering these disciples in churches that they might worship the Lord and obey his commands now and in eternity. to the glory of the Father. And so this is the constant God-given, Christ-authoritatively directed mission of the church. It's to be our constant focus. and constant regard for what we're called to be doing. It is the mission of the church. So what does this look like? Well, we go to the book of Acts where we see the mission of the church actualized, where we see it beginning to unfold through the original disciples and those who followed them. Now, let's go ahead and hear verses 1 to 11. I'll make just a few brief comments and then we'll look at a couple of implications of all of this. But the entire book of Acts is the history of the birth and growth of the church. And it's the accounting of how we see the spirit of God working through the disciples in obedience to what Christ has commissioned them. And all of this, of course, carries on to us today. So let's see, first of all, verses one to seven. Yes, thank you, Lucy, go for it. In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God. And while staying with them, he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, You heard from me, for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. So when they had come together, they asked him, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. Okay, excellent, thank you. And now verses eight to 11, Matt, again. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. And when he said these things, as they were looking on him, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, Why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. Okay, thank you. Just a few things to highlight here to make note of in what we hear there in these opening 11 verses. First of all, notice that Luke, who is the human author of the book, with what he says in verses 1 to 3 is connecting Jesus's mission during his earthly ministry with his mission now that he has returned to heaven. And he's fulfilling that mission through the power of the Holy Spirit whom he and the father have sent. But it's the extension it's the continuation of the mission of the father through the son through the spirit through the church if you will. And so Luke who's the human author of the Book of Acts as well as the Gospel of Luke. These are two parallel volumes that are all about the mission of the father in the son through the spirit in his people. And it's marvelous in that reality. And that's what ties the scope of this mission with the totality of scripture, because it's all about what God is doing to gather a people for his own possession, who they will be his people, he will be their God, and dwelling together forever. And that's what the work of redemption is all about, recovering. God purposed in Christ. And so Luke is highlighting that with these opening words in verses 1 to 3. And then in verse 8, with that statement, you shall be my witnesses when you receive power from the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You'll be my witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria. to the end of the earth. And this really sets the structure for the whole book. In other words, the Spirit-empowered witness of Christ through the disciples that will first happen in Jerusalem, and that's what we find in Acts chapter 1 through the beginning of chapter 6. And then from there, it moves out to the surrounding areas of Judea and Samaria, and that's what we find in the rest of chapter 6 through chapter 9 and then it moves through to the ends of the earth primarily through the ministry of the Apostle Paul which begins to take shape near the end of chapter 9 to the very end of the book. And so with regard to the literary structure of the book, that's what Luke is doing with verse eight. He's identifying this is where it's going. And so what we find then throughout all the narrative that follows is this geographical progression of the gospel as well as a spiritual and an ethnic progression as the gospel goes not only to Jews but also to Gentiles and to those ultimately to the end of the earth. And the key in seeing in all of this is that the mission does not change. And it happens through the spirit-empowered preaching of the gospel, which is what Peter does, begins to do, in Acts chapter 2. after the Holy Spirit comes, people repent and are saved, they're gathered together in a church, and that's the pattern that takes shape throughout the rest of Acts. The gospel is preached, people are saved, they're gathered in churches that are rightly ordered under God's direction with ultimately elders and deacons and the whole church body, and the gospel continues to grow and to multiply in God's design. Now, just a quick note, if you go to the very end of the book of Acts, the very end in chapter 28, because it's interesting how the book ends. We first hear, I wanna read from verses 28 through verse 31 to the end of the book, and this is all taking up related to what God's doing through the apostle Paul. But Paul is under house arrest in Rome. And I'm going to start in verse 28 where we first hear Paul closing out a statement that he's making to Jewish people who did not believe the gospel. And then after Paul makes this final part of his statement in verse 28 then Luke gives a final summary that ends the book of Acts. So pick it up in verse 28. This is Paul speaking. Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen. And then verse 30 this is now Luke speaking in terms of summary, he lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. And that's the end of the book. And it really ends in many ways if you think about it kind of without an ending because the sense is it implies that the hope of the gospel the hope of salvation in God still needs to be proclaimed to all the nations. That's what Paul was an instrument for doing and there were going to be others who would be following him which carries on to us today. So it indicates that the Great Commission has not yet been fully finished. It continues to this day. The mission of the Father through the Son, through the Spirit, through the Church is still taking place and will and should continue to take place until Christ returns. The mission is not completed until Christ returns. And so with all of that, just in a super brief, high-altitude flyover of Acts, let me just draw out a couple of implications to close out our time together that relate to the local church, and again, even relate to the significance of these matters regarding the government, politics. Number one, the local church is an embassy from the end of history. The local church is an embassy from the end of history. And I mentioned this last week, and I first heard this phrase from author and pastor Jonathan Lehman, but it's accurate. It's exactly right. The church is an embassy, and any local church, faithful local church, is an embassy from the end of history. Think about what an embassy is. An embassy represents another kingdom in a foreign land. When we were in Germany just a little over a month or so ago, we saw the outside of the U.S. Embassy right by the Brandenburg Gate. And it's American soil. If you go inside that embassy, it's American soil. Why? Because it represents America in a foreign land. Well, the local church is an embassy that represents the kingdom of God in the foreign land of this world. And so the kingdom of God is known now spiritually through all who believe on the King of Kings Jesus Christ and there will come a day where it will be known visibly in the future when Christ returns. That's part of the hope that we are to set our minds on at the revelation of God's grace when Christ returns. But the church is an embassy, and spiritually we represent the kingdom of God in the foreign land of the world. And as such, think about this, an embassy, as an embassy of God's kingdom, the church is to be the ideal political community. The church is to be the ideal political community. We have the true and righteous king. who rules with true and righteous rules. And we are to share in true and harmonious relationships with the king and with one another as citizens of his kingdom. So true righteousness and true unity and true peace and true justice are what are to be displayed in the life of the church. Kingdom citizens are those who come from every tribe and tongue and nation whom God brings into supernatural spirit-empowered unity with himself and with one another. That's what the wonder and the marvel of the local church is. It's a gathering of those who are made up of repentant, forgiven, justified sinners who are trusting Christ. And none of us are fully sanctified, but we are the miracle that God is doing in this age of people from every tribe and tongue and nation that he is supernaturally transforming by his power. He's the one who brings supernatural transformation. And as such, we gather together as his people and we're an embassy. We're representing him. And he's placed us in the world to bear witness of him, to fulfill the mission that he's given us to do. And so every member, every single one of us is a part of his ambassadorship, if you will. We're not just individually ambassadors, we are, but we're collectively ambassadors. We're to proclaim the King's message and we're to promote the King's interest, which is making disciples by baptizing them and by going, by baptizing them, teaching them to obey everything he's commanded. And we're to do this until the king returns. And so it helps clarify the identity of who we are as his people and the nature of our calling and understanding the mission of the church. And there's so many ways that this is spoken of in scripture and all the beautiful metaphors that God's given for what the church is, the bride of Christ, the body of Christ, the flock of Christ, the temple of Christ and we're all living stones in that temple as Peter speaks about in 1st Peter chapter 2. They all speak of our corporate identity and our corporate mission as the church. We live in the hope of the gospel. We exemplify the hope of the gospel and we're to proclaim the hope of the gospel in the excellencies of Christ. And so the church is an embassy from the end of history calling other people to come into the safety and the security of knowing Christ by faith. Well that leads to a second implication and that is that the local church is fruitful. We could also say faithful. We might even just say fruitful and faithful in that one little space there. The local church is fruitful and faithful through the devotion of every member. It's fruitful and faithful through the devotion of every member. At the end of Acts chapter 2, after thousands have repented, come to faith in Christ, and been baptized, we read in verse 42 that all of these new believers were told they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and the prayers. And the sense of devotion there is very strong. And it's good for us continually to be reminded that it's not just a casual, hey, if it works out, hey, I might try to do this. It is an intentional, aggressive, willing, constant commitment and devotion to stay close to something, to persist obstinately in something. The term has to do with intense effort, with the implication that it's effort even in the midst of difficulty. Because as any of us know, life in a local church is hard. It's messy, we offend each other, we hurt each other, we're all in different places of growth, we all bring all kinds of baggage, we all have all kinds of backgrounds and experiences, it's all hard, but this is what God's doing to sanctify and make us together as his people to share in his mission to the world. But it means that we have to be devoted to it, we have to be committed, and so many of you are, you wouldn't be here if you weren't devoted, and so this is what we're called to, using our modern language, it means to be all in all the time. And with that, and this is implied in everything, but there's nothing like the local church in the world except the local church. It's not like any other group, not like any other club, not like any other community. The church is the church of Jesus Christ, true churches that are built upon the hope of the gospel. There's nothing else like it. It's unique and distinct and it demands, God lovingly demands our our highest devotion that we'd be faithful to sharing in this. One of the ways this is spoken of is by the Apostle Paul Ephesians 4 verses 15 and 16 in the context of talking about the church and how we are equipped and how we grow. But verses 15 and 16 he says, rather we who are believers speaking the truth in love were to grow up in every way into the head who is Christ from whom the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped when each part is working properly makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. What a beautiful picture. And there, of course, he's drawing on the analogy of the body. We all know this experientially, right? One little part of our body is not working right. I got a little hangnail on my finger. It kind of messes up everything. But my body functions, it's fruitful, it's faithful best when every part is working well. And so it is in the church. And that's why we all need each other in that, in growing with one another. And this is why, as I think I said this last week as well, probably say it many more times, why the strongest and most significant and radical political statement that any Christian can ever make is to be actively devoted to Christ and to his people and to his mission in and through the local church. You want to be radical politically, then get behind God's mission and get in God's mission and walk with God's mission because we're showing the world what true politics are supposed to look like. in Christ and through faith in Christ. So with that I'm going to go ahead and wrap up because we're right at our time. And again if you have specific questions thoughts about any of this feel free to email me or Tim and we'll try to address those in the course of things. And again even as we did a little bit this morning have a bit of time for discussion and interaction. But we want to we want to grow in these things together. So so praise the Lord. So I'm glad you're here. Let me pray. Lord, we do thank you for your goodness, for the time to share around these matters. May you bring them to bear much fruit in all of our lives, both individually and corporately, for your glory and for the greater advancement of the gospel, the hope of the gospel in us and through us to the world around us. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Amen.