So, if you've known my wife for very long and you've ever greeted her, asked her how she's doing, you know that she's always gonna say, I'm blessed. Anytime you ask my wife how she's doing, she says, I am blessed. And so this morning, I'm going to share the message with you that I preached several years ago that started her saying that. Every time someone asks her how she's doing, she says, I'm blessed because of this message. And so the title of the message is, Are You Blessed? And it's from Luke chapter 12, verses 35 through 48. Luke 12, 35 through 48. And we're, I'm not going to get back into First Timothy and probably until January because we're going to have this message today about blessing. I know I had a message about gratitude Wednesday night and Thanksgiving and why we should be grateful and thankful, but. I just want to continue on and talk about what it means to be blessed, what it means to truly be blessed and. And so we're gonna look at this today. And you know, really, there are only two different kinds of people in the world. There's only two groups, there's only two categories. Dexter and I were talking about it yesterday evening, and I know I've shared with y'all in messages before, not too long after I was converted, I came across, I was reading through the Bible, And I think that time I just started in Genesis and just read straight through from Genesis to Revelation. And I had got to the part where Moses had divided the people. It's in Deuteronomy. And he put half the people on one mountain and half of them on another. And he said, okay, this mountain represents obedience to God and trusting God, and it represents blessing. a blessed life, and this mountain over here represents death and a curse, disobedience and failure to trust God and death and a curse. And he said, you get to choose, choose life or choose death. Choose life, Moses said, choose life that you may live. Choose to trust God, to obey God and to live. And I read that and it's just like, you know, you know you read things in scripture and a bell goes off. The light comes on and you think, and I read that and it was just, the bells went off in my head and I thought, you know what? I know people have been telling me this all my life, but I choose every day whether I'm going to have a blessing or a curse. I choose every day whether I'm going to be a blessing or a curse. Sometimes I choose every few minutes whether I'm gonna be a blessing or a curse. We get to choose. But the fact of the matter is, everybody's on one of those mountains. Everybody's either blessed or cursed. Everybody in the world is either living under God's blessing or under his curse. and his condemnation. And we can't, you can't go by outward appearances, because there's people who look really blessed. But if you can see spiritual reality, they're condemned. And there are people who are having a really rough go of it in life, but they are blessed beyond imagination. So I've got examples of these two from scripture. I'm going to begin by reading, yes, we are gonna be in Luke 12, but first I'm gonna read a passage from Ephesians 1, and then I'm gonna read from Matthew 7, and then we'll get into our text. Ephesians 1, verse 3 says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heaven and places in Christ. Those are the blessed. But then also, Jesus points out another group, the other group in Matthew chapter seven. In Matthew chapter seven, verses 21 through 23, Jesus says, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Let's read our text from Luke and we'll get started. Chapter 12, verses 35 through 48. Be dressed in readiness and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will gird himself to serve and have them recline at the table and will come up and wait on them. Whether he comes in the second watch or even in the third and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, He would not have allowed his house to be broken into. You too be ready, for the Son of Man is coming in an hour that you do not expect. Peter said, Lord, are you addressing this parable to us or to everyone else as well? And the Lord said, who then is the faithful and sensible steward whom his master will put in charge of his servants to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if that slave says in his heart, my master will be a long time in coming, and he begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him. and an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will will receive many lashes. But the one who did not know it and committed deeds worthy of a flogging will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and to whom they entrusted much Of him they will ask all the more. Father, we thank you for this word and we just thank you for. We thank you for your goodness. We thank you for teaching us through your word. Lord, we thank you for waking us up. And helping us to be alert to look for you. Lord, we just ask that you show us this truth today through this word. Lord, we ask that if there's anyone asleep here today, that you wake them up. Lord, help us to see what it means to be truly blessed. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So, he says, be dressed in readiness and keep your lamps lit. And I think in the King James Version it says, have your loins girded. That's an expression for readiness. It means having your long robe. The actual meaning of this term here is to have your long robe pulled up around your waist and tied off. You know, they wore these robes that went down to the ground like a lady's long dress. And the term actually means to have that thing pulled up and tied off around your waist so you can take off running. You're ready to go. And keep your lamps lit. Keep your lamps lit. So the lamps that they used 2,000 years ago in the Middle East, they used olive oil to burn. That was what they used. They used olive oil, and the oil is what fueled the light in the lamp. The oil produced the light. Well, what fuels the light in a Christian? What produces the light in a Christian? The Spirit of Christ is the oil that keeps a Christian's lamp lit. The Spirit of Christ in us, Christ in you, the hope of glory. That's the fuel that causes us to burn brightly and shine as lights in this world. Christ is little lamp in his church. He's filled us with his spirit. He's planted his word in our hearts and the spirit applies the word to our hearts and it causes the word of Christ to come out of our mouth and we literally shine. with the light of Christ in this world. Who has the Holy Spirit? Who has the Spirit of Christ? Well, those who are born again. Those who look to Christ as their all-sufficient source for everything. That's who has the Spirit. It's the Spirit who gives life. The flesh profits nothing. The Spirit of Christ in a person is what produces that light. And those who are in Christ, those who are born again, those who look to Christ alone, those are the ones who have the Spirit of Christ in them. He says, keep your lamps lit. And this implies that this is not a one time looking to Christ. A Christian is not a person who, you know, Charles Spurgeon said, everybody has a religious tremor every now and then. Everybody suffers a tragedy. You know, when 9-11 happened, I remember the churches were full. I said, it's the most recorded attended church in history, since they've been recording such things. The greatest percentage of the population of the United States went to church the two Sundays after 9-11. that ever has happened. By the third Sunday, they forgot. That's how our gratitude works, isn't it? We talked about that Wednesday night. Yeah, we may be thankful for something when the Lord does it for us, but by two Sundays later, we're gone. We've already forgotten about that. Well, the same thing happened with that. For two Sundays after 9-11, the churches were full. Everybody has a religious tremor every now and then. Everybody looks toward the Lord for something at some point. But that doesn't mean they're in Christ. Being a Christian is a continual looking to Christ. Being like Peter, where would we go, Lord? You have the words of eternal life. So he says, keep your lamps lit. It's not a one-shot deal. Continual, daily, minute by minute, hour by hour, year by year, looking to Christ. That's what keep your lamps lit means. In verse 36, it says, be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks. So the picture here is of a wealthy prince, and this prince has gone to collect his bride. There's an arranged marriage, and he's gone to collect his bride, and his servants, are anxiously waiting and they're making preparations for the return. That's the picture. Does that picture sound familiar? This prince has gone to collect his bride that's been given to him. And his servants are making preparation for him to return with the bride. That image is all through the scriptures. All through the scriptures. We'll start in Hosea chapter two. Hosea chapter two, verses 16 through 20. It will come about in that day declares the Lord that you will call me Ishi and will no longer call me Baali. Now, that doesn't do you much good if you don't know what Ishi and Baali mean, does it? Ishi means husband. Baalim means master. So the Lord is saying, it's gonna come about in that day that you're gonna call me husband, not master. For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth so that they will be mentioned by their names no more. In that day, I will also make a covenant for them with the beast of the fields and the birds of the sky. and the creeping things of the ground, and I will abolish the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and will make them lie down in safety. I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in loving kindness and in compassion, and I will betroth you to me in faithfulness, then you will know the Lord. So the Lord says, my people, I'm gonna be your husband and you're gonna be my bride. 2 Corinthians 11 too. Paul is talking to the church there, Corinth, and he takes that language. He says, listen guys, when I preached the gospel to you, I was betrothing you to the Lord. He says, for I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. In Revelation 19. Revelation chapter 19, seven through nine. It says, let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to him, for the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, right, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. And he said to me, these are true words of God. You know who's blessed? Those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. Jesus is the master. He's the bridegroom. He's the prince. He's right now collecting His bride. He is collecting His bride. The servants are those who've already been collected. and the overwhelming focus of our lives. If we are those who have been collected, if we are those in the bride of Christ, the focus of our lives should be looking for and preparing for the coming of our master. That's what our lives are all about. We're looking for Christ. Like Paul, we are those who love his appearing. And we're not just waiting on a physical appearance of Christ. We're looking for him today, every day. We're looking for Christ to come to us through his word, through his spirit in us, through his people, through his church. We are in a day-to-day communion with him, and we're looking for his appearing, and we love his appearing if we are his servants. That's what it means to be one of those servants who is alert and awake and looking for the bridegroom to come. And ultimately, we're looking for the consummation of the marriage, the wedding supper of the lamb in the new heavens and the new earth. When he physically returns, it makes all things new. Verse 37, it says, blessed, blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes. Truly, I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve and have them recline at the table. Don't come up and wait on them. You know, isn't that amazing, that picture? He's the master. He's the prince. But if you understand that the servants are the bride, When a man brings home his bride, he serves her. A true husband doesn't have a wife to serve him. If you're a true husband and you have a wife that you love, you know that your greatest joy is serving her. That's what Paul says then. He says a man who has a wife, he can't be completely devoted to the kingdom because part of it is he's devoted to pleasing his wife. And he's supposed to be. because that's what God has called him to do. And if you are, and he's hardwired us that way. A man who has a woman that he loves that is a gift to him from God, he serves her. And the servants are the bride. So when those who are alert, those who are awake, in watching for their bridegroom to come, for Christ to come. When he comes, he's gonna serve them. When he comes now, he serves them. When he comes physically in the future, he's gonna serve them. And that's what that word that's translated alert or watching means. On the alert, it means those who are awake. It literally means awake. Did you know that only, there's a term called woke out there. There's a difference between being woke and being awake. That's what I have told people and I said, are you woke? I said, no, I'm awake. There's a difference. I'm awake. Christians, are the only people that are awake in this world. Everybody else, actually the scripture says, in 1 John 5, 19, it says, we know that we are of God and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. The whole world of unbelievers is asleep in the lap of Satan. They're eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage. And they're investing themselves in this temporary world where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. And they're asleep, and they're gonna keep doing that until the flood comes and takes them away. Unless the Lord wakes them up. Unless the Spirit of God coming through the people of God proclaims the word of God, and they are awakened by it. Christians are awake. Who is blessed? The one who's blessed is the one who's awake. It says, whether he comes in the second watch or even in the third and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. Verse 38, blessed are those slaves. True Christians are truly awake, and they will be awake. They will be awake when Christ returns. And this is not talking about physical waking or sleeping. You might be passed out asleep whenever Christ returns. You may be asleep whenever Christ comes to you, and he may come to you and wake you up. But that's not what it's talking about. It's talking about being spiritually awake. Ephesians five. Let me read something to you from Ephesians chapter five. Starting in verse 13. But all things become visible when they're exposed by the light. For everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, awake sleeper and arise from the dead and Christ will shine on you. Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil. They're fleeing away. Every day we're a day closer to the end of time. Every day we're a day closer to Christ coming physically back to make all things new. And he's given us assignment to fill this time. To make the most of the days. Make the most of our time because the days are evil. To be awake and alert. To shine the light that he's given us. into this world. Jesus isn't coming back when anyone expects. That's what he's saying. The Jews divided the night into three watches. The Romans divided it into four watches. And Matthew and Mark both used the Roman system in their gospel. So it's likely that Luke was also using the Roman system. So with that in mind, in this picture, which is metaphorical, by the way. This is not, this is a metaphorical picture, but metaphorically speaking, Jesus is coming in the second or third watch. So the second watch would be 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. The third watch would be 12 a.m. to 3 a.m. So if you're assuming that the day is divided into, the night is divided into 12 hours, from six at night to six in the morning. And that's the way they divided it. And the Romans divided it into four three-hour watches. So the second watch is nine to 12, and the third is 12 to three. So what this means is, Jesus, it's not meant to be taken literally, it's meant to be understood metaphorically. He's saying, I'm coming in the middle of the night. I'm coming when everybody else is sleeping except for my people who are awake, who are awake. And it's not a hint as to when he will return so we can guess either. It's just a simple statement of fact that the blessed, those who are in Christ, will be living their lives in readiness and anticipation whenever he comes for them. and the rest of the world will be asleep. So let's look at verses 39 and 40. He says, but be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed this house to be broken into. You too be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect. So Jesus is restating what he's already said. And here's what he's saying. In case you didn't get it, I'm going to explain it a different way. I'm gonna do that so that people can write lots of books full of end times predictions, and they can make lots of money twisting my words. Now, that's not what he's saying, but that's what happens. It's happened a lot. Here's what he's saying. If you knew exactly When someone was going to break in your house, if you knew exactly when someone was going to break in your house and rob you, you'd have the sheriff sitting there on the front porch when they got there. And they'd be waiting on them. But the truth is, you don't know. You can't predict it. You can't predict when Christ is returning either. And you also can't predict when Christ is coming for you individually. Not just when he's returning at the end of the age. Nobody knows when Christ is coming for them. Nobody knows when they're gonna take their last breath. My mom's brother, my uncle, was a healthy man. He loved the Lord, he was a Christian man. He, but he was extremely active and healthy. He was a hard worker all of his life. And even in retirement, he was still extremely healthy and doing things. And he had got up one morning and went to town to take care of something for his kids. And he took care of it and went home and was sitting at the breakfast table and my aunt was fixing him breakfast and he just fell over and died. His heart just stopped. He had a heart attack and died right there, sitting at the breakfast table. No warning, no nothing. It was time for him to go. And the Lord took him home. Listen to what the Bible tells us about that in James. Chapter four. Verses 13 through 15. Come now, you who say today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit, yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You're just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that. But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. If the Lord wills, we will live. It doesn't just say if the Lord wills, we'll do this or that. If the Lord wills, we will live. Because we have to have his will to live. He's the one that gives us life and breath and all things, remember? We don't know when He's coming for us. Since we don't know when He's coming for us, the only sane thing to do is to bow the knee to Him today, to look to Him, and to live looking for His appearing from now on. But we're not very sane, are we? Sin is insanity. Rebellion against God is insanity. And so Christians have been given this urgent message to proclaim, and the message is wake up, wake, old sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Look to God in Christ, because he may come for you today. Verse 41, Peter said, Lord, are you addressing this parable to us or to everyone else as well? Every group has that one person who's gonna ask the question. And sometimes, you know, when I was in college, every class I was ever in in college, there was one guy in that class one person who would ask some silly question that would get the professor off in the weeds. And I'm trying to learn something. I'm trying to get my notes so that I can pass this thing. And this guy asked something crazy. And it seems like every day this happens in the class. And there's one in every crowd. There's one in every group. But the truth is, those are the questions that need to be asked. I've also been teaching Bible studies and I've had people ask questions, sometimes challenging questions, that make the Bible study good because you have to figure them out. You have to answer them. You have to wrestle with the text and you have to look things up. And the Lord appointed Peter to be that guy. He's the one that asks the questions that everybody else is afraid to ask. And he asked a question that's on everybody else's mind. And it's a legitimate question. It's legitimate for him to say, Lord, is this just for us or is it for everybody? And the reason is from Matthew chapter 13. Listen to what the Lord had told them earlier before this incident that we're reading about in Luke 12. In Matthew 13, verses 10 and 11, It says, and the disciples came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables? He's teaching the crowd in parables, and the disciples asked him, why do you speak to them in parables? And Jesus answered them, to you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. So this is a legitimate question that Peter's asking when he says, Lord, is this for us alone? Or is it for everybody else too? Well, let's look at the Lord's answer. And the Lord said, who then is the faithful and sensible steward whom his master will put in charge of his servants to give them their rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. So, I pointed this out before. I'm sure everybody's noticed this, but Jesus hardly ever answers a question with an answer, with a direct, simple answer. He always answers it with a question. I believe there's a reason for that. I believe the reason why Jesus always answers a question with a question is because we ask the wrong questions. We ask the wrong questions and so what he does is he knows the right question and so he ignores our question and he asks the right one and then answers it for us. And that's what he does here. And here's my paraphrase of how he answers Peter in this. He says, hey Peter, who is the faithful servant that the master's going to put in charge of feeding his sheep. Now, if you've read the ending of the Book of John, of the Gospel of John, you can see how I imagine that Peter had this running through his mind, sitting there at the end of the Gospel of John, after the resurrection, and Peter's denied the Lord, and he says, Peter, do you love me? Yes, feed my sheep. Feed my sheep. So here, but he's preparing him for it ahead of time. He says, who is this faithful servant that the master's going to put in charge of feeding his sheep? Blessed is that slave whom his master finds doing that when he comes. That guy's gonna inherit the kingdom. And I'm sure that that came to Peter's mind I'm sure the Holy Spirit brought that to Peter's mind whenever Jesus was questioning him and restoring him. And that's, you know, that's one side of the coin. And it's a glorious promise that if we're living in obedience to Christ and we're feeding his sheep and we are serving and we are pointing to him with our lives, we're going to be blessed and we will be found faithful at his coming. But the other side of this coin is found in verses 45 and 46. He said, but if that slave says in his heart, my master will be a long time in coming and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him In an hour, he does not know and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. This is a picture of somebody who doesn't really believe the master's coming. They don't believe the Lord is coming. And the proof that they don't believe, regardless of what they say, anybody can say, you know, I believe this or I believe that. I remember a fellow at a church that I was at before who raised cows, and we were talking about this very topic, and he said, you know, I can say, you know, I like this breed of cow, and I like that bull, and I like this, but if you wanna know what I really believe, you go out and look what's in my pasture, and you'll know. And so the proof, of whether a person truly possesses faith is not in their profession, it's in what comes out of them. What is evident in their life? Do they demonstrate that they're looking for Christ, that they look for his coming, that they love his appearing? So if you have any doubt that Peter did remember all of this later, Let's just look and see what he says in 2 Peter chapter three. 2 Peter chapter three, Peter says this about unbelievers. In verses three and four. Know this, first of all, that in the last days, mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation. So that's the heart of an unbeliever. They don't believe Christ is coming. That's the, and a lot of, People who profess to be believers, that's their heart. They don't really believe that Christ is coming. What is this parable teaching? In a nutshell, this parable is teaching the perseverance of the saints. You know, in Baptist circles, especially in the Southern Baptist Convention, they have this doctrine, we call it perseverance of the saints, they call it once saved, always saved. I think that's a terrible thing to call it. Because that gives the false idea that if you've had that one time experience, if you look to Christ one time, and you never look back, but you did look one time, you did make a decision, you prayed a prayer, you got baptized, or you did whatever, that you've got God in a contract. You got him over a barrel and so you're good to go. You're going to heaven no matter how worldly you are, no matter what the focus of your life is, no matter what or who you truly love. You're a Christian now. That's not the gospel. That is not the gospel. The gospel is not, hey, I'm offering you a get out of hell free card. That's not the gospel. The gospel's not agree with me about this and you can go to heaven when you die. The gospel is be reconciled to God in Christ. Love him. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind. And the only way you can do that is when you see him in Christ. And love your neighbor as yourself. And the only way you can do that is if you've been reconciled to God in Christ and you have his spirit in you pouring his love out in your heart so that it flows out of you to the people that he has made. That's the gospel. So yes, the saints will persevere. The saints will persevere, but listen, in Luke chapter eight, Jesus makes a statement about who his real family are. And it's not family after the flesh. It's not family because they made a decision. In verses 19 through 21, listen to what happens. And his mother and brothers came to him and they were unable to get to him because of the crowd. And it was reported to him, your mother and your brothers are standing outside wishing to see you. And he answered and said to them, my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it. Hear the word of God and do it. Those who are in Christ, those who look to him, who believe in him daily and trust in him. That's who's blessed, those who are looking for him. Verses 47 and 48. And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it and committed deeds worthy of flogging will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask the more. Now, I'm not gonna spend a whole lot of time breaking these two verses down, because of one simple reason. Both these slaves were condemned. Both of them were condemned. The difference between the two is just a warning. The more light you have, the greater will be your condemnation. What does that practically mean? Well, if you've sat under the preaching of the gospel for all of your life growing up, maybe all of your adult life, and you never come to Christ, you never look to Him, it doesn't matter how moral or respected you are, you're gonna be condemned. You're gonna perish. But you're gonna perish knowing that you didn't have to. I heard a preacher say this one time, you know, it's not a tragedy for a man to perish. It's not. It's justice. The wages of sin is death. But what's a tragedy is for a man to perish when he doesn't have to. What's a tragedy is for a man to perish when he When God is holding eternal life, and he's holding it out to you in Christ, and you can have eternal life with him just by looking to him. That's a tragedy. Well, the key word in this passage that we've been looking at is blessed. Jesus says three times that certain people are blessed, slaves, servants, which we understand in the context, these servants are also the bride. The bride that the husband is collecting for himself. And the word that's translated blessed, it means supremely blessed. It means divinely favored. And so when we read something like this, and we read through this, and we read, you know, blessed are those who hear the word of God and do it, and we read something like that, and we are hardwired for works righteousness. We are. We're hardwired for, if it is to be, it's up to me. And our works righteousness mentality thinks that there's folks that are blessed because they're found faithful when Jesus comes. You can read that that way. And there are people that do. But that's not what he's saying. It's the opposite that's true. The servants aren't blessed because Jesus finds them faithful when he returns. They're faithful when Jesus returns because they're blessed. That is what it means. They're already blessed because the Holy Spirit has shown them the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ and they can't take their eyes off of it. They're looking to him. Listen to Peter again in 1 Peter 1. Verses 3-9. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. God caused it so that we would obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are protected by working really hard. No, who are protected by the power of God. through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. I want to stop right there a minute. There's a little passage further on where Peter says, if you suffer for the name of Christ, you should rejoice because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you. If you're a Christian and you're looking for Jesus, and you are resting in Him, and you are afflicted, and you're tormented, and you are under trial and distress, and you keep looking to Christ, and you keep focused on Him, and you keep living for His glory. You know what the Lord is doing? He's saying, Leonard Ravenhill said that the greatest miracle that God does, you know what the greatest miracle is? It's not part of the Red Sea. The greatest miracle that God does is not curing somebody of cancer. The greatest miracle that God ever does is taking an unholy man out of an unholy world and making him holy and putting him back in that world and keeping him holy. Setting him apart to himself and then causing him to keep staying set apart to God and looking to him in Christ for the rest of his life. That's a miracle, and that's a miracle that God does every day and puts on display. That's who's blessed. That's the one who's blessed. See, Peter understood this. He understood it personally and experientially. Remember, Satan has demanded you that he might sift you like wheat, but I've prayed for you. And when you turn again, when you turn again, strengthen your brethren, feed my sheep, Peter, you're gonna be faithful. Not because you're faithful, but because I am. Because I am. The blessed are those whom God has caused to be born again, and they're kept and they're protected by his power for a salvation to be revealed in the last time. And when they fall, he picks them back up. and restores them. And all of those who are truly blessed will be found faithful when Christ comes for them. What does it mean to do the will of our master, of our father? What does it mean? Jesus said, these are my brother and sister and mother, those who hear the word of God and do it. What does that mean? You know, in John chapter six, there were some Jews that Jesus was preaching to that didn't believe. And they said to him, teach us that we may work the works of God. And Jesus said, this is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent and you look to him and you trust him. and you keep your eyes fixed on Him, that's who's blessed. So the question today is this, are you blessed? We can count all of our material blessings. We can count our family and our friends and our jobs and our homes and our cars and our health and all these wonderful things that God gives us and He gives us lots of gifts. He gives us, just like we talked about Wednesday night, He gives us life, and He gives us breath, and He gives us all things. He gives us things we don't even ask for. And He gives us everything that we're not even grateful for. And we forget to thank Him. But you know, He gives all things, even to people who aren't blessed. But the ones who are blessed are the ones that He causes to be born again, and the ones that He sets apart to Himself, and the ones that He keeps faithful, and the ones that love His appearing, and that are looking for Him. So my question today for us to end with and to ponder is this, are you blessed? Because that's what it really means to be blessed. And if you're blessed, let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Tell people you're blessed and tell them why. I told you that's why Charlotte always says, I'm blessed. If somebody asks her how she's doing, because she says, I'm blessed, and then she may get to tell them why. Well, why do you say that? Well, because Christ has redeemed me. He died for my sins according to the scriptures and he has risen and he has ascended to heaven I'm looking for him and one day I'm gonna live with him forever. And you just told somebody the gospel. Are you blessed? Let's pray. Father, we thank you for blessing. We thank you for your goodness and mercy and grace. We thank you for the salvation you've given us in Christ. We thank you that you set us apart and then you keep us set apart and that we are our perseverance doesn't depend on us. It depends on you and your goodness and your glory. Lord, we do ask that you pour out your grace and your mercy. And your goodness upon us today. That you help us to see how blessed we are. and help us to shine your light out of gratitude and love and joy in the blessing that you have given us. For it's in Christ's name we pray, amen.