All right, so as we begin, you can take your Bibles or just look at your handout. We're gonna be in 1 Peter 1 again, looking at verses three. I've got down through nine, but we may not get all the way through nine tonight. We'll do our best. And in 1 Peter 1, verses 3 through 9, we see Peter talking about the life-changing inheritance that is available to believers. As we finished a couple weeks ago looking at verses 1 and 2, I know we were gone for Thanksgiving, so let's just take a minute and refresh our memories on what we studied a couple weeks ago with 1 Peter 1 and 2 as Peter greets the exiles. Does anybody remember the main thrust of our lesson last week as we looked at 1 Peter 1 and 2. Anybody? We were looking at the function of salvation, remember? Salvation works. Remember, salvation actually does something. And so, as we consider this, and we look at 1 Peter 1, 3 through 7, Peter's gonna continue to build on this. He's writing to these believers that have been literally displaced from their homes. That's why he calls them exiles. This is because of the persecution they are facing. And he writes to remind them that they are spiritual exiles. They're living in Babylon. He kind of uses this imagery throughout the book. And so he does this to emphasize this world is not their home. And he's writing to remind them of the inheritance that they've received. through salvation. Remember, He encourages them that their salvation should produce action. Their salvation should produce action. Because they're saved, their lives should look markedly different than the unsaved world around them. And so, we read in verse 2 of 1 Peter chapter 1 that as believers, our lives are to be lived out in the sanctification of the Spirit. And this is really referring to a believer's life must be lived out in a constant state of growing and striving to look more like Jesus Christ. This is what it means to live in a constant state of sanctification, right? In the sanctification of the Spirit. And so again, as we concluded last week, we asked an important question. If you claim to be saved, how is your life different? If you claim to be saved, how is your life different? True conversion is marked by transformed living. True conversion is marked by transformed living. Don't miss that. Peter writes his epistle so that your life can be changed, so that you can actually grow in your walk with Jesus Christ. And so again, salvation works. Our lives should be changed because of our salvation. Now with that in mind, look at 1 Peter 1, verses 3, and I'll just read down through verse 9 just to give us a feel for the context of this passage. Now God's Word says, In this you rejoice, though now for a little while. If necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it 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, and 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." So let's go ahead and pray as we look at this text, and then we will jump right in. Let's pray. Dear Lord, we're so thankful for the opportunity to come together and to worship you tonight. Lord, we pray that as we look at your word, you would open our eyes, that we may behold glorious truths from your word. Lord, would you sanctify us by your truth this evening? And God, may our lives actually be changed because of our salvation. May our salvation work out our sanctification in our lives, that we might live lives that are glorifying and honoring to you, as Peter talks about in this passage. And we pray all these things in Jesus' name, amen. In the early 2000s, Jared Malone shuffled down the busy streets of Chicago with a tattered blanket slung over his shoulders. His face was weathered from years of sleeping under bridges and scavenging for scraps. This man had once been full of potential. He was a promising college student with a bright future in business finance, but a string of bad decisions, the loss of his parents, and an ever-deepening addiction to different drugs had landed him here, living among the forgotten. What Jared didn't know, or perhaps refused to believe, was that he was the sole heir to a $15 million fortune left behind by his estranged uncle, Martin, a wealthy real estate developer. Martin had no children of his own and had named Jared as a sole beneficiary of his will, hoping to one day reconcile with his nephew. When Martin passed away, unexpectedly, his attorney began searching for Jared to deliver this life-altering news. And for months, city officials and private investigators scoured records in the streets of Chicago even making flyers and passing them out at different shelters and community centers. They even managed to track down Jared at a soup kitchen once. A sharply dressed man carrying a leather briefcase approached him and asked, Jared Malone? He squinted at the man defensively and he replied, who's asking? The man replied, my name is Evan Brooks. I'm an attorney representing your late uncle's estate. I have urgent news about an inheritance. He cut the man off with a bitter laugh. Inheritance? Man, you've got the wrong guy, he responded. No amount of convincing could get him to listen. The idea of being worth millions seemed absurd to someone who had never had more than a few dollars in his pocket. Besides, Jared was too far gone. The gnawing ache of his addiction consumed him. He saw every stranger as a potential threat or a scammer. And time and again, officials tried to intervene. Social workers would beg Jared to enter rehab, to come to the courthouse and hear the details of this inheritance that he had received. But instead, Jared chose the fleeting comfort of his addictions over the hope of change. This is who I am, he would mutter. This is all I've got. And shockingly, in 1 Peter 1, verses 3 through 9, we read of a similar situation. Through Jesus Christ, we have access to a life-changing inheritance, and yet so many die spiritually penniless. Instead of claiming the glorious inheritance that is available to them, they wallow in their brokenness and sin. And notice verse 1, as Peter begins this theologically very rich text, excuse me, verse 3, Peter begins by saying, Peter opens chapter one with this rich Trinitarian statement. This statement emphasizes the joint role and equal power of God the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. And John, throughout his gospel, repeatedly highlights this relationship between God the Father and Jesus Christ. Jesus himself repeatedly identifies himself as the Son. And so Peter opens his book by praising God and encouraging the believers to praise God. And so he'll follow up this initial instruction by giving us multiple reasons to praise God. So look at the remainder of verse 3. Peter opens saying, And Peter, as he writes in this section, this is absolutely loaded with theological truth. So as we look at verse 3, let's take a minute and identify the reasons that Peter gives us for praise. There are multiple reasons that Peter gives us that we can praise God in this passage. What are some of those reasons? You see, we see Peter opens verse three saying, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then what's the reason? Why is this? Why is he praising God to start out? Again, Peter's writing to believers that have been dispersed. They've been scattered. What in the world would give them cause to praise? For His great mercy. Okay, yeah, perfect. According to His great mercy, number one, we see this great mercy. That's a number one, but the great mercy also produces something else. That kind of leads into something else, too. Okay, the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Okay, that's definitely a reason to praise. Okay, yup, yup, yup. Okay, now you're moving into verse four. Okay, hang on. So stop at verse three, but that's good. That's very good, Stephen. Okay, who said living hope? Jackson? Okay, living hope. Very good. That's good as well. So we have a couple things. Anything else? So we have blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We're starting off, we're praising God. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He's caused us to be what? Born again. This is new birth, okay? So this is a huge reason to praise God, right? Born again. So as you think about this, then we've got living hope, which Jackson pointed out, the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Stephen highlighted that one. And so we've got a lot of reasons to praise God. Notice in verse three, he says, according to his great mercy, who has caused us to be born again? He says in verse three, what does he say after that? Great mercy. Anybody? Who has caused us to be born again? Is that something we do? No. He has caused us to be born again, right? He has caused us to be born again. And so this is that spiritual life which only Jesus Christ can affect. Only God can affect. Jesus tells Nicodemus in John 3, 3, unless one is born again, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. To which Nicodemus replies, how can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born? And remember, Nicodemus isn't confused here. He doesn't misunderstand what Jesus is saying. Nicodemus is responding in a similar metaphor, saying, I'm too old for this. I can't do this. How do you expect me to accomplish this kind of radical transformation? And what does Jesus say? That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. If this is a work that you do on your own, Flesh can only work out flesh. That which is born of spirit is spirit. So spirit gives birth to spirit. This is only a salvation. This is only a new birth that God can affect. Again, highlighting that we cannot do anything to save ourselves. Okay, so notice that's a very important phrase. He has caused us to be born again. Secondly, as you think about this, consider tonight, have you been born again? Have you been born from above? If you have been, the Bible's clear and Peter's clear in this book. You will be transformed more into the image of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself says, if you love me, you what? will obey my commandments. This is a natural outworking of salvation because salvation works. It actually changes us. It transforms us. And so once again, if this is not happening in your life, at some point you should stop and consider, is my salvation real? Have I truly been born again? If I don't desire these things, if I haven't put on the new man and exchanged my old sinful fleshly desires for new spirit-filled desires, then maybe I haven't truly been born again. And what have we been born again to? What have we been born again to? There's two different things that were born again, too. Does anybody know? Just give me one of them. a living hope. Okay, so we're born again to a living hope. And for those who have claimed this great inheritance they have through Christ, they have so much to rejoice in. We've just gone through just verse three. You see all these things that they have to rejoice in. They have God's great mercy to rejoice in. They have their salvation to rejoice in, this living hope. They have the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus conquers death and hell in his resurrection. And so there's so much for us to rejoice in as recipients of this inheritance. They've experienced the great mercy of God, and this is only available through Jesus's finished work on the cross, defeating death, his resurrection. Notice that in verse 3. He has caused us to be born again to a living hope, and the living hope is through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. And so this is what everything, our whole hope is based in Jesus's death on the cross, his sacrifice for us, his conquering of death and hell and his resurrection. So as you think about this, could you explain what that living hope is? What does the living hope look like? Or what does our hope accomplish? Does anybody know? We said because of the resurrection of Jesus, we have hope. But what does that hope look like for believers, I'm saying? Maybe I'm not phrasing that question very well. Okay, the inheritance, yes, we have hope in the inheritance. Eternal life, yes. Okay, you could also say glorification, right? But hope for believers looks different than hope in an earthly sense, right? A lot of times people use the word hope to say kind of, I wish that this would happen. I hope that this happens. Is that what our hope looks like as believers? No, and why not? What assures it? Jesus Christ. What about Jesus Christ? Thank you, Jerry. Yes, the resurrection of Jesus Christ is what assures our hope. Our hope is steadfast, right? A biblical sense of hope is really more of a confident expectation in the promises of God. And so this is the idea of hope. This is what many authors, even Paul refers to as the hope of glory, right? This hope sustains believers through trials. It produces joy and rejoicing, and it grows as a result of the process of sanctification. This is a living hope, not just in the sense that our hope is placed in Jesus and he's alive, but the hope itself. This is a living hope. It is growing as we are sanctified. It is strengthened as we are sanctified. And so a defining characteristic of being born again is that an individual possesses this kind of biblical hope. All right, so don't miss that. This is a defining characteristic of being a believer. You have a living hope. You have something to rejoice in. How many times have you interacted with a believer, with somebody who says they have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and you kind of feel like that person is totally miserable. They say they know Jesus, but they are a miserable person to be around. They seem miserable in everything they do. Guys, that's not a regenerate person. That that's not someone who has a living hope, who has all of these things to be thankful for, to be thankful for their salvation, to be thankful for the great mercy that God has shown them. This is a defining characteristic of a believer. It is a hallmark of a believer. And again, this should be a powerful motivator. Do you have hope? Do you have hope? We talked about that this past Sunday in 1 Peter 3.15. As believers, you have hope and that should be evident to other people. 1 Peter 3.15 says, always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that lies within you. That implies that your hope is evident to people such that they will ask you about it. Now, that's not to say you should never share your testimony or share the gospel with people, but it does mean the hope should be so evident in you that people would be driven to ask you about it. What's different about you? Do you rejoice in the hope of glorification? Do you expectantly await the second coming of Jesus Christ? This is what it means to be a true disciple of Christ, one who expectantly awaits the coming of their master. And so, Notice this, in verse three, Peter says, we are born again to a living hope. And we said, that's one thing that we are born again to, but we're born again to something else as well. And Stephen started to touch on it. Does somebody remember? The other thing we're born again to, we're born again to a living hope. And then the second thing is in verse four. Anybody? Yep. Imperishable inheritance. So we are born again to an inheritance here that is imperishable. And then there's two other adjectives that define our inheritance. Kira, what other adjectives define our inheritance? We have imperishable. Sorry, you can't see. Undefiled and unfading. Perfect, perfect, perfect. Okay, so we have an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading. So do you know what, as you think about this, as you read this verse, you know what every earthly inheritance has in common? every single earthly inheritance. Eventually they all fade away. They're squandered. They're wasted. They're stolen. Some are left unclaimed. Some are defiled by sin, by scandal. The heavenly inheritance that you are born again to, if you are a believer, stands in stark contrast to any earthly inheritance that you could possibly imagine. And so as you think about this, why do you think Peter is using this kind of language with his audience. Why do you think he's talking about an inheritance? What would be his purpose in discussing a heavenly inheritance with this audience that has been dispersed over Asia Minor and has been run out of their homes facing incredible persecution? Why is he talking about a heavenly inheritance? Exactly, because this is not their home. Their home is in heaven. They are elect exiles, right? This is not what they should be focused on. And so I think Peter here, he's very importantly He's highlighting a major difference in the inheritance that they have in Jesus Christ versus the inheritance that is available to them in the world. And so as they're living in the world as elect exiles, they've lost everything in a sense. And so Peter's writing to them to say, you have an inheritance that is imperishable, it's undefiled, it's unfading in the heavens for you. Again, Peter, he's talking to these believers that have lost everything. He wants them to remember they're living in a land, not their own. And so they must remember the heavenly inheritance they're born again to. So we've got the two things that we are born again to. And Peter says that this inheritance is kept in heaven for you. Again, standing in stark contrast to everything that they had lost in the world. All of their possessions that they had lost, their homes that they had been run out of. Many times we gloss over facts like this in scripture. We say, yeah, we get it. These were believers that have been run out of their homes. They're facing persecution. Okay, like move on. But consider this for a minute. I mean, consider if somebody came in and ran you and your family out of your home because of your religious beliefs. How long do you think that you would hold to those religious beliefs? If everything you knew, if everything you owned was threatened because you believed in Jesus Christ, would you still believe in him? would you still say that you were a follower of Christ? And so Peter's saying, in stark contrast to everything that you've lost, this inheritance is kept in heaven for you. It's secured in heaven. It's a personal inheritance. He actually changes his tense from talking about we, from talking about a collective to talking about individuals here. He says this is kept in heaven for you. This inheritance cannot be stolen. It cannot deteriorate over time. It's not affected by inflation or the economy. It's perfectly preserved in heaven for the believer. And Peter's train of thought doesn't end here. Pay attention to verse 5. As you look at verse 4, keep this word, you, in mind because he doesn't stop there. He continues, you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. And so as you think about this, this inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith. So stop there for a minute at the beginning of verse 5. Who is the who in the beginning of verse five? Who is Peter talking about there? When he says, who by God's power are being guarded? Who's that? the elect exiles, the believers, right? You, the people who have the inheritance waiting for them, these individuals, their inheritance is you who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. And so Peter writes that not only does God sovereignly protect and preserve the inheritance of the believers, but he also sovereignly protects the believers themselves. Notice, Peter writes that by God's power, the believers are guarded through faith. Real, genuine, saving faith does not die. It cannot be quenched by the enemy. This is the nature of true faith. Jesus says in John 10, 27 and 28, My sheep hear My voice, I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. Peter's writing to these individuals, he's writing this encouragement to these believers that they are being guarded by the power of God for this reason, because the believers were genuinely scared that they might crack under the persecution that they were facing. They feared that they might forsake Jesus Christ because of the persecution they were facing. And these believers so badly wanted to be faithful to Jesus and to the mission and the cause that he had given them, that Peter's writing them to say, not only is your inheritance protected by God, but you yourself, as a believer, you are protected by God. You are held by God. You are guarded by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. And so it's God's power that is guarding you through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. Now, how is salvation ready to be revealed in the last time? Are you not saved right now? You're only saved in the last time? What's Peter talking about? Ben, you have any ideas? Why would Peter say that this salvation is gonna be revealed in the last time? Okay, the return of Jesus Christ, yes, you're onto something. What part of salvation is that? We say three parts to salvation? Glorification, very good, very good guys, that was good, Ben. Very good, so this is talking about glorification, ready to be revealed at the last time. We'll write that in here. Glorification, that's what Peter's talking about. And he says in verse six, notice what he says, in this you rejoice. You rejoice in what? What are they rejoicing in? Anybody, what? Jerry, did you say something? Josie. What are they rejoicing in? Yeah, exactly, their salvation. They're rejoicing in their salvation. They're rejoicing at the fact that when Jesus returns, they will be glorified. And these believers expectantly awaited the second coming of Christ. They lived with this in mind. Why do you think they lived with this in mind? Why do you think they lived expecting for Jesus to return? Michael. Right. Because their current situation was so bad. This is what they looked forward to this. This genuinely when Peter writes about a hope, he meant it. These believers hoped they awaited expectantly. They were anxiously looking forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Do you live your life that way? If you do, it impacts the way you live. It impacts the choices you make. If you live expectantly awaiting Jesus' return, it impacts decisions that you make every single day. It's practical. Again, your salvation works for your sanctification. It is actively growing you more into the image of Jesus Christ, and the same was true for these believers. The same was true for them. They lived every day looking forward to this return, again, like Michael said, because of their current situation. This is, again, this is the hope of glorification. This is the hope of glorification. In the New Testament, when you read that, you need to think of believers who are being persecuted, who had nothing left to live for except for Jesus Christ and His second coming. That's what Peter wants us to think of. When we think of life, Peter wants us to think we have nothing left. We have nothing on this world. We are elect exiles living in Babylon. We own nothing. We have an inheritance that is kept in heaven for us. That's what motivates us. Our glorification when we see Jesus again, that's what motivates us. This is it. This is everything for us. That's what Peter wants you to live like. The hope of glorification needs to dominate your thinking. If and when it does, it changes how you live. It changes your priorities in life, right? The thing I think about a lot when I think of the second coming of Christ is, this is a silly illustration, but you think about when your parents are gone, And if you have younger siblings and, you know, things just spiral out of control sometimes and the house ends up in a very not good state, have any, please tell me I'm not the only one who's been there. Okay. Thank you guys. Thank you. So. Listen, when you know that your parents are coming back, if you get a text message, hey, we're on our way back, does it impact the way that you live, right? All of a sudden, everybody stops whatever they were doing and we start picking up the house. We start furiously cleaning because we're afraid of what may happen if our parents come back and discover the house in the state that it's in, right? This is a similar idea. When you live with the hope of glorification in mind, when you live with the thought of Jesus' second coming in mind, it impacts decisions you make. And this is how the believers lived. They lived with this hope because they understood they had nothing left in this world. They were truly exiles. One commentator writes, salvation is used here not of past justification or of present sanctification, but of the future full possession of all the blessings of our redemption, of the final complete fulfillment of our sanctification. That is glorification. I'm going to say that again. The future full possession of all the blessings of our redemption. That is glorification. This is the completion of our salvation. And so Peter says what in verse six, in verse six he says, in this you rejoice, in this you rejoice, in what? In this salvation, like Josie said, in this you rejoice. This is referring back to the salvation that he's just discussed. And then he says in his next phrase, And so I want you to notice this word, though, Very important word. And again, remember, we're doing this so that you guys can can begin to understand how to go about Bible study on your own, how you pick out these words that are important. This word connects phrases for us. This word, though, is connecting phrases. Does anybody know what it's connecting? How is Peter using this word? Austin. How's he using this word though? He says, in this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you've been grieved by trials. This word though, Why is Peter saying, what phrases is this word connecting? In this you rejoice, though, now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by trials. You have been grieved by trials, okay. So he's making a point with this word though, he's making a point, in this you rejoice, though, what? Though you have been grieved by various trials. So think about this. The opening of verse six, he says, you've been grieved by various trials, you still must rejoice. Though now for a little while, if necessary, you've been grieved by various trials, in this you rejoice. You're still rejoicing in spite of the fact that you face these trials. Now again, he's talking to people who had been thrown out of their homes, who'd had their livelihoods taken from them, even family members killed, and he's saying, in this salvation, you rejoice, even though this is the persecution that you're going through. Rejoicing in all that Christ has done for us, once again, this is a hallmark characteristic of a true disciple of Christ. And so as you think about that, some American Christians today, and evaluate for yourself whether or not this is you, but some American Christians today, we don't necessarily even look joyful to go to church. We're not even facing persecution. But sometimes we come to church on Sunday, we come to church on Wednesday, and it looks like this is the last place I want to be on earth. Does that describe the kind of rejoicing that Peter says should be the mark of a true believer? This should define a true believer is this kind of rejoicing. And sometimes for Christians today, in spite of all the blessings they've been given by God, We come to church and we act like, this really isn't that important to me, this really doesn't interest me that much. Are you thankful for the salvation that you've received through Jesus Christ? Once again, this should drive us, this should motivate us in life as believers. Notice also the phrase, for a little while. Notice this, for a little while. So in this, you rejoice, though you've been grieved by various trials, So once again, he's saying you rejoice in spite of the fact that you've been grieved by various trials and you've been grieved by these trials for a little while. He's still trying to emphasize this is temporary suffering. This world is not the final stop. This is a temporary suffering. You'll be afflicted for a little while. And then notice this word in verse seven, notice the word so. Peter begins verse seven by saying, 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 salvation of Jesus Christ. So Peter is saying there is a very specific purpose for this suffering. What is that specific purpose? Says though for a little while you've been grieved by these trials so that what? What's the purpose? That our faith may be tested, yes. And what does that testing produce? Growth, yes. It definitely produces growth, so testing produces growth. You can write that in if you want. What else does the testing produce? Praise, glory, and honor. Yes. Praise, glory, and honor. Very good. For who? Yep. Yeah, so these three modifiers, they're all pointing to Jesus Christ. This is the singular purpose for the testing of your faith, is that Christ would be honored and magnified by your perseverance when he returns. Again, Peter's writing to these believers who have faced incredible suffering, and he says what? The purpose for your suffering is that Christ would be magnified, that Christ would be glorified, that Christ would be honored when he returns by your perseverance. and your perseverance through suffering actually confirms your faith. Notice the beginning of this statement, the tested genuineness of your faith. When you persevere and you come out of that testing, guess what? It verifies the reality of your faith. It verifies the genuineness of your faith. This is why he references the purification process of gold even. It's a similar process for our faith. Perseverance through these trials verifies the faith of the believer. It should give us confidence. And ultimately, we must persevere in the face of hardships because it ultimately glorifies God. This is, again, this is the singular purpose for our testing. Again, remember, your sole purpose in life is to magnify your Savior, Jesus Christ. Your attitude in suffering, your endurance through suffering, it must point others to Christ. Remember the words of John the Baptist in John chapter three. He must increase. I must decrease. This is your purpose. This is why God has placed you here. And so again, Peter writes this to continue to bolster the courage of the believers, to point them back to Jesus Christ, to encourage them to persevere so that Christ might be magnified. when he returns. As you think about this, one bitter January evening, Jared lay curled on a sidewalk near Michigan Avenue. Snowflakes swirled around him as pedestrians hurried past, oblivious to the homeless man on the sidewalk. His body, ravaged by years of substance abuse and neglect, could take no more, and by morning he was found lifeless by a city sanitation worker. News of his death had spread quickly, and the story of a man who refused to claim a $15 million inheritance became a brief media sensation. The lawyers handling Martin Malone's estate expressed their sorrow, and they commented in a news report, he didn't have to die this way. Everything was ready for him, a home, medical care, rehab, a fresh start, but he refused to listen. Jared's story became a parable for wasted opportunities and the tragedy of refusing help. For all the wealth and redemption that had been his for the taking, Jared died as he had lived, homeless, addicted, and alone. Peter writes to the believers of the dispersion to implore them that their lives must be changed because of their inheritance. You have a similar inheritance waiting for you. It is kept in heaven for you. This inheritance must change your life. Is your life changed because of the inheritance you've received through Christ? Or are you just like the man in this story? Have you rejected the inheritance that could be yours in Christ to pursue your sin, to pursue the fleeting satisfaction that is provided by this world? If you have an inheritance in Christ, your life should be different because of it. Your life should be changed because of it. That's what Peter wants us to understand. These truths change our lives. They change the way that we live. So as we close in prayer, I want you to take a moment. I want you to genuinely consider this. Salvation works. It changes lives. Has it changed yours? Has your salvation changed your life today? Let's bow and close with a word of prayer. Lord, we're so thankful for this passage. We're thankful again for the opportunity to come together and to worship You. Lord, I do pray that we would learn as we come to Your Word. I pray that we would grow as we come to Your Word, that we would grow in our love for Your Word, that we would grow in our knowledge of Your Word, and ultimately in our knowledge of You. God, would You stir our hearts today? Would You give us a passion to know You, a passion to to live in light of your second coming. Lord, may you find us doing what you've called us to do. May we be living for your honor and glory in everything that we do and say. Might our salvation have a transforming work, a transforming impact on our lives in Jesus name. And for his sake, we pray. Amen.