You can turn to 1 Peter 3, verse 13 to verse 17. I've been looking forward to this text. It's often known as an apologetic text, but what I want us to see is that this is a text for every believer in Jesus Christ, and I'd argue At the heart of this text is a question of fear. Who do we fear? Who do you fear today? And what I want us to see, if you could think of a thesis statement from 1 Peter 3 verse 13 to 17, it's simply this, that there's no neutrality in fear. So when we think about who do we fear, It's not fearing man plus fearing God, but it's either we're fearing man or we're fearing God. It's either or. So what kind of fear marks your life this evening? There's no neutrality. It's either fear of man that's been plaguing you this last week and fear of man that will plague you this week. Or it's either fearing God that will overwhelm and subdue your heart this week to come, what kind of fear have you had, and what kind of fear do you want to have in this week to come? Peter's writing to believers who are tempted to have the wrong kind of fear. Just a reminder by way of context, Peter, we've seen in 1 Peter 1 verse 1 that he's writing to elect exiles in Asia Minor. And this is a context under Nero, and Nero's not doing the most significant kind of persecution to the believers here, but things are getting more difficult to be a believer in the Roman Empire at this time. It's around 60 A.D. that Peter's writing to the believers, and they're starting to be slandered by society and by Nero and by unbelievers, and they're starting to face mistreatment. in the workplace and in the home, and they're starting to be excluded from society. Now you could say that sounds a lot like our context here. And the question that Peter cuts to the heart at is, who are you fearing? You're either, if you look in verse 14, you either have fear of them and are troubled by them, these persecutors, Or you do not fear them and you are not troubled by them. So there's no neutrality here. You either fear those who are slandering you or you don't fear them and you fear God when you're mistreated and slandered in the workplace. Peter's writing about this idea of fear. Who will they fear? Will it be Nero? Or will it be God? What will subdue their heart as they live their daily life in this hostile environment? And so we will see this evening that either we will fear man or fear God after this sermon. And we want to aim by God's Spirit's help, by the Spirit's help through the Word, to fear God. Look at verse 13 to verse 14. And then we'll look at the middle after, but I'd argue the first heading here is the fear of man behind it all. And then finally there's this recipe about fearing God. What does it look like to fear God? And it looks like an apologetic in the sense of being an apologist, a defender of the faith, in different areas of life. But what does it look like to fear man? If there's no neutrality in fear, We want to look at both sides of the spectrum. What does fear of man look like? If you look in verse 13, we get the context here. Peter says, if you're zealous for what is good. They're facing what looks like harm. Mistreatment, slander, all that exclusion from society doesn't look quite pleasant, but it looks like harming the church and harming the believers. But Peter says, who is there to actually harm you if you're zealous for what is good? So they have the right priorities and the right desire. They're zealous, earnest for doing what is good. Verse 14, but even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, you will be blessed. These believers, they're standing up for that which is righteous in a hostile environment. They're zealous for that which is good. And that's God's definition of good. And they are facing this outward harm. They're facing what Peter says, suffering for righteousness sake. He says that you ought not to have fear of them, nor be troubled of them. And that sounds a lot like what we may experience in the world as well. I know many of you that there's conversations about the sanctity of life in the workplace that you have. And someone may be quite at odds with the biblical worldview of the sanctity of life. And the temptation is to state your position maybe, and then you start to face a little harm, and a little opposition, and a little slander, and a little mistreatment, and people aren't as friendly to you after they hear your pro-life views. And the temptation is to fall on that one side, the fear of man, and As Peter says, start to fear them and start to be troubled by them. Or maybe you've talked about the true root issues of society and you tell men and women in the workplace that it's actually sin and rebellion against God that is the root problem of everything we see in the world. And you do that to tell them the gospel of Jesus Christ. That if they see their sin and the judgment that they deserve for their sin, they'll understand the goodness and freeness of God's grace. But you may be turned right off when you mention the word sin and of righteousness. And when, if our heart is marked by the fear of them and troubled by them, well, we'll see what obviously happens. We start to stop speaking, and we start to be more silent in the workplace, and we start to shun back and fear. And then what do we see? Well, we really see what's happened in our culture today. When Christians are silent, Well, then we see that if the lamp is put, or the basket's put over the lampstand, well, then it leads to great wickedness. But the church is to speak that which is good and stand up for that which is righteous in God's sight as a preserving salt effect in society. So this is a real issue. What are we plagued with? Fear of man, whatever it may be. Look what the remedy is in verse 13. He says, who's there to harm you? Now who is there to harm you? You're saying, well, that sounds like a lot of harm. Suffering doesn't sound fun. Persecution should not be desired. Yet Peter says there's actually no harm. Even if you suffer for righteousness sake, who's gonna harm you? There's no harm. You say, well, what's he talking about? Well, look at what he's already repeated in verse 12. Right before that word now that he's summarizing, it's a summary word now, Verse 12 is what he has in mind. If the eye of the Lord, 1 Peter 3 verse 12, if his eye is on the righteous and his ear is open to your prayers, and if the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, now who's going to harm you? You see what he's saying? He's saying the fear of man is foolish. Because if God, the God of heaven and earth, his ears open to you, There's no harm. God's ears open to you. He hears your cry even when you suffer for righteousness sake. The one who rules and reigns on that throne above, his ears open to every cry and every plea that you have. Charles Spurgeon put it this way, that even a sigh and even a tear down your cheeks is heard in the throne room of heaven and there's praises of angels when they hear that sigh of God's child coming up. The Spirit of God can interpret that sigh and it flows up to the throne of God above. Peter's saying, this is the right perspective to have. Don't be plagued with fear of man because if God's ears open to you and if his eyes are always upon you, you have an all-seeing eye upon you. You have one that will never leave you nor forsake you. Look what he goes on to say in verse 14. He says, even if you should suffer for righteousness sake, he says you will be blessed. What's he talking about? This word blessings always used in context of what Jesus Christ has done for you and the blessing of eternal glory for you. If your Savior suffered for you both in this world by the hands of lawless men and suffered under the just wrath that you deserve for your sin to secure this glorious inheritance in eternity for you, He's saying you're blessed even if you suffer in this world. Glory is your inheritance. And then he picks this up if you look in verse 17. There's a middle piece on what it looks like to fear God, but verse 14 has a connection word, or verse 17 has a connection word rather. 4, picking up on verse 13 and 14, summarizing this whole thing, it's better, verse 17, to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil. Now, oftentimes we don't think that way. When we suffer, and when we face opposition and persecution from the world, the temptation is to think, we're doing something wrong. We mustn't have the blessing of God upon us if we're serving Him and we're seeking to do His will and we're being righteous and zealous for the Lord's work in this world, yet we're just seeming like we're hitting a wall. And it seems like the more we are vocal about the gospel of Jesus Christ, the sword of persecution comes upon us. Peter says, that ought not to pull you back in fear, but even if that should come, you're blessed. You've been given grace upon grace. But what happens if we forget this reality of verse 13 and verse 14, and the reality of verse 17, that to suffer for doing good, if it be God's will, is a glorious thing in God's sight? What if we forget that? Let's look back at verse 14 and flip that verse on the other side of the coin. It will be fear of them. It will be troubling them. The NIV puts it this way. Sometimes they do translate things quite well. Here the two verbs are given on what will happen if we fear man. And Peter says, do not have this. Do not fear them. Do not be troubled by them. The NIV puts it this way, do not be fearful of their threats. Do not be frightened by them. That's what he's getting at. He's saying, don't let that sidetrack you. Don't let their threats, even against you, pull you back in fear of them and not fear of God. Don't even let their intimidations overwhelm you. Now, one practical example of this, I won't say the country, but when I was in a certain communistic country, and you see the horrific things they do to human beings made in God's image, horrific, life-changing to see that. I asked a man, how do you as Christians endure such hardship? And how are you not plagued with fear constantly of man and what they could possibly do to you? And the one man, or the one pastor, said, well, it basically comes down to who you fear. If you fear God, well, they'll realize that you're a God-fearing man, and if you're not fearful of them, they'll actually leave you alone. And so they said the antidote to that, to persevere and press on in this hostile country of theirs, is about fear. These men knew that there's no neutrality in fear. If they're fearful of men, of what trouble may come, or what fear they may bring upon them, they're going to be sidetracked. The church is just going to hide and want to be done all the way together with. And these men said, it just comes down to fearing God. If that's our priority, well then we're going to be set free. We're either governed by fear of man or fear of God. Now, that's the fear of man that we don't want to have, and we feel these tendencies again and again, and this is something we have to crucify every moment of our day. But what does it practically look like to fear God? If you look in verse 15 to verse 16, Peter uses that word, but, in verse 15 to contrast, to say, have no fear of them, verse 14, nor be troubled. But he uses this word, but, to point to the fear we have. He says, but, in your hearts, honor. And that word honor is always used by Peter to speak about fear. You're either honoring, fearing men in that sense, or you're honoring, fearing God. So have no fear of man, essentially, but have a certain kind of fear of God. That's what he's saying. a fear of God Christ the Lord in your hearts as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that when, not if, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. So there is certain kind of fear. It's unbiblical to say we ought not to be captivated by fear. We have to define what kind of fear. We ought not to be captivated by the fear of man, but we ought as believers to be captivated and controlled by the fear of God. That's what Peter is saying. There should be this holy fear of God in our hearts. and specifically Christ, the Lord he uses. And it's remarkable that phrase, Christ the Lord, because Nero and Caesar in the Roman Empire, well, they made men and women say, Caesar is Lord. And Christians went to be thrown into the lion's den because they said, no, Caesar is not Lord. He's not king of kings and lord of lords, but Jesus Christ is king. He's Lord. Peter says it here without shame that Christ is the Lord and you ought to fear him in your hearts. And oftentimes we have Christian lingo and we talk about asking Jesus into our heart and we speak about the hearts. But what does it mean to fear God in our hearts? The heart is one Theologian put it, is the center and source of our whole inner life. So honor Jesus Christ as Lord, King of kings and Lord of lords in every area of your life. That's what Peter's saying. And the hearts often broke down into the mind. So this is a call to fear God with your mind. You're either allowing things as Paul said in Romans 12 to renew your mind and conform your mind into accordance with the will of God and his word, Or the fear of man's just renewed in your mind. And we have to constantly make a filter check. What is constantly overwhelming and subduing my mind? Is it Christ the Lord in the heart of my mind, my intellectual faculties? Is that what is constantly set before my mind? Because that's going to really set the tone for your day. The heart has a will, whatever governs your life, and then also the affections, what our heart is set upon. And in this context, Peter's saying there's no neutrality in your heart even. In the innermost being of your soul, you either have this ultimate fear of God that he's placed in your heart through regeneration, and in dwelling sin, the remaining sin wants to tug at the fear of man, But ultimately, if you're in Christ, the fear of God has subdued your heart. The king of love, your shepherd, has conquered your heart and given you a new heart. But if you're dead in sin, you have a heart that's just captivated, a mind, a will, affections that are constantly being tossed to and fro, whatever opinion man places upon you, or whatever threat the governing authorities utter in our world, if that's what's consuming your heart, What we've got to say is, is it Christ the Lord? Is it Him that's ruling in my innermost being as Christ the Lord, the King of Glory? Now, Peter gives us three ways to show us. how to practically fear God in our daily life. We want this. We confess, Lord, I am prone to wander in this area and I fear man more often than I'd like. What does it look like to be a God-fearing man or a woman? There's three verbs here. Verse 15, set apart, and then there's the verb ask, and then finally there is the verb to do. So what does it look like? Peter says, to fear God looks like this. Verse 15, in your hearts honor Christ the Lord, and this is a verb here. as holy. He's essentially saying this is what it looks like to fear God, that you set Christ the Lord in your heart apart. The verb is hegeazo, to dedicate, to consecrate, one for holy use. It's also used to be set apart. And we know what Peter is getting at. He's not saying that you've got to make Jesus Christ the Lord. He is Lord whether we confess him as Lord or not. What Peter's getting at is this exhortation for believers to persist, to continue, to press on in honoring and fearing and esteeming Jesus Christ as the Holy One. in every area of our life. It's this exhortation that we always need to hear, because in one area of our life, we often forget that Christ is Lord over all. And this phrase, holy or set apart, is seen in the Lord's Prayer, Matthew 6, verse 9. The CSB translates it this way, that our Father is in heaven, and then your name be honored as holy. That's what Peter's getting at. Christ the Lord is to be honored and feared as holy in every area of your life, in your mind, in your will, in your affections. So what does that look like when you wake up tomorrow and you know you have a meeting with someone that is just hostile to Christianity or a neighbor that wants nothing to do with Jesus Christ? If your mind's not prepared, as Peter will get on to say, or if your will is not in submissiveness to say, Lord, whatever you bring forth to my day, I want to honor you and fear you, or if your affections are set on the treasures of this world and not on the greatest treasure, Jesus Christ, you will feel that opposite side of verse 14, the fear of them, and the trouble of them, and the harm that they say they want to do. But if we get this right, by God's grace, we can start our day tomorrow with the power and help of God. So what does it mean to honor Him, and esteem Him, and persevere in acknowledging His Lordship over every area of our life? It begins, as I talked with one brother in the church, even when you're driving to work, or you're going down to the basement at your office, or whatever it may be. you consciously take a few minutes and you confess that Jesus Christ, you are Lord over every area of my life, that I've been redeemed by your grace to the praise of your glorious grace, that I am a redeemed sinner wholly devoted to you in thought and word and deed, and whatever you bring forth today, I pray that I'd honor you with my eyes, I'd honor you with my tongue, I'd honor you with my ears, I'd honor you with my hands and my life and my heart. That's what Peter's getting at. We are utterly dependent upon Jesus Christ for every area of the Christian life. We cannot live it apart from the power of Christ in us. So honor him as Lord. Confess your need of help in your mind and your will and your affections that are constantly bombarded. That's what Peter's getting at. Pray for present grace to sustain your mind. to help you not shun and fear, to keep you from the pleasures that the world offers you. That's what it looks like to fear God. The fear of God is seen in the prayer closet when we're pleading, I can't do this today, Lord. I need your help. That's a healthy fear of God. The second verb that Peter uses in verse 15 is to be ready. And this text is often used, I think it is a good apologetic text, but what we'll see is that this isn't for academics and this isn't just for the PhDs and theological curriculum, but the context here of this phrase defense, verse 15, always being prepared to make a defense, the Greek word of defense is apologia, where we get the word apologetics from. Always be prepared to make an apologetic or a defense to anyone who asks you, that's the verb, anyone who asks, you're making this defense for the reason or a reason for the hope that is within you. Again, we often miss the pressing command here by our Lord through the apostles to every believer. We think, okay, this is only for pastors. This is only for those trained in theological education. But the whole context, we've seen verse 13, if you look at that you word, now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? If you go in a Greek lexicon, that's in the plural. So he's speaking to every believer here in this local context in Asia Minor, and he's saying you, the church, every believer, you must give a defense for the hope that's within you, even if you suffer. If you are pressed as a Christian for standing for righteousness, there may be an unbeliever who says, hey, hold on a minute. How can it be that when I mock your Savior, you love Him more? You don't abandon Him for all that the world offers, even when you get what seems to be nothing in this world for Jesus Christ? Peter's saying that when you press on in the faith, even if you suffer for what is good, God may use that as a witness. In this theme scene again and again, if you look back in chapter 2 verse 12, Again, he says, keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable. And we saw the honorable phrase is to fear God in all your conduct. Every area of your life you're fearing God. For what? So that when they speak evil against you as evildoers, They may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. And that verb see is used in chapter three verse one to talk about wives winning their husbands to Jesus Christ. So all these verbs are essentially saying that if you fear God in this hostile culture and they're pressing in upon you, they may see your conduct and they may say there's only way that kind of living is sustained Because they have a risen Savior, and they may ask for the hope that's within them and within us. And Peter's saying, we ought to be ready. When that moment comes, we ought to be ready to tell them of this hope that we've had to give a defense, to give an apologia for this hope that's within us. So this is a command for every single person. Whether you're in the home with your children, whether you're in the workplace, whatever it may be, people may look at your life and they may say, What is different about you? And in that moment, you ought not to say, well, you know what? We did this and did that. No, you use that, Peter says, as a platform to tell about Jesus Christ. This is what I was like. This is what Jesus Christ has done. And by the grace of God, I'm not what I want to be. I long for that day of glorification, that living hope. But I'm not what I used to be. And as John Newton said, by the grace of God, I am what I am. Testify to this living hope. What does it do in apologetics to defend? To defend it means to counteract unbelief, both in the church and among the lost. And what does that look like? Steve West gives a practical definition of what does it look like as a believer to give a defense for the hope that's within us? And Steve West puts it this way, that this is a command for every Christian to grow in the grace and knowledge of the gospel of Christ. And then he writes, when someone asks them for a reason for their hope, they should be able to share about the necessity of Jesus Christ and his death, burial, resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. And they should understand why Jesus died and why he was raised from the dead. That's practical for us. You don't have to go get your PhD. The Apostle Peter is saying that if you're a Christian, you ought to, in a moment, by the grace of God, and grow in this area, to give a defense for this living hope that you have through your living Savior. I mean, we love to talk about things that we love. I mean, you could take the leafs, and I could talk about the leafs however long you want. And I love hockey, and I love sports. But I pray by God's grace that if someone wanted to talk to me about Jesus Christ, I'd be able to say much more from the heart of this lovely Savior that's mine. That's what Peter's getting at, that if this Christ rules your heart, you should be able to talk about anything about Him in a moment. And we realize that we fall short moment by moment. So Steve West says this command to give a defense to the hope that's within you, to anyone who asks, this is a command to grow. We realize, okay, Lord, I stumbled and fell in those areas last year. I wanna grow more in knowledge of you and of what you've done for me and the hope to come so that I may be able to share with anyone when the moment comes. Because if we're not prepared, that moment will come whether we like it or not, and we won't be prepared if we're not thinking about this. Votibachum puts it this way, this is a command. for all believers to live out their faith in ways that testify to the validity and the impact of the gospel that they preach and believe. And I believe that is an accurate quote as well from the whole letter of 1 Peter. We've seen that again and again. preach the gospel, you see that there is this word that is to be obeyed of repent and believe upon the Savior, but we have a gospel to proclaim and a gospel-worthy life to live. And we want to honor Christ both in our proclamation of the gospel, but also in how we live in every area of life. And Votie Bauckham says that this call to make a defense to anyone who asks us for the hope that is within us, it ought to validify this gospel that we preach, that they say, well, he says that Christ is altogether lovely, but look what he's consumed with. He says that he's repented of his sins and believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, but look what consumes his life and his treasures. Votie Bauckham says it should be obvious to the world around us that this Lord is our master, in every area of life, so they hear our proclamation and they smell the sweetness of the gospel. One pastor, Tim Kerr, put it this way, that we have gospel doctrine, which is like the substance of bread, but we don't just leave it out on the counter and let it dry out and it's all hard. And you have an unbeliever over and you say, well why don't you have a piece of my bread? And they break their tooth on it. But there's this gospel doctrine that's the substance of Christ and Him crucified. But God by the Holy Spirit also wants to have that gospel culture where it's like the bread being pulled right out of the oven so that we set forward the bread of life in word and in deed. And what do they smell? They smell the sweet smell of warm bread right out of the oven. And it's this gospel doctrine and this gospel culture that Peter, he wants to see. Honor him in every area of life so that you proclaim him, but your life is testifying to the validity of this gospel that's transformed you. And we see this throughout the scriptures. You don't have to turn there, but Acts 4 verse 13. When the apostles, Peter and James, are proclaiming Christ in speech, they see something about their life. Acts 4 verse 13, it says that when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were uneducated common men, hold up, they don't have a PhD in apologetics from 1 Peter chapter 3. You can say, well, they saw that these men were uneducated, they were fishermen. They were uneducated, common men, and it says that they were astonished. And then here's the remarkable statement. They recognized that they had been with Jesus Christ. That's what Votibachum's getting at. We proclaim this risen Christ. But we want people to see that we have been with Jesus. I love that hymn that says, I know whom I have believed in. That's from the Apostle Paul in 2 Timothy. I know. I'm thoroughly convinced. That's what Peter and the apostles want in this ask of the hope that is within us. And you could go back to chapter 1 verse 3. We won't go back there. But you see this living hope that Peter's talking about already unpacked for us. It's the hope of being born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. That's what Peter wants us to testify both in word and in deed. And then finally, if you look back in 1 Peter 3 verse 15 and 16, there's something we must do and it's in the manner of conduct. So we have A life that fears God in our hearts, and that produces these threefold qualities. And I'd argue this is the fruit of the Spirit. You can go to Galatians and read this. This is the fruit of the risen Christ working in our life as we live for Him and honor Him as our Lord. Do all of what we've heard, fearing God, honoring Him, being prepared to make a defense. And then he says, verse 15, yet. He says, you're not off the hook yet, yet do it with gentleness and respect and having a good conscience so that when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. It's interesting, he says that they'll be put to shame when He doesn't say here in this context when you proclaim this gospel, but he says that they may see your good behavior. He's talking about conduct of life, godly living. They may see something. Their ear may be deafened to the gospel, but they may see something with their eyes. They may see your good behavior when you're slandered, when you're reviled, and they may be put to shame. What does Peter want them to see when they slander us and try and cause fear upon us? There's three words, three verbs here. Verse 15, that we would do it with gentleness, this apologetic defense. with respect and with a good conscience. This gentleness is often translated humility. So there ought to be this Christ-like humble aroma about us when we're seeking to win souls to Jesus Christ. And to see the effects of the fear of God in our life, we ought to see as our fear of God is growing, What happens? The view of self or the view of man doesn't grow less in value. And we don't say, well, we're just miserable and we don't have value, dignity, and worth. But we actually start to think of ourselves less, as one man put it. not thinking less of ourselves, but it's actually thinking of ourselves less. So if it's the fear of man, we're gonna be thinking of them, and we're gonna be thinking about me, myself, and I. But if it's the fear of God, what is gonna happen? We're not thinking of self, we're thinking of God. That's this gentleness, this humility that This living hope is all we have, and that produces humility. We give a defense to the living hope that is in us, and we realize we don't deserve this living hope. So when we're given a defense for the faith, as one man said, we're just those who found living water. We're just those who've received the bread of life, and we're saying, here's the fountain of life, Jesus Christ, who saved us, and here's the bread of life. Whoever comes to him shall never hunger or thirst anymore. That's a humble way of going forward. The second verb here is to do it with respect. And again, that word respect, I think it could be better understood as understanding that the people we're dealing with are image bearers, made in God's image, ruined by the fall. Yet they're all on the same playing ground as us. Every sin traces back to the sin of unbelief and alienation with God. So we respect. You don't respect their sins and you don't approve their sins. You call sin what it is. But there should be this common benevolent love for image bearers that Peter says should mark your hearts. As one man, Ian Murray, put it, that when we share the gospel and preach doctrine and all of that, men and women shouldn't just see that we understand it, but that it has had this persuasive effect on us, and we want that love to be poured out on them as well. And then finally, Number three, Peter says, do it with a good conscience. And that's understanding that everything we do, even in our thought life, when it's hidden from everyone in this church, it's done in the presence of God. That's what this good conscience is. It's understanding that you live and I live and serve in the presence of God. Coram Deo, his eye, his ears always upon us. He sees everything that we do. Do everything with a good conscience, knowing that our Lord sees everything we do, whether in our mind or in our heart or the will faculty of our inner being, that's this posture that this fear of God produces. It's a priority over a godliness rather than giftedness. And that can be an encouragement to us because we could say in verse 15, well, I'm not that good at putting together a sentence and giving a defense for the hope that is within me. Well, we see the Apostle Paul said, it's not by words of eloquence or human wisdom, but in the power of the Spirit of God, he proclaimed Christ. Here we see this proclamation is always tied to this godliness. So if you pursue godliness, what happens? Well, God says he'll honor that, he'll bless that, he'll use that. So which fear then, as we wrap this all together, What fear marks your life and my life tonight? We're going into a new week. Guaranteed, you could go home tonight and turn on the internet and be plagued with fear. You genuinely could be. What fear? Is it the fear that my Father in heaven, this is my Father's world. He's ruling and reigning, and even when I don't know what He's doing, I know that he's working out, Romans 8, 28, all things together for my good. That's my sanctification in Christ. And one day I'm going to receive this living hope in its entirety. Is that the fear that we have when the fear of the world bombards our soul? Sometimes it's the opposite effect. So maybe you're here today and you feel fearful of the future. What does Peter say? He says, go back to that living hope. Rest your soul there. When this sinful inclination of the flesh wants to pop up tomorrow morning, Go back to that living hope that you've received in Jesus Christ. Or maybe you say, my heart's just distracted, my mind is distracted, my will and my affections are distracted. Well, what does Peter say? Go back to that living hope, chapter one. The living hope is Jesus Christ risen from the dead for you. Sit there, meditate upon him there. Spurgeon put it this way in one of his sermons, that all our troubles and all our sorrows and everything in this world finds its remedy in meditating upon Jesus Christ. Guaranteed. A.W. Tozer puts it this way, we have as much of God as we actually want. That's convicting. Do I enter this week with that posture that I have as much of God in the sense of beholding His glory and pleading for sustaining grace that I want? If I want more grace and if I want to behold more of His glory, I have what I want. James says we have not because we ask not. So whether fearful, whether distracted, we have what we want. The question is, are we going to pray, Lord, increase my desires and increase my dependency and fear of you so that I ask that which I want and you give me that which I need? And then finally, if you're here today and you say, well, my life's marked by zealousness and righteousness and morality and all these things. I try to do that, which is good. And I hope that just secures my living hope. And I hope that's really the anchor for my soul. George Whitfield said that's like a man who's trying to climb to the moon on a rope of sand. If you think your zealousness or morality or Christianity of the institutional level or coming to church or whatever will somehow secure a little more of that living hope, George Whitfield says, try climbing to the moon on a rope of sand. You can't do it. That this living hope is given by grace, free, unachieved, unmerited, and it's offered for you today. Whatever background you have or whether a moral life or an immoral life, if this Savior is the one you embrace, He will give you that living hope. And then by the grace of God, He'll give you a heart and a mind and affections that want to glory and boast in this reason for our hope that we have in Jesus Christ. So let's conclude with a word of prayer now and ask the Lord to do everything we've heard from His Word in 1 Peter 3. Let's pray. Father, we confess often our hearts is tugged in the direction of the fear of man. Lord, we confess that often in a culture that we live in and you've allotted for us and placed us in in this country at this time. Lord, we confess So often we bury our talents. So often we shun away and we don't speak and we don't testify as we ought out of this fear of man. We pray this evening by Your Sovereign Spirit's work that You'd rid us supernaturally, entirely of this fear of man and that Lord for this week to come we would be empowered by Your Spirit filled with a reverential, Honorable fear of you so that we can set you apart, knowing that you are the Holy One, but everything we do in our mind and in our will and in our affections, Lord, consciously, we march forth each day on our knees pleading for you to help, to strengthen, to go before, Lord, so that we would be blessed in this regard. in order for us to be a blessing, in order for us to testify and to give a defense for the hope that we have in our Lord Jesus Christ. And that through our conduct and through our proclamation, Lord, you'd be pleased to use our efforts in our day to build your church and to save the lost. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.