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[0:00] If you take your Bibles, please, and go to 1 Peter. Oh, the last time we're gonna look at 1 Peter. Are you sad?

[0:12] Yeah, don't everybody cry at once. Is it our last time in 1 Peter? And so, 1 Peter chapter 5, if you're visiting with us, the black Bible in the chair in front of you, go towards the back and find page 183.

[0:33] 183. 183. We'll do verse 12 through 14. We're actually gonna be looking at lots of different portions in 1 Peter, just by way of reminder, because of what Peter says here, standing firm in God's grace.

[0:55] But I'll read, actually starting in verse 6, through verse 14, gives us a context. 1 Peter 5, starting in verse 6. And I'll read through verse 14.

[1:13] Therefore be humble, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you. Be sober, be alert.

[1:26] As your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

[1:42] After suffering for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, establish you, to Him the power, forever and ever.

[1:55] Amen. Through Silvanus, our faithful brother, for so I regard him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God.

[2:07] Stand firm in it. She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you greetings. And my son Mark, greet one another with a kiss of love.

[2:21] Peace be to you all who are in Christ. Townhomes there in Clarkdale are starting to be built out, which is kind of nice for us who've been looking at weeds for the past, oh, I don't know, decade or so.

[2:41] They're building town, it was like right next to us. They're starting to pour the foundation. And pouring a foundation is important. Unless you lived in Jerome during the 1920s and 30s. Even if you had a nice foundation, it really didn't matter.

[2:56] A substance problem began to emerge in Jerome during that time that had irreparably damaged at least 10 downtown buildings by 1928 and it worsened through the 1930s.

[3:10] Dozens of buildings, including the post office and jail, were lost as the earth beneath them sank away. So even if you had a good foundation, it wouldn't matter.

[3:23] Contributing causes were geological faulting in the area. Of course, the blast vibrations from the mines and erosion. If you go to Jerome, you probably know about the sliding jail.

[3:35] It slid down the mountain. It rests 200 feet away from the original spot. A foundation is important, but what's more important is the foundation underneath the foundation.

[3:47] Right? What's the foundation upon which we build our foundation? God's grace, actually.

[3:58] God in His grace. The grace of God is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. If there's anything that you get this morning, I hope and pray you will get this.

[4:08] Christian weirdos stand firm in God's grace. If you want to be a weirdo, you'll stand firm in grace. By God's grace, be wise, winsome weirdos in this wicked world.

[4:22] And Christian weirdos stand firm in God's grace. A statement for you. God graciously empowers us to live drastically different lives from this world.

[4:37] He empowers us because of and by means of His grace so that we can live righteously in an unrighteous world. So stand firm in His true grace.

[4:49] We must stand firm in God's grace. As I decided to split up 6-14, do 6-11 last week, and then 12-14 this week, we're doing the Lord's Supper today.

[5:06] Here is a tangible, touch it, feel it, taste it. You're going to taste God's grace. You're going to tangibly touch God's grace.

[5:20] Because these elements remind us of the grace of God given to us in the gospel. We should be condemned. God should have nothing to do with us.

[5:35] And yet He shows us grace in Jesus. Sending Jesus. Jesus dying for sinners as a substitute for me. And then He resurrected from the dead.

[5:47] That's grace. And my response, I humble myself, I repent, turn away from my sin, and put all my hope in Jesus Christ. That's the gospel.

[5:59] The gospel of grace. Stand firm in it, church. Well, what is grace? It's His undeserved favor. Grace can simply be defined as His undeserved favor.

[6:15] Now, as a simple definition, it unpacks even more than that. And you'll see that in a moment. We'll go through passages in 1 Peter where He makes mention of grace.

[6:26] But the simple definition is simply undeserved favor. I think I have it up there. Yeah. Here's the different times He mentions grace.

[6:38] Obviously, 5 verse, what, 13? Excuse me, verse 12? He mentions that here. But going back through Peter, his letter, first letter, He says, May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure.

[6:54] Chapter 1, verse 2. In verse 10, As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, may careful search and inquiry.

[7:07] And you know the context because when He says the grace that would come to you, grace is coming in Christ. So, how does God show what grace is or who grace is?

[7:20] Grace is Jesus. Jesus. Jesus is the embodiment of His grace. Jesus is the embodiment of God's grace to us.

[7:33] Verse 13 of chapter 1. Therefore, gird your minds for action. Be sober. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be revealed, to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

[7:46] Jesus is the embodiment of grace. And then His second coming when He returns, that's another aspect of God's grace. His favor. He will return and He'll take us home.

[8:02] In chapter 3, verse 7, He mentions grace. When He's speaking to husbands, Husbands, likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace which is life.

[8:19] God being gracious to us, He gives us life as opposed to death. We deserve separation. We deserve death. We deserve to be pulled away from God.

[8:30] But no, He gives us life, relationship, connection with Him. chapter 4, verse 10, He says, as each one has received a gift employed in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

[8:49] God gives undeserved favor by giving us gifts. His gift is a favor that He gives. Not only does He save us, but then He gives us a gift so that we can serve each other.

[9:01] That's His grace. We don't deserve it. And then chapter 5, verse 5, all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.

[9:14] The reason is God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Friends, we do not just repent. It's not a simple thing of just, I have repented and I have believed in Jesus.

[9:27] No, it's, I am repenting and I am believing in Jesus. We keep repenting and we keep trusting because God is opposed when we are proud against Him, but He gives grace, His favor when we humble ourselves and say, God, I need you not just yesterday, but today and I'll need you probably even more tomorrow.

[9:48] Grace, I need your favor. And then, of course, in verse 10, which we read, He is the God of all grace.

[9:59] God is so filled with grace. Have you been told that God is out to get you? Have you grown up where people tell you that God's coming after you?

[10:14] That's a religion of bondage. That's a belief system that puts you under chains. No, God's grace is unleashed to those who say, I need you, oh God.

[10:29] He says, absolutely, here I am. That's what He does. Here I am. That's what God loves to do. He loves to say, here I am. When you're proud, He says, no, don't be proud.

[10:40] But somebody who says, God, I need you, please save me, please change me. God says, I'm here. He gives you grace, so much favor, more and more and more. So when we look at all this, working through the passage, now, working through the whole letter, excuse me, now look at verse 12.

[11:01] He says, through Silvanus, of chapter 5, through Silvanus, our faithful brother, so I regard him. So Silvanus was Paul's companion, Silas.

[11:13] Maybe he scripted the letter letter and a manuensis or he carried the letter, whichever one. He says, I've written to you briefly.

[11:24] Wow, I hate to see a long letter from Peter. I've written to you briefly. Notice he says, exhorting and testifying to you that this is the true grace of God. Peter wrote this for encouragement.

[11:40] He wants to encourage you. He wants to instruct you. He wanted to encourage and teach them that this is the true or reliable or dependable grace of God.

[11:56] You can depend upon God to be gracious to you. You can rely, Christian, upon God to be gracious to you in Christ.

[12:09] And when you partake of the elements, let that be a reminder to you that he's the God of all grace and he wraps you in his grace, you don't deserve it.

[12:22] You don't deserve his favor. You should be wiped off the face of this planet. But God, when you humble yourself, God just comes and he wraps his arms around his arms of grace.

[12:36] That's what he does. This is the reliable, true, dependable grace of God. His undeserved favor to forgive us of our sin and his undeserved favor to enable us away from our sin.

[12:56] Our whole lives as Christians, it's grace. God's daily blessings, strength, forgiveness, help, his very presence with us.

[13:10] This is grace. I find it striking that, you know, we're ending Peter with the theme of grace, right? And what a better transition than to go into the book of Exodus where you see a nation that was so stubborn and so stiff-necked and so cranky.

[13:40] And yet, what does God do? He shows, tell me, He shows grace to them. I mean, I was reading last night, I've been trying to read through Exodus.

[13:53] So read last night, Exodus 32, went to Exodus 33 and 34. And God was like, I'm done. I'm done. I'm not going with you. And Moses pleads with the Lord.

[14:07] And God shows His, tell me, grace to Israel. He didn't need to do this. God initiates.

[14:18] He remembers His oath. He's faithful. And He's gracious to the nation of Israel. And this is a picture, this historical, real, true account of Exodus is a picture of what He gives to us in Christ.

[14:34] He's gracious to us. Gracious to forgive. And then He gives you grace not only to forgive your sin, but enable you away from your sin.

[14:44] See, it's God's grace that saves us and sustains us as Christians. God's grace in the Lord Jesus Christ brings forgiveness and enablement to live.

[15:01] How are you able to live different in this world? By the grace of God. By His favor that He gives to you, which is strength, He gives you that favor so you can be different.

[15:16] You can be changed. Are you here today and do you need God's grace of forgiveness? Have you experienced God's grace of forgiveness?

[15:27] He'll forgive you of all sins, past, present, and future. Again, God is opposed to those who think they got it all together, but His arms are wide open to those who humble themselves and say, God, please be gracious to me, a sinner.

[15:44] I should be condemned. Be gracious to me. And He's like this. Yes! Come here! I want to wrap you with my arms of grace and I'll forgive you in Christ.

[15:59] And why does He do that? How can He do that? Because Jesus took all the punishment. All the punishment was poured out upon the Son where you should be punished.

[16:11] Jesus was punished. Substitute. So that now God can just give you grace. His righteous anger was unleashed upon His Son.

[16:23] His gracious love will be unleashed upon you. There's the substitute. That's how He can do it. That's why He can do it. Our whole lives as Christians is built upon grace.

[16:37] And that's why Peter says stand firm in it or stand fast in God's grace. Yes, we'll enter this grace when Jesus returns.

[16:49] Yes, we will see grace when Jesus comes back. But we're already enjoying a foretaste of His grace. Because we're God's elect people and we share in the sufferings of Christ, of Christ our Savior.

[17:08] So everything in our lives as Christians is all about grace. God calls us to believe Him and His promises and act upon them. Trust God and His promises.

[17:22] And then act upon them by living a wise, winsome life, a weirdo, in this wicked world. His grace forgives and His grace enables you and boots you in the pants to be the person that He's called you to be.

[17:39] His grace changes us. More specifically, in what specifically do we stand firm in God's grace?

[17:50] There's two aspects really. and not just necessarily looking at here in these verses 12-14 what Peter says but looking here and also throughout his letter, looking back over his letter.

[18:05] Stand firm in grace. We stand firm in God's grace in the midst of our trials. In trials you stand firm in God's grace.

[18:15] We're weirdos in this wicked world where people live according to their own standards, their own way of living.

[18:28] And we're going to take the brunt of it. You'll be persecuted if you live for Jesus Christ. And you'll face suffering in general, pain, heartache, difficulty, struggles, trials, whether it's health, money, your job, a relationship, temptations to sin.

[19:00] Those things are real. And that's the time where we need to stand firm in grace. We stand firm in the midst of trials and tribulations.

[19:13] We live grace-filled lives grace-focused lives. Our lives are filled with grace. Our lives must be focused on God's grace.

[19:27] It's His grace that gives an attitude of obedient submissions that we can bear up under the suffering, whether it's cruelty or cancer. Only His grace and His gracious gospel gives us the ability to live commendable lives of goodness in this wicked world.

[19:51] It's His desire that His grace would so work in you, in us, that we live honorable lives among the unsaved. I mean, we're just different.

[20:03] We're unusual. We're weird. weird. But that's what He calls us to do. We're citizens of a different country.

[20:20] It's not about being a U.S. citizen or citizen of Eritrea. We're citizens of a nation that is holy, a territory where there's no democratic republic.

[20:37] No, friends, it's a monarchy. And Jesus reigns upon the throne of this kingdom. And it's a perfect monarchy because it's a perfect monarch.

[20:48] That's the country we belong to. We're citizens of a greater country, as He says. Chapter 2, verse 9, you're a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

[21:09] That's what we're a part of. Because of God's grace, our past has been forgiven, our present is protected and enabled, our future is assured.

[21:23] What do we fear? Why do you fear? we shouldn't, should we?

[21:35] We shouldn't fear. There should be no fear. If you're forgiven, you're protected, your future is assured, all because of grace, what can man do to you?

[21:49] What can difficulties and trials do? What is it that inspires, motivates, drives, and invigorates us to live a weirdo kind of life as Christians?

[22:04] It's because God has ginormously, been ginormously gracious to us in His Son. It just motivates us.

[22:16] We are being driven by grace and so we stand and we're driven and we're focused on grace. as a friend of mine said about 1 Peter, quote, we can live under the most intense and painful pressure because of the empowering work of God's grace, end quote.

[22:47] Thank you, Dan Smouse. grace. So whatever our circumstances, we must stand firm in God's grace, His grace of forgiveness and His grace to sustain us.

[23:00] We stand in grace in the midst of adverse circumstances, difficult, harsh circumstances. The pain of ill health, you still have grace.

[23:15] grace. The trial that you're going through, you still have grace. You're standing in it. See, this gives us an eternal perspective in the midst of suffering, in the midst of trials and persecution.

[23:32] That's Peter's whole point from beginning to end. Grace and peace, he begins. Grace and peace, he ends. And in the middle, grace.

[23:44] grace. It's grace. It's the only way we can make it through this life. We've received God's grace and are receiving God's grace, so keep trusting in God's saving, sustaining grace.

[24:06] Trust in His sustaining grace, Christian. Whether you face the cruelty of persecution or the cancer, the trials and the difficulties.

[24:19] Because remember, God opposes the proud. No, God, what are you doing? You shouldn't be doing this. Remember, we talked about that last week. We get angry at God. Instead, we should say, I don't understand, but because I know you're a good God who's filled with all grace, I'm confused.

[24:41] Help me to trust you. then notice what He does. She was in Babylon, verse 13. Chosen together with you, send you greetings.

[24:56] Babylon, a designation for Rome because of its proud, immoral, godless society. Peter, towards the end of his life, was in prison in Rome, not as a pope, but as a prisoner.

[25:07] She, meaning the congregation or the faith believing community, sends you greetings and my son Mark, which is John Mark most likely, the cousin of Barnabas.

[25:20] Peter was the older Christian. He was like a father to the young Mark, like a teacher-disciple relationship. And then he moves into our second way, how we're able to, we should stand firm in God's grace and not just our trials, but number two, here he moves into verse 14, in our relationships we stand firm in God's grace.

[25:43] Because he says, greet one another with a kiss of love. In our relationships we stand firm in grace. So you have God's grace, forgiveness, and enablement, there's the principle.

[26:04] We're doing that in the midst of trials and difficulties and struggles that we have. And then getting even more into our very lives and relationships that we have. Because he says, greet one another with a kiss of love.

[26:18] In the Greco-Roman world, the kiss signified affection between relatives and close friends. So Peter's encouraging this kind of affection amongst God's people.

[26:31] people. It's a familial relationship that we should have with each other. What's his point? We should be known as a church of grace and love.

[26:47] Where we have mutual love and care for each other as members within a local church. Especially the singles, widows, those hurting. And it's not just a Sunday thing.

[26:57] So that people who visit us on a Sunday or whenever, they say, wow, those people, those people, they really care about each other.

[27:11] I want to become a part of them. I want to become a part of this because they really care for each other. We're known as that, as a church, as a local body.

[27:24] And we respond this way. towards each other because of grace. God has been so graciously loving toward us in Christ Jesus, thus, we should have the same attitude towards each other.

[27:40] We give grace. We give grace amongst us as members in the local body. We should be showing each other grace. We've been reading through this book on Wednesdays, changing your relationships.

[27:59] And it really digs deep to something like this. Into how are you able to respond in certain ways in your relationships. One thing we've been learning, it's when we're not standing firm in grace, that we begin to become judgmental, negative, critical.

[28:20] Thinking that a certain relationship is to benefit me in what I want, or maybe it's most relationships should benefit me in what I want. That's not living a life overwhelmed with God's grace, is it?

[28:37] We're supposed to give, not take. I mean, think about it, what does God do in Christ? He gives. He gives. When God shows His grace, He gives.

[28:50] Let's say that together, He gives. He gives. He loves to give. Not take. I mean, who, who deserves, who deserves everything?

[29:04] Who owns everything? Is that not our Lord? Can't He, does He not have the right to take whatever He wants, but it's really not taken because He already owns it?

[29:16] It's already His. So He's not taking anything. Everything that you see in this world belongs to God. And He gives it.

[29:31] And then He gives us grace in Jesus. So see, that's the very culture, we talked about this in our first hour with the adult class, that's the very culture that we want to, we want to overwhelm each other with.

[29:47] It's grace. As members in this local body, that we overwhelm each other, we wrap each other in grace in our relationships, in our way that we interact with each other.

[30:01] peace be to you and then of course, what does He say at the end of verse 14? Peace be to you all who are in Christ.

[30:13] When you're suffering, you definitely need God's grace. When you're suffering, you definitely need God's peace too, don't you? When you're struggling in a relationship, you need God's grace.

[30:25] And when you're struggling in a relationship, you definitely need God's peace. His prayer for them in chapter 1 verse 2 is the very same thing He brings up here in chapter 5 verse 14.

[30:40] Grace and peace. Because, He says, who are in Christ. That's our identity. Our identity is found in Jesus. We are in Christ as Christians.

[30:52] God has reconciled us to Himself in Christ. The debt has been paid for us in Christ. We have been forgiven in Christ.

[31:03] We have been elected in Christ. We are able to respond to the gospel because we are in Christ. It's union in Christ. May there be peace.

[31:16] When there's no trust in or relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, there's no real lasting peace. So, He ends the same way He began.

[31:30] Grace and peace. God's grace has saved us and enables us. Stand firm in grace and have peace in Christ. May we stand in God's grace which has saved us and is given on a continual daily basis.

[31:48] We live in God's grace. May God's peace which reconciled us with God, may it flow to us. His blessings and benefits in our trials, in our relationships.

[32:04] Where do you need to stand firm in God's grace? What specifically? What's trial do you struggle with today? Health issue, a relationship problem, a conflict, where there needs to be shown grace.

[32:26] And this is a tangible reminder for you when we partake of the Lord's Supper. Because it tangibly, it vividly, it physically reminds us of God's grace given to us and how our very lives needs to be so overwhelmed with His grace.

[32:45] He wraps us in His grace. And so, we need to wrap each other in God's grace. So this very ordinance that we will celebrate in a few moments, may it direct you, may it direct you to the gospel of grace.

[33:07] And I pray and I hope it will encourage you to stand firm in God's grace. Father, help us. We need Your grace to stand firm in Your grace.

[33:26] We need Your grace to stand firm in Your grace amid our trials and tribulations and struggles. In these different relationships, I'm not saying that all are difficult and hard, but relationships take work, some more than others.

[33:51] So give us Your grace. And as we partake of these elements in a few moments, remind us of Your gospel of grace, which forgives us.

[34:06] and remind us that Your gospel of grace enables us to live such different lives, to live how You've called us to live, because it can only be done by Your grace.

[34:27] Take a few moments, if you would, a few moments of silence between you and the Lord Jesus Christ. Reflect upon what we've seen in God's word.

[34:42] Maybe take the time, the moment to pray that God will help you to stand firm in that particular situation, standing firm in His grace. grace. Maybe you've forgotten how gracious that God has been to you in Christ.

[35:04] Maybe you need to reflect upon the gospel of grace, and how Jesus' substitutionary atonement provides reconciliation, redemption, restoration of relationship with God.

[35:23] Maybe you need to remind yourself of that. Whichever. Take a few moments of silence, and after a few moments we'll worship in our giving, singing a song, and then we'll prepare ourselves to celebrate the Lord's Supper together.

[35:52] hari to Ouais. Alright, sounds like鳥 aut las hac as him.

[36:04]  Imaginal。 Lastly, missối beginning baş to visit