[0:00] and welcome to our service this morning. Just to introduce myself, I'm Alan Thompson. My wife's here on the right. We are down from Glasgow for today and it's good to be here.
[0:13] I think it's Jack at the back was asking me had I been to Dumfries before. I have passed through Dumfries, but I haven't spent any amount of time here. So don't hold that against me this morning.
[0:26] Now just a few intimations for the incoming week. Here in the church, the evening service will be at the usual time of 6 o'clock, 6pm. And then on Wednesday at 7 o'clock, there will be a prayer and Bible study down in the lower hall, which will be led by Mr Jack Dodds.
[0:47] And then the only other intimation is for next Lord's Day, the services are at the usual time of 11 o'clock in the morning and 6pm at night. And they will be led by the Reverend Douglas Cranston, who's from Kirkmure Hill and Blackwood.
[1:05] These, I think, are all the intimations. Let's come together to worship God today. The psalmist would say these words for us.
[1:16] I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord.
[1:28] Let the humble hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me. And let us exalt his name together.
[1:40] I sought the Lord, and he answered me. And delivered me from all my fears. Those who look to him are radiant.
[1:53] And their faces shall never be ashamed. The poor man cried, and the Lord heard him. And saved him out of all his troubles.
[2:04] The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him. And delivers them. I will bless the Lord at all times.
[2:16] In the spirit of that, let's take our psalm books and turn to Psalm 100. Famous psalm. All people that on earth do dwell.
[2:28] Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Him serve with mirth. His praise foretell. Come ye before him and rejoice.
[2:40] Psalm 100 from the Scottish Psalter. All the verses. To God's praise we all listen to. All people that on earth do dwell.
[3:03] Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. In the spirit of the Lord with cheerful voice.
[3:15] In the spirit of the Lord with merciful voice. In the spirit of the Lord with merciful voice. For that of the Lord with merciful voice. Come ye before him and rejoice.
[3:29] Know that the Lord is God in thee.
[3:39] Without the rain He did us pay We are His fault, He got us free And for His sheep He got us pay O, enter then His gates with grace Approach with joy His courts unto Praise the Lamb and bless His name always For it is He with soul to prove
[4:45] For while the Lord of God is true His mercy is forever true His truth that all times burn me soon And shall promise to return to Now let's bow our heads and come to God In prayer at the start of our service Let's pray together Our God and our Father we come into your presence
[5:48] This Lord's Day morning We thank you that we can come and we can Quieten our hearts We can take time out To just contemplate a little and to meditate Upon who you are And how it is such a great thing And a rightful thing And an obligation to come to worship you How there would be a call to humanity in general To worship the Lord And to call upon His name There is no greater activity that we as human beings Can engage in than to come and to think upon you The one who has made us The one who has created us And without our aid You did us make As the psalmist has said Father we thank you that You are our creator God
[6:50] You're the one who made us Made us for yourself So that we could fellowship And enjoy friendship with you But Father we realise that Not long after you had created that Man and woman in the Garden of Eden That sin came in And spoiled your creation Spoiled the friendship And the fellowship that you had With those two in the Garden of Eden But Father we thank you that we come This morning Those of us who are believers To worship you because Of your Son The Lord Jesus The one who you sent From the glory of heaven To redeem people like ourselves To ransom us And to buy us back And to give us forgiveness So that we again could be In fellowship
[7:51] With you And so Father we give you thanks That we can come And worship you this morning And that we can sing Sing as it were in our hearts And make melody in our hearts With psalms and hymns And spiritual songs And think about how great You are Father we thank you for your great Plan of salvation That plan to save Your people for yourself We thank you for the love That you have shown The grace and the mercy That you have displayed To sinful human beings Like ourself And so Father As we come this morning We come to a God Who knows everything About us A God who has not only
[8:52] Made the entire universe But is a personal God A God who can be known We thank you that we Many of us Who are believers Have come to know you And know your son We thank you that We have come to experience Eternal life And eternal life Is to know you And Jesus Christ Whom you have sent But Father we come In difficult times This morning With a pandemic That has gripped The whole of this world And Father we may come With fears And forebodings We may come with Anxieties In our life this morning Because we all experience Difficulties And troubles In our life But Father we thank you That we come to you The God who Upholds
[9:53] All things By the word Of your power You're a God Who can be Trusted Because you're a God Who is In control And Father As a group of Your people here Gather this morning Not many But Father you see And you know And you understand Everything About our lives And Father we pray That as We listen to hymns And psalms This morning And as we Especially perhaps Listen to your word Being read And then Spoken about We pray that you will Bring comfort Into our lives Where that is Required Required Father we understand That your word Is fit To rebuke us And to discipline us To encourage us To build us up You've given us Your word
[10:53] That we might be Equipped for Every good work And so As we come under Your word This morning We pray that you Might give us Listening ears And obedient Hearts And willing Feet to do Your will Father so for Those who Need up Building we pray That it will be A word of Encouragement And that their Anxieties and Fears Might be allayed Knowing that You Are for us Father wherever Your word Is preached Today We pray that You might Grant it Success That people Will come To faith In your Son Put their Trust in Your son The Lord Jesus Who is The only Saviour Of sinners So Father We need your
[11:53] Holy Spirit To be with Us We need your Holy Spirit To take your Word into Your written Word and to Make it live In our Hearts And so we Ask that You might Do that Through your Holy Spirit This morning Father be with Us then And speak To us In all Our need For we ask This In Jesus Name Amen Now I was Going to Say we're Going to Sing to God's Praise But we're Not going To sing To God's Praise We're Going to Listen to God's Praise As we Listen to A hymn Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing Tune My Heart To Sing Thy Praise Thank you Thank you Oh
[12:58] Thou Fount of Every Blessing To My Heart To Sing Thy Grace Streams Of Mercy Never Ceasing Call for Songs Of Thou Sprays Teach Me Ever To Anor Thee May I Still Thy Goodness Proof While The Hope Of Endless Story Builds My Heart With Joy And Love Here I Raise My Ebenezer Here By Thy Help I've Come And I Hope By Thy Good Pleasure Safety To Arrive At Home Jesus Taught Me When A Stranger Wandering From The Fall Of God
[13:58] He To Rescue Me From Danger Interposed His Wretched Blood Oh To Grace How Great Dead Dead May The I Come String To Be Let Thy Goodness Like A Fetter Bind My Wandering Heart To Thee Never Let Me Wander From Thee Never Leave The God I Love Here's My Heart Oh Take And Seal It Sealing For Thy Once Of Hold Thee Thou Thank you Now if you have God's word can you turn in your Bibles if you have them with you to Peter's first letter Peter's first letter and we are going to read the opening twelve verses of Peter's letter.
[15:05] We are going to be thinking this morning of the origins of the origins of the people of God.
[15:16] The origins of the people of God and then this evening we are going to continue our study in this passage that we are reading this morning and we are going to think about the experience of the people of God.
[15:29] Peter is writing to the people of God.
[15:59] Peter writes these words. Peter writes these words. I'm reading from the English Standard Version. Peter says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge, of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood.
[16:41] May grace and peace be multiplied to you. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[16:51] According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
[17:03] He has caused us to be born again to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
[17:22] 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 honour at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
[17:52] Though you have not seen him, though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
[18:14] Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours, searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
[18:39] It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you. In the things that have now been announced to you, through those who preached the good news to you, by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
[19:05] Amen, and may God give us good understanding of his written and inspired word. Now before we come to look at that, we are going to listen again to another psalm, Psalm 106 from the Scottish Psalter, in your psalmody, and verses 1 to 5.
[19:29] Psalm 106, verses 1 to 5. The psalmist says in these words, Give praise and thanks unto the Lord, For bountiful is he, His tender mercy doth endure unto eternity.
[19:50] God's mighty works, Who can express or show forth all his praise? Blessed are they that judgment keep and justly do his ways.
[20:03] Verses 1 to 5 of the psalm, To God's praise. Give praise and thanks unto the Lord, For bountiful is he, His tender mercy doth endure unto eternity.
[20:36] God's mighty works, who can express or show forth all his praise?
[20:53] Blessed are they that judgment keep and justly do always.
[21:07] Remember me, Lord, With that love which thou to thine do'st bear, With thy salvation, O my God, To visit me draw near, That I thy chosen's good may see, And in their joy rejoice, And may with thine inheritance, Triumph with cheerful voice.
[22:06] Good. Now if you could turn with me back to the passage that we read a moment ago in 1 Peter, Just to consider the opening verses of this this morning.
[22:23] Just before we do so, let's just bow our heads in prayer. Father, we thank you that you have given us your word.
[22:34] You have revealed yourself graciously and mercifully to us, Not only in your creation, But through special revelation, By giving us your written word.
[22:50] You have given us this for our good, Our learning that we may be fully furnished, To live out the lives to which you have called us.
[23:04] So, Father, as we come to you, We pray that your Holy Spirit will take your written word and make it live. Give us ears to hear.
[23:18] And make it live in our hearts. Father, we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Now as I said, As I read the opening verses of this epistle, Or this letter of Peter, Peter writes this letter to Christians, Who were experiencing pressures, Difficulties and sufferings in their life.
[23:44] First, Peter is a letter written to Christians, Who, as I said, Had been scattered in what we today would know as modern Turkey, Northern Turkey, Just south of the Black Sea.
[23:59] They were living in testing times. We live in testing times. Peter writes this, Just to put it in context, Just before the great persecution of the Emperor Nero, That would take place probably about three years later, From when Peter was writing this letter.
[24:24] In three years' time, Peter would suffer himself, And die as a martyr. We didn't read through the whole of this letter or epistle, But as if we had done, We would have read keywords, And uncovered keywords, That arise time and time again, In Peter's letter.
[24:51] It's always a good thing to read, From chapter one to chapter five, For example, At one sitting. Only takes you about 14 and a half minutes to do it. That would be a good thing to do.
[25:02] But the words suffer, And suffering, Recur about 16 times in those five chapters.
[25:14] They occur more frequently than in any other letter of the New Testament. But having said that, The words glory, And hope, Occur as often.
[25:28] So Peter writes this letter, For two, At least two reasons. To establish, These suffering Christians, In their faith.
[25:41] The entire letter is an appeal to them, To maintain, Their stand in the grace of God, That they had experienced in their lives. In order that they may face, Testing times, With a strong hope, Set, On Jesus Christ.
[26:06] But he also writes, Secondly, To exhort them, And to encourage them, To courage, To purity, And perhaps more importantly, Above all things, To obedience, In their lives, In the midst of the suffering, That they are, Encountering.
[26:28] So he writes, To a suffering people, But the question, That, His hearers, No doubt, Would ask, And we ought to ask, Is, How are they going to stand, In this time of suffering?
[26:45] What do they have, That will help them? What foundation, Do they have, To build upon, To be secure, When the storms, And these testing, Times, And these trials come, You know, Foundations, Are key, To our building, Of our life, You remember, The Lord Jesus, Told the story, The parable, Of the wise man, Who built his house, Upon a rock, Foundations, Are key, Because foundations, Bring stability, To a building, And in these, Opening 12 verses, Peter lays out, The foundation, Of their, Christian, Hope, What do they have, That will help?
[27:37] What foundations, Do they have, To build on, To be secure, When these testing, Times come? The foundations, That Peter lays here, Of the Christian faith, Are the foundations, Are the great fundamental doctrines, Of the Bible, And about God, And Peter is going to exhort them, And encourage them, As he goes through his letter, But those encouragements, And those exhortations, Will be built upon, The foundations, Of Christian doctrine, That we hopefully will see, When you and I, As Christians, Are going through difficult times, I don't know how you would feel, If somebody just, Comes up to you and says, Well you need to be hopeful, Be happy, Look on the bright side of life, Things will get better, But for those exhortations,
[28:41] To be meaningful, There has to be, A basis for hope, And a basis, To be joyful, You know, In the middle of life, When you, Are in the middle of a storm, Or when you get disorientated, With all sorts of things, That come into your life, Such as this pandemic, That we are, Living through just now, It's always good, To get your bearings, Isn't it?
[29:14] It's always good, To have a foundation, And Peter, Takes them back, In these opening verses, To a sure, Reference point, He starts with God, As we shall see, And what God, Has done, For them, He points them, In these opening verses, To the very origins, Or the foundations, Of how they became, Christians, Or how they became, The people of God, The very reason, For their suffering, Was the fact, That they were Christians, That was the reason, That they were suffering, The people of God, Is a favourite term, That Peter uses, You see, At one time, His hearers, Were not the people of God, At one time,
[30:15] They hadn't experienced, God's mercy, In their lives, But now they are a people, Now they have experienced, God's grace, And mercy, In their life, But the question is, How did they become, God's people?
[30:31] How did they, Get their spiritual life? Where did that come from? To what did they, O their origins, As the people, Of God?
[30:44] Now we can answer that, At two levels, Really, Firstly, There was clearly, A day, In their life, And in their experience, When they heard, The word of God, And they responded, By faith, To the call of God, In their lives, There was a day, When they, Received the message, Of salvation, And committed, Their lives, In obedience, To Jesus Christ, That was something, That really took place, In their lives, But Peter, Here says, That there is a more, Important aspect, Of their origins, Or their beginnings, As the people, Of God, Peter says, Peter says, That their Christian, Faith, And beginnings, Are to be traced, Not just, To their point, Of repentance, And faith, But he points them,
[31:45] Backwards, Back into eternity, When the entire, Godhead, The Father, The Son, And the Holy Spirit, Decided to produce, A people, For himself, Look at what he says, In verses 1 and 2, These are the verses, That we're going to think about, This morning, Let's read them again, Peter, An apostle of Jesus Christ, To the elect, Exiles, Of the dispersion, Through Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, And Bithynia, Chosen, By the foreknowledge, Of God, The Father, So he writes, To the elect, Exiles, Who are chosen, By the foreknowledge, Of God, The Father, And then he goes on, And says, And sanctified, By the Spirit, For obedience, To Jesus Christ, And sprinkling, By, His blood,
[32:48] You see, When Peter, Traces their origins, As the people of God, Or as Christians, He gathers together, The persons, In the Godhead, The Father, The Son, And the Holy Spirit, And he says, The whole of the Godhead, Has been involved, In what produced, Spiritual life, And made them, The people, Of God, He doesn't just speak, About something, That is merely human, In this verse, He directs their attention, To the triune God, What God has designed, And what God, Has accomplished, In their lives, You know, That is very important, For us, Those of us, Who are Christians, Because when Christian living, Begins to get hard, And pressures, Come on, In our lives,
[33:49] And troubles, And anxieties, Begin to come, Into, Into, Our lives, One of the things, That we need, To be sure of, Is which rock, We are anchored in, Isn't it?
[34:07] What are our foundations, Built upon? What is our hope, Set upon? You see, If you and I, Are only anchored, Or rooted in something, That we have done, Or that we are holding on to, With all our might, Then when the first wind, Of trouble, And adversity comes, We will be thrown off course, But you see, If we are rooted, And grounded, And if our foundations, Are anchored, In what the eternal, Triune God has done, And accomplished, Then, We will be able to stand, And nothing in this world, Past, Or present, Or future, Will be able to move us, What is it the apostle Paul says, In the book of Romans, Earlier on,
[35:07] In the New Testament, He says, If God is for us, Who, Can be, Against us, And Peter's hearers, Needed to have that, Stabilizing, Effect, And that stabilizing, Message, In their lives, And I submit, That you and I, Need that, As we go through, Various trials, And struggles, And sufferings, In our life, So first of all, Let's think, Of, What God has actually done, God the father, According to this verse, Peter writes, To the elect exiles, The father has chosen them, Therefore, They are God's elect, Now that idea, That Peter is referring to, Is rooted in the Old Testament scriptures, Peter is thinking back, To a point, When God set his heart, On having a people,
[36:09] For himself, For himself, You remember in the Old Testament, God had a people there, When he chose the nation, Of Israel, For himself, Peter is thinking, Back to the time, When Moses, Said these words, When Moses spoke, To the people of God, We have these words, In Deuteronomy 7, Verses 6, To 8, Listen to these words, The Lord, Did not, Set his affection, Upon you, And choose you, Because you were more numerous, Than other peoples, For you were the fewest, Of all peoples, God setting his love on people, And choosing them, Applied to Israel, Obviously in the Old Testament, That what Peter is saying, Really is he's saying, When God chose you, He didn't choose you, Because you were the greatest people,
[37:12] Or because you were more distinguished, Than anyone else, Or because you were better, Than anybody else, Or because you were wiser, And more accomplished, Than anybody else, No, He's saying to them, I chose you, Simply, Because I loved you, And I drew you, To myself, And I made you, My own, It was an act of God, God took the initiative, To bring, Those people, To himself, To choose them, As, A people, So, Moses goes on, And says, In Deuteronomy says, I went out, Into the wilderness, Speaking of God, And I said, I will be your God, And you will be, My people, And so Peter takes, That Old Testament idea, And he brings it to these, Scattered Christians, In northern Turkey,
[38:14] And the gospel has now, Come to them, To the Gentiles, And he applies it to them, And he says, That God has chosen them, And God has loved them, Now you see, That's one of the foundational, And basic ideas, In the Bible, That God takes the initiative, To save people, So we mustn't be tempted, To discard this idea, Or to dismiss it, Because it's at the heart, Of the good news, It's at the heart, Of the gospel, We see the same idea, Actually, In the life, Of the Lord Jesus, Not only in the Old Testament, But when we come to the life, Of the Lord Jesus himself, On the occasion, When he's about, To leave his disciples, He's sending them out, Into a world, That's going to be hostile, He's sending them out,
[39:15] Into a world, Where they're going to suffer, He's told them, That because he's suffering, Or he will suffer, They are going to suffer, They shouldn't expect, Anything less than that, But he reminds them, Of this very truth, Again, In John 15, He says to them, You didn't choose me, But I chose you, And I appointed you, So that you might go, And bear fruit, So it's not some new idea, Of Peter, That he's introducing here, We have the idea, Of God's love, And God's choosing, In the Old Testament, Jesus Christ, Himself, Attests to that, That he's chosen people, And appointed them, And why is that?
[40:10] Because this truth, Should give us great stability, In our lives, That God has loved us, And God has chosen us, For himself, We shouldn't discard that idea, Nor should we, Be tempted to dilute, The idea, Contained in this verse, Look at what he says, He says that you, Have been chosen, According, To God's, For knowledge, Now, For knowledge, Means, Some people say that, God knows, Who in advance, Would choose him, We don't have the word, For knowledge, In the Old Testament, But we have the word, Know, In the Old Testament, But some people say that, This is all about God, Just knowing in advance, Who will accept him, And on the basis of his knowledge,
[41:11] He therefore, Chooses them, But the meaning, Here I submit to you, Is much greater, And deeper than that, Is far more comforting, Than that, It is to do with, God, With people being loved, By God, And appointed by God, Of his own will, In the Old Testament, We have the word, Know, God, Knowing people, In Jeremiah, Verses 1, Chapter 1, And verse 5, We have, The famous words, Before I formed thee, In the womb, God says, To the prophet Jeremiah, I knew thee, John 10, When the Lord Jesus, Is speaking, He says, I am the good shepherd, And I know my sheep, He knows them, By name he tells us, And then the prophet,
[42:12] Going back into the Old Testament, Amos chapter 3, And verse 2, When God is speaking, To his people, To his chosen people, He says, You only have I known, In all the earth, You only have I known, Of all the families, On the earth, Therefore I will punish you, For all, Your, Inequities, You see, It wasn't that God, Didn't know about, All the other families, Of the earth, When he was speaking, To Amos, It wasn't that he didn't know, About their existence, But the idea, Is of God, Knowing them, Of specially choosing them, Setting his love, Upon that specific group, Of people, Choosing them, Picking them out, Simply, Because he chose to, And because, He loved them, And so the origins,
[43:14] Of God's people, Lie in the fact that, God the father, Loved them, And chose them, Before the foundation, Of the world, Even before time, Began, And for Peter, That truth, Is meant to encourage them, And stabilize them, And strengthen them, In their lives, In their time, Of suffering, But their origins, Secondly, Lie not only, In the fact that, God the father, Chose them, But look at verse, Two again, Verses one and two, But in their separation, Or sanctification, Of the spirit, According to the foreknowledge, Of God the father, Through, Or by the sanctifying work, Of the spirit, Now we often think, Of sanctification,
[44:15] As that ongoing work, And rightly we do, That ongoing work, Of God's spirit, In our lives, Making us more like, Jesus Christ, Making us more holy, But the word also has, Another meaning, There is this idea, Of being initially, Set apart, Being initially, Sanctified, By God, You remember when, The apostle Paul wrote, To the church in Corinth, Who were having all sorts of problems, In their church, And he opens that whole letter, That whole letter, With all the problems, With all the immorality, That was going on in the church, And he says, These words in chapter, One and verse two, Of that letter he says, To them, As he writes to the believers, He says, To them that are, Sanctified, In Christ, Jesus,
[45:16] They've been set apart, By God, That's why also the Lord Jesus, Just before he was going to the cross, Would say these words in John 17, He would say, I sanctify myself, I set myself apart, For the purpose, Of his father, Now we may ask the question, Well hold on a minute, Why did Peter not speak here, He's spoken about the father, Why does he not speak about, The work of Jesus Christ, In salvation, Why did he not speak about, God the son, At this point, After all, The whole plan of salvation, When we think about that, We think of the father, Initiating, Or starting, Or devising, The plan of salvation, And then God the son, Coming, And accomplishing,
[46:17] That salvation, At the cross of Calvary, And then the Holy Spirit, Applying that, Into our lives, So why does Peter not start, With God the father, And then the son, And then the Holy Spirit, Well I think the reason is this, Who was it, Who was it, That first opened, Their eyes, To see the beauty, Of Jesus Christ, As a saviour, Who was it, That brought life, To their dead hearts, Who first awoke, Their desire, In their heart, For God, Who first, Convicted them, Of their sin, And of their need, Of a saviour, Who was it, That first began, To draw them, To God, And to Christ, It was the Holy Spirit, Wasn't it, Who started, That work, Of regeneration, And of new birth,
[47:19] Of bringing them, From death, To life, And separating them, For Jesus Christ, You see that's where, Their spiritual origins, Began, The father loved them, And chose them, And then the Holy Spirit, Began to work in their lives, To bring them from, That state of being dead, To God, To being obedient, To Jesus Christ, And so Peter says here, You've been chosen, By the father, Before the world began, But in time, And in your experience, And in your own experience, You have been set apart, By the Holy Spirit, He was the one, That begun, That good work, In you, Long before, You ever, Sought, God, Peter's hearers,
[48:20] And you might say, Well, If God has already, Chosen a people, And God already knows, Who will be saved, And who will not be saved, Why would we go out, And evangelise, In the world, Especially in a time, Of suffering, Like these people, Were going through, What's the point, If God has got it all, Wrapped up, What's it to do with me, Well the answer to that is, That, The only reason, That we may go to the world, With the word of God, The word of life, Is, Because God, In his grace, Has chosen, People, To be his people, He has chosen people,
[49:21] To be saved, And the preaching of God's word, And the witnessing of his people, Like you and I, Is the means, That he uses, To bring, His people, His elect, To Christ, You remember, Paul, Was in Corinth, We read about it, In Acts chapter 18, Verse 9, And 10, He was down in the dumps, As we say, I don't know if you have that expression, Down here, But we certainly have it in Glasgow, He was down in the dumps, He was confronted, At the city of Corinth, And nothing much was happening, And he was under extreme pressure, And he was tempted, And he was tempted to give up, Now I wonder if you ever feel like that, As a believer, Down in the dumps, Tempted,
[50:23] To give up, Maybe only the preacher, Feels like that, Maybe you don't, But Paul was like that, And he was tempted to give up, Nothing's happening, We've been doing, Lots of stuff for a long time, But God spoke to him in a dream, And in the middle of the night, The apostle Paul got these words, Listen to them, God saying, Do not be sad, But go on speaking, For I am with you, And no man will attack you, Or harm you, Listen to these words, For I have many people, In this city, Ah but Paul has the dialogue, But wait a minute, They have not been converted, And nothing is happening, God says, I have much people, In this city Paul, So you go, And you preach the gospel,
[51:25] For it's the means, That I draw to bring people, Draw my people to faith, And salvation, And when, Paul found hardness, And blindness, And deadness, In the people, As they were towards God, And there was no response, From them, He might ask, And you might ask, Well why is that, Why is there no response, Well the Bible tells us, Quite plainly, It is because, People are dead, In their trespasses, And sins, And the only hope, For them, Is the spirit, Of God, The spirit, Of life, You see, Only he, The Holy Spirit, Can resurrect them, From their spiritual deadness, And set in their hearts, A hunger,
[52:27] For God, But we need to go, With that message, Don't we, We need to take that message, To a world, That is dead, And that has no thought, Of God, But when the spirit, Does that, When the spirit, Begins to operate, Finally, What does, Why does he do that, Well he has something, In view, So we've thought, Of God the father, We've thought of God, The spirit, And now we think of, Why the Holy Spirit works, Well look at what he says, In verse 2, It's, So that there might be, Obedience, To Jesus, Christ, That's Peter's way, Of describing how, They and we, Come in fact, To faith, Faith, And obedience, Are two, Inseparable twins,
[53:28] In the Bible, They are two, Inseparable twins, I don't know, If these boys are twins, I don't know, Maybe they're not, They look like twins, But in the Bible, Faith, And obedience, Are inseparable twins, The New Testament, Speaks, In fact, Of the obedience, Of faith, The obedience, Of faith, What does it mean, To believe, In the Lord Jesus, It means, It is that, I commit, Myself, In glad, Obedience, To him, That's what saving faith is, It's glad, Obedience, To Jesus, Christ, Someone has said, That if you wanted to sum up, The whole of, The Christian faith, And the Christian life, One word, Would be, Obedience, Think about that,
[54:30] Obedience, Our initial, Obedience, To Jesus Christ, And our, Ongoing, Obedience, That proves, That our faith, Was truly saving, Saving faith, Means that I cast, All of my life, And everything, Upon Christ, And the whole purpose, Of the Holy Spirit's ministry, And work, Is for obedience, To Jesus Christ, And the experiencing, Of all the benefits, Of Christ's death, And the sprinkling, Of his blood, As we have it here, In this verse, So when we come to faith, In Jesus Christ, When we come and we gladly, Bow the knee, In obedience, When we come and we repent, Of our sins, We receive, All the benefits, Of what Jesus Christ has done, On the cross,
[55:32] And the picture that we have here is, As the priest, In the Old Testament, In the days of old, Used to sprinkle the blood, Of the lamb, That had been killed, On the people, And they were cleansed, So the blood of Jesus Christ, Is sprinkled, On me, And I have peace, With God, Someone has said, That obedience, That obedience, That obedience, Is the first act, As well as, The permanent characteristic, Of saving, Faith, Obedience, Is the first act, As well as, The permanent characteristic, Of true, Saving, Faith, They are inseparable twins, Faith, And obedience, And obedience, So the origins,
[56:33] Of the people of God, How they became Christians, How they came to be adopted, Into God's family, Peter says, Yes you made, You made a decision, As it were, You obeyed the gospel, But he says, Oh it started long, Long before that, It started off, In the councils, Of eternity, With God, With his gracious, Electing love, Of the Father, And the setting apart, By the Holy Spirit, For the cleansing, Saving power, Of God the Son, Peter writes this letter, He's saying to them, Really here, He'll go on to say to them, But he's laying this foundation, For them, And for us, That if their lives, And ours, Are based upon, And built upon, And focused upon,
[57:34] And rested upon, This great foundational truth, Then they need never be shaken, Especially in their time of suffering, And trial, Yes, Troubles, Sufferings, Anxieties, Persecutions, Will come into their life, But Peter writes, To ensure, That they, Appreciate that, Their God, Will keep them, He's for them, It's the triune God, Who chose them, Before the foundation, Of the world, And it's he, Who will enable them, To go on, And keep on, Persevering, Through all the storms, Of life, It is that, That should give them hope, And it's that same truth, That should give us hope, And encouragement,
[58:35] In our daily lives, May it be so, For Christ's name, Let's pray together, Father, We thank you, For your love, Towards us, Where would we be, Without you, Showing, Your graciousness, And your long suffering, And your mercy, Towards us, Father, There was a time, Like these, People that Peter, Is writing to, When we were not, Part of your family, We were not, Your people, But now, We have become, Your people, Because of your love, Because of the Holy Spirit, Working in our lives, And our obedience, To Jesus Christ, Father, Our only prayer, This morning, Really is, That we might, All of us, Be obedient to, You, And to your son, The Lord Jesus, That we might, If we have never done so, Bow the knee,
[59:36] To him, In obedience, And in repentance, And Father, For those of us, Who have come to faith, In your son, We pray that, We might in our lives, Be obedient, In all areas of our life, Whether in work, Or in family, Or wherever, We pray that we might, Be seen as people, Who are obedient, To your son, The Lord Jesus, Father, We ask these things, Just now, In Jesus name, Amen, Now we're going to finish, By listening to, Psalm 117, Psalm 117, Let me just read, A few of those, Verses to you, Psalm 117, There are only two verses, O give ye praise, Unto the Lord, All nations,
[60:36] That be, Likewise, Ye people all accord, His name, To magnify, For great, To usward, Ever are, His loving kindnesses, His truth endures, Forevermore, The Lord, O do ye, Bless, To God's praise, We'll listen to these, Two stanzas, Psalm 117, O give ye praise, Unto the Lord, All nations, At thee, Thy mighty people, All accord, His name, To magnify, His name, His name, His name, To magnify, For great,
[61:40] To us, Forever, Are, His love, His love, In kindnesses, His truth endures, Forevermore, The Lord, O do ye, Bless, The Lord, O do ye, Bless, There unto him, Who is able to keep us all from stumbling, And to present us, Before the throne of your grace, We pray that the blessing of God Almighty, The Father, The Son, And the Holy Spirit, The triune God, Might be with us all now, And forevermore, Amen, Amen, A snow Élande
[63:09] Kenny And In more