WEBVTT 00:00:02.866 --> 00:00:11.032 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. 00:00:11.032 --> 00:00:21.365 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 00:00:32.033 --> 00:00:34.232 Well, good morning, Valley View. 00:00:34.232 --> 00:00:35.600 It's great to be with you today. 00:00:35.600 --> 00:00:41.165 Great to be back in God's Word together as we continue in our study of the Book of First Peter. 00:00:41.165 --> 00:00:45.832 And our theme, as you’ve seen on the screen, is finding joy in suffering. 00:00:46.732 --> 00:00:49.299 And as I thought about suffering, I thought about marriage. 00:00:49.299 --> 00:00:50.033 No, not really. 00:00:50.033 --> 00:00:52.700 That's not a good transition. 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:54.865 I did think about the wedding day. 00:00:54.865 --> 00:00:56.799 You'll see why in a minute. 00:00:56.799 --> 00:01:04.500 In fact, if you're married, you probably remember back to that day as a as a mostly wonderful day. 00:01:04.500 --> 00:01:06.365 Hopefully it was a good memory. 00:01:06.365 --> 00:01:08.233 Hopefully a lot of great things happened. 00:01:08.233 --> 00:01:10.132 In fact, I love... No comments. 00:01:10.132 --> 00:01:11.665 Settle down. 00:01:11.665 --> 00:01:14.066 I love seeing wedding photos. 00:01:14.066 --> 00:01:16.465 I mean, there's just something encapsulated in that moment. 00:01:16.465 --> 00:01:17.200 Here's a picture. 00:01:17.200 --> 00:01:19.599 This is of my parents wedding day photo. 00:01:21.066 --> 00:01:23.933 Eventually. 00:01:23.933 --> 00:01:27.566 Yeah, a blank screen was not their wedding day. 00:01:27.566 --> 00:01:30.165 There really was a photo. 00:01:30.165 --> 00:01:31.233 We'll get to it eventually. 00:01:31.233 --> 00:01:32.700 I have a photo of them. 00:01:32.700 --> 00:01:36.165 I also have a photo from our wedding day. 00:01:36.165 --> 00:01:37.700 There they are. 00:01:37.700 --> 00:01:40.033 Isn’t that's sweet? Yeah. 00:01:40.033 --> 00:01:41.033 There's my parents. 00:01:41.033 --> 00:01:43.799 And then here's our wedding day. 00:01:43.799 --> 00:01:46.799 That's, our youth student minister. 00:01:47.233 --> 00:01:49.900 I grew up here with Kerry Jones, doing the service. 00:01:49.900 --> 00:01:50.632 Great guy. 00:01:50.632 --> 00:01:52.900 Very influential in my life. 00:01:52.900 --> 00:02:05.000 Whatever your photo is, when you look back at that and I see lots of smiles around the room, there's something about photos of wedding day that just warm your heart, that brings smiles, that bring joy. 00:02:05.332 --> 00:02:09.532 But the wedding day isn't the only part of a marriage. 00:02:09.532 --> 00:02:11.566 There's a whole bunch that comes before that. 00:02:11.566 --> 00:02:16.566 Leading up to that moment, Julie and I didn't just randomly run into each other that day. 00:02:16.566 --> 00:02:19.699 I happened to have on a tux she happened to have on a wedding dress. 00:02:19.699 --> 00:02:22.765 So we thought, hey, let's let's get married. No. 00:02:22.765 --> 00:02:26.466 There were months and years of getting to know one another leading up to that moment. 00:02:26.466 --> 00:02:32.032 But then also, there have been years, decades since then. 00:02:32.032 --> 00:02:37.233 In fact, it'll be 25 years this year of getting to know one another. 00:02:37.233 --> 00:02:38.000 So thank you. 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:42.733 Yeah. 00:02:42.733 --> 00:02:48.733 The point being, a lot of times when it comes to a marriage, we focus on that wedding day. 00:02:48.733 --> 00:02:51.566 But there's a whole lot more that happens on either side of that. 00:02:51.566 --> 00:02:58.432 When Peter talks about salvation, we're going to look at that today, how he unpacks the theme of salvation. 00:02:58.566 --> 00:03:14.366 A lot of times when we say the word salvation, when we talk about salvation, we mean that moment when someone gets saved, when someone follows Christ, that moment where they have that decision, that moment where they go from not following Christ to following Christ, we tend to focus on just that sliver of time. 00:03:14.366 --> 00:03:19.366 There's a whole bunch that happened before then, and there's going to be a whole bunch that happens after. 00:03:19.366 --> 00:03:23.133 And so we're going to look at how Peter unpacks those realities of salvation today. 00:03:23.133 --> 00:03:29.099 In fact, we're going to look at three particular realities to salvation in the book of First Peter. 00:03:29.099 --> 00:03:33.133 And we're going to be in First Peter chapter one, verses ten through 12. 00:03:33.265 --> 00:03:37.000 And in that section we're going to see three realities of salvation. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:39.366 We're going to see salvation searched. 00:03:39.366 --> 00:03:40.900 That's the first one. 00:03:40.900 --> 00:03:43.532 We'll see salvation preserved. 00:03:43.532 --> 00:03:45.233 In fact, those will be on the screen. 00:03:45.233 --> 00:03:56.500 And then we'll also see salvation observed, salvation searched, salvation preserved, and then we'll see salvation observed as we work through these verses. 00:03:56.500 --> 00:03:59.265 And we're going to start in verses ten and 11. 00:03:59.265 --> 00:04:07.233 And if you don't have a Bible, we'd love for you to be able to open your own copy of God's Word and turn to the Book of First Peter and be able to read from it. 00:04:07.233 --> 00:04:13.800 We have extra copies of the Bible page numbers on the screen are connected to the Bible that we have out in the lobby. 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:19.932 You can grab one of those anytime that's yours for you to keep, but turn to First Peter chapter one. 00:04:19.932 --> 00:04:23.665 I'm going to read verses 10 to 12; 10 through 11 to start us, 00:04:24.365 --> 00:04:32.033 concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours. 00:04:32.033 --> 00:04:46.300 They 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. 00:04:46.300 --> 00:04:54.300 Peter starts out by saying, concerning this salvation, which is pointing back to everything else he just mentioned about salvation. 00:04:54.300 --> 00:04:56.632 Verses three through nine. 00:04:56.632 --> 00:05:05.399 Now, we have already mentioned Peter's strategy for helping us find joy in suffering is to focus on action. 00:05:05.399 --> 00:05:09.500 Remember I quoted Paul Tripp and he said, What Peter gives us is marching orders. 00:05:09.500 --> 00:05:13.932 The book is chock full of commands, command upon command upon command. 00:05:13.932 --> 00:05:16.432 But he doesn't start out that way. 00:05:16.432 --> 00:05:20.266 You don't run up to someone who's suffering and start with issuing them orders. 00:05:21.233 --> 00:05:35.699 You start by focusing on other things and the first 12 verses, verse 3 to 12, and the original language is just one long sentence, and it's all unpacking that opening phrase in verse three, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:05:35.699 --> 00:05:38.632 Here are the reasons that you need to start with praise. 00:05:38.632 --> 00:05:42.600 Here are the reasons to give him praise and gratitude and thanks. 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.600 Because gratitude is the gateway to joy. 00:05:45.665 --> 00:05:55.000 If I start with gratitude and focus on how great God is and how grateful I can be for all he's done for me, you can't help but end up with joy. 00:05:55.065 --> 00:05:56.132 And so that's where he starts. 00:05:56.132 --> 00:05:58.132 Not on issuing orders, not on issuing commands. 00:05:58.132 --> 00:06:04.199 Well, let's start by focusing on what God has done, the ways he has saved us, redeemed us, restored us, made us new in him. 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:06.500 And we've looked at so much of that already. 00:06:07.733 --> 00:06:15.365 Now, what he's going to say today in particular, is something that's very important for us modern Americans to recognize. 00:06:16.432 --> 00:06:18.533 He starts with these words-- they searched. 00:06:18.533 --> 00:06:27.165 look back in verse ten-- concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched. 00:06:27.432 --> 00:06:43.665 It's really important to remember and recognize that there's been a lot of people go before us who have thought about the Bible, who have carefully studied the Bible, who have looked at the Bible for decades, centuries, millennia. 00:06:44.600 --> 00:06:46.899 We're not the first people to think of it. 00:06:46.899 --> 00:06:51.533 And so when we think about salvation, there's the reality of what has happened now in our lives. 00:06:51.533 --> 00:06:54.733 But also other people have thought about what is salvation. 00:06:54.733 --> 00:06:59.365 Other people have thought about the Bible for a long time, and there's a whole lot more to it. 00:06:59.365 --> 00:07:06.966 In fact, theologians use this phrase when they talk about salvation to try to encapsulate a full picture of salvation. 00:07:06.966 --> 00:07:09.632 They use this phrase the order of salvation. 00:07:09.632 --> 00:07:14.733 They like to say it in Latin, so they sound fancy, but it just means the order of salvation. 00:07:14.733 --> 00:07:17.333 We're going to put these on the screen so you can see. 00:07:17.333 --> 00:07:22.132 This encapsulates a lot of what happens when someone is saved. 00:07:22.132 --> 00:07:24.533 And some of this refers to what happens previously. 00:07:24.533 --> 00:07:29.199 Some of this refers to what happens in the moment that you say, hey, I am now saved. 00:07:29.199 --> 00:07:31.932 Some of this happens refers to what will happen in the future. 00:07:31.932 --> 00:07:33.100 Let me caveat as well. 00:07:33.100 --> 00:07:37.233 There's arguments about what is the proper order and what steps should go in or not. 00:07:37.233 --> 00:07:38.800 And I'm not getting into all of that. 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:41.432 I'm not trying to make some strong statement about what it should be. 00:07:41.432 --> 00:07:46.565 This is one example just to show you you've seen a lot of these terms in Scripture. 00:07:46.565 --> 00:07:53.333 You've run across these if you've read various books of the Bible, if you read Romans, you see those he calls, he justifies those. 00:07:53.333 --> 00:07:56.333 He predestined, he foreknew, he calls, he justifies, he glorifies. 00:07:56.333 --> 00:08:00.565 You see some of these strings of statements that describe what it means to be saved. 00:08:00.565 --> 00:08:04.632 And so you see here there's election gospel call regeneration. 00:08:04.632 --> 00:08:06.766 Usually conversion is what we're talking about. 00:08:06.766 --> 00:08:10.833 When someone is saved, there is a moment of faith and repentance in their life. 00:08:10.833 --> 00:08:16.333 But after that, and of course, at that same time, justification, adoption, sanctification, all that is true of us too. 00:08:16.333 --> 00:08:17.665 But then there's perseverance. 00:08:17.665 --> 00:08:19.600 You continue to grow in your faith. 00:08:19.600 --> 00:08:20.632 You continue to walk with him. 00:08:20.632 --> 00:08:23.033 You continue to understand what that means. 00:08:23.033 --> 00:08:24.199 And then where does that head? 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:35.865 Death and glorification, where I go to ultimately experience the fullness of that salvation, living with him for eternity. 00:08:36.365 --> 00:08:42.133 And so people have thought about this for generations, for millennia. 00:08:43.299 --> 00:08:46.299 That should create some humility in us. 00:08:47.466 --> 00:08:54.832 There's this weird idea, I think, in our modern culture, that anyone before the iPhone is kind of a caveman, right? 00:08:54.832 --> 00:08:57.399 You know, they they obviously knew nothing. 00:08:57.399 --> 00:08:59.500 We are very enlightened. 00:08:59.500 --> 00:09:05.865 If you had to go answer the phone off the wall, you're basically a Neanderthal, right? 00:09:05.865 --> 00:09:09.732 But but we, however, have it all figured out. 00:09:10.700 --> 00:09:26.432 But many have gone before us, whether it's in technology and theology, and we stand on the shoulders of so many who have searched and searched and searched, and in particular, what he's talking about here are the prophets, the Old Testament prophets. 00:09:28.365 --> 00:09:38.166 The Old Testament prophets sat around searching God's Word, diligently searching, looking, wondering, God, how are you going to work all this out? 00:09:38.166 --> 00:09:39.865 What are you trying to do? 00:09:39.865 --> 00:09:41.932 We got to know. 00:09:41.932 --> 00:09:43.066 We'd love to see. 00:09:43.066 --> 00:09:46.066 What is it that you are doing? 00:09:46.899 --> 00:09:56.566 Have you ever had these moments where you're searching for something and you realized later you were staring right at it and totally missed it? 00:09:56.566 --> 00:10:04.765 You opened the fridge looking for the ketchup, and you're convinced someone has been through your house stealing all the ketchup. 00:10:04.765 --> 00:10:10.700 But it was someone else comes along, goes here it is, right here in the middle, right in front of where you were staring. 00:10:10.700 --> 00:10:11.700 Or have you had this happen? 00:10:11.700 --> 00:10:17.832 I've had this happen where someone comes to you and ask you, have you seen my glasses and where are they? 00:10:17.832 --> 00:10:18.332 They're here. 00:10:18.332 --> 00:10:21.332 Or even they've been here, right? 00:10:22.332 --> 00:10:27.000 They're looking right through them and not seeing them. 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:29.466 Jesus actually points this out about Scripture. 00:10:29.466 --> 00:10:31.700 Look at Luke flip over to Luke real quick. 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:34.700 Luke chapter 24. 00:10:35.633 --> 00:10:48.466 Because Jesus, after his death, there's this period before he's fully revealed, and a couple of the guys who had been in Jerusalem and heard about what happened and were hoping, they said, in fact, we had hoped that he was the Messiah. 00:10:48.466 --> 00:10:50.332 We had hoped that he was the one. 00:10:50.332 --> 00:10:56.666 Jesus is walking along the road with him, the road to Emmaus, and they don't even realize it's him. 00:10:56.666 --> 00:10:59.332 And here's what he says to them as they're sharing with him the events. 00:10:59.332 --> 00:11:01.865 And they had hoped it was him, and he responds to them this way. 00:11:01.865 --> 00:11:11.166 Verse 25, he said to them, O foolish ones, slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken. 00:11:11.166 --> 00:11:16.365 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory? 00:11:16.365 --> 00:11:18.566 And then verse 27, this is critical. 00:11:18.566 --> 00:11:25.732 Verse 27 is critical to understanding the role of the Old Testament, connected to the role of the New Testament. 00:11:25.732 --> 00:11:30.700 Sometimes you hear people say something like, I don't really like the Old Testament God. 00:11:30.700 --> 00:11:33.700 I like more the New Testament God. 00:11:33.932 --> 00:11:36.500 They're the same God, by the way. 00:11:36.500 --> 00:11:41.299 It's it's not like we got rid of that old version and we upgraded to the new version. 00:11:41.299 --> 00:11:43.299 It's the same God. 00:11:43.299 --> 00:11:48.332 These two volumes are intimately, intricately, purposefully connected. 00:11:48.332 --> 00:11:50.133 And here's what Jesus says about that. 00:11:50.133 --> 00:11:53.899 Look at verse 27 and beginning with Moses. 00:11:53.899 --> 00:12:07.500 And Moses refers to the first five books of the Old Testament, beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted, he explained to them and all the scriptures the thing concerning himself. 00:12:07.500 --> 00:12:08.466 So here's what Jesus did. 00:12:08.466 --> 00:12:09.732 He's walking along with these guys. 00:12:09.732 --> 00:12:11.200 We're going. We thought it would be him. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:15.332 And he says, if you were reading, you would have seen. 00:12:15.332 --> 00:12:16.666 You should have seen. 00:12:16.666 --> 00:12:19.600 It was there. God, what are you going to do? 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:22.600 How are you going to work all this out? 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:31.166 I love that we gather here on Sunday mornings. 00:12:31.166 --> 00:12:42.200 I really do. Man, I love worshiping, I love being in a room full of people who are singing and singing praises, singing things like be blessing and glory and honor and power forever. 00:12:42.200 --> 00:12:46.633 But hearing others proclaim that it gives me so much encouragement. 00:12:46.633 --> 00:12:51.566 Inspiration wants me to be motivates me to want to walk more faithfully with the Lord. 00:12:52.533 --> 00:12:55.865 I got to tell you, as, as important as all that is together. 00:12:55.865 --> 00:12:59.100 You've got to be searching God's Word on your own. 00:12:59.100 --> 00:13:02.200 You have got to be in His Word, on your own. 00:13:02.200 --> 00:13:05.200 There is no substitute for that. 00:13:06.000 --> 00:13:12.332 I mean, I really enjoyed watching a lot of the Olympics over the last few weeks. 00:13:12.332 --> 00:13:15.566 I mean, who who else caught some of the Olympics along the way? 00:13:15.566 --> 00:13:16.500 It's okay to admit it. 00:13:16.500 --> 00:13:21.500 Yeah, we watched and by the way, I found myself inspired and encouraged. 00:13:21.500 --> 00:13:23.365 My patriotism grew. 00:13:23.365 --> 00:13:25.765 I wanted the U.S. to dominate everyone. 00:13:25.765 --> 00:13:27.865 Why should anyone else have another medal? Right? 00:13:27.865 --> 00:13:30.232 I, it was awesome. 00:13:30.232 --> 00:13:32.265 And yet I didn't get any. 00:13:32.265 --> 00:13:35.899 I didn't get a lick fitter watching the Olympics. 00:13:35.899 --> 00:13:38.633 There was no part of me that got in better shape just watching. 00:13:40.066 --> 00:13:53.932 Now I was inspired to go try a little harder, work out a little more, but there was no substitute for getting out there, working, putting in the time on the treadmill or the bike or the weights or in the pool. Whatever. 00:13:53.932 --> 00:13:58.066 You got to be searching God's Word on your own. 00:13:58.066 --> 00:14:00.299 Come here, learn from others. Grow. 00:14:00.299 --> 00:14:01.432 But we've got to be. 00:14:01.432 --> 00:14:02.832 There's no substitute. 00:14:02.832 --> 00:14:09.932 And when these folks, these Old Testament prophets were searching carefully, wondering, Lord, when are you going to show up? 00:14:11.066 --> 00:14:16.265 There's something about that mindset that should drive us to still today. 00:14:16.265 --> 00:14:18.133 Yeah, we know about Christ. 00:14:18.133 --> 00:14:20.700 We know who he is. 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:27.066 But the way he continues to work in my life, I've got to be searching his word every single day. 00:14:29.832 --> 00:14:33.265 For him to move, for him to direct. 00:14:34.232 --> 00:14:37.232 So they searched diligently. 00:14:37.432 --> 00:14:40.399 But look at why they searched diligently. 00:14:40.399 --> 00:14:41.732 Verse ten. 00:14:41.732 --> 00:14:44.166 You searched inquiring carefully. 00:14:44.166 --> 00:14:45.566 Verse 11. 00:14:45.566 --> 00:14:53.365 Specifically, what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating. 00:14:55.265 --> 00:15:08.332 Part of my part of what I've wondered at times is why are there seasons when I am more stirred toward spiritual things, and seasons when I might be less stirred toward spiritual things? 00:15:08.332 --> 00:15:13.066 Why were the prophets so burdened to understand God? 00:15:13.066 --> 00:15:13.633 What are you doing? 00:15:13.633 --> 00:15:15.033 And how does your word fit together? 00:15:15.033 --> 00:15:16.932 What are you saying? 00:15:16.932 --> 00:15:22.000 This verse right here says The Spirit of Christ was stirring them. 00:15:22.432 --> 00:15:31.500 And this is important to realize. Back in the Old Testament, hundreds of years ago, generations ago, God was stirring. 00:15:31.500 --> 00:15:37.500 Christ specifically was stirring people in the Old Testament to look for him, to find him. 00:15:37.500 --> 00:15:40.265 Christ was pointing them to Christ. 00:15:40.265 --> 00:15:44.600 Now, that phrase Spirit of Christ primarily refers to the Holy Spirit. 00:15:44.600 --> 00:15:49.265 It's also used to help us understand that hint at the divinity of Christ. 00:15:50.765 --> 00:15:56.033 But it's a little bit like Christ is having having to lead them along to himself. 00:15:56.033 --> 00:16:02.299 I thought of if you've ever done an Easter egg with a two year old-- Easter egg hunt-- you know it's not a hunt. 00:16:02.299 --> 00:16:03.200 You. 00:16:03.200 --> 00:16:05.100 They're looking at everything but the Easter eggs. 00:16:05.100 --> 00:16:07.000 You're kind of nudging them along. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:09.232 Hey, maybe look over here. 00:16:09.232 --> 00:16:17.332 Maybe look right there and you're actually dropping them in front of them as they go searching diligently. 00:16:17.332 --> 00:16:19.100 But I need help. 00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:22.466 And the Spirit of Christ is the one who stirs that up. 00:16:22.466 --> 00:16:28.666 He is the one leading us along, and he's stirring them and leading them and pointing them to himself. 00:16:28.666 --> 00:16:32.466 See, in your searching, you're not left alone. 00:16:32.466 --> 00:16:38.500 It's not like you have to open this gigantic book that's bigger than any book you'll probably ever read, and figure it all out on yourself. 00:16:39.732 --> 00:16:49.133 The Spirit of Christ was stirring them, moving them as they searched for him in His word. 00:16:50.166 --> 00:16:55.232 So searching, looking, looking diligently. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:12.532 Probably the best example of this, as I thought of what it means to search for him, shows up in Luke chapter two, and you probably recall this story of Simeon and Anna, two prophets who were waiting for God to reveal himself. 00:17:12.532 --> 00:17:18.465 They were waiting, and they had heard directly from God that they would see his plan fulfilled. 00:17:18.465 --> 00:17:19.732 They would meet the Messiah. 00:17:19.732 --> 00:17:25.700 Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to the temple to be dedicated, and they get to hold him. 00:17:25.700 --> 00:17:30.333 And each of them says something along the lines of, this is it. 00:17:30.333 --> 00:17:31.133 This is the one. 00:17:31.133 --> 00:17:33.299 This is everything I've been looking for. 00:17:33.299 --> 00:17:40.965 This is everything I've been searching for, and it's almost like I'm ready to go now. 00:17:41.032 --> 00:17:44.032 This is everything I had hoped for. 00:17:44.066 --> 00:17:47.833 I remember being in a Bible study with a guy. 00:17:47.833 --> 00:17:49.465 There was a guy on my street, Joe Teeter. 00:17:49.465 --> 00:17:53.766 He was about 80 years old, back in little Rock, on our street in our neighborhood. 00:17:53.766 --> 00:17:58.732 He decided to start a Bible study for just some of the men on our street. 00:17:58.732 --> 00:18:07.500 And probably a dozen guys came to his house, and every house that came, a guy from every house you could see from his front porch, every one of the homes. 00:18:07.500 --> 00:18:11.700 It was just this really centralized study right on that street. 00:18:12.266 --> 00:18:20.032 Joe was a great guy, just so kind and loving and caring, and he cared so much for just men to know Christ and to know God's Word. 00:18:21.532 --> 00:18:26.732 But not everybody in there knew Christ, even though most of them had gone to church. 00:18:26.732 --> 00:18:36.833 One guy in particular, we started to study the sermon on the Mount and we said, hey, go home, read this section in Matthew, be ready and we'll discuss it next week. 00:18:37.599 --> 00:18:39.500 And we came next week. 00:18:39.500 --> 00:18:44.633 And he came to the study and he said, guys, before we start, I just got to say something. 00:18:44.633 --> 00:18:48.766 All my life I've been searching for something to live by. 00:18:48.766 --> 00:18:54.633 All my life I've wanted something to live by, something to guide me. 00:18:54.633 --> 00:18:59.633 And this is it, I found it, I finally found it. 00:19:01.665 --> 00:19:04.665 How many of us have felt that way? 00:19:05.299 --> 00:19:07.732 You know what I'm talking about? 00:19:07.732 --> 00:19:09.266 There is this..there was this hole. 00:19:10.299 --> 00:19:11.932 This vacuum. 00:19:11.932 --> 00:19:14.865 Where you thought, something's got to fill this, and I don't know what. 00:19:14.865 --> 00:19:16.465 And I'm. I'm trying. 00:19:16.465 --> 00:19:18.532 I'm trying romance. 00:19:18.532 --> 00:19:20.000 I'm trying addictions. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:23.833 I'm trying something because it's got to get filled. 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:27.833 And Christ is the only one who can fill it. 00:19:27.833 --> 00:19:30.833 And this guy found that. Searching. 00:19:30.932 --> 00:19:33.200 Lord, would you show up? 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:38.133 Give me hope, give me peace, give me purpose, and ultimately give me joy. 00:19:38.532 --> 00:19:40.400 Searching diligently. 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:44.066 That's the first reality of salvation is the searching you see here. 00:19:44.066 --> 00:19:48.232 The prophet's searching, looking desperate, wanting to see. 00:19:49.299 --> 00:19:52.099 Now let's look at the second reality here. 00:19:52.099 --> 00:19:56.865 Look at the first part of verse 12, because the first reality was salvation searched. 00:19:56.865 --> 00:20:02.133 Now we're going to see salvation preserved, salvation searched, salvation preserved. 00:20:04.432 --> 00:20:19.566 ...of the prophets It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves, but you in the things that they have now, that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things to which angels longed to look. 00:20:19.566 --> 00:20:21.465 Two words we're going to inspect. 00:20:21.465 --> 00:20:28.232 In this verse it was revealed to them, and it has been announced to you, revealed and announced. 00:20:28.232 --> 00:20:31.266 Salvation has been preserved for us. 00:20:31.932 --> 00:20:34.766 So the Old Testament prophets were searching for something. 00:20:34.766 --> 00:20:37.732 In fact, Jesus tells the disciples they longed for this day. 00:20:37.732 --> 00:20:41.965 They longed to see this day that you now have experienced. 00:20:42.066 --> 00:20:44.099 It was hidden from them. 00:20:44.099 --> 00:20:45.400 It wasn't fully revealed. 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:50.865 They were waiting for it to be revealed it, but it has now been announced to them. 00:20:52.333 --> 00:20:53.365 But here's what's interesting. 00:20:53.365 --> 00:21:05.165 Even though the realities that Christ would come as the Messiah, as the suffering servant would die on our behalf, would be raised again, even though that was hidden from them. 00:21:05.700 --> 00:21:19.766 What it says here is that there was something revealed to them, the reality that was revealed to them, look back at this, is that they were not serving themselves, but you, even though they didn't know how it was going to play out, they knew one thing. 00:21:19.766 --> 00:21:21.633 It's this isn't about us. 00:21:21.633 --> 00:21:24.532 We're here to serve future generations. 00:21:24.532 --> 00:21:31.500 The work we're putting in now, the prayers, the searching, the study, the prophecy, the efforts, all of this. 00:21:31.500 --> 00:21:33.066 It's not about us. 00:21:33.066 --> 00:21:40.299 And so when Ezekiel was writing down his vision of the valley of dry bones and he said, those bones didn't stay dead, they came alive. 00:21:40.299 --> 00:21:44.599 He was writing that for you to know that God takes dead things and makes them alive. 00:21:46.799 --> 00:21:49.133 Who's experienced that? 00:21:49.133 --> 00:21:51.032 It goes from death to life. 00:21:51.032 --> 00:21:56.066 When Jeremiah wrote about the fact that God will take a heart of stone. 00:21:57.266 --> 00:22:02.599 And I've had those moments of the heart of stone, and he turns that into a heart of flesh. 00:22:02.599 --> 00:22:03.932 He softens the heart. 00:22:03.932 --> 00:22:06.133 He puts his law within us. 00:22:06.133 --> 00:22:11.000 When he was writing that down, he was writing that for you. 00:22:13.099 --> 00:22:16.299 Rick Warren talked about this in his book Purpose Driven Life. 00:22:16.299 --> 00:22:27.133 That book has sold something like 50 million copies, and it's in almost every Goodwill you ever go in, right? 00:22:27.133 --> 00:22:30.400 I guarantee you, you go in there, you'll see 3 or 4 copies of it. 00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:32.165 That's great. It's a great book. 00:22:32.165 --> 00:22:36.333 And he starts out the book this way life is not about you. 00:22:38.566 --> 00:22:42.599 And that phrase is, at the first rate, incredibly offensive. 00:22:42.599 --> 00:22:44.299 All right, so you're telling me I'm self-centered? 00:22:44.299 --> 00:22:50.633 A great way to start a book here, Rick, way to win friends and influence people. 00:22:51.066 --> 00:22:57.766 Not about you. Yet also, it's also incredibly comforting because you know, you know what I'm talking about. 00:22:57.766 --> 00:23:11.900 Life has never been worse than when I'm totally absorbed on me, and it's probably never richer than when I'm focused on serving others from a place of health pouring out into the life of others, giving, serving, watching God move through that. 00:23:11.900 --> 00:23:12.833 That's excitement. 00:23:12.833 --> 00:23:13.566 That's joy. 00:23:13.566 --> 00:23:15.965 That's delight. 00:23:15.965 --> 00:23:18.900 And the prophet Saul from long ago. 00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:21.200 It's not about us. 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:24.532 It's been revealed that we're here to serve future generations. 00:23:24.532 --> 00:23:33.000 And you know, when I think of Valley View, I think it's really important for us to remember that we are also serving future generations. 00:23:33.232 --> 00:23:47.732 I mean, most mornings when I drive into church to come into the office and to begin to study or counsel or meet with people or whatever, I usually start by doing just a lap around the church, in my car, just driving around in my pick up, a stray Coke bottle here and there, or some trash. 00:23:47.732 --> 00:23:53.000 But I primarily pray, God, would you move today? 00:23:53.000 --> 00:23:56.266 Would you give me wisdom on how to use my time? 00:23:56.266 --> 00:23:58.833 Would you guide the staff here today? 00:23:58.833 --> 00:24:01.833 Would we walk full of your Holy Spirit? 00:24:01.833 --> 00:24:04.099 Show us who to minister to. 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:08.200 When to say yes, when to say no, how to be full of your spirit. 00:24:08.200 --> 00:24:10.700 And then I pray for you as God brings you to mind. 00:24:10.700 --> 00:24:12.165 God, would you move in their life? 00:24:12.165 --> 00:24:13.965 Would you protect them? Would you heal? 00:24:13.965 --> 00:24:15.532 Would you comfort? Would you guide? 00:24:17.165 --> 00:24:28.465 And inevitably, as I'm driving around, you know, I grew up here and I'm driving around and I there's just some part of the building that strikes a memory. 00:24:28.465 --> 00:24:41.932 And I think of that snot nose kid that whatever age or stage, that out of touch nerd, that weirdo, or that insecure kid looking for something, looking for identity. 00:24:41.932 --> 00:24:51.133 I think back to that kid and I go, and if God could stir in his life, what's he going to do for this generation? 00:24:51.133 --> 00:24:54.900 What's he going to do for the kids to come? 00:24:55.932 --> 00:25:05.633 How is he going to use this church to reach Valley Station, PRP, the South End, and even go across the world? 00:25:06.532 --> 00:25:09.266 You know, be praying for our kids. 00:25:09.266 --> 00:25:11.700 You never know how God is going to use someone. 00:25:11.700 --> 00:25:12.566 When I pray for kids. 00:25:12.566 --> 00:25:15.200 I encountered this prayer a long time ago. 00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:17.732 Pray this for them. 00:25:17.732 --> 00:25:23.400 Pray that they would come to know Christ at a young age and walk faithfully with him for a lifetime. 00:25:24.465 --> 00:25:34.599 There's this weird view of life that somehow you have no choice but to go through awful things and then come back around to following Christ. 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:35.833 That may happen. 00:25:35.833 --> 00:25:38.833 That's no judgment on you if that's been your story, God uses that. 00:25:38.833 --> 00:25:41.833 But also, I think. 00:25:42.066 --> 00:25:50.932 God wants us to come to know him at a young age and walk faithfully with him for a lifetime in the joy and delight that comes from that has got to be incomparable. 00:25:51.133 --> 00:26:03.066 We need to pray for our children that that would be the path he has them on, that God would use this church to raise kids who are passionate about Christ and I see that at play here. 00:26:03.633 --> 00:26:15.066 So I love the fact that we have so much investment in our children's ministry and our students, and how God is using that to stir up the young, to know him and follow him. 00:26:16.732 --> 00:26:22.066 He revealed this to the prophets, and I think we know that as well. 00:26:22.066 --> 00:26:26.165 If we're called to be living for future generations, not just for ourselves. 00:26:26.165 --> 00:26:31.965 So salvation searched, salvation preserved. 00:26:31.965 --> 00:26:36.333 But then there's this confusing phrase at the end of the section salvation observed. 00:26:36.333 --> 00:26:38.099 Look at the end of verse 12. 00:26:40.900 --> 00:26:49.000 they were serving not themselves, but you, through those who preach the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven things into which angels long to look. 00:26:50.165 --> 00:26:51.700 What does that mean? 00:26:51.700 --> 00:26:55.500 How do we get our minds around things into which angels long to look? 00:26:55.500 --> 00:27:01.266 There's a couple of different ways, and they're talking about the realities of salvation still. 00:27:01.266 --> 00:27:04.200 Salvation observed, salvation overlooked. 00:27:04.200 --> 00:27:05.599 There's a couple different ways to take that. 00:27:05.599 --> 00:27:10.232 One way would be they long to look at it but couldn't. 00:27:10.232 --> 00:27:12.133 That's one way you can take it. 00:27:12.133 --> 00:27:15.833 They really wanted to understand it and see it, but couldn't. 00:27:17.232 --> 00:27:21.133 But looking at these words here, they longed, they hungered, they desired. 00:27:21.133 --> 00:27:26.900 It's the same word we would use for a good desire or a bad desire, of the longing. 00:27:27.333 --> 00:27:38.032 Much like you can be hungry for things that are good for you like a good steak, good quality steak, or you could be hungry for something that's not good for you, like okra at the same time, right? 00:27:38.032 --> 00:27:39.932 Hunger. 00:27:39.932 --> 00:27:41.900 But it says the word look. 00:27:41.900 --> 00:27:43.500 They hungered. I'm sorry. 00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:49.133 They longed to look upon the realities of salvation. 00:27:49.333 --> 00:27:52.566 That word look was used to also describe it. 00:27:52.566 --> 00:27:57.633 Probably a better word to use might be something like peer. 00:27:57.633 --> 00:28:01.532 It was used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament to describe the situation. 00:28:01.532 --> 00:28:04.266 You remember how Isaac and Rebecca, they were... 00:28:05.833 --> 00:28:07.732 Did I get that right? 00:28:07.732 --> 00:28:09.500 Is it Rebecca? 00:28:09.500 --> 00:28:10.133 Oh, goodness. 00:28:10.133 --> 00:28:11.700 Somebody help me out. 00:28:11.700 --> 00:28:14.700 Isaac and his wife, Rachel. 00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:19.299 Where are my biblical scholars? 00:28:19.299 --> 00:28:24.532 Isaac and his wife were traveling through the land of the Philistines, and they were going there to settle. 00:28:24.532 --> 00:28:27.865 And Abimelech said, you can stay here no problem. 00:28:27.865 --> 00:28:29.032 But what did Isaac do? 00:28:29.032 --> 00:28:30.965 He lied and said, this is not my wife. 00:28:30.965 --> 00:28:33.232 This is my sister. 00:28:33.232 --> 00:28:37.232 Because he was afraid they would kill him and take her. 00:28:37.365 --> 00:28:40.700 But Abimelech was looking out his window one day. 00:28:40.700 --> 00:28:41.566 This is the same word. 00:28:41.566 --> 00:28:42.465 He was peering out. 00:28:42.465 --> 00:28:43.432 They couldn't see him. 00:28:43.432 --> 00:28:46.665 He was looking out upon them, observing them, and he saw them interacting. 00:28:46.665 --> 00:28:48.865 And he said, that's not his sister. 00:28:48.865 --> 00:28:52.165 Whatever he saw, he realized there's more going on there. 00:28:54.232 --> 00:28:58.200 He was able to look upon, observe from a distance without them recognizing. 00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:01.266 I think when we think of the angels, that word applies. 00:29:01.266 --> 00:29:04.599 It's not like they didn't know Jesus's plan. 00:29:04.599 --> 00:29:06.400 The word angel means messenger. 00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:09.400 He used them to tell us his plan. 00:29:10.900 --> 00:29:18.465 And here they are in heaven, looking down at his plan that they know about, and they're looking at how it plays out in our lives. 00:29:18.465 --> 00:29:24.700 They're looking at salvation, God taking things that are dead, moving them to life. 00:29:24.732 --> 00:29:30.799 And they're looking on from a distance and they're full of joy. 00:29:30.799 --> 00:29:33.799 They're full of delight. 00:29:34.200 --> 00:29:57.232 You know, we live in a world that takes no delight in your salvation, disdains your salvation, abhors, probably hates you for claiming Christ would love for nothing else than for all of religion, Christianity, the Bible, all of that to just disappear. 00:30:01.266 --> 00:30:04.965 How do you move forward when the world hates you? 00:30:05.165 --> 00:30:13.133 It sure helps to know that heavenly beings are looking down with joy and delight. 00:30:13.365 --> 00:30:32.032 When we lived in Little Rock, I had a home office and I had a window that faced the front yard, and I'd be working inevitably in my yard and occasionally one of my children would end up in the front yard just playing, and you'd see this 4 or 5 year old. 00:30:32.299 --> 00:30:37.665 Just delighting in the day, just twirling in the yard. 00:30:38.165 --> 00:30:42.133 And I would just freeze, try not to even breathe. 00:30:42.133 --> 00:30:43.232 I don't want to move. 00:30:43.232 --> 00:30:47.766 I don't want to do I don't want them to see me seeing them that might disturb them and make them stop. 00:30:47.766 --> 00:30:53.965 Because watching them so innocently play, delight, joy. 00:30:56.000 --> 00:30:57.432 That brought me joy. 00:30:57.432 --> 00:30:59.365 So much joy. 00:30:59.365 --> 00:31:03.932 How much more joy for the angels to see what God is doing in your life, and to rejoice.