WEBVTT 00:00:04.559 --> 00:00:06.959 Welcome to the MetaCurch Podcast. 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:08.080 My name's Clayton. 00:00:08.160 --> 00:00:10.320 I'm the pastor here at MetaCurch. 00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:17.920 And my hope is that today's podcast finds you at the perfect time in your life that God uses it to inspire and enlighten you. 00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:20.559 I hope that you enjoy today's message. 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:26.079 Well, welcome to a brand new series. 00:00:26.160 --> 00:00:28.000 We're calling Canceled Conversations. 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:29.839 If you're new with us, my name's Clayton. 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:32.000 I'm the lead pastor here at Meta. 00:00:32.399 --> 00:00:48.320 And over the next four weeks, we are going to be diving in to a whole host of some of the trickiest, most controversial, and most importantly, spiritually significant hot button topics in our culture today. 00:00:48.640 --> 00:01:12.640 But first, what we're going to do today is build out a concept that we will use to help us navigate each of these conversations without understanding how the Bible reveals that life works and our faith works, we aren't really equipped to know how to navigate what scripture asks us to do in the current culture that we live in. 00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:19.120 So before we get going, let me tell you both why we're doing this series and then how we're going to navigate it. 00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:27.519 Why we are doing this series is because in today's culture, these hot button topics are spoken about by our secular society. 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:35.120 They talk about these topics, they emphasize them, they debate and even push these topics while most churches sit in silence. 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:54.400 The Apostle Paul was writing to a young pastor named Timothy, and he says this all scripture is inspired by God, and all scripture is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete and equipped for every good work. 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:58.879 Scripture has something to say about everything that we experience in life. 00:01:59.040 --> 00:02:03.359 And as followers of Christ, Scripture is our ultimate and final authority. 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:08.560 We should desire to know what it says and how it asks us to live. 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:12.400 Second, we are doing this because Scripture brings clarity. 00:02:12.479 --> 00:02:18.080 And clarity is something that we all need in order to navigate life and to navigate life well. 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:21.759 And I will start with some vulnerability. 00:02:22.000 --> 00:02:33.919 For a long time, I was convinced that with some of these trickier conversations culturally, the kindest thing to do was not to directly address it from stage. 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:47.919 And as our world continues to change and our culture continues to progress, I have become both convinced and starting around February of this year, even convicted that that is no longer the case. 00:02:48.159 --> 00:02:54.879 In fact, that today, being unclear is being unkind. 00:02:55.280 --> 00:03:00.080 We are going to get clearer, and it's always kind to tell the truth. 00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:02.159 So that is why we're doing this series. 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:07.280 And quickly, I want to talk about how we are going to navigate through complex conversations. 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:09.599 We are going to follow the example of Jesus. 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:15.840 Here's how John's gospel describes him: the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we observed his glory. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:22.560 The glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and full of truth. 00:03:22.879 --> 00:03:31.439 Full of grace and full of truth, like 100% grace and 100% truth at the exact same time. 00:03:31.759 --> 00:03:37.280 These hot buttons are likely going to push some of our buttons. 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:48.960 And we are going to need to have grace for ourselves, for each other, and as the person leading us through these discussions, I am asking for you to have some grace for me as well. 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:57.039 If we cannot approach these conversations full of grace, then we disqualify ourselves from having the conversations in the first place. 00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:01.120 And at the same time, we also stand with 100% truth. 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:07.039 It's our deepest desire as believers in Jesus to know what he has revealed in his word. 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:10.639 And so we cling to the truth no matter the cost. 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:12.080 Would you pray with me? 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:15.599 Jesus, we love you and we thank you for your great love for us. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:28.240 Today I pray for clarity, and that that clarity can lead us through the following four weeks of what could be difficult, complex conversations. 00:04:28.959 --> 00:04:47.839 God, that we would come in regardless of our lived experience, regardless of our political beliefs, regardless of our past hurts and traumas, that we would come each time we approach your word truly with open minds and open hearts, with a desire for you, Holy Spirit, to speak to us. 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:51.920 And we believe, God, what you have said, that if we seek you with all our heart, we will find you. 00:04:52.160 --> 00:04:52.639 We love you. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:54.240 We thank you for that great promise. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:56.319 We we just ask that you are with us today. 00:04:56.560 --> 00:04:57.759 We pray it in Jesus' name. 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:00.879 And everyone who is ready for some canceled conversation say, Amen. 00:05:01.199 --> 00:05:01.680 Amen. 00:05:01.839 --> 00:05:13.040 As mentioned earlier, our task today is to create a template that we can run all of these hot topics through to see how God wants us to behave based on what we believe. 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:15.680 And so it's a very simple task. 00:05:15.920 --> 00:05:26.720 We just have to come up with a really simple template that describes the entirety of how life and faith works, and we've got 45 minutes to do it, right? 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:27.600 No problem. 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:29.279 We definitely can accomplish this. 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:34.879 Now, fortunately for us, we have the word of God, and it is so deep and it is so rich. 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:39.279 Our key text today is going to be in 1 Peter. 00:05:39.360 --> 00:05:52.639 This is a letter in the New Testament written by Peter, who, while Jesus was on earth, was one of the disciples of Jesus, and he went on to be an apostle, which means one of the leaders who helped start the church movement that we're still a part of today. 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:59.279 Now, throughout this whole series, we are going to cover a lot of ground in Scripture. 00:05:59.439 --> 00:06:07.600 So I need you in this series to show up like caffeinated and stimulated and like stretched out and really ready to go. 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:10.399 But our key text is in 1 Peter. 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:17.759 And you might remember Peter as the guy who is just always screwing things up when he's one of Jesus' disciples. 00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:19.519 He's always putting his foot in his mouth. 00:06:19.600 --> 00:06:25.920 And yet he becomes this like world-changing, wise, unbelievable leader in the early church. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:33.199 And in just like six verses that we're going to look at today, he lays out how life and faith actually function. 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:38.399 And we're going to skip ahead to the last verse in our passage that we're going to look at today. 00:06:38.639 --> 00:06:45.839 And in this last verse, what Peter tells us is that there is an end goal of our faith. 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:52.560 There is an end goal to believing in Jesus, to being a Christian, to living out your God-given purpose. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:07:03.360 He says it like this in 1 Peter 1 9, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 00:07:03.519 --> 00:07:09.600 Peter says the goal of your faith is to save your soul. 00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:14.399 To save your soul is a very interesting phrase. 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:22.959 And it's a phrase that has thrown off a lot of people who don't take the time to understand the context of why Peter is writing this. 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:34.000 And some people have taken the idea of us saving our souls as some way of saying that we can earn our way to eternal life. 00:07:34.160 --> 00:07:37.519 And of course, at Metachurch, we're very, very clear on that. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:40.879 And scripture is very crystal clear on that. 00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:46.480 That we are saved by faith in Jesus and not by our works. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:49.360 We cannot earn our eternal life. 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:53.839 And once we've been given eternal life, we cannot lose eternal life. 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:57.199 It is a free gift from God. 00:07:57.519 --> 00:08:04.639 So what does Peter mean when he says that the goal of our faith is to save our souls? 00:08:04.959 --> 00:08:08.319 To answer that, we're gonna look at the verses that come before that. 00:08:08.480 --> 00:08:16.800 But first, we're gonna look at the context from Peter's life that inspired him to write the letter that we call 1 Peter. 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:23.279 We actually know the very moment that Peter learned the lessons that he's now teaching. 00:08:23.439 --> 00:08:28.639 And the moment happened years and years earlier when Jesus was still on earth. 00:08:28.800 --> 00:08:32.559 The moment is captured for us in Matthew's gospel in chapter 16. 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:40.159 In Matthew 16, Jesus had taken his disciples to a remote location and he asked them a very significant question. 00:08:40.399 --> 00:08:44.480 He asked his disciples, Who do people say that I am? 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:49.039 Now Peter always put his foot in his mouth, he almost always got things wrong. 00:08:49.440 --> 00:08:54.480 He was always messing things up, but in this instant, he aced this test. 00:08:54.720 --> 00:08:57.440 Here is how Peter responded in Matthew 16, 16. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:05.519 Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, and not only that, you are the Son of the living God. 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:14.559 And Jesus said, Peter, not only are you right, you are so correct that you couldn't have fought on this on your own. 00:09:14.799 --> 00:09:17.600 This was revealed to you by God. 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:23.360 And Peter is like, Yeah, boy, you know, I got that one. 00:09:23.519 --> 00:09:24.399 Y'all saw that? 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:25.600 I got that one. 00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:33.600 And all of a sudden the conversation changed because almost immediately Jesus started telling the disciples what the actual plan was. 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:37.039 He said, From here, we're gonna go to Jerusalem. 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:41.360 And in Jerusalem, I'll be arrested, beaten. 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:45.200 Ultimately, I'll be killed. 00:09:45.840 --> 00:09:49.519 And Peter like goes into shock, you know, because Peter has a plan. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:53.919 Jesus is going to be the king, the actual king of Israel. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:55.840 Like he's gonna sit on a throne. 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:59.840 And Peter is one of the three closest people to Jesus on earth. 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:05.759 And so if Jesus is the king, I mean, Peter at least lives in the castle, you know. 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:07.679 I mean, he's got a good life ahead of him. 00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:09.840 He's just gotta get Jesus to the throne. 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:15.919 And he has seen the power of Jesus, and he's heard the power of his words, and he's seen the thousands of people who gather. 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.000 Jesus dying is not a part of Peter's plan. 00:10:20.240 --> 00:10:29.120 Now, Peter just aced the test, and so with testosterone still coursing through his veins, he decides he's the guy who should put Jesus in his place. 00:10:29.360 --> 00:10:32.639 In verse 22, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 00:10:32.879 --> 00:10:36.399 Oh no, Lord, this will never happen to you. 00:10:36.639 --> 00:10:41.759 And Jesus turned and told Peter, get behind me, Satan. 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:50.080 You are a hindrance to me because you're not thinking about God's concerns, you are thinking about human concerns. 00:10:51.279 --> 00:11:01.919 Now you need to understand this moment of Jesus, who's everything to Peter, looking at Peter and saying, Get behind me, Satan. 00:11:02.480 --> 00:11:10.559 This moment reverberated through Peter's mind for the rest of his life, and it changed Peter at a fundamental level. 00:11:10.720 --> 00:11:12.159 And some people are confused by this. 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:14.399 It feels like Jesus is being a little bit harsh, you know. 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:17.360 Like Peter's just looking out for his boy, he doesn't want him to be killed. 00:11:17.440 --> 00:11:19.759 You know, why get behind me, Satan? 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:22.320 And to understand that, you have to keep reading. 00:11:22.480 --> 00:11:36.879 In the very next verse, Jesus said to the disciples, If anyone wants to follow me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and only then are you ready to follow. 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:42.320 Deny himself, take up his cross, and then follow me. 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:49.440 He goes on to say, For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 00:11:49.600 --> 00:11:51.200 And he asks some questions. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:56.159 For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world and yet loses his life? 00:11:56.320 --> 00:11:59.919 Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life? 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:04.320 You see, the suffering of the cross, that was God's plan. 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:11.039 The cross was not an unexpected detour, the cross was the destination. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:18.960 And when Peter tries to step in the way of Jesus' suffering, he actually steps in the way of Jesus' destiny. 00:12:21.039 --> 00:12:24.879 Jesus says, You are thinking about Peter's plans. 00:12:25.600 --> 00:12:28.240 You're not thinking about God's plan. 00:12:29.200 --> 00:12:35.360 And this moment between Peter and Jesus, it teaches us such a significant lesson. 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:41.120 Here's what it shows us that Satan's greatest temptation. 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:44.879 Now, if you're not awake yet in service, you should be awake now. 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:47.360 Satan's greatest temptation. 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:57.279 Satan's greatest temptation is not for you to cheat on your spouse or embezzle money from your company or cuss out your coworker or get addicted to cocaine. 00:12:57.519 --> 00:13:08.000 Satan's greatest temptation is for us to avoid temporary suffering at the expense of following God's eternal plan. 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:12.320 Life is hard and following Jesus costs you. 00:13:12.480 --> 00:13:15.519 Jesus says you're not even ready to consider following him. 00:13:15.919 --> 00:13:21.279 If you're not ready to deny yourself, Peter had a way that he wanted life to go. 00:13:21.440 --> 00:13:27.279 He was thinking about his own plans, his own dreams, his own desires, his own affluence, his own power. 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:37.519 Jesus says, if you're not ready to deny all of that and then take up a cross and intentionally suffer for the kingdom of God, you're not ready to even consider following me. 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:39.519 Following Jesus costs you. 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:43.600 And Satan will always offer an easy way out. 00:13:45.360 --> 00:13:50.000 He'll always offer a way for you to avoid suffering temporarily. 00:13:50.399 --> 00:13:55.600 But it will cost you following God's eternal plan and purpose for your life. 00:13:55.840 --> 00:14:01.840 Peter's like, Jesus, you can't go get beaten and tortured and nailed to a cross. 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:03.679 That's crazy. 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:13.120 And Jesus says, what's crazy is not being willing to carry your cross for the sake of God's plan. 00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:21.279 If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and then follow. 00:14:21.600 --> 00:14:38.080 Now, we saw already the passage we're gonna look at in 1 Peter, it ends with the goal of our faith, the goal of following Jesus, the goal of being a Christian, the goal of God's purpose in your life being the salvation of your souls. 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:42.000 And we've already said he learns that lesson in this moment. 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:52.879 And I want to connect those dots between Matthew 16, where Peter is with Jesus, and the letter in 1 Peter, where Peter is writing to the church that he started. 00:14:53.039 --> 00:14:54.639 Let me connect it like this. 00:14:54.879 --> 00:15:05.600 In verse 25 of Matthew 16, Jesus said, We'll read it again: whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will find it. 00:15:05.840 --> 00:15:10.159 For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world but loses his life? 00:15:10.320 --> 00:15:15.039 Or what will anyone give in exchange for their life? 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:19.600 Peter says the goal of all of it is to save your soul. 00:15:20.080 --> 00:15:24.960 The letter in 1 Peter and the gospel of Matthew were both written in ancient Greek. 00:15:25.120 --> 00:15:34.000 And when Peter says to save your soul, that word soul is the Greek word suke, which is also translated life. 00:15:34.559 --> 00:15:39.279 It's the same word that Jesus used in this life-changing moment with Peter. 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:48.080 In fact, you could translate those two verses like this: for whoever wants to save his soul will lose it, but whoever loses his soul because of me will find it. 00:15:48.240 --> 00:15:52.480 And what will it benefit someone who to gain the whole world and yet lose your soul? 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:56.159 Or what will anyone give in exchange for their soul? 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:00.879 This truth jacked Peter up. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:07.679 So to save my soul, I have to be willing to risk my life. 00:16:08.960 --> 00:16:15.519 The salvation of my soul actually comes through choosing to suffer on purpose. 00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:25.360 We have to keep this moment that Peter had with Jesus in mind as now we walk into his letter that he wrote in 1 Peter. 00:16:25.919 --> 00:16:28.320 This is the moment that inspired it all. 00:16:28.480 --> 00:16:31.360 In 1 Peter chapter 1, we're gonna start in verse 3. 00:16:31.600 --> 00:16:38.000 Peter writes, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, because of his great mercy, he has given us what? 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:40.159 New birth into what? 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:45.440 A living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:49.279 New birth into a living hope through Jesus Christ. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:53.200 In verse 4, and there's more, into an inheritance. 00:16:53.360 --> 00:17:01.120 Listen to how he describes this that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. 00:17:01.360 --> 00:17:09.759 In verse 5, you are being guarded by God's power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:18.559 These three verses state as clearly as possible that Peter is writing to born-again believers. 00:17:18.720 --> 00:17:23.519 These are people who have put their faith in Jesus and they have been given eternal life. 00:17:23.599 --> 00:17:24.799 They are born again. 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:33.119 It says they have an inheritance guarded in heaven that cannot be destroyed, that is untarnished by the sin of this world, and that will never fade. 00:17:33.279 --> 00:17:34.799 And here's why we have to know that. 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:56.720 So shake your head yes or say amen or something, so I know we can go to the next verse. 00:17:56.880 --> 00:17:57.599 Beautiful. 00:17:57.839 --> 00:18:12.720 In the next verse, verse 6, he says, You rejoice in this, even though now, for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials. 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:18.640 And it's worth admiring just the complete 180. 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:28.000 In Matthew 16, years earlier, when Peter's a disciple of Jesus, Jesus is like, guys, here's what comes next. 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:30.400 I have to suffer. 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:34.640 And Peter is like, um, that's a no from me, dog. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:37.440 You know, like I'm not on board with this plan. 00:18:37.920 --> 00:18:39.519 We shouldn't have to suffer. 00:18:39.680 --> 00:18:42.319 Like, you're the guy who has more power than anyone on earth. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:44.160 What are we suffering for? 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:46.880 That's Peter in Matthew 16. 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:48.160 What a 180. 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:51.920 Here's Peter the apostle writing to his church. 00:18:52.720 --> 00:18:59.200 You rejoice in this even if you suffer grief in various trials. 00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:03.519 Peter's like, look, you have heaven in front of you. 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:04.799 You're born again. 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:06.960 You're guarded by God Himself. 00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:11.119 You didn't earn your salvation, and you'll never lose your eternal life. 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:14.319 You have heaven in front of you. 00:19:14.559 --> 00:19:19.359 But friends, you might just live through hell right here. 00:19:19.519 --> 00:19:25.759 And right now, and my expectation is that you rejoice in the midst of it. 00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:33.519 He says you might suffer grief, and that Greek word literally means heaviness. 00:19:36.480 --> 00:19:43.680 And in certain seasons of your life, following Jesus will be incredibly heavy. 00:19:45.599 --> 00:19:55.039 When you're willing to have the faith to follow Jesus wherever he calls you to go, some of those seasons will be incredibly heavy. 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:58.559 And there's a reason that we sin. 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:03.839 Number one, sinning is almost always more fun than not sinning. 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:07.759 If sinning wasn't fun, we wouldn't have a struggle with sin. 00:20:08.640 --> 00:20:12.720 It's more pleasurable for a season. 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:25.440 And the other reason that sin becomes so prevalent in our life, going against God's desires and design, is because it's almost always easier in the short run. 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:36.480 You see, Scripture calls us to live in extremely counter-cultural and even counterintuitive ways. 00:20:36.720 --> 00:20:51.279 And what we're gonna see when we start looking at these actual hot topics and dissecting them and lining them up to the word of scripture, we're gonna see that the culture we live in today is in conflict with the word of God in so many ways. 00:20:51.839 --> 00:20:59.759 And walking against the massive tide of culture, it can be very heavy. 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:03.279 There's always a way out. 00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:06.240 It's actually Satan's greatest temptation. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:15.119 Here's a way out to avoid this temporary suffering, and all it will cost you is going astray from God's eternal plan. 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:19.200 It's easier to explode in anger than to love your enemies. 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:23.920 It's easier to hoard your money than to be insanely generous toward God. 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:31.759 It's easier to pursue sexual hedonistic pleasure than to dedicate your body as God's temple, like scripture calls it. 00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:35.759 It's easier to lie than to tell the truth when you've messed up. 00:21:35.920 --> 00:21:40.799 It's easier to gossip about those around you than to stop and stand up for them. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:44.880 It's easier to cheat than to win fairly. 00:21:46.160 --> 00:21:48.480 To be selfish rather than selfless. 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:58.400 It's easier to try and jockey for position and always put yourself first instead of treating others as better than yourself. 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:07.920 And remember, it's easier to sit on a throne than to die on a cross. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:13.839 Jesus said, if you want to follow me, deny yourself. 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:16.000 Carry your cross. 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:18.640 And then come and follow. 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:21.839 Say what you want, but Peter learned his lesson that day. 00:22:21.920 --> 00:22:23.200 It's quite impressive. 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:27.759 He not only knew that we had to be willing to suffer, but he actually understood the purpose of it. 00:22:28.000 --> 00:22:31.279 In verse 7, Peter says, so that. 00:22:32.480 --> 00:22:36.960 That's a statement that is like, you've got to suffer and rejoice in your suffering. 00:22:37.039 --> 00:22:38.079 And here's why. 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:39.599 Here's the purpose. 00:22:39.920 --> 00:22:48.160 So that the proven character of your faith, more valuable than gold, which is perishable, is refined by fire. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:23:00.640 So that he compares their faith as something far more valuable than gold and then reminds them that even gold is refined and purified through the hottest of flames. 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:16.160 And in the same way, our faith is refined and purified, and our character is made more and more into the image and likeness of Jesus through intentional suffering on behalf of Jesus when he calls us to. 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:24.880 When you choose to suffer for Jesus, even at great cost to yourself, you actually become more like Jesus. 00:23:25.039 --> 00:23:26.240 I'm not making that up. 00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:29.119 That's what Jesus said again and again and again. 00:23:29.200 --> 00:23:31.599 It's what he told Peter in Matthew 16. 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:36.400 It's even what he said in John's gospel, right before he was getting ready to die. 00:23:36.640 --> 00:23:40.960 In John 12, Jesus replied to them, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:45.920 And truly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains by itself. 00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:49.680 But if it dies, it produces much fruit. 00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:53.119 And the one who loves his life will lose it. 00:23:53.359 --> 00:23:57.200 And the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 00:23:57.359 --> 00:24:01.920 If anyone serves me, he must follow me. 00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:07.039 If anyone serves me, he must follow me. 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:09.920 And we already know what that means. 00:24:10.400 --> 00:24:24.240 If anyone wants to follow after me, Jesus said, anyone, not just the disciples on the mountain that day, if anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself and take up his cross. 00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:36.079 When you take the easy way out, when you try to save your version of life, protect your dreams and desires, you lose. 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:42.799 Now, if Peter is writing to believers who are born again, then what does that mean? 00:24:43.680 --> 00:24:46.240 They can't earn eternal life and they can't lose eternal life. 00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:47.839 So what is there to lose? 00:24:48.079 --> 00:24:51.599 And what is there to gain if you do save your soul? 00:24:51.839 --> 00:24:54.720 Peter gives us that answer at the end of verse 7. 00:24:54.960 --> 00:25:05.839 Verse 7 says this, so that the proven character of your faith may result in praise and in glory and in honor. 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:10.720 Those are rewards for a life well lived from Jesus. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:11.519 When? 00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:20.480 Point blank. 00:25:21.200 --> 00:25:33.839 In fact, choosing to suffer joyfully for the Lord, though it is hard in the moment, it is what will produce the highest quality of life right here and right now. 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:43.359 And it is the only way to properly prepare your life to someday meet Jesus on the other side of life. 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:51.920 When you look throughout scripture, and if you read throughout church history, there have been so many men and women who've done this. 00:25:52.079 --> 00:26:03.920 They have saved their souls, they've really followed Jesus, denied themselves, taken up their cross, suffered well, lived lives of purpose and power and impact and influence. 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:18.079 And you can read about people across every demographic imaginable, as diverse an array of people as possible, every race, every gender, every socioeconomic status. 00:26:18.319 --> 00:26:26.799 I mean, as different from one another as you can imagine, and yet every one of them had one key thing in common. 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:31.920 And it's what we call at MetaCurch a pilgrim's perspective. 00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:37.920 This is the daily awareness that this world is not your home. 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:42.720 You are not living for the accolades or the acknowledgement of this culture. 00:26:42.880 --> 00:26:46.720 You're not in the rat race that everybody else is participating in. 00:26:46.880 --> 00:26:52.160 Your goals and your life are not the goals assigned to you by society. 00:26:52.480 --> 00:26:55.359 Your eyes are on eternity. 00:26:56.079 --> 00:27:02.880 A pilgrim's perspective is living with the end in mind, living with Jesus in eternity. 00:27:02.960 --> 00:27:13.039 And the moment that you stand before him on the other side of this life, always in front of you, no one has ever suffered how Jesus suffered. 00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:15.839 And part of it was just actually what he went through. 00:27:16.079 --> 00:27:22.960 But the other part is that he was actually innocent, the only fully innocent human. 00:27:23.359 --> 00:27:27.839 In scripture, there is a close second, which would be the Apostle Paul. 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:35.839 And you can read about Paul, and he lived almost every moment of his life in a level of suffering that you and I just simply cannot even imagine. 00:27:36.000 --> 00:27:39.759 And here's how he describes suffering in this world to the church in Corinth. 00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:54.079 He said, For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable, eternal weight of glory. 00:27:55.440 --> 00:28:01.440 What are these momentary light afflictions the Apostle Paul is going through? 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:16.160 Things like stonings and beatings and imprisonment and house arrest and shipwrecks and starvation and being run out of towns and eventually having his head cut off. 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:20.480 Paul says, Light work. 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:23.680 All of it's just momentary. 00:28:24.079 --> 00:28:25.440 Well, compared to what? 00:28:26.559 --> 00:28:30.799 Compared to where Paul's eyes were on eternity. 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:35.039 All of it is light, light, compared to what? 00:28:36.640 --> 00:28:45.839 The incomparable weight of the glory and the honor and the reward that was in front of him. 00:28:47.359 --> 00:29:05.119 Denying yourself of your desires, your dreams, your power, your influence, your affluence, denying yourself suffering on purpose, choosing the hard route of faith in Jesus and following in his footsteps. 00:29:06.160 --> 00:29:16.319 If your eyes are focused on the here and now, if your thoughts are consumed with your life here on earth, it will feel like everything. 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:20.960 The heaviness will be immeasurable. 00:29:22.640 --> 00:29:33.359 But if your eyes are on Jesus, and your focus is on your true home in eternity, it will just feel like common sense. 00:29:34.720 --> 00:29:37.839 There's an old hymn that we sung growing up. 00:29:38.559 --> 00:29:42.880 It said, turn your eyes upon Jesus, which means your eyes weren't on Jesus. 00:29:42.960 --> 00:29:43.599 You have to turn them. 00:29:43.680 --> 00:29:48.079 Your eyes are focused on the things of this world, and your suffering feels like you'll never be able to bear it. 00:29:48.240 --> 00:29:48.960 You'll never get out of it. 00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:52.640 You're looking for the easy way out, Satan's greatest temptation. 00:29:52.880 --> 00:29:56.240 So turn your eyes upon Jesus. 00:29:56.880 --> 00:30:09.279 Look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. 00:30:09.440 --> 00:30:17.599 And the heaviness gets lighter and lighter and lighter as you realize what you're actually doing is sharing in Christ's suffering. 00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:19.680 You're living with a pilgrim's perspective. 00:30:19.839 --> 00:30:20.880 Let me give you a sneak peek. 00:30:20.960 --> 00:30:22.640 And in 1 Peter, we're in chapter one. 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:27.279 In chapter 2, here's what he says to these same people he's writing to. 00:30:27.519 --> 00:30:31.440 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers. 00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:41.039 I urge you as exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against what? 00:30:44.480 --> 00:30:49.119 The very thing that the end goal of your faith is to save. 00:30:51.359 --> 00:30:53.920 Wage war against the easy way out. 00:30:54.319 --> 00:30:57.599 Satan's greatest temptation in your life. 00:30:57.839 --> 00:31:01.920 Strangers and exiles, pilgrims passing through. 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:16.079 We're gonna go through these hot topics, and you're gonna see all of these ways that maybe this Holy Spirit convicts you that you're thinking wrong or believing wrong about this or acting wrong, behaving wrong, engaging with the culture incorrectly according to Scripture. 00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:36.960 And whether or not you can bear the burden of following Jesus and just walking headlong into the heaviness of opposition in our society, it will be determined by how well we can keep our eyes on Jesus, by how often we can live with a pilgrim's perspective. 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:39.839 Let's recap where we're at in 1 Peter 1. 00:31:40.079 --> 00:31:45.599 Peter is writing to born-again believers, eternity is secure, they didn't earn it, they cannot lose it. 00:31:45.839 --> 00:31:50.000 He acknowledges they are suffering and they will suffer. 00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:58.400 Sin is easier, it's more fun in the short run, but the suffering is what tests and proves the character of their faith. 00:31:58.480 --> 00:32:06.799 And that matters because at the end of this short life, we will stand before Jesus and we'll give an account for how we lived the life that he gave us. 00:32:06.960 --> 00:32:09.279 And finally, we conclude our passage. 00:32:09.519 --> 00:32:26.000 In verse 8, though you have not seen Jesus, you love him, and though not seeing him now, you believe in him and you rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:27.759 Peter says, You have faith. 00:32:27.920 --> 00:32:43.839 You believed in Jesus, who you haven't even seen with your own eyes, and you rejoice, even though you are suffering significantly, you rejoice because you continue to follow Jesus through your suffering, and you're receiving the salvation of your souls. 00:32:44.000 --> 00:32:46.799 What does it mean to save your soul? 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:51.359 The end goal of your faith, what does it mean to save your soul? 00:32:51.599 --> 00:33:00.799 It means the triumph of faith over suffering today that will be rewarded by Jesus in heaven someday. 00:33:02.400 --> 00:33:22.480 Your faith in Jesus triumphing over the suffering that comes from following after Jesus, not taking the easy way out, not giving in to the temptation, the triumph of faith over suffering today that will be so richly rewarded in heaven someday. 00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:28.240 This is what Peter learned with Jesus on that day back in Matthew 16. 00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:31.119 And it is the theme of his letter in 1 Peter. 00:33:31.279 --> 00:33:38.640 He sees believers as pilgrims passing through this world, their eyes have to be on their home heaven. 00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:40.799 It's the entire theme of the book. 00:33:40.960 --> 00:33:52.720 In fact, I'm gonna challenge each of you throughout this week to prepare us to dive into our hot topics to read the book of 1 Peter in the New Testament every day this week. 00:33:52.960 --> 00:33:54.400 It's five chapters long. 00:33:54.559 --> 00:33:57.359 You can read the whole book in about five minutes. 00:33:57.599 --> 00:33:59.920 Read it once a day, and you will see. 00:34:00.079 --> 00:34:01.599 Here are just some excerpts. 00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:04.640 Here's how badly Peter wants to get this lesson. 00:34:04.799 --> 00:34:06.160 He learned this lesson the hard way. 00:34:06.319 --> 00:34:08.480 He had to be called Satan by Jesus. 00:34:08.559 --> 00:34:14.639 Okay, he learned this at great cost to himself, and he wants you to get it so badly. 00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:16.480 Here's what he says in chapter three. 00:34:16.719 --> 00:34:20.000 But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. 00:34:20.239 --> 00:34:23.360 Do not fear them, the culture. 00:34:24.159 --> 00:34:25.840 Do not be intimidated. 00:34:26.079 --> 00:34:35.599 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God, and he was put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit. 00:34:35.840 --> 00:34:36.639 The next chapter. 00:34:36.800 --> 00:34:39.599 Chapter 4 starts with an astounding promise. 00:34:39.760 --> 00:34:40.800 Listen to this promise. 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:46.400 Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same understanding. 00:34:46.559 --> 00:34:47.360 Here's the promise. 00:34:47.599 --> 00:34:53.440 Because the one who suffers in the flesh is finished with sin. 00:34:55.679 --> 00:34:57.760 How does that even make sense? 00:34:58.159 --> 00:34:59.840 How is that possible? 00:35:01.360 --> 00:35:21.519 You see, in the time of the New Testament, the suffering to follow Christ wasn't just that you had to behave differently in your relationships and manage your life differently with your finances and think about your careers differently and parent your children differently and take on burden differently. 00:35:21.760 --> 00:35:25.679 To follow Jesus often could cost you your life. 00:35:27.679 --> 00:35:39.599 And remember, Satan's greatest temptation is for us to avoid temporary suffering at the expense of following God's eternal plan. 00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:52.159 Peter's saying, if you're willing to suffer no matter what, even if it costs you your very life, then you have defeated Satan's greatest temptation. 00:35:52.960 --> 00:35:59.599 Finally, later in chapter four, Peter says, Dear friends, don't be surprised. 00:36:00.320 --> 00:36:03.920 When the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, don't be surprised. 00:36:04.159 --> 00:36:07.840 As if something unusual were happening to you. 00:36:08.880 --> 00:36:11.440 Peter's like, I told you guys the story of Jesus, right? 00:36:11.519 --> 00:36:13.199 Like that's why you put your faith in him. 00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:21.280 Our role model, the guy we're all trying to follow, ended up nailed to a cross. 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:31.199 We gotta quit being so shocked that following Jesus is going to put us contrary to the culture that we live in and leave us with some heaviness that we must bear. 00:36:31.360 --> 00:36:32.719 Jesus told us from the beginning. 00:36:32.880 --> 00:36:36.159 To follow him, we must deny ourselves. 00:36:36.400 --> 00:36:37.679 Take up a cross. 00:36:37.920 --> 00:36:42.719 He goes on to say, instead, instead of being so surprised, rejoice. 00:36:42.960 --> 00:36:43.599 Why? 00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:54.800 Because you're sharing in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may also rejoice with great joy when his glory is revealed. 00:36:55.119 --> 00:36:56.800 A pilgrim's perspective. 00:36:57.039 --> 00:37:04.880 If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed because the spirit of glory and the spirit of God rests on you. 00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:09.519 To save your soul is to choose to follow Jesus even when it costs you. 00:37:09.679 --> 00:37:25.039 And the promise is that whatever it costs you to follow Jesus and submit your life to the Word of God, whatever it costs you will be nothing compared to the reward that you receive. 00:37:26.639 --> 00:37:32.719 I told you at the beginning we were gonna try to create a template for how life and faith actually functions. 00:37:32.880 --> 00:37:45.760 And what we're gonna do is each week we're gonna get clear on what scripture says about our current hot topic, and we're gonna run what we believe about it through this template to see how we should be behaving in our world. 00:37:46.000 --> 00:37:52.559 And uh, I'm a bit of a visual learner, and so we wanted to make this very visible and very big. 00:37:53.760 --> 00:38:01.519 And so we go back to the beginning, and the beginning problem for humanity is that we are separated from God. 00:38:01.679 --> 00:38:08.000 There is like a barrier between us and our heavenly Father, and that barrier is because of our sin. 00:38:08.719 --> 00:38:18.800 And God is holy, which means he is set apart from us, and God is perfect by nature, and in his perfection, he cannot dwell with sinners. 00:38:19.679 --> 00:38:23.599 We could not work our way to God, and so God came down to us. 00:38:24.159 --> 00:38:36.639 And in the New Testament, one of the ways it describes the work of Jesus' death and resurrection is that Jesus destroyed the dividing wall that kept us from our heavenly Father. 00:38:36.800 --> 00:38:43.920 And what that means is we all have a clear path to come to the cross, to come to Jesus. 00:38:44.079 --> 00:38:50.719 We don't have to clean up, we don't have to dress up, we don't have to memorize anything, we don't have to get our lives straight. 00:38:50.960 --> 00:39:00.800 We can hear the good news of Jesus, be convinced and convicted that He is our only hope, and we can believe in Jesus and receive eternal life. 00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:01.599 Amen. 00:39:06.880 --> 00:39:13.920 There are no spiritual ladders to climb, there are no works to be completed, there's no hoops to jump through. 00:39:14.239 --> 00:39:15.840 Jesus did all the work. 00:39:16.320 --> 00:39:22.639 We can't earn our eternal life, and he made a clear path for us to come to him. 00:39:23.280 --> 00:39:28.320 And so you believe and you receive eternal life, then what? 00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:32.960 Then we suffer. 00:39:35.519 --> 00:39:40.400 And we come and we're broken people in a broken world, and we have these sins. 00:39:40.639 --> 00:39:54.719 Some of them we hate about ourselves, and some of them we've actually kind of embraced, and we have these habits and patterns that go against God's word, and we have worldviews that are in opposition to God's commands for us. 00:39:56.400 --> 00:40:08.320 We believe in Jesus and we start seeking to walk out the life of a follower of Jesus, and we start realizing what it will actually cost us. 00:40:10.239 --> 00:40:18.079 And far too often, and heartbreakingly enough, people believe in Jesus and they receive eternal life, and that's yours forever. 00:40:19.119 --> 00:40:26.079 But after some time striving towards following him, they feel like they can't carry the burden. 00:40:26.800 --> 00:40:32.000 And Satan is always there offering the escape from temporary suffering. 00:40:33.039 --> 00:40:40.559 And too many people walk and receive, but go back to almost the exact life they were living before. 00:40:41.360 --> 00:40:51.360