Morning again. Let's open our Bibles to First Peter chapter one. We continue on with your assembly study of the book of First Peter. A few moments ago, we introduced this book. We began kind of broadly looking at the man Peter, narrowing it down, looking at some of his ministry and his, his background, the book of Acts and the Gospels and such, narrowing it down then to the first and second books of Peter, how the Lord uses him in a mighty way, and then narrowed it down to details about the theme of first Peter and then the chapter one. much about salvation. So we then began to slow down and look at verse by verse as the brothers here will continue with this theme and this study. We noticed in the first two verses of First Peter chapter one, concerning, as Peter was writing to these, uh, pilgrims and strangers sca- scattered abroad in these various areas, we find in verse two concerning the gospel through the vision, as it were, of the Triune Godhead. And so from there, we move on to verse three. First Peter chapter one verse three. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to re- be revealed in the last time. So we notice his promises and our inheritance as spoken to those dispersed, these suffering pilgrims. We saw much of First Peter has to do with suffering and the glory to come. The suffering of us as believers and pilgrims and strangers associated with the example and the historical truth of the suffering of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we find, verse three, things concerning past, you might say, as we think about being saved, what he's done for us. We think about our future as well, as you see in verse four, as we look forward, and yet we think as well, verse five, our present, the things that we know in the Lord Jesus Christ as we press on in this study, verse by verse. In verse three, blessed be the God and Father. Think about this attitude of thankfulness. You know, it's easy to be so busy about with the issues of life and our responsibilities, things that we know we should do, things that God tells us to do, that perhaps sometimes we need to kind of back up and think, am I being thankful? Am I being thankful for all that the Lord has done, is doing, and will do? This attitude of thankfulness, uh, I'm thankful that this morning I've heard that expressed different times during and between meetings about one speaking about how they're thankful about this particular situation or, or the Lord in general, about who he is and his goodness. Are we thankful people? Blessed be the God and Father. Are we, are we focused on him with an attitude of thankfulness? You know, it's not just what Peter says. When you go through the Pauline epistles, time and again, as Paul was writing to the different local gatherings and to individuals, so often we see these books opening with an attitude of thanksgiving, thinking about the Lord and his person and his work, what he has done and is doing and will do for us. This attitude of thanksgiving. You know, there's a great assurance in that pattern and a reminder that we should be thankful. So when we think of this section we've read before us, verses three to five, notice the flow here seen by several prepositions, kind of leading us along, helping us to pause along the way and think about what the Lord has done for us. As we see this term according to, there in verse three, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to, you know, we see that term meaning based on. Based on this, according to, over a hundred times in the New Testament. You know, you think about how the word of God is a book of theology, uh, but the way it's written, you think it's a historical book. You, you think about how, in a sense, it's grammatical. You think about how there's the poetic aspect of the book and the flow of the Word of God. Uh, you know, you think about, uh, early in, in the history of this nation, how the Word of God was a, a large basis of how people learned to read and taught their children, that taught them what's right and wrong, taught them the book of Proverbs, and so on. So we look at the vastness of the word of God. We think about according to. And so we think about these prepositions, is why I brought that up. According to. First of all, it talks about his abundant mercy. The abundance of his mercy. So we notice that in conjunction with how he has begotten us again, that is to be born again, regenerated. So with this, I'm gonna look at not only what Peter has to say, but over at what we find other writers. We think of things that John had to say by the Spirit of God, and Paul as well. But first of all, let's think about his abundant mercy. You want to turn back with me to Titus, please, chapter three. Titus chapter three. Abundant mercy. We think about God's grace and his mercy. His grace. Oh, we think about how we've received, oh, what we don't deserve. But yet with his mercy, we see how we've also not received what we really do deserve. We see his grace and his mercy. And so according to his abundant mercy, which means richly. His rich mercy, his abundant, rich mercy. Titus, as Paul was writing to this brother, chapter three, familiar verse, verse five and six. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration, renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed, or that is poured forth on us abundantly, that is richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior. Oh, there's a lot there. What he has done in saving us. It's not by our works, but it's according to his mercy. So again, it's by his grace, but don't lose sight that it's also by his mercy he saved us. Oh, we don't receive what we really deserve. We're guilty sinners before a holy, righteous God. Our hearts are wicked and desperately, uh, uh, uh, wicked, as the book of Jeremiah reminds us, and yet we can be saved, and it's according to his abundant mercy. You know, we think about mercy. Paul also, uh, mentioned there to those at Colossae, uh, about how the, the word of God is something that should be, as we sing songs and hymns and spiritual songs, how this can affect us richly. As we meditate on the word of God this morning, one of the thoughts, as we remember the Lord, was about the very thought of singing unto the Lord and how, how we can remember the Lord and praise him through song. And so the Word of God itself establishes that. Colossians three paralleling over there in Ephesians five, talking about, um, the importance of singing about the things of the Lord, singing scriptures, singing about scriptural themes and truth. So we think about his abundance, what's rich, his mercy toward us. But you know why we have finger here still in Titus? It's also talking about what he has done and how he's begotten us again, as Peter said. He has begotten us again. Now that term begotten, we think of being born again, we think of regeneration. So in Titus here, as we read, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration. You think of that Old Testament thought of the laver, the washing, a cleansing. And so he's washed us, he's regenerated us. That means we've been born from above. We've been born again. And he ties it in here with the renewing of the Holy Ghost and such. So while we're, uh, moving along, uh, just if taking note, I'll remind you of what was said by John, uh, as recording what the Lord Jesus said in that so well-known portion of John chapter three, and how he told Nicodemus, you must be born again. He noted very clearly that if you are not born again, you will not see nor enter the kingdom of God. So except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, is in verse three. And he goes on from there, and he teaches this, uh, clear message to Nicodemus. And of course, it's one of the most well quoted and and read passages throughout the world, as we see John three sixteen included. You know, I was thinking in terms just a few days ago, uh, at my mother's funeral, I was thinking about, uh, tying in the gospel to the eulogy we were giving, and I thought of this passage because, you know, my mom was dealing with, uh, Alzheimer's, and every one of us know family members ourselves who've dealt with disease and sicknesses. And, and so the point that we were trying to make was that, um, physical disease is one thing. If it's God's will, he can heal us. May not be his will, but when it comes to sin, there's this great analogy in God's word. It talks about the cleansing of the leper, for example, and how that teaches us about how we are all guilty sinners before God. We've been bitten by the disease of sin. We w- from Adam on down, we're all sinners, and we have that disease, as it were, spiritually speaking. We are sinners, and we've proven it by sinning. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And so the point being is, you come over here to John three, and part of this discussion about needing to be born again, the Lord Jesus tied it into the events in the wilderness. That Egypt to Canaan experience that we just went through, uh, recently in our studies. And remember how there were those being bitten there in the wilderness. And as they were bitten by these serpents, they were dying. And so, just like with the cleansing of the leper, if a man had leprosy, Leviticus thirteen and fourteen talks about how they were to go around and acknowledge that they were s- that they were, they were lepers. Unclean, unclean. And yet there was a way that God says they could be cleansed. And so here, those in the wilderness as well, as the Lord Jesus would point back to those who were bitten by the serpents. How could they be healed? How could they live? Well, they were told to look up upon that brazen serpent that was lifted up on that pole, and they would live. So the Lord Jesus ties it in here when he says you must be born again. He says, think about that serpent in the, in the wilderness being lifted up. He says, so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And so from a spiritual perspective, we can be healed from our disease of sin. The fact that we need a savior. So we think about being born again, being born from above. It's only through faith in the finished work of the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's go back to our text of First Peter, please. Looking at these prepositions are helping us walk through these few verses. Verse three again, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope. Unto a lively hope. We think of living, something certain, not dead, a lively hope. It was read earlier by one of the brothers of chapter two, and thinking about being a living stone, thinking about the Lord Jesus, and then, uh, he's built us up as lively stones, as a spiritual house. So we think of something living, something, uh, functioning, as it were. We have this lively hope, certainty. Because of his abundant mercy, he's begotten us again unto a lively or living hope. So as we move on, we see it's by, we press on here as we, these leading, uh, the grammar of the flow before us. It's by or through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. You see, without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, Corinthians fifteen reminds us our faith would be in vain. You know, as I mentioned in our previous study, introducing the book of First Peter, talking about Peter and those many sermons in the book of Acts. One of the key elements of those sermons was, we see time and again how the resurrection was taught. Time and again, it would be references back to messianic psalms and what David would say about how he would not suffer his holy one to see corruption, such as Psalm sixteen. The Lord Jesus Christ was to be raised from the dead, and he was. And so we see that it's by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This shows the stamp of approval, as it were, about the Father, that he accepted his dear son's death on the cross. He did not let him stay in the grave. He raised him from the dead. So because of that, for you and me that are saved, because the Lord Jesus was accepted by the Father, we are accepted in the blood. He's resurrected, he's ascended back to glory, and he's there at the right hand of majesty on high. Oh, the truth of the resurrection concerning the gospel and what it means even for us now. We go on, it goes on to say, from among the dead. So in connection with the resurrection, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there are still verse three, from among or from the dead. So we think about our Savior, the Lord Jesus. He is the first fruits of them that slept. We see that term over again in that classic chapter about the resurrection, Corinthians fifteen. and it talks about he's the, the leader or the first fruits, and that ties in with great illustration from the Old Testament, uh, feast, the feast of first fruits. Christ is the first fruits of them that slept. He's the leader of resurrection. So chronologically, you can say, well, there were others resurrected before him. You see what the Lord did himself in raising Lazarus and so on. So it's not in the sense of chronology, but it's in the sense of he's the leader. Because he's the leader of resurrection, we have the promise of our resurrection. The book of Corinthians, chapter fifteen makes great detail concerning this truth, and because of that, because our faith is not in vain, that chapter concludes about how we can press on and serve him because of this wonderful truth. Our service, our labor, he concludes, is not in vain because we are those that are in Christ. He was resurrected, thus there's the promise of our resurrection, and we are able to live, uh, as in the resurrected life, serving him now, anticipating being with him. So back to our, our, our text of First Peter one. Um, before I move on, though, from that thought from among the dead, talking about him being the first fruits of them that slept, also that book of Colossians, uh, tells us, uh, how, how Paul was talking about Christ as preeminent. We find that in C- in Colossians, and there as well he talks about him as the first fruits, or as the, that is the leader, uh, among the dead. You might find that interesting when you read through the preeminences of Christ. It includes that. And so now in verse four, going along, noticing these, uh, grammatical, uh, points to lead us along, verse four now says, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you. And so we find our inheritance, and it's described in these ways in verse four, We find, first of all, incorruptible. This inheritance that you and I have, it's incorruptible. That means it's not tainted. An incorruptible inheritance. Can you think of anything greater? As we look forward, when we think about inheritances in a just practical way here on Earth, you know, those things can come and go. They can fade away, but we're talking about our inheritance in Christ. It's incorruptible, it's not tainted. It's interesting, in this same chapter, it talks about the blood, verse eighteen, as well, incorruptible. Talks about the incorruptible seed in verse twenty three. These things that tie in with our salvation, and we think of that which is incorruptible, that which is not tainted. Oh, we do not have a tainted inheritance because of that precious blood of Christ, as you'll study later in chapter one. And thus it, we see verse twenty three, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. The word of God shows us what the Lord Jesus has done for us and has provided this incorruptible inheritance. But also this inheritance is described not only as incorruptible, but as undefiled. Here we think of not being contaminated. Eh, let's, I'm gonna just read to you, um, if you're taking note, what is said in, in Hebrews chapter seven about the Lord Jesus as well, being undefiled. In Hebrews seven, it says this: For such an high priest became us who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, who needeth not daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifice first for his own sins and then for the peoples, for this he did once when he offered up himself. You see, we think about the one who went to that cross, the perfect, uh, substitute. He's the perfect savior. We see he's perfect in all his ways. He's perfect in his person. You see, if he wasn't the impeccable son of God, he wouldn't have been able to be the perfect substitute for us. He's the perfect son of God, perfect in his very person and his work. So we think of this one, the Lord Jesus, described as well when we think about this term undefiled. So we have a, an inheritance that's undefiled, and uh, we have the knowledge of this one, the Lord Jesus, who's undefiled. So still in our main text, First Peter one, This inheritance is also said to be that which fadeth not away. That's interesting if you compare scripture to scripture in the book of First Peter. Again, talking about the gospel there at the end of the chapter, where I left off reading a moment ago, it talks about being born again. Notice this Old Testament quote, the next verse, verse twenty four. Here we see again something that fadeth not. For all flesh is as grass, and all glory of the man, uh, of man as a flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away, but the word of the Lord endureth forever. And so you think about how the, the grass fadeth away. Oh, but what we have in Christ, what it means to be born again. Oh, it doesn't fade away. And yes, the result is we have an inheritance that does not fade away. Interesting as well, uh, Peter would write in chapter five about one of the, uh, crowns that are, uh, in a coming day to be given out, one concerning those elders who are faithful in oversight. There it talks about in one Peter five four, and when the chief shepherd shall appear, he shall, he shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. So we think about things that the Lord has acknowledged that fades not away, our salvation, uh, these crowns, uh, the inheritance that we have in Christ. One more in this section, still in one Peter one four. This inheritance is not only incorruptible, undefiled, fadeth not away, but it's reserved in heaven for you. Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ is your savior? Can you say with surety that you know this inheritance is reserved in heaven for me personally? You know, we have an inheritance presently if we're saved. That's one of the great studies of the book of Ephesians, and you compare it to, uh, illustrations in the Old Testament, like with Joshua and what have you. But we have an inheritance presently. But we also have that sense of a future inheritance. And we think about what is before us, that in the ages to come, he'll show us exceeding riches of his grace. It's reserved in heaven for you. And so we can connect that with our next verse. It could be read this way, reserved or it's settled in heaven. Think of that. When you think of something and people just kind of throw it off as this kind of figure of speech, oh, that's settled in heaven. Well, literally, we think of what is reserved or settled in heaven, that is the inheritance of us that are born again. And thus we come to verse five. We see in verse five, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Being kept by the power of God. You know, this word kept is like military garrison is one way I believe the definition is. Uh, is a military guard, you know, it was kind of interesting and a little bit humorous, uh, sitting around in my, my parents' front yard, you know, the night that, uh, and following after my mom passed, which, by the way, uh, I appreciate those that was praying for us. It was interesting that, um, I knew the time was short. I was there with her. Hospice came by a couple times that day and, and said, you know, she's got less than two weeks, and it looked a lot closer. I I was able to give her my goodbyes, and I went to the prayer meeting. I knew the saints at Randleman and where we were, we fellowshiped at Sedge Garden and uh, in Ramsore, uh, and folks maybe another assembly or two knew she was really close. And so while we were at prayer meeting, she she went to be the Lord. So we think about being kept by the power of God. And so my dad, what what's kind of humorous about, was sitting around with all these kids and grandkids, and my dad started talking about things he never talked about much before. Started talking about being an MP, a military police, uh, back during the Vietnam War. He was stationed in Korea and other places, some of which he couldn't talk about in times past because he was told he couldn't talk about it, you know? But then he shared a few things that, you know, not anything, uh, top secret now, but just the fact that, you know, he was stationed in certain places in front of important things. And so how important that is to think about when there's something important and we have this surety that's being, it's being guarded, it's being taken care of. We think about this inheritance and about us that know the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. We are kept by the power of God, greater than any MP, any military police. We have this garrison roundabout that we are being kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. Oh, we think of the assurance of salvation. We think about the security of our salvation. It's not based on us, as the passage begins, by the fact that it's, um, as we compared to Titus, it's not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he has saved us. And so we're kept by the power of God. Jude speaks of being preserved. You know, we think of what was said there to the Romans, that how we've been saved or delivered from the wrath to come. You see, we have been kept by the power of God, ready to be revealed in the last time. Oh, the culmination of this salvation, you might say, ready to be revealed in the last time. Oh, brothers and sisters, we have so much to be thankful for in Christ. As we close, let me just mention this term revealed. Other things in God's word that's revealed, as well as our salvation. We see the book of the revelation of Jesus Christ. We think about, um, the word of God. Galatians one twelve reminds us of how it's revealed. We think about the gospel and the, how the gospel, Corinthians fifteen three, is revealed, his death, burial, and resurrection. And then the multitude of the New Testament mysteries that talk about truth that was previously hidden Old Testament-wise, but yet now have been made known or revealed. God speaks to us to know him. He has blessed us in so many ways. As you continue on in your assembly study of the book of First Peter, be encouraged of what he has done, what has happened according to his abundant mercy, he has begotten us again unto a lively hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from among the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Do you know Christ is your Lord and Savior? I pray everyone hearing my voice today knows Christ is their Savior. With this, let's look to the Lord in prayer, and I'd ask if one of the brothers could close us, please.