Praise God For Our Gospel Privilege

So 1 Peter 1, verse 3.

1 Peter 1:3

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

! According to his great mercy,

he has caused us to be born again to a living hope

! through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

to an inheritance that is imperishable,

undefiled, and unfading,

kept in heaven for you

who by God's power are being guarded through faith

for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you rejoice,

though now for a little while, if necessary,

you have been grieved by various trials,

so that the tested genuineness of your faith,

more precious than gold that perishes,

though it is tested by fire,

may be found to result in praise and glory and honor

at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you have not seen him, you love him.

Though you do not now see him,

you believe in him

and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible

and filled with glory,

obtaining the outcome of your faith,

the salvation of your souls.

And concerning this salvation,

the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours

searched and inquired carefully,

inquiring what person or time

the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating

when he predicted the sufferings of Christ

and the subsequent glories.

It was revealed to them

that they were serving not themselves,

but you

in the things that have now been announced to you

through those who have preached the good news to you

by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven,

things into which angels long to look.

Amen.

Well, history tells us that

a little more than 3,000 years ago,

there was a group of people

who were enslaved and abused

by one of the world's great ancient powers.

But they experienced a dramatic

and supernatural deliverance from these captors,

and many of you would know their story.

This once mighty and flourishing world power and nation

was brought to its knees and nearly decimated

in a way that can only be explained

as God's divine judgment.

And it was through this judgment

that God freed these slaves

who were led by an unlikely man named Moses.

And still, the days after their freedom,

they were quite difficult, weren't they?

The children of Israel immediately thrust

into significant hardship.

Leaving Egypt didn't seem any easier

than actually being in captivity in Egypt.

And though they were freed from slavery

and assured of God's protection,

I mean, what more assurance would you need

than to stand and to witness the plagues

that God poured down on Egypt?

To hear the wails of the firstborn children

who had been taken,

the homes of those who didn't have the blood

on the doorframe.

To witness that night walking

through the midst of the Red Sea

on dry ground.

What more assurance do you need

that God is on your side?

And yet, almost immediately,

that comes into question for them.

It doesn't come into question

because they doubted what they saw.

It comes into question

because their experience

was really, really hard.

And their wanderings in the wilderness

in the days leaving Egypt

becomes a serious testing ground

for their faith,

a serious testing ground

for God's promises.

And as you can remember

in reading your Bibles

or hearing the stories told

in Sunday school growing up,

what was their great sin?

It became murmuring.

They're murmuring and complaining.

Now, my brother and my dad

and my mom and my sister-in-law,

they've been to Israel many times before.

And I remember the first time

that my sister-in-law, Kathleen,

went there

as they were out in a wilderness area

which would have been part

of the nation of Israel's wonderings

during that time.

Her first reaction was,

no wonder they complained so much.

It wasn't that life was good for them

and they just were taking

a lot of things for granted.

And Noah's life was really, really hard.

And they began to question

God's faithfulness.

They began to murmur and murmur.

And that murmuring developed

into a kind of rebellion.

Multiple times,

some of them come to Moses,

as you can remember,

and they say,

we would have been better off

to just stay in captivity.

We'd have been better off

to just stay in Egypt

than to suffer the way

that we're suffering now.

And what should have been

a time of joyful praise,

of grateful trust

in the promise of God,

produced actually hateful complaints

toward God

and rebellion against Him.

Now, we take that picture

and that understanding

of what they went through

and we come to 1 Peter now

and we understand

as Peter is writing

to these Christians

in the early years

of the church,

we understand that life

in exile

always brings the temptation

to murmur.

It always brings

the temptation

to forget our privileged place

as God's people.

It always brings

the temptation

to turn away

from God's promises

and question

whether or not

He really will be faithful.

and how many of us

have been like Israel of old

and we've at least wondered

would it just be easier

to be in captivity

to this world

than to be a child of God

in it?

Now, how are we

to withstand such temptations?

As Andy read in Hebrews 4,

how are we supposed

to persevere

when life gets really hard

and the questions

about God's faithfulness

really become

forefront in our minds?

And as we've said

a few times

as we've been studying

through 1 Peter already,

what we really need

most of the time

is not for someone

to come along

and just fix

all of our problems.

What we need

most of the time

is not for God

just to take

all of the hardship away

and all of the pain away

and all of the suffering away.

Really,

most of the time

what we need

is for someone

to remind us

of the glories

of the gospel.

Someone to remind us

of God's genuine care

and love for his people

and to call us back

to a sincere

and joyful praise

to God.

And that's exactly

what Peter's doing

here in these first few verses.

He's reminding us

before he deals

with our suffering

and how to respond

to certain things,

he's going to get

to all of that

and it's going to be

really helpful.

But before he gets there,

the first thing

that he does

is he reminds us

of the glories

of the gospel,

of who we are

in Christ,

that we belong to him

so that we might turn

and worship him

in response.

And in the text

that's before us

in verses 10 to 12

where we focus today,

what Peter's doing here

is he's drawing

our attention

to the reality

of our great gospel

privilege.

Our great gospel

privilege.

Now,

the irony in this today

is that the concept

of privilege

carries a more

pejorative connotation

these days

than maybe

in Peter's days.

Today,

privilege is

not something

you're supposed

to be grateful for.

It's something

you're supposed

to feel shame for.

Your social image

in our culture

can actually be marred

not because of the way

that you use opportunities

or the way that you use

the blessings

that God gives you,

but it can be marred

just simply for the fact

that you have

those blessings

to begin with.

Now,

if we're going to

understand what Peter's

saying here,

if we're going to

understand and respond

appropriately,

we're going to have

to take those modern

notions and cultural

notions of privilege.

We're going to have

to set those aside.

That's a godless way

to understand blessing.

We're going to have

to set those aside

and come to this text

and begin to understand

exactly what Peter

means to say.

For him,

our incredible gospel

privilege

is not something

to be embarrassed about.

It's something

that should drive us

to exuberant

and joyful praise

even in the midst

of great hardship.

And of course,

that's the point

of this entire section,

our worship.

Now,

to do this,

what Peter does here

in 10 to 12

is he contrasts

our experience

of salvation

today in the new covenant.

He contrasts that

with two different messengers

that God uses

throughout history

and that we read about

in the scriptures.

One is the prophets

of old,

the prophets

of the Old Testament.

The second is the angels

who are in heaven.

Now,

what's common

between these two groups

of messengers,

God's messengers

to us,

is that they both,

according to Peter,

longed to know

and to experience

the fullness

of grace

that is available

to us

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

Yet,

God used them,

we're told,

to serve us.

And what is it

that Peter's trying

to get across?

Well,

Peter's point

is to dispel

any notion

that the hardship

of exile

that we're all

going to experience

at some point.

He's dispelling

the notion

that the hardship

of exile

indicates

that God

somehow

doesn't actually

care for us

or doesn't care

for us

in the way

that the scriptures

tell us.

And Peter just

gives us

a really gentle

reminder

so that we might

properly praise

the Lord.

And we've got two

really main things here.

The first one is this.

Concerning this salvation,

we are more privileged

than the prophets

of old.

Concerning this salvation,

we are more privileged

than the prophets

of old.

Let's look at 10

to 12 again.

Peter sets the context

with the very first phrase,

doesn't he?

Concerning this salvation.

He's not talking

about more privilege

in every part of life

and every aspect of life.

He's talking about

the gospel

concerning this salvation

that he's been dealing

with in verses 3

down to 9.

The prophets

who prophesied

about the grace

that was to be yours

or we might read this,

the grace

that was to be ours,

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.

Now right off the bat,

we see that the salvation

Peter's been referring to

in this text

is not new.

It's not a novel idea,

is it?

No, the hope

of eternal salvation

through a Savior King,

a Messiah,

was anticipated

for centuries.

God progressively

over time

revealed more and more

of his saving plan

through the prophets

in the Old Testament

and we see that

ultimately revealed

in the gospel

and the person

and work of Jesus Christ.

The gospel of Jesus

that we know

and that we believe

and that we have experienced

today

was only shown

in part

to them

and yet

they intensely

longed

to see it fulfilled

in their day.

And Peter says

they searched

and they inquired

diligently,

they searched

and they inquired

carefully

what person

or time

the Spirit of Christ

in them

was indicating

these things.

And it's not that

they were concerned

merely with names

and dates

and you start

thinking about

anticipating

in time things today.

Everybody wants

to know a person,

everybody wants

to know a date.

Everybody wants

to be able

to put a name

to what these

future figures may be.

Everybody wants

to be able

to put a date

to when the end

will come.

That's not what

the prophets

of old were saying.

That's not what

Peter means to say

that they were

searching for.

No, they were

searching the scriptures.

They were searching

the Bible.

They were praying

and inquiring of God

not just to tell

them a name,

Jesus,

or a time,

first century.

No, they were

searching and inquiring

that all of these

things they were

foretelling would be

revealed in their

time, that they

would be fulfilled

in their time.

It was a great

longing that they

would see the glories

of the gospel

in its fullness.

And yet, they didn't

live in a time

of fulfillment.

It's a gracious

privilege that God

has allowed us

to live in the

time of fulfillment.

For it was

revealed to them,

as we read in

verse 12, it was

revealed to them

that they were

serving us as

they prophesied

God's word.

What has now been

made clear to us

in Jesus, they

only saw the

shadow.

Now, two things

stand out here

about this.

The first is this.

We see our great

gospel privilege is

that we have seen

the scriptures

fulfilled.

fulfilled.

We've seen the

scriptures fulfilled.

Again, this text is

really important to

our understanding of

the reliability and

credibility of the

Bible.

I want you to

notice Peter's very

careful language here.

Notice what he

says.

The prophets who

prophesied about the

grace that was to be

yours inquired what

person or time the

spirit in them was

indicating.

And then we see

again in verse 12,

it was revealed to

them that they were

not serving themselves

but you.

What is Peter saying

here?

He's being very

careful with his

language.

The point here is

that this wasn't

their ideas.

This wasn't their

best guesses at how

things would unfold.

That's not what we

have in the Old

Testament.

No, specific emphasis

is given to the work

of the Holy Spirit in

inspiring the scriptures

through the prophetic

word here.

Notice Peter's language

again.

They searched and

inquired carefully

inquiring what person

or time the spirit of

Christ in them was

indicating these things.

It wasn't their

message.

They were receiving it

and then conveying it.

It wasn't their best

guess.

It wasn't their unique

intuitions.

They were God's

direct revelation

given through the work

of the Spirit.

So then the prophets,

they didn't create the

message, they just

convey it.

Therefore, what they

prophesied, we

understand to be God's

perfect and inerrant

word.

Now, Jesus helps us

here, doesn't he?

Or, excuse me, Peter

helps us again here in

2 Peter.

Just flip over a page

in your Bibles to

2 Peter 1.

And look at verse

19.

2 Peter 1,

2 Peter 1:19

verse 19.

He says, we have the

prophetic word more

fully confirmed.

So what the prophet

said, we have it

confirmed in the person

of Jesus Christ is what

he means to say.

And he says, you will

do well to pay

attention to it as a

lamp shining in a

dark place until the

day dawns and the

morning star rises in

your hearts.

And then he brings

clarification to how

the prophets received

this message.

Knowing this, first of

all, no prophecy of the

scripture comes from

someone's own

interpretation.

Now, what does Peter

mean?

He means to say that the

prophets in the Old

Testament, they weren't

just sitting around

thinking deeply about how

things might turn out.

And they just decided

one day, this is my

interpretation of the

world.

This is my interpretation

of world events.

This is how I see things

might progress so that we

might actually achieve

salvation in some sense.

Peter says, no, that's

not how this happened.

That's not how this works.

And he continues on,

verse 21.

For no prophecy was ever

produced by the will of

man.

But men spoke from God

as they were carried

along by the Holy Spirit.

Now, he's just echoing

what he's saying here in

his first letter, which

is what?

These prophets, they

prophesied about something

that God was doing in

them, something that God

was saying to them, and

they were conveying this

truth so that we

understand when we read

our Bibles, what we're

reading is not man's

word.

We're reading God's word

given through men.

That's how Peter is

helping us to understand

it.

But the trouble for the

prophets in the Old

Testament was that the

message they were given

wasn't complete.

It was shadows.

In the law, through

Moses, we have pictures,

mostly.

We get into the Psalms

and the prophets and the

other letters, and we

start to have specific

statements and prophecies

given to specific groups

of people, and all of

them are coming from God,

but all of them are in

shadowy form.

And these men were

trying to put it all

together.

They're trying to

understand it.

They want to see it

fulfilled.

They searched and

inquired carefully, but

then the Spirit reveals

that theirs was not a time

of fulfillment.

That's not true for us.

And that's Peter's point.

They were serving us in

the things that have now

been announced.

They were serving us in

the things that have now

been revealed in the

gospel.

They had the shadow, but

we have the substance.

Now, how can we know that

the prophets of the Old

Testament were true

prophets?

How can we know that what

they said really did come

from God?

How can we know that it

can be trusted?

Because we live in the

time of fulfillment.

Because we live in the

time in which Jesus has

come, and Jesus has lived,

and Jesus has died, and

Jesus has raised, and he's

ascended.

We live in the time where

we can see the picture

becoming very, very clear

in a way that they

couldn't.

And that's a great

privilege.

And Peter writes to these

Christians who were

struggling, and he says,

remember the privilege you

have.

You could have been

suffering at the time of

the prophets.

the faith was still

required the same.

God was still the same.

His promises were still

the same, but the

revelation was different.

There wasn't as much to

piece together yet.

Jesus had not yet come.

It would have been much

harder to live in that

time.

Think about your

privilege, he says.

You live in the time of

fulfillment.

But that's not the only

thing he says.

That brings us to this

second thing here.

We not only see now that

the scriptures are

fulfilled, but we see that

the gospel is now

revealed.

It's revealed.

Paul's language for this

often is mystery.

When Paul uses the

language of mystery, what

he means is something

that was concealed in the

Old Testament, something

that was hard to

understand and comprehend

in its fullness in the

Old Testament, that

mystery now being

revealed in the person

of Jesus Christ and his

life and his death and

his resurrection.

And what we're reminded

here is that the central

focus of all the

scriptures, whether the

Old Testament or the

New, is the good news of

salvation through Jesus.

You say, how can we know

that Peter's on about

that?

Well, just look at the

verse.

What is it that they were

inquiring about?

In verse 11, they were

inquiring what person or

time the Spirit of Christ in

them was indicating when he

predicted what?

The sufferings of Christ and

the subsequent glories.

What does Peter mean to

tell us?

Well, he's echoing a truth

that we see over and over

in the New Testament, and

that is all the scriptures

have one giant message.

It is a message of

salvation.

It is a message of

salvation through God's

King, through God's

Savior, through Jesus

Christ.

All of it pointing us to

him and to his message.

And that salvation message

has always been one of

suffering that precedes

glory.

And sometimes we think

that this idea of a

suffering Messiah, that it

is a New Testament

construct.

That no one even thought

about that until Jesus

actually comes and they

were just a huge surprise

that he was crucified.

And that just isn't true.

The Jews of the first

century, they were

interested in a suffering

Messiah, but that was

because of the hardness

of their heart.

It wasn't because of some

silence in the scriptures.

And we talked about this

a lot this summer as we

were working through the

Psalms.

Think about the pictures

and the prophecies of the

Old Testament.

From the very beginning,

Genesis chapter 3, 15,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

the very first prophecy of

a Messiah, God himself

gives to Adam.

And what is it that he

says?

Or he gives it to Eve.

What is it that he says?

I will bring forth a

seed from you.

And he will crush the

head of the serpent.

But the serpent will

crush his heel, bruise his

heel.

Even there, just in

shadowy form, we have

suffering, not just for us,

suffering for the Savior

before we get the glory

that the seed of the woman

is meant to bring and to

display.

And we see it in the law.

We see it in the pictures

of the sacrifices.

We see it maybe most

clearly in the person of

David, the Old Testament,

and his sufferings.

And the way he even

understood his own

sufferings as pointing to

the sufferings of Christ.

We get to Isaiah 53,

which basically just spells

it all out for us,

doesn't it?

So when we get to the

Gospels and we find that

the Christ is suffering,

it shouldn't be a surprise

to us.

It certainly wasn't a

surprise to the prophets

that Peter was writing

about.

Because that's exactly

the thing they were

inquiring of God about.

When would this Messiah

come and suffer so that

his sufferings would then

bring glories that would

follow?

And Jesus helps us,

doesn't he?

Luke 24.

This is the resurrection

night.

Jesus appears to his

disciples in the room in

Jerusalem.

And what is it that he

says?

These are my words I spoke

to you while I was still

with you.

That everything written

about me in the law of

Moses and the prophets

and the Psalms must be

fulfilled.

Now when Jesus says the

law of Moses, the prophets

and the Psalms, he's

speaking of the whole of

the Old Testament.

Those were the three

Hebrew divisions of the

Old Testament scriptures.

He's speaking of them

all.

And he says, this is what

I've been telling you.

That everything about me

in the scriptures must be

fulfilled.

And then he opened their

minds to understand the

scriptures.

And he said to them, thus

it is written that the

Christ should suffer.

But then he says their

subsequent glories.

And on the third day, rise

from the dead so that

repentance for the

forgiveness of sins may be

proclaimed in his name to

all nations beginning from

Jerusalem.

What a great privilege we

have.

We live in a time when the

scriptures are fulfilled and

we can see it and we can

believe it.

We also live in a time when

the gospel has been revealed.

What is this good news?

What's all about Jesus?

And the privilege of it comes

to the forefront in verse 12.

All of this has been revealed

to us in what?

The preaching of the good news.

The preaching of the gospel.

And again, the emphasis is

given to the work of the

spirit.

The same spirit that inspired

the prophets also speaks

authoritatively through the

gospel message.

All kinds of strange ideas

exist about the work of the

spirit.

Peter here reminds us that the

primary work of the Holy

Spirit is to call attention to

Jesus Christ.

That's his purpose.

That's what he does.

He points us to Christ in the

prophets and he calls us to

Christ in the preaching of the

gospel.

So that when the good news of the

gospel is proclaimed, the Holy

Spirit works to bring life to dead

sinners.

And it's our great privilege to

live in the time of fulfillment as

the spirit works to reveal Christ and

to bring us salvation.

This is what Paul said in 1 Corinthians

15.

That great resurrection passage.

Remember what he said.

This is the gospel that we've

proclaimed.

That Christ died for our sins

according to the scriptures.

That he was buried and that he rose

from the dead according to the

scriptures and has been seen by all

the witnesses.

And then he launches into that

amazing chapter on Christ's

resurrection which leads to our

future resurrection.

To eternal life.

All of it based in the scriptures.

All of it rooted in the work of the

Holy Spirit.

All of it provided so that you and I

might know Jesus and be saved.

What is his sufferings?

His sufferings is an atonement for

our sin.

What is his glories?

His resurrection to new life.

His ascension to the throne.

And eventually his future return.

But what's the point of all of it?

Why is Peter saying all of this?

He's telling us to take our eyes

off of our exile for a moment.

And before we begin to question

whether or not God really does love

us.

Before we begin to question whether

or not God really does care about us

even in our suffering.

He reminds us of all that God has

done so that we might have the

privilege and the clarity of the

gospel.

So that he might save us.

And Peter says

remember these things

and praise him.

So we see that we're more privileged

than the prophets of old.

There's just one more note to make.

We're also more privileged

concerning the salvation

than the angels in heaven.

And this is surprising isn't it?

We get to the end of this verse

and it kind of comes out of nowhere

doesn't it?

Who of us if you hadn't read

this passage before

would have ever expected

that suddenly Peter's going to say

you know what?

You're a little better off

than the angels too.

It's a surprise isn't it?

He doesn't explain very much.

We can get a little bit from it

doesn't we?

Can't we?

Just notice what he says.

Verse 12

It was revealed to them

they were serving not themselves

but you and the things

that have now been revealed

in the good news by the spirit.

things into which angels long to look.

Now we need to understand this rightly

by understanding what Peter isn't saying.

He didn't mean that exile

is better than heaven.

Right?

If the angels are in heaven

and we are in exile on earth

in this life

how in the world

are we more privileged than they?

Well that's not what Peter's talking about.

He certainly doesn't mean to say

that the angels are somehow disadvantaged

though they are in the very presence of God.

It's not a matter of

being advantaged or disadvantaged.

That would be a ludicrous idea.

This is why context matters

when we read our Bibles isn't it?

And what's the very first phrase

that Peter uses in verse 10

when he launches into this?

Concerning this salvation.

Concerning the fullness

of the experience

of the gospel of Jesus

that he told us

in verses 3 to 5

secures a future inheritance

that's imperishable

and undefiled and unfated.

That concerns a present joy

that we experience

even in the midst

of present grief.

That's what it's concerning.

He doesn't mean to say

that the angels are disadvantaged.

He's relating this specifically

to grace and salvation.

Now what the angels have in common

with the prophets

is that they too long to see

and understand

the fullness of the gospel

but in a different way.

The prophets longed

for greater knowledge

and for the fulfillment.

That's not the same

for the angels.

They have the knowledge.

They have the intellect.

They know it.

They've seen the fulfillment.

They don't need that part.

What is it that they lack?

They lack the experience

of the grace of God

and salvation.

That's the thing

that fascinates them.

They possess knowledge

of the gospel

but they cannot experience

God's saving action

as you and I can.

They haven't sinned

therefore they need no redemption.

They haven't been an enemy of God

therefore they don't need

to be made children of God

like happens in the new birth

that Peter talks about

in verse 3.

They don't experience

a present grief

as we experience

therefore there's

not really necessary

to bring to mind

their present joy.

They have nothing

for which to contrast with

in their very experience

and it's in this way

that Peter says

they're fascinated

by the gospel

and the saving

and redemptive effects

of God's love

in our lives.

And yet it's our

great gospel privilege

to not only understand

the message

but to truly experience

its saving power.

That's what Paul reminds us

of in Romans 1.

He's not ashamed

of the gospel

for it is the power

of God unto salvation.

We can see it revealed.

We can see it fulfilled

but we can also experience

the fullness

of its saving effects

because the same spirit

who worked to give

the message to the prophets

the same spirit

who sends the angels

on their way

in the New Testament

and in the Old Testament

to give their message

from God

is the same spirit

who works in the preaching

of the gospel

to bring you

from death to life.

To break up

the hardness of your heart

as Andy prayed earlier

to break up

the hardness of your heart

so that you might

believe the gospel

and be saved.

And Peter says

we ought to remember

this privilege.

But you can't remember

something you haven't experienced

and we have to at least

ask that question.

Have you experienced

the saving power

of God

in the gospel?

I don't mean

have you subscribed

to a kind of religion

or Christianity

certain kind of practice

or certain type

of denomination

whatever it may be

but have you been

born again?

Do you have

the present joy

that was spoken about

in verses 6 to 9

that can really

only come

because of something

God is doing

in you?

Have you experienced

the saving effects

so that you can

actually praise God?

Have you come

to faith in Christ?

As we close

this portion

of Peter's letter

we need to acknowledge

that if we're going

to thrive in exile

which is what this letter

is about I think

it's going to require

that we remember

the glorious grace

of God

in our salvation

and that we spend

our days of exile

in sincere

and joyful worship

and part of what

it means to do that

is to express

humble gratitude

at our great

gospel privilege

can you imagine

if Israel's response

was different

coming out of Egypt?

Their circumstances

would not have changed

had they come

out of Egypt

and just decided

you know what

this is really hard

but we trust the Lord

and we're going

to praise Him

because He has

made us His home

and He has redeemed

us with a

tremendous salvation

out of Egypt

you know that

wouldn't have changed

their circumstance

they still

would have had to

go through

the wilderness

they still

would have been

tested over

and over

at the waters

of Meribah

the various times

when they were

thirsting to death

and hungry

but they would have

entered the rest

that's Hebrews 4

what Andy read to us

but instead of

trusting God

they rebelled

we don't want to

live that way

right?

the temptation

that comes along

with exile

is to turn away

to give it up

to not believe

the gospel

of Jesus

is something

the prophets

long to better

understand

and to see

fulfilled in their

days

it's something

the angels

in heaven

long to know

by personal

experience

and then there's

us

by God's grace

we are privileged

to have both

the fullness

of revelation

and the experience

of salvation

so that we can

praise God

in a way

not possible

for them

and to

recognize this

should dispel

any thought

in the wilderness

that God

doesn't love you

that he doesn't

care about you

or that he's

not watching

over you

or that he

doesn't care

about your

suffering

of course he

does

and how do you

know

because of this

great salvation

that you have

been privileged

to know and

experience in your

life

so what do

we do then

we endure

and we

persevere

but if we're

going to do it

in a way that's

thriving rather

than merely

surviving

we're going to

have to worship

and worship

is always about

Jesus

and what he

has done

for us

and so we

bless our

God and

Father

of the Lord

Jesus Christ

for this great

salvation he's

provided

and

he's

going to

to

him

to

him

to

him

to

him

to

him