Welcome Suffering as a Part of Life: True Freedom - 1 Peter 3:13

0:42So we had a great time and had a great celebration, much to be thankful for in this country, much to celebrate. But I think it's safe to say that many of us who celebrate freedom do not really know what true freedom is. I think most people would acknowledge the importance of freedom. In fact, one poet said it like this, what light is to the eyes, what air is to the lungs, and what love is to the heart, liberty is to the soul of man.

1:17Yet I can assure you, though we would all attest how important freedom is, I can assure you that few really understand true freedom. This morning we've come to a New section of scripture in 1 Peter. And it opens with the question in verse 13: Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? A question that launches us into a whole nother section of 1 Peter. In fact, the last major section of the book. And what I want to do today is a little bit unique. This won't be a true exposition of a particular passage. It will be more of a reorientation to 1 Peter, that bird's eye view, a look of where we've been, what's ahead. And as we do, I want to pay attention to something. I want to pay attention to Peter's concept of freedom. Peter talks in terms of freedom and bondage throughout this book quite extensively. And so, what I want to do is kind of in more of a topical fashion, though, certainly grounded in Peter's mind and grounded in the text that we have before us in the book of 1 Peter. I want to get into Peter's mind. And if we had him on this platform here this morning and were to do like a little inquisition on Peter, what's your view of true freedom? I'd like to be able to anticipate what his answers would be based upon what he has written in this book. What is true? Freedom. It's a very profound question. A lot of ink has been spilled trying to answer that question. We can think of political freedom. This would be freedom in the political sphere.

3:16Last Friday, we celebrated our successful declaration of independence from the Crown of England. We were successful. No longer are our laws made in London, made in Washington. We celebrated the birth of a great nation. However, the struggle for political freedom didn't stop with the revolution. In fact, one philosopher said it like this: men fight for freedom, then they begin to accumulate laws to take it away from themselves. Another said it like this: when the people contend for their liberty, they seldom get anything for their victory but new masters. We in America have enjoyed some political freedom of an unusual sort in the history of earth.

4:08Some key principles of political freedom that we celebrate here in the USA would involve freedom of conscience. You've heard that term. One writer said it like this: We on this continent should never forget that men first crossed the Atlantic not to find soil for their plows, but to secure liberty for their souls. Another said it like this: there are two freedoms: the false, where a man is free to do what he likes, the true, where he is free to do what he ought. Freedom of conscience. We also heard the freedom of speech, another buzz phrase that speaks of the political freedom here in the U.S.

4:56fought and defended. In fact, George Washington said it like this: If the freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led like sheep to the slaughter. Very important tenet of political freedom. But political freedom will always be a struggle. Abraham Lincoln said it like this: Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. There will be a struggle. Daniel Webster said it like this: The contest for ages has been to rescue liberty from the grasp of executive power.

5:35Ronald Reagan said it like this: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. All that speaks that political freedom is going to involve struggle. We can also think of freedom in social terms. It's a little different. This social freedom is often associated with economic conditions, a freedom from want, freedom of social mobility, freedom from lack of opportunity, freedom from social inequality, a freedom from financial insecurity. It involves maybe a financial freedom of a sort. Roosevelt said it like this: Franklin Roosevelt said, True individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.

6:42Another writer in the 1950s said, What most people want in this world is security, not liberty. And so you can kind of see a clash between different ideologies of freedom. Benjamin Franklin said that this freedom is going to be an ongoing struggle. They, and I quote him, that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. It's going to be a struggle. Then there we could think of freedom in terms of morality, a moral freedom, freedom in the realm of moral choice, and it can refer to the right to choose a course of action independent of coercion by Others. And basically, it boils down to being independent from the moral constraints or dictates of others. Could be good, could be bad. But a freedom, freedom of conscience.

7:45But it can also refer to the right to define, where right and wrong abide in the chooser, the ability to set one's own criteria. Of course, there's... I have to look hard to think that this is going to be an ongoing struggle. There has to be boundaries. Even those who say there are no absolutes have to make some absolutes to say there are no absolutes. The question is, who determines them? We could add other nuances of freedom.

8:20Talk about political, social, and moral freedoms. Talk about others. But the truth of the matter is that these political, social, and moral freedoms are under a constant state of struggle, are they not? I think you see it in the world. These are the struggles that continue to shape the geopolitical and moral boundaries of our times and of ages past. The question comes down to us today: what is true freedom? What is true freedom? I put that to you. How would you answer the question? And then a follow-up question. Are you truly free yourself?

9:05And are you sure you're truly free? One philosopher said it like this: None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free. Well, I believe Peter has something to say about true freedom. Peter was a truly free man. And if we had him on the platform this morning, I'd like to ask him a few questions dealing with this concept of freedom. Young Peter, we know, was sometimes zealous, sometimes impetuous, but oftentimes he was bound to a worldly mindset and bound to the fear of the opinions of others. But mature Peter, on the other hand, he was a truly free man. He was free from the political, social, and moral pressures of his day. He truly lived free. He was free, and he taught others how to be free.

10:16And so this morning, as we review 1 Peter, I want you to understand Peter's concept of freedom so that you will walk in true freedom. You'll have something to truly. Celebrate? Well, basically, three questions, three things I would ask Peter. Peter, what, tell me, tell us what true freedom is not. Peter, describe for us some characteristics of true freedom. And then, Peter, give us a clear definition of true freedom. That's where we're going to go this morning. First of all, I want to look at what true freedom is not. Tell us what true freedom is not. Well, first of all, it is not a set of political conditions. It has nothing to do with the degree of your political influence in your country. Going back to 1 Peter 1, it's very clear Peter is writing to people who reside as aliens. They are scattered. They are scattered because of the Neronian persecutions. Probably the worst or one of the worst political situations for Christians in history.

11:40And yet he relates to them as a truly free people. So it is not a set of political conditions. Freedom is not, in Peter's mind, a set of living conditions. Freedom has nothing to do with the living. To do with your living conditions or your physical living situation in life. They are a scattered people, dispersed. Some had left everything, homes, possessions, occupations, maybe family members. Some had lost their profession. Some of them were virtually homeless or were homeless. And yet, Peter relates to them to live the free life.

12:35You see, rich and poor can both be enslaved. And rich and poor can both be free. True freedom is not a set of living conditions, nor is it a set of favorable political conditions. And it's not a condition of your position in society or your station in life. And that's basically what he goes through in chapter 2 in verses 18. He speaks to the servants, whether you are a citizen in society, whether you are a slave in your society, whether you are a whatever your spousal relationship may be, whatever your responsibilities are to others, whatever your position is, has no bearing on. Whether you are a true free individual or not, these people are certainly in their society not what we would regard as free. Yet Peter relates to them as free.

13:46So that's what freedom is not. I'd like to say, well, then tell us some characteristics. Show us some characteristics of true freedom. Well, going back to chapter 1, verse 1, verse 2, true freedom involves the grace of God and peace with God. You see, true freedom begins at the same time and runs parallel with true salvation. True salvation and true freedom do not begin in the will of man, but they begin in the loving kindness of God. The reason there are those who will walk in true freedom upon this earth is because God wants some people to walk in true freedom upon this earth. The question is: do you want to be one of them? That's the question put to you.

14:43True freedom involves the loving will of the Father, the sacrifice of the Son, and the sanctifying work of the Spirit. All that, verse 2, according to the foreknowledge of God, the loving kindness, preordained, set love of the Father. That's how we'd translate. Translate that, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with his blood. So, true freedom involves, right at the outside, obedience to Christ. There, and you start getting into the mind of Peter that you have been set apart from the pattern and course of all the peoples on this earth for the purpose of obeying Jesus Christ. Start getting into the mind of where freedom is and where it truly resides.

15:36Well, freedom involves a legitimate hope for the future. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. A legitimate hope. A legitimate hope that the only individual throughout human history who has been raised from the dead and stayed raised from the dead, let me put it that way, he raised people from the dead, but then they too had to die. But Jesus alone raised from the dead, there's no other individual like this on the earth. And he said, I will come again for you. Our hope is not an illegitimate hope, but legitimate, a living hope based upon.

16:31The indisputable fact of his resurrection. It's a living hope. You see, a shaky hope does not produce a lifestyle of true freedom. If your hope is shaky about the future, or if you're confused about what the future is about, you'll never be able to walk in true freedom because at the very outset of living in true freedom now is knowing that how things are going to turn out. And if you've got a shaky hope for the future, you're going to have a shaky life going through this world.

17:10But going on in verse 4, it's not just that there's a legitimate hope, but there is a confident faith in the good future to come. Verse 4: to an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled, which will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. A future, a final, a clear, unchangeable, solid future that is good. By definition, it is good to the core, good all the time, good to everyone, good to the very highest expression of good. That is what awaits us who follows. Christ.

18:03And because of that, and like verse 6, we can rejoice in trials. We can have rejoicing and joy in the judgment that is to come, the revelation of Christ. Listen, if you are afraid of that event, you're going to have a really difficult time living in true freedom today. Knowledge of that event frees you. In fact, in verse 13, therefore prepare your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit. Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Get your mind around that. It will set an anchor for your soul. The future will determine how you live here. And it is freeing.

18:54As he goes on, as with any freedom that's worth having, true freedom is not free. Verses 10 through 12, there's suffering, great suffering on Christ's part. Verse 11, Spirit of Christ was within them, these prophets indicating the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. Christ is going to suffer. There was freedom. This freedom was not free. There was. Great suffering on Christ's part. And that is going to frame the last section of the book that we're now launching into. It's all about suffering. In light of his suffering, now, brothers and sisters, friends, and believers in Christ, you too need to welcome suffering as a part of life. And that's where he's going in the book. But it anchors right here. There are people who are suffering. And he's going to point and say, Christ suffered. You can too.

20:02But there's not just a cost on Christ's part, there's actually a cost on the part of those who preached the gospel. He goes on: There are those who made sacrifices to proclaim the gospel to the next generation. Here we are at literally the ends of the earth. And the gospel has made its way to us. And it did not come without severe sacrifice through the ages. And it is this very sacrifice that we who have embraced the truth are to make in order to pass the word on to the next generation.

20:39And that brings us to the end of the first section: that true freedom is a result and is even synonymous with true salvation. And then in verse 13, Peter launches off into another section, another section about freedom, freedom to become what God wants you to become. Come. Characteristic of freedom is that you are now free in Christ to become what God wants you to become. Verse 14, you are free as obedient children. You are free to be conformed not to the former lust, but to be like the Holy One who called you. You're been granted the freedom to live according to Christ's holy standards in all of your ways, regardless of what others may want to constrain you to do. You are free to set your life, to orient your life, and to live it according to Christ's holy standards, no matter what the pressures to do otherwise may be.

21:50In verse 17, he indicates a freedom. That freedom is the freedom to revere God over all else. You have the freedom to put him first and to honor him. In verse 17, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth. You have the right to honor him. And whatever that may look like, and however it applies, you are free to do so. But going on, In verse 22, there's also a freedom to sincerely love others. Since you have, in obedience to the truth, purified your souls for a sincere love of the brother, fervently love one another from the heart. You have been set free to truly love one another. Listen, when you're all wrapped up with yourself and you're tethered to this pattern and way of worldly thinking, you cannot live for somebody else. You cannot truly love someone else.

23:03But you've been set free by Christ to sincerely love one another. He goes on: the truth, that true freedom involves the freedom to be informed and transformed, the freedom to understand the truth. And this is what he lays out in verses 23 through 25 and beyond. You have all flesh is like grass, and the glory, the flower of the grass, the grass withered, the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word which was preached to you. You have been given a gift in the truth. True freedom involves the truth.

23:49A truth to see from God's perspective. To see the big picture of God's activity in the world. You have been given. This lens, and without it, you can't understand the world. You can't walk in true freedom unless you have truth. Remember, Noah building this great big old boat, he understood what that boat was for. A lot of other people just saw one big silly boat, had no idea what is this, what is it for, until they were all taken away. Ah, it would be good to be on that boat. Well, likewise, we have been given the truth. I mean, how is it that the belief in the words of this peasant carpenter, this itinerant rabbi from 2,000 years ago holds any value for the sustaining of my soul?

24:52It almost looks foolishness. Yet he and he alone can deliver from the coming wrath, which is far more intense than a deluge upon the earth as in Noah's day. But you have to have the truth to see that. So, true freedom involves being informed and transformed by the truth. But there's also a freedom. True freedom involves the freedom to live life to. The fullest. Chapter 2 and verse 5, he refers to followers of Christ as living stones. Christ Himself is the living stone from which we derive our life.

25:46And like living stones, we are truly set free to live life to the fullest. And this implies a freedom from the dominating power of sin in our lives. We are free from the dominating powers. And it also implies a freedom from the debilitating guilt because we have a cross to pay for our sins. We are freed from the dominating power, we are freed from the debilitating guilt of our sins, but we are also free from the dreadful task of trying to earn favor with God through flawless obedience.

26:27Perfect obedience. It's kind of frightful to think that God has to be pleased through our perfect obedience. That'll paralyze you. It won't liberate you. That truth will. But as we come to Him, true freedom involves freedom to be set free from these fears and power. It's a freedom to do all things in all circumstances that will please God. And this is what he goes on in verses 4 through 2. 10. Free to live, free to be a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. For once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Free to live. Free to live your life as a living proclamation to the excellencies of our Lord Jesus Christ.

27:36And that takes us to the end of the second section. And then he launches off into another section, beginning in verse 11 of chapter 2, a freedom. And he unveils a freedom, another element, or another characteristic of freedom. That is the freedom to submit to the authorities that God has placed in this world. A freedom to embrace submission as a way of life. A freedom of submitting without being enslaved. A way of submitting without chafing. A freedom to embrace submission without an admission of inferiority or subjugation.

28:30Freedom to recognize and accept and even celebrate the God-given authority of others, whether it's government, masters, spouses, or others, as appropriate. Freedom to embrace submission as a way of life. And that section goes all the way, all the way to chapter 3 and takes us all the way to verse 13. Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? And he launches off into a whole new section, the final section of the book of Peter. And it's a freedom to endure suffering for the sake of righteousness. Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? What he's saying is basically, even in a tyrannical society, if you are zealous for what is good, they're going to be slow to persecute you, slow to harm you. But, verse 14, even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.

29:42You see, people suffer for many things. You're going to have suffering in this world no matter what. But those who suffer to promote righteousness in the world, these are the ones that are truly blessed. And you have been given a Freedom to suffer for the cause of righteousness in the earth. Think of some examples of some free people in the Bible. You remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? You remember Nebuchadnezzar, great king of Babylon? Brought all these young Jewish men into captivity. They were the princes and the nobles, brought them into captivity to make them one of his own, to serve him. In all outward respects, these people were captive. Their city was destroyed. They were young. They had been taken into a grand brainwashing scheme. And finally came the day to erect this big statue and to have everybody in the empire bow down and worship. These three said, no, can't do it. The rest of the world may be bound, but here are the three free people we meet in the text.

31:16Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter, the matter being you bow down or you're going to die. We don't need to give you an answer. In other words, we're guilty. We're not going to talk back to you. We are not going to bow. He goes on, If it be so, our God, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

32:03Now, these are some free men. You can't put a shackle on the spirits of these men. You may bind their body, you may coerce them into some very undesirable living situations, but you cannot bind their spirits. These men are free. And so is everyone who has been born in Christ. You remember Jesus before Pilate? He entered into Pilate's presence. Pilate asks him, Where are you from? Jesus gave him no answer. In John 19:10, so Pilate said to him, You do not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you, and I have authority? To crucify you? Jesus answered, You would have no authority over me unless it had been given to you from above. There's a greater authority in the midst here. Jesus understood it. Jesus was free.

33:15Totally. And as Peter begins to lay down in these chapter 3 and verse 13 and following the sufferings of Christ. The sufferings of Christ. He says in verse 18, For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God. And then in 4:1, he speaks again, Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourself with the same purpose. In other words, get ready to welcome suffering.

33:53You are free to suffer. It's coming. And you're free to suffer for righteousness' sake. Before, you couldn't. Before you knew Christ, you could not suffer for the sake of righteousness. But having been born from above, you can. And he goes on, in verse 4:19, it's going to recognize that therefore those who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator. The rest of this section is about. Getting ready for suffering or preparing, girding these people up who are experiencing great suffering in their time.

34:40God's will for you may involve suffering. Welcome it. And then he gives the promise in chapter 5 and verse 9 that you're not alone. Resist the devil, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. You're not alone. You're not alone. So if I had Peter up on the platform here, I'd ask him, share us, tell us, what is freedom not? Then, Peter, tell us some characteristics of true freedom. And third, now, I want a definition. Put it in my mind. What is true freedom? And I'll take you to chapter 2 and verse 16.

35:36Let me just read chapter 2 and verse 16. It's translated like this: Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. Now, if you'll look at your translation there, and if you have one that honors what's going on in the Original, you'll see that the word act is in italics. That's because there is no word there, act. In fact, when it says but use it, is also in italics. That means it's not there either. It's an implied verb. In fact, the Greek is very, well, it's very straightforward. There is no verb there, as free men, and then there's a parenthetical, and do not use your freedom as covering for evil, but as bond slaves. So you take out them in the parenthetical statement, as free, but as bond slaves. That's how the translate. You are free, but free as a bond slave. That's the idea.

37:00So if I put it down, true freedom, put it like this, is slave bondage to the will of God. True freedom is slave bondage to the will of God. Literally, bond slave. You are his slave. And the word for slave there is like a galley slave. The most menial tasks. A bond slave has. No end, no will, no aim in life, but to be pleasing to his master. That's what the role of a bondslave was. And what Peter is saying is: true freedom is slave bondage to the will of God.

37:51That's a seemingly contradicting statement, isn't it? How can we talk about freedom and slavery in the same sentence and make this kind of parallel? Yet, this is what he does. Shouldn't surprise you, everything is different in God's kingdom, right? The greatest is the servant. Your enemies are to be loved, not hated. And true freedom is being shackled to the perfect person. That's how he thinks of freedom. Freedom, true freedom, is being shackled to the perfect person, to the perfect spirit, the perfect standard of good in every situation in life and the life to come. It's united. It's married.

38:40The metaphors are used throughout Scripture. Bound together, bonded together, in Christ, inseparable. That's what true freedom is. Freedom is being tethered to God. Freedom is being tethered. Tethered to the perfect good. And think about it. It makes sense, right? Not only is it scriptural, but it really makes sense. I mean, think about it. If you could do good in every situation all the time to the highest degree, wouldn't that be freedom? You see, Peter's view of bondage is very different from ours. Peter's view of bondage is being spiritually detached from God, spiritually separated. This is, going back to Genesis 3, what? Spiritual death. That's where bondage is. When you are detached from God.

39:43You see, when man refused to obey God in the garden, he embarked upon a history that would tell the story about spiritual death. Man would tell the story, fallen man would tell the story of what man will become without God. What man will become if we rule ourselves. Look at the history of the earth. You see, just think about it. Being detached from the wisdom of God is not a good thing. Being enslaved to the wisdom of man and its outcome, that's disastrous.

40:28Could you. Going to go through life being enslaved to man's perspective? Or what's even worse, you're really bound to your perspective of man's perspective. Get all the philosophers, you can put all the philosophers, all the minds together, but you're still bound to your perception of what they're saying, and you're the one who puts it into place. So you're bound to your perception of reality and the outcome that follows. Who wants to live like that? I mean, I can tell you, you need a bird's eye view. You need to know the beginning from the end to be able to make sense out of who you are.

41:10And to be detached from the wisdom of God is death, being detached from the blessing of God and enslaved to the curse upon fallen man. You see, God cannot bless that which is foolish. Who wants to live that way? That is bondage. Being under the wisdom of man and bound to the curse of God. Basically, Genesis 3 boils down 2:16, or in 2:16, God says, Adam, you can do whatever you want. Just don't eat from this tree. In other words, Adam, you can do whatever. Go. This world is before you. Go. Enjoy no restrictions. Go. Go. Just don't do what I forbid. Don't want to do. What I forbid. That's it. What a simple restriction. And the universe that was before him.

42:08And yet he wanted to do what God forbid. And this brought bondage, separation. But the story of the redeemed is going to tell a whole different story. The story of the redeemed tell the story not of the spiritually dead, but of the spiritually alive. The redeemed have embarked upon a history that will tell the story about spiritual life. What man will become with God. Man conforming to God's standards. That is the story of the redeemed. And there is an open invitation here this morning. If you do not know Jesus Christ, the extension, the invitation is made to you today that you would come to know him, that you can be quickened and awakened to spiritual life. Do you want that? Do you want to be one of his?

43:07Then cry out to him. He will receive. So true freedom is not being dead to God and alive to the world, but dead to the world system and alive to God. I mean, there is a tremendous beauty in true freedom. True freedom. And he speaks about this in chapter 2 and verse 1. It's our memory verse this week. True freedom is being detached from all malice, all deceit, from hypocrisy, from envy, and all slander. It's being detached from these. Good things to be detached from. It's detached from the world's definition of beauty. There are many that are dead because of the world's definition of beauty.

43:59You can't keep up. Being detached from the definition of beauty, the definition of success, the definition of worth, the definition of satisfaction, all these have destroyed lives. They are a prison, a dungeon. You'll never be able to live up to man's standards. But freedom is being free from that. To walk through the seasons of life gracefully, to be able to go after the pursuits that God esteems. There is freedom in that. You see, God is absolutely free. He does what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants to do it. But it's important to understand something about God: that he never wants to do evil. Not even close.

44:56That's why the scripture says he's completely independent of evil. Not even tempted. He knows the difference between the good and the evil, and he prefers the good all the time. His deeds are good, they're just, they're beautiful in all circumstances, all relationships, and to the highest degree. This is the goodness of God. And though we can never think of ourselves as absolutely free, that would be absurd because we are dependent upon God for our every breath and existence, yet in Christ we are truly free. And if you think about the goal of creation, God said in Genesis 1:26, let us make man in our image according to our likeness. And then you had the fall.

45:44And then at the end of Revelation, you see a glorified humanity truly in God's image, bearing the image of his Creator. This is the work of creation. And you know what? All of the present earth and all the present heavens were just support vehicles for the true creation that God is doing, and that is, he is creating men and women who will bear his image. And part of that is freedom. He is truly free. And so, in a real, true sense, we are going to, in order to be able to bear the image of our Creator, we are going to be able to be able to be able to Are you going to have to have the highest degree of possible freedom that a created being can have, or else we cannot truly reflect his image.

46:45This is what we are becoming. So it's true freedom is slave bondage to God. It's being enslaved to Christ. And you know what? Our world really doesn't like this definition of freedom, does it? They've got it backwards. They think freedom is being detached from God. And the more a country and individuals distance themselves from God, the more and more they go into bondage. But to be a lover of true freedom is to be a lover of Christ. John 8:36 tells us that when the Son makes you free, you are free indeed. He is the perfect spirit of freedom. And when he makes you free, you're free indeed. And the work of the Spirit of God is to sanctify God's people to obey Jesus Christ. That's what Peter starts this whole book out. This is the work of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ. And that is why in chapter 3 and verse 15, Peter is going to go on to say, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. The work of the Spirit. He sanctifies you to obey Christ. And your response needs to be, I will sanctify. Christ as Lord in my heart, that is in conjunction with the work of the Spirit. That is what this is all going to.

48:122 Corinthians 3:17, where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. Same word. Well, as you close, I want to draw your attention to the reality that Christ is here today. And he rules in a far more profound way than any government institution or any social structure or any pecking order that we may see out here today. He rules in our midst. And there are some here today who are truly, truly free people. Their spirits cannot be bound by the ways and thinkings of man.

49:04See, those who are joined to Christ are truly free. And the challenge for all of us is to be like Peter and to live truly free. Let me ask you, do you live for the moment or do you live free in the moment? We are to leave free, live free in the moment, and you're invited. If you do not know Christ today, you are invited to be one of His. First word of the good news is repent of your sins. The first word of the gospel that went forward, stop the way you're going, turn and listen. Stop. You're going off a cliff. You're going to.

49:55Those are words of good news. Stop. If God didn't want to have anything to do with you, he just let you go. Stop going the way you're going. You need a change, and you know you need a change. So turn. Turn to him and believe that Jesus died for your sins. That's what you need to do. Believe that Jesus died for your sins and that he was resurrected from the dead so that you could have new and eternal life with God. That's the gospel. And it's extended to you today that you can have life truly free.

50:36In Jesus Christ, let's pray. Heavenly Father, I give you thanks for your words. We thank you for the work that you did in Peter's life. And here we are, thousands of years later, looking at his life, looking at the lessons that he learned, Father, and watching the transformation that took place in his life. And Father, we desire that in ours as well. Father, that you would take the liberty to create in us truly a sanctified people, sanctified to obey Jesus Christ. Father, and where we shun, where we tower away from that truth, Father, do a work in us. Father, cause us to want to see the beauty of Christ's ways and the glory and the incredible invitation. Father, and help us to be good stewards. Help us to truly live free. Father, we don't want to live under the bondage of sin, decay, and death. We don't want to live separated from you. Father, I lift up this country to you. Father, forgive us where we have kicked you out and have made you of little consequence. Father, I pray on behalf of my country, I pray that you would have mercy. God, cause a work.

52:06As some have been praying, Father, in this community, Father, just pray that you would stir a revival, that you would awaken souls. Father, we are completely dependent upon you to do that in our community, and we're completely dependent upon you to do that here this morning. And it's with joy and confidence that we, and excitement. That we offer these prayers to you in Jesus' name.