 So recently I want to I want to remember something with you guys tonight Recently my wife and my kids we visited my in-laws house and as we were leaving I Noticed that there was a bug sitting on the passenger window of our vehicle and as we left cocoa, Florida I said to him man you are in for one ride And as I got onto the highway and got up to about 50 60 miles an hour I said to myself is he gonna make it? I mean is he gonna purse it right? This has happened to you guys as well, right? You're looking at this poor bug on the window wondering is he gonna persevere to the end does he got what it takes to? endure Through the wind beating down upon him as the road gets rough and bumpy will he fall away or does he have what it? takes to to overcome Well, I figured my wife was probably wondering why I kept taking my eyes off of the road and looking out the window And so I said babe look at this look at him You think you do you think he's gonna make it and let's just say she didn't have like the same thrill and excitement Right because from her perspective all she saw was a little black dot on the window But for me I could see the struggle I could see the fight You know there were times when this bugs little legs were just trembling and shaking you go Barely hold on and then there were other times where he was as solid as a rock that he would not be moved That other times are looking it seemed like he had slid back from the position that he first held and so in my mind I was I just I just couldn't get it off I couldn't get it out of my mind because it kept reminding me of the Christian faith the Christian faith, right? Well as we got into town I looked over once again and to my dismay He was gone. He fell away. He didn't have what it took to persevere Now think about that for one moment The first thing that I said to myself was praise God My rock my refuge the one in whom I put my trust Because we that is God's people will not be like some poor Creeping thing on the window of this way No, God's people will make it to the end God's people will be guarded all the way to glory Amen Every undeserving sinner who God has in his love elected and Sent his son into the world to pay the price the ransom price to Deliver them from the bondage of their sin and from the wrath to come and every undeserving sinner who has been born again and Given the down payment of the Holy Spirit will never Fully nor finally fall away But they will indeed endure to the end because of the promise of God the power of God the Efficacy of the work of Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit they will endure to the end and be saved All of God's people will be guarded to glory So tonight I want you to consider with me three points one the author of our preservation To the nature of our preservation and three the means of our preservation and as we get started Peter here in his first epistle is Riding to persecuted Christians Scattered out scattered throughout Asia Minor not real surprising, huh? Like as I was thinking about the recipients of the letter I said there is no other type of Christian There is no other type of Christian except for a persecuted Christian a Christian who is going through trials a Christian is going through Tribulations why do we get caught off guard so often? Why do we think it's strange that we are ill-spoken of or persecuted in this home in this place? This place is not our home. We are pilgrims This is not our home beware brethren lest the world love you Right remember the words of the Apostle Paul all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will what? suffer persecution And so What Peter does right off the bat there they these are dispersed Christians persecuted they have been dispossessed Dispossessed of their properties Dispossessed of their position in society Dispossessed of their families Dispossessed of their earthly inheritances and What he does is he doesn't come in and start talking about their present circumstance isn't there such a a temptation to Be preoccupied with your circumstance right and then there becomes a great temptation To be despairing or to grow weary listen as we go through trials and tribulations Believe me. I know there is a great temptation to fall into worry or to grow weary and doing good and beloved We are either going to grow or we are going to grumble When we go through trials, we are going to grow or we are going to grumble And Peter is concerned with the growth of his Christian brothers and sisters And so first thing he does is he sets out to get pilgrim eyes off of present Circumstances and how does he do that? Well? He does that with a call to worship Look in verse 3. He says blessed be the god and father of our Lord Jesus Christ What he does to get their minds off of their present circumstances Circumstances their present trials is he calls them to worship God to worship God specifically for his great salvation Peter is calling the recipients of his letter and us through them To praise God in the midst of the storm praise him for his great salvation Let us praise the great God of our salvation and let us praise God for the salvation that is oh so great Blessed be God. This is a Speaking well of God. It comes from the word eulogatos. It's where we get the word eulogy It's a call to praise a call to worship a hymn of praise to God In this passage he is calling pilgrims to praise the God of their great salvation And rejoice in the salvation of their great God praising God for his infinite mercy is is medicine to the weary soul Medicine to the weary soul take notice of the the chronological construction here And we'll just read through the text verse 3 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ Who according to his abundant mercy has be gotten us again? He has be gotten us again. So past tense we have a past tense reality a present tense reality and a Future reality that Peter is calling them to fix their eyes upon Past tense. He has be gotten us again Present tense in verse 5 who are Kept by the power of God through faith for salvation now that salvation is Future tense it is ready to be revealed in the last time Tonight we're going to be focusing most most of our time on verse 5 on verse 5 So blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who according to his abundant mercy has be gotten us again To a living hope if you have been born again by the power of the Holy Spirit as he has reached through the gospel and Drawn you to Christ then he has begotten you again to a living hope or the King James says a lively hope What it it's a hope of life He you have been begotten again to and eat a hope of eternal life and It says you have been begotten again through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and Undefiled and that does not fade away Reserved in heaven for you that Inheritance is what is spoken of in verse 5 the salvation ready to be revealed in the last time and you might say which the people who Peter was being too might have said well, it's a little comfort for a man who is Working his way across a raging ocean being beaten down by the wind in the dark tempest It's of little comfort to him to know that his treasure is safe and secure at his destination Right What you would be most concerned about is will I make it to my inheritance, right? It's of little comfort for us to know that something is kept for us when we're not quite sure if we're gonna make it To that inheritance, but Peter hushes them reinforces to them not that not only is the Inheritance being kept for them in heaven, but they are being kept for their inheritance And that's where we pick up in verse 5. It's reserved in heaven for you Who are kept by the power of God? Kept by the power of God I want you to consider the first point on your notes the author of our preservation the author of our preservation is given to us and Explicitly in verse 3 the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is a Trinitarian designation when when they would speak of God being the father of our Lord Jesus Christ It was emphasizing his place in the Godhead that it is God the father the first person of the trinity He is none other than El Shaddai God Almighty the God of power the powerful God This word power is Dunamis is where we get our English word dynamite and instead of really speaking about Doing something it's it emphasizes the ability to do something the ability to carry out something It's used in Hebrews 11 1 when Sarah is spoken of she received power to conceive Seed in her old age listen to what Stephen Charnoch said about this power of God the power of God is that ability and Strength whereby he can bring to pass all that he pleases whatsoever his infinite wisdom may direct and whatsoever the Infinite purity of his will may resolve as holiness is the beauty of all of God's attributes So power is that which gives life and action to all the perfections of the divine nature How vain would it be? The eternal counsels if power did not step in to execute them without power His mercy would be but feeble pity his promises and empty sound his Threatening's a mere scarecrow God's power is like himself Infinite eternal incomprehensible it cannot be checked nor thwarted restrained or frustrated by the creature When they would speak of God's power They would make a distinction between his power his ordinate power and his absolute power His ordinate power was his ability to bring up bring to pass all of his perfect will But then you'd speak about his absolute power and that is his ability to do above and beyond Even that which he ordains Think about this remember the confession of John the Baptist in Luke 3 8 He said to these Brute of vipers Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance and do not begin to say to ourselves. We have Abraham as our father For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones The God can do more than he does. He is able to do even far beyond Your Comprehension the power of God is immeasurable and incomprehensible. It's too great to calculate. It's far beyond our understanding Listen to Job chapter 26 verse 5 through 14 the dead tremble Those under the waters and those inhabiting them sheol is naked before him and destruction has no covering He stretches out the north over the empty place. He hangs the earth on nothing He binds up the water in his thick clouds and yet the clouds are not broken under it He covers the face of his throne and spreads his cloud over it He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters at the boundary of light and darkness The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his rebuke He stirs up the sea with his power and by his understanding. He breaks up the storms By his spirit. He adorned the heavens his hand pierced the fleeing serpent Indeed these are the mere edges of his ways and how small a whisper We hear of him, but the thunder of his power who can understand You God is able to do exceedingly and bunt and abundantly more than we can ask or think God is able to protect us from the schemes of Satan God is able to protect us from the seduction of the world but the floods of sin and temptation that just seemed to Rush upon us and up out of us God is able to keep us From the influence of error and false teaching turn in your Bibles to to Jude I want to show you the usage of dunamis and in Jude Jude verse 24 and you'll remember that Jude is all about these false teachers who have crept in unnoticed and That their destruction is sure But when false teachers come into the church and affect they affect the church they affect people and in verse in verse 20 Jude starts to speak about our Responsibility to those who have been affected by false teaching in verse 20. It says but you beloved Building yourselves up on your most holy faith praying in the Holy Spirit Keep yourselves in the love of God looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life and on some have Compassion making a decision making a distinction, but others save with fear pulling them out of the fire Hating even the garment defiled by the flesh now as as Jude exhorts us to go after people who have been affected by false teachers and If you read Jude those false teachers are divisive headstrong haughty They they pervert the truth they twist the scriptures in Verse in verse 20 were to have mercy to the doubting that is to those who have been confused by the false teachers error in verse 23 We are to snatch out of the fires Those people having mercy on them those who have commended their ways been affected on in verse 23 We're to have mercy with fear hating the pollution Those were to go after those who have been corrupted by the false teachers lies and what you might be concerned with is well What about me? I could get infected as well if I go and start ministering to people with tuberculosis am I not Subject to that tuberculosis don't believe me brother It's no fools errand to do something like that. You must be wise. You must be where I'm like James said Restore such a one with the spirit of spirit of gentleness, but what beware lest you also be overtaken But here Jude gives an encouragement to the people not to fear To handle your responsibility to those who have been to God Concerning those who have been overtaken but not to fear because look in verse 24 It says now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling the reason why we should go after them out of love is because God has commanded us and we are to have this Confidence that God is able to keep us from stumbling that word able is dunamis He is ability and it is to keep us from stumbling the word stumbling is the word for apostasy God is able to keep us from Apostasy and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy To God our Savior who alone is wise be glory and majesty Dominion and power both now and forever. Amen He is able to keep us He's able to keep us God's people will be guarded all the way to glory Point two on your notes the nature of our preservation turn back to 1st Peter chapter 3. Let me chapter 1 The nature of our preservation I want you to consider anew what the Almighty can do if with his love he befriend thee It says that we are being kept in verse 5 you who are kept by the power of God The ability of God is doing something. It is active. God Almighty is active in the preservation of the saints In the new King James it's rendered you are kept I like the way that the ESV words it it because it brings out the the tense the voice the person In the ESV it says are being guarded, right? That means the saint is being guarded They are passive in the fact that they are being guarded. God is active God is the one guarding this word Kept or are being guarded in the ESV is a military term. It's through through reo And it's used to speak of the function of a fortress a Military base a military garrison the purpose of a garrison was to guard protect or keep secure to preserve The word is used in 2nd Corinthians 11 32 and 33 as Paul is speaking he says in Damascus the governor Under Eritus the king was guarding. There's our word was guarding the city of the Damocians with a Garrison desiring to arrest me, but I was let down in a basket through a window Just as a stronghold would protect and guard the inhabitants of a city from Enemies on the outside who would seek to assail or destroy God is protecting as a garrison God's people From enemies not only on the outside, but our great enemy our own flesh on the inside Listen even The mr. Fearings among us those who struggle with the fear The the mrs. Faint hearts those who Feel and see their weakness continually even to despairing Can can I want you to consider? The god who keeps you that he is a mighty fortress a bulwark never failing There's no need to fear if you know that the the garrison that is protecting your city is Almighty that no one no thing can thwart him tear him down Penetrate his barriers does not not cause for comfort a security God's people will be guarded to glory Psalm 46 verse 7 the Lord of hosts is with us the God of Jacob is our refuge the Lord is our strength and he is a saving refuge to his anointed save your people and bless your Inheritance shepherd them also and bear them up forever Can you my my beloved brothers and sisters say with the psalmist and Psalm 18 verse 1 through 3 I will love you Oh Lord my strength The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer my God my strength in whom I will trust My shield and the horn of my salvation my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be praised So shall I be saved from my enemies. Amen. Amen. God's people will be guarded all the way to glory You know consider the third point What is the means of this preservation in verse 5? It says that we are kept by the power of God through faith for a salvation Ready to be revealed it is that we are kept by the power of God through faith The means of our preservation is faith it doesn't it does not say that we are Kept by the power of God apart from faith Like those who would say once saved always saved Right, they say no if there's no necessity for a believer to continue in the faith once they're saved They've always been saved But the scripture here says that God uses the means of faith To guard to keep to garrison the believers It is not apart from faith through faith and it's not don't don't miss this It does not say that it is on account of faith That's a that's a whole nother heresy. It does not say that you are kept by the power of God on account of your faith That would be the same thing Um It would strip the security away from the believer because if your faith is like my faith It is like the tides of canaveral ever ebbing ever flowing up one day down the next Strong in a moment weak the next second. It is not on account of our it is not on account of our faith It's not as if god looks down upon our faith and takes into account our faith and then keeps us According to our faithfulness. No, no, it's according to his mercy and it's through faith Through faith faith is the means of our preservation God uses faith to guard us unto glory. Well, what is faith? Is it just a simple believing of the facts? No Is it a mere agreement with the truth? No True saving faith does agree with the truth True saving faith does Agree with the facts But faith is a believing that god is who he says he is and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him Faith is a continual trust and dependence on the person and work of the lord jesus christ to be saved From the power and penalty of sin Faith looks away from self and looks and fixes his gaze on christ jesus True faith produces good works It is something that fails not faith endures to the end because saving faith is a gracious gift of god It's a gift that god gives for salvation and it is a gift that god sustains Unto a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time John flavill said And this is this is wonderful. You are going to want to use this faith is the empty hand of god's of man's need Faith is the empty hand of man's need reaching out for the outstretched arm of god's provision Faith is the empty hand of man's need Reaching out for the outstretched arm of god's provision and god has made provision God has made provision in sending his only begotten son into the world Born of a woman taking on himself the flesh Suffering and dying on the cross to pay the price for sinners For the elect sinners the elected rejected We are elected in heaven but rejected in this earth Do you possess this type of faith? Let me Stop for a moment. Do you possess this type of faith? Is your faith enduring is your faith fixed on christ? Does your faith look away from yourself seeing only enough to despair? God has been so merciful and patient to all of us Today you have heard the inherit of the inheritance of the saint You have heard of god's gracious guarding of souls the necessity of faith unto salvation Have you believed in this mighty god? Have you believed in his precious son whom he sent to be a propitiation for our sins? Have you been born again by his holy spirit? If not you have your own inheritance It's an inheritance that is not like that unto the saints in Romans chapter 2 Verses 4 through 8 it says or do you despise the riches of his goodness his forbearance and long suffering Not knowing that the goodness of god leads you to repentance But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourselves Wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of god Who will render to each one according to his deeds eternal life to those who by patient Continuance and doing good seek for glory Honor and immortality but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth But obey unrighteousness indignation and wrath The mighty god that keeps and guards the saints unto glory will guard and keep you in eternal chains of darkness Suffering in excruciable pain and flaming fires Listen you do have a fortress But if you have not trusted in christ jesus your fortress is not god listen to what nehum says All of your strongholds are like fig trees with ripened figs If they are shaken they fall into the mouth of the eater If you are trusting in something other than christ all it takes is god's wind of providence to shake that fortress and it falls Do not put your trust in anything that you see in your in your mirror Do not put your trust in anything that you see in this world. They will not protect you. They will not guard you Only christ jesus can keep the soul Come to him Put your faith in him your trust let him be your ever dependence Your treasure your portion forever So a few practical helps as we wrap up. What should we take from this beloved? What should we take from this? Worship god in the storm Worship god in the storm in the darkest valley and the roughest waters of your pilgrim pilgrimage Let the echoes of god's praise be heard all around And to comfort one another with these words there are many mr. Fearing's there are many Mr. Doubtings and and the faint hearted And come and strengthen their arms and their legs come use this truth that we've learned from first peter today to comfort one another His ability his power to do all things his power to guard us all the way to glory And third go and tell the world about our great god. This is a world without hope This is a message of hope to the hopeless This is a message about a mighty fortress who can keep to the uttermost to a people who are trusting in paper mache And finally what kind of condemnation will be fit for us if we neglect so great a salvation? Let us continue to run the race set before us with endurance Let us continue to look away from ourselves and unto our great god and his precious son Trusting in the power of his holy spirit to preserve us all the way to glory amen God's people will be guarded all the way to glory. Let us pray Bless you bless you our father you Deserve all of the praise and the glory We thank you for your abundant mercy Lord help us to Look above our present circumstance To the glory that is to be revealed in the last days when you are glorified In your saints and lord i pray for my brothers and sisters here Jude encourage them and strengthen their hearts And um keep their eyes fixed On the end of the race where jesus is ready to receive them And i pray for those who may not know you lord undoubtably There there it would not be a far shot to to think that There are some here who still do not believe and i pray that you would blow upon their fortresses That they might fall So they would have No shelter and be turned To come to your precious son And receive everlasting life in christ's name amen