Exiled

[1Pe 1:1-25 ESV] 1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 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, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5  guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 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. 8 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, 9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 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 preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy." 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 20 He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 21 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; 24 for "All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, 25 but the word of the Lord remains forever." And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

Peter is one of the most influential people in the Gospel story. In this letter, Peter is reviewing the trials that he has gone through and is communicating to the churches that they too shall endure trial until the end. Over the next few months, we will be studying these letters he wrote and reflect on how our lives intersect with the context of these letters.

How would you act differently if you lived like you are living in a foreign land? Peter is writing to the ones who have been exiled from Israel and are experiencing trials and troubles because of their exile from the main body of the church. They are living away from their home that they have always known.

Throughout history, God's people are known to be nomadic and aliens in the world. The reason for this is the affect of sin and the affects of the fall of Adam and Eve. Remember, Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden for agreeing with the serpent and eating the forbidden fruit. From that moment on, we are disconnected from our true home and will not know peace. Even though Christ has redeemed us, we are still not home.

Israel failed to enter the promised land and they were deemed to wander. Once they entered the land, they fell away and were scattered. Through all this failure, God works through and among his people. In the New Testiment, there is a new oppressing nation, Rome, that is occupying Israel and God's people are oppressed.

God hears our cries for freedom and yet, we will never be at home here in this life. We operate as exiled ambassadors waiting for our savior to arrive and claim the whole world for his own. We operate within the kingdoms of the world while operating by the Kingdom of Heaven.

These letters are generally written 25 years after Stephen was put to death by the zealots which included Saul. This subject is hard for those in the US to comprehend due to the comfort that we have experienced throughout our lives. Even though the US is known as a "Christian" nation, it never really, truly was. Many Americans are only nominally Christian and live more secular lives than Holy lives.

We are the
* Elect
* Chosen
* Exiles
* Born again

Questions -

* Is God in charge of your salvation?

* Do you have a choice in your salvation?

God has positioned The Bridge in a way that we yearn to see the Body united. We long to see the Bride of Christ united, thus we are "The Bridge." We come from various beliefs and interpretations of whether or not we believe in choice or predetermination. Amazingly, we can honor both lines of thought because, no matter the belief, in Christ alone through his holy spirit, we are saved. As one body, through the light of God's revelation, we should focus on walking with God all of our days.

It is good to examine our faith -

"Timeless salvation"

Savlation is described as
* Past
* Present
* Future

ALL AT ONCE

Romans 8:29

[Rom 8:29 ESV] 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

In seeing the elect before time began, he planned that they would be transformed into his image.

Even in this letter from Peter, talks about God's foreknowledge of our salvation.

John Wesley called this prevenient grace - in that God sets us up to come to know him.

We do not have anything to do with this plan, but that eventually we recognize this grace that has been extended to us. Our salvation occurs long before we exist on the earth. The moment we are saved happens without our foreknowledge and yet we are covered by the blood of Christ because He knew us first. There is a moment in our life that we realize the grace of Christ has intersected our lives. We live in that salvation moment for eternity, and our salvation continues to happen as we live out the rest of our lives.

Even now, we live in a moment of salvation because of God's grace. We are continuously being rescued and guarded through faith.

In the future, we will be finally rescued in "the last time". (1 Peter 1:5 guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time). This is described as being removed from the stain of sin and being justified before God. There is an ongoing moment were we are being cleansed from our sin. We believe that God wants to place Christ's spirit in us. He calls us "more than conquerers" and that we will, one day be free from the burden of sin.

We should long to experience the fullness of God.

When are we saved? Yes. We are saved in the past, present and future. God is "Yes" and "Amen"

How are we saved? Through Grace. Eph 2:8-10 - You are saved through grace by faith, not of yourself. We are God's workmanship created for good works.

[Eph 2:8-10 ESV] 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

It's all about what Christ has done, salvation is part of his being. All of him, the spilling of his blood, the breaking of his body, the revealation of his glory in the coming kingdom is Salvation.

Christ is not created, He was with God in the beginning, we was the Word, He IS with God from the beginning, He IS the Word.

What now? How big is the salvation? Are we just Saved??

NO IT'S MUCH BIGGER!!

Our response is -

REPENT
BELIEVE

Every time we have an encounter with the Spirit, we are led to REPENT, and to BELIEVE deeper than we could have imagined.

By believing in Christ, we live with more fullness everyday of our lives.

One man speaks and collectively we hear Him, but individually, God calls us to follow His leading.

At the end of the day -

Will you deny everything else, and give yourself whole heartedly to Christ???

What does this even look like?

We believe Christ and want to follow him.

My fears and unbelief prevent me from completely following Him. Oh, GOD, break down the fear and unbelief in me!!