On the Lord's Day morning of
July 23rd of this year, we completed our verse-by-verse studies in
the book of 1 Peter. That series of messages and expositions
began in December of 1997, and with the exception of several
messages addressing our peculiar needs during the major disruption
in our congregation in 1998, the Book of First Peter has been
our Lord's Day morning diet for more than two and a half years,
101 messages to be exact. Now, for some who may think that
two and a half years is a long time to be considering a portion
of the Word of God with just five chapters, listen to the
words of John Brown, whose commentary on 1 Peter concludes with these
words. And that commentary has been
a tremendous means of blessing to many, and I thought I had
the quote from John Brown, but somehow it must have been left
on my desk. I am sorry. C1A it says in my
notes and 1A is not there. But basically, John Brown, when
he was coming to the conclusion of his studies, said that for
16 years, I have been in the midst of expounding this epistle. And then he says that during
that time, many have gone into the presence of Christ and that
such a lengthy exposition, he doubted he would undertake again
in his earthly pilgrimage. and then said it was a reminder
to him and should be to his people of how quickly our days passed
and before long all of us will stand in the presence of God. Now, in seeking to bring our
studies in this book to an orderly and helpful conclusion, what
I plan to do tonight, and again, God willing, two weeks from tonight,
is to give a summary of the major blocks of truth found in the
book of 1 Peter, especially as that truth clusters around the
major theme of that letter. Now, I've chosen to do this for
two reasons. The first relates to those who
have not been present for the expositions themselves. I trust
that these two messages by way of overview will whet your appetite
and that in time you will either borrow or buy the taped sermons
in order to get into your spiritual bloodstream those nutrients from
the Word of God which we as a congregation, I trust, have absorbed over the
course of these two and a half years. And then the second reason
for giving this two-message overview relates to those of us who have
been present for most, if not all, of the expositions. I trust
that this two-message overview will help us all to put the major
issues of the letter into categories that will make both remembrance
and recall more likely as we complete our earthly pilgrimage. Don't chide yourself that you
cannot remember everything you hear preached. I challenge myself
to give back my own outline on a Monday, and often I'm embarrassed
at how little I've retained in terms of the actual pegs around
which the exposition centered or on which the exposition hung. Much good is received by the
worshipful, believing, concentrated attention to the preaching of
the Word that we are not able to give back in well-framed sentences. Your nourishment in terms of
your physical well-being does not depend in your being able
to remember precisely what you had to eat at every meal during
the last month. Much was eaten, enjoyed while
it went down, it's been assimilated and eliminated, and you sit in
good health as a result of it. And I've often found, particularly
young Christians who chide themselves unnecessarily, that they cannot
recall in the titles of the sermons, the heads of the sermon, and
I would relieve you of that unnecessary burden. However, on the other
hand, We must so absorb the Word of God that we can recall it
in times of need, that when God brings us into circumstances
where this or that portion of the Word has been given to be
a peculiar help to us, we must have some measure of grasp upon
those particular portions in order to recall them and to turn
to them and to receive present aid from them. And so it's my
purpose in this two-message overview to help us all with establishing
in our own minds and hearts these basic categories within which
Peter sets the truth by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, especially
in relationship to the central burden of the letter. Now that
brings us to our first concern tonight, and that is to remind
you of the central pastoral burden of the book of 1 Peter. And what
is that central pastoral burden? Well, I've stated it a number
of times this way. It is to instruct to comfort
and to exhort the believers in Asia Minor in the light of their
present and future suffering for the sake of Christ. In a
very real sense, there are two words used with unusual frequency
in 1 Peter that highlight this theme. The first is the word
anastrophe, which is translated, your manner of life, your pattern
of life. We would say in current verbal
expression, the lifestyle that we live. And this word is used
13 times in the New Testament, and six of them are found here
in 1 Peter. Peter is concerned with the lifestyle,
the anastrophe, of these believers in Asia Minor. And he's concerned
with that lifestyle particularly in relationship to the frequency
of this second word, the verb to suffer, pasco. That verb is
found some 24 times in the epistles. That is, from Romans through
the book of the Revelation, 24 times the verb to suffer. Half
of them are in these five chapters. Half of the uses the Spirit of
God makes of the verb to suffer in all of the epistles is found
here in 1 Peter. And so with the frequency of
that word, lifestyle, manner of life, and suffering, it is
clear that Peter's main pastoral burden is to instruct, to comfort,
and to exhort the believers in Asia Minor in the light of their
present and future sufferings for the sake of Christ. concerned
that the lifestyle that is worked out in the crucible of suffering
will glorify Christ, will validate the gospel, and will result in
their progress in grace. And since the New Testament makes
it abundantly clear that suffering for righteousness' sake will
be the portion of all true believers in all times and in all places,
we cannot afford the luxury of saying, well, that theme and
all that clusters around it had relevance for the people in Asia
Minor in the first century, but certainly has little relevance
to us. No, our Lord has made it clear in the eighth beatitude
that all who are the sons and daughters of the kingdom will
suffer for righteousness' sake. The apostle and his companions
make it clear in Acts 14.22 that all believers must, through many
tribulations, enter the kingdom of God. And the Apostle Paul
in Romans 8.17 says that we shall be glorified with Him if we suffer
together with Him. And 2 Timothy 3.12, all who are
willing, all who will to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution. As with our Lord, suffering met
Him on His way to glory, so with all of His people the path that
leads to glory goes through the crucible of suffering. Now with
that theme as the organizing framework of the letter, what
directives are we given with respect to managing our response
to that suffering? conducting ourselves and our
lifestyle and our pattern of life in such a way as to glorify
God and to validate the truth of the Gospel. Well, for the
remainder of our time tonight, and God willing, two weeks from
tonight, I will be there in North Carolina next Lord's Day, I want
us to consider six foundational directives to suffering saints. And those foundational directives
become, as it were, categories within which we can place almost
all of the specific stuff of 1 Peter. Six foundational directives
to suffering saints. What are they? First and foremost,
in the midst of suffering for the sake of Christ, Peter instructs
us, feed your soul on the greatness of your salvation in Christ. What is the most essential thing
for the child of God in the midst of suffering for Christ's sake? It is this, that in the midst
of that suffering for the sake of Christ, that the believer
feed his soul on the greatness of his salvation in Christ. Put yourself in Peter's place.
As best we know, he is in Rome. In a relatively short time, he
will be martyred for the sake of Christ. Conscious of his commission
from his Lord, that beautiful commission described in John
21, that he is to feed the sheep of Christ, he is to shepherd
the lambs, feed the lambs and to shepherd the sheep, Peter
is fulfilling that task under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
He has heard that the believers there in Asia Minor, the very
land for which we prayed tonight, the land of Turkey, current Turkey,
ancient Asia Minor, the believers in those Roman provinces are
suffering greatly for the sake of Christ. Peter sees the storm
clouds of intensive suffering coming, not only upon himself,
but upon those believers as well. And what is the first thing that
he does with these believers? Well, the first thing that he
does is to set before them the greatness of their salvation
in Christ. He is saying, in essence, my
dear fellow believers who have been thrown into the fire of
affliction and difficulty, verse 6 he speaks of this, and then
right on through the letter, what you need to know and ever
keep before you is this great and glorious salvation that is
yours in Jesus Christ. We see this in the opening chapter
after Peter identifies himself and then identifies those to
whom he is writing. What is the first thing he does?
He breaks out into this eulogy beginning in verse 3. Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according
to His great mercy begot us again unto a living hope by the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, unto an inheritance incorruptible. What is He doing? He is saying
to the suffering saints, I know you feel the pinch and the pressure
of the fire of affliction. I know that your hearts may be
filled with fear, wondering, where will it all lead? But in
the midst of it, my dear fellow believers, lift your eyes above
and beyond the pressure and the felt sting and the discomfort
of your present circumstances and fix the eyes of your soul
on the greatness of your salvation. And he carries it right through
this first chapter, moving on from the blessings that are theirs,
secured by the resurrection of Christ, the inheritance that
is theirs, which is preserved for them, and they preserved
for the inheritance. And he goes on to speak of them
in verse 18. as those who have been redeemed,
not with corruptible things, with silver or gold. Verse 19,
but with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot. And then he goes on in verse
22, seeing you have purified your souls in your obedience
to the truth. Verse 23, having been begotten
again, On into chapter 2, where he speaks of them as being living
stones built up into God's spiritual house. He summarizes their identity
in verse 9 of chapter 2. An elect race, a royal priesthood,
a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. What is Peter
doing? Peter is piling up the dimensions
of the salvation that is theirs in Jesus Christ. And all the
way on to the end of the letter, where in verse 10 of chapter
5, he says, the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal
glory in Christ, after you've suffered a little while, shall
himself perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. What is he doing?
He is saying this salvation is utterly untouched. This salvation
is in no way put in jeopardy because of your sufferings. And
in the midst of your suffering for the sake of Christ, feed
your soul on the greatness of your salvation in Christ. And if we were desirous of opening
up a series of studies on soteriology, the doctrine of salvation, What
we have in 1 Peter alone, if mastered, would make us theologians. For he shows that salvation,
first of all, in its eternal design and purpose. He gives
a good, stiff dose of election to suffering saints. Look at
chapter 1. After identifying himself, Peter,
apostle of Jesus Christ, the first word he uses with reference
to these believers is elect ones. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ
to the elect sojourners. Whatever you are, whatever your
circumstances may be, at any time remember your identity. Remember you are elect ones. When he comes to chapter 2 and
verse 9 to summarize their identity using rich Old Testament language,
what stands at the head of the list? But you are an elect race. Peter says, understand and firmly
grasp the reality of your salvation, first of all in its eternal design
and purpose. Then grasp it afresh in its past
accomplishments in Christ. He speaks of being redeemed by
the blood of Christ. Chapter 1 in verse 18. He speaks
of being brought to God on the basis of the sacrifice of Christ. Chapter 2 verses 24 and 5. Chapter 3 in verse 18. He comes
back to it again and again. Why? He wants the suffering saints
to feed their souls on the reality and greatness of their salvation
in Christ. That's salvation in its eternal
design and purpose. That's salvation in its past
accomplishment in Christ. Thirdly, that's salvation in
its present privileges and power. He says, you have purified your
souls, verse 22 of chapter 1. Verse 23, you have been begotten
again. Chapter 2, you have been made
living stones. Verse 5, built up into a living
temple. These are the present privileges
and power of salvation in Christ. These are the things that Peter
says suffering saints must grasp afresh and upon which they must
feed their souls. But then he goes on to speak
of that salvation and its future prospects. Chapter 1 in verse
4, he's begotten you again unto a living hope. Unto what? An
inheritance, imperishable, reserved in heaven. And how does he close
the letter? He speaks of this God, who is
the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory. When He addresses them in chapter
2, He addresses them as strangers and sojourners. He uses that
terminology to remind them that this world is not their home.
They are just passing through. That they have a destiny of eternal
glory. He reminds them of that again
in chapter 4 in verse 13. But insomuch as you are partakers
of Christ's sufferings, rejoice that at the revelation of his
glory, chapter 5 and verse 4, when the chief shepherd shall
appear. What's Peter doing? Peter is
constantly reiterating the various dimensions of this glorious salvation
that God has brought to them in his grace. salvation in its
eternal design and purpose, salvation in its past accomplishment in
Christ, salvation in its present privileges in power through the
Holy Spirit and in the context of the Church, and salvation
in its future prospects. In other words, Suffering saints
don't need little biddies to chuck them under the chin. They
need to feed on solid theology. That's what Peter gives them.
Sound, solid theology, especially soteriology, the doctrine of
salvation. And Peter is saying, no matter
what kind of suffering comes upon you, no matter what degree
of suffering comes upon you, no matter what duration of suffering
comes upon you, your true jewels are untouched by anything that
men can do to you. They cannot touch your great
salvation in Jesus Christ. Paul gives us all of this condensed
and stacked together so tightly in Romans chapter 8, verses 35
to 39, where he speaks of all of the things that one can face
that could threaten what we are and have in Christ. And he says
none of them shall be able to separate us from the love of
God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Don't ever buy into the
notion that theology is for armchair theologians and for preachers,
but we common folk, we just need nice happy little choruses to
keep us feeling good when things get rough. No, my friend, your
happy little choruses won't take you far when things get rough.
When the waves of affliction and persecution and opposition
begin to beat on the hull of what you are, You need to have
the ballast of a grasp upon God's great salvation in Jesus Christ. Secondly, Peter, in giving them
foundational directives as suffering saints, not only makes it clear
that they must feed their souls on the greatness of their salvation
in Christ, but secondly, in the midst of your suffering for the
sake of Christ, Fix the eyes of your soul upon Christ, the
great and perfect sufferer. In the midst of your suffering
for the sake of Christ, fix the eyes of your soul upon Christ,
the great and the perfect sufferer. In the section beginning in chapter
2 in verse 13, where Peter is calling believers to be submissive
to every ordinance of man for the sake of Christ, for the sake
of the Lord. He then focuses, particularly
in verse 18, upon house slaves. And as he's addressing these
house slaves, Peter knows that not all of them have ideal masters. Some of them have masters that
are unreasonable, that are insensitive, that delight to abuse their servants,
and so Peter's going to address that situation. Verse 19, for
this is acceptable. If for conscience toward God
a man endures griefs, suffering wrongfully, if in order to have
a good conscience, that he embraces the sovereignty of God that has
placed him in his circumstances, and to keep a good conscience,
he's going to be obedient even to an unreasonable master, Peter
says, what glory is it if when you sin and are buffeted for
it, you take it patiently, but if when you do well and suffer
for it, you take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For hereunto were you called. You are part of that elect nation,
elect race, that royal priesthood, that called company of people,
called out of darkness, and hereunto were you called. One of the specific
ends of your calling into a state of grace is this, because Christ
also suffered for you, leaving you an example. Now in chapter
3 and verse 18, he will say, Christ suffered for us to bring
us to God. That's focusing upon the vicarious
nature of his sufferings by which alone we have acceptance with
God. But Christ did not suffer simply and only to be the one
way of access to God. He suffered to set an example
for his suffering people. Christ suffered for you, leaving
you an example that you should follow. his steps. In what particulars? Verse 22, who did no sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth. He was perfectly innocent. There
was not a blemish in him who, when he was reviled, reviled
not again. When he suffered, threatened
not, but committed himself to him that judges righteously. You house slaves, what do you
need to know? What do you need to do when you've sought with
all of your heart to relate to your master as unto the Lord?
You've been submissive in anything except any demand that he would
make that would cause you to break God's law. And even when
you've received no or little thanks, even when you've been
reproved and chastised when you've done what is right, you don't
bolt, you don't rise up in self-assumed rebellion against your master.
It pleases God when you patiently take this mistreatment. Why? because you are following in
the steps of your Master. And when you are in that situation,
He wants them to think in terms, what did Jesus do? We had a little joke among some
of us that we wanted to change the what would Jesus do, the
WWJD, bracelets and necklaces, into three letters. What Jesus
did. It is not for us to think what
he would do. We are called to follow his steps
well marked out in the pages of Holy Scripture. What did he
do in particular when receiving abusive treatment that was undeserved? When he received verbal treatment,
reviled, what did he do? He did not respond tit for tat,
abusive words for abusive words. He did not revile. When he suffered,
he didn't threaten. God will get you. You see, he
didn't threaten. He would have had a right to
threaten. I'm your judge. In the last day, you'll stand
before me. But he didn't threaten. He didn't revile. He didn't threaten. But he committed And as we pointed
out in expounding verse 23 of chapter 2, there is no object
of the verb committed. He committed to him who judges
righteously. What did he commit? He committed
himself, committed his cause, committed all that he was in
the will and purpose of God into the hands of God whose servant
he was as the long-promised servant of Jehovah in those precious
passages in Isaiah. So what is he telling these servants
to do? in the midst of their suffering, and surely those who
were suffering in other circumstances, who knew what it was to be reviled,
who knew what it was to suffer, would learn from this passage
that in the midst of my suffering, I must fix the eyes of my soul
upon Christ, the great and the perfect sufferer. Peter reminds him of this again
in chapter 4 in verse 1. For as much then as Christ suffered
in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind. Seek
to get inside the revealed truth of God, or let the revealed truth
of God about the mind of Christ in the midst of suffering become
your mind. Fix the gaze of your soul upon
Christ in the midst of your suffering. He is the great and the perfect
sufferer. And you and I must constantly
keep him before the eyes of the soul. And how do we do that?
We do that by frequently reading in the gospel records. That's
how you do it. You make it a point of principle
with your own handling of the Word of God that I will not go
many months without some reading in the Gospel records where I
see the life of my Lord Jesus lived out in a hostile world
and I see where His footsteps went and I am called to follow
His steps. It's a tremendously necessary
category when we come into the midst of suffering. And of all
the things that the Spirit of God could have highlighted in
the sufferings of Christ, it's interesting that the Spirit of
God highlights the verbal suffering first. Who, when He was reviled,
when He was the object of vile and abusive speech, we would
think that was the least of His sufferings. What about the blows
upon his face? What about the crown of thorns?
What about the horrible tearing of the flesh on his back when
he was scourged? All very true, but the Spirit
of God is highlighted when he was reviled. Reviled, not again. And frankly, at times I'm shocked. Yet how little so many of God's
people have seemed to take seriously what Peter says. Surely when
vile and abusive speech is heaped upon you, you must vindicate
yourself. And what is often meant is you
must strike back and give tit for tat under the guise of vindicating
yourself. What caused the heathen leader
to marvel was not what Christ said, but what he didn't say.
Pilate marveled at his silence, for he knew that for envy he
had been delivered. That's the second great thing
that we must constantly keep before us as God's people. What
did Jesus do when he suffered? I am called to follow his steps. So in the midst of our suffering
for the sake of Christ, Peter has instructed us to feed our
souls on the greatness of our salvation in Christ in all of
its dimensions from eternity past in electing grace and purpose
to the pledge of the consummate glory of sharing in his glory
at the second coming and everything in between. And then, when suffering
for the sake of Christ, we are to fix the eyes of our souls
upon Christ, the great and the perfect sufferer. And thirdly,
and finally for tonight, in the midst of our suffering for the
sake of Christ, we are to continue to pursue a life of holiness
and growth in grace. In the midst of our sufferings
for the sake of Christ, we must continue to pursue a life of
holiness and growth in grace. Peter sounds this note very clearly
in the first series of imperatives. Remember the indicative? Imperative
categories. After the great indicatives of
verses 3 through 12 of chapter 1, the first imperative is this,
girding up the loins of your mind, be sober, Set your hope
perfectly on the grace to be brought unto you at the revelation
of Jesus Christ. Look at your future salvation. And meanwhile, what are you to
be concerned about? As children of obedience, not
fashioning yourselves according to your formal lust in the time
of your ignorance, but like as He who called you is holy, be
ye yourselves holy in all manner of living, because it is written,
You shall be holy, for I am holy." And that call to holiness in
the midst of the crucible of suffering is picked up and repeated
throughout the entire letter. Chapter 2 and verse 1, putting
away therefore all wickedness and all guile and all hypocrisies
and envies and evil speakings as newborn babes long for the
spiritual milk which is without guile, that you may grow thereby
unto salvation. You mean I am to grow in the
midst of this opposition, this unreasonable hatred? Yes, Peter
says, in the midst. You are to pursue universal holiness. You are to seek to be holy as
He is holy. Chapter 2, verse 11, Beloved,
I beseech you, as sojourners in pilgrims, those who know they
are on their way to a better place, while here abstain from
fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your behavior,
your manner of life, seemly among the Gentiles, that whereas they
speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works which
they behold glorify God in the day of visitation. And then he
descends to particular categories of practical holiness. Civil
holiness, chapter 2, verses 18 to 17. Domestic holiness, 2.18
to 3.7. Ecclesiastical holiness, chapter
3, verses 8 to 12. He then deals with generic holiness
in the face of a wicked devil in chapter 5, verses 8 and 9. In other words, when this letter
came, in which Peter makes it very clear that he knows these
saints are suffering. They could not hear the letter
read, nor could anyone read it without coming to this conviction.
Pressured circumstances are no excuse to get careless about
universal holiness. No excuse whatsoever. There is
to be this passion within our hearts to pursue that holiness
without which no man shall see the Lord. No amount of suffering,
no combination of suffering for any length of time. is in any
way to be an excuse for slacking off in the pursuit of universal
holiness. In fact, Peter tells us in chapter
1 and verse 6 that it is the very trials into which we are
brought by which God purifies our faith. God underscores the
genuineness of that faith. Verse 6 of chapter 1, wherein
you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be,
you've been put to grief in manifold trials, that the proof of your
faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though
it is proved by fire, may be found unto praise and glory and
honor, at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Those three categories,
my brethren, are the first of six. And between now and next
week, it may be that I will think there's another valid category,
but as of tonight, I do believe there are six major categories
by which we can, as it were, collate most of the data found
in the book of 1 Peter. Seeing it in its immediate setting,
It is an apostolic directive to suffering saints to instruct
to comfort and exhort them in the midst of their present sufferings
and in the light of their future sufferings. What is Peter telling
them they must know, they must do? Well, first of all, they
must have a growing grasp and a constant rejoicing in the wonder
and the glory of their salvation in Christ. Salvation with its
taproots in eternal electing sovereign love. Salvation manifested
in the life history of Jesus Christ who procures it for us
by the shedding of His own precious blood. Salvation presently applied
by the power of the Spirit. Salvation in all of its glorious
future prospects. It is the believing grasp upon
those realities that under God creates stability and joy. in the midst of suffering. Secondly,
we must constantly, in the midst of suffering, fix the gaze of
our souls upon Christ as the great and the perfect sufferer. We are called to follow his steps. God has foreordained that we
should be conformed to the image of his Son. And if he learned
obedience by the things which he suffered, Hebrews 5 and verses
8 and 9, surely we are not going to be exempt from the same classroom
into which Christ himself voluntarily went. And when the writer to
the Hebrews points to the Hebrew Christians, saying to them, look,
look, you must look off unto Jesus, author and perfecter of
faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising
its shame, you have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin. We are to fix Christ foremost
in our gaze and pray that we will be given grace to follow
his steps And then in the midst of our suffering for the sake
of Christ, recognize that those very sufferings are ordered,
that we might make progress in grace, that we might, by God's
grace, discover aspects of our hearts that otherwise would go
undetected to us, that we might be brought more and more into
conformity to him who said, Be holy, for I am holy. Now, of course, the assumption
in all of Peter's directives is that those who receive the
letter have got something more to work with than what they got
in their first birth. They've got something more to
work with than they got because of their connection with Adam
by natural generation. They have something to work with
that has its tap roots in God's eternal electing love that draws
its very life from Jesus Christ, crucified, risen. It is a living
hope rooted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
It is that which has been imparted to them by the regenerating work
of the Spirit, having been begotten again, not of corruptible seed,
but of incorruptible, by the Word of God that lives and abides
forever. My friend, if you sit here today,
And you've heard what you've heard and say, there's no way,
there's absolutely no way human beings can respond to suffering
that way. I've got news for you. Not only
can they, they do and they must. But God is not like Pharaoh who
says, make bricks and I'll give you no straw. He calls upon his
people to whom he has given all things that pertain unto life
and godliness. That's the very language Peter
will use in his second letter. In His abundant mercy, He has
given us all things that pertain to life and to godliness. This
is not an impossible life. It is the life to which God calls
us and for which God equips us by His grace. And if you sit
here today and you say, there's no way I can live that way, if
you're out of Christ, you've drawn the right conclusion. That
which is born of the flesh is flesh and will act as flesh.
And what you need is what these people have. You need that salvation
to be found only in Christ, but available to any who will have
Christ and that salvation that is in him. May the Lord help
us then to profit from our many hours of study in this wonderful
book. And we will have it, I trust,
in a new measure of recall when we come into certain situations
and say, aha, it's there that God has given the deposit of
truth that I need in this present set of circumstances. Let's pray
together. Our Father, we do thank you for
this letter that has refreshed our souls many, many times in
the course of our working through it together. I thank you for
the blessing of those hours at the desk when my own soul has
at times been so watered that if there were no opportunity
to preach it, it would have been well worth the study to know
the blessing of your word. Thank you for the many times
you have drawn near to us in this place, as together we have
sought to follow the track of the Holy Spirit's mind revealed
through the pen of Peter. And we pray, Lord, that much
of what we've received will be retained and be available for
recall in time of need. We ask you, our Father, that
by your grace this portion of your word would be sealed to
our hearts and in a new way be a conscious companion to us in
the remainder of our earthly pilgrimage. We pray for those
who sit here, our Father, to whom such things are strange
talk. We plead with you that you would
yet in mercy stretch forth your hand of grace and power and minister
to them in such a way that they may flee to Christ and find in
Him all that you have promised to every sinner who will have
Christ and the salvation offered in Him. Seal then your word to
our hearts for our good and for your praise we ask through our
Lord Jesus. Amen.