First Baptist Church in Amboy,IL Podcast
A Forever Faith
We are in the book of 1 Peter, and I trust you have a Bible. Anybody not have a Bible with them this morning? Why don't you follow along in the Bible? And here's got a Bible with you. We've got a Bible within reach. You can look on to somebody. What the preacher says is nowhere near as important is what the Bible says. The Bible is God's Word, and he uses the Holy Spirit. When we look at a verse, it tells us that today. Now if you're familiar with the books of 1st and 2nd Peter, of course written by Peter himself, and I appreciated Gary's lesson this morning. He did a little bit of overview of what the Bible says about Peter. You know, we got a lot of strange ideas by tradition of who Bible characters are and who different people are in history. Peter was a sinner, say, by God's grace, just like you and I. And he was no one special. In fact, I was thinking of something when Gary was reading things about Peter. I'll mention it again tonight. There's a question about Peter where he died and how he died. And tradition says one thing, and yet no history or Bible supports what tradition is usually telling us about Peter. And even his own writings contradict much of what tradition tells us about Peter. But I did notice in the writings of Peter when Peter died. That's interesting. He died before the book of Acts. He died before he wrote the books of 1st and 2nd Peter. What do you mean by that? Well, I'll show it to you tonight. I'm looking forward to that. God just showed me something when we were reading through some of those things about Peter. And for me to live is Christ to die is gain. I'm crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ live in me. In the life that I now live, in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God. Well, we've been looking at 1st Peter. And I would just say this as far as the introduction to Peter. Peter is addressing in these books those who are saved as all the Bible really is written to believers. Well, sometimes we fail to remember that. But he specifically was writing this book to those that are saved. And because their life is so different than the world and so different than acceptable religion, they were suffering great persecution. And I've discovered this that if our faith is in Jesus of the Bible, not the Jesus of Hollywood, not the Jesus of popular opinion, not the Jesus of religion, if we're living according to the Jesus of the Bible, a world won't feel comfortable around us. And we will face opposition. In fact, I've chose for the theme of these entire books. That's not the verse I put up there, is it? That's in your bulletin, I guess. In 1 Peter, chapter number 4, beginning in verse number 12, says, "Beloved, think it not a strange thing concerning the fiery trials, which will try you, as though some strange thing happened to you. But rejoice in so much that you are partakers of Christ's sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. If he be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye. For the spirit of glory and the God raises up upon you, on their part he is evil spoken, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, as a thief, as an evil doer, or as a busybody, or another man's matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, or confounded, or destroyed, but let him glorify God on this behalf." The apostle Paul certainly knew what persecution was, and he tells us in 2 Timothy 3 and verse number 12, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." That's what we have looked forward to as Christians. In fact, Jesus said, in Matthew chapter number 10, as he was discussing what it means to be a disciple, a follower of him, he said, "Think not that I came to send peace on earth." Oh, we hear that all the time, don't we? Peace on earth, love everybody. Jesus, don't think I came to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace, but a sword. "For I am come to send a man at variance against his father and a daughter against his mother, and a daughter in law against her mother in law, and a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and he that take of not his cross and followed after me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it, but he that loseeth his life shall find it." Now, to a lost person and someone who's not familiar with the Bible, that might seem very counterproductive and contradictory to many things that Jesus said. But Jesus is our God, isn't he? And he is Lord of all. I'm no one special. And I think I can say with Peter, and Peter does say this later, he's no one special. I'm an unworthy sinner that God loves enough to bless me with his mercy and his grace, isn't that good? My God, our God, who we serve, is don't ever forget this. He's omnipotent. He's eternal. He's omnipresent. He's omniscient. Those are big words, you know what they mean? He's the creator of all things. He's majestic in glory. He's the Lord or master of all. He's worthy of all honor and glory and praise. He is holy. He's the giver and sustainer of all life. He is life. He is truth. He is holy. He's pure. He is love. He's merciful. He's gracious. He's peace. He's wonderful. He's counselor. He is wisdom. He is the only potentate, the Lord of lords, the king of kings, the God of God, the creator of angels, the object of their worship. He's the creator and ruler of all the universe, the king of kings, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. He's my hope. He's my confidence. He's my Savior. He's my soul. My reason to live. My life in whom I live and move and have my being. He's my song and he's my reason to sing. He's the lover of my soul and he's my best friend. He will, thank God, will never leave me. No, let's forsake me. Isn't he good? Isn't God good? Let me ask you, is he your Savior? You know him. Are you walking with him? Have you talked to him yet today as he's spoken to you yet today? Oh, what a wonderful thing it is to walk with Christ. No matter what the world throws at us, we can have this confidence and this assurance that I am his and he is mine. We've been looking at 1 Peter, chapter number one, and I say the title I gave for this entire book of 1 Peter is having a fireproof faith. The people that he's writing to are going through the fire. Think of this. For the cause of Christ, they've lost everything. Many of them lost their family. They've lost their possessions. They've had to move to a strange land. They are foreigners and the off scouring of this world, but they have Christ. And it'd be very easy in their situation to be discouraged, to be disheartened. And God is giving them this book and giving us this book to show us how we can be fireproof when we're in the midst of the fire of persecution. And the world that hates God, and I'm amazed every year I live, it seems like the world hates God a little bit more. Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of this earth and the rulers take counsel against God and against is anointed. Psalm chapter number two says, but I love how Psalm two ends, but I will make him my king. I will serve him. I will be faithful to him. And let's look at, together he will, first Peter, chapter number one. And just a couple of verses I want to read. And we're going to come back to these verses again. I encourage you to follow along in your Bible, because really all I have for notes in front of me is the Bible verses. And we're going to look at some Bible verses, make some comments as we look at them. And first Peter chapter number one, if you're able to stand with me, let's stand in respect to the word of God. Now we're going to read a number of things in the scripture, but just to start it lets you stretch one more time. Make sure you're awake again. All right, make sure your cell phone shut off. And you don't need to be talking to anybody. I guarantee you there's no phone call you're going to get right now that's more important than what God has for you right now. And you pay attention and hear what God has to say. Notice in first Peter chapter number one, and verse number 23, God says, "Being born again." Isn't that good? Remember when you were born again? Oh, I think back of that day, I don't suppose the day goes by in my life. I don't remember when God saved me out of religion into a right relationship with God. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible. By the word of God which liveth and abideth forever. For all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man is as the flower of grass. The grass wintereth and the flower there have fallen away. But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. Father, we pray you're blessing upon the word of God today. Oh God, open our eyes. I pray that the spirit of God, he move among us. And Lord, anyone that's within the sound of my voice today that does not know you as their savior, I pray that you'd help them to see that Jesus loves them. That he is all merciful. And he's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. And salvation is in him and him alone. Neither is their salvation among any other. For there's none other name under heaven, given among men whereby we must be saved in the name of Jesus Christ. And God, I pray that you would speak to us as believers today. Lord, that we would have a fireproof faith as the world increasingly turns against God and against his word and against his truth. Pray that you teach us to stand firm in our savior. Bless now in Jesus' name, amen. Have a seat, if you will. And we're talking this morning about a forever faith. A forever faith. You have a brief outline in your bulletin there. I always encourage God's people when you read the Bible to take notes, to underline things in your Bible. I'm not real good at taking notes, but I do like to mark things in my Bible so I can find them later. Things that have special meaning to me versus or statements that God is using in my life. But we're talking about a forever faith. A fireproof faith is, first of all, faith that's built upon the foundation of God's eternal word. And I thank God that forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. You know, we live with a lot of lies today, don't we? You hear young people or you see people put BFF, what does that mean? Buffalo fire, fire. Buffalo fire, fire. That's probably more accurate meaning than what they usually mean. It means what, Linda? Best friends forever. And then a week later they don't speak to each other. Isn't that the way it is? Oh, we're best friends forever. The yeah, right. Or the happily ever after. You know, every marriage I've ever gone to. Oh, what a beautiful thing. I know God will bless you. You live happily ever after. Does it always work out that way? Sell them, it works out that way sadly in our world today. And sometimes our dreams and desires turn into nightmares, don't they? This is what I desire. This is what I have always hoped for. But then we get it and find out that doesn't satisfy us. Some folks say, well, all religions are good, aren't they? Well, all religions certainly do have a good quality to them. But the truth is there's not a religion known into man that can get anybody to heaven. Some folks say, well, your religion does this and my religion does that and whatever. This religion, that religion and all religions certainly teach people to be good. I wish more people were religious and had a faith in some kind of God instead of saying there is no God. That's why we have such a crazy world today because our young people are being brainwashed that there is no God. But all religions are good, but none can get you to heaven. Some folks say, well, God's a God of love. Therefore, everybody's going to heaven, isn't he? That's not what the Bible says. I remember growing up, well, as long as you believe God, I was sharing this with somebody this week where I saw, oh, it doesn't matter what religion, as long as you believe God, you're okay. But then when you start reading the Bible, you see other things, for example, in James, when God says the devil's also believed. Don't expect to see devils in heaven. In fact, I see Jesus approaching folks that are possessed with demons and those demonic people bow down and worship him and recognize that he is God. Wow, believing certainly isn't enough to get us to heaven. And we all have, we're told in our world today, well, that's your truth. This is my truth. Everybody's got their own truth. No, Jesus is the truth. There is no truth outside of him. Everything we see and know in our world today as 2 Peter 3 tells us, when we get to 2 Peter, I'm gonna read through 1st and 2 Peter every day, and I love how it all ends in 2 Peter 3, where God says everything we see and know today is gonna be melted with a fervent heat. It's all gonna be destroyed. The things that we're living for, the dreams, the hopes, the desires, they're all gonna be gone one day. But let me tell you this, God will still be God. God will still be God. His word will still be true. Heaven and Earth will pass away, Jesus said, but my word will not pass away. He always is. He always has been and always will be. Some will say, well, you have your faith and I have my faith, but well, that's good, but no faith can give you eternal life. I love and this has become my life verse the last couple of months in Galatians 220. Most of you know the verse. If you don't say it with me, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not high, but Christ live within me. In the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Do you ever notice in that verse it says, the faith of the Son of God? It's not my faith, it's his faith. Well, this is what I believe and that's what you believe. Well, I want God's faith. I don't believe what God tells me is right. Now, what do we mean by a forever faith? Let me just point out a couple of things. And we read in our text in 1 Peter. It's happened number one, I want to point out a couple of verses also in 1 Peter 1. If you have your Bible, we're gonna turn to another place in the scripture. Most of verse we're gonna look at in 1 Peter, chapter number one. A forever faith, first of all, is a faith that we are redeemed in God's eternal plan. We are redeemed, the R blank there, is redeemed in God's eternal plan. Notice in verse number 18 of chapter number one, of 1 Peter, for as much as you know that you are not, what's the word? Redeemed, do I know how to spell redeemed? There it is, okay, Todd? There it is, I need that help too. With corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by the tradition of your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but is manifest in these last times for you. Who by him do believe in God that raised him up from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith and hope might be in God. You ever notice that little phrase, I never noticed it till this morning, looking over these verses again, and reading through first and second Peter again, this morning, verse number 21 says, who by him do believe in God? Do I believe in God in my own merit? Because I just decided one day I believe in God, no, he's given me the grace to believe in him. Now, if I come to him, he's not gonna cast me out. Now, again, there's some deep things here that I don't wanna get into right now, but I just that little phrase there, and verse number 21, who by him do believe in him. It's like Galatians two and verse 20 talked about for the faith we live by the faith of the Son of God, it's not my faith, I don't have enough faith to do anything, it's God's faith that he gives to me. When I trust him and believe in him the best I can and he just increases that faith, the more I believe in him. But we're redeemed in God's eternal plan. What does it mean to be redeemed? So let me tell you, what's the word redeemed? A simple definition, one word definition of redeemed. What's that mean? But bought, bought or I'm saying reckon purchase bought with someone, if I redeemed something, I pay you something. Or maybe more like it, I ask my wife, I got some money to pay them, pay the man, would ya? And we redeem, we buy something. But the word biblical word redeemed means much more. And if you're gonna follow it through and I'm not gonna take time to do a study on that word, redeem, it gives us a picture of a slave that is owned by someone else. All of us were born into this world as slaves of sin, our father the devil. And we were owned by him. Jesus purchased us from sin and death. He redeemed us. But if you follow that word redeemed through the Bible, it means more than just bought us and released us to live any way we want to. He brought us unto himself. He said, I want you to now, I think of the picture of Mephibosheth in the Old Testament. How David brought him into his house. He said, I want the rest of his life. He's gonna sit at my table. He's gonna eat my food and he need that he has. I want you to take care of him because he's mine and I am his. We are one together, we're a part of the family now. He has redeemed us and brought us unto himself. People who know me know that I like to read history of about 200, maybe a little more than 200 years ago now. One of my favorite characters that I like to read about is a man named Daniel Boone. You ever heard of him? A lot of folks don't even know he was a real person. But Daniel Boone at one time in his life, if you read anything about him, you find out that there was a chief named Blackfish that adopted Daniel Boone as his son. Now, you have to understand something about the culture of this particular tribe of Indians that Blackfish was a chief of. Daniel Boone was taken captive by some warriors that were under chief Blackfish. And he was brought before Blackfish and he thought, I'm not gonna come out of this alive. There's no way I'm gonna live through this. I'm gonna be killed for sure. And one of the warriors especially recognized Daniel Boone and insisted he is one that killed another warrior that happened to be the son of Blackfish, chief Blackfish. And now he's been brought in tied up before Blackfish and brought to a private TP, if you will, a private setting and to be questioned by Blackfish. And the, oh, oh, what's gonna happen here? We think, and he was thinking just like any one of us would think, this is it. And Blackfish threw some questioning and some other warriors that were questioned and the scene said, surely this is the man that killed Blackfish's son. Now, this is where it gets a little bit bizarre and it's hard for us to comprehend. That Blackfish, instead of killing Daniel Boone, they had this idea that if someone kills a family member of mine, if I capture the person that killed that family member, that person replaces that family member. And he, instead of killing Daniel Boone, like we would think, he adopted him for his son. He had all the rights of a son. He was, that's what it means to be not, may seem like a strange thing in our culture and you wonder where they ever came up with such an idea. But it was really a common thing and Daniel Boone became a son of the chief because he killed the chief's own son. Now, and you know, I thought, what a picture that is. Jesus came to die from me. I was responsible for his death and now he's accepted me into the beloved. I'm not a servant. I'm not a slave. I've become a son of God. And what an unusual picture that gives for us. In first Peter, chapter number one, notice again these verses and these verses are so rich. In chapter number two, it says elect according to the foreknowledge of God where there's so much in here in each of these words we're studying through the sanctification of the spirit and the obedience of the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus. Like what Don pointed out in Sunday school this morning, there's the Trinity right there. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and all of them had a part in our redemption and the grace unto you and peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy have begotten us. Again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance incorruptible and undepiled that faith is not a way reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power of God through the faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Wherein ye greatly rejoice though now for a season if need be ye are in heaviness through manifold temptation the trials and the struggles you're having. But notice this in verse number seven, the trial of your faith being much more precious than gold but perishes though it be tried with fire might be found in the praise and honor and glory to the appearing of Jesus Christ. And I love verse number eight of first Peter one whom having not seen ye love in whom though now you see him not yet believing ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. We're redeemed by God's eternal plan and we have our faith and an invisible God. We've never seen Jesus Christ and the people that Peter was writing to probably most of them have never physically seen Jesus Christ. So some of them would have been alive during his earthly ministry. They had not seen him and he said, you've not seen him. You've not touched, you've not tasted him like we have and he talks about that in the next chapter how we've heard him. We've heard him with our own ears. We've seen him with our own eyes and you've not had that privilege but you can still believe on him. You can still have that faith and that confidence and assurance that you are redeemed according to God's eternal plan. And then I want you to see this secondly in the first Peter chapter number two and verse number 22 and 23. Read those verses with me. It says, seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the spirit unto unfained love of the brethren. See that you love one another with a pure heart and fervent. And verse number 23, being born again, not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible. By the word of God, we'll just stop right there. We are born by his spirit and the word. Secondly, we're born again with a new nature. When we were born into this world the first time, the Bible teaches us that just like God is three and one, we also have three parts. And when we have a body and a soul and spirit, the body is what you see. The soul is our inner being, who we are on the inside. But spiritually, we were born into this world dead. Doesn't matter how much good I do, I'm still dead spiritually. We were spiritually still born. And doesn't matter how religious I am, doesn't matter how good of a person I am, doesn't matter all the good things I could do. I'm dead. Dead man can't do anything for you. Spiritually, we are born dead into this world. That term born again, have you heard that before? Oh, that's a popular word sometimes overused and used in the wrong way today. But I want you to turn back, keep your place here in 1 Peter, go back to the Gospel of John in chapter number three. The Gospel of John and most people think of their word born again, they think of it immediately in John chapter number three. And I want you to see the verses here. There's a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jew. You won't find a more devoutly religious man than Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, a leader in the Jew, a very highly respected and regarded. One that people prayed to, one that people went to ask for counsel. And Nicodemus, a great ruler of the Jew. The same came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, he recognized Jesus as being someone unusual. He said, we know that thou art a teacher come from God and no man can do these miracles at thou do us, except God be with him. We understand that only God could do these things that you're doing Jesus. And Jesus seemingly interrupted him. Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily. You see those two words together in the Bible that, "Hey, listen, this is important. There's nothing more important than what I'm gonna tell you right now." Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Who's he speaking to? The religious elite. Nicodemus, a man that everybody regarded as a holy man. And Nicodemus said that how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered verily, verily, listen again. This is important. Except a man be born of water. That's the flesh. There's nothing to do with baptisms. I was taught growing up. In fact, you read the entire verse, you find out. It's God clarifies it, born of water and of the spearhead. As born of water, I was born physically. I became alive, I have a body and a soul, but spiritually, I'm dead. And that cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh. The best I can do is live a good life here in this earth and nothing beyond this life. And that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Notice the two word spirit there. One of them, most likely in your Bible, at least it should be. The first one's capitalized, the second one is not. The first one's talking about God's spirit. When God's spirit comes to live in me, that's when I become spiritually alive. Marvel not that I say to you, you must be born again. And of course, Nicodemus didn't understand this. Later on, the gospels, you do find Nicodemus turning from his religion and turning to Jesus Christ. But right now, he's confused. He didn't know what's going on. What do you mean, be born again? And that's when we become spiritually alive. A fireproof faith is a faith that has been born by God's spirit and the word. And I want to go on in John three and go on, but for the sake of time, I'm not going to go any farther than that, but to be born again with a new nature. And notice again what God says in first Peter. You go back to first Peter in chapter one, in verse number 23, being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God. I find it interesting that in the gospel of John, he says born of the spirit. And in first John, he says born of the word of God. I mentioned Sunday or Wednesday night, these two cannot be separated. The spirit of God works for the word of God. He doesn't work through human tradition, through imagination, through our feelings, our emotions, and through some vision that we get. God speaks to us today by the Holy Spirit through the word of God. In that seed by which we're born again, is the word of God. And I wanna go to first John chapter number three, somebody quoted a verse from first John three or four earlier that if I go there, we're gonna get bogged down there, but it describes how that we're born of the spirit, and that spirit nature cannot sin because it is God himself living in us. But then I want you to see this. A forever faith is one that realize we're redeemed in God's eternal plan. We're born of the spirit and of the word, and we are going to live for all eternity. Notice in first Peter chapter number one, in the last part of verse number 23, or seed by the incorruptible by the word of God, which liveeth and abideth for how long? Forever, heaven and earth will pass away, but God's word will not pass away. For all flesh is as grass. One day this body is gonna be put in the grave unless the Lord comes and he changes this body, like into his glorious body and the transformation, the rapture we call it commonly. For all flesh is as grass and all the glory of man is as the flower of grass. The grass with earth, the flower thereof falleth away. But I love this, the word of the Lord and your earth for how long? Forever. For this is the word which the gospel is preached unto you. The word of God is eternal. The gospel message is eternal. The Bible is the revelation of God to man, God revealing himself to us. A lot of folks think just the last book of the Bible is the revelation. No, the entire book is the revelation of God. God is, every page we turn, God's revealing himself more to us, more truth about himself. I love what verses 10 and 12, let's go back and just look at those verses, verse number 10 and 12 in first Peter one, of which salvation the prophets inquired and searched diligently who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you. The prophets, they spoke of this grace that they themselves did not fully understand. God didn't give them the full revelation. It came through Jesus Christ and it will be fully revealed to us in the end. But notice in the last part of verse number 12, I won't read all the verses, but it mentions in verse number 12 of which things the angels desire to look into. You and I that are say, we have something that the prophets of the Old Testament didn't understand. They knew Messiah was gonna come. They didn't know him by Jesus like we know him today. They didn't always clearly understand his death, his burial, his resurrection and the promise of his second coming. They saw it as one big event and they didn't make the distinction that we have made for us in the New Testament and the angels themselves. They don't understand what this salvation is all about because the angels were created by God and they have, well, some of them fell and there's no redemption for them. Those are the demons of hell. But those angels that were created by God that have never sinned, they don't know what it is to be lost. They can't sing I once was lost, but now am found. They're eternally safe and secure in God. And they're looking in and listening to us sing and thinking, wow, I wonder what that's like to be redeemed of God. They've never been redeemed, they were created and some of them fell and the rest of them are still faithful to God and they're sealed in their holiness and purity, but the angels themselves can't understand what our salvation is all about. Now, if our faith is founded on anything less than the person of God, if we're trusting an angel, we're trusting in a religion, we're trusting in our good works, we're trusting in a church, we're trusting in some holy man or some saint or whatever we're trusting. If our faith is found on anything less than the person of God and the word of God, it will not last beyond today. Thank God that our faith has found a resting place, not in device nor tree. I trust the ever living one, his wounds for me shall plead. I need no other argument, I need no other plea, it is enough that Jesus died according to the scriptures and he rose again according to the scriptures and he is coming again one day according to the scriptures. My faith is in him. You know, if our faith is in man, it's gonna change from time to time. It's gonna change from location to location. I look at the religions of the world and it astounds me how much they change. Well, they used to believe this, but they don't believe that anymore. They just, this book never changes. This book was written by God. The message of salvation does not change. We're born again according to the incorruptible word of God, the unchanging word of God's truth. And some of us that were brought up in religion. Even in just my lifetime, I look at how that religion has changed. Yet when I put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ, he's always the same. Jesus Christ is saying yesterday, today and forever. Thank God for his eternal salvation. We're living for all eternity. And you know, and I think the instruction that Peter gives to the Christians that are suffering persecution. And we need to remember when we go through hardships and difficulties and struggles in our life, we'll go through a lot in this world. But I love what Paul says for I reckon that the sufferings of this knife are not even worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. What a hope we have in Christ. Our hope is not in today. Our hope is in eternity. Our hope is in the person of Jesus Christ. And anything we can go through, he's already there. He's already been through it. He knows exactly what we face. And he knows how it's all gonna come out. And thank God for that eternal hope that we have in him. We have a forever faith. We're redeemed in God's eternal plan. And we're born of the eternal spirit of God by the eternal word of God. And we're living for all eternity. Heaven and Earth will pass away. The grasp we cut today will be gone tomorrow. It'll be gone, it'll disintegrate, it'll be burned up. But we will live forever that'll put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ. We have a fireproof faith. I'm gonna ask you to stand your feet.