The Example Jesus Gave: Part 1

Redeeming Grace Church

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I'd like to speak to you this morning about the example Jesus gave, the example

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Jesus gave. So, I'm going to make this a part two, not today, but a two -part section on this, so we can get the full context of everything

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Peter tells to us in our text. So, please turn with me in this

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Lord's Day as we continue our study to 1

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Peter chapter 2. 1 Peter chapter 2, we're looking today at verse 21 to 25, verse 21 through 25.

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And again, this is a part one of a two -part section, and even in that we're not going to be able to cover.

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We're going to scratch the surface today. But in doing that, I just pray that the

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Holy Spirit makes this text real to our hearts, that we're not apathetic to hearing these words.

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So, we're looking at the suffering servant of the Lord Jesus Christ as Peter will focus on the sufferings of Jesus.

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Jesus gave the example for us in suffering. He's the perfect example in submission to the

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Father. His example He gave to us in how to endure patient suffering.

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How to endure patient suffering. Isn't it wonderful? The apostles knew who to point to.

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They all pointed to Jesus Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ. They didn't go to Job or Abraham.

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They gave illustrations of the patriarchs. But they always ended up pointing to Jesus Christ as the ultimate perfect example.

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So, beginning with verse 21, hear the word of the living God. For you have been called to this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth.

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And while being reviled, He did not revile in return. While suffering,

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He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.

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And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness.

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For by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

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Let's take a few minutes to pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank

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You for this wonderful word this morning. I would pray, Lord, speak. Speak, Lord.

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Speak, Lord. For Thy servant hears. Come now and empower the blessed

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Holy Spirit. Give us unction, O God, an anointing to hear from You, and straight from Your Word, from Your heart this morning.

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Set us aflame for You, O God. And sanctify us this morning through Your precious Word. And Lord, may not a one of us leave here the same way we came.

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We ask this in Jesus' name for Your glory. Amen and amen. I'd like to give you a quote.

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I'm known by giving quotes, if you notice that. And I try to give a quote that always points to Christ.

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And there's nothing better than the Word of God, of course. But I do love the quotes of the

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Puritans. I love the quotes of Spurgeon, J .C. Ryle, R .C. Sproul. It goes on and on.

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Especially all the Puritans are great. Spurgeon. And modern day pastors, as you well know,

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Pastor John MacArthur is one of my favorites. And as I'm studying, I'm using his commentary. I go to Wycliffe Commentary.

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I go to all these resources and tools. Matthew, Henry at times. And Spurgeon. And I kind of dig and just try to bundle all the good stuff together.

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And I put studying it, devouring it, and go to the Scripture, of course. And let Scripture interpret

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Scripture. But sometimes I'll come across something so rich. And I said, you know, maybe

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I should give a paragraph. Or maybe I should give a page. But today I'm going to give you a page. It's rich,

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I promise you. And I promise you it will not put you to sleep. So I try my best not to do that.

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Let me begin by giving this wonderful quote. From Pastor John MacArthur.

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That would give us the right direction. And the right view this morning. Of today's message.

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I quote him now. This is MacArthur. The images of Jesus are many.

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And if you were to survey the various peoples in our society about images. That they have in their minds concerning Jesus Christ.

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There might be a number of them. Some people would see Him as a baby in a manger.

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And their image of Christ would be the Christmas image.

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Some people would see Him as a little child. Perhaps living in a carpenter shop. And one occasion compounding the religious leaders of Jerusalem.

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Some people would see Him as a compassionate, powerful healer. Who could heal the sick and raise the dead.

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He goes on to say. Some people would see Him as a courageous, bold and fiery preacher.

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Who got great crowds together and spoke to them the word of God. Some would see

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Him as a vital model. A manhood. The model man.

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The consummate human being. And all those images of Christ would to one degree or another be true.

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And we can all learn from His life. As we look at the perfections of His person.

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His goodness and His kindness. His sympathy and His concern. His care. His tenderness.

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His forgiveness. His wisdom. His understanding. His trust in God. And as we look at all those characteristics of Christ.

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They are images that are instructive for us. Instructive.

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It's very perceptive of Him to mention it like that. And we can learn from them.

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Then He makes a transition here and He says. There is an image of Christ that surpasses all of those in a sense.

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And is the truest perception of Christ. And one that is most necessary.

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Paul summed it up when he said this. I am determined to know nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified.

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Amen. And MacArthur says this. The proper vision of Christ is the crucified one.

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The crucified one. The truest and purest perceptive of the person in the work of Christ is found in viewing

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Him as the suffering Jesus. The suffering Jesus. That surpasses all others.

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And so that we look unto Jesus who is the author and the finish of our faith. We must look at Him and His suffering.

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And His sufferings. That's the key. And He closes it out with this right here.

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I gave you a page full. The focal point of every Christian must be on the suffering

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Christ. The suffering Christ. The crucified Christ is our vision.

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End quote. Be Thou my vision. Be Thou my vision. Jesus Christ and Him crucified is our vision.

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Amen. What a wonderful quote to give us the right direction in this message.

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Now, such a wonderful quote. It helps us set the right pace. The right view.

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The right direction for us. Because that's the purpose. He is the purpose.

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That believers have been called to. And where do we see Jesus and His sufferings the most?

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Most revealed. We see Him at the cross. Where do we see

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Him the clearest? At the cross. Where do we see

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His deity manifested? At the cross. Where do we see

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His humanity the most? At the cross. We must go before the cross and come before the cross and humble ourselves there.

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We go to the cross and it is the crucified Lord and Savior. And that the

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Apostle Peter, this is what he has in mind in this wonderful text. In verses 21 through 25.

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Now, there was a time. In this introduction, I like to bring this out.

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There was a time under the ministry of Jesus. That Peter walked with the Lord, as you know, for three years.

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Under His great ministry. And that Peter himself did not perceive and clearly realize the great importance of the suffering of Jesus.

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He did not really grasp the importance of it. He understood His person. But he did not understand

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His mission and His work and His sufferings. And this was Christ's purpose.

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This is why Jesus came into the world. Was to seek and to save the lost. He came not for the healthy.

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He said they don't need a physician. He came for the sick. He came to seek and save the lost.

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He came to be a Savior and Lord. Now, that revelation of the

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Lord Jesus Christ was directly given after the revelation of the person of the

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King and His church, as you well know, in that wonderful chapter in Matthew chapter 16.

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You don't have to turn there. Brother Keith has preached on this a few times. And I've referred to it.

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And I believe I've ministered on it a few times. But it is the pivotal point of the ministry of Jesus.

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It's the heart. Because He reveals and He asks the questions. Who do you say that I am?

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First, of course, He begins. Who does others say that I am? Then He brings them right into the conversation. Who do you say that I am?

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And of course, what is being said there, that Peter, by the revelation of the

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Father, says, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. He got that right. Why did he get it right?

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Because the Father revealed it to him, who Jesus is, who

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He was. But in verse 21 through 23, notice what the

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Word of God says. From that time, Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer, amen, many things, from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, the religious people, and be killed and be raised up the third day.

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And Peter took Him aside. Now notice what Peter does. You know, it's amazing. One minute, this man is just completely in the

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Spirit of God. The Father reveals Him, who Jesus really is.

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He knew it. Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. He knew His person. And then

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Jesus started to talk about it. He must go to Jerusalem and suffer and die. Peter didn't like that.

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Peter didn't like it. Notice what he said. Peter took Jesus aside, began to rebuke

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Him. Could you imagine? Rebuke the Lord Jesus Christ? Saying, God forbid it,

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Lord. This is what he said. God forbid it, Lord. This shall never happen to You.

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But He, Jesus, turned and said to Peter, Get behind me,

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Satan. For you are a stumbling block to me. And you are not setting your mind on God's interest, but man's.

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That's powerful. Peter was being used at that moment. Isn't it amazing?

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At this moment here, he's being used as a mouthpiece for the devil, for Satan. A few minutes prior to that, he's being used as a mouthpiece from the

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Heavenly Father. One minute in the Spirit, another minute in the flesh. But you know, it's interesting.

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Keep in mind who's writing 1 and 2 Peter. Peter. The Apostle Peter. And here he is talking about the sufferings of Jesus.

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Isn't that amazing? Isn't it glorious? How the Holy Spirit just made him see, caused him to see, the importance of the sufferings of Jesus Christ, the person and the work of Christ, that the death and sufferings of Jesus was part of God's sovereign plan.

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And that's what it's all about. We've got to know who Jesus is, but we've got to understand clearly what

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He came to do. Jesus had come with the purpose to fulfill and obey the command from the

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Father. He said, this command I have from the Father, and that was to die on Calvary's tree as the substitute for our sins.

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And this is where Peter takes us. That command from the Father in heaven, of Him dying as a

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Lamb of God, God's Lamb, as the atonement for sin, the substitutionary death and sacrifice.

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And those that would oppose and thwart Jesus' mission, was doing

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Satan's work. Even if the Apostle Peter had gotten away, what he said, he started a rebuke of the

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Lord for this, and Jesus came back with even more of a powerful rebuke.

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Now the Apostle Peter here, fully and completely understands now, by the Spirit of God, that it was the sufferings of Jesus that was to be the focal point of everything.

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I tell you, this text here is so glorious. I said, there's no way

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I can touch on all of this in one message. There's no way. We can make a whole series of it, but I'm going to try to sum it up in two anyway, but as God wills.

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But as the writer of Hebrews tells us, this reminds me so much of what Peter says here, and what the writer of Hebrews says in 2 and 3, fixing our eyes on Jesus, looking unto

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Jesus, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author. That word author means He's the leader.

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He's the leader, He's the author, He's the perfecter of our faith, the finisher of our faith.

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Who for the joy set before Him, He endured the cross. Notice what he said.

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He endured the cross. What is Peter talking about? Patiently enduring suffering.

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Being in submission to God. So, the writer of Hebrews, He endured the cross.

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Jesus set the example. He's the example of faith. He's the example of patience.

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He's our example of suffering. And He's now, He despised the shame.

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As He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. And what does He say? For consider Him. I love this.

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For consider Him who has endured. You want to endure? Look to Jesus.

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Why does the writer of Hebrews say this? Listen. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

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The encouragement and the exhortation is that we may not grow weary.

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Grow weary and be faint. And want to give up.

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God wants to see us through. So, this is an exhortation to help us to see how we can endure.

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Now, though it is hard for us to relate to the sufferings of the body of Christ in that time period, we should take all this in as much as possible.

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Whatever little sufferings we do have compared, and of course, to the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the one that suffered ultimately, infinitely, the wrath of God.

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No one ever will even touch that. But our Lord Jesus Christ is our perfect example, isn't

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He? He's perfect in every way. If you want to look at perfection, study the life and the work of Jesus Christ, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, all the way through.

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He's the perfect sufferer, the perfect servant, the perfect shepherd. He's the perfect substitute.

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He's in perfect submission to the Father. Everything about Jesus is perfect.

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Praise God. And Peter encouraged, now think about this, what's He doing? He's encouraging these suffering

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Christians, these suffering servants, these suffering slaves at that time period.

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This is who you look to. You look to Jesus. You look to Jesus. Jesus is the one that will see you through it.

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So Peter encouraged these suffering slaves by presenting this perfect picture of Jesus Christ before them.

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So, let us behold the Lamb of God. As we look into this text this morning, and all that Jesus did on earth as recorded in the

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Gospel, and the four witnesses, you know, think of that for a moment. There's no other book, and out of the 66 books of the entire

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Bible, that four books are totally given on the life and ministry of anyone else but Jesus Christ.

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Think of that. You know, there's nothing to be wrong if there was like four books on the life of Abraham.

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No. Abraham is seen in Genesis. He's a great patriarch.

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He's the father of our faith. But who's the greatest? There's none greater than Jesus Christ.

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So all that Jesus is, and all of His glories and His perfections, actually,

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Jesus said it was Abraham that spoke about Him. It was Moses that spoke about Him. It was all the prophets that spoke about Him.

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All of them foretold Him. So it's all focused on Jesus, and Jesus alone.

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And it all goes to the cross, doesn't it? It's the cross. If we really want to know who God is, we must come to know

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Christ and His sufferings at the cross. The cross. And that's my desire.

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Well, first of all, here's my outline. We will look, first, within our text, we will consider

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Jesus as our perfect example to follow. He is our perfect example to follow, isn't

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He? In verse 21 to 23. That's where we're going to spend a great deal of our time. And then, secondly, we will consider

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Jesus as our perfect substitute in His death. In verse 24. And third, we will consider

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Jesus as our watchful shepherd and guardian. He's our overseer. And He's the one that will oversee our souls and lead us right into heaven.

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So, and then we will look at a... I just have one good application, but I believe there will be a lot of applications for us as we look into these points.

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Let's look at the first. Jesus, our perfect example to follow.

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Isn't He our perfect example to follow? If you want to really follow someone, follow Jesus. But follow anybody else, it will lead us right into hell.

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Honestly. There was a man by the name of Jim Jones. Was that back in the 60s,

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I think, Miss Lillian? Hundreds of people followed this man.

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He was supposedly a charismatic preacher. And he moved people.

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And he was such a false teacher. And you know what happened? In Guyana, I think it was

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Guyana. I may be mispronouncing that. It ended up that all these hundreds of people, and it was so sad.

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All these women, mainly women and children. There were some men amongst them.

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And he all got them to take poison and kill them all.

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There was literally hundreds of bodies found. All because of this man that they were looking to.

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This man that they were following. Well, you know something? Jesus, He's the true prophet.

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He's the true witness from God. He's a man to take us to hell. We follow

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Jesus. He's the God man. He's a man, but He's the capital

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M. He's not the lowercase m. He is the God man. Well, verse 21 and 23 through 23, notice what

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He says. I'm going to read it again. For you have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you.

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Notice this. Leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.

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We follow Jesus. Now, what is the purpose Peter's referring to here?

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To suffer. That's the call is to suffer. Have you ever thought that there's a vocation to suffer for Jesus?

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Well, this is what he's referring to. And you don't hear this much in our day today. Everybody wants to hear about your best life now.

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But you know something? That'll take you to hell. Matter of fact, that's what Pastor John MacArthur said.

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He said, if you're having your best life now, you're going to end up in hell. But really, the opposite is true of the

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Christian. You follow Christ, and we're going to look at what Scripture says about persecution. But notice verse 20.

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Peter says it like this, and we looked at this last Lord's Day. For what credit is there when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure with patience?

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That's a good question. But, but, if when you do what is right.

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Now this is not a question, this is a comment, this is the truth statement. But when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it.

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This finds favor. What's favor? Grace. This finds grace with God. This finds favor with God.

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Suffering for what is right is what he's talking about. Suffering for what is right. Now this is amazing.

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Because you've got to think about what these Christians were suffering for. They were suffering for the cause and the name of Jesus.

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But look at Jesus. He was the only just man that really lived.

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He was really the only sinless man that lived. And he had every right to come back and say no.

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But he didn't do that. We're going to look more into that in a minute. Patiently enduring it.

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So these people that's under great persecution at that period of time. What an encouragement that this would be for them to hear this.

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And read this from the Apostle Peter. The calling is called to suffer for his name's sake.

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Listen to this wonderful verse from Acts chapter 14. Verse, two verses,

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I'm sorry. Verse 21 and 22. Don't you love the book of Acts?

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Tells us, shows us how the church lived and moved. The early church.

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And here we see that Luke writes to us. And notice this. After they had preached the gospel to that city.

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And had made many disciples. Now that's the correct order, isn't it?

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They preached the gospel. And they made disciples. Isn't that what Jesus said? Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

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Then make disciples. That's what they're doing. And Jesus, they're obeying the words of Christ.

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The great commission. And they returned to Lystra and Iconium. And to Antioch.

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It's kind of like the headquarters. And notice what they did. Strengthening the souls.

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I underscored that in my Bible. This is what they did. They strengthening the souls of the disciples.

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And then encouraging them. And what did they encourage them to do? To continue in the faith.

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To endure. Because there was persecution. There was backlash.

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There was verbal abuse. Not only verbal abuse. There was physical abuse. Strengthening the souls of the disciples.

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Encouraging them to continue in the faith. And what did they say? Saying through many tribulations.

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Not some. Many tribulations. Many. We must enter the kingdom of God.

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You know, Jesus basically reiterating and repeating, echoing what

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Jesus said. John 15, 18. If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

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In verse 20 of John 15. Remember, this is the words of Jesus himself.

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Remember the word that I said to you. A slave is not greater than his master.

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If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also.

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You know what Charles Spurgeon, it reminds me of what Spurgeon said about this. Spurgeon says, they gave our

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Lord and Master a crown of thorns. Why do we hope for a crown of roses? Isn't that the truth?

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Why do we hope for a crown of roses from the world? J .C. Rowell says the most and the greatest reward that this world will give you is persecution, laughter, and ridicule.

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He said, don't expect anything better. Peter is basically saying to these suffering

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Christians here. These slaves. These Christians. These servants. These bond servants. That has been called to salvation.

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They've been called to suffer. You've been called to salvation. You've been called to suffer. If you call it to the real salvation.

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That you have been called to suffer for His name's sake. Patiently endure this. Patiently take your cross.

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Patiently look to Jesus. And endure it. And God will give you the grace to do this.

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And then through the Holy Spirit, Peter tells them how they can patiently endure unfair persecution.

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How many people you say, oh this is so unfair. Life is so unfair. They're not even undergoing persecution.

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And here are Christians suffering for Christ's name's sake. And then

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Peter gives to them the perfect example. Here He is. The Lord Jesus Christ. He's perfect in submission.

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He's made perfect in suffering. Since Christ also suffered for you. Leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.

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I love that. Notice how many times He says, you, you, you. Jesus is the standard for our suffering.

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And His suffering sets the standard for our suffering, right? The greater the suffering in this life, the greater the glory.

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And look at the glory Jesus is partaking of today. Look at the great sufferers in the past of the martyrs.

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Look at the glory they're enjoying now. Yeah, they suffered greatly. But they're enjoying glory forever.

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And great is the reward. That's the path. That's what the Scripture speaks of. Go with me very quickly.

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I gave you a couple of verses from John and from Acts. Go with me to Matthew chapter 5.

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We're going to go into Matthew here. Just look at a few verses. Oh, aren't we familiar with this wonderful text?

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Matthew 5, 11 and 12. Let me just give you two of them. And read this whole sermon. Chapter 5, chapter 6, chapter 7.

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One of the greatest sermons ever preached. Jesus said it.

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Jesus says this, Blessed, blessed are you when, not if, when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

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Because of who? Me. Because of Jesus. Because of Jesus.

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Verse 12, what does He say to do? Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward in heaven is great.

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For in the same way they persecuted, there's that word, persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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So the greater the suffering, the greater the eternal reward. Listen to Hebrews chapter 5, verse 8 and 9.

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Although He was a Son, He learned obedience. Isn't this incredible?

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Even Jesus Himself had to learn obedience. How did

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He learn it? From the things which He suffered. For the things which

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He suffered. And then the next verse says this, For by it He was made perfect.

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Now that doesn't mean that in a sense that He was imperfect, made perfect.

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It was basically that word perfect means in the sense of completion. He's made complete.

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Perfection in His sufferings. Complete in His sufferings. That's what He's talking about. Because He is the perfect spotless

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Lamb of God, right? So the path of glory is the path of suffering. So go with me to another example.

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We'll go with me to Matthew chapter 10. I'm going to read a few verses here, and I think it's going to help us to see

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Jesus' instructions on this.

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Look at 10 beginning at verse 21. Jesus is instructing all the apostles.

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The whole chapter is tremendous. It's got pretty much 42 verses here, but I'm going to read 21 to the end of the chapter.

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Notice what Jesus says. He instructs His disciples, His apostles, Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise up against his parents, calls them to be put to death.

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You will be hated by all because of my name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

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But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next.

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For truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the

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Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master.

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It is enough of the disciple that he became like his teacher, and the slave like his master.

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But if they have called the head of the house, who's the head of the house? He's speaking of himself, Jesus himself.

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He is the head. He's the head of the church. The head of the house, he says,

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Beelzebub, prince of the demons basically, how much more will they malign the members of the household, of his household?

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Therefore do not fear them. Notice how many times he says do not fear. Therefore do not fear them.

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For there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. God knows everything in other words.

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And nothing gets by God. Verse 27, What I tell you in darkness, speak in the light.

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And what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body, but are unable to kill the soul.

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Now he tells us who to fear. But rather fear him, who's able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

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What a verse. Verse 29, Now it's interesting that Jesus turns to examples like two sparrows.

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Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father?

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Sparrows such small birds, and unrecognized by most people.

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Yet God the Father recognizes them and knows them. What Jesus is basically saying that God knows every single thing that takes place.

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Nothing becomes, nothing is unnoticed. He knows everything. Notice what he says in verse 30. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

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Try to count the hairs of your head this morning. Some has more than others.

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But you know something? God knows exactly the number. He knows everything to the detail.

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Verse 31, So do not fear. Once again he says, So do not fear. Why is he saying this?

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He's talking about people that will be persecuted, his apostles, that will be persecuted for unjust reasons, and for his name's sake.

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And he says, You know when you take this, you rejoice in the midst of this, that your reward in heaven. Set your mind on heavenly things.

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And Jesus is basically helping him get the right eternal perspective. Isn't he? So do not fear.

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You are more valuable than many sparrows. You have great value. Therefore, Now he gets really down to some very important teaching here.

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Therefore, Therefore, That therefore is everything he just said. Everyone who confesses me before men,

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I will also confess him before my Father who is in heaven. Isn't that a great thought? Every time we confess

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Jesus to men, he's confessing us before the Father. But whoever denies me before men, there's a reverse to it.

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Every time we deny him, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven. This is powerful teaching.

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Listen to this. Verse 34, Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth.

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I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter -in -law against her mother -in -law, and a man's enemies will be the members of his household.

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That is so true. Verse 37, He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.

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And he who loves son and daughter more than me is not worthy of me. This is strong. And this basically says Jesus must be everything.

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He's got to be not only first, he's got to be everything. Absolutely everything. Verse 38,

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And he who does not take his cross and follow after me, there's some of the following, follow after me is not worthy of me.

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He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake will find it. He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.

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That's the father. He who receives a prophet in the name of the prophet shall receive a prophet's reward.

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And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever in the name of the disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly

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I say to you he should not lose his reward. What an encouragement that is to the apostles that most of them died a horrible death except for the apostle

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John. John was the only one that was spared, and God spared him for a reason so he can give them how everything's going to consummate at the end of time.

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And we have it today in the book of Revelation of Jesus Christ, right? It's glorious. Well, what a text that is.

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So Jesus proved that a person could be in the will of God, in other words, and you could be serving God and doing what's right and doing what's just, be greatly loved by God, and still suffer unjustly.

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Did he teach that? Absolutely. Can I say something right here as a footnote?

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Only a false, shallow teaching, a false prophet would claim that Christians will not suffer?

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Don't we hear this today? Nobody wants to suffer. They want their best life now.

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For those who promote such, can I say this lovingly? Can I say it truthfully?

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They do not know God. They do not know the Scriptures. They do not know Jesus. They do not know the power of God.

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They do not know what the Scriptures say. They do not know the truth. And they do not know the way of the cross. I'll say it lovingly.

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They're deceived. And we live in that day. It's sad, isn't it? Many are falling away.

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We're seeing apostasy on every hand. And God has a remnant.

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And thank God He does. And don't get me wrong. I don't want to get the Elijah syndrome, somebody once said, that I'm the only one left.

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But God still has His, was it 7 ,000, I believe? Yeah. How many?

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Thousands. That has not bowed the knee to Baal. So, when we look in the

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Scripture and gaze upon the sufferings of Christ, we see Christ is calling. He came to suffer.

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So will it be those who follow after Jesus. And we're talking about the Jesus of the

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Bible. Other people have got a Jesus of their own making. And that's sin.

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Another gospel. Another Jesus. Paul talked about that. Even in this day. But we're talking about the

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Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord's humility. Now, this is what this is referring to. And now, think of this.

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We're going to be looking at, as we continue in Peter, we're going to look at submission, submission, submission. Next in 1 Peter 3, ladies first, right?

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We're going to look at submission to the wives. Then it's going to say, he's going to speak to submission to husbands.

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But notice what he's talking about. Submission to God. Submission to authority. Submission to masters. Submission to your bosses.

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It goes on and on. But he's talking about submission, submission, submission. Here's a man that was very unsubmissive under the ministry of Jesus.

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And now he's speaking about submission. This is the key. Why? Because Jesus is the one that taught him this.

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Our Lord's perfect humility and submission to the Father were not an evidence of weakness.

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Can I say this? On the contrary, it was an evidence of great strength and power.

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You know, that's the way the world looks at Christians today. Because you don't fight back and revile back and want to come back and retaliate like they will.

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They look at you meek and mild. Well, we should be loving, gentle. I think you're weak.

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Why don't you fight? Well, Peter tried fighting once, didn't he? He drew out a sword from his sheath and struck the high priest, the slave,

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Malchus. I think he was aiming for the head. He happened to cut his ear off. Jesus picks up the ear and puts it right back on.

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And then he said, put the sword up. Well, this is not the way the king operates his kingdom.

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Peter had to fight in him. Now, I'm thinking about that because I'm thinking about, look at the apostle that's writing this about submission.

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It's incredible. He is in submission to God as he's writing this.

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Our Lord's humility. By the way, Scripture says, Jesus could have summoned the host of armies of heaven to rescue him.

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Let's go to that real quick. If you're in Matthew, go to Matthew chapter 26. Take a look at this.

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This is a wonderful text here. Oh, hallelujah. Listen to this.

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Look at verse 51 from chapter 26. Now, this is a critical time in what's happening in the life of Jesus.

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Jesus has just been betrayed and arrested. He's just received the

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Judas kiss. Judas came up and kissed him. They came and laid hands on him.

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Verse 51, Behold, one of those who were with Jesus reached and drew out his sword.

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We know who that was. Peter. He struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his ear.

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Verse 52, Then Jesus said to him, Put your sword back into its place, for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.

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Verse 53, Or do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?

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How then would the Scriptures be fulfilled which say that it must happen this way? John MacArthur makes a note here.

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A Roman legion was composed of 6 ,000 soldiers. So this would represent more than 72 ,000 angels.

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And in 2 Kings 19 verse 35,

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A single angel killed more than 185 ,000 men in a single night.

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Now what kind of power would it be if you saw 72 ,000 angels that Jesus could have summoned from heaven?

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He's the master. He's the God of the universe and flesh. He made them. He could have said,

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All you had to do was speak the word. He even told them that. But no,

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He knew you had to drink the cup. He had to drink the cup.

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Let's continue. Peter says in the text, Chapter 2 verse 22 to 23, Who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth.

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What's Peter quoting? Peter's quoting Isaiah 53 verse 9. Listen to this. Which the prophet says,

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His grave was a sign with the wicked man. Yet he was with a rich man in his death.

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Who was that? Joseph Arimathea. Because he had done no violence.

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Nor was there any deceit in his mouth. This is the suffering servant Jesus. As the innocent

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Lamb of God. Man, His execution was totally undeserved.

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Jesus commits Himself to perfect submission to His Father's will. Trusting in His Father who judges righteously.

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That's what the scripture says. In other words, He's leaving that to the Father. Verse 23,

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And while being reviled, He did not revile in return. While suffering, He uttered no threats.

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I don't know about you, I feel such like a miserable maggot of a worm when I hear this because how many times have

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I always wanted to strike back and take this in my own hands and get it right and help

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God? God don't need our help. He's all powerful.

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Jesus kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. Jesus committed no sin, right?

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Never violating the perfect law of God. Never. By the way, He fulfilled the law of God. He fulfills all righteousness here.

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To perfection. What's the scripture? 2 Corinthians 5 21

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For He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin. That we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

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Isn't that glorious? That's the great exchange. That's double imputation. Hebrews 4 15

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Don't you love Hebrews? For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

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That means weaknesses. Was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin.

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Look at our Savior. Hebrews 9 28 So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many and unto them that look for Him shall

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He appear the second time without sin unto salvation. 1

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John 3 5 And ye know that He was manifested to take away our sins and in Him is no sin.

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This is the spotless, sinless Lamb of God. This is God's Lamb.

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This is the perfect Savior. This is the Lord of glory. Now keep in mind we are not saved by following Christ as perfect example.

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That would put us in a mess. There is no way we can live up to that kind of perfection. And our obedience to God is so flawed and imperfect.

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But we are not saved by our obedience. We are saved by faith. Right? And each one of us would fall so, so short and stumble over.

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Right? But sinners need a Savior. Not just an example.

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Oh, He is our perfect example. We are to follow in His footsteps. But after we have regenerated.

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After we have saved. After we come to know Jesus Christ. We walk into His footsteps.

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Well, let's go to the second point. Jesus is our perfect substitute. Beloved, I am telling you. There is so much the

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Bible says about this. We are just scratching the surface. He is our perfect substitute in death.

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Notice verse 24. Back to 2 Peter chapter 2. He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross.

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That's the tree. So that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. For by His wounds or by His strikes.

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You were healed. Isaiah says, you are healed. Here Peter says, you were healed.

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Beloved, because of the great mercy and the love of God. We are into the kingdom and adopted as God's children.

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Jesus died as the sinner's substitute. Isn't that glorious?

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Listen to Galatians 3 .13. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law. Having become a curse for us.

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For it is written, cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree. That's the tree. That Jesus, He became that curse for us.

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And by the way, because He became the curse. He reversed the curse. Only Jesus could reverse it.

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The curse that Adam brought. Jesus as the second Adam. The last Adam. He comes to reverse it.

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Jesus died as the sinner's substitute. Once and for all. MacArthur quotes a man by the name of Leon Morris.

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He said he was one of his favorite writers. Listen to what he says about substitution here. Quote, Leon Morris.

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Redemption is substitutionary for it means that Christ paid the price that we could not pay.

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Paid it in our stead and we go free. Justification interprets our salvation judicially as the

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New Testament sees it. Christ took our legal liability, took it in our stead. Reconciliation means the making of people to be at one by taking away the cause of hostility.

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In this case, the cause is sin. And Christ removed that cause for us.

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We could not deal with sin. He could and He did. And did it in such a way that it is reckoned to us.

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Perpetuation points us to the removal of the divine wrath. And Christ has done this by bearing the wrath for us.

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It was our sin which drew it down. And it was

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He who bore it. Was there a price to be paid?

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He paid it. Was there a victory to be won? He won it. Was there a penalty to be done?

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Borne, I'm sorry, He bore it. Was there a judgment to be faced? He faced it.

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End quote. Isn't that glorious? Don't you love the paradoxes of the cross?

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It amazes us Christ was wounded that we might be healed. He died that we might live.

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We died with Him that we who are dead to sin, that we might live unto righteousness.

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Isn't that what Paul says in Romans 6 .15 -18? He says this, What then shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?

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God forbid. One preacher put it this way. God thunders. May it never be.

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God is thundering. Be it far from me. God never may it be.

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Do you not know that when you present your body to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves to the one whom you obey?

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Now this is true sanctification here. Either of sin resulting in death or obedience resulting into righteousness.

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But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching which you were committed and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

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That's true submission. That is true submission to God. That's true sanctification. That is submission to God's authority.

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1 Thessalonians 4 .3 For this is the will of God, even your sanctification.

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That's God's will. That is, what is it? That you abstain, abstain from sexual immorality.

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Now if it was true in that day, how much more true is it today? It's just thrown out in front of you.

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All this is possible because of Jesus' death on the cross. As you well know, the law is good, but the law cannot save us.

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Only God's grace. Only God's grace. And by the way, not only God, through God's grace, saves us and enables us.

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Isn't it glorious? Why? Because you had the Spirit of God abiding within you. Well, very quickly, the last point.

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Jesus is our watchful shepherd. Isn't that wonderful? Our watchful shepherd. And he says this in verse 25.

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You were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd or the guardian of your souls.

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For you were continually, continually straying like sheep.

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You know, in the Old Testament, this is so glorious. In the Old Testament, we see the sheep died for the shepherd, but in the

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New Testament, we see at Calvary's cross, the good shepherd died for the sheep. Isn't that wonderful?

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John 10, 11. Our Lord says it. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

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Verse 15. Even as the Father knows me, I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep.

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That sheep is God's elect. His sheep will come in.

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But He still goes after His sheep. He has to go after His sheep because sheep are too dumb. They go astray.

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Brother Keith mentioned this on the opening. They go astray. That's the nature of a sheep.

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They just like straying out. Jesus' substitution or death for sinners on the cross.

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That's how it happened. Isaiah 53, 6. All of us like sheep have gone astray. Each of us.

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Each of us has turned to His own way. But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

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You were continually straying like sheep. Sheep go astray. Sheep are ignorant.

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Sheep are lost. They wander. They go in danger. They go right into danger. Check that out sometimes on the life of a sheep.

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They do that. They go right headlong into danger. Away from the only place of safety.

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From the Good Shepherd. They actually leave the Good Shepherd. They go out to the wilderness.

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Unable and powerless to even help themselves. But Jesus Christ is the

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Good Shepherd. Turn with me very quickly to Luke 15. You know this wonderful story.

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I want to just read just a little bit. This is preaching material here. Parable of the lost sheep.

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Parable of the lost sheep. Praise God. Aren't you glad for Luke 15?

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Three wonderful parables all clustered in one. Verse 1. Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near to Him to listen to Him.

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Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to crumble. To grumble.

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Complaining actually. Saying this man receives sinners and eats with them. And because they said that,

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Jesus really pours on graciously. Even to the

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Pharisees to hear this. These three great parables.

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The parable of the lost sheep. The parable of the lost corn. The parable of the lost son. And here is the sheep.

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So He told them this parable. Saying what man among you if he has a hundred sheep and he lost one of them.

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Does not leave the ninety and nine and open pasture. And go after the one which is lost until he finds it.

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What a question. When he has found it. He lays it on his shoulders rejoicing.

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Rejoicing. What he is talking about is this is how heaven responds to those lost sheep.

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That the good shepherd finds. And when he comes home. He calls together his friends and his neighbors.

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Saying to them. Rejoice with me. For I have found my sheep which was lost. And I tell you that in the same way there will be more joy in heaven.

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Over one sinner who repents. And over ninety and nine righteous person who needs no repentance.

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Why is it God concerned about those who truly repent. That one lost sheep. God is concerned.

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God loves them. And none of us would be saved unless God took the initiative. And Peter mentions.

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For you were continually straying like sheep. But now you have returned to the shepherd and guarding of your souls.

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Returned. Returned. Now what I love about this. There is an initiation that the shepherd goes after the sheep.

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But there is also after God brings the sheep home. There is a turn towards the shepherd.

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This turning towards the shepherd. Refers to repentant faith a person has at salvation.

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Notice he turns towards. It's an act of faith. It's action towards on the positive side.

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You know I was sharing this with brother Keith in this past week. I love, I really get encouraged from brother

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Keith on these things. We kind of sharpen each other's swords on the word of God. The word of God is the power that sharpens us.

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But I couldn't help but think. There is a positive side and there is a negative side. A battery doesn't run from two positives or two negatives.

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Impossible. It has to have a negative and it has to have a positive. Faith is that positive side of turning towards the

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Lord. And the repentance is turning away and turning from sin.

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We turn from sin but we turn to God. There is a positive and there is a negative.

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Negative, positive. So here he speaks about the positive you turn towards.

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And don't you love this. Notice what Peter says. You don't turn to a system. You don't turn to a church.

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You don't turn to a religion. You don't turn to a theology. To reform theology.

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No. You turn to a person. You turn to the person. Who is the person? The Lord Jesus Christ.

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We turn to the shepherd of our souls. The guardian of our souls. The watcher of our souls. He is the overseer of our souls.

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Literally meaning with your lives. Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

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First Peter 5 .4. Peter calls Jesus the chief shepherd. The chief shepherd. David says in Psalm 23 .1.

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The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Ezekiel 34 .23 -36.

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I'm sorry. 23 -26. This is a great prophecy. Ezekiel says, Then I will set over them one shepherd, my servant

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David. And he will feed them. He will feed them himself and will be their shepherd.

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And I the Lord will be their God. And my servant David will be prince among them.

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I the Lord have spoken it. Who is he referring to? Jesus. Jesus. Jesus is that one great shepherd.

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It's powerful. Oh how we praise Him. Here's my application very quickly.

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One verse. Verse 21. For you have been called for this purpose. Since Christ also suffered for you.

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Leaving you an example. For you to follow in His steps. Peter gets very personal doesn't he?

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It's his personal application. For you, you have been called. For you Christ suffered. For you.

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Leaving you an example. For you. For you. For you. Following His steps. For you. I'll leave you with this.

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The word example means literally writing under. Writing under. And it was writing put under a piece of paper which was to trace letters.

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That was a pattern. And you know something? This is such a perfect, wonderful, small little illustration.

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But it speaks perfectly what Jesus Christ. He is our pattern isn't He? We follow in His footsteps.

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Jesus Christ is that pattern to follow in suffering and patience. He is our model to endure even unjust suffering.

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And I can't help but think. Jesus was the only innocent, righteous, just man.

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And He had every right to say no. But He went all the way. And He bore the sin. So that we may have salvation.

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If anyone had the right. Jesus had a right to fight back.

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But He did not. Oh He fought. But He fought. As the King. And He gave

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Himself. Entrusting Himself to the Father. Who judges. Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?

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Jesus never retaliated. As a matter of fact. Let me say this. He did retaliate. But He retaliated with great love and prayer for His enemies.

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That's the way He retaliated. Let us remember to react and retaliate like Jesus retaliated.

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Let me leave you with this. Apostle Paul says this. This is broken up in four sections.

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Personal duties. Family duties. Duties to others. And duties to consider. Who consider us as enemies.

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In Romans chapter. What is it? Chapter 12 I believe. The end of chapter 12.

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Yes. Verse 9 to 21. Let love be without hypocrisy.

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Let agape love be without pretending. In other words. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.

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Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Give preference to one another in honor. Respect.

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In other words. Not lagging behind in diligence. Listen to this. Bombarding us with truth.

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Bam. Bam. Clusters of it. Fervent in spirit. Serving the Lord. Serving the

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Lord. Rejoicing in hope. Persevering in tribulation. Devoted to prayer.

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Contributing to the needs of the saints. Practicing hospitality. And then he speaks about the duties.

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I'm sorry. After he has spoken about the personal family. Duties to others. Now he really gets down to.

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He goes to another level. Love. How to love your enemies. Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse.

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He gets this from Jesus. Jesus taught this. Bless. Do not curse.

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Rejoice with those. Rejoice. Weep with those that weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not be haughty in your mind.

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But associate. Or in other words. Accommodate yourself to lowly things. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

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Never pay back evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. And if possible.

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So far as it depends on you. Be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge beloved.

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But leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written. Vengeance is mine. I will repay.

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Says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry. Feed him. If he is thirsty.

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Give him a drink. What does that do? Amen. Isn't that glorious?

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Now that's a powerful love. Heaping coals of fire. And doing.

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Doing. You will heap burning coals on his head. And then he leaves it.

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And underscores this. And this is really the climax. Do not be overcome by evil.

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But overcome evil with good. Praise God. Let's pray.

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Father. There's so much here. And so much truth. That we have before us.

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But Lord we need help. And how to obey. We need the power of your Holy Spirit to help us.

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Lord as we come to thy table. We pray that you would bless this time together.

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As we remember the sufferings of our Lord Jesus Christ. He's the greater one.

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He's Israel's ultimate king. He's our ultimate king. He's the suffering servant. He set the standard.

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He suffered to be our substitute for sin. Bore our sin. For our salvation.

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That we may be saved. Lord help us to praise you. And receive our thanksgiving and praise oh

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God. This morning. For you alone are worthy. For you are to be praised.

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For the unspeakable gift that Jesus Christ came to suffer. Patiently endeared the cross for the joy that was before him.

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Now he's at the power of your right hand. And he forever makes intercession for his people.

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Lord help us. Help us not to be apathetic as we come to the table.

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Save us oh God from ourselves. Save us from religion. May we be focused on the person of Jesus Christ.

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And be more and more in love with him. And as we love him and honor him. We love you and honor you. Lord we desire to love and exalt him more and more.

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Help us oh God. Bless us as we pray. As we come to this table.

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And help us to remember. The glorious substitutionary death of Jesus Christ.