14.082875 16.682875 Well, hello there, Marybeth.
16.682875 19.082875 Hey Sarah, good morning.
19.082875 20.862875 Good morning to you.
20.862875 23.062875 And wherever you are listener,
23.062875 24.722875 good morning, good evening.
24.722875 25.982875 Good night. Good night.
26.682875 27.722875 That's right. That's right.
27.722875 29.722875 I think we've talked about that before.
29.722875 31.522875 I do like that movie.
31.522875 33.282875 It's a fascinating one.
33.282875 35.222875 It certainly is. Sparks some good discussions.
35.222875 37.162875 It does. Sparks some good discussions.
37.162875 40.402875 And it's interesting that that came up
40.402875 45.402875 because we're talking about faith today.
45.402875 51.402875 And Truman, this is a spoiler, had a lot of faith,
51.402875 54.402875 but then he started to question his faith
54.402875 56.402875 in the world around them.
56.402875 58.402875 It really does tell you no, I think of this.
58.402875 60.402875 What are we putting our faith in?
60.402875 62.402875 Is it to go back to our previous episodes,
62.402875 64.402875 a solid foundation, or not?
64.402875 66.402875 What happens when it all comes crumbling down?
66.402875 67.402875 And that's right.
67.402875 69.402875 Well, there we go.
69.402875 72.402875 There was our divine inspiration for this morning.
72.402875 74.402875 So as you know, listeners,
74.402875 81.402875 we are discussing second Peter 1 versus 1 to 11 this season
81.402875 85.402875 of our podcast in which we find what I like to call
85.402875 87.402875 the building blocks of discipleship.
87.402875 92.402875 And Mary Beth, tell our listeners what we've started with
92.402875 93.402875 so far this season.
93.402875 95.402875 Yeah, if you go back a couple of episodes,
95.402875 99.402875 we started by talking about how Christ is our foundation.
99.402875 102.402875 And he is the rock on which we build our lives.
102.402875 104.402875 And then the episode after that,
104.402875 107.402875 we got to talk to both of our dads about how Christ has been
107.402875 109.402875 the rock in their own lives.
109.402875 111.402875 So now we've laid the foundation,
111.402875 113.402875 and we're building.
113.402875 117.402875 And so Sarah, that first block on top of the foundation is faith.
117.402875 118.402875 Right.
118.402875 119.402875 Yeah.
119.402875 120.402875 That's easy.
120.402875 121.402875 Okay.
121.402875 122.402875 There you go, everybody.
122.402875 125.402875 It's a two minute long episode.
125.402875 128.402875 But what is faith?
128.402875 132.402875 And I like to think of it as precious faith.
132.402875 135.402875 Faith is, as the Bible says,
135.402875 138.402875 the evidence of things that are unseen,
138.402875 141.402875 and the substance of things that are hoped for.
141.402875 144.402875 And what does that mean, Mary Beth?
144.402875 149.402875 It's pretty easy to get into the abstract when we talk about faith
149.402875 154.402875 because in a lot of ways, it's not tangible and visible.
154.402875 159.402875 And in some ways, it's very internalized.
159.402875 163.402875 There are things that come from our faith because of our faith.
163.402875 167.402875 But it's not always easy to pinpoint what does that actually mean?
167.402875 171.402875 And so I think that's what we want to talk about today is
171.402875 175.402875 what does this passage in second Peter one teach us about
175.402875 178.402875 what this precious faith is and can look like?
178.402875 179.402875 Okay.
179.402875 181.402875 So the faith, the precious faith that we're talking about
181.402875 186.402875 is mentioned in second Peter one, verse three.
186.402875 188.402875 He says, for this very reason,
188.402875 192.402875 make every effort to add to your faith goodness.
192.402875 194.402875 He's saying to add to your faith,
194.402875 197.402875 well, what is the faith and how do we get it?
197.402875 201.402875 When I was sort of wrestling with this question,
201.402875 207.402875 I kind of had to go back to the beginning of second Peter one.
207.402875 211.402875 Mary Beth, would you please read verses one to four
211.402875 213.402875 in the ESV version?
213.402875 214.402875 Yes, sure.
214.402875 217.402875 His divine power has granted to us all things
217.402875 220.402875 that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge
220.402875 224.402875 of him who called us to his own glory and excellence
224.402875 227.402875 by which he has granted to us his precious
227.402875 229.402875 and very great promises.
229.402875 233.402875 So that through them, you may become partakers of the divine nature,
233.402875 236.402875 having escaped from the corruption that is in the world
236.402875 239.402875 because of simple desire.
239.402875 244.402875 So Jesus, who is our rock,
244.402875 248.402875 through his divine power, his glory and his excellence,
248.402875 252.402875 has given us everything that we need to live a godly life,
252.402875 258.402875 which namely are his very great and precious promises.
258.402875 264.402875 That is the essence of the faith that Peter is describing here.
264.402875 267.402875 So our faith is based on those promises.
267.402875 268.402875 Correct.
268.402875 270.402875 And what are those promises?
270.402875 274.402875 Well, eternal life for one thing.
274.402875 279.402875 Life forever with God the Father in relationship with him.
279.402875 284.402875 We also are partakers of the divine nature.
284.402875 285.402875 What does that mean?
285.402875 287.402875 Well, am I goddess?
287.402875 290.402875 Is that what that means?
290.402875 291.402875 Not no.
291.402875 294.402875 Not necessarily.
294.402875 297.402875 However, there's this word that we love to banter about
297.402875 302.402875 in church ease called sanctification.
302.402875 303.402875 It's a big word.
303.402875 307.402875 Can you break that word down for us, Mary Beth?
307.402875 310.402875 The most basic definition, I would say,
310.402875 314.402875 it's just the process of becoming more like Jesus.
314.402875 319.402875 And it happens throughout the rest of our time on earth.
319.402875 323.402875 Once we come to know him as our Lord and Savior,
323.402875 327.402875 sanctification begins and continues until we're no longer here.
327.402875 330.402875 It is a painful process.
330.402875 334.402875 However, it's a good process.
334.402875 339.402875 And coincidentally,
339.402875 343.402875 working on these building blocks is part of sanctification.
343.402875 345.402875 Yeah.
345.402875 348.402875 I'm thinking about that phrase divine nature.
348.402875 351.402875 We also talk a lot in church about our sin nature.
351.402875 353.402875 It's also a phrase that we use a lot.
353.402875 355.402875 And to the contrast of those,
355.402875 358.402875 sanctification is often the process of pointing out
358.402875 362.402875 what is coming from our sin and uprooting that
362.402875 366.402875 so that we can partake more of his divine nature.
366.402875 367.402875 Reflect more of him.
367.402875 368.402875 Yeah.
368.402875 370.402875 And one of the other apostles,
370.402875 375.402875 John had something to say about this difference between
375.402875 378.402875 the sin nature and the divine nature.
378.402875 381.402875 So in 1 John 3, 9,
381.402875 382.402875 he says,
382.402875 385.402875 no one born of God makes a practice of sinning.
385.402875 388.402875 For God's seed abides in him.
388.402875 393.402875 And he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God.
393.402875 396.402875 By this, it is evident who are the children of God
396.402875 398.402875 and who are the children of the devil.
398.402875 401.402875 Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God,
401.402875 405.402875 nor is the one who does not love his brother.
405.402875 410.402875 So both of these apostles had this understanding
410.402875 413.402875 and of course first hand knowledge of Jesus, right?
413.402875 417.402875 But had this understanding that when we
417.402875 421.402875 choose to put our faith in Jesus,
421.402875 424.402875 when we build our life on the solid rock,
424.402875 429.402875 we take that step and we have that faith in his promises
429.402875 433.402875 that he is making us into a new creature as the apostle Paul says.
433.402875 438.402875 Then we have that faith in Jesus and we build our lives.
438.402875 440.402875 It's easier not to sin.
440.402875 442.402875 Well, I don't know if that's quite true,
442.402875 446.402875 but our sin nature is being replaced by a desire
446.402875 452.402875 to follow God's commandments and to follow Jesus' teaching.
452.402875 457.402875 The words of Jesus as my dad kept saying in the last episode.
457.402875 461.402875 And in those verses you just read from 1 John,
461.402875 464.402875 it's a bit of a command and a promise
464.402875 467.402875 that as we practice righteousness,
467.402875 470.402875 we will no longer be living under sin
470.402875 473.402875 and that's one of those promises we can hold onto in our faith
473.402875 476.402875 that God is doing this work in us
476.402875 479.402875 and He will carry it through to completion.
479.402875 484.402875 And it also makes me think of all of the promises
484.402875 487.402875 and scripture that we do get to see fulfilled.
487.402875 491.402875 We think about all of the prophecies of who the Messiah would be
491.402875 493.402875 and how Christ fulfills all of those in the New Testament
493.402875 497.402875 and how God was so faithful to His people
497.402875 499.402875 and taking them into the promised land
499.402875 502.402875 and giving them what He promised to give them,
502.402875 505.402875 blessing them, making covenants with them.
505.402875 512.402875 So this faith is based on these promises
512.402875 517.402875 really is a lot of these promises coming to fruition.
517.402875 523.402875 And also it's a living and active faith.
523.402875 528.402875 It is. And you think about just seed time and harvest.
528.402875 531.402875 God promised in the beginning in Genesis
531.402875 536.402875 that there would be night and day and seed time and harvest.
536.402875 539.402875 And we see that all the time,
539.402875 541.402875 not only in the physical world,
541.402875 543.402875 like the created world, but also in our own lives,
543.402875 546.402875 the actions that we take have consequences
546.402875 551.402875 and we can reap benefits or we can re-partake
551.402875 555.402875 and refer you right back to season two, I think.
555.402875 558.402875 Yeah, we talked a lot about that in season two.
558.402875 563.402875 But bringing us back to this faith, this precious faith.
563.402875 565.402875 So we have these precious promises
565.402875 570.402875 and we base our very lives on these promises of Jesus.
570.402875 573.402875 Every decision that we make is based on that
573.402875 578.402875 and they're changing us into a new person.
578.402875 581.402875 But pal, let's have some practical steps here.
581.402875 583.402875 Yeah.
583.402875 586.402875 I'd also like to put in the caveat that
586.402875 589.402875 everyone has faith in something.
589.402875 592.402875 Which means we're all trusting in something,
592.402875 595.402875 someone ourselves, some belief system,
595.402875 598.402875 even if we don't acknowledge it.
598.402875 600.402875 Because something is guiding our decisions,
600.402875 603.402875 like you just mentioned, right?
603.402875 605.402875 Something is creating a framework,
605.402875 606.402875 even if we're not aware of it,
606.402875 609.402875 of how we're living our day-to-day lives.
609.402875 615.402875 So faith is not really as abstract as we might make it out to be.
615.402875 619.402875 But if we look at what the gift of Jesus is
619.402875 621.402875 and the faith that He gives us,
621.402875 623.402875 the first step,
623.402875 625.402875 and we're talking about this at church right now
625.402875 626.402875 in our sermon series,
626.402875 629.402875 the first step is admitting that we need a Savior.
629.402875 635.402875 That we are sinful and we cannot save ourselves.
635.402875 639.402875 I think the sermon title was, "I can't."
639.402875 642.402875 Yeah.
642.402875 645.402875 And again, simple concepts,
645.402875 650.402875 sometimes hard to actually acknowledge.
650.402875 653.402875 Well, it's like the faith that we're talking about.
653.402875 657.402875 It's not difficult, yet it's the hardest thing.
657.402875 660.402875 Yeah.
660.402875 662.402875 So we have that first step.
662.402875 665.402875 We need a Savior.
665.402875 670.402875 And then we move from there into
670.402875 673.402875 asking Jesus to be that for us, right?
673.402875 677.402875 Admitting that He is the only one that can save us.
677.402875 680.402875 And so then Sarah, what happens next?
680.402875 684.402875 Well, we make a decision to become his disciple,
684.402875 686.402875 to learn from him,
686.402875 690.402875 to live like him, to love like him.
690.402875 696.402875 And that's actually what this podcast season is all about.
696.402875 703.402875 It's becoming more like Jesus by building our lives on him.
703.402875 705.402875 We've admitted our need for a Savior.
705.402875 708.402875 We are now disciples of Christ,
708.402875 710.402875 and then that sanctification,
710.402875 714.402875 that divine nature that He shares with us comes into play,
714.402875 721.402875 that we are always growing more and more in becoming like Christ,
721.402875 725.402875 dying to self, living to Him.
725.402875 730.402875 And someday we will have eternal life,
730.402875 736.402875 which is, for the first time in our experience and consciousness,
736.402875 739.402875 there will be an absence of sin.
739.402875 742.402875 And that's kind of, I don't even know.
742.402875 745.402875 I mean, no wonder it's going to be different when we're in heaven,
745.402875 749.402875 because we don't even understand or know what it would be like to not be duplicitous,
749.402875 752.402875 to not always have a hook in the back of our mind
752.402875 754.402875 when we're interacting with somebody,
754.402875 759.402875 to not selfishly grasp, to not compare, to not be jealous.
759.402875 764.402875 I mean, I can't even, I don't even know.
764.402875 770.402875 I'm speechless to think about how it will be to be sinless.
770.402875 771.402875 Yeah.
771.402875 776.402875 I remember there was a moment in college for me,
776.402875 780.402875 where I was at the gym, and I was on some machine,
780.402875 784.402875 and there were people on like a row of treadmills in front of me, you know,
784.402875 786.402875 and one of them was broken.
786.402875 789.402875 And so, a lady gets on, it's broken, she goes to the one next to it.
789.402875 792.402875 Somebody else comes up, gets on the broken one,
792.402875 795.402875 and I'm sitting one row behind them,
795.402875 798.402875 and I choose to just observe the social situation.
798.402875 800.402875 Who's going to tell her that it's broken?
800.402875 802.402875 Are they going to let her just figure it out for herself?
802.402875 806.402875 And I watch like three or four people come through.
806.402875 811.402875 And I in my mind was like, "Man, I can't believe those people didn't tell the lady the treadmills broken."
811.402875 816.402875 And then I thought deeper, "Mary Beth you didn't tell them the treadmill's broken."
816.402875 821.402875 And then I thought, deeper, what was my motivation for watching these people in this social experiment?"
821.402875 824.402875 And then I thought deeper, you know, you just keep going and going."
824.402875 829.402875 And I got to the bottom of it, and I just thought, "Do I ever not sin?"
829.402875 835.402875 Like, it is always there, that undercurrent in my nature is always there.
835.402875 839.402875 And it's a very sobering reality,
839.402875 845.402875 and makes me even more grateful for this faith that I've been given, that I don't have to stay there.
845.402875 846.402875 Yeah.
846.402875 850.402875 That I get to become more like Christ.
850.402875 854.402875 And that makes it precious in its own right, you know?
854.402875 863.402875 Yeah. And that we share it with others, that we don't just sit there and watch them keep trying to run a broken treadmill.
863.402875 864.402875 Exactly.
864.402875 866.402875 Wow, this is a great analogy.
866.402875 871.402875 You know, in college, you have so much time to think these deep thoughts and all these things.
871.402875 872.402875 But yeah, that one stuck with me.
872.402875 878.402875 So we had to make a podcast so that we could have time to think these deep thoughts.
878.402875 889.402875 It will be amazing to be in heaven with Jesus, but also be of one mind,
889.402875 892.402875 not a divided mind or a nature.
892.402875 897.402875 You know, no more sin nature, only divine.
897.402875 901.402875 Well, the way Second Peter talks about it,
901.402875 904.402875 some of that is available to us now.
904.402875 911.402875 So how do we get these things, Sarah, that are necessary for a godly life now?
911.402875 923.402875 Well, his divine power is there, but it's not going to give us anything unless we know him, Mary Beth.
923.402875 927.402875 And we talked about this back in the first episode.
927.402875 929.402875 We have to test the soil.
929.402875 935.402875 We have to get to know Jesus. We have to decide, is this what we want to build our life on?
935.402875 940.402875 And for you and I, of course, we've said yes, and for both of our fathers, they've said yes.
940.402875 944.402875 This is what we want to build our life or who we want to build our life on.
944.402875 957.402875 And as we get to know him, his words, his actions, the way that he loves us and his commandments.
957.402875 961.402875 We really do get everything we need.
961.402875 964.402875 We know how to make decisions. We know what to do.
964.402875 966.402875 We know what to do with our money.
966.402875 968.402875 We know how to plant our crops.
968.402875 977.402875 I mean, like, you can really get advice for anything that you need from him, from him.
977.402875 978.402875 Yeah.
978.402875 984.402875 And I'm thinking about last season on the podcast where we're talking a lot about community.
984.402875 989.402875 And that God gives us Scripture and the Holy Spirit.
989.402875 992.402875 And he also gives us other believers.
992.402875 998.402875 And that all those work together for us to know him and experience him more and more.
998.402875 1007.402875 And often it's the gift of seeing his divine power working in someone else's life that helps us learn.
1007.402875 1010.402875 Oh, I have access to that too, right?
1010.402875 1013.402875 Yeah, he is working.
1013.402875 1019.402875 Well, and that's the hopes for us, you know, the stories that we tell and the interviews that we do.
1019.402875 1026.614938 That those would strike a chord that we would be able to learn from other people.
1026.614938 1035.614938 So if we think about this divine power, knowing him, we want to become more like him.
1035.614938 1038.614938 Back to kind of what we were talking about the top here.
1038.614938 1040.614938 How does this plat in to faith?
1040.614938 1043.435102 What is the faith that we are to have?
1044.865641 1051.865641 Well, we receive this faith the same way the apostles did.
1051.865641 1054.865641 Peter, John, we've just talked about the others.
1054.865641 1059.865641 Our faith is based on the righteousness of Christ.
1059.865641 1063.865641 He was without sin.
1063.865641 1065.865641 He was divine yet.
1065.865641 1067.865641 He was fully man.
1067.865641 1077.865641 Again, a lot of pondering is going to have to go on for me in that chair over there to really understand this.
1077.865641 1080.865641 It's nothing that we can do or it's nothing that we've done.
1080.865641 1086.865641 I mean, yes, we have to admit that we're powerless of our sin.
1086.865641 1090.865641 But we can't save ourselves.
1090.865641 1101.865641 We don't need to achieve or create some dossier or resume of all of our achievements in order to get this faith,
1101.865641 1108.865641 to get this forgiveness, to be able to partake in the divine nature.
1108.865641 1115.865641 It is Christ's righteousness that provides it for us.
1115.865641 1116.865641 It's what you're saying.
1116.865641 1117.865641 It doesn't originate with us.
1117.865641 1118.865641 It is a gift.
1118.865641 1124.865641 The faith comes from the Lord, first of all, and is a gift to us.
1124.865641 1127.865641 And we partake of the faith.
1127.865641 1133.865641 I think the amplified version actually is helpful here because it explains this.
1133.865641 1139.865641 Second Peter 1 and 1 in the amplified version to those who have received and possess by God's will,
1139.865641 1147.865641 a precious faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
1147.865641 1154.865641 So it's by Christ's righteousness and God's will that we have this.
1154.865641 1156.865641 Yeah.
1156.865641 1159.865641 Our small group is also studying Romans right now.
1159.865641 1166.865641 So there's a lot in that concept of what is righteousness and what is Christ's righteousness.
1166.865641 1178.865641 But for us, it's his perfection is what, like you were saying, it's not something we earn or do or muster up.
1178.865641 1182.865641 His righteousness covers all that and is a gift to us.
1182.865641 1187.865641 And gives us access to all those promises that God has made.
1187.865641 1189.865641 So then my next question Sarah is.
1189.865641 1196.865641 So is faith the act of trusting in the promises or is it the promises themselves?
1196.865641 1198.865641 Yes.
1198.865641 1201.865641 That clears it up.
1201.865641 1203.865641 Yeah, clear as mud.
1203.865641 1210.865641 I mean, we're talking about faith as a noun and as a verb.
1210.865641 1212.865641 So our faith is a thing.
1212.865641 1214.865641 It's an idea.
1214.865641 1217.865641 It is a collection of our beliefs.
1217.865641 1224.865641 It is a collection of all the stories, the Hall of Faith listed in Hebrews, the faith of our fathers.
1224.865641 1227.865641 It is the promises of Jesus.
1227.865641 1234.865641 It is the stories in the Bible that are not stories, but they're true life stories.
1234.865641 1240.865641 It is all the words of Jesus. It is, it is a thing yet.
1240.865641 1243.865641 It is also the act of believing in that.
1243.865641 1250.865641 And for the purposes of our building blocks, the answer is kind of both.
1250.865641 1254.865641 Because our faith is living and active.
1254.865641 1263.865641 It is something that we need in order to make decisions and to live our lives every day.
1263.865641 1270.865641 But it's that faith in those promises that is our faith.
1270.865641 1271.865641 Yes.
1271.865641 1273.865641 It's both and.
1273.865641 1287.865641 The gift of faith is we're given these promises and we get to live in light of those and live in the light of believing them.
1287.865641 1288.865641 Yes.
1288.865641 1303.865641 I think about all the times that you see in popular culture with athletes or whoever, you know, I watch these interviews.
1303.865641 1309.865641 And the interviewers will sometimes say, you know, how's your faith play a role?
1309.865641 1312.865641 Your faith seems really important to you.
1312.865641 1317.865641 You know, the athlete will say, my faith is what's carrying me through.
1317.865641 1324.865641 And I always bristle a little bit at that because my natural reaction to that is, it's not your faith.
1324.865641 1326.865641 It's God Himself that's doing it.
1326.865641 1327.865641 Right.
1327.865641 1334.865641 But if we think about how you're saying it, if the faith is the promises, that is what's carrying you through.
1334.865641 1336.865641 And so it's both and.
1336.865641 1348.865641 To take it a step further, when we have faith in something, that something becomes.
1348.865641 1354.865641 The very act of having faith in something creates that faith.
1354.865641 1366.865641 So it's not only, yes, the promises and also the act of trusting in the promises, but those two kind of work together to create.
1366.865641 1371.865641 Sort of a third entity, which is like the faith itself.
1371.865641 1373.865641 I mean, like, yeah, it's.
1373.865641 1374.865641 Yeah.
1374.865641 1384.865641 And now we're making it so complicated.
1384.865641 1389.865641 Well, I think the simple side of that is faith is not compartmentalized.
1389.865641 1392.865641 It really isn't.
1392.865641 1399.865641 If we're talking about these building blocks, this is what is, like you were saying earlier, the basis for our decision making, it's pervasive in all of our life.
1399.865641 1402.865641 And so of course, it's going to be in a lot of different things.
1402.865641 1404.865641 So I'm standing on the promises of God.
1404.865641 1405.865641 Yes, I do.
1405.865641 1406.865641 Yeah.
1406.865641 1411.865641 Standing, standing, standing on the promises of God reminds me that that's actually not our him.
1411.865641 1414.865641 I know for this episode, but it just, it just came to mind.
1414.865641 1415.865641 Applicable.
1415.865641 1417.865641 Yeah, certainly is.
1417.865641 1421.865641 May we walk through what this looked like for Peter.
1421.865641 1424.865641 He was writing all this stuff for us.
1424.865641 1425.865641 So who was Peter?
1425.865641 1436.865641 Well, Peter was, he started his fisherman, right, and he was called by Jesus to leave his fishing behind and follow him and he did.
1436.865641 1438.865641 I mean, that was a leap of faith.
1438.865641 1439.865641 Yeah.
1439.865641 1440.865641 Yeah.
1440.865641 1451.865641 And clearly, there was something about Jesus that caused, well, not only Peter, but other people too, to leave everything behind.
1451.865641 1455.865641 Yeah, to learn and be with him.
1455.865641 1458.865641 But then it wasn't a perfect walk.
1458.865641 1459.865641 No.
1459.865641 1461.865641 It certainly wasn't.
1461.865641 1463.865641 He certainly wrestled with his faith, right?
1463.865641 1466.865641 And he fell down, but he got back up again.
1466.865641 1468.865641 I mean, I just think of the different stories.
1468.865641 1472.865641 Like, let's just fast forward right to the Passion Week.
1472.865641 1474.865641 So Jesus goes to Gethsemane to
1474.865641 1475.865641 Pray, right?
1475.865641 1478.865641 This is after the last supper.
1478.865641 1480.865641 Well, they didn't know it was last supper.
1480.865641 1484.865641 This is after they celebrated the Passover for their praying in the garden.
1484.865641 1488.865641 And, well, Peter fell asleep.
1488.865641 1489.865641 I think it was Peter and James.
1489.865641 1490.865641 I think they all did.
1490.865641 1491.865641 They all fell asleep.
1491.865641 1492.865641 Yeah.
1492.865641 1494.865641 Peter fell asleep, along with the other disciples.
1494.865641 1496.865641 Jesus asked them to stay up and pray and they couldn't do it.
1496.865641 1497.865641 They couldn't do it.
1497.865641 1498.865641 So there we go.
1498.865641 1501.865641 That had to feel not great if you were Jesus.
1501.865641 1507.865641 And then when they do come to arrest him, Peter gets his sword out and cuts off the guy's ear.
1507.865641 1509.865641 You know, which Jesus had told him not to do.
1509.865641 1510.865641 Yeah.
1510.865641 1513.865641 Thinking he's defending Jesus, right?
1513.865641 1515.865641 Thinking he's doing the right thing.
1515.865641 1516.865641 Yeah.
1516.865641 1517.865641 But he wasn't.
1517.865641 1518.865641 He wasn't.
1518.865641 1519.865641 No.
1519.865641 1520.865641 No.
1520.865641 1527.865641 And then one of the most heartbreaking, the incident in the courtyard with the betrayal, which
1527.865641 1531.865641 Jesus told them that was going to happen.
1531.865641 1533.865641 And he's like, no, no, no.
1533.865641 1538.865641 And Jesus, remember, this is one of my favorite verses of the Bible.
1538.865641 1540.865641 Jesus says, Simon, Simon.
1540.865641 1546.865641 The devil has requested to sift you like we but I have prayed for you.
1546.865641 1550.865641 And when you're through it, you turn and strengthen your brother.
1550.865641 1552.865641 And that's exactly what happened.
1552.865641 1557.865641 Jesus was in ear shot.
1557.865641 1561.865641 He heard Peter denying Peter denying that he knew him.
1561.865641 1565.865641 In one version, it says that he looked at him.
1565.865641 1572.865641 And can you imagine like, how could you even face Jesus if you were Peter?
1572.865641 1575.865641 But I mean, this is the guy that's writing to us right now.
1575.865641 1577.865641 This is the guy that's telling us.
1577.865641 1584.865641 And but Jesus gave him the opportunity on the beach that day over the fire.
1584.865641 1588.865641 Hey, do you love me?
1588.865641 1590.865641 Peter said, yes, I love you.
1590.865641 1593.865641 Jesus said, feed my sheep.
1593.865641 1599.865641 And on that rock, Jesus built his church.
1599.865641 1609.865641 And to me, having that heart to heart, close relationship with Jesus
1609.865641 1612.865641 through all the ups and downs of the ministry, I mean, you've seen so much.
1612.865641 1614.865641 You've seen so much.
1614.865641 1617.865641 And then to betray him.
1617.865641 1631.865641 But to have him forgive you in such a way, three times, he asked Peter, do you love me?
1631.865641 1638.865641 And Peter was able to say, yes, for every one of the times he had initially betrayed him.
1638.865641 1650.865641 And the poetry in that, the beauty of that, the restoration in that has always just touched my heart so much.
1650.865641 1663.865641 And it's on that that Peter is writing to us that faith that he had, I mean,
1663.865641 1666.865641 that's a precious faith, man.
1666.865641 1670.865641 I always appreciated that the final time Jesus asks him, do you love me?
1670.865641 1672.865641 Peter says, you know that I love you.
1672.865641 1673.865641 Yeah.
1673.865641 1680.865641 And it goes back to what we were talking about earlier that that knowledge and that relationship
1680.865641 1684.865641 is such a key part of this faith we've been given.
1684.865641 1689.865641 And that Peter had the confidence to say that in the midst of this incredibly,
1689.865641 1696.865641 humiliating in a good way, situation, yes, which actually brings me right back to first John again.
1696.865641 1705.865641 And first John 3 verse 19, it says, by this, we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him.
1705.865641 1710.865641 For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and he knows everything.
1710.865641 1712.865641 There's no shame.
1712.865641 1713.865641 Yeah.
1713.865641 1722.865641 God knows everything. So even when our heart is like, eh Sarah, Mary Beth, he really screwed that one up.
1722.865641 1724.865641 No, there's no shame.
1724.865641 1736.865641 And so both John and Peter knew that firsthand through their experience with Christ that there would be forgiveness,
1736.865641 1744.865641 that there would be restoration and that he knew that they loved him and they knew that he loved them.
1744.865641 1748.865641 And the amazing thing is we share that same faith.
1748.865641 1753.865641 It is not a different faith than what the disciples had.
1753.865641 1759.865641 Yes, they saw Jesus in the flesh, but the faith that they were given is the same faith that is given to us.
1759.865641 1761.865641 The same promises.
1761.865641 1774.865641 That's right. To those who have received and possessed by God's will, a precious faith of the same kind as ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ.
1774.865641 1777.865641 Oh, thanks be to God.
1777.865641 1791.865641 When I think about precious faith and lives of the apostles of Peter, these men gave their lives.
1791.865641 1795.865641 Many people have given their lives for this faith.
1795.865641 1808.865641 I mean, we think of ourselves as making sacrifice, giving part of our lives to this podcast, for example, many of you listening will have given and sacrifice part of your life in the service of God's kingdom.
1808.865641 1814.865641 Some of you listening may have made some very deep sacrifices.
1814.865641 1826.865641 Maybe you've spent years on a mission field, maybe you've suffered who knows what kind of loss or what kind of grief in the service of the kingdom of God.
1826.865641 1843.865641 But I do think of that good old hymn, Mary Beth, faith of our fathers and it did not necessarily surprise us to learn that the original lyrics to the song were faith of our martyrs.
1843.865641 1857.865641 Yeah, we both grew up with this hymn and I didn't really know until this past week when you brought this up that the original words instead of faith of our fathers living still was faith of the martyrs living still.
1857.865641 1868.865641 And so what can this him teach us about this faith that has been worth so many dying for the cause of Christ?
1868.865641 1886.865641 I think about even just the last decade, it's happening in lots of places still around the world and we're protected from a lot of that in the United States, but it is still happening and should we share the words of this hymn.
1886.865641 1898.865641 Faith of the martyrs living still in spite of dungeon fire and sword oh how our hearts beat high with joy when air we hear that glorious word.
1898.865641 1905.865641 Faith of the martyrs holy faith we will be true to thee till death.
1905.865641 1923.865641 The martyrs chained in prison cells were still in heart and conscience free and blessed would be their children's fate if they like them should die for thee. faith of the martyrs holy faith we will be true to thee till death.
1923.865641 1942.865641 Faith of the martyrs we will love both friend and foe in all our strife and preach thee too as love knows how by saving word and faithful life faith of the martyrs holy faith we will be true to thee till death.
1942.865641 1955.865641 Certainly changes the hymn for me with those lyrics and those lyrics the verses are pretty much the same in the version that I sang growing up but it just never really hit me.
1955.865641 1978.865641 Yeah I think about that line we will be true to thee till death I mean that is true for all of us regardless of how our death comes whether it's natural causes whether it's something more tragic we are still true to our faith until our earthly death.
1978.865641 2002.865641 The same speaks to the value of this faith that is worth dying for it is worth dungeon fire sword because our hearts beat high with joy that this faith in these promises that we are given in who Christ is.
2002.865641 2015.865641 I mean I think of other scripture all of this pales and comparison to the glory of knowing Christ and something that is precious and dear.
2015.865641 2026.865641 Typically something that has a very high value and what is more valuable than the life of a human being.
2026.865641 2041.865641 And so to pay for faith with a human life that's that is a precious precious thing.
2041.865641 2054.865641 May we not take it for granted how our hearts beat high with joy whenever we hear that glorious word.
2054.865641 2061.407704 I'm Sarah and I'm Mary Beth and this is trustworthy.