Let us pray. Father, we thank You. We thank You for the opportunity to be gathered here, to worship You. Thank You for the grace You've bestowed upon us to be called, Children of God.
We return our glory to You. And we pray that You open our highs and His of understanding. To see You in Your Word, this morning, and we pray, We give You the wisdom to apply everything You have spoken to Your Spirit this morning into our lives. So that at the end of the day, only Your name will be glorified.
In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen. This morning, it's not a popular topic, but it's something that caught my attention from one of my personal Bible reading. So is that from me?
I read the book of 1st Peter, chapter 1, and it was so amazing. Peter was talking to God's chosen people. Peter was talking to God's chosen people. And another Russian called them pilgrims of dispassion, you know, living as foreigners in the provinces of hunters, Galicia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Pithinia.
And don't ask me where all those places are, because I'm not that good with your Grazie. But here are the highlights of what Peter wrote to them. You remind them that as a result of the obedience to God, they have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. And it is my great mercy that they have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from there.
And when I had to rekindle the eternal hope through the works of Jesus Christ and encourage them to stand firm through many trials that will come their way. And it reminded them of priceless inheritance that awaits them in heaven, in very many focus. And also the salvation of the soul as a reward for trusting Jesus Christ. And from the West of Thothin, in the Grazie chapter of 25, it gave them guidelines not to lose sight, not to remain focused, as those of those in people in that foreign land.
And he said, think slowly and exercise self-control, keep looking forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. You are a new creator. Don't live back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desire. And lastly, he said, love each other deeply.
And that means the most sure sincere love for each other. The chapter really blessed me and it gave me a lot of things to think about as I believe about myself. And I got to a particular verse of that chapter and I couldn't proceed. Maybe because I understand what temporary residents mean as I'm immigrant myself.
You will all agree with me that temporary resident is an immigration town. Even though I'm not an immigration consultant and I'm not aspiring to be one, but I was amazed when I got hooked on that time and I started pondering on it as a believer myself. It says, I remember that the evolutionary father, the oomph, you pray, has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do.
So you must live in a reverend fear of him during your time here as temporary residents. That's our newly-evined translation, which I'm going to say I agree with. And I went to NSB, that version was introduced to me by a relative in my do not and I love it as well. And NSB stressed it further and says, if you address as further the one who impassionately judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on heart.
And he says, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear. And I begin to think about it, temporary resident. What does the temporary resident mean? I went to Wikipedia and it helped me to gather my thoughts, it gave me a meaning.
It says it's a foreign national grantee to stay in the country for a certain length of time. And I started thinking, I used to be a temporary resident myself and I know that as a temporary resident, something is very critical and that's your length of time, your duration in that country. Because you have to tie everything you intended to do in that country into that time. And I know that it is extendable.
You know, the time rides to the immigration people and tell them, like, I'm not going to be able to finish this. Can you extend this for me? And if it's for something that is doable, yes, they can. But this time around, I talk much about that.
Another temporary resident, a believer, we don't have that. The Bible says, in Hebrew, chapter 9, verse 27, and just as each person is appointed to die once, after that comes judgment. That makes it slightly different from what we used to know as temporary resident in this world. We are all appointed to leave and die once.
And I began to think more about this as a believer. What does this mean to me? And I could stretch out four points. Now, I would like to share with you this morning.
As a temporary resident, it means we are not home yet. This world is not our home. We have a couple of verses in John 14, verse 1 to 3, John 15, verse 19. It also means that we are in this world for a moment.
We are time bound. When I was younger, I never know that we are time bound. It seems the world is going to keep going forever. I was like, I keep getting older.
It's getting dawn on me. That's truly, it's time bound. This means that we must prioritize our time here on Earth. It's time bound.
We have to choose our priorities well. And lastly, to me, it means we cannot conform to the pattern of this world. We are different. So I'm going to put a couple of those verses for us to read together.
And we are not home yet. Jesus Christ, speaking to his disciples, is said in John 14, from verse 1 to 4. He says, don't let your heart be troubled. Trust in God and trust also in me.
There is more than enough room in my Father's room. If this were not so, I have told you that I'm going to prepare this for you. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know the way to where I'm going.
No, we don't know Lord, to what's said. We have no idea where you are going. So how can we know the way? Jesus told me, I am the way, the truth and the life.
No one can come to the Father except through me. I will come and get you so that you will always be with me where I am. Isn't that the goal of every believer? Jesus is preparing the place for you and I in his Father's house.
And he's waiting for you there. When he is here, we are not home here. No matter how beautiful he looks around you, we are not home. John 15 says, if the world hates you, remember that it hated me first, the world will love you as one of its own if you belong to you.
But you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world so it hates you. This particular verse became so rigid to me when I got to Canada, where everything is good. See what you mentioned, Jesus Christ.
It's not about me, it's just about Jesus Christ to me. And that makes you think that you're not of this world. There's something special about you. This means we are in this world for a moment.
One of our favorite in here in not book Bible Chapel is a, I'm going to say I'm going to read the first verse. We are for a moment you are forever. Lot of the ages, God before time. We are a vapor, you are eternal.
Love everlasting, raining on high. In first Peter, chapter 1 verse 23, 25, he says, for you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly hang. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living world of God. As the scripture says, people are like grass.
Their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass with us and the flower fades, but the world of the Lord remains forever. And that's what is good news that was preached to you, but not to a life that will quickly hang. And what does that mean?
Regardless of the number of years you and I spend on this earth. It is reminding us that, sorry, it hangs out quickly. You know, compared to the life that God promised us, which is going to last forever. 100 years, 200 years, 800 years, if you are challenged, the Bible says it's handed quickly.
There's another life that lasts forever and it's from God and it's calling nothing to eat. Everything. James 4 verse 13 to 14. He says, look here, you will say today or tomorrow we are going to a certain time and we will stay there for a year.
We will do business there and make a profit. How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog. It's a little while, it's air a little while, then it's gone.
Another Russian says, call it a Vipo. It shows how fast it can be. Eclaises, three of us wanted to say is what? Everything that's a season, a time for every activity on the earth.
A time to be born and a time to die. All this fuss is keeps reminding us that we are not here forever. So now that we know what you will pay attention to, he says, we must prioritize our time here on earth what our given priorities do. Jesus Christ in Mark 8 verse 31 to 37, he says, then Jesus began to tell the son that the son of man must suffer many terrible things and be rejected by the elders, the leading priest, and the teachers of religious law.
It will be killed, but three days later, he will rise from the dead. As he talked about these open-legious disciples, Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples. Then he reprimanded Peter, get away from me, Satan, he said.
You are sent in merely from human point of view, not from God. Then calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross and follow me. If you try to hang onto your life, you will lose it. That sounds paradoxical.
If I'm hanging onto my life, I think I should have it. But Jesus Christ, I know that's not the way it works. And it's going to go. If you hang onto your life, you will lose it.
But if you give up your life for my sick and for the sake of the good news, you will save it. And the question follows it, the sound rhetorical says, and what do you benefit if you gain the old world but lose your own soul? Is anything what more than your soul? I believe this is a question we believe to carry with ourselves everywhere we go.
It should be like a reminder. Sometimes in this world, we get distracted. Get distracted with a lot of activities, bills, a lot of things. But this is Jesus Christ has another question.
Is anything what more than your soul? And he says, if anyone is ashamed of me and my message in this adult trust and simple days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of their testing when it returns in the glory of his father with the whole angels. John 1 John 2 verse 15, it says, do not love this world, nor the things it offers you. For when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father and you.
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure. A craving for everything we see and pride in our achievements and for sessions. These are not from the Father, both from this world. And this world is fading away along with everything that people crave.
What anyone who does what this is God will leave forever. And this world is fading away. That means it's not getting better. There are a couple of things that have seen around that make me feel like, wow, and things get better.
With the way things are changing in this world we live now. But by what's on Sunday's words now is fading away. It's fading away. It's time we think through that and ask ourselves, we side of the world, side of God.
This also means that we cannot conform to the pattern of this world. There is a pattern in this world. And first Corinthians chapter 2, for there was a brief insight on wisdom of this world, how they think. As believers, we are not allowed to think of it.
And it said in Romans chapter 12 verse 1 to 3 as well, therefore I hold you brothers and sisters in view of God's messy. To offer your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God, this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, is good, pleasing and perfect will.
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you, do not think of yourself more highly than you thought. But rather think of yourself with sober judgments in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by renewing of your mind. The freedom one said that, Bible is not for information.
It said it's for transformation. We can only renew our mind with what God in the Bible. One thing about at least wisdom is the rate at which it flocked to its. What used to be very well accepted 10 years ago is now in doubt.
It's only word of God that stays forever. Colossians 3 verse 1 to 3 says, Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven. Fix it. We are Christ's seats in place of honor at God's right hand.
Think about the things of heaven and not things of earth. For you died to this life and your real life is hidden with Christ and God. And when Christ who is your life is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all its glory. Our thinking pattern, let's fix it, the things of heaven.
There's a pattern of which these world things. We deliver and not allow to think that way. That leads me to think about God's priority for our souls. I take a quick check on events of creation listed in Genesis from chapter 1.
And when I got to the verse 1, it said, And everything created was beautiful. Everything. But it's one thing God created. That it doesn't joke with his mind.
It loaves us so much that it took its personnel upon himself to come in form of human being to this world, to save us from snail death. John 4 John chapter 4 verse 9 to 10 says, God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only son into the world. So that we might have eternal life through him. The sense is this is real love.
Brother John shared with us and the community on this morning and we got me thinking loneliness of Jesus Christ in that process of saving me. That's real love. Not that we love God, but that he loved us. And sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
He sent his son as a sacrifice. I am a father as well and I love my two beautiful daughters. I don't think I'm going to send one of them to save anybody. But this is how loving this father is.
It took it past now. And Romans 8 verse 32 says, Since it did not spare his own son, it didn't spare his own son for what? For you and for me. But give him up for us all.
Once he also gives us everything else, he was so deliberate. John 3 verse 16, that's a popular one. He says, For this is how God loved the world. And when they say the world, God is not discriminating.
The world means the world. Everyone in this world. This is how God loves us. And he said, It gave his one and only son.
So that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. If you are listening to me this morning, and you are contemplating within your mind, like, Is this a real thing? Look, God is not judging you.
He's interested so much in saving you only if you would take that step forward. And like some people, in 2nd Peter 3 verse 9, they keep asking when is it coming? Is it even real? Is it even coming?
Is it a fiction? What you must not forget this one thing? Dear friends, a day is like a thousand years to the Lord and a thousand years like a day. The Lord isn't really being slow about his promise as some people think.
No, it's being patient for your sick, for my sick. It's very subtle, well, it's being patient. It does not want everyone to be destroyed. No one, everyone to be destroyed.
No, but it wants everyone to repent. God's priority for us all is so strong. And it's not a joke. It doesn't want the devil to have the last laugh.
It loves us as a student and he wants to be with us forever. It's been patient. So in my deep thought, I talked to myself by thinking about the benefits that comes with aligning my own priority. In my own mind, with God's priority, there are lots of benefits.
But I can only think about 3 for now. The first one is rest. Rest. I love rest.
I mean, who doesn't love resting kind of that anyway? I love rest. April 4, verse 6 to 11 says, So God's rest is there for people to enter. But those who first heard this good news failed to enter because the disobeyed God in Romans chapter 5, verse 19 says, Because one person disobeyed God, many become sinners.
And because one person obeyed God, many will be saved. Many will be made righteous. So God said another time for entering his rest. And the time is today.
God announced this through David, much later in the words already quoted today, when you hear his voice, don't hide in your heart. Now, if Joshua had succeeded in giving them this rest, God will not have spoken about another day of rest till come. So there is a special rest waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God's rest, have rested from their levers, just as God did after creating the world.
So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobeyed God as the people of Israel did, we will fall. I am thankful for the fact that God has not hidden himself from us. He has made everything plain to us, only if we are willing, particularly look at it.
Matthew 11 verse 28 to 29, it says, Then Jesus said, come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy bodies, and I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the body I give you is light.
Rest, I love rest. But those who first heard this good news fails to enter because it is so big. Good news is not the another Bible translation. We have good news translation as well.
But good news is a proclamation of forgiveness of sins. And sonship with God restored through Jesus Christ. That's good news. You can define this good news without the works, without mentioning the works of Jesus Christ.
What it did to restore us back to our Father, our eriscators from the snare of death. It means remission of sins and reconciliation with God. Good news. So are you a convinced sinner?
Heavy leading with guilt. If you are listening to me and you are thinking about this, there's a solution. I use the idea of delivering every day to establish your own righteousness. I can work it out myself.
I can work it out myself. Rest. Jesus Christ has done that for you. All you need to do is to key into that.
Jesus Christ is inviting all to come to Him. It is holy in His presence, lies rest for our soul. It is the gospel call, whoever will let Him call. This is how I stumbled upon when I first got to Canada from Bocky.
It says, taste half of what it works. It's a cough mixture. Taste half of what it works. So I had cold one of those days and I bought one.
I truly taste half what I walked. But Psalm 38, sorry, 24 verse 8 says taste and see that the Lord is good. Hold the joys of those who take refuge in Him. Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Will you be willing to have a taste of this today? It's calling you, if you are listening as a sinner, it's calling you. He wants to have a relationship with you. He's your father.
La Mementation 3 verse 25 to 28 says, The Lord is good to those who depend on Him, to those who search for Him. So it is good to wait quietly for the salvation from God. And it is good for people to submit at any age to the yoke of His discipline. It's not too late.
I appreciate the works of God in life of people that already know this. And I pray that we will all hand well in Jesus' name. But if you are listening and you just dialed in your mind, it's Jesus Christ the right thing. I can tell you this morning.
Jesus Christ is the right way to follow. I mean, who gives you a benefit of following Him? And this is one of them, rest. Don't struggle with your sin any longer after the price.
Just come. Let's become friends. Another benefit that came into my mind is hope. I have not a hold, but I've lived in this world in little years of mine to realize that you need hope to live in this world.
We are hopeful of something in our lives. If you are students, you are hopeful of finishing your studies to get a good job. You have that dream in your mind. If you are a girl, you have that dream to get married, someone you love.
It's your mind, the same thing to a girl you love to have at home. It's a dream. And we are hopeful of that. And so many, like you are just hopeful for something in this world.
Jesus said, in 1st Peter 1 verse 3 to 5, this is Peter talking and encouraging the believers, the gods, children and people in those five frequencies. And I love the way he encouraged them. He said, oh, for us to go out and fight our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
Now we live with great expectation and we have a priceless inheritance. An inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive the salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. Priceless inheritance, safe and secured.
Beyond the reach of change and decay, it's only God that can guarantee that for you. And that's what Peter is saying here. That's why inheritance, if we put our hope in God. 1st Peter 1 verse 8 says, you love him even though you have never seen him.
Though you do not see him now, you trust him and you rejoice with the glorious inexpressibility. Your reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. That's a promise we should all king into. There's a reward for trusting him and that's the salvation of our souls.
Collisions 1 verse 27, I am glad when I suffer for you in my body. This is all talking. For I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church. God has given me the responsibility of seven discharge by proclaiming his entire message to you.
This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past. But now it has been revealed to God's people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Jesus Christ are for you, Gentiles, who, and this is the secret, Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory.
And this is the secret, Christ lives in you. And because of that, we are assured of sharing his glory. And the third one, which is the last one, is wisdom. Brother David Hanson spoke about the book of Proverb last week and it was an high opener for me.
Thank you for sharing about that. Proverb chapter 4 verse 7 to 9, that's in K. The Russian says wisdom is the principle of the team. Therefore get wisdom.
And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her and she will promote you. She will bring you honor when you embrace her. She will place on your head and hornament of grace.
A crown of glory she will deliver to you. A crown of glory she will deliver to you. James chapter 1 verse 5 to 7 makes us realize that if you lack wisdom, you can prefer it. It says if you need wisdom, ask our generous God and it will give it to you.
It will not review you for asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that your fate isn't God alone. Do not worry for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.
Their loyalty is divided between God and the world and they are unstable in everything they do. Solutions to verse 1 to 3 tells us it gave us a snippet of where we can find all the eating treasures of wisdom and knowledge. And it says, I want you to know how much I have organized for you. Paul again talking.
And for the Church of Laude this year and for many other believers who have never met me personally. I want them to be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of law. I want them to have complete confidence that it understands God's mysterious plan which is Christ Himself. In Him, like eating all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
First Corinthians chapter 1 verse 24 to 25 calls Christ the wisdom of God Himself. Now, if you will be willing to put your hope in God, to act on the good news you've heard, these are the promises that comes after. Rest, hope and wisdom. If you will agree with me, you need wisdom in this life.
It navigates the many trials that comes away as believers in this life. Now, this is a moment of reflection. As a believer, maybe it's time to look inwardly. How do you view yourself?
Do you truly view yourself as a temporary resident on hurt? Looking ahead to the tenor moment we got, or are you busy setting up here in this world by pursuing things that don't last? I put emphasis on that you because I can't answer for you, that you is talking to me as well. It's a personal thing.
I can't answer for my wife, you can't answer for me. Whatever I can answer for others, it's a personal thing. It's time we sit down and shine light on various aspects of our lives. Home, walk, career, relationships, habits, and pretty good to reveal to us where we are running after the world instead of him.
Let us pray. If I'd like to thank you for the opportunity to listen to your work this morning, we pray that you help us to key into this grace. We want that Jesus Christ made available for us on the cross of cover by shedding his blood, went through humiliation, all because of us. We pray that you touch the heart of every sinner that is listening to this message, and you draw them close to you so that they can enjoy those beautiful things you have and suffer them.
And we pray as believers that you help us to stand firm and remain focused on this journey so that we can hang well and share with you that lovely eternal moment. As we go out this week, we pray you bless us, all our steps, cause a light to shine upon us and everything we do. In Jesus' mighty name I pray, amen.