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[Music] so well good morning and welcome to waterford bible church or good afternoon or good evening whenever you choose to tune in and join with us but welcome it's good to gather with our extended church family wherever you might be things continue on in our uncertain world but our god is certain our god is faithful and we are here to worship and to pray and to sing praise to god and to look to his word no commercials no announcements today and so let's just move to our call to worship therefore if anyone is in christ he is a new creation the old has passed away behold the new has come as far as the east is from the west so far has he removed our transgressions from us do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your minds that by testing you may discern what is the will of god what is good and acceptable and perfect let's continue in a time of worship [Music] salvation [Music] [Applause] this is my story this is my song [Music] [Applause] [Music] this is my story this is [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] whispers of love this is my story this is [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] is [Music] this is my story [Music] this is my story this is my song raising my say [Music] to sing my grace [Music] is [Music] set me free now my soul [Music] [Music] is come on [Music] peace [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] from [Music] bless me [Music] is our busy [Music] wherever [Music] wherever [Music] i will fall wherever you may be [Music] is [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh i have made the choice to listen to your [Music] will voice [Music] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] wherever ancient words will guide us [Music] [Music] faithful words [Music] [Applause] [Music] ancient words [Music] we have come with open hearts every day these words we have come with open hearts forever we have heard [Music] is [Music] was [Music] [Applause] god's grace that is praise that is greater yes grace and cold points to the refugees [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] praise god's grace grace that is you that are longing to see this moment is [Music] is [Music] in christ alone my hope is found he is [Music] through the fiercest [Music] [Music] alone he [Music] fullness of god is [Music] [Music] foreign [Music] is glorious day up from the grave [Music] [Applause] jesus commands my destiny [Music] he returns or calls me [Music] let's gather together for a time of prayer let's pray father we thank you for this day we thank you that in spite of all the uncertainties in our world we have the freedom to pause wherever we might be to shut out the noise and the confusion and the uncertainties of world and be quieted in your presence father we come with confidence and assurance we come with a sense of peace knowing that you are attentive and eager to hear and move in every situation according to your perfect will we come eager to enter your presence and just just draw close to you and rest in you and be reminded of your love and your power and your authority father we thank you that you loved us so much that you sent your son into the world to redeem us we thank you that you loved us so much that you moved upon our hearts through your holy spirit and drew us to the point where we had to make a decision and that we chose to come to you and follow after you and allow you to move in our lives other many many situations are unfolding in our world and in our community we think of many families that are grieving the loss of loved ones at this time father for some families that are grieving because a family member is missing and they don't know where they are they don't know what has happened to them we pray for these situations for all those involved for the heartache and the uncertainty we ask that you would intervene and bring about resolution and some sort of a a sense of direction a sense of peace if that be be possible father for those facing health issues right now undergoing treatments or awaiting surgeries we ask for a sense of peace there as well we know that you are the great physician that your word tells us that you knit us together in our mother's womb that because of you we are fearfully and wonderfully made father we think of many that are struggling financially some have lost their jobs others have had their hours cut or facing financial hardship in another form and we know that every good and perfect gift comes from above comes from you and we ask that you would enable those who are struggling to receive the resources they need to to meet their needs to see their needs surpassed and when that happens as it happens let them be quick to give you the praise and the glory for what you have accomplished in their lives father we pray for our world leaders there's such such division such animosity and anger between some of our leaders at this point in time so many different opinions and thoughts and accusations father our world is so far from what you intended and we pray that you would move in a mighty way that you would bring these leaders to their knees that you would bring them to the point where they realize that apart from calling out to you and repenting and seeking your intervention there's no hope of seeing this mass corrected and yet as we are humbled before you there's no limit to what you will accomplish father remind each one of us to pray for those in authority over us even though we may not agree with them who may not even like who they are how they how they do their job but we're still called to pray for them and to show respect to them and to remember that you've allowed them to be in these positions of authority father for our communities as well we know that we have many in our church family and our community that are elderly that are their health isn't good and they're they're staying home because they're anxious about being out in public father we thank you that you are the god of all peace we pray for those that are really struggling with anxiety right now that you would speak peace into their hearts that they would sense your presence with them that they would realize that you continue to watch over them and come equip them and empower them father for us as a church family show us how we might be able to come alongside those that are alone and be a support a phone call an email a doorstep visit whatever is suitable just to continue to build one another up as the body of believers father we thank you for the privilege of being a part of your family the privilege of being a part of this body we know was waterford community church water for bible church and we thank you father that we have the privilege of being your children father we ask that you would continue to remain with us that you would watch over us that as we look to your word this morning as we study it and seek to apply it that only those things that are of you that are in line with your word and are inspired by your spirit would go forward and be heard and understood we pray all these things in jesus name amen well one day two friends bumped into one another when they were walking downtown and and one of the friends looked very sad almost on the verge of tears and the other friend said hey my friend you you look really upset what's wrong well the sad fellow said well let me tell you three weeks ago my uncle died he was my favorite uncle and he left me fifty thousand dollars well the other man replied i can understand you being upset if he was your favorite uncle but hey an inheritance of fifty thousand dollars that should raise your spirits the man goes hold on hold on he says i'm just getting started he said then two weeks ago he said a cousin that i never met kicked the bucket and and he left me 95 000. the other man has said well i'm really sorry for your loss but wow that's another amazing gain for you and the man continued oh i'm not done yet he says last week my grandfather died and i've inherited almost a million dollars for his estate and the other man was a standard he said let me get this right three weeks ago you got fifty thousand dollars two weeks ago you got ninety five thousand dollars last week you got close to a million dollars so why are you so sad well the sad man replied well so far this week i haven't inherited a single penny isn't that how an inheritance works whatever we get we're wanting more an inheritance can be a strange thing it can be a source of anticipation and joy or division and disappointment many a family has been destroyed based on who did or who did not receive an inheritance this morning we return again to our study of the old testament book of joshua over the past weeks we've witnessed joshua from his his time of being called forward following the death of moses the victories the defeats the times of faithfulness the times of arrogance and independence well now the time has finally arrived for god's people the israelites to receive their inheritance the time had come for the distribution of the promised land and as we come to the 13th chapter of joshua we see that the first half of joshua's mission is complete he and his armies empowered by almighty god have conquered their enemies and taken control of the cities that were required the time has now arrived for the second portion of his commission and this is requiring him to divide the land so that each tribe will receive their appointed inheritance and by claiming their inheritance they are opening the door to accept and enjoy all that almighty god has promised them and it's interesting to note that in in a package of nine chapters of the book of joshua the word inheritance is used 50 times and it's important to understand that the jewish people inherited the land they didn't win it in some battle they didn't purchase it in some business transaction rather it was an inheritance given to them by their heavenly father because remember everything the land and everything in it belongs to god he has simply given it as a gift as an inheritance to the jews and god did this with one simple expectation they were uncalled to invite her to dwell in the land and live in obedience to god's will and serve him faithfully and the land would remain theirs they were called to worship him and serve him and in doing so god would be blessed and their farms would be protective protect productive and they would live at peace with their neighbors but as we know they didn't do that for very long it wasn't long until they messed up and as we look down to the eighth chapter of joshua we find we looked at this a few weeks back we find that time when when joshua and his people entered into this covenant with god and it was that time when they made this this covenant talked about blessings and curses based on their obedience or their disobedience and that act that commitment was known as the palestine palestinian or palestinian palestinian covenant and it's important to remember that the israelites ownership of the land came about because god blessed them with it he allowed it to be their inheritance but possessing enjoying and staying on that same land hinged on their submission and obedience to god's word and his will and if you know your old testament history some of you do i'm sure you'll recall that it wasn't too many years later that israel started to disobey the law and they defiled the land and god had to act and in such a way and they were forced off the land and forced to babylon well if we look to the second verse of chapter 14 we get a little glimpse of how the territories are to be assigned verse two it says their inheritance was by lot just as the lord had commanded by the hand of moses for the nine and one half tribes and then if we look down to back to in verse 13 and then it gives us all the details and it goes on and on for several chapters talking about each tribe or each group of tribes and what property they got and why they got it and all the boundaries and everything but rather than belabor this whole process of of what tribes were assigned to what location i want to pause for just a moment and ask a question what was god's reason for distributing the land to these tribes of israel why did god do it the answer is rather simple but it's overlooked sometimes we've already touched on is briefly the distribution of the land to the israelites was a time when they received their inheritance from god and it's this idea of an inheritance that i want us to focus on today now some might look to the scriptures and think well an inheritance from god was only possible in old testament times their great inheritance came about for after years of being delivered from the bondage of egypt and then all the travel and then settled in the promised land and finally they received their inheritance all that's old testament a new testament christian there is no inheritance right but if we think that we're missing out on something very important because this idea of an inheritance is is also central to who we are as christians and the term inheritance is also found in the first letter of peter and it's interesting inheritance as we understand it generally speaks of wealth or possession passed down as a legacy someone receives after a person's death in general in the english language it simply means yes something that is received something you receive following a death but interesting that same word in the greek simply means a lot that was passed on to you it doesn't require that any death took place and simply something that was passed on to you and it's interesting that that's the same word that we find in first peter it's the same word that we find also in joshua 13 when when god speaks of the inheritance for the israelites you see there too we find almighty god inheriting providing an inheritance for his people god's people they're they're the inheritor or the the benefactor god hadn't died he was still fully alive but he passed on he gave this inheritance to his children well if you have your bibles there turn with me to first peter chapter one and we want to see today what we can learn about this idea of our inheritance as new testament christians as we come to this portion of scripture we're reminded that the author of this letter is none other than peter the apostle the one who often got ahead of himself who spoke without thinking who was known for making promises he couldn't keep but he was also known as a man who was passionate for following christ and for sharing the gospel and this letter is believed to have been written about 60 years after jesus death and resurrection and and peter wrote this letter as a source of encouragement and a source of exhortation to stand firm in faith even and especially in the face of opposition and this letter was written at a time when those early christians were being dispersed amongst the regions and their their lives were in jeopardy so they understood persecution they understood hardship well peter begins this letter with a simple acknowledgement of the recipients and their common bond as followers of christ and he has that little introduction at the start and then we need to unpack these next few verses bit by bit to come to a clear and thorough understanding of what the inheritance we have as followers of christ peter begins with a doxology of sorts of doxology as a hymn of praise blessed be to the god the father of our lord jesus christ we find that sort of an introduction in many of our writings in the new testament but then then we move on to the really the meat of what peter's getting to he says according to his great mercy so we know that whatever is going to happen next whatever is going to be explained next whatever's going to be put in print after that is brought about because of the mercy of god see almighty god our heavenly father is motivated by mercy he doesn't move he doesn't act he doesn't bring about things based on guilt or desire to manipulate or control people our god doesn't offer an inheritance based on our our merit because we have none he doesn't offer our inheritance because we're so wonderful and lovely and faithful because apart from god's intervention and christ's death we humans have nothing lovable or or faithful or favorable to to present before god see almighty god offers us an inheritance based solely on his mercy according to his great mercy he has caused us to be born again here we find peter use a term a statement that is similar to the one jesus used when he had his encounter with nicodemus now each one of us has a physical birth date that's the day when we made our earthly appearance and when we're little it's exciting and when we're in our teens it's wonderful because we're almost an adult then we get to a certain age where we don't really want to celebrate our birthday and then you get to a certain age where it's exciting that you're still here and we celebrate again so we all know about our birth date but there's another date that we need to have as well we need to have a birth date as a child of god you see to be a recipient of of the promise of god's inheritance requires that we have that second birth date that second time that second event that time in our life where we are reborn or as the scripture says the verbiage is begat again or to cause to be born and it's that time when we come to realize that we're sinners and apart from god apart from a savior apart from someone to step in and correct the mess that we made of our lives we have nothing it's that time when we realize that apart from god's love and intervention we are eternally lost but look back again to the phrase look back to what's happening here what is what is peter right according to his great mercy he has caused us to be born again almighty god has caused or has some translation state he has made available has opened the way has made possible for us to make a fresh start a new beginning but paul continued peter continues on explaining the process god has made possible and how it all fits together he says he has caused us to be born again and then two to a living hope through the resurrection of jesus christ from this from the dead you see this new birth this new beginning comes with a sense of hope now not not a simplistic hope like i hope it won't rain today or or i hope the blue jays will come back to toronto sometime and play ball no this is this is a hope that matters this is a living hope as you see as believers we have a hope that is sure that is real that is certain that is dependable we don't have an empty hope of non-believers who go through life just hoping that they'll get through it the next day we have a living hope knowing that because we're following christ our life our world our future is secure in him and as much as the life of a believer has little to do with us and everything to do with christ it's because we have that living hope in him our living home is rooted in the truth that jesus was raised from the dead our living hope is is there because jesus is living and sits at the right hand of the father in heaven our living hope is is is living just that because god's word has been proven true over and over again now let me read that passage again he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead and then at this point we find out what we get some some specifics of this inheritance in verse four it says to an inheritance that is imperishable undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you now peter offers four specific descriptive terms as to wrestle with each one speaks to our inheritance imperishable undefiled unfading and kept in heaven when i think of imperishable i think of the sort of thing you see on the news where there's there's a group out excavating excavating a a piece of land somewhere and they find this old relic or they find this artifact and they open the container and inside they find some some historic piece of jewelry or pottery that that has been hidden for hundreds of years and yet when they open it it's perfectly intact there's no sign of age no sign of damage or decay it's perfectly intact it's never perished and you know for israel's their promised land it was not imperishable it was their inheritance it was given by god but time and again enemy forces attacked it and damaged it and things were not good but you see for us as believers our hope our salvation our promise of eternity and god's presence will not perish it cannot be destroyed it is imperishable secondly we look to the undefiled or as some translations state untainted when something is is defiled it's corrupt or tarnished then it's lost its original condition and cannot be restored most of us if we have a computer have had times when our computer was corrupt where for files and you've got this little thing lights up on your screen and your your system's all messed up and you have to have somebody reboot it and clean it out and whatever but you know what far more important and more serious than having a problem with our computer is is the fact when it talks about our citizenship is undefiled because the word that is here in scripture undefiled is the same hebrew word that speaks of the sanctity of marriage bed and how that marriage bed should be undefiled in other words there never should be either partner should never step outside of that marriage relationship and you see our our hope rooted in christ's death and resurrection is pure and nothing has or ever will alter or taint that it's undefiled next we have unfading now some of you know gail loves gardening she has planted perennials and perennials and more perennials and now lots of annuals all around our property and and wanting to make the most of these flowers now that they're all blooming she's constantly cutting them and placing them in bosses around the house well there was one day last week i come home and the place smelled really nice and i walked in and i thought i was either in a floral shop or a funeral home i'm not sure which because we had seven vases of flowers they're in the kitchen they're in the dining room they're in their living room they're in the bathroom there's a laws of flowers in the bathroom because she cut all these flowers and had to put them somewhere and it looked beautiful that day and for a couple of days but then what happens they start to fade the petals start to fall off they start to lose their color they start to droop and eventually you go from these beautiful bouquets to these sickly looking sprigs and all the petals on the ground and we understand that when it comes to plants their beauty fades their their their blossom or their bloom fades especially once they've been removed from their root system but the exciting news from peter has for us is that no matter what comes our way no matter how unsettled our world might be no matter how uncertain our future might be our hope in christ remains constant it will never falter or fade and then finally his last statement he says is kept in heaven for you our inheritance god's promise of eternity in the pres the presence of god god's presence promise of his presence every day of this journey is waiting for us in heaven not only eternity when we get there but even right now his presence is with us and i love how the king james translation explains this the inheritance is reserved in heaven for you and reserved in this context speaks of having individuals standing guard to protect it and reading on we find the the sort of remainder of this passage who by god's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed at the last time you see this puts it all into perspective all the blessing the mercy the rebirth the living hope all that's held is guarded is washed over and kept on our behalf by god's mighty hand wow now remember again that peter was writing to christians facing persecution and despite the struggles they were facing their inheritance remained in safe keeping despite the hardships they were enduring god's promises remained intact despite their countless unknowns before them his protection continually watched over his children he would sustain them and equip them and empower them even and especially in the midst of uncertain times we could dig a little deeper into this passage but i want to sort of back up and look at the big picture for a moment again thinking about the idea of an inheritance an inheritance requires three things that requires a gift a giver and a will in the case of the of joshua the gift for the israelites was the promised land simply specifically it was the assignment of certain regions to each tribe the giver of that gift was almighty god right and the will it was god's will to do this it was his desire his plan his purpose to pass this land onto his children what about us what about men and women living in 2020 what do we know what does the scripture teach us about our inheritance again the three components the gift the giver and the will what is the gift the gift is jesus christ god's one and only son the gift is his death and resurrection and the forgiveness that is made available to us forgiveness is our salvation our new beginning our promise of an eternity in the presence of god the giver is god the father scripture tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from above and the will the scripture tells us that god doesn't want anyone to perish but all to come to saving knowledge of christ see god's will is to see each and every person who walks this worth come to know and serve and follow after him peter was writing this letter at a time when early christians were facing a great deal of conflict and their lives were in jeopardy their futures were uncertain peter wrote this letter to remind them that no matter what challenges might confront them at the moment their future was secure and their inheritance awaited them you know what this letter could have been written yesterday or today or next month because the truth of this letter is still relevant for us today as children of god we too are living in uncertain times every time you turn on the news there's a new conspiracy theory or some unknown professional now is rising to the top and speaking in support or contradicting our medical community so wherever you sit on the spectrum of this whole mess our world is a mess our governments are scrambling our economies becoming more volatile but in the midst of all this we christians have good news in the midst of all these this we christians have reason to stand strong in the midst of all this we have justification to start each new day with a sense of confidence and words of praise on our heart because we know that our inheritance is secure we know that no matter what comes our way in this earthly journey we continue to come under the protective hand of almighty god we are under the protective eyes of his holy spirit he continues to guide and direct us you know we might may never receive a registered letter informing us that we are the recipient of some sizable inheritance from some long-lost relative we'll most likely never receive a large piece of land to call our own like the people of israel did but as children of god we do have an inheritance we have an inheritance that it's beyond measure an inheritance that cannot be taken from us and an inheritance that promises that our future is safe and secure let's go forward today acknowledging that there are many uncertainties in our world but we go forward with a sense of confidence and a sense of assurance because we have an inheritance in store for us let's pray father we thank you for your word we thank you for the truths that are handed down to us from generation to generation we thank you that in the same way that you had an inheritance in store a plan and a purpose for your people israel you have a plan and a purpose in store for us as well and an inheritance awaiting us in glory and father in the time that we tarry here on earth you continue to pour out blessings upon us you continue to strengthen us and equip us you continue to refine us and chip away at those parts that don't belong you continue to use each one of us in such a way that your name is glorified continue to work into our lives continue to speak into our hearts through your word these things we pray in jesus name amen [Music] like me i once was lost [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] we are right first [Music] [Applause] [Music] is [Music] my [Music] i've been set free my god my savior his mercy [Applause] [Music] is [Music] [Music] is [Music] forever [Music] it's just bow as we close the service in prayer let's pray father we thank you for this day we thank you that we can gather together as a body even though we're not geographically together we gather together in our hearts we think of our dear brothers and sisters that normally would worship alongside us we ask that you would keep your hand upon each one of them remind them how precious they are to you and to us and father as we go into this week remind us that no matter what comes our way our inheritance is secure on you our eternity is secure in you and that you promise to guide our steps as we walk this earthly journey father use each one of us for your glory these things we pray in jesus name amen [Music]