The Now and Not Yet, Part 1

We live in a ‘now’ culture, which means we struggle with the words ‘not yet.’ But, as we will discover in the weeks ahead, ‘now’ and ‘not yet’ are not competing opposites. They are truths in tension. Followers of Jesus are, in fact, the people of the now and the not yet.

Savior of the World
Mack Brock

Living Hope
Phil Wickham

Jesus Paid it All
Passion

Touch of Heaven
Hillsong Worship

1 Peter 1:1
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.

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Knowing who you are determines how you walk out the life in front of you now and in the future.

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Mark #1
A follower of Jesus is one who finds their identity in Jesus.

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1 Peter 1:1-5
To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

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Seven Marks’ Values
Jesus, People, and the Kingdom of God

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Seven Marks’ Mission Statement
Practicing the way of Jesus together.

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1. We were chosen for a purpose.

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Ephesians 1:4
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

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Romans 8:29
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son…

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Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

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1 Peter 1:2
…to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood.

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1 John 1:7-9
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

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1 Peter 1:6-7
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

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2. We are refined for a purpose.

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1 Peter 1:8-12
Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.

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