SUNDAY, AUGUST 19
Scripture: 1 Peter 1:22-25

We are told in 1 Peter 1:22-25, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because ’All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.’ Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” How did we get here? Jesus died for us and He appeared to the disciples. Then He was resurrected purchasing for us these nine Sonship gifts. He imparted each one of these to early church believers. As a result of these Sonship Gifts, they grew into the same relationship that Jesus had with the Father. They developed an intimate Father/son relationship and they grew in wisdom, power and fruitfulness. No wonder they had confidence! No wonder Peter’s shadow healed people. Jesus made this powerful promise, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.” Jesus promised greater works and Peter experienced a measure of that in his life. Where is our experience of that dimension? It is probably waiting for our relationship to develop where we have the faith to walk where Peter walked. Perhaps then we can expect to see some of the greater. We are on the right path and we are going to get there because we are aiming to develop the very same relationship with the Father that Jesus had. That is what this series is all about. That is why holiness is important! That is why understanding it is important. When we follow the same path as the early church, we expect the same results! We have followed in the footsteps of Peter. We can fulfill our call as he did! We have followed in the footsteps of Paul and have access to the glory of the Father just as he did. We can fulfill our call expecting greater in the last days! We are on track to experience the greater because we are finally coming into the fullness of what Ephesians promises. We are doing it the same way that the early disciples did. Relationally! We know the end result of this and it looks awesome! John 17:22-23 in the NIV says, “I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.”