Of course you immediately assure them their secret is safe with you. Your lips are locked. Sealed.
You lean forward and are about to fall off your seat, drooling inside, as you eagerly wait to find out the juicy top-secret information your friend wants to whisper in your ear.
Well, lean down close this morning because I have the best secret ever, and I want to share it with you right now.
Actually, don't tell Peter, but he let me in on this secret earlier today. I read through his letter he wrote to the believers scattered all throughout the world. Not sure if I was eavesdropping, so to speak, but I'm pretty sure this is one secret Peter is okay with me letting out of the bag.
"This salvation was something the prophets wanted to know more about. They prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you, even though they had many questions as to what it could all mean. They wondered what the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when He told them in advance about Christ's suffering and His great glory afterward. They wondered when and to whom all this would happen. They were told these things would not happen during their lifetime, but many years later, during YOURS. And now this Good News has been announced by those who preached it to you in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen." ~1 Peter 1:10-12
Did you catch that?
Our salvation, YOUR salvation, is a secret so amazing that the ANGELS are anxious to find out what God is doing!
Thankfully, though, the opportunity to have a personal, intimate relationship with God is no longer a secret. God has made this wonderful plan known so that all may come to know and experience Him in their lives today!
Paul confirms this in his letter to the Romans, "Now all glory to God, who is able to make you strong, just as my Good News says. This message about Jesus Christ has revealed His plan for you Gentiles, a plan keep SECRET from the beginning of time. But NOW as the prophets foretold and as the eternal God has commanded, this message is made known to all Gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey Him. All glory to the only wisse God, through Jesus Christ, forever. Amen." (Romans 16:25-27)
Can you hear the excitement in Paul's voice? Can you feel the energy coming through his quill as he penned this marvelous words?
If not, flip back to Peter's letter and continue reading what he had to say about this life-changing secret, "For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom He paid was not mere gold or silver. He paid for you with the precious LIFEBLOOD of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose Him for this purpose LONG BEFORE THE WORLD BEGAN, but now in these final days, He was sent to earth for ALL to see. And He did this for YOU." (1 Peter 1:18-20)
As if a relationship with Jesus wasn't enough, the secret gets even better!!
We who were once far away from God have been brought near and can enjoy fellowship with God Himself. We are no longer separated from Him, but instead welcome to enter His divine presence at any time and DWELL with Him, letting Him fill us with Himself!!!! (Don't believe me? Check out Ephesians 2)
But wait, there's MORE!!!
God will keep pouring Himself into us and shaping us into the men and women He created us to be, but that process won't ever be fully complete until the day of Jesus' return, and when He comes back, THAT is when things get REALLY good. Paul lets us in on this part of the secret in 1 Corinthians 15, "But let me reveal to you a wonderful SECRET. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed!! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to life forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies." (vs. 51-53)
I don't know about you, but that is a secret I can't keep to myself.
Which is why I just told you.
I don't think Peter and Paul will mind that I did.
Pretty sure, actually, they WANT us to spread this secret like wildfire.
Shout it from the mountaintops.
Tell everyone you know!
If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, YOU will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved." (Romans 10:9-10)
Well, what are you waiting for?
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