What shapes the way you live—what you hope for, what you endure, and what you value most?

In this episode, Marcel Hall reflects on a once-in-a-lifetime moment from The Price Is Right and uses it to explore a much deeper question: What is the prize that truly lasts? Drawing from 1 Peter 1:3–9, the message centers on the prize of eternal life—a gift rooted in mercy, protected by God, and powerful enough to shape everyday life.

For those inside the church, this episode is a reminder to slow down and cherish what has already been given—with renewed gratitude, deeper commitment, and a willingness to share hope with others.

For those outside the church, it’s an open invitation to consider whether there is more to life than what can be earned, achieved, or lost—and whether faith might offer a hope that doesn’t fade when circumstances change.

This message invites all listeners to reflect on what they’re living for—and whether they’ve discovered a prize worth building life around.

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:3–9

00:00 – A new year, a new perspective (2026 slogan)

02:00 – Looking back: a moment from The Price Is Right

06:10 – Sermon title introduced: A Prize Worth Living For

07:20 – Setting the context: pressure, suffering, and hope

08:50 – The main idea: The Prize of Eternal Life

09:10 – Scripture reading: 1 Peter 1:3–9

10:45 – Mercy, new birth, and a living hope

13:35 – An inheritance that can’t fade or be taken away

16:05 – Guarded by God’s power: security for the present and future

17:20 – Why faith is worth more than gold

18:05 – Inexpressible joy—even in hard seasons

20:20 – What the prize of eternal life includes

21:10 – A turning question: “What do you do with a prize like this?”

22:10 – The Clippers ball story: when something valuable isn’t cherished

24:05 – Response: Cherish the Prize

24:30 – Cherish the prize with gratitude

26:50 – Cherish the prize through commitment

28:15 – Cherish the prize by sharing it

30:05 – Action steps for the week

32:20 – Closing encouragement and Scripture (1 Peter 1:3–4)

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OC Church of Christ

I haven't really been able to share something, uh, with

2

the congregation that I usually

do at the beginning of the year.

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And actually I do this actually on

a, on a wide, a worldwide basis.

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I share every year.

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I have a slogan for the year, and

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And usually it's just my personal

slogan, but I give it free

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of charge to everybody else.

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You are more than welcome to use it.

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And I think once in now, uh, once,

you know, every now and then, it will

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actually kind of help be one of the

themes for the church for the year.

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And so, oh, was that my man?

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Ej.

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Ej you've been with me for a long time

and you know, EJ was with me back in

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LA uh, before we moved here, and so he

remembers you might be part of the genesis

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of it, but, uh, so to give you a little

bit of history, like in the past when I

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first started, it was great in oh eight.

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Because I was trying to

be great in oh eight.

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You, you get what I'm saying?

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That was 2008 for those

who couldn't catch that.

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And it's been on every year.

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And so I'll give you the last couple.

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So, uh, in the past here in the last

couple years, it was become more in 24.

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Oh yeah.

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Yeah.

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Y'all appreciate that.

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Okay.

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Last year was let the

spirit drive in two five.

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Oh, yeah.

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Yeah.

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Okay.

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We ain't coming late.

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We've grown since oh eight.

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You know what I'm saying?

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Yes.

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And so this year, can a

brother get a drum roll please?

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Thank you.

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Here it is.

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We're a little late, but

it's better late than never.

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Here we go.

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Alright, here it is.

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Let's hope this is working.

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Here we go.

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Here we go.

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It is clean, like new kicks in.

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Two six.

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That's right.

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I want the Lord to keep making

me clean like some new kicks in.

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Two six.

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I wanna do my part in being clean, looking

fresh and clean, like some new kicks in.

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Two six.

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Are y'all with me there?

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So you can go ahead and use that as well.

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Again, this is free of charge.

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Hashtag clean, like new kicks in.

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Two six.

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All right.

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And so speaking of 2026, I know

there's a trend that's been going on.

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The, uh, look back.

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What is it?

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The, uh, 26.

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2026 is the new 2016.

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Is that what it is?

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Where everybody's sending

pictures and showing pictures

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of what you did 10 years ago.

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You guys familiar with me there?

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Alright.

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Yeah.

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So I wanna do a little bit of that, but

I have to cheat a little bit so it's not

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2016, it's a little further than 2016.

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And I actually showed this, and

so I was reminded, I actually

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showed this in my very first sermon

when I came to Orange County.

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And so I'm gonna show this again

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well, you know, we're close.

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So I showed it 10 years ago.

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You guys with me here?

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Okay.

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And so I wanna show you this video,

so let's please make sure the, uh,

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we got the sound and everything

together, um, of me being i'll.

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I'll let, I'll let the

video speak for a second.

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Let's go ahead and play the video.

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Bob Barker: You have five total.

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You go right up those stairs, take

your place up there at the top of

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the Plinko board, get right behind it

there, and look down here in that slot.

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10,001 chip and let it go.

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Alright, here it comes.

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Here it comes.

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WinCo Chip, Marcel.

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Oh, wrong way.

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Come on.

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Come on.

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Don't that.

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Another blingo chip worth.

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Oh, big old zero.

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Marcel uso.

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Blingo chip number three is on its way on.

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Its not Fargo.

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This one won't count.

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We'll get this down here.

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And the lovely Heather will

bring it up there to you, and you

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can do that one all over again.

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Here you go, Linco chip number three.

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Another try.

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Another try.

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And here it comes.

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All worked out.

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Do it again, huh?

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Do it again.

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The same way.

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Same place.

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Looking pretty good.

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Looking pretty.

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One more Up to 21,000 now Marcel.

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One more time.

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Woo.

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Here we go.

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Here's his last shit.

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Oh my God.

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Could he do three in a row?

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Have

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Marcel Hall: go, go.

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There you go.

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That was a long time ago.

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You see a little grainy

uh, uh, footage there.

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So definitely it was in 2016, but

I won $22,000 as you can see there.

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I was a, uh, I was going to my,

yeah, I was a senior in college,

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so this was 2002 right there.

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And so that I was just several months

after becoming a Christian, and that was

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a phenomenal time that I had right there.

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And I did show that, like I said,

about 10 years ago when I came.

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And that was a, just a

phenomenal experience.

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It was a dream come true to go and,

uh, to be on the show and then to win.

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And it was showing on Christmas Eve.

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So everybody and their mom end

up calling me afterwards and

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we saw you on prices, right?

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And uh, and so that was

a phenomenal thing there.

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But as we think ing, I've always

been reminded of this, that

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in Jesus, we actually have a

greater prize than all of that.

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And that in Jesus, we have

a prize worth living for.

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And that's the title of the

sermon today, A prize worth.

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Living for.

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Let's go ahead and let's

go to God in prayer.

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Father, thank you so much for all

that we've been able to experience

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already this morning to be reminded

of the mercy and grace that you

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extend, that we don't have to perform.

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Father, the call and the opportunity

to show you your value to us.

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God, we thank you for the chance to sing

praises to you and encourage one another.

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Father, we pray that your word right

now may minister to our very souls.

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Help us to see what you

want us to see this morning.

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So that God, we can trust you

more with our lives so that we can

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walk faithfully in the spirits.

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We pray this in the name of Jesus.

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Amen.

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We're gonna look over in one Peter.

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Chapter one, one Peter chapter one.

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The context here for one, Peter

Peter was an apostle of Jesus.

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Of Jesus, and so he was,

he was called by Jesus.

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He was trained by Jesus, and he

was therefore sent out by Jesus,

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and he ended up going to Rome in

the latter part of his years and.

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Sixties, a DD ad, and he starts

being one of the main leaders in

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the church in Rome at this time.

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But the churches in the Roman Providences,

they're having some hard times.

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There's some persecution that's

starting to take place for those

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who are disciples of Jesus.

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And as Peter gets wind of this, he decides

to send a letter out of encouragement

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and help and guidance and strengthening

for the brothers and sisters, which we

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are grateful because the principals.

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Still apply to us today.

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And so this was a group of disciples

who you can say, we're scattered,

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we're marginalized, we're suffering.

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Most of them not wealthy,

definitely not powerful.

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And you can even say

not winning culturally.

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And Peter, you would think maybe

would promise an escape, but

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he doesn't promise an escape.

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He reminds them of the

prize that they have.

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Despite their circumstances, they have a

prize that is worth living for and to hold

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on to their faith and to continue to live

for the prize that is in Christ Jesus.

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And that prize, we can say,

is the prize of eternal life,

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the prize of eternal life.

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Brother and sisters, are

you with me this morning?

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All right y'all.

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I need you to be with me here.

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All right.

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Let's go to First Peter

chapter one in verse three.

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We'll read here it says, praise

be to the God and Father of

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our, of our Lord Jesus Christ.

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In his great mercy, he has given us

new birth into a living hope, through

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the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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From the dead and into an inheritance

that can never perish, spoil, or fade.

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This inheritance is kept in heaven for

you, who through faith are shielded

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by God's power until the coming of the

salvation that is ready to be revealed in

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the last time and all this, you greatly

rejoice though now for a little while you

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may have had to suffer grief in all kinds.

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Of trials, these have come so that proven

so that the proven genuineness of your

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faith of greater worth than gold, which

perishes, even though refined by fire,

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may result in praise, glory, and honor.

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When Jesus Christ is revealed, though

you have not seen him, you love him,

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and even though you do not see him

now, you believe in him and are filled

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with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

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For you are receiving the

end results of your faith.

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The salvation of your souls.

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We'll stop right there.

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Peter reminds the church there that

they have the prize of eternal life.

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That, and this prize

doesn't apply to just them.

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It applies to us today.

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If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ,

then you have a prize worth living for.

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And so we wanna break this down some.

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So let's go through first

Peter real quickly here.

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And so first off, he says he praised this

God, but he says in his great mercy, this

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prize of eternal life isn't a prize that

we have won, isn't a prize that we have

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been rewarded with or that we have earned.

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It is solely by God's mercy and love.

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I showed a little prices,

right video there and, uh, you

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know, I can show you all of it.

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We, you know, another time we can show

you all the other parts there, but I'm

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bidding on things to get the chips.

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I had no idea any of the prices

of the things I was bidding on.

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So I looked at the crowd and

they're like, five, I go five.

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And I get it.

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They go 10 10 and all I did and I go, wow.

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And I get up there and I'm dropping it.

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I didn't physically force anything to drop

in those $10,000, but I won this prize.

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Why not?

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Because it was by my strength.

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But I believe it was divine guidance.

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But our prize isn't anything

that you and I have earned.

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As Daniel alluded to earlier, we don't

come to God and say we have eternal

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life because we have earned this,

because I've been righteous this week.

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No, it is because of mercy, not giving

us what we deserve, but then extending

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grace, giving us what we do not deserve.

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And he goes on and he says,

he's given us new birth.

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You know, the prize of eternal life

starts with God giving you a new life.

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Many of us can testify the blessing

of being able to have a new life

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begin when we came to Christ.

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We can testify.

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Boy, oh boy, I'm so grateful for

who I am now because who I was then.

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And so we can testify, we can say

hallelujah, that he gives a new life.

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Because if I had to go off my

old life, then I stand judged.

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And destruction will follow me, and I

don't even wanna know what that might

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look like for me and those around me.

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He says, we have a new birth.

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Then it goes on and it says,

it's into a living hope.

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I love this.

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A living hope, meaning it is alive.

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We have a hope that is not dead.

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It is not old.

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It is not wasting away.

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It is not expired.

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It is always presence.

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And so as disciples of Jesus, we

always have hope as disciples of Jesus.

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We are never categorized as the hopeless.

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We are never put in that

bucket because of Christ.

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We always have hope no matter what

the situation may look like, because

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of the living hope that we have

been birthed into and because of

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the living God who is our father and

savior who is calling us to eternity.

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What a blessing and privilege that is.

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It goes on and he says it's an inheritance

that can never perish, spoil, or fade.

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And this inheritance is

kept in heaven for you.

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You know, an inheritance.

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That's something that, that

you receive and you know, some

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of y'all have in inheritances.

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Y'all looking forward to,

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I'm from a broke family.

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We don't have that uncle who's rich.

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We don't have any inheritance.

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So I'm looking forward to

this spiritual inheritance.

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You know what I'm saying?

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But even if I did have that rich

uncle, it still wouldn't compare to

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the riches that are found in God.

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And what does he say here?

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It's an eternal treasure of

heaven with God Almighty.

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Again, this is an inheritance, something

that you have, but yet you're waiting for.

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And so we have it now.

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We experience it now, but not in, in

its, its fullness, not in its completion.

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It's still to come, but yet we experience

some of it now and we have the joy of

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knowing, wow, I can't wait to see what

it looks like when it comes to fruition.

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And so we have this inheritance waiting

on us, and it's an eternal prize.

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I love this.

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It says it won't perish,

so it won't decay.

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Won't, it cannot be corrupted

and it cannot lose its shine.

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That's the inheritance for you

and I as disciples of Jesus.

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You know, I, we had a hope of getting a

house in Orange County that parish, once

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those interest rates start going up.

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You know, I've had a number of good

meals that I put in the fridge, or

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Thanksgiving meals and Christmas

meals, whatever the case may be.

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But what happens over time

that food will, what spoil?

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You may have new clothes and shiny things,

but what happens over time, it fades.

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The eternal treasure that you

and I have is nothing like that.

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Cannot spoil, cannot

perish, and cannot fade.

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It says it is kept in heaven for us.

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Our salvation is here and now, but

yet also in heaven waiting for us.

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Boy, oh boy, this is gonna be

something special, but boy oh boy,

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it's something special right now.

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And he goes on and he says, it's through

faith and we are shielded by God's power.

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Again, this was written in Greek and this

word, this, this phrasing here shielded

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was a military term and that they would

use it when you would guard someone.

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And so it says here that our inheritance,

our salvation, our eternal prize, our

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prize of eternal life is shielded.

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Like if it was a military guard in front

of it, making sure that nothing can

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happen and who's the one guarding it?

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God almighty.

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It's God who guards and

protects and shields us.

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I don't know about you, but that's

the greatest security guard we could

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ever have that beats any lock system.

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It brings peace and security for the

future, but also for the present.

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This is what we have now, and this is

what we will enjoy when Christ returns.

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And it goes on in verse six and

verse seven, talking about trials.

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And so Peter doesn't, he doesn't dismiss,

Hey, you are going through something

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or you will never go through something.

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No, he says You are and you will,

but remember the prize that you have.

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And he goes on and he says this, these

have come so that the proven genuineness

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of your faith of greater worth than gold,

our faith is of greater worth than gold.

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Gold has always been precious, a

precious metal, a commodity that for

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ever since it's been discovered, has

been something that people wanted.

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And most of the gold that's in

existence now that we have seen

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has been mined, has never has.

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Most of the gold that's been mined

is still presence, and so gold

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lasts longer than you and I, but

our faith is even greater than gold

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and will last even longer than gold.

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Our faith is valuable.

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It's what Peter tells us.

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It's, it's priceless and no earthly

treasure can compare to the spiritual

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treasure you have in Christ.

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Our faith is more valuable

because it lasts beyond this life.

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He goes on and he says this.

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He says, though you have not seen him, you

love him, and even though you do not see

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him now, you believe in him and are filled

with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

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It says filled, not just half, not

just some, but we can be filled to and

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over the brim with an inexpressible.

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The joy that we have, you can't

even describe accurately chat.

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GPT can't give you the language for it.

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It's a joy that can be fully

comprehended or fully articulated.

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That's the joy that we have in Christ.

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It's a joy in the midst

of life's challenges.

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'cause he just talked about, Hey,

you're going through some things.

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Has anybody been through

some things recently?

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But we can have joy, not because

of these things, but in spite

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or in the midst of those things.

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Why?

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Because we have the joy of

what God has done for us.

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We have joy of knowing what God will

bring and provide for us, therefore,

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leading us to have joy in the present day.

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Thank you, God, for what you have done.

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Hallelujah, for what you will do.

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I am blessed

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and inexpressible and glorious

joy that cannot be described

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as something to marvel at.

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He goes on and he says this, for you're

receiving the end results of your

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faith, the salvation of your souls.

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An eternal relationship with God, our

souls at peace and in rest with God.

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You know, again, as disciple of Jesus,

we are on our way to paradise and

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eternity with our God and Savior.

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Yes, in practical ways, yes, we'll be

going down to 10 Goodyear in Irvine,

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but that's not our destination.

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We are on a path to eternity in paradise

with God Almighty, and we will be face

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to face and the faith shall be sight,

and we'll be surrounded by saints in

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the multitude and it will be glorious.

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I don't even think Revelation

gives us a clear and or accurate

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picture of how awesome it will be.

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Because it cannot be described so that our

human minds can comprehend what we have.

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Brothers and sisters, we have

a prize worth living for.

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We have a prize worth living for.

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It consists of a new life.

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Hope that doesn't die.

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Treasure in heaven waiting for you.

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God's power for protection.

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Indescribable joy to the max, and

an eternal relationship with God.

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Can I get a hallelujah?

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Hallelujah.

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That means praise the Lord.

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You better mean it when you say that.

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Don't just say it 'cause Marcel said it.

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Praise the Lord.

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This is what we have,

brothers and sisters.

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Now, let me ask you this.

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What do you do with a prize like this?

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What do you do with a prize like this?

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When you have something of great

value, what do you do with it?

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Okay, some people say Share it.

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I, I might have shared this story.

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I used to, uh, I used to work

in sports radio and, uh, we, we,

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we were able to go to a game.

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They gave us tickets one time

and we were in the suite.

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And, uh, and so we're in the suites.

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I brought a brother with

me, uh, David Moore.

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So me and David Moore we're in

the suites and they come in this

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day we're at a Clippers game.

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And, uh, so we're at this Clippers game.

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They come in, uh, the people work for the

Clippers and they go, Hey, you know what,

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you guys, you're, you're lucky today.

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You're gonna get this signed Autograph

basketball with all the clippers on there.

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Some of y'all not impressed.

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I know it's the Clippers, but these

are professional basketball players.

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And so I had this ball, this

signed by all the clippers.

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And this wasn't like, you know, Chris

Paul Times didn't have Blake Griffin

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and some ballers, it was like some, some

LA Clippers, you know what I'm saying?

396

But it was still cool and I got the

ball and I'm like, oh, this is cool.

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So I get it, I bring it home, I show

Karina and I had this little stand for,

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and I used to put it on the stand, and

wherever we moved, I had it in there.

399

But what happened, I didn't

realize what I was doing.

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I didn't really protect it.

401

And so I would have it near Windows.

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You already know.

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And so after some years and you know,

maybe we moved, I looked at the ball

404

and I go, oh snap, what happened?

405

There's like two signatures left.

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I'm like, I can't even tell who that is.

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This might have been a dude

that was on the practice squad.

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You know what I'm saying?

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And I'm looking and it's faded,

and I'm like, man, this is a mess.

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I don't even know where

that ball is today.

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I think I gave it to somebody.

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Let one of my kids play with it.

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You know what I'm saying?

414

I didn't cherish it.

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I didn't see it as that valuable,

and you can argue if it was valuable

416

or not, but I didn't cherish it.

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Here's the thing, some of us are treating

God's treasure, like that Clippers ball.

418

It's there, we have it, but

we're not cherishing it.

419

It's not protected.

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It's not appreciated.

421

It's not put in a place where

it can shine, where it can

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invoke memories and nostalgia.

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We we're not treating it the way

we should, and so what should

424

we do with this type of prize?

425

I believe God wants us to do this.

426

Cherish the prize.

427

I believe God wants us to cherish the

prize, and when you cherish something,

428

that means you think it's valuable.

429

Wow.

430

You don't cherish things you

don't think are valuable, but you

431

cherish what you think is valuable.

432

You hold it dear, and you protect it.

433

And I believe there's several

ways in which we can show our

434

cherish and our appreciation.

435

And that's one we, you know, we, we,

we cherish the prize with gratitude.

436

We cherish the prize with gratitude.

437

When we realize what we have, we can't

help but be grateful and appreciative.

438

We can't help but be

grateful and appreciative.

439

And so I, I know this, you know,

just the other day I was looking, I

440

don't know how I got on there, but I

started looking at some photos here

441

on, you know, Google photos there.

442

And for some reason, I, I, I was

looking at old photos and I started

443

going down this path and I'm looking

at old pictures of me and Carina.

444

We were getting man, like,

man, I used to look young.

445

And I, you know, and I'm like, man, what

a couple of gray hairs up in my mustache.

446

That ain't cool, James.

447

You know what I'm saying?

448

I can't do the gray and the mustache.

449

The gray and the beard I can

do, but not in the mustache.

450

You know what I'm saying?

451

Anyhow, sorry I digressed, but I'm

looking at these photos and I'm

452

like, wow, I appreciate Karina.

453

I'm looking at her and

I'm going, you know what?

454

We, we still look pretty good.

455

But man, I got a beautiful wife and I

just started to appreciate like, man,

456

and, and, and, and, and I am blessed.

457

And I was just like, man, thank you.

458

And you know, Corina, I didn't

tell you, but thank you.

459

I love you and I appreciate you.

460

And I just started being filled up with

gratitude because I was just thinking

461

back like, wow, I'm honored, I'm blessed.

462

And you know, we, when we remember

the grace, it remains amazing.

463

Yeah,

464

the grace remains amazing.

465

Will we remember what we've been

delivered from, what we were and

466

what we have to look forward to?

467

And for some of us, this is hard.

468

I, I just, you know, confessed here,

even, even within my family, but it,

469

I can do this with God, is that we've

been around, for some of us, we've

470

been around for so long that we can

lose our appreciation for what we have.

471

And we get so used to the miracles that

it's just the average for some who grew

472

up in a church or maybe you're still

younger, you grew up in a church, you've

473

been around glory your whole life.

474

So glory's just normal to you.

475

And so it's hard for you to appreciate all

that is there now and to look forward to.

476

But this is why we must

cherish with gratitude.

477

We must remember what we have.

478

Where we are going.

479

And this gratitude doesn't stop with

feelings, but it changes how we live.

480

And that means that we cherish

the prize through commitments.

481

You know, when you have a prize

like this, it changes how you live.

482

What we cherish shapes our values and

decisions, and this cherishing leads

483

to being committed to Jesus for giving

the prize out of grace and mercy.

484

Again, it's not a prize that we've earned.

485

It's not a prize that we

somehow were lucky to receive.

486

It's a prize that came out

of his rich grace and mercy.

487

And so what is it?

488

Demand?

489

I believe it demands our very best,

not my half, not my most, not my

490

sum, but my very best because I

have this treasure and I'm gonna go

491

and give some of myself in return.

492

I can't do that.

493

It deserves my very best.

494

It deserves a full commitment,

and I appreciate Peter as he

495

gave himself fully the following.

496

Jesus and church history tells

us that not only did he become a

497

leader, but Peter died for his faith.

498

He was actually crucified.

499

And church history tells

us that at the point of his

500

crucifixion, he was crucified.

501

He said, I'm not worthy

to be crucified like this.

502

Can you crucify me upside down?

503

That's commitments.

504

When we have a prize, we can

cherish it through our commitments.

505

You know, the price is

right, it's worth it.

506

And what we truly cherish,

we don't keep ourselves.

507

And so we cherish the prize by sharing it.

508

When you cherish, you don't hoard

it, but you invite others to

509

come and experience it with you.

510

I remember leaving the prices

right, and I'm fired up.

511

I'm calling my mom.

512

I'm telling her, mama,

I went on prices right?

513

And I want some money.

514

She like, for real?

515

Like yeah, how much I like, I don't

know if I can tell you all that.

516

I'm just playing.

517

But I wanted to tell everybody, and when

they showed it on tv, we recorded it.

518

And then every time we used to

have, you know, uh, our Carina

519

remembers this, but every time I'd

have, we'd have, uh, uh, uh, dates

520

at our house, encouragement dates.

521

We'd have group dates and they'd

come over to the house and every

522

time it was at my house, guess what?

523

We showed the price is right.

524

Video.

525

I was fired up.

526

But everybody else wanted to see it.

527

They're like, Marcel,

let's turn on the video.

528

Corina has seen it so many times.

529

She started talking during the video.

530

But I wanted to share it with

people, and in fact, I got

531

myself in too, too much trouble.

532

I had some family members call me

like, Hey man, a brother need a loan.

533

I said, brother, I ain't

got no money like that.

534

I'm in college.

535

You know what I'm saying?

536

But I digress.

537

Sorry about that.

538

You know, spiritual treasure is

meant to be shared with others.

539

It's not meant to just

be kept to ourselves.

540

It's meant to be shared so that others

can experience it and have it as well.

541

Because God's design is for all to have.

542

Experience the eternal

prize of eternal life.

543

You know, sharing his participation

in God's generosity, in

544

helping lives be changed.

545

And we have the prize of eternal life.

546

And that's some good news worth sharing.

547

Let's get real practical here.

548

Let's come in for a close.

549

Brother and sister, are you still with me?

550

I, I like to give action steps for

the week so that we don't just hear

551

something doesn't stay in our head.

552

We don't click on it like it, but that

God wants us to let it know ruminate,

553

but then he also wants us to put

something into practice this week.

554

And so if you're taking your little,

your, your pictures, go ahead and

555

get ready to take some pictures.

556

You're taking notes.

557

Write this down.

558

But if you're not a disciple of

Jesus, this first one, if you're

559

not a disciple of Jesus, here,

here's the, the, the action step.

560

Take one step toward new birth this week.

561

Take one step.

562

Maybe it's asking questions, opening the

scriptures with someone who brought you.

563

If you're online with us,

go ahead and messaging us.

564

We'd love to be able to get

into the word of God with you.

565

Maybe it's praying honestly and asking

God to make himself known to you.

566

Do whatever it is.

567

Take one step toward a new birth

to members of the church here.

568

Reflect on the prize of eternal life.

569

Go ahead and review first Peter

chapter one verses three through nine.

570

Take a few minutes.

571

I, I would encourage you, I wouldn't wait

past Monday 'cause you'll probably forget.

572

But go ahead today or tomorrow, take

a few minutes and reflect on the prize

573

of eternal life that you enjoy now, and

that you have to come read it slowly.

574

And thank God for the hope, the

inheritance, and the joy that

575

you have available in Christ.

576

Every one of us, we could do this practice

one intentional act of cherishing.

577

And so choose one intentional way

to cherish the prize this week.

578

It may be through obedience.

579

It may be generosity, perseverance

in a trial, or sharing the

580

hope with someone who needs it.

581

But take these action steps here today and

put it into practice here over the next 24

582

to 48 hours and let's see how God changes

you, your perspective, and even your

583

values and priorities and your direction.

584

The price is right, was a

wonderful prize and experience,

585

but nothing compares to the Eternal

prize found only through Jesus.

586

It's a prize, not only of a lifetime,

but it's a prize of eternity.

587

And it's a prize worth living for.

588

And so let's share a surprise of eternal

life with gratitude, with commitment,

589

and sharing the prize with others.

590

If you're here today and you're not

yet a disciple of Jesus, this prize is

591

being offered to you through new birth.

592

And if you're a disciple of

Jesus, let's live like you

593

have the prize because you do.

594

Amen.

595

Let's close out in one Peter chapter one,

Bre and sister, are you still with me?

596

Here, praise be to the God and

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

597

In his great mercy, he has given us

new birth into a living hope, through

598

the resurrection of Jesus Christ from

the dead, and into an inheritance

599

that can never perish, spoil, or fade.

600

This inheritance is

kept in heaven for you.

601

Because of Jesus, we've been given a

prize that can never perish, spoil,

602

or fade, the prize of eternal life.

603

This is a prize worth living for.

604

Amen.