1 00:00:00,150 --> 00:00:04,037 This is a reading from 1 Peter 1:13 2 00:00:04,037 --> 00:00:07,040 through 21. 3 00:00:14,597 --> 00:00:15,382 Therefore, 4 00:00:15,382 --> 00:00:19,319 preparing your minds for action and being sober minded. 5 00:00:19,319 --> 00:00:23,223 Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you 6 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:26,459 at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 7 00:00:26,459 --> 00:00:31,681 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 8 00:00:32,098 --> 00:00:34,968 but as he who called you is holy, 9 00:00:34,968 --> 00:00:37,971 you also be holy in all your conduct. 10 00:00:38,088 --> 00:00:41,758 Since it's written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. 11 00:00:42,242 --> 00:00:46,046 And if you call on him as Father, who judges impartially 12 00:00:46,413 --> 00:00:49,049 according to each one's deeds. 13 00:00:49,049 --> 00:00:51,751 Conduct yourself with fear 14 00:00:51,751 --> 00:00:54,387 throughout the time of your exile, 15 00:00:54,387 --> 00:00:57,590 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways 16 00:00:57,590 --> 00:01:01,678 inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things 17 00:01:01,678 --> 00:01:05,932 such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, 18 00:01:06,499 --> 00:01:09,502 like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 19 00:01:10,403 --> 00:01:13,640 He was for known before the foundation of the world, 20 00:01:13,823 --> 00:01:17,477 but was made manifest in the last times. 21 00:01:17,477 --> 00:01:19,279 For the sake of you, 22 00:01:19,279 --> 00:01:23,249 who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead 23 00:01:23,550 --> 00:01:27,720 and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope bring God. 24 00:01:31,558 --> 00:01:32,659 Everybody, good morning 25 00:01:32,659 --> 00:01:35,245 and welcome to Christ Community Chapel. 26 00:01:35,245 --> 00:01:38,031 Really, really glad you're here. 27 00:01:38,031 --> 00:01:39,833 And I know you can feel it. 28 00:01:39,833 --> 00:01:43,286 I mean, the 10:00 hour is just packed, and that's great. 29 00:01:43,703 --> 00:01:48,258 I just want you to let the let you know the 8:30 service has a little more room. 30 00:01:48,892 --> 00:01:51,895 If anybody wants to switch to the 8:30 service. 31 00:01:51,961 --> 00:01:52,912 It'd be great. 32 00:01:52,912 --> 00:01:54,114 But we understand, all right. 33 00:01:54,114 --> 00:01:57,000 But it's good to have everybody here. 34 00:01:57,000 --> 00:02:00,003 The transition is now official. 35 00:02:00,436 --> 00:02:03,573 With the senior pastor position moving from me to Pastor Zach. 36 00:02:03,890 --> 00:02:08,328 Just one final thing on September 28th, we have a members meeting. 37 00:02:08,511 --> 00:02:09,963 We do this every year. 38 00:02:09,963 --> 00:02:11,748 If you're a member, we ask you to come. 39 00:02:11,748 --> 00:02:14,367 We celebrate what God has done. 40 00:02:14,367 --> 00:02:17,821 We are looking forward to the next year and giving you the plans 41 00:02:18,021 --> 00:02:19,038 for the year to come. 42 00:02:19,038 --> 00:02:20,907 It's it's a great time to be together. 43 00:02:20,907 --> 00:02:22,642 It's fun. It's informative. 44 00:02:22,642 --> 00:02:26,679 After that, we're going to have a reception to celebrate the transition. 45 00:02:26,729 --> 00:02:30,300 So if you love Zach, you can come to the reception, congratulate him. 46 00:02:30,300 --> 00:02:32,669 If you love me, you can come congratulate me. 47 00:02:32,669 --> 00:02:33,536 If you love us both, 48 00:02:33,536 --> 00:02:36,439 it could be the greatest night of your whole life. 49 00:02:36,439 --> 00:02:36,739 All right, 50 00:02:38,091 --> 00:02:39,142 I've got 51 00:02:39,142 --> 00:02:41,761 I've got that joke landed because, you know, it's weird. 52 00:02:41,761 --> 00:02:44,747 All right. 53 00:02:45,331 --> 00:02:46,733 This is the second message 54 00:02:46,733 --> 00:02:49,886 of our ten week series we're calling Rise Up. 55 00:02:50,603 --> 00:02:53,606 We're looking at, the book of first Peter. 56 00:02:54,057 --> 00:02:57,060 And, Zach set it up really well last week 57 00:02:57,177 --> 00:03:01,097 when he said first Peter was written to, a group of Christians 58 00:03:01,097 --> 00:03:04,100 who are living in a hostile culture. 59 00:03:05,635 --> 00:03:08,121 It seems pretty timely. 60 00:03:08,121 --> 00:03:09,839 And I just want to encourage 61 00:03:09,839 --> 00:03:13,576 you try to get as much as you can out of the next ten weeks. 62 00:03:13,593 --> 00:03:18,898 Take advantage of what we offer to try to really dive 63 00:03:18,898 --> 00:03:21,901 in, to this book of first Peter, 64 00:03:22,886 --> 00:03:26,189 because I feel like First Peter is probably more relevant 65 00:03:26,189 --> 00:03:29,192 this week than it was last week, 66 00:03:30,109 --> 00:03:33,630 and it could be more relevant next week than it is this week. 67 00:03:34,764 --> 00:03:36,499 So dive it. 68 00:03:36,499 --> 00:03:37,050 So go ahead. 69 00:03:37,050 --> 00:03:40,403 If you have your Bibles, turn to First Peter chapter one. 70 00:03:40,937 --> 00:03:45,692 If you're going to use one of our, church Bibles, I can tell you it's on page 953. 71 00:03:46,376 --> 00:03:48,678 Page 953. 72 00:03:48,678 --> 00:03:52,398 And if you do use one of our church Bibles, just so you know, 73 00:03:52,398 --> 00:03:56,269 there's a there's a header right before the passage 74 00:03:56,269 --> 00:03:59,639 we had read to us, it's the same header that I have in my Bible, 75 00:04:00,506 --> 00:04:03,626 and the header just says called to be 76 00:04:03,626 --> 00:04:09,115 Holy, called to be holy, because Peter uses the word 77 00:04:09,115 --> 00:04:12,468 holy four times in just a couple of verses. 78 00:04:13,202 --> 00:04:17,573 But the whole concept of being holy is a little bit of a tough concept. 79 00:04:18,291 --> 00:04:21,294 I've been reading the book on monks and monasteries and, 80 00:04:21,894 --> 00:04:26,282 you know, monks built monasteries to try to isolate themselves 81 00:04:26,282 --> 00:04:28,801 from the culture, and they would spend 82 00:04:28,801 --> 00:04:32,272 all their time reading the Bible and praying and meditating. 83 00:04:32,605 --> 00:04:35,642 And that was their way of trying to be holy. 84 00:04:35,642 --> 00:04:39,312 And I, I don't know, I don't think that's what Peter's after. 85 00:04:39,679 --> 00:04:44,183 I actually went to a working monastery a few years ago down in Kentucky, and, 86 00:04:45,151 --> 00:04:45,568 I spent 87 00:04:45,568 --> 00:04:48,805 72 hours there was it was a silent monastery. 88 00:04:48,955 --> 00:04:49,939 So you went there? 89 00:04:49,939 --> 00:04:53,009 There were other people there, but you weren't supposed to speak to anybody. 90 00:04:53,693 --> 00:04:56,212 You were just supposed to spend time with you and God. 91 00:04:56,212 --> 00:04:59,215 So I was doing that, and I only spoke one time 92 00:04:59,515 --> 00:05:03,019 in that whole 72 hours, I was sitting at a table. 93 00:05:03,019 --> 00:05:04,437 I had my Bible in front of me. 94 00:05:04,437 --> 00:05:07,440 I was writing in my journal, and I said, I realized there was a monk 95 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:09,108 standing right next to me. 96 00:05:09,108 --> 00:05:12,261 He was dressed in the brown robe with the rope 97 00:05:12,628 --> 00:05:15,381 tied around his waist, the whole shebang. 98 00:05:15,381 --> 00:05:18,918 And I looked up at him and he looked down at me and he said this. 99 00:05:19,619 --> 00:05:21,120 Do you want a Coke? 100 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:23,423 I swear, that's what he said. 101 00:05:23,423 --> 00:05:25,441 And I said, sure, that'd be great. 102 00:05:25,441 --> 00:05:27,193 That's the only time I spoke. Right. But. 103 00:05:30,229 --> 00:05:31,948 When Peter 104 00:05:31,948 --> 00:05:35,151 says to be holy, I don't think that's what it after. 105 00:05:35,151 --> 00:05:37,053 Let me give you a different analogy. 106 00:05:37,053 --> 00:05:41,491 My wife, Karen, and I love to go on walks, particularly this time of year, 107 00:05:42,058 --> 00:05:45,061 and it's been a just a beautiful last week. 108 00:05:45,628 --> 00:05:49,582 But sometimes it's hard for me to pick out exactly what to wear, 109 00:05:50,216 --> 00:05:52,919 because sometimes I underestimate 110 00:05:52,919 --> 00:05:56,072 the how warm the sun is going to be. 111 00:05:56,072 --> 00:05:59,208 And I'll dress to warm and are other times right. 112 00:05:59,992 --> 00:06:05,281 I don't get the wind chill and I dress too lightly, 113 00:06:05,281 --> 00:06:09,902 but every once while I am dressed exactly right and I realize 114 00:06:09,902 --> 00:06:13,222 that about halfway through the walk that I just think, you know what? 115 00:06:13,222 --> 00:06:17,844 This is exactly the way I'm meant to feel on this walk. 116 00:06:17,844 --> 00:06:21,264 This is as good as it can be right here, right now. 117 00:06:21,264 --> 00:06:23,066 That's holiness. 118 00:06:23,066 --> 00:06:25,051 Not for a walk, but for life. 119 00:06:26,702 --> 00:06:29,689 You were made to be holy 120 00:06:30,390 --> 00:06:32,425 at your very best. 121 00:06:32,425 --> 00:06:35,027 You are holding the holy you are. 122 00:06:35,027 --> 00:06:39,232 The more you were prepared for whatever tomorrow brings, whatever 123 00:06:39,565 --> 00:06:44,537 next year brings, it's the way God made it. 124 00:06:45,721 --> 00:06:48,057 And when I started thinking about it like that, 125 00:06:48,057 --> 00:06:51,144 it may be long to be holy, 126 00:06:51,144 --> 00:06:54,147 but then the question is how does anyone get holy? 127 00:06:54,947 --> 00:06:56,966 And that's what this passage is about. 128 00:06:56,966 --> 00:06:59,702 Peter gives us the formula 129 00:06:59,702 --> 00:07:03,423 for being holy, and he gives it to us in kind of three steps. 130 00:07:03,423 --> 00:07:04,907 And they go in this order. 131 00:07:04,907 --> 00:07:07,910 He says, if you want to be holy, 132 00:07:08,277 --> 00:07:11,280 it's determined by first what you think 133 00:07:11,547 --> 00:07:14,183 and then what you want, 134 00:07:14,183 --> 00:07:16,402 and finally what you do, 135 00:07:16,402 --> 00:07:21,090 what you think, your mind, what you want in your heart, what you do 136 00:07:22,108 --> 00:07:23,759 in your conduct. 137 00:07:23,759 --> 00:07:25,194 Start with what you think. 138 00:07:25,194 --> 00:07:27,079 This is what Peter says. 139 00:07:27,079 --> 00:07:30,917 Therefore, this is verse 13, preparing your minds for action. 140 00:07:31,434 --> 00:07:33,419 Being sober minded. 141 00:07:33,419 --> 00:07:36,539 Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you 142 00:07:36,873 --> 00:07:39,659 at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 143 00:07:39,659 --> 00:07:42,662 He says, prepare your minds for action. 144 00:07:42,862 --> 00:07:44,814 You know it's written in Greek. 145 00:07:44,814 --> 00:07:47,817 And if you were going to translate the Greek word for word, 146 00:07:48,151 --> 00:07:51,654 what it says is gird up the loins of your mind. 147 00:07:51,654 --> 00:07:53,239 That's what he says. 148 00:07:53,239 --> 00:07:55,291 And I like that. Gird up y'all. 149 00:07:55,291 --> 00:07:56,292 It sounds strong. 150 00:07:56,292 --> 00:07:58,344 It does sound weird, 151 00:07:58,344 --> 00:08:01,581 but it's written like that because in the first century, 152 00:08:01,581 --> 00:08:03,900 men wore robes, and when they went to action, 153 00:08:03,900 --> 00:08:06,836 they would hike up the robes and they would tuck it in. 154 00:08:06,836 --> 00:08:09,088 That was girding up your loins. 155 00:08:10,072 --> 00:08:10,973 What Peter says 156 00:08:10,973 --> 00:08:14,093 is you need to gird up the loins of your mind. 157 00:08:14,093 --> 00:08:17,430 You need to be prepared if you're going to live as a Christian 158 00:08:17,430 --> 00:08:20,433 in a hostile culture, you need to use your head. 159 00:08:20,550 --> 00:08:22,618 I think 160 00:08:22,618 --> 00:08:24,620 it's not uncommon for somebody to come to me 161 00:08:24,620 --> 00:08:28,191 and they say, I've been sharing, Jesus with a friend. 162 00:08:28,791 --> 00:08:29,792 And they don't. 163 00:08:29,792 --> 00:08:32,612 They reject it and then they'll add something like this. 164 00:08:32,612 --> 00:08:35,598 My friend is very smart, and they've read a lot. 165 00:08:36,382 --> 00:08:38,518 And the implication is that 166 00:08:38,518 --> 00:08:41,938 if you're going to be a Christian, faith means you just work with your heart. 167 00:08:42,772 --> 00:08:45,775 You don't use your head, you don't use your mind. 168 00:08:46,859 --> 00:08:49,045 And I don't believe that's true. 169 00:08:49,045 --> 00:08:49,729 Let me tell you why. 170 00:08:49,729 --> 00:08:54,233 There there are four major questions of existence 171 00:08:54,617 --> 00:08:57,620 that every human being should think about, 172 00:08:57,770 --> 00:09:00,356 but very few human beings really do. 173 00:09:00,356 --> 00:09:01,524 Here are the four questions. 174 00:09:02,491 --> 00:09:04,760 Where did I come from? 175 00:09:04,760 --> 00:09:07,046 That's the question of origin. 176 00:09:07,046 --> 00:09:08,598 Where am I going? 177 00:09:08,598 --> 00:09:10,616 That's the question of destiny. 178 00:09:10,616 --> 00:09:12,802 Why am I here? 179 00:09:12,802 --> 00:09:15,121 That's the question of purpose. 180 00:09:15,121 --> 00:09:17,573 And then how shall I live? 181 00:09:17,573 --> 00:09:19,458 That's the question of morality. 182 00:09:19,458 --> 00:09:22,011 Where did I come from? Where am I going? 183 00:09:22,011 --> 00:09:23,763 Why am I here? 184 00:09:23,763 --> 00:09:27,950 How shall I live when I'm talking to somebody who's a skeptic 185 00:09:27,950 --> 00:09:32,121 and they are rejecting Christianity, and I get the feeling that it's 186 00:09:32,121 --> 00:09:36,242 because they think that faith means you don't use your head. 187 00:09:37,343 --> 00:09:40,346 I'll usually say, hey, can I ask you a question? 188 00:09:40,346 --> 00:09:41,147 And they'll say, sure. 189 00:09:41,147 --> 00:09:44,150 And I say, okay, why are you here? 190 00:09:44,784 --> 00:09:46,802 What's your purpose for existence? 191 00:09:46,802 --> 00:09:50,523 Nine times out of ten, they look at me with completely blank eyes 192 00:09:50,523 --> 00:09:54,777 because they've never really thought about it, and then they'll fumble around 193 00:09:54,777 --> 00:09:57,780 and they'll come up with an answer that sounds good to them. 194 00:09:57,947 --> 00:10:01,817 The problem is this if you're going to have intellectual integrity, 195 00:10:02,301 --> 00:10:05,605 the answers to those four questions have to match up. 196 00:10:05,821 --> 00:10:07,640 They have to be coherent. 197 00:10:07,640 --> 00:10:09,408 They have to lead one to the other. 198 00:10:09,408 --> 00:10:11,611 You can't jump somewhere else. 199 00:10:11,611 --> 00:10:14,397 However, you answer the first question, where did I come from? 200 00:10:14,397 --> 00:10:16,882 Has implications on your last question. 201 00:10:16,882 --> 00:10:19,769 How shall I live in your morality? 202 00:10:19,769 --> 00:10:24,140 I read an article where Ben Shapiro, who's Jewish, was talking to Bill Marr, 203 00:10:24,657 --> 00:10:28,044 who's a liberal commentator, talking about morality, 204 00:10:29,011 --> 00:10:30,596 and Ben Shapiro was there. 205 00:10:30,596 --> 00:10:33,482 They were talking about how how similar their moralities were. 206 00:10:33,482 --> 00:10:37,253 And Ben Shapiro told Bill Marr, you know, your morality comes from the Bible. 207 00:10:38,537 --> 00:10:42,842 And boy, Bill Marr, that really frustrated him 208 00:10:42,842 --> 00:10:45,828 because he ridicules the Bible. 209 00:10:46,312 --> 00:10:47,480 But Ben Shapiro was right. 210 00:10:47,480 --> 00:10:50,599 Bill Maher said, no, my morality comes from the enlightenment. 211 00:10:52,018 --> 00:10:55,438 But that's not true because Bill Maher is a champion for human rights. 212 00:10:55,438 --> 00:10:56,305 Most people are. 213 00:10:56,305 --> 00:10:59,308 Most people believe in human rights. 214 00:10:59,542 --> 00:11:00,893 You know where human rights come from. 215 00:11:00,893 --> 00:11:03,663 It's the way you answer the first question, 216 00:11:03,663 --> 00:11:06,649 the way a Christian answers the first question, where did I come from? 217 00:11:06,949 --> 00:11:09,902 I was made the image of God, and so were you. 218 00:11:09,902 --> 00:11:12,021 And so is everybody around you. 219 00:11:12,021 --> 00:11:15,775 Every human being has dignity and value simply 220 00:11:15,775 --> 00:11:17,460 because they're made in the image of God. 221 00:11:17,460 --> 00:11:19,795 People you love, people you hate, 222 00:11:20,780 --> 00:11:22,548 everybody. 223 00:11:22,548 --> 00:11:25,201 The whole idea of human rights 224 00:11:25,201 --> 00:11:26,852 comes from the Bible. 225 00:11:26,852 --> 00:11:29,238 Like if you answer the first question, evolution. 226 00:11:29,238 --> 00:11:31,040 Where did I come from? I came from evolution. 227 00:11:31,040 --> 00:11:34,043 You cannot get to human rights from there, 228 00:11:34,493 --> 00:11:38,964 not if you have intellectual integrity, because evolution says the exact opposite. 229 00:11:38,964 --> 00:11:41,751 The strong are much more valuable than the weak. 230 00:11:41,751 --> 00:11:45,388 The best thing it can happen is the strong survive and thrive in the weak. 231 00:11:45,388 --> 00:11:46,922 Die off. 232 00:11:46,922 --> 00:11:48,391 Because that's the way evolution works. 233 00:11:48,391 --> 00:11:50,659 As a human rights 234 00:11:50,659 --> 00:11:53,396 watch, somebody ask me, why do you believe in Jesus? 235 00:11:53,396 --> 00:11:56,549 You know, I told it's because I've looked at the evidence 236 00:11:57,299 --> 00:12:02,221 and I'm convinced that it's true, especially the resurrection of Jesus, 237 00:12:02,221 --> 00:12:05,207 which is the cornerstone of our faith. 238 00:12:05,424 --> 00:12:08,427 And so when I say I looked at the evidence, I don't just mean 239 00:12:08,477 --> 00:12:11,547 the four gospels that give us eyewitness account. 240 00:12:11,897 --> 00:12:15,267 I'm talking about other historians, Roman historians, 241 00:12:15,317 --> 00:12:18,270 Jewish historians, Greek historians who talk about the 242 00:12:18,270 --> 00:12:22,108 the resurrection, the rumor of the resurrection of Jesus. 243 00:12:22,608 --> 00:12:26,212 I'm talking about how thousands upon thousands and the people 244 00:12:26,212 --> 00:12:31,167 who were fiercely monotheistic began to talk about Jesus 245 00:12:31,400 --> 00:12:37,256 as if he were God incarnate because of the resurrection of Jesus. 246 00:12:37,256 --> 00:12:41,177 I've looked at the theories for the empty tomb, and I'll tell you, 247 00:12:41,427 --> 00:12:44,430 those are harder to believe for me 248 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:47,399 than the idea that Jesus resurrected. 249 00:12:47,399 --> 00:12:49,285 But it's not just that. 250 00:12:49,285 --> 00:12:54,023 It's when I fully gave myself to Jesus, something happened inside my soul. 251 00:12:54,023 --> 00:12:55,858 It's like something clicked into place. 252 00:12:55,858 --> 00:12:59,361 Like the game Tetris for those blocks come down and they match up 253 00:12:59,545 --> 00:13:01,647 just perfectly. 254 00:13:01,647 --> 00:13:05,267 It's like something was out of joint in my soul, and it snapped into place 255 00:13:05,267 --> 00:13:08,454 and all of a sudden things inside made sense to me. 256 00:13:08,454 --> 00:13:10,673 And when I talk to other people 257 00:13:10,673 --> 00:13:14,210 who fully give themselves to Jesus, they talk about it in the same way. 258 00:13:15,294 --> 00:13:15,628 When I 259 00:13:15,628 --> 00:13:18,798 read about people who are Christians hundreds of years ago, 260 00:13:19,698 --> 00:13:22,701 they talk about it the same way. 261 00:13:22,768 --> 00:13:26,572 So I tell you all that because don't let anyone, 262 00:13:26,572 --> 00:13:30,359 if you're a follower of Jesus, don't let anyone tell you 263 00:13:30,359 --> 00:13:35,481 that faith is based on just your heart and not your mind. 264 00:13:35,481 --> 00:13:40,102 And if you are a skeptic, I want you to know I'm really glad you're here, 265 00:13:41,537 --> 00:13:44,773 but I would just challenge you to look at the evidence, right? 266 00:13:44,807 --> 00:13:47,810 And if you look at all the evidence and you're still convinced 267 00:13:48,744 --> 00:13:51,897 that it's wrong, that it's not true, then that's okay. 268 00:13:51,897 --> 00:13:54,900 But at least you have had the integrity 269 00:13:54,917 --> 00:13:57,570 to look at all the evidence. 270 00:13:57,570 --> 00:14:00,573 They said, I'm going to give you an assignment for the next ten weeks. 271 00:14:01,106 --> 00:14:04,410 Those of you who are Christians, this is part of just getting the most 272 00:14:04,410 --> 00:14:05,327 out of this series. 273 00:14:06,378 --> 00:14:07,763 The passage I love the 274 00:14:07,763 --> 00:14:12,117 passage that Zach preached on last week, so let me read it to you. 275 00:14:12,117 --> 00:14:15,237 I want you to read this once a week for the next ten weeks. 276 00:14:15,955 --> 00:14:16,772 This is what it says. 277 00:14:16,772 --> 00:14:17,990 This is first Peter 278 00:14:17,990 --> 00:14:20,993 chapter one, verses three through nine, because I want you to get this 279 00:14:21,060 --> 00:14:22,528 in your mind. 280 00:14:22,528 --> 00:14:25,648 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 281 00:14:26,298 --> 00:14:27,633 According to his great mercy. 282 00:14:27,633 --> 00:14:32,304 He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection 283 00:14:32,821 --> 00:14:36,141 of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance 284 00:14:36,141 --> 00:14:41,180 that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 285 00:14:41,730 --> 00:14:44,717 who by God's power are being guarded through faith 286 00:14:45,084 --> 00:14:47,937 for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 287 00:14:48,888 --> 00:14:49,438 In this you 288 00:14:49,438 --> 00:14:52,741 rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary. 289 00:14:52,741 --> 00:14:55,561 You have been grieved by various trials, 290 00:14:55,561 --> 00:14:59,481 so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold 291 00:15:00,032 --> 00:15:03,919 that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result 292 00:15:03,919 --> 00:15:07,473 in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 293 00:15:08,657 --> 00:15:11,660 Though you have not seen him, you love him, 294 00:15:12,678 --> 00:15:15,631 though you do not see him now you believe in him 295 00:15:15,631 --> 00:15:20,336 and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 296 00:15:20,569 --> 00:15:24,423 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 297 00:15:26,342 --> 00:15:27,509 Peter says, if you're going to live 298 00:15:27,509 --> 00:15:30,512 as a Christian in a hostile culture, 299 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:33,599 prepare your mind 300 00:15:33,599 --> 00:15:38,087 because your mind, what goes on in your head will determine 301 00:15:38,087 --> 00:15:40,222 what you really want. 302 00:15:40,222 --> 00:15:42,441 That brings me to my second point. 303 00:15:42,441 --> 00:15:44,360 And that's verse 14. 304 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:47,730 Peter says, as obedient children, do not be conformed 305 00:15:47,730 --> 00:15:50,733 to the passions of your former ignorance. 306 00:15:51,617 --> 00:15:54,903 That word passions is the Greek word through media. 307 00:15:55,154 --> 00:15:57,539 Through media is the word for desire. 308 00:15:57,539 --> 00:16:01,827 Epi is a prefix that means over something you want too much. 309 00:16:01,910 --> 00:16:03,979 It's not necessarily a bad thing. 310 00:16:03,979 --> 00:16:05,431 It's not. It's just not 311 00:16:06,415 --> 00:16:09,418 made to be an ultimate thing, 312 00:16:09,418 --> 00:16:12,421 timed to bring out the will. 313 00:16:13,822 --> 00:16:15,407 I've not brought this out for a while. 314 00:16:15,407 --> 00:16:18,527 If you have not been here when I've talked about the will, 315 00:16:20,095 --> 00:16:22,381 you're in for a treat. 316 00:16:22,381 --> 00:16:25,200 The will is, the best way 317 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:28,187 for me to think about the way the human heart works. 318 00:16:28,220 --> 00:16:29,488 This is the way your heart works. 319 00:16:29,488 --> 00:16:31,223 The way my heart works. 320 00:16:31,223 --> 00:16:35,210 This, folks, are all the different things that we value in our lives. 321 00:16:35,961 --> 00:16:39,148 My family and children and marriage to a job success. 322 00:16:39,148 --> 00:16:41,967 What people think of us. Approval, all those things. 323 00:16:41,967 --> 00:16:44,069 But in every human heart, 324 00:16:44,069 --> 00:16:47,072 there is one thing that is more important than anything else, 325 00:16:47,940 --> 00:16:50,943 and that organizes everything else. 326 00:16:51,443 --> 00:16:55,097 Jonathan Edwards was a man who wrote a book called The Freedom of the Will. 327 00:16:55,914 --> 00:16:58,133 And what he says in that book, basically, is that 328 00:16:58,133 --> 00:17:01,336 every human being really does what they want. 329 00:17:02,521 --> 00:17:03,205 They do. 330 00:17:03,205 --> 00:17:08,544 Every decision you make is something you want more than the other. 331 00:17:08,544 --> 00:17:09,528 If you decide to 332 00:17:09,528 --> 00:17:13,499 eat dessert means you want dessert more than you want to lose weight. 333 00:17:13,499 --> 00:17:15,534 If you're trying to lose weight, 334 00:17:15,534 --> 00:17:18,387 if you have a chance to make $20,000, 335 00:17:18,387 --> 00:17:22,341 if you kind of bend the truth, you have a decision 336 00:17:22,341 --> 00:17:25,911 and you will do what you really want to do 337 00:17:27,079 --> 00:17:29,298 and what Peter says 338 00:17:29,298 --> 00:17:33,902 is that if you really understand who Jesus is and what I mean by something 339 00:17:33,902 --> 00:17:39,291 snapping into place in my soul is that Jesus becomes the most important thing. 340 00:17:40,192 --> 00:17:43,979 He becomes the thing that organizes everything else. 341 00:17:43,979 --> 00:17:46,982 That's why, just so you know, you can't say, 342 00:17:47,282 --> 00:17:50,702 I obey Jesus in every other area of my life, 343 00:17:50,702 --> 00:17:54,923 but not with my sexuality, where I obey Jesus, everybody, 344 00:17:55,074 --> 00:17:58,077 everything and everything else, but not with my money. 345 00:17:58,494 --> 00:18:00,979 Because whatever you say when you say 346 00:18:00,979 --> 00:18:05,000 I'll be Jesus, except for that's the center thing. 347 00:18:06,468 --> 00:18:08,220 What makes me different as a Christian? 348 00:18:08,220 --> 00:18:11,640 What makes you different as a Christian is not that you want things that 349 00:18:12,257 --> 00:18:14,243 non-Christians want. 350 00:18:14,243 --> 00:18:15,711 You want the I want the same thing. 351 00:18:15,711 --> 00:18:18,714 I want my children to be healthy and happy. 352 00:18:19,231 --> 00:18:22,217 I want to be successful. 353 00:18:22,468 --> 00:18:24,887 I want to have a good marriage. 354 00:18:24,887 --> 00:18:26,038 I want people to like me. 355 00:18:26,038 --> 00:18:29,041 I want the approval of people. 356 00:18:30,259 --> 00:18:31,376 I want plenty of money. 357 00:18:31,376 --> 00:18:32,611 I want all those things. 358 00:18:32,611 --> 00:18:36,331 The thing that makes a Christian different is that Jesus is here 359 00:18:37,399 --> 00:18:39,902 so that all those things 360 00:18:39,902 --> 00:18:42,237 fall and subject to him. 361 00:18:42,237 --> 00:18:45,240 And that means that if I lose one of those things, 362 00:18:46,008 --> 00:18:48,677 if I lose my marriage, something happens to my wife. 363 00:18:48,677 --> 00:18:51,680 It'll make me very, very sad, 364 00:18:52,314 --> 00:18:53,448 but it won't destroy me 365 00:18:54,983 --> 00:18:55,467 because my 366 00:18:55,467 --> 00:18:58,487 relationship with her is not the most important. 367 00:18:58,487 --> 00:19:00,572 It's Jesus. 368 00:19:00,572 --> 00:19:03,709 And what Peter says is nothing can take that away. 369 00:19:05,611 --> 00:19:07,045 So Peter says, if you're going to live 370 00:19:07,045 --> 00:19:10,048 in a hostile culture, it starts 371 00:19:10,349 --> 00:19:12,000 with what you think. 372 00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,970 If you want to be holy, it starts with your mind. 373 00:19:14,970 --> 00:19:19,224 You have to remind yourself all the time of who Jesus is and what he did. 374 00:19:19,975 --> 00:19:22,427 That will work its way out in your heart, 375 00:19:22,427 --> 00:19:26,582 and what you really want will help you make decisions. 376 00:19:26,582 --> 00:19:29,401 When you come to decisions. 377 00:19:29,401 --> 00:19:33,272 And then finally, what you do, what you do. 378 00:19:33,272 --> 00:19:36,258 And that's the next verse, verse 15, 379 00:19:36,658 --> 00:19:39,661 it says, but is he who called you is holy? 380 00:19:39,678 --> 00:19:43,015 You also be holy in all your conduct, 381 00:19:44,149 --> 00:19:45,234 your mind, your heart, 382 00:19:46,218 --> 00:19:48,437 and then your conduct. 383 00:19:48,437 --> 00:19:49,404 You know, that's the last thing. 384 00:19:49,404 --> 00:19:53,358 I used to think that was the hardest thing because, for most of my life, 385 00:19:53,358 --> 00:19:56,211 when I thought about being holy, I was trying to white knuckle it. 386 00:19:56,211 --> 00:19:58,981 I remember hearing a preacher say something one time, and I. 387 00:19:58,981 --> 00:20:01,617 I wrote it in the flyleaf of one of my Bibles. 388 00:20:01,617 --> 00:20:04,353 And what he said was this. 389 00:20:04,353 --> 00:20:07,339 You are as holy today as you've ever really wanted to be. 390 00:20:08,273 --> 00:20:11,276 And when I even when I wrote that I was going, oh man, 391 00:20:11,510 --> 00:20:13,345 I am such a loser, right? 392 00:20:13,345 --> 00:20:14,213 Because I just couldn't. 393 00:20:14,213 --> 00:20:19,918 I mean, I was trying to, but I don't think Conde UT is the hardest thing. 394 00:20:19,918 --> 00:20:22,170 It's the easiest thing. 395 00:20:22,170 --> 00:20:25,757 Let me go back to the analogy of going for a walk. 396 00:20:26,942 --> 00:20:30,712 But when I go for a walk, if I check my weather app 397 00:20:30,712 --> 00:20:34,016 and I really believe that that's what the weather's going to be like, 398 00:20:34,833 --> 00:20:38,937 then what I want more than anything is to dress accordingly. 399 00:20:39,805 --> 00:20:40,422 To dress. 400 00:20:40,422 --> 00:20:44,643 I'm absolutely in the best shape that I can be for the walk. 401 00:20:45,744 --> 00:20:49,648 And then I lay out the clothes I get in the clothes I go for my walk. 402 00:20:50,582 --> 00:20:55,854 Right now, what the Bible says is that Jesus is the one that 403 00:20:55,887 --> 00:21:01,009 when you really believe Jesus, then he lays out the clothes for you. 404 00:21:01,877 --> 00:21:04,112 And that's what it that's what the Bible is all about. 405 00:21:04,112 --> 00:21:05,664 We're going to get more into that. 406 00:21:05,664 --> 00:21:09,501 And first, Peter, but then you just dress 407 00:21:10,052 --> 00:21:14,840 in the way that God has made for you, and then you go out into your life. 408 00:21:16,441 --> 00:21:17,876 There is a fourth century 409 00:21:17,876 --> 00:21:21,146 monk of all things named Augustine. 410 00:21:21,713 --> 00:21:23,665 We call him Saint Augustine. 411 00:21:23,665 --> 00:21:26,268 He was famous for saying this 412 00:21:26,268 --> 00:21:28,337 Love God 413 00:21:28,337 --> 00:21:31,340 and then do what you want. 414 00:21:31,606 --> 00:21:32,240 Very simple. 415 00:21:32,240 --> 00:21:34,793 Love God. Do what you want. 416 00:21:34,793 --> 00:21:38,430 It was Saint Augustine's way of talking about the will. 417 00:21:39,381 --> 00:21:42,467 He said, if you really convinced of who Jesus is 418 00:21:42,467 --> 00:21:45,620 and he becomes the most important thing to you, 419 00:21:46,772 --> 00:21:49,441 then what you do, how you live, 420 00:21:49,441 --> 00:21:52,427 the choices you make will just seem 421 00:21:52,644 --> 00:21:54,529 natural. 422 00:21:54,529 --> 00:21:56,448 They'll seem easy 423 00:21:56,448 --> 00:21:59,451 because the hard work is done in your mind 424 00:21:59,968 --> 00:22:02,671 and in your heart 425 00:22:02,671 --> 00:22:05,040 is if you're going to live 426 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:08,477 as a Christian in a hostile culture, 427 00:22:09,745 --> 00:22:13,849 then what Peter says is the best way to do that is to be holy. 428 00:22:13,849 --> 00:22:15,450 If you're going to be prepared for tomorrow, 429 00:22:15,450 --> 00:22:19,554 what tomorrow brings, what next week brings, what the next year brings, 430 00:22:20,622 --> 00:22:23,608 it says is be holy. 431 00:22:23,942 --> 00:22:25,961 It's what you think. 432 00:22:25,961 --> 00:22:28,680 And then what you want 433 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:30,499 and then what you do. 434 00:22:30,499 --> 00:22:32,217 Be holy 435 00:22:32,217 --> 00:22:33,902 as God is holy. 436 00:22:33,902 --> 00:22:36,888 You pray with me. 437 00:22:36,888 --> 00:22:38,390 Our father in heaven, we come to you. 438 00:22:38,390 --> 00:22:40,042 And, I am grateful. 439 00:22:40,042 --> 00:22:43,795 I'm grateful that in this passage you say as obedient 440 00:22:44,129 --> 00:22:48,150 children, not obedient servants, but you say children 441 00:22:48,150 --> 00:22:52,637 because you have loved us and adopted us as your own. 442 00:22:52,637 --> 00:22:58,293 And you do this, you give us this call to be holy because you love us, 443 00:22:59,211 --> 00:23:02,748 because you want what is absolutely best for us. 444 00:23:02,748 --> 00:23:05,751 And I pray for every person here. 445 00:23:06,001 --> 00:23:08,537 I pray that you would convince us more 446 00:23:08,537 --> 00:23:11,540 and more in our minds of who you are, 447 00:23:12,691 --> 00:23:14,810 so we can prepare our minds for action. 448 00:23:14,810 --> 00:23:18,797 Then I pray that you will change our hearts so that every day we will wake up 449 00:23:20,332 --> 00:23:21,049 and want 450 00:23:21,049 --> 00:23:24,052 you more than anything else, want you, 451 00:23:24,202 --> 00:23:27,572 and then that you will order our lives in such a way that we will live 452 00:23:28,940 --> 00:23:31,943 in the very best way that we can 453 00:23:31,943 --> 00:23:34,946 to be what you made us to be. 454 00:23:36,047 --> 00:23:37,699 Thanks for everybody here. 455 00:23:37,699 --> 00:23:40,769 I pray your deep blessing on them 456 00:23:41,686 --> 00:23:44,389 and I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.