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Speaker: Um, hey, there's been a lot of
talk about peace in the news recently.

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In fact, that kind of seems
to be what Trump wants his

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second term to be known by.

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He's been working hard
with Zelensky and Putin.

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In fact, just this last week,
he was on the phone with Putin

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and the meeting with Zelensky.

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Uh, he worked out peace or
helped to negotiate peace

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between a Azerbaijan and Armenia.

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He's been working with a, a
border dispute between, uh,

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Thailand and uh, and Cambodia.

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And then most recently, kind of
the biggest splash he made was

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the agreement to a ceasefire at
least between, uh, Gaza and Israel.

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And that saw the exchange of the prisoners
of war that Israel had and the hostages

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that Gaza was holding at the time.

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Uh, but, but it seems that he really
wants to be known as a president of

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peace, at least during this second term.

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But I think as, as Christians, as
much as we can champion peace, we have

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to ask ourselves, what if there's a
peace that we're not supposed to have?

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What if there's a peace that
we're not supposed to pursue?

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What if there's a peace that if, if we
are pursuing that peace, we'll find that

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not only are we dishonoring the Lord, but
we're putting our very souls in danger.

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What if until we go to be with
Jesus life here with Christ is

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really meant to be life at war?

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I'm not talking about conflict
between nations or people groups

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anymore, but the tension that
needs to exist and should exist.

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The feeling that every believer
should have between, uh, the

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existence of light and dark, good
and evil, the spirit and the flesh.

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This tension that happens when we
become a new creation in Christ,

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when things shift in our point of
view, shifts such that now we live

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this life with Jesus as life at war.

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Peter's already told us this
world is not gonna be our home.

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He's gonna revisit that in our text.

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He's gonna expound upon that and
say, not only are we exiles and

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sojourner, but we are exiles and
sojourner behind enemy lines.

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And so as we navigate this life with
Jesus, we navigate it as life at war.

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Pick up in one Peter, chapter two.

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We're gonna be in verses 11 and 12.

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Peter Rice.

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Beloved, I urge you as sojourners
and exiles to abstain from the

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passions of your flesh, which
wage war against your soul.

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Keep your conduct among the Gentiles
honorable so that when they speak

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against you as evil doers, they
may see your good deeds and glorify

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God on the day of visitation.

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So Peter begins and he says, beloved,
I urge you as Sojourner and exiles.

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This is something that
he's hit on already.

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He's started the letter by
saying to the elect, exile.

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We already mentioned that
they were literal exiles.

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They had been resettled away from
their homes and settled in the

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region of Asia Minor, and that
was probably a political move.

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They were the persona
non grata within Rome.

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The, the Christians were already beginning
to be looked down upon at this time,

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they're gonna be really persecuted
under Niro's reign, which is on the

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doorstep of what we're reading right now.

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Uh, but they were exiles.

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They were actual, literal exiles.

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But more than that, Peter
wanted them to understand their

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identity as spiritual exiles.

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And that's how he wants us to
understand our identities as well.

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That as we read this, it was written
to an original audience almost 2000

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years ago, but by the spirit, it
applies to us where we sit today.

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And so as we read, Peter addressed
them as Sojourner and Exiles.

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It applies to you and me as
well, in what sense them?

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Well, we talked about the word exile.

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To be an exile is to be away from home.

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But now he introduces another
word here, the word sojourner.

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And the word sojourner is from a
compound Greek word that means to live

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alongside of, if you've been around our
area in this culture, you, you've seen

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that there have been a lot of people
from other nations and other cultures

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moving to North Texas and, and one
of the things about that is that they

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have not necessarily moved here to just
assimilate and blend into the rest of

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what our culture has always looked like.

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Right.

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And, and so even this weekend
is the Festival of Diwali.

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It's a festival of light
in the Hindu religion.

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And so there are neighbors that you
may have that are celebrating, right?

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That right now, I know when my wife
and I go for walks in our neighborhood,

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we'll often see there are older Indian
couples that are walking around in

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their full dress, in their full garb.

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See, they have brought their culture here.

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They are living alongside us.

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They are among us, but
they're not necessarily of us.

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Just by the, the, the nature of
the fact that they're here, they're

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here as Sojourner, and, and they
stand out as a result of that.

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Yes, church, we need to stand out in the
world in which we live in the same way.

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We're not here to
amalgamate to the culture.

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We're not here to
assimilate to the culture.

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We're not here to just blend
in with the world and just ride

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it out until Jesus comes back.

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We're here to be those that
are by definition and by

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identity, exiles and Sojourner.

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But why is Peter writing to a
group that were literal exiles

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and sojourner and stressing this?

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Again, they knew that there
were exiles and sojourner.

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This is not news to them
in any way, shape, or form.

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I think the reason he is doing this is
because it wasn't so much that he was

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concerned that they would forget that
there were exiles, but that they might

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grow too comfortable in their exile and
forget that they were spiritual exiles

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and not just any spiritual exiles, but
spiritual exiles behind enemy lines.

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Peter is building on something
that, that Paul has already talked

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about back in Ephesians chapter six.

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Paul says that we as Christians need to
put on the armor of God every single day.

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He says, because why?

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Because we are at war every single day.

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Not against flesh and blood, he
says, but against the spiritual

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forces at work in this world.

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The evening before D-Day, the men
of Easy Company of the hundred

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first Airborne were airdropped.

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They were parachuted into enemy lines,
enemy territory, and they had a mission.

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Their mission was to soften the
defenses of Germany such that the

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allies, when they landed on Normandy,
would have an easier time to try to

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penetrate the defenses and get inland.

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You had these paratroopers who were
dropped in the middle of the night

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with anti-aircraft fire and everything
else going on into enemy territory.

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And you know what they did when
they hit the ground as exiles

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and sojourner behind enemy lines?

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It's not as though they thought
to themselves, where can we

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get a good beignet in France?

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They didn't think, you know, let's go try.

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Let's go on a coffee crawl.

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Let's go find the the cute coffee shops
in the area and get some, some caffeine.

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They hit the ground understanding
they were there on mission.

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They hit the ground understanding.

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We're in hostile territory and
we have to be aware of that.

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If we're gonna be effective in our
mission, if we're gonna survive doing

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what we are called to do, we're here.

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And we have to understand that we
have to be those that are exiles and

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sojourner and we need to be aware of that.

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Y'all, God has put his church
behind enemy lines as well with

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the mission for her to carry out.

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We are here as exiles,
those that aren't at home.

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We are here as Sojourner living among,
living next to living alongside of

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the world, and yet not of the world.

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And as we think about life with
Christ being life at war, it's

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so important that as we fight, we
fight to maintain that distinction.

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Our first point this morning
is this, fight the temptation

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to make yourself at home.

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Fight the temptation to
make yourself at home.

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Amanda, and I'm a, my wife and I were
31 before we bought our first house.

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And before that we lived in
rental homes, in, uh, rental

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town homes, things like that.

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And I, I remember when we bought
our first house, it was in Arizona.

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The first thing, one of the first projects
that we did is there was carpeting right

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in the, the, the front entry room there.

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And we decided, you know what?

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We're gonna tear this carpeting
up and we're gonna put down

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vinyl flooring instead.

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My dad helped us and we tore the
carpet up and we scraped the glue

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and we put down the vinyl plank
flooring and we did the leveling

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agent before we put down the flooring.

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But it was a beast of a job.

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And it was one that was like,
are we gonna be able to do this?

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I don't know.

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This is, this is a lot.

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This is a big undertaking, but I tell
you what, it was rewarding to do it.

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And the reason why we did it, and the
reason why we put in the sweat equity and

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the financial equity into putting down
this new flooring in this house that we

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bought is because we bought the house.

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It was home.

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It was ours.

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We've lived in plenty of rental
places, including when we just

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moved out from here, back here from
California, where you can't buy a

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house with all of Donald Trump's money.

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Um, and that's just a starter home.

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Uh, we, we rented while we were there
and we rented this home that was built

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in the 1960s, and it was this level,
like they, we had a, a leak in the home

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that they had to come repair and they
had to check the house for asbestos

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before they would repair the leak.

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And thankfully there was no
asbestos, so that's a win.

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But there were plenty of things about that
house that we would've loved to change.

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But we didn't.

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Why?

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Because we were renters.

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We knew this wasn't our permanent home.

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We didn't have an ownership.

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We were just there temporarily.

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It was a place we were thankful for.

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It was a place we made use of.

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It was a place that we stewarded, but
you're gonna treat a rental property

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different than you're gonna treat
a place that you own Christians.

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We are renting in this world.

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We're, we're not owners here.

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We're not here to change
out the wallpaper.

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We're not here to put down new
flooring in this temporary abode.

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And if we forget this first point that
we are sojourner and exiles, we can be

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tempted as we're here, as those that
are, are not of the world, to make

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ourselves at home here and, and we
can try to get so comfortable with the

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world that we're asking the world about,
well, what do you think about this paint

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shade that I want to paint my walls?

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It's hard in our context.

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Let's just admit it.

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It's hard here in North Texas to feel
like an exile and a sojourner, let

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alone one living behind enemy lines.

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Every single one, one of us in this
room are, are, are comfortable,

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especially when you consider
that by the world's standards.

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You have food on your table, you
have water that runs, you have a

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roof over your head, you have clothes
to put on, you have transportation

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to get to church this morning.

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It, it's hard for us to feel comfortable
or not to feel rather comfortable here.

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It's hard for us to feel like an
exile in a soldier, not to feel the

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temptation to make ourself at home.

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And, and, and it's not that
I'm saying that it's wrong

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to invest in your community.

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It's not that at all.

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I'm, I'm also not saying that's
wrong, to enjoy the home that God

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has given you and blessed you with
or the things that God has given you.

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So long as we do that vigilantly
watching to make sure that it's

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not luring us to store up our
treasures here instead of there.

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That's what Jesus told us to
do In the Sermon on the Mount.

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He said this, he said, do not lay
up for yourselves treasures on earth

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where moth and rust destroy, and
where thieves can break in and steal.

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But lay up for yourselves treasures
in heaven, where neither moth nor

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rust destroys, and where thieves
do not break in and steal for.

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And this is the kicker here where your
heart is or where your treasure is.

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There, your heart will be also.

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We have to make sure that we are not
making a home for our heart on this earth.

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We are.

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We have to make sure that, that
we are sojourner and exiles, that

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when it comes to our heart, our
heart is home with Jesus, not here.

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And so we have to guard against storing
up treasures for ourselves here, making

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ourselves comfortable and at home here.

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What does that look like?

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How do I know if I'm in danger of that?

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Well, here's some good
diagnostic questions for us.

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We often talk about, as Christians,
our time, talent, and treasure,

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time, talent, and treasure.

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So think about your time.

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Do you find that you spend your time
more on temporal things with a temporal

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mindset about those things than you do?

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Spending your time thinking about how
it impacts eternity, how the use of

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the time that God has given you impacts
what eternity is gonna be like for you?

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Same with your talent, the
gifts that God has given you.

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Are you using the talent, the gifts that
God has given you for temporal gain, for

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temporal status, for temporal fame, for
temporal treasures more than you are using

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those gifts with the eternal mindset?

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I'm not just talking about serving
within the church, I'm talking about

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even the gifts that God has given
you in your intellect and in your

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personality that have put you in
the position that you are at work.

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I mean, are you working in order to
build your earthly kingdom or are you

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working in order to build God's kingdom?

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Third, your, your treasure.

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Are you using the money that God
has given you strictly for temporal

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pleasures with a temporal mindset?

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Or are you using those resources
that God has given you to

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make an impact in eternity?

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In fact, in Matthew,
that's the context here.

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Jesus goes on to say, you
cannot serve two masters.

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You cannot love both God and
money and, and so as Christians,

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we are sojourner and exiles.

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We are here not to be at home,
but to remember we're not at home.

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In fact, that's why Pastor Rod read
two Corinthians chapter four through

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chapter five in that text there, because
that's what Paul's talking about there.

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He says, man, this, this body is a
tent, but God's got a building for me.

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He says, man, I, I'm, I'm here, and
while I'm here, I'm away from the Lord.

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And he says, man, I I, I would rather
be with the Lord than to be here.

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Yeah, while I'm here, I'm gonna
make it my aim to please him.

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But I wonder, and here's another question,
maybe another diagnostic question.

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Can we say with Paul, like he says
there, that we would rather be away

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from the body and at home with the
Lord, and that will reveal right there

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whether or not we're home here or
whether we're thinking about home there.

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And, and again, we have to
fight for that mentality.

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We have to fight for that mindset because
it is so easy to be comfortable here.

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We don't need to despise those blessings.

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We can be grateful for those blessings.

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But one thing that comes with it is
it's harder for us to think about how

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much better it's gonna be with Jesus
than it is for somebody who has to walk

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five miles each way every day just to
get water for their family, to be able

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to have something to drink, and we have
to work, we have to fight for that.

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The, the attitude that Paul has
in Second Corinthians chapter

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four, I don't think that's just
for Paul or for elite Christians.

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All of us.

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Paul says in Philippians chapter
one even, he says, you know what?

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I don't know whether
I'm gonna live or die.

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And I'm hard pressed between the two
because I know for me to live and and to

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remain here means fruitful labor for you.

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But man, I tell you what, I'd rather
depart and go to be with Jesus

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because he says that is far better.

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Yeah, it's one thing to say that's
far better when you're in jail.

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It's another thing to
say that's far better.

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When you've got your house and you've
got your car and you've got your family,

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00:14:05,940 --> 00:14:08,610
and you've got the successful kids and
you've got everything that you need.

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Can we still say in that moment, man,
it's far better to be with Jesus.

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That's the mentality, that's the
mindset that we have to fight for.

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00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:19,710
And again, I'm not calling us
to a macab and depressed life

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here, but exactly the opposite.

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I'm calling you to realize, man, as
good as you may have it right now,

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00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:26,610
heaven's gonna be so much better.

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As sweet as your family may be
to you right now, being with

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Jesus is gonna be so much better.

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00:14:32,895 --> 00:14:36,045
And so fighting as those that are
behind enemy lines, as exiles, as

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00:14:36,045 --> 00:14:39,555
soner, to make sure that, that we
are not making ourselves at home

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00:14:39,555 --> 00:14:42,704
here because as Christians, there's
been a seismic shift in our life.

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When we come to faith in
Christ, we have death to life.

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We go from darkness to light.

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We go from old to new.

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00:14:48,795 --> 00:14:53,625
We go from at home in this world and
alienated from the Lord to at home with

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the Lord, and alienated from this world,
and we have to fight for that mentality.

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00:14:59,910 --> 00:15:04,500
Life with Jesus is life at war,
and the first battle is the battle

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against the temptation to make
ourselves at home in this life.

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One of the men of Easy Company was a guy
named Shifty Powers, which if we were

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00:15:14,430 --> 00:15:17,070
still having kids, might be a contender.

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00:15:18,390 --> 00:15:19,800
Shifty Powers Burner.

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Yeah.

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00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:22,165
I mean, shifty Powers just cool name.

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00:15:22,625 --> 00:15:24,660
He was known for his keen eyesight.

305
00:15:24,660 --> 00:15:25,470
He was a sharpshooter.

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00:15:25,935 --> 00:15:28,515
In fact, there's a, a scene in Band of
Brothers where he takes out a sniper

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00:15:28,515 --> 00:15:29,895
that was pinning down American troops.

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00:15:30,555 --> 00:15:32,444
But there's another story
about shifty powers that's not

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00:15:32,444 --> 00:15:33,885
told in the, the mini series.

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00:15:34,725 --> 00:15:38,055
And it, this one just is one of
those like, wow, that's amazing.

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00:15:38,685 --> 00:15:41,235
So during the Battle of the Bulge
in the forest of the den, when,

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when he was in, amidst all of these
trees, you, you have to picture it,

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they were trees all around them.

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Dense, thick forests.

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00:15:48,250 --> 00:15:50,175
And, and the, the American
forces were pinned down.

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00:15:50,175 --> 00:15:51,165
They were in foxholes.

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00:15:51,690 --> 00:15:55,290
And so from the foxholes, some of their,
their, the troops, their job at the front

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00:15:55,290 --> 00:15:59,730
of the foxhole line was to keep an eye out
on the, the enemy line, on the defenses

319
00:16:00,030 --> 00:16:03,330
to make sure that they weren't coming
at them, to make sure that they didn't

320
00:16:03,330 --> 00:16:06,060
need to all of a sudden get the troops
ready because here was coming an attack.

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00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:11,430
Well, on one of those watches, shifty was
in his foxhole and, and, and shifty called

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00:16:11,430 --> 00:16:15,390
his sergeant and said, Sarge, there's
a tree there that wasn't there before.

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00:16:16,830 --> 00:16:18,360
He's in a forest, y'all.

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00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:24,480
The enemy line was over a mile away,
and he's saying, Sarge, there's

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00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:26,940
a tree that wasn't there before.

326
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You can imagine that the
Sarge was probably like, okay,

327
00:16:30,270 --> 00:16:31,350
it's time to swap you out.

328
00:16:31,350 --> 00:16:32,670
Time to get a different guy in here.

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00:16:34,650 --> 00:16:39,270
But because of who it was and because of
how keen his eye eyesight was, the Sarge

330
00:16:39,270 --> 00:16:40,620
said, okay, let's, let's investigate.

331
00:16:41,370 --> 00:16:44,340
So upon investigation, they found that
the Germans had moved anti-aircraft

332
00:16:44,340 --> 00:16:46,020
artillery into that position.

333
00:16:46,605 --> 00:16:50,325
They had dis disguised with a
tree that wasn't there before.

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00:16:51,615 --> 00:16:56,445
And so because of shifty power's, keen
vigilance and eyesight, the Americans

335
00:16:56,445 --> 00:16:59,295
were able to train their artillery
on that location and blow up this

336
00:16:59,295 --> 00:17:04,575
anti anti-aircraft munitions station
that the Germans had placed there.

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00:17:04,575 --> 00:17:08,595
That would've potentially turned the tide
of, of at least that battle, if not more.

338
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All because shifty saw a tree
that wasn't there the day before.

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00:17:14,790 --> 00:17:19,858
As we continue in our text here, Peter
is gonna tell us that we are at war.

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Look at in, in verse 11, he says, beloved,
I urge you as sojourners an exiles to

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00:17:24,388 --> 00:17:27,240
abstain from the passions of the flesh,
which wage war against your soul.

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00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,540
And so here's the thing, church,
we have to be on the lookout

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for the attacks of the enemy.

344
00:17:32,129 --> 00:17:35,310
As keenly, as shifty was
watching those woods,

345
00:17:38,010 --> 00:17:39,360
I think we understand.

346
00:17:40,230 --> 00:17:44,220
The battle that we face against the big
ticket items in our life, such that,

347
00:17:44,220 --> 00:17:46,560
man, if you're in one of those foxholes
and you're looking out there, and the,

348
00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:48,689
here come, the German tanks, you're
gonna be like, ah, we're in trouble.

349
00:17:48,689 --> 00:17:49,500
There's tanks coming.

350
00:17:50,564 --> 00:17:54,480
Or, or all of a sudden they just start
charging, uh uh, the enemy's coming.

351
00:17:54,720 --> 00:17:55,620
They're charging at us.

352
00:17:55,620 --> 00:17:56,310
We need to be ready.

353
00:17:56,669 --> 00:17:59,159
There are things in your life
as a Christian that you guard

354
00:17:59,159 --> 00:18:01,889
against that you're going, okay,
I, I, I know the big ticket items.

355
00:18:01,889 --> 00:18:06,840
I'm not gonna do these things,
but we also need to be on guard.

356
00:18:07,395 --> 00:18:08,685
Perhaps even more vigilantly.

357
00:18:08,745 --> 00:18:10,485
Vigilantly against the smaller things.

358
00:18:11,925 --> 00:18:13,095
We have to watch the perimeters.

359
00:18:13,095 --> 00:18:15,195
We have to notice the tree that
wasn't there the day before.

360
00:18:16,034 --> 00:18:20,715
We have to have that level of awareness
against the passions of our flesh because

361
00:18:20,715 --> 00:18:23,054
they are waging war against our souls.

362
00:18:24,645 --> 00:18:28,725
We are at war, we are behind enemy lines,
and one of the greatest enemies that

363
00:18:28,725 --> 00:18:30,735
we face, y'all, is the enemy within.

364
00:18:32,865 --> 00:18:33,885
Peter says, I urge you.

365
00:18:34,364 --> 00:18:36,584
It's a word that means
I beg you, I plead you.

366
00:18:36,644 --> 00:18:37,874
I implore with you.

367
00:18:39,404 --> 00:18:41,445
I beg you, I urge you, I plead with you.

368
00:18:41,610 --> 00:18:47,235
I, I, I implore you as sojourners
in exiles to abstain from that

369
00:18:47,235 --> 00:18:51,225
means to keep away from, to
avoid, to maintain your distance.

370
00:18:51,225 --> 00:18:54,254
From then he says the
passions of the flesh.

371
00:18:54,915 --> 00:18:57,374
We've seen that term passions
before, back in chapter one, verse

372
00:18:57,374 --> 00:19:01,334
14, where Peter said there that we
needed to be on guard against the

373
00:19:01,334 --> 00:19:03,225
passions of our former ignorance.

374
00:19:04,545 --> 00:19:05,205
It's the same word.

375
00:19:05,205 --> 00:19:05,920
It's the word epit.

376
00:19:05,925 --> 00:19:08,955
Theia in the Greek, which
means desire, lust, or craving.

377
00:19:10,395 --> 00:19:14,295
And Peter says, we have desires, we
have lust, we have cravings inherent to

378
00:19:14,295 --> 00:19:20,265
our old man, to the flesh that we have
to be on guard against as Christians.

379
00:19:21,465 --> 00:19:24,345
And so as Christians, though,
the old man has been crucified

380
00:19:24,345 --> 00:19:27,075
with Christ, the vestiges of the
old man still remain such that.

381
00:19:27,465 --> 00:19:29,805
We have to realize that there
are things that we once crave

382
00:19:29,805 --> 00:19:31,034
that we should no longer crave.

383
00:19:31,034 --> 00:19:34,155
There are things that we once desire
that we should no longer desire.

384
00:19:34,155 --> 00:19:37,365
And here's the hard reality is
we're still going to face the

385
00:19:37,365 --> 00:19:38,925
temptation for those things.

386
00:19:40,215 --> 00:19:43,754
We're, we're still going to be lured,
we're still gonna be enticed by those

387
00:19:43,754 --> 00:19:47,355
things, and yet what we have to do
is be on guard looking for the tree

388
00:19:47,355 --> 00:19:48,405
that wasn't there the day before.

389
00:19:48,405 --> 00:19:51,830
So much so that we recognize
them now for what they are.

390
00:19:53,550 --> 00:19:56,970
And we recognize that the enemy
conceals behind the lure of

391
00:19:56,970 --> 00:19:59,040
the sin, the hook of death.

392
00:20:01,290 --> 00:20:02,970
And so as Christians,
we have to be on guard.

393
00:20:02,970 --> 00:20:06,000
We have to abstain from these
fleshly passions, which he goes on

394
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,850
to say, wage war against your soul.

395
00:20:09,990 --> 00:20:12,210
And, and that's not an over
translation, by the way.

396
00:20:13,110 --> 00:20:14,370
That's what the word means.

397
00:20:14,370 --> 00:20:17,730
It means to go to battle against,
to fight in a, in an army is

398
00:20:17,730 --> 00:20:18,720
what the Greek word means.

399
00:20:19,290 --> 00:20:21,870
The noun version is to be
a commander of an army.

400
00:20:22,875 --> 00:20:24,435
And so Peter is saying there is a battle.

401
00:20:24,435 --> 00:20:27,794
There is a war that we, as exiles
and Sojourner are a part of whether

402
00:20:27,794 --> 00:20:31,365
we want to be or not, because
we're new creations in Christ.

403
00:20:31,365 --> 00:20:34,034
There's been a shift, there's been
a, a break with the old, and now

404
00:20:34,034 --> 00:20:37,304
we are new, and yet the vestiges
of the old are still here and they

405
00:20:37,304 --> 00:20:38,955
want to take us out at every turn.

406
00:20:39,855 --> 00:20:42,375
And so we have to go to war because
they're waging war against our

407
00:20:42,375 --> 00:20:46,365
soul, not just the immaterial
part of us, but the whole being.

408
00:20:46,365 --> 00:20:47,235
The whole person.

409
00:20:49,814 --> 00:20:53,834
Paul instructs believers to
flee from sexual immorality.

410
00:20:54,854 --> 00:21:00,344
He tells them to flee from youthful
passions, to flee from idolatry.

411
00:21:02,834 --> 00:21:05,925
Yesterday with our, our men Pastor,
rod preached on the fact that Joseph

412
00:21:05,925 --> 00:21:11,715
fled from the lures in the enticing
looks and words of Potiphar's wife.

413
00:21:13,304 --> 00:21:17,175
But if we think back to King David, we
remember a story where David did not flee.

414
00:21:17,925 --> 00:21:21,014
And fell into sin and suffered
the consequences for it.

415
00:21:23,895 --> 00:21:29,624
We know what it means to abstain or to
flee, for example, for an alcoholic.

416
00:21:29,624 --> 00:21:32,475
Abstaining from alcohol is not still
going to the bar with his drinking

417
00:21:32,475 --> 00:21:34,965
buddies, but just promising that he's
not gonna have a drink this time.

418
00:21:37,304 --> 00:21:40,395
For the glutton abstaining is, is
not going to the all you can eat

419
00:21:40,395 --> 00:21:42,854
buffet, but promising that all you're
gonna do is go to the salad bar.

420
00:21:45,375 --> 00:21:46,635
For the man enslaved to lust.

421
00:21:46,665 --> 00:21:50,565
Abstaining is not turning on Game
of Thrones, but promising yourself.

422
00:21:50,565 --> 00:21:51,915
You're not gonna watch the bad scenes.

423
00:21:53,565 --> 00:21:54,975
None of those things are abstaining.

424
00:21:55,004 --> 00:21:56,145
None of those things are fleeing.

425
00:21:56,175 --> 00:22:00,284
None of those things are keeping away
from, and we know what it is to flee and

426
00:22:00,284 --> 00:22:01,635
what it is to abstain from something.

427
00:22:01,635 --> 00:22:02,295
And so did Peter.

428
00:22:02,295 --> 00:22:05,565
And that's exactly how he says we
need to fight against these passions.

429
00:22:05,565 --> 00:22:06,855
Waging war against our souls.

430
00:22:07,889 --> 00:22:11,519
Life with Christ is life at war, and we
have to fight by remembering we're not at

431
00:22:11,519 --> 00:22:15,540
home and because we're not at home, those
fleshly lusts that were once at home in

432
00:22:15,540 --> 00:22:17,519
this world are at war within our souls.

433
00:22:18,419 --> 00:22:19,860
And so we have to fight against those.

434
00:22:19,860 --> 00:22:24,989
Point number two this morning is this
fight faithfully by fleeing from sin.

435
00:22:25,889 --> 00:22:28,889
Fight faithfully by fleeing from sin.

436
00:22:33,629 --> 00:22:38,129
In a regular battle, the side that
runs is not often the victorious side.

437
00:22:39,689 --> 00:22:42,300
The side that flees is usually considered.

438
00:22:42,300 --> 00:22:46,439
The, the losing side, the side
that retreats is the side that has

439
00:22:46,439 --> 00:22:50,250
withdrawn from the battle, and yet
the biblical paradigm that Peter

440
00:22:50,250 --> 00:22:52,020
gives us and that Paul also gives us.

441
00:22:52,695 --> 00:22:55,784
That the, the paradigm for
fighting Biblically is indeed

442
00:22:55,784 --> 00:22:57,524
to flee, is indeed to abstain.

443
00:22:57,524 --> 00:22:59,834
And that is what victory
looks like for the Christian.

444
00:23:01,365 --> 00:23:04,215
It doesn't look like white knuckling
it through the temptation and saying,

445
00:23:04,215 --> 00:23:07,125
well, I'm gonna resist and I'm gonna
show myself that I can overcome.

446
00:23:09,254 --> 00:23:11,774
If we do that, more often than not,
we're gonna be like King David.

447
00:23:12,189 --> 00:23:16,064
But rather it's to say, no,
I'm gonna get out of here.

448
00:23:18,915 --> 00:23:22,215
You wonder if King Solomon's wisdom
on this came from King David.

449
00:23:23,745 --> 00:23:26,625
He was teaching his sons in Proverbs,
chapter five, and he says this, for the

450
00:23:26,625 --> 00:23:30,225
lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil,

451
00:23:30,585 --> 00:23:34,155
but in the end, she is as bitter as
wormwood sharp as a two-edged sword.

452
00:23:34,365 --> 00:23:35,535
Her feet go down to death.

453
00:23:35,535 --> 00:23:37,365
Her steps follow the path to shield.

454
00:23:37,665 --> 00:23:39,524
She does not potter the path of life.

455
00:23:39,855 --> 00:23:41,835
Her ways wander and she does not know it.

456
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:45,060
Then he turns to his sons
and he instructs them.

457
00:23:45,510 --> 00:23:49,949
He says, now, oh, sons, listen to me and
do not depart from the words of my mouth.

458
00:23:49,949 --> 00:23:53,159
And then he says this, just be
careful when you go next to her house.

459
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:57,090
Hey, just be careful not
to get too close to her.

460
00:23:58,770 --> 00:24:00,120
That's not what he says at all.

461
00:24:01,290 --> 00:24:05,070
He says this, he says, keep
your way far from her and don't

462
00:24:05,070 --> 00:24:06,840
go near the door of her house.

463
00:24:08,235 --> 00:24:12,375
Then he goes on to list the consequences
that come with drifting too close to sin.

464
00:24:13,845 --> 00:24:16,905
And so Christian to flee, to run
is not weakness, but victory.

465
00:24:16,905 --> 00:24:22,485
It's strength to abstain from the fleshly
lust, which wage war against your soul.

466
00:24:22,485 --> 00:24:25,125
Because again, those
lusts want you to fall.

467
00:24:25,125 --> 00:24:26,235
They want your downfall.

468
00:24:26,235 --> 00:24:29,715
They want you feeling distant and guilty
and condemned and deadened to the spirit.

469
00:24:31,275 --> 00:24:36,285
There's nothing to be gained by flirting
with lust, everything to be lost.

470
00:24:38,489 --> 00:24:41,399
It's not a weakness to fight for the
purity of your soul, even if that means

471
00:24:41,399 --> 00:24:46,259
limiting yourself and the access to
things that other people get to enjoy.

472
00:24:47,429 --> 00:24:50,610
For example, if you struggle with
lust, it's not weakness to get off

473
00:24:50,610 --> 00:24:55,530
social media or to install a covenant I
accountability filter on your technology

474
00:24:55,530 --> 00:24:57,810
or to get rid of the internet altogether.

475
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:00,030
That's not weakness.

476
00:25:00,030 --> 00:25:00,780
That's victory.

477
00:25:02,820 --> 00:25:04,590
If you struggle with materialism.

478
00:25:05,865 --> 00:25:08,504
It's not weakness to
cut up the credit card.

479
00:25:08,955 --> 00:25:11,084
It's not weakness to put
yourself on a cash budget.

480
00:25:11,084 --> 00:25:13,245
It's not weakness to take some of
those things that once promised

481
00:25:13,245 --> 00:25:18,915
satisfaction and turn around and,
and sell them to say no satisfaction

482
00:25:18,915 --> 00:25:20,054
is ultimately found in Christ.

483
00:25:21,975 --> 00:25:23,804
If you're somebody whose battle
is with food, with gluttony,

484
00:25:26,534 --> 00:25:29,355
it's not weakness to throw
out the cookies in the ice.

485
00:25:30,269 --> 00:25:33,479
The bags of chips and the other foods
that may call to you and promise

486
00:25:33,479 --> 00:25:36,629
satisfaction at the bottom of an
empty container that never comes.

487
00:25:38,459 --> 00:25:39,779
That's not weakness, that's victory.

488
00:25:42,149 --> 00:25:47,610
If you struggle with laziness, laziness
or sloth, it's not weakness to delete the

489
00:25:47,610 --> 00:25:49,320
apps off your phone that distract you.

490
00:25:50,310 --> 00:25:53,340
It's not weakness to put in screen
time limits and give somebody else the

491
00:25:53,340 --> 00:25:58,379
passcode to those screen time limits
so that you can be more productive,

492
00:25:58,379 --> 00:25:59,429
be more present with your family.

493
00:26:00,375 --> 00:26:01,485
Get more done for the Lord.

494
00:26:02,355 --> 00:26:04,095
That's not weakness, that's victory.

495
00:26:05,445 --> 00:26:08,625
Beloved, I urge you
abstain from these things.

496
00:26:09,825 --> 00:26:14,055
Your flesh has been crucified with Christ,
and yet, until we leave this earth to

497
00:26:14,055 --> 00:26:18,495
go to be with Jesus, the vestiges of
the old man are still present in our

498
00:26:18,495 --> 00:26:20,235
lives and they're still gonna fight.

499
00:26:20,415 --> 00:26:22,755
They're still gonna wage war against us.

500
00:26:24,885 --> 00:26:28,125
What we have here, y'all, is an examine
a, a chance to examine our lives.

501
00:26:28,995 --> 00:26:31,425
To see if we are indeed in Christ.

502
00:26:32,835 --> 00:26:34,815
If we are, the battle
is going to be evident.

503
00:26:35,925 --> 00:26:37,725
If you're fighting, that's a good thing.

504
00:26:38,475 --> 00:26:43,245
If you feel the tension, you can know
that that tension is there because you

505
00:26:43,245 --> 00:26:46,095
are a new creation and the passions of
your flesh are waging war against you.

506
00:26:46,340 --> 00:26:50,385
What should be concerning for you
this morning is if you don't feel

507
00:26:50,385 --> 00:26:55,004
the fight at all, if there's no
battle, if there's no tension.

508
00:26:57,915 --> 00:27:01,034
If you've rolled out the welcome
map for sin, it may be that

509
00:27:01,034 --> 00:27:02,294
you're not in Christ at all.

510
00:27:04,754 --> 00:27:09,615
Jesus said in Mark chapter nine and
elsewhere, he said, if your hand

511
00:27:09,615 --> 00:27:11,955
causes you to sin, cut it off for.

512
00:27:11,955 --> 00:27:14,325
It's better for you to enter life
crippled than with two hands to go

513
00:27:14,355 --> 00:27:16,065
to hell to the unquenchable fire.

514
00:27:16,995 --> 00:27:18,885
If your foot causes you
to sin, cut it off for.

515
00:27:18,885 --> 00:27:22,845
It's better for you to enter life lame
than with two feet to be thrown into hell.

516
00:27:23,354 --> 00:27:25,185
If your eye causes you
to sin, tear it out.

517
00:27:25,185 --> 00:27:28,875
It's better for you to enter the kingdom
of God with one eye than with two eyes to

518
00:27:28,875 --> 00:27:31,754
be thrown into hell where their worm does
not die, and the fire is not quenched.

519
00:27:31,754 --> 00:27:37,034
In other words, Christian Jesus wants
us to treat every, every vestige of

520
00:27:37,034 --> 00:27:41,215
sin in our life radically because
of the threat it poses to us.

521
00:27:43,274 --> 00:27:44,024
Go after it.

522
00:27:44,235 --> 00:27:44,925
Get rid of it.

523
00:27:45,554 --> 00:27:48,705
Eradicate it from your
life anywhere it's found.

524
00:27:51,014 --> 00:27:55,124
And a few chapters, Peter's gonna tell
us that Satan is like a roaring lion

525
00:27:55,514 --> 00:27:58,154
prowling around seeking someone to devour.

526
00:27:59,864 --> 00:28:02,834
And while we, we have to understand
Satan is not omnipresent, right?

527
00:28:02,834 --> 00:28:06,854
So Satan can only have one target at
a time 'cause he's bound in space.

528
00:28:08,084 --> 00:28:13,874
But Satan does have a legion of
demons at his disposal, and I firmly

529
00:28:13,874 --> 00:28:18,199
believe that those demons are fixed
upon our church and upon you and me.

530
00:28:20,024 --> 00:28:22,605
Part of the job that those demons
have been tasked with, and part

531
00:28:22,605 --> 00:28:25,274
of the disposal that they have and
the time that they have is to study

532
00:28:25,274 --> 00:28:26,385
you and to know your weaknesses.

533
00:28:27,975 --> 00:28:30,705
And so I say that Christian, not so
that you can say, well, the devil

534
00:28:30,705 --> 00:28:36,615
made me do it, but so that you're
aware that the devil and his demons

535
00:28:36,615 --> 00:28:37,965
know what your weaknesses are.

536
00:28:39,375 --> 00:28:40,365
And they will exploit them.

537
00:28:41,895 --> 00:28:44,715
They will exploit them to
get you to think, well, one

538
00:28:44,715 --> 00:28:45,794
more time isn't gonna hurt.

539
00:28:47,010 --> 00:28:50,909
Or to get you to think, you know what,
after all, Jesus died on the cross.

540
00:28:50,909 --> 00:28:51,990
For my sins, I'm forgiven.

541
00:28:51,990 --> 00:28:53,040
So what does it matter?

542
00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:55,139
If I sin this time, I
can't outs send his grace.

543
00:28:57,959 --> 00:29:01,560
Such a mentality and such a mindset can
lead to to devastating consequences,

544
00:29:03,300 --> 00:29:04,199
even just for the believer.

545
00:29:04,199 --> 00:29:06,540
As we think about some of the
consequences of what it looks like,

546
00:29:06,540 --> 00:29:12,149
if we don't flee from sin, if we
give in sin, your conscience can be

547
00:29:12,149 --> 00:29:13,980
deadened to the spirit's influence.

548
00:29:15,554 --> 00:29:17,294
You're not soft to the
conviction of the spirit, the

549
00:29:17,294 --> 00:29:18,405
prompting of the spirit anymore.

550
00:29:20,175 --> 00:29:23,475
Another consequence might be that you're
kept from fellowship with the the saints

551
00:29:23,475 --> 00:29:27,165
of God because you feel a guilt that
you would say, I, I don't really want

552
00:29:27,165 --> 00:29:28,544
to be around God's people right now.

553
00:29:30,945 --> 00:29:33,195
Another consequence is being
kept from the word of God.

554
00:29:33,225 --> 00:29:37,514
'cause you feel like, man, how can I read
the Bible after I just did what I just did

555
00:29:38,054 --> 00:29:40,394
after I just thought what I just thought
after I just said what I just said.

556
00:29:43,169 --> 00:29:45,929
Another consequence is a damaged
testimony in the eyes of the world.

557
00:29:49,949 --> 00:29:50,370
So

558
00:29:52,770 --> 00:29:53,189
what do we do?

559
00:29:53,189 --> 00:29:53,790
How do we flee?

560
00:29:53,820 --> 00:29:54,600
What does this look like?

561
00:29:55,230 --> 00:29:56,040
Few thoughts for us.

562
00:29:56,429 --> 00:29:59,310
First, know your weak
spots and be proactive.

563
00:30:00,480 --> 00:30:01,145
Know your weak spots.

564
00:30:01,284 --> 00:30:02,790
Be a student of yourself.

565
00:30:03,899 --> 00:30:05,845
Strive to know yourself better
than the enemy knows you.

566
00:30:07,499 --> 00:30:11,969
Know where those weak spots spots
are and be proactive and, and y'all

567
00:30:11,969 --> 00:30:13,649
be honest with yourself in this.

568
00:30:14,879 --> 00:30:17,789
Put protections in place
that you need in place.

569
00:30:19,529 --> 00:30:20,610
Plan another route.

570
00:30:20,610 --> 00:30:22,499
Don't go near her house.

571
00:30:24,209 --> 00:30:26,669
Expect the temptation
to come in these areas.

572
00:30:27,659 --> 00:30:28,949
You know, these are your weak spots.

573
00:30:29,219 --> 00:30:30,120
Don't be caught off guard.

574
00:30:30,120 --> 00:30:32,249
Don't be like, whoa, I didn't even
see that coming when it's already

575
00:30:32,249 --> 00:30:34,169
happened to you a hundred times before.

576
00:30:35,205 --> 00:30:37,425
Know your weak spots and
be proactive against them.

577
00:30:37,425 --> 00:30:39,375
Second, take every threat seriously.

578
00:30:41,745 --> 00:30:43,094
Take every threat seriously.

579
00:30:43,094 --> 00:30:45,764
Again, this is the idea of go of,
of cutting off the hand of, of

580
00:30:45,764 --> 00:30:50,415
gouging out the eye, looking for the
tree that wasn't there yesterday.

581
00:30:52,455 --> 00:30:55,395
Not letting any sin in, in the perimeter
of your life and thinking, well, it's

582
00:30:55,395 --> 00:30:57,915
not that big of a deal because it's
not as big as this sin over here.

583
00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,160
This sin over here that you're
thinking about that's so big

584
00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:04,980
started as this sin over here that
you think is no big deal today.

585
00:31:06,030 --> 00:31:07,890
So take every threat seriously.

586
00:31:07,890 --> 00:31:11,070
Be willing to go without for the
sake of your holiness, for the sake

587
00:31:11,070 --> 00:31:12,330
of your relationship with Christ.

588
00:31:12,570 --> 00:31:14,490
If that means you're gonna
go without internet or social

589
00:31:14,490 --> 00:31:18,510
media, or alcohol or dessert or
fantasy sports, go without them.

590
00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:26,310
It's worth the trade off for
being faithful to the Lord.

591
00:31:26,925 --> 00:31:28,485
Not being blindsided by her sin.

592
00:31:28,544 --> 00:31:30,254
Third is this fight daily.

593
00:31:31,185 --> 00:31:31,695
Fight daily.

594
00:31:31,695 --> 00:31:37,185
Pastor Rod said yesterday in the message,
no days off, and that's, that's just it.

595
00:31:37,185 --> 00:31:40,304
There's a famous picture of Muhammad
Ali standing over Sonny Liston

596
00:31:40,304 --> 00:31:43,304
on the mat, and he's standing
over Sonny Liston on the mat Yes.

597
00:31:43,304 --> 00:31:46,905
To, to, to flex over him, but more
so to make sure what that Sonny

598
00:31:46,905 --> 00:31:48,405
Liston doesn't get up off the mat.

599
00:31:49,334 --> 00:31:52,995
Yo, whatever sin comes at you,
whatever your struggles are, you

600
00:31:52,995 --> 00:31:56,084
have to stand over them and make sure
they don't get back up off the mat.

601
00:31:57,285 --> 00:31:59,715
As soon as you turn around and go
back to celebrate over here, that sins

602
00:31:59,715 --> 00:32:01,725
gonna get up and cold cock you in the
back of your head and you're gonna be

603
00:32:01,725 --> 00:32:03,105
on the mat going, what just happened?

604
00:32:04,905 --> 00:32:06,165
And so there's no days off.

605
00:32:06,165 --> 00:32:07,275
We have to fight daily.

606
00:32:07,275 --> 00:32:09,795
We have to fight vigilantly
and, and if you're thinking,

607
00:32:09,795 --> 00:32:11,685
man, this feels exhausting.

608
00:32:11,950 --> 00:32:12,870
I, I think you get it.

609
00:32:15,435 --> 00:32:18,915
And I think that's one reason why elderly
saints are so ready to go be with Jesus.

610
00:32:20,445 --> 00:32:22,635
'cause they're like, man, I'm so
ready to be done with this flesh.

611
00:32:23,775 --> 00:32:24,885
I can't wait to go be with him.

612
00:32:25,965 --> 00:32:27,975
That's one of the reasons why
heaven is gonna be so sweet, y'all.

613
00:32:28,695 --> 00:32:30,435
You're not gonna have to
battle this temptation anymore.

614
00:32:30,435 --> 00:32:32,655
You're not gonna be at war
anymore while we're here.

615
00:32:32,655 --> 00:32:35,835
Yeah, life with Christ is life at
war, but that at that time, it's

616
00:32:35,835 --> 00:32:37,095
not gonna be life at war anymore.

617
00:32:38,925 --> 00:32:40,995
For now, though, we have
to fight daily forth.

618
00:32:41,085 --> 00:32:41,835
Repent quickly.

619
00:32:43,365 --> 00:32:46,425
When you fall to, to temptation.

620
00:32:47,415 --> 00:32:50,355
When you sin, be quick to repent.

621
00:32:51,765 --> 00:32:52,515
Don't give up.

622
00:32:53,459 --> 00:32:55,620
Don't buy the lie that
change is impossible.

623
00:32:56,429 --> 00:32:59,070
Don't buy the lie that,
well, today's a lost cause.

624
00:32:59,879 --> 00:33:02,370
Don't buy the lie that
tomorrow will be different.

625
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:04,350
Repent, quickly.

626
00:33:05,159 --> 00:33:05,879
Come to the cross.

627
00:33:05,879 --> 00:33:09,389
Find forgiveness that is
there in abundance because

628
00:33:09,389 --> 00:33:10,469
of the sacrifice of Christ.

629
00:33:10,574 --> 00:33:13,409
Fifth, fight in community.

630
00:33:15,090 --> 00:33:15,899
Use your church.

631
00:33:17,249 --> 00:33:18,030
Don't fight alone.

632
00:33:18,659 --> 00:33:21,689
Remember the context of everything we're
looking at right now is the church.

633
00:33:23,010 --> 00:33:26,040
And we get to do this within community,
within the bride of Christ, and

634
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:28,410
that's why having relationships
with one another is so important.

635
00:33:28,410 --> 00:33:29,670
Why we stress community groups?

636
00:33:29,670 --> 00:33:33,420
Because you can be known and know
one another to this level and have

637
00:33:33,420 --> 00:33:36,510
people that are willing to fight with
you and fight for you and to pray

638
00:33:36,510 --> 00:33:37,980
for you, and you can pray for them.

639
00:33:39,090 --> 00:33:43,409
Such an important part of our ability to
fleece sin is not fighting by ourselves.

640
00:33:43,409 --> 00:33:44,550
Don't fight in secret.

641
00:33:44,550 --> 00:33:45,570
Don't fight in quiet.

642
00:33:45,570 --> 00:33:46,530
Don't fight in solitude.

643
00:33:46,830 --> 00:33:48,030
The enemy watch you there.

644
00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:50,189
But when you come into the light
and when you come into the body of

645
00:33:50,189 --> 00:33:53,669
Christ, you are gonna find strength
there that the enemy cannot withstand.

646
00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,450
And so fight with your church.

647
00:33:57,480 --> 00:33:58,980
Fight in community.

648
00:33:59,879 --> 00:34:01,200
This is the task of the believer.

649
00:34:01,200 --> 00:34:03,660
John Owen said it this way,
he said, do you mortify?

650
00:34:04,229 --> 00:34:05,999
Do you make it your daily work?

651
00:34:06,374 --> 00:34:08,775
Be always at it while you live.

652
00:34:08,804 --> 00:34:10,784
Cease, not a day from this work.

653
00:34:10,965 --> 00:34:15,315
Be killing sin or it will be killing you.

654
00:34:16,395 --> 00:34:17,835
Be killing sin or it will be killing you.

655
00:34:18,525 --> 00:34:19,665
This is our task church.

656
00:34:19,665 --> 00:34:22,695
As we fight faithfully by fleeing
sin, we do so because we are at

657
00:34:22,695 --> 00:34:27,495
war against the fleshly passions,
which wage war against our soul,

658
00:34:28,605 --> 00:34:30,284
and so we fight and so we battle.

659
00:34:31,590 --> 00:34:34,710
And this battle with sin will
persist as long as we're here and

660
00:34:34,710 --> 00:34:37,679
as long as we're here, we have an
another side of that battle as well.

661
00:34:38,340 --> 00:34:40,679
And if I can put it this way, the,
the other side of that battle is the,

662
00:34:40,679 --> 00:34:42,150
the positive side of that battle.

663
00:34:43,380 --> 00:34:46,500
And Pastor Ra alluded to it earlier as we
were talking about scripture reading and,

664
00:34:46,500 --> 00:34:49,530
and during his prayer that we are here
with a mission and during announcement,

665
00:34:49,530 --> 00:34:53,670
so to, to reach, teach, and train, to go
after the lost in the world around us.

666
00:34:53,670 --> 00:34:56,219
And Peter shifts to that
focus here in verse 12.

667
00:34:56,219 --> 00:35:00,030
He says, keep your conduct among the
en, among the Gentiles, honorable.

668
00:35:00,435 --> 00:35:04,965
So that when they speak against you as
evil doers, they may see your good deeds

669
00:35:04,965 --> 00:35:07,245
and glorify God on the day of visitation.

670
00:35:08,265 --> 00:35:10,605
Peter says, keep your
conduct, keeping your conduct.

671
00:35:10,605 --> 00:35:14,355
It's a part of simple, but it has a
command force to it 'cause it's connected

672
00:35:14,355 --> 00:35:17,235
back to the phrase I urge you to abstain.

673
00:35:17,595 --> 00:35:21,525
So keep your conduct, which is
your conduct, your way of life,

674
00:35:21,525 --> 00:35:23,715
your behavior, how you live.

675
00:35:24,285 --> 00:35:26,835
Keep this honorable among the Gentiles.

676
00:35:28,215 --> 00:35:30,585
The word honorable there is
from the, the Greek that means

677
00:35:30,585 --> 00:35:33,225
good, beautiful, commendable.

678
00:35:33,225 --> 00:35:39,225
And so he says, keep your conduct good
or beautiful or commendable so that

679
00:35:39,225 --> 00:35:44,805
when they speak against you as evil
doers, they may ultimately have reason

680
00:35:44,805 --> 00:35:46,455
to glorify God on the day of visitation.

681
00:35:46,455 --> 00:35:49,515
We'll get to that in just a
second, but, but good behavior

682
00:35:49,515 --> 00:35:50,775
in the eyes of the Gentiles.

683
00:35:50,955 --> 00:35:53,595
In other words, what Peter is
saying here is that the Christian

684
00:35:53,595 --> 00:35:55,875
can live a life in part, at least.

685
00:35:56,490 --> 00:36:00,300
Such that even the world will look
at what you do and say, that's good.

686
00:36:02,130 --> 00:36:04,740
Now, that's not holistic.

687
00:36:04,740 --> 00:36:06,690
There's a lot about our lives
that the world is not gonna like.

688
00:36:06,690 --> 00:36:07,860
We'll talk about that in just a minute.

689
00:36:08,580 --> 00:36:11,190
But there are things that we can do that
Peter is saying that, that the world

690
00:36:11,190 --> 00:36:12,300
will look at even and say, you know what?

691
00:36:12,300 --> 00:36:12,900
This is good.

692
00:36:12,930 --> 00:36:16,830
And he says, we're we're supposed to do
this because the other side of this is

693
00:36:16,980 --> 00:36:19,050
they will speak against us as evil doers.

694
00:36:19,995 --> 00:36:23,595
So there's a call on us to make sure
that, that we are doing things in

695
00:36:23,595 --> 00:36:29,085
such a way as to mitigate some of
their slander of us and our savior.

696
00:36:30,225 --> 00:36:31,545
Put it this way for the
final point this morning.

697
00:36:31,545 --> 00:36:35,235
It's this fight to silence
the slandering of our savior.

698
00:36:36,915 --> 00:36:42,255
Fight to silence the slandering by
the world that is of our savior.

699
00:36:45,225 --> 00:36:47,115
The world is going to attack us.

700
00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:48,900
That's meant from the very outset.

701
00:36:50,190 --> 00:36:57,030
He says so that when they speak against
you as evil doers, this is the reality

702
00:36:57,030 --> 00:36:58,500
the church faced from the get go.

703
00:36:59,190 --> 00:37:02,430
The early church faced accusations
of cannibalism because people

704
00:37:02,430 --> 00:37:03,840
didn't understand communion.

705
00:37:04,890 --> 00:37:08,400
They faced accusations of incest and
godless immorality again because they

706
00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:10,110
didn't understand Christian fellowship.

707
00:37:11,820 --> 00:37:14,460
Roman historian TAUs described
the Christians as those

708
00:37:14,460 --> 00:37:16,800
loathed for their vices.

709
00:37:17,985 --> 00:37:19,725
Loathed for their vices.

710
00:37:22,125 --> 00:37:24,855
And yet in the face of such hostility,
Peter's saying that we can live a

711
00:37:24,855 --> 00:37:29,055
life that is honorable, such that it's
going to mitigate some of that attack.

712
00:37:29,745 --> 00:37:33,435
In other words, the way you live
reflects on Jesus and his bride.

713
00:37:34,275 --> 00:37:37,515
The way you live in your neighborhoods,
in your communities, on the road

714
00:37:37,665 --> 00:37:39,435
reflects back on Jesus and his bride.

715
00:37:39,435 --> 00:37:43,245
And unfortunately, we have seen plenty
of examples of failures that have

716
00:37:43,245 --> 00:37:44,865
brought shame upon the bride of Christ.

717
00:37:46,395 --> 00:37:50,475
We've seen a rash of pastors disqualifying
themselves from ministry, bringing

718
00:37:50,475 --> 00:37:53,325
shame upon the bride of Christ in
the name of Christ, and giving the

719
00:37:53,325 --> 00:37:55,065
world ammunition to slander Jesus.

720
00:37:56,595 --> 00:38:01,125
Beyond that, there's the general perceived
hypocrisy of Christians in the world.

721
00:38:01,125 --> 00:38:03,405
When you tell somebody who's an
unbeliever that you're a Christian, it's

722
00:38:03,405 --> 00:38:08,055
no longer thought of as an honorable
thing, but the assumption is, well,

723
00:38:08,055 --> 00:38:09,615
you must think you're holier than me.

724
00:38:09,615 --> 00:38:10,215
You're a fraud.

725
00:38:10,215 --> 00:38:10,935
You're a hypocrite.

726
00:38:14,430 --> 00:38:14,850
Beyond that.

727
00:38:14,850 --> 00:38:17,910
There's just the, the general tide of,
of cultural Christianity that I think has

728
00:38:17,910 --> 00:38:19,560
brought shame upon the name of Christ.

729
00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:22,440
It's easy.

730
00:38:22,620 --> 00:38:24,270
Nothing is really required
of me to be a Christian.

731
00:38:24,270 --> 00:38:25,530
I'm a Christian 'cause I'm born in Texas.

732
00:38:26,820 --> 00:38:28,680
I'm a Christian because I've always
gone to church my whole life.

733
00:38:30,965 --> 00:38:34,470
I, I love Jesus and I cuss a
little that, that does immense

734
00:38:34,470 --> 00:38:37,050
damage to the name of Jesus.

735
00:38:39,135 --> 00:38:41,535
Church, the, the way you live
reflects on Jesus and his bride.

736
00:38:42,825 --> 00:38:46,485
And so Peter's command is that we would
rob the world of reasons to slander

737
00:38:46,485 --> 00:38:50,835
Christ, or at least not give them extra
ammunition beyond what they already have.

738
00:38:51,465 --> 00:38:53,685
I mentioned earlier there's some
common ground things that we can

739
00:38:53,685 --> 00:38:54,720
do that the world would even say.

740
00:38:54,720 --> 00:38:55,120
Yeah, that's good.

741
00:38:56,565 --> 00:38:57,945
For example, your driving habits,

742
00:39:00,825 --> 00:39:02,475
stepping on toes, getting in kitchens.

743
00:39:03,705 --> 00:39:04,005
Right.

744
00:39:04,305 --> 00:39:07,965
We have these Compass Bible Church bumper
stickers, which if we're your church

745
00:39:07,965 --> 00:39:10,215
home, we would love for you to get one
and put it on the back of your car.

746
00:39:10,605 --> 00:39:14,025
You say, well, pastor, I don't
think you want me driving the way

747
00:39:14,025 --> 00:39:15,555
I drive with a sticker on my car.

748
00:39:15,585 --> 00:39:15,915
I do.

749
00:39:15,915 --> 00:39:17,145
I just want you to
change the way you drive.

750
00:39:19,305 --> 00:39:23,145
But there's, there's a way that, picture
this, you're on the freeway and, and

751
00:39:23,145 --> 00:39:26,985
the lane giant signs for like the
last 30 miles left lane, closed ahead.

752
00:39:27,270 --> 00:39:29,759
It and like a hu sane human being.

753
00:39:30,120 --> 00:39:33,090
You got over in plenty of
time with, uh, plenty of room.

754
00:39:33,840 --> 00:39:38,610
But here comes, you know, that guy
and everybody's there and, and he's

755
00:39:38,610 --> 00:39:40,410
like, how close can I get my car?

756
00:39:40,410 --> 00:39:45,780
To the cone that's about to, um, run into
and to your front end of your car and in

757
00:39:45,780 --> 00:39:49,410
your flesh you have the the choice there
to go, how jerky do I want to be today?

758
00:39:50,730 --> 00:39:52,259
Also, how much do I like my car?

759
00:39:54,315 --> 00:40:00,105
Or maybe you back off and, and just out
of kindness, you let that person in and

760
00:40:00,105 --> 00:40:01,425
maybe they, they wave to you, whatever.

761
00:40:01,425 --> 00:40:05,055
And then you, you go and you happen
to then drive by them on the side

762
00:40:05,235 --> 00:40:08,085
because you know everything works out
and they get stuck in traffic and you

763
00:40:08,085 --> 00:40:09,645
can pass by them on the other side.

764
00:40:10,035 --> 00:40:12,765
And as you pass by, they see Compass Bible
Church on the back of your car and they

765
00:40:12,765 --> 00:40:14,715
think, oh man, that person goes to church.

766
00:40:14,715 --> 00:40:18,345
And they were so kind to let me
in as the world being able to

767
00:40:18,345 --> 00:40:19,695
see something that's good, right.

768
00:40:20,085 --> 00:40:21,135
Or just being a nice person.

769
00:40:21,779 --> 00:40:25,470
Opening the door for somebody, being
kind to somebody saying hi to somebody.

770
00:40:26,279 --> 00:40:28,470
Treating your, your
barista like a human being.

771
00:40:29,580 --> 00:40:30,480
You know these things.

772
00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:33,270
Helping the needy, being a kind neighbor.

773
00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:36,060
Teaching your kids to be respectful.

774
00:40:36,090 --> 00:40:39,150
Being respectful on social media, right?

775
00:40:39,150 --> 00:40:41,700
There are things that we can do as, as
Christians that even the world would

776
00:40:41,700 --> 00:40:42,750
look at and say that, that's good.

777
00:40:42,750 --> 00:40:43,620
That's commendable.

778
00:40:44,700 --> 00:40:45,870
Don't hear me say that.

779
00:40:45,870 --> 00:40:47,400
That's gonna keep them from attacking us.

780
00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:47,685
'cause it's not.

781
00:40:49,110 --> 00:40:51,180
They're still gonna hate
us for plenty of reasons.

782
00:40:51,270 --> 00:40:52,560
And Jesus said, expect that.

783
00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:58,230
Jesus said in John 15, the world's gonna
hate you because the world what hated me.

784
00:40:58,380 --> 00:40:58,620
Right?

785
00:40:59,070 --> 00:41:01,830
Uh, Paul said that anyone who
desires to live a godly life in

786
00:41:01,830 --> 00:41:04,290
Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

787
00:41:05,580 --> 00:41:06,900
There's, there's no question there.

788
00:41:07,770 --> 00:41:10,560
So even if you're kind and
polite and generous and patient.

789
00:41:11,250 --> 00:41:13,860
When you stand for the things
that God loves, when you stand for

790
00:41:13,860 --> 00:41:17,520
what's biblically right and true,
you will draw the ire of the world.

791
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:18,570
They are gonna hate you for it.

792
00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:21,360
When you stand up and say,
God's definition of marriage

793
00:41:21,360 --> 00:41:25,080
is one man, one woman, period,
end of story, no compromise.

794
00:41:25,140 --> 00:41:26,580
The world's gonna hate you for that.

795
00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:30,270
When you stand up and say there are
two genders, and God does not make

796
00:41:30,270 --> 00:41:33,930
mistakes, the gender that you are born
with is the gender God designed for

797
00:41:33,930 --> 00:41:35,400
you to have and should not be altered.

798
00:41:35,730 --> 00:41:37,710
The world is gonna call you transphobic.

799
00:41:38,385 --> 00:41:39,735
They're gonna hate you for this.

800
00:41:39,915 --> 00:41:43,305
When you stand up and you say, you
know what, abortion is wrong, period.

801
00:41:43,605 --> 00:41:45,255
People are gonna say You hate women.

802
00:41:47,925 --> 00:41:50,145
They're gonna call you
legalistic for your sexual ethic.

803
00:41:51,135 --> 00:41:53,355
They're gonna call you
judgemental for your refusal to

804
00:41:53,355 --> 00:41:54,945
participate in their dark deeds.

805
00:41:56,865 --> 00:41:58,905
So I'm not saying that the world
is not gonna come after us.

806
00:41:58,905 --> 00:42:02,835
In fact, Peter says they are going
to speak of you as evil doers.

807
00:42:05,655 --> 00:42:10,005
Just let's not give them extra
ammunition in that process.

808
00:42:11,325 --> 00:42:13,305
I've extended family who's
cut off communication with

809
00:42:13,305 --> 00:42:15,165
me because I'm a believer.

810
00:42:16,335 --> 00:42:18,855
In fact, my family and I went across
the country to vacation in Washington,

811
00:42:18,855 --> 00:42:23,390
DC last summer where one of my family
members lives and it was thought better

812
00:42:23,410 --> 00:42:26,775
for, for from their point of view that
they didn't want to get together with us.

813
00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:32,340
Because they have a situation in
their family that they know that

814
00:42:32,340 --> 00:42:37,560
as Christians we disagree with, and
so they didn't wanna be around us.

815
00:42:39,690 --> 00:42:41,880
So then, okay, if the world's
gonna hate me that way, why?

816
00:42:41,880 --> 00:42:42,240
Why?

817
00:42:42,330 --> 00:42:42,930
Why even try?

818
00:42:42,930 --> 00:42:44,460
Why bother with honorable behavior?

819
00:42:45,090 --> 00:42:47,310
Why should I care then what
the world thinks of me?

820
00:42:47,760 --> 00:42:50,250
If Jesus said, the world is gonna
hate you, if Paul said, we're

821
00:42:50,250 --> 00:42:54,300
gonna be persecuted, why do I even
bother being a nice person or being

822
00:42:54,300 --> 00:42:55,800
somebody with honorable behavior?

823
00:42:56,415 --> 00:43:00,105
In the midst of this world, why not
just retreat to our holy huddles and

824
00:43:00,105 --> 00:43:03,825
say, let's just hang out here until
Jesus comes back because of what

825
00:43:03,825 --> 00:43:04,725
he says in the rest of the verse.

826
00:43:04,725 --> 00:43:08,865
He says, so that when they speak of you as
evil doers, they may see your good deeds

827
00:43:08,865 --> 00:43:11,505
and glorify God on the day of visitation.

828
00:43:13,755 --> 00:43:14,625
The day of visitation.

829
00:43:14,985 --> 00:43:16,665
This is where it gets a little tricky.

830
00:43:17,625 --> 00:43:20,565
There are two possible meanings, although
one that I think Peter had in mind,

831
00:43:21,675 --> 00:43:22,755
the two possible meanings are this.

832
00:43:22,755 --> 00:43:25,155
First it it, it could mean the day
of visitation in the sense that.

833
00:43:25,455 --> 00:43:29,505
This is the day of salvation when God
in his grace and by his mercy, opens

834
00:43:29,505 --> 00:43:33,525
the blind eyes to see the light of the
gospel and to come to faith in Jesus

835
00:43:33,525 --> 00:43:38,895
Christ as the Lord's savior, such that
your honorable behavior, and Peter's

836
00:43:38,895 --> 00:43:41,415
gonna imply that this is even something
that's reasonable, he is gonna say

837
00:43:41,415 --> 00:43:43,845
in chapter three, we need to be ready
to give a reason for the hope that's

838
00:43:43,845 --> 00:43:46,185
within us, to give a defense for that.

839
00:43:46,695 --> 00:43:49,125
Such that when you live an honorable life.

840
00:43:49,770 --> 00:43:52,440
And when you suffer well, which is
the context that he's talking about

841
00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:55,500
there, uh, people are gonna look at the
things that you do, your behavior and

842
00:43:55,500 --> 00:43:57,150
say, why are you the way that you are?

843
00:43:58,290 --> 00:43:59,640
And you're gonna have a
platform for the gospel.

844
00:44:00,000 --> 00:44:03,000
Or he's gonna say later that wives
might win their husbands without a

845
00:44:03,000 --> 00:44:05,580
word through their honorable behavior.

846
00:44:06,090 --> 00:44:08,310
And so that, that is a possibility.

847
00:44:08,670 --> 00:44:11,130
I think here though, what Peter has in
mind though is the day of visitation.

848
00:44:11,130 --> 00:44:12,270
Being the the day of judgment.

849
00:44:16,290 --> 00:44:19,500
Either way, we want to live honorably
because it's gonna ultimately result

850
00:44:19,500 --> 00:44:23,340
in the persecution of the world
turning to the praise of our God.

851
00:44:24,780 --> 00:44:27,270
Our hope is that this
happens before they die.

852
00:44:28,590 --> 00:44:32,160
Our hope is as, as we live as, as those
that are commendable, as we live, as

853
00:44:32,160 --> 00:44:35,250
those that are honorable in this world,
as we live as lights, that that would

854
00:44:35,250 --> 00:44:38,460
be a platform for us to also proclaim
the good news that if you repent

855
00:44:38,460 --> 00:44:40,705
from your sin and put your faith in
Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

856
00:44:41,385 --> 00:44:44,145
There's hope and there's forgiveness,
and there's an eternity with him,

857
00:44:44,985 --> 00:44:46,305
and there's forgiveness to be found.

858
00:44:47,835 --> 00:44:49,395
That's our hope, that's our mission.

859
00:44:49,395 --> 00:44:51,735
We're reaching and teaching and training
and that that's what we're about.

860
00:44:51,735 --> 00:44:53,475
That's why we're still here as the church.

861
00:44:56,445 --> 00:44:58,425
Yet, if it's not that they're one.

862
00:44:58,425 --> 00:45:02,505
Now, Peter's telling us that part of their
judgment on the day of visitation is that

863
00:45:02,505 --> 00:45:04,545
they're gonna think back about your life.

864
00:45:05,835 --> 00:45:07,845
They're gonna think back
about how you lived.

865
00:45:07,845 --> 00:45:10,605
They're think, gonna think back about
the honorable things that you did.

866
00:45:10,605 --> 00:45:13,305
They're gonna think back about the
things that they slandered you for.

867
00:45:14,265 --> 00:45:18,015
And as they stand before a holy
God on that final day of judgment,

868
00:45:18,495 --> 00:45:22,515
their accusations of you are gonna
turn to adoration of your God.

869
00:45:23,955 --> 00:45:24,735
'cause they're gonna get it.

870
00:45:24,735 --> 00:45:27,105
At that point, they're gonna understand.

871
00:45:27,105 --> 00:45:28,485
I know why he lived that way.

872
00:45:28,485 --> 00:45:30,015
I know why she believed that.

873
00:45:30,015 --> 00:45:33,705
I know why they wouldn't go along with
what I wanted them to go along with.

874
00:45:36,299 --> 00:45:39,029
I know what's true now, and
Peter's saying that that's gonna

875
00:45:39,029 --> 00:45:40,259
result in the glory of God.

876
00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:49,890
Again, our prayer is that that
happens on this side of eternity, and

877
00:45:49,890 --> 00:45:51,299
that's why church, we're still here.

878
00:45:51,960 --> 00:45:53,580
That's why we gotta be
after what we're after.

879
00:45:53,700 --> 00:45:55,410
That's why we're, we gotta
be doing what we're doing.

880
00:45:55,440 --> 00:45:57,180
That's why we gotta be sharing
the gospel with people.

881
00:45:58,230 --> 00:46:00,000
That's why, by the way, what
we're we're gonna do, what we're

882
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:01,710
about to do here with baptism.

883
00:46:03,840 --> 00:46:08,430
One of the things that we do in, in part
of our, our, our baptism process is you're

884
00:46:08,430 --> 00:46:10,049
gonna hear those that are in the tank.

885
00:46:10,350 --> 00:46:15,690
Each of them give their testimony,
Hey, here, here's who I was.

886
00:46:16,830 --> 00:46:20,310
This is where God grabbed a hold of
me, and, and this is who I am now.

887
00:46:22,110 --> 00:46:26,340
And we do that to, to give a
platform to the gospel, which is

888
00:46:26,340 --> 00:46:27,779
the message that transforms lives.

889
00:46:29,580 --> 00:46:30,384
That's why we're here.

890
00:46:31,515 --> 00:46:34,905
Our prayer is that as we live lives that
are honorable in the sight of the lost

891
00:46:34,905 --> 00:46:38,235
world around us, that that again gives
us a platform to point them to Jesus

892
00:46:40,305 --> 00:46:41,265
to say, look, I, I,

893
00:46:43,305 --> 00:46:45,525
can I tell you why I hold
to these convictions?

894
00:46:46,965 --> 00:46:50,235
Hey, I, I'd love to explain more
about why I believe what I believe.

895
00:46:51,705 --> 00:46:52,965
It's not really political for me.

896
00:46:52,965 --> 00:46:55,575
It's about what I believe that
God has revealed in his word.

897
00:46:58,395 --> 00:47:02,175
We wanna see people saved, and
we wanna be those that have a, a

898
00:47:02,175 --> 00:47:03,525
winsome presence in this world.

899
00:47:03,525 --> 00:47:09,825
But regardless, our call is to live an
honorable life because one day for those

900
00:47:09,825 --> 00:47:13,275
that may reject Christ here, at that
point, they're gonna look back on your

901
00:47:13,275 --> 00:47:15,075
life and their interaction with you.

902
00:47:15,075 --> 00:47:19,005
And remember, oh, that's
why they did that.

903
00:47:19,905 --> 00:47:21,975
And Peter tells us, God's
gonna get the glory for that.

904
00:47:26,175 --> 00:47:29,925
So fight the temptation to make
yourself at home, fight faithfully

905
00:47:29,925 --> 00:47:32,535
by fleeing sin and fight to silence.

906
00:47:32,535 --> 00:47:34,215
The slander of our savior

907
00:47:36,495 --> 00:47:38,925
life with Christ is life at war, right?

908
00:47:38,925 --> 00:47:42,555
There is a peace that isn't
worth having at all costs.

909
00:47:43,695 --> 00:47:45,735
In fact, there's a peace that
as Christians, we shouldn't be

910
00:47:45,735 --> 00:47:48,255
pursuing on this set of eternity.

911
00:47:49,665 --> 00:47:52,395
There's a tension, there's a disconnect.

912
00:47:53,025 --> 00:47:56,535
There's a contrast that should be
present between light and darkness.

913
00:47:58,455 --> 00:48:03,375
So we live as Christians, we live with
Jesus, but we live at war and we do.

914
00:48:03,375 --> 00:48:06,555
So praying and looking forward to the day
that he's gonna come back for his bride

915
00:48:07,035 --> 00:48:10,395
to call us, to be with him, when we will
then know what true peace actually is.

916
00:48:11,175 --> 00:48:11,715
Lemme pray for us.

917
00:48:13,850 --> 00:48:16,185
God, we thank you so much for Christ.

918
00:48:16,605 --> 00:48:19,830
Lord, we, we are in awe that
you have made us your own.

919
00:48:20,730 --> 00:48:23,010
Lord, that was not based on ourselves.

920
00:48:23,010 --> 00:48:24,090
That's not based on our own merit.

921
00:48:24,090 --> 00:48:25,890
That's not based on the fact
that we're better than anyone

922
00:48:25,890 --> 00:48:28,500
else, but simply because you are
a God of grace and and mercy.

923
00:48:29,100 --> 00:48:31,890
I pray that more Lord would, would
come to the understanding of Jesus,

924
00:48:31,890 --> 00:48:34,710
their need for Christ, and to see
that it is a free offer of salvation.

925
00:48:35,700 --> 00:48:39,360
To repent from our sins, to turn from
our sins that is, and to choose to put

926
00:48:39,360 --> 00:48:42,450
our trust in Jesus for the forgiveness
of our sins, that he died on the

927
00:48:42,450 --> 00:48:45,120
cross, that we might be forgiven,
and that he rose from the dead so

928
00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:46,350
that we could live with him forever.

929
00:48:47,295 --> 00:48:50,295
Lord, that is the offer that exists
for anyone in this room this morning

930
00:48:50,295 --> 00:48:51,555
who has not made that choice.

931
00:48:52,455 --> 00:48:55,785
I pray, Lord, that that today would
be the day of salvation, even as we

932
00:48:55,785 --> 00:48:58,905
go from here to listen to testimonies
and to see baptisms, what it

933
00:48:58,905 --> 00:49:02,355
represents, that we are buried with
Christ and raised to newness of life.

934
00:49:03,045 --> 00:49:04,995
What a glorious reality and truth that is.

935
00:49:05,685 --> 00:49:06,675
We thank you for Christ.

936
00:49:06,735 --> 00:49:08,415
We thank you for our new
life that we have in Him.

937
00:49:08,550 --> 00:49:11,370
And we gave him all the glory
and praise this morning.

938
00:49:11,370 --> 00:49:13,380
In Jesus' name, amen