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Speaker: Well, we are starting a, a
new series called Redeemed Living.

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And in it, Peter is going to, to
turn our attention to how do we live

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in light of the suffering and the
reality of the suffering that he's

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been talking about so much already.

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In first Peter, some of the brass tacks,
some of the applications, some of the

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imperatives to compliment the indicatives.

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But as we come to these first two
verses of First Peter, chapter four

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A, a book came to mind and that's the
book that is the title of the sermon,

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what to Expect When You're Expecting.

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You're wondering, what in the
world does that have to do with

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one Peter four, one, and two.

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Some of you are, are young, younger, uh,
than than the rest of us in the room.

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And, and so you don't know what this
book is, but before we had wise social

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media influencers to tell us how to,
you know, get through a pregnancy and

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how to have a baby and what the right
way to do it is and what the ungodly,

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sinful way and how dare you do this
and you've ruined your child forever

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because you had an epidural way to do it.

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Um, that was too far.

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I should not probably have said that.

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See, my wife's not here and
I just say things out loud.

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Um.

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That's not my conviction by the way,
but we had this book called What to

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Expect When You're Expecting, and it
was written to young families and my

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wife and I remember when we first had
our, our firstborn, Josh, who was born

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in 2009, we had this book and we were
going through it together and she was.

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Trying to help me understand what
pregnancy looked like while she was trying

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to understand what pregnancy looked like.

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And the book is also trying to get
you to the place where understanding

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like this is what is gonna happen.

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And, and then you're gonna have
a baby and, and then this is how

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you deal with the baby initially.

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And then after that you're on your own.

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Um.

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No, I think there's like a what to
expect in the first year and, and

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what to expect when they're 16 and 17
years old now and, and all that stuff.

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But this was the book that
was meant to prepare you for

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the reality that lay ahead.

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This was the book that was meant
to get you as ready as you possibly

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could be for what was coming.

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It was there to get you to the place
where you had the right mentality and the

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right expectations for what awaited you.

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In some ways, that's what Peter's
doing here in chapter four.

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That's why my mind went to what
to Expect when you're expecting.

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Peter's not trying to
prepare us for pregnancy.

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Peter's trying to prepare us for life in
a world where we're gonna suffer turning

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the page, so to speak again, to where now
we're going to figure out what does it

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look like for me to live in this world?

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How do I, how do I wake up?

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How do I keep going?

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What, what?

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What do I need to do to be ready for the
suffering that awaits me in this world?

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Peter's gonna let us know what to expect
as we expect the suffering that comes with

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following Christ in a christless world.

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Let's begin in first Peter
chapter four, verse one.

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It says this, since therefore,
Christ suffered in the flesh arm

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yourselves with the same way of
thinking, for whoever has suffered

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in the flesh, has ceased from sin.

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Peter begins since, therefore, Christ
has suffered in the flesh, which should

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sound somewhat familiar to us because
last week we looked at verse 18,

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which begins for Christ also suffered.

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And then later on in verse 18, it
says, being put to death in the flesh.

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And so Peter's making a a
statement here, since therefore,

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he did suffer in the flesh.

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He's looking back to where he was and
he's drawing a connection now for us.

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He's saying, since that's true,
there's implications for you

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and me since this is the reality
which he established last week.

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Now there's things that we need
to do in light of that reality.

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This is something that is
not uncommon in scripture.

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In times there's entire books.

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In fact, the book of Ephesians is set
up this way where chapters one through

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three are all of the gospel indicatives.

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An indicative is a statement of fact.

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It's a statement of what is true.

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And then chapters four through six in
Ephesians are the gospel imperatives

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and imperative is a command.

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This is, here's your call to action.

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In light of what this indicative says,
in light of what this says is true,

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then this is what you should do with it.

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This is the action that
is being called for here.

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That is what Peter's doing for us.

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Now we're pivoting from the impar,
the indicatives of suffering to

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the imperatives of suffering.

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So he's calling us back to where we
just were last week since therefore

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Christ suffered in the flesh.

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And then he goes on, he says, this
arm yourselves with the same way of

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thinking, arm yourselves to arm oneself
is to, to prepare, to be equipped.

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Uh, this is a word that's unique in the
Bible to just this verse in one Peter.

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And so it's hard for us because we don't
have a semantic range for us to grab from

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other passages in the Bible to say, well,
it could mean this, it could mean this,

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it could mean this outside of the Bible.

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It can refer to preparing provisions for
a journey or making a horse ready for a a,

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a ride preparing sacrifices or equipping
a person with weapons for battle.

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You'll notice the ESV, and this is also
the choice that was made by some of

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our other more well-known translations,
and including the NASB, the LSB and

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others have chosen the word arm.

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And, and so that gives us the
indication that they're believing that

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Peter is calling us to prepare as a
soldier for what lies in front of us.

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And I think they're right in that.

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I, I think that's the right approach here.

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Peter's already referred back in First
Peter chapter two, verse 11, to the

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reality that we have passions within us
that are waging war against our souls.

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We talked last week about the reality
of spiritual warfare that plagues us

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as Christians, that we need to be on
guard against as we go through this

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world because we live in a world where
the prince of the power of the air,

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for now at least, still operates.

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And so when Peter says you need to arm
yourself with the same way of thinking,

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I think it's in keeping with this idea
that we as Christians are not just exiles,

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but we are also soldiers here on Earth.

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You remember the old hymn Onward
Christian Soldiers Marching as we Go.

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There was a, a Latin phrase that came
into being in the early stages of

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the church called Militia Christi.

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Militia Christi, and it's a phrase
that means soldier of Christ.

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And this is in keeping with the, the
biblical theme, not just in one Peter.

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I referenced one Peter two 11, but
there's plenty of other instances

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in the New Testament where we as
Christians are considered to be those

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that are soldiers, those that are
at war, those that are in a battle.

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Paul speaks of us taking up the
full armor of God, for example.

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Or there's the idea that we talked about
last week of, of spiritual warfare, which

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ties in with that, with Paul as well.

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Uh, but how about this from
Second Timothy two, three.

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This sounds a lot like what we're
dealing with in our text in one

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Peter second Timothy two, three,
Paul says, share in suffering as a,

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here's the phrase right there for you.

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A good soldier of Jesus Christ.

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And so this idea of being part
of the army of God, the, the

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militia Christi, the soldiers of
Christ, we are to arm ourselves.

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But the, the question should be begged
then or should be asked, I should suppose.

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What are we to arm ourselves with?

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What are we to arm ourselves with?

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And, and if we're battling an, an enemy
that's not fleshing blood, then we

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aren't arming ourselves with the Glock.

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We're not arming ourselves with a sword.

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We have to arm ourselves
with something else.

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And in our text here, Peter says
that what we should arm ourselves

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with is the same way of thinking.

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Arm yourself, take up the the
weapon, take up the instrument

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of the same way of thinking.

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Uh, same way of thinking.

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The word thinking there it is
translated elsewhere as, as mind

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or attitude, purpose, or this
is the one that I like the most.

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Resolve.

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Arm yourself with the same
resolve that you saw in Christ.

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Since he suffered.

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Remember Peter's already pointed out the
fact that Christ suffered as an example

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for us that we might follow in his steps.

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Well, since Jesus suffered for us,
we should arm ourselves with the same

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mentality, the same resolve, the same
thought process, the same attitude that

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says I'm, I'm ready to face whatever
comes my way because I'm following Jesus.

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See, when we decide to follow Christ
by surrendering to him and faith and

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repentance, we're making a decisive
break with this world, and that's going

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to put us at odds with this world.

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This is what the next five weeks
are really gonna be about as we

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unpack chapter four together.

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But before we get too far into that
discussion, we have to make sure that

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we're ready to live as Christians.

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We have to make sure that we
are prepared to be these good

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soldiers for Jesus Christ.

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We have to be prepared to, to
face the suffering by arming

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ourselves with this resolve.

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And that begins with our minds.

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That begins with how we think about
ourselves, about our identity, and

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about the world in which we live.

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Point number one this week is this.

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Embrace the wartime mentality.

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Embrace the wartime mentality.

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Back in, in 2019, my wife
and I went to Israel and, and

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it was a trip of a lifetime.

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And, and while I was there, and I
think I've mentioned this before,

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but the Palestinians would be
firing rockets while we were there.

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And, and there were apps on the phone
that you could actually see the, the

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rocket, uh, fire taking place there.

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And I remember asking our guide
once, uh, is, is this okay?

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Um, this is not something that
we face in Southern California.

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We don't have rockets being fired at us.

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Should we take shelter?

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And he just shrugged it off.

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He was like, what?

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What are you even talking about?

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And I pointed at my phone that had
the apps and he's like, oh yeah,

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that, that, that's just life here.

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That's just life.

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So even though there were rockets being
fired in 2019, nobody was taking shelter.

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This was not anything that
anybody was concerned about.

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Contrast that with what
happened yesterday.

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Contrast that with, with, even yesterday
as I was watching some of the news

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coverage, they would shift over to the
correspondent that was in Tel Aviv.

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And every time they would go over to
him, the, the air raid sirens were

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going off in the background, and he was
putting on his flak jacket and he was

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putting on even a helmet at one point
because he needed to be ready to brace

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for impact because they were under an
imminent threat of a legitimate attack.

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That's a wartime mentality.

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That's the mentality that we
as Christians need to have.

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See, you're not gonna have scripture
calling us to take shelter in the bomb

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shelters of the church and just gather
in our holy huddles and our Christian

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cliques and hang out here and not
engage because it's scary out there.

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That's not the reaction
to a wartime mentality.

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But what scripture will call us to
over and over again is to embrace the

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reality and prepare with our minds to
engage a world that is not friendly

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to our faith and to be prepared even
to suffer as Christ has suffered.

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Uh, that, that's why when Peter
first addressed this group as those

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that are elect exiles, we talked
about that in our opening message.

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Remember, we are the church on in
exile, not the church on vacation.

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But it's not just that we're
not home in this world.

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We need to not just think of ourselves
as, as those that are away from

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home, but we need to think about
ourselves as those that are at war.

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When I travel, when I go
someplace, I, I like to explore.

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I like to get to a new place and
find the, the good food that's

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there, or go sightseeing or, or
talk to the locals that are there.

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It's fun to be in a new place and, and
even though I'm aware I'm, I'm not at

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home when I travel, I, I like to travel
and be in a different place and try to

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be as comfortable as I possibly can be
there and enjoy as much of the, the, the

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wares and, and the, the food and things
like that as I can while I'm there.

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No one who's deployed to the front
lines of a battle is asking what

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coffee shops are in the area.

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Nobody who's on the front lines is
thinking about, well, I wonder what

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sites there are to see around here.

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Nobody's digging a foxhole.

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Thinking about I, I hope I get a
chance to get to know the locals

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as the church.

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We have to think of the world around us as
what it really is, which is a world that's

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hostile to the savior that we serve.

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And again, we have to be careful because
it's not that we hate the people.

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Paul says, our battle's not against flesh
and blood, but we do need to understand

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that the spiritual forces at work in this
present age, in this present darkness,

225
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are hostile to the savior that we serve.

226
00:11:28,365 --> 00:11:31,185
This is why Paul says in Colossians
chapter three, one and two, he says this,

227
00:11:31,185 --> 00:11:34,005
if then you've been raised with Christ,
seek the things that are above where

228
00:11:34,005 --> 00:11:36,495
Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

229
00:11:36,765 --> 00:11:40,095
Set your minds on the things
that are above, not on the

230
00:11:40,095 --> 00:11:41,055
things that are on earth.

231
00:11:42,345 --> 00:11:45,285
Paul's aware there as he's writing
to the church, as he's writing to

232
00:11:45,285 --> 00:11:49,455
believers saying You need to keep your
mind fixed where your home ultimately

233
00:11:49,455 --> 00:11:53,595
is, and understand that you're gonna be
tempted to get your mind off of there

234
00:11:53,745 --> 00:11:56,265
and put it here in this place instead.

235
00:11:57,405 --> 00:12:00,405
The world works really hard to
get our minds off of Christ.

236
00:12:00,825 --> 00:12:03,465
The world works really hard to convince
us that we're not at war with it.

237
00:12:04,185 --> 00:12:06,885
The world works really hard to
try to get us to focus on all of

238
00:12:06,885 --> 00:12:08,295
the things that it offers us here.

239
00:12:10,155 --> 00:12:12,525
And we have to be careful not to
be distracted by those things.

240
00:12:13,694 --> 00:12:17,385
Lemme just talk about social media for a
second and the way that I think the enemy

241
00:12:17,385 --> 00:12:23,025
uses social media, for example, ladies,
the enemy uses things like social media,

242
00:12:23,055 --> 00:12:25,905
Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, to convince
you that you're supposed to have the

243
00:12:25,905 --> 00:12:29,444
perfect house and the perfect kids, and
the perfect marriage, and all of it needs

244
00:12:29,444 --> 00:12:31,365
to be perfectly photogenic at all times.

245
00:12:33,405 --> 00:12:37,335
I'm assuming the smattering of chuckling
in the audience is an admission that

246
00:12:37,335 --> 00:12:39,194
nobody actually has that life, do they?

247
00:12:40,574 --> 00:12:41,595
And so what does it turn into?

248
00:12:41,595 --> 00:12:44,415
Well, it turns into this crushing
feeling like something's wrong.

249
00:12:44,415 --> 00:12:45,465
I don't measure up.

250
00:12:45,465 --> 00:12:47,954
I'm not like what they
tell me I should be.

251
00:12:48,915 --> 00:12:50,655
And so the anxiety creeps in.

252
00:12:51,225 --> 00:12:53,865
You don't look like your favorite
influencer does, and, and, and

253
00:12:53,865 --> 00:12:54,915
you think, man, something's wrong.

254
00:12:57,195 --> 00:13:01,335
Or men, the world of social media has
created a vision of what marriage should

255
00:13:01,335 --> 00:13:05,295
be, a vision, what of what your wife
should look like or could look like.

256
00:13:05,775 --> 00:13:08,475
A vision of the car that you should be
driving, the house that you should be

257
00:13:08,475 --> 00:13:11,175
living in, and the job that you should
have, and how much money you should have.

258
00:13:11,175 --> 00:13:15,315
And it's saying you should expect all of
it so that when it doesn't happen, when

259
00:13:15,315 --> 00:13:19,065
it doesn't measure up, when your house
isn't as big as as you wish it would be.

260
00:13:19,785 --> 00:13:22,125
Your car isn't as nice, your
job doesn't pay as much.

261
00:13:22,125 --> 00:13:23,070
You think, well, something's wrong.

262
00:13:24,540 --> 00:13:30,689
Unless it's not, unless as Christians, the
reality is we are not of the world, and

263
00:13:30,689 --> 00:13:33,240
so the things that the world is trying to
pull our hearts towards, the things that

264
00:13:33,270 --> 00:13:36,900
the world is trying to fill our minds with
and get our attention on is not what we're

265
00:13:36,900 --> 00:13:42,120
called to have our minds filled with and
our attention fixed on Christianity costs.

266
00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:45,240
That's gonna be a common theme throughout
this entire passage that we're looking at.

267
00:13:45,780 --> 00:13:47,189
Christianity costs.

268
00:13:47,985 --> 00:13:51,375
It's the mindset that we have to develop,
and it's really hard to do in our cultural

269
00:13:51,375 --> 00:13:55,605
context here because if we're honest,
it doesn't necessarily cost us much.

270
00:13:56,055 --> 00:13:57,525
I'm not saying it
doesn't cost us anything.

271
00:13:58,575 --> 00:14:00,165
I'm saying it doesn't cost us much.

272
00:14:01,035 --> 00:14:03,825
And so that's why a huge part of our
wartime mentality that we're trying

273
00:14:03,825 --> 00:14:08,175
to have here is this exiles mentality
to realize this is not my home.

274
00:14:09,255 --> 00:14:13,695
If there's an account that I follow on
X that its whole purpose is this, it

275
00:14:13,695 --> 00:14:16,485
sends out one tweet a day and the tweet
that it sends out every day is this.

276
00:14:16,485 --> 00:14:17,535
You're gonna die someday.

277
00:14:18,825 --> 00:14:21,945
You might think that's rather macab, but
it's in keeping with the ancient practice

278
00:14:21,945 --> 00:14:23,805
of Memento Moori, remembering our death.

279
00:14:24,345 --> 00:14:26,775
Pastor Rod has a skull on his desk
that I'm pretty sure it's fake,

280
00:14:27,105 --> 00:14:28,575
and it's for the same purpose.

281
00:14:29,445 --> 00:14:31,635
It's to remind him that
one day he's gonna die.

282
00:14:32,445 --> 00:14:34,125
In fact, I, I recently downloaded an app.

283
00:14:34,185 --> 00:14:35,445
This app is called Left.

284
00:14:35,685 --> 00:14:38,055
And the reason I downloaded the app
is I saw it and I was like, man,

285
00:14:38,055 --> 00:14:39,255
that, that's really fascinating.

286
00:14:39,255 --> 00:14:43,335
In this app, what it does is it's a
countdown app, but it goes beyond that

287
00:14:43,335 --> 00:14:46,845
because it actually, you can plug in
your information into it and I know

288
00:14:46,845 --> 00:14:50,265
I'm giving China my information about
who I am and, and my body weight

289
00:14:50,265 --> 00:14:51,285
and my height, and that's fine.

290
00:14:51,285 --> 00:14:52,365
They can do whatever they want with that.

291
00:14:53,475 --> 00:14:56,775
But I put it into the app and then
the app kicks back its estimate

292
00:14:56,775 --> 00:14:58,335
of how much longer I have to live.

293
00:14:58,875 --> 00:15:00,555
You guys ready for this drum roll please.

294
00:15:01,410 --> 00:15:02,969
Apparently I got 36 years left.

295
00:15:03,630 --> 00:15:07,530
So I'm gonna be 77.276

296
00:15:07,530 --> 00:15:08,670
years old when I die, I guess.

297
00:15:08,670 --> 00:15:09,030
I don't know.

298
00:15:09,390 --> 00:15:12,540
Um, but if I was to pull that up
in real time, those later numbers

299
00:15:12,540 --> 00:15:14,910
are actually, they, they are just
counting down the whole time.

300
00:15:14,910 --> 00:15:17,069
So you're watching your
life just dwindle away.

301
00:15:17,099 --> 00:15:20,189
Now, I know that this is not inspired.

302
00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:22,349
I know that I might
live shorter than this.

303
00:15:22,349 --> 00:15:23,760
I might live longer than this, who knows?

304
00:15:24,089 --> 00:15:26,640
But just the reminder
of my lifespan progress.

305
00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:31,020
And so I've got a widget on my homepage
on my phone that visually represents

306
00:15:31,020 --> 00:15:32,640
that I've got 36 years left in my life.

307
00:15:33,495 --> 00:15:34,395
Why do I have that?

308
00:15:35,175 --> 00:15:38,355
To remember that I'm not home
To remember that I have to

309
00:15:38,355 --> 00:15:39,584
have a, an exiles mentality.

310
00:15:39,584 --> 00:15:41,324
And also to remember that
I'm not here to be home.

311
00:15:41,324 --> 00:15:42,135
I'm here to be at war.

312
00:15:43,515 --> 00:15:44,714
I'm here to fight for the right things.

313
00:15:44,714 --> 00:15:47,145
I'm here to have the mentality that
says, this world is not my home.

314
00:15:47,145 --> 00:15:51,165
I'm here to say, okay, if, if
following Christ means suffering

315
00:15:51,165 --> 00:15:52,574
for me here, okay, so be it.

316
00:15:52,574 --> 00:15:53,385
I need to be ready for it.

317
00:15:54,525 --> 00:15:57,314
I need to have the mentality that
says, okay, if, if I can glorify God

318
00:15:57,314 --> 00:16:00,314
better in the value of the shadow of
death than with the Instagram family.

319
00:16:01,005 --> 00:16:02,305
Okay, so be it.

320
00:16:04,125 --> 00:16:07,575
I need to have the mentality that says
if I'm exhausted because I'm caring

321
00:16:07,575 --> 00:16:11,205
for my family, I'm working my job, I'm
serving the church, but you know what?

322
00:16:11,205 --> 00:16:13,035
God is honored by my life right now.

323
00:16:13,335 --> 00:16:14,115
Then so be it.

324
00:16:14,115 --> 00:16:15,195
Bring on the exhaustion.

325
00:16:16,335 --> 00:16:18,195
I need to have the mentality
that says, you know what?

326
00:16:18,195 --> 00:16:21,135
If my kids don't get the same
opportunities as their friends might

327
00:16:21,135 --> 00:16:23,685
because they grow up learning the
importance of church and we're not gonna

328
00:16:23,685 --> 00:16:29,960
compromise, so that they can be on the
the best travel ball team, then so be it.

329
00:16:30,915 --> 00:16:34,095
If my retirement doesn't look what,
like what the world defines as

330
00:16:34,095 --> 00:16:38,055
retirement because I haven't retired
from the church, then so be it.

331
00:16:39,105 --> 00:16:39,945
It's a mentality.

332
00:16:39,945 --> 00:16:41,415
It's a shift in how we think.

333
00:16:43,010 --> 00:16:46,335
And, and, and this is really not
asking a whole lot from us, especially

334
00:16:46,335 --> 00:16:47,655
as we consider church history.

335
00:16:47,655 --> 00:16:50,445
If you think back to the persecution
that took place under Bloody Mary,

336
00:16:50,445 --> 00:16:53,505
if you don't know the, the stories of
the Marian Martyrs, it's one of the

337
00:16:53,505 --> 00:16:56,385
recommended reading resources that I've
got on the back of your worksheet there.

338
00:16:56,385 --> 00:16:58,365
It's called Light From Old Times.

339
00:16:58,845 --> 00:16:59,954
Uh, it's by JC Ryle.

340
00:16:59,954 --> 00:17:01,155
It's a book that is.

341
00:17:02,444 --> 00:17:05,773
It is a, it's challenging because
it's a, it's an account of the

342
00:17:05,773 --> 00:17:09,704
testimony of the martyrs of the
English Protestant Reformation who

343
00:17:09,704 --> 00:17:11,534
died for their faith under bloody Mary.

344
00:17:12,645 --> 00:17:16,784
But when we think about these some 300
men and women who were burned at the stake

345
00:17:16,784 --> 00:17:21,915
for refusing to compromise their faith in
the pure, unadulterated gospel of Jesus,

346
00:17:23,054 --> 00:17:24,854
and I asked myself, do I have a mentality?

347
00:17:24,854 --> 00:17:28,243
Am I armed with that level to
think I'm ready to do that?

348
00:17:29,445 --> 00:17:32,505
So many of them were given the
opportunity over and over and over again

349
00:17:32,505 --> 00:17:34,545
to recant before going to the stake.

350
00:17:35,055 --> 00:17:36,705
They knew what lay in front of them.

351
00:17:37,365 --> 00:17:40,725
In fact, there's multiple testimonies
of men who were being led to the

352
00:17:40,725 --> 00:17:45,825
stake and on the way the, the, the
Catholics would bring their families

353
00:17:45,855 --> 00:17:50,655
to them to meet them on the way to the
stake their wives and their children.

354
00:17:50,655 --> 00:17:53,775
Some of these men, one of them had
11 children, and in fact, a newborn

355
00:17:53,775 --> 00:17:56,985
that his wife was nursing as she came
to meet him on the way to the stake.

356
00:17:58,274 --> 00:18:02,024
The manipulation, the, the, the perversion
of trying to get them to recant their

357
00:18:02,024 --> 00:18:08,655
faith and deny Christ and the resolve
that these men had to say, though, I

358
00:18:08,655 --> 00:18:10,485
suffer here, I know where I'm going.

359
00:18:12,495 --> 00:18:13,935
Do I have that mentality?

360
00:18:16,034 --> 00:18:20,925
Do I have that ability to
say, I'm ready, come what?

361
00:18:22,725 --> 00:18:25,395
Lemme provide one caveat and
just say this, I, I'm, I'm not

362
00:18:25,395 --> 00:18:28,605
asking you to embrace an aesthetic
lifestyle or to despise the good

363
00:18:28,605 --> 00:18:29,655
things that God has given you.

364
00:18:30,645 --> 00:18:32,085
The Bible doesn't teach us that either.

365
00:18:32,085 --> 00:18:37,155
In fact, in Ecclesiastes five 18 through
19, Solomon says this, behold what I have

366
00:18:37,155 --> 00:18:41,205
seen to be good and fitting is to eat and
drink and find enjoyment in all the toil.

367
00:18:41,205 --> 00:18:42,555
Which one Toils under the sun.

368
00:18:42,555 --> 00:18:45,495
The few days of life God has
given him for this is his lot.

369
00:18:45,585 --> 00:18:49,875
Yeah, everyone also, to whom God has given
wealth and possessions and power to enjoy

370
00:18:49,875 --> 00:18:54,195
them and to accept his lot and rejoice
in his toil, this is the gift of God.

371
00:18:54,525 --> 00:18:57,945
So if you're in a nice neighborhood and
you've got a home where you feel secure

372
00:18:57,945 --> 00:19:02,085
and you've got food on your table and
you've got a good job, God is not calling

373
00:19:02,085 --> 00:19:07,335
you to despise that, but he is calling
you to have a mentality and a mindset

374
00:19:07,335 --> 00:19:10,245
that says, I'm ready to let it all go.

375
00:19:10,935 --> 00:19:11,985
I'm ready to suffer.

376
00:19:12,495 --> 00:19:15,495
I'm ready to follow my savior,
whatever that looks like for me.

377
00:19:16,740 --> 00:19:19,740
And so that's our task, to prepare
ourselves for the cost of following

378
00:19:19,740 --> 00:19:22,440
Jesus, whatever that task,
whatever that cost may look like.

379
00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:26,580
So we have to be resolved and ready to
face the opposition, but rather than

380
00:19:26,580 --> 00:19:28,950
thinking of that opposition and the
suffering that we face is something

381
00:19:28,950 --> 00:19:30,450
that's discouraging or disheartening.

382
00:19:30,690 --> 00:19:33,810
I think where Peter goes next is
to, to help us understand this and

383
00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:36,960
reframe our perspective, to see this
as something that's encouraging,

384
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:41,040
something that's good, something that's
confirming the rest of verse one.

385
00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:45,210
Peter says this, for whoever has suffered
in the flesh, has ceased from sin.

386
00:19:46,260 --> 00:19:50,220
For whoever has suffered in
the flesh has ceased from sin

387
00:19:52,080 --> 00:19:53,280
to, to suffer in the flesh.

388
00:19:53,280 --> 00:19:55,290
This is Peter's euphemistic way
of referring to the suffering

389
00:19:55,290 --> 00:19:56,280
that we experience in the world.

390
00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:57,840
Just kind of categorically broad scale.

391
00:19:58,230 --> 00:19:59,879
It's what we've been talking
about in point number one.

392
00:19:59,879 --> 00:20:02,940
It's, it's what we've been talking about
for the last couple months here as we've

393
00:20:02,940 --> 00:20:04,139
been studying First Peter together.

394
00:20:04,800 --> 00:20:08,400
We need to be ready to suffer in the
flesh because whoever has suffered in the

395
00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:11,190
flesh, Peter saying, has ceased from sin.

396
00:20:11,190 --> 00:20:13,170
Now I'm gonna ask for a
show of hands in the room.

397
00:20:13,170 --> 00:20:15,780
How many of you have suffered a little
bit and now you're done sitting forever?

398
00:20:17,310 --> 00:20:19,140
Okay, my hand's not up,
by the way, it's down.

399
00:20:20,220 --> 00:20:21,270
None of us are, right?

400
00:20:22,050 --> 00:20:23,970
And so how do we understand
what Peter's talking about here?

401
00:20:23,970 --> 00:20:26,520
What in the world, how can he write
that somebody who has suffered

402
00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:28,080
in the flesh has ceased from sin?

403
00:20:28,710 --> 00:20:30,240
Well, I think the first thing
that we need to do is take

404
00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:31,500
sinless perfection off the table.

405
00:20:32,460 --> 00:20:32,910
Here's why.

406
00:20:32,910 --> 00:20:35,460
What does John say about us
if we say we have no sin?

407
00:20:35,460 --> 00:20:38,130
We what are liars?

408
00:20:38,250 --> 00:20:39,390
And the truth is not in us.

409
00:20:39,870 --> 00:20:40,140
Okay.

410
00:20:40,410 --> 00:20:43,170
How about even Peter, the
author of this letter, I don't.

411
00:20:43,410 --> 00:20:47,190
Peter would've never claimed to have
been freed from sin at this point.

412
00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:49,050
Think about the book of Acts.

413
00:20:49,050 --> 00:20:49,800
He starts out.

414
00:20:50,340 --> 00:20:51,300
Gangbusters.

415
00:20:51,300 --> 00:20:51,780
He comes out.

416
00:20:51,780 --> 00:20:52,199
He is.

417
00:20:52,199 --> 00:20:53,370
He is preaching the gospel.

418
00:20:53,370 --> 00:20:54,449
People are getting saved.

419
00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:56,639
The church is growing,
things are going really well.

420
00:20:56,760 --> 00:20:58,080
You remember what
happens during that time?

421
00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:00,330
Peter gets arrested, he gets
brought before the Jewish leaders.

422
00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:02,310
Peter's gonna be beaten for his faith.

423
00:21:02,310 --> 00:21:03,360
He's gonna be imprisoned.

424
00:21:03,360 --> 00:21:04,229
He's gonna suffer.

425
00:21:04,229 --> 00:21:05,189
Yes, Peter's gonna suffer.

426
00:21:05,399 --> 00:21:06,629
So then Peter must be sinless.

427
00:21:06,629 --> 00:21:11,429
Then since he said whoever suffered in
the faith is, is he's from Sin Galatians.

428
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,909
Paul writes about Peter in an
encounter that he had with Peter.

429
00:21:15,750 --> 00:21:18,630
In Galatians, Paul says, I had
to oppose Peter to his face.

430
00:21:18,630 --> 00:21:22,440
I had to confront Peter over sin because
Peter was playing the role of a hypocrite.

431
00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:25,440
He was eating with the Gentiles as long
as the Jewish Christians weren't around.

432
00:21:25,440 --> 00:21:27,900
But when the Jewish Christians showed
up, Peter withdrew from the Gentiles

433
00:21:27,930 --> 00:21:29,100
'cause he didn't wanna be seen with them.

434
00:21:30,390 --> 00:21:35,280
And so even our author who sinned wouldn't
have made the claim that he's sinless.

435
00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:38,190
So when we read something like that,
we can't read something like that

436
00:21:38,190 --> 00:21:41,010
and say, okay, this is promoting
sinless perfection in a believer.

437
00:21:42,045 --> 00:21:43,935
It doesn't hold water with
any of the rest of scripture.

438
00:21:43,935 --> 00:21:47,175
We have to interpret a passage of
scripture within the context of the

439
00:21:47,175 --> 00:21:48,855
broader context of scripture too.

440
00:21:49,995 --> 00:21:51,795
So what was he saying then?

441
00:21:52,005 --> 00:21:53,955
Well, I think there's a, a few options.

442
00:21:53,955 --> 00:21:57,885
Option number one, the one who suffered
from sin or suffered and ceases from sin

443
00:21:57,885 --> 00:22:00,015
is, is meant to be understood as Jesus.

444
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:03,750
And before you stone me as a heretic,
I'm not suggesting that Jesus sinned.

445
00:22:03,750 --> 00:22:06,090
And so he ceased from sin in the
fact that he stopped sinning.

446
00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:10,260
But rather when Jesus suffered,
he broke the power of sin.

447
00:22:10,379 --> 00:22:12,419
He declared victory over sin.

448
00:22:12,419 --> 00:22:15,210
He finished with paying
the penalty for sin.

449
00:22:15,629 --> 00:22:16,919
So there are some that view it that way.

450
00:22:16,919 --> 00:22:19,830
The problem is this grammatically,
you can't make that connection

451
00:22:19,830 --> 00:22:22,889
in the text when it says whoever
the nearest reference doesn't go

452
00:22:22,889 --> 00:22:24,429
back to to Christ at that point.

453
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:28,110
And so I think we, we, we would
say, okay, that's an option.

454
00:22:28,290 --> 00:22:29,190
Probably not the right option.

455
00:22:29,190 --> 00:22:31,470
Option two is this is
talking about the believer.

456
00:22:31,590 --> 00:22:33,390
Similar to how Paul
talks about the believer.

457
00:22:33,630 --> 00:22:36,960
The believer is the one who suffers and
ceases from sin because the believer has

458
00:22:36,960 --> 00:22:38,700
been united to the suffering of Christ.

459
00:22:39,524 --> 00:22:42,465
So when Paul in Romans chapter six
says that we have been united in a

460
00:22:42,465 --> 00:22:47,564
death like his, or he also says, uh,
I have been crucified with Christ.

461
00:22:47,564 --> 00:22:49,574
It's no longer I who live
by Christ who lives in me.

462
00:22:49,784 --> 00:22:52,845
And so some have said, well, this is
the believer and the metaphorical union

463
00:22:52,845 --> 00:22:56,625
to the suffering of Christ that has now
produced a freedom from sin in our lives

464
00:22:56,625 --> 00:23:01,034
so that sin no longer has reign over us,
and it's a little bit more palatable.

465
00:23:01,034 --> 00:23:03,284
The problem is we're reading
Pauline Theology into Peter.

466
00:23:04,139 --> 00:23:07,350
And, and Paul was speaking of
suffering metaphorically in Romans

467
00:23:07,350 --> 00:23:10,379
six and other passages where Peter's
been talking about very literal,

468
00:23:10,379 --> 00:23:13,679
real suffering that these people are
experiencing as he's writing to them.

469
00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:16,800
And so I think the third option is
probably the best option, and that

470
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:21,389
is this, that when a believer suffers
for his faith or her faith, what

471
00:23:21,389 --> 00:23:24,689
they're demonstrating is they're
demonstrating their union to Christ.

472
00:23:24,689 --> 00:23:27,179
They're demonstrating
that they belong to Jesus.

473
00:23:27,270 --> 00:23:29,429
And so in that sense, they're
demonstrating, they've made a

474
00:23:29,429 --> 00:23:32,939
break from, they've ceased from the
sinful ways of the world in that.

475
00:23:33,990 --> 00:23:37,950
And so it's not ceased from all sin like
we talked about at the very beginning,

476
00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:43,170
but when you suffer as a Christian
because you refuse to compromise, when

477
00:23:43,170 --> 00:23:46,830
you suffer as a Christian because you
make Godly decisions rather than fleshly

478
00:23:46,830 --> 00:23:48,810
decisions, you are demonstrating.

479
00:23:48,875 --> 00:23:53,915
In your suffering that you belong not
to the world, but you belong to Jesus.

480
00:23:53,915 --> 00:23:55,535
There's been a break with the world.

481
00:23:55,535 --> 00:23:59,435
You have ceased from that sinful
way, and so that which is causing

482
00:23:59,435 --> 00:24:03,815
you to suffer is at the same time the
confirmation that you belong to Jesus.

483
00:24:04,895 --> 00:24:06,960
See the perspective shift that
Peter's giving us here with suffering.

484
00:24:07,695 --> 00:24:08,715
He's trying to encourage us.

485
00:24:08,715 --> 00:24:12,675
He's trying to say, look, here's
the thing, uh, you may be going

486
00:24:12,675 --> 00:24:15,345
through this right now, but, but
rather than being beaten down by

487
00:24:15,345 --> 00:24:18,525
it, you should be encouraged because
this is part of the evidence of who

488
00:24:18,525 --> 00:24:21,075
it is that you truly do belong to.

489
00:24:23,955 --> 00:24:29,955
Peter's wanting his audience and us
to adopt this new perspective, and

490
00:24:29,955 --> 00:24:32,535
again, this perspective is gonna come
from verse one by arming ourselves

491
00:24:32,535 --> 00:24:33,680
with the same way of, of thinking.

492
00:24:34,875 --> 00:24:39,735
This break with the world, this
identifying with Christ to see suffering

493
00:24:39,735 --> 00:24:43,395
is not something that's shameful or to be
avoided, but something that's confirming

494
00:24:43,395 --> 00:24:47,925
and affirming of our position in Christ
as evidencing that we belong to Jesus.

495
00:24:48,435 --> 00:24:49,425
Point number two this week is this.

496
00:24:49,425 --> 00:24:51,915
Find comfort in the sacrifices
you make for Christ.

497
00:24:52,785 --> 00:24:56,025
Find comfort in the sacrifices
you make for Christ.

498
00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:04,920
Paul contrast the citizens of the
world with the citizens of heaven.

499
00:25:04,920 --> 00:25:09,210
In Philippians chapter three, verses 18
through 20, Philippians three 18 through

500
00:25:09,210 --> 00:25:13,290
20, Paul says this, for many of whom I'm
often told you, and now tell you, even

501
00:25:13,290 --> 00:25:17,550
with tears walk as enemies of the cross
of Christ, their end is destruction.

502
00:25:17,550 --> 00:25:19,440
Notice this, their God is their belly.

503
00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:24,330
They glory in their shame with
minds set on earthly things.

504
00:25:24,870 --> 00:25:25,650
But then what does Paul say?

505
00:25:25,650 --> 00:25:28,230
But our citizenship by
contrast is in heaven.

506
00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:31,500
And from that, we await a
savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

507
00:25:32,355 --> 00:25:34,155
And so we're gonna live a different life.

508
00:25:34,155 --> 00:25:37,665
We're not going to to serve the
gods of our desires, the gods of

509
00:25:37,665 --> 00:25:39,165
our bellies as he puts it there.

510
00:25:39,165 --> 00:25:41,205
We're not gonna glory and shameful things.

511
00:25:41,745 --> 00:25:43,515
We're not gonna have our
mind set on earthly things.

512
00:25:43,515 --> 00:25:46,665
Instead, we're gonna have our
God be the God of creation.

513
00:25:46,665 --> 00:25:48,525
We're gonna have our God
be the Lord Jesus Christ.

514
00:25:48,525 --> 00:25:51,195
We're gonna set our minds on him,
and we're gonna glory in Him.

515
00:25:51,195 --> 00:25:54,705
And that's gonna mean that we're gonna
suffer loss from an earthly perspective.

516
00:25:54,915 --> 00:25:57,345
But in the end, it's gonna be
okay because it's better to suffer

517
00:25:57,345 --> 00:26:01,005
loss on an earthly level than to
suffer loss on an eternal level.

518
00:26:02,909 --> 00:26:04,710
And so what do we read about in the Bible?

519
00:26:04,710 --> 00:26:05,820
That we are what?

520
00:26:05,820 --> 00:26:06,600
We are exiles.

521
00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:07,409
We are strangers.

522
00:26:07,409 --> 00:26:09,090
We are aliens, we are sojourners.

523
00:26:09,780 --> 00:26:12,930
These are all terms used by the
biblical writers to define who we are

524
00:26:12,930 --> 00:26:15,960
in Christ, and they're all meant to
point to the reality that we shouldn't

525
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:17,850
feel too comfortable in this world.

526
00:26:19,350 --> 00:26:22,500
When I went to college in California,
I left here in Texas and I brought

527
00:26:22,500 --> 00:26:26,460
with me my cowboy boots, my cowboy
hat, and my Texas flag, and I hung

528
00:26:26,460 --> 00:26:30,960
up my Texas flag above my bed, and
I wore shoes and socks to the beach.

529
00:26:32,879 --> 00:26:34,560
You Texans are like, what's
the problem with that?

530
00:26:35,580 --> 00:26:37,860
Those chuckling in the room have
come here from California, from

531
00:26:37,860 --> 00:26:40,139
the, the wilderness wanderings, and
they've reached the promised land.

532
00:26:40,139 --> 00:26:40,560
Finally.

533
00:26:41,159 --> 00:26:41,669
Welcome.

534
00:26:42,210 --> 00:26:42,930
We're glad to have you.

535
00:26:44,220 --> 00:26:45,750
And I didn't like street tacos.

536
00:26:46,710 --> 00:26:48,149
I know anathema,

537
00:26:50,254 --> 00:26:51,510
but here's the thing.

538
00:26:51,930 --> 00:26:56,970
I knew I stood out, but I was okay
with it because the, the reason I was

539
00:26:56,970 --> 00:26:59,820
okay with it is the things that made
me stand out were as different, were

540
00:26:59,820 --> 00:27:00,930
the things that reminded me of home.

541
00:27:03,074 --> 00:27:07,754
A, as Christians, when we suffer for our
faith, let that be a reminder of home.

542
00:27:08,774 --> 00:27:11,324
Let that be a reminder that
this world is not your home.

543
00:27:11,324 --> 00:27:14,865
Let that be a reminder that you
are confirming by your choices

544
00:27:14,865 --> 00:27:16,215
that you don't belong here.

545
00:27:16,215 --> 00:27:17,264
You belong to Christ.

546
00:27:17,264 --> 00:27:22,064
In fact, here's the thing, what should
give you pause and concern in your life

547
00:27:22,064 --> 00:27:23,745
is if you have no friction with the world.

548
00:27:25,710 --> 00:27:29,430
You shouldn't have pause or concern
about your standing with Christ.

549
00:27:29,430 --> 00:27:31,500
If you find that you're
suffering for godliness.

550
00:27:32,220 --> 00:27:33,660
That should be encouraging to you.

551
00:27:33,960 --> 00:27:36,570
That should be confirming the
fact that you belong to Christ.

552
00:27:37,379 --> 00:27:40,800
What should cause you to feel uncertain
and uncomfortable is if you find

553
00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:42,540
that you have no friction at all.

554
00:27:43,020 --> 00:27:48,750
With a world that John says is,
is not from the Lord, the lust

555
00:27:48,750 --> 00:27:50,910
of the eyes, the lust of the
flesh, the boastful pride of life.

556
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:52,830
That should give us pause.

557
00:27:54,179 --> 00:27:56,790
I may have mentioned this documentary in
the past, but there's a documentary called

558
00:27:56,909 --> 00:27:59,580
Beware of Christians, and you might be
able to find it on YouTube, I'm not sure.

559
00:27:59,580 --> 00:28:03,179
But it was a group of, of college students
from America that went to Europe and

560
00:28:03,179 --> 00:28:06,419
they began to, to just do man on the
street style interviews with people.

561
00:28:07,020 --> 00:28:10,919
And during one of these interviews, it is
just emblazoned, it's burned in my mind.

562
00:28:11,159 --> 00:28:14,699
They were talking to a group of, of
college aged girls in, in Europe and

563
00:28:14,699 --> 00:28:16,139
they said, do you know any Christians?

564
00:28:16,590 --> 00:28:18,209
And they said, yeah, we,
we know some Christians.

565
00:28:19,199 --> 00:28:21,635
And they said, well, do you recognize
anything different about them?

566
00:28:23,159 --> 00:28:25,889
And rather than saying something like,
well, yeah, they, they don't do the

567
00:28:25,889 --> 00:28:28,830
same things we do, or they don't talk
the same way we talk, or their values

568
00:28:28,830 --> 00:28:31,500
are different than us, or they're
always talking to us about Jesus.

569
00:28:31,500 --> 00:28:32,310
They didn't say any of that.

570
00:28:32,310 --> 00:28:32,850
You know what they said?

571
00:28:32,850 --> 00:28:33,419
They said this.

572
00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:35,669
They said, no, there's nothing different.

573
00:28:35,669 --> 00:28:36,870
They're just busy on Sundays

574
00:28:39,389 --> 00:28:39,690
Church.

575
00:28:39,690 --> 00:28:43,409
If, if all your faith is costing
you is that you're busy on Sundays,

576
00:28:44,730 --> 00:28:47,460
you're not living as one armed with
the mentality that says, I'm ready

577
00:28:47,460 --> 00:28:49,020
to suffer the way my savior suffered.

578
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:54,090
You're not living as an alien and as
a stranger, as an exile in this world.

579
00:28:55,199 --> 00:28:57,899
You're not living at war
with the world around you.

580
00:28:59,070 --> 00:29:01,889
In fact, chances are you've probably
made yourself at home in this world.

581
00:29:03,899 --> 00:29:05,939
And the problem with that is
what James says in James four.

582
00:29:05,939 --> 00:29:06,330
Four.

583
00:29:07,350 --> 00:29:08,639
James says, you adulterous people.

584
00:29:08,645 --> 00:29:11,939
Do you not know that friendship
with the world is enmity with God?

585
00:29:12,510 --> 00:29:14,699
Therefore, whoever wishes
to be a friend of the world

586
00:29:14,699 --> 00:29:16,290
makes himself an enemy of God.

587
00:29:19,260 --> 00:29:21,870
The implication would be that if
we're friends with God, then we

588
00:29:21,870 --> 00:29:23,460
should be at odds with the world.

589
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:29,639
It doesn't mean that you have to
go around acting like a jerk to

590
00:29:29,639 --> 00:29:31,649
draw the ire of the world, right?

591
00:29:32,370 --> 00:29:33,690
That's not what we're talking about.

592
00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:38,790
Instead, if you're truly following
Jesus, if you're not gonna have to

593
00:29:38,790 --> 00:29:42,030
work hard to find where you're gonna
have to sacrifice comfort in this

594
00:29:42,030 --> 00:29:44,040
world for your faithfulness to Christ.

595
00:29:45,060 --> 00:29:46,260
That's what we're talking about here.

596
00:29:48,179 --> 00:29:50,820
Evangelism is, is a huge part of this.

597
00:29:52,740 --> 00:29:57,149
For some of us being ready to, to
sacrifice for Christ is gonna involve a 20

598
00:29:57,149 --> 00:30:03,090
yard walk next door in our neighborhoods
to knock on the door with a neighbor and

599
00:30:03,090 --> 00:30:06,210
to be willing to extend the invitation
for dinner because you wanna get to know

600
00:30:06,210 --> 00:30:08,730
their family because you wanna have an
opportunity to share the gospel with them.

601
00:30:09,945 --> 00:30:13,095
Or to have the conversation with
the lost coworker, whatever it is.

602
00:30:13,095 --> 00:30:15,885
But, but to be willing to say, yeah,
I'm, I'm willing to suffer for Christ,

603
00:30:15,885 --> 00:30:19,695
either the scorn or the mockery or
the contempt or the rejection from

604
00:30:19,695 --> 00:30:24,195
this person who, who is lost because
I want to honor Christ with my life.

605
00:30:26,835 --> 00:30:31,275
But there's other forms also of, of
sacrifice that we make as Christians that

606
00:30:31,335 --> 00:30:33,255
I think we should be seeing in our life.

607
00:30:35,145 --> 00:30:38,055
And maybe we're, we're tempted to, to
write them off as small, but I would argue

608
00:30:38,055 --> 00:30:41,235
in fact that, that some of these forms
of sacrifices more what Peter even had in

609
00:30:41,235 --> 00:30:44,535
mind in first Peter chapter four, based
on where he's gonna go next week with us.

610
00:30:45,825 --> 00:30:48,735
But here's what some of those sacrifices
might look like in your context.

611
00:30:49,695 --> 00:30:51,975
You have friends that are enjoying
the pleasures of this world.

612
00:30:53,050 --> 00:30:55,785
You go over to their house and,
and they drink a little bit

613
00:30:55,845 --> 00:30:57,885
more than they probably should.

614
00:30:59,940 --> 00:31:03,000
They're watching the show that, you
know, glorifies and exalts the things

615
00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:08,160
that Christ died for or the profanity
that they use, whatever that is.

616
00:31:08,280 --> 00:31:11,070
And, and, and there's something
about it that in your flesh is,

617
00:31:11,070 --> 00:31:12,630
is drawn to that a little bit.

618
00:31:12,630 --> 00:31:16,830
You're tempted by some of those things,
you know, at the end of the day you're

619
00:31:16,830 --> 00:31:20,250
gonna say, but I'm going to choose
faithfulness to Christ over the lures

620
00:31:20,250 --> 00:31:21,570
and the attractions of the world.

621
00:31:23,490 --> 00:31:26,190
That's a cost that your faith
in Christ is costing you.

622
00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:29,550
It's evidence of the fact that
you've made a break with sin.

623
00:31:29,550 --> 00:31:32,520
You're, you're ceasing from
sin in order to follow Christ.

624
00:31:34,530 --> 00:31:38,010
Or maybe it's this, maybe you're in
a marriage and, and your friends who

625
00:31:38,010 --> 00:31:41,070
are unbelievers are looking at your
marriage going, man, it really seems

626
00:31:41,070 --> 00:31:42,810
like you're not happy in that marriage.

627
00:31:43,740 --> 00:31:45,240
It seems like she's not happy either.

628
00:31:45,810 --> 00:31:47,430
Have you guys ever
thought about divorcing?

629
00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:50,885
I mean, after all, wouldn't both of
you be happier with somebody else?

630
00:31:52,995 --> 00:31:54,405
It doesn't have to be nasty.

631
00:31:54,465 --> 00:31:55,455
There's no fault divorce.

632
00:31:55,455 --> 00:31:57,284
Now, why don't you guys
just go ahead and file.

633
00:31:57,735 --> 00:31:58,544
It'll be easy.

634
00:31:59,115 --> 00:32:00,885
There's so many people get divorced.

635
00:32:01,514 --> 00:32:03,524
After all, it's not the
the unpardonable sin.

636
00:32:04,455 --> 00:32:07,514
And then maybe God has somebody better
for you in life that's gonna make

637
00:32:07,514 --> 00:32:09,254
you love Jesus more than she will.

638
00:32:11,264 --> 00:32:15,375
And yet you're gonna say no, and you're
gonna fight for your marriage, and

639
00:32:15,375 --> 00:32:16,635
you're gonna stay in your marriage.

640
00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:21,180
Because you know that God hates divorce
and loves marriage and you vowed most

641
00:32:21,180 --> 00:32:25,230
importantly before him till death,
do you part to stick this one out.

642
00:32:27,090 --> 00:32:30,240
Maybe that's the cost that you're
paying for being a follower of Christ,

643
00:32:32,370 --> 00:32:34,710
or maybe it's you're gonna delete
the social media apps that we were

644
00:32:34,710 --> 00:32:38,070
talking about earlier from your
phone because you've realized,

645
00:32:38,070 --> 00:32:42,480
man, the, the social media app, the
Instagram feed, has such an anxiety

646
00:32:42,480 --> 00:32:44,160
inducing grip on my heart right now.

647
00:32:45,270 --> 00:32:48,930
It's making me worry about things that,
that are not helpful to my marriage

648
00:32:48,930 --> 00:32:51,480
or helpful to my parenting, or helpful
to my relationship with the Lord.

649
00:32:52,470 --> 00:32:56,460
And so I'm going to just hold that button
down until the app starts jiggling.

650
00:32:56,460 --> 00:32:57,720
Then I'm gonna hit that X.

651
00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:00,389
And when it says, are you sure I'm
gonna say yes and I'm gonna hit

652
00:33:00,389 --> 00:33:06,780
delete, and I'm gonna find that I'm
not nearly as anxious as I used to be.

653
00:33:07,350 --> 00:33:12,030
I'm not nearly as burdened by what I
don't measure up to as I used to be.

654
00:33:13,815 --> 00:33:18,465
Maybe a cost that you're gonna pay
because you wanna follow Christ, or

655
00:33:18,465 --> 00:33:21,945
maybe it's deleting the social media
apps and, and installing accountability

656
00:33:21,945 --> 00:33:25,815
software because you know that those
social media apps behind them lurk the

657
00:33:25,815 --> 00:33:29,715
dangers of sexual immorality and other
things that can be fed by those feeds.

658
00:33:30,795 --> 00:33:33,435
So you're gonna say, I'm gonna pay
the cost of not having those things

659
00:33:34,125 --> 00:33:35,835
in order to be faithful to Jesus.

660
00:33:36,465 --> 00:33:41,360
Listen, you can focus more on the loss
or you can focus more on the fruit.

661
00:33:42,810 --> 00:33:45,030
And Peter's, I think, encouraging
us to focus on the fruit

662
00:33:47,550 --> 00:33:48,480
this side of eternity.

663
00:33:48,480 --> 00:33:51,570
The reality is God cares more about your
holiness than he does your happiness.

664
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:58,710
He cares more that you are like Christ
than that you are con happy in this world.

665
00:34:00,030 --> 00:34:01,710
It's not to say there's not
happiness for Christians.

666
00:34:01,710 --> 00:34:03,929
There is, but that's not our main goal.

667
00:34:04,620 --> 00:34:07,169
Our main goal is Christlikeness,
and that will cost, which is

668
00:34:07,169 --> 00:34:08,310
what Peter's saying to us.

669
00:34:08,639 --> 00:34:10,830
But that cost is worth it
because it confirms for us.

670
00:34:10,830 --> 00:34:12,418
It reminds us that we don't belong here.

671
00:34:13,020 --> 00:34:13,830
We belong to him.

672
00:34:15,089 --> 00:34:17,969
But there's a reason why still behind
all of this that we're making that break.

673
00:34:17,969 --> 00:34:20,520
There's a reason why we embrace the
mentality, a reason why we're gonna

674
00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:23,250
break from sin and be willing to
suffer, and it's where he goes next.

675
00:34:23,250 --> 00:34:27,239
In verse two, he says, so as to live
for the rest of time in the flesh.

676
00:34:27,418 --> 00:34:30,083
No longer for human passions,
but for the will of God.

677
00:34:31,094 --> 00:34:34,185
So long as so has to live for
the rest of time in the flesh.

678
00:34:34,185 --> 00:34:38,505
So he's talking now about the time before
your, between your conversion and when you

679
00:34:38,505 --> 00:34:42,614
die or when you fly, depending on whether
or not Christ comes back before you die.

680
00:34:43,784 --> 00:34:45,495
So before your death or your rapture.

681
00:34:45,495 --> 00:34:48,495
This time that we're here on
earth, he's saying something has

682
00:34:48,495 --> 00:34:49,500
shifted, something has changed.

683
00:34:50,250 --> 00:34:52,860
And we're gonna make the break and we're
gonna embrace the wartime mentality,

684
00:34:52,860 --> 00:34:55,949
and we're gonna be encouraged by the
sacrifices 'cause it reminds us of

685
00:34:55,949 --> 00:34:59,940
our identity in Christ because we
wanna live for the rest of our lives.

686
00:35:00,150 --> 00:35:04,530
No longer for human passions
before the will of God.

687
00:35:04,605 --> 00:35:06,615
It no longer for human passions.

688
00:35:06,615 --> 00:35:10,455
Epit Thea, in the Greek, it's, it's
lust, it's desires, it's cravings,

689
00:35:10,965 --> 00:35:13,755
and we, we don't wanna live for
those, but for the will of God.

690
00:35:13,755 --> 00:35:17,265
The desire, what God desires for
us, that's what that word will

691
00:35:17,265 --> 00:35:19,905
means, what his desire is for us.

692
00:35:22,005 --> 00:35:25,245
First Thessalonians four, three says
this, for, this is the will of God,

693
00:35:25,635 --> 00:35:27,255
the desire of God, your sanctification.

694
00:35:28,290 --> 00:35:30,960
We live our lives towards Christlikeness.

695
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:34,080
And so when you come to faith and
repentance, you are, in other words,

696
00:35:34,080 --> 00:35:35,910
setting a new agenda for your life.

697
00:35:36,570 --> 00:35:38,700
You're saying, I'm, I'm done
living for who I used to be.

698
00:35:38,700 --> 00:35:39,960
I'm now gonna live for God.

699
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:43,020
And yes, there's that moment
in time act of repentance.

700
00:35:43,020 --> 00:35:44,220
That's part of our conversion.

701
00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:49,020
But then what we're finding here is so as
to live for the rest of our lives, that

702
00:35:49,020 --> 00:35:52,830
there's gonna be an ongoing need the rest
of our lives for us to take our desires

703
00:35:52,830 --> 00:35:56,640
and make sure that we're subjecting them
all to the ultimate desires of the Lord.

704
00:35:57,600 --> 00:36:01,170
Our third and final point this
morning, along those lines is this,

705
00:36:01,290 --> 00:36:05,250
you need to be constantly aligning
your desires with God's desires.

706
00:36:06,030 --> 00:36:10,980
Be constantly aligning, constantly
aligning your desires with God's desires.

707
00:36:10,980 --> 00:36:13,770
'cause our default desires
are not in keeping with his.

708
00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:17,040
Our default desires are
gonna be towards our flesh.

709
00:36:17,550 --> 00:36:20,790
This is why Peter wrote in one Peter two
11, beloved, I urge you as Sojourner and

710
00:36:20,790 --> 00:36:25,260
exiles abstain from the passions of the
flesh, which wage war against your soul.

711
00:36:26,880 --> 00:36:27,150
Here.

712
00:36:27,150 --> 00:36:30,540
He's saying to us in, in, in
our text, live not for human

713
00:36:30,540 --> 00:36:31,890
passions, but for the will of God.

714
00:36:31,920 --> 00:36:34,320
And, and we know the
dangerous ones, don't we?

715
00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:36,000
We know the big ticket ones.

716
00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:39,600
Okay, we've got lust, we've got
greed, we've got envy, we've got

717
00:36:39,600 --> 00:36:42,900
laziness, we've got covetousness,
we've got anger, we've got pride.

718
00:36:43,290 --> 00:36:44,850
We've, we've got those things down.

719
00:36:44,850 --> 00:36:47,910
And, and none of us would sit
here and say, as a believer, well

720
00:36:47,910 --> 00:36:50,970
I, I'm, I wanna live for those
things and not for the will of God.

721
00:36:51,690 --> 00:36:53,370
It's not that we don't
struggle with those things.

722
00:36:53,805 --> 00:36:56,115
Certainly at minimum, Peter
saying, Hey, we need to be on

723
00:36:56,115 --> 00:36:57,225
guard against those things.

724
00:36:57,555 --> 00:37:00,225
We need to be putting those things
to death in our lives and we need

725
00:37:00,225 --> 00:37:01,515
to be putting on Christ's likeness.

726
00:37:02,925 --> 00:37:04,725
We, we get that right.

727
00:37:05,175 --> 00:37:06,075
But let me ask this.

728
00:37:06,075 --> 00:37:09,225
What about the desires that we have
and even the strong cravings that we

729
00:37:09,225 --> 00:37:16,635
have that aren't necessarily sinful on
their own things like safety, health,

730
00:37:17,475 --> 00:37:20,805
family, friends, financial stability.

731
00:37:22,155 --> 00:37:27,105
Having well-educated children,
having a nice home, a good job,

732
00:37:27,735 --> 00:37:34,365
long life, the right candidate in
office retirement, strong marriages,

733
00:37:34,485 --> 00:37:36,615
free time vacations, et cetera.

734
00:37:37,575 --> 00:37:40,125
None of those desires are
inherently wrong for you.

735
00:37:40,785 --> 00:37:42,765
None of them are, are inherently sinful.

736
00:37:43,035 --> 00:37:45,464
Yeah, but they become that.

737
00:37:45,555 --> 00:37:49,545
If we find that we end up living
more for those in the reality and the

738
00:37:49,545 --> 00:37:52,964
achievement of those than we are living
for the desires of God in our lives.

739
00:37:53,745 --> 00:37:56,595
Because what we need to realize is
all of our desires for those things

740
00:37:56,595 --> 00:38:00,674
that I just listed, that may not mean
that God desires those things for us.

741
00:38:02,055 --> 00:38:04,904
And if we begin pursuing those
without considering, is this

742
00:38:04,904 --> 00:38:06,315
really what God wants for me?

743
00:38:07,455 --> 00:38:10,845
Or is this really what's the best
thing for me or for my family?

744
00:38:11,895 --> 00:38:14,654
Then those things have become a
human passion that we're living for

745
00:38:14,654 --> 00:38:15,975
instead of living for the will of God.

746
00:38:20,714 --> 00:38:27,315
A few scenarios on this moms nap
time's important for your kids.

747
00:38:27,315 --> 00:38:32,085
I know that we've raised ours
and, and Josh still takes naps.

748
00:38:32,085 --> 00:38:34,275
You know, we, we get him home
and it's like, all right Josh,

749
00:38:34,275 --> 00:38:35,775
it's time to go, go down for now,

750
00:38:38,400 --> 00:38:38,620
but.

751
00:38:40,785 --> 00:38:44,325
You can become such a slave to your
child's sleep schedule that you

752
00:38:44,325 --> 00:38:45,825
forfeit fellowship with the church.

753
00:38:47,295 --> 00:38:52,425
You sideline yourself from being around
believers and you become paralyzed

754
00:38:52,425 --> 00:38:55,665
by a fear of, yeah, but what if
his sleep schedule gets messed up?

755
00:38:57,030 --> 00:38:59,940
Or what if we, we miss this, and
then what's tonight gonna be like?

756
00:38:59,940 --> 00:39:04,800
And then, and you become so paralyzed
over concerned for your child's sleep

757
00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:09,210
schedule and even your child's health
at times, or our health at times, right?

758
00:39:09,420 --> 00:39:10,890
Cold and flu season, sometimes what?

759
00:39:10,890 --> 00:39:11,250
What?

760
00:39:11,250 --> 00:39:14,250
We're not even sick, but we're like,
I don't know if I want to go and be a

761
00:39:14,250 --> 00:39:17,130
community group because somebody might be
there that's sick and so I'm not gonna go.

762
00:39:19,080 --> 00:39:21,480
I think we have to ask ourselves,
what's the better thing here?

763
00:39:22,230 --> 00:39:25,110
Not just what's good, but what's better?

764
00:39:26,265 --> 00:39:27,375
What's God's desire?

765
00:39:27,375 --> 00:39:28,605
What's God's will for me, man?

766
00:39:28,785 --> 00:39:31,965
Mom's God desires you to be in fellowship
with each other, to be encouraged by

767
00:39:31,965 --> 00:39:35,055
older ladies in the church that have gone
before you, that have raised their kids.

768
00:39:35,055 --> 00:39:36,915
That can be an encouragement
to you that say, it's okay.

769
00:39:36,915 --> 00:39:37,755
You're gonna make it.

770
00:39:38,745 --> 00:39:42,255
We needed that and God brought
people like that into our lives.

771
00:39:44,145 --> 00:39:48,640
Or dads man, you've got the, the
little slugger that can rip the ball.

772
00:39:50,550 --> 00:39:53,070
And your temptation is to say,
you know what, I, I want my son

773
00:39:53,070 --> 00:39:54,660
to excel and succeed in sports.

774
00:39:54,660 --> 00:39:58,110
That's not a bad desire,
but is it God's will?

775
00:39:59,610 --> 00:40:02,400
And maybe that desire for you to
say, I want my son to excel in sports

776
00:40:02,400 --> 00:40:05,070
is like, well, yeah, I'm gonna sign
him up for the travel ball team and,

777
00:40:05,070 --> 00:40:06,480
and they're gonna miss some church.

778
00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:07,020
But it's okay.

779
00:40:07,020 --> 00:40:09,540
It's, it's only like six
weekends out of the year that

780
00:40:09,540 --> 00:40:10,770
they're gonna miss for church.

781
00:40:13,634 --> 00:40:15,555
That little boy has a 2.4%

782
00:40:15,555 --> 00:40:16,725
chance, 2.4%

783
00:40:16,725 --> 00:40:18,254
chance, 2.4%

784
00:40:18,254 --> 00:40:20,415
chance of making D one college ball.

785
00:40:22,004 --> 00:40:23,745
And of that 2.4%

786
00:40:23,745 --> 00:40:26,535
chance, that group, that's 2.4%

787
00:40:27,015 --> 00:40:31,260
of those that make D one college ball,
only 5% of them even sniff pro ball.

788
00:40:33,194 --> 00:40:36,254
And what you've done after 18
years if you've taught your son

789
00:40:36,254 --> 00:40:37,245
church, doesn't really matter.

790
00:40:39,165 --> 00:40:41,720
There's more important things than us
being committed to the bride of Christ.

791
00:40:44,294 --> 00:40:46,214
Again, it's not just what's
good but what's better.

792
00:40:47,745 --> 00:40:49,515
And that involves taking our desires.

793
00:40:49,515 --> 00:40:56,475
Even the ones that seem like they are
by themselves good and innocent and

794
00:40:56,475 --> 00:40:58,575
saying, yeah, but are they What's best?

795
00:40:59,444 --> 00:41:02,685
God's will is always gonna be
what's best, and so I need to take

796
00:41:02,685 --> 00:41:04,035
my desires to the word of God.

797
00:41:05,325 --> 00:41:07,515
I need to take my desires
to other Christians.

798
00:41:08,670 --> 00:41:11,700
I need to take my desires and,
and, and before the Lord in prayer

799
00:41:11,700 --> 00:41:14,250
and say, Lord, show me if these
desires are, are out of line.

800
00:41:15,360 --> 00:41:18,120
And pray for the wisdom
to respond appropriately.

801
00:41:20,100 --> 00:41:22,830
Because the reality is we have
such an abbreviated time left on

802
00:41:22,830 --> 00:41:24,090
this earth in light of eternity.

803
00:41:25,950 --> 00:41:28,710
And our time on this earth is too
short to live for what we want

804
00:41:28,710 --> 00:41:30,150
rather than what, what God wants.

805
00:41:31,620 --> 00:41:33,900
And it's not that those will
always be at odds with each other.

806
00:41:34,500 --> 00:41:38,400
The sweetness of sanctification is so
often that process means that our desires

807
00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:39,990
begin to align more and more with his.

808
00:41:43,080 --> 00:41:45,300
But to use an old illustration,
y'all we're the ones in

809
00:41:45,300 --> 00:41:46,950
the boat, he's the shore.

810
00:41:48,510 --> 00:41:51,030
Sometimes we, we throw the anchor
onto the shore and we think that

811
00:41:51,030 --> 00:41:52,680
we're gonna pull the shore to us.

812
00:41:52,775 --> 00:41:54,990
That's not sanctification.

813
00:41:56,280 --> 00:41:57,300
We're being pulled to the shore.

814
00:41:58,350 --> 00:42:01,440
Our desires being aligned with
his desires, and so we, are we

815
00:42:01,440 --> 00:42:03,090
holding our desires loosely?

816
00:42:03,090 --> 00:42:08,250
I know that's, that's hard to hear,
but this is part of that break

817
00:42:08,250 --> 00:42:11,190
with sin in the world that we were
talking about in Po point number two,

818
00:42:13,440 --> 00:42:15,870
you will live differently as a Christian.

819
00:42:17,460 --> 00:42:18,600
You'll parent differently.

820
00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:22,530
You will have a different
marriage from the world.

821
00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:25,320
You'll have different
finances from the world.

822
00:42:25,980 --> 00:42:28,260
Different investments, different
retirement from the world.

823
00:42:29,850 --> 00:42:30,240
Why?

824
00:42:31,320 --> 00:42:34,980
Well, because the shift that took place
when you came to faith in Christ, when

825
00:42:34,980 --> 00:42:39,060
you declared, I'm no longer living
for my desires, but for his desires.

826
00:42:40,620 --> 00:42:45,060
And that shift comes down to the
catalyst of what happened at the cross.

827
00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:47,610
We sang about it earlier.

828
00:42:48,450 --> 00:42:50,310
If anyone is in Christ,
he's a new creation.

829
00:42:52,110 --> 00:42:53,310
Bold has gone the newest here.

830
00:42:53,370 --> 00:42:55,080
And with that new comes our new mentality.

831
00:42:55,455 --> 00:42:57,735
It becomes our new perspective
on suffering and it becomes our

832
00:42:57,735 --> 00:42:59,145
new allegiance to live for him.

833
00:43:01,005 --> 00:43:03,525
But all of that is only possible
because of what we're about to remember

834
00:43:03,525 --> 00:43:08,235
together, and that is communion the
cross, the death of Jesus for us.

835
00:43:08,865 --> 00:43:11,745
That he took our sin on
himself and he died for us.

836
00:43:11,745 --> 00:43:16,125
He died in our place on the cross so that
we would be forgiven and he rose from the

837
00:43:16,125 --> 00:43:18,105
dead so that we can live with him forever.

838
00:43:18,315 --> 00:43:20,685
That's what has to be there.

839
00:43:20,685 --> 00:43:24,945
We have to have faith in that in order
for any of the rest of this to make sense.

840
00:43:26,535 --> 00:43:31,005
We have to have faith that Jesus
purchased not the best life now, but

841
00:43:31,005 --> 00:43:33,075
the best life that's coming in eternity.

842
00:43:34,635 --> 00:43:35,775
And he did that on the cross.

843
00:43:35,775 --> 00:43:37,035
He did that when he died.

844
00:43:37,065 --> 00:43:39,105
In our place, in your
place, and in my place.

845
00:43:39,105 --> 00:43:40,785
When he suffered in the flesh

846
00:43:42,915 --> 00:43:45,075
is when he secured for
us that future with him.

847
00:43:45,675 --> 00:43:46,875
And so we're gonna remember.

848
00:43:47,490 --> 00:43:49,890
That death as these elements are passed.

849
00:43:49,890 --> 00:43:52,259
Lemme just encourage you and remind
you as I do every time that we

850
00:43:52,259 --> 00:43:54,870
do this together, that these are
elements that are for believers.

851
00:43:54,870 --> 00:43:57,089
And so beware of a lack of of conversion.

852
00:43:58,230 --> 00:44:01,350
If you're not sure of your standing
in Christ, or if you know that you

853
00:44:01,350 --> 00:44:04,200
are not in Christ, let me encourage
you to let these things pass by

854
00:44:04,200 --> 00:44:08,460
because these are for the church and
the apostle Paul warns us of taking

855
00:44:08,460 --> 00:44:10,020
these elements in an unworthy manner.

856
00:44:11,850 --> 00:44:14,819
The second thing is I would be
aware of a lack of of confession.

857
00:44:16,080 --> 00:44:18,810
What we're remembering is the
death of Christ that was offered

858
00:44:18,810 --> 00:44:20,399
to pay the penalty for our sins.

859
00:44:20,399 --> 00:44:24,569
And so if you have sin that you have not
confessed this morning, if you have sin

860
00:44:24,569 --> 00:44:27,240
that you have not brought into the light
this morning, if you have sin that you've

861
00:44:27,240 --> 00:44:30,990
not repented of this morning, then there's
even time right now is that elements

862
00:44:30,990 --> 00:44:32,790
are passed to to do business that way.

863
00:44:34,140 --> 00:44:37,560
But then the third thing I would say
is beware of a lack of concentration.

864
00:44:38,790 --> 00:44:41,069
We can go through the motions
on this and just think, okay,

865
00:44:41,069 --> 00:44:42,299
here's the bread, here's the cup.

866
00:44:42,299 --> 00:44:43,950
Let's, where am I going to lunch?

867
00:44:45,810 --> 00:44:50,400
Uh, Paul tells us to do this in
remembrance of Christ, and so let's

868
00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:53,280
give our minds over to these elements
Again, there's nothing magical that

869
00:44:53,280 --> 00:44:56,820
takes place in the, the, the elements
when you get them, but let them be

870
00:44:56,820 --> 00:44:57,990
what Christ said they should be.

871
00:44:57,990 --> 00:45:02,190
Let them cause you to remember the
death that has led to you being

872
00:45:02,190 --> 00:45:05,850
a new creation in Christ so that
everything that we talked about

873
00:45:05,850 --> 00:45:07,200
this morning is a reality for you.

874
00:45:07,200 --> 00:45:09,780
So the elements are gonna be passed,
the music's gonna be played, and we will

875
00:45:09,780 --> 00:45:11,280
take them together when I come back up.

876
00:45:13,035 --> 00:45:21,075
Much of our battle in this life is going
to take place between our ears, what

877
00:45:21,075 --> 00:45:24,254
happens, how we think about it, how
we respond to it, how we react to it,

878
00:45:26,355 --> 00:45:27,375
what we dwell on.

879
00:45:28,424 --> 00:45:32,835
So I find it encouraging even as
we observe communion this morning,

880
00:45:32,835 --> 00:45:37,754
that the Lord gave us this to be
something that we fill our minds with.

881
00:45:39,135 --> 00:45:42,465
Something that is meant to be a a,
a reminder, something that we do in

882
00:45:42,465 --> 00:45:46,905
remembrance of his death, to keep our
minds on the cross, to keep our minds

883
00:45:46,905 --> 00:45:51,855
there, to keep our minds on that pivot
point, even for all of human history,

884
00:45:53,205 --> 00:45:57,705
as we think back to what Jesus did for
us, which causes us to look forward

885
00:45:57,705 --> 00:46:02,085
to the fact that he's coming back
for us as well, the Apostle Paul.

886
00:46:03,330 --> 00:46:04,020
For I delivered.

887
00:46:04,049 --> 00:46:05,009
Received from the Lord.

888
00:46:05,009 --> 00:46:08,460
What I also delivered to you that the
Lord Jesus on the night when he was

889
00:46:08,460 --> 00:46:11,250
betrayed, took bread and when he had
given thanks, he broke it and said,

890
00:46:11,250 --> 00:46:13,049
this is my body, which is for you.

891
00:46:13,410 --> 00:46:14,850
Do this in remembrance of me.

892
00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:15,660
Let's eat together.

893
00:46:20,134 --> 00:46:20,255
I.

894
00:46:26,610 --> 00:46:27,180
The same way.

895
00:46:27,180 --> 00:46:31,380
Also, he took the cup after supper saying,
this cup is the new covenant in my blood.

896
00:46:31,380 --> 00:46:33,810
Do this as often as you drink
it in remembrance of me.

897
00:46:40,080 --> 00:46:42,900
For as often as you eat this bread
and drink the cup, you proclaim

898
00:46:42,900 --> 00:46:44,610
the Lord's death until he comes.

899
00:46:45,210 --> 00:46:50,220
We look back to his suffering and we
remember that we suffer with him as we

900
00:46:50,220 --> 00:46:52,740
look forward to his return when there
will be no more suffering at that point.

901
00:46:54,450 --> 00:46:57,810
Let's pray together and then we'll be
done with this, this service this morning.

902
00:46:59,879 --> 00:47:00,990
Lord God, thank you for your word.

903
00:47:01,529 --> 00:47:04,919
We thank you for the hope
that we have in Christ.

904
00:47:05,129 --> 00:47:09,149
As we sang this morning, as we looked at
this passage from Peter this morning, that

905
00:47:09,209 --> 00:47:11,399
if we are in Christ, we're a new creation.

906
00:47:11,399 --> 00:47:15,120
And how that shifts everything
for us, changes our mindset, our

907
00:47:15,120 --> 00:47:18,509
mentality, our perspective on suffering
and trials that we go through.

908
00:47:19,485 --> 00:47:21,555
God, I, I pray that you'd
make us a church that suffers.

909
00:47:21,555 --> 00:47:25,995
Well, I pray that you'd make us a church
that is resolved to choose obedience

910
00:47:25,995 --> 00:47:29,565
to you, to choose faithfulness to you
over whatever may be most comfortable

911
00:47:29,565 --> 00:47:32,655
for us or what the world holds out
as something that's desirable for us.

912
00:47:33,945 --> 00:47:36,885
God, I pray that we'd be a church
that is so in tune with your will,

913
00:47:36,885 --> 00:47:39,825
your desires for our lives that
we hold, everything that we long

914
00:47:39,825 --> 00:47:41,055
for, everything that we desire.

915
00:47:41,055 --> 00:47:44,655
Everything that we would say is, is
worth it in our lives loosely to say

916
00:47:44,655 --> 00:47:47,625
what is not just good, but what's better?

917
00:47:47,625 --> 00:47:48,435
What's best?

918
00:47:49,185 --> 00:47:51,585
Which is always gonna be to
do what you would have us do.

919
00:47:53,025 --> 00:47:54,405
This life is exhausting.

920
00:47:54,705 --> 00:47:58,995
This life is is so often difficult, and
yet I think that's what you say it should

921
00:47:58,995 --> 00:48:04,545
be, and yet we look forward to that future
with you, where life is gonna be sweet,

922
00:48:05,115 --> 00:48:09,585
and time with you is gonna be unending and
there's never gonna be any more suffering

923
00:48:09,585 --> 00:48:12,465
or sorrow or anything else for us to
concern ourselves with at that point.

924
00:48:13,275 --> 00:48:14,175
In the meantime, here we are.

925
00:48:14,175 --> 00:48:15,195
Lord, help us to be faithful.

926
00:48:15,885 --> 00:48:18,195
Thank you for the blessings that we
do get to enjoy while we're here.

927
00:48:19,049 --> 00:48:22,080
And I pray that we would give
thanks to you for them as we realize

928
00:48:22,080 --> 00:48:25,470
that they're so often overlooked
or so often taken for granted.

929
00:48:26,549 --> 00:48:29,669
Help us to be thankful for those
blessings, but also ready to face whatever

930
00:48:29,669 --> 00:48:31,049
comes our way as followers of Christ.

931
00:48:31,049 --> 00:48:32,100
We pray this in Jesus' name.

932
00:48:32,279 --> 00:48:32,549
Amen.