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Speaker: Well, I don't typically wait.

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Well, I don't know about you, but if I
go into a restaurant and the wait time is

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more than 15 minutes, then I'm looking at
my wife going, let's find someplace else.

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Don't love to wait and yet sometimes
waiting's inevitable, even in

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the restaurant scene, right?

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You're gonna make your, your
food older, and then you're

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gonna wait to get your food.

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I remember in college, Amanda and
I would go out on dates and, and we

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would wait because we didn't have
our, our phones with us to suck

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all of our attention at the time.

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We would wait by playing a game with
sugar packets where we would put 'em

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on the table and we'd try to slide 'em
across the table, and if it hung over

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the edge of the, the table without
falling, then you got a point in that.

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And I don't remember who won.

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She just was always
better than I was at that.

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But.

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That's how we would pass time as
we waited for our food to come.

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Nowadays with my family, we'll go
sit down at a restaurant occasionally

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when we feel like bringing the circus
on the road and we'll, we'll order

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our food and we'll all sit there and
we'll wait for our food to get there.

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And usually at, at some point, one of my
kids is like, dad, do you have the phone?

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Can we play that game?

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And what they're referring
to is that heads up game.

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If you've ever played that where
you put the phone on your head and

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it's got a word on it and they try
to get you to guess the word, and so

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they love to do that while we wait.

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Or if you've ever been to a
theme park waiting in line to

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get on the the rollercoaster.

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A lot of times when we're waiting
for something, what we're doing is

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we're just trying to pass the time.

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We're just trying to get from point
A to point B, and in a lot of ways,

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that's this world when it comes to life.

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The world that we live in and the people
that you rub el elbows with and shoulders

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with on a daily basis are a lot of them
just passing time between birth and death.

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In fact, the writer of Ecclesiastes,
king Solomon even kind of wrestled with

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that in the early stages of trying to
figure out what is this life all about?

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Wow.

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He spent time going to all of the
different pleasures and all of the

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different venues and all of the different
outlets that the world offers to say,

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maybe this is gonna help me just pass
the time in a way that I'll be satisfied.

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Well, he did all that and reached
the conclusion of saying, man,

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vanity of vanities, all his vanity
ha, and the Hebrews just missed

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from the top of the cup of coffee.

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As Christians we're waiting
just like the world is waiting.

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In some ways, we're waiting for the
same thing the world is waiting for.

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We're waiting for death, or we're
waiting for Christ to come back for the

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church, whichever one happens first.

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But as Christians, the thing that
differs for us is we're not waiting,

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simply trying to pass the time.

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As Christians, we're waiting
trying to redeem the time.

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We're waiting aware at least all of
us in the room should be this morning

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that where you sit this morning,
you are one day closer to being

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with Jesus than you were yesterday.

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Which also means you have one day less
on this Earth than you had yesterday.

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We could get really minute on
that and talk about one minute

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less, one second, less than you
had a second ago, a minute ago.

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And so if we have a finite amount
of time left, then the question

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becomes what are we doing with it?

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Are we just passing time?

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Are we just like the world?

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Are we just living this life trying to
be as entertained as possible until this

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life is over and then we'll go to heaven?

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Or are we living this life on purpose?

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Are we living this life with the purpose
of saying, I don't wanna just pass

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the time, I wanna redeem the time.

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Peter's gonna call us to do that,
and he's gonna do that in one Peter

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chapter four, verses seven through 11.

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So grab your text, grab your Bibles, if
you've got 'em, if you've got 'em on your

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device, your screen, whatever that is.

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Go ahead and get over to one Peter
chapter four verses seven through 11.

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Haven't mentioned this in a while.

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Probably good.

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If you're new with us, we use the
English standard version for our text.

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That's what we preach out of.

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There are other decent
translations out there.

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This is the one that we've chosen as
our church to, to utilize and use.

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So if you've got the English
standard version, you can

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follow along with us there.

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One Peter four, seven says this,
the end of all things is at hand.

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Therefore, be self controlled and sober
minded for the sake of your prayers.

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The end of all things is at hand.

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Peter begins in a way that
should grab our attention.

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And, and he's been talking about time.

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Remember last week he said the
time that has passed suffices for

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doing what the Gentiles want to do.

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And now he says, the end
of all things is upon us.

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It's at hand.

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The word end there in the Greek is
te us, which is a word that means

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the culmination of all things.

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So this is not him saying the
end is in chronologically.

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He's not saying that, that
everything's coming to an an

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end and then there's nothing.

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Rather, he's saying everything's
reaching, its intended destination.

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The end of all things he says is imminent.

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It's at hand.

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It's upon us.

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It's near.

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John uses similar language
in one John, he says, little

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children, it is the last hour.

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The last hour, the end
of all things is at hand.

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It is the last hour, and maybe
you're sitting here saying, but they

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wrote that almost 2000 years ago.

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Were they wrong?

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Did they not know what
they were talking about?

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What is the end still at hand?

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Is it still the last hour?

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What they meant by that, what
Peter means by that, and what John

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meant by that is the same thing.

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And that is this, as I, I was alluding
to earlier in my prayer, there is

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nothing left on the prophetic timeline
between where you sit today and the

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return of Christ for the church.

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And so if, if you've been sitting
here saying, well, I know this has to

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take place before Jesus comes back.

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So I, I, I'll, I'll gamble my eternity
on dealing with God later on in life.

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What Peter is saying and what John is
saying is there needs to be a sense

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of urgency for every single one of us,
whether Christian or non-Christian, to

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understand that there's nothing left on
God's timeline between you this morning

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and the return of Jesus for the church.

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That, by the way, will send
into motion what we call the,

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the, the tribulation, period.

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It's a seven year period of suffering
unlike anything the world has ever known.

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It's not something that
you want to be here for.

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If you're in Christ, you don't have to
be concerned with that because we believe

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that you'll be taken to be with the
Lord, but there's again, nothing that's

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left to take place between now and then.

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That means he could come back
before I'm done preaching this

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morning, which should cause me to
say and you to say, am I ready?

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Have I been using my time well right now?

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Am I using my time well right now or am
I checking the golf scores on my phone?

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Am I thinking about God's
word this morning as I gather

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together with my church family?

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Or am I distracted with what I'm gonna
have for lunch after the service?

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Christ could come back at any point.

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That's what Peter meant
for his original audience.

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He's, it's what he means means for us.

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Now, Peter's gonna answer the objection
in second Peter, when he is gonna

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say, some of you may think, well
man, what is God's timeframe then?

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And Peter says, don't count
slowness the way that, that you

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and I typically think of slowness.

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God is not slow, but he's
being patient right now.

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At some point in time, his
patience is going to be done

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and Christ is gonna come back.

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The end of all things is at hand.

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Therefore, Peter says, in other
words, that should make a difference.

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That's what that word, therefore
is there for, is to tell us in

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light of the fact, the fact that
Christ could come back at any time.

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There's some implications for you and
for me, and how we live our lives.

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And specific he says this, therefore,
be self controlled and sober minded.

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This follows naturally from where
we were last week when we looked

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at all of those sins of uninhibited
excess, the sins, that character are

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characterized by a lack of self-control.

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And now Peter says, for
you, church, be different.

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Live different.

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Why?

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Because the end of all things is at hand.

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You've got an appointment with Jesus
at some point, so therefore, be

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self-controlled and be sober minded.

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To be self-controlled has a
lot to do with our willpower.

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Exercising our willpower such that we
would say no to the things that the

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flesh desires in order to say yes to the
things that God would have us desire.

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We'll talk more about that
in just a moment here.

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To be self controlled, but then also to be
sober minded, to have a a, a, a sobriety

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about the way that we think about this
world, which also involves us realizing

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that this world is not all there is.

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Peter's writing to a
group of elect exiles.

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They would've been keenly aware of the
fact that this world is not all there is.

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They weren't home, they weren't cushy.

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They weren't living in luxury by
any stretch of the imagination.

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You and I might have to work a
little bit harder at that perhaps.

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But to be sober minded, to
think rightly about this life

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and our identity in this life.

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That we are sons of God, daughters
of God, that we are redeemed, that we

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are ambassadors for Christ, that we
are here on mission, not the church

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on vacation, but the church in exile.

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The church that is here to be
light in the midst of a dark world.

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Be sober minded.

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And then he says this, for the sake
of your prayers, for the sake of

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your prayers, this could be taken.

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I think a couple ways, and
I think both are legitimate.

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Uh, first it could be taken this way,
be self controlled and sober minded

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so that you can pray When you are
living a life that lacks those things.

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When you are living a life that's not
characterized by self-control and in

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a sober mindedness, then typically you
are not wanting to pray because you

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find that you will be carrying sin in
your life, and sin is an impediment

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between you and fellowship with the Lord.

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Sin creates shame.

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Sin creates guilt.

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Sin creates this feeling of hypocrisy
that in my heart, I say I, I don't

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really, I don't want to pray.

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So Peter's in one way saying,
be self controlled and sober

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minded so that you will pray.

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Because as we're waiting to redeem
the time, we, we need to wait in a

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way that we've got that fellowship
with the Lord, that intimacy with the

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Lord, and prayer's a huge part of that.

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But the second way that this
impacts our prayers is this.

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If there's not self control and
sober minded, this mindedness there,

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then, then we should not expect
that our prayers will be effective.

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Peter's already hit on that in one Peter
chapter three, verse seven, when he

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was talking to husbands, husbands live,
live with your wives in an understanding

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way, showing honor to the weaker vessel.

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He goes on to say so that your
prayers may not be hindered.

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And I think Peter's building on that
concept for all of us now saying,

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if you have unconfessed unrepentant
sin, that's a lack of self-control,

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a lack of sober mindedness in your
life, then you shouldn't expect

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your prayers to be effective when
you bring them before the Lord.

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Sin hinders your fellowship with God.

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As you think about the time that you have
left, I would hope if you are in Christ

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this morning, that one of the things that
you want to do in the time that you have

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left to redeem the time is to draw closer
to the Lord's a biblical principle's.

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A biblical command.

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James instructs us to draw near
to the Lord as we want to do that.

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Then part of that looks like what
Peter's talking about in verse

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seven, tending to our self-control,
tending to our sober mindedness.

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Making sure that we've got a
robust prayer life intact here so

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that we will grow in godliness.

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Point number one this morning
is we seek to redeem our time

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and not just pass our time.

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Is this tend to your godliness,
tend to your godliness.

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The word 10 might not be one that
we use very often, but you might

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think of somebody who tends to
garden, somebody who tends a garden.

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What are they looking to do there?

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They're looking to cause the garden
to grow, and so they're gonna

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do things to cause that garden
to grow as part of tending it.

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They're gonna water it, they're gonna
make sure that it's, it's weeded,

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that there's no nothing in there.

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They're gonna make sure that
the rabbits aren't there

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trying to get in and, and eat.

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The, the, the plants that are
in there, they're gonna tend to

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it, they're gonna care for it.

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And that's not passive, that's active.

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In the same way, we need to tend
to our godliness as the church.

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You will not just in neutral grow
in your godliness as a Christian.

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The spirit feeds on you in investing
in the word of God and in in repenting

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and confessing from your sins and in
praying and seeking the Lord, and being

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in fellowship with other believers.

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One of my pastors at one point
said it this way, you have two

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things at war within you, two
spirits that war within you.

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You've got the spirit of God
and the spirit of the flesh.

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The one that will win that
war is the one that you feed.

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And so as Christians, we need
to be feeding the spirit of God.

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We need to be feeding.

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We need to be ingesting the word of God.

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We need to be tending to our godliness.

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Our godliness is the
foundation of everything else.

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If the godliness isn't there,
then nothing else that we do

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as believers really matters.

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There's a prospect for the Detroit Tigers.

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His name is Max Clark, and he has
more bling than any other prospect

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that I've ever seen in my life.

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He is iced out to the max.

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He wears all the chains on
the field, no pun intended.

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Max Clark iced out to the max.

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He's iced out.

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He's, he's just, you can't
miss him out on the field.

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The only problem is he doesn't
have the game to back it up.

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And so he's wearing all this bling
and trying to draw all this attention

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to himself saying, look at me.

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And yet, when you really take a
look at him, you don't see much

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00:12:50,820 --> 00:12:52,200
substance there to his game.

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We can't be that way with the church.

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We can't show up on Sunday.

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Iced out with serving and with
showing up at bible study and

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with, I can do the memory verse.

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I don't even need the words filled in
at all and look at my family and how

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neat and pretty and nice We look only
to have a life that's characterized

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by a total lack of self, self-control,
sober mindedness and, and, and

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prayerlessness the rest of of your week.

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We have to have godliness intact.

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It has to be there.

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It's the foundation of anything else.

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So these two things, let's
start with these things.

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Self-control and sober mindedness.

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Again, I think they're, they're
related terms here, but self-control.

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I mentioned that the world will say this.

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Self-control is this.

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The act of governing our actions
and emotions through the will

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and the world can do this.

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The world can choose to say, I'm not going
to drink anymore 'cause I don't want to.

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'cause I see the side effects of it
and I, I don't wanna do that anymore.

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The, the world can say I'm not going
to speed right now because there's an

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officer in my rear view mirror and I'm
gonna demonstrate self-control to not

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speed because I don't want the ticket.

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This is, see, the, the world can
demonstrate and, and employ self-control,

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but as Christians, when you come to
faith in Christ, something changes about

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00:14:07,260 --> 00:14:11,430
the self-control that now you get to
operate, you get to exercise, and it's

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00:14:11,430 --> 00:14:16,470
this, it's not just about the will, it's
about the will in form by new affections.

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00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:21,480
Such that now you are exercising
self-control as a Christian saying,

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I'm not going to drink anymore.

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00:14:23,670 --> 00:14:26,850
Not just because of the negative side
effects of what alcohol does to me,

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00:14:27,090 --> 00:14:30,930
but because you know what God has
called me to be, one who is sober

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00:14:30,930 --> 00:14:34,590
in my thinking and sober minded and,
and I know what this leads me to.

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00:14:34,590 --> 00:14:38,730
He's called me not to be somebody of wrath
and malice and alcohol will do that, and

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00:14:38,730 --> 00:14:43,890
my affections now are greater to please
Christ than they are to please my flesh.

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00:14:45,825 --> 00:14:49,935
And so sober mindedness and
self-control for the Christian looks

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00:14:49,935 --> 00:14:51,615
different than it did before Christ.

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00:14:52,695 --> 00:14:56,685
In other words, your godliness I
is not a simple matter of grit.

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00:14:56,800 --> 00:14:59,625
It it, it's not tightening the
belt and pulling yourself up by

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00:14:59,625 --> 00:15:01,935
your bootstraps to be more godly.

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00:15:02,955 --> 00:15:06,315
Instead, your godliness is
marked by a desire to please God

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00:15:06,315 --> 00:15:07,815
more than to please yourself.

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00:15:09,165 --> 00:15:11,355
Peter's saying that's one of the
ways that we need to redeem our time.

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Is making sure that that's
part of our, our life.

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00:15:14,460 --> 00:15:17,400
So this is different than at the end of
the night when I have to close the package

304
00:15:17,400 --> 00:15:19,020
of Oreos, even though I don't want to,

305
00:15:21,390 --> 00:15:23,730
I'm not closing the package
of Oreos because I desire

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00:15:23,730 --> 00:15:25,410
Jesus more than the Oreos.

307
00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:32,250
But when we're battling sin, and I, we,
we need to not sin, not just because

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00:15:32,250 --> 00:15:34,890
we don't like the consequences of
sin, but because we love Jesus more.

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That's one of the ways
that we redeem the time.

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00:15:39,045 --> 00:15:42,135
And so the question this morning is
this, are, are your affections for Jesus?

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Are they increasing so much so that
that you are desiring things of the

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00:15:46,485 --> 00:15:48,825
Lord more than you're desiring the
sins that once characterized you?

313
00:15:50,445 --> 00:15:52,215
Are you seeing victory over sin?

314
00:15:52,695 --> 00:15:56,535
Not just because you installed
accountability software, but because

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00:15:56,535 --> 00:16:01,035
your love for Jesus is increasing
and so you hate your sin more because

316
00:16:01,035 --> 00:16:04,545
you love Jesus more, and that's
showing up in how you live your life.

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00:16:06,075 --> 00:16:07,905
And this relates back to the
end of all things as at hand.

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00:16:07,905 --> 00:16:08,115
Why?

319
00:16:08,115 --> 00:16:12,705
Because Christ is coming back sometime
and I wanna be ready to meet him.

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00:16:13,155 --> 00:16:13,605
Don't you?

321
00:16:16,455 --> 00:16:18,495
A, a sobering thought
if you want one is this.

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00:16:18,495 --> 00:16:21,525
Imagine Jesus coming back while you're
looking at that thing on the computer.

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00:16:23,775 --> 00:16:26,985
Imagine Jesus coming back in the middle
of your profanity, lays tirade after

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00:16:26,985 --> 00:16:28,245
somebody cuts you off on the road.

325
00:16:31,425 --> 00:16:33,495
Imagine Jesus coming
back when you've been.

326
00:16:34,530 --> 00:16:37,830
Neglecting to be a godly
husband or a godly wife.

327
00:16:40,500 --> 00:16:43,410
Imagine Jesus coming back as you're
filling in your taxes and you're, you're

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00:16:43,410 --> 00:16:45,720
intentionally putting wrong numbers in.

329
00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,800
There's something to the fact that the
imminence of Christ return should have

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00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:54,090
that sanctifying effect on our life.

331
00:16:54,090 --> 00:16:54,780
Why not?

332
00:16:54,780 --> 00:16:56,820
Just because we fear the
shame, but because we love

333
00:16:56,820 --> 00:17:00,870
him, but because we love him.

334
00:17:02,594 --> 00:17:06,763
That love for him should also drive us
to want to be in constant communication

335
00:17:06,763 --> 00:17:10,905
with him, to have that relationship with
him and, and, and prayer is such a key

336
00:17:10,905 --> 00:17:12,733
part of our dynamic relationship with him.

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00:17:14,385 --> 00:17:16,635
We talk about time in the word
a lot, but, but time in the word

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00:17:16,635 --> 00:17:18,464
is, is just one component of it.

339
00:17:18,464 --> 00:17:19,694
Prayer is that other part of it.

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00:17:19,694 --> 00:17:23,444
When, when we don't pray, what we are
functionally saying is we don't really

341
00:17:23,444 --> 00:17:26,503
acknowledge the fact that we've got a God
who's living and breathing and active.

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00:17:27,345 --> 00:17:30,225
When we live a prayerless life as a
believer, Jesus Christ becomes the

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00:17:30,225 --> 00:17:34,304
mascot for our faith instead of our
living savior who's interceding at the

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00:17:34,304 --> 00:17:37,155
right hand of the Father for us who's
opened the throne of God for us to

345
00:17:37,155 --> 00:17:40,425
draw near at any time, to find grace
and mercy, to help in time of need.

346
00:17:41,774 --> 00:17:44,445
And so your self-control troll
and your sober mindness then

347
00:17:44,445 --> 00:17:45,554
informs your prayer life.

348
00:17:45,554 --> 00:17:49,274
Because now all of a sudden, like I was
talking earlier, if you're not living

349
00:17:49,274 --> 00:17:52,665
self controlled, you're not living
sober minded, you don't want to pray.

350
00:17:54,345 --> 00:17:57,285
For some of you in the room, one of
the reasons why your prayer life is in

351
00:17:57,285 --> 00:17:59,475
shambles is because your sin is not,

352
00:18:02,235 --> 00:18:04,965
is because you are harboring
unconfessed sin in your life,

353
00:18:05,055 --> 00:18:06,040
unrepentant sin in your life.

354
00:18:08,295 --> 00:18:11,295
You're waiting for the Lord saying,
okay, I'm gonna have a foot in, in

355
00:18:11,295 --> 00:18:14,055
this side of things, just passing
time with the pleasures of the world,

356
00:18:14,145 --> 00:18:16,815
and then I'm gonna have another foot
over here at church on Sunday morning,

357
00:18:16,995 --> 00:18:19,875
and I'm gonna just hope that this is
enough, that we're good and, and you

358
00:18:19,875 --> 00:18:25,245
feel cold and you feel sterile, and you
feel like there's no, there's no real.

359
00:18:26,264 --> 00:18:28,995
Tangible thing to hold onto in
your relationship with the Lord.

360
00:18:29,084 --> 00:18:32,715
And you're, you're wondering why, and
you're reading books about prayer and, and

361
00:18:32,715 --> 00:18:35,594
you're listening to sermons about prayer,
and you're listening to podcast about

362
00:18:35,594 --> 00:18:38,324
prayer and you're, you're asking other
people to pray for you that you would

363
00:18:38,324 --> 00:18:42,104
pray more, and yet you're not dealing with
the main cause, which is the fact that

364
00:18:42,104 --> 00:18:47,054
you've got sin in the camp that needs to
get outta the camp so that you won't feel

365
00:18:47,054 --> 00:18:49,459
as much shame and guilt and hypocrisy
when you do come before the Lord.

366
00:18:51,300 --> 00:18:56,280
So tending to your godliness is going
to cause that inverse effect where you

367
00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:57,960
are going to want to be with the Lord.

368
00:18:59,250 --> 00:19:01,440
It's like when you don't work
out for a few weeks, right?

369
00:19:02,310 --> 00:19:04,139
And then you think, oh man,
I gotta get back in the gym.

370
00:19:05,490 --> 00:19:07,800
But you sit there and you think to
yourself, that is gonna be miserable.

371
00:19:08,639 --> 00:19:12,750
I don't want to, it's easier to
not, it's uncomfortable to go back.

372
00:19:13,050 --> 00:19:14,460
It's gonna be hard to go back.

373
00:19:17,085 --> 00:19:19,545
For some of us, that's our, our
prayer lies and what's been keeping

374
00:19:19,545 --> 00:19:22,725
us out of the gym of prayers,
the sin that we've been harboring

375
00:19:23,505 --> 00:19:25,875
because of a lack of self-control
and a lack of sober mindedness.

376
00:19:27,105 --> 00:19:29,685
But the second thing that will do is
it will limit the effectiveness of your

377
00:19:29,685 --> 00:19:32,445
prayers if you've been harboring sin.

378
00:19:33,795 --> 00:19:35,145
And that, that's another
thing I would say.

379
00:19:35,145 --> 00:19:37,965
Maybe, maybe you have been praying
for something and you're going, man,

380
00:19:37,965 --> 00:19:39,465
God is just not answering this prayer.

381
00:19:40,035 --> 00:19:43,425
Part of the thing that might be good to
do is to examine your heart to say, do

382
00:19:43,425 --> 00:19:45,764
I have sin that I'm not releasing here?

383
00:19:46,575 --> 00:19:50,685
Could there be something in my
life that is hindering my, my, the

384
00:19:50,685 --> 00:19:52,965
effectiveness of my prayers in this?

385
00:19:53,865 --> 00:19:54,825
If so, Lord, what is it?

386
00:19:55,004 --> 00:19:55,725
Turn me inside out.

387
00:19:55,725 --> 00:19:56,325
Shake me out.

388
00:19:56,475 --> 00:19:57,135
Lemme get rid of it.

389
00:19:57,225 --> 00:19:57,735
I don't want it.

390
00:20:00,225 --> 00:20:02,745
And so as you seek to tend
to your godliness, it has to

391
00:20:02,745 --> 00:20:04,394
do with your self-control.

392
00:20:04,394 --> 00:20:07,695
It has to do with your relationship
to worldliness, much like

393
00:20:07,695 --> 00:20:08,715
we talked about last week.

394
00:20:08,745 --> 00:20:11,745
And it has to do with you leaning into
your relationship with God through prayer.

395
00:20:12,284 --> 00:20:13,455
And those two things are connected.

396
00:20:13,455 --> 00:20:15,314
Those two things are related.

397
00:20:16,154 --> 00:20:18,284
And so one of the things that we
need to do as we seek to redeem

398
00:20:18,284 --> 00:20:22,094
the time as we wait is, is tend to
ourselves, tend to our godliness.

399
00:20:22,844 --> 00:20:26,685
Seek to cause our godliness to grow,
but it's not just ourselves that we

400
00:20:26,685 --> 00:20:28,155
need to give attention to as we wait.

401
00:20:28,155 --> 00:20:29,145
It's also one another.

402
00:20:29,715 --> 00:20:32,385
In fact, there are three one anothers
in the rest of our passage here.

403
00:20:32,834 --> 00:20:34,364
He's gonna say, you need
to love one another.

404
00:20:34,364 --> 00:20:36,794
You need to show hospitality
to one another, and you

405
00:20:36,794 --> 00:20:37,725
need to serve one another.

406
00:20:38,715 --> 00:20:40,844
And so let's go to this next
passage in verse eight, this next

407
00:20:40,844 --> 00:20:44,715
verse, it says this, above all,
keep loving one another earnestly.

408
00:20:45,554 --> 00:20:49,334
Since love covers a multitude
of sins above all, keep

409
00:20:49,334 --> 00:20:50,655
loving one another earnestly.

410
00:20:51,225 --> 00:20:54,644
I don't know if that strikes you as as
interesting that Peter would say, first

411
00:20:54,644 --> 00:20:56,894
and foremost, keep loving each other.

412
00:20:58,064 --> 00:20:59,804
Why would he put that in
such a place of primacy?

413
00:21:00,764 --> 00:21:03,735
Well, I think the answer comes
back to what Peter heard Jesus

414
00:21:03,735 --> 00:21:06,644
say when Jesus was approached by
one of the experts in the law.

415
00:21:06,644 --> 00:21:08,084
Hey, teacher, what's the
greatest commandment?

416
00:21:09,195 --> 00:21:11,864
Jesus said, well, you've heard it
said to love the Lord your God,

417
00:21:11,864 --> 00:21:13,695
with all your heart, with all
your soul, with all your mind.

418
00:21:13,995 --> 00:21:15,344
That is the greatest commandment.

419
00:21:16,185 --> 00:21:17,175
And then what did Jesus say?

420
00:21:17,175 --> 00:21:19,455
And the second, the second is like it.

421
00:21:20,310 --> 00:21:22,110
Love your neighbor as yourself.

422
00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:25,500
Jesus was was with Peter.

423
00:21:25,500 --> 00:21:28,320
Peter was there when, when Jesus
said, A new commandment I give to you

424
00:21:28,860 --> 00:21:32,639
that you should love one another, as
I have loved you by this, all people

425
00:21:32,639 --> 00:21:35,580
will know that you are my disciples
if you have love for one another.

426
00:21:36,870 --> 00:21:39,000
And so here, I think that's one
of the reasons Peter says, above

427
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:42,659
everything, make sure that you are
loving one another because that

428
00:21:42,659 --> 00:21:45,629
is one of the primary evidences of
the fact that you belong to Christ.

429
00:21:46,635 --> 00:21:49,784
It is one of the primary evidences
of the fact that you have received

430
00:21:49,784 --> 00:21:52,965
and experienced the love that
God has shown you through Jesus.

431
00:21:53,355 --> 00:21:56,325
So he says, above all, keep loving
one another because you can't say,

432
00:21:56,534 --> 00:21:59,595
I love God with everything I am and
not love your neighbor as yourself.

433
00:22:00,855 --> 00:22:04,455
In fact, if you don't have a love for
other people, then there's a disconnect.

434
00:22:04,455 --> 00:22:06,495
There's something, there's a short
circuit in your love for God.

435
00:22:08,355 --> 00:22:10,695
And so Peter says, above
all, keep loving one another.

436
00:22:10,695 --> 00:22:11,415
It's a command.

437
00:22:11,925 --> 00:22:13,935
Have an ongoing love for one another.

438
00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:16,680
This is not a quota that you meet daily.

439
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:19,500
This is an every single minute,
every single day, every single second

440
00:22:19,500 --> 00:22:21,090
you are set on loving one another.

441
00:22:22,290 --> 00:22:24,960
Keep on loving it's agape love as well.

442
00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:27,990
It's a love that doesn't
expect something in return.

443
00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:30,810
This is an I'll love you
as long as you love me.

444
00:22:31,680 --> 00:22:32,940
This is a selfless love.

445
00:22:32,940 --> 00:22:34,260
This is an affectionate love.

446
00:22:34,920 --> 00:22:39,990
And he says, we're to do that earnestly,
genuinely eagerly, constantly.

447
00:22:39,990 --> 00:22:40,620
And he says, why?

448
00:22:40,620 --> 00:22:42,630
Because love covers a multitude of sins.

449
00:22:43,395 --> 00:22:46,245
I think Peter knew that as we wait
for the return of Christ, as we wait

450
00:22:46,245 --> 00:22:49,815
together, as a body of Christ, as
a family, what's gonna happen when

451
00:22:49,815 --> 00:22:50,895
a bunch of sinners get together?

452
00:22:50,895 --> 00:22:54,555
What happens when, when sinners get
together, we sin against each other?

453
00:22:55,544 --> 00:22:57,764
And so I think Peter's saying,
you know what y'all, if if you

454
00:22:57,764 --> 00:23:00,794
guys are gonna survive, you're
gonna need a love for each other.

455
00:23:00,794 --> 00:23:02,659
That's willing to be
merciful to each other too.

456
00:23:03,735 --> 00:23:06,524
It's willing to cover a multitude of sins.

457
00:23:06,975 --> 00:23:09,044
We're gonna talk about what it
looks like to cover when we cover,

458
00:23:09,044 --> 00:23:12,104
when we don't cover in just a
minute here, but, um, a multitude.

459
00:23:12,104 --> 00:23:16,965
It's from the, the word for
plethora, A multitude, many sins.

460
00:23:16,965 --> 00:23:22,850
Proverbs 10 12 says this hatred stirs
up strife, but love covers all offenses.

461
00:23:24,014 --> 00:23:28,004
Proverbs 17, nine says, whoever covers
an offense seeks love, but he who

462
00:23:28,004 --> 00:23:31,004
repeats a matter separates close friends.

463
00:23:31,455 --> 00:23:33,614
So Peter's saying one of the things
that we need to do with each other as we

464
00:23:33,614 --> 00:23:37,154
redeem the time is rather than keeping
account of the offenses against us, we

465
00:23:37,154 --> 00:23:40,514
should look to welcome each other and to
meet the needs that we're able to meet.

466
00:23:40,514 --> 00:23:41,084
And that's where he goes.

467
00:23:41,084 --> 00:23:44,834
In verse nine, he says, seek to
show hospitality to one another

468
00:23:44,834 --> 00:23:47,475
without grumbling hospitality.

469
00:23:47,475 --> 00:23:49,514
The word means the the love of strangers.

470
00:23:50,429 --> 00:23:53,340
And that's something that we're called
to do in scripture, but here specifically

471
00:23:53,759 --> 00:23:55,739
show hospitality to one another.

472
00:23:56,100 --> 00:23:57,899
So this is in the confines of the church.

473
00:23:58,259 --> 00:24:02,009
This is the body of Christ together,
showing hospitality to one another.

474
00:24:02,580 --> 00:24:05,909
Hospitality is, is welcoming and
caring for the needs of another person.

475
00:24:06,764 --> 00:24:09,105
Welcoming and, and caring for
the needs of another person.

476
00:24:09,510 --> 00:24:12,165
In, in Peter's day, this was
a, a pretty significant need.

477
00:24:12,165 --> 00:24:14,955
They needed people to open up
their home to host the church.

478
00:24:15,554 --> 00:24:19,245
They needed people to host apostles and
prophets as they were traveling around

479
00:24:19,245 --> 00:24:23,715
evangelists, missionaries, they needed
people to open up their homes when others

480
00:24:23,715 --> 00:24:25,335
lost their homes due to persecution.

481
00:24:25,935 --> 00:24:28,574
So Peter saying, show hospitality
to one another as an expression

482
00:24:28,574 --> 00:24:29,685
of your love for one another.

483
00:24:30,105 --> 00:24:31,965
But notice it's governed by an attitude.

484
00:24:32,564 --> 00:24:34,425
It's not a, okay, fine, if I have to.

485
00:24:35,264 --> 00:24:39,104
It's also not a, a hospitality that's
going, why doesn't somebody else step

486
00:24:39,104 --> 00:24:40,874
up and, and be hospitable for once?

487
00:24:41,534 --> 00:24:45,495
Instead, he says, it's a hospitality
that's without grumbling, without

488
00:24:45,495 --> 00:24:48,794
grumbling or murmuring or complaining.

489
00:24:49,004 --> 00:24:53,054
Philippians two 14 says, do
all things without grumbling.

490
00:24:53,745 --> 00:24:55,935
See, to serve begrudgingly was
not to serve from a heart of

491
00:24:55,935 --> 00:25:00,584
love to to serve, upset over
how much it it cost us to serve.

492
00:25:01,215 --> 00:25:04,965
Was not serving with the sacrificial love
the way that we had been served by Jesus.

493
00:25:05,865 --> 00:25:13,335
And so show hospitality without grumbling
again, the end of all things is at hand.

494
00:25:13,335 --> 00:25:14,294
How are we waiting?

495
00:25:14,294 --> 00:25:16,095
Are we passing time or redeeming time?

496
00:25:16,095 --> 00:25:19,274
One of the ways that we redeem
time is we redeem time together.

497
00:25:20,085 --> 00:25:21,645
We redeem time with one another.

498
00:25:21,645 --> 00:25:23,625
We redeem time as the church.

499
00:25:23,625 --> 00:25:27,435
And what that looks like is that looks
like loving one another earnestly.

500
00:25:27,435 --> 00:25:29,925
Point number two this morning
is this tend to your love.

501
00:25:31,094 --> 00:25:31,935
Attend to your love.

502
00:25:38,654 --> 00:25:42,314
I want us to know three things about
this love that Peter calls us to.

503
00:25:42,314 --> 00:25:43,485
First is it's quality.

504
00:25:44,294 --> 00:25:44,925
It's quality.

505
00:25:44,955 --> 00:25:46,634
He says, keep loving one another.

506
00:25:46,965 --> 00:25:47,594
Earnestly.

507
00:25:48,735 --> 00:25:49,574
Earnestly.

508
00:25:50,580 --> 00:25:53,774
I, I wonder if you've ever heard
the phrase, I have to love you,

509
00:25:53,834 --> 00:25:54,975
but I don't have to like you.

510
00:25:56,100 --> 00:25:56,520
Anybody.

511
00:25:57,150 --> 00:25:59,730
We had some fun in the office this
week kicking that around on whether or

512
00:25:59,730 --> 00:26:01,350
not that was biblically justifiable.

513
00:26:03,389 --> 00:26:04,320
Jury's still out.

514
00:26:04,800 --> 00:26:07,950
No, I I, I'm pretty sure we're, we're,
we're mostly in agreement that Yeah.

515
00:26:07,950 --> 00:26:11,639
We, we need to put that aside
because that's not really, at least

516
00:26:11,639 --> 00:26:14,520
not indicative of the heart that
we should have towards one another.

517
00:26:15,060 --> 00:26:16,920
And I think this passage shows us that.

518
00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:17,129
Why?

519
00:26:17,129 --> 00:26:20,490
Because I know for sure that I can't
tell you that I love you earnestly

520
00:26:20,490 --> 00:26:25,139
because I have to, earnest love
doesn't flow from obligation and duty.

521
00:26:26,819 --> 00:26:31,860
And earnest love is manifested from a,
a, a will, from a desire, from a heart

522
00:26:31,860 --> 00:26:35,279
that's been transformed by Christ that
says, I wanna love as I've been loved.

523
00:26:36,594 --> 00:26:39,059
And, and so the quality of the
love that we should have for one

524
00:26:39,059 --> 00:26:40,499
another is a love that's genuine.

525
00:26:40,499 --> 00:26:45,029
In fact, Romans 12, nine, let
love be genuine right after that.

526
00:26:45,029 --> 00:26:48,749
In verse 13, he says, and seek to
show hospitality to one another, but

527
00:26:48,749 --> 00:26:50,909
this genuine love, this earnest love.

528
00:26:50,909 --> 00:26:53,909
And there might be reasons why
you would say, okay, but pastor.

529
00:26:55,034 --> 00:26:57,885
Here's my reasons why I don't
love all of these people.

530
00:26:57,885 --> 00:27:01,004
Earnestly, number one, I, I don't
know everyone in the room earnestly.

531
00:27:01,365 --> 00:27:02,085
Okay, fair.

532
00:27:02,685 --> 00:27:02,955
Fair.

533
00:27:03,074 --> 00:27:07,125
But maybe that's, God prompting you to get
to know a few more people in the room so

534
00:27:07,125 --> 00:27:11,115
that you can love more people earnestly,
rather than say, well, I just, I don't

535
00:27:11,115 --> 00:27:13,004
know them, so I don't have to love them.

536
00:27:13,004 --> 00:27:14,475
I'm opting myself out of that.

537
00:27:17,024 --> 00:27:18,585
Or it's, God's saying,
we'll get to know them.

538
00:27:19,754 --> 00:27:20,865
Talk to 'em, invite 'em over.

539
00:27:21,945 --> 00:27:24,555
Or maybe your objection is this,
well, uh, pastor, I, I've been

540
00:27:24,555 --> 00:27:27,855
sinned against by that person, so
I'm, I don't love them earnestly.

541
00:27:28,905 --> 00:27:31,845
We will return to that in just a
second here, but in most cases,

542
00:27:31,845 --> 00:27:34,485
the offenses that we're talking
about, there are small enough that

543
00:27:34,485 --> 00:27:35,835
we should just cover them over.

544
00:27:37,155 --> 00:27:40,485
Not every case, there's some cases where
there's an egregious sin that takes place

545
00:27:41,325 --> 00:27:45,105
and, and you, I would still say, are
called to love your brother or sister

546
00:27:45,105 --> 00:27:46,665
if they are truly in Christ earnestly.

547
00:27:46,665 --> 00:27:49,155
But the fellowship aspect
may look different Granted.

548
00:27:50,594 --> 00:27:54,945
Or maybe your objection is something
like they're, they're hard to love.

549
00:27:56,504 --> 00:27:57,254
They're hard to love.

550
00:27:57,254 --> 00:27:59,894
I just don't, I don't like the person.

551
00:27:59,894 --> 00:28:00,735
We don't connect.

552
00:28:00,884 --> 00:28:01,215
Well,

553
00:28:03,405 --> 00:28:05,564
I think in situations like
that, that's probably revealing

554
00:28:05,564 --> 00:28:07,004
more about you than about them.

555
00:28:09,249 --> 00:28:14,294
Your pride, your impatience, your
standards that aren't necessarily

556
00:28:14,294 --> 00:28:17,925
biblical standards, because Peter
doesn't give an exception here.

557
00:28:18,899 --> 00:28:22,080
He's not love everyone earnestly
who you like hanging around.

558
00:28:23,550 --> 00:28:24,330
He doesn't say love.

559
00:28:24,330 --> 00:28:28,560
Everyone earnestly, who's easy
to love, man, if Jesus did that,

560
00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:31,110
guess who saved none of us.

561
00:28:33,389 --> 00:28:34,740
And he says, love one another Earnestly.

562
00:28:35,430 --> 00:28:38,340
And, and, and why is this such an
important quality that we need to have?

563
00:28:38,340 --> 00:28:39,990
Well, I think because of
what he's already said.

564
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:43,710
Back in one Peter chapter one, verses
22 through 23, pastor Rod preached

565
00:28:43,710 --> 00:28:47,670
on this sermon this past fall, but he
says this, having purified your souls

566
00:28:47,670 --> 00:28:53,280
by your obedience to the truth for
a sincere, brotherly love, love one

567
00:28:53,280 --> 00:28:55,050
another, earnestly from a pure heart.

568
00:28:55,500 --> 00:28:59,070
There's our phrase, love one another,
earnestly having purified your souls

569
00:28:59,070 --> 00:29:00,630
by your obedience to the truth.

570
00:29:00,630 --> 00:29:01,560
What is that talking about?

571
00:29:01,560 --> 00:29:02,760
That's talking about the gospel.

572
00:29:03,524 --> 00:29:07,544
The gospel should therefore result
in us loving one another earnestly.

573
00:29:08,475 --> 00:29:12,254
And he goes on and he says this, since
you've been born again, not a perishable

574
00:29:12,254 --> 00:29:15,705
seat, but of imperishable love,
earnestly because you've been born again.

575
00:29:16,904 --> 00:29:19,514
And so I think one of the reasons
why this matters so much is because

576
00:29:19,514 --> 00:29:22,935
this is indicative of our standing
in Christ, in our understanding of

577
00:29:22,935 --> 00:29:24,344
how much we've been loved by him.

578
00:29:25,455 --> 00:29:27,854
Again, I, I can't say I love
God with everything I am and,

579
00:29:27,854 --> 00:29:28,995
and not love other people.

580
00:29:30,314 --> 00:29:31,574
I need to love earnestly.

581
00:29:31,574 --> 00:29:32,985
The quality has to be there.

582
00:29:33,735 --> 00:29:36,764
So how does your love for those in
this room differ for your, from your

583
00:29:36,764 --> 00:29:39,975
love for the unbelievers in your life?

584
00:29:40,004 --> 00:29:40,784
I think it should.

585
00:29:41,804 --> 00:29:43,094
I think it should unapologetically.

586
00:29:43,094 --> 00:29:43,665
I think it should.

587
00:29:44,564 --> 00:29:48,165
I think it should differ from how you
love the teachers at your kids' school.

588
00:29:49,004 --> 00:29:52,274
I think it should differ from how you love
the parents on your kids' sports teams.

589
00:29:52,905 --> 00:29:55,364
I think it should differ from
how you love your coworkers.

590
00:29:57,284 --> 00:30:00,075
Would even go so far as to say, I
think it should differ from how you

591
00:30:00,075 --> 00:30:01,995
love your unbelieving family members.

592
00:30:07,605 --> 00:30:11,925
The reason for that is though we pray
for those that are in our family,

593
00:30:11,925 --> 00:30:14,625
that every single one of our family
members would come to know Christ.

594
00:30:15,014 --> 00:30:19,155
We can't guarantee that, and for some
you will spend eternity with those

595
00:30:19,155 --> 00:30:20,385
in this room and not your family.

596
00:30:22,935 --> 00:30:25,215
And, and I'm not saying that
from a cold-hearted position,

597
00:30:25,215 --> 00:30:26,625
we want your family to be saved.

598
00:30:26,745 --> 00:30:27,885
I want your family to be saved.

599
00:30:28,305 --> 00:30:31,004
I want, I'm, I'm thinking about some
of my kids in that when I say that,

600
00:30:33,015 --> 00:30:35,445
and as a dad, I desperately
want my kids to be saved.

601
00:30:37,754 --> 00:30:40,995
But if they are unbelievers, when they
grow up and they walk away from the

602
00:30:40,995 --> 00:30:44,475
church, my relationship with you has
an inherent different quality than

603
00:30:44,475 --> 00:30:45,915
it will with my own flesh and blood.

604
00:30:50,324 --> 00:30:52,665
So we need to love one
another with an earnest love.

605
00:30:53,054 --> 00:30:53,655
That's its quality.

606
00:30:53,655 --> 00:30:54,554
Second, it's mercy.

607
00:30:55,574 --> 00:30:56,084
It's mercy.

608
00:30:56,084 --> 00:30:57,705
The, the, the last two qualities here.

609
00:30:57,915 --> 00:31:00,375
One is about how you
internally love people.

610
00:31:00,375 --> 00:31:02,175
The other is about how you
externally love people.

611
00:31:02,865 --> 00:31:06,195
So this is, is the internal, it's mercy,
and this is where he says, since love

612
00:31:06,195 --> 00:31:10,905
covers a multitude of sins, again, as
a family, we're going to be sinners.

613
00:31:10,905 --> 00:31:12,855
Living with sinners and sinners,
fellowshiping with sinners.

614
00:31:12,855 --> 00:31:14,235
We're, we're going to
sin against each other.

615
00:31:16,010 --> 00:31:19,515
And, and, and there are times
Galatians six, Matthew 18,

616
00:31:19,515 --> 00:31:20,895
where sin needs to be addressed.

617
00:31:21,915 --> 00:31:25,875
There are sins that are particularly
egregious or there are sins that

618
00:31:25,875 --> 00:31:27,945
are repeated patterns of behavior.

619
00:31:28,305 --> 00:31:30,285
There are sins that are
clearly intentional.

620
00:31:30,645 --> 00:31:32,745
There are sins that are public.

621
00:31:33,495 --> 00:31:37,514
That, that do need to be addressed in the
sense of Matthew six brothers, if anyone

622
00:31:37,514 --> 00:31:41,145
is caught in a trespass, you who are
spiritual, restore that person in a, in a

623
00:31:41,145 --> 00:31:45,585
spirit of gentleness or Matthew 18 if, if
someone sins against you, go and show them

624
00:31:45,585 --> 00:31:48,165
their fault that you may gain the brother.

625
00:31:48,315 --> 00:31:48,585
Right?

626
00:31:48,705 --> 00:31:52,845
There are times where we should do that,
but then there are gonna be a lot of

627
00:31:52,845 --> 00:31:57,945
other offenses and even sins against us
that are more akin to the stepping on of

628
00:31:57,945 --> 00:31:59,715
the toes or the cutting off in traffic.

629
00:32:01,034 --> 00:32:04,304
That as Christians, for the sake
of the unity of the body and our

630
00:32:04,304 --> 00:32:08,774
love for one another, we can cover
over those offenses, and that's

631
00:32:08,774 --> 00:32:10,125
what we're being called to here.

632
00:32:11,625 --> 00:32:15,135
Maybe somebody makes a, a joke at
your expense and it hurt a little bit

633
00:32:15,135 --> 00:32:20,324
more than you let on, but you know
their heart, you know they love you.

634
00:32:20,865 --> 00:32:24,705
This is not a repeated pattern of behavior
in their life, so you're not gonna call

635
00:32:24,705 --> 00:32:26,480
them out and confront them and, and, and.

636
00:32:27,104 --> 00:32:28,695
Go Matthew 18 on them.

637
00:32:28,695 --> 00:32:31,695
For that, you're gonna let
the, the offense go, you're

638
00:32:31,695 --> 00:32:32,864
gonna cover over it in love.

639
00:32:34,364 --> 00:32:37,935
Or maybe your spouse says that
they're gonna do something like clean

640
00:32:37,935 --> 00:32:40,245
up their wardrobe o off the floor.

641
00:32:40,245 --> 00:32:45,014
And then you, you come home and it's
still there, and you could confront

642
00:32:45,014 --> 00:32:46,514
your spouse and be like, you're a liar.

643
00:32:47,175 --> 00:32:48,374
You're, you're a liar.

644
00:32:49,334 --> 00:32:50,084
I'm Matthew 18.

645
00:32:50,084 --> 00:32:51,195
And you right now, you're a liar.

646
00:32:51,195 --> 00:32:54,764
You said you'd pick it up, you didn't,
or you could cover over the offense.

647
00:32:55,334 --> 00:32:58,485
And realize, okay, they forgot I'm
gonna believe the best about them.

648
00:32:58,514 --> 00:32:59,745
'cause that's what love does.

649
00:33:01,215 --> 00:33:03,705
Or maybe you're on your way to
church and, and somebody is just

650
00:33:03,705 --> 00:33:05,504
tailgating you the whole way to church.

651
00:33:05,504 --> 00:33:07,455
And you're going, man, who is this guy?

652
00:33:07,455 --> 00:33:08,414
They need the gospel.

653
00:33:08,414 --> 00:33:09,524
I don't know what is going on.

654
00:33:09,764 --> 00:33:12,194
Hopefully they see my Compass Bible
Church sticker on the back of my

655
00:33:12,194 --> 00:33:15,735
car as I'm driving along and, and
you turn into church and guess what?

656
00:33:15,735 --> 00:33:18,314
They turn in right behind you and they
park next to you in the parking lot.

657
00:33:18,735 --> 00:33:19,514
You get out.

658
00:33:19,514 --> 00:33:21,434
Now it's, what are we,
what are we gonna do?

659
00:33:23,114 --> 00:33:24,195
You No.

660
00:33:25,754 --> 00:33:27,645
You get an opportunity to
say, man love's gonna cover a

661
00:33:27,645 --> 00:33:29,324
multitude of, of offenses in that

662
00:33:32,145 --> 00:33:33,014
this is not easy.

663
00:33:33,014 --> 00:33:37,215
I'm not suggesting it's easy, it's
hard, but it's an act of love that says,

664
00:33:37,215 --> 00:33:39,854
for the good of the unity of the body,
for the good, of the relationships,

665
00:33:39,854 --> 00:33:40,695
for the good of one another.

666
00:33:40,935 --> 00:33:44,504
As I'm seeking to redeem the time,
man, I, I, I wanted to, to exercise

667
00:33:44,504 --> 00:33:47,145
that grace towards others because
God exercises that towards us.

668
00:33:48,120 --> 00:33:48,870
Psalm one 30.

669
00:33:48,870 --> 00:33:49,739
What does the psalmist say?

670
00:33:49,739 --> 00:33:53,340
He says, if you, oh, Lord, should
mark iniquities, who could stand

671
00:33:53,340 --> 00:33:58,259
before you, if God were to count every
single one of your sins, and at the

672
00:33:58,259 --> 00:34:02,219
end of the day give you your report
card, you'd be wrecked every day.

673
00:34:04,529 --> 00:34:08,909
And yet, in his love, he covers
over and we can do the same thing

674
00:34:08,938 --> 00:34:10,679
with one another so it's quality.

675
00:34:11,609 --> 00:34:14,279
Second, it's, what did I say?

676
00:34:15,645 --> 00:34:17,355
Thank you, thank you, thank you.

677
00:34:17,355 --> 00:34:19,304
Those of you, this pop
quiz, I knew it all along.

678
00:34:19,304 --> 00:34:21,404
Pop quiz, it's quality, it's mercy.

679
00:34:21,495 --> 00:34:22,904
And third, it's, it's care.

680
00:34:23,114 --> 00:34:25,094
Again, mercy is the internal right.

681
00:34:25,245 --> 00:34:26,955
I'm willing to show that
mercy to cover over it.

682
00:34:28,005 --> 00:34:29,295
Now it's, it's it's care.

683
00:34:29,295 --> 00:34:31,424
This is the external, this
is the hospitality piece.

684
00:34:31,424 --> 00:34:34,245
He goes on, he says, show hospitality
to one another without grumbling.

685
00:34:35,025 --> 00:34:36,855
Show hospitality to one
another without grumbling.

686
00:34:36,855 --> 00:34:40,514
Again, hospitality here is gonna be
our love in action towards one another.

687
00:34:41,745 --> 00:34:44,389
As Christians, we're called to show
hospitality to unbelievers, aren't we?

688
00:34:45,060 --> 00:34:47,668
In fact, the word hospitality
is in the original.

689
00:34:47,790 --> 00:34:48,239
It's there.

690
00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:50,549
It means the love of strangers.

691
00:34:51,569 --> 00:34:54,870
And so we're called to, to show
hospitality to those outside the church.

692
00:34:55,168 --> 00:34:58,319
How much more should we show hospitality
to one another inside the church?

693
00:34:59,220 --> 00:35:02,310
And that's what Peter's saying here,
show hospitality to one another.

694
00:35:03,029 --> 00:35:06,480
Paul says in Galatians
six 10, he says this.

695
00:35:06,689 --> 00:35:07,049
He says.

696
00:35:08,175 --> 00:35:13,065
So then as we have opportunity, let us
do good to everyone, and especially to

697
00:35:13,065 --> 00:35:15,105
those who are of the household of faith.

698
00:35:16,125 --> 00:35:16,575
Did you catch that?

699
00:35:16,575 --> 00:35:20,295
Paul says, we should do good to
everyone and especially to our

700
00:35:20,295 --> 00:35:22,550
brothers and sisters in Christ,
especially to those within the church.

701
00:35:23,984 --> 00:35:26,595
We have a hospitality team here at
the church and praise God that we do

702
00:35:26,595 --> 00:35:29,565
because we've got donuts after church
and we've got coffee and we've got

703
00:35:29,565 --> 00:35:31,634
tea, and we've got special occasions.

704
00:35:31,634 --> 00:35:34,665
They help us serve that as well
and, and they do a great job

705
00:35:34,665 --> 00:35:35,745
and I'm so thankful for them.

706
00:35:36,225 --> 00:35:38,745
But also I want us to, all
of us think of ourselves.

707
00:35:38,835 --> 00:35:41,415
This is all of the hospitality
team in the church.

708
00:35:42,734 --> 00:35:45,645
All y'all are the hospitality
team because that's what God

709
00:35:45,645 --> 00:35:49,365
calls us to do as believers, to
show hospitality to one another.

710
00:35:50,145 --> 00:35:52,395
Hospitality on Sunday mornings
through the refreshments and

711
00:35:52,395 --> 00:35:53,174
everything else like that.

712
00:35:53,415 --> 00:35:54,585
That's a part of it.

713
00:35:54,735 --> 00:35:55,904
Of it, but that's not all of it.

714
00:35:56,685 --> 00:35:59,295
Hospitality extends beyond
the four walls of the church.

715
00:35:59,295 --> 00:36:01,785
It looks like opening up your
home, it looks like seeking to

716
00:36:01,785 --> 00:36:03,255
meet the needs of other people.

717
00:36:03,255 --> 00:36:06,735
It looks like a love that in the
end of the day is gonna cost us

718
00:36:06,735 --> 00:36:09,690
something, but that's just it.

719
00:36:09,690 --> 00:36:12,465
A love that doesn't cost us is
no different from a worldly love.

720
00:36:13,904 --> 00:36:17,505
The love that costs is a love that
would cause somebody to say, why would

721
00:36:17,505 --> 00:36:18,910
you care for somebody to that extent?

722
00:36:20,970 --> 00:36:23,310
It allows you to say, because of
how much God has cared for me.

723
00:36:24,630 --> 00:36:27,450
So this is a, a love that cost
is a love that James calls

724
00:36:27,450 --> 00:36:29,280
us to in James two 15 and 16.

725
00:36:30,660 --> 00:36:33,030
It's a love that John calls
us to in First John three 17.

726
00:36:33,030 --> 00:36:35,310
You can look up those verses
on your own if you want.

727
00:36:35,490 --> 00:36:36,420
First John three 17.

728
00:36:36,420 --> 00:36:37,140
That one's shorter.

729
00:36:37,140 --> 00:36:40,800
It says if anyone has the world's
goods and sees his brother in need

730
00:36:40,800 --> 00:36:44,430
and yet closes his heart against him,
how does God's love abide in him?

731
00:36:45,810 --> 00:36:49,290
If you're not hospitable, in other
words, James or, or John is saying,

732
00:36:49,710 --> 00:36:51,150
how does God's love abide in you?

733
00:36:51,690 --> 00:36:57,120
And I think that's both God's love for
you and your love for him, which is

734
00:36:57,120 --> 00:36:58,830
evidence through our care for one another.

735
00:36:59,580 --> 00:37:01,830
And remember, we're, we're called
to do this without grumbling.

736
00:37:02,310 --> 00:37:02,970
Without grumbling.

737
00:37:04,620 --> 00:37:08,759
For a lot of us, a hospitality can start
with having somebody over for dinner.

738
00:37:08,790 --> 00:37:09,750
It's more than that.

739
00:37:10,335 --> 00:37:14,325
But I think for a lot of people, we could
start by realizing what we have in the

740
00:37:14,325 --> 00:37:15,705
four walls in the roof over our head.

741
00:37:16,785 --> 00:37:20,745
There's a book on your recommended
resources there that I have, uh, just

742
00:37:20,745 --> 00:37:24,525
finished reading recently, and it's called
The Simplest Way to Change the World.

743
00:37:25,785 --> 00:37:29,145
And, and honestly, I found this book
and it was, it was God's providence

744
00:37:29,145 --> 00:37:31,815
that I did because I was looking for
a book on hospitality for Christians

745
00:37:31,815 --> 00:37:32,600
that wasn't written by a woman.

746
00:37:34,245 --> 00:37:36,164
Not that I'm against
female hospitality books.

747
00:37:36,194 --> 00:37:38,894
The, the gospel comes with a house
key by Rosario Butterfield, also

748
00:37:38,894 --> 00:37:39,854
on the back of your worksheet.

749
00:37:39,884 --> 00:37:41,144
Excellent book on hospitality.

750
00:37:41,444 --> 00:37:43,935
But I didn't want you men in the
room to tune out and be like, oh,

751
00:37:43,935 --> 00:37:45,225
well, hospitality is a female thing.

752
00:37:46,245 --> 00:37:48,164
It's not, did you know it's
a qualification for an elder?

753
00:37:50,400 --> 00:37:52,560
So hospitality is something
that all of us need to practice.

754
00:37:52,560 --> 00:37:56,460
In, in, in this book, he talks about
our homes specifically, and these are

755
00:37:56,460 --> 00:37:59,310
two pastors that wrote, and, and I
thought this was helpful, so let me just

756
00:37:59,310 --> 00:38:00,870
read what he says here for a minute.

757
00:38:01,590 --> 00:38:05,250
He says, many Christians have bought
into the cultural view that your homes

758
00:38:05,730 --> 00:38:11,610
are personal and private fortresses and
are combined 20 plus years of pastoring.

759
00:38:11,610 --> 00:38:14,670
We've observed that the way a typical
Christian thinks about their home

760
00:38:14,970 --> 00:38:17,970
isn't all that different from how
a typical non-Christian thinks.

761
00:38:19,035 --> 00:38:23,745
It is the place I eat, sleep, relax,
and entertain myself by myself.

762
00:38:25,545 --> 00:38:28,515
He goes on, he says this, he says, we
think of mission as something that happens

763
00:38:28,515 --> 00:38:30,345
outside the four walls of our homes.

764
00:38:31,185 --> 00:38:34,185
That if anything, our homes are
even a retreat from any Christian

765
00:38:34,185 --> 00:38:35,535
mission that we may be involved in.

766
00:38:36,705 --> 00:38:41,174
And he says, in so doing, we waste
a powerful and God ordain, ordained

767
00:38:41,174 --> 00:38:42,674
means of changing the world.

768
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:47,040
In the book, they're talking about
hospitality specifically as it relates to

769
00:38:47,430 --> 00:38:51,750
our ability to, to serve the, the world
around us using our homes for evangelism.

770
00:38:52,290 --> 00:38:55,230
But the same point can hold true for
our, our relationships with each other.

771
00:38:55,680 --> 00:38:58,770
We come here and we're like, okay, I'll
be the church at church, but don't, don't

772
00:38:58,770 --> 00:39:00,360
ask me to be the church outside of church.

773
00:39:01,200 --> 00:39:03,120
Don't ask me to, to really
invest in relationships

774
00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:04,470
outside of, of Sunday morning.

775
00:39:05,760 --> 00:39:08,310
But the hospitality, the biblical
hospitality that's in view here

776
00:39:08,310 --> 00:39:10,410
is a hospitality that has to
transcend the two hours that we

777
00:39:10,410 --> 00:39:11,550
spend here every Sunday morning.

778
00:39:12,944 --> 00:39:16,770
It's a hospitality that literally is
getting people in your kitchen and,

779
00:39:16,774 --> 00:39:19,214
and maybe you're thinking, yeah,
but I've got a really nice kitchen

780
00:39:20,084 --> 00:39:22,154
and their kids are not well behaved.

781
00:39:24,375 --> 00:39:28,004
One of our, the, the, the wife of our
sitting pastor shared something with

782
00:39:28,004 --> 00:39:29,774
Amanda early on in our time out there.

783
00:39:29,774 --> 00:39:30,464
That was super helpful.

784
00:39:30,464 --> 00:39:37,754
And that was this, your carpet,
your couch, your kitchen, your food.

785
00:39:38,475 --> 00:39:40,035
It's not yours, it's god's.

786
00:39:41,850 --> 00:39:46,230
So you may be concerned about the stain
on your carpet, but if you're using your

787
00:39:46,230 --> 00:39:51,210
house to obey the Lord through showing
hospitality to one another, through

788
00:39:51,210 --> 00:39:54,089
getting to know each other over meals,
through having fellowship together as

789
00:39:54,089 --> 00:39:57,779
the body of Christ, and you got a stain
on your carpet, and that's a battle

790
00:39:57,779 --> 00:40:04,350
scar that's worth boasting in and it's
God's, and you're pleasing him in that.

791
00:40:05,730 --> 00:40:06,839
So here's my challenge.

792
00:40:07,410 --> 00:40:09,600
Some of you are are
killing it at this already.

793
00:40:10,395 --> 00:40:12,375
But my challenge to the rest
of us in the room is this.

794
00:40:12,765 --> 00:40:16,634
I'm gonna challenge you to have one family
over or one person over in the church

795
00:40:16,634 --> 00:40:21,375
per month for the next 12 months, and,
and not people that you already know.

796
00:40:22,095 --> 00:40:24,795
Let's get outside of the, if you're in
a community group, let's get outside

797
00:40:24,795 --> 00:40:25,815
the families in your community group.

798
00:40:26,595 --> 00:40:30,134
I want you to, to start inviting people
that you don't know and beginning to

799
00:40:30,134 --> 00:40:33,240
build relationships and, and showing
hospitality to one another to this extent.

800
00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:38,189
Just one meal a month with somebody
in the church, somebody in the church

801
00:40:38,189 --> 00:40:40,649
that, you know, you can invite a,
a single person over in the church.

802
00:40:40,649 --> 00:40:45,450
You can invite a family over in the
church, um, whatever that looks like, have

803
00:40:45,450 --> 00:40:46,979
12 people over, over the next 12 months.

804
00:40:46,979 --> 00:40:49,410
If you wanna go beyond that, if
you're going, that's easy, great.

805
00:40:49,410 --> 00:40:50,339
Go beyond that, double that.

806
00:40:50,490 --> 00:40:51,600
Here's what my hope is though.

807
00:40:51,809 --> 00:40:55,259
I hope if we'll do that, that you'll be
invited by some other people over to their

808
00:40:55,259 --> 00:40:56,789
house and, and you'll say yes to that.

809
00:40:57,059 --> 00:40:57,749
That's the other challenge.

810
00:40:57,749 --> 00:40:59,309
Y'all say yes if you're invited.

811
00:41:00,330 --> 00:41:03,150
And if, if we all do this, think
about the webs of relationships

812
00:41:03,150 --> 00:41:07,860
that we could begin to form in, in
our church and, and how strong our

813
00:41:07,860 --> 00:41:09,240
church will be as a result of that.

814
00:41:10,380 --> 00:41:13,980
If we will seek to show hospitality to
each other, which again, all comes back

815
00:41:13,980 --> 00:41:18,210
to our love for one another, which is what
we need to be doing as we seek, not just

816
00:41:18,210 --> 00:41:19,650
to pass the time, but to redeem the time.

817
00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:22,080
It's not just about ourselves.

818
00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:22,770
That's our godliness.

819
00:41:22,770 --> 00:41:23,400
That's important.

820
00:41:23,490 --> 00:41:25,050
It's also about our love for one another.

821
00:41:26,160 --> 00:41:28,110
But then finally, Peter's
gonna turn it to the church.

822
00:41:29,024 --> 00:41:32,805
He's gonna say in, in redeeming the
time also looks like what you're

823
00:41:32,805 --> 00:41:36,495
doing here on Sunday mornings or on
Wednesday nights or wherever it may

824
00:41:36,495 --> 00:41:37,935
be, and that's where he goes next.

825
00:41:37,935 --> 00:41:42,435
In our passage, if you'll look ahead,
he continues in the next verse and

826
00:41:42,435 --> 00:41:47,354
he says this, Peter says, as each has
received a gift, use it to serve one

827
00:41:47,354 --> 00:41:53,055
another as good stewards of God's varied
grace, as each has received a gift.

828
00:41:53,055 --> 00:41:54,254
Paul says something similar.

829
00:41:54,254 --> 00:41:57,464
He says, God is app portioned
to each one as he wills a gift.

830
00:41:58,680 --> 00:42:02,370
And so you have a, a gift, you have
something to offer the church, and that's

831
00:42:02,370 --> 00:42:07,230
what we're to do with it, is he says, you
are to serve one another with this gift.

832
00:42:07,950 --> 00:42:11,160
Some of these gifts may be preexistent,
meaning you may be an accountant, you

833
00:42:11,160 --> 00:42:13,860
may have the gift of being really good
with spreadsheets and really good with

834
00:42:13,860 --> 00:42:16,860
numbers, and you're an accountant before
Christ and you're an accountant after

835
00:42:16,860 --> 00:42:20,160
Christ, but now all of a sudden your
ability to handle spreadsheets and

836
00:42:20,160 --> 00:42:24,000
numbers, God might use that and redeem
that to come alongside the church and

837
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,400
help the church with their finances,
their books, something like that.

838
00:42:27,075 --> 00:42:30,374
See, that's a gift that you already
had that now is redeemed to be used

839
00:42:30,374 --> 00:42:31,455
for a different purpose by the Lord.

840
00:42:32,084 --> 00:42:34,785
But then there's also times that
people receive gifts that they

841
00:42:34,785 --> 00:42:36,254
didn't possess before Christ.

842
00:42:36,825 --> 00:42:39,674
For example, maybe before you came to
Christ, you may have been an introvert

843
00:42:40,544 --> 00:42:42,705
and, and, and the thought of being
around other people and talking to

844
00:42:42,705 --> 00:42:48,555
them, just you're gave you hives
immediately, then you get saved.

845
00:42:49,350 --> 00:42:52,650
Now all of a sudden because of
salvation and because God gives you

846
00:42:52,650 --> 00:42:56,190
the gift of evangelism, you can't
wait to talk to anybody that you see

847
00:42:56,190 --> 00:42:57,630
that's got a pulse in a heartbeat.

848
00:42:58,410 --> 00:42:59,100
Those are the same thing.

849
00:42:59,370 --> 00:43:01,110
You can't wait to talk to whoever.

850
00:43:01,890 --> 00:43:04,020
You're like, I just wanna
talk to anybody about Jesus.

851
00:43:04,110 --> 00:43:05,220
And you're going, what change?

852
00:43:05,220 --> 00:43:09,030
Will God gave you a gift to
be used to serve the church?

853
00:43:09,270 --> 00:43:09,810
Specifically?

854
00:43:09,810 --> 00:43:12,930
Here we're talking about serving
one another, and he says, as as

855
00:43:12,930 --> 00:43:14,970
good stewards of God's varied grace.

856
00:43:15,479 --> 00:43:17,279
In other words, you've
been given a stewardship.

857
00:43:17,279 --> 00:43:19,140
A stewardship is a task to manage.

858
00:43:19,859 --> 00:43:21,240
God has given you something to care for.

859
00:43:21,240 --> 00:43:22,410
That's, that's his.

860
00:43:23,399 --> 00:43:25,919
Jesus tells multiple parables
about this, but he tells the

861
00:43:25,919 --> 00:43:27,749
parable, the, the talents, right?

862
00:43:27,749 --> 00:43:30,629
And they come back to the master
and they say, look, you, you gave me

863
00:43:30,629 --> 00:43:33,810
two and I've, I've made four, or you
gave me four and I've made eight.

864
00:43:33,930 --> 00:43:36,089
And the one says, well, you
gave me one and I was afraid

865
00:43:36,089 --> 00:43:37,890
that you'd be pretty exacting.

866
00:43:37,890 --> 00:43:39,359
So I just went ahead and buried it.

867
00:43:40,620 --> 00:43:44,819
And the master says, you're a, a horrible
steward with what I've given you.

868
00:43:45,509 --> 00:43:47,399
Church, let's make sure we're
not being horrible stewards of

869
00:43:47,399 --> 00:43:48,480
the gifts that God has given us.

870
00:43:49,020 --> 00:43:51,689
Part of our redemption of the time
that we have left before Christ comes

871
00:43:51,689 --> 00:43:55,259
back is what we're doing to serve one
another within the body of Christ.

872
00:43:56,129 --> 00:43:58,350
This again is our stewardship.

873
00:43:58,350 --> 00:44:01,020
We're gonna get into what he says next
in verse 11 here in just a moment.

874
00:44:01,290 --> 00:44:03,839
But our third and final point this
morning is this, tend to, that

875
00:44:03,839 --> 00:44:07,410
stewardship tend to your stewardship.

876
00:44:12,374 --> 00:44:16,214
In verse 11, Peter gives us two broad
categories of gifts, the speaking gifts

877
00:44:16,214 --> 00:44:19,515
and the serving gifts, and really all
of the different spiritual gifts that

878
00:44:19,515 --> 00:44:22,575
we find in scripture that we find in
the church can categorize themselves

879
00:44:22,575 --> 00:44:24,044
under one of those two umbrellas.

880
00:44:24,855 --> 00:44:27,195
Not that speaking is not
serving at the same time.

881
00:44:27,195 --> 00:44:29,535
But, but he identifies
these broad categories.

882
00:44:29,535 --> 00:44:31,395
And so the first one he says
is, are the speaking gifts?

883
00:44:31,395 --> 00:44:34,785
And he speaks to those that will
either teach, maybe it's in,

884
00:44:34,785 --> 00:44:36,585
in Ana or Ana Adventure club.

885
00:44:36,585 --> 00:44:38,205
Maybe it's in our kids men.

886
00:44:38,385 --> 00:44:40,575
Maybe it's in, uh, a men's Bible study.

887
00:44:40,575 --> 00:44:43,545
Maybe you're preaching on a Sunday
morning, and he says, whoever's speaking,

888
00:44:43,545 --> 00:44:46,575
you need to be sure that you're speaking
in accordance with the Oracles of God,

889
00:44:48,045 --> 00:44:50,235
the word of God, the messages of God.

890
00:44:50,535 --> 00:44:52,605
This does not imply that
the one who stands up and

891
00:44:52,605 --> 00:44:53,925
speaks brings new revelation.

892
00:44:54,735 --> 00:44:57,944
If you ever hear me say, Hey church,
I've got some new revelation for you.

893
00:44:57,944 --> 00:44:59,295
Get up and leave

894
00:45:01,575 --> 00:45:02,565
and stone me on the way out.

895
00:45:03,705 --> 00:45:05,025
That's not what this is saying.

896
00:45:05,085 --> 00:45:09,375
What this is saying is, whatever you
hear me speak needs to be in keeping

897
00:45:09,375 --> 00:45:12,255
with what you read on these pages, y'all.

898
00:45:12,259 --> 00:45:16,920
This is the authority, the, the man's not
the authority, the word's, the authority.

899
00:45:17,879 --> 00:45:21,210
So whatever I preach or whoever speaks,
or you're teaching in Adventure Club,

900
00:45:21,210 --> 00:45:22,470
you're teaching in kids' ministry.

901
00:45:22,649 --> 00:45:25,920
Your standard, what, what Peter's saying
here is if you're gonna effectively serve

902
00:45:25,920 --> 00:45:30,089
one another in that gift, is to make sure
that what you say lines up with the Bible.

903
00:45:31,410 --> 00:45:32,790
But then the second is those who serve.

904
00:45:32,790 --> 00:45:35,640
Those who serve not in their own strength,
but in the strength that God provides

905
00:45:36,210 --> 00:45:37,560
and the strength that God provides.

906
00:45:37,560 --> 00:45:39,450
We can show up and, and
we can say, well, look it.

907
00:45:39,450 --> 00:45:39,870
I'm here.

908
00:45:40,425 --> 00:45:41,535
I'm God's gift to the church.

909
00:45:41,535 --> 00:45:42,615
I'm able to do this.

910
00:45:42,615 --> 00:45:43,425
I've got a truck.

911
00:45:43,425 --> 00:45:45,225
You've been talking about
needing trucks to tow trailers.

912
00:45:45,465 --> 00:45:46,785
Have I got the truck for you?

913
00:45:46,785 --> 00:45:47,745
Look how great I am.

914
00:45:47,745 --> 00:45:49,575
I've got a truck I can
serve in my own strength.

915
00:45:50,085 --> 00:45:52,785
Or even if you are teaching, I
can do this in my own strength.

916
00:45:52,785 --> 00:45:55,245
I don't need anything else
and, and that's robbing.

917
00:45:55,825 --> 00:45:59,845
God of the glory that he's due, because
what's the intended end of all of these

918
00:45:59,845 --> 00:46:03,955
things in order that in everything
God might be glorified through Jesus.

919
00:46:04,464 --> 00:46:07,435
So when you come to serve the
church, y'all come praying.

920
00:46:07,435 --> 00:46:09,984
God, I pray that you would
strengthen me to be able to do this.

921
00:46:09,984 --> 00:46:12,625
I pray that I would depend upon
you to be able to do these things.

922
00:46:12,625 --> 00:46:15,384
I pray that you would equip me
to handle those situations that

923
00:46:15,384 --> 00:46:16,884
I'm not anticipating this week.

924
00:46:17,095 --> 00:46:20,305
I pray that you would help me overcome
my tiredness this week, and I pray

925
00:46:20,305 --> 00:46:22,705
ultimately that you would get all
of the glory through my labors and

926
00:46:22,705 --> 00:46:25,705
efforts for you as I show up to serve
my brothers and sisters in Christ.

927
00:46:26,805 --> 00:46:29,475
If somebody comes up and
wants to say, Hey, great job.

928
00:46:30,585 --> 00:46:32,865
Hey, thanks, but I'll
praise to God on that one.

929
00:46:33,855 --> 00:46:37,395
Redirect and deflect the praise
to the one who deserves it.

930
00:46:38,145 --> 00:46:40,365
The Lord, to him be
the glory and dominion.

931
00:46:40,365 --> 00:46:43,215
The word means power forever and ever.

932
00:46:43,965 --> 00:46:47,055
That Christ would be exalted and
God would glorify, be glorified,

933
00:46:47,055 --> 00:46:49,615
should be our aim in all of our
acts of service here in the church.

934
00:46:51,060 --> 00:46:55,589
We're getting ready to go to two services
and so our need for more people to serve

935
00:46:55,589 --> 00:46:59,339
is going to be there in ways that I'm
sure we're not even anticipating yet.

936
00:47:00,000 --> 00:47:03,149
And so lemme just invite you if you're
not serving in the church yet, that

937
00:47:03,149 --> 00:47:07,290
this is a great time to pray about that
and, and then to take action on that.

938
00:47:07,919 --> 00:47:09,299
You say, well, where do I go to serve?

939
00:47:09,299 --> 00:47:10,529
I'm so glad that you asked.

940
00:47:12,120 --> 00:47:14,250
He came prepared for, I
did come prepared for this.

941
00:47:14,850 --> 00:47:15,720
This is our webpage.

942
00:47:15,720 --> 00:47:16,080
You go there.

943
00:47:16,080 --> 00:47:17,250
This is our landing page that.

944
00:47:17,265 --> 00:47:20,025
An awkward looking guy in the green
shirt on the, the front there.

945
00:47:20,504 --> 00:47:23,055
But you'll notice up top that
thing that's, that's circled there.

946
00:47:23,055 --> 00:47:24,375
It's got a a, a note there.

947
00:47:24,375 --> 00:47:26,265
I think it even says serve there.

948
00:47:26,265 --> 00:47:28,125
So you can click on that dropdown menu.

949
00:47:28,125 --> 00:47:30,585
You'll click on that button
there that says Sign up to serve.

950
00:47:30,585 --> 00:47:33,525
It's gonna take you to this
page at the bottom of this page.

951
00:47:33,525 --> 00:47:36,015
There's another button there
'cause we like buttons.

952
00:47:36,550 --> 00:47:40,360
So you can click on that button and
that's gonna bring you to this form.

953
00:47:40,690 --> 00:47:43,450
This form is gonna say, where
do you think you can best serve?

954
00:47:43,450 --> 00:47:44,860
And there's a lot of
different options there.

955
00:47:44,860 --> 00:47:47,650
And there's even the option for
our underwater basket weaving

956
00:47:47,650 --> 00:47:48,820
enthusiast on the bottom.

957
00:47:49,120 --> 00:47:51,970
Do you have any other skills that you
think might be helpful to the church?

958
00:47:52,770 --> 00:47:55,229
There's a box underneath that
for you to, to, to say, well,

959
00:47:55,229 --> 00:47:56,549
I've done this in the past.

960
00:47:57,240 --> 00:47:58,859
We, we want you guys to serve.

961
00:47:58,890 --> 00:48:01,410
And so this is an opportunity for you to
say, well, I can do setup and tear down.

962
00:48:01,410 --> 00:48:04,109
I can do tech av, I can do kids
ministry, I can do welcome team, I can

963
00:48:04,109 --> 00:48:06,600
do parking, whatever that looks like.

964
00:48:06,600 --> 00:48:08,970
Some of those there,
there's some, some higher.

965
00:48:09,180 --> 00:48:11,879
You know, fences to before
you, you jump in there.

966
00:48:11,879 --> 00:48:14,549
Like kids ministry, we run background
checks 'cause we wanna make sure that

967
00:48:14,549 --> 00:48:18,540
we're putting the right people in there
and, and taking care of, of the kids well.

968
00:48:18,540 --> 00:48:20,970
But some of those tear
down setup, show up.

969
00:48:21,240 --> 00:48:21,540
Right.

970
00:48:22,259 --> 00:48:25,560
So this would be a great way for you
to, to, to take and apply some of the

971
00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:28,709
sermon this week is by jumping online
and, and signing up to serve with this.

972
00:48:29,730 --> 00:48:33,270
This is again, though ultimately about
redeeming the time that we have left

973
00:48:34,470 --> 00:48:35,665
redeeming the time that we have left.

974
00:48:36,899 --> 00:48:41,459
We want to tend to our ourselves in a
measure of this, our, our godliness,

975
00:48:41,459 --> 00:48:42,720
your holiness before the Lord.

976
00:48:43,290 --> 00:48:45,689
That's such an important way for you
to redeem the time that you have left,

977
00:48:45,689 --> 00:48:48,330
to make sure that you are living self
controlled and sober minded in this world.

978
00:48:49,499 --> 00:48:51,509
You also want to tend to
your relationships with one

979
00:48:51,509 --> 00:48:52,410
another, with other believers.

980
00:48:52,410 --> 00:48:56,310
Your love for one another in the church,
which again, is, is so important because

981
00:48:56,310 --> 00:48:59,339
it's an expression of your understanding
of the love that God has shown you.

982
00:49:00,810 --> 00:49:03,269
And then finally, you want
to tend to the church itself.

983
00:49:03,269 --> 00:49:04,665
You wanna serve Christ's bride.

984
00:49:05,939 --> 00:49:06,330
You're here.

985
00:49:07,620 --> 00:49:09,899
We're not here just to, to pass the time.

986
00:49:11,100 --> 00:49:15,419
Eventually, your name's going
to be called, God's gonna

987
00:49:15,419 --> 00:49:19,439
say, pj, uh, party of one.

988
00:49:19,439 --> 00:49:20,580
Your eternity is ready,

989
00:49:22,740 --> 00:49:28,410
and I'm gonna have to go, and the question
I'm asking myself and I need to constantly

990
00:49:28,410 --> 00:49:29,729
be asking myself is, am I ready?

991
00:49:31,560 --> 00:49:32,069
Am I ready?

992
00:49:32,729 --> 00:49:34,350
Am I ready to be with my savior?

993
00:49:35,400 --> 00:49:38,880
Have I been redeeming my time, such
that when I stand before him, I'm not

994
00:49:38,880 --> 00:49:43,470
gonna be ashamed of the time that he
gave me to use, but I'll stand there

995
00:49:43,470 --> 00:49:44,700
and I'll hear him say, well done.

996
00:49:44,700 --> 00:49:45,600
Good and faithful servant.

997
00:49:46,170 --> 00:49:47,400
Enter into the joy of your master.

998
00:49:49,020 --> 00:49:53,280
And so as we gather together, as we wait
for the return of Christ, we want to

999
00:49:53,280 --> 00:49:55,560
redeem the time, not just pass the time.

1000
00:49:56,370 --> 00:49:56,790
Let's pray.

1001
00:50:00,060 --> 00:50:01,980
Lord, I pray that you
would help us to do that.

1002
00:50:01,980 --> 00:50:06,540
I pray that you would help us to
live lives that are focused more

1003
00:50:06,540 --> 00:50:11,910
on eternity with you than, uh, the
present life that we live right now.

1004
00:50:11,970 --> 00:50:16,590
I pray that you'd guard us against
being distracted or taken off course

1005
00:50:16,590 --> 00:50:19,200
by all the trappings of this world
and the things that they offer us and

1006
00:50:19,200 --> 00:50:20,965
the things that they hold out as, as.

1007
00:50:21,780 --> 00:50:23,070
Something that will satisfy us.

1008
00:50:23,070 --> 00:50:25,980
But God, I, I pray that you would
help us to see through those

1009
00:50:25,980 --> 00:50:29,370
things, and instead to live lives of
self-control and sober mindedness.

1010
00:50:29,370 --> 00:50:30,480
Ready for your return.

1011
00:50:31,050 --> 00:50:34,710
God, make us the church characterized
by love, characterized by relationships

1012
00:50:34,710 --> 00:50:37,230
with each other that go deeper
than a Sunday morning conversation.

1013
00:50:37,770 --> 00:50:39,600
Help us to be hospitable Christians.

1014
00:50:40,275 --> 00:50:42,825
God help us to serve one another
faithfully as well with the gifts

1015
00:50:42,825 --> 00:50:44,265
that you've given all for your glory.

1016
00:50:44,265 --> 00:50:45,435
We pray this in Jesus name.