1 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:08,200 Thank you for listening to Riverbend Church's podcast. 2 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,560 To find out more about this message or Riverbend Church, 3 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:14,920 connect with us online at Riverbend Church dot live. 4 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:24,720 That was a video, just a snapshot of what our student and 5 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:26,960 student, students and student ministry have gone through this 6 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:30,560 past weekend. Got to experience through United 7 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,120 Weekend. If you were a part of United 8 00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,960 Weekend, whether it's a student, a host, home transportation, 9 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,560 helping with some of our serve teams, food teams, if you would 10 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,040 just slip it, slip up your hand really quick. 11 00:00:45,640 --> 00:00:51,280 A lot of them are downstairs. Thank you so much on behalf of 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:52,800 the rest of us. We are tired. 13 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:58,680 On behalf of you, thank you again so much for serving. 14 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,640 Right now our students are downstairs eating breakfast. 15 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:08,000 Our host homes are probably getting a quick nap in. 16 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:11,720 Small group leaders are probably still running on adrenaline. 17 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,000 But we can't wait just to hear about everything that God has 18 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,720 done in and through our students and our families out of this 19 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,560 weekend. So always an awesome privilege 20 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,120 of being a part of a church that gathers along with gathers 21 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:29,840 alongside other churches in our community, in our area, just to 22 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:34,720 come together and just lift Jesus high, proclaim his word 23 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:40,360 and just lead students into into a word of encouragement into a 24 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:44,520 deeper relationship with God. So we'll be hearing more about 25 00:01:44,520 --> 00:01:46,960 United Weekend. Couple things that I do want to 26 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:51,360 kind of put on your radar is believe it or not, Easter is 27 00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:54,960 actually rapidly approaching. I want to kind of put on your 28 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:56,640 radar. There's some things that are 29 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:00,320 coming up to get you to go ahead and pencil in on your calendars 30 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,760 for Easter week, Easter week, Easter Riverbend. 31 00:02:03,760 --> 00:02:07,120 We're going to have a Good Friday service on Friday, April 32 00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:11,800 3rd at 5:30 in this room. Just a really powerful time to 33 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:16,080 where we come together and just really take a look at everything 34 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:20,160 that Jesus went through for us. If you're here with us last year 35 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:22,120 and we went, we did a Good Friday service. 36 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,720 You know what a powerful time and a powerful experience that 37 00:02:25,720 --> 00:02:27,440 was. So that's going to be that 38 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:30,280 Friday. Also on Saturday, the following 39 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:36,120 day, April 4th at 5:30, we're doing a special volunteer Easter 40 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:39,000 service back in this room. We're going to be doing the 41 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:42,200 exact same thing on Saturday night as we're going to be doing 42 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,480 on the following morning that Easter morning. 43 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:49,560 The reason that we're doing this is because we need help serving 44 00:02:49,560 --> 00:02:51,720 our community, serving all the people that are going to be 45 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:54,640 coming onto our campus for Easter. 46 00:02:55,080 --> 00:02:58,440 We need help in volunteers in our various ministry areas. 47 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,400 And you're going to be here more about that next week. 48 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:06,200 But we want to provide a special Easter service for you, the 49 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:10,120 volunteers, and that's going to be on Saturday, April 4th from 50 00:03:10,520 --> 00:03:13,800 at 5:30. We're going to have child care 51 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:17,760 from birth to to three-year olds for that service. 52 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:21,160 And then of course, on Easter Sunday morning, that's going to 53 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:23,600 be on April 5th where it falls on the calendar. 54 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:27,400 We'll have our 9:30 and our 11th service with overflow in our 55 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:29,720 both of our Little River and river kids environments. 56 00:03:29,960 --> 00:03:33,600 We'll be open and really looking forward to being able to pour 57 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:36,920 into pour into your kids. So really excited about 58 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:39,400 everything that that God has teed up for us. 59 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:43,840 Also next week we're going to be starting a brand new series 60 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,200 called Borrowed, Borrowed. And here's the gist of the 61 00:03:47,200 --> 00:03:50,120 series. In Scripture, we see Jesus 62 00:03:50,120 --> 00:03:54,120 borrowing 5 things. He borrowed a boat, He borrowed 63 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:55,680 some bread, He borrowed a donkey. 64 00:03:55,680 --> 00:03:57,960 He borrowed a room, and he borrowed a tomb. 65 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:00,240 And we're going to come back together next week and we're 66 00:04:00,240 --> 00:04:03,880 going to find out the significance of not only why he 67 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:07,000 borrowed those things, but what it actually means to you and I. 68 00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:10,840 That's going to lead us through through this Easter season. 69 00:04:10,840 --> 00:04:15,240 But as excited as I am about that series starting, I'm really 70 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:18,560 excited about being able to close out the series that we've 71 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:23,640 been in kicking since the very beginning of 2026, our Live Well 72 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:25,520 series. So if you were with us 73 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:29,840 throughout this series, it's been a non week journey. 74 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:32,760 It's a series that took us through our 21 days of prayer 75 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,360 and fasting. If there's any part of the 76 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:38,360 series that that you weren't able to pick up or maybe you're 77 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,280 just new to Riverbend, we would highly encourage you to go back 78 00:04:42,280 --> 00:04:44,120 and kind of listen through where we've been. 79 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:48,240 You can access that through the Riverbend Church app or our 80 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,640 website or our YouTube channel or wherever you may listen to 81 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:55,560 podcasts. But it's, I hope that it's 82 00:04:55,560 --> 00:05:00,640 really been a time to where you've been encouraged through 83 00:05:00,640 --> 00:05:05,600 God's word that you, that you may have received a challenge to 84 00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:09,280 grow deeper and experience God in a, in a, in a more real way 85 00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:12,000 in your life. Maybe, maybe for you, it's been 86 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:16,600 a it's been really a series about the hope that can only 87 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:21,040 come through Jesus. As you know, if you've been with 88 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:24,520 us throughout this series, we've been allowing a small book 89 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:28,720 that's at the end of your Bible book called first Peter to be 90 00:05:28,720 --> 00:05:32,280 our God throughout this Bible. And even though it's a small 91 00:05:32,280 --> 00:05:36,600 book in size, it's absolutely just jam packed with some 92 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,840 incredible, applicable and awesome truth that God has for 93 00:05:40,840 --> 00:05:44,040 us. So if you're, if you're new to 94 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,520 Riverbend, you're new to this series, I want to introduce you 95 00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:50,520 to the main truth or what we've been calling the big idea 96 00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:52,400 throughout the series. If you've been with us, this 97 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,360 would be one last time to walk through this big idea. 98 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,400 And it's to live well. It's to live God's way, firm in 99 00:05:58,400 --> 00:06:02,040 faith, steady in trials, and anchored in hope to live well. 100 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:04,880 And, and this is the overall premise or the gist of the 101 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:08,360 series. God actually created you. 102 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:11,520 He loves you, and he desires his ultimate good for you. 103 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:15,520 For every single one of us. He desires that we live well. 104 00:06:15,760 --> 00:06:19,640 And the disconnect between God's definition of of living well and 105 00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:23,360 our definition of living well is often our definition involves 106 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:25,280 God giving us everything that we want. 107 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:29,520 Yet, however, when we look at God's word, we discover that God 108 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,760 actually loves us way too much to do that to us. 109 00:06:32,960 --> 00:06:37,240 He wants he he knows that our best definition of living well 110 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:41,160 is for you and I to live out to become the man or woman that he 111 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,600 created us to be. So life is going to be a 112 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,880 constant refining and a dependence on him and, and, and 113 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:52,840 a growing in relationship with him and, and, and out of that 114 00:06:52,840 --> 00:06:55,760 growing in relationship, there is a love and a peace and a 115 00:06:55,840 --> 00:06:59,200 patience and, and, and a mercy and A and a gentleness and a 116 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:04,120 kindness that can only come from an experience with him, from a 117 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:08,200 relationship with him. Like I said, we've been going 118 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:12,040 through the book of First Peter, and this morning we're going to 119 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,560 end that journey in First Peter with a passage that I would tell 120 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,000 you that if there's one passage in the entire book that I would 121 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,240 encourage you to highlight, underline, memorize, and dig 122 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:26,360 deeper into is the passage that we're going to walk through this 123 00:07:26,360 --> 00:07:28,160 morning. It's found in First Peter 124 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,560 chapter 5. So if you have a Bible and just 125 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:32,000 invite you to make your way there. 126 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:35,680 If you don't have a Bible, then no worries, it's on the top of 127 00:07:35,680 --> 00:07:38,560 your note sheet. Whether it's the hard copy note 128 00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:40,680 sheet that you were handing on your way in or maybe you're 129 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:44,120 taking notes with us on the on the Riverbend Church app, it's 130 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:46,680 there as well and it's going to be on the screen. 131 00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:48,680 So with that said, here's what I want to do. 132 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:50,640 Let's go ahead and read it together. 133 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:54,960 Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God so 134 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:59,600 that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your 135 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,480 anxieties on him because he cares for you. 136 00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:06,120 Be sober minded. Be your adversary. 137 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:10,600 The devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to 138 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:12,800 devour. Peter goes on. 139 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,680 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of 140 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:19,760 suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout 141 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:21,760 the world. And after you have suffered a 142 00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,800 little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his 143 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,240 eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, 144 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:30,840 strengthen, and establish you to Him. 145 00:08:30,840 --> 00:08:33,840 Be the dominion forever and ever. 146 00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:38,240 A So here's what I want to do. I want to jump straight in and I 147 00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:40,360 want us to look at. There are three distinct 148 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:45,080 promises that God gives us in this passage of Scripture. 149 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:47,400 If you're taking notes with us, here's the first one. 150 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:51,960 The more I humble myself before God, the more He can do through 151 00:08:51,960 --> 00:08:54,520 me. The more I humble myself before 152 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:57,960 God, the more He can do through me. 153 00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:00,440 Now here's the thing about humility. 154 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:04,520 Humility is always a journey. It's never really a destination. 155 00:09:04,880 --> 00:09:08,200 And what I mean by that is there will never be a point in time to 156 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:11,880 where we can look at ourselves in the mirror and honestly be 157 00:09:11,880 --> 00:09:15,560 able to say, hey, after all this time and after all this hard 158 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:20,400 work, I'm finally humble. That's just a complete oxymoron. 159 00:09:20,560 --> 00:09:23,760 There'll never be a point in time to where we say, listen, I 160 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:28,920 have arrived. I am humble is not how humility 161 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:32,680 humility works right? Here's the thing about humility 162 00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:35,160 though. Humility is not walking around 163 00:09:35,160 --> 00:09:37,520 with a lesser than type of attitude. 164 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,320 It's walking around with and it's living with a all the cause 165 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:46,560 of God type of attitude. Humility is this intentional 166 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:52,000 daily commitment to empty myself of self so that I can make more 167 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,600 room for God to fill me and for God to use me. 168 00:09:55,960 --> 00:09:59,440 You see, the more I am emptied of self and the more that I am 169 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,760 filled with God, then I begin to understand that I am an 170 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,280 instrument in God's hand and you're an instrument in God's 171 00:10:07,280 --> 00:10:09,280 hand. And that means that God can use 172 00:10:09,280 --> 00:10:13,280 you however He wants to use you where he wants to use and when 173 00:10:13,280 --> 00:10:16,640 He wants to use you. You see, if you really want to 174 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:20,280 be used by God, if you really want to be able to look back 175 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:23,400 over your life and go listen, there were a lot of UPS, there 176 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:25,320 were a lot of downs. There were a lot of failings 177 00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:27,520 there. There were a lot of mistakes in 178 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:31,440 my life. But I can say that I was used by 179 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,160 God. If you really want to be used by 180 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:39,040 God, it has got to start with an attitude of humility. 181 00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:43,080 It's got to start with the intentional emptying yourself of 182 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:47,000 self so that you may be filled more with Him. 183 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:51,520 Second promise that Peter gives us in this The more I cast my 184 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:57,000 anxieties on God, the more I rest in His care for me. 185 00:10:57,640 --> 00:11:02,120 The more I cast my anxieties on God, the more I can rest on His 186 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:03,800 care for me. I want you to check out what 187 00:11:03,800 --> 00:11:08,160 Peter says very commonly used or known verse casting all your 188 00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:10,920 anxieties or or stresses or cares. 189 00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,200 Many translations say cares casting all your cares or 190 00:11:14,200 --> 00:11:19,520 anxieties on him because he because God cares for you, 191 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:24,120 because God cares for you. There's 2 words that we cannot 192 00:11:24,120 --> 00:11:26,960 casually skip over the first one. 193 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,280 If you're taking notes on our note sheet, I'd encourage you to 194 00:11:29,280 --> 00:11:32,880 circle the word casting. Circle that word casting. 195 00:11:33,480 --> 00:11:36,480 The reason I want you to circle that word casting is we know 196 00:11:36,480 --> 00:11:38,920 that the Greek or that the Bible, the New Testament was 197 00:11:38,920 --> 00:11:42,920 written in the Greek language. The Greek word that Peter uses. 198 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:45,680 There is a word that's called aparrypto. 199 00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:53,640 Aparrypto literally means to heave upon or to hurl and it 200 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:59,320 signifies like an actual throwing, forceful throwing act. 201 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:05,640 This word aparipto casting is used only twice in the in the 202 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:07,120 New Testament. It's used only twice in the 203 00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:09,560 entire Bible. The first one is found in Luke 204 00:12:09,560 --> 00:12:14,600 chapter 19, and it describes someone throwing a heavy blanket 205 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:19,240 on the back of a donkey. And the second one is used here 206 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:22,880 in first Peter 57. You may say, OK, Ben, what's the 207 00:12:22,880 --> 00:12:25,560 big deal? Here's the big deal. 208 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,960 I think that a lot of times when we think about casting all of 209 00:12:29,960 --> 00:12:34,360 our care, casting all of our anxiety on God, it's almost this 210 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:41,440 like soft, like gentle, like offering up to God. 211 00:12:41,440 --> 00:12:43,640 God, you know that this is what I'm going through. 212 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:45,960 Would you please take it from me? 213 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:50,040 And what Peter's telling us is, no, no, no, it's not this like 214 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:54,040 soft, gentle offering to God. It is a hurling. 215 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:58,560 It is a heaving. There is a deep emotional, even 216 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:03,040 guttural sense of desperation. God, this is what I'm dealing 217 00:13:03,040 --> 00:13:05,080 with. You know that I'm dealing with 218 00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:07,440 it. I can't do anything with it but 219 00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:09,160 you can. You take it? 220 00:13:09,680 --> 00:13:16,240 And it is a throwing what is on your mind and on your heart own 221 00:13:16,240 --> 00:13:20,200 to God. That is not only the invitation 222 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,960 of God, that is the instruction of God. 223 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:27,040 It is not just this peaceful like God. 224 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:31,560 You take it, it, it this is not going to make some like it's not 225 00:13:31,560 --> 00:13:34,880 going to be like some Pinterest post with like a waterfall in 226 00:13:34,880 --> 00:13:37,920 the background and A and a butterfly gently landing on a 227 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:41,920 flower type of imagery. This is deep guttural. 228 00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:47,560 You take it, take it. God throwing it at God, that is 229 00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:51,480 casting all your cares, all your anxieties. 230 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:54,960 Second word, I want you to underline or to circle. 231 00:13:55,200 --> 00:13:56,760 Is that second word all? All? 232 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:00,320 You're going to be like, Ben, are we going to do this for 233 00:14:00,320 --> 00:14:03,680 every word? No, I think it's really 234 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:05,920 important that we do it for these first 2 words though. 235 00:14:06,640 --> 00:14:12,160 All is the Greek word Pisan. The sun is used all throughout 236 00:14:12,200 --> 00:14:13,680 the Bible. She used all throughout the New 237 00:14:13,680 --> 00:14:19,560 Testament. It means every, all, the whole, 238 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:22,880 and it signifies leaving nothing behind. 239 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:28,120 Here's why it's so important that we don't casually Passover. 240 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:32,840 The word all is if it is big enough. 241 00:14:33,120 --> 00:14:37,120 If your stress, your care, your anxiety is big enough to weigh 242 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:40,120 on your heart, to weigh on your mind, it's big enough to hurl on 243 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:42,760 God. There's nothing too small. 244 00:14:42,920 --> 00:14:45,840 There's nothing too minute for our Heavenly Father. 245 00:14:46,320 --> 00:14:49,080 He wants you to give it all to Him. 246 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,120 All the whole, every. Leaving nothing behind 247 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:54,960 designates that. Listen. 248 00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:59,600 Not only is humility emptying our self of self, but this whole 249 00:14:59,600 --> 00:15:03,600 issue of casting all your anxieties, all your cares on him 250 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:06,920 because he cares for you is leave nothing behind. 251 00:15:07,160 --> 00:15:11,720 Give it all to him. Empty yourself of that stress. 252 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,200 Cast it all on him because he cares for you. 253 00:15:15,600 --> 00:15:17,920 This comes back to that second key point. 254 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:22,920 The degree to which I cast, I throw, I hurl. 255 00:15:23,200 --> 00:15:27,360 All that it makes me anxious, all that weighs on my heart, on 256 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:29,360 my mind. The things that wake me up in 257 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:31,680 the middle of the night, the things that keep me up at night, 258 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:34,920 the things that start my day off in the morning, that are 259 00:15:34,920 --> 00:15:37,920 constantly on my mind and weighing on my heart. 260 00:15:38,240 --> 00:15:41,440 Those things, the degree to which I cast, I hurl. 261 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:45,440 Those things to God is the same degree to which I will be able 262 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:49,680 to experience rest all the cause of God. 263 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:54,760 I will be able to experience peace all the cause of God. 264 00:15:55,520 --> 00:16:00,480 So the second promise that Peter has for us is the degree that I 265 00:16:00,480 --> 00:16:04,120 cast all my cares on him, my anxieties on him is the is the 266 00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:08,520 same degree to which I will be able to able to experience peace 267 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,680 from God. Third, promise that he has for 268 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:14,920 us. The more I can live wide awake, 269 00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,480 the more I can resist my enemy's attacks. 270 00:16:18,760 --> 00:16:23,560 The more I can live wide awake, the more I can resist my enemy's 271 00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:28,760 attacks. I want you to look back. 272 00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:32,160 Look back with me first, Peter, chapter 5, starting in verse 8. 273 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:36,120 Be sober minded, be watchful. Your adversary of the devil 274 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:40,640 prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. 275 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:46,400 Resist him firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of 276 00:16:46,400 --> 00:16:50,080 suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout 277 00:16:50,080 --> 00:16:53,280 the world. This passage that that's 278 00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:57,120 probably one of the like I said, verses 6 through 11, probably 279 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:01,680 with the most the most key verses, the most key passage in 280 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:05,599 the entire book of first Peter. Here's why this is so important 281 00:17:05,599 --> 00:17:08,359 for us to remember. Living Wide awake is 282 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:12,960 understanding that you and I, that we are under attack, that 283 00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:15,040 we face spiritual attack every day. 284 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:18,480 And here's what I see as your pastor, and you probably see 285 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:20,760 this too, You've probably experienced this here. 286 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:24,839 Kind of the two trappings that I see happening when we challenge 287 00:17:24,839 --> 00:17:29,320 people to kind of live wide awake is either a, we fall into 288 00:17:29,320 --> 00:17:34,400 the trap of downplaying the spiritual attacks in our lives. 289 00:17:34,400 --> 00:17:38,520 And when we downplay it, maybe we're just ignoring it or, or 290 00:17:38,520 --> 00:17:41,080 maybe we just choose not to acknowledge that there's 291 00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:43,400 spiritual attacks. Maybe maybe you're new to 292 00:17:43,400 --> 00:17:46,200 church, maybe you're with us in the room or with us online and 293 00:17:46,200 --> 00:17:49,120 you're new to, to, to coming to church and you're new to the 294 00:17:49,120 --> 00:17:50,800 things of God and to, to Scripture. 295 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,040 You're, you're truly just seeking truth. 296 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:57,200 So when you hear me say that, listen, we are under spiritual 297 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,360 attack, there may be a little bit of skepticism that's going 298 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:02,200 on in your mind or your heart right now. 299 00:18:03,120 --> 00:18:05,800 And if there's skepticism and you're, you're downplaying 300 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:08,600 spiritual attack. Here's what ends up happening. 301 00:18:09,040 --> 00:18:14,040 Here's what ends up happening is we get stuck, we get stuck out 302 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:18,520 of ignorance, we get stuck out of ignorance in this spiritual 303 00:18:18,520 --> 00:18:21,240 attack. And if we're stuck out of 304 00:18:21,240 --> 00:18:24,840 ignorance, the the, the problem with us downplaying or getting 305 00:18:24,840 --> 00:18:28,880 stuck out of ignorance is it's really difficult to defeat an 306 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:31,640 enemy that we refuse to acknowledge. 307 00:18:32,640 --> 00:18:35,320 The second trapping that I see happening all the time is not 308 00:18:35,320 --> 00:18:38,800 just a a downplaying, but it's actually the other extreme. 309 00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:44,160 It is a being overwhelmed by all the attacks that we see going on 310 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:47,360 around us by by by by the destruction that we see by the 311 00:18:47,360 --> 00:18:52,360 results of sin that we see. Maybe for you over these over 312 00:18:52,360 --> 00:18:57,400 the past day or so, you've just been overwhelmed by, by the news 313 00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:01,600 of, of, you know, we're on the verge or not on the verge, but 314 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:07,320 we've committed to another war in, in, in Iran and, and what is 315 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:09,800 that going to mean? And, you know, we're, we're kind 316 00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:13,680 of glued to, to our TV's and we're glued to, to YouTube. 317 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:17,000 And we want to know kind of what, what the experts are 318 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:21,120 saying about that. And on top of all that, we're, 319 00:19:21,120 --> 00:19:26,160 we're navigating maybe some brokenness in, in, in, in, in 320 00:19:26,160 --> 00:19:29,080 some relationships, maybe some friendships that we have that 321 00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:32,160 that sin has taken a toll on those relationships. 322 00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:34,920 Maybe we have somebody that's really close to us that that is 323 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:38,520 enslaved or in, chained in chains through, through 324 00:19:38,520 --> 00:19:41,880 addiction. And we just everywhere we look, 325 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,720 we see the catastrophe, we see the shrapnel of sin and 326 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:47,480 destruction and spiritual attack. 327 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:51,080 And we we sit there and go, God, what in the world can we do? 328 00:19:51,760 --> 00:19:55,720 And we become stuck because we're paralysed by fear. 329 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:58,360 And here's the problem with being stuck because we're 330 00:19:58,360 --> 00:20:01,600 paralysed by fear. It's hard to live victoriously 331 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:06,160 in a battle that you are aren't convinced isn't already lost. 332 00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:09,520 It's hard to live victoriously when you look at the world 333 00:20:09,520 --> 00:20:12,040 around you and all you see is is lost. 334 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,800 So whether or not we're paralysed out of ignorance or 335 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:19,080 we're paralysed out of overwhelm, stuck is stuck. 336 00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:25,240 And stuck makes us a sitting target for our enemy. 337 00:20:26,440 --> 00:20:29,480 But here's the thing. Living wide awake, that's 338 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:33,840 incredibly important. Awareness, alertness, all 339 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:38,960 incredibly important. But that's not where it ends. 340 00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:42,280 I want to get you to look at your note sheet with me. 341 00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:46,240 There are two names. There are two names on your note 342 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:50,400 sheet, George Eliot Junior and Joseph Lockhart, George Elliott 343 00:20:50,400 --> 00:20:53,080 Junior and Joseph Locker. My guess is you have no idea who 344 00:20:53,080 --> 00:20:55,680 they are or who they, who they were. 345 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:57,080 Let me kind of tell you their story. 346 00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:00,600 These two guys, they, they were US servicemen. 347 00:21:01,080 --> 00:21:05,440 They were stationed together and and their their post was kind of 348 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:09,200 a kind of a mundane it, it was kind of an easy post. 349 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:12,240 It wasn't kind of out in the field marching, but they were 350 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:14,360 stationed at a, at a, at a radar. 351 00:21:14,360 --> 00:21:19,640 Their post was a radar station. So their job on their shift was 352 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,400 just very mundane. You would even say pretty 353 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:24,560 boring. They were just looking at a 354 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:27,800 radar screen all day during during their shift. 355 00:21:27,800 --> 00:21:31,480 They were looking at a radar screen day in, day out, just 356 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:34,920 looking at this screen. One morning, however, right 357 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,720 before their shift ended, these two guys, they started noticing 358 00:21:37,720 --> 00:21:42,680 what they described as a strange quote UN quote blip on their 359 00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,800 screen. So following protocol, they 360 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,440 reported this strange massive blip that that came across their 361 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:51,280 radar screen. They reported up the chain of 362 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:54,000 command and their superior officer. 363 00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:58,720 He kind of chalked that strange massive blip up to, oh, those 364 00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:03,600 just must be US planes flying in the vicinity of of our of our 365 00:22:03,600 --> 00:22:06,400 base. Unfortunately for him and 366 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:10,640 everyone around him, that officer could not have been more 367 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:15,520 dead wrong. You see, what ensued over the 368 00:22:15,520 --> 00:22:21,280 next few minutes was one of the greatest attacks on US, on U.S. 369 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:24,960 forces in our hit in our nation's history. 370 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:28,360 You see the time of the morning that these two guys detected 371 00:22:28,360 --> 00:22:32,240 this blip on the radar screen. It was 7:55 AM. 372 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:38,360 The date was December 7th, 1941, and the location was Pearl 373 00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:43,040 Harbor. The 2 numbers that you see out 374 00:22:43,040 --> 00:22:48,000 beside those two guys names, over 2400 US servicemen died in 375 00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:52,280 that attack and well over 1000 US servicemen they were. 376 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:54,920 They were injured in that attack. 377 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:56,640 Why? Because there wasn't an 378 00:22:56,640 --> 00:22:58,560 awareness or there wasn't an alertness? 379 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:01,600 No, there's awareness and there was an alertness. 380 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:06,640 There just was no action. Listen to me very closely. 381 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:11,800 It is not enough for us to acknowledge that we are facing 382 00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:15,000 attack. There also has to be action. 383 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,880 There has to be a plan of action that goes along with that 384 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:21,520 attack. Here's what, here's what we 385 00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:23,920 know. We know that Satan and the 386 00:23:23,920 --> 00:23:29,320 forces of hell has the same strategy or has the same goal 387 00:23:29,480 --> 00:23:32,960 for every single person. And it's a 2 fold goal number 388 00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:37,440 one, to keep every single person from a from a relationship, a 389 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:39,200 personal relationship with Jesus. 390 00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:45,240 If if they fail at that mission, if they fail at that mission, 391 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:49,800 then they go into phase two. Phase two of the strategy is it 392 00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:55,480 goes something like this. Make sin look normal and make 393 00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:59,680 righteousness look weird. Do you see that playing out in 394 00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:02,960 our culture? Make sin look normal and make 395 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:06,200 righteousness look weird. Even though that's the same 396 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:12,280 strategy for every single one of us in the room and online, the 397 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:16,600 individual tactics will look differently for each and every 398 00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:18,240 one of us. You see, every single one of us, 399 00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:21,320 we are facing spiritual attack, but that doesn't mean that we 400 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:24,360 have to be vulnerable to that spiritual attack. 401 00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:26,560 Here's what I want to encourage us to do. 402 00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:31,920 I want to, I want to just take a moment to where we kind of just 403 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:41,320 tune out everything else around us, everyone else around us, and 404 00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:45,320 just take a moment just between US and God. 405 00:24:47,680 --> 00:24:50,400 And when we talk about these spiritual attacks and we're, 406 00:24:50,400 --> 00:24:53,680 we're about to walk through three major questions that every 407 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:57,720 single one of us in the room and online that we have to answer if 408 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:03,040 we don't want to be bait. I think it's very important that 409 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:06,960 we're not only honest, but then we also are very attuned to the 410 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:11,240 voice of the Holy Spirit and helping us to formulate a plan 411 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:14,000 of action, an action plan against these attacks. 412 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:20,760 And what I mean by action plan is specifics, passages or verses 413 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:25,960 of the Bible that can be wielded against the attacks that we face 414 00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:31,440 or, or or maybe for, for for you, maybe it is being able to 415 00:25:31,440 --> 00:25:38,920 pray specific prayers to God against these attacks, rather 416 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:43,240 than just the canned bless the gift and the giver type of 417 00:25:43,240 --> 00:25:47,280 prayers. So if you're taking notes with 418 00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:51,160 us, there's a section on your note sheet that says under 419 00:25:51,160 --> 00:25:54,160 attack. And I want to walk you through 420 00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:56,920 three questions that every single one of us that we need to 421 00:25:56,920 --> 00:26:00,360 really answer. And it's really A2 fold thing. 422 00:26:00,360 --> 00:26:03,240 It's an acknowledgement and an action plan. 423 00:26:03,920 --> 00:26:05,760 Here's the first question we've got to ask. 424 00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:11,800 How am I being attacked? How am I specifically? 425 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:16,160 You've got to start, we've got to start with a personal how am 426 00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,800 I being attacked? I want to read for you several 427 00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:23,600 attacks that are coming against us and I, I just want to see 428 00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,160 we're not going to like, I'm not asking that you raise your hand 429 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:29,400 or, or shout out or certainly don't point at the person next 430 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:33,120 to you. But I just want to see if, if, 431 00:26:33,200 --> 00:26:37,000 if one of these attacks, if you would sit there and go, then 432 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:38,800 that's, that's how I'm being attacked. 433 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:43,560 And, and if it is just to jot that out beside and, and if I 434 00:26:43,560 --> 00:26:45,840 don't mention how you're being attacked, but you know how 435 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:48,640 you're being attacked, just jot that out to the side. 436 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:52,520 Here's the first one. How am I being attacked? 437 00:26:53,720 --> 00:26:58,960 It could be isolation, a sense that you're all alone 438 00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:06,760 comparison, discontentment. Maybe for maybe for you, the 439 00:27:06,760 --> 00:27:12,360 attack is coming from the realm of like sexual sin, and that 440 00:27:12,360 --> 00:27:16,240 applies for men and women. Maybe there's a self 441 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:19,880 centeredness that you feel that it that it that is set in. 442 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:23,600 Maybe there's a sense of entitlement. 443 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:30,960 Maybe there's a pervasive fear. Maybe for you, it's, it's an, 444 00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:34,720 it's an addiction. It's an addiction either to a 445 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:39,120 substance or maybe even addiction to your, to your 446 00:27:39,120 --> 00:27:44,120 phone. Maybe there's been a deep seated 447 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:51,920 bitterness that has set in. How, how am I being attacked? 448 00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:55,760 Is it is one of the things that we just mentioned that I just 449 00:27:55,760 --> 00:27:59,280 walked through, is that a, is that how you're being attacked? 450 00:27:59,840 --> 00:28:02,800 I think it's really important that we acknowledge how we're 451 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:05,040 attacked. And then only when we're 452 00:28:05,040 --> 00:28:07,680 truthful about the acknowledgement that then can we 453 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:10,920 form a plan of action. Here's the second question. 454 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:16,360 How's my family being attacked? How's my family being attacked? 455 00:28:20,120 --> 00:28:26,600 It could be anxiety or busyness, maybe for your family, maybe 456 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:30,320 it's the the temptation to make an idol out of your kids. 457 00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,160 And what I mean by that it's it's making your world revolve 458 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:40,280 around them. Maybe all that comes with with 459 00:28:40,280 --> 00:28:43,240 addiction to to our phones or electronics. 460 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:46,880 Maybe your family's being attacked with feelings of not 461 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:50,680 being enough. Maybe there's an over ambition 462 00:28:50,680 --> 00:28:55,360 of of career path to where family is always getting 463 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:59,200 shortchanged. Maybe it's materialism. 464 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:06,840 How about mental illness? Is your family being attacked 465 00:29:07,280 --> 00:29:11,120 through mental illness or apathy towards the future? 466 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:15,480 Is the attack coming in the realm of of finances? 467 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:20,080 Again, I think it's really important that we acknowledge 468 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:23,840 where the attack is coming. What is the attack that's coming 469 00:29:23,840 --> 00:29:27,240 against my family? And then I can formulate a plan 470 00:29:27,240 --> 00:29:29,920 of action. And then there's a third 471 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:32,160 question I think that we need to ask. 472 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:33,800 How is my culture being attacked? 473 00:29:35,080 --> 00:29:36,800 How is my culture being attacked? 474 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:44,880 When you look around you and you, you see, you see our world 475 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:49,280 or our culture kind of doing its thing and and living its life. 476 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:53,320 What are what are the attacks that are that are most evident 477 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:56,760 to you? Maybe it's a it's an erosion of 478 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:00,000 absolute truth. Maybe it's this mindset of Hey, 479 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,880 my truth, your truth. There's no really absolute 480 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:05,920 concrete truth. Maybe it's a promotion or an 481 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:09,800 over promotion of self or personal feelings and 482 00:30:09,800 --> 00:30:14,680 experiences being ultimate gods for people. 483 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:18,920 Hey if I feels a certain way or I feel strong enough about it 484 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:23,160 then that must be my ultimate truth or I've experienced this 485 00:30:23,160 --> 00:30:28,280 therefore it must be true. Our culture is also facing 486 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:31,120 attack with a bigger is better type of mentality. 487 00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:34,920 There's also, I don't know if you see this, but there's also a 488 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:40,080 pervasive anger and, and, and sense of offence. 489 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:44,320 Maybe for you, when you look at our culture, maybe you see the 490 00:30:44,320 --> 00:30:50,840 attacks of, of racism or greed, loneliness that can come from a 491 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:55,880 detachment from real life interactions, just overall 492 00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,960 confusion. Maybe you see culturally, you 493 00:30:58,960 --> 00:31:02,160 see one of our primary attacks being the outsourcing of 494 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:08,280 parenting or just this overall cynicism and innate mistrust of, 495 00:31:08,880 --> 00:31:13,520 of all authority. Where, where do you see when, 496 00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:16,880 when, when, when I say, how is my culture being attacked? 497 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:20,600 Where do you see? Like what do you jot down beside 498 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:22,040 that? You see, we've got to 499 00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:24,960 acknowledge where the attack is coming from. 500 00:31:25,160 --> 00:31:29,080 So then we can formulate a plan of action. 501 00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:34,640 It is so, so important and pertinent that we have a plan of 502 00:31:34,680 --> 00:31:39,920 action in place and it starts in this order because check this. 503 00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:44,360 If we do not, if we ignore these attacks, then guess what's going 504 00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:46,960 to happen? The way that my culture is being 505 00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:49,680 attacked will eventually be the way my family is attacked. 506 00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:52,040 And that will eventually become the way that I am attacked. 507 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:54,880 Do you see? Do you see how it's almost 508 00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:58,360 cyclical there? We've got to break that cycle. 509 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:02,440 And it starts with an overall awareness, an alertness, but 510 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:08,960 also a plan of action, a plan of action and helping, helping us 511 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,800 come together to formulate that plan of action. 512 00:32:13,120 --> 00:32:18,520 In large part, that's what the church is for, is for us to bear 513 00:32:18,520 --> 00:32:21,920 one another, one another's burdens, and for us to pray for 514 00:32:21,920 --> 00:32:25,040 one another and for us to really talk with one another and go, 515 00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:27,240 hey, listen, this is where I'm being attacked. 516 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:29,560 And this is where my family's being attacked and been. 517 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:36,080 My heart and my mind and my soul are so heavy with the attacks 518 00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:39,000 that that Satan and the forces of hell are waging against our 519 00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:41,480 culture. Like, what are some verses? 520 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:45,360 What are some passages? How can I combat these attacks? 521 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:49,440 But I'll also tell you this, and I'm not telling you something 522 00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:53,040 that you don't already know. This constant awareness and this 523 00:32:53,040 --> 00:32:57,160 constant planning, this action planning, it can be exhausting. 524 00:32:57,160 --> 00:32:59,640 Can it? And if you've been walking with 525 00:32:59,640 --> 00:33:04,480 Jesus for years and you've been faithfully obedient for years, 526 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:08,440 you know, you know how rewarding it is, but you also know how 527 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:14,080 exhausting it is. And I want to give us a massive, 528 00:33:14,080 --> 00:33:18,840 massive word of hope. A massive word of hope. 529 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:21,080 Let me show you. Let's go back to first Peter 530 00:33:21,320 --> 00:33:23,520 chapter 5. Let me show you what I mean in 531 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:26,160 verse 10, Peter, this is towards the end of his letter. 532 00:33:26,280 --> 00:33:30,320 He says after you have suffered a little while, comparative to 533 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:33,240 eternity, after you've suffered a little while, the God of all 534 00:33:33,240 --> 00:33:35,960 grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will 535 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:38,960 himself restore, confirm, strengthen and establish you to 536 00:33:38,960 --> 00:33:41,080 Him be the dominion forever and ever. 537 00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:43,800 Amen. Here is probably one of the 538 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:47,120 greatest words of encouragement that I can give us this morning, 539 00:33:47,120 --> 00:33:50,640 and it actually serving as our last heading of our notes. 540 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:54,520 Here it is. Suffering has an expiration 541 00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:57,600 date. Your trials, the attacks that 542 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:01,240 are coming against us, they all have an expiration date. 543 00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,840 After that expiration date, God promises to do 4 things. 544 00:34:04,840 --> 00:34:07,880 Number one, God will restore you. 545 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:10,679 What does that mean? It means that He will repair 546 00:34:10,679 --> 00:34:14,360 what has been broken in the in the midst of all these attacks, 547 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:16,600 in the midst of all this suffering, in the midst of the 548 00:34:16,600 --> 00:34:21,080 trials that you and I go through as a result of wanting to walk 549 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:24,800 faithfully and obedient to the words and the will and the ways 550 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:29,840 of God, there will be things within us over the course of our 551 00:34:29,840 --> 00:34:34,320 lifetime that will be broken. And what does God promise to do? 552 00:34:34,480 --> 00:34:40,000 I will restore what has been broken within you to any of you, 553 00:34:40,040 --> 00:34:43,639 any of you ever gone through a time to where you just feel so 554 00:34:43,639 --> 00:34:50,159 heavy and almost through tears you just this sense of like I am 555 00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:54,239 so broken. What is wrong with me? 556 00:34:54,719 --> 00:35:00,440 I'm so broken. Here's hope, that sense, that 557 00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:02,600 emotion that has an expiration date. 558 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:06,680 And after that expiration date, God promises that He will repair 559 00:35:06,920 --> 00:35:09,360 what has been broken. He doesn't stop there. 560 00:35:09,520 --> 00:35:11,920 Number two, He tells us that He will confirm you. 561 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:14,520 He'll confirm us. That means that He'll stabilize 562 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,880 what's been wavering throughout the course of a lifetime. 563 00:35:17,880 --> 00:35:22,000 And an attack after attack after attack coming from the left and 564 00:35:22,000 --> 00:35:26,960 the right and up and down and all over, there will inevitably 565 00:35:26,960 --> 00:35:32,080 be places within our own lives that have that have been 566 00:35:32,080 --> 00:35:34,600 wavering. And what does God promise to do? 567 00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:40,880 He promises to stabilize what has been wavering #3 He promises 568 00:35:40,880 --> 00:35:44,960 to strengthen us. Suffering has an expiration 569 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:47,200 date. After that He will strengthen 570 00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:49,160 you. He will toughen what has been 571 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:53,120 weakened. Again, this constant pelting of 572 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:58,000 attack after attack after attack, there will inevitably be 573 00:35:58,000 --> 00:36:01,800 a weakening. He promises to strengthen or to 574 00:36:01,800 --> 00:36:05,680 toughen up what has been weakened, and then #4 he will 575 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,320 establish you. That means that he'll firmly 576 00:36:08,320 --> 00:36:12,960 plant what has been shaken. He'll firmly plant what has been 577 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:16,480 shaken. Here's how we want to end this 578 00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:19,360 or how I want to end this series this morning. 579 00:36:20,200 --> 00:36:25,360 I want to end this series just with a time of just giving you 580 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:29,840 some time and space just to interact with the Holy Spirit. 581 00:36:31,120 --> 00:36:34,160 One of the things that I love that we often do is we sing 582 00:36:34,160 --> 00:36:37,520 songs to God, and many of those songs are invitations of the 583 00:36:37,520 --> 00:36:40,160 Holy Spirit to come and move among us. 584 00:36:40,160 --> 00:36:44,520 And I firmly believe that we do not pray to, we do not sing to, 585 00:36:44,520 --> 00:36:48,960 we do not worship a God that is distant, but we sing to, we pray 586 00:36:48,960 --> 00:36:51,120 to and we worship a God who is here with us. 587 00:36:51,120 --> 00:36:55,160 Now, if you're with us online and you're, you're a believer, 588 00:36:55,160 --> 00:36:57,800 then God is with you. The Holy Spirit of God is with 589 00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:00,200 you wherever you may be right now. 590 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:03,760 But I think that we would be very remiss if we didn't just 591 00:37:03,760 --> 00:37:08,600 take some time to spend with the Holy Spirit of God. 592 00:37:09,720 --> 00:37:15,840 And for that time, I want to get you to really ask yourself, and 593 00:37:15,840 --> 00:37:18,880 I really want you to interact with God during this time. 594 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:22,680 And, and all that means is that we just spend a little bit of 595 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:25,120 time in prayer. This morning. 596 00:37:27,480 --> 00:37:31,480 I want to get you to ask the Holy Spirit 4 questions. 597 00:37:33,240 --> 00:37:36,120 Holy Spirit of God that knows me better than I know myself. 598 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:40,160 In what ways do I need to humble myself before God? 599 00:37:41,440 --> 00:37:46,000 In what ways do I need to empty myself of self to make more room 600 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:52,280 for you to fill me and to use me how you like, where you like, 601 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:56,920 and when you like? Second question, Holy Spirit of 602 00:37:56,920 --> 00:38:02,360 God, what anxieties do I need to cast on God? 603 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:09,600 If if you're new to church, I know that there's a temptation. 604 00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:12,120 I know that there, I know there's this like way of 605 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:15,760 thinking that you're sitting in a room with, with people that we 606 00:38:15,760 --> 00:38:18,560 all have our act together. And you know, everybody's 607 00:38:18,560 --> 00:38:21,240 marriages are going great and everybody's personal lives are 608 00:38:21,240 --> 00:38:24,320 going great and our finances are great and, and, and you're the 609 00:38:24,360 --> 00:38:25,800 only one that's kind of messed up. 610 00:38:26,720 --> 00:38:29,920 Can I tell you this? You're in a room full of messed 611 00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:33,200 up people. One of the things I love about 612 00:38:33,200 --> 00:38:36,040 Riverbend Church is we all acknowledge we are a we are a 613 00:38:36,040 --> 00:38:39,560 group of messed up people, but we turn to the same savior. 614 00:38:41,240 --> 00:38:44,360 Let me ask you a question. Coming in here this morning, 615 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:48,360 coming into this time, this place, this space, what's going 616 00:38:48,360 --> 00:38:52,240 on in your life, this keeping you up at night, waking you up 617 00:38:52,240 --> 00:38:54,080 in the middle of the night. And the first thing on your mind 618 00:38:54,080 --> 00:38:58,920 when you wake up, What stresses, what worries, what cares, what 619 00:38:58,920 --> 00:39:03,160 anxieties? Listen here, here's the 620 00:39:03,160 --> 00:39:05,320 temptation. Here's the temptation for for, 621 00:39:05,320 --> 00:39:09,840 for church people is we all know what the answer to that 622 00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:11,160 question, that second question is. 623 00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:14,240 But when we pull up in the parking lot, we kind of like 624 00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:17,000 just stuff that back in the car and just close the door really 625 00:39:17,000 --> 00:39:19,360 fast. And then it's so we can walk in 626 00:39:19,480 --> 00:39:20,600 without having to worry about it. 627 00:39:20,600 --> 00:39:24,080 Here's the problem with that is as soon as we walk out of here, 628 00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:26,600 we open that car door and it all just comes boiling out. 629 00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:31,240 This is a place to where we invite you to bring your 630 00:39:31,240 --> 00:39:36,200 stresses, your cares, your anxiety, your baggage, because 631 00:39:36,200 --> 00:39:39,000 you're bringing it to the only one that can do something about 632 00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:41,920 it. Don't keep it in the parking 633 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:43,120 lot. Don't keep it in your car. 634 00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:46,400 Bring it before God. Third question, Holy Spirit of 635 00:39:46,400 --> 00:39:50,040 God, what attacks do I need to acknowledge and what action 636 00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:51,800 plans do I need to put into place? 637 00:39:52,640 --> 00:39:55,280 Where am I being attacked? Where's my family being 638 00:39:55,280 --> 00:39:56,520 attacked? Where's my culture being 639 00:39:56,520 --> 00:39:59,720 attacked? What do, what attacks do I need 640 00:39:59,720 --> 00:40:01,600 to acknowledge? And then what action plans do I 641 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:04,800 need to put into place? And then 4th is this, what word 642 00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:09,600 of encouragement do I need to give me strength for the battle 643 00:40:09,600 --> 00:40:12,920 ahead? Holy Spirit of God, of the 644 00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:16,440 promises that you give me, that suffering has an expiration 645 00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:21,360 date, which one of those promises that you will restore 646 00:40:21,360 --> 00:40:24,520 me, that you'll confirm me, that you'll strengthen me, or that 647 00:40:24,520 --> 00:40:28,240 you'll establish me? Which one of those promises do I 648 00:40:28,240 --> 00:40:33,640 need to hold on to for it to resonate within me far after I 649 00:40:33,640 --> 00:40:37,080 leave this service and far after I leave this campus this 650 00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:39,680 morning? So here's what I want to do. 651 00:40:39,680 --> 00:40:42,880 I just want to invite you just wherever you're at, just to bow 652 00:40:42,880 --> 00:40:45,240 your heads and to to close your eyes. 653 00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:48,240 And we don't do this because it's some light religious 654 00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:50,760 posture. We really do it just to tune out 655 00:40:51,600 --> 00:40:53,480 all the distractions going on around us. 656 00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:57,600 I would just also say that in this time, understanding that 657 00:40:57,600 --> 00:41:04,240 people are really spending time with God, I would say if at all 658 00:41:04,240 --> 00:41:08,760 possible that that we not that we not move around during this 659 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,680 time so that we're not distracting to the people around 660 00:41:11,680 --> 00:41:16,920 us, but just wherever you're at this morning, I just want you to 661 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:25,320 to pray God based off of your word, based off of your word, 662 00:41:26,800 --> 00:41:31,680 what do you want me to do? Based off of your word, what do 663 00:41:31,680 --> 00:41:36,520 you want me to do? Do you want me to do I need to 664 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:41,440 humble myself before you? The things that are on my mind, 665 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:47,800 do I need to throw those at you, hurl those at you, Holy Spirit 666 00:41:47,800 --> 00:41:50,920 of God, like is there a tact that I've been like ignoring or 667 00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:53,440 that I'm not aware of God? Would you reveal that to me? 668 00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:58,320 An attack against me, an attack against my family, and an attack 669 00:41:58,320 --> 00:42:05,520 against my culture. God, of your 4 promises at the 670 00:42:05,520 --> 00:42:08,920 end of First Peter, whether it's to restore me, confirm me, 671 00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:14,640 strengthen me, or establish me, God, which of those promises do 672 00:42:14,640 --> 00:42:19,160 you want to use to instill a sense of hope and strengthen me 673 00:42:19,160 --> 00:42:28,800 for the battle ahead? So as you spend some time in 674 00:42:28,800 --> 00:42:33,320 prayer, just talking to God, I want to pray over us. 675 00:42:33,320 --> 00:42:36,240 And after I pray over us, we're going to invite you to, to 676 00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:40,520 stand. And if what God's telling you to 677 00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:48,040 do is hey, just stand and sing, worship me, then that's what you 678 00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:51,400 should do. If God's calling you to come 679 00:42:51,400 --> 00:42:56,800 down and and pray, maybe it's a maybe it's a prayer for for, for 680 00:42:56,800 --> 00:42:59,240 the Holy Spirit to work more powerfully in you. 681 00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:01,240 Maybe it's a prayer for your family. 682 00:43:01,240 --> 00:43:05,320 Maybe it's a prayer for for friends or the way that you see 683 00:43:05,320 --> 00:43:09,720 our culture being attacked. Maybe it's a prayer for the 684 00:43:11,320 --> 00:43:18,360 protection of of innocent lives. It's a prayer that God that you 685 00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:23,760 would bring a righteous justice to evil doers, but in the middle 686 00:43:23,760 --> 00:43:25,760 of it, God, you will protect innocent lives. 687 00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:31,080 Maybe it's a prayer to where you hold on to one of those 4 words 688 00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:35,120 and you ask God for them to take root in your heart and in your 689 00:43:35,120 --> 00:43:39,920 life. So I'm going to pray. 690 00:43:40,640 --> 00:43:42,600 We're going to give you an opportunity to respond. 691 00:43:42,600 --> 00:43:44,680 However, the Holy Spirit's calling you to respond this 692 00:43:44,680 --> 00:43:48,320 morning. God, we love you and we thank 693 00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:50,720 you for the fact that you are here with us. 694 00:43:53,480 --> 00:44:00,960 God, we thank you for Lord your your inspiration to Peter over 695 00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:05,680 2000 years ago to pen a letter that we now know is the book of 696 00:44:05,680 --> 00:44:11,800 first Peter. God the the alertness and the 697 00:44:11,800 --> 00:44:15,920 challenge for us to live wide awake, the alertness to our 698 00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:21,000 enemy and his attacks. God, you do not give us that 699 00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:24,320 information to scare us or to paralyze us. 700 00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:27,440 God, you give us that information so that we can be 701 00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:33,040 prepared. And God, our only preparedness, 702 00:44:33,040 --> 00:44:39,360 our only move in this battle, in this spiritual battle that every 703 00:44:39,360 --> 00:44:43,160 single one of us are facing in different ways is to turn to 704 00:44:43,160 --> 00:44:46,400 you. So God, whatever that may look 705 00:44:46,400 --> 00:44:50,560 like across this room and for those that are joining online, 706 00:44:51,720 --> 00:44:54,560 God, I pray that we would move in obedience to your Holy 707 00:44:54,560 --> 00:44:55,960 Spirit. God, that we would move in 708 00:44:55,960 --> 00:44:58,840 freedom to how you call us to move. 709 00:44:59,480 --> 00:45:02,120 It's in Jesus name that we pray, Amen. 710 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:10,000 Thank you for listening to Riverbend Church's podcast. 711 00:45:10,040 --> 00:45:13,360 To find out more about this message or Riverbend Church, 712 00:45:13,480 --> 00:45:16,720 connect with us online at Riverbend Church dot live.