1 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:08,160 Thank you for listening to Riverbend Church's podcast. 2 00:00:08,160 --> 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 00:00:19,560 --> 00:00:22,200 Hey, good morning everyone. Been so great to be able to be 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:24,000 with you and to worship with you this morning. 6 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:29,040 Man, I absolutely just love that story of how God washed over and 7 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:33,880 protected Katie, don't you? We have just been experiencing 8 00:00:33,880 --> 00:00:36,640 just some powerful, powerful moves of God. 9 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:41,280 And it's always amazing, always amazing how God can take a 10 00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:46,160 singular prayer and answer that singular prayer to, to, to in 11 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:47,760 different ways to different people. 12 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:52,520 So for for Katie, answering that prayer for, for protection and, 13 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:56,440 and, and recovery, for Melissa, answering that prayer with a 14 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,800 sense of peace and comfort that can only come from the Holy 15 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,640 Spirit. Just such a powerful God story. 16 00:01:03,640 --> 00:01:08,440 If you've met Katie, you know what a light she really, really 17 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:14,040 is, and I just love that story, just about a continual passion 18 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:18,160 of prayer and being able to see the power of prayer up close and 19 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:20,960 personal. If you're new to Riverbend, 20 00:01:20,960 --> 00:01:24,160 thank you so much for joining us this morning. 21 00:01:24,320 --> 00:01:27,080 I hope that you're safe. I hope that you're warm. 22 00:01:28,080 --> 00:01:31,760 I'm sorry that we weren't able to meet in person this morning, 23 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,720 gather together in the room, but we just wanted to take into 24 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:39,840 consideration your safety and not wanting you to chance 25 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,400 getting out on some icy roads and and an accident happened. 26 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,800 But we're just looking forward to to being able to continue to 27 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:49,520 worship with you. One of the things that I would 28 00:01:49,520 --> 00:01:54,520 say, if you haven't done so already, is I would go to, you 29 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:56,960 can go to the App Store if you have an iPhone or Google Play 30 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,560 store, you have Android and download the Riverbend Church 31 00:02:00,800 --> 00:02:02,080 app. That's going to be really 32 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,280 important so that you can take notes with us. 33 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:06,680 And it's going to be extra important this morning because 34 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:09,720 at the very end of our message, we're going to, we're going to 35 00:02:09,720 --> 00:02:13,200 really do an exercise with the passage that we're going to walk 36 00:02:13,200 --> 00:02:15,000 through. And it's going to become really, 37 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:18,600 really personal and, and hopefully really, really real in 38 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,480 your life. But you'll need that app And so 39 00:02:21,480 --> 00:02:23,960 that you can pull up the notes, you take those notes on your 40 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:25,800 phone. They're saved on your phone so 41 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:29,040 they don't go away way that you're just able to kind of 42 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,680 journey along with us. With that said, we're in week 43 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:36,840 four of a series called live well. 44 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,120 And if you're new to this series, let me kind of just give 45 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:43,560 you the the overall gist or the OR the main truth or what's 46 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:45,200 really what we call the big idea. 47 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:47,960 What's serving as the big idea throughout this series. 48 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:54,160 And here it is, is to live well is is to live God's way, firm in 49 00:02:54,160 --> 00:02:57,360 faith, steady in trials, anchored in hope. 50 00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:02,160 Firm in faith, steady in trials, anchored in hope. 51 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:04,960 Let me ask you a a quick question. 52 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,680 When I say the word calling or when, when you think about like 53 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,840 living someone living in their calling, what immediately comes 54 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:16,200 to mind? What immediately comes to mind? 55 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:19,320 I think for a lot of people, they immediately start thinking 56 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:24,000 of a of a pastor or a missionary or or somebody that's overseeing 57 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:27,600 A nonprofit organization. And I would say that calling is 58 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:32,120 most definitely essential for those roles. 59 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:37,800 But I happen to believe that every single follower of Jesus 60 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,160 has a calling on his or her life. 61 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:42,720 I happen to believe that every single follower of Jesus has a 62 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:46,600 calling on his or her life. And tragically, I think that a 63 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,280 lot of Christians, a lot of followers of Jesus, they're not 64 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:54,000 living in their calling because they confuse passion and 65 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,320 purpose. They confuse passion and, and, 66 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,160 and purpose. Let me kind of give you a, a 67 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:02,200 quick example of how easy that is to, to confuse. 68 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,920 I, I could be very passionate about basketball, about the game 69 00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:09,320 of basketball, college basketball, pro basketball. 70 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:11,440 I could be very passionate about basketball. 71 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,560 But I don't think any of you, whether you're at home or on the 72 00:04:14,560 --> 00:04:18,200 road or or wherever you may be watching with us this morning, I 73 00:04:18,200 --> 00:04:21,360 don't think any of you would ever think that basketball is 74 00:04:21,360 --> 00:04:25,960 going to be my purpose, right? And as silly as an example as 75 00:04:25,960 --> 00:04:31,560 that may seem, I think that it's really easy for us to take what 76 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,440 we're passionate about, what we know that we love. 77 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:39,120 And we, I automatically think that if I can't really pursue my 78 00:04:39,120 --> 00:04:42,840 passion then and, and, and kind of make a living off of that 79 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:47,480 passion, then I'm not really going to be able to live in the 80 00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:50,160 midst of a calling. And what I would tell you is 81 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:52,560 this is, that's not so much a passion problem. 82 00:04:52,880 --> 00:04:56,080 I would say that that's more of a purpose problem. 83 00:04:56,680 --> 00:05:01,040 In other words, we know what we love, but many of us, we're not 84 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:05,520 even sure why we're here. We know what we love our 85 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:08,720 passions, but we're not really sure why we're here. 86 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,120 And that that's really a purpose problem. 87 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,680 And, and I think a lot of times we kind of have things 88 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,600 backwards. We, we want God to, to give 89 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:22,640 purpose to our passions, but in reality and in actuality, more 90 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:27,400 times than not, God gives that God gives passion to our 91 00:05:27,720 --> 00:05:30,960 purpose. So as followers of Jesus, it's 92 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:33,800 really important that you and I, that we're very clear and that 93 00:05:33,800 --> 00:05:39,960 we start to understand what our purpose may be, what our purpose 94 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:44,560 is. If we're ever going to live in 95 00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,240 Our Calling, live with a sense of calling, we have to 96 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:53,360 understand our purpose. We have to understand our 97 00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:54,840 purpose. Let me give you a quick 98 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:58,720 definition and you can jot this down in the in the blanks on 99 00:05:58,720 --> 00:06:01,360 your note on your notes app there. 100 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:04,800 But let me give you a quick working definition of calling 101 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:06,360 and it's really A2 parter here it is. 102 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:08,960 It's faithful where God has placed me. 103 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:12,320 It's faithful where God has placed me and obedient to 104 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:15,960 pointing people to Jesus. Two parts to that definition, 105 00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:18,480 right? Here's the the truth about the 106 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:21,120 first one faithful where God has placed me. 107 00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:25,840 Did you know every single one of us, every single one of us, we 108 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:31,200 are living in a certain season and setting and and and context. 109 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:34,200 You you may be a student who still lives at home. 110 00:06:34,960 --> 00:06:39,000 You may be a parent with with young children at home. 111 00:06:39,200 --> 00:06:43,320 You may be a full time you may be full time into the workforce 112 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:45,640 either as an employee or an employer. 113 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:51,200 You may be a retiree and, and here's The thing is all of 114 00:06:51,440 --> 00:06:56,040 those, all of those settings and seasons and contexts, they, 115 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,280 they, they come with, they come with different opportunities, 116 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:01,000 right? And one of the things that we 117 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,560 know is those setting seasons and contexts of life, they'll 118 00:07:04,560 --> 00:07:08,000 always change like different stages of life. 119 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:12,640 They'll they'll always change, but our purpose always remains 120 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:15,280 the same. And and the question is, am I 121 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:21,880 stepping fully and faithfully into what God has for me in the 122 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:26,040 current setting season in context that that's the first 123 00:07:26,040 --> 00:07:28,960 part of calling. The second part of calling is 124 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:31,120 the obedient to pointing people to Jesus. 125 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:34,800 Every single follower of Jesus Christ has this as their 126 00:07:34,800 --> 00:07:37,640 purpose, regardless of your setting, seasoning, context. 127 00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:42,000 It is to point the people around you to Jesus. 128 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:46,560 Again, if you're a student living at home, are you obedient 129 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,440 to pointing your, your, your, your, your parents or your 130 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,840 classmates to Jesus By the by the way that by the way that you 131 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:58,440 conduct yourself and, and, and by the way that that, that, that 132 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:00,920 you're learning. And by the way that, that, that 133 00:08:01,120 --> 00:08:04,400 you're falling in authority up underneath your parents 134 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:09,720 guidelines in, in in your home. If you're a if you're a parent 135 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:13,360 of a of a young child, you know that that's a certain setting 136 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,840 and season and context, but being obedient to pointing 137 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:20,240 people to Jesus is you have the opportunity to pour Jesus 138 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:25,000 intentionally pour Jesus into those children at their most 139 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:28,600 formative years. If you're an employee or 140 00:08:28,600 --> 00:08:31,960 employer, you have an opportunity right now to to 141 00:08:31,960 --> 00:08:37,080 point your Co workers to Jesus by by living and working with 142 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:42,039 integrity and and by exercising grace and mercy towards towards 143 00:08:42,080 --> 00:08:46,880 others and and and and and really living, living and 144 00:08:46,880 --> 00:08:51,040 following Jesus example to where people are above all other 145 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:54,440 things. If you're a retiree, you have an 146 00:08:54,440 --> 00:08:58,160 opportunity to point your friends and your family to 147 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:00,880 Jesus. But by choosing to further 148 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:05,960 invest rather than just strictly rest you're you're you choose to 149 00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:11,400 further invest in growing the Kingdom of God in this setting, 150 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:18,960 context and season of life. When we do that, we start to 151 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:23,440 live in Our Calling. We start to live in Our Calling. 152 00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:28,040 But here's the thing, in order to consistently live in Our 153 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:33,480 Calling, in our God-given calling, we have to have a God 154 00:09:33,680 --> 00:09:37,560 backing authority. So here's the question, on whose 155 00:09:37,560 --> 00:09:41,120 authority do we live out this calling? 156 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:43,920 And this is really where we get to the heart of the matter this 157 00:09:43,920 --> 00:09:45,880 morning. If you have a Bible with you, I 158 00:09:45,880 --> 00:09:49,000 want to, I want to ask that you that you join me in the book of 159 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:51,480 first Peter, first Peter chapter 1. 160 00:09:51,480 --> 00:09:54,560 And we're going to be picking it or first Peter chapter 2 and 161 00:09:54,560 --> 00:09:58,240 we're going to be picking it up in verse one this morning. 162 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:02,560 Check out what Peter says. He tells us so put away all 163 00:10:02,560 --> 00:10:06,120 malice, and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all 164 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:10,040 slander like newborn infants. Long for the pure spiritual 165 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:13,600 milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation. 166 00:10:13,600 --> 00:10:17,800 If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 167 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:20,720 Let me ask you a quick question. Have you tasted and seen that 168 00:10:20,720 --> 00:10:22,560 the Lord is good? Have you experienced the 169 00:10:22,560 --> 00:10:27,320 goodness of God in your life? Here's essentially what what 170 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:31,440 Peter, what Peter's saying right out of the gate in first Peter 171 00:10:31,440 --> 00:10:34,200 Chapter 2. What he's telling us is, is, 172 00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:37,720 hey, listen as you pursue holiness. 173 00:10:37,720 --> 00:10:40,920 And last week we talked about how holiness is not a goal to 174 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,400 achieve. It's really a life to step into 175 00:10:43,600 --> 00:10:47,400 as you pursue holiness and as you step into living a life of 176 00:10:47,400 --> 00:10:50,840 holiness. Don't go back to your to your 177 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:55,720 pre Jesus, pre born again ways. You, you know that those ways 178 00:10:55,720 --> 00:10:59,280 were were a dead end. You, you know that giving into 179 00:10:59,280 --> 00:11:03,040 those old ways and those old sin struggles and temptations, those 180 00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:09,880 were a dead end in, in, in, in, in contrast, begin to, to, to, 181 00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:15,080 to hunger and to thirst for the ways of God and for the will of 182 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,640 God and for, for, for the word of God. 183 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:21,960 Because you know, because of Jesus and because you have been 184 00:11:21,960 --> 00:11:26,160 born again, you know that it is by God's words that we are 185 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:29,360 nourished and that we're fed and that we that, that we that we 186 00:11:29,360 --> 00:11:33,240 grow. So that's kind of a a tie in 187 00:11:33,240 --> 00:11:36,800 from last week, but check out what Peter goes on to say in 188 00:11:36,800 --> 00:11:40,120 verse 4. He says this as you come to him, 189 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:44,240 as you come to Jesus, a living stone rejected by men, but in 190 00:11:44,240 --> 00:11:46,240 the sight of God, chosen and precious. 191 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,920 You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a 192 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:54,160 spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual 193 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:57,680 sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 194 00:11:58,840 --> 00:12:03,320 For it stands in Scripture. Behold, I'm laying in Zion, a 195 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:07,560 stone, a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes 196 00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:12,440 in him will not be put to shame. So the honor is for you who 197 00:12:12,440 --> 00:12:15,800 believe, but for those who do not believe, check this out. 198 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:18,600 The stone that the builders rejected has become the 199 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:24,520 cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. 200 00:12:24,800 --> 00:12:28,360 So in this passage, Peter's going to lay out for us the 201 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:32,720 basis of our authority as a follower of Jesus, as the people 202 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:37,960 of God, what is our authority? Where does our authority come 203 00:12:37,960 --> 00:12:39,800 from? If you and I, if we're to 204 00:12:39,800 --> 00:12:44,360 consistently live out Our Calling, it's faithful to where 205 00:12:44,360 --> 00:12:47,280 we are, faithful wherever we are, and being obedient to 206 00:12:47,280 --> 00:12:50,560 pointing people to Jesus, we need to make sure that we are 207 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:55,080 backed by the authority of God. Let's kind of unpack what that 208 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:57,240 means for us. If you're taking notes with us, 209 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,120 here's the first thing that I would get you to jot down Jesus. 210 00:13:01,120 --> 00:13:04,200 Peter reminds us Jesus is the resurrected and living 211 00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,800 foundation for the people of God. 212 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:11,880 Jesus, the living and the resurrected foundation for the 213 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,800 people of God. Do you notice how Peter used 214 00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:19,480 some, some, some imagery here that would be very, very 215 00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:23,400 familiar to, to a stone worker or to, to a Mason? 216 00:13:23,640 --> 00:13:26,880 He refers to Jesus as the as the cornerstone. 217 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:32,040 Now to to a stone worker, a cornerstone would would be the 218 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:36,920 prototype by which all other stones would be would be cut in 219 00:13:36,920 --> 00:13:40,600 the exact dimensions as that prototype. 220 00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:45,360 And by by by having a prototype and by cutting all stones based 221 00:13:45,360 --> 00:13:49,080 off of that prototype, the stone worker would ensure that the 222 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:53,600 stones would fit together perfectly to to a Mason. 223 00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:58,520 When Peter talked about Jesus being the cornerstone, a Mason, 224 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:01,680 that would automatically like light up in the mind of a Mason 225 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:05,360 because a Mason knew that a cornerstone, it is that first 226 00:14:05,480 --> 00:14:07,920 stone. It is that it is that first 227 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:12,680 stone that is laid at the very beginning of the very foundation 228 00:14:12,680 --> 00:14:16,680 of a building that determines the the overall direction that 229 00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:21,800 determines that that determines the the direction, the overall 230 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:25,560 trajectory. It determines everything about 231 00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,200 where the rest of the building is going to go up around it. 232 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:34,160 And here's what I would tell you as the people of God, a life 233 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:37,720 that chooses and intentionally chooses, a life that 234 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:44,080 intentionally chooses to, to to model itself after the life of 235 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:49,040 Jesus and to place Jesus first in all things is a life that 236 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:52,840 will most definitely be lived well. 237 00:14:53,520 --> 00:14:56,360 So the first basis of our authority that Peter reminds us 238 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,480 of is Jesus is the resurrected and the living foundation for 239 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:02,280 the people of God. Second thing that he reminds us 240 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:05,600 of is he is that perfect standard for how the people of 241 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:10,320 God are called to live. You know, one of the reasons 242 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:14,160 that that we're given the life of Jesus, the recorded life of 243 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,720 Jesus in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, is for us 244 00:15:17,720 --> 00:15:21,080 to really look at how did Jesus interact with people? 245 00:15:21,080 --> 00:15:23,920 How did Jesus handle complex issues? 246 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:27,800 What did Jesus have to say about things like politics and, and, 247 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:30,680 and, and, and the poor? What did Jesus have to say about 248 00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,840 religion? What did Jesus have to say about 249 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:35,680 hypocrisy? What did Jesus have to say 250 00:15:35,920 --> 00:15:40,640 really about the heart? You see, as the people of God, 251 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:46,320 Jesus is the standard by which we are called to live. 252 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,520 So that's why it's so important that we spend time in the Word 253 00:15:50,800 --> 00:15:55,360 of God so that that we understand and we get a better 254 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:59,320 picture of how Jesus lives, so that we look at how Jesus lived 255 00:15:59,320 --> 00:16:03,800 and we can model our behavior and our lives after how Jesus 256 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:06,280 lived. But then there's a third reality 257 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:10,280 that Peter reminds us of. This authority is Jesus is the 258 00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:14,240 ultimate dividing line between the people of God and an 259 00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:19,280 unbelieving world. Jesus is the ultimate dividing 260 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:22,040 line. You know, I, I, I know a lot of 261 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:24,080 people. I would even say that that that 262 00:16:24,080 --> 00:16:28,640 most people, they have no problem at all with the with the 263 00:16:29,040 --> 00:16:32,760 leave the 99 to go after the one Jesus. 264 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:37,880 They have no problem at all with the changing water into wine, 265 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:41,680 giving sight to the blind, telling the paralyzed man to 266 00:16:41,680 --> 00:16:46,120 take up his mat and walk the raising Lazarus from the dead 267 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:48,840 Jesus. As a matter of fact, I think 268 00:16:48,840 --> 00:16:54,920 that most people would even say that Jesus was a great man, if 269 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:57,840 not the best man. And, and, and most people would 270 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:03,520 say that Jesus was a great teacher, if not the best teacher 271 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:07,359 to have ever lived. But here's the issue. 272 00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:11,240 Jesus wasn't just a good man and he wasn't just a a good teacher. 273 00:17:11,240 --> 00:17:14,880 He wasn't just the best man and the and the best teacher. 274 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:21,720 Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus Christ was the Son of God. 275 00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,280 The same people that don't have a problem with with that type of 276 00:17:26,359 --> 00:17:30,560 Jesus to leave the 99 to go after the one Jesus, they, they 277 00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:34,680 start to bristle up. They start to bristle up at the 278 00:17:35,040 --> 00:17:40,440 at the unless you hate your father and mother, you cannot 279 00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:45,840 follow me or take up your cross daily and follow me or unless 280 00:17:45,840 --> 00:17:49,000 you eat of the flesh of the Son of man and drink of his blood, 281 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:53,760 you can have no part in me. The I am the way and the truth 282 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,360 and the life. No man comes to the Father 283 00:17:56,360 --> 00:18:00,160 except through me. They have a problem with with 284 00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,320 that Jesus. They have a problem with the 285 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:07,040 true Jesus, with the full Jesus. And, and here's the thing, 286 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:12,120 People aren't offended by Jesus because Jesus is rude. 287 00:18:12,440 --> 00:18:16,160 People are offended by Jesus because Jesus is telling the 288 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:21,400 truth about sin and salvation and ourselves. 289 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,640 And a lot of people, they, they, they don't want to hear that at 290 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:26,760 all. They don't, they, they don't 291 00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:30,600 want to hear the, the truthful reality about how, how, how, how 292 00:18:30,600 --> 00:18:32,880 they're sinners in need of a savior. 293 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:37,480 And, and the, the, the saving can't happen from willpower. 294 00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:41,400 It has to happen from, from God power and the, and the saving, 295 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:45,840 the salvation can't happen from, from trying harder or earning 296 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:48,440 salvation. It actually happens through 297 00:18:48,640 --> 00:18:52,800 surrendering your life to Jesus. You know, if you've been a part 298 00:18:52,800 --> 00:18:56,080 of Riverbend for any space or any measure of time, you know, 299 00:18:56,080 --> 00:19:00,160 we've talked a lot about how relationship and love always 300 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,440 requires choice. You can never force or coer 301 00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:07,560 someone to love you or, or or or to be in true relationship with 302 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:10,320 you. And that means that, you know, 303 00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:14,000 when we understand that God desires to have a relationship 304 00:19:14,000 --> 00:19:18,360 with every single person, that means that there is a choice 305 00:19:18,360 --> 00:19:20,920 that every single person has to make. 306 00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:24,560 They can choose to accept his love and accept his grace and 307 00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:27,640 accept his mercy if they surrender their lives to him. 308 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:32,360 Or they can choose to reject the teachings and the, and the way 309 00:19:32,360 --> 00:19:35,320 of Jesus and the only way of salvation and, and, and try to 310 00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:39,480 live life on their own and, and continue to be further blinded 311 00:19:39,480 --> 00:19:44,280 and deceived by a lost and dying world and world and culture. 312 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:49,560 You see, Jesus is the ultimate dividing line for people. 313 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:53,960 That's why that's why Peter references in Scripture that, 314 00:19:54,120 --> 00:19:58,120 that this cornerstone, that Jesus is the rock that that many 315 00:19:58,120 --> 00:20:01,440 people stumble over. They, they, they trip over 316 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:04,160 Jesus. Because here's the thing, Jesus 317 00:20:04,160 --> 00:20:06,840 very, very clear when he says I am the way, the truth and the 318 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:08,640 life. No man comes to the Father 319 00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:11,720 except through me. Salvation is not possible. 320 00:20:11,720 --> 00:20:14,040 Forgiveness of sin is not possible. 321 00:20:14,520 --> 00:20:18,720 Eternal, eternal security in heaven, knowing that when you 322 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:20,920 die that you will spend eternity with Him in heaven. 323 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:24,840 That is not possible without coming through Jesus. 324 00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:29,360 And that is the ultimate dividing line for so many 325 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:35,160 people. So Peter gives us the basis of 326 00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:40,120 our authority by reminding us that Jesus is our foundation and 327 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:44,200 he's our standard and, and, and he's the ultimate dividing line 328 00:20:44,640 --> 00:20:49,320 among people. But then on the basis of that 329 00:20:49,320 --> 00:20:53,800 authority, then there's this almost like hinge right here in 330 00:20:53,800 --> 00:21:00,000 chapter 2 to where he's going to start talking about purpose. 331 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:02,000 He's going to start talking about purpose. 332 00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:06,760 Do you know that purpose is really, it's really about 333 00:21:07,040 --> 00:21:09,600 identity. It's really about identity. 334 00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:11,560 I wrote this in your notes. Check this out. 335 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:15,200 I want to get you to write this down really quick. 336 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:20,520 True calling flows out of identity and not the other way 337 00:21:20,520 --> 00:21:22,400 around. Kind of coming back to the 338 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:26,480 conversation about what it means to live in Our Calling to live 339 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:29,200 called. We need to understand that true 340 00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:33,840 calling flows out of identity, not the other way around to kind 341 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:36,800 of give you give you some handles to wrap your mind around 342 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:39,160 that. How many times when we meet 343 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:44,680 somebody for the first time and, and, and you know, we may 344 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:47,040 exchange names. What what's usually the follow 345 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:48,520 up question? Hey, what do you do? 346 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:53,800 What line of work are you in? What we do many times begins to 347 00:21:53,800 --> 00:21:56,960 take on it begins to morph into our identity. 348 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:01,560 That's so easy for us to do, but in in God's way, according to 349 00:22:01,560 --> 00:22:05,840 God's word, true calling is going to flow out of identity. 350 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:13,480 This is so important to know who we are, who we truly are, 351 00:22:13,480 --> 00:22:19,040 because if you don't know who you are according to God, then 352 00:22:19,040 --> 00:22:22,960 you'll never be able to fully step into all that God has for 353 00:22:22,960 --> 00:22:25,160 you. This is why This is why 354 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:29,880 insecurity, insecurity is so sinister in our lives because 355 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:36,000 insecurity diminishes, diminishes us and it also 356 00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:40,720 devalues us. It diminishes what God says 357 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:45,480 about us and it devalues what God says about us. 358 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:49,560 And, and someone who is living with a diminished or devalued 359 00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:53,440 identity will never be able to fully step into their calling. 360 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,800 Listen, I want to, I want to just kind of, I'll give you a 361 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:03,080 quick side note for a moment. I don't know who you are or 362 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:07,840 where you've been, but did you know that God has something 363 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:11,400 special to say about you? Identity. 364 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:15,800 This whole issue of identity, it's not really based off of 365 00:23:16,000 --> 00:23:19,800 what you've done or, or what you do or what you can do. 366 00:23:19,800 --> 00:23:22,320 It's not based off of how you feel. 367 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:26,280 True identity is not even based off of how other people may may 368 00:23:26,280 --> 00:23:29,000 view you and what other people may have said about you. 369 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,640 True identity is really what God says about you. 370 00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:34,680 It's really what God says about you. 371 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:36,800 And I want you to remember something. 372 00:23:36,800 --> 00:23:39,920 This isn't your nose, but I want you to hang on to this. 373 00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,560 Maybe, maybe it's for you today or maybe it's for you later on 374 00:23:43,560 --> 00:23:46,960 down the tracks, but what God says about you here, it is. 375 00:23:47,120 --> 00:23:51,600 What God says about you is what is most true about you, not what 376 00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:55,040 you say about you, not, not what, not what your feelings say 377 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:57,880 about you, not what other people say about you. 378 00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,400 What God says about you is what is most true about you. 379 00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:04,640 So it's really important for us to understand what exactly does 380 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:10,360 God say about us? Go back to first Peter with me. 381 00:24:10,360 --> 00:24:13,320 I want you to check something out first Peter again, first 382 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:17,240 Peter chapter 2 in verse 9, it's the beginning of verse 9. 383 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:22,080 He says, but you based off of the authority of Jesus, you are 384 00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:26,480 now a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a 385 00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:32,680 people for his own possession. So if you're taking notes with 386 00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:37,720 us, I want to I want to make this as personal as possible in 387 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,480 your in your notes here. Here's the first thing I want 388 00:24:40,480 --> 00:24:45,520 you to jot down. I am a chosen race. 389 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:53,280 I am a chosen race. I am a chosen race. 390 00:24:53,720 --> 00:25:00,360 God almighty, the author and the creator and the sustainer of the 391 00:25:00,360 --> 00:25:05,600 universe looks at you and says, I choose you. 392 00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:12,880 He he, he doesn't do it because, but because he, he, he pities 393 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:15,800 you. He, he, he doesn't, he doesn't 394 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:19,160 choose you because he has no other choice. 395 00:25:19,720 --> 00:25:22,440 And he certainly doesn't choose you or he certainly doesn't 396 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,640 choose me because we've impressed him in some type of 397 00:25:25,640 --> 00:25:28,800 way. He chooses us because he chooses 398 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,480 to choose us. You see the God that that 399 00:25:32,480 --> 00:25:38,200 created you, He loves you and he has good plans for you. 400 00:25:39,040 --> 00:25:40,440 Here's what I want you to remember. 401 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:44,880 Just because you may not have chosen you, and just because 402 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,680 maybe some people around you may not choose you or have chosen 403 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:51,080 you in the past, that doesn't mean that God hasn't chosen you. 404 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:57,520 You are chosen. Second thing that God tells us 405 00:25:57,520 --> 00:26:00,520 about our identity and who he says that we are. 406 00:26:00,680 --> 00:26:05,040 Not only am I chosen race, I am a royal priesthood. 407 00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:08,800 I am a royal priesthood. You you notice that royal 408 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:14,040 priesthood kind of two two thoughts in those two words, 409 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:16,640 right Royal. You see, if you've surrendered 410 00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:20,920 your life to Jesus and and the Holy Spirit of God now lives in 411 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:25,040 you and you've been born again. Did you know that you are now a 412 00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:30,440 son or a daughter of the king. You're you're a son or a 413 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:34,600 daughter of God. You are now royalty. 414 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:40,280 You're now royalty with all access, with all rights and with 415 00:26:40,360 --> 00:26:45,880 all privileges. You are now divine royalty. 416 00:26:45,880 --> 00:26:48,760 You're a son or a daughter of God priesthood. 417 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:53,120 If you, if you grew up in church or you just started reading 418 00:26:53,120 --> 00:26:56,720 maybe the, the Old Testament, when we get around to the book 419 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:02,040 of book of Exodus, we're, we're introduced to this whole, this 420 00:27:02,040 --> 00:27:05,320 whole notion of, of priesthood where there were, there were 421 00:27:05,320 --> 00:27:09,720 chosen group of, of men that, that you had to be born of a 422 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:13,000 certain lineage in a certain, in a certain family. 423 00:27:13,000 --> 00:27:15,880 But you could then become a priest. 424 00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,560 And the priest was the one that that that could, that could kind 425 00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:23,320 of interact with God and offer sacrifices to God. 426 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:26,520 Only the priest could do that. The other people couldn't, only 427 00:27:26,520 --> 00:27:29,600 the priest could. So check out what Peter reminds 428 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:33,720 us when he tells us that you and I, those of us who surrendered 429 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:36,960 our lives to Jesus, we're a royal priesthood. 430 00:27:37,160 --> 00:27:40,080 That means that we have completely unfettered, 431 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:46,800 unhindered, completely accessible access to God at all 432 00:27:46,800 --> 00:27:49,600 points in time. You don't need a middleman. 433 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:51,720 You don't need to. You don't need somebody to go to 434 00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:57,120 God on your behalf. You have a Direct Line to God. 435 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:02,560 And check this out, that Direct Line to God, he loves it. 436 00:28:02,800 --> 00:28:08,520 He absolutely cherishes it when his sons and his daughters want 437 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:12,720 to spend time with him and talk with him through prayer. 438 00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:19,360 But you are a royal priesthood. Third thing that Peter reminds 439 00:28:19,360 --> 00:28:22,600 us of. I am a holy nation. 440 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:25,880 I'm a holy nation. You may say, well, Ben, you just 441 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,320 lost me right there because that first word, holy, I'm, I'm not 442 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:31,600 holy. I'm not holy. 443 00:28:31,760 --> 00:28:34,960 I'm, I'm trying. You talked last week about 444 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:37,680 stepping into a life of holiness and pursuing holiness. 445 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:41,080 And, and, and I'm really trying. I'm, I'm starting to step into 446 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:45,480 that and I'm starting to say to, to, to recognize that my old, my 447 00:28:45,480 --> 00:28:49,080 old ways, my pre Jesus, pre born again ways are no longer 448 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:53,520 compatible with the new me that God has created me to be. 449 00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:56,280 I'm, I'm starting to realize that, but I wouldn't say that 450 00:28:56,280 --> 00:28:59,600 I'm holy right now. Can I, can I tell you something? 451 00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:03,840 When you surrendered your life to Jesus, do you know, do you 452 00:29:03,840 --> 00:29:09,000 know how God now views you? God now views you when he looks 453 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:11,840 at you. When he looks at me, he sees the 454 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:15,320 blood of Jesus and, and, and when we surrender our lives to 455 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,760 Jesus, something called the the the many theologians and 456 00:29:18,760 --> 00:29:21,840 scholars have referred to as the great exchange takes place that 457 00:29:22,080 --> 00:29:25,960 I exchange my unholiness for Jesus holiness and my 458 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:28,960 unrighteousness for Jesus righteousness. 459 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:32,520 So if you've surrendered your life to Jesus, God now looks at 460 00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:37,400 you as holy. But one of the most mind blowing 461 00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:41,480 things is notice that Peter didn't say you are now a holy 462 00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:44,640 individual. He says you are now a holy 463 00:29:44,880 --> 00:29:47,640 nation. What does what does that denote? 464 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,400 What does that tell us? It tells us that with Jesus we 465 00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:54,880 now have belonging. We now have belonging. 466 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,640 I think that we from from one point in time or another, maybe 467 00:29:59,640 --> 00:30:02,800 you're in a season like this right now to where we know the 468 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:07,680 excruciating pain of loneliness. We we know the excruciating pain 469 00:30:07,680 --> 00:30:12,640 of a feeling left out. Can I tell you this, that Peter 470 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:16,960 reminds us that as a son or a daughter of God, you now have 471 00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:19,880 belonging because you're a holy nation. 472 00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:24,480 The fourth thing that God tells us through Peter is I am a 473 00:30:24,480 --> 00:30:29,760 people for God's own possession. I'm a people for God's own 474 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:31,360 possession. Now check this out. 475 00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:34,960 This people for God's own possession. 476 00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:39,960 That is not control language. That is covenant language. 477 00:30:40,600 --> 00:30:43,080 It's not control language, it's covenant language. 478 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:47,200 And what I mean by that is, is when I remind myself that God 479 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:50,800 tells me that I am a people. I'm a part of a people for his 480 00:30:50,800 --> 00:30:53,520 own possession. It means that there's a lot of 481 00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:57,720 things in this world that will change, but God never will. 482 00:30:58,280 --> 00:30:59,800 There there. There's a lot of things in this 483 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:03,600 world that will let me down, but God never will there there. 484 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:07,080 There's a lot of mistakes that I've made and, and and will 485 00:31:07,080 --> 00:31:13,080 make, but God will never leave me that that His covenant to 486 00:31:13,080 --> 00:31:18,200 love me is not based off of what I do or what I don't do is based 487 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:22,320 off of His love for me. And come what may, there's 488 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:25,640 nothing that will ever be able to separate me from the love of 489 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:27,920 God. Come what may, there's nothing 490 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:30,960 that can ever touch my eternal security. 491 00:31:31,080 --> 00:31:35,000 Being able to live with a sense of hope, knowing that what come, 492 00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:39,680 let, come what may, I will always know that when I die, I 493 00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:42,560 will spend eternity with God in heaven. 494 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:46,320 When Peter reminds us that we are a people for God's own 495 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:48,560 possession, again, that's not control language, that's 496 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:52,080 covenant language. He looks at you and he looks at 497 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:56,040 me and it's kind of like the the, the notion of of God 498 00:31:56,040 --> 00:32:00,280 looking at us and choosing us. But when he looks at us, he's 499 00:32:00,280 --> 00:32:04,200 just says, he smiles and says he's mine. 500 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:08,120 She's mine. Here's why this is so important 501 00:32:08,760 --> 00:32:11,640 is I think that every single one of us, we've experienced this. 502 00:32:11,640 --> 00:32:16,160 We're no stranger to the voices and inside our head or, or, or 503 00:32:16,160 --> 00:32:19,920 the voices of our past or, or the voices of other people 504 00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:25,080 trying to trying to convince us that we are lesser than or, or 505 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:28,520 or lesser loved. And, and here's one of the 506 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:31,480 things that I want you to take away from this passage in First 507 00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,360 Peter that I want you to take away from our time together this 508 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:38,920 morning is when those voices, when you start to hear those 509 00:32:38,920 --> 00:32:42,280 voices, whether they're in your mind, in your head, or from your 510 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:48,040 past or or outside of you other, other people, you have a choice 511 00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:52,960 to make. Do you internalize what they say 512 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:55,880 about you or you do you internalize? 513 00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:58,240 Do you choose to internalize what God says about you? 514 00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:03,680 Because what God says about you is you are a chosen race. 515 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:07,680 You are a holy priesthood, a royal priesthood. 516 00:33:07,680 --> 00:33:11,640 You are a holy nation. You are a people for God's own 517 00:33:12,120 --> 00:33:16,800 possession. Man, that is so, so incredibly 518 00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:21,680 powerful. As as we start to kind of head 519 00:33:21,680 --> 00:33:24,920 down the home stretch this morning, I want to bring your 520 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:29,240 attention back to the back end of the passage that we're going 521 00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:32,000 to walk through in in first Peter chapter 2. 522 00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,600 I want to read it in its entirety, starting back in in 523 00:33:35,600 --> 00:33:38,120 verse 9. And I, I want to, I want to do 524 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:42,040 an exercise with you that I hope is going to be really powerful 525 00:33:42,040 --> 00:33:44,880 and really useful in your life this week. 526 00:33:45,520 --> 00:33:47,600 Check out what Peter says. Let's read through the passage 527 00:33:47,600 --> 00:33:50,400 again. First Peter chapter 2 verse 9. 528 00:33:50,960 --> 00:33:54,320 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation 529 00:33:54,320 --> 00:33:58,840 of people for his own possession that you may proclaim that were 530 00:33:58,840 --> 00:34:01,320 that right there. That's kind of like the hinge 531 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:03,680 point, right? That's kind of like the we're 532 00:34:03,680 --> 00:34:07,160 we're about to we're going to go from identity and show how 533 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:11,159 identity is going to flow into into purpose that you may 534 00:34:11,159 --> 00:34:15,520 proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness 535 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:19,239 into his marvelous light. Remember the definition, the 536 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:23,639 two-part definition that we gave about calling, pointing people 537 00:34:23,639 --> 00:34:25,239 to Jesus. This is what Peter's talking 538 00:34:25,239 --> 00:34:29,239 about here, that proclaiming the excellencies of him who called 539 00:34:29,239 --> 00:34:31,600 you out of darkness into His marvellous light. 540 00:34:32,159 --> 00:34:35,880 Once you are not a people, but now you are God's people. 541 00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:40,520 Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 542 00:34:40,679 --> 00:34:45,719 He goes on in verse 11, Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and 543 00:34:45,760 --> 00:34:50,280 exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage 544 00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:54,480 war against your soul. Verse 11, we don't have time to 545 00:34:54,480 --> 00:34:59,200 dive into this, but basically verse 11 tells us as sojourners 546 00:34:59,200 --> 00:35:03,400 and exiles, this world, this culture, this is not our home. 547 00:35:03,640 --> 00:35:06,840 Our eternal home is with Jesus in heaven. 548 00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:09,480 So we are because we have been made different. 549 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:14,360 We are to be different. We approach life differently. 550 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:19,360 In verse 12, keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so 551 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:23,160 that when they speak against you as evil doers, they may see your 552 00:35:23,160 --> 00:35:28,360 good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 553 00:35:28,600 --> 00:35:33,440 Listen, there's so much that we could unpack in that passage, 554 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:37,480 but I want to invite you to do a quick exercise with me in your 555 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,280 notes. There is that passage, but then 556 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:43,480 there's also blanks. There's also blanks in that 557 00:35:43,480 --> 00:35:46,800 passage. And I want to, I want you to, I 558 00:35:46,800 --> 00:35:50,280 want you to fill in those blanks as we come to them. 559 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:52,680 I want you to fill in those blanks with with some different 560 00:35:53,040 --> 00:35:55,360 words. If you're ready. 561 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:59,560 Here we go. That the first blank I that I 562 00:35:59,560 --> 00:36:04,000 may proclaim the excellencies of him who called me out of 563 00:36:04,000 --> 00:36:07,920 darkness into His marvelous light. 564 00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:15,440 That second blank once, verse 10, once called me out of 565 00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:17,560 darkness into His wonderful marvelous light. 566 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:23,920 Third blank, verse 10. Once I was not a people, but now 567 00:36:24,080 --> 00:36:30,440 I am God's people. Once I had not received mercy, 568 00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:36,840 but now I have received mercy. Verse 11. 569 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:39,520 Verse 11 is going to be a little bit different. 570 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:43,640 I want you to approach verse 11 as if Peter is writing this, as 571 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:47,800 if the Holy Spirit of God is saying this directly to you. 572 00:36:48,040 --> 00:36:51,520 This is this is God's love letter, an encouragement letter 573 00:36:51,680 --> 00:36:52,680 to you. Check this out. 574 00:36:52,680 --> 00:36:55,840 Verse 11. I want you to just to write your 575 00:36:55,840 --> 00:36:59,000 name so. So for me it would be that I may 576 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:01,720 proclaim the excellencies of him who called me out of darkness 577 00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,840 into his marvelous light. Once I was not a people, but now 578 00:37:04,840 --> 00:37:08,320 I am God's people. Once I had not received mercy, 579 00:37:08,320 --> 00:37:13,800 but now I have received mercy. Then I urge you as sojourners 580 00:37:14,160 --> 00:37:19,360 and exiles, as a sojourner, and as an exile, exile to abstain 581 00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:21,560 from. Here's that next blank. 582 00:37:21,720 --> 00:37:25,280 Here's that next blank I want you to write down just between 583 00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:29,400 you and God, what is your greatest temptation or your 584 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:34,360 greatest sin struggle? Like maybe maybe in this current 585 00:37:35,280 --> 00:37:39,640 season or setting or context, there is a, there is a 586 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:44,240 temptation and there is a sin struggle that that has almost 587 00:37:44,240 --> 00:37:47,680 like beset you. It's almost like just 588 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:52,440 overwhelmed you and it comes seems to overpower you in terms 589 00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:57,320 of like the overall quality or quantity in which it comes in to 590 00:37:57,320 --> 00:37:59,720 where you just feel everywhere you look. 591 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:02,840 Then there's that temptation, there's that sin struggle. 592 00:38:02,840 --> 00:38:06,240 It could be pride, it could be lust, it could be materialism, 593 00:38:06,240 --> 00:38:09,200 it could be gossip, it could be any number of things. 594 00:38:09,440 --> 00:38:12,240 But what is your greatest sin struggle? 595 00:38:12,520 --> 00:38:15,520 This is so important because I want to put it kind of in 596 00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:20,200 context as sojourners and exiles, to abstain from what 597 00:38:20,200 --> 00:38:22,240 your greatest temptation or sin struggle is. 598 00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:25,560 Why? Because it wages war against 599 00:38:25,560 --> 00:38:28,320 your soul. A lot of times when we face 600 00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:31,600 temptations and and sin struggles, we we kind of 601 00:38:31,600 --> 00:38:33,640 downplay them, don't we? We minimize them. 602 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:36,480 But Peter comes back and he reminds us, no, no, no, these 603 00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:37,720 are really big deals. Why? 604 00:38:37,720 --> 00:38:41,800 Because they wage war against our souls. 605 00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:47,320 He's going to go on in verse 12. Keep your conduct among and 606 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:48,720 here's what I wanted to get you to do. 607 00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:50,920 I want you to think, and maybe you don't have to think very 608 00:38:50,920 --> 00:38:54,800 long or hard on this. What is, who is a specific 609 00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:57,960 person in your life or maybe a group of people in your life 610 00:38:58,400 --> 00:39:02,360 that they just, they just have that way of just constantly 611 00:39:02,640 --> 00:39:05,280 getting under your skin. They, they, they, they just push 612 00:39:05,280 --> 00:39:07,760 your buttons. They, they get to this is the 613 00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:11,680 person or this is the, the, the group that you struggle to love 614 00:39:11,680 --> 00:39:14,000 the most. This person or this group, 615 00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:17,880 you're pretty sure, you're pretty sure they need Jesus. 616 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,080 They need Jesus in their life. Here's what I want to get you to 617 00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:24,200 do in that blank. I just want you to write that 618 00:39:24,200 --> 00:39:27,320 person's name or maybe, maybe just something to denote that 619 00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:29,440 group. Here's how that would look. 620 00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:33,400 Keep your conduct among that person or that group. 621 00:39:33,600 --> 00:39:37,320 Keep your conduct among them honorable so that when they 622 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:40,760 speak, speak against you as the evil doers, they may see your 623 00:39:40,760 --> 00:39:45,000 good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. 624 00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:50,520 You see, what we just did here is we just took this passage and 625 00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:52,960 we made it very personal. We personalized it. 626 00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:55,640 Here's one of the things that I would encourage you to do. 627 00:39:56,320 --> 00:39:59,040 You, you, you have this in your, in your notes app. 628 00:39:59,360 --> 00:40:03,240 I would encourage you later on today or or or or tonight or 629 00:40:03,400 --> 00:40:05,960 certainly by tomorrow morning, I would encourage you. 630 00:40:06,440 --> 00:40:10,400 To, to take this passage as you filled in those blanks, I would 631 00:40:10,400 --> 00:40:13,400 encourage you to take it and I would encourage you to maybe 632 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:17,000 write it down, copy it down on a note card or a piece of paper or 633 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:19,320 somewhere that you know that you're going to come across it. 634 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:22,600 Put it in your wallet, put it, you know, kind of in your dash, 635 00:40:22,600 --> 00:40:28,240 maybe put it on your mirror just as a reminder of what God has 636 00:40:28,240 --> 00:40:32,000 for you. You know, one of the things that 637 00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:37,360 I've been praying for over really over the past easily nine 638 00:40:37,360 --> 00:40:43,720 months, close to a year is that 2026 would be, would be seen 639 00:40:43,720 --> 00:40:47,320 and, and God would do a work here at Riverbend and in your 640 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:50,520 life, in my life and in the lives of our family members and 641 00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:54,840 create an enhanced culture. Connectivity, connection to one 642 00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:59,920 another and connection to, to, to God, but also that that we 643 00:40:59,920 --> 00:41:07,080 would have that God would bring an enhanced sense of you knowing 644 00:41:07,400 --> 00:41:11,960 that you are living right now in your calling, that you're being 645 00:41:11,960 --> 00:41:17,720 faithful and obedient where God has placed you to live out that 646 00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:19,800 calling. Here's what I want to do. 647 00:41:19,800 --> 00:41:23,400 I want to turn it like really, really personal, just kind of 648 00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:29,520 prom the pomp a little bit to to get you to think later on today 649 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:33,120 about everything that we've just walked through and discussed 650 00:41:33,120 --> 00:41:35,120 together. I want to kind of walk through 651 00:41:35,120 --> 00:41:38,240 some some questions for you to think about. 652 00:41:38,240 --> 00:41:42,240 These aren't in your notes, but if you'll just kind of listen in 653 00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:45,680 and kind of take it in right now. 654 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:48,680 What setting season or context are you in? 655 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,920 What setting, season or context are you in right now? 656 00:41:53,640 --> 00:41:57,400 And here's the question, once you have that identified, are 657 00:41:57,400 --> 00:42:00,760 you faithfully stewarding the opportunities that God has 658 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:04,800 placed directly in front of you? I, I, I know a lot of people 659 00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:09,960 that they want a lot of men and women and students that, that 660 00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:12,800 love Jesus and they want to know that they're living in their 661 00:42:12,800 --> 00:42:15,040 calling. But a lot of times they're 662 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:18,480 tempted just kind of sit back and wait for that calling to, I 663 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:23,160 guess just magically appear. And here's what I would ask you 664 00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:26,400 as you pursue your calling. If you're not sure if you're 665 00:42:26,400 --> 00:42:30,160 living in your calling right now as you're pursuing that, here's 666 00:42:30,160 --> 00:42:32,120 the question. Are you being faithful to the 667 00:42:32,120 --> 00:42:35,280 opportunities that God has placed directly in front of you 668 00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:39,520 right now? How are you stewarding your 669 00:42:39,520 --> 00:42:43,040 current setting season in context? 670 00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:50,360 Second question, who who are you intentionally pointing to Jesus? 671 00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:54,720 Who are you intentionally actively, not just passively, 672 00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:57,840 not just like, hey, I hope to be a good guy or a good girl. 673 00:42:57,840 --> 00:43:01,400 And, and they take note. And, and the my Co workers or my 674 00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:04,640 classmates, they take note and they just kind of chalk it up to 675 00:43:04,640 --> 00:43:07,320 to, to Jesus. I'm talking about like who are 676 00:43:07,320 --> 00:43:12,760 you intentionally who are you intentionally pointing to? 677 00:43:13,440 --> 00:43:21,800 Jesus #3 don't immediately answer this as, as, as a yes, 678 00:43:21,800 --> 00:43:23,280 no. I want you to kind of wrestle 679 00:43:23,280 --> 00:43:25,320 with this. I want you to be really honest 680 00:43:25,320 --> 00:43:27,600 with yourself. Like search, get the Holy Spirit 681 00:43:27,600 --> 00:43:31,880 of God, ask God, pray to God and ask him, invite the Holy Spirit 682 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:35,960 to search the deep places of you so that you can honestly answer 683 00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:38,240 this next question. Here's the third question. 684 00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:42,960 Is Jesus your true authority? Is Jesus your true authority? 685 00:43:43,040 --> 00:43:49,160 Is he truly your foundation? Is he truly your standard? 686 00:43:50,200 --> 00:43:52,040 And then here's the here's the 4th. 687 00:43:52,880 --> 00:43:58,000 How does what God said, how does what God says about you differ 688 00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:03,760 from what you say about you? How does what God says about you 689 00:44:03,760 --> 00:44:08,680 differ from what God from what you say about you? 690 00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:14,280 You know, one of the things that I hope that you know by now is 691 00:44:14,560 --> 00:44:18,240 just because we're talking on a Sunday morning, kind of snowed 692 00:44:18,240 --> 00:44:22,240 in or iced in, we're talking here and now about calling. 693 00:44:22,240 --> 00:44:25,240 This is not all that we will ever talk about this sense of 694 00:44:25,240 --> 00:44:27,480 calling. Maybe this is the beginning of 695 00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:31,240 that conversation with you. Maybe this is the beginning of 696 00:44:31,440 --> 00:44:35,840 of of our journey together as as Riverbend churches, you, you and 697 00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:38,200 your family get more plugged into Riverbend Church. 698 00:44:38,200 --> 00:44:42,960 But just know that my heart as your pastor for you is that you 699 00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:47,640 know Jesus, that you love Jesus and you're growing in Jesus, and 700 00:44:47,640 --> 00:44:52,480 that you have a sense to where you know that you're living in 701 00:44:52,520 --> 00:45:00,480 your calling. Thank you for listening to 702 00:45:00,480 --> 00:45:03,880 Riverbend Church's podcast. To find out more about this 703 00:45:03,880 --> 00:45:07,400 message or Riverbend Church, connect with us online at 704 00:45:07,400 --> 00:45:09,040 Riverbend Church dot live.