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I'm actually going to be reading
this from the English standard 

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version, which it for me it is 
so much easier for me to 

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understand to to put things 
together. 

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I know we have the new King 
James and the Pew so but I'll 

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put the the verses up here for 
us to read. 

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We'll be starting in verse 13 of
First Peter, chapter one. 

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It says there, therefore 
preparing your minds for action,

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and be sober minded. 
Set your hope fully on the grace

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that will be brought to you at 
the revelation of Jesus Christ 

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as obedient children. 
Do not be conformed to the 

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passions of your former 
ignorance. 

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But as he who called you as 
holy, you also be holy in all 

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your conduct. 
Since it is written, you shall 

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be holy, for I am holy. 
And if you call on Him as 

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Father, who judges impartially 
according to each one's deeds, 

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conduct yourselves with fear 
throughout the time of your 

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exile, knowing that you were 
ransom from the futile ways 

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inherited from inherited from 
your forefathers, not with 

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perishable things such as silver
or gold, but with the precious 

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blood of Christ, like that of a 
lamb without blemish or spot. 

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He was foreknown before the 
foundation of the world, but was

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made manifest in the last times 
for the sake of you, who through

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him are believers in God, who 
raised him from the dead and 

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gave him glory, so that your 
faith and hope are in God, 

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having purified your souls by 
this, by your obedience to the 

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truth. 
For in sincere, sincere 

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brotherly love, love one another
earnestly from a pure heart, 

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since you have been born again, 
not of perishable seed, but of 

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imperishable, through the living
and abiding word of God. 

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All flesh is like grass and all 
its glory like the flower of 

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grass, the the grass Withers and
the flower falls, but the word 

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of the Lord remains forever, and
this word is good. 

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Is the good news that was 
preached to you. 

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One point that I want us to get 
kind of an overarching theme of 

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this lesson is life is futile 
apart from knowing and enjoying 

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God as Father. 
This is what we just read about 

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in this passage and I hope to 
show you that. 

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And I want to think about how 
significant that statement is. 

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First, we see this in In the 
Word. 

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In verse 17 it says if you call 
on God as Father who judges 

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impartially according to each 
one's deeds, conduct yourselves 

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with fear throughout your time 
of exile. 

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The Bible says you know 
Christians were foreigners. 

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Foreigners in this, in this time
of the Bible this was written. 

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Peter wrote this to the 
Christians who were dispersed 

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after the destruction of 
Jerusalem in AD 70. 

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They were they were refugees in 
other areas of the world like 

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Asia and Galatia and a few other
places that we can read about. 

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So these Christians were pushed 
away from their home of 

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Jerusalem that they called and 
they went through many trials 

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and many many hardships and 
Peter was writing this to them 

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to encourage them. 
They were elect exiles that we 

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could that we see here. 
But even though Peter was 

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writing to these 1st century 
Christians, we can also take 

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these things and certainly apply
them to our lives today. 

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Verse 18 says, knowing that you 
were ransom from the futile ways

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which inherited from your 
forefathers, not with perishable

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things such as silver or gold. 
Verse 18 says the futile ways 

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that we inherited from our 
forefathers. 

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The new King James states it a 
little little different or 

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order, but it was easier for me 
to understand as I put this 

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lesson together to to study it 
out of the English standard 

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version. 
If we're Christians, if we're if

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we're following Christ, if we've
been baptized for the remission 

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of our sins, we have been 
ransomed, We've been redeemed, 

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we've been saved from futility, 
from a futile life. 

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And some may think that that may
be a strong word. 

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You know, when we we have been 
saved from a pointless, 

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meaningless life that were 
passed on to us by our 

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forefathers, we've lived a point
we we used to live a pointless 

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and meaningless life, a futile 
life. 

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But now we've been ransomed from
that. 

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We've been saved from that. 
We've been saved from futility 

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by God who is our father three 
times. 

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In First Peter, one God is 
referred to as Father. 

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Christians are referred to as 
those who are born again. 

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We see that in verse 3. 
It's the same language we see. 

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Language we see in verse 23 says
since you have been born again. 

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And also in verse 14 it says 
Christians are called obedient 

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children. 
A Christian is a child of God, 

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someone who knows God as Father,
one writer said. 

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If you want to know how well a 
person understands Christianity,

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find out how much he makes of 
the thought of being God's child

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and having God as his father. 
This truth is evident in First 

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Peter. 
Life is futile apart from 

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knowing God, enjoying and 
enjoying God as Father. 

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So why is that such a 
significant statement based on 

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the Bible? 
Our life ultimately is futile, 

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meaningless and pointless if we 
live it apart from knowing and 

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enjoying God as father. 
We think about maybe our non 

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Christian friends or family 
members. 

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You know, if that statement is 
true, then their life right now 

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is futile. 
Their life is meaningless. 

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If you do not know and come to 
know, enjoy and enjoy God as 

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Father, then your life will 
ultimately be futile or 

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pointless. 
We'll miss the whole point. 

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And I hope to show today that 
God does not want us to live 

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that way. 
He does not want us to have a 

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pointless life. 
God wants us to live a life and 

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and die with the fullness and 
and meaning for what matters 

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most now and what matters most 
for eternity. 

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The opposing point of this 
statement, if we were to kind of

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turn it around and state it on a
positive sense, we would say 

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life is full and the deepest, 
most possible meaning of that 

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word. 
Abundant, meaningful, full of 

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purpose. 
Only when we know and enjoy God 

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as Father. 
I want to show us four steps to 

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have a fulfilled life based on 
God's word, all revolving around

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knowing Him as Father each and 
every day of our lives. 

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I believe that is a lesson that 
we can get from this text that 

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we just read. 
The God of the Universe. 

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The Creator wants us to 
experience life in its fullest 

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meaning. 
Experience abundant life. 

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And that's what the point of 
this lesson is. 4 Steps to a 

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Full Life. 
These aren't my opinions. 

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These are coming from clear 
commands that we read in this 

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text, and I hope to make those 
known to you this morning before

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we get into those four steps. 
The whole passage starts with 

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the word therefore in verse 13. 
And of course we know that when 

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the word therefore is, it's 
there because of what the 

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previous statements were made by
the writer. 

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And I want to look at what he 
says there. 

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And the beginning part of first 
Peter, Chapter one we'll start. 

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And verse three it says, there 
blessed be the God and Father of

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our Lord Jesus Christ. 
According to His great mercy. 

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He has caused us to be born 
again to a living hope, through 

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the resurrection of Jesus Christ
from the dead to an inheritance 

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that is imperishable, undefiled,
and unfading, kept in heaven for

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you, who by God's power are 
being guarded through faith for 

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a salvation ready to be revealed
in the last time. 

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In this you rejoice, though now 
for a little while if necessary.

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You have been grieved by various
trials, so that the tested 

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genuineness of your faith, more 
precious than gold, that that 

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perisheth through it is, though 
it is tested by fire, may be 

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found to result in praise and 
glory and honor at the 

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revelation of Jesus Christ. 
Though you have not seen him, 

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and you love him, though you do 
not, though you do not now see 

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him, you believe in him, and 
rejoice with joy that is 

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inexpressible and filled with 
glory. 

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Obtaining the outcome of your 
faith, the salvation of your 

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souls. 
Concerning this salvation, the 

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prophets who prophesied about 
the grace that was to be yours 

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searched and inquired carefully,
inquiring what person or time 

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the Spirit of Christ in them was
an indicated indicating When he 

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predicted the sufferings of 
Christ and the subsequent 

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glories. 
It was revealed to them that 

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they were serving not themselves
but you in the things that you 

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have now been announced to 
through those who preach the 

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good news to you by the Holy 
Spirit sent from heaven, things 

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into which the angels long to 
look, Peter says. 

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Then of course, in verse 13. 
Therefore, in light of all that,

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of what? 
In light of all of what he just 

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said, we can know how to live. 
That's what verses 13 through 

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2025 are going to tell us. 
How do we experience that life, 

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a full life, and how do we make 
it count? 

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Verse 13 says, therefore 
preparing your minds for action.

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Be sober minded. 
Set your hope fully on the grace

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that will be brought to you at 
the Revelation of Christ. 

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The first step to a full life is
to hope in God. 

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Set your hope fully on the grace
of God. 

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In verse 21 it also says your 
your faith and hope are in God, 

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Hope in God. 
Have you ever thought of hope 

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being a command? 
You know, hope is an emotion. 

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But what we're being taught here
is that hope is actually a 

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command that we're we're to do. 
Hope is a desire. 

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It's a feeling. 
How do you command somebody to 

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have a feeling, a specific 
feeling, you know, feel this 

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way. 
OK, I'll feel that way. 

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I mean, that's tough, that's, 
that's it's hard to explain that

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the scripture never gives us a 
command without a practical way 

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of fulfilling those commands. 
God is actually telling us here 

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in verse 13, he says prepare 
your minds for action and be 

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sober minded. 
He's telling us how to hope. 

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God is telling us here that 
there are things that you and I 

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can do in our minds in order to 
cultivate hope in our hearts. 

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And it's very important. 
According to God, hope is not 

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some passive emotion that we 
cannot control. 

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You don't just not have hope, 
and then you just you don't know

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how to get it. 
There is a way to get it, and 

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God is telling us how to get 
hope. 

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It's not something. 
It's not something we either 

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have or we don't have. 
We have control over having 

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hope. 
We can cultivate it and create 

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it in our hearts by disciplining
our minds and our thoughts and 

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that letting our mind be ruled 
by the thoughts that are 

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contrary to God's word. 
Then be sober minded. 

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Of course we know a drunk person
is disoriented. 

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They're not thinking straight. 
God is saying, God guard your 

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mind from disoriented thinking 
that pulls you away from hope. 

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In me we can read about that in 
Philippians chapter 4 in the 

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battle. 
You know that we can deal with 

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with anxiety and all other kinds
of battles that we may have 

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going on our minds. 
When we're when we're tempted 

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when we worry when we're when we
tend to get anxious or we feel 

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hopeless. 
We need to stop. 

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And I found this acrostic and 
what these And I thought this 

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was really good. 
Kind of helped me. 

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But the acrostics stop Look at 
what these these letters I 

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found. 
Stand for S seek God in prayer 

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about everything. 
Philippians 4 verse six says Do 

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not be anxious about anything, 
but in everything. 

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By prayer and supplication with 
Thanksgiving, let your request 

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be made known to God. 
This is how we hope in God. 

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We seek God in prayer about 
everything we lay our burdens 

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in. 
We give it all to him. 

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When we're feeling hopeless, 
when we feel tired, when we have

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anxiety, we go to God in prayer.
Trust God through prayers and 

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Thanksgiving with Thanksgiving. 
Let your requests be made known 

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to God. 
His love for us is from before 

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the foundation of the world, His
promises to us about the future,

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His power that will guard and 
guide us to the end. 

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We thank God in prayer for all 
these things that we have that 

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He has done for us. 
Oh, open your mind to the word 

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that comes from God. 
This is what we're seeing here 

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in first Peter 113 and then also
in Philippians 48. 

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Whatever's true. 
Whatever is honorable, whatever 

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is just, whatever is pure, 
whatever is lovely, whatever is 

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commendable. 
If there is any excellence, if 

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there is anything worthy of 
praise, think about these 

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things. 
This seems simple. 

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This is simple. 
But you know, we don't want to 

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make it too simple. 
I'm not saying it's easy, but 

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it's simple. 
Our minds are a battlefield, but

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the instruction God is giving us
in this battle is simple. 

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To think about what we're 
thinking about, think about 

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what's going on in your mind. 
If we spend all of our time 

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thinking about what's going on 
in the world, all the 

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distractions, all the various 
things that are going wrong or 

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have gone wrong or might go 
wrong, if we fill our minds with

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those things and we're going to 
feel hopeless, we're going to 

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have anxiety and we will be 
discouraged. 

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But if we set our mind on who 
God is and how He loves us and 

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what He has done for us and the 
promises that He's given to us, 

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hope starts to cultivate in our 
hearts. 

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We start having that hope in 
God. 

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So we need to guard our minds, 
not spend so many times 

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scrolling through a screen 
sometimes, as we're so tempted 

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to do, you know, immersing 
ourselves in the world, 

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expecting hope to rise in our 
heart from doing that. 

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It won't happen. 
It does not happen. 

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Instead, we need to immerse our 
mind in God and His word and the

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wonder who he is and what he has
said to us. 

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Then hope starts to rise. 
We need to understand how 

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important our mind is. 
Even back in back in First 

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Peter, One verse 14 says as 
obedient children, do not be 

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conformed to the passions of 
your former ignorance, these 

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passions and emotions that were 
driven by lack of knowledge. 

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You know that's what was going 
on in our mind. 

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Peter saying you lit, you used 
to have these emotions, you used

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to live this life. 
Your minds were driven to be 

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immersed in the world, but no 
more. 

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We don't do that anymore because
we know what God has done for 

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us. 
So we live a different life. 

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Fix our mind on God, His grace, 
His promises, his love for you 

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and I. 
And we need to keep opening our 

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mind to that which comes from 
God. 

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P Practice the word of God. 
In other words, we need to live 

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our life according to what God's
words say in the Scripture, not 

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according to the ways of the 
world. 

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Don't live according to the 
futility and hopelessness of the

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world. 
We live on a higher plane. 

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We live with hope in God. 
So the first step to a full 

263
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life, to a fulfilled life, is to
hope in God. 

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And the way that we generate 
that hope in our heart is by 

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filling our minds with love, 
with the promises, with the 

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truth and the wonder of God and 
His Word forever. 

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And it's not just steps that we 
take in our mind and in our 

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heart. 
Verse 13 says, you're preparing 

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your mind for action. 
So what is that action? 

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Be holy, like God. 
Verse 14 says, as obedient 

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children, do not be conformed to
the passions of your former 

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00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:12,960
ignorance. 
But as He who called you is 

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holy, you also be holy in all 
your conduct. 

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00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:22,000
Since it is written you shall be
holy, for I am holy, there are a

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00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:30,400
ton of sermons on that phrase 
alone of being holy for the 

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simplicity of what I'm trying to
convey. 

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I want us to think of a phrase 
that all of us are familiar 

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with, like father, like son. 
This statement can be a really, 

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00:17:43,600 --> 00:17:46,320
really good statement if the 
father is a really good father. 

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00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:49,440
If the father is known for 
integrity, then somebody 

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00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,480
observes his son's life and says
like father, like son. 

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That's a good thing. 
That's a good thing for that 

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00:17:55,720 --> 00:17:57,360
son. 
But when we have a father that 

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00:17:57,360 --> 00:18:00,360
may be evil, you know, maybe the
father is known for being 

285
00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:02,880
prideful or selfish or lacking 
integrity. 

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00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,480
Some may observe that kid and 
say like father, like son. 

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00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:08,720
That is not a good statement for
that person. 

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00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:13,040
That's not a good thing. 
So the picture of God, the 

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00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:18,640
perfect Father for for a God to 
be holy means God is perfect in 

290
00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:25,840
all of his ways, as Darren said 
in his his prayer, Limitless. 

291
00:18:26,360 --> 00:18:30,080
And I love that word limitless. 
He is perfectly loving, 

292
00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:33,760
perfectly, just, perfectly 
merciful, perfectly wise, 

293
00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,000
perfectly faithful, perfectly 
good. 

294
00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:39,480
You know, we could keep going on
and on and on. 

295
00:18:39,480 --> 00:18:43,400
Perfectly perfect, if you want 
to say so. 

296
00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:45,880
We want to be, you know, If 
that's the case, don't we want 

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00:18:45,880 --> 00:18:50,200
it to be said of us like father,
like son, or like daughter? 

298
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:55,720
We want to be holy because we 
want to be like our father, we 

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00:18:55,960 --> 00:18:59,240
God, and we want to be loving 
and just and merciful and kind, 

300
00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:02,120
wise and faithful. 
You know, we don't. 

301
00:19:02,120 --> 00:19:04,480
None of us here thinks that, you
know, we want to be an evil 

302
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,160
person or we want to be, you 
know, not thankful. 

303
00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:11,000
We don't want to be labeled as 
being unkind. 

304
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:16,520
We don't have that mindset. 
When I think about my own life, 

305
00:19:17,240 --> 00:19:21,520
I want my wife and kids to see 
the character of God in me. 

306
00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,360
We pray for people around us who
are spiritually lost. 

307
00:19:26,960 --> 00:19:29,520
We want them to see the 
character of God in us. 

308
00:19:29,520 --> 00:19:31,600
We want to. 
We should and want to reflect 

309
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:35,320
the character of God. 
And not just for their sake, but

310
00:19:35,360 --> 00:19:39,360
for our sake as well. 
And when we think about it, you 

311
00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:41,800
know God created you. 
God created me. 

312
00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:45,560
God designed us. 
God knows what is best for us, 

313
00:19:45,560 --> 00:19:48,800
in our heart and in our mind, in
our life, far better than we 

314
00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:52,960
will ever know about ourselves. 
So it makes sense that if we 

315
00:19:52,960 --> 00:19:55,600
want to actually live the most, 
get the most of our out of our 

316
00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:58,080
life, If we want to live a good 
life, then we'll live like the 

317
00:19:58,080 --> 00:20:02,360
one who is perfectly good. 
The holy life equals the good 

318
00:20:02,360 --> 00:20:04,560
life. 
The holy life equals the 

319
00:20:04,560 --> 00:20:10,640
abundant life, the full life. 
It is simple, but of course it 

320
00:20:10,640 --> 00:20:12,000
is not easy. 
We know that. 

321
00:20:17,320 --> 00:20:20,040
We can't make it more 
complicated than it really is 

322
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,600
sometimes. 
Sometimes we're good at 

323
00:20:21,600 --> 00:20:24,720
complicating things. 
God really spells it out and 

324
00:20:24,720 --> 00:20:26,680
gives us some simple 
instructions that we can live 

325
00:20:26,680 --> 00:20:32,000
by. 
So be holy and to be like God is

326
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:35,840
the best way to be. 
Thirdly, the next step in a full

327
00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:41,120
life is to be fearful of God. 
This is taken from verses 17 

328
00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:45,040
through 19. 
It says there, And if you call 

329
00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:48,600
on him as father, who judges 
impartially according to each 

330
00:20:48,600 --> 00:20:52,120
one's deeds, conduct yourselves 
with fear throughout the time of

331
00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:55,640
your exile, knowing that you 
were ransom from the futile ways

332
00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:58,960
inherited from your forefathers,
not with perishable things such 

333
00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,360
as silver and gold, but with the
precious blood of Christ, like 

334
00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,600
the lamb, like that of a lamb 
without blemish or spot. 

335
00:21:06,920 --> 00:21:09,800
So that third step, to be 
fearful of God. 

336
00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:17,480
Sometimes we tend to think, OK, 
how am I to be fearful of God? 

337
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:21,200
You know, I thought, we're not 
supposed to be afraid of God. 

338
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:23,880
We're not supposed to have that 
fear towards God. 

339
00:21:24,200 --> 00:21:26,400
You know, we're told to be do 
not fear. 

340
00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:27,680
We can read in the Old 
Testament. 

341
00:21:27,720 --> 00:21:30,600
Be not afraid, do not fear, be 
not afraid. 

342
00:21:30,600 --> 00:21:33,360
We see it over and over. 
So how do we hope, have hope in 

343
00:21:33,360 --> 00:21:35,960
God if we are to be afraid of 
God? 

344
00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:40,000
And I want us to think about it 
like this. 

345
00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:43,440
And when we find out the answer,
it's really pretty awesome. 

346
00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:51,240
It is right and good to fear 
someone that you love dearly. 

347
00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:55,680
It is right and good to fear 
someone when you love them. 

348
00:21:56,440 --> 00:22:01,760
The simplest illustration that I
can think of is is my love for 

349
00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:06,080
my wife Lizzie. 
I love her so much that I fear 

350
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:11,200
doing anything that would harm 
her, that would dishonor her, 

351
00:22:11,640 --> 00:22:14,880
that would dishonor the love 
that we have between each other.

352
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:21,000
And in light of the way that she
loves me, I don't want to do 

353
00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:23,400
anything that is going to 
tarnish that relationship. 

354
00:22:23,400 --> 00:22:29,920
I fear that because I love her 
so much, I dread that. 

355
00:22:30,800 --> 00:22:33,280
And that's the sense of fear 
that we're seeing here in the 

356
00:22:33,280 --> 00:22:38,680
relationship with God. 
In one sense, yes, we do have 

357
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:41,920
that fear of God because we will
be judged before. 

358
00:22:42,480 --> 00:22:44,760
We will stand before, and be 
judged because of the things 

359
00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:46,600
that he has taught us. 
Absolutely. 

360
00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:49,760
There's a whole other sermon on 
that about the Day of Judgment. 

361
00:22:50,120 --> 00:22:54,040
The emphasis here in verse 17 
through 19 says to conduct 

362
00:22:54,040 --> 00:22:58,760
ourselves with fear throughout 
your time of exile, knowing that

363
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:04,360
you were ransomed with the. 
And then as it goes on, it says 

364
00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:09,640
with the precious blood of 
Christ, there's a relationship 

365
00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:13,360
between fear and love. 
Here God and his love sent his 

366
00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:15,320
son to shed his blood for our 
sins. 

367
00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:19,440
And let's not all forget, you 
know that for all of us who are 

368
00:23:19,440 --> 00:23:23,880
Christians who know God as 
Father, we are to fear Him 

369
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:29,160
because we love Him, which means
that we live in a way that shows

370
00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:32,600
that Jesus blood and God's love 
are now very, very, very 

371
00:23:32,600 --> 00:23:38,280
precious to us. 
Fear disobeying God his Father 

372
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,200
as we give into sin, knowing 
that God gave his Son to free us

373
00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:47,160
from that love for God produces 
that kind of fear. 

374
00:23:48,840 --> 00:23:53,720
I found this illustration. 
It's not perfect, but I think it

375
00:23:53,720 --> 00:23:59,880
helps communicate the point. 
Imagine an 18 year old girl 

376
00:23:59,880 --> 00:24:02,120
kidnapped from her wealthy 
father. 

377
00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:05,600
The kidnappers demand a huge 
ransom. 

378
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,280
So the father of course 
liquidates all of his assets, 

379
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:12,240
sells his house, his 
possessions, right down to his 

380
00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,160
wife's wedding ring, All that he
has. 

381
00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:19,480
He brings it all to the 
appointed place, sets the ransom

382
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:24,280
down in a field, and walks away.
Soon the daughter comes out, 

383
00:24:25,040 --> 00:24:28,400
it's the ransom, and takes it 
back to the kidnappers. 

384
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,160
Then she puts her arm around one
of them as she walks away, 

385
00:24:33,160 --> 00:24:37,080
looking over her shoulder at her
father, laughing and hollering, 

386
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:45,600
saying, you fool. 
First Peter is saying don't live

387
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:49,160
like that, don't take what God 
has done for you for granted. 

388
00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:54,600
Understand what He has done with
the love for God. 

389
00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:58,800
Understanding His love, we are 
to be fearful of Him. 

390
00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,600
When we love God like this, when
we know the depth of value and 

391
00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:08,000
the preciousness of His love for
us, then we are experiencing 

392
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:12,040
what it means to know and enjoy 
God as our Father, which is a 

393
00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,440
great way to live. 
Nothing in this world can 

394
00:25:15,440 --> 00:25:17,720
compare with knowing and 
enjoying God as Father. 

395
00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:23,120
This intensity and love and fear
that I have in the relationship 

396
00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:26,480
with Lizzie. 
That's why I enjoy her so much 

397
00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:32,080
as my wife. 
Love like God is our next point.

398
00:25:32,360 --> 00:25:36,200
Love like God, so hoping God be 
holy like God, be fearful of 

399
00:25:36,200 --> 00:25:39,160
God, and of course love like 
God. 

400
00:25:39,160 --> 00:25:42,120
We see this in verses 20 through
2 through 23. 

401
00:25:42,760 --> 00:25:46,760
Having purified your souls by 
your obedience to the truth for 

402
00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,640
a sincere brotherly love, love 
one another earnestly from a 

403
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:54,160
pure heart, since you have been 
born again, not of perishable 

404
00:25:54,160 --> 00:25:57,720
seed, but of imperishable, 
through the living and abiding 

405
00:25:57,720 --> 00:26:02,400
word of God. 
This phrase, having purified 

406
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:08,440
your souls, excuse me, having 
purified your souls by 

407
00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:13,880
obedience, by your obedience to 
the truth, is talking about how 

408
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:20,040
people become Christians, how 
they obey the gospel followers 

409
00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:21,880
of Jesus. 
They obey the gospel of Jesus 

410
00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:24,360
Christ and saves them and 
appears, fives them from their 

411
00:26:24,360 --> 00:26:26,480
sins and then they follow him as
Lord. 

412
00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:30,000
It's followed by of course, in 
verse 23 since you have been 

413
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,520
born again, since you have been 
born again through the living 

414
00:26:33,520 --> 00:26:38,160
and abiding word of God. 
It's so awesome. 

415
00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:42,400
What's so awesome about this 
here is is God is linking their 

416
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:47,560
conversion to Christ with their 
affection for one another. 

417
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,680
In the church, when we think 
about holiness, we often think 

418
00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:56,280
about holiness is not doing 
specific things. 

419
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:57,800
You don't do this. 
You don't. 

420
00:26:57,960 --> 00:26:59,920
You don't hang out in this place
anymore. 

421
00:26:59,920 --> 00:27:01,760
You don't see these people 
anymore because they're bad 

422
00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:03,160
influence. 
You don't do this. 

423
00:27:03,160 --> 00:27:04,800
You don't do this. 
And that is a part of being 

424
00:27:04,800 --> 00:27:07,480
holy. 
We're to flee those things. 

425
00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:10,760
But specifically, here is God. 
God is saying holiness is 

426
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:15,080
defined in what you do in this 
world to show love for one 

427
00:27:15,080 --> 00:27:20,440
another. 
His Word has created a new life 

428
00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:22,640
in us. 
His Word has created a new love 

429
00:27:22,640 --> 00:27:26,000
in us, a sincere love, like 
family, brotherly love. 

430
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,520
It's earnest from a pure heart. 
And the picture here is, it's a 

431
00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:33,400
really, it's a supernatural 
love, a love that is not natural

432
00:27:33,400 --> 00:27:37,200
to us because it's made possible
in us by the living and abiding 

433
00:27:37,440 --> 00:27:41,880
word of God that we can read 
even this word earnestly right 

434
00:27:41,880 --> 00:27:45,360
here. 
That word could actually be 

435
00:27:45,360 --> 00:27:48,000
translated, stretched or 
strained. 

436
00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:51,720
It's a depth of love that is not
natural. 

437
00:27:52,560 --> 00:27:55,440
You know, sometimes we need to 
hear that, that we need to have 

438
00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:57,320
a love that is stretched or 
strained. 

439
00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:01,760
You know, we can have so many 
arguments about or disagreements

440
00:28:01,760 --> 00:28:04,320
about, you know, maybe the 
justice going on in this world, 

441
00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:07,360
race or politics. 
There's so much temptation to be

442
00:28:07,360 --> 00:28:10,880
critical of each other, a 
suspicious, suspicious of each 

443
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:12,480
other, even give up on each 
other. 

444
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:18,840
But what God is seeing us here 
is we're saved for a sincere, 

445
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:20,960
brotherly love to have towards 
one another. 

446
00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:26,800
He gives that to us. 
There's coming a day in the 

447
00:28:26,800 --> 00:28:30,360
future when we won't have 
conflict with each other, there 

448
00:28:30,360 --> 00:28:32,200
won't be striving among each 
other. 

449
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:34,680
There won't be conflict. 
There won't be disagreements. 

450
00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:41,120
That day will come for us. 
There will be nothing of that 

451
00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:48,200
anymore, John Newton once wrote.
John Newton was a captain, as on

452
00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:51,040
a slave ship. 
Before he became a Christian. 

453
00:28:51,960 --> 00:28:53,440
The word of God changed his 
heart. 

454
00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:55,800
Then he began to work against 
slavery. 

455
00:28:56,520 --> 00:29:00,240
He's probably most well known 
for writing the hymn that we 

456
00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:03,000
know, Amazing Grace. 
He wrote many other things, 

457
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:07,080
including a letter called On 
Controversy. 

458
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,360
And when he wrote that, there 
was a church leader who had 

459
00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,280
written John Newton saying that 
he was going to write an article

460
00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:19,440
criticizing another church 
leader, Newton replied with some

461
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,880
caution for him to consider not 
just in his writings but also in

462
00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:24,520
his art. 
And one of the things Newton 

463
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:27,760
talked about in his reply was 
viewing this other church leader

464
00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:31,920
in light of eternity. 
And I want to put it up on the 

465
00:29:31,920 --> 00:29:35,640
board here what John Newton 
wrote to this church leader who 

466
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:37,920
was going to be critical of 
another church leader. 

467
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:42,840
He said, if you count him a 
believer, though greatly 

468
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:46,520
mistaken in the subject of 
debate between you, the words of

469
00:29:46,520 --> 00:29:50,080
David to Joab concerning Absalom
are very applicable. 

470
00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:52,920
Deal gently with him for my 
sake. 

471
00:29:53,720 --> 00:29:56,120
The Lord loves him and bears 
with him. 

472
00:29:56,440 --> 00:29:59,960
Therefore you must not despise 
him or treat him harshly. 

473
00:30:00,680 --> 00:30:03,560
The Lord bears with you 
likewise, and expects that you 

474
00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:06,520
should show tenderness to others
from a sense of the much 

475
00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:10,960
forgiveness you need yourself. 
In a little while you will meet 

476
00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:14,160
Him in heaven, and He will then 
be dearer to you than the 

477
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:16,320
nearest friend you have upon 
this earth is to you. 

478
00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:20,720
Now anticipate that period in 
your thoughts, and though you 

479
00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:24,880
may find it necessary to oppose 
His errors, view him personally 

480
00:30:24,880 --> 00:30:29,800
as a kindred soul with whom you 
are to be happy in Christ 

481
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:33,160
forever. 
That is great advice. 

482
00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:38,520
When we're so tempted to be so 
critical and to go just, you 

483
00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:41,240
know, be critical as somebody 
else, We need to think about 

484
00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:46,440
what Christ has done for us. 
Really good advice. 

485
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:50,600
Deal gently with them. 
Deal gently with each other. 

486
00:30:50,600 --> 00:30:54,440
Deal gently with our brothers 
and sisters, as Christ would 

487
00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:56,960
have us to do. 
We need to anticipate the day 

488
00:30:56,960 --> 00:31:00,600
when we will love our brother or
sister more than even our 

489
00:31:00,600 --> 00:31:04,640
closest family member or friends
right now will love him today as

490
00:31:04,640 --> 00:31:08,960
one of whom we will be happy 
together in Christ forever. 

491
00:31:09,040 --> 00:31:11,840
Forever. 
That is an otherworldly love. 

492
00:31:11,840 --> 00:31:15,160
That is a supernatural love. 
It's a critical step to a full 

493
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:19,080
life, which is right where this 
take This text takes us next 

494
00:31:19,080 --> 00:31:23,440
into verse 24 through 25. 
It says, for all flesh is like 

495
00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:27,560
grass and all its glory. 
Like the flowers of grass, the 

496
00:31:27,560 --> 00:31:29,920
grass Withers and the flowers 
fall. 

497
00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:34,080
But the word of the Lord remains
forever, and this word is the 

498
00:31:34,080 --> 00:31:35,680
good news that was preached to 
you. 

499
00:31:36,800 --> 00:31:40,560
What this is saying is basically
the world is fading. 

500
00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:47,160
These things are temporal, and 
we need to understand that. 

501
00:31:47,440 --> 00:31:50,000
And because the world is 
temporal and fading, we need to 

502
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,360
live like that. 
We need to live understanding 

503
00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:55,720
that these things on this earth 
are not going to be here 

504
00:31:55,720 --> 00:32:00,920
forever. 
And God has told us what your 

505
00:32:00,920 --> 00:32:04,400
life will be full when you know 
and enjoy Him as Father. 

506
00:32:04,800 --> 00:32:08,880
This means that we are to hope 
in Him, to be holy like Him, to 

507
00:32:08,880 --> 00:32:11,480
be fearful of Him, and to love 
like Him. 

508
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:17,400
So what are we going to do with 
what God just taught us? 

509
00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:19,120
What are we going to do with 
that? 

510
00:32:19,560 --> 00:32:23,520
We have two options. 
One, we can choose to not 

511
00:32:23,520 --> 00:32:28,800
believe what God has just said, 
stating in our minds, you know, 

512
00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:31,800
thinking to ourselves that we're
going to go ahead and reject 

513
00:32:31,800 --> 00:32:33,640
that love. 
We're going to reject that hope.

514
00:32:33,640 --> 00:32:36,680
We're going to reject all these 
things that were taught to us. 

515
00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:41,800
I guess maybe we could, we could
also say in our minds, you know,

516
00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:43,720
I'm going to believe some of 
that, maybe all of it. 

517
00:32:43,720 --> 00:32:47,160
But I'd still rather live my own
way functionally. 

518
00:32:47,160 --> 00:32:49,840
I'd rather live apart from 
knowing and enjoying God as 

519
00:32:49,840 --> 00:32:52,680
Father. 
Or there's a section second 

520
00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:57,400
option, which is to believe what
God is telling us and to choose 

521
00:32:57,640 --> 00:32:59,840
the full life. 
To choose the life that he has 

522
00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:03,320
shown us. 
Moses said in Deuteronomy 30 

523
00:33:03,320 --> 00:33:06,520
verse 19 it says I have set 
before you life and death, 

524
00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:10,640
blessing and curse, therefore 
choose life. 

525
00:33:11,520 --> 00:33:15,320
God wants us to have a life 
which is only possible through 

526
00:33:15,320 --> 00:33:20,880
knowing him as our father. 
It's possible for any of us, no 

527
00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:23,440
matter what we've done, no 
matter who we were, no matter 

528
00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:25,400
what we've experienced, no 
matter where we're at in our 

529
00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:31,040
life, we can experience God as 
our Father by obeying the gospel

530
00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:34,440
of Christ. 
He wants us to experience that, 

531
00:33:34,920 --> 00:33:38,720
and I want us to. 
I want to invite anyone, of 

532
00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,480
course, this morning who has not
been baptized for the remission 

533
00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:46,920
of sins to take those steps to 
believe that Jesus is who he is.

534
00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:50,160
We've heard the word some of the
word this morning, fearing, 

535
00:33:50,400 --> 00:33:54,440
believing, repenting, changing 
our old way of life, confessing 

536
00:33:54,440 --> 00:33:56,960
the name of Christ, and being 
baptized for the remission of 

537
00:33:56,960 --> 00:33:59,880
our sins. 
There may be most or all who 

538
00:33:59,880 --> 00:34:01,680
here who have done that. 
Maybe there's somebody here who 

539
00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:05,280
needs to make a public 
confession, think that has 

540
00:34:05,280 --> 00:34:08,679
brought, you know, reproach upon
the Church in a public way, or 

541
00:34:08,679 --> 00:34:11,600
just needs the prayers of the 
Church. 

542
00:34:12,040 --> 00:34:14,719
We ask you to please come and do
that at this time, while we 

543
00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:18,480
stand and while we see. 
We thank you for listening to 

544
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:23,840
our podcast put on by the Church
of Christ at 2215 Plans Rd. in 

545
00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:26,800
Bakersfield. 
If you would like any additional

546
00:34:26,800 --> 00:34:30,080
information or you would like to
receive a free Bible 

547
00:34:30,080 --> 00:34:33,960
correspondence course by mail, 
please e-mail us at 

548
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:40,440
info@churchofchristbakersfield.com.
Our service times are Sundays at

549
00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:45,920
10:30 AM and 5:00 PM and 
Wednesdays at 7:30 PM. 

550
00:34:46,719 --> 00:34:50,120
Please make plans to join us. 
We would love for you to be our 

551
00:34:50,120 --> 00:34:50,920
honored guest.