The Hope of Grace

[0:00] you're listening to the sermon podcast of grace reforms church in spring hill tennessee to learn more about us visit our website at grace reformed.org and now today's sermon if you'll turn with me unfortunately on your program this morning first peter chapter one we're going to read together our portion of scripture to be feasted upon today first peter chapter one and we're going to pick up where we have left off in verse 10 through 13 first peter chapter one and verses 10 through 13 reads concerning this salvation the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully inquiring what person or time the spirit of christ in them was indicated when he predicted the suffering of christ and subsequent glories it was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you and the things that have now been announced to you through those who preach the good news to you by the holy spirit sent from heaven things into which angels long to look therefore preparing your minds for action and being sober minded set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of jesus christ this is the word of the lord our father may these words become pressed upon our hearts lord would you bless the reading and the preaching this morning in jesus name amen please be seated i've had the last few weeks to study this passage being that eric preached to us last week and did a phenomenal job and i've had to think a lot about the significance of verse 13 it's a pivotal point in the introduction to the letter and how one approaches this verse and i'm going to just argue for a little bit this morning because it's going to help us with the context but how one approaches the bible will drastically alter the way in which they understand and apply it this is why you have different religions the modern bible student has been trained to go to the text to find really the personal spiritual application to their lives stories that are meant to inspire to convict share wonder and provide the context we need to understand this holy god instead we run to do character studies every chapter of the the bible must have a three point outline in order for it to be a true sermon or an exegetical expository sermon to put it simply the aim of the student is to find what they can do this is how modern day students are taught modern day christians they're taught to find the moral improvement and really the spiritual and psychological levels that they need to increase in it's very personal and subjective to the person applying it but the bible isn't a handbook it's not presented this way it's a story the difference with this story is that it's not just a fairy tale it's that it's true that's what makes the bible complicated it's actually a true story and the reason it's complicated is because what's in the bible is not easily explained away by physical evidence we have today when you start reading the bible this is what you come across as you explain the story to the world around you and to your children and to yourself you learn of gods and demons and angels and giants and watchers and battles between realms

[4:01] curses deceptions and traveling between realms some of you may think i'm referencing the story of lord of the rings or star wars i am not i'm talking about the book in your hand that is the problem that we have right here is that we actually don't allow these parts of our bible to influence the way in which we understand this holy god the god to which peter's writing about modern rationalism has influenced our world and so we cannot see the entirety of the story only the moral application only the parts that apply to my life and we're too afraid of being mocked and seen as stuck in the dark ages if we were to take this as literal uneducated and ignorant but if you do not embrace the entirety of god's story of redemption you're not going to understand important passages like first peter chapter one verse 13 you're going to fly right over them and they will have little to no significance in your daily life so what i'd like for you to do with me this morning is travel with me back to rome where this letter is coming from this is about the year of 63 a.d and nero gladius caesar augustus garminicus we'll just call him nero for short is in charge of the city i just think that's the coolest string of names we just don't do that anymore we just have three i think we should go back to four and we get to pick the fourth one all right i'm alone on that one roman tradition at this time and the time of so peter's letter is written about 63 a.d and roman tradition at this time is that when they would conquer a land up to this point this has been happening for a while but up to this point the tradition is if they conquer a land that they would embrace the religion they would add it to the religions of rome already unless it conflicted with the pantheon of gods they were worshiping or it removed worship from nero then they would reject that religion and so they would love to promote the freedom of the citizens this was important to them that rome was a place that was free for the citizens and you are free to accept our way of living is really how it should be promoted you are free to accept our way of living and that is true freedom enjoy your freedom as long as it doesn't go against what we state is free does that sound familiar today sounds very familiar by the time peter is writing this letter rome was under the rule of the pantheon of gods pantheon means just all gods and here is why i need to stop for a moment and help explain this part of the story of this letter i promise it's going to help explain the entirety of the letter as we go forward but this context matters as i've been thinking about it when modern christians hear worship of the gods they immediately jump to idol worship or false gods beings to which someone conjured up in their mind but do not exist in reality this is not how the bible presents the gods this is why we sing a song only a holy god because you can't have a holy god unless you have other gods to compare to him he cannot be the god of gods that would make no sense if there was no other god that would be like my husband saying this is my one husband amongst many no i'm her one and only husband which there could be multiple but there is not so the bible references and speaks this way and this is the context now we're okay with accepting the idea of lucifer and the fall of lucifer even jesus himself calls this being

[8:01] this fallen angelic being he calls them the god of this world paul references to them as the ruler of this world but from what we know from scripture he also brought many with him a third of the host of the heaven with him this is why if you go back to turn with me to ephesians chapter 6 you'll know this verse i quote it often but i think it's healthy for you to read or make a cross reference here paul doesn't just point to one individual as the problem hey you're fighting the devil here he's referencing something that's far larger than one individual being one individual created source this is ephesians 6 12 for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood so your problem isn't this government or your neighbor or your wife or your siblings for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers against not is he talking about the authorities within the city that can't be because he just said not flesh and blood so that means there's more rulers than just lucifer rulers against authorities against cosmic powers over this present darkness against spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places that sounds like one bad army and so if we are fighting against this one being he would have said here's who you're fighting but he's like no you're you're you're against an onslaught of an army who has rebelled against their maker this is why the story begins in Genesis and it starts with explaining the creator the god the being who is unlike any other and then immediately the rebellion that takes place

[9:54] I used to if I were to tell you how I used to think about Israel if you're willing to just go to your childish mind of the days that you grew up in Sunday school you probably thought this as well and they would show on the flannel board right the idols and then the golden calf and in my brain I think how dumb do you have to be to worship something that's not alive that's what I used to think and the other gods were just these weird metal or wooden figurines this is not how actually the Bible presents them the way in which we understand paganism and the pantheon of gods is that this is why it's it's against scripture to make an image of God because the image itself this golden calf for example they would do certain rites and rituals and it would bring the presence and the power of that God into the actual so it became a source of of a transit it became a source of communication this is why Moses is coming down the mountain and what are they doing they're doing spiritual unholy ungodly acts to draw in the being into this

[11:15] God known as Baal well this kind of worship plagues Israel throughout the whole Old Testament and we learn more and more about the gods things that we'll get into later as we get into the second chapter the second book of Peter but Peter James Paul and Jesus acknowledge the reality of the dark spiritual realm and the powers that are here and so as you walk the streets of Rome Paul Peter's writing this letter from Rome to those who are in Rome and in the province of Rome as you walk in the province of Rome this idea of the pantheon of gods and the worshiping of the gods these literal beings who manifest themselves in these idols it's a part of everything that they do in their culture it's influenced everything tattoos and jewelry from the way in which they I'm trying to be discreet here but the way in which they interact with each other on an intimate level and having temples that are designed to go and do acts inside of them that are grotesque but seen as worship immodesty all of this is a part and sacrificing of children all of this is a part of the culture of Rome and the provinces of Rome it's literally been there for a hundred years now so this isn't new to these people

[12:44] Israel who was captured in 63 BC is now is now part of this cultural movement as well as anyone that was born most of we think that the letter being written to this the readers of this letter are probably not Jewish or there's a good mixture to be clear by the way I mentioned jewelry and tattoos those are not sinful how they were being used is sinful for anyone that was feeling convicted about wearing jewelry or having a tattoo today we'll just go ahead and clarify that it was so crazy this is you ever wonder why there were tattoo laws and hair laws and jewelry laws in the Old Testament was because of the cultures around them they were using them as a means of worshiping the gods this is why it's not carried over into the New Testament but he said Israel as a nation you're going to be separate you're going to be holy you're not going to worship like the other gods do so everyone in the city when you think about this everyone in the city that you interacted with according to

[13:51] Peter's letter this makes a lot of sense your baker the priest you get to meet from the people who make your clothes you go to school with your neighbors they all worship the gods and they come into your home they don't see the jewelry or the tattoos they don't see the sacrifices they don't see anything at all and the only one you talk about is Jesus the king of kings and the lord of lords which is an absolute tyranny because you cannot have any of the king above Nero imagine what it would feel like to live in a place like that everywhere you go you're wondering if you're going to be called out and eventually they are and eventually they die when you get into 2 Peter this is when the persecution just goes rampant

[14:51] Nero hasn't stepped his game up until 2 or 3 years more later but so the concept of the gods is what Nero was afraid of his fear not from just fictition or what he had used as manipulation he had a genuine fear that he'd be disappointed the gods he would lose his leadership and the city of Rome would be destroyed so any other groups of people like the Christians or the Jews or anyone that would bring any kind of contradiction to his reign he was going to destroy here's what's interesting going back to a few weeks ago when we were talking about how God purposely hid from the rulers of this age when Jesus would come do you know also what is hidden his final return no one knows when he's coming back

[15:55] I mean this is if you just want to write it in your notes 1 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 8 speaking of the king's first arrival none of the rulers of this age we learned he is talking about the spiritual realm here understood this for if they had they would have not crucified the Lord of glory all they know is that when Jesus left he promised to come back but they don't know when so they're trying to wreak as much havoc as possible try and stop whatever plan because the one thing they do understand is they have scripture now and they did see go into all the world and preach the gospel well that means the advancement of the king we as the gods don't like this king Lucifer for sure hates him and so if we can stop the advancement of the story then at least maybe this prolongs our time because they do know their time is coming to an end this is very evident the reason why I point this out is that when you listen to the mythology of the gods when you learn about what's been taught over the ages the gods have one interest when they call you into worshipping them and trusting them and following them this is their interest this world you have the god of fertility and the god of protection and the god of war you have the god of the gardens they're all about either the protection or preservation of what we have here why do you think that is because what's coming next is not good for them it's but punishment and destruction let's contrast this look with me back at verse four and five so first peter chapter one and verse four and five this is so different than our holy god this is not how our god talks he does not point us to the world that we live in here why because it's of curse it's of a curse it's underneath so much debauchery and listen to this he contrasts what we are looking forward to verse four our inheritance that is imperishable undefiled and unfading kept in heaven for you who by god's power are being guarded through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last times this is the exact opposite the god says if you make these sacrifices you worship us in these ways you do not make us angry and we'll provide for you all that we have promised you must perform in order for you to receive the temporal benefits and what does our god say you have a promise of the inheritance that you would never possibly able to conjure up here the amount of joy and pleasure and wealth that awaits you you could not assimilate here and i'm going to give it to you and what's guarding it god the god who promises it is the god who guards it this is so different this is this is why it's important that he reminds these people every day everyone around them is living for their personal pleasure their personal protection their advancement within the culture and god comes in and says so you don't have to do that because you're weak and frail and sinful and frankly you aren't able to do it but i am this is what makes the story good it's a good news we're not adding god on to a pantheon of other gods because he is the god who is above all who can do above all so when you read the story which is so important to read the story in its completion with all the craziness that's involved in it because this is the god who is proving in contrast to the chaos that these gods cause we just go back do you remember what lucifer did when he comes before the council of god and the other hosts are there and lucifer pitches his at this time he's known as the satan he pitches his idea to god about job what does he

[19:55] do to job he causes job utter chaos destroys his family in a storm kills off all the cattle brings boils upon him did you ever think about he's controlling the weather he's controlling what's happening to his body what does god say you cannot kill him though there is a war that's happening here it's real and peter is trying to warn us about this so let's go back to rome everyone for the last several hundred years at least the last hundred years has felt the cultural shift of a pantheon of gods and the debauchery that comes with it and the constant pressure to shift in that direction this is why peter starts his letter in verse one and says to you who are elect what exiles no they weren't many of them were born in rome that was their hometown but they didn't belong there why because they had another king from another realm nero wasn't their king lucifer who is the god of this world is not their king so they belong not only to another king but in exile means you belong to a whole other place you don't belong in the world so the moment you show your allegiance to the king by faith you trust in his salvation you join his kingdom you're in immediate exile well because everybody around you has a completely different way of thinking and living their allegiance is not to the king of kings or the god of gods have you ever been at a party and about five minutes in this party you're like

[21:40] I don't belong here I feel awkward and out of place and what what's the thought in your brain I want to get out of here and get around people I know right the conversations I'm having and what's going this by the way you'll rarely see me hang around weddings afterwards it just gets weird right the whole thing it's like I'm out not that anything debauchers is going on it's just I'm not a dancer you know if you've ever seen me dance you would agree he's not a dancer he probably shouldn't do that I still do it at home kids so just deal with it we want familiarity Peter's acknowledging this hey I understand you live in a culture that is bombarding you with everything that's the opposite of what you have been taught and you can feel it and so he gives them the title it's okay to acknowledge you don't belong here but he's not saying you're just waiting to get out of here like you're trying to get out of a party you're actually in the earth for a reason there's a mission you've been commissioned and this is what

[22:50] Peter is trying to help them understand in his letter that first of all he's giving them the contrast of the goodness of the gospel of Jesus Christ compared to any other news that they have heard to prepare them for the mission that's ahead of them which is the rest of the letter so we're not exiles by accident we didn't accidentally wake up no there's a purpose behind God leaving us here to fulfill the work of the king and so he's commissioned the church to be a part of this when looking at history and church history at this moment I don't think there could be a more dark place in the world than Rome at this time the greatest persecutions of Christians have come during these next few hundred years so under the rules under the rule of the gods Nero afraid of what might happen begins to put pressure on these dear believers this is why they're dispersing this is why he says they're in the dispersion they're going to the outer parts of

[23:56] Rome these followers of the way the way of Christ the way of their king makes them stand out not because they want to stand out just because they have to they cannot engage in a contrary to the story this whole story by the way from beginning to end is just good versus evil I mean you started in the garden in this way so here's the backdrop that you have to hold if you're just imagine yourself standing in the streets of Rome about to go buy bread and you can see in the city square it's the goddess of all kinds of debauchery that happens over there and there's the idols and the necklaces and the tattooists over there and there's a lot of immodesty everywhere there are people who are connecting outside of their marriage it's constant it's constant that's the backdrop of the letter we live amongst people who have rebelled against their creator their God and we too at one point were of these this is what

[25:07] Ephesians tells us but then Peter writes this so turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 13 hopefully that weight and that feeling that backdrop gives you a context for what he writes next he says this 1 Peter 1 13 therefore preparing your minds for action and being sober minded set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ so Peter's using what's called a concluding trigger here's the amazing gospel that's yours yours and it it not only covers your salvation it covers how you are going to be transformed into the image of the king and it's going to cover your future by faith therefore you're going to have to prepare what your mind for action the world is going to attack the very truth that I've shared with you and the truth that you have believed the rulers and authorities of this world hate the king and they want to rebel and they want you to rebel against him as well the little translation of this section when he says prepare your minds the

[26:35] Greek literally translates gird up the loins of your mind that's what it translates to some of you may have this in your translations the king james is one that has this translation gird up the loins of your mind the idea of this being it really comes from if you remember the Passover Israel is about to leave Egypt and so he tells Moses tells the people to prepare themselves this is Exodus chapter 12 and verses 11 and following but he says this in verse 11 in this manner you shall eat with your belt fastened your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hands and you shall eat in haste it is the Lord's Passover so what they would do belts fastened is they would wear these long flowing tunics and they would grab them and they would bring them up between their legs and wrap them around and then take a belt and tie it when the call comes so when the spirit the death angel came and passed over their door and the next day he said you need to be ready to move this is the same image he uses he says gird up the loins gird up this part of the mind which means we all know what this is like we have all tuned out we all gone somewhere where we probably should have been paying attention and we weren't and something happened and we weren't ready to take action kind of like me while

[28:03] I'm driving it's really bad and I should have been paying attention to the road but instead of being alert and ready to respond I'm drifting I'm looking at my phone whatever it is and I'm not only putting myself in danger I'm putting other people in danger this is what he's speaking of because if you live in Rome you are constantly being bombarded and attacked which means your mind is not safe to relax your mind is under attack which means it has to be defended it has to be able to filter and decide what it will accept and what it will reject this is the scariest part of Peter's letter and really the whole Bible to be frank the enemy we are at war with is one that you cannot see with your eye it's a battlefield of the mind isn't that nuts how he says this he says prepare your mind to have to battle with what's going to be coming your way so that you do not what reject the truth this is why he uses the word therefore therefore it's like chemical warfare you can't see it but you'll see the effects of it so put on the mask prepare your mind filter protect why because the alternative is so evil it's so wicked but then he backs it up with this preparing your minds for action then he says and being sober minded and this is if you just take a cross reference it's like 14 times in scripture between

[29:45] Peter and Paul they use this concept of being sober minded it's interesting we know in context he isn't meaning alcohol obviously that's a debauchery to be drunk but he uses the same idea a lot of a poison like alcohol can cause you to be impaired over time he contrasts that with the world a lot of the world which is a poison to the gospel story that we know and love can be to a moment because what does alcohol do it alters the capacities it end up controlling you it's controlling substance he's saying anything outside of the story of Christ and the gospel and the word of God can become a controlling substance in your mind it's terrifying to think about like if you become lazy and you just allow your mind to wander and anything and everything is open to come into the brain you can become intoxicated to the moment you're not controlling yourself but the information in your mind is controlling you we have all been here we have all allowed our brains to be intoxicated to the moment that we have engulfed ourselves in the very sin we thought we wouldn't do this is why he's warning us he's be personal with everyone this morning

[31:15] I I feel this part of Peter's letter it feels like no matter where I go somehow I picked up an accent there no matter where I go I can feel my brain being constantly intoxicated with what feels like the pleasures of this world see the advertisements aren't gross I've seen grossness in our world I've seen stuff that turns my stomach I'm not tempted by that right but what does he come after he comes after us in ways that seem innocent and harmless this is why he's the father of all lies and lies are 99% truth it's true that money is helpful it's true that physical relationships are enjoyable it's true that a lot can be accomplished with power is it not this is all good things they're actually all blessings from the

[32:21] Lord but when we use them for pleasures that God says are not to be engulfed in it's at that moment those lies are really hard it seems like the world is doing it and this is what Psalm 87 is so fascinating about he looks at the world and says they're engulfing themselves with indulgence and it seems like they're happy and I am not and I'm angry I'm a holy person who's angry all the time this is how I felt like I grew up as a Christian I grew up in the don't do anything of fun if it's fun don't do it it's kind of like the diet if it tastes good spit it out but what's even crazier is that the world is saying success power live pleasure our king says

[33:24] I need you to die I need you to suffer I need you to seek my kingdom first die really if you're in first Peter chapter one look at verse six just as a reminder of what we've already read in this you rejoice though now for a little while if necessary you have been grieved with various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire may be found to result in the praise and glory and honor in relation of Jesus Christ it's hard to believe that but that's what he's writing there's an actual significance to your suffering it's not without cause though you have not seen him you love him though you do not see him now you believe in him Peter is like man I get it it's hard to serve a king you cannot see you believe in him and rejoice with a joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory obtaining the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls this world tells us that life is about the mission of happiness and pleasure and protection but it's a lie there is no true happiness here or pleasure we have seen friends and family who and all you have to do is watch the news who destroy their life and the people around them pursuing happiness by the means of the world presented to us by the gods see we are promised joy and happiness and pleasure but it's just not here and that's so hard

[35:16] I too want a break but this is what's so wonderful about the family of God this is what's so wonderful about church is that we get together and I don't worry about you pulling me into the ways of Rome I can actually come and plop down in front of you and go I'm really exhausted I'm having a hard time believing in the joy of Jesus will you refresh me can I refresh you how about we sing this is why the elders mention it Paul says consider how to build one another up people sing to one another but he does make a caveat only if you have a good voice otherwise don't sing going back to the purpose our purpose is not just to suffer what's interesting is that he wants their minds to be clear and ready for action because the action part is we're trying to fight against the onslaught of what's coming because our minds should be used for the advancement of the gospel for preaching and teaching the truth of Christ now this sounds like evangelism and I know that word if everyone is willing to admit it evangelism is just a dirty word right if I were to tell you that next

[36:41] Sunday we're not going to have service we're going to go out door to door evangelizing to people let's be honest how many of you just won't show up raise your hand and be like don't I'm not doing it man right because we've thought about the advancement of the kingdom in one form and one form only and this is not how God has designed the advancement of his kingdom we're going to be getting into this next Sunday night with membership what does it mean to be a member of a local body what is God doing with that but I'll just make this mention here he uses the concept of assembled people or a kingdom because within a kingdom it's not just the king right it's the servants within the kingdom that make the kingdom work and so within and then he uses the imagery of a body there isn't just a head and a mouthpiece there's an entire function that happens the only way I can communicate to you is that I have a pretty good functioning body at the moment it's up to par to do the job this is how he describes you you aren't carrying the entire weight of the story of the gospel upon yourself but you are presented as the body who carries it and you're a part of that body and the suffering that we will endure and keeping our minds focused and keeping our minds clean will advance this together see I love the idea of our church caring for one another as we care for the community around us

[38:04] I think all of us could get involved in that but when you have to individualize it it becomes scary I know I'm about to step on some toes just know that mine are already black and blue I stepped on mine this morning so I'll be tender on yours but the gospel is coming at the end I promise as I was writing this I thought to myself wow you better warn them good news is coming it's coming okay it's coming the kingdom though when Jesus says seek first the kingdom of God this is what Peter I think is trying to help us warn against it's second third or we don't even know where it's at in our list in our life when we think about the person of Jesus and his message and who he is as a part of our life can we really say that we're seeking it first see our minds are intoxicated with lies of the gods of this age they're still ruling they're still deceiving they're still behind media and leaders and if you don't see the kingdom as the point of your life it's real easy to fall into the lies and be intoxicated and therefore you're not effective for the king the gospel is the only power that pulls this out pulls us out of this cage that pulls us out of this slavery you see sometimes when we emphasize grace people think we're emphasizing live however you want

[39:36] God's grace covers it no no no you see sin is our enemy it's the greatest tool our enemy has to keep us away from our God this is why the gospel is so powerful as sinners who struggle with their sin find the vigor and power and find the confidence to keep fighting their sin why because they are blanketed with God's love over and over again to set them free from their sin not to stay in their sin but I think I mean I know our church has felt the impact of sin and how it pulls us apart everyone in this room knows of sin that has destroyed someone's life it's time as Peter says to take action to stop letting the enemy fill our minds with lies that cause us to rebel and to encourage one another to do the same parents if you do not take this serious your children will be trained by the enemy it is not a neutral ground in your home if they do not see you making the kingdom of God the priority of your life and the priority of their life why would they do it when they become adults on their own it is not legalism to guard our bodies and our minds from the lies of the world and the ways of the world

[41:04] Peter is calling us to this very action turn with me to verse 14 we're going to look at this next week we'll take a glance at it now Peter makes this application look at what God has done for you you're going to have to protect this because if you don't you're going to believe a lie so you're going to have to guard your mind you have to prepare your mind for action verse 14 as obedient children do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance but as he who called you as holy you also be holy in your conduct since it is written you shall be holy for I am holy we'll explain what all this is next week but the point that I want to make is seeking first the kingdom of God protecting our minds and being sober minded is so we don't fall back into our former passions we don't fall back into the things that used to enslave us it's really hard to rescue somebody from sin if you're in it with them isn't it do you ever try to lift somebody into a boat while in the water it's much easier to pull somebody out of the water into the boat this is the point of the mission that we who have been rescued by

[42:21] Christ our savior in the boat are proclaiming the good news of how they too can be rescued and so we're going to have to be different but I want to remind you just one more verse I know this a lot Ephesians chapter 2 verse 2 you need to understand who you're talking to who it is that you're mentioning this good news to he's talking about our transition from death to life which means for those who are still dead around us this is true of them Ephesians chapter 2 look over verse 2 and once you once walked following the course of this world now pay attention to this following the prince of the power of the air that's who you and I used to follow the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience you see that's your neighbor I know that just sounds evil that's the news broadcaster that's the artist that's the person who watch movies with this is who they're being controlled by you have to filter you have to guard because if you do not think they're implanting lies into your mind you're just not paying attention to Peter so we now live under the rule of a loving king who has promised us grace and rest for eternity we're going to toil for a little bit now we can taste it now we can see it but this is the part of it what I'm hoping you're feeling is that you are not reading a story of what happened you are reading your story this is a story about your

[44:12] God who has defeated all gods Peter says that he goes down into Hades he goes down into the world into the earth before he resurrects from the grave and he proclaims victory I beat the beings who tried to take me down we'll get into that in a few months but what I want to encourage us with church is that as heavy as our hearts might be you might be sitting here this morning as I was last night and this morning thinking about seeking first kingdom of God keeping my mind clear being ready for action being intoxicated and I'm failing I'm a failure God I believe in the world's lies I don't have the energy to take action it's evident in how I act and live and how I treat my children and how I treat my spouse what does

[45:20] Peter provide for you try harder do more do more no he points you back to the power by which you are going to fight and that is always God's grace if you back up and you read the first 12 verses of Peter he starts with this by his foreknowledge his divine power his election he planted this in you he called you to himself he has provided everything that you could ever need the one thing I need you to do is just constantly be learning and growing and knowing more about this because it's the only way in which the constant growth of the knowledge of Jesus Christ is going to fight against the lies of the world and so church if we're going to apply this wonderful warning from Peter you see it's a wonderful warning because it's true if you're ignorant of what Peter wrote in 1 Peter 1 13 that just means you have no idea the danger you're walking into that's what all that means now that we know we can take the proper precautions we can respond appropriately we can by the way we cannot apply this individually this is what we're going to do we're all going to go home and go okay this is what I'm going to do at home this week stop doing that you've tried that for how many years now you know

[46:45] I'm up to 40 years of trying that and I'm like when am I going to realize that he wrote this to a church to be applied as a congregation as a body as a kingdom we need each other to apply this this is why last week ladies you met together we handed you an opportunity to confess your struggles to explain your weaknesses man we're going to gather this week we're going to study this passage we're going to mine it even deeper so that we can start looking at our lives and say what have I intoxicated myself with why is my mind not put into action what have I allowed into my home what have I allowed into my children why because we don't want anyone to be under the weight of the debauchery and the grossness of the lies of this world and we want them to feel the freedom of God's love and his grace the only way to do that is to keep filling our minds with the pure word let's pray father I feel so inadequate at times to explain just how wonderful you are but my heart and my mind trusts in your word and it trusts in your means the preaching and reading and singing and the taking of the table is all a part of our diet

[48:00] Lord and it's all necessary Lord I know I feel convicted may what we do next bring us comfort that it's not by our strength and our might that we will fight this battle this week but we will do so by the blood of Christ in Jesus name Amen Thanks for listening to the sermon podcast of Grace Reformed Church in Spring Hill Tennessee where everyone is in equal need of grace to plan a visit or to learn more about us visit our website at gracereformed.org