Sermon

Ep 352 | The Passionate Life - Chris Osburn 11-1-20

Church of Christ - Bakersfield, Ca

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  1. It's good to see everybody who has made it out.

  2. This morning. We're so thankful for your

  3. presence and I pray that something that I can say this

  4. morning will be beneficial to you.

  5. Whether you're an unbelieving, Christian, or unbelieving

  6. person, or a Christian that follows Jesus.

  7. I hope that we can reinvigorate ourselves in some way.

  8. This morning, we're going to be studying a little bit in First

    1 Peter 2:11

  9. Peter chapter 2 verses 11 and 12 and first Peter was written to

  10. the The Christians in that time who were dispersed because of

  11. the destruction of Jerusalem and who under under extreme

  12. persecution, and this was a letter to Peter or from Peter to

  13. these Christians to kind of just hold on, keep fighting, keep

  14. pressing on. And even though that was the

  15. application and those days, we can certainly take the things

  16. that Peter wrote and apply those to our lives today.

  17. Well, we First Peter chapter 2 verses 1 through 11, I'm sorry

    1 Peter 2:1–11

  18. verses 11 through 12. It says they're not going to be

  19. reading through with the English Standard Version.

  20. It says beloved I urge you as sojourners and Exiles to abstain

  21. from the passions of the flesh which wage war.

  22. Ensure Soul keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so

  23. that when they speak against you as evildoers they may see your

  24. good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

  25. And in this lesson, I want to show two realities in the world

  26. that that we can apply based on what God has told us in these

  27. passages. And I want us to urge us in a

  28. couple ways based on those realities on how to apply those

  29. at this time. And I want to use the word urge

  30. because I think that's the right word.

  31. It's a we have some urgency that we need to be that that is in

  32. these verses that we need to apply.

  33. I urge you to the language is of a passion that is written here

  34. by Peter and there's a lot of emotion in these two verses and

  35. I want us to understand the reality is I'm going to go

  36. through just to of these and understand him and think on

  37. them, and one reality tends us to earn Heaven urging.

  38. And based on that reality 80 in the second reality will have an

  39. urging based on that reality as well.

  40. So the first reality based on these verses that we have here

  41. is that we live in a world that Wars against our souls 1st Peter

  42. 2:11 says that there are passions in our flesh that are

  43. driven by the world in ways that wage war on our soul.

  44. God is telling us there is a battle going on.

  45. Spiritually, that is Waging War on our soul and it's urgent.

  46. We need to feel the urgency that Peter is telling us here.

  47. And our soul, the war that is going on.

  48. Our soul can be destroyed. I'm not saying it God singing.

  49. And there is a war that is waging that we need to be aware

  50. of. There are passions desires

  51. thoughts ways in this world that are working to destroy our soul

  52. little by little. It's not an instant thing.

  53. It's a slow process that Wars against our soul.

  54. We, you know, on TV or streaming online our phone social media,

  55. and the world of business school and home.

  56. Everywhere that we look, The war is inescapable and it is

  57. intentional. And if we think about it, there

  58. are so few things on TV or streaming online that are

  59. designed that are designed to actually nourish our soul, and

  60. our passion for God app developers on our phone.

  61. You know, the engineers behind Facebook, Instagram, Twitter

  62. Tick-Tock, they're not thinking, how can I nurture people's

  63. passion for God? That is not the point that

  64. they're going for, whatever news outlets that.

  65. We choose to watch any news outlet has an agenda.

  66. And we're not talking about just a political agenda, we're

  67. talking about a spiritual agenda to show you that good and evil

  68. that are often contrary to the word of God.

  69. So we need to be urging ourselves.

  70. I want to urge you to not be foolish at the world that we

  71. live in is not neutral. The world.

  72. We are in inundates us all the time with messages from every

  73. moment of every day. all day long, all week, long saying that

  74. money Acclaim Entertainment sex drink drugs and success or what

  75. we need, And we don't want to buy that message.

  76. It is a lie. We need to open our eyes and

  77. there is a battle and the word that God uses here is the word

  78. War waging at every moment in this world to pull us away from

  79. God, to pull us away from the world or to pull you toward the

  80. world and away from his word and to pull you away from what

  81. matters, most in the world. And that is why Jesus said for

  82. for what will it profit? A man, if he gains the whole

  83. world and forfeits his own, Sola Matthew 16:26.

    Matthew 16:26

  84. That tells us that our soul can be lost that passage right

  85. there. Tells us our soul can be lost

  86. and when the soul is lost, there's no way to get it back.

  87. When the war for our soul is lost, its lost forever.

  88. And the Bible teaches very clearly that when we die.

  89. Our souls continue on. And you, and I will enter into a

  90. never into it either Everlasting Joy with God or either or

  91. Everlasting judgment away from God.

  92. And, you know, we may see, say, you know, Everlasting judgment,

  93. you know. I thought God was good, I

  94. thought God was loving and yes, he is.

  95. God loves us so so much. He loves us so much. even though

  96. you and I have Deserved judgment before him for our sins.

  97. He loved us so much that he sent his son to die for us.

  98. To die on the cross to pay the price for your and our sins to

  99. endure the Judgment that we deserve.

  100. So that when we believe and obey the gospel Jesus to save us from

  101. our sins to save our soul. God will forgive us, if we

  102. follow the gospel, The Bible is also saying that you can gain

  103. the whole world. You can have everything in this

  104. world and still lose your soul. What matters most in the world

  105. is not what we have. On the day we die.

  106. The only thing that will matter is if we have Jesus and in light

  107. of that reality, there is a world, you know, that wages war

  108. against our soul, based upon God's word, the urging that I

  109. want to give Is. We need to resist the world.

  110. 1st, Peter 2:11. Says.

  111. Abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against

  112. your soul abstain from those passions and desires.

  113. We need to actively resist. Those passions that this world

  114. has upon us and this is where this passage really kind of

  115. convicted me. there are so many of you and myself, who tend to

  116. sometimes professed Christianity, we are Christians.

  117. But sometimes we are sleeping through the middle of a war.

  118. That we are not actively resisting the world.

  119. Living for this world. We don't realize that we

  120. forgotten that we are strangers and aliens in this world.

  121. That means we don't live for what this world lives for.

  122. We don't live for what the advertisers are selling on

  123. social media or offering or for such pride and money and success

  124. that the world issues as lures. These are lures that the world

  125. wants you to believe we're good. We don't live for those things.

  126. We resist the lures of the world and this means we must be on

  127. guard when watching things when listening to things when hearing

  128. things. And when reading things, We

  129. can't. Scroll through our phone

  130. mindlessly. We don't listen to or read the

  131. news mindlessly. We need to guard our minds, our

  132. thoughts, our emotions, in your subsequent words and actions.

  133. We don't think like the world thinks we don't feel like the

  134. world, fearless or desire desire.

  135. What the world desires? We don't speak like the world

  136. speaks We don't act like the world acts.

  137. Why? Because we're Exiles were aliens

  138. were different from the world. We're living for a whole

  139. different world. It's not like, we're just

  140. foreigners here, we're, you know, we're just we're from

  141. another, some people can say, you know, from another plan, in

  142. a sense, if we're working for something else, we're not

  143. working for this world. And that changes everything on

  144. how we view first. Peter 21 says that we are to put

  145. away. All malice, deceit, hypocrisy,

  146. envy and slander. We are to resist those things.

  147. We don't tear down people in this world.

  148. We are to love our enemies. That's our statute.

  149. That's our posture. That's what we stand for.

  150. We pray for them. if you spend more time, despising people in

  151. your mind, then praying for them.

  152. I think we could say that we are living for the world that is

  153. since in that way, and we are losing the battle.

  154. Constantly thinking about despising, Persinger or hate or

  155. whatever the case may be, we are losing a battle.

  156. We are sojourners and pilgrims are Exiles.

  157. That means we think talk and live differently.

  158. And verse 12 says, keep your conduct Among the Gentiles,

  159. honorable and the reference here is to Gentiles.

  160. The word Gentiles here is way of saying that those who are

  161. unbelievers in that time, those who do not go not know God.

  162. And the Bible says, to honor God with your contact conduct show

  163. that there's another way to live reserved resist.

  164. The luring Temptations of the world that Temptations to sexual

  165. immorality in a world that is so skewed.

  166. God's design for men and women. For marriage.

  167. We are to live differently. According to First Corinthians 6

  168. and 1st Thessalonians 4. We resist Temptations to anger

  169. disputes dissensions in a world that thrives on fighting and

  170. quarreling James for, we live differently than that.

  171. We resist Temptations to love money and ORD resources in the

  172. world. We live differently.

  173. We sacrifice money. We give away our resources for

  174. people in need in this world. First Timothy 6.

  175. That is what God is urging us to do today to resist the world

  176. abstain from the passions of Flesh live for other passions

  177. and better Passions. We might read this verse

  178. sometimes and think that the Bible is calling us to a

  179. passionate passionate list life to emotionless empty, empty

  180. Hollow boring, avoiding all the good stuff in this world.

  181. No, that's that's not what he's telling us to do here.

  182. It's interesting that in these two verses.

  183. There's two sentences in the English, but in the original

  184. it's actually one sentence. It's one continuous thought they

  185. go together. God is calling us for a life of

  186. full of passion, full of emotion, full of zeal for that,

  187. which really matters. And that's what which really

  188. fits over its really fills and we'll see that in the second

  189. reality here. So, the first reality is we live

  190. in a world that Wars against our soul and the second reality.

  191. Is that we live in a world that wants to belittle God.

  192. We get to First Peter 2:12. The Bible says keep your conduct

    1 Peter 2:12

  193. among the Gent tiles, honorable, so that So that this means

  194. there's a purpose here. So what's the purpose?

  195. So that when they speak against you as evildoers, here's what

  196. will happen. They may see your good deeds and

  197. then do what, then you will glorify God on the day of

  198. visitation. So the end of all this is

  199. ultimately for the glory of God, all we do is for the glory of

  200. God. The major problem in this world.

  201. Is that is that we live in a world that wants to belittle

  202. God. And that God is not being

  203. glorified. So if we look around in the

  204. world will see a world. That is saying they're all kinds

  205. of problems that are more important.

  206. But here, the Bible saying clearly that the major problem

  207. in this world if is that God is not being glorified, we need to

  208. reorient our thinking. We need to live in a world or we

  209. live in a world where God is ignored.

  210. If we just look at the apps on our phone watch TV stream

  211. online. Scroll through social media,

  212. listen to National conversation. The fear of God is nowhere to be

  213. found. Not just in the world. but also,

  214. I fear sometimes we be little God in this world as well.

  215. We don't understand the magnitude of what we're working

  216. for. Sometimes we patronize God, by

  217. the way, we do things. So you know scores of people in

  218. the church, you know, just check off a box.

  219. Yeah, we went this week. By tending service and then

  220. ignore his word, the rest of the week long and they're silent

  221. about him through the entire week.

  222. Offer Ritu routine. Patronizing, prayers done it.

  223. Maybe just before a meal or never, but never really falling

  224. on our faces and giving all of our emotion to God In Prayer in

  225. so many ways. We built Our Lives not centered

  226. on God. The Majestic Mighty supreme

  227. authority over all instead, we live in a world with just

  228. constructed a church culture in which we have built Our Lives

  229. centered on ourselves. That's sometimes as a reality,

  230. we live in a world that wants to be little God, to minimize

  231. ignore, and not makes me not make much of him.

  232. So what do we do then in this world?

  233. Urging number one, was that we resist the world.

  234. We abstain from the passions of the Flesh and the ways of this

  235. world that are belittling God. Now, the second urging is we

  236. live with a different passion. Everything we do now is filtered

  237. through that different passion of passion for God in this

  238. world. Now we can ask ourselves through

  239. that filter, does the way that I'm spending my time or money?

  240. Does the way that I speak or post does the way I work.

  241. Does the way I relate to my spouse?

  242. My kids, my family, my friends, my co-workers, do these reflect

  243. passion for God, or my words, what I post and the

  244. relationships are they shouting passion for God?

  245. And for his glory in the world? We resist the world on one hand

  246. then we engage the world for the glory of God.

  247. That's what first Peter 2:12 is instructing us to do honor God

    1 Peter 2:12

  248. with your conduct so that when they speak against you as

  249. evildoers And that's an interesting phrase.

  250. What does evildoers mean? It means when we think believe

  251. desire and live from differently from this world with a passion

  252. for God, we will be spoken against in this world. and the

  253. verse doesn't say if, but it says when when that happens, not

  254. if it happens, but when it happens, As followers of Jesus,

  255. who believe the world word of God, we have some very different

  256. views than the world around us and some very unpopular views,

  257. even offensive views, that would be labeled evil in our culture.

  258. You think about it? We believe God creates, all

  259. people, wonderfully and beautifully as either male or

  260. female Genesis 1:26-27. This is foundational.

    Genesis 1:26–27

  261. Truth from the first chapter Bible and it is labeled evil

  262. discriminatory and unloving in our culture.

  263. We Believe marriage is designed by God for one man.

  264. In one moment woman together. Genesis 2:24, that is a belief,

    Genesis 2:24

  265. our country has labeled bigotry. We actually believe that any

  266. sexual activity of any kind outside of marriage between one

  267. man. And one woman is a sin against

  268. God first Corinthians 6, verse Thessalonians 4.

  269. We believe that a husband is the leader of the home, just as

  270. Jesus is the leader of the church is Fusion, spy.

  271. We believe, abortion is murder of an innocent life, being

  272. formed in a mother's womb, Psalms 139 we could keep going

  273. on and on and on with this list, based on God's word.

  274. That are completely contrary to what this world wants to

  275. believe. And the crazy one that we

  276. believe. Believe that a virgin gave birth

  277. to a baby and he grew up and never did one thing wrong his

  278. entire life. He died and three late Days

  279. Later Rose. And walked out of his tomb and

  280. he flew up to heaven without any mechanical assistance.

  281. And one day he's going to come back that is offensive to the

  282. world in some respects. So if we trust God and His word,

  283. we will believe some things that are very different from this

  284. world. Things that would lead to

  285. mockery insult slander and will lead you to be ostracized in

  286. this world. We believe things in this world

  287. that that labels it as evil, wrong harmless and dangerous.

  288. When the world thinks it's like that, like this, not if, but

  289. when we need to ask, if we are going to hold fast to God's

  290. truth, The major issue facing us today and facing the church.

  291. Are we going to hold fast to trust in God's word?

  292. Or are we going to compromise our beliefs for the sake of

  293. Acceptance? In this world?

  294. We need to pray for God's help to not compromise.

  295. We have a choice to make. We have, you have to make that

  296. conscious Choice. Are we going to trust the world

  297. or we going to trust in God's word?

  298. What's it going to be? Teenagers college students or

  299. young adults, whatever the case you may be in, you know, I know

  300. you guys are getting so much pressure to see God's word as

  301. maybe Antiquated or outdated, offensive, or even evil.

  302. We're you guys are tempted every day by messages.

  303. All around you in this world to leave it behind and Trust in the

  304. world. And I want to urge you guys

  305. today to not do it, don't Do it. Don't trust in the world.

  306. The latest trends or the newest, most popular accepted way of

  307. looking at things. The that is the essence of sin

  308. thinking that you know, what is true and right better than God

  309. does. It leads to death leads to the

  310. death that we don't want. At least two destruction of your

  311. soul. We need to trust in God's world

  312. and not just with teenagers or college students or young adults

  313. every single person in this war who wants to belittle God and

  314. criticizes word want to urge everybody here to trust in God's

  315. word, no matter what it costs in your life.

  316. Work, friendships influence. Trust in his word and don't lose

  317. your soul. Then following this, the Bible

  318. says, To lead such honorable lives filled with good deeds.

  319. That when others think those people aren't loving over there.

  320. Our Lives will have evidence of a different story.

  321. We need to live at. So when they attack and slander

  322. and speak against you, they will look at you and see the Good

  323. Deeds that bring glory to God. In other words, don't just

  324. resist the world and what it has to offer, but engage it to prove

  325. them wrong. That's what's God.

  326. God is telling us to do, do the good things.

  327. Do the Good Deeds live honorable life so that when they come at

  328. you with the attacks you got evidence to prove otherwise That

  329. is not a passionless emotionless, empty hollow life.

  330. That is a life that is full of showing the world, how good God

  331. is. And that when, when they think

  332. that those people over there, may be closed-minded, an

  333. arrogant, they will look and see a church, every week with

  334. intentional work to help those who may need help in the

  335. congregation with children or families, with special needs are

  336. to help those, who are elderly, hear that?

  337. Aren't able to do things on their own anymore.

  338. We show the goodness of and the love of God to families with

  339. unique challenges. We got a brother that's going to

  340. be going in for procedure here. The next couple days that we

  341. need to figure out how we're going to help that family out,

  342. because they're going to be down and out.

  343. It's our responsibility to help. When the people in the world are

  344. tempted to think that they have into, they may have an offensive

  345. view of marriage and family, we show them what it looks like for

  346. a husband to lay down his life for his wife.

  347. To serve to cherish to nourish to love and to build up his

  348. wife. When marriage is may break down,

  349. we show them how to fight for a marriage.

  350. To fight for what God has instituted.

  351. And when they are tempted to think that it's a maybe a bunch

  352. of religious people in a prudish bubble over there, we show them.

  353. A Congregation of people going and sacrificing time and money

  354. for the spread of the Gospel. Not so that they're think that

  355. maybe that congregational their own plans road, is greater that

  356. person's rate. This was great, that would miss

  357. the entire point. We're not living for ourselves.

  358. We're living for God, so that they will see the goodness of

  359. the good deeds. And glorify God, everything we

  360. do is for glorifying God, not for glorifying us.

  361. In a world that belittles God, we want to point to the glory

  362. and goodness of God, want to live with passion to do that.

  363. And we need to let that affect the way we speak.

  364. Think Post Live relate to other people filter, everything

  365. through that lens and ask, how is what I'm doing today right

  366. now glorifying, God, Then show that you're a pilgrim.

  367. Is Soldier some translations. Here, say stranger here or

  368. sojourn living for that which matters forever of the day of

  369. visitation Peter reminds us here in the Bible reminds us that

  370. there is a day coming. When it's all going to be clear

  371. that this world and all it is offered is not worthy of our

  372. trust. Not worthy of our passion.

  373. On that day, it will be clear that God and His word, or 100%

  374. worthy of everything that we have to give to him.

  375. That day will make it extremely, clear?

  376. So we live for that day in our own life, we need to guard our

  377. minds guarded desires. It's to abstain from the

  378. passions of the flesh to resist the world, engage the world, but

  379. not just with good deeds. The picture here is deeper than

  380. that? Yes, the Good Deeds.

  381. All kinds of good things including the Examples.

  382. I mentioned. But in the middle, those good

  383. deeds. We need to be proclaiming God

  384. and his word. The God who loves us so much

  385. that he gave his son to die on a cross for our sins, he did this.

  386. So that when they stand for God, on that day they will be ready

  387. to glorify him because they will have been brought to trust in

  388. him. We're going to be glorifying God

  389. on the final day. Every knee will bow.

  390. Whether you're bowing now, others in the world don't

  391. believe in him. There's going to be a day.

  392. When everybody is going to get on their knees and praise God,

  393. whether they want to or not. So we need to prepare for that

  394. day. We need to live our life of

  395. passion Preparing People for that day.

  396. Even as we fight our own battles in our own heart, we need to

  397. help others around us. so, with all that said, I want to ask Are

  398. you ready to stand before? God?

  399. Are we ready? Are we confident that we're

  400. going to have eternal life with God?

  401. When that day comes? Do we know for sure?

  402. That we're going to be in heaven with him, one of these days.

  403. If your answer to that is not a resounding.

  404. Yes. if you don't know, and we need to make that, right?

  405. You need to have confidence. and we are told we can have

  406. confidence in knowing So, are you ready to meet God if she

  407. decides to come back later today tomorrow, whatever it may be, we

  408. ready? We thank you for listening to

  409. our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.

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