1 Peter: Blessed Assurance (A Hope That Brings Focus)

1 Peter 1.

Here we go, come on, tim, there you go, 1 Peter 1, and it is going to be absolutely wonderful to celebrate God's Word together.

And I do want to say, while you're getting your message notes, your Bible notes, all that kind of stuff, if you're a first-time guest with us today, welcome.

We are so glad that you are here and we would love for you at some point to fill out your Connect card and drop it off at the Welcome Center.

We have a free gift for you, but also we have a free Bible for you today, because if you have a Bible but you haven't seen that friend in quite a while, we got you.

We wanna give you a free Bible, free Bible journal, all the different things.

So next time you're with us you can join in with us as we are reading through God's word together.

And I also wanna say really quickly hopefully give you just a couple more seconds to find first Peter, and that is thank you to everybody who served with us for serve week.

We put our hands together and celebrate serve week.

It was so good, we had so many great things.

We could just spend the whole service today just telling you about a lot of the wins and all that, and we're going to have some information for you about what came out of that next Sunday.

So make sure you are here for that.

But I just want to say thank you so very much for loving our city so well, such an awesome opportunity that we have to be able to be the hands and feet of Jesus all throughout our community.

And so if you got all of that ready to go, we're going to jump into God's Word and kind of remember some of what we were saying last week, and that is I want to kind of paint a picture for you a little bit of what's going on.

But we talked about how, if you've ever been like watching the news and it's around hurricane season you ever been watching that and all of a sudden you see like just this massive hurricane that is coming along the coast either you know maybe South Carolina or Florida, texas.

You see this massive hurricane that's coming and you're like man, I hope everyone's safe, hope, everyone's careful.

It looks like a big storm but it's heightened even more if you know somebody who lives on that coast.

And imagine that you know someone who lives right there on the coast and this big, massive storm, biggest storm you've ever seen happens to be right where they live and you're watching this and, out of the middle of nowhere, you get contacted from inside that storm.

You get an email, because that's what we do now.

If you, if you got an email or you got a text message, you got a TikTok just from that person, okay, and they are messaging you.

What would they have said?

There's so many things that they could have said and so many things that they might not have said.

But that is not that far off from exactly what the letter of 1 Peter is, because 1 Peter is talking about what Peter is going through when he is right in the middle of one of the greatest storms that the early church has ever seen.

Up to that point, and there's so many things he could have said, so many directions he could have gone, but I'm gonna go and give you a spoiler alert From the eye of the middle of the biggest storm the early church had ever seen.

This is really his message, and that is that we can stand strong because we have a blessed assurance that, yes, there is this massive storm.

I'm not in the middle of it.

He's seen so much discouragement, persecution, difficulty, just so many different things that's going on.

And right in the eye of the storm, he says man, I'm so excited about Jesus, I'm so excited about what God is doing.

Peter, you're in the middle of a hurricane.

I know my hair is getting blown, blown all over the place, there's trees going down all over me, but I've never been more excited about Jesus.

That's awesome.

And he's writing to these other churches that are experiencing the same thing he's experiencing and he's reminding them where their hope truly lies.

And that's what he was talking about last week is.

He starts off the whole thing saying the reason why we can stand strong is another way of saying blessed assurance is that we have a living hope, that our hope is founded in who Jesus is.

And then he says because we have that living hope.

Then he says now, this is what we can do.

And it actually reminds me of so.

There was a time when I was a teenager that I was living, you know, not far from the coast, like that.

That story is not that dissimilar from from what I experienced as a teenager, because this is going to date me a little bit, but when I was a teenager, I lived just a little bit off of the coast and we didn't have the internet yet back then, and so I was in charge of charting all of the hurricanes, because they needed something for their teenage boy to do to try and stay out of trouble.

So I was constantly following the hurricanes and most of the time, because of where I lived, we missed them.

They would either go to the right and they would go toward Florida, or they go to the left and go toward Texas, louisiana.

But I remember one time I kept charting this storm and it wasn't turning.

It was actually coming straight for where we lived and, of course, to my mind, it was coming straight for us.

You know, it'll be here by Friday, you know, and it's coming to get us, you know, and it was finally.

It was like our turn, you know, and I remember just panicking, like so bad, like I just I couldn't even think straight.

What are we going to do?

How are we going to make it?

Who's going to save my Nintendo?

Because that was what it was back in the day.

All right, you know, old school Mario, right here, duck Hunt, that's my jam back in the day Like who's going to do that?

I was so some of y'all smiling because y'all know exactly what I'm talking about.

The rest of y'all are like he is old, right, yes.

And so I remember being so distraught and I'm just running around trying to figure it out, and my dad had the audacity to just sit there and eat his popcorn and enjoy the show.

Watch me panic.

And he finally let me panic and he said son, because he was a pastor.

And he said son, the church which is literally right beside our house is the most well-built, fortified, sturdiest building in our community.

If anybody's going to be okay, we're gonna be okay.

Our job is not to panic.

Our job is to prepare the church for the rest of the community to come in because we're okay.

And do you know, knowing that we were going to be okay, it was amazing how quickly, like all my worry, just like, oh well, okay, then, all right, well, I guess we're going to be fine, my Nintendo is going to make it All right.

Then what do we do?

Like it was amazing how much focus came when I realized we were going to be okay.

And that's what Peter is telling us.

He spent all of last week telling us hey, we're going to be okay because our foundation is in something so much more solid than anything else you can imagine.

But now that you know your foundation is solid, there's a job for us to do, and he tells us what it is.

So let's read this together.

He said because we have a living hope.

He says, therefore, because of that living hope, prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control.

Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.

You must live as God's obedient children.

Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires.

You didn't know any better then, but now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God chose.

You is holy, for the scriptures say you must be holy because I am holy, and remember that the heavenly father to whom you pray has no favorites.

He will judge or reward you according to what you do.

So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as temporary residents.

And he says that because our home, ultimately, is in heaven.

For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life that you inherited from your ancestors, and it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which loses its value.

It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless lamb of God.

God chose him as your ransom long before the world began.

But now, in these last days, he has been revealed to you, or been revealed for your sake.

Through Christ, you have come to trust in God and you have placed your faith and hope in God, because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.

We were cleansed.

You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth.

So now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters.

Love each other deeply, with all your heart, for you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end.

Your life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living word of God.

For, as the scriptures say, people are like grass, their beauty is like a flower in the field.

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of the Lord remains forever, and that word is the good news that was preached to you, wow.

So in the first part, he says that we have a living hope.

And now, because we have a living hope, now that we realize that our foundation is secure, he's saying let's roll up our sleeves because we can focus on.

Now what's most important, and what he's saying is, is that we can stand strong because that living hope brings focus.

We have a hope that living hope and having that can bring us focus in a world of chaos, in storms that wanna cause distractions, that wanna cause not just chaos but difficulty, misperceptions, all these different things he is saying.

In all of that chaos and distraction, our living hope gives us focus on what it is we need to do and remember.

This is so amazing that he's telling us this because he's living right in the middle of the biggest storm that the church had ever faced.

Remember we talked about last week that in 33 AD, jesus rose from the dead and he went to heaven.

The church was born and then for a couple of years few years Peter hung out in Jerusalem, but eventually the church scattered and started growing all over the place and he made his way to Rome.

Because, of course, peter went to Rome.

He went right to the epicenter, to the center of the known world at the time, and there, at the center of the world, he started to preach the gospel, and so he's there for quite a while.

But then, in 60 AD man, the storm began.

61, paul is in prison.

That's where he writes Ephesians, philippians, colossians, philemon, all of these different ones.

But in 64, it really ramps up because Rome burns and they blame the Christians, which is not true.

We had nothing to do with it, but they had to put it on somebody.

So Christians became enemy number one.

And by the time the dust settled from that 65 AD, massive persecution has started over false pretenses.

And it's in that storm that Peter writes what we're reading right now, inspired of the Holy Spirit, telling them yes, it's ramping up, but we have a living hope.

And then, within the next year, he's gonna write 2 Peter from prison.

Many are martyred, including him.

That same year he is crucified upside down and then, the very next year, paul is beheaded.

So the storm was gonna get bigger as they're going.

And in the middle of this massive multi-year storm, peter is writing to them and he's saying man, isn't it so good that we've got Jesus?

Isn't it so good that we have a living hope?

He knows what it is for there to be distractions all over the place, for there to be chaos all over the place, for there to be chaos all over the place, stuff that doesn't just last for a weekend but it's lasting for a long time.

And in the middle of all of that, he's still saying that we have a living hope and that hope gives us focus.

And remember we've talked about what hope actually means.

According to the world standards, hope means wishful thinking Like I hope this is gonna happen.

I hope that's gonna happen.

That's not the definition of biblical hope.

Biblical hope, according to the Bible, is a dynamic, living confidence in what God has promised.

So biblical hope is not something that we just wish and hope happens one day, but it is a confident assurance, a blessed assurance based on what God has already promised.

And so what Peter has been telling us last week is he's saying God has promised, that he has saved us, that he is that sure foundation and we can go 10 toes down and say we can hope in that living hope.

And then, once we know that our hope is secure, that brings focus into our lives.

Because while everybody else is scrambling and the world is wondering, what are they supposed to do as Christ followers, he tells us exactly what to do.

And he tells us, in this very next verse of the first verse of today, says therefore.

Next verse of the first verse of today says therefore prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control and put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come.

So, in other words, like the most literal, you know Greek translation is roll your sleeves up, since we have this blessed hope.

The phrase is gird the loins of your mind.

Other words like pick up your robes, put them inside your belt so that you can run.

Our context would be roll up your sleeves, it's time to get busy.

And he says these are the three things we're supposed to do.

The focus that we have is that God calls us in the middle of a storm, when everybody else is in chaos because of our living hope.

He calls us to think clearly, to grow in holiness and to keep perspective.

When everything else is happening, when nobody else knows what to do and everybody's saying anyone got a plan.

God's word says I got exactly.

What we're supposed to do is, first of all, ground ourselves in the hope that doesn't change, and then, once we know our eternity is secure in Christ man, that gives us focus.

We don't have to panic anymore.

Now we can look straight ahead.

And he says do these three things Think clearly, grow in holiness and keep perspective.

When everybody else is in the fog of panic, you can think clearly.

When everybody else is trying to follow the crowd to see what in the world is going on, we can grow in holiness.

And then, when we have such a tendency to want to divide from one another and just kind of everybody, look at everybody as victims and villains.

He says he can, that we can keep perspective, and all of this focus comes from that blessed assurance that we can stand strong in that, which is great.

So let's just pray and go home, because we're going to think clearly, which is great.

So let's just pray and go home, because we're going to think clearly, grow in holiness, keep perspective, sure, how, how exactly are we supposed to do that?

Well, the great news is is the next several verses.

Peter takes time and he outlines exactly what the motivation is.

What is it that fuels our ability to do all three of these things?

And that's really the question of the day, and that is that the storms of life can distract, cause panic and bring confusion.

Where should we focus?

Because there's a thousand things we could focus on, but what is it that, that living hope in us is calling us to focus on?

And can I tell you, I think that everybody in this room is in one of three places in their life.

You're either coming out of a storm, you're right in the middle of a storm, or you are heading in to a storm.

So, pastor, I wish you'd be more positive.

Okay, I'm positive.

Everybody in here is in one of three places, and so is our nation, so are the nations, so is the world, so is this time in history.

So then, what do we do as Christians?

Well, thank goodness, god's word doesn't leave us without a hope or without a focus.

Instead, he says first realize we have a living hope, and then you're not just supposed to sit there and just drift and hope for the best.

But let me tell you exactly how you're supposed to focus.

He's saying it is now time to focus.

I want you to focus on growing in holiness, thinking clearly and keeping perspective in the middle of a chaotic world.

So I want you to focus on growing in holiness, thinking clearly and keeping perspective in the middle of a chaotic world.

So I want you to look at your neighbor and say it's time to focus.

Look at him again and say put that down and focus.

Just in case somebody's checking their Instagram, do that later.

It's time to focus Because, for some of us, we've been wondering.

Have you not been wondering?

You've been reading everybody's hot take on what's going on in the world this week and you've been going what are we supposed to do?

Where am I supposed to focus?

Thank goodness, god's word tells us to focus on these three things, and so, if you don't know where your focus is, because of the living hope, we can focus on these three.

Here's the first one that we can focus and be transformed as we grow in holiness, because we are God's children.

Of all the things we could do in a chaotic world, because we have a living hope, it causes us to focus on growing in holiness.

Dun, dun, dun.

You know, for some of y'all a little trigger because I said the word holiness, we're gonna get there in a minute.

Because of God's, because we are God's children, it's time to focus on the adventure of being someone who is reaching out rather than just holding on.

We can do that because of our living hope.

Look at how God's word says it.

He says so you must live as obedient children.

Say the word children, and don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires.

You didn't know any better then.

But now you must be holy.

Say holy In everything you do, just as God, who chose you, is holy.

And then he gives us a promise for the scripture.

Say you must be holy because I am holy.

And so he just said that we are to focus on being the children of God and that we do that and it causes us to be holy.

So do it other way around, that we are to grow in holiness because we're following after God, because we are his children.

And the reality of that is is that for some of us, one of the most comforting things, the focusing thing is, is to realize that we have.

We see him as our heavenly father, that we are loved, we are seen and we are known as God's children, that God's God sees us as his beloved child.

Therefore, he is constantly watching over us and he's looking at us and he is saying I want you to grow and I want you to develop in that holiness.

And we do that by following after God.

In the context of it, the assumption is is we see ourselves as children, which means we are following after our parent, following after our heavenly father, which makes sense to me, because when my girls were little, they actually earned the name chickens.

They did not like that nickname, okay, but they earned it because from the youngest age I'm talking about, when my oldest daughter could walk and my youngest daughter could crawl they would follow my wife around like a bunch of little chickens.

Okay, that's what they would do.

They would just walk around.

And then, as they got older, they would just follow mom wherever she was.

Sometimes they would be talking to her, sometimes they were just like, well, we're going for a walk and, as Autumn would be going by doing chores, they just follow everywhere she'd go and we would test this sometimes.

Sometimes, as she's walking, I would cross paths with them and if they weren't paying attention, they'd just start following me wherever I would go, just walk around and then, invariably, in just a couple of minutes, they would go dad and they'd go follow mom again.

And then, a little bit older, we got a dog and then there were three following after my wife.

Only the third one was hoping for a snack, that's all that Maggie was after, right, but it was just constantly following after the parent.

And that's exactly what this scripture is saying is he's saying I want you to follow God as if he is your loving father and you're the excited child who can't wait to see what your father is going to do next and if you can do it, just like him.

And he's saying that what he wants us to do is to see God and to follow him in his holiness.

Now I know, for some of us, we don't have a clue what that word means.

For some of us, that's a really negative word, but the basic definition of the word holiness is to be set apart or different.

That's what that means.

It means to be different, different from anything else around, which means, then, that it is going to be different than sin and for addiction and all that kind of stuff.

But the primary reason for holiness is not to automatically be against the world.

It's to be for God.

It's to be different in all that we do.

Depending on where you're from, you say different, different From the South, you say different.

But it's all the same word.

It means being different.

It's the idea that we don't march to the beat of the drum of the world.

We march to the beat of the drum of our heavenly father, which means, then, that it takes confidence to be different.

Because it reminds me of one time my wife and I us as a family we were at a amusement park and we were trying to get to this specific ride and it was a very popular ride, specific ride and like it seemed like there was just this sea of humanity going this way and she was very confidently going the exact opposite direction and I still remember looking at her going listen, a thousand people can't be wrong.

I think we're going the wrong direction.

But she had her map out and she was looking at this and she's going.

I'm telling you this is the way we're supposed to go.

I said I'm telling you you're wrong.

The sea of humanity is going that way.

It is the most you know sought after, right in the entire park.

A thousand people can't be wrong.

Come on, girls.

I said, listen, could you just trust me?

Turns out she was right.

I never apologize and I don't attend on it.

All right, that is my problem, not yours.

But the reality was that that's exactly what that looks like as Christ followers Is that, while the whole rest of the world is going that way, we're supposed to look at our map and go.

But I think he wants me to go this way.

Yeah, but a thousand people can't be wrong.

Oh yeah, they can If they're reading the wrong map or if they're going the wrong way or if they're going to a different destination.

I'm headed to heaven with Jesus, which means this map says I'm supposed to go this way, and it takes confidence.

It takes confidence to go against the grain and to trust in the Lord.

And the reality is is we're not running from the world, we're running toward Jesus wherever he leads.

And it takes confidence.

It takes that security of knowing that I know who God has made me to be.

My hope is in that living hope.

Therefore, I can go and follow him wherever that happens to be.

That's why God's word says it like this says.

So, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.

Let them be a living and holy, a different sacrifice, the kind that he will find acceptable.

This is truly the way to worship him.

Don't copy the behavior and customs of the world, because they're going that way, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.

Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

If someone wants to know what is God's will for your life, it is to not follow the world, not go where the sea of humanity is going, but instead look at your map and go.

I'm going to follow after Jesus.

I'm going to grow in being different from anything else that's not like Jesus, and as I grow in moving toward him, I'm going to be beating, I'm going to be moving to the beat of a different drum, and it's the name and the heartbeat of Jesus which is exactly where that scripture that Peter was reading comes from.

He was actually talking about the game plan to be different, to which, as a pastor, I'm so excited to talk to you about Leviticus, because when is the last time we talked about Leviticus and he's actually quoting from Leviticus?

And if we don't, if we don't know Leviticus, we just think of it as just being about skin diseases and washing pots and pans and all kinds of other stuff we're not gonna talk about right now.

Right, and we're like why would he quote from Leviticus?

Well, you know what Leviticus was Is it was a roadmap to be different.

It was a roadmap to knowing how to worship God.

They weren't the only ones in that wilderness and he was saying I don't want you to follow the customs and the patterns of everybody else.

I want you to be different.

I want you to be different.

I want you to follow after me.

So I want you to do these things and don't do those things, and I want you to follow the game plan.

All because at the end of Leviticus the promise was is that if you will be different and follow after me, he says if you will do these things, I will live among you and I will not despise you.

I will walk among you, I will be your God and you will be my people.

I am the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and you would no longer, so that you would no longer be their slaves.

He's saying this is what I want for you is I don't want you to be slaves anymore.

I don't want you to follow after the distraction and the chaos and the panic of the world that's going this way, I want you to follow me and be different.

And it takes confidence, it takes a living hope, it takes a biblical type of confidence to say I see the world is going this way.

I think I'm gonna follow Jesus this way and as we do that, as we grow in that being different because we are God's children the focus happens and we're able to see clearly, we're able to grow in that maturity.

So here is a action step for you that we stand on that living hope.

And then here's something maybe for you to try this week, and that is this what if this week you focused on taking one step closer to Jesus?

This week you focused on being different, on doing something different?

I don't know what that might look like for you.

Maybe you decide I'm not going to take in all of the chaos of the world.

This week I'm gonna turn some of that down and turn up the noise of Jesus by worship and by reading his word.

I'm okay with being different.

I know that everybody else is glued to all the things that are happening.

I wanna be glued to this because, as I'm glued to the eternal promises that don't change, I can start to seed my focus in the middle of a storm and while the rest of the world is in chaos and in confusion, man, I'm digging into a hope that never fades and that focus helps me to grow and being okay with being different and that confidence in that living hope helps me to then take that next step.

Look at your neighbor and say it's time to focus.

That was horrible.

Look at somebody else and say it's time to focus.

Snap at them.

Snap at them a little bit.

Say mom, focus, focus, come on, snap at them.

I can't snap.

If I could I'd snap, but I can't snap at all.

All right, the first thing is is that living hope brings us to think clearly because God has purchased our freedom.

That not only does it help us grow in being different, we can focus because our hope is secure, like what happened with me when I realized, oh, so I'm not going to get blown away, so I can, I'm okay, now I can focus.

And now that I can focus, we can focus on growing and being different, coming more like Jesus every day and then focus on thinking clearly rather than letting our minds race on everything else.

We can focus and think clearly because God has purchased our freedom.

He says it like this.

He says and remember like think clearly that the heavenly father to whom you pray has no favorites.

He will judge or award you according to what you do.

In other words, he's ultimately in charge.

So you must have a reverent fear.

That's a healthy sense of honor and respect of him during your time here as temporary residents.

Four, because you know that God has paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors.

And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which loses its value.

It was with the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless lamb of God.

God chose him as your ransom long before the world began.

Through Christ, you have come to trust in God.

You have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead.

In other words, he's looking at the chaos of everything going along, going around, and he's saying that storms bring chaos but focus brings gratitude.

When you start to think about what God has really done, it causes us to focus on who he is and what's going on and what's truly happening in our life.

And so I love the word that he actually uses.

He uses this word ransom, but we don't really use that word as much anymore.

But that word ransom is very important because that was actually what you had to do If you went to the slave alleys.

There were certain areas in the cities where people would be auctioned off.

Human beings would be auctioned off for various reasons.

Sometimes it was because they'd been condemned to death, and what they would do is is they would be on an auction block, also called a chopping block, and they would sit there and they would say how much will you give for this person and if you are willing to pay in full, that was paying their ransom, and it was the idea that the mental picture is that there was somebody that was on a chopping block that had no excuse, but then somebody else came and said I will pay the full price for their ransom.

But the problem is sometimes is we get so used to hearing the story of the gospel that we start to take it for granted, and so I want to tell you something that I hope doesn't offend you too much, but it's something that we all need to make sure we remember so that we can remember the good news.

Here's the bad news, and that is this every single person deserves help.

Welcome to Real Life Church.

We're here to make you feel good about you.

Yeah, look at your neighbor and say he's talking about you.

Of course he is.

I see some of y'all going uh-uh, not me, not me, all right.

10 commandment test All right.

Ten commandment test.

All right, ten commandment test.

This is my favorite.

I love it so much just because I'm mean like that, all right.

How many of you would ever say, in the course of your entire life, ever, you've ever told one lie?

Anybody, anybody.

A couple of brave souls Rest of y'all.

Go and put your hands up now because you're liars.

All right, yeah.

How many of you would ever say, over the course of your life, have ever stolen anything?

Yes, many of you.

Taking our pens without permission?

Sure, you have.

Right now, they're free, you can have them.

All right, how about this one?

Any brave soul?

Over the course of your entire life, have you ever lusted after somebody?

A couple of brave souls rest of y'all liars.

All right, yeah, yeah, all right.

Here's the thing.

Then, by our own admission, every single person in here is a lying, thieving, adulterer.

So glad you came to church today.

Yeah, absolutely so.

Here's the thing we just all have to say.

You know what?

We are on the chopping block.

We deserve death, because the Bible says the cost of sin is death.

But then one day, somebody came into the slave alley.

God's word says it like this.

But God showed his great love by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

What's amazing is he said son daughter, get off that block.

Well, somebody's got to pay for it.

Exactly, take me instead.

That's what the king of the universe did for every single one of us in here is he didn't just say get down from there and he walked out with us.

He took our place, that we deserve hell, but he has offered us heaven.

And if you're a Christian, you've already received the greatest miracle that the sting of death is gone, which means you don't have to worry about what happens after you die, because after you die, you see him face to face.

You see the one who paid the price for all of your sin, and he's got his arms open and a smile on his face and he says hey, I've been waiting on you, come on in.

And all around him are all your friends and all your loved ones, and they're all smiling, saying welcome to the kingdom of God.

We're so glad that you're here.

That's what's waiting on you.

Praise the Lord.

And the idea is is that when we remember that, then we start to realize wow, god, I'm so sorry for every single time I said what have you done for me lately, and instead I started saying God, what can I do for you?

Lately You've been so good to me, you've blessed me so much that I'm so sorry that sometimes I get so focused on what I don't have, I forget what I've already received.

And it's amazing that when we see the living hope, it gives us clarity of mind and we realize, man, I'm free, I'm free.

Look at how God's word says it.

It says so.

Christ has truly set us free.

So then now make sure you stay free and don't get back up on that block of slavery again, for you have been called to live in freedom, to get off of that block and to walk out of that alley.

My brothers and sisters, don't use your freedom to satisfy off of that block and to walk out of that alley.

My brothers and sisters, don't use your freedom to satisfy sinful nature.

Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

Let the Holy Spirit guide your lives.

Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves, but let the Holy Spirit produce this kind of fruit in our lives.

He doesn't just save us, but then he goes to work on us and he gives us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

And the reality is is that when we realize that we have a living hope, it causes us to not be swayed by all the chaos of the world and wondering what's going on, but rather we're able to look straightforward and say that my living hope gives me focus and he gives me the honor of growing and knowing him more every day, and it clears my eyes so they're not stained by all the things of the world and I'm able to see clearly that my King has given me the greatest miracle.

Do I still have things I need?

Absolutely, but if he does nothing else for me, he's already enough because of what he's done.

And so your action step in the first one is what is one step you could take this week to take a step closer to Jesus?

Here's your action step for the second one.

If this one is you, and that is what if you focused on what God has already done this week, not on what is yet to be done?

What would it look like if you took one week?

And I'm not saying that you aren't concerned about things, I'm not saying you don't do the best you can.

But what if, for one week, instead of remembering all the things that you don't have.

You took one week and you focused on honoring and praising God for all that God has already done in your life.

You know what immediately happened.

You would start to look at the storm so very differently.

You go yeah, it's bad, it's big, there goes a cow, there goes all the things.

But man, I'm still so excited about Jesus.

I'm still so thankful that God is for me and not against me.

I'm still thankful that this foundation has not moved at all and because of that I'm able to have clarity.

So one more time, look at your neighbor and say so.

Then focus, focus, look at them, look at somebody else, say focus on Jesus.

Focus because as we focus because of the living hope he helps us to grow in holiness, think clearly.

And here's one more, and that is this to keep perspective, because God can be trusted, to keep perspective.

Keep perspective with our brothers and our sisters, all the people around us, because God can be trusted.

So the other way around, because God can be trusted.

I will focus on making sure I stop looking at the world as victims and villains, but rather see people the way Jesus sees people.

Look at how God's word says.

It says you were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must say must, must show sincere love, not just liking a social media post, but sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters.

Love each other deeply and with all your heart.

How, for you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end.

And then, for all of this, we realize that our new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal living word of God.

And, as the scriptures say, people are like grass and their beauty like the flower in the field.

The grass may wither, the flower may fade, but the word of our God remains forever.

Do you know what's hard to do in a storm?

It's hard to remember that everybody's important.

It's hard to remember that everybody has a private battle that we know nothing about.

We start doing triage in the moment and going okay, this person is important.

Maybe that person's not important.

Because if we get wrapped up in chaos and wrapped up in the kind of the fog of the moment, we forget that perspective.

And one of the most amazing perspectives is to realize everything we've been talking about today that God sees you as his child and that you have been ransomed, that you were on that chopping block and you were taken off.

Everything about that.

He also believes for your neighbor.

Every single one of those promises that we hold to God also holds those promises for the person sitting beside you.

Look at him and say he's talking about you.

Jesus loved your neighbor the most.

He loved him so much, loved her so much that he died on the cross for their sins.

And we live in a world that wants us to forget that, that wants us to see victims and villains and that we're right.

Everybody else is wrong.

We're going to put ourself first and everybody else last.

When he said but wait a minute, your king died for that person.

So be so very careful that we don't immediately make them a villain, because they're probably not a villain, they're probably broken, because they need the same salvation that we have received.

What would it look like if, in the middle of the storm, if we were able to get perspective and see people the way Jesus sees people, so that we had that same attitude?

I love how CS Lewis talks about how many times we don't realize who we're beside, and I'm just gonna read you the quote.

He said this he said it is a serious thing to live in a society, and remember that the dullest, most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such that you now meet only in a nightmare.

That means everybody ends up in one way place or the other All day long.

We are in some degree helping each other to one of these destinations.

There are no ordinary people.

You've never talked to a mere mortal.

It is immortals who we joke with, work with marry snub and exploit Immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.

All is God's creation.

Wow, look at your neighbor and say look at you, didn't realize you are immortal.

Yes, everybody in this room, everybody you're going, gonna come in contact with, is gonna spend an eternity in the very presence of an almighty God, or they're gonna spend an eternity separated from the presence of an almighty God.

There are no little people in this world, and so what if, when we see that our hope is a living hope and we can stand on it, we stop seeing the world as victims and villains, but rather we saw the world as everybody?

So what if, when we see that our hope is a living hope and we can stand on it.

We stop seeing the world as victims and villains, but rather we saw the world as everybody with a measurable worth that are broken and they need the salvation that only Jesus can give us.

And to realize that in him is the only way that we can ever move.

And we can see that as we see clearly because of his love.

God's word says it like this do not bring sorrow on God's Holy Spirit by the way we live.

Remember he has identified you as his own, as his children, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

And so when we have that perspective, he says then get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.

Here it is just as God, through Christ, has forgiven you.

So we start to realize that the perspective he gives us is that everybody, including the people you work beside that drive you crazy, including the crazy uncle that you've been avoiding.

But the holidays are coming, including all that.

Jesus died for them too.

But if you're looking for approval from the world, you can't do that.

But if you can stand 10 toes down in your living, hope you go.

It gives me focus and because of that confident focus I have, instead of looking for approval everywhere else, I know I've already got it in God.

Therefore, I can grow in holiness.

While everybody else is running and doesn't know what to do, I can think clearly about the goodness of God and then, while everybody else is looking, doesn't know what to do, I'm going into the world because I'm remembering that I was once like that too.

I was once somebody who was on that chopping block, and if I'd only heard about Jesus sooner, I would have gotten off of there sooner.

So who can I go talk to this week?

The question is, who can you love this week?

Who needs to see that clear perspective and that is that everybody is worth the love of Jesus everybody.

And when we get that clarity, it gives us focus on what to do.

And so my question for you is is are you focused In this world?

Are you focused?

And it reminds me of what we've been reading this past week.

We've been reading through the book of Luke, and if you would like to read God's word with us, we're kind of starting round two of the Bible breakdown and you can text RLCBIBLE to 94000.

And Luke is like the investigative reporter of the New Testament.

He was employed by a guy named Theopolis to go write an orderly chronological account of all of the claims of Jesus.

Holy Spirit inspired it, and so you get to see a chronology of all of the claims of Jesus.

Holy Spirit inspired it, and so you get to see a chronology of all the things that Jesus did.

And coming up this week is a story that I can't help but wonder if maybe some of what Paul or Peter is saying now, I wonder if some of the genesis of this hope comes from, because I mean, what is it?

You have had to go through in the past to where now you are, in the epicenter of the biggest storm the church has ever faced, and you still got a smile on your face.

You're still going, man, god's so good, I'm so thankful for Jesus, I'm so thankful to God.

Where does that come from?

And I can't help but wonder if some of it might have started with the story we're going to read this week, because the Bible says that at some point Jesus told the disciples to go from one side of the Sea of Galilee to another.

And as they're getting ready to go, they're going through there, and it gets dark at that point and Jesus falls asleep.

Well, while he is sleeping, a storm comes and the Bible said the storm was just raging and it was.

And these are these are like some of these are professional fishermen.

So the fact that they're worried we should be worried right now, and the Bible even says this that the boat was filling with water and they were in real danger.

And so the disciples went and woke up, jesus shouting master, master, we're going to drown.

And when Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves and suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm.

And he asked them where is your faith?

And the disciples were terrified and amazed who is in this boat with us?

So Jesus was basically saying did you forget who made all this?

They're just showing off.

They're showing off because the king's in town.

Go on, guys, quiet down.

I see you, I see you.

Calm down, calm down.

They were excited to see me.

Disciples, what you all up to?

No, it's the idea of did you forget who was in the boat?

Did you forget that I was here the whole time?

You were so busy trying to save yourself that you stopped.

You forgot that the one who really can save you is already with you.

And so I wonder if 30 something years later, peter is writing he's going.

Man, I remember that time when I forgot who was in the boat.

I forgot because the storm got so loud and it got so strong and everybody else was worried, and because they were worried, I started getting worried and we all got worried and we got into this big chaotic moment to where, finally, we were like Jesus, come, help us, bail water man.

He's like you know what I remember Jesus doing.

He got up and he wasn't worried.

He get up, he looked right at the storm and he said that's enough, calm down.

And when he turned around, he just said guys, where was your faith?

And I wonder if 30 something years later, peter's remembering, as he's in the middle of the biggest storm and he's like Jesus was with me then.

I don't see him.

I know he's with me now and can I tell you for everyone in here, you're either in the middle of a storm, you're either about to go into one.

You're just coming out of one.

One thing I do know is that Jesus is in that storm with you.

I wonder what would have happened if Peter had realized Jesus was in that storm?

Instead of bailing water, I wonder if he would have got beside.

Jesus said okay, jesus, I see you.

What do you want to do?

What do you want to do?

Instead of panicking, I'm going to go find Jesus.

And if that's you, if you've been there, god's got a promise for you, and that is this that some of you were once like that, but you were cleansed, you were made holy, you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord, jesus Christ, and by the spirit of our God.

It's okay if you fall.

The Bible says that the righteous may fall seven times, but they get back up again.

One of the things I love about our God is he's not as concerned with how many times we lose our focus.

He's interested in how many times we find it again.

Now can I tell you, it's been getting that way, but especially over the past couple of weeks.

The storm is so loud and so strong that even that, all of us at some point are losing perspective.

We're losing our focus if we're not careful.

So let's listen to the inspired word of God from 2000 years ago, experiencing the biggest storm in the world at the time and he says I know what storms are all about, but thank goodness, I also know what Jesus is all about, and in the greatest storms, that's when we find the best focus.

Because of our living hope, we can get closer to Jesus every day.

What step of faith toward God do you need to take today?

He said?

Also, it helps us to think clearly, to stop focusing on all the bad and remember the eternal good that God is doing.

What would it look like if you celebrated what God has already done this week?

And then to make sure that we don't see the world full of victims and villains, but people in various stages of brokenness all reaching out for Jesus, that everybody has a private battle that nobody else knows about.

And don't let the enemy come and try to convince you that we're all enemies with one another.

The devil is our enemy.

What would it look like if we stopped fighting against each other and we started fighting against the devil, declaring victory in the spirit world, walking in the victory that's already ours because of Jesus?

Be amazing, because I believe, like Peter, it's the greatest time to be alive.

God has called the church, the big C church, to be alive right now for this generation, because he knows that what we're going to do is stand up and say Jesus is still the hope of the world, but it starts with us finding our focus, so then we can point people to that focus.

So here's my question for you what is it this week that's been stealing your focus?

Has it been just the chaos, the loudness of the loudest voice in the room?

I don't know what it is.

What is it that's been stealing your focus away from Jesus?

In just a moment, the band's gonna give us an opportunity to worship with one more song, and maybe it would be your opportunity to just confess that to God.

God, I'm so sorry.

I've gotten my focus off of you.

I've started focusing on all the things that have not been done yet.

I've been focusing on seeing people as victims and villains.

I've been focusing on just kind of going with the flow of the world rather than finding out where you're going, in your word.

I don't know what that might be for you, but can I tell you your king already loves you.

He just wants you to get back on the right path, because he's got a plan for your life.

He's got a great adventure that he wants you to be on.

And so, in just a moment, what is it you need to bring to the Lord and get your focus back on him?

Maybe you're in here and, if you're honest, you would say well, pastor, I don't have a focus at all because I don't know Jesus.

I wanna tell you, I'm so glad that you're here.

In just a moment, the band is gonna lead us in that song of worship and in just a moment, we're gonna stand and worship God.

And your next best act of worship is to not just stay in your seat but to take the connect card that we talked about, and on the back of it is the plan of salvation.

And I would love for you, if you would, to step out of your seat in just a moment and go back to where you see the prayer banner and the prayer word there and meet with our prayer team.

We'd love to talk with you about what salvation is with you, about what salvation is.

Salvation is saying I'm going to be different.

I'm going to give to Jesus all my sin, all my worry, all my fear, all my brokenness.

He wants all of it, and I'm going to declare him as Savior and Lord.

I don't know how you make it in this world without Jesus, without a living hope that doesn't move.

Is that you?

I tell you that God's not mad at you, he's not offended at you.

He took your place, he died for your sins and he rose again and his hand is outstretched to you and he's saying you don't have to pay for those sins, I'll take them and I'll give you life instead.

Is that you?

Let's prepare and let's pray.

Let's pray and prepare our hearts for what God wants to do today.

God, thank you so much for today.

Thank you, god, that you're with us and that you're for us in this place.

I'm so thankful, god, that for every single person in here, you are moving in our lives.

God, I know for a fact that for every single person in here, we all know what storms are.

For some of us, the storm that's raging inside of us is a personal battle and it seems so loud.

Some of us are connected to the bigger storms going on in the world and it's so loud and chaotic and if we're not careful we can lose our focus on that living hope.

God, I pray for this moment to be a great resetting of our heart, a resetting of our soul to remind us that you are our living hope and that you don't want us wandering out in the rain, but rather you have a focus.

And don't want us wandering out in the rain, but rather you have a focus and a purpose for us to grow in that holiness, to think clearly and remember your goodness and Lord, to never give up on our neighbor, but to see them as worthy of love as well.

And God.

All of those can be so easy in some seasons, so hard in others.

Sometimes we're winning at two of them and losing in one.

But, lord, I pray, as we worship you, in just a moment, that Holy Spirit, the love that you have for us, will overwhelm us.

Help us realize, lord, that we've never been more loved than we are right now, and that we'll bring that to you and say God, forgive me for how I've lost perspective.

Help me to focus on you again.

And, god, I pray for maybe somebody in here that today is the day of salvation for them.

I pray that as we worship Lord, all of heaven's angels will celebrate because one more person has been born again and come into the kingdom of God.

Today is their day.

I pray you'll silence the voice of the enemy.

Holy Spirit, you will speak clearly and that today is their spiritual birthday.

In Jesus' name we pray amen.