December 23, 2024 • 37 mins
What if embracing the fear of the Lord could transform your spiritual journey and equip you with a deeper understanding of faith and holiness? Join us as we unpack this compelling question against the backdrop of the Christmas season, reflecting on the miraculous birth, life, and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We explore how God’s profound gift of His only son underscores the immense value placed on humanity and invites us to lead lives that truly mirror His holiness. Through scripture, especially 1 Peter chapters 1 and 2, we discuss the balance between God’s unyielding holiness and His boundless mercy, emphasizing the importance of living in awe and reverence as we strive to embody a life aligned with His teachings.
In a candid examination of modern church dynamics, we tackle the critical issues that prevent believers from living as true reflections of a holy God. Many churches, unfortunately, drift into self-serving entities, losing sight of their sacred mission. We offer a thoughtful critique of this trend and emphasize the need for believers to maintain a fear of the Lord as a guiding principle. By sharing practical steps and vivid metaphors, like the image of a dog with a wire fence, we highlight how God's commandments serve as liberating guardrails, not constraints. Tune in to gain insights on how you can nurture a sincere love for one another, seek spiritual nourishment, and continually pursue the transformative power of Christ’s sacrifice in your everyday life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
What's up?
Faith and failures.
It is the monday beforechristmas.
We hope you are ready for thisepisode.
We are excited.
Um, we're going to talk alittle bit about a holy god.
So he was born in the manger,but he became a man.
(00:46):
No, just kidding.
So we're going to go dive intosomething that I think is very
important as we go through thisholiday season, to kind of
remind us who God is.
We talked a little bit lastweek and the week before about
God.
You have value.
That's why he sent his son.
The value of something isdetermined by the price
(01:10):
somebody's willing to pay for it, and the price that God was
willing to pay was his one andonly son.
And then last week we talkedabout can you lose your
salvation?
So if any of those topicsinterest, you go check out the
last two weeks.
On any platform you listen topodcasts, but if you hold on
(01:33):
just for a second, I havesomething I want to show you.
Before we get into today'svideo, I just wanted to say
thank you to all of the newsubscribers.
If you haven't yet considersubscribing, hit that bell
notification so that you can seeevery time I put out a new
video.
A major portion of you thatwatch my videos haven't
subscribed yet, so why not?
It's free.
You can also find a PayPal linkbelow if you want to give a
(01:56):
one-time or give a monthly tosupport the channel.
Anything, great or small, isappreciated.
Now let's get into the video.
Small is appreciated.
Now let's get into the video.
So, being the Monday before thisChristmas holiday season, I
wanted to dive into somethingthat I've been driving home to
(02:16):
finish up this year with mycongregation and that is living
in fear of the Lord, living inAll of God.
It's coming from this bookright here.
Highly recommend it, johnBevere.
It's called Living in.
Let me get where you can see itthe All of God by John Bevere,
so check it out.
If you want to buy it on Amazon, you can click any of my links
(02:39):
below in the description.
It's an Amazon link and you canbuy anything on there.
You can buy water and I'll geta little kickback for being an
affiliate.
So much appreciated.
Let's dive into today's episode.
So, if you will look with me atPsalm 111, verse 10, it says
(03:29):
fear of the Lord is thefoundation of true wisdom.
All who obey His commandmentswill grow in wisdom.
Praise Him forever,dramatically across the spectrum
of churches, dramaticallyacross the spectrum of people
who say they love God, theydon't have an actual healthy
respect or fear of the Lord.
And so today's episode is kindof.
We just had our Christmasprogram at our church.
If you don't know, I'm a leadpastor of a church here in East
Texas and they did a wholeprogram showing the, the kind of
the, the birth story and allthat stuff.
(03:50):
And then then they went aheadand jumped to later in the story
.
They they jumped to when he wascrucified on the cross for our
sins and then when the stone wasrolled away, he rose from the
grave, and so that's why we canlive.
The veil was torn and we are ina place now where we don't
really have to do much toreceive salvation, and it's a
(04:12):
great gift that is from theFather.
But I also think sometimes weforget that God is holy.
We forget that we are called tobe holy, that we are called to
be holy.
And so I think next week we'regoing to it will be the 30th, I
believe when yeah, so we'll havethe 23rd and then the 30th
(04:33):
We'll be starting a new yearwe're going to do an episode on
a holy people.
What does God require of us?
See, christianity is notsomething where we say yes and
we're good to go and there's nomore effort on our part.
There's actually effort.
There is sacrifice, there islaying down our lives for the
(04:54):
God that laid down his life forus.
So we're going to talk about aholy God today.
Now there is a loss.
I believe that happens when ourview of God's holiness and our
understanding of his mercy andhis grace drift apart.
(05:14):
So these are two things that gohand in hand.
These two things are like, forinstance, if we lose sight of
God's holiness, but if we losesight of God's holiness, we lose
our true direction in life,which means we are called to be
set apart as a believer.
Now, if you don't know God, wehave a lot of people that tune
(05:35):
into this podcast.
Some people just come to typeon the keyboard and that's okay.
I don't enjoy it.
It gets my nerves.
But I'm glad you're here andI'm glad you're watching, even
if it's just to hear what I'mgoing to say wrong or pick
things apart, that's fine.
I'm praying that the spirit ofthe living God will convict you
(05:59):
of your sin and show you thatthere's a better way to live
your life, which is what he hadto do to me, and it has been the
best thing I have ever decidedto do.
So if we lose sight of God'sholiness, we lose our true
direction in life, we lose ourpurpose.
Aligning with God's holiness isessential for the believer.
People that don't care aboutGod, they're going to be people
(06:23):
that don't care about God.
You don't care about the word,you don't care about praying,
you don't care about fasting,you don't care about going to
church.
That's okay.
Today's podcast is not for you.
This is for the people who saythey love God but they forget to
live a life that reflects thatknowledge.
So today we're going to talkabout what we must do to avoid
(06:44):
that destructive path and honora holy God.
So if you have been followingme at any amount of time, you
know when I do sermons or when Ido podcast episodes where we're
diving into the word, I like todo points.
To me, it's a reference point.
So point number one would beunderstanding the holiness of
(07:06):
God.
So if you're watching on yourphone, take a screenshot.
Or on your computer, take ascreenshot.
Holiness is more than just alist of rules.
If you pay attention.
From the beginning, when Adamand Eve were kicked out, there
was a set of rules that began toform, and later, in Moses, they
were written down on tabletsbecause obviously God, obviously
(07:28):
something was like well, thesedummies ain't going to get it.
Maybe I need to put this alittle firmer in writing.
I mean, if God tells us in hisword to hope for the best, to
love and to really pray and wantto believe that the best is
going to come out of everysituation, I'm pretty sure he
had high hopes for us, but weare so dumb and so evil and so
sinful really pray and want tobelieve that the best is going
to come out of every situation.
I'm pretty sure he had highhopes for us, but we are so dumb
(07:51):
and so evil and so sinful thatwe couldn't do it right.
When I say we, the Israelites,god's people, I'm a Gentile.
That wasn't me.
That being said, you see in thestory of Cain and Abel, that
they offered offerings up to God.
One was received, one wasrejected.
And so you see this constantstruggle, this battle of the
(08:15):
thing that was beginning to putinto concrete, so to say, to
where God was requiring asacrifice, so, so to say, to
where God was requiring asacrifice.
So God's holiness is his setapart nature, his purity and his
perfection.
And scripture reminds us, asyou can see on your screen,
(08:38):
isaiah 6, 3,.
It says holy, holy, holy threetimes.
Holy is the Lord of heaven'sarmies.
The whole earth is filled withhis glory.
So what I believe?
When the Bible repeats something, we need to pay attention to it
.
And here it says holy, holy,holy three times.
Whether it's father, son, holySpirit or whatever.
(09:01):
I don't know why there's threeholies, but anytime something is
repeated in the Word of God, Ipay attention to it all.
But you need to make sure topay attention specifically if
it's being repeated, becauseobviously it's something that
you need to take note of.
That is important.
Now, okay, when we lose sight ofGod's holiness, we lose his
(09:30):
power and authority over us.
In our lives, we allow that tobe removed from our lives and we
allow ourselves to be removedfrom the covering in our lives
when we do not adhere to and arereminded of how holy our God
actually is.
(09:51):
There is no injustice in him,there is no fault in him, there
is no sin in him, there is nodarkness.
The Bible describes him veryvividly as being light, where
there is no shadow, and I knowthat's hard for us to wrap our
minds around it and some of youare probably going to pick this
apart in the comments that don'tknow God and you're going to
call this stupid and some of youcalled it a sky daddy fairy
(10:12):
tale, whatever.
That's okay.
I'm glad you're watching.
I'm glad you made it this farand you're still here with us.
But, that being said, when welose sight of his power and
authority over our lives as abeliever, it's like seeing a
bright light.
From far away, it appears smalluntil you get closer and see
(10:32):
its true size and intensity.
In the same way, when we letourselves drift off from God's
holiness, we start to shrink hispresence in our lives.
So we talked about that lightbeing intense further up.
But I don't know if you've beena Christian for a while or maybe
you just got saved the otherday and right now you're on fire
for God.
You're looking for anything youcan any Bible study, any, any
(10:53):
app that can help you, any Bibleverse that can encourage you
that you can share with otherpeople.
You're probably annoyingeverybody in your life right now
because you're screenshottingevery verse you're you're
highlighting, and the other dayin my phone, in my app, I was
(11:14):
scrolling down and everythingwas highlighted.
Like you, just you're eating itup right now, but I guarantee
you, in five to 10 years, thefeeling you have today,
accepting Jesus Christ as yourLord and savior, and you're on
fire and he changed you and heradically transformed you and
has done something in your life.
Five, 10 years down the road,you have to fight so hard to get
that feeling back again.
Because, just like when you getmarried and you're in a
relationship, because just likewhen you get married and you're
in a relationship, the new wearsoff, but you don't love, you
don't follow, you're notfaithful because things are good
(11:38):
.
This is why people get divorcedall the time.
They think because I am goingto have a life that's going to
be great with this person that Ilove, and then life isn't good
and we end up not remaining inthat faithful covenant.
And that's how we treat God,like he is just some thing that
we add to our list of thingsthat we want when it's good and
(12:01):
we're not so happy with whenit's bad.
But let me tell you somethingGod is a lot more powerful than
you want to try to give himcredit for.
And God is not a God of games,and I'm saying this not to scare
you, but I'm hoping to spur youinto a place of new covenant
with God, that you rededicateyour life over to him.
And at the end of this yearwe're about to celebrate
(12:23):
Christmas, we're about tocelebrate his birth, but on
everything we celebrate aboutthe Lord, everything we
celebrate about Jesus,everything we celebrate and
enjoy about the Holy Spirit,it's a constant reminder of who
our holy God is Like.
Everything that happens,everything we get to enjoy,
everything we get to partake of,from the Old Testament to the
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New Testament, all points to aholy God and we must remember,
as believers, that we serve aholy God and a holiness is
required of us.
That does not mean legalistic.
It doesn't mean you have towear a jacket, suit and tie.
It doesn't mean you have to dothese certain things.
But you, being saved, will pullthese certain things out of you
(13:05):
.
You will want to grow closer tohim.
You will want to leave your oldselfish ways behind.
You'll want to leave old TVshows behind.
You'll want to leave old musicbehind, because it no longer
represents who you're trying tobe.
It no longer represents whoyour God is, that you serve.
And the problem with the churchtoday?
Let me talk to believers ahundred percent.
I'm looking at you right now.
The problem with believers isnot that we can't get together
(13:28):
and pretend to worship for acouple of hours.
It's after that.
We don't live lives thatactually reflect a holy God
anymore.
We live a life that is selfish,selfish ambition, selfish
desire.
And the Bible warns against this.
Because the Bible talks aboutlike last week when we talked
about uh, can you lose yoursalvation?
The Bible clearly describes anddepicts a great falling away.
(13:51):
And I believe he is talkingabout the church, because if
you're not in the fold, youcan't fall away from the fold.
And so we're having Christianswho are that right now are so
wrapped up in their own agendathemselves and the world has no
hope and nobody to look at,nobody to turn to, because we
(14:12):
look just like them.
And so if they're in a roomjust think in your mind for a
second.
If they're in a room full ofpeople who say they're good
church people, they give theirtithes, they're there every
Sunday, they're there everyWednesday, or Bible study, small
groups, whatever it may be,they may even serve on the board
, but there's no life in them.
They can't answer for the hopethat is supposed to be within
them, and if they're in a room,a crowded room full of sinners,
(14:35):
nobody could pick them out.
Say, the person that neededJesus was walking around the
room talking to different people.
What is it that stands outthat's different in you?
The problem with the church iswe become a machine with nothing
but cogs.
That has become a man-made,self-served kingdom, built for
men and what that means.
(14:59):
People harp on the CatholicChurch a lot and, yes, they
worship idols.
That's another podcast.
Because you 100% do.
If you pray to somebody elsebesides God, you're worshiping
an idol.
Anyways, we're not going to geton that.
If you pray to somebody elsebesides God, you're worshiping
an idol.
Anyways, we're not going to geton that.
But churches do this, like otherchurches, pentecostal churches,
all denominations,non-denominational.
(15:19):
They end up making anestablishment that is not holy,
not biblical, but it issomething that has found its.
It's straight up the devil thathas crept into the church and
nobody has noticed.
Now, obviously, this is notevery single church, but you
(15:42):
need to ask yourself if you area believer watching this right
now, you need to ask yourselfall about me giving my money?
Am I going to a church that isall about me serving, and they
want, and they want, and theywant, and they want, and they
only give when it's convenientfor them.
They only get.
The pastor only talks to mewhen I'm giving my tithes.
Come on, this is demonicbehavior that has crept into the
(16:04):
church and it is let me say itwith clarity it is not of god.
It is not of god.
So let's go ahead and go topoint number two before I get
fired up.
The fear of the lord should beour guardrail.
When people hear the word fear,they may think of terror or
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punishment, which is true.
When you die, when you closeyour eyes in death and you take
your last breath, there is goingto be a heaven or a hell coming
your way.
It doesn't matter your opinion,it doesn't matter what you
believe on this side of eternity, when you close your eyes,
there is going to be somethingthat happens, and my heart's
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desire is that you are ready andprepared for that.
The fear of the Lord should beguardrails, but in this context
that we're talking about livingin awe of God, living in the
fear of the Lord.
The fear of the Lord means adeep respect, a deep awe and a
deep reverence.
So look at Proverbs 9, 10, asyou can see on your screen, fear
(17:11):
of the Lord is the foundationof wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy Oneresults in good judgment.
This fear isn't about beingafraid of God, but about
recognizing His power, hisauthority and His love.
So think of fear, respect orreverence of the Lord as a
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guardrail.
I used this illustration when wewere youth pastors and a lot of
people think that if they givetheir lives to God, there's
going to be all these rules andregulations, which Old Testament
and the beginning of the NewTestament.
That is factual.
Okay, that was the old covenant.
Then Jesus came and establisheda new covenant, now something
(17:58):
that was once temporary, atemporary fix of sacrifice that
we could not ourselves covered,but God required for us in a
time period to sacrifice.
And then we have sacrifice, andthen sacrifice, the animal
sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrificeto atone it cost blood.
Well, jesus came and he was theultimate sacrifice, the
(18:21):
spotless lamb, a one and donesituation where, after his death
, the veil was torn.
There was no more separation,and just as the spirit of the
living God walked in the gardenwith Adam and Eve.
Now the spirit of the livingGod is no longer contained or
bound in where only certainpeople, but it began to spread
out and now can be upon everyone.
(18:42):
And then he sent the HolySpirit, which was another divine
revelation of heavenly things.
And so I'm getting all preachyup in here.
So the, the, the guardrailswe'll talk about.
So I told the youth I said alot of people think that when
they come to Jesus it's like allthese rules and regulations
that I can't do.
But I'm a I'm a half a glasshalf full type of guy, like it
(19:09):
takes a lot for me to get upset,it takes a lot for me to get
discouraged.
And so I started thinking I'mlike well, what kind of scenario
can I explain to these youngpeople to kind of get it in
their head that it's not?
It's not for their detriment,it's for their benefit.
So I thought about a dog thatyou have, the ones that have the
(19:30):
wire in between trees.
They can run back and forth.
They usually end up gettingwrapped around a tree and choke
themselves.
Then you have the one wherethere's much smaller dogs.
They have the little corkscrewtype thing that can go into the
ground and you put it on theirneck and they run around and
they usually it gets smaller andsmaller and smaller, smaller,
until they choke themselves.
Or what if you had theguardrails or parameter of a
(19:55):
fenced in backyard?
You are free to roam and dowhatever you want to do within
the parameters of this backyardfence.
Now, I don't know about you,but I would want to be that dog
in the backyard that has thefence.
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Why?
Because it also, besideskeeping me in and in the yard,
it keeps predators out.
It keeps me in from getting outand getting hit by a vehicle,
so it becomes a protection thatactually helps me and keeps me
from getting hurt.
And that is the word of the Lord.
It's guidance, it's guardrails.
Fear of the Lord will keep youin your lane when you want to
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swerve out and you want to getin your flesh.
Now, if you don't know who Godis or you don't understand these
terms when I say spirit andflesh, the flesh is my natural
instinct to want to do or say,and most of the time, 99% of the
time, it's just best.
If I don't say okay, it'seasier to say so the flesh wants
the easy route.
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Less resistance the better.
The spiritual side that is tunedin, that is dialed in to what
the word says about shutting ourmouths, holding our tongues to
be peacemakers.
This type of attitude is very,this type of personality trait.
To rewire ourselves is going tobe.
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It's very difficult, just likea small rudder on a huge ship.
It doesn't take a lot to makethat ship go the wrong way, and
it's the same with the tongue.
And so we have to be carefulwith that and look at the fear
of the Lord, the guardrail.
So without guardrails we are indanger.
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We can be in danger.
It keeps us from veering intodangerous paths of sin and
self-centeredness.
The guardrail is to protect us,not to confine us.
The fear of the Lord helps usunderstand that we can't just
live life as we want.
There's a path God wants us tofollow and the Bible does not
pull any punches with like ohwell, if you come to Jesus,
(22:05):
everything's just going to beall right, sweetheart, don't
worry about it, everything'sfine.
That is not what the Bible says.
The Bible says that actuallythe road to heaven is very
narrow and it is hard, it's fullof traps, but the road to hell
is wide, where anybody cantravel it.
There's all kinds of room.
Come on down somebody.
So let me look at this with you.
(22:27):
Point number three, and we'regoing to wrap it up pretty quick
.
So point number three respondto the fear of the Lord with
obedience to avoid disasters.
So, 1st Peter, chapter 1, verse13, and then 2 and 10.
What that's not right?
(22:49):
Oh yes, it is.
Well, hold on now.
Oh, okay, I just didn't put allthe oh.
I'm starting, okay, just so youknow when you're in.
I'm starting at first peter, uh, chapter 1, verse 13, and I'm
(23:11):
going to first peter, chapter 2,verse 10.
So we're reading some scripture, that's.
I was like I'm confused.
I'm like that doesn't add, thatmath ain't adding.
So, starting at first peter,chapter 1, verse 13, and I'm
going to go read all the waythrough to the second chapter,
we're going to stop at verse 10.
So prepare your minds foractions and exercise
(23:32):
self-control.
Put all your hope in thegracious salvation that will
come to you when Jesus Christrevealed, is revealed to the
world.
So, um, yeah, go to this.
We're on 14.
So you must live as God'sobedient children.
Don't slip back.
So it says you can slip.
Don't slip back into your oldways of living to satisfy your
(23:55):
own desires.
You didn't know any better then.
But now you must be holy ineverything you do, just as God,
who chose you, is holy.
So it's saying if we are toreflect God, we must reflect his
holiness, which means there isa separation.
And I'm not saying nowhere inscripture, nowhere from a
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pastor's lips, should ever besaid that you are going to come
to Christ and things are justgoing to get easier, because
that's not the way it is.
We are promised so many thingsin his word, but we also promise
to suffer.
Some of you are like oh, Idon't really want any of that.
I don't like that at all.
Tell me a time in your lifethat you've suffered.
(24:39):
Okay, suffering is going tohappen.
I prefer to do it with Godbecause I'm promised that
everything that it happens in mylife works for the good of me
and for the good of the Lord.
So scripture says you must obey, choose your holy.
Yeah, verse 16 for thescriptures.
Scriptures say you must be holybecause I am holy.
(25:01):
And remember that the heavenlyfather to whom you pray has no
favorites.
I'm not going to say scriptureis false, but I'm pretty sure
I'm his favorite, but if not,I'm like really, really close.
Okay, I'm saying scripture isfalse.
I'm close.
He will judge or reward youaccording to what you do, so you
must live in reverent fear ofhim during your time here as
(25:27):
temporary residents.
We are not meant to stay here.
We are going to be going toheaven.
We are sojourners that are justtraveling through.
Verse 18, for you know that Godpaid a ransom to save you from
an empty life, from the emptylife you inherited from your
ancestors, and it was not paidwith mere gold or silver, which
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lose their value.
Verse 19, it was the preciousblood of Christ, the sinless,
spotless lamb of God.
God chose him as your ransomlong before the world began.
But now, these last, these lastdays, he has been revealed for
your sake.
Verse 21, through Christ, youhave come to trust in God and
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you have placed your faith andhope in God, because he raised
Christ from the dead and gavehim great glory.
Verse 22, you were cleansedfrom your sins when you obeyed
the truth, so now you must showsincere love to each other as
brothers and sisters.
Love each other deeply, withall your heart, for you have
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been born again, but not to alife.
That, as the scriptures say,verse 24, and that word is the
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good news that was preached toyou.
There's chapter two of firstPeter.
So get rid of all evil behavior.
So it's painting up thispicture of this is what Christ
did for you and you should notgo back.
You are now changed andtransformed.
So here goes into chapter 2.
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It's telling us now it requiresaction that we have been saved
by the blood and the sacrificeof Jesus Christ.
Chapter 2, verse 1.
So get rid of all evil behavior.
Be done with all deceit,hypocrisy, jealousy and all
unkind speech.
That kind of sums up a lot ofthings we probably let slide on
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a daily basis.
Like newborn babies, you mustcrave pure spiritual milk so
that you will grow into a fullexperience of salvation.
So reading the word of God,internalizing scripture, will
actually help you becomenourished in your spirit.
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Cry out for this nourishmentNow.
So it means desire, now thatyou have heard a taste of the
Lord's kindness.
Verse four you are coming toChrist, who is the living
cornerstone of God's temple.
He was rejected by the people,but he was chosen by God for
great honor, and you are livingstones that God is building into
(28:26):
his spiritual temple.
What's more, you are his holypriest.
Through the meditation ofChrist Jesus, you offer
spiritual sacrifices that pleaseGod.
As the scriptures say, I amplacing a cornerstone in
Jerusalem, chosen for greathonor, and anyone who trusts in
(28:46):
him will never be disgraced.
Yes, you verse 7, you who trusthim recognize the honor God has
given him.
But those who reject him?
(29:09):
The stone the builders rejectedhas now become the cornerstone
Verse 8.
So and so they meet the fatethat was planned for them.
But you are not like that, foryou are a chosen people.
You are a royal priesthood, aholy nation, god's very own
possession.
As a result, you can showothers the goodness of God, for
(29:35):
he called you out of darknessinto his wonderful light Verse
10,.
Once you had no identity aspeople, now you are God's people
.
Once you received no mercy, nowyou have received God's mercy.
The Bible shows us again andagain, and again and again, that
obedience is not just followinga set of rules.
It's a wholehearted response tothe holiness of God.
(29:58):
One more scripture James 1, 2.
But don't just listen to God'sword.
You must do what it says,otherwise you are only fooling
yourself.
God's word becomes alive andpowerful when we, as believers,
(30:24):
act upon it.
Disaster happens when we fearGod's call but don't obey it.
And here's the truth.
You ready, you have a purposein the kingdom.
You have a reason for beingwhere you are.
You could be in the darkestseason of your life right now,
but I guarantee you, if you stopfocusing on yourself and the
(30:47):
storm around you, like Peter didwhen he was on the water, and
you look at Jesus, I guaranteeyou that you will realize that
you actually have a purposewhere you're planted, that God
does not do things by accident.
He doesn't allow things tohappen by accident.
There is a reason and a purposebehind the season and you need
to realize that if your lifebelongs to God, whatever that
(31:07):
reason is, you're okay withWhatever the suffering is that
you have to go through to be hiswhatever he desires, servant
martyr.
I don't like that word.
We are promised rejection if wecling to the cross and biblical
(31:28):
truth.
This culture is not going toaccept Right now.
We got a year coming up whereit's like church.
People think that, like now,trump's in there, things are
going to be so much better andthey probably will be better.
They probably will be better,but he's not our savior.
And church people can makethings into an idol, make people
into an idol, make pastors intoan idol, make political figures
(31:51):
into an idol.
And it is idol worship, becausewe need to focus on God's word
and not man's word, because thatis the only thing that will
save us.
Not submitting fully to a holyGod leads us into a place of
(32:11):
living and a holy life.
And church people are reallygood and when I say church
people, I'm not saying thechurch, I mean people that come
to church are really good aboutcoming to church and doing the
things and doing things right,like the Pharisees did in the
Bible and Jesus called themwhitewashed tombs.
(32:33):
They were pretty on the outsidebut inside was dead men's bones
, and I don't want that for you.
You're called to higherpurposes than that, higher
living than that.
So ask God, ask the Holy, godLord, what am I holding onto in
my life?
Is it my decisions?
Have I idolized my parents, myfamily, my church, my pastor, my
(32:58):
finances, my job, my spouse?
Have I made these things idolsover you?
Because I guarantee you I'm apastor of a church.
If I start nitpicking and reallygetting down to the nitty
gritty and really seriouslytrying to do some searching and
allow the Holy Spirit to dosearching in my life.
(33:18):
I guarantee you there's goingto be something that has become
an idol in my life, and it's notthat we do it on purpose.
That's not the point.
The point is we are allowing itto happen.
Now here's the issue.
If we don't ever search and wedon't ever try, we are
separating ourselves from Godbecause we're not wanting to
remain holy underneath Him.
We're not wanting His lightthat has no shadow, to shine
(33:41):
inside of our hearts, to lightup things so that we can see to
remove them, and we must bewilling and wanting and desiring
to do what God wants us to do.
So I hope, I hope with all myheart that this has not
discouraged you.
Actually, I got one more verse,verse.
(34:01):
Let's do one more verse, okay,and this, this is for the church
, if I've ever read anythingelse work at living in peace
with everyone, even those youdon't like, and work at living a
holy life.
(34:23):
It takes work.
I'm not trying to presentsomething to you that's going to
be like oh man, I come to Jesus, I don't got to do nothing else
, I'm just going to make it toheaven If you have life to live.
There are things that you needto do for the kingdom.
There's things you need to dofor your church.
There's things you need to dofor your spouse that you
wouldn't usually do, because nowyou're laying down your selfish
(34:45):
desires and your selfish wantsand you wanted to serve somebody
else.
And that is the literalembodiment of Christ is not
caring about himself but servingothers.
And you may be hurt by people.
Somebody hurt you wrong.
You may never have theconversation of forgiveness, but
you're called to forgive them,because the Bible says if you
(35:08):
don't forgive, you will not beforgiven.
The Bible is not play withfootsie.
You know underneath the tableand you're just going to flirt
your way into heaven.
It's serious business and ifyou are a believer, it's time
that you, as the believer, beginto take things seriously,
because we are called to be aholy people, which we're going
(35:33):
to talk about next week.
So I love you, I'm praying foryou.
Oh wait, let's listen, hold on,let's finish the verse.
At least let's finish the verse.
I got carried away.
Work at living in peace witheveryone and work at living a
holy life, for those who are notholy Will not see the Lord.
Now you probably see why I hadto finish that.
(35:55):
So said it once, I'll say itagain I love you, I, I love you,
I'm praying for you and if youhave any comments or questions,
if you like this video, you wantto share this video with
somebody.
We all need to be reminded thatwe serve a holy God, that he
requires something of us.
(36:15):
If you live a life and you sayyou have given your life to
Christ and you have sacrificednothing, you have not given your
life to Christ.
You have made it all about you,and so what is it?
I'm sure if you think about it,there's something.
What is it that you need togive up and allow God to free
(36:36):
you from that?
I don't know what it is.
I don't know you.
I don't know who's watching.
I don't know you, I don't knowwho's watching this, but
guarantee you, all of us havesomething that we need to submit
fully to the Lord that we'vebeen holding on to.
I love you, I'm praying for you, I'll see you next week.
What's up?
Faith and failures.
It is the monday beforechristmas.
We hope you are ready for thisepisode.
We are excited.
Um, we're going to talk alittle bit about a holy god.
So he was born in the manger,but he became a man.
(00:46):
No, just kidding.
So we're going to go dive intosomething that I think is very
important as we go through thisholiday season, to kind of
remind us who God is.
We talked a little bit lastweek and the week before about
God.
You have value.
That's why he sent his son.
The value of something isdetermined by the price
(01:10):
somebody's willing to pay for it, and the price that God was
willing to pay was his one andonly son.
And then last week we talkedabout can you lose your
salvation?
So if any of those topicsinterest, you go check out the
last two weeks.
On any platform you listen topodcasts, but if you hold on
(01:33):
just for a second, I havesomething I want to show you.
Before we get into today'svideo, I just wanted to say
thank you to all of the newsubscribers.
If you haven't yet considersubscribing, hit that bell
notification so that you can seeevery time I put out a new
video.
A major portion of you thatwatch my videos haven't
subscribed yet, so why not?
It's free.
You can also find a PayPal linkbelow if you want to give a
(01:56):
one-time or give a monthly tosupport the channel.
Anything, great or small, isappreciated.
Now let's get into the video.
Small is appreciated.
Now let's get into the video.
So, being the Monday before thisChristmas holiday season, I
wanted to dive into somethingthat I've been driving home to
(02:16):
finish up this year with mycongregation and that is living
in fear of the Lord, living inAll of God.
It's coming from this bookright here.
Highly recommend it, johnBevere.
It's called Living in.
Let me get where you can see itthe All of God by John Bevere,
so check it out.
If you want to buy it on Amazon, you can click any of my links
(02:39):
below in the description.
It's an Amazon link and you canbuy anything on there.
You can buy water and I'll geta little kickback for being an
affiliate.
So much appreciated.
Let's dive into today's episode.
So, if you will look with me atPsalm 111, verse 10, it says
(03:29):
fear of the Lord is thefoundation of true wisdom.
All who obey His commandmentswill grow in wisdom.
Praise Him forever,dramatically across the spectrum
of churches, dramaticallyacross the spectrum of people
who say they love God, theydon't have an actual healthy
respect or fear of the Lord.
And so today's episode is kindof.
We just had our Christmasprogram at our church.
If you don't know, I'm a leadpastor of a church here in East
Texas and they did a wholeprogram showing the, the kind of
the, the birth story and allthat stuff.
(03:50):
And then then they went aheadand jumped to later in the story
.
They they jumped to when he wascrucified on the cross for our
sins and then when the stone wasrolled away, he rose from the
grave, and so that's why we canlive.
The veil was torn and we are ina place now where we don't
really have to do much toreceive salvation, and it's a
(04:12):
great gift that is from theFather.
But I also think sometimes weforget that God is holy.
We forget that we are called tobe holy, that we are called to
be holy.
And so I think next week we'regoing to it will be the 30th, I
believe when yeah, so we'll havethe 23rd and then the 30th
(04:33):
We'll be starting a new yearwe're going to do an episode on
a holy people.
What does God require of us?
See, christianity is notsomething where we say yes and
we're good to go and there's nomore effort on our part.
There's actually effort.
There is sacrifice, there islaying down our lives for the
(04:54):
God that laid down his life forus.
So we're going to talk about aholy God today.
Now there is a loss.
I believe that happens when ourview of God's holiness and our
understanding of his mercy andhis grace drift apart.
(05:14):
So these are two things that gohand in hand.
These two things are like, forinstance, if we lose sight of
God's holiness, but if we losesight of God's holiness, we lose
our true direction in life,which means we are called to be
set apart as a believer.
Now, if you don't know God, wehave a lot of people that tune
(05:35):
into this podcast.
Some people just come to typeon the keyboard and that's okay.
I don't enjoy it.
It gets my nerves.
But I'm glad you're here andI'm glad you're watching, even
if it's just to hear what I'mgoing to say wrong or pick
things apart, that's fine.
I'm praying that the spirit ofthe living God will convict you
(05:59):
of your sin and show you thatthere's a better way to live
your life, which is what he hadto do to me, and it has been the
best thing I have ever decidedto do.
So if we lose sight of God'sholiness, we lose our true
direction in life, we lose ourpurpose.
Aligning with God's holiness isessential for the believer.
People that don't care aboutGod, they're going to be people
(06:23):
that don't care about God.
You don't care about the word,you don't care about praying,
you don't care about fasting,you don't care about going to
church.
That's okay.
Today's podcast is not for you.
This is for the people who saythey love God but they forget to
live a life that reflects thatknowledge.
So today we're going to talkabout what we must do to avoid
(06:44):
that destructive path and honora holy God.
So if you have been followingme at any amount of time, you
know when I do sermons or when Ido podcast episodes where we're
diving into the word, I like todo points.
To me, it's a reference point.
So point number one would beunderstanding the holiness of
(07:06):
God.
So if you're watching on yourphone, take a screenshot.
Or on your computer, take ascreenshot.
Holiness is more than just alist of rules.
If you pay attention.
From the beginning, when Adamand Eve were kicked out, there
was a set of rules that began toform, and later, in Moses, they
were written down on tabletsbecause obviously God, obviously
(07:28):
something was like well, thesedummies ain't going to get it.
Maybe I need to put this alittle firmer in writing.
I mean, if God tells us in hisword to hope for the best, to
love and to really pray and wantto believe that the best is
going to come out of everysituation, I'm pretty sure he
had high hopes for us, but weare so dumb and so evil and so
sinful really pray and want tobelieve that the best is going
to come out of every situation.
I'm pretty sure he had highhopes for us, but we are so dumb
(07:51):
and so evil and so sinful thatwe couldn't do it right.
When I say we, the Israelites,god's people, I'm a Gentile.
That wasn't me.
That being said, you see in thestory of Cain and Abel, that
they offered offerings up to God.
One was received, one wasrejected.
And so you see this constantstruggle, this battle of the
(08:15):
thing that was beginning to putinto concrete, so to say, to
where God was requiring asacrifice, so, so to say, to
where God was requiring asacrifice.
So God's holiness is his setapart nature, his purity and his
perfection.
And scripture reminds us, asyou can see on your screen,
(08:38):
isaiah 6, 3,.
It says holy, holy, holy threetimes.
Holy is the Lord of heaven'sarmies.
The whole earth is filled withhis glory.
So what I believe?
When the Bible repeats something, we need to pay attention to it
.
And here it says holy, holy,holy three times.
Whether it's father, son, holySpirit or whatever.
(09:01):
I don't know why there's threeholies, but anytime something is
repeated in the Word of God, Ipay attention to it all.
But you need to make sure topay attention specifically if
it's being repeated, becauseobviously it's something that
you need to take note of.
That is important.
Now, okay, when we lose sight ofGod's holiness, we lose his
(09:30):
power and authority over us.
In our lives, we allow that tobe removed from our lives and we
allow ourselves to be removedfrom the covering in our lives
when we do not adhere to and arereminded of how holy our God
actually is.
(09:51):
There is no injustice in him,there is no fault in him, there
is no sin in him, there is nodarkness.
The Bible describes him veryvividly as being light, where
there is no shadow, and I knowthat's hard for us to wrap our
minds around it and some of youare probably going to pick this
apart in the comments that don'tknow God and you're going to
call this stupid and some of youcalled it a sky daddy fairy
(10:12):
tale, whatever.
That's okay.
I'm glad you're watching.
I'm glad you made it this farand you're still here with us.
But, that being said, when welose sight of his power and
authority over our lives as abeliever, it's like seeing a
bright light.
From far away, it appears smalluntil you get closer and see
(10:32):
its true size and intensity.
In the same way, when we letourselves drift off from God's
holiness, we start to shrink hispresence in our lives.
So we talked about that lightbeing intense further up.
But I don't know if you've beena Christian for a while or maybe
you just got saved the otherday and right now you're on fire
for God.
You're looking for anything youcan any Bible study, any, any
(10:53):
app that can help you, any Bibleverse that can encourage you
that you can share with otherpeople.
You're probably annoyingeverybody in your life right now
because you're screenshottingevery verse you're you're
highlighting, and the other dayin my phone, in my app, I was
(11:14):
scrolling down and everythingwas highlighted.
Like you, just you're eating itup right now, but I guarantee
you, in five to 10 years, thefeeling you have today,
accepting Jesus Christ as yourLord and savior, and you're on
fire and he changed you and heradically transformed you and
has done something in your life.
Five, 10 years down the road,you have to fight so hard to get
that feeling back again.
Because, just like when you getmarried and you're in a
relationship, because just likewhen you get married and you're
in a relationship, the new wearsoff, but you don't love, you
don't follow, you're notfaithful because things are good
(11:38):
.
This is why people get divorcedall the time.
They think because I am goingto have a life that's going to
be great with this person that Ilove, and then life isn't good
and we end up not remaining inthat faithful covenant.
And that's how we treat God,like he is just some thing that
we add to our list of thingsthat we want when it's good and
(12:01):
we're not so happy with whenit's bad.
But let me tell you somethingGod is a lot more powerful than
you want to try to give himcredit for.
And God is not a God of games,and I'm saying this not to scare
you, but I'm hoping to spur youinto a place of new covenant
with God, that you rededicateyour life over to him.
And at the end of this yearwe're about to celebrate
(12:23):
Christmas, we're about tocelebrate his birth, but on
everything we celebrate aboutthe Lord, everything we
celebrate about Jesus,everything we celebrate and
enjoy about the Holy Spirit,it's a constant reminder of who
our holy God is Like.
Everything that happens,everything we get to enjoy,
everything we get to partake of,from the Old Testament to the
(12:43):
New Testament, all points to aholy God and we must remember,
as believers, that we serve aholy God and a holiness is
required of us.
That does not mean legalistic.
It doesn't mean you have towear a jacket, suit and tie.
It doesn't mean you have to dothese certain things.
But you, being saved, will pullthese certain things out of you
(13:05):
.
You will want to grow closer tohim.
You will want to leave your oldselfish ways behind.
You'll want to leave old TVshows behind.
You'll want to leave old musicbehind, because it no longer
represents who you're trying tobe.
It no longer represents whoyour God is, that you serve.
And the problem with the churchtoday?
Let me talk to believers ahundred percent.
I'm looking at you right now.
The problem with believers isnot that we can't get together
(13:28):
and pretend to worship for acouple of hours.
It's after that.
We don't live lives thatactually reflect a holy God
anymore.
We live a life that is selfish,selfish ambition, selfish
desire.
And the Bible warns against this.
Because the Bible talks aboutlike last week when we talked
about uh, can you lose yoursalvation?
The Bible clearly describes anddepicts a great falling away.
(13:51):
And I believe he is talkingabout the church, because if
you're not in the fold, youcan't fall away from the fold.
And so we're having Christianswho are that right now are so
wrapped up in their own agendathemselves and the world has no
hope and nobody to look at,nobody to turn to, because we
(14:12):
look just like them.
And so if they're in a roomjust think in your mind for a
second.
If they're in a room full ofpeople who say they're good
church people, they give theirtithes, they're there every
Sunday, they're there everyWednesday, or Bible study, small
groups, whatever it may be,they may even serve on the board
, but there's no life in them.
They can't answer for the hopethat is supposed to be within
them, and if they're in a room,a crowded room full of sinners,
(14:35):
nobody could pick them out.
Say, the person that neededJesus was walking around the
room talking to different people.
What is it that stands outthat's different in you?
The problem with the church iswe become a machine with nothing
but cogs.
That has become a man-made,self-served kingdom, built for
men and what that means.
(14:59):
People harp on the CatholicChurch a lot and, yes, they
worship idols.
That's another podcast.
Because you 100% do.
If you pray to somebody elsebesides God, you're worshiping
an idol.
Anyways, we're not going to geton that.
If you pray to somebody elsebesides God, you're worshiping
an idol.
Anyways, we're not going to geton that.
But churches do this, like otherchurches, pentecostal churches,
all denominations,non-denominational.
(15:19):
They end up making anestablishment that is not holy,
not biblical, but it issomething that has found its.
It's straight up the devil thathas crept into the church and
nobody has noticed.
Now, obviously, this is notevery single church, but you
(15:42):
need to ask yourself if you area believer watching this right
now, you need to ask yourselfall about me giving my money?
Am I going to a church that isall about me serving, and they
want, and they want, and theywant, and they want, and they
only give when it's convenientfor them.
They only get.
The pastor only talks to mewhen I'm giving my tithes.
Come on, this is demonicbehavior that has crept into the
(16:04):
church and it is let me say itwith clarity it is not of god.
It is not of god.
So let's go ahead and go topoint number two before I get
fired up.
The fear of the lord should beour guardrail.
When people hear the word fear,they may think of terror or
(16:27):
punishment, which is true.
When you die, when you closeyour eyes in death and you take
your last breath, there is goingto be a heaven or a hell coming
your way.
It doesn't matter your opinion,it doesn't matter what you
believe on this side of eternity, when you close your eyes,
there is going to be somethingthat happens, and my heart's
(16:49):
desire is that you are ready andprepared for that.
The fear of the Lord should beguardrails, but in this context
that we're talking about livingin awe of God, living in the
fear of the Lord.
The fear of the Lord means adeep respect, a deep awe and a
deep reverence.
So look at Proverbs 9, 10, asyou can see on your screen, fear
(17:11):
of the Lord is the foundationof wisdom.
Knowledge of the Holy Oneresults in good judgment.
This fear isn't about beingafraid of God, but about
recognizing His power, hisauthority and His love.
So think of fear, respect orreverence of the Lord as a
(17:36):
guardrail.
I used this illustration when wewere youth pastors and a lot of
people think that if they givetheir lives to God, there's
going to be all these rules andregulations, which Old Testament
and the beginning of the NewTestament.
That is factual.
Okay, that was the old covenant.
Then Jesus came and establisheda new covenant, now something
(17:58):
that was once temporary, atemporary fix of sacrifice that
we could not ourselves covered,but God required for us in a
time period to sacrifice.
And then we have sacrifice, andthen sacrifice, the animal
sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrificeto atone it cost blood.
Well, jesus came and he was theultimate sacrifice, the
(18:21):
spotless lamb, a one and donesituation where, after his death
, the veil was torn.
There was no more separation,and just as the spirit of the
living God walked in the gardenwith Adam and Eve.
Now the spirit of the livingGod is no longer contained or
bound in where only certainpeople, but it began to spread
out and now can be upon everyone.
(18:42):
And then he sent the HolySpirit, which was another divine
revelation of heavenly things.
And so I'm getting all preachyup in here.
So the, the, the guardrailswe'll talk about.
So I told the youth I said alot of people think that when
they come to Jesus it's like allthese rules and regulations
that I can't do.
But I'm a I'm a half a glasshalf full type of guy, like it
(19:09):
takes a lot for me to get upset,it takes a lot for me to get
discouraged.
And so I started thinking I'mlike well, what kind of scenario
can I explain to these youngpeople to kind of get it in
their head that it's not?
It's not for their detriment,it's for their benefit.
So I thought about a dog thatyou have, the ones that have the
(19:30):
wire in between trees.
They can run back and forth.
They usually end up gettingwrapped around a tree and choke
themselves.
Then you have the one wherethere's much smaller dogs.
They have the little corkscrewtype thing that can go into the
ground and you put it on theirneck and they run around and
they usually it gets smaller andsmaller and smaller, smaller,
until they choke themselves.
Or what if you had theguardrails or parameter of a
(19:55):
fenced in backyard?
You are free to roam and dowhatever you want to do within
the parameters of this backyardfence.
Now, I don't know about you,but I would want to be that dog
in the backyard that has thefence.
(20:15):
Why?
Because it also, besideskeeping me in and in the yard,
it keeps predators out.
It keeps me in from getting outand getting hit by a vehicle,
so it becomes a protection thatactually helps me and keeps me
from getting hurt.
And that is the word of the Lord.
It's guidance, it's guardrails.
Fear of the Lord will keep youin your lane when you want to
(20:39):
swerve out and you want to getin your flesh.
Now, if you don't know who Godis or you don't understand these
terms when I say spirit andflesh, the flesh is my natural
instinct to want to do or say,and most of the time, 99% of the
time, it's just best.
If I don't say okay, it'seasier to say so the flesh wants
the easy route.
(20:59):
Less resistance the better.
The spiritual side that is tunedin, that is dialed in to what
the word says about shutting ourmouths, holding our tongues to
be peacemakers.
This type of attitude is very,this type of personality trait.
To rewire ourselves is going tobe.
(21:21):
It's very difficult, just likea small rudder on a huge ship.
It doesn't take a lot to makethat ship go the wrong way, and
it's the same with the tongue.
And so we have to be carefulwith that and look at the fear
of the Lord, the guardrail.
So without guardrails we are indanger.
(21:42):
We can be in danger.
It keeps us from veering intodangerous paths of sin and
self-centeredness.
The guardrail is to protect us,not to confine us.
The fear of the Lord helps usunderstand that we can't just
live life as we want.
There's a path God wants us tofollow and the Bible does not
pull any punches with like ohwell, if you come to Jesus,
(22:05):
everything's just going to beall right, sweetheart, don't
worry about it, everything'sfine.
That is not what the Bible says.
The Bible says that actuallythe road to heaven is very
narrow and it is hard, it's fullof traps, but the road to hell
is wide, where anybody cantravel it.
There's all kinds of room.
Come on down somebody.
So let me look at this with you.
(22:27):
Point number three, and we'regoing to wrap it up pretty quick
.
So point number three respondto the fear of the Lord with
obedience to avoid disasters.
So, 1st Peter, chapter 1, verse13, and then 2 and 10.
What that's not right?
(22:49):
Oh yes, it is.
Well, hold on now.
Oh, okay, I just didn't put allthe oh.
I'm starting, okay, just so youknow when you're in.
I'm starting at first peter, uh, chapter 1, verse 13, and I'm
(23:11):
going to first peter, chapter 2,verse 10.
So we're reading some scripture, that's.
I was like I'm confused.
I'm like that doesn't add, thatmath ain't adding.
So, starting at first peter,chapter 1, verse 13, and I'm
going to go read all the waythrough to the second chapter,
we're going to stop at verse 10.
So prepare your minds foractions and exercise
(23:32):
self-control.
Put all your hope in thegracious salvation that will
come to you when Jesus Christrevealed, is revealed to the
world.
So, um, yeah, go to this.
We're on 14.
So you must live as God'sobedient children.
Don't slip back.
So it says you can slip.
Don't slip back into your oldways of living to satisfy your
(23:55):
own desires.
You didn't know any better then.
But now you must be holy ineverything you do, just as God,
who chose you, is holy.
So it's saying if we are toreflect God, we must reflect his
holiness, which means there isa separation.
And I'm not saying nowhere inscripture, nowhere from a
(24:18):
pastor's lips, should ever besaid that you are going to come
to Christ and things are justgoing to get easier, because
that's not the way it is.
We are promised so many thingsin his word, but we also promise
to suffer.
Some of you are like oh, Idon't really want any of that.
I don't like that at all.
Tell me a time in your lifethat you've suffered.
(24:39):
Okay, suffering is going tohappen.
I prefer to do it with Godbecause I'm promised that
everything that it happens in mylife works for the good of me
and for the good of the Lord.
So scripture says you must obey, choose your holy.
Yeah, verse 16 for thescriptures.
Scriptures say you must be holybecause I am holy.
(25:01):
And remember that the heavenlyfather to whom you pray has no
favorites.
I'm not going to say scriptureis false, but I'm pretty sure
I'm his favorite, but if not,I'm like really, really close.
Okay, I'm saying scripture isfalse.
I'm close.
He will judge or reward youaccording to what you do, so you
must live in reverent fear ofhim during your time here as
(25:27):
temporary residents.
We are not meant to stay here.
We are going to be going toheaven.
We are sojourners that are justtraveling through.
Verse 18, for you know that Godpaid a ransom to save you from
an empty life, from the emptylife you inherited from your
ancestors, and it was not paidwith mere gold or silver, which
(25:49):
lose their value.
Verse 19, it was the preciousblood of Christ, the sinless,
spotless lamb of God.
God chose him as your ransomlong before the world began.
But now, these last, these lastdays, he has been revealed for
your sake.
Verse 21, through Christ, youhave come to trust in God and
(26:12):
you have placed your faith andhope in God, because he raised
Christ from the dead and gavehim great glory.
Verse 22, you were cleansedfrom your sins when you obeyed
the truth, so now you must showsincere love to each other as
brothers and sisters.
Love each other deeply, withall your heart, for you have
(26:35):
been born again, but not to alife.
That, as the scriptures say,verse 24, and that word is the
(27:01):
good news that was preached toyou.
There's chapter two of firstPeter.
So get rid of all evil behavior.
So it's painting up thispicture of this is what Christ
did for you and you should notgo back.
You are now changed andtransformed.
So here goes into chapter 2.
(27:21):
It's telling us now it requiresaction that we have been saved
by the blood and the sacrificeof Jesus Christ.
Chapter 2, verse 1.
So get rid of all evil behavior.
Be done with all deceit,hypocrisy, jealousy and all
unkind speech.
That kind of sums up a lot ofthings we probably let slide on
(27:42):
a daily basis.
Like newborn babies, you mustcrave pure spiritual milk so
that you will grow into a fullexperience of salvation.
So reading the word of God,internalizing scripture, will
actually help you becomenourished in your spirit.
(28:02):
Cry out for this nourishmentNow.
So it means desire, now thatyou have heard a taste of the
Lord's kindness.
Verse four you are coming toChrist, who is the living
cornerstone of God's temple.
He was rejected by the people,but he was chosen by God for
great honor, and you are livingstones that God is building into
(28:26):
his spiritual temple.
What's more, you are his holypriest.
Through the meditation ofChrist Jesus, you offer
spiritual sacrifices that pleaseGod.
As the scriptures say, I amplacing a cornerstone in
Jerusalem, chosen for greathonor, and anyone who trusts in
(28:46):
him will never be disgraced.
Yes, you verse 7, you who trusthim recognize the honor God has
given him.
But those who reject him?
(29:09):
The stone the builders rejectedhas now become the cornerstone
Verse 8.
So and so they meet the fatethat was planned for them.
But you are not like that, foryou are a chosen people.
You are a royal priesthood, aholy nation, god's very own
possession.
As a result, you can showothers the goodness of God, for
(29:35):
he called you out of darknessinto his wonderful light Verse
10,.
Once you had no identity aspeople, now you are God's people
.
Once you received no mercy, nowyou have received God's mercy.
The Bible shows us again andagain, and again and again, that
obedience is not just followinga set of rules.
It's a wholehearted response tothe holiness of God.
(29:58):
One more scripture James 1, 2.
But don't just listen to God'sword.
You must do what it says,otherwise you are only fooling
yourself.
God's word becomes alive andpowerful when we, as believers,
(30:24):
act upon it.
Disaster happens when we fearGod's call but don't obey it.
And here's the truth.
You ready, you have a purposein the kingdom.
You have a reason for beingwhere you are.
You could be in the darkestseason of your life right now,
but I guarantee you, if you stopfocusing on yourself and the
(30:47):
storm around you, like Peter didwhen he was on the water, and
you look at Jesus, I guaranteeyou that you will realize that
you actually have a purposewhere you're planted, that God
does not do things by accident.
He doesn't allow things tohappen by accident.
There is a reason and a purposebehind the season and you need
to realize that if your lifebelongs to God, whatever that
(31:07):
reason is, you're okay withWhatever the suffering is that
you have to go through to be hiswhatever he desires, servant
martyr.
I don't like that word.
We are promised rejection if wecling to the cross and biblical
(31:28):
truth.
This culture is not going toaccept Right now.
We got a year coming up whereit's like church.
People think that, like now,trump's in there, things are
going to be so much better andthey probably will be better.
They probably will be better,but he's not our savior.
And church people can makethings into an idol, make people
into an idol, make pastors intoan idol, make political figures
(31:51):
into an idol.
And it is idol worship, becausewe need to focus on God's word
and not man's word, because thatis the only thing that will
save us.
Not submitting fully to a holyGod leads us into a place of
(32:11):
living and a holy life.
And church people are reallygood and when I say church
people, I'm not saying thechurch, I mean people that come
to church are really good aboutcoming to church and doing the
things and doing things right,like the Pharisees did in the
Bible and Jesus called themwhitewashed tombs.
(32:33):
They were pretty on the outsidebut inside was dead men's bones
, and I don't want that for you.
You're called to higherpurposes than that, higher
living than that.
So ask God, ask the Holy, godLord, what am I holding onto in
my life?
Is it my decisions?
Have I idolized my parents, myfamily, my church, my pastor, my
(32:58):
finances, my job, my spouse?
Have I made these things idolsover you?
Because I guarantee you I'm apastor of a church.
If I start nitpicking and reallygetting down to the nitty
gritty and really seriouslytrying to do some searching and
allow the Holy Spirit to dosearching in my life.
(33:18):
I guarantee you there's goingto be something that has become
an idol in my life, and it's notthat we do it on purpose.
That's not the point.
The point is we are allowing itto happen.
Now here's the issue.
If we don't ever search and wedon't ever try, we are
separating ourselves from Godbecause we're not wanting to
remain holy underneath Him.
We're not wanting His lightthat has no shadow, to shine
(33:41):
inside of our hearts, to lightup things so that we can see to
remove them, and we must bewilling and wanting and desiring
to do what God wants us to do.
So I hope, I hope with all myheart that this has not
discouraged you.
Actually, I got one more verse,verse.
(34:01):
Let's do one more verse, okay,and this, this is for the church
, if I've ever read anythingelse work at living in peace
with everyone, even those youdon't like, and work at living a
holy life.
(34:23):
It takes work.
I'm not trying to presentsomething to you that's going to
be like oh man, I come to Jesus, I don't got to do nothing else
, I'm just going to make it toheaven If you have life to live.
There are things that you needto do for the kingdom.
There's things you need to dofor your church.
There's things you need to dofor your spouse that you
wouldn't usually do, because nowyou're laying down your selfish
(34:45):
desires and your selfish wantsand you wanted to serve somebody
else.
And that is the literalembodiment of Christ is not
caring about himself but servingothers.
And you may be hurt by people.
Somebody hurt you wrong.
You may never have theconversation of forgiveness, but
you're called to forgive them,because the Bible says if you
(35:08):
don't forgive, you will not beforgiven.
The Bible is not play withfootsie.
You know underneath the tableand you're just going to flirt
your way into heaven.
It's serious business and ifyou are a believer, it's time
that you, as the believer, beginto take things seriously,
because we are called to be aholy people, which we're going
(35:33):
to talk about next week.
So I love you, I'm praying foryou.
Oh wait, let's listen, hold on,let's finish the verse.
At least let's finish the verse.
I got carried away.
Work at living in peace witheveryone and work at living a
holy life, for those who are notholy Will not see the Lord.
Now you probably see why I hadto finish that.
(35:55):
So said it once, I'll say itagain I love you, I, I love you,
I'm praying for you and if youhave any comments or questions,
if you like this video, you wantto share this video with
somebody.
We all need to be reminded thatwe serve a holy God, that he
requires something of us.
(36:15):
If you live a life and you sayyou have given your life to
Christ and you have sacrificednothing, you have not given your
life to Christ.
You have made it all about you,and so what is it?
I'm sure if you think about it,there's something.
What is it that you need togive up and allow God to free
(36:36):
you from that?
I don't know what it is.
I don't know you.
I don't know who's watching.
I don't know you, I don't knowwho's watching this, but
guarantee you, all of us havesomething that we need to submit
fully to the Lord that we'vebeen holding on to.
I love you, I'm praying for you, I'll see you next week.
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