SPEAKER_01: Hey, I'm Pastor Steve Hole.
SPEAKER_01: I want to empower you today to walk in your true identity as a worshiper and warrior.
SPEAKER_01: Embrace the power of God's Word and the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_01: Today, be encouraged with a word from my guest speaker.
SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Porn for War podcast.
SPEAKER_02: So, as you guys know, we've been going through the book of 1 Peter, and we've been learning about how Peter is speaking to the persecuted church.
SPEAKER_02: And he is encouraging them to stay strong, to live holy lives, to understand who they are, their identity in Christ.
SPEAKER_02: And as I was reading through the passage, passage or chapter 1 through 2, I realized that there was a recurring pattern.
SPEAKER_02: Today, we're primarily going to be in 1 Peter 2, verses 9 through 12, so you can go ahead and turn there.
SPEAKER_02: We'll be reading in just a moment.
SPEAKER_02: But reading through chapters 1 and 2, you see this reoccurring pattern where Peter is stating a fact about who we are, then he's giving us instructions.
SPEAKER_02: And this is our passage is the third time that this happens, but we also see this pattern in the book of Romans, chapter 4, 5, and 6.
SPEAKER_02: Repeatedly, Paul is saying, You are this, therefore do this.
SPEAKER_02: And the title of my sermon today is From Identity to Impact.
SPEAKER_02: From identity to impact.
SPEAKER_02: And together we're going to be looking at how our foundation has to be in our identity in Christ, how we must be fortified in holiness, and how by doing those two things we are poised for impact.
SPEAKER_02: So we're going to read the passage together first, and then we're going to break it down verse by verse.
SPEAKER_02: So 1 Peter chapter 2, verses 9 through 12 say, But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
SPEAKER_02: Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people.
SPEAKER_02: Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
SPEAKER_02: Beloved, I urge you, as sojourners and exiles, to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against your soul.
SPEAKER_02: Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they will see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
SPEAKER_02: I believe you can see this natural progression in this passage.
SPEAKER_02: How he states who we are.
SPEAKER_02: We are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a possession of God's.
SPEAKER_02: Now that we know that, live a holy life.
SPEAKER_02: Because when we are doing those two things, we will be poised for impact.
SPEAKER_02: We actually will allow people to give glory to God through our lives.
SPEAKER_02: In The Road Kids, we are learning, we're going through the entire Bible in one year, or actually four years, from cover to cover, chapter by chapter, verse by verse, and we are teaching the children the entire storyline of the Bible.
SPEAKER_02: We have this phrase that we say that helps kids kind of have an answer for what is the Bible.
SPEAKER_02: We say the Bible is 66 books of history, stories, letters, and poetry that fit together to tell one story: the story of how God loved or created the world, how sin entered the world, and how God made a way to rescue us.
SPEAKER_02: This is the grand story.
SPEAKER_02: And right now in The Road Kids, we are teaching kids about how they are coming out of exile, how they were slaves in Egypt, and God is delivering them from Egypt, and they are coming into eventually into the promised land.
SPEAKER_02: And what's so profound about this story is that God is doing miraculous things.
SPEAKER_02: The Red Sea is parting.
SPEAKER_02: The nation of Egypt is literally destroyed, their entire army gone, destroyed in the Red Sea.
SPEAKER_02: God allows bread to fall from heaven, water is spilling from a rock, and eventually he gives them the law, which is giving them the instructions step by step of how to live a holy life.
SPEAKER_02: Eventually, God gives them kings, and some of them urging the people to turn to God.
SPEAKER_02: Eventually, God gives them judges and gives them prophets and gives them priests, all of which are urging the people to turn to God, turn away from your sin, love God because you are a holy nation.
SPEAKER_02: But all along the way, as we read through the passages of Scripture, we see that they continually failed.
SPEAKER_02: They could never measure up to the standard of holiness that God had put on their lives because they were human.
SPEAKER_02: And it was never the full intention.
SPEAKER_02: God had a bigger plan.
SPEAKER_02: And that's the beauty of the gospel, that the Bible is one big story and ending with how God rescued us and set the church on a trajectory to change the world.
SPEAKER_02: Israel could not measure up to the law.
SPEAKER_02: And for us, if we put our holiness or our acts of service before our identity in Christ, it messes up everything else.
SPEAKER_02: Because our identity in Christ has to be the foundation of our holy life, of our impact.
SPEAKER_02: Ephesians 2, 8 through 9 says, For by grace you have been saved, been saved through faith.
SPEAKER_02: And this is not your own doing.
SPEAKER_02: It is a gift of God, not a result of works, so no one may boast.
SPEAKER_02: Titus 3, 4 through 7 says, But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of our works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy by the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
SPEAKER_02: No matter how much good we do, no matter how much holiness we try to work up in ourselves, it's never going to be enough.
SPEAKER_02: Israel could never measure up.
SPEAKER_02: And that's why it wasn't the end of the story.
SPEAKER_02: Because of Jesus' unfailing love for us, He made a way for us to be holy, making that a free gift of God so that we can be anchored in our identity in Christ as holy children of God.
SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm dedicated to learning about children and child development, and I am excited to be able to teach children about these concepts.
SPEAKER_02: And I believe that God has given me a vision for an elite generation, a generation of young people who are above average in their heart, mind, soul, and body so that they can make a massive impact in the world.
SPEAKER_02: And when I when I think about this and pray through this concept, I ask the Lord, how do we have these high-performing individuals without making them feel like they have these harsh taskmasters?
SPEAKER_02: You have to do this, you have to do this, you have to perform, you have to perform.
SPEAKER_02: And that is by anchoring them in their identity from us as parents.
SPEAKER_02: As parents, as caregivers, as teachers and educators, our children have to understand that they are loved by us regardless of their performance.
SPEAKER_02: Regardless of their choices, regardless of what they can bring to the household, the relationship, the classroom, they have to understand that we love them unconditionally.
SPEAKER_02: Because this is what God has given us.
SPEAKER_02: Psychologists and people who study children know that this foundation of unconditional love is what is the launching pad for children to venture out, to make mistakes, to get back up, and to try again.
SPEAKER_02: If they don't have that, then there is a lot of unhealthy repercussions.
SPEAKER_02: And this can be seen through attachment theory.
SPEAKER_02: Attachment theory states that children, through the unconditional love and the responsiveness of parents and caregivers to their children, they are able to understand that they actually have value, that they have uh worth in them that is worthy of living out.
SPEAKER_02: And we do this by, like I said, our responsiveness to our children.
SPEAKER_02: You know, I'm recently uh a dad, I have a 16-month-old, and early on in that relationship, there wasn't a lot that that child could give to me or her mother.
SPEAKER_02: All she could do was cry.
SPEAKER_02: When she's hungry, she cries.
SPEAKER_02: When she's tired, she cries.
SPEAKER_02: When she's dirty, she cries.
SPEAKER_02: Everything is crying, and sometimes and we were like, man, our baby is so needy.
SPEAKER_02: And I'm sure we're not the we're not the only person or parent that has said that before.
SPEAKER_02: And it is our first, so we're figuring some things out.
SPEAKER_02: But um, but we were just like, man, this is just like a really needy child.
SPEAKER_02: In fact, one of the things that the only thing that would work to put her down was deep knee bends.
SPEAKER_02: And we and I thought that I'd like won the lottery.
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, I'm so brilliant, my dad that was the trick that my dad used for some of his kids.
SPEAKER_02: I have five siblings, so I was like, yeah, so my dad's got it together.
SPEAKER_02: And and so I tried that and I was like, oh, it works.
SPEAKER_02: It was the worst thing ever.
SPEAKER_02: Because she didn't want anything else.
SPEAKER_02: All she wanted was deep knee bends, and it was exhausting.
SPEAKER_02: It was just constantly working out.
SPEAKER_02: We never stop working out, just squats all the time.
SPEAKER_02: But there was very little that she could contribute to the relationship, and yet we loved her and love her so very much.
SPEAKER_02: This unconditional love that God puts in our hearts, actually, because God loved us, we can actually love.
SPEAKER_02: And we we just love this child unconditionally.
SPEAKER_02: And that's the exact same love that God has demonstrated for us.
SPEAKER_02: You know, just as children are forming that attachment to their caregivers early on, very, very early on in the relationship, we are forming that attachment through what God did for us.
SPEAKER_02: The Bible says that while we were still sinners, while we could contribute nothing to the relationship, no holiness, no good works, the Bible says our holiness was like filthy rags.
SPEAKER_02: God loved us.
SPEAKER_02: And he showed this unconditional love for us.
SPEAKER_02: And that was the foundation and the basis and the starting point for our attachment theory with God.
SPEAKER_02: Our attachment to God is founded and must be founded in his unconditional love for us.
SPEAKER_02: In my childhood, I didn't understand this fully.
SPEAKER_02: And I tried very, very hard to be good and to be perfect.
SPEAKER_02: Out of my five siblings, I was the yes ma'am, yes, sir person.
SPEAKER_02: When mom said to do something, I did it.
SPEAKER_02: When dad said to do something, I did it.
SPEAKER_02: When I saw them, blink, because the living room was looking dirty, I cleaned it.
SPEAKER_02: Actually, that was a characteristic that cleaned.
SPEAKER_02: I still do.
SPEAKER_02: I clean the house all the time.
SPEAKER_02: Um, but it was, I was always trying and I was always striving, and that translated into my relationship with God.
SPEAKER_02: I was trying so hard to be holy, I was trying so hard to be righteous, and as a child, a teen, and even into my young adulthood, I realized I could not perform.
SPEAKER_02: I could not do it, and it's led to self-doubt and self-loathing.
SPEAKER_02: I hated myself because I was like, I just want so bad to be in favor with God, but I can't earn it.
SPEAKER_02: I can't do it.
SPEAKER_02: And all along the way, God's saying, Yes, you can't, but you don't have to, because I have given you everything that you need.
SPEAKER_02: My love is a free gift.
SPEAKER_02: First Corinthians 5, 17 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
SPEAKER_02: The old has passed away, the new has come.
SPEAKER_02: Did you know when you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you literally became a new person.
SPEAKER_02: The old is gone.
SPEAKER_02: I think of it almost like, you know, the snake like loses its skin.
SPEAKER_02: Like we just take a step and like the old is still there, and now we're a new person.
SPEAKER_02: Like it'd be so cool to visualize that.
SPEAKER_02: But that's exactly what is happening.
SPEAKER_02: When we accept Jesus as our Savior, he gives us a new identity.
SPEAKER_02: The people in our life, maybe the bully or the coworker, or even maybe a family member who wants to tear us down and break us down and say these statements over us, they can fall off like water off a duck's back.
SPEAKER_02: Because now we have a new identity.
SPEAKER_02: In the Road Kids, we strive to teach children this, that they have to ground themselves in the identity that God gives them.
SPEAKER_02: And so we have a declaration that we say every single Sunday with our children.
SPEAKER_02: And the hope is that they memorize this, and when they are being called something or being put down by someone, they're able to remember what the Bible says about them, what Jesus says about them.
SPEAKER_02: And I'd love for us to say it together.
SPEAKER_02: I'll say the phrase and then you repeat it after me, and we're all gonna feel much more confident at the end.
SPEAKER_02: Actually, what we have the children do is we have them stand with their fists on their hips and puff out their chest because this is actually physiologically it releases more testosterone.
SPEAKER_02: It's called the power pose because it helps you to feel more confident.
SPEAKER_02: And so we have the children stand up and do the power pose.
SPEAKER_02: Uh, true story, actually, one I heard the story of an adult who had a test coming up, and they did the power pose and they said, I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength, and said some things like that, and they actually did really well in the test.
SPEAKER_02: It is actually a real physiological thing to happen.
SPEAKER_02: So let's say it together, you don't have to stand up, but let's say it together.
SPEAKER_02: I am a child of God.
SPEAKER_02: I am created in the image of God.
SPEAKER_02: I am his masterpiece.
SPEAKER_02: I am redeemed through Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: I am clothed in the righteousness of Christ.
SPEAKER_02: I am loved, accepted, and chosen.
SPEAKER_02: I have a purpose.
SPEAKER_02: I walk in the power of the Holy Spirit.
SPEAKER_02: I walk in the authority of Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_02: Through Christ, I can do anything.
SPEAKER_02: You guys did amazing.
SPEAKER_02: Good job.
SPEAKER_02: Give yourselves a round of applause.
SPEAKER_02: Proverbs 23, 7 says, As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
SPEAKER_02: The thoughts that we have about ourselves, the concepts that we allow to enter in and become the identity statements, will determine the outcome of our lives.
SPEAKER_02: That's why as parents and caregivers, we have to be extremely intentional about what identity statements we are speaking over our children.
SPEAKER_02: Are we saying you are stupid or you're smart or you're a bother or you're needy?
SPEAKER_02: What are we speaking over our children?
SPEAKER_02: What are we allowing our children to speak over themselves?
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I'm just not smart.
SPEAKER_02: Oh, I'm I mean, you could you've you've heard probably a dozen of them in probably the last few hours if you're a parent.
SPEAKER_02: But we have to guard the hearts of our children and not allow them to speak things over them that are going to become an identity for themselves.
SPEAKER_02: Uh I was at my men's group uh recently and one of the guys said, Oh, I'm not spiritual, or something to that nature.
SPEAKER_02: And uh one of the other people at the table corrected him.
SPEAKER_02: He's like, No, you don't feel spiritual right now.
SPEAKER_02: But to say you're not spiritual is just actually incorrect.
SPEAKER_02: And we have to do that even for each other.
SPEAKER_02: You know, I uh the language, I I love focusing on language, but it's so important.
SPEAKER_02: I feel this way opposed to I am this way is totally different.
SPEAKER_02: Totally different.
SPEAKER_02: So, guard, what are you saying over yourself?
SPEAKER_02: You know, psychologists see that emotions lead to thoughts and thoughts lead to actions, and we respond emotionally to any given situation based on different things.
SPEAKER_02: So Christian psychologists put something before emotions, and they say that your core truths, what you understand about the world, God, and yourself is determining how you're responding emotionally to that situation, which is then changing the way you're thinking, which is then changing the way that you're acting.
SPEAKER_02: And we have to be intentional about the identity in our children.
SPEAKER_02: I invite you guys, if you've never served in kids' ministry before, ever, to join the children's ministry team.
SPEAKER_02: We have VBS coming up, like I said, but there are so many ways that you can be a part of discipling the next generation and being intentional in this way.
SPEAKER_02: There's my kids' ministry.
SPEAKER_02: Recruitment.
SPEAKER_02: There we go.
SPEAKER_02: Done with that.
SPEAKER_02: But um, let's read some of the identity statements in this passage because Peter names several of them.
SPEAKER_02: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own possession.
SPEAKER_02: Let's start with the first one: a chosen race and his own possession.
SPEAKER_02: I kind of feel like they're pretty synonymous.
SPEAKER_02: And tell me if you've ever experienced this before.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe it was just me, but you were a child and you're in the backyard and you're playing the pickup game of football or soccer or something like that, and then two captains are selected, usually by stature or by age, and then they do rock, paper, scissors, and they're gonna choose the people for their team.
SPEAKER_02: Everyone else has to line up on the on the line and or on the fence and just wait to be chosen.
SPEAKER_02: Ooh, so scary.
SPEAKER_02: Maybe not for anyone else, but for me, it was very scary because I wasn't super great at sports, and frequently I'd be the last person chosen.
SPEAKER_02: There's actually a funny YouTube video where they never choose the last person.
SPEAKER_02: They're like, oh you on the lawnmower, you come over.
SPEAKER_02: Oh you driving by, stop the car, you come play.
SPEAKER_02: And the person's like, just choose me.
SPEAKER_02: It's like terribly hilarious, and I relate to a lot.
SPEAKER_02: But but it was a very, you know, we we all want to be chosen.
SPEAKER_02: We all long to be chosen.
SPEAKER_02: And maybe it's not for the pickup game in your backyard, maybe it's for the promotion, maybe it's for that job that you applied for.
SPEAKER_02: When you're chosen, you feel like you are recognized and appreciated for your talents, your giftings, and your ability to contribute.
SPEAKER_02: And when we're not chosen, we feel this sense of loneliness or a lack of belonging.
SPEAKER_02: And that's because the need for belonging is psychologically written into our DNA.
SPEAKER_02: That we have this deep need to feel like we are a part of something bigger than ourselves, a peer group or a church or a congregation or whatever it may be.
SPEAKER_02: And that's because God put that, he wrote that code in our DNA because he was writing a love letter to us saying, Hey, I am calling you, I am choosing you to be my sons and daughters.
SPEAKER_02: I want you to be a part of my family.
SPEAKER_02: When we have that sense of belonging, it's very healthy.
SPEAKER_02: And when we don't have that, it leads to a lot of mental health issues.
SPEAKER_02: Uh the Mayo Clinic says that social ties that accompany a sense of belonging are a protective factor helping manage stress and other behavioral issues.
SPEAKER_02: When we feel we have support and are not alone, we are more resilient, often coping more effectively with difficult times in our lives.
SPEAKER_02: Coping with the hardship decreases the physical and mental effects of these situations.
SPEAKER_02: But on the other hand, depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies are a common mental health condition associated with lacking a sense of belonging.
SPEAKER_02: These conditions can lead to social behaviors that interfere with a person's ability to connect to others, creating a cycle of events further weakening our sense of belonging.
SPEAKER_02: It creates this nonstop cycle of us feeling disconnected, therefore we recluse more and we feel more disconnected.
SPEAKER_02: And that's exactly the tactic of the enemy.
SPEAKER_02: But did you know that you were chosen by God?
SPEAKER_02: God was looking at the fence and he said, I want you.
SPEAKER_02: I want you to be on my team.
SPEAKER_02: I see unique talents and abilities that actually I wrote from the beginning, but I want you to be on my team because I have a calling and a purpose for you that's gonna blow your mind.
SPEAKER_02: You're gonna perform on this team better than you even thought you could.
SPEAKER_02: It says in John 15, 16, You did not choose me.
SPEAKER_02: I chose you.
SPEAKER_02: That you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide.
SPEAKER_02: So that whatever you ask in the Father's name, he may give it to you.
SPEAKER_02: You have been chosen by God.
SPEAKER_02: That sense of belonging can be fulfilled through that heavenly family.
SPEAKER_02: As you connect to the living God, the father of this family, you are also now shoulder to shoulder with brothers and sisters in the family of Christ that you have a connection with, that you have a shared vision and purpose with.
SPEAKER_02: You know, we don't have to have the same sports preferences or the same leisurely activity preferences to connect, to be a part of one family.
SPEAKER_02: We just need the Holy Spirit, which is given to every believer at conversion.
SPEAKER_02: Next is royal priesthood.
SPEAKER_02: I think of the reality of this in the Old Testament, the royal priesthood was intended to be a mediator between God and man.
SPEAKER_02: Man would bring their petitions to the priest and they would bring it to God.
SPEAKER_02: God would communicate his will, and he would share that, the priest would share that with the people.
SPEAKER_02: The priests were literally connectors of the people to God.
SPEAKER_02: In the new covenant, under the salvation, if we've received salvation through Jesus Christ, we now become part of that priesthood.
SPEAKER_02: We are now that connector between the living true God and people who.
SPEAKER_02: Don't know God, who don't understand who He truly is.
SPEAKER_02: You know, we have a good news club that we we do, which is at an elementary school nearby, and we have an afterschool program that we do in the cafeteria, and we invite children to the afterschool program and we teach them about Jesus, and we have a lot of fun, but we've had nine salvations in just this past school year.
SPEAKER_02: First time salvations.
SPEAKER_02: That is worth clapping for.
SPEAKER_02: It's been so fun to see it.
SPEAKER_02: We have a process uh called counseling that we do with them.
SPEAKER_02: We ask them questions to make sure they understand everything and that they know what it really means to have Jesus as their savior.
SPEAKER_02: And one of these children's name was Braylon.
SPEAKER_02: He was only, I think, around six years old, kindergarten, super short, cutest kid, but he was super articulate.
SPEAKER_02: And I was asking him the questions: who is God?
SPEAKER_02: What did Jesus do?
SPEAKER_02: What is sin?
SPEAKER_02: Are you a sinner?
SPEAKER_02: And then I asked him, Have you ever asked Jesus to take your sins away before?
SPEAKER_02: And he said, I have definitely never asked Jesus to take my sins away.
SPEAKER_02: I am a sinner, and I didn't even know who Jesus was before here.
SPEAKER_02: And that was exactly how he said it.
SPEAKER_02: And it was it was so cute.
SPEAKER_02: And in the moment I was like, oh my gosh, this is so cute.
SPEAKER_02: But when I came into worship on that following Sunday and I was worshiping, God brought the face of Braylon in front of me and said, You were that high priest.
SPEAKER_02: You connected this child to the living God.
SPEAKER_02: And now he has a relationship and a journey with God that's going to last him his entire life.
SPEAKER_02: That God's going to chase him.
SPEAKER_02: He's going to be with him, all the promises that God has declared.
SPEAKER_02: We have that ability.
SPEAKER_02: We have that ability to connect people who've never heard of Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: I couldn't believe his words.
SPEAKER_02: He's like, I'd never heard about Jesus before here.
SPEAKER_02: And how there are people who either have never heard or who do not understand the love of God.
SPEAKER_02: They see a hammer hitting God up in heaven, waiting to discipline.
SPEAKER_02: And they don't understand the beautiful love of God.
SPEAKER_02: But as high priests, we can also call on the resources of heaven for people through healing, provision, Holy Spirit encounters.
SPEAKER_02: You know, another child named Maverick at our Good News Club just this past Tuesday, he accepted Jesus as his Christ, very stoic young man.
SPEAKER_02: Would very rarely smile or show emotion.
SPEAKER_02: One of our leaders laid their hands on him after he had prayed and was praying for him, and they felt like their hands, the child's shoulders were getting really hot.
SPEAKER_02: So we're like, well, maybe my hands are hot, let me switch.
SPEAKER_02: And they put the hand on his head, and then again, his head felt like it was getting really hot.
SPEAKER_02: And they finished praying, and after they finished praying, the child was like, I feel so happy.
SPEAKER_02: Smiling ear to ear, how we were able to do that, connecting this child to God.
SPEAKER_02: We are his high priests, and this speaks of our purpose.
SPEAKER_02: God has given us a purpose in our identity, ingrained in our identity.
SPEAKER_02: He has given us a purpose that is bigger than ourselves, to bring the kingdom of God to this planet in the lives of people.
SPEAKER_02: Moving on to the next one, which is a holy nation.
SPEAKER_02: God called Israel to be that holy nation.
SPEAKER_02: And as we've already discussed, that was just part of the story, the prophecy of what would be to come.
SPEAKER_02: God said that Abraham would have many children.
SPEAKER_02: The number of the stars, prophetic of us being adopted into that family of God.
SPEAKER_02: But what blows my mind is that He calls us a holy nation.
SPEAKER_02: He wanted Israel to be a holy nation.
SPEAKER_02: They were never able to fulfill it.
SPEAKER_02: We are the fulfillment of that.
SPEAKER_02: But you might say, how?
SPEAKER_02: I'm imperfect.
SPEAKER_02: I mess up all the time.
SPEAKER_02: Because God has clothed us in his righteousness.
SPEAKER_02: Apart, we can actually identify as being holy and righteous, not because we were giving something to God and performing perfectly, but because God in his great mercy says, I am giving you salvation through the blood and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and now you will wear his righteousness as your own.
SPEAKER_02: Even though you are imperfect, even though you will make a mistake tomorrow that I've already forgiven you for.
SPEAKER_02: We have been given the righteousness of Christ and can actually identify as the holy nation.
SPEAKER_02: Once you were not a people, verse 10, but now you are God's people.
SPEAKER_02: Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
SPEAKER_02: The NLT puts it this way: once you had no identity as a people, now you are God's people.
SPEAKER_02: Moving on into our next portion, which is fortified in holiness.
SPEAKER_02: Now Peter makes a distinction.
SPEAKER_02: We have talked a lot about being grounded in the identity that God gives to us.
SPEAKER_02: And now he is giving us instruction on how to live our life.
SPEAKER_02: Instructing us to be fortified in holiness.
SPEAKER_02: Beloved, I urge you, as sojourners and exiles, to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul.
SPEAKER_02: I love the terminology that Peter uses here as he actually says, avoid these things which wage war against your soul.
SPEAKER_02: We didn't just accept Jesus Christ to get a get out of hell free card.
SPEAKER_02: We accepted Christ because we have a purpose.
SPEAKER_02: And now as a warrior or an athlete, we have to discipline ourselves by creating healthy habits that are going to produce life and actually set us up or make us poised for impact.
SPEAKER_02: Because we're all connected, or everything inside of us is connected.
SPEAKER_02: Our body, soul, mind, our spirit, it's all part of one being, which is ourselves.
SPEAKER_02: And when we sin and sin enters our soul, it affects every part of our being.
SPEAKER_02: Now, as we've already discussed, we're not doing those things or creating healthy habits or abstaining from toxins that will enter our soul because it will make us righteous, but it's from a place of righteousness, it's from our foundation and identity that we begin to fortify ourselves with holiness.
SPEAKER_02: Because God has incredible impact for each and every one of you in your lives.
SPEAKER_02: First Corinthians 6, 18 through 20 says, flee from sexual immorality.
SPEAKER_02: Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but sexual immoral, the asexually immoral person sins against his own body.
SPEAKER_02: How it's actually affecting our physical body, and how sin in general actually affects our physical body.
SPEAKER_02: The psychology of it is fascinating.
SPEAKER_02: How guilt or or or uh or sin or or hidden sin can actually affect the way we're coping with stress, which of course, as you guys know, affects our physical response in profound ways.
SPEAKER_02: Romans 6, 12, 12 through 13 says, Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions.
SPEAKER_02: Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been bought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
SPEAKER_02: How he's talking about your physical body.
SPEAKER_02: Don't let it dwell in your physical body.
SPEAKER_02: We have to protect our toxins.
SPEAKER_02: One of my leaders says it this way if you sit on the couch and eat potato chips all day watching TV, you will become a oh wow, you guys are really good.
SPEAKER_02: And that's what the kids respond.
SPEAKER_02: They say, couch potato.
SPEAKER_02: And she says, We don't want to be a spiritual couch potato.
SPEAKER_02: We want to be on fire for God, making an impact.
SPEAKER_02: And so we're gonna create healthy habits.
SPEAKER_02: And so we encourage our children to do that actually every Sunday.
SPEAKER_02: We have three slides and probably two paragraphs of wording that our teachers speak over the kids about creating healthy habits.
SPEAKER_02: We have to be in warrior mode because God is setting us up to impact the world, but sin, which wages war against our soul, is actually stunting our potential.
SPEAKER_02: God says, I have so many incredible plans for you.
SPEAKER_02: I want you to connect this person to God and this person, but you're going to be so sick with the sin in your soul that you will miss the plan that I have for you.
SPEAKER_02: Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life.
SPEAKER_02: Proverbs 4 23.
SPEAKER_02: We have to protect our heart.
SPEAKER_02: We have to protect our soul because there's great plans that God has for us.
SPEAKER_02: And lastly, poise for impact.
SPEAKER_02: As we conclude today, our passage finishes with the reason for all of this.
SPEAKER_02: Verse 12 says, Keep conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
SPEAKER_02: I like how it says it in the NLT.
SPEAKER_02: Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors.
SPEAKER_02: Then, even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give glory to God when he judges the world.
SPEAKER_02: They will give glory to God when he judges the world.
SPEAKER_02: That's the purpose, that's the plan for all of this.
SPEAKER_02: We stand in the identity of Christ, we fortify ourselves with holiness for the purpose of glorifying God.
SPEAKER_02: You know, even in my preparation for this message, you know, you have all these thoughts, and it's like, oh, what if this, what if that, what if they, and all of these thoughts.
SPEAKER_02: And and God just so gently reminded me, it's not about any of that.
SPEAKER_02: It's about glorifying God in heaven.
SPEAKER_02: If you walk away this Sunday saying, wow, he was a great speaker, then I've completely missed the goal.
SPEAKER_02: The goal is for us with our lives, for me with my life to glorify God.
SPEAKER_02: We should be walking out of this sanctuary every single Sunday saying, God is so great.
SPEAKER_02: He is awesome and he's empowering me to do an incredible work when I exit these doors.
SPEAKER_02: God, give me the strength to walk in holiness so that I can be a pure representation of your love to the people in my neighborhood, to the people in my workplace, to the people in my co-op, to the people who live next door who are always playing the music so loud.
SPEAKER_02: Help me to be a representation of who you are.
SPEAKER_02: Matthew 5, 14 through 16 says, You are the light of the world.
SPEAKER_02: A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
SPEAKER_02: In the same way, let your light shine before others, so they may see your good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven.
SPEAKER_02: God has incredible impact for your life, but it starts by being found our foundation in his identity, fortifying ourselves in a holiness which poisons us for impact.
SPEAKER_02: In conclusion, what we have done, what we've reviewed today very briefly, is how our identity as chosen royal priesthood and a holy nation formed the foundation for our Christian walk.
SPEAKER_02: We've also seen how living a life of holiness is not just about following rules, but it's about protecting our souls from the toxins and sins that wage war against our potential.
SPEAKER_02: Finally, we've been reminded of the impact that our lives can have to those around us by living a life of honor and integrity.
SPEAKER_02: Even in the face of opposition, we can shine the light of Christ for all to see.
SPEAKER_02: Our actions can lead others to glorify God by drawing them near to Him and into His kingdom.
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for listening to the Foreign for War podcast.
SPEAKER_00: We hope today's message has empowered you to make a difference in your world.
SPEAKER_00: To connect with Pastor Steve's sermons, books, and blog, visit Steve Holtonline.org.
SPEAKER_00: God bless.