Well, we want to welcome everybody today at all of our different locations. And if you're tuned in online man, just hear me say we are so honored that you chose to worship with us today. And you might be thinking hey, you know something looks a tad bit different and it's it's because today I have the privilege of being at our Gulf Coast Campus and man. I'm so honored to be here with all of you and you know this past week starting this past Wednesday. It's just been such a rich few days and Powerful few days because on Wednesday we've taken about 60 of our high school students and some leaders and we came to the Gulf Coast and we've partnered with this campus for what we call like a mission trip and we've scattered through the community and done so many different service projects and backyard Bible clubs that we call Camp Venture and man.

It's been so good. So life-giving now our team they are just exhausted. So don't fall asleep. We're almost done. We'll get you some lunch, but our team has just done an incredible job and you know, and I Really believe that in the days and weeks and months and years ahead that we're going to see the fruit of this of the past few days.

We're gonna see the fruit of what God has done and I do want to take a quick second just to brag on our high school students because men they've done an amazing job and really have been really bold in their face and they've done some things that we probably haven't done in quite some time and what I mean by that is this is they've prayed with strangers like place to hand on someone they didn't know and they've prayed for God to bless them. And for God's power and Provisions to be in so they prayed for folks. They didn't know they've shared their testimony which is simply like sharing what God has done in their life sharing their story. They've shared their story with folks. They didn't know and they've been able to talk talk with people on how to put their faith in Jesus and so man, so proud of this team and all of our campuses.

Can we just congratulate them man can way to go good job and you know, we're continuing in our series Through the book of First Peter the past couple of weeks have been so rich and so good and the series is called scattered and I don't know about you just a side note, but for me every time I hear the word scattered, I'm thinking Waffle House anybody else thinking Waffle House the hash browns, you know, scattered covered and chunked amen. Hallelujah. I may have just changed your life and that may have been the only thing you got out of today. If so, I think it's a win but really that's that's essentially the basically the obviously the series we're going through but it's what's taking place in the life of the people that Peter's writing to because Peter is riding to people who have been scattered. They are they are displaced due to persecution and some other things that was happening in that day and age and it's easy for us just kind of gloss past that and just keep rolling, but I want to sit in it just for a second.

I mean think about it here are some people who grew up in one area. They put their faith in Jesus and started following the teaching the teachings. In the life of Jesus, and now as a result of that persecution has come towards them and now they've had to leave everything that they've known leave their Community leave their Village leave their people and now they're they're displaced and scattered all through Asia Minor and they're trying to figure out the new way of living just a new way of life and into the setting is where Peter is talking to us today and talking to them today and saying as you're scattered in a different culture among different people say and live a holy life. Live a life that is set apart and the passages of Scripture that we're going to look at today is going to be first Peter. It's going to be 13 all the way through 22.

We're gonna walk through all of that, but I want to zoom in real quick so we can see the big idea and it comes in verses 14 and 15. And Peter says this as obedient children do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived and ignorance, but just as he who called you is Holy let's pause there. Just as the God that's called you is Holy and I think we could understand that about God like he is a holy God and what that means is he's a God that set apart. He's unique. He's different from everything else that he's created.

So our God is a holy God and then he goes on to say so be holy be unique be set apart in all that you do Ford is written be holy because I am Holy And if you're like me and you kind of start thinking through the The Challenge and encouragement that Peter has given to live a holy life. I mean, that's just that's a tall order. That's kind of terrifying. It just seems almost impossible because some of you say, well, you know, Timmy if you just knew what I did this past week or this past month, like I've already kind of missed the mark on that. I've already messed that up, but I just want us to slow down a second.

I want us all to take in a deep breath and I just want to look at what the word holy means the word. Holy literally means to be set apart kind of like God like he is Holy he is set apart. So it means to be set apart to be uniquely different and to be the stink. And so what Paul I mean Peter's saying here he's writing to all of those people when you saying as you are scattered live a life that set apart live a life that's uniquely different than the culture that you find yourself in because think about it. I mean if Our life looks just like the culture is a mirror image of the culture then what's going to make anybody in the culture want to follow the God that we serve?

And so what Peter's saying is live A Life That's Unique live a life that set apart and literally holy means to be extremely specific. It's set apart by God for the purpose of God. And so what Peter's saying here is to live a life that unique that set apart that looks different that values things that are different than a culture that prioritizes things that are different than a culture that treats people a little bit differently than the culture treats people that spends time and money and energy and resources different than the culture in which we find ourself in because here's the thing is what if we live such a distinct life. From the culture that we're in that it starts to to Peak the interest of those that we're around and they start asking questions about the God that we serve. That's that's the trajectory that we want to be on.

Because over the past 2000 years. This is exactly how the church has advanced. The people of God have lived a holy life a life that set apart from the culture and God has used them to spread the good news and we're standing here today as a direct result of The Obedience of the scattered of those who have been scattered. And so the conversation and the big idea is how to live a distinct life in 2022 how to live a holy life in 2022. You know, it kind of makes me think about a time that we went into southeast Asia and he's probably heard me talk about it at times.

We've my wife Nicole and I have been taking a trip there for about a decade now we've been going and and this one particular time we're we're in a different Island that had a little bit bigger of a city and so we were there with a missionary and some of the local Believers and man we're traveling around to different underground like house churches to to speak with them and to pray with them and to encourage them and honestly, they just encouraged me that was really kind of the the end goal of the the trip or the end result of the trip. But while we were there one of the missionaries was like Hey, look, we really want to go up to the central part of this island of the region that we're in because there's only one believer and the reason there's only one believer is this area of our island is extremely Demonic, they're the spiritual warfare is out the roof and any time like missionaries or someone kind of comes in to persecution rate. It's just that at a new level. And so if y'all are willing man, we'd love to take y'all up there and to meet with this believer and we're like, all right, we're in let's go and so we traveled into this area kind of parked in the alley and rushed into his house real quick. So nobody would be like, why are Americans there try to be discreet about it?

And then we're sitting there and just had the the richest conversation of here in the story of how this guy heard the good news of Christ of how we put his faith in Jesus and just just basically his life story there. And he went on to talk about how he knows his responsibility is to live a life that set apart than the culture he's in and so he's telling people about the good news of Christ and there is a 18 19 year old guy that was really really interested. And so this guy kept coming to his house a few times a week and the guy was in in The Believer was sharing the good news of the Bible and telling them stories about Jesus well in a small area like that, I mean that those patterns are going to get picked up. Well, what happened was the witch doctor found out what was happening. The Village Leader found out what was happening and the leader of the mosque figured out what was happening and so one night they broke into his house and put like a rice sack over his head and and Drug them into the center of the mosque and all the men of the village man.

They just beat him and they beat him and they beat him and literally they almost beat him to his death. And I'm just sitting there thinking like whoa. This is unbelievable when he's telling it to me with such joy and just a big smile on his face. And so I go to ask him a question. I was like well explain to me one why you're still here, but how you're still here.

Like, how are you keep moving forward and I thought he didn't understand my question. But what he said next to me, honestly, I haven't really been able to shake for years. He said no. No, I understand your question. He said but have you read the New Testament?

It told me this was going to happen. And I thought wow. This guy understands things that I don't even quite understand and so I'm not saying for you and I that this is going to happen for him to live a distinct life a holy life in the culture was in it was about cost him his life and I'm not saying that's gonna be the case for you and I but I do believe that our comfort and personal preferences are going to be challenged. I do believe if we want to set out to live a life that's unique that's set apart for God that our comfort and our personal preferences are going to be challenged a little bit. And so here we go.

How do we live a distinct life a holy life in 2022? Well, the first thing that Peter talks about is our mind and so we have to protect our mind and here we go. Verse 13 therefore with Minds that are alert and fully sober set your Hope on the grace to be brought to you. When Jesus Christ is revealed at its coming as obedient children do not conform to the evil desires. There's a compare and contrast there between Minds that are alert and Minds that are controlled by evil desires evils evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance and so why is Peter focused in right out of the gate on a mind because here's the reality is that our mind is the battlefield for thoughts and desires.

I mean, it's the battlefield for good thoughts that honor God and good desires that honor God but we all know this our mind is also the battlefield for evil thoughts and evil desires that do not honor God. It may have happened this morning trying to get to family to church, you know, just just the thoughts that come and one author put it this way and it couldn't been said better is that the spiritual battle is fought and one thought and One on the hearts and the minds of God's people. And so protecting our mind is a big big deal in 2022. And that's why Peter even emphasized in this text that be sober-minded. And so I just want to ask you a question.

Have you ever been around anyone that has just had one too many to drink, you know, I know none of our Venture folks have ever had one too many drink but people at other churches and you know other places in the world may have but when we're around folks that have just had a few too many men. They say things and do things that is just like I don't know. It's just not normal for them. And the reason they say and do things that aren't number normal when they've had one too many to drink it's because their mind is disoriented and what Peter is saying here is protect your mind from this oriented thinking to protect your mind from disoriented desires that pull away from a God honoring life. And this is what Peter is trying to say, we have to protect our mind from thoughts and desires or disoriented that might just play into the culture.

And the question is this then is what are we feeling our minds with? Like what is our mind being consumed with you know for a lot of folks, it's just it's just kind of habit, you know you wake up in the morning and get you a cup of Folgers coffee or Coast roasts coffee, you know, and the first thing you do is you flip on the news whether it's CNN Fox News, whatever news WLX, you know, whatever news that you listen to and watch and you watch the news. Well, here's the the strategy of the news in case you didn't know now my anti-news. I mean, I personally anyhow, we'll get there but like the news. It generates fear.

The news generates anxiety and typically fear and anxiety lead to anger and rage it leads to divisive thoughts and and polarization of things and so you know for me personally, this is why I stopped watching the news because for my mind's sake and my heart's sake like I couldn't do it. So I can't tell you how long it's been since I've woken up or at any point in the day and flipped on the news like it's been years. I'm talking about like five six years since I've turned on the news to just sit there and watch it. Why because I got to protect my mind and I get it. Like I've caught a lot of heat for it from it and people are saying, you know to me you just kind of live under rock you need to wake up and see what's happening in the world.

And you know, I give you that I might live under a rock but I can promise you my mind is not being controlled by fear and anxiety about news that we can't believe anyhow, and I know for me the one thing I had to do is protect my mind. And there's a million things that your mind can be filled with. I mean one another big one a social media. And as we scroll through social media, you know that the kind of end goal of social media what it does in our lives in our hearts is it causes comparison? It causes insecurities.

And it causes this lack of contentment for the season and the things that God has provided for your life. That's what social media does and we could talk about a million things. But these two particular things kind of hit close to home had a conversation with Nicole literally this past week and she said, you know to me I'm sensing like this low grade level of anxiety and worry. And I thought well, let's drill down on this a little bit. And basically what we figured out was that into idle moments of her day like the idle kind of where she could like take a deep breath.

It was being consumed with headlines. It was being consumed with world news is being consumed with social media and all of these things started to cause anxiety and worry in her life. And so we've made some adjustments to basically eliminate some of those things because we have to protect our mind if we want to live a life that set apart. It's the power of her mind next thing that Peter talks about Is if we want to live a holy life a distinct life in 2022, we have to live with a deep love and respect for God and we see this in the next section of Scripture. In First Peter starting in verse 17.

It says since you call on a father who judges each person's work impartially live out your time as foreigners here and in reverent fear of God and so he's saying live with a reverent fear of a holy God and this is why he said that for you know, it's not with the perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed with from the empty way of life, you know, like the world everything that the world offers popularity and status and all of those things. They cannot fulfill they can't satisfy. Literally. He says it's a empty way of life. That was handed down to you from your s ancestors, but you were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus and all of God's people said amen.

And Jesus a lamb without blemish or defect he was chosen before the creation of the world and was revealed in these last times for your sake through him you believed in God who raised him from the dead and glorified him. And so your Faith and Hope are now in God alone. Now, this isn't a conversation that we have a ton, but I do believe it's a much needed conversation because here's the reality for all of our lives for literally all of humanity all of humanity. All of our life is heading to one singular moment. And the one singular moment for all of us.

Is that there's come in a day? Where every single one of us will stand before a holy God. And we will give an account for our life. That day is coming. For all of us Nobody nobody escapes that day.

But here's the thing. In that day There is nothing you can do to earn God's approval. You can't go to church enough. You can't be a good enough person. You can't do enough Good Deeds.

There's nothing that we can do that's going to to restore us to a right relationship with God. That's why Peter said that you've been redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus because watch this it was on the cross where all of our sins were placed on Jesus literally imputed on Christ. And as a result God only Unleashed his wrath towards his son. And Jesus endured the raft that we deserve and so when we put our faith in Christ his blood covers Us and all of his righteousness is placed on us as imputed on us. And so then when we when that day comes for us and we stand before God, we're covered by the blood of Christ.

It's not by what we do, but it's by what Jesus has done. And that's what Peter's saying to live with the deep love and respect for God essentially what Peter is saying here is saying in light of a holy God and in light of all that Jesus has done live your life in such a way that tells Jesus. Thank you to live your life in such a way that says God. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for loving me.

Thank you for pursuing me. Thank you for being for redeem in me. And so if we lived a life in such a way that echoed the glory of God and told Jesus. Thank you, man. We would live such a unique and distinct life in 2022.

If we live that way because here's the thing and we know this man every decision that's being made in our world today and policies that are being implemented are being made with zero regard for God zero. Decisions are being made based off of what just feels good. Well, what feels good might not be good. Hello. What feels good might not actually honor the Lord.

And what Peter is saying as God's people who've been redeemed by the blood of Christ whose hope is in what Jesus has done what Peter is saying is in 2022 and also in that day and age 64 65 67 ad when that letter was written. He's saying live your life with a deep love and respect. For a holy God one way to think about it is this Who is the one person in your life that you love and respect the most? I mean, is it your spouse your mom your dad maybe grandparent? Well, here's my guess whoever that person is that comes to your mind.

My guess is this that you're gonna do everything in your power to make decisions that are going to honor them for me. It's my wife. And so when I make decisions that I know are going to affect her man. I want the decisions. I'm made to bring her honor not disrespect her and so some might say that I'll live in a holy fear of my life.

And I would say you're exactly right but that's what it looks like to live with a deep love and respect for for God and one simple question. You could ask yourself. This is just like basic a simple as hard but it's basic a simple question that you could ask before you did anything. That would almost guarantee. You're going to live a life that set apart from the culture.

Is this ask yourself the question will this honor God? And if the answer to that question is yes then do it. If the answer that question is no then refrain from it and get some accountability and and so to live with the Deep respect for God as the second thing. The third thing is to embrace the truth of God's word and we see this in First Peter the last little section chapter 1 verse 22. It says now that you have purified Yourself by obeying the truth by obeying the truth of God's word so that you have sincere love for each other love for and love one another deeply from The heart and so what Peter is saying essentially it could be translated to this Peter is essentially saying submit yourself to the authority of Scripture to let the authority of God's word to be what God's and directs and molds and shapes our life like the authority of Scripture.

That's what Paul when he was writing the Timothy about to be this next little pastor of an area and Paul was riding to Timothy in second. Timothy chapter 3 verses 16 through 18 what Paul said to Timothy was this he said hey Timothy all of Scripture every bit of it is God breathed. And all of Scripture is useful for teaching. For correcting for rebuking and for training in righteousness, and he goes on to say so that the servant of God which is us the Servants of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. And so we submit ourself to the authority of Scripture and I get it like, you know our culture and today's age is going to say to do that to submit to any set of regulations and rules or whatever much less a Bible is a little bit of strict restrictive and oppressive.

It kind of It kind of starts put parameters around our life and no one really likes that in 2022. It also people would say, you know, it's a little bit outdated because it was written to 3000 years ago. Like I news flash for you the word of God it cannot be refuted like the word of God. It is stood to test the time and it will forever stand the test of time like the word of God is alive it's active and it's powerful and it's worthy of us submitting to To let the word of God start to shape us because if we're not careful what we're seeing take a place and in our day and age right now is you'll start to stand over God's word to stand over it instead of about under it. And this is what I mean.

I'm not being like, you know disrespectful but the way this plays out in our culture is this is oftentimes people want to stand over God's word. And to pick and choose the scriptures they want to believe but the scriptures that don't make them feel good or a little bit abrasive. They just disregard them. And so it kind of plays out like oh, yeah, you know he who began a good work in you he'll see it through to completion. Hoo.

That's the God I serve. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. Absolutely praise the Lord hallelujah. God works all things for the good of those who love them who have been called according to his purpose. Absolutely.

I love that man. What a good God. But then it goes on to say therefore Make Disciples of all Nations. Ah, I don't know maybe maybe let's keep looking, you know in humility value other people above yourself. You know, I'm trying to make a name for myself, you know, I'll come back to that.

We've all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I and maybe we're first Peter says or Peter says in First Peter. That we're all going to stand before a holy God. I don't know. That's kind of tough tough to digest.

Let's just kind of kind of look past it. Hear me say this with love. If you pick and choose what you want to believe out of the Bible. You're not worshiping the God of the Bible. You're a worshiping the God of your imagination.

And if we want to live a holy life in 2022 a one that set apart from the culture instead of standing over God's word and picking and choosing what we want to believe we bow under God's word and we say Okay, God use this word to shape me into mold me and and I'm gonna start to align my life to the principles and what the Scripture says and then when we start to do that in 2022, like we will live a totally different life and then the culture in which we're living people will say man. There's something different about that guy. There's something different about that girl. Hey tell me about the God that you serve and you'll be able to say I can tell you about the God I serve his name is Jesus and we can find everything about him right here. And that'll start to change things.

So I know this is a lot to take in. But if we want to live a distinct life a holy life in 2022. The way that we do it is we guard our mind. We live with the deep love and respect for God. And we embrace the truth of God's word.

And watch what God will do just watch in a few days might not see much of a difference in a week. It might still be tough in a month. You might see your mind shift a little bit in a year. You might not even recognize yourself but in a decade of doing this. I believe a whole family in a generation would be changed.

Let's pray God. We love you so much and God, we're grateful for the truth of your word God. We're grateful for who you are and God is a tall order to live a life that has set apart from the culture. But God I'm praying that through the power of your word and through the power of the Holy Spirit God that you would enable us to do this. And so God as we as we we start to take baby steps forward to protect our mind and to live with the fear and respect of you and God to to be able to start embrace the truth of your word God.

I pray that you would start to shape us into mold us one degree by one degree by one degree and we look up a year from now and not even recognize who we are because you started a transforming work in our hearts and our minds and it's in Jesus name we pray. Amen.