Why welcome to venture Church man. I'm so glad that you're here. So glad that that you're here worshiping with us. We get to be a part of this conversation together and look I'm be honest. We are really am excited about the conversation we get to have them really excited about where God has brought us to in his word.
But before I just jump head first off into that, let me kind of pause real quick and just just take a deep breath and make sure we're all still on the same page together. Okay, because man, if you're like me if your story your life is anything like mine right now the past few weeks have just felt absolutely crazy. I don't know if I'm alone in that. I feel like I'm not but look it is just men. It's been wild.
Like I feel like we've been all over the place running constantly from one thing to the next always got a new project always got something going on all these got some weird anybody else anybody else kind of feeling that that scattered just kind of Chaos in life right now. Yeah, man, you can look around and see like look you're not alone in this, okay. That's okay. As a matter of fact, that's actually why we started this conversation and so several weeks ago if you were here if you remember we started this conversation begin asking this question. Hey, why is it that we feel so scattered?
Why is it that that life just feels out of control right now? And the reality is that for a lot of us and this is my story be honestly. This is my story The for a lot of us men. The reason that life feels out of control. The reason life feels so scattered right now is because we've chosen that because it's just kind of the pace we've chosen maybe we didn't think about it intentionally, but our choices have brought us here, right?
Like we're the ones that's filling our schedule. We're the ones that's scheduling that trip and scheduling that tournament and saying yes to that game and saying yes to that thing and so we're the ones that's kind of feeling our scheduling causing this constant running but maybe for you and I recognize this isn't that this isn't the case for everyone so maybe for you like your story and the reason you're feeling that that Scattered tension right now is more because of circumstance than choice right? Maybe maybe for you. You just kind of found yourself. In a place in life that that you just weren't ready for like you didn't see this season coming right like your parents are sick.
And so now you have them at home and you're taking care of them or you're you're going through the nursing home every day after work to to take care of your family. Maybe maybe you're sick. Maybe you've got a diagnosis. That's kind of Knocked you off your feet and you just haven't quite reoriented and got your feet back under you maybe work is just piling on right like everybody's short staffed and So you you're used to the 40 hours a week. But because you don't have enough people that work that 40's turn to 60 and now you mean you just you don't have time to do anything else, right?
You just constantly go but whatever the case right like why ever we're here. The reality is we're here. Right like this is just where we are man. We're we're in A hurried pace of life like that hurried pace of life is is fairly normal and our culture. I'm not saying it's a good thing, but I'm saying it's normal.
And so we begin leading into this and say, okay like if that's the case like if that's just where we are if if that's what culture is brought us to how do we move forward like, is there a better should there be a better way? Yes, we believe Scripture says there should be a better way. How do we find that Better Way Forward? How do we find that not scattered life, but rather sent life. And so we begin asking like what does it look like for us to redeem for us to sanctify our scattering and use it more as a sending?
How can we live a scent life as opposed to a scatter life? How can we find that purpose and that intentionality in the midst of the chaos and the uncertainty and the constant running and the constant going how can we get to a different season of Life? Hopefully maybe for you? I don't know. But how can we look back on this particular season that we're in and think I mean, I you know, I'm glad I survived That season but I did more than survive.
Like how can we look back on this season and begin to think like man? Not only that I survived not only maybe I had fun. I made some good memories because some of you just got like thrive in the chaos, right? But how can we get to a place where we look back on this season and say man I Had some life-changing some eternity changing conversation some life-changing some eternity changing experiences. Yeah, I went to the beach and and yeah, I went to the tournament but while I was there man in the midst of that scattering it was more of ascending because God moved in my life and through my life in ways.
I never could have imagined ways. I never would have thought possible. What does that look like? And so a couple of weeks ago about three weeks ago. I think Blake our Gulf Coast Campus Pastor.
He reminded us that they look if we're going to see beyond our scattering that we got to be able to set our eyes on a living. Hope that's what Scripture says a Living Hope right? And so the reality is and this is meant I want you to know this that there is hope for you that there's Hope For Peace they're so for rest There's Hope for healing and there's hope for purpose There's Hope for life and that hope is found in the life of Jesus a life that he shares with us a life that he is giving us. It is not a life that we look that we only look forward to one day in the future, but it's a life we experience today. A better day today a better future.
Yes, but also a better day today. And then two weeks ago Timmy reminded us that If we are going to live since right if we're going to experience that sending then that is going to look like a call to Holiness is what Scripture says a call to be set apart to be different but to be different for the sake of making a difference, right? What Scripture says what Jesus says to be Salt and Light to make the world a better and brighter place right to be different by making a difference and so as we get to the end of this letter, if you've been following along with us in the reading plan and the daily devotions, we've been walking through the book of First Peter together and so as we get to the end of this letter where Paul Peter sorry we're Peter is riding to those of us that feel disjointed right to those of us that feel like we're lost in chaos to those of us that feel like we're scattered running constantly without a sustainable pace of Life Peter brings us to the conversation on humility. He says look if we're going to be more sent than scattered and it is going to look like a humble life now. If that feels like an awkward add-on to you, I'm gonna be honest with you.
It did to me right like as I was kind of reading this letter the conversations on Hope and the conversations on Holiness. Like I understand where that plays a role in in the chaos and the uncertainty of life. But humility felt a little awkward to me like I understand the importance of the conversation but in context it feel it felt a little weird to me and then I realized that honestly I was thinking about humility wrong. Like when I think about honestly when I think about humility and what that looks like to live out in my life like I I think about The Whipping Boy like I think about the person that that takes Injustice and that that takes unfair treatment that that takes any quality and never says anything in return right that just says, okay, I'll take the unfair punishment so that maybe you don't have to and I won't say anything I won't complain. And then I ran across this quote that I think really really sets the tone and explains.
Well what Peter is going to explain here in this letter this Pastor said that humility is not about passively receiving but rather humility is about powerfully enduring not passively receiving but powerfully enduring and so when we think about the the situations and circumstances that contribute to our scattering in life, right? Like when we think about the the job that that's constantly asking more of us, we think about the boss that's constantly demanding more and more and more of a so much that we're working constantly never spending time with our family our kids when we think about like the the family member that that causes all the tension and the household and we just don't know how to relate to them anymore when we when we think about our inability to say no and create healthy rhythms and healthy boundaries. When we we think about our pride that that constantly leads us to wanting and pursuing more and more. More in our pride that says hey look you need to you need to portray a certain image. You need to look a certain way.
What Peter is going to say is that humility is our path forward to experiencing freedom from that weight. And I think at the end of the day man, that's a sensation. That's so many of us Crave in long for right a freedom from that weight. So Jesus said that you can follow me because my yoke is easy, right? My burden is like that there is a free and light life and following him and what Peter says is a lot of that depends on and it looks like humility.
So let me show you First Peter chapter 5 is the Scripture. We're gonna be hanging out in First Peter chapter 5. It's very last chapter of this letter. And here's where Peter starts off this chapter verse one First Peter chapter 5 verse 1. He says, so I exhort the elders among you as a fellow Elder in a witness of the sufferings of Christ as well as a partaker in the glory that's going to be revealed.
Shepherd the flock of God care for ten for the people of God that is among you exercising oversight not under compulsion, but willingly as God would have you not for shameful game, but eagerly not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock now, let me pause right here for for just a second kind of take a little sad step because man what Peter is speaking to in these verses I'm just really important to me. Honestly. I think we've all seen we've all probably experienced in some way what Peter calls here domineering leadership leaders who lead by compulsion for selfish or shameful game, right? We've seen that probably in the business world and organizations and jobs and corporations that are led by selfish individuals that are led by people who do so with a domineering Spirit who do so for the purpose of selfish or shameful game. We've seen it in the political world, right?
Like we see that all the time played out and unfortunately, I think the reality is mean we've seen it in church, too. We've seen it in organizations and groups like the church, but as a group meant for Hope, right? It's a gathering an organization meant for peace. And we've seen people lead in such a way that that gives a domineering spirit and lead from a place of shameful and selfish gain and we've seen the pain and the heartache that can come from that and maybe look maybe that's your story. One of the things I love about Venture church is the the uniqueness of stories that we have right from being a church of the unchurch and what that means all the different walks of life that we've seen people come and engage in their purpose and engaging God's call and maybe for you your story is more of being de church right maybe for you man in your background and your history.
You've been a part of a church that had a domineering leader that that lead from a place of compulsion and for selfish gain and maybe you've been hurt in that and you're here today. I don't know maybe even for the first time kind of stepping back into that and let me just say man if that's your story. That's a thankful for you and look I'm proud of you. Genuinely. I'm proud of you for stepping back into a space that has caused pain and heartache in the past.
And I'll tell you this minute just as a part of venture church. I mean, I really am I'm thankful for our leadership. And I think it's okay for me to say because I don't think Jeff Clark's in the room right now. So maybe you'll understand my heart in this. I mean, I'm thankful for our pastor for one.
I'm thankful for our leadership here. I mean, I'm thankful because we know that that no one's perfect. Right? Like we understand that while we've seen some organizations and and churches even be led in a domineering way. Like we understand that no one's perfect.
Like everyone has struggles and it's one of the reasons. I love Jeff Clark and I love the way he leads right? Because we've seen that sense of vulnerability in him and we've seen him be honest with hey, look, I'm not perfect even last week. He talked about some layers of accountability that he's had to place in his own life. I'm thankful for that and thankful for a leader that's open and honest about that.
But the reality is that maybe you don't know this Jeff Clark's not the only leader of venture Church. I love them. I love them as a pastor, but he's not the only leader of Vince church. We are live Venture churches led by what we call a board a group of what Peter says here elders. These are these are men in the church who have led.
Well all throughout life man. These are these are men in the church who who exemplify the the fruit of the spirit and what it looks like to follow in the ways of Jesus. These are not people who are paid by the church. No, these are people who work 40 50 60 hours a week to improve their community that love and Lead their family well and then because they love you they serve this shirt. They lead from a place of service.
Today man. There are many of you that that your kids are being watched by and they're being cared for and they're being taught by Elders of venture Church. Some of you were served a cup of coffee today by an elder Venture some of you made an elder helped you find a seat and you would never know that that they lead as a part of this church because they do so without a domineering spirit and they do so from a seat of service and look I I tell you all that so I can say like while we've seen hurt and heartache come at the hands of domineering leaders and we understand that that no one's perfect part of their role is to provide a layer of accountability. Yes, but a huge part of their role is simply to love you and serve you well. And then I'm thankful for him.
Verse 4 so back to kind of the humble conversation that Peters bringing us into First Peter chapter 5 verse 4. He says in when the chief Shepherd appears. He's talking about the return of Jesus and when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading Crown of Glory likewise you who are younger. So we kind of shifts gears here. He was talking about the elders who are leaders in the church.
He says likewise you who are younger be subject to the elders pay attention to listen to the elders clothe yourselves all of you with humility towards one another four and now here Peter's gonna quote a line from Proverbs Proverbs chapter 3, and I think we talked about a couple of weeks ago because James uses the same quote as well James chapter 4, but he says that God opposes the proud but he gives Grace undeserved favor. He gives grace to the humble. And so here's what Peter is saying in all of those verses. Okay, what Peter is saying through all of that is look if you want to lead well if you want to learn well if you even want to live well then you must do From a seat of and with a heart of humility that humility is required to lead to learn and to live well and we get this I think on a personal level like when we think about leadership, right? I mean who wants to work for or follow a a prideful arrogant leader?
None of us want that right? You know what your boss at work to be prideful or arrogant and domineering no, you want to you want to follow someone you want to be led by someone who cares who's compassionate who's humble we get that but I'm not just talking about like leading from a an organizational structure standpoint. Right? Like I'm talking about leading your family. Don't let leading in the locker room.
I'm not leading your community and your neighbors to a place of understanding that there is a Better Way Forward in life that there's a good God who loves them. Listen to me. If you want to lead. Well, nobody wants to listen to a prifle or arrogant person. No, no.
If you want to lead people, well, it comes from a place of humility of understanding that while I certainly do not have all of the answers. I mean, let me point you to a guy who's made a tremendous difference in my life. Who loves me well. The same time Peter says look if you want to let's not just about leadership man. If you want to learn well for a lot of us like we we've been stuck in this place in life never being able to grow never being able to develop never being able to get off a certain treadmill of a struggle that we've had because we've never been humble enough to acknowledge it and accept it.
We'll talk about that in just a minute. But if we're gonna learn if we're gonna grow if we're gonna develop I mean we got to be willing to say and acknowledge. Hey, I don't have all the answers and then Peter says look Beyond like what your interaction is on this learning leading level look just in life in general and listen to me. I don't say this. With a desire to like strike fear.
But I say it because it's a warning and it's a truth and it's a reality in Scripture that there's a way for you to stand and direct opposition to God. There's a way in which you can proceed in life directly opposed to the Creator and sustainer of the universe to the God who created you to The God Who puts breath in your lungs and every minute you can stand in opposition to that God through Pride. The arrogance Pride puts you in opposition to God and yet that same God gives grace to the humble. And so your humility is literally the difference between standing in God's favor. And standing in God's Wrath In order to lead in order to to learn in order to live.
Well, we must do so from a place of humility look back at verse 5 because I think minute these words and the language that Peter uses here I think is really important about halfway through verse five Peter uses this illustration. He says to clothe yourself all of you regardless of your situation regardless of your circumstance close yourself with you melody to Wards one another Scripture uses this like clothing language and illustration a lot and a lot like we know that that Jesus closes he gives us Robes of what he places Robes of white over us as a sign a symbol of Purity and forgiveness and Holiness, right? If you know the the parable of the prodigal son, you know that story where the sun comes back to us father after rejecting him that one of the ways the father restores his son is about clothing him by putting a robe over him and a ring on this finger and shoes on his feet. Wow, because one of the things clothing does is it establishes? Not only who you are but Lose you are right, like part of the reason you wear the clothes you do is because like this is me, right.
This is my style. So what I do, this is kind of how you know, my personality based off some of my clothing but more than that we understand that base level clothing is a protection. Right, like it's a covering you wear clothing to cover yourself in a form of protection. You wear clothing to protect yourself from the Sun from the heat from being sunburn right? You you wear clothing to protect yourself from the Wind and Rain those elements and in the same way humility is a covering it is a covering of protection.
This is why all throughout this letter if you've been following along and reading with us, if not looking back and read it's really short letter but Peter's gonna use that phrase he used in very spot to be subject to use that over and over and over again be subject to the leaders in the church. He's gonna say be subject to one another in marriage. He's gonna say be subject to government and authorities and the rule of the land the law of the land. Why does he tell us to be subject and so many different spaces and places in life because it is a covering of protection is the covering of peace that protects us in a multitude of situations like you've heard it said and Scripture says love covers a multitude of sins but in the same way Humility covers Us in a multitude of circumstances. It is a covering of Peace.
It is a covering of protection. But who does the clothing? If I mess up the pastor didn't feed me enough right like in that how it works. No, what's Peter say clothe yourself? Clothe your self.
This is your choice. That's what Peter says. This is your responsibility. This isn't anything I can do for you. This isn't anything anybody else can do for you the choice to put on the robe the clothing of humility's fall squarely on your shoulders.
It's your choice and listen to me the choice that we make. Is a choice to count others as a priority? The choice of humility is to count others as a priority. This is why Peter says to clothe yourself with humility what towards one another that your humility is meant to to initiate to to move outwardly towards the people around you like if you're humility is only a thing that you hold if you're humility does not affect the people around you if you're humility does not affect the way in which you engage and treat the people around you is not humility. It's a perverted sense of selfishness.
That just wants you to be able to say hey, I'm better because I'm different than you. Humility says I'm going to count you as a priority. It's a choice we make in every moment in every conversation and every relationship, but here's the rub. Here's where we we struggle with this. Because in order to experience humility in order to be able to express humility the way in which Peter calls us through the way in which Scripture calls us to Is we have to be willing to accept the fact that we are limited?
And here's the deal. That's okay. Okay. It's okay that you are limited. It's okay that you don't know everything.
I know that might be scary to acknowledge and admit but listen to me, it's okay. It's okay that you don't know and you can accept and say it all out. It's okay that you don't know. What tomorrow is gonna hold. It's okay that you don't know what today's gonna hold.
It's okay that you don't know how you're gonna respond in a situation and you certainly don't know how someone else is feeling in a situation right? It's okay to not know that because listen to me. God does. You might be limited. But there's a God who is Limitless?
And that got sees you and that God knows you and that God cares about you. Look at verse 6. For Speed Chapter 5 Verse 6 says humble yourselves therefore under under the mighty hand of God. And so while our humility moves forward towards the people around us. It comes under the mighty hand the weight the power the awesomeness of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you verse 7 casting all your anxieties on him.
Why? Because he cares for you. When I read these verses I think about the story of Job in the Old Testament. I don't know if you know that book or not in the Book of Job in the ultimate job is a man of God who may look he is a righteousness what Scripture says he's a righteous man that has followed God that that has kept his ways and job goes through some unimaginable tragedies man, some just incredible pain and hurt and he deals with all this in a way that that he remains faithful to God and when you get to the very end of the Book of Job there's this conversation between job and and God himself and and God says now hang on as job begins to like question. God.
God says now, hang on Job, where were you? When I laid the foundations of the world Hey job. Did you command the sun to rise this morning? Hey, Joe, did you put life in the Seas Hey Joe. Did you make your own life?
No? That's his idea. I hold that life. And here's the great news about all that. He holds you as well.
And he cares for you. And he loves you. And so when we come to a place where we can accept the fact that we are limited and we can rest in in God's limitlessness. Then it becomes okay to acknowledge the fact that because of our limits we have struggles and because of our struggles the enemy schemes against us that's what he goes on to say verse verse 8. He says Be sober-minded Be watchful because your adversary the devil prows around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour listen to me you will this is kind of the point of what Peter is saying you will experience humility.
You will either experience it in the goodness of God. Or you'll experience it in the attacks of the enemy. But your pride will not persist forever. And this this is what has kept us trapped and so many places right the prison of pride. Kept us from being able to find the healing that we so desperately long for in life.
The reason that so many of us can't find the healing from the struggles. We we face every single day is because we've never acknowledged the fact that we actually struggle and the reason we can't acknowledge the fact that we struggles because we've never accepted at least accepted out loud the fact that we are limited. We've never owned that Maybe because a fear maybe because of worry maybe because of anxiety. But what does Peter say cast your anxieties on him? Why because he cares?
For you It's a kind of back to where we started this conversation rather where Peter started this conversation for us. At the end of the day, it's your choice. Clothe yourself with humility. So here's the question. We're brought to In This Moment In this space in this place.
So what are you gonna wear? What clothing? Are you gonna walk out of here with? You keep on the The Robe of pride. You're Gonna Keep carrying that weight you gonna keep carrying the weight of your inconsistencies and struggles because you can't acknowledge them out loud because you can't find Freedom and a good guy.
Maybe today man and this is my prayer for all of us. Maybe today we're able to to be stripped. Of that prod we're able to be stripped. Of that weight, we've been carrying so that and so that we can put on a robe of humility. So that we can carry.
A lighter load because there's a God who loves us. And in all the ways that we're limited and all the ways that we're struggled and all the ways we've missed the mark and maybe and maybe we feel broken. The guy says I love you. Just like you are in your limitations and your struggles. I love you.
Peter goes on to say that as we look forward to The coming day. When was we look forward to the return of Jesus? We know that he will restore that. He will confirm that he will establish us. And that's the promise.
As we able to to put on the humility. That we trust in his establishing and his restoration. In his confirming But it's a choice. It's a choice we have to make for ourselves. And pray for us church, and then we're going to have a moment to choose.
We'll become before he got I thank you God. I thank you for your goodness God. I think you for your mercy and your grace. And Lord, honestly, I I do pray for I pray for breaking I pray for breaking of our pride of the weight that we've carried that we've allowed ourselves to carry for far too long. I pray that you will break us of that God.
I pray that you'll give us the strength and the boldness to step into your humility to find Healing to find Freedom in you. We love you God. I look forward to. The way in which you're going to radically change lives and Stories We Love You Lord all things we ask here.