Well, hey, welcome to venture Church man. I'm so glad that here. I know that you could be a lot of places this weekend. But man I'm thankful that at least in this moment in this space we get to be together we get to be together as a part of a family we get to be together in God's word. It is obviously Memorial Day weekend, right which which means a lot of things right?

It's a moment that we we remember it's a moment where we we celebrate and we give thanks right. It's it's an important weekend Memorial Day Weekend kind of it represents a lot of things right? A lot of memories a lot of reasons to be thankful one of those right one of the things Memorial Day Weekend represents at least for us here in the south is the beginning to Summer. It's kind of the The Unofficial start to the summer season, right the the summer. This is what we're talking about today what I like to call the summer scattering right?

Because for the next couple of weeks the next couple of months man, we're going to be all over the place which is a fun thing, right? I mean, it can be a very fun season right new rhythms. New kind of change of pace in life right like parents you get this school is out which means like you don't have to you don't have to fight your kids in the mornings to get them up and get ready. So they don't miss the bus. You don't have to worry about wasting four hours in the car rider line and the afternoon right new things.

It's good you do you do however have to lock your cars, right? Because just gangs of middle schoolers. You're just roaming the streets calls an anarchy in the sunrise chaos, right? Like vacations are being playing trips family barbecues are being playing but if your family lives, you know further than 20 minutes away. None of us going to see him.

Like we're just send them a text because none of us before gas to go see them right like it's it's a fun season, you know, I mean good things are happening. However, I do think it's interesting like it seems to it seems to be that we have this conversation every single year that is excited as we are to kind of get into this season get into kind of change of pace and new rhythms and new habits and and do some things that we can't really afford. We don't get the opportunity to do throughout. Rest of the year. It does seem like By the time we get to the end of this season every single year, we're feeling a little bit more scattered than rejuvenated right a little bit more tired a little bit more exhausted than maybe we thought we would be it's almost like we we need a day to recover from our vacation, right?

We need a vacation to recover from our vacation right like parents how many of you know how many of you know that come I don't know July July 5th, maybe sixth That you're already going to be looking at the calendar counting down the days for your kids to go back to school. But you love them. It's not about you. You love them. You want to spend time with them like a course you do but also at the same time like you want to be able to to run your errands and do your things without refereeing a boxing match right?

Like that's okay. It's okay. And so as we we enter into this season as we enter into the the summer scattering and we begin to navigate all of these different plans and places and rhythms and all of that. I mean we want to have a conversation about what it looks like to live more scent than scattered. Here's what I mean as our plans ramp up for the summer right like as we we look at Brook and I'm a wife and I mean we were looking at our schedule the other day and just like in the next 10 days, I think nine of those days we have somewhere to be right like somewhere to go someone to see like as our plans ramp up and we stay busy our purpose what it is that we're pursuing in life the things that we're working on and more importantly the things That God is working in and through US those things don't have to be put on hold on to press pause on those things which typically is what happens right?

Like as we get the opportunity to do new things and you know new trips and new adventures and all that kind of stuff the things that we're we're pursuing and the things that we're working on in life. We kind of put those on the back burn we kind of press pause on those right and if we're not careful new habits and new rhythms begin to form in that place before we realize it and so what does it look like, is it possible it is possible. But what does it look like for us to turn the scattering of the Season into ascending? Like what would it be? Like, what do we have to do to get to the other end of this season to get to you know, the the next season of life and look back and not think man.

I was all over the place, but man I was able to take the Gospel with me all over the place. Like what does it look like to to not get to the end of the season and not be exhausted and not be whooped and not be tired. But instead to look back and realize that man we lived purposely we lived intentionally now, we didn't just we didn't just create memories. We didn't just create experiences. Although those things are not bad.

But what if the memories we we created we're life-changing memories was eternity changing memories. That's what we want to step into. That's what we want to look at over the next couple of weeks and let me say this too before we we jump into the Scripture we're gonna be looking at It's okay. If you're here today, if you're hanging out you're watching and you're kind of dancing around the the whole Christianity thing, right the whole church thing. Jesus thing is you're trying to navigate and figure out what this means for you and what this looks like in your life and maybe one of the ways I think one of the ways you would Define step back and begin to Define your life is scattered.

Aimless, right purposeless. What is it that you're pursuing? That's probably one of the reasons you're here is probably one of the reasons you're questioning and you're searching and you're looking right. Like what is that thing that seems to be missing in your life purpose, right? I just want you to know man, if that's you man.

I'm so thankful that you're up. So thankful that you're hanging out just know that you're in the perfect place to experience a guy to meet a God that that does wonders it that loves to turn our mess of a life into a masterpiece. And so for the next couple of weeks what we're going to be walking through together the book of First Peter. It's a real short letter towards kind of the end of the New Testament. We're gonna walk through for the next four or five weeks first Peter.

Sue if you got a Bible you can go ahead and turn there and pull it up on the app. Whatever you need to do to find we're gonna be taking some notes today by the way, like if you're an annotated if you like like right in the margins today's for you, so maybe you want to like take a screenshot of the verse and pull it up on your photos. So you can mark up do whatever you need right First Peter chapter one verse 1 is where we're gonna start. And here's what it says Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ. This is interested on who he is Peter and Apostle Jesus Christ to those who are elect Exiles of the dispersion in Pontius and galatia and Cappadocia and Asia and bithinia now Paul's right there on that verse.

Okay, because I want to show you why what's gonna follow in this letter is incredibly important for you and for me because we read that line right Peters riding to the elect Exiles of the dispersion. I don't really know what that means. But that's not me right but this is I think this is incredibly important to you to me in the season in the space and life that we're in and Peter says that he's writing to the elect Exiles. What does that mean? Well, they're Exiles because they're not at home the space that they occupy is not their home.

It's not the place that they call home, right? They've been forced out of their homes their Exiles and Peter's gonna take that truth that these people that he's riding to are not at home. He's gonna take that truth and he's gonna use it to highlight a deeper reality. In Chapter 2 he's going to tell them not only are they Exiles but we are sojourners. We are Travelers and so what Peter's gonna begin to unearth and unpack for them is listen, it's not just that you're not at home.

It's that you have a new home that you're traveling to a new home. You're traveling to a new destination. This is what the Apostle Paul man in Philippians chapter 3 verse 20 where he says that our citizenship is in heaven that where we belong is not this Earth, but rather Where We Belong our citizenship, right like the place that we call home is eternity with our heavenly father. This is what Jesus meant and his prayer towards the end of his life where he said I pray that my people my followers the people that will come after me will be in this world, but not of this world that we exist here temporarily. But it's not our home.

This is that longing that you feel in life. Right? This is the reason that that life feels so ill-fitting sometimes, you know what I mean? Like there's just something missing him talking about like that that sense that that no matter how hard you pursue it no matter how great the job is no matter how hot the girlfriend is like there's just there's something missing. There's something a little off there's something quite not that's just something not right.

So longing for home What's your experiencing? What you're feeling is that that man the space that you occupy, it's not what you were created for. It's not what you were created to it. You were created to experience something different. You were created to experience something more.

We were created you go back to the Book of Genesis, right? We were created to experience perfect communion perfect communion and Community perfect harmony with our heavenly father. That's what we were created for and yet sin broke that like Sin Sin distorted The Human Experience and so now for you and for me, we live not in our home not in what we were created for but it's important that we I love this language. So Journeys right that we're Travelers, we're not just passively waiting for a new experience. We're not just passively waiting to experience home.

No, we are traveling towards a destination. Traveling towards what God has created us for. This is and it's like when you go on vacation, right like no matter how much money you spend on the hotel. No matter how nice the hotel is about how big the bed is how many pillows are on it? It's not your bed, right?

And for a day or two, you might get some good sleep, but eventually your body Longs for your bed, right? It longs to be home. Like you want your bed. You want your dual stained pillow and your hole that you've wallered out in the mattress, right? Like like you want home you want your bed?

Your soul when your heart man it longs it Longs for home. The whole earth groans for Christ's return to call us home. That's what Scripture says right we were created. We were Exiles. We were created for something different, but we're not just waiting right we're traveling towards that and along the way maybe we have experiences along the way in the Journey of life.

We meet people we have opportunities to bring about little glimpses of hope and little glimpses of Grace so that others around us might taste and see that the Lord is good. We're Exiles traveling towards our Eternal destination of home. Peter also says that that they are of the dispersion right he uses that term they are elect Exiles of the dispersion that term dispersion just means to be dispersed. Right it means to be scattered. Now, these people are literally dispersed.

They have been spread out across the Roman world because of persecution, right the beginning of the book acts the spirit breaks out in Jerusalem and people are being saved left and right Miracles are happening people's needs are being met. It's a beautiful thing. The church is growing the cities changing. It's incredible. Well, then the authorities begin to see hey look man.

There's beginning to be more of these people that call themselves Christians and us we need to do something about this and so persecution breaks out against the church and these people these believers they flee they're scattered. They run they flee around the Roman world and they take the Gospel with them. That's how the New Testament Church is born. By the way, right? The New Testament Church is born when people who are scattered use it as an opportunity to be sent and they take the Gospel with them.

Now you and I mean, let's just be honest. We don't really understand fully. I don't think the idea of persecution like we might understand it conceptually, but it's not a thing we've experienced at least not to this level right? Like like man the maybe we've been ridiculed. Maybe we've been mock maybe we've been made fun of we've been told we're backwards or ignorant or whatever.

But like our lives are not at stake for our faith, right? And so maybe we don't fully understand what it looks like to have to flee my city and flee my home because my life is at stake for what I believe. But we do understand full. Well what it means to live a scattered life right? Just live all over the place without our feet under his constantly running and constantly going either running two or running from something but always running and like listen admit that that some of us man.

We we are living a scattered Life by choice. Some of us are living about Choice. Some of us are living it by circumstance. I want to say choice. I mean like we are choosing to be in this Rhythm like we're planning we are the ones I am I control my schedule right?

Like, I'm the one planning the The beach trip and the baseball game and the family Barbecue like I control this and I'm choosing in a lot of times men. I'm choosing to live at A hurried Pace all over the place from one action and and one distraction and one activity to the next and if that's you like if you're kind of living at that patient, you're living at that Rhythm and let me just let me just kind of press in and challenge you a little bit like none of those things necessarily are bad really ball games barbecues beaches. None of the good. None of those things are really bad, right? But I do kind of want to press in a little bit and challenge like maybe it's a good time for you to pause and just question.

Am I living so busy so that I can distract myself from the really difficult work? I don't have to think about the fact that my family is imploding or my faith is dissolving. If I if I stay so busy. I don't have time to think about it. Are you avoiding the difficult work by filling your schedule from one thing to the next?

At the same time like I do think it's fair. We need to acknowledge that some of us are living scattered not by choice. It's really more by circumstance. Right? It's just kind of like this is what life has done to us life is just happened to us and we weren't quite ready for whatever the season is.

Right? Like we we lost a loved one. We lost the a spouse or or a family member. We lost a job. We were diagnosed with cancer whatever like something has happened maybe a bunch of Something's have happened and all of a sudden we look up and man.

I don't have my feet under me anymore. I can just I I don't really I don't know how to navigate this space just yet. My mind scattered. I'm all over the place all of that to say like whatever your reason is. Whatever it is.

It's kind of brought you to this place of feeling scattered of living from one extreme and one thing to the next and just to know that like what's gonna follow in the war in the book of Peter Ministry you maybe you don't understand what it means to be an elect Exile of dispersion. Neither. Neither. Do I? But But what Peter is going to speak into our scattering what Peter is going to speak into our chaos and the uncertainty of life?

And I think is vital to us. Is a look at this next verse. For Speed chapter 1 verse 2 to the elect Exiles of dispersion. So you're you're scattering has happened verse 2 according to the four knowledge of God the father and the sanctification of the spirit. For obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood now, here's where I want to kind of pause.

I want to take some time to to Really unpack an unearth what this verse is saying here. Okay. And so I want to just for the next a little bit that we have. I want to use this one verse and I want to I want to show you three words. All right, three three just kind of Big Ideas three simple words that we can take with us into our scattering into our uncertainty into the chaos and the questions of life.

Okay. So First Peter chapter 1 verse 2, according to the four knowledge of God the Father. I want you to Circle. I want you how I want you to underline that word for knowledge because it's important right and somewhere out in the margin around that word. I want you to write the word scene.

According to the foreknowledge of God means listen to me. It means you are seen. That sees you Jeff talked about this a couple of weeks ago with the story of Hagar if you were here and you remember that sort of Hagar and a certain Ismail and Abraham right that that in the midst of her Brokenness in the midst of her despair. I mean when she was at the lowest of Lowe's one nobody else saw her when everybody else had abandon her she got a glimpse. She got a word from God that God sees you That sees you and God understands.

If you notice in this verse right that that is Peter writes these words. It kind of unpacks the idea of the Trinity the the three Natures the three aspects the reality of God three and one says that that we are dispersing. We're scattered according to the foreknowledge of God the father that we are Sanctified by God the spirit and we live in obedience to God the son and Jesus and he shows us all three pictures and listen to me. I do not think it is back coincidence. I don't think it's by accident that Peter attaches the idea of being seen to God the Father because there is man there's just a different picture of of Hope Of Love of being cared for in the illustration of a father that God is your father who sees Timmy talked about this a couple of weeks ago right that and fatherhood like the idea of a shepherding caring for and loving and protecting God.

Is that for you? God the Father sees you. And he cares for you. Many loves you. But not only does God.

See you. God knows you See, I think that's what's so beautiful about the fact that God sees me. It is not just that he he sees me in a certain space in time, but he knows me. That the idea of foreknowledge has this kind of forward intentionality to it. Right?

It means it literally means to know beforehand for knowledge. I mean, it's a no beforehand God knew you beforehand God knew you before you knew yourself God knew that you would occupy this space in this time long before you ever did God knew that you would face the circumstances your facing long before they ever cross your path. God is not surprised. That you occupy this space in this time God's not Suffice that you're in God is not surprised at the the problems at work that you face God is not surprised by the pain that you've experienced and like God's not surprised by any of that. God knows it.

God knows you he sees you he knows you and he cares about you and he loves you in the midst of all of that. Please understand this. The whole idea of God God wouldn't ever give me more than I can handle. Y'all know that I heard that I've seen the picture on Instagram. Look, I don't really believe in that idea.

Okay, it's gonna be honest. We if you shared that graphic on social media, you're not a bad person. You're just wrong and that's okay, right? We're all wrong sometimes but here's one. All right.

Here's one. I think that God certainly would give me more than I can handle. To be honest with you life. Most days is more than I can handle. Because listen if I could handle every situation if I could handle every circumstance in life, I would never find myself on my face before God who loves me and a father who cares from me, right?

But the fact that I can't handle it the fact that life is more burdensome than I'm ready for often times right like drives me to a heavenly father that sees and cares and loves me. Said I do think that God would certainly give us more than we could handle but at the same time. I think God gives us what will grow us. And that's kind of the point of what Peter's saying here right is in our circumstances in our difficulties like God sees you God knows you not just not just like the the you that that you are hiding behind a flurry of activity not just the you that you are posing on Instagram for like the you the real you right? God sees that part of you.

God knows that part of you. God loves that part of you. He's not surprised that that you is facing what you're facing and he says I'm bringing you through it. For this is what the next line in that verse says, I'm bringing you through this scattering in the sanctification of the spirit. We're still according to the four knowledge of God the father in The sanctification of the spirit Circle that word sanctification.

To be Sanctified right? There's a real Church you were. Okay, honestly, it's a real churchy word that like I maybe we don't always understand the full picture of it. It means practically it means to be made. Holy right to be set apart as holy and you read that and you hear that and you're like bro.

I'm so far from holy that's kind of the point actually, right this we all are right. We're far from being from from being fully Sanctified from being made. Holy and it reminds us that man. We are in a process like you are seen but you are being Sanctified right? Like it's a process to be made more like Jesus.

None of us have it. Right. None of us are perfect in that and we walk through oftentimes we walk through many of our difficulties and many of our experiences in life as a way to cut away the the things in us that are not of God and the things in us that are choking out the life that he's meant for us to experience like the surgeon scalpel right does not feel good and yet it's necessary for life. I think it's Matt Chandler who says that we have an opportunity to Steward our sufferings. Well.

To be made more like Jesus who took the cross on your behalf who suffered on the cross on your behalf and my behalf so that we might he died so that we might live and listen to me. We suffer oftentimes. So others might stand on our story and stand on our testimony. And the process we are being made to look more like Jesus. And so as we we scatter in life, right God sees us and God knows Us in that and he uses those opportunities and those moments to to pull away the things that are not of him to grow in us the things that are of him so that this is the last line.

I mean, it might be the most important in this verse so that we might be obedient to Jesus Christ. But in the sanctification of the spirit is he has he sanctifies us as he works in us to be more like him he does so that we might be obedient to Jesus Circle that word obedient. What are we obedient to the sending that he's called us to right? So we call in the church a lot of times the Great Commission that we will go to the ends of the Earth. We'll go to our cities.

We'll go to our homes. We'll go to our places our business. We'll go wherever we need to even to the ends of the Earth. So that others might know him so that others might know love and follow him so that others might experience his hope and his grace and his love and his Mercy like that's the call that you and I have that is what he has sent us into the world with right to be obedient to that sending listen to me. Your scattering is an opportunity to be sent the difference the difference in being scattered and the difference in being sent is the purpose that you put in it.

It's the purpose in which you live with. I just said As You Go Make Disciples as he sends us. It's not about necessarily going to China. Although that might be your call. Right but man you have an opportunity at your family Barbecue.

You have an opportunity at the beach. You have an opportunity at the ball game to take the Gospel with you into those moments to speak hope and to speak life and through those moments your purpose and your call. It doesn't have to be pause. It doesn't have to be put on the back burner because you're busy tonight. Oh and you're busy with a purpose God's placed in front of you.

Take it with you. And so let me give you just real quick. Okay? Just three real simple real practical ideas. Okay that you can use to kind of to kind of live out this sending as opposed to a scattering in your life.

One maybe you need to slow down a little bit. And look that's a broad generalization. I get it. Okay, so maybe that one is not 100% true for you, but I'm banking on this true for most of us, right because as Americans man, we live in a society. We live in a culture that's busier than any ever in existence, right?

We're constantly going Listen, if you don't have time in your normal Rhythm your normal weekly Rhythm for an unexpected disruption. Like if there's not space in your life and space in your time for somebody unexpected to for you to invite them over to dinner one night and love them and minister to them. You're probably a little too busy. Slow down just slow down a little bit. Take a breather.

Create a little space create a little pause and your Rhythm create a little pause and your life slow down. So it's okay to say no, right you can say no to an activity if it's healthy for you if it's healthy for your family slow down. This is an important distinction been Wade at our Lincoln Road campus. He made this distinction for me the other day. It is entirely possible.

To be in the presence of without being present with tracking with me on that. It is entirely possible for you to be in the presence of your family and not actually be present with them. You can be in the car. You can be on the couch. You can be at the ball field.

You can be able to Beach. With your family being the presence and never actually be present with them. To occupy the same space without occupying the Same Heart in the same relationship with them, right and so slow down man slow down just a little bit. And be present with them. Be present with them.

Here's the second thing. Use your story. This is one of the ways we can Steward our sufferings wells we begin to use be honest. Be real with our stories. Right?

Like I absolutely love and they want the stories that come out of House Church. One of them a house search Pastor was telling me recently about a 30 year old and their house it's kind of talked about and and been honest with some struggle some anxiety some depression some hurt, right and to hear a 60 year old then come alongside this young man and say hey look I've walked through that too for the same reasons. Let me show you let me tell you what's on the other side of this. I've been there where you are. That's what it looks like to use our stories right to Steward our sufferings.

Well through our stories. So be real and be honest about the struggles you are facing the struggles you have faces while we we have spaces like house here to give you an opportunity to do that. To not hide behind a curtain or a veil of struggles man. It'll be honest and be open with those because you'll listen. You will be amazed at the people around you.

Who are struggling in the same way? Who are struggling under the same way in the same oppression? Be honest, be real use your story. Here's the last thing use your story and use it where you are and grow where you are make a difference where you are, right? Jesus said As You Go Make Disciples.

But does it mean you have to go to foreign lands, right? You can go literally to your your office. You can go to the ball field with your family. And you use that use that space use that opportunity and grow use your story in that space in that place to grow where you are. It's Emilia to a famous missionary man.

He's one of the the lines he's quoted was saying is Wherever You Are. Be there fully be fully there be fully present Wherever You Are. Because God's placed you there right of all the people that could be in your job and your family on your vacation God's put you there. Because God's got a purpose for you there. So use the opportunity to grow Where You Are.

Hey, let me pray for some men and as we go into our summer scattering and our summer schedules, let's use it. Let's use this opportunity to not just be scattered to not just be all over the place but to live scent and to lift purposefully. Let's pray. We love you God we give you all of the praise and all of the glory God. I thank you for for your truth.

God. I thank you for your sending God. I thank you that you use us. God that we're not just passively waiting. But God we are actively pursuing you in your purpose.

But I pray that you will guide us that you'll use us even in this space in this time that you continue to move. All things we ask your name. Amen