Podcasts about Someday

Most entrepreneurs are taught how to build a business. Very few are taught how to build a business without losing themselves—or the people they love.In Part 1 of this special two-part Valentine's conversation, Dr. Alisa Whyte welcomes back Robert and Kay Lee Fukui, founders of Power Couples by Design™, for an honest discussion about the hidden cost of success.Together, they unpack why so many entrepreneurs postpone happiness while chasing the next milestone, how constantly moving the goalposts can quietly damage relationships, and why defining success only by revenue is one of the greatest traps business owners face. They also share deeply personal stories about loss, rebuilding life, relocating across the country, making courageous decisions together, and learning to enjoy life now instead of waiting for "someday."What We DiscussIf you're building a business, leading a career, or striving for more while trying to protect your relationships, this episode will challenge the way you define success—and remind you what truly matters:Magnifying Strengths & Weaknesses: Why entrepreneurial success amplifies both the best and hardest parts of life.The "Someday" Trap: Dismantling the dangerous myth of "I'll be happy when..."Ambition vs. Intimacy: How corporate and entrepreneurial ambition can quietly compete with your primary relationship.Life Now vs. Retirement: Why waiting until retirement to enjoy your life is often too late.Redefining Wealth: The importance of defining success on your own terms beyond revenue.Living Intentionally: How intentional alignment creates both stronger businesses and healthier relationships.This conversation is a powerful reminder that success isn't just measured by what you build—but by who you're becoming while building it.Exclusive Free Resource for ListenersFree Assessment: Tandem Marriage & Business Assessment — Discover where your business and personal relationship stand.Connect with Robert & Kay Lee FukuiOfficial Website: marriedentrepreneur.coBook: Tandem: The Married Entrepreneurs' Guide for Greater Work-Life BalancePodcast: Thriving In Tandem™ PodcastMedia Kit: Robert & Kay Lee Fukui Media KitMusic licensed through Soundstripe:Code: AEQTXJWIZYBD3DYF"Success becomes more meaningful when love and leadership grow in tandem."Send us Fan MailReady to turn your message into a profitable speaking career? Join Dr. Karim Ellis for a FREE live masterclass and discover the proven strategies to get booked, increase your influence, and build a speaking business that creates lasting impact and income. Reserve your seat today: https://thegpsspeakersacademy.com/freeclassSupport the show

Show notesThis past weekend, Sarah and Tanna spoke at BOLDsoul, an event that blends health, business and spiritual mindset. They're nervous and excited in equal measure, so they rehearse here. To learn more about the event hosted by Janell & Lizzie, we will attach their IG handles below! Here's every panel question, answered honestly, with a few beeps along the way. It starts with the least glamorous habits that deliver real results. For Tanna, it's napping, including her famous lunch-break naps at the hospital. For Sarah, it's the same breakfast for almost 20 years. Then they share their leaps of faith. Tanna went from being told she was "too muscular" as a model to setting her sights on the world championships in Olympic weightlifting. Sarah found her calling in a lonely stretch of maternity leave, and it grew into a community that has helped tens of thousands of women. For women in their 40s and 50s whose bodies no longer respond the way they used to, the message is clear. Stop reaching over $100 bills to pick up pennies. Strength training is the $100 bill, and your muscles are a bank account worth making deposits into. In this episode: The boring habits that make the awesome things possible Why your gut feeling often points to what you need but don't have yet Going against the naysayers, from family to the people closest to you Muscle as a bank account, and what's really behind the "meno belly" The biggest fitness myths: fads that make you feel like the problem, and "older means weaker" Building self-trust by keeping the promises you make to yourself Someday goals: a motorcycle ride across Canada, and a summer lake house full of family Timestamps: 00:00 ~ Nervecited: getting ready for Bold Soul 01:30 ~ The least glamorous thing that keeps us healthy 04:30 ~ Our leaps of faith 10:00 ~ Energy, sleep and bodies in our 40s and 50s 15:15 ~ The BS we keep hearing 16:30 ~ One thing to nourish yourself, starting tomorrow 18:40 ~ Someday goals 21:50 ~ Salt and pepper: why they work together BOLDsoul, co-created by Janell Karst (IG @janellkarst) and Lizzie (IG @pause.rest.upgrade. They will be hosting another one in the Spring 2027, so be sure to give them a follow to stay connected!

Ten weeks after Trevor Muir became CEO of Surepoint Group, the bank swept $400,000 from the company's account and froze its line of credit. Surepoint could not make payroll. Trevor had already turned down the job twice. Now he had to decide what to tell the people whose livelihoods depended on the company.In Episode 368 of The Business Development Podcast, Kelly Kennedy speaks with Trevor about telling his team the truth, asking employees and vendors for help, and rebuilding a company around the principle of caring for people. Trevor also shares how a period of depression changed the way he led, why Surepoint's leaders gave up part of their pay during the pandemic, and what inspired his Someday to Today initiative.Content note: This episode includes a discussion of depression and suicidal thoughts.Chapters00:00 Trevor's story and introduction05:05 Growing up on an Alberta farm17:27 Building Surepoint with nine friends20:43 Why Trevor turned down the CEO role25:29 The bank freeze and the threat to payroll27:49 Trevor's personal crisis and decision to seek help34:39 Learning to care for himself, too40:41 Rebuilding Surepoint through honesty46:54 The pandemic puts “We Care” to the test55:29 Surepoint's growth after the pandemic59:18 The meaning behind Someday to Today1:08:38 What Trevor is doing nextKey TakeawaysTrevor took the CEO role because he felt responsible to the people who had believed in Surepoint.When the company faced possible collapse, he told employees how serious the situation was and asked for their help.Seeking help during a personal crisis changed Trevor's understanding of vulnerability and leadership.During the pandemic, Surepoint's leaders accepted substantial pay cuts as part of a plan to support the wider team.Trevor believes caring for people helped Surepoint rebuild its culture and grow.Someday to Today is a reminder to make time for the people and experiences that matter while we can.Connect with Trevor MuirTrevor works with leaders and organizations through speaking, coaching and advisory work.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-muir-b7231356/Support Foxx and Our FamilyOur one year old son Foxx is currently fighting cancer. If you are able to donate or share our GoFundMe, our family would be incredibly grateful.https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-shelby-kelly-during-foxxs-fight-against-cancerThank You to Our SponsorsThank you to Colin Harms for your steadfast support of The Business Development Podcast. We are also grateful to Hypervac Technologies and Hyperfab for helping us continue to bring these conversations to listeners.Hypervac Technologies builds professional duct cleaning equipment, including duct trucks, portable vacuums and tools for contractors in the field.https://hypervac.com/Hyperfab provides custom fabrication and specialized solutions for industrial applications.https://hyperfab.ca/Join The Catalyst Club CommunityThe Catalyst Club brings business development leaders, entrepreneurs, executives and senior professionals together for live sessions, recorded conversations and practical support. Trevor is part of this community and brings the same openness to its conversations that you hear in this episode.https://www.kellykennedyofficial.com/thecatalystclubIf Trevor's story stayed with you, follow The Business Development Podcast for more conversations with leaders who speak honestly about what it takes to build and lead.Mentioned in this episode:Hypervac - Revolution Vacuums

Make The Someday/Maybe List Great Again

“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12 NLT) When you’ve had an encounter with death—a near-death experience of your own or the sudden passing of a loved one—it inevitably leads to a few essential questions: “What is life all about, anyway? Why am I alive, and what am I really living for?” In other words, what gets you out of bed in the morning? What gets your blood pumping? Is it an alarm clock or a calling that gets you up each day? Every one of us needs some motivating passion, some ideal, something that gives our lives purpose and drives us on. Unfortunately, many people don’t know what they’re living for. They’re merely marking time instead of making the most of their lives. Their favorite day of the week is “someday”: “Someday my ship will come in. Someday my prince (or princess) will come. Someday it’s all going to get better. Someday my life will change.” But while they’re simply enduring the present and waiting for something better to happen, there’s something they don’t plan on: death. They don’t expect it to rear its head until they or their loved ones are quite old. They file it under “Worries to Think About in Fifty or Sixty Years.” And for some of them, that may be the case. But eventually death knocks at every door. The Bible says that each of us has an appointment with death: “People are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 NIV). So, as we wrap up this week of talking about facing the future, I want to point out that our appointment with death may come much sooner than we expect. Statisticians tell us that 2 people die every second, 120 die every minute, and 7,000 people die every hour. This means that every day, on average, 174,000 people enter eternity. The New Testament author James wrote, “How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone” (James 4:14 NLT). I say this not to alarm you but to motivate you. The psalmist wrote, “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 NLT). As we grow in wisdom, we recognize that every day is a chance to serve the Lord. To make a difference for His eternal kingdom. To seize the opportunities He sets before us. To stretch and grow beyond our comfort zone. To discover what we’re capable of. To embrace and enjoy every blessing. Here is the bottom line: Live every day as though you may never have another one. Live in such a way that you’re ready to step into God’s presence at any moment. Reflection question: What would it look like for you to live every day as though you may never have another one? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship! — The audio production of the podcast "Greg Laurie: Daily Devotions" utilizes Generative AI technology. This allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality content while preserving Harvest's mission to "know God and make Him known." All devotional content is written and owned by Pastor Greg Laurie. Listen to the Greg Laurie Podcast Become a Harvest PartnerSupport the show: https://harvest.org/supportSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

0:05 Seelenverkörperung beginnt jetzt1:34 Energien statt Mindset____⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.stephanie-korn.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠stephaniekorn_humanflow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@stephaniekorn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠stephaniekorn_humanflow⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠__⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hier findest du immer alle Termine im Überblick⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Dein erster Schritt? Empfange das Grace Integrity Soul Embodiment by Patricia St. Clair für 369€ - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠hier für Erwachsene⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠f⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ür Kinder⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Werde Master der energetischen Aufrichtung nach Patricia St. Clair ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Manchmal reicht eine kleine Frequenzverschiebung – und plötzlich verändert sich alles. In meiner Human Flow Begleitung tauchen wir tief ein in dein System, klären Blockaden und öffnen Räume für Klarheit, Freiheit und Leichtigkeit. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hier erfährst du mehr.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Hier⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠geht's⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠zu den Infos u. Buchung ⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠48h Grace Integrity Clearings by Patricia St. Clair⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠als ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Fr., / Sa., 2./ 3.10. Rückkehr zur Freude ohne Reue⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Die Grace Integrity® Planetenübertragungen bei Patricia St. Clair sind hochfrequente Energieschlüssel, die kosmische Prinzipien in dir aktivieren und verschiedenen Lebensbereiche deines SEINs berühren .⁠

What if the hard things in your life aren't just something to get through—but opportunities to grow stronger on the other side? In this episode, Leslie Bosserman and I talk about emotional endurance: what it is, why it matters to your faith, and how you can develop it even when you're not fully aware of your emotions. Leslie teaches you how to build your emotional muscles so you can face challenges and persevere through setbacks and disappointment. Plus, Leslie will teach you to "Say Goodbye to Someday," a skill that will help you stop living in the shoulds, coulds, and somedays and start asking what God might be doing in you right now. So, if you're facing a difficult season, feeling stretched too thin, or simply want to be prepared for whatever comes next, this conversation will give you practical tools to keep going, keep growing, and trust God with the process. *** LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Get Leslie's book, Emotional Endurance: Faith-Fueled Skills for Bouncing Back Get your FREE GIFTS from Leslie Watch Leslie's TEDX talk Visit Leslie's Website Me, Myself, & Lies: What to Say When You Talk to Yourself - book by Jennifer Rotschild   RELATED EPISODES Can I Be Resilient When Life Is a Mess? With Daniel Fusco Can I Build a Resilient Faith for a Resilient Life? With Jay Hewitt Can I Persevere When I Want to Quit? With Nick Connolly Can I Manage My Emotions and Find Healing? With Dr. Mark Mayfield Can I Prevent Mental and Emotional Meltdowns? With Jeff Peabody Can I Choose Sabbath? With Travis West   SUBSCRIBE Get my weekly email Java with Jennifer, to be notified when a new episode releases. LET'S CONNECT Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) VISIT THE SHOW NOTES ON MY WEBSITE LEARN MORE

Mark and Barb Douyard, 72 and 77, rented out their Delaware home, packed up their fifth wheel and set off on a two-year RV adventure across North America. We talk with them in the middle of their first year about how they made it happen, what surprised them, what has been hard, and what has been the best part so far. Also this week: Jennifer answers a listener whose husband wants to go winter camping in their Class B van, and Mike explains why October mountain campsites are so hard to find and how to still get one. Plus, we head to Pigeon Forge for our fall RVCommunity.com rally.

Renée Feltz is a longtime investigative independent journalist. She was the news director at Democracy Now! for many years and is now working as a freelance reporter.Renée met with IndyKids during summer camp at CUNY journalism school in July. In this episode, she discusses how she got her start in investigative journalism, her focus on issues like immigration detention and mass incarceration, and current projects she's working on. She also offers advice to young writers today!Don't miss this special episode of IndyKids Voices.Visit IndyKids.org and find out how you can get involved!

Tonight's Topic is:  No More Someday: Making Your Health a Priority TODAY!Join us live on zoom every Monday at 5pm PT / 6pm MT / 7pm CT / 8pm ET: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83191880777

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free. Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home. Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com Episode 4163: Rose Lounsbury describes the someday/maybe life, the imagined future we quietly keep possessions for even though it is never the life we are actually living. Drawing on her work as a minimalism coach, she shows how that imagined version of ourselves justifies clutter and unspent purchases alike. She offers three questions that make letting go far less fraught than the fear surrounding it suggests. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://roselounsbury.com/myth-someday-maybe-life/ Quotes to ponder: "We often hang on to items out of fear." "If you haven't used an item in the last year, are you really ever going to use it?" "the worst-case scenario is usually not all that bad" Optimal Living Daily is a daily personal development and self-improvement podcast where we narrate the best self-help articles on minimalism, productivity, and intentional living, read to you by a professional narrator so you can live your best life a little more every day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Allen | From Oklahoma State to Chasing a Country Music Dream | The Travel Wins PodcastWhat does the beginning of a country music career actually look like?On this episode of The Travel Wins Podcast, I sit down with emerging Oklahoma country singer and songwriter John Allen, who's experiencing that journey right now.John recently graduated from Oklahoma State University, where he earned his master's degree in accounting, before deciding to pursue music full-time.In 2026, he began releasing his first original music, starting with “Regret” and following it with “Dying Days.”Now he's performing throughout Oklahoma, playing intimate clubs and local events, traveling to Nashville to record and learning what it takes to turn his passion for country music into a career.But John already has one BIG dream:

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free. Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home. Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com Episode 4163: Rose Lounsbury describes the someday/maybe life, the imagined future we quietly keep possessions for even though it is never the life we are actually living. Drawing on her work as a minimalism coach, she shows how that imagined version of ourselves justifies clutter and unspent purchases alike. She offers three questions that make letting go far less fraught than the fear surrounding it suggests. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://roselounsbury.com/myth-someday-maybe-life/ Quotes to ponder: "We often hang on to items out of fear." "If you haven't used an item in the last year, are you really ever going to use it?" "the worst-case scenario is usually not all that bad" Optimal Living Daily is a daily personal development and self-improvement podcast where we narrate the best self-help articles on minimalism, productivity, and intentional living, read to you by a professional narrator so you can live your best life a little more every day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get the 200+ Page Optimal Living Daily Workbook (PDF) - Free. Want to turn today's episode into an actionable plan? Join the Optimal Living Weekly newsletter and I'll send you our 200-page digital workbook immediately. It's packed with the best takeaways from the show, formatted for easy reading and implementation at home. Get your free PDF workbook here: https://oldpodcast.eo.page/join Discover all of the podcasts in our network, search for specific episodes, get the Optimal Living Daily workbook, and learn more at: OLDPodcast.com Episode 4163: Rose Lounsbury describes the someday/maybe life, the imagined future we quietly keep possessions for even though it is never the life we are actually living. Drawing on her work as a minimalism coach, she shows how that imagined version of ourselves justifies clutter and unspent purchases alike. She offers three questions that make letting go far less fraught than the fear surrounding it suggests. Read along with the original article(s) here: https://roselounsbury.com/myth-someday-maybe-life/ Quotes to ponder: "We often hang on to items out of fear." "If you haven't used an item in the last year, are you really ever going to use it?" "the worst-case scenario is usually not all that bad" Optimal Living Daily is a daily personal development and self-improvement podcast where we narrate the best self-help articles on minimalism, productivity, and intentional living, read to you by a professional narrator so you can live your best life a little more every day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk about "someday" like it's an unlimited resource. Someday I'll do it. Someday I'll change. Someday I'll travel. Someday I'll stop caring what everyone thinks. Someday I'll finally make the decision, start the thing, leave the thing, wear the thing, say what I mean, or become the person I actually want to be. And then one day you realize someday wasn't waiting for you. Someday was all those Tuesdays you already lived. This episode isn't about aging. It's about what happens when we live as though time is unlimited while fear, conditioning, other people's expectations, and the need for certainty quietly make our decisions for us. We're looking at how easily inherited ideas about who we're supposed to be can become mistaken for identity, why we keep postponing meaningful parts of our lives until some imaginary future version of ourselves feels ready, and what happens when "being responsible" becomes indistinguishable from being afraid. This isn't a call to blow up your life because life is short. It's an invitation to look at the life you're actually living and ask a harder question: How much of it did you consciously choose? Because you don't need to panic because time is finite. You need to participate.  Become A Patreon: www.patreon.com/thepositivityxperience Let's Work Together: www.thepositivityxperience.com  

Steve DeWitt Our Calling: Right Thinking and Right Living Study Guide for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:13-16 Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 1:13-16 Visit the series page: Exiles: A study in 1 Peter Donate to Support The Journey Sermon Transcript for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:13-16 Sermon Series: Spiritual ExilesMessage: Our Calling: Right Thinking and Right LivingAirdate: 9/16-9/17/26Programs: 2358 and 2359Well, good morning, and good morning to our Cedar Lake campus, our Hobart Portage gang that's gathered, and, here at Crown Point as well. Good morning. I'm gonna begin my, message with a little personal touch. Many of you know that Jennifer and I are pregnant expecting our second child, and we found out what this week, what the gender is. Thought we'd share it with you.So put up on the screen if you would. Now this is our this is our child. If you look really carefully, look really carefully. So Some of you still don't know what that means. Ask somebody later.Yes. We're having a little girl, we found out this week. So that's two girls. It's lost lots of estrogen in the house, isn't it? So it'll just be one more reason to pray for your pastor.Right? We're excited. June, sometime in June is the arrival date, and, we're we're, pretty pretty fired up about that. So let's get into our time in God's word together. And I remember some some years ago, somebody coming up to me and saying, you know, pastor Steve, you spent all that time in your messages on exposition, And then you get to the application.And, honestly, we really prefer the application. Could you just, like, skip forward to the to the application and do less of the of the exposition? And the answer to that is no. I will not. And the reason for that is that, like a a family that says, you know what? The meat, the vegetables, the fruit, it's also unnecessary. Let's skip forward to the dessert and just do dessert all the time. Would be a very unhealthy family. Similarly, when it comes to studying God's word, it's we always wanna move towards application, but it is the the doctrinal, exegetical, the truth, the words of Scripture that form the grounds for the application. And if you just do application and without any doctrine, your applications aren't gonna last very long.They won't be very deep for sure. And we see this happening in the in the letters of the New Testament. Most, if not all of them, begin doctrinally. They begin with truth about God. They begin with truth about the gospel.They begin with truth about, you know, the the nature of salvation, and then they move towards us. So what? This is what it means. This is how we sort of live this out on the street level of life. And Peter is doing that and has done that here in our little study so far.We saw in verses of chapter one in verses one through 12, a wonderfully, like, amazing, rich, fantastic explanation of the gospel, the nature of salvation, what God has done to save us, how Jesus has been key in that in his resurrection, and it's been it's been filled with hope. It's been filled with joy and gladness. And then you get to verse 13, and there is that word therefore. And that word is code for time for some application. Whenever you see that in the Bible, it's probably the the writer drawing now some conclusions for the way that we ought to live.And so we're gonna talk about that kind of application today. And, let's get into the text. I'm I'm studying with you today verses, 13 through 16 of First Peter one. Please listen as I read God's word. “Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as you who as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct since it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.” Now if you look at that section of Scripture, you'll see that there really are two kind of, like, commands here, two big things that he's saying, this is what we ought to do. And he says, first of all, set your hope fully on the grace to come. And secondly, that we are to be holy in all of our conduct.So hope fully, be holy. And before you think that doesn't sound very practical to me, there's a lot more here than meets the eye. And I want you to see just first of all that these verses are part of a larger section here beginning in chapter in verse 13 and following that is all about what the gospel ought to do in the lives on the practical level as it's lived out by the Christian. Not just what we have here before us, but the fact that God is holy. We're gonna see in verses 17 following that God is our judge, And then finally, that we were redeemed from this way of, this sinful life by the precious blood of Jesus.And all of those, the holiness of God, the judgment of God, and the blood of Christ are to call the Christian out of a life of sin and living according to the old ways and to call us into the new life. This new life lived to the glory of God, lived free from the bondage of sin. And so there's lots more of this to come. We're just looking at one section here today. Notice, first of all, that he says that we are to focus on future grace.Look look again at verse 13. “Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” K? Set your hope your hope fully. Now what is hope?Hope is, by definition, future oriented. I don't hope, you know, I I I don't hope about something that has already happened. I don't hope the Seahawks win the Super Bowl. Why? Because it's done already, isn't it?Hope doesn't orient backwards. Hope always orients forwards or towards the future. And we've seen Peter saying this throughout this letter. It's the it's actually the third reference to the return of Christ. He did it in verse five.He did it in verse eight. Now he does it in verse 13. Are you surprised that a letter about suffering would have a lot about the future in it? I'm not. I mean, this is it makes sense, doesn't it?To cast our eyes towards what is yet to come in the midst of our trials, in the midst of our sufferings, to think about the future. And here, he says the grace that is yet to be revealed. Now what is that talking about? Because I think we could look at salvation and say, wait a second, I already got the grace of God. Right?When I when I put my faith in in Jesus, I received from God grace. I was saved by grace. I go to a church that sings amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I've already got the grace of God.How can I put my hope on some future grace? What might this be talking about? One of my favorite commentators, Wayne Grudem, says the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ means the further store of undeserved blessings, which God will pour out on them when Christ returns. Whenever we talk about grace or the grace of God, it is always highlighting that God is giving us something that we don't deserve. That's why it's grace.Salvation is by grace through faith. To think about the future and to realize that there is a storehouse of grace, there are blessings that are yet to come to us that we have not realized, that we have not yet fully received. The future is even better than it is right now. Might that be encouraging if you're in a trial of some kind? That maybe the best is yet to come, and that what I have, while wonderful, is not yet the fullness of what God has in store for those who love him, for those who are called according to his purpose.You say, well, that sounds nice. Preach as well. But, like, what are you talking about? Well, here's just a short list I just kind of compiled of future grace yet to come. The ongoing conscious life upon our physical death, the physical presence with God, our resurrected and glorified bodies, seeing and worshiping and savoring the presence of Jesus Christ himself, eternal rewards that God will give to us based on the quality of our service to him while here on earth.How about eternal life, enjoyment, and pleasure that we will have forever in real time on a new earth that has no curse upon it? We're gonna live on that new earth, and it's gonna be a much better version than this one. Eternal fellowship with fellow Christians and loved ones. If you've if you've had a loved one that's died in the faith, I guarantee there's a future grace coming to you. You're gonna meet him or her again and fellowship with them forever.Eternal status and relationship as children of God, which right now we don't totally get and realize what a big deal that is. But to step into eternity and the God of heaven, the God of eternity, we are part of his family. We're not just servants in the house. We are sons and daughters of God. Many other things.Someday you're gonna come to me and say that list was terrible. It was so small. We you could have added so many more things. Indeed. None of them we deserve.All of these things are God's gift to us. We deserve hell. We deserve punishment, and yet God is giving us what we don't deserve. And much of what we're going to receive, we haven't even tasted yet. And so Peter writing to exiles, suffering trials says, put your hope not here and not in the trial or maybe the trial going away.Set your hope fully on grace yet to be received from God. The inverse of this is true. Don't put your hope on anything less than this. Don't put your hope, Scripture says, in your riches. Don't put your hope in your life and in your physical vitality.Don't put your hope in any fellow man or pastor or anybody else. Don't put your hope in who you are and your achievements and your big stuff or whatever it might be. Don't put your hope in things in this world. All of it is passing away. The Bible calls God's people with the same faith that trusts in Jesus in the past dying on our on the cross for our sins, to look to the future with the same kind of expectant hope and to believe the best is yet to come.That helps you endure in them trials, doesn't it? Now that sounds wonderful, but how do we do that? Peter, get practical for us. K? We're tired of these long expositions, Peter.Could we just skip to the dessert? Can we get to the application? And Peter provides two specific means by which our hope is set fully on the future. You might have missed them as I read it. But notice, first of all, he says that we are to prepare our minds for action.Somehow, there's a connection between setting my hope fully and the grace to come and a mind that is prepared for action. What does this mean? Well, it's an intriguing illustration. In fact, if you have a King James Bible possibly with you, you might look at that and say, my Bible says it a little bit different. Indeed, here's how the King James translates it.And if you grew up in the church in the seventies with a good Scofield Bible like I did, this is more what you're familiar with. Right? It says this, gird up the loins of your mind. Ain't that a blessing? Gird up the loins of your mind.And, technically, that is what the text is saying here. The problem is that for most of us, a loin is something to put barbecue on. Right? And so we don't feel like we can apply that very well. What do you mean loins?Well, this is a historical cultural thing. Let's talk about this a little bit. A loin was a robe or the bottom section of a robe. And if you've watched, you know, the Jesus film or some things like this, you've seen the kind of robes and garments that the men would wear as just that was the fashion of the day. And so what would happen is is that these men would wear these long longer kind of flowing gowns, but they had to do what men today have to do.They had to work. They had to go to war. They had different things. And so if you were going to do that, you had to gird up your loins. You had to take those flowing gowns, and you had to get them out of the way if you were to do serious business.Now I happened upon an illustration on a website that I kind of like called the art of manliness. I go there just to see if they're manly enough, in my opinion. But I came across this illustration of how they actually girded up their loins. Now this is gonna be a blessing to each of you. Notice that the the the the gown that the guy has, he would pull it up, bring it cinch it together, pull it through between his legs, and then stick it into his belt.And when he'd done that, now he's ready to go to war. The art of manliness. Okay? I actually thought about demonstrating this myself, but maybe this will suffice for that. Okay?Now here's the point. You girded up the loins of your mind or your your your actual loins, it meant that you're about to get serious about something. You are about to take care of business. And that could be working in the field, or it could be defending your home or defending your honor. I mean, if you saw a guy if if you're, you know, if you're at the local pub and a guy starts girding up his loins, you're like, hey. What's going on around here? Right? Why? Fight's about to break out. This guy's getting serious right here.Calm down, man. Stop the girding. Peter says, with our minds, we are to gird up our loins. What is he referring to there? What Peter is saying is the same thing that Paul says in Ephesians six when he writes, “stand therefore having fastened on the belt of truth.”I believe it's the same word, gird on the belt of truth. So for Paul, he's saying, get that belt of truth solidly in your mind. Peter is saying, get serious about truth with your mind and with your thinking. Why are our minds so important? Here's why.Right thinking leads to right living. When I am thinking rightly, my life is going to be consistent with that right thinking. When I am thinking poorly, when I am not thinking, when I am thinking with distraction, when I am thinking about lesser things, my life is going to reflect that also. Proverbs says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” If you wanna know who you really are, look at your thought life.Think about the things that you think about. Examine the way that you use your mind, and it will determine largely the shape of our lives, how important our thinking is. He doubles down on this. Peter does. And he says, secondly, be sober minded.Be sober minded. This word here is most commonly used in reference to alcohol and intoxication. He uses it Peter or Paul uses it in First Timothy three describing the qualifications of an elder. He is to be sober, and a godly woman is described as being sober. And it certainly includes not allowing alcohol or any other kind of substance like that to be a controlling influence in your life.But it's used here more broadly, not just alcohol, but a kind of soberness in thinking, not dour, not sad, not like I'm sober. We're Christians. We're very sober. Not like that. We can be we can be joyous, and we can be glad hearted, and we ought to be.But in our thinking, we are serious and sober. We are directing the thoughts of our minds, and it's shaping our whole approach to life. Another commentator. For Peter, the cares of this life and the pressure of persecution can intoxicate the Christian and distract his or her focus just as easily as wine might. The need of the hour is clear judgment and a mind and will prepared to resist anything that would distract them from a hope set on Jesus' appearing.Sober thinking is thinking with focus. It is clarity. It is the refusal to allow anything to distract. Again, it's not sober in personality. It is sober in thinking.It is a mind that says, I am. I refuse to think about life and my trials and my troubles in any other manner than this right here. I will look at life through the gospel. I will look at life through the grid of God's word, which is God's wisdom. I wanna look at my marriage.I wanna look at my parenting. I wanna look at my singleness. I wanna look at my schooling and my job and my hobbies and the dreams and hopes and my money and everything else. I wanna look at it through the wisdom of God's word, and I refuse to allow my mind to think anything else else than that. That is sober thinking.It is the Christian mind whose best and highest thoughts are reserved for kingdom and spiritual matters. So let me ask you. Think about what you think about when you don't have anything that you have to think about. What do you spend your time thinking about? How often in the course of the day do your thoughts turn towards spiritual realities?This is where I think some of the disciplines, Christian disciplines of prayer and Bible study and Scripture memory. These are all things that aid in this. It helps us to tune our hearts to sing his praise as the hymn writer says. It's in the day where my I am vertically oriented, and I'm looking at my life from the perspective that heaven vertically allows for me. How often do you think about God in the day or ministry or the needs spiritual needs of the people around you or Scripture or eternity?Do you intentionally direct your mind to think about what you want it to think about? And you say, I can't do that. My mind has a mind of its own. And now this is psychologically confusing, isn't it? But what I wanna say is we can direct our thoughts.We can, as Paul writes, take captive every or take captive every thought and and subject it to the lordship of Jesus Christ. It is a discipline. It is a way of using and thinking about life intentionally, but it takes habit. I've been thinking about this lately because I feel like in my life right now, I'm struggling in this regard. And I think why is it?Like, I I feel like I I I used to be able to think better than I do right now. And I think one of the reasons this is just one of them. One's just the aging process. But secondly, probably, I I think is that I find myself today often the the the gaps where I used to have time to think are now being filled with checking my email, social media, or passively watching something on a screen. Now maybe it's just me, but I don't think so.I think we are currently and unknowingly awash in a kind of mind muddling cultural habit of perpetual distraction. And I will never be able to say that sentence again. So I hope somebody wrote that down. Don't you think? I mean, now it's just common.We don't we think nothing of it to go to a restaurant and to look in the booth next to us and to see a family of five. They're not talking to each other. They're engrossed in their smartphone. Right? I have come to church and and walked through here before the service starts, and I've seen an entire family all sitting here minutes before the service is about to start.All of them are engrossed in their phone. And I don't think they're preparing for worship by reading the Westminster Catechism. What are they looking at? What are they reading? What are they filling their minds with?What are they directing their thoughts towards? And I say this to myself because I feel like my mind is I'm getting mushy. I don't like that. Distracted. You know, Satan doesn't have to convince us of a heresy.He just has to distract us from thinking about the truth. The one, if I got up and say Jesus isn't God, I hope you'd all rush the stage and beat me to a pulp in love. K? That's the obvious danger. How about the more subtle one where we just don't think about it at all and we're constantly distracted from the higher and holy things of life and eternity.We're awash, I think, in trivial things. Can I just sit on this a little longer? If you want I say, hey. Think about what you think about. If you if you view social media as any indication of the thoughts that people are having, I mean, if they're having the thoughts sufficiently that they think I need to post this, I need to communicate this with everybody that knows me, then this must be, one of their best thoughts.Right? And if you look at a at a news feed on Facebook or some other social media site and to see the kinds of thoughts that people in society and maybe even people in the church, what they're thinking about, what they are viewing, what they are finding humorous. Not all of it. There's lots of cute pictures of babies and gender announcements. And that's totally acceptable.But a lot of it is superficial, silly, banal. And it seems normal to us now. Right? Because it's just all the time going on. It troubles me to see on Facebook people, even in our church, posting, tweeting about, you know, the dresses at the Grammys or Katy Perry's Super Bowl performance.Really? Like, this is this what we're filling our thoughts and minds with? And then here comes the trial and life is devastating. I wonder why. I haven't set my hope fully on the grace to come in years.I've been filling my mind with all of these lesser things. I'm thinking poorly. Now this is not a rant against media or movies or Twitter. Not at all. I think Peter would have had a Twitter account, honestly.But I don't think he would talk about silly things. In fact, can we not look at First Peter as a kind of long Twitter account? What was Peter thinking about? He writes about what he was thinking about. And here we have before us the kinds of thoughts that the apostle Peter had about life.This is the kind of thing that he was dwelling on and thinking about. Does that not tell us something about what it means to be a spiritually mature Christian man or woman and the kinds of thoughts that we think about? And this is a struggle because our culture is so immoral and so materialistic and all the rest. But he was living in the Greco Roman culture, which would give ours a run for its money. And yet, he was thinking this way.I would encourage you to follow the example of the apostle Peter. Now one more thing, and I gotta move on here, because I wanna get particularly practical. How do we engage our mind in sober thinking? How do we make it intentionally oriented towards spiritual truth? Well, I thought I'd just have some fun with this.What's the gender of our baby? Girl. So how about maybe on the week that I announce this, here's my little acronym. K? Four ways to help think more seriously about higher things.Girl, g, get rid of distractions. If your whole life is beeping, humming, buzzing, smartphone, constantly calling your attention to something that somebody has said about this or that, you have no time to think high and holy thoughts. There's no time for prayer. You're distracted all the time. Now I sound like an old fuddy duddy with that, and the young people are going, he is so uncool.But let's see what happens to this generation in thirty years. Time will tell whether wisdom lies in the beeping and the humming and the buzzing or in the older folks who are saying, it didn't used to be like that. We used to talk. I thought maybe some of those old people would amen that point. But get rid of distractions.K? And I don't mean to focus on that one. There's a thousand distractions out there. Secondly, increase truth input. Get rid of the banal and the inane and the silly and the superficial and fill your mind. This is the garbage in garbage out principle. Fill your mind increasingly with truth. Philippians four eight. You know, “what sort of things are pure and lovely, of good report, excellent, and worthy of praise, think on these things.”Spend your time on the beautiful and the truthful and the glorious and the eternally significant. Third, r, recall the grace of God for all the times you don't do that and to seek his forgiveness and ask God to give you daily grace. And finally, love God with your mind. That's a whole another point we could make, but how critical it is that we're we are thinking Christians. And even from the beginning, we're called to love him with our body.I mean, we preach against, you know, sexual sin or, you know, abusing your body with drugs or something like that. But so we we're we're all about loving God with our bodies. But what about loving God with our minds? And to intentionally seek to think deeper and higher thoughts about God and to learn and to grow and to become a mature thinking Christian. Let's do that.K? Let's do that. Now I gotta move on. We got communion coming. Second thing that he is focusing on.First one is setting your, your hope fully on the grace that is to come. The second category is that we are to be holy or what I'm calling, we're to be like our daddy. Again, the text, verse 14. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct since it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.”So we see Peter here moving from right thinking to right living. What does holy thoughts in my brain look like in a holy expression in my life? And I want you to see, first of all, that this has a relational tone to this. He he began doesn't just say, be holy. He says, hey. As obedient children. And what is that referring to? It is referring to the relationship that we have with God. Right? The Bible says that when we become Christians, that God actually adopts us into his family.We are members of the family of God. We're brothers and sisters in this family. We're sons and daughters of the most high God. And because God is my Father, that relationship matters. It means something in regards to the way that I look at myself, the way that I want to live my life.God's my Heavenly Father. How should I live now? Well, he says here that we should live morally disciplined lives. And to proof text this, Peter reaches into the Old Testament, goes back to Leviticus, and he quotes from there's five passages in Leviticus that use the same statement. “You shall be holy for I am holy.”K? You shall be holy, not me. I'm I'm saying it like I'm I'm God. Okay? “You shall be holy for I am holy.”K? And so we see in that statement the ethical measure and the eth and the ethical motivation as well. God's character is the measure, and God's character is the motive. Because I am holy, you shall you shall be holy. God's holiness is the absolute moral unity of his entire being.He is completely good. He is morally without fail. He is not the author of evil. He has no inclination towards anything that is less than absolutely morally pure and upright. John writes this in First John one.“In him, God is light, and in him, there is no darkness at all.” There's no shadow. There's no little something hidden. He is absolutely, morally, purely bright and light. Everything he does always is holy.And so Peter says, this is our God. This is our Heavenly Father. This is the way that we are to strive to live our life in a morally disciplined manner where the ethics of life matter to us. We want to please our Heavenly Father. We wanna live consistent with what he is like.Notice in all your conduct. Okay? So it's not just, you know, be holy as I am holy. When you're at church on Sunday, when you are out with the pastor, when somebody is watching that maybe could look down on you, It is not in any sort of category. It is in all categories.Holiness of life impacts, shapes, directs every aspect of my life. Why? Because it shapes and directs every aspect of the very life and character of God himself. Now lest there be any confusion here, I wanna emphasize that we are not naturally holy. We are naturally sinners.And this is why Jesus came, and this is why Jesus died. He didn't die for holy people so that they could go, not go to hell. He died for I said that wrong. He let me just say it this way. He died for sinners.K? He died for sinners, and that's us. K? So without his righteousness, we have no standing with God. We have no adoption with God.But sometimes people confuse our position before God as righteous because of what Jesus has done and the calling that God has upon the practice of our life. You overemphasize the position and say, hey, I'm righteous before God, so who gives a rip? Right? I'm going to heaven anyway. That is an abuse of the grace of God.If I focus on the practice solely, then now I am all the time wondering if I'm good enough, wondering if I'm gonna earn my way to heaven. And that is a misuse of the gospel. The gospel is is that we are declared righteous by God. We are positionally righteous before God. We enter into a relationship with God through the gospel by faith that now shapes my desires where now I want to live like I'm a child of God.K? It is relational. It is not legalism. It's not antinomianism. No law.It is relationship. Grudem says to be holy as God is holy includes a full and pervading holiness that reaches to every aspect of our personalities. It involves not only avoiding outward sin, but also maintaining an instinctive delight in God and his holiness as an undercurrent of heart and mind throughout the day. God is our Father. He's always our Father.Everywhere we go, he's our Father. We're his children. And this is where I think the metaphor is helpful because children, not always, but naturally want to to please their or to be like their dad. I'm enjoying this almost every day. I have a 20 year old daughter.Okay? So here's here's what happens in my day. I find myself you know, I'll I'll be sitting at the couch or something and I'll stretch like this and I look over and there she is. She's looking for my affirmation. Right?I'm I'm I'm doing what you're doing, daddy. Right? I kinda like that. That's kinda fun. I'll say to her, I love you.And she'll say, I love you. Is that manipulation? I don't know. But I love it. I love it.Or the other day I was eating and I wasn't watching my manners very well. And so I'm kind of chomping away on something sort of loudly and all a sudden I look over and she's going, daddy needs to slow down and close his mouth while he chews apparently. Why does she raise her arms and mimic me? Why does she repeat the words that I say? Why does she mimic even some of my less wonderful qualities?Because at this point, at least in her life, she wants to be like me. That's a goal for her even though she couldn't articulate it. And here's where I think verse 13 and verse 15 come together. The goal of what God is doing in each of us is holiness and Christ likeness. That's the big picture.He is forming us into the likeness of Christ. As I muster my spiritual and my mental thoughts and energies towards loving God with my mind, my Heavenly Father, my will increasingly is shaped by that priority And the true thoughts that my now girded up mind, the loins of my mind, are thinking about and focusing on shape the desires that I have in my heart, which right thinking leads to right living. So I fill my thought, my heart, my mind with God's truth. And the more I think about the grace of God to me, both now and in the future, and the love of God to me both now and in the future, the more my life then is shaped around his will and his purposes. So that right thinking about God shapes my desires and produces a more righteous living, a more holiness in my life.And all of it is anticipating a future grace and goodness of God that he will shower upon me and is yet to be experienced. And the anticipation, the more I realize what God has already done for me, it elevates my anticipation of what God has yet to do for me. K? And anticipation is a very powerful motive in our life. I remember when, football season was about to start.I would run, and I would train. I would get ready for it. And when basketball season was gonna start, I would run and train and play and shoot. I would get I would get ready for it. I remember when we had, the Bethel five k here a couple years ago.I'm the pastor of the church. I don't wanna embarrass myself. I ran, and I got ready for it. And I remember, perhaps the best example for me is after forty-four years, I got married. And before my wedding, I'm here to tell you, after forty-four years I was thinking about my wedding, and I was thinking about my honeymoon.I wanted to get ready for it. So I swam, and I ran, and I got a tan, and I was thinking about anticipating being with my girl. And it shaped the way that I lived my life. And when we, as Christians, set our minds on things that matter, things that are spiritually true, the promises of God, gospel, the word of God, when my thoughts are high and holy as God would have them to be, I anticipate increasingly, this is good. The best is yet to come.And that anticipation of what is to come means I'm getting ready for it now. And it changes and it shapes the way that I think and the way that I live and the directions of my life, which increases my likeness to Christ and gets me ready for that day when Jesus returns and when his full grace will be revealed. So friends, set your mind on the grace to come. Be holy as God is holy. Is your mind disciplined?Is your life morally diligent? And is your hope oriented towards the amazing grace of God yet to come? To help us with that today, we are going to be partaking in the Lord's supper. And I'd like to pray, and you could begin to prepare your hearts as I do. Heavenly Father God, I do pray and ask that this very practical message would, lead to very practical results in our lives.Lord, help us to be a church that is disciplined in our thinking, that strives to know and understand the gospel, the God of the gospel, the Jesus of the gospel, that we would be serious about this. And that this might, Lord, grant to us an elevated sense of anticipation of what is yet to come. And as we take this communion now, I pray that the partaking in it, the reminder of the death of Jesus would serve to also prepare us with, holiness and anticipation of no more symbols but actual presence to see him and to be with him forever. All praise be to Jesus, we pray in his name. Amen.* This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.

Podcasting 2.0 Episode 271 - "Foot Terminal" Adam & Dave have their SCBA's on and go deep into index refactoring and ad loads! ShowNotes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 00 -

Podcasting 2.0 Episode 271 - "Foot Terminal" Adam & Dave have their SCBA's on and go deep into index refactoring and ad loads! ShowNotes ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 00 -

How to Create a Message People Remember and Repeat The Art and Heart of Memorable Communication Episode 322 (Sam is based in Texas) (repeat of episode 15) In this conversation with Sam Horn we explore: how to create a phrase that pays why repeatable messages produce better results how to identify the action you want from your audience why a strong message starts with one clear sentence how alliteration makes language more memorable why rhythm and rhyme help words remain accessible how cadence gives a phrase musicality why pauses allow important words to stand out how to introduce yourself so people remember your name why strong words can fall flat when the delivery lacks emotion how vocal variety strengthens a presentation why experienced speakers must resist automatic delivery how empathy creates congruence between words and emotion why communication requires craft, art and heart ----- About our guest, Sam Horn: Sam is the author of 10 books including, Tongue Fu!, POP!, Talking on Eggshells and SOMEDAY is Not a Day in the Week. Her Linkedin Learning course has recevieded 353,000 five-star-reviews. She helps people craft clear, actionable3 communications. Learn more at https://samhorn.com/ ----- Key Learning Points from this conversation: Decide what action you want people to take or what change you want them to make. Condense your central message into one clear sentence. Give your audience language they can remember and repeat. Use alliteration to make words flow more naturally. Put words into a beat so they become easier to repeat. Use rhyme and cadence to help a message remain in the listener's mind. Pause before an important phrase and deliver each word with intention. Pronounce your name clearly so people can remember and repeat it. Match your tone and emotional delivery to the meaning of your words. Mark important presentations like a musical score to create vocal variety. Approach a familiar presentation as if your audience were hearing it for the first time. Combine the craft of language with presence, empathy and genuine interest. ----- ----more---- Your Intended Message is the podcast about how you can boost your career and business success by honing your communication skills. We'll examine the aspects of how we communicate one-to-one, one to few and one to many – plus that important conversation, one to self. In these interviews we will explore presentation skills, public speaking, conversation, persuasion, negotiation, sales conversations, marketing, team meetings, social media, branding, self talk and more.   Your host is George Torok George is a specialist in communication skills. Especially presentation. He's fascinated by the links between communication and influencing behaviors. He delivers training and coaching programs to help leaders and promising professionals deliver the intended message for greater success.   Connect with George www.SpeechCoachforExecutives.com https://superiorpresentations.net/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgetorokpresentations/ https://www.youtube.com/user/presentationskill  

If you're waiting for more time, more money, or better circumstances before you really let yourself live, this episode names exactly what that wait is costing you, and gives you a practice for ending it today.Episode Description:This episode is for anyone who keeps pushing "really living" out to some future someday, once things are more convenient, once there's more time or energy or money, once the timing finally feels right. If that sounds familiar, this one is speaking directly to you.You'll get a specific answer to the question of how to actually stop waiting, built around a one-year practice Christel ran in her own life: treating each day as precious enough to be lived fully now, tested against one simple question about how you'd want to have spent your time if today turned out to be your last.From there, the episode moves into a guided hypnosis journey designed to help your body register that shift directly, through a descent into your own center, a discovery along the way, and the claiming of a seat you may have been putting off taking for a long time.What You'll Learn:Why holding back from a bigger, bolder life usually isn't about ambition, it's about fear of failing or fear of judgment, reinforced by what your family or culture taught you was acceptableThe specific "black and white television" image used to describe a life lived on delay, and why it's dangerous precisely because it doesn't feel dramatic from the insideThe one-year practice built around refusing to wait for more time, money, energy, or better circumstances before living fullyThe single test to run against your own choices: how would you want to have spent today if it were your last, or your last with someone you loveWhy embodying your legacy is framed as a daily practice rather than something you leave behind laterHow a guided visualization can be used to give the nervous system a felt experience of stepping into personal power, rather than just a mental conceptResources Mentioned: CHAKRA RECODE INVITATION:If you've ever felt like your sensitivity is too much because you feel everything and you don't know what to do with it, this is for you. The Ecstatic Empath Chakra Recode Album is 13 guided hypnosis journeys through every layer of your energetic system, designed to recode your identity from overwhelmed empath to ecstatic empath for $22 Visit https://www.chakrarecode.comQUESTIONS OR TOPIC REQUESTS? Message me here :-)HYPNOSIS RECODE INVITATION:  Are you interesting in booking a session with me? A custom Hypnosis Recode doesn't try to fix your whole life in one session. We rewrite a core belief that cracked your foundation where your personal power is leaking into old and unconscious agreements. Rewrite a Core Belief to Reset your Foundation and Access your Personal Power.Book your session at https://hypnosisrecode.comSupport the showEMPATH RECODE INVITATION: What if the life you're manifesting requires you to unapologetically hold more power, pleasure, and possibility?The Empath Recode is where empaths stop abandoning themselves, break the chronic stress patterns, and become the authority of their own life.In 21 days, you'll begin rebuilding your physical, mental, emotional and energetic foundation so you feel stronger, grounded, more alive, and in charge of your life.From that foundation, we expand your embodied intuition, deepen your spiritual gifts and enter your unapologetic era.Begin your Unapologetic Era - https://www.EmpathRecode.com

Steve DeWitt Our Calling: Right Thinking and Right Living - Part B Study Guide for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:13-16 Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 1:13-16 Visit the series page: Exiles: A study in 1 Peter Donate to Support The Journey Sermon Transcript for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:13-16 Sermon Series: Spiritual ExilesMessage: Our Calling: Right Thinking and Right LivingAirdate: 9/16-9/17/26Programs: 2358 and 2359Well, good morning, and good morning to our Cedar Lake campus, our Hobart Portage gang that's gathered, and, here at Crown Point as well. Good morning. I'm gonna begin my, message with a little personal touch. Many of you know that Jennifer and I are pregnant expecting our second child, and we found out what this week, what the gender is. Thought we'd share it with you.So put up on the screen if you would. Now this is our this is our child. If you look really carefully, look really carefully. So Some of you still don't know what that means. Ask somebody later.Yes. We're having a little girl, we found out this week. So that's two girls. It's lost lots of estrogen in the house, isn't it? So it'll just be one more reason to pray for your pastor.Right? We're excited. June, sometime in June is the arrival date, and, we're we're, pretty pretty fired up about that. So let's get into our time in God's word together. And I remember some some years ago, somebody coming up to me and saying, you know, pastor Steve, you spent all that time in your messages on exposition, And then you get to the application.And, honestly, we really prefer the application. Could you just, like, skip forward to the to the application and do less of the of the exposition? And the answer to that is no. I will not. And the reason for that is that, like a a family that says, you know what? The meat, the vegetables, the fruit, it's also unnecessary. Let's skip forward to the dessert and just do dessert all the time. Would be a very unhealthy family. Similarly, when it comes to studying God's word, it's we always wanna move towards application, but it is the the doctrinal, exegetical, the truth, the words of Scripture that form the grounds for the application. And if you just do application and without any doctrine, your applications aren't gonna last very long.They won't be very deep for sure. And we see this happening in the in the letters of the New Testament. Most, if not all of them, begin doctrinally. They begin with truth about God. They begin with truth about the gospel.They begin with truth about, you know, the the nature of salvation, and then they move towards us. So what? This is what it means. This is how we sort of live this out on the street level of life. And Peter is doing that and has done that here in our little study so far.We saw in verses of chapter one in verses one through 12, a wonderfully, like, amazing, rich, fantastic explanation of the gospel, the nature of salvation, what God has done to save us, how Jesus has been key in that in his resurrection, and it's been it's been filled with hope. It's been filled with joy and gladness. And then you get to verse 13, and there is that word therefore. And that word is code for time for some application. Whenever you see that in the Bible, it's probably the the writer drawing now some conclusions for the way that we ought to live.And so we're gonna talk about that kind of application today. And, let's get into the text. I'm I'm studying with you today verses, 13 through 16 of First Peter one. Please listen as I read God's word. “Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as you who as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct since it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.” Now if you look at that section of Scripture, you'll see that there really are two kind of, like, commands here, two big things that he's saying, this is what we ought to do. And he says, first of all, set your hope fully on the grace to come. And secondly, that we are to be holy in all of our conduct.So hope fully, be holy. And before you think that doesn't sound very practical to me, there's a lot more here than meets the eye. And I want you to see just first of all that these verses are part of a larger section here beginning in chapter in verse 13 and following that is all about what the gospel ought to do in the lives on the practical level as it's lived out by the Christian. Not just what we have here before us, but the fact that God is holy. We're gonna see in verses 17 following that God is our judge, And then finally, that we were redeemed from this way of, this sinful life by the precious blood of Jesus.And all of those, the holiness of God, the judgment of God, and the blood of Christ are to call the Christian out of a life of sin and living according to the old ways and to call us into the new life. This new life lived to the glory of God, lived free from the bondage of sin. And so there's lots more of this to come. We're just looking at one section here today. Notice, first of all, that he says that we are to focus on future grace.Look look again at verse 13. “Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” K? Set your hope your hope fully. Now what is hope?Hope is, by definition, future oriented. I don't hope, you know, I I I don't hope about something that has already happened. I don't hope the Seahawks win the Super Bowl. Why? Because it's done already, isn't it?Hope doesn't orient backwards. Hope always orients forwards or towards the future. And we've seen Peter saying this throughout this letter. It's the it's actually the third reference to the return of Christ. He did it in verse five.He did it in verse eight. Now he does it in verse 13. Are you surprised that a letter about suffering would have a lot about the future in it? I'm not. I mean, this is it makes sense, doesn't it?To cast our eyes towards what is yet to come in the midst of our trials, in the midst of our sufferings, to think about the future. And here, he says the grace that is yet to be revealed. Now what is that talking about? Because I think we could look at salvation and say, wait a second, I already got the grace of God. Right?When I when I put my faith in in Jesus, I received from God grace. I was saved by grace. I go to a church that sings amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I've already got the grace of God.How can I put my hope on some future grace? What might this be talking about? One of my favorite commentators, Wayne Grudem, says the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ means the further store of undeserved blessings, which God will pour out on them when Christ returns. Whenever we talk about grace or the grace of God, it is always highlighting that God is giving us something that we don't deserve. That's why it's grace.Salvation is by grace through faith. To think about the future and to realize that there is a storehouse of grace, there are blessings that are yet to come to us that we have not realized, that we have not yet fully received. The future is even better than it is right now. Might that be encouraging if you're in a trial of some kind? That maybe the best is yet to come, and that what I have, while wonderful, is not yet the fullness of what God has in store for those who love him, for those who are called according to his purpose.You say, well, that sounds nice. Preach as well. But, like, what are you talking about? Well, here's just a short list I just kind of compiled of future grace yet to come. The ongoing conscious life upon our physical death, the physical presence with God, our resurrected and glorified bodies, seeing and worshiping and savoring the presence of Jesus Christ himself, eternal rewards that God will give to us based on the quality of our service to him while here on earth.How about eternal life, enjoyment, and pleasure that we will have forever in real time on a new earth that has no curse upon it? We're gonna live on that new earth, and it's gonna be a much better version than this one. Eternal fellowship with fellow Christians and loved ones. If you've if you've had a loved one that's died in the faith, I guarantee there's a future grace coming to you. You're gonna meet him or her again and fellowship with them forever.Eternal status and relationship as children of God, which right now we don't totally get and realize what a big deal that is. But to step into eternity and the God of heaven, the God of eternity, we are part of his family. We're not just servants in the house. We are sons and daughters of God. Many other things.Someday you're gonna come to me and say that list was terrible. It was so small. We you could have added so many more things. Indeed. None of them we deserve.All of these things are God's gift to us. We deserve hell. We deserve punishment, and yet God is giving us what we don't deserve. And much of what we're going to receive, we haven't even tasted yet. And so Peter writing to exiles, suffering trials says, put your hope not here and not in the trial or maybe the trial going away.Set your hope fully on grace yet to be received from God. The inverse of this is true. Don't put your hope on anything less than this. Don't put your hope, Scripture says, in your riches. Don't put your hope in your life and in your physical vitality.Don't put your hope in any fellow man or pastor or anybody else. Don't put your hope in who you are and your achievements and your big stuff or whatever it might be. Don't put your hope in things in this world. All of it is passing away. The Bible calls God's people with the same faith that trusts in Jesus in the past dying on our on the cross for our sins, to look to the future with the same kind of expectant hope and to believe the best is yet to come.That helps you endure in them trials, doesn't it? Now that sounds wonderful, but how do we do that? Peter, get practical for us. K? We're tired of these long expositions, Peter.Could we just skip to the dessert? Can we get to the application? And Peter provides two specific means by which our hope is set fully on the future. You might have missed them as I read it. But notice, first of all, he says that we are to prepare our minds for action.Somehow, there's a connection between setting my hope fully and the grace to come and a mind that is prepared for action. What does this mean? Well, it's an intriguing illustration. In fact, if you have a King James Bible possibly with you, you might look at that and say, my Bible says it a little bit different. Indeed, here's how the King James translates it.And if you grew up in the church in the seventies with a good Scofield Bible like I did, this is more what you're familiar with. Right? It says this, gird up the loins of your mind. Ain't that a blessing? Gird up the loins of your mind.And, technically, that is what the text is saying here. The problem is that for most of us, a loin is something to put barbecue on. Right? And so we don't feel like we can apply that very well. What do you mean loins?Well, this is a historical cultural thing. Let's talk about this a little bit. A loin was a robe or the bottom section of a robe. And if you've watched, you know, the Jesus film or some things like this, you've seen the kind of robes and garments that the men would wear as just that was the fashion of the day. And so what would happen is is that these men would wear these long longer kind of flowing gowns, but they had to do what men today have to do.They had to work. They had to go to war. They had different things. And so if you were going to do that, you had to gird up your loins. You had to take those flowing gowns, and you had to get them out of the way if you were to do serious business.Now I happened upon an illustration on a website that I kind of like called the art of manliness. I go there just to see if they're manly enough, in my opinion. But I came across this illustration of how they actually girded up their loins. Now this is gonna be a blessing to each of you. Notice that the the the the gown that the guy has, he would pull it up, bring it cinch it together, pull it through between his legs, and then stick it into his belt.And when he'd done that, now he's ready to go to war. The art of manliness. Okay? I actually thought about demonstrating this myself, but maybe this will suffice for that. Okay?Now here's the point. You girded up the loins of your mind or your your your actual loins, it meant that you're about to get serious about something. You are about to take care of business. And that could be working in the field, or it could be defending your home or defending your honor. I mean, if you saw a guy if if you're, you know, if you're at the local pub and a guy starts girding up his loins, you're like, hey. What's going on around here? Right? Why? Fight's about to break out. This guy's getting serious right here.Calm down, man. Stop the girding. Peter says, with our minds, we are to gird up our loins. What is he referring to there? What Peter is saying is the same thing that Paul says in Ephesians six when he writes, “stand therefore having fastened on the belt of truth.”I believe it's the same word, gird on the belt of truth. So for Paul, he's saying, get that belt of truth solidly in your mind. Peter is saying, get serious about truth with your mind and with your thinking. Why are our minds so important? Here's why.Right thinking leads to right living. When I am thinking rightly, my life is going to be consistent with that right thinking. When I am thinking poorly, when I am not thinking, when I am thinking with distraction, when I am thinking about lesser things, my life is going to reflect that also. Proverbs says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” If you wanna know who you really are, look at your thought life.Think about the things that you think about. Examine the way that you use your mind, and it will determine largely the shape of our lives, how important our thinking is. He doubles down on this. Peter does. And he says, secondly, be sober minded.Be sober minded. This word here is most commonly used in reference to alcohol and intoxication. He uses it Peter or Paul uses it in First Timothy three describing the qualifications of an elder. He is to be sober, and a godly woman is described as being sober. And it certainly includes not allowing alcohol or any other kind of substance like that to be a controlling influence in your life.But it's used here more broadly, not just alcohol, but a kind of soberness in thinking, not dour, not sad, not like I'm sober. We're Christians. We're very sober. Not like that. We can be we can be joyous, and we can be glad hearted, and we ought to be.But in our thinking, we are serious and sober. We are directing the thoughts of our minds, and it's shaping our whole approach to life. Another commentator. For Peter, the cares of this life and the pressure of persecution can intoxicate the Christian and distract his or her focus just as easily as wine might. The need of the hour is clear judgment and a mind and will prepared to resist anything that would distract them from a hope set on Jesus' appearing.Sober thinking is thinking with focus. It is clarity. It is the refusal to allow anything to distract. Again, it's not sober in personality. It is sober in thinking.It is a mind that says, I am. I refuse to think about life and my trials and my troubles in any other manner than this right here. I will look at life through the gospel. I will look at life through the grid of God's word, which is God's wisdom. I wanna look at my marriage.I wanna look at my parenting. I wanna look at my singleness. I wanna look at my schooling and my job and my hobbies and the dreams and hopes and my money and everything else. I wanna look at it through the wisdom of God's word, and I refuse to allow my mind to think anything else else than that. That is sober thinking.It is the Christian mind whose best and highest thoughts are reserved for kingdom and spiritual matters. So let me ask you. Think about what you think about when you don't have anything that you have to think about. What do you spend your time thinking about? How often in the course of the day do your thoughts turn towards spiritual realities?This is where I think some of the disciplines, Christian disciplines of prayer and Bible study and Scripture memory. These are all things that aid in this. It helps us to tune our hearts to sing his praise as the hymn writer says. It's in the day where my I am vertically oriented, and I'm looking at my life from the perspective that heaven vertically allows for me. How often do you think about God in the day or ministry or the needs spiritual needs of the people around you or Scripture or eternity?Do you intentionally direct your mind to think about what you want it to think about? And you say, I can't do that. My mind has a mind of its own. And now this is psychologically confusing, isn't it? But what I wanna say is we can direct our thoughts.We can, as Paul writes, take captive every or take captive every thought and and subject it to the lordship of Jesus Christ. It is a discipline. It is a way of using and thinking about life intentionally, but it takes habit. I've been thinking about this lately because I feel like in my life right now, I'm struggling in this regard. And I think why is it?Like, I I feel like I I I used to be able to think better than I do right now. And I think one of the reasons this is just one of them. One's just the aging process. But secondly, probably, I I think is that I find myself today often the the the gaps where I used to have time to think are now being filled with checking my email, social media, or passively watching something on a screen. Now maybe it's just me, but I don't think so.I think we are currently and unknowingly awash in a kind of mind muddling cultural habit of perpetual distraction. And I will never be able to say that sentence again. So I hope somebody wrote that down. Don't you think? I mean, now it's just common.We don't we think nothing of it to go to a restaurant and to look in the booth next to us and to see a family of five. They're not talking to each other. They're engrossed in their smartphone. Right? I have come to church and and walked through here before the service starts, and I've seen an entire family all sitting here minutes before the service is about to start.All of them are engrossed in their phone. And I don't think they're preparing for worship by reading the Westminster Catechism. What are they looking at? What are they reading? What are they filling their minds with?What are they directing their thoughts towards? And I say this to myself because I feel like my mind is I'm getting mushy. I don't like that. Distracted. You know, Satan doesn't have to convince us of a heresy.He just has to distract us from thinking about the truth. The one, if I got up and say Jesus isn't God, I hope you'd all rush the stage and beat me to a pulp in love. K? That's the obvious danger. How about the more subtle one where we just don't think about it at all and we're constantly distracted from the higher and holy things of life and eternity.We're awash, I think, in trivial things. Can I just sit on this a little longer? If you want I say, hey. Think about what you think about. If you if you view social media as any indication of the thoughts that people are having, I mean, if they're having the thoughts sufficiently that they think I need to post this, I need to communicate this with everybody that knows me, then this must be, one of their best thoughts.Right? And if you look at a at a news feed on Facebook or some other social media site and to see the kinds of thoughts that people in society and maybe even people in the church, what they're thinking about, what they are viewing, what they are finding humorous. Not all of it. There's lots of cute pictures of babies and gender announcements. And that's totally acceptable.But a lot of it is superficial, silly, banal. And it seems normal to us now. Right? Because it's just all the time going on. It troubles me to see on Facebook people, even in our church, posting, tweeting about, you know, the dresses at the Grammys or Katy Perry's Super Bowl performance.Really? Like, this is this what we're filling our thoughts and minds with? And then here comes the trial and life is devastating. I wonder why. I haven't set my hope fully on the grace to come in years.I've been filling my mind with all of these lesser things. I'm thinking poorly. Now this is not a rant against media or movies or Twitter. Not at all. I think Peter would have had a Twitter account, honestly.But I don't think he would talk about silly things. In fact, can we not look at First Peter as a kind of long Twitter account? What was Peter thinking about? He writes about what he was thinking about. And here we have before us the kinds of thoughts that the apostle Peter had about life.This is the kind of thing that he was dwelling on and thinking about. Does that not tell us something about what it means to be a spiritually mature Christian man or woman and the kinds of thoughts that we think about? And this is a struggle because our culture is so immoral and so materialistic and all the rest. But he was living in the Greco Roman culture, which would give ours a run for its money. And yet, he was thinking this way.I would encourage you to follow the example of the apostle Peter. Now one more thing, and I gotta move on here, because I wanna get particularly practical. How do we engage our mind in sober thinking? How do we make it intentionally oriented towards spiritual truth? Well, I thought I'd just have some fun with this.What's the gender of our baby? Girl. So how about maybe on the week that I announce this, here's my little acronym. K? Four ways to help think more seriously about higher things.Girl, g, get rid of distractions. If your whole life is beeping, humming, buzzing, smartphone, constantly calling your attention to something that somebody has said about this or that, you have no time to think high and holy thoughts. There's no time for prayer. You're distracted all the time. Now I sound like an old fuddy duddy with that, and the young people are going, he is so uncool.But let's see what happens to this generation in thirty years. Time will tell whether wisdom lies in the beeping and the humming and the buzzing or in the older folks who are saying, it didn't used to be like that. We used to talk. I thought maybe some of those old people would amen that point. But get rid of distractions.K? And I don't mean to focus on that one. There's a thousand distractions out there. Secondly, increase truth input. Get rid of the banal and the inane and the silly and the superficial and fill your mind. This is the garbage in garbage out principle. Fill your mind increasingly with truth. Philippians four eight. You know, “what sort of things are pure and lovely, of good report, excellent, and worthy of praise, think on these things.”Spend your time on the beautiful and the truthful and the glorious and the eternally significant. Third, r, recall the grace of God for all the times you don't do that and to seek his forgiveness and ask God to give you daily grace. And finally, love God with your mind. That's a whole another point we could make, but how critical it is that we're we are thinking Christians. And even from the beginning, we're called to love him with our body.I mean, we preach against, you know, sexual sin or, you know, abusing your body with drugs or something like that. But so we we're we're all about loving God with our bodies. But what about loving God with our minds? And to intentionally seek to think deeper and higher thoughts about God and to learn and to grow and to become a mature thinking Christian. Let's do that.K? Let's do that. Now I gotta move on. We got communion coming. Second thing that he is focusing on.First one is setting your, your hope fully on the grace that is to come. The second category is that we are to be holy or what I'm calling, we're to be like our daddy. Again, the text, verse 14. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct since it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.”So we see Peter here moving from right thinking to right living. What does holy thoughts in my brain look like in a holy expression in my life? And I want you to see, first of all, that this has a relational tone to this. He he began doesn't just say, be holy. He says, hey. As obedient children. And what is that referring to? It is referring to the relationship that we have with God. Right? The Bible says that when we become Christians, that God actually adopts us into his family.We are members of the family of God. We're brothers and sisters in this family. We're sons and daughters of the most high God. And because God is my Father, that relationship matters. It means something in regards to the way that I look at myself, the way that I want to live my life.God's my Heavenly Father. How should I live now? Well, he says here that we should live morally disciplined lives. And to proof text this, Peter reaches into the Old Testament, goes back to Leviticus, and he quotes from there's five passages in Leviticus that use the same statement. “You shall be holy for I am holy.”K? You shall be holy, not me. I'm I'm saying it like I'm I'm God. Okay? “You shall be holy for I am holy.”K? And so we see in that statement the ethical measure and the eth and the ethical motivation as well. God's character is the measure, and God's character is the motive. Because I am holy, you shall you shall be holy. God's holiness is the absolute moral unity of his entire being.He is completely good. He is morally without fail. He is not the author of evil. He has no inclination towards anything that is less than absolutely morally pure and upright. John writes this in First John one.“In him, God is light, and in him, there is no darkness at all.” There's no shadow. There's no little something hidden. He is absolutely, morally, purely bright and light. Everything he does always is holy.And so Peter says, this is our God. This is our Heavenly Father. This is the way that we are to strive to live our life in a morally disciplined manner where the ethics of life matter to us. We want to please our Heavenly Father. We wanna live consistent with what he is like.Notice in all your conduct. Okay? So it's not just, you know, be holy as I am holy. When you're at church on Sunday, when you are out with the pastor, when somebody is watching that maybe could look down on you, It is not in any sort of category. It is in all categories.Holiness of life impacts, shapes, directs every aspect of my life. Why? Because it shapes and directs every aspect of the very life and character of God himself. Now lest there be any confusion here, I wanna emphasize that we are not naturally holy. We are naturally sinners.And this is why Jesus came, and this is why Jesus died. He didn't die for holy people so that they could go, not go to hell. He died for I said that wrong. He let me just say it this way. He died for sinners.K? He died for sinners, and that's us. K? So without his righteousness, we have no standing with God. We have no adoption with God.But sometimes people confuse our position before God as righteous because of what Jesus has done and the calling that God has upon the practice of our life. You overemphasize the position and say, hey, I'm righteous before God, so who gives a rip? Right? I'm going to heaven anyway. That is an abuse of the grace of God.If I focus on the practice solely, then now I am all the time wondering if I'm good enough, wondering if I'm gonna earn my way to heaven. And that is a misuse of the gospel. The gospel is is that we are declared righteous by God. We are positionally righteous before God. We enter into a relationship with God through the gospel by faith that now shapes my desires where now I want to live like I'm a child of God.K? It is relational. It is not legalism. It's not antinomianism. No law.It is relationship. Grudem says to be holy as God is holy includes a full and pervading holiness that reaches to every aspect of our personalities. It involves not only avoiding outward sin, but also maintaining an instinctive delight in God and his holiness as an undercurrent of heart and mind throughout the day. God is our Father. He's always our Father.Everywhere we go, he's our Father. We're his children. And this is where I think the metaphor is helpful because children, not always, but naturally want to to please their or to be like their dad. I'm enjoying this almost every day. I have a 20 year old daughter.Okay? So here's here's what happens in my day. I find myself you know, I'll I'll be sitting at the couch or something and I'll stretch like this and I look over and there she is. She's looking for my affirmation. Right?I'm I'm I'm doing what you're doing, daddy. Right? I kinda like that. That's kinda fun. I'll say to her, I love you.And she'll say, I love you. Is that manipulation? I don't know. But I love it. I love it.Or the other day I was eating and I wasn't watching my manners very well. And so I'm kind of chomping away on something sort of loudly and all a sudden I look over and she's going, daddy needs to slow down and close his mouth while he chews apparently. Why does she raise her arms and mimic me? Why does she repeat the words that I say? Why does she mimic even some of my less wonderful qualities?Because at this point, at least in her life, she wants to be like me. That's a goal for her even though she couldn't articulate it. And here's where I think verse 13 and verse 15 come together. The goal of what God is doing in each of us is holiness and Christ likeness. That's the big picture.He is forming us into the likeness of Christ. As I muster my spiritual and my mental thoughts and energies towards loving God with my mind, my Heavenly Father, my will increasingly is shaped by that priority And the true thoughts that my now girded up mind, the loins of my mind, are thinking about and focusing on shape the desires that I have in my heart, which right thinking leads to right living. So I fill my thought, my heart, my mind with God's truth. And the more I think about the grace of God to me, both now and in the future, and the love of God to me both now and in the future, the more my life then is shaped around his will and his purposes. So that right thinking about God shapes my desires and produces a more righteous living, a more holiness in my life.And all of it is anticipating a future grace and goodness of God that he will shower upon me and is yet to be experienced. And the anticipation, the more I realize what God has already done for me, it elevates my anticipation of what God has yet to do for me. K? And anticipation is a very powerful motive in our life. I remember when, football season was about to start.I would run, and I would train. I would get ready for it. And when basketball season was gonna start, I would run and train and play and shoot. I would get I would get ready for it. I remember when we had, the Bethel five k here a couple years ago.I'm the pastor of the church. I don't wanna embarrass myself. I ran, and I got ready for it. And I remember, perhaps the best example for me is after forty-four years, I got married. And before my wedding, I'm here to tell you, after forty-four years I was thinking about my wedding, and I was thinking about my honeymoon.I wanted to get ready for it. So I swam, and I ran, and I got a tan, and I was thinking about anticipating being with my girl. And it shaped the way that I lived my life. And when we, as Christians, set our minds on things that matter, things that are spiritually true, the promises of God, gospel, the word of God, when my thoughts are high and holy as God would have them to be, I anticipate increasingly, this is good. The best is yet to come.And that anticipation of what is to come means I'm getting ready for it now. And it changes and it shapes the way that I think and the way that I live and the directions of my life, which increases my likeness to Christ and gets me ready for that day when Jesus returns and when his full grace will be revealed. So friends, set your mind on the grace to come. Be holy as God is holy. Is your mind disciplined?Is your life morally diligent? And is your hope oriented towards the amazing grace of God yet to come? To help us with that today, we are going to be partaking in the Lord's supper. And I'd like to pray, and you could begin to prepare your hearts as I do. Heavenly Father God, I do pray and ask that this very practical message would, lead to very practical results in our lives.Lord, help us to be a church that is disciplined in our thinking, that strives to know and understand the gospel, the God of the gospel, the Jesus of the gospel, that we would be serious about this. And that this might, Lord, grant to us an elevated sense of anticipation of what is yet to come. And as we take this communion now, I pray that the partaking in it, the reminder of the death of Jesus would serve to also prepare us with, holiness and anticipation of no more symbols but actual presence to see him and to be with him forever. All praise be to Jesus, we pray in his name. Amen.* This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.

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Steve DeWitt Our Calling: Right Thinking and Right Living - Part A Study Guide for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:13-16 Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 1:13-16 Visit the series page: Exiles: A study in 1 Peter Donate to Support The Journey Sermon Transcript for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:13-16 Sermon Series: Spiritual ExilesMessage: Our Calling: Right Thinking and Right LivingAirdate: 9/16-9/17/26Programs: 2358 and 2359Well, good morning, and good morning to our Cedar Lake campus, our Hobart Portage gang that's gathered, and, here at Crown Point as well. Good morning. I'm gonna begin my, message with a little personal touch. Many of you know that Jennifer and I are pregnant expecting our second child, and we found out what this week, what the gender is. Thought we'd share it with you.So put up on the screen if you would. Now this is our this is our child. If you look really carefully, look really carefully. So Some of you still don't know what that means. Ask somebody later.Yes. We're having a little girl, we found out this week. So that's two girls. It's lost lots of estrogen in the house, isn't it? So it'll just be one more reason to pray for your pastor.Right? We're excited. June, sometime in June is the arrival date, and, we're we're, pretty pretty fired up about that. So let's get into our time in God's word together. And I remember some some years ago, somebody coming up to me and saying, you know, pastor Steve, you spent all that time in your messages on exposition, And then you get to the application.And, honestly, we really prefer the application. Could you just, like, skip forward to the to the application and do less of the of the exposition? And the answer to that is no. I will not. And the reason for that is that, like a a family that says, you know what? The meat, the vegetables, the fruit, it's also unnecessary. Let's skip forward to the dessert and just do dessert all the time. Would be a very unhealthy family. Similarly, when it comes to studying God's word, it's we always wanna move towards application, but it is the the doctrinal, exegetical, the truth, the words of Scripture that form the grounds for the application. And if you just do application and without any doctrine, your applications aren't gonna last very long.They won't be very deep for sure. And we see this happening in the in the letters of the New Testament. Most, if not all of them, begin doctrinally. They begin with truth about God. They begin with truth about the gospel.They begin with truth about, you know, the the nature of salvation, and then they move towards us. So what? This is what it means. This is how we sort of live this out on the street level of life. And Peter is doing that and has done that here in our little study so far.We saw in verses of chapter one in verses one through 12, a wonderfully, like, amazing, rich, fantastic explanation of the gospel, the nature of salvation, what God has done to save us, how Jesus has been key in that in his resurrection, and it's been it's been filled with hope. It's been filled with joy and gladness. And then you get to verse 13, and there is that word therefore. And that word is code for time for some application. Whenever you see that in the Bible, it's probably the the writer drawing now some conclusions for the way that we ought to live.And so we're gonna talk about that kind of application today. And, let's get into the text. I'm I'm studying with you today verses, 13 through 16 of First Peter one. Please listen as I read God's word. “Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”“As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as you who as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct since it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.” Now if you look at that section of Scripture, you'll see that there really are two kind of, like, commands here, two big things that he's saying, this is what we ought to do. And he says, first of all, set your hope fully on the grace to come. And secondly, that we are to be holy in all of our conduct.So hope fully, be holy. And before you think that doesn't sound very practical to me, there's a lot more here than meets the eye. And I want you to see just first of all that these verses are part of a larger section here beginning in chapter in verse 13 and following that is all about what the gospel ought to do in the lives on the practical level as it's lived out by the Christian. Not just what we have here before us, but the fact that God is holy. We're gonna see in verses 17 following that God is our judge, And then finally, that we were redeemed from this way of, this sinful life by the precious blood of Jesus.And all of those, the holiness of God, the judgment of God, and the blood of Christ are to call the Christian out of a life of sin and living according to the old ways and to call us into the new life. This new life lived to the glory of God, lived free from the bondage of sin. And so there's lots more of this to come. We're just looking at one section here today. Notice, first of all, that he says that we are to focus on future grace.Look look again at verse 13. “Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” K? Set your hope your hope fully. Now what is hope?Hope is, by definition, future oriented. I don't hope, you know, I I I don't hope about something that has already happened. I don't hope the Seahawks win the Super Bowl. Why? Because it's done already, isn't it?Hope doesn't orient backwards. Hope always orients forwards or towards the future. And we've seen Peter saying this throughout this letter. It's the it's actually the third reference to the return of Christ. He did it in verse five.He did it in verse eight. Now he does it in verse 13. Are you surprised that a letter about suffering would have a lot about the future in it? I'm not. I mean, this is it makes sense, doesn't it?To cast our eyes towards what is yet to come in the midst of our trials, in the midst of our sufferings, to think about the future. And here, he says the grace that is yet to be revealed. Now what is that talking about? Because I think we could look at salvation and say, wait a second, I already got the grace of God. Right?When I when I put my faith in in Jesus, I received from God grace. I was saved by grace. I go to a church that sings amazing grace. How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I've already got the grace of God.How can I put my hope on some future grace? What might this be talking about? One of my favorite commentators, Wayne Grudem, says the grace that is coming to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ means the further store of undeserved blessings, which God will pour out on them when Christ returns. Whenever we talk about grace or the grace of God, it is always highlighting that God is giving us something that we don't deserve. That's why it's grace.Salvation is by grace through faith. To think about the future and to realize that there is a storehouse of grace, there are blessings that are yet to come to us that we have not realized, that we have not yet fully received. The future is even better than it is right now. Might that be encouraging if you're in a trial of some kind? That maybe the best is yet to come, and that what I have, while wonderful, is not yet the fullness of what God has in store for those who love him, for those who are called according to his purpose.You say, well, that sounds nice. Preach as well. But, like, what are you talking about? Well, here's just a short list I just kind of compiled of future grace yet to come. The ongoing conscious life upon our physical death, the physical presence with God, our resurrected and glorified bodies, seeing and worshiping and savoring the presence of Jesus Christ himself, eternal rewards that God will give to us based on the quality of our service to him while here on earth.How about eternal life, enjoyment, and pleasure that we will have forever in real time on a new earth that has no curse upon it? We're gonna live on that new earth, and it's gonna be a much better version than this one. Eternal fellowship with fellow Christians and loved ones. If you've if you've had a loved one that's died in the faith, I guarantee there's a future grace coming to you. You're gonna meet him or her again and fellowship with them forever.Eternal status and relationship as children of God, which right now we don't totally get and realize what a big deal that is. But to step into eternity and the God of heaven, the God of eternity, we are part of his family. We're not just servants in the house. We are sons and daughters of God. Many other things.Someday you're gonna come to me and say that list was terrible. It was so small. We you could have added so many more things. Indeed. None of them we deserve.All of these things are God's gift to us. We deserve hell. We deserve punishment, and yet God is giving us what we don't deserve. And much of what we're going to receive, we haven't even tasted yet. And so Peter writing to exiles, suffering trials says, put your hope not here and not in the trial or maybe the trial going away.Set your hope fully on grace yet to be received from God. The inverse of this is true. Don't put your hope on anything less than this. Don't put your hope, Scripture says, in your riches. Don't put your hope in your life and in your physical vitality.Don't put your hope in any fellow man or pastor or anybody else. Don't put your hope in who you are and your achievements and your big stuff or whatever it might be. Don't put your hope in things in this world. All of it is passing away. The Bible calls God's people with the same faith that trusts in Jesus in the past dying on our on the cross for our sins, to look to the future with the same kind of expectant hope and to believe the best is yet to come.That helps you endure in them trials, doesn't it? Now that sounds wonderful, but how do we do that? Peter, get practical for us. K? We're tired of these long expositions, Peter.Could we just skip to the dessert? Can we get to the application? And Peter provides two specific means by which our hope is set fully on the future. You might have missed them as I read it. But notice, first of all, he says that we are to prepare our minds for action.Somehow, there's a connection between setting my hope fully and the grace to come and a mind that is prepared for action. What does this mean? Well, it's an intriguing illustration. In fact, if you have a King James Bible possibly with you, you might look at that and say, my Bible says it a little bit different. Indeed, here's how the King James translates it.And if you grew up in the church in the seventies with a good Scofield Bible like I did, this is more what you're familiar with. Right? It says this, gird up the loins of your mind. Ain't that a blessing? Gird up the loins of your mind.And, technically, that is what the text is saying here. The problem is that for most of us, a loin is something to put barbecue on. Right? And so we don't feel like we can apply that very well. What do you mean loins?Well, this is a historical cultural thing. Let's talk about this a little bit. A loin was a robe or the bottom section of a robe. And if you've watched, you know, the Jesus film or some things like this, you've seen the kind of robes and garments that the men would wear as just that was the fashion of the day. And so what would happen is is that these men would wear these long longer kind of flowing gowns, but they had to do what men today have to do.They had to work. They had to go to war. They had different things. And so if you were going to do that, you had to gird up your loins. You had to take those flowing gowns, and you had to get them out of the way if you were to do serious business.Now I happened upon an illustration on a website that I kind of like called the art of manliness. I go there just to see if they're manly enough, in my opinion. But I came across this illustration of how they actually girded up their loins. Now this is gonna be a blessing to each of you. Notice that the the the the gown that the guy has, he would pull it up, bring it cinch it together, pull it through between his legs, and then stick it into his belt.And when he'd done that, now he's ready to go to war. The art of manliness. Okay? I actually thought about demonstrating this myself, but maybe this will suffice for that. Okay?Now here's the point. You girded up the loins of your mind or your your your actual loins, it meant that you're about to get serious about something. You are about to take care of business. And that could be working in the field, or it could be defending your home or defending your honor. I mean, if you saw a guy if if you're, you know, if you're at the local pub and a guy starts girding up his loins, you're like, hey. What's going on around here? Right? Why? Fight's about to break out. This guy's getting serious right here.Calm down, man. Stop the girding. Peter says, with our minds, we are to gird up our loins. What is he referring to there? What Peter is saying is the same thing that Paul says in Ephesians six when he writes, “stand therefore having fastened on the belt of truth.”I believe it's the same word, gird on the belt of truth. So for Paul, he's saying, get that belt of truth solidly in your mind. Peter is saying, get serious about truth with your mind and with your thinking. Why are our minds so important? Here's why.Right thinking leads to right living. When I am thinking rightly, my life is going to be consistent with that right thinking. When I am thinking poorly, when I am not thinking, when I am thinking with distraction, when I am thinking about lesser things, my life is going to reflect that also. Proverbs says, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” If you wanna know who you really are, look at your thought life.Think about the things that you think about. Examine the way that you use your mind, and it will determine largely the shape of our lives, how important our thinking is. He doubles down on this. Peter does. And he says, secondly, be sober minded.Be sober minded. This word here is most commonly used in reference to alcohol and intoxication. He uses it Peter or Paul uses it in First Timothy three describing the qualifications of an elder. He is to be sober, and a godly woman is described as being sober. And it certainly includes not allowing alcohol or any other kind of substance like that to be a controlling influence in your life.But it's used here more broadly, not just alcohol, but a kind of soberness in thinking, not dour, not sad, not like I'm sober. We're Christians. We're very sober. Not like that. We can be we can be joyous, and we can be glad hearted, and we ought to be.But in our thinking, we are serious and sober. We are directing the thoughts of our minds, and it's shaping our whole approach to life. Another commentator. For Peter, the cares of this life and the pressure of persecution can intoxicate the Christian and distract his or her focus just as easily as wine might. The need of the hour is clear judgment and a mind and will prepared to resist anything that would distract them from a hope set on Jesus' appearing.Sober thinking is thinking with focus. It is clarity. It is the refusal to allow anything to distract. Again, it's not sober in personality. It is sober in thinking.It is a mind that says, I am. I refuse to think about life and my trials and my troubles in any other manner than this right here. I will look at life through the gospel. I will look at life through the grid of God's word, which is God's wisdom. I wanna look at my marriage.I wanna look at my parenting. I wanna look at my singleness. I wanna look at my schooling and my job and my hobbies and the dreams and hopes and my money and everything else. I wanna look at it through the wisdom of God's word, and I refuse to allow my mind to think anything else else than that. That is sober thinking.It is the Christian mind whose best and highest thoughts are reserved for kingdom and spiritual matters. So let me ask you. Think about what you think about when you don't have anything that you have to think about. What do you spend your time thinking about? How often in the course of the day do your thoughts turn towards spiritual realities?This is where I think some of the disciplines, Christian disciplines of prayer and Bible study and Scripture memory. These are all things that aid in this. It helps us to tune our hearts to sing his praise as the hymn writer says. It's in the day where my I am vertically oriented, and I'm looking at my life from the perspective that heaven vertically allows for me. How often do you think about God in the day or ministry or the needs spiritual needs of the people around you or Scripture or eternity?Do you intentionally direct your mind to think about what you want it to think about? And you say, I can't do that. My mind has a mind of its own. And now this is psychologically confusing, isn't it? But what I wanna say is we can direct our thoughts.We can, as Paul writes, take captive every or take captive every thought and and subject it to the lordship of Jesus Christ. It is a discipline. It is a way of using and thinking about life intentionally, but it takes habit. I've been thinking about this lately because I feel like in my life right now, I'm struggling in this regard. And I think why is it?Like, I I feel like I I I used to be able to think better than I do right now. And I think one of the reasons this is just one of them. One's just the aging process. But secondly, probably, I I think is that I find myself today often the the the gaps where I used to have time to think are now being filled with checking my email, social media, or passively watching something on a screen. Now maybe it's just me, but I don't think so.I think we are currently and unknowingly awash in a kind of mind muddling cultural habit of perpetual distraction. And I will never be able to say that sentence again. So I hope somebody wrote that down. Don't you think? I mean, now it's just common.We don't we think nothing of it to go to a restaurant and to look in the booth next to us and to see a family of five. They're not talking to each other. They're engrossed in their smartphone. Right? I have come to church and and walked through here before the service starts, and I've seen an entire family all sitting here minutes before the service is about to start.All of them are engrossed in their phone. And I don't think they're preparing for worship by reading the Westminster Catechism. What are they looking at? What are they reading? What are they filling their minds with?What are they directing their thoughts towards? And I say this to myself because I feel like my mind is I'm getting mushy. I don't like that. Distracted. You know, Satan doesn't have to convince us of a heresy.He just has to distract us from thinking about the truth. The one, if I got up and say Jesus isn't God, I hope you'd all rush the stage and beat me to a pulp in love. K? That's the obvious danger. How about the more subtle one where we just don't think about it at all and we're constantly distracted from the higher and holy things of life and eternity.We're awash, I think, in trivial things. Can I just sit on this a little longer? If you want I say, hey. Think about what you think about. If you if you view social media as any indication of the thoughts that people are having, I mean, if they're having the thoughts sufficiently that they think I need to post this, I need to communicate this with everybody that knows me, then this must be, one of their best thoughts.Right? And if you look at a at a news feed on Facebook or some other social media site and to see the kinds of thoughts that people in society and maybe even people in the church, what they're thinking about, what they are viewing, what they are finding humorous. Not all of it. There's lots of cute pictures of babies and gender announcements. And that's totally acceptable.But a lot of it is superficial, silly, banal. And it seems normal to us now. Right? Because it's just all the time going on. It troubles me to see on Facebook people, even in our church, posting, tweeting about, you know, the dresses at the Grammys or Katy Perry's Super Bowl performance.Really? Like, this is this what we're filling our thoughts and minds with? And then here comes the trial and life is devastating. I wonder why. I haven't set my hope fully on the grace to come in years.I've been filling my mind with all of these lesser things. I'm thinking poorly. Now this is not a rant against media or movies or Twitter. Not at all. I think Peter would have had a Twitter account, honestly.But I don't think he would talk about silly things. In fact, can we not look at First Peter as a kind of long Twitter account? What was Peter thinking about? He writes about what he was thinking about. And here we have before us the kinds of thoughts that the apostle Peter had about life.This is the kind of thing that he was dwelling on and thinking about. Does that not tell us something about what it means to be a spiritually mature Christian man or woman and the kinds of thoughts that we think about? And this is a struggle because our culture is so immoral and so materialistic and all the rest. But he was living in the Greco Roman culture, which would give ours a run for its money. And yet, he was thinking this way.I would encourage you to follow the example of the apostle Peter. Now one more thing, and I gotta move on here, because I wanna get particularly practical. How do we engage our mind in sober thinking? How do we make it intentionally oriented towards spiritual truth? Well, I thought I'd just have some fun with this.What's the gender of our baby? Girl. So how about maybe on the week that I announce this, here's my little acronym. K? Four ways to help think more seriously about higher things.Girl, g, get rid of distractions. If your whole life is beeping, humming, buzzing, smartphone, constantly calling your attention to something that somebody has said about this or that, you have no time to think high and holy thoughts. There's no time for prayer. You're distracted all the time. Now I sound like an old fuddy duddy with that, and the young people are going, he is so uncool.But let's see what happens to this generation in thirty years. Time will tell whether wisdom lies in the beeping and the humming and the buzzing or in the older folks who are saying, it didn't used to be like that. We used to talk. I thought maybe some of those old people would amen that point. But get rid of distractions.K? And I don't mean to focus on that one. There's a thousand distractions out there. Secondly, increase truth input. Get rid of the banal and the inane and the silly and the superficial and fill your mind. This is the garbage in garbage out principle. Fill your mind increasingly with truth. Philippians four eight. You know, “what sort of things are pure and lovely, of good report, excellent, and worthy of praise, think on these things.”Spend your time on the beautiful and the truthful and the glorious and the eternally significant. Third, r, recall the grace of God for all the times you don't do that and to seek his forgiveness and ask God to give you daily grace. And finally, love God with your mind. That's a whole another point we could make, but how critical it is that we're we are thinking Christians. And even from the beginning, we're called to love him with our body.I mean, we preach against, you know, sexual sin or, you know, abusing your body with drugs or something like that. But so we we're we're all about loving God with our bodies. But what about loving God with our minds? And to intentionally seek to think deeper and higher thoughts about God and to learn and to grow and to become a mature thinking Christian. Let's do that.K? Let's do that. Now I gotta move on. We got communion coming. Second thing that he is focusing on.First one is setting your, your hope fully on the grace that is to come. The second category is that we are to be holy or what I'm calling, we're to be like our daddy. Again, the text, verse 14. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct since it is written, you shall be holy for I am holy.”So we see Peter here moving from right thinking to right living. What does holy thoughts in my brain look like in a holy expression in my life? And I want you to see, first of all, that this has a relational tone to this. He he began doesn't just say, be holy. He says, hey. As obedient children. And what is that referring to? It is referring to the relationship that we have with God. Right? The Bible says that when we become Christians, that God actually adopts us into his family.We are members of the family of God. We're brothers and sisters in this family. We're sons and daughters of the most high God. And because God is my Father, that relationship matters. It means something in regards to the way that I look at myself, the way that I want to live my life.God's my Heavenly Father. How should I live now? Well, he says here that we should live morally disciplined lives. And to proof text this, Peter reaches into the Old Testament, goes back to Leviticus, and he quotes from there's five passages in Leviticus that use the same statement. “You shall be holy for I am holy.”K? You shall be holy, not me. I'm I'm saying it like I'm I'm God. Okay? “You shall be holy for I am holy.”K? And so we see in that statement the ethical measure and the eth and the ethical motivation as well. God's character is the measure, and God's character is the motive. Because I am holy, you shall you shall be holy. God's holiness is the absolute moral unity of his entire being.He is completely good. He is morally without fail. He is not the author of evil. He has no inclination towards anything that is less than absolutely morally pure and upright. John writes this in First John one.“In him, God is light, and in him, there is no darkness at all.” There's no shadow. There's no little something hidden. He is absolutely, morally, purely bright and light. Everything he does always is holy.And so Peter says, this is our God. This is our Heavenly Father. This is the way that we are to strive to live our life in a morally disciplined manner where the ethics of life matter to us. We want to please our Heavenly Father. We wanna live consistent with what he is like.Notice in all your conduct. Okay? So it's not just, you know, be holy as I am holy. When you're at church on Sunday, when you are out with the pastor, when somebody is watching that maybe could look down on you, It is not in any sort of category. It is in all categories.Holiness of life impacts, shapes, directs every aspect of my life. Why? Because it shapes and directs every aspect of the very life and character of God himself. Now lest there be any confusion here, I wanna emphasize that we are not naturally holy. We are naturally sinners.And this is why Jesus came, and this is why Jesus died. He didn't die for holy people so that they could go, not go to hell. He died for I said that wrong. He let me just say it this way. He died for sinners.K? He died for sinners, and that's us. K? So without his righteousness, we have no standing with God. We have no adoption with God.But sometimes people confuse our position before God as righteous because of what Jesus has done and the calling that God has upon the practice of our life. You overemphasize the position and say, hey, I'm righteous before God, so who gives a rip? Right? I'm going to heaven anyway. That is an abuse of the grace of God.If I focus on the practice solely, then now I am all the time wondering if I'm good enough, wondering if I'm gonna earn my way to heaven. And that is a misuse of the gospel. The gospel is is that we are declared righteous by God. We are positionally righteous before God. We enter into a relationship with God through the gospel by faith that now shapes my desires where now I want to live like I'm a child of God.K? It is relational. It is not legalism. It's not antinomianism. No law.It is relationship. Grudem says to be holy as God is holy includes a full and pervading holiness that reaches to every aspect of our personalities. It involves not only avoiding outward sin, but also maintaining an instinctive delight in God and his holiness as an undercurrent of heart and mind throughout the day. God is our Father. He's always our Father.Everywhere we go, he's our Father. We're his children. And this is where I think the metaphor is helpful because children, not always, but naturally want to to please their or to be like their dad. I'm enjoying this almost every day. I have a 20 year old daughter.Okay? So here's here's what happens in my day. I find myself you know, I'll I'll be sitting at the couch or something and I'll stretch like this and I look over and there she is. She's looking for my affirmation. Right?I'm I'm I'm doing what you're doing, daddy. Right? I kinda like that. That's kinda fun. I'll say to her, I love you.And she'll say, I love you. Is that manipulation? I don't know. But I love it. I love it.Or the other day I was eating and I wasn't watching my manners very well. And so I'm kind of chomping away on something sort of loudly and all a sudden I look over and she's going, daddy needs to slow down and close his mouth while he chews apparently. Why does she raise her arms and mimic me? Why does she repeat the words that I say? Why does she mimic even some of my less wonderful qualities?Because at this point, at least in her life, she wants to be like me. That's a goal for her even though she couldn't articulate it. And here's where I think verse 13 and verse 15 come together. The goal of what God is doing in each of us is holiness and Christ likeness. That's the big picture.He is forming us into the likeness of Christ. As I muster my spiritual and my mental thoughts and energies towards loving God with my mind, my Heavenly Father, my will increasingly is shaped by that priority And the true thoughts that my now girded up mind, the loins of my mind, are thinking about and focusing on shape the desires that I have in my heart, which right thinking leads to right living. So I fill my thought, my heart, my mind with God's truth. And the more I think about the grace of God to me, both now and in the future, and the love of God to me both now and in the future, the more my life then is shaped around his will and his purposes. So that right thinking about God shapes my desires and produces a more righteous living, a more holiness in my life.And all of it is anticipating a future grace and goodness of God that he will shower upon me and is yet to be experienced. And the anticipation, the more I realize what God has already done for me, it elevates my anticipation of what God has yet to do for me. K? And anticipation is a very powerful motive in our life. I remember when, football season was about to start.I would run, and I would train. I would get ready for it. And when basketball season was gonna start, I would run and train and play and shoot. I would get I would get ready for it. I remember when we had, the Bethel five k here a couple years ago.I'm the pastor of the church. I don't wanna embarrass myself. I ran, and I got ready for it. And I remember, perhaps the best example for me is after forty-four years, I got married. And before my wedding, I'm here to tell you, after forty-four years I was thinking about my wedding, and I was thinking about my honeymoon.I wanted to get ready for it. So I swam, and I ran, and I got a tan, and I was thinking about anticipating being with my girl. And it shaped the way that I lived my life. And when we, as Christians, set our minds on things that matter, things that are spiritually true, the promises of God, gospel, the word of God, when my thoughts are high and holy as God would have them to be, I anticipate increasingly, this is good. The best is yet to come.And that anticipation of what is to come means I'm getting ready for it now. And it changes and it shapes the way that I think and the way that I live and the directions of my life, which increases my likeness to Christ and gets me ready for that day when Jesus returns and when his full grace will be revealed. So friends, set your mind on the grace to come. Be holy as God is holy. Is your mind disciplined?Is your life morally diligent? And is your hope oriented towards the amazing grace of God yet to come? To help us with that today, we are going to be partaking in the Lord's supper. And I'd like to pray, and you could begin to prepare your hearts as I do. Heavenly Father God, I do pray and ask that this very practical message would, lead to very practical results in our lives.Lord, help us to be a church that is disciplined in our thinking, that strives to know and understand the gospel, the God of the gospel, the Jesus of the gospel, that we would be serious about this. And that this might, Lord, grant to us an elevated sense of anticipation of what is yet to come. And as we take this communion now, I pray that the partaking in it, the reminder of the death of Jesus would serve to also prepare us with, holiness and anticipation of no more symbols but actual presence to see him and to be with him forever. All praise be to Jesus, we pray in his name. Amen.* This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.

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"Someday" sounds harmless, until it quietly becomes never. Rosie challenges people-first leaders to stop parking meaningful goals in the vague future and start putting intention behind them. Inspired by a simple reminder from an old paper planner, Rosie invites us to replace "someday" with a real date, a real decision, and a first step. ✨ Because the things that matter deserve more than wishful thinking. They deserve a place on the calendar and a commitment to make them real.   Additional Resources: Get your copy of "Future-Proofing Leadership" Dr. Rosie Ward! Connect with Rosie on LinkedIn Learn more about Salveo Partners Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn Learn more about PeopleForward Network   Key Takeaways: "Someday" can quietly become never. Important goals deserve a real date. Intention turns wishes into meaningful action. Small commitments create momentum toward what matters. Get in the driver's seat of your life.

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Revelation 14:6-20

Steve DeWitt Indestructibly Saved Study Guide for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:3-5 Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 1:3-5 Visit the series page: Exiles: A study in 1 Peter Donate to Support The Journey Sermon Transcript for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:3-5 Sermon Series: Spiritual ExilesMessage: Indestructibly SavedAirdate: 9/8 & 9/9/26Programs 2352 & 2353Good morning, Crown Point Campus. And let's go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity to be here today. And we pray simply this, that your spirit would come, that he would minister to your people by your word for your glory and for our good. God, we pray that this would be a day truly where your name would be lifted higher. And we want to be a part of that. So we thank you. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, last week we began our new series in 1 Peter entitled Exiles.And the title was taken from the first verse of the book, which says this, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion.” And we saw that Peter was writing to Christians who had been part of this colonization, this dispersion, Christians living in Rome or that region sent now to Asia Minor, and they are there living as foreigners, essentially living as exiles, geopolitical exiles. And what Peter does is he draws from their geopolitical situation spiritual truth and application as they dealt with the feelings of alienation. and ostracization from people that saw them as part of the conquering army, people that weren't from there. And so much that we're going to see in this letter. Last week was our introduction, and we saw that... exiles want more than anything is they want a change of location.They think to themselves, what really needs to happen is I need to be somewhere else. And if I was somewhere else, then I would be happy. Then I would feel like I belong. And we see that what Peter is wanting them to realize is that we want to change our location. God wants to change who we are. And that is inward. And that's the work of the spirit. That's the work of the gospel. That's a part of changing us. Now, what might exiles need to know? Think about this with me for a moment. What do they need to know? There they are living in a land of uncertainty, living in a place where they don't, you know, you think of what people experience when they move into a new area. They need a new doctor. They need a new, where do I get my groceries?How do I find my way around? All the things that are sort of new and different and uncertain. That is compounded in the experience of moving in the first century to a whole new region. And there they are, and everything is uncertain. Nothing feels normal. Everything's sort of weird. What do they need to know spiritually? Well, they need to know that there is a day coming when they will not be exiles anymore and where they will feel welcomed and they will feel like they belong. And that's what Peter now moves to in pastoring this group of people. He wants them to realize that they will not always be exiles. It will not always be like it is. There's coming a day when it will be very much different. And our text in our sermon today is 1 Peter 1, verses 3 through 5.And today is a day where I get to preach at Crown Point and at Cedar Lake. And we do this with the use of technology. And hopefully a fast commute. That's where we're going today. That's where I'm going today. But our text today is verses 3 through 5. So please listen as I read from God's word. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter, if you ask most people what 1 Peter is about, it's about remaining faithful in suffering and in persecution. And I just want to note to you that a letter that begins, a letter that is about suffering, begins with, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that seems out of place, except for when you view your suffering from a Christian perspective. It sounds to me like Job, the famous book on suffering.Job, who endured all of these things in chapter 1. He loses everything, and what is his response to that? The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name. There is within Christianity a kind of faith and a kind of confidence in the goodness of God that allows Christians to suffer loss and to remain doxological, to remain praising, to remain giving thanks to God. And we see that modeled here with Peter. He begins with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. These verses, verses 3 through 5, they are, it's, This is a jewel, okay? This is a jewel passage in all of the Bible, and there are lots of jewel passages, but this is certainly one of them, because what Peter does here is he lays out the gospel. He goes from praising God, and he says, now, why? Why do we praise the Lord?What is there about what God has done for us that allows us to give praise to God even in the midst of persecution and suffering? And we see him now talking about salvation in this passage from the perspective of the past, what God has done, the present, what God is doing, and the future, what God is yet to do. And I want to hasten to say this. These truths that I'm talking about here, that Peter talks about, only apply to genuine Christians. This is not just a general truth for all of humanity. Let's all feel good about it. This is a truth that applies to people who have genuinely trusted in the Lord Jesus. And the promises that God has made to those that are his children apply then to us and are enumerated here. by Peter.So if you're here and you have not trusted in Jesus as your Savior, what I hope happens today as we talk about the blessings that come to those that are under the grace of God, that it might woo you, that it might draw you to put your hope and your faith in the Lord Jesus and for these promises then to become real and true for you. And that can happen in this service here today. Now, if you're an exile far from home, You are having to accept certain realities about life now. It's almost like a college student who goes away from home for the first time. And suddenly, the reality of being responsible for yourself, doing your own laundry, and managing your own money, and all of the rest comes crashing down on the freshmen.And some of them flunk out as a result of that, right? They're in a faraway land. Everything's sort of strange. And indeed, to be one of these people that he's writing to, in a faraway land where everything feels creepy and people look at you as creepy because you're different created a whole set of problems and difficulties your homeland that where you used to be it felt safe it felt normal it felt secure you had friends that made you feel like you were cared for you had possessions that you had had for a long time They felt normal to you. You had maybe a home. You had a network. You had all of these things that felt cozy and made you feel cared for.To be a person in exile is to live without these things, to live away from all of those identities and all of those securities. In fact, I don't know if you've noticed our series graphic, but just to put that up if we have it a second. I really like this because what is it? It's a guy sitting on a pile of rubble and he's looking to a faraway place, right? And there's sort of this sense of, I wish I was there instead of where I am here. This feels like rubble where I'm at. I wish I was back where I came from. And that is a picture, not a bad one, of what it's like to be in exile.And what Peter wants them, and through this letter and through the Holy Spirit, wants us to realize here today is that what we have in Christ, even as an exile, is far greater and far better than anything we had prior to coming to faith in Christ. I said that very clumsily. And clumsily is a clumsy word itself. Let me try that again. What Peter is wanting to say is that what we have presently as Christians, even as exiles, even on the pile of rubble, is far greater and far better than anything we had back when everything felt cozy, back prior to our faith in Christ. And he lays that out again in terms of past, present, future. So let's begin by looking at the past. And notice what he says here. Wonderful verse. about being born again to a living hope.According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we saw in verse 1 that their exile was by God's choice. We see here in verse 3 that their new birth is by the mercy of God. Born again. Born of what? What are you talking about? That sounds crazy. And that is exactly what Nicodemus said to Jesus when Jesus brought this up to him as well. In John chapter 3, you may know the story. Nicodemus, he's sort of a bigwig spiritual leader in Israel. He comes to Jesus in the night, and he asks him about spiritual, he has spiritual questions for him. And he says, no one except they're born from God could do what you do. And Jesus says to him, you must be born again.You have to be born again. Nicodemus says, what? How can I be born again? I was born of my mother once, I gotta be born of her twice? What are you talking about? And you see that Nicodemus is only looking at things materially. He is not seeing things spiritually, which is what Jesus wants him to see, is there's a whole thing going on here spiritually. You have to be born again. What was Jesus talking about? The New Testament calls it new birth, calls it regeneration. All of these are biblical descriptions of what God does in the heart of the sinner who turns in faith and believes in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. There is a miracle, a powerful supernatural work that God does inwardly in the life of the sinner where like being born again, he makes the sinner alive spiritually.Regeneration is also the word there. The Bible says that we are dead in our sins, that spiritually we are corpses. What has to happen for a corpse to live again? It has to be regenerated. In a sense, it has to be resurrected. And what God does inwardly in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, when we believe, is he births life in us again. Almost like Jesus saying to Lazarus, come forth. There is a summoning and a giving of life that God does within us where all of a sudden now our eyes are opened, our ears are opened, and we become attuned to spiritual realities and spiritual things. And notice that it's God that does this. He has caused us to be born again. Regeneration is something that God does. We can't manufacture it. We can't create it.We can't do enough things to make us think that now spiritually I'm alive.We are dead. Burns Funeral Homes across the street, you can go to every corpse there and try to manufacture life. It's not going to happen. Only God can manufacture life. And God does that within us. We are born again. We are passive in this. You ever hear a baby come out being born and go, wow, look what I did. I'm amazing. No, that mother birthed that child. Amen, mothers? You ain't going to ever forget that, are you? Babies don't take credit for being born, and Christians don't take credit for being born again. This is something God does. We are made spiritually alive, but the change affects our entire being. 2 Corinthians says it this way.If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. It is a miracle of life that permeates our entire being. Suddenly, it's like the switch is turned on. We become aware of spiritual truth. What? I never realized that before. We become aware of the presence of God. We become aware of the presence of sin in our life. All of a sudden we realize, that we indeed are sinners. We become aware of forgiveness. We all of a sudden have an interest in Scripture, which prior to this we would have thought is silly. No, what does it say, actually? I'm kind of interested in that. We become interested in prayer and a host of other things. All of them kind of just, it's like springtime. Here come the leaves, here come the flowers.All of a sudden there is life. God does that. God does that. A few examples of how this is God's work and the change that it brings. I recently heard the story of Rosaria Butterfield, and maybe you've seen this online possibly, but she was a professor. She's very upfront about her sexuality. She was a lesbian. She was a professor at Syracuse University. She was just totally into kind of that whole worldview. And it's a great story because there was just a normal local church that began to kind of care for her and love her. And she, in her own words, writes this about her conversion. “The church had been praying for me for years was there. The church that had been praying for me for years was there. Jesus triumphed, and I was a broken mess. Conversion was a train wreck. I did not want to lose everything that I loved, but the voice of God sang a sanguine love song in the rubble of my world. I weakly believed that if Jesus could conquer death, he could make right my world. I drank tentatively at first, then passionately of the solace of the Holy Spirit.” And now she's married to a Presbyterian minister. So come to Jesus and you get to marry a Presbyterian minister. I would keep most people away. Listen to the words of C.S. Lewis. We've talked at length about him and how God drew him to faith. He writes this about his conversion. “You must picture me alone in that room at Magdalen College. Night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet.” Who's causing this regeneration? Hear it in these words. “That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me in the Trinity term of 1929. I gave in and admitted that God was God and knelt and prayed, perhaps that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” Christian, think about your own life story. Think about the change that has taken place in your life. Is there a natural explanation? for the interest that you have in spiritual things and the course and trajectory of your life. The fact that you're sitting here right now listening to some guy talk about what the Bible has to say.All of these things are things if we knew our natural selves, we would say, I would never do that. And that sounds crazy and that sounds stupid. Just like the people in Asia Minor looked at these Christians and said, what planet are you from? Why are you interested in that stuff? And maybe you have people in your family and friends that similarly look at you and go, you're living your life according to what? What planet are you from? We share the same mother, but you're an alien. I don't know you. How have you come to care about the things that you care about and to love God in the way that you love him and to desire to obey and please and live to his glory in the way that you do? Where did all of that come from? It didn't come from you.That can only come from God. He has birthed life in us, and we are changed. Born again to a living hope, the text says, through the resurrection from the dead. Now, why do you suppose he calls it a living hope? It is because our hope is in a living Savior. Do you see the parallel there? One writer says it this way, Christian hope is ever living because Christ, the ground of that hope, is ever living. So Peter looks back. He says, exiles, look back in your story and realize that this change has not come from you. God has given you life, and he has given you hope. And that hope is a living hope because your Savior is a living Savior. And there we are looking at the passage. Well, that's pretty fantastic, isn't it?Don't you think exiles might be a little encouraged by that? And maybe even Christians living here today might be a little bit encouraged to look back and to see the grace of God in our life. As the hymn writer wrote, “oh God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.” We look to the past and we see God's grace to us. And it gives us, man, God is for me. God is with me. He has done this change in my life. The past, a living hope, a new birth. It is not simply a past, it is a present. And even right there is an interesting thought, which I don't have time to explore right now, but how important it is for us to realize that what God is doing is not just stuff in the past.You ever talk to people like that? Tell me about your spiritual life. Well, back in the past, and all they've got is like old stuff. And to realize that our faith, this thing that we're living, this Christian life, is a today thing. There is something that God is doing today. It doesn't matter how long you've been a Christian. There is a work that God is doing right now for you in your life. And Peter highlights it here. What are we saved to? “An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who, by God's power, are being guarded through faith.” Now, there's a lot there, okay? There's a lot there, but let's just walk through it. You're going to get this, and you're going to love it. We've been born again to an inheritance, okay?So most of us are probably familiar with the concept of an inheritance. What is an inheritance? An inheritance is something that you receive normally based on a relationship, typically a family relationship, right? So when a person dies, there is a reading of the will. And if your name is in the will, it means that whether you knew it or not, you were an heir to the inheritance. So if you're in the will, you have an inheritance. Most people view that as good news, right? Okay. Now what is true about an inheritance? Inheritances are very, very slippery. Very slippery. Your name can be on the will, but guess what? It can be removed from the will. You were an heir, but now you're not anymore. So you better be careful what you say at the family gathering about grandma. And inheritance can shrink in value.Did you know that? You could be an heir to something that is incredibly valuable, but by the time you get it, it's not so valuable. So that your name is in the will, and they read the will, and your sister gets grandma's diamonds, and you get the cabbage patch collection. And you're like, my sister gets... and I get dolls and you know grandma puts in the notes when I bought these they were really valuable. You're like these aren't worth anything. This is like soft firewood. They can diminish in value. People can steal inheritances. There's a story or two in my own family tree of stolen inheritance and maybe you got a few of those in your family tree. It's amazing what family gets like when money is on the table.Inheritance can be stolen did you know that there are unscrupulous lawyers out there who now there's really godly and fair-minded ones as well but there are unscrupulous lawyers out there who can sometimes get their fingers in the pot and diminish an inheritance. Did you know that there are thieves — there are thieves — and that has no connection whatsoever with Steve. There are thieves who can steal inheritances. They can steal grandma's jewelry instead of the dolls. Did you know that massive inheritances can be squandered? Some time ago, I got watching on the History Channel, had this series called The Men Who Build America. Maybe some of you saw it, but we got into it for whatever reason. Tell the story of these icons of industry in the past.I got a little interested in the Vanderbilt family some years ago. I got a tour of the Biltmore, which is one of the descendants of, he built that with just an inheritance that he got. If you've ever seen that place, it's incredible. But I got interested in the Vanderbilt family. And just to give you an idea very quickly about the Vanderbilt fortune, they at one time, at the height of their power and value, they were worth over $300 billion in today's money. Now, $300 billion, to give you an idea, Bill Gates, who's currently the richest man in the world, is somewhere around $70 billion. They had $300 billion. The world has hardly ever, if ever, seen, other than Rockefeller, a fortune like the Vanderbilt family fortune.In 1973, this is just 75 years from the height of their power and wealth, There was a gathering of 120 direct descendants of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and there wasn't one millionaire amongst them. 75 years, 300 billion to, you know, not so wealthy. How does that happen? Inheritances can be squandered. They can just simply disappear. And I say all of that because that connects with the world that we're in, right? Everything is kind of diminishing. Everything that once was cool is kind of getting old now. And that's the world that we live in, right? Our money isn't worth today what it was worth yesterday. There's inflation. There's the stock market. Everything's up and down and all around. But what about spiritually? The inheritance, the Bible describes the inheritance that we have. We are heirs. What is our inheritance like?And he uses some very powerful words to emphasize that our inheritance is not subject to all of the insecurities that everything in this world has. And he uses these words, notice them, imperishable. Okay? To perish is to die. Everything in this world... dies right it's alive it dies the the flowers of the field the grass in the in the in the in the field all of it there and it dies and it withers and we're all withering right look around there's withering people all around you but this is an imperishable inheritance that he wants us to realize that we have undefiled and this speaks to the moral quality of our inheritance It is pure. It is good. Our inheritance doesn't come from unseemly business practices.There's nothing about it to make us feel sort of dirty in taking it or that there's something evil about it. It is holy. It is good. It is beautiful. It is pure, and it will be eternally beautiful and pure. Unfading. This is very similar to the perishing and the withering. It's, again, the human beauty and fame and everything that seems to be cool now. It's all going downhill. And young people don't realize that, but it is, right? It's all going down. Everything fades. And each one of these words is, it's perishable, defiled, and fading, only it has the negating ah in front of each one of those. It is not imperishable. I'm sorry, it's not perishable. It's not defiling. It is not fading. Our inheritance, you say, well, what is it then exactly? Number one, our inheritance is God himself.The number one thing that we look forward to in going to heaven is not seeing grandma, not seeing, you know, whoever. Number one is God. We go to heaven and we get God and we see God and we have him forever. We are his children. He lavishes blessings on us for all of eternity, eternal life, heaven, new earth, rewards that Jesus will give to us for the quality of our service while here on earth, bliss, beauty, and most importantly, and I include this in the God category, is the seeing and the savoring of Jesus himself, our blessed Lord and Savior, who is our inheritance. Christians talk about, oh, my mansion in heaven and all of that. Forget the mansion. Our mansion truly is Christ.And one day when we see him and we sense from him what eternal, pure, sacrificial, agape love is like, and he looks at us and we feel the love of the divine for us, the thought of a house or something else will just sort of fade away. This will be our greatest moment. It is that beatific vision that theologians talk about. and then to feel and to receive from him the lavishing of his grace and his love in material ways, even in the new earth, in the experience of what all of that is going to be like, and to realize that all of it is according to his mercy, that none of it we deserve, maybe with a vision of hell, and to realize that's what I deserve right there.And I'm getting this, how and why it is the mercy of God and his love for us. This is the inheritance, and Peter says it never goes away. It never diminishes. It never somehow dies. It remains secure in the character and the promises of God, and it's going to be great. And you, my friend, if you are a Christian, you are an heir, an heir to the most wonderful fortune, the fortune of God, the spiritual blessing of being a child of God forever. The verse goes on, kept in heaven for you who by God's power are being guarded through faith. This inheritance that we have is located in heaven. Jesus describes it as a place where moth and rust do not decay and thieves don't break in and steal. That's a pretty good bank vault, isn't it? Anybody's bank here make that kind of guarantee?Probably not. Now notice there's a little shift here in the text because he's describing our inheritance. That is kept in heaven. That's our inheritance. The next word, though, is who. See that? Who. So he moves from our inheritance to us. He moves from keeping our inheritance to God keeping us. So the inheritance is kept in heaven, but we are kept in earth. We are kept in faith on our time on earth. By God's power, our being guarded through faith. And the word there, the Greek word for the word guarded there, it's the word garrisoned, okay? So military people, this is like a word for you. This is the protection. This is the, in the ancient days, they would protect the city gates, the armament of the city gates. We are guarding the city walls, the walls of our faith.It also can refer to keeping us from escaping, okay? So it's both. It is both the attacks from without, and it is me fleeing from within. God is working in our faith, keeping us from both of those dangers. And here we have, and we can do a whole message on this, the doctrine of preservation. The doctrine of preservation, which says that God is the one who keeps us saved. We are preserved in our faith by the power of God. So notice the flow in the text. We are exiles by the choice of God. We are born again by the mercy of God. We are kept in our salvation by the power of God. Our faith is being guarded. And the tense of the verb there is ongoingly, continuously being guarded.It's as if each one of us has a 24-hour, seven days a week security detail. Now, the closest thing that I can think of to illustrate this would be What the President of the United States has, of course, which is the famous Secret Service. And all of us probably are familiar with the Secret Service and what they do 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep the President alive, to protect him. That is their job. And so for whatever reason, they've decided wearing dark suits and sunglasses helps with that. And so wherever the president is, there's these guys walking around near him and they've got dark suits on and they've got sunglasses. All of them look like they've lifted weights their entire life. You know, they're big, they're bad, they're tough. There's little bulges around in their suit.You know what's in there, right? They can call upon what they need in a moment's notice to take care of business. And so they're there and they're talking into their hands and they got the little wires out of their ears. And you know that there's satellites and there's, you know, who knows all the things that they've got going on wherever the president goes. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, always keeping him safe. But as history shows, they can't even guarantee that, can they? Even the best of the best in the world today can't perfectly protect the life of the president. Notice what Peter says here about us, okay? Kept by the infinite power of God. It's almost like By the power of God, we each have our own spiritual secret service detachment.Everywhere we go, all the time, we are protected spiritually by the power of God. I got thinking about what this might be like. She's about to speak to Miss Gossip. Move in right now. He's leaving on a business trip with Mr. Skeptic and Mrs. Temptation, all units code red. He's in church right now. He's not listening. Taze him. Did anybody just feel something, by the way? No? God's power is always at work protecting our faith, keeping us from running away from our commitment to Christ, keeping us from the wolves, keeping us from doctrine and beliefs and temptations that would ultimately undermine our faith commitment to Christ. And that doesn't mean that we don't sin. It doesn't mean that we don't have seasons and all of that.But it does mean that even through those dark times, God is by his power protecting a faith that he has promised that he will carry on to completion, Philippians 1. And my dear Christian, that is true for you. Think of it just for a moment. Think of it. Right now, God's power is focused upon you and your faith and is ensuring that you are going to make it. That faith will not die. It's the power of God. It's like being born, right? We don't take credit for that. And I don't take credit for my faith continually because naturally I am a sinner and I am human and I am wishy -washy. None of us would make it through this week left to ourselves. But we are not left to ourselves, not by God who loves us. We are kept in this faith.Past, we were born again in the present. We're being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. And the future aspect of this is when our inheritance changes into a possession, okay? An heir is no longer an heir when the inheritance now is something that they own. Think of Prince Charles, like all these years waiting to become king. He's heir to the throne. There's probably a day coming when he will no longer be an heir. When? When he's actually king. And Buckingham Palace and the crown jewels and all the things, all of it is his then. No longer an heir, but a possessor. And our salvation is like that. We are already saved. We are already children of God. But the full experience of our salvation is yet to come.Someday, and the text here says, in the last time, referring to that future consummation of history. Someday, when Jesus returns and final judgment takes place, our ultimate inheritance will be ours. And our ultimate inheritance is Christ himself. And from that point on, we will see and know and worship him. From that point on, we will serve him. fully and faithfully. From that point on, we will be in awe that the Holy Son of God that we see with our own eyes died for us, gave his life for us, and now showers his love upon us for all of eternity. And we will never get over that he did that. We will never get over the mercy of God to us. So that we can say that the Vanderbilts had their fortune by family right, and Prince Charles has his inheritance by birthright.We will have our inheritance forever by new birth and the mercy and the power of God. And so we get to that truth, and what can we say? How about we say what he says in verse 3? “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen. Would you pray with me, please? Heavenly Father God, we thank you.This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.

Kelly follows up on her conversation with Susan Cain (author of Quiet and Bittersweet) with a song that captures the same ache of longing they talked about. It's a small tribute to the things we're all still waiting for, featuring a haunting, original song, Someday, by her friend — musician and NYU professor Mike Errico.Mike's book that Kelly mentioned is: Music, Lyrics, and Life: A Field Guide for the Advancing Songwriter

Steve DeWitt God, Why Am I Hurting? - Part B Study Guide for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:6-8 Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 1:6-8 Visit the series page: Exiles: A study in 1 Peter Donate to Support The Journey Sermon Transcript for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:6-8 Sermon Series: Spiritual ExilesMessage: God Why Am I Hurting? Airdate: 9/10-9/11/26Programs: 2354 23552014, what a year around this place. I mean, it was something else. And just on the surface to go from two campuses to four campuses all in one year, a remarkable, remarkable, thing that God has done. We give him glory for it, and, we want 2015 to be another year of, faithful ministry here, and thank you for your part in that. I really mean that.This is our weekend of the annual meeting, and that's partly why we made this video. It's a it's a year or it's a a weekend where our members, we have our annual meeting, and so it's kind of a year to look back, a time to look back on the on the past year. It also means that, because our meeting is between this service and the next, I know this is gonna be disappointing. The sermon's a little shorter. Little shorter.So appropriate, that I'm speaking on trials in this sermon. And I'm gonna get right into it because our time is fleeting. First Peter one verses six through seven, I've entitled this message, God, why am I hurting? That resonate resonate here today? Are you in a time in your life maybe where you are hurting, where there is a trial maybe that is a pain in your life right now, you might say, no.Not really. Just wait. K? Just wait. It's coming.Life in a broken world brings sorrows to us in all kinds of directions and in ways that we cannot anticipate. That day is most certainly coming. And Peter is writing this letter to a group of geographical exiles in the first century sent from Rome, living in Asia Minor, but they are they are spiritual exiles as well. They are suffering in a community that looks at their Christian faith, looks at their rejection of the immorality around them. They look down at them, and they are feeling alienated.They are feeling ostracized, and they are suffering in many different ways. And so Peter writes this letter to them to encourage them, and it is perhaps more than the only one maybe competing with the book would be the book of Job of, delivering to us, giving to us a theology of Christian suffering. How do I handle it? How should I look at it when God sovereignly brings pain into my life? First Peter is a very honest letter.It looks pain in the face and gives an answer. Did you know Christianity has an answer to suffering that the other religions of the world, the other philosophies struggle to provide in ways that we'll get into? So maybe you're here today and you're in pain, and you're thinking this is the sermon for me. Maybe you're here today and you're not in pain, but that day is coming. I want to prepare all of us to suffer so that when we are the ones experiencing that pain, we have a kind of grid.We have a kind of understanding that is ready to embrace the trials that come. I also wanna note that Christianity is based on suffering. I mean, our entire faith is built upon the suffering savior who came into this world, God steps into our pain in the person of Jesus, incarnates into this world, lives amongst us, experiences all of the weaknesses, all of the sufferings that we experience, and then suffered himself dying on the cross bearing the guilt and shame for all of our sins. Our savior was a suffering savior. We can say it that Christianity is is built on suffering.Now that doesn't sound so good. It doesn't look great on a billboard. You know, we're not gonna put up a billboard that says, Bethel Church, come suffer with us. Right? Because many people, they don't wanna hear that, and they want a faith that doesn't include any suffering, and yet it inevitably comes.Are we ready for that? Are you ready for that in your life? So our text is verses, six and seven, First Peter one. Please listen as I read. “In this, you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”This passage is Peter's first salvo of teaching on suffering. It's gonna continue through the letter. So this isn't everything that he has to say about it. There's much more to come. Notice that he begins with the the little phrase there, in this, you rejoice.You wouldn't expect a passage on suffering to have a and to begin with a word of joy, and he's referring there to what he's just talked about regarding our living hope. Our hope is living because our hope is in a living savior. And so because of that, we are we rejoice in this salvation, this new birth that God has given to us. Notice that joy and pain can coexist. We typically think, you know, when I am in pain, then I'm not joyous.Right? Or when I'm in joyous, I don't have any pain. And yet these two come together, indeed, they have to come together in a Christian theology of suffering because there is going to be ongoing problems and pain in life. There are gonna be ups and downs, and yet our Christian joy is not based upon our circumstances. It is grounded and based upon something that is enduring.Even Jesus himself, Hebrews, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross and despised its shame.” So don't see the these as enemies. These actually can be friends, joy, and pain. We'll get into more of that later. But in this passage, Peter gives four certainties in the midst of suffering.Four certainties that a Christian can hold on to, trust, and believe in even when life is hurting. So let's get into these now. Notice the first one is that our trials as Christians are temporary. They are temporary. The text now, “though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.”Peter's first point here is chronological. He is pointing something out that is obviously true. Now it doesn't seem that way to us when we are in the midst of pain. When we are hurting, what do we often think about the pain that we're feeling? We say things like this.This is never going to change. This is never gonna be fixed. I will always feel this way. This pain will never go away. That's how it seems to us.Right? Peter says, yes. It will. Yes. It will.Chronologically speaking, our sufferings and our trials and our pains are very small in duration when compared to the future that the Christian confidently expects, this eternal life that we have. Our lives are fleeting. Our days are numbered. They're short. Eternity is long.Peter points that out. He says, you know what now? For a little while, it's just a little while. It's temporary. You're not always going to feel this way.It's not always going to be this way. A day of change is coming. Chapter five verse 10, he writes, and after you have suffered a little while, there he says it again, “the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” Peter's wanting us to realize that that this trial that I am in is finite. Eternity is unending.My trial is temporary. Eternity is forever. And when I look at things from that grand perspective, it helps me put it into proper perspective. When I obsess about my trials, I think it's always going to be this way. Do you ever get sort of melodramatic about things?Right? Oh, it's never gonna be better. My life is over. You know, teenage girl says that when who knows what happened to her. Right?And she's, oh, you know. And we look at her and we say that is so immature. Peter says when we look at our trials like it's always going to be that way, we're looking immaturely. We're not seeing things from the grand perspective. Our trials are temporary.Someday, the present pain of our life will be over. Someday, Jesus himself is going to confirm, establish, comfort, minister. Someday, we are going to look back at our trials, and we are going to agree with God regarding them. Can you believe that? Now you might be in a trial right now going, I will never say that this was okay.I will never agree with this. Someday, God, I believe, is going to give us understanding regarding why this happened and why that happened and why that happened. I talked with a man after first service today. He's losing his job. He has thirty days.He was talking to somebody about this and that person said to him, I haven't been to church since Vietnam. But in light of the way you're responding to this, I might give it another chance. He always had tears in his eyes after first service to this point that I'm making. He goes, oh, these three years have been so hard, but maybe I see why God's doing it. Don't Don't you think heaven is going to be that kind of an experience where God goes, see when that happened right there?I did this with that with that person's life, and then this was the fruit of it. And we're gonna be going, I had no idea. And when we see it in the big picture, don't you think we will go, you know, God, you are infinitely wise. I now agree with that. And if I was you, I would have brought that into my life.Praise be to God. Okay? Heaven will be that I think. For a Christian, realize friends, for a Christian, this life that we're in right now, this is as bad as it gets. Our lives right now are the worst experience that we are ever going to have.Why? Because eternity is going to be bliss, heaven, and joy. So this is as bad as it gets for the Christian. For the unbeliever, it's the opposite. This is as good as it gets.Life in this broken world with all of its pain and all of its uncertainty is far better than what lies ahead for the unbeliever. But for us, this is as bad as it gets. This is temporary pain. That helps, doesn't it? Indeed, it does.Secondly, Peter points out that trials are painful. Trials are painful. Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. That's a pretty good word to describe what pain feels like. Right?It's grievous to us. And do I really need a lot of proof text on this one? Just to prove to you that trials are painful, that we feel within us when we are in a trial. And by trial here, I it's it's all of it, the various trials that he talks about. It can be physical.It can be emotional. It can be relational. It can be marital. It can be financial. It can be political.It can be injustice. It can be emotional worry, fear, misery, depression, and I mean, the things that the things that can create pain in us are incredibly varied, aren't they? All of them, we feel very personally when we experience them. I also find over time in my life that not only are the trials varied, but my ability to handle them is varied. There are things that when I was younger wouldn't have bothered me, now they bother me, like birthdays.There are things that when I was young bothered me, but now from a perspective of maturity doesn't bother me anymore. Right? It's so varied. It's so changing. But over all of that, we certainly can say the trials are painful.We would rather not be in them. Amen? Okay. That'd be my preference. A trouble free life.No more trials. I mean, that'd be like heaven, wouldn't it? Oh, wait. It is heaven. Are you with me?Okay. Alright. Third, reality and certainty with trials. And this now gets into kind of the nub of what Peter is wanting us to see is that trials are revealing and trials are refining. Again, the text, “so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”What is one of the biggest things that we wanna know when we are in the midst of a trial? We search for why. Right? Why is this happening? Why am I feeling this?Why am I sorrowing like I am? Why am I so depressed about this? And atheism comes along and gives what answer? Nothing. Secular humanism comes along and gives what answer?Nothing. Agnosticism comes along and gives what answer? E. Evolutionary theory comes along and gives what answer to our pain? Nothing.Christianity comes along, and it's got a purpose statement. Right there, you see it. So that. Why do I go through the troubles that I do? Why do I go through these things?Is there some reason behind it? And indeed, there is. In fact, you see, previously, he says, if necessary about our trials. If necessary what do you mean if necessary? That seems to indicate somebody is determining whether I ought to go through this or not.Is there a sovereign somebody that is sovereignly guiding and directing in the details of my life and determining whether this is good or not, necessary or not. Indeed, that is Christianity, that there is a sovereign God who doesn't simply, like the agnostics teach, live out there in the extended world and hope the best for us, but rather he is sovereignly over every single detail of our life. There's nothing that will ever happen to the Christian that we that that God did not sovereignly bring to us. Now by that, it doesn't mean that God endorses evil. And someday, we will never endorse evil either.We'll never look at the Holocaust and say, yeah. Great. But God uses evil, and God uses these things to accomplish his purposes. That's what Joseph said in Genesis, right, to his brothers. “You intended it for evil.God intended it for good.” That's the the the wonder of the mystery of God that he can, in the complexities of the universe, use even evil for his divine good and sovereign purposes. And so we see then that in Christian in a Christian theology of suffering, there is a purpose to it. And I think that alone is one of the great certainties that we have to cling to, that this is not random. This is not chaos.This is not Satan winning. Rather, this is something that God is sovereignly guiding and directing. There is a purpose behind it. Sometimes that doesn't make sense to us when the kind and godly young man dies or when the righteous suffer and the unrighteous prosper. Do you ever feel that way?Maybe you feel about that way about yourself. I'm I'm busting my butt. I'm trying to be a good employee, student, wife, husband, parent, whatever. And here I am. I'm dying on the vine, and you look at your neighbor who they're immoral, they profane God's name, and they just smile all the time.And you're like, that doesn't seem fair to me. As the hymn says, it is our God who does each day what he deems best. We trust that pain has a purpose and that God is behind it. The same faith that can believe in Jesus and trust my entire eternity to the truthfulness that Jesus did bear my guilt as he died on the cross is the same faith that now as a Christian in the midst of my suffering appropriates the promises of God and believes that this trial is as well under the sovereign hand of God and that he is doing something with it. We say, well, what is that something?Pastor Steve, could you please help? Notice what Peter says. What purpose do they serve? “So that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire.” What Peter does here is he anticipates maybe people sort of getting lost in his theology, and he gives a very clear illustration that they could all understand and we can all understand here as well.He brings up gold. Now ancient people were interested in gold. Why? It was the most precious commodity that they had. I mean, today, if you listen to the radio and different things, you see these advertisements.The stock market's uncertain. Buy gold. Right? And they show gold bars and people smiling because they have gold bars, and they encourage you to buy gold. It's the only lasting value in the world.That's the way that they viewed it in the first century. It was their most precious commodity. It was the most long lasting thing that they had, gold. So if you've ever seen, King Tut's tomb or pictures of the jewelry and the gold at King Tut's tomb, then you know that the ancient world, they were really good with gold. I mean, they had figured out how to take gold out of the mountain and turn it into something very beautiful, incredibly beautiful, and intricate.So how do they do it? Well, like today, what they would do is they would mine the gold, and then they would heat it. Right? They would heat up that gold with fires in a furnace. They would heat it up and heat it up and heat it up.And gold reaches a point where it melts. And as it gets hotter, the hotter it gets, the more the impurities of the gold rise to the surface. And so the ancients would heat up that gold and they would heat up that gold and the impurities. In other words, everything that was not gold would rise to the top, and then they would just skim off the top. And by doing that, the gold then, the karat of the gold, and by that, I mean k a r a t.Not to confuse some of you that are thinking about lunch right now. Carat, the the purity of the gold, and the value then would would increase. Okay? And they all got how that worked, and I hope that maybe, you get how that works as well. Because Peter is drawing an analogy here.Do you see it? The analogy is that fire reveals the gold and fire refines the gold. It reveals what is actually gold and separates the impurities and by doing that it refines it. And what he's saying here is that our faith is like gold and our trials are like fire. Fire reveals the genuine gold, and trials reveal the genuine faith.Should I say that again? Fire reveals the genuine gold. Trials reveal the genuine faith within us. Now you don't have to be around the church very long to see this in action. If you're around a church, some family or some individual is gonna suddenly find themselves in a trial, a fiery trial, as Peter calls it elsewhere.And you can watch how this works. And sometimes it's beautiful. Right? Because here you have sort of generic family a, and you didn't know them that well. You didn't know that much about them, but you hear about the trial.And out of that trial, you see a family that is turning to God in ways that you had never seen before. They're wanting the church to be in prayer for them. They're seeking spiritual, counsel and help. They're turning to God in the midst of their trial. They're trusting in things that they they don't know how it's gonna work out, but our trust is in God.And please, won't you pray for us? And you see in that trial a faith that you had never seen before. And it's a beautiful thing to see that. The genuineness of their faith is being revealed by the trial. In a sense, they didn't know what was in them.They didn't realize what they had, that saving faith in them, now showing its true color, its true karat in the midst of a fiery trial. At the same time, you don't have to be around the church very long to have generic family b in the church who comes under a similar trial. And they are unprepared for it. Their faith is has no, bandwidth for it. In that trial, all of a sudden, they are overwhelmed.Or they feel like, wait. This is not what I signed up for. They're like kinda like bandwagon Christians. They sort of join the church. They get on the Christianity bandwagon, and then paint then life hurts.And they're like, I need a different bandwagon. And off they go in a 100 different directions forsaking what they profess to be true in their life. What has the trial done for them? The trial has revealed that their faith was not genuine. The heat of the trial has done that.It is our response to trials that says so much. And by the way, this doesn't mean that we're like super Christians. And like from now on here at Bethel Church, if you ever have a trial, you must be like, my faith is being revealed and I love it. You know, it's not like that at all. There is room in this for normal human concern and worry and fear and the battling of fear and faith and all of that.So it's not like we're all walking around on some great spiritual plane somehow. But in the essence of it, there is an endurance that faith, genuine faith has that comes through the trial different, better, refined, revealed in ways that previously had been unknown. Trials are also great purifiers. Great purifiers. I read a little bit this week in preparation for this that modern gold refining, they heat up the gold to 3,000 degrees.That's hot, isn't it? And I got thinking to myself, what if you could interview the gold while it's being heated up, while it's coming under this kind of temperature? What might the gold be saying as it's getting hot? I see statements like this: “This is hot! This hurts! This stinks! Get me out of here! Why is this happening? Why do I get this and silver gets off easy? Please stop this right now. The guy in charge of this doesn't love me.” But what does the goldsmith know? The goldsmith knows that the only way for that gold to be purified is by heat. Now I stand before you a man who wished that wasn't true.I mean, wouldn't it be great if if the way that our faith could be built and we could grow spiritually would be for God to lavish us with every desire of our hearts? And for there never to be a single problem the rest of our life that we would just be rich and happy and fat and, you know, healthy and eat what we want and have all these. I mean, wouldn't it be great if that was the way that our faith was built? Amen. You're not sure if you want to amen that or not.I think that would be fantastic. That's not the way that it works, is it? In fact, what happens to people who get everything they want? What do we call children like that? Brats.That's what we call them. The surest way to raise a brat is to give that kid everything he wants all the time. And spiritually, there's a lot of immature Christians running around wanting that same kind of an experience. That's immaturity. How do we grow friends?It's through pain. And you'd better be ready for it. And again, this doesn't look great on the church billboards. Come to Bethel Church and suffer along with us. But that's the Bible.And that's the experience of Jesus who, by the way, we're told to do what? Take up our cross and follow him. Is there room in your understanding of your Christian faith that when trials come into your life, it doesn't mean that God doesn't love you? Now that's easy to say when you're not in a trial. But Thursday of this week, you might be.Are you ready to embrace that trial? Does your faith in God have a bandwidth that can bear that? Peter says your faith is more valuable than gold. Gold was the most valuable thing that they had in that day. Peter says your faith trumps it.Why? Because gold perishes. Gold perishes. But our faith will last forever. Not because of us, but because of that persevering, preserving work of God in our life.When the heat is turned up on us, we wanna say stop. God's answer is this. You may not realize it, but your faith is far more valuable than your comfort. I am going to reveal it and refine it. This will be a short term pain, but it will be a long term gain.Are you ready? You know, as a pastor, our elders, our pastors, we often are called into those moments of pain. I did two funerals yesterday morning. Two very wonderful godly men in our church, Peter Hammer and Merle McCluskey, both families suffering loss. Dear, dear brothers in the Lord, these kinds of things happen.They heard me preach sermons like this all the time, and now they're dead. They their sojourn is over. Are you ready? Are you ready, or are just hoping it doesn't happen or that Jesus comes back before it happens? Now with that said, I don't think we should intentionally bring trouble to ourselves.So don't leave the service today and be like, you know what? Trials refine my faith. I want trials in my life and run your car into a guardrail or a light pole or something like that. K? There's enough pain in this world we don't need to add to it.It also doesn't mean that we should be trying to refine our other people's faith and say, you know what? He needs to grow. Especially you married couples. I don't want you thinking that way. Life has enough fiery trials all by itself.So what should we be thinking when we're in a trial? I've got some questions. When the heat is up, when the heat in life is coming up, what should I ask? Here's a few. Am I looking at this from a temporal or eternal perspective?Obsess over the problem, and it will be overwhelming. Pull back from it and see it from the grand perspective of the gospel and the story of God, now I have it in perspective. Do I do I realize that trials are necessary at times and are for my good? This is one of the things that I, in my difficult times in my life, I try to bring to bear the thought in my heart, this is good for me. And that's hard at times.Right? Because I got this other part of me going, no, it isn't. And then I've got my faith part going, yes. It is. No.It isn't. Yes. It is. No. It is.Yes. You lay in bed at night. You can't sleep because this is going on. Right? But faith refuses to give up the belief that there is a sovereign God and that these light and momentary trials are achieving for us a glory that far outweighs them all.Romans eight. I'm sorry. Second Corinthians four. Is my perspective shaped by confidence in God's sovereign and good plan for my life? Do you think God loves you or only when things are good and going the way you want?Do you believe he loves you? Friend, he does. He sent Jesus. Right? That is Romans eight.“If God didn't spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will we not also along with him graciously give us all things?” How can we doubt the love of God for us? He sent his son for us. Do I want to grow spiritually more than I want to live comfortably? How many people could honestly say, yes, I want to grow spiritually more than to have a comfortable life?Is faith refinement a personal goal? Do I aspire to a high karat content? I think those are all very helpful, and maybe we'll get those up on the web in case you would like those. They come right from the text. Now look at the end result here, and we have our fourth certainty in the text.Let me read it again. “So that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The fourth certainty is that purified faith has a goal in mind. If my goal is to grow spiritually, I have another goal in that, and it's an eternal perspective where I believe that this trial that I am going through is going to bring honor to God and also is going to bring commendation and honor to me. And this was my aha moment in my studies here because whenever you see it may result in praise and glory and honor, you just assume that this is talking about God.Right? Because there's so many passages in the Bible that say that. Philippians two, for example, “every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” And so you can look at that and say, well, who is the honor going to? It must be going to God.And indeed, in the end, all honor does go to God. But the text doesn't say that the honor here goes to God. It just says when it comes. It comes when Jesus is revealed. It comes at the end of time.And I think what Peter is doing here is he is including both. There is in my trouble and in my pain. Why do I want to respond in a God honoring way? Because I want God to be honored in this trial. And that is a very good motive for the Christian enduring suffering that Jesus may be honored in my life. I want him to be glorified in all things.Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen? Alright.So that we got down, especially at a church that is an all about him church. We got that down. But notice also that there is this reward that is also taught in Scripture that I receive. This commentation that I receive from Jesus in honor as he commends, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”Or a cup of cold water extended my name shall not be forgotten. And a host of other passages that teach us that as we honor the Lord in the ups and the downs of life, that we are putting our treasure in heaven as another example and that Jesus will reward us. Can that be motivating? I think so. I think so.In fact, to illustrate this, I'd like to return to the illustration that Peter is using, how both honors can happen, God and us. Let's go back to gold a second and to talk about gold used in in artwork. You know, back in the first century, they were doing what man has done for centuries, millennia, and that is use gold in art. Beautiful gold in, for example, jewelry. If you've, been to the museums in Chicago, there are displays there of ancient gold jewelry.And to this day, people pay to have tickets, and they go and they stand in front of the display, and they marvel at the intricate, jewelry and the and the craftsmanship of that those beautiful pieces of art. They stand there, and they're like, wow. And the wife's like, you ought to get me one of those. And, you know, these you just kinda stand there, and you admire the craftsmanship. You admire the artistic ability.You you admire the the art and the worth of that. Wow. That is just so absolutely beautiful. And so gold has itself a kind of I'm sorry. Art has its own kind of praise as we admire the art itself.But there is this other kind of honor that art produces, and that is honor for the maker of the art. So that it's not just the Messiah, it is Handel's Messiah. And it's just not the Fifth, it is Beethoven's fifth. And with great pieces of art, the art is valued and treasured, but then the real honor is for the amazing ability of the person who crafted it in the first place. And so how does that apply to what God is doing in the midst of my pain and my sorrow?As I realize that everything that comes into my life is from the sovereign hand of God, as I appropriate that faith, the same faith that trusted in Jesus for my eternity, I now trust him for this trial that I'm experiencing. And I remain faithful to the Lord. I try with the the strength that God provides to obey or to be steadfast or whatever I need to do in that trial. As I do that, God is shaping and forming in me in the story of my life a kind of artistic beauty. And the people around you see that, and they admire it.And they're like, isn't it beautiful and wonderful what that family is doing in response to that trial in their life? Isn't it great and wonderful what that man is doing as he prepares to lose his job by faith in Jesus, believing God is sovereign over it? And a host of other things as we admire and see that we are we're like the gallery of God. Our lives are a kind of masterpiece, a kind of artistic expression of the amazing power of God, but for our own honor as well. We hang in the gallery of God and people and angels and God himself admiring the beauty of what our lives live by faith in times of trouble, what that is, so that we as the art and God is the maker of the art, both receive honor and praise.And one motivating factor when I am in a time of trouble is I don't want to lose that reward. I don't want to lose that commendation from God. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I don't wanna lose the opportunity to bring honor to him. By the way, I live by faith even when life hurts.So that at the end then of all of our troubles and all of our pains, there is God and there is us. His artwork, his masterpieces, honored and honored. Little h honor to us, big h honor to God. Paintings and painters, symphonies and composers, sinners and savior may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Much more on suffering in First Peter.We're just getting going. I'm gonna ask you, just to join me for a word of prayer. Would you stand with me, please, as we conclude our service together?* This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.

We would love to hear from you! Text us any feedback. What happens when you ask your kids what you do that makes them cringe?For this episode, the answer came from a simple phrase: “my mama heart.” What started as a funny conversation with a daughter turned into a much bigger realization... of course our kids don't fully understand the mama heart yet. They haven't experienced one.Motherhood changes the way a heart operates. We feel their disappointments, celebrate their wins, worry about things completely outside of our control, and sometimes find ourselves wanting to step in and fix what may not actually be ours to fix.This episode explores the joy, worry, pride, fear, letting go, and deep love that come with a mama heart, along with four practical reminders for navigating it all:• Name what you're actually carrying.• Ask, “Is this mine to carry?”• Don't confuse feeling it with fixing it.• Give your mama heart somewhere to put it all.From knowing when to step in and when to simply stand close, to learning to surrender the things we cannot control, this conversation is a reminder that we can love our children deeply without carrying everything for them.And maybe that phrase our kids think is a little cringey? Someday, they'll understand. Show Resources:Praying the Scriptures for Your Children:https://amzn.to/4ysaJqKPraying the Scriptures for Your Teens:https://amzn.to/3UyziDNPraying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children:https://amzn.to/4A7fnw0JOIN ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:Follow Along @ - https://www.instagram.com/nikkicronksmith/

Steve DeWitt God, Why Am I Hurting? - Part A Study Guide for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:6-8 Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 1:6-8 Visit the series page: Exiles: A study in 1 Peter Donate to Support The Journey Sermon Transcript for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:6-8 Sermon Series: Spiritual ExilesMessage: God Why Am I Hurting? Airdate: 9/10-9/11/26Programs: 2354 23552014, what a year around this place. I mean, it was something else. And just on the surface to go from two campuses to four campuses all in one year, a remarkable, remarkable, thing that God has done. We give him glory for it, and, we want 2015 to be another year of, faithful ministry here, and thank you for your part in that. I really mean that.This is our weekend of the annual meeting, and that's partly why we made this video. It's a it's a year or it's a a weekend where our members, we have our annual meeting, and so it's kind of a year to look back, a time to look back on the on the past year. It also means that, because our meeting is between this service and the next, I know this is gonna be disappointing. The sermon's a little shorter. Little shorter.So appropriate, that I'm speaking on trials in this sermon. And I'm gonna get right into it because our time is fleeting. First Peter one verses six through seven, I've entitled this message, God, why am I hurting? That resonate resonate here today? Are you in a time in your life maybe where you are hurting, where there is a trial maybe that is a pain in your life right now, you might say, no.Not really. Just wait. K? Just wait. It's coming.Life in a broken world brings sorrows to us in all kinds of directions and in ways that we cannot anticipate. That day is most certainly coming. And Peter is writing this letter to a group of geographical exiles in the first century sent from Rome, living in Asia Minor, but they are they are spiritual exiles as well. They are suffering in a community that looks at their Christian faith, looks at their rejection of the immorality around them. They look down at them, and they are feeling alienated.They are feeling ostracized, and they are suffering in many different ways. And so Peter writes this letter to them to encourage them, and it is perhaps more than the only one maybe competing with the book would be the book of Job of, delivering to us, giving to us a theology of Christian suffering. How do I handle it? How should I look at it when God sovereignly brings pain into my life? First Peter is a very honest letter.It looks pain in the face and gives an answer. Did you know Christianity has an answer to suffering that the other religions of the world, the other philosophies struggle to provide in ways that we'll get into? So maybe you're here today and you're in pain, and you're thinking this is the sermon for me. Maybe you're here today and you're not in pain, but that day is coming. I want to prepare all of us to suffer so that when we are the ones experiencing that pain, we have a kind of grid.We have a kind of understanding that is ready to embrace the trials that come. I also wanna note that Christianity is based on suffering. I mean, our entire faith is built upon the suffering savior who came into this world, God steps into our pain in the person of Jesus, incarnates into this world, lives amongst us, experiences all of the weaknesses, all of the sufferings that we experience, and then suffered himself dying on the cross bearing the guilt and shame for all of our sins. Our savior was a suffering savior. We can say it that Christianity is is built on suffering.Now that doesn't sound so good. It doesn't look great on a billboard. You know, we're not gonna put up a billboard that says, Bethel Church, come suffer with us. Right? Because many people, they don't wanna hear that, and they want a faith that doesn't include any suffering, and yet it inevitably comes.Are we ready for that? Are you ready for that in your life? So our text is verses, six and seven, First Peter one. Please listen as I read. “In this, you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”This passage is Peter's first salvo of teaching on suffering. It's gonna continue through the letter. So this isn't everything that he has to say about it. There's much more to come. Notice that he begins with the the little phrase there, in this, you rejoice.You wouldn't expect a passage on suffering to have a and to begin with a word of joy, and he's referring there to what he's just talked about regarding our living hope. Our hope is living because our hope is in a living savior. And so because of that, we are we rejoice in this salvation, this new birth that God has given to us. Notice that joy and pain can coexist. We typically think, you know, when I am in pain, then I'm not joyous.Right? Or when I'm in joyous, I don't have any pain. And yet these two come together, indeed, they have to come together in a Christian theology of suffering because there is going to be ongoing problems and pain in life. There are gonna be ups and downs, and yet our Christian joy is not based upon our circumstances. It is grounded and based upon something that is enduring.Even Jesus himself, Hebrews, “who for the joy set before him endured the cross and despised its shame.” So don't see the these as enemies. These actually can be friends, joy, and pain. We'll get into more of that later. But in this passage, Peter gives four certainties in the midst of suffering.Four certainties that a Christian can hold on to, trust, and believe in even when life is hurting. So let's get into these now. Notice the first one is that our trials as Christians are temporary. They are temporary. The text now, “though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials.”Peter's first point here is chronological. He is pointing something out that is obviously true. Now it doesn't seem that way to us when we are in the midst of pain. When we are hurting, what do we often think about the pain that we're feeling? We say things like this.This is never going to change. This is never gonna be fixed. I will always feel this way. This pain will never go away. That's how it seems to us.Right? Peter says, yes. It will. Yes. It will.Chronologically speaking, our sufferings and our trials and our pains are very small in duration when compared to the future that the Christian confidently expects, this eternal life that we have. Our lives are fleeting. Our days are numbered. They're short. Eternity is long.Peter points that out. He says, you know what now? For a little while, it's just a little while. It's temporary. You're not always going to feel this way.It's not always going to be this way. A day of change is coming. Chapter five verse 10, he writes, and after you have suffered a little while, there he says it again, “the God of all grace who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” Peter's wanting us to realize that that this trial that I am in is finite. Eternity is unending.My trial is temporary. Eternity is forever. And when I look at things from that grand perspective, it helps me put it into proper perspective. When I obsess about my trials, I think it's always going to be this way. Do you ever get sort of melodramatic about things?Right? Oh, it's never gonna be better. My life is over. You know, teenage girl says that when who knows what happened to her. Right?And she's, oh, you know. And we look at her and we say that is so immature. Peter says when we look at our trials like it's always going to be that way, we're looking immaturely. We're not seeing things from the grand perspective. Our trials are temporary.Someday, the present pain of our life will be over. Someday, Jesus himself is going to confirm, establish, comfort, minister. Someday, we are going to look back at our trials, and we are going to agree with God regarding them. Can you believe that? Now you might be in a trial right now going, I will never say that this was okay.I will never agree with this. Someday, God, I believe, is going to give us understanding regarding why this happened and why that happened and why that happened. I talked with a man after first service today. He's losing his job. He has thirty days.He was talking to somebody about this and that person said to him, I haven't been to church since Vietnam. But in light of the way you're responding to this, I might give it another chance. He always had tears in his eyes after first service to this point that I'm making. He goes, oh, these three years have been so hard, but maybe I see why God's doing it. Don't Don't you think heaven is going to be that kind of an experience where God goes, see when that happened right there?I did this with that with that person's life, and then this was the fruit of it. And we're gonna be going, I had no idea. And when we see it in the big picture, don't you think we will go, you know, God, you are infinitely wise. I now agree with that. And if I was you, I would have brought that into my life.Praise be to God. Okay? Heaven will be that I think. For a Christian, realize friends, for a Christian, this life that we're in right now, this is as bad as it gets. Our lives right now are the worst experience that we are ever going to have.Why? Because eternity is going to be bliss, heaven, and joy. So this is as bad as it gets for the Christian. For the unbeliever, it's the opposite. This is as good as it gets.Life in this broken world with all of its pain and all of its uncertainty is far better than what lies ahead for the unbeliever. But for us, this is as bad as it gets. This is temporary pain. That helps, doesn't it? Indeed, it does.Secondly, Peter points out that trials are painful. Trials are painful. Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials. That's a pretty good word to describe what pain feels like. Right?It's grievous to us. And do I really need a lot of proof text on this one? Just to prove to you that trials are painful, that we feel within us when we are in a trial. And by trial here, I it's it's all of it, the various trials that he talks about. It can be physical.It can be emotional. It can be relational. It can be marital. It can be financial. It can be political.It can be injustice. It can be emotional worry, fear, misery, depression, and I mean, the things that the things that can create pain in us are incredibly varied, aren't they? All of them, we feel very personally when we experience them. I also find over time in my life that not only are the trials varied, but my ability to handle them is varied. There are things that when I was younger wouldn't have bothered me, now they bother me, like birthdays.There are things that when I was young bothered me, but now from a perspective of maturity doesn't bother me anymore. Right? It's so varied. It's so changing. But over all of that, we certainly can say the trials are painful.We would rather not be in them. Amen? Okay. That'd be my preference. A trouble free life.No more trials. I mean, that'd be like heaven, wouldn't it? Oh, wait. It is heaven. Are you with me?Okay. Alright. Third, reality and certainty with trials. And this now gets into kind of the nub of what Peter is wanting us to see is that trials are revealing and trials are refining. Again, the text, “so that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”What is one of the biggest things that we wanna know when we are in the midst of a trial? We search for why. Right? Why is this happening? Why am I feeling this?Why am I sorrowing like I am? Why am I so depressed about this? And atheism comes along and gives what answer? Nothing. Secular humanism comes along and gives what answer?Nothing. Agnosticism comes along and gives what answer? E. Evolutionary theory comes along and gives what answer to our pain? Nothing.Christianity comes along, and it's got a purpose statement. Right there, you see it. So that. Why do I go through the troubles that I do? Why do I go through these things?Is there some reason behind it? And indeed, there is. In fact, you see, previously, he says, if necessary about our trials. If necessary what do you mean if necessary? That seems to indicate somebody is determining whether I ought to go through this or not.Is there a sovereign somebody that is sovereignly guiding and directing in the details of my life and determining whether this is good or not, necessary or not. Indeed, that is Christianity, that there is a sovereign God who doesn't simply, like the agnostics teach, live out there in the extended world and hope the best for us, but rather he is sovereignly over every single detail of our life. There's nothing that will ever happen to the Christian that we that that God did not sovereignly bring to us. Now by that, it doesn't mean that God endorses evil. And someday, we will never endorse evil either.We'll never look at the Holocaust and say, yeah. Great. But God uses evil, and God uses these things to accomplish his purposes. That's what Joseph said in Genesis, right, to his brothers. “You intended it for evil.God intended it for good.” That's the the the wonder of the mystery of God that he can, in the complexities of the universe, use even evil for his divine good and sovereign purposes. And so we see then that in Christian in a Christian theology of suffering, there is a purpose to it. And I think that alone is one of the great certainties that we have to cling to, that this is not random. This is not chaos.This is not Satan winning. Rather, this is something that God is sovereignly guiding and directing. There is a purpose behind it. Sometimes that doesn't make sense to us when the kind and godly young man dies or when the righteous suffer and the unrighteous prosper. Do you ever feel that way?Maybe you feel about that way about yourself. I'm I'm busting my butt. I'm trying to be a good employee, student, wife, husband, parent, whatever. And here I am. I'm dying on the vine, and you look at your neighbor who they're immoral, they profane God's name, and they just smile all the time.And you're like, that doesn't seem fair to me. As the hymn says, it is our God who does each day what he deems best. We trust that pain has a purpose and that God is behind it. The same faith that can believe in Jesus and trust my entire eternity to the truthfulness that Jesus did bear my guilt as he died on the cross is the same faith that now as a Christian in the midst of my suffering appropriates the promises of God and believes that this trial is as well under the sovereign hand of God and that he is doing something with it. We say, well, what is that something?Pastor Steve, could you please help? Notice what Peter says. What purpose do they serve? “So that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire.” What Peter does here is he anticipates maybe people sort of getting lost in his theology, and he gives a very clear illustration that they could all understand and we can all understand here as well.He brings up gold. Now ancient people were interested in gold. Why? It was the most precious commodity that they had. I mean, today, if you listen to the radio and different things, you see these advertisements.The stock market's uncertain. Buy gold. Right? And they show gold bars and people smiling because they have gold bars, and they encourage you to buy gold. It's the only lasting value in the world.That's the way that they viewed it in the first century. It was their most precious commodity. It was the most long lasting thing that they had, gold. So if you've ever seen, King Tut's tomb or pictures of the jewelry and the gold at King Tut's tomb, then you know that the ancient world, they were really good with gold. I mean, they had figured out how to take gold out of the mountain and turn it into something very beautiful, incredibly beautiful, and intricate.So how do they do it? Well, like today, what they would do is they would mine the gold, and then they would heat it. Right? They would heat up that gold with fires in a furnace. They would heat it up and heat it up and heat it up.And gold reaches a point where it melts. And as it gets hotter, the hotter it gets, the more the impurities of the gold rise to the surface. And so the ancients would heat up that gold and they would heat up that gold and the impurities. In other words, everything that was not gold would rise to the top, and then they would just skim off the top. And by doing that, the gold then, the karat of the gold, and by that, I mean k a r a t.Not to confuse some of you that are thinking about lunch right now. Carat, the the purity of the gold, and the value then would would increase. Okay? And they all got how that worked, and I hope that maybe, you get how that works as well. Because Peter is drawing an analogy here.Do you see it? The analogy is that fire reveals the gold and fire refines the gold. It reveals what is actually gold and separates the impurities and by doing that it refines it. And what he's saying here is that our faith is like gold and our trials are like fire. Fire reveals the genuine gold, and trials reveal the genuine faith.Should I say that again? Fire reveals the genuine gold. Trials reveal the genuine faith within us. Now you don't have to be around the church very long to see this in action. If you're around a church, some family or some individual is gonna suddenly find themselves in a trial, a fiery trial, as Peter calls it elsewhere.And you can watch how this works. And sometimes it's beautiful. Right? Because here you have sort of generic family a, and you didn't know them that well. You didn't know that much about them, but you hear about the trial.And out of that trial, you see a family that is turning to God in ways that you had never seen before. They're wanting the church to be in prayer for them. They're seeking spiritual, counsel and help. They're turning to God in the midst of their trial. They're trusting in things that they they don't know how it's gonna work out, but our trust is in God.And please, won't you pray for us? And you see in that trial a faith that you had never seen before. And it's a beautiful thing to see that. The genuineness of their faith is being revealed by the trial. In a sense, they didn't know what was in them.They didn't realize what they had, that saving faith in them, now showing its true color, its true karat in the midst of a fiery trial. At the same time, you don't have to be around the church very long to have generic family b in the church who comes under a similar trial. And they are unprepared for it. Their faith is has no, bandwidth for it. In that trial, all of a sudden, they are overwhelmed.Or they feel like, wait. This is not what I signed up for. They're like kinda like bandwagon Christians. They sort of join the church. They get on the Christianity bandwagon, and then paint then life hurts.And they're like, I need a different bandwagon. And off they go in a 100 different directions forsaking what they profess to be true in their life. What has the trial done for them? The trial has revealed that their faith was not genuine. The heat of the trial has done that.It is our response to trials that says so much. And by the way, this doesn't mean that we're like super Christians. And like from now on here at Bethel Church, if you ever have a trial, you must be like, my faith is being revealed and I love it. You know, it's not like that at all. There is room in this for normal human concern and worry and fear and the battling of fear and faith and all of that.So it's not like we're all walking around on some great spiritual plane somehow. But in the essence of it, there is an endurance that faith, genuine faith has that comes through the trial different, better, refined, revealed in ways that previously had been unknown. Trials are also great purifiers. Great purifiers. I read a little bit this week in preparation for this that modern gold refining, they heat up the gold to 3,000 degrees.That's hot, isn't it? And I got thinking to myself, what if you could interview the gold while it's being heated up, while it's coming under this kind of temperature? What might the gold be saying as it's getting hot? I see statements like this: “This is hot! This hurts! This stinks! Get me out of here! Why is this happening? Why do I get this and silver gets off easy? Please stop this right now. The guy in charge of this doesn't love me.” But what does the goldsmith know? The goldsmith knows that the only way for that gold to be purified is by heat. Now I stand before you a man who wished that wasn't true.I mean, wouldn't it be great if if the way that our faith could be built and we could grow spiritually would be for God to lavish us with every desire of our hearts? And for there never to be a single problem the rest of our life that we would just be rich and happy and fat and, you know, healthy and eat what we want and have all these. I mean, wouldn't it be great if that was the way that our faith was built? Amen. You're not sure if you want to amen that or not.I think that would be fantastic. That's not the way that it works, is it? In fact, what happens to people who get everything they want? What do we call children like that? Brats.That's what we call them. The surest way to raise a brat is to give that kid everything he wants all the time. And spiritually, there's a lot of immature Christians running around wanting that same kind of an experience. That's immaturity. How do we grow friends?It's through pain. And you'd better be ready for it. And again, this doesn't look great on the church billboards. Come to Bethel Church and suffer along with us. But that's the Bible.And that's the experience of Jesus who, by the way, we're told to do what? Take up our cross and follow him. Is there room in your understanding of your Christian faith that when trials come into your life, it doesn't mean that God doesn't love you? Now that's easy to say when you're not in a trial. But Thursday of this week, you might be.Are you ready to embrace that trial? Does your faith in God have a bandwidth that can bear that? Peter says your faith is more valuable than gold. Gold was the most valuable thing that they had in that day. Peter says your faith trumps it.Why? Because gold perishes. Gold perishes. But our faith will last forever. Not because of us, but because of that persevering, preserving work of God in our life.When the heat is turned up on us, we wanna say stop. God's answer is this. You may not realize it, but your faith is far more valuable than your comfort. I am going to reveal it and refine it. This will be a short term pain, but it will be a long term gain.Are you ready? You know, as a pastor, our elders, our pastors, we often are called into those moments of pain. I did two funerals yesterday morning. Two very wonderful godly men in our church, Peter Hammer and Merle McCluskey, both families suffering loss. Dear, dear brothers in the Lord, these kinds of things happen.They heard me preach sermons like this all the time, and now they're dead. They their sojourn is over. Are you ready? Are you ready, or are just hoping it doesn't happen or that Jesus comes back before it happens? Now with that said, I don't think we should intentionally bring trouble to ourselves.So don't leave the service today and be like, you know what? Trials refine my faith. I want trials in my life and run your car into a guardrail or a light pole or something like that. K? There's enough pain in this world we don't need to add to it.It also doesn't mean that we should be trying to refine our other people's faith and say, you know what? He needs to grow. Especially you married couples. I don't want you thinking that way. Life has enough fiery trials all by itself.So what should we be thinking when we're in a trial? I've got some questions. When the heat is up, when the heat in life is coming up, what should I ask? Here's a few. Am I looking at this from a temporal or eternal perspective?Obsess over the problem, and it will be overwhelming. Pull back from it and see it from the grand perspective of the gospel and the story of God, now I have it in perspective. Do I do I realize that trials are necessary at times and are for my good? This is one of the things that I, in my difficult times in my life, I try to bring to bear the thought in my heart, this is good for me. And that's hard at times.Right? Because I got this other part of me going, no, it isn't. And then I've got my faith part going, yes. It is. No.It isn't. Yes. It is. No. It is.Yes. You lay in bed at night. You can't sleep because this is going on. Right? But faith refuses to give up the belief that there is a sovereign God and that these light and momentary trials are achieving for us a glory that far outweighs them all.Romans eight. I'm sorry. Second Corinthians four. Is my perspective shaped by confidence in God's sovereign and good plan for my life? Do you think God loves you or only when things are good and going the way you want?Do you believe he loves you? Friend, he does. He sent Jesus. Right? That is Romans eight.“If God didn't spare his own son but gave him up for us all, how will we not also along with him graciously give us all things?” How can we doubt the love of God for us? He sent his son for us. Do I want to grow spiritually more than I want to live comfortably? How many people could honestly say, yes, I want to grow spiritually more than to have a comfortable life?Is faith refinement a personal goal? Do I aspire to a high karat content? I think those are all very helpful, and maybe we'll get those up on the web in case you would like those. They come right from the text. Now look at the end result here, and we have our fourth certainty in the text.Let me read it again. “So that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The fourth certainty is that purified faith has a goal in mind. If my goal is to grow spiritually, I have another goal in that, and it's an eternal perspective where I believe that this trial that I am going through is going to bring honor to God and also is going to bring commendation and honor to me. And this was my aha moment in my studies here because whenever you see it may result in praise and glory and honor, you just assume that this is talking about God.Right? Because there's so many passages in the Bible that say that. Philippians two, for example, “every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” And so you can look at that and say, well, who is the honor going to? It must be going to God.And indeed, in the end, all honor does go to God. But the text doesn't say that the honor here goes to God. It just says when it comes. It comes when Jesus is revealed. It comes at the end of time.And I think what Peter is doing here is he is including both. There is in my trouble and in my pain. Why do I want to respond in a God honoring way? Because I want God to be honored in this trial. And that is a very good motive for the Christian enduring suffering that Jesus may be honored in my life. I want him to be glorified in all things.Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen? Alright.So that we got down, especially at a church that is an all about him church. We got that down. But notice also that there is this reward that is also taught in Scripture that I receive. This commentation that I receive from Jesus in honor as he commends, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”Or a cup of cold water extended my name shall not be forgotten. And a host of other passages that teach us that as we honor the Lord in the ups and the downs of life, that we are putting our treasure in heaven as another example and that Jesus will reward us. Can that be motivating? I think so. I think so.In fact, to illustrate this, I'd like to return to the illustration that Peter is using, how both honors can happen, God and us. Let's go back to gold a second and to talk about gold used in in artwork. You know, back in the first century, they were doing what man has done for centuries, millennia, and that is use gold in art. Beautiful gold in, for example, jewelry. If you've, been to the museums in Chicago, there are displays there of ancient gold jewelry.And to this day, people pay to have tickets, and they go and they stand in front of the display, and they marvel at the intricate, jewelry and the and the craftsmanship of that those beautiful pieces of art. They stand there, and they're like, wow. And the wife's like, you ought to get me one of those. And, you know, these you just kinda stand there, and you admire the craftsmanship. You admire the artistic ability.You you admire the the art and the worth of that. Wow. That is just so absolutely beautiful. And so gold has itself a kind of I'm sorry. Art has its own kind of praise as we admire the art itself.But there is this other kind of honor that art produces, and that is honor for the maker of the art. So that it's not just the Messiah, it is Handel's Messiah. And it's just not the Fifth, it is Beethoven's fifth. And with great pieces of art, the art is valued and treasured, but then the real honor is for the amazing ability of the person who crafted it in the first place. And so how does that apply to what God is doing in the midst of my pain and my sorrow?As I realize that everything that comes into my life is from the sovereign hand of God, as I appropriate that faith, the same faith that trusted in Jesus for my eternity, I now trust him for this trial that I'm experiencing. And I remain faithful to the Lord. I try with the the strength that God provides to obey or to be steadfast or whatever I need to do in that trial. As I do that, God is shaping and forming in me in the story of my life a kind of artistic beauty. And the people around you see that, and they admire it.And they're like, isn't it beautiful and wonderful what that family is doing in response to that trial in their life? Isn't it great and wonderful what that man is doing as he prepares to lose his job by faith in Jesus, believing God is sovereign over it? And a host of other things as we admire and see that we are we're like the gallery of God. Our lives are a kind of masterpiece, a kind of artistic expression of the amazing power of God, but for our own honor as well. We hang in the gallery of God and people and angels and God himself admiring the beauty of what our lives live by faith in times of trouble, what that is, so that we as the art and God is the maker of the art, both receive honor and praise.And one motivating factor when I am in a time of trouble is I don't want to lose that reward. I don't want to lose that commendation from God. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I don't wanna lose the opportunity to bring honor to him. By the way, I live by faith even when life hurts.So that at the end then of all of our troubles and all of our pains, there is God and there is us. His artwork, his masterpieces, honored and honored. Little h honor to us, big h honor to God. Paintings and painters, symphonies and composers, sinners and savior may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Much more on suffering in First Peter.We're just getting going. I'm gonna ask you, just to join me for a word of prayer. Would you stand with me, please, as we conclude our service together?* This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.

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In this recording, we talk about the nature of Someday/Maybe items, and how the Someday/Maybe list is closely related to the Projects list. To watch this entire webinar, please visit GTD Connect. Sign up for the GTD Newsletter This audio is one of many available at GTD Connect, a learning space and community hub for all things GTD. Join GTD practitioners from around the world in learning, sharing, and developing the skills for stress-free productivity. Sign up for a free guest pass. Knowing how to get the right things done is a key to success. It's easy to get distracted and overwhelmed. Stay focused and increase productivity with GTD Connect—a subscription-based online learning center from the David Allen Company. GTD Connect gives you access to a wealth of multimedia content designed to help you stay on track and deepen your awareness of principles you can also learn in GTD courses, coaching, and by reading the Getting Things Done book. You'll also get the support and encouragement of a thriving global community of people you won't find anywhere else. If you'd like to try GTD Connect free for 14 days, read on for what's included and how to get your free trial. During your 14-day free trial, you will have access to: Recorded webinars on a wide range of productivity topics Extensive audio, video, and document library Slice of GTD Life series to see how others are making GTD stick David Allen's exclusive interviews with people in his network all over the world Lively members-only discussions sharing ideas, tips, and tricks Note: GTD Connect is designed to reinforce your learning, and we also recommend that you take a course, get individual coaching, or read the Getting Things Done book. Ready to start your free trial?

Note: This is a rebroadcast of Episode 748, first published on March 9, 2022. Some links and offers may no longer be valid. Synopsis To receive more effective referrals from the members of your BNI group, it’s really important to help them understand your business and your target market enough to identify a good referral. To do that, you need to make sure they know these four things. The Needs Assessment Your Unique Selling Proposition Why Are You in Business? What’s Your Emotionally Charged Connection? Listen to Episode 451 and read “Why You Do What You Do Is Your Key to Success” for more about Emotionally Charged Connections. What have you shared with your network that has helped you gain willing conversations with prospective customers? Share your answers in the comments. The Official BNI Podcast is sponsored by Misner Audio Programs. Complete Transcript of Episode 748 Priscilla:Hello everybody and welcome back to The Official BNI Podcast. I’m Priscilla Rice and I’m coming to you from Live Oak Recording Studio in Berkeley, California. And I’m joined on the phone today by the Founder and the Chief Visionary Officer of BNI, Dr. Ivan Misner. Hello Ivan, how are you and where are you? Ivan: I am at home in Austin, Texas this week. And, you know, most of our podcasts, almost all of our podcasts, land a post on Wednesday morning. And many of you may not know this, but for the last couple of years, every Wednesday, I have Sam Horn come over in the morning. Sam wrote the book, “POP!” where she mentioned BNI, and that was before I knew Sam. And she also wrote the book, “Someday is Not a Day in the Week.” I talk about Sam and quote her in a number of places. She comes over every Wednesday morning after this podcast goes live. And we do what we call “Writing Wednesday.” But honestly, Priscilla, it’s oftentimes ‘talking’ Wednesday. We talk. We talk a lot about writing, but we talk a lot. And today’s topic is The Willing Conversation. Priscilla:Uh huh. Ivan:And so it’s about talking to people. Do you remember, Priscilla, when you were a kid how fun magnets were to play with? Priscilla:Yes. Ivan:Yeah, I loved magnets. And depending on which way you turn the magnet, they were either attracted or repelled by one another. And as an adult, we may find ourselves feeling six years old again when we make a phone call to a referral, who turns out to not be a referral at all. And similar to a magnet that’s turned the wrong direction, you’re not being embraced in that conversation, you’re being resisted. So the referral you were given that should have been a warm introduction quickly turns into a cold call. We all want good referrals, people who want to talk to us. We want to give and receive referrals that are willing conversations about the products and services that we have to offer. And to receive more effective referrals from the members of your BNI group, it’s really important to help them understand your business and your target market enough to identify a good referral. So here are four tips that you can follow that will help you with those willing conversations. The first tip is The Needs Assessment. It’s really your responsibility to be very clear; it’s our responsibility – I’ll talk about it with me as well. It’s our responsibility to be very clear and specific with our referral partners about what constitutes a good referral. And this is a combination of an ideal prospect profile and the problems that we can solve for them. Because it’s not just about what you do, it’s about what solutions you have for the people that you’re working with. It’s about what Andy Bounds calls the AFTERs —what are things going to look like after you’ve worked with them. So, the needs assessment really is an example of you clearly defining your target market. So for a corporate coach, as an example, you might say that a small to medium sized company with fewer than 100 employees, closely held business – family owned business, regional with locations, you know, local in a state or two, and that they as a coach provide themselves on higher than average retention, getting companies to have higher than average retention for employees. And they may be in a competitive industry and as an executive coach, you can help them gain an advantage. So, you know, you want to communicate your target market very clearly to the people in your BNI group. Ivan:You also want to describe your Unique Selling Proposition. So do you have dozens or hundreds of competitors in your marketplace? You probably do. And that means that your unique selling proposition, or USP, is really important because it allows you to stand out among your competition. Your USP is a brief description of the purpose of your business. It’s stated in the most concise and compelling way possible in order to help others understand the unique value of what it is that you do. So your unique selling proposition tells people the type of client you like to work with and the benefits that you can provide for them. And what you want to say is what makes what makes you stand out and why that makes you stand out. What do you do that your competition can’t touch? At the very least, figure out what you do better than your rivals and go beyond simply saying ‘good customer service.’ That’s really part of your unique selling proposition – what it is that you have that your competition doesn’t. The third thing is Why Are You in Business? What’s your passion? Why do you go to work? Unfortunately, one of the most popular answers to the question is ‘to make money.’ That’s the worst answer a business professional can ever give. You’ve got to be able to describe why it is that you do what it is that you do. Why are you in your profession? How do you change lives? You know, that’s what the referral partners in your business group, in your BNI chapter, that’s what they want to know. Remember, passion really is referable. You need to go deep and identify your why if you want to truly connect with people on a personal level. The fourth thing is, what is your Emotionally Charged Connection? Your emotionally charged connection, or ECC, is a phrase leading to a story that your referral partners can recite when referring to you. So for those of you who want to know what my ECC is, what my emotionally charged connection is, go to episode number 451: Why Do You Do What You Do? And in that episode, I shared my emotionally charged connection and why that was so incredibly important to me, and why I do what it is that I do in business. It really stems from that podcast, 451, the experience that I have, from the podcast that I talk about. We all have an ECC, it was something that happened to you, often during childhood, that lays the groundwork for who you are as a person. It can be positive; it can be negative. Many people are not consciously aware of their emotionally charged connection yet, it’s the reason that we get up in the morning and do the things that we do every day. It’s driven by the heart, not by the checkbook, or by the head; there’s a big difference. And I’m going to also include a link in here where you can read about my emotionally charged connection. I did a blog on the same topic and so I’ll have a link here for that blog as well. The bottom line is that the better you become at sharing the information in these tips that I’ve just given you with your BNI group, the more likely you are to feel like the magnet that attracts, instead of the magnet that repels. Your referral partners will be able to give you good referrals that lead to the willing conversation. Well, I have a question for everyone when we’re done here. Priscilla, do you have any thoughts before we wrap up? Priscilla:No, but I haven’t heard this before and I really like what you’re talking about. I don’t remember hearing about the emotionally charged connection. Is that what it is? Ivan:Yeah, well, you were there for me. It was episode number 451. Priscilla:I just made a note. I’m gonna go back and listen to it. Ivan:Go back and listen to it. It was the story — you’ll remember it as soon as I give you a little heads-up. There’s a story about my teacher, Mr. Romero, and asking who wants to be on the student council. Priscilla:Aha, yeah, I remember that. Ivan:Yeah. And that was my emotionally charged connection. Because after that experience, which I’m not going to restate here on this podcast, go back and listen to 451. After that experience with this teacher, who, by the way, changed my life in many ways. After that experience, I realized many years later, that almost every business I’ve ever been drawn to and ever started was about inspiring people or providing people with an opportunity to be their best. And that’s really what BNI is, isn’t it? It’s about giving people an opportunity. You know, you joined BNI, you gotta work. Priscilla:Yeah. Ivan:And I talked about this in the podcast, you know, in 451, it’s not like it was just a gift and I walked away and became successful. It was a gift that I had to work at. It gave me an opportunity, the gift was an opportunity, and that opportunity I had to work really hard at. And from that opportunity, I achieved the level of success in high school. And from that, I realized many, many years later, not at the moment, that that experience led me to try to give other people that experience, to try to give them an opportunity to achieve success. And that’s really what BNI is about. So, go listen to episode 451 everyone. Priscilla:Yeah, I plan to. Ivan:It’s a powerful story. It’s a true story. So for those of you who are listening to this podcast, let me ask you a question. I read all of the questions that get posted here, or comments that get posted here on BNI podcast. My question is, what have you shared with your network that has helped you gain willing conversations with prospective customers? Share them here on the BNI podcast. That’s everything I’ve got, Priscilla, over to you. Priscilla:That was great. Thank you so much, Ivan. This podcast is sponsored by www.misneraudioprograms.com. These audio programs will provide you with the tools and the inspiration to powerfully enhance your BNI experience. So check out the great material available to you at www.misneraudioprograms.com and then use the promo code IVAN50 for 50% off of everything [this code is good for a limited time]. All of the proceeds go to the BNI Foundation. Thank you so much for listening. This is Priscilla Rice, and we look forward to having you join us again next week for another exciting episode of The Official BNI Podcast.

Steve DeWitt Indestructibly Saved - Part B Study Guide for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:3-5 Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 1:3-5 Visit the series page: Exiles: A study in 1 Peter Donate to Support The Journey Sermon Transcript for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:3-5 Sermon Series: Spiritual ExilesMessage: Indestructibly SavedAirdate: 9/8 & 9/9/26Programs 2352 & 2353Good morning, Crown Point Campus. And let's go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity to be here today. And we pray simply this, that your spirit would come, that he would minister to your people by your word for your glory and for our good. God, we pray that this would be a day truly where your name would be lifted higher. And we want to be a part of that. So we thank you. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, last week we began our new series in 1 Peter entitled Exiles.And the title was taken from the first verse of the book, which says this, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion.” And we saw that Peter was writing to Christians who had been part of this colonization, this dispersion, Christians living in Rome or that region sent now to Asia Minor, and they are there living as foreigners, essentially living as exiles, geopolitical exiles. And what Peter does is he draws from their geopolitical situation spiritual truth and application as they dealt with the feelings of alienation. and ostracization from people that saw them as part of the conquering army, people that weren't from there. And so much that we're going to see in this letter. Last week was our introduction, and we saw that... exiles want more than anything is they want a change of location.They think to themselves, what really needs to happen is I need to be somewhere else. And if I was somewhere else, then I would be happy. Then I would feel like I belong. And we see that what Peter is wanting them to realize is that we want to change our location. God wants to change who we are. And that is inward. And that's the work of the spirit. That's the work of the gospel. That's a part of changing us. Now, what might exiles need to know? Think about this with me for a moment. What do they need to know? There they are living in a land of uncertainty, living in a place where they don't, you know, you think of what people experience when they move into a new area. They need a new doctor. They need a new, where do I get my groceries?How do I find my way around? All the things that are sort of new and different and uncertain. That is compounded in the experience of moving in the first century to a whole new region. And there they are, and everything is uncertain. Nothing feels normal. Everything's sort of weird. What do they need to know spiritually? Well, they need to know that there is a day coming when they will not be exiles anymore and where they will feel welcomed and they will feel like they belong. And that's what Peter now moves to in pastoring this group of people. He wants them to realize that they will not always be exiles. It will not always be like it is. There's coming a day when it will be very much different. And our text in our sermon today is 1 Peter 1, verses 3 through 5.And today is a day where I get to preach at Crown Point and at Cedar Lake. And we do this with the use of technology. And hopefully a fast commute. That's where we're going today. That's where I'm going today. But our text today is verses 3 through 5. So please listen as I read from God's word. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter, if you ask most people what 1 Peter is about, it's about remaining faithful in suffering and in persecution. And I just want to note to you that a letter that begins, a letter that is about suffering, begins with, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that seems out of place, except for when you view your suffering from a Christian perspective. It sounds to me like Job, the famous book on suffering.Job, who endured all of these things in chapter 1. He loses everything, and what is his response to that? The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name. There is within Christianity a kind of faith and a kind of confidence in the goodness of God that allows Christians to suffer loss and to remain doxological, to remain praising, to remain giving thanks to God. And we see that modeled here with Peter. He begins with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. These verses, verses 3 through 5, they are, it's, This is a jewel, okay? This is a jewel passage in all of the Bible, and there are lots of jewel passages, but this is certainly one of them, because what Peter does here is he lays out the gospel. He goes from praising God, and he says, now, why? Why do we praise the Lord?What is there about what God has done for us that allows us to give praise to God even in the midst of persecution and suffering? And we see him now talking about salvation in this passage from the perspective of the past, what God has done, the present, what God is doing, and the future, what God is yet to do. And I want to hasten to say this. These truths that I'm talking about here, that Peter talks about, only apply to genuine Christians. This is not just a general truth for all of humanity. Let's all feel good about it. This is a truth that applies to people who have genuinely trusted in the Lord Jesus. And the promises that God has made to those that are his children apply then to us and are enumerated here. by Peter.So if you're here and you have not trusted in Jesus as your Savior, what I hope happens today as we talk about the blessings that come to those that are under the grace of God, that it might woo you, that it might draw you to put your hope and your faith in the Lord Jesus and for these promises then to become real and true for you. And that can happen in this service here today. Now, if you're an exile far from home, You are having to accept certain realities about life now. It's almost like a college student who goes away from home for the first time. And suddenly, the reality of being responsible for yourself, doing your own laundry, and managing your own money, and all of the rest comes crashing down on the freshmen.And some of them flunk out as a result of that, right? They're in a faraway land. Everything's sort of strange. And indeed, to be one of these people that he's writing to, in a faraway land where everything feels creepy and people look at you as creepy because you're different created a whole set of problems and difficulties your homeland that where you used to be it felt safe it felt normal it felt secure you had friends that made you feel like you were cared for you had possessions that you had had for a long time They felt normal to you. You had maybe a home. You had a network. You had all of these things that felt cozy and made you feel cared for.To be a person in exile is to live without these things, to live away from all of those identities and all of those securities. In fact, I don't know if you've noticed our series graphic, but just to put that up if we have it a second. I really like this because what is it? It's a guy sitting on a pile of rubble and he's looking to a faraway place, right? And there's sort of this sense of, I wish I was there instead of where I am here. This feels like rubble where I'm at. I wish I was back where I came from. And that is a picture, not a bad one, of what it's like to be in exile.And what Peter wants them, and through this letter and through the Holy Spirit, wants us to realize here today is that what we have in Christ, even as an exile, is far greater and far better than anything we had prior to coming to faith in Christ. I said that very clumsily. And clumsily is a clumsy word itself. Let me try that again. What Peter is wanting to say is that what we have presently as Christians, even as exiles, even on the pile of rubble, is far greater and far better than anything we had back when everything felt cozy, back prior to our faith in Christ. And he lays that out again in terms of past, present, future. So let's begin by looking at the past. And notice what he says here. Wonderful verse. about being born again to a living hope.According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we saw in verse 1 that their exile was by God's choice. We see here in verse 3 that their new birth is by the mercy of God. Born again. Born of what? What are you talking about? That sounds crazy. And that is exactly what Nicodemus said to Jesus when Jesus brought this up to him as well. In John chapter 3, you may know the story. Nicodemus, he's sort of a bigwig spiritual leader in Israel. He comes to Jesus in the night, and he asks him about spiritual, he has spiritual questions for him. And he says, no one except they're born from God could do what you do. And Jesus says to him, you must be born again.You have to be born again. Nicodemus says, what? How can I be born again? I was born of my mother once, I gotta be born of her twice? What are you talking about? And you see that Nicodemus is only looking at things materially. He is not seeing things spiritually, which is what Jesus wants him to see, is there's a whole thing going on here spiritually. You have to be born again. What was Jesus talking about? The New Testament calls it new birth, calls it regeneration. All of these are biblical descriptions of what God does in the heart of the sinner who turns in faith and believes in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. There is a miracle, a powerful supernatural work that God does inwardly in the life of the sinner where like being born again, he makes the sinner alive spiritually.Regeneration is also the word there. The Bible says that we are dead in our sins, that spiritually we are corpses. What has to happen for a corpse to live again? It has to be regenerated. In a sense, it has to be resurrected. And what God does inwardly in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, when we believe, is he births life in us again. Almost like Jesus saying to Lazarus, come forth. There is a summoning and a giving of life that God does within us where all of a sudden now our eyes are opened, our ears are opened, and we become attuned to spiritual realities and spiritual things. And notice that it's God that does this. He has caused us to be born again. Regeneration is something that God does. We can't manufacture it. We can't create it.We can't do enough things to make us think that now spiritually I'm alive.We are dead. Burns Funeral Homes across the street, you can go to every corpse there and try to manufacture life. It's not going to happen. Only God can manufacture life. And God does that within us. We are born again. We are passive in this. You ever hear a baby come out being born and go, wow, look what I did. I'm amazing. No, that mother birthed that child. Amen, mothers? You ain't going to ever forget that, are you? Babies don't take credit for being born, and Christians don't take credit for being born again. This is something God does. We are made spiritually alive, but the change affects our entire being. 2 Corinthians says it this way.If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. It is a miracle of life that permeates our entire being. Suddenly, it's like the switch is turned on. We become aware of spiritual truth. What? I never realized that before. We become aware of the presence of God. We become aware of the presence of sin in our life. All of a sudden we realize, that we indeed are sinners. We become aware of forgiveness. We all of a sudden have an interest in Scripture, which prior to this we would have thought is silly. No, what does it say, actually? I'm kind of interested in that. We become interested in prayer and a host of other things. All of them kind of just, it's like springtime. Here come the leaves, here come the flowers.All of a sudden there is life. God does that. God does that. A few examples of how this is God's work and the change that it brings. I recently heard the story of Rosaria Butterfield, and maybe you've seen this online possibly, but she was a professor. She's very upfront about her sexuality. She was a lesbian. She was a professor at Syracuse University. She was just totally into kind of that whole worldview. And it's a great story because there was just a normal local church that began to kind of care for her and love her. And she, in her own words, writes this about her conversion. “The church had been praying for me for years was there. The church that had been praying for me for years was there. Jesus triumphed, and I was a broken mess. Conversion was a train wreck. I did not want to lose everything that I loved, but the voice of God sang a sanguine love song in the rubble of my world. I weakly believed that if Jesus could conquer death, he could make right my world. I drank tentatively at first, then passionately of the solace of the Holy Spirit.” And now she's married to a Presbyterian minister. So come to Jesus and you get to marry a Presbyterian minister. I would keep most people away. Listen to the words of C.S. Lewis. We've talked at length about him and how God drew him to faith. He writes this about his conversion. “You must picture me alone in that room at Magdalen College. Night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet.” Who's causing this regeneration? Hear it in these words. “That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me in the Trinity term of 1929. I gave in and admitted that God was God and knelt and prayed, perhaps that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” Christian, think about your own life story. Think about the change that has taken place in your life. Is there a natural explanation? for the interest that you have in spiritual things and the course and trajectory of your life. The fact that you're sitting here right now listening to some guy talk about what the Bible has to say.All of these things are things if we knew our natural selves, we would say, I would never do that. And that sounds crazy and that sounds stupid. Just like the people in Asia Minor looked at these Christians and said, what planet are you from? Why are you interested in that stuff? And maybe you have people in your family and friends that similarly look at you and go, you're living your life according to what? What planet are you from? We share the same mother, but you're an alien. I don't know you. How have you come to care about the things that you care about and to love God in the way that you love him and to desire to obey and please and live to his glory in the way that you do? Where did all of that come from? It didn't come from you.That can only come from God. He has birthed life in us, and we are changed. Born again to a living hope, the text says, through the resurrection from the dead. Now, why do you suppose he calls it a living hope? It is because our hope is in a living Savior. Do you see the parallel there? One writer says it this way, Christian hope is ever living because Christ, the ground of that hope, is ever living. So Peter looks back. He says, exiles, look back in your story and realize that this change has not come from you. God has given you life, and he has given you hope. And that hope is a living hope because your Savior is a living Savior. And there we are looking at the passage. Well, that's pretty fantastic, isn't it?Don't you think exiles might be a little encouraged by that? And maybe even Christians living here today might be a little bit encouraged to look back and to see the grace of God in our life. As the hymn writer wrote, “oh God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.” We look to the past and we see God's grace to us. And it gives us, man, God is for me. God is with me. He has done this change in my life. The past, a living hope, a new birth. It is not simply a past, it is a present. And even right there is an interesting thought, which I don't have time to explore right now, but how important it is for us to realize that what God is doing is not just stuff in the past.You ever talk to people like that? Tell me about your spiritual life. Well, back in the past, and all they've got is like old stuff. And to realize that our faith, this thing that we're living, this Christian life, is a today thing. There is something that God is doing today. It doesn't matter how long you've been a Christian. There is a work that God is doing right now for you in your life. And Peter highlights it here. What are we saved to? “An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who, by God's power, are being guarded through faith.” Now, there's a lot there, okay? There's a lot there, but let's just walk through it. You're going to get this, and you're going to love it. We've been born again to an inheritance, okay?So most of us are probably familiar with the concept of an inheritance. What is an inheritance? An inheritance is something that you receive normally based on a relationship, typically a family relationship, right? So when a person dies, there is a reading of the will. And if your name is in the will, it means that whether you knew it or not, you were an heir to the inheritance. So if you're in the will, you have an inheritance. Most people view that as good news, right? Okay. Now what is true about an inheritance? Inheritances are very, very slippery. Very slippery. Your name can be on the will, but guess what? It can be removed from the will. You were an heir, but now you're not anymore. So you better be careful what you say at the family gathering about grandma. And inheritance can shrink in value.Did you know that? You could be an heir to something that is incredibly valuable, but by the time you get it, it's not so valuable. So that your name is in the will, and they read the will, and your sister gets grandma's diamonds, and you get the cabbage patch collection. And you're like, my sister gets... and I get dolls and you know grandma puts in the notes when I bought these they were really valuable. You're like these aren't worth anything. This is like soft firewood. They can diminish in value. People can steal inheritances. There's a story or two in my own family tree of stolen inheritance and maybe you got a few of those in your family tree. It's amazing what family gets like when money is on the table.Inheritance can be stolen did you know that there are unscrupulous lawyers out there who now there's really godly and fair-minded ones as well but there are unscrupulous lawyers out there who can sometimes get their fingers in the pot and diminish an inheritance. Did you know that there are thieves — there are thieves — and that has no connection whatsoever with Steve. There are thieves who can steal inheritances. They can steal grandma's jewelry instead of the dolls. Did you know that massive inheritances can be squandered? Some time ago, I got watching on the History Channel, had this series called The Men Who Build America. Maybe some of you saw it, but we got into it for whatever reason. Tell the story of these icons of industry in the past.I got a little interested in the Vanderbilt family some years ago. I got a tour of the Biltmore, which is one of the descendants of, he built that with just an inheritance that he got. If you've ever seen that place, it's incredible. But I got interested in the Vanderbilt family. And just to give you an idea very quickly about the Vanderbilt fortune, they at one time, at the height of their power and value, they were worth over $300 billion in today's money. Now, $300 billion, to give you an idea, Bill Gates, who's currently the richest man in the world, is somewhere around $70 billion. They had $300 billion. The world has hardly ever, if ever, seen, other than Rockefeller, a fortune like the Vanderbilt family fortune.In 1973, this is just 75 years from the height of their power and wealth, There was a gathering of 120 direct descendants of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and there wasn't one millionaire amongst them. 75 years, 300 billion to, you know, not so wealthy. How does that happen? Inheritances can be squandered. They can just simply disappear. And I say all of that because that connects with the world that we're in, right? Everything is kind of diminishing. Everything that once was cool is kind of getting old now. And that's the world that we live in, right? Our money isn't worth today what it was worth yesterday. There's inflation. There's the stock market. Everything's up and down and all around. But what about spiritually? The inheritance, the Bible describes the inheritance that we have. We are heirs. What is our inheritance like?And he uses some very powerful words to emphasize that our inheritance is not subject to all of the insecurities that everything in this world has. And he uses these words, notice them, imperishable. Okay? To perish is to die. Everything in this world... dies right it's alive it dies the the flowers of the field the grass in the in the in the in the field all of it there and it dies and it withers and we're all withering right look around there's withering people all around you but this is an imperishable inheritance that he wants us to realize that we have undefiled and this speaks to the moral quality of our inheritance It is pure. It is good. Our inheritance doesn't come from unseemly business practices.There's nothing about it to make us feel sort of dirty in taking it or that there's something evil about it. It is holy. It is good. It is beautiful. It is pure, and it will be eternally beautiful and pure. Unfading. This is very similar to the perishing and the withering. It's, again, the human beauty and fame and everything that seems to be cool now. It's all going downhill. And young people don't realize that, but it is, right? It's all going down. Everything fades. And each one of these words is, it's perishable, defiled, and fading, only it has the negating ah in front of each one of those. It is not imperishable. I'm sorry, it's not perishable. It's not defiling. It is not fading. Our inheritance, you say, well, what is it then exactly? Number one, our inheritance is God himself.The number one thing that we look forward to in going to heaven is not seeing grandma, not seeing, you know, whoever. Number one is God. We go to heaven and we get God and we see God and we have him forever. We are his children. He lavishes blessings on us for all of eternity, eternal life, heaven, new earth, rewards that Jesus will give to us for the quality of our service while here on earth, bliss, beauty, and most importantly, and I include this in the God category, is the seeing and the savoring of Jesus himself, our blessed Lord and Savior, who is our inheritance. Christians talk about, oh, my mansion in heaven and all of that. Forget the mansion. Our mansion truly is Christ.And one day when we see him and we sense from him what eternal, pure, sacrificial, agape love is like, and he looks at us and we feel the love of the divine for us, the thought of a house or something else will just sort of fade away. This will be our greatest moment. It is that beatific vision that theologians talk about. and then to feel and to receive from him the lavishing of his grace and his love in material ways, even in the new earth, in the experience of what all of that is going to be like, and to realize that all of it is according to his mercy, that none of it we deserve, maybe with a vision of hell, and to realize that's what I deserve right there.And I'm getting this, how and why it is the mercy of God and his love for us. This is the inheritance, and Peter says it never goes away. It never diminishes. It never somehow dies. It remains secure in the character and the promises of God, and it's going to be great. And you, my friend, if you are a Christian, you are an heir, an heir to the most wonderful fortune, the fortune of God, the spiritual blessing of being a child of God forever. The verse goes on, kept in heaven for you who by God's power are being guarded through faith. This inheritance that we have is located in heaven. Jesus describes it as a place where moth and rust do not decay and thieves don't break in and steal. That's a pretty good bank vault, isn't it? Anybody's bank here make that kind of guarantee?Probably not. Now notice there's a little shift here in the text because he's describing our inheritance. That is kept in heaven. That's our inheritance. The next word, though, is who. See that? Who. So he moves from our inheritance to us. He moves from keeping our inheritance to God keeping us. So the inheritance is kept in heaven, but we are kept in earth. We are kept in faith on our time on earth. By God's power, our being guarded through faith. And the word there, the Greek word for the word guarded there, it's the word garrisoned, okay? So military people, this is like a word for you. This is the protection. This is the, in the ancient days, they would protect the city gates, the armament of the city gates. We are guarding the city walls, the walls of our faith.It also can refer to keeping us from escaping, okay? So it's both. It is both the attacks from without, and it is me fleeing from within. God is working in our faith, keeping us from both of those dangers. And here we have, and we can do a whole message on this, the doctrine of preservation. The doctrine of preservation, which says that God is the one who keeps us saved. We are preserved in our faith by the power of God. So notice the flow in the text. We are exiles by the choice of God. We are born again by the mercy of God. We are kept in our salvation by the power of God. Our faith is being guarded. And the tense of the verb there is ongoingly, continuously being guarded.It's as if each one of us has a 24-hour, seven days a week security detail. Now, the closest thing that I can think of to illustrate this would be What the President of the United States has, of course, which is the famous Secret Service. And all of us probably are familiar with the Secret Service and what they do 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep the President alive, to protect him. That is their job. And so for whatever reason, they've decided wearing dark suits and sunglasses helps with that. And so wherever the president is, there's these guys walking around near him and they've got dark suits on and they've got sunglasses. All of them look like they've lifted weights their entire life. You know, they're big, they're bad, they're tough. There's little bulges around in their suit.You know what's in there, right? They can call upon what they need in a moment's notice to take care of business. And so they're there and they're talking into their hands and they got the little wires out of their ears. And you know that there's satellites and there's, you know, who knows all the things that they've got going on wherever the president goes. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, always keeping him safe. But as history shows, they can't even guarantee that, can they? Even the best of the best in the world today can't perfectly protect the life of the president. Notice what Peter says here about us, okay? Kept by the infinite power of God. It's almost like By the power of God, we each have our own spiritual secret service detachment.Everywhere we go, all the time, we are protected spiritually by the power of God. I got thinking about what this might be like. She's about to speak to Miss Gossip. Move in right now. He's leaving on a business trip with Mr. Skeptic and Mrs. Temptation, all units code red. He's in church right now. He's not listening. Taze him. Did anybody just feel something, by the way? No? God's power is always at work protecting our faith, keeping us from running away from our commitment to Christ, keeping us from the wolves, keeping us from doctrine and beliefs and temptations that would ultimately undermine our faith commitment to Christ. And that doesn't mean that we don't sin. It doesn't mean that we don't have seasons and all of that.But it does mean that even through those dark times, God is by his power protecting a faith that he has promised that he will carry on to completion, Philippians 1. And my dear Christian, that is true for you. Think of it just for a moment. Think of it. Right now, God's power is focused upon you and your faith and is ensuring that you are going to make it. That faith will not die. It's the power of God. It's like being born, right? We don't take credit for that. And I don't take credit for my faith continually because naturally I am a sinner and I am human and I am wishy -washy. None of us would make it through this week left to ourselves. But we are not left to ourselves, not by God who loves us. We are kept in this faith.Past, we were born again in the present. We're being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. And the future aspect of this is when our inheritance changes into a possession, okay? An heir is no longer an heir when the inheritance now is something that they own. Think of Prince Charles, like all these years waiting to become king. He's heir to the throne. There's probably a day coming when he will no longer be an heir. When? When he's actually king. And Buckingham Palace and the crown jewels and all the things, all of it is his then. No longer an heir, but a possessor. And our salvation is like that. We are already saved. We are already children of God. But the full experience of our salvation is yet to come.Someday, and the text here says, in the last time, referring to that future consummation of history. Someday, when Jesus returns and final judgment takes place, our ultimate inheritance will be ours. And our ultimate inheritance is Christ himself. And from that point on, we will see and know and worship him. From that point on, we will serve him. fully and faithfully. From that point on, we will be in awe that the Holy Son of God that we see with our own eyes died for us, gave his life for us, and now showers his love upon us for all of eternity. And we will never get over that he did that. We will never get over the mercy of God to us. So that we can say that the Vanderbilts had their fortune by family right, and Prince Charles has his inheritance by birthright.We will have our inheritance forever by new birth and the mercy and the power of God. And so we get to that truth, and what can we say? How about we say what he says in verse 3? “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen. Would you pray with me, please? Heavenly Father God, we thank you.This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.

How to Prepare Your Physical Therapy Practice for a Successful Exit What is happening in the physical therapy M&A market right now, and what does it mean for practice owners thinking about selling? In this episode of the Private Practice Owners Club, Nathan Shields sits down with Paul Martin of Martin Healthcare Advisors, who has spent 27 years helping physical therapy practice owners navigate mergers, acquisitions, valuations, and exit strategies. Paul breaks down what is happening in the current M&A market, why buyers are becoming more selective, and why practice owners need to start preparing well before they are ready to sell. They also discuss what actually increases the value of a practice, how EBITDA affects valuation, why clean financials matter, the importance of leadership teams and documented systems, and why owners should think carefully about culture and deal structure before accepting an offer. In this episode, you'll learn: What the current physical therapy M&A market looks likeWhy there may be more sellers than buyers over the next few yearsHow EBITDA and valuation multiples affect your potential sale priceWhy owners should know the value of their business todayHow charge capture, schedule management, and provider productivity can increase valueWhy clean and credible financials matter to acquirersHow leadership teams can make a practice more attractive to buyersWhy owner-dependent practices can be harder to sellHow documented systems reduce dependence on individual employeesHow long owners may be expected to stay after a transactionWhy culture fit should come before structure and priceWhy structure can matter more than the headline sale priceHow multiple offers can give sellers more leverageThe two questions every owner should answer before preparing for an exit The biggest takeaway: you don't want to wait until you're ready to sell before you start building a valuable business. Know where you are today. Know what you want from a transaction. Then build the roadmap that gets you there. Connect with Paul Martin Learn more about Martin Healthcare Advisors and their work with physical therapy practice owners at martinhealthcareadvisors.com. Paul also hosts The Next Level Owner podcast for physical therapy business owners. Connect with the Private Practice Owners Club Learn more about the Private Practice Owners Club and explore additional resources for growing and improving your practice.Want to talk about how we can help you with your PT business, or have a question you want to ask? Book a call with Nathan - https://calendly.com/ptoclub/discoverycallLove the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://ptoclub.com/

The Exclusive's own SHARON THARP is back with us this week! Will the Pipe Queen advance to Round 2? Can we get some big names today in honor of the recent 1,000th episode? BTW - apologies for the mic/tech issues on Aman's end - a little clunkier than normal but hopefully not unlistenable! Each week in The Diary Room, a wheel of names will randomly select SIX players from North American Big Brother history to enter the bracket. In three separate head-to-head matchups, three players will advance to the next round and three players will be eliminated. Someday, we'll find the best Big Brother player of all time! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join us on Patreon for more Diary Room!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Vote in Battle Backs and even cast a vote for the actual Diary Room episodes! Follow us on BlueSky! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thediaryroom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mattliguori⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@amanadwin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@diaryroompcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mattliguori⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@amanadwin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Steve DeWitt Indestructibly Saved - Part A Study Guide for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:3-5 Scripture Reference: 1 Peter 1:3-5 Visit the series page: Exiles: A study in 1 Peter Donate to Support The Journey Sermon Transcript for Spiritual Exiles, 1 Peter 1:3-5 Sermon Series: Spiritual ExilesMessage: Indestructibly SavedAirdate: 9/8 & 9/9/26Programs 2352 & 2353Good morning, Crown Point Campus. And let's go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity to be here today. And we pray simply this, that your spirit would come, that he would minister to your people by your word for your glory and for our good. God, we pray that this would be a day truly where your name would be lifted higher. And we want to be a part of that. So we thank you. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, last week we began our new series in 1 Peter entitled Exiles.And the title was taken from the first verse of the book, which says this, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who are elect exiles of the dispersion.” And we saw that Peter was writing to Christians who had been part of this colonization, this dispersion, Christians living in Rome or that region sent now to Asia Minor, and they are there living as foreigners, essentially living as exiles, geopolitical exiles. And what Peter does is he draws from their geopolitical situation spiritual truth and application as they dealt with the feelings of alienation. and ostracization from people that saw them as part of the conquering army, people that weren't from there. And so much that we're going to see in this letter. Last week was our introduction, and we saw that... exiles want more than anything is they want a change of location.They think to themselves, what really needs to happen is I need to be somewhere else. And if I was somewhere else, then I would be happy. Then I would feel like I belong. And we see that what Peter is wanting them to realize is that we want to change our location. God wants to change who we are. And that is inward. And that's the work of the spirit. That's the work of the gospel. That's a part of changing us. Now, what might exiles need to know? Think about this with me for a moment. What do they need to know? There they are living in a land of uncertainty, living in a place where they don't, you know, you think of what people experience when they move into a new area. They need a new doctor. They need a new, where do I get my groceries?How do I find my way around? All the things that are sort of new and different and uncertain. That is compounded in the experience of moving in the first century to a whole new region. And there they are, and everything is uncertain. Nothing feels normal. Everything's sort of weird. What do they need to know spiritually? Well, they need to know that there is a day coming when they will not be exiles anymore and where they will feel welcomed and they will feel like they belong. And that's what Peter now moves to in pastoring this group of people. He wants them to realize that they will not always be exiles. It will not always be like it is. There's coming a day when it will be very much different. And our text in our sermon today is 1 Peter 1, verses 3 through 5.And today is a day where I get to preach at Crown Point and at Cedar Lake. And we do this with the use of technology. And hopefully a fast commute. That's where we're going today. That's where I'm going today. But our text today is verses 3 through 5. So please listen as I read from God's word. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 1 Peter, if you ask most people what 1 Peter is about, it's about remaining faithful in suffering and in persecution. And I just want to note to you that a letter that begins, a letter that is about suffering, begins with, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now that seems out of place, except for when you view your suffering from a Christian perspective. It sounds to me like Job, the famous book on suffering.Job, who endured all of these things in chapter 1. He loses everything, and what is his response to that? The Lord gives, the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name. There is within Christianity a kind of faith and a kind of confidence in the goodness of God that allows Christians to suffer loss and to remain doxological, to remain praising, to remain giving thanks to God. And we see that modeled here with Peter. He begins with praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. These verses, verses 3 through 5, they are, it's, This is a jewel, okay? This is a jewel passage in all of the Bible, and there are lots of jewel passages, but this is certainly one of them, because what Peter does here is he lays out the gospel. He goes from praising God, and he says, now, why? Why do we praise the Lord?What is there about what God has done for us that allows us to give praise to God even in the midst of persecution and suffering? And we see him now talking about salvation in this passage from the perspective of the past, what God has done, the present, what God is doing, and the future, what God is yet to do. And I want to hasten to say this. These truths that I'm talking about here, that Peter talks about, only apply to genuine Christians. This is not just a general truth for all of humanity. Let's all feel good about it. This is a truth that applies to people who have genuinely trusted in the Lord Jesus. And the promises that God has made to those that are his children apply then to us and are enumerated here. by Peter.So if you're here and you have not trusted in Jesus as your Savior, what I hope happens today as we talk about the blessings that come to those that are under the grace of God, that it might woo you, that it might draw you to put your hope and your faith in the Lord Jesus and for these promises then to become real and true for you. And that can happen in this service here today. Now, if you're an exile far from home, You are having to accept certain realities about life now. It's almost like a college student who goes away from home for the first time. And suddenly, the reality of being responsible for yourself, doing your own laundry, and managing your own money, and all of the rest comes crashing down on the freshmen.And some of them flunk out as a result of that, right? They're in a faraway land. Everything's sort of strange. And indeed, to be one of these people that he's writing to, in a faraway land where everything feels creepy and people look at you as creepy because you're different created a whole set of problems and difficulties your homeland that where you used to be it felt safe it felt normal it felt secure you had friends that made you feel like you were cared for you had possessions that you had had for a long time They felt normal to you. You had maybe a home. You had a network. You had all of these things that felt cozy and made you feel cared for.To be a person in exile is to live without these things, to live away from all of those identities and all of those securities. In fact, I don't know if you've noticed our series graphic, but just to put that up if we have it a second. I really like this because what is it? It's a guy sitting on a pile of rubble and he's looking to a faraway place, right? And there's sort of this sense of, I wish I was there instead of where I am here. This feels like rubble where I'm at. I wish I was back where I came from. And that is a picture, not a bad one, of what it's like to be in exile.And what Peter wants them, and through this letter and through the Holy Spirit, wants us to realize here today is that what we have in Christ, even as an exile, is far greater and far better than anything we had prior to coming to faith in Christ. I said that very clumsily. And clumsily is a clumsy word itself. Let me try that again. What Peter is wanting to say is that what we have presently as Christians, even as exiles, even on the pile of rubble, is far greater and far better than anything we had back when everything felt cozy, back prior to our faith in Christ. And he lays that out again in terms of past, present, future. So let's begin by looking at the past. And notice what he says here. Wonderful verse. about being born again to a living hope.According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we saw in verse 1 that their exile was by God's choice. We see here in verse 3 that their new birth is by the mercy of God. Born again. Born of what? What are you talking about? That sounds crazy. And that is exactly what Nicodemus said to Jesus when Jesus brought this up to him as well. In John chapter 3, you may know the story. Nicodemus, he's sort of a bigwig spiritual leader in Israel. He comes to Jesus in the night, and he asks him about spiritual, he has spiritual questions for him. And he says, no one except they're born from God could do what you do. And Jesus says to him, you must be born again.You have to be born again. Nicodemus says, what? How can I be born again? I was born of my mother once, I gotta be born of her twice? What are you talking about? And you see that Nicodemus is only looking at things materially. He is not seeing things spiritually, which is what Jesus wants him to see, is there's a whole thing going on here spiritually. You have to be born again. What was Jesus talking about? The New Testament calls it new birth, calls it regeneration. All of these are biblical descriptions of what God does in the heart of the sinner who turns in faith and believes in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. There is a miracle, a powerful supernatural work that God does inwardly in the life of the sinner where like being born again, he makes the sinner alive spiritually.Regeneration is also the word there. The Bible says that we are dead in our sins, that spiritually we are corpses. What has to happen for a corpse to live again? It has to be regenerated. In a sense, it has to be resurrected. And what God does inwardly in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, when we believe, is he births life in us again. Almost like Jesus saying to Lazarus, come forth. There is a summoning and a giving of life that God does within us where all of a sudden now our eyes are opened, our ears are opened, and we become attuned to spiritual realities and spiritual things. And notice that it's God that does this. He has caused us to be born again. Regeneration is something that God does. We can't manufacture it. We can't create it.We can't do enough things to make us think that now spiritually I'm alive.We are dead. Burns Funeral Homes across the street, you can go to every corpse there and try to manufacture life. It's not going to happen. Only God can manufacture life. And God does that within us. We are born again. We are passive in this. You ever hear a baby come out being born and go, wow, look what I did. I'm amazing. No, that mother birthed that child. Amen, mothers? You ain't going to ever forget that, are you? Babies don't take credit for being born, and Christians don't take credit for being born again. This is something God does. We are made spiritually alive, but the change affects our entire being. 2 Corinthians says it this way.If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. It is a miracle of life that permeates our entire being. Suddenly, it's like the switch is turned on. We become aware of spiritual truth. What? I never realized that before. We become aware of the presence of God. We become aware of the presence of sin in our life. All of a sudden we realize, that we indeed are sinners. We become aware of forgiveness. We all of a sudden have an interest in Scripture, which prior to this we would have thought is silly. No, what does it say, actually? I'm kind of interested in that. We become interested in prayer and a host of other things. All of them kind of just, it's like springtime. Here come the leaves, here come the flowers.All of a sudden there is life. God does that. God does that. A few examples of how this is God's work and the change that it brings. I recently heard the story of Rosaria Butterfield, and maybe you've seen this online possibly, but she was a professor. She's very upfront about her sexuality. She was a lesbian. She was a professor at Syracuse University. She was just totally into kind of that whole worldview. And it's a great story because there was just a normal local church that began to kind of care for her and love her. And she, in her own words, writes this about her conversion. “The church had been praying for me for years was there. The church that had been praying for me for years was there. Jesus triumphed, and I was a broken mess. Conversion was a train wreck. I did not want to lose everything that I loved, but the voice of God sang a sanguine love song in the rubble of my world. I weakly believed that if Jesus could conquer death, he could make right my world. I drank tentatively at first, then passionately of the solace of the Holy Spirit.” And now she's married to a Presbyterian minister. So come to Jesus and you get to marry a Presbyterian minister. I would keep most people away. Listen to the words of C.S. Lewis. We've talked at length about him and how God drew him to faith. He writes this about his conversion. “You must picture me alone in that room at Magdalen College. Night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet.” Who's causing this regeneration? Hear it in these words. “That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me in the Trinity term of 1929. I gave in and admitted that God was God and knelt and prayed, perhaps that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.” Christian, think about your own life story. Think about the change that has taken place in your life. Is there a natural explanation? for the interest that you have in spiritual things and the course and trajectory of your life. The fact that you're sitting here right now listening to some guy talk about what the Bible has to say.All of these things are things if we knew our natural selves, we would say, I would never do that. And that sounds crazy and that sounds stupid. Just like the people in Asia Minor looked at these Christians and said, what planet are you from? Why are you interested in that stuff? And maybe you have people in your family and friends that similarly look at you and go, you're living your life according to what? What planet are you from? We share the same mother, but you're an alien. I don't know you. How have you come to care about the things that you care about and to love God in the way that you love him and to desire to obey and please and live to his glory in the way that you do? Where did all of that come from? It didn't come from you.That can only come from God. He has birthed life in us, and we are changed. Born again to a living hope, the text says, through the resurrection from the dead. Now, why do you suppose he calls it a living hope? It is because our hope is in a living Savior. Do you see the parallel there? One writer says it this way, Christian hope is ever living because Christ, the ground of that hope, is ever living. So Peter looks back. He says, exiles, look back in your story and realize that this change has not come from you. God has given you life, and he has given you hope. And that hope is a living hope because your Savior is a living Savior. And there we are looking at the passage. Well, that's pretty fantastic, isn't it?Don't you think exiles might be a little encouraged by that? And maybe even Christians living here today might be a little bit encouraged to look back and to see the grace of God in our life. As the hymn writer wrote, “oh God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come.” We look to the past and we see God's grace to us. And it gives us, man, God is for me. God is with me. He has done this change in my life. The past, a living hope, a new birth. It is not simply a past, it is a present. And even right there is an interesting thought, which I don't have time to explore right now, but how important it is for us to realize that what God is doing is not just stuff in the past.You ever talk to people like that? Tell me about your spiritual life. Well, back in the past, and all they've got is like old stuff. And to realize that our faith, this thing that we're living, this Christian life, is a today thing. There is something that God is doing today. It doesn't matter how long you've been a Christian. There is a work that God is doing right now for you in your life. And Peter highlights it here. What are we saved to? “An inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who, by God's power, are being guarded through faith.” Now, there's a lot there, okay? There's a lot there, but let's just walk through it. You're going to get this, and you're going to love it. We've been born again to an inheritance, okay?So most of us are probably familiar with the concept of an inheritance. What is an inheritance? An inheritance is something that you receive normally based on a relationship, typically a family relationship, right? So when a person dies, there is a reading of the will. And if your name is in the will, it means that whether you knew it or not, you were an heir to the inheritance. So if you're in the will, you have an inheritance. Most people view that as good news, right? Okay. Now what is true about an inheritance? Inheritances are very, very slippery. Very slippery. Your name can be on the will, but guess what? It can be removed from the will. You were an heir, but now you're not anymore. So you better be careful what you say at the family gathering about grandma. And inheritance can shrink in value.Did you know that? You could be an heir to something that is incredibly valuable, but by the time you get it, it's not so valuable. So that your name is in the will, and they read the will, and your sister gets grandma's diamonds, and you get the cabbage patch collection. And you're like, my sister gets... and I get dolls and you know grandma puts in the notes when I bought these they were really valuable. You're like these aren't worth anything. This is like soft firewood. They can diminish in value. People can steal inheritances. There's a story or two in my own family tree of stolen inheritance and maybe you got a few of those in your family tree. It's amazing what family gets like when money is on the table.Inheritance can be stolen did you know that there are unscrupulous lawyers out there who now there's really godly and fair-minded ones as well but there are unscrupulous lawyers out there who can sometimes get their fingers in the pot and diminish an inheritance. Did you know that there are thieves — there are thieves — and that has no connection whatsoever with Steve. There are thieves who can steal inheritances. They can steal grandma's jewelry instead of the dolls. Did you know that massive inheritances can be squandered? Some time ago, I got watching on the History Channel, had this series called The Men Who Build America. Maybe some of you saw it, but we got into it for whatever reason. Tell the story of these icons of industry in the past.I got a little interested in the Vanderbilt family some years ago. I got a tour of the Biltmore, which is one of the descendants of, he built that with just an inheritance that he got. If you've ever seen that place, it's incredible. But I got interested in the Vanderbilt family. And just to give you an idea very quickly about the Vanderbilt fortune, they at one time, at the height of their power and value, they were worth over $300 billion in today's money. Now, $300 billion, to give you an idea, Bill Gates, who's currently the richest man in the world, is somewhere around $70 billion. They had $300 billion. The world has hardly ever, if ever, seen, other than Rockefeller, a fortune like the Vanderbilt family fortune.In 1973, this is just 75 years from the height of their power and wealth, There was a gathering of 120 direct descendants of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and there wasn't one millionaire amongst them. 75 years, 300 billion to, you know, not so wealthy. How does that happen? Inheritances can be squandered. They can just simply disappear. And I say all of that because that connects with the world that we're in, right? Everything is kind of diminishing. Everything that once was cool is kind of getting old now. And that's the world that we live in, right? Our money isn't worth today what it was worth yesterday. There's inflation. There's the stock market. Everything's up and down and all around. But what about spiritually? The inheritance, the Bible describes the inheritance that we have. We are heirs. What is our inheritance like?And he uses some very powerful words to emphasize that our inheritance is not subject to all of the insecurities that everything in this world has. And he uses these words, notice them, imperishable. Okay? To perish is to die. Everything in this world... dies right it's alive it dies the the flowers of the field the grass in the in the in the in the field all of it there and it dies and it withers and we're all withering right look around there's withering people all around you but this is an imperishable inheritance that he wants us to realize that we have undefiled and this speaks to the moral quality of our inheritance It is pure. It is good. Our inheritance doesn't come from unseemly business practices.There's nothing about it to make us feel sort of dirty in taking it or that there's something evil about it. It is holy. It is good. It is beautiful. It is pure, and it will be eternally beautiful and pure. Unfading. This is very similar to the perishing and the withering. It's, again, the human beauty and fame and everything that seems to be cool now. It's all going downhill. And young people don't realize that, but it is, right? It's all going down. Everything fades. And each one of these words is, it's perishable, defiled, and fading, only it has the negating ah in front of each one of those. It is not imperishable. I'm sorry, it's not perishable. It's not defiling. It is not fading. Our inheritance, you say, well, what is it then exactly? Number one, our inheritance is God himself.The number one thing that we look forward to in going to heaven is not seeing grandma, not seeing, you know, whoever. Number one is God. We go to heaven and we get God and we see God and we have him forever. We are his children. He lavishes blessings on us for all of eternity, eternal life, heaven, new earth, rewards that Jesus will give to us for the quality of our service while here on earth, bliss, beauty, and most importantly, and I include this in the God category, is the seeing and the savoring of Jesus himself, our blessed Lord and Savior, who is our inheritance. Christians talk about, oh, my mansion in heaven and all of that. Forget the mansion. Our mansion truly is Christ.And one day when we see him and we sense from him what eternal, pure, sacrificial, agape love is like, and he looks at us and we feel the love of the divine for us, the thought of a house or something else will just sort of fade away. This will be our greatest moment. It is that beatific vision that theologians talk about. and then to feel and to receive from him the lavishing of his grace and his love in material ways, even in the new earth, in the experience of what all of that is going to be like, and to realize that all of it is according to his mercy, that none of it we deserve, maybe with a vision of hell, and to realize that's what I deserve right there.And I'm getting this, how and why it is the mercy of God and his love for us. This is the inheritance, and Peter says it never goes away. It never diminishes. It never somehow dies. It remains secure in the character and the promises of God, and it's going to be great. And you, my friend, if you are a Christian, you are an heir, an heir to the most wonderful fortune, the fortune of God, the spiritual blessing of being a child of God forever. The verse goes on, kept in heaven for you who by God's power are being guarded through faith. This inheritance that we have is located in heaven. Jesus describes it as a place where moth and rust do not decay and thieves don't break in and steal. That's a pretty good bank vault, isn't it? Anybody's bank here make that kind of guarantee?Probably not. Now notice there's a little shift here in the text because he's describing our inheritance. That is kept in heaven. That's our inheritance. The next word, though, is who. See that? Who. So he moves from our inheritance to us. He moves from keeping our inheritance to God keeping us. So the inheritance is kept in heaven, but we are kept in earth. We are kept in faith on our time on earth. By God's power, our being guarded through faith. And the word there, the Greek word for the word guarded there, it's the word garrisoned, okay? So military people, this is like a word for you. This is the protection. This is the, in the ancient days, they would protect the city gates, the armament of the city gates. We are guarding the city walls, the walls of our faith.It also can refer to keeping us from escaping, okay? So it's both. It is both the attacks from without, and it is me fleeing from within. God is working in our faith, keeping us from both of those dangers. And here we have, and we can do a whole message on this, the doctrine of preservation. The doctrine of preservation, which says that God is the one who keeps us saved. We are preserved in our faith by the power of God. So notice the flow in the text. We are exiles by the choice of God. We are born again by the mercy of God. We are kept in our salvation by the power of God. Our faith is being guarded. And the tense of the verb there is ongoingly, continuously being guarded.It's as if each one of us has a 24-hour, seven days a week security detail. Now, the closest thing that I can think of to illustrate this would be What the President of the United States has, of course, which is the famous Secret Service. And all of us probably are familiar with the Secret Service and what they do 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep the President alive, to protect him. That is their job. And so for whatever reason, they've decided wearing dark suits and sunglasses helps with that. And so wherever the president is, there's these guys walking around near him and they've got dark suits on and they've got sunglasses. All of them look like they've lifted weights their entire life. You know, they're big, they're bad, they're tough. There's little bulges around in their suit.You know what's in there, right? They can call upon what they need in a moment's notice to take care of business. And so they're there and they're talking into their hands and they got the little wires out of their ears. And you know that there's satellites and there's, you know, who knows all the things that they've got going on wherever the president goes. 24 hours a day, seven days a week, always keeping him safe. But as history shows, they can't even guarantee that, can they? Even the best of the best in the world today can't perfectly protect the life of the president. Notice what Peter says here about us, okay? Kept by the infinite power of God. It's almost like By the power of God, we each have our own spiritual secret service detachment.Everywhere we go, all the time, we are protected spiritually by the power of God. I got thinking about what this might be like. She's about to speak to Miss Gossip. Move in right now. He's leaving on a business trip with Mr. Skeptic and Mrs. Temptation, all units code red. He's in church right now. He's not listening. Taze him. Did anybody just feel something, by the way? No? God's power is always at work protecting our faith, keeping us from running away from our commitment to Christ, keeping us from the wolves, keeping us from doctrine and beliefs and temptations that would ultimately undermine our faith commitment to Christ. And that doesn't mean that we don't sin. It doesn't mean that we don't have seasons and all of that.But it does mean that even through those dark times, God is by his power protecting a faith that he has promised that he will carry on to completion, Philippians 1. And my dear Christian, that is true for you. Think of it just for a moment. Think of it. Right now, God's power is focused upon you and your faith and is ensuring that you are going to make it. That faith will not die. It's the power of God. It's like being born, right? We don't take credit for that. And I don't take credit for my faith continually because naturally I am a sinner and I am human and I am wishy -washy. None of us would make it through this week left to ourselves. But we are not left to ourselves, not by God who loves us. We are kept in this faith.Past, we were born again in the present. We're being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. And the future aspect of this is when our inheritance changes into a possession, okay? An heir is no longer an heir when the inheritance now is something that they own. Think of Prince Charles, like all these years waiting to become king. He's heir to the throne. There's probably a day coming when he will no longer be an heir. When? When he's actually king. And Buckingham Palace and the crown jewels and all the things, all of it is his then. No longer an heir, but a possessor. And our salvation is like that. We are already saved. We are already children of God. But the full experience of our salvation is yet to come.Someday, and the text here says, in the last time, referring to that future consummation of history. Someday, when Jesus returns and final judgment takes place, our ultimate inheritance will be ours. And our ultimate inheritance is Christ himself. And from that point on, we will see and know and worship him. From that point on, we will serve him. fully and faithfully. From that point on, we will be in awe that the Holy Son of God that we see with our own eyes died for us, gave his life for us, and now showers his love upon us for all of eternity. And we will never get over that he did that. We will never get over the mercy of God to us. So that we can say that the Vanderbilts had their fortune by family right, and Prince Charles has his inheritance by birthright.We will have our inheritance forever by new birth and the mercy and the power of God. And so we get to that truth, and what can we say? How about we say what he says in verse 3? “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen. Would you pray with me, please? Heavenly Father God, we thank you.This transcript was generated using AI transcription technology and reviewed for accuracy but may contain errors. Please refer to the original audio for precise wording.

Outline and Show Notes321: Just say “YES” with Ronke AdetoluPower Quote: "If my future stayed parked in 'someday,' then I did not have to risk failure today”Teaser:I love having guests on the show who are coming from outside the field of education I think they can bring fresh perspectives and help us interrogate our own situations through a different lens. In today's episode, my guest helps us dig into the idea of saying yes, even when your mind wants to say no or maybe later specifically will talk about moving into a job that you don't quite feel prepared for so if you're a teacher, listening to this show, looking to move into the assistant principalship, or maybe her assistant principal looking to move into the principal ship I think this will be a great episode for you.Sponsor Spot 1:I'd like to thank Kaleidoscope Adventures for sponsoring today's show. Lots of companies can help you organize class trips, but Kaleidoscope helps you organize adventures – because isn't that what student trips should be? Kaleidscope is a full-service tour company offering a range of adventure opportunities and they excel at customizing trips based on your unique context, needs, and goals. Kaleidoscope offers exceptional travel experiences for students (and their group leaders). Thinking about student travel? Reach out to Kaleidoscope using the link in the show notes.Show IntroGuest Bio:Words shape minds and every voice holds the potential to inspire. I'm here to turn stories into sparks and messages into movements. Ronke Adetolu is a TEDx speaker known for her talk, “The Myth of Someday,” where she exposes how postponing purpose quietly keeps people stuck. Her message is direct, relatable, and action-oriented, helping individuals and organizations move from intention to action with clarity and confidence.  Warmup questions:We always like to start with a celebration. What are you celebrating today?Is there a story that will help listeners understand why you are doing what you do?Questions/Topics/Prompts Your TEDx Talk was about saying yes and pushing before you are ready, without certainty. In it, you said, “If my future stayed parked in someday, then I did not have to risk failure today” I think this opens up multiple avenues of reflection for listeners:Do I yes to the job (AP or P) even if I'm not ready?Do I say yes to being an instructional leader, even if I'm not ready?How do step into the gap with confidence?Addressing imposter syndromeCourage Activation “YES method”I talk a lot on this show about using 5-minute coaching to help your teachers reflect when you can't get into classrooms, but what about those times you do get into classrooms? Do you have a system and tools to make the most of each visit?Imagine the perfect classroom walkthrough process. You are focused on instructional priorities and provide meaningful feedback that leads to coaching conversations.digiCOACH has been making that walkthrough process a reality for more than a decade. Every year, digiCOACH supports thousands of classroom walkthroughs with tools that save school leaders time, strengthen feedback, and connect classroom visits to next steps.Learn more at digiCOACH.com and mention The Assistant Principal Podcast to receive an exclusive offer.Sponsor Spot 2:I want to thank IXL for sponsoring this podcast…Everyone talks about the power of data-driven instruction. But what does that actually look like? Look no further than IXL, the ultimate online learning and teaching platform for K to 12. IXL gives you meaningful insights that drive real progress, and research can prove it. Studies across 45 states show that schools who use IXL outperform other schools on state tests. Educators who use IXL love that they can easily see how their school is performing in real-time to make better instructional decisions. And IXL doesn't stop at just data. IXL also brings an entire ecosystem of resources for your teachers, with a complete curriculum, personalized learning plans, and so much more. It's no wonder that IXL is used in 95 of the top 100 school districts. Ready to join them? Visit ixl.com/assistant to get started.Closing questions:What part of your own leadership are you still trying to get better at?If listeners could take just one thing away from today's podcast, what would it be?Before we go, is there anything else that you'd like to share with our listeners?Where can people learn more about you and your work…Summary/wrap upYES: especially envisioning our future selfImposter syndrome is part of the processAct before you are ready:You'll never be readyOpportunities don't waitCaveat: Consider the leaderStack easy wins by leaning into strengths and leveraging presence and listening skills (e.g. 5mc)Special thanks to the amazing Ranford Almond for the great music on the show. Please support Ranford and the show by checking out his music!Ranford's homepage: https://ranfordalmond.comRanford's music on streaming services: https://streamlink.to/ranfordalmond-oldsoulInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ranfordalmond/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ranfordalmond/Sponsor Links:IXL: http://ixl.com/assistant Kaleidoscope Adventures: https://www.kaleidoscopeadventures.com/ digiCOACH: digiCOACH.com CloseLeadership is a journey and thank you for choosing to walk some of this magical path with me.You can find links to all sorts of stuff in the show notes, including my website https://www.frederickbuskey.com/I love hearing from you. If you have comments or questions, or are interested in having me speak at your school or conference, email me at frederick@frederickbuskey.com or connect with me on LinkedIn.If you are tired of spending time putting out fires and would rather invest time supporting and growing teachers, consider reading my book, A School Leader's Guide to Reclaiming Purpose. The book is available on Amazon. You can find links to it, as well as free book study materials on my website at

What if your greatest chapter hasn't happened yet?Too many people believe there is an expiration date on purpose, reinvention, and entrepreneurship. Chanda Coston proves the opposite.In this episode of Mindset Mastery Moments, Dr. Alisa Whyte sits down with U.S. Navy veteran, business strategist, and founder of Chanda Co., Chanda Coston to discuss why your "third quarter" of life may actually become your greatest season.From escaping an abusive marriage to serving in the military, leading multimillion-dollar government projects, and building a successful coaching business, Chanda shares how every pivot prepared her for purpose.What We DiscussTogether, they explore how to unlock your true potential and step into your next chapter:Self-Permission: Why giving yourself permission to change changes everything.Monetizing Experience: Turning a lifetime of skills and trials into sustainable income.Lifestyle Business Design: Building a business that fits your current season of life instead of sacrificing peace for hustle.Misalignment vs. Burnout: Why burnout is often an indicator of misaligned priorities rather than just overwork.Starting Again: How to overcome hesitation, stop waiting for permission, and finally begin.If you've ever wondered whether it's too late to start over, this conversation will remind you that your greatest impact may still be ahead of you.Exclusive Free Resource for ListenersFree eBook: Barriers to Breakthrough — Discover how to remove the hidden obstacles standing between you and your next evolution.Connect with Chanda Coston1-on-1 Clarity Challenge: Join the 3-Day Clarity ChallengeLinkedIn: Connect with Chanda Coston on LinkedInInstagram: @chanda__coMusic licensed through Soundstripe:Code: LHZRTB6FIEUYGLXJ"There is no expiration date on your purpose. Every trial, transition, and season of your life was simply preparation for your greatest chapter yet."Send us Fan MailReady to turn your message into a profitable speaking career? Join Dr. Karim Ellis for a FREE live masterclass and discover the proven strategies to get booked, increase your influence, and build a speaking business that creates lasting impact and income. Reserve your seat today: https://thegpsspeakersacademy.com/freeclassSupport the show

What if you are not waiting for more information, and you already know exactly what you want to do? This week on the Glow Up, Gyrl Podcast, Kyra sits down with Ev Foster, author of Change Starts With Choice, intuitive psychology coach, and operating principal of Keller Williams Scotland. As Regional Champion for Scotland with WIEA, she mentors real estate agents building profitable, intentional businesses. She is a mum of four, splitting her time between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The book traces back to one year in her early twenties. Ev left an abusive relationship, lost her grandmother, and watched her father have a debilitating stroke at 58 that put him in a wheelchair. She was 24, and what stayed with her was that her parents had spent their whole marriage waiting for his retirement. Rainy day. Someday. We will be happy when. In this episode: Why people react before they breathe, and what leading through it taught her The moment capable women reach for one more opinion instead of trusting themselves Self-trust as a muscle, not a personality trait The conscious mind is five percent, and what the other ninety-five is holding Deep intuitive trust, the eyes-closed technique she walks clients through Shadows, and the schoolyard comment you forgot but your body did not The beach ball you have been holding underwater, and what comes back when you let go Why outgrowing your life feels worse than failing at it Not every room wants you to rise, and what that costs women who sense it Losing friends as you grow, and making peace with reasons and seasons Viktor Frankl, and the one freedom nobody can take from you The answer for the woman waiting to feel confident before she acts Whether you are sitting on a decision you already made, carrying something you pushed down years ago, or leading well on paper while second-guessing yourself in private, this conversation will meet you right where you are. Learn more: changestartswithchoice.com Follow Ev: @evfoster_choicecoach Stay connected to Glow Up, Gyrl: Website: glowupgyrl.com | Email: hello@glowupgyrl.com Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn: @glowupgyrl | Facebook: @glowupgyrlatl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jacob Jones is back! Taking a break from the recording studio, Jacob spends some time with us for another three matchups! Each week in The Diary Room, a wheel of names will randomly select SIX players from North American Big Brother history to enter the bracket. In three separate head-to-head matchups, three players will advance to the next round and three players will be eliminated. Someday, we'll find the best Big Brother player of all time! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join us on Patreon for more Diary Room!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Vote in Battle Backs and even cast a vote for the actual Diary Room episodes! Follow us on BlueSky! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thediaryroom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mattliguori⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@amanadwin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Twitter! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@diaryroompcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mattliguori⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@amanadwin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Subscribe on YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If your kid has ever looked you directly in the eyes and lied, even when you KNOW they know that you know the truth…you probably know the immediate panic spiral:Why are they lying to me? Is this normal? Can I trust them? If they're doing this at five, what happens when they're FIFTEEN?!And suddenly, this isn't about who ate the cookie or knocked over the toy, you're imagining your teenager lying about where they are, who they're with, what happened at the party, or something much, much bigger.But here's what most of us get wrong: If we want to raise kids who tell us the truth when it really matters, we have to be careful that our reaction to lying doesn't accidentally teach them that telling us the truth is dangerous.In this episode, Deena puts on her child therapist hat and breaks down what's actually happening when kids lie and why lying doesn't automatically mean you're raising a dishonest kid. In fact, there are several completely different reasons kids lie, and each one needs a different response.You'll leave this episode knowing why your kid is lying, what their lie is actually trying to accomplish, and exactly how to respond in the moment plus:- What to say when you know they're lying- When to use consequences- Why you don't need to force a confession- How to hold your boundary without making your kid afraid to tell you the truth next time.Most importantly, you'll learn exactly what to say and do when your kid lies to your face, without being permissive, letting them "get away with it," shaming them, or turning the whole thing into a 45-minute interrogation.Someday, the mistake won't be a stolen cookie, an iPad after bedtime, or marker on the table. It'll be something bigger. And in that moment, we want the thought that's louder than I'm going to be in so much trouble to be:I need to tell my mom.This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.Aquaphor Baby - Find the new Aquaphor Baby Sensitive Lotion now at Walmart, Amazon andTarget. Visit aquaphorus.com to learn moreEgglife - Find Egg Life wraps chilling in the fridge at Aldi, Whole Foods, Kroger, Target, Walmart, and more. Visit egglifefoods.com to find a retailer near you.ResortPass - Visit resortpass.com/BLF to get $20 off your first booking of $100 or more.Ross - Find your nearest Ross at rossstores.comSuperpower -  Head over to superpower.com and use code BLF for $20 off your $199 SuperPower membership. Produced by Dear MediaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Yosephina Greatstar is a chosen one prophesied to someday defeat a great evil. Someday. Eventually.CreditsArnie: Arnie NiekampChunt: Adal RifaiUsidore: Matt YoungYosephina Greatstar: Katie MarovichMysterious Man: Tim SniffenProducers: Arnie Niekamp, Matt Young, and Adal RifaiAssociate Producer: Anna HavermannPost-Production Coordination: Garrett SchultzEditor: Marisa Ewing-MoodyMagic Tavern Logo: Allard LabanTheme Music: Andy PolandNew T-Shirts in the Merch Store!You can support the show directly and receive bonus episodes and rewards by joining our Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/magictavern for only $5 per month. Want to gift someone a Magic Tavern Patreon membership? You can right now at this link!Follow us on Bsky, Instagram and YouTube!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Could there be a better form of government than the one we have now? As we enter an AI-powered world, when might we choose an AI leader? Will your grandchildren ever vote for a human president, who comes with a political party & the weaknesses of a human, or will they vote for a system that has a jaw-dropping capacity to extract patterns from vast rivers of data, simulate millions of possible futures, & govern with a deeper wisdom than a human could naturally possess? Will we all have personal AI agents that know our strongest political opinions, such that we finally achieve (for the first time at scale) a direct democracy rather than a representative one? Join Eagleman as he explores the future of an AI leader (pros & cons) and where he thinks we’re inevitably heading.