Today's scripture reading is from 1 Peter chapter 5, verses 8 to 11. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking who may he devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven, you're an awesome God. There's none like you. You alone are holy. You alone are God. Lord, please open our hearts and our minds today to your word that we may learn and understand what it is like to truly follow you and be steadfast in your love, in your word, and believe truly that you are Lord of our lives. Guide us, Lord, and direct us in your ways. I pray for a pastor that you bless him with your word that he may teach and penetrate our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen. It was a beautiful day. The gazelles were out in their usual eating patterns. Finding some lush green grass was a special treat for these beautiful deer. Nearby, some mischievous monkeys swung from tree branches, occasionally darting across the open plain. The gazelles, usually serene, would scatter momentarily, only to regroup and to continually gaze and graze peacefully. In the distance, a lioness rested by the shade, her eyes lazily scanning the savannah. She seemed unbothered by the activity around her, conserving energy for the cooler hours when hunting would be less taxing. A pair of zebras walked past the grazing field, their striking black and white stripes creating a stunning contrast against the golden prairie. The diverse rhythm of life continued seamlessly, each species playing its part in the delicately balanced ecosystem. As the sun began to set, the plain was filled with tense silence, broken only by the distinct cries of birds. The herd scattered, desperately seeking safety in the tall grasses. The lionesses were once again circling the herd. Despite the chaos, a few brave gazelles tried to confuse the predators by zigzagging unpredictably. Their agility in such a perilous situation was both a survival tactic and a display of their God-given wisdom. The lionesses, though skillful hunters, were momentarily thrown off by the sudden burst of movement. In the midst of the hunt, a young lioness broke away from the pack, focusing her sights on an isolated calf. The calf, unaware of its pending doom, stumbled through the thick vegetation, its mother sensing the threat, charged towards her offspring, hoping to deflect the lioness's attention. Her plan worked, but now she became the object of the lioness's pursuit. Darting through the high grasses, the lioness swiftly closed the distance. Every moment was calculated, reflecting the lion's instinct honed for killing. The rest of the pride watched intently as their eyes followed the chase. Then she soon pounced upon her prey and ripped open the body. This catch would mean substance for several days for the young lions. The lioness carried the gazelle's lifeless body back to the pride, each step purposeful, the younger lions eagerly awaiting, their tails twitching with anticipation of the feast that awaited them. This is life. the safari and this is the picture Peter used to describe the spiritual warfare continually faced by the Christian community therefore be sober first Peter 5 8 therefore Be sober. Be vigilant. Because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Be sober. That is, abstain from anything that could impair your judgment. Be sober. Don't get mixed in with the substance of this world, the drugs, the alcohol. Don't get mixed in with the thinking of this world. Don't mix yourself up with the lust of this world. Be sober and be vigilant. Keep watching. Look out. Watch it. The moment you think you are beyond the reach of attack is when you are in the most danger. How many have fallen saying, I never thought this would happen to me. I didn't see it coming. I can't believe this happened. I never thought it would end up this way. That is when the devil is about ready to pounce if he hasn't already. Let's think about this from the perspective of the victim. What does it feel like to be pursued by the devil? What does it feel like to become his prey? And I quote, we just stood there staring at each other. I knew in my gut that I couldn't walk away from him. He walked over to me and I kissed him. The wave of chemistry was incredible. I didn't feel sick or tired anymore. I felt alive. When you're being pursued by the devil, when you're succumbing to his temptations, Sometimes it's the moment that you feel the most alive, exhilarated. Why? Because each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desire and enticed. James 1.14, the devil entices you. And you feel alive when you're being enticed. You feel excited. It's exciting to be enticed. It's the thrill, it's the rush. The devil tempts us with lies. The name devil there is slanderer. He slanders and he lies. And you feel this rush of emotion, this rush of lust. But this is what you're blind to. You're blind to James 1.15. Then when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death Now the death doesn't feel very good But falling into the lust momentarily does That's why James follows this up with the warning Do not be deceived my beloved brethren Don't be deceived by this. Don't be deceived by this feeling of the pursuit or of being pursued by Satan, when all of a sudden you feel alive. This is what I must have. I must have this. I must have him. I must have her. I must have it. I must have this. And you feel alive. You feel invigorated. Don't be deceived by your emotions. Don't be deceived by your lust. because we have an enemy. Therefore, be sober. Wake up. Be vigilant. You have an enemy. He's the adversary. He's the slanderer. He's the liar. And he walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. circling you, circling you, circling your family, circling the church, circling the Christian community, circling, circling, waiting for you to take the bite. He throws the lies out. He throws them out. He throws them out. He tries to alienate you. Remove you. Remove you from the protection of truth. Remove you from the protection of your family. Remove you from the protection of the church. Remove you. Isolate you. Get you in a place where you're vulnerable to his lies. You'll feel the excitement. You'll feel the exhilaration. I'm finally free. I'm throwing it off. I'm going to go do this on my own. I'm free. No right, no wrong, no rules for me. I'm free. And it's really exciting for a moment until the consequences of that sin come in. The consequences of sin always come in because sin leads to death. And death is not fun. The day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. And the devil says, you're not going to die. There's no consequence for sin. You'll be like God, knowing good and evil for yourself. You can choose your own way. You can chart your own course. You can be your own person. Being your own person is just a contemporary way of saying you can be your own God. Be your own person. Do your own thing. Each one does what is right in his own eyes. You do you. It's all the same thing. You can be your own God. You can set your own course. You can seek your own pleasure. You can do what you want. Well, you can't do what you want and have it lead to anything good. The wages of sin is death. So be sober. Be vigilant. So that you can detect the enemy. So that you can see what he is doing. And so you can resist. Scripture says to resist him verse 9 first Peter 5 9 Resist him. There's your imperative. There's your command resist him Oppose the devil Fight the devil. Fight, fight, fight. Fight the devil. Fight the lies. Resist him. Keep opposing him. Don't give up. Don't give in. Don't give room. Don't give space. And when you're tired of fighting, and when you're tired of resisting, and when you're getting tired of the battle, keep fighting. Because you have an enemy who wants to kill you. You have an enemy who literally wants to destroy you. For the devil comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and have life more abundantly. The abundant life is in Christ. The devil will not give up. And when you get to the point, I just can't take it anymore. I just can't do it anymore. That's when you need to be sober. That's when you need to be vigilant because that's when you're about ready to get pounced on. Be sober, be vigilant, resist, fight, stand against the lies of the enemy. God has placed each one of you in a strategic place where he wants you to resist the lies of the enemy. He has you in a specific family, household, work, place, wherever you may be, right where God has called you to be, right there, you are called to resist the enemy, to stand fast against his lies and to not believe what he has said. How do you resist the enemy? It's letter B in your outline. You remain steadfast in the faith. Resist him. Steadfast in the faith. Steadfast in the faith. You resist him by being steadfast. The word for steadfast there means you stay on the solid ground. You don't give up the solid ground. In the hand-to-hand combat in the ancient Roman world, if you had the solid ground, you had your weapons on, you had the upper hand. If you're on soft ground, if you're on water, if you're in the mud pit, not gonna go to, you're gonna fall down. Right? So to stand fast in the faith is to stay on the solid ground of the Word of God. To stay on the solid ground of God's Word, the author of our faith, on the Word of God, what you believe to be true. You stay connected to reality. What does faith do? Faith is believing. Believing what? Believing the propositional revelation of God. Faith believes that which is real. Faith believes that which is true. Faith is that which connects us to God. If we don't have faith in God, we're not connected to God. If we call God a liar, we're not connected to God. If we don't believe God, we'll believe a lie. So faith connects us to God. Faith in God's word. God's word is true. Truth is reality as defined by God. Faith connects us to that reality so that we can stay steadfast in our faith, so that we can stay steadfast on the solid rock of God's word, so that we can believe the truth. Hebrews 11.3 says, by faith we understand. By faith we understand. If we don't have faith, we can't understand. If we don't have faith, we can't see. If we don't have faith, we can't believe. We have faith so that we can understand. We don't get understanding so that we can believe. We believe so that we can see. By faith, we understand. And so as we believe God's word, God gives us Insight he gives us wisdom by faith. We understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God So that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible How do we know the origins of the universe by faith? How do we know what is in the invisible realm? Because God told us what is in the invisible realm, and he's communicated to that in his precious word, so that we can know the invisible God. We can know God created something out of nothing. How? By faith. By faith in God's word. The object of faith is God, the content of faith is God's word. When we believe the propositional revelation of God's word, we have accurate information about the nature of reality. When we have accurate information about the nature of reality, we're on the solid ground. Stay on that solid ground. So that by faith you have understanding, and by understanding you can interpret the world around you. You know where we came from, you know why you're here, you know where you're going. Those are all very important information that God has given to us in his word. Where did we come from? In the beginning God, he created the heavens and the earth. How did he create the heavens and the earth? He spoke it. Pretty impressive, right? Why are we here? We're here to glorify God. He's the sovereign creator. He made heaven and earth. We're here to glorify Him. That is our purpose. How do we know what that is, what that looks like? We obey His commandments. We're here for the purpose of obeying God, to bring glory to Him. Where are we going? Well, if you're a believer, you believe in Jesus Christ. If you're His, you're going to heaven. If you're not His, you will pay the consequence of your sin in hell. This is where we're going. History has a definite point. It's called the Judgment Day. We're all moving to a climax. So history has meaning. Life has meaning. Life is to be interpreted by the Word of God. Don't give up that biblical worldview. Don't give up your faith. Don't give up the interpretation of all of life from the Christian perspective. Don't give that up, not even for a minute, not even for a moment, because the devil is circling you. He's circling you to try to get you to step off the solid ground into the mucky mush. Well, I don't know why I'm here. I'm just kind of confused about that. Well, I don't know, maybe I could just go, maybe I could just live an aimless life and float around and do nothing. Where'd you get that from? Right? That's not in the Bible, right? I understand wrestling with your faith, but you're wrestling with your faith. That's stepping into the mushy mud. Oh, I like the mushy mud. It feels kind of nice. I'm tired of standing on this solid ground, you know, where everything is given to me and I have to listen to what I'm told. You get on that mushy ground. Oh, I'm free to do whatever I want. Look, it kind of squishes down and you step off the foundation, right? And you like the cool mud going through your toes. Yeah, come a little more. Yeah, you know what? You don't need to listen to them. You can be free to do your own thing. And you take another step and another, bam, the lion comes. Sinks its fangs into your neck. 20 seconds, you're dead. That's how it happens, over and over again. How many personal testimonies, how many people do we know that's happened to? Who here knows someone that that's happened to? Raise your hand. Yeah, right? I mean, I can't go through all those people. It'd be kind of personal. But we see it happening over and over again. It's the same thing that's always been done. The devil is not that smart. He has the same game plan, right? Gets them off to believe lies and bam, takes you out, takes you down. What's the answer? Believe the truth. Resist him steadfast in the faith. Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. So here, this faith is referred to as a shield in Ephesians 6.16. The Romans would take their shields and they'd drape cloth over it and they'd drench it down with water so that the fiery darts that would come in, the darts would be extinguished. So the enemy is launching fiery darts. They're flaming arrows. So that's like the devil's lies. They're flaming arrows. You're no good. You're worthless. You don't belong here. You can do your own thing. You can be a success. You could be a star. You could be a rock star. You could have all the women. You could have all the money. You could have all the fortune. There's no boundaries, no right, no wrong, no rules for me. I'm free. I'm limitless. There's no one who can tell me what to do. I'm the prima donna of the world. God. And these, they just keep, the devil just keeps launching, pew pew pew, right? And he's got the movies, he's got the videos to show it, right? All these people doing all this stuff, right? Living high on the life, right? They have these videos, they look so cool. Till they die and go to hell. Is that what you want to follow? Till they get caught and get exposed. Look at all the people getting caught just recently. Look at Diddy, done, in jail. Oh, he lived a great life, didn't he? Right? No parole. All that he did, in jail. No parole. Wicked men. Don't be deceived by this stuff, kids. Don't be deceived by this, adults. This is what's really going on. So there's people that get, they get consequences in this world, which is a blessing. It's called justice, right? What do you think's gonna happen when they die? That's ultimate justice. So we see God's justice in this world that those who engage in wicked activities, they get found out, they get exposed. people preaching the Bible, living a double life, living a hypocritical life, like Mr. Lawson, horrible. That's horrible. This is, these are, and what did Jesus say? Don't think you can hide it. What you do in this secret will be told to everybody. Jesus told us that. You can't hide this stuff. Now you can hide it for a day, you can hide it for a month, you may hide it for five years. But Jesus will expose it. He will expose you, you will be exposed. On the other hand, those who have faith and take the shield of faith and are, you know, in this world, you're suffering, you're going through persecution, as he's talking about in 1 Peter, you will be rewarded. Your faith will be rewarded. You will stand through the fiery darts of the enemy and you will stand and your house will stand. He who hears my word and does it, who builds it on the rock, all the storms come and the storms come against everybody. We all have storms. You can't escape the storms. We go through a lot of storms. We've been through a lot of storms. We have a lot of storms. And what happens? Those who build their life on the rock, they stand. and they will always stand because their house is founded on the rock. But the man who built it upon the sand and great was the fall. The devil is circling around to get you off that foundation, to live your life for your lust, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. There's examples all around you. There's good examples and there's bad examples. What will you do? This passage encourages you to be steadfast in the faith. Don't give one inch to the enemy. You know he's circling around and he never stops. He wants to get you to compromise. He wants to get you to pull away from your faith in God. Don't believe it. Don't go there. Stay steadfast in the faith. Well, if God is so good, why does he allow all this evil in the world? If God is so good, how do you account for all the pain and all the suffering, right? It's the big question that everybody struggles with. And we have 1 Peter that we've been going through. We see that suffering is center stage. Suffering is part of God's plan. Suffering is part of God's plan for the Christian, right? We know why we suffer because the whole world has been placed under the curse because of Adam's sin, right? God tells us where we are in history. He says that the whole world is under a curse. There's thorns and thistles, there's death. People are acting like little gods, walking around creating chaos in God's world. And God works with that chaos and he works his sovereign plan of redemption, what you meant for evil, God meant for good. So God uses that for redemption, but God allows the evil to continue for his sovereign purposes. And that's what he's doing. And in the midst of that, in the midst of the history, he sent Jesus Christ, who takes on sin, takes on suffering and conquers it. Like conquers it. He takes on sin, he takes on suffering, he takes on shame. So nothing can separate you from the love of God. and he conquers it through his suffering, center stage of Christianity is suffering. Well, I don't like to suffer. Center stage to Christianity is suffering. Maybe you don't like Christianity. Maybe you don't really like Jesus. I came to Jesus for the good stuff. What do you mean the good stuff? Like the sins are forgiven? Okay, that is a good stuff. Sins forgiven is a good stuff, but he also says, now follow in my steps. So the center stage is the suffering and the proof of the conquering victory of Jesus is, of course, the resurrection. He rose from the dead. And he gives us a promise. He says, one day I am making all things new. One day all things will be made new. Heaven and earth will be made new and there will be an end of sin. It will not last forever. We're not in a cosmic dualism. It's not a yin yang. We're not in some paganistic worldview where there's this balance of good and evil. No, good can exist without evil and good will triumph over evil forever. And God will judge evil and he will put it away and righteousness will dwell forever and ever. I forgot I had the camera there. Stay on this, sorry about that. Just remembered. Righteousness will dwell forever and ever. So that's where we're headed. In the meantime, we have this suffering to deal with. And I want you guys to not take the suffering that you've gone through personally. Like, oh no, there's something that must be wrong with us because we go through suffering. There's something that must be wrong with this church because we're like this suffering church. You guys, there's something wrong with you. Why do you have all this suffering in your church? If you guys were perfect, if you guys were good people, you wouldn't have suffering, right? Well, this is the same lie of the enemy, right? And so Peter brings it back to that, which he's been dealing with this theme. He says right here, be sober, be vigilant because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him steadfast in the faith, knowing Knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. Knowing that your brothers and sisters around the world are suffering. So remain steadfast in your faith. Don't be surprised by these things. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this manner. 1 Peter 4, 15. For to this you are called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow in his steps. He tells us very clearly we're to follow in the steps of Christ, and he defines those steps. Very clear, so that we can know Christ, so that we can follow after him, so that we're not led astray. 1 Peter 2, 22. 1 Peter 2, 22. Follow in his steps. Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. So the proof of your faith is how you go through suffering. That is not your fault. Now, if it's your fault and you're suffering for the consequences of your own sin, Peter makes that very clear. That's not what he's talking about here. If you're suffering for being stupid, it's on you, right? That's not what he's, he labored that point, right? This is suffering because you're a Christian. This is suffering because you love Jesus Christ and you're willing to stand up for him. You're willing to stand on that foundation. And the devil's gonna do, the devil can attack and he will. He will lie, he will lob bombs and throw things at you and try to get you distracted. And the good cop, the bad cop, he'll try to seduce you. If he can't seduce you, he'll just try to take you down. But we remain steadfast, knowing that this is his plan. Nothing new under the sun. knowing that this is the suffering that is experienced by our brothers around the world. So we have this ethic of Christ. What did Jesus do when he suffered? He didn't fall into sin. He didn't threaten. He didn't return evil for evil, 1 Peter 3.8. Finally, all of you be of one mind, have compassion for one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous, not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling. Not insult for insult, not tit for tat. Well, you wrote me off, I'm gonna write you off. You're mean to me, I'm gonna be mean to you. Now, is that what Jesus did? Is that how Christ came to save you? Is that what drew you to Christ? When you sin, God says, you're gonna sin, I'm gonna knock you on the head harder. Is that what God did to you? Is that what drew you to Jesus? When you sin, he said, I'm gonna love you, I'm gonna take your sin, I'm gonna die on the cross, I'm gonna suffer in your place, and I'm gonna rise again to show you that I am king of kings and Lord of lords. Is that the gospel you believe? Is that the gospel that saves? Isn't that the gospel that is the power of God for salvation? Well, then that's the gospel that you follow, and that's the Jesus that you serve. Amen? And that goes into all of life. It goes into your family life, it goes into your church life, it goes into your work life, it goes into your community. It goes when you're driving down I-10 and someone cuts you off. Lord bless them. Right? And no, no. It's not God's sovereign over all, Jesus is Lord over all. It goes into all of life. This is our response. but on the contrary blessing that you may inherit a blessing knowing that you were called to this, were called out of the world, were called to follow Christ. It's the Kaleo, it's the calling of God. to stand in his kingdom. So let's talk about that stand. So be sober, resist and stand. Stand in his kingdom because this is what you were called for. But may the God of all grace who called us First Peter 5, 10, this is God's effectual calling. And may the God of all grace who called us, called us to what? He called us to his eternal glory. He called us to his eternal glory. Remember how Peter opened this book to the elect pilgrims? Talking to those elect sojourners that have been called out of the world? First Peter 1. to the pilgrims of the dispersion Pontius, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father and sanctification of the spirit and obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to his abundant mercy, because he caused us to be born again. There's that causative nature. He caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. 1 Peter 1.3, to an inheritance, uncorrupt, undefiled, that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God. The elect pilgrims are kept by God's power for God's purposes to an inheritance that does not fade away, kept by the power of God through faith. How do we participate in that? Faith, keep believing. By faith, we understand. By faith, we are connected to God. We believe the truth, the revelation of God's word. What is the object of our faith? God. What is the content of faith? The Bible. Scripture, this is the content of our faith. Scripture and scripture alone has the highest authority of our faith. It's the word of God. It's the Bible, right? God's word. So we believe the revelation that God has given, and as we believe, we're kept by the power of God for salvation. ready to be revealed in that last time. This doesn't fade away. This is awesome. This is good. And even though we go through trials in this, you greatly rejoice because it's very exciting to be saved, right? It's very awesome to be saved. All our sins are forgiven. It's the best deal ever. So it's really exciting. So we rejoice in that for a little while, if need be, you're greeted by the various trials. Yes, we do have to go through various trials, 1 Peter 1, 6, and then we have all of 1 Peter, so he kind of comes back to that theme, where he's been developing the theme through the whole book of 1 Peter, and he just reminds us, this is your calling. You've been called to his eternal glory by Jesus Christ after you have suffered a while. So that's where we're headed. Stand in that faith. Stand in that calling. Stand in that perspective. Don't, I just don't know what God is doing. I'm so overwhelmed, the world just feels crashing down. And it feels like that sometimes, right? It does. That's why God reminds us, hey, I've called you to eternal glory. I don't know how I'm gonna make it, there's so many problems, I just feel this, right? And enter into this. I have called you to eternal glory. What difference does that make in your life? Like everything, that's like everything. Oh yeah, I'm called to the eternal glory. That's where I'm going. And God is working all things together for good to those who love him. God has a purpose and plan in all these pieces of my life. All my life then makes sense. It's not confusing. God has a purpose, God has a plan, God has a call. He's called you to this eternal glory. Stand on the solid ground. This is how you keep your faith. You stand on the solid ground, on the promises of God, on the perspective that God has given to you. But may the God of all grace who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, Why do I have to suffer? Because it's part of God's plan. Like Rob preached last week, can't we just have the good stuff without the bad stuff? I thought that was a great line when he put that in his message. Can't we have the good stuff without the bad stuff? And Rob said, God doesn't want to waste all the stuff he made. I thought that was great. He doesn't want to waste all the stuff he made. He's going to redeem it. It's part of his glory. He's going to redeem all the shattered pieces of our lives. And the stuff that doesn't make sense, he has a plan for that. That's when we really need, that's when we really grow in our faith, when life doesn't make sense. And it goes back to that humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, casting all your cares upon him. That's why we need faith. We humble ourselves, casting all our cares upon him, that he may exalt you in due time. And he'll take this piece, and this piece, and this piece, and for all eternity, we're gonna be looking back and we're just gonna like, we're gonna be continually awed at the sovereign plan of God and how he worked all these things together for good. Like we're gonna be doing that forever. Like 10,000 googolplex years from now. We're gonna be like, wow, did you see how God used this? I just learned something today, because we're gonna be learning. We're gonna be learning with no sin and without the hindrances we have here. I just learned something new today. Look what God did with this. I never realized this, but God took this and he used this and he moved this over here. Wow, God, you are amazing. That's what we're gonna be doing in heaven forever. In the dispensation of the time, in the fullness of times, God's gathering all these things together in Christ. And we're gonna be like, whoa, whoa, wow, wow, wow, wow. We're just gonna be so full of his presence and his joy and his goodness. And we're gonna be worshiping him forever and ever to the lamb and to the sacrifice. Those who are in Christ, we have eternal bliss. That's what we're called to. That's what we stand in. That's what gives us hope, the resurrection. That's what gives us purpose. That's what gives us meaning. Even though we have to suffer a little while, God will do, and he has four things, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. I summarize those four adjectives here by this one word, God's power. God's power. It's God's calling, and it's God's power. Perfect. Kata tizro means to complete. It's the same word used in 2 Timothy 3, 16, and 17. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it's profitable. for doctrine, for reproof, for corrections, for instruction of righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. That complete idea, scripture gives the man of God completion. It's the same word, maturity. Scripture is what matures a man, a woman. And God's calling and God's power is what completes a man, makes him perfect. Perfect meaning there's nothing missing. You're not one brick short of a full load. Everything is there. Everything you need is right there. Complete, perfect. Not perfect as in I never sin. Complete. It's the idea of completeness. So look at the text. God will bring this into your life after you've suffered a while, he will bring you to maturity and he will establish you. To establish means to set up something that cannot be moved. He's going to establish you. How many people here think security is important? You want to be secure, right? Well, wouldn't you want to build your life on something that cannot be moved? Okay, that's what it means to be established. He who hears my word and does it will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. That's the idea, it's secure. He will bring you to maturity and he will establish you. He will establish you on something that cannot be moved. God's promises, God's word, come hell and high water. this word will remain. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word will remain forever. So as you establish your life on the calling of God, on the maturing of God in your life, and on the foundation of God, you will be partakers of the kingdom of God. That's what it means to be a partaker of his dominion, of his power. of his kingdom, perfect, establish, strengthen you. Strengthen here means to put strength in, to make strong, to cause to be more able. Seth Neo makes you to be more able. Now, how do you live your life? Whose power? When someone cuts you off when you're driving, whose power comes out? You do not have the power to not be irritated by that. None of us have the power to do that. When your child looks at you and presses your button, bank. When your wife looks at you and presses your button. When your husband looks at you and presses your button. When your brother or sister in this church looks at you and presses your button. None of us have the power to say, I love you. We don't. We all go, bank back. You look at me funny, I'll look at you funny, right? It's our nature, right? We're self-focused in that way. So this idea of being strengthened by God is so important. It's not in our own strength. And that's, going back in the text a little bit, that's the humility. I have no power of my own to do anything good. It must be his power working through me. And as I cast my cares on him, Because I have these cares, right? I can't do this. Whatever your cares are, humble yourself. That's the main command of the verb. The part is simple, casting all your cares upon him. That's how you humble yourself. Because you know he cares for you. So as you're concerned, you cast your care on him. As you're casting your care, what are you doing? You're casting yourself on God. And as you pray humble prayers, you keep casting your care, you cast your care, you cast your care. What are you doing? You're building your life on God's word. You're building your life on God. You're humbling yourself. And the strength that you get is from God. Because God will take your power and he'll replace it with his power. God will take your puny power and give you his mighty power. Which again, it's not the, I'm so excited, yay! I mean, there's times of rejoicing. I'm not knocking that. But you gotta know the difference between the lust that motivates and the spirit of God who motivates. Those are two very different motivations. I mean, how many people are deceived in having in affairs because they have the lust and they think it's of God? I mean, this is like, this is real time. This is what is happening around us, right? I mean, our beloved Bible teacher just fell. Hypocrisy, bad, right? How does that happen? His own power, his own power. And God exposed him. And he's not alone, there's a whole string of them, right? So I think it makes us think, oh my goodness, Lord, whose power am I living by? I repent. I wanna live by your power, not my own power. I wanna live by your strength, not my own strength. I'm gonna be praying a lot about this. Because I know how deceptive my heart can be in thinking that I can do something good in my own strength. What can we do without Jesus? You sure? How many times have you tried to do something without Jesus? Has it ever worked out good? Now, how many would agree with that? How many of us have tried to do something good without Jesus, right? And it doesn't work out, right? Jesus said, John 15, that's our connected life. That's the daily connect. Without me, you can do. Nothing. It doesn't say something. It says nothing. The deception is because, well, in our eyes, I could do this, I could do, right? It's wood, hay, and stubble. It gets us off the foundation, and it leads to falling. The older we are, the more we see that. So that's kind of a nice thing about getting older. Right? It's nice to get older in that way, because you see these patterns over and over and over again. And about the gazillionth time, maybe I shouldn't do that anymore. Uh-huh. Maybe I should. I have an idea. I'm going to trust God. And I trusted God, and it worked. He was there for me. That's called wisdom. OK? So that God's power, let him pour his power into you as you cast your cares upon him and remove your power from living your life. That they may have the abundant life. God's power, my yoke is easy and my burden is life. Jesus said without me you can do nothing, but in Christ I can do, I can do all things. If I abide in you and your word abide in me, ask what you wish and it will be given unto you. I am the vine, you are the vine dresser. It's John 15, abide in me and my word's in you. It's that abiding life, his strength, his power, his goodness, his grace, his word, his spirit. I repent, I confess, and I love the trials that God has for me that remind me that I can do nothing without Christ. That's really the big purpose of the trials. The trials are very helpful, right? I mean, if I ever thought I was this great person, Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam. Okay, I'm not. All right, God, I'm sorry. It's you, right? It's you. You're the great person. You are God, right? And I am your servant. I am your slave. I am here to serve you. It's your strength and your power. And you find then, when I am weak, then I am strong. And that's the strength that God gives. Amen? And you stay steadfast in your faith. and then you're settled. The final word is settled there. That is literally to lay the foundation. You're settled. The foundation is laid, and I'm staying on it. Nevertheless, the solid foundation of God stands, having this seal. The Lord knows those who are His, and let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 2 Timothy 2.19. The Lord knows those who are His, The solid foundation of God stands. It stands. The Word of God stands. The Bible will stand. If you build your life on the Word of God, you will stand with God. If you transgress God's commandments, if you blaspheme God's Word, if you think you have a better idea than God, you will not stand. It doesn't matter if you have all the blessings of being raised in a Christian family, That will mean nothing. All those blessings you get from a Christian family will get you a little bit, right? Because you have a blessing that's kind of following you. But if you step out of that blessing, there's a little bit of deception there because you're gonna be covered by that blessing for a little bit until God removes that blessing and you realize he pulls the carpet from under you. and you realize, I'm not building my life on God's word, then it's a matter of grace. It's a matter of seconds in what God chooses to have mercy. Because God is sovereign over those lines that are circling you. And all God has to do is say, all God has to do is say, and you're done. And that's what's happening to people around us. That's what's happening to people that we love. Be sober. Be vigilant. Your enemy, like a roaring lion, right? I see the lion. He's circling. Now, I'm not afraid of the lion. It doesn't say fear the lion. It doesn't say fear the devil. Fear God. Know that the lion's circling, okay? And let that draw you to be steadfast in your faith. So here's your circle, right? I envision it like a path that I'm on, or a circle I'm standing on. There's a path, right? It's a very narrow path. And the older I get, the more narrow it becomes. And the pressure pushes against my shoulders, right? It pushes against me, and there's a lot of pressure coming from different directions to take one step off that path, right? And if I stay on that narrow path, which God always provides for me, it's right there, I don't know what's gonna happen up there, I can't tell you. All I can see is about right here. Your word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. I will hide your word in my heart, that I may not sin against you. And I take those steps, right? That's steadfast in the faith. Each step, taking it before God. I know there's a line circling. I know if I step off, you know, I confess, ooh, I confess, Lord, I repent, I confess my sin, right? That's, it's not perfect. Step off, ooh, God, forgive me. Right? Be steadfast in your faith. And the lines are gonna circle, but you're gonna stand on the foundation. That's the Christian life. And as we do that together, we're not alone, we do that together. We walk this out. We walk this out before God, and we receive these promises. May the God of all grace, who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you, to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. It is about God's glory. It is about God's dominion. It is about God's kingdom. It is about God's sovereignty. It is about God. And this is our prayer, that he would receive all the glory. How will you respond? How will you respond? How close is the devil to you? How close is the devil's pursuit of you? How close is he to attacking you? What do you think? Yeah, how close is he to attacking you? Well, I don't really think about that much. Okay, he's probably attacking you. Do you think the devil is involved in spiritual warfare like that? Okay, he's attacking you. You don't even see it. I can feel him breathing down my neck. Yeah, that's how I feel it. He's breathing down my neck. Fight, fight, fight, sword, spirit, everything. When I get up, cry out to God, have mercy on me. It's gonna be all out warfare today. Right, we wake up, it's gonna be all out warfare today. Bombs are going off, people are dying, bombs are exploding. Warfare all out. The devil's coming, he's breathing down my neck, he's circling around me, he's circling around you. Is that how you see it? That's how I tend to see it. And there's been times I've forgotten that, and I've paid the price. I'm still alive, but I have the scars to prove it. I think that's wisdom. Every step counts. Every step counts. So let's live a life for his glory. Notice here that this is a prayer, but may the God, it's a prayer. Peter is expressing a prayer. So as we close now, I want us to go to prayer and let's consider praying in this manner may the god of all grace who has called us to his eternal glory by christ jesus after you've suffered a while perfect establish and strengthen you to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever Let's stand and pray, amen. Father, we thank you for your grace. We thank you for this epistle of 1 Peter. Lord, fill us with your power. Lord, open the eyes of our heart to see where we are in space and time, where the enemy is, and mostly how to remain steadfast in our faith so that we do not go to the right or to the left, but that we remove our foot from evil. and accomplish the purpose to bring glory to you. This is what we pray in Jesus' name.