All right, guys, go ahead and take your Bibles and turn to 1 Peter 1. Turn back to 1 Peter 1. As you're turning there or maybe you're looking at your your notes. Remember, we dove back into our study of 1 Peter last week, and we ended up breaking down verses 8 through 12 last week of chapter 1. And that really concludes the opening section of 1 Peter 1. Remember, in chapter 1, Peter's focusing greatly on encouraging the discouraged believers. Peter actually begins his epistle writing, to the elect exiles. Remember, again, these believers, they're facing incredible persecution. Many of them had literally been run out of their homes. And so, as we see through this epistle, Peter frequently does refer to them as exiles, and it's something of a play on words. As we study the historical context, we know that some of these believers were literal exiles. They were actually running out of their homes, running for their lives, because of this spiritual persecution. But also, all of these believers, we recognize from a spiritual sense, all believers are spiritual exiles, not just physical exiles. And what do we mean when we say that? Well, we mean that spiritual exiles, they are living in a land that is not their home. They are living in a place that is hostile towards everything they believe. and that is actively opposing the gospel message. And so they're not just physical exiles, but we also discussed that they are spiritual exiles. And so Peter wants them to understand first and foremost, that this world is not their home. They must fix their attention on their eternal hope of glory. And can anyone remember what that eternal hope of glory is? What is their hope that Peter frequently points them back to through the beginning of this epistle? Anybody? It's salvation, right? Peter is frequently pointing them back to their salvation. This is their hope. And so he seeks to remind them of the great inheritance that they possess in their salvation, better than any earthly inheritance they could possibly imagine. And the glory of their salvation is so great, Peter posits, that it can sustain them through seemingly unbearable suffering that they are facing, certainly greater suffering than you or I have ever faced. And so as you consider the glory of their salvation able to sustain them through suffering, certainly that same salvation is able to sustain you and I in any trial or hardship we may face. And so in verses 8 through 12, that's kind of the opening portion, verses 1 through 7. And then in verses 8 through 12, Peter seems to even ratchet up the weight of the believer's salvation, as he states that the great Old Testament prophets, even angels, long to understand what it is like to experience redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ. This is a fascinating element that Peter brings out. in the end of chapter 1 verses 8 through 12. And so with all this in mind, let's look down at verse 13 of 1 Peter chapter 1. Now I'll read our text. I'll read down through verse 17. That's all that we'll cover today. And then I'll pray and we'll get into this text. All right. Now God's word says, therefore preparing your minds for action, 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 passion 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. And if you call on him as father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile." And there we see that term exile once again. Let's go ahead and pray and then we'll get into this text. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for the opportunity to come together this evening and to study your word. Lord, I thank you for these teens and just for their desire to be here and to look at your word. God, I do pray that you would give us all humility as we approach this passage today. It is a rich text and a convicting text for us, and so I pray that we would recognize our responsibility as believers to be your representatives to the world, and I pray that we would take that responsibility very seriously. Lord, I pray that you would give us grace and strength to recognize areas that we do not do that well, and that you would give us the grace to move forward, and that you would give us strength to rely on you as we seek to grow in our knowledge of you. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Well, in 2019, a British ambassador to the United States was forced to resign after his private communications were discovered and leaked to the press. Ambassador Sir Kim de Roque had reportedly sent disparaging messages about the sitting president of the United States, Donald Trump. In his communications, de Roque repeatedly referred to President Trump as incompetent and inept, and whether the British government agreed with de Roque's synopsis or not didn't much matter. The reality was that Darroch had failed to represent his country well, and his unprofessional conduct led to strained diplomatic relations between the United States and Great Britain. President Trump was rightly unsettled by Darroch's disrespectful communication and in turn labeled Darroch as a very stupid guy. And Darroch's poor conduct led to an irreparable breakdown in communication between the two nations, which forced him to resign. And while I understand that is somewhat of a silly illustration, but we get the point. As an ambassador, this man's responsibility was to represent his government to the United States. And regardless of what happened or the breakdown in communication, regardless of any of those details, the reality is he did not represent his government's interests well while he was in the United States, and thus he had to resign. And as we look at this text, we see that as believers, we have a high calling to represent God in the way that we live. Very similar to national ambassadors, believers have the opportunity to reflect positively or negatively of the impact that Jesus Christ has had on our lives. And when we do not represent Christ in a righteous or in a faithful manner, we fail to fulfill our God-given mandate that we see in this passage. And so as the people of God, we must be passionate about being faithful ambassadors of God to the world. Again, when we don't do that, or when we fail to faithfully uphold the God of the Bible and what he teaches us about how we should live, we fail and we let down our God-given mandate. And so as you consider this, this will be Peter's primary point as he writes to these believers, as they are exiles in the world, they are to represent God in a manner that glorifies God, that points others back to Jesus Christ. And we see this as a characteristic of many great heroes of the faith. I think of even as we've worked through the evangelist gospel and we see John the Baptist, this is his primary mission as an individual on earth. His primary focus is, I need to point people back to God. I need to be a faithful ambassador, faithfully carrying out my mission. And so this should be our focus as well. So go ahead, as you think about that, go ahead and look at verse 13. Verse 13, Peter begins, 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. Peter's opening word, therefore, should immediately draw our attention as a major indicator of the context. Remember, as we're working through this, we're trying to carefully, thoughtfully work through the passage, highlighting key words, understanding the context, This is a word that should always immediately draw your attention. Therefore, it is the author's attempt to tell you what I have just spoken about in the previous verses immediately and importantly impacts the coming commands. This is the case for Peter as well. He's attempting to point the reader back to all of the previous contexts and state that the following commands are as a direct result of the information he just shared with the reader. What I am about to tell you is directly a result of everything we just talked about, about the glory of your salvation, how your salvation should transform your life in verses 1 all the way through verse 12. The reality that as a saved believer, a Christ follower, a disciple of Christ, you are to represent Christ in a godly manner. Essentially, therefore, because of all that I just shared with you about the glory of salvation, these characteristics must be present in your life. One commentator writes, all these exhortations are grounded in God's saving work. As explained in verses one through 12, believers are to obey because they are God's chosen pilgrims. This is the purpose for our obedience. Everything that we read about in verses one through 12, because we are God's chosen people, we must be obedient. And so we see this cause and effect as we look at the opening, even just the opening word of verse 13. And so as you consider this, Peter is saying, therefore, because you have this glorious salvation, because you have access to limitless stores of grace, what must you be doing? Look at the next phrase. preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded. Peter makes an authoritative command here. In the original language, this is an imperative statement. You prepare your minds for action. This is Peter's intent. You believer, I'm talking to you, prepare your mind for action. Be sober-minded. It's imperative. Like if your parents were to say to you, you take out the garbage. This is what Peter is saying. You prepare your mind for action. As a believer, you must be so reminded. This is a reminder that we are in desperate need of today. These Christians, it's ironic, these Christians very likely did not need this reminder as much as we today need this reminder. Many times as Christians today, we can be so unaware, we can be so comfortable, we forget that as followers of Jesus Christ, we are actively engaged every single day in spiritual warfare. Do you understand that? If you claim to be a believer today, every single day that you wake up, you are actively engaged in spiritual warfare. This is what the scriptures teach us throughout the New Testament, throughout the Old Testament. This is what Peter is communicating to us here. And so these believers, they're living in a day and age where they were being physically assaulted, physically harassed for their beliefs. And so today, while we don't feel the same pressure immediately, we still must understand the spiritual war that is being waged every day. And you must prepare, Peter says. These believers understood well the concept of spiritual warfare, because many times it started as spiritual warfare and led to very tangible physical violence being committed against the believers. So Peter says, because of this, what, we must be actively engaged in preparing our minds, and this is yet another physical step that we must take in the process of sanctification. This does not happen by accident. Don't miss that, okay? Because as we look at this opening text, and as we continue to look through 1 Peter, Peter is talking about sanctification. He's talked about that already. He's talked about salvation. And many times as Christians, we sit back and we say, I don't know how to change. Well, you change by taking real, tangible, actionable steps. This is one of those steps. Peter says this does not happen by accident. That's why you must prepare your mind. You have to take tangible steps to prepare yourself. In fact, the word that Peter uses here, it's often referred to, it's often used in this day and age to refer to girding up one's robes for battle or for action. And hopefully we all have somewhat of an idea of the Middle Eastern, the ancient Middle Eastern garb that would have been worn, the attire. Gym shorts and t-shirts in this day and age, they were not a possibility, right? In fact, if you see the news ever about the Middle East, they are still not a possibility and so it's just not an option the the popular garb instead was a long robe clearly we understand a long robe is not suitable for running for moving quickly for warfare okay we understand all these things. And so what people would do then is they would often have a belt that would be around their waist and what they would do is they would take that longer portion of the robe and they would fold it up and they would tuck it into that belt and so that it would significantly lengthen the length of that robe. They would be able then to move quickly without being encumbered by the longer portion of their robe. And so understand clearly In the same way that someone's robe would not automatically gird itself up into the person's belt, your mind will not automatically prepare itself for action. This doesn't happen by accident. Do you understand that? I know we say that at church, and we say, yeah, we get it, our mind's not gonna prepare itself for action, but then we go home, and what do you actually do to prepare your mind for action? Usually nothing. Nothing changes from a day-to-day basis, from a practical standpoint. preparing your mind for action. Again, it means meaningful steps towards righteousness. Laying aside distractions, pursuing Christ wholeheartedly, knowing him through his word. These are all things that will flesh out more fully as we look at this text. But again, it's an intentional, this is an intentional, tangible step that must be taken. In fact, it's so tangible that Peter compares it to physically altering one's dress to be less encumbered This is an instruction that the believers receive repeatedly through scripture. In fact, in Hebrews 12, verse one, this is a passage we've looked at before. It says, therefore, again, therefore being an important context word, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. Let us also lay aside every weight and the sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Now, when you consider Hebrews 12, one, and you consider, I say, therefore, that's an important context word. Do we know the context that precedes Hebrews 12? In Hebrews 11, we read about the hall of faith. We read about heroes of the faith. And the author goes on to say, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, who is that cloud of witnesses? It's everyone that we just read about in chapter 11. It says because of all those people, because of all their examples, are they witnessing our lives? Are they watching our lives in a stadium type feel from heaven? No, absolutely not. What are they witnessing then? The author of Hebrews wants us to understand clearly, as you consider all of those people from Hebrews chapter 11, those individuals' lives stand as a witness. They stand as a testimony to you of God's grace at work in their lives. God's grace and power to sustain them, to draw them closer to himself, to sanctify them. So as you consider this, the author of Hebrews goes on, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin which clings so closely. This is something that everyone has to do. There has to become a point in time in your life where you make a tangible, difficult decision to discipline yourself spiritually and pursue Jesus Christ. What does that look like? It looks like laying aside every weight. That means exactly what it sounds like. Anything that could possibly be a distraction to your spiritual walk, the author of Hebrews says, set it aside. As does Peter. Intentionally gird up your mind. Intentionally prepare your mind for action. Cut out the fat. Lay aside anything that could possibly trip you up, distract you on your walk with Jesus. It also means laying aside clearly sin, which is for many individuals an encumbering item. Let us lay aside every weight, every sin, and let us do what? Run with endurance the race that is set before us. Again, We have examples of athletes throughout the Bible, and just as athletes have to intentionally discipline their bodies for an athletic event, so must you also intentionally discipline yourself spiritually to grow closer in your walk with the Lord. And so as you consider this, you have to actively take steps to uproot sinful patterns, sinful habits, and prepare your mind for action, again, in the same way that an athlete would set aside unhealthy foods and things like this, you must also strive to prepare your heart and mind for spiritual warfare. And as you consider that, how might you be doing that today? How might you be actively preparing your heart and mind for spiritual warfare today? That's a serious question. Peter states it as an imperative command. You must do this. It's not an option for believers. Peter also says this very next phrase, and being sober-minded. When we hear this term used, we most likely would think of alcohol or physical drunkenness. And while soberness physically is certainly a biblical mandate, Peter is not speaking of physical soberness here. And so as you're working through this passage, understand very clearly two important characteristics that you should highlight is to prepare your mind for action, and secondly, to be sober-minded. And so again, Peter's not speaking specifically of physical soberness here, but Peter instead wishes to utilize the imagery of soberness to communicate the sharpness and the awareness that should describe believers as they move through life. And so when an individual is physically intoxicated by alcohol or by a drug substance, we understand that their senses are dull. Their mind is inebriated. They are unable to function at a high level with clarity of thought, with soundness of mind. These are all side effects of being physically intoxicated. This intoxicated state leaves the individual vulnerable to costly mental lapses or even physical attacks. This is why we have commercials all the time on TV about driving sober or what. Get pulled over, why? Because this state leaves you in a vulnerable place, easily able to commit mistakes, even dangerous mistakes. And it is the same case with spiritual inebriation. Peter wants to make this same point. Just as physical intoxication leaves you dull, leaves you stupid, spiritual intoxication has the same effect on someone's walk with the Lord. It many times leaves you dull. You're not as easily convicted by the Holy Spirit. You're unwilling, unable to respond to the working of the Holy Spirit. To be spiritually intoxicated, again, it's to be so distracted by and bound up in worldly pursuits that one is left spiritually dull and insensitive to the spiritual war that is raging around us. Remember, this is Peter's opening point. There is a spiritual war going on. This is his overarching point for the book. How are you preparing for that? And to wander a raging battlefield drunk would be the epitome of foolishness. And yet this is where so many Christians find themselves spiritually. So drunk on worldly pursuits, they can't walk the spiritual chalk line of biblical morality. We don't understand basic principles of biblical morality or sound doctrine. Why? Because we're so bound up in worldly pursuits. We're not intentionally trimming the fat from our spiritual lives, intentionally laying aside weights in our pursuit of Jesus Christ. Peter clearly commands in this opening verse that spiritual soberness should be the mark of a true believer. This mental sharpness and acuity is a direct result of obedience to God's Word and strict discipline in our spiritual walk. Don't miss that. This level of sharpness, this level of acuity, it is only the result of strict discipline in our walk with Jesus Christ. That's the only way it's possible. So are you actively disciplining yourself today to promote good habits of reading God's Word? Are you disciplined in your prayer life? These are practical things that we have to nail down if we're genuinely consumed with preparing our minds for battle, with being sober-minded, with walking through life with our eyes wide open. So are you disciplined with your prayer life, with your Bible reading? Are you disciplined and sober-minded in the kind of entertainment you pursue? This is another thing I think that especially so many teenagers, so many Christian young people today, they're so dulled by what the world is constantly throwing at us that we allow ourselves to indulge in media, in movies, in books, in social media that is completely unhelpful and distracting to our walk with Jesus Christ, even downright sinful sometimes. Peter says those things must be cut out. They must be. In fact, Peter says if you truly claim to know Jesus Christ, you have no other choice. That's exactly what you will do. True believers follow Jesus like this. As we go through life, we should be defined by our singular focus to glorify God in all that we do. As you think about that, Peter now seeks to further define what it looks like to prepare one's mind. Look down at the end of verse 13. This is the full definition of preparing your mind. This is what it practically looks like. Set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Again, the believers who face continual oppression for their faith, they must prepare their minds for action by fully believing the promises of God for the future. This is Peter's continual reminder to believers who are spiritually attacked constantly. by the world that they lived in. One author writes, they must live unreservedly for the future, anticipating the consummation of their salvation at the second coming of Christ. Don't miss the first part of that. They must live unreservedly for the future. No compromise, no regrets. This is the Christian walk, a singular focus on glorifying God and living for Jesus Christ. It's been said that faith is trusting God for the past, hope is trusting God for the future. And this kind of hope that we see here in verse 13, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. This kind of hope, this is that kind of biblical hope. Not a wistful longing. Not wishing that something might possibly come to fruition. This is not biblical hope. Biblical hope is a confident expectation in the promises of God. Because God never lies. In the New Testament we read in, I believe it's Acts 14, and Paul heals a man because the scriptures tell us he saw that the man had faith to be made well. This is that same idea. His faith should be interpreted as an expectation to be cured. This is the kind of faith that Peter wants us to have. You are expecting Jesus Christ will return and he will find me doing exactly what he's called me to do. That's this kind of hope. Do you have that? If Jesus Christ came today, are you ready to meet him? Peter wants you to live every second of your life that way. If Jesus Christ returned right now, would I be prepared to meet him? Charles Wesley was known for being asked the question, what would you do if you knew that Jesus Christ was going to return tomorrow And Charles Wesley would frequently reply to this by saying, I would go about my business because I would want the master to find me doing what he had called me to do. Could you honestly say that about your life? That if you knew Jesus was coming back tomorrow, you would go about your business because you live so faithfully with your calling in Christ Jesus. That's how we all should strive to live. That's how Peter commands us to live in this passage. You're preparing your mind. You're being sober minded. You're setting your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Again, this is that biblical hope. And so as you're just being honest with yourself for a moment, how many of you would say that that describes your daily life, that describes your thought pattern? I think for many of us it's far too easy to live with our hope fully fixed on friendships, on college, on summer breaks, on athletic pursuits, getting married someday and learning how to drive, things like this. These are not sinful pursuits. But Peter wants us to understand they can quickly become spiritual intoxicants if they're left unchecked. They can quickly distract us and pull us away from our mission if we aren't careful. Do you understand that today? Peter's calling your attention to areas of your life that may have been left unchecked. And he's saying, this over here, you need to cut this out. This over here is you consider being disciplined in your pursuit of Jesus Christ, you may need to let that go. You say, that's hard, I don't feel like doing that. Know how many times athletes feel like training their bodies for the Olympics? It's a difficult challenge. but it's one we're commanded to undertake. And so as you consider this, Peter's now going to reference another analogy for us in verse 14. He's gonna drive home the point that he started to make in verse 13. Notice now verse 14, as obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance." Peter freely acknowledges that the believer will be tempted, the believer will be challenged by the desires of his former nature. But what? He must battle against these sinful desires. Your sin is not going to roll over and let you win. It will be a constant struggle, and Peter understands that. So what do you do as an obedient child? You don't be conformed to your former desires. Paul instructs the Ephesians in a similar manner. Ephesians 4, 17 through 24, Paul writes this. You must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. This is what it looks like to give yourself over to your former nature. They're greedy to practice every kind of impurity. They long to practice sin. Do you see that ever in yourself? You long to do something that you know you should not do. This is a practice of the old man. This is part of the old man nature. Paul says, you put that off. He's using the same analogy that when Peter says, gird up your minds, Paul's using the same analogy. Think of clothing. You put that off. When you go and work in the yard, when you go to a sports practice and you come home and your clothes are absolutely filthy, what do you do? You put them off and you put on a new pair of clothes. This is the same idea spiritually. You put off those old, dirty, filthy ways. This is what Paul's talking about. This is not the way you learned Christ. Assuming that you have heard about him and you were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to what? Put off your old self. which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupted through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, to put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. This is a very similar passage we read of in Ephesians 4, 17 through 24, that we read in 1 Peter 13 through 17. After our conversion, both Peter and Paul tell us we have a responsibility to model our lives after our Savior. This is our new mission. You look like Jesus, and by doing so, you point the world back to Him. This change, it's not because of me. It's only because of Jesus. I must decrease, he must increase. This is the idea. This is the idea of the apostles. Notice Peter's very next statement. As you consider what Paul says in Ephesians 4, you're created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Now notice verse 15 in first Peter. But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct. This is the exact same idea. Peter is continuing this thought with a stark contrast. He started a thought in verse 14. He is continuing the thought with this stark contrast in verse 15. Do not be conformed to your former passions, but in direct opposition to this, you should be what? You should be holy. Why? Because your heavenly father who called you, he's holy and you must look like him. This is exactly what Paul says in Ephesians chapter four. And this claim satisfies the unresolved instruction in verse 14. How should we not be conformed to the world? How should we not be conformed to our former passions and desires? The desires of the old man, how? You be holy. You become passionate about looking like God. That's how you don't look like the old man. What does holiness look like exactly? Peter answers this as well. He says, as the one who called you is holy, we must imitate looking like God. We'll get into this later. But as obedient children, you should pattern yourself after the example of your heavenly Father. He is our example. And I may have shared this story with you a couple of, times before, but several years ago I was traveling out west and I attended a church there, and on my way walking into the front door the pastor of that church passed by me and he said, hey, you're Dave Wetterlin's son. And I was very caught off guard by this because I hadn't talked to the guy prior to getting there, and so I was like, whoa, yeah, I am, but how did you know that? And his response was very simply, you look like him. This is exactly, this is exactly the image that Peter is trying to give us. Peter's point is very simple. Just as children look like their parents, and many times children seek to emulate the actions of their parents, believers must seek to imitate the holiness of their heavenly father. This should be a natural desire that you have as a new creation in Christ Jesus. You want to look like your father. just like a little toddler often wants to look just like their dad or just like their mom. This is characteristic of little children. You admire your parents in the same way we're called to so admire our Heavenly Father that we are compelled to imitate Him in everything that we do. Do you find that to be true in your life? Is that how you live? Is that what motivates you? I so love my Heavenly Father. I'm so thankful for all that He's done that I am compelled to look like Him. I want to act like Him. This is what Peter calls us to do. One commentator put it best, 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. This should be part of our thinking throughout the day. How can I look more like my heavenly father? How can I be holy as the one who called me is holy? Notice verse 16, now Peter writes, since it is written, you shall be holy, for what? For I am holy. Peter now seeks to inform his audience that this powerful call to holiness finds its footing in the Old Testament. And so again, as you think about Bible study, as you think about being thoughtful when we come to these passages, you'll notice right away in verse 16, Peter is quoting from somewhere. Peter is quoting from somewhere. He says, you shall be holy for I am holy. And he puts it in quotations. And we know that this quotation is taken from Leviticus 11, 44 through 45. We read this, for I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore and be holy for I am holy. For I am the Lord who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall therefore be holy for what? I am holy. This is a command that is repeated numerous times, not just throughout the scriptures, but in this one passage specifically, it's repeated several times. You shall be holy. Why? For I am holy. The God who saved you, who rescued you, who redeemed you unto himself, you be holy because he is holy. This is Peter's point. The repeated emphasis throughout the pages of Scripture, God's people who are ransomed, rescued, and redeemed by him must be dedicated to obedience. This is what we are passionate about as the people of God. We are passionate about obeying his commands. Again, we've even seen this through the Gospel of John as we traverse through John's narrative of the life of Jesus. Jesus says in John 14, 15, what? If you love me, Obey my commandments. This is a characteristic of those who love and follow Jesus Christ. Last week, we touched on the beginning of Titus 2, 11 through 15, as it highlights the function of grace in the life of the believer. And this is a very important thing that we touched on. And I want to look now at actually the conclusion of Paul's thoughts in verses 13 and 14. If you have your Bible open, go ahead and turn to Titus 2 and look at verses 13 and 14. And Paul writes, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. Paul, in the same way that Peter does, he is encouraging his readers to look forward to the hope of glory that awaits you. As a recipient of salvation, as a recipient of the grace that appeared in the person of Jesus Christ, which Paul talks about in verse 11, you should do what? You're waiting for your blessed hope. There's that word again. We're expectantly waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. It is a reality, and because it's a reality, it should impact everything we do. This is Paul's point. He says you should expectantly await this hope, the second coming of your Savior, your Savior who did what? Who gave himself for us. Why? So that we might look like him. He redeemed us. He redeemed unto himself a people for his own possession who are what? Zealous for good works. It's a militant fervency. You are utterly consumed with the idea of doing good. Why? Because that's what Jesus called you to. You're consumed with it. This is a very, very strong word. Again, in the Greek, it is literally zelotes. It means a military commander in the same way he is passionate about his orders and commands. You must be passionate about your call from your heavenly father. Notice finally, Peter's last admonition for holy living in verse 17. Notice verse 17 back in 1 Peter 1. He says, Peter encourages the believers using the exact same analogy of a father-child relationship, just as he did in verse 14. He recalls the exact same analogy, just as children long for the approval of their father. So these believers ought to seek to please their heavenly father by their holy conduct. In addition to this, Peter writes that these believers who claim to have an intimate relationship with God must certainly know that God will judge all fairly and according to their works. Notice what he says in verse 17. And if you call on him as father, who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, this is supposed to call the believer's imagination into effect. He's trying to get them to think. you call on this one as father, you say you have this close, intimate relationship with God, you refer to him as a father, which is an endearing term, well, then you must certainly know that God judges all according to their deeds. Now, Peter is in no way claiming that heavenly admittance is granted on the basis of good works. He's not saying that you can earn your way into heaven, or this is how God judges us, it's on the basis of the good things that we do. Rather, he's highlighting the scripturally supported truth that God will judge and God will reward believers on the basis of how they lived their lives. Paul notes this reality himself in Romans 14, 12, saying, so then each of us will give an account of himself to God. This is for believers. You will give an account of how you live your life to God. This should cause us to live a certain way, don't you think? This should cause our focus, our priorities to be readjusted in life. In 1 Corinthians 3.10 and 2 Corinthians 5.10, Paul speaks to the same doctrinal truth. It's critical that we understand the nature of the God that we serve. He is holy and righteous and just, and Peter has just clearly communicated through this passage that as representatives of Jesus Christ, it is the believer's responsibility to conduct themselves in a way that honors God during their time on earth. This is your responsibility as you represent God to the world. You conduct yourself in a way that honors Him. This just makes sense. A perfect illustration I came across some time ago is of Alexander the Great. And Alexander the Great is, of course, famous for his incredible military prowess. Having conquered the known world at the age of 30, he forever cemented his legacy in the annals of time as perhaps the greatest military mind in the history of the world. The story is told of Alexander the Great sitting on his throne and judging his kingdom. And one of the things that Alexander most despised was a deserter, a man who went into battle and was overcome with fear and fled. Most times when that kind of man stood before Alexander the Great, he was immediately put to death, executed on the spot. However, on one occasion, a young man, a mere 17 years of age, came before Alexander the Great and stood before him for this very crime, deserting in the heat of battle. As he stood before Alexander the Great, Alexander asked him the question, young man, what is your name? Young man replied, Alexander, sir. And this seemed to surprise Alexander the Great, so he looked at him once more and he said, young man, what is your name? Somewhat confused, the young man stated again, Alexander, sir. With this, Alexander, in a rage, jumped down from his throne and rushed towards the young man, shouting again, young man, what is your name? This young man responded, he didn't know how to reply. Didn't know what his future would be in terror, fully expecting his life to be over at that moment. He responded softly, Alexander. To this, Alexander looked at the young man and charged him. Young man, you changed your actions. or you change your name. Alexander the Great hated deserters. So much so, an individual in his military that shared his name would have to change their name before they deserted the army in the battle. Believer, understand today, Peter's admonition is no different for us. If you're not representing Christ in the manner in which he has called you, You change your actions or you change your name. This is Peter's encouragement. You represent someone much higher, much more important than yourself. How are you representing them? Does your life reflect the change that Jesus Christ has initiated? Or do you frequently give yourself over to the former desires and passions of your flesh? Today, are you a faithful soldier? Do you seek to stay sharp, disciplined, prepared for action, prepared for spiritual warfare? Or are you a spiritual deserter? After observing the hardship of spiritual discipline, have you abandoned your post? May God tonight give us grace to be faithful representatives of Him to the world. Let's go ahead and bow. and ask for God's grace as we close. Dear God, we come before you humbly, understanding tonight that we have all sinned. Collectively, we need to ask for your grace and for your forgiveness. God, at some time or another, all of us in this room have been spiritual deserters. We have not fulfilled our mandate as you have called us to. God, may it be forever at the forefront of our minds that we are passionate about personal holiness for none other reason than the fact that the God who called us, who forgave us, who saved us, who sanctifies us, he is holy. May that pursuit of holiness consume us. May it burn as a passion in our hearts. such that people in our community notice, they are pointed back to you, and they turn to you in repentance and faith. God, this should be our passion as believers. Would you give us grace and strength not to be spiritual deserters tonight, but to wholeheartedly pursue you with everything we are. God, we need your grace for this. In Jesus' name, amen.