The Potential of New.

Steve Gentry

[0:09] We’ll go ahead and have a seat. [0:10] Welcome to Village Church. This is your first time here. [0:12] My name’s Steve, one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:14] And as always, I’m thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:18] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to First Peter, Chapter two. [0:21] We’re going to be starting in verse one this morning

[0:24] as we make our way through the entire book of First Peter. [0:27] Last Sunday, of course, we finished Chapter one, [0:31] and that chapter concluded with an application of God’s [0:35] sovereign work through the gospel of Jesus to redeem sinners, [0:38] but also to change us to where we have the potential [0:41] and the responsibility and the privilege to live for his purposes.

[0:46] You know, Jesus paid the penalty necessary to redeem you from your sin. [0:50] But that also fills you with the power of his spirit [0:54] so that you have the opportunity and you have the power by his spirit [0:58] to live in obedience to the commands that he makes on your life. [1:03] The good news of Jesus is preached in order for people to have their lives [1:07] changed through faith, to trust in God’s eternal plan

[1:11] rather than the transient things of this world. [1:15] This changes your daily life as you grow into the person [1:18] that God would have you to be by his design. [1:22] As we move into Chapter two, we’re going to see Peter [1:24] continue to make application while also drawing further doctrinal truths [1:29] that apply of how we work this change into our lives by faith.

[1:35] What are the changes that God wants to make? [1:38] Because the gospel goes deeper than just simple behavior modification. [1:43] You know, Chapter one, use the example of brotherly love [1:47] within the boundaries of the Church of Jesus to show that God [1:51] changes the way that you view your relationships. [1:54] And what he’s going to do in Chapter two is begin by giving examples

[1:57] of how that goes further to show the specific types of change [2:02] that God makes that are not solely about exterior behavior, [2:06] but rather they go to the very core of who you are, [2:10] the very core of what you desire in life. [2:14] The transformation that God makes through faith in Jesus [2:17] is going to impact your emotions.

[2:18] It’s going to impact your personality. [2:21] It’s going to impact your passions and on and on. [2:24] And all of that transformation is built on the foundation [2:28] of the finished work of Jesus Christ. [2:31] It is foundational in the shift that it’s going to make in your life [2:35] that requires really a vision for building your life brand new

[2:40] from scratch, from starting all over. [2:43] There’s a famous quote by the German pastor and theologian [2:46] Dietrich Bonhoeffer from his book, The Cost of Discipleship. [2:49] And he makes this famous quote that when Christ calls a man, [2:53] he bids him to come and die. [2:56] I think verses one through eight of First Peter, Chapter two offer

[2:59] really an explanation of what statements like that, because there are so many. [3:04] What statements like that really mean and how it could possibly be [3:09] good news that God wants you to lay your life down in order to take Christ up. [3:15] Because at first glance, when you think about this picture [3:17] where he’s saying Christ bids you to come and die. [3:19] Well, that doesn’t sound pleasant.

[3:21] That doesn’t sound like good news. [3:23] But in the vision that the gospel gives you for life, [3:26] that’s exactly what God claims for it to be. [3:29] And the fact is that if you’re going to follow Jesus, [3:32] it’s going to require that God changes you from the inside out. [3:37] I want to start reading in First Peter, Chapter two, verse one,

[3:40] he begins with the word so, and it could also be translated therefore. [3:43] And so what he’s saying there is simply in light of this, [3:47] here’s the application says, so put away all malice [3:52] and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. [3:57] Well, that’s 70 percent of your life right there. [4:00] And so he’s saying, got to get rid of this stuff.

[4:03] Verse two, like newborn infants long for the spiritual, excuse me,

[4:18] Number one, this morning, I want you to see from this text that faith requires [4:23] willingness to start over. [4:25] Faith requires a willingness to start over. [4:29] God literally wants to change you from the inside out. [4:34] Chapter one ended and concluded with this great proclamation [4:39] of the endurance of the truth of God’s word.

[4:42] He says, while these other things may fade away, the word of God stands forever. [4:47] The word of God is eternal. [4:49] God has made himself known through revelation. [4:52] And because of that, you can build an eternal life by trusting him. [4:58] We’ve covered that through every sermon so far in this series so far. [5:02] Well, Peter begins to do in chapter two is explain how that type of life, a life

[5:10] built on trusting God’s eternal word, how that type of life is not just a forecast [5:17] for eternity and say these things in eternity are true. [5:21] What Peter does in chapter two is he begins to shift by saying, how does the [5:26] eternal impact the present? [5:28] How do you live by those values that you claim are kept secure for you in heaven? [5:34] How do you live by those things right here and right now?

[5:38] And he gets very uncomfortable with the application by beginning by saying [5:43] everything must change. [5:47] The gospel does not give you an application whereby which you say these few [5:54] things in my life may change and they’re negotiable. [5:58] God, I’m willing to give you this, that, and the other thing in exchange for [6:03] eternal life, and then you have the option to keep a few other things in your life.

[6:08] No, the gospel demands that if you’re going to follow Jesus, everything’s in [6:12] an open hand. [6:14] Everything is on the table for God to change. [6:18] God goes to the deepest depths of who you are and changes you. [6:22] Why? [6:23] Because the Romans eight vision for the Christian life is that you as a follower

[6:28] of Jesus Christ, if you profess faith in Christ, God is going to conform you to [6:35] what image, not the best version of you that you can be. [6:39] That’s the vision many of us have is God is going to make me the best me that I [6:45] can be. [6:47] No, it says you’re to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. [6:50] And so what’s the standard?

[6:52] What’s the measure of the Christian life? [6:54] It’s not you. [6:55] It’s not somebody you want to be like. [6:57] The standard for the Christian life is Jesus Christ and God’s vision for how you [7:03] progress from the day that you come to faith in Jesus Christ to the day that you [7:07] go into glory is that you will endure a process by which you are conformed to the

[7:13] image of his son, Jesus Christ. [7:15] And there is no other path. [7:18] Because of the gospel, you can live for what matters and you can become who God [7:27] wants you to be. [7:28] And the process begins with your deepest affections and deepest desires being [7:35] formed by the power of God’s word in the gospel.

[7:39] Is that begs the question? [7:41] So the goal of the Christian life is this great gospel change. [7:44] How does gospel change happen? [7:46] And that’s what Peter begins to unpack. [7:49] He says, these are the things that must die. [7:52] And here’s the list that he gives malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander.

[7:58] Now, the first thing that we need to point out about that list, this is not an [8:02] exhaustive list. [8:04] It’s like giving you these things and saying, here’s all the changes ever going [8:08] to need to happen. [8:08] You get rid of these things. [8:09] Good luck.

[8:10] Now, this is just a list of examples, but these examples are issues that you do [8:17] not necessarily wear on the external of your life. [8:22] These are the inner emotions. [8:24] These are the inner longings. [8:26] These are the inner affections. [8:27] These are the things that you desire the most, especially when you look at

[8:31] something like envy. [8:32] Envy will make you resent somebody and you will fake it till you make it with [8:36] that person. [8:37] You’ll look at a person, you’ll despise them. [8:39] You’ll say, you creep. [8:39] You’ve got all the stuff that I want.

[8:41] You don’t deserve any of that stuff. [8:42] I deserve all of that stuff. [8:44] I wish God would take that away from you, ruin you, give your stuff to me. [8:47] You jerk. [8:48] And then you see him in the church for you. [8:50] Hey, how are you?

[8:53] Oh, so good to see you. [8:55] I hope things are going great now. [8:56] And then inside you’re like, I don’t want you to die.

[9:01] So Peter, the brilliance of the Holy spirit in this passage is that Peter does [9:06] not begin by saying, here’s some external things that you can work on. [9:09] No, what Peter does is he goes hardcore. [9:13] He goes to the deepest depths of your soul. [9:15] He goes to the things that you can hide from other people. [9:17] He goes to the things that you can fake, which is again, why he uses hypocrisy as

[9:21] one of the examples as well. [9:22] He goes down to who you really are. [9:25] And as Bill Hybel said years ago, who are you when no one is looking is what Peter [9:31] exposes here. [9:33] He’s not saying who are you that everybody can see. [9:38] No, he goes to the inside.

[9:40] He goes to the unseen. [9:41] He goes to the unknown by everyone around you. [9:44] And he says, God sees you for who you really are. [9:46] God sees what’s going on inside of you. [9:49] God sees your deepest longings. [9:51] God sees your deepest desires.

[9:52] God sees your deepest hates. [9:56] And even if only God sees it, he sees it. [9:58] And because of Jesus, he says, you’ve got to change. [10:02] And that type of fundamental change in the makeup of who you are changes [10:11] everything about you because who you are internally, let’s just be honest, you’re [10:17] not fooling everybody.

[10:19] Who you are on the inside ultimately makes its way outside in the way that you act, [10:26] the decisions that you make and the reactions that you have to the decisions [10:31] that other people make. [10:33] Every action and reaction that manifests on the external of your life is rooted in [10:42] an internal motivation connected to what you really desire and what you are really [10:49] pursuing every day in your life, even if you would deny that that is what you

[10:54] desire and that is what you are really pursuing. [10:56] And so he uses a very important verb in verse one. [11:00] It’s the second and third word put away that verb put away is often used when [11:08] talking about taking off a dirty garment. [11:11] That term for put away was in that context used to describe when you have a soiled [11:17] garment, you take it off, you put it away.

[11:20] But it also has an implied meaning to say you don’t just take it off and leave it [11:26] there, you take off for the purpose of putting something else on. [11:31] And so the idea of this verb take put away is that you are putting away dirty [11:36] garments with a clean garment standing by for you to put on. [11:42] And it isn’t just talking about just ceasing to do these things. [11:48] It’s talking about you’re not creating a vacuum with ceasing to do these things.

[11:54] You will begin to do other things and those other things are defined by the [11:59] person and work of Jesus Christ.

[12:03] Paul explains this process really well in Ephesians chapter four, using very [12:07] similar terminology, starting in verse 22, he says to put off your old self, [12:12] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through what? [12:17] Deceitful desires. [12:19] What Paul does when he talks about deceitful desires is he basically [12:22] summarizes the list that Peter gives.

[12:24] He says this is going to the core of who you are. [12:27] You have desires on the inside and they’re not just deceiving other people. [12:31] They’re also deceiving you as well. [12:33] Verse 23, and to be renewed in what? [12:37] The spirit of your minds and to put on the new self created after the likeness [12:43] of God in true righteousness and holiness.

[12:46] The key with what Paul says here is it challenges. [12:51] What I’ve seen is the modern day kind of discipleship oriented view of what it [12:57] means to grow in the faith, because some of you have believed the lie. [13:02] You can experience gospel transformation while holding on to bits of the old self. [13:10] You think gospel transformation happens alongside my unchangeable

[13:17] uncompromising personality, my unchangeable uncompromising emotions, [13:25] my unchangeable uncompromising preferences, that these are things that [13:31] come naturally to me and those are the things that define me. [13:36] So those are off limits for gospel change. [13:39] When you go down to deceitful desires, when you go down to the core of who you are, [13:44] your personality is involved, your emotions are involved, your preferences are involved.

[13:49] The core of who you are means that when it comes to faith in Jesus Christ, 100% [13:57] of what makes you you is on the table. [14:02] There are parts of your personality that are holding you back from being conformed [14:06] to the image of Christ that must change. [14:09] There are parts of your emotion that are holding you back from being [14:12] conformed to the image of Christ that must change.

[14:14] There are parts of your preferences that are holding you back from being [14:17] conformed to the image of Christ. [14:18] And that must change. [14:21] Put off the old self is not qualified by saying put off the old self except.

[14:30] Nobody’s saying if you want to put on the new self, you’ve got to put off the [14:35] whole old self. [14:39] You cannot add gospel transformation to what’s already going on in your life. [14:46] You can only replace your life with gospel living. [14:51] God means to change you. [14:53] The term that Peter uses for malice in this text is often misunderstood.

[14:59] It’s an all inclusive term for sin. [15:02] Malice in the original language actually is a term for general wickedness. [15:06] Malice is not anger. [15:08] We tend to reduce malice to just kind of describing an angry disposition. [15:12] Malice is actually an intention to do evil things. [15:18] Peter is referring to the necessity by stating malice at the forefront, the

[15:23] necessity to start over in faith. [15:26] God quite literally wants to wipe your life clean and start over from scratch. [15:34] And the question that you’ve got to answer is what are you holding on to that [15:38] is preventing that type of change from happening? [15:42] Every other term Peter uses in this section refers to an attitude that [15:48] manifests itself first by being phony, then by resenting other people, then by

[15:55] trying to tear someone else down behind their back so that you can put yourself [16:00] over and on and on. [16:01] All of those manifest on the outside from an interior rot that ultimately [16:09] reveals you don’t trust God with your life. [16:14] If those things in this text are what is driving you, those things are what is [16:19] true about you, those things are deepest desires of your heart and how you

[16:23] respond and react to other people. [16:26] Peter’s message is you are not trusting the gospel. [16:30] And because of that, you will not fully change. [16:34] And if that’s true, he’s forcing you to ask the question, are you actually a [16:40] Christian? Because your desires will shape you in life. [16:47] Psalm 51 10, King David is lamenting.

[16:50] This Psalm is literally a lament over his sin with Bathsheba. [16:55] He cries out to God in prayer, create in me a clean heart, oh, God, renew a right [17:01] spirit with me. [17:02] He prays to God. [17:03] He says, create a clean heart. [17:05] He’s repenting by stating the truth that you cannot have a dirty heart and a clean

[17:12] heart at the same time. [17:14] And I think that’s also the lie that some of us believe in total rejection of how [17:18] biology teaches us that our bodies work. [17:21] You cannot have two hearts at the same time. [17:25] Yet some of you live as a Christian with this almost subconscious belief. [17:30] Yeah, I have two hearts.

[17:32] I got the dirty heart and then right beside it, I got the clean heart. [17:35] And, you know, whichever one gets bigger is the one that I feed the most. [17:37] No, that’s not the way that it works out. [17:39] God through gospel transformation means to rip out the dirty heart. [17:44] That’s the picture from Ezekiel, a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. [17:48] And he wants to implant that clean heart.

[17:50] That is David admitting, Lord, I have not trusted you. [17:54] And those desires on my inside that were not aligned with being conformed to your [18:00] image have worked themselves out. [18:03] And it’s exposed me to the sin that I’ve committed. [18:09] Repentance requires starting over, friend. [18:11] Are you willing to do that?

[18:13] It’s a rebuilding project. [18:16] The fact is that if you are not willing to offer God everything. [18:20] If you’re not willing to sacrifice all of your desires, [18:27] all of your pursuits, all of your insecurities, [18:32] all of your failures, all of your successes, all of your likes, [18:35] all of your dislikes, all of your loves, all of your hates.

[18:39] The list goes on and on. [18:41] If you are not willing to sacrifice those things and give God the authority [18:46] to totally change them. [18:49] And can you really say you trust him? [18:53] You see, friend, do you desire God more than you desire what has always come [18:57] naturally to you?

[19:00] It’s that old question. [19:01] Why am I the way that I am? [19:03] Well, I’m the way that I am because that’s what comes natural. [19:05] You can’t judge me for just being me. [19:08] God can and he did on the cross.

[19:14] So what comes naturally to you is ultimately at the end of your life, [19:20] what will condemn you to hell for all eternity?

[19:25] Christ is not what comes naturally to you. [19:28] Being conformed to his image is not what comes naturally to you. [19:32] Being conformed to the image of Christ is a rejection [19:36] of what comes naturally to you and a taking on [19:40] of what comes naturally to Christ. [19:44] It’s the lifelong pursuit

[19:47] of giving as much as I know of myself to as much as I know of him [19:53] and repenting of every sin I can find along the way. [19:58] Friend, if you want gospel growth,

[20:03] it requires total gospel change.

[20:08] You have to hold everything [20:11] that came before Christ with that open hand [20:17] and allow him the authority [20:19] to reshape the vision for your life. [20:22] I hear about the frustration. [20:24] I hear from people all the time.

[20:26] Some of you are spinning your wheels.

[20:30] You’re frustrated with your spiritual growth. [20:33] You’re frustrated even with your spiritual status [20:36] or maybe even your leadership status. [20:39] And in every situation, I find that there is something [20:43] you are holding on to that is holding you back.

[20:47] You want that gospel growth, but. [20:50] You don’t want that gospel change.

[20:54] Here’s the key of scripture. [20:55] It doesn’t work that way. [20:57] You cannot advance in faith [21:00] and grow in your faith without these fundamental changes. [21:04] Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, [21:07] which was a church that struggled in sin, large scale.

[21:11] And First Corinthians three, two, he says, you’re not growing. [21:15] Know what he says is I fed you with milk, not solid food, [21:19] for you were not ready for it. [21:21] And even now you are not yet ready. [21:25] Plus, some of you are sitting there and you’re saying, [21:27] go to the deeper things of God.

[21:29] Let’s get past past Gospel 101. [21:32] Let’s go to the deep end of the pool together. [21:33] And Paul says, I can’t you’ll drown.

[21:37] This is you’re not ready. [21:39] And they were talking about, I’m sick of this baby stuff. [21:42] I’m sick of this baby formula. [21:44] I want to go to the real meat of God’s word. [21:47] And Paul says, then why are you so filled with sin?

[21:53] If you’re ready, why are you such a hypocrite? [21:56] If you’re ready, why are you so envious? [22:00] If you’re ready, why are you slandering people [22:02] behind their back to make yourself look better somehow? [22:07] If you’re ready, why is there so much malice in your life [22:10] with these petty sins that should not be named among the church?

[22:15] If you’re so ready. [22:17] Why aren’t you changing?

[22:21] And Paul says, I have to continually give you spiritual milk [22:24] because you would choke to death on solid food. [22:28] And this is a biological reality. [22:29] That’s why I love some of the analogies and word [22:31] pictures in scripture, because it describes the process of a child growing up. [22:36] At some point, you stopped letting your child live off a formula or milk, didn’t you?

[22:42] I mean, let’s be honest. [22:44] If there was an eight year old.

[22:48] And you’re over at the house and he seems fine. [22:51] And she says, oh, baby’s hungry. [22:54] I got to get some in famil warm it up. [22:58] You’d be like. [22:59] Some weird stuff going on here. [23:02] Might need to call Child Protective Services.

[23:04] I don’t know about this. [23:06] Maybe a doctor needs to check on the gastrointestinal issues [23:10] because you know that by that time, [23:14] that child should have developed in a different manner. [23:18] Or there is a disability holding that child [23:22] in a holding pattern with no maturity.

[23:27] And Paul says, if that wouldn’t be OK, [23:31] if a teenager living off of the infamil would not be normal, [23:36] then how could you live the Christian life for five, ten, twenty, thirty years? [23:44] And still be struggling with the same sins [23:47] you’ve been struggling with from the beginning. [23:51] How could as a Christian, you are still drinking spiritual milk

[23:55] with no readiness to move on to solid food? [24:00] What Paul is saying is you think you’re frustrated. [24:02] Imagine being me. I’m the disciple maker. [24:04] What’s the problem?

[24:08] These people wanted to be fully grown, [24:12] but they were not willing to deal with the fundamentals of life change. [24:17] That’s why I love doctrine. [24:19] I love theology. That’s very obvious. [24:22] But if you ever come to me and want to talk about doctrine and theology [24:26] and go to the deeper things of God and you’re not living the Christian life,

[24:30] it’s going to be a short conversation.

[24:33] Because if you’re not applying the knowledge of God, [24:36] then you have worthless knowledge of God in your life. [24:40] Many of you are trying to skip the milk.

[24:45] The milk is the starting over. [24:49] And it would choke you to death. [24:51] To try to eat the solid food. [24:53] Look at verse four. [24:55] As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men, [25:01] but in the sight of God, chosen and precious, you yourselves,

[25:05] the living stones are being built up as a spiritual house [25:09] to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [25:13] acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. [25:16] Number two, this morning, I want you to understand [25:18] you cannot outgrow God’s potential.

[25:23] God’s vision for life is supreme.

[25:27] What is your vision for life? [25:29] Do you have one? [25:31] Because what we just read in the text means that God has a vision for your life, [25:35] and it is the supreme vision for all of life. [25:40] I always pray for the faith to live by God’s design, [25:44] because his design is better and it is greater than any other vision for my life.

[25:48] Verses four through five are about the potential for embracing God’s vision. [25:56] Paul, excuse me, Peter does this by pointing out the rejection of Jesus [26:00] by his own people on Earth. [26:02] And you may think that’s a strange thing to do. [26:05] But Jesus was rejected by men. [26:08] That’s what the text says.

[26:09] But then what does it say in the very next breath? [26:11] Says he was rejected by men. [26:14] But what was he? [26:15] He was chosen and precious in God’s sight. [26:20] Now, which one of those visions for Jesus was superior? [26:24] Well, obviously, based on the resurrection, we know that the answer to that

[26:27] is that God’s vision was greater. [26:29] God’s vision was true. [26:31] The people who rejected him were fools. [26:34] He was God, a very God. [26:35] He was God, the sun come to Earth. [26:38] He rose from the dead.

[26:40] Therefore, we can say with confidence [26:42] the people who rejected Jesus were idiots. [26:46] They were wrong. [26:48] God’s vision for Jesus was superior. [26:52] But here’s the key. [26:55] If God’s vision for Jesus was superior,

[26:57] why don’t you believe God’s vision for you is superior?

[27:01] Why do you believe the human vision for your life [27:05] more than you believe God’s vision for your life? [27:08] Stop limiting your vision for life by human standards. [27:12] And human preferences. [27:15] Friend, when you put your faith in Jesus, part of that is a rejection [27:19] of the lesser human vision for life.

[27:23] Every time, if you’re a Christian, human vision is going to limit your faith, [27:28] just like it sought to limit Jesus. [27:31] The human vision sought to kill Jesus. [27:34] Why? Because of God’s vision for his life. [27:37] Why did they kill Jesus? [27:38] Because he claimed equality with the father.

[27:42] Yet so many of us organize our lives [27:45] seeking to reach greatness under the parameters of human design. [27:52] Not God’s design. [27:54] Friend, you were not created to reach the potential [27:57] that people put on your life. [28:01] You were designed by God to reach the potential

[28:05] that he has given your life through Christ. [28:10] And so why do you accept human limitation? [28:15] Why do you accept less potential? [28:18] I think the old C.S. Lewis quote is appropriate. [28:23] He says, we are like ignorant children [28:26] making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine a holiday at sea

[28:31] with a feast in front of us. [28:33] And then he concludes, he says, we are far too easily pleased.

[28:39] So many people who claim faith in Christ [28:43] measure success and failure by the world standards, measure success and failure [28:48] by great gain of material, measure success and failure [28:52] by how you’re doing at work, measure success and failure and ultimate senses [28:57] by whether or not people are impressed by you. [29:00] Oh, friend, what a small vision for life.

[29:03] Wow. You were created [29:07] by God to give him glory. [29:09] You were redeemed by God to the great sacrifice of his son. [29:14] You were given power by God through faith in the indwelling Holy Spirit [29:18] that comes to you because of the power of resurrection. [29:22] Why would you limit the potential of your life by human standard alone?

[29:29] Stop limiting yourself. [29:32] Limiting yourself under the vision of man [29:34] is what happens when you make a caste system for Christians. [29:38] You think that there are some Christians who are these super Christians. [29:44] They’ve got this calling on their lives. [29:46] It’s so superior to God’s calling on my life.

[29:51] You just want enough faith to get to heaven after all.

[29:56] Friends, there is so much more to God’s vision for your life. [29:59] There is no spiritual caste system. [30:01] There is God’s vision and those who embrace it by faith. [30:06] That’s it. [30:07] Every Christian is designed to be conformed to the image of Christ. [30:12] It’s the same calling.

[30:15] Limitless potential being conformed to the image of Christ. [30:19] Years ago, I was at an event, a revival type event, [30:25] and it’s part of my job to be there. [30:27] I went into the green room. [30:30] The green room is where all the important people go. [30:32] All right. It’s where they go to get away.

[30:34] All right. I love green rooms. [30:36] They’ve got the best food. [30:38] And I was not supposed to be in this green room, but I go where I want. [30:41] All right. And so I went in there. Why? [30:43] Because I knew they had good food and I knew they had good drinks in there. [30:46] All right. So I went in there and I just sat down.

[30:48] I’m drinking a Coke, eating a granola bar, not supposed to be there. [30:52] And there was one other guy in there. [30:53] And I just started chit chatting with him. [30:55] I had no idea who he was. [30:57] I introduced myself, you know, I said, hey, I’m Steve. [31:00] You know, I’m from over here working with this, doing this other thing.

[31:04] And I just looked at him. [31:06] And he here’s the thing. [31:07] I mean, if some of you are socially awkward, [31:10] if somebody introduces themselves to you, that is a indicator. [31:14] Do it back.

[31:17] That means I have no idea who you are. [31:20] Tell me your name, weirdo. [31:22] All right. All right. [31:24] Just a little hint on your way out when you see me. All right. [31:29] It happens. Hey, it’s OK. [31:31] But as I introduced myself, he doesn’t say anything back.

[31:35] And so I just asked him, I said, I said, what’s your name? [31:37] What church? What church are you with? [31:39] Because in my mind, I’m assuming he’s just in a church in the area. [31:43] And we can just start talking about the area. [31:45] It looks at me. [31:47] I’m I’m not going to tell you his name.

[31:49] You might know who he is. It’s a small world. [31:52] And he said, huh, and that’s exactly how he did it. [31:56] I’ll never forget it. [31:57] Yeah, I’m so and so. [31:59] And I’m from there and I’m one of the main speakers today.

[32:06] And here’s the thing about me. [32:09] You know, the old kid song, he’s still working on me to make me [32:12] what I ought to be. [32:13] Took him just a week to make the moon and the stars, [32:16] the sun and the earth, Jupiter and Mars. All right. [32:18] That’s my life song. All right.

[32:20] He’s still and there’s a lot of work to be done. [32:23] I just immediately no thought went into this shot back. [32:27] Well, you seem very impressed.

[32:33] He did not like my response. [32:35] And it further made the situation worse. [32:39] Word got at that time, I had a boss, few bosses, and word got back to them. [32:44] I got called to a meeting and I may have gotten a little bit fussed at [32:48] for offending one of the speakers. [32:50] But here’s the deal.

[32:52] And in that meeting, I did not back down. [32:54] He was very impressed by himself because he had reached human standards [32:59] of what he thought was making it in a very small world, [33:03] in a very subset of Christianity, when it has no relevance to real greatness, [33:08] because greatness is defined by God. [33:10] And I had one of two choices.

[33:12] I could be really embarrassed that I had offended the great one, [33:16] or I could have just said, [33:19] I’m Steve Gentry, child of God. [33:22] I’m not the one with the problem here. [33:24] You are. And the problem that some of you have with your faith [33:28] in Jesus Christ is you are letting other people demean you

[33:33] into thinking you are a second class Christian when the same Jesus Christ [33:37] that died for whoever thinks they’re better than you died for you. [33:41] And that same Jesus Christ rose from the dead for you to have his power. [33:45] And your potential and who you can become in faith [33:50] in Jesus Christ is not defined by human beings. [33:54] It is defined by the creator of life and the author of this word.

[33:59] And some of you are held back because you refuse to believe [34:03] that God can bring greatness out of your life. [34:06] And my question is, why do you think it’s acceptable to not believe God? [34:12] You need to embrace his vision over human visions for your life. [34:18] There is no caste system. [34:22] In Hebrews, Chapter five, the author of Hebrews tackles this problem

[34:26] with another milk, solid food analogy. [34:30] The author says, for though by this time you ought to be teachers, [34:36] ought means should, ought means something’s wrong [34:41] because you must be this. [34:43] You are not this. So we’ve got a problem. [34:47] He says, though, by this time you ought to be teachers.

[34:50] You need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. [34:56] You need milk, not solid food. [34:59] Everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness [35:03] since he is a child. [35:04] But solid food is for the mature, [35:08] for those who have their powers of discernment.

[35:11] Trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. [35:17] What is he saying? [35:18] He’s saying you ought to be one level. [35:21] But you’re satisfied with a lower level.

[35:25] In other words, the problem isn’t God.

[35:29] The reason you’re spinning your wheels, the reason you’re struggling to grow, [35:34] it’s not because God has deemed you lower [35:39] because you’ve deemed yourself that [35:41] you’re not embracing God’s vision. [35:43] Ought should be read as we must be teachers. [35:48] Growth is not an option.

[35:49] It is a must. [35:51] Friend, you need to grow. [35:54] John 10 10 gives Jesus showing the two competing visions for life. [36:01] He says the thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. [36:05] I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. [36:09] One vision is Satan’s vision for your life.

[36:14] Satan would have you not grow. [36:15] Satan would have you stay where you are, but that vision kills and destroys. [36:19] It’s the vision that will stifle your potential in Christ, [36:23] will suffocate you and you will not endure. [36:27] The other is God’s vision. [36:30] God’s vision is abundant.

[36:32] God’s vision only has life. [36:34] Life grows. Life matures. [36:36] Where is your vision for life, friends? [36:41] What are you pursuing? [36:44] Is it the limits of human potential? [36:47] Are you pursuing faith that is wide open under God’s vision for potential?

[36:55] And John 15, I love John 15. [36:57] I did a series on John 15 a few years ago. [37:00] It’s on the website if you’d like to listen to it. [37:02] In John 15, verse 16, I think Jesus gives an incredible vision for life. [37:08] He says you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you [37:11] that you should go and bear fruit, that your fruit should abide

[37:14] so that whatever you ask and ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you. [37:20] It is a few things in this passage that are vital for life. [37:24] He begins with God because salvation starts with him. [37:28] He chose and appointed you to bear fruit, he says. [37:33] How do you bear that fruit? [37:34] Well, you do it. John 15 says you abide in Christ.

[37:37] And if you abide in Christ, your fruit will abide. [37:41] Then he gets to asking anything in the name of Jesus to the Father, [37:45] and he’s going to give it to you. [37:46] What that means is now that you’re living a life of abiding in Christ, [37:49] you have the desires of God and the vision of God to seek what he has for you. [37:56] Well, the first 15 verses of John 15 make that very clear,

[38:02] and he does it by using different forms of bearing fruit. [38:08] There are three types of fruitfulness in John 15. [38:13] At the beginning, he says, if you abide in Christ, you will bear fruit singular. [38:18] And then he says, if you continue to abide in Christ, [38:21] you will then go to a level of bearing much fruit. [38:24] And it’s pluralized.

[38:26] So you go from a singular fruit to much fruit. [38:30] Then he says, if you bear much fruit, the Father prunes you as a plant. [38:37] He takes unhealthy things away, gives you the fruit of the vine. [38:41] And then he says, you go from much fruit to much fruit. [38:48] There’s just three levels of fruit in this in this chapter. [38:53] Singular, plural, and then more plural.

[38:57] And what John 15 basically does is he says that God does not put a limit [39:04] on fruitfulness.

[39:06] If you will just focus on bearing it.

[39:11] God takes the cap off and it’s limitless fruitfulness [39:15] for the rest of your life in Christ. [39:18] How small is your vision for the fruit you’re going to bear for Jesus Christ? [39:23] Or how big is your vision for bearing fruit [39:28] for the gospel of Jesus Christ? [39:30] Don’t let those who would reject the cornerstone define your potential.

[39:37] Look in verse six. [39:40] For it stands in scripture, behold, I am laying in Zion, a stone, [39:43] a cornerstone chosen and precious. [39:46] Whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. [39:50] So the honor is for you who believe. [39:52] But for those who do not believe the stone that the builders rejected

[39:55] has become the cornerstone and a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. [40:00] They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to do.

[40:09] Number three, rejecting Christ can only lead to stumbling over Christ.

[40:14] A philosopher, Ted Peters, years ago wrote a book called God, the world’s future. [40:21] Because that’s basically what Peter is saying here. [40:24] He’s saying that God is the world’s future. [40:28] As we go through first, Peter, it is important to remember [40:31] the context that they were in. [40:33] They were a persecuted church.

[40:36] Everything that Peter is writing is for the sake of their endurance in the faith. [40:39] While they face hardships in real life scenarios, [40:43] he is urging them to grow in faith with the understanding [40:47] that growing in faith will lead them to being vocal about their faith, [40:52] which will lead them to suffering for their faith. [40:57] And what verses six through eight do is they zoom in on that fact.

[41:03] Peter cast vision in these three verses [41:06] for thinking beyond what is directly in front of their eyes, [41:12] because what was in front of their eyes was not pleasant. [41:16] The truth of faith in Jesus transcended their present situation. [41:23] As culture seemed to be rejecting them, [41:28] Peter brings in the truth of the word.

[41:31] He says they rejected Christ. [41:35] What did you think was going to happen to you if you began to follow Christ? [41:40] But remember, what did he say about Jesus, the rejected by men [41:44] chosen and precious in the sight of God as Jesus was chosen and precious [41:49] in the sight of God, so were these Christians. [41:52] But how could they trust that?

[41:56] And verse six brings it back to the beginning, excuse me, to the ending [41:59] of chapter one, chapter one concluded the word of God endures forever. [42:04] All these other things will fade away. [42:06] God’s word will stand. [42:08] What does he say at the beginning of verse six? [42:10] For it stands in scripture.

[42:14] He says, go back to the book. [42:17] This was the bedrock of the vision for life that Peter was advocating for. [42:22] He then quotes Isaiah, then he quotes the Psalms, [42:26] and then he brings another quote from Isaiah into the situation [42:29] to anchor their vision to the revelation of God. [42:33] His point was that these prophecies had all been fulfilled

[42:37] in the personal work of Jesus Christ. [42:39] Jesus was the cornerstone of the faith. [42:41] The vision for life is not foundationally built on human vision, [42:47] human ability, human wisdom or human action. [42:51] The vision is built on Jesus Christ. [42:55] And those who reject that will be hostile to those who love it.

[43:02] Because your faith in Jesus Christ indicts and condemns unbelievers. [43:10] It does not redeem them. [43:11] It does not sustain them. [43:13] It is an inescapable conflict. [43:16] Those who reject Jesus cannot, though, [43:20] escape him as Lord and Savior because they are objective truth.

[43:26] First, Peter one makes this clear. [43:29] Excuse me, first Corinthians one. [43:31] Paul wrote and he says, we preach Christ crucified [43:34] a stumbling block to Jews, folly to Gentiles, [43:38] but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God, [43:43] the wisdom of God, for the foolishness of God is wiser than men.

[43:47] The weakness of God is stronger than men. [43:50] Christians order their lives, according to Paul, [43:53] around preaching the truth of Christ, and those who reject it. [43:58] They will always stumble over it. [44:02] They will always reject it as foolishness. [44:06] Because you can only receive abundance and life

[44:11] from the gospel by submitting to the truth of Jesus. [44:15] Otherwise, it is a condemning reality to you. [44:18] God is where the future is heading. [44:21] And the rejection of Jesus is very much a rejection of a sure future, [44:27] which could make present situations complicated for believers.

[44:32] Because the key fact is, it’s one or the other, and there’s no third way. [44:35] The gospel will either save you or it will destroy you.

[44:40] Verse eight refers to Christ as the stone of stumbling in the rock of offense. [44:45] Those are two different word pictures. [44:47] They sound similar, but they’re two different pictures that are related. [44:50] The stone represents something in the path [44:54] that they cannot get around. [44:56] Because it’s so big, it’s so immense that if you don’t build on that stone,

[45:03] you’re going to stumble over it. [45:05] It’s going to trip you up. [45:07] It’s going to be a barrier. [45:09] You can’t deviate around it this side. [45:11] You can’t deviate around on this side. [45:13] You can’t dig under it.

[45:15] You can’t climb over it. [45:16] If you reject the cornerstone, it’s going to become a stumbling stone of offense. [45:21] And you will trip over it over and over and over in your attempts [45:26] to get beyond it. [45:27] It will condemn you time and time again. [45:32] The rock of offense, though, was not a singular stone.

[45:37] It’s a reference in that language to a full rock bed [45:42] on the other side of the stumbling stone.

[45:47] What he’s saying is the rejection of Jesus will become a rock bed [45:52] that you will be crushed against. [45:55] As you stumble. [45:58] Jesus isn’t just a problem for those who reject him. [46:03] He is a devastating reality. [46:06] That’s why Jesus warned in John 12, the one who rejects me

[46:10] and does not receive my words has a judge. [46:13] The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. [46:17] Jesus is an inescapable reality, even for those who reject him. [46:23] That’s why Jesus quoted the same Psalm from this text in Luke 20. [46:29] Verse 17, he says he looked directly at them and Jesus said, [46:33] what then is this that is written?

[46:35] The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. [46:39] Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces. [46:44] And when it falls on anyone, it will crush him. [46:49] The Jews rejected their Messiah. [46:53] The Gentiles looked at it as absolute foolishness, [46:57] but they could never move past Jesus

[47:00] without being crushed by his devastating judgment. [47:05] That’s why atheists don’t believe in God [47:08] and they hate him very much, especially his son, Jesus Christ. [47:13] Friend, when you disobey the word of God, [47:15] you will suffer for eternity under God’s judgment. [47:18] If you reject Christ, you need to understand

[47:22] your rejection does not mean you will be able to move beyond him. [47:28] You are going to spend the rest of your days [47:31] stumbling over him time and time again. [47:37] Unless you repent. [47:39] You will ultimately be crushed by his judgment [47:43] because he is Lord, he is savior.

[47:47] Submit to his design for your future. [47:51] Fee application points. [47:53] Pursue the deep changes God wants for you. [47:57] Some of you are modifying behavior, [47:59] but not dealing with what’s going on in your heart. [48:03] God wants to change you from the inside out.

[48:07] Build a God sized vision and reject limits.

[48:12] Don’t measure success and failure by the world’s standards. [48:15] Because that will lead to a life where you will not sacrifice [48:18] the world for Christ, and the end of that is not good. [48:22] Third, inspect the fruit your life is bearing. [48:25] Here’s the deal. [48:26] The fruit of your life shows what you actually believe.

[48:30] And it’s a great question to ask day in and day out. [48:32] What kind of fruit am I actually bearing?

[48:37] And then fourth, move with Christ rather than stumbling over him. [48:43] Build your life on the solid rock of Christ. [48:48] Don’t stumble over. [48:51] Friend, have you been here today and you realize I’m stumbling over him?

[48:56] I keep trying to move past him and I can’t keep falling. [49:01] I keep feeling like I’m crushed under it. [49:04] Friend, the good news for your life is you do not have to stumble over Christ. [49:09] You can begin to build life on Christ. [49:13] Today could be the day of redemption for you. [49:15] If you will realize that God loves you to the extent

[49:17] he didn’t send his son to condemn you, he sent his son to redeem you [49:23] from condemnation, but only if you will turn from your sin [49:26] and only if you will give him your life by trusting him. [49:31] He died for your sin. [49:33] He rose from the dead, winning victory over sin and death. [49:36] And if you even right where you are, will cry out to him silently,

[49:40] Jesus, I believe you, please save me from my sin. [49:45] Friend, here’s the good news of the gospel. [49:47] If you pray that in faith, if you believe it, [49:50] he’s so good and so loving, he’ll save you right here, right now for all eternity.