Stirred Up, Looking Up, Growing Up: Living for Christ's Return

Folks, if you got a pulse, god is still working on you. Can I say that to you? God is still desiring to grow you up. God is still desiring to see you increase in your knowledge of his word, increase in in in your application of his word, increase in his ability to use you to impact other people's lives, but it requires that we keep growing up. And to to do that, there has to be an intentionality about growing up in Christ. There has to be an intentionality about it. [01:09:03] (40 seconds)  #GrowingInChrist

He said it. He's already said it. He says it again here. He brings it up again. Jesus is coming back. He's clear about it. Multiple places in scripture are clear about it, but Peter's already brought it up. He brings it up this this second time and he and and he's assuring us that no matter what it looks like, no matter what people say, no matter what people do, Jesus Christ is coming back. They may laugh at you now. They may mock your belief. They may make fun of your faith, but Peter essentially is saying, you can bet the farm that this is going to happen. Jesus Christ is going to return. [00:34:31] (41 seconds)  #JesusIsReturning

Not because they were not warned, but because as we looked at earlier, because of their desire to live their life on their terms the way they wanna live it without the boundaries that god would want to put on them or the restrictions that god would want to put on them for their own good, by the way, but they don't see it that way. But instead, they want to live as they wanna live, how they wanna live, where they wanna live, when they wanna live, do whatever they want, to do it without God saying, don't go this way, go this way. Do this. Don't they don't want that. That's why they'll simply be unprepared, unready for him. [00:42:28] (40 seconds)  #LiveReadyForChrist

but it does get easier. But it only gets easier if you make up your mind that I'm gonna I'm gonna I'm not gonna quit. I'm gonna keep doing this. I'm gonna keep working at this. I'm gonna keep reading my bible. I'm gonna keep, attending life groups and small groups. I'm gonna keep taking studies that I can take. I'm gonna keep, serving work. I'm gonna keep doing this thing until that time when all of this is gone and the new heavens and the new earth come along. [01:10:50] (27 seconds)  #KeepGoingInFaith

The the this bookend idea that that has to be at the forefront of our minds that, yes, this this is terrible or this stinks or I hate this or I don't wanna be a be a part of this or I have this in my life or this or that, but Jesus is coming back. Jesus is gonna return, and he's gonna deal with all of it. He's gonna handle all of it, and I don't have to worry about it. Listen. Please don't get bogged down by the stuff of this world since the stuff of this world is all going to be burnt away anyway. [01:04:15] (34 seconds)  #DontCarryTheWorld

Second fundamental is this, we have to keep looking up. I cannot overemphasize how important this is, how this comes up again over and over again in scripture. We have to keep looking up. Looking up, in other words, to God, to the things of God, to the promises of God, to this new new heaven and this new earth, to the to the to this this all that God has in store for us because this world is it's tough at times. Right? It's hard and bad stuff happens and people get cancer and and automobile wrecks and and this is which is the world that we live in. [00:58:55] (39 seconds)  #KeepLookingUp

And and Peter says, but you gotta grow up. You gotta mature in your faith because false teachers will come along, and they'll deceive you into this, and they'll say that, and they'll take God's word, God's truth. Paul's letters, some other part of script, they'll but they'll take it, and they and they'll take it, and they'll twist it, and they'll manipulate it, and they'll make it say something that it's not actually saying. It's not actually what God is saying, but they'll use God's word to try and support the idea that what they're what they're feeding you is the truth, and people that are not spiritually mature will fall for it. [01:08:18] (32 seconds)  #DiscernTruth

When it comes to our lives in general, but particularly when it comes to our walk and our relationship with the living God, we cannot be carelessly lazy. One, because we have an enemy that is real. Satan is real. That's right. And he desires to bring harm to you, to your family, your children, your grandchildren, your whoever. And we cannot afford it because of what is to come, what still is in front of us, and what god is trying to prepare us for. We have to keep stirred up. [00:56:40] (37 seconds)  #StaySpirituallyVigilant