Well, good morning, church. I cannot believe we are finally at the week. I know we've already talked about VBS a little bit. We've talked about middle school camp a little bit. But hey, what better week just to celebrate in the fact that we have over a thousand kids already coming tomorrow morning in this building? Do you ever wonder what mayhem looks like? It's coming. Amen. Let's celebrate that. We got about 130 going to middle school camp tomorrow. Hallelujah to that as well. And then I'm going to be representing us as a church this week at Southern Baptist Convention this week. So, I need you to do three things this week. Number one, pray for the babies to be saved at VBS. Right? Number two, pray for the middle schoolers. Amen. They need saving. Pray for God to save them. And number three, pray for the Southern Baptist Church to be saved, right? Convention to be saved this week. It is going to be a great week of ministry this week. 

If you've got a copy of scripture, I want you to go ahead and be turning with me to the book of First Peter. The Book of First Peter. We are in a series like you just saw in the intro called Joyful Exiles. Joyful Exiles. This is week two in this series where we're studying this little letter that Peter wrote late in his ministry to the churches or to the church that had been pressed out of its home. That's where we get this idea of exiled. An exile is a person we looked at this last week that is living in a country that's not their own, living in a place that's not their home, but yet they're not severing ties to home. They're living there with this expectation that one day they're going home. Last week, we walked all through chapter one, and we pointed out this idea that me and you while we may not be physical like exiles out of the place we're born, the reality is we are exiles as believers in Jesus, in this planet. It doesn't feel like home all the time. It feels like we're going against culture all the time. It feels like we don't necessarily fit all the time. And that's because we don't this is a temporary place for us to live for God so that one day, we step into an eternal presence with him. And we said that because of that, we can live joyful lives. There's nothing worse than a grumbling Christian there's nothing worse than an angry Christian. What Peter's telling us is, look, it might be hard, it might be a struggle, but you can live joyful because you know Jesus, you live in the power of Jesus, and one day you're going to get to walk in eternity with Jesus. So that's what we looked at last week. And it's also, as I said last week, any time you read anything that Peter wrote, you'll notice that he brings this fatherly perspective. Yes, he gives us commands. And yes, he shows us how to live. But on the back side of that, he gives us this encouragement and he tells us how to live it. There's nothing worse than a leader that just kind of says, Yeah, go do your deal, but never tells you how to do your deal. Right? So, Peter steps up, gives us truths, but he tells us how to walk out these truths incredibly practical. That's what we're going to do this morning. We're going to step into chapter two this morning. Before we read it, though, I want to point out a couple of things. First of all, I just want you to notice that the first word of chapter two is the word, therefore. It's the word, therefore. Now, we've said this a bunch of times, but it's your study in scripture. Any time you come across the word, therefore, it is a linking word to what has happened and what is about to come up. You always got to see what the therefore is there for. That's what you need to say. Now, I want you to notice this in this chapter, because it's a new chapter, but we can't just press the pause button on what has happened. 

Also, remember when Peter was writing this letter, he didn't write these first verses out, hit the pause button write a number two and a one beside it. The chapter references and the verses are not part of Peter's original letter. They're just a reference for us it helps us find things. Let me just put it like this. If I was to stand up here and say, Hey, I need you to go to the 617th word of the book of First Peter you're going to you're not going to know where to go, although that is where it is. I counted this week. That's where we are in the letter. It's just a reference point to help us know where we're going. So, what we're seeing in chapter two is building on this idea that we are joyful exiles, therefore. This week, I just want you to see that. Also, I want you to see that Peter starts this whole section out with a command with a command. Now, I know a lot of us don't like to be told what to do. Amen. We're a bunch of people that just like to do our own deal. That's why we have a lot of entrepreneurs in the crowd. We don't like people, but I like to work for people. We love to do our own thing. But Peter gives us a command here that is a simple command, but it's a command that can quite frankly change your life. I want to point it out in your notes before we read the text in the command is that we must grow up. We must grow up. Now, know we've said it to our kids before, but Peter is looking at you as a spiritual father, and he's saying, Hey, listen, if you want to live joyfully, if you want God to be the center of your life, you're going to have to get to a point that you just grow up. 

All right, let's jump into the text with that being the background. Because Peter is going to give us that command and then he's going to tell us how to do it. That's all we're doing this morning. Here we go. First Peter, chapter two, verse one. Therefore, I told you it was there. Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind. And that could be a whole morning. Amen, right there, just right. But it's not. Like newborn babies. Watch what he tells us to do. Crave spiritual milk. So that by it, I didn't make this up, you may grow up in your salvation. Now, Peter looks at him and he and in the best fatherly heart possible. He's like, You got to grow up, people. This world is hard. This world is going to come against you, and you've got to grow. And then he gives us these examples in verse one about how we still live spiritually childish lives. He gives us these examples. What were they? Malice and deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander. So, what is Peter doing? Peter is concerned that some of these believers that have been scattered out, some of the believers that have been pressed out of their homes and are being under persecution, are not living in the culture, that some of them are not moving past their baby stage in Jesus. In other words, they're resorting back to their toddler tendencies, I guess, as you could, or they're not growing in their faith. Now, this is a problem when you've been called to live differently, to live as an exile in a culture. So, he's saying, look, if you're still living as a toddler, you're not going to be on a path for Jesus to help you joyfully live out what God has called you to be on. And I love this mental picture. 

I love the mental picture of babies I mean, because I mean, number one, most of us know what babies do and how they act. But I love how he points out that we are just spiritually babies. Now, let's think about babies just for a minute because I remember having them. Amen. That was a tough time in life. And don't get me wrong, I love my babies, but it's a whole lot better when they get older. Babies, man, they're such little sweet angels, aren't they? One minute, right? There on this end, I mean, they can be the sweetest, most joyful human being on the planet, but then all of a sudden, the wrath of their heart comes out, does it not? I mean, it's like sweet little angel to Satan junior in the same, like, moment of their lives, they can laugh and cry in the same sentence. It's crazy. And so, what Peter is saying here is that we as believers have this tendency to be like them. Babies are some of the most that there's some of the hardest human beings on this planet. They really are. I mean, second only to toddlers and third to middle school. Right? That's just kind of where it is, right? Let's just put the order right there and then fourth to like senior adult because we don't know sometimes what they're going to say. That's going to bite me. I did not, it's not in the notes right there. 

But here it is. Here's what I want you to know. What Peter is saying is we got to grow out of this tendency. Let me ask you something. Are you kind of like that sometimes in your spiritual life? One minute you are as joyful and you're following the Lord, you're walking in Christ, but then all of a sudden you swing so fast the other way and you're like, where did that even come from? I mean, let's put it like this for the students. You got DNOW you got camps, you got mission trips, all this. And man, you are on fire for Jesus. And then three days later, it's like, man, that that thing didn't even exist. Parents. Is it kind of like that for you? Like around this group of people, man? You're walking with the Lord, you're there, but you get into this little place over here and around those people, and it's like it doesn't even exist. Maybe it's like this in traffic, for you. You are. I mean, you are listening to that song. I mean, you are in it. You are singing at the top of your lungs. I'm not talking about like that little golf clap singing that we do in here where you care what people hear. I mean, you're going out in your car voice, you know, your core voice, right? You're going at it. And if somebody cuts you off in traffic and it isn’t praise music no more, is it? That's what he's saying. He's saying, if we're going to be joyful exiles, we have got to get out of that mode. And we've got to begin to focus in on who Christ is and allow him to grow us up because kids are not stable in their emotions. 

What he's saying for us is, are we kids can be completely insecure, right? Where's Mom? Where's Dad? But so, can we when we ask, where is God? Kids can be somewhat gullible, right? You can tell your three-year-old there's a unicorn in the backyard. You're going to they're going to believe you. But so, what do we do? We get tossed to and fro by all kinds of teaching. I mean, kids are possessive. What's the kid's favorite word in their vocabulary as a little toddler? That's mine. But yet we're right there too, right? We're seeing that we're being fulfilled by whatever the next little gadget is. So, what he's telling us is there's not much difference. And he's pleading with us to grow up, come out of our spiritual infancy because there's a possessiveness and a childish way of looking at this world that we're not glorifying God in. All right. So that's the command right now that feels a little heavy. All right. I get it is a little heavy, but Peter doesn't leave it like that. He fleshes it out for us, and he tells us what is it that needs to come into our lives to help us live a spiritually mature, joyful exile? So how do we do it? The rest of this chapter, the first seven verses of the next chapter lays out some ways that you and me and these first century believers that we can grow up in our faith. Now, are we going to get to them all? No. They tell me that we can't stay here for 2 hours. We're only going to get to most of them. And I'm going to give you one as homework for this week to read. But let me give the ways we're going do four of them. 

Number one, Peter says this You want to grow up. Number one, you have to love the word. You've got to love the word. You've got to love scripture. We got to love the wisdom of the Bible. And this is a constant theme in this church. If you're busy in this week, I guarantee you, if you come back just about every single week, you will hear something that says this. You have to get into the word. You got to read the Bible. You got to love the Bible. You got to find Scripture because it is the key to life. Look at what Peter says about this in chapter two verse two. He says, like newborn babies crave spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. You may grow up in your salvation now that you've tasted in other words, now that you've got a hold of it, now that you've had it in your life and digested it, now you will know that the Lord is good. That's a direct quote from Psalm 34. We're still in the baby analogy, right? So, babies, how do babies grow? Babies grow by drinking milk. They grow by drinking lots of milk several times a day, right? Moms. Amen. Several times. Babies don't just eat once a week. They don't just come in on Sunday morning like, mama, gimme the milk right now. 

They don't just grow up in this idea of once a week. If I get as much into me like a snake as possible, I can go the rest of the week and have no more milk. But then why is it that we treat our walk with Jesus like that? We come into a place like this or to a life group, and we're like, Man, if I get enough today, it's going to make me through the week. What Peter's telling you is, no, that's not loving the word. Loving the word is having a direct, regular time in our life. That we fall in love, and we jump into the Word of God, and we allow it to wash us and feed us and fill us every single day. Look, if you miss a day, that's OK. It's going to happen. But if you miss two days, you need to check your heart. When he's telling us if we're going to grow the word of God, has to be a consistent fixture in our lives. But he doesn't leave it that he tells us why the word of God needs to be there. If you can put these down in your notes, because here's the deal, the word of God, number one, it endures. It endures. What does that mean? It just means it lasts. We said this last week, but we kind of pressed through it, but I want to look at it again. First Peter chapter one, verse 23. Watch what he says about the word lasting says for you had been born again not a perishable seed, but of imperishable through the living, and watch what he says, an enduring word of God. Now, this is important because what does Peter say? He says that God's word is strong. God's word is going to last. God's word does not change with time. Now, I need to point this out because here's the deal. Culture does not mold God's word. That's what He's saying right here. 

The feelings of people do not have the ability to make God's word say what they want it to say. God's word, and God's character never changes here it is its message or its stance. It doesn't. You say, Well, Matt, how do you know what does it? Well, here's how I know, because God is perfect, and God's Word is perfect. And if God wrote the word perfectly, it can't change without him saying it was wrong to begin with. Do you get the reasoning behind that? God's word, it endures, it lasts. It makes it, in fact, it makes it so long. Catch this number two. It lives forever. God's word lives forever. I just want you to feel the idea of God's word is not just an enduring for right now word, but it will go on for eternity. 

Look, in the first chapter, verse 24, it says, For all people are like grass. And all their glory is like the flowers of the field. The grass withers, the flowers fail, but the Word of God, watch this. The Word of the Lord, watch what it says. It not only endures, but it endures forever. It endures forever. You know what Peter's trying to get the point across here. He's saying this everything else in the world is temporary. It's temporary. That means that God's Word and the souls of mankind is all that is on this planet that will last. So, if I'm building my life on anything else, like the approval of man, success of my kids, the accolades of the world, the strength of my marriage, these things are going to constantly change. Not only will they change, but here's what's going to happen. I'm always going to feel anxious. I'm always going to feel insecure, and I'm always going to feel like I'm not living up to those things. Why? Because those things are moving targets in my life. Those things don't fix themselves in a point that endures and that lasts forever. You do realize that everything else in culture will change, right? Everything changes from music to dress to style to language. To how we do everything else changes. So, if we're always fixing ourselves to a changeable thing in this world, we will never live up to it. That's why we're miserable when we attach ourselves to anything but the word, because it doesn't last. I really think this point alone, if we could just grasp it, would just set us free from attaching ourselves to all of this stuff that's around us. Nothing else is and nothing else is permanent. What does he say about the word it endures? It's eternal lives forever. But then also, I want you to write this down. 

Number three, it's good. The Word of God is good. Now look, some of you grew up in faith backgrounds where you were never told the word was good. It was just crammed down you and told you to sit down and be quiet and get it right? No, the word is good. It is right it is joy filled. Listen, the word of God is not just enduring and eternal. It's not just sterile words. It is life breathing. In fact, look at what he says in chapter two. Verse three, he says, Now that you have tasted that the Lord is good now that you've tasted that the Lord is good, what is he doing? He's making reference back to tasting the Lord is good through what? Through the Word of God, the very words of God that spoke the universe into existence, spoke and created mankind. He's now spoken to you and you're reading his word for you. And this word has the power to give you life, has the power to give you the message of salvation. It carries that message to us. It's the roadmap to this life, and it's alive in us. The Word of God is not just this thing. You got to have it. You got to have it. Yeah, you got to have it. But there's reasons you need to have it because it's alive and it's moving in your life. That's what Hebrews 4:12 tells us for the Word of the Lord, our God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to the dividing, the soul and spirit joints and marrow and it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 

Here's the thing. We have to let it. We have to let it penetrate. The word can exist, but we have to let it saturate. And when we do, let it. He says this Here's another benefit of the word. Number four, it gives us confidence. Number four, the word gives us confidence. You do realize this, right? That when you read the word and when the word saturates your soul, and when you move in life, understanding what the word is, you are able to stand up with a confidence that you can't get in anything else. Why? Because it's enduring and it's eternal and it's good over your life. We find this in the same verse first three. Watch it. It says this. It says, now that you have tasted, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good, what does that mean? It means, in other words, we now have this confidence we now have this feeling, we now have this ability in this foundation to move in another direction when we see what truly nourishes and fills us, when we see what sets the path for our life, that it's the primer of our faith and sustainer of our faith. We now can walk in confidence. I don't know about you, but we need some confidence, not in a boastful pride confidence, but in the confidence of man, I know the Lord. I know the guy who saved me. I know the maker of the universe. And everything else in this world really doesn't matter to that level. In fact, if you fast forward a verse nine, don't worry, we're going to come back to the rest. But I want you to see why you have confidence. Just look at the first five words of verse nine. It says, But you are a chosen people. Just that little phrase alone. Doesn't that just give you confidence that nothing else on this planet can give you? And it can bring you. 

So, let me just ask you just really just personally, chosen people, let me ask you this. Are you spending time in the word? And I'm not talking about Sunday morning. I'm not talking about in your life group. I'm not even talking about that you took that class on Wednesday night that talks about is the Bible true. I'm talking about in your own time. Do you have a regular time where you're going, God, I don't know what you're going to give me today? I don't know where are you going with this today, God. But God, it's me and you right now, and I'm cracking open your word. And here we go. Because here's the thing. Like newborn babies, I can promise you this no matter how long you've been saved, which for some of you, that's been a minute, right? No, matter how long you've been saved, your soul is always suffering if you are not directly spending time in the word. It suffers. So let me just have some real talk with you, because here I know the pushback. Matt, I'm just not feeling it right now. I just need to take a break. I'm just not feeling it. Literally, the words have come out of people's mouth. They've literally told me, Matt, I'm just not feeling the word right now, so I'm just taking a break. Let me just say this. That is the wrong way to look at the word of God. It's the wrong way, Matt. I'm just not feeling it. What do I do? What do I do? OK, well, let's go down that path just for a second. Number one, thanks for thanks for saying it out loud, because that takes boldness because we're in the south, and you're just supposed to love the word, right? By you expressing that, you are saying to God, Hey, OK, God I'm struggling. Number two, I just want you to look at the word not through this lens of I need to visit it when I feel right, but through the lens of it's a discipline. It's a discipline. What does that mean? That means you go to the word when you feel like it and you go to the word when you don't feel like it, because sometimes you're never going to feel like it until after you go to the word. It's kind of like running, right? Nobody wants to run. Now, there are those weird people out there. I get it. All right. There's a few of them out there. Nobody wants to exercise. There's a couple of them, but they grow out of it right? But every single time you run and every single time you exercise, you get benefit from it. Listen to this. No matter your attitude of approaching it, it's a discipline. So don't wait for God to soothe your heart, to step into his presence. You step into his presence. You watch the word of God come alive in your life. In fact, if this is you, let me just give you a prayer that you can jot down over your life. I put it in your notes for you so you can get it on the app or whatever. 

Here's the prayer. God, lead my heart to desire your word. Open my eyes God, that I can see your wonderful works and God help me focus on what matters. Satisfy me with your unfailing love and grace. You put that beside your Bible somewhere and start the morning off with that and then you dove into the word, and you watch it come alive, and I guarantee you you'll start to grow up. It's what Peter says. It's what Jesus says. It's what the whole Bible says. Number one, you want to grow up, you got to love the word. Number two, you've got to anchor to the right foundation. It's Jesus. You got to anchor to the right foundation. Now, what's an anchor? An anchor is something that we set out to keep us tethered to something. It is an object that keeps us bound to something in a location to where we know where we are. What is the foundation a foundation is the thing that everything else is built on? Watch verse four. It says this, as you come to him What's this going to tell us what our foundation is. The living stone that's Jesus, by the way. Rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him. You also like living stones are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture, it says, See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and, here it is. circle this - a precious cornerstone, and the one who trust in him will never be put to shame. 

The key word in this text is the word cornerstone. And most of us are not builders, but a cornerstone is a place that it is a stone that sets the location of the building, the angle of the building, the how the building is going to sit. It's the most important piece of the building that everything ties back to this one thing. It's the grounding spot of this whole building. Now, look, there are builders that can build without it, but eventually what Peter is saying is it will fail, it will crumble. So, if a cornerstone is always referenced, the building is going to be OK. Now, here's the thing about cornerstones. Nobody has to teach you to have one you already have a cornerstone in your life. You already have something in your life that you have fixed everything else to. You already have something that filters your decisions. That determines your time and determines how you spend your family and your money. You have that nobody has to tell you to have it. It is ingrained in us. We will have it. In other words, what is it that your mind goes to when it's a neutral? What is it that you need in your life to recenter your life? If it's family, if it's a friend group, if it's your retirement, your money lasting, and your marriage. Look, those things are fine. Those things are good. But Peter says, Hey, if it's anything but Jesus, eventually it's going to crumble. It's going to go away. And as an exile on this planet, eventually you're going to find yourself lacking because all those things are constantly shifting except for the stone that was laid in Zion, and his name is Jesus. It's what Peter saying there. Look at what Peter says about it in verse seven. What happens when we find the true cornerstone? Verse seven, second Peter, or 1Peter 2:7 says, Now to you who believe this stone is precious it's precious. What does it mean? Let's value him. Let's fix ourselves to him. Let's make that our reference point. Why? Because when we do, he grounds us. When we don't, we end up crushed. It's what it says. So, number two, what do we do? We grow up by fixing ourselves to the foundation of Jesus. Here's number three. We embrace our true identity. How do we grow up? We just embrace our true identity. Mark my words, here it is. The next five to ten years in our country, the number one most hot debated issue is going to be identity it's going to be. And it's already coming. You're already feeling it. You're already seeing the effects of it. And Peter, through the Holy Spirit, what does he do? He tells us the guidance we need to find our true identity. Let me read it to you 1Peter 2:9-10 And then I'm going to tell you really quick what he says about it. Says, but you are a chosen people. 

You realize that once you give your life, you're a chosen people. A royal priesthood, holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into this wonderful life. Once, he says You were not a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. These three verses do more for your self-identity definition than most verses in the whole Bible. They tell you who you are. They tell you how you can be fulfilled. You see, most of us, we live our lives plagued with questions like this, am I enough? Am I enough? Am I smart enough? Am I strong enough? Am I pretty enough? Am I skinny enough? Am I good enough? To which the world says No, you're not. But we'll sell you something that can make you, right? We live this. We live our lives with these questions. Or here's another question. We live our life like, why can't I be like her? Why can't I be like him? Why? Because why don't we do scroll people's highlight rules all the time? That's why you don't see the of their families melting down. They're up the debt in their eyeballs and they don't even like each other. We see that, right. We live our lives with questions like, man, who am I? Who am I? But what Peter does right here is he looks at us and says, Look, you can stop trying to race to the top of this society because I'm telling you who you are, and if you'll fix yourself to who you are. 

You have the foundation that's going to give you everything you need, and it gives us who we are in Christ. In fact, I want you to write him down. If you've written nothing else down today, I want you to write this down. Because this is huge. Who are you in Jesus? Number one. You're chosen. You're chosen. God loves you so much. He looked at you and said, Yeah, you're mine. Romans 5:8. Right. God demonstrated his love in this, though we were yet sinners. Christ died for us. You're chosen. He chose you to be in his family. He delivered you. Number two, you're royal. You're royal. You're royalty. Why? Because you're chosen. Because you belong to the king. You do realize you're not a slave, but you're a child. You're part of the royal family of God. You're not trying to work off some debt that you're trying to get back to God. No, you're feasting at the king's table. You're part of God's family, and you have the rights and privileges of the eternal king. You don't have to cower up to God and beg him to hear you. You come boldly before his presence as a son or daughter of the king. You're royal. But that also makes you, number three, part of the priesthood. Part of the priesthood. That's a little confusing. Doesn't mean you strap on a collar and take confessions, right? It just means that you have a role. Why? Because you've been chosen. You are now royal and now you have a role. Why? You're an ambassador to the king. This is bigger than just a title. This just means this. You now have purpose. If there's one thing I'm hearing constantly over and over and over people, it is what is my purpose in life? I'll tell you your purpose in life. It is to be God's children. Why? Because you're part of the priesthood. You have a job. 

So, here's the deal. When Satan tries his best to make you feel like you are good for nothing, man, you punch him right in the mouth. And you say, no, I've been called to represent my dad, the King. The King. He makes a difference. So, what does that mean? That means number four, you're valued. You're valued. You are valued. Why? Because you've been chosen. You're royal. You're part of the priesthood, and you are valued. What a verse nine. Say verse nine said you are a special possession, special possession. You know what it means? You're not just part of the puzzle. You are the puzzle. You're not the old t shirt that's thrown in the back of a closet that you find in five years. No, you're valuable to the king. You matter to God. And look I have a feeling somebody's soul needs to suck that in today. You're valuable and God values you. God loves you and God desires you. Here's the last one He mentions, it's number five. You're forgiven. You're forgiven. You're forgiven. You do know the moment you give your life to Christ; He forgives you of your past. He forgives you of your present. He forgives you of your future. Your past, listen, does not have to define you. It doesn't have to define you. Why? Because Jesus took your past. He took your past. Man, this is so big. He took your past. I mean, Hebrews 8:12, right? He took our sin and God, what does he do? He remembers it no more. He remembers it no more. Psalm 32. What does he do with it? He puts our sin behind his back. God does, and he remembers it no more. Psalm 103. Right? What does He do to our sin? He separates our sin as far as the East is from the West, our sin was put onto the perfect Jesus, and now God doesn't see us through the lens of a sinner anymore. He sees us through the lens of a Savior Please don't forget this. When God sees you, a child of His, He's given your life to Him. He doesn't see you as broken. He doesn't see you as sinful. He doesn't see you as a piece of garbage. He sees you as a chosen child of God through the lens of what Christ has done for you. For you. That's why we can quit chasing the rest of this stuff, because our Father sees us through the lens of who Christ is. Peter says Your identity, you were chosen, you're royal, you're purposed, you're valued, you're forgiven. So, here's the question. Church, what else do we need? What else do we need to see that this is not our home? 

If we're chasing the world early enough, it's a fool's errand. You ever have a dog to chase traffic in the neighborhood? I had one time. His name was Rocky. He died. He caught it. But that's what it is. We're chasing after an object that's always moving versus chasing after who God is and what God wants for our life. Let me just say this and I'll move on. I got this from Chip Henderson. He's a pastor. You don't know him. I don't even know him. I just found it this week and just listen to a message he preached, and this is what he said, and I quote. I pulled it all down. It says this. You need to release yourself from your self-imposed obligation to be enough for others. You will never oh, man. You're never going to be wife enough to save him, ladies. Men, you can't be husband enough to keep her at home at night. Sons, you can't be son enough to make your insecure daddy proud. Ladies, you won't ever be daughter enough to please your pride filled parents. You can't be their savior. They need Jesus to fill that insecurity in their lives. Listen to this you just need to be who God made you to be and fulfill His purpose in your life. Let his affirmation and his approval be your identity, be your identity. Peter says, Listen, you're good enough. Now, just live it. Speaking of living it, that's the number four way to grow up. Number four, Peter says, Live your purpose. Live your purpose. Live your purpose when you love the word and when you anchor to the right foundation, when you embrace your true identity as a child of the king, Peter says that we can then we can live our purpose. 

Look at it, he said it to us twice. In verse nine, he says this. He says that you may declare the praises of the one who called you out of darkness in the light, and then look at our soul. Levin says, Dear friends, I urge you as foreigners and exiles there it is again. He said it again abstain from sinful desires which wage war against your souls but live such good lives among the pagans that they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits. Peter says, Let me pull it down from the ethereal to the practical. You want to live God's purpose in your life. There’re two things. Number one, know and love the one who has saved you. Know and love him. What is that? That's our vertical relationship with Christ. I'm knowing him. I'm loving him. I'm giving him my heart. My purpose in life is to love Jesus. Loving Jesus changes me. Loving Jesus shapes me. It gives me direction. It gives me motivation. This is my vertical relationship with him. It's my primary purpose. But number two is to declare his praises with our words and our deeds, with our words and deeds. That's our purpose. Peter says If you want to grow up just live your purpose. What is that? Loving God and loving others showing others what God has done for me. But here's the pushback. Matt, that's so hard. Maybe, but maybe, just maybe, it wouldn't be so hard if we just remember where we came from and remember where we're going. 

Maybe, just maybe it wouldn't be so hard when we untether ourselves from the moving affection of this world. And we anchor ourselves to the truths in God's Word and to the cornerstone of Jesus. Maybe just maybe when we see ourselves through the lens of who God sees us as and not culture sees us as we begin to step into a new purpose. Man, I love Peter. Why? Does he punch us in the mouth with a command? Yeah, he does. We needed it right? But then he backs up and says, let me tell you how to get there. Let me tell you. So here it is as we close. When you think through this idea, where is it that you need to grow up? Where do you need to grow up? Maybe this week, you just need to spend some time with the Lord going, God, I need you to give me a greater affection to your word. Man, I just urge you to pray that prayer. Study when you don't feel like it. Maybe this week, you need to reanchor yourself to who Jesus is. It's not a tyrant looking to squash you. He's a savior ready to deliver you. Maybe you need to untether yourself to the moving trends of culture and tether yourself to the cornerstone Jesus. Maybe, just maybe, you need to quit the messing around with the world identity. And you need to see yourself as Jesus does. His chosen, valued, precious, forgiven, purposed. Maybe you need to say, Lord, I've been living a purpose that is fleeting. I'm not saying go quit your jobs. Don't do that. That's shut down. Right? What I'm saying is this maybe now you see your job as part of the purpose of what God has called you to do and to live. 

Lord God, I don't know how we need to close this Lord, but God, I do know this. In a room this big, there are people that they've never given their lives to you Jesus. God, the first way that they can grow today is just by surrendering their hearts to you. I just pray that if there are people that you're dealing with their souls right now, that God, you'd give them the boldness to step out during this next song. Come to myself or one of the counselors that are already moving in this room to just say, I need Jesus today, and we'll talk with them, we'll pray with them, we'll walk into the rest. If they're online, or want to do it in the app, they can just reach out on the Next Steps app and say, Hey, I need I need Jesus, I need to accept Jesus today. God, would you give them the boldness to do that? God for the rest of us, that God, do you know you. God, embolden us today. Show us how to grow up. Lord Jesus move in this place this next couple of minutes. It's in your name. We pray. 

Amen. Amen. Let's stand and sing.