Deepen Your Walk
Today we’re continuing our 4 week teaching series called 3D Living, which is about how to live with a greater purpose. The 3D stands for discover, deepen, and display. We want to help people discover their identity in Jesus, deepen their walk with Jesus, and display their faith in Jesus in loving ways that helps others to discover, deepen, and display. It’s called 3D living, and the reason we’re doing this series is because it’s Missions Month, which is a time when we focus in greater detail on serving locally and globally beyond our church. In fact yesterday we a great group serve our local city at Choices Women’s Clinic to help with landscaping, a baby shower, and a few other things. But this week we’re also sending another team to help a church in New York that’s reaching a diverse group of people. New York can be a difficult place to do ministry, and our team is heading there to serve City Life Church and other people in their city. So at this time I’d like to invite our NY mission’s team to come forward so we can pray for them, and as they come forward let’s praise God for their decision to go!...Like we learned last week Isaiah said, “Here I am, send me!” And these people are saying that same thing! They’re saying, “Here I am, send me!” So let’s pray for them.
Prayer For NY Missions Team
Thanks for being a church that’s willing to serve others beyond our church, and thanks for being willing to pray for those who go...Now like I said we’re doing this 3D Living series because it’s Missions Month, but we’re also doing it to explore two basic questions every skeptic, every believer, every cognitive person in every generation asks at some point in life. It’s the questions, “Who am I, and why am I here?...Who am I, and what’s my purpose in life?” This is a series that can help us explore those questions, and today we’re talking about the 2nd part of 3D Living, which is to deepen our walk with Jesus. We’re talking about how to deepen our walk with Jesus, so we can grow in being more loving and holy like Jesus. Let’s turn to Isaiah ch. 6 and get into it. You’ll find Isaiah in the middle of the Bible, and we’ll start in Isaiah 6:1-8. But we’ll spend most of our time in 1st Peter 1-2. Title of the message is Deepen Your Walk, and the big idea of the message is the deeper you walk with Jesus, the deeper you’ll grow in being loving and holy like Jesus...The deeper you walk with Jesus, the deeper you’ll grow in being loving and holy like Jesus...
Here’s your context. The book of Isaiah was written by a man named Isaiah, who’s one of the greatest prophets in Judeo-Christian history. Last week we learned that he left his comfortable life as a scribe in the royal palace, to live the tough and uncomfortable life of a prophet. Why? It’s because he discovered the Lord in such an incredible way, that it transformed his identity and purpose in life. He discovered the Lord, a new identity, and a new purpose. Let’s check it out.
Isaiah 6:1-8 states, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above him; they each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 And one called to another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Armies; his glory fills the whole earth.’ 4 The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said: ‘Woe is me, for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies.’ 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your iniquity is removed and your sin is atoned for.’ 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: ‘Who will I send? Who will go for us?’ I said: ‘Here I am. Send me.’” What we learned last week is Isaiah discovers the Lord’s holiness in such an incredible way, that it shakes the foundation of his soul. He realizes how sinful he is compared to how holy God is, and it causes him to cry out, “Woe is me!” But he receives the grace and forgiveness of the Lord, he goes from having a sinful identity saying, “Woe is me!” To having a forgiven identity with a new purpose saying, “Here I am, send me!” Isaiah’s story displays God’s holiness, but it also displays God’s grace and forgiveness to a sinful man who knew he didn’t deserve it. Isaiah’s story displays that you’re never so far gone, that the Lord can’t save you...You’re never too sinful, broken, messed up, so far gone that the Lord can’t save you, transform you, and still use you for greater eternal purposes. When Isaiah discovered the holiness and grace of the Lord, his faith was deepened in the Lord, and he was willing to go display his faith in the Lord saying, “Here I am, send me!”He went from saying, “Woe is me,” to saying, “Here I am, send me!”
Fast forward several hundred years later, and the Apostle Peter has his life transformed by Jesus. He became a part of Jesus’ inner circle, and his faith grew tremendously after walking with Jesus, after witnessing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Well he eventually wrote a letter called 1st Peter, which you can find in the last quarter of the bible. He wrote this letter to encourage Christians who were suffering brutal persecution for their faith in Jesus, and within the first 12 verses he immediately reminds them of their new identity, their new life in Jesus. He also reminds them of the new eternal living hope they now have in Jesus, and that their future is eternally secured with the power of his resurrection. But then in vs. 13 he starts teaching them how to deepen their walk with Jesus, so they can grow in being loving and holy like Jesus. So let’s pick it up in vs. 13.
1st Peter 1:13 states, “Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This is the 1st of 4 things Peter will teach us on how to deepen our walk with Jesus, so we can grow in being more loving and holy like Jesus. What Peter’s teaching us here is we need to...
#1 Think about Jesus frequently. – We need to think about Jesus frequently. Peter says we need to use our minds, and we need to think about the grace of Jesus. This has past, present, and future implications. We need to think about the grace Jesus has given us in the past, to help us stop the beating we sometimes give ourselves when we sin. We need to think about the grace Jesus gives us in the present, to help us resist temptation, and to help us with our daily struggles. We need to think about the grace Jesus will give us in the future, to help us find hope in knowing he’ll perfect us in eternity, with a glorious resurrection free from all temptations and struggles. We need to think about Jesus and the grace of Jesus frequently, for our past, present, and future. The more we think about Jesus and the grace of Jesus, the more it’ll transform our lives into being loving and holy like Jesus. It’s like Warren Wiersbe said, “A mind fixed on Christ, produces a life that reflects Christ.” So we need to think about Jesus and the grace of Jesus frequently, not just in our morning devotionals or when we go to church. But frequently, as we go through the day and as we face different situations in the day. We need to think like the old WWJD bracelets saying, “What would Jesus do?” I’m being tempted to sin! “What would Jesus do?” I hate my job! “What would Jesus do?” My family is fighting! “What would Jesus do?”My life is falling apart! “What would Jesus do?” We need to train our minds to go through the day thinking, “What would Jesus do?” We need to train our minds to think about Jesus and the grace of Jesus frequently.
Again vs. 13, “Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be sober-minded and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires of your former ignorance. 15 But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; 16 for it is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy!’” Peter’s quoting Leviticus 19:2, which is an Old Testament book of the Bible. He says, “Be holy, because I am holy...Be holy, because God is holy!” This phrase is written in the imperative mood, which means it’s a command! God commands us to be holy! He commands us to live loving and holy lives like him! But if you ask most Christians how they’re doing at living this out? They’ll probably say, “I’m striving to live it out, but I’m not perfect at it...I’m striving to live a loving and holy life like Jesus, but I still have moments when I stumble and fail at it...”So a verse like this can sometimes feel heavy and discouraging, especially if you’ve recently sinned. It can sometimes feel heavy and discouraging, if all you do is think about your failures in living out this command, instead of thinking about the grace. So pay attention to what Peter says next in vs. 18-19.
Vs. 18, “For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ...” Peter’s pointing them back to Jesus and the grace of Jesus again! He’s reminding them they’ve been redeemed, with the precious blood of Christ! So what Peter’s teaching us here is we need to 1st think about Jesus and the grace of Jesus frequently, but we also need to...
#2 Go back to the grace of Jesus regularly. – We need to go back to the grace of Jesus regularly, not for eternal salvation, but for daily restoration. When we put our faith in Jesus, when we believe he died for our sins on the cross, we receive eternal salvation which can’t ever be taken away from us. But we still need daily restoration, because we still sin and fail to live out the command to be loving and holy like Jesus. So when we fail, we need to repent and go back to the grace of Jesus for restoration. We need to remember we’ve been redeemed, with the precious blood of Christ, and then get back to living out this command again. Get back to living out our new redeemed identity in Jesus, instead of our past “Woe is me” sinful identity without Jesus. Here at City Awakening we call it a stumbling pursuit of holiness, meaning sometimes it’s two steps forward and one step back. Two steps forward and one step back, but we keep progressing over time into being more loving and holy like Jesus. Peter is a great example of this, because he stumbled often! He stumbled when he shanked a guy’s ear off. He stumbled when he denied Jesus three times. He stumbled when he snubbed the Gentiles. Peter stumbled often, but he kept going back to the grace of Jesus often. He stumbled often, but he continued growing in love and holiness because he kept going back to the grace of Jesus for restoration. The more we think about Jesus and keep going back to the grace of Jesus, the more we’ll grow in being loving and holy like Jesus. It’s like Adrian Rogers said, “Holiness isn’t the way to Christ. Christ is the way to holiness.” Peter knows this, which is why he keeps pointing us back to Jesus and the grace of Jesus.
Vs. 22, “Since you have purified yourselves by your obedience to the truth, so that you show sincere brotherly love for each other, from a pure heart love one another constantly.” Peter says we need to 1st think about Jesus, 2nd keep going back to the grace of Jesus, but also...
#3 Stay connected to the church consistently. – We need to stay connected to the church consistently. When Peter says to show love for each other and to love one another constantly, he’s talking about the church community. He’s repeating what Jesus taught in John 13, which is to love one another as he loved us. Now like I said last week some people think they don’t need to go to church to be a Christian, and they’re right. But if we’re a Christian we go to church because we love the church, and because we know it hurts our growth when we aren’t in church. It hurts our growth because we’re isolating ourselves, which causes us to have to carry our struggles on our own, and it also makes us more vulnerable prey for Satan to devour us like a lion. In fact 1st Peter 5:8 states, “Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.” The best way for Satan to devour us, is to isolate us from the church community. But our isolation also hurts our growth in love and holiness, because we can’t live out what Peter and Jesus are saying in isolation. We can’t love one another, in isolation. We can’t love one another, without the other! So if we want to grow in love and holiness, then we need to stay connected to each other in the church. As Hebrews 10:25 says, “Don’t neglect gathering together, as some are in the habit of doing.” We need to stay connected to the church consistently. But there’s also one more thing Peter tells us we need to do, and it’s in 1st Peter 2:1-2.
1st Peter 2:1-2 states, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word,, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation.” This the 4th and last thing Peter says to do. He says we need to...
#4 Read the Bible daily. – We need to read the bible daily. Peter says we need to desire the pure milk of the word, meaning the truth of God’s word in the bible. This is important, because we’re living in an information age where you can download massive amounts of information at the click of a button. The information age is a powerful age with agendas constantly being pushed through various media outlets, attempting to condition your mind to think a certain way. So if we don’t think critically and biblically, we’ll download thoughts in our minds that are unhealthy and unholy for our souls. I mean what if you’ve started believing things that aren’t true, and it’s affecting your life?...What if you’ve started believing things that aren’t true, and it’s hindering you’re joy in life?...The only way you’ll know, is by reading the truth of God’s word...The only way to defeat a lie is with the truth, so you need to be reading the truth of God’s word daily...You need to defeat the lies in your heart and the lies you’ve downloaded in your mind, with the truth of God’s word. When Peter refers to God’s word as being like pure milk to an infant, he’s stressing that our growth in being loving and holy like Jesus requires regular nourishment from God’s word. He’s saying reading God’s word is just as necessary for our growth, as milk is for a newborn infant’s growth. It’s possible the reason some of you are feeling so depleted and malnourished in life, is because you’re not feasting enough on God’s word. Like Charles Spurgeon said, “A Bible that’s falling apart, usually belongs to someone who isn’t.” Peter’s saying reading God’s word is just as necessary for our growth, as milk is for a newborn infant’s growth. We need to read the bible to learn from Jesus and to be nourished by Jesus, knowing his word will never steer us wrong.
Now I’m glad Peter uses newborns as an illustration, because we sometimes feel pressure if we aren’t growing fast enough. But how fast does a newborn grow? They grow slow! You can feed them all the milk you want, but they still can’t do algebra, grow 6 ft tall, run a 4.3, or play in the NFL as a newborn. It’s because newborns grow slow. God commands every believer to grow, but don’t get discouraged if your growth seems slow, because it takes time. When you put your faith in Jesus he fills you with his loving and holy spiritual DNA, and it slowly starts working its way throughout your body chipping away at everything that’s unhealthy and unholy for your soul. It's a transformation that happens gradually over time, the more we walk in our relationship with Jesus, and the more we receive daily nourishment from his word. As an anonymous poet said:
Two natures beat within my breast.
The one is foul, the one is blessed.
The one I love, the one I hate.
The one I feed, will dominate.
The big idea of the message is the deeper you walk with Jesus, the deeper you’ll grow in being loving and holy like Jesus...Remember you’re never too sinful, broken, messed up, or so far gone that the Lord can’t save you, transform you, and still use you for greater eternal purposes. Just like Isaiah had his life transformed by the grace of God, you can have your life transformed by the grace of God. But it all starts and continues with the grace of Jesus. Have you received the grace of Jesus?...Have you been thinking about Jesus frequently?...Have you been going back to the grace of Jesus regularly?...Have you been staying connected in the church consistently?...Have you been reading the bible daily, for guidance, encouragement, and daily nourishment?...Peter says if you do those things, you’ll grow into being more loving and holy like Jesus...Let’s pray...