Sunny Thoughts From Sunset, September 29
Hello Messenger readers! We invite you to be inspired and challenged in our Sunset revival meetings coming on Sunday, October 2 (6:00 p.m.), and Monday-Tuesday, October 3-4 (7:00 p.m.). Local preachers will be Vicki Braun, Josh Lindsey and Dennis Ivey. We’ll have special music and refreshments nightly. We’ve prayed for the Lord to be there; we hope to see you too!
The Sunset pastor continued our series, “First Peter—Trials, Pilgrimage, Courage and Hope,” with a message, “Living for God.” The text was from 1 Peter 4:2: “He does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.”
We’re thinking today about living for God, and how to do it. Did you ever have a task that you needed to do, but you had no idea how to do it?
Sometimes we wonder how to do our Christian lives—how to be successful and victorious.
The pastor made three points: (1) An Armored Attitude; (2) Evil Human Desires Out; (3) The Will of God In.
(1) An Armored Attitude. V1: “Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude….” In the Christian walk, you can’t get anywhere without a new attitude.
A positive Christian attitude—that God is in you and gives you power to do His will—is necessary to getting things done.
Pastor Chuck Swindoll said: “We cannot change our past…. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.”
Don’t worry about roadblocks. Life is full of roadblocks, challenges and setbacks. It’s normal.
One of the greatest home run hitters of all time, Babe Ruth, was also the strike out king of baseball.
Ask God to show you the way around, under, over and through your obstacles, and believe that he will help you overcome.
Swindoll also wrote: “The longer I live the more convinced I become that life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we respond to it.”
God has not promised us always a bed of roses. He has promised to be with us through trials as we seek His face and trust in Him.
Peter said “arm yourselves.” We’re in a battle. We put on God’s armor every day and do battle—in God’s power—with the devil. He says “arm yourselves with the attitude of Christ, who suffered in his body.”
Jesus didn’t whine about the Cross; he went to the Cross. He didn’t complain about everybody being against him; he engaged them with perseverance and strength. May we have his steadfast attitude.
(2) Evil Human Desires Out. V2-3: “As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires… For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.”
In our former manner of life, when we lived under the control of the evil one, we indulged our evil human desires—practicing all sorts of immorality, drinking bouts, wild partying where people did not know what they were doing, and practicing idolatry, putting everything before God.
Why were these “evil” desires? Because they are inspired by the evil one (a liar and a thief), and they lead to our certain destruction.
The world (v4) “thinks it strange that you do not plunge with them in to the same flood of dissipation.” The world has on blinders, but Christ has mercifully given us eyes to see our former wasted lives before we died from the excesses of our sins.
(3) The Will of God. V2: Now we live “for the will of God.” It’s not enough to stop doing wrong; we must begin to do right—in the strength and wisdom God supplies.
Jesus calls us to follow him: Trust, pray, follow his word and act in his will, and he will bless.
“Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.” [Psalm 91:14]
May the Lord rescue and protect you in this challenging world—our prayer for you from your friends at Sunset Christian Church.