Have you seen the new Volvo auto brake system? It is probably one of the greatest practical inventions of mankind since the invention of the internal combustion engine. Who hasn't driven when there is a sudden stop ahead of you that you don't notice instantly? You hit the brakes and hope for the best. This new system is supposed to take the guesswork out of braking...well, most of the time. The video I've included is the result of asking the automobile magazine writers to watch the test of the system before it was actually ready. It was 23 seconds of horror for the Volvo designers.
Let's think about our lives, we often place ourselves on "auto-pilot" and think everything is going along fine and then...BLAM! We hit a stopped semi trailer that we should have seen coming. It hurts...really bad. As God's people who have been re-created for His plan and purpose, He has helped us avoid these collisions in life. The problem is, we must choose to live life engaged and not on auto-pilot. When we are feeling unwanted by those around us, we can start to feel sorry for ourselves, but we have nothing to be sorry for. We have actually missed terrible collisions in life that have only one purpose, destruction.
1 Peter 1:18-22 lets us in on these destroyers (which is one of the names for satan himself, apollyon. I refuse to capitalize his name).
1. Emptiness (1 Peter 1:18a)
Having been redeemed, we are filled with God. No longer is there a God shaped vacuum in us. We have Him. "Realize the fulness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without Him." (Colossians 2:9)
2. Greediness (1 Peter 1:18b-19)
Our lives are no longer built on stuff; it's "not with perishable things like silver or gold." A life built on that which perishes, "silver and gold" is wasted. There is nothing fun about greed. It is never satisfied. Always hungering for more and never giving back anything in this life. Ever seen American Pickers? Those people they go to see build barns to hold stuff that they could never use. It sits, rots, and collects dust. They even have a hard time selling it to the guys who know people that can use it. Rick Warren recently said this "All my possessions are just tools for fulfilling God's purposes. I either given them away or use them on that sole basis." Can you say that? If not your auto-pilot is set on greed.
3. Hopelessness (1 Peter 1:20-21)
We are so tied up in our stuff and our way of doing things that we confuse who and what to place our hope in. Jeremiah understood this when He wrote, "It's hopeless. We will continue to follow our plans" (Jeremiah 18:12).
Our hope is in a God who loves us so much that He was willing to give His Son to sacrifice His life for us. Doesn't that give you hope? There is a future with Him. He does have a plan for you. That is why we can run to Him for refuge when feeling unwanted and like life is without hope...God is our future.
Finally, we avoid a collision with...
4. Lovelessness (1 Peter 1:22)
We get what is called "sincere love". Love is not love when it is not sincere. When there is real truth, there will be true love. So much of what passes for love today is little more than "like" at best and "lust" at its worst. Love can can only be based on what God says about love. That is true love. It is the kind of love, as MacArthur tells us, "responds to a command." He goes on to say, "Only those who have been purified (saved) have this capacity to love like this. Exhibited by meeting others at the point of their need." (MacArthur New Testament Commentary, 1 Peter 1:22). Sincere love for others will develop a sincere love for you. It's never about what you can get out of a relationship that matters, it's what you put into it that makes it sincere.
I am so glad God has clearly designed you and me to avoid these kinds of collisions in life. It's time we fill ourselves with God, give ourselves to others, and love as only God can. Then maybe being unwanted won't matter as much any more.
Thinking 'Bout Oceanside
Let's think about our lives, we often place ourselves on "auto-pilot" and think everything is going along fine and then...BLAM! We hit a stopped semi trailer that we should have seen coming. It hurts...really bad. As God's people who have been re-created for His plan and purpose, He has helped us avoid these collisions in life. The problem is, we must choose to live life engaged and not on auto-pilot. When we are feeling unwanted by those around us, we can start to feel sorry for ourselves, but we have nothing to be sorry for. We have actually missed terrible collisions in life that have only one purpose, destruction.
1 Peter 1:18-22 lets us in on these destroyers (which is one of the names for satan himself, apollyon. I refuse to capitalize his name).
1. Emptiness (1 Peter 1:18a)
Having been redeemed, we are filled with God. No longer is there a God shaped vacuum in us. We have Him. "Realize the fulness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without Him." (Colossians 2:9)
2. Greediness (1 Peter 1:18b-19)
3. Hopelessness (1 Peter 1:20-21)
We are so tied up in our stuff and our way of doing things that we confuse who and what to place our hope in. Jeremiah understood this when He wrote, "It's hopeless. We will continue to follow our plans" (Jeremiah 18:12).
Our hope is in a God who loves us so much that He was willing to give His Son to sacrifice His life for us. Doesn't that give you hope? There is a future with Him. He does have a plan for you. That is why we can run to Him for refuge when feeling unwanted and like life is without hope...God is our future.
Finally, we avoid a collision with...
4. Lovelessness (1 Peter 1:22)
We get what is called "sincere love". Love is not love when it is not sincere. When there is real truth, there will be true love. So much of what passes for love today is little more than "like" at best and "lust" at its worst. Love can can only be based on what God says about love. That is true love. It is the kind of love, as MacArthur tells us, "responds to a command." He goes on to say, "Only those who have been purified (saved) have this capacity to love like this. Exhibited by meeting others at the point of their need." (MacArthur New Testament Commentary, 1 Peter 1:22). Sincere love for others will develop a sincere love for you. It's never about what you can get out of a relationship that matters, it's what you put into it that makes it sincere.
I am so glad God has clearly designed you and me to avoid these kinds of collisions in life. It's time we fill ourselves with God, give ourselves to others, and love as only God can. Then maybe being unwanted won't matter as much any more.
Thinking 'Bout Oceanside
- Wasn't it a wonderful thing to hear the air conditioning running and feel the cool air when you walked in Sunday morning? The air might have been cool, but God's presence was warm. Thank you Charlotte for your testimony about God's goodness in your life. Thanks to you who were open and receptive to God's Spirit as you responded to Him. Oceanside is the best place for Sunday morning...hands down! Let's keep inviting people to join us..every single week.
- Be sure to lend us a hand this Sunday night at Seagull Apartments as we have a block party to demonstrate sincere love for the people in our neighborhood. No matter what you can do, you are needed. Be there at 5:00 p.m. this Sunday night, August 28th. Let's show them Jesus!
- A new night of worship for the next generation. Beginning in September, Oceanside will begin offering an alternative worship service on Saturday night to open our doors to new people who might not be able to make it on Sunday morning or could even be looking for a different style of worship. The message will be the same, but we will provide a new atmosphere to welcome new people who need to hear the truth and hear the Gospel. Be in prayer as we develop this time of worship for the next generation.
Collision avoidance on,
Pastor Trey Rhodes
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