In It Not Of It

going to end up in the book of Jeremiah. If you didn't bring it, it's all right. We're going to put it up on the screen for you. Let's pray. Jump into the Word of God. Father, we thank you for your Word. We thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit. We thank you for Lord, what you're about to do in each of our lives. May the Word of God shape and frame the way we see the gift of life that you've given us that we may leverage it for the glory of God. Doing us what seems right and good and pleasing to you, save souls, change lives. We'll give you the glory and the honor for it's in Christ's name. We pray. Everybody said, let's start right here. Romans 12 verse 1, "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He is done for you. Let them be a living and a holy sacrifice, the kind that He will find acceptable." And this is truly the way to worship Him. Watch what we've highlighted here. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. There's so much in these verses, but let me highlight one of the biggest ideas here that Paul is conveying in this. He is saying that if you are a true follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and you have been transformed by Him, we may still be in this world, but make no mistake, we are not of it. We may still be in this world, but we are not of it. God has created each of us new on purpose with a purpose and for a purpose. And I want to pose a question that I believe is imperative for all of us to think about today. That's going to get us going down the path of where we're going. How do you see your life? How do you view your life? The reason this is such an important question is because I'm telling you right now that the way you see your life shapes your life. The way you see your life shapes your life. How you define your life will in many ways determine the direction of your life. Our perspective on life influences how we invest our time. It influences how we spend our money. It affects how we use our talents. It affects how we value and view relationships. And I've heard people after 32 years of ministry use every metaphor possible to describe their life. I've heard people describe life as a circus surrounded by clowns. I've heard people describe it as a roller coaster up and down. I've heard people describe it like a puzzle and they're just living their life trying to find all of the pieces and get them in place so that they can finally achieve happiness and fulfillment and satisfaction. I've heard people describe it as a symphony, a journey, a dance. I've even heard some people describe life like a

prison sentence. Maybe you never thought about it like this before, but I'm just telling you it's a question. It's a big question. It's an important question because the way you see your life shapes your life. For example, if you're one of those people that view your life only as a party, that you're just going from one adventure and one fun thing to the next, the primary purpose in life for you will just be to have fun. Now let me say there's nothing wrong with having fun. God gave us this life as a gift. We should have some fun, but if it is the primary driving force of your life, you will waste your life and never fulfill the purposes of God that He created you for. You'll pilfer it away. If you view your life, for example, like a race, then what you will value is speed and quick success. You will be driven to achieve at all costs at all costs and get ahead quickly at all costs. And people who view their life this way seem to always feel like they're behind. They're behind on their dreams. They're behind on their goals. They're never satisfied. They're never happy. They're never fulfilled. They never find peace. But according to the scriptures, we were made for far more than just drawing our breath and drawing our salaries. If you view your life as a competition and there's a lot of people who do, then winning for you is not just a good thing. It's everything and the only thing. And you will live your entire life basing your value on how you stack up and compare to the person next to you. So you will evaluate the value of your life based on the car you drive, the house you live in, the clothes you wear, and you will constantly be in comparison to the person next to you. And the Bible tells us in 2nd Corinthians 10 that they that compare themselves are run wise. You have your journey and they have theirs and it has nothing to do with you. You are only responsible for what God has entrusted to you. So we have to view our lives correctly. The very, it's a very important message because I'm convinced, man, after all of these years and I don't think a lot of people view their life the biblical or correct way, and we get our faulty images from many different places. Some people get it from their parents. They viewed the way they live their life, and it just matriculated down into them, and it shaped the way they view life, and the way they value life,

and they've just gotten it kind of by generational past down. Some people get it from their friends, from movies, from news from television. I know we get faulty images from social media, because we are viewing our life, our normal life, comparing it to everybody else's filtered life, and it's not good. But to be a follower of Christ, and to live a life filled with His purpose requires us to challenge conventional wisdom, and learn to recalibrate our thinking, and lean into God's view of our lives. Now, there's more than what I'm gonna give you today, but let me just tell you the big three. There are big three ways that the Bible tells us we should view our lives correctly, so that we can live with purpose and maximize every moment we have for the glory of God. Let me give them to you biblically. Here we go. Number one, the Bible tells us that you need to understand that your life on this earth is a test. James 1 and 12, blessed are those who endure not if, when they are tested, brother, you are being tested, you are going to be tested, you will be tested more. When they are tested, when they pass the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. The truth is, it's all over the Bible.

It's all over the Bible. God is continually testing people's character. He's testing their faith. He's testing their willingness to follow Him completely. Just go back and start in Genesis. He tested Abraham with his son Isaac. He tested Joseph in a prison for 13 years. He tested Daniel in a lion's den. The entire Bible is pregnant with stories of God, constantly testing His people in order to strengthen them and develop their true character. God will allow circumstances to evolve in our lives to see how we respond to people, how we respond to problems, how we react to successes, how we respond to conflicts and even disappointments. We are tested through a plethora of major changes in our life, sometimes by delayed promises that we think we should have now and don't, sometimes by impossible dreams that we think we can accomplish on our own and can, by unanswered prayers and difficult moments. Listen, listen, listen, God allows these things in our life, not because He doesn't love us, but because the Bible says He does love us and He's using them to build our spirit, develop our character and strengthen our faith. And when we understand that life is a test, now we realize that nothing is insignificant. We don't pass off anything now as insignificant. It changes the way you view and see everything in your life.

And now we understand that all of it matters. There's no big things and little things. There's no small things and large things. It all matters and every time that we pass a test, God takes notice of our growth and maturity and then blesses us in even greater ways because we have proven that we can be trusted with even more favor. You cannot give greater favor to people that have not proven that they can handle it. So God tests us every day to see how much more He can bless us with and trust us with. Number two, life on earth is a trust the Bible says. I can show you 10 verses, let me just give you one. Psalm 24 and verse one, David said the world and all that's in it belong to the Lord. The earth and all who are in it are His. Listen to me, ultimately, all of life is stewardship. All of it, all of it, all, I'm gonna give you some slang. You don't own nothing. Nothing, you came into this world with nothing and you're gonna leave this world with nothing. The old saying is you ain't never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul baby and you never will. And you never will. You came in with nothing, you're leaving with nothing. We don't own anything. Bible tells us over and over and over. It is all gods and how we manage it. Now listen, how we manage it and take care of it matters,

including our time, our energy, our resources, our money. Bro, all of it. How we manage it matters. Everything and anything that we have while we are here has just been lent to us. And one day when we pass, God is gonna lend it to somebody else. Somebody else is gonna be living in your house. Somebody's gonna be wearing your clothes, bro. Somebody is gonna be driving your car. You aren't gonna take nothing with you. God has lent it to you for a little while and what we do with it matters. beach house in St. Augustine and my children were small and they were so gracious to us they would allow us to go every summer to have vacation at their beach house. It was beautiful and we enjoyed it immensely was right on the beach. They would always tell us the same thing every year. They would hand us the keys and go use it like it's yours. So we did. We would rent movies. We would cook family meals in the kitchen. We'd hang out on the beach in the front porch, we used their towels, we used their dishes. But listen to me. We knew all along that it was not ours and so we took extremely, extremely, extremely special care of everything. We enjoyed the benefits of using the home knowing the entire time that it was not ours. None of this life is yours. None of this life is mine. Knowing that should change how we live our lives. It should change how we actually live our daily lives.

We don't own it. God owns it. And because we know one day we are going to give an account for it, we should be very careful how we live it and take the best care of it we possibly can to be generous with what God has given to us, to be careful with what God has given us, to maximize everything that God has given to us for the glory of God and let me add this before I move on. The more that God gives you, the more accountable and responsible He expects you to be. Because not everybody's been given the same thing. Remember the master and the talents in Matthew? He gave one dude five, one dude two, and one dude one. They were not held responsible for the same level of production as the next guy, but they were all accountable to do something with what God's given them. I don't know whether he's given you one, two, or five, but he's given everybody something and we are accountable to do with it for the master's good what he is entrusted to us. Life is a test. Bible tells us to view our lives correctly. It's a trust. We don't own anything. We're accountable for it. Watch this. But we all know this. Life on earth. The Bible says it's a temporary assignment. Psalms 39 and verse 4, David prayed this, "Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me know that I am here, but for a moment more." This is echoed in the book of James. In the book of James, the Bible describes life like this. He says, "You need to understand how your life really is. You need to understand the brevity of life," and he describes it this way in a couple

of metaphors. He says, "Your life is like mist in the morning. So if you've ever walked outside in a cool morning and you've viewed a pond or a lake or maybe you've got a pool and you see just for a little while this mist that's rising off of it, we have a pool and so when it's cold in the mornings they'll be dismissed. But it gets up off the water, it gets about this high. And then it's gone. James said, "That's you." He said, "Your life's like a flower. It blooms and it's beautiful and you admire it and it's gorgeous and you come back two days later and the sun has withered it and it has gone away. That's you." Now, listen, he's not trying to, he's not being Debbie Downer. He's not just saying, "Bro, we're all dying, get over it." That's not what he's saying. He's trying to say, "This is not a prayer of morbidity. This is not a prayer of morbidity, man. This is a prayer that is pregnant with purpose. It's a great prayer to pray because here's what David was saying. If I'm not reminded that this life is temporary, I have the potential to lose sight of the most important things and waste energy on things that really don't matter and I don't want to waste my life on things that do not matter. That was a prayer that was pregnant with purpose. That knowledge should greatly affect our values, how we view life and what we do and what we do not do. So we should love with eternity in mind. We should be generous with eternity in mind. Here's one. We should forgive. That's the real F word, y'all, forgive because so many of us are good at holding grudges

and we have not forgiven some people in our lives that we need to forgive. But we need to forgive knowing we are not always going to be here and we don't know when that time will come. We must forgive and live with eternity in mind. We must be generous with the things of God, with eternity in mind. Here's my suspicion. My suspicion is we're not going to be in heaven two seconds before we say to ourselves why in the world in light of this that I waste so much time worrying and concerned over things that were never going to last anyway. Things that really didn't make a hill of beans of a difference here in eternity. We're going to realize, man, we pilfered a lot of energy away on small stuff that really didn't matter. Let me say this to you before I move on, when life gets tough and trouble sets in and you You feel overwhelmed by life. and we get so attached to it we get so obsessed with it and I know I'm not I'm not barking at you I'm just saying I do too we all do but we have to remember when we read the Bible and we let the Holy Spirit make it real to us this is not our home and when life gets tough one day there will be no more dying and crying and pain and separation when I wept over my mother I was reminded this is the only time this is gonna happen this is the only time when I held her hand when she took her last breath this is the only time he promised this will never happen again I can live with that that's a fair shake man I'm not home yet and as long as we're here it is what it is it's all temporary and one day it will be swallowed up in the power of eternal joy and when you live life with the big picture in mind it changes the way you view everything in life let me turn the corner all right pastor we're in this world but not of it here's the question what should we be doing while we're still in it what have we been called to do now that we've understand we're not of it but he has left us here on purpose with a purpose and for a purpose what should we be doing while we're still still here well let me answer that by unpacking some scripture to you

that's really well known and I think often quoted and talked about as it comes to our future but the way that God views our lives and then I'm gonna just unpack this even people that really don't go to church much have kind of heard this verse quoted by people around or seen it posted out on Facebook or what have you but I want to I want to share with you why it's such a pregnant verse and why it matters to us and why we need to pay close attention to it Jeremiah 29 11 this is God speaking to the nation of Israel I know what I'm planning for you says the Lord I have good plans for you while you're still here you you're in it but you're not of it but while you're in it while you're in it he's this is an eternity he's not talking about eternity now he's talking about why we're here I have good plans for you not plans to hurt you but I plan to give you hope and a good future now one of the most interesting things that you need to know about Jeremiah 29 verse 11 is where it's located because if you're not careful you will read that and go wow man that is a great verse in a great chapter it is not it is not a great verse in a great chapter it is a great verse in a terrible chapter in Israel's life Israel is in the middle of Babylonian captivity these were God's people who had fallen into the hands of their enemies they had been overtaken and overrun and overridden they were made slaves and being controlled by a neighboring country they were living under the control of a violent defiling and powerfully paganistic group of people you need to know that being a prisoner in Babylon was no joke bro it was brutal and it was difficult and they have been there for not a year or two that would be a long time not ten years that would be crazy they have been there for 70 years people they loved have died and been buried in their captivity people that they deeply they deeply cared about have died and been buried in Babylon 70 years and because they had been there so long many had completely lost hope that anything was ever going to change what made it worse is that the Bible tells us that there were false prophets in the nation of Israel among the people of Israel that were giving false prophecies and they would say things like hey man God spoke to me the exile is gonna be over in two

years and people would hear that and they would go oh God thank you we're waiting for deliverance we're waiting for freedom and those two years would come and pass and they were still in captivity and somebody would say God spoke to me and said no no not two years it's five years and they would say oh God we're gonna hold on five years would come and go and nothing would happen and every time the prophecies would fall through they were losing faith that there would ever be any change in their situation so just when they're in their darkest time and in the most discouraging moment ready to give it up and throw in the towel God actually sends a true prophet because he always had a true prophet his name was Jeremiah he is known as the weeping prophet he's known as the weeping prophet because God called him to be a prophet during a very difficult time in Israel's life this was not the heyday of Israel when Israel was successful and doing well and they had peace in the land there were prophets that served during that time Jeremiah was not called to serve during that time he was called to serve the nation of Israel and God during the darkest deepest moments of Israel's life so he's known as the weeping prophet but God sends him with the true word for Israel and the true word is this I know you think I've forgotten you. I know you think that I'm not paying attention to you. I know you're confused and I don't love you anymore. But here's what I want you to know. I have not forgotten you. I know right where you are and I've got a plan for your life. I've got a big plan for your life. In fact, I've got good plans for you. This will not be your end and this will not be your ultimate demise. Your future is brighter than you think it is. You just have to stay focused. And then he gives them in a minute. I'm going to show it to you three things to do. So let me make three observations. You had a Jeremiah 29/11 about what we should be focused on while we're still here, even though we're in it, but not of it. What should we be about? Let me do this. Number one, start right here, brother. Focus on your relationship with God above everything else. You say pastor above everything. And what I said, above everything else. And I didn't say it. Matthew 6 and 33 and 34 is what Jesus said. He said, seek righteousness in his kingdom first, above everything. And then all these other things will be added unto you. Jesus said, do not live your life worried and fretting over those things,

like the people that have no relationship with God. Focus on me. Focus on our relationship above and beyond everything else. Don't miss this because go back to Jeremiah 29/11. What he said? He said, I know the plans I have for you. Living a life of purpose starts with focusing on the person who actually knows the plans. Let me say it to you this way if you're taking notes. He's saying, don't just seek the plan. Seek the planner. Don't just get close to the plan and want to know the plan. You need to get close to the planner. The secret to knowing the plan lies in the depth of your relationship with the planner himself. God is simply saying, focus on me first. And as you walk with me, I will fill you in on the plan. But it will only come when you are close to me. But we want to bypass sometimes that. We just want to go, God, just tell me what to do. Just give me the plan now. God says, I'm not going to give you the plan. You couldn't handle the plan. You get close to me. Let me let me forge you. Let me encourage you. Let me build you. Let's cultivate this relationship. And then I'll let you in on the plan little by little, it'll become aware to you. How many of you men? I'm saying men in particular. How many of you men ever walked around the house looking for something for 20 minutes before you finally just asked your wife? And she goes, bro is right there. My wife's favorite saying is, I'm glad it wasn't a rattlesnake. It abits you. You wasted 20 minutes instead of just asking somebody who knew all alone. People spend so much of their lives looking and searching and trying to figure it out. I'm going to be honest with you. I probably shouldn't be confessing this. I don't even look no more. I just asked Tina. I don't even look no more. I just go, baby, where are the keys at, right? She knows. She knows where everything is. I don't know how I've lived there so long and don't know where nothing is. She knows where it's all at. So I just bypass it and go straight to the person who I know knows. So many people live their lives. I'm going to say it again. They live searching and looking and trying to figure it out on their own. When God says, bro, I'm right here. If you would ask me, seek me, search me, spend time with me, get close to me. I will lead you and let you in on it. Listen to this. When your relationship with God becomes the single greatest priority of your life, you won't have to worry about finding the will of God. The will of God will find you. It will hunt you down and it will find you. Number two, what are we supposed to be doing? Your level of connection enables you to trust the direction. You need to know this. The level of your connection enables you to trust the direction. I'm going to tell you some,

I'm going to tell you some good news and some bad news. They're both the same. Your greatest lessons in faith in this life will be learned in the dark. Your greatest lessons of faith in this life, your greatest moments of growth in this life, in your faith, will happen in some of the darkest moments of your entire life. And the closer we get to God, the more that relationship gives us power to trust things that sometimes we can't even see. When you get tight with the planner, it allows you to trust in the plan even when it's dark and you can't see will. Have you ever seen a blind person with a seeing-eyed dog? Have you ever seen somebody that's got a seeing-eyed dog? It's an incredible, it's an incredible picture of faith. And by the way, I heard about a guy one time who walked into a grocery store and he picked up and he had a seeing-eyed dog and he picked the dog up at least and just started swinging around his head and they said, "Man, what are you doing?" He said, "Just looking around." And I thought he was looking around. I'm getting resized, dude. I didn't hear for free, but I'll tell you No, but I'm serious, I want you to listen to this. When you see that, you are looking at one of the greatest pictures of a walk of faith that you'll ever see. Let me unpack it. The person must totally trust that not only what the dog sees, but then he must believe that what the dog sees and where he is leading him will be translated into what is best for that individual. The trust comes from knowing that the dog possesses what the person does not, vision, the ability to see, and then make decisions that are driven with the individual's best interest in mind. But here's the kicker. All that the dog sees is communicated only to the individual by a harness that is attached to the dog. It is his only connection to vision, his ability to move forward and get where he needs to go, is determined by his ability to stay connected.

If he loses his connection, he loses his direction. If he loses his connection, he loses his direction. What's the Bible say? Trust in the Lord with some of your heart and it'll work out, not even close. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on only what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do. Remember the Lord in everything you do. Remember the Lord in everything. Everything you do. And he will show you the right way. Don't lose your connection. If you do, you'll lose your direction. The answer, if you're lost, is Jesus. The answer, if you're confused, is Jesus. The answer, if you're bewildered and overwhelmed and overridden by life, is Jesus. It's all Jesus. And the closer you get, the more you trust of what he's doing in and through your life. Number three, I wanna show you something here. What should we be doing? Even though we're in it, but not of it. We're still left in this world. What should a follower of Christ be doing? You should always give your best, always give your best and then trust God with the rest. I wanna show you this. God shows up in Jeremiah 29.

I'm about to read verse five through seven. And he instructs Israel to do three things while they are still in Babylon. He said, I know this. I know you're not, you're not of it, but you're still in it. And while you're in Babylon, there are three things that I want you to do. And they're the same three things that we should all be doing that are connected to our purpose and future as well. Let me read it and I'll just unpack it, okay? Bill Holmes, now they didn't wanna hear that. They're like, dude, I wanna go home to home home, Jerusalem. God said, nope, why you're there? That's later. Why you're there? I want you to Bill Holmes. I want you to plant gardens. I can hear him now. I wanna plant no garden. I wanna plant a garden back in Jerusalem and eat the food they produce. Mary have children, then find spouses for them as well so that you may have many grandchildren. I want you to multiply while you're there. I want you to grow. I want you to expand. I want you to be more than you are right now. Do not dwindle away and work for the peace

and the prosperity of the city where I have sent you. I can hear somebody say, I hope this place burns to the ground. I don't wanna pray for the peace of the city. These people are misusing us and abusing us. And God said, no, I want you to work for the peace and I want you to pray for the prosperity of the city, pray for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare. Let me just pull it apart, okay? Number one, here's, if you take notes, I don't have screenshots, but just write these down. The first thing he said is, while you are there, I want you to be as productive as you can be every single day. I want you to build homes and I want you to plant gardens. Here's what God was saying. I know that you aren't where you ultimately wanna be right now, but I don't want you to be idle. I don't want you to sit around waiting until that day comes. I want you as my people to do the best you can with what you have right in front of you today. Translation, don't be lazy while you're in captivity. Don't be lazy while you're in exile. Don't make excuses or sit around and soak about how bad everything is. Look around and see what needs to be done and then get after it. There's too many Christians that look at the world and just complain and just moan and just groan and they're just holding on. And listen, don't throw rocks at me, okay?

But I was raised old school in an old school church and we sang hymns all the time. And you know what I noticed is I got older? All of those hymns seemed to revolve around just hanging on until Jesus would come and take us off this God-forsaken planet. We're just weary pilgrims, pressing on, holding on until Jesus comes. Boom, that's a Greek word. You can translate it out where you want it. (congregation laughing) No, we're not. We're not weak, we're not anemic, we're not weary. We're the people of God, we're the body of Christ. There's work to be done, there are things to be done. We are supposed to occupy until he comes again. There's things that God has called us to do and what we do is ultimately our worship to him. we have a tendency and temptation to not give our best, but God expects us as His people to be people of excellence. No matter the circumstances, because our effort isn't for others, our effort is ultimately for God. Colossians 3, "Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might as unto the Lord." As unto, you ain't doing it for them. You're doing it for the Lord. I shared this with you before I almost circled back around to it. There's only four kinds of people in this world, only four. Only four in this room. Dropouts, copouts, holdouts, and soldouts.

That's it, man. Dropouts, copouts, holdouts, and soldouts. You say, pastor, what is that? A dropout is a quitter. They just quit, man. If there's any demand on their life, if there's anything that pushes the envelope, if there's anything required of them or makes a demand on their life, they just quit, dropout, and lay down. Then there's copouts. These are excuse makers. There's always an excuse and a reason why something cannot be done, and why it cannot be done well. They never run out of excuses. They just get a chance to bow out of giving their very best. Then there's holdouts. These people sometimes even have great talent and ability, but they're half-hearted. They only get half-effort. They never go all in all the way with anything. And then there's just a group of people that's very exclusive. There's not a lot of them. They're soldouts. They go all in every day, all the way, every time, until the job is stinking done. And if you want to separate yourself, be a soldout. I can tell you right now that the call of God on the people of God is the last category. He has not called us to be dropouts, copouts, or holdouts. We represent the name of Jesus. We represent something bigger than ourselves. And He has called us because of it to be sold out all the way.

Number two, He sells them while you're in captivity. I want you to develop and maximize what I've given you. Watch what He says. I want you to have children and grandchildren. I want you to multiply. I want you to expand. Every one of us have been given raw gifts and talent. Listen to me. Raw talent is transforming into true skill and ability through disciplined development. Whatever God is giving you. Remember, He's giving you something, whether it's one, two, or five. Everybody got something. You are responsible for growing that thing. You are responsible for expanding that thing. You are responsible for stretching yourself, pushing yourself, developing yourself. I've said to you for years that our potential is God's gift to us. But our development of that potential is our gift back to God. And we will be held accountable for what we do with it. The size of your opportunity in this earth will always be in proportion to how prepared you are for it. And then finally, number three, He tells them, I want you to work for the peace and the prosperity of the city where I have sent you. I want you to pray for it. What He's saying is, number three, make sure your presence as a follower of Christ makes every place better where you are. Make sure your presence makes every place better. He said, I know it's not Jerusalem, but you live there now. And while you live there now, because you are my people, work, pray, put effort in making it better. What He's saying to us is, be the kind of person that people love to see coming and hate to see going. Strive to be the kind of person that adds value everywhere that you go.

And make everyone better and elevates the room. Hold yourself accountable to a great attitude. Be an encourager. Believe for the best. You will stand out among the people on your job. You will stand out among the people of the world. Followers of Christ should always be sold out. How you see your life, shapes your life. And when you see it the way that God sees it and you live that way, it changes everything. It changes everything for you. It changes everything for the people around you. So question, how do you see your life and how should you see it now in light of the Word of God? Through obedience and faith, when we see it God's way, it should change everything about how we live, how we talk, how we love, how we forgive. Something should be different in our lives based on the power of His Word, the power of His Spirit. Let's pray. Father, we thank You.