In this sermon, the preacher shares a powerful testimony of a young man who was once carnal and worldly but had a life-changing encounter with God's grace. The young man realized that he couldn't change himself, but he could expect God to deliver him from his sinful habits. As a result, he threw away his worldly music and experienced God's empowerment in his life. The preacher emphasizes the importance of obedience and the need to be marked by it as children of God. He challenges the idea that one must conform to the world to win others to Christ, sharing his own experience of preaching the gospel and seeing many young people come to faith without compromising with the world.

1st Peter chapter 1, if you turn in your Bibles to 1st Peter chapter 1. Last night we talked and we ended with the grace of God and we're gonna pick up where we left off and I'd like to speak on a passage of Scripture that deals with the grace of God. I'd like to introduce the message this way if we could tonight it might be a help to you to understand a little bit of the perspective. I have a little study habit when it comes to a new passage of Scripture and a few years ago I was assigned the topic of personal separation to preach and I thought well immediately I'm just going to go to 1st Peter chapter 1 and I'm just gonna deal with those few verses there and so I've got a little study habit what I'll do is I'll get my analytical Greek New Testament. You say what's that? That's for everybody who took Greek and forgot it. But anyway I get my analytical Greek New Testament out it parses all the words and I mark my imperatives. In the Greek language they have what they call the imperative mode which is a command and there's also another situation that's like an exhortation and those two forms I'll mark them. I want to know what God wants me to do with this passage of Scripture so I always like to find out what the commands are. When I came to 1st Peter chapter 1 I honestly thought well this is going to be great I am sure the first command in the book of 1st Peter is going to be be holy and I thought to myself well that's going to be great preaching to be able to get up and say you know the first command in the book of 1st Peter is to be holy and you know I began to mark the imperatives you know what I found out it's not the first command it's the second and it's the third. I discovered something folks and I don't want you to miss this I'm entitled the message tonight the forgotten commandment. I learned something and that is there's no way in any way in any measure you can obey the second and third command to be holy if you do not obey the first command. We might call it the forgotten commandment and I believe there's a lot of dear Christians who endeavor to be holy they try to obey the second or the third commandment here in 1st Peter without obeying the first commandment and you know what it never works so in a moment we're going to find out what this forgotten commandment is because I believe it's so helpful and understanding perhaps a lost dynamic in some Christians lives and maybe they wonder why they seem to be so unable to to live in accordance with God's holy standard. Well let's begin reading here in verse number 13 we're going to read it in a moment some of you will figure out what the forgotten commandment is part of the problems is a semantic issue which we will try to settle tonight. Verse number 16 wherefore gird up the loins of your mind be sober and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ as obedient children not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance but as he which hath called you is holy so be holy in all manner of conversation because it's written be holy for I am holy. Perhaps you've wondered in the past as we mentioned I think two or three nights ago I had you raise your hand for how many of you had made a decision for Christ in the past that you wholly intended to keep and maybe you did for a week or two but in the long haul you ended up retreating on that decision and going back to the way you live before you made that decision for Christ. Maybe you've wondered why that has occurred maybe you've wondered why your attempts to be holy have been so so failing in their long-range effectiveness. Well let's look tonight because I believe this forgotten commandment is it's a wonderful commandment. Let me just say it's it's a wonderful commandment to obey. I absolutely have been stirred and thrilled by this passage of Scripture and I hope it'll do the same to you. Three things tonight number one we're going to look at the mindset which precedes the forgotten commandment. Then we look at the mandate which is the forgotten commandment and thirdly we'll look at the might which comes from the forgotten the obedience to the commandment. Now look at all first of all in verse number 13 I'm going to get technical just for a few moments I hesitate to do that but we're gonna get technical for a moment and we're gonna use a little English grammar here and then we'll go on. But the first two verbs you find in verse number 13 are what we call participles. Most the time participles are always hinging upon a main verb. Both of these participles literally are grammatically connected with the forgotten commandment the main verb the command and as a result of their command their connection to a command they literally take on some command force themselves. And so let's look at those two because in a certain sense the obedience to these two commands provides the atmosphere sets the table if you will to effective obedience to this forgotten commandment. Now the first one says in verse number 13 wherefore gird up the loins of your mind that literally is the idea of girding up the loins of your mind is what we might call it's an event it's a crisis the verbal tense bears this out girding up your loins is not a process it's it's an event it's a point in time. Now one of the problems with this imagery is that probably very few in this room have ever seen anybody gird up their loins. You know if it said put on the shoes of your mind you immediately you know imagine yourself putting on your shoes or comb the hair of your mind I'm not saying those would be good analogies they probably wouldn't be but you immediately you can think of that unless you have some of these new hairstyles that never comb their hair but anyway that's another message actually we might address that at the very end of the message you know the I just stepped out of the shower look but anyway we'll just leave that alone well anyway I'm almost tempted to go on a rabbit trail but I will restrain myself as difficult as it may be but but you know we were used to some imagery but but girding up the loins that's not one we're really used to so let me help you with this illustration it was the mid 1960s my father went around the world literally traveled around the world to see missionaries with two of his preacher friend ended up in the country of India during the language riots some of you may be familiar with the language riots the best analogy here in the US would probably some of the civil rights unrest we had in our sick in the 60s some of the war of Vietnam War and rest some of those kind of things but India was trying to come up with a national language and and the people whose language wasn't picked basically got upset and rioted that's a simplistic version of the of the language riots and so my dad and these two preacher friends were in India and they came across a group of men rioting I guess the women don't riot in India just the men do so there's a group of these men and they were they were writing so they took up their 35 millimeter cameras you remember those those those old those huge beasts you know I used to call cameras but anyway I took out the 35 millimeter and they began as good American tourists to begin to snap pictures of these rioting Indian men they thought well this will make you know some good footage for slide shows and that kind of thing and and so they're taking their pictures and all of a sudden the men Indian men lost interest in rioting and became very interested in these three American tourists and one preacher said the other one let's get out of here and my dad and his two preacher friends they took off and my dad told me later he said we would have been in huge trouble except for one thing the men had to gird up their loins so they these long flowing flowing robes and they had to reach down they had to grab the robes had to wrap them around tie them off so their legs were free to pursue the American preachers and believe me by the time they had done that my dad and his two friends your preacher friends were long gone now the imagery here is God says gird up the loins of your mind this is what I'm gonna call the commencement of biblical thinking or the beginning of biblical thinking sometimes for teenagers they think of commencement as an end but actually it means a beginning okay I hate to tell you that but when you come to commencement you just started but anyway so the commencement or the beginning of biblical thinking now folks let's just think about this for a moment every single spiritual problem that you have and every single spiritual problem that I have comes from wrong thinking see wrong thinking always precedes wrong action people who act incorrectly do so because they think incorrectly one Christian writers called the battle of mind the battle before the battle and but we all understand that wrong thinking produces wrong action right produces right action now so what is preaching your preaching is primarily preaching is confronting not just wrong action it is confronting the wrong thinking behind the wrong action see so preaching is taking the truth of God's Word and it is confronting our erroneous wrong thinking okay so here we are in the pew I know this has happened it's happened to me you're sitting there and someone opens up the word and they begin to preach and all of a sudden you realize you know I don't think right I know it's not good English but I don't think right and you're confronted there with a decision and you can either at that point reject Bible thinking and continue to embrace your wrong thinking or you can reject the wrong thinking and embrace Bible thinking and when we're confronted with truth and we reject the wrong thinking and embrace Bible thinking we are girding up our loins in other words we're taking wrong thinking processes that are encumbering Christian progress that are hindering our movement forward that are slowing us up in the race of races and we're pulling it up out of the way and those wrong thinking processes no longer encumber our Christian progress see that's girding up your loins it is that point at the end of a message where you say no to wrong thinking yes to right thinking sometimes you walk an aisle sometimes you'll get on your knee but whatever it is rejecting the wrong embracing the right by the way that can happen a personal Bible study it can happen when you're listening to a sermon tape it can it can happen when you're reading a book that is basically preaching in print that's what a lot of books on the table that's preaching in print that's what that's that's happened to me sometimes I'm reading a book and all of a sudden it's like the Lord opens my eyes and I say you know I have been thinking incorrectly that's wrong thinking now I see why I have an inconsistency or a problem here okay that's girding up your loins that's the beginning that's the decision that's the crisis that's the point in time where you make a decision that's going this is staying okay now now we'll go to the second participle here which sets in a certain sense sets the table for this truth it says wherefore gird up the loins of your mind literally the idea is having gird up the loins of your mind it says then be sober that's in what we call the present tense which means it is constative or it is continuative it's see sobriety is not an event sobriety is not a crisis sobriety is a condition okay so what he's saying here is he's saying when you're confronted with wrong thinking embrace right thinking reject wrong thinking and then what he's saying is be sober is maintain it he's changing pictures to sobriety no what he's saying is do not let the the inebriation of wrong thinking invade your brain don't let the drunkenness of wrong thinking processes slow you up any longer maintain the right thinking now friends how do we maintain right thinking Psalm 37 verse 31 the law of his God is in his heart none of his steps shall slide you know memorization puts the Bible in your brain but it is meditation that puts the Bible in your heart and God very clearly we know although the verse thy word have I hid in mine that I might not against thee or God see very clearly God teaches us when you put God's Word in your heart the psalmist says none of your steps will slide you know there's two kinds of Christians Christians who fall and slide and Christians who fall and get back up the just man fall of seven times and rises up again in fact in the very psalm where it says the law of God's in his heart none of his steps will slide it says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delighteth in his way though he anybody know the next word fall he shall not be utterly cast down for the Lord of hold of them with his hand now friends are two kinds of Christians Christians who fall the Lord upholds them they get back up Christians who fall and slide and the difference is simple those Christians who put God's law in their heart are the ones who get back up and the ones who don't put God's law in their heart slide I have never whenever I've asked a teenager who said well I made a decision before and it didn't last every time I've asked him after that decision did you put God's law in your heart none of them have ever said yes because if they said yes they wouldn't have slid we all fall some get back up some slide and the difference is very simple folks it's all depending on whether or not we are in the habit of putting God's law in our heart on a daily either reviewing passages we've already members memorized chewing on them or are putting new new passages into our heart and mind now it is in that atmosphere in which this forgotten command it works it's in the atmosphere of rejecting wrong thinking embracing right thinking putting the right thinking in our hearts through memory meditation maintaining it chewing on it embracing it making it our thinking and I find sometimes in a very practical sense sometimes taking a passage of scripture and trying in your mind without a piece of paper to come up with a sermon really does help you meditate so that's perhaps just a little tip there but number one we've got the biblical thinking that precedes this forgotten commandment now let's move on to the biblical mandate which is the forgotten commandment now we see very clearly it says wherefore gird up the loins of your mind be sober or being sober and now says and hope now what are the problems with the word hope that's the forgotten commandment I know some of you saying hope I mean how does that work you know one of the problems is is because we in America we use hope differently than the Bible uses hope now let me use an illustration if I can because I think all of us understand hope in the way I'm about to use it because this is the way we use it in life just kind of round we don't even think about the fact it's different in the Bible theologically okay I hate to admit this but I guess I I I'm a Chicago Cubs fan I like the Chicago White Sox I like anything Chicago I am a fan I have been since I was a little boy and one of the things about the the Chicago Cubs being a Cubs fan one of the one of the blessings of being a Cubs fan is you learn how to cope with disillusionment early in life see the Cubs are not one of those teams that just lose see that's the way the White Sox were they just they were just stuck okay all the time until last year and that was the White Sox okay they were they were different than the Cubs the Cubs they lose in style they get your hopes up before they lose and they're just experts at that they know how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory that is the Chicago Cubs and they just know how to do it so over the years you know 1969 you know they were up ten games going to September they lost at the Miracle Mets some of you Atlanta fans remember that because the Mets beat the Braves in the playoffs but anyway that's a long time ago 1969 some of you remember that Hank Aaron was still around those days but anyway so I go back to that I remember back there okay I know that dates me but about two summers ago the Chicago Cubs were doing real well you know I see some Cub fans and they say hey look at those Cubs I've said have you looked at your calendar I said it's July you know no Cub fan gets excited in July that's extremely premature and so September 1st hey how about those Cubs I'm thinking have you seen it September 1st don't you remember 1969 10 games up over the Miracle Mets and they lost hey listen that's nothing you know it's just September 1st September 15th how about the Cubs they got two weeks left everybody but anybody can do it they can and then on the last Saturday of this season they swept the Pittsburgh Pirates and they clinched them they clinched their a playoff spot and I said no problem the Braves will beat them you say that's an unusual way to be a fan that's the only way you can cope with a Cubs fan you hope you just expect the worst amazingly they beat the Braves I couldn't believe it then they went on to face the Marlins I said no problem the Marlins will beat them and then those Cubs did it they went up three games to one they were one game away from the World Series and I knew I shouldn't do it I knew it was a bad deal I knew I would live to regret it but I got my hopes up I said the Cubs are going the World Series and even better they're gonna play the Boston Red Sox which neither happened and then of course in fine style the Chicago Cubs choked and lost to the Marlins etc I don't even know what happened I think the Yankees and Marlins ended up playing but you know my hopes were dashed you know friends that's the way we use hope some of you right now that are college basketball fans you may have one I'm not but one of you may have a team and you're thinking I hope that team wins well what do you mean by that shoot me if they don't know no that's not what you mean you know I said I hope the Cubs win the World Series I can guarantee you I did not mean shoot me if they don't as no Cubs fan would do that unless they wanted to commit suicide but see so we look at hope we just look at hope differently but you know friends that is not the Bible concept of hope you know what the Bible concept of hope is it is don't miss this I love it's the Edmund Hebrews definition is a commentator how much I love it it's two word definition here it is expectant reliance expectant reliance now I got a question for you did you today expect did you today rely because if you did not you're in disobedience and I will tell you you will not in any measure be able to be holy see this is an absolutely essential command you must hope expectantly rely you say well preacher expectantly rely on what well let's go back to our passage notice what it says be sober and hope to the end that literally means with abandon so folks this hoping is to be without any reserve totally with abandon and totally given to to it it says in hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ now won't deal with that phrase completely except to say that the word unto you is in the present tense and although there may be a future aspect when it talks about the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ or maybe talking about a present revelation through his word I won't deal with that phrase except to say that this grace because of the verb beyond it it has a present tense aspect to it the grace that is right now being brought unto you okay so what are we supposed to hope with a bit unreservedly what are we supposed to rely for the Bible says grace now here's the problem many times in our Christian experience grace is nothing more than a nice theological word you know friends grace ought to be something that thrills your soul you know a lot of times we think grace ended when we got saved may I tell you grace began when you got saved you know the gospel didn't stop when you got saved the gospel started when you got saved and part of the gospel is grace now what is grace now let's think about this from what is grace well one of the best ways to understand a biblical concept is to see it in context so let's use a verse of scripture that we're all familiar with 2nd Corinthians 12 9 the Lord Jesus is saying is quoted as saying to Paul after he prayed three times for the thorn of the flesh to be gone he says my grace is anybody know the next word sufficient for thee my sister for my strength is made perfect in weakness now friends if you'll notice those two statements our Lord made are parallel there's a personal pronoun my then there's a noun then there's a verb that is an adjective then there's a preposition then there's an object of the preposition they're parallel by the way you can't see English is important okay and that exciting okay so they're parallel now folks I want you to think about this from what 2nd Corinthians 12 9 what is parallel with grace my grace is sufficient for thee for my strength and then interesting that grace and strength are parallel concepts well after the Lord makes those statements Paul gives his commentary and here's where he says most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmity literally my strengthlessness my weakness what going for my infirmity that the power of Christ power is the same Greek word strength well I glory in my infirmity that the power or the strength of Christ will a tabernacle in me is the idea there okay so it's gladly therefore glory my furries the power Christ I may rest upon me okay so so don't don't miss this he didn't say a word about grace why here the Lord says my grace is sufficient for thee my strength for my strength is made perfect in weakness and then Paul says wonderful I'm gonna glory my infirmities that the power of the strength of Christ may rest upon me he says nothing about grace why because it's very clear Paul saw them as synonymous concepts so hopefully this help us the grace of one aspect of the grace of God is the strength of Christ in fact it's the first scripture we used a couple times this week in fact let's try it again I can do through which that is grace it's Christ strengthening now let's just see if we're on target with this definition at least in the in the realm of sanctification we recognize that's the strength of Christ that the grace has some other concepts with it but but we're talking about the walk the Christian walk look what the Apostle Paul says in 1st Corinthians 1510 he says by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain for I labored more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God that was with me now notice what Paul says for by the grace of God let's just put in our definition for by the strength of Christ I am what I am now mark this Paul knew that that God's grace was Christ strengthening him to be what God wanted to be so grace is the strength of Christ to be what God wants us to be but you know it doesn't stop there goes on he says I labored more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God that was with me so grace is the strength of Christ be and grace is the strength of Christ to do what else is there being and doing see so he's helping us earn so what in the world are you and I when we wake up in the morning what are we supposed to do we're supposed to get underneath and say Lord I'm expecting your grace I'm depending on it Lord because I'm weak I can't do it I am weak I'm powerless and Lord and based on your word you say your grace is sufficient it's more than enough your strength is made perfect in my weakness well Lord I'm weak and so I'm expecting your grace your strength today I'm depending on it Lord I'm expecting it you know friends that's what he commands us to do see so hope unreservedly with abandon for the grace of God the strength of Christ that is right now being brought on you friends it is not the Bible does not say God's grace will be sufficient it does not say God's grace has been sufficient it says God's grace is sufficient it is in the eternal present tense you know sometimes we get on your Lord make your grace sufficient the Lord saying it already is what you need to do is expect it to be what I said it is sufficient okay so say okay I think I've seen that and no no no missus folks obviously hope is a cousin to faith isn't that significant that the first two things talk about you know rejecting wrong thinking embracing Bible thinking maintaining Bible thinking it is that atmosphere which I'm convinced what does it does it nurtures faith it nurtures expectancy it nurtures dependence so the next step after that is simply is to expectantly depend upon God in Christ's strength God's enabling grace to enable us to be what we ought to be and to do what he wants us to do okay so we've used 1st Corinthians 15 10 and 2nd Corinthians 12 9 to forge a Bible definition out of context about the word grace now that understanding we now move to a very important third point and there's some parallel to what we dealt with on Romans chapter 6 this is just coming at it from a little bit different perspective there's still a very important part and that is going to be of course what we might call the obedience look if you would please at verse number 14 it says is what I'm gonna call biblical might first one was the biblical mindset number two biblical mandate number three biblical might in verse 14 it says as obedient children so what it seems to be saying is this or children who are marked by obedience so the idea folks is once we get a hold of okay we reject the wrong thinking embrace right we put God's law in our heart we expectantly rely upon Christ's strength to be what we ought to be and to do what we ought to do the next thing that is going to happen is obedience see you know a few years ago I was walking through a gymnasium and one of our team members was just beginning Sunday school to the church and he said kids he said how many of you if God speaks you this morning you'll obey him about 30 40 kids there four kids raise their hand that morning I got to preach I wouldn't normally do this but I sensed from the Lord I needed to I said young people I walk behind I didn't plan on it I would just walk behind while our my team member asked how many of you out here would God spoke to you this morning you'd obey him I said four of you out of 40 raised your hand I was preaching on this passage description I said young people can I just tell you something you can just take first Peter chapter 1 and cut it out of Bible because it won't work it won't work until you are willing to be a child who is marked by obedience see hoping for grace doesn't work unless we're hoping to obey see it presupposes that we are children marked by obedience and friends let me just simply say if you're not willing for God to make the decisions about what you listen to if you're not willing for God to make the decisions about what you watch if you're not willing for God to make the decisions about your lifestyle issues you can just mark it down you are not you're gonna fail the grace of God you're gonna miss out on God's grace this passage descriptor is written to people who are saved who are children aren't by obedience so very clearly we see that the next thing that comes out of this is obedience if you're after all if you're expecting grace supernatural strength from God Christ to enable you to be what you ought to be and to do what you ought to do the next result is it's so that we can do what to do which is obedience now that obedience tonight we'll see flushes out in three different ways let's go ahead and look at those three different ways here in first of all in verse number 14 it says as obedient children not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance now hang on for a moment folks look at that word fashioning in fact we alluded to this on the least commandment message this is the same word found in Romans 12 to conformed so don't miss this what God is simply saying is when you get a hold of grace when you start obeying the forgotten commandment you get a hold of hoping for grace expecting relying on God's grace to do what you ought to do be what you ought to be the first thing God says it's and that will result in your obedience is a godly appearance now let me read a definition of the word fashioning or conformed and it's very interesting it says the act of assuming an outward appearance pattern after some certain thing an appearance or expression which does not conform and is not representative of one's inmost and true nature it refers here of the act of a child of God assuming his outward expression the habits mannerisms dress speech expressions and behavior of the world out from which God saved him thus not giving a true expression of what he is you know what you want this word fashioning or conformed you know it means it means being on the inside which you're not on the outside now what God is simply saying folks is that if we're saved blood-bought born-again on the way to heaven on the inside we ought to look like on the outside well you know somebody said wait a second preacher hey didn't there a Bible verse that says you know now God looks on the inward but man looks on the outward or you know it's in their rival verse like that you know folks have your thought about this that's all man can do is look on the outward you know every Christian out here is a walking billboard for salvation are you advertising correctly or not see when the outside does not represent what's going on the inside we're not a good very good advertisement are we that's all man can see man can't see your heart and so what this I remember what years ago had a guy got an argument with me he didn't like this outside emphasis he thought for sure that you know that you can study this word out in the Greek and I will tell you it has absolutely nothing to do with the inside it has everything to do with the outside now what I'm simply it's not that God's not concerned about the inside we know he is but he's also concerned about the outside so what God is simply saying is listen when you get ahold of grace it's gonna change the way you look it's gonna change the way you act it's gonna listen you know a couple nights ago I guess it was last night I gave that illustration about that kid who was just not right with God his father was broken about it took the right course of action the kids took in a 180 do you know that kids hairstyle change when he got right with God he put a part in his hair and now he he doesn't look like he stepped off some rock group I'm not saying you got to have your partner hair because there are some styles it but I will tell you that we are I'm sure one of our guys on our team some kids says you know you're pretty cool for a comb-over well I'm a comb-over I said oh that's what I am I as I'm a nerd man I'm a comb-over I got a part my hair you know I'm when we're out in ministry 50% of the crowd and some of you were here in 92 remember this 50% of the crowd is lost do you know that my hair looks just like it looks now and you know that kids when they look at me they realize this guy is not in I wear a belt shock of shocks they can't believe it they're looking at me I got a belt that kid guys got a belt I haven't seen one of those a long time he's wearing socks you know he combed his hair man that guy's out of it do you know what friends it is an insult to the gospel that I would have to look like the world in order to win win kids with it with the gospel you know what here I am I look like a nerd preach the gospel and kids get saved we're in Fort Walton Beach just four weeks ago we had 65 kids step out to trust Jesus Christ there was one night 35 young men stepped out to trust Jesus Christ I walked into the counseling room to give him the gospel there were boys sitting there tears rolling down their cheeks as I gave him the gospel I want to tell you something friends it's an insult to the gospel of Jesus Christ to say you've got to look like the world to win the world you do not have to compromise with the world to win them you look just like I do like a nerd who doesn't act like he knows what's going on in teen culture and you know what the gospel still works and that amazing see see we're living in a day whatever it is you know we just kind of think we got accommodated and I will tell you young people if you're more concerned looking like the latest pop rock group you've got a huge problem and let me just say this if your blood pressure is going up right now and you're getting a little hot under the collar you don't understand grace here it is right in the it's like the Lord did he know what he was doing he's talking about grace and he says listen when you get a hold of hoping for grace and you get a hold of that it's gonna affect the way you look you know what folks it won't be a problem either and again I'm not saying if you don't have a part that you're worldly that's not my point I'm sure there's appropriate hairstyles without a part it just that's one of the things today but there's all kinds of these looks you know and I'll tell you they came right out you know all you got to do is go down to Walmart look at the the rock albums you can see where they came from there are kids today they got all these hairstyles well you know they're not imitating their pastoral staff of course would be kind of hard to imitate brother Doug's hairstyle but we'll leave that one alone but I'm sorry I'm sorry I should have said that I folks this will be the last meeting tonight tomorrow we'll uh we'll be on the road but but you don't a serious no think about it folks young people ask it who you gotta ask yourselves a question who are you imitating yeah the I stepped out of the shower look you know hairs going everywhere I guarantee you that did not come from godly Christians I work enough with teen culture I can tell you where that came from came right out of the world and God says don't be conformed to the world and young people it's just like this if you're more concerned of being cool and being in and some of you may not think well you know I didn't know where it came from but you know all the cool kids do it some kids don't know where it came from they just do it because all the cool kids do it and the cool kids know where it's coming from and it leads to another thing and all that kind of God says no no you don't be fashioned according your former loss and you're in it so in other words don't look like lost people look who are trying to imitate the world and folks let me just say this if it bothers you you missed grace see I don't wake up in the morning and say oh what a bummer I gotta put it I gotta put apart my hair and I gotta wear a belt and I gotta look like a nerd in front of these teenagers what a bummer you know I don't wake up like that you don't tell you something I'm working with teenagers I wake up in the morning said hallelujah I can maybe put it this way I don't have to look like the world and you know what I can love it see grace is not well what a I can't put you can do this can't do that what a bummer no it's not great grace is not being conformed the world and loving it that's grace see so so your parents godly appearance I remember a few years ago we were in Charleston South Carolina was our campfire service night teenage boy walks to the microphone he says see this hat I looked at that so what's wrong with that there's anything wrong with that he said see this hat he said no Christian should have a hat like this boom throws it in the campfire my friends I evidently was not savvy enough with the world to know what was going on but I won't tell you something he did and he knew exactly why he wore it then he took his belt off I was getting very worried at that point he took his belt off he hangs his belt up like this he says you see this belt I looked at the belt said what's wrong with the belt found out later had little signs that identified it with the rock culture he knew exactly what was wrong with that belt and knew exactly why I wore it he took that belt and he threw that belt in the fire he said no Christian has any business wearing that belt and my point is here's a kid Christian kid on his way to heaven but he knew very well what he was doing with that belt he was conformed to the world and he knew it I say young people some of you may be innocent naive out here may be imitating somebody else who's imitating the world I recognize this but it would not surprise me young people of somebody out here you know exactly what you're doing and I you know you know your parents don't keep up on the styles I remember a few years ago there were certain kind of gym shoes there were only worn by kids who listened to Pearl Jam and Green Day I only listened to the cutting-edge that time they called a grunge rock about ten years ago there's only there was one kind of gym shoe that if they wore it identified with them and that and I guarantee you you I wouldn't have put those gym shoes on if you put a gun to my head why because they were associated with that which I'm not no Christian has any business being associated with now there was nothing intrinsically wrong with the gym shoes they were just gym shoes but there they became associated with that which was worldly so there are some things that there are some things that will always be wrong there what when we call intrinsically wrong they're wrong no matter what age it is and there's some things that are wrong by association as don't be conformed to this world don't look like the world looks now he's talking about the outside and when you get ahold of grace it's no big deal fact when you get ahold of grace it's like what an opportunity for God to change me because his grace is more than enough again I'm gonna just say if you walk out of here in shape at this message you have you do not understand I'm not saying you're lost I'm just saying you do not understand the grace that God gives in the Christian experience you're a stranger what we might call sanctifying grace we can say that in some sense okay so so first of all it's gonna be a godly appearance okay now that brings us to another one it says in verse number 15 but as he which hath called you is holy so be holy in all manner of conversation or lifestyle so number one the first thing that happens when you get a hold of grace and you start expectingly depending upon God's grace with abandon you expect and depend upon God rank is enablement in your Christian walk the first thing that happens is a godly appearance God cleans up your outside number two godly actions lifestyle now friends there's a lot of things we could deal with the lifestyle issues we've already touched on some of the media issues but you know maybe just say this when it comes to lifestyle issues it's the same principle you know there's a we go down the list of movies I've never seen and somebody saw man you can't see now when you haven't seen that let me just tell you this you know grace is not saying oh what a bummer I haven't seen this one haven't seen this one yeah what a bummer yeah but I'm a good Christian you know I won't watch that hell yeah that's not grace grace is not watching movies to take God's name in vain not watching stuff that that is defiling centrally not watching that which uses vulgarity it's not watching that which is worldly and loving it young people grace is not saying yeah well I'm a good Christian my parents won't let me watch it so I don't watch it that's not grace grace is not watching the junk not watching the filth not watching the borderline compromise stuff and loving it that's grace folks and we certainly are living in a day when there are so many there's there's there's so many Christians today who justify so many things you can always find a Christian out there somewhere to to justify about any sin out there in fact it's like Christians now have this rating system you know hey preacher you know it's only got five cuss words yeah it's it's really a good movie it's it's not that bad well that must mean it's bad you know God's rating system friends is real simple he said I will set we talked about it a couple nights ago I will set no wicked thing before my eyes see that's God's rating system and grace is not chafing friends grief is not saying well what a bummer I'll do what's right no grace is not doing that and absolutely that's grace grace is getting right with a Christian who you've offended and and loving it see grace is doing what God wants us to do in his strength through his enablement through his depending upon him and folks you might be out here and thinking well you know preacher that seems so difficult it seems so hard it seems like it just seems like it's impossible well you know what grace loves difficulty it loves impossibility now let me give you an illustration of this that might help many years ago we all know the story there was a city called Jericho and God says you're gonna take it I'm gonna take care of the walls but before I take care of the walls he said you need to walk around at 13 times we all know it was one time for days and seventh day it was supposed to be seven times now can you imagine as the people are walking around the walls now they couldn't talk but if they could can you imagine I'm saying to one another we don't need God we can take care of these walls do you think they were saying that I'll tell you what they were doing is saying Lord we're obeying you we're depending on you Lord we're expecting you to it God if you don't do it we're finished Lord you promised you would I can guarantee you for 13 times around that city you know what they were doing they were hoping with abandon you know how we know that because they were all paying and after 13 times around what happened they saw the miraculous you will too I'm thinking right now of a young man I met him in the year 2000 a Christian school he came forward I said what's the problem he told me I said okay anything else he said yeah my music I said what about it he began to tell me the worst stuff the year 2000 had to offer Marilyn Manson the whole junk found out he I believe he was a Christian he said I said okay what are you gonna do with it he said not ready to get rid of it part of it was he said I just can't you know it's just I'm hooked on it so I said okay there's no need to pray no need to fill a decision card God's not interested in 95% he wants the whole trucker forget it and by the way that's the way it is Saul tried that you remember that King Saul he said God will be impressed with 95% you know what God called him a rebel God's not impressed with 99% and so so I said won't work so he left we left friends no problem what do you understood where was very as a large Christian school 125 kids by the Friday I think we had four decisions out of 125 and there were needs everywhere we knew God was working but it was a brick wall now they loved the program but they were resisting the preaching and I remember the very first breaking came on a Friday afternoon we got all the guys together and as we had the guys together I preached on Romans 7 another guy preached on some things and I dealt with you know I can't but God can just gave the simple truth of what God can do and and I I remember at the very end of that time and I gave the invitation several young men came forward several in fact this young man Dylan did too and I thought to myself boy I I sure hope Dylan gets right with the Lord I really hope he gets comes clean but I got in the room and I was said guys please don't leave we didn't have enough counselors and so please don't leave until a counselor gets with you and I remember Dylan got up without a counselor and left I thought well maybe he's not ready maybe he's not willing as be a better way to put it I never forget Dylan came that night and when he came that night he had a big backpack and he had a leather strap 80 CDs through a leather strap he walked up to the team captain and we have the team captain's clear the testimonies to try to keep the testimony service focus on glorifying God and keep weed out bad testimonies but anyway he nods at me this guy's ready I was a little skeptical but I honored that and yeah Dylan came up gave a testament I'll never forget Dylan came to the campfire service he had 80 CDs at this point I hadn't seen you know I wasn't really sure he was but I could just still see it he was sitting there and he was fighting the battle final I'll never forget it 200 people were there that night and he cocked back his hand and he let a thousand dollars worth of music going to the fire and I want to tell you something friends God came down the principal that Christian school has told me several times since the year 2000 he said preacher the effects of God's reviving work that night is still continuing to this very day people got saved people got right with God and I don't tell you the power of God fell on a young man's life his name was Dylan here's a kid who was carnal backslidden worldly but he got a hold of a truth I'm weak but he's strong and he got a hold of the fact that God's grace is more than enough this stuff's got fingers into my life and as I preached on Romans 7 you can't but God can he began to recognize I can't get rid of my music but God can deliver me and the way God's gonna deliver me is for me to expect him to do it and so that night when he threw those 80 CDs in the fire you know what he's saying I'm expecting your Lord to do what you said you do now you know immediately God began to empower that young man he came back two more times in that testimony service gave very powerful testimonies a week later we were an hour from his home he came all three nights the last night he came came to the microphone at a different testimony service he said last night I last a Friday he said I are week ago I burned all my music he said you know since I burned my music God showed me there's some magazines I had he said I didn't think about him last Friday night but God showed me there's some magazines I don't need to get rid of and he said so tonight I'm bird knows he was getting a hold of something folks he's getting a hold of the fact that when you hope for grace it results in obedience in lifestyle issues so let's just review real quickly here here it is you you're confronted with the wrong thinking you reject the you're confronted with the right thinking you reject the wrong thinking you embrace Bible thinking you put it in your heart as you put it in your heart you expectantly rely on God's enabling grace to be what y'all to be to do what y'all to do it results in a godly appearance it results in actions or obedience and the number three it results in a godly attitude if you go to verse number 17 verse number 17 says and if you call on the Father who without respect to persons judge up according to every man's work past the time of your sojourning here in fear obviously that's talking about the fear of the Lord it is talking about that godly attitude the Bible says the fear of the Lord is to hate evil pride and arrogancy in the evil way Proverbs 8 in verse number 13 now that's a godly attitude so let me just simply say it this way and as we go to this final point that for all of us in this room you are our flesh does not innately hate sin our flesh loves it see the truth or no and all of us would have to admit no no my my flesh my flesh wants to do what's wrong we all understand my flesh wants to to have my own way my flesh wants to talk about people my flesh wants to listen the wrong kind of music my flesh doesn't want to be careful in what I look at that's the flesh we all understand that so say well what do we need friend folks what we need is this grace enables us to be what we ought to be grace enables us to do what we ought to do grace enables us to hate what God hates we do not innately ate what God hates but grace enables us to hate sensuality to hate that which God hates see so grace when we get all the grace it affects the way we look it affects our actions but it also affects our attitude I'm convinced one of the things we have lost in this country is a good old-fashioned fear of the Lord which is basically a good old-fashioned hatred of sin a good old-fashioned fire in the eyes hatred of that which is wrong you know what for instance years ago I remember having a youth work teacher when I was in Bible College it gave a wonderful illustration it's affected me ever since he said he was in it in his local church it was a large church one day a man came to him and started bad mouthing the preacher and he said oh oh oh oh hold on is this an unusual personality so hold on come with me come with me and so the guy takes him he takes him all the way the pastor's office he said this guy wants to talk to you pastor and he turns and he walks out the door you know friends we ought to have a hatred of backbiting we ought to have a hatred of gossiping so that when people start it we do what's right you know the Bible says that an angry countenance stops a backbiting tongue I'm paraphrasing there's times a furrowed brow is not bad if it is a genuine hatred for sin not the center we're talking about the sin see we've lost our attitude and a reason is is because we haven't gotten a hold of grace none of us in this room folks can in any measure be holy without grace because all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags but when we're hoping for grace when we're depending upon grace it is literally God's or Christ's righteousness being fleshed out through our dependent obedience as we said a moment a couple nights ago that pleases the Lord that's Christ's holiness being fleshed out through our lives that's genuine holiness our holiness is flawed with the filth of wrong motives of the flesh but when we are dependent hoping expectantly depending upon Christ his righteousness fleshed out is that which pleases the Lord that's why there in no measure can we be holy without hoping for grace we get a hold of grace friends it will affect our attitude towards sin it'll affect our hatred yet toward that which is wrong it's the kind of thing when you hear if you know here's something that you ought not hear it's that which is going to it to fire your soul to solve the problem see that's the idea we need grace don't we I used to tell people you know I need bucket loads of grace every day I live I've stopped saying that I need truckloads of grace every day I live and I'm trying to come up with a new analogy because truckloads doesn't even fit it I don't know about you friends I need God's grace I got a bad heart I suspect you do too we need grace but hallelujah it's there and so if you walk out of here chafed or miffed or a little upset about it you've missed out on grace by the way we've let the new evangelicals take grace from us and many of them have turned the grace of God into lasciviousness grace is not the permission to do what we want to do grace is the power to do what he wants us to do that's grace hoping for grace so let's just review it real quickly here it is you're sitting in church God confronts you you reject wrong-thinking you embrace Bible thinking you put Bible thinking in your heart you expectantly rely upon Christ's strength to enable you to be what you ought to be to do what you ought to do it results in a godly appearance godly actions and a godly attitude folks we've just seen about six verses the whole theology of sanctification given to us in fast motion hallelujah