Marked for More | 1 Peter 1:1-2

It's good to have you here today, and we are jumping into a brand new series. Pop that slide up, guys. We are beginning a brand new series today in the book of 1 Peter. We're titling it Strangers, How to Live Far from Home. I got to tell you, there's some names that have fallen into obscurity, but boy, have their lives counted for a lot. Isaac Milner is one of them. Dateline 1784 in the UK. Cambridge scholar, scientist, committed Jesus follower, brilliant man. And he saw a young man that came into parliament and he saw this guy as young, idealistic, brilliant, another Ivy Leaguer, just wired for sound, gonna change the world in his own way. And Isaac Milner thought, I got to put my arm around this guy. And it turns out they had an afternoon together that lasted about three, four hours. And this young man started asking Milner about really what makes him tick in life. And as Milner was pouring out his heart to him, he began to share the story of Jesus Christ and how much Jesus Christ had radically altered him. Now, the amazing thing about Milner is that he knew that this young 24-year-old was a cultural Christian at the time, not born again. He was a church-going man, as many in the UK were at that time. But in his rise in Parliament and the influence that he was going to have, Milner knew this guy needed one thing, and that was a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They began to read together the rise and progress of religion in the soul. The rise and progress of religion in the soul. And Milner started walking him through this and began sharing his story with him. And pretty quick, a young man named William Wilberforce, this 24-year-old, was radically altered by Jesus Christ. Total and complete 180. Going a whole new direction. Back in those days, they called it the great change. Isn't that great? They called it the great change. And so they would ask people, have you encountered the great change that God can do in your life through his son Jesus? He mentored them all the more. And as William Wilberforce was really catching fire for God and his life was totally altered, he actually had a hunch that he would leave Parliament. Ironically, John Newton, who wrote Amazing Grace, was his contemporary and he said to him, Wilberforce, don't leave Parliament. We need some guys that are radically committed to Jesus, that are putting laws in place. And Wilberforce said, I got it. I see you as a mentor and I'm going to stick with it. Wilberforce went on to write the defining mission of his life. This is what Wilberforce said, God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners. Reformation of manners just meant that the character of our nation would be changed and in his mind it was by the power of God. But he wanted to see slave trade totally abolished. For the next two decades, hundreds of times, he would stand in the well at Parliament and shout, this is a great injustice. What have we done? Out of the west coast of Africa, we are importing human beings and making them our own. How wretched, how awful this could be. For 20 years, he labored on his knees before a holy God, begging God to change slavery as we knew it at that time. He labored to the point of sickness. He died a young man. But the great abolition of slavery was passed. And three days after it was passed, William Wilberforce went home to be with God. He got to see it happen. He got to see it happen. When William Wilberforce was changed, he was marked for more. Just like you. Oh, how we've settled for so little. Oh, how we've nibbled around the edges of abundant life. Oh, how we squander the gifting that God has given us to pour into the lives of others. How will that change? Milner, you didn't know his name. Mark for more. Influence to William Wilberforce John Newton spoke a word because he was marked for more Spoke another word to Wilberforce and the rest is history My only question today is what will your history be? You were marked for more And you don't have to dig into the scriptures very deeply to see how incredibly marked you are. Are we going to ride the coattails of the great men and women of the faith? Are we going to kind of get sucked up into the kind of the wash of the props of people that have gone before us? Or are we going to live as we are marked for more? Today, I'm jumping into the book of First Peter. We're only going to tackle two verses today, and here they are. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. To those who were elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia and Asia and Bithynia. According to the look at this word for knowledge of God, the father. In the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ, and for sprinkling with His blood, may grace and peace be multiplied to you. You were marked for more. This passage is loaded, guys. There's three things I want to hit that will not be on the screen. I'm going to keep this passage up here for a moment. I want to talk about the audience just briefly. It says to those elect exiles dispersed. So there's a couple of things going on in this writing. There were people that because of a great persecution have been dispersed. But there's almost a play on words going on here too. There was a dispersion, but there was something that was well known among Jesus' followers 2,000 years ago, and that is, this earth is not our home. They would have already heard the oral tradition of Jesus who says, foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head. They knew it. They felt it. They knew what it was to give up inheritance, to say goodbye to family because the family didn't want you anymore because your life is now in the hands of Jesus. They knew what it was to live in a city but not be able to call it home because their hearts yearn for more. When you're aflame for God, it's okay. The audience was okay. They knew that they were the dispersed, but they were also the elect exiles. So I want to talk with you for just a moment about this whole word election. Election, what does that mean? Now I'm going to get into some theological weeds really quickly here, but I don't want to skirt this issue because it's been one that's been kicked around in Bible colleges and seminaries for years. How in the world do you reconcile that God says even in this text, by his foreknowledge, he knew that there would be some that would be elect and some that would not be elect that are born into this world? How are some predestined to have a relationship with God? And at the same time, we find the truth, whosoever will may come. A lot of people have tried to figure this out. There's a word in this text, foreknowledge. You know what that word is in the original language? It is prognosco, foreknowledge, prognosco. In the medical field today, we take a derivative or a little tweak on this word and we call it prognosis. Isn't that interesting? So when you get a prognosis, the doctor's giving you a prognosco. That's what he's giving you. But the interesting question is, is this foreknowledge where God is seeing down the road, he sees the choice that you're going to make and therefore has elected you. Here's the problem with that. several times in scripture prognosco is used as a we see what's coming down the road but it's pretty physical in nature when it's used that way the overwhelming evidence in scripture is that prognosco is a familial term that it means god has a relationship with he knows ahead of time So it adds a little bit of angst to us sometimes thinking, hold it, God knows who's going to choose. And he looks down the road and he already knows, but he says, whosoever will may come and go reach the world with the gospel. And to complicate it even more, I'm going to read you a scripture passage here. Out of Romans 8, 29 through 30, it's not on the screen, just listen. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined, he also called. And those whom he called, he also justified. And those who he justified, and it goes on to explain this great work that God has done in our life. That is called the golden chain of salvation. It's one of the most epic passages of scripture that you can find. So the question is, what do you do with this? Come on, Pastor Carl, give me the answer. J.I. Packer wrote it best. He called this an antinomy. An antinomy is like two tracks of rail on a railroad that are absolute truths, and how in the world they intersect, you don't know, but as you see that line, Set of tracks going down further, further, further, and you look further down the way, you see that they ultimately come together. Another way that it's been described is this. It's like you've got a big LED wall with a little passageway here, and on this LED wall, man, it's all lit up, and it says, "'Whosoever will may come.'" And then those that are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit and their hearts are regenerated, they pass through that LED wall into transformation. And they look back and there's another LED wall facing them now. And it says, chosen before the foundations of the world. one of the most sure theologians that i've ever heard and he's sure on almost everything he ever taught is a guy named john macarthur i think he came out of the womb certain of things but i appreciate the fact that john macarthur before he went on to his reward was asked this at a large panel and he was asked it many times and his answer was always the same He said, I cannot in my earthly mind reconcile predestination and free will. But I'm okay with that because I'm not God. So what do we know to be true? Here's one that I want you to grapple with. God is God. My personal conviction on this topic is that God is sparing us the weight of having to carry what he knows to be true. And I think he's good in doing that. Now, the danger here is if you camp on predestination and election, you can become a fatalist. Well, who's in and who's out? Should I pick up t-shirts and see if there's a big E on the back of that guy right there? Is he elected? And you can get fatalistic. It can become like some theologians today, thankfully they're a scant few and they're going by the wayside, but kind of open theists. Some think that God has kind of set this world in motion. With all of its good and all of its evil and he's held out salvation for people but basically he's hands off and that's just the way it works. Aren't you glad God is intimately connected with everything in our life every moment of the day? Aren't you thrilled that the Holy Spirit can guide us into all truth? Aren't you thrilled that the Holy Spirit is our comforter? That we can cry out to God, that we can run into him and he's our strong tower? Our God is not disconnected. If we camp only on whosoever will may come, not seeing the sovereignty of God over all things, we can find ourselves having a very man-centered approach. A whole school of theology was founded by Arminius, who's really kind of a heretic. Who thought that it was all on us. We decide. But we know just with a small reading of Scripture that it is God who calls us out of darkness and into the light. You didn't choose God. He chose you. And yes, was it your free will? That's right. And did He choose you before the foundations of the world? That's right. And you can't figure it out? That's right. And it's okay. It's okay. In these two verses are three distinguishing marks of the Trinity. And I want to hit them quickly with you and give you some classic quotes. Number one, you are chosen by God. Chosen by God. Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, Metropolitan Tabernacle, said this of being chosen, predestined. He said, I believe the doctrine of election because I am quite certain that if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen him. and I am sure he chose me before I was born or else he never would have chosen me afterward praise God RC Sproul said Election is not based on God's foreknowledge and our response. Rather, our response is the result of his sovereign election. This is all God's work. We were chosen by God. When you were being knit together in your mother's womb, I want you to hear me now. I don't care what you've thought about yourself to this day. Our God, who regenerated you and is calling some of you this morning, has a plan for you that is extraordinary, hear me, God called you because you were marked for more. This dead religious orthodoxy where we come in on a Sunday and we boot scoop boogie like Shannon shared on the way out of here, that ain't faith. Faith is also what Shannon said. It's being known. It's looking at someone going, I know you. I know your struggles. I know your heart. I know your dreams. I know your aspirations. And we shoulder up underneath one another because the chosen of God choose to love and build one another up because we were marked for more. So we're chosen by God. Secondly, we are set apart by the Spirit, the Holy Spirit. John Owen says of the Spirit, the Spirit doth not, sorry for the old English, but I'm not going to clean them up, okay? The Spirit doth not only reveal Christ unto us, but forms Christ within us. We are set apart. Gordon Fee said, the Spirit is the agent of God's present active work, marking out a people who belong to Him. The Spirit of God guides us into all truth. The Spirit of God is here working right now. For some of you, the Spirit of God may well be telling you, I've called you. I foreknew you. Before the earth was in motion, I knew that today would be your day, that you would come to me. And you will see today chosen before the foundations of the world. Our God is a great God. He always has been and always will be. I used to lay in bed as a little boy trying to take my mind. The only way I could try to achieve this knowledge was to imagine that the telescope my dad and I had looked through that very night. I'm thinking of one night in particular laying there on the lower bunk of my bed. and imagining that we go off into space, and space never ends, and there's no end in time, and time never ends, and there's no end of time, and my little brain hurt. It hurt. There was actual pain in my head. And I got up the next morning and I said, Dad, my brain hurt over thinking that God always was and always will be and His kids will be with Him forever. And He said, don't think too hard. Just let Him love you. It was 14 years more that I let Him love me But the spirit was already at work within me. Because he chose me. And he chose you. And you were marked for more. Do you hear me? You were marked for more. Let your light so shine before men and women that they will see your deeds. Your life lived radically. Radically. That they may one day glorify God and give Him praise. Thirdly, we were saved for obedience to Jesus. Right here in these two verses, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, and right here we were saved for obedience to Jesus. I hadn't planned on saying this, but I've got to do it. I am in this weird world right now. Have you ever bought a car or an item, maybe a purse, ladies, maybe a certain jacket that you wear, and all of a sudden you're looking around and it's like before you bought it, you didn't see it, but now? So one day I bought my bride a very nice, almost new, because I'm a used car guy, get a few miles on it, let it depreciate, then I'll come buy it. So I bought a used Highlander Toyota that was a nice little four-door ride, and it was just beautiful. We get in that sucker, we're driving around, we're like, whoop. Hold it. There's white Highlanders everywhere here. Have you ever noticed that? Well, here's what's going on for me. I am on this obedience thing right now. Now, if you're new here, you need to know something. We don't obey... Just because God says do it, I love to share this, and I'm going to give you some really cheap, free parenting advice here that will serve you well if your kids are raised. Oop, too late. All right, so sorry about that. I can say that because my kids are out of the home. But here's some parenting advice, really good advice, because this is what we find in Scripture. Every time God asks us to obey, it's always and forever linked to a greater yes. He never says obey. What do parents say? Johnny comes up to you and says, Dad, why do I have to clean my room? Parents say, because I told you. And in truth, when I really stumbled onto this truth, I started changing the way I talked to my kids. It took me longer to respond, but I would say things like to my son, why do you have to clean it up? Because someday you're going to marry a great woman, and I don't want her to marry a slob. There. That's all you get on that one. And God gives better answers. Because every commandment that we're called to obey... leads to greater joy found in God. There is not one precept, not one teaching, not one fragment to the law that isn't ultimately linked to some greater reward that's found in Him. Wow! Isn't that great? But I've got to linger this morning on just one central truth, and this is going to be tough to hear. I just want to tell you ahead of time. there is a cost of disobedience even for the elect exiles in this room there's a cost there's a cost and i could probably give you ten different costs but i whittled it down to a big four that i want to give you this morning the first and maybe most devastating cost disobedience is lacking assurance of salvation John Owen said this sin darkens the soul and hides it it hides the sense of God's love I think most of us know this, when sin darkens the soul, it does, it hides us from God's love. It feels like it's kind of something is amiss here. I tell people all the time, and I get texts into my radio show, and we see them constantly. How can I have assurance of salvation? Let me give you one of the simplest things that you can do to have assurance of salvation. When you read your Bible, and you must, When you read your Bible and you see a commandment or a tenet, or just go to the Sermon on the Mount, take an issue of lust or greed or anything like that, anytime you say no to yourself and those most base kind of compulsions within you and say yes to God, every time you say yes to God, there is an assurance of God at work in you. Nothing gives assurance of salvation like when you say yes to God and you say to God, God, I've been marked by you. I've been called God, Father, Son, Holy Spirit has changed me. And out of obedience, we confirm the power of the Father who sent his son Jesus to save us, the power of the Spirit to not only regenerate us, but to guide us into truth. We get little endorphins of confirmation that you are God's kid. I do this with, I can prove it, guys. My bride and I had a chair time yesterday. Chair time is a good time. It's a time when we sit down and talk with each other. And we talk very honestly. And it's a time when I get to hear her heart all the way to the bottom. And then it's a time when she gets to hear my heart about something all the way to the bottom. I want to tell you kind of a byproduct of yesterday. I hadn't planned on sharing this but I'll throw this in for free Is that we had such a sweet? Vulnerable time that as I was driving to church this morning I told her about a fear I was getting hit with and just me being able to share that fear with her It just kind of opened things up man, and it's like man. I got a partner in this thing right now. This is so cool so here's what I want to tell you in the chair time that I had with my bride it came back to a reoccurring theme in my life I'm a leader that's me I'm the number one guy on that chart we had up here a minute ago that's me I've always been a leader But one of the great dangers of a leader personality in young ladies, if you're going to marry a man who's got a real leadership gift, just know this ahead of time, you're going to have to reel him back so that that leader sits down long enough, stops leading, and listens to your heart. A woman needs to be listened to all the way to the bottom. now as i listen to my bride and i'm still growing in this don't you know we're all growing right until the day we die as i'm growing in this it's been an awesome thing because god is beginning to give me little confirmations oh i'm a child of god this work that god's doing in me this desire to try to be somebody very different than what i would naturally claim to be God gives me the fuel to be that man. Isn't that awesome? And what that does for me is it puts a little pep in my step. No, it really does. Because every time I walk in obedience to God, I'm like, hey, I am a child of God. This is kind of cool. So I want to tell you something. When you say no to that pornography, you're gonna hear God's voice speak to you that's my son at a boy boy way to go young lady when you say no to that I'll pick on it purse that you don't need but you have a hunch that if you buy it because of who it's made by It's going to kind of fill a little something up inside of you. But you hear the voice of the Spirit saying, and by the way, I'm not against new purses, so please don't leave them at home. But you hear that Spirit, that voice speaking inside you going, you can go ahead and get that purse, but know this. If you're looking for that to fill this, you're dreaming. You're dreaming. but you get that purse and bring it home and then you get on your knees and say god thank you for providing the money for this purse but more than that the life that this purse can never give me now that's discipleship that's obedience to jesus and when you do that you go wow i'm jesus's kid I have assurance of salvation. It's a beautiful thing. Second cost of disobedience is stalled or absent spiritual growth. I love Ajit so much. I'm going to brag on him because he's not here. I love this guy. He's a great man of God. We are working on something, and you leaders that are going to be on a Zoom call tomorrow night, I'm going to be joining you. I'm not always there, but I'm going to be there tomorrow night. We're going to be unveiling something that we're working on because we are coming into a new season as a church. But one of the things that we're working on, and I can give you this much, is that if we're going to be a disciple-making people who make disciples who make disciples, you know what's going to have to happen? Ready for this? I'm going to give it to you right now. We're going to have to overthrow all the systems that stick to us from this dead orthodoxy of going to church. We're going to have to do some things differently. And as I was going, compare and contrast, like this has got to go, and this has got to show up. This has got to go, this has got to show up. A jit called me up, he goes, hey Carl, I was thinking about something. And he was kind of hemming and hawing. I go, don't hemming and hawing me, dude. If you're hearing from the Lord, what do you got? That's my leader coming out right there, I got to tell you. And he said, so here's the thing. I've been here over a dozen years now from India since I moved here, and I see something in Western faith that's really dangerous. I said, what is it? Now I'm like, spit it out, dude. And he said this. He said, I see that many people in church grew initially and have been plateauing indefinitely. And they've neglected that trajectory of becoming until we go to see God. It's a danger. Plateauing is deadly. Plateauing leaves you stalled or absent in growth. It actually makes you, boy, I got to edit. It makes you produce deeds of the flesh because in the spiritual realm there's actually no such thing as plateauing even though you think you can do it. And there's some of you that have plateaued. And it's easy to do in the West. How many times have I hit this? We got our 401K. We got things lined up here. All right, I married my bride. All right, now we're kind of glorified roommates. But, you know, we're doing better than most. And, you know, I mean, the list goes on and on. I really don't have a fire for God, but I know the truth. What in the heck is that? What in the heck is that? here's what i've learned because i've had plateaus in my life want to know the truth plateaus always have huge crevices right in the middle of those suckers and they will swallow you up and it ain't worth it and if you've been plateauing i don't care how long you've been in christ I don't care how much you know. One of the great dangers is thinking, well, I know more than most. Big rip. You don't know more than God. You can't explain election and free will to me. Sit down. And grow up. And keep growing up. You are marked for more. More. Why in the heck are you going back and living like the very thing you've been saved from? What's God doing in you? God wants you to rise in the morning as I do each morning. I'm going to tell you right now, I get up in the mornings and do I get discouraged? Heck yeah. Do I get fearful? Yeah, I told you about it. I'm not going to tell you what I'm fearful of. I told my wife. She promised not to tell anyone. But do I get fearful? Heck yeah, I get fearful. Do I get weak in the knees? Oh, brave Carl. He must go out and be willing to tell anyone about Jesus. Are you kidding me, man? sometimes i can get scared i can get freaked out i can plateau like all of y'all but here's what i need you to know the assurance of salvation starts to wane a little bit i don't care how knowledgeable and how long you've been in relationship with jesus you you plateau long enough and you can start hearing the voice of satan going you ain't been saved really huh You think you're born again, you better be scared of eternity, man, because you are fake. Why plateau when God has so much more? Third thing. Bondage to sin. Oh, yeah. The cost of disobedience is absolute, certain bondage to sin. And here's the thing I want to give you, and it's going to be hard to hear, but I've got to tell you right now. Sin is never contained. It breeds other sins. Hiding, lying, excuse-making, comparing. And I'm talking about the sin of gossip. The sin of elevating yourself above others. I'm talking some of the most deadly sins are the sins of you because you're hurt, you've got maladies that you are not going to give your life away to anyone else. Thank you very much. The sin of withholding. I'm hitting you hard. but it's because I love you. When we walk in disobedience, it's like we're saying to Satan himself, go ahead and put those on me. I used to be in bondage. Go ahead, lock me up. Who has bewitched you, Paul said. That that you began in the power of the Holy Spirit, why are you working out in the flesh? Listen to me. The problem with being in bondage to sin is it's a breeding ground. There's no plateauing with sin bondage. It becomes a breeding ground for so many other compromises. And it was Howard Hendricks himself who said, one great man of faith, he said these words. He said, there's no such thing as a blowout in the Christian life. No such thing as a pastor that just gets up one day and commits adultery. No such thing as someone that's skimming money at work and they just kind of stepped right into it one day. He said, most bondages to sin are as a result of not a blowout, but a slow, long leak. And so we live with short accounts with God. We get on our knees today, and here's the beautiful thing, because some of you are like, Carl, I've got things in my life. I know you do. I know you do. If we confess, meaning agree, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. The good thing about this God who chose you before the foundations of the world is he not only called you, he can change you in an instant by way of you agreeing with God. My fire's gone out. I've let some sin creep into my life. Whether it's known or unknown, I've gotten more secretive with it. I would be too ashamed to tell someone how I'm trying to find my satisfaction or my status and this or that. And God knows it already because He chose you and you can say, God, I'm coming clean today. The fourth cost of disobedience is impotence of life and witness. Impotence of life and witness. You know, the interesting thing about life and being a witness is that's characteristic of people who are aflame for God. When they are asked for a defense of their faith, they're willing to say, hey man, Jesus rocked my world. I've been in some weird situations before. I told you about that crazy bar I was invited to in Little Rock, Arkansas. Those of you that haven't heard this, you get a shot at it. Friend of mine, follower of Jesus, he's like, I want you to come down to Juanita's. And I want you to share your story in the gospel. I'm like, great. I wonder what that is. I thought it's kind of like a Holiday Inn Express. No, we're talking, it's a watering hole Juanita's is. It's a big time bar. And I walk in, and my buddy says, come on back here. So he was playing in the band, and he said, after our first set, we're going to shut her down, and then you're going to stand up there, and you're going to give the gospel and tell everyone about Jesus. I said, okay. And I'm sitting back there in the green room behind, which was really the shoot-em-up, snorted-up room. That's what it was, man. There's empty syringes laying around from I don't know how long ago. And the band gets done, and these are rock and roll dudes who are all committed to Jesus. So they're playing rock and roll songs that I don't know if you can understand them or not. The set gets done. My buddy Jason says, get up there, Carl. There's the microphone. I'm like, oh, God. And this bar is loaded. It's like happy hour. And there's this back in the day when you could smoke cigarettes in bars. So like there's a low-hanging cumulus nimbus cloud in this thing. And I call it the night of the smoke and the spirit because I got up and I'm like, hello. Hello. Hello. And I'm like, okay, this is good. They won't hear me. I'm out of here. And somebody yells, hey, shut the blankety blank up. This guy's trying to say something. What a great introduction. And I began to share. And I looked at them and I said, man, this is a party here. And I've been here. But let me tell you, What God did to me and I went in and I began to share my story and it went from loud to rumbling to quieter to quieter to quieter to almost this right here, right here. Was that quiet? And I saw off in one corner it was so still in that room. Smoke from a cigarette was coming straight up in the air. It was so still that it started to swirl at about 3-4 feet. That's how still it was in the air. And that night, two men that I know have surrendered their life to Jesus Christ at one ease. I'm not asking you to go to a bar tonight during happy hour and go on open mic and say, hi, my name's Gern, and I heard my pastor did this, and you might get stoned to death. You gotta make sure God is telling you this, okay? But I am telling you that there is a God way. And when you walk in obedience, you will be a radiant witness. You know, there's this God way, right? And it's his way. And it's just characteristic of people that are really in it with Christ is that they're different, but they share what God's done in their life. And, you know, I thought you might get a kick out of this because this will illustrate, I think, best. So I go to Whole Foods from time to time because they've got a certain kind of pop and some snacks that I just love, and the prices are horrendous, but I go there. And the one thing I noticed, I went in one time recently and I asked a guy in one aisle, I said, hey, can you tell me where the jasmine rice is? Now, all I needed to be was told where the jasmine rice was. That's not what he did. You know what he did? What do you do at Whole Foods? Anyone know? He walked me! And I'm like, oh dude, this is embarrassing. I've got like a Whole Foods escort going through the store. And he's walking with me, walks down the aisle, walks right up to the jasmine rice, and he said, here it is, sir. Is there anything else I can help you with? I'm like, no, that's good, man. One time I was at Whole Foods, and I asked the guy where something was. And he goes, I'm down there a few aisles on the left. And I'm like, in my heart, I almost said it. You must be a Jewel Osco guy. Dressed up as a Whole Foods guy. Here's my point. There's a God way. And when you're obedient, you will no longer lack assurance of salvation. You won't be stalled or absent in spiritual growth. You won't be in bondage to sin. Not in bondage. You may sin, but you won't be in bondage. You won't be enslaved. And you will not have impotence. You will have power in life and witness because that's the God way. I've got a why in the road for you today. It's real simple. You were marked for more. The only question is, are you living like it? That's it. I wanted to explain this a little bit more, so I got one more slide. I want you to listen to the Spirit for a moment right now. What is the Holy Spirit bringing to mind that he has or is showing you that needs to be obeyed? And will you walk into that truth fully today and say yes to God? Do something very different today. I'm not going to have you sing at the end of this service. Stephen and Rachel are going to sing over you. So I want you to read this again. Listen to the Spirit for a moment. I want everyone in this room doing this right now. Everyone in this room. What is the Holy Spirit bringing to mind that He has or is showing you that needs to be obeyed? And will you walk into that truth fully today? And will you say yes to God? That's the God way. I want you to close your eyes, everyone in this room. And I want you to think about that question. And I want you to come up with the most prevalent thing that comes to your mind right now. The most prevalent thing. If you're going to glance back up at the slide, that's no problem. But what is that one thing that comes to your mind right now? And if you're a child of God chosen by Him, I would venture to say there is no way that God isn't giving you probably a few things. But I'm asking you to pick one right now. Listen to the Spirit. What is he bringing to mind that needs to be obeyed? And will you walk into that truth fully today and say yes to God? Keep your eyes closed. And I want you to talk with God about it. For some of you, you need to confess, I've been this way. I want to be that way. Oh God, just talk to him like a friend. Talk to him like a friend. This is why we find in Romans 8, we cry out, Abba, Father. You know what that means? Daddy. It's okay for you to say, Dad, I've got to come clean with you here today. I want to obey you in this area of my life. What is it? Listen to the Lord right now and talk with Him.