Clean Transcript

Holiness and Obedience

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

• 1 Peter chapter 1, and we're going to read verses 13 through 16. The title of the message is "Holiness and Obedience." Notice, if you would, 1 Peter chapter 1, beginning there with verse 13. 1 Peter 1:13: "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 who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. Because it is written, Be ye holy, for I am holy."

  #1 | 0:13 to 0:58 | cleaned

• A few questions to begin with. The first one would be this: Do you have a desire or an inclination to be holy? The second one would be simply this: Do you understand the essence of holiness, that is, of what holiness really, truly consists? Which would bring a third question: How would it be possible for anyone to be holy unless he knows and understands the essence of holiness? One of the most frequent complaints that I've heard from Christians is when they say something like this: that holiness escapes me. I've tried and I keep trying to be holy, but I fail miserably.

  #2 | 1:00 to 1:43 | cleaned

• And the truth of the matter is, there is a very logical and biblical answer to such failure. We do not understand the beginning or the end of holiness. The truth is that our minds, flesh, by nature recoil against holiness. And the reason should be absolutely obvious. And that reason is that our depraved nature and wicked flesh desires to be fulfilled even at the expense of God. If you will turn in your Bibles very quickly, but hold 1 Peter. Turn back to the book of Galatians chapter 5 and notice what the Apostle Paul tells us in verses 16 and 17. Galatians chapter 5, notice if you would please verse 16. Look what he says: Galatians 5:16, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh." And then he makes this statement: "For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would." And so you can mark this down in your minds, if you will: you will never be holy as long as you give into fleshly desires. I could say this another way.

  #3 | 1:44 to 3:10 | cleaned

• You'll never be holy as long as you do what comes naturally and what your flesh really, truly wants to do. In fact, the truth is your flesh will do anything and everything that is contrary to God and against God. So if you will turn over just a few pages—Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians—and look in Colossians chapter 1 and verse 10, and notice if you would what the scripture teaches us. Colossians 1:10, the Bible says, "That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." But note, if you would, "that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing."

  #4 | 3:10 to 3:54 | cleaned

• So the choice is this: you either please the Lord or you end up pleasing your flesh. That is why in Galatians 5, he says the flesh lusteth against the Spirit—that is, it fights against the Spirit—and the Spirit against the flesh, and you cannot do the things that you would. So it is impossible to please your flesh and to please the Lord at the same time. So we either please him or we end up pleasing ourselves. So let me just remind you of something: anytime you put your flesh, anytime you put your desires, anytime you put your will and your way above God and his way, you're not only in violation of the first commandment.

  #5 | 3:54 to 4:36 | cleaned

• It is nothing less than blasphemy and idolatry. Now we have been commanded to be holy. For instance, if you look in verse 16 of 1 Peter chapter 1, he says, "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." So here's the command. And the only alternative response to that command is disobedience and rebellion. The command is we must be holy.

  #6 | 4:36 to 5:07 | cleaned

• Now, let me just mention something to you. I'm sure that many of you do not remember, but a few years back I did bring an entire series from 2 Corinthians 6 and 7 dealing with perfecting holiness, because that's what the scripture says: "Perfecting holiness in the fear of God." And in times past I have brought at least two messages on this passage, which I entitled "Holiness Explained and Encouraged." However, the last week or two, my mind has really been on this passage, and what I thought I might do is try to condense everything into one message so that it would be very easily comprehended.

  #7 | 5:07 to 5:53 | cleaned

• Now, before I begin dealing with 1 Peter 1, verses 13 and 14 particularly, there is another verse that I want you to see in light of this passage. So, if you will hold 1 Peter, but turn to Psalm 4 and look if you would please at verse 3. Psalm 4:3, notice if you would what the scripture says: "But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself: the Lord will hear when I call unto him." Now look at the first part of this verse: "But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself." First, I want you to consider the fact that God sets apart him that is godly for himself. The phrase "sets apart" is actually from the Hebrew word "palal," which means to mark out, to distinguish, to be distinct, to separate, and to set apart. So God kind of distinguishes and sets apart the individual who is godly.

  #8 | 5:54 to 7:22 | cleaned

• Secondly, the Hebrew word for "godly" is the word "chasid," and it literally refers to those who are holy, those who are godly, those who are saints, those who are merciful, and those who have received mercy. So a godly man is the same as a holy man. When we talk about someone who is godly, that means he is godlike or like God, and since God is holy, obviously then a godly man must be a holy man as well. So the Bible says, "But know that the Lord sets apart him that is godly for himself." Thirdly, if you would note, the godly man or the holy man is set apart for God himself. In other words, he is in a distinguished class. He is in a unique position. Therefore, if you'll look in verse 3 again, he says, "But know that the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for himself." And then David says this: "The Lord will hear when I call unto him." In other words, I know God's going to hear me because God has set me apart.

  #9 | 7:23 to 8:32 | cleaned

• He has distinguished me. He has made me what I am. I am a godly individual and I know therefore that God is going to hear me.

  #10 | 8:32 to 8:41 | cleaned

• Now, I don't know about you, but quite frankly, I would definitely like to be in this special class. I would like to be in this special position. You know, when we were kids, anyone in our class who really studied and who had the answers, and the teacher would always praise them, and then they would get classified as the teacher's pet. Well, the reason they were the teacher's pet was because they were right on all the time.

  #11 | 8:42 to 9:11 | cleaned

• They did what they were supposed to do. And certainly, I don't mind being the Lord's pet. I would be delighted to be in such a position like this. But let me just say this before we ever begin: in order to be truly and genuinely holy, one must be regenerated and converted. No Pharisee, no hypocrite, no unsaved church member or anyone else can be truly holy. It is true that an unsaved man may be moral, he may be civil, he may be kind, he may possess a certain degree of uprightness, but the truth is he cannot be what you and I and what the Bible would call absolutely holy. No one can be holy unless there has been a supernatural work of grace in their heart. They must be saved by God. They must have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

  #12 | 9:12 to 10:06 | cleaned

• However, once an individual has been saved, Peter in 1 Peter chapter 1 very succinctly, very concisely tells us not only about holiness, but he also tells us how that we can increase in holiness as well. So let me just try to boil this down very concisely for you today, like Peter did. I want to go ahead and have two points. And the first one is this: I want you to look at verse 13.

  #13 | 10:07 to 10:39 | cleaned

• Then I'm going to tell you. Verse 13: "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." So here's the very first point: holiness begins in the mind. Holiness begins in the mind. That's why he said, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind." Everything begins in the mind. Your mind controls your attitude, your actions, your conduct. I'm sure that those of you who've ever visited the psych info wars happen to be completely aware of the slogan that is used there: "There is a war for your mind."

  #14 | 10:39 to 11:36 | cleaned

• And that is true, not just politically. That is certainly true in every area, but it is especially true spiritually speaking. The word of God teaches us very clearly. In Proverbs 23:7, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." You remember years ago I preached a message from Proverbs 4:23 on keeping the heart. That verse just simply says this: "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life." I took the time to go through the Bible to demonstrate that the heart is the mind. For instance, the very first time the word "heart" occurs in the Bible is Genesis 6:5, where God saw the imaginations of the heart—the heart can imagine. Then I took you to Genesis 27:41 and showed you where Esau said in his heart, so the heart can speak. Then I took you to Proverbs chapter 5 and verse 12, where the heart was capable of either receiving or refusing instruction. And then I finally took you to Matthew 5:27-28 to demonstrate that the heart is intimately connected with the eyes, where Jesus Christ said, "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." So when we talk about keeping the heart, it is the same as keeping the mind.

  #15 | 11:36 to 13:07 | cleaned

• And when Peter says, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind," he could have literally said, "Wherefore keep your heart," because the heart is basically the mind. Now, when he says "gird up the loins of your mind," first of all, the Orientals in the Bible, everything was centered around the loins. The loins were basically not just the position that you needed for action. You can't walk without moving your loins.

  #16 | 13:08 to 13:45 | cleaned

• I laugh every time I think about it. You know, the Bible speaks of bowels, and the bowels are located down in the lower part around the loins. And one of my favorite words—Greek words—it's translated "bowels." It literally means "guts." And love supposedly comes from the bowels. And I'd look at Alice and I'd say, "I love you with all my bowels." But that wasn't romantic for her. That's why I'd say, "I love you with all my guts." Well, that's still not romantic, you know. But it's true. That's where it is. So he says, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind." So just like the loins then are the center of everything physically, your mind is the center of everything intellectually and spiritually as well.

  #17 | 13:47 to 14:39 | cleaned

• So when the Orientals, who wore those long flowing robes, when they got ready to run or to work or to do anything that required exertion, they would take those robes and bring them up and tie a rope or tie a belt around them so they could actually move and get to it. So, when Peter then says, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind," what he is saying is you get ready to think. You get ready to think biblically. You get ready to use your mind and you work this mind and you work it in a biblical framework as well.

  #18 | 14:39 to 15:13 | cleaned

• Now, let me just point out the fact that—and I want to ask you a question. Peter says, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind?" Here's my question: Why does it start with the mind? Why does this start with the mind? And the answer is because that is where we were initially as the enemies of God. Let me show you. Hold 1 Peter, but look in your Bibles first of all to the book of Ephesians chapter 2. In fact, we'll come back to Ephesians 2 several times if you want to mark it, but look in Ephesians 2 and verse 3. Ephesians 2:3, note what he says: "Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind." Note the mind. "Fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind." Look in Ephesians 4 and verse 17. Ephesians 4:17, he says, "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind."

  #19 | 15:13 to 16:36 | cleaned

• And the word "vanity" means the uselessness, the worthlessness, the stupidity of their minds. Then if you would turn over just a few pages to the book of Colossians chapter 1. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, look in Colossians 1 if you would and verse 21. It cannot be said any more plainly. Colossians 1:21: "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled." I want you to think about Adam. Do you realize when Adam first rebelled against God, he rebelled first in his mind? His thoughts were contrary to God and contrary to God's commands. And he actually believed that his thoughts were better than God's word and God's command. Every sin begins in the mind. You cannot sin without thinking about it. Every sin begins in the mind. I've had people tell

  #20 | 16:37 to 17:50 | cleaned

• me, "Well, Brother Weaver, I didn't mean to steal that. It was just—it just happened." No, no, no, no. You thought about it before you ever did it. "Well, I didn't mean to run off with that woman." No, no, no, you planned it. You thought about it. You cannot sin without thinking about it first. Everything starts in the mind. Now, just like it is obvious that every sin starts in the mind, it should also be obvious that every act of obedience starts in the mind as well. The mind is the battleground.

  #21 | 17:50 to 18:24 | cleaned

• So I'm going to tell you this three or four times today. So I want you to listen very carefully. Whoever or whatever controls your mind controls your life. Whoever or whatever controls your mind controls your life.

  #22 | 18:25 to 18:44 | cleaned

• Now, Peter tells you that we're to gird up the loins of our mind. Now, I'm going to tell you the difficult part in doing that. The difficult part in doing that is learning to refuse your thoughts. Everyone prefers his own thoughts, his own opinion. So if we were sitting around here today and we're talking about, "We need to build us a building," everyone in this room is going to have thoughts on how to do it and what to use. And everyone in this room is going to like their own thoughts and their own ideas better than the thoughts and ideas of others. That's just all there is to it. You remember that passage in Proverbs chapter 3, verses 5 and 6? Let's see what the Bible says there. It says something like this: "Be not wise in thine own conceits; lean not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." "Be not wise in thine own conceits, lean not to thine own understanding." So the difficult part in girding up the loins of the mind, in one sense of the word, is learning to refuse what we would think normally, naturally.

  #23 | 18:45 to 20:08 | cleaned

• The truth is most people like to play God and they like to think their thoughts are sufficient. Now, let me show you. I want you to hold 1 Peter, but look in your Bibles at Isaiah chapter 55. Isaiah 55, and I want you to look if you would please at verses 7 through 9. Isaiah 55, and let's begin reading there with verse 7. Isaiah 55:7, look what God says: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." Now, note if you would, God says, obviously in verse 8, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." But if you'll notice in verse 7, He says, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts."

  #24 | 20:08 to 21:30 | cleaned

• Now, if when you and I are converted, when we are saved by the grace of God, initially we do indeed forsake our ways and our thoughts, salvation—does it not make common sense that if we're going to continue to follow the Lord and if we're going to be holy and increase in holiness, we still must forsake our way and our thoughts and learn to follow his way and learn to think his thoughts? So let me just say it again: one of the biggest problems that we have, regardless of how far we have progressed in our Christian life, is pride. Pride is a root sin. And when we like to think, "Well, our thoughts are number one, our thoughts are right," then that is nothing more than pride exhibiting itself.

  #25 | 21:31 to 22:27 | cleaned

• Now, there is so much emphasis in the New Testament on the mind. You remember, I already said this one time. I'm going to say it again: whoever controls your mind controls your life. Let me just quote some scriptures. Some of them, most of them you already know. But think about them in this light. You remember that passage in Romans 12, verses 1 and 2? The scripture said, Paul said, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Now listen: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed"—how? Help me out—"by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Now, by the renewing of your mind—and by the way, the word "renewing," the word "renewing" where we get our English word "metamorphosis" from.

  #26 | 22:28 to 23:35 | cleaned

• It literally means to go through changes like the butterfly does. When the butterfly has what you and I say "metamorphosized," he's come from this cocoon to this or whatever into a beautiful butterfly. So God tells us that we are to be metamorphosized now by the renewing of our minds. Then when you get to Ephesians 4:23, he just simply says, "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind." When you get to Colossians chapter 3, verses 9 and 10, he says, "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." When you get to Philippians 2:5, listen carefully: "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Has it ever occurred to you that you must have the mind of Jesus Christ? "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." How about this one? 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 1: "Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind." One of our pieces of armory is the mind of Jesus Christ. Now I want to tie this together for you.

  #27 | 23:35 to 25:13 | cleaned

• I want you to turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 10. 2 Corinthians chapter 10, and let me show you several verses. 2 Corinthians chapter 10, because we're talking about renewing of the mind. We're talking about girding up the loins of the mind. Look in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and let's begin there with verse 3. 2 Corinthians 10:3, he says, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh." So while we are in the flesh in this world, we're not warring after the flesh. In other words, we're not trying to get our flesh satisfied in every way possible. Then he goes on to say in verse 4, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds." Now, Paul is not dismissing carnal weapons. He's just saying for the warfare that we're fighting now, carnal weapons are useless. He says, "But our weapons are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds."

  #28 | 25:13 to 26:25 | cleaned

• Now, if you want to know what your stronghold is, your stronghold is your defensive position. It's the place where you hide. It's the place where you protect yourself. Now watch carefully verse 4: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing"—or literally every high thought—"that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

  #29 | 26:25 to 26:58 | cleaned

• Now, let me ask you a question. If we are required to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, how many unbiblical thoughts are we allowed? And the answer would be none. It doesn't matter what subject we're thinking about or what subject we're discussing. Every thought is to be brought into captivity to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is what Peter talks about when he says, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind." You keep your mind, you keep your heart. Now, if you will look back in your Bibles to 1 Peter 1 and verse 13, 1 Peter 1:13, he says, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober." Now he tells you to be sober. Let me just tell you up front, when Peter uses these two words, "be sober," it has absolutely nothing to do with alcohol. Of course, drunkenness is a sin in the Bible, but the Greek word here is "nepho," and it is translated as "sober" four times in our Bibles and "watch" two times in our Bibles.

  #30 | 27:01 to 28:30 | cleaned

• So why is he commanding us to be sober? Now watch this. "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober." Well, the word literally means to have a calm and collected spirit and to be temperate and circumspect and to watch our thoughts. Literally what he is saying is this: after he tells you to gird up the loins of your mind, that is to learn to think biblically, to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, then now he's saying what you need to do is calmly and soberly assess your thoughts. You make sure that they are indeed biblical thoughts. You assess them in light of the Word of God. So, then he tells us in verse 13 that we are to "hope to the end." And the word "end" there refers to the completion or perfection of that grace that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

  #31 | 28:31 to 29:34 | cleaned

• Now, we are talking about holiness. So, there is a positional holiness, which we have in Jesus Christ, and there is a practical holiness that we have in this life. Although there is a practical holiness, we are not perfectly holy yet, but that is to be brought unto us at the revelation or at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Until then, He says, we keep striving for this practical holiness by renewing our minds, girding up the loins of our mind, and thinking biblical thoughts.

  #32 | 29:34 to 30:11 | cleaned

• Now, if we are required to think God's thoughts, and we are, the question is, how do we know what God thinks? And the answer is, He's revealed it to us in the Bible. This is the mind of God. These are the words of God. And therefore God tells us that we have a duty and we have a responsibility not just only to read but to study the word of God and apply it in our hearts and in our lives.

  #33 | 30:11 to 30:47 | cleaned

• Let me give you a scripture. Think about Colossians 3:16: "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." Now, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs—let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. The Word of Christ is the entire Bible. And when he says "singing to yourself in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs," those three things are divisions of the book of Psalms. And that's why I enjoy singing the Psalms, because you're just singing scripture, you know. And that's how you get all of the wisdom of God in your mind, you know. It's amazing. It's amazing what you can learn through music. That's why I really despise a lot of music because it's so junky. But Alice and I were at—it was called Mule Days, where they plowed mules and all this kind of stuff.

  #34 | 30:48 to 32:08 | cleaned

• And we saw this little kid in a stroller. His parents were pushing him, and he was singing, "Outback Steakhouse." You remember that? Outback Steakhouse, they would sing that. This little kid was singing it. And we saw another one who was singing—I'm four or five years old—"When you're out of slits, you're out of beer." It was just a catchy tune. I mean, you know, but that's what the kid was singing. So the point I'm trying to make is if we learn to sing the Psalms, if we learn to sing scripture, then that's putting that word deeply in our minds as well.

  #35 | 32:08 to 32:54 | cleaned

• So he tells us it all begins in the mind. Holiness begins in the mind. You have to understand that you cannot act without thinking. You have to understand that thoughts produce actions. The will is activated by our mind. So holiness begins in the mind. So look if you would now in verse 13, he says, "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober." So if you want to be holy, you have to do something in your mind. You have to have your mind girded up.

  #36 | 32:56 to 33:35 | cleaned

• You have to be able to think biblically and scripturally. But now watch verse 14: "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance." So my first point was holiness begins in the mind. The second point is holiness ends in obedience. Now let me point out the fact: he said in verse 14, "as obedient children." There are obedient children and there are children of disobedience. If you would turn back, holding 1 Peter, but if you'll turn back to Ephesians 2 and look if you would please at verse 2. Ephesians 2:2, he says, "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." The children of disobedience. Then if you'll look in the book of Colossians chapter 3—Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians—Colossians chapter 3 and notice verse 6. He says the same thing practically: "For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience."

  #37 | 33:35 to 35:10 | cleaned

• So there are children of disobedience and there are children of obedience, that is, children that are marked by obedience. Stop and think about this. What do we think of when we think of an obedient child? And the answer is, we think of a child that hears, submits, and instantly obeys.

  #38 | 35:11 to 35:40 | cleaned

• Now, let me make a statement. I want you to think about this statement. Here it is: delayed obedience is disobedience. Delayed obedience is disobedience. And I hate to say this, but it's the absolute truth. Most parents teach their children to be disobedient. Because they will tell them something and the child disobeys. Child just keeps going. And the parents say, "Now I'm going to tell you one more time." And the child just keeps playing. And "I'm going to tell you one more time." And they're actually teaching their children to disobey. Heard a story years ago about the kids that were out playing and the mother of one of the little boys started calling to him, "Johnny, suppertime! Come on in!" The little kid kept playing. She called again, "Johnny, supper's on the table. Come on in!" And the kid kept playing. Finally one of the other children said, "Johnny, don't you hear your mother calling you?"

  #39 | 35:42 to 36:52 | cleaned

• He said, "Yes, but I don't have to obey her until she puts her mean voice on." Now what did that kid learn? The kid learned, "I don't have to obey her until she gets mad, till she really is gonna whip my rear end." Well, that's what we teach because we have to understand that delayed obedience is disobedience. If we want our children to obey us when we speak to them—do you think it is any less with the Lord? He said, "as obedient children." And the word "obedience" here literally refers to what you and I would call obedience, compliance, and submission. Everything is kind of rolled up into one word here. So we are to be obedient to God's commands, to God's warnings, to God's counsel, whatever He tells us.

  #40 | 36:52 to 37:52 | cleaned

• A good example is Samuel. You remember in 1 Samuel chapter 3, Samuel had been given to the Lord. He was in the temple with Eli, and God called Samuel. Samuel was in bed. He was asleep. And he jumped up and ran to Eli, and he said, "What do you want? You called me." Eli said, "I didn't call you. You go back to bed." God called him again. He jumped up and ran to Eli, said, "Surely you called. What do you need?" Eli said, "I didn't call. Go back to bed." The third time when God called Samuel, he ran to Eli, and Eli perceived that the Lord was speaking to Samuel, and he said, "You go back, and if he speaks again, you just simply say, 'Speak, Lord; thy servant heareth.'" Which indicates submission and obedience as well.

  #41 | 37:54 to 38:54 | cleaned

• An obedient child is one that hears and responds submissively. There's no rebellion. There's no complaining. There's no whining. There's no bellyaching. It's just obedience. Now, here's the thing. When we know the mind of God, when we know the thoughts of God, when we know the will of God, when we have girded up the loins of our minds and we understand all of that, then that understanding is to motivate and to move our bodies into action. Let me show you. Turn

  #42 | 38:56 to 39:35 | cleaned

• in your Bibles to the book of Romans chapter 1. Look at this passage. Romans chapter 1 and verse 9. Romans 1:9. Don't suppose there was any greater missionary than the Apostle Paul. He preached practically everywhere it seems like, but look what he said in Romans 1:9. He says, "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers."

  #43 | 39:35 to 40:11 | cleaned

• Now, here's an interesting thing. He says, "For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel." Was it Paul's spirit that was running all over the Roman Empire doing the preaching? No, it was his body. But it was in his mind, in his spirit, and that was what was motivating and moving his body. So, if something is in your mind, you know that it's the will of God and you know that it's the Word of God, then obviously it's got to move your body. Now I want you to go back and look at this in verse 14. 1 Peter 1:14, he says, "As obedient children." In other words, you respond; you don't sit still. You obey. "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance." Now if we're obedient, we're not going to fashion ourselves according to the former lusts in our ignorance. The word "fashion" here is from the Greek word "suschematizo," which literally means to fashion or to conform.

  #44 | 40:12 to 41:24 | cleaned

• It is the same word that is translated as "conform" in Romans 12:2: "Be not conformed to this world." Don't fashion yourself after this world. I use this illustration because I think it is very applicable. Years ago Alice used to make butter. Then we could get fresh milk and she would make her own butter. And after we churned the butter—yeah, I took turns turning too—after we turned the butter and she got it the consistency that she wanted, she had butter molds and she would pour it into that mold and put it in the refrigerator. And then once it hardened, she would take it and empty it out of the mold. And guess what? The butter was shaped exactly the shape of the mold. That's what God is saying: be not conformed, don't be pressed in the mold of the world, or don't be fashioned into the mold of the world. And when he says in verse 14, "as obedient children, not fashioning or molding yourself according to the former lusts in your ignorance." Now let me tell

  #45 | 41:24 to 42:29 | cleaned

• you something. There's a word here—actually there are two words—but there is a word here that I really appreciate and I'm really thankful for in verse 14. Look at it: "as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts." The word "former" means that you have repented. It means that you have been delivered. You used to be that way, but you're no longer that way now. So he says you're not fashioning yourself according to the former lusts. Now, I will tell you something unhappily, but yet it is true: the best of God's children, the most holy of God's children, the most spiritual, the most godly of God's children all had their time in the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

  #46 | 42:29 to 43:30 | cleaned

• I've read it, but I want to go back to Ephesians chapter 2, and let me just read verses 2 and 3 again in light of this. Look at it, Ephesians 2:2. The apostle says, "Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world"—you were worldly—"according to the prince of the power of the air"—Satan—"the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience"—you were disobedient, you were rebellious—"among whom also we all had our conversation"—our conduct—"in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." These were some of the former lusts that each of us involved in, and probably a multitude more. Let me explain the word "lust." When he says in verse 14, "as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts," the word "lust" is literally "epithumia."

  #47 | 43:31 to 44:43 | cleaned

• "Epi" is a preposition which means "upon," and "thumos" means "passion" or "soul." Your lust is whatever you set your soul upon, your passion upon. You want it, you desire it, and you're gonna have it regardless of what it costs and regardless of who gets hurt and regardless of whether or not you disobey God. That's a lust. Whatever it is, whatever you set your desire upon. Now the obedient child does not fashion himself, does not conform himself to the way he used to live and used to act and used to think. Those were his former lusts. And then he says this, and I'm thankful for this: "as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance." What we did, we did in ignorance. We didn't know God. We didn't know the Word of God. We didn't know the will of God. We were totally ignorant, and we thought what we were doing was okay and was right, or we thought satisfying our flesh and satisfying the desires of our mind was just simply the way to live. And the word "ignorance" here is the word "anoia," which talks about

  #48 | 44:44 to 46:17 | cleaned

• ignorance, especially in divine things. For instance, go back to the book of Ephesians chapter 4 and look, if you would, at this ignorance that is absolutely demonstrated. Ephesians chapter 4, and let's begin reading there with verse 17. Look at it. Ephesians 4:17, Paul says, "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart."

  #49 | 46:17 to 47:01 | cleaned

• "Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness." That's the way we were. Through the blindness of our hearts, through our ignorance, we did all of these things.

  #50 | 47:03 to 47:18 | cleaned

• Now, here's what he's saying. When we have girded up the loins of our mind, when we've learned to think biblically and scripturally, and when we know the Word and the will of God, we're going to be obedient children. And we are not going to fashion our lives, our thoughts, according to the former lusts that we held when we were ignorant and alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in us.

  #51 | 47:18 to 47:53 | cleaned

• Look, if you would please, at verses 15 and 16. After he talks about girding up the loins of the mind, after he talks about being obedient, how it does indeed affect us, then he says in verse 15, "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation." The word "conversation" means conduct. It's the way you live. You could read, "so be ye holy in all manner of life." And here's why: "Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." So as obedient children, we know we've been called into holiness. We know that we've been called to be like our heavenly Father. We know that in order to please him, we must think his thoughts and we must follow his ways. Holiness begins in the mind and it ends in our body responding in obedience to him. Now, let me make some applications. I want you to think about this if you would please. First of all, it is impossible to be holy and disobedient at the same time. You're either gonna be holy or you're

  #52 | 47:55 to 49:23 | cleaned

• gonna be disobedient. You can't be both at the same time. So the truth of the matter is this: you're going to end up either pleasing yourself or pleasing the Lord. If you please the Lord, you're going to be an obedient child. If you displease the Lord, you're going to be a disobedient child. If we're going to obey him, we must know him. We must know his word. It is impossible to obey instructions that you do not possess or that you do not know about. I could look at Steve and say, "Obey me." And he could look at me and say, "What? Obey you? And what? You haven't told me anything." Well, I've told you to obey me. Now if I want him to obey me, I have to give him instructions and say, "Steve,

  #53 | 49:23 to 50:09 | cleaned

• this is what I would like. I would ask you to do this, please." Now he's got some instructions. Now we can obey. God has given us his instructions in his Bible. We know we have the thoughts of God. We know we have the mind of God. So therefore we are required to obey. The second application is this: we must learn to think biblically if we're going to act biblically. I can say this another way: you must believe rightly if you're going to act rightly. Thinking precedes action. Thought precedes conduct. If you cannot think right, you cannot act right. If you cannot think biblically, you cannot obey biblically. You cannot walk in holiness if you are not thinking biblically. The battle is for the mind. Let me say this again: whoever or whatever controls your mind controls your life. Now, can I sit here 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and think only holy thoughts?

  #54 | 50:09 to 51:33 | cleaned

• And the answer is no.

  #55 | 51:35 to 51:35 | cleaned

• What am I going to do when a holy thought—or an ungodly thought—comes in my mind? I'm going to refuse it. I'm going to reject it. I'm gonna say, "Lord, that's wicked. That's wrong. That's ungodly. That's fleshly. That's sensual. That's devilish. I don't want that, Lord. Here is what you say, and I will put my mind upon your word." Now I'm learning to think biblically. Now I'm learning to have my body respond to my mind. There have been times when you're drifting off to sleep or when you're waking up or even in a sleep, you think or dream things that are just totally, completely unbiblical. What do you do? You refuse them. You reject it. "That's wrong. That's wicked. Here's what God says. I'm going to have my mind resting in his words." I've told you this before and I'm going to tell you again.

  #56 | 51:44 to 52:48 | cleaned

• You cannot think about two things at the same time, no matter how hard you try. And if you're thinking about that which is unbiblical, you're thinking wrongly. Put it out and then put that which is biblical in your mind. Here's the third one: you never separate holiness from obedience. It was the Pharisees who tried that. And our Lord condemned them viciously for their hypocrisy and their wickedness. It is impossible to be holy without obedience. What is holiness? It is conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. You remember that passage in Romans 8, I think it is verse 29, that we have been predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son.

  #57 | 52:49 to 53:41 | cleaned

• Let me say it like this. Here's what holiness is: holiness is learning to think like Jesus Christ and to walk like Jesus Christ. That's why he said, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." If you think biblically, you're going to act biblically. It's just that simple. May I remind you of what our Lord said in John 8:29? He said, "The Father hath not left me alone.

  #58 | 53:44 to 54:17 | cleaned

• He that sent me is with me: for I do always those things that please him." Holiness is just pleasing him. It's renewing your mind and walking in obedience. Holiness begins in the mind and ends in obedience in our lives. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to thee this day. We thank you for your word. We thank you for your truth. And Lord, we do ask that you would make us holy, make us godly, make us submissive, and help us, Lord, to bow before thee, knowing that thou art the sovereign God and that thy thoughts are not our thoughts and thy ways are not our ways. And Lord, we certainly do not expect you to submit to us. We must submit to you. Teach us to think biblically and teach us to walk in obedience, and we'll be practically holy for your honor and your glory. We ask these things in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

  #59 | 54:18 to 55:27 | cleaned

• so so

  #60 | 55:48 to 55:49 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:32:52Z