Follow Along with the Message

What Did You Expect (Part 1)

Pastor Tony Myles

Name something in your life that recently broke...

It's very easy in today's world to have misguided perceptions about what it means to walk with Jesus. 

• On one hand, following Jesus is  positive and life-giving.
• On the other hand, the  of following Jesus can feel challenging and exhausting. 

 This raises the question, "What did you expect?"

If there is a lot of fake news about the Church Jesus bled and died and rose again from the dead to create... how much of it are we unintentionally ?

Consider 1 Peter 4:1-7

v.1 "...be ready to suffer, too."

• We tend to expect each day will be great and , and when it isn't we're . It should be the other way around, biblically speaking. Suffering is a . 

v.2-3 "You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God..."

• Jesus didn't teach "" values. We're not called to support "" or "" but  over sin, starting in us. 

v.4-6 "But remember that they will have to face God..."

• We're not called to win arguments and deflate people but to win people and deflate arguments. (Look up 2 Corinthians 10:5)

v.7 "...the end of the world..."

• This is not merely an event, but actual . 

A quick wilderness detour via Exodus 13:17-18

• "Midbar": Wilderness you can personally .
• "Şîyâ": Wilderness you'll need  through.
• "Jeshimon": Wilderness you'll  in - short of a  . 

Like the Israelites, we can quickly misunderstand the purpose of our  and His . God's detours are not about distraction or discouragement but about . 

Consider 1 Peter 4:8-13

v.8-11 "Most important of all..."

• "What did you expect?" is a  question. 

v.12-13 "...for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world."

• What does God want to impart to you in wilderness moments about the larger purpose you're called to... to wholly love Him, transformationally love other people to say 'YES!' to Him... to invest your life into letting His Kingdom come?

It's why the BIG3 matters to us at Riverside, and why we can only see transformation when we live it out. 

MYTHUNDERSTANDING:

• Seeing through the wilderness isn't about a pep talk or an inspirational meme, but focusing on God for  He is.

Don't miss this:

Each day over this next week, I will ______________________________.

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