Untitled Sermon

1 Peter 1:13–16 ESV

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

John Piper

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/the-mind-serves-the-heart

Starting at 7:20

To prepare your mind for action is to gird up the loins of your mind.

The mind can be drunk or over-clothed.

We’re running a race. Can’t run a race if you’re drunk. Can’t run a race if you’ve got long robes. 2 images to say, “Come on. You got a brain? Use it for what you’re made for. What’s that? HOPE.

How do you obey the Biblical commands to feel? They’re all over the Bible. “Hope fully.” That’s a command to feel something. Suppose you came in here very hopeless. Feeling a dark hopelessness on your life tonight. And here comes Peter saying, “Hope fully.” My question is, “How do you obey that?” That’s the biggest challenge in the Christian life-- How to obey commands that are outside of your control. You can’t turn a switch on and off with hope, thankfulness, sorrow, joy. There are at least 20 emotions commanded in the Bible. And you have no immediate control over any of them. The human mind and body doesn’t work that way. “Be happy.” “Feel sad.” “Fear! God said fear Him.” Well the Bible says to do it.

Part of the answer is right here. “Prepare your minds for action” and “be sober.”

The mind… The brain is given for the sake of the heart. The mind is given to you to serve your emotions.

The brain is for being girded up and being sober so that we would hope.

When I was a pastor, I had a lot of people come to me paralyzed emotionally. “I can’t feel what I need to feel.” It is amazing how we live in a day where people have extraordinarily passive notions about their emotions. Meaning, for my emotions to get fixed, it should happen to me. Make it happen to me. That’s the opposite of this verse. There’s nothing passive in verse 13. Gird up the loins of your mind. Be sober. Hope fully. So I would ask them, “What has your strategy been to take away your anxiety? What steps have you taken?” “Umm… I asked God to fix it.”

The Biblical mindset towards having a heart of hope is one of relentless warfare.

John Piper was born self-pitying, pessimistic, critical, Eeyore-ish and I wrote the books on joy. You know why? B/c I’d like to have some. This is a lifelong war to be a hope filled person.

So I would give them assignments. Go home and memorize . See you next week. We’re working here. You’re not working. You’re expecting something to happen to you.

I want to underline how passions gets changed. You got 3 pieces. Conformity to passions, passions, ignorance. Ignorance of something produces old passions produces rotten conduct. I want new conduct from new people out of new passions b/c of… What’s the opposite of ignorance? KNOWLEDGE. Why do the apostles write books? They want hearts for God. They’re writing books. People say they want heart and passion. Well me too. That’s why I study. I’ll tell you where your bad passions came from. You’re STUPID. You believe false things about God, the world, death, the Holy Spirit. You just believe false things everywhere and you expect to have hearts that are flowing with Godly passions? No way. This ignorance has got to be replaced which is why we must gird up our minds and be sober minded for the sake of your hope which is the opposite of these rotten old passions. You were ignorant of your inheritance. You were ignorant that He keeps you. Knowledge awakens hope. Hope is the opposite of these passions and it’s going to produce a new conformity to Christ called holiness.

Knowledge of a great inheritance and the Father getting us there --> new passions of faith/hope/joy/new conduct --> holiness