* Disappointment is the gap between expectation and reality.

* Peter is teaching people to manage their expectations.

* What are people to expect?

* Vs 12 - things get harder because of your faith!

* You manage expectations in the same way you take a thought captive.

* You lock it up and don’t let it have control.

* How do you manage it?

* Vs 13-14 - change the way you see it!

* See it as a reward.

* When He comes back you’ll be pumped! Why?

* Because you’re on his team.

* When I was a kid we’d split up teams in the neighborhood before we played a game.

* To get picked by the best player was a privilege, even though it meant we were now in a war with the other team.

* Jesus put us on His team, then expects us to fight alongside Him.

* What an incredible privilege.

* God is calling us to live holy lives.

* Vs 16 - we are to be holy as He is holy.

* Holiness has two components:

* 1) Fully devoted - no competing affections.

* 100% committed to Christ.

* This is a matter of the heart - it’s what happens on the inside.

* 2) Set apart - you don’t blend in, you stand out.

* People see something different about you.

* This is a matter of your actions - it’s what happens on the outside.

* How do we remain holy?

* Vs 17 - three things:

* 1) Consider yourself a foreigner - this world isn’t your home.

* 2) Live in fear of God - you will be held accountable for your actions.

* 3) Experience “holy awe” (Passion version) - take in God’s goodness with your five senses.

* Don’t think about “taking a picture,” think about “taking it in.”

* Experience God with your five senses and you will understand “holy awe.”

* Holy awe will keep you holy!

* Unless you work for God then no amount of work will bring you peace.

* Vs 1-5 - sounds like it’s written to a man who’s crazy busy at work and needs to be reminded of the family he’s been entrusted with.

* Vs 1-2 talks about how he tirelessly built something.

* Vs 3-5 talks about the kids who suffered as a result.

* What is God saying through David?

* Vs 1a - think about the Tower of Babel - they did a lot of work but it amounted to nothing.

* Vs 1b - think of Sodom and Gommorah - no amount of guards could’ve stopped the fire from falling.

* Vs 2 - God grants sleep (peace) to those He loves.

* Remember - God isn’t just your Father, He’s your Father-in-Law.

* If you worked for your Father-in-Law, what would he be pleased with?

* He doesn’t want you to try to earn His favor while leaving your wife and kids at home.

* Vs 3 - your kids are a reward (when you view them through the proper lens).

* ex: diamond from Napoleon to Josephine.

* Vs 4-5 - what type of reward? Weapons!

* This means we’re supposed to be in a battle.

* When you know you’re in a battle you won’t leave your weapons behind!

* Money is useful when you possess it, but useless when it possesses you.

* James was warning those who were rich in possessions because he knew you had to be poor in spirit to accept Christ.

* How do you know when you are possessed by money?

* When WANT enters the picture.

* Psalms 23 says “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not WANT.”

* So what do we do?

* Recognize two things about your money:

* 1) It has a FUTURE (vs 1-3).

* When you look into the future you see that your money means nothing.

* It will ultimately burn up.

* Knowing your money has a future will help you spend it wisely in the present.

* 2) It has a FACE (vs 4-6).

* These rich people looked away from those they could bless.

* They looked to themselves.

* Knowing the faces of the people you can bless with your money will help you spend it wisely on others.

* Confidence is a matter of focus.

* James was Jacob, Christ’s half bro.

* This was the first book of the NT that was written, almost 20 years after Jesus left the earth.

* Notice the first four verses - it’s all about trials and persecution!

* But we were meant to walk in CONFIDENCE!

* Vs 5-8 - we are meant to pray in confidence knowing that God can answer and will answer when our request lines up with HIs will.

* Without confidence, you become unstable.

* EX: Trae shooting free-throws.

* Only a little doubt casts a big shadow (like one drop of poison in a cup).

* Doubt saps your power.

* EX: Could you beat Lebron James in one-on-one if he were wearing high heels?

* Maybe. He loses his power if he’s unstable.

* Doubt removes our foundation of faith.

* So Christ’s brother comes right out of the gate and tells us to BE CONFIDENT in God’s power!

* When God gives you something, hold it with an open hand.

* When you focus on the thing in your hand rather than the Person who put it there, you will:

* 1 - Become a man-pleaser more than a God-pleaser.

* 2 - Operate strategically over spiritually.

* 3 - Operate by fear over faith.

* EX: Social media influencer texted me the other day.

* Nothing is more important in your life than relationships.

* First, with God. Then with others.

* The way we love God is by loving others.

* Backstory - Believing Jews were tempted to shrink back because of persecution.

* The writer encouraged them no to back down from their faith.

* He did it by reminding them of what their relationship with God was like at the beginning.

* Vs 32-35 - they did this things because of their overwhelming love for Jesus.

* But as time went by things got worse and they began to revert to their old lifestyles.

* We can apply these same principles to our relationships with others (specifically your spouse).

* When you’ve lost that loving feeling, what do you do?

* Remember back to what your love was once like and then do the things you did at first.

* What were those things?

* 1- You stood strong for each other (vs 32).

* 2- You were good teammates (vs 33).

* 3- You were empathetic (vs 34).

* 4- You gave up your right to yourself (vs 34).

* 5- You kept your eye on the prize - you wanted to win (vs 35).

Make up your mind.

Let it be known.

Keep your windows open.