Last week there was a moth in my car. This little moth decided to fly next to my back window as I traveled down the road. Furiously, he beat his wings as he faced the outdoors safely behind the window. I thought I heard him say, “weeeee – look at me go!” I could almost imagine his eyes wide open, thinking he was really flying fast. He had a false view of reality. He is like many of us. We sometimes isolate and insulate ourselves. We talk about the world being so awful, but we stay behind our protective glass.

What did I do for the moth? I opened the widow and gave him a correct view of things. As he flew out the window, he realized what was real. Many people have told me, “When I come to your church, I get convicted..” I always say, “Praise the Lord.” At our church, we want to know what is real and what is not. We want to know what is truth and what is not truth. We want to know what is of God and what is not. We are not interested in creating another social club. You are supposed to be convicted when you open up God’s Word.

This week, we are going to attempt to roll down the window and get a fresh perspective of how it really is. Read along:

Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. (1 Peter 2:11-12)

It does us no good to be speeding along, in the vehicle of Christianity, observing the world from a distance and not fulfilling our purpose. I’m not sure what the moth’s purpose is, but I’m pretty sure of ours. How do we fulfill our purpose? I think we must first get some perspective.

GAINING A CORRECT VIEW OF WHO YOU ARE:

1. We are BELOVED of a living king.

We are ‘dearly loved children.’ God loves our obedience, but He doesn’t love us because of our obedience. He loves us because he chose to before we were even born. The word for beloved is agapetos, which has as it’s root agape. Of course agape means “God’s unconditional love.” We are the “beloved” because God initiated that love for us – we didn’t earn it.

2. We are strangers in a foreign land.

An alien or sojourner is a “temporary dweller not having a settled habitation in a place where he now resides.” When you became a believer, you became a resident alien. You didn’t move anywhere, but your citizenship changed. You gained citizenship in heaven and lost your citizenship on earth. Don’t despair – it was a move up. But, also don’t be surprised that you are not as comfortable in this foreign land. You are a resident alien. Citizens often look more critically at foreigners.

3. We are soldiers in a spiritual battle.

The real battle is not against people. The battle is against Satan’s attack upon us. I believe we should stop wasting time talking about how bad the world is. Unbelievers are condemned already (John 3:17ff). They are doing their job (following their lusts and desires). The battle is not against them – the battle is against spiritual things (Eph 6) that wage war inside us. D.L. Moody said, “I have more trouble with D.L. than anyone I know. I can relate. When you imagine a spiritual battle, don’t think about another person – look inside yourself.

4. We are soul-winners to a lost world.

Our primary job is to be witnesses. We must take the living hope, the living faith and the living Word to a lost world. God chose to use us as witnesses. That means that our lives and our words will be used to help others know Jesus.

Think about what you are as a child of God. Are you fulfilling your roles?

GAINING A CORRECT VIEW OF WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:

1. Abstain from fleshly lusts.

Right away, don’t think just about sexual lusts. There are many things we desire and “lust” after. These lusts “war against the soul.” The soul is our mind, emotions and will. These lusts war against our mind and affect what we think about. They battle against our emotions – how we feel. They attack our will – the things we give in to.

One very important truth is this: the battle against lusts is won or lost when you are alone. How well we resolve the internal battles affects how we behave. What a church does for the Lord is largely determined by the decisions they make in their individual quiet times.

When I was a fullback in high school, I often rehearsed the “32 cross trap” in my mind. It was one of the few plays that I got to carry the ball. From a 3-point stance, I would take two steps to the left, then turn to the right and receive the football. A blocker would be taking out the noseguard as I would look to the linebacker. Depending on how he responded to the play, I might have to extend my arm to get past him. After that, I would angle toward the sidelines and watch for the cornerback and/or safety. I knew this play intimately. I knew where every block would be administered and I rehearsed it every week in my mind. Do you know what I was rehearsing? I was rehearsing AVOIDING the tackles. The action in a football game happens quickly and you don’t have time to consciously think about it. You have to rehearse at home. One thing I never did – I never rehearsed getting tackled.

Think about that. Many of us say. “Ohhhh, the temptation is so great --- the Devil is going to be on me tomorrow, etc.” We actually rehearse getting tackled by the enemy. We have to abstain from the fleshly lusts while they are still in their infancy. James explained the progression of sin.

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (James 1:14-15)

Our adequacy as soldiers, sojourners and soul-winners depends upon how successful we are in solitude.

Resist the Devil in private and he will flee from you in public. If you don’t resist him in private, you will get tackled tomorrow.

2. Keep you behavior excellent

In 1805, a number of Indian chiefs and warriors met at Buffalo Creek, New York. They gathered to hear a presentation by Mr. Cram of the Boston Missionary Society. After the sermon, Red Jacket, one of the leading chiefs gave a statement, which included the following:

“Brother, you say that there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit. If there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it? Why not all agree, as you can all read the book? “ “Brother, we are told that you have been preaching to the white people in this place. These people are our neighbors. We are acquainted with them. We will wait a little while and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good, makes them honest and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will then consider again of what you have said.”

This passage says, “They WILL slander you.” It is inevitable that we will suffer attacks; but I believe we are supposed to leave the opposition without a leg to stand on. Our behavior can do that! The goal is that they will glorify God on the day of “visitation.” I believe there is a time (or times) when the Holy Spirit comes to visit each individual that has heard the gospel. In that time, the individual has to decide. The sobering thought is that when your friend decides about eternity, they think about…guess what…you don’t want me to say it. When they consider eternity, they think about YOU. They consider your actions toward them and others. Are you any different? Did you demonstrate a viable reason to them to believe in Christ?

We have lost our desire for excellence in behavior. We have, in a sense, given up on even trying. The literal meaning of the this word “excellent” means “beauty in harmony, complete balance and proportion” in Greek. This is the real Ying and Yang. We are to behave “beautifully.”

We can’t afford to say “I don’t care what people think of me.” I know that you can’t please everyone (because someone won’t like it). But, we have to realize that our actions affect people’s eternal destinies and it does matter how we act. Is it really possible to act excellently – is it even attainable? Yes it is; but only when God is in control of our lives.

The moth, in my car, did a lot of flapping. He was extremely busy. He probably even felt good about himself. He was able to look down on all the other moths because he was privileged to be in my vehicle. But, let me tell you – he wasn’t accomplishing anything. We must realize we are beloved of God. We are strangers, sojourners and soul-winners. We must win battles within ourselves that help us win outside ourselves. Why do this? We have to win, so that we might behave beautifully and so that others might gain the hope that we have.

Karl J. Forehand, 2001