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Guest (Male 1): Who really defines you anyway? Let us talk about it on Key Life.

Guest (Male 1): If you have suffered too long under a "do more, try harder religion," Key Life is here to proclaim that Jesus sets the captives free. Steve invited Pete Allenson to teach us this week. Pete is a former pastor, founder of fortruth.com, and the author of Like Father, Like Son.

Guest (Male 2): Thank you, Matthew. Hello, Key Life. Pete Allenson sitting in this week for Steve Brown. And it is good to be with you. And our focus this week is all about a guy by the name of Moses who was clearly flawed but faithful and called to boldness.

Pete Allenson: You know, we started out yesterday talking about the reality that we too are raised up and preserved for a divine purpose just like Moses. And I want to expand on that a little bit because some of us do not believe it. And you may not believe it. You may say, "I am just same old, same old. You do not know me. I have not really amounted to much in life, and a lot of people do not think I am very special."

But that is the amazing thing about the gospel. Now, Moses was a standout. There is no doubt about it. He is the third most mentioned man in the entire Bible. The most third most mentioned person in the Bible. And his life was so significant because it was through him that he led the deliverance of the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage into the Promised Land and through whom that people of God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ came. So it is true.

So Moses had a big, a big plan, but he was preserved. And you too, though. And I want to give you some scripture to show how important we are even as we head into this week as we understand that we have been preserved and kept and set up for a divine purpose, just like Moses. John 15 verse 12 says this, "This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you."

"Greater love has no one than this that someone lay down his life for friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends for all that I have heard from my father, I have made known to you."

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should abide so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you that you will love one another."

Now you say, "Well, that was given to the disciples who became the apostles and the founders of the church." And that is true. But I think by way of application, it means that this applies to all of us as well. That we have been chosen and called out of darkness into his marvelous light. We have been preserved for a divine purpose.

And what is that purpose? Well, what I think the Westminster Confession puts it really well. That our chief goal is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. I have committed a little bit of heresy there because for my own life purpose, I have flipped that around a little bit. My purpose is to enjoy God as Father and then glorify him by being fiercely loyal to my Lord Jesus Christ. Filled with the Spirit, living out radical grace and passionately loving God by building men who do the same.

So that is kind of my life purpose and my calling. Because I realize that what grace has done is it has enabled me to love God and know that I was loved by God, and that is the same for you. And so because you have been loved by God in Christ and have been called and chosen, he has a purpose for you. We are not here just to play games. We get to advance his incredible kingdom, even if the world hates us.

And Jesus said that is exactly what would happen. John 15 verse 18, "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. But if you were of the world, the world would love you as its own, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

I have got to tell you that one of the things I had to learn early in life was that in my temperament, I want people to like me. I am a sanguine. Secondarily, I am a choleric, but I want people to like me. And so as a pastor, I started out that way. And then I realized that if I was going to lead my people well, they were not going to like everything I did.

And so I had to understand that I was called by his name and loved completely and redeemed in Christ and yet given a purpose. And that divine purpose was to lead as a pastor and a Bible teacher. But that is so important that you understand that you have that same calling to make a difference. And if you do not, if you do not understand your calling, it will be difficult for you to be bold and stand up and do what Jesus really puts you on the planet to do, and that will give you joy.

Well, that is the first point we learn about Moses that that he was called and preserved to be a part of God's divine plan. The second truth that we learn from Moses is that we can decide to live up to our Christ identity, not our cultural identity. I mean, just like Moses. I have got to tell you, this was this was interesting. Just the other day, after our Forge meeting, where we meet with men here in Orlando, I was taking a bike ride on the Cross Seminole Trail here in Seminole County. And I was listening to a podcast, and I rode past a group of, I do not know, five or six high school guys.

And when I turned around to come back, they were still there. And one of them flagged me down, he was waving something in my face, and he wanted me to stop. So I stopped, and I turned off my podcast, and I looked at him, and he had a, he had a, he had a joint in his hand. He had a, just the blunt end of a marijuana cigarette in his hand. And so he said, he said, "Hey, listen, do you want to hit on this?" And he was obviously high. And one of the other guys in the group looked at me and said, "Do not, do not worry about it, man. Just, just have a good day. Thanks so much. And do not listen to him."

And so I, I, I was kind of shocked. So I started riding away, and as I was riding away, I heard a guy say from that group, "Stay stoned." Not like I was. I am not. Now I thought about it later, and I should have gone back to that group and say, "Hey, listen, listen, guys, I want to get to know you. You have to come to my men's ministry group, and I want to get to know you."

What I thought was this, that like so many young men, they are just wasting their life. And so many Christians are just wasting their life because they are following the cultural narrative for their life. And God has a better plan. And so many of us just go with the flow because the pressures of our culture are on us, but we can decide to live up to our Christ identity, not our cultural identity, just like Moses did.

In Hebrews, we see by faith Moses when he was born was hidden for three months by his parents. But it goes on and says, "By faith, Moses, when he was grown up, catch this, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin." He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

By faith, he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. I love that. And so when we understand our true status in Christ, and we have been called for a higher purpose, we can stop living up to the identity that others put on us in our culture. And we can start living up to that higher identity that we have in Christ as the deeply beloved redeemed daughters and sons of the Most High God.

We find where we can make a difference and help culture, help other people, help them flourish, help them find the God of the universe, rather than just go along with the flow and let them bring destruction into their own life. You know, Charlie Kirk used to say to young men, he would say, "Stop smoking pot, get a job, find a good woman, marry, have kids, more kids than you can afford."

And I felt like, "Man, that is what I should have said to those guys." But we need to start with ourselves by understanding that like Moses, what the gospel of Christ does in our life is that we have been saved for something bigger than ourselves. Paul the Apostle put it this way, "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens and members of the household of God."

"Once you were not a people, Peter says, but now you are the people of God. You are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. I love that. And I love the freedom that we have in Christ now.

Not to just go along with the identities that the world puts on us, but to live up to the identity that we have as the deeply beloved redeemed sons of the Most High God, and daughters. You have the opportunity to have a femininity that is marked by Jesus and not by the world. So, here is the, here is the parting question of the day. Where is it that culture is defining you more than Christ? Where can your new status in Christ, like your new status that Moses found, where can that new status lead you to a higher identity? You take it to heart. Amen.

Guest (Male 1): Flawed but faithful. How great is that title and the truth behind it? Thank you, Pete Allenson. All this week, Pete is teaching us from the life of Moses about what it means to be flawed but faithful. Today, delving into that very important issue of identity. More tomorrow. Hope you will join us.

Guest (Male 1): Well, we are in a special series this week, and I trust you are enjoying it. Next week, we will dive back into our Welcome to the Family series. That series is based on an older book from Steve. And if you are interested in something a little more recent, you might want to check out Steve's latest called Laughter and Lament. Have you read it? If not, I have some good news. We took sections of that book and created a special booklet that we would love to send to you for free. So claim your copy right now by calling us at 1-800 Key Life. That is 1-800-539-5433. You can also email Steve@KeyLife.org to ask for that booklet or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the US and Canada. Again, ask for your free copy of the Laughter and Lament booklet.

Guest (Male 1): Last thing, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work by giving? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope, or simply text Key Life to 28950. That is Key Life, one word or two, it does not matter. Just text that to 28950 and then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and Force in Canada, and Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.