2 Peter 3:14-18 – GROW !!!

 

Intro As Peter closes out this epistle he has 4 things in mind as he addresses the Believers

A)Their Holiness / Their Patience / their Stability & their Growth

 

B) In light of everything He has told them already about who they are in Christ – What is available to them / been done for them /

1)   The need to watch out for false teachers / The Reality of the Lord’s coming / In light of all that – Peter says this – READ V. 14-18

 

Now understand – The gospel never calls upon a person who is not a Christian and tells him to live a better life

A)The gospel never calls upon an unregenerate man to improve himself & make himself better – That is morality / not Christianity

 

B) There is always this vital presupposition in the N.T. when  appealing  to Holiness / It only speaks to those who have received new life !!!

1)   It only addresses those who have been born again

 

C) And just like when you plant a seed in the ground or when a baby is born you expect growth /

1)   The Baby boy you expect to grow into being a man / The seed of the oak you expect to grow into a tree

 

The Lord is no different – As a Farmer – who plants seeds in the soil of men’s hearts & waters it w/ His Word – He desires fruit

A)As a Father / He wants to see His kids grow / Mature / become stable / useful/ not a baby forever / eating Gerber’s spiritually

 

a) Grieved most by those who don’t grow / don’t use what He has Given

 

B)Interesting what is true of a natural babe or young person is equally true of a spiritual babe or someone who is young in the Lord

  1) Many of the same Characteristics – Lets consider 4 Ways

1st Characteristic – Self Centeredness

A)The Child is all to ready to talk about self / wants you to look at them

   Consumed w/ how they look or appear / call to attention – watch dad

 

B) Always quick to want to be the center of attention

1)   Feel a sense of self worth – when others are listening to them / quaking at them

 

C) Kids are quick to want to talk about their achievements – what they did right at school that day

 

So too the babe in Christ is the same way – always quick to want to say –Look at me –watch what I am doing / see what I have done

A)Aren’t I wonderful – I is one of the main words in their vocabulary

I did this / I think that / I want this / I deserve that / I I I I

 

B) Child in Christ is more interested in activities and results than in relationship More interested in what they can get from the Lord

1)    The Presents than the Presence / Amanda at Christmas – Presents / Adults it is the Presence of Family / fellowship / dinner Etc

                    ( DENSIE & I FOR B. DAYS – JULIAN)

 

C) The Child in Christ is more prone to get Caught up in the works game / need to make the Lord happy /  Hey God look at me

1)   They become the center of attention and focus – God exist for them instead of their existing for God

 

D) He is there to help & heal their marriage / He is there to further their career / He is there to Bless them w/ wealth / So on & so forth

1) So first a Self Centeredness

 

 

2nd  Instability in the emotions & mindset

A)Think about how easy a Childs emotions can fluctuate / One minute laughing the next minute they are crying

B) They are easily depressed / easily frightened /.. discouraged / distracted

1)   The smallest of obstacles can make them feel that their world is coming to an end – ( Amanda – Right Now )

 

C) The same Characteristics can be seen in the life of one young in the Lord

1)   Easily discouraged / … Depressed / Easily distracted / little things happen that cause them to question –God’s love for them

 

D) Emotionally they go up & down – One day enjoying the Joy of the Lord the next day in the depths of despair /  Instability

1)   But The Christian is not to resemble a boat out at sea caught in a storm tossed by the waves /

 

E) The Christian should resemble a boat that is anchored and unmoved by the Storm – anchored in the truth of Christ & His Word

 

 

3rd There is an instability in the Area of discernment

A)Children are so gullible – they will believe almost anything ( Aaron is a master at fooling His sisters )

 

B) The great purpose of the word of God is to help the Child of God to not be tossed to & fro by different winds of doctrine

 

C) Those young in the Lord are often the First victims of the latest cult or false teaching blowing in the wind – Because not grounded

1)   But the Christian is not to resemble a leaf blowing aimlessly in the wind

      but rather a branch securely  connected to Vine –

 

 

 

4th Characteristic of the Child is a love for that which is entertaining / Spectacular & exciting

A)Ask most Children – want to go to the Circus or the Library – they would pick the circus / watch movie read a book / Movie

B) So too those who are young in the Lord  are always interested in being entertained / looking for thrills in their meetings

1)   Yrs ago when the Christian concert scene was popular – there was this group of Kids / went from Concert to concert / that was their Church

 

C) Followed their Favorite bands around – always hearing one gospel message after another – not really being fed / eating meat

1)   There are still those who do that today – they go to church wanting to be entertained / not really taught any meat / Knew songs / not the Lord

 

D)So Peter is writing to encourage the believers to grow & avoid getting depressed by the persecution they were facing

  1)Avoid getting discouraged by the trials they were up against / Avoid

     being misled by the Scoffers / or focused on themselves

 

Now another thing to note about Physical growth & spiritual growth is both are a gradual process

A)Take your kids – they are always growing – but you may not notice it see them all the time / Their Aunt – comes – Boy you have grown

 

B) My kids – Measure me Dad – Amazed – how much they have grown

1)   Spiritually same way – Growth is a gradual process / No fast growth / no short cuts / steady learning of the word – how to apply it

 

C) And if you are not growing – not going forward – then you are going backward – No Standing still in Christ

 

D) But Growth happens as we take in the word – Understanding what Christ has done for us / Learning to walk in it

1)   So notice here Exhortations in v.14 There is a Positional Aspect – this is what Christ has done for You/

 

E) Also a Practical App/ this is what wants to do in you/ Respond to what He has done in You !!! /  The Position is the truth that we are anchored in

 1) The Practical side is the growth the Lord desires to see in our Lives

1st Be found by Him in Peace –

A)POSITON : Rom. 5 1Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

B) PRACTICAL -  be at peace

Rom. 8: 31What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?/  33Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he who condemns?/ It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36As it is written:

  “For Your sake we are killed all day long;

  We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”£

37Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

C) We spent the whole morning talking about this last week – The Lord’s desire to find us at Peace – Hearts resting in Him

Isa. 26: 3 You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You,  Because he trusts in You.

 

Phil .4: 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

 

2nd – Spotless – NO Moral Blemishes

A)POSITION 1 Peter 1:18  knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.

Martin Luther had a dream in which he stood before God --and Satan was there to accuse him. When Satan opened his books full of accusations, he pointed to transgression after transgression of which Luther was guilty. As the proceedings went on, Luther's heart sunk in despair. Then he remembered the cross of Christ--and turning upon Satan, he said, "There is one entry which you have not made, Satan."

   The Devil retorted, "What is that?"

   And Luther answered, "It is this--the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanseth us from all sins."

 

B) He sees us Spotless – clothed in White garments – Righteousness of Christ

 

PRACTICAL : 1 Thes . 4: 3For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; 4that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

 

James 4: Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, and purify your hearts,

 

C) We desire to live spotless lives – w/ No moral blemishes / not so we will be loved by God or so we can be saved

1)   But Because He does love Us & Has saved us – And He invites us to draw near to Him !!!

 

Blameless : Without Fault / Guiltless / Unrebukeable

A)Positional  Eph. 1: 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

 

NLT  God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes

 

B) God sees us – W/out fault – Guilt has been removed

C) Practical

Prov.11: 20  Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD,

  But the blameless in their ways are His delight.

 

Phil 2: 4Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

 

D) Doing things w/ a right heart !!!!- Blameless delights the Lord

1)   So Peter continues to encourage them in their walks based on what he

    has already told them

 

So Next He encourages us to have lives marked by be Patience as we wait for the Lord to come

A) v.15 Understanding that the Longsuffering of the Lord is for Salvation

 

B) We noted this in v.8,9 a few weeks ago – Lord waiting for more people to be saved

 

Also Steadfastness in the Scriptures – that results in Stability v.15-17

A)Those who get twisted – by the false teachers are those who are not grounded in the Word – not steadfast in the scriptures

 

B) They become unstable in their walks – always needing to be guided and get interpretation from the false teachers

 

 

Finally Peter says Grow in the Grace & Knowledge of the Lord & Savior J.C. – Why grow in Grace & Knowledge

A)1st Knowledge of Jesus – turn back to Ch. 1

 

 

2Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

 

B) Everything you need for Life & Godliness – has already been given to you – found where ? in the Knowledge of Him

1)   Peter says in the end of the Letter so Grow in your Knowledge of Him

 

C) Growing in Knowledge of Who He – Understanding Promises

1)   Intellectual Knowledge – Yes

 

D) Growing in our Knowledge infuses life / He is the word of Life

1)   Partake of Him – His life – becomes a part of us – we become more like Him

 

So each morning as I get up & open my Bible that is what I want to Know – looking for – what does this say about Him

1)   What does it say about – Who He is / what He has done / and what  He is seeking to do in my life & thru my Life & WITH my life

 

C) That is the focus of my morning devotions - / Focus when I pick up a book on spiritual growth – I want to know what it teaches about Jesus

 

 

Not just an intellectual knowledge but – Experience

A)Appropriating  what you know – Allow Jesus to be Your Lord

    Be your Peace / Be your comfort

 

B)Discover Christ as the Good Shepherd – what that means

1)   As a shepherd He is going to lead me & take care of me / he watching out for me – He will discipline me when needed

 

D) Do I know Christ as my Shepherd – and do I walk in that reality

1)   Can I say like David The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want -  I have need to no other – No one else & nothing else

 

E) Do I Know Christ as My High Priest – what does that mean – what role does He play in my life  as my High priest

 

See Not what you know that matters but what you do w/ what you Know

A)God has given us all that we need & It is all discovered in the Knowledge of Him – Who Jesus is /

  1) what He has done & what He wants to do in & thru our lives

 

 

So Grow in Knowledge of Christ but also the Grace – Why Grace

 3 reasons – we are done

A)1st we are to grow in grace because there are going to be times when we are not at Peace / affected by the weakness of our flesh

 

B) The spots are all too noticeable/ We are anything but Patience & we are not stable

  1) We find ourselves getting frustrated w/ ourselves & others

 

C) Times when we lack faith/ lack courage – if left to ourselves we would be DOOMED

1)   Then we are reminded that He is a God of Grace

 

D) Grace is God bestowing favor upon us even though we don’t deserve it and He enjoys doing

1)   Sin abounds grace abounds all the more !!!!

 

 

We need to be strong in Grace because we need it every day

A)Remember that God doesn’t accept us on the basis of our performance but on the Basis of Christ performance /  Who we are in Him

 

2nd We need to Grow in Grace / to be strong in Grace to be able to keep going  Paul 2 Cor. 12

A)My Grace is sufficient for you – Power is mad perfect in weakness

 

 

If you want a wonderful experience, take your New Testament and use a concordance to look up the two little words, "but God." See how many times human resources have been brought to an utter end; despair has gripped the heart and pessimism and gloom has settled upon a people; and there is nothing that can be done. Then see how the Spirit of God writes in luminous letters, "But God," and the whole situation changes into victory.

 

Do not pray for easy lives; pray to be stronger people! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks. Everyday you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God.  Phillip Brooks

 

It was Mother Teresa who said,  "You will never know that Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you've HAVE."

 

Lucy in Chronicles of Narnia – Aslan – getting so Big – the more we grow in Christ – The Bigger He gets to us – Not smaller

 

3rd We need to Grow in grace so we can show his grace to others

A)Be dispensers of Grace – undeserved favor & forgiveness to others

 

B) The world doesn’t do that usually – Hurt me I will hurt you

    1) NOT US – GIVEN MUCH GRACE / SHOW MUCH GRACE