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 Lords 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
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
a) Grieved most by those who dont grow / dont 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)Arent 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 Gods 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 Gods 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 Lords 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 dont 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
doesnt 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 doesnt do that
usually Hurt me I will hurt you
1) NOT US GIVEN MUCH GRACE / SHOW MUCH GRACE