“MY GOODNESS IS HIS GOODNESS IN ME”
2 Peter 1:5-9
John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation. Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or...you can choose to be in a bad mood. I choose to be in a good mood." Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life. "Yeah, right, it’s not that easy," I protested. "Yes, it is" he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It’s your choice how you live your life." I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it. Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I’d be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or I could choose to die. I chose to live." "Weren’t you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked. He continued, “The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read ’he’s a dead man’. I knew I needed to take action." "What did you do?" I asked. "Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything ’Yes, I replied!’ The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, ’Gravity’." Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead." He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. You can be happy in all your circumstances if you have the RIGHT attitude. PHIL 2: 5 “Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had.” 1 JN 4:4 "The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." “the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.”
“My Goodness” is a phrase used by many people. We hear, “My goodness it’s cold,” “That is good food,” “It’s a wonderful day.” Now do you or I have any idea what “my goodness” has to do with anything? We are apt to toss the phrase around mindlessly as we sweat or blink our eyes. There is a story about Ernest Shackleton who set out to reach the North Pole in 1908. The journey would be one of inhuman endurance. His team grew bone weary and was starving. They were less than 100 miles from their goal when they turned back. He wrote in his journal that one time they were almost without food. He took what hardtack and dried biscuits he had and divided them up between his men. Some of them were so hungry they could not wait and ate it right then and licked the crumbs off their fingers like they were starved dogs. Others took it and put it in bags for later. That night he saw one of his most trusted men get into the sack of another man and took out the bag of stored food. What he saw next startled him. This man put some of his stored food into the other man’s bag. He wasn’t stealing but sacrificing his own food for another man. “My goodness” I’m working on it.
I. The first thing I want us to think about is how bland, shapeless, almost void and meaningless goodness has become in our day. Can you remember the trial of O. J. Simpson? Why did he drive down the freeway for hours if he was innocent? When Bill Clinton was president he confessed to having sex outside of marriage. When they took a survey they said he was good leader but not a good man. He was a competent man but corrupt. He was skillful but deceitful. He had ability but no integrity. Is it possible to be a good leader and not be a good man? God’s word gives many stories about leaders and tells us that one can not lead in the right way if you are not right. Why is that we seek for goodness in the wrong places today? We are told we need to look, feel and be good. How many things have you heard or seen this week that told you if you would just buy this or try this or do this you would be good. A little boy told his mother when the walked by a Victory Secrets store and it said sale, “Look they really did good for all they have left is underwear.” Do we really know what goodness is? Most of what we take for goodness are acts of kindness like taking cookies to the neighbor, visiting the sick or calling a lonely person on the phone. Is all this doing good what Peter is talking to us about? Did you know an evil person can do acts of goodness? The man we know as Hitler liked to have his picture taken with furry animals and little children to show to others. It was said of the man Stalin that he was nice to his daughters. From the wickedness of their lives they did not have the capacity to be good. We find that the Greek word that Peter uses here means necessary, inherent goodness. It is found in a person even when they are asleep or when no one is around to see or benefit from what they do. It is found when the lights are out. It is felt by blind people. You see this goodness is not an action but something we are before people see how good we look, before we act or before we tell people how we feel. It is the character of God in us in a living active part of our life. 2 PT 1:3 “As we know Jesus better, his divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive his own glory and goodness!” Goodness and glory are equal in God. Your goodness if God be in you is from God who is good all the time. 1 PT 2:9 “But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” This calls us to remember the story of Moses when he prayed to God to forgive the people he was leading and then asked if he could see God. EX 33:18-23 “Then Moses had one more request.”Please let me see your glorious presence," he said. The Lord replied, "I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will call out my name, ’the Lord,’ to you. I will show kindness to anyone I choose, and I will show mercy to anyone I choose. We see here that God’s goodness equals His glory. I believe this is what Peter was telling us about when he speaks of goodness. If you have read your Bible you will recall a story about Peter on a mountain top with Jesus and he saw Jesus’ glory. 2 PT 1:16-18 “For we were not making up clever stories when we told you about the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and his coming again. We have seen his majestic splendor with our own eyes. And he received honor and glory from God the Father when God’s glorious, majestic voice called down from heaven, "This is my beloved Son; I am fully pleased with him." We ourselves heard the voice when we were there with him on the holy mountain. God’s goodness and glory are combination together as a single characteristic. Good ness is the real meaning of who God is. In 1 Pt 1 we are invited to partake of that Divine nature.
II. The second thing I would like for us to grasp is that apart from God there is no goodness in us. When we read of the rich young ruler that came to Jesus we see this clearly. Mark tells us the man fell on his knees in front of Jesus which was a goodness act. “What must I do?” “What good thing must I do?” We find here what we see in many lives that we want to be accepted for our doing good rather than our being good. We are looking for what good thing we must do rather than wanting to know the One who is good. The ruler said he has been doing good but when Jesus reads his heart and tells him he needs to sell what he has and trust God he goes away sorrowful. His goodness did not come from a love that only God could put in his heart. Apart from God no one does good. RM 3:12 No one does good, not even one." PS 14:3 No one does good, not even one!” To do good without first being god is a wasted life. While there are some who do good it is of no value because it does not glorify God. We must let the One who is all goodness change our hearts and then let His Goodness be in us.
The third point is “How do we add goodness to our faith?”
A. we must become true worshipers. We are called and made to worship God. 1 PT 2:9 “For you are a chosen people, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” His plan is for you to bring praise to Him. He has chosen you and made you His own because he is good. The more you praise Him the more you will live in the light and not be in darkness. The more you live in His goodness the more you wile have his nature. The Coal Basket Bible. The story is told of an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old worn-out Bible. His grandson who wanted to be just like him tried to imitate him in any way he could. One day the grandson asked, "Papa, I try to read the Bible just like you but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do?" The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water." The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You will have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was "impossible to carry water in a basket," and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don’t want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You can do this. You’re just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he said, "See Papa, it’s useless!" "So you think it is useless?" the old man said. "Look at the basket." The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. "Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out." That is the work of God in our lives to change us from the inside out and to slowly transform us into the image of His Son. Take time to read a portion of God’s word each day, and remind a friend by sharing this story. Author Unknown. Worship is good for you.
B. To add goodness you must let the Holy Spirit lead you. It is the Holy Spirit living in you that lets God goodness grow in you. GAL 5:22-25 “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Here there is no conflict with the law.”
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. If we are living now by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Holy Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” 2 COR 3:17-18 “Now, the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, he gives freedom. As the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more.” When we let the Holy Spirit have His way in us we are transformed more and more in His goodness. This makes you better every day as you live for Him.
C. To add goodness we are to find others to imitate who are good. Paul said follow me as I follow Christ. Who comes to your mind as a person who is like Jesus that has qualities that you would like to have in your life? Steven Selfridge, Sam Smith, John Head are some men that come to my mind because other lives I have seen them live for Christ. They had a funeral for Fred Mitchell and it was stated this bout him, “You never caught Fred Mitchell off guard because he never needed to be on it.” “MY GOODNESS” should be our prayer.
A pastor had been on a long flight between church conferences. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: Fasten Your Seatbelts. Then, after a while, a calm voice said, "We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turmoil. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened." As the pastor looked around the aircraft, it became clear that many of the passengers were becoming uneasy. Later, the voice on the intercom said, "We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turmoil is still ahead of us." And then the storm broke. The gloomy cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightning lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash. The pastor confessed that he shared the anxiety and fear of those around him. He said, "As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed gloomy and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm. Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. She had tucked her feet under her as she sat on her seat; she was reading a book and everything within her small world was calm and orderly. "Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being beat by the terrible storm when it reeled this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening Severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that amazing child was completely calm and unafraid." The minister could hardly believe his eyes. It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its end and all the passengers were hurrying to get off, the pastor remained to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and the behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid. The child replied, "Because my Daddy’s the pilot, and he’s taking me home." There are many kinds of storms that rock us. Physical, mental, financial, marital, and other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into apparently disorderly movement. We have all known such times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be at rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being tossed about a darkened sky. Let us remember: Our Father is the Pilot. He is in control and taking us home. Don’t worry!
