ILLUSTRATION: What Influence Do You Have on Others?
A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don’t know where I am."
The woman below replied, "You’re in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You’re between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude." "You must be an engineer," said the balloonist. "I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is, technically correct, but I’ve no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I’m still lost. Frankly, you’ve not been much help at all. If anything, you’ve delayed my trip."
The woman below responded, "You must be in Management." "I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?" "Well," said the woman, "you don’t know where you are or where you’re going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you’ve no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it’s my fault."
What Influence Do You Have On Others?
Are they drawn to God or to Man?
Up til now, Peter has talked about the Seed of Christ and Our Call to be a Chosen People.
Today, Peter encourages the Jewish Christians by reminding them that Regardless of what the world throws your way, YOU – HAVING TASTED THE SWEETNESS OF GOD – ARE TO BE A DIFFERENT PEOPLE!
Peter reminds us – THERE IS A COST ATTACHED TO BEING CHOSEN!
TEXT: 2 PETER 1-12
VERSE 1
‘therefore’ - (1.22) (b/cause we are purified so our love for other believers is sincere.
‘rid’ – put away – put off
5 ATTITUDES OF SIN listed that disrupt our sincere love:
1) ‘malice’ - ‘malicious behavior’: doing evil despite the good that has been received from others. Malice is often hidden behind deceptive good actions.
2) ‘deceit’ : deliberately tricking or misleading by lying (see 3.10)
3) ‘hypocrisy’ : saying one thing but doing another; playacting; presenting good motives that mask selfish desire.
4) ‘envy’ – ‘jealousy’: desiring something possessed by someone else. Resentment caused from making unhealthy comparisons to another.
5) ‘slander’ – ‘backstabbing’: destroying another’s reputation by lies, gossip, rumor-spreading, and participation with others doing the same.
‘GET RID’ OF THESE (anything hurting your example) THINGS – THEY DESTROY ‘SINCERE LOVE FOR YOUR BROTHERS & SISTERS’!
IMAGES – METAPHORS (Vses. 2-8)
VERSES 2 & 3
1ST Image - that of a baby and a mother’s milk
‘newborn baby’ – ‘tastes a mother’s milk’ - ‘crave’ – RESULT = ‘Growth’
(Image gives us a Spiritual meaning)
‘born again’ – ‘taste God’s Goodness’ (‘Word’ – 1.23) – ‘crave spiritual milk’ – ‘grow up’
DON’T MISS THIS APPLICATION:
1) It’s the feeding that causes a baby to crave a mother’s milk. Once the milk is tasted, the baby learns it is good and then begins to crave more! LIKEWISE, if you have REALLY tasted the Lord, then you know He is GOOD and LEARN to crave more!
2) The tasting brings growth to a baby. Many Christians fail to grow because they have forgotten the ‘taste’. The more you ‘taste’, the more you ‘crave’.
3) As believers are nourished, we grow into the fullness of our salvation, which is ‘ongoing’ and not completed until Christ returns. At that time, our salvation will be completed (1.5)
Vses. 4-12 draws from many OT texts that would be familiar to the Christians Jews : READ
Psalm 118:22 (NIV)
22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone;
Isaiah 8:14 (NIV)
14 and he will be a sanctuary; but for both houses of Israel he will be a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.
Isaiah 28:16 (NIV)
16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
Exodus 19:6 (NIV)
6 you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites."
SEVERAL NEW METAPHORS. Let’s SEE THE IMAGE AND GET THE APPLICATION.
Under the old covenant, only the priests had that privilege (under certain times and conditions) to approach God. Under the new covenant, all believers can enter into God’s presence at any time, with any need.
READ VERSES 4 & 5
VERSE 4 (3 parts to describe a believer’s relationship to God)
‘you come to’ = not describing salvation but one ‘constantly drawing near’
‘the living stone’ – ‘stone’ comes from Ps. 118 – Peter adds ‘the living’
Christ not only was crucified but by defeating death He NOW lives)
‘chosen by God’ & ‘rejected by men’
VERSE 5 (describes a believer following the example of Jesus – 4 COMMANDS)
1. ‘like living stones’
We are made alive by Christ
2. ‘spiritual house’ – (house) gives the image of a family
We, through Christ, now make up the family of God
READ 1 Tim. 3:15
3. ‘holy priesthood’
a. (Ex. 19:6) - God promised Israel they would be “a kingdom of priests” and a “holy nation” if they remained obedient to God.)
b. LIVING in Believers, we are to be ‘a holy priesthood’.
4. ‘offering spiritual sacrifices’
Just as a priests offered sacrifices, we are to OFFER OURSELVES as a Living Sacrifice.
READ Rom. 12.1
APPLICATION:
Every part of our lives—our jobs, activities, recreation, attitudes, giving, goals—should be as a spiritual sacrifice to God. When we learn to please God and follow his directions and guidance, all we do delights him. THESE SACRIFICES ARE “SPIRITUAL”
READ VERSE 6 (Isa. 28.16)
‘stone in Zion’ -
Christ lived in and around Jerusalem – He suffered, died, and defeated death there.
‘a chief corner stone’
the foundation stone; a ‘corner stone’ – a ‘capstone’ – laid in the foundation, at an angle of the building where its two sides form the ground work of a side and end wall.
‘never be put to shame’
from Isaiah 28:16; one Writer wrote this: “he who comes to God, through Christ, for salvation, shall never be confounded; he need not haste to flee away, for no enemy shall ever be able to annoy him.”
APPLICATION:
1. Christians face trials & disappointments, but having experienced the ‘taste of God’, he will never be disappointed!
2. As a building rests on its cornerstone, so believers rest on Christ.
VERSES 7 & 8
Pulling from the previous verses (and OT writings). The MSG is simple with one CAUTION.
(End of VS 8)
8…They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for.
Their ‘stumbling’ and ‘disobedience’ were ‘destined’ by God? What does this mean?
1- One’s destiny is preplanned by God? OR
2- The punishment for disbelief is predestined.
IF PREDESTINATION INCLUDES ONE’S SOUL – THEN…
READ 2 PETER 3:9 & 10 – If predestination is a part of God’s Word why does God need to be patient? In fact, why is 2 Peter 3:9 & 10 even a part? Why does God all throughout the GOSPEL give man a CALL TO REPENT?
WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN? HOW DO WE APPLY WHAT WE’VE READ?
Peter brings it all together in VERSES 9-12.
Phrases and words relating back to all of CHAPTERS 1 & 2 make up verses 9-12. He reminds us (VS. 9-10)…
READ VERSES 9-10
We – those who have tasted the love of God through Christ – have been CALLED TO live in such a way such as to bring praise to God. WE ARE TO BE DIFFERENT.
As Jesus, you are God’s Chosen People; a Living Stone; a Holy Priesthood; God Spiritual House. AS SUCH…
READ VERSE 11-12
‘ABSTAIN’ – to hold oneself from something – ‘FROM SINFUL DESIRES’
Once we become a believer, a battle has begun, for Satan is the enemy of Christ and his followers.
Peter’s readers were scattered among unbelieving Gentiles who hearing and believing vicious lies being spread about them.
Live in such a way that others glorify God from your example!
They were to ‘live such good lives’ that through their example, the lies would be proven false and actually cause the lost to glorify God.
ILLUSTRATION: SUCCESS REQUIRES DISCIPLINE
John Maxwell relates the story of Bobby Jones, a legendary golfer who won a major tournament at twenty-one. By age twenty-eight, he had already won the grand slam and retired. Jones had an uncle who said that by the time he was fourteen, Bobby was probably already the best golfer in the world including in popularity.
However, Jones was also known for his temper because he would throw his clubs when he got irritated. Jones’s uncle sat down with him and said, "Bobby, your problem is you’ve mastered the game of golf, but you haven’t mastered your emotions; and until you master your emotions, you’ll never be a champion in golf."
Maxwell observes: "We have choices when it comes to our emotions: we can master them, or they can master us."
SUMMARY
How do you close a passage that has SO MANY APPLICATIONS?
HOW DO YOU SUMMARIZE SO MUCH?
1. The Call To Remove Anything (in our lives) that Separates us From God, His Love, & His Word & His Way
2. A Call of being a Living Stone – A Chosen People – A holy Priesthood
3. A Call to Living in Such a Way that Others Praise God – Be God’s Choice!
THERE IS A COST OF BEING CHOSEN!
NOW THAT YOU’VE ‘TASTED’ THE LOVE OF GOD, WHAT HAVE YOU BEGUN TO CRAVE?
The Ways of the World – or The Ways of God through the Living Stone?
