INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• We spent our time together last week examining the issue of having an intimate relationship with God. God desires us to be close to Him.
• He paid a great price through His Son Jesus in order for that relationship to be possible.
• When you have a very close or intimate relationship with someone, isn’t part of that thinking about ways you can please the person with whom you have the close relationship?
• Can you imagine how rough a marriage would be if you NEVER considered how to please your spouse?
• I do not know about you, but have you ever thought about that concept concerning God?
• Today we are going to pursue the concept of pleasing God. In the very rich passage we are going to explore together this morning, I believe we can find some things that Peter tells us will please God.
• Let us begin with verses 3-4
• SLIDE #2
• 2 Peter 1:3-4 ( ESV ) 3His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
• Let’s begin by seeing…
• SLIDE #3
SERMON
I. Why we should want to please God.
• In the context of the text, Peter is dealing with people who were trying to entice Christians to leave the faith in order to follow their false teachings.
• I am glad we are not still hit with those messages today.
• When we are deciding why we would want to please someone, we usually look for some reasons to expend the energy and time to do so.
• In verses 3-4, we can see three basic reasons to want to please God.
• Let start by see that…
• SLIDE #4
A. He has granted us all things pertaining to life and godliness.
• In the context Peter is speaking specifically of the Apostles in verses 3-4, but since these things were given to the Apostles, they were passed to us through their writing of the Scriptures!
• Life is not the biological word, but the word ZOE- which means the new SPIRITUAL life we have in Christ.
• Godliness- Reverence towards God that is anxious to be well pleasing to God. It also speaks of correctly serving one’s fellow man, giving to all men their due.
• One of the reasons we should want to please God is that He has given us EVERYTHING we need to have a successful and blessed spiritual life!
• The false teachers of Peter’s day claimed they had something they did not have!
• The world around us claims to have what we need in order to have a blessed life, but the promises of the world come back to us empty!
• The NEW LIFE we experience in Christ is like NONE OTHER!
• We were once dead in our sins, no longer when we are in Christ!
• Notice the word order used in the passage.
• The word order Peter uses would indicate that we will not be godly where LIFE is absent.
• First comes life, and then comes godliness!
• You also need to take note of the fact that we are GIVEN ALL this through a FULL knowledge of HIM!
• The Apostles carefully examined Jesus and what they experienced and saw, they gave to us so we too could know HIM!
• We can rejoice because we are given ALL we need to grow in Christ, we have not been short-changed!
• The second reason we should want to please God is…
• SLIDE #5
B. He has given us great promises.
• There are many promises given to us throughout the Scriptures! The Apostles were recipients’ of many specific promises that we receive the benefit from!
• We have the promise of the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), the promise of Eternal Life, the promise of New Life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17)!
• We have the promise of Divine Guidance, the promise of gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), the a way of escape in the midst of temptation (1 Corinthians10:13)
• Peter referred to Christ’s second coming (1:16; 3:4, 9-10, 12), the new heavens and earth (3:13), and the Christians’ welcome into Christ’s kingdom.
• Just to name a FEW!
• These great promises lead us to the third reason we should want to please God!
• SLIDE #6
C. He has given us the way to escape corruption!
• Divine power and precious promises were made to the Apostles so we could all realize the divine nature God wants us to have!
• What Jesus granted to the Apostles has application to us also!
• We become partakers in the Divine nature not by following the world but by following the teachings of the Apostles.
• The phrase “Partakers of the divine nature” is only is used in this passage in the New Testament.
• What does this phrase mean to us?
• We were created in the image of God and that image was marred but sin, but now through Jesus, we can partake in that image once again!
• When we become partakers, we escape the corruption of the world!
• If we chose to live the corrupt lives the world offers us we will have a ZERO chance in participating in the Divine Nature.
• We will die in our sins; we will NEVER be able to stand before God. It is impossible without Jesus!
• Let’s turn to verses 5-7
• SLIDE #7
• 2 Peter 1:5-7 ( ESV ) 5For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.
• Now let’s look at…
• SLIDE #8
II. How we can please God.
• Once we give our lives to Christ, is that all we need to do in order to please God and in order to have a wonderful Spiritual life?
• There is more to it than getting baptized and then sitting in a pew! Let look at what that is!
• SLIDE #9
A. We are to supplement our faith with some awesome qualities.
• Verse 5 begins with FOR THIS REASON!
• That because of the things God has done for us; we are called to put some skin in the game, to put out an effort.
• Make every effort means to bring along side, contribute something. We are to bring something alongside of what Christ has done for us.
• It takes 2 to make it work!
• TO SUPPLEMENT GIVES US A PICTURE THAT PETER’S READERS UNDERSTOOD WELL!
• IT GAVE THE Picture of a wealthy patron who lavishly provided all the expenses for the training, equipping, and staging of a Greek drama in the theater of at some public celebration.
• It was not unusual for the cost to be equal to 3000 days worth of a normal persons wage, yet the wealthy who did it did so out of love for their city. Later the word became to supply or provide.
• Peter is going to share seven qualities that we need to supplement to our faith!
• Peter wants his readers to equip their lives with the 7 qualities in a lavish manner, not at the bottom minimum it will be good enough attitude.
• Virtue- the desire to do what God says is correct. We are to deliberately want this every day of our lives!
• Knowledge-If we are going to do right, we need to know what is right! STUDY THE WORD!
• Self-Control-restrained power, or controlled power, Knowledge leads to self-control.
• SLIDE #10
• Romans 8:13 ( ESV ) For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
• Steadfastness-We are not to be self-controlled for a short time, but for the long haul! We keep on in the face of all temptations!
• Godliness-Our lives will become more in the image of God as we keep with the above traits.
• Brotherly affection-We deliberately look for ways to help or brethren! We do not allow anything to come between ourselves and our brothers in Christ!
• This is important!
• SLIDE #11
• 1 John 5:1 ( ESV ) 1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
• Let’s look at verses 8-11
• SLIDE #12
• 2 Peter 1:8-11 ( ESV ) 8For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
• Let’s now look at:
• SLIDE #13
III. The blessings of pleasing God.
• There are three blessings we will look at.
• SLIDE #14
A. We will be effective in our service to the Lord!
• Ineffective comes from a word that means NO WORK. Many Christians do nothing because they are making no attempt to grow in these 7 qualities.
• Unfruitful means a tree will produce no fruit even under the best of situations.
• As we grow in these areas we will grow to know our Lord more and more.
• Notice these qualities are not only to exist but they are to be INCREASING!
• SLIDE #15
B. We will not be blind to what God has done for us.
• So near-sighted he is blind- They voluntarily make themselves this way by not seeing what is important.
• Spiritually near-sighted people can only see things close to them
• This is an ongoing condition.
• We will see what God has done for us!
• SLIDE #16
C. We will never fall!
• WE are told to be Diligent which means we are to add the qualities for our own benefit!
• You notice that if we PRACTICE these qualities we will NEVER fall!
• WE are also told that by following this path, this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
• This is Peter’s way of saying that God’s response is VERY generous to the one’s who follow this counsel!
CONCLUSION
• God has done so much for us! He wants you to be close to Him.
• IF you are looking for ways to please God, this passage is a good place to start!
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