August 5, 2012
Morning Worship
Text: 2 Peter 1:3-11
Subject: A Christian Responsibility
Title: Be All You Can Be
Do you remember the old TV Ad for the US Army that said, “Be all that you can be in the army?” It was an invitation to young men and women to find an avenue by which they could meet all the expectations that they might have for a fruitful and exciting life.
Now, let’s compare life in the army with a life lived for Christ. First of all, contrary to what people who don’t know Christ would say, the Christian life is the most exciting life one could ever live. The Christian life does not limit what you can or cannot do. It does open the doors to possibilities that you may have never imagined… The Army offers the opportunity for you to serve and protect your nation. Christianity offers you the opportunity to serve the Living God and find yourself under His protection. The Army provides a venue for you to see the world… Christianity provides you an opportunity to change the world.
Here is the only limitation with Christianity… are you ready for this? The only limitation is YOU! Paul told the church in Ephesus, that God… is able to do immeasurably more (NKJV exceedingly, abundantly) than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…
It all comes down to what our mindset is concerning God’s power at work in us. Some will say that His power is limitless, so that gives me limitless possibilities. Other say that His power is limited because it is at work within me… a flawed being.
"Nothing is done," Lincoln Steffens once wrote. "Everything in the world remains to be done--or done over. The greatest picture is not yet painted. The greatest play isn’t written. The greatest poem is unsung." Nothing is perfect, we can add. There’s no perfect airline. There’s no perfect government. there’s no perfect law.
Faucets still drip, as one did years ago in the Steffens household. As he and his seven-year-old son tried to fix it, Steffens had to admit that his generation could not make a fit faucet. "But," said Steffens, referring to his son, "he may. There’s a job for him and his generation in the plumbing business, and in every other business. Teach your children that nothing is done, finally and right; that nothing is known, positively and completely; that the world is theirs--all of it.
Bits and Pieces, April 1990, p. 7.
That is a message for all Christians.
Be all that you can be…
Read 2 Peter 1:3-11…
I believe this is God’s Word…
I believe it is for me…
I accept it as mine…
And I appropriate it to my life today…
I. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE ALL YOU CAN BE YOU MUST HAVE POWER … Before I start in verse 3 let’s look at the introduction to the letter… 1Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. Grace and peace comes through your knowledge of God through your relationship with Jesus. It is important that you have knowledge of everything that God has done for you. That is what Peter tells us in verse 3, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Now if we break this down a little it really clarifies what God’s purpose for our lives is. First of all look at the phrase His divine power… Whose power is it? His power… What kind of power is it? Divine power… the word “divine” means godlike. And what kind of power is it? The word power is “dunamis” and I love what Strong’s concordance says about it…1. force… 2. (specially) miraculous power… 3. (usually by implication) a miracle itself… This is that power that Paul said back in Ephesians 3 that is at work within us… and Peter concurs with Paul’s assessment by saying, His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness… What is His power for? Well the word “life” in this verse is the Greek word that refers to “eternal life”. God’s power enables us to have the assurance of eternity with Him. It has opened the door of salvation through the cross of Jesus and His resurrection. The word “godliness” is the Greek eusebeia and it means, devout reverence in attitude, conduct, and deed… so “life” refers to eternal life and “godliness” refers to everything we need in this life. So our roles as believers is to have a right attitude about God and our lives lived “in Him” and to conduct ourselves in a way that shows reverence to Him, and then to do deeds that show that we belong to Him. How do we get that? … through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. This word knowledge talks about having a full recognition ff who God is and what His plan for your life is and also about the power He has bestowed upon you to enable you to do His deeds. …called us by his own glory and goodness… His revelation to us of His very nature. His visible presence (glory) and His goodness seen through the lives of those who trust Him. Verse 4 coincides with verse 3, 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. First of all, He gives us promises. And these are not just your average promises – they are very great promises. The KJV says “exceedingly great promises…” And they are precious promises. The word precious means, “costly”. What did the promises of God cost him? They cost Him His Son. 2 Corinthians 1:20, For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Look at what these verses require from us… 1) We need to have knowledge of His promises to us… How can you claim a promise from God is you don’t know what they are? 2) All the promises are “Yes” in Christ. Everything that God has declared is available to those who believe ahs been accomplished in Jesus. What do you need from God? Find it in the bible then claim it as your own. 3) You can agree with what God says on your behalf. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. Why would you want to do anything less? What is God’s power for? It is for you to be all that you can be…
II. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE ALL YOU CAN BE YOU MUST HAVE PURPOSE … 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. Here is a promise you have to get hold of – you have God’s power in you. And because you have God’s power in you then there should be something in the supernatural that sparks a manifestation in the natural. It is revealed by your faith. Would it be nice that when you were saved all of these things became an automatic? You instantly increased in goodness and knowledge and then self-control would take over and you were automatically able to persevere and so on… But it doesn’t say that does it? It does say that it is up to you to add… Good news – if the Lord tells us by His Spirit and through His word that you are to do these things, then doesn’t that mean that He will or has given you all that you need to accomplish them? This lines up with what Paul calls the fruit of the Spirit that all believers should manifest in their lives in Galatians 5:22-23. Listen, these are not things that are inspired by the natural man. The natural man wants to be selfish and impatient and ugly and vile – that is the sin nature that is at work within you. But you don’t have to give in to the natural man. Immediately after Paul lists the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 he writes this, 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. There it is – that’s the key. We have to learn to crucify the flesh and walk in the Spirit. Keep in step means to go where He goes and if He won’t go there then you shouldn’t either. What is the purpose of the power you have in you? 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The power of God at work in you is supposed to be productive. In your business dealings – honesty. In your work ethic – productive, in you relationships – honest and caring and sincere… The power of God in you just for the sake of having power won’t accomplish anything. Jesus told His disciples, “And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be My witnesses… empowered to live a holy life for the kingdom of God. Look at the warning in verse 9, But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
III. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE ALL YOU CAN BE YOU WILL HAVE PEACE… 10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall… God has given us His power. He expects us to use that power. And that power will provide for us a confidence that we can know that we have eternal life. But look at the wording that Peter uses here concerning your salvation. 1) Make your calling and election sure… You are responsible for holding on to what God has promised. By walking in His power you will never have to doubt your salvation. Never take your salvation for granted. It is the gift of God. You are saved by grace – that what grace is, God’s gift to you. 2) there is a danger of falling from grace. For if you do these things, you will never fall… All of the things Peter writes about are things that come from a life in the Spirit – being in Christ. In Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus warned about those who look like Christians but really are not, 15“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. God’s power at work within you provides eternal life and the ability to be sure that you don’t lose it. 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. You can have God’s peace in your life knowing that He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Most of the time when we talk about power in the church we refer to the promise that Jesus gave us from Mark 16, 17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” And John 14, 12I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. I really like that passage from John because it encompasses the entire scope of your Christian walk. Yes you will do the miraculous things that Jesus did. But let me ask you a question. Did you ever stop to think that before you can walk in the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit that you need to learn to walk in step with the Spirit? There is a story in acts chapter 8 about a man called Simon. He was a sorcerer but when he saw the miracles that Philip did in Samaria, he knew that there was a supernatural power much greater than his power that was at work. Simon gave his heart to the Lord. Sounds like a good story doesn’t it? But later we see that when Peter and John came down to Samaria and laid hands on the believers that they might receive the Holy Spirit, Simon offered Peter money if he could have that kind of power. Here is the problem, Simon didn’t want to change his life but he still wanted power. The bible doesn’t tell us what happened to Simon, but the early history of the church tells us that there was a man called Simon who had been a believer but turned back to his sorcery and became an enemy of the church.
Here is what I want you to understand. There is a supernatural work that takes place when you are saved. You become a new creation. But that is not the end, only the beginning. As you continue to seek after Him you can allow your life to become changed. The Word says that we are being changed into His image from glory to glory. We must decrease while He increases. As that happens, you will begin to be more like Him. 5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. To be able to walk in the power to live like that we seek after that baptism in the Holy Spirit. You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. When you begin to walk in goodness and knowledge and self-control and perseverance and godliness and kindness and love, walking the way that Jesus walked, then you can expect more miracles in your life. Why? Because the life that you live will validate the miracles that you do and vice versa. God wants you to be all that you can be… and He is able to empower you to do it. His power is here to work within you today if you will allow it to. It is your choice. God will never force you into anything. But He desires that you would be willing to be changed into His image day by day.
