You must be crushed and broken
2 Peter 1:3-11
Good morning everyone, if you would turn to 2 Peter chapter one. This will be our text this morning.
I am glad that you have joined us.
Let’s Pray-
The last time we were together, we spoke of being born again, the experience of Nicodemus and Jesus and Jesus explaining to him what it is to be born again.
Jesus did not shy away from the subject and neither should we!
“Born again” the quick version is asking Jesus into your life to be Lord of your life. It is not a phrase to allow us to just avoid hell. It is having an active relationship with Jesus that will change your life forever.
Nicodemus didn’t understand it, this is why he asked how could a person be born again in the flesh and again come from the womb.
Being born again is a spiritual act of Jesus taking us from being a sinner lost in our sins, to being in a relationship with our Lord who paid the price for our sins and we are now sinners saved by the grace of God.
This morning I want us to look at what do we do after we have asked Jesus into our lives- What does that life look like, at least what should it look like?
I have titled the message- You must be crushed and broken-
I find today that there are many factors that can keep us from serving the Lord.
Pride is a killer!
Today young people feel like they have nothing to offer because they are young and the older seasoned saints feel like they have nothing more to offer because they feel old, so we have a church full of believers that feel like they have nothing to offer.
If we are true believers, it does not take us too long to realize that we cannot live the life we are suppose to without the Lord helping us.
We see very quickly that what we want to do is not always what the Lord wants us to do and there is a fight between what we want and want God wants
The bible calls that “fighting the flesh”- fighting the desires of what we want and what God wants-
Apostle Paul tells us from his own life that what he wants to do, he does not do and what he does not want to do that is what he does- that is the best description of the fighting the flesh and the spiritual battle that happens in our lives.
Apostle Paul had a dramatic Damascus road experience where the desire of man meets a holy God and we realize what a mess we are without God and the need to be in a right relationship with Him.
The blinders have to come off and we have to be in God’s presence for that to happen.
We are deceived until our spiritual eyes are opened.
John 10:10-“The deceiver comes to steal, kill and destroy and Jesus comes to give us life and to give it to us abundantly.”
Peter from our text will show us how we can live lives that line up and please the Lord.
Peter you remember, the one who boldly dare tell Jesus I would never denounce you and Jesus said, Peter the roaster will cock and you will deny me three times. This same Peter learned what each of us must learn.
We must learn just like Peter and Paul learned that the flesh cannot be destroyed or be surrendered to God without the Holy Spirit doing it- notice I didn’t say help- He is not helping, he is doing! We must be surrendered.
2 Peter 1:3-11
He is talking to the church- believers he says who have received a faith as precious as ours.
The world today wants the promises of God without God.
They want the blessings of God without God
They want the protection of God without God
AND THEY WANT TO BLAME GOD WHEN IT DOESN’T HAPPEN.
Peter in his letter to the church is reminding them that it was Jesus divine power that was given to us because we are His children, the power and guidance we need to live the lives with godliness and power by His Holy Spirit living in us.
Verse 4- because we are believers- “we can participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
We are going to see in a minute what those evil desires are and how we can get victory in our lives over them.
For this reason (what reason?) to get out the evil desires in our lives-
We must Add to our faith- goodness and to goodness knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, to self control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness, love.
“ For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive.”
(2) That we will find grace and peace and direction as we seek knowing God and His righteousness.
The flesh of man is destructive and will take us away from the Lord
Peter is calling what we do that is not pleasing to the Lord evil desires.
Remember Peter is talking to the church, he is not right now talking to people who have not professed Christ as Lord.
The bible also calls the evil desires, or the sinful nature, the flesh- simply put the flesh (sinful nature) is what we want over what God wants for our lives.
Apostle Paul talks about it in great detail in Galatians 5:16-
“So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
Anyone know what I am talking about?
The sinful nature has to be crushed! It has to be illuminated from our lives and we cannot do it without the Lord’s help.
Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
Galatians 2:20-
“I Have Been Crucified with Christ and I no Longer Live, but Christ Lives in me. The Life I live in the Body, I Live by Faith in The Son of God, who Loved me and gave himself for me”
Paul says out of personal experience- His Damascus road experience, his personal born again experience that the law of man does not work- the fabric of the law is spiritual suicide because we cannot do it in ourselves.
Paul tried to live by the law to be right with God. He found that no matter what he did he did not measure up and the farther that he was not right with God.
The law showed him how helpless he was without Jesus.
So great was the change that the only way Paul knew how to describe it was to say that he had been crucified with Christ so that the man that he used to be was dead and the living power within him was Christ working in him.
Martin Luther who was a model of discipline said- “if ever a man could be saved by being a monk, that man was I” he said he kept himself on his knees and heard a voice from heaven… “the just shall live by faith” and realized then that the only way he would achieve it was casting himself on the love and mercy of God and surrender every part of him that the Lord could take the displeasing things from his life.
Phillips, Craig and Dean have a song out that sings about being crucified in Christ
For I am crucified with Christ and yet I live
Not I but Christ that lives within me.
His cross will never ask for more than I can give
For it is not my strength but his
There’s no greater sacrifice for I am crucified with Christ and yet I live.
The tearing down of self and the exhortation of Jesus-
John says that he was decrease and Jesus must increase!
The outer man (flesh) must be surrendered to God for God to use you
What does it mean to surrender spiritually?
To surrender spiritually means that a believer completely gives up his own will and subjects his thoughts, ideas, and deeds to the will and teachings of Jesus Christ..
Surrender is willful acceptance and yielding to the Lord Jesus!
How do you surrender? Take your hands off the wheel
Take your hands off the wheel! For many years there was a phrase and bumper sticker that said God is my co-pilot. If God is your co-pilot change seats and let him drive. I have been crucified with Christ- no longer I that lives but Christ lives in me!
James 4:10
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourself, do what it says.”
“Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil, and he will flee.”
“Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up”
“Seek first the kingdom of God”
We keep fighting Jesus - the flesh will not go down without a fight!
“Come to me, ALL who are weary and burdened, and I will give your rest.”
When we surrender ourselves to Christ- then Christ is able to use us for his kingdom!
The flesh, the thoughts that are not brought under the captivity of Christ, pride…must be brought under the captivity of Christ!
WE MUST ALLOW THE HOLY SPIRIT TO WORK IN OUR LIVES
Head knowledge doesn’t change us, the Holy Spirit does
There is a lot of progressive teachings that do not line up with the powerful inspired and anointed word of God
Culture does not change the word of God- the word of God changes us!
When God says yes…he means yes
When God says no…he means no
Culture does not get to redo the word of God!
Head knowledge does not change us, the Holy Spirit of God changes us- in fact there must be a change if we are going to have a born again experience. As we read the word and then let the word change us, we will see the power of God begin working in us.
Peter tells us how that can be done! Back to 2 peter 2:5 our text
Add to your faith-
Goodness- Godly goodness.
Godly goodness brings knowledge- Godly knowledge
Godly knowledge brings self-control- Godly self control
Godly self control brings perseverance-Godly perseverance
Godly perseverance brings godliness- What God calls godliness
Godliness brings kindness-Godly kindness
Godly kindness brings love-God’s love
Grab this verse 8- “For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being in effective and unproductive.”
Here is why some are not being used by God-
Why some people are not being used
Why some churches are not being used
Why some denominations are not used
God cannot use you until you surrender!
Until your flesh and my flesh and your selfish and my selfish ways are crushed and crucified by Christ. We cannot be used in the way desires to use us!
We must die daily to self- pride is the killer of what God wants to do in and through us in our lives.
As I close-
Surrender in the bible is throwing the white flag and admitting to God that you give up- you give up wanting things your way, especially if it goes against what is taught in God’s word.
To spiritually surrender means to let go of control and trust God.
To surrender to Christ is a decisive blow to our flesh. “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live…”
Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” I Peter 5:7
“And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you” Psalm 9:10
Illustration-
Dr. Tony Evans tells a great story of surrender- he says that a chicken and a pig were walking through town when they came to a sign that was placed on the window of the grocery store “Eggs and bacon desperately needed” the chicken looks at the pig and says let’s help them out. I will give them the eggs and you give them some bacon. The pig looks at the chicken and says your crazy! For you it is a contribution…for me it is everything! For believers we don’t have problem laying an egg and giving something! A contribution. But for the pig, it was everything, he had to give himself completely! Surrender is not giving a contribution to God, it is deciding by choice that you will give him everything! All of you!
When we come to Christ… Christ begins to make changes, He shows us that if we are to be all that God wants us to be in our lives, it won’t be a contribution, it will be a sacrifice! Dead to self… alive in Christ!
Amen
