FURTHERING Your FAITH-V—2Peter 1:9(:5-11)
Attention:-White Lie Cake:
Jenny was to bake a cake for the Women’s Missionary Union of Tuscaloosa, AL, but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered it the morning of the bake sale & after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix & quickly made it while drying her hair, dressing, & helping her son pack for scout camp.
She didn’t have a fluted pan so she used a deep round casserole dish. When she took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat & the cake was horribly disfigured & she exclaimed, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake!" This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church, & in her new community of friends.
So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of The cake. She quickly cut out the sunken center of the cake & plunked in a roll of toilet paper, covering the paper tube with the lid from a soup can, & then covered it all with icing. Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect.
Just before she left the house to drop the cake by the church & head for work, Jenny wakes her daughter & gives her some money with specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 & to buy the cake & bring it home. Jenny graciously delivers the cake, all the while praying her daughter will buy it in time.
When the daughter arrives at the sale, she finds Jenny’s attractive, perfect cake had already been sold!
Amanda grabbed her cell phone & called her mom.
Jenny was horrified-she was beside herself! Everyone would know! What would they think? All night, Jenny lay awake in bed thinking about her failure. She asked the Lord to forgive her for her fleshly indulgences surrounding the cake....
The next day, Jenny promises herself to try not to think about the cake, & would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member & try to have a good time. She did not really want to attend because the hostess was snobbish, who more than once had looked down her nose at the fact that Jenny was a single parent & not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa. But having already RSVP'd, she had to go.
The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old south, & to Jenny's horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! The hostess had bought Jenny’s cake!
Jenny felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake! She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife says to the hostess, “What a beautiful cake!” Jenny, still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess(who was a prominent church member) lie thru her teeth to the Mayor’s wife, answering, “Thank you, I baked it myself.”
Jenny smiled & thought to herself, “God is good.”
*Like Jenny convoluted situation, some of you are taking way too much liberty with the wrong things, & way too little care of those things that matter to God!
You & I are urged, thru God’s word, to ensure & maintain, the FULLNESS of our “faith” in Christ, so that our experience, & the world’s experience with Christianity, will be Christ-honoring, positive, & beneficial to all!
Need:
?Are you satisfied with your walk with Jesus?
There is a very real sense in which every committed believer is indeed ‘satisfied’ with their Christian walk. Yet there is another sense in which to be fully ‘satisfied’ with your ‘Jesus walk’ could only be a statement of personal arrogance!
?Are you pleased with your working relationship with the Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit?
?To What in particular, OR, How has God called you, to apply His equipping, in your Christian walk?
Some Christians....
•Struggle in general, with how to apply their calling & their giftedness.
•Struggle with using their calling & giftedness OUTSIDE of a church setting. And others struggle to apply their calling & their giftedness within the church.
The apostle Peter encouraged the Churches to bolster/strengthen/further support their initial faith in Christ, in order to provide an ‘abundant entrance’ to the Kingdom of God.
God’s people are obligated to further their faith.
Here Peter answers the question:
?What does ‘Furthering Your Faith’ involve or entail?
We are continuing to examine:
4 Factors For Furthering Your Faith.
In the last weeks we have examined the fact that,
Furthering Your Faith involves...
1. DUE DILIGENCE DONE(:5-7)?•[Part 1--:5a-d]?•[Part 2--:5e-6a]?•[Part 3--:6b-7]
2. FRUITFULNESS(:8)
Today, we’ll find that:
3—Furthering Your Faith ALSO involves...
AWARENESS/ATTENTIVENESS(:9)
Explanation:(:9)
:9—“For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, & has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”
:9a—“For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness,...”
“For he who lacks these things” contrasts, verse :8’s--“if these things are yours & abound.”
The person who “lacks” the above “things” that are necessary for the wholeness & utility of their Christian faith(:5-7—i.e., virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, & love) has made it plain to all that he/she is so “short-sighted” as to be effectively “blind.”
*The actual Greek word order states “For he who lacks these things is blind, shortsighted, having forgotten...”
To be “blind” & “shortsighted”, is to be ‘imprudent’--that is, you have no real concern for spiritual things in general, your spiritual future, or for the spiritual future of anyone else. Such a person’s focus is on the ‘now’, instead of on the ‘now’ as well as the near & far ‘future.’
To be “blind” & “shortsighted” reveals an obvious dis-connect between your past, your present, & your potential future in Christ.
•And so by being “blind” & “shortsighted”, you are allowing yourself to be essentially & effectively a solitary ‘loose cannon’, who has distanced yourself from being used by God to complete His work in yourself & others!
:9b—“...And has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”
Spiritual “shortsightedness” & “blindness” describes your ‘willingness’ to ‘conveniently’, by your own discretion, keep certain things ‘out of your thoughts’(“forgotten”).
To be so “shortsighted” & “blind”, describes a person who willingly & conveniently, disregards the necessity that brought about their salvation in the first place! Whereas, the reality is, that while on this earth, you ARE & will ALWAYS be a sinner in need of Jesus’ “cleansing” salvation!
To be so “shortsighted” & “blind”, is to have willingly & conveniently “forgotten” that salvation revolves around, a person’s having been “cleansed from” their “old sins.”
•And so, to lose sight of that fact, is to lose sight of the fact that the only reason you have life in Christ, is because of God’s forgiveness!
•And THAT fact alone SHOULD cause you to question the security of your faith that you claim to live under! And if that is YOUR current state of relationship with God, it was anticipated by the apostle Peter in the Holy Spirit, & it plays directly into Peter’s next statement in the following verse :10.
NOT even ONE of God’s people, has, or will EVER ‘arrive’, or reach a stopping point, in their Christian calling & walk! Your particular calling & walk may change or shift to some degree, your ministries may change, your focus may change, you may have run out of energy to continue a ministry you’ve always done....BUT God’s people never stop or ‘retire’ from serving God!
Argumentation:
1Cor. 10:6-14—“Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they[Israel] also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat & drink, & rose up to play.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, & in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, & were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, & were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, & they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”
Mk. 10:17-22—“Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, & asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. “You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father & your mother.’” And he answered & said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, & said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have & give to the poor, & you will have treasure in heaven; & come, take up the cross, & follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, & went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
*Mk. 12:28-34—“Then one of the scribes came, & having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?” Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. ‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, & with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. “And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” So the scribe said to Him, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, & there is no other but He. “And to love Him with all the heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul, & with all the strength, & to love one’s neighbor as oneself, is more than all the whole burnt offerings & sacrifices.” Now when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” But after that no one dared question Him.”
*2Cor. 13:5—“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you are disqualified.”
*1Cor. 11:27-32—“Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body & blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, & so let him eat of the bread & drink of the cup. For he who eats & drinks in an unworthy manner eats & drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. For this reason many are weak & sick among you, & many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”
*Ps. 119:59-60—“I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies. I made haste, & did not delay To keep Your commandments.”
*Lam. 3:40-41—“Let us search out & examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD; Let us lift our hearts & hands To God in heaven.”
*Haggai 1:5-7—“Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! You have sown much, & bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.” Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways!”
*Rev. 3:2, 3—to Sardis—“Be watchful, & strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God. Remember therefore how you have received & heard; hold fast & repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, & you will not know what hour I will come upon you.
*Js. 4:4—“Adulterers & adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity[‘hatred’] with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
*Rev. 2:2-5—to Ephesus—“I know your works, your labor, your patience, & that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles & are not, & have found them liars; & you have persevered & have patience, & have labored for My name’s sake & have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent & do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly & remove your lampstand from its place--unless you repent.”
*2Cor. 6:14-17—“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.””
1Cor. 6:15-19—“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ & make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, & you are not your own?”
Jn. 15:4—Jesus said,—“Abide in Me, & I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.”
Illustration:
*From a very young age, I was continually fascinated by nature, by living things, be it animals or plants. And in relation to that, I remember what happened when I first got glasses at around fifteen years old. I discovered that I needed glasses in order to drive. Immediately upon receiving my glasses & putting them on for the first time, the first thing I remember seeing clearly is trees in full leaf(spring/summer). For fifteen years, I hadn’t realized, until I put my glasses on, how utterly beautiful the trees were. Whereas before the glasses, Yes, I appreciated the trees, while only seeing them as greenish blurs! With my glasses though, I could now see every individual leaf on the tree! With my glasses, I immediately became aware of things that I had not been aware of before.
The Fullness of Furthering your Faith increases your AWARENESS/ATTENTIVENESS of what God’s work consists of, & also of what Satan’s work consists of!
During a well-visit to your Medical Doctor, you MAY be given a ‘clean-bill-of-health’....OR during your visit, something MAY pique the Doctor’s interest, so that they set up a later visit to undergo some specific tests. It MAY be nothing, or it MAY be something of real concern that needs immediate attention. Regardless, there is something different that either you or the Doctor or both have been made aware of & attentive to.
AWARENESS/ATTENTIVENESS
Application:
?Is YOUR ‘AWARENESS/ATTENTIVENESS’ born of FURTHERING YOUR FAITH in Christ?
?Are YOU actually FURTHERING YOUR Christian FAITH?
What could POSSIBLY so command your attention, that it would cause you to willingly “forget” your having been “cleansed” “from” your “old sins” by Jesus’ blood?...
•To be truthful,....just about ANYTHING can ‘improperly’ get, hold, & command our attention!
*?Does Christ-honoring AWARENESS/ATTENTIVENESS accent/characterize the way you live the life that God has granted to you?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
*As with the ungodly circumstances surrounding Jenny’s cake, some of you are taking way too much liberty with the wrong things, & way too little care of those things that matter to God!
You & I are urged, thru God’s word, to maintain, the FULLNESS of our “faith” in Christ, so that our experience, & the world’s experience with Christianity, will be Christ-honoring, positive, & beneficial to all!
Action:
Furthering Your Faith involves...
3. AWARENESS/ATTENTIVENESS(:9)
1. DUE DILIGENCE DONE(:5-7)[Parts 1-3]
2. FRUITFULNESS(:8)
Pt# 3 only!-presented 09/08/2024am to:
Salem Baptist Church
1618 Salem Road
Bennettsville, SC 29512
