Sustaining Christian Ministry-3

SUSTAINING CHRISTIAN MINISTRY-III—2Peter 1:12-15

Attention:

Lighthouses:

Thru the centuries, lighthouses have used varying methods of lighting.

“At the beginning of American light keeping, our 12 Colonial lights established before the American Revolution, almost without exception, used candles in chandeliers.

Their best candles were made of whale oil, which burned more brightly than other oils, as well as producing less smoke. And each candle was mounted in front of a mirrored reflector.

By the 1840’s, almost every light-giving apparatus, not just lighthouses, used whale oil.” “Whale oil’s peak, worldwide was the late 1840’s & 1850’s.”

“Over a relatively short span of time, in 1859, ‘mineral oils’ from wells located in Titusville, Pennsylvania were discovered. Those oils proved more versatile & plentiful than both vegetable & whale oil.” And so then, “kerosene” became the primary “lighting fuel for all mid-to-late 19th century lighthouses.”

A lighthouse would use just slightly more than “3.5 gallons of kerosene for the longest night of the year.” Centered inside the Fresnel lens assembly, was a brass kerosene lamp, with multiple wicks, placed within a long glass chimney. It directed the light waves through the prisms of the lens, & enabled the light to be seen for more or less 20 miles out at sea.

By the late 18th century, & on into the early 20th century, with the advent of electricity, lighthouses had shifted to electric lighting inside their lenses.—excerpted from: https://www.ponceinlet.org/lighthouse-oil-myths-folklore/

Governments worldwide have seen the need to SUSTAIN the guiding light of lighthouses, by various means, as a safety measure for sea traveling merchants.

LIKEWISE, the guiding light of the Good News of Jesus Christ, absolutely MUST be faithfully sustained for the ‘safety’ of all mankind, as they navigate the pitfalls of this life!

Need:

Some people, who are numbered among the saved, never grasp & are never empowered by the life-changing fullness that comes with their being born-again.

They wander thru life without God’s direction.

They never discover God’s desire for themselves.

These easily fall victim to the devil’s lies: — ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I’m not smart enough’, ‘I’m not young enough’, ‘I’m not old enough’, or ‘I’m not blessed enough’, or ‘God can’t use me!’

Don’t let the devil & the world talk you into becoming a victim!

*IF ALL of God’s people caved in to seeing themselves as ‘victims’ instead of victors, THEN God’s Good News would never be shared! And it’s life-transforming message would die with the ‘victimized’ generation!

God does not want His people to ignore the fact, that He ably equips, & wants to equip, EVERY SINGLE ONE of His children, in order to further His Kingdom work on earth & on into eternity.

But God’s equipping must be individually & personally, invited, accepted, & applied!

The apostle Peter was concerned with sustaining Christian ministry.

So:

Christian ministry must be sustained indefinitely.

But:

?What sustains Christian ministry?

Or:

?How is Christian ministry sustained?

We’re attempting to answer those questions by looking at:

4 concerns, by which Christian ministry is sustained.

So far we have found that:

Christian ministry is sustained thru...

1. PERSONAL CONCERNs(:12-15)

•We looked at the personal “I”s of our verses(:12-15).

•And the TIME constraints Peter faced(:13-15).

2. NEGLIGENCE CONCERNs(:12a)

Today we’ll find that:

3—Christian ministry is ALSO sustained thru...

ESTABLISHED CONCERNs(:12b-13)

Explanation:(:12b-13)

:12b—“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know & are established in the present truth.”

:13—“Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you,”

:12b—“though you know & are established in the present truth.”

Peter carries a burden to “remind” his audience, even though he is well aware that they “are” already “knowledgeable” & “established”, in that Christian “truth” that is “present” in them(:12).

It is of concern to Peter, as well as to others among God’s people, that all of God’s people should be “reminded” of that “truth.”

•And God’s “truth”, is in reality, the ONLY actual “truth”! It is the “truth” that believers have already received by faith in Christ Jesus.

•And it is that very “truth” which they have accepted, that they “know”, “and” that they “are established in.”

?Are YOU established in God’s truth?

—WORDS—

“Established”—sthrizw—Perfect Passive Participle - Accusative Plural Masc.—1) To make stable, place firmly, set fast, fix; 2) To strengthen, make firm; 3) To render constant, confirm, one's mind. Strong—To set fast, i.e. literally--To turn resolutely in a certain direction, or figuratively--To confirm. Used 13X.?From a presumed derivative of—isthmi—To stand, set, establish, in an upright & active position.

:13—“Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you,”

Peter “thinks it is right,” “to stir you up by reminding you.” His “thinking” or consideration, involves careful deliberation. •It involves dealing with the facts of human nature, & our relationship with God thru Christ.