The Best Is Yet To Come: From Better To Best Series

II Peter 1: 3-11

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.

4. Through 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.

5. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;

6. and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

7. and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

8. For 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.

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.

10. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,

11. And you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.¡¨

We’ve been discovering how God is not only willing, but able to change us for His purposes.

First we saw that He changes us from bad to good

Second, we said that he changes us from good to better

But beyond all this God is able to change us, One Day,

III. From the Better to the Best ( II Peter 1:10-11)

"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall (stumble), and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," (NIV)

The Apostle Paul knew it.

He knew there was a day coming in which he would be changed from the Better to the Best and so he said in

II Cor. 5:8

"We prefer to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord."

Did you hear that?

"We PREFER... prefer to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord."

To the Philippians, remember what he said,

He said, "For me to live is Christ, but to die is (what?) GAIN."

"It’s GAIN" he said

"I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is, (remember what he said?) far better." "Far better!"

Quit honestly, the way we live our life doesn’t seem to indicate that we really agree with that.

The fact is, It’s true!

And one day, praise his name, He’s going to change us again.

Philippians 3:20-21 "For our citizenship is in heaven from which also we eagerly await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who will transform the body of our humble estate into conformity with the body of His glory,..."

One day, God is going to change us from better to the BEST!

For those of us that have grown older in the Christian life, we still find ourselves making changes.

God has brought us from the Bad to the Good,

so we seek by His grace and strength to become Better & Better so that One day we will, indeed, enjoy THE BEST!

ILLUS.

I heard a story about a 98 year old man who had been a Christian for years and years.

He was 98 years old and someone asked him,

"Is it easier to live the Christian life NOW, than when you were younger?"

And this old Christian gentleman thought for a moment and then replied,

"Well, there is a whole lot less peer pressure"

Well, it may not get a whole lot easier being a Christian, but the Lord won’t let you down, He’ll always be there.

Matter a fact, it gets harder for some.... It got harder for Stephen, didn’t it?

What an example of faithfulness. Here’s Stephen, a deacon in the church. He gave his life fully to Jesus, fully surrendered, God changed Him and...

When he delivered his courageous message before the Sanhedran Council there in Jerusalem,

-He knew the risks,

-but he would not compromise

-he would not back down

-he told the truth even if his life depended on it

And in this case it did!

They took him out to stone him to death.

Saul of Tarsus was there. You know,...later he became the apostle Paul!

And we read in Acts 7:16, we read, even as they killed him, he looked up into heaven and said, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them..."

and when he had said this, he fell asleep."

He died!

and it could have been added,

"and he awoke in the presence of Jesus."