WEBVTT 00:00:02.039 --> 00:00:04.419 Welcome to the official podcast of the Church 00:00:04.419 --> 00:00:06.960 of Christ Wheeler area. We're so glad that you've 00:00:06.960 --> 00:00:09.439 tuned in for today's message. Whether you're 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:11.660 on your morning commute or if you're relaxing 00:00:11.660 --> 00:00:13.640 at home, we're here to share the strength and 00:00:13.640 --> 00:00:16.640 truth of God's Word with our community. If you're 00:00:16.640 --> 00:00:18.260 in the neighborhood, we'd love to meet you in 00:00:18.260 --> 00:00:21.899 person. Come see us at 1500 South Allen L. Bean 00:00:21.899 --> 00:00:24.879 Boulevard right here in Wheeler, Texas. We gather 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:27.920 every Sunday morning at 10 .30 a .m. and in the 00:00:27.920 --> 00:00:30.760 afternoon at 2 .30 p .m. We meet again on Wednesdays 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:34.340 at 7 p .m. Right now, let's open our Bibles together 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:39.240 and dive into today's sermon. This morning, I 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:41.100 want us to begin with the subject that we have 00:00:41.100 --> 00:00:43.600 titled on the board, Grow in Grace and the Knowledge 00:00:43.600 --> 00:00:46.539 of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And I want 00:00:46.539 --> 00:00:48.219 to begin with this question, are you growing 00:00:48.219 --> 00:00:51.299 as a Christian? And, you know, there's a lot 00:00:51.299 --> 00:00:54.179 of times where we're asked questions that we 00:00:54.179 --> 00:00:57.020 know what the obvious answer should be, but we're 00:00:57.020 --> 00:01:00.259 not really sure, so we just, you know, well... 00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:02.979 I don't know maybe kind of sort of we try to 00:01:02.979 --> 00:01:05.859 find a nice gray comfortable area to slide in 00:01:05.859 --> 00:01:08.519 to say well we're not not growing but I could 00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:11.159 do a little bit better. Well how do we gauge 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:13.780 our growth? What does growth look like as a Christian? 00:01:13.859 --> 00:01:15.599 And so this morning we're going to look at the 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:18.140 words of the Apostle Peter because one of the 00:01:18.140 --> 00:01:20.060 things that we want to do this week is grow. 00:01:20.420 --> 00:01:22.959 And so we want to grow individually, we want 00:01:22.959 --> 00:01:25.599 to grow as a congregation, we want to make sure 00:01:25.599 --> 00:01:28.700 that we are pursuing the right type of growth 00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:31.879 not just coming together to you know to enjoy 00:01:31.879 --> 00:01:35.280 great fellowship which is part of growing but 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:38.280 to be sure that whatever happens this week is 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:40.879 going to be something that's lasting and real 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:43.780 that's going to contribute to my spirituality 00:01:43.780 --> 00:01:48.239 not just this week but moving on. week and our 00:01:48.239 --> 00:01:50.599 text is going to come from 2nd Peter chapter 00:01:50.599 --> 00:01:54.819 3 verses 17 and 18 where Peter at the close of 00:01:54.819 --> 00:01:57.980 his second epistle says you therefore beloved 00:01:57.980 --> 00:02:00.840 since you know this beforehand beware lest you 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:03.920 fall from your own steadfastness being led away 00:02:03.920 --> 00:02:06.519 with the error of the wicked but grow in the 00:02:06.519 --> 00:02:09.099 grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus 00:02:09.099 --> 00:02:14.449 Christ to him be glory both now and forever In 00:02:14.449 --> 00:02:17.210 chapter 2, Peter talks about false prophets of 00:02:17.210 --> 00:02:20.169 that day and talks about how that those false 00:02:20.169 --> 00:02:22.930 prophets were a danger to the disciples that 00:02:22.930 --> 00:02:25.469 he was writing to. And notice in verse number 00:02:25.469 --> 00:02:38.090 17 he says, That's great admonition. Okay, I 00:02:38.090 --> 00:02:39.990 don't want to fall from my own steadfastness. 00:02:39.990 --> 00:02:42.110 I don't want to be led away with the error of 00:02:42.110 --> 00:02:45.009 the wicked. But notice that Peter doesn't just 00:02:45.009 --> 00:02:47.949 stop with that exhortation, but he continues 00:02:47.949 --> 00:02:51.930 on and he says, but. And the word but there, 00:02:51.949 --> 00:02:55.629 and I like defining little seemingly insignificant 00:02:55.629 --> 00:02:58.870 words that really shed a lot of understanding 00:02:58.870 --> 00:03:00.909 on a lot of the verses that we're going to look 00:03:00.909 --> 00:03:04.569 at. The word but here is a kind of a conjunction 00:03:04.569 --> 00:03:08.069 that's just saying, okay, Don't fall from your 00:03:08.069 --> 00:03:10.990 own steadfastness. Don't be led away with the 00:03:10.990 --> 00:03:16.069 error of the wicked, but do this instead. So 00:03:16.069 --> 00:03:19.250 in other words, whenever the Bible tells us not 00:03:19.250 --> 00:03:23.409 to do something, it generally follows by telling 00:03:23.409 --> 00:03:27.889 us what to do. and the understanding is if we 00:03:27.889 --> 00:03:32.270 don't do what we are told to do then the warning 00:03:32.270 --> 00:03:35.689 that's been given to us is probably something 00:03:35.689 --> 00:03:38.889 that we're going to fall victim to and in this 00:03:38.889 --> 00:03:41.729 we can understand that if we're not growing as 00:03:41.729 --> 00:03:44.530 Christians what's going to happen is we're going 00:03:44.530 --> 00:03:47.430 to fall from our own steadfastness and we can 00:03:47.430 --> 00:03:51.250 be led away with the error of the wicked and 00:03:51.250 --> 00:03:56.550 so if we want to fortify our life against wickedness 00:03:56.550 --> 00:03:59.789 and falling from our own steadfastness, we have 00:03:59.789 --> 00:04:03.330 to make growth a priority. And when I'm talking 00:04:03.330 --> 00:04:05.689 about growth, I'm not talking about, okay, I 00:04:05.689 --> 00:04:07.770 want to learn about all the different false doctrines 00:04:07.770 --> 00:04:10.129 that are out there to be sure that I'm not led 00:04:10.129 --> 00:04:12.830 away with those and fall into those from my own. 00:04:12.830 --> 00:04:16.189 No, we're talking about just growth as a Christian. 00:04:16.730 --> 00:04:20.529 It includes those things, but it's not exclusive 00:04:20.529 --> 00:04:24.810 to those things. about the total growth of the 00:04:24.810 --> 00:04:27.310 Christian I like to use this illustration to 00:04:27.310 --> 00:04:30.110 go along with this verse you've got a plan and 00:04:30.110 --> 00:04:31.970 you've got a pot and what is it that Paul or 00:04:31.970 --> 00:04:34.930 rather Peter said he said grow in the grace and 00:04:34.930 --> 00:04:37.129 knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 00:04:37.129 --> 00:04:40.569 well what does that mean to grow in the grace 00:04:40.569 --> 00:04:42.529 and knowledge well that just means well I need 00:04:42.529 --> 00:04:44.410 to be a little more gracious and I need to be 00:04:44.410 --> 00:04:49.209 a little bit smarter well that's part of it But 00:04:49.209 --> 00:04:52.850 that's a long way from what it means. The word 00:04:52.850 --> 00:04:57.389 in that he uses there is a word that means a 00:04:57.389 --> 00:05:03.009 position inside of something. And it means instrumentality, 00:05:03.110 --> 00:05:05.750 okay? So what that means is, using our illustration, 00:05:06.189 --> 00:05:08.410 whenever you look at... Oh good, the blazer works. 00:05:08.490 --> 00:05:11.129 Whenever you look at this potted plant, this 00:05:11.129 --> 00:05:17.139 plant is in that dirt. And it is this dirt that 00:05:17.139 --> 00:05:22.819 is instrumental in making this plant grow. So 00:05:22.819 --> 00:05:25.639 it's not just, okay, I'm a little more gracious 00:05:25.639 --> 00:05:27.899 and I grow a little bit and I get a little bit 00:05:27.899 --> 00:05:30.980 smarter. But what he's saying is, is that as 00:05:30.980 --> 00:05:34.079 Christians we are to be grounded in the grace 00:05:34.079 --> 00:05:36.920 and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus 00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:40.879 Christ. And that is to feed every aspect of our 00:05:40.879 --> 00:05:46.329 life so that we grow into fruitful Christian 00:05:46.329 --> 00:05:50.209 pleasing to God that this grace and knowledge 00:05:50.209 --> 00:05:52.709 those aren't just the things that we focus on 00:05:52.709 --> 00:05:55.649 growing in it's the grace and the knowledge that 00:05:55.649 --> 00:06:01.189 is to bring about that growth to cause that growth 00:06:01.189 --> 00:06:05.990 well then the next question is what does that 00:06:05.990 --> 00:06:10.769 look like and I think what Peter is doing at 00:06:10.769 --> 00:06:16.100 the very end of His second epistle is reinforcing 00:06:16.100 --> 00:06:18.800 what he said at the very beginning. So we're 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:23.240 going to circle all the way back to 2 Peter 1 00:06:23.240 --> 00:06:26.959 and we're going to look and see what it means 00:06:26.959 --> 00:06:29.579 to grow in grace and knowledge, to be rooted 00:06:29.579 --> 00:06:31.920 in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.579 Jesus Christ. What's that supposed to produce 00:06:34.579 --> 00:06:37.220 in me? What's that supposed to make me look like? 00:06:37.579 --> 00:06:39.680 Well if you'll notice in the first four verses 00:06:39.680 --> 00:06:43.680 of the of the text in 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:48.480 4 notice a couple of highlighted words and statements 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:52.019 that we have up here okay at the end he says 00:06:52.019 --> 00:06:53.959 grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:56.879 Jesus Christ notice a couple of things that Peter 00:06:56.879 --> 00:07:00.600 mentioned specifically here that his divine power 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:04.920 has given to us He has given to us exceeding 00:07:04.920 --> 00:07:08.220 great and precious promises. What does it mean 00:07:08.220 --> 00:07:13.639 for God to give us and to bestow upon us? It 00:07:13.639 --> 00:07:17.040 means He's gracious to us. That's what grace 00:07:17.040 --> 00:07:20.100 is. It's the giving of a gift. And so at the 00:07:20.100 --> 00:07:22.899 very beginning of this epistle, Paul says, or 00:07:22.899 --> 00:07:24.920 rather Peter says, I want to say Paul a lot for 00:07:24.920 --> 00:07:28.420 some reason, Peter says, God's given you something. 00:07:29.560 --> 00:07:33.199 God's been gracious to you. from his devout power, 00:07:33.240 --> 00:07:36.779 he's given you, he has graced you all things 00:07:36.779 --> 00:07:40.360 that pertain to life and godliness. He has given 00:07:40.360 --> 00:07:43.879 you, he has graced you with exceedingly great 00:07:43.879 --> 00:07:47.240 and precious promises. And so whenever we think 00:07:47.240 --> 00:07:50.019 about growing in the grace and knowledge, one 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:52.600 of the things that we're rooted in are those 00:07:52.600 --> 00:07:57.439 things that God has given us that pertain to 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:00.000 life and godliness and the exceeding great and 00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:03.740 precious promises. words all of that is to feed 00:08:03.740 --> 00:08:10.079 our growth notice another word that he uses the 00:08:10.079 --> 00:08:15.560 word knowledge in the knowledge of our of God 00:08:15.560 --> 00:08:20.319 in our in Jesus our Lord He's given us this through 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:23.480 the knowledge of Him who has called us by glory 00:08:23.480 --> 00:08:26.720 and virtue. So here in the very beginning of 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:29.420 the epistle, He's talking about the grace and 00:08:29.420 --> 00:08:32.539 knowledge that He tells us to grow in at the 00:08:32.539 --> 00:08:37.240 end of the epistle. And through this text, Peter 00:08:37.500 --> 00:08:40.159 repeats some words and I think he repeats these 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:43.080 words for emphasis and so we want to emphasize 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:45.720 them so obviously we have these two statements 00:08:45.720 --> 00:08:48.159 that are repeated denoting God's grace we have 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:51.500 these two words repeated denoting God's knowledge 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:55.639 but notice that he says his divine power has 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:58.299 given us all things that pertain to life and 00:08:58.299 --> 00:09:01.500 godliness that we may be partakers of the divine 00:09:01.500 --> 00:09:05.169 nature For something to be divine means that 00:09:05.169 --> 00:09:07.809 it is of God. And notice the last statement, 00:09:07.870 --> 00:09:10.110 having escaped the corruption that is in the 00:09:10.110 --> 00:09:12.870 world through lust. In other words, since God 00:09:12.870 --> 00:09:16.070 has given us all of these divine things by His 00:09:16.070 --> 00:09:18.789 grace and truth, we don't have to live in the 00:09:18.789 --> 00:09:20.850 lust and the corruption that is here in this 00:09:20.850 --> 00:09:23.769 world. We can escape the misery and the corruption 00:09:23.769 --> 00:09:26.690 and the life of this world and live a life that 00:09:26.690 --> 00:09:30.690 is fed by God's grace and His knowledge. Don't 00:09:30.690 --> 00:09:34.669 you want to live that life? Don't you want to 00:09:34.669 --> 00:09:37.350 look at this world and think I don't like living 00:09:37.350 --> 00:09:41.129 here Well for right now we have to live here, 00:09:41.190 --> 00:09:46.690 but we don't have to be of here We can be fed 00:09:46.690 --> 00:09:52.190 daily through the enriched soil of God's grace 00:09:52.190 --> 00:09:56.559 and knowledge and grow to be people that partake 00:09:56.559 --> 00:10:00.320 of the divine nature. Not the corrupt nature 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:02.899 down here that we're all born into, but we can 00:10:02.899 --> 00:10:04.960 partake of the divine nature. Now that doesn't 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:07.559 mean that we all become gods, but it means that 00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:12.480 we become partakers in the life of Jesus, in 00:10:12.480 --> 00:10:16.500 the life of God. In verse number five he says, 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:19.299 but also for this very reason giving all diligence 00:10:19.299 --> 00:10:22.279 add to your faith virtue and to virtue knowledge. 00:10:22.360 --> 00:10:25.259 We want to highlight the word add. The word add 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:28.740 that's used there means to supply and it's another 00:10:28.740 --> 00:10:32.340 repeated word that Peter uses. In verse number 00:10:32.340 --> 00:10:34.980 five he says to add to your faith and then in 00:10:34.980 --> 00:10:37.980 verse number 11 he says for so an entrance will 00:10:37.980 --> 00:10:42.350 be supplied to you. Now in our New King James 00:10:42.350 --> 00:10:45.049 Version, those aren't the same words, but in 00:10:45.049 --> 00:10:48.809 the Greek language, those are the same word. 00:10:49.970 --> 00:10:52.789 What Peter is saying is, okay, you supply all 00:10:52.789 --> 00:10:55.870 of these things in your faith, and you'll be 00:10:55.870 --> 00:10:58.269 supplied with an abundant entrance into heaven. 00:11:00.649 --> 00:11:04.289 So notice here, he's saying, you supply something, 00:11:05.169 --> 00:11:09.419 and something will be supplied to you. In other 00:11:09.419 --> 00:11:12.100 words, he's saying, you supply in your faith 00:11:12.100 --> 00:11:14.899 virtue, knowledge, self -control, perseverance, 00:11:15.220 --> 00:11:17.539 godliness, brotherly kindness, and love, and 00:11:17.539 --> 00:11:20.299 an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly 00:11:20.299 --> 00:11:23.659 into the everlasting kingdom. And that's what 00:11:23.659 --> 00:11:26.659 growth looks like. Growing in the grace and knowledge 00:11:26.659 --> 00:11:30.899 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our faith 00:11:30.899 --> 00:11:36.679 is being rooted in that, and then growing out 00:11:36.679 --> 00:11:41.389 of that, We see in our life these graces as they're 00:11:41.389 --> 00:11:44.250 referred to, these virtues as they're referred 00:11:44.250 --> 00:11:47.690 to. And what I want us to understand that whenever 00:11:47.690 --> 00:11:51.750 we start considering our growth, here are seven 00:11:51.750 --> 00:11:57.330 specific places that we can look at in our life. 00:11:58.470 --> 00:11:59.909 And we're going to break them down here in just 00:11:59.909 --> 00:12:03.230 a moment. He says also for this very reason, 00:12:03.450 --> 00:12:06.629 Well, what's my reason then for wanting to add 00:12:06.629 --> 00:12:08.629 all of those things? Well, he just got through 00:12:08.629 --> 00:12:12.809 telling me in verses one through four God has 00:12:12.809 --> 00:12:15.110 given us all things that pertain to life and 00:12:15.110 --> 00:12:17.029 godliness through the knowledge of him who's 00:12:17.029 --> 00:12:21.009 called us to his glory and virtue He's given 00:12:21.009 --> 00:12:23.750 us exceedingly great and precious promises. And 00:12:23.750 --> 00:12:27.690 so what Peter is saying here Since God has all 00:12:27.690 --> 00:12:31.389 done all of this for you. That is your reason 00:12:31.389 --> 00:12:36.000 for wanting to grow. You want a reason to grow 00:12:36.000 --> 00:12:41.100 as a Christian? The creator of the universe, 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:48.080 the great I am, the one who is from everlasting 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:56.259 to everlasting has graced your life. And he's 00:12:56.259 --> 00:13:01.250 graced my life. And as we live in this world 00:13:01.250 --> 00:13:04.830 of darkness, He broke through the darkness and 00:13:04.830 --> 00:13:08.889 shined the glorious image of Jesus Christ and 00:13:08.889 --> 00:13:12.370 manifested to us the knowledge of God and the 00:13:12.370 --> 00:13:18.389 knowledge of life in Him. Now to sit here and 00:13:18.389 --> 00:13:21.750 stand here this day and to hear that truth and 00:13:21.750 --> 00:13:27.149 not want to grow in it, you better pinch yourself. 00:13:28.360 --> 00:13:33.539 I better pinch myself Who would not want to take 00:13:33.539 --> 00:13:38.440 advantage of such a gift and that's what Peter's 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:42.740 saying And then he says to give all diligence 00:13:42.740 --> 00:13:46.799 The word diligence means to be earnest and it's 00:13:46.799 --> 00:13:49.500 another word that's repeated in this text in 00:13:49.500 --> 00:13:51.980 verse 5 He says giving all diligence in verse 00:13:51.980 --> 00:13:55.320 10 as he's closing it out. He says be even more 00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:57.960 diligent to make your call and election sure 00:13:59.019 --> 00:14:01.759 Whenever you see the word diligent the definition 00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:07.399 of diligent is earnestness It's earnestness It 00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:11.100 is something that is you you you work out of 00:14:11.100 --> 00:14:15.539 desire It's not something that you're complacent 00:14:15.539 --> 00:14:18.360 about it's not something that all I can do it 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:21.279 or I cannot do it But it's something that you 00:14:21.279 --> 00:14:28.799 give yourself to and you labor in it And you're 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:33.519 sharp about it. You're efficient about it. You're 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:38.700 good with it. And that's why Peter says, give 00:14:38.700 --> 00:14:43.440 all diligence. Those are words that express effort. 00:14:45.460 --> 00:14:52.929 Christianity is hard. It's hard. And we try to 00:14:52.929 --> 00:14:56.289 make it sound as nice and comfortable as we possibly 00:14:56.289 --> 00:15:00.529 can in order to get people into the building. 00:15:01.950 --> 00:15:04.230 But when it comes to living the Christian life, 00:15:04.289 --> 00:15:06.929 when it comes to growing in grace and knowledge 00:15:06.929 --> 00:15:10.309 of our Lord and Jesus Christ, it's something 00:15:10.309 --> 00:15:12.789 that you need to have a good reason for. And 00:15:12.789 --> 00:15:15.990 we've already expressed that reason. And it's 00:15:15.990 --> 00:15:17.649 something that you're going to give yourself 00:15:17.649 --> 00:15:20.090 to and you're gonna look at that and you're gonna 00:15:20.090 --> 00:15:26.909 say I want to be that And if you don't want to 00:15:26.909 --> 00:15:32.889 be that if I don't want to be that Then we're 00:15:32.889 --> 00:15:34.629 gonna be led away with the error of the wicked 00:15:34.629 --> 00:15:39.809 we're gonna fall from our own steadfastness And 00:15:39.809 --> 00:15:43.190 so those are the virtues that he speaks of and 00:15:43.190 --> 00:15:46.100 we're gonna look at these briefly and I want 00:15:46.100 --> 00:15:48.759 to notice the relationship between these. Whenever 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:51.159 I've heard and even given different lessons on 00:15:51.159 --> 00:15:53.720 this, you know, how do these work? It sounds 00:15:53.720 --> 00:15:55.720 like a stair step. Okay, we're going to do this 00:15:55.720 --> 00:15:57.340 one and then whenever we get that one we move 00:15:57.340 --> 00:15:59.539 to the next one. Okay, whenever we get that one 00:15:59.539 --> 00:16:01.779 we move to the next one. Well obviously it's 00:16:01.779 --> 00:16:06.200 not that because every day of our life we're 00:16:06.200 --> 00:16:10.179 to be concerned with all of these things. So 00:16:10.179 --> 00:16:13.120 it's not just a stair step where we master one 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:17.799 and then move to the other Or like a pyramid 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:20.740 Where you've got the pyramid going up? Okay, 00:16:20.759 --> 00:16:22.320 you got to build this one and you got to build 00:16:22.320 --> 00:16:25.039 the next one then build it Well, you know there 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:27.240 is some connectedness between these and we'll 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:30.600 show that but really that's not it also So I 00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:32.440 want to use my illustration. I want to use a 00:16:32.440 --> 00:16:35.980 chain illustration Whenever we look at all of 00:16:35.980 --> 00:16:41.039 these We're going to be building a chain. And 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:43.120 what do we know about a chain? A chain is only 00:16:43.120 --> 00:16:46.919 as strong as its what? Its weakest link. Its 00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:52.679 weakest link. And in this, if there is a weak 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:56.159 link, you know what Satan's going to do, he's 00:16:56.159 --> 00:16:59.419 going to expose it and we're going to fall from 00:16:59.419 --> 00:17:03.460 our own steadfastness and be led away by the 00:17:03.460 --> 00:17:07.950 error of the wicked. And so it's necessary for 00:17:07.950 --> 00:17:11.130 all of us as we look at this to be sure that 00:17:11.130 --> 00:17:16.430 we are strong in every one of these links. Because 00:17:16.430 --> 00:17:19.869 collectively these links go together that make 00:17:19.869 --> 00:17:25.349 a chain that guard our soul from the wickedness 00:17:25.349 --> 00:17:30.750 of the world. And whenever we think about growth 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:33.019 You know, whenever we think about, well, you 00:17:33.019 --> 00:17:35.039 know, am I growing? We think about, well, do 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:37.299 I read my Bible enough? Do I pray enough? Do 00:17:37.299 --> 00:17:40.119 I go to church? And all of those things are necessary, 00:17:40.380 --> 00:17:44.980 but if we read and pray and go to church, and 00:17:44.980 --> 00:17:48.519 we're not doing it with a diligence and a fervency 00:17:48.519 --> 00:17:52.920 that cultivates these in our life, then our effort 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:56.559 is fruitless. Well, let's look at the first link 00:17:56.559 --> 00:17:58.880 in the chain, and there is some connectedness 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:01.579 to them. One does feed to the other, and hopefully 00:18:01.579 --> 00:18:04.119 we can draw, put all of it together so that we 00:18:04.119 --> 00:18:07.480 can see that. The first link is virtue. What 00:18:07.480 --> 00:18:09.960 does the word virtue mean? Okay, this is the 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:12.299 Greek word for virtue, and it means excellence. 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:16.559 Some translations will say moral excellence. 00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:20.019 Well, excellence. Well, what's excellence mean? 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:22.940 What do you think of whenever you think of excellence? 00:18:23.950 --> 00:18:27.150 Whenever we begin to build this chain, it starts 00:18:27.150 --> 00:18:32.809 with an attitude of excellence, of moral excellence. 00:18:36.250 --> 00:18:38.890 And whenever we think of the excellence of something, 00:18:39.190 --> 00:18:44.049 it's tied specifically to its function or purpose. 00:18:45.170 --> 00:18:49.630 Okay, let me illustrate. The function of a knife 00:18:49.630 --> 00:18:53.140 is to cut. If you've got a dull knife, would 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:56.799 you call it an excellent knife? No. Because it 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:00.279 doesn't fulfill its purpose. Or if it does, it 00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:05.039 doesn't do it very well. But a knife that is 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:10.259 sharp and a knife that cuts razor sharp, we consider 00:19:10.259 --> 00:19:15.460 that an excellent knife. Because it performs 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:20.759 its function to the best degree possible. Another 00:19:20.759 --> 00:19:23.119 example, a horse. The function of a horse is 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:28.099 to run. Whenever you look at this Greek word 00:19:28.099 --> 00:19:30.299 and looking at the history of it, these were 00:19:30.299 --> 00:19:33.519 some of the references of how it was used back 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:37.539 then. The function of a horse is to run. A horse 00:19:37.539 --> 00:19:41.539 is excellent if it runs fast. If you've got a 00:19:41.539 --> 00:19:44.359 horse that's slow or doesn't want to run at all, 00:19:44.779 --> 00:19:47.079 would you think that's an excellent horse? No. 00:19:47.789 --> 00:19:49.670 You want a horse that's going to run and it's 00:19:49.670 --> 00:19:51.470 going to run fast, so if you've got a horse and 00:19:51.470 --> 00:19:54.710 it runs fast, it's excellent. So in other words, 00:19:55.190 --> 00:19:57.970 excellence begins with understanding what the 00:19:57.970 --> 00:20:03.130 function is and doing it the best it can be done. 00:20:04.529 --> 00:20:08.509 And so whenever the Bible tells us to be excellent, 00:20:09.349 --> 00:20:14.690 to be virtuous, We are to manifest our function 00:20:14.690 --> 00:20:18.849 in a way that is excellent, as good as it can 00:20:18.849 --> 00:20:24.190 be done. Well, what is our function? Verse Peter 00:20:24.190 --> 00:20:27.650 2, verse number 9. Peter says, you're a chosen 00:20:27.650 --> 00:20:30.049 generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, 00:20:30.210 --> 00:20:33.170 his own special people, that you may proclaim 00:20:33.170 --> 00:20:36.170 the praises. That word praises is the same Greek 00:20:36.170 --> 00:20:41.349 word that means virtue. You may proclaim the 00:20:41.349 --> 00:20:44.869 excellence the praises of him who called you 00:20:44.869 --> 00:20:47.710 out of darkness into his marvelous light That's 00:20:47.710 --> 00:20:51.950 what our that's what our function is my God That's 00:20:51.950 --> 00:20:56.029 why we are God's chosen people We are to show 00:20:56.029 --> 00:20:58.569 his excellence to the world. How good are you 00:20:58.569 --> 00:21:04.329 at doing that? How good am I doing that? When 00:21:04.329 --> 00:21:06.789 people look at me do people see a Christian who 00:21:06.789 --> 00:21:10.829 is striving to fulfill his function in the best 00:21:10.829 --> 00:21:13.809 way possible? Not a Christian that's willing 00:21:13.809 --> 00:21:16.329 to compromise or a Christian that's willing to 00:21:16.329 --> 00:21:18.630 cut corners or a Christian That's just willing 00:21:18.630 --> 00:21:21.490 to do what he thinks is the least he can do to 00:21:21.490 --> 00:21:28.529 get by That's not excellence our function is 00:21:28.529 --> 00:21:33.349 for our excellence to show to the world the excellence 00:21:33.349 --> 00:21:39.480 of of God. Oh man, that's quite a function, isn't 00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:44.480 it? Exactly. And if you don't have that desire, 00:21:44.700 --> 00:21:47.299 and I don't have that desire, it doesn't matter 00:21:47.299 --> 00:21:49.980 how many links of the chain we have, it doesn't 00:21:49.980 --> 00:21:52.700 matter how many stair steps we have, it doesn't 00:21:52.700 --> 00:21:55.759 matter how big we make our pyramid, it ain't 00:21:55.759 --> 00:22:00.039 gonna matter at all. You cannot be a second -rate 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:06.299 Christian and represent an excellent God. And 00:22:06.299 --> 00:22:08.960 if you don't have that, if I don't have that, 00:22:09.980 --> 00:22:14.730 I need to grow. Need to start soaking up that 00:22:14.730 --> 00:22:17.650 grace and knowledge that that the Lord has given 00:22:17.650 --> 00:22:21.369 me to create within me that desire I want to 00:22:21.369 --> 00:22:27.230 be excellent for the Lord The next link in the 00:22:27.230 --> 00:22:31.930 chain is knowledge Well, how do I do that if 00:22:31.930 --> 00:22:34.869 I'm going to show the excellence of God if that's 00:22:34.869 --> 00:22:37.069 my function and I'm going to do it in an excellent 00:22:37.069 --> 00:22:39.869 manner I'm going to have to be informed about 00:22:39.869 --> 00:22:43.619 that because I don't know how to do it. There's 00:22:43.619 --> 00:22:45.859 nothing else in the world that can tell me how 00:22:45.859 --> 00:22:49.220 to do it. So I've got to look for some understanding 00:22:49.220 --> 00:22:51.819 and some wisdom and knowledge in order to be 00:22:51.819 --> 00:22:54.099 able to effectively carry that out. And that's 00:22:54.099 --> 00:22:56.740 why the next link in the chain is knowledge because 00:22:56.740 --> 00:23:02.000 to live excellent you have to be informed. You 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:07.000 can't be ignorant of the knowledge of God and 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:10.769 show His excellence to the world. And so whenever 00:23:10.769 --> 00:23:13.369 we look at knowledge it simply means understanding 00:23:13.369 --> 00:23:16.710 and it informs our quest for moral excellence. 00:23:17.150 --> 00:23:20.450 It provides the insight needed to navigate everyday 00:23:20.450 --> 00:23:24.029 moral choices. It's the ability to look at difficult 00:23:24.029 --> 00:23:26.769 situations and discern right from wrong, truth 00:23:26.769 --> 00:23:29.750 from error, and the good from the bad. We have 00:23:29.750 --> 00:23:33.990 to be knowledgeable in order to live excellent 00:23:33.990 --> 00:23:36.210 because we got to know what's right wrong, what's 00:23:36.210 --> 00:23:42.529 good bad. Proverbs 19 verse 2, also it is not 00:23:42.529 --> 00:23:45.529 good for a soul to be without knowledge and he 00:23:45.529 --> 00:23:49.250 sins who hastens with his feet. To hasten with 00:23:49.250 --> 00:23:51.809 the feet means that I'm just in a hurry and I 00:23:51.809 --> 00:23:54.230 don't take time to learn what I need to learn 00:23:54.230 --> 00:23:56.410 and there's a lot of people that have a zeal 00:23:56.410 --> 00:23:59.410 and a desire to try to show forth the excellency 00:23:59.410 --> 00:24:02.390 of the Lord but they do so without knowledge 00:24:02.390 --> 00:24:07.589 and therefore make the Lord and Christianity 00:24:07.589 --> 00:24:11.759 look foolish. You've got to be informed. I've 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:14.380 got to be informed. You know in Romans 10 verse 00:24:14.380 --> 00:24:16.700 number two Paul talking about the Jews They had 00:24:16.700 --> 00:24:19.880 a zeal for God, but it wasn't according to knowledge 00:24:19.880 --> 00:24:25.559 So a person that desires to be Virtuous is going 00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:28.640 to give themselves to study and growing and an 00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:31.859 understanding of God's Word So whenever you assess 00:24:31.859 --> 00:24:35.130 your growth and I assess my growth Am I growing 00:24:35.130 --> 00:24:37.950 in that knowledge? Do I have the knowledge? Am 00:24:37.950 --> 00:24:41.490 I growing in the knowledge that I need to properly 00:24:41.490 --> 00:24:49.250 manifest an excellent life for the Lord? The 00:24:49.250 --> 00:24:54.150 next one is self -control. Well, I want to live 00:24:54.150 --> 00:24:56.950 morally excellent, and I'm going to be informed 00:24:56.950 --> 00:25:00.390 by the Word as to what's good, bad, right, wrong, 00:25:00.390 --> 00:25:03.880 and I'm going to need some self -control. You 00:25:03.880 --> 00:25:07.099 know why? Because there's going to be some things 00:25:07.099 --> 00:25:10.740 that that knowledge tells me to do that I just 00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:14.119 don't want to do. And there's going to be some 00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:15.920 things that that knowledge is going to tell me 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:21.599 don't do that I'm going to want to do. And so 00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:24.880 I have to learn self -control. I have to learn 00:25:24.880 --> 00:25:28.240 how to be disciplined and manage my life not 00:25:28.240 --> 00:25:30.579 according to the appetites and the desires of 00:25:30.579 --> 00:25:35.539 my body, but by the knowledge that I gain from 00:25:35.539 --> 00:25:41.519 the Lord. Self -control means duh, self -control. 00:25:41.980 --> 00:25:43.680 Don't you love it when you look up the definition 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:45.519 of the word and they give you the word itself? 00:25:46.819 --> 00:25:51.319 Master one's desires. You know we live in a world 00:25:51.319 --> 00:25:53.579 today where we're always to be true to yourself, 00:25:53.839 --> 00:25:56.900 be yourself. That's the dumbest thing you can 00:25:56.900 --> 00:26:00.519 tell anyone because we're all fallen people. 00:26:01.980 --> 00:26:05.640 We can't do that. We have to control our dumb 00:26:05.640 --> 00:26:08.660 selves in order to be enlightened by the truth 00:26:08.660 --> 00:26:12.519 of the Lord and exercise that knowledge accordingly 00:26:12.519 --> 00:26:17.420 to show forth His virtue. Your desires are to 00:26:17.420 --> 00:26:20.480 be governed by knowledge instead of being unrestrained. 00:26:20.839 --> 00:26:22.859 And again, this is a Greek word that was used 00:26:22.859 --> 00:26:26.000 to describe a chariot driver who held tight, 00:26:26.299 --> 00:26:30.759 absolute control over wild charging horses. And 00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:33.460 that's what we are. Whenever we just turn loose 00:26:33.460 --> 00:26:36.079 of ourselves and we become unrestrained in our 00:26:36.079 --> 00:26:40.940 desires and our lusts, we just charge forth like 00:26:40.940 --> 00:26:46.140 wild charging horses. But we are to be restrained 00:26:46.140 --> 00:26:50.420 and governed by the knowledge of God Let me ask 00:26:50.420 --> 00:26:53.160 you this when when was the last time you were 00:26:53.160 --> 00:26:55.940 faced with a moral decision? A decision where 00:26:55.940 --> 00:26:58.779 you had a desire or a lust that you really wanted 00:26:58.779 --> 00:27:05.119 to indulge But you did what the Bible said That 00:27:05.119 --> 00:27:09.640 you had the control to say okay as much fun and 00:27:09.640 --> 00:27:12.839 as enjoyable as pleasurable as that's gonna be 00:27:12.940 --> 00:27:17.200 I'm not going to do it. Or on the other side, 00:27:17.359 --> 00:27:19.119 when was the last time you were sitting at home 00:27:19.119 --> 00:27:21.779 and you knew you needed to do something? You 00:27:21.779 --> 00:27:24.119 knew there was a service that needed to be offered. 00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:26.900 You knew there was studying to be done. You knew 00:27:26.900 --> 00:27:29.059 there was prayer to be had, but you were just 00:27:29.059 --> 00:27:31.359 so comfortable in that recliner watching the 00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:37.809 TV. But you know that the Bible says, To be diligent 00:27:37.809 --> 00:27:40.089 to show yourself a workman that doesn't need 00:27:40.089 --> 00:27:42.589 to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth 00:27:42.589 --> 00:27:45.789 And so you get your body up out of that easy 00:27:45.789 --> 00:27:48.589 chair, and you start going and doing hard things 00:27:48.589 --> 00:27:54.450 That's what it means to be self -controlled Self 00:27:54.450 --> 00:27:59.109 -control is a fruit of the spirit We're not going 00:27:59.109 --> 00:28:02.250 to control ourselves. We're not going to control 00:28:02.250 --> 00:28:06.190 our appetites and desires That control must be 00:28:06.190 --> 00:28:12.670 divine control. So, self -control, perseverance. 00:28:14.970 --> 00:28:19.230 You know what? This world is hard. Trying to 00:28:19.230 --> 00:28:23.549 do what the Bible says to do is hard. And if 00:28:23.549 --> 00:28:26.450 anybody tells you otherwise, they're not doing 00:28:26.450 --> 00:28:29.150 it, right? You know, that's just my opinion. 00:28:29.410 --> 00:28:31.289 You know, I keep waiting for the Christian life 00:28:31.289 --> 00:28:35.180 to, you know, kick into autopilot. and I don't 00:28:35.180 --> 00:28:37.079 know about you but I ain't kicked into autopilot 00:28:37.079 --> 00:28:42.380 yet and I doubt you have too because there's 00:28:42.380 --> 00:28:46.579 always always that battle and you know after 00:28:46.579 --> 00:28:48.380 a while it gets to the point to where you get 00:28:48.380 --> 00:28:54.359 to think if I'm tired I'm tired is this really 00:28:54.359 --> 00:28:59.640 worth it and it's in those times that we need 00:28:59.640 --> 00:29:02.920 to be sure that we have grown in perseverance 00:29:04.910 --> 00:29:07.109 Perseverance means to bear up under. It means 00:29:07.109 --> 00:29:11.289 to endure. It means to be steadfast. It means 00:29:11.289 --> 00:29:13.829 when the times are hard I'm trying to live in 00:29:13.829 --> 00:29:16.569 a world that says indulge your lust and indulge 00:29:16.569 --> 00:29:19.329 your desires and then over here this book tells 00:29:19.329 --> 00:29:21.730 me don't indulge your lust, don't indulge your 00:29:21.730 --> 00:29:24.309 desires and I'm constantly living in conflict 00:29:24.309 --> 00:29:27.650 with the world and I'm just tired. Do I want 00:29:27.650 --> 00:29:32.680 to keep doing this? You've got to be sure you've 00:29:32.680 --> 00:29:38.400 grown in perseverance To endure through trial 00:29:38.400 --> 00:29:41.400 that living by the knowledge of God's Word can 00:29:41.400 --> 00:29:48.400 bring to our lives And it's used to describe 00:29:48.400 --> 00:29:51.579 a soldier who stood his ground in the heat of 00:29:51.579 --> 00:29:57.859 battle while under heavy attack You know in the 00:29:57.859 --> 00:30:00.519 parable of the sower, Jesus talks about those 00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:03.099 where the seed falls on stony ground, they hear 00:30:03.099 --> 00:30:07.079 it and they receive it with joy, but it says, 00:30:07.259 --> 00:30:10.440 but endures only for a while for when the tribulation 00:30:10.440 --> 00:30:15.720 of persecution arises because of the word. He 00:30:15.720 --> 00:30:21.880 immediately stumbles. Persecution because of 00:30:21.880 --> 00:30:25.150 the word. You know, we talk about, okay, you 00:30:25.150 --> 00:30:27.549 know, well, the Word of God brings peace and 00:30:27.549 --> 00:30:30.730 joy and happiness to your life, but you know 00:30:30.730 --> 00:30:35.470 what it also brings? It brings persecution. It 00:30:35.470 --> 00:30:41.890 brings conflict. It brings difficulty. And that's 00:30:41.890 --> 00:30:44.430 why we have to be sure we're growing in perseverance. 00:30:45.369 --> 00:30:48.809 That the grace and the knowledge that continuing 00:30:48.809 --> 00:30:52.009 to feed us to where we become people who endure. 00:30:52.630 --> 00:30:55.710 And then godliness. You know, as we persevere, 00:30:55.750 --> 00:30:59.410 one of the things that it teaches us is a greater 00:30:59.410 --> 00:31:04.349 dependence upon God. You just get to your wits 00:31:04.349 --> 00:31:09.089 end and you just cry out, God, I can't do this 00:31:09.089 --> 00:31:13.950 anymore. And you're turning and you realize and 00:31:13.950 --> 00:31:16.369 have a greater respect and understanding for 00:31:16.369 --> 00:31:19.369 the necessity of the power of God in your life. 00:31:20.190 --> 00:31:23.289 And then you seek to draw closer to Him and create 00:31:23.289 --> 00:31:29.710 a godliness about your life that gives you the 00:31:29.710 --> 00:31:34.250 strength to be able to persevere. to endure trials 00:31:34.250 --> 00:31:37.069 develops in us a greater reliance on and respect 00:31:37.069 --> 00:31:41.410 for God. This Greek word meant giving gods and 00:31:41.410 --> 00:31:45.970 parents and citizens their proper duty and respect. 00:31:47.569 --> 00:31:50.490 Paul told Timothy in 1st Timothy 4 -8, bodily 00:31:50.490 --> 00:31:54.250 exercise profits little but godliness is profitable 00:31:54.250 --> 00:32:00.779 for all. This is godly exercise that we exercise 00:32:00.779 --> 00:32:03.680 ourself in our piety and in our worship and in 00:32:03.680 --> 00:32:06.819 our devotion to God Because we realize we have 00:32:06.819 --> 00:32:11.640 to have that to persevere and brotherly kindness 00:32:11.640 --> 00:32:14.880 Brotherly kindness comes from the Greek word 00:32:14.880 --> 00:32:17.240 Philadelphia, which means the love of brothers 00:32:17.240 --> 00:32:20.000 and sisters Well, how does godliness produce 00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:22.859 brotherly kindness brotherly love? Well look 00:32:22.859 --> 00:32:27.309 all of us here today We all serve the same Lord 00:32:27.309 --> 00:32:31.470 We're all going through the common hardships 00:32:31.470 --> 00:32:34.690 and struggles in life And as I go through my 00:32:34.690 --> 00:32:36.609 hardship and struggle and you go through your 00:32:36.609 --> 00:32:38.769 hardship and struggle and we share our common 00:32:38.769 --> 00:32:41.789 struggles with each other In our attempts to 00:32:41.789 --> 00:32:44.190 persevere through in living out the knowledge 00:32:44.190 --> 00:32:47.930 of God then we realize how much we need each 00:32:47.930 --> 00:32:52.890 other Churches that share their struggles with 00:32:52.890 --> 00:32:56.269 one another will be churches that will grow closer 00:32:56.269 --> 00:32:59.309 together in the bonds of brotherly kindness. 00:33:00.789 --> 00:33:03.490 Let your guard down with your brother. Don't 00:33:03.490 --> 00:33:07.410 walk in here every day as if everything's okay 00:33:07.410 --> 00:33:13.829 because it's not. It's not with me and it's not 00:33:13.829 --> 00:33:17.869 with you. So let's be real with each other. Let's 00:33:17.869 --> 00:33:20.769 be authentic with each other Let's encourage 00:33:20.769 --> 00:33:24.130 one another in order to persevere and develop 00:33:24.130 --> 00:33:27.269 a brotherly love and a camaraderie with one another 00:33:27.269 --> 00:33:31.349 that speaks to the world of Jesus being among 00:33:31.349 --> 00:33:35.029 us Because the world doesn't need to see how 00:33:35.029 --> 00:33:38.650 good I am the world needs to see how good Jesus 00:33:38.650 --> 00:33:44.140 is one of the ways that we show the world how 00:33:44.140 --> 00:33:47.420 good Jesus is, is to be a group of people who 00:33:47.420 --> 00:33:50.299 are real and loving and kind towards one another, 00:33:50.680 --> 00:33:54.160 encouraging one another to persevere in this 00:33:54.160 --> 00:33:59.779 life. As Peter said in 1st Peter 3 verse number 00:33:59.779 --> 00:34:02.799 8, having compassion for one another. Do you 00:34:02.799 --> 00:34:05.140 have compassion for your brother and sister? 00:34:05.599 --> 00:34:07.339 You just look at them and you see what they're 00:34:07.339 --> 00:34:09.500 going through. I know brothers and sisters back 00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:11.900 home in our congregation, my heart breaks for 00:34:11.900 --> 00:34:15.000 them for the things that they have to go through. 00:34:15.940 --> 00:34:18.000 The things that they've experienced in their 00:34:18.000 --> 00:34:20.659 life and through our sitting down and our talks 00:34:20.659 --> 00:34:23.079 and our discussions about those things and my 00:34:23.079 --> 00:34:25.659 laying out before them the things that I struggle 00:34:25.659 --> 00:34:28.360 with and difficulties that I have there's a mutual 00:34:28.360 --> 00:34:32.500 respect and growth that takes place. that needs 00:34:32.500 --> 00:34:34.860 to be shared among all of us. And then finally, 00:34:35.260 --> 00:34:40.679 love. Love is that agape love. And going through 00:34:40.679 --> 00:34:43.719 all of that, whenever we have brotherly kindness, 00:34:44.300 --> 00:34:49.280 which is a brotherly love, then from that grows 00:34:49.280 --> 00:34:54.719 the greatest love. agape love, unconditional 00:34:54.719 --> 00:34:59.659 goodwill towards everyone. We are developing 00:34:59.659 --> 00:35:02.480 the character of God Himself because of the practice 00:35:02.480 --> 00:35:06.039 of love among each other. We're committed to 00:35:06.039 --> 00:35:09.039 seek the highest good of another person regardless 00:35:09.039 --> 00:35:14.059 of the personal cost. As John said in 1 John 00:35:14.059 --> 00:35:22.699 4, God is love. When you look at all of those 00:35:22.699 --> 00:35:26.219 is is there one of those that are more that's 00:35:26.219 --> 00:35:29.260 not developed in your life where you think okay 00:35:29.260 --> 00:35:32.860 that's a place where satan can expose me maybe 00:35:32.860 --> 00:35:34.800 you have control you know you have difficulty 00:35:34.800 --> 00:35:37.780 controlling your desires and lust that's a place 00:35:37.780 --> 00:35:42.199 where satan can expose you maybe you want to 00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:45.059 give up real easy that's a place where you can 00:35:45.059 --> 00:35:49.800 be exposed maybe you don't love your brother 00:35:50.690 --> 00:35:54.889 That's a place that Satan can use to expose. 00:35:57.269 --> 00:35:59.429 As we continue on real quickly in verse number 00:35:59.429 --> 00:36:02.809 8, Peter gives us a promise. If these things 00:36:02.809 --> 00:36:05.170 are yours and abound, you'll neither be barren 00:36:05.170 --> 00:36:07.710 nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus 00:36:07.710 --> 00:36:12.210 Christ. How many of us would pay, I don't know, 00:36:12.469 --> 00:36:16.019 $200 a ticket? If a guy comes to town and he 00:36:16.019 --> 00:36:18.639 says, I've got the secret, if you want to serve 00:36:18.639 --> 00:36:22.880 God, I've got the secret to being a fruitful 00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:28.940 Christian. Well, I'd want to know what that is. 00:36:30.480 --> 00:36:32.440 Well, we've just looked at it and you got it 00:36:32.440 --> 00:36:39.400 for free. That's it. Virtue, knowledge, self 00:36:39.400 --> 00:36:43.179 -control, perseverance, godliness. Brotherly 00:36:43.179 --> 00:36:47.159 kindness love if those things are in you in you 00:36:47.159 --> 00:36:52.159 you have grown in those in those things Abound 00:36:52.159 --> 00:36:54.760 you're not going to be unfruitful. You're not 00:36:54.760 --> 00:36:56.719 going to be led away with the error of the wicked 00:36:56.719 --> 00:37:01.099 You're not going to stumble from your own steadfastness 00:37:01.099 --> 00:37:04.820 He gives us a warning, but if you lack these 00:37:04.820 --> 00:37:08.039 things you're short -sighted even to blindness 00:37:08.039 --> 00:37:10.719 and have forgotten that he was cleansed from 00:37:10.719 --> 00:37:12.760 his old sins. If you're not growing and then 00:37:12.760 --> 00:37:14.880 you see here's the thing if you're not growing 00:37:14.880 --> 00:37:19.659 you're dying. You don't stay neutral. Now you 00:37:19.659 --> 00:37:21.559 know I mean you may get up today and think well 00:37:21.559 --> 00:37:23.760 I'm about the same as I was yesterday but it's 00:37:23.760 --> 00:37:27.940 one of those things where maybe the effects are 00:37:27.940 --> 00:37:31.260 negligible on a small scale but you know what 00:37:31.260 --> 00:37:33.480 one day you'll wake up or I'll wake up and I'll 00:37:33.480 --> 00:37:39.760 wonder how did I get here? How did I get here? 00:37:42.639 --> 00:37:46.500 And you don't want to do that. We don't want 00:37:46.500 --> 00:37:49.980 to be short -sighted and blind. And so here's 00:37:49.980 --> 00:37:54.440 Peter's exhortation. Be diligent. And he says, 00:37:54.739 --> 00:37:57.280 if you make your calling and your election sure, 00:37:57.679 --> 00:38:00.460 you do these things, you will never stumble. 00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:03.519 You know, we talk a lot about today about our 00:38:03.519 --> 00:38:05.340 confidence and salvation and we're going to touch 00:38:05.340 --> 00:38:07.760 on that some this week. You know, we want confidence 00:38:07.760 --> 00:38:12.190 and we want assurance. You want to be confident 00:38:12.190 --> 00:38:17.130 and assured? Grow in those things, you'll never 00:38:17.130 --> 00:38:23.769 stumble. You'll never stumble. And instead of 00:38:23.769 --> 00:38:26.429 buying into the doctrines that we teach that 00:38:26.429 --> 00:38:29.909 are false, but they give people comfort and assurance, 00:38:30.210 --> 00:38:33.170 let's just take what God says very plainly and 00:38:33.170 --> 00:38:36.269 go be diligent to do what He says to do to have 00:38:36.269 --> 00:38:43.000 assurance. then finally an entrance will be supplied 00:38:43.000 --> 00:38:46.619 to you into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord 00:38:46.619 --> 00:38:50.820 and Savior Jesus Christ. I appreciate your attention 00:38:50.820 --> 00:38:54.019 this morning and I hope you feel challenged by 00:38:54.019 --> 00:38:58.719 this. I hope this gives you direction. If you've 00:38:58.719 --> 00:39:02.400 just been, you know, you've been second rate 00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:05.530 with your Christianity. Just doing the minimum 00:39:05.530 --> 00:39:09.170 to get by. Just doing the minimum to satisfy 00:39:09.170 --> 00:39:11.550 that brother or sister that keeps nagging you 00:39:11.550 --> 00:39:14.150 every time you're not at church. You know, I 00:39:14.150 --> 00:39:16.289 want to do enough just to keep them quiet. That's 00:39:16.289 --> 00:39:22.030 not excellence. That's not excellence. Excellence 00:39:22.030 --> 00:39:26.170 is doing everything that I can possibly do the 00:39:26.170 --> 00:39:30.210 best that I can possibly do it to show the excellent 00:39:30.210 --> 00:39:36.539 virtues of God. every day seeking to grow more 00:39:36.539 --> 00:39:40.340 knowledgeable controlling my desires enduring 00:39:40.340 --> 00:39:45.739 through the hard times creating a greater dependence 00:39:45.739 --> 00:39:49.159 and reliance upon God having compassion for my 00:39:49.159 --> 00:39:53.760 brothers and having love for them in having God's 00:39:53.760 --> 00:39:57.829 character of love fully developed within me That's 00:39:57.829 --> 00:40:00.869 what you should want and I challenge you as I 00:40:00.869 --> 00:40:04.909 challenge myself use this week To address these 00:40:04.909 --> 00:40:06.550 things if you're here this morning and you're 00:40:06.550 --> 00:40:10.590 not a Christian We haven't talked about the gospel 00:40:10.590 --> 00:40:14.090 in the sense that of what you need to do to be 00:40:14.090 --> 00:40:19.269 saved But Jesus was excellent in his work. He 00:40:19.269 --> 00:40:22.349 came to the earth and he lived an excellent life 00:40:22.349 --> 00:40:26.940 perfect and sinless and You know what? Jesus 00:40:26.940 --> 00:40:31.260 had to persevere. Jesus had to have self -control. 00:40:31.900 --> 00:40:35.619 Jesus had to learn and go at a reliance upon 00:40:35.619 --> 00:40:39.760 God. Jesus had to love his brethren and Jesus 00:40:39.760 --> 00:40:43.159 had to love this world. You see what we've talked 00:40:43.159 --> 00:40:46.239 about this morning is not anything that your 00:40:46.239 --> 00:40:49.360 savior hasn't done for you. So don't you think 00:40:49.360 --> 00:40:53.670 it's reasonable to do it for him? He died on 00:40:53.670 --> 00:40:56.170 the cross atoning for your sins and so as you 00:40:56.170 --> 00:41:00.329 sit there today a sinner He stands ready to receive 00:41:00.329 --> 00:41:04.489 you and to wash you in his blood and if you are 00:41:04.489 --> 00:41:07.610 a child of God and you look at this and you think 00:41:07.610 --> 00:41:11.769 I'm I'm deficient and I know that all of us can 00:41:11.769 --> 00:41:15.030 look at this and find deficiencies within us 00:41:15.030 --> 00:41:20.349 But what I would ask you at this time is the 00:41:20.349 --> 00:41:24.190 very first one Are you excellent in your thinking 00:41:24.190 --> 00:41:28.550 about your Christianity? Do you want to excel? 00:41:28.849 --> 00:41:31.309 Do you want to do all that you can to magnify 00:41:31.309 --> 00:41:35.150 the praises of God? Or do you just want to be 00:41:35.150 --> 00:41:38.510 a second -rate Christian? Someone who does enough 00:41:38.510 --> 00:41:42.190 to get by? If that's you, I pray that these words 00:41:42.190 --> 00:41:45.730 of the Lord will convict you right now and bring 00:41:45.730 --> 00:41:49.230 you to repentance. Thank you for listening to 00:41:49.230 --> 00:41:51.309 today's sermon from the Church of Christ Wheeler 00:41:51.309 --> 00:41:54.269 area. We hope this message encouraged you and 00:41:54.269 --> 00:41:56.590 strengthened you in your faith this week. Don't 00:41:56.590 --> 00:41:59.829 forget the doors always open at 1500 South Allen 00:41:59.829 --> 00:42:03.550 L. Bean Boulevard at 1030 a .m. on Sundays, 230 00:42:03.550 --> 00:42:06.369 p .m. on Sunday afternoons and recharge with 00:42:06.369 --> 00:42:09.929 us midweek on Wednesdays at 7 p .m. For more 00:42:09.929 --> 00:42:13.369 information or to hear past messages Follow us 00:42:13.369 --> 00:42:16.210 on your favorite podcast platform. Look us up 00:42:16.210 --> 00:42:18.849 on Facebook and Instagram. We hope you have a 00:42:18.849 --> 00:42:20.750 blessed week and we'll see you next time.