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Thank you. January 1 is a natural time for both reflection and anticipation. Janus was

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a pagan god of the Romans. Janus was depicted as having two faces, one looking forward,

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the other back. Thus we have the month of January named after him. Because as the beginning

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of the year, it's a time when we both look forward and look back. I suppose partly as

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a result of this tendency, we make resolutions during this time. And those are not necessarily

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wrong, are they? They are attempts to renew action in our lives that we know we should

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take. They are not necessarily bad. But tonight, rather than talking about New Year's resolutions,

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I would like to talk about New Year reminders. In the New Testament, the Greek word reminder

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is used only three times as a noun. The context of each of these occurrences tells us something

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that should be a reminder for the New Year as we look at 1984. The first occasion is

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found in 2 Timothy chapter 1, and I invite you to take your Bible and turn there with

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me. 2 Timothy chapter 1. As the apostle Paul writes the last of his inspired letters, he

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writes to his dear son in the faith, Timothy. As he begins the epistle in verse 5, he says

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to him, For I am mindful of the sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother

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Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that is in you as well. In that very first

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phrase, we have the word reminder. Literally, the apostle says, taking recollection or taking

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reminder of the sincere faith within you. The apostle Paul could have begun this letter

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by speaking of Timothy's timidity, for Timothy apparently was that kind of person. But instead

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of speaking about a negative trait in this young man, he rather points to something on

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a positive note, and that is his sincere faith. He encourages Timothy as one who had a sincere

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genuine faith. I see here the principle of encouragement, and I believe the apostle tells

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us as we face 1984, we should encourage people. This is a reminder to encourage. I think of

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the early church and what they did for Apollos. Apollos was a mighty and eloquent speaker

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who was being used of God to the extent that he knew what to preach. But he knew only about

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the baptism of John, it tells us in Acts 18. Therefore Aquila and Priscilla, two of God's

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choice servants, a husband-wife team, took him aside and instructed him more thoroughly

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in the things of the Lord Jesus Christ. It says furthermore that the believers there

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took him in and encouraged him, particularly as he desired to go to Achaia and serve the

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Lord there. Not only did they encourage him, but they sent letters before him commending

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him to the brothers there. What did they do for Apollos at a very critical point in his

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life when they could have put him down because he wasn't preaching the whole message? He

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hadn't heard it to that point apparently. Instead of putting him down, they rather encouraged

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him and helped him along the way. Encouragement in its definition in the dictionary means

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to inspire with courage, spirit, or strength of mind, to give confidence to, to give support

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to. George M. Adams said, encouragement is oxygen to the soul. Do you realize that around

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us every day there are people who are in critical need for soul CPR? They need to be encouraged

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and they are suffering under soul asphyxiation. They need some of this soul oxygen that we

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are talking about. You say, well why should I be an encourager? Let me give you three

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quick reasons. Number one, because in doing so you will imitate God. God himself is named

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the God of all encouragement who encourages us. 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 3 and 4.

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God himself is an encourager. Furthermore, in sending the Holy Spirit, Jesus named him

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the Paraclete, the one who would comfort, who would encourage, who would come along

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the side of the Lord's people and help them. A second reason as to why to be an encourager

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is because in doing so you will obey God. God says that we are to encourage one another.

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He says encourage the faint-hearted. A third reason to be an encourager is that you will

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be appreciated by your friend whom you encourage. In Philippians chapter 1 the apostle writes

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to that dear church and he says to them, I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.

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Then he goes right on to explain why, because they have been partners with him in his ministry.

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So that's why you should be an encourager. You will imitate God, you will obey God, and

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you will be appreciated by those you do encourage. May I talk to you a moment, husband? Could

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it be that you are living with a person who needs your encouragement, your spouse? When

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was the last time you said a word of encouragement or did an encouraging deed to help her? Don't

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ask her, she may tell you. I remember at the birth of our first child, that was an event

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for which I was nearly totally unprepared in a lot of ways. But I did not know what

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to expect in the hospital for sure. I hadn't been through any of the classes you see. In

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those days they didn't allow the husbands, not that it was that long ago either, but

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in those days just a few days ago they didn't allow husbands in the delivery room, but I

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could be in the labor room with my wife. I remember that in the process of her travail,

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the nurse who was in the room at that point looked up at me and said to me, as only she

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could, tell her she's doing good. I took one look at the nurse and I obeyed. So I began

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to encourage my wife and I said, honey, you're doing great. You know what made a lot of difference

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to her, she tells me. Encourage your wife, encourage your husband, encourage your children.

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When was the last time you really took one of your children aside and said some things

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that would build that esteem in your child? Have you ever written a letter to your child?

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Child lives at home with you. Have you ever taken time to pen a few thoughts in a letter

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and say, honey, here are some reasons I love you, here are my goals for your life, here

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are some things I appreciate about you? Have you thought about your co-workers who need

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encouragement? Or about your boss? You say, wait a minute, I'm the one who needs the encouragement,

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I'm the employee. Sometimes a boss needs encouragement. What about those who work with you or below

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you? What about your teachers? You see, it's a lot easier for us to be negative and critical.

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That's more human. But what is more godly is to encourage. Now in doing that, we need

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to avoid flattery. We've got to be honest. But somehow we should look for something good

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and genuine for which to praise and encourage that individual. Only the things that I have

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done to help me is to start an encouragement file. Every now and then someone will send

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me a nice note which I appreciate and I stick it in that encouragement file. And on a blue

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Monday or Thursday or whatever it happens to be, occasionally I'll open up that file

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and pull out those reminders from days or months or even years past when someone wrote

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a note to encourage me. Maybe you want to start an encouragement file too. As you face

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1984, let me remind you, be an encourager. And then turn with me to 2 Peter chapter 1.

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You see the second use of the noun reminder in the New Testament. Peter says, and I consider

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it right as long as I am in this earthly dwelling that is in his body, as long as he's alive,

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to stir you up by way of reminder. To stir up means to wake up, literally, to wake up

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from one's sleep. He says, I want to awaken you by way of this reminder. I want to put

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this into your mind. And what he is reminding us here is that we are to increase. We are

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to grow. We are to mature in the Lord. In the previous verses, he suggests that there

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are two ways for us to enter heaven, abundantly or barely. In other words, we as believers

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can enter heaven with great reward or we can enter heaven without reward. May I again distinguish

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tonight the difference between salvation and rewards. The lack of making that distinction

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has led a lot of people into error regarding especially the security of the believer. Salvation

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is a gift. Rewards are our earnings. Salvation we receive by grace through faith. Rewards

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we earn by our faithfulness and works. Peter here is talking about our entering into heaven

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with great reward. How do we do that? We must back up even further into the chapter and

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notice what he begins to say in verse 5. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence.

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In your faith, supply moral excellence. And in your moral excellence, knowledge. And in

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your knowledge, self-control. And in your self-control, perseverance. And in your perseverance,

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godliness. And in your godliness, brotherly kindness. And in your brotherly kindness,

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love. Here he tells us how we are to increase. It is in our character. Or to put it another

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way, in our Christ likeness. We are to increase, to grow, to mature. How are we to do this?

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He tells us what our responsibility is. He says we are to supply generously for. We are

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to apply our diligence in doing this. And then he mentions eight characteristics. He

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begins with faith. That is the attitude of trust and dependence upon god. That is what

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saves us in the first place. And then he says out of our faith, we are to supply moral excellence.

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Now the picture here is of a telescope. Do you remember those telescopes that children

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used to be able to buy? They'd be compacted about this long and then you'd pull them out.

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All the sections fit inside of the bigger section. And then you'd pull them out one

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section at a time until you had the telescope. That's the picture he uses here. He says now

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faith brings you the whole piece. But out of that faith, your first extension, he says,

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should be moral excellence. That is uprightness. It means a courageous stand. Out of your basic

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faith, go on to increase in moral excellence in your life. Let me suggest a project as

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to how that could be done. The next time you see an opportunity to stand up for Jesus Christ,

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do that. Whatever the cost may be, whether people will mock you or scoff you, don't even

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think about it. But stand up for Jesus Christ and let that experience build courage in you

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to stand. Out of moral excellence, he says, we are to go on to supply knowledge. The idea

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is here a deepening understanding and perception of God. To come to know him in a deeper way.

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God is holy, therefore, he says, moral excellence comes first. And once holiness has begun to

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be worked into our lives, then we can come to know God in a deeper way. A project? Well,

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perhaps reading the Bible through in 1984, using one of the plans that we have available

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for you out there in the lobby. Or memorizing a certain passage of scripture. Maybe you

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want to take Romans 8 or John 14. One of the significant chapters of the Bible and spend

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time memorizing a verse a week at least. How about majoring on a book a month? Perhaps

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you would want to take the book of Ephesians, spend the month of January studying that.

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Then in February you may want to take an Old Testament book and study that. Maybe just

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one Psalm. But major on a portion of God's word and come to know God through a deepening

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understanding of his word. And then he says, from that deepening, knowledge of God provide

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for self-control. And very frankly, the thought here is self-control of sensual appetites.

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As you come to know God, bring your appetites under his control and dominion. Let me suggest

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a project. Perhaps you need to bring under control your eating. I don't know why I start

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there. Holidays are over, I guess. We're all ready to start a diet. Maybe that's the reason.

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How about setting down the principle that you will limit yourself to one helping of

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food at a meal? You're not going to take seconds for the month of January or for a period of

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time. Perhaps you'll want to say, I'm going to set on the alarm clock. Perhaps you'll

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want to say, I'm going to turn the television off. Maybe for a whole week you'll say, I'm

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not even going to watch television. Not even the Christian station. Maybe that's what should

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happen. Well, he says, we are to supply self-control. Then perseverance. The idea of perseverance

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is patience. We're to supply for a control of our reactions. Maybe one way to do that

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is to imagine Jesus Christ sitting in the car seat with you as you drive down the express

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way and somebody pulls over in front of you. Maybe it'll be involved in choosing to ignore

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a snubbing from someone. Perseverance. Then he says godliness should come out of that.

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That is a reverence for God, a respect for spiritual things. Perhaps a project here would

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be to listen to the news and read the newspaper and as you do that, to try to gain God's perspective.

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What does God say about this? What is God's view of this event? A respect for spiritual

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things. Godlikeness. Then he says brotherly kindness. Here we come to family care, family

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loyalty. Perhaps a project would be to have an open house for your small church, to send

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a note to a shut-in or to a family member, to prepare a dinner for a needy family. Brotherly

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kindness. Then he gives the final extension. He says increase in love. He begins with faith

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and he says love is the natural sign of maturity, of a full extension of character. The love

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here is sacrificial love. A deed of love and kindness for one who is even ungrateful and

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undeserving. He tells us that if we increase like this, there are several things that will

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happen. In verses 8 and 9 he says we'll be spiritually useful and fruitful. In verse

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10 he says it will confirm our profession of faith. He says therefore brethren be the

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more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you. The idea is that as you

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grow and mature that will give you assurance. It will confirm your profession of faith in

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Christ. He says furthermore that it will keep us from stumbling in verse 10 if we increase.

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And then finally he says in verse 11 we'll have great reward in heaven. As a reminder

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for 1984 will you increase? Will you mature? How are you going to do it then? What will

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you do on your part to see that you do increase? What project of yours that we've mentioned

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will you focus on? What one will you create for yourself? You say well spiritual growth

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that comes from God doesn't it? Yes, there is an aspect that comes from God but there

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is another aspect just as vital that comes from us in which we have responsibility as

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he says here in all diligence to supply for these character traits in our lives. Now the

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third time the word reminder is used is in chapter 3 and verse 1 where he says this is

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now beloved the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere

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mind by way of reminder. He goes on to remind them of the words of the apostles and prophets

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and the Lord Jesus Christ. Words regarding the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he

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says that despite the fact that we are living in difficult days and the last days we are

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to endure. We are to endure knowing that God will keep his promise and even though there

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will be those who say well where is the promise of his coming? We believe that Jesus is coming.

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Of course it could be that 1984 will be the year, the year of his return. It could be

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that in the next 12 months that trumpet will sound that people have talked about for the

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last 2000 years and we will be caught up to be with the Lord in the air ever to be with

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him. As we face 1984 and the frankly difficult days I believe that are ahead for our nation

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let this be a reminder to us as it was a reminder to Peter's readers that we are to endure.

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We are not to allow ourselves to be discouraged and drowned down by the age around us and

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even though it gets very dark even though there will be those who say he is not coming.

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We are to be faithful and steadfast and enduring knowing that what God has promised he will

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do. Who is it that needs your word or your deed of encouragement? Who is it? How will

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you do it? When will you do it? What steps do you need to take so that you will spiritually

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increase in 1984? So that if the Lord tarries and you are here for 1985 to be born you can

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look back over the preceding 12 months and say yes here are areas of my life where I

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have increased. Maybe you are at the point tonight of readying to give up on some project

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that you are involved in or some ministry or some relationship and you say I have had

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it. May I encourage you to endure, to hang in there. God hasn't failed in one word of

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any of his promises. He will strengthen you, he will be with you. Jesus is coming, endure,

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hang in there, be faithful and God will bless you. Let's pray. Father in heaven, however

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this brief challenge from your word may strike us tonight individually, I pray that we may

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have the insights as well as the obedience to follow through. And I pray that we as individual

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believers in 1984 will follow the counsel of your word as we have been reminded tonight.

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Father we are appreciative of life and health which most of us enjoy. May we be good stewards

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of it as we walk with you through each day that you give us in this world. In Jesus name,

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Amen.