Sunday, September 6, 2020

Everything You Need to Succeed - Part 1




Last Sunday, Pastor Kyle continued in our church’s sermon series through the book of 2 Peter. He opened by stating that we have everything we need to be effective in our physical and spiritual life today. That we have every to succeed in life, in our relationship with God in our hands. In the “born again” conversion as a repentant sinner through the atoning death of Jesus Christ as our Savior on the Cross in our place for the forgiveness of sins (past, present and future), we can thrive in our and daily walk with the Holy Spirit towards God and that is a life-changing mental shift. 

2 Peter 1:2-4 “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 

This passage of Holy Scripture falls into the category of a promise from God. It is not a principle, and even more than a possibility or a promising hope. It is a surefire promise that can be applied straight to your life. The word “promise” gets watered-down today because we do not always hold up our side of the bargain. We don’t truly understand the meaning because we so rarely see a promise lived out. This is where we need to learn to take our cues from God, and not from fallen humanity. When God makes a promise, He always comes through. God has granted to the true Believer, all things that pertain to life and to godliness, so that means we have everything we need to succeed and thrive as a Christian.  

His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness is the power promise that the rest of the passage hinges on. The power behind the promise stems from the fact that Jesus, the Christ, is attached to it. The promise doesn’t come about by happenstance or by our human efforts; this promise is dependable because His divine power enables us to be able to have everything we need to live fruitful earthly lives and maintain healthy spiritual lives because Jesus makes it possible. That word “given” is in the past tense. It was granted at a prior time and remains true for all time. The moment that it became universally possible was when Christ died on the Cross for the sins of the world, and was sealed when He rose from the grave, defeating the sin and death that holds us down. And, ultimately, when the Holy Spirit arrived at Pentecost and entered every Believers life thereafter. The Holy Spirit is the depositor on the down-payment of our faith. God, the Holy Spirit is the One empowering us to succeed in life and thrive in our faith. 

So, what does it look like to thrive as a Christian?  We should always be growing in our knowledge of Christ. Mature Christians are always striving to grow in their knowledge of God, the Bible, of how life works and how to do better in all areas of life. God has given us everything we need, but inherent in God’s promise to give us what we need is a responsibility upon us to pursue more knowledge in what we are trying to accomplish. But, knowledge isn’t everything. (1) The most fundamental biblical truths are not vailed, hidden or secret; they are plain knowledge. God makes everything easy to find. (2) There is no spiritual truth that the Bible doesn’t get to. God has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. The Bible speaks to everything and Scripture is crystal-clear that the biblical cannon is closed and no more books are going to be added to the Holy Bible -Revelation 22:18-19. 

We shouldn’t be going to other religions, faiths and forms of spirituality for knowledge. God has given us all foundational knowledge in His Word. The flipside is that God expects us to grow in our knowledge of Him, His Word and His world which we live and move. Far too many people sit back idly, waiting for something to happen to them rather than seeking to grow in their knowledge. Growing in spiritual and life knowledge is not just about getting smarter and more knowledgeable. It is about becoming more and more of a partaker in Christ’s divine nature, Verse 4 says, “through these you may be partakers of the divine nature.” Be clear on this, we do not have a divine nature. Jesus Christ is glorified and we partake in His divine nature when we live obedient lives to Him on earth. There is a subtle, but important difference here. There are other false religions out there that teach that you are god, the plants are god, the ground is god, etc. We are not God; we are sinners. We get to partake in the divine nature when we live like Jesus in obedience to the Father. 

Let's continue Pastor Kyle's message on having everything we need to succeed in the next post.
In Christ, Brian

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