Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of the Weekend Sermon. I hope that everyone had a good Christmas, and I hope that everyone has a great 2020. I thank the Lord for giving me the opportunity to present this message today.
Last week, we took one week out of our series on II Peter to discuss the events of the birth of Jesus and what they mean to us. Today, we will be concentrating once again on the Lord's message to us from II Peter.
In our last message from II Peter, we saw that we have been set free from this world and its lusts by the Lord Jesus. He has given us His great and precious promises, and He has allowed us to be partakers of His divine nature.
Because of the fact that we have been set free from sin through faith in Jesus Christ, Peter instructs us that there should be certain qualities in our lives that are growing as we progress in our Christian walk. In II Peter 1:5-7 it states, "But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control-perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.
In today's message, I want to look at these qualities mentioned by Peter, and see what they mean for our lives. We start with virtue. Another Bible version translates this word as goodness. After we have come to faith in Jesus Christ, we should act in such a way that we are doing what is right and morally excellent. We have been instructed how to behave in this world by the Lord Jesus Himself. As His followers, we are to read what He has told us to do, and then we are to demonstrate our faith and love by doing what we've been told.
We are to also be growing in our knowledge of the things of the Lord after we've come to know Him. I believe that one of the characteristics of someone who truly has a possession of faith is the desire to know more about the Bible and the teachings of the Lord Jesus. I am always distressed when I come across those who profess to be believers, but they are not interested in knowing more about what the Lord has taught us within His Word. Peter will tell us in chapter 3 of this epistle that we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
After knowledge, Peter talks about self-control. Self-control is also listed by Paul as one of the fruits of the Spirit. When we have received the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to resist those things that would lead us into sin. We have the power to overcome those forces that would tempt us to engage in behaviors that are not pleasing to the Lord.
Perseverance. To me, this means moving ahead and believing in Jesus in spite of obstacles and hardships. The person who is steadfast in the faith keeps on trusting in Jesus even when hard times come. In His parable of the sower and seeds, Jesus talks about seed that fell on the soil and started to grow. However, when the weeds, which are the cares and troubles of this world, began to grow up, they withered and died. They did not persevere in the faith. They left the faith, and they stopped following the Lord.
Difficult times will come. We will not always understand why the Lord allows certain problems to come into our lives. We all will have moments when it can be hard to trust and believe. Those who are firmly rooted in the love of Jesus can persevere and keep trusting and believing in the goodness and grace of God.
We are then told by Peter that those who have come to faith in the Lord act in a godly manner. I interpret this as doing what Jesus did and doing what Jesus said. It is about keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus and letting His example be what we follow in all of our actions in this life.
Brotherly kindness is next on the list. Those who belong to Jesus are part of a family. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to help one another and bear one another's burdens. We are to act the way that the early followers of Jesus did in the book of Acts. We must love our brothers and sisters in the faith.
The final quality on Peter's list is love. We are to love all. Jesus said that we are even to love our enemies. This is a hard thing to do. However, Jesus is the man of love. His love led Him to lay down His life for us. We imitate Him by acting in love to those who are in this world. Love demonstrates itself in helping others and helping to make this world a better place. Love demonstrates itself when we do what Jesus would do. We show love for others when we tell them about how much Jesus loves them and wants to have a relationship with them.
I think what it all comes down to is that if we have been redeemed by Jesus and accept Him as Lord, we should follow Him. Those who follow the teachings and the commandments of Jesus in this world demonstrate that they are no longer of this world, but they are citizens of a Heavenly Kingdom and they follow the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen.
Prayer Requests and Other Matters
I had a nice Christmas holiday. It was actually one of the nicest times I've had during the holidays for the last several years. I am hoping and praying for a good new year. I would ask that you pray about one matter. Even though it is wintertime, the area where I live has the possibility of severe storms today. Please pray that these storms won't be bad and that there won't be any flooding. Thank you.
In other matters, please pray for those in the Philippines who have been harmed by the storm there. Pray that they will receive the aid and assistance that they need.
Remember to pray for those in Samoa and Congo who are dealing with various types of sickness. Pray that these problems will end soon.
We need to remember to pray for those harmed by the volcano in New Zealand. Several were burned badly, and we must pray that they will be OK.
Remember to pray for peace, there was an attack in Somalia this week. That nation needs prayers for peace, and we need to pray for peace in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Libya as well.
For our prayer focus countries this week. let us pray for those who live in China and in Senegal. Pray that many will hear the good news that Jesus loves them.
Next week, we will continue with our series in II Peter, and I will post the message on Saturday. On Monday, I will post the verses. I will not be posting anything midweek this week. The book reviews will resume the following week. May God bless you all. Amen.
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