1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,880 If you’re thinking seriously, you have probably already done a double take on the title of this 2 00:00:06,880 –> 00:00:14,720 new series. Everything you need for life—and don’t you think that sounds a little bit ambitious, 3 00:00:15,680 –> 00:00:22,080 even pretentious, a bit overstated, a bit of hype maybe? 4 00:00:23,680 –> 00:00:29,840 I’ll tell you, I would not have dared to choose this title for this series if it was not 5 00:00:30,080 –> 00:00:36,560 exactly what Peter says at the beginning of this most amazing letter that we’re going to 6 00:00:37,200 –> 00:00:44,799 learn from together over these next two months. Let’s try and get into our minds. What 7 00:00:44,799 –> 00:00:52,880 Peter is saying in 2 Peter, chapter 1 in verse 3, God’s divine power has given us 8 00:00:53,840 –> 00:01:02,759 everything we need for life. That’s what he says. Everything that you need for your life, 9 00:01:02,759 –> 00:01:08,660 for every circumstance you will face in your life, you have in the knowledge of 10 00:01:08,660 –> 00:01:16,879 Jesus Christ your Savior and your Lord. Now straight away what Peter is saying 11 00:01:16,879 –> 00:01:22,720 here challenges the way that many folks think about Christianity. The natural way 12 00:01:22,720 –> 00:01:26,919 for us to think about our lives is to think of them in compartments. You know 13 00:01:26,919 –> 00:01:31,639 there’s my work, and then there is my family, and then there’s my pleasure, and 14 00:01:31,639 –> 00:01:34,779 then of course there’s my faith, and that’s very important part of my life. 15 00:01:34,779 –> 00:01:38,000 And then there are my hopes and my dreams. And you can go on filling out 16 00:01:38,000 –> 00:01:42,699 the compartments. And honestly, there are many folks who are quite convinced in 17 00:01:42,699 –> 00:01:47,120 their own minds, quite settled that Jesus has everything we need for faith, for 18 00:01:47,120 –> 00:01:53,040 that little circle, but are not wholly convinced that Jesus has everything we 19 00:01:53,040 –> 00:01:57,120 need for life. Now what Peter is doing here is he’s painting an entirely 20 00:01:57,120 –> 00:02:01,699 different picture. He’s saying think of your live not as a lot of little 21 00:02:01,699 –> 00:02:06,139 circles but as one big circle, and understand this that the Lord Jesus 22 00:02:06,139 –> 00:02:11,639 Christ has everything, not only for what you need for faith, but everything that 23 00:02:11,759 –> 00:02:19,199 you need for life. Now let’s just think for a few moments what that means. Let’s 24 00:02:19,199 –> 00:02:24,080 think about life in middle school for example, or high school. For those are 25 00:02:24,080 –> 00:02:27,699 older, think back to what that was like for those who are there now. Think about 26 00:02:27,699 –> 00:02:35,320 it. Your first experience of discovering that the world is unfair, Jesus Christ, 27 00:02:35,839 –> 00:02:42,839 everything you need for that. Your first experience of rejection, finding yourself 28 00:02:43,639 –> 00:02:49,279 outside the group. The first time in your life that you begin to experience that 29 00:02:49,279 –> 00:02:53,539 there are drives and pools in your own life, and you’re not quite sure how to 30 00:02:53,539 –> 00:02:59,399 handle them, Jesus Christ is everything you need for that. The first time you 31 00:02:59,399 –> 00:03:04,960 begin to experience moods that come upon you, and you don’t quite understand 32 00:03:04,979 –> 00:03:09,960 where they came from. But suddenly you find yourself in a mood, and you say 33 00:03:09,960 –> 00:03:13,220 things. You say, why did I say that? Why was I like that? Why did I spoil 34 00:03:13,220 –> 00:03:17,960 that occasion? I don’t know what came over me. Jesus Christ is everything you 35 00:03:17,960 –> 00:03:23,960 need for handling that, or for any other stage of life, for the later years of 36 00:03:23,960 –> 00:03:29,759 life with the struggles of the sense of life receding. Everything you need for 37 00:03:30,399 –> 00:03:35,199 married life. Everything you need for a single life in Jesus Christ. 38 00:03:35,199 –> 00:03:38,679 It’s what Peter’s talking about. Everything you need for your midlife 39 00:03:38,679 –> 00:03:43,440 crisis, when you discover that a lot of time has gone, and you’ve not 40 00:03:43,440 –> 00:03:47,160 accomplished as much as you thought, and not as much time is left as you had 41 00:03:47,160 –> 00:03:53,660 thought either. We’re talking about life here in all of its fullness, 42 00:03:54,300 –> 00:04:01,000 and Peter is saying to us that Jesus Christ is sufficient, not only for 43 00:04:01,619 –> 00:04:06,740 faith, but also for the whole of life. If we can grasp that, then we will 44 00:04:06,740 –> 00:04:11,580 move our discipleship, our following of Jesus Christ to a whole other level 45 00:04:11,580 –> 00:04:16,019 as we learn the message of this book over these next weeks. 46 00:04:16,019 –> 00:04:20,279 Notice Peter has a particular kind of life in mind. He talks about life and 47 00:04:20,279 –> 00:04:24,619 godliness. Gotta to put these two together. He’s talking about a godly 48 00:04:24,619 –> 00:04:29,820 life, which is more rather than less. And what does godliness mean? 49 00:04:29,820 –> 00:04:34,799 Godliness means simply a life that is centered on God. In Jesus Christ, 50 00:04:34,799 –> 00:04:40,000 you will find everything that you need for a life that flows out of a passion 51 00:04:40,000 –> 00:04:44,320 for God. So, the life he’s talking about is not an artificial one in which you 52 00:04:44,320 –> 00:04:48,859 try to conform to certain religious expectations and be a good person. 53 00:04:48,859 –> 00:04:53,679 No, we’re talking about a life that is animated and energized by the presence 54 00:04:53,679 –> 00:04:58,160 and the power of God and everything that you need for the freedom and the joy 55 00:04:58,160 –> 00:05:04,000 of that kind of life you will find in your knowledge of Jesus Christ. 56 00:05:04,000 –> 00:05:08,739 Now, by any standards, what we’re looking at right here is one 57 00:05:08,739 –> 00:05:16,019 of the most amazing statements in all of the Bible. It headlines what Peter has 58 00:05:16,019 –> 00:05:21,859 to say to us through this letter, and it takes us to the heart of authentic 59 00:05:21,859 –> 00:05:26,619 Christianity. Now, I want simply to address two questions this 60 00:05:26,619 –> 00:05:32,660 morning. The first is the question of the audience. To whom is Peter speaking? 61 00:05:32,660 –> 00:05:36,059 When he says that you have everything that you need for life and it comes 62 00:05:36,059 –> 00:05:40,940 from God’s power through the knowledge of Jesus Christ, to whom is he speaking? 63 00:05:41,779 –> 00:05:46,500 And it’s an important question because some of us may be nearly at the point of 64 00:05:46,500 –> 00:05:51,579 switching off already and saying, yeah, yeah, yeah. So much talk. And you don’t 65 00:05:51,579 –> 00:05:56,299 really believe this. I just want to raise this question. How do you know he’s 66 00:05:56,299 –> 00:06:04,660 talking to you anyway? Who is the audience? Who has everything they 67 00:06:04,660 –> 00:06:10,200 need for life? They need to know who he’s talking to. And then secondly, 68 00:06:10,200 –> 00:06:15,440 we’re going to look at what precisely is promised. Why is it that certain people 69 00:06:15,440 –> 00:06:20,660 have been given everything that is needed for life? And so these are the two questions 70 00:06:20,660 –> 00:06:23,799 that are before us. I hope you have your bible open, by the way. We really, 71 00:06:23,799 –> 00:06:26,779 really want to encourage bring your bible. If you don’t get one today, 72 00:06:26,779 –> 00:06:31,700 use one in the pew, but bring your bible. There are two or three pages 73 00:06:31,700 –> 00:06:37,059 only that are 2 Peter. But let that letter in your bible be a page that is 74 00:06:37,260 –> 00:06:42,660 inside you, because you’ve got it. You believe it. You’ve grasped it. 75 00:06:42,660 –> 00:06:48,179 Come with your bible open and with your heart open as well. 76 00:06:48,179 –> 00:06:52,739 So our first question, to whom is Peter speaking? 77 00:06:52,739 –> 00:06:58,899 Notice the audience is identified in verse 1. He’s writing to those who through the 78 00:06:58,899 –> 00:07:05,019 righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus have received a faith as precious 79 00:07:05,260 –> 00:07:11,019 as ours. So everything that he says in this letter is addressed to people who 80 00:07:11,019 –> 00:07:15,880 have faith, and he describes faith in a particular way. He says it’s a faith that 81 00:07:15,880 –> 00:07:22,279 is as precious as the faith of the apostles. So Peter is writing to those 82 00:07:22,279 –> 00:07:25,179 who have faith. That immediately raises the question, what does it mean to a 83 00:07:25,179 –> 00:07:31,920 faith? What does it mean for you to be a person of faith? What is Christian faith? 84 00:07:32,500 –> 00:07:37,480 Because it is only to those who have the faith that he’s speaking about that this 85 00:07:37,480 –> 00:07:41,119 promise is given that you have everything that you need for life in 86 00:07:41,119 –> 00:07:45,500 Jesus. Well, I want to make four observations, very simply, for what Peter 87 00:07:45,500 –> 00:07:51,040 says here about faith. The first is that Christian faith is clearly faith in 88 00:07:51,040 –> 00:07:58,940 Jesus Christ. Notice that Peter affirms faith in Jesus Christ in three ways. 89 00:07:59,359 –> 00:08:06,799 In verse one, he affirms that Jesus is God. He speaks about our God and Savior Jesus 90 00:08:06,799 –> 00:08:12,059 Christ, verse 1. By the way, you may have heard some people say that Jesus is 91 00:08:12,059 –> 00:08:16,839 never referred to as God in the New Testament. If anyone ever says that to 92 00:08:16,839 –> 00:08:21,559 you, point them to Second Peter, chapter 1 and verse 1, who’s right there, or point 93 00:08:21,559 –> 00:08:26,220 them to Thomas’ confession when he falls before Jesus. My Lord and my 94 00:08:26,359 –> 00:08:33,299 God because Jesus is God, He is God with us, He is God in the flesh. That’s the 95 00:08:33,299 –> 00:08:39,340 core of Christian faith — not only is he God, but He is Savior, our God and Savior 96 00:08:39,340 –> 00:08:47,140 Jesus Christ. You see, Christian faith is confidence in Jesus Christ. Confidence 97 00:08:47,140 –> 00:08:52,000 that He is able to do what He’s committed to do. The world encourages us 98 00:08:52,039 –> 00:08:57,320 to have confidence in ourselves. The Bible encourages us to have confidence in 99 00:08:57,320 –> 00:09:02,440 Jesus. And a Christian will have far more confidence in Jesus than he or she ever 100 00:09:02,440 –> 00:09:10,960 has in himself. I am very sure that in however many years remain of my life, I 101 00:09:10,960 –> 00:09:17,659 will mess many things up many, many times. I just know that. But I am absolutely 102 00:09:17,700 –> 00:09:22,179 confident that Jesus Christ will not mess up the thing that has been entrusted to 103 00:09:22,179 –> 00:09:29,059 him, which is to save me, to save you, and on the last day to present us faultless 104 00:09:29,059 –> 00:09:33,940 in the presence of the Father. We have confidence in Jesus that He will not 105 00:09:33,940 –> 00:09:39,799 mess up on that in regard to us. He’s Savior, and that’s the core of Christian 106 00:09:39,799 –> 00:09:45,140 faith. He’s God, he’s Savior, and He is Lord. Notice the statement there in verse 107 00:09:45,140 –> 00:09:51,679 2, the knowledge of our God and Savior Jesus our Lord. Now again, this is core to 108 00:09:51,679 –> 00:09:55,719 Christian faith because Christian faith is confidence in Jesus Christ, that He’s 109 00:09:55,719 –> 00:10:00,659 God, that He’s Savior, and that He is Lord. This is a wonderful truth, and it 110 00:10:00,659 –> 00:10:06,020 is the bedrock of our faith. You know that you will face trials and temptations 111 00:10:06,020 –> 00:10:12,659 that seem too much to you. You may face circumstances of life that are beyond 112 00:10:12,659 –> 00:10:17,419 what you can handle. But you will never face anything in your life that is 113 00:10:17,419 –> 00:10:24,640 beyond what Jesus can handle, because He is Lord. What that means is that he is 114 00:10:24,640 –> 00:10:31,400 Lord over the strongest temptations and the darkest devils. There is no power, 115 00:10:31,400 –> 00:10:36,900 no circumstance in life or in death or in eternity that can somehow overpower 116 00:10:36,900 –> 00:10:42,059 Him and He is with you and He is for you if you belong to Him by faith. 117 00:10:42,140 –> 00:10:46,320 So, here’s the first thing that Peter is saying to us very clearly. 118 00:10:46,320 –> 00:10:52,419 Faith is, Christian faith is in Jesus Christ who is Savior, Lord and God, and 119 00:10:52,419 –> 00:11:00,419 for me, and with me and I have every reason to have confidence in him. 120 00:11:00,419 –> 00:11:07,479 Second, Christian faith is apostolic. First, it’s faith in Jesus. Second, Christian 121 00:11:07,659 –> 00:11:12,880 faith is apostolic. Notice verse one. He’s writing to people who have he says, 122 00:11:12,880 –> 00:11:20,359 a faith as precious as ours. Ours referring to the faith of the apostles. 123 00:11:20,359 –> 00:11:26,400 Peter writes as an Apostle. That’s how he introduces himself. It’s very 124 00:11:26,400 –> 00:11:32,419 interesting. We often talk in evangelical circles about personal faith. That’s 125 00:11:32,419 –> 00:11:37,619 good because faith has to be personal and nobody else can believe for you. That’s 126 00:11:37,619 –> 00:11:46,200 something you have to do for yourself. But Christian faith is more than personal. 127 00:11:46,200 –> 00:11:53,619 Christian faith is apostolic. To be a Christian means that you share the same faith as the 128 00:11:53,619 –> 00:11:59,320 apostles and that you have made what the apostles believe what you believe and you share in 129 00:12:00,179 –> 00:12:04,039 also. In other words, Christian faith isn’t a sort of faith that you generate yourself 130 00:12:04,039 –> 00:12:10,340 or you make up yourself. It is a personal embracing of apostolic faith sharing the same 131 00:12:10,340 –> 00:12:13,080 faith as the apostles. 132 00:12:13,080 –> 00:12:17,979 So when we interview folks for membership in the church sometimes we ask this question. 133 00:12:17,979 –> 00:12:22,799 Do you have a personal faith? That’s a perfectly good question. But maybe it would also be 134 00:12:22,799 –> 00:12:29,140 a good question to ask, do you hold the apostolic faith? Do you hold the same faith as the apostles? 135 00:12:29,460 –> 00:12:34,640 Because frankly, the apostolic faith is the only faith worth having. If your faith is 136 00:12:34,640 –> 00:12:38,159 something you’ve generated out of your own head and your own ideas, it will die with 137 00:12:38,159 –> 00:12:43,059 you as it was born with you. 138 00:12:43,059 –> 00:12:47,820 So Peter is making it very clear here that Christian faith is faith in Jesus Christ. 139 00:12:47,820 –> 00:12:53,419 It is the apostolic faith. It means holding to the faith as Jude puts it in his letter 140 00:12:53,419 –> 00:12:58,559 that for once, for all, was entrusted to the saints. 141 00:12:58,580 –> 00:13:01,320 Here’s the third thing about faith. 142 00:13:01,320 –> 00:13:06,099 Christian faith is both God’s gift and His command. 143 00:13:06,099 –> 00:13:15,219 Now, notice that Peter stresses the first of these two, that faith is a gift that we 144 00:13:15,219 –> 00:13:16,460 receive. 145 00:13:16,460 –> 00:13:24,359 Verse 1, he writes to those who have received a faith as precious as ours. 146 00:13:24,580 –> 00:13:29,640 So Peter is saying, recognize this about true faith, authentic Christian faith, it’s not 147 00:13:29,640 –> 00:13:33,679 something you generate yourself, it’s a gift. 148 00:13:33,679 –> 00:13:36,799 It is something that you have received. 149 00:13:36,799 –> 00:13:41,520 He’s saying the same thing as Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 8. 150 00:13:41,520 –> 00:13:45,799 Remember Paul says it’s by grace that you have been saved through faith, and that faith 151 00:13:45,799 –> 00:13:47,799 is not from yourselves, it is what? 152 00:13:47,799 –> 00:13:51,840 It is the gift of God. 153 00:13:52,159 –> 00:13:59,440 So very clearly Peter Paul in the New Testament speaks about faith as a gift that we receive. 154 00:13:59,440 –> 00:14:03,440 But you have to put that alongside the fact that the New Testament also speaks about faith 155 00:14:03,440 –> 00:14:06,179 as a command that we must obey. 156 00:14:06,179 –> 00:14:10,359 For example, our Lord Jesus said to the disciples once, have faith in God. 157 00:14:10,359 –> 00:14:12,479 That’s a command. 158 00:14:12,479 –> 00:14:14,500 Have faith in God. 159 00:14:14,500 –> 00:14:19,900 Paul said on one occasion to a man who was quite desperate, believe on the Lord Jesus 160 00:14:19,900 –> 00:14:21,940 Christ and you will be saved. 161 00:14:21,940 –> 00:14:24,640 That’s a command. 162 00:14:24,640 –> 00:14:27,979 So we find this in the Bible, we have to hold these two things together, even though they’re 163 00:14:27,979 –> 00:14:33,320 in some tension or at least seem to be, that faith is spoken about in the Bible, both as 164 00:14:33,320 –> 00:14:39,000 God’s gift and also as His command. 165 00:14:39,000 –> 00:14:44,500 Now that is teaching us something very important. 166 00:14:44,500 –> 00:14:52,320 By the way, have you ever thought about this, how strange it is, for a preacher to say to 167 00:14:52,320 –> 00:14:57,820 someone who doesn’t believe—you know as is often said, rightly in the sermon, you 168 00:14:57,820 –> 00:15:03,659 say to an unbeliever, I say to an unbeliever, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. 169 00:15:03,659 –> 00:15:05,599 Put your faith in Jesus Christ. 170 00:15:05,599 –> 00:15:13,760 You say wait a minute, if a guy in the congregation is an unbeliever, that means he doesn’t believe. 171 00:15:13,840 –> 00:15:17,719 But if he doesn’t believe, he hasn’t got any faith to put in the Lord Jesus Christ. 172 00:15:17,719 –> 00:15:21,320 So, why is this guy standing on the platform, telling someone who’s an unbeliever to put 173 00:15:21,320 –> 00:15:23,780 his faith which he doesn’t have in Jesus Christ? 174 00:15:23,780 –> 00:15:26,080 It makes no sense. 175 00:15:26,080 –> 00:15:29,640 You say, well, follow that line. 176 00:15:29,640 –> 00:15:31,820 How does anyone get saved? 177 00:15:31,820 –> 00:15:36,400 Well, remember the disciples asked that question on one occasion, and you remember we saw in 178 00:15:36,400 –> 00:15:38,260 Mark’s gospel Jesus answer. 179 00:15:38,260 –> 00:15:42,559 And the disciples came to that point and said, well, how does anyone get saved then. 180 00:15:42,859 –> 00:15:45,020 And then Jesus said this. 181 00:15:45,020 –> 00:15:52,739 With man it is impossible, but all things are possible with God. 182 00:15:52,739 –> 00:15:59,340 In other words, Jesus is making clear at this point that faith is not something that lies 183 00:15:59,340 –> 00:16:03,780 latent within us that suddenly we waken up and say, oh, I’m going to exercise my faith 184 00:16:03,780 –> 00:16:04,780 now. 185 00:16:04,780 –> 00:16:07,940 I’ve always had it of course, and it’s just been lying there asleep. 186 00:16:07,940 –> 00:16:10,840 No, Jesus is saying that that doesn’t work. 187 00:16:10,840 –> 00:16:11,840 That’s not possible. 188 00:16:12,140 –> 00:16:14,200 You just do not have that. 189 00:16:14,200 –> 00:16:19,320 You depend upon God creating within you something that you do not have. 190 00:16:19,320 –> 00:16:25,280 You depend upon receiving a gift that you then are able to exercise, that salvation 191 00:16:25,280 –> 00:16:27,919 is from the Lord. 192 00:16:27,919 –> 00:16:32,340 Thank God for this that God is able to create faith where it doesn’t exist. 193 00:16:32,340 –> 00:16:37,859 He created the worlds out of nothing and he’s able to create faith out of nothing. 194 00:16:37,979 –> 00:16:41,960 He’s able to create it when it does not exist even within you. 195 00:16:41,960 –> 00:16:47,359 Come to church here and you have absolutely no confidence that Jesus is able to give you 196 00:16:47,359 –> 00:16:49,140 everything that you have for life. 197 00:16:49,140 –> 00:16:52,419 You say, how am I going to come to believe that? 198 00:16:52,419 –> 00:16:54,340 Well, it’s just up to you. 199 00:16:54,340 –> 00:17:02,619 It’s impossible but all things are possible with God. 200 00:17:02,619 –> 00:17:06,939 I’m pausing on this because it may be just the thing that opens the door of hope for 201 00:17:06,939 –> 00:17:08,640 some person today. 202 00:17:08,640 –> 00:17:12,219 Let me tell you a story about a very famous Christian. 203 00:17:12,219 –> 00:17:16,760 Christian leader by the name of Augustine. 204 00:17:16,760 –> 00:17:21,219 Augustine was brought up in a godly home. 205 00:17:21,219 –> 00:17:27,000 But when he was a teenager he rebelled against everything he had ever been taught. 206 00:17:27,000 –> 00:17:33,599 Left home and threw himself into the most immoral of lives, had many mistresses and 207 00:17:33,599 –> 00:17:39,859 found that he developed a pattern of life that sucked him in to a point where he felt 208 00:17:39,859 –> 00:17:43,739 he could not change. 209 00:17:43,739 –> 00:17:48,599 And his story is very powerful because I speak to folks quite often who will say, Colin, 210 00:17:48,599 –> 00:17:52,579 pastor, I just can’t change. 211 00:17:52,579 –> 00:17:58,060 And there are folks who come to church every Sunday and you hear the preaching but what’s 212 00:17:58,060 –> 00:18:02,500 really going on in your heart is to say, it doesn’t touch me. 213 00:18:02,500 –> 00:18:03,500 You don’t understand. 214 00:18:03,500 –> 00:18:04,500 I can’t change. 215 00:18:04,500 –> 00:18:09,060 I don’t have this capacity, whatever it is that you seem to be talking about. 216 00:18:09,060 –> 00:18:14,719 Well, you’re in exactly the position that Augustine was when he found himself bound 217 00:18:14,719 –> 00:18:24,239 in patterns of behavior that even when he wanted to change them, he found he could not 218 00:18:24,239 –> 00:18:26,099 change. 219 00:18:26,099 –> 00:18:30,920 And it was out of that experience and then from coming to the Bible that Augustine formed 220 00:18:31,880 –> 00:18:38,280 a prayer that has become very famous, and it is a very helpful and insightful prayer. 221 00:18:38,280 –> 00:18:40,500 He prayed this to God. 222 00:18:40,500 –> 00:18:51,300 He said, Lord, command what you will, only give what you command. 223 00:18:51,300 –> 00:18:53,520 Say that with me will you? 224 00:18:53,520 –> 00:18:58,459 Command what you will, only give what you command. 225 00:18:58,459 –> 00:19:00,199 Do you see what He is saying? 226 00:19:00,219 –> 00:19:05,079 Lord, you are absolutely free to tell me to do anything that you want to tell me to do, 227 00:19:05,079 –> 00:19:09,780 but please recognize this, I can’t do it. 228 00:19:09,780 –> 00:19:12,900 So if you really want to me to do something different from what I’m doing, you’re going 229 00:19:12,900 –> 00:19:16,939 to have to do something in me to make me what I’m not, to change me in some way. 230 00:19:16,939 –> 00:19:22,219 You’re going to have to give what you command, because I don’t have, what you command. 231 00:19:22,219 –> 00:19:25,339 You can call me to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 232 00:19:25,339 –> 00:19:27,579 I don’t have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 233 00:19:27,780 –> 00:19:31,719 If that’s what you want me to have, well, you do something within me to make me different 234 00:19:31,719 –> 00:19:37,780 from what I am, and to give me what at this point, I do not have. 235 00:19:37,780 –> 00:19:39,800 You see this opens the door of hope. 236 00:19:39,800 –> 00:19:47,359 If you are not yet a Christian today, I want to encourage you to come to God today. 237 00:19:47,359 –> 00:19:54,420 In exactly the same way as Augustine did, you can come to God today, and you can say, 238 00:19:54,420 –> 00:19:56,500 look you command me to have faith. 239 00:19:57,359 –> 00:20:04,380 I don’t have it, so will you give what you command? 240 00:20:04,380 –> 00:20:10,660 Make me what I am not, put into me what I do not at this moment possess. 241 00:20:10,660 –> 00:20:13,459 See that is what becoming Christian is. 242 00:20:13,459 –> 00:20:16,119 It’s not a sort of self-improvement program. 243 00:20:16,119 –> 00:20:17,500 It is a regeneration. 244 00:20:17,500 –> 00:20:18,699 It is a recreation. 245 00:20:18,699 –> 00:20:21,040 It is something that God does within you. 246 00:20:21,079 –> 00:20:23,520 When Jesus says, ask and you’ll receive. 247 00:20:23,520 –> 00:20:25,060 Seek, and you will find. 248 00:20:25,060 –> 00:20:28,239 Knock and the door will be opened to you. 249 00:20:28,239 –> 00:20:33,160 Don’t let your own sense of not having what it takes keep you from God. 250 00:20:33,160 –> 00:20:36,079 That’s the very reason to come to God. 251 00:20:36,079 –> 00:20:38,719 In fact, that’s the only way to come to God. 252 00:20:38,719 –> 00:20:41,239 We sing it in one of our hymns. 253 00:20:41,239 –> 00:20:43,660 Nothing in my hand I bring. 254 00:20:43,660 –> 00:20:47,479 Simply to your cross I cling. 255 00:20:47,479 –> 00:20:49,920 That’s how you come to God. 256 00:20:49,920 –> 00:20:54,780 That’s why you can come, however bad the circumstances of your life. 257 00:20:54,780 –> 00:21:00,439 You come in the same way as Augustine came because with man it’s impossible, but all 258 00:21:00,439 –> 00:21:04,260 things are possible with God. 259 00:21:04,260 –> 00:21:12,439 I promise you that if you will come to God like that today, it will change your life 260 00:21:12,439 –> 00:21:17,420 because at last you’re admitting the truth, which is that you cannot change yourself. 261 00:21:17,420 –> 00:21:19,040 You cannot save yourself. 262 00:21:19,060 –> 00:21:20,939 You’re casting yourself on Him. 263 00:21:20,939 –> 00:21:28,140 You are agreeing with Jesus that your salvation is not possible except for God. 264 00:21:28,140 –> 00:21:32,640 And you know there’s a very strange irony about this, and folks who like to think you 265 00:21:32,640 –> 00:21:37,439 can just turn this round and round and round in your minds. 266 00:21:37,439 –> 00:21:39,599 But here’s the irony. 267 00:21:39,599 –> 00:21:48,000 The first step of faith is to admit that you do not have faith and to ask God to give you 268 00:21:48,160 –> 00:21:51,920 what you do not have. 269 00:21:51,920 –> 00:21:55,239 It’s how you come to Him. 270 00:21:55,239 –> 00:22:00,680 Here’s the fourth observation about faith from these verses that Christ draws people 271 00:22:00,680 –> 00:22:03,280 to faith through His own glory and goodness. 272 00:22:03,280 –> 00:22:05,660 Notice how Peter says this in verse three. 273 00:22:05,660 –> 00:22:10,520 He talks about how we have everything we need for life through our knowledge of Him, that’s 274 00:22:11,520 –> 00:22:18,380 called us by His own glory and goodness. 275 00:22:18,380 –> 00:22:22,880 Why would anyone become a Christian in the 21st century? 276 00:22:22,880 –> 00:22:29,459 Why would anyone who’s living a postmodern secular life become a follower of Jesus Christ? 277 00:22:29,459 –> 00:22:30,459 Why would that happen? 278 00:22:30,459 –> 00:22:36,280 What would compel a person to become a Christian today? 279 00:22:36,359 –> 00:22:38,400 And Peter answers that question right here. 280 00:22:38,400 –> 00:22:45,199 The way in which Christ calls us, the way in which Christ draws us, the way in which 281 00:22:45,199 –> 00:22:48,719 Christ wins us is through two things. 282 00:22:48,719 –> 00:22:50,880 Number one, His glory. 283 00:22:50,880 –> 00:22:54,079 Number two, His goodness. 284 00:22:54,079 –> 00:22:58,359 Here’s why you should follow Jesus Christ. 285 00:22:58,359 –> 00:23:04,839 First, just the sheer moral excellence of His life draws – the sheer abundance of 286 00:23:05,599 –> 00:23:07,640 to you draws. 287 00:23:07,640 –> 00:23:13,760 Second, His glory – the total impact of His person. 288 00:23:13,760 –> 00:23:15,800 Here’s how Jesus gets hold of people. 289 00:23:15,800 –> 00:23:16,859 That’s what Peter is saying. 290 00:23:16,859 –> 00:23:19,160 Jesus gets hold of people. 291 00:23:19,160 –> 00:23:25,280 Jesus draws people by His own glory and by His own goodness. 292 00:23:25,280 –> 00:23:29,939 Now let’s just apply that to our own mission as a church. 293 00:23:29,939 –> 00:23:33,979 We really want to see many people drawn to follow Jesus Christ. 294 00:23:34,739 –> 00:23:37,839 We want to see children drawn to follow Jesus. 295 00:23:37,839 –> 00:23:41,719 We want to see students drawn to follow Jesus. 296 00:23:41,719 –> 00:23:46,859 We want to see irreligious, godless, secular people who have no idea of Christian faith 297 00:23:46,859 –> 00:23:49,939 drawn to follow Jesus. 298 00:23:49,939 –> 00:23:52,699 What then should we do? 299 00:23:52,699 –> 00:23:55,239 What will draw people to follow Jesus? 300 00:23:55,239 –> 00:23:59,079 Well, Peter’s telling us right here very simply. 301 00:23:59,520 –> 00:24:06,180 We make much of Jesus’ glory, and we make much of Jesus’ goodness, because it is by 302 00:24:06,180 –> 00:24:11,560 the knowledge of His glory and His goodness that the Lord Jesus Christ draws irreligious, 303 00:24:11,560 –> 00:24:14,439 secular people who have no idea about Christian faith. 304 00:24:14,439 –> 00:24:20,199 It is by these that He draws them, calls, attracts. 305 00:24:20,199 –> 00:24:23,599 Make much of Jesus in your Sunday school class. 306 00:24:23,680 –> 00:24:27,219 Make much of Jesus in your small group. 307 00:24:27,219 –> 00:24:31,319 Committed to make much of Jesus at the very center of all our worship and of all of our 308 00:24:31,319 –> 00:24:33,099 preaching. 309 00:24:33,099 –> 00:24:36,780 When you are sharing the good news of Jesus Christ make sure that whatever you say about 310 00:24:36,780 –> 00:24:41,619 yourself and your own experience you say something more about Jesus and His greatness and His 311 00:24:41,619 –> 00:24:42,619 glory. 312 00:24:42,619 –> 00:24:46,040 Make sure that what you are communicating is more about Him than it is about yourself, 313 00:24:46,040 –> 00:24:47,319 because the gospel isn’t about you. 314 00:24:47,319 –> 00:24:51,979 The gospel is about Jesus, His goodness, His glory, His Saving Power. 315 00:24:52,000 –> 00:24:58,560 Let us be a church that makes much of Jesus because He has said, when I am lifted up, 316 00:24:58,560 –> 00:24:59,579 what is going to happen? 317 00:24:59,579 –> 00:25:06,619 I will draw people to myself, and that is exactly what Peter is saying here. 318 00:25:06,619 –> 00:25:09,119 This is how faith is formed. 319 00:25:09,119 –> 00:25:16,599 It is a gift of God, but it happens as the glory and the goodness of Jesus Christ are 320 00:25:16,599 –> 00:25:17,599 lifted up. 321 00:25:17,599 –> 00:25:23,439 And when you see it, when you see the greatness, glory, and goodness of Jesus Christ, when 322 00:25:23,439 –> 00:25:26,680 you see that, that day you will follow Him. 323 00:25:26,680 –> 00:25:33,599 You will be compelled just as the first disciples were compelled, and you see how great He is. 324 00:25:33,599 –> 00:25:37,760 This is what draws people to follow Jesus Christ. 325 00:25:37,760 –> 00:25:41,959 So, we have talked about what it means to have faith. 326 00:25:42,099 –> 00:25:46,979 What it means to have faith, it’s faith in Jesus Christ. 327 00:25:46,979 –> 00:25:52,680 It is apostolic faith, it is both God’s gift and it is His command, and Jesus draws us 328 00:25:52,680 –> 00:25:56,339 to faith through His own glory and goodness. 329 00:25:56,339 –> 00:26:04,319 And the great promise of the gospel, which Peter is now going to explain to us very wonderfully 330 00:26:04,520 –> 00:26:12,579 given to those who have this faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. 331 00:26:12,579 –> 00:26:17,760 Peter wants you to know if you have this faith, then here’s what’s true of you. 332 00:26:17,760 –> 00:26:23,920 If you have this faith in Jesus Christ, then you have everything you need for life and 333 00:26:23,920 –> 00:26:32,239 godliness given to you by God’s power through your knowledge of Jesus Christ, who has called 334 00:26:33,079 –> 00:26:38,739 He did it by his own glory and by his goodness. 335 00:26:38,739 –> 00:26:44,040 Now what exactly is it that God gives to us in the gospel that enables Peter to say that 336 00:26:44,040 –> 00:26:45,819 you have everything you need for life? 337 00:26:45,819 –> 00:26:51,140 Notice that there are two things that God gives and promises to those who have this 338 00:26:51,140 –> 00:26:53,380 faith. 339 00:26:53,380 –> 00:26:57,780 Christ has given us, verse four, these great and precious promises so that through them 340 00:26:57,780 –> 00:26:59,739 two things will happen. 341 00:27:00,099 –> 00:27:06,920 The first is that you will participate in the divine nature, and the second is that 342 00:27:06,920 –> 00:27:13,920 you will escape the corruption in the world that is caused by evil desires. 343 00:27:13,920 –> 00:27:17,739 These two things are our focus together. 344 00:27:17,739 –> 00:27:23,040 First, as you come to faith in Jesus Christ, as you become a true Christian, you share 345 00:27:23,119 –> 00:27:26,780 the apostolic faith. 346 00:27:26,780 –> 00:27:32,699 God is giving to you everything you need for life because by His gracious promise you participate 347 00:27:32,699 –> 00:27:35,219 in the divine nature. 348 00:27:35,219 –> 00:27:37,819 Now you say, what in all the world does that mean? 349 00:27:37,819 –> 00:27:44,619 How could I participate in the divine nature? 350 00:27:45,619 –> 00:27:52,839 Now there are two ways, I guess, in which such a thing could happen. 351 00:27:52,839 –> 00:27:58,319 One is that somehow you would have to enter into the life of God. 352 00:27:58,319 –> 00:28:01,880 And the Bible never suggests that possibility. 353 00:28:01,880 –> 00:28:06,579 That is part of Eastern mysticism, but that is not part of Christianity. 354 00:28:06,579 –> 00:28:13,680 God is God, and you are you, and I am me, and the Bible never suggestions to us that 355 00:28:13,680 –> 00:28:18,380 we somehow get absorbed into the life of God. 356 00:28:18,380 –> 00:28:22,880 But the other way in which you could participate in the divine nature would be if somehow the 357 00:28:22,880 –> 00:28:31,560 life of God came to you, and the New Testament very clearly and repeatedly tells us that 358 00:28:31,560 –> 00:28:34,219 that is precisely the promise of the Gospel. 359 00:28:34,219 –> 00:28:42,180 When a person comes to faith in Jesus Christ, God’s Spirit enters the life of that person. 360 00:28:42,180 –> 00:28:47,260 We have, to use a phrase from the Bible, union with Jesus Christ. 361 00:28:47,260 –> 00:28:49,839 We are united with him. 362 00:28:49,839 –> 00:28:54,020 And that wonderful truth of the believers’ union with Christ is expressed in different 363 00:28:54,020 –> 00:28:55,619 ways in the Bible. 364 00:28:55,619 –> 00:29:00,020 Perhaps the most striking is the way Peter expresses it right here when he says that 365 00:29:00,020 –> 00:29:03,219 you participate in the divine nature. 366 00:29:03,219 –> 00:29:06,979 Paul really is saying the same thing in a different way when he says I’ve been crucified 367 00:29:06,979 –> 00:29:11,180 with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. 368 00:29:11,180 –> 00:29:15,619 The life of Christ has come to me and is in me. 369 00:29:15,619 –> 00:29:22,500 Jesus, our Lord, uses a picture to express exactly the same thing when he said in John 370 00:29:22,500 –> 00:29:30,020 15, I am the vine and you are the branches, and if a man remains in me, he will bear much 371 00:29:30,020 –> 00:29:31,020 fruit. 372 00:29:31,020 –> 00:29:36,819 You see, all of these are different ways of saying the same thing. 373 00:29:36,819 –> 00:29:45,619 But at its heart Christian life in this world involves God’s life, God’s spirit, God’s 374 00:29:45,619 –> 00:29:51,239 presence, God’s power entering into your life and therefore into your experience and 375 00:29:51,239 –> 00:30:02,400 it is on that basis that Peter says you have everything that you need for life and godliness. 376 00:30:02,599 –> 00:30:08,400 Now, I’ve thought about this a great deal and I have to tell you if there was just one 377 00:30:08,400 –> 00:30:12,839 thing, if I had a choice, that there would be one thing that I could get across to the 378 00:30:12,839 –> 00:30:20,800 whole congregation in this year, just one thing, I think it would be this. 379 00:30:20,800 –> 00:30:29,959 I’d want to get across that Christianity is more than forgiveness for the past and 380 00:30:29,959 –> 00:30:32,079 heaven for the future. 381 00:30:32,359 –> 00:30:41,140 I’d want to get across that at its core, to be a Christian involves the power and the 382 00:30:41,140 –> 00:30:48,800 presence of God in your life and in everything you face today. 383 00:30:48,800 –> 00:30:55,239 If the gospel only addresses your past failures and your future hopes, it isn’t big enough 384 00:30:55,239 –> 00:30:58,079 for your life today. 385 00:30:58,079 –> 00:31:05,060 And there are many people in church world who have this partial grasp of faith. 386 00:31:05,060 –> 00:31:10,459 You believe in forgiveness through the cross and heaven through the resurrection, but they 387 00:31:10,459 –> 00:31:17,439 have no real grasp that God by His powerful Holy Spirit is present in my life today and 388 00:31:17,439 –> 00:31:18,819 in everything that I face. 389 00:31:18,819 –> 00:31:23,180 And that’s why at your core you really think that Jesus is enough for faith, but you don’t 390 00:31:23,180 –> 00:31:25,380 really think that He is enough for life. 391 00:31:25,380 –> 00:31:31,660 You are kind of looking for how you can face life, and it’s disconnect from the gospel. 392 00:31:31,660 –> 00:31:39,260 There was a great Christian writer who lived some 100s of years ago with a delightful name, 393 00:31:39,260 –> 00:31:41,459 Henry Schugle. 394 00:31:41,459 –> 00:31:42,880 Schugle. 395 00:31:42,880 –> 00:31:48,619 Can you imagine which country of the world he might have come from? 396 00:31:48,619 –> 00:31:53,420 Schugle wrote a great Christian book that you can still get hold of today, and it has 397 00:31:53,420 –> 00:31:55,339 the most marvelous title. 398 00:31:56,260 –> 00:32:03,599 The Life of God in the Soul of Man. 399 00:32:03,599 –> 00:32:07,280 That’s the heart of what it means to be a Christian. 400 00:32:07,280 –> 00:32:15,020 The life of God in your soul, in your experience, the Spirit of God, the presence of God, the 401 00:32:15,020 –> 00:32:20,780 power of God that was once out there as far as you’re concerned, now coming in here for 402 00:32:21,420 –> 00:32:29,599 you, by His Spirit in you, in everything that you face, participate in the divine nature, 403 00:32:29,99 –> 00:32:36,219 Peter says, and that is why in Christ, by knowing Him, you have everything that you 404 00:32:36,219 –> 00:32:39,800 need for life, whatever it is that you are facing right now and whatever it is that you’re 405 00:32:39,800 –> 00:32:43,060 going to face in this coming week. 406 00:32:43,060 –> 00:32:47,760 He is with you. 407 00:32:47,939 –> 00:32:53,880 On the last day, when we stand in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, try and picture 408 00:32:53,880 –> 00:32:55,439 that with me, just a little bit. 409 00:32:55,439 –> 00:33:00,939 I think that if we’re talking to each other, in the glory of that at all, because we’ll 410 00:33:00,939 –> 00:33:04,319 probably be taken up with everything we’re looking at, but if you and I were to be speaking 411 00:33:04,319 –> 00:33:09,459 to each other, we would probably be saying something like this, you know. 412 00:33:09,459 –> 00:33:15,920 I knew He was great, but I never knew He was this great. 413 00:33:15,920 –> 00:33:22,599 And I wonder if on that day, we might be saying to each other, and to think that He was with 414 00:33:22,599 –> 00:33:31,800 us every day of our life on the earth, why did we not have more faith? 415 00:33:31,800 –> 00:33:34,579 Why did we not make more progress? 416 00:33:34,579 –> 00:33:38,979 What in all the world were we thinking about? 417 00:33:38,979 –> 00:33:42,979 He was with us. 418 00:33:42,979 –> 00:33:49,260 And that’s what Peter wants to get across. 419 00:33:49,260 –> 00:33:54,219 Because when you see that this is what is promised in the Gospel, then you will begin 420 00:33:54,219 –> 00:34:00,920 to believe that in knowing Jesus Christ, you have everything that you need for every circumstance 421 00:34:00,920 –> 00:34:07,579 of life that you will ever face, and you will go out into this week a different person because 422 00:34:07,579 –> 00:34:15,139 you’re holding this apostolic faith, and this Christ is with you. 423 00:34:15,139 –> 00:34:19,179 Now there’s a second part to the great promise, which is equally important, so let’s just 424 00:34:19,179 –> 00:34:22,020 look at it for a few moments together. 425 00:34:22,020 –> 00:34:26,320 Not only will you participate in the divine nature, but look at what he says in verse 426 00:34:26,320 –> 00:34:27,320 4. 427 00:34:27,320 –> 00:34:31,100 This is promised to those who believe, who hold this great faith that we’ve been speaking 428 00:34:31,100 –> 00:34:39,979 of, that you will escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. 429 00:34:39,979 –> 00:34:44,459 Now just a side note, this is a sort of Christian world view question. 430 00:34:44,459 –> 00:34:48,860 Do you notice that once Peter says very clearly that the corruption in the world is caused 431 00:34:48,860 –> 00:34:55,139 by evil desires, you see you will hear all kinds of discussion about where does the corruption 432 00:34:55,139 –> 00:34:57,500 in the world come from. 433 00:34:57,500 –> 00:34:59,500 Why is the world as it is? 434 00:34:59,500 –> 00:35:01,419 What’s the problem? 435 00:35:01,419 –> 00:35:05,459 And you’ll hear people saying, well, it’s lack of education, it’s lack of opportunity, 436 00:35:05,459 –> 00:35:14,860 it is lack of resources, and all that we can say about that is well, Peter would disagree, 437 00:35:14,860 –> 00:35:17,419 the apostles would disagree. 438 00:35:17,419 –> 00:35:24,379 However much the corruption in the world may be exacerbated by lack of education, lack 439 00:35:24,379 –> 00:35:31,719 of resources, lack of opportunity, Peter says at its core the corruption in the world comes 440 00:35:31,719 –> 00:35:41,159 from evil desires, which is why you find corruption in people who have education, have opportunity, 441 00:35:41,159 –> 00:35:48,739 and have resources as much as you find corruption in those who do not because that’s its root. 442 00:35:48,739 –> 00:35:53,580 Now you say, well, what evil desires are you talking about? 443 00:35:53,580 –> 00:35:56,760 You make your own list but here’s a few starters. 444 00:35:56,760 –> 00:36:08,899 Envy, greed, lust, pride, laziness, I mean there’s just a few of the evil desires and 445 00:36:08,899 –> 00:36:13,219 Peter is saying this is where the corruption comes from. 446 00:36:13,219 –> 00:36:17,459 These things are in us and they corrupt us. 447 00:36:17,879 –> 00:36:23,699 I was talking just a few moments ago about the moods that can come over us and perhaps 448 00:36:23,699 –> 00:36:25,739 that begins in teenage years. 449 00:36:25,739 –> 00:36:29,060 I wish that it would end in teenage years. 450 00:36:29,060 –> 00:36:32,639 Why was I like that? 451 00:36:32,639 –> 00:36:39,060 What’s going on inside me, why did I say that, where did that sourness come from? 452 00:36:39,060 –> 00:36:42,540 You see there’s something going on inside you and it’s spoiling you. 453 00:36:42,540 –> 00:36:48,159 It is corrupting you, that is what Peter is saying here. 454 00:36:48,159 –> 00:36:52,840 You find you look at another person perhaps and you see what they have and the success 455 00:36:52,840 –> 00:36:59,340 that they enjoy and instead of rejoicing in that, it eats away at you. 456 00:36:59,340 –> 00:37:03,179 You say, well why am I like that? 457 00:37:03,179 –> 00:37:09,280 Well it’s the corruption that comes from evil desires. 458 00:37:09,360 –> 00:37:14,719 Now, notice the marvelous promise that God gives to us here in verse 4. 459 00:37:14,719 –> 00:37:18,560 The promise is that by his divine power and through the knowledge of Jesus Christ who 460 00:37:18,560 –> 00:37:23,399 called us by his own glory and goodness, you will not only participate in the divine nature 461 00:37:23,399 –> 00:37:32,479 but God promises that you will escape – there’s the word, escape – this corruption that 462 00:37:32,479 –> 00:37:36,239 comes from evil desires. 463 00:37:36,300 –> 00:37:41,399 Now, I know some of us will be saying at this point, raus? 464 00:37:41,399 –> 00:37:44,540 What do you mean raus? 465 00:37:44,540 –> 00:37:48,260 You obviously don’t live in the real world. 466 00:37:48,260 –> 00:37:49,280 I do. 467 00:37:49,280 –> 00:37:54,260 I’ve been a Christian for years, you may be saying. 468 00:37:54,260 –> 00:37:56,239 I have an ongoing battle with evil desires. 469 00:37:56,239 –> 00:37:58,679 I have a battle with lust. 470 00:37:58,679 –> 00:38:00,239 I have a battle with greed. 471 00:38:00,239 –> 00:38:03,320 I have a battle with pride. 472 00:38:03,419 –> 00:38:07,060 I fight it every day. 473 00:38:07,060 –> 00:38:11,080 You’re standing up there and you’re talking about escape? 474 00:38:11,080 –> 00:38:15,820 I struggle with these desires all the time. 475 00:38:15,820 –> 00:38:18,959 How many of us have seen the film The Fugitive? 476 00:38:18,959 –> 00:38:20,020 You seen The Fugitive? 477 00:38:20,020 –> 00:38:23,300 Oh, lots of people have seen The Fugitive, a few have not. 478 00:38:23,300 –> 00:38:25,300 Great film. 479 00:38:25,300 –> 00:38:28,879 A story starring Harrison Ford about a doctor 480 00:38:28,879 –> 00:38:32,459 who has framed for the murder of his wife. 481 00:38:32,540 –> 00:38:34,459 He is sent to jail, it was great fun 482 00:38:34,459 –> 00:38:36,979 because it’s set here in Chicago, 483 00:38:36,979 –> 00:38:41,280 and while he is being transported to the penitentiary, 484 00:38:41,280 –> 00:38:45,100 there is an accident, the bus rolls off the road, 485 00:38:45,100 –> 00:38:47,419 and in the chaos that follows, 486 00:38:47,419 –> 00:38:50,919 Harrison Ford, the hero, escapes. 487 00:38:51,820 –> 00:38:55,100 And he is The Fugitive. 488 00:38:56,600 –> 00:38:59,040 Now think about his position. 489 00:39:00,040 –> 00:39:02,060 He hits the road with a mission. 490 00:39:02,060 –> 00:39:06,000 His mission is to find the truth and to establish justice. 491 00:39:07,860 –> 00:39:10,399 He moves from place to place. 492 00:39:11,500 –> 00:39:15,219 All the time, the long arm of the law is behind him, 493 00:39:15,219 –> 00:39:17,340 sometimes very close to him. 494 00:39:17,340 –> 00:39:21,080 All the time he is in danger of being apprehended. 495 00:39:21,080 –> 00:39:22,800 He’s involved in a great struggle, 496 00:39:22,800 –> 00:39:25,459 he is relentlessly pursued. 497 00:39:25,459 –> 00:39:28,600 Sometimes you think his position is absolutely impossible, 498 00:39:28,600 –> 00:39:30,199 you say the whole world is against him, 499 00:39:30,199 –> 00:39:31,840 he’ll never get out of this. 500 00:39:33,060 –> 00:39:34,580 But here’s the key. 501 00:39:36,139 –> 00:39:40,399 He is not in chains, he is free. 502 00:39:42,000 –> 00:39:42,979 He’s a fugitive. 503 00:39:44,419 –> 00:39:48,820 He’s on the move, he acts. 504 00:39:48,820 –> 00:39:53,780 He is relentlessly pursued, but he is not in chains. 505 00:39:55,979 –> 00:39:57,699 Now I find that little picture helpful, 506 00:39:57,699 –> 00:39:59,639 and I hope you do too. 507 00:39:59,639 –> 00:40:01,459 If you’re a Christian believer, 508 00:40:01,459 –> 00:40:04,439 understand your position in Jesus Christ, 509 00:40:04,439 –> 00:40:07,320 and it will begin to make sense of your experience. 510 00:40:07,320 –> 00:40:09,260 See, I am the fugitive. 511 00:40:10,959 –> 00:40:12,939 I have escaped 512 00:40:12,939 –> 00:40:16,360 from the chains of bondage to Satan. 513 00:40:17,239 –> 00:40:20,159 I have been released from the kingdom of darkness. 514 00:40:20,159 –> 00:40:22,340 That’s what it means to become a Christian. 515 00:40:22,340 –> 00:40:24,679 But Satan is pursuing me. 516 00:40:24,679 –> 00:40:28,120 Sin and temptation are always breathing down my neck. 517 00:40:28,120 –> 00:40:31,199 Satan, who once held me in the chains of his darkness, 518 00:40:31,199 –> 00:40:33,860 is always after me, but God is with me. 519 00:40:35,540 –> 00:40:37,899 Satan is out there, 520 00:40:37,899 –> 00:40:40,659 like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. 521 00:40:41,699 –> 00:40:44,120 The Lord Jesus Christ is in here, 522 00:40:44,120 –> 00:40:46,120 strengthening me in the struggle, 523 00:40:46,120 –> 00:40:49,540 guiding me in this great mission of life 524 00:40:49,540 –> 00:40:51,580 to which I am now committed. 525 00:40:53,439 –> 00:40:56,439 I’ve found it helpful to just condense it down 526 00:40:56,439 –> 00:40:57,439 to a phrase this way 527 00:40:57,439 –> 00:41:00,919 that’s based on Romans chapter six in verse 14. 528 00:41:00,979 –> 00:41:04,879 When you’re a Christian sin is your enemy 529 00:41:05,939 –> 00:41:07,639 but it is no longer your master. 530 00:41:09,219 –> 00:41:12,280 Sin is my enemy. 531 00:41:12,280 –> 00:41:16,399 Feel it’s hot breath down the back of my neck many times 532 00:41:18,139 –> 00:41:20,040 but it is not my master. 533 00:41:21,620 –> 00:41:22,780 It is not my master. 534 00:41:24,580 –> 00:41:26,840 What Peter is saying here is the same as Paul says 535 00:41:26,840 –> 00:41:28,360 in Romans chapter six in verse 14, 536 00:41:28,360 –> 00:41:30,739 what you have to understand about your position 537 00:41:31,260 –> 00:41:33,120 in Jesus Christ is that you are not a captive, 538 00:41:33,120 –> 00:41:37,600 you are not in chains, you can move, you can act 539 00:41:37,600 –> 00:41:42,379 and this freedom is God’s gift to you in the gospel. 540 00:41:44,060 –> 00:41:46,659 So in these last moments let me just give this word 541 00:41:46,659 –> 00:41:51,199 of encouragement to Christians who feel defeated 542 00:41:52,620 –> 00:41:54,899 and there are Christians who feel defeated 543 00:41:55,979 –> 00:41:58,939 in church every Sunday morning 544 00:41:58,939 –> 00:42:02,919 and I want you to hear the promise. 545 00:42:05,439 –> 00:42:08,919 God says to you if you are in Christ today 546 00:42:11,520 –> 00:42:14,979 that by His power and through your knowledge of Jesus 547 00:42:16,439 –> 00:42:18,879 you have everything that you need to face life 548 00:42:18,879 –> 00:42:20,919 including all the battles all the trials 549 00:42:20,919 –> 00:42:22,840 and all the temptations and all the struggle 550 00:42:22,840 –> 00:42:24,899 you have everything you need to face life 551 00:42:25,719 –> 00:42:26,379 but you are not in chains yourself. 552 00:42:28,020 –> 00:42:29,580 Because His Spirit is with you 553 00:42:29,580 –> 00:42:31,379 you participate in the divine nature 554 00:42:31,379 –> 00:42:35,739 and because in the miracle of His grace at your conversion 555 00:42:37,399 –> 00:42:40,820 you have escaped the corruption that is in the world 556 00:42:40,820 –> 00:42:43,179 caused by evil desires. 557 00:42:43,179 –> 00:42:45,320 You have a battle, a lifelong battle 558 00:42:45,320 –> 00:42:50,000 but you are not in chains you are a fugitive. 559 00:42:51,820 –> 00:42:54,020 Stop telling yourself you’re in chains 560 00:42:54,060 –> 00:42:56,419 you’re merely repeating Satan’s lie 561 00:42:56,419 –> 00:42:58,199 and if you tell yourself you’re in chains 562 00:42:58,199 –> 00:43:01,379 you’ll never move, you’ll never act, 563 00:43:01,379 –> 00:43:04,179 you’ll never grow, which is why so many folks 564 00:43:04,179 –> 00:43:06,199 who say they believe never grow 565 00:43:06,199 –> 00:43:08,979 or flourish in the Christian life 566 00:43:09,979 –> 00:43:11,699 Because it’s a little compartment 567 00:43:11,699 –> 00:43:13,679 and it’s about yesterday, and it’s about tomorrow 568 00:43:13,679 –> 00:43:17,199 but it’s never about today, it’s never about God’s power 569 00:43:18,239 –> 00:43:20,100 it’s never about His presence. 570 00:43:20,800 –> 00:43:24,439 I thank God for this promise, don’t you? 571 00:43:24,439 –> 00:43:26,820 We thank God for the sheer scale of the Gospel 572 00:43:27,800 –> 00:43:29,260 More than forgiveness for the past 573 00:43:29,260 –> 00:43:32,239 more even than heaven for the future 574 00:43:32,239 –> 00:43:34,600 God’s power with you, at work, in you 575 00:43:34,600 –> 00:43:37,500 to change your life today 576 00:43:38,639 –> 00:43:42,939 Peter says, let me tell you about a faith 577 00:43:42,939 –> 00:43:44,219 that is big enough for life 578 00:43:44,219 –> 00:43:46,899 for everything you will ever face 579 00:43:47,899 –> 00:43:49,939 It comes through the knowledge 580 00:43:49,939 –> 00:43:50,899 of Jesus Christ 581 00:43:50,899 –> 00:43:55,139 and it is the gift of God’s power 582 00:43:55,139 –> 00:43:58,620 at work within you 583 00:43:58,620 –> 00:44:01,399 through Jesus who calls you 584 00:44:01,399 –> 00:44:02,939 by his own glory and goodness 585 00:44:04,939 –> 00:44:05,340 and you have everything 586 00:44:05,340 –> 00:44:06,300 that you need for life 587 00:44:06,300 –> 00:44:07,639 because by his grace 588 00:44:07,639 –> 00:44:09,060 you participate in the divine 589 00:44:09,060 –> 00:44:10,459 nature his Spirit is with you 590 00:44:10,459 –> 00:44:13,239 and by his incredible mercy 591 00:44:13,239 –> 00:44:14,340 and by his great power 592 00:44:14,340 –> 00:44:16,000 he is released you from the chains 593 00:44:16,419 –> 00:44:18,439 sins your enemy 594 00:44:18,439 –> 00:44:23,479 but it is not your master 595 00:44:23,479 –> 00:44:26,020 and I hope therefore 596 00:44:26,020 –> 00:44:27,399 that our response would 597 00:44:27,399 –> 00:44:28,320 be one of two things 598 00:44:28,320 –> 00:44:28,879 this morning 599 00:44:28,879 –> 00:44:30,360 either that you will say 600 00:44:30,360 –> 00:44:32,760 thank God that’s 601 00:44:32,760 –> 00:44:33,439 what I have got 602 00:44:33,439 –> 00:44:36,080 and believing the promise 603 00:44:36,080 –> 00:44:36,820 of the gospel 604 00:44:36,820 –> 00:44:37,739 you’ll be encouraged 605 00:44:37,739 –> 00:44:38,780 as you go out into 606 00:44:38,780 –> 00:44:39,560 whatever you’re facing 607 00:44:39,560 –> 00:44:40,219 this week 608 00:44:40,219 –> 00:44:42,479 and if you can’t say 609 00:44:42,479 –> 00:44:43,679 thank God that’s 610 00:44:43,679 –> 00:44:44,199 what I’ve got 611 00:44:44,199 –> 00:44:47,120 I hope you’ll say today 612 00:44:47,120 –> 00:44:48,439 please God 613 00:44:48,439 –> 00:44:50,459 that’s what I need 614 00:44:50,459 –> 00:44:53,860 and as you ask 615 00:44:53,860 –> 00:44:54,840 and as you draw near 616 00:44:54,840 –> 00:44:55,860 and put your trust 617 00:44:55,860 –> 00:44:57,020 in Jesus Christ 618 00:44:57,020 –> 00:44:58,199 as he calls you to do 619 00:44:58,199 –> 00:45:00,760 he will come to you 620 00:45:00,760 –> 00:45:03,199 and he will save you 621 00:45:03,199 –> 00:45:05,080 let’s pray together 622 00:45:05,080 –> 00:45:07,919 Father 623 00:45:07,919 –> 00:45:12,360 seal your word 624 00:45:12,360 –> 00:45:13,280 into our hearts 625 00:45:13,679 –> 00:45:17,080 and let it bear multiple fruit 626 00:45:17,080 –> 00:45:20,320 for your own praise and your glory 627 00:45:20,320 –> 00:45:24,219 in Jesus name 628 00:45:24,219 –> 00:45:24,540 Amen