CALLED FOR GOD’S GLORY
2 Peter 1:1-16
SEE YOURSELF AS A SERVANT
OF CHRIST
V:1 Simon Peter, a servant and
apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who through the
righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious
as ours:
We need to know we are, whose
we are, what our position is, and, what our
job is.
His name: Simon Peter, the name Jesus assigned to
him
His position: A Servant
His job: An apostle, a delegate of Jesus Christ
There is more to us than the
name our parents gave us. We have a connection with Jesus
that elevates us out of this
world and places us in heavenly places. We got a position more than the 8 to 5
job. Our work is for Christ. The earthly job we hold is the avenue God placed
us in to draw unbelievers to Him. The purpose of our
earthly association is to
proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We did not begin this work,
Christ did.
Philippians 1:6
Being confident of this, that
he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of
Christ Jesus.
We are responsible for the
strength, energy, or resources to complete the work
we are assigned, Christ is.
We are not even responsible
for the success of our calling, Christ is.
All we have to do is to submit
ourselves to the work of Christ.
The driving force of our work
is our faith in Jesus Christ and all His promises.
As we serve Christ we
recognize how precious our relationship is.
THE BLESSINGS OF GOD’S
GRACE
V:2 Grace and peace be yours
in abundance through the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.
It's my opinion that one of
the greatest prayers is grace and peace in abundance from
the Lord. If we have God’s
favor, what else do we need? If we have God’s peace, how
much more assurance do we
need? We should be in the habit of wishing the very
best for those around us. We
never know who God has placed in our midst to help.
I am sure Peter knew the
trouble the church was experiencing. God's grace overrides
trouble. God’s peace allows us
to endure trouble with joy while we wait on the Lord.
The Lord is our help.
WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED
TO SERVE
V:3 His divine power has given
us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who
called us by his glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very
great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the
divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
We need a daily regiment of
the Word. I suggest we pray for understanding, read the
Word then meditate on the Word
for Holy Spirit enlightenment. God’s promises are
in the Bible. To make God's
Word the driving force of your thinking, decision
-making, and actions, you have
to know the Word for yourself. You have the power
to understand all things
living within you. With the Word of God as our guide,
we know how to live a Godly
life.
God called us out of the world
for success, not failure. Success is found in living
according to God’s Word with
the assurance of His provisions for life.
We participate in God’s divine
nature by resisting evil thoughts and desires.
Our own lust will tempt us,
but we have the power within us to overcome the
influences of evil.
QUALITIES FOR EFFECTIVE AND
PRODUCTIVE WORK
V:5 For this very reason, make
every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and
to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and brotherly
kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure,
they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of
our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted
and blind and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
God has made available to us
the power and knowledge to be effective servants.
FAITH:
Without faith, it is impossible to please God
GOODNESS: The courage to profess faith in Jesus
KNOWLEDGE: The true wisdom to practice our faith
SELF-CONTROL: Keeping every sense and action under proper
restraint
PERSEVERANCE: Enduring all trials and difficulties under
the strength
and power of the Lord
GODLINESS: Fearing the Lord in worship and
actions that give Him
glory
BROTHERLY KINDNESS: Treating the brothers and sisters in Christ
with
tenderness,
kindness, compassion, and helpfulness.
Always praying to God for an abundance of His
grace and mercy toward them
LOVE: Loving God first, then
our brothers and sisters in Christ and
our
enemies with unselfish sacrificial kindness. Treating
everyone with equality, forgiveness, and
compassion
We have all the tools, we have
examples thought out the Bible of the use of the
tools for Christian living to
influence the world to Christ. It is our commission to
make disciples, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, The Son, and The Holy
Spirit. Neglecting to do so is
forgetting the purpose of our calling to Christ.
LIVE UP TO YOUR GODLY
CALLING
V:10 Therefore, my brothers,
be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do
these things, you will never fall, 11 and you will receive a rich welcome into
the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Be mindful always that we are
the examples and role models for Christ.
Do all that you can to
proclaim the Gospel, teach the Gospel, and live
the
Gospel for all the world to
see. Let your words and action promote Godly
behavior. Let all your
thoughts be centered around the Word of God so
your life’s works exemplify
the Lord Jesus. Notice, we have guarantee of
success if we follow God’s
guidance.
REFRESH YOUR MIND
V:12 So I will always remind
you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in
the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long
as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it
aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every
effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these
things.
Each day refresh your mind in
the truth you know in the Word of God making all
effort to be a living example
of Christ’s Love and compassion. Let all your work and
activities be unto the Lord so
the world may see the Word of God in action.
Be always mindful that the
time is drawing near for the return of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ. No
man knows the time or the hour, but be
sober and ready to enter into
His glory
Matthew 24:36
"No one knows about that
day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Matthew 24:42
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not
know on what day your Lord will come
Live each day glorifying
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Rev. M. Mitchell
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