We Are Called by His Glory and Excellence

DATE: JULY 8, 2020

TOPIC: "We Are Called by His Glory and Excellence" 2 Peter 1:1-4 Our behavior every day is for Jesus. It seems that Peter distinguished himself as a favorite among the twelve disciples. (Vs. 1) “Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ...” His conduct as a servant and apostle (one who propagates or spreads a doctrine), his simplicity and humility made him stand out. Peter would not speak of himself, nor would he live for himself. This beloved disciple would carry the biblical doctrine, promulgate and give an example of the Christian faith, the Power and Love of God to evangelize; he would give himself entirely to his mission of preaching about Jesus Christ, His Redemptive work, His life, His death and His resurrection. Nothing of him, nothing of Peter and all of Jesus! That costs and carries pain, it carries suffering and leads to death! His obligation was to serve the risen Savior!

A. Nothing for him! Nothing for himself!

1. And you my brother, how do you think? Have you thought that everything is for you?

2. (Vs. 2) "Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus." The knowledge of God and of OUR Lord Jesus is needed!

3. If we want to know him, we will do better if we dedicate ourselves to dwell in the secret place of the Most High than by making only occasional visits there.

4. If you dedicate yourself this way, then you will know the secret of God's GRACE and PEACE.

5. You would thus stop living for yourself, just as you know yourself very well and you know well what pleases you. But, when you enter the secret place of the Most High you will know Him, then you will live for Him, and for this reason you will enter to live as a favorite of Him, not as you now pretend to have recognition and applauses.

6. Approaching the secret place of the Most High each day is the way you can be kept from falling in this life and how you can have the certainty of a triumphal entry into the life to come!

7. (Vs. 3 “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness…”) God has made full provision for us to live a life of holiness.

8. It is said of this provision THAT IT IS AN EVIDENCE OF HIS POWER!

9. Just as His power SAVES US in the first place, so His power, in the second place, GIVES US THE ABILITY TO LIVE HOLY LIVES FROM THEN.

10. That is the order: first LIFE, then PIETY (devotion to all that is related to the holy and is guided by the love felt towards God).

11. When the phrase “…everything we need for life and godliness…” is used, that includes five wonderful things: a) the priestly work of Christ, b) the ministry of the Holy Spirit, c) the activity of the angels on our behalf, d) the new life that we receive in conversion and e) the instruction of God's Word.

12. The “power” to live a “holy life” comes from the knowledge of the One who called us!

13. Just as His “DIVINE POWER” is the source of holiness, so “THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE ONE WHO CALLED US” is His channel through which that power flows.

14. The better we get to know Him, the more we will become like Him! It will no longer be you but He in you!

15. Our calling is one of Peter's favorite themes (Vs. 3) “…through our knowledge of Him who CALLED US by his own glory and excellence…”

a. (1 Peter 2:9) We have been called "...out of darkness into His wonderful light."

b. (1 Peter 3:9) We have been called “…so that you may inherit a blessing…”, knowing that you were called to return good for evil, not evil for evil.

c. (1 Peter 5:10) We have been called "...to his eternal glory..."

d. (2 Peter 1:3) We have been called "...by his own glory and excellence."

16. He called us REVEALING TO US THE WONDERS OF "HIS PERSON." What else do I want to have?

17. Saul of Tarsus was called on the road to Damascus and he saw the glory of God! He went from darkness to His marvelous light!

18. Peter looked at the face of the Lord Jesus and was "forever lost to everything that was not of Christ."

19. WE ARE CALLED BY GOD BECAUSE OF HIS GLORY AND EXCELLENCE!

20. (Vs. 4) Among all the things that the power of God has given us to develop a life of holiness we have ITS PRECIOUS AND GREAT PROMISES, WHICH ARE IN THE WORD!

21. It is estimated that there are at least thirty thousand promises in the Bible!

22. John Bunyan once said: "The path of the Christian life is so covered with the promises of God that it

is impossible to take a step without stepping on one of them."

23. God's promises are the last of seven precious things mentioned by Peter in his letters.

24. The promises of God are precious and great!

25. These promises enable the believer to flee from the corruption that exists in the world because of lust "...so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires..."

26. GOD HAS PROMISED EVERYTHING WE NEED TO RESIST TEMPTATION!

27. Through these promises we can become “…to be participants of the divine nature…” They enable us to flee from the corruption of the world, from strife, drunkenness, filth, lust, etc.

28. By living in the practical enjoyment of what God has promised we are conforming more and more to His image!

29. (2 Corinthians 3:18) The more we think of Him, the more we become like Him!

30. To read the word is to study Christ who is revealed in them, and in that way we follow him!

31. In doing so, the Holy Spirit transforms us into His likeness! From one degree of glory to another! Amen.