Wide And Generous Entrance Into The Eternal Kingdom

DATE: JULY 19, 2020

TOPIC: "Wide And Generous Entrance Into The Eternal Kingdom" 2 Peter 1:11-15 Pedro knew how long he had left of his life on earth. For such reason, he wanted to express to the brothers, with all his heart, how important the Lord Jesus Christ was to him and how it should be for each believer. So he left us his own feeling, how beautiful this is! He left it written so that we would be faithful and holy to the God he knew face to face! You should receive these words from Peter, SO THAT, DIRECTLY, YOU ALSO KNOW HIM!

I. There is security for a believer living in constant spiritual progress!

A. (Vs. 11) There is also the promise OF A WIDE ENTRY INTO THE ETERNAL KINGDOM!

1. His kingdom is ETERNAL, the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

2. How great is He for our lives! My very Beloved!

3. Peter refers here not only TO THE FACT of our entry, but rather TO THE WAY in which it will be: IN A WIDE (GREAT) AND GENEROUS WAY!

4. We can enter the celestial kingdom through FAITH IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

5. Faith in Him, faith placed in Him for everything, not only in moments, but it is faith in Him throughout our lives.

6. Some will have a more “wide entrance” than others. Can you imagine when Peter got to Heaven! What a great entrance, very wide! There the angels, the disciples and Jesus at the right hand of God! What a great day it must have been for Peter! He had won!

7. It is that there will be degrees of reward in Heaven.

8. And the rewards that will be given to us will depend on the degree of molding of each one to the Savior!

9. How much have you allowed yourself to be molded? How much have you adapted to His mold? How have you settled into the ways of Christ? How have you conformed to His mold for you?

10. (Vs. 12) As he considered the present and eternal implications of this topic, Peter decided to continue to remind believers of the importance of Christian character development.

11. Even if they already knew, they needed him to constantly remind them. So do you and I!

12. Although we are entrenched (secure, firm) in the present truth, there is always "the danger of an anxious moment or an hour of forgetfulness."

13. So, THE TRUTH IS TO BE REPEATED IN A CONSTANT WAY.

14. (Vs. 13) Well, for Peter it was fair, it was his duty to stimulate, to enliven the saints through frequent reminders. "...as long as I live in the tent of this body...", as long as I live.

15. As he approached the end of his life he realized the necessity of keeping them out of a spiritual slumber!

16. (Vs. 14) The Lord had already revealed to Peter the fact that he would die and the way it would be (John 21:18, 19). Many years had passed since then.

17. The elderly and much loved apostle knew that in the normal course of things his death was near.

18. The date of his death was approaching, a death also on the cross like that of the Lord. There were preparations, you could hear the noises of those who were preparing the cross near the prison, perhaps the conversations of the soldiers, some happy or perhaps others in pain, maybe some of those soldiers were already disciples. The sound of the hammer forging nails for the feet of a saint who remembered that he had denied Jesus three times when he went to the cross. But, the departure of that JUST WHO WOULD SOON ENJOY A WIDE AND GENEROUS ENTRANCE TO THE ETERNAL KINGDOM was approaching!

19. This “knowledge” of what was soon to happen to him gave additional impetus to his determination to care for the spiritual well-being of God's people during the time he might have left.

20. There was no regret for his death, he knew where he was going and what he had gained!

21. Death for him was like putting aside his earthly abode, it was removing himself from his body or tabernacle.

22. (Vs. 15) Not only was the apostle determined to personally remind the saints of the importance of spiritual progress, BUT HE WAS ALSO WILLING TO LEAVE A PERMANENT AND WRITTEN MEMORY! It got to us too! Blessed be God!

23. Through his writings, believers could “…have a memory of these things…” at all times.

24. "...after my departure." Death is not ceasing to be, it is the departure FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER!

25. The imposing basic truths of the Christian faith have enormous value when viewed from the edge of the eternal world! This is how Peter saw them before leaving for the eternal kingdom! Amen.