"What God Has Done"

Stop and think about all God has done for YOU. Peter opens this second letter by sharing with us a before and after picture so that we can see the great things God has done.

What God Has Done

(2 Pet. 1:1-4)

Intro:

A.  When I think of Peter many things come to mind.  I think about him being quick to speak, but yet he spoke from his heart.  I think about how much he loved Jesus, even when that love was misdirected and tempted Jesus.  I think about him denying Jesus three times and being welcomed back by Jesus to ministry.  When I think about Peter I think, “Here is a man I would like to be like.  He is a good example of change, transformation, dedication, renewal, deep faith and wholehearted devotion to God.”  Yes, Peter was man of great faith.  Wouldn’t it be great to have the faith Peter had?  Faith enough to walk on water as long as focused on Jesus?  Would you like to have the faith that Peter had?  You can.  I can.  In fact, Peter is the one who says that a faith equal to his is available to all.  I want that faith.

B.  Peter opens his second letter by a description of himself.  The very first thing he says is that he is a servant, or a slave of Jesus and an apostle of Jesus.  His humble opening shows us that this great man whose influence in the first century church was huge, saw himself through the eyes of Christ.

C.  It really doesn’t matter how much or how little you have in this world.  You might be blessed to work for a good company and make good money.  You might be scrapping every penny together you can just to pay bills you have created.  The things of this world were not the focus of Peter.  He looked to Jesus and saw all that God had to offer.  Through the eyes of Jesus, Peter was both a servant and leader and he wanted to share his story with people who struggled.  He wanted us to see all that is offered by God.

D.  In 1994, a 67-year-old carpenter named Russell Edward Herman died of cancer in Marion, Illinois.  In his last will and testament he bequeathed the following:

$2.41 billion to the Ohio River town of Cave-In-Rock

$2.41 billion to the city of East St. Louis

$1.5 billion for projects in southeastern Illinois

And in a final act of unprecedented generosity, he bequeathed $6 trillion to the Federal Reserve Board to pay off the national debt.

E.  There was only one problem: at the time of his death, the only thing Mr. Herman actually owned was his car.  Peter wants us to see that what God has to offer us is of greater value than this world and because he is God, he can offer it.  Peter writes to those who through righteousness have received a faith as precious as ours.  The same faith that Peter had is the same faith that you and I can have.  Because faith comes from hearing God and through the righteousness of Jesus Christ our Lord.  You don’t have to live a spiritually shallow life.  You can live a life of great faith.

I.  The Gift of God

A.  I want you to see what God has done for you.  We live too much of our lives complaining about what we don’t have and what we would like to have in order to make us happy that we forget all that God has done.  If I focus my life more on gratitude instead of

ungratefulness, I would find contentment.  That is what I want us to do together.  Look at the great things God has done.

B.  According to verse 3 Peter tells us what has been given to us.  Look what God has done for you by his divine power.  You have

1.  Everything you need for life and godliness.  This is not meant to be two separate thoughts, but one thought.  Life and godliness are saying the same thing.  Everything you need to live a Christian life has been given to you.  There are no excuses.  God has given to you the knowledge of how to live a Christian life.

2.  Living the Christian life is possible because we have come to know God.  I don’t live the Christian life accidently.  I have said this before.  Christianity is intentional.  The divine power showed me how to live and then called me to live it.

3.  God’s calling is by and to his own glory and goodness.  Jesus calls us to experience him, to live in him, to have him to the fullest because he can fill us.  God enables you.  You have power that heaven has unleashed to change and become a vessel of purpose.  Live in the divine power.  God is able to help you.

II.  Precious Promises

A.  But it doesn’t stop at verse 3.  Look again at verse 4.  Have you thanked God for the great and precious promises?  These promises have already been given and are still being offered.

1.  Salvation has to top the list.  When we die to self we can live in salvation.  It is a different way of living.  In fact, living in the grace of God changes what we do and how we do it.

2.  In our salvation we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Brethren, the Spirit of God did not die when the last apostle died.  He is not confined to pages in a book, but the book confirms his actions.  The Spirit lives in us and according to Rom. 8 is how we know how to live this Christian life.  Thank God for His Spirit.

3.  The written word is a great and precious promise that helps us navigate our way through life.  Peter is going to spend a great amount of time speaking about how Scripture is God’s voice to man.  Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God.  Thank God for the Bible, but don’t let it become your dust collector.

B.  There are many great and precious promises, but here is the point of them.  SO THAT through them YOU may participate in the divine nature.  This divine nature enabled us to live godly lives and these promises call us and show us how to live.  God is good all the time.  He is enabling me, empowering me, and endowing me with himself so that through these great and precious promises I can both participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption that is in the world.

C.  Paul would tell me that God will always provide a way of escape or the power to live through it.  James will tell me that sin is begins when I look at my own desires and let them rule my life.  John will tell me that the things are this world, as alluring as they may be, are fading away.  I don’t have to die in sin.  God has made a way for me.  God has given me every tool, every ability, every opportunity to say no to sin and yes to Him.  Brethren, if I don’t hold to the promises through the power of knowing God it is my fault not his!

Conclusion:

A.  So you want a faith like Peter’s?  Then take what God has already given.  He has given to us everything we need to live a godly life.  He has given to us great and precious promises that allow us to participate in his nature and escape the nature of this world.  I think that sounds good.  So, if this is all about what God has done, then why do so many good people still hurt, suffer and fall?

B.  Annie Johnson Flint called “What God Hath Promised”
God hath not promised skies always blue,

flower-strewn pathways all our lives through;
God hath not promised sun without rain,

joy without sorrow, peace without pain.
God hath not promised we shall not know,

toil and temptation, trouble and woe;
He hath not told us we shall not bear,

many a burden, many a care.
God hath not promised smooth roads and wide,

swift, easy travel, needing no guide;
Never a mountain rocky and steep,

never a river, turbid and deep.
But God hath promised strength for the day,

rest for the labor, light for the way,
Grace for the trials, help from above,

unfailing sympathy, undying love.