Gtcotr/ss120620
Our text for today comes from:
2 Peter 1 NKJV
1 ¶ Simon Peter, a
bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like
precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be
multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
3 as His divine power has
given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the
knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Hold your place here in 2 Peter for just a minute and let me give you some background. We will come back to our text for today in just a minute.
The very first verse in the Bible opens our eyes and answers to one of the greatest questions ever faced by mankind: “Where did I come from?” There are 31,102 verses in the Bible. The account of the creation beginning in Genesis 1:1, gives us understanding and points us to the fact that Almighty God created the heavens and the earth and that we are not here by accident. Rather we are a vital part of God’s great and eternal plan.
Genesis 1:1 is the first verse in the Bible. 31,102 verses later we come to the last verse in the Bible, Revelation 22:21. The Bible ends with the elder Apostle John penning the conclusion with hope and a prayer. Knowing what is yet to come upon the earth in the last days, John writes:
Revelation 22:
20 ¶ He who testifies to
these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord
Jesus!
21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Thank God for His grace. We know the beginning and we know the end, why? Because God shared it with us in His Holy Word. I know God created me and I know I will go to heaven one day – both by God’s grace. But what about all the stuff in between?
The God who created us and is going to take care of us throughout eternity has not forgotten to leave us divine instructions concerning how we can be successful in this life. Not only is He the Author and the Finisher of our faith, but He is also the Source of our faith all the days of our life.
I have faith that I was born, and I have faith that I will die and go to heaven. What I often need more faith for concerns how to live victoriously in between birth and death. It’s not the beginning and it’s not the end I contend with, it is the now. What does God’s Word say about my now?
31,102 verses in the Bible. We have looked at verse 1 and we have looked at verse 31,102. For just a moment let’s turn our attention to what’s in-between … let’s focus on the very middle of the Bible … verses number 15,551 and 15,552. We find them in:
Psalms 103
1 Bless the LORD, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
What
am I to do now in order to live the life God intended for me?
·
Bless
and praise Jehovah Almighty, the Existing One, the Great I Am.
·
Bless
Him with my soul and all that is within me.
·
Bless
His holy name!
·
And
do not forget all His benefits
· Verses 3-5 describe some of the basic benefits belonging to the children of God.
3 Who forgives all your
iniquities, Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from
destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The
In-Between sounds pretty good to me. God has not only taken care of the beginning and the end, He has also taken
care to show me how to live in victory and power in the in-between. Now back to
our text for today:
2 Peter 1 NKJV
2 Grace and peace be
multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
What
exactly are these exceedingly great and precious promises?
·
First
that we might be partakers of God’s divine nature
·
Also,
we have escaped the corruption that is in this world through lust.
· In plain terms – We have been born-again, received the Holy Spirit, and delivered from the destined eternal judgement of this world.
Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! It is a choice to be thankful and grateful and to focus on the blessings.
According as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness by which we have been given exceeding great and precious promises having escaped the corruption that is in this world.
Three
things I would like to focus on this morning:
1.
You are not an accident … You were
created by God with a purpose.
2.
Jesus is coming quickly, and He
wants you to spend eternity with Him.
3. The corruption of this world has no claim on you.
The In Between sounds pretty good to me. God
has taken care of everything from the beginning to the end and beyond … as
well, He has given each one of us a choice. We don’t always get to decide what
we go through but we always get to choose how we will go through it. As for me,
I choose to bless the Lord and be thankful for all the benefits: Forgiveness;
healing; redemption; mercies; strength; and every good thing I have.
