Latest / Mount Eaton Church / The Word God Said - Confirming Our Calling & Election - 2 Peter 1:1-11 pt.1

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The Word God Said - Confirming Our Calling & Election - 2 Peter 1:1-11 pt.1 · Mount Eaton Church

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  Good morning, family. Turn to 2 Peter chapter
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  1. This is a doctrine that's going to be talked
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  about today, the doctrine of imputation. So let
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  us pray. There is a lot in this three -chapter
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  letter, a lot of doctrine. A lot to focus on.
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  We're going to be on this for a little while.
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  And then by the end of July. So we'll be on this
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  for two months. And then at the end of July we'll
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  be starting 1 John chapter 1. Father, I want
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  to thank you so much for your goodness. Thank
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  you, Lord, for your word. Thank you that we can
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  know by the knowledge of Christ that we are called
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  and elected. that you have purposed in such a
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  way through the knowledge of him who has called
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  us to be sure and confident in our salvation.
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  Lord, I pray that we would understand the importance
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  of this, not only the importance of the work
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  of knowledge, the knowledge of Christ, but also
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  the imputation that you have imputed to us. your
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  righteousness, and have taken upon yourself our
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  sin. And Lord, we do praise you and thank you
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  for this, and we thank you and praise you for
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  your goodness. Bless the word to our hearts.
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  Holy Spirit, guide us in all truth for your glory.
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  In Jesus' name, amen. 2 Peter chapter 1. We're
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  going to be going through verses 1 through 11.
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  And then next, on the 21st, I'll pick up on the
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  12th through. So I'll be on vacation starting
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  this Friday. And then I'll be back on Thursday.
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  So pray for some rest. And God has provided a
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  good preacher for you guys. So come and enjoy.
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  Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
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  to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing
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  with ours by the righteousness of our God and
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  Savior Jesus Christ, may grace and peace be multiplied
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  to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our
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  Lord. His divine power has granted us all things
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  that pertain to life and godliness. through the
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  knowledge of him who called us to his own glory
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  and excellence, by which he has granted to us
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  the precious and very great promises, so that
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  through them you may become partakers of the
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  divine nature, having escaped from the corruption
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  that is in the world because of sinful desires.
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  Very reason make every effort to supplement your
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  faith, virtue, and virtue knowledge, and knowledge,
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  self -control, and self -control with steadfastness,
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  and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness
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  with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection
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  with love. For if these qualities are yours and
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  are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective
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  and unfruitful in the knowledge. of our Lord
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  Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities
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  is nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten
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  that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore,
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  brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm
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  your calling and election, for if you practice
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  these qualities, you will never fail. For in
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  this way, there will be richly provided for you
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  an entrance. Into the eternal kingdom of our
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  Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Do you hear the
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  key word over and over again? Knowledge. It's
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  not works. Right? Works is the expression of
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  the knowledge by which we have been given through
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  faith. That's why faith without works is dead.
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  And the reality is you can't do works unless
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  you know. How much do you know? Are you willing
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  to know? How much time do you put in so that
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  you know? And there's two words here for knowledge,
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  and we're going to see them. One is epignosis,
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  and the other is gnosis. Specifically, though
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  they come from the root word gnosis, meaning
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  to know, epignosis implies something very clear.
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  And we're going to deal with that. So, first
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  principle. Through the gift of faith, Christ
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  has imputed to us his righteousness by which
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  we now can grow in the knowledge of Christ. He
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  has imputed to us his righteousness by which
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  we now can grow in the knowledge of Christ. You
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  cannot grow in the knowledge of Christ unless
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  you have been made or born again and the righteousness
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  of Christ has been applied to you. It's all the
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  work of salvation. So without salvation, without
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  the Spirit of God, you cannot know. And we've
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  been talking about obedience, have we not, for
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  a while now. But it's one thing to be obedient
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  to what, is the question. Obedient in the knowledge
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  of Christ. And we know what wisdom is. It's knowledge
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  lived. Colossians 1, 9 -10, and so, From the
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  day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for
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  you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge
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  of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
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  so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord,
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  fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every
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  good work, increasing in the knowledge of God.
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  There it is again. So we see this, whether we
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  missed it or not, in 2 Peter 1, verses 1 -2.
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  First, I want you to know, this is Simon Peter,
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  a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. A slave.
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  A servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. And this
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  word obtained means chosen by divine will. It's
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  interesting. Because we think that this word
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  obtained in English is something that we get.
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  And we, to some degree, do get. But it's really
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  about those who have been chosen by divine will,
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  a faith equal, of equal standing and equal value
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  with ours. By the righteousness of God. This
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  very reality of our obtaining is not that we
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  have gone out and obtained anything. It's the
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  reality that God has chosen by divine will a
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  faith for you that is equal to that of the apostles.
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  Do you get that? Now that one word changes quite
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  a bit when you deal with the reality of the two
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  schools of thought when it comes to free will
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  and when it comes to election. Trust me, this
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  is full of election. This entire chapter is full
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  of election. So this word obtained is very clear
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  in the Greek. To those who have been chosen by
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  divine will and given a faith is the idea of
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  equal standing, equal value with God. by the
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  righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
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  The very imputation of righteousness that's given
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  to the apostles has been given to you. Look what
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  it says, verse 2. May grace and peace be multiplied
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  to you in the knowledge, in the epignosis, The
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  precise and correct knowledge of God and of our
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  Lord Jesus Christ. Do you hear that? There is
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  a truth that's only truth. There is a knowledge
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  that is only true knowledge. And this precise
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  and correct knowledge is specifically of God
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  and of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We
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  are to increase, be multiplied in grace and peace
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  by or in the knowledge, in the precise and correct
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  knowledge of God. You want to grow? You've got
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  to spend time in the Word. You want to grow?
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  You need to learn the precise and correct knowledge
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  of God. And this is important. Because there
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  are a lot of denominations teaching not. The
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  precise and correct knowledge of God. And people
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  are going to say, well, who are you to say you're
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  the only one that has it? I'm not the only one
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  that has it. But there is a precise and correct
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  knowledge of God. And we must understand that.
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  Man does not interpret the word because it's
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  his interpretation of the word. God could care
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  less whether I interpret it my way and you interpret
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  it your way. The only interpretation that matters
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  is his. Period. And that comes through the epignosis
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  of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, this
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  word, again, by the knowledge of Christ's second
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  principle, we are given all we need to live holy
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  and obedient through his great and precious promises.
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  How are you to know? what his great and precious
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  promises are, unless you know the knowledge of
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  God. 2 Corinthians 2, 20 -22 For all the promises
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  of God find their yes in him. That is why it
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  is through him that we utter our amen to God
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  for his glory. And it is God who establishes
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  us. with you in Christ, and has anointed us,
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  and who has also put his seal on us and given
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  us his spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. And
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  there it is. The reality of our knowing is the
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  spirit of God brings us knowingness of Christ.
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  I love this opening, well, not really opening
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  statement, but this verse here. Oh, this is so
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  beautiful. You just want to read it over and
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  over and over again because it sounds so good.
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  And it's actually a song. So if you ever heard
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  of the Christian acapella group called Acapella,
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  please listen to this song. I'm not going to
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  do it. I am tempted. But I will not do it because
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  I don't do it justice as well as they do. 2 Peter
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  1, 3 -4. His divine power has granted to us all
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  things that pertain to life and godliness through
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  the knowledge of him who called us to his own
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  glory and excellence. Do you hear that? His divine
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  power. His divine... Dynamos or dunamos is the
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  word. Okay? And the word divine is divine. There
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  is no other word. It is from heaven, from him,
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  by his power, given to us all. This word granted
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  as if he sits not engaged and he declares from
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  his throne, I grant them this. No. That's not
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  what the word here is. The word is given. He
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  is particularly involved in giving and bestowing
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  upon you everything you need by his divine power
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  for life and godliness. And all that you need
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  comes through dia. meaning the means of or by
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  the means of, the epignosis of Christ. The reality
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  of your success in Christian living and your
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  ability to discern that which is good and evil
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  and put into practice by the wisdom of God, what
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  you learn concerning the knowledge of Christ
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  comes from him. All. All things. Pas. Everything
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  you need for life and godliness. Everything.
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  Why do we live defeated all the time? Why do
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  we live questioning God all the time? Not that
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  you can't question God, but what do we question
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  God over? Like, why didn't you answer my prayer?
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  We know what the answer to that is. If we obey
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  him and keep his commands, we show that we love
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  him. And if we are doing that and we please him,
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  he hears our prayers. We can ask him anything
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  and he will give it to us according to his will
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  and his word because we are being obedient. We've
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  read that in 1 Peter, had we not? So let us be
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  mindful. Well, it's actually 1 John. That's Wednesdays.
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  So I'm getting the two mixed up. It's okay. His
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  divine power has granted us, has given to us
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  all for life and godliness through, by the means
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  of, epignosis of Christ. Why? For the very glory,
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  for his own glory and for his excellence because
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  of his goodness is the word there. The word excellence
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  means me. Actually means goodness. By which he
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  has granted, again, given to us his precious
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  and very great promises. Not granted. It's not
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  like he's giving us permission. He's actually
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  given them to you. Why? So that you can live
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  godly and a godly life. Everything you need is
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  through him. So that, Through them you may become
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  partakers. The word partakers is a participant
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  of the divine nature. Here's what it means. Born
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  as a participant or a citizen of eternal life
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  or born as a heavenly being. That's what that
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  word partakers of the divine nature means. And
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  the reality of our knowledge, of the saving power
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  of Christ comes by the Holy Spirit, by which
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  he gives us faith as a gift. And because of that
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  very reality, we can know that according to Romans
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  chapter 10, verse 8, the word is near us, it
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  is in our heart and in our mouth. The very knowledge
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  of God is present in us, in the person of Jesus
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  Christ, or in the person of the Holy Spirit,
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  the Spirit of Christ. So, if I am born as a participant,
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  born as a citizen, born as a heavenly being,
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  then I have escaped or I have been freed from
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  the corruption that is in the world because of
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  sinful desires or sinful lusts. Do you understand
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  that? The reality of your freedom is in Jesus.
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  Not in your works. Your works don't keep you
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  free. The reality of the truth of Christ and
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  his work in you is what has kept you free and
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  keeps you free now. Now that you have been given
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  an eternal nature by the knowledge of him who
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  has called us, add to your faith with all diligence
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  the virtues of Christ. How should you live now
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  that you have the knowledge of God present in
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  you? And how should you live as you are building
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  your knowledge of God and of the Lord Jesus?
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  As you're learning more and as you are living
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  life and godliness because he's given you everything
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  you need. In Colossians 3 .16, let the word of
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  Christ dwell in you richly. Teaching and admonishing
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  one another in all wisdom. The knowledge of God
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  lived. Singing psalms and hymns and spiritual
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  songs with thankfulness in our hearts to God.
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  The expression of our knowledge of God and our
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  growth in Him and our... practice of what he
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  has given us is expressed in how we love and
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  sing and are thankful to God and for each other.
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  2 Peter 1, 5 -7. For this very reason. What very
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  reason? Do you remember what we talked about
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  at the end? Because he has freed you. Because
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  he has made you a partaker of the divine nature.
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  For this very reason. Because you are heavenly
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  beings, make every effort, supply with all diligence
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  to furnish your faith with virtue. Are you making
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  every effort to furnish your faith with virtue?
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  This word virtue means uprightness. Why is this
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  important? What's unique about uprightness? It
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  is a commitment and a diligence to live rightly.
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  Are we purposing to live rightly? It's interesting
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  when I just got done watching again The Great
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  Awakening. And what you find about Benjamin Franklin
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  in the film is that he thinks that he can build
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  virtue without Jesus. And George Whitefield rebukes
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  him for it. That the only, the greatest virtue,
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  the greatest knowledge that any man can have
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  is that Christ God came in the flesh, died on
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  the cross, was buried and rose again on the third
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  day. It's the greatest knowledge. There is no
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  greater knowledge on the planet. It does not
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  matter how much he gives us here. The greatest
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  knowledge. The greatest fruit, the greatest statement
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  is the reality that God put on flesh and he died
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  for his creation and rose again on the third
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  day. There is nothing greater. And that is one
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  of the reasons why the world hates it. Because,
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  remember, he makes the wise fools and he makes
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  the strong weak. God's foolishness is wiser than
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  the wisest of men. And God's weakness is stronger
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  than the strongest of men. And that's exactly
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  what he's implying here. Virtue without the knowledge
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  of Christ is not virtue at all. You cannot live
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  uprightly without knowing him. And the more you
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  know him, the more you live uprightly. The more
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  you know Christ, the more he conforms you into
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  the image of his son. Why? Because the word is
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  living and active, sharper than a two -edged
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  sword, divides bone and marrow, soul and spirit,
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  and judges the deepest thoughts and intentions
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  of the heart. There is nothing greater that God
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  has given to man than his word. But out of the
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  greatest things in his word, Christ crucified
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  and resurrected. There is nothing greater. Now
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  concerning this word knowledge, it means gnosis.
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  And this word gnosis literally just means the
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  wisdom of God. The knowledge of God lived. That
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  is wisdom. So virtue with the wisdom of God.
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  The wisdom of God with self -control, with mastering
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  desires and passions. Do you see the link? You
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  cannot be upright without the knowledge of God.
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  You cannot master your desires and passions without
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  the understanding or the living of the knowledge
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  of God. to the mastering of your desires and
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  passions, steadfastness, endurance in the faith.
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  You cannot master the passions without endurance
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  because it is a struggle to win over the flesh,
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  is it not? You must endure in the faith, endure
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  in the truth and the knowledge of Jesus, and
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  to steadfastness, the endurance in the faith,
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  Godliness, reverential devotion. I cannot endure
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  in the faith without having full, honorable,
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  respectful, glorifying devotion to Jesus. Do
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  you get the point? Life and godliness. Do you
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  remember that statement he said in the beginning?
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  His divine power has granted us everything we
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  need for life and godliness. This is the answer
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  right here. Life and godliness is right here.
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  And if I have reverential devotion, how should
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  I be reflecting that devotion to God? Loving
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  you. Brotherly affection. Philadelphia. Brotherly
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  love. That is the word here. Brotherly affection.
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  Philadelphia. And with Philadelphia, agape. Active
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  love of God. You cannot say, I agape my brother,
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  and then watch him suffer. And this is talking
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  about the family. Why do I say that? because
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  there are more brothers and sisters suffering
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  in the church, then in reality, we give more
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  to those who don't know Christ, in the sense
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  of meeting needs, than we do taking care of the
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  family. And if you can't take care of the family,
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  if you cannot be actively loving the people of
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  God, how can you actively love those outside?
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  What's the scripture say? That's exactly what
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  the Pharisees would say, right? They're hypocrites.
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  That's a hypocrite. Look what it says next. The
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  next principle. To not walk in the knowledge
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  of Christ is to live as a blind man wandering
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  aimlessly. To not walk in the knowledge of Christ
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  is to live as a blind man wandering aimlessly.
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  Matthew 15, 16. Let them alone. Jesus says, concerning
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  the Pharisees, they are blind guides, and if
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  the blind lead the blind, both fall into a pit.
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  2 Peter 1, 8 -9. For if these qualities, remember
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  that list of qualities, virtue, knowledge, godliness,
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  etc. I haven't memorized the virtues in order,
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  so please forgive me. I should just go back and
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  read it. But these qualities are yours. Now what's
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  interesting is this term, are yours, in the original
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  Greek means already yours. You don't have to
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  acquire them. Oh, that sounds so pretty. That's
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  fine, no problem. At least it's a bird. Usually
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  I hear Star Wars. That's so funny. That's good.
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  For if these qualities are yours, already yours,
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  they're already yours and are increasing. Why?
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  How can something already be present and increasing
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  being abundant in me? Because he lives in you.
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  The Spirit of Christ lives in you. He is present
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  in you. They're already yours. And they are abundantly
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  yours. Remember that little statement Jesus says
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  when it comes to us living on this earth? He
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  has abundantly blessed us. It's not abundantly
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  blessing us with junk. God could care less about
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  a car. He cares about your character. He gives
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  you a car because he wants to bless you. He's
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  a good father, after all. It's an example. You
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  guys understand why I say that? Let's look at
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  a couple preachers. Now look, if these qualities
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  are already yours and are abundant, they, those
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  qualities, keep you from being ineffective, unprofitable,
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  and hollow. or unfruitful, unproductive, barren,
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  or useless toward the knowledge, epignosis of
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  our Lord Jesus Christ. If these are already yours
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  and are abundant, they will keep you from being
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  ineffective. They will keep you from being unprofitable.
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  They will keep you from being unproductive and
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  useless. And the reality is that truth of those
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  things are Toward the knowledge, toward the precise
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  and correct knowledge of Jesus. That's the understanding
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  here. You want to know how to live? They're yours
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  already. Matter of fact, they're so plentiful
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  that you grow in the knowledge of God, it continues
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  to be abundant for you. Why do we live so many
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  defeated lives? For whoever lacks. This word
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  forever lacks means not to have. Whoever doesn't
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  have these qualities is nearsighted. What's interesting
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  about this term nearsighted means so close to
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  the eyes. You ever get something so close that
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  it gets blurry? Right? I know some people that
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  when they go to read, they're like, I'm like,
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  how can you see that? Right now, I can't see
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  anything. But that's the idea. Try it one day.
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  Just grab your Bible and bring it right up to
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  your face and try to read it and let me know
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  if you can read it. No, you can't. But that's
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  what it means. They only see what they want to
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  see. So much so that he is blind. Blindness is
• 30:11
  not the issue of not being able to see at all.
• 30:14
  It's the issue that everything in front of you
• 30:16
  is so blurred that you don't know what's in front
• 30:21
  of you. It's so distorted. That's what he means
• 30:24
  here. Not dark. So when he talks about the Pharisees
• 30:32
  being blind, they wander around with blurred
• 30:35
  vision to the point that they don't even realize
• 30:38
  there's a hole in front of them and they fall
• 30:40
  into it. And everybody who walks with them and
• 30:44
  agrees with them, they all fall in the same pit.
• 30:50
  Having forgotten this term. So, if these qualities
• 30:57
  are lacking, they are nearsighted. So much so
• 31:04
  that he's blind. He has willfully forgotten.
• 31:09
  That's what this word having forgotten means.
• 31:11
  It's a willful rejection of the truth, of the
• 31:17
  knowledge that has cleansed them. freed them
• 31:20
  from guilt, from their former sins. How many
• 31:27
  people do you know who have tasted and seen that
• 31:31
  the Lord is good to walk away, willfully reject
• 31:35
  and forget of the blood that has bought them
• 31:41
  and cleansed them from their sin? They just have...
• 31:45
  They have totally rejected and forgotten the
• 31:48
  reality of the guilt that they have been freed
• 31:50
  from. So many. So many. Last principle. Oh, actually,
• 32:01
  yeah, last principle. By the knowledge of Christ.
• 32:06
  In his gospel, he has called us and made our
• 32:09
  election sure through his work of salvation,
• 32:13
  guaranteeing our inheritance into his eternal
• 32:16
  kingdom. 2 Timothy 1, 9 -10. God, who saved us
• 32:23
  and called us to a holy calling, not because
• 32:26
  of our works, but because of his own purpose
• 32:29
  and grace, which he has... which He gave us in
• 32:32
  Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which
• 32:36
  now has been manifest through the appearing of
• 32:39
  our Lord Jesus Christ, who abolished death and
• 32:44
  brought life and immortality to light through
• 32:47
  the gospel. In 2 Peter 1, 10 and 11, Therefore,
• 32:54
  because of all this, brothers, Be all the more
• 33:00
  diligent. Be more eager to confirm, to make sure,
• 33:06
  to establish your calling. Now this word calling
• 33:10
  is interesting. Because this word calling implies
• 33:14
  that you have been found. Not that you found
• 33:18
  anything. From which you were found. Do you know
• 33:25
  those little stories that Jesus talks about?
• 33:28
  Right? The parables of the lost coin, the lost
• 33:32
  sheep. That's not that you found God. That's
• 33:38
  not what Jesus is saying. The kingdom of God
• 33:43
  is like this. A woman who has lost her coin.
• 33:50
  And she inquires about it. And she tears the
• 33:54
  house apart. And she finds the coin. And when
• 33:58
  she finds the coin, she spends the coin on throwing
• 34:01
  a party. You're the coin. Jesus is not the coin.
• 34:11
  You're the coin. You're the lost coin. Then he
• 34:15
  also talks about the sheep. And he has a shepherd,
• 34:20
  and the shepherd has sheep, and one sheep decides
• 34:23
  it's going to wander wherever it wants to. It's
• 34:26
  no longer with the rest. And so the shepherd
• 34:29
  leaves the 99 to go find the one. Jesus is not
• 34:33
  the sheep. You're the sheep. So, this was what
• 34:41
  makes our purpose to confirm. Be more eager to
• 34:48
  confirm and establish to make sure. That you
• 34:54
  have been found. That God has found you. That
• 35:01
  you're not lost anymore. Do you remind yourself
• 35:06
  that I'm not lost anymore? Do you know why people
• 35:09
  struggle with the reality of their conversion
• 35:11
  and wonder, can I really be saved? Do I really
• 35:16
  love God? How come I don't feel like I love God?
• 35:21
  Because we're sheep. God is the one who does
• 35:26
  the finding. He found you. He called you. And
• 35:33
  election. Oh, this word. So not only does he
• 35:38
  find us, this word election means God's act of
• 35:42
  choosing out. Oh, you know what word I'm going
• 35:46
  to use, Sue? Erechomai. God calls us. Out. He
• 35:55
  chooses us out from being objects of wrath. So
• 36:01
  I want you to understand this. Every human being
• 36:04
  ever born, because of the nature that they are
• 36:09
  born with, are children of wrath. Y 'all, they're
• 36:13
  usually like, well, how can little babies be
• 36:15
  little children of wrath? I know a couple two
• 36:18
  -year -olds that are wrathful. But that's not
• 36:21
  what, doesn't mean. But the reality is they're
• 36:24
  little sinners. Innocence does not determine
• 36:30
  righteousness. Innocence never determines righteousness.
• 36:40
  What do we know about God? He is merciful and
• 36:43
  full of grace. And when that child comes to age
• 36:48
  to understand that that child was born in sin,
• 36:52
  Oh boy. So the reality is that God has chosen
• 36:59
  us out from his wrath. For if you practice these,
• 37:05
  make these virtues, qualities, if you purpose
• 37:12
  to live these out, you will never, this word
• 37:18
  will means once, You will never not, no not.
• 37:25
  It's a double negative. In other words, you can't
• 37:28
  get anything better than no not. They don't have
• 37:33
  a word never in the Greek. So you read the word
• 37:37
  and you go, oh, no not. It's sort of like the
• 37:41
  word ain't. You will no not fall. You will never
• 37:48
  fall. If you live. These qualities. These virtues.
• 37:56
  Make these virtues always know not fall. Now
• 38:06
  this word fall means to become wretched or fall
• 38:10
  into misery. It's a wonderful statement that
• 38:16
  the reality of God's act of choosing and finding
• 38:23
  us when we were lost. Through the knowledge of
• 38:28
  him who has called us, if we live out the virtues
• 38:32
  of Christ, we will never fall. We will never
• 38:39
  become wretched. Verse 11, for in this way, In
• 38:47
  this manner, there will be richly, generously,
• 38:50
  abundantly provided, supplied, or furnished for
• 38:54
  you an entrance, an admission, and a reception
• 38:58
  into the kingdom, into the eternal kingdom of
• 39:02
  our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is not
• 39:08
  a ticket. It's a rite of passage. Who is the
• 39:18
  rite of passage? The Spirit of God. And the reality
• 39:24
  of the Spirit of God present is the knowledge
• 39:26
  of Christ in you. Do you see how it's all connected?
• 39:31
  I cannot say I'm a believer and not have the
• 39:35
  knowledge of Christ and then not live the knowledge
• 39:38
  of Christ and then not give away the knowledge
• 39:41
  of Christ. And then continue to grow in the knowledge
• 39:44
  of Christ so that I become more like him and
• 39:47
  say, I'm a believer if I don't believe any of
• 39:50
  that. Or if I say that all my entrance in is
• 39:56
  based upon what I do. Justification is by faith
• 40:04
  alone, not by faith and works. Faith alone. My
• 40:13
  expression of the faith is seen in my virtues
• 40:18
  lived. That's what that means. And so, I pray
• 40:25
  that you hold on to the knowledge of God and
• 40:30
  that you are eager to grow in the knowledge so
• 40:33
  that you can absolutely know and be certain that
• 40:38
  your faith is true. That you confirm You're calling
• 40:43
  an election to be sure because of Christ and
• 40:48
  knowing him. That's the reality of 1 Peter 1,
• 40:53
  1 -11. Father, I want to thank you so much for
• 40:57
  your goodness and faithfulness. To you be honor
• 41:00
  and glory forever. Bless your word, and Lord,
• 41:03
  I pray that we would live it in such a way that
• 41:05
  you are honored and glorified in how we express
• 41:09
  these virtues. and honor you in all things. In
• 41:12
  Jesus' name, amen.