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2-Peter · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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Speaker 1: Contrary to the popular message of our day, things are
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Speaker 1: not always better the second time around. I can think
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Speaker 1: of a number of sequels that have been inferior to originals,
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Speaker 1: and perhaps you can too. I have some contacts that
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Speaker 1: I have met along the way in life that have
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Speaker 1: been so convinced that their marriage was in such terrible
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Speaker 1: shape the only answer for them was another marriage, and
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Speaker 1: to their dismay, the second time around was even worse
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Speaker 1: than the first. In fact, statistics show that the second
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Speaker 1: time around marriages have a less chance of making it
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Speaker 1: than the first time around, to a surprising degree. This
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Speaker 1: is also true in the music realm, if you have
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Speaker 1: ever tried your hand or watched those that have done it.
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Speaker 1: In the writing of music, almost by surprise or mistake,
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Speaker 1: or a fluke, as they often call it, the first
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Speaker 1: piece that is written is a wonderful success, and this
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Speaker 1: young budding writer of music decides that from now on
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Speaker 1: whatever he writes will be a success, only to discover
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Speaker 1: nothing sells like the first one sold, and it is
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Speaker 1: a terrible disappointment. Publishers tell writers that if you have
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Speaker 1: written a best seller, there is no guarantee you will
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Speaker 1: ever again in your life write another best seller. It
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Speaker 1: may have been a mistake the first time around. The
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Speaker 1: film industry is discovering that sequels don't work too well either.
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Speaker 1: Jaws caused people to stand in line for blocks around
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Speaker 1: the local theater, scared them so much they didn't take
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Speaker 1: baths for weeks after watching Jaws. Jaws two was a
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Speaker 1: total flock, or near it. Exorcists seem to be of
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Speaker 1: enough curiosity to bring people out from under the rocks
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Speaker 1: and again scared them. Exorcists two nothing at all. It's
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Speaker 1: a known fact that even in the sports world there
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Speaker 1: is what is called the sophomore jinx. A professional sportsperson
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Speaker 1: may have a wonderful rookie season, and everybody looks to
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Speaker 1: that person to have a terrific second year, only to
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Speaker 1: discover that he hardly makes the starting lineup by the
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Speaker 1: third year, and to his dismay, all of that bright
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Speaker 1: and enjoyable experience the first time around is a forgotten dream.
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Speaker 1: But what is true of films, or music, or books,
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Speaker 1: or marriage, for that matter, even sports is not true
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Speaker 1: of the Bible. I have never met any one who
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Speaker 1: said that First Corinthians is far superior to Second Corinthians
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Speaker 1: or second Timothy just doesn't quite have it like First
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Speaker 1: Timothy has it, or Second Thessalonians seems to lack what
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Speaker 1: First Thessalonians has. And the second and third letters of John,
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Speaker 1: though they may be smaller and seemingly minor, have a
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Speaker 1: magnificent and major message that not even First John includes.
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Speaker 1: I'm pleased when we come to the book of Second
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Speaker 1: Peter that we come to the second one that Peter
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Speaker 1: wrote in sequence, but not the second one in importance,
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Speaker 1: little over sixty verses in length, and yet it is
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Speaker 1: a book of remarkable significance for the Christian, as we're
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Speaker 1: going to discover in this study. It is well, let
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Speaker 1: me give you a couple or three facts about the
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Speaker 1: letter itself. First of all, it is more difficult to
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Speaker 1: understand than the first letter. It's more difficult to read.
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Speaker 1: If you have been a student of scripture for some time,
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Speaker 1: you have probably read both books more than once, perhaps
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Speaker 1: many times, and you could testify to the fact that
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Speaker 1: First Peter sort of reads itself. There's a simple theme
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Speaker 1: that's woven through the fabric of these five chapters, and
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Speaker 1: it's the suffering Christian. It's clearly stated, it is repeated,
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Speaker 1: it is illustrated, there are warnings, there are encouraging words given,
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Speaker 1: but it's clear it's a book to suffering saints. But
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Speaker 1: when you come to second Peter, it isn't that clear.
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Speaker 1: It is quite honestly, a bit unclear and at times tedious.
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Speaker 1: Some tell us that it's because there was a different
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Speaker 1: manuensis that assisted Peter in writing the letter, which is
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Speaker 1: a big word for a secretary. In those days, men
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Speaker 1: often didn't write their own works for whatever reason that
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Speaker 1: they had alongside a servant heart a person who was
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Speaker 1: willing to study with this person and travel with this
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Speaker 1: person and write correspondence and assist that person. Calling a manuensis,
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Speaker 1: some feel it was because of that that there is
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Speaker 1: such a different style. But aside from style, that would
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Speaker 1: not make the letter complicated, for Peter is not by
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Speaker 1: nature a complicated person. It's a very simple man with
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Speaker 1: the fisherman's background. But this second letter is it's tough
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Speaker 1: to grasp. I think it would help to see in
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Speaker 1: verse twelve of chapter one, along with verse thirteen and
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Speaker 1: then the first verse of chapter three, a basic purpose
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Speaker 1: Peter has in mind as to why may be unclear
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Speaker 1: or at least complicated. He says in one twelve. I
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Speaker 1: shall always be ready to remind you of these things,
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Speaker 1: even though you already know them and have been established
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Speaker 1: in the truth which is present with you. And I
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Speaker 1: consider it right as long as I am in this
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Speaker 1: earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder.
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Speaker 1: And over in chapter three, verse one, similar words with
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Speaker 1: that last verse we read this is now beloved, the
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Speaker 1: second letter I'm writing to you, in which I am
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Speaker 1: stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder. Similar words,
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Speaker 1: aren't they? These These two comments Peter makes tell us
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Speaker 1: that his desire was to plow up, to stir up,
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Speaker 1: to create thinking, to bring to our remembrance things that
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Speaker 1: we have learned and perhaps put on hold or have
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Speaker 1: temporarily forgotten. So in the stirring up style of Second Peter,
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Speaker 1: he would naturally bring things that were provocative. Rather than
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Speaker 1: stating the calming truths of God, he stirs us up
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Speaker 1: so as to make us think and come to terms
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Speaker 1: with new truths or some that we haven't thought of
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Speaker 1: for some time. The second fact I would say about
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Speaker 1: Second Peter is that it is both strange and surprising,
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Speaker 1: not only strange by what it mentions and we'll see
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Speaker 1: more of that later, but surprising by what it leaves out.
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Speaker 1: I made a list of some of the things. There
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Speaker 1: is not a word about Christ's suffering, Christ's resurrection in
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Speaker 1: Second Peter. There is not a word about his ascension.
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Speaker 1: There is nothing about the body of Christ. There is
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Speaker 1: nothing about the Holy Spirit, about prayer, about baptism, about
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Speaker 1: the passionate call of men and women to follow Christ closer. Now,
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Speaker 1: if you took those things out of First Peter, you
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Speaker 1: wouldn't have a letter. But these things are all conspicuous
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Speaker 1: by their absence from the second letter. I find that
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Speaker 1: a little surprising. The third fact that I would share
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Speaker 1: with you about Second Peter is that it is a
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Speaker 1: letter that hides its theme rather than highlights it. We
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Speaker 1: mentioned earlier that First Peter highlights the theme of suffering,
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Speaker 1: but I would imagine most of us would have trouble
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Speaker 1: finding a single theme throughout the letter of Second Peter.
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Speaker 1: It's a hidden message. It takes time to read over it.
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Speaker 1: Have you a friend who is a bit complicated, or
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Speaker 1: let's call it to be nice deep, A person who
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Speaker 1: doesn't see things quite like many around may see those
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Speaker 1: same things and to track them, whether it's in a
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Speaker 1: telephone conversation or face to face or an evening over dinner.
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Speaker 1: To track that person means you really have to think.
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Speaker 1: You can't just be preoccupied with other things and expect
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Speaker 1: to get what that person is saying. Second Peter is
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Speaker 1: like that. You can't let your mind wander very far
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Speaker 1: and grasp what this old, dying apostle is teaching in
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Speaker 1: this second and great letter of his. So let's put
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Speaker 1: it in the plural. There are some themes interwoven through
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Speaker 1: the book of Second Peter. I see in the form
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Speaker 1: of an arrow. If you please, let's put three feathers
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Speaker 1: on the end of this arrow. Let's give it a stem,
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Speaker 1: and let's give it a point. And if we can
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Speaker 1: put all of that together, I think we will be
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Speaker 1: pushed in the right direction if we see these themes
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Speaker 1: working together. First the little feathers on the end that
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Speaker 1: give the arrow a straight trajectory, a straight course. There
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Speaker 1: are three themes that are interwoven in a hidden way
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Speaker 1: through Second Peter. First warnings, second reminders, and third promises.
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Speaker 1: And all the way through the letter of Second Peter,
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Speaker 1: he is reminding, he is warning, and he is promising
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Speaker 1: us certain things Now, when these three parts fit together
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Speaker 1: into the stem of our symbol and arrow, you have
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Speaker 1: to add diligence in that stem. These things don't automatically
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Speaker 1: work for us, but when we apply the warnings, the reminders,
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Speaker 1: and the promises with great diligence, then we are moving
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Speaker 1: in a direction the point of the er hope. There's
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Speaker 1: hope in life. So I suppose what I would suggest
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Speaker 1: is not one theme, but five warnings, reminders and promises
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Speaker 1: applied with diligence to give us hope. And by the way,
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Speaker 1: this is the one thing that our world looks for
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Speaker 1: and cannot find within its ranks, hope. Ours is a hopeless,
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Speaker 1: desperate world, highs and lows in the newscast, hot and
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Speaker 1: cold days, tragedies mixed with victories. And we're back again
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Speaker 1: on a Monday morning, with hopelessness, nothing to hang on to,
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Speaker 1: nothing to look forward to, sort of a valueless, aimless
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Speaker 1: world trying to find its way. And this letter is saying,
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Speaker 1: if you want to know how to go, you must
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Speaker 1: address the warnings of God, Remember the reminders of God,
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Speaker 1: take the promises of God, and with diligence live them out,
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Speaker 1: and you'll have hope. You'll have it, and you'll never
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Speaker 1: run out of it. It'll be in season, and it'll
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Speaker 1: fit when you are in an out of season time.
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Speaker 2: It is always always relevant.
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Speaker 1: Now, let's sort of take an overview of this book
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Speaker 1: of Second Peter. I'm glad it's not quite so long,
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Speaker 1: so we don't have to just flash through it, taking
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Speaker 1: just just highlights along the way. Let's take our time
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Speaker 1: as we work through. You may want to follow along
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Speaker 1: in the little horizontal chart we've given you to look
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Speaker 1: at on the opposite side of the outline, you will
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Speaker 1: notice that the letter falls into really three parts five
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Speaker 1: if you include an introduction and a conclusion. But the
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Speaker 1: three main parts of the letter, divided by each of
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Speaker 1: the three chapters, would be first moral corruption, second doctrinal compromise,
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Speaker 1: and third prophetic concern. In Peter's mind are these three things,
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Speaker 1: it seems, and in each case he gives a warning,
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Speaker 1: he gives reminders, and he gives a promise or two
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Speaker 1: that are to be taken with diligence so that we
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Speaker 1: might live with hope. Look at the introductory words, Simon Peter,
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Speaker 1: a bond servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those
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Speaker 1: who have received a faith of the same kind as ours.
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Speaker 1: By the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
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Speaker 1: grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge
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Speaker 1: of God and of Jesus our Lord, seeing that he
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Speaker 1: is divine power. Now watch this, seeing that his divine
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Speaker 1: power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and
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Speaker 1: godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us
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Speaker 1: by his own glory and excellence. Now you talk about
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Speaker 1: being adequately equipped. Verse three is a magnificent promise. By
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Speaker 1: God's divine power, he has granted to his children everything
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Speaker 1: pertaining to living and pertaining to godliness.
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Speaker 2: How about that.
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Speaker 1: You're looking for things that are going to supply you
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Speaker 1: with direction in life, You've got them. If you have Christ.
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Speaker 1: You're looking for hope to get you through when things
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Speaker 1: seem to be caving in all around you. You're looking
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Speaker 1: for godliness, the kind of quality living that Christ lived.
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Speaker 1: You have those things, all those things that pertain to
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Speaker 1: life and godliness through your knowledge of Him. What a beginning.
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Speaker 1: As he addresses these people who have received a faith
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Speaker 1: of the same kind, I am encouraged by that, knowing
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Speaker 1: that there is no special decree given to first century
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Speaker 1: saints that is not applicable to those in the twenty
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Speaker 1: first century. I've had people tell me I just wish
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Speaker 1: I could return to the first century, how wonderful it
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Speaker 1: must have been just to have seen those things and
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Speaker 1: been there. That might have been wonderful. But I wouldn't
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Speaker 1: trade our generation for any Furthermore, I think our world,
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Speaker 1: the one in which we live, has an incredible amount
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Speaker 1: of possibilities that not even they in that first century
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Speaker 1: had opportunities to spread the message, to get it out,
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Speaker 1: and to get it out quickly and thoroughly. And we're
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Speaker 1: equipped with all those things we need to do that
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Speaker 1: kind of job. In our generation, everything is equipped for us.
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Speaker 1: I don't know if you who hear me right now
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Speaker 1: have had the joy of having children born into your family,
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Speaker 1: But for those of us who are moms and dads,
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Speaker 1: there is nothing quite as exciting as holding in our
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Speaker 1: arms for the first time our little babies. We don't
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Speaker 1: announce it to everybody when it happens, but when we
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Speaker 1: get that little creature in our arms, we start counting.
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Speaker 1: We count fingers, and we count toes, and we look
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Speaker 1: close at those little tiny eyes, and we look at
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Speaker 1: the little nose, and we open the mouth and we
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Speaker 1: look all inside there. We're looking for equipment, We're looking
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Speaker 1: to make sure that all of those things are there.
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Speaker 1: When our second child was born, she was born after
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Speaker 1: a very very difficult pregnancy, and we just knew we
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Speaker 1: wouldn't Cynthia wouldn't be carrying Caresa to term. But she did,
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Speaker 1: and after an enormous amount of just about five months
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Speaker 1: in bed and a lot of hemorrhaging and a lot
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Speaker 1: of threat of loss of losing her, we had the
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Speaker 1: joy of seeing that little creature born. And I remember
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Speaker 1: when the doctor rolled that little thing out to us,
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Speaker 1: and she was just as red as a beat and
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Speaker 1: just as homely as she could be. Now she's no
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Speaker 1: longer homely, but I remember looking over inside that little
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Speaker 1: little tiny incubator where they hit her, and I immediately
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Speaker 1: started counting all that equipment. She had, everything that pertained
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Speaker 1: to life, everything, And my heart just kind of beat faster,
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Speaker 1: and it got a big lump in my wrote when
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Speaker 1: I thought.
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Speaker 2: It's all there. Praise God.
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Speaker 1: When God looks at his children and he counts within
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Speaker 1: us the things that are needed, he finds that we're
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Speaker 1: fully equipped. There's nothing missing, which amazes me. When I
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Speaker 1: meet up with Christians that are looking for something else,
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Speaker 1: searching for new equipment, trying to find some special something
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Speaker 1: that will make life for them or make Godliness real,
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Speaker 1: I'm reminded of tewod Peter one three.
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Speaker 2: You have it all, Just use it. You've got it,
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Speaker 2: Put it to use.
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Speaker 1: Now. For the balance of chapter one, there is an
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Speaker 1: addressing of maral compromise or maral corruption, we'll call it,
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Speaker 1: because that's what he calls it in verse four, referring
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Speaker 1: to God's own glory and excellence. For by these he
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Speaker 1: has granted to us us his precious and magnificent promises,
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Speaker 1: in order that by them you might become partakers of
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Speaker 1: the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in
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Speaker 1: the world by lust. Now for this very reason, applying
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Speaker 1: all diligence, there it is, I've got it circle in
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Speaker 1: my Bible for this reason, for what reason, for the
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Speaker 1: purpose of escaping the corruption that is in the world
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Speaker 1: by lust. For this very reason, applying all diligence, there
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Speaker 1: are some things you'll need to put to use. You
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Speaker 1: have all of the equipment you need. Now apply diligence.
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Speaker 1: You see, the Christian life is not automatically victorious. You
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Speaker 1: are not automatically protected from the blast of winter in
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Speaker 1: the Midwest in February, just by war. Looking out in
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Speaker 1: the weather, you have to put on the garments. You
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Speaker 1: have to prepare yourself for the outdoors, or you'll freeze
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Speaker 1: to death. He's giving us here some clothing, some steps
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Speaker 1: to take that will put to use this equipment that
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Speaker 1: God has given us. Look at what he mentions, applying
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Speaker 1: all diligence. Supply to your faith, moral excellence, and in
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Speaker 1: moral excellence, ad knowledge and to knowledge, self control and
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Speaker 1: with self control, perseverance and with perseverance godliness, and in
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Speaker 1: your godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, add Christian love.
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Speaker 1: You want to know where to start in applying the
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Speaker 1: diligence of a godly life. Start with that list. God
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Speaker 1: makes it out carefully through the pin of Peter. Now
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Speaker 1: he even gives you a promise in verse eight. I
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Speaker 1: think this is a grand promise. If these qualities are
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Speaker 1: yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor
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Speaker 1: unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Speaker 1: He mentions in that verse two very real battles and
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Speaker 1: common failures causing us not to escape moral corruption. One
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Speaker 1: is uselessness and the other is unfruitfulness, two of our
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Speaker 1: most common failures. He says, if you apply these things
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Speaker 1: with diligence, you will find that your life is neither
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Speaker 1: useless nor unfruitful. Now the warning is in verses nine
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Speaker 1: to ten or verse nine. For he who lacks these
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Speaker 1: qualities see the contrast verse eight. If these qualities are
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Speaker 1: you verse nine. But he who lacks these qualities is
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Speaker 1: blind or short sighted, and has forgotten his purification from
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Speaker 1: his former sins. It's a sad contrast. You meet up
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Speaker 1: with Christians now and then that are walking in the
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Speaker 1: carnal life. They have begun to live lives that are
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Speaker 1: blind and short sighted. They have forgotten that they have
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Speaker 1: been purified from their former sins, and they are living
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Speaker 1: as though they have not. Therefore, he adds, and I
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Speaker 1: have circled this be all the more diligent to make
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Speaker 1: certain about his calling and choosing. You be certain that
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Speaker 1: you're in the family of God. For as long as
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Speaker 1: you practice these things. Talk about a promise you will
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Speaker 1: never stumble. Practice what things the things listed in verses
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Speaker 1: five through eight. If you practice these things, you will
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Speaker 1: never stumble You'll always win. Reminds me of when I
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Speaker 1: was in high school. I was I was too little
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Speaker 1: to play football, and so I love to gang up
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Speaker 1: with the guys down at the at the end of
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Speaker 1: our street. We played a little sandlot football alongside a
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Speaker 1: Methodist church that that had a building on one part
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Speaker 1: of its property but had left the other side just
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Speaker 1: a wide open field. And I can't recall the hours
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Speaker 1: that I spent down there with all the buddies from
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Speaker 1: the neighborhood that, like like I were too small to
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Speaker 1: play on the ball team at school, and so they
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Speaker 1: had we had our own game. And for some reason,
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Speaker 1: there was a fellow named Bruce who didn't play high
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Speaker 1: school football either. He was good enough to play, but
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Speaker 1: he didn't. And it didn't take me long to realize
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Speaker 1: that that he was the best thing around when it
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Speaker 1: came to play playing sandlot football. And if somehow when
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Speaker 1: the sides were chosen, I could get up next to
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Speaker 1: Bruce and get him to choose me. Boy, we had
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Speaker 1: a great game and we won. We won, as I
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Speaker 1: recall about every time now. The secret, of course, was
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Speaker 1: developing a relationship with the guy that chose sides, and
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Speaker 1: so in my off hours. I would do some of that,
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Speaker 1: buy him a coke every now and then tell him
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Speaker 1: what a great guy was you know, developed that school
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Speaker 1: and before we knew we were just really good friends.
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Speaker 1: And as long as I played on Bruce side, would
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Speaker 1: win the game. I think, if nothing else, that's a
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Speaker 1: pretty good illustration of what this is saying here. As
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Speaker 1: long as you practice these things, you'll never stumble, you'll
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Speaker 1: never lose. We choose up sides each morning for your life,
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Speaker 1: and when you begin to play the game through the day,
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Speaker 1: be sure that you're on a winning side. That means
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Speaker 1: you'll have to cultivate a relationship with your savior, and
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Speaker 1: that means you'll need to spend some time doing that,
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Speaker 1: talking to him, listening to him, thinking with him about
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Speaker 1: the things you encounter through the day. I think it
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Speaker 1: is wrong Christians for us to face the world as
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Speaker 1: though we ought to be intimidated. This says you will
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Speaker 1: not stumble when you face a morally corrupt world if
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Speaker 1: you apply these things. We are not helpless little victims.
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Speaker 1: We are more than conquerors through Him.
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Speaker 2: Who loved us.
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Speaker 1: Romans eight tells us, let's live like that. When we
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Speaker 1: don't live like that, We've just simply chosen the wrong
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Speaker 1: side to play on. When you play on his side,
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Speaker 1: you will not stumble. Now in the balance of the chapter,
26:05
Speaker 1: he simply goes over those same things from a different perspective.
26:08
Speaker 1: And I do want to say a word toward the
26:10
Speaker 1: end of the chapter about the role of the Word
26:13
Speaker 1: of God in all of this verse nineteen down through
26:18
Speaker 1: twenty one. And so we have the prophetic word made
26:22
Speaker 1: more sure, we have the scriptures to which you do
26:27
Speaker 1: well to pay attention. As to a lamp shining in
26:30
Speaker 1: a dark place, well, that's a vivid illustration, is it?
26:34
Speaker 1: Until the day dawn and the morning star arises in
26:37
Speaker 1: your hearts? And know this first of all, that no
26:41
Speaker 1: prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation.
26:47
Speaker 1: For no prophecy was ever made by an act of
26:50
Speaker 1: human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke
26:54
Speaker 1: from God. Let me start at the bottom and work backwards.
26:58
Speaker 1: The way he writes verse twenty one is highly important.
27:03
Speaker 1: One of the watershed issues of our generation, and it
27:06
Speaker 1: will always be in every generation, is the inerrancy of scripture,
27:12
Speaker 1: the importance of our believing that God's word is verbally inspired,
27:18
Speaker 1: that what we have in the original documents, right down
27:20
Speaker 1: to the very choice of words, phrases, and even the
27:24
Speaker 1: way the writer has written it. We have the very
27:27
Speaker 1: mind of Christ, free from error. It has been preserved
27:32
Speaker 1: for us. It is reliable now. It did not come
27:37
Speaker 1: by an act of human will by men moved on
27:40
Speaker 1: their own, but moved by the Holy Spirit. The term
27:44
Speaker 1: that is used by Peter translated moved means moved out
27:49
Speaker 1: of one's own power, moved apart from one's own manipulation.
27:57
Speaker 1: It is a nautical term used of a boat that
28:01
Speaker 1: has lost its mast, its sail, and it is at
28:05
Speaker 1: the mercy of the waves and the winds and the
28:09
Speaker 1: current of the ocean, and it is being moved about
28:13
Speaker 1: outside its own power. I keep this up, I'm gonna
28:16
Speaker 1: get seasick up here.
28:18
Speaker 2: The idea is the boat is sort of pushed.
28:20
Speaker 1: Along, and there isn't a rudder, there isn't a sail,
28:23
Speaker 1: and there isn't a mass to give it direction by
28:26
Speaker 1: the helmsman. But the men who wrote scripture were moved
28:31
Speaker 1: out of their own power and moved by the Holy
28:37
Speaker 1: Spirit to put scripture into writing. Meaning what we have
28:42
Speaker 1: in the scriptures is really a compilation of the very
28:45
Speaker 1: mind of God, written by his pen the person of
28:49
Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit. Therefore you can count on it. No
28:56
Speaker 1: prophecy of scripture has come by any other manner, And
29:02
Speaker 1: so with this more sure word of prophecy, we are
29:05
Speaker 1: to pay attention to it as a lamp shining in
29:07
Speaker 1: darkness that is so vivid. I there are times in
29:12
Speaker 1: my life that the decision is dark, it's muddy, it's uncertain,
29:21
Speaker 1: And at those times I get to I confess to
29:23
Speaker 1: you a little bit, a little bit frightened, because I'm
29:28
Speaker 1: not sure that I'm going to make the right decision
29:33
Speaker 1: at such times. And I wish I could say I
29:36
Speaker 1: do this every time. But at the times when I
29:40
Speaker 1: simply take God's word and begin to read through some
29:46
Speaker 1: sections of it that have become very meaningful to me
29:50
Speaker 1: at such time, it is remarkable how this passage becomes
29:54
Speaker 1: a lamp that simply shines a light through the darkness.
29:59
Speaker 1: He had that happen. It is just like someone turning
30:05
Speaker 1: on the light and the room lights up, or maybe
30:09
Speaker 1: it will be just enough light to see the next
30:12
Speaker 1: step and no further. But you take that one and
30:17
Speaker 1: then the following day, still not sure about what God
30:20
Speaker 1: is saying. You go back to this book, and you
30:23
Speaker 1: turn to this more sure word of prophecy, and you
30:26
Speaker 1: ask in faith for Him to make that very real
30:29
Speaker 1: and meaningful to you right now, and to show you
30:32
Speaker 1: his direction as you're working.
30:34
Speaker 2: Through this passage of scriptures. He does that.
30:37
Speaker 1: He turns on lights. He sets fire to the mantle,
30:42
Speaker 1: so that the lamp begins to shine light into the
30:45
Speaker 1: darkened areas. I hope you are gleaning from our study
30:49
Speaker 1: through the whole Bible the value of these books to
30:53
Speaker 1: living and the role of the scriptures in life. My
30:58
Speaker 1: life would be in total disarray if it were not
31:03
Speaker 1: for the true word of God. I don't know what
31:08
Speaker 1: I would do if I didn't have it to turn to. Now,
31:11
Speaker 1: knowing that this is true, there will always be false teachers,
31:15
Speaker 1: false prophets, who will make it their ambition to compromise
31:21
Speaker 1: the truth, not only for themselves but for their following.
31:26
Speaker 1: Peter knows this, and, knowing that it will be intensified
31:30
Speaker 1: in the latter days, he writes this second chapter for
31:34
Speaker 1: us to have that warning. In fact, he says in
31:37
Speaker 1: the first three verses words to be remembered. False prophets
31:41
Speaker 1: also arose among the people, just as there will also
31:45
Speaker 1: be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies,
31:54
Speaker 1: even denying the master who bought them, bringing swift destruction
32:02
Speaker 1: upon themselves. Will they have a following oh verse two.
32:08
Speaker 1: Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them, the
32:13
Speaker 1: way of the truth will be maligned. And in their greed,
32:21
Speaker 1: they will exploit you with false words. Their judgment from
32:28
Speaker 1: long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.
32:38
Speaker 1: With this in mind, I have come across a very helpful,
32:43
Speaker 1: at least helpful for me, list of three or four
32:46
Speaker 1: characteristics of false teachers, and I would like to pass
32:51
Speaker 1: them on to you. Some of them are original with me,
32:55
Speaker 1: and some of them are not. I've kind of mixed
32:57
Speaker 1: together some from my own study as well as other verses,
33:00
Speaker 1: as well as these three verses, and let me share
33:03
Speaker 1: them with you. Here is the first of four. Number one,
33:07
Speaker 1: false prophets are more interested in gaining popularity than telling
33:12
Speaker 1: the truth. False prophets are more interested in gaining popularity
33:19
Speaker 1: than telling the truth. Listen long enough, watch close enough,
33:27
Speaker 1: and you will discover that false teachers care greatly about
33:33
Speaker 1: popularity with men and women far more than they care
33:40
Speaker 1: about telling the truth. They're the ones who say peace,
33:43
Speaker 1: peace when there is no peace. The second, false prophets
33:50
Speaker 1: are more interested in receiving than in giving. As we
33:58
Speaker 1: just read, they are greedy and they will exploit you.
34:02
Speaker 1: False teachers are interested in getting much more than in giving.
34:08
Speaker 1: Getting your money, getting your allegiance, getting your submission to
34:14
Speaker 1: their will, getting your following, getting your praise. True teachers
34:22
Speaker 1: will redirect praise. True teachers will redirect the allegiance of
34:32
Speaker 1: God's people to the person of Christ himself. False teachers
34:39
Speaker 1: long for money, fame, fortune, pleasure, the glory. They are
34:43
Speaker 1: not servants at heart. They are really greedy souls. Three
34:49
Speaker 1: false prophets personal lives. Let me put it this way.
34:58
Speaker 1: The personal lives of a false prophet is a seduction
35:02
Speaker 1: to evil rather than an attraction to good. Let's say
35:07
Speaker 1: it that way. The personal life of a false prophet
35:10
Speaker 1: is a seduction to evil rather than an attraction to good. Finally,
35:22
Speaker 1: false prophets lead people away from God instead of closer
35:26
Speaker 1: to God. Now, if you think I've been too severe
35:34
Speaker 1: on false prophets, then you haven't read Second Peter, Chapter two.
35:38
Speaker 1: I have been rather easy Peter is severe. I think
35:43
Speaker 1: we need to be severe with false prophets. Frankly, I
35:47
Speaker 1: think we ought not give them the time of day,
35:50
Speaker 1: except to expose them, to tell the truth about them.
35:55
Speaker 1: Jesus did not take it easy on false teachers. He
36:00
Speaker 1: and meek and mild. When it came to liars and hypocrites.
36:05
Speaker 1: He took to task those that were whitewashed sepulchers who
36:09
Speaker 1: looked like the living but really represented the dead. And
36:15
Speaker 1: all the way through scripture, strong stands are taken against
36:19
Speaker 1: false teachers, and they are in every generation. You can
36:23
Speaker 1: find them mentioned right here as he goes from the
36:25
Speaker 1: beginning of time all the way down to his present
36:29
Speaker 1: day in the first century, and again and again he
36:32
Speaker 1: exposes them. You think we're helpless victims. Verse nine tells
36:36
Speaker 1: you there is a promise to cling to. The promise
36:40
Speaker 1: in chapter two, Verse nine is that the Lord will
36:42
Speaker 1: rescue us. The Lord knows how to rescue the godly
36:47
Speaker 1: from temptation and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for
36:53
Speaker 1: the day of judgment, especially those who indulge the flesh
36:57
Speaker 1: in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring self willed.
37:05
Speaker 1: They don't tremble when they revile angelic majesties, and he
37:09
Speaker 1: goes on to expose the truth of them. He says,
37:12
Speaker 1: verse thirteen, they counted a pleasure to revel in the daytime.
37:16
Speaker 1: They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions. They corouse,
37:21
Speaker 1: they have eyes full of adultery, and they never cease
37:25
Speaker 1: from sin enticing noted unstable souls having a heart trained
37:33
Speaker 1: in greed. Accursed children. Wow, those are very strong words.
37:43
Speaker 1: I hope you haven't much tolerance for false teachers. I
37:46
Speaker 1: hope you are not the kind that just will entertain
37:48
Speaker 1: anybody who comes to your door. I hope you have
37:51
Speaker 1: enough a biblical and doctrinal backbone to realize that a
37:55
Speaker 1: lie is going on and you haven't the time for it.
38:00
Speaker 1: It's extremely, extremely important that you not only possess that
38:04
Speaker 1: kind of gristle, but that you pass that on to
38:06
Speaker 1: the younger generation. And don't be mesmerized by the numbers
38:13
Speaker 1: that follow a leader. Numbers prove nothing except there's a
38:20
Speaker 1: mob out there. That's all that numbers prove. I read
38:25
Speaker 1: just this past week of a man defining leadership, and
38:27
Speaker 1: with a twinkle in his eye, he said, perhaps the
38:30
Speaker 1: best test of whether one is a qualified leader is
38:33
Speaker 1: to find out whether anyone is following him. That may
38:36
Speaker 1: be true of being a leader, but that is not
38:39
Speaker 1: a good test of a true teacher. Some true teachers
38:44
Speaker 1: are not followed by enormous throngs of people. Some of
38:50
Speaker 1: them spend most of their lives simply slugging it out
38:54
Speaker 1: in tough places, while across the city there may be
38:58
Speaker 1: a false prophet that has been, you know, popularly received
39:05
Speaker 1: by the masses and having all kinds of plans for
39:08
Speaker 1: the future. If you go by the crowd, you will
39:11
Speaker 1: be you will be a misled Uh. It's it's extremely
39:17
Speaker 1: important Christians that we that we think with a razor
39:25
Speaker 1: sharp minds concerning the truth. And here again is the Bible.
39:29
Speaker 1: If what is being taught can be supported in scripture,
39:33
Speaker 1: count on it. If it lacks biblical support, leave it,
39:40
Speaker 1: turn it off. And anyone who claims to be a
39:46
Speaker 1: teacher of the truth will count it a privilege. If
39:49
Speaker 1: you asked for biblical support to come up with it,
39:52
Speaker 1: or to confess that they haven't got it. False prophets
39:57
Speaker 1: will exploit and will rationalize, and will put you to
40:02
Speaker 1: embarrassment for such questions. But they are the ones, in
40:05
Speaker 1: fact who need such hard questions. Anyway, I hope you've
40:09
Speaker 1: got the point. We must, in this day of doctrinal compromise,
40:14
Speaker 1: understand the value of standing on the word of God.
40:18
Speaker 1: It is our only hope of survival. Now, in the
40:22
Speaker 1: last chapter, we have a prophetic concern, and Peter says again,
40:26
Speaker 1: I'm stirring up your mind, beloved. The second letter I'm
40:30
Speaker 1: writing to you is one in which I'm stirring up
40:32
Speaker 1: your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should
40:35
Speaker 1: remember the words spoken beforehand by the Holy prophets, and
40:39
Speaker 1: the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.
40:44
Speaker 1: I love that you'll always find people looking for new fads,
40:49
Speaker 1: new phases, new little twists of the truth. Peter says,
40:53
Speaker 1: I'm not bringing you anything that's new. I'm bringing you,
40:59
Speaker 1: if I could use today, the terms apostolic stuff, and
41:03
Speaker 1: I'm saying to you, find satisfaction in the Apostolic message
41:09
Speaker 1: rather than some newfangled deal that's being brought in for
41:14
Speaker 1: your generation. He says, remember the words spoken beforehand by prophets,
41:20
Speaker 1: by the commandment of the Lord and Savior, spoken by
41:23
Speaker 1: the apostles, that's good enough. That'll keep you busy for
41:28
Speaker 1: an awfully long time. Now you will have those in
41:32
Speaker 1: our day that will say just what verses three and
41:34
Speaker 1: four say. It's called the theory of uniformitarianism. Know this
41:39
Speaker 1: first of all, that in the last days, mockers will
41:42
Speaker 1: come with their mockings, following after their own luss and saying,
41:46
Speaker 1: where is the promise of His coming? For ever since
41:51
Speaker 1: the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was
41:55
Speaker 1: from the beginning of creation. Now, wait, wait, wait, Christian,
41:59
Speaker 1: wait a minute. You're telling me. You're telling me that
42:03
Speaker 1: God is going to interrupt time and he's going to
42:06
Speaker 1: come back. And you're telling me that he is going
42:11
Speaker 1: to move into this world and rearrange things and reestablish
42:18
Speaker 1: himself as the king, and he's going to stop the
42:23
Speaker 1: movement of time. It's never happened before. Where is this
42:29
Speaker 1: promise of his coming? Look at verse five, Peter does
42:33
Speaker 1: a wondrous thing. When they maintain this, it escapes their notice,
42:39
Speaker 1: isn't that kind? It escapes their notice that by the
42:42
Speaker 1: word of God, the heavens existed long ago, and the
42:45
Speaker 1: earth was formed out of water, and by water through
42:48
Speaker 1: which the world at that time was destroyed being flooded
42:51
Speaker 1: with water. Isn't it remarkable that those who make such
42:56
Speaker 1: a claim that God has never interrupted the events of
42:59
Speaker 1: life are simply overlooking a flood. There came a time
43:05
Speaker 1: when God interrupted before, and he brought water upon this
43:09
Speaker 1: earth like it had never known before. He brought judgment
43:14
Speaker 1: to this earth. It escapes their notice, this massive piece
43:20
Speaker 1: of evidence that cuts the heart out of their theory.
43:26
Speaker 1: Their theory, pardon the pund doesn't hold water. The simple
43:30
Speaker 1: fact is God came and brought water an interrupted time,
43:35
Speaker 1: and if he did it once, he can certainly do
43:38
Speaker 1: it again. In fact, he will verse eight. Now do
43:46
Speaker 1: not let it escape your notice, beloved, that God is
43:52
Speaker 1: alone and unique. First of all, he has a unique timetable.
43:56
Speaker 1: One day with him is as a thousand years, and
43:58
Speaker 1: a thousand years is one day. People try to do
44:00
Speaker 1: all kinds of mathematics, and they work on a calculator
44:03
Speaker 1: to come up with the thousand and one one thousand.
44:06
Speaker 2: Forget it.
44:07
Speaker 1: He is simply saying God's timetable is different from man's.
44:12
Speaker 1: He doesn't operate in the realm of a clock. He
44:14
Speaker 1: doesn't have twenty four hour days, he doesn't have winter,
44:17
Speaker 1: in summer, fall and spring. God isn't link to earth time.
44:22
Speaker 1: God is free of time. There are no days and nights.
44:29
Speaker 1: He is a unique time piece. It's called sovereign will,
44:38
Speaker 1: and he has a different strategy.
44:40
Speaker 2: Verse nine.
44:41
Speaker 1: The Lord isn't slow about his promise, as some count slowness,
44:45
Speaker 1: but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish,
44:49
Speaker 1: but for all to come to repentance. His strategy is
44:52
Speaker 1: different from man. He continues to tap his foot, patiently
44:57
Speaker 1: waiting out some individuals, waiting until they turned to him,
45:02
Speaker 1: patiently working out his strategy. Furthermore, God is a different
45:07
Speaker 1: plan and purpose. The day of the Lord will come
45:10
Speaker 1: like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away
45:14
Speaker 1: with a roar, and the elements will be destroyed with
45:16
Speaker 1: intense heat, and the earth and its works will be
45:20
Speaker 1: burned up. Ever had a thief get into your home?
45:26
Speaker 1: I hope not, but some of you have. It came
45:32
Speaker 1: at a time when you were absolutely surprised. It was
45:38
Speaker 1: planned that way. You were away. Nothing was announced. There
45:47
Speaker 1: was simply an arrival and an event. It was gone.
45:56
Speaker 1: Now for some amazing reason. We can accept that about
45:59
Speaker 1: human individuals. But people have such difficult time, believing that
46:04
Speaker 1: in a split second, without announcement, all things will change.
46:11
Speaker 2: It's God's sovereign.
46:12
Speaker 1: Right, and he has a plan that will be as
46:18
Speaker 1: swift and as silent as a thief in a night. Now,
46:26
Speaker 1: since all of this will be burned up, and since
46:28
Speaker 1: he has this plan to move into time and to
46:31
Speaker 1: change things, so drastically, look at the exhortation of verse eleven.
46:36
Speaker 1: Since these things are to be destroyed, what sort of
46:40
Speaker 1: people ought you to be in conducting godliness and wholly
46:44
Speaker 1: conducting godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day,
46:48
Speaker 1: on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning,
46:51
Speaker 1: and the elements will melt with intense heat. According to
46:55
Speaker 1: his promise, we're looking for new heavens and a new
46:57
Speaker 1: earth in which righteousness dwells. You talk about, hope, read
47:03
Speaker 1: that verse tomorrow morning instead of the front page of
47:06
Speaker 1: the paper. I mean, we're talking about a new heaven
47:10
Speaker 1: and a new earth in which there will be righteousness,
47:13
Speaker 1: dwelling and beloved. Since you look for these things, I
47:17
Speaker 1: have it circled again. Be diligent to be found in
47:20
Speaker 1: Him by peace, spotless and blameless. Verse seventeen knowing that
47:26
Speaker 1: this is true, beyond your guard, lest you be carried
47:30
Speaker 1: away by the error of unprincipled men. You fall from
47:33
Speaker 1: your own steadfastness, but keep on growing in grace and
47:36
Speaker 1: the knowledge of.
47:37
Speaker 2: The Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
47:41
Speaker 1: There it is in two words, are three words beyond
47:44
Speaker 1: guard verse seventeen. Be on guard lest you be carried away? Now,
47:51
Speaker 1: how do I stay aware and ready in my generation?
47:55
Speaker 2: How do I.
47:56
Speaker 1: Remain an alert, aware, discerning individual in light of Christ's
48:04
Speaker 1: eternal promise that He's going to return. Let me give
48:07
Speaker 1: you a little way to remember this. Take the word
48:10
Speaker 1: hope and write it in a column. You know, hope
48:14
Speaker 1: one below the other. Okay, let's just take the word
48:18
Speaker 1: hope and we'll attach a thought with each one of
48:20
Speaker 1: those letters as a point of remembrance, the first with
48:25
Speaker 1: the letter h to stay aware and ready in our generation.
48:30
Speaker 1: Heed what you already know? HWD. Heed what you already know.
48:37
Speaker 1: Sounds like a strange thing, but I purposely left it
48:41
Speaker 1: out when we went through it the first time. I
48:43
Speaker 1: want to go back to verse twelve of chapter one.
48:45
Speaker 1: Let me show you the basis for this principle. I
48:49
Speaker 1: shall always be ready to remind you of these things
48:52
Speaker 1: even though you already know them. Isn't that great? Sometime
48:59
Speaker 1: there are people who will say, well, you said that before, chuck,
49:02
Speaker 1: or you're repeating yourself. You are getting older, you may
49:07
Speaker 1: have forgotten you said that before.
49:09
Speaker 3: Oh.
49:09
Speaker 1: The greatest way of learning is repetition. Repetition, saying it again,
49:15
Speaker 1: reviewing it over and over and over. Heed what you
49:22
Speaker 1: already know. Most of us know more than the average
49:28
Speaker 1: American will discover about Christ in his lifetime. We are
49:36
Speaker 1: necked deep in the truth of God. Our problem is
49:40
Speaker 1: heeding it. If we stopped learning new things this very
49:46
Speaker 1: moment and simply drew from the reservoir of our deposit
49:51
Speaker 1: that's been in the vault of our lives these years
49:54
Speaker 1: we have been around Christian people, we would have plenty leftover.
49:59
Speaker 1: He what we already know that'll keep us alert, Keep
50:04
Speaker 1: us aware for goodness sake. Stop looking for new fads
50:10
Speaker 1: in your Christian walk. Now, second the word the letter
50:15
Speaker 1: uh oh, open your eyes and ears, simply listen and look.
50:25
Speaker 1: If you want to stay aware and ready, you've got
50:29
Speaker 1: to have that discernment mentioned in chapter two, verses one
50:33
Speaker 1: to three. They will exploit you with false words, Open
50:39
Speaker 1: your eyes, open your ears, Chapter three, verse seventeen. We
50:43
Speaker 1: just read it. Be on your guard. You would never
50:52
Speaker 1: believe the conversations that I've had in airports with some
50:56
Speaker 1: of the cultists. Really, you wouldn't believe them. And they
51:04
Speaker 1: keep coming back, they keep coming back. They're there again,
51:09
Speaker 1: they keep coming back. And I keep telling them, and
51:13
Speaker 1: I keep telling them, and I keep telling them. You
51:15
Speaker 1: tell them too, You tell them too. Don't buy their flowers,
51:19
Speaker 1: don't buy their books, don't play around with their stuff.
51:22
Speaker 1: Tell them straight, open your eyes, open your ears, say
51:29
Speaker 1: it straight. We are really a gullible body of people,
51:37
Speaker 1: and we need to stop that kind of thing. We're
51:39
Speaker 1: going to stay aware and ready. Third is the letter
51:42
Speaker 1: p Pursue a godly lifestyle, and that's chapter three, verses
51:48
Speaker 1: eleven and fourteen. Since these things are going to be destroyed,
51:53
Speaker 1: what sort of people ought you to be? In holy
51:55
Speaker 1: conduct and godliness? You cannot be enamored of the god
52:00
Speaker 1: less lifestyle, and stay.
52:02
Speaker 2: Aware and ready. It dulls the edge.
52:06
Speaker 1: Pursue a godly lifestyle, even if you live all alone,
52:10
Speaker 1: even if you haven't many companions around you to promise
52:13
Speaker 1: a great future for you. Pursue it, believe God. One
52:18
Speaker 1: of the things I think is a valuable about church
52:21
Speaker 1: worship and about the gathering of God's people is that
52:23
Speaker 1: we have a regular motivation toward purity. Don't we hear
52:28
Speaker 1: statements like this, and you around people like this that
52:31
Speaker 1: nod their heads in agreement with statements like that. You're
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Speaker 1: not alone a purity and a godly lifestyle that's so
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Speaker 1: important to pursue. Now. Finally, e expect Christ's return Chapter three,
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Speaker 1: verse twelve, looking for and hastening the coming of the
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Speaker 1: Lord Jesus. Expect his return. Well, wouldn't it be great
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Speaker 1: if he came tonight? Wouldn't that be fantastic? If you
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Speaker 1: wouldn't even have to get up and go to work
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Speaker 1: in the morning and just come right in the middle
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Speaker 1: of the night, just take your right on terrific. Huh.
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Speaker 2: Oh, it's gonna be great.
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Speaker 1: It will just be such delight. Think of that reunion huh.
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Speaker 1: Taken to be with him forever with the Lord. That'd
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Speaker 1: be great. We get all those questions answered, I'm gonna
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Speaker 1: be wonderful. There won't be any Bible class. You will
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Speaker 1: know then as you are known now. People have the
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Speaker 1: idea that some people are gonna teach Roman, and some
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Speaker 1: people are gonna teach first Coar Indian. You'll have it wired,
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Speaker 1: You'll have it all put together. And the best part
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Speaker 1: of all is that you will see the lamb and
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Speaker 1: you will worship him.
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Speaker 2: What a day.
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Speaker 1: Father. There are times that such homesickness grips us. We
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Speaker 1: confess that we lose a bit of the luster of
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Speaker 1: going on in this old life. Encourage us with thoughts
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Speaker 1: like this in this particular study. Strengthen the weak knees
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Speaker 1: and the stooped shoulders of your people.
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Speaker 2: Give us.
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Speaker 1: A solid backbone to stand for the truth. Open our
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Speaker 1: eyes and our ears and our mouths to see what
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Speaker 1: is really being said, to hear it correctly, to face it,
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Speaker 1: to refute it, to give answers for the hope that
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Speaker 1: is within us. Yet, with meekness and reverence, purify our walk.
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Speaker 1: Help us to heed what we have known these years,
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Speaker 1: rather than continually search for something new. Thank you, Father,
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Speaker 1: for your people, by the millions scattered around this world
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Speaker 1: that at this very moment are loving you and nodding
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Speaker 1: in agreement.
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Speaker 2: With your will for their lives.
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Speaker 1: Encourage us with this thought that we are not alone now,
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Speaker 1: our Father, as we prepare for this week, I pray
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Speaker 1: that you would use even this evening as a time
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Speaker 1: of shoring up, strengthening, preparing for whatever is before us.
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Speaker 1: Enable us to walk in purity by the power of
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Speaker 1: your spirit. For we have all things that pertain to life,
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Speaker 1: life and godliness. May be with diligence. Put them to
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Speaker 1: use in the strong name of Christ, God's people said Amen.
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Speaker 3: The preceding message, Second Peter Beware be Ready was copyrighted
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Speaker 3: in nineteen eighty three, and the sound recording was copyrighted
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Speaker 3: in twenty twelve by Charles R. Swindall, Inc. All rights
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Speaker 3: are reserved worldwide.