WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.820 Good morning. 00:00:05.440 --> 00:00:09.740 My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church, 00:00:09.740 --> 00:00:12.439 and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today. 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:15.820 Special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:20.519 We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats, 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:24.920 but because we are following Jesus together as one community. 00:00:24.920 --> 00:00:31.420 And as we follow Jesus together, we've become convinced that there's no one so good that they don't need God's grace, 00:00:31.980 --> 00:00:39.560 and no one so bad that they can't have it, which means that everyone needs to hear what God has to say to us in his word. 00:00:39.620 --> 00:00:45.500 And that's why we come back week after week and open up our Bibles to hear from God. 00:00:45.500 --> 00:00:53.340 Remember that we are looking at the book of 2 Peter, and the book of 2 Peter is a letter written by a man named Peter 00:00:53.340 --> 00:00:57.980 to a church somewhere in the Roman Empire in the 60s AD. 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:04.380 And Peter has one hope, one desire, and it's that these people, this church, would grow. 00:01:05.540 --> 00:01:08.219 And he wants them to grow in two ways. 00:01:08.340 --> 00:01:13.740 He wants them to grow in grace, and he wants them to grow in knowledge. 00:01:13.740 --> 00:01:18.260 That's how he ends this letter, the very last verse, in chapter 3, verse 18. 00:01:18.400 --> 00:01:23.159 He commands them to grow in the grace and knowledge of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:01:23.159 --> 00:01:26.759 And of course, as we've seen, that's already his concern at the beginning of the letter. 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:29.500 He wants grace to be multiplied to them. 00:01:30.299 --> 00:01:34.979 Last week, we looked at the idea of knowledge, and we saw that God uses knowledge. 00:01:34.979 --> 00:01:43.319 He uses his word as an instrument of his power to play a song of obedience in our lives. 00:01:43.959 --> 00:01:48.140 And we saw what that instrument was, at least part of it, and it was God's promises. 00:01:48.340 --> 00:01:52.479 We looked in verse 4 at his precious and very great promises. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.100 And so we're going to continue that today. 00:01:56.380 --> 00:02:03.300 This idea of God playing a song of obedience in our lives, if that's true, what is the song that he's playing? 00:02:04.600 --> 00:02:07.020 What does that song sound like? 00:02:08.379 --> 00:02:14.219 We're told in verse 4 from last week that we've escaped from the corruption that's in the world because of sinful desire. 00:02:14.340 --> 00:02:17.140 Well, if that's true, what does that look like? 00:02:17.139 --> 00:02:20.479 Of course, the assumption is if we're Christians, there's something different about us. 00:02:20.539 --> 00:02:22.119 Our lives are changing. 00:02:22.239 --> 00:02:23.199 God's transforming us. 00:02:23.259 --> 00:02:31.199 That's what we talked about today in our confession of faith and sanctification, that God is working to make us look more and more like Jesus. 00:02:31.359 --> 00:02:35.359 We're going to look at verses 5 through 7, which is what's called a virtue list. 00:02:35.360 --> 00:02:40.360 It's going to give us a list of characteristics that should be true of Christians. 00:02:40.540 --> 00:02:42.860 And so we're going to be talking about the idea of obedience. 00:02:43.140 --> 00:02:47.320 And as we come to that, of course, there's many different places that we find ourselves. 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:51.360 As we've talked about before, some of us are probably cynical when we think about obedience. 00:02:52.500 --> 00:02:57.680 We see Christians, and yet their behavior seems terrible. 00:02:58.660 --> 00:03:02.000 Their faith doesn't seem to make any difference in their lives. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:04.379 Maybe we're not cynical. 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:05.060 We've been burned. 00:03:05.159 --> 00:03:09.500 We see Christians, and it seems to make a tremendous difference in their lives, but in all the wrong ways. 00:03:10.620 --> 00:03:14.000 They seem self-righteous and self-possessed. 00:03:14.120 --> 00:03:18.759 Maybe we consider ourselves Christians, but when it comes to obedience, we're confused or lost. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:25.000 You're not sure how to apply all the things that you see in the Bible to your life. 00:03:26.340 --> 00:03:29.740 Maybe you're a Christian, but instead of being confused and lost, you're just tired. 00:03:29.740 --> 00:03:42.500 Maybe you're not sure where to go next in your Christian life. 00:03:44.100 --> 00:03:51.640 Or maybe you're a Christian, and you think the idea of obedience is silly because, of course, you know that you're not under law but under grace. 00:03:51.639 --> 00:04:04.239 It's with all of those questions that we're going to come to this passage and look at what it is that God calls for in our lives as we obey him. 00:04:04.299 --> 00:04:08.539 And so I invite you to turn with me now to 2 Peter 1, verse 5. 00:04:08.639 --> 00:04:10.359 You can turn near the end of your worship guide. 00:04:10.459 --> 00:04:14.560 You can turn in your phone, or you can turn with me in your Bible. 00:04:14.560 --> 00:04:17.680 No matter how you come, remember that this is God's word. 00:04:19.139 --> 00:04:23.600 And God tells us that his word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:32.120 In other words, God has not left us to stumble alone in the dark, but instead he's given us his word to show us the way to go. 00:04:32.199 --> 00:04:34.540 And so that's why we read it now, starting at verse 5. 00:04:35.019 --> 00:04:36.139 Excuse me, yeah, verse 5. 00:04:36.139 --> 00:05:03.279 I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word. 00:05:06.139 --> 00:05:11.379 Our Father in heaven, you have given us your word and you promise us that it's powerful. 00:05:12.519 --> 00:05:17.740 That it doesn't return to you empty, but it accomplishes your purposes. 00:05:18.159 --> 00:05:24.199 And so we ask for that power this morning, that you would use your word to accomplish your purposes in our lives. 00:05:24.199 --> 00:05:28.219 That you would use it to encourage us and to challenge us. 00:05:28.259 --> 00:05:31.180 And most of all, that you would use it to show us Jesus. 00:05:31.779 --> 00:05:34.599 That you would cast a spotlight on him. 00:05:34.600 --> 00:05:41.000 And we would understand how wonderful and glorious and worthy he is. 00:05:41.700 --> 00:05:49.980 We thank you that we can ask these things, not because we've earned them or deserve them, but because we ask them in Jesus' name. 00:05:50.580 --> 00:05:50.820 Amen. 00:05:50.819 --> 00:06:00.500 When we come to a list like this, the one that I've just read, of course it can be challenging. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:05.240 It often makes Christians nervous because when we talk about obedience, about moral virtue, 00:06:05.800 --> 00:06:10.959 it can be hard to talk about it and also talk at the same time about grace. 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:17.159 And it can be hard to talk about grace and at the same time talk about obedience. 00:06:17.779 --> 00:06:22.339 And you might see a list like this and think, well, this is everything I've always thought about Christianity. 00:06:22.439 --> 00:06:24.060 It's just this list of rules, right? 00:06:24.159 --> 00:06:30.019 At the end of the day, no matter what we say, no matter what we study, Christians are people who just want to be do-gooders. 00:06:30.019 --> 00:06:35.979 And I don't need that to tell me how to behave correctly, right? 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:43.519 Or you're a Christian and you see this list of obedience and you think, man, the Christian life, as I mentioned before, just feels like a treadmill. 00:06:44.620 --> 00:06:47.620 These ideas, right, of law and grace are hard to combine. 00:06:47.799 --> 00:06:51.399 And if you're like me, you've probably listened to a lot of sermons. 00:06:51.399 --> 00:06:54.839 And you've also probably forgotten most of them. 00:06:56.519 --> 00:07:05.039 However, there's one sermon I haven't forgotten that explained to me the idea, the relationship between grace and our obedience that I've never forgotten 00:07:05.039 --> 00:07:10.899 because it makes so much sense and helped me understand how it is that we bring both of those together. 00:07:11.019 --> 00:07:13.959 It came from a pastor of mine in Virginia and he explained it this way. 00:07:14.899 --> 00:07:16.519 There was a time when he was a father. 00:07:16.659 --> 00:07:17.299 He's still a father. 00:07:17.300 --> 00:07:22.280 He was a father of young children and Christmas was coming close. 00:07:23.879 --> 00:07:27.660 And of course, Christmas is a time, right, when we give gifts to one another. 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:35.000 Now, his children were young and so they didn't have any money to buy him a gift. 00:07:36.819 --> 00:07:38.920 But that's what you do at Christmas, right? 00:07:38.920 --> 00:07:47.420 And so as their father, he gave them his money so that they could go and buy him a gift. 00:07:51.420 --> 00:08:02.060 Brothers and sisters, when it comes to our obedience and God's grace, God gives us the money. 00:08:02.060 --> 00:08:07.259 He is the one who funds our obedience. 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:14.280 These gifts, right, were bought by these children and they came with joy and the delight to present them to their father. 00:08:15.060 --> 00:08:21.180 And he received them with joy and delight, both of them knowing while it was their gift, it was his money. 00:08:21.180 --> 00:08:26.459 And so it wasn't something that they had built up or saved. 00:08:26.540 --> 00:08:33.180 It wasn't something that they were able to do on their own, but they did it only with the funds of their father. 00:08:33.299 --> 00:08:34.899 The same is true of us. 00:08:35.080 --> 00:08:42.960 When we come to a list like this, when we look at what God asks for us in obedience, we are bringing him gifts that he funds. 00:08:43.480 --> 00:08:48.200 Those Christmas presents were 100 percent funded by the father. 00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:56.360 Our obedience to God is 100 percent funded by our heavenly father. 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:06.700 And if you think that I'm giving you a sentimental illustration to gloss over this list of obedience, you are wrong because we're going to dive in. 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:13.640 In verse three here, excuse me, verse five, we are given a buying word. 00:09:13.780 --> 00:09:17.220 Make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue. 00:09:17.220 --> 00:09:21.240 This is a Greek word that would have been understood to be a purchasing word. 00:09:21.639 --> 00:09:27.360 Someone who supplemented was someone who sponsored out of their own account something for someone else. 00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:28.259 Think about it this way. 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:35.160 If you're in the line at Chick-fil-A and the person ahead of you buys your meal for you, 00:09:36.019 --> 00:09:39.779 that's the modern equivalent of the ancient Near Eastern supplementing. 00:09:40.420 --> 00:09:41.220 The Greek supplementing. 00:09:41.899 --> 00:09:45.940 This is someone who uses resources to buy something. 00:09:45.940 --> 00:09:47.140 They are sacrificing. 00:09:47.140 --> 00:09:48.260 They are giving it. 00:09:48.620 --> 00:09:50.260 This is purchasing language. 00:09:50.420 --> 00:09:53.240 It's providing something at a cost. 00:09:54.960 --> 00:10:00.760 However, we also see it is not our money that we use to supplement. 00:10:00.900 --> 00:10:03.420 That's also explicit in verse five. 00:10:03.500 --> 00:10:06.400 We're told at the beginning, for this very reason. 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:09.879 What is for this very reason referring back to? 00:10:11.159 --> 00:10:15.939 Well, definitely verses three through four, probably verses one through four. 00:10:16.259 --> 00:10:22.240 In other words, when you're supplementing, you're doing it with the finances that you were given in verses one through four. 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:25.440 Remember, we talked about verse three. 00:10:25.440 --> 00:10:29.960 His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:33.580 The father gave all the money that was necessary for the Christmas gifts. 00:10:33.779 --> 00:10:39.620 God, our heavenly father, in his divine power has given us everything for obedience. 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:41.259 We saw it again in verse four. 00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:46.879 We talked about last week part of how he funds these precious and very great promises. 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:58.039 And so we see at the very beginning of this list of virtues, we are told these are things we purchase with God's power for this very reason. 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:03.600 In other words, God always bankrolls our obedience. 00:11:05.639 --> 00:11:12.720 God always bankrolls our obedience because, of course, we are bankrupt. 00:11:12.720 --> 00:11:21.399 We have nothing that we can use to resource our obedience. 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:32.160 We're then also told not just that it's for this reason in verse five, but that we make every effort. 00:11:33.100 --> 00:11:35.540 You can imagine these children, right, going out. 00:11:35.620 --> 00:11:37.060 They've been given the father's money. 00:11:37.160 --> 00:11:41.779 It would be strange to imagine that they're going to try to end that trip as quickly as possible. 00:11:42.720 --> 00:11:43.519 Oh, my goodness. 00:11:43.660 --> 00:11:46.180 I hate that we have to go and find dad a gift. 00:11:47.800 --> 00:11:49.100 No, they're going out. 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:52.000 They want to pick the perfect thing for him. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.800 They want to use his money in the best way possible. 00:11:56.160 --> 00:11:59.220 They're going to work hard to research the best options. 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:04.720 They're going to brainstorm with their siblings about what it is that their father would most enjoy. 00:12:05.040 --> 00:12:07.440 We live in Olympic City, USA, right? 00:12:09.080 --> 00:12:11.920 Olympic athletes put forth every effort. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:12.399 Why? 00:12:13.799 --> 00:12:17.279 Because they desperately hate the sport that they're participating in. 00:12:19.059 --> 00:12:21.459 No, they love the sport. 00:12:21.899 --> 00:12:24.620 That's why they're showing up day after day. 00:12:24.719 --> 00:12:27.740 That's why they're getting up at 4 a.m. to go to swim practice. 00:12:28.219 --> 00:12:33.139 That's why they put in the extra workout, not out of some sense of legalism or duty, 00:12:33.459 --> 00:12:35.839 but because they love that sport. 00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:40.720 The same is true with Christians and their obedience. 00:12:40.860 --> 00:12:47.519 They make every effort with their father's money because they love him. 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:54.059 It's obedience that is funded by the father. 00:12:54.059 --> 00:13:10.119 Those who are free from the penalty and the power of sin also want to be free from the presence of sin. 00:13:10.120 --> 00:13:14.720 They love God and they love his ways. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:19.800 So, of course, our next question then is, what is it? 00:13:20.540 --> 00:13:22.480 What is it that our father wants? 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:27.180 If these children are going out to buy gifts, there are certain things that certain fathers might want, right? 00:13:27.320 --> 00:13:31.800 If you're going out and you're buying something and you're in the Franks family, there's only one choice. 00:13:32.519 --> 00:13:33.320 Soap on a rope. 00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:40.240 If you're in the Lawton family, I don't know, you might go out and get some darn tough socks. 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:45.300 Whatever it is, you want to make sure it's something that the father loves, right? 00:13:45.320 --> 00:13:46.580 It's something that they want. 00:13:47.160 --> 00:13:50.040 And some people are harder to buy for than others. 00:13:51.780 --> 00:13:55.540 God has told us exactly what he wants. 00:13:55.620 --> 00:13:58.080 We see that in verses 5 through 7. 00:13:58.180 --> 00:14:00.280 We're told to add all these things, right? 00:14:00.279 --> 00:14:08.559 We start with the basis of our faith and we add to it virtue and knowledge and self-control and steadfastness and godliness and brotherly affection and love. 00:14:08.699 --> 00:14:12.199 God has not left us to wonder what it is that he wants. 00:14:13.019 --> 00:14:16.159 Now, we might be tempted here to think that things have to go in this order. 00:14:16.379 --> 00:14:19.379 This is actually a rhetorical device here. 00:14:19.759 --> 00:14:23.139 So it's not that we have to have self-control before we can have love. 00:14:23.139 --> 00:14:29.840 But that we're being given a list here of the various things that characterize the Christian. 00:14:30.100 --> 00:14:34.360 Some of these things are general and some of these things are specific. 00:14:34.779 --> 00:14:41.699 And this morning, I'm going to take a focus here on the specific characteristics that are given. 00:14:42.019 --> 00:14:43.379 So, of course, godliness, right? 00:14:43.419 --> 00:14:44.860 That's a broad category. 00:14:46.139 --> 00:14:48.639 Self-control, that's a more narrow category. 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:54.500 Regardless, this is the Christmas list that Peter gives us. 00:14:56.679 --> 00:15:01.100 This is what God wants his children to bring to him. 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:03.639 Faith, of course, is the foundation. 00:15:03.919 --> 00:15:07.699 This is for those who have God as their father, right? 00:15:07.740 --> 00:15:09.740 This father is not giving out money to other children. 00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:11.279 He's giving them to his children. 00:15:11.899 --> 00:15:13.960 And so it makes sense that that would be the foundation. 00:15:14.259 --> 00:15:16.759 Virtue here is moral behavior. 00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:18.819 And then we get to knowledge. 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:21.299 Knowledge we've talked about quite a bit. 00:15:21.899 --> 00:15:24.299 The first several verses of 1 Peter. 00:15:25.419 --> 00:15:29.419 And in the book, this letter, he's going to focus on a couple things when it comes to knowledge. 00:15:29.759 --> 00:15:33.639 He's going to focus on how reliable and true the Bible is. 00:15:34.179 --> 00:15:36.299 We'll see that later in chapter 1. 00:15:36.779 --> 00:15:39.500 And then he's going to talk about the fact that Jesus is coming back. 00:15:40.240 --> 00:15:45.659 He wants them to stay rooted in this knowledge because knowledge and behavior go together. 00:15:45.659 --> 00:15:50.559 False teaching and sinful behavior go hand in hand. 00:15:52.500 --> 00:15:56.159 Now, we'll have plenty of opportunity to talk later about those elements of knowledge. 00:15:56.819 --> 00:16:00.939 And so I'll simply do here what Peter is doing, which is reaching back. 00:16:01.079 --> 00:16:02.360 Remember in verse 5, he says, 00:16:02.360 --> 00:16:06.480 For this very reason, you're funded by everything I've talked about before. 00:16:07.259 --> 00:16:08.320 How are we funded? 00:16:08.500 --> 00:16:13.139 How does God support and empower and enable and pay for our increase in knowledge? 00:16:13.300 --> 00:16:18.220 Well, one of those ways, as we talked about last week, is his precious and very great promises. 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:21.680 And he's already given us one in this passage about knowledge. 00:16:21.680 --> 00:16:29.539 Remember, we saw in verse 3 that knowledge is the instrument of his power. 00:16:29.539 --> 00:16:37.819 So God funds us heading after knowledge through his promise that it's the place where we will find his power. 00:16:39.059 --> 00:16:43.419 He doesn't send us out without backing us up. 00:16:44.120 --> 00:16:49.039 He sends us out to knowledge, backing us up with the promise that it's the place of his power. 00:16:50.379 --> 00:16:55.019 He also tells us here part of what he wants is self-control. 00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:57.319 That's what's supposed to be added to virtue. 00:16:57.320 --> 00:17:07.680 Now, the reason that self-control is so important in this particular book is we're going to find out that these false teachers that they're up against are practicing and teaching the opposite of self-control. 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:10.299 And there's a couple things that these teachers are pushing in particular. 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:12.720 We find out that they are greedy. 00:17:13.940 --> 00:17:16.440 They will do whatever it takes to get money. 00:17:18.140 --> 00:17:22.740 We also find out that they are teaching sexual license. 00:17:22.880 --> 00:17:24.799 They're encouraging sexual immorality. 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:27.139 We're told later they have eyes for adultery. 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:30.940 They're given in constantly to their lusts. 00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:34.980 And so Peter wants them to know that's not actually what your heavenly father commands. 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:45.319 If you're a Christian, you're going to be someone who values being right and having integrity more than you're going to value money. 00:17:45.399 --> 00:17:48.480 You're not going to do unethical things just to get ahead. 00:17:48.480 --> 00:17:51.779 That is what's going to honor your father. 00:17:53.140 --> 00:17:58.440 And he has provided the money for it. 00:17:59.079 --> 00:18:02.620 He's given you a precious and very great promise about that as well. 00:18:03.039 --> 00:18:04.579 Hebrews 13 tells us this. 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:09.059 Keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have. 00:18:09.120 --> 00:18:11.640 For he has said, here's the promise, 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:14.259 I will never leave you nor forsake you. 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:18.220 So we can confidently say the Lord is my helper. 00:18:18.660 --> 00:18:19.620 I will not fear. 00:18:20.120 --> 00:18:21.860 What can man do to me? 00:18:24.060 --> 00:18:26.520 God calls us to these gifts. 00:18:27.020 --> 00:18:28.320 He also funds them. 00:18:28.380 --> 00:18:32.580 The same thing we've talked many times this year about having sexual integrity. 00:18:32.580 --> 00:18:35.040 That's part of the issue of self-control here. 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:39.119 We know God's promise that we talked about in the book of Proverbs. 00:18:39.240 --> 00:18:40.399 Matthew 5 verse 8. 00:18:40.559 --> 00:18:44.579 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:49.480 God is funding our obedience. 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:56.359 We're told then not just to have knowledge and to have self-control, but then steadfastness. 00:18:56.500 --> 00:18:58.420 Steadfastness is a perseverance word. 00:18:58.519 --> 00:18:59.879 It's actually a military word. 00:18:59.880 --> 00:19:06.380 Steadfastness is what we would use to describe a soldier who stays in the battle rather than running away. 00:19:07.860 --> 00:19:10.160 That's how these people would have understood it. 00:19:11.280 --> 00:19:15.060 And so as they're faced by false teachers, they persevere. 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:16.300 They hold on to what's true. 00:19:17.340 --> 00:19:21.020 And of course, this has applied not just to that, but to all sorts of situations. 00:19:21.620 --> 00:19:25.380 As Christians, when I was growing up, by the way, there was this old saying, 00:19:25.380 --> 00:19:29.780 When the going gets tough, the tough use duct tape. 00:19:31.340 --> 00:19:37.260 For the Christian, when the going gets tough, the Christian uses perseverance. 00:19:37.780 --> 00:19:40.100 The Christian uses steadfastness. 00:19:40.440 --> 00:19:45.080 This means that we stay in the battle even when things are hard. 00:19:45.540 --> 00:19:51.400 We are godly, continuing to hold firm of what God has clearly taught us in his scriptures, 00:19:51.940 --> 00:19:54.880 even when it's unpopular and despised. 00:19:55.380 --> 00:20:01.240 We are godly, continuing to hold firm, teaching our children what is right, 00:20:02.020 --> 00:20:03.800 even when it's exhausting. 00:20:05.180 --> 00:20:08.960 We are godly, continuing years of seasons of prayer, 00:20:09.520 --> 00:20:12.060 even when we don't see results. 00:20:13.140 --> 00:20:15.900 That's what steadfastness is about. 00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:20.940 When the going gets tough, the Christian gets steadfastness. 00:20:20.940 --> 00:20:27.580 And again, it's not just a command, but it's a command that is fully funded, 00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:29.920 because we have God's promises. 00:20:30.720 --> 00:20:33.660 We're told about perseverance in Matthew chapter 24, 00:20:34.779 --> 00:20:37.640 that many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 00:20:38.380 --> 00:20:42.960 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 00:20:42.960 --> 00:20:44.680 And here's the promise. 00:20:45.779 --> 00:20:49.299 But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 00:20:49.299 --> 00:20:56.579 And so the Christian has knowledge, self-control, perseverance. 00:20:58.019 --> 00:21:02.799 And then we find godliness, and is a more general, a broader term. 00:21:03.399 --> 00:21:06.059 We find with our specific terms here, brotherly affection. 00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:10.019 Now, you might be surprised whether it's both brotherly affection and love, 00:21:10.399 --> 00:21:12.339 but brotherly affection is a family word. 00:21:12.339 --> 00:21:17.839 And so what Peter is saying is that part of the gifts that you give to your heavenly father 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:20.519 is that you treat other Christians like family. 00:21:22.699 --> 00:21:25.740 Christianity is not just an intellectual exercise. 00:21:25.959 --> 00:21:32.000 God never calls someone to himself without also calling that person into the community of his people. 00:21:32.500 --> 00:21:35.919 We are not here together as a church because it's convenient. 00:21:36.379 --> 00:21:40.480 We are here together as a church because we don't just worship God one-on-one, 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:47.360 but he has called us to worship him as a gathering with other people that we love and live life with. 00:21:49.440 --> 00:21:52.680 That's what it means to have brotherly affection. 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:58.140 It might be bearing with other Christians who don't hold to our political convictions. 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:07.599 It might be sitting with people who are grieving like we would with a brother or a sister. 00:22:07.599 --> 00:22:12.599 It might be later when we're gathered under the portico talking to someone we don't really like, 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:15.699 just like we would at a family reunion. 00:22:17.939 --> 00:22:20.179 Christians have brotherly affection. 00:22:20.399 --> 00:22:22.379 They see other Christians as their family. 00:22:22.779 --> 00:22:28.259 They come in to meet needs in the way a father or a mother or a brother or a sister would. 00:22:28.259 --> 00:22:35.920 And God has fully funded it. 00:22:37.059 --> 00:22:40.900 Jesus washes his disciples' feet in John 13. 00:22:41.099 --> 00:22:42.759 He shows them brotherly affection. 00:22:43.879 --> 00:22:46.140 He treats them even better than family. 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:48.940 He acts as their servant, and then he gives them a promise. 00:22:48.940 --> 00:22:50.240 He says, 00:22:50.240 --> 00:22:53.580 If then I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, 00:22:53.900 --> 00:22:55.960 you also ought to wash one another's feet. 00:22:56.680 --> 00:23:00.640 For I have given you an example that you also should do, just as I have done to you. 00:23:01.380 --> 00:23:04.700 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, 00:23:05.120 --> 00:23:07.259 nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 00:23:07.920 --> 00:23:08.980 And here's the promise. 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:14.519 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 00:23:14.519 --> 00:23:17.900 Brotherly affection. 00:23:18.139 --> 00:23:22.680 We see and treat other Christians as our family. 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:26.139 And then we're told it's not just that. 00:23:26.220 --> 00:23:29.920 Remember, there's many times in the New Testament where we're told to love other Christians 00:23:29.920 --> 00:23:32.779 and also those around us, the community. 00:23:32.920 --> 00:23:33.940 And that's what we're told next. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:36.599 It's not just brotherly affection, but love in general. 00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:39.319 Just as we saw in the entire book of 1 Peter, 00:23:39.980 --> 00:23:44.039 part of our calling as Christians is to show God's love to the world. 00:23:45.379 --> 00:23:49.539 And so we're not just taking on the hurts of the people in our community, 00:23:49.539 --> 00:23:51.420 but we're also looking outside our community. 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:55.440 What are the ways that we meet the needs of those who we know? 00:23:56.059 --> 00:23:58.019 Our family who aren't Christians. 00:23:59.079 --> 00:24:00.160 Our city. 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:02.559 Our neighbors. 00:24:05.519 --> 00:24:07.639 And God funds that as well. 00:24:07.640 --> 00:24:12.320 Because there is a promise. 00:24:13.160 --> 00:24:17.140 In Matthew 25, we're told about the story of the sheep and the goats. 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:20.400 The sheep are those who have cared for the poor. 00:24:20.500 --> 00:24:21.660 They visited them in prison. 00:24:21.780 --> 00:24:24.040 They fed and clothed the hungry and the naked. 00:24:24.160 --> 00:24:25.040 And Jesus says this, 00:24:25.039 --> 00:24:38.079 Jesus empowers and funds that obedience by reminding us that when we show love, 00:24:38.220 --> 00:24:40.039 we are showing it to him. 00:24:42.500 --> 00:24:43.759 So that's our list. 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:48.400 And of course, 00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:51.660 these funds don't come from nowhere, right? 00:24:53.680 --> 00:24:56.980 We got supposedly free money earlier this year. 00:24:58.619 --> 00:24:59.440 At least $1,200. 00:24:59.879 --> 00:25:00.660 If you file taxes, 00:25:00.779 --> 00:25:00.980 of course, 00:25:01.039 --> 00:25:02.180 that money is not free, right? 00:25:02.500 --> 00:25:03.539 Someone has to pay for it. 00:25:03.539 --> 00:25:10.460 The father who pays for the presents is the one who sacrifices. 00:25:12.119 --> 00:25:17.299 And so these things that God funds are free for us, but not for him. 00:25:17.299 --> 00:25:19.180 We look to Jesus. 00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:26.899 He is able to purchase, to fund our obedience because of his obedience. 00:25:29.019 --> 00:25:31.879 Jesus did everything right. 00:25:32.099 --> 00:25:33.119 He obeyed. 00:25:33.539 --> 00:25:38.420 And yet he had to pay as if he were one who did not obey. 00:25:40.159 --> 00:25:42.379 And so he fills up our accounts, 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:43.759 those who have faith in him, 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:46.920 so that we are able to pursue obedience. 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:50.279 God gives us what we need for it 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:52.639 when instead we deserve his punishment and his wrath. 00:25:55.119 --> 00:25:57.700 God has given us everything we need. 00:25:57.799 --> 00:25:59.920 His promises are free for us. 00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:01.920 They were not free for Jesus. 00:26:03.539 --> 00:26:09.680 And so we can pursue these things because we're not alone. 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:17.759 We are no longer bankrupt because Jesus is our great older brother who gives us everything that we need. 00:26:17.960 --> 00:26:22.759 And he's able to do that because he lived a perfect life that we should have lived. 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:27.099 And he died a terrible death that we should have died. 00:26:27.099 --> 00:26:34.500 And so because of his love for us, we are able to respond in love for him. 00:26:34.500 --> 00:26:45.200 Of course, that's what we saw in verse 1 of this letter, right? 00:26:45.200 --> 00:26:51.240 Jesus is the one who bankrolls these promises with his obedience because we have a faith of equal standing. 00:26:51.779 --> 00:26:56.819 Verse 1, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 00:26:56.819 --> 00:27:04.000 We are able to obey because Jesus already has and he still died for us. 00:27:04.000 --> 00:27:15.000 I told you last week, the beginning, that in a previous life, I played violin. 00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:22.380 Later, I switched to viola and I went on to play in college in the orchestra. 00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:27.500 And one of the perks of playing in the orchestra is that we would, every January, go on these orchestra tours. 00:27:28.200 --> 00:27:31.619 Set up these concerts at various churches and things and we would go and play. 00:27:31.619 --> 00:27:33.579 There would always be a different destination. 00:27:33.739 --> 00:27:36.639 They'd have a four-year rotation, so you'd never visit the same place twice. 00:27:37.479 --> 00:27:41.359 And in January of 2009, the trip was to New York City. 00:27:42.359 --> 00:27:44.199 And we'd always try on the way up. 00:27:44.679 --> 00:27:45.699 You know, we'd do various things. 00:27:45.759 --> 00:27:50.799 But when we got to whatever city our destination was, the goal was that we would do something fun. 00:27:50.899 --> 00:27:53.719 So some kind of activity that was funded by the music department. 00:27:54.199 --> 00:27:58.139 And this year, we went, of course, this makes complete sense, right? 00:27:58.139 --> 00:28:01.219 As an orchestra, I'd go listen and hear an orchestra perform. 00:28:02.339 --> 00:28:04.259 Now, it's been a long time since 2009. 00:28:04.619 --> 00:28:10.199 But if I remember correctly, it was the New York Philharmonic, which is one of the best orchestras in the nation, if not the world. 00:28:12.219 --> 00:28:19.319 And you know, often when there's a performance, people like at the end, the very end, not just to clap, but to stand up. 00:28:20.459 --> 00:28:23.699 Now, when it comes to standing up, I'll confess to you that I'm a Scrooge. 00:28:24.500 --> 00:28:25.940 I think it's wildly overdone. 00:28:25.940 --> 00:28:29.000 I think most of the time, people shouldn't stand up. 00:28:29.080 --> 00:28:30.400 And I'm a peer pressure stander. 00:28:30.400 --> 00:28:36.280 So some people stand up because they want to, you know, they want to honor the person. 00:28:36.540 --> 00:28:38.180 This person has served for 30 years. 00:28:38.259 --> 00:28:39.720 Let's all stand up and applaud them. 00:28:39.720 --> 00:28:45.519 Some people stand up because they want the person who's performing to feel good. 00:28:45.579 --> 00:28:46.640 They want to show gratitude. 00:28:47.779 --> 00:28:50.620 And I'm often, like, in the middle, you know, of the stander uppers. 00:28:50.839 --> 00:28:52.620 I realize, like, oh, we're doing this. 00:28:52.700 --> 00:28:54.680 I don't want to be the one guy who's sitting down. 00:28:55.480 --> 00:28:57.080 So, yes, I'll stand up. 00:28:57.140 --> 00:28:58.080 I think this is overblown. 00:28:58.160 --> 00:28:59.400 Most of the time, we just need to clap. 00:29:01.400 --> 00:29:06.860 And then there are people who stand up because they feel like they have no other choice. 00:29:07.460 --> 00:29:14.960 They are so moved and propelled by what has just happened that almost without thinking about it, they stand up and they rise. 00:29:16.660 --> 00:29:18.279 Now, we're at this concert, right? 00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:20.519 These are some of the best musicians in the world. 00:29:20.519 --> 00:29:27.660 And they ended up at the very end closing with one of, if not my favorite piece of orchestra music, 00:29:27.879 --> 00:29:32.759 which comes from a Russian composer in the 19th century called Pictures at an Exhibition. 00:29:32.799 --> 00:29:34.019 The man's name is Mozorski. 00:29:34.539 --> 00:29:37.980 And it's this beautiful piece of Russian romantic music. 00:29:40.500 --> 00:29:42.180 The concert ends. 00:29:42.339 --> 00:29:43.819 That's their final piece. 00:29:45.400 --> 00:29:50.059 And I decide that I'm going to be the first person to stand up. 00:29:50.519 --> 00:29:54.579 Because I am so moved. 00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:57.799 This was not just another performance, right? 00:29:57.940 --> 00:30:03.519 This was not just another orchestra playing Pictures at an Exhibition by Mozorski. 00:30:03.839 --> 00:30:06.200 No, this is the New York Philharmonic. 00:30:06.339 --> 00:30:09.680 I had no other choice than but to stand. 00:30:09.680 --> 00:30:15.240 And after I did, right as it was ending, I don't think I waited until the last note. 00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:17.799 Other people saw what it was that they needed to do. 00:30:18.759 --> 00:30:20.240 You know, you've got to set a good example. 00:30:24.720 --> 00:30:25.920 Brothers and sisters, 00:30:25.920 --> 00:30:31.580 When we see God's grace in Jesus Christ, 00:30:32.140 --> 00:30:40.080 we are compelled and propelled and motivated to give a standing ovation of obedience. 00:30:40.079 --> 00:30:46.199 It is not something we do out of legalism or guilt. 00:30:46.439 --> 00:30:51.939 It is something that he gives to us by his grace that he has funded. 00:30:54.119 --> 00:30:57.659 And so what does the song of obedience look like? 00:30:57.720 --> 00:31:00.500 It looks like faith and virtue and knowledge and self-control, 00:31:00.679 --> 00:31:04.240 steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, and love. 00:31:04.359 --> 00:31:06.079 It is a standing ovation. 00:31:06.079 --> 00:31:11.220 It is our response to God's grace in Jesus Christ. 00:31:12.919 --> 00:31:13.960 And so let's pray. 00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:17.679 Dear Father in heaven, 00:31:18.000 --> 00:31:23.059 we thank you for your word that gives us your promises. 00:31:23.299 --> 00:31:28.439 And we thank you that you're not a God who calls us to anything that you don't enable, 00:31:28.559 --> 00:31:31.599 that you always fund your commands. 00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:33.839 We ask that you would make that true of us, 00:31:33.839 --> 00:31:36.599 that we would see your provision for us and your grace, 00:31:37.439 --> 00:31:40.659 and that it would motivate us and propel us towards obedience. 00:31:41.639 --> 00:31:44.799 We thank you that our standing with you doesn't rest on these things, 00:31:44.919 --> 00:31:47.839 but instead they rest on the obedience of Jesus Christ. 00:31:47.959 --> 00:31:51.220 And so we ask them, not based on our performance, but on his. 00:31:51.779 --> 00:31:53.099 And so we ask them in his name. 00:31:53.619 --> 00:31:53.859 Amen. 00:31:53.859 --> 00:31:54.000 Amen. 00:31:54.000 --> 00:31:54.059 Amen. 00:31:54.059 --> 00:31:54.079 Amen. 00:31:54.079 --> 00:31:54.099 Amen. 00:31:54.099 --> 00:31:54.139 Amen. 00:31:54.139 --> 00:31:54.159 Amen. 00:31:54.159 --> 00:31:56.099 Amen. 00:31:56.099 --> 00:31:56.139 Amen. 00:31:56.139 --> 00:31:56.199 Amen. 00:31:56.199 --> 00:31:58.139 Amen. 00:31:58.139 --> 00:31:58.199 Amen. 00:31:58.199 --> 00:32:00.139 Amen.