How Should We Then Live?
2 Peter 3:11-12, 17-18
1. I just came back from a pastor's conference, and I had a good time. We did not have too much free time, but I was able to work in a sermon outline and borrowed my room mate's computer to send the outline to Jane. . I brought two commentaries with me. So, much to my surprise, we are armed and ready to go.
2. But why did I want to go? I'll answer it with a joke I heard at the conference.
3. A woman overheard the church custodian talking to a deacon. She thought he was talking about the pastor, but was actually talking about the furnace: "The blower works fine, but the fire has gone out."
3. Serving the Lord -- not only as a pastor, but simply as a Christian -- means a constant pursuit of God. And sometimes we need to re-challenged in our walk. And that is the theme of our text.
Main Idea: While most people --including many professing Christians -- indiscriminately follow the popular culture and focus their lives on either looks, materialism, popularity, success, power, prestige, or social acceptance -- why should we pursue God and godliness instead?
I. Everything Earthly Will Be DESTROYED (11)
A. The things our FRIENDS urge us to pursue
1. Who our friends are makes a big difference
• For some people, the TV or movie theater is their friend
• For other people, music is their friend
• The peer group we choose influences us, no matter what our age
• Most of us value the affirmation of people, and that is not bad
• Some people say, "I don't care what people think." They should say, "I care about what others think, but I care MORE for what God thinks!
John 12:42-43 "Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God."
2. The world is about conformity. The world tells us to "get in line."
B. Peter suggests we can CHOOSE how to live
1. He says we ought to live holy and godly lives
2. Holy means "different." It means "set apart for God."
3. Godly means we are to mimic the character of God.
4. Many of us are taught that we are completely programmed by DNA.
C. Holy, godly lives bear FIRE-PROOF rewards
1. Everything else will be destroyed
2. What we do for the Lord is converted into eternal rewards, riches in heaven, crowns
Application: Many people get glimpses of the temporal nature of life and the importance of pursuing God. Talking to a pastor from Haiti, then we got into 911… it is like we go around life, mentally drunk so we can avoid considering the vastness of eternity and the brevity of this life. Such events and tragedies sober us up, but most people return to their drunken denial of reality.
II. The Fruit of a Life of Godly AMBITION is Delicious (12, 17)
A. Looking FORWARD to the day of God (12a)
1. This refers to all that is waiting for us in eternity, not just the New Heaven
2. The day of God is a general term for all or part of what will happen beginning with the Tribulation, the Millennium, and the New Heaven and Earth
3. Death is our last goodbye-- if we have no regrets, it is a wonderful goodbye.
B. Speeding the COMING of the Lord (12b)
1. The Jews believed if all Israel repented, Messiah would come & set up his kingdom.
2. They also believed in a principle of "fixing up the earth" in preparation for the Messiah's reign; you get a taste of that in the ministry of John the Baptist…"a voice crying in the wilderness, prepare…"
3. The implication is that we believers can work toward that end…bringing the message not only to Israel, but to the world…and being the salt of the earth…
4. We speed up the coming of the Lord not by political action, but by bringing people to repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
C. Staying the COURSE (17)
1. We must be alert and vigilant against error; remember that error usually comes in increments. When people frequently say, "I am not saying this…" --Beware! When they say, "I am not saying we should embrace this movement or belief system, but…"
2. Illustration: Story of the frog in the kettle.
3. All are vulnerable to disgrace God's Name, losing our rewards, & wasting our lives.
III. The Path of Godliness is SIMPLE (18)
Simplicity is beautiful: easy to understand -- not without discipline, sacrifice, and pain.
A. GROWTH
1. Many Christians have no agenda for growth; I have known pastors like that: they stop learning as soon as they graduate…
2. Growth involves orchestration, intentionality, a plan, a series of routines.
3. My friend Matt Smith has read through his Bible at least once a year for 28 years
4. Imagine a basil plant in your kitchen window. If you watered it whenever you felt like it, how would it do? But if you watered it consistently at the right times, it would thrive.
5. Neglect to take growth seriously and concretely is the number one reason for spiritual retardation of believers.
B. GRACE
1. This is an area in which we grow. It deals with "who we are" and what we are like.
2. Grace means not only God's favor, but what God does in our lives; character, for example, can be a work of God's grace. It relates to transformation.
3. Becoming a gracious person can be a work of God's grace.
4. Finding strength to go on can be a result of God's grace.
5. To grow in grace is to put ourselves in the position where God can work.
C. KNOWLEDGE
1. Grace and knowledge often come together, but there is some knowledge that we must gain just for the sake of knowledge.
2. To know God's Word to know God's Word is an act of worship in itself and an important goal. The study of God's Word to honor God is the best kind of study, because it is not motivated by self-interest.
3. The less godly Christian asks, "What can I learn to help me live more successfully?'" The godlier Christian asks, "What can I learn to please God?"
D. JESUS CHRIST
1. The Christian life is not about rules, it is about Jesus Christ.
2. The Word is not a self-help book, but a "let me glorify God with my life" book.
3. If you obey the rules but don't have Jesus Christ, you've missed the heart of it all.
E. BREAKING out in praise
1. Praising God can be a habit, a routine. Here, Peter seems to use it as an ending.
2. Praising God can be spontaneous because we are overwhelmed. Paul breaks out in praise in the book of Romans when he is overwhelmed by God's sovereignty and wisdom.
• Either way, praising God -- whether planned or spontaneous, emerges from an enthusiasm about God.
• God wants you to conform your mind to the image of Christ. God wants to conform your will to the image of Christ. And God wants to conform your emotions to the image of Christ, not to sear them.
• When we sing, do we lift up our voices with enthusiasm? When we join in prayer, do we concentrate and add our Amens, if not audibly, then in our minds? Or have we deadened our emotions? Has it all become tedious?
Main Idea: While most people --including many professing Christians -- indiscriminately follow the popular culture and focus their lives on either looks, materialism, popularity, success, power, prestige, or social acceptance -- why should we pursue God and godliness instead?
Because:
I. Everything Earthly Will Be DESTROYED
II. The Fruit of a Life of Godly AMBITION is Delicious
III. The Path of Godliness is SIMPLE
Because of these truths, it makes sense to pay the price of discipleship: & follow Jesus Christ. He is way beyond that latest Hollywood star, popular singer, successful friend, or peer group.
In the long term, we are always better off choosing Jesus over what the world offers.
• Jesus will always be there for you, will the world?
• Jesus remains the same but never is irrelevant --will today's fads or trends?
• Become a man, woman, or young person of depth and substance. Give your life to Jesus Christ. Take orders from Him. Serve Him gladly and cheerfully.
