Know Live

You know. They seem to have you ever hang out with them. I have to tell you that I have a guilty pleasure. I like to see how many topics you know everything about.

you know I'm in so I'll bring up another topic yet, or have you ever listened to a know-it-all and realize they don't know it all packed Liam and no idea what they're even talking about.

keter wants us to be no loss. really does This is the last book that Peter will ever write. He's in jail. Nero You've heard of an arrow before Nero is the Emperor at the time? at some point Peter eventually Will be crucified. And that's all they will murder him. But Peter out of his love for his Lord will asked to be crucified upside down. Because he doesn't feel like he's worthy. To Die the same way Jesus Christ died for him.

And in these last days cuz he's anticipating his death because Jesus had predicted he would die this way.

He is he is passionately talking in a second letter to a group of people that he really loves and and and his big idea is he just wants them to be know-it-alls? You guys May the grace and peace of God X in you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. He doesn't want you to be a know-it-all about a lot of different things. The thing that he wants you to be a know-it-all about is he wants you he wanted the people in in Asia that he was speaking to he wanted them to be know-it-alls and he wanted them to be annoyed all about one specific topic and that topic was the knowledge of God.

you know, our oldest son has a form of autism called Asperger and one of the things that's true of someone that has Asperger is a had this incredible ability to focus and to learn something and all the details about that thing as a level that the rest of us do not have an understanding of and I know how excited he is to be back to the ski jumps. He just got his job back at the ski jumps and one of the things that Steven is a know-it-all about is he knows about every single ski jump in the whole world. Get all the details of those ski jumps and when he first got that job in the elevator off and get tips because he knew so very much. They didn't understand that we had the same conversation everything but there was a sense that he was a know-it-all and and and that's what God is asking of us. He says I want you to be a know-it-all. I want you to have a deep deep understanding of who Jesus Christ it is and so as we take a look at this book of 2nd Peter, you're going to see the word knowledge, maybe a dozen times cuz he comes back to this idea over and over again. He realized in his life that the decisions he made in the mistakes. He made were often when he made assumptions about who God was instead of really knowing who God was he wanted them to have this deep intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. The idea is to really know God which is interesting. That's also our first core value is the church. Our first core value was a church is it when we want you to have a deep intimate relationship with God so that your circumstances no longer are forming what you think about God but the God is forming what you think about every single circumstance in your life every crisis. If you come through every challenge that you have because you have a deep knowledge of god. Let's just read the passage together where in 2nd Peter was starting a chapter 1 verse 2. May the grace of God May Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, his divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and to Golett in to Godliness to the knowledge of him who called us to his glory and excellence. By which he has granted us his precious. And very great promises so that through them you only become partakers of the divine nature having an escape from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this reason make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge and knowledge with self-control and self-control with steadfastness and steadfastness with godliness and godliness with blood Lee affection and brotherly affection with love. It is these QWOP for as these qualities are yours and are increasing they keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ for whoever lacks. These qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former dzin. Therefore brothers be all the more diligent to make your calling and election. Sure. We're if you practice these qualities you will never fail For in this way, there will be richly before in this way. There will be richly provided for you an entrance into the Eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore I intend always remind you of these qualities though, you know them in our established in the truth that you have. I think it is right as long as I am in this body just stir you up by the way of reminder since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. You see the message you see is part. He he he realized that they needed the knowledge and that that knowledge would affect how they lived. And a lack of knowledge would also affect how they lived. I loved the idea that he said they were so nearest sided that they were blind, you know who is describing their? He's describing the Apostle Paul Apostle Paul, they believe is a very nearsighted man. So he squinted all the time and you can barely see But you had that experience before you watch people who struggle with sight and so they are trying so hard to see. So let's take a look at this. So the goal is to know God and so he starts here and he says his divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Think about this. God has given us the power so that we have everything that we need. Okay, and then we've got to start thinking that in fact, you should probably underline all things that pertain to life there because occasionally I even say in conversation and I probably shouldn't is I'll be talking to somebody about an issue and I say boy, would it be nice of the Bible spoke specifically to that?

But it does. If we take a look at God's word and what is teaching is there is no subject that I was sending that we're going through that. God can give us help in that and it says in his divine power has granted us think about that. His divine power has granted us the ability to know how to handle life. So we need to know is power and it says through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and Excellence. Okay. This is really interesting because God's word over and over again is challenging us to be holy like what he is Holy it's calling us into this idea. It's saying this is who I am and not only that but I'd like you to be like me. I created you in my own image so that you can emulate who I am. Yeah, we live in a world where we're constantly giving people an excuse because of some deficit they have for why they don't have to be hayport rightly, right? From from diagnosis. We give children to two things that touch people's life. People are always looking for an excuse to not live in another level.

I want to think of our oldest son in him and in finding out that he had Asperger's when he was 16 sometimes. I'm thankful. I didn't know sooner. Do you know why? It would have been an excuse to not expect them to become a man of integrity and moral character. Well, you know he has that he can't you understand what I'm saying. There is the sense that God is calling us think about this. He is calling us to know who he is so we can be like him.

But if we don't know who he is, we can't be like him. It's kind of like the guy who says he's an Elvis impersonator, but he's never heard Elvis. Does it work does it?

Why I think I was kind of sounds like this is some of us I use calling us to live a life. That is Godly clients of godliness. But we can't do that if we don't know who he is and we wouldn't know how he reacts to a situation. You have to know his character. You have to know his promises by which he has granted us precious and very great promises. I was thinking the other day about an issue my life and immediately 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse 31 came to mind. It says no temptation comes upon you with but that is common to man. And God will always create an escape that's in a promise that I needed to know been so so I can know what to do. I just kept on sending, you know. We need to know his promises and fact, we need to probably write them down. We need to remind ourselves of them. Are there certain days that are probably would be wise for us to wake up and remind us of just a couple promises. What God Said? We need to know his promises. So that through them you become you may become partakers in the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in this world because of sinful desire. I took a look at this phrase and I was just saying, okay. Is he his divine power? And Allison were talking about his divine nature and it says that we can be partakers of God's nature. So now that you know today we have all these funky kind of religions people talk about I ain't trying to become Divine, you know, and we have all these different makeup said we can wear them so I can look / You know, I think about this God's calling us to be.

Do you like him? What why did you do that yesterday Jim? Just trying to be divine. Just kind of partake in God's divine nature the title for the slide was Liv Divine and I was like, I feel a little uncomfortable with that title. But we are supposed to be partakers of his divine nature.

So when people look at us instead of saying I see you they say I see God.

This is probably a part of what it means to manifest or magnify the Lord. Doesn't it? It should be a partaker because why because we've escaped the corruption that is in this world because of sinful nature. I don't know about you but occasionally on television people are so surprised that people send. Have you noticed that Yeah. That's what the news is about over and over again. Think about it. The news is about people being surprised that people sent. They say we're never going to let people if this is what Ruth they're really saying. We're never going to let people send again. So we're going to take away their guns. We're never going to let people send again. So we're going to do this or we're going to create this long we're going to do all this kind of thing and you don't want to create all kinds of laws and they create all kinds of regulations and people still send. yellow

They tell people you should be honest in business in what do people still do they still cheat? Don't they? They tell people this is the law and this is how fast you should drive your car and people still speed don't they? They put little signs and they create laws that say wear your seatbelt. And what happens to people they still don't you see the point here. But all of a sudden because of Jesus Christ. We can escape that.

We always sudden have an option that we didn't have before.

And even when the Holy Spirit convicts us and says you could have been divine. but now you decided to be sinful about that. God is calling us to enjoy being high Kim. We get to live as partakers of God's divine nature. For this reason make every effort to supplement OK or or to add to okay. This is really important. Cuz some people read this versus and say if I do these things then I'm a Christian. If I do these things then I'm acceptable to God. That's not how it works because where are our relationship with God is Not based on Works isn't we're saved by faith is so wanting to add some things to this thing that we already have because we are already saved we get the opportunity to be the five. And it gives a list of several things. It says we want you to add to your faith virtue. Not a word that we use very often anymore. But this is about being a moral person. Okay, so I want you to add to your faith the fact that you're person that does the right thing that you live righteously. Okay, so I want you to answer that and I want you to add to your righteousness. I want you to add knowledge. Okay? I can remember as a youth pastor in our first church teaching kids about about simple things in relationships. And I can remember that these kids really had never had to youth group before and some of them hadn't had much Bible training before and we were talking about relationships. And I I made this reality I said the reality is is you reach God's word knowledge. It says the God wants you to save yourself physically for marriage. And when the kids razor Hempstead, what does that mean? Bicycle what that means is that the only person that the God ever wants you to have a physical intimate relationship with is a person that you married.

and when the girls started weeping nobody taught me this. really wants

there's things that we have to learn that everybody grew up in the church. And so there is a sense that we have to learn it's just but it's it's no different than anything else when I got married there is a lot. I have to learn about being a married, right? And so I had to add knowledge to that and some of the best knowledge. I had this I talk to guys who are married and mainly thing that I learned from them was things not to do.

Do you have any advice to me? I don't do that. Don't do that at this whole list. That's what gets worse full of it time. You want to let Jesus really what you want. Have a great relationship and got these are the things you should do.

There was a guy I still thank him. He was the name is Brian Bill and about two days after we got engaged. She came up to me and he says Jim I have been married for a year and a half. And I would like to meet with you every other week and teach you what I'm learning. Are you in?

And you know, what's so funny some of the things that I teach in premarital counseling to couples getting married today. Do you know where I learned them from? Brian bills

Until there is a sense that we add to our moral character and our sense of doing what is right. We have to have knowledge partially so we know what it's right here. But you know, what more than that. I looked at the word for this reason. It doesn't just tell me what's right. It tells me why it's right. If you read and got to work more often enough, you just learn why things are right, don't you? God is logical and makes a lot of sense. This is so then you add to your knowledge with self-control. Well, that's a little bit more virtue, isn't it? That's what you're adding and to your self-control you at stead Phantosaur persevering what you mean? Did you had self control for a while instead of for once, you know? Enter your steadfastness you add godliness and what is godliness? That's means to be like God.

Into your godliness you add brotherly affection or kindness.

You know, there's a reality that's really kind of interesting that if we included God in every relationship or thought that we have about other people and might change a little bit. I would never sit down with a mother and tell her that her kids an idiot. I wouldn't. But on a regular basis in my pad, I think people are coming down. But if I included that in a conversation with god what I'm really ending up saying without even realizing it is God. Why did you make such dumb people?

Why can't everybody be smarter? There are things that go on our heads that instead of giving people kindness because they are created by God and then we received great knowledge. We was realize we've received great knowledge. So therefore we've received great kindness. So therefore we give great kindness you see how it works.

He sang. I want you to relationally be different because you are the Lord your knowledge of your relationship with the Lord and how he feels about you and how he feels about his other creation will give you a kindness that you did not have her and to your brother you affection. I want you to have loved.

You guys aren't in the next person who says or if these qualities are yours and are increasing they will keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of God. See here's the thing about the knowledge of God. That's really interesting. If the knowledge of God doesn't affect affect how we practice then it is not meaningful. The knowledge of God has to change how we live. If it doesn't change how we live then it's not fruitful and it's not effective.

When I was in third grade, mr. Smith was our health teacher and we had these filmstrips that we would watch and the one I remember the only one I remember was about hygiene. and in the hygiene wanted explained that we should keep our fingernails clean and trimmed in that and it said the next slide said never use a knife. To clean your fingernails and as we were watching the snow trip because you know, there would be a little tape and you put it in the machine and then one of the kids would get to run film projector, you know, and remember doing that into each slide and in our teacher would sit up front. with his knife

until your fingernails and I can remember that's the only thing I remember about that class. He was ineffectual in teaching calendar. Because knowledge wasn't affecting practice. But I can still remember him sitting at this desk while watching a film shot by not doing it.

Our kids our grandkids are neighbors.

Are watching her face? And occasionally what they see.

Doesn't help them one that happen because it's not magnifying the Lord.

So we want living that is effectual it goes on and says this whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. See a lot of these qualities. If you go back to the list there about relationships aren't they there about how we treat other people?

Any of our relationship with the Lord doesn't affect how we treat and live. then we weren't really seeing it where we We were blind in the end. This is a scary thing spiritual blindness is scary. You know why cuz you can't tell it usually just how you tell your spiritual boring your kids tell you. Your neighbor tells you. Your loving friend tells you you know, if you're physically blind you usually know because at some point there are marks on your face. Okay, because you ran into a wall, right?

There's there's a bruise there's a mark. Spiritual blindness is scary. But if we don't increase in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, if you if you can't say I did I know Jesus better this year than I did last year. That's not good. That means that you are allowing yourself to fall into spiritual blindness. Now if you were dealing with physical blindness and you know, there was some way that you could stop it or change it you would you know. I watch my pastor in Florida get a detached retina and because he wanted to see he was willing to sit in a little padded box with his face a certain direction to a bubble would hold the part that that was supposed to be reattaching. They put a bubble gas bubble in his eye in and place it right near where they were trying to press that retina back into place and he would sit for days doing that. Why because he wanted to see

I fear that sometimes in our blindness. We don't care if we see. spiritually But it helps a seed. Living gives us Social Security. It says therefore brothers be all the more diligent and making your calling and election sure. And if you practice these qualities you will never fail for in this way. There will be rich before in this way. There will be richly provided for you in the entrance into the Eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as we watch God make us and help us make more and more right choices that we gain confidence in our faith. When when we are sitting and when we're not living a repentant life and when were walking away from the Lord, sometimes we wonder I wonder if I'm saved. I don't know how I can act like this in even be saved. But as we watch God give us this ability to protect and it's divine knowledge and it's me experience his divine power. We become more more confident in the face that he's already given us in the face that increases in US

Eternal security isn't just an idea on paper. It's something that we practice as we are reminded that we are no longer what we once were and we are something else. I think that's why we love the song. We just sang so much because some of us remember some of the slavery that we had to send into our attitudes and some of the things and to no longer be a slave because we are a child of God is a wonderful thing.

Knowing and living establishes. Therefore. I am in 10 hours to remind you of these qualities though. You might know them and are established in the truth that you have another what you saying. These are so important that I have no problem reminding you again of them.

I don't think Peter was concerned about me in an egg.

I think that he was so forgiving that he wanted to make sure everybody else understood how forgiving they were.

You don't we forget about his life. This is a guy that denied Jesus Christ while he was on the cross, but he was restored by Jesus Christ and you knew how great. God's forgiveness was and you know, how great is God was? He didn't want anybody to have any less than the best idea of who God was. And no problem. This is the last thing you know Peter what's the last thing you want to say to the churches in Asia Meyer before you die. I want to say to them that they need to remember how great God is.

I want to say to them how great it is that we get to be divine. We can be part the one I read that line. I underlined it. I am a partaker in the divine.

I want them to understand that they can be fruitful and they can they can grow and they don't have to be blind anymore. I was once was blind but that's right there in Amazing. Grace isn't but now I see.

Until we had this passion. I think it right as long as I am in this body to stir you up by way of reminder since I know that I am putting away. My body will be soon as a lord Jesus Christ because he knew how he was going to die. He knew it was going to take place and it said I'm sure the Lord really hard. Why can't I be like Nike and just be taken up?

Hibbetts deep knowledge

And he considered it a privilege to suffer like his Lord suffered, but even in his death, he was like no no, no don't crucify Jesus.

I I can't. That's too precious.

I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

So the first thing that we need to do is we need to know God.

And then we need to ask this question. How does no God change how I live? When I was dating Nancy, her best friend's name was Karen. There's another whole story that goes with that but I would sit down with Karen every couple months cuz I was falling in love with Nancy and I'd go.

Karen Give me the inside inside track. What does Nancy like and what does Nancy not like?

She goes well she doesn't like when Shuffle when people Shuffle their feet. noted

she doesn't like this kind of food never taking her to that kind of restaurant.

As I Grew in the knowledge of Nancy I loved her better right

and my goal was winning here, you know guys are hunter-gatherers. It's not like we want to date for a while then move on. I was in the hunter-gatherer stage and I wanted to win and so every couple months. I said anything else. I need to know.

Because I wanted to make sure. I was doing everything possible to have the very best relationship I could with Nancy. That's okay. It's asking us to do with him. That's what Peter saying you're okay. I want you to do everything you can to have the best idea of who God is think about some of the ideas we used to have you used to have about God they were kind of naive and then some of them maybe we're even wrong but as you are growing in your faith, also, you'll never think about God that way again, right?

Think about how that changes you because see the bottom line is is this is a relationship. It's a God isn't calling us to live out a set of rules just because the right and virtuous God is calling us to live out a life that reflects a deep loving relationship. with him That's what God's calling us to. When I was a little kid I used to love to eat toast, but I was very picky in my mom and not make it right sometimes because you have to have butter on the whole thing. Not just a little bit in the middle. Okay, and then when you put the peanut butter on it has to go to all the edges and I can remember complaining about it one day and and and my sister Tammy said to me you'll never get married. You're too picky. Occasionally Nancy makes me a piece of peanut butter bread.

And it doesn't always go to all the actress.

And the butter doesn't do that, but I don't think Nancy's ever heard the store ever before today.

Do you know why?

Because I love her so very much that my silly little drool.

Was trumped by love. I don't know what God is trying to teach you or what you need to know. But the knowledge of knowing god can Trump everything.

And help you live better than you ever have before. So at the end of this first chapter Peter gives two challenges. First challenges. No God knowing have a meaningful relationship with him. the second thing is is live what you know. live it

met a lot of people that have a lot of cool stuff, but it's obvious to me. They never used it. They know it. But they haven't lived it. God is calling us to live in hot spring.

to God

I pray that you would help us. To grow in our relationship with you. I pray that 2020 would be a year that when we come to the end of the year. We really have the sense that we have a deeper understanding of our relationship with the Lord than ever before. But not only that I pray that we would live more divine. Let it be seen in how we approach you is our God and trust you even in the smallest things. And it also show up in our relationships with each other.

That we would build into our lives in our relationships Integrity perseverance kindness, love.

Thank you. For this passionate message. from one of your followers

May we learn from what he knew of you as well. Pray this in your name. Amen. I'm a superb counselors to come forward and Jonathan's going to lead us. And singing no longer slave one more time as we close our service and if there's some way that we can pray for you. We want to do that. And if you haven't begun your relationship with Jesus Christ, you haven't asked him to be your savior yet. And and today is your day. I even encouraged you to come forward and pray with one of the prayer counselors about beginning that relationship taking that first step of living by the courage. Jennifer Chu is moral courage to do the right thing. Maybe that's the moral courage that you need today. So let's all stand together. I'm a sapper counselors to come forward.