Sermon Tone Analysis

Show video — Is Your Faith Still in Kindergarten?

Have you ever wanted to go up to someone and tell them it is time to grow up?

See when it comes to a person being grown up, we refer to that as being mature.

Thinking and acting like a grown up.

How do you measure the maturity level of a person?

What criteria do you use?

What standards do people use to determine whether one is mature or immature?

Is there such a standard?

Mature –having attained a final or desired state; of or relating to a condition of full development.

Who determines where that final or desired state should be?

What does being fully developed look like?

What criteria can we use to determine if someone has reached a “condition of full development” or to recognize when that development has slowed, stopped, or worse, reversed?

When it comes to deciding what is normal or abnormal thinking and behavior, from a cultural standpoint, there doesn’t seem to be an objective standard for what should be normal, mature behavior.

We are in a culture right now that is growing in the wrong direction…some people who are adults physically, still behave like children!

My dad would say “some people are just a few fries short of a Happy Meal.”

You know the kind of people I am referring to…the ones who just don’t seem to grow up…you look at them and wonder will they ever stop making foolish choices and start acting like an adult.

Whose standards will you use to determine acceptable “adult thinking and behavior.”?

Our culture, which changes almost moment by moment has a very difficult time deciphering what is “normal” thinking and behavior.

What may be considered right and acceptable to one generation is not always going to be shared by the next.

So if the standard for what is right, acceptable and “normal” keeps changing over time is that really so bad?

Isn’t it a good thing for humanity to be “progressing” in greater acceptance of all thinking and behavior?

In other words, shouldn’t we celebrate the inclusivity of all humanity regardless of how they think and act?

Who really has the authority to judge what is right thinking and behavior anyway?

What is the danger of living in a culture that has no standard of what is right?

It will be a culture like the period of Judges where everyone will do what is right in their own eyes.

Would you agree with me this morning that that would be a dangerous way to live?

Would you also agree with me this morning that making sure we are maturing in the right way is something worth studying?

This whole month we’ve been laying out our vision as a church…we’ve gone on record to say that our mission is...

Building Lives to Know and Live for Jesus Christ

that means we are to be a disciple making church…building into one another the principles that are important to our Savior…expecting change in all of us…so that we grow up into mature believers.

To do that effectively we ought to formalize our priorities…our standards...these formulate the key principles we believe ought to be the most important things in our lives.

This will impact where we go as a church…

So far in our study...

We Care About Glorifying God

We Care About Proclaiming Christ

This morning we will seek to develop principle number 3.

Our third principle comes from 2 Peter 1:3-10

Principle #3 – Biblically Obedient –God has given us everything we need for life and godliness through His Word, the Bible.

We strive to understand and put into practice how God expects us to live for His glory through the practical teaching and application of the Scriptures.

Main Point – Maturing Believers Strive to Consistently Live by Biblical Principles.

Two truths to challenge us to let the Scriptures govern how we live.

Please turn to 2 Peter 1:3-11.

God has Equipped Us with Everything We Need for a Life of Godliness.

(3-4)

These verses are connected to verse 2 — Grace and peace will be multiplied to us in the knowledge of God and Jesus…Our call to godliness is rooted and secured by God’s grace…what God demands of us, he supplies for us with his gracious power.

Knowledge is used 5x in this text…it is a key word in 2 Peter...however there is a difference in the word usage...

In verses 2, 3, 8 — is one word for knowledge...

In verses 5, 6 —Peter uses a different form of the word…simply gaining an understanding of something, acknowledgement of facts

The difference between the two usages here is that the word Peter uses in 2, 3, and 8 is referring to more than just knowing facts…it is an experiential knowledge…goes far deeper…it is an intimate knowledge…personal relationship knowledge...

Christianity is not a mystical religion, but is based in objective, historical, revealed, rational truth from God and intended to be understood and believed.

The deeper and wider that knowledge of the Lord, the more “grace and peace” are multiplied.

Crossway.

ESV MacArthur Study Bible (Kindle Locations 138851-138853).

Good News Publishers/Crossway Books.

Kindle Edition.

Godliness is a word that denotes respect and awe for deity…everything we need to live in respect and awe of God has been graciously supplied to us…the ability to live righteously and in the way God desires does not have to be elusive...

Sadly, even though God has provided all that we need, many believers search for answers to life and its difficulties outside the realm of God’s resources when the real solution is staring them in the face from the pages of Scripture.

Spiritual maturity both begins and continues to happen when we believe in and are committed to the sufficiency of Christ and His Word to tell us what is right, what is not right, how to get right, and how to stay right!

We are not going to grow in the way or at the rate God intends for us to grow if we are seeking knowledge from sources outside God’s provisions.

He Equips us with Divine Power.

Whatever spiritual sufficiency we have is not because of any power we possess in ourselves.

We derive our power from His divine power.

Paul expressed it this way: Eph 3:20 “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,”

It is the same power which resurrected Christ (cf.

Rom 1:4; 1 Cor 6:14; 15:16-17; 2 Cor 13:4; Col 2:12).

It is a power that enables every believer to do works that please and glorify God (cf. 1 Cor 3:6-8; Eph 3:7)

It is a power to accomplish spiritual things we cannot even imagine.

It is an eternal power that never fails.

If we think and feel that we have lost that power, it is not because God has taken it away, it is that we have distanced ourselves from it, failed to minister with it, or even use it.

the point is the fault is not God’s, it’s ours!

from the moment we trusted in Jesus Christ, God has granted His power to us.

Has granted is a perfect, passive participle meaning that it was something that happened in the past, with continuing results in the present,

God permanently bestowed His power on believers.

Everything we need for life and godliness is ours through Christ.

Every believer is responsible to live a godly life...From salvation to final glory we are expected to live in a manner worthy of the glory of God.

We cannot blame our sin and failures on the lack of God’s provision or on others.

There is no temptation or trial that comes our way that God’s power has not equipped us to handle – 1 Cor.

10:13

We have every resource we need to fight off sin and Satan’s schemes.

The bottom line is obedience.

It is not a matter of needing more faith because faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains.

Maturing in Christ is in part recognizing that saying “I can’t” is saying “I won’t”.

You can rest assured that God will empower you for all of your life to live as an overcomer through all things.

Obedience is a matter of the WILL!

Even when doing the right thing is what you think is the hardest thing to do, whatever that “thing” is, it is possible because God empowers you to do it.

How then do we experience that power in our lives?...Through our true knowledge of Him.

We are being urged here to take advantage of the full knowledge available to us through Christ…to go deeper into our relationship with Christ.

He Encourages us with Divine Promises

Because Jesus accomplished all that is necessary for our salvation, He also granted to us His precious and magnificent promises.

Has given = same as before = past action with ongoing effects.

All the salvation promises in Christ are precious and magnificent

Time does not permit us to list all the promises God makes to His children but here is just a small sample...

indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33; Eph 1:13),

abundant grace (John 10:10; Rom 5:15,20; Eph 1:7),

joy (Ps 132:16; Gal 5:22),

strength (Ps 18:32; Isa 40:31),

guidance (John 16:13), help (Isa 41:10,13-14),

home in heaven (John 14:1-3; 2 Peter 3:13)

All of these are bestowed by the Lord so that we may become full partakers of the divine nature.

He Enables us with a Divine Partnership

Partakers = koinonos = fellowship, sharer, partner

Every believer in this life is a partner in the very life that belongs to God.