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Sermon: Precious & Magnificent Moments – Liberating Promises
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: II Peter 1:1-4
Duration: 30:04
Size: 13.7 MB
Precious & Magnificent Moments
Liberating Promises
II Peter 1:1-4
I believe that if we saturate our minds and hearts with the glory and excellence of God in the Scriptures, there will one day come an explosion at Richmond Community Church:
I. Peter: Servant and Apostle
But Peter is not eager to flaunt this authority. “Apostle” comes second, not first.
What is most important in anyone’s life is their faith, and on that score Peter is on a level plane with the church.
Peter does have authority, but he bends over backward to meet them as a brother and serve them, rather than lord it over them.
II. Peter’s Greeting
He pictures grace and peace as something that comes to us from God.
If you want to enjoy God’s peace and be the aroma of his grace in the world, your knowledge of him has to grow.
A. The Goal – Life and Godliness
First, Peter is aiming at two things: eternal life and godliness; moral and spiritual transformation now, and hope for life in the age to come.
The hope of life and the way of godliness stand or fall together.
B. The Source – Divine Power
Second, the way of godliness and the hope of eternal life do not lie within our own power to produce or attain.
The Christian faith is not merely a set of doctrines to be accepted. It is a power to be experienced.
God’s grace is a free power that works in us for our good.
C. The Means – Knowledge of God
The knowledge that leads to life and godliness is said to be the knowledge of God’s precious and very great promises.
Very practically, I think this means we must day-by-day go to the Word of God and search for great promises.
III. Conclusion
We can sum up these first four verses of II Peter with four words: power, promises, practice, and prospect.
God’s divine power (v. 3) flows into our lives when we know (v. 2) and trust (v. 1) his precious and very great promises (v. 4). And this power flowing through these promises produces practice of godliness (v. 3) and the prospect of life eternal (v. 3).
Next Week
Confirm Your Election
II Peter 1:5-11