Bible In A Year - 2 Peter

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Our Father, again, once again this day we come to you thanking you and blessing you for the week that we've been through.
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We know that you have been faithful to us, you have kept us, but physically you've sustained us and spiritually you've been there underneath being the everlasting arms.
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We know that you're caring and thinking about us, your people. We know that we are ever upon your heart and that you guard and protect and watch over and you guide and direct us through the ministry of the
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Holy Spirit and we pray for that this morning that it may continue, that you would teach us, that you'd help us, that as we open up this book it might be a blessed time as we consider your word, it might be a very instructive and profitable time for us in the day in which we live to have the word of God shine a light upon the culture in which we live, the teaching, the people that we have to deal with that we may have our eyes opened and that our hearts might be stirred as it was the
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Apostle Peter's desire to stir up the saints, to cause them to awake if they were in sleep, to cause them to be stirred and awaken from a slumber or from being in a sitting position to a standing position and being steadfast and firm in the faith.
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Pray that you'd help us and teach us and bless us, forgive us our sins and help us,
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O Lord, to have by your favor a good day in the house of the Lord, in Jesus' name, amen. All right, here we are, 2
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Peter. You remember last week during 1 Peter that the
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Apostle spoke of the trials and the persecutions that could come and will come to the life of the believer and his desire was that they would stand firm, that they would hold the ground, that no matter what came their way, the circumstances which could affect their feelings, which could affect them as far as their thinking and doubting the situation that they find themselves in, he wanted them to stand strong.
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And in standing firm that they would have the joy of the Lord, in standing firm that they would look at what was happening in their lives not as an accident, not as a punishment coming from God if it indeed wasn't discipline but it truly was a persecution, a trial, something that God had brought to them to prove the genuineness of their faith, to so strengthen them, to give them joy, to know that the work that had begun in their life was a work of God, that was the salvation of the
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Lord, and that they would be obedient. That's one of the themes that comes through in the book of 1
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Peter that in difficult times standing firm but also being obedient in the faith, remaining true and faithful to the
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Lord and plugging away and going forward. Now we come to 2 Peter and there is a little bit of a different attack that is coming upon the church or something else that Peter would desire to warn us about and definitely what it is is false teaching.
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It is an attack from within and you'll notice if you would turn with me to chapter 2 where Peter says, but there were false prophets also among the people even as there shall be false teachers among you who privately shall bring in damnable heresies even denying the
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Lord that bought them and bring upon themselves swift destruction. Where are these people? There within.
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It almost reminds you of Paul speaking in his parting shot to the elders at Ephesus saying beware that there would be wolves that would come in to the church.
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And isn't it grateful? Aren't we thankful if you think how children should be so thankful for the protection that God gives them in their parents to protect them?
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So in the church of God the membership of the church ought to be so grateful to God because he protects us, he guides us, but also he has put authority in the church, leadership in the church to protect the gates, to protect the pulpit.
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I mean we just don't allow anybody to get into the pulpit and teach whatever they'd want to teach like in some churches. There's no checking of where these people are from, what their background is.
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They just allow them to teach and of course there is a danger there because in that way there are wolves that can come in and they have poor motivation, they have false doctrine which can devastate a church and we're thankful that God has set it up in such a way that there is leadership under shepherds, under the
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Lord's shepherding to protect and guard the flock. And Peter writes to these people,
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Peter writes this letter to them because he wants to warn them.
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He wants to not only encourage them to continue to keep going on but he wants to warn them to be careful not to get sidetracked, remember first Peter stand firm, stand fast, turn with me if you would to the last chapter and notice this key verse as he wraps up the book in verse 17 he says, you therefore beloved seeing that you know these things before and he's, all the things that he's taught in the book where he speaks of salvation, where he speaks of how important the word of God is, when he speaks about the enemies that can come into the church and the false teaching, when he speaks of prophetic things, eschatology in chapter 3 and how the earth is going to dissolve and all these things are going to come to pass he says, seeing that you know these things already beforehand, beware lest you also being led away with the error of the wicked fall from your own steadfastness.
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You see how that kind of pulls the two books together? First Peter he wants them to stand firm and here he says all these things that I've taught you, he says don't get led astray by this false teaching, by the error of the wicked but I want you to stay steadfast.
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Well this is Peter who is the author of this book and he writes this as and this is his last letter as a leader of the apostles writing out this is the very last letter that he would write.
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It is very similar when it comes to its warmth and its passion and the subject matter and what he's attempting to do as Paul did in 2nd
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Timothy and particularly in chapter 4 when you know that the time of his departure was at hand and he gave his parting words to Timothy.
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Peter is doing the same thing here and like Paul these great men of faith in some way
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God because of what is happening in their lives they have a sense that their days are numbered, that their life is over and they're giving this last letter like Paul did in 2nd
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Timothy like Peter here in 2nd Peter knowing that if you look in chapter 1 he knows that his days are over or they're numbered if you take a look in chapter 1 and in verse 13 where he says yea and I think it meet or necessary or fit as long as I am in this tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance so he's saying
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I'm in this body I know that as long as I'm in it I want to stir you up and he says but he says there in verse 14 knowing that shortly
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I must put off this my tabernacle or this my tent or my body what he's saying here pretty soon
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I'm going to die and he says even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me and if you take a note you can look back in John 21 18 where there was that conversation between Peter and the
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Lord about his death and notice also in verse 15 he says moreover I will endeavor that you may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance so there's this knowledge this is awareness that that he's not going to be around much longer and and like we would
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I don't know if you've ever done this I've done this with my my family unbeknownst to them
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I if I go on a business trip there have been times when I'll go into my office and I'll write a letter and I'll talk to my wife and I'll talk to each one of my children individually and I just give them my last parting words whatever it might be to tell them
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I love them and I encourage them to go on in the faith or encourage them to come to Christ if they've not come to Christ as my children and I just give them off my heart what it is that I'd like for them to know in my last in my last writing and that's what they're that's what
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Peter is doing here he is he loves the church which is loved by God he's an apostle sent from the
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Lord he wants them to stay steadfast he knows that he's not going to be around much longer so he gives them from his heart from from his concern and there's and there's warmth and you see the words beloved used he used beloved brethren you know he just the these endearing terms and he wants them to have from his heart what
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God would impress upon him as he was as he was penning this as he's writing this so that they would be prepared they would be ready they would they would be equipped for what was coming their way with these adversaries these false teachers that would be infiltrating into the church amongst them and he wanted them to be very very aware and careful of that the theme of first Peter I said was suffering and and Peter gave his counsel and how to react to that external more or less an external pressure that would come upon them from persecution from different ways that they were treated from on the outside but here again in second
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Peter the theme is this heresy and this attack of the enemy and that's more of an internal pressure like I when
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I look there with you in chapter 2 verse 1 saying that this would come from within of course in the latter problem became more of a threat to the spread of the gospel than the suffering because it actually deals with essential doctrine it deals with what the teaching is in the church and if the enemy can come in and and spread false doctrine and and displace the truth then there's real trouble the other one is suffering and persecution and it's not just it's not coming in in in that stealthy way it is it is a pressure it is difficult but we can still continue on with the gospel here it's just and I think that's why
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Peter uses these these words of if you notice with me in verse in chapter 1 the verse that we read over in verse 13
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I think it's fit as long as I'm in this tabernacle of body to stir you up by putting you in remembrance you see that word the the word remembrance in in stirring up he wants to remind them he wants them to recollect these things he he wants them to be stirred up in that word in the
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Greek means to wake up fully to arouse to to raise up to stir up to arouse from like a sleep or or to arouse from inactivity or for to arouse from sitting down or lying down is to to get up and it's almost like a stirring of the troops and that's what he's doing here because he's he's warning them because this is important the attack that will come from within and that could potentially come from within with false doctrine and we'll get into that a little bit more about the characteristic of these people the characteristics of these people
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Peter Peter is so concerned about that that he puts it down as led by the
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Spirit of God to teach them written about 67 or 68 a .d.
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the authorship of 2nd Peter probably you can read things and it comes under question because there are differences between 1st
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Peter and 2nd Peter in its style in its vocabulary in its theme and some say that that Peter did not but really when you come right to the book very first verse
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Simon Peter a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ he claims the writer claims right from the beginning of who it is it is
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Simon Peter the apostle of the Lord and sometimes people don't understand like like with Paul and with Peter Peter in in 1st
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Peter chapter 5 in verse 12 you remember he used sylvanus as a as a scribe as a as a secretary to pen down these words and sometimes that of course when the writer writes the personality the vocabulary of the person who's writing comes out and that no doubt is the reason why there may be a bit of a difference in in the two books because in 2nd
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Peter doesn't say so Paul Peter doesn't record it but it could have been a different secretary it could have been a different scribe or it could have been that Peter picked up the pen and just wrote himself like the
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Apostle Paul did at times and for him it was difficult for some reason that we don't know but for Peter he could have picked up the pen and that's why there there could be a little difference in it but really when you think about it and you go through this book you see that the book itself claims that Peter is the writer it speaks of his apostleship it speaks of him being on the mount of transfiguration chapter 1
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Peter who certainly who was there there are too many internal evidences which show and prove to us that this is
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Peter so we're just going to take it at that that that it is the Apostle Peter who wrote this book again it is since a little bit of a background since writing and sending his first letter again
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Peter had become increasingly concerned about the false teachers and these teachers again were infiltrating the churches in Asia Minor causing trouble same thing happened with the
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Apostle Paul if you remember wherever he would go the Judaizers or false teachers would come behind trying to rip apart everything that he was building up and Peter is is saying the same thing there are those that are going to come with heretical doctrine they were going to come with a moral lifestyle that's all of what chapter 2 is and we won't be able to read the whole chapter but it speaks about the characteristic the lifestyle and the teaching of these people who could potentially do damage in the church and Peter loves the
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Lord the church which the Lord loves and he wants to protect and he wants to help and he wants to encourage and he wants to warn them and kind of stir them up and wake them up to say think about what it is that's going on in your midst and be very careful who and what you allow into the church and the verses that we read verses 13 to 15 where Peter says he's going to leave he's going to die after he looked after after his demise this is kind of like his last will and testament to warn these beloved believers in Christ about these doctrinal dangers that could impact them and that they will most likely face
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Peter could have possibly written seems like he wrote this letter from prison in Rome when he was a facing imminent death
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I didn't cover this but up in the author and date section Nero died in about 68 and it is through history and through tradition it is it is said that Peter died during Nero's persecution so he would have that's about kind of put you about the time when the writing of this letter took place so it was shortly before his death no doubt about 67 or 68 ad let's see that's the first page of I'm going to try to go over the sheet and then we'll head into the book itself
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I think we can I think we can actually do that what I'd like to do is
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I'm going to take the quick overview outline and just walk through the book because I think it will be very helpful to us today because I mean would you agree with me that we live in a day where you can hear just about anything when it comes to Christianity when it comes to what is what is to be accepted as sound doctrine many times we'll see it or hear it and it causes us to wag our heads
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I mean how can people believe that who claim to be Christians or how can that possibly be a church and that is what they're holding to so we live in a day where all kinds of teaching human opinion crazy wild doctrine is infiltrating the church it doesn't take too much if you if you just turn on any
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Christian radio station or Christian television station and the things that you will hear if you have been studying the
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Word of God and you're really listening it will begin to grade on you like sandpaper that's kind of like a phrase that I use it just something isn't right maybe just the underlying tone of it or if it's just blatantly out outright false it is a discrediting of the
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Lordship of Christ it is a it is a denying of his second return it is it is a twisting of his life his work his ministry of what it what
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God has done for us in salvation justification it might be a doctrine there where it's taken taken away with it's no longer something that God has done but it's something that that we cooperate with God with and do and you just hear so many different things so the book is relevant for us 2nd
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Peter and what what he does and I'd like to walk with you through there there is an over repetitive theme throughout the book of knowledge of the word knowledge of the word to know and the idea of what
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Peter is saying as he expresses that and uses that word in the Greek that word means that are that we we our knowledge is to grow and it is to progress it is not to be stagnant as we open the book and we read it it is not to be to wear well
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I've heard that and that's it I mean isn't it just so delightful when somebody preaches or teaches or maybe you just read a portion of Scripture that you've read 30 times before and it's just so alive that something new and fresh comes from it and God applies it to your heart and and you say well
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I never saw that before I've ever said that if you read the Scripture I never saw that before and how wonderful it is and when it comes to knowledge it isn't just an intellectual knowledge it isn't just to have the facts and just to be able to repeat back who the twelve apostles are how many books in the
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Bible there are what the names of the Bible books are in order but it is a it is a knowledge that that presses itself upon us and really presses us into its mold so that our lives are totally changed and affected by it and we ought to grow as it says in chapter 3 the very near the very end of this book
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Peter says the very last verse but grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our
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Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to him be glory both now and ever and that's where I want to start you'll notice on your quick overview the outline of the book there's a salutation the beginning by Peter of course but I'm also gonna
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I'm gonna start by saying that there are things that we need to know why is it so important I guess maybe in the light of what
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I've already said chapter 2 false teaching heretical doctrine infiltrating people coming in infiltrating why is it so important to know any ideas what's the why would
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Peter have this emphasis on knowledge what do you think so no knowledge of the word to be able to use it in such a way to be able to deal with the error that comes in to be able to rebuke or to counsel or to point a person in the right direction okay good something else another thought
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Lewis there you go so in training in the in the financial arena showing people real money what the what the new bills when they put up them out and we've had a lot over the last few years what they look like rather than the counterfeit so if you know what the real is you'll know what the counterfeit is when it comes in the door and that's one of the most effective profitable ways for us or the greatest
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I guess I'll put it this way the greatest protection against false teachers comes from a solid foundation in the
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Word of God I put it that way the greatest protection against heresy and false doctrine is to have a foundation in the
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Word of God to know and where does that begin begins it reminds me of last week with brother
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Stuart Scott coming in do you remember one of the things maybe some of the men who were here when he talked about combating sin or what is necessary in the life of a believer when struggling when having periods of doubt or whatever that we are he said to saturate ourselves with the
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Word of God but one of the first things that he said was is to is to know who to know
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Christ do you remember that when he brought that out a couple three times he said that that every every believer ought to be in a place it reminds me of even the
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Apostle Paul in Philippians chapter 3 that I may know him all the years that the
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Apostle Paul had been serving the Lord and on his missionary trips and and and being in the things that he had seen and heard and yet his heart's desire was is that he might know
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Christ and that he and that's where I want to start the very the very beginning of this book the first first and second verse of chapter 1
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Simon Peter a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our
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Savior Jesus Christ grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of our
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Lord of the of Jesus our Lord in the notes it's not there but I put between Roman numeral 1 and 2 know your
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God and Savior for every believer of our passion our desire and time and effort needs to be spent to know our
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God and Savior to know who Jesus is not the only the one who created us but recreated us being born from above not only the one who saves us but the one who keeps us the righteousness of God comes through Jesus Christ not our own efforts not our own righteousness he is our
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God he is our Savior and grace and peace are multiplied to us through the knowledge through the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our
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Lord as we as we study and as we as we meditate upon as we are saturated with the
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Word of God and as we think of of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ grace and peace are multiplied to us there comes a a comfort there comes a foundation there comes a settledness and assuredness that certainly it isn't we who saved ourselves it is it's not possible we have a great
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God and a great Savior whom we need to press on to know forgetting those things which are behind Philippians 3 and pressing on running the race reaching forward wanting to know him more not only not only in the good as far as his life and he has as he went about doing good and all the ministry of the healing and the teaching and the blessedness of that but also in what the fellowship of his sufferings first Peter kind of goes back to there to be able to know that we we are counted is counted a privilege for us and a joy and an honor for us to be associated with the
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Lord Jesus Christ and he was rejected we will be rejected he was spoken ill of we will be spoken ill of and where it reminds me in Acts chapter 4
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I believe when they went out the disciples went out to preach the gospel and they were persecuted that they came back to the church and they were rejoicing because they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name and that badge that that badge of honor that comes to every believer is something that we ought to want to know more about and to enter into that fellowship into that knowledge of the
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Lord of not only how he suffered but also he's victorious and we're victorious in him and all about all about Christ knowing
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God and our Savior the sweeter he is and the closer we are to him and the more knowledge that we have in him and we are encouraged to grow in that grace and knowledge of the
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Lord the stronger we will be the more the more powerful we will be in that there will be there will be exhibited in our life
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I was speaking pastor Mike spoke Friday night at Harvard Law School and after he taught out of 1st
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Corinthians there were questions that were given him to him and and then after that we broke and we we were able to talk in a one -on -one with some of the students and one of the students
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I was speaking with was having having a difficulty with this I mean we wouldn't think this way but here we are at Harvard Law School and in the future when we leave and graduate we are going to be partners most likely in some law firms or we could be judges and lawyers and we don't want to be
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Christians who later on in life we look they look back at the time in school and we were the ones that were pestering people and we were the ones that were just beating them over the head with a club as far as getting trying to get them come to the to Christ through the preaching of the gospel that we were badgering people and one of the things that I said to them and you've heard me use this word before as I said what what we need to be as believers yes the crop the cross of Christ is offensive in it and it it is is foolishness to many people and they don't want to hear it no matter what way we bring it to them no matter how much love and sacrifice we we show to them but one of the things that we don't want to be is is ogres and long -faced gnarly naily people but we ought to be the most winsome people on the face of the earth with a joy in our heart because God has saved us and we're we're the the blessed children of God and the ones who supposedly know the
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Lord and know about salvation know about eternal life know we're going to heaven know that we have joy no matter what comes our way because underneath of the everlasting arms and the
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Lord our salvation is eternally secure and we have assurance and we have God who is for us and we ought to portray that and I tried to get that across and I think that's what
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Peter did in 1st Peter chapter 1 I mean in in the book of 1st Peter but in the in the book of 2nd
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Peter he's kind of tagging on to that letter and he's kind of reaffirming and kind of shoring up what he what he said in for in 1st
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Peter is because the attack is going to come and the attack isn't going to be from the outside so to speak it's going to be from the inside and there's going to be false teachers and one thing that you need to know is you need to know your
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God and Savior Jesus Christ and then he goes on in in chapter 1 and he says you need to know your salvation and I've kind of touched on that and open that up a little bit you ought to know your salvation in that your salvation is sustained by the power of God three and four according as his divine power has given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him that has called us to glory and virtue whereby are given unto us exceeding and great and precious promises that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust salvation is of God it's in here he says it's by the divine power of God he has given us these things we know that we're kept by God and we know that everything that we need for life and godliness and every precious promise and being partakers of the divine nature has not been sourced in us but it comes from God so know your salvation very important Daniel question yeah that's and that is true that you know there is an emphasis on ecumenical ism today and everybody ought to be inclusive ism and I think that's one of the things that Paul Peter warned about in chapter 2 he says that these men when they come into the church they're going to come in privately
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Paul said the same thing there they're like wolves in sheep's clothing and they come in and they infiltrate many times what they do is they don't outrightly attack what they do is just twist it just a little bit just to put a little skew on it and that of course we know that a little bit of error mixed with a lot of truth is all error and and that's how they how that's how they can come in it sounds good and sometimes when you listen to some of the teaching some of these people what they're teaching what they're saying many times is fine it's you can track along with it you go along and then all of a sudden or if you're reading one of their books all of a sudden you'll come to that paragraph or that phrase and the and the red lights ought to go off it's not right because it's it's all this truth but you got a little bit of error mixed in and that's how that's how they come in until they can get a foothold and then once they get a foothold and get a position where where they've they've got the people around them and believing them and being influenced by them and buying into them and their teaching then they can let all the barrels go and they can bring it all out and then the true colors come out in the in the wolves the sheep's clothing gets pulled off and the wolf comes out and it bites and it's too late it's devastating and what
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Peters what Peters trying to do is get them to be watchful to be thinking and to be careful
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I don't know if I answered your question but but as far as as far as teaching well for for me one of the things
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I mean one that we all know about is this whole felt needs purpose -driven you read the book and there's many many good things the purpose -driven life you can see it yeah
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I could track with that I can go along with that then all of a sudden there is this emphasis that it's all about you it's all about you and what you want
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Rick Warren purpose -driven life and we see that it's not it's not right it's not there and for what motive for whatever reason that's the track that that he took and that is one that in the church so to speak maybe not in this church but it's devastating a lot of different a lot of churches to where they're getting away from the teaching of the
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Word of God in good sound and healthy doctrine and it's and it's almost that book has become the
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Bible and we've got to have revolve all of our ministries around it yes it's on the other hand out of the corner of my eye sure being selective in what you're teaching
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Daniel kind of spoke to that when he talks about ecumenical ism yeah there's a concentration on love you know and inclusiveness and God God is a
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God of love we ought to love just like him following his footsteps and yeah there there are a lot of different ways for the error to come across it could be it could be that it's blatant openly wrong it could be that it's truth mix there's a little bit of error and they're just trying to stick that little arsenic pill in with it to get it to go through or or like you're saying is it's an emphasis it's a beating of a drum it's it's one thing and one thing only
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I want this is this is this is what I'm going to teach and I'm not going to go through expositionally looking through scripture and teach all of the counsel of God what's very interesting and we're not going to be able to get there what's very interesting about chapter 2
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Paul if you if you look at on the second side of the page under miscellaneous notes under the outline there is the nature of the false prophets and he speaks it's all listed there about their damnable heresies they deny the
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Lord that bought them they speak the evil of the way of truth they walk after the flesh they despise governments and so on eyes full of adultery they entice those who aren't steadfast they are wells without water swelling words they speak evil of dignitaries and make merchandise of men and so on and so on and so on what's very interesting if you read all of chapter 2 is that Peter mainly describes them not their message it's interesting he describes them their immoral lifestyle their immoral character but he describes them more than he does their false doctrine and MacArthur said the quality of the fruit reveals the soundness of the tree or reminds you of the
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Lord Jesus in Matthew 7 16 he says you shall know them by by their fruits and really
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Paul is saying there's going to be false doctrine and the ones that teach false doctrine or hold to these heresies you're going to know them because of their lifestyle you're going to know them by the way they treat other people you're going to know them by their motivation by what they're looking for to receive in their lives and he and he describes them and not necessarily their message
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I mean he does get into that but more so he describes them and I find that very interesting that's what we need to be looking for and isn't it so true when you see and we've seen historically over the past 10 years if you look at those that have fallen the immorality the the people that are blown out of pulpits you can trace it back somewhere someplace many times you can trace it back to false teaching to focusing on the wrong thing to teaching for teaching that has gone in the wrong direction and Paul says know your
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Savior and then he goes on he says to know your salvation it's sustained in the power of God chapter 1 it's confirmed by the graces in verses 5 through 7 of chapter 1 pastor
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Mike you could get the tape or go back and look at this I believe that he taught through this and elder pastor
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Steve Cooley did also as far as these Christian virtues adding being diligent to add to your faith virtue or character knowledge self control endurance or perseverance godliness brotherly kindness and so on and and and then he comes up to the point where he says this in in verse 10 he says wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling an election sure and how do you do that well
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I believe what he's saying up to this point wherefore he's saying go back and look at these things if you pursue diligently these spiritual qualities to be in your life
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I think this is what Peter I believe this is what Peter is saying mentioned there in verses 5 through 7 if you do that it will give it will guarantee to yourself that the spiritual fruit that you have this spiritual fruit that you have in your life proves the fact that you are called of God that you are one of God's elect that you are one who
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God has saved and that way it makes your calling an election sure because if you don't pursue these things he says that you will be barren or useless verse 8 and I'm fruitful in the knowledge of our
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Lord Jesus Christ and if you lack these things you're blind you can't see afar off and forgotten that you were purged from your old sins there'll be a there'll be a a lack of assurance there will be an unwavering this in the life of the person who who hasn't nailed this down and isn't diligently pursuing these qualities so when you know your
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Savior and you know your salvation part of that is is that your salvation is confirmed by God in his word through these through these evidence of these
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Christian graces then he goes on in this chapter and he says not only know your God and Savior not only know your salvation but know and in your salvation know what
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God has done in your life and and revel in that and being excited about that knowing that it is the work of God and then he goes on and say know your scriptures know the scriptures verse 16 of chapter 1
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Peter says we have not followed cleverly devised fables or cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and coming of the
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Lord Jesus Christ but we but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty for he received from God the
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Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory this is my beloved son in whom
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I am well pleased and this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the
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Holy Mount and what what Peter is saying here is is that he was a witness and the
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Word of God that comes to us today that's been recorded on these pages are certified to us confirmed to us through eyewitnesses that God used and Peter says here even though I was in the
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Mount of Transfiguration and I saw this wonder and I heard the voice of God speaking he says we haven't followed as some would say and I think he was being accused of by these false teachers of fables and cleverly put together stories to kind of deceive people and really isn't it something the people that were accusing him of that were doing that exact thing they had the fables they had the cleverly devised stories to try to manipulate
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Peter and Peter is saying look what do we have verse 19 we have a more sure word of prophecy where until you do well that you take heed as unto a light that shines in a dark place until the day dawn and the day star arise in your heart knowing this first that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the
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Holy Spirit and in those verses there from verses 16 down to verse 21
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Peter is saying this no matter what experience anybody ever has it will always be superseded by the
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Word of God it is the Word of God over experience it is the Word of God that that is to be held to and every experience that we have needs to be looked at in the light of the
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Word of God not the other way around because the other way around will be dangerous and he's saying that the
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Word of God came to us not and it's and even though we have this wonderful experience he said the
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Word of God that comes from the Holy Spirit of God is more sure it is more certain it is more reliable it is the source it is the it is the foundation for us for all of faith and practice and he says that they were holy men of God they were that spoke as they were moved or as they were carried along or born along like the wind hitting the sail of a boat they were they were moved by God not that they were robotic
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God used their personality God used their thought process
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God used their vocabulary but it was all superintended by the
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Holy Spirit and what they penned on paper was exactly what God wants us to have and what he wants us to have and I believe what we're being encouraged with this morning brethren is to is to be careful in the day in which we live where attacks will come from within as you read books as you listen to the radio as you download that mp3 onto your iPod and plug in your earphones and you drive off and you listen to that whatever we need to be so careful that we are always on guard and being stirred up in our remembrance that we're not going to be ignorant of the fact that that there is false doctrine but we're going to be on guard and be careful not to allow anything to infiltrate our hearts and lives and families or church that could be that could be devastating so know your
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God and Savior know your salvation know your scriptures I've touched on this for chapter 2 know your adversaries the description of them is there in the in the first bullet under the miscellaneous notes and you can see that there and you read through that chapter and you will see that their end is destruction and then
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Paul move on Peter moves into chapter 3 and the last point is is to know your prophecy know what's going to happen in the end times know what's going to go on and Peter says the second epistle in chapter 3 if there's a second epistle there must have been a first so he's referring back to that right kind of puts it together that he that his he is the author he says again in 3 1
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I write this to stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance so that you'll be mindful of the words which are spoken before of the
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Holy Prophets the Old Testament and of the commandment of us the Apostles so he's referring back to his first letter
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I believe there as being a commandments from the Apostles under under the the wit the provenance of God that word would come and he says this knowing this first that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts and they they despise and they reject the coming of the
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Lord where is the promise of his coming for since the fathers fell asleep all things continue the other they are they are unwilling to believe that the
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Lord is is going to come and I want to get down to a verse that could be very troubling to some as we as we conclude here but look as he works his way down here he's talking about these false teachers these scoffers these people who deny the coming of the
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Lord and then he uses the word but in verse 8 but beloved he starts talking to the brethren he says but beloved don't be ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the
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Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years is one day God thinks about time differently than we do in verse 9 the
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Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness but as long suffering to us we're not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance and there's the verse that is troubling to some this is dealing with last times this is dealing with with what the
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Lord is doing it says that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance but we know that Paul in chapter 2 talked about these people that they would they would be judged and we know that these people will receive the reward of unrighteousness they will be banished from the presence of the
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Lord well how can that be if in nine it says that God is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance
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I mean it seems like there's a contradiction here well there would be a contradiction if you were trying to say that this verse is speaking to everybody in general but if you look at the verse it says
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God is long -suffering to us word who's he talking to in verse 8 the
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Beloved he's speaking to the Christians it goes back to chapter the first chapter where he speaks to those who have received like precious faith they're believers and what he's speaking of here is is not that everyone will be saved but what
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Peter is what Peter is writing here is that God is patient not to save everyone but God is patient so that he will receive all of his own it's us word it's the believers it's the elect of God God is this is just showing the immense patience of the
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Lord in that judgment isn't coming until the last of the elect of God the last one to believe upon the
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Lord Jesus Christ will be saved and then time will will be no more and that's what the verse is saying it's not it can't be speaking about that everybody will be saved because that would be universalism and that's just not taught in Scripture it's not there and my final point of conclusion here
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Peter says that in this day of the Lord when judgment comes we need to know our prophecy he says the heavens will pass away the elements of the earth will melt with a fervent heat not by water the world is not going to be judged but by fire the earth and the works are going to be burned up and he says in verse 11 311 seeing them that all these things shall be dissolved come to pass what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conversation and godliness looking for in hastening of the coming of the day of the
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Lord and what Peter is speaking to here is in whatever position that you hold to when it comes to eschatology in all of them we know the fact is that the
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Lord is coming time will be no more and then there will be judgment in eternity and what ought it to drive us to do not to be concerned about the latest and greatest next book or how if you read the book of Revelation that Lewis is going to do a stellar job on when he when he gets to what do all the horns and the in the in all the symbolism and all that mean in there and I got to know it all the most important thing is is if the
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Lord is going to return and it is true it could be an imminent return and it is going to happen then it ought to affect the way that we live what he's saying know your
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God and Savior know your salvation know your adversary know the scriptures and know your prophecy and in all your knowing of the prophecy get this that knowing that all this thing these things are going to come to pass it ought to cause us and I think it
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I think somebody termed it ethical eschatology it has to do with it ought to make us want to live more holy and so that when the
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Lord appears when he comes we can be found pure we can be found faithful we can be found a holding on to the plow the strap over the shoulder going forward for the glory of the
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Lord and he says beloved seeing that you know these things verse 17 beware adversaries false teaching don't be led astray but grow in the grace and knowledge of the
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Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to whom be glory both now and forever amen this is a very very very helpful and pertinent and relevant book for us even today let's pray father thank you for giving us this book amongst all the other ones we cherish and love all of the word of God that you've given to us in this book here where we have so many reminders of what it is that we should pursue and know about our blessed
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Lord and Savior our great salvation which is a work of our great God the holy scriptures given to us by the