Empowered to Follow 

2 Peter 1:1-4 (ESV)

¹ Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: ² May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Peter, inspired by the Holy Spirit, is writing to the Jews who had turned to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ

He places himself as a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. It is a humbling gesture of him to first consider himself a servant above being an apostle.

The term apostle refers to one who carries the authority of Christ and his word, while the word servant shows submission to the authority that is over his life. He chose to be submissive rather than exercise authority.

Peter puts himself on a level plane with the church that he is trying to reach.  Knowing that all have been saved by grace through faith.

Power

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 

Peter now focuses our attention to the divine power of God. Divine because it proceeds directly from God himself.

It is a power that is far beyond any human limitation.

• How do we obtain this divine power in our lives, to be able to enjoy life and live godly?

It is through the knowledge of Him who called us.  Your knowledge of Him must grow!

• You need to know who He is,
• When you know who He is then you will know what He can do!
• When you know what He can do, you will look at who you are
• When you see who you are, you will look back desperately to who He is.
• When you look back to who He is, you realize his power to affect who you are.

(reread vs 3) It starts with having a knowledge of who He is, that will eventually affect who we are. So that we will know who He is even to a greater level.

 

Have you been a member of a gym?  Often in a gym you will find two guys alternating workouts.  One guy would spot while the other is working out.  When the strength of the one working out appears to be gone, the guy spotting would yell out something like “you could do it man” or “just 3 more.”   At that point something miraculous happens.  The guy working out that was about to give up now finds the strength to keep on going.

God is a lot like the spotter encouraging us and speaks to us through His Holy Spirit which empowers us to press a little harder, endure a little longer, fight a little harder.  His Spirit gives us the power to keep on going, and to never quit.  Never say die!

It is not enough to know about God. It is not even enough to know about the power of God. Even the demons in hell know who God is and can attest to his power.

The knowledge that is required of believers is to know his power working in you.

His power empowers you to overcome sin, and to persevere to the end.

If the power of God is not flowing into your life and making you godly, then you are not His.

You do not know God.

Romans 8:14

¹⁴ For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 

The Holy Spirit is the power of God living on the inside of us.  It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we can live godly and enjoy life.

Practice

2 Peter 1:3

³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 

The sending of His Holy Spirit was not just given in vain.  But it was given to help us practice godliness and to experience life the way that He had intended for us to experience.

• You may feel like it is impossible to find peace in the environment that you live.
• You may feel like you will never have joy because the pressure is too great.
• You may feel like you will never experience love, because of your past hurts.
• You might feel like you could never walk on your campus and live godly.
• You might feel like you will never break free from that sin or addiction
• You may think that you do not have a prayer when it comes to Following Jesus

You’re right.  You do not have what it takes to overcome that which has been overcoming you.

But Jesus Does.  In fact, He has already overcome for you on the cross of Calvary.  He not only died but He rose again.  He raised Himself from the grave.  Only God can do that.

The same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead is alive and living on the inside of you.

You have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness by His divine power.

It says that God has given to us, all things to help us live and to help us live godly.

Therefore, the goals in our lives should be life and godliness.

Godliness-     showing reverence for God and devotion to worshipping Him.

To live in a manner that is pleasing to him.

Life-    active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed.

Back to the gym analogy. Because I am a member of Body Elite on the east side, I have unrestricted access to any of the machines that I want to use which I think will help improve my physical body.  No one can tell me not to use, nor can anyone stop me from using any machine that I please.  I am a member and I have been given unrestricted access.

Being a member of a gym is one thing.  However, Because I have made Jesus Lord of my life and have decided to follow Jesus, I am now a citizen of heaven and I too have unrestricted access to the power of God through the Holy Spirit.  By His power my spirit man will improve every day.

Not only has He given us all things for godliness but for life as well.  By His spirit we can truly begin to live. We were made to delight in God and all things that God had created.

We often mistaken Christianity to be a boring religion.  We have the mindset that God does not want you to have any fun.  So, we look at the world and it seems more appealing.

The truth is, God had created all things so that we would know who He is and that we would glorify Him and be satisfied in Him.

You should take vacations, travel the world, and see as much of God’s creation that you possibly can.  You should go fishing, hunting, hiking, snowboarding, parasailing, skydiving, snorkeling, sporting events, or whatever wholesome activity that you enjoy doing. You should enjoy spending time together with family and friends enjoying each other’s company.  You should even enjoy your work. Because God has placed all these things in your life to be enjoyed. 

As you enjoy life you are enjoying God in all his greatness.

(example Machu Picchu, Cabo San Lucas, Costa Rica)

Believers in Christ are blessed when they are completely satisfied in Him and all that He created.

Besides enjoying the present life, believers will receive eternal life with Christ in the life to come.

Life and Godliness should be the goals of every believer. 

However, in this verse we see that both godliness and life are not a result of our own power.

We also see that it is God’s power that empowers us to live godly and to have life.  You and I do not have the power on our own to live godly.

• Do you know any addicts who think they can just quit the addiction by their own power?
• Do you think that you can overcome the enemy of your soul by your own power?

God calls man and helps man attain righteousness by his great power.

We have life and we live godly only by the power of God living on the inside of us.

Promises

⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

I can promise you will see a difference in your physical body as you commit to exercising and eating properly.  But greater than this promise is the hundreds of promises in the bible that we can hold on to that will help us to endure our trial and even endure to the end of all time.

Some of these Promises include

• God loves you John 3:16, Romans 8:38
• You are Redeemed Psalms 121
• God formed you and knows you Psalms 139
• His plan is to prosper and not harm you Jeremiah 29:11
• There is strength available to us Philippians 4:13

 

 

Just knowing that there are promises in the bible does not help much.  But if we are to grow in the knowledge of God, then that means going deeper than just knowing that those promises are available.  We must know the promises which means you have to read them.  Then you must believe the promises so that you can receive the promises.

Romans 10:17

¹⁷ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

When you hear it or see it you must also believe it.

Through personal experience of having promises fulfilled in your life, you will gain a deeper knowledge of God.

Just as when you see some success in the gym you will be motivated to keep going.

As your knowledge of God increase he will grant to you all things that pertain to life and godliness. As you gain a deeper knowledge of God, it becomes easier to follow him.

• How do we apply this message to our lives?

We must day-by-day go to the Word of God and search for great promises. Fix one or two in your mind and hold them there before you all day. Believe God and practice godliness. 

If we hold before our eyes the astonishing things God has promised us now and in the life to come, his divine power will be present and we will escape corruption and be conformed to the image of his Son.

The Christian faith is not merely a set of doctrines to be accepted. It is a power to be experienced.  You have been Empowered to Follow!