Forget Me Not

2 Peter 1:3–15 ESV

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, 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. For this very 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 brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or 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 sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For 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 to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by 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 so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

3-4> God has graciously given us His word so that we may follow it and live a life pleasing to Him, and escape the corruption of the world

-Have you ever ordered something online, or maybe bought something in the store that required owners assembly? Now how many of you actually follow the directions? How many of you have put something together and wound up with pieces left over and had to lie to yourself and say “Well maybe they sent me some extra nuts and bolts with this kit”?

God gives us His words as an instruction guide to the best life we can possibly lead. If you follow His guide He will lead you in the path of righteousness. He will put you on the path that will give you the best life that you can possibly lead that is within His will for your life.

(Let me be real for a minute. It is difficult to be a Christian sometimes. Sometimes it is the easiest decision you will make, and other times it will cause you near physical pain to follow the Lord. Sometimes it will be an easy decision, but the results may seem to cost you dearly. You may lose a job or miss out on an opportunity that you feel would benefit you but it compromises your morals. You may lose someone you thought to call a friend which is hard no matter what age you are (but a friend that you truly need in your life will follow the word of God as well) You may have to swallow your pride at times, which is very hard for us to do. And sometimes you do everything right, but things do not work out in the end. Have you ever been hurt even though you are in the right? Has another persons actions cut you deeply even though you have done your best to be a saint? You must remember that we are still living in a fallen world where we are affected by other peoples actions. But our God is good, and our God is just. Keep your heads up, continue to follow Him faithfully, and He will sort all things out for our good in the end.)

I would also add this. The Bible never says “Follow God’s will and you will receive a mansion.” It never says “Follow God’s path to the fattest bank account imaginable.” You can have nice things in life, but know that God is not for this prosperity gospel that is floating around out there. Jesus said that the birds of the air have nests, and the foxes have holes, but the Son of Man has no where to lay His head. It is not always glitz and glamour when you follow the Lord, but He does promise that He will take care of you, and His provision is always more than just.

My final word of caution on this point. God gave us His word so that we may ESCAPE the corruption that is in the world because because of sinful desire. You only have to escape things that would hurt you. Well sin is going to kill you. That is the highest level of hurt. Jesus died for our sin, and those who do not accept Him will eternally die because of theirs. Do not toy around with the very thing that Jesus gave His life for, the very things that would actively send your soul to hell if it was not for Him. These things are absolutely DANGEROUS, and when Jesus sat us free from them He set us on a path that would lead us away from that destruction, not back into it. If you are saved, you need to be walking the high road. I want you to know that if you are lost, your sins are actively sending you to a place of no return. A place of total and utter darkness. A place of torment with no hope of relief. Life is short, but eternity never ends. If you wish to be in anguish for eternity, then you are on the right path if you are unsaved. But if you wish to be set free from your burden of sin, if you wish to live eternally in a perfect heaven, then you must give your life to Christ. If you want to know more about how to do that you can see me after the service, you can talk to brother Daniel after the service, you can talk to either of us throughout the weeks whenever you would like, or reach out t anyone you see here and feel comfortable talking to. The important thing is that you reach out. Your entire eternity is hanging in the balance. But I can tell you right now that God wants you in His arms.

The next point is this__

James 1:19-

why do we sin? Because we hear but we do not do.

What is the consequence of sin? Well for those who are not saved then the wages of their sins is eternal death, but consequences for the saved is an estranged relationship with our Lord. It is a break in our spirit which brings discomfort and a lack of peace. (Don’t grieve the spirit) It also causes us to feel anxiety and depression when we feel far from our Lord, drifting to the point of feeling that we are not saved.