Wherefore? Live the Truth (2 Peter 3:14-18)
Believers have heard the gospel, therefore they should exemplify the gospel in their lives.
Intro
Wherefore? Live by the Truth
1 . Be Ready for the day ()
The English journalist, G. K. Chesterton, reminded us of a practice among certain Christian knights of the medieval period. Before leaving for battle, they would receive the sacraments with one foot in the stirrup.
Wherefore? Ready or Not the “day” is coming, get ready it going to be ”something else”. Live the Truth.
2. Be Informed ()
One of the striking sayings of the late Dr. A. J. Gordon was that the Christian is not to stand in the world and witness to Christ, but to stand in Christ and witness to the world.
One such witness, a few evenings ago, had just alighted from his car to open his garage when he was accosted by a stranger who asked him for direction to a certain locality. The information was quickly given, but ere the stranger could get away the Lord’s messenger added: “Brother, before you go we may never meet again, and I should like to ask you, “Have you a personal interest in the Lord Jesus Christ?” ” “No,” replied the stranger, “but I would like to have!”
Here in the semi-darkness of the street of one of our great cities a brief conversation took place, two heads were uncovered, and a soul was introduced to Jesus Christ and definitely accepted Him as his own personal Saviour. Had the brief question not been asked, the individual would have gone on his way, perhaps never to meet the Lord except at judgment.
—Alliance Weekly
Wherefore? Now is the time to “know” your Bible, souls may depend on your knowledge. Live the Truth.
3. Be Sure-footed ()
Sure-Footed
As a young man in Europe, Donald Grey Barnhouse did considerable mountain climbing in the Swiss Alps and in the more dangerous and difficult French Alps. Roped together with other young men, he scaled many a peak; his snapshot book records moments of difficulty and peril that later made him wish to restrain others who might venture into similar places. The first time he went out with a young Frenchman, son of a pastor, and a young Swiss bank clerk, they gave him sound advice. “You have two hands and two feet,” they said, “and that makes four. Always be sure that three out of the four are firmly on the rock. It is the only rule of safety.” This advice is also the rule of spiritual safety in our Christian life. In one of the Psalms, David told of slipping feet. He had been looking at men and their circumstances. He saw the righteous suffering and the wicked flourishing, and he could not understand; he was, in fact, dismayed. He had looked at men and their doings instead of looking at God. It is as dangerous to take your eyes from the Lord in spiritual things as it is to take your feet from the rock in mountain climbing.
Wherefore? Be sure-footed, be planted on the “rock”. Live the Truth.
4. Be Growing ()
When a Christian Grows
Doctor Bonar once remarked that he could tell when a Christian was growing. In proportion to his growth in grace he would elevate his Master, talk less of what he was doing, and become smaller and smaller in his own esteem, until, like the morning star, he faded away before the rising sun. Jonathan was willing to decrease that David might increase; and John the Baptist showed the same spirit of humility.
Wherefore? A Growing Christian exalts the Savior. Live the Truth
Wherefore? Live the Truth, Glorify God ()
Haydn’s Response To Acclaim
In 1808, just a year before the death of Franz Joseph Haydn, a grand performance of his outstanding oratorio The Creation took place in Vienna. The composer himself was there for the occasion. Old and feeble, he was brought into the great hall in a wheelchair. His presence caused an electrifiying enthusiasm in the audience. As the orchestra and chorus burst forth with full power into the passage, “And there was light,” a crescendo of applause broke out.
Moved by this response, the elderly musician struggled to his feet. Summoning all his strength, he raised his trembling arms upward, crying, “No, No! Not from me, but from thence—from Heaven above comes all!” Although he fell back exhausted in his chair and had to be carried from the hall, the old master had made his point in a dramatic and unforgettable manner.
—Our Daily Bread
Wherefore? All glory is due The Lord. Live the Truth.
Two friends were talking of the family of a prominent man who had just died. “His oldest son was the source of great joy to him,” one of them said. “He brought great distinction upon the family name.” “And what of the other two?” “Oh they were well enough. That is, they never did anything to disgrace their father. Still, they never glorified his name. If it depended upon them, the name would perish with them.” There are Christians of whom something like this might be said. They have never done anything to disgrace the name they wear, but they have certainly not added to its influence and power. Jesus said, “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit” (John 15:8).
Two friends were talking of the family of a prominent man who had just died. “His oldest son was the source of great joy to him,” one of them said. “He brought great distinction upon the family name.” “And what of the other two?” “Oh they were well enough. That is, they never did anything to disgrace their father. Still, they never glorified his name. If it depended upon them, the name would perish with them.” There are Christians of whom something like this might be said. They have never done anything to disgrace the name they wear, but they have certainly not added to its influence and power.