What Manner of Persons Ought We To Be

2 Peter 3:9-11 "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness," I. WHAT MANNER OF PERSONS OUGHT YE TO BE? 1. Surely, we are the people on whom the ends of the world have come. We face today what the Apostle Peter described in our text. 2. Seeing then all these things, we must look within ourselves to see if we have what we must have as we face the end of this age. 3. In every generation there has been certain signs pointing to the coming of Christ. It is this hope that has kept the elect of God. 4. It is amazing how much time the Apostle Peter, in these two short epistles, tells of the coming of Christ and the end of the age. 5. With the thought of the end, the Holy Spirit laid great emphasis upon "what manner of people we ought to be" who see these things coming to pass. 6. With this thought, I want to set forth what I believe to be the manner of people we must be to fulfill God's purpose in this end time. As I mentioned last week, God does not expect to us live "by dos and don'ts" but that we "walk by faith and not by sight." II. FIRST, WE MUST BE A PEOPLE POSSESSED WITH THE VISION AND PURPOSE OF GOD. 1. We are co-agents with God, partners with the Almighty in the business of redemption. 2. God lives in us, and if this message is told it will have to be told by us. 3. The vision of God and His purpose must be renewed in the Church to the extent that it drives us beyond the limits of human reason. God's vision is stated in verse 9, "not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." 4. Jesus described the end-time people in Matthew 11:12, "The Kingdom of Heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force." It's going to take violent faith in turbulent times to make it to the coming of the Lord. I have learned myself, and I am confident that you have learned or will learn, that we cannot generate the faith that we need by ourselves. We must have the Holy Spirit energize and release the faith that has been placed within us since salvation. 5. Our vision must take in the fact that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. Now Christ is in us carrying out that reconciliation. 6. We must see that the Christ that is in us is the same Christ that we find in the Gospels. We must see Him as: a. The healer of every sickness. b. The answer to every situation. c. The Savior of our spirit, soul and eventually our body. 7. The vision must carry us beyond the broken-down walls, burned out gates, and demons of unbelief. 8. We must, through the eyes of God, see the candlestick all of gold. III. SECOND, WE MUST BE A COMMITTED PEOPLE. 1. This is an age of the uncommitted. It is an age of trial marriages, aborted babies, suicides, "do what feels good", and divorce. 2. We have sired a generation that curls up under a hot sun. 3. This is the day of the shrink, support groups, and flashbacks. 4. This same lazy, quitting, running spirit has invaded the Church. 5. Not only must we have a vision of the greatness of God, we must be committed to see our great God manifested among us. 6. This spiritual mess did not happen overnight, and it will not go away overnight, but go away it will if God can find a people who "after having done all to stand, we stand!" 7. God give the vision and commitment to these altars where like Jacob we cry, "I will not let you go till you bless me." 8. Such a commitment can only be born out of a vision of the reality of God. "He that cometh to God must believe that He is..." 9. God will commit Himself to those who commit themselves to Him. 10. God's word is, "If you will, I will..." 11. There is a war to be fought, a victory to be won, but there must be a commitment made; there cannot be a back door. 12. There must be a vision to inspire us, and a commitment made at the alter that says to God, "I am here until the answer comes." IV. THIRD, WE MUST BE A BOLD PEOPLE. 1. A timid faith will be intimidated. 2. The prayer of early saints "Grant unto thy servants boldness..." caused the house to shake. God was pleased with that prayer. 3. Stirred by the vision of the greatness of God and armed with the truth that there is "no other name under heaven whereby we must be saved," I pray that God will grant us boldness to witness. 4. What manner of persons must we be? We must be a people of vision, commitment, and boldness. 5. "...grant unto they servants, that with all boldness, they may speak thy word." (Acts 4:29) The Word is God (Jn.1:1) to boldly speak the Word is to declare the character of God - who He is, what He does. 6. How does God grant (give) this boldness? "By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name (character) of thy Holy Child, Jesus. (Acts 4:30) a. Boldness is translated from a word meaning to speak frankly, bluntly, by implied assurance and confidence. b. Boldness is to speak with faith concerning the greatness of God. 7. "And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection..." (V. 33) The word power is translated from a word meaning a miraculous power, usually implied by a miracle itself. Means, power, strength, violence, ability. V. FOURTH, WE MUST BE A PEOPLE OF COMPASSION. 1. We are not robots. We are people of life. 2. To help people we must care. 3. Jesus is touched with the feelings of our infirmities. As the body of Christ, we must also feel the hurt of others. 4. "Faith worketh by love." a. Faith is a gift of God. It is His Faith. b. God gives Faith, and God gives the ability to release the faith that He gives. c. "God is love", and faith worketh by love, which means faith works by God. 5. God looks to the broken, the tender, and the compassionate. 6. As Jesus was, so are we to be. a. A man of compassion. He cared. b. He wept over Jerusalem. c. He wept at Lazarus' tomb. 7. If Jesus truly lives in and through us, we will be a people of compassion. VI. "WHAT MANNER OF PERSONS OUGHT WE TO BE? " 1. A people who cannot be shaken. 2. A people conformed to the image of Christ. 3. A people who have seen Jesus and in seeing Him lost sight of everything else. WHAT MANNER OF PERSONS Series: Paths to Power - Lesson #11 Sunday August 2, 2020 - AM