Please turn with me to 2 Peter 1 - starting at verse 5.  This morning is our second look at Peter’s second letter.

First - a few slides focused on the reality of real life.

(slide) First - this confidence builder.

(slide) Notice the gas pump hose.

(slide) How are you suppose delete files if there’s no room to delete files. (slide) Do you ever feel like this? 

In Peter’s second letter Peter is going to be sharing a lot about heaven and the hope we have in Jesus.  What happens after our time here on earth is done.  He’s going to give us some pretty exciting things to think about in the “What Comes Next” category.  But, Peter also shares about living life right here in the present - knowing what we hope for - how we can live life today.

Last Sunday - as we began looking at this letter - going through Peter’s introduction - we saw that the almighty God of creation desires to have an intimate personal relationship with each one of us - in which He - God - supplies all that we need to live in that relationship - to live life as God has designed life to be lived.

When we choose to claim that promise - actually choose to live believing what God has done for us - especially in Jesus Christ - choose to live believing what God desires to do in our lives - then we begin to experience His grace and peace and transforming work within us.  So that no matter what happens in this life we begin to live as those who have hope - who know and experience God’s divine power in our lives every day.

Now, the problem with that is what?  How do we do that?  Sounds good on paper.  Its great sermon fodder - sounds spiritual.  But in the reality of where we live our lives how do we get there?

Coming to 2 Peter 1 - verse 5 - Peter is going to focus in on 7 specific character qualities that we need to focus on.  In other words - in the midst of all the rushing around in our lives - in the midst of all the things we could spend our time and energy on  - Peter says, that if we really want to live within God’s promises for each one of us - then there are 7 specific character qualities that we must make an effort to pursue.  This may not be an exclusive list.  But, these are crucial if we’re going to live experiencing God’s divine power in our lives every day.

2 Peter 1 - starting at verse 5:  Now for this very reason also

Pause there.  “Now for this very reason” is kind of like a therefore.  When we hear it we have to ask, “For what reason.”  Try that, “Now for this very reason”  “For what reason?” 

Because God has supplied to us everything we need to have a relationship with Him - the very basis of our faith - Jesus Christ being our crucified and resurrected Savior - supplies to us by His divine power everything we need to live that life of faith in Jesus Christ - Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply

Pause there.  Don’t miss what Peter writes here.  Because of what God has done - in our faith we need to be diligent to supply these 7 qualities that Peter’s coming to.

Diligent is the Greek word “spoudeh” which has the idea of a daily dogged effort at something.  Not like some New Year’s resolution that gets forgotten.  “Spoudeh” is being compulsive about this - being consumed - addicted to it.  We eat, sleep, and breathe these 7 qualities.

“Supply” is the Greek verb “epichoregeo.”  It comes from the same root word we get our English word - what?  Choreography.  In Greek drama - when they would stage plays - there was a combined effort of at least 3 key partners.  There was the poet - who wrote the script.  The state - which provided the theater.  And thirdly a wealthy individual - a patron -  called a “choregos” - same root word as “epichoregeo.”  The “choregos” spent a lot of money and put in a tremendous amount of physical effort to make sure the play became a reality.

What Peter is saying is that God has written the script in the blood of Jesus Christ - laid the foundation for our faith and life with Him.  The world is the theater where our lives in Christ are played out.  And we are - because we have faith in Jesus Christ - we are to diligently - daily - doggedly - supply - make every effort to make that script come alive each day of our lives.

Going on - here’s how - 7 qualities.  Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 

Quality number one:  Moral excellence.  Say that with me, “Moral excellence.”

Anyone know who this is?  Reggie Damone.  Reggie - age 47 -  works at McDonalds and receives food stamps.  Two weeks ago Reggie was looking for a scrap of paper to jot down a phone number when he picked up what he thought was litter on a sidewalk.  What he picked up was an envelope containing a check for $185,000.

Reggie took the bus to a bank and returned the check to the niece of the landlord that the check was made out to.  She thanked Reggie and gave him a $50 bill.  Reggie said that although he knew $185,000 would pay his rent and other bills for a long time he was never tempted to try and cash the check and splurge. (1)  

Another true story.  Maybe you’ve heard this.  A man - down in Long Beach - went into a Church’s Fried Chicken to get some chicken for himself and the woman with him.  Inadvertently the manager of the store handed the guy the box in which he’d placed the financial proceeds of the day.  Apparently he was going to make the deposit and had camouflaged it by putting the money in a fried chicken box.

This man takes the box - goes back to the car - and this couple drives away.  When they get to the park and open the box - they discover this box full of money.  There’s this very real moment - to keep the cash or to not keep the cash.

The man and this woman take the money back to Church’s and give it back to the manager.  The manager is relieved - excited - grateful.

The manager tells them, “Stay here.  I’m going get your picture - call the newspaper.  You’re the most honest guy in town.”

The man says, “Oh no, don’t do that.”

“Why not?” asks the manager.

“Well,” says the man, “You see, I’m married and this woman is not my wife.” (2)

At the time Peter is writing this letter Nero is the Emperor of Rome.  Nero was a murderer and a sexual pervert.  He fit right in with Roman society with all its moral decadence.  Bribery, murder, dishonesty, prostitution - if there is a sin that can be imagined - they did it.

In the cesspool of what human society often is - moral excellence means continually making choices to do what is right - even when people aren’t looking - so that what instinctively comes out in our actions is moral excellence - actions that reflect the sinless character of Jesus who dwells within us.

Second Quality:  Knowledge.  Say that with me, “Knowledge.”

Do you remember what life was like before the internet?  It is astounding how much of anything is available on the internet - some good - some really not so good.  They say that every year about 20% of the world’s knowledge is new.  With computer science its about 80% per year.  We have immense knowledge today. 

The people who keep track of these things tells us that most children today have been exposed to more information by the age of 5 than most of us were exposed to by the age of 18.  Ponder that.  The problem is that they don’t have an understanding of what to do with that knowledge.  Its just pure knowledge overload.  Terabytes of information crammed into a gigabyte hard drive.

The idea of really “knowing” something or someone - what Peter is writing about here - knowledge relates to what we do with that knowledge - how we personally experience knowing God.  Reading His word - studying - memorizing - discussing - and prayerfully seeking to obey and understand how His word applies in the daily experiences of our lives.

Peter is challenging us to come to a practical - experiential knowledge of God.  Knowledge is more than the Bible having a place in our home.  God’s word has to have a place in our lives - to lay hold of our lives and possess our actions.

Third Quality:  Self-control.  Say that with me.  “Self-control.”

“There, perfectly organized for my spontaneity session.”  Self-control doesn’t mean controlling.

A long time ago in a church far far away I used to meet with a group of deacons - nine deacons and two pastors.  At times the meeting would get rather animated.  Been there?  People could get pretty passionate talking about a subject.  But there was one older gentleman that would generally sit there - calmly listening - taking it all in - thinking through what was being said.

At some point while all these various ideas and view points were being tossed around he would say something like, “Excuse me, but, maybe we should think about this…”  And he would present a very studied - well thought out - godly perspective on what we discussing.

Don’t you just hate it when the voice of reason pops your bubble of passion?  This man - for me - was an example of self-control.  Maybe you can think of people like him in your own life.

Self-control is learning to master our moods and passions rather than being controlled by them - so that when we have moods - anger - happiness - and passions - our sexuality - these are expressed - lived out - according to the teaching of the Bible and power of the Holy Spirit.  Subjected to God’s control - our moods and passions actually help us rather than get us in to trouble.

Fourth Quality:  Perseverance.  Say that with me, “Perseverance.”

A number of years ago the New Yorker magazine published an account of a man in Long Island who had ordered an extremely sensitive barometer from Abercrombie and Fitch.  When the barometer arrived at his home he was disappointed to discover that the indicating needle appeared to be stuck pointing towards “Hurricane.”

After shaking the barometer several times - not a good idea with a sensitive instrument - but still never getting the needle to move, the new owner wrote a scathing letter to the store, and, on the following morning, on his way to his office in New York City, he mailed it.

That evening he returned to Long Island to find not only the barometer missing but his house as well!  The needle was correct.  On that date in 1938 a hurricane swept through and almost leveled Long Island. (3)

Perseverance is like those Chevy Truck commercials.  Remember these?  Like a Rock.  Chevy trucks built Chevy tough.  Bolted and riveted and welded and super glued together.

Perseverance means that nothing is going to rattle us - shake us from our faith in Jesus.  But how does that happen?

It comes from learning to daily trust the barometer - to trust that - in whatever circumstance we’re in - we need to believe that God’s perspective is the right one.  Perseverance is learning to view all circumstances as coming from the hand of our loving Heavenly Father - who is in control of all events - being able to trust God and His timing in the midst of all of the circumstances of our lives - to let that belief dictate our actions.

Fifth Quality:  Godliness.  Say that with me, “Godliness.”

Of all these qualities godliness is probably the most difficult to define since basically all of these other 6 qualities to some degree are a part of what godliness is.

Godliness is living life with God - drawing on His wisdom and power and forgiveness.  Living in purity and calmness and courage and confidence in the midst of whatever comes.  Godliness is a piety and devotion to the person of God - a very practical - continual - awareness of God - His presence - power - and working - in every aspect of our lives.  It is a reverence for God in every aspect of our lives.

As we go on in this letter Peter is going to give us examples of what godliness is and what godliness is not.

Sixth Quality:  Brotherly Kindness.  Say that together.  “Brotherly Kindness.”

“If you want to understand someone walk a mile in their - what? shoes.” 

The Apostle Paul wrote, “With humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3,4)

Brotherly kindness goes much deeper than mere understanding.  It means feeling what others feel - personally taking on their burdens - the concerns - the hurts - the expectations - what shapes their motivation - moves them to action.  Sharing with each other - practically and intimately.  Praying for each other.  Watching our attitudes and words about and towards each other.  Rejecting prejudice - exclusiveness or elitism.  There should be a warmth of affection that characterizes our fellowship as believers.

Take a look at the person sitting next to you.  Be brave.  Do you know what they feel?  Can it become a part of what concerns you? 

Seventh Quality:  Love.  Say that with me, “Love.”

The Apostle John writes,  “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven...  We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us.  God is - what? love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” (1 John 4:10,16)

Jesus defines what real love is.  Its sacrificial and difficult.  Its to give up ourselves for someone else.  He laid down His life for us.  And notice this - not just for mankind in general - but for each one of us.

C.S. Lewis writes, “It is easier to be enthusiastic about Humanity than it is to love individual men and women, especially those who are uninteresting, exasperating, depraved, or otherwise unattractive.”

Jesus - loves us - individually - personally - dying for us - knowing everything about us.

Please hear this:  To the depth of our understanding of Jesus’ love for us will be the extent of our ability to love others.  If we allow the love of Jesus to touch us deeply - we will lay down our lives for others - give up our rights - be quick to forgive wrongs - prefer another instead of ourselves - raise up others instead of taking the credit for ourselves - give up our possessions - go where there is hurt.  Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to do the same for each other.

Look at the person next to you.  Would you be willing to give up your life for that person?

That’s a tough list isn’t it?  When I look at a list like this - those seven qualities - I know that I’m not even close to mastering this list.  Anyone here want to say that they’re experts at all of these?  No problem - been there - done that - next list.  Thank God that this list doesn’t mean that we’ve got to have all of these qualities already worked out in our lives.

Someone’s saying, “Gee.  I came to church and now I’ve got 7 more things to do.”

What we need to hear this morning is the encouragement in what Peter is writing.   In the midst of life - if we really want to live within God’s promises for each one of us - then diligently work at these.

We need to go beyond just listening to this list on a Sunday morning.  We need to pursue these qualities.  Meditate on them.  Ask God to incorporate them into our lives.  To make choices - letting go of some things or attitudes or people - so that whatever keeps us back from these qualities will be removed from our lives.  We need to choose what to bring into our lives or what to strengthen - so that whatever draws us closer to these qualities will become increasingly a part of our lives.

Verses 8 to 11 contain two promises for us.  If we diligently work at making these happen in our lives there are two things we can expect to happen.

Verse 8:  For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. 

Promise number one:  The Promise of Purpose.  Say that with me, “The promise of purpose.”

Take a good look at this picture.  The second guy from the left is Jason Pisarik from Lombard, Illinois.  These people are watching TV - football to be exact - at the ESPN Zone Sports Bar.   These four were the finalists in the Ultimate Couch Potato Contest.

This is serious stuff.  The winner gets a prize package valued at almost $5,000 - including a HDTV - gift certificates - a leather recliner - and a trophy featuring a live spud.

Jason successfully defended his title.  How long do you think he sat there?  39 hours and 55 minutes.  Jason said,  “I couldn't think of anything better than to sit and watch a bunch of games and get served food and drink all day.” (4)

The world record - in case you’re wondering - the world record for being a couch potato was set in September 2005 by this man, Suresh Joachim - 69 hours and 48 minutes. (5)  Joachim also holds the world ironing record at 55 hours and 5 minutes.  And, he’s married. 

The promise of purpose.  Peter writes that if we are diligent about these qualities we’re going to be neither useful and fruitful.

Peter writes that if we’re not diligent about these qualities then we’re going to be blind to spiritual realities.  Short-sighted - clueless to the big picture - the spiritual battle we’re in for the eternal destiny of mankind.  Its like we’ve forgotten that Jesus is our Savior - that we’ve been purified from our sins - given this life in Jesus for a purpose.

I know this might be offensive to some.  But spending almost 70 consecutive hours in front of a TV just doesn’t rank on the list of useful or fruitful.  Without diligence to pursue these 7 qualities we’re in danger of wasting our lives on worthless stuff.

One of the worst things in life is to come to the end of our days here and realize that our lives have counted for very little if anything.

We may not always see it.  The effects of our lives may not always be right in front of us.  But it’s a promise.  We’re going to make a difference in the corruption of this world.  In our homes.  In our families.  In our work places and schools.  Our lives are going to produce what is according to God’s purposes - that God will be glorified.  We’re going to make a difference in this world - have an impact today and for eternity.

Be diligent about these qualities and our lives have purpose.

Second Promise:  The Promise of Presence.  Say that with me, “The promise of presence.”

Verse 10:  Therefore - because of what God has done and what God promises - Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent - even more zealous - to make certain about His calling and choosing you

Be careful.  Its not that there’s some doubt as to whether or not we’re saved - that we belong to God.  Like somehow all this certainty of our salvation through Jesus’ work on the cross is a kind of spiritual wishful thinking and what we really need to do is to work harder at doing all the right things - be diligent so you can earn your salvation.

This isn’t a threat it’s a promise.

Peter is encouraging us to make even more certain in our minds and hearts the truth upon which our faith is based. 

Verse 11:  for as long as you practice these things - these 7 qualities - you will never stumble - in the Greek it’s a double negative - you will not ever never stumble - just won’t happen - for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.

We all stumble.  Any one here never stumble?  Never make a mistake?  Never sin?  Let’s be honest.  We fail.  But, God understands that.  Died for it.  What God is focused on is progress.  The direction of our lives that pointed towards heaven.

In other words, the more we live out our faith - living out our relationship with Jesus - living out these 7 qualities - the more certain we become.  The more we gain a deepening surety.  We become more certain of the certainty upon which our faith is based.  We’ll see God at work in us and through us in the circumstances of our lives.

The abundance supplied to us - by God - is the incredible - often overwhelming reality of God’s presence in our lives today - His grace - His peace - God picking us up - moving us along - giving purpose and meaning to our lives - never leaving us alone.  And the incredible - hard to get our minds around reality of being in His presence forever.

We need to grab on to this as we go through our week.  God has given us an incredible gift - eternal life and all that’s involved in a relationship with Him today.  Because of all that God’s given to us we need to be diligent to put effort into that relationship.  Practically - work at - pursue - moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love.

_________________________
1. Associated Press, 01.02.08
2. Dallas Times Herald, 09.23.66
3. Adapted from Bits and Pieces, quoted in Lloyd Cory, Quote Unquote
4. Associated Press, 01.03.07
5. Associated Press 09.17.05

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible®, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.  Used by permission.