2 Peter: Remembering Your Awesome Grant

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. Benjamin Franklin set his mind to ethical perfection when he wrote out 13 virtues and created a plan for mastering them. He quickly realized that as he became stronger in certain virtues, he then struggled with the sin of pride over his progress. Morality without a heart change is really just behavior management, isn't it? Today's message reminds us that virtue is the outer flow of inward righteousness. Instead of self-governance, God calls us to surrender to His transforming work. As we abide in our Lord Jesus, He gives us the power to be transformed for His glory.

Let's listen in. This is part three of a message that was first preached on May 21, 2023 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. That you are forgiven, that you are accepted, that you are loved, that you have His righteousness, the riches of His grace. Do you talk that to yourself? Philippians 4-8, whatever things are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, excellent, praiseworthy. Meditate on these things.

What occupies your mind? What are you saying to yourself? It's so important that we remember what is ours in Christ. So He does the stair step because of this. For this very reason, partakers of the divine nature, the very great and precious promises of God, for this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control.

And what's the next step? Steadfastness. Steadfastness. Remembering who you are and your wealth in Christ stirs up steadfastness.

Another word for it is patience or endurance, being steady under a burden. Why would Peter write this to the first century believers? Because if you remember, as he wrote the first letter, giving them the big picture, live as people who are free. Remember your freedom in Christ.

But now he's writing to them, live as people who remember, remember who you are in Christ and the wealth that is yours in Christ. And when you do remember that, it stirs up steadfastness. You need to be steadfast because you live in a culture that will disdain what you stand for and what you live for. But also, here's the key one, and I think it's probably more true for us in this room this morning. You need to be steadfast because we live in an environment that is riddled with distraction away from who we are in Christ and what we have in Christ. So we need the steadfastness that comes through this discipline of nurturing and bringing to outward expression the reality of the life we have in Christ. Now, when he says steadfastness and patience, he's not talking about merely duration and survival.

Oh, I just need to hold on. You know, he listened to a lot of the popular Christian songs today. Okay with CCM.

I'm okay with CCM, all right? But you listen to a lot of the popular songs today. So many of them are about just holding on. Just hold on. Christian, please listen to me. You can do a lot more than just hold on. You with me? It's not ours to just hold on for dear life, and we'll make it through this.

No! Jesus didn't die for you and reconcile you and regenerate you just so you can hold on for dear life. In this steadfastness that he's talking about, there is a spiritual stamina to rise up to what you've been called to and designed to do and equipped to do.

Okay. One commentator put it, it's the capacity to view time with God's eyes. I like that because sometimes we have a hard time looking beyond today or sometimes we have a hard time looking beyond tomorrow. But look at time from God's eyes because if you are in Christ, how does God see you right now? He sees you glorified, seated with Christ in the heavenlies.

Isn't that amazing? And this steadfastness calls us to view time with God's eyes. We mourn the loss of Tim Keller, fantastic evangelical teacher and preacher, and grew a wonderful church in the middle of New York City. And here's his quote that I leave you with today. The only thing death can do for the Christian is to make life infinitely better. Do you know that? Do you understand that?

Do you believe that? This is what is ours in Christ. So the steadfastness is a spiritual stamina. It's viewing time with God's eyes. And there's a nuance to it about contending.

It's being active. It's a loving commitment. It's a submission to please God in all that you do. If you look in Hebrews chapter 12, you know the chapter probably, Hebrews chapter 12 talks about a great cloud of witnesses that has gone on before us. People who were steadfast. And it's referring to all the people listed back in Hebrews chapter 11, which I've heard called Heaven's Hall of Faith. And they were people who were seeking a homeland. And these people who were steadfast, these people who suffered immensely, much more than you and I will ever know.

It says of them, of whom the world was not worthy. These were steadfast people. These were steadfast people. And they were following in the example of Christ, who, what did He do? For the joy that was before Him, He endured what?

The cross. That is steadfastness. You see, it's not just holding on. It's making a difference. It's making a difference.

I like what Os Guinness said. I've mentioned this several times, but he said, progress is made only in resisting material. Let me interpret that for you. No one drifts in a positive direction. We're not called to drift. But if you're not steadfast, if you're not purposeful, if you're just holding on, you're likely to drift. But if you're being purposeful, enduring, you'll make a difference. And you'll make progress in God-ward movement, in becoming like Christ. The New Testament teaches us very clearly that patience is productive. Patience is productive.

Romans 5, James 1. Let me share with you a secret, too, because some of you struggle with patience here this morning. Do you know why?

Because I do. I am naturally an impatient person. It's not my fault. It's my dad's fault.

I'm just kidding. The Lord's had to really work on me with that. And when I don't get what I want when I want it, I get frustrated. And when I get frustrated, it comes out with some kind of verbal hostility.

And some of the people closest to me that I love most have been the victims of that. That's what God's doing here. Patience is so key. If we're going to be steadfast, it requires patience. Remember, viewing time with God's eyes.

You've probably done this, Lord, please give me patience, and I want it now. Probably every one of us has said that. But there was actually a study done on this. Listen to this.

This is really cool. A team of researchers from three universities conducted a study and crafted a paper titled, Can Gratitude Reduce Costly Impatience? Because impatience can be costly, right?

You agree with me, right? Impatience can be very costly. And patience can be very costly. Impatience can be very costly.

And the study from these universities, a combined effort of these three universities, here's three findings, three conclusions from this study that they wrote in a paper. Those who were in a grateful frame of mind showed more patience. Those who were in a grateful frame of mind showed more patience. Christian, please answer me. Do we have something for which to be grateful? More than anybody else on this earth.

Finish the verse for me. In everything, give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Second finding, the degree of patience exhibited was directly related to the amount of gratitude an individual felt.

Isn't that interesting? Thirdly, displaying gratitude opens up tremendous possibilities for reducing a wide range of social ills. What's going on in our culture today? What kind of violence? What kind of hostility? Why? Where's gratitude in our culture today?

Where is it? It's almost non-existent because we're so bent on what I deserve or what I demand. You can't be grateful and making demands at the same time. Patience, the key to it is gratitude.

And we have every reason under the sun to be grateful. This is why Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, always met. He's not calling us to just drift holding on. Always abounding in the work of the Lord. Here it is, for you know that in the Lord, your labor is not what? In vain.

It's not meaningless. There will be a return of investment. When you're fast, when you're feasting at the Lord's banquet table, your satisfaction and gratitude will keep you patiently, steadfastly persevering in Christ, in His character and purpose until the day that we see Him face to face. That's patience. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in Him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on weekdays at 10 a.m.