Defeated Lives - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. In John 16 he says I give you guidance in your life as you make choices. In Isaiah 41 he said I'll be there to help you through the most difficult times of life. In John 14 he said I'll give you instruction so you'll know the way to go in your life. In Proverbs 2 he said I give you wisdom, the skill in living that you need to live a life.

In 2 Corinthians 1 he said I'll give you a comfort when you go through difficult times. In John 14 he said I'll give you heaven at the end of your life. And he says in 1 Timothy 4 I'll give you eternal rewards for your life.

Those are just some of the promises. Now when you put those all together and you start really thinking about this, this is revealing the nature of Christ. This is what Christ is like. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana.

Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's word meets our world. There's been a question that I have wrestled with for a very long time, decades. And it's difficult. Why do so many Christians or even so many of you live defeated lives?

It just bothers me. Why do so many Christians live a defeated life? I mean after all Jesus said I've come to give you life and I've come to give it to you abundantly.

And I'll be as honest as I can. I don't know a lot of Christians who are living the abundant life. A life overflowing with joy and peace and hope. And I ask myself the question why is that? Why don't we live that kind of life? A lot of us live lives that I've come as a pastor to find out are filled with regret and guilt and anger and anxiety and fear. And at one time I think I always thought well the culprit in all this is just sin. But I don't believe that anymore.

There's something else that I'm convinced has a lot to do with you and I never living the life that we should. I want you to open your Bibles to 2 Peter chapter 1. I'll start in verse 3.

Peter uses a normal typical salutation. He says grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. And then he says this seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.

I want you to stop for a moment and look at that. God has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. Not some things.

Not most things. But he has granted us everything. It's interesting that he says that he has done this. He said through his divine power. That his is probably first the Jesus in the end of verse 2. How much power does God put in our lives? John 1 says that Jesus had the power to create the universe.

Colossians 1 says the same thing. That's a lot of power. Ephesians talks about the fact that he has resurrection power to bring back the dead.

That's the power. And he says by his divine power. He says God has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.

Wow. That's God's part. I've given you everything that you could possibly have.

There's no limits on any of this. It says that he has granted it to us. The Greek word is Didor Emes. And the interesting part of it is the grammar. It's a perfect passive participle.

And just for grammar lesson for you. It just simply means when you see the perfect tense in the Greek. It's something that happened in the past. But the results of the action go forward for eternity. They never stop. Once he does it you always have it.

The day you were born again God has granted to you by his divine power. Everything you need according to life. That's God's part.

I've given you every single thing you need from that day forward. Wow. And the word everything is interesting. In the Greek it's put up in the front of the sentence. Which means it's like an exclamation point.

They didn't have exclamation points, punctuation. He says everything God has given you. Wow. That's God's part.

That's an amazing thing. What's the conclusion? The conclusion is that you'll never lack strength for anything that happens in your life.

Never. You will never lack strength for anything that happens in your life. That's God's part. So the question is then how do we get the power? Like how do we tap into this power?

He goes on. He said seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and God in this. Through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence. We get it through the true knowledge of him which again is Christ. He said you get this power, you tap into it by having a true knowledge of Christ. Now what it means is what is the truth about the knowledge of Christ? Not what you think of Jesus or your neighbor thinks of Jesus or what the world thinks of Jesus. But what does the scripture say about Jesus? The true knowledge of him.

He said that's the most important thing. And the word knowledge here normally is a word like gnosis. This is a compound word called epinosis. Some translated super knowledge. But putting epi on it means it's more than just knowing about. It's not just cognitive. Chuck Swindoll says it's heartfelt knowledge.

It means intimate relationship. And I think he's probably a lot closer to the truth of that. He said that's the kind of you have a true knowledge.

He said of him who called us. Now, that sounds pretty good, except how do I get the knowledge in? If I get the power because I have the knowledge, how do I get the knowledge? He said, here's how you get the knowledge.

The word for the explanation. He said, for by these he has granted to us his precious and magnificent promises. He said, you want to know about Jesus?

Read the promises of God. He said, first of all, they are precious to me. Us means valuable, magnificent as mega stars.

It means greatest. The greatest valuable promises was what reveals the knowledge of Christ, which gives you power. In everything in your life. You think about that very much this week, as I was thinking about this, I thought about just some of the things that God has said in Romans chapter eight. He said, I give you spiritual life. In First Corinthians 15, he said, I give you resurrected life. In John three, he said, I give you eternal life. In Ephesians one, he said, I'll give you my Holy Spirit to indwell and empower you. In Romans five, he said, I'll give you abundant grace for every situation of your life. In Galatians five, he says, I give you joy.

For your life. In Psalm 18, he says, I give you the strength to face anything in your life. In John 16, he says, I give you guidance.

In your life as you make choices. In Isaiah 41, he said, I'll be there to help you through the most difficult times of life. In John 14, he said, I'll give you instruction.

So you'll know the way to go in your life. In Proverbs two, he said, I give you wisdom, the skill and living that you need to live a life. In second Corinthians one, he said, I'll give you a comfort when you go through difficult times. In John 14, he said, I'll give you heaven at the end of your life. And he says in First Timothy four, I'll give you eternal rewards for your life.

Those are just some of the promises. Now, when you put those all together and you start really thinking about this, this is revealing the nature of Christ. This is what Christ is like. It's interesting that he says if you this all happened to you, that is, you realize the divine power that you have.

It comes through a knowledge of Christ, which is revealed in the promises of God. And then he says, which is interesting in middle verse four, for by these he has granted us his precious and magnificent promises. So that that's a result clause. What's the result of all this?

He said, so that. By them, you may become partakers of the divine nature. Having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. If you do this, you become partakers of the divine nature. That word partaker is our church's name. It's Koinea Fellowship.

Means partner. You become in a partnership of the divine nature. God says, I put the power in you. When you do this, you become a partaker in the divine nature. Now, the problem, as we're reading along, is he says, look, can't you see how good this is for you?

And it does look good. There's no doubt about it. He said in verse five, he said, now, for this very reason, also applying all diligence, he said, in your faith, supply moral excellence. And in your moral excellence, knowledge in your knowledge, self-control in your self-control, perseverance in your perseverance. Godliness in your godliness, brotherly kindness and in your brotherly kindness, you get to love. These are all the characteristics that show in your life. That God's provided.

But there's even more to it. There's two results, one in verse eight, for of these qualities are yours and are increasing. They render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. You have a meaningful and purposeful life. He said your life counts.

It makes a difference. He said you'll have a fruitful, meaningful, purposeful life. And then he says down in verse 10, notice the second thing.

Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent. He said to make certain about his calling and choosing of you for as long as you practice these things, you'll never stumble. He said, while you're doing this, you won't stumble, no matter what's going on in your life, no matter how bad the circumstances are, how bad your health is, how bad the relationships are, whatever is the turmoil of your life. He says you won't stumble. It sounds great.

I mean, it really it just sounds like this is terrific. But there's something we miss when we look at this. Everything I told you is what God says I'll do. But most importantly is what will you do? It's right there in these verses. Look what he says here that I find so interesting. He said, verse five, now for this very reason, applying all. Diligence by applying all diligence, he said, in your faith.

Wow. He said, yeah, you have to apply all diligence. And then in verse 10, he said, therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent. You've got to be diligent. Now, I find that a very interesting thing that he would say something like this, that you and I have to be diligent in this.

Wow. But how do I become diligent? How do I apply this? How does this work in the context of my life?

You see, applying all diligence, the word applying means make a strong effort and diligence means a determined zeal. She says, you've got to have both of those. Now, I want to illustrate this. Go with me back to First Peter, chapter one and verse three. First Peter one and verse three. Peter's going to do the same thing.

It's different, but it's similar. He starts off by what will God do? What does God do in your life?

Here he goes. He says, Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He said, who, according to his great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled.

It will not fade away. It's reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. Three things he says right there. God caused us to be born again.

To obtain an inheritance that can never be taken away. It's reserved in heaven for you and that we are protected by the power of God. Great things.

And notice the condition. Verse six. In this, you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials.

Now, they have a lot going on. They're suffering. He said, it's OK. Doesn't matter if you're suffering.

These things work out to be true, even if you're suffering. And then he tells them again what they should be doing at the beginning of verse 13 of Chapter one of First Peter. He said, you want to know your part? Here it comes. Therefore, prepare your minds for action.

That's the American standard says. Prepare your minds for action. That's what being diligent means. You have to prepare your minds for action.

Actually, I like it literally better than what the numeric standard translators. Literally, it says this. Gird up the loins of your mind. Gird up the loins of your mind. You have to do that. Now, you want to gird up your loins.

What's he talking about? Well, if you're going to run, but especially if you're going to do battle in Peter's world. You can't do it unless you gird up your loins.

What's that mean? Well, they wore clothing that went down basically to the floor. And so when you're going to go into battle, you picked up the front of your clothing and you tucked it in your belt. That's called girding your loins. Now my legs are free. You see, now I can run. Now I can do battle. He said, yeah, that's what you need to do. You need to gird up the loins. He says of your mind. Oswald Chambers said this. And so profound, he said, God will not make me think like Jesus.

I have to do it all by myself. I have to bring every thought under the captivity of the obedience of Christ. I don't think a lot of us do that. I just don't. I don't think a lot of us are diligent. And I don't think a lot of us gird up the loins of our mind. And I believe that's why so many of us live defeated lives.

Certainly not victorious lives. We don't do the work. We just don't. And we pay for it. I think we often think as long as I'm a believer in Christ and I can endure three or four sermons a month, we're good.

You know, God and I are good. You're not. You will not have the resources to deal with life. You just won't.

Let me illustrate it this way. What if I owned a field, a large field, a few acres, and on it I buried 10 million dollars. I buried 10 million dollars in that field. And then I came to your house and I said, I want you to have the field. Here's the deed. Are you rich?

Not yet, huh? Why? You've got to do the work. You've got to be diligent. Let me ask you, just knowing you, would you be? If somebody gave you a few acres and said buried on it is 10 million dollars and it's yours. How many days and nights would you spend shoveling? I'm serious.

Ten million dollars. Well, diligence wouldn't be an issue, would it? No, I'm out there all the time.

I got lights for nighttime. I'm doing it all the time. I'm digging. And that's nothing compared to what God buried in your field.

He already buried it. But you have to have the diligence to go and get it. You see, that's your part.

You have to actually have the diligence to go and get this. Go with me to Second Timothy. Chapter two. Let's take a look at this diligence. Second Timothy, to verse 15, Paul writing to a young pastor. About how to cope with ministry in life. And he says in numeric and standard here, notice this first two words, be diligent.

Same word. You've got to be diligent, be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed. Accurately handling the word of truth. You have to be diligent. You see, that takes a diligence to him, rightly handle the word of truth. The new the King James Version for Second Timothy to 15 says this study to show yourself approved to workman.

It does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. In other words, you have to do the work. You see, if you don't do the work, it won't help you. That's the point.

It doesn't help at all. You see, I have to be diligent in order to do this. How can this be such a sort of magical cure?

It's simple. Hebrews 4 12 says this. The word of God is alive. Powerful, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing us under the soul and the spirit.

And it's a critic of the thoughts and the intents of my heart. Word of God's alive. You see, if you want to know its power in its life, somebody at some time in your life, somebody gave you the gospel from the word of God. They explained to you that sin separates people from God and that you're a sinner. And the wages of sin is death and that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin without an Adamic nature. And then he lived a perfect life on Earth and he went to the cross to be your substitute on the cross. It satisfied the holiness of God.

He was buried and raised from the dead. And if you put your faith and trust in that truth, you'll have eternal life. You'll go to heaven and you believed it and you're going. You see, all you did is you took the word of God and you said, I believe that.

And now you're going and it's not like you're improving your life. You have an eternal life. That's the power of the word of God. In Timothy, Paul wrote to Timothy and said, all scripture is God breathed. All scripture is God breathed and it's profitable. You see, it's profitable for doctrine and correction.

It's profitable for everything in life. That's the word of God. That's why I said to Timothy, Timothy, you've got to be diligent.

You've got to go and get this. But I don't think most of us do. We're not diligent.

We're superficial. It's such a blessing to be diligent. I spent over 40 years studying the word of God. And I'm just telling you, there's hardly a week goes by that in my study, I don't learn something new about Jesus Christ. 40 years later.

It's not like, well, I read that last year. I got it down. I don't have it down. It's alive. It continues to grow as I continue to grow. There's a life to it. But there's got to be a diligence on your part.

And if there's no diligence, there's no real growth. You see, some Christians, and I hope you're not one of them, but golly, they find themselves in terrible circumstances. And and then they get their Bible. And then they say, God, help me in this. And then they flash through the Bible.

God, please pick me. I would say something to me, Lord. And then you pick and point at scripture. And by the way, when you do that, God does say something to you. You need to study the Bible. See, that's nonsense. That's complete nonsense. I'll just find a verse and point to it. And that's what God wants.

There's no diligence in that. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called oneplace.com. That's oneplace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

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That's fbcnola.org. At our website, you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for, or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for, you can listen online, or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all of this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word. .