2 Peter 1, Part 1

 2 Peter 1

'Simeon Peter, a servant, and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of a reminder since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased,” we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." 2 Peter 1

This is what we will be talking about for the next few weeks. Peter is writing this to the Jewish people that have become Christian. Or God's chosen people who have accepted the truth, that Jesus, is indeed the Messiah they have been waiting for. The Messiah is told about in their Scriptures. Remember, Peter was sent to the Jews, and Paul was sent to the Gentiles, or us. However, since we have been adopted into the family of God?

"There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28

Therefore, this also applies to us and is something that we should all take to heart. This is something Peter is writing to those that have already accepted Jesus and those that were trying to live a Godly life. Look how he begins.

"Simeon Peter, a servant, and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:"

Simply put, he is talking to those who have said this prayer.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus's sacrifice for me. I repent my sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

The Word tells us that when we do that, we

"have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him."Colossians 3:10

Remember, God's Word tells us that this is open to all. Look here.

"And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Acts 2:21

Now I know, I recently discovered that this is one of those "contradictions" that so many non-believers love to try to point out. They say that this does not jive with Matthew 7:21. Jesus actually says,

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

In my opinion, that is one of the scariest passages in the entire Bible. However, actually, read what Jesus said here again.

"but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

This means that whoever appeals to and yields to, the authority of the Lord will be saved. Yet? You cannot claim a right to something the Lord authorized while going against what the Lord commands. You cannot say Jesus is my lord, and live a life of sin and death. Jesus even said this here.

"Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?" Luke 6:46

When Jesus tells us that not everyone who says Lord or calls Him Lord will be saved, He is talking about those who use His name but do not do His will. Religious folks that produce no fruit. People that use His name to scam other people. Even the demons know His name. They know God. This does not mean they are saved. They have to accept His sacrifice and seek out what His will is in their life. I do have a clue for you. {Whispers} It's not about you.

If you have said the prayer, and believe in your heart, that Jesus came and died for you, more importantly, was resurrected and He is the paid substitute for you and your sins, then you,

"have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ"

Then, as a child of God,

"May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."

You see why this is going to take some time. We are almost out of time today and we are still in the greetings. This is extremely important to understand though. We can lay claim to that. We can say that we have peace, and grace, that surpasses all understanding and that the world cannot obtain. We can call the Lord of lords, and the King of kings, our friend. We can call the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning, and the end, the Creator of all that is, was, or ever will be, "Daddy."

You are a grace-covered, peace-filled, blood-bought, child of God. What do you have to fear of this world or any in it? You have nothing to fear. Look here in Romans 8.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." Romans 8:28-30

God foreknew YOU. He created you in your mother's womb. You are the way you are because God made you that way. Psalm 139:13-16. Then He sets up a destiny. A plan and purpose for your life. which then brings you to the day, maybe today for some of you, a day when He calls you.

You are not here by accident. You did not go to your friend's church by happenstance. You did not see that Bible verse by coincidence. You are not reading this for no reason at all. God is calling you. You accepted His plan for salvation, now ask Him to show you His plan for your life. Then? Then He justifies you. It is a time of preparation. Look what Paul said he did after his conversion.

"But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days." Galatians 1:15-18

It was after three years. First, he got saved. Blinded, healed, and his entire life changed, yet? He did not do much of anything until he was ready and justified by God. He took the time to prepare. Three years in this case. God knows better than us, when, where, why, how even. Too many times when get saved, and we get on fire for God for this or that and we want to run out and save the world, or whatever. However, this can be dangerous if we are not prepared and or equipped to do it. We all need a time of preparation.

Then we have the last step in an anointed life. Glorification. Whatever it is God calls you to do, will not come back to you void. You will face obstacles. You may face persecution. But if you endure to the end, you will be glorified by God Himself. All you have to do is be obedient to Him and His Will. There is nothing that can compare to having God glorify you for completing what HE asks you to do. Nothing. Nothing can compare to appearing before Jesus Himself, when your time is up here on earth, and hearing Him say...

"Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matthew 25:34

Again, the five steps of an anointed life are these. God foreknows you. He sets up a plan and purpose for you and your life. He calls you to accept that. He justifies you. He glorifies you. The question is, what are YOU going to do? Be blessed. Be at peace. Enjoy the fact that God is your daddy. If you do?

"May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."

Until next time, be blessed, be a blessing, and Jesus IS the Lord of all!

House of God, Building the Temple, Roof

The Roof, 

Or the Coverings. The Top. Remember we are talking about this statement.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;" 1 Corinthians 6:19

We talked about the need to "rebuild" the Temple of God. Or to build up the House of God. What is that? YOU. You are the Temple, the House of God.

We talked about laying a Solid Foundation with The Word of God. With the Wisdom of God and not of the things of this World.

We then talked about building the Walls of Faith, so when the storms and the trials and tribulations come, and the beat on the Walls, that is where they will stay. On the outside. You will be just fine.

What is left? We have the Foundation, as Jesus Himself told us.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” Matthew 7:24-27

We built up the Walls of Faith. So no matter what comes, it will be deflected. Knowing this, {Romans 8} NOTHING can nor will ever come between you and the Love of God through Jesus the Christ. NOTHING. So we can truly have no fear.

However, we still have one component left. A House, a Temple, any kind of dwelling, is no dwelling without a Roof. If it rains, you are going to get wet. If it snows, you will get cold and wet. If it was to rain down Hail and Brimstone, you are going to get burnt and most likely die.

How do we build the Roof? We don't. I will say that again. We built the Foundation in The Word. We Built the Walls with Faith. Now the Roof? Well, that is all God.

"But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one" 2Thessalonians 3:3

God covers us with His Love, Grace, and His Protection. We read this in second Samuel

"My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies." 2 Samuel 22:3-4

It is not us. Not because we were so good at laying the Foundation. It is not because we have such great Faith that we no longer need anything. No. It is because God loves His Children. He loves us even though we are far from perfect. Far from Sinless. He covers us with His Grace.

"For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace." John 1:16

There is nothing we could do to EARN our Salvation and God's Love.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." Ephesians 2:8-9

You see, we are now the Children of God. My kids, whenever they want something, they know where I am. They come in and say "Daddy?" Then state their case, present their petition, or beg for forgiveness if they messed up. But they would not even think about it. They come and go as they chose. My baby girl will not only come in, but she will climb up in my chair with me. One of her favorite places to simply fall asleep.

I shared this story before. My baby Girl once looked me in the eyes when I was angry with her and said: "But I can talk to you because you are my Daddy." God IS our Daddy. We can come and go as we chose.

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16

It is going to rain. It is going to Snow. We may even see Hail and Brimstone at some point. Hey, it has happened in the past. Right? But it does not matter what happens as long as you are covered in God's Grace and Love. Even all those things that we did ourselves. Our own Sins.

"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." Psalm 32:1

You see Child of God, God actually covers you BEFORE you even start laying the Foundation. Before you build the Walls. God is there. He called you out. He covered your Sins and weaknesses with His Love and Grace. All we have to do is accept it.

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." James 4:7-10

If you are a Child of God, then you ARE the House of the Lord. You are a Home to God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Stand firm. Have no fear. Know always, God is with you. Always.

Do you know Jesus as your Savior? Have you been adopted into the Family of God? If not, say this Prayer. Right now. Wherever you may be. Say it in your own words, and do not doubt in your heart. God will heal you. He will send the Spirit of Life to you. Let us Pray.

"Oh heavenly Father, Lord God. I am a Sinner. I know this. I know there is nothing I can do to change that. But I know you can. I accept Jesus and His Sacrifice for me. I believe that He raised from the Dead. I repent my Sins. Please send the Spirit of Adoption into my life. Help me to get to know the real you. Save me. Please. In the name of Jesus, Amen!"

That's it. It really is just that simple. Now go tell someone what you have just done. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." {Romans 10:9} You need to find a Church that God leads you to, and be Baptized the way Jesus said to be. You are now a Child of God. A New Creature. You "have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." {Colossians 3:10}

If you want to tell me, or comment, question, give testimonials, or just say "Hi," the Email is opntalk@gmail.com

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.{2 Corinthians 13}

Until next time, be Blessed, be a Blessing, and Jesus is Lord!