 Well today, we're in 2 Peter. We're going to be looking at chapter 1 verses 1 through 4 and It's one of those those passages that I actually enjoy this passage on the personal level very much And so I pray that we'll enjoy it together as a congregation as we go through 2 Peter and Normally what I do when I begin a new book for those who've never been part of a study with me is I'll give some brief introduction so that we have the context because If you receive a letter that letter will always have a context There's always a reason or a purpose that letter was written to you that email that text message Whatever it is There's a reason that it's being sent to you and so we're going to be discovering that reason here Why was 2 Peter written and we're going to be looking at that in our introduction and we'll see why in just a Moment, but let's begin reading at verse 1 2 Peter Chapter 1 verse 1. I'll read to verse 4. We'll get into our study 2 Peter chapter 1 beginning at verse 1 reading to verse 4 the apostle Peter writes Simon Peter a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ To those who have obtained like precious faith with us By the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life in godliness Through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust And so as we begin allow me to give a few basic facts concerning this particular letter Obviously, it's referred to in our Bibles as 2 Peter And it was written shortly after the first letter and the date for those who take notes and are interested in things Like that would be right around the year 64 through 66 AD Notice with me that he doesn't name the recipients They're unnamed But it has to be the same group that he had written his first letter to because in 2nd Peter chapter 3 verse 1 He says this he says beloved I now write to you this second epistle In both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder And so though they're unnamed it's the same people who received the first letter Now there is as I mentioned a moment ago. There is a reason for this letter being written and The key purpose is to cultivate Christian character by being conformed to Jesus Christ He wants to make it very clear that believers have been called to know Jesus Christ And he reminds them that they're called out of the corruption of the world to be conformed to Jesus And what he's going to do and we'll see this in verses 5 through 8 is he forges a chain of 8 Christian Virtues and he's wanting to point out that their faith is useless if they don't live up to the purpose for which they were called and So believers have been called in order to be conformed to the image That's why you were saved to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ God wants you to not only have faith But he also wants you to have love and when we look at in verse 5 through 8 when we look at the 8 virtues that he List out there it'll start with faith it ends with love and he wants us to have these kinds of things So God wants us to have virtues he wants our life to be something that demonstrates that we have a relationship with God But there is something that will prevent you from being conformed into the image of Christ and what can Prevent that or at least can hinder that what can be an obstacle is false teaching false teachers can influence you Away from the work that God wants to do through his word and by his spirit And what they'll do is they will inject into your life things that are not true about God And they'll undermine your faith and though they may not be able to steal your salvation They certainly can make you useless in the kingdom of God And so not only does he want his readers to know that God wants to cultivate in them Conformity to Christ, but he also is warning them against false teachers who are creeping in to the church bringing false doctrines You see as long as you Have a mindset a person has a mindset That it really doesn't matter what you believe as long as you believe something Then you're susceptible to false teaching But if you're the kind of person who knows that all scripture has been given by inspiration of God in his profitable for Doctrine correction for reproof and instruction and righteousness that the man of God may be Thoroughly furnished equipped for every good work if you understand that Then you're gonna understand that God gave you the word of God to build you up in your faith and to conform you into the image Of Jesus Christ and because all scripture is given by inspiration Then you're gonna know that God's word actually has a work that it'll perform in you So a person who doesn't value that who doesn't walk in truth even though Jesus said sanctify them in truth Thy word is truth Even though God's word tells us we need to be sanctified set apart by truth If we get caught up just emotionally wanting to feel God and feel good about God And we're not in God's word studying it and growing in it Then we are susceptible to false doctrine false teachers and what a false teacher will do will he will Undermine or she will overwhelm your faith with bad teaching to the point that it makes you Ineffective in your spiritual life And so the apostle Peter quite obviously wants people to know the truth that sets them free And so he's saying I want you to know who Jesus is I want to cultivate in you the the the character of God so that you are Being built up in your most holy faith and then secondly because he's aware that false teachers creep in and undermine He's warning them about false doctrine, and you'll see this as we go through 2nd Peter early in the history of the church There were certain individuals false Brethren false teachers who came into the church and they brought with them false doctrines And the result was to undermine the faith of believers in the book of Jude in verse 4 Jude writes for certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago Have secretly slipped in among you They are ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord they secretly slip in amongst you and they undermine the work of God Our church has been going this fellowship here has been going over 31 years now and On occasion we have people who have secretly brought in what the scriptures called damning heresies Things that are not true We have had after church services. We have our our ushers and those who help us in the fellowship here They sweep through all of the pews there and have found Literature that has been left behind by people who are presenting false doctrine We've had them come on to the church grounds and go into the parking lot and leave brochures on Wind shields and they're bringing false doctrine. We've had them enter into Bible studies and At the end of the Bible study want to debate their points bringing in false doctrine It's happened over the years on more than one occasion And so they do slip in and they do try to bring in their doctrine and they do try to undermine And so the apostle Peter here is simply saying that he wants them to be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ And to be aware of the fact that truth really exists and there are those who undermine the truth and they're called false teachers And you'll see this as we go through second Peter You'll see it as being a large part of chapter 2 and it's a large part of chapter 3 as he speaks concerning these things And so the antidote to being infected with bad doctrine is keep close Watch over your life and stay close to the word of God. You see there are false teachers But there are the genuine and the genuine teacher spends time teaching not just out of the Bible But actually teaching through the Bible because it's the teaching of the whole counsel of God That has its greatest effect and it's what Jesus taught us to do Remember in what is called the Great Commission in Matthew chapter 28 verses 19 and 20 Remember how the Lord Jesus Christ speaking there said go therefore Make disciples of all the nations Baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit Teaching them to observe all things that I've commanded you and lower them with you always even to the end of the age When you look at that scripture there and you look at the the portion of scripture and a lot of times people will say Well the main verb of that is when he says go into all the world and that's the main verb But the fact of the matter is is that isn't the main verb and that was in his main emphasis Jesus was not simply saying go because you need to have something to say when you go And so what he was saying is you need to go and as you go while you go everywhere you go Teach them to observe all things that I've commanded you and so what Jesus was teaching was not simply that we go because there are some people Who run with no message What he's saying is you need to go and you need to teach them you need to teach them to observe all things that I've commanded you now How are you going to know the all things that have been commanded you if you're not getting Bible studies? How are you going to know that all things if all you do is sing songs but never get into the word of God? How are you going to know all things if you have your devotions, but never spend time in the word of God? So it all begins in the word of God it all begins with rightly dividing the word of truth It all begins there and then everything blossoms from there But false teachers have a way of entering in creeping in and they speak to gullible and naive individuals and they deceive them and In doing so they rob them of the joy that God would have them to have False teachers are busy. They deceive and they and they deceive those who are innocent the naive the gullible and they profit by it And we'll see that in this letter the apostle Peter deals with them and and he even goes so far as to speak concerning their The way that they are he refers to him as being arrogant. He calls them sensual He speaks of them as being greedy and being covetous Now he's not the only person who ever addresses that the apostle Paul did Considerably and in one of his letters 1st Timothy chapter 6 verses 3 through 5 The apostle Paul said if anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree with to the sound Instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching he is conceded and understands nothing He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words That result in envy strife malicious talk evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind who have been robbed of the truth and Who think that godliness is a means to financial gain? And so Truth will set you free and the apostle Peter wants us to walk in the truth now as we look at this That was your introduction. We ought to get into the passage as as you look at this We'll begin by looking at how he presents himself notice verse 1 Simon Peter a servant an apostle of Jesus Christ Simon Peter it was common during that day for them to have two names So he refers to himself as Simon Peter We know that Jesus Christ when he saw him as is recorded in John 1 42 said to him You are Simon the son of Jonah you shall be called Cephas, which is translated a stone The word Cephas is also translated by the word Peter and so Jesus said your given name is Simon But your new name that I'll be calling you is the rock You're gonna be a rock Because God has a way of working in people's lives and changing them, right? That's what he does So Simon Peter. This is the only time in one of the letters. You see Simon Peter You see him using both names. It's the only time that any author uses both names and So he begins by mentioning my name is Simon, but I'm also known as Peter Why would you do that to remind the readers that I have an old life and I have a new one Everyone in this room before you were saved have a reputation. You're known for a certain thing whatever it may be You may have been somebody who was known for your Partying lifestyle your drinking lifestyle your drug lifestyle your loose lifestyle whatever it may have been your greedy life So whatever you were before Christ, you were known that way people knew you they would speak of you Oh, this is one who parties hard. We know him this person likes to the club or whatever you you had that reputation And that's what you were known for so the apostle doesn't have a problem reminding people that at one time I was a natural man. He doesn't have a problem with that But he also wants to let him know that what I used to be is not what I am now So what I was then is now been eclipsed by what I am now, so I was once lost, but now I'm found I was once blind now I see I was once unsaved and now I'm saved I had an old nature now I have the new and that's called being born again So he begins right away by letting us know this is a person who had an old life But he has the new in Jesus Christ and as the new in Jesus Christ He refers to himself as a servant He's a servant and an apostle So not only did it did I have an old life, but I have a new one and my new life consists of me being a servant Now the word servant means it's an individual who's devoted to somebody else Disregarding their own interest and he's saying I am a servant I am devoted to somebody else and I am disregarding the things that at one time were important to me and As a servant I am obligated to carry out my master's orders And I have been bought and I've been bought at a great price and so I will take out I will do or perform those orders with humility and with joy But with a great price I'm a servant, you know, we've heard the gospel message so many times That sometimes we need to remember the cost of salvation It cost God dearly for you and me to be saved and be called his children today When he speaks concerning redemption When he speaks concerning the fact that he is a servant When he's alluding to the fact that to become a servant you needed to be purchased He's speaking of a subject called redemption and redemption is something that Relates to us at one time humanity at one time being in what is called the marketplace of sin Using that image from the day that he was writing There were people who were sold as slaves would be in a marketplace and a bitter would come and as a bitter came and saw these people being sold The slaves would be sold to the highest bidder and So as the bidder is there looking at this particular slave The bidder would make the decision to pay a certain price and the price that they paid Was a redemption price. They were purchasing them out of the marketplace When that person was purchased by the highest bidder that person who was bought is Now owned by the slave master What the Apostle in referring to himself as a servant is simply saying is this I was in the marketplace of sin But I was purchased by the highest bidder The highest bidder was Jesus Christ and the price of my redemption to be taken out of that marketplace Was his blood Now that's what Paul would say in Ephesians 1 7 when he speaks of Jesus in this way In him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace and So the Apostle is saying I'm a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. I've been redeemed out of the marketplace of sin I am now his servant. I am his slave. He is my master He has purchased me now if I were a person purchasing a slave at that time in the marketplace I had the option of releasing them setting them free and So the Apostle Peter is one who has been set free by Jesus Christ And yet he has become what we would call a do-loss a voluntary bond servant Even though I am free. I have chosen to willingly remain as a slave to my master Jesus And it cost the blood of Christ first Corinthians chapter 6 verse 20 says you were bought at a price Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which belongs to or which are gods I am a servant, but I am also an Apostle that word Apostle speaks of a delegate It's a messenger. It's somebody who has been sent forth with orders So I am not only a servant. He's saying but I am an Apostle Under orders to fulfill the mission that has been set before me and he's saying and I will do so Now who is he writing to he says to those who have obtained like precious faith with us So he's writing to Christians that word obtained means to receive by divine allotment. I have obtained this But I didn't do so through personal effort. I didn't receive this By trying hard, you know, every man made religion is of such nature that it normally will tell you in order to get Right with the God that you choose to serve You're gonna have to do something very difficult, whatever it may be The Greeks used to have various myths where it would emphasize that they would actually show that if I was an individual who wanted to have Good sailing and I was off to fight a war and I was a king I might take my daughter and I might have her sacrifice in order that I might placate the anger of the God of the sea in order that I might be able to cross over and be victorious in my battle and It was always going to cost me some great thing It was always going to cost me some great thing in order to have the favor from this God That's part of paganism. That's how pagans think the harder. I try the more I do the better It's going to be for me But in Christianity it isn't us making that big payment. It was God making the payment It wasn't by my personal effort It was not the works of righteousness which I have done but according to his mercy He saved me by the washing of redemption and the renewing of the Holy Spirit It's by the grace of God that I've been saved and that's how I have been set free to follow Christ the same as true for you And so I've obtained this not by some effort on my own part, but it was a divine allotment It was given to me by God himself God is allotted to me faith a faith that comes through his grace and this saving faith that I have is precious and It has resulted in salvation But this faith that I have been given to me to be saved is also a faith that I communicate to other people and I take that faith and I give it to others through the message of the gospel and God makes it possible for people when they hear that saving Message of salvation God has made it possible by his Holy Spirit to convict the heart of those who hear it so that they can be Brought to Christ in faith and so he's speaking concerning that Now he goes on and he says in verse 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord I want you to notice something I point this out to you quite often But notice the order grace and peace he says be multiplied to you He doesn't say peace and grace He says grace in peace and it's because the biblical order is always grace before peace We live in a world that people are dying for for peace. They desire peace in the worst way They desired so greatly, but the point he's making is you can never have peace unless you have God's grace and God's grace is unmerited favor Peace is something that God will give to you, but he gives to you after you have received his grace When you receive peace you have the peace that you get with God Before you get saved you are in hostile opposition. You're at war with God God says something is up. You say it's down. God says it's far. You say it's close by God says it's it's black You say it's white. God says it's sweet. You say it's sour God says come over here. You say I'm going over there That's the hostility and then we create ways through our religious Whatever it may be our our practices to to try and somehow have a relationship with the God But the bottom line is is in reality. We're not really pursuing him at all We're actually running from him because we're developing systems that are going to keep us from experiencing his grace And the only way that I can have a relationship with God is when I give up When I give up I can now have peace with God The Bible speaks concerning the fact that we are in hostile opposition That the the unspiritual man doesn't know the ways of God the things of God and that we are in a constant hostile Opposition towards God. We're in constant warfare. That's what the Bible teaches very clearly What God has done is God has won the war and God through what is called the message of the gospel has given to us terms of peace It's an unconditional surrender that we're called to it's not a negotiated peace It's an unconditional surrender where he says I won You haven't I declare this you need to receive it That's called the message of the gospel when that message is proclaimed and I hear it The Holy Spirit convicts me of sin righteousness and judgment and I awaken to the fact that I have been in opposition to God When I say God be merciful to me forgive me. I'm a sinner. I have sinned against you and you alone God pours His mercy upon me washes me clean by the blood of Jesus Christ and as that happens I am now reconciled to God The hostility is over and now we have become dear to one another as that occurs I have peace with God When I have peace with God it now makes it possible for me to have the peace of God Because not only do I have peace with him, but now I have this peace that passes all Understanding that floods my heart because I have an assurance that God has done something in my life And that I'm at peace with him and I can have the peace from him So I was in the doctor's office on Friday my Favorite place to go in the whole world doctors offices Place where time seems to stand still and I have to go in for what is called a pre-op and there are many people in This room. We know exactly what a pre-op is you've gone through it more than once So they have for me they have to give me an EKG and they have to take some blood And then they have to take me into another room and they have to inform me Of what is going to take place when I go in for my operation? So as I'm speaking to my doctor My doctor begins to explain things to me and all of that it's not a serious operation It's going to be over. He says within a short time But he says but then again He goes, what's the worst that could happen to you and he smiles? And I smile back at him and he says what's the worst that can happen, but then again You're a minister aren't you? he says Then you have nothing to worry about do you and I smile at him and I say get thee behind me Satan doctor, you know It's a Satanic man that thou art I said I have nothing to worry about You're right. What's the worst thing? What's the worst thing? There's no worst thing at all. What's the best thing? The best thing is okay. I go to be with the Lord That's the best thing. So there's no worst thing involved in the Christian life is the best thing So he said, oh, you're ready. You better be ready. He says you better be ready You're ready and Marie looks at him says he's ready. That's so I So I'm ready peace God gives you peace God gives you peace in the midst of everything doesn't he in the storms of life. He gives you peace He says I will keep him in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on me because he trusts in me And so this is a piece that passes all understanding Where some people say I don't know what I'm gonna do and how are we gonna handle this and what? All I know is is I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I know who holds tomorrow and therefore I trust him He'll take care of it all. I'm not worried about that God's in control, but that comes from a Christian's mind That doesn't come from the world. That isn't something you invent. It's not wishful thinking It's a knowledge of God who is good and what God does in people's lives and how God loves you And what's the worst thing that can happen? The worst thing isn't the worst thing the best thing that can happen is you see the Lord Jesus Christ And that's what this world's all about. We're just passing through where pilgrims are sojourners. We don't live here This isn't my my whole method of Existence it isn't just I'm gonna stay here and then die and hope that when the worms eat my flesh that somehow There's something better buy and buy that's not how we live We know that God is in control and that's something that we get from the word of God It does not come through false teachers It comes from Jesus Christ it comes through his word and we know that God has given us this and therefore The grace that he's given us and the peace that he gives to us gives us strength We have this through the knowledge of God. We have a fellowship with God a personal knowledge of him and he directs our steps Again Peter's dealing with false prophets and false teachers will always sell a false peace with God They'll say do something difficult climb this mountain or go out into this into this desert and and and cross your legs until your legs, you know get cramps and and eat some granola and Meditate on your navel or whatever it is that they say you're supposed to do and and and it's always your efforts But I trust that God who's done it for me Notice in verse 3 he says his divine power has given to us all things That pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue By which have been given to us exceedingly Great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature Having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust His divine power has given to us all things true peace comes through the working of God through the grace of his holy spirit God has provided in such a ways to give us power to resist the assaults of false teachers and God's power has Given to us all things that pertain to life notice with me life in godliness All things that pertain to life in godliness the working of the spirit and spiritual gifts We've received is for fullness of life and a godly walk God intends on blessing his kids. He loves us and He wants us to know he has made provision for us and he does so once again Because he is so terribly Terribly in love With you he loves you Jesus in John 10 verse 10 said the thief comes not but for to steal and to kill and to destroy I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly in John 17 3 this is life eternal that they might know you the only true God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent Life in the Lord doesn't begin when we depart from here and are in heaven with him Life begins here in Jesus Psalm 84 11 says for the Lord God is a son in shield the Lord will give grace and glory No good thing will he withhold from those who walk up rightly Romans 832 says he who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Philippians 419 my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus My God shall supply all your need My God doesn't supply all my greed. He supplies all my need He takes care of me Give us this day our daily bread He takes care of me day in and day out and So he says he gives to me all things that pertain to life He gives to me all things that pertain to godliness godliness Speaks of my walk the walk of a believer Godliness is speaking of a devoted life a life that's been empowered by the spirit and revealed by a disciplined pursuit of God and Life in godliness result from the experience the experiential knowledge of God in the pursuit of God It comes through abiding in the true vine Jesus Christ and producing the fruit of the Spirit Now notice in verse 3 how it says he called us by glory and virtue Glory is revealed in Jesus and virtue shares with us his moral excellence His physical glory his glory in a physical sense was revealed in Jesus and his excellence was understood in the inner man And so he's called us by glory as revealed in Jesus and virtue Which is shown in his moral excellence, but he goes on to say by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious Promises through God's glory and virtue made visible. We have received incredible promises And it's through these promises that we become partakers of the divine nature Which is another way of saying his promises have resulted in you being born again The object of God's promises was to bring fallen man back to the image of God, which was lost through sin and We have these promises Listen to some of the promises you have in scripture. I could give you hundreds of them I'll just give you a thousand. No, I'll just give you a few John 524 says most assuredly I say to you he who hears my word and believes in him Who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life In Jesus we're a new creation if any man be in Christ is a new creation old things are passed away Behold all things are becoming new 2nd Corinthians 5 17 We've been blessed with all spiritual blessings ephesians 1 3 says Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places In Christ in Jesus we have peace John 16 33 These things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace in the world You will have tribulation be of good cheer. I have overcome the world in the Lord Jesus Christ We have provision Philippians 419 my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus We have power you shall receive power after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you You shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem Judea Samaria unto the outermost parts of the earth in Jesus we have a new purpose Ezekiel 36 26 and 27 I will give you a new heart put a new spirit within you I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh I will put my spirit within you cause you to walk in my statutes You will keep my judgments and do them in Jesus. We have a secure future Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God believe also in me in my father's house are many mansions If it were not so I would have told you I go and prepare a place for you And if I go and prepare a place for you, I'll come again receive you unto myself that where I am there You may be also I've been at the death bed of more than one person and I've shared that promise with them I've been with my uncle as he died of cancer and While he was in a semi-state of consciousness I Touched him on his shoulder and I said uncle ray Jesus is said and I quoted John 14 I go to prepare a place for you I've been at the death bed of a woman dying of lung cancer and I said to her Jesus is gone before you to prepare a place for you I've been at the death bed of my father to my father. I said daddy Jesus has gone to prepare a place for you Because that's his plan for us. We don't get that From false doctrine guys. We don't get that from false religious systems We don't get that hope from doing the best that we can by crawling up aisles or By doing hard things like climbing mountains or starving our bodies We get that hope From the gospel of Jesus Christ And he has that we have precious Promises that God gives to us So the man comes home. He hasn't been in his home for many years as a young man. He had moved away But his mama stayed in his childhood home And he hasn't seen mama for a long time So he came home to see his mom He walks up those familiar sidewalks Sidewalks he used to play on as a child comes to the front gate. They're in the fence He begins to open up that gate to his childhood home And it's falling off its hinge and then he looks at the rest of the fence And it needs a good painting Paint is flaking and falling off in various places. It's bubbled He opens and walks through that gate and There's no more grass in the front yard like he remembered as a child It was over now it's overrun with weed and he looks to where all those plants used to be so carefully tended and so beautiful and There's nothing there anymore, but dirt He walks up the wooden steps to go up into the front porch and each one is creaky And he sees that it's in disrepair The porch needs to be repainted it needs to be rebuilt it's rotting and as he comes to the front door He looks at the screen as he's about to knock on the door and the screen is ripped He opens the door and knocks on the door and the door swings open and his mama standing there with tears of joy in her eyes She hasn't seen her son in many years. She grabs him and says welcome home son He walks in and as he walks in the carpet is threadbare. It's Been walked on so often that there were holes in the carpet. He looks around and the paint needs to be repainted and the smell of dust is throughout the house and The furniture is worn to the point where she's thrown covers over it to hide the holes and He's upset and he says mom. What happened? What happened to the house? What happened to the yard? What happened? She says baby. I don't have the money to keep these things up She says I I'm just barely making it. I haven't been able to take care of the yard and fence and porch and furnishings What did you do with the money orders? I've been sending to you mama. I've been sending you money orders for years Every month. I've sent you money to take care of the house every month. I've sent you jacks Hundreds of dollars thousands of dollars over the years that should have been cashed and used mama. I sent you money orders. She says Money orders. What are you talking about? What's a money order? Money orders mama. It's like cash. You take it and you cash it and you get the money. She says I Don't know. I don't know what you're talking about. What did you do with all those letters? I sent you all she says you mean with those little pieces of paper. Yes Oh, come here. She takes them into another room and she had wallpapered a wall with money orders She says I is that what you're talking about son? Mama Those are thousands of dollars with the money orders that you've used for wallpaper. She said I didn't know their value I didn't know what they were. I wonder how many of us have lives that have rooms that are wallpapered with promises of God We've never even cashed them in We've never never taken advantage of God saying I will be with you. I will never leave you I will never forsake you. You can do all things through Christ to strengthen you How many of us have promises that God has given to us that we have never ever said? Thank you Lord for these promises We just put them in some other room and never look at them and the apostle Peter says listen God has given to you exceedingly great and precious promises that pertain to life and to godliness cash them in Escape the corruption of the world Trust the Lord. He's prepared a place for you. You're a pilgrim. You're passing through You have joy the spirit God has given to you Make best use of it Don't turn your back to them and Don't let false teachers lie to you and make you feel that God doesn't love you He does and he has provided for you hold fast to him and you will see the goodness of the Lord Amen