We Can Still Become More in '24 (North OC)

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It's hot outside, isn't it?

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Aren't you grateful for AC?

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Now, you're clapping again.

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You find out about volleyball and AC.

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Amen.

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I appreciate that.

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It's also the midpoint of the year.

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We're in June.

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It's getting hot.

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Summer is here.

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It's exciting.

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We have camps, a lot going

on, but it's interesting.

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We're at the midpoint of the year.

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It's good to do some reflection.

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At this point because a lot of

us have maybe made some decisions

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at the beginning of the year And

this is a good point to realize.

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Okay.

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Am I still going along that path?

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How are things going in my life?

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How are things going in my faith and

and even spiritually we started the year

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With the focus and we call it become

more in 24 And which we were going to

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focus as a church about becoming more.

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We did a sermon series where we thoroughly

walked through the ladder of faith.

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Or the, uh, steps of transformation

that's laid out in 2 Peter chapter 1.

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And we looked and dissected how God calls

us to be, not just change a little bit.

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Not just have behavior modification.

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But for us to be

transformed into His people.

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And so now here we are we're in

June and let me ask you how's it

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going and becoming more in 24,

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how's it becoming?

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How's it going and becoming more in?

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24 for some of us maybe

it's going really well.

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We're like man.

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I've grown so much I'm continuing to

grow in my knowledge of my depth and

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in my faith some of us we may be Maybe

we're we're Maybe a little stuck right

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now and maybe we weren't growing.

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Maybe we started off.

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We were growing.

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We're soaring But now maybe we're

starting to tailor off and maybe we're

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in cruise control or maybe some of us

We're maybe regressed in our faith.

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Maybe we're you know, the old school

term We're backsliding a little bit

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or we've been really struggling in

our faith But I want to say to you

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today that there's hope No matter

where you are, whether you're on fire,

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you've been soaring like never before.

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You're in a place where you're maybe,

uh, in the middle, or you've really

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hit the dumps here lately spiritually.

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There is hope for you and me today.

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And so the title of the sermon is,

We Can Still Become More in 24.

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All right, we can still become more in 24.

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Maybe you started soaring again

and you're not at that point.

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Maybe you're at a lower place or

maybe again you're there, but God

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still calls you to become more in 24.

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Amen.

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Let's go ahead.

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Let's go to God in prayer.

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God, I'm excited about what

you've been teaching me.

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God, what you have, uh, been

molding me to, uh, to be and what

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you have reminded me of recently.

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God, and I pray that your word right

now will be communicated in the way

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in which every soul will take away the

one thing you want them to take away.

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Father, we pray that

your word communicates.

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Father, your heart, father,

that we can receive it.

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We can let it grow.

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We can let it, uh, not just

marinate, but take root in the very.

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Soul and father that it can therefore

produce the fruit that you want.

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We pray in the name of Jesus.

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Amen So I want to remind us here of

a couple of things God wants you and

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me to become more like him God wants

you to become more like him And this

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is so vital for us in our faith and

in our understanding, because if we

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don't understand this, then we're not

going to become what God wants us to

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be, and we're not going to interpret

life's experiences in a way in which

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we should, because we don't have

this truth embedded in our brains.

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And so we have to understand that

God wants to, again, transform.

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Your heart and your character.

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He wants to transform your nature, who you

are, the way you view things, the way you

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process what you desire, what you dislike.

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He wants that to be transformed

into his likeness and image.

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And in Peter, actually in second

Peter, he constantly says, I

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want to remind you of things.

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He says, until the day I die,

this is Marcel's version, until

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the day I die, I'm going to keep

reminding you of these things.

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And so there are going to

be some things here that we

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mentioned in which are reminders.

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But Peter says we have

to keep being reminded.

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And so we're going to remind

you of a couple of things

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here throughout the scripture.

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So let's go into it.

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One.

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Romans 8, 29 says for those God for a

new, he also predestined to be conformed

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to the image of his son, that he might

be the firstborn among many brothers

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and sisters, second Corinthians chapter

three, verse 18, and we all who with

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unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's

glory are being transformed into his

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image with an ever increasing glory,

which comes from the Lord, who is God.

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The spirit and then second

Peter one, which we studied

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out the beginning of the year.

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His divine power has given us Everything

we need for a godly life through our

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knowledge of him who called us by his

own glory and goodness Through these he

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has given us his very great and precious

promises so that through them you may

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participate in the divine Nature having

escaped the corruption in the world caused

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by evil desires And so this helps us to

see this idea and this heart and desire

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and plan and vision that God has for us to

be transformed back into the image of Him.

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God created us in His image, however,

sin gets in the way and when Jesus

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came and died upon the cross and rose

again, that allows us to be reconciled,

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but the work doesn't stop there.

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There's this redemption work

of us being transformed.

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And redeemed back into the

image in our original intent.

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And so we talked about this,

I think, a couple years ago,

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but I'm bringing it back here.

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And this idea of theosis, or, uh,

theosis is more kind of the Eastern,

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uh, Christian, uh, terminology.

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The Western Christian, uh,

terminology is more sanctification.

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But it's this idea that, hey,

God wants us to become like Him.

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And so He's sanctifying us.

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He, He's, He's purifying us.

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He's redeeming us.

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To have the nature and character of his

and so if you think about this it makes

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sense because Why after we get saved

don't we just go straight to paradise,

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right?

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Like if everything's just about being

in paradise, which ultimately it is is

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about an eternal relationship with God

But God keeps us here after the day we

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repent, come to faith and get baptized.

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Well, why?

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Well, I think there's two

main reasons here again.

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Yes is to grow in our relationship.

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Everything's in that context, but it's

this It's for formation and mission.

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For us to be spiritually formed into

the image of Christ And then for

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us to join him in his mission work.

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To see his will be done so that

others Can get right and have an

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eternal relationship with him and

join it with God in his redemptive

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work and becoming more like him.

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The ancient Christian writers

had, uh, really this, they

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identified stages of maturity.

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And so, I want us to look at

this real quickly here because

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I do, uh, I subscribe to this.

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I believe this is a hundred percent true.

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That there's stages of our transformation.

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Church, are you still with me here?

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There are stages to our transformation,

to our growth, and to our maturity.

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And the first one is this

stage of willful obedience.

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Meaning this is a stage in which

we, we follow God and we obey, but

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it's really more out of like really

a holy fear and respect for God.

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You get what I'm saying?

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A lot of us, this is maybe why we even

made a choice to become a Christian.

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We're like, Whoa, man, I

don't want to suffer hell.

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So let me, let me go ahead

and get right with God.

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So that is willful obedience

because there's maybe a fear of, of.

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You know, somehow disappointing God or

fear of judgment or anything like that.

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But this is really the stage

where there's a lot of self denial

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because man, I want to do something.

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But because I love and I fear and

I respect God and his word and his

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will, I'm going to deny those things

and try my best to do what's right.

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You guys get what I'm saying.

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So this is willful obedience.

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Then there's the next stage

of relational obedience.

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Where we follow God and we

obey out of love and gratitude

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for our relationship with God.

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Man, God, I'm so in love with you.

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Thank you so much for what

you've done in my life.

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Thank you that I get to have an

eternal relationship with you.

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Therefore, I want to obey you

because I wouldn't want to hurt you.

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I wouldn't want to go against your will.

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We have this relationship.

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You guys get what i'm saying back in

the day You know when I was dating

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kareena there there was some times of

some willful stuff like okay Uh, let me

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do this because I don't want to get in

trouble or I don't want us to have any

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problems And then it came a point where

I was falling in love with her, right?

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And it's like man because I love you.

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I wouldn't want to harm you.

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I'd want to do good by you

You guys get what i'm saying?

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Then the third and maybe the highest stage

is this This is transformed obedience.

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This is where we follow and obey

because we become more like God in

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our character and in our hearts.

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This is the stage in which, yes, I have

a relationship with God, but I am truly

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satisfied in His good will and desires.

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What God desires is

actually what I desire.

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I don't want to do these

sinful things because, you know

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what, I view them that way.

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And I view what's good

because God views it that way.

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Because I'm thinking and I'm like and

I'm viewing things like my father.

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I'm becoming more like him.

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I obey because my heart

desires what God desires.

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And so, yes, there's going

to be times in which we're

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always, we have a sinful nature.

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So there's always going to

be some willful obedience.

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And it's good, it's always in the context

of a relationship, but when we become

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more like God, we think like God, we feel

like God, therefore we behave like God.

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So you see this progression in

our faith and transformation.

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And so again, we're reminded that

God wants us to become more like Him.

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And we can still become more like Him.

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And we started off the year looking at

2nd Peter and I want us to do a little

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case study here looking at the life

of Peter, really Peter's spiritual

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journey because Peter talks about this

transformed faith and I believe he's

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the great, uh, witness of this and the

perfect person who can write about this

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because he experienced this transformation

in his own faith and journey.

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So we're going to quickly go

ahead and look at Peter and see

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some of the parallels between

his journey and our journey.

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Church, are you still with me here?

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Amen.

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Let's go ahead.

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Let's get into it.

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Alright, so first off here, we're

going to go in Matthew chapter 14,

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or excuse me, chapter 4 and 18.

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It says, As Jesus was walking beside

the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers,

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Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.

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They were casting a net into the

lake, for they were fishermen.

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Alright, Come follow me.

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Jesus said and I will send you out

to fish for people and once they left

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their nets and followed him we see

here the calling of Simon who would

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later be called Peter and Jesus calls

him and he calls him to follow me So

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there's a call to relationship and then

he says what I'm gonna make you go out

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and fish for people He wants them to

become more than what he is currently.

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Hey, you're a fisher.

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Men, but I want you to be a fisher of men.

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And so I always believed

Jesus was the first rapper.

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You know what I'm saying?

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Yo, you a fisher of men, but I'm

gonna make you a fisher of men.

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You know what I'm saying?

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Like, Jesus was doing this, right?

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And so he's called him to become more.

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He has a plan and a vision.

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And you know, that's the same for us.

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When we, when we come to know God,

we come to understand his will and

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desire, we realize, well, Jesus is

calling me to more than what I am

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or what I was thinking for my life.

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He's called me to a relationship and then

we realize wait He's called me to join in

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his mission Matthew 28 in Redeeming the

world to have an eternal relationship with

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him, you know in John chapter 1 We won't

look at it, but Jesus gives Peter a new

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name He was he was Simon as we see here,

but Jesus is like hey, you know what man?

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We don't call you Peter from now

on which is also Cephas which means

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the rock and you know for us When

we became Christians, when we became

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disciples of Jesus, God gave us a

new name and new identity, didn't he?

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He gave us a new identity.

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We were no longer the sinner.

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No, we were children of the Most High God.

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We were disciples of the

Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

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We were citizens in God's

kingdom, etc., etc., etc.

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We gained a new name and a new identity.

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When we came to follow Jesus, then

we continue in Matthew chapter

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10 verse and you know some in 14

We see Jesus appoints Peter to be

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an apostle and there's training.

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There's relationship going

on There's miracles that take

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place Peter walks on water.

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He takes a little dip, but he walks

on water You know, there's all these

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great things taking place And when

we become Christians, we see God

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do some great things in our lives.

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We see his power We're seeing miracles

take place in our lives and maybe

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restoring relationships or even using us

to participate and seeing others in the

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miracles that God does in their lives.

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And then we go on over to Matthew 16.

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I want to read this here.

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It says in verse 13, When Jesus

came to the region of Caesarea

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Philippi, He asked the disciples,

Who do people say the Son of Man is?

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He's saying, Hey, who do people say I am?

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What's, what's, what's the latest?

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What are they saying on

X and Instagram about me?

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They replied, some say John the

Baptist, others say Elijah, and still

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others, Jeremiah, one of the prophets.

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But what about you, he

asked, who do you say I am?

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Simon Peter answered, you are the

Messiah, the son of the living God.

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Jesus replied, Blessed are you,

Simon, son of Jonah, for this was

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not revealed to you by flesh and

blood, but by my Father in heaven.

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And I tell you that you are Peter, and

on this rock I will build my church, and

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the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

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I will give you the keys

of the kingdom of heaven.

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Whatever you bind on earth will be

bound in heaven, and whatever you loose

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on earth will be loosed in heaven.

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We'll stop right there.

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Peter has this shining moment.

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We'll He gets the right answer,

and Jesus says, Hey, you know what?

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This was revealed by my father in heaven.

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And he says, I'm going to give you

the keys of the Kingdom of heaven.

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I was talking to Alan earlier, he

says, Marcel, and he shows me his

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new keys to his, his, his new car.

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He just got a new car.

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It's not a brand new car,

but it's a new car for him.

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Now.

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Everybody's like, man, I wanna

see your new whip, Ellen.

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All right?

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So he shows me these keys and I'm

like, man, that's really cool,

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but man, I wanna see what those

keys of the kingdom are like.

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You know what I mean?

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Adam's got some keys, but those keys can't

compare to Peter's keys of the kingdom.

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But we see Peter's growing

in his relationship.

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He's growing in his discipleship.

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He's growing in his faith.

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You see him growing to

have more of God's desires.

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And more of God's desires and plans

are revealed to Peter as he's growing.

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Now Peter hasn't arrived,

but he's growing.

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And he's becoming a king.

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Transformed because check

this out right after this.

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This is what happens from that time on

Jesus began to explain to his disciples

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that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer

many things at the hands of the elders,

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the chief priests and the teachers of

the law, and that he must be killed on

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the third day and be raised to life.

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Peter took him aside

and began to rebuke him.

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Never.

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Lord, he said, this shall

never happen to you.

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Jesus turned and said to

Peter, get behind me, Satan.

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You are a stumbling block to me.

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You do not have in mind the concerns

of God, but merely human concern.

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Whoo!

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Boy, that was, that was a

conversation right there, huh?

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You go, wait, the last time

we heard about Peter, man, you

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got the keys of the kingdom.

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Now what do we see?

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Boy, you are Satan.

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That's some strong language.

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I don't know about you, I've

been called a lot of stuff, but

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nobody's called me Satan yet.

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Now, again, is Jesus being mean?

311

: 00:17:09

No.

312

: 00:17:09

What he's trying to help him, he's

rebuking him, he's loving him.

313

: 00:17:12

See, hey, look, you're thinking worldly.

314

: 00:17:14

You have some stinking thinking.

315

: 00:17:16

And what you're talking about,

that's what the devil would want.

316

: 00:17:19

He wouldn't want me to go to the cross.

317

: 00:17:21

Because that means there's no

redemption for everybody else.

318

: 00:17:24

So you can see why he's trying

to really get this point.

319

: 00:17:27

And he wants everybody

else to get this point.

320

: 00:17:31

But Jesus, here, has some strong legs.

321

: 00:17:34

And you know, this is a pretty

humbling experience, wouldn't you say?

322

: 00:17:38

You know, like if we had somebody else,

and, and we got on the mic, and it was

323

: 00:17:42

like, yo, Sonia, you are a Satan, right?

324

: 00:17:44

In front of everybody,

people are like, whoa.

325

: 00:17:46

Let's give her a pat on the

back, let's encourage her.

326

: 00:17:50

So you can imagine this.

327

: 00:17:50

But check this out.

328

: 00:17:51

Here's what it says.

329

: 00:17:52

This is the next thing we read.

330

: 00:17:53

After six days, Jesus took with him Peter,

James and John, the brothers of James, and

331

: 00:17:57

led them up a high mountain by themselves.

332

: 00:18:00

This is where they had this

momentous experience where the

333

: 00:18:02

transfiguration takes place.

334

: 00:18:05

Six days later, who's the

first name that's listed to go?

335

: 00:18:11

Peter.

336

: 00:18:13

So he's riding this high he's getting

fired up about these keys and maybe that's

337

: 00:18:17

what got him in trouble He's like man.

338

: 00:18:18

I got the keys to the kingdom.

339

: 00:18:20

I could say whatever I wanted.

340

: 00:18:21

He's like, no you can't He has this

humbling moment, but right back.

341

: 00:18:25

He's right back.

342

: 00:18:26

Hey, you're still in the inner

circle You're still with me.

343

: 00:18:29

And in fact, I'm gonna reveal

myself in a powerful way like

344

: 00:18:32

never before And so Jesus still

loves him still believed in him.

345

: 00:18:37

It was really cool.

346

: 00:18:38

Peter didn't get bitter Did you

notice that Peter didn't I'm out?

347

: 00:18:43

I'm out leaving this church

I can't believe he would say

348

: 00:18:47

something like this to me.

349

: 00:18:48

No, Peter got it spiritually.

350

: 00:18:51

And Jesus was willing to speak

some truth, but still loved him.

351

: 00:18:54

Did nothing to change in the relationship.

352

: 00:18:58

But some truth had to be revealed.

353

: 00:19:00

That's a different sermon

for another day here.

354

: 00:19:02

Alright?

355

: 00:19:02

And so we go ahead and now we get over and

see the witness of the transfiguration.

356

: 00:19:07

But Matthew 26, this is when Jesus

goes through, uh, the Last Supper and

357

: 00:19:12

then to his, his death upon the cross.

358

: 00:19:15

And we see extreme highs

faithfulness of Peter.

359

: 00:19:20

He starts off with the other guys

in the room and they're like,

360

: 00:19:23

Hey, Jesus will die for you.

361

: 00:19:26

And then they go outside, some

people come, Peter pulls out a

362

: 00:19:29

knife and cuts a dude's ear off.

363

: 00:19:31

He was bout it, you know what I'm saying?

364

: 00:19:34

Peter was there, he was with it, okay?

365

: 00:19:36

And so he, he's actually falling

through, I'll, I'll, I'll die

366

: 00:19:39

with you, and he cuts the ear off.

367

: 00:19:40

Jesus is like, what are you doing?

368

: 00:19:41

Man, put this ear back on,

man, man, put that knife away.

369

: 00:19:45

And then right after that, then Jesus

allows himself to get arrested and Peter,

370

: 00:19:49

with all the other ones, run for safety.

371

: 00:19:54

But then Peter decides let me go back.

372

: 00:19:56

He goes back and there's this

kind of mock trial for Jesus.

373

: 00:19:59

And then we get to this point here

in which Jesus then and this is maybe

374

: 00:20:03

the lowest point in Peter's faith He

fails because he denies that he even

375

: 00:20:06

knows Jesus three times in public.

376

: 00:20:12

Yes, you can imagine how he felt.

377

: 00:20:16

However, the story doesn't end.

378

: 00:20:17

We go into John 21.

379

: 00:20:19

Jesus reinstates Peter.

380

: 00:20:21

Gives him a chance and he says,

Hey, you're back and no, you're

381

: 00:20:24

still going to be that rock that

I told you you were going to be.

382

: 00:20:28

To be, and then we continue in Acts

chapter two, we see when the church for

383

: 00:20:34

it starts on a day of Pentecost, Peter

preaches the very first gospel message.

384

: 00:20:38

He preaches and thousands come to faith.

385

: 00:20:41

Thousands get saved and get baptized.

386

: 00:20:43

Then in Acts 10, we see Peter using

those keys to open up the doors

387

: 00:20:48

for all the Jews to understand.

388

: 00:20:50

Hey, this salvation is for

all nations, all people.

389

: 00:20:53

As we see in Acts chapter

10 with Cornelius there.

390

: 00:20:57

And so Peter's being used and

you go, man, that's awesome.

391

: 00:21:01

But the story doesn't stop there.

392

: 00:21:04

Peter is still, he has still not arrived.

393

: 00:21:09

He's still being transformed.

394

: 00:21:11

Because in Galatians chapter 2, he

has a time with Paul the apostle.

395

: 00:21:16

And Paul calls out Peter for his

fear that led to hypocrisy, that

396

: 00:21:21

even led to the treatment of the

non Jews in a prejudicial way.

397

: 00:21:29

Now hallelujah, Peter repents.

398

: 00:21:31

Peter gets back on it and then

here's what he says again.

399

: 00:21:36

This is the last recorded words

that we have from the Apostle Peter.

400

: 00:21:41

We go back and here's what he says again

in 2nd Peter in verse 3 in chapter 1.

401

: 00:21:46

His divine power is giving us

everything we need for a godly life.

402

: 00:21:50

Through our knowledge of him who

has called us by his own glory and

403

: 00:21:53

goodness through these he has given

us his very great and precious

404

: 00:21:57

promises so that through them you

may participate in the divine nature.

405

: 00:22:02

Now think about this again.

406

: 00:22:03

We've seen his journey.

407

: 00:22:05

We've seen the highs and the lows.

408

: 00:22:08

We've seen the miracles.

409

: 00:22:10

We've seen the failures.

410

: 00:22:12

We've seen the roughneck Peter to

this man at this point in which he

411

: 00:22:16

says, you know what it's all about.

412

: 00:22:18

God wants to transform you.

413

: 00:22:22

My spiritual journey has taught me this.

414

: 00:22:24

God wants you and me to

become more like him.

415

: 00:22:30

To participate in the divine nature.

416

: 00:22:34

And Peter does die for his faith.

417

: 00:22:38

Do you think that Peter

ever became just like Jesus?

418

: 00:22:46

Probably not.

419

: 00:22:48

But he became the best version of

Peter that was the most like Jesus.

420

: 00:22:55

And I believe that Peter did

reach that point of the third

421

: 00:22:58

stage of transformed obedience.

422

: 00:23:01

And that's where he got to that point

where he desired what God desired.

423

: 00:23:05

So therefore he was the perfect

candidate to write 2 Peter and to

424

: 00:23:09

write these things for you and I.

425

: 00:23:11

Because of his journey in his

faith and where he got to.

426

: 00:23:15

And now he resides in paradise

with a transformed body.

427

: 00:23:20

That's what Philippians 3 tells us.

428

: 00:23:22

And he's with the Lord.

429

: 00:23:25

Again.

430

: 00:23:26

This serves as a model for you and

me and our faith and our journeys.

431

: 00:23:31

You know, God calls us to become more

like him and to join in his good work.

432

: 00:23:36

And we have many highs and we have some

lows in our faith and in our journey.

433

: 00:23:42

There's growth and there's regression.

434

: 00:23:45

But in the end, we should be

looking a lot more like Jesus

435

: 00:23:50

than we did at the beginning.

436

: 00:23:54

In the end, we should have more depth.

437

: 00:23:57

Of a relationship more knowledge of

god in his will and we should have

438

: 00:24:02

more wisdom than we did When we started

and we should reach that point of

439

: 00:24:11

the third stage of transformation

In which yes, it's relational.

440

: 00:24:16

Yes.

441

: 00:24:17

There's times where I have to

deny my sinful flesh but I start

442

: 00:24:21

to look and resemble and take

on the image and likeness and

443

: 00:24:26

character of my father in heaven

444

: 00:24:31

And we are transformed.

445

: 00:24:33

And so here's the encouraging

thing again for us today.

446

: 00:24:37

Whether you're growing, you're stale,

you're stuck, or you've regressed.

447

: 00:24:41

There's hope for you today.

448

: 00:24:43

And there's also a call for you today.

449

: 00:24:47

There's a hope that we have.

450

: 00:24:49

We can still become more.

451

: 00:24:51

And there's a call to

continue to become more.

452

: 00:24:55

Like I want to read this passage man

that this this hit me a couple weeks

453

: 00:25:00

ago Or just it hit me this week, but I

heard it a while ago I've read it many

454

: 00:25:04

times, but it just resonated check this

out here It says being confident of this

455

: 00:25:09

that he who began a good work and you

will carry it on to completion until

456

: 00:25:14

the day of Christ Jesus Boy, that's,

there's hope, there's confidence, there's

457

: 00:25:21

assurance in that passage right there.

458

: 00:25:24

That God who began a good work in you

will make sure to see it to completion

459

: 00:25:29

until the day that Jesus comes back.

460

: 00:25:33

There's some hope and

there's some confidence.

461

: 00:25:35

There's hope that we,

God's not done with us.

462

: 00:25:38

No matter where we are,

God is not done with us.

463

: 00:25:41

And then there's the confidence that, hey,

if I persevere, if I keep trying, if I

464

: 00:25:46

don't quit, I put my foot forward, I keep

taking steps, that God's gonna make sure I

465

: 00:25:52

continue to grow and become like Him, and

He'll do it until the day Jesus returns.

466

: 00:25:58

And then I'll reach that third

stage, but I'll reach God's intended

467

: 00:26:02

destination for me, and that's for me

to take on his character and nature

468

: 00:26:06

and be like him in likeness and image.

469

: 00:26:09

So there is hope and there is confidence.

470

: 00:26:12

We are going that direction and

God is making sure we get there.

471

: 00:26:19

So hopefully, whether Jesus comes

back tomorrow or we die before

472

: 00:26:27

the day the Lord's come back, we

have hope and confidence that we

473

: 00:26:32

can and will be more like him.

474

: 00:26:39

What's our response though?

475

: 00:26:40

Again, we have a role in this

476

: 00:26:44

and we'll remind you from

what we saw earlier in the

477

: 00:26:47

year is to make every effort.

478

: 00:26:53

2 Peter 1, look what Peter says here.

479

: 00:26:55

He also, he says it three

times in this letter.

480

: 00:26:58

He says again, as he talks about

escaping the corruption in the world,

481

: 00:27:01

uh, evil that I says, for this reason,

make every effort to add to your faith.

482

: 00:27:07

And we studied that out.

483

: 00:27:08

Verse 10.

484

: 00:27:09

He says, therefore, my brothers

and sisters make every effort.

485

: 00:27:12

To confirm your calling and election

for if you do these things you will

486

: 00:27:17

never stumble and you will receive a

witch Rich welcome into the eternal

487

: 00:27:21

kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus

Christ chapter 3 verse 14 So then dear

488

: 00:27:26

friends since you are looking forward

to this make every effort To be found

489

: 00:27:32

spotless blameless and at peace with him.

490

: 00:27:36

What's Peter's points?

491

: 00:27:38

Make every effort make every effort.

492

: 00:27:42

We are not earning this No, that's not

what he's saying But because God has

493

: 00:27:48

equipped this and given us everything

we need we need to make every effort to

494

: 00:27:52

put it into practice And so again, we're

reminded of this reality and truth that

495

: 00:27:59

the intersection of God's Empowerment with

our human efforts when those things meet

496

: 00:28:05

transformation takes place Transformation

doesn't take place by me just gritting

497

: 00:28:11

through it and me just trying on my own.

498

: 00:28:13

No.

499

: 00:28:13

Many of us have tried

that and it didn't work.

500

: 00:28:16

But transformation doesn't take

place by just sitting back and

501

: 00:28:18

saying, God, you got all this right?

502

: 00:28:20

You're going to do it.

503

: 00:28:21

I don't have to do a thing.

504

: 00:28:22

No, God says we're going

to do this together.

505

: 00:28:26

I'm going to empower you, but

you need to make every effort.

506

: 00:28:32

And when we do this, we become

more and more and more like Christ.

507

: 00:28:39

Amen.

508

: 00:28:40

In our nature and in our character.

509

: 00:28:44

So let's get real practical here.

510

: 00:28:46

Church, are you still with me here?

511

: 00:28:48

Action steps this week here.

512

: 00:28:50

For, for some of us here, uh, maybe we

have not made a decision to follow Jesus.

513

: 00:28:53

So we're not able to fully relate to

the things that I'm mentioning here.

514

: 00:28:57

And so here's the, uh,

action step for you.

515

: 00:29:00

And that's to take the

next step toward God.

516

: 00:29:02

To take the next step toward God.

517

: 00:29:05

You know, some of us, we have this

idea that, Hey, I can't get right

518

: 00:29:09

with God until I get myself right.

519

: 00:29:12

Some of us have even had that thinking.

520

: 00:29:14

But that's actually backwards.

521

: 00:29:16

And even we see it

through the life of Peter.

522

: 00:29:18

No, we take a step, we get right with

God, and then He transforms us from there.

523

: 00:29:25

So it's not, let me get myself

together, then I'll go after you.

524

: 00:29:28

No, no, no, no, no, because you'll

never have yourself fully together.

525

: 00:29:31

No, it's come to me and I'm

going to make you more like me.

526

: 00:29:35

And so I want to encourage you here

today or you're online here with us.

527

: 00:29:39

Take the next step toward God.

528

: 00:29:41

And some of us, we have

a fear of messing up.

529

: 00:29:44

Oh no, but if I do this, then

what if I mess up or I fail?

530

: 00:29:48

Well, look at Peter.

531

: 00:29:50

He was given the keys of the kingdom.

532

: 00:29:51

Did he fail?

533

: 00:29:53

Many times.

534

: 00:29:55

And that's just the recorded times.

535

: 00:29:58

There's a whole lot more because

if Peter's like you and me, which

536

: 00:30:01

I'm sure he is, there's probably

a mess up every single day.

537

: 00:30:05

But God says we'll get back

up and let's keep going.

538

: 00:30:12

For some of us, the action step

is to resume making every effort.

539

: 00:30:17

And so maybe you haven't been making

effort, but like Peter, let's get back

540

: 00:30:20

up and let's start making every effort.

541

: 00:30:24

To add to our faith, to live a

life in honor of Jesus Christ.

542

: 00:30:29

Who died for our sins, but

raised again so that we can die

543

: 00:30:33

to our sins and live for Him.

544

: 00:30:35

Cause there's no excuse not to.

545

: 00:30:37

We see a great example

in Peter, he failed.

546

: 00:30:40

Man, if anything, especially after

denial, he could have just quit and left.

547

: 00:30:43

But Jesus is like, no, no,

no, you're still with me.

548

: 00:30:45

And you're still that rock.

549

: 00:30:47

And you're still gonna be

that person that has the keys.

550

: 00:30:50

And I'm still gonna use you.

551

: 00:30:52

And you're gonna be like me,

and guess what, you're gonna

552

: 00:30:53

write some of my words down.

553

: 00:30:56

And it's gonna have a profound

effect upon people for thousands

554

: 00:30:59

and thousands of years.

555

: 00:31:01

And so we need to resume it.

556

: 00:31:02

Because we can, because God's given

us His Spirit and we have every tool

557

: 00:31:07

needed to apply it to our lives.

558

: 00:31:10

And for some of us, we've been on top

of it, we've been growing, well then

559

: 00:31:13

let's bring others along with you.

560

: 00:31:16

Let's go ahead again, nobody has arrived.

561

: 00:31:18

Peter never really fully arrived.

562

: 00:31:21

You and I would never be the

exact replica of Jesus by the

563

: 00:31:25

time he comes back or we die.

564

: 00:31:27

But again, we could be soaring, we could

be growing, but it's not just about us.

565

: 00:31:31

We are called to bring

others along with us.

566

: 00:31:34

So that's those in our fellowship,

those in our family groups.

567

: 00:31:37

Hey man, let's keep going,

let's make every effort.

568

: 00:31:39

That's reaching out to

our neighbors and friends.

569

: 00:31:42

Hey, there's a God who wants to transform

your life and wants you to be like Him.

570

: 00:31:45

Let's bring others along, whether they're

disciples or non disciples of Jesus.

571

: 00:31:50

Let's bring others along, cause this

isn't a solo ride, this is a team effort.

572

: 00:31:55

And we are called to be relational.

573

: 00:31:59

We start off the year saying,

let's become more in 24.

574

: 00:32:01

Today we're reminded we

still can become more in 24.

575

: 00:32:07

God desires and is working to

transform us into the image of Christ.

576

: 00:32:13

And like Peter, our journey is

going to have ups and downs,

577

: 00:32:17

but we need to keep going.

578

: 00:32:21

And so let's make every effort.

579

: 00:32:24

Right now we're going to take communion

and this is where we take the emblems

580

: 00:32:27

that represent Jesus's body and

blood that was sacrificed for the

581

: 00:32:32

opportunity for us to have salvation.

582

: 00:32:34

And we're reminded again that everything

that we have, this opportunity,

583

: 00:32:38

this likeness, this call, this

redemption, this opportunity to join

584

: 00:32:41

in the work is all through Jesus.

585

: 00:32:45

There's no way outside of him.

586

: 00:32:46

And so we praise God.

587

: 00:32:48

We thank God for Jesus coming.

588

: 00:32:50

And for the gospel message, we

close out in Philippians 3 verse 20.

589

: 00:32:55

I referenced this earlier and says,

but our citizenship is in heaven

590

: 00:32:59

and we eagerly await a savior from

there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who

591

: 00:33:05

by the power that enables him to

bring everything under his control.

592

: 00:33:09

Check this out.

593

: 00:33:10

We'll transform our lowly bodies so

that we will be like his glorious body.

594

: 00:33:18

Let's pray.

595

: 00:33:19

Father, we thank you so much for Jesus.

596

: 00:33:23

We thank you for the call and

the opportunity, the hope and

597

: 00:33:28

the assurance that we have of you

completing your good work in us.

598

: 00:33:33

We know that comes through your son Jesus.

599

: 00:33:38

We realize these things because of

your son Jesus and him being the

600

: 00:33:42

full embodiment of you, the father.

601

: 00:33:45

And we thank you for your spirit

that strengthens and enables and

602

: 00:33:49

empowers us to put your word into

practice and to be transformed.

603

: 00:33:55

And God, we thank you that we have not

only a longing for our character and our

604

: 00:34:00

nature to be transformed in this life.

605

: 00:34:02

But God, it says in the scripture

that you will transform us

606

: 00:34:05

into the resurrected body.

607

: 00:34:08

And that we will somehow, some way,

take on the resurrected body of Christ.

608

: 00:34:13

For all eternity.

609

: 00:34:15

We thank you for your plan, for

your vision for us, for your

610

: 00:34:18

faithfulness, for your perseverance,

for your love that is enduring.

611

: 00:34:23

And we thank you for Christ's

endurance on the cross and most

612

: 00:34:28

of all for his resurrection.

613

: 00:34:30

It's in his name.

614

: 00:34:31

Amen.