2 Peter 1:1-10
1 Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:
2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
What our Christian world need are people with peace, and people that are joyful, and people that walk in love.
You must never forget that you are programmed to succeed.
Come to think of it…
I’ve never met anybody who didn’t want to succeed, have you?
Everybody I’ve ever met has wanted to be a success.
How does success work in the natural?
Success comes when an individual realizes what he has, who he is, and what abilities he possesses in the natural.
Then he takes those abilities and surrounds himself with people who have abilities in areas where he is weak.
They make a strong team and go out and take success.
Second Peter 1:3 says, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness ….”
3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
Notice the word “hath” in that Scripture. Is “hath” past tense, present tense, or future.
Past!
God hath already given us everything that pertaineth to life and godliness.
Our picture before was really good…
We see people sitting around, whining, crying, and saying to one another,
“I just don’t know what is going to happen.
I don’t know if I’m going to be able to make it or not. The devil has been after me. My life is so torn up!”
John 10:10, ESV: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Several examples of what the enemy is doing.
1. Daughter has just been abducted by predators.
2. Brother has just got hooked on crack cocaine and cannot break the addiction.
3. Teenage son has just joined a criminal gang.
4. A family member that has just fallen into the hands of a demonic, false religious cult who have brainwashed her into joining their group.
You must by faith reach out and take what belongs to you.
Begin to live in the success, happiness, and liberty of the power of the Word of God.
Faith takes it!
Receive what God has for you. How?
By reaching up in faith and taking it!
The problem is that most people are waiting for God to hover over them like you do over your flowers.
They’re waiting for God to stand over the top of them with a little watering pot.
Then they’ll get excited and say, “God just poured me out a blessing!”
No, God poured out a blessing on the Church some 2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ Himself, suspended between heaven and earth on that rugged cross, said, “It is finished.”
Jesus died, went into the pits of hell, and fought with the enemy.
Then He rose victorious over death, hell, and the grave, ascended, and sat down at the right hand of the Father.
He purchased all there is in life and godliness—and He has given it to the Church.
We don’t have to wait for God to come by and pour us out a blessing!
All we have to do is know who we are in Christ, what we are in Christ, what the Word of God says, reach up, and take what belongs to us!
David
There was a time in scripture when David suffered a major setback. He and his men were out protecting the borders of Israel, doing the right thing, fulfilling their purpose. These bandits came in and attacked their home city of Ziklag, burned down their houses, stole their possessions, and kidnapped their wives and children. It was one of David’s greatest defeats. When he and his 600 men returned home and saw the smoke billowing in the distance, scripture says, “They wept until they could not weep anymore.” It was the worst day of their lives.
It looked like it was over. It looked like they were done. But, David did something that we all must do if we’re going to rise up out of defeat. Instead of staying in the ashes, focusing on how bad everything was, that warrior spirit began to rise up. He thought, “Hey, I may be down, this may be my worst defeat so far, but this is not the end of my story. I am the righteous. I have the promise. When it’s all over, I’ll still be standing.” He started encouraging himself, reminding himself of who he was and Whose he was. He told his men, “Get up. Dry your tears. Get your equipment. We’re going to go get what belongs to us.” They went out and not only attacked and defeated the enemy, but they got all of their possessions back. They got their wives and children back. Scripture says they recovered all! David’s greatest defeat turned into one of his greatest victories.
We all face unfair situations, things that seem like they’re going to bury us. But if you will have this warrior mentality and go after what belongs to you, the enemy won’t have a chance! He may hit you with his best shot, but his best will never be enough. The forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you! Rise up in faith, step out in boldness and recover what is rightfully yours!
“Then David asked the LORD, ‘Should I chase after this band of raiders? Will I catch them?’ And the LORD told him, ‘Yes, go after them. You will surely recover everything that was taken from you!'” (1 Samuel 30:8, NLT)
So rise up and Shake up the beast into the fire.
When you decide to walk by faith … Don’t look at the wind
Matthew 14:22-33
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said.
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
If we go to the story of Peter walking on the water, we find that once he stepped
outside the boat, he really did begin to walk on the water.
But what happened when he took his attention off of Jesus and the power and faith of God?
What happened when Peter began to look at a bank of waves on one side of him—and then saw another bank of waves on the other side?
As long as Peter kept his eyes on Jesus, he walked up and over the crest of those waves—
but when the next wave looked like it was going to break over him,
Peter began to sink.
The same circumstances that caused Peter to sink are robbing modern Christians of
their happiness and joy and are keeping us from taking what God already has given us by
faith.
Sometimes we are overwhelmed by life. The crushing waves of disappointment, endless debt, debilitating illness, or trouble with people can cause hopelessness, depression, or despair. It happened to Jesus’ disciples. And it has happened to me.
Like Peter, we have begun to look, listen, and feel the power of the enemy.
We have our eyes off of God and the things of God. The waves of depression, sadness,
sickness, disease, and short bank accounts have become a part of our life.
The first thing that is that could rob us when we arise are the things we feel.
Peter felt the wind blowing on him. You can’t see the wind, but you can feel the effects of it. In that way, it’s like the
Holy Spirit. You can’t see the Holy Spirit, but you certainly can see the effects of the Holy
Spirit, for He is tangible, just like the wind is.
Second, Peter was affected by the things he saw.
He saw the threatening waves.
What kinds of things do we see in this COVID period that has come to shake our faith?
We see television newscasts and newspapers and magazines filled with reports of fear, doubt, unbelief, and depression. We feel the pinch of inflation every time we go to the supermarket store or pull into a petrol station.
So make up your mind
I’m going to take what is rightfully mine.
The Word of God says it’s mine.
I’ve read this Book.
This Book tells me that it belongs to me, and I’m not about to let the devil steal what belongs to me.
You wouldn’t walk back to your car and say to your wife, “Well, honey, I thought that
this was our house, but that man has a piece of paper that says it belongs to him. I don’t
know how it happened.
Not one of you would do this. You would go to the proper authorities and find out
what was going on. Yet what are we, as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ, doing when
the devil comes by, backs up his moving van, and steals our joy while moving in his
sickness and disease?
You would ask, “What is going on here?”
When the devil backs his moving van up to my property, I look him square in the eye
and say, “Hey— didn’t you see that NO TRESPASSING sign out there?
Get your moving
van out of here. Pack your goods up, Mr. Devil. You have no right and no authority to
come in and steal my happiness, my health, my joy, my finances, and my prosperity. I
have taken them by faith. God said they are mine. You have no right and no authority to
them.”
Do the same thing with the Word of God when the devil comes to steal what belongs
to you! Take the Word of God and begin to say, “It is written, Mr. Devil. It is written … I
take it by the Word of God and by faith.” (You will find that the Word of God says in
Matthew 11:12 that the violent take the kingdom by force
Handling Contradictory thoughts
You can combat his devices by quoting, “It is written. It is written. I take what belongs
to me, Mr. Devil, because the Word says that no weapon formed against me will prosper
(Isa. 54.17). The Word says, Mr. Devil, that my body is healed by the power of God. It is
written, Mr. Devil, that my every need is met.”