🗣 SPEAKER: • BISHOP ANDRE BLAKE 

📚  SERIES: • THE GRACE IMPACT

📍 SUBJECT: • GRACE TO STAND STRONG 

• Focus 4) Growing through Grace – 2 Peter 3:10-18 (pg. 281)

📖 SCRIPTURE: • 2 Peter 3:10-18

🆚 SPOTLIGHT-VERSE: • 2 Peter 3:17-18

💡 SUPER-IDEA: • The grace of God enables us to live Godly, Grounded, Guarded and Growing Christian lives as we await Christ’s return.

🙏 PRAYER: 

• ….

READING: 2 Peter 3:10-18

The Day of the Lord

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be [a]burned up.

• Everything here is temporary

11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 

• Every believer should live with the end in mind

12 Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 

13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

• Every believer should live in expectation of Christ’s return

Be Steadfast

14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 

15 and consider that the longsuffering (Patience) of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 

16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.

• Every believer should live according to the truth of the scriptures.

🆚 SPOTLIGHT-VERSE: • 2 Peter 3:17-18

17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 

18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.

• Every believer should live a steadfast life as we grow in Grace.

Highlights from the text,

• Everything here is temporary

• Every believer should live with the end in mind

1. Every believer should live in expectation of Christ’s return
2. Every believer should live according to the truth of the scriptures.
3. Every believer should live a steadfast life as we grow in Grace.

*****LAUNCH POINT*****

⛛ What is the grace of God?

🔑 “Grace is undeserved love or favour freely given to the undeserving…”

The Bible is a book about Grace.

It provides many wonderful pictures of God’s grace to guilty mankind.

Let’s look at ways the Bible speaks of God’s grace. 

1. The exceeding riches of God’s grace – Ephesians 2:4-7

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

7 That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. KJV

1. His abundant grace – 1 Timothy 1:12-14

12 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;

13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.

14 And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

1. His manifold Grace – 1 Peter 4:10

10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

I want us to realize that,

• God is pleased when we sing of, confess, and glory in His grace.

▪️ Peter the apostle wrote two letters during the reign of Nero the emperor of Rome. This emperor hated Christians and would eventually do terrible things to them. Christians were thrown by Nero to lions to be eaten because of their faith (now you can understand why God would inspire Peter to use the imagery he used in 1 Peter 5:8,

8 Be [a]sober, be [b]vigilant; [c]because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

It’s also said that Nero blamed the Christians when Rome was burnt to the ground to execute his evil plan against them.

One could say that the devil was using him as one of his roaring lions seeking whom he may devour.

▪️ In the second letter, the ending of which our focus is on tonight, appears to be that this is Peter’s response to a report of false teachers and teachings that had risen in the region where the people to whom he was writing lived, Asia Minor.

Therefore, his purpose here is to discourage the believers from listening to them, while at the same time continuing to encourage them, though situations under Nero had gotten extremely difficult for Christians.

One of the main things he addresses, which is the grandest source of encouragement for believers, is the issue of Jesus’ Return. 

As some teachers were seeking to cast doubt on the validity of the return of Christ, Peter reminded them, that contrary to false teachers ideas, 2 Peter 3:9, 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. KJV

He then told them that on the contrary, (But) the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which, the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2 Peter 3:10, 10 KJV 

▪️ Peter has been warning the believers about false teachers. He was concerned that they would be led astray in their faith. So, he highlights the evil lifestyle and coming doom of all false teachers.

Peter urges believers not to fall into their traps. Instead, they must grow in grace and knowledge. As they study God’s Word diligently, they will become more and more stable in their faith, being strengthened even more against false teaching is his message.

• This message is still relevant to us today.

In the final verse of Peter’s two letters, Peter said, “Grow… in grace”.

The main theme in 1 Peter is “the Grace of God”. In this letter, Peter describes the sufficiency of God’s grace in salvation, submission, and suffering. 

In 2 Peter, he addresses assurance and growth in Spiritual knowledge as His theme.

Verse 18, therefore, seems to bring together in one succinct, yet in a profound way the two key ideas of being grounded in grace and growing and the knowledge of the Lord.

Let’s review what he stated has his purpose for writing this letter to believers,

In 1 Peter‬ ‭5:12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

📖 “I have written and sent this short letter to you with the help of Silas, whom I commend to you as a faithful brother. My purpose in writing is to encourage you and assure you that what you are experiencing is truly part of God’s grace for you. Stand firm in this grace.”– ‭‭

https://bible.com/bible/116/1pe.5.12.NLT 

The aim of this lesson is to help us understand how grace affects our everyday life and enable us to stand firm in the last days.

💡 SUPER-IDEA: • The grace of God enables us to live Godly, Grounded, Guarded and Growing Christian lives as we await Christ’s return.

In short,

• The grace of God enables us to be ready for Christ’s return.

Practically speaking, 

• It is the GRACE OF GOD THAT ENABLES US TO STAND STRONG in every situation because,

1) THE GRACE OF GOD HELPS US TO LIVE GODLY LIVES

(2) THE GRACE OF GOD HELPS US TO LIVE GROUNDED LIVES

(3) THE GRACE OF GOD HELPS US TO LIVE GUARDED LIVES

4) THE GRACE OF GOD HELPS US TO LIVE GROWING LIVES

*****LESSON POINT*****

1) THE GRACE OF GOD HELPS US TO LIVE GODLY LIVES

📖 “Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live,” – ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3:11‬-13 ‭NLT‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/116/2pe.3.11.NLT 

• In Romans 6:14 we are reminded that (vs. 14) “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” NLT.
• Here Paul identifies for us the liberating nature of grace over the believer’s life
  • However, we must not think that Paul is suggesting that grace has given us unrestrained freedom to live according to our own desires. Rather, Paul’s argument here is that God’s grace has freed us from the dominance of sin over our lives through Jesus Christ and that by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us God has given to us the desire to please Him and pursue His purpose for our lives. 
    • Therefore, in Galatians Paul asks the believers this question, 3 “How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?” Galatians 3:3 NLT

• Ⓜ️ The grace of God gives freedom to live for the glory of God –Godly.

• • BY GOD’S GRACE AT WORK IN YOU, YOU’RE EMPOWERED TO LIVE PURE AND TRUE.
    • It is through the Holy Spirit by God’s Grace we are equipped to live Godly.

What does a Godly life look like?

The answer to this question is found in 2 Peter 3:14, which takes us to our next point

(2) THE GRACE OF GOD HELPS US TO LIVE GROUNDED LIVES

📖 “And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.” – ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3:14‬ ‭NLT‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/116/2pe.3.14.NLT 

• The grace of God gives us groundedness in faith and faithfulness.
  • To be grounded is to possess a firm and unwavering foundation

2 Corinthians 7:1 – Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

(3) THE GRACE OF GOD HELPS US TO LIVE GUARDED LIVES

📖 “You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing.” – ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/116/2pe.3.17.NLT 

• ▣ “be on your guard” This is a military term… As followers of Jesus, we have a personal responsibility to continue to check and evaluate what others say about God/Christ. Since there are deceivers both within and without the fellowship (cf. Eph. 4:14; 6:11-12). Do not be spiritually naive!

⛛ How can Christian soldiers, STAY ON GUARD?

• Listen to what Paul urges believers, 

Ephesians 4:14, “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

Instead, Paul encourage believers to,

11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

(4) THE GRACE OF GOD HELPS US TO LIVE GROWING LIVES

📖 “Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.” – ‭‭2 Peter‬ ‭3:18‬ ‭NLT‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/116/2pe.3.18.NLT 

• When you know God’s grace, you desire to grow more like Jesus.

• • 2 Corinthians 8:9 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. – NLT
    • Peter emphasizes again his point from verses 11-12, namely that believers should be diligent to grow spiritually and serve God while they are waiting for Christ’s return.

2 Peter 3:11-12

11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

• You grow in grace as you turn to the Lord, dependent on him in every situation you face, bringing your needs to him day by day, even as you eagerly expect his return”. 

*****LIVING POINT*****

• Today Peter provides for us the compass that points us to the true north. Our compass is confidence in the grace of God that enables us in light of Christ’s return to live Godly, Grounded, and growing Christian lives.

Ⓜ️ The grace of God enables us, to live Godly, Grounded, Guarded, and growing Christian lives as we await Christ’s return.

• As believers in Jesus, we must live for what is beyond not what is below.

In other words,

• Live like you’re about to leave.
• Live with the joy of the Lord

 

1. God is patient with the world 
2. God is faithful to His word
   1. 2 Peter 3:2,5,7,9,13
3. God is timeless in His work

⛛ As believers, since what awaits us in heaven will be so qualitatively better than anything we can know or experience on this earth, how should that affect what we live to know and experience on this earth? 

⛛ What distractions, pursuits, or even sins could or should this truth break you free from?

Lord, as I await your coming, help me to live a holy and godly life – ‘to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with [you]’ (2 Peter 3:14).