God Is Working
Series: Growing in Grace and Peace
August 04, 2024
Frank Foreman
Luke 22:31-32, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat… but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. ---------- The world around the first-century church was changing rapidly. The churches of Asia Minor were not just struggling with the persecution and suffering addressed in Peter’s first letter; they also had strife and dissension within their ranks. To stem the tide of heresy and false teaching among the Christians, Peter emphasized the importance of learning and clinging to the proper knowledge of God. This concept was so important to him that the word knowledge appears—in one form or another—some fifteen times in this short, three-chapter letter. ---------- Believers can create discord in multiple ways, particularly in the area of relationships and theology. To guard against that kind of disagreement—both in our families and our churches—God’s people need to know who He is. Our knowledge of God through His Word is our greatest defense against the contentions that threaten to tear us apart. As Peter wrote: “Be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men… but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:17–18). ---------- As we launch a new sermon series over the book of 2 Peter, Frank opens up with a message focusing on the truth that God was not absent and that He had not moved on to other projects. It was still His will and plan that were being fulfilled. Even in the face of struggles, God was (and still is) working His plan for us individually and collectively as a church. ---------- With that in mind, what means are you taking to grow in your faith? Let’s take the time to guard our minds with the proper knowledge of God so that we may not drift off from the path that God has laid out for us
Episode Notes
Luke 22:31, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat….
Verse 32, …but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.
Big Idea: As we experience tests…
God is with us to strengthen us and intercede for us.
Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Romans 8:26-28, Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And He who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.
2nd Peter 1:1-2, Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
1. God is working in you.
2nd Peter 1:3-4, His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
You now hate what you used to love and love what you used to hate.
Ephesians 3:20-21, Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
2. God is working with you.
2nd Peter 1:5-9, For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
See the pain in your life as pruning rather than punishment.
John 15:1-2, I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3. God is working through you.
2nd Peter 1:10-15, Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
When you’re growing in faith, there’s little room for doubting your faith.
Philippians 3:12-14, Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Next Step: Look for the good in every situation…
And when you can’t see it, trust God anyway.
Content Copyright Belongs to New Horizons Christian Church
6607