have you ever noticed um that Christianity in the west seems to have a little bit of an identity crisis right now uh statistically there are a lot of people who claim to be Christians according to Pew Research Center 1990 census data that was collected would say that 90% of adults in the US would identify as Christians now I was a child in the 90s but even without having as much conscious experience in that decade that number strikes is pretty high Pew reports that today roughly 2third of adults in the US would claim that they are Christian which leads me to think of two immediate responses uh first what a significant drop off uh from at least from poll research uh and second I'm not sure I could say that two out of three people that I meet are like authentically Christian now you could blame Eugene for that and say that we live in one of the most post Christian cities in the United States which is true uh but even in my time in more Christian regions in the country and through relationships that I have with pastors and Ministry leaders who are in places like Nashville or Texas uh they would tell you that two out of three people they meet are not Christians you see for a long time cultural Christianity has had a significant influence over the general population of our country because of familial or soci social pressure pressures and standards many have claimed Christianity without really walking it out in fact uh and I'm no statistician so I offer this with some humility but I I just don't even like a lot of the standards that many Christian research firms and companies use uh to create this information about percentages in uh America about the number of Christians in a lot of research if you were to read through the fine PR or if you read through some of the standards that they use to claim or identify someone as a Christian you find that the bar is pretty low whether it be Church attendance giving reports or how often someone reads their Bible once you begin to read through some of the data and don't just look at the pretty pictures uh you see that the bar is very low and you realize maybe why their numbers are so high of why so many people can report that they're a Christian because they go to church once a year or because they read their Bible twice every six months and they say boom look another Christian that's wonderful but I think if we were to look through A discipleship lens and consider the fruit that's supposed to be Beed in our life because of authentic Faith we'd start to say I'm not sure if those are the kinds of things that we Mark Christian Faith by but then we do run into the issue two which is kind of doing what I was doing there measuring Christians by a specific few activities and defining whether or not they are a person of Faith by them it feels a little messy to me a little judgmental it lacks Nuance it doesn't recognize the things that people are fighting through the situations that people are working out of don't get me wrong Church attendance giving Bible intake they're all essential parts of being a Christian and I would thoroughly commend you to to pursue those and do those but it isn't the most Fair way to determine whether someone is a born- again Christian or not and I'm not sure we have the right to make that kind of judgment about someone based off that kind of list but we do face a challenge in a culture like ours where many people claim to be Christians but the fruit of their life and maybe much of their theology would say otherwise in fact I've had many friends walk away from faith in recent years and one of the pieces that they will often cite is they'll say that like they can't reconcile that they share the same Faith as someone else who gets to publicly pass as a Christian they feel like there's a such a difference between their life and how they're authentically trying to follow Jesus versus how somebody else get kind of gets to culturally be considered under that same banner and that's very discouraging to them and so they'll say we can't say we believe the same things because look how different our lives are and that ends up typically leading them to kind of Veer off but I think if we dive a little deeper we even see further identity issues Within Christianity itself historically there would be no shame in calling a church like ours an Evangelical Christian Church the term Evangelical was coined throughout the expansion of protestantism and used to describe churches who had a high view of scripture spiritual formation and evangelism all things that when we look at it's like yeah of course I'm into that but in our day and age thanks to many scandals coverups and misuses the term evangelic does not always land too well on every audience that term is now often used to refer to churches or Christians complicit in the me too movement who are antisocial responsibility or sometimes even refers more to political affiliation than it does to a faith one and as things rapidly shift and change in our culture and so many people can still claim to be Christians were forced to think about what it actually means to be a follower of Jesus the foundation begins through faith in Christ that Christians are those who are saved because they believe that Jesus lived the perfect life that we couldn't live that he died the death that we deserved and then rose from the dead to defeat death sin and Satan but Jesus taught that authentic Faith would be evidenced through fruit that there would be evidence in the way that a life is lived that speaks to the fact that somebody truly believes and has received Jesus not just as Savior but also as Lord of their life life because if you say you believe something but then walk out your life differently you probably don't really believe what you say you do in Matthew 7:1 15-20 Jesus warned about false prophets and this is what he said watch out for false prophets they come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ferocious wolves by their fruit you will recognize them do people pick grapes from Thorn bushes or figs from thistles likewise every good tree Bears good fruit but bad tree Bears Bad fruit a good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire th thus by their fruit you will recognize them according to Jesus many who claim allegiance to him or to the father will have fruit in their life that says otherwise there is good fruit and there is bad fruit and good fruit is produced by those who authentically submit themselves to Christ and follow him who truly believe in the claims that he's made Jesus's brother James spoke famously in a similar vein in James 24-17 he said what good is it my brothers and sisters if someone claims to have faith but has no Deeds can such Faith save them suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food if one says to them go in peace keep warm and well fed but does nothing about their physical needs what good is it in the same way Faith by itself if it is not accompanied by action is dead what a sobering reality that it is possible to declare with your lips about your faith but have your life speak something completely different about your belief the term Christian was originally picked up by the early church and it was originally meant to be a mocking term uh in the original language and kind of what we've adapted to uh they it was actually a term that was calling somebody a little Christ it was mocking them look at you you little Christ you Christian but Christians kind of like that so they ran with it and this is because it fits the description of what the goal of Christianity is that Christ would form our hearts and Minds to become to become more like him so that we would bear fruit that's evidence of the faith that we have in him so it's easy to pass by in a moment with lip service and say that you identify as a follower of Jesus but actions speak much louder than words words unfortunately I think this is the case for many in our part of the world and even for practicing Christians uh which I think is a great substitute maybe to that issue of the term Evangelical we run into our in our culture today the idea of being a practicing Christian not just a cultural or a nominal Christian but someone who's a practicing Christian following the way of Jesus uh those of us who might be more devout in our faith we recognize that there still are needs or gaps in our spiritual formation there are some things that we still need to grow in things that we know Jesus commands things that we know our life ought to produce or look like but if we were honest with oursel there's a bit of a gap between what we say we believe and what life should look like and how it's actually practically lived out and we have a responsibility to remind ourselves of who God calls us to be and to seek out that maturity and growth in our lives so in the midst of such cultural confusion and inconsistency regarding the identity of the followers of Jesus I believe we need a plain and attainable vision of what it means to be his followers we need to know what fruit is supposed to be produced in our lives so that we can be accountable to the faith that we declare with our mouths we find this and when we find this and apply it to our lives I believe that we end up living a life that is a authentic to what we claim to believe and B offers a vision of new life to the world around us us offers something different something hopeful so if you turn in your Bibles to Second Peter 1 we will now turn our attention there as we uh look at this as our teaching text for the sermon and for this series as a whole uh it will be on the screen behind me if you don't have a physical Bible with you uh but for some context of the book Peter wrote this letter to a pretty General audience whereas many of the New Testament letters are written to specific churches or church leaders in a specific location both first and second Peter are more generally generally written to churches scattered throughout Asia Minor biblical scholar Kenneth gangle wrote that the purpose of this book is to encourage Believers into spiritual growth so that they can combat apostasy or abandoning Faith as they look forward to Christ's return which feels very relevant to the problem that I see in our culture so let's check out what Peter wrote in the first 11 verses of his letter he said Simon Peter a servant and Apostle of Jesus Christ to those through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our lord his divine power has given us everything we need for a Godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through them you may participate in the divine nature having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires for this reason make every effort to add to your faith goodness and to goodness knowledge and to knowledge self-control and to self-control perseverance and to perseverance godliness and to Godliness Mutual affection and to Mutual affection Love for if you you possess these qualities in increasing measure they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ but whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins therefore my brothers and sisters make every effort to confirm your calling and election for if you do these things you will never stumble and you will receive a rich welcome into the Eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ would you pray with me before we continue on Lord we thank you for your word and for this instruction that you've given us we trust that it's good and that it's from you thank you for your help in showing us what a productive and effective Life In following Jesus is supposed to look like thank you for the clarity and Truth described In this passage that helps us understand what our lives are supposed to look like as followers of you today we humble ourselves before you recognizing that this is the kind of life that we need and we ask for your help whether we've been following Jesus for five months or five decades help us in Jesus name amen amen well the first thing that I want to consider out of this passage um is this there's kind of pros and cons when we look at lists in the Bible uh I believe that Peter's passage speaks very powerfully here to the identity issue of Christianity that we experience here in the West uh but and it also offers us a very practical vision of what our lives are supposed to look like when we are truly and authentically rooted to him this is the kind of fruit that is produced we're given seven attributes to add to our faith or to supplement our faith as the ESV translation writes these serve as the kind of fruit that demonstrates the authenticity of our faith these are things that as a follower of Jesus we should grow in and see added to our life day by day until that day when Jesus returns the list again is goodness knowledge self-control perseverance godliness Mutual affection and love now for the book of the series we're going to consider what the Bible has to say about each of these characteristics individually characteristics that are contrary to the way of our sinful nature uh that leads us into the opposite and I believe that uh these are also very countercultural ways that we have been called to live in our new life in Christ but today I want to take a deeper look at the passage as a whole as it provides a powerful and essential framework for us to think correctly about these attributes so here's the thing about lists we can look at a list like this and one of the pros is that it's extremely clear any one of us can look at this and be able to kind of on our own sit back and say hm how was my life in goodness knowledge self-control perseverance you kind of sit down in your own time you wouldn't necessarily need me to sit there and guide you you would be able to kind of run an assessment for yourself that's what's really nice about lists you know compared to something like reading through a gospel account on your own you might run into spots that you need help that you'd say oh how do I interpret this parable of Jesus how do I understand this really hard teaching you might need somebody to kind of walk with you through it so there's one part of me that loves lists and there's several lists throughout the New Testament because it's so clear and it's something that any one of us could look at and be able to just run a self assessment through and provide the Insight that we need to uh to assess like is this fruit that's actually produced in my life or not but lists can become dangerous when they become all about our effort or burning and proving things that we're just trying to check off to feel good about ourselves and say that we're doing the right thing and that we're we are actually doing this um and that's kind of the attitude that you saw of the Pharisees in fact the Pharisees loved lists and like structures like this so much that they would even add to them so they could say they were even doing more than what the list said but it as as Jesus critiqued them it was all about their pride it was all about them just trying to obey so that they could feel good about themselves it didn't have anything to do with like fruit that's authentically being produced in their life it's something they had to strive for it's something they had to work super hard for and it's very different than the kind of life that Jesus teaches us about so I think here in second Peter 1 and in another New Testament passage we're going to look at this morning uh we're given a framework to consider the dynamic of of spiritual growth here I think we learn how to balance efforts and Faith so that we don't become like the Pharisees but so that we don't also become lazy and ineffective just trusting that these things are just supposed to naturally happen within us I think this this helps us a lot to not become like Pharisees but also to not become like those who just don't care and never actually experience change there's a first observation I'd like to make from second Peter 1 and it's that it's the power of God and his promises that enable us to live out the attributes In this passage verses 3 through 4 says his divine power has given us everything we need for a Godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness through these he has given us his very great and precious promises so that through through them you may participate in the divine nature having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires Peter reminds us here from the jump that the source of power in the Christian Life is divine power from God and holding tight to the promises of God in scriptures this is the starting point for Christian growth and maturity believing in God's promises and receiving power to become more like Christ this is so different than the starting point of growth for most other things in the world if you want to grow in your career you might have to go get another degree pass another certification or build up years of experience in order to have what you need to take that next step if you want to improve your health you have to develop a very rigorous plan that's going to take time maybe even money and discipline if you want to make more friends you have to go through that really awkward process process of like hanging out with people six to 14 times before you finally break through it's hard work sometimes to experience growth and change in the things we care about in our life for most things growth requires personal effort and intentionality from you from the get-go and if you don't find a way to muster up that effort you won't achieve what you're hoping for but the freedom in the Christian Life is that growth Begins by believing the promises of Christ Christ and receiving his power for change it isn't about you mustering up strength to create enough change in your life but it's about you surrendering to God so that he would begin to create change within you and as God renews your mind from your old self by the power of the spirit your actions begin to reflect what has changed in your mind or in your heart you walk out what you believe in your head Christian maturity and growth Begins by humbly recognizing that God is the one who gives you strength for change and you cling tight to his word to inform your belief and to give you practical wisdom and direction and you invite the spirit to make his truth become a reality in your heart and mind the spirit is available to help you overcome the gaps of faith and practice in your life in verse three says that his divine power gives us everything we need for a Godly life everything we need isn't that so freeing how cool is it that as we consider the ways that we need to become more like Christ our first step is simply to ask the Holy Spirit to help us you don't have to say Okay well what am I going to do right now what do I got to cut out of my life what do I got to figure out you could say all right I know that change I know it needs to happen Holy Spirit help me Holy Spirit help you don't have to know the strategy yet or know exactly what needs to be done to achieve that growth we ask the spirit to give you power for change and the scriptures again offer wisdom and guidance so that you can discern the Practical part the spirit is our source of change to become more like Christ now here's where the Nuance comes in a little bit just because we can receive power for change it doesn't mean that it won't require some work or intentionality or effort from us we read read from James earlier that faith without works is dead Works implies action or intentionality you making the decision to do something effort to do what you say you believe and this term of work or Works comes up all throughout the New Testament it's really not something we can run away from Philippians 2:12 famously instructs us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling isn't salvation something we receive through faith why are we talking about works now Matthew 5:116 Jesus says that our good works testify to the Father in Heaven again don't we have access to the father through faith not through Works Ephesians 2:10 says that we were created to do good works so again we can't escape the reality that action is supposed to take place in our life in authentic Faith there are actions we are called to and it will take work to do them so what is it do we grow from God's power or by our own effort and striving and that answer is a beautiful yes Colossians 1:29 has become my life verse and it's probably the one I reference to myself most personally and in my pastoral Ministry with others and in this verse Paul is referencing his goal of ministry the things he's working towards and the work he does to achieve that goal and this is what he says to this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully Works within me he strenuously contends which means he he actively giv gives off energy effort and resources to attain his goal which in this context is about preaching the gospel to the Nations he strenuously contends he doesn't say this just happens automatically and naturally I don't even have to think about it but he recognizes that there is even a strenuous contending that he has to do to accomplish the work or the growth or maturity that he is seeking in his life but then the second half of this verse comes back around and says that his striving is with the energy that Christ Works within him God does something to his heart and mind by the power of the spirit that produces change first internally and then externally and it's in this beautiful partnership with the divine nature of God as it says here in second Peter that through the Holy Spirit Christians can receive power in order to walk out the life that they claim to believe the life that we're called to where we can become those who are walking in the fullness of who God made us to be people of goodness knowledge self-control perseverance godliness Mutual affection and love it will take some work to become like Christ it won't just happen automatically and depending on the issue of sin and the Deep Roots that may be connected some things will take a lot of work to become more like Christ but it is never something we produce for ourselves it is something that through the Divine partnership with the Holy Spirit we receive help for change we receive help for growth and maturity and becoming more like Christ through God's power and promises you can become like Christ and grow in his ways and bear this kind of fruit so after this section on God's power and Promises uh Peter then lists the attributes of a Godly life as I mentioned each item in this list will get its own sermon throughout this Series so I'm not going to spend a ton of time talking about the individual things that are mentioned here in this passage but there is something more that I want to talk to about uh lists and how unique this kind of fruit that Peter talks about here and the structure of this list you see there are several solid lists throughout the Bible uh there's there's probably many that you can think of right away you think about the fruit of the spirit many of us have that memorized that's a a clear biblical list that you can say oh yeah that's what my life is supposed to look like by the spirit's help one of my favorites is in uh Timothy and 1 Timothy 6 where Paul is writing to Timothy and tells him about all the countercultural ways he's supposed to live as a man of God there are many great lists to read and study and consider and again part of that benefit is they're so clear it's just so easy for us to read through a list and say okay what does it look like for my life to to produce this but unlike the majority of of ethical of other ethical lists throughout the New Testament Peter uses a pretty interesting literary device in his writing to draw attention and significance to each item in the list notice it wasn't written like Galatians 5 the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace patience kindness but consider How It Was Written out he said make every effort to add to your faith goodness and to goodness knowledge and to knowledge self-control and to self-control perseverance and to perseverance godliness and to Godliness Mutual affection and to Mutual affection Love he repeats each item as he goes through the list creating almost like a stepbystep action plan of what Christian maturity ought to look like you can't read through this list without having to read the attribute twice you're forced to sit on it think about it more this literary structure that he's provided with us with these supplements of Faith draws our attention to it more than many of the other lists in the New Testament would there's many great lists in the New Testament as we said that we wouldn't teach through this way that we wouldn't take a time to sit through and give its its own sermon topically uh because the way that the writers wrote those lists was not necessarily trying to get our attention in the same way that this so obviously is this is trying to jump out the page at us second Peter is a a pretty short book um it's and your it's it's probably only three or four pages long and when you're reading through this that verse just kind of jumps out you not because the list is super radical or or different but because of the way it was written it forces you to think about it one of my favorite theologians and Bible scholars Thomas conable said that the total effect of this passage creates the impression of growing a healthy tree in which there are several core branches that are vital to its health and strength which is why we've chosen to use this treat and so many of the images you'll see in our slides is because we believe that these characteristics Mark what a vibrant mature and growing life in Christ is supposed to look like but more on those as we go on through this series verses eight and nine take a more sobering tone offering a warning to those who do not have these qualities exemplified or marked by their life he writes for if you possess these qualities in increasing measure meaning that they will continue to be things that grow and develop in your life they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ but whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins That's Heavy Peter warns us that if these qualities are not evident in our Liv life we will not be able to be used by God's hands to be the tools that he's made us to be to reach the world we'll be idle not able to participate in God's Redemptive plan which he's so plainly called us to be a part of not just from Genesis but all throughout as as the Bible explains the purpose of humanity ultimately and we believe in in the Covenant we have with Christ right now uh in the Great Commission and our call to make disciples of all Nations God has chosen us aided by the strength and power of the Holy Spirit to carry the gospel to every corner of the world that's our responsibility that's our mission that's our purpose to represent him and his coming Kingdom to share the gospel and invite people to enter back into relationship with the father through Jesus but if our lives are not marked by goodness knowledge self-control perseverance godliness Mutual affection and love we won't be able to be used to fulfill fulfill that purpose this passage reminds us that a key part of spiritual formation is not just for ourselves but it's for the sake of others yes there's an amazing personal relationship that you get to have with God that he wants to change you and mold you but it's not just for you it's because he's given your life a purpose and a call whether you are a full-time vocational Minister like myself or if you a nurse in town or if you're a grocery store or Clerk or whatever you do this is the purpose for all of us that we would participate in the expanding of the kingdom of God all over the world we believe that the Christian faith is much more than just getting saved so that you would avoid going to hell God has a purpose for your salvation and it's so that you would join in helping redeem others in the world who are lost and need what you've received in him but if we don't grow and mature and become who we were made to be in Christ we won't be able to be effective in that purpose so we invite the Holy Spirit use the wisdom of scripture to inform our Spiritual Development so that we can grow in attributes like these and be effective in playing the part that God has called us to to be effective in our part in God's Redemptive plan God wants to use you but the truth is we all have immaturities and broken pieces that need addressed so that we can be healed and be used to grow God's Kingdom in increasing measure and that growth and maturity is possible by the power of the Holy Spirit the gaps between who you are and who you're called to be can be shrunk by his help when the Holy Spirit indwells a Believer upon salvation there is a progressive sanctification which means we become more and more like Christ and he is continuously available to help us so that those gaps would be shorter in our life that we would look less like ourselves and more like Jesus growth and maturity is possible through the power of the holy spirit so one half of the warning of neglecting these attributes is so that we will be you know so we avoid being ineffective and unproductive but then there's an encouragement that's also kind of mixed with a warning in the greater context of this letter especially and he says that as we experience spiritual growth in these ways we confirm our calling and we will never stumble and we will be welcomed into the kingdom and this is what he says uh therefore my brothers and sisters make every effort to confirm your calling and election for if you do these things you will never stumble and you will receive a rich welcome into the Eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on one hand encouragement press on keep going let these things be evidenced fruitful in your life as you pursue Jesus keep on going but on the other hand it means that there's a possibility of stumbling if these are not formed in our life when we lack spiritual formation we give space for other attributes to be developed in our life that can have a really negative effect over who we are becoming perhaps even as serious as leading us away from Faith altogether the Brer context of this letter in second Peter know Peter is like writing to this scattered Church who's watching so many people abandon Faith who's watching so many people cave under the social pressures over the extreme persecution over heretical teachings that are becoming popular Peter's writing to a group that's like feeling the the urge to be formed in different ways as they're watching the realities and difficulties of being faithful to Jesus and when Christ isn't being formed in you something else is and if you are formed in enough away from Christ and his attributes you risk putting your faith in other things or stumbling as this verse puts it our spiritual formation is critical because every day it puts the image of Jesus on the forefronts of our minds and reminds us that I need to invite the Holy Spirit to help me if I'm going to become more like Christ today when this is our identity we are daily becoming more like Christ and it protects us from the dangers of stumbling I don't know about you I want to press on in my faith I don't want to stumble my heart is so saddened by those who have abandoned faith in our cultural moment and as I consider many of those you know people I love and are so close to I I can often see roots of like this this kind of experience where there was a significant spiritual issue maybe a gap something they refused to address with God something they did not want to grow in a theological belief that they didn't agree with and they just processed it on you know years after years just kind of holding this you know tucked away that it's like ah yeah Jesus can have all this but I'm I'm not going to let him have this and over time that creates a conflict in our hearts because there's a there's an in congruence it's interesting too you know I I find many people that that begin to make certain compromises you know they'll they'll begin to have relationships with people and they just realize that over time you can't just have one over time as you begin to be like molded and changed by a theological or a faith issue that you've allowed to just continue on in your heart in mind you begin seeing the points of other beliefs and ideas too and all of a sudden your faith begins to not look so much like the fruit of Jesus but it either looks like this blend of Heaven and Earth or it looks like Earth all together just like it was a risk for those in Peter's day it's very relevant risk for our age that if we do not prioritize our spiritual formation if we do not pursue becoming more like Christ we are at risk for becoming more like the world and abandoning Jesus for other ways of belief or Identity or ideas and when you compromise on your spiritual formation the trajectory of your life is impacted you're at risk of stumbling I praise God for his grace and his help and for many of us we've experienced this as we've been following him there's been ways that we've stumbled there's been ways that we've fallen short and God helps us he picks us up and he corrects us or Comforts us whatever we need in that moment to kind of get us right back on track and pursuing the growth and healing and sanctification we know we're supposed to but many people stumble and refuse to turn back many people let their stumbling just become the pattern of their life until their life eventually reflects no fruit and faith in Christ at all but when we partner our faith in Christ and with asking the Holy Spirit to help us grow in things like goodness knowledge self-control perseverance godliness Mutual affection and love we remain faithful to Christ and run strong until we finish our race Hebrews 12 1-3 reminds us therefore since we we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us fixing our eyes on Jesus the Pioneer and perfector of faith for the joy set before him he endured the cross scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God consider him who endured such opposition from Sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart whether you're brand new to Christ or have been following him for a long long time we need these reminders about who we're called to be in Christ it's so easy to lose sight of that vision and to lose intentionality about our spiritual formation and we just naturally become shaped by other influences and sources in our life in fact Peter recognizes the need for this reminder in the next two verses uh verses 12 and 13 He says so I will always remind you of these things even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have I think it's right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body you sometimes like we don't like reminders I think Chris and I talked about this recently on on the Extended Cut podcast is that like we we always want to take in something new uh there's there's always like I've heard this before I need deeper I need more I need uh new information we're always wanting like something new but man I just when I read the Bible I see that there's such a critical reality that we need to like better prioritize remembering what we've already heard because it's so easy for it to just come in one ear and go right out the other and I think all throughout the Bible from start to finish there is this amazing subplot of the significance of remembering you see it and the Israelites when they are constantly challenging and questioning god with they're experiencing different things you know the the priests would always say remember God who did this who saved you from that who's promised to do this remember God and you see it throughout the New Testament passages like this that it's right that we would remember who we're supposed to be what God has promised to do in our lives and what he's going to do in the future it's right that we would REM be reminded of the fruit of a life that is authentically submitted to Christ because we're all pro to wander and forget so would we enter in with humility as we consider this list of Godly characteristics because I believe that God wants to increase these in our life as this passage puts it I believe that this passage has a lot of good news for us over the next seven weeks first I believe that it's good news for us as we consider the needs in our spiritual formation and the solution that it provides Peter wrote that these attributes should be a part of our lives an increasing measure which means that it could be the first time that you are hearing and receiving this through a gospel Jesus centered lens and that's wonderful because God wants to increase these in your life or these things could be things that you're hearing after Decades of church experience and Peter reminds us these are things that should be increasing in measure in your life so this is for all of us regardless of who you are and how long you've been following Jesus this passage speaks directly to you and calls you up to the way of Christ being called up is good news because it means seeing those gaps in your life of like the gap between your words and your actions is going to shrink you're going to be more authentically walking in the ways that Christ wants to form you in it means more authentically walking out the faith that you say you believe which I believe is the desire for most of us we don't want to be fake no one likes the like cultural critique of Christians as Hypocrites and no one wants to be someone who actually walks out that critique we don't want to have immaturities we want to grow and become more like Jesus and this passage offers us a list of clear-cut ways that we can become more like him by the power of the Holy Spirit and this is good news for us but it gets better this is good news because the series isn't going to just be about hold holding up a list to you and shouting at you each week telling you to do better this passage reminds us that in whatever way that we're seeking spiritual formation we have a helper in the Holy Spirit this isn't something that you have to do on your own or figure out for yourself but each week as we consider how we're called to live in Christ we will be reminded of the spirit's help to get us there in the Bible's wisdom on how to live it out it won't be a shameful Journey or either it be full of grace and mercy providing an image of not just something to run from but something to run to and that's a powerful framework I believe to to run with here running from things hardly ever results in change I heard a pastor talk about this recently in the context of like marriage and parenting is like one of the one of the big CR like criticisms you always hear from kids is it's like I'm not going to become like my parents I'm going to I'm going to do things the complete opposite direction and I'm going to become different so that my kids will have a different experience than I would but I've done enough life to watch and and this pastor pointed out in this sermon that it's like funny how people can try to do things differently and they still end up just like the vision that they were trying to run from this whole time it's because running from things doesn't help when you just are motivated by anger or frustration or condemnation like that's it's just it's not a good source and it doesn't result in the change that you would hope it would you're still going to end up like your parents someday but when we have a vision to run towards when we have something beautiful and compelling something that's that I want my life to look like that and we begin to dive in deep and we begin to ask questions and study the Bible then we find something that actually results in change in our life this passage is good news for us because we have the holy spirit's help every step of the way and this is good news for us who know how discouraging it can be trying to change on our own kicking a bad habit breaking a sin pattern most of us know how difficult it is to experience real change and this series reminds us each and every week that we have a helper that we aren't alone having to muscle our way through this worship team you can come on up and finally I believe this series is good news because it offers a vision to the world of what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus these attributes of second Peter 1 are countercultural ways that we get to represent for Jesus in the world around us beautiful and compelling ways of life that invite people to consider the source of our faith which is Jesus Jesus said in Matthew put it under a bowl instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house in the same way let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your father in Heaven when you and I live a life that's marked by goodness knowledge self-control perseverance godliness Mutual affection and love we shine a light for Jesus in a dark world that is marked by the opposite of those things we get to offer the world a vision of a much better way and this is good news not just for ourselves but for the whole world God wants to form you into the ways of Christ and he will do it by the power of the Holy Spirit if you ask him to help so that others would know of God's great love and life that he makes available for us let's pray Lord we just thank you so much that for all the gaps in our life for all the ways that we need to grow which there are plenty for each and every one of us from the most faithful devout of us in the room to the to the newest of Faith who are experiencing so much like worldview change and recognition of falling short like God there's so many things we all need to grow in this list specifically God each and every one of us we do need to grow in increasing measure in these things and it's our desire to do so it's our desire to not live a life that feels heretical or looks you know OPP opposite of what what people know your word says and what fruit we're supposed to be marked by God we want to be people who are changed and become more like Christ but God we don't want to do it through our striving and through our own power we don't want to become like the Pharisees who have bad motives who uh become very prideful and egotistical Lord we want to receive the help of your Holy Spirit be given the direction and wisdom by your scriptures to inform this growth and change in our life that this would be an authentic reflection of our faith in you and the power of the Holy Spirit working within us help us change God over the next seven weeks I I trust there's going to be so many things you highlight in our lives about self-control or perseverance or Mutual affection ways that we need to grow and father I pray every step of the way we would recognize your grace and mercy to us in those moments and your spirit's power to help us change and grow and finally God I ask that you would help us become a light for the world as we are formed in the way of Christ our spiritual formation matters and you help us do that for the sake of others knowing about the life that's available in you for now and for eternity we ask that you would help us we trust you for this in Jesus name amen amen would you please stand as we close in a couple worship songs