Exercising True Faith: A Chorus of Virtues Part 2 - 2 Peter 1:5-11

1:17And if you have your little bulletin here, I had Kim put down the hopefully something to take home that's kind of nice looking for you, but the Chorus of virtues. The study of this passage that I have called is a chorus of virtues, and we're looking at the second part of that. The chorus of virtues are written in verses 5 through 7. There's moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. And I hope this isn't just a sermon that we will go through, listen to, and then go on about our lives. This is one of those messages, this is one of those texts that should define us as a people. Peter is diligent at the end of his life to make sure that the church is mindful of these things. In fact, he said, as long as, or he's saying he's diligent, therefore I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you know them. He is going to be diligent. Verse 15, after his departure, he is being diligent so that the church will understand who they are. And if you look at these virtues, as I have called them, a chorus of virtues, they all need to be there in some capacity and growing, because a love without self-control is a whole different kind of love. Brotherly kindness, Without moral excellence is a whole different animal. So we are to be cultivating these virtues in our life to see them grow and act like a chorus, if you will. And they make a sound, a sound of Christ-likeness that is for the world to see.

3:22And as you first glance over these things, they may seem overwhelming, right? These are pretty high standards. Well, they're nothing more than Christ's likeness. They're nothing more than who He is. In fact, it's a very practical explanation of who Christ is and those attributes that we are to mimic. But you've got to remember, looking back at verse 3, that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness. And He has called us to Christ's likeness. He has called us to wear these virtues, to put these virtues on, and He is giving us everything we need to do so. And He is laying out before us our calling in life. And so I hope you'll not just listen to these words and then move on to the next, but that you will take these words to heart, that you'll take these virtues to heart, and you'll figure out how to put them in your daily routine, and that you would be obedient to His command to practice these things. To be diligent about practicing these things.

4:34As I've said before, as we started this, I want you to beware of minimalism. Beware in your own life of a minimalistic Christian life. Jesus said, You will know them by their fruits. And there is a problem, I think, in many circles today of asking the question, How little can I do or be and still be okay in the final judgment? In other words, what's the minimal I need to do in order to make it into heaven? It's very natural of us to ask that question because at heart, I think there's something in our flesh that tends to be minimalists. And what Peter is saying here is: don't be a minimalist, be somebody who is diligent to develop these virtues in your life. I mean, if you're asking the question, what is the minimum I need to do to be assured of heaven? You're really asking the wrong question. And really, as you study scripture, if you're looking at fruitlessness in your life and you're wanting to be assured of a good standing in heaven, the Bible doesn't offer a whole lot. Only warning. If you see fruitlessness in your life, That is a cause for alarm, not cause to go seek assurance.

6:06And what Peter is saying and what the biblical testimony is, is put on Christ, follow him diligently, and there are plenty of assurances. Assurances that will make it so you won't even ask the question. So, are you a follower of Christ? Is your banner clear? Is your banner clear? Are you truly a follower? And do you know? Can you look at objective evidences in your life and point to and say, Yes, I am a follower of Christ?

6:48I think this passage this morning and this text that we've been in the last these two weeks tells us how we make that banner clear. Now, we've had some interesting characters up here at Emmanuel Baptist Church. If you've been with us through the years, thinking back when I was in college 20-plus years ago, there was an individual, he went by the name of Elijah. Some of you may have seen him around town. You wouldn't miss his car, and he would stop by periodically and come in and grace us with his presence. And on one particular occasion, he brought these crosses in. He was a homeless man living in his car. That he had painted up and put this Millennium Eagle on the back, and is quite a character. And he liked to paint crosses, these big neon cross-look things, about 18 inches. And he liked to carry those around. And he'd paint them for people and give them to people. And one day he came up to me and says, You know, I don't see anything on you that really marks you out as a Christian. I think I was carrying it. And then he looked at me and said, Well, maybe you're carrying your Bible and maybe a couple other things, but really, you need something that really stands out that tells the world you're a Christian. And so he says, I'm going to paint you a cross. I said, You do that. And he painted me this big cross. And he said, You must always have this carried around with you so that people will identify you as Christ. He says, In fact, when I go swimming over at the play at the pool, he said, I take one cross in one hand and I've got another cross in the hand, and I swim and they know that I am in Christ. It's a good picture, right? In fact, what's really funny about that is Nancy, after we met in Russia, she got a free ticket down here just weeks after we met. She came down here, spent a weekend, and of all people, Elijah, actually, his name was Francis. Anyway, Francis shows up and he sees Nancy and he says, Oh, you live up in Washington? My mom lives on Vashon Island, right? And will you take her across?

8:58She says, Sure. Didn't know what she was signing up for. Well, she gets back. You can only get there by plane. But fortunately, she had some young lifers. She was on a young life team, and they had a couple of pilot licenses, and so they were happy to fly over there to deliver this cross. And only young life, you know, that you've got to appreciate that about young life. Oh, yeah, sure, we'll take a neon cross over there, fly it into this island, and drop it off. Sure.

9:28But anyway, the idea is: I think we could very quickly get into this idea that we have to have some symbol of Christianity on us to make our banner clear. But the idea is more profound. I think it's good that we upgrade that concept a little bit and anchor it here in the text of what Peter is saying: these virtues are what set you apart as Christ's followers. This is the way you make your banner clear, not by painting on a big Christian sign on you. No, I'm not doubting that. But what is important is that you put on Christ-likeness, that you cultivate this chorus of virtues in your life. And so last week we looked at verses five through eight, where Peter gives the command: apply all diligence in your faith. Be very lavish in your diligence to supply your Christian life with everything that it needs to grow in Christ's likeness. And he lays out the seven virtues: moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, love.

10:51And then in verses 8 through 11, he goes on to give you five reasons why you should do that. Five reasons. And you can see the connectors right there. There's in verse 8, 4. Verse 9, 4. 10, therefore. Then again in 10, second part, 4. You see the word 4 again. And verse 11, 4. 4, 4, therefore, 4, 4. Five reasons. We'll pull right out and look at that. And I want you to see five reasons why you should develop this chorus of virtues in your life. Five reasons. Let's look at the first.

11:32First of all, you will live a productive life. If these virtues are in you and growing, you will live a productive life. Look at verse 8. For if these qualities, which qualities? The chorus of virtues, seven Christ-like virtues. For if these Christ-like virtues are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord. Lord Jesus Christ. Two conditions there. If they are yours, that is that they underline, they are part of you, they define who you are. If these are yours in your possession, at your disposal, that underpinning your life, if they are yours and they are increasing, literally growing, becoming in abundance. So you get the idea: if these virtues are in you and they are growing, multiplying, you get kind of an exponential effect. If they're in you and they are growing, then the result, you will not be useless. You will not be useless. The idea for useless is the idea of being unproductive or idle. The word is used in Matthew 20 and verse 3 when he went out and he saw that there were laborers standing around idle in the marketplace. And he says, get to work. So it's that idea of people standing idle in the marketplace. After all that Christ has done for you and has given you in Christ, he's given you everything for a life of godliness. You do not want to be unproductive. You don't want to be idle, like just standing around waiting.

13:15Second thing, you will not be unfruitful. You will not be unfruitful. The idea of being unfruitful is simply that, fruitless. The word is used to describe the whole wilderness where the issue. Israelites passed through during the time after the Exodus, and it's a barren land, shadow of death idea. You will neither be useless or unfruitful, like those weeds that choked out the good plant, and it was unfruitful. That's the idea here. You will neither be barren in your Christianity, and you will never, and you will not be just idle. You'll have something to do, and you will be productive. You see, when Christ returns, you do not want to be fruitless or idle because he comes back. He is like a man that has gone on a journey, and he comes back looking to see how you have stewarded that which he has given you. And he has given you everything you need for a life of godliness. And he's going to come and see how did you steward that? And you do not want to be unproductive with that. Barren.

14:34It's the idea. Second thing. So, first reason to cultivate these Christ-like virtues in your life is that you will live a productive life. Second reason, look at verse 9:4. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sin. You will not only live a productive life, but you will never forget the cross. The idea of blind. It's not hard to figure out. What does blind mean? You can't see what you should see, right? Can't see. Short-sighted. It's short-sighted, nearsighted. They had problems, they understood what nearsighted was. And I think it's such an odd expression. I halfway wonder if Peter was not nearsighted himself. I don't know. Just it's such an odd expression. But I plan on asking him someday. When you wrote this, where you, because when I write, I write about, I make jokes about that I can't see things up close a lot. And here Peter is. But anyway, idea of blind or short-sighted. It's the idea, he's saying blind. The literal term, the literal phrase is blind, he is being short-sighted. So I sound like Yoda up here, right? Blind, he is, being short-sighted. But that's the idea here. He is, you can't see, short-sighted, he's saying he's blind. He can't see too far ahead, can't see realities behind. I think what Peter is communicating here is that he is blind to heavenly things, can't see ahead, can't see very far. His focus is right in his immediate surroundings. That's what being blind to things ahead, blind to things. Things behind and focused there upon the immediate earthly temporal things. So he's blind to heavenly things ahead. He's blind to present opportunities.

16:45And he's also blind to what has happened in the past. Blind to what has happened in the past. And that's what he's saying. Forgetful. He is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. The idea for forgetful, right, is very simple. Cannot remember what you should remember. This person can't see what he should, see, cannot remember what he should remember. And this context is in the context of believers. And it is possible to live a Christian life so unproductive that you forget what Christ has done for you. You forget living your life in light of the cross. In fact, we are very prone to forget that. And it is not good to do so. And I think that's one reason why the Lord instituted the Lord's table. It's so that we would frequently come back to remember this because it should define us. A good example of this forgetfulness is in Matthew 18. There's that slave that went out and was forgiven this huge debt, and then he turned around and he went to choke somebody who ought to. him just a few pennies and said, pay me back what you owe. He had forgotten the big debt that had been forgiven of him. That's not the way to live. We are to always live in light of the cross. Purification literally involves the cleansing from his sins. Purification, in Exodus, the word for purification is clearly the idea of purifying the altar. In Hebrews 1.3 speaks about Christ and the radiance of his glory, that he's the exact representation of his nature and upholds all things by the word of his power. When he had made purification of sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. Peter is talking to believers. And it is possible for us to get caught, so caught up in the here and now and present that we could become blind and forget.

19:05And the result is a defeated, guilt-laden, barren life that is not assured of salvation and not bearing fruit in the present. See, it's this purification that has given us new life. It defines who we are. And we are to remember our purification and what Christ has done by. Diligently developing these Christ-like chorus of virtues. This past year, I've witnessed, you look in the news, you can see several heroic sacrifices. And mom, earlier this year, came pregnant, found out that she had cancer, had to make a choice between do I go through the cancer treatments? I have to abort the child and go through the cancer treatments, or move forward with the treatments. She went forward, or moved forward with the pregnancy and defer the treatment. She went through with the pregnancy. Six weeks later, she dies because the cancer had gotten so far. And she said she would do it all over again because the child was worth it. And see photos of her smiling from ear to ear, holding her child. A tremendous sacrifice. Also, earlier, a Louisiana mom died in a devastating tornado. And as the debris was raining down upon her home, she cradled her little baby. She died. The baby lived.

20:50Colorado, the family was out hiking, got into a big avalanche of rocks. A father, Shielded his daughter, 13 years old, with his own body. He lived. He died. She lived. Everybody else was killed. If you look around, you'll see these kind of sacrifices. And it's like, where does this stuff come from? Well, it's a picture. These people are, they gladly give their life for that which they love. This is a picture of sacrificial agape love. And they do it without even thinking, right?

21:31It's a picture of God's love, Christ's love for us, who gave himself, who inserted himself between us and the wrath of God. And as we think about that, the question comes to mind: how do we live? I mean, how do we live? How does a child go on living after knowing that his or her parent died for them gladly, willingly? How does a child go on and live in light of that reality? Well, I would hope that there would be gratitude. I hope that there would be remembrance. I hope that they would seek to live a life that would make their parents proud.

22:24You know, as Americans, how should we live in the light of the many sacrifices that were made for our freedom? Is it to take that freedom and squander it? Or to live a life that would make these people who had sacrificed for us proud? And that's the idea with us. See, God loves his people. Do you believe that? Do you believe that God loves you to the point of sacrifice? Your purification came at a heavy price. Hebrews 9:22. And according to the law, one may almost say that all things are cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. So, how should we as Christians live in light of the sacrifice of Christ?

23:12First of all, by remembering and by seeking to live the kind of life that he wanted to give us. If somebody makes tremendous sacrifice, if a parent makes tremendous sacrifice to give his or her child life, he wants them to go live that life, not squander it. And I think that is how we show gratitude to Christ. This is how we remember, is by cultivating these Christ-like virtues. You know, a common phrase I hear at funerals is, well, he lived life to the fullest, or she lived life to the fullest. You've probably heard that, right? I'll tell you what, living life to its fullest is involved. Involves developing the chorus of virtues. This is what living life to its fullest is. Moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Put those in place in your life and grow and develop and get out and truly live. That's why he died, is to give you this kind of life. So, apply all diligence.

24:28Lavishly supply your soul with everything you need to grow in these things. Lavishly set up a routine in your life where these things will flourish. So, five reasons to be diligent. First, you'll live a productive life. Second, you will never forget the cross. Third, you will have assurance of heaven. You will have assurance of heaven. Look at verse 10. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you. Therefore, in light of what I've just said, looking back to verse 5, he restates his command. Be diligent. The idea of diligence is to make haste, like Mary, once she heard the Annunciation, she went and hurried off to talk to her sister Elizabeth. Diligence, be eager, do your best, exert oneself, lavishly furnish your soul with everything necessary to excel in Christ's likeness. Do it today. Don't let these things slow. Slip from your thinking.

25:33Be diligent to make certain about his calling and choosing you. Verse 10. The idea of make certain is provide the guarantee. Validate what has been done. Ratify, confirm what has been done. You know, you get these little credit cards, right, in the mail, and you've got a, there's this big sticker across the front that says activate, right? Dial this number and activate. That's kind of the idea here. Ratify, confirm, activate. Make certain. That's how you make certain.

26:11Calling and choosing. He's already talked about the calling in verse 3 that he called us by his own glory and excellence. The idea of call is he summoned, he has drawn us to him by his glorious virtues. Christ, the beauty of Christ has a drawing power. Electing, choosing. That's the idea here. He has called, he has drawn, he has chosen to reveal himself to you. And in so doing, he has drawn you to himself. Make sure that you are certain that this has taken place. Now, how do you make sure about his calling and choosing of you? Well, look at the text. It's the present tense of the verb. Certain, so that implies that you can be certain of your salvation, and you must be certain of your salvation. In fact, you must be certain in order to live the kind of life that God wants you to live, you must be certain that He has called you, that He has chosen you, that you belong to Him. In fact, at the end of the letter, in verse chapter 3 and verse 14, He again says, Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless. So, how do you know that Christ has called you to Himself? How do you know Christ has chosen you to be a follower of Him? Well, the answer is not that difficult when you really think about it. Who are you following? Are you following Him? How do you know if you're a follower of Christ? Well, objectively look at your life and see if you're following Christ. Pretty simple.

28:05Look and to see, be eager to show those evidences and to accent those evidences that you are a follower of Him. The more evidences of genuine discipleship that you see, the greater certainty that you will know that He has called and chosen you. So, the idea is like this: First, prove your salvation. And then never doubt his call and choosing of you. Oftentimes, we start with election at the wrong end. The idea is: first, show your salvation, be diligent to make certain that the evidences in your life are those that accompany true conversion, and then don't worry. Never doubt that he has called you.

28:53But first, prove. Be diligent about these things. Make sure you see these things, these virtues growing in your life, because they would only be growing in the life of a true believer. Another question: How do you know that you weren't drawn by some good speaker or perhaps pulled in by some emotional manipulation or an elaborate system? How do you know? I mean, how do you know that you haven't just been caught up in the moment? Well, the answer again is simple: who are you following? Are you following Christ? Are you becoming more like Christ? Are you putting on his likeness? Are you seeing these virtues in your life?

29:41And are you seeing them multiply? And if you are, I guarantee you, you're not following anyone else. In fact, this is what he's setting the stage for because this whole book is about the wolves among the sheep and warning the flock against wolves among them. And how are you going to recognize them? They're not growing in these virtues. But a true believer grows. So, are you truly in the faith? Do you know for sure? Do you know beyond a shadow of doubt that you have been chosen, called by Him? Are you seeing these evidences? If you see fruitlessness in your life, that's a cause to say, Lord, help me, Lord, make me more like you. Lord, make sure I am born of you.

30:36And that's where the scripture takes us. If there's fruitlessness, it should drive you to crying out to him. And if there is fruit in your life, it should drive you to crying out for him that you would become more and more diligent and growing in these. It's an interesting tension here: diligence and rest. Diligence and rest. You see, it takes diligence and virtue to give your soul the objective evidence it needs to rest in your salvation. And if you see evidences in your life that only accompany true salvation, your soul can rest. One of the greatest evidences in my own life that I have been born again and I look back over the history of my life, it was when I came to Christ. Yes, I was baptized, and yes, I That's a great moment. But the evidences that stick in my mind the most is when I wanted to make restitution to those who I had wronged. I'm like, that was evidence that something new had taken place in me.

31:47But these are the type things. Grow, grow. If you will cultivate these virtues in your life, they will give you an assurance of heaven. Fourth, verse 10, second half. For as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. The fourth reason to be diligent to cultivate these is that you will never stumble. Wow. What a promise. Again, in the context of societal persecution, internal false teachers who are wanting to capitulate to society and who want to compromise with society and have come in, who have fleshly desires and who are leading the church into something false.

32:40There's a tendency to, or a threat of stumbling. The idea is practicing. As long as you practice, that is, you are practicing these things, that you are doing these things, not just hearing these things, but you are doing these things. This refers to a pattern of daily life. Daily conduct, these things again refers back to this chorus of virtues in verses 5 through 7. In the Greek, they put a double negative there, which is a way of putting emphasis. It works a little different. In no way will you stumble. Never stumble.

33:23And the idea of stumbling is tripping, falling into ruin, defeated. It's a picture from the games that in 1 Corinthians 9:24 is Peter or Paul talks about running the race in such a way that you will win the prize. Those who stumble or fall along the way do not win the prize. Hebrews 12, 13 says, Make straight paths for your feet. Make straight paths, run, so that you will not fall. And those who develop these, who are diligent, who have their attention focused on growing in these graces, will not stumble. They will not fall into doubt, despair, fear, anxiety. They will not be overcome.

34:14So believers are to confirm their call and election by living in a godly manner. And God will not forsake or abandon. You see, what happens, and again, Peter is, this is all in the context of wolves. Those who are seduced by false teachers show that the problem is a moral one. The reason people are led astray by carnal teaching has to deal with the heart. They are led astray because they have moral problems, because they gravitate to the fleshly designs of the false teachers. And that's how you're going to know false teachers. There's going to be a fleshly design, fleshly pattern.

35:09That is why, but if you, if you are cultivating these Christ-like virtues, you're never going to be taken into that. Fifth reason to be diligent to develop this course of virtues in your life is that you will receive a grand welcome into Christ's eternal kingdom. Look in verse 11. For in this way, the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. And I love the language here. In this way, by pursuing the virtues of Christ-likeness, the entrance will be abundantly supplied to you. In other words, the command at the beginning is: lavishly furnish your soul with everything necessary. To excel in these virtues of Christ's likeness. And then at the end of this section, Paul is saying, Peter is saying, guess what? If you do these things, you know what's going to happen?

36:15The entrance into the eternal kingdom is going to be lavishly supplied to you. That's the idea. And then speaking of his eternal kingdom of Christ in all of its manifestations, Daniel 2:44 says, In those days, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed. It will not be left to another people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it itself will endure forever, and you will be welcomed into that lavishly. What a promise. Isaiah 9:7 says, There will be no end to the increase of his government or of his peace.

37:05Revelation 21:1 speaks of a new heaven and a new earth, and the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband in all dimensions of Christ's eternal kingdom. If you will cultivate these virtues, not by your own. Own works, mind you, but based upon what he has done and the power that he has given you so that you can live a life of godliness. But by this, the promise is clear in the text.

37:47The eternal kingdom, the entrance, the welcome will be abundantly supplied. And we're not just talking about how wide the door is. We're talking about how great or how grand the reception is. You're not going to be wondering, am I going to make it across? That question isn't even going to enter your mind. And that's what Peter is saying. So live life that you, you're not asking the question, what's the minimalist that I need to do? Be free from that and say, I want to give all.

38:18How can I be more diligent? How can I remember him in greater capacity? How can I become more and more like him in my daily? How can I give myself more fully? That's the idea. Don't be a minimalist, but give him all. That's what loving the Lord your God with all of your heart and soul and mind looks like. Not so that you can earn heaven. He gives you heaven so that you can live this way. It's the starting point. Heaven is not something that you have to wrestle from the stingy hand of God.

39:00Jesus says this, seek first his kingdom, and all these things will be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom. You don't have to pry heaven from the stingy hand of God. He is delighted to give it to you, and he is delighted to make you fit so that you can enjoy it forever. And that is what sanctification is about. He saves us, and then he saves us by his own work, and he gives us everything we need for a life of godliness. And then we are to live that life. We are to be sanctified. We are to engage our minds, gauge our hearts in the process of walking with God through this world daily, being sanctified.

39:59So we cooperate in our sanctification. Salvation, justification, is by him and him alone. But we are called to walk with him and participate in the sanctifying process by recognizing what is good, recognizing what is evil, preferring the good, and diligently applying ourselves to Christ's likeness. Well, is your banner clear? Is your banner clean? Banner clear. If you've been in Christian circles in the last 20 years, you've probably heard this testimony of a young African who is allegedly martyred, and that this was found in his office after his martyrdom. But he says this: I am part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. My die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed. My present makes sense. My future is secure. I am finished and done with low living, sight-walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarf goals.

41:36I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, topsed, recognized, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on his presence, walk by patience, am uplifted by prayer, and labor by power. My face is set, my gate is fast. My goal is heaven. My road is narrow. My way is rough. My companions are few. My guide is reliable, and my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded, or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won't give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till he comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work until he stops me. And when he comes for his own, he will have no problem recognizing me. My banner will be clear. So, how do we make our banner clear? Friends, by simply diligently developing Christ-likeness in our daily lives. And he has given us everything we need to do so. I want you to take a seven-week challenge. We printed these things out on paper, and I'd like for you to take a seven-week challenge with me. I've got about seven weeks left in the year. I'd like for you to maybe start out your morning wherever you maybe put. This is in your Bible and maybe start out your morning just perusing this list, maybe committing it to memory, and just thinking about your day ahead and how you can be diligent to apply these. And the first week, let's first give most attention to moral excellence. Give attention to all, yes? And then the second week, knowledge. Third week, self-control, and come up with some practical ways that these can be implemented into your life.

44:03And I would encourage you to then, at the end of each day, look back over the day and reflect. It doesn't have to take a lot of time, but let these be on your mind and reflect. Did I do everything morally excellent today? Was there some things I could improve on tomorrow? Was I diligent in showing brotherly kindness today, et cetera, et cetera. But I would like for you to take this seven-week challenge with me, lest we be a people who come in, hear the words, and forget. Here is Peter writing at the end of his life, and he's saying, I am diligent to make sure you guys remember these things. And if you will grow in these, saying, I'm not concerned about you being lured away by any false teachers, and that you will be the church, and that God will accomplish all that he desires. Through you. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just thank you for Peter's life. We thank you for his love. We thank you for the work of grace that you did in his life. And we thank you that you've put much of his life here in the scripture that we might look upon him and look upon what you did in his life. And Father, we thank you for this crystal clear statement of Christ-like virtues that he lays out here for us. Father, help us to not be a people who look upon these things and then forget. But Father, help us to be a people who implement these into our lives. And I pray for all those who will, over the next seven weeks, Father, take me up on my challenge and that all of us, Father, would grow in these things and that we would be excited to see progress in our lives and in each other.

46:03Father, we thank you for this time. In Jesus' name, amen.