So we began our study through the second epistle of the Apostle Peter with an introduction to the background of the letter, looking to answer the questions who, where, when, what, and why that's related to its writing. So if you have your Bible, please turn with me a second, Peter. Chapter number one, and as we noted right off the bat last week, once again, as in so many other cases with Bible books and certain academics, liberal scholars and Bible critics claim that the Apostle Peter did not write either of the epistles that bear his name. We looked at the fact that the external evidence linking the letter to Peter is somewhat inconclusive, but the letter uniquely claims to be written by the Apostle Peter, in fact, in a unique way, Simeon Peter. It's the only time that it's used in Scripture, and that would be a very odd thing indeed for an imposter to choose to use an unknown form of the Apostle's name. The author also claims to have been an eyewitness to the transfiguration of Christ. We'll see that later in chapter one. And he writes of the imminence of his death as prophesied to him by the Lord Jesus. I suggested that the remaining arguments against Peter's authorship are based on faulty assumptions or just frankly pure opinion. Well, from whom was the letter written? Well, we said the Apostle Peter. He identifies himself as the Lord's slave and the sent one from him. To whom? Well, to all true believers in the Lord Jesus. Initially where? To believers in Asia Minor is the likely place that this letter first went. And even though we don't know for sure from where Paul was writing, it's unknown, it was likely the city of Rome. When? Shortly before Peter's death in AD 67 or 68. And what was Peter's purpose in writing this letter? Well, to emphasize the need to grow in knowledge and holiness in order to avoid the traps of the false teachers. Key terms that we'll see, and we will see immediately today, knowledge, diligence, remember, and corruption. Chapter one, we have encouragement in the word. Chapter two, we have warnings about heresy. And in chapter three, we have reminders of the past. the future, and our responsibilities as a result. We noted that the key verse of the whole book is the last two verses, chapter three, verses 17 and 18. Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forevermore. Amen. All right, finally, as we look at the blessing given in verse two, we saw that grace and peace can only be ours through a precise and correct knowledge of the Lord. We'll see that theme reiterated in just a minute today. Our message title is God's Precious Provisions. God's Precious Provisions. Let me read our passage, which comprises actually only two verses, but is just chock full of magnificent, deep, and rich theology, and then we'll dig deeper into the meanings of those verses. But first, let me back up, and I'll begin from verse one to get a running start today. Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who 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 our Lord Jesus. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness 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. Now let me suggest to you today at the outset that the verses that we're going to examine tell us that God does not want Christians to live life in our own strength. God does not want Christians to live our lives in our own strength. And that's a major difference between Christianity and all the other world religions. All of them say in one way or another that people have to work and to strive and earn and deserve their place in whatever passes for their version of heaven. You've got to do for yourself. Christianity says it's already been done at the cross of Calvary. It's been done through Christ's death. And Christianity is also different in that we are, God wants to do for us what we're incapable of doing for ourselves. We can't save ourselves and we can't sanctify ourselves. We can't make ourselves righteous or holy. acceptable in God's eyes. That's the bad news. The good news is that God provides all that we need to live a life that's pleasing to Him. God provides all that we need to live a life pleasing to Him. Look once again at verse 3. His divine power has given us everything that we need for life and godliness. Now, right off the bat, I need to point out that most scholars believe that verse three is actually a continuation of the thought that's been presented in verse two. It's true because verse three begins with a word that means since, or seeing that, or because, it's why the Net Bible translation renders verse three, I can pray this because His divine power has bestowed on us everything necessary for life and godliness. And in their translation notes, they say the idea is that the basis or the authority for the author's prayer in verse two, that grace and peace would abound to his readers, was that God's power was being made manifest in their midst. The author's sentence structure is cumbersome, they say, even in the Greek. Hence many modern translations break this up into two sentences, but unfortunately that decision tends to blunt the connection of the thought between verses two and three. Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of our Lord Jesus since his divine power has given everything we need for life and godliness, okay? His divine power almost certainly points back to Jesus, since it is both the closest reference in the sentence. And Peter, if he had meant God or God the Father, the word divine would have been already implied. It would have been unnecessary. Scholars see then in this another reference to the divinity of Jesus Christ given by Peter. Jesus is God. It's his divine power. The Greek word dunamis. dynamic force, strength, or ability. We get our English words dynamite and dynamo from this Greek word. I said at the outset, God desires to give us the power that we lack to live a life pleasing to him. Paul wrote this in his first letter to the Corinthians. So it was with me, brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I didn't come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God, for I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I came to you in weakness, with great fear and trembling, and my message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but, what, with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's dunamis, His power. In his second letter to that same church, he added, God who said let light shine out of the darkness made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, weak vessels, to show that this all surpassing dunamis power is from God and not from us. Under the Ephesians he declared, I became a servant of the gospel by the gift of God's grace given to me through the working of his power. Under the Philippians he said, I can do all this, I can do all things through God who gives me strength. But I want you to understand this morning, this power was not reserved exclusively for the apostles. Each and every Christian has this power available to us. That's why Paul prayed for the Ephesians. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better. And I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great dunamis power for those of us who believe. That power It's the same as the mighty strength that he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead, and he seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms. God has given us all we need for life and godliness, or as some versions put it, for a godly life. Life is the Greek word zoe. When used of God, speaks of the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God. especially as manifested in Christ Jesus. But for Christians, Zoe speaks of life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, a life blessed even in this world because one has put their trust in Christ. And in addition, A life that after the resurrection will be consummated by new blessings and new honors. For example, among them, a body made physically perfect and spiritually delivered completely at last from sin. This is a state that will last forever. Eternal life. Godliness is from the Greek word Eusebia. reverence, respect, and piety towards God that results in emulation and of confirmation to God's own character. Douglas Moos suggests that Eusebia is a general term that summarizes the behavior expected of Christians who've come to know the God of the Bible. And Paul stresses the importance of godliness in his first letter to his protege Timothy. Have nothing to do, he writes, with godless myths and old wive tales. Rather, train yourself to be godly, for physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding the promise for both the present life and the life to come. Two chapters later he continued, if anyone teaches otherwise and doesn't agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, well they're conceited and they understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife and malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind who've been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial glean. Don't think that being godly will always result in money, okay? Some preachers will tell you that. It's a lie from the pit of hell. but godliness with contentment, that is great gain. Paul writes, we brought nothing into the world, we can take nothing out of it, but if we have food and clothing, we'll be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. We want to be godly, not greedy, right? God's given believers everything that we need pertaining to life and godliness. The believer's Bible commentary explains that the gospel is the power of God to save from the penalty of sin and from its power, from damnation and from defilement. And the all things include the high priestly work of Christ, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the activity of angelic agencies on our behalf, the new life that we receive at conversion, and the instruction that comes from the Word of God. God does not want us to live life in our own effort. In fact, Jesus said this most emphatically. John 15 beginning in verse four. Remain in me as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself, it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. And if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing. This is to my father's glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. Notice he didn't say you can only do a little bit. You can only do a little thing. He says nothing apart from me. You do nothing, nothing that pleases me, nothing that pleases God. So we obtain this provision through the precise and correct knowledge of the Lord and his ways, which is obtained by the scriptures. We obtain this provision through precise and correct knowledge of the Lord and his ways obtained by the scriptures. Through our knowledge of him, this is the second part of verse three. We already saw Peter mention this word knowledge in verse two, it's the Greek word epignosis. It's a rich, precise, and correct knowledge that speaks of an intimate relationship with the thing known. Epignosis is used in the New Testament of the knowledge of things ethical and divine. As we said last time, Swindoll describes epignosis as not mere intellectual awareness or theoretical knowledge, but heart knowledge. We know this in our gut. Through Christ we don't merely know about God and Jesus, it's more than that. We share an intimate relationship with him and we come to know him deeply as a result. That's why the net Bible translated verse two, may grace and peace be lavished on you as you grow in the rich knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord. We obtain this precise and correct knowledge of our Lord and Savior by reading, by studying the scriptures as well as listening to it preached and taught. We've also mentioned memorization, meditation, and obedience, especially to what it is that we learn. because the author of Hebrews tells us that the word of God is alive and active. It's sharper than any double-edged sword. It penetrates even to dividing the soul and the spirit, the joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and the attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Jesus said it this way when praying for the apostles and all who would believe in them through their ministries, this is eternal life, that they know you, the one true and living God in Jesus Christ whom you have sent, knowing Christ richly, accurately, and intimately because he is the word made flesh. Believers Bible commentary quotes an unnamed early disciple who said this, I looked into his face and was forever spoiled for anything that was unlike him. I like that. It's beautiful. If you've been ruined for anything that's unlike him. He also prayed for us, sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth. And he told his disciples that he wasn't leaving them to figure all this stuff out on their own. He promised the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything that I've said to you. And friends, the reason that the Holy Spirit is needed is all human beings are intrinsically fallen, and as a result, we're unable to comprehend or even care about God's word unless he himself intervenes on our behalf. That's what Paul's inspired to explain in 1 Corinthians 2 in verse 14. The person without the Spirit doesn't accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, but considers them foolishness. cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the spirit. Not only though does Jesus give us the spirit, but he also gives to his church gifts of spirit-enabled leaders, as Paul explains in Ephesians chapter four. Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers to equip his people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Paul shares this prayer with and for the Colossians that pretty much sums up everything we've been talking about this morning. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we've not stopped praying for you. And we continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, and being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, so that you may have great confidence, endurance, and patience." It's important to understand that all of this comes because God saved us for His glory and because He is good. You know that this morning? God saved us for his glory and because he is good. Look at the last part of verse three. He called us by his own glory and goodness. Called is the Greek word kaleo. And the net translation notes explain the nuances of this word. In context, they write, the touch on the issue of salvation, as here, when God is the subject, Kaleo always has the idea of God's effectual calling. That is, the one who is called is not just simply invited to be saved. He is also and is always saved when God calls him or her. Calling takes place at the moment of conversion, while election takes place in eternity past. And they cite Romans 8.30 and Ephesians 1.4. So let's look at those verses in context to see what God has to say about what he does in saving people. First Romans, chapter 8. We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who've been called Kaleo according to his purpose. For those God foreknew, he also predestined. to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called, kaleo. Those he called, he also justified, declared righteous. Those he justified, he also glorified. And then if we look at Ephesians 1.3 to 14, it's remarkable. Paul writes, praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us, he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love, he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ. In accordance with what? His pleasure and his will. to the praise of his glorious grace, which he's freely given us in the one he loves. In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ to be put into effect when times reached their fulfillment, to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him, we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be once again for the praise of his glory. It's all about God and his glory, friends. You also then were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise, once again, of his glory. These passages tell us that God has a far greater hand in people's salvation than we want to give him credit for. We tend to like to imagine that we are the masters of our own destiny. But scripture essentially tells us that without God's intervention, No one would choose him. Without this effectual calling, we would continue down the path, fleeing from God and remaining in our sin and ignorance. Unless he calls, we don't answer. And here Peter states that the Lord calls us by his own glory. It's the Greek word doxa. It's the kingly majesty which belongs to God as the supreme ruler. Majesty in the sense of absolute perfection of the Lord. And doxa speaks of his magnificence, his excellence, his preeminence, his dignity, and his grace. Daksa refers to all the things that God should be praised for. And he calls us also by his own goodness. This is Arete. It speaks of God's moral excellence and his virtue. That's why in 1 Peter 2 verse 9, Arete is translated as excellencies. There Peter describes us as believers as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession so that we may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light. God has a purpose, and it is to doxa him, doxology, to praise him for his great worth. Now the King James translation made a unique choice to render the phrase to glory and virtue, but the vast majority of scholars see the phrase as instrumental. In other words, Peter is primarily thinking about the reason that we are called rather than the result of our calling, even though the result is actually true. So as we come to verse four, we see that God's glory and goodness are shown in the magnificent and valuable promises that he makes to believers. God's glory and goodness, his excellence are shown in the magnificent and valuable promises he makes to believers. Look at verse four. Through these, he has given to us his very great and precious promises. Through these refers back to the Lord's glory and goodness. But given us actually doesn't reflect the typical Greek word when somebody gives something to somebody. It's a much more rich word. It's more generous. It was a word that spoke of bestowing or endowing someone with a lavish estate of great worth. Very great is the Greek word megas. It means things esteemed highly for their importance, things of great moment, weight, or significance. Specifically, it's a word used in relationship to God's preeminent blessings. Several versions translate megas here as magnificent. And precious is the Greek timios, meaning of great price, costly, valuable, and esteemed. Timios is actually used multiple times in the New Testament, especially in the book of the Revelation, when speaking of precious jewels or stones. And the promises from the Greek El Pangema is a self-commitment to confer or bestow good on another person. And this word doesn't speak of an arrangement that's made in private, but rather a public proclamation of intent. Peter doesn't elaborate here on what particular promises he might have been thinking of, but the other occasion of use of this word, it's only used two times in the New Testament, it's by him in 2 Peter 3.18 where the promise refers to God's creation of a new heaven and a new earth one day. Now he's previously written in his previous epistle of the promises of a believer's inheritance. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy he's given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you. who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. And then later in that same chapter, the promise of Christ's second coming. Therefore with minds that are fully alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. It is going to happen, my friends. A believer's Bible commentary points out that it's estimated There are at least 30,000 promises in the Bible. John Bunyan, the author of Pilgrim's Progress, once said, the pathway of life is strewn so thickly with the promises of God that it's impossible to take one step without treading on one of them. They add the promises of God are the last of seven precious things mentioned by Peter in his letters. Our faith is more precious than gold in 1 Peter 1.7. The blood of Christ is precious in 1 Peter 1.19. Christ, the living stone, is precious in God's sight in 1 Peter 2.4. He is precious also as the cornerstone In 1 Peter 2.6, to all who believe he is precious. In 2.7, the imperishable jewel of a gentle and quiet spirit is precious in God's sight. 1 Peter 3.4 and finally here, he describes God's promises as precious. So just a few scriptural promises that should be precious to every Christian. He promises freedom from sins domination in Romans 6.14. He promises grace that is sufficient in 2 Corinthians 12.9. He promises power to obey his commands in Philippians 4.13. He promises us victory over the devil in James 4.7. He promises a way out, a way of escape when we are tempted, 1 Corinthians 10 and 13. He promises forgiveness when we confess our sins, 1 John 1 and 9. And he promises to respond when we call to him in Psalm 50 and verse 15. Paul was inspired to write this regarding God's promises. For no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes in Christ. And so through him, the amen is spoken to us by the glory of God. Now it's God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, he set his seal of ownership on us, and he put his spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Second phrase of verse four gives another precious promises. Christians are privileged to be made more and more like the Lord. Look at the second part of verse four. So that through them, those precious promises, you may participate in the divine nature. Through God's glory and goodness, we're given precious promises. As a result, we're able to participate. That is, we become partakers in the divine nature. The Greek koinosos, a partner, an associate, a comrade, a companion. We get our English word fellowship from another Greek word that starts with the same root koinonia. We have fellowship with God. Now, this is by no means trying to say that human beings become gods, as some cults imagine and teach. There's one and only one God, but we are, as believers, adopted as his children. Brothers and sisters who are in Christ and we are increasingly then being conformed to the image of Jesus as Paul writes to the Corinthians. We all who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory are being transformed into his image with ever increasing glory which comes from the Lord who is the spirit. Incredibly, we, through fellowship with the Lord, are filled with His Spirit, and in concert with the knowledge that we gain through His Word, we become partakers, participants in God's own nature and character. Paul prayed for the Ephesians. Let me pray this for you this morning. For this reason I kneel before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he will strengthen each one of you with power through his spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, God's power, His dunamis, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp just how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ for you. And to know, know this love that surpasses knowledge that you, dear friends, may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. I pray that for you today. And as we are filled to the full measure of God, we're increasingly being transformed more and more into the Lord's likeness, as John says in his first epistle, chapter three, beginning in verse one, Behold, what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God. That's what we are. The reason that the world did not know him, know us, is that it did not know him, excuse me. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known, but we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in them purify themselves just as he is pure. Finally, Peter indicates that we are transformed because we have been freed from corrupting lusts. Last part of verse four, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. A few modern translations here say something along the lines, so that you may escape the corruption, but the original Greek structure is actually in the past tense, meaning the escape already occurred at the point where one was saved. The Net Bible tries to clarify and strengthen this point. He renders the verse after escaping the corruption of the world. Corruption is the Greek word for thora, decay, ruin, destruction, and perishing. In the New Testament, thora is used in an ethical sense to speak of an individual or a society's moral decay. Thomas Schreiner describes plethora as that which is perishing because it's part of the present world order under the influence of Satan. How is it then that we have escaped the corruption in the world? Well, Warren Wiersbe explains. The lost sinner is dead, but the Christian is alive because he now shares the divine nature. The lost sinner is decaying because of his corrupt nature. but the Christian can experience dynamic life of godliness because he has God's nature within. And lost mankind is under the bondage of corruption, but the believer shares the freedom and the growth that is part of possessing the divine nature. So having stated all that God has done for us, Peter is next inspired to turn his thoughts to our responsibility as a result of what has God done. We have to participate, we have to pursue the character of the Lord who calls us, and we'll see that more next week. But this is why Paul wrote to the Galatians, don't be deceived, God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows, so whoever sows to please their flesh, their sinful nature, from that flesh will reap destruction. But whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. So let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we'll reap a harvest if we do not give up. He also wrote, using this same Greek word for corruption or decay, of another great and precious promise, that creation itself will one day be liberated from its bondage to decay, to corruption, and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. Evil desires is the Greek word epithumia. It's a craving, a longing, or a lust for what is forbidden by God. And because of all that God has done for us and all that he promises to us, we are to no longer to live as those who live in the world, living for our fleshly lusts to satisfy them. That's why Paul wrote to the Romans, therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but it's not to the flesh. It's not to the sinful nature to live according to it, for if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you'll live. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. In chapter 12, that same letter, he explains how we escape this trap. Peter's echoed this thought here. Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, for this is your true and your proper worship. Don't conform to the pattern of the world, but be transformed, how? By the renewing of your mind through God's word and the Holy Spirit. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will. Warren Wiersbe concludes his commentary on these verses very profoundly. If nature determines appetite, and we have God's nature within, then we ought to have an appetite for that which is pure and holy. Our behavior ought to be like that of the Father, and we ought to live in the kind of spiritual environment that is suited to our new natures. And we ought to associate with that which is true to our nature. The only normal fruit bearing life for the child of God is a godly life. Let's pray. Lord, how amazing that you should offer to us all of these things by your own goodness and your own glory. Help us, Lord, to desire not to live life in our own strength, or even worse, to live life in our lustful desires for things that you have forbidden. Give us the strength that we need, Lord. to live for you, for we pray it in your most excellent name. Amen. Will you stand and sing with us one more time? All I have I bring to your door All I've been counted as yours Help me please to lay down my life My joys, my sorrows, and my strife ♪ All that I should be ♪ ♪ I had to leave myself so you'd be with me ♪ ♪ All I need is more of you ♪ ♪ All I need is less of me ♪ ♪ All I need is all of you ♪ All I need is you to live your life. ♪ Let me praise you, lay down my life ♪ ♪ My joys, my sorrows, and my strife ♪ ♪ Everything I am and all that I should be ♪ ♪ I entertain myself so you can see me too ♪ All I need is all of you All I need is less of me All I need is all of you All I need is more of you. All I need is less of me. All I need is all that you can give. All I need is you to live your life in me. All I need is you. Lord, what an amazing thing that you would give that which we lack, the strength to live a life that is pleasing to you. Help us, Lord, to do away with those things that would hinder our growth, hinder our relationship, hinder our fellowship, our partaking of the divine nature. Lord, may we be a people for the praise of your glory, declaring your marvelous excellencies, because we know them so intimately and so deeply, and have been ruined for all the things that do not remember, resemble you. Lord, we pray this for your glory and our good, in Jesus' name, all God's people said. Amen. God bless you.