Thanks for coming out tonight. I don't hardly know anyone at this nightly Bible conferences because no one comes. So it's really nice that you come out. I compliment you. Any of you commute? Any commuters here? Well, that's why. Good. That's great. I really found the songs very emotional and nostalgic for me. I haven't sung that song for so many years. I can't tell you the last time I sang it. Very moving. Nancy, I'm glad you're here. Nancy's a nurse and she gets a call, she has to leave, but she does this in our church when it's convicting, when I talk about giving. When I talk about repentance, her phone goes off. So no, she just can't take it. But a beloved sister, her boy went through your school here, Matt Nicosia, went through Joss. That's why they're both a bit warped. And so it's really, it's good to be with you. Let's look at second Peter. And we'll look at the subject, godly character is a joint effort. Godly character is a joint effort. Does God just give you godly character? Someone said, reputation is what you do in the light, character is what you do in the dark. Character is what you do in Las Vegas that you could tell everybody. You know, the secret of Las Vegas, it stays in Las Vegas. Well, character, one time they asked to write a biography of Spurgeon. They were seeking permission, and Spurgeon said, write it in the heavens, for I have nothing to hide. Write it in the heavens, for I have nothing to hide. There's a little definition to what we call sanctification, which is really a nice word that just says holiness. I grew up in Wesleyan holiness circles. We're always stressing holiness. And holiness, Louis Burkhoff said, is basically, let me get it exact so I know, a work of God a work of God in which believers cooperate. That's simple, isn't it? God justifies you by faith. He puts you in Christ. All this is automatic. Automatic. What wasn't automatic for me was overcoming my temper as a kid. I was a poor loser in sports. If I could whip the guy and hit him for beating me. I didn't like to lose. I had a hot head. I had a bad mouth. And I had a lot of other things that didn't just immediately drop off. Sometimes you hear that verse, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creation. All things have passed away. All things have become new. That's nice in one sense, but it's not true on the other. I didn't immediately have character. Uh-uh. No, no, no. What passed away is everything I was in Adam. All my positional relationship to sin ended. But my practice started all over. I had to form new habits of speech, thinking, morals. Everything had to change. And it didn't zip, bang, happen like that. And I was in circles that always said, you need a second effort work of grace. You need to talk in tongues. You need the baptism of the spirit. You needed something that, boom, would hit you. And I found out it's a lifelong process of cooperation with God. And it will not be completed until you see him face to face. Some of you are going to just about have it, be nearly there, and you'll have a heart attack. And you'll see, and the work will be done. Just like that. So I want to look at what Peter says, and we're going to look at three things, he says. The resources God has given us for godly character. What resources has he given you to be godly and to cooperate with him? Two, your responsibility of how he wants you to, what does he want you to do? He's giving you the resources. What responsibilities are ours in this process of getting character and growing up? I mean, are all Christians nice? You gotta be kidding. You haven't been around. I mean, there's all varieties of personalities. They said this one brother was nice, but he's like a porcupine. He had a lot of good points, you just couldn't get close. Or you see these people whose face looks like the introduction to lamentations. They're always grim. They're always, you know. One time a guy was trying to get some people to come into a rescue mission, and he was just, come on in here, Jesus saves. And the guy said, will I be like you if I go in? He said, well, I think so. He said, no thanks, I don't need it. I mean, we've got all these varieties. It's this way. It's like Noah's Ark. If it wasn't for the storm on the outside, you couldn't stand the stench on the inside. There's a lot of wrecks inside the ark. A lot of people in process. In process. They're just in... Okay. And some seem to get it and grow up. Not all do. What are the resources? What are our responsibilities? And then what is the results God promises us for godly character? Three Ps, if you can remember that. Three Ps will help us to see the resources that God gives. Let's begin at verse three. His divine power, 2 Peter 1.3. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Everything you need to be godly in this life has been given to you and granted by God. The power, he said, I've given you all the power you need to live a godly life and live 10 miles from Berkeley, 20 miles from San Fran, I don't care where you were born, again, whatever the geography is, you don't have to move to the Bible Belt to be equipped to live godly. God even saves in California. When I was at Dallas Seminary, they acted like anything over the Sierra Nevada Range was foreign missions. I mean, they're over here. churches on every corner abounding, booming, and out here, guys, even Southern Baptists struggle in Southern Cal. Maybe, you know, Warren's a little exception, but let's say Northern Cal. But God has given the power to every born-again believer, all the power you need for life and to live a godly life. And godliness is to treat God as he deserves. He says his power has been granted unto us so that we have all we need for life and godliness. Now this power gets known about. You got to know this through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises. There's our second P. He's given us power, and then he's given us exceeding precious promises. And in these promises, so that through them you may become third P, partakers. of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. Now look at this picture. Here are the resources I want to give you, God says, to this born-again person, no matter what age, where they live, whether it's Corinth, Rome, Ephesus, Philippi, San Francisco, Dallas, it doesn't matter. I want to give you three things in salvation. I'm going to give you my power. Two, I'm going to give you promises that will make you partakers and sharers in my divine nature. That is a little bit earth shattering. Do I become a little God? Do I all of a sudden get omnipotence? We'll qualify a little later on. I get these exceeding great promises of God by which I become a sharer, a partaker. The word here is our word koinia, and it means partnership. I become a partner in some way with the divine resources of God, the divine nature of God. Wait, explain this. I knew you would ask. How am I sharing in the divine nature? I believe the promise of God that if I put faith in Jesus Christ, he would give me eternal life. Eternal life is God's life. It's a part of his divine nature. I was a dead man. I was dead in sin, dead in trespasses. I did not possess the life of God. The moment I was born again, By believing the promise of the gospel, I became a partner in the actual life of God. His life is in me. He that has the Son has eternal life. That is sharing in the life of God. When I believe a promise of God as a believer, I can tap into His omnipotence. I don't become a god, but my father shares his power with my situation. Nothing. I'm even delivered from the power of death, according to Hebrews 2. I'm delivered from what you call addiction. I've got all the power source. All the power source. And I get to cast it on promises. You see, God has tied his nature and his character behind his promises. If I can catch God lying, he's a liar. But when God says he'll do this for me if I'll believe him. You do this, claim this promise. In that promise, I put my character, my nature, my resources are behind the promises of my word. Is that not true? And when a child believes it, an adult, it does not matter. God makes his nature, his backing, all that he is becomes mine. It's overwhelming. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll tap into God's power. You'll begin to claim his divine promises and you'll find out you have become a partner of God's divine resources. Is that enough to enable you to live for God? Power, promises, partnership in divine life. I mean, we shouldn't get excited about it. I mean, you need Jesus plus eight other things, a good therapist, a, a, a da, a da, a da. I grew up, Jesus was enough. We couldn't afford a therapist anyway. Too broke. I grew up, we never locked the doors. There's nothing worth stealing. I mean, this was in Richmond. Go ahead, steal it, get rid of those dynamite boxes we're using for furniture. Steal those fruit jars we're using to drink milk out of. You don't know what I'm talking about unless you've really been around. Anybody ever drank milk out of a fruit jar? Oh, these poor boys, they think, straighten out, boy. You know, they have no clue. and everything worth stealing. But now in Christ, I've got access to all these riches. Here are the resources, his power, his promises, and partners in his life. That's all you need to become everything God intends for you to become. For God to command you to fly, means he's ready to give you the ability to fly. God does not command, but he does not plan to enable. Okay? So his promises are a promissory note. I'm going to enable you to do this. Now, what's our part? What's our responsibility? Watch what he says now. Okay, you see that text? It's a Bible church, right? Look at that. He's given us this, having escaped from the corruption that's in the world because of sinful desire. For this very reason, make every effort. It is strain at it. It's be diligent to supplement your faith with virtue, Virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. Wait. I want you to use the gift of faith that I gave you to start adding to your character. And when I saved you, you lack these things. And I want you to take, there's only one. He didn't tell you to add faith. He said, you've got faith. When do you get faith? You get faith the moment you're saved. God gave you the gift of faith. He did it all. You see, dead men can't get themselves out of the coffin. And Ephesians says, God found you dead. That's how much you contributed to your salvation. You were dead as a nail. He found the corpse and he said, I quicken it. Ephesians 2.5. I made you alive. I made you alive. I got you out of the coffin. And I gave you a gift, it's called the gift of faith. Believe it or not, you've got all the faith you need to become everything God intends for you to be. You don't get more faith. Do you ever pray, Lord, give me more faith? And God was really saying, no, I want you to use the faith I gave you. When Jesus said if you've got faith just like, what was it, like the seed? Huh? Mustard seed, that's right. I haven't had mustard in a long time. And like a mustard seed. Any of you women ever wear one of those mustard seeds? I mean, he's just saying if you've got any faith, that's what he's saying, any faith. Now, any born again people here, don't raise your hand. If you're born again, at that time, God gave you a measure of faith, Romans 12, he gave you a measure of faith to become everything he has planned for you to become. You don't get more of it, you don't get less of it. You've got all the faith to be everything God wants you to be, everything. It includes ministry. It includes everything. It's all there. Some of you, it's like an unused muscle. You don't use it a lot. You're walking by sight. And the more money and the more comfort you get, the easier it is not to walk by faith. I'm just walking by sight. I got it made. I'm doing good. That's why it's hard to evangelize people that got everything. You only need God when you're broke. Oh, no, you don't. A rich man needs God, right? Because rich men go to hell, too. But they're not aware of their need. like the poor folks that are much easier. It's felt needs, I need it. But he says, I want you to take that faith and exercise it. And if you'll trust me and put faith in my promises and in my power and know that you're my partner, you will add to your outline of your being, first of all, virtue. Does your say virtue? How many has virtue? How many has moral excellence? Okay, it was used of athletic ability. He excelled in athletics. He had great athletic ability. But Peter isn't talking about athletics. He's not talking about academic. He's talking about your character development. And so he's really saying, you will be able to excel in character. by exercising God's power and believing his promises. Your character will be excellent. You'll have virtue, excellent moral qualities about you. Then he goes on. I want you to make the effort to use this power to add these things to you. Virtue, moral excellence, And I'm going to do that. I'm using an ESV that says virtue, but moral excellence is the idea. And to moral excellence, I want you to add knowledge. Isn't it terrible to see Christians that are dummies about the Bible? Say, how long have you been saved? Well, 25 years. And you're still quoting Jesus what? And that's the only verse you've memorized. But you know everything about batting averages? You know every team playing? See, you know what you want to know. You know what you want to know. Man, when it affects your pocketbook, you read that stock market every day. You know how much it went up, how much it went down. Ask a poor man if he knows. No, when you don't have anything in it, you're not checking it out. So what? I'm not in the market. You know everything you've chosen to know. I'm terrible with figures. Okay, I'm terrible. Our board members love it. I gotta always call on one of my guys, what's that? What's that figure and what's that? And you know, the guys, they come there, my church administrator, well, pastor, don't you remember this? And I gave you the budget, you know, I said, shut up. I'm not the church bookkeeper. I had a guy come up to me one time and said, you're not much of a church administrator, are you? I said, no, and you're not much of a preacher. I didn't get this job. You go rent a dance hall, start a church with 19 people because you're a fantastic administrator? I barely could get the key to open up the building. I do not know figures. Now I know how much my wife spends because I have a debit card and I run a deli every day. When did you buy that, honey? Here you spend 50 bucks. Did you eat that much? Oh no, I took out four sisters I want to encourage. Honey, I'm tired of your ministry of encouragement. I want to just balance one month. Just balance. Let the Church of God Pay Fund take care of it. You know what I mean. But they fall over because I could tell them on what side of the Bible it is, and I could usually tell you the chapter, especially of the New Testament. I could tell you most chapters of it. I know what it's about. Mess with me if you want. I don't care. Because this is what I love. This is what I cling to. This is what I raised my kids on. This is what I buried my folks with. This is what I built my marriage on. I've been living out of this book since a teenager punk. Right there, this book. These promises. This was giving me hope when people were dying, when people were opposing me, when I'm having a church split. when I'm having people leave me because I got a pregnant daughter and a preacher shouldn't have a pregnant daughter. I claim to this book. I know this. I don't need to keep up with all this other trivia information. It's this that will last and gets me through. This. This is what I want to know. Do you know this? You don't know any more about God than you know about His Word. The rest is guesswork. You just get, well, I sort of think, I've always kind of felt this way. That's why so many home studies are tragic. What's your opinion? When did your opinion make it true? When have you been right? Your wife says seldom, but she can't show her face during this meeting. Yeah, it's what he says. And that's why a lot of preachers have no business preaching. They're too lazy to find out what it says. I'm free to wander and play, tell stories. I'm out of town. I'm an expert. I can say anything. But I've studied this passage. I think I know what it means. And I didn't get it by going to Starbucks and just staring. and listening to Merle Haggard sing a country song. I got him a study. Hard work. The fun of it then is it comes alive. You grow. Your character won't change unless you consult and grow in the knowledge of God. And that will keep changing how you... See, most adults, you can never change adult behavior because most adult men allow no mirrors. allow no mirrors in their life. One of the toughest things in our marriage, Carolyn said, you won't let me tell you anything. If your brother says it, you believe it. But if I say it, you don't listen. I said, well, I want accurate information. She said, well, I've been living with you 50 years and you got this fault. Honey, don't hurt a good thing. Just leave me the way you found me. See, it takes humility to let your wife clean your cloth and not want to break the mirror. Or to have a friend. Who, what friend do you have that can tell you the truth and you not reject them? Most men have none. That's why they write so many articles on the lonely American male. It's why so many men get in trouble. We have no mirrors. Well, God's word is the mirror, according to James. And when we increase in knowledge, our character will increase. Our character will be colored by it. While he keeps on, you ought to add to this, it's your job to add this with this faith that he gave you. Supplement your faith with this excellent character, with a knowledge, and with knowledge self-control. How you doing about, oh, I'd say anger. How you doing about sexual thoughts? Is your mind, are you hooked? You know, some of us are too old to be dangerous. But, you know, are you controlling your thought life? You can be a dirty old man and not be able to do anything you're dirty about. Just have a dirty mind. Self-control. Paul used that. Paul said, I beat my body in subjection over this matter of self-control. Maybe food. Every area of life. Are you addicted to anything that you just can't... Anybody hoarders here? You don't look like a hoarding crowd. I mean, have you seen these shows? I mean, it's like this one guy, he said, come over my house for pancakes. And the guy said, no, I don't want to. I'd hate to do that. And he said, do you have enough? He said, we've got rooms full of it. Room full of pancakes? Temperance. Self-control. Do you know when enough is enough? Paul in 1 Corinthians says, if I don't get myself under control, I will wind up running and be disapproved. Can you do that? Piper thinks that means losing your salvation. I'm not that radical. I think you're going to be bankrupt before God and rewards I can't waste my time. What about time? How do you use your time? What do you have to show for it? Peter Drucker says to be an effective executive, the first place you start is time management. And I'm amazed at how much time is wasted in church by church staffs, church pastors. Many pastors are nothing but time wasters. And they're always trying to work out a Saturday night special, because they waste it all week. It's tough. Everybody wants you at every call, and then you've got to be prepared to preach. The motto goes this way, he who is always available is not worth much when he is. I had people offended when I first got a secretary because they couldn't drop in on me like they used to, the good old days when I was really a pastor. And they could sit there for two hours in my office and just talk about nothing, but I was having the clock go away, and I still had the sermon, I still had a hospital call, but I had to be warm. You know, pastors have to be warm. It helps, even if they're not prepared. He was so nice, but boy, he sure preached a lousy sermon. Well, that's too convicting. Let's move on. And to self-control adds steadfastness. It's the word to remain under pressure with dignity. It's remaining under pressure without resentment, Isn't life a pressure cooker? If you haven't had it, you will. I never thought I could bury my dad, but I did. My first funeral, first funeral I had to do in the church. I was only 27. I was absolutely not ready to give him up, because I adored his wisdom. But I had the assignment. Then my mother. Then Carolyn's mother. Then her father. Then my sister. Then this saint. Then that saint. Then this infant. Then that one. This divorce. This divorce. This tragedy. This tragedy. Life is full of pressures and some will come right in your family circle and they might be messing with your girl. They might be messing with your marriage. They might be stealing your mother by way of cancer. Life is full of pressure cooker situations. And he said, I'm wanting you, by the grace of God, by the power of God, by the promises of God, add to your character. I'm not a towel thrower. I don't throw in the towel. I don't quit when it gets rough. Someone asked me, how have you managed to stay at that church so long? I said, well, because Carolyn's uncle was a pastor, told me these two words, never resign when you're tired or if you're discouraged. And I've been one or the other for 44 years, so I haven't been able to resign. So that's why I'm still there. Man, every time you want to quit, I'm either tired or I'm discouraged. And God said, remain steadfast. Be not weary in well-doing. You'll reap in due time if you faint not. Steadfastness. And with steadfastness, add godliness. Godliness means to treat God as he deserves. And what's the first part of the Lord's Prayer? Our Father which art in heaven. Now watch. Now listen to me. Hallowed is your name. Is that true? That's a true statement, but that's not what he said. But the statement's true. God is hallowed, but he taught us to pray, hallowed be your name. I'm to pray that I will hallow that name, which is already hallowed. It's his whole lordship thing. He is Lord. Jesus is Lord. Now how you treat him, that's something else. But he is Lord. No question. He is the Lord Jesus Christ. And God is holy, but it's when you're treating that way that you're said to be godly. You're giving him the honor and the reverence that he's worthy of. So he said, add to all of this other the right response to God and to godliness, add brotherly affection. Isn't that amazing? Brotherly affection. This word is our word Philadelphia. And so it's our word for, there's four loves in the scripture. Read C.S. Lewis on the four loves, it's a fascinating word. Eros love was the erotic physical love. Storche love was family love. When it came to phileo love, and some semantic specialists, even D.A. Carson would say there's no difference between agape and phileo. And so they have all kinds of debates. But usually friendship love, was a love of, here's the key idea of friendship love. They love the same things. If you love to hunt, if you love music, I'm a guitar player too, I've just never requested. And I like music. And musicians, I play lots of guitar music. I listen to Tommy Emanuel all this morning. And I love Jerry Reed, he has a very funky kind of southern sound, just fantastic. I love all kinds of different guitar players. And guess what? I've got an affinity with a guy. I'll get with a pastor tomorrow, and I'm going to see him do a few more licks, see if he's stolen anything lately. You see, I've got an interest with musicians because I grew up with a musical family. I like it. I like it. You don't have to like music. See, I like it. And I'm drawn to those who like it. It's moved by the singing. And friendship is usually you become friends with people that you have a common interest, a common like. Now, now, now get this. We are born again believers. We've got the same spirit, the same promises, the same father, the same destiny, but we just don't like each other. Does that make sense? Well, you're there. You're there. Wait, wait, wait. I'll tell you, I've been in India. I've been in Africa. I've been in Cairo. I've been down there, Casablanca, and I went over to Morocco and Spain, visiting different Berber ministries. I met Christians from every color, every background, and immediately when I meet the true believers, there is a family affection. I just want to hug them and embrace them because I'd hug them if they were my sister or my brother or my mother or my father. You say, well, I'm an introvert. I can't help it. My wife is too, but she hugs me once in a while. Did you know Colossians 3 says, put on certain affections? Put on, clothe yourself with compassion. He didn't say what your temperament type is. It's a command to all of us. Clothe yourself this way. And he said, be known for brotherly affection. Do we like each other? Like everybody I meet, though I'm commanded to love them. God didn't say like everybody. I'm so glad he didn't. There's a whole lot of folks I met I don't like that I gotta love. But then he goes on to say, by the way, and love them. What's the difference? Brotherly affection is why don't you treat them as people you've got more in common with than anything else on this earth? Agape says, besides that, I'd be willing to sacrifice for you. Key idea of Agape, I think, is when he contrasts them, I'm willing to give up something for your benefit. Is that in you? He said, this is our responsibility. I'm supposed to have this. He said, I don't feel like these things. I don't like these. It's not me. I don't want self-control. I don't like people. I'm not into brotherly affection. I'm not into this love stuff. You're not? But Peter gives us some results. of whether we take these resources and use our human responsibility. And if you don't, if you don't, this is gonna be the results. And if you do, these will be the results. Listen to what he says right here. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they will keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. God says, I'm not going to bear any fruit, and I'm not going to let you be effective in life if you don't use my resources to develop your character. If you have no time for character development, you're not going to have any time to be fruitful. You know, when we hire staff, we use three C's. Very simple. Courageous leadership, Bill Hybels. Three C's. Character, competence, compatibility. Did you know the world's best preacher, if he doesn't have character, I don't want him. The most outstanding student in my college days, the one that took all the preaching awards, proved to be a womanizer. Great preacher. He introduced me to Chuck Swindoll when he was in Fullerton. He was that well-connected, that outstanding. But he just happened to like to sleep with women that weren't his wife. What are you hiring for? His charisma or his character? See, you can't give a man character. You can give him skill, but you can't give him character. Wonderful with figures. We need to hire them at the bank. Did you check it out that they're thieves? Who cares if they know math? Who cares if they got a whiz mind on finance? Is it going to steal you blind? And so he says here, you take care of adding to your character. And if you're paying attention to your character, God will make you effective and fruitful. I love what John MacArthur said one time. He said, it's my business to worry about the depth of my ministry. It's God's business to take care of the breadth of it. He can take me as far as he wants. My business is to go deep in him. to get into the word, to know the word, to conform my character to his word. And he's in charge of the fruit. He's in charge of how effective it will be. And this is where God's saying, if you don't do this, I'll take away fruitfulness. I'll take away effectiveness. And if you lack these qualities, you will become nearsighted. That is, he is blind. I know something about being nearsighted. I found out I got glasses after I rolled in a car. Missed the curve, rolled it. Said, you know, it'd be good if you'd have your eyes checked. Yeah, a little late, found out I needed glasses. And God spared my life. And he said, if you don't take care of your character, God's gonna let you get blind in your journey. You'll get where you can't see things as you ought to see. You know, nearsightedness, I've had that Lasik surgery, really, it intensifies, you can't see up close. But boy, now I can read X, I used to not be able to do that. But, nearsighted, you can't even see things near. That's maybe all you, but you can't see the long road. You can't see eternity. You can't see how this thing weighs up. God's gonna let you become dull and blind because you won't pay attention to your character. And don't tell him there's no power. You need an AA meeting. You need an anger management court. No, have you been using the power, the promises, and the partnership he gave you and the faith he created? Those are the tools he gave every believer. How are we paying attention to our own garden? Are we weeding out bad attitudes? Weeding out things that corrupt our character. He said, if you don't, you'll become nearsighted. And he said this, you will forget that you were cleansed from your sins. That's an amazing, I'd like for you to wrestle with that and tell me what it means. Do I get spiritual amnesia all of a sudden? I forgot that I was really born again. I forget that I really was cleansed from my sins. What is it saying? Help me out. Having forgotten, maybe my behavior is showing, I've forgotten you're born again. You can't act that way. You can't do, why can't, well haven't you met him? Haven't you received this power? Haven't you got these promises? And you're cussing just like the guys on the job. And you're looking at Playboy just like the men in the locker room. And you're just, what's wrong with you boy? Don't you know when you were born again that you're different? That you've been set aside? What gives? Have you forgotten? You've been born again. God's put his seed in you. You've become a partner with God. You're now to represent God, not this world. Have you forgotten what he's done for you? Did you forget how lost and scared you were if you were me that night? You see, I didn't come to Jesus because I loved him. I came to him because I was scared to death of hell. And he took me on those terms. Isn't that amazing? I've had to learn to love him, but I didn't come to him because I loved him. I was scared and afraid of him. Just what Luther said about Romans 1.16, there is a righteousness of God. He said, I hated the verse because I saw a God that was demanding of me what I could not give him. He was demanding a righteousness I could not give him. And until finally I found out it was a gift of righteousness, he was offering him the gospel, not a demand for righteousness. The gospel gives a righteousness. It doesn't make you earn a righteousness. Well, he goes on. We'll wrap up before we go into a comatose. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure. Maybe you're not saved. Maybe you better be sure. If you're not developing a character, if you're not growing, if you've become nearsighted, you can't see eternity anymore. If you forgot, oh, I'm not sure I was even, maybe you really weren't called. Maybe you've been misled. Maybe you are not a chosen child of God. You better check your heart. Because God changes all of his kids. He doesn't leave them as he found them. if you cooperate with him. So he says, therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities, get this, you will never fall. So that's saying believers will never sin. Ah, what's he saying then? They will not fall irretrievably. They will never go so far out. We all sin, 1 John 1, 8 said. So we do keep in the process. We're learning, failing. The righteous fall seven times, but the Lord lifts him up, Proverbs says. So we do sin, but he's saying in the process, we will not go irretrievably away. We will not fall to perdition. No, no. He's going to keep you from straying far. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He will keep you from falling, from any great sin. He'll keep you from losing your marriage. He'll keep you in so many ways. And then he said there will be this abundant entrance. into heaven. I meant to bring the illustration, but I may not. In this tomb, I may have not brought it. Let me see if I can try it. I'll try just by memory. Robert Manley, 1965. He bought a piece of junk called a boat. He named it Tinkerbell. 1965, he set out from Falmouth, Massachusetts, and his dream was he was going to single-handedly sell this old junk that he bought and sell it to Falmouth, England, sell it, get a plane ticket, come home. He got on that vessel. It was something like 75 to 79 days it took him to cross the Atlantic. He was washed overboard. He hallucinated. He saw people walking on the water. He had dreams, storms. I mean, it was a remarkable, incredible life and death journey. It's a miracle that he survived it. He wanted to creep into Falmouth, England. And like I said, to say I satisfy myself, this was a challenge of a lifetime, and I'm going home. News of this journey reached England before he got there. The world was captured by a man taking this piece of junk, as it were, and single-handedly, one man, take on the Atlantic Ocean. By the time Robert Manley went down the estuary there in Falmouth, horns started blasting. People began screaming. They began to play the Stars and Stripes. They played England's version of the same thing. And on the estuary, 50,000 people were there applauding, yelling, screaming, tugs pulling their vessels and their horns. The whole place was shaking. No way, manly, will you sneak into Falmouth, England without an abundant welcome. Well done, mate, well done. And Peter says, hear me, O child of God. When many of our pastors are being killed by lions, being killed by Nero, they'll be killed under Diocletian with 10 persecutions. They'll bury our best preachers. They'll kill them. They'll burn them. They'll decapitate them. But when they land in that city, they won't sneak in some back door. God is gonna throw an abundant, lavish welcome party for every child of God that has believed the promises of God, claimed the power of God, claimed partnership with God, and said, I'm not everything I want to be, but I'm not what I used to be. I've come this far using his power to become what I am. and my final entrance in heaven, I just can't over, I just, because the word is a word used of hiring a choir for a huge feast in a town. That was the word for abundant entrance. It was throwing a lavish big bus party. God's going to throw a party for the saints when they get home. So child of God. Cooperate with the power of God. Claim the promises of God. Know you're in partnership with God. And grow up and add those things that he's telling you that you're not paying attention to. Work on your character. The biggest problem I have, I was talking with some dear saints, said, you like to talk, don't you? I said, yeah, that's a liability, really. I didn't tell them, but it is. See, the biggest problem I have is my character. How do I treat my wife? I used to say if my girls still wanted to go to church, having lived with such a flawed father, if they still wanted to go to church, once they were 18, it would be a miracle of God's grace. Because the one that's apologized the most in the home has been me, because I've blown it the most. And the only way I keep my integrity was to admit I was wrong. Because I had three girls watching the way I was treating their mother. Character is hardest lived at home. It's easy to get intoxicated with preaching to others and being applauded, and yet your own character becoming an alcoholic on the side. I have a dear friend in ministry now, a Dallas grad that's an alcoholic. And sometimes he's so drunk on Saturday, he can barely make the pulpit on Sunday. For the life of me, I don't know why he has not resigned. And his wife cries and calls us in desperation. Can you change him? I said, is he saved? He was saved at our church. His character. Who cares how good you can speak? Who cares how much stage presence you have? It's all rubbish if there's not something changing your heart. Has Jesus changed my attitude from when he started with me? How could my wife recommend me? I end on this self-humiliating story. I was a strict disciplinarian with my kids. I grew up with spankings. You spell that S-P-A-N. I grew up free spock. You better obey or you're going to get it. And believe me, my dad didn't lie about the warnings. So I grew up that way, and I try to train my kids. I tell them the first time. They always got instruction. If you disobey, you're spanking. Okay. But we moved into this new house. We never had anything nice. Get in this house. And one day I come home, and my two, my oldest and middle daughter, they're down on their knees, and they're scrubbing, and they're doing all this, and brand new carpets, everything. And I come in, what is it, Deborah? And she's now, at this time, maybe she's 10 or 11, must have weighed at least 75 pounds. You know, an awesome threat. I said, what's going on? Well, they had inadvertently opened the lid on paste, fell, got this big puddle of paste now in the carpet, and that deserves a spanking, you know, in my world. It's the only time I remember God ever grabbing my arm midair. But I get her, I said, okay, and I'm just, you're gonna get spanked for that. And just right about here, God said, was that a sin? Was she rebelling? Or did she just fail? I mean, this is all happening just, you know, like, go off, boom. And just right there, the Lord said, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Do I spank you for failing or for rebellion? Did your girl rebel? No. Put your hand down. Help her clean up the mess. So I go down on my knees with Rebecca and Deborah, and we cleaned up the mess. But there were other times I was harsher than that. And my dear wife said to me one day, she said, are you aware that your daughter, this is in the tape days, she buys a copy of your sermon every week. It cost her $2 in those days. The allowance was $2. She said, I wouldn't waste my money hearing me someone like you preach to. as harsh as you were? She said, she only gets two and a half dollars. Why would she buy a tape of you? I hoped someday she could see Jesus in you and not buy your sermon. Now let me tell you, that girl's still in church, but it's the grace of God. But the real miracle is, Can God change her father so I'll apologize to her? Or am I too stubborn to let the grace of God teach me humility? See, our character's more important than our sermons, more important than our personal public profile. That's so much rubbish. You could snow a lot of people. God says, pay attention to these things. Do you love the brethren? Do you love? Do you have self-control? This is what will give you an abundant entrance. So what if you impress people? I want God to be impressed that I'm following His power and His promises. You do the same and you will become everything God intended when He gave you enough faith, enough power, and enough promises to be lacking in nothing and land in heaven with an abundant entrance. Our Father, we are thankful for your great patience, your great kindness, and for whatever character any of us have, it's a gift of your spirit, a gift of the enabled obedience faith has given us. But let us humble ourselves that we lack in so many areas, and let us not promote ourselves, but promote a God that will patiently work with us, and change us, and turn us into the image of Christ. I pray you'll do this, in Jesus' name. This message has been brought to you by the Santa Rosa Bible Church. Our purpose is to lift up the Lord by living out the word, loving one another, and leading others to Christ. Be sure to visit us on the web at www.srbible.org or come visit us in person at 4575 Badger Road, Santa Rosa, California 95409. You can also give us a call at 707-538-2385.