We turn now to the reading of the Word, and we're encouraged when we remember that not only the preaching of the Word, but the reading of it is used by the Spirit of God to effectually convince and convert sinners and to build us up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation. Let us begin by reading from our Old Testament Scripture reading, Joshua 21. Joshua 21, and please stand for the reading of God's Word. Joshua 21, beginning in verse 43, this is the Word of the Living God. So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which he had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that he had sworn to their fathers, and not a man of all their enemies stood against them. The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand, not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel, all came to pass. Turning now to our New Testament reading to 2 Peter 1. And although we'll be taking verses three and four as our texts in the time of preaching, we're going to read beginning in verse one to catch the context and flow of the passage. This, once again, is the word of the living God. Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life, and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. The grass withers, the flower fades, the word of our God shall stand. Let us approach our God briefly in prayer. O Lord, we come to worship to serve You. But we know that we cannot serve You unless You first serve us. That we give to You because You've given to us. That we live out of grace. And so this evening, Lord, this night, we open our mouths wide that You may fill it. We come with empty hands asking You to fill us, to give to us, to nourish us. We come to learn at the feet of Jesus. And, O Lord, we pray that He might be made preeminent in our midst. We might make much of Christ. Cause your word to run and be glorified in our midst, for Christ's sake. Amen. Have you ever come to work on a Monday morning and looked at your desk and seen a pile of papers and various stacks and sat down and said, there's no way I can finish all of these projects in time. And you're stressed because you don't feel like you have the time that you need to do what you need to do. Or maybe this has happened before, where you're intending to get up before the children. You have your alarm clock set for 5.30. The coffee is all timed out. Cup of coffee, Bible reading, devotional by Ian Hamilton. But instead of your alarm clock, you wake up to the sound of screaming children demanding breakfast immediately. And it dawns on you, how in the world am I going to get through this day because it hasn't even started and I'm already tired. You're exhausted because you don't feel like you have the energy to do what you need to do. Or maybe you walk to your mailbox, you get the mail, you look at it on the table, and you see a bill. And you open it up, and it's a medical bill. Totally unexpected. Much higher than you ever anticipated. And it dawns on you, I don't have the funds to pay that bill. And you're overwhelmed. Because you don't feel like you have the money to do what you need to do. Whoever you are, wherever you are, surely at some point or another you've come up short. Maybe you're parenting a child that just seems incorrigible. Maybe you're fighting against a sin that seems to have your number. Whatever it is, I think we know what it's like to feel under-equipped, ill-equipped, powerless before the forces of life. Exhausted, tired, overwhelmed, stressed out, to the point where we feel like we've brought a knife to a gunfight. Well, the Apostle Peter was writing to a people much like us, a people who knew firsthand what it was like to be tired, to be stressed, to go through agonizing trials, who were facing false teachers, who were surrounded by a culture that was filled with idols and lusts and temptations, who were doing battle against the powers of this age. And to that people, Peter said some provocative and bold things. In verse 2 of 2 Peter 1, he speaks words of amazing blessing, grace and peace, which often the apostles used that language, but in this case, grace and peace be multiplied. And then in verses 5 through 11, he gives this dramatic charge to add, to supply to your faith these various character qualities. Blessing, exhortation, and both of these are anchored in, rooted in the language of our text. In verses 3 and 4. Verse 3 opens with this word, as, or seen as, or because. Verse 5 begins this way, but also for this very reason. Both the exhortation and the blessing are rooted in, grounded in, anchored in what Peter has to say in verses 3 and 4. Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ. Are you stressed out? Are you overwhelmed? Are you burdened? Are you maxed out to the point where you feel like you're going to break? We don't have anything left. The Apostle Peter, by inspiration of the Spirit, has a statement of truth that is both challenging and comforting. And it's simply this, that God has given you everything you need in the gospel. God has given you everything you need in the gospel. The gift of God. When you're tired, when you're stressed out, when you've been fighting and you're beleaguered, the answer to our plight is the gift which God has given. And by God's grace this evening, we're gonna look at that gift using four questions. A where question, a what question, a how question, and a why question. First, where does the gift come from? Second, what is it? Third, how do we receive it? And finally, why did God give us this gift in the first place? Let's look at the first question. Where does the gift come from? What is the source of this divine gift? If you look at verse three, Peter gives us an answer. As his divine power has given. Now you might think that he's going to say, as his divine love has given. Or maybe God's mercy, his compassion, his favor, his grace, and surely all of those would be true answers, that these are the overflow of the loving kindness of God. The Holy Spirit puts the spotlights on a different attribute. The omnipotence of God, His dynamic ability to do all His holy will, as His divine power has given. The same power that spoke the worlds into existence with a word. The same power that upholds every molecule in your body, every atom in the universe, that governs all of God's creatures, all of His actions. The same power that raised up Jesus from the dead. The same power by which Jesus poured out His Holy Spirit. The same power that called you, the people of God, out of darkness into God's marvelous light. The same power that is resident inside you in the person of the Holy Ghost. that power has given. Just from this beginning question, you're feeling powerless, weak, impotent, anemic, unable, disabled. What an encouragement that God's gift flows from the source of His infinite resources, His divine power has given. That's where it comes from. There's a more basic question. What is the gift of God? What is it? At its heart, what has God given to us? And really, we're going to spend the bulk of our time here. And Peter answers that question in two parallel ways. Look first at the language of verse 3. It says, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Then in verse four, he reverses the order, but basically says the same thing, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises. Given all things that pertain to life and godliness have been given great and precious promises. Peter's in some way saying the same thing in two different ways. We could put it this way. The gift is God's provision. and it's God's promises. It's his provision summed up and contained in God's promises. First of all, the gift is his provision. And note the scope and the focus of this provision of God. The scope is truly comprehensive. Look at our text. As his divine power has given to us all things. Not just some things, everything you need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. The scope is comprehensive. And the focus is this, all things that pertain to life and godliness. All things that pertain to life and godliness. God has given you everything you need to live, and to live well. Not simply to survive, but to thrive. Not simply life, but as Jesus puts it, life more abundantly. He's given you life. And commentators are divided. Is this natural life or spiritual life? Well, either way, it's true. God has given you your senses. He's given you food and drink. He's given you a home. He's given you family and friends. He's given you work. He's given you so many things. tears to express sadness, joy expressed in laughter. He's given you everything you need for physical, natural life. And even in the miseries of this life, where this is tempered by the fall, we are reminded that even if we die, God has promised to raise up our physical bodies at the last day. He's also given us spiritual life, everything we need to live the Christian journey, this pilgrimage on our way to Zion. He's given us godliness, everything we need to live a godly life. And is it not true that this truly is what the pagans wanted, but only Christians have? That the pagans wanted the good life. And the only good life is a life marked by godliness. A life marked by reverence toward God, keeping His commandments, loving Him, doing His will, The commentator Michael Green defines godliness this way, a very practical awareness of God in every aspect of life. That godliness is God-likeness, it's Christ-likeness, it's walking with the Lord in your everyday life. And God has given you everything you need for life and godliness. And surely this is a great reminder of the sufficiency of Scripture, to take up your Bible and read it, because in this we have a framework, an inspired framework for living out our lives for the glory of God. Everything we need. Not only the Word, but God's Spirit. Everything we need to live the Christian life. Well, at this point, we've seen God's provision. But maybe, in the back of your mind, there is a question rising to the surface. A mental itch that you have to scratch. And it's simply this, that that might sound good, that God's given me everything I need, but quite frankly, it doesn't seem like that's true in my experience. This text is the Word of God, but honestly, it doesn't seem to match my experience. I'm exhausted. I'm stressed out. I'm maxed out. If God's given me everything I need, then why do I feel so needy? On the one hand, I don't want to minimize difficult seasons of life. In God's providence, there are times where the children of light, as it were, walk in darkness. Or even just where you find yourself in a season of life that is particularly trying. I'm reminded of a book by Rachel Yankovich called Loving the Little Years. And in that, she describes what it was like to go through that season or stage of life where she had five kids, five and under. And I think the way she describes it, it's a little bit humorous, but it's also telling of what that kind of stage of life is like. She describes it as motherhood in the trenches. Her chapter titles go something like this. Welcome to my circus. In the rock tumbler, I am a racquetball court. Well, for anyone who's been a mother with little kids, that's a season of life that is challenging. In fact, Martin Lloyd-Jones said the only demographic that he could think of where he would give them a pass if they had a day that went by that they never really spent the type of time they wanted to in God's Word, he said it's mothers with small children, because it's a hard season of life. And I don't know your stage right now, but you might be going through a time where because of sickness, trials, providences, you feel stretched. And I don't want to minimize that. At the same time, I don't want to relieve people of their responsibilities. At least for me, sometimes I'm stressed out and I'm burdened and I'm overwhelmed because I'm not properly managing the resources that God has given me. Sometimes the reason I don't have enough time is because I haven't set the right priorities. Sometimes the reason why money is tight is that I'm not living on a budget. Sometimes the reason that my energy is zapped is I'm not taking care of myself, getting the exercise and the sleep that I need. So when you feel overwhelmed, when you feel burdened and stressed out, there's a couple things you can do. by God's grace, through faith, ask yourself, am I doing due diligence in these areas of responsibility? Including being willing to ask for help. Sometimes you're trying to do your due diligence, you're trying to properly manage your resources, and you're still coming up short, and part of God's provision to you might be the humility to ask someone else for help. to die to your pride enough to say, I need help. And maybe God's people or elders or friends in your life might be part of God's solution in helping you through that period. But second, having done that, having done due diligence, having been willing to ask for help, and you're still struggling, remember that you don't live by your own experiences. You live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And that leads us to the second part of God's gift. Not simply. His provision for life and godliness, all things that you need, but His promises. Look at verse four. Again, it's a parallel structure. As His divine power is given to us all things, and then in verse four, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises. With this parallel structure, it's almost as though Peter is saying provision and promises. The promises are identical or summarize God's provision. There's two wonderful attributes here, or adjectives, that Peter ascribes to the God's promises. He says they are great. Exceedingly great. It's a superlative. They're the greatest of the great. They're the best promises you could ever have. Human promises, they fail. They fall to the ground. God's promises never fall to the earth. They never fail. Every single one is fulfilled. They're the best. greatest of the greats. Not only that, but they are precious. That in our subjective estimation, they are valued and valuable. That they are, as it were, a pearl of great price, precious promises. Have you ever gone through a trial where your back was against the wall, where all the crutches got knocked out, where you found yourself totally at a loss. Is it not in those times that God's promises prove themselves to be exceedingly great and remarkably precious? I want to encourage you, if you're going through a difficult time, cling to and plead the promises of God in prayer. Review them to yourself. Rehearse them to yourself. Go throughout the scripture and highlight that promissory language. Promises like this. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. That I've never seen the righteous begging for bread. That you call upon the name of the Lord and you shall be saved. That if we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope. and a future. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it. But I will never leave you, nor forsake you. Rehearse. Review the promises of God, particularly in times of trial. Cling to them. Plead them in prayer. Take up holy arguments to God and say, God, I'm going through this difficulty. I don't feel like I have everything I need. By your grace, I'm trying to do due diligence. I'm willing to ask others for help. But at this point, I don't see how it's going to come through. I'm coming up short. So God, prove Yourself mighty to save. Vindicate Your holy name. Rim the heavens and come down. Answer my plea according to Your promises. Because not one ever fails. They always come to fruition. Well, what is the gift? The gift is God's provision. contained in, confirmed by God's promises. His provision for life and godliness, everything you need, and He gives us His Word by which we live. By which we live. And the remarkable thing is, as we know from 2 Corinthians, that all of God's promises are yes and amen in Jesus. He's the fulfillment of all of God's promises. All of God's provision comes to us through the hands of Christ. The blood, the bloody hands, the nail-pierced hands of Christ. He provides. He is the fulfillment in bodily form of God's promises. And that means, brother, sister, that God has given you everything you need to fight against sin, even life-dominating sin. That God has given you everything you need to quit doing drugs. That God has given you everything you need to be faithful in your marriage. That God has given you everything you need to be patient in parenting your particularly challenging child. That God has given you everything you need to live and to live for God's glory. He's given you His Word, He's given you His Spirit, He's given you prayer where you can plead His promises, which are all yes and amen in Jesus. In some ways we could say this, that really the gift is Jesus himself, because if God was willing to give us Christ, how will he not with him also freely give us all things? You can have all this world, but give me Jesus. That's provision. That's promise. The gift of God. we've seen where it comes from, God's power, we've seen what it is, but how do we receive it? How does this gift come to us? How does this gift become a reality in our lives? And that leads us to our second or third question. How do we receive the gift? Well, we see an answer to this in verse three, as his divine power is given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. Note the language of means through, through the knowledge of him who called us by glory, and virtue through the knowledge. How does this gift become a reality in your life? With the level of your conscious awareness, you are aware of the giver and the gift, the provision and the promise. It's knowing God. Walking with God. Being acquainted with God. Not simply an intellectual knowledge about God, but an experimental, experiential knowledge of the Lord. Knowing God. This passage describes the effectual call. Through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue. That effectual calling. the work of God's spirits, convincing us of our sin and misery, enlightening our minds in the knowledge of Christ, renewing our wills, enabling us, persuading us to embrace Jesus Christ, the gift, as he's freely offered to us in the gospel. It's knowing the Father through the Son by the Spirit. That is knowing God. And how do we do this? It's really simple. It's through the ordinary means of grace. This becomes a reality in your life as you attend to the ordinary means of grace, as you read the scriptures, as you listen to them preached, as you take God's Word and hide it in your heart, as you pray, as you lead your family in family worship, as you fellowship with the communion of the saints, In all these ways, God gives us His grace and we come to know Him. We know God. This is eternal life, to know the true God and Jesus Christ whom He sent. Knowing God through His ordinary means. Well, that's how we receive it. But why did God give us this gift in the first place? If you've ever given a gift to somebody, you probably had some sort of purpose, some kind of intention. So today, I went to the dining room table, and I saw a book. A book for Father's Day that my wife and my sons had given me. My one son came up later and gave me a card, and there was a certain intention, a certain purpose for Father's Day and giving those gifts. Why has God given us His Son in the Gospel? Why has God given us everything we need for life and godliness? Why has God given this gift to us through knowing Him who has called us by His Word and by His Spirit? Why? Our final question. What's the purpose of the gift? Let's look at verse 4 again. by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Note three things here. First, there's a shift here. It's kind of subtle. If you're reading through this passage, he's been using the first person plural, us. He's given to us, have been given to us. But here he switches from the first person to the second person, that you. may be partakers of the divine nature. If there's any doubt in the reader's mind or the listener's mind, this isn't simply about the apostles. And maybe you might be inclined to think this is just Peter and his group of close associates. But no, this is not just Peter, but those who have like precious faith with him. That's you, that's me, the gathered people of God. You may be partakers. Even more intimate, even more clear. This includes everybody. He also uses the word through, this is coming to us through the promises, through God's gifts in the person of his son. And a third thing, he uses the word that, that through these you. The word that or in order that is the language of purpose. Peter is laying down a purpose for this gift. What is it? Here we come to what one commentator has called a daring phrase. A daring phrase that you may be partakers of the divine nature. What does that mean? What does it mean to partake of the divine nature that we Children of dust, feeble as frail, finite, fallen creatures, weak, crippled beings, partake of the divine nature. Well, Eastern Orthodox theologians take this passage and teach a doctrine of theosis, or deification, where man actually becomes God, that we participate in the energies of God, whatever that means. And in this move, these theologians tend to blur the creator-creature distinction, where they make us higher than we ought to be and bring God lower than He is. Well that's clearly not the case. Even in eternity, even when we behold the Lamb in all His glory, even when the new heavens and the new earth have been ushered in, we'll remain creatures. Perfected in holiness, but creatures nonetheless. That can't be what it means. What does it mean? Well here, I'd remind you of a phrase that one of my professors in seminary, Michael Morales, likes to occasionally say, and that's all roads lead to union with Christ. But the key here, as it is in all of scripture really, is union with Jesus. Because think about it, by faith, we are united to a person who is fully God and truly man. We are united to a person who has a nature like ours, a human nature. but who also is fully divine. Two natures in one person forever. We are in union with the God-man. What that means is to be in union with Jesus means we have communion with the triune God, with the Father in love, with the Son in grace, with the Spirit in consolation, communion with God through union with Christ. And surely here there is something of what we could call representation, Christ for us. But surely here there is also something of participation of Christ in us. There is something here that is federal, but also something here that is real. Here, in union with Jesus, not only Are we brought near to God? We are made like unto God. Nearness to God in union with Christ. Likeness to God in union with Christ. Here we begin to understand what Paul says. Ephesians 4 verse 24, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. What he says in Colossians 3 verse 10, and I've put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him, that we remain creatures But remember, we were created in His image and likeness. And in Jesus Christ, we are not only brought near to God, but we are made like God. As creaturely analogs, God restores in us His image in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness, that we partake of the divine nature in being made like Him. in being made like to Jesus, conformed to His image. The purpose is communion with God, nearness to Him, likeness to Him, moral likeness, reflecting back to Him the radiance of His work. I think this is highlighted by that accompanying phrase at the end, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. But you can't be close to God unless God by His Spirit is making you more like His Son. The greatest irony in the world would be for someone to say, I have union with Christ, I have communion with God, perhaps even doing ministry. while at the same time allowing their heart to be totally gripped by idols. Praying on Sunday and watching porn on Monday. Somehow thinking that they can have Jesus and have the world. No. You have escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. That if you are in Christ by grace, through faith, you have been set free. As surely as the Israelites were set free from their Egyptian captors, you have been set free from the bondage of sin. Yes, there's indwelling sin. Yes, there's remaining sin. Yes, you have to do battle and fights. But you are dead to sin in Christ Jesus and alive to righteousness. So reckon yourselves dead to sin and alive to God. You've been set free. Why? Why did God give the gift? so you could enjoy fellowship with the Lord, union with Jesus Christ, communion with the Triune God, partaking of the divine nature in that sense, as renewed image bearers made to glorify and enjoy Him forever. Well, congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, Do you feel stressed? Overwhelmed? Anxious? Needy? Burned out? Overcome? What is the message of the Apostle Peter in this text? God has given you everything you need in the gospel. God has given you everything you need in the gospel. Where does it come from? His divine power. What is it? It's His provision, summed up in His promises, both of which are captured in His Son. How does it come to us? Well, it comes to us through knowing God, through His ordinary means of grace. And why did He give it? Why did He make you? Why did He save you? So you could enjoy union and communion with Him forever and ever. Dear children of God, ultimately, God the Giver is the gift. In the Gospel, He gives us Himself. He gives us His Son. He gives us Jesus. You can have all this world, but give me Jesus, because Jesus is more than enough. Well, with any promise, a promise cries out to be believed. And with any gift, a gift cries out to be received. And so by God's grace, believe the promises, embrace the offer, receive the gift with gratitude, and out of that, live for God's glory. Give me Jesus, because Jesus is more than enough. Let's pray. Oh Father, we praise you that you are the giver of life and of all good things. That every good and perfect gift comes from you, the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. You will not give us a bad thing when we've asked for a good thing. You won't give us a serpent when we've asked for bread. No, You give us Your Spirit. You've given us Your Son. And how much more will You not with Him freely give us all good things? Lord, we thank You for Your gifts. And Lord, we say, how shall we express the gratitude we owe to You for such deliverance? Help us to live out of that gratitude by Your grace. Asking this in Jesus' name, Amen.