I've said for many years that if I had a voice like Joel's, I would sing my sermons. But I don't, so I'm not. What a joy to sing to our Lord. This morning we're going to complete a study that we began last Sunday in the small letter that we reference as 2 Peter. If you were here last week, you remember that I introduced and began teaching on 2 Peter 1, verses 5-9, but we didn't get through all of our study and so we needed to come today. And as I thought about today, the word remember kept coming up for a few different reasons. First, I realize some of you weren't here last week, so when I'm doing part two of a message, I have to do a little bit of a background just to make sure that everybody's on the same page in case for some reason you weren't a part of the service. But I also realize that even those of you who were here may not remember what I said. I don't even remember all of what I said, and I preached it. And then to add to it, today is the Lord's table where we remember. Now, the interesting part last week when I was preaching and I was going to make it a two-part message is that I didn't remember that today was Communion. Joel pointed it out to me this week and I had to modify what I was doing, but it started fixating in my mind this word, remember. It's a simple word, but it is hard to remember things. Not just what you heard on a Sunday sermon. It's a fascinating thing. We have lists on our phones because we won't remember it. We set reminders and alarms on our devices because we forget. If you're older, you put things on sticky notes because you have to have some visual reminder because you'll forget. Our minds are truly fickle. It's a fascinating thing. God created us in his image. And he's given us, as humans, amazing capabilities. Our minds have devised incredible discoveries and ideas. If you look around us, we have satellites and medicines and vehicles and weapons and computers and all kinds of things that are remarkable. And it started because God gave humans the capacity to think. Even in my lifetime, technology and innovation has increased exponentially. We have things that we take for granted today that didn't exist in my early adult life. And yet for all the brilliance and capacity of the human mind, we are very forgetful. We forget. Starts when we're young. We forget to clean our room. We forget to do the chores our mom and dad said. We forget to do our homework. We forget when we promise one friend that we'll do something that we promised another friend already. We forget to wash our hands. We forget to brush our teeth. And then as you get older, it doesn't get better. Just the things you forget are more consequential. But we still forget the little things. How many times have you been to the grocery store and you're like, what am I doing here? I know I came for something. Or you come home with a shopping cart of stuff and you didn't get the one thing you went to get. We forget dates and events. We forget to run that load of laundry. We forget to run the dishwasher. And as we get older, it just gets worse. There are even a few illustrations in our popular culture I could point out about forgetfulness. It's not a Christian feature. It's not an American feature. It's the reality of being a human. This is one of the universal effects of sin. Our minds don't work the way they were originally intended. Sin affects everything, including our capacity to think and remember, which is no doubt why the Bible over and over tells us to remember, remember, remember. God understands how our minds work, and He knows that as believers, even those who have been redeemed and been born again, we still can be forgetful. And so, His Word is full of reminders, and in fact, what we're covering today is one of those reminders. We're covering 2 Peter 1, verses 5 through 9. If you haven't already turned on your device, you can. But if you look a few verses after that, Peter explains what he's been doing and what he will be doing. 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 12 to 13, Peter says, Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder. That's what a lot of our message is today. It's what it was last week. It's a reminder as to help you remember things that you already know, but that you need to keep at the forefront of your mind. So today, we're gonna have a lot of reminders. We're gonna be remembering a lot of things. Certainly at the end of the service, we're gonna be remembering the Lord's death as he commanded us to do, but now we're gonna start remembering what's in our text and what we already know, but what Peter says we need to be reminded of. So let's first remember what we studied last week. And to do that, I'm gonna read the section that we're studying, 2 Peter 1, verses five through nine. I'm gonna read it in its entirety. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith, supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from sins." As we began studying this last week, I pointed out something that I think is true. One of the great strengths of this church is our teaching ministry. We teach the Bible well. But with all of the teaching that we get, we have a responsibility that we have to live out these truths. And really, that's what our text is dealing with. The danger of a church filled with excellent teaching is that you can just get enamored with the teaching and come to listen, but not apply it. James has this warning in James 1, verse 22. I read it last week. I'll read it again. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. In other words, you can be a professional listener that just likes the sound of someone's voice, but if you don't actually do what's being said, it accomplishes nothing. So Peter was writing to believers who knew these things as we read. He's reminding them of things they already know, and that's all that he's doing for us in our text. So the question for us, and really what's driving everything, is what are you doing with all of the teaching you receive? Again, everything I'm saying is about doing stuff, but it's not about working towards your salvation. It's very clear, and Peter began his book making it clear, salvation is a gift from God. As Paul describes it in Ephesians 2, 8 and 9, for by grace you've been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Peter's not contradicting that by exhorting us to do things. Rather, he's exhorting us in the way Paul does, right after he says it's a gift of God, we're saved by grace, not of works. Paul says this in Ephesians 2.10, for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. That's really all of our text is doing. It's talking about those good works, and Peter summarizes them in a very cohesive way. It's really a summary of Christian life. It's not a to-do list as much as it is, this is what your life should be. So my outline of this text was very simple. We only began to start on it last week. We'll finish it today. But the outline was this. There's two responses to God's gift. God gives us salvation. He gives us everything we need for life and godliness. What do you do with it? There's two responses to God's gift. One is fruitfulness. One is blindness. And we began to talk about fruitfulness last week. And it's really coming from verse 8, which we'll cover later, where it says, if we have these things and are increasing, then we're doing the right thing. But Peter is making it clear there are responsibilities that come from being a believer. And when you look at the beginning of verse five, and again, I'm just summarizing very quickly. This is a very quick reminder. You can go back and listen to the last week for all of the details. But when he says the beginning of verse five, now for this very reason also, he's really talking about because you've been saved by faith, because God's given you His precious and magnificent promises, because God's given you all you need for life and godliness, because God's called you into a relationship with Himself, Because of all these things, you have responsibilities. Because God's done it, you've got work to do. Applying all diligence, he says, and it just shows that we have to do effort. We put a lot of effort into things that don't really matter. I'm as guilty as anyone. But we're supposed to use our energies to grow in these character qualities that He begins to lay out for us that should flow from a life of faith. Really, it's another way of saying, what does doing the Word look like? And Peter is saying, if you're doing what God's called you to do, your life will look this way. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence in your faith, supply moral excellence. That word supply is also a word of effort. And everything that flows is supposed to be that way. It's using all your zeal, all your energies. So he's making it clear the Christian life is a life of work, of effort, of energy. Not to earn your salvation, but as a result of your salvation you do this to please the Lord. Those who have faith, it comes as a gift, but that's not the end. That's just the beginning of your Christian life. You've got to add to it. You've got to put in your effort, your heart effort, your eagerness, your action. God's laid out for us everything we need to live a Christian life. The issue is, are we going to do it? So he begins to go through a list of character qualities, and that's really what we spent our time going through last week. Really laying the groundwork for the ultimate points of our outline. But as he went through these character qualities, he moved through them relatively quickly. And so I'm just going to remind you of what we covered. But again, this is just a surface overview. The first character quality that he references is moral excellence. It's the same word used in verse 3 to describe Jesus. And that's all we need to see. It's a matter of living our lives in a way that are pleasing to Him in everything, being consistent, doing as He did, having the courage to stand firm, even if all the society around us would lead us elsewhere. It's the consistency that comes from a confidence in the Lord. He says, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and this is a word that we'll come back to again later, knowledge is a central issue for believers. But this isn't just about knowing facts and details for an exam. One of the interesting things about my life growing up is I was always good in school, but I don't remember any of it. I remembered it as long as the test and then it was gone. That's not the kind of knowledge we're talking here. We're not taking a test next Thursday. Rather, this is permeating our life, a true awareness and knowledge of God and His Word, a sober-minded ability to look at all the challenges of life and to walk confidently in His Word which guides our steps. We have to study His Word. We have to pray for enlightenment with His Word. He's telling us to work hard to acquire this knowledge so that we live a life pleasing to Him. He continues, and in your knowledge, self-control. Self-control is simply the ability to control our passions and impulses. Despite what society says, we're not animals incapable of controlling ourselves. If you're born again, you have the Spirit of God, and one of the fruits of the Spirit, in Galatians 5, is self-control. We do have the ability, despite what's going on around us, to do this. A born-again believer, and I say this without fear of contradiction because it's in the Word, if you're a born-again believer, you're truly saved. There's never a time when faced with a temptation where you can say, I couldn't help myself. I didn't have a choice. I read it last week, I won't read it this week, 1 Corinthians 10, 13, makes it clear God always provides the way of escape. Do we take it? We have to exercise self-control. Peter continues, and in your self-control, perseverance. Again, this is the idea that we're not in a sprint. We're in a marathon. It's steadfastness. It's endurance. It's pressing on despite what life throws at us. It's standing strong and bearing up even when things are hard. And in your perseverance, godliness. Godliness is not just a focus on behavior, although it is critical. It's rather a way of thinking. It's seeing God in everything. It's wanting to please God at every moment, at every turn. Living every day and every moment with an awareness that God is there and your behavior does matter. Again, this is just a brief overview of last week, but an important overview in light of what we're going to be talking about. Peter continues, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness. Again, the seeds of this are in the fruit of the Spirit, but really this is just looking at someone other than yourself. Desiring to help others, to do good for others, to live out the second greatest commandment, love your neighbor as yourself, rather than just living life in a selfish focus on your own interest. And then the last thing we covered last week, and in your brotherly kindness, love. And those go together. He's building up a crescendo and He knows that love is the pinnacle. In fact, if love isn't present, none of the rest of it matters. As Paul said, that's just clanging cymbals. It's very clear from Scripture, if you don't love, you're not saved. 1 John 4, 7 and 8. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love." So again, that brings us up, and that's the reminder of what we focused on last week. But Peter is simply laid out for what for us could be termed a summary of biblical Christianity. There are a lot of places in the New Testament where things are combined, and this is one of them, where really what they're talking about isn't individual activities, but it's the sum total of your life. So from that reminder of last week's teaching and what we've covered so far, we move on to the rest of Peter's reminder And it gets into the heart of why I labeled the first response to God's gift, fruitfulness. I'm going to read again verse 8. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. These qualities are really everything I just summarized. All of those character qualities that Peter is saying you should have and you should be working towards and you should be striving for. If you have faith, you should be building and adding all these things to your character. And he understands that he is talking to believers. At least my version, the way it's phrased, for if these qualities, sounds like maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but the reality is Peter assumes that these qualities are present in some degree in every believer. They may not be fully developed, but every believer has a transformed heart, and so there should be some evidence of these things in your life. And at this point, it's important to remember that Peter is writing in part to deal with false teaching. I won't reread it. The beginning of chapter 2 makes it clear that he's warning about false teachers that are going to come in and try and lead people astray. But even though he's writing to warn against false teachers, he's also reminding believers that they're chosen and they're born again and they have to be doing these things. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, and that's a critical point. There's a theological term called sanctification. Most of you have heard about it. It really just means that at some point when you're saved, you're here spiritually. And Jesus is up here. Sanctification is just the process where you become more and more like Jesus. In different contexts, we understand that growth is necessary. If there's not growth, something's horribly wrong. So for example, if you have a child, the child is cute as an infant. We love that stage. But if the child doesn't grow, we know something's horribly wrong because an infant is supposed to grow to maturity. Yeah, you start out as a baby with milk, but over time you're supposed to eat solid food and you're supposed to grow. And really the exact same thing is supposed to happen for a believer. Peter says, if these qualities are yours and are increasing, he's assuming and he knows that every believer starts somewhere, but you've got to build and become more like Jesus and more like Jesus and more like Jesus. And he knows this is hard work. He knows it's difficult. And he knows more than most how easy it is in a moment to fail spectacularly. But he's encouraging us, and he's saying, if these qualities are yours and they're increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, we don't normally speak in terms of double negatives, but he's emphasizing something. He's saying, you will be very useful. You will be very fruitful. If you do all these things, your life is going to make a difference. It's going to have an impact. It's going to be pleasing to the Lord. And understand this, Peter is not an outlier. This is the teaching of all of the Scriptures. Those who come to faith in Jesus Christ are supposed to work and work and grow in their obedience. It was in our Scripture reading this morning. But Jesus is the one who said you have to look at the outcome of a life to see what you're dealing with. I'll reread Matthew 7, 16 to 20. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles are they. So every tree bears good fruit. But the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then you will know them by their fruits. Jesus had a powerful warning in that. And you can imagine that Peter heard that type of teaching over and over. He was with Jesus throughout his entire earthly ministry. And that resonates. And so when Peter says to us, look, you won't be useless. You won't be unfruitful. You won't be one of those trees that needs to be cut down and thrown into the fire because it has no good. He's saying, no, if you are doing these things, If your faith has resulted in you exerting the effort and the energy to accomplish these things, you are on the right path. You're gonna be useful. You're gonna be fruitful. You'll be a good tree. And it all comes back to what we know. They render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again, can't stress this enough. Everything I said about knowledge before is included here. But we are tied up in our idea of I've got to remember something for a test, or I've got to remember something to tell somebody else. No, this is about knowing. True knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's not just having more information, rather it's having a transformed life that lives this out. As being the wise man that builds his house upon the rock, who obeys and learns and learns for the purposes of growing and increasing in fruitfulness. Again, Peter's not just looking for words. He's emphasizing this because it's critical that we understand it. Again, the haunting words of Jesus, depart from me, I never knew you, also means you never knew me. There wasn't true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's one of the dangers of false teachers. They're always telling you, I have the knowledge that you were missing. I have the knowledge that you need. That was happening in Peter's day. It happens to our day. It's interesting the number of people that claim to revere Jesus and have knowledge about Jesus. I won't go down that road entirely to say what all their beliefs are, but the Jehovah's Witnesses are a cult. But they'll tell you about their Jesus. The Mormons have false doctrine. That is not true faith. But they'll talk about Jesus. They even have Him in their full name. Muslims talk about Jesus as one of their great prophets. But they don't know Him. Only true knowledge saves. Only true knowledge produces godly character. And we're supposed to desire this. We're supposed to work for this. Peter is saying to us, if we are pursuing all of these things, then we really did find the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's useful knowledge. It's fruitful knowledge. Paul describes the knowledge of God, of knowing Jesus in a profound way in the book of Philippians. And I think all of these things reinforce what Peter is saying. I think Peter would say amen to these words. The knowledge of God is supposed to be our treasure. It certainly was Paul's treasure. Philippians 3 verses 7 to 11. But whatever things were gained to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, verse 10, that I may know Him. and the power of his resurrection, the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." Paul was just describing how central it was to him to know Jesus. That was everything. Because in knowing Jesus, you obtain everything there is. Again, knowledge is supposed to result in action. Peter is telling us how to live a life pleasing to God. Do I want to hear, when I get to heaven, well done, good and faithful servant? I think all of us do if we know Jesus. And Peter's just saying this is how you do it. This is building your house on the rock. This is the narrow path. This is obeying Jesus. So here's the checkup for you. I started laying it out for you last week, but I'll ask it again today. Are you doing these things? Are you doing the Word? Are you listening to the words of Jesus and then doing them, walking in them? Are the character traits we have been discussing, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love, are those present in you? Certainly this is for a teaching setting, but this is also for personal examination. This isn't to look over the fence at somebody else's life. This is to look in the mirror of your own soul and ask honestly, am I doing these things? And I'm not asking you if you have a memory of once you did something. Is this your way of life? It's supposed to be. Now I want to be careful because the purpose of what Peter is saying, the purpose of what I'm saying is not to condemn you. I can't dilute the Word of God. It's very clear. But I know that there's a paradox. Some of you are struggling. Some of you are lazy. Some of you have lost focus. I want with all my heart for God to convict you so that you'll say, I've got to get serious. But I also know there's a paradox. Quite often the people that are trying the hardest to live out a life of faith see their sin in the clearest and so they feel terrible. And oddly enough, those who aren't truly following the Lord or just living in self-righteous, they feel okay. The message is for both people. Jesus gave an account that says much more clearly what I'm trying to express to you. I want you to be honest with yourself and examine your heart. But Jesus said this in Luke 18 verses 9 to 14, and he also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt. Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself. God, I thank you that I'm not like other people, swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I pay tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. The Pharisee can hear what I'm saying and say amen, and it not change your life. But I think a true believer understands that tax collector because when you look in the mirror, you realize I'm not worth saving. We know we're not worthy. And so when we struggle after our salvations, it can affect us greatly. And a message like what I'm sharing can just make you feel worse. I don't want you to feel worse. I want you to do something about it. Please understand, I'm not asking you this morning if you're perfect. None of us is. Many times in my own life, I go back to Romans chapter seven and Paul's words, and I realize it describes me. Perhaps you can identify with it, beginning at verse 18. For I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh. For the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do. But I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I'm doing the very thing I do not want, I'm no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. So let me encourage you this morning, if you recognize you're falling short, but you want to do the right thing, God understands our struggle. That doesn't mean he tolerates our sin. That doesn't mean it's okay to live like this. It just means that God doesn't turn his back on you, even if you're struggling. I'm laying out in front of you a high standard, a standard that all of us have to aspire to. We're supposed to apply all of our diligence, all of our hard work, but we understand sometimes we still fall short. The point of my message isn't to make you feel bad about that. It's just to encourage you to get back up and keep going. I get it, our flesh is with us forever. I've shared this illustration before, but it just tells you how much it's in my mind and my thinking and how much it impacted me that I share it again. I'd been saved for a few years when Debbie and I were living in Fresno, California, and we attended a church, and I went to a men's breakfast, and there was this man, I assume he was 80. I thought he was really old. For all I know, he was my age, but he looked really old to me. I was in my early 30s. Late 20s probably. But he had been a believer for a long time and he was talking, and I really do think he was in his 80s, he was talking about his struggle with lustful thoughts and my heart sank. Then I thought, does it never go away? I've got a lot of life left. I'm going to struggle forever? And the answer is yes, we will. The flesh is with us. But God gives us what we need to overcome that. And so if you're a genuine believer that you see these evidence in your life, but you realize you're not growing like you should, and you're not increasing like I should, let me just encourage you, cling to the promises of God's word. It can get better. 1 John 1, 8 and 9. If we say that we have no sin, we're deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. Verse 9, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If you've looked at this list this morning and last week, and you say to yourself, Lord, I'm falling short, then confess it to Him. You are cleansed. Again, I often go back to the same Scriptures because they're the ones that I use to minister to my own heart. If you're not where you should be, but you're striving, let me encourage you, just repent and keep moving on. And remember in those weak moments when Satan whispers in your ear, you're worthless. Why are you even trying? You've got no hope. You do have hope because you have Jesus. Romans 8, 1. When Satan's condemning you, when your own thoughts are condemning you, remember this, therefore there is now no condemnation, for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. So let me encourage you, if you're weak, if you're struggling, if you're convicted that you're not doing what you're supposed to do, let me encourage you, repent, confess it to the Lord, and then begin applying your energies and your efforts to live these things out so that you will be useful and so that you will be fruitful. If you think about your participation at Lakeside and you say, really, I am just a watcher. I'm a hearer. I just come to listen to Steve talk or whoever else happens to be here. And I like the music. And you're going away and you're not doing anything with it. Repent today. With all diligence, supply all your effort to keep growing in godliness. If you're stagnant, get unstagnant now. God will give you all the help you need if you cry out to him. So if you're a genuine believer who's struggling, I don't want you to be condemned, but I don't want you to be content with your struggles. Confess it and move on. But understand this, and I say this not because I'm going through a roster of the membership of Lakeside, I say this because the word of God and the reality of living life for 30 plus years as a believer A lot of people in churches are not truly saved. They approach God like the Pharisee, and thank goodness, Lord, I'm not like those people over there. I don't do those sins. Yeah, I could be a little nicer. Yeah, I probably shouldn't use that many curse words, but I'm okay. I'm better than him. Let me tell you, if that's you, I do want you to feel bad. I want you to feel convicted. Because I never want you to hear from Jesus, depart from me. I never knew you. And Peter, being a faithful teacher, I think includes that same warning. And that's the second response to God's gift. The first is fruitfulness, but the second is blindness. Verse 9 says this, For he who lacks these qualities, is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins." Now, I'm going to explain this because it could be misunderstood, but there's an aspect of it that's very easy what he's saying. Different translations use different terminology, but he says, if you don't have these qualities, in other words, if those things, beginning with moral excellence and ending with love, if those don't characterize your life, He says, you're blind. He also uses the term short-sighted. Different translations translate it differently, but here's the reality. It's synonymous in the context. What he's really saying is that you don't have the eyes to see spiritual reality. You're walking in darkness. You think you have a pretty good beat on life. You're with all the other cards on the Broadway, and you don't realize that you're heading for destruction. Peter's not accusing anyone. He speaks affectionately to the hearers. He thinks most of them are saved, but he understands from personal experience that you can be someone who lives and walks and does Christian things for multiple years and be lost. Why do I say that? Because Peter hung out with Judas. Someone who for three years never fooled Jesus, but everyone else thought he was one of the inner circle. That's a godly man. He's one of the good guys. But he was always lost. Just saying the words, I believe in Jesus, isn't everything because it could be just words. He who lacks these qualities, these spiritually blind people. In other words, these are people that aren't living at all the Christian life. Again, it's not about do's and don'ts and lists. It's about a heart attitude and the bent and structure of what you're living for. This person isn't characterized by godly qualities, even though they're in the Christian community. They live like the world in their heart. They're pursuing the things of the world. They're consumed by the things of this earth. They're more consumed about their life and their possessions and what they're doing. They're consumed by how other people view them and their status. Their time and energy and resources, their diligence isn't spent pursuing godliness. It's spent pursuing whatever it is that they think makes them happy. rather than exercising self-control, or godliness, or excellence, or brotherly kindness, or love. It's all about me. It's interesting the warnings that are found over and over in Scripture. 1 John 2, verse 15-16, Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. That's prevalent in American churches, but I can tell you from other places it's prevalent everywhere because it's a condition of the human heart. It's not a condition of America. But certainly the American dream is to pursue everything of the world. That can't be us. If that's what motivates you, if that's what drives you, then you lack those qualities of godly character that Peter was talking about and you are spiritually blind. It's interesting because the warnings over and over and over of Scripture and the commands of Scripture just jump out at you. But I think when the Apostle Peter is talking about spiritually blind people, people that aren't exhibiting character qualities, he's thinking about people that live exactly the opposite of Philippians 2, 3, and 4. If you look at our culture, Philippians 2, 3, and 4 is turned upside down. Paul says, do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit. Our society says, have it your way. Do it. Do it. It's all about you. But will humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves? Our society says, you've got to take care of number one. You better take care of you, because everybody else isn't going to do it. It's all you. It's about you. Verse four, do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Our society says, don't even play that game. You've got to get ahead. It's about you. These are people claiming to be a part of the family of God, but the reality is their life shows something else. They're selfish. They're puffed up with pride. They look down on other people, even in church. They're looking out for themselves and their own interests. Sadly, if you've been in churches very long, you probably bumped into somebody like that. Now, don't start looking around right now. But these people, they're not volunteering to serve. They're not first in line to offer help. They don't give to the Lord first. They take care of what they want for themselves. And if the Lord gets anything, it's the scraps or the leftovers. They'll do it later after they've taken care of their own business. This attitude is dangerous and it's damning in the literal sense. They think they're okay, but they're blind. They don't understand. And that's always near and dear to my heart because for many years, I thought I was saved and I wasn't. I was blind. I thought I was okay. I could pray with the other Christians. I could say the right words. I called myself a Christian, but it was all a lie. So as we are looking and taking seriously this self-examination, think clearly about your own heart. Don't trust your own evaluation of things. Proverbs 28, 26, he who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered. Trust what the Word of God says about your life, not your feelings. And if you think, ah, I've got a pretty good handle on things, remember the timeless principle of Jeremiah 17.9, the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick. Who can understand it? I don't want genuine believers to feel condemned. I want them to repent and turn away so that they are bearing fruit and increasing and being useful But there are some that need to look in the mirror and realize, I don't truly know Jesus despite what I say. Revelation 3, 15 to 17, there's one of the letters to the seven churches. It says, I know your deeds that you were neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. Because you say, I'm rich and I've become wealthy and I have need of nothing, and yet you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I don't want that to be anyone hearing my voice. Just knowing that Jesus is only gets you so far. James 2, 19 and 20, you believe that God is one, you do well. The demons also believe and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? I won't read it for time's sake, but there's a parable of the soils. Three out of the four soils didn't do anything. And one even responded with joy, but it fell away. Another got choked out by the cares of the world. If that's you this morning, this is a reality check. It's not okay. Peter says, he who lacks these qualities are blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. He's not saying someone's lost their salvation. In all likelihood, he's referencing the fact that they forget that they once gave allegiance to Jesus. Perhaps there's even a reference to the fact that they've gone through baptism and gave a testimony. I tell you, it's sad. I've seen many people that have gone through the waters of baptism that have walked away from the faith. That's what Peter's talking about. No way is he saying someone who's truly saved can lose their salvation, but he's saying there are many people who would say, Lord, Lord, didn't I? And they'll hear, depart from me. So here's the ultimate issue this morning. I want you to be encouraged, but also convicted if need be. Is your life producing fruit? Sometimes people get antsy in our circles. Well, wait a minute, you don't wanna talk about works, except that if God created works for us to walk in them, we better talk about them. And if Jesus said, you know a tree by its fruit, It's not unfair to look and see what kind of fruit's being produced. Examine yourselves to see if you're in the faith. I come back to our scripture reading this morning, and I've alluded to it many times, and it's one of the most frightening things that I can imagine. Jesus said a lot of serious things, but I can't imagine the reality of what this will be for so many people that are on the broad path and that have a church membership in good standing. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Our text is dealing with that same issue. Are you bearing fruit and increasing, or are you blind? You either have such a life or you don't. And only the Word of God can reveal your heart to you. If you don't know Jesus Christ, if your life is not showing the qualities of a transformed heart, if these characteristics that are supposed to be a part of every believer's life, if they're not a part of you, then repent today. Jesus died in the place of sinners. He sacrificed Himself on the cross so that sinners like you and me could have hope. Place your faith in Him today. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for sins for all who would ever believe. Today, cry out to mercy. Cry out to the Lord for mercy before it's too late. And if you do know Jesus, but you're struggling, or if you know Jesus and you're doing well, keep pressing on. Praise Him and thank Him for what He's done in your life, for redeeming a sinner like you, but recognize you have a responsibility with your salvation, and it's to please Him in everything, to walk in a manner worthy of Him, pleasing Him in all respects. Personal application of these truths is critical, and you've got to remember and live it out. If you're struggling, ask for help. If you want to talk to somebody about genuine salvation, come up after the service. There'll be elders here that can talk to you about a relationship with Jesus Christ. Everything we've been covering today and last week is about Jesus dying on the cross for sinners and what do we do with it. It's a time of remembrance and celebration in our hearts that we have entrance into the kingdom of God But it's also a time for caution and reflection. If your life is not where it should be, if you've been feeling conviction because of the weight of God's word, then now's the time to repent of those things. Don't wait till later. So I'll just ask you to stand and let me close our time in prayer. Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for your word and for what you've done so that sinners like us can know you. Lord, I pray that your words would penetrate hearts today. I have limitations in my ability as a communicator. I have limitations in what I can convey. I can't convict anyone, but Lord, your spirit can take your word and touch any heart, and so I pray that you'll do that now. For the unsaved, I pray that you'll draw them to yourself for salvation, and for your children who are struggling or hurting or aren't living as they should, I pray even now you'll convict their hearts and they'll repent and confess, and they'll pursue you with all their hearts. Lord, we are weak sinners, and our best days we fall short, but I thank you for your forgiveness and for your promise that we're not condemned if we know you. Lord, I pray for every one of my brothers and sisters that all of our hearts will be right. We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen.