Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning asking that you would open up your scriptures, that we might know, oh Lord, that we have met with you this morning and that, Lord, you are working powerfully in our midst and in our lives, changing us and transforming us into the image of your dear son in whose name we pray. Amen. So the scripture that I'd like to focus on this morning, especially in light of the fact that we have begun a new year is second Peter chapter 3, 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 18 in particular, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and to him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. So a better summation. of what our remaining time here should look like could not be given than what we have just heard grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And so we would do well to take a look at this well-known portion of God's Word in its immediate context. So I'd like to look at this verse under three headings. So growing in relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, but in such a way that we are removing the impediments to that growth, using the provisions for that growth, and attaining the goals of that growth. So first, I'd like to take a look at the impediments to growth. You notice that the first portion of our verse has a conjunction, the word but. So we know that he's saying the apostle Peter, however, you, are to grow, right? So he has just dealt with many, many factors within our world that are opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ and to the message of salvation. And he is saying that you are to be different because of what the Lord has done in beginning that work of salvation in your heart. You are to grow. And you are to grow despite the impediments, despite those things that we see in our world, and as hard as they are, and as troubling as they are, and causing great grief sometimes to our hearts, we are to grow. And we are to make use of the provisions, and we are to more and more resemble in our relationship the Lord Jesus Christ as we attain those goals that he has set for us in this verse. So I'd like you to think about this. You know that it's a command. It's in the imperative, but grow. So I'd like you to think beyond that, that it's a challenge. And I think that you can understand that. It's very challenging, right, to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ in light of the many factors that we have to endure in this world prior to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ when he will make all things new and there will be a new heaven and a new earth and all things previous will be purged with holy fire. But there's a third element, so there's that element of command, there's the element of challenge, but you might not have considered it as well as a cheer, because you and I in Christ Jesus are more than conquerors. And so we need to look at this verse, yes as a command, yes as a challenge, but yes also as a cheer. That the Lord is with us, the Lord has given us everything we need in order to obey him in growing in Christ Jesus. So I'd like you to think about personality testing and then Of course, I'm gonna apply it to the fact that Jesus Christ has his own personality testing for each and every one of us because we're so different, right? And so this call to growth is tailor-made for you and for me because he intimately knows you and he intimately knows me. And so when we think of the personality testing, you know it's used in a wide range of contexts, including individual relationships, counseling, clinical, psychology, career counseling, employment testing. And what does it do? It measures the characteristic patterns, the characteristic patterns of traits. that people exhibit across various situations. And so as far as the Lord working in our hearts and working on our personalities, it codifies our strengths and weaknesses, it assesses that human personality at its deepest, deepest level. So no one in this room, No one in worship this morning is exempt from this command, this challenge, and this cheer. No one is invalidated in any way from obeying this command of the Lord. But the Lord, in this personality testing of his people, has established his church, has established his church as the pillar and foundation of the truth. And so we're going to experience that testing that James talks about in James chapter 1 verses 2 to 4. We're going to be tried. And so the Lord is going to deal with our instability. He wants to make us more and more stable. in Christ. He's going to deal with our ineffectualness. So he's going to bring the word to bear to our hearts. He's going to deal with the immaturity that we have. Yes, I said immaturity. And it doesn't matter how long you have been a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, you grow. Yes, you are going to be more advanced in your understanding of God's word than those who have just become believers. But there's areas of our lives that we haven't even dealt with yet. And the Lord knows all of them. And the Lord deals with it. And, you know, we have to be malleable in his sight. in his hands because we're being molded and we're being shaped into his image. But he deals with us, and I'm thinking especially of those painful experiences, the losses, the sorrow. It's like we're on the anvil of the affections of Christ, and he's molding us and shaping us into his likeness. So he's meeting us at the seat of our emotions. That's personality at the deepest level. So, but grow, he tells us. Now, we've all been justified, we've all been made perfect in the sight of God because of Christ, righteousness, and sanctified. We need to remember that we talk of sanctification in essentially two different ways. The scripture does. Positionally, we are made like him. we are set apart and made holy. And that's a definitive absolute sanctification. But scripture, and we commonly use it in the progressive sense, that we need to keep dealing with the remaining corruption that we have yet in our hearts. And we repent. And because the scripture says not only that you are perfect in Christ, but you are to be perfect. And so we are going to strive like the Apostle Paul. It's like he's saying, I'm striving for perfection, knowing full well that on this side of eternity, I cannot attain it. But he keeps going. Another way to say that is he keeps growing in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it all hinges on our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. When we speak of Jesus Christ as Redeemer, we're speaking of him as our prophet, as our priest, and as our king. And so we are told in Colossians chapter 3, we're told in Ephesians chapter 4, to do what? To put off the old man and to put on the new. We are created again in Christ. We are to put on the new self in knowledge, in righteousness and holiness. And so in the context of which what Peter is referring to, he's talking about the sinful desires of those who do not know the Lord, do not love the Lord, do not submit to the Lord, verse four, how they're twisting the scripture, distorting it, verse 16, and how they are doing whatever they want to do. They're exercising their wills and not submitting to the truth of the Lord, verse 17. So the Lord Jesus Christ has come, and he has come in our likeness, and that means he fulfills all righteousness. So when we look at ourselves, we're looking at ourselves as having those essential parts, those three parts, right? So we have the mind, we're thinking beings, we have the emotions, we feel, and also we have wills, we exercise our wills. And we know that only in Christ is that restoration brought about and we are called to put on the new self in Christ Jesus, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, in every aspect so that our minds now can be rightly informed, our feelings can be rightly informed, and our wills can be rightly informed. And scripture speaks of this in ways that we don't even really think about unless it's pointed out to us. Speak the truth, right? Well, that's the truth. Well, that's not the whole verse, is it? Speak the truth, use your mind, but use the right emotion in love. Speak the truth in love. Be hearers, be hearers of the word. How could you go wrong with that? Be hearers of the word, but not just hearers, you have to exercise your wills. You have to be doers of the word. we're told not to be tossed about by every wind of doctrine. So you're basing all the decisions that you're making on your emotions. And so one verse that really ties all three together so beautifully is that what Jesus Christ said, if you love me, the emotional aspect, you will keep the exercising of our wills, my commandments, that is, how we comprehend using our minds, using our thinking, what the Lord Jesus Christ has said to us in his holy word. So I'd like to look then now at the second point. But grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And again, we're dealing with our own instability, we're dealing with our own ineffectualness, and we're dealing with our own immaturity. And these things crystallize as we grow. The Lord, through his spirit, through his word, brings them to the surface, if you will, that they may be addressed. and that they may be repented of, and that we might move in a way which is pleasing to the Lord. So the second point of the message really emphasizes what we looked at in our first reading with Moses. Moses prays this prayer because, of the judgment, the discipline of the Lord that came down on the Israelite community for worshiping, false worshiping, right? For the sin of worshiping the golden calf. And so Moses, with great fear and trepidation, goes before the Lord and says, Lord, you must go with us. And if you don't carry us up from here, don't bring us, don't bring us. And so it's that kind of spirit that we need to possess as we move forward in looking at this passage. So the second question that I would ask you this morning is, am I using the provisions for growth? So this is a daily feeding on Christ for nourishment and exercise. that we might be sustained in his super abounding grace and knowledge. And that's why we are called to grow in his grace and in his knowledge. So I'd like to think about this under the idea of spectacles, glasses, And you have lenses that are held before your eyes. And look at those lenses as grace and knowledge. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the knowledge of the Lord. And they both advance together in our life. So we are asking the Lord for his grace continually. What does grace do? Well, with the eye of faith, grace directs us to the giver. God is inclining himself and continually inclining himself toward us in the Lord Jesus Christ with his undeserved love and favor. And so what encouragement that is for us. There might be a reference here to growing in the graces of the Lord. which indicate the beauties and the excellencies of Christian character. However, they really don't change the overall meaning here. That with the daily increasing capacity that the Lord has begun within us through the spirit and through the word, there is a daily progressive transformation a daily increasing possession of the gifts of his grace. So grace, we pray for grace and that daily. We pray also for the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And with the eye of faith, where does knowledge direct us? Knowledge directs us to its object. to applied knowledge. It literally means applied knowledge. But only, we know that this applied knowledge is only as accurate as the relationship it derives from. And so we must, again, fix our focus upon the Lord Jesus Christ and upon him alone. Another encouraging aspect of this is that we know that the seed has, we have become born again, right? So we know we have the seed or germ within us, and this call to growth is not something we have to run and find. You know, go to this preacher, go to that preacher. Oh, I want to go to that conference. It's not that at all. We have that new birth within us. And so as we submit, using the means of grace, we find ourselves growing. Think about a baby growing in the womb, right? At no point is that, can we say that's not a baby, right? And so Christ in you, the hope of glory, Paul says, that's been implanted in us. It's like the DNA is within us. And so we grow, that's a great encouragement for the people of God. So there's this expanding transformation going on as we yield to the word of God and to the Holy Spirit. And speaking of the word of God and the Holy Spirit, we can talk of those two aspects of this message as the actual framers of the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. They hold the lenses, like my lenses, my frames hold the lenses before my eyes continually, no matter where I turn. So it's the Word of God that the Lord has given us, and it's the Holy Spirit that has been sent by the Lord Jesus Christ, both of which are directing us to the grace of Christ and the knowledge of Christ. So there are these two provisions, two catalysts, both of which are living and active. The Word of God frames for us the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ before our eyes. The Holy Spirit frames the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ before our eyes. And so we have these two major dispensers of grace and knowledge, the Word and the Spirit. So let me just say a few things about the word of grace and knowledge. Jesus Christ himself said, come unto me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, I will give you rest, take my yoke upon you and learn of me. For I am meek and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. So we are enrolled in the school of Christ. We are submitting to the word of God in Christ and it is vital to the healthy growth that we are being called upon here to exhibit in Christ. His word is action. So when we look at our word, you know, I might say something and then not do it. I mean, there's a great divide between our word and the doing of what we say we're going to do. Well, not so with God. God sends out his word. It accomplishes what it was sent out to do. And so that's what an amazing aspect of our God to consider, especially as we're asking for the word to come and be effectual in our hearts this morning, that he accomplishes what he sends it to do and may, and then, Lord, do work in that way in my heart. So we must take great care that we don't fail to see in all of scripture the Lord and Savior of our souls, like the two on the way to Emmaus on Luke chapter 24, How their hearts were inflamed with love for the Savior. I say this because I'm not sure if you realize our third president of the United States of America had a secret. He had his carefully edited version. of the New Testament. And what he did is he took, he assembled one Bible, New Testament, from four different translations. And it's displayed even now at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. But what he did is he excised all the passages that referred to Christ, and not to Christ, but to his deity, and to all of the miracles that he performed. He did not believe them. You see how he's relying on his own knowledge, his own experience, and how he goes astray. So he has this edited version of the New Testament that is devoid of the deity of Christ. And he mentioned the deity of Christ and the miracles that he and his disciples performed. So he destroys the very dispenser of the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. How awful. How awful is that? So we realize then that the word is the word of the shepherd of our souls. And so it is the word that takes this tailor-made plan for you and for me and applies it with great power. Remember that as we submit to the word of God, we realize it is living, and active and sharper than any double-edged sword. It reproves, it corrects, it encourages, it comforts us in Christ Jesus. So the second dispenser or catalyst of the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ is the spirit of grace and knowledge. Jesus himself said, I will not leave you as orphans, I will send my spirit and he will lead you into all truth. So we read in 2 Corinthians chapter three, verses 17 to 18, let me just read that. 17 to 18, now the Lord is the spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. And the Apostle Paul isn't trying to confuse us here. If you think about what he says in Romans chapter eight, verses nine to 10, I think it clarifies it. to a large degree where he talks about the spirit of Christ being in you, and then in another verse, he said the spirit of God, and then another verse, the spirit of Christ, and then another verse, and if Christ is in you. And so this really does speak of how the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and by the Son to glorify the Son and to make His work known to the believer. And again, what great consolation for us, what great comfort that brings to our soul that the spirit of the Lord is within us. So we must take great care then that we do not deny in any way the person of the Holy Spirit. I say that because sometimes we overreact to those that go too far the other way in speaking about things that the Holy Spirit did previously, before the closing of the canon, and to confirm the miracles that the apostles were performing, and rightly so. we would say, no, that does not continue. But then you go so far the other way that you fall in a ditch on the other side. And so what you're doing is something that is detrimental to your own health and to your own growth. But to realize that the person of the Holy Spirit is powerfully at work within us, and we rely on the Holy Spirit to understand the very Word of God that we're reading or that is being preached and proclaimed. And so we see that in a similar fashion as the Word of God, applying this tailor-made plan, so too the Holy Spirit is implementing and encouraging us. He is the spirit of the shepherd of our souls. And so we submit to the spirit of God. We keep in step with the spirit. We pray in the spirit and we put on the fruit of the spirit. So there's one more aspect of this verse. but grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That we'll look at, and it's that last portion. And so what you can ask yourself this morning is, well, am I really resembling the Lord Jesus Christ more and more? Am I achieving the goals set forth in this verse? Um, growth has a great purpose of directing us in our relationship with the Lord to the inner sanctum, if you will. Um, so close, so close, um, that as it were, you, you, you can't get any closer. Um, and, and so you're in that inner sanctum of, of the Lord beholding his glory, um, in Christ Jesus. And so we see his holiness and we experience his love. And so those goals, and I see three in number here. The first is our reciprocal roles. Are we growing in our reciprocal roles? Two, Lord and Savior. These are titles. that the Lord Jesus Christ has. And so when we think about our reciprocal role to him as Lord, what am I saying? Well, when you consider the Lord, you're considering obeying him, falling on your face before him as a servant. And so you need to see that aspect of your life growing, that servant aspect. But it's servant Lord, right? So it's servant friend that we experience more and more as we talk face-to-face with God through Jesus Christ. You cannot have Jesus as Savior and not have him as Lord. We grow in that Lordship. And the thief on the cross had very little time left to advance in sanctification, but he clearly embraced the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And the second aspect of that is our reciprocal role to him as savior. And so we see ourself as a sinner. I mean, how could you see him as savior if you don't acknowledge that you're a sinner, right? But sinners that are saved, saved sinners in other words, who are on display for the Lord. which leads to the second goal, the corresponding transformation, the transformation. If we really know him as Lord and Savior, we're going to experience transformation within our lives, we really are. Paul cried out in Philippians 3, verses 10-14, with the emphasis, I want to know Christ, I want to know Him, and I want to know of the power of His resurrection. And so that has to be present, that has to be present in our lives, and that has to be growing. So we know him as Lord, we know him as Savior, and that has that element of being a servant, friend, a saved sinner. and a transformation that experiences what the Lord Jesus Christ so willingly is going to give us as we approach him. The experience of his resurrection power to transform us and to help us in every trial, in every tribulation, in every false teaching that comes down the line. The Lord is committed to helping his people, giving them the grace and the mercy and the love that they so desperately need. The third goal is our reasonable service or our act of worship for our Lord and Savior And just think about Peter, and I know you know the passage so well. Peter sinned against the Lord. He fell away denying that he knew the Lord. That was foretold, and when it happened, it all came back, and he just cried before the Lord. And the Lord had told him, when you are restored, strengthen your brothers. And so after the Lord rose from the dead, we see Peter's growth. He, of all people, knew what this verse meant. Peter's growth in his repentance, in his increase, his progress, his maturity, his stability, right, in the Christian life, in the relationship that he had with the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's a wonderful example for what it means to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There is a song that I listen to, I wouldn't necessarily promote the song, but one of the aspects of the song, one of the lyrics, one of the verses really struck me because he says in this, it's like a poem, right, put to music, give me rules, I will break them. Show me lines, I will cross them. I need more. than a truth to believe. I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes to sweep me off my feet." Isn't that amazing that if what this writer meant is that I need to deepen my understanding of the grace and knowledge of Christ, I need to draw near to him and be close to him and cling to him like Moses did to the Lord, you know? Don't carry me up from here if you're not going to go with me and be near me always, right? But how beautiful that is. It looks like Jesus Christ, a truth that lives and moves and breathes and sweeps me off my feet. It's a relationship. It's a relationship. When Christ warned the church at Ephesus, right, in Revelation chapter 2, He said, you've abandoned your first love, right? And it's like they needed to hear this, this line from the song. I need a truth that lives, breathes, lives, moves, and breathes to sweep me off my feet. A return to the way they loved him and the people of God before. Again, another wonderful way to be encouraged as we begin this new year. Growth is nothing less than the design of Christ to beautify his body. And I would just encourage you, as I would encourage myself, to be more eager. a more longing desire to be used of Christ to beautify his people. We don't want to neglect our own tailor-made growth plan, if you will, from God. We don't want to have anything impede that. We want to grow. We want to give honor to Christ. But we know that he is jealous for his own name. He's jealous for his church. And so really, we can update Moses's cry with that New Testament version, if you will. If the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, through his word and spirit does not go with us, carry us not up from here this new year. Let's join our hearts in prayer. Gracious Heavenly Father, we pray that you would take the simple words of this message and bring it to that point of application in our hearts by your Holy Spirit. We pray that you would grow us into the likeness of your one and only Son, Jesus Christ, and that we, O Lord, would honor you in all that we think, do, and say, for we do ask it in the wonderful name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.