We're entering into a series of messages from 2 Peter, and I trust we'll all find them beneficial as they go down deeply within our souls and make a difference through the sanctifying power of the Spirit of God. 2 Peter chapter 1 this evening, 2 Peter chapter 1. 2 Peter is the second letter of Peter to the suffering saints who were scattered on up into the north parts of the Roman Empire. He spoke to them back in 1 Peter 1, and there he identified them in the first verse as the strangers who are scattered. In other words, they are pilgrims who have been scattered by the providence of God into places like Pontus and Galatia and Bithynia and Asia. They're in a desperately difficult place. He's writing to them again. This second epistle, he says in Second Peter, chapter three and verse one, the second epistle I write unto you. And so it's to the same audience. This audience is a group of Christians who are enduring terrible persecutions, trials faced by the Christians receiving these letters are so great. Peter is going to call them fiery trials in first Peter four and verse 12. And so the first 11 verses of 2 Peter, the first chapter, provides a roadmap, really, that will allow these suffering saints to find some spiritual success. Verse 1, Simon Peter, a servant, an apostle of Jesus Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith with us. through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ, grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that's in the world through lust, Besides this, giving all diligence, add your faith virtue into virtue knowledge, into knowledge temperance, into temperance patience, into patience godliness, into godliness brotherly kindness, into brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. He that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you shall never fall. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let's ask the Lord to bless as we look into His Word. Now, Father, I pray that You'd use Your Word in our lives to work that sanctifying power. Lord, I pray tonight that You'd give liberty in the sharing of Your Word, and I do pray that You'd make a difference in some life as we apply the truths that we discover. For it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen. We're focused this evening on a passage that I believe provides success for suffering saints. Have you ever seen this particular poster? Back in 1939, a British propagandist, in fact, a number of British propagandists knowing that Nazi tyranny may soon bring its fangs to the people of Great Britain. They conspired together as to how they could encourage the British citizens to keep a stiff upper lip. In the midst of adversity, the thoughts of bombs being dropped on their homeland, how would they indeed keep calm and carry on? And so they came up with this poster. 2.5 million of these posters were printed, but they were never distributed. They were warehoused, and then during the war effort, they were pulped. and all but forgotten until back in 2000, a copy of this poster was found in the Barter Bookstore in England. Two and a half million of them had been published. One now had been found. In fact, 15 more of them were found and displayed on Antiques Roadshow. Not too long ago, one of them was sold for some $25,000. So if you come across one of these posters, hang on to it or sell it, very, very few are in existence. I think of this poster and I think of what must have gone through the minds of the British officers who were thinking about how to encourage their citizens during a desperately difficult time. This is what they came up with. Let me ask you. If you knew that your friends and your family members and your countrymen were going to endure great hardships, what advice would you give them? Would you design a poster that said, keep calm and carry on? Peter knows that the people receiving the letters that he has been inspired to write are going through very, very difficult times and fiery trials are in front of them. He does much more than design a poster. You'll note in 2 Peter 1 and verse 14, Peter acknowledges that he's coming to the end of his earthly journey when he says, I know that shortly I must put off this tabernacle, even as the Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. Back before the Lord's ascension, The Lord Jesus Christ, in talking to Peter, said, Peter, when you grow old, they're going to bind you and they're going to take you to places that you'd rather not go. Peter is now coming to the end of his earthly ministry, and he's aware that his time is running short. And so in verse 12, he says, Wherefore, I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them that should be established in the present truth. knowing that his time is short, knowing that his friends need to be encouraged because of the fiery trials that they're going to receive. Peter is writing to this group of people that have been spread up near the Black Sea in modern day Russia area. He is writing to them to encourage them to stand fast. Second Peter chapter three gives us the theme of this book to which we've turned this evening. The theme is simply this, grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If ever there was a passage that proves the inspiration of scripture. Second, Peter, Chapter one surely must be the passage. Second, Peter, Chapter one is a rich, deep. Meaningful. Passage that is encourages that encourages us to examine our faith, to examine our hearts and to draw near to the Lord. A deep and meaningful passage written by a man who had been a humble fisherman, whose educational background, no doubt, was quite scant. And yet in these first 11 verses of 2 Peter 1, the Apostle Peter is inspired by the Spirit of God to give a word of encouragement for those who are suffering. He reminds them of the supernatural gifts that they possess. He gives them practical steps for growth. along the pathway. He promises that their eternal gain is sure. In a world that is filled with formulas for success, let me suggest that 2 Peter chapter 1 provides a divinely inspired alternative. Every Christian ought to spend a large portion of time in this particular passage. Because in 2 Peter 1, there's a step-by-step success guide for suffering saints that's been provided for us. In the first four verses of this passage, Peter is going to ask us to consider our salvation. He's going to remind us in verse 1 that we have obtained like precious faith. It's not a hope-so salvation. It's not an I-think-so salvation. It's an obtained salvation. He's going to speak, beginning in verse 5, about cooperating in the work of sanctification that the Spirit of God wants to do in our lives, giving all diligence at to your faith. He's going to focus, beginning in verses 9 down through verse 11, on the need to celebrate our glorification. When he reminds us in verse 11, an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Jesus Christ can be ours to enjoy. It's well been said. It needs to be said again. When it comes to our relationship to sin, we have this wonderful knowledge that in our salvation, We have been removed from the penalty of our sin. In the work of sanctification, we are allowed to be removed from the power of sin. And one day in our glorification when we see the Lord face to face, and what a day that will be, we will be removed from the very presence of sin. Peter is speaking of that in these first 11 verses, showing a pathway, if you will, for every suffering saint. He's writing to his friends knowing what they're going to endure and knowing that his life is short and knowing that he wants to remind them of these things. He speaks to them, as we discovered last week, about the wonderful gift of salvation that they have been given. Consider the gift of your salvation. Peter begins his second letter to the suffering saints with an eternal word of encouragement. These first four verses literally glow with gratitude. He says in verse one, you've attained like precious faith. In verse three, you've been given all things that pertain to life and godliness. In verse four, you have great and exceeding and precious promises. Peter is reviewing the foundation of our faith, the foundation upon which every believer stands. He is saying we have this common faith. We share this together. And it didn't come to us by our own efforts. Look at the end of verse 1. He says it's come through the righteousness of our God and our Savior. Through the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ our Savior. We have been granted salvation. I love the song that says, I hear my Savior say, thy strength indeed is small. Child of weakness, watch and pray. Find in me thine all in all. Jesus paid it all. That's verse one. We've obtained like precious faith through the righteousness of God and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus paid it all. There's much that we can unpack here. In fact, we began to do the work of unpacking last week in this text. He is telling us that we have this like precious faith and that this like precious faith was given to us freely. You have obtained it. That's a very interesting and important word in this text. You haven't earned it. You've obtained it. It's something that's been given to you by the grace of God. For by grace are you saved through faith. It's not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. All the money in the world and all the works that you would try to accomplish can never earn for you your salvation, yet you've obtained it. And you've obtained it through the wonderful work of Jesus Christ our Savior. And that faith is given to us impartially. It is a like precious faith. The specific word that Peter is going to use here means that the faith that you have and the faith that Peter has are the same. The same in worth, the same in value, the same in honor. That's an enormously amazing thought. You have the same faith. Now, it may not be in as great a portion, but it's as pure and holy, as valuable and worthwhile as the faith that Peter has. Matt Barfield and I were speaking recently about our visits to Myanmar. When you visit in Myanmar, you visit among a very humble people, especially in the Chin Hills. When you come, it's very evident that you are a guest. You don't look like the people there. You're usually a whole lot bigger than the people there, but the cap is one of the biggest people in his hometown. And when it's time for a meal, it's very interesting. The natives of that region, the Burmese people, find themselves very ill at ease sitting at the table with a foreigner, not because they're unfriendly or unkind, but because they don't feel worthy. The humbleness of their spirit and the shame of their culture causes them almost immediately to jump up and run away rather than sit across the table and talk with you at dinnertime. Have you ever thought of your faith as compared to one of the apostles or a great Christian leader that you've read about or met along the way and thought, I have so little? And that humility of spirit is God-blessed. But folks, you have so much. You are a common recipient of this great and glorious eternal grace. We have obtained, and it makes us all equal. We have obtained the same precious faith that Peter is enjoying, and it's given to you personally. Faith comes through the knowledge, he says, through the knowledge of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ, verse 2. And we noted last week, and it needs to be noted again, this word knowledge means experiential knowledge. It's not just a head knowledge. It's an experiential knowledge that brings to you this confidence of salvation. Folks, there are churches that follow a pattern of passing the faith along from one generation to another. At least they assume they're following a pattern. I call it assumptive faith. In infancy, a baby is baptized. In childhood, a child is catechized. And then somewhere around the time of 12, 13, or 14, they become a communicant. There's only one thing missing. There's no profession, no personalization necessary to become a communicant, a so-called member assumed with faith of the church. But the word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ says in John chapter three, you must be born again. It's not enough to be baptized and catechized and become a communicant. And that's exactly what Peter is saying when he says, grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge, this experiential, personalized knowledge that you have of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord. which is given to you so you have obtained this same faith that is in the apostles, it's now in you." He's speaking of this light, precious faith. He's reminding us to consider this gift that all things pertaining to life and godliness have been given to us. That's verse 3. God supplies every believer. All that's necessary on earth and in eternity. God never short supplies anyone. And so when we go through our trials, His grace is sufficient. When we find ourselves financially short, He meets our needs. When we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we fear no evil, for He is with us. We have received all things, Peter says, that pertain to life and godliness. And oh, by the way, Then he says, when you're considering the great gift of your salvation, don't forget this. You have been given exceeding great and precious promises, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises. Remember I said, here is a passage that is a veritable proof of the inspiration of the Bible to think that Peter, a humble fisherman from Galilee, would be inspired of God to plummet such wonderful depths as He speaks to those of us who are here today. He puts us in remembrance of the things that He taught week by week, day by day, as He went about His apostolic journey. The Spirit of God uses these same truths to foundation us for the struggles that we go through. The promises of God change us into the very image of Christ. We become partakers of the divine nature. And watch it now, verse 4, they help us to escape the corruption that's in the world through lust. As we reflect on these gifts that have been given to us, given freely, given impartially, given personally, that all things pertaining to life and godliness have been given to me. What happens? God is doing a work in me, and that work draws me away from the lust of the world and draws me into the love of the Lord and the pureness of the fellowship that I can enjoy with Him. Our children, for many years, attended a Christian school where the playground was on land that had been used a hundred years earlier as a pigsty. I said, how do you know? Every spring you knew. Just asked my wife. The kids would come home from school having played in the playground and somehow what was below comes up. A hundred years later it's still coming up. I don't know about you, But I think it would have been good in the strategic plan of that church to put that playground somewhere else. Why? I just don't particularly care for the smell of a pigsty. And oh, by the way, when we come to appreciate the greatness of our salvation. How we were drawn from darkness into light, how we have been given this same light, precious diamond of faith that Peter would enjoy and would cause Peter to give his life in service for the Lord that he loved. How we recognize that that's been given to us impartially and personally. And we have all things that pertain both to earth and eternity, to life and godliness. Look what he says as he begins to drive it home. These things have been given unto you. So be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that's in the world through lust. We live in a generation that likes to live as believers ever so close to the world. After all, it would seem in many people's minds that the best person to witness to the world is one that can relate to the person of the world. That's not at all what's being taught in this passage. This passage is teaching that as you glow in your salvation, And as you grow in the knowledge of your salvation, those things of the world become more and more of a pigsty to you, and you want to escape those things of the world, those corruptions that are in the world through lust. But we hear arguments in our generation, but pastor, we live in the age of grace, and we need to make much of grace. And after all, isn't it true that when people start talking about holiness and Christian virtues and separation, Isn't that legalism? No, it's the love of the Lord in our hearts. That's what this passage is saying. And by the way, Titus chapter 2 says in verse 11 that the grace of God that brings salvation, the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us. What's it teach us? Listen, to deny ungodliness and worldly lust and live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age, looking for The coming of the great God and our Savior, Lord Jesus Christ, great, teaches us to avoid the lust of the world. And when we want to stand strong, Peter is counseling us this way, the Spirit of God is counseling us this way. Draw close to the knowledge of your salvation, glory in it, glory in the cross and what God has done for you, and you will find yourself escaping this present world and its lust. Now the Spirit of God is going to take a step further through the counsel of Peter. He's going to say, don't just consider the great gift that you've been given, but cooperate to grow in your salvation, cooperate to grow in your salvation. There's a tremendous transition that happens in verse five. Look at it, please. More than the simple conjunction of verse five, and. We see the words besides this. We could translate this this way, and now because of this, based upon this, in light of this, having considered what you have received in your salvation, let's move forward. In light of what you've received, now it's time to emphasize personal responsibility. You have received this, now you're responsible. Directives are about to be given in the next verses. Not to just anyone, but to those who have indeed found, obtained, enjoyed salvation through Christ. He says in verse 5, now in light of this, give all diligence to add to your faith. Moves from the gift now to growing. Moves from having received now to being responsible. He's about to talk about cooperating to grow in sanctification. You see, salvation is the gift of God that's been given to unworthy sinners. That's verses one to four. Sanctification, why, that's spiritual growth. And that spiritual growth is enjoyed by untiring saints. Give all diligence to add to your faith. I want to zero in on the word add there in verse five for just a moment. It's a very important word in this text. Every word is important. But the word add that Peter uses here is a uniquely Greek word. It's a Greek word that we get our word chorus from. So when you think of a choir, that same word in verse five is the word behind it. Epi chorigen, chorus. put together this choir. You say, well, I'm not very musical. That's OK. That's not exactly what's being implied by verse 5. Here's what's being implied. Wealthy Grecian citizens, in order for the rest of their community to enjoy Greek plays in the very best of settings, were called upon to sacrifice what they had in order to put together a grand chorus. They didn't lead the chorus. They just paid for the chorus. So when you went to a play, you may see on the marquee the benefactor of this play, the one who was responsible for putting together the grand chorus, the musicians who were going to sing, was this particular Grecian citizen. Your number would come up from time to time, and when it came up, you did your very best to really show the community how much you loved your community, how much you loved your Grecian arts and your heritage, and you put together a majestic chorus that would go along, perhaps, with one of the plays of Euripides, and they would sing it with all their might, and you would be the benefactor for the community. Now that's the imagery that Peter is calling on when he says, now you have the responsibility to add, so let's get it. He's speaking to those who are citizens, because only a citizen could be conscripted to put together a chorus. Only a wealthy citizen could afford to put together the chorus. And those wealthy citizens who put together the chorus would lavish attention on it, and many would be the benefactors of their work. Here's what he's saying. With every fiber of your being, with an understanding of the privilege that's been given to you, rejoicing in the fact that you're a citizen of heaven, Knowing that you have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness, get with it. Add to your faith. Chorus it together. Let it spring out of you. And so he's speaking to us about our responsibility. My, how we need to drill down on these verses. As he speaks, he says, supply, furnish, build. Now wait a minute, Pastor Phelps. I thought sanctification was the work of God. done in me to make me into the image of Christ. You're close. The definitions are very important. Sanctification is the work of God that He does in you as you cooperate to transform you into the image of Christ. It's not a matter of passivity. It's a matter of activity. You're not going to grow in Christ by passively sitting by and bowing your head like a monk and expecting some lightning bolt to hit you, and suddenly you come out looking like Jesus. That's not how it works. We're to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. It is God who works in us, Philippians 2 says. Work it out, but God works in me, yes? God is active, then I must be active as well. Colossians 2 says it this way in verse 6, as you therefore have received Christ, Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him. You've received Christ, now get with it. Walk in Him. My children paid for a family DNA analysis to be done on me. Praise the Lord I didn't come back with a criminal record. That was a good thing, but I found out that Michael Phelps is my sixth cousin. That's kind of cool to know that you're related to somebody that has 22 gold medals. Did you know that Michael Phelps is six foot four inches tall, but he has a wingspan of six foot seven? That's three inches more than the normal six foot four inch individual. He has size 14 feet, which become pretty good flippers. But the cool thing about Michael Phelps is his ankles are double jointed. So he's uniquely able to use his feet as flippers. When he exercises, he produces less lactic acid. That's what sports scientists have discovered. He produces less lactic acid than the average person. And he's able to endure a calorie intake on a daily basis of some 12,000 calories and not gain weight. Pretty amazing, right? So he's uniquely fashioned to be the winner of 22 gold medals. Oh, but by the way, he swam 56 miles a week. Oh, yeah. It's not just he has all this, it's what he did with it. That's exactly what the spirit of God is saying in this passage, giving all diligence. Get with it. The case is urgent. Wake up. Add to your faith. There's no room for laziness in the Christian walk. I love what Moffat said. Moffat said, some believe that the Christian life is just an initial spasm followed by chronic inertia. And so he said, no, it's not. It's not an initial spasm followed by chronic inertia. The Spirit of God commands every believer to get to work. These are imperatives. He says in verse 5, add. That's not a suggestion. He says in verse 10, wherefore the rather brethren giving diligence to make your calling and election sure for if you do these things. Again, not a suggestion, but rather an imperative. We look tonight at what Lenski is called the golden chain. Salvation doesn't come by living out this chain. Salvation has already come. Verses one to four. Since salvation has already come, Then you are instructed in this passage to organically and simultaneously be living out this golden chain of seven attributes that every one of us should memorize, should meditate on, and should seek to live out in our daily lives. Unlike the fruit of the spirit that the spirit produces in our lives, these are Christian characteristics you're called upon to work on. Have you memorized them? Have you thought about them? He says, add your faith virtue into virtue knowledge. The way this reads in the original language is they all build upon one another. You can't say, well, this week I think I'll work on brotherly love. No, no, no, no, no, no. They all interweave. So let's look at them one by one as we would cooperate to be sanctified, as we get with the program, as we would be active along the way. He begins by saying, add to your faith. How do I add it? I add it diligently. In fact, I give all diligence. I'm not lazy about this. I'm going to be a Christian who struggles mightily to add to my faith virtue. I'm going to use the word excellence, but you could also use the word Energy. It's the same word virtue that's used up here in verse 3. We've been called by God's glory and virtue. It's Christian excellence. It's an energetic cooperation with the work of the Spirit of God. It's focused in, some have said, this is a very difficult word, by the way, to translate over into our English vocabulary, but it's actually the idea of doing what God has planned for you to do, doing what God has produced for you to do. So as a cherry tree produces cherries, and as a cow produces milk, even so a Christian is supposed to be energetically involved in the pursuit of Christian excellence. This is what God has birthed you to do. So that Christian who has been birthed of God to do what God has planned for him to do is focused on worship. He makes much of worship. He's focused on obedience to God's Word. He lives to delight in prayer. Note, he says, add your faith virtue and virtue knowledge. This is some measure of expertise. But it's not speaking of head knowledge. In verse 6, he's speaking of that experiential knowledge, not just a theoretical knowledge. Now, this is interesting to me. We live in a generation of very literate American Christianity, and American Christians, when thinking of discipleship, typically will run first to the books. If I can gain a head knowledge, no, that's not what this chain is saying. This chain is saying if you have genuine faith, then there ought to be that characteristic of energetic excellence. First! And then knowledge, not head knowledge, but experiential knowledge. The kind of knowledge that gets its hands dirty and its feet in the mud. The kind of energy that moves forth in Christian expertise. the kind of person who's saying, I want to participate, not just sit back on the sidelines. And then he says, and with that, there's a matter of temperance. This is faith's exertion, faith's exertion. Literally, he's talking now about self-control, getting a grip on our passions, being self-controlled. Yesterday, we went to a Little League game. It was a lot of fun. Nearest at the Little League game was a little girl, and I would estimate she was 14 to 16 months old. She was coming over with sticky hands to greet my wife and my daughter. She was real sweet, happy to be out in the bright sunshine for a Little League game. And then it was time to leave. And just this quickly, that little girl went from being a happy, delightful little girl who was happy to be greeting everyone to a screaming child who needed some real help. How did that happen? She had no self-control. She's a baby. Her emotions flipped from here to here just that quickly. The Spirit of God is saying to you and to me, don't be that person. Faith's exertion, temperance, self-control, and with that will come patience. It will grow. out of that self-control, this patience that God loves, this ability, the Greek word is hupomone, it means to endure under, to remain under the stress of the conflict and the challenge even when it's difficult, to understand the adage, no pain, no gain, no sweat, no sainthood, to remain under, no perspiration, no sanctification, no discipline, no disciple, And in that battle, seek to know godliness. This is faith's embodiment. Having the image of Christ chiseled upon you, asking the question, what would Jesus do? With that, brotherly kindness. Face empathy. Let brotherly kindness continue. Being kindly affectioned, Romans 12, one to another. In brotherly kindness, preferring one another, until you come to the pinnacle. And isn't it interesting when you study the fruit of the Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is love. And even so, this golden chain of self-effort, of self-help, of sanctifying diligence, bears the same wonderful outcome faith's expression is seen in love. Benjamin Franklin, when he was in his 20s, put together a list of 12 virtues that he thought would be worthy of him considering even on a daily basis. And so for years and years throughout his life, he rehearsed his 12 virtues. The virtue of temperance and silence and order and resolution and frugality. He was rehearsing his virtues once with a Quaker from Pennsylvania. How he was working on temperance and silence and order and frugality. He'd been working on this list of virtues for many years, and the Quaker said to him, I have one for you to add. Oh, said Franklin, what would that be? The Quaker looked at him and said, humility. Franklin never had what would seem obvious in his list. Listen, what we have here is a perfect list that Peter has produced by the power of the Spirit of God. As he meditates, on the Christ with whom he fellowshiped during his earthly ministry. And he's saying to you and to me, if you would see yourself fashioned like the Savior, then think on these things, incorporate these characteristics into your parenting, into your life. In essence, the Spirit of God is saying this, if you will focus on being this, then doing comes easy. For if these things, verse 8, be in you and abound, they make that you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. He that lacks these things is blind. He can't see afar off. He's spiritually myopic. No time to really look at it this evening. We'll look at it as we gather again in the weeks ahead. But this list has a goal in mind, as we've considered the gift of our salvation in the first four verses. And we say, hallelujah. Then we come to the cooperation to grow in grace in verses 5 to 8, which leads to the point of celebration that is found, wherefore, the rather, verse 10, give diligence, making your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, what things? The things that are just spoken about. If you make that list part of who you are, you shall never fall. For so an abundance entrance will be ministered unto you into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Do this list if you want confidence of your salvation. When you wrestle with doubt and you wonder, am I truly a child of the king? Write down this list and work on it. You say, Pastor Phelps, are you actually promoting living life by a list? No, I'm not. The Spirit of God is. The Spirit of God has said, dear Christian, since you have this faith, add to it virtue, and the virtue knowledge, and the knowledge temperance, and the temperance patience, and the patience godliness, and the godliness brotherly kindness, and the brotherly kindness charity, and don't grade yourself this way. Well, I have pretty good self-governance, but I don't love people very well. No, no, no, no, no. This is an altogether wrapped up package. And every part of it, as it's assembled together, gives to us a wonderful gift, assurance of salvation, and a celebration in heavenly entrance. An entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly in the everlasting kingdom of our Lord. Can I give you an assignment this evening? Memorize 2 Peter 1, verses 5 to 8. Rejoicing in your salvation, get with the program. Ask the Spirit of God to build these things in you. I remember when nine coal miners were stuck back in the Kukik mine in Pennsylvania. Everyone was urgent to try to get them out. They thought they were going to die. After all, their mine shaft had been invaded by some 50 million gallons of water. The miners knew that their oxygen and their light would run out, so they took a piece of paper and they circulated among themselves and they wrote their last thoughts to their family members. Then they put it in a watertight container. Then they lashed each other to each other so that their bodies could all together be found. They thought they were going to die. By God's grace, they didn't die. They were rescued. No one ever read what they wrote. Peter wrote what God led him to write, knowing that his time was short. And he says to us as a congregation and to you as an individual believer tonight, all right, get with it. Add your faith. Put this list in your heart, live by it. And the promise, the incentive, why you'll be fruitful. And you will have an abundant entrance into heaven. Let's stand together, please, as we pray. Our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed this evening. Father, tonight We assemble in this place so thankful that You've given to us instruction in a world that has been so confused for so long by religious intent that often is evil. We pray that You would help us tonight to look in Your Word and find those truths that are stabilizing and rejoice in them. Lord, I pray this evening for someone who may be struggling in this place, to know the blessing of Christian confidence, that this evening your word would go down deeply in their heart, that they'd be convicted, to realize that it's not just a lightning bolt shining from heaven that makes an instantaneous difference, but it truly is a day-by-day diligence to be discipled by the Spirit of God. May we find ourselves convicted this evening as necessary, seeking to live for you in order to be fruitful, in order to enjoy an abundant entrance.