May it please the Lord to bless
us together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let us
turn to the second epistle of Peter, chapter one, and we'll
read the first four verses. The second epistle of Peter,
chapter one, and reading the first four verses. Simon Peter a servant and 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 ye might
be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust. Well, we're very thankful that
the Apostle Peter under the influence of the blessed spirit was able
to write his epistles. And the words that we read together
this evening should be very encouraging to the Church of God, because
he joins together the Church of God really with himself. And
it's an encouraging statement that he makes. We know Peter
was a man of God. We know Peter was wonderfully
blessed. He was a servant. He was an apostle. And he clearly knew that by the
work of the Spirit in his heart, And because of that, he's able
to join together the Church of God and to express that which
they will know in their heart if they are truly companions
with this gracious man. Simon Peter, a servant and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, as he says, to them that have obtained
life precious faith with us. Every true child of God without
any doubt obtains faith, living faith. We're told without faith
it is impossible to please God. But also as he makes this great
statement how wonderful it is to know and to realize our own
hearts that it is a very precious thing. It is indeed a very valuable
thing because all of us need to be blessed with this gracious
gift of faith, like precious faith with us through the righteousness
of God. I expect we're all familiar with
those words in the epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, which
the apostle speaks, how powerful they are when he comes and says
these words in the eighth verse of the second chapter, for by
grace are you saved. And how is that? Through faith. Faith is blessed, wonderful favor,
through faith, and that none of yourselves It is the gift
of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. We need to
be reminded continually that our salvation is for the honour
and glory of God. And because our salvation is
for the honour and glory of God, it's not of works. It's not something
that you and I have produced. It's that which the Lord God
Almighty has graciously given to us. And what a wonderful favorite
is and therefore how precious it is because it's not something
you and I can just run along and pick up. Almighty God gives
us this great gift of grace and we only have to read of course
as I'm sure you're familiar in the Hebrews of that great list
of Worthies who the Lord gave, wonderful faith to believe, faith
to do, faith to strengthen. It was all of faith and the apostle
when he wrote to the Hebrews he said, now faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. It's not
something that you and I can see tangibly. But it is something
that God gives to us. And it is something that we know.
It is something that we receive. It is something that we've obtained
by and through the righteousness of God and our Savior, Jesus
Christ. Surely brings this great subject
of the righteousness of the Savior Jesus Christ into a wonderful
perspective to realize that it is through this, through his
righteousness, that you and I obtain righteousness. And it's through
this righteousness that you and I receive the wonderful gift
of faith, this precious faith with us through the righteousness
of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. And so tonight may we
be able to look into our hearts, and there is a temptation of
course to belittle that which God has done. And the Lord does
give faith, some little faith, some great faith, but you and
I need a grain of faith to take us to glory. It's not the quality, it's not
the quantity, it is the quality. And that which God gives has
quality because it is precious, it is valuable, it's pure, and
it emanates from the Savior himself. So what a blessing tonight, if
you and I can truly rejoice in this great truth that clearly
Simon Peter could rejoice in, and lay it before the church
of God and lay it before us tonight. And having set this position,
he then comes and says, grace and peace be multiplied unto
you. Grace and peace. Well, we just
read of that grace in that second of Ephesians. And what a wonderful
gift that is. Again it's the free unmerited
favour of God. To think that God in eternity
past should have chosen us unto salvation. That we should be the unworthy
recipients of his grace and to be able to rejoice in it and
praise our God for it. be able to join alongside John
Newton who well knew the worth of it when he said, amazing grace
how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Well that applies
to the whole Church of God. It wasn't only John Newton that
was in that position. The whole Church of God walked
that path and recognized that it is through His grace that
they have been saved. And the grace of God brings into
our hearts the peace of God. Because until we possess the
grace of God, we are like a restless ocean. We perhaps feel and realize
we're lost and we're ruined in the fall. There's nothing good
in us that merits any esteem. There's no hope for us unless
almighty God should graciously show us his grace. And when our
God graciously shows us his grace, what does it do? It brings peace
because we have peace with God through our Lord and Saviour,
Jesus Christ. And as Peter goes on to say,
grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge
of God and of Jesus our Lord. And it is the wonderful knowledge
of God It is the wonderful realisation that Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world, as Paul said, to save sinners of whom I am chief,
and to have the recollection that the blessed Saviour did
come into this world to redeem his people from all their sins,
to stand in their place, to bear the punishment instead. What
a value is the death of the Saviour. How glorious indeed it is and
therefore surely this is a wonderful statement. Grace and peace be
multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and our Lord
Jesus Christ. Well it'd be a great blessing
tonight if you and I therefore can observe the blessed work
of God within us, which has revealed to us this wonderful knowledge. These things are revealed to
the Church of God. These things are what the Church
of God loves to have revealed, they long for, they desire. Because really, it's summed up
in the line of the hymn, to know my Jesus crucified by far exceeds
all things beside. The things of time are of little
value compared with the knowledge of our Saviour, Lord Jesus Christ.
And that knowledge is far more valuable, more precious than
gold, because it has an eternal situation. It's not something
that comes and goes, the things of time come and go, you and
I in time come and go, but the things of God are eternal, the
things of God are forever. And so what a blessing it should
be to us if the Holy Spirit, and it is a wonderful work of
the Holy Spirit to reveal Christ to our souls. That's the reason,
is it not, to praise our God and to receive peace within our
hearts, to think the Almighty God, and it's very humbling to
think the Almighty God, the ruler of the universe, should indeed
have so very graciously given us the vital knowledge of these
things. Yes, it's not just a knowledge
of no consequence. It's a vital knowledge because
it affects our eternal soul. And so tonight, what a mercy
if you and I can recognize that firstly, God has come and blessed
us with precious faith to receive the grace and peace of God. which is multiplied, expanded
in our soul. We rejoice, therefore, in this
great and glorious work, this great and wonderful plan, which
occurred way back in eternity, in a time before time. There was no time, of course,
in eternity past. Again, a mystery just too big
for us, too great for us. Yet how true it was, Father,
Son and Holy Spirit, those who were together, decided to choose a people, to
call a people, to elect a people, a precious people, a people who
the Lord would eternally bless, people to whom the Lord would
show his grace and peace and it would be multiplied in their
lives so that they were able to truly praise and thank Almighty
God. Well it is a great and glorious
truth and it's a wonderful blessing if in some small way you and
I can enter into the fullness of such truths because they are.
They are full. The fullness resides In Jesus,
our head forever abides to answer our need. Oh, what a fullness
there is. It'll never empty. It's always
there. And so the apostle goes on. According as his divine power
hath given unto us all things. It is the power of God. These things are through the
power of God. And it is a wonderful evidence
for you and me when the power of God is displayed in our hearts
to demonstrate to us what God has done and what God is doing. And to come to that great realization,
it is not of the flesh, Not of works, nothing that you and I
can produce ourselves. It is through his love and mercy
to award unworthy sinners. It is indeed the power of God,
according as his divine power. Yes, it's God-given power. which
comes upon us. It's not our power. It's not
something that we produce. It's divine power. And again,
another reason to be humbled before Almighty God that he should
dispense into our hearts, this great and glorious divine power. According as his divine power,
given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. You see the Apostle looks immediately
really beyond the things of this vain world to those things which
are eternal, the eternal life. which God has prepared for his
people. Indeed, as the Lord himself said,
I go to repair a place for you. And if I go to repair a place
for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, that
where I am there, ye may be also a gracious and glorious and wonderful
promise to the church of God. And when that promise is applied
by power from on high to our very hearts it produces that
peace of God which passes all understanding because we realize
that by his grace we have a good hope of eternal life through that pertain of him that
has called us to glory and virtue. Again, here we have the evidence
of this gracious work of God, with the evidence of the power
of God, because what has that done? It's called us from the
darkness of nature, it's called us from the darkness of death
into the glorious light of the everlasting gospel. And it is
the power of God. What does it do? It reveals Christ
to our soul as our all-sufficient Saviour, that One who went to
the end of the law for righteousness, that One who obeyed His Heavenly
Father in everything, that One who gloriously finished the work
that His Father gave Him to do. And so tonight Can we not praise
and bless God for such a statement as this? According as his divine
power hath given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness. We might say, Lord gives us everything
that is necessary. perhaps not everything that you
and I think is necessary, perhaps not everything that you and I
want, but nonetheless, the Lord graciously gives us and provides
for us. And everything that pertains
unto our spiritual life and godliness, there is nothing lacking. The Lord does not leave us. The
Lord does not forsake us. He draws near to us. It goes
with us, just like it was on that Emmaus road, wasn't it?
Those two disciples, oh, they were very sad, weren't they?
They couldn't understand what had happened. They were speaking
about the things that God and Jesus himself drew near and went
with them. What did he do? He opened to
them the scriptures. What did he do? He opened to
them their spiritual understanding. What was the effect? Did not
their heart burn within them as the Lord communicated to them
as he journeyed with them on that Damascus road and preached
unto them? Jesus preached unto them himself.
It was an amazing time. It was a wonderful blessing that
pertained unto life and godliness through the knowledge of him. and has called us to glory and
virtue. See, God calls his people, as
the doctors of nature, unto his glorious kingdom. He doesn't
call us just to be thrown aside. He doesn't call us just to be
dumped on the rubbish heap. He calls us to inherit glory
with himself. to be a partaker of heaven, to
rejoice in all that the Lord has prepared for his people to
enjoy down through eternity. I have not seen nor heard the
things that God has prepared for those that love him. So there is a wonderful and a
blessed future for the people of God. And having therefore
introduced it in this way, the Apostle Peter now comes down
to this fourth verse and he says, whereby, whereby, because of
these things, whereby, are given, it's important to remember
that, are given unto us, exceeding great and precious promises,
that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." Well,
as we read a word like that, surely we have to say to God be the glory, great things
he has done. And he hath done great things
in giving unto us exceeding great and precious promises. And sometimes
we're tempted to despise the day of small things. But you
know, in the things of God, there is really no small thing. Really,
they are all great things. They are great promises. They
are glorious promises. And we should be very, very thankful
for them. And be able to recognize this
great truth given unto us, exceeding great, precious promises. So never therefore think that
which God has given to you or to me as a promise is a small
thing. Because if it refers to our eternal
state, it refers to a spiritual state, it must be a and exceeding
great and precious promise. It's very valuable, isn't it?
Preciousness means it's valuable. Anything concerning our eternal
condition, our eternal state with God in glory must indeed
be precious and therefore it must be valuable and therefore
we must rejoice in it and Praise God for that which he's given
unto us. We are less than least of all
saints. We are not worthy of any notice
and yet this wonderful, great and glorious God has seen fit
to give us great and precious promises. That by these ye might
be partakers of the divine nature. The Lord gives us these promises
to establish us in the truth, to establish us in the knowledge
that he has indeed died for us upon the cross at Calvary. It's
not something which is nebulous, something which is not to know. Because when the Lord applies
his word, he applies the word with power from on high. And
it has a gracious and real and abiding effect upon us. And we
rejoice in it. And I thank God for it, that
it is a great and precious promise that we have a wonderful saviour
who has given his life to atone for our sins, all our sins, every
sin, doesn't matter how Black they may appear, the Lord atones
for everyone. We only have to go through the
word of God. We have those examples of Manasseh
and David himself and many other characters in the word of God
who carried out dire sins and yet God showed his love and his
mercy towards them and gave them great and precious promises. Let us never despise the day
of small things. Let us praise God for what he's
done, because there is our hope for eternity on that which the
Lord has spoken, that which the Lord has applied with power to
our heart. Great and precious promises,
that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, united
to Christ, no separation, in glory with him forever and ever,
partaking of this divine nature, not that which you and I have
produced ourselves, but that which we have been given. And because of that, and through
that, and through these blessings, as Peter says, having escaped
the corruption that is in the world through lust. Well, Peter
knew what he was speaking about. The saints of God know what they
have speak about, that they have escaped through the blessed work
of the Holy Spirit, the blessed work of the Saviour, finished
upon Calvary's cross, escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust. It means that God has blessed
each one of his children with godly repentance, which is not
to be repented of. Repentance for all their sins. They're able to say, I'm washed,
I'm washed. My sins are gone and I am washed.
And I am clean, clean in the blood of the Lamb. whereby are
given unto us them. Exceeding great and precious
promises, may we each one of us be able to look into our hearts
and find there the evidence of God's gracious, glorious, powerful
work setting before us our substitute, the wonderful Saviour, the Lord
Jesus Christ, so willing to give his life and to stand in our
place to suffer all incarnate God could bear with strength
enough and none to spare. Yes, what a savior we have. And so tonight, may we truly
be thankful for the great truth of the gospel. And as the apostle
Paul tells us so wonderfully in the Romans, for whom he did
foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. You can of course go on in that
20, in the eighth chapter of the Romans, give some wonderful
and beautiful words, but let us realize this great truth comes
to pass through the power of God in every soul. Yes, it does. And as the apostle
Paul tells us again, when he wrote to the Corinthians in the
15th chapter, verse 48, as is the earthly, Such are they also
that are earthy, and as is the heavenly, such are they also
that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image
of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. That's a thought perhaps which
is almost too great for us to comprehend. But let
us remember the Word of God is true. And so may we indeed have
this living desire to walk our lives closely to the Saviour
and to be blessed with that faith so they hold the promises of
God and may be applied to our soul so that we may go on our
way rejoicing in the grace of God and receiving that peace
of God which passes all understanding for his honour and for his glory. Well, may God bless us indeed. Amen.