If you'd like to follow along,
I'm going to be in 2 Peter. 2 Peter, and I'm just gonna read
three or four verses here from 2 Peter chapter one. Beginning in verse eight. For if these things be in you
and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he
that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off,
and 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 ye do these things, ye shall never fail. Four, so
an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's my title, Lord and Savior,
Lord and Savior. Four times, and we're gonna look
at them here in a little bit, four times this expression, this
double title of our Lord Jesus Christ is used in 2 Peter, four
times. There's only three chapters in
the book, but it's used four times. I think that makes this important. Well, it's important if he only
says it once. Because it's still true. It's
true. Somebody asked that question,
how many times does God have to say something to be true?
Once. Once. This is the word of the
Lord that we have been given. It's true. And every man's a
liar. But this is true. But I was,
when I read this, I was thinking of that statement that Henry
was fond of relating of Rolf Barnard's. He was at a place
and they sang that song, Jesus saves, Jesus saves. And Rolf
Barnard got up and said, no he doesn't. Jesus doesn't save. It's the Lord Jesus who saves. But I reckon everybody went,
when he first said that. But that's the truth. It's the
Lord Jesus who saves. Call upon the name of the Lord
and thou shalt be saved. That's what it says. And wait
a minute, folks. That's also what it means. Peter
here is correct. Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. Both, both. Now the other places,
well, Let's just read verse 11 again. For so an entrance shall
be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom
of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Second Peter 2.20 says
this. For if after they have escaped
the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome,
the latter end is worse than the beginning. 2 Peter 3 and 2 says this, that
ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before, by
the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles,
of the Lord and Savior. And then 2 Peter 3, 18, but grow,
grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. To him be glory both now and
forever. Amen, amen. Oh, I like that. But first, I just wanna start
with a few facts. This will be absolutely, today
will be nothing new. It's all old stuff. It's all
true stuff, but it's all old stuff. But here it is. Jesus
Christ always was God. Jesus Christ always is God, and
Jesus Christ shall always be God. Take a look at John chapter
one if you got a problem with that. The word was made flesh
and dwelt among us, but that word was with God, and that word
was God. When? From the beginning. Like
I said, this is nothing new. Nothing new. Jesus Christ is
Lord from the beginning. Also look at the message given
to the shepherds when they were watching their flocks on the
day Jesus Christ came down to this earth. It says in Luke 2.11,
for unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior. But he didn't stop there. He
didn't stop there. Which is what? Christ the Lord. He's Lord and Savior. Lord and Savior. Now, the wise
men asked where is he that's born King? Well, he was born
King. But he was also born Lord and
Savior. The Christ, the anointed one,
the Messiah, the chosen one. Lord and Savior, Lord and Savior. Oh, I like that. 1 Timothy 3.16 says that without
controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest
in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached
unto the Gentiles, and believed on in the world. And received
up into glory. What? Both Lord and Savior. God manifests in the flesh. Oh, he humbled himself and took
on, took upon himself. I can't comprehend that, but
God became man. You said the other day, Walter,
Ain't no way man can become God, but God became man. But God becoming man was still
Lord and Savior. You understand? He didn't leave
behind any of his deity. He just didn't show it to everybody.
Told everybody, red hair and black and white. And you know
what, people still don't believe it. Still don't believe it. Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior,
listen folks, whether we know him or not. And a matter of fact,
I'll tell you this, he always has been. Let's look back in
the Old Testament, just for a minute. Isaiah chapter 43. Verse three. For I am the Lord
thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for
thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. You understand? The
Lord is the Savior. No one else. And that Holy One
of Israel, that's the Christ. The anointed one. Born this day
is what? A savior, which is Christ the
Lord. Oh my goodness. This is nothing
new, folks. This is nothing new. Verse 11
says this. I, even I, am the Lord, and beside
me there is no savior. You know why? Because he's it. He's the savior. The Lord is
the Savior. So if he's Lord, he's gotta be
Savior. And if he's Savior, he's gotta be Lord. You can't separate
them. The Lord is the Savior. What
did he say? Verse 12, look, I love it. I
am declared and have saved. I have showed when there was
no strange God among you, therefore ye are my witnesses, saith the
Lord, what, that I am God. I'm the Lord and the Savior.
Oh my. What is it? Turn a couple pages,
Isaiah 45, verse 21. Tell ye and bring them near,
yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient
time? Who hath told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? And there is no God else beside
me. What am I? A just God and a Savior,
and a Savior. There is none beside me. What? Look unto me. and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth for
I am God and there is none else. I've sworn by myself the word
has gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return it unto
me. Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say in the
Lord have I righteousness? and strength, and even to him
shall men come, and all that are incensed against him shall
be ashamed. In the Lord shall all the seed
of Israel be justified, and shall glory. I like that, I do. Last one in the Old Testament
here. Isaiah 60 and verse 16. excuse me, thou shalt also suck
the milk of the Gentiles, and thou shalt suck the breast of
kings, and thou shalt know that I, the Lord, am thy savior. And thy redeemer. The mighty one, and I like this
part, the mighty one of Jacob. Jacob needed a savior. He's the
holy one of Israel, it says here he's the mighty one of Jacob.
Who's got the power in this relationship? It ain't us. Bad English, but
it's true. It's not me, it's not you, it's
not any other human being in the world. He's the Lord, he's
the Savior. What'd he say? I've declared.
You know what salvation takes, folks?
It takes the word. from God. It don't take the word
from you. It'll produce some words from
you. But it doesn't take your word,
it takes the word of God. When he declares, he's saved. Oh my, Lord and Savior. Now what's
it say here in verse 11 of 2 Peter 1? It says, our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ, has a everlasting Kingdom That's the word eternal I'm gonna
tell you some folks that's the word perpetual It's not that
he's going to have an everlasting kingdom No, no, he's got one
He's got one. He's always had one. You know,
why? Said early he was born King and
He was king before he got here. He was king when he got here.
He was king when he ascended. And now he's seated at the right
hand, I'd say it again, he's seated at the right hand of the
majesty on high. And what's he doing up there?
He's being Lord and Savior. He is ruling and reigning and
declaring your salvation. Oh, I like that, I like that,
I do. You understand? And here's the thing. Believers
are ministered into his everlasting kingdom. It was there already. We're put into it. We're put
into it. And how are we put into it? By
him. Who? The king. The king. The kingdom of our Lord and Savior.
We are subjects of his kingdom and he is our Lord God. What? The just God and the Savior. Oh, I like that. And we've been
given, what does it say? Abundant entrance. Abundant entrance. For so an entrance shall be ministered
unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh, I like that. Hebrews 2 and
10 says this, for it became him for whom are all things and by
whom are all things in what? Bringing many sons unto glory. I'm gonna tell you something,
that's an abundant entrance. You understand, if the king brings
you in personally, that's an abundant entrance. Oh, I like
that. You understand? Because it's
the good shepherd that finds his sheep. I don't find his lost
sheep. I preach. And that's it. The good shepherd has to find
his sheep and he has to put them up on his shoulders and he brings
them in. Oh, it's an abundant entrance. Oh. bringing many sons unto glory,
what? To make the captain of their
salvation perfect through sufferings. It's his work, folks. Why? He's Lord and he's Savior. He's Lord and he's Savior. Oh
my. An entrance has been ministered
abundantly into his kingdom by him. by him. Oh, I like that. Because our
Lord and Savior brings his people into his everlasting kingdom. Mm, I like that. Abundantly. You understand, if he's got to
bring you into his kingdom, you're never gonna get out. You don't
wanna. I don't want to. I don't wanna. I like being in Christ. I wish
I understood it better. I'm gonna say something. I wish
I felt it more. I can't go by feelings, but I
like to feel it sometimes. It's the way we are. We're human
beings. But here's the thing. You can
always believe it. Believe it. Oh, why? Because
you believe him. Now, 2 Peter 2, 20. For if after
they've escaped the pollution of the world through the knowledge
of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are entangled, they're
in and overcome, and the latter end is worse than the beginning. Let me tell you something. Believers
are given, given the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ. You understand, I said earlier,
great is the mystery of godliness. And it is totally, and here's
the thing, folks, it is totally unknowable to the natural man,
to man as he is born. We must be born of God, born
from above to know our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. You can't
enter the kingdom of God without being born from above. You can't
even see it. No man can see it unless he's
been born again, born from above. Listen, don't take my word for
it, Let's look at 1 Corinthians chapter two. How be it we speak wisdom among
them that are perfect, this is verse six. yet not the wisdom
of this world nor of the princes of this world that come to naught.
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden
wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory. Why? Because he gives us a bit
of his. Understand, if you've got Christ, you've got glory.
It ain't your glory, it's his still, but which none of the
princes of this world knew, for had they known it, they would
not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written,
I hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the
heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that
love him. Some people like to stop there
and say, oh, you can't know, you can't know. I've been in
places where they did that. But if you read the next verse,
This is verse 10, but God hath revealed them unto us by his
spirit. For the spirit searches all things,
yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things
of a man save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the
things of God, what, knoweth no man but the spirit of God. Now we have received not the
spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that
we might know the things that are freely given to us of God,
our Lord and Savior. And here's the nice thing, which
things also we speak. It's okay to talk about God if
you know God. You understand? If you know the
Lord and Savior, it's good to talk about your Lord and Savior. Which things also we speak, not
in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy
Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. And here
it is, folks. But the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God. I was listening to a sermon on
the way up here. I already had this down. The Henry Mayhem. Talking about, thank you, Lord,
for you have hid these things from the wise and the prudent
and hath revealed them unto babes. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God. Why? Why? Is it because they're
stupid? No, no, even though they might
be. Is it because they're too smart?
No, I don't think that's possible. No, it says, the natural man
receiveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness
unto him. They're not foolishness, but
they're foolishness unto the natural man. Neither can he know
them because they are spiritually discerned. That's not your spirit,
that's the Holy Spirit. For he that is spiritual judges
all things, yet he himself is judge of no man. For who hath
known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have
the mind, and that word is the understanding of Christ. How's that possible? Verse 30
of chapter one of first Corinthians says this, but of him, speaking
of God, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. That's the spiritual man right
there. of God are ye in Christ Jesus. Why? He is Lord and Savior. He is Lord and Savior. Oh my. This is ministered unto us abundantly. An abundant entrance into the
kingdom of our Lord and Savior. Isn't that something? Isn't that
wonderful? I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. That's a miracle of grace. And that's what salvation is,
is a miracle of grace from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh my. First Peter, or Second
Peter three and two says that believers have been given the
commandment of our Lord and Savior. by the apostles of our Lord and
Savior. What's that? Believe Christ,
our Lord and Savior, and love the brethren. That's what we
got, folks. That's our commandment. From
Christ, our Lord and Savior, believe him, trust him, learn
his word. Learn his word, and love the
brethren. Love talking to the brethren,
love being with the brethren. Miss the brethren when you can't
be here. Oh my. But you understand, this commandment
we've been given. Let me get up here. This is the commandment of his
love toward us, our Lord and Savior, for our love toward Him. He that is of God, heareth us. He that is not of God, heareth
not us. I can't make it any simpler.
The natural man cannot understand. The natural man will not understand. And the natural man does not
want to understand. And I can tell you that from
experience. Because I used to be nothing
but a natural man. And so did all of you. Understand, Saul of Tarsus, who
became Paul the Apostle, watched the cloaks of those men that
stoned Stephen for preaching the truth. And he says later
on, I was consenting unto the death of Stephen. And that stayed
with Paul for a long time, I believe. He said, I'm the chiefest of
sinners. And I know he was thinking partway back to that, among other
things. But you understand, Paul used
to be a natural man. And then the Lord met him on
the road to Damascus, And Paul saw the light and heard
the voice of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And Paul was never
the same. Well, Saul was never the same.
He got a new name, Paul. He was never the same. I wish I could keep his commandment
better. I wish I could love him more.
I wish I could trust him more. I wish I could love you folks
more. But I do love you. And I'm glad
to be here with you to try and worship God in spirit and in
truth, and to preach his word, to rejoice in his name. He's
our Lord and our Savior. I like that I do What's the last
one verse 18? But grow in grace and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to him be glory
both now and forever Amen We are to grow in Grace and in
the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is not what people
want to teach is progressive sanctification This is just not
being as dumb today as you were yesterday. I can put it that
close. I'm nowhere near as dumb or as
ignorant as I was 30 years ago. Now my body's in a lot worse
shape, but I'm not as dumb as I used to be. And I have grown
in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. What?
Because of his word. because of his preachers. I want to learn. I want to know
more of my Lord and Savior. We preach our Lord and Savior
and you hear our Lord and Savior, but the preacher claims no credit
for either because of the preaching or the hearing. John Newton wrote
it this way. I think Walter may have read
this last week. "'Tis thine," speaking of God, "'to teach him
how to speak. "'Tis thine to give the hearing
ear. "'Tis thine the stubborn heart
to break "'and make the careless sinner fear.'" It's the work
of God. "'Tis also thine, almighty Lord,
to cheer the poor desponding heart, to speak the soul-reviving
word, and bid the mourner's fears depart. I like that. I like that. If he doesn't speak,
we won't hear. But thank God, if he speaks,
he's promised that we'll hear. His people will hear. Those that
know God will hear us. Those that don't know God won't.
That's the way it is. Paul said, I think in Acts 23,
or 28, 23, there were those who believe the things that Paul
spoke, and those that did not believe, that believe not. What? Those very same things that Paul
spoke. That's the way it works. To some,
to some, we're the saver of life unto life. And the gospel is
the saver of life unto life. But to others, the very same
message, the very same person, the very same time, we're the
saver of death unto death. There are those who do not know
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. but rejoice if you do. Rejoice
if you do. And grow in grace and in the
knowledge because we are to grow. We're not to be static. We are
to see his grace in our life. We are to learn more of our Lord
and Savior Jesus Christ and by his grace, power, his love, his
spirit, his people do grow. And he the Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ is the reason why. It's not you. It's not me. It's
him. You understand, if it's something
good, it's always him. Now if it's something bad, it's
always you. It's me. You're no exception. I'm no exception. Oh, I like
the good stuff. We believers know him. But more
importantly, we believers are known of him. Oh, I like that
too. Because you understand, me knowing
he's my Lord and Savior is good. He knows he's my Lord and Savior. That's better. That's as good
as it gets, folks. He has proclaimed himself both
Lord and Savior. And you know what that means?
It means he's gonna rule, he's gonna reign, and he's gonna save. Call his name Jesus. What is
that? Savior. Why? For he shall save his people
from their sin. And that's what he's doing right
now. and to him, our Lord and Savior,
be all the glory, all the time, both now and forever. Here's
the conclusion. Our Lord and Savior is Jesus
Christ. And Jesus Christ has always been,
always is, and always shall be Lord and Savior, Lord and Savior. Believers know him, believers
love him, believers trust him, because our Lord and Savior is
our all in all. He's all we got. Thank God he's
all we need. Gus, this top lady put it this
way, I'll quit with this. Awaken. I like that word. Awaken to see the depth of my
fall. For mercy on thee I earnestly
call. Tis thine the lost sinner to
save and renew. Face mighty beginner and finisher
too. Oh, I like that. You understand. He's declared and he's saved. And right now, he's declaring
and he's saving. He's our Lord and our Savior. He is the Lord and the Savior. Isaiah said it way back when.
I'm the Lord, there is none else. Said another place, my arm's
not short that it cannot save. It's not. He saves just exactly
whom he will, when he will, and where he will. It didn't please
him to save Saul of Tarsus where Stephen was preaching. He saved
him sometime later. Oh my. And people have been in
churches where the gospel might have been preached, and you didn't
believe it at first. But I'm gonna tell you something,
when our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ speaks to you, you will
awaken to see your fall, the depth of your fall. Oh my, but
that's all right, because that's a good start. That's the way
our Lord and Savior works. He reveals a little bit to you,
of who you are and what you are. And then he reveals himself,
the Lord and Savior. When you heard the gospel of
your salvation, oh my, same gospel might have been preached to somebody
else who didn't believe it. But you did, when you heard it. You know why? It's because of
him, the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He's declared and he's
saved. Our Heavenly Father, thank you,
Lord, for all that you've done. We go through this world, some
of us have jobs, some of us are retired and have different jobs,
but Lord, Don't let us get too caught up in the world. Help
us to remember every day, all the time we can, that you are
the Lord and the Savior of your people. You rule your kingdom, you bring
them into your kingdom, oh my, and you teach us to love your
kingdom. In Christ's name, we ask for
more. Help us to grow into grace and
the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Help us to speak more
fully. Help us to hear more fully of
your grace and your glory in our life. In Christ's name, amen.