THEME SCRIPTURE:
2 Peter 1:3-4 (KJV)
[3] 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: [4] 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.
MESSAGE:
The fundamental difference between a mature and an infant believer in Christ, is the strength of their faith. An infant believer has weak faith, while a mature believer has strong faith.
The Just shall live by faith, but a believer with weak faith will break down in the face of daunting challenges. To live the triumphant Christian life, you’ve got to build your faith strong, and you can do so by taking note of what God has already done. Your faith is always strengthened when you recognize in God’s Word what He has already done. What God has done is always expressed in a past tense communication.
A typical example is our theme Scripture above. First, it says, God’s divine power “HATH GIVEN unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.” Notice, the Scripture didn’t say, “God’s divine power WILL GIVE..” His divine power HAS GIVEN! Faith says, “If God’s divine power has given unto me all things that pertain unto life and godliness, then, I have what it takes to live the godly and victorious life in Christ.” Second, the Scripture says it is done, “...through the knowledge of Him that HATH CALLED us to glory and virtue.” We’re not going to be called; He HAS CALLED us to glory and virtue! Faith acts on this reality and behaves as such. Third, the Scripture says, “Whereby ARE GIVEN unto us exceeding great and precious promises...” God isn’t going to give promises by which we can partake of the divine nature; He HAS GIVEN UNTO US exceeding great and precious promises; it’s your responsibility to receive what God has given. And when you receive God’s promises and act on them, you become a partaker of the divine nature. In other words, you live the God-life which is superior to the human life. Fourth, the Scripture says, “...HAVING ESCAPED the corruption that is in the world through lust.” Did you take note of the tense used? As a result of Adam’s lust to be like God, he brought the corruption of sin into this world, which further yielded other corruptions such as poverty, sickness, and death into this world. But by being partakers of the divine nature through the exceeding great and precious promises of God, WE HAVE ESCAPED the corruption that is in this world through lust.
Are you building your faith strong? Having been saved by grace through faith, it is your responsibility to build your faith strong by taking note of what God has already done. Call it done, if God says it is done!
