Living for God

2 Peter 1:1-8

To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

 ²Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

 ³His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

 ⁵For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I want to share with you some thoughts on this passage, along with a few stories with you from our time in Russia.

Verse 1 – Your faith is as precious as ours.  Paul and I want to thank you for your faith.  Through your prayers, emails, facebook messages, phone calls, your faith has encouraged us.  It would be impossible for us to recount every instance, because countless times your faith, your precious faith, has strengthened ours.  Each person in the body of Christ has a unique combination of gifts, experience, and insights.  Your faith is precious.  If you ever find your faith diminishing or wanting to take a holiday, get together with other believers and pray.  God will encourage your faith through the precious faith of others.

Now let’s look at verses 5 to 7, which list 8 aspects of living for God.

Faith

• The 1^st quality that Peter speaks of is faith.
• In case you don’t know, we just got back a few days ago from living as missionaries in Russia.  We lived in a large city of almost 2 million people, called Nizhny Novgorod – most people haven’t heard of it, although it is one of Russia’s 3 federal capitals.  You might have heard of its name during the 70 years of communism – Gorky.  More people are getting cars now, but most people get around on buses, trams, trains, and trolleybuses.  When our family first went to Nizhny, we accidentally got on the wrong bus.  We got lost plenty of times since, and it’s not such a big deal in the summer, but try to imagine what it’s like in the middle of winter.  On this wrong bus, we couldn’t see out of the windows at all – they fog up in the winter and get cleaned once a year whether they need it or not (ha!) so you literally cannot see anything at all except when the doors open if you happen to be standing near one.  When the buses are working the way there were designed, there are audible announcements of stops, but on this particular bus, there weren’t even muffled announcements, just silence.  Meanwhile, it started snowing heavily.  Suddenly everyone got off the bus, and the conductor told us we had to get off, too.  The 8 of us just stood there shivering, wondering what to do next.  We had no idea where we were or how we were going to get home.  In situations like these, God has really taught us how to pray – HELP!!!!  And as He’s done every time we’ve been lost or way out of our comfort zone, God sent us compassionate help, encouraged our hearts, and showed us what to do.  Our faith in God doesn’t grow when everything is routine.  God grows our faith by allowing us to be in situations that require MORE faith.  You’ve probably heard Johnny say that faith is spelled R – I – S – K.  A lot of times we don’t begin to turn fully to God until we’re in a really uncomfortable place in our lives, where we’re desperate enough to cry out to Him.  Hebrews 11:1-2 (The Message) says that faith is “the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living; faith is our handle on what we can’t see.”  God grows our faith; our part is to trust Him.
• A common theme in science fiction is “the butterfly effect.”  The name comes from the idea that something as seemingly insignificant as the fluttering of a butterfly’s wings could eventually have a far-reaching ripple effect on subsequent historic events.  As precious as butterflies are, God says that each person is infinitely more valuable to Him.  Our actions are far more influential than a butterfly’s, especially when it comes to faith and prayer.  Jesus said in Matthew 21:22, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”  If only one believer with total faith rises up, the history of the world will be changed.  Colossians 1:27 says that “Christ in you – is the hope of glory.”  Don’t underestimate the impact of Christ-in-you on the world.

Goodness

• The 2^nd quality that Peter speaks of is goodness.
• Goodness is “the best part of anything”.  God gives us His goodness – it’s one of the fruits of the Spirit – He gives us the best part of Himself.
• Psalm 23:6 – “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” (Psalm 22:6 Russian)  A friend of mine has two small dogs.  Her husband nicknamed them “goodness” and “love” because he said that “surely they will follow her all the days of her life.”  Those faithful little tail-wagging pets enthusiastically follow their owner around.  How much more wholeheartedly God pours His goodness and love into our lives every day.
• I don’t have to tell you about Russia being big.  It’s really big.  God often speaks to me through ordinary things.  When I pray for Russia, I realize that God’s intended blessing on Russia is also really big.  The Bible tells us that God is good and God is infinite.  That means that God’s goodness is without limit – we can’t possibly measure it.  God loves Russia so much that He gives her boundless skies that display His glory for all to see.  We really noticed that there – we’ve been blessed with a lovely tree-filled neighborhood on a hill here, but a side effect of that is that we can only see a small part of the sky at any particular time.  In Russia, the flatter landscape meant that we could usually see the entire sky from horizon to horizon.  Every day throughout the year was a huge display of God’s glory in the skies.  God loves Russia so much that He blesses her with trillions and trillions of unique and intricately designed snowflakes every year.  Did you know that there are scientists who specialize in studying snowflakes, yet no one has ever found two identical snowflakes?  It would be easy to get depressed along with more than a third of the population in the dull gray winters that go on and on and on.  But each snowflake is a personalized love letter from God that is evidence of His huge heart for this nation.  God loves Russia so much that He gave Jesus Christ so that whoever believes in Him would have everlasting life.
• Just as God gives us His goodness, the best part of Himself, we can give the best part of ourselves to others.  God is always teaching me to simply be available – to love those whom He chooses to bring to us, to allow Him to interrupt our plans, to let Him orchestrate our days.  God’s goodness flows in and through each of our lives – we need only to be available.  Some of the most beautiful times for me in Russia were when praying with people without being fluent in each other’s languages.  God is so good that He speaks and heals and works in people’s lives regardless of our limitations!  We are learning how to pray and realizing that our words aren’t as important as we thought they were.  It’s all about Jesus!

Knowledge

• The 3^rd quality Peter speaks of is knowledge.
• The Bible speaks much about knowledge, and emphasizes the importance of the knowledge of God.  Knowledge is “an acquaintance or familiarity gained by report, sight, or experience.”  All three of these are essential in order for us to grow in our knowledge of God.  We can know about God through someone else’s report – this is why God gave us the Bible, so that we can know what He’s like.  We can see what God has done and is doing by watching Him change the lives of others.  And God wants each of us to know Him personally by experiencing Him.
• It blesses me that Russians are so enthusiastic and knowledgeable about nature.  They each seem to know the names and descriptions of each tree and flower.  It seems to be an important part of the culture.  It’s inspiring to me, because although God reveals Himself primarily through Jesus Christ His Son, He also reveals Himself through His beautiful creation (Romans 1:20 – “since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”).
• In addition to growing in our knowledge of God, God also wants each of us to grow in our knowledge of His will for us personally.  Jesus’ final instructions to the church, known as the “Great Commission,” is, “go and make disciples of all nations”.  We each have a unique part to play in fulfilling this task.  Some of us will go to our neighbors next door; some will go to another city.  Some will teach, some will heal, some will prophesy.  All can serve, all can give, all can pray.  Each person in the body of Christ is a carrier of Christ’s presence, and each one is needed to complete the job.  Each role is equally valuable in the economy of the Kingdom of God.  The main thing is to know what God is saying to you at any particular time, and simply be obedient to Him.

Self-control

• The 4^th quality Peter speaks of is self-control.
• One definition of “self-control” is “being able to say yes to what is right and no to what is wrong”.  We all know we need more self-control especially when it comes to saying no to temptation.  But another aspect of self-control is being able to say yes to what God is telling us to do.  Just like Jesus, we are to do what we see the Father doing.  God says in Psalm 37:4 – “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  To delight ourselves in the Lord is not trying to make things happen; it’s not striving to earn His or someone else’s approval.  To delight ourselves in the Lord is to worship Him, seek His face, study His word, and walk in obedience to Him.  When we do these things, He gives us the desires of our hearts.  The amazing thing is that God Himself puts desires in the hearts of His children.  As we put God first and say “yes” to Him, He gives us the best life imaginable.  It’s a beautiful thing to entrust your life into the Lord’s hands.  As the saying goes, the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will.
• One of the most remarkable examples of God giving us the desires of our hearts as we’ve delighted ourselves in Him involved the Nizhny Vineyard soaking group.  The Lord has given Paul and me a huge desire for three things – to mobilize prayer, to promote unity in the body of Christ, and to encourage & equip leaders.  It amazed us how God fulfilled each of these desires when pastor David at the Nizhny Vineyard asked us last year to host the soaking group.  This group has been a huge source of life, refreshment, and healing to the dozens and dozens of people who have come.  It became the highlight of my week as we came together simply to love God and love one another.
• Another reason we need self-control is to live in the present.  It’s tempting to live in a place called “if only” – “if only the past had been different . . .” or “if only such-and-such would happen, then my future would be better.”  God wants us to live fully in the present, to be content in any circumstance.  He wants us to be fully present for each person.  We can trust God to bring us the people He wants us to touch for Him each day.  He never ceases to amaze me at how He does this very thing.  Last year, friends from another Russian city asked us if we could accommodate a traveler from Scotland.  Simon stayed in our apartment for a few days, and to our amazement we discovered that he, too, went to Russia with the primary purpose of praying for Russia.  Only God can orchestrate meetings such as that.  Let’s pay attention to the people whom God brings into each of our lives – old and new acquaintances, as we go around the city, at work or study, through people we already know, seemingly randomly . . . because He wants us to be fully present for them and show them the depths of His love for them.

Perseverance

• The 5^th quality Peter speaks of is perseverance.
• I used to have a T-shirt that said, “Life is hard, God is good, let’s dance!” This is a great attitude to have.  Life is definitely very hard at times.  But God is definitely good ALL the time.  If we look only at the hard stuff, we’ll soon get tired and discouraged.  But if we keep our eyes on God, we’ll have so much joy for the journey that we’ll be able to dance despite the difficulties.
• 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 – “¹⁶Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
• I encourage you to read any of the many books written by Dutch holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom or Romanian imprisoned pastor Richard Wurmbrand.  Their stories and lives of faith will inspire you to persevere!
• Our perseverance doesn’t grow when we’re facing situations that are comfortable or familiar.  God gives us an increased ability to persevere when we face difficulties, obstacles, and discouragements.  At times like those, we can choose to complain, or to rejoice that God is gifting us with more perseverance!  I’d rather be obedient to God in the middle of the difficulties than give up and say, “I can’t do this, God, because it’s too hard.”  Going to Russia and taking our large family out of a place of familiarity and comfort was really hard, but I would gladly do it over again because God’s grace is always sufficient for the day and the moment.  He is faithful!  In spite of our struggles and challenges and imperfections and weaknesses, God still moves powerfully!

Godliness

• The 6^th quality Peter speaks of is godliness.
• Godliness is not about being religious.  It’s about living a life of relationship with God.  It’s a life of knowing God, loving God, depending on God, submitting to God, and thanking God.
• We grow in godliness by letting go of our expectations of what we think will happen and letting God direct our steps by entrusting every detail to Him.  The Bible says in Hebrews 5:7 that Jesus’ prayers were heard “because of his reverent submission.”  We learn submission when things are beyond our control.  God wants our hearts – He wants us to simply trust and obey Him.
• God has formed each one of us with more care and attention than the best master craftsman who fashions a beautiful pottery vase.  God desires that each of us would receive His love, which He pours freely and abundantly into us.  But unlike the master craftsman, God has another purpose in mind as well.  He wants us to not only receive His love, but to freely and generously give His love to others.  So He allows us to be wounded, and through the very wounds we receive, like holes poked in the sides of a vase, His love leaks out of us to others.  God uses broken and open vases through which He can pour His love to a hurting world that desperately needs Him.

Brotherly kindness

• The 7^th quality Peter speaks of is brotherly kindness.
• Mark 10:29-30 – “²⁹“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel ³⁰will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age”  I want to testify to this beautiful truth.  One of the hardest things for each one in our family in going to Russia was leaving our nearest and dearest behind when we went there.  But God gave us an abundance of not only friends but family there.  We are far richer now than before we went.  We did not feel like strangers in a foreign land – brothers and sisters in Christ welcomed us as family.  We praise God for the beautiful body of Christ!
• Brotherly kindness is loving others in the body of Christ as family.  It’s about welcoming people into our hearts and homes.  God reserves a special blessing when there is shared life together in the body of Christ (Psalm 133)
• We will forever treasure the priceless memories of brotherly kindness – the Nizhny Vineyard, being invited into the inner circle of our Misha & Larissa’s and Artem & Valya’s weddings, special family celebrations with the Chavdar’s, going out of town with special friends, seeking God together, welcoming overnight guests, being overnight guests in other’s homes, Angela giving the monthly birthday blessings at church, serving together, sharing good times and laughter, carrying each other’s burdens and weeping and praying together, giving and receiving gifts from the heart, hanging out with all the wonderful youth and students, drinking tea at every possible opportunity!
• As part of our “missionary debriefing”, we interviewed each of our six children separately about their experiences in Russia.  While living there, each of our children grew in lots of ways despite significant challenges.  Each one is a priceless treasure – we thank God for entrusting us with the joy of raising them.  Paul and I are so proud of each one as we watched them overcome, bloom, and grow.  Here is a compilation of what they said – I hope it blesses your hearts as much as it blesses ours.
  • “You can’t really describe Russia – you have to be there to feel it.  Walking along Pokrovka Street [the main walking street] is a good learning experience.  Russia is a nice place, and the people are nice.  The people in Russia are friendly.  I have made friends with people here, but their food is strange.  I didn’t expect to know as much Russian as I do now.  The people here are not really that different.  They’re a little bit different because they speak a different language.  It’s a little more normal than I thought it would be.  When I think about my life here, it’s been interesting, and it’s something I know that some of my friends will never experience.  I feel that it’s been pretty good.  There have been some difficult things but it’s still ok.  It’s nice that you can go outside of church and boom, you’re right back in Russia.  I like how people go on more walks here.  I like how people in Russia normally give a lot out of the little bit that they have.  I have made friends with a lot of people here.  I like having all the friends that I made here in Russia.  I feel like I’ve made a difference in my friends’ lives here.  I feel good about that.  I’m glad we came.”

Love

• The 8^th and final quality Peter speaks of is love.
• We can invest in so many things – whatever we devote our time, energy, and finances to is a pretty good indication of what we’re investing in.  Jesus said the most important thing is love.  He wants us to invest in relationships – with God and with people.  I have fallen in love with Russia for many reasons, but one of the reasons is their huge open hearts.  I’ve learned so much from each person.  Every person is a treasure to be discovered and learned.  We accumulated many very dear memories and life lessons during our time there.  The believers there taught us more about how to love.  Love means keeping our hearts open to both God and people, even when it hurts.  It wouldn’t surprise me if the dictionary entry for “relationships” is accompanied by a map of Russia.  Relationships are Russia’s greatest strength.  Russian language and culture are rich with emotion and depth.  Russians have big hearts and are generous with physical and emotional affection.  It’s easy to see that relationships are also a primary target for enemy attack – the breakdown of the family, etc.  But God is a God of redemption.  He can restore what the enemy has stolen.  I believe that God wants to restore relationships in Russia and turn the statistics around.  Our God is an awesome and powerful God!
• My love for Russia and her people continues to grow – I often weep in prayer over Russia and believe that God has much more for this nation.  I rejoice that there are many people there who love God with all of their hearts.  God’s flame is burning brightly in Nizhny Novgorod – may His Kingdom continue to come in greater measure for the glory of God.  It truly breaks my heart to think about not being there for a season, but I trust God’s perfect timing to take us back!

“Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest . . .”

Let’s wait on God and receive His rest . . .