Address—P.B. Geveden
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We certainly need the full anchors that.
Have been referred to.
In the address of the brother.
That stood here a few moments ago.
It's a little difficult to follow after another.
But my chair was very hard. I think it's the worst one in the room and all of us are ambulatory. You walked in here.
You saw me walk to this podium and we read about those who are walking according to the course of this world.
And yet they are dead in trespasses and sins.
Also, we can supplement that statement by another from.
Ipis love Jude.
Where reference is made to those who are twice dead. The brother referred to being born two times in the gospel last evening and the possibility of not even dying once.
But if you're born only one time, there's a possibility.
Of the second death, not only the natural death, the separation of the soul from the body and the condition of the body when the soul is separated from it is death. The condition of the soul and separation from the body is Hades. Gehenna is hell.
Everlasting punishment, the lake of fire. But would it be possible for you to be present here this afternoon and be classified?
As being twice dead, although you're here, you lived in, and one way of being dead is.
By nature.
The children of wrath, even as others were dead in trespasses and sins. A soul without reference to God. No response to God. You're dead toward God.
Honest to God that we are responsible creatures, but how can you be dead the second time? You can be dead the second time by false profession.
By taking a position that is not real, you're dead in natures way and also dead by religion, not having Christ in reality for your soul. Now there was a young man. He was not too young however.
And he's referred to in John 20.
When thou was young.
Perhaps not as young as some of us are here, but if you'll notice this verse.
Our Lord is restoring a failing servant.
A faltering disciple, one who had denied that he knew the Lord.
Verse 18 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, This is a John 21.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, when thou was young, thou girdest thyself and walkest whither thou woodest, but when thou shalt be old, and thou shalt stretch forth thy hands.
And another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
Usually in our younger days, our wills are very strong.
And the sooner our wills are broken, the better it is for us because we won't make so many mistakes. It's important to learn to bow to authority, the authority of the husband.
The authority of the Mother, the authority of the powers that be.
And the authority of the Lord in the local assembly, it might not be right.
But it's important to bow and that authority abides its God-given it stands, it needs to be respected. Peter, you know, was a very ambitious in his devotion to the Lord and the declared that he would go with him even.
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To the very last.
All he was acting on his bravery.
His energy.
And the power that he possessed as a natural man. And he failed.
And when our Lord was washing the defeat of the disciples.
He resisted.
Submitted when he understood what was necessary. However, he didn't fully understand likely he did understand when we come to this verse in the 21St chapter and the Lord restored him and committed to him the lambs and the sheep that needed the care that belongs to God's people that.
Our tender, loving Lord in all of His shepherd care would have us in the exercise of toward our brethren in Christ.
The members of the body of Christ as we know today.
When thou was young, thou girdest thyself, and walk us whither thou wouldest.
But when thou shall be old, and others shall gird thee.
And.
Those were stretched forth thy hand.
And then and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
So he came into that devotion to the Lord and live to old age in faithfulness to the Lord, and he gave us a ministry that we still need today, and he carried out his responsibility of feeding the lambs and the sheep.
Orally, as he traveled about considerably and his apostleship to the circumcision.
And to all others too, because he has left with us 2 letters.
The first Epistle of Peter and also the second. Now you remember the history of what happened in the 12Th chapter of Acts.
James was killed by the sword.
Herod took the life as he vexed certain of the Church.
James James life was brought to a sudden close and Peter was in prison at that very time and they were praying for him and he was not allowed to come under the anger of the king that was in power.
And.
To be committed to the Jews on that special day.
When there would be so many around in Jerusalem, he was delivered from the prison.
Sometimes those things are difficult for us to understand, or one is taken early, another is left longer.
Being a school teacher and all the exams would come around now and then.
And usually the teacher was pleased with those young men and young ladies that finished early and handed in their papers and went out the door free and over the examination. That's the way it is. You know, it seems to me with some that finished the course, they've handed in the papers early and they've made good scores.
And they've gone on to the reward that is due there.
Now Peter is of that.
Latter type who stayed because.
He hadn't.
Performed his ministry.
As indicated.
And he's left. He spared. But James?
Is beheaded.
And a young man who was against him came out, we're told, and put him, put himself down at the feet of James and begged for pardon. And he lifted him up and says, you've done me no harm.
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And through that testimony, he was converted.
And slain along with James at the same time. You read that in Miller's church history.
But now.
The four anchors are very important.
They continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine, the apostles fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayers.
Now in second Peter chapter one, we got 7 things that will enable us to continue.
As we look around over this congregation and so many of you are young.
My younger days are gone, of course.
But possibly you are an endangered species.
We hear so much about that today, 700 animals and plants are endangered by the opposing elements that surround them. And there's much being done to relieve the opposition and the things that hinder in order to save these tender species that mean so much to the people.
So with all the opposition that has come upon us in these perilous times.
We're somewhat endangered ourselves.
But here, as we begin to read in Peter the 1St chapter of the 2nd Epistle, Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ to them who have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness or faithfulness of God our Savior Jesus Christ.
He greets them with peace and grace, and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Well, he couldn't write that when he said one day I go efficient.
But now he hadn't gone fishing in a long time, except to be a Fisher of men.
And he is able to fill out the precious Word of God to his extent in his time. Although it's the apostle Paul that rounds out the full scope of the Canon of Scripture, making the subject complete when he gave the truth of Christ in the church to fulfill the Word of God or to bring it to its completion. But where would we be today without the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord?
We have that. You've heard it all your life. You've been instructed in it somewhat, and though are you twice dead? There's a danger in being twice dead. You're a nice boy, a nice girl, but you need to save your just the same as any other individual needs the Savior, you need the cleansing power of the precious blood of Christ.
That you might be cleansed and suited for the Kingdom of heaven.
According as the divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.
Now there's no excuse. A soldier complaints about being sent into conflict fully equipped, but you're not fully equipped. You've been provided for fully, as we see here in this verse, with all things that pertain unto godliness, unto life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that has called you to glory and virtue, You've got a wonderful future that lies before you.
You have a future that this world does not know anything about.
But we'll move on here rather rapidly.
You have exceeding.
Great and precious promises. They're found in this book. One of the promises is the return of our blessed Lord that has come before us in these special meetings.
And by these that you might be partakers of the divine nature, you need to work on this. You know, eternal life is a gift, but we're also exhorted to lay hold of. Eternal life is something that we can lay hold of. And now we read about this a little further over to notice something.
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But while it comes to mind.
Wherefore the rather brethren in verse 10 give diligence to make your calling.
And election? Sure.
Now that is your responsibility.
That's a job that is in your assignment.
And you need to be occupied with it to be diligent about it.
You should make your calling and election sure. Now we are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father in the first epistle. That's on the side of God's sovereignty, His sovereign grace. But here in this epistle, it's a question of man's responsibility, and we need to make our own calling and election sure.
This we can do. Those four anchors are important.
Then we have seven things mentioned here that should be supplied in our faith.
As shall we proceed a little further?
Beside this.
And giving all diligence, you've come into a position, you know, of protection from this corrupt world.
Through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
And we trust you have that divine nature, that you've been born of God.
That you have been born from above. That you are a child of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
And being so, of course you are a member of the body of Christ for by 1 Spirit.
Are we all baptized into one body?
And verse five beside this giving all diligence supply in your faith is really the thought.
And this.
Suggests that one might be added, you know, one after another as you would stack blocks one upon another. But really, let's think of it as a tree and all these different things coming out at the same time. And that's the way we should grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that you would supply in your faith.
Verse five beside this giving all diligence and are supplying your faith or to your faith virtue.
Which is moral courage.
And the power of the confession of Christ.
Among your friends in your office.
Are enrolled in the school.
Or lift the banner, and all the power of heaven will stand behind you to confess Christ.
My nature is a cowardly 1.
But.
It is an experience.
That you find enablement.
When you take a stand for Christ.
When you inform others.
That you belong to the Lord.
So supply in your face a virtue.
And to virtue knowledge.
So that would.
Make it necessary to open this book.
And do not leave it on the shelf covered with dust.
Knowledge.
Which is very useful and which can puff up if it's not regulated.
And to knowledge temperance.
Moderation, and that's a regulator for the knowledge that we come.
To possess as we pour over the precious pages of the Divine Writ, and to temperance, patience, or endurance perhaps.
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A determination to continue.
And to patience godliness, because the troubles will come and there will be tests that will bring us into.
Such a point of distress that we will inquire. We'll wonder, Well, why did the Lord allow this?
Is this an expectation in the Christians profession? I belong to the Lord and here this has happened to me.
Well, that's where the test is made. And if we turn to the Lord in that trial or difficulty or whatever it is.
We can go through the valley of Becker place of weeping and it becomes a well to us and the rain comes down to fill the pools and we're comforted and sustained and we receive the blessing that God has forced and the difficulties of the wave. That's child training and all we need to believe and to add these things to supply them in our faith.
And to godliness, brotherly kindness.
And we are instructed a little later on, perhaps in this same epistle or in the other one loved the Brotherhood.
Is not a nice thought.
Love the brotherhood.
And he's not thinking of the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man.
No, he's thinking of brethren in Christ, those who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, those who come under the power of the cleansing of the precious blood of Christ.
That is the Brotherhood.
And we need to love those that are the children of God, because they are his children, that brother for whom Christ died.
But there's an further indication here that we might love a brother that is lovely and nice.
Marta and a brother.
Fails in responsibility or something we might veer away, and it might be proper sometimes to do so because we are given this further instruction and to brotherly kindness, charity or love.
And that's from God, and that will bring blessing. Now these things will be helpful.
In the sustainment of your Christian life and pathway, and if you go along with these seven things in addition to the four anchors.
You'll not be so endangered, you'll not so Scottish, succumb to the pressures of the way and fall by the wayside to making shipwreck as some do. You can continue and to look forward to that.
Entrance.
Abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
We had in our country, down South in Kentucky, a lady that moved there from Illinois, the wife of Armistead Berries father, Mr. Barry Senior.
And she was always in the kitchen or in the household or going about her work and she and never was seen at any time without this book being open where she could get immediately into the language that into the print there and could find out what it was saying.
When she passed away, the man down the road, the center man, he said. Everybody knows where she's gone.
She'd made her calling and election sure. Now sometimes, you know, there are many funerals.
And that has been my responsibility quite often. And there are those that are doubtful. And you have to read from Ecclesiastes about the dust returning to the earth as it was in the Spirit returning unto God that gave it.
And you don't get into the light and gladness and the fullness of the New Testament, where we read that the life of the soul and incorruptibility for the body have been brought to light by the gospel.
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You can't go that far. Then there are those that are the Lords.
But they failed to go on in this way here, supplying these different things in their faith to make their calling and election sure. And what they've done is wood, hay and stubble, and they suffer loss, though they are saved themselves.