Stir Up (Part 1): Who We Are and Whose We Are

What do you do when you have failed in your faith and wonder if you still have a place in God's story? The apostle Peter knew that feeling better than almost anyone. He denied Jesus three times, publicly and painfully. And yet Jesus prayed for him, restored him, and gave him a mission. Second Peter is the letter Peter wrote near the end of his life to fulfill that mission, and it carries a message that is just as urgent today as it was in the first century. In this message from 2 Peter 1:1-2, we explore what Peter's final letter teaches us about Christian identity, saving faith, and the ongoing work of God in the life of every believer. Before Peter ever mentions his role as an apostle, he calls himself a bondservant, someone bought by the blood of Jesus. That order is intentional. Who we are in Christ comes before what we do for Christ. Peter writes to believers who have received a precious faith, and he is careful to point out that this faith is the same kind received by the apostles themselves. There are no second-class believers. No spiritual VIPs. The faith that drove the early church to plant congregations and sacrifice their lives is the same faith available to every follower of Jesus today. And that faith is made possible not by our righteousness, but entirely by the righteousness of God and Savior Jesus Christ, a phrase that also stands as one of the clearest declarations of the deity of Christ in the New Testament. Peter also prays that grace and peace would be multiplied in the lives of believers, and he connects that multiplication directly to a growing knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ. The answer to spiritual dryness, doubt, and the pull of false teaching is not more programs or religious activity. It is a deeper, more personal knowledge of the real thing. Topics covered include the meaning of bondservant in the New Testament, what it means to receive faith as a gift, the equality of all believers before God, the deity of Jesus Christ in 2 Peter 1:1, how grace and peace grow through knowledge of God, and what Jesus said to Peter in Luke 22 before the crucifixion. Whether you are new to faith, struggling in your walk with God, or simply looking for a deeper understanding of what it means to follow Jesus, this message from Second Peter offers a grounded and encouraging foundation. You can fall and still finish. Peter is proof of that. Keywords: 2 Peter 1, Second Peter sermon, Christian identity, bondservant of Christ, faith as a gift, deity of Jesus Christ, grace and peace multiplied, knowledge of God, false teachers in the church, Peter's final letter, Luke 22 sifting like wheat, spiritual growth, New Testament Bible study, encouragement for struggling Christians, can God restore me, failing in faith, finishing well, apostle Peter, early church, Christian living ✔ Subscribe to Sunnyvale FBC on YouTube: https://bit.ly/2REq3zA Sunnyvale FBC on Social Media: ► Follow on Twitter:   / sunnyvalefbc   ► Like on Facebook:   / sunnyvalefbc   ► Follow on Instagram:   / sunnyvalefbc   For more information about our church or to hear more sermons, visit our website: https://www.sunnyvalefbc.com