Daily Dose of the Word of God - 2 Peter 1: 10

Gregg DeMey, Lead Pastor

Transcript

Gregg DeMey  0:10 

Good morning! Welcome to Elmhurst CRC's Daily Dose of the Word of God. This is Gregg DeMey, Lead Pastor at the church. It's Friday, September 15 and Sunday is coming. This week we'll be climbing the staircase of faith with an emphasis on the letter A in that acronym, which signifies the word, adoption. I'll be reading from 2 Peter 1, verse 10 (a short, powerful verse).

Gregg DeMey   0:32 

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble.

Gregg DeMey   0:41 

I want to speak to you about confidence for a moment. Quite simply, confidence comes from what God has said and done on our behalf - his calling and election. Why then, do I so often fall into the temptation of trying to find confidence based on my own little powers and abilities? Many years ago, I heard the voice of God called me saying, "Gregg, I've chosen you to help my people worship me and sing to me all together." It was really clear. I made a major change in my life, away from musical performance and into church life. All these years later, I still sometimes fall into thinking, "I haven't been playing the piano very well, or singing very well lately. What if that means Sunday isn't going to go very well this week." Now, on the one hand, it's my responsibility as a pastor (as a leader), to practice, rehearse, plan and tend the musical gifts that God has given me. On the other hand, compared to God's will to create a church - to have a body of believers, a family filled with His Spirit that is called to worship him - the skills of one little musician aren't all that crucial, not needed at all. I can have great confidence in God gathering his people to worship, even if the musicians are all in shambles.

Gregg DeMey   2:09 

Maybe you have an area in your life where you've experienced a struggle, needing to be affirmed in a professional skill, education or your relational connectedness in order to have spiritual confidence to do what Jesus spirit is asking you to do. But, this is a trap. Our confidence ought not to be built on ourselves. In fact, while tending and nurturing God's gift to us, we ought to think of ourselves less. Notice I did not say we should think less of ourselves. God has taken that option off the table because God thought us worth sacrificing his only begotten Son for. Not think less of ourselves, rather think of ourselves less and more on God; more focus on God's words, more focus on God's attitudes, more focus on God's action, his calling and election of us. Our confidence comes from what God has said and done on our behalf. And if you have been baptized into Jesus Church (his body), God has said over you, "You belong to me. You are mine. I've adopted you and I've signed the papers and made it official in the ink that is my son's precious blood." Can you believe that's true?

Gregg DeMey   3:25  

Let's pray. God, we thank you for the strong confidence, the secure hope and faith we can have and what you have said and done. That you would baptize us and say, "This one belongs to me," expands our minds and hearts to the breaking point. Thank you for your love. In Jesus name, Amen.