Spin the wheel of fortune, make a few choices and hope for the best! That’s pretty much THE GAME OF LIFE, at least Milton Bradley’s version of LIFE. The original game of life looked nothing like the game we play today. The original “Checkered Game Of Life” was invented by Milton Bradley and looked very much like a checkerboard. And like today’s “LIFE” you worked your way through LIFE. The original game was also used to teach morals to young children.

Today’s GAME OF LIFE seems to be more about getting everything you can and not ending up in the poor house. (Maybe you feel like that at times…)

Last week we began a series on Games People Play. We started with Gaining Life’s Ultimate Monopoly. We started there because there's no use going through LIFE until we realize Who is really in charge. Remember, when Jesus is in control – you win!

LIFE is at its best when we give Jesus Christ the Title Deed to our life. That means He controls your heart, your passions. It means He controls your stuff, everything you have. It means He controls your relationships, everyone you know. It means He controls you!

That’s where LIFE begins, by giving Jesus the Monopoly, the control, what the Bible calls the “LORDSHIP” of your life. He’s the Boss.

God’s Word says “For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9,13)

The benefits of makings Jesus Lord are incredible. Last week we learned that when we make Him Lord…

We get a focused heart; when our focus in placed on Jesus, He gives us the desires of our heart.

We get a worry free life; we stop worrying about our stuff because Jesus owns all of it anyway.

And we get a peaceful home; because we give up trying to control people and allow God to work in our relationships.

A focused heart, worry free life and peaceful home – that’s a pretty good LIFE.

But what does it take to make it through this LIFE?

Once we’ve placed Jesus in the driver’s seat; we’ve made the commitment that He is in control. But just what do we do once we’ve made that commitment?

The answer is found in our Bible passage this morning: 2 Peter 1:3

“His divine power has given us everything we need…”

This one verse tells us that Jesus’ power gives us everything we need.

So right up front here is the good news! Through Jesus everything you need can be supplied!

But just what do we need? The answer is found in the next for words…

“His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness…

His divine power gives us everything we need

…for life

…for godliness

What do I need for LIFE?

First I need a life!

Yeah, I know what you’re thinking! Pastor, get a life! And that’s exactly the point of the passage.

Jesus’ power gives us what we need for life. Not just any life, but eternal life!

John 1:4 says it this way: “Life itself was in him [Jesus], and this life gives light to everyone.” Jesus is where true life comes from.

Jesus, Himself, said, “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10)

There is no real life without Jesus. Everyone in this world is seeking a fulfilling life and that fulfillment is only found when we turn our lives over to Jesus and receive His eternal life.

I need eternal life and Jesus’ power gives that life if I will receive it.

But I also need something else…

What do I need for LIFE?

I need purpose! That is what is meant when it says that Jesus’ power gives me everything I need for live and godliness.

To be godly simply means to be like God – to be like Jesus.

SIDE: Now be careful. It doesn’t say we will BE GODS. It says “godly”. That’s a huge difference. We are not to attempt to be God – too many of us try to play God and get ourselves into lots of trouble – we’re not to attempt to be gods, but we are to be godly. There is a group that will try to tell you that your purpose is to become a god someday – but that’s just silly. We can’t become gods – but we can be godly.

And that’s God’s purpose for each of us – to become Godly, to become like Jesus.

My purpose, your purpose, is to become like Jesus.

That seems like a pretty tall order doesn’t it? How do we become like Jesus? He was perfect!

Well, here’s some more good news – you have Jesus’ nature inside you if you have accepted Him as your LORD (Boss) and Forgiver (Savior).

When you accepted Jesus Christ you were given His DNA. That’s exactly what the next verse tells us: 2 Peter 1:4

Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature…

Notice… “you may participate in the divine nature”.

Now go back to verse three, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness”.  There it is again “His divine nature”.

I have been give spiritual DNA – I have Jesus Christ living inside of me.

Need that explained?

Well, look at my four children sitting here with us this morning. Each one of them carries part of me inside of them. They are my offspring and carry my DNA. They carry me inside of them. As a result they look a lot like me (sorry, kids!), the sound a lot like me, and sometimes they even act a lot like me. Why? Because they have my DNA, they have my nature!

We have Jesus’ divine nature inside of us. We are partakers of His divine DNA.

By the way, that word for “partakers” or “participate” that’s the same word we use for fellowship that we talked about a few weeks ago. We share Jesus’ DNA!

So there it is.

What do we need for life?

First, we need to make sure we have real life, eternal life that only comes from giving ourselves to Jesus Christ.

Second, we need purpose and our purpose is to become like Jesus.

That’s what we need, but how do we get there?

How to we live out that eternal life and become like Jesus?

The answer is found in the next few verses which give us seven steps, seven qualities that we are to add to our faith. Seven keys to fulfilling your purpose in LIFE.

You received eternal life and real purpose when you put your faith in Jesus Christ, but, listen, that’s not enough.

Just knowing that you have eternal life is not enough. Just wishing you were more like Jesus won’t get you anywhere. You have to add something to that commitment. Jesus did His part by giving you His nature – now you have to do something with it!

Make every effort to add to your faith…

Circle that word “add”, it’s the Greek word that we also get our English word chorus from (as in a choir). It refers to a chorus master. In ancient times cities would form community choruses, but the funding behind the choir would come from a private individual; he was know as the “choregys” or supplier.

The point of the word is that these qualities are supplied by the believer. These are the things we are supposed to do as a result of God’s divine nature.

It doesn’t happen by accident – this is our part of the process.

So what are we to add?

1) First, we are to add GOODNESS.

“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness...” (vs.5)

Goodness is all about character. It refers to our morality. We start there, because once we place our faith in Jesus Christ we should live like it! Being a true believer means we are to live morally and honestly. We don’t continuing on as the rest of the world which says if you can get away with it, it’s ok. It’s not OK. We are to live “good lives”.

So step number one in fulfilling our purpose in LIFE show good character; we should do what we know is right to do – always!

2) Second, we are to add KNOWLEDGE to that goodness.

Sometimes we don’t know what is right, that’s where knowledge comes into play. The more we learn about how Jesus wants us to live the more we will know what to do. The Bible calls this righteousness.

The more we learn about God’s plans for our lives the more we understand how to live out those plans. So it’s important not just to attempt to be good, but to learn what God really calls good.

To faith add good character and to good character add knowledge. Keep on learning and adjusting your LIFE to God’s plans.

But neither good character or knowledge will work without this third quality…

3) Third, “to knowledge, SELF-CONTROL”

You see, it’s not about what you want; it’s not about having your own way. It’s about telling yourself that God’s way is better than your natural desires and then doing what God wants! Self-control is really giving God control and just making sure you do what you know He wants.

How do I become godly? I practice good character, seek to know God’s plans and then I practice those plans even when my old, sinful self tells me I should do otherwise. I allow Jesus’ nature to be in control!

Now look at the next quality that builds this godliness…

4) Fourth, to self-control, PERSEVERANCE.

Perseverance is a long word that simply means to hang in there. Don’t quit.

By this point in the process it would be very easy to think there’s just no way. I can’t do this alone!

And you’d be right! You can’t do it alone. You need Jesus’ power and you need other believers to help you. You can’t do it alone!

But you also can’t quit. Many believers simply lose by default; they quit.

Perseverance says I won’t give in and I won’t give up!

It’s easy to give up when things get hard. Serving others is not easy and often it’s not comfortable. Just don’t quit.

Aren’t you glad Jesus don’t quit on you? He perseveres!

5) And “to perseverance, GODLINESS”.

Godliness is not the same as goodness. Goodness focuses on your character. Godliness focuses on God. When I attempt to live a Godly LIFE I am putting the attention on Jesus. Godliness lets others know that it’s not about me – it’s about Him.

And it’s not just about Jesus making me godly – it’s about me striving to be like Jesus as well. I allow Him to work on the inside and I allow it to come to the outside.

While I’m stubbornly hanging in there – refusing to quit – I need to keep my focus on what God is doing and that I’m doing this for Him! I keep the focus of all that I do on Jesus Christ.

But while my focus is on God – my service is directed at others. God wants me connected with others. That connection is vital to becoming like Jesus. That’s why the next quality is brotherly kindness.

6) “and to godliness, BROTHERLY KINDNESS…”

Brotherly kindness deals with caring for and encouraging others. Another way of saying that is FELLOWSHIP. We should be kind to everyone, but especially to those in our own spiritual family! 

Jesus said it this way… “All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.” (John 13:35)

Do you see the progress…

Our steps began on the inside – good character, knowledge, self-control

Then they moved into our determination – perseverance

Then they moved upward – focusing our attention on God

And finally they have moved outward…toward other believers – brotherly kindness

and then toward unbelievers…look at the last quality…

“add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, LOVE”

7) LOVE is the final quality and it deals with those who do not know Christ.

Love focuses our attention on God’s love – God’s love to those who do not know Him.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Love seeks the very best for others and that best is God Himself.

Love allows us to see others as God sees them. He died for them so they could have a relationship with Him just as we have.

Love seeks to bring others to Jesus Christ.

We become most Christ-like when we are bringing others to Jesus.

That was Jesus’ chief goal on earth to “find lost people and save them.”

“The Son of Man came to find lost people and save them.” (Luke 19:10)

What do I need for LIFE?

I need Jesus’ LIFE, eternal life and I need to become like Jesus. When I gain those two things – I’ve gained it all. Everything else is secondary to that!

I gain eternal life when I place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Boss and Forgiver. And I become like Jesus as I allow His DNA to produce these seven qualities in my life.

One other thought about these seven qualities that make us like Jesus.

If you have attended one of our FACs classes (Fellowship And Covenant Seminar) you will remember that we shared the Five Basic Purposes for which God created us.

We were created to grow in our relationship with God (the Bible calls that discipleship)

We were created to serve others for God (the Bible calls that ministry)

We were created to share God with others (the Bible calls that evangelism)

We were created to encourage other believers (the Bible calls that fellowship) and

We were created to love God (the Bible calls that worship).

I shared that with you because I want you to notice how these steps or qualities help you fulfill those five purposes that God created you to live out.

Beside the first three qualities, goodness, knowledge and self-control, write “DISCIPLESHIP” Those three qualities are what it takes to develop a consistent walk with God.

Beside perseverance, write “MINISTRY”. The Bible tells us “We must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time if we do not give up.”  (Galatians 6:9)

Beside godliness, write “WORSHIP” – that’s keeping the focus of all we do on God.

Beside brotherly kindness, write “FELLOWSHIP”. That one’s easy!

And beside love, write “EVANGELISM”. There is no greater love than sharing the Good News with others.

Together these seven qualities help us fulfill the five purposes that we were created to fulfill – they make us more like Jesus.

So why even bother? Why go through all of this trouble to be like Jesus. Wouldn’t it be easier to just do what we’ve always done?

Well let me share with you the final part of our passage this morning – the LIFETIME GUARANTEE!

Look with me at 2 Peter 1:8.

“For 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.”

Notice it doesn’t say you have to be an expert in any of those areas. All it says is you have to be growing in each one – “in increasing measure”.

If those qualities are “active and growing” in your life you will be effective and productive.

No one wants to be a failure in life. No one sets out to live an unproductive life. All of us want to feel that we have accomplished something worthwhile, important. Nothing is more discouraging that feeling we’re not needed, that we don’t count.

But verse eight tells us that all you have to do is be growing. You see it’s not about reaching perfection in any of these areas – that won’t happen until we get to heave, so don’t be so hard on yourself.

All you have to do is start growing in these areas and you will be effective and productive.

So what happens if you refuse God’s purpose? Look at the warning in verse nine…

“But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.”

If you refuse to develop these qualities in your LIFE you will become nearsighted. The only thing you will be able to see is yourself. You’ll be blind to what God really has planned for you.

You won’t see His real blessings.

You won’t experience His joy.

You won’t be effective or productive in LIFE.

Jesus has not only given us what we need for LIFE – but He has given us everything we need to really make our LIFE COUNT!

You have everything you need to make your LIFE really mean something now and for eternity!

Just commit to living out God’s purposes for your life.

The question is will you commit to that path?

In the board game “LIFE” there is a point where you get to make a choice. You can choose one of two paths then you play the rest of the game based on that choice.

This morning you get a choice – though it’s not a game – it’s about real LIFE and eternity. You can choose to live LIFE the way you want, or you can choose to live LIFE as God designed you to live. Guess which one actually works!

So, where do you begin?

Just follow the steps.

Maybe you need to begin a walk of faith this morning. If so, commit your entire life to Jesus and let Him be the Boss of your life.

If you have already begun that walk with the LORD, then where are you in these eight qualities? Remember, it’s not about perfection yet, it’s about actively growing.

For information on the original PowerPoint presentation,
contact Paul Newell @  paul@familyfellowshipchurch.com
 

(c) Paul Newell 2003

FamilyFellowship Church

P.O. Box 465, Beaumont, CA 92223

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