GODLINESS
2 Peter 1:5-8
(slide 2) So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others. With these qualities active and growing in your lives, no grass will grow under your feet, no day will pass without its reward as you mature in your experience of our Master Jesus. (Living Bible)
(slide 3) Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral [g]excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (NASB)
(slide 4) This passage begins with the words “For this very reason” which leads us to ask, “For what very reason?” Let’s back up and put those 4 words in context.
(slide 5) Verse 3 says, “seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us [d]by His own glory and [e]excellence.4 [f]For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises,(we must ask, “why did he grant these precious promises?” so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust
(slide 6)
Love
Brotherly kindness
Godliness
Perseverance
Self-control
Knowledge
Moral excellence
Faith
(slide 7) Godliness, Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines it as:
GOD'LINESS, noun [from godly.] Piety; belief in God, and reverence for his character and laws.
1. A religious life; a careful observance of the laws of God and performance of religious duties, proceeding from love and reverence for the divine character and commands; Christian obedience.
(slide 8) Alba’s definition of ‘godliness’ – Christ-like behavior when the lights are out and nobody knows you, which shows how much you really honor and value God.
(slide 9) It was Father’s Day and I had to go to Tulsa for our yearly accreditation. I was to leave El Paso by 12:00 noon. Before I got to the security line, I already had a text that my flight from Dallas to Tulsa which would arrive at 5:30 had been cancelled. I went straight to my gate and sat right next to the desk waiting for an agent to arrive. When she arrived, I told her my plight and she immediately began to check on another flight. “No problem Mrs. Wilcox, there’s one seat left on the 6:30 flight”, but before she could push the button, someone else had taken it. Thank God there was a seat on the 7:30 flight. I would have a 2 ½ hour layover, but I was meeting some other principals, and their flights were also delayed, so we would have time to go eat a good meal and enjoy each other’s company.
The other agent at the gate asked me if I would mind checking my bag for free to my final destination because they needed more space on the plane. Reluctantly, I agreed to his request. (slide 10) He told me that since I was going to have to wait in Dallas, my suitcase would go ahead of me and would be waiving at me upon my arrival in Tulsa. I figured that at least I wouldn’t have to haul it around for 2 ½ hours.
(slide 11)As I sat waiting to board a woman with a cat in a pet carrier sat close to me. I don’t like cats because I am very allergic to them. My first thought was, “I pray she’s not sitting next to me on the plane.” I watched as she pulled the cat out of the carrier and wrapped it in a baby blanket. My thought was “you are a crazy woman and I want to take your cat and spin it by the tail. (In Christian love)” About that time a guy leading a huge boxer, by a leash,walked by the cat and I wondered if we were going to be treated to a wrestling match.” But the boxer looked at the cat, with authority, as if to say, “you better stay in that pet carrier!” Minutes later, I couldn’t believe my eyes, when I saw a cute young woman carrying two small puppies in a pet carrier. I began to look for two turtle doves and a partridge in a pair tree. All I could think was “They all better be sitting behind me!”
We finally boarded and were on our way to Dallas. I was sitting with a lovely African American lady and a Hispanic health care worker who had been workingat the Border Patrol Office in Lordsburg. She talked about the immigration crisis and all the health issues they were experiencing. In front of us a 6 and an 8 year-old girl, screamed loudly as they wrestled with each other. Each loud scream brought nasty looks from everyone around.
I was tired and tried to close my eyes to see if perhaps the trip would seem shorter if I fell asleep. An hour and a half later I felt us descending. I was so happy to finally be landing in Dallas. As the wheels touched down we heard the captain say, “Welcome to Austin?” Did I hear him correctly? I looked at my seat mates and their startled looks indicated that indeed I had! The captain continued, “There is a storm in the Dallas area and we have been re-routed to Austin. In 20-30 min the storm should pass and when we get the report that all is clear, we will refuel and be on our way, it’s only a40-minute flight to Dallas.”
Well, here we were on the tarmac, you know me, I have the right to be silent, but not the ability. So I mention, to whoever might hear, why don’t we refuel now, so that we are ready to go? Obviously, the airline needed my wisdom. Someone asked for a drink and some snacks and they were told that since it was a short flight, not enough snacks and drinks had been packed for two go-arounds. So we would have to sit and wait. Our 20-30 minutes turned into an hour, then an hour and a half, and soon the stewardess came out with one bottle of water and a stack of cups. She served the first two rows and was soon out of water, so as she came by I askedher why she didn’t ask the man in the van (who wascommunicating with the crew) to bring a some cases of small water bottles. “Great Idea!” she says. It is obvious that Alba was now running American Airlines. She returned with bottles of water so hot that if I had a tea bag I could have brewed some tea, and a variety of snacks left over from other flights. (slide 12) I got popables Two hours passed. Iwas beginning to smell the cat and the dogs. Not sure why, but I knew what I was smelling. A man on the side of me was wearing a shirt that said, “I’m going to a place where the beer runs freely” and I thought to myself, “if I have to stay here much longer, I’m going to ask him the location of that place!”
I was now going to miss my 7:30 connection, so I got on my American Airlines app and book the next flight.
At 2 hours and 30 minutes they announced that we had been cleared for take-off to Dallas, but we hadto fuel and were going to be behind three transcontinental flights to fuel. At which point the man in the beer shirt, spoke up and said, “Why didn’t we fuel up when we landed like this lady suggested” (pointing at me). American Airlines does need me, even the beer drinker thinks so. So we fueled up and got in line to take off, we could tell we were only a couple of places from take-off, when we heard the all familiar voice of the captain say, “Ladies and gentlemen we have been on the tarmac for three hours, and according to FAA regulations we have to go back to the gate open the door and let anyone who wants to get off do so”. You could hear the growls throughout the plane. So we left our place in line and went to a gate and opened the door for 20 minutes. One considerate man, wanted us to wait while he talked to an airline agent on the phone to see if he could get a connection from Austin.” All 180 passengers wanted to choke him. The door finally closed and we headed back to the line, when we heard the captain say, “ladies and gentlemen our three hour countdown will now begin again becausewe have been grounded once again.’ ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
(slide 13) So we wait. One more hour. Change my flight yet again. I also called Priceline because I had rented a vehicle through them. Great deal, except that its non-refundable and non transferable. The girl told me that according to company policy, I wasgoing to forfeit my car that I had rented for a week. I implored her to help me since I this was not my fault. She assured me that she would work on it. Another hour… I book another flight. I am now scheduled on the fifth flight since I arrived at the airport. We had been right at 6 hours on the tarmac when we received word that we were cleared for take off. So we got in line, and I am sure that anyone who believes in Jesus was praying. We took off without incident and I arrived in Dallas at 9:40 pm. One of my principal friends greeted me at my gate and we went eat. We were scheduled to fly out 11:15 p.m. (Remember my original flight was supposed to land at 5:30 in Tulsa). We ate and went to our gate in case there was another change. Sure enough our flight was delayed. But, we finally landed in Tulsa at 2:10 a.m. We were praying that the car agency that was suppose to close at 10:00 was still open. We decide that I would go get the car and she wouldwait for my luggage. As I passed by the carousel I looked to see if my suitcase was waiving, as I had been assured. I didn’t see it, but I knew my friend Connie would get it. (slide 14) I ran to the other end of the building and they were waiting for me to pick up my car. I had already paid for it but I needed to give a $100 deposit till I brought it back. No problem, I had left a check with the school for themto deposit and put on the credit card. But, I didn’t know that PawPaw had gone to the hospital so the deposit had never been made and the amount had not been put on the credit card, so when I gave them the school credit card it did not work. It was now 2:25 a.m. and I was tired. I figured I would just give them my personal debit card, but when I did, it wouldn’t go through. I called Gary in a panic and he said, “I’m sorry, I new you had a couple of hundred dollars in cash, so I didn’t deposit our checks yet. Iwas stressed. He assured me that he would leave grandma alone for 15 minutes and go deposit my check and I would have access to $300 immediately. The agent reminded me that they were going toclose in 30 minutes. Could anything else go wrong?
My friend Connie joined me and informed me that my luggage didn’t make it. What? If was supposedto be waiting for me, waving at me when I landed. She assured me that she went to the agent and it was not here. She offered to give the deposit on her credit card, but she can’t because the reservation is in my name.
I got a call from Gary at 2:55 in the morning, and we finally (slide 15) got the keys and walked to the other end of the parking lot where our car was waiting and drove 35 minutes to our hotel. We got to the hotel and I was checking in with no luggage. I can’t imagine what the girl was thinking as she was looking at me. As I got to my room I just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. I got in the shower andI remembered that my makeup and hair products were in my suitcase that didn’t make it, so I made sure the water didn’t hit my head.
My alarm went off 3 hours later and I got up to get ready. I feel like a zombie. It didn’t take me long to get ready. No make up, no product to spike my hair. I dressed in my very lived in jeans and sweat shirt. I went to Wal-Mart and got hair gel and hair spray. (slide 16) I had to fix my iconic hair. I looked in the mirror and thought, “I am going to board meetings where I am an officer for an International Christian Accrediting Association, and I am wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.” I felt sick to my stomach. I had packed my best outfits, but they were not here, so I had to wear what I had.
I must have apologized to 50 people for the way I looked and explained that my luggage had not made the trip with me. They would all laugh and assure me that all was well, but I did not have the same sense of comfort. But, I put all of it aside because I had a job to do. Over the next 14 !/2 hours I attended 7 board and committee meetings. We even I might not have looked my best, but I was able to give of my best, because my best was my who I amand not was packed in my suitcase.
So you ask,(slide 17) what does this have to do with Godliness? Everything!
Remember Alba’s definition? “Christ-like behavior when the lights are out and nobody knows you, which shows how much you really honor and value God.”
(slide 18) If you 2 Peter 1:5-8 in the King James version it reads like this, “And beside this, giving all diligence, ADD to your faith virtue.” This scripture is written in the imperative. It is a command form. There is a reason it is called “Imperative.”
Imperative means “of vital importance, crucial.” So when a command is given to us in the word it is of vital importance, crucial. (slide 19) The command is simply this ADD. Nobody can do it for you. Add means to increase in size or amount. That is left up to us. Do you want to be godly, then add it to patience, to self control, to knowledge, to moral excellence and to faith. You cannot skip steps in the process. It is a building process. 2 Corinthians 3: 18 says, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.
As I thought about my flight experience over the next couple of days, the Lord brought some realities to my life. We can prepare for this journey called life, much like I prepared for my trip. You can pack your best things. Your money, your talents, your beauty, your education, your position – but rest assured that a storm is going to come, it may be sickness, the death of a loved one, the loss of a of a home, a wayward child who brings you pain - and you will be re-routed to another destination. It will not be the destination of your choosing and your plans will be delayed, you may not have enough in your “spiritual bank account” to pay for the changes that are being brought about in your life. And when what you thought was coming doesn’t arrive, how do you handle life? If you have added godliness to your life, you will be able to withstand the storm.
Teachers, you have thought and I’m sure, prayed about this school year. You are going to have the best syllabus, the best lesson plans, the most creative activities. You might have thought of something you will show when they come to evaluate you. You are so excited. You have packed the greatest “bag” for this year, your very best! But let me assure you, “a storm is coming!” It may be a personal storm, it may be an administrator that you don’t like, it may be a student that pushes your button daily. But a storm is coming! What’s going to come out of you when your plans are destroyed, when your perfect lesson falls apart in the middle of an observation?
What do you get when you squeeze a lemon? You get whatever is inside. If you have filled it with ink and you squeeze it you will get ink. If its full of lemon juice, you will get lemon juice. When life squeezes you, you will exhibit whatever is inside of you. You will revert to the level of your faith in God and it will reveal what you really honor and value God. Love is a cheap word in our language. We love movies, we love songs, we love ice cream, we love pets, so I intentionally did not put “love God.” Rather honor and value God. Because when we honor and value someone we will give our best to them.
Teachers today you received a bag to remind you that you are on a journey. I don’t care how much you plan, and you should, life is unpredictable. You cannot control life and you cannot control the outcomes. But, what is inside of you, will rule you heart when the storms of life come your way.
I would like to share with you the Alba version of 2 Peter 1: 5-8.
Now for this very reason, be diligent, so that same faith with which you accepted Christ yields an inward witness of the spirit, to bring us to the point where we truly know Him and not just know about Him causing us to intentionally guard our hearts from sin. This will help us to walk in passionate patience refusing to give up on ourmiracle. Our character will be such that the entire world will see how much we honor and value Jesus. We will be kind to those around us and learn to live sacrificially loving those whom God has place in our life. If we indeed do this consistently we will be useful to the Kingdom of God and our lives will demonstrate a true picture of our Lord, Jesus Christ. (New Cuban Standard Bible)
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