Discipleship is learning to be like Jesus Christ, Who came to model perfection for all to see. Today’s lesson teaches us how God called each believer and then He also equips each of them through a process which is the topic of this message, which is called: “Ever Increasing Faith In Christ Jesus”
Old Testament Scripture Reading: Psalms 2:1 – 12 (KJV)
Psa 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?
Psa 2:2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
Psa 2:3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.
Psa 2:4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision.
Psa 2:5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in his sore displeasure.
Psa 2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa 2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psa 2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa 2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Psa 2:10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Psa 2:11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
Psa 2:12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.
New Testament Scripture Reading: 2Peter 1:16 – 21 (KJV)
2Pe 1:16 For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
2Pe 1:17 For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
2Pe 1:18 And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
2Pe 1:19 We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
2Pe 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Transforming Power Statements:
1) Psalms 2 could be called a synopsis of God’s plan to establish the Kingdom through His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ in the Old Testament because it tells the entire story of fallen, power-mad rulers, many of whom have abused the proper intention of God, Who ordained “human government” as protection from the devastating impact of the curse of sin, against mankind, whom God has always loved and desired fellowship with.
2) The transfiguration of Jesus was a glimpse of the coronation of Jesus Christ the Messiah coming in His Glory, which was experienced by Peter, James, and John and was spoken of in Mathew, Mark, and Luke and also in 2Peter, which expounds the importance of what the event means to all believers, and illustrates the reality that an Ever Increasing Faith In Christ Jesus defines the course of each believer being pursued by God The Holy Spirit.
3) Perhaps this verse best explains the idea of our topic today from the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthians which says: 1Co 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Co 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.