2011-01-16
2 Peter - The Pinnacle of Peter's List, pt. 2 (Love)
Steve Lane

A. Therefore I remind you of these qualities

2Peter 1:12
Goodness: virtue, excellence, moral excellence; Power of an attribute, its strength and courage.
Knowledge: gnosis, truth, understanding; diligent study and seeking of truth
Self-control: to make use of the power of the others; the glad surrender of discipline
Perseverance: Intensity—even relentlessness, in making every effort until you get the result
Godliness: To please God, to be Christlike in character and love; obedient; with God's purposes
Love: The pinnacle of Peter's list; brotherly love of phileo and agape
1 John 3: 16
Jesus was on a rescue mission—a mission of love, not condemnation.
A critical spirit denies us this joy of loving one another at all levels of relationship
Heart-to-heart relationships... and the impossible message on love from the Sermon on the Mount
1 Peter 2: 21 The virtue of love above all of the virtues demonstrates we belong to God.

Loving the brethren 1 Peter 4: 8 says Above all! Love one another deeply
A critical spirit denies us this joy of loving one another at all levels of relationship
Last week we zeroed in on this one slice of the pie of love... heart to heart relationships.....

B. An impossible message on love from the Sermon on the Mount

Luke 6:27 – 36
The virtue of Love above all of the virtues demonstrates we belong to God.
1 Peter 2: 21
People hate the idea of being a helpless sinner... So How can we break down this strong tower, what do we do? ...We must demonstrate a super natural life!
This is the platform that makes the message believable.
The impact of the virtue of love is significant in every area of our lives
Luke 6:27 We do not accept any feeling less than love toward others... and we take action
Verse 28 This is your speech.. you bless them. And, you appeal to God for them
Verse 29 Publicly shamed, slapped in the face, humiliated, insulted. In your service and ministry, your life of representing Christ you will be taken advantage of
Verses 30 – 31 The love principle... treat them how you would like them to treat you. In context of this passage it is not qualified by how they treat you.

C. Conclusion

Have you been ineffective and unproductive - is the root cause a lack of love?
Love delineates you as a believer. It demonstrates we belong to God and we are followers of Jesus.
Is this the reason you don’t open your heart and your life to others and you don’t develop ministry and that your Life is not impacting others for the kingdom like you would like it to...

2 Corinthians 5:17–6:1 God’s love toward us, His enemies. Representing Him is core to our calling – and love is the main element in representing Him.