We see Jesus,

who was made a little lower than the angels

for the suffering of death,

crowned with glory and honour.

Hebrews 2:9

If the Lord does not come first we will be changing our zoom account as of Tuesday October 13, 2020. the new meeting ID will be 960 5944 1385.

We will use the old meeting ID for the last time on Friday October 9th the old meeting ID is 382 049 895.

Tuesday and Friday zoom meeting time is 6PM Pacific time. We have had some very precious times during these zoom sessions. We believe you will find it to be a blessing if you are able to join in

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An Abundant Entrance

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5-11

All diligence - With all speed, eagerness, earnest, and haste – be sure the following eight things are found in our lives.

Add to your faith virtue - Faith, That is what we have come to believe to be true because it is in the word of God. - Virtue, The moral courage to put into practice what we have come to believe.

And to virtue knowledge - Knowledge, The clear comprehension of the mind of God which keeps Christian virtue from becoming mere human determination.

And to knowledge temperance - Temperance Or self control would keep knowledge from causing a person to not think more of himself than he should.

And to temperance patience - Patience or endurance. There are two very different words which have been translated “patience”. Here it is not the word for patience with people but the word for patience in circumstances. Without this patience, the very temperance by which we restrain ourselves may be seen by critics as merely a weakness in character, a lack of fervency, perhaps even luke-warmness. As we exercise self control we might think some things need to move ahead faster than they are. Patience would keep us from moving outside the perfect timetable of God and allow Him to bring things to pass in His time.

And to patience godliness - Godliness, This brings God into all of our circumstances. If we don’t bring Him in, our endurance may be perceived as a human quality—an ability to cope with things with a kind of stoicism.

And to godliness brotherly kindness - Brotherly kindness, with godliness thinking of what is due to God we are not to forget brotherly love, or what is due to our brother. Godliness will lead to the affections flowing out to those who, being God’s children, are our brethren.

And to brotherly kindness charity - Charity or love, with brotherly love we are to have love—divine love— otherwise our love may be limited to our brethren, instead of flowing out in the largeness of the love of God to the world around. Moreover, brotherly love may easily degenerate into partiality and mere human affection.

v8 For if these things be in you, (these eight things) and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

v9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, (these eight things) and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

v10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:

Diligence – Again, with all speed, eagerness, earnest, and haste.

Our calling took place in time - Our election took place in eternity past. It is God that did the calling and the electing nothing can change them - For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. (Romans 11:29) They are sure in God’s eyes but it is to be made sure in our lives. If ye do these things, ye shall never fall: (these eight things)

v11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

If we do these things we will have an abundant entrance, we could hear those words “well done thou good and faithful servant, be thou over five cities or be thou over ten cities”. We have heard of one who was not saved long but knew that he was soon to be with the Lord. His words were, “must I go in empty handed?” From those words the hymn was written.

"Must I go, and empty handed,"
Thus my dear Redeemer meet?
Not one day of service give Him,
Lay no trophy at His feet?

This need not be our portion. For it is possible to have an abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

An abundant entrance - We have often heard of the illustration of an army that has just returned from having a decisive victory over their enemy. All preparations have been made and they have their victory march into the city showing all the spoil they brought with them. The general is highly honored with many gifts and rewards.

The everlasting kingdom - There are twelve aspects of the kingdom, our brother George Davison wrote about ten. I think I found twelve, but I wish he were here so I could ask him about the other two in case I missed something. Each of these aspects has some unique feature of its own. The unique feature of the everlasting kingdom is that it is the last of the kingdom so none will follow it and it will last for ever.

But the kingdoms of men do not last. For one reason or another these kingdoms change hands and a different monarch comes into power. What happens if in time the enemy returns and conquers the city. The general that was so honored is now a criminal to be punished.

This is the beauty of the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It will never change hands. It is the last kingdom and there will not be another to follow.

If we live a life for the pleasure and glory of the Lord by adding to faith the seven things we have been considering together, we will have an abundant entrance. There is no fear that whatever the Lord gives for faithfulness, will ever be taken away. We will have the privilege of laying at His feet the very things He has given us. And the acknowledgment of what has been “well done” will never be taken from us. It is an everlasting kingdom.

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We hope you found this article interesting. We send out our material to the Lord's people, not in any party spirit but, in the spirit of the one body, seeking that it might be a blessing to all. Other helpful items can be found on our web site WeSeeJesus.com.

May the Lord bless and encourage you to go on in the pathway of faith for His glory.

Yours in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Don Lewis