In 2 Peter, Chapter 1, verse 7, it says, to put on these things and let them begin to manifest themselves to you and through you.  You’ll notice that these build upon one another and as he comes down and says, “Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;” and he comes down and says, “and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness love.”  This begins to be some very strong revelation to us that we are to be conscious of doing these good works before men.  People are watching us, aren’t they?  It’s not the signs and wonders, the miracles alone.  Those will bring attention to the resurrected Christ, the Scripture makes it clear.  But most people are really watching us to see the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, to see that we’re walking in that new man, not after the flesh, and are not involved in vain glory or trying to draw attention to ourselves.

One of the things we want to look at as well is that motive is so big.  We can fake goodness.  We can be hypocrites and our hearts are not in it.  We can follow the rules.  I don’t want to follow the rules perfectly.  I want a new heart; amen?  I don’t want to become great at following rules.  I want a new heart!  I need a new me, daily, evidencing itself.  I know that this righteousness is imputed to my account.  I know how I am seen of God.  Aren’t you thankful for that?  But I want to be seen differently by men.  I want to be seen as someone who, when they have left my presence, they know they have encountered Jesus, but I can’t say that is always the case.  So, we have to allow the working of the Holy Spirit in us to bring that to pass, that constantly abiding in Christ.

We know the admonition of John 15.  He is the vine and we are the branches and the fact that we need to abide in Him.  If we’ll abide in Him, He makes it very clear that ordination of God will manifest itself in our lives.  We’ve been called.  We’ve been ordained to do what?  To bring forth good works, to bring forth good fruit; and then that fruit is to remain, not only to be consistent, but to be ever present and ever manifesting itself in our lives.

As the Spirit of God is speaking to us here, how does that abiding take place?  Verse 14 of Chapter 3, Second Timothy, “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.”  “Be followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises of God” (Hebrews 6:12); amen?  Who are you hanging out with?  The people that you hang out with are whom you’re going to replicate.  They will influence your life.  That is why our hanging out should be with Jesus; amen?  We should hang out with Him.  We should spend our times of quietness in Him, praise God.

He calls us friends.  We ought to ask ourselves the question, “Is He our best friend?”  Is He the one that you want to talk to when you’re most excited about something?  How many of you realize, when you lost a parent or a spouse, and it goes on for a long time, but especially in the immediate time of those things, something exciting happens and you start to call them, and then you realize they’re not there.  Do you have that kind of an anticipation of wanting to share those things with the Lord?  Is He that real to you?  He is that friend that is closer than a brother; amen?  He said, “I don’t just see you as servants.  I call you friends because you’re keeping My commandments.”