A Mountain, A Book, & Faith

Psalm 2 / 2 Peter 1:16-21

2 Peter

Peter the Apostle

1 Peter 1:1-2 “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.”

2 Peter 1:1-2 “Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

Warning the people of the dangers of false teachers and of not trusting the scriptures about the return of Christ

The Mountain - 2 Peter 1:16-18

Exodus 24:12-18 “The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.”… Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai,… Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.”

1 Kings 18:20-21 “So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word.”

1 Kings 18:37-39 “Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”

Matthew 4:1-3 “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came [to him]...

Matthew 5:1 “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.”

Matthew 17:1-3 “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. 3 And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.”

The Book - 2 Peter 1:19-21

2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

2 Timothy 3:15-16 “...from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”

2 Peter 3:15-16 “And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.”

Faith

Christian Faith is a gift from God

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

The grace is definitionally a gift; the faith (the conduit through which God gives the grace) is also here stated plainly to be wholly a gift given by God to us that we may be saved!

Christian Faith is in Christ Jesus

1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”

John 6:68 “Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,”

Faith gives us Mountain top experiences

Moses had Mt Sinai. Elijah had Mt Carmel. Peter had the Mount of Transfiguration. We too have our own undeniable experiences that affirm our standing in Christ with God. We, like Peter have the prophetic word more fully confirmed by faith!

Faith assures us of the veracity and reliability of Scripture

Hebrews 11:3 “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

I did not see Christ die, but faith assures me and convicts me He did die.

I did not see Christ rise from the grave, but God put something in me in the new birth that enables me in faith to say I’m assured and I’m convicted that He did rise from the grave.

I did not see Christ ascend into Heaven. I cannot see Him at the right hand of the Father, but something God put in there, called faith, rises up and says, “…but I’m assured, and I’m convicted: He did ascend into Heaven, and He is seated at the right hand of the Father. For me.

I did not see my sin, guilt, and punishment fall on Jesus on the cross, but faith speaks to me, and I’m assured that it did happen, and I’m convicted it did happen!

Aren’t you glad for faith? Whew, what a gift that is.

- Jeff Noblit

The Faith Commitment Offering - 2/5/23

2 Corinthians 9:1-8

Faith is evidence of the work of God

1 Corinthians 12:3 “Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.”

1 John 5:1 “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.”

2 Peter 1:21 “... men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

From beginning to end, from the events in scripture, to the writing of scripture, to the preservation of scripture to our time, and the present assurance of Christ and His Word there runs one single line of connection: The Holy Spirit of God working, gifting, and maintaining faith among His people.

Church Family, Let us thank God for Mountain Tops. Let us thank God for His Word. Let us thank God for faith that keeps us going. Let us ask God to help us put the faith He gives us to work.