3. Remember to Trust God's Word
2 Peter: Remember • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
General: The Leaning Tower of Pisa, 4° lean due to an unstable foundation… The Leaning Shed of Pontiac…
Personal: Jesus used this same idea as an illustration for building your life on a solid foundation… children’s song… Matthew 7:24, 26.
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
What is the foundation of your life?
For the last few hundred years, universities, philosophers, artists, politicians, and media have been undermining the idea of an authority for truth.
“If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.”
A lot of the problems we’re seeing in society today come at least in part from the fact that people are not building their lives on any solid foundation of authority and truth.
Biblical: Actually, this isn’t a new problem. In the first century, Christianity was just beginning, and already false teachers were coming into churches and undermining the teaching and authority of the apostles. 2 Peter was written primarily to counter false teachers and the lies they were spreading.
Lie to Reject: You can’t really trust the apostles’ teaching—it’s just cleverly devised myths. You can’t really believe the Bible—it’s just legends and stories.
Gnosticism was an offshoot of Christianity that rejected the apostles’ teaching and the authority of Scripture.
The Gnostic leaders claimed to have the true knowledge of Jesus and salvation. They taught that humanity’s problem isn’t moral sin against a holy God. Rather, it is lack of understanding about the way the universe was formed, how spiritual beings or spiritual energies function in it, and how people can access those spirits or spiritual energies to achieve mystical unity with the highest power… The Gnostics ridiculed the ignorant believers who thought that Jesus died on a cross in a physical body, and then returned to a body to save us from our sins. They mocked backwards Christian who believed that we should abstain from sensuality, drunkenness, sexual impurity, and immoral living. No, the Gnostics claimed, true Christianity is intangible and intellectual… Our problem is lack of knowledge, and salvation consists of unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos to live in harmony with the universe. -- Bryan Litfin, Wisdom from the Ancients
Does any of that sound like stuff people believe today?
2 Peter 1:12-15
12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.
Big Idea: Remember to trust God’s Word: (1) The Incarnate Word and (2) The Prophetic Word. Christians, brothers and sisters, let us build our lives on the solid foundation of the Bible, God’s written Word, with Jesus Christ, the Word who became flesh, as the cornerstone of our friendships, our marriages, our families, our churches, and our lives.
Body
Body
Remember to trust God’s Incarnate Word. Don’t forget that the cornerstone of your life is Jesus Christ.
Exposition: 2 Peter 1:16-18; Matthew 17:1-8
16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain.
1 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. 4 And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” 5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. 7 But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” 8 And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.
God’s Word is true.
God’s Kingdom is real.
God’s Son is Jesus… and he will return in power and glory!
Application: Matt 17:5
5 He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
It’s all true. Jesus is God’s Beloved Son. Listen to him. Jesus really did die and rise again. Listen to him. Jesus is sitting at the right hand of the Father interceding for you. Listen to him. Jesus is present in you through the Holy Spirit who has been poured out upon you. Listen to him. Jesus is coming back to end evil once and for all. Listen to him.
Remember to trust God’s Prophetic Word. Don’t forget that the foundation of your life is the Bible.
Exposition: 2 Peter 1:19-21
The Bible is not a collection of the philosophical and theological musings of ancient mystics and thinkers as they tried to puzzle out the real meaning of life and their own experiences with the universe.
The Holy Spirit inspired the authors of Scripture to write the words they wrote, so that the words they wrote are the very words of God.
Our Scriptures don’t come from some guru or monk or professor or celebrity writing down all his insights after decades of self-introspection. The Bible is the Word of God, breathed by the Holy Spirit into the experiences, and hearts, and minds of God’s people who wrote them down and passed them on to us.
Illustration: Muslims revere the Q’uran… Christians dismiss the Bible…
According to American Worldview Inventory 2021 by George Barna: Is the Bible your most trusted source of moral guidance?
Christians: 71%, No
Americans in general: 69%, No
Application: 2 Peter 1:19
19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,
“more fully confirmed...”
Shad — “You find what you look for…”
“a lamp shining in a dark place… ”
Conclusion
Conclusion
Reflection: What is the foundation of your life?
Statements of Faith
We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.
We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel's promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.
We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.
We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
Communion