The need to be reminded

Intro

Well, good morning, church. I am so happy and have been looking forward to preaching God’s word this morning. I’m curious, do you have a good memory? Are you able to remember things well? Last night, my family and I were looking at old photos in our family. And my Grandpa would look at the photo and he could expalin the photo from the time, the place, and what they would doing. I was sitting there like “How do you remember all this?” Are you able to remember things well? Certain dates or events?

Vince Lombardi, the legendary coach of the Green Bay Packers and one of the best football coaches ever, always had his players remember how to play football. Grown men who have played football all their lives. He’s known for starting each season the same way. It became a big thing one year and kept going. He gathered the players together with a football in hand, he would walk to the front of the room, take a moment to look at everyone, hold out the football in front of him, and say “Gentlemen, this is a football.” This is ironic because they know that they’ve played it all their life. He then would lead them outside to the field and show them the field. He would explain out-of-bounds, the end zones, and explain how the football that he still has in his hand had to cross the end zone line. This of course is very simple for people who know how to play football. But Lombardi knew the importance of relying on the basics of football. And it worked out because he won two Super Bowls with the Green Bay Packers.

I wonder if sometimes we forget about the basics of the faith. The gospel message, reading God’s word, prayer, worship, and serving. Perhaps, sometimes we forget about the basics. We know they're vital but over time maybe you forget about the basics. Maybe this morning you need a reminder of them to keep going. In 2 Peter, Peter knew the importance of reminding people about the fundamental truths about faith. In 2 Peter, the Christians were battling false teachings, corruption, and persecution. So, Peter wanted to bring some things to their remembrance so they could fight against false teachers. Peter calls the believers to remember what they already know. Instead of Peter giving the Christians something new like new ideas or theology, he just gave them the basics that they already knew.

MIT: Peter reminds the Christians of the basics of the faith so they can overcome false teachings.

MIM: Today, Peter reminds us how to live as Christ's followers in a Christ-less world.

If you have a Bible and I hope you do, go with me to 2 Peter 1:3-11.

From the first two verses, we know Peter wrote this letter and we know he is talking to believers. Peter is writing to those who had the same salvation he had experienced. They had received the gospel and it has taken root in their lives. What we know about the people receiving this letter is how Peter felt about them. He loved and cared about them. He wanted them to remain firm in their faith. In verse 2, Peter mentions the knowledge of Christ which is pivotal as we’re about to talk about it. Verse 2 lays the foundation for the verses after that. Let’s read verses 3-11. If you’re able, let’s all stand for God’s word. This is what it says…

Christian Standard Bible (Chapter 1)

3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. 5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with goodness, goodness with knowledge, 6 knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, 7 godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins. 10 Therefore, brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election, because if you do these things you will never stumble. 11 For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.

Pray

Father, bless our time this morning as we dive into your word to learn more about you. Speak through me so your word can be preached more than anything. In your name, Amen.

So, how do we live like Christ did in a Christ less world? How do we show the love of Christ to a world that doesn’t want it? How do we live as Christ followers to a culture that judges us and doesn’t want anything to deal with Christ? How do we do it? Well, the first thing is…

1. Be like Christ (v. 3-4)

Explanation

What better way to live as Christ’s followers in a Christ-less world than to be like Him? After the greeting, Peter goes on and in verses 3-4, reminds them in the face of false teachings they have everything they need in Christ. They have everything they need to be like Him. Peter tells his readers that God has provided everything to grow in Christ.

Verse 3

As Peter starts in verse 3, he says, “His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness.” The word for power is the Greek word dunamis, where we get the word “dynamite.” Now, it means different than what we think dynamite is. If you’re like me, you probably thought of an explosion. But the way Peter uses it isn’t in the sense of a bang, but a dependable source of power that gets you where you’re going. Think of it like putting gas in your car, that’s what Peter meant, it’s what gets us through. His divine power helps us get through. His divine power is something we can depend on and rely on going into a new year. By His divine power, everything we need is ours or as Peter stated, “has given us everything required for life and godliness”. Notice, the order. “His divine power” and then “life and godliness.” His divine power is the source of “life and godliness.” “Life” is the life believers are called to have. “Godliness” is how believers are called to act. Peter goes on and says, “Through the knowledge of him.” This is the idea of complete and intimate knowledge. Growth in godliness comes by the way of knowledge of Him. Many times, we limit our knowledge of God to a one-time stop. “I got saved and knew Christ and I’m good now.” But Peter is challenging us to a lifelong pursuit of the knowledge of Christ. When we pursue more knowledge of Him, we’re able to grow in our relationship with Him. We’re able to become more and more like Christ. We can experience true life and godly living through knowing Christ. What a powerful verse. Peter could have stopped writing right here and it would have been good. Verse three explains the resources believers have through knowing God. Those who know God have everything they need for life and godliness.

Verse 4

So, in verse 4, he goes on and describes the promise of being like Christ. The “very great and precious promises” as Peter stated, it is the promises that God’s people have in the gospel. The promise Peter says are those involved in sharing “in the divine nature.” What Peter meant by this is that we as believers are promised we will be like God. Peter wasn’t saying we would be a god or be little gods but be like the one true God. He’s speaking of that union we have with Christ since we’re saved if you’re saved. He concludes verse 4 by saying “escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.” This is the final reward we have as believers. We’ve already escaped the world’s corruption since we belong to God, but the full moment of realization will be on the day of resurrection when Jesus returns. Oh, what an amazing day that will be. As John wrote in Revelation 21:4, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more because the previous things have passed away.”

So, why did Peter feel the need to say this? Peter’s readers had an intimate relationship with Christ, but it was also a reminder they needed. They’ve been believers for a while, they’ve faced persecution, and they’re facing false teachers all around them, so they needed a reminder. Peter provides a clear explanation for them that they had everything they needed as Christ's followers. They don’t need anything else. They just needed to be reminded of what they had in Christ and to be like Him.

So, has anyone already taken down their Christmas decorations? A hot take or maybe not but Home Alone 2, the one in New York, is the best Home Alone movie. Can we agree? Or can we agree that once they introduced a new person playing Kevin, it got bad? No offense to the kid playing Kevin but it wasn’t the same. But we all know how they go; Kevin tends to get left behind by his family. In the second one, it happens once again. The McCallister family prepares to spend Christmas in Miami. Unhappy with the trip, Peter and Kate's ten-year-old son Kevin complains that Florida lacks the Christmas atmosphere of snow and trees, which is a fair point. Peter, the Dad, accidentally reset his alarm clock, causing the family to oversleep. In a chaotic rush to get out of the house and through the airport, Kevin gets left behind and mistakenly boards a flight to New York City while carrying his Dad’s bag. Initially scared upon arriving in New York, but then Kevin quickly realizes he has the freedom to celebrate Christmas his way. While the rest of the family lands in Miami and goes to get all their bags, they try to pass Kevin’s bag down to him and then he isn’t there. The Mom famously says the line as we all know, “KEVIN.” They thought they had everything for the trip but once again, Kevin gets left behind. He’s in New York and they’re in Miami.

Application

This morning, as we go into the new year, be reminded that as Christ's followers, we have everything we need in Christ. His divine power and knowledge are enough for us. His divine power helps us be like Him. We don’t do it alone but through His divine power.

Transition

Peter continues on the same thought and explains how being like Christ requires being acting in our faith.

2. Be Active (v. 5-11)

Explanation

Verses 5-7

What good is knowledge if it’s not being used? Peter started in verse 5, “For this very reason”. He’s just continuing his thoughts. Peter wants to take what he told us in verses 3-4 and now apply it. He continues, “Make every effort to supplement your faith.” This is just a call to grow and increase what you know. The word “supplement” indicates a costly participation. Think of an athlete working hard for the big game coming up. Or you’re kid when they have a big test and you want them to study for it. This is like Peter’s appeal; now he’s going to back up his appeal by listing attributes and traits we’re called to have. Remember, this isn’t something new that we don’t know but a reminder for us to live out. Peter is calling us to continue to work on our character. He says at the end of verse 5 down to verse 7, “with goodness, goodness with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with godliness, godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.” How convenient though that he started with faith and ended with love. They go hand in hand because faith is the root of our character as Christ's followers. It’s how we believe in Him, through faith. And love is the goal of the Christian life, we’re called to show love to others. Peter here is leaving us with a challenge. These traits are something for us to live out and apply daily. In other words, be active in striving for them. But remember, what Peter said back in verse 3 “His divine power.” We’re not called to chase after these traits by ourselves, but we do this through His divine power which helps us live these out. As believers, we must never think to ourselves that Godly character is just by our efforts.

Verses 8-9

After Peter’s appeal about our character, in verses 8-9 he shows the result of these traits. In verse 8 when he says, “They will keep you from being useless or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is the result of the traits. If we possess them and use them, we’re productive as believers. We’re being active in what we know. We’re showing what we believe. If not, then as Peter says we will be “useless or unfruitful”. Peter’s aim is for us to be active in what we know. The result of the traits listed is that they should show up daily in our lives. The word “knowledge” again pops up and Peter brings it up again because the knowledge of Christ leads to an effective and fruitful life. Peter makes his case stronger in verse 9, “The person who lacks these things is blind and shortsighted.” Ok, Peter got a little intense. How can someone be blind and short-sighted? What’s going on here? If you’re blind or shortsighted, it makes it difficult to see. Peter ends verse 9 by saying, “and has forgotten the cleansing from his past sins.” The point here is that a person is focused on his or her present desires so then they miss how the gospel affects them daily. The person is blind because they can’t see the big picture but only what is close in hand. Church, how often do we think about the gospel? How often do we think about the message and the story of the gospel? Life gets busy and it’s easy for us to push our faith aside. We’re doing good one moment, then we start to slip away. This is why Peter is giving this reminder, he knows it’s hard to be consistent. Do you need a reminder of the gospel? Do you need a reminder that God has saved you?

I heard a story where a man had an identity crisis. A young husband who forgot he was married. According to the article, the day after the newlyweds returned from their honeymoon, the husband was three hours late getting home from the office. Dinner was all cooked and waiting on him, and his bride was burning mad. He wasn’t still at the office, but he went to his parent’s house again. It’s a crazy and odd story but do we often need a reminder of our identity too as Christ followers?

Peter is reminding us that we who have entered into a relationship with Jesus are not who we used to be. We must keep in mind that we have been cleaned from past sins as verse 9 tells us. Peter was writing to believers who just needed a reminder to be effective and fruitful as followers of Christ. It’s still that way today, many Christians are living on the sidelines. We’re limiting what we know to one moment with Jesus. But our faith was and is intended to mature and grow. That’s why Peter moves on and removes any concerns in verses 10-11. He wants us to be steadfast in our salvation.

Verses 10-11

In verse 10, he says, “Make every effort to confirm your calling and election.” Making every effort has this idea of putting in energy and making something a priority. What is the priority? The calling and election. This doesn’t have the idea of working for your salvation, because salvation is a gift for us. Peter isn’t suggesting that we must add Christlike traits to be saved. It’s not about making sure you’re saved but making sure you’re spiritually productive. It has the idea of confirming our callings as believers in Christ. Not salvation by works, but with works. And how do we do this? Believers are to live out their calling and election by practicing the traits in verses 5-7. As believers, we aren’t assured because we said a prayer. As we say around here, there’s no special prayer in the Bible. We’re assured as we grow in our character we become more and more like Christ. If someone is growing, then it is the evidence of their salvation. If it’s not happening, the realness of the person’s salvation is in question. Why should we want to grow in our character? Peter ends verse 10 and verse 11 with two promises. Verse 10 says, “If you do these things, you will never stumble.” They won’t fall on the path to God’s path to kingdom. The person won’t stumble because they have the traits, they need as believers. The person will travel with confidence and assurance. Then in verse 11 Peter looks to the future and says, “Entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly provided for you.” We will not barely make it in or escape something to get in. But “richly provided.” As Matthew 25:21 states, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Isn’t that the day we’re looking forward to?

Application

This is why we’re called to be active in our faith. Church, this morning we go into the new year, let’s continue to be active in our faith. We’ve done it so well through giving and living on mission. This past year, mission trips have happened with local ones and an adult and student ministry trip to Pittsburgh. We have responded to Hurricane Helene through giving and teams have gone to Western North Carolina to help. But let’s not stop now, let’s keep going. Let’s continue to pour into each other. Let’s continue to serve in the areas we serve in. The connect team, recovery alive, student ministry, kids ministry, security team, coffee, and wherever you may serve. Continue to work hard and care like we have this year.

Transition

Peter continues and now explains why he’s writing this. Be reminded.

3. Be Reminded (v. 12-15)

Explanation

This is the whole purpose of the text, be reminded. Starting in verse 12, the words “therefore” and “these things” refer back to what Peter has been saying. Whenever you’re reading scripture, notice keywords and phrases. Specifically, notice the transitional words and phrases that move us from the author’s thought to thought. Also, notice repeated words. “Reminded” is repeated in verses 12-15. Verse 12, “I will always remind you.” Verse 13, “To wake you up with a reminder.” Verse 15, “And I will also make every effort so that you are able to recall these things at any time after my departure.” Once again Peter felt these believers needed to be reminded of how to live. These believers were mature and strong, but they still needed a reminder. Peter compliments them when he says “Even though you know them and are established in the truth you now have” in verse 12. They were grounded in truth but still needed a reminder. The same is true for us today. Being reminded helps us grow and sustain truth in our lives. We may have been believers for a while. Been saved and got baptized a while ago. We’ve been on a couple of mission trips before. We’ve done the faith thing ago for a while. However, may we never become too prideful in our faith. May we know that we’re never going to arrive where we know everything. May we know that there’s always more to learn.

Peter was urgent to remind them of their growth and maturity despite false teachings around them. He was urgent because he was coming to the end of his life, and he knew he needed to say some last words. Peter knew it was right to remind people constantly, especially because he knew that the days of his earthly life were soon coming to an end. Knowing that his time was short, and false teachers were near, Peter was urgent in calling them to remember. In verse 13, he refers to his human life as a “tent”, he knows he doesn’t have much time left. It’s just another way to say, “time is ticking.” Peter was convinced that he only had a short time left to help them. He says later in verse 14 why, “as our Lord Jesus Christ has indeed made clear to me.” He’s not wrong, In John 21, Jesus made it clear that Peter one day will die. Since this is true Peter is urgent to remind them of everything, they need for their faith.

Application

The same urgency Peter had to help them remember is the same for us today. Are you urgent to remember what God has done for us? God has done amazing things in our lives but sometimes we’re not reminded of them. We enjoy them in the moment but let them go after. What can we do to help us remember what God has done? Something simple like putting little notes around our house about what God has done. Or a reminder on our phone. Or maybe we can write a journal entry about it. Like Pastor Andrew said, I graduate from Carolina Bible College in May and this past semester, I took a class called “Wisdom Literature” and what I learned is that wisdom is best learned and applied when you reflect and contemplate. What is something from this year we can reflect on?

Conclusion

I heard about this church planting story where a Pastor in Atlanta kept a tennis ball in his truck as a reminder of when God gave the church a building to meet at. In the beginning stages of the church, they were moving from location to location. They are now in their permanent building that at one point was a retail store that went out of business. It was a retail store selling tennis equipment. Tennis balls, rackets, tennis gear, and on the walls were pro tennis players, so customers would have some inspiration. But then the business declined, and the building was up for sale. The church planting team sat around a table in the abandoned retail building asking God can we move in this building. They needed this building, but they didn’t have the finances yet for it. Well, God provides, and they end up getting the building, and they’re still there. Years go by and the same church planting team is at the building praying and while they’re there, one of them notices a tennis ball lying there. And they knew exactly where it came from. A tennis ball left over from the early days. They thought they got everything from the retail store when they cleaned up but there was tennis ball lying around. The Pastor kept it in his truck everywhere he went as a reminder of what God did by giving them a place to meet. They didn’t have the money or resources, but God provided a way for them.

Do you have a tennis ball story? What’s your tennis ball story where you can remember what God did? I thought about getting a bunch of tennis balls and we all got one to help us remember. But Recovery Alive does this very well with blue chips. If you’re struggling with something, you can take a blue chip, and it can be your reminder that you’re seeking help with it. What comes to mind for you? Maybe it’s similar to the Pastor and how God provided a way when it didn’t seem like there would be one. There weren’t any resources or help available, but God showed up. Something just came up out of nowhere.

Maybe this morning, we need to be reminded of the gospel. The gospel simply means “good news.” It is good news because it is the way of salvation. It is the message of forgiveness for sin through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. The good news of the gospel is that we don’t have to pay for it, it’s already been paid for. It’s nothing that we have to earn or deserve. It’s not when you make this amount of money, you’re saved. Charles Spurgeon, the great famous preacher said, “The gospel is not for you who can save yourselves, but for those who are lost.” Where are you this morning? Where are you in your faith this morning? It’s very easy to get a custom of things and go through the motions. It’s the same old, same old. Come to church and serve in your area. Read your Bible, or as we say, “Get in the word, so the word can get into you.” All great stuff, but sometimes when you start to go through the motions, you can lose the reason you do it. You start to do it out of obligation and not love. Oh, that’s a dangerous place to be. You take for granted your relationship with the Lord. You do things because you have to do them, not so much because you want to. It only leaves you tired and worn out. Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He is the perfect resting place when we’re tired. I would argue the best resting place. When you’re in His presence, you’re filled up. When you leave, you want more. When you get tired, just remember who the Lord is and remember what He has done for you. Pray with me this morning.

Pray