Foundation in a Fractured World.

Opening:

Good evening everyone. I hope you’ve had a good day of outreach and some good conversations. As I pondered what I wanted to speak to you on, I wrestled through the question, “what would I have wanted someone to tell me when I was your age?” At that question, a myriad of ideas came to mind. However, not one of these ideas was a pointed or poignant as this one. What is our foundation? What is the bedrock of what we believe? How do we know what is true? You see, in our culture, there is this idea called “Post Modernism.” Basically this means that nothing is really true and if there is anything true, we can’t know what it is. Basically this means that we each have our own experiences that dictate what is true for us. What I feel is true may not be true for you. What you feel is true may not be true for me. This is a horrible belief system that is widely accepted in our culture and even in the church. But it is not what the Bible teaches. Will you pray with me before we begin.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for who you are. Lord, I thank you for all you have done for us. Lord, I thank you for the people you have brought safely here and I pray that you would open their hearts to hear what you have spoken. Lord, we thank you for your Word. Scripture is such a gift and we so seldom are grateful for it. Forgive us for our misuse of what you have given us. Let us see the truth of the foundation of what you have spoken to us. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.

Introduction:

How many of you are fans of Disney movies? How many of you have seen more than one Disney movie? Disney is perhaps most popular for its fairy tales. Allow me to give you a summary of almost every single Disney Fairy Tale. Girl has problem, more than likely with a parental figure. Girl feels limited and oppressed by parental figure. Girl meets boy. Girl and boy fall madly in love. Girl is forbidden this love by parental figure or circumstance. Girl defies the authority. Girl learns important lesson about the importance of following her heart. Girl sings song about following her heart. Girl fixes all problems by following her heart. Boy and girl are married.

This is the cookie cutter mold of almost every one of the Disney fairy tales. It can be summed up in one phrase. “Follow your heart.”

Opening Illustration: “Follow Your Heart”

How many of you have heard this phrase? If you do a google search of quotes on following your heart you will be met with quotes from tech icons to country singers to pop stars to religious leaders. All of them encouraging you to follow your heart. Sometimes one must ignore what you think or know and simply follow your heart. Do what makes you feel good. Life is about experience. What have you experienced? Your life is unique, live your truth! Be true to you! Your truth is what is true about you. This is the truth of your heart and soul. Phrases like this are everywhere. It is the mantra of our entire culture. Follow your heart!

This is what you will hear in most movies, most music, most sermons. But there is a problem. This is the single worst piece of advice one can be given. Why? Jeremiah 17:9 says, “9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” The Bible does not paint a positive picture of the heart of man. The Bible teaches something called total depravity. This means that man is completely wicked. Sinful to the core.

I think this is clearly proven by the natural outcome of the “live your truth” or “follow your heart” advice. You know who is completely living their truth? You know who is completely following their hearts? Serial killers. They are abandoning all rules and following their hearts. This is not a glowing recommendation of the “follow your heart” style of living. But if what is true for one person is not true for another, then who can condemn anyone?

Our culture, and sadly the church, has embraced a fluid idea of truth. That means that the truth just sort of shifts from person to person. Nothing is completely true or sure. Everyone just sort of lives out their own experiences. Who’s to say if what is true for me is true for you? Who’s to say that Johnny can’t become Sally. Who’s to say that anything is real? This as I said earlier is known as “Post modernism.” It is a deadly lie.

Introduction of the Text:

But how can we know what truth is? How can we know anything? Can we know anything? Is life just a bunch of random experiences where no one knows what on earth is happening? Open your Bible’s to 2 Peter 1:12-21. We are going to see what the Apostle Peter has to say about this.

For those of you who don’t know, the Apostle Peter walked with Jesus during His ministry on this earth. He was one of Jesus’ closest followers. Later on Peter became a great teacher and leader in the church. When the Church started being hunted and beaten and killed, Peter wrote a letter to them. He wanted to encourage them to stay faithful to Jesus. A little bit later, Peter wrote this second letter. This letter is significant because Peter is about to die. He has been arrested and is in Rome awaiting execution. He knows he is about to die, so he is writing a final letter to the church. In essence this letter contains his last words. So what he says must be pretty important. This must be the big thing he wants the church to know, right? So what is it that Peter wants the church to know? He wants the church to be able to avoid false teachers and false prophets. He is pouring his heart out to these people and trying to teach them the most important things before he dies.

With this in mind, will you stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Text:

2 Peter 1:12-21 “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.

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. 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, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

The Word of God.

Transition:

Let’s break down this passage. Let’s study and see what Peter is trying to say before the end. The first thing we see is that Peter is near death.

Peter is Near Death.

Explanation:

He says that “the putting off of my body will be soon.” He says that Jesus made this clear. Jesus prophesied how Peter would die in the ending of the gospel of John. Now Peter knows it is soon. But why does he bring this up? It is to show the importance of why he is writing what he is writing.

Peter explains, “15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things.” He wants the church to be trained and taught. He wants them to be able to recall his teaching at any time. He is pouring his heart out to the church and is begging them to pay attention to what he is saying. If someone can recall something at anytime it is because they memorized it. This is what Peter wants. Be so familiar with what I have taught you that you have it memorized.

Argumentation:

I said at my opening that if I could teach you only one thing, this would be it. I feel like I can echo Peter’s address here. Pay close attention to this. I want you to be so sure of these things that after you depart, you will be able to recall these things. I want this truth to be so ingrained in you heart that you can stand on it always. God’s Word is true. When this lesson ends, I hope you never forget that the Word of God is our sure foundation.

Transition:

But Peter continues. Peter shares his witness of the transfiguration.

Peter Shares His Witness of the Transfiguration:

Explanation:

The transfiguration was an incredible event. Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain where they saw His glory. They traveled up on the mountain where Moses and Elijah showed up. Then the veil of Jesus’ humanity was pulled aside and they saw the glory of Jesus and were in terror! Then God the Father spoke from heaven to them. Listen to how Peter recalls it. “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.”

Peter was a witness to one of the most incredible moments in history. Very few people have ever seen Jesus in His glorified state. Peter was one of three men to witness this. It was an incredible, incredible experience. Peter saw Jesus in His truest sense. He saw the deity of Jesus revealed. This is an incredible witness.

Argumentation:

Peter starts by saying that he did not teach or follow cleverly devised myths. In other words, he is saying that the gospel he taught the church was true. Then he appeals to an unimaginably incredible experience. “This is true! I saw Jesus’ glory with my own eyes! I heard the voice of God the Father with my own ears!”

And if we were to stop and close our Bible’s now, we would be in line with most every teaching on experiencing God in the church today. This is what you will hear from so many pastors, so many youth pastors. “When did you experience God?” They will encourage you to try to find those times where you felt something. Remember that time at camp when the music was just right and the speaker was shouting something passionately? Remember how you heard God speak to your heart? That is like Peter’s experience on the mountain. There is your mountain top experience! Hold onto that! That is how you know God is real. This is what you will hear from so many in the church, but it is not true.

What do we do when two people’s experience of God does not match up? What do we do when the teenage boy Johnny says, “God told me that I was going to marry Susan?” but Susan says “God told me I was going to marry Ricardo?” What then? What about when someone experiences God is a way that smells more fishy than an old bass boat? You see, when we teach people to fall back on some experience of God, we are teaching them that their experience is their foundation.

Transition:

Thankfully however, Peter continues on. He says we have a prophetic word more fully confirmed.

A Prophetic Word More Fully Confirmed.

Explanation:

Peter continues, “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, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”

We have a prophetic word more fully confirmed. This is a powerful statement! Peter just told the church of his experience of seeing with his own eyes the glory of Christ, then he says that there is something more sure than his own testimony. What could that possibly be? “Church,” Peter says, “here is my testimony of seeing the very glory of Jesus with my own eyes and hearing the voice of the Father with my own ears, but there is something even more secure and sure than that.” I think we would do well to pay attention to what he says next.

Peter says to pay attention to this more sure Word as if it were a lamp in a dark place. Hold onto it until the sun rises. So what is this Word? Peter tells us. “20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The more fully confirmed word is Scripture. “Uhhhg” we seem to say, “Here we go with the typical ‘read your Bible’ speech” But don’t miss what Peter is saying, follow his argument with me. Peter tells the most incredible story ever, then says, “but that is nothing compared to the Bible.”

Argumentation:

But how on earth could the Bible be better than seeing Jesus in His glory for ourselves? That is what Peter is saying. Well, Peter says that the reason is that no prophesy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. What on earth does that mean? Well, first it means that writing Scripture is part of the gift of prophesy. Not every prophesy was written down as Scripture, but all Scripture is prophesy. Maybe I’m confusing you.

In short, Peter’s argument is that men did not come up with the Bible. They did not sit down and start writing a religious text. They were “carried along by the Holy Spirit.” This means that the Bible is quite literally written by God. The Holy Spirit came and carried along the prophets to write the Bible. He used the prophets and placed every word where it needed to be. The Bible is written by God. So what’s the big deal? God wrote us a book. Why is this more important than our experiences? Here comes an important word. “Theopneustos.” Theopneustos means literally, breathed out by God or God breathed. It means that the Scriptures hold the very breath of God. I heard someone once describe it as if you were to hold you hand in front of your mouth while talking, you could feel the breath that is carrying your words.

This is what Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17. “16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” This is likely Paul’s last letter as well. He will die soon as well, and he is writing to his dear friend Timothy, encouraging him to stay faithful. Very similar letters containing similar emotions and teachings. But these verses capture the importance of the Scriptures. Anyone can claim to have heard from God, but the Scriptures contain the very breath of God. This is the essence of both these passages. Hold fast, cling to the Word of God because it is perfect.

Jesus also echoed this, saying in Matthew 22:31-33 “31 And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.” Jesus says this as a rebuke to the Sadducees. Listen to that phrasing. “Have you not read what was said to you by God.” The words, written down by the prophets are as if God is speaking directly to you. How often do we think of this? I love the way Justin Peters and others put it. They say, “If you want to hear God speak, read your Bible. If you want to hear God speak audibly, read your Bible out loud.”

Application:

But what does this mean for us? What application do we have here? Is this just another sermon where I as a pastor tell you to read your Bible? No, this is is vital. This is the difference between spiritual death and life. If you go out from here and value your experiences or emotions over the word of God, you will spiral out of control. Your life will crumble and you will be Spiritually broken. I do not want this. I want you to be safe and secure. Remember why Peter wrote this letter? He wrote it as a last set of instructions. One of the chief instructions was to stay away from false teachers. Scripture is a firm footing against false teachers.

The Firm Footing Against False Teachers.

If we look at the first two verses of chapter two we read this, “2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.” Peter implores the churches to hold fast to Scripture. One of the chief reasons to do this is to avoid false prophets and false teachers. Almost every book in the New Testament has a warning against false prophets and false teachers. The Israelites were battered by false prophets just as the church is. There are false prophets and false teachers to this day. They teach destructive heresies and teach people to follow their own sensuality. What does it mean to follow your own sensuality? Follow your heart.

Transition:

Peter begs them to cling to the truth of Scripture and avoid these false teachers and prophets. But how? This is simple. Fallible prophesy is just another name for false prophesy.

Fallible Prophesy is Another Name for False Prophesy.

Peter is appealing to the Scriptures. He tells them to follow the words of the Scriptures. They are to follow the Scriptures written by the prophets as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. We are to be like Israel and avoid the false prophets and false teachers that come along. How do we do this? We obey Scripture. There are clear commands in Scripture on how to tell if someone is a false prophet or a false teacher. In fact, to identify either a false teacher or a false prophet, we must only look to God’s commands given through Moses in Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy 13:1-3 says “If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” This is a simple command. If someone claims to be a prophet, and can even work miracles, but what they say goes against Scripture, they are false prophets and false teachers. Even if they do incredible miracles, they are to be rejected as false prophets.

Deuteronomy 18:20-22 does not deal with teachers but it gives the rest of the tell tale sign of how to identify a false prophet. “20 But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.’ 21 And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the LORD has not spoken?’— 22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.” This is also clear. If a “prophet” says something is going to happen then it doesn't, they are a false prophet.

These are clear and easy guidelines. If someone claims to be a teacher or a prophet but teaches you something in any way different than what the Bible says, they are a false teacher or prophet. If they say “God told me....” but what they say is not true or does not come to pass, they are a false prophet.

But here comes the objection. “That is the Old Testament, what does that have to do with the New Testament?” Well, it’s simple. Both old and new testaments are Scripture. They are true and the Word of God. And no where in the New Testament does God change the requirements or proofs of a false prophet or teacher. It in no way changes. Prophets are still held to the same standard. People claim that prophesy changed in the New Testament, but there is no evidence for this. They will claim that prophesy can now be fallible. But this is against Scripture. Fallible prophesy is false prophesy. That is what the Bible says.

This is why we are to trust the Bible over anything. It protects us from false teachers and even those who claim to be prophets. Scripture is the more sure Word. It is more sure than even if someone claims to have a direct word from God. They may claim prophecy but Scripture is our foundation. We weigh what everyone says against Scripture. Even what I say. If I say something to you that is against Scripture, reject it and follow what the Bible says.

Transition:

This is why my hope for you is that you will cling to Scripture over personal Experience.

Cling to the Scriptures Over Personal Experience.

As I said earlier, our entire culture is experiential. The church has also grown incredibly experiential. In the heretical but highly popular book “Jesus Calling” author Sarah Young shares that she knew God was speaking to her through the Bible, but she longed for more. She then writes the entire devotional under the style of Jesus speaking directly to her. She claims it as direct revelation from God. She felt that God’s revelation was not enough. She wanted to experience God more. Wanting to experience God in a deeper way can be a good thing, but the way to do this is through Scripture, not through rejecting Scripture. This is one of the best selling devotionals of all time. It is still on the Amazon top ten list for “Christian” devotionals.

“Experiencing God” by Henry Blackaby is very similar. It pushes strongly the idea that Christians are to base the success of their walk with God on their experiences of Him. This should be obvious alone by the title. This idea is the bread and butter of the Charismatic movement. However, the main problem is that you will not find this idea within Scripture. Scripture points back to itself. Even Jesus points people back to the words of the Bible. You will not find any advice in Scripture about chasing experiences or following your heart or desires. The message of Scripture is clear, “Deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Christ.” Matthew 16:24 (paraphrase) The message of Christianity is self denial. It is to stand on the truth and worship God.

“Oh pastor Jonathan hates experiences!” No I don’t. I believe that we do experience God deeply in our lives. I believe that we are to love God with all our hearts. This is emotional language. I believe we are to love Him with all of our souls. This is Spiritual language. I believe we are to love Him with all of our minds. This is logical language. I believe we are to love Him with all of our strength. This is physical language. This covers every part of human life. But we have a problem in the church. We are overrun with overemotional Christians and churches. They are experience hunters and this is the opposite of what we are supposed to be. We are to be firmly founded on the Word of God over all else. Experiences may be false. That night at summer camp where the music was just right and the tears began to flow may be a great experience, but it is not the foundation of your faith. You weren’t saved because you walked an isle and prayed a prayer. You are saved by the grace of God. If you build your faith on some experience, it will crumble just like the house built on the sand. But if you build your faith on the Word of God, no storm will ever shake it. You may be at the height of joy or the depths of despair, your faith will stand. You may be jumping in excitement or weeping in pain, your faith will stand.

Illustration:

I grew up in a church environment where I was taught that we should seek to hear God speak to us. Any pull on our emotions or hearts was God. Any thought that came into our head was the Holy Spirit directly speaking to us. We would be sat down and taught how to prophesy or speak in tongues in order to feel God. You were considered to be a better Christian by how much we would “experience God” in these ways. If you couldn’t pray in a babble that was called tongues, you were considered to be less spiritual. If you couldn’t give a “prophetic” word over someone, you were considered to be less spiritual. However, If you could do these things, you considered to be very Spiritual.

It was an environment where emotion was key. The music would be organized just right so as to build to an emotional peak. By the third song, people would be in “worship” Hands would be raised (a biblical practice) people would shake and convulse (an unbiblical practice) people would begin to babble strange syllables (a condemned practice in 1 Corinthians) Everything was built so that you could feel something. Now there are many things wrong with how I grew up. There are many heresies I was taught. But that is not my focus here. Everything was build around the emotions of feeling God. What experience could you have.

But there I was, your age. I was subjected to all of that. I was expected to play my part. I was the good Christian kid. I was from a Christian home. I knew all the right answers in Sunday School. I was expected to perform with everyone else. But there was one thing different about me. I was severely depressed. I was a teenage boy who struggled hourly with suicidal thoughts. My emotions were a roller coaster. Everything I had been taught in the church was that my relationship with God was to be built around my feelings and experiences. Yet there I was, broken and bleeding on the inside. My foundation was build on my feelings and experiences. So when the music was right, and I “felt” what I thought was God moving, I was on top of the world. But when the music faded, and I went home to my basement bedroom, I felt like I was stripped of my very salvation. “I must not be saved. I don’t feel anything anymore.” I would weep and want to die. I was subject to the waves of my feelings.

Closing:

I said I my opening, I wanted to tell you things that I wish someone would have told me when I was your age. What do I wish I knew when I was your age? The truth of God is not based on your experience or feelings. The truth of God is based on the truth of God. God is God regardless of how you feel. What He has said is true regardless of what you experience. God is not God only when you feel Him. God is God all the time. He has revealed Himself. He revealed Himself in the truth of Scripture. He is almighty God. He is Lord of all.

If you build your faith on your experiences, then when you are happy, life is good. But when you are broken, life is hopeless. When you graduate and get into the college you want, God is good! But when you get dumped by your first boyfriend or girlfriend, God might not be so good. But if your life is built on the more sure testimony of God’s Word, then when life is good, God is good. When life is bad, God is good. When you are jumping for joy, your faith is solid; when you are weeping at home alone, your faith is solid.

When your faith is founded on the Word of God, you can stand firm against anything. Kids, what do I want you to know? What is the one thing I want you to walk away with? Sola Scriptura. You will see that engraved on my pulpit, and I hope it becomes engraved on your hearts. Sola Scriptura. That means Scripture Alone. Scripture Alone is our foundation. Our foundation is not built on the wishy washy waves of our emotions or experiences. You may experience great things. That is not our foundation. You may experience horrible things. That is not your foundation. Scripture alone. You can read the Bible and understand it. You can read it and comprehend it. You can know what the Bible says and you must build your life on it. Make what God says your foundation.

Let’s pray.

Prayer: