Peter 1 12-21

Peter is addressing the believers and reminding them of the importance of staying steadfast in their faith. He emphasizes the need to remember the teachings and foundation of their faith, as well as the importance of being established in the present truth. Peter acknowledges his own impending death and the urgency he feels to continue reminding and stirring up the believers. He highlights the significance of having a steadfast faith, especially in the face of adversity and the attacks of the enemy. Peter encourages the believers to resist the devil and remain grounded in their faith, knowing that God will ultimately establish, strengthen, and settle them. Back in second Peter chapter one second Peter chapter one. Thank you for taking us and taking charge and getting the services going and running and taking leadership really to the point you all are doing it yourselves everything by yourself. And so praise God for it praise God for you and also praise God for all of y'all who have been here that have encouraged the youth to help them get to this point so thank you. But in second Peter chapter one we're going to be looking at verses twelve through twenty one this evening. And I'm just going to read the first several verses here but in verse twelve we start out and it says wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things though you know them and be established in the present truth. Yea I think it needs as long as I am in this tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance knowing that shortly I must put off this tabernacle even as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. Therefore I will endeavor that you be able that you may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. Let's go to God in prayer Lord we come to you now and just thank you for this day. I thank you for the youth that have taken up and taken charge and led in this service and that we may be able to gather together corporately and worship you and lift up your name in praise. God I thank you for all of their maturity and Lord I pray for their steadfast growth. I pray this evening that you'll just use the message that you've laid on my heart to preach to me yes as you already have done but also to everybody here that we may grow closer to you Lord. Thank you for all that you do. Thank you for your son Jesus and salvation in his name we pray. Amen. So just a kind of a recap I know we've been going through 2 Peter on the youth led services the opportunities that I've had to preach and we finally made it through that list of things that Peter had talked about and that you add to you bring on alongside your faith that you may grow and be steadfast in the Lord and so we come down to this part he finally done through that list but he goes to verse 12 and we see that he's still not done with that list of things. He's still not done bringing it up and it won't ever be done being brought up and I say that because Peter stresses it so with just in these several verses because Peter has a heart has a desire for these believers that he's writing to and likewise just as Peter has his heart from these individuals God writing through the Holy Spirit has us has his heart on us that we may be steadfast and firm just as these Christians that Peter is trying to reaffirm in their faith and found in their faith. See we must keep ourselves in remembrance of everything that we have learned. Who our Savior is and thereby continue to grow by his grace that he has given us. We remember about what all was being discussed here. We go back to the previous verses and it starts back in verse five and it says besides this giving all diligence add to your faith virtue and the virtue of knowledge and knowledge temperance and temperance patience and patience godliness and godliness brotherly kindness and brotherly kindness charity for if these things be in you and abound they make you that you shall neither be barren nor fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ but he that lacks these things is blind and cannot see afar off and have forgotten he is purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather brethren give diligence to make your calling of an election sure for if you do these things you shall never fall for so an entrant shall be ministered unto you abundantly and to the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so we see that as we have discussed every one of these things builds on one another it helps to amplify the next one and helps to build a foundation so you can keep on growing and keep on living for the Lord. We won't go through all those again as in defining each one of them again but we've already gone through them and the effects of those we see is that we will be fruitful we will not fall and verse 11 you will have for an entrant shall be ministered unto you abundantly in the everlasting kingdom of the Lord Savior Jesus Christ. And Peter as he's writing to these Christians here he has that on his mind. He's just gone through this whole list of how they can be firm and how they can grow and how they can stand and be solid in their faith. He's already written a previous letter to them we'll discuss a little bits and pieces of that later on but he comes back in verse 12 with this affirmation again. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things. What we had just discussed everything that he had just brought up in chapter 1 previously though you know them and be established in the present truth. So we see what Peter is bringing up into remembrance but likewise why is he wanting him to remember this? In verse 12 we see that he wants them to be established in the present truth. That word established is the same idea of being fortified to be strong and Matthew chapter 7 verse 24 if you will turn there momentarily. We see Jesus is telling a parable and this parable directly deals with salvation and yes but he's saying that those people who hear his words and do them they are like this. And it says in verse 24. Therefore whosoever hears these things of mine and does them I will liken him unto a wise man which built his house upon a rock. And rain descended and floods came and winds blew and beat upon the house and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock. And everyone that hears these things of mine and does them not shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. Peter recognizes the importance of the foundation. The importance of everything that was laid. The importance of what Jesus has taught him and likewise what he has taught believers that he has been able to disciple. Why does Peter have this desire to bring them into remembrance of all of these things? We look in verse 13. And it says yea I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. Knowing that shortly I must put off this tabernacle even as our Lord Jesus Christ has shown me. So Peter as he is walking this ministry he has been able to pour into different individuals. He has been able to pour into different groups and disciple others and he has always known his time was going to come. Jesus Christ as we look over in John chapter 21 it says verily verily I say unto you when you were young. Jesus talking to Peter. You girded yourself. You walked whither you wouldest. But when thou shalt be old thou shalt stretch forth thy hands and another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. Verse 19 this he spoke signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this he saith unto him follow me. We see Jesus talking to Peter. He is telling him that you are going to die. From this time up to this point you know you have gotten your own self up. You have gone your own way. You have decided when you are going to do this and do that. You have decided how you are going to do it. You have decided as you are ministering you are going up and you are going to follow me. But when you get to a certain point you are not going to have a decision on that anymore. In fact there is going to be other people picking you up. Eventually this picking up quite literally drove him to the place he would not go. He did not want to go. History says that Peter was crucified. We do not have anything in Biblical text that says that. We have some things that definitely allude to it. His hands were stretched forth signifying possibly that stretching forth of his hands being tied to a cross or nailed to a cross. But we see that Peter, who denied Christ, who ran from death, says that he cared whether he would or would not rather not like to go. But even in the face of this he realizes it is time. And that is not what he focuses on. That is not what his focus is on. In verse 14 it talks about that my tabernacle is going to be put off. But in verse 13 we see it says that I think it means as long as I am in this tabernacle, as long as I have the capability, I am going to stir you up. I am going to put you in remembrance. Now, Peter is talking to these young believers in Christ and he is putting them in remembrance. He is constantly going back and reminding them. This is what you need to do. This is what you need to add onto your faith. And you need to do it diligently. Likewise, you can say that for us as individuals. If we are older in the faith, maybe, and we see other younger believers in the faith, you know, we need help from time to time being reminded, putting them in remembrance of things that we ought to do. He understands that a steadfast faith is essential to be grounded. If you will go back to 1 Peter chapter 5, verse 8. It says in verse 8, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walks about, seeking whom he may devour. Whom resists a steadfast faith. Now, Peter, he is urging these believers, remember. Remember to be diligent. Remember to diligently have these things. That you may be fruitful. That you may be able to stand. And that you will not lack in anything. That you will live for the Lord. Now, we take that and keep that in mind. The devil that's coming out as a roaring lion, he resists a steadfast faith. Knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. That the God of all grace, who has called us into His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect. Establish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. In chapter 5 of 1 Peter, we see that same remembering. Bringing into remembrance. Who is our Savior? Who is the one that keeps us stable? Who is the one that keeps us strong? If we're left to our own strength and our own devices, surely we'll fail. But with the Lord Jesus Christ on our side, what can separate us from the love of God that falls on us? We continue on in this idea that Peter is stressing so much to put you into remembrance. Remember. He understood that they have a like precious faith. 2 Peter chapter 1, in verse 1, it says, It says, Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have attained a like precious faith with us, the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ our Lord. He understood that that precious faith that they have is strong. And it is a firm foundation. And he wants them to grow. And Peter, likewise, wants us to grow. He wants us to be able to stand and be fruitful. But he also understands, as we see in 1 Peter, the devil, he's going to always be out to cause us to fall. To cause us to falter and to cause us to sin. He's gotten up to the point, as he describes in verse 9, that they've forgotten that they have once been purged from their sins. And so, Peter wants us to remember our Savior. Remember His teachings. Remember everything that He has for us, that we may be steadfast and firm. Why is He wanting us to remember? What is He wanting us to remember? Let's bring that to focus again. He's wanting us to remember all those teachings that you just brought, adding on to these different things. Of course, all these different things, in one way or another, can encapsulate a whole portion of the Word of God. And how we live and our conduct and how we can stand firm in the faith. But to bring it in an idea of an illustration. You know that I worked in the store for a long time, the hardware store. All of y'all have dealt with money, fiscal money. I don't know if y'all have ever come in contact with it. But, I don't even know if I've ever come in contact with it. But every now and then, you'll hear somebody coming up with a fake deal. Something that's printed off, it appears like it, but yet it's not truly the real deal. So, in the store, as y'all probably know, there's different ways that you can figure out what a, how a deal is an actual, a real deal. Dollar bill, five dollar bill, some of the four. We'd always check the hundred dollar bills. Every now and then, a twenty if we were a little suspicious. You know, in trying to figure out which one is real or not, you're not studying how they make fake bills. Of course, you can understand bits and pieces here. You can understand maybe they use different paper. Maybe they use different ink. I've felt bills and they feel different, okay? But the main source of figuring out what is truth and what is the real thing is knowing what the real thing is like. I'm sure that y'all heard that. I believe this is something Brother Donnie has mentioned before. Do y'all know how they identify a, one of the newer hundred dollar bills? Different ways to identify it. There are several different ways, actually. If you, one of the most common ways, you can hold it up to a light and you can see the reflection of Jefferson in there. Or the little kind of print mark, okay? Also, they have a UV strip in there that you can put a ultraviolet light and shine on it and it shines on the newer ones. The paper is made of a certain type of paper that if you have this special marker, you can mark it and it shows up brown. If it's black, then you know it's not a real thing. And Peter is saying, remember what the truth is. Remember the foundation. Remember what Jesus Christ has taught me that I'm teaching you. Because if we are going to be steadfast at this church, if we're going to be steadfast in our own Christian lives, we must remember. And you know, sometimes we need to have others, as Peter is doing here, saying, hey, don't you remember where the Lord was faithful? Hey, don't you remember what Jesus Christ has taught us to do here in this situation? You know, there's some hard stuff going on in your life. Don't you remember what God has instructed us to do here? In 1 Peter chapter 5, it talks about, if you have need, pray to the Lord, catching all your cares upon Him because He cares for you. Sometimes we need help remembering those things. We continue on. How does Peter want them to remain in remembrance? We look at verse 15. Moreover, I will endeavor that you may be able after my deceit, after I'm dead and gone, to have these things always in your remembrance. So Peter's concern is this, is that he can help them to remember, that he can help affirm that. And he's going over it again and again in several different verses, saying the same thing, that you will be established in the truth, that you will be firm in it, that you will remember, and you will remember, and you will remember, and so finally, he doesn't have to get you to remember. You can just remember yourself. Ultimately, that's where we all want to be as Christians. That we can be as David while he was lying down and as dead in the night sky and couldn't sleep or different things, different chaoses were going around. That all he was thinking about was the promises of the Lord, remembering himself, not needing anybody else to repassion or help him recall what the Lord has taught him, how the Lord is faithful, and what he has for us to do. Peter, in this idea, he says, I will endeavor, literally means to strive, to attain, to reach, even at the point of death. Peter's ultimate desire is that these Christians that he's writing to, even some of them that were Gentiles in the faith, but now are saved, they have the same precious white faith, that they are standing fast, firm, and yet, kind of like in the dollar bill illustration, they know the truth, they understand the truth, and they will not be wavered from the truth. Endeavor sounds quite a lot like diligence. Endeavor is different in this way. Endeavor is defined as striving to attain the reach. It's a one-time last effort, getting it out there, trying to do his best to do it, because he knows he doesn't have a long time. Diligence is defined as this steady, earnest, or energetic effort. He knows that these Christians, whether they're physically old or not, they need to remember. We need to remember. As long as we are living, we need to remember. A continual remembrance. Not needing anybody else to come in and say, hey, brother, remember the Lord, remember what He has taught us, remember to add on faith, remember to add on diligence, remember to seek the best of the best, of virtue, remember to seek holiness, remember Noah. Peter's design, he is endeavoring that we are living in constant remembrance in every moment and every day of what the Lord has taught us. Whether it be through other brothers and sisters in Christ, through the Holy Spirit in our own study, or through different circumstances. If you will, turn to Hebrews chapter 5, verse 12. Hebrews chapter 5, verse 12. Hebrews chapter 5, verse 12 says this. The author of Hebrews writing says, for when the time you ought to be teachers, you have need that you be taught again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God. And become such as need of milk and not of strong meat. For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them, and I'm going to put in the word here, that can remember. That are of full age, that are mature. Even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. If we can remember what the Lord has taught us, if we can remember what other Christians have helped us to remember and to learn of the truth of the word of God, guess what? We can be fruitful just as Peter desires that we are fruitful in the previous verses. No matter what happens, no matter what comes about, if we remember, we can stand firm and sit fast. Now, we continue on, and Peter substantiates this endeavor. And it's not just me pleading because this is what I've taught and all that, but there's something more to this. And this is teachings that have even been taught to me. We go back to 2 Peter, and we continue on in the following verses. In verse 16 it says, For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the powerings of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His magic. Peter's saying remember. And remember because we have a reason to remember. Because we are serving the living Savior. He is alive. In Matthew chapter 17 verse 1, this majesty that he's talking about, we see that Jesus, He's taken up these certain disciples, Peter, James, and John. After six days, it says in Matthew chapter 17 verse 1, Peter, James, and John, his brother, and bringeth them up to the high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as light. And behold, there appeared unto him Moses and Elias talking with him, and then answered Peter and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here, if thou wilt let us make thee, make here three sabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, one for Elias. And while he yet stayed, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed him, and behold, a voice out of the cloud which said, This is my Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him. And the disciples fell on his face, and they were sore afraid. We go back to 2 Peter, and we continue reading in verse 17. It says, For he received from God the Father honor and glory, and when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my Son, my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mounts. This is a reflection of, this is Peter accounting what he heard, what he saw. What we're doing here. I had the blessed opportunity to teach over idolatry last week. And some of y'all shared the message with, and those that know who it came from, that's fine. But I had one of the youth send me a text afterwards, and it was encouraging, and it's awesome to see there's some growth there. The idea came up to him, why do we come to church and all this? Because in idolatry, an idol is anything that we put before God, to put it simply. And we come to church to worship the Lord, but so many times, and I believe those who are actively in the leadership positions in ministry, come to church because, well, that's the job, and that's what we're supposed to do. And we put the Lord off to the side, and suddenly church service in itself becomes an idol. That's not saying that church service is bad, but yet we forget who we're doing it for. Does that make sense? Does that make sense? But in this whole idea of bringing that up, is this. Peter desires that they are founded in the faith. Peter desires that no matter what, they continue growing. And I was able to see this youth, through that message, see that growth even in him as that was brought into remembrance. Christ is alive, and it's for him that we come and worship in this place. Christ is alive, and it's for, and he dies for the church. And Christ is alive, and because he is alive, therefore we have hope. Because of what Peter saw, that Jesus was living, he uses that as extra proof and extra evidence of why they should take all things into remembrance. Now, we continue on, and it says in verse 19, Not only this, but we have also a more sure word, a prophecy. Whereunto you do well that you take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place. Unto the day gone, and the day's start arise in your hearts. Known this verse, that no prophecy of scripture is any of private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old times by the will of man, but holy men of God, saved as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, or by the Holy Ghost. We must remember everything that we've been taught to stand firm, but also we have a reason to stand firm. Because our Savior is alive, and he has given everything we need to live for him in this world. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 5, or 11, Paul writing, kind of hits on the same similar notes. 2 Peter, or 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 5, says, For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servant for Jesus' sake. For God who commends his light to shine out of the darkness, has shined in our hearts to give light unto the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power of God may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed. We are perplexed, but not despaired. Persecuted, but not forsaken. Passed down, but not destroyed. Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto the death for Jesus' sake. That the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. Our remembering causes us to be fruitful, and no matter what. But also, we can find that our remembering has an outside effect. As the light of Christ, as the gospel, shines through our earthen vessels, our flesh. The question is, will you remember what the Lord has taught us? What the Lord has taught you, and what you have learned. As musicians come forward for the invitation. Who remembers the day that they were saved? You don't necessarily have to remember the day, but the moment. But we ought not to forget the one who saved us. And we ought not to forget everything that has transpired in our lives. For if we do, we will be like Jesus. Fruitful, forgotten, forgiven, and blameless. Like every one of us. However, we are few, but many. And you know what? Look up and see your brother, sister, and father. They're forgiven. Go over there and tell them. Look at that. I wanted to thank the guests, and thank the congregation. And that's what I need to say amongst one another. Appreciate those that have loved one another. And that tells us that we must have our own business. And we are the clients of each another. That one day we will see the Lord. And that's a cool thing to carry out. And we will one day be very grateful for it. We will one day be grateful for it. I just pray that we can be fruitful. Amen. Page 435, Just As I Am.