I need to remember what I ve been taught so I never forget what I ve learned. Setting Reminders

Transcription

1 I need to remember what I ve been taught so I never forget what I ve learned. Setting Reminders Good morning Edgewood! Thank you for Gathering with us this weekend as we look at 2 Peter in our series Growing in Grace. For our guests, my name is Dan Cullett and I am filling in for Pastor Brian, our senior Pastor. Pastor Brian, along with some of the worship pastor search committee, are visiting the church where one of the applicants is currently serving as worship pastor. Please pray for them, they will see first hand how he leads worship and interact with him and his family. I would like to say thank you to our tech team. Our tech team servants Give to Edgewood by working quietly behind the scenes, keeping us on track, sounding great and everything flowing smoothly. Thank you tech team! Today we will be looking at 2 Peter 1: Turn in your Bibles or electronic devices to 2 Peter 1: We will be looking at Setting Reminders. As you are turning to our passage of scripture, I want to take a look at some of the ways we have used to set reminders. One of the earliest methods was one of the simplest, but maybe not too effective. Tying a string around your finger. Okay, has anyone ever seen someone do this and mean it? Raise your hand if you have. Yeah, I thought so. It s more a figure of speech than an effective way to remind you. I remember as child, my mom would write on the calendar that hung on the wall by our home phone. Then she could see her reminders every day. Some of us still do this. Who remember this? It s a Franklin Planner. The Franklin Planner had a whole system it used to keep track of things that were important in your life and remind you of them, so you did not forget. My wife and Father-in-law used this back in the day. Here s another look down memory lane for us old people. This is a palm pilot. I had one of these. It was one of the early electronic devices called a PDA a Personal Digital Assistant. Your own electronic secretary, telling you everything you should do. Or is that our wives? Ooo I know! Maybe I shouldn t have listened to Pastor Ed and used that line. Actually my wife does a great job assisting me and I am very appreciative. Next it moved to early cell phones like the blackberry, then programs like Microsoft office, to laptops, to IPod s, IPads, and many current day apps like Evernote. We need reminding. 1

2 Follow along as I read out loud and let s see what the apostle Peter has to say about Setting Reminders. 2 Peter 1:12-15 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. 13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, 14 knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. 15 Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. Pray- Our main takeaway today will be, I need to remember what I ve been taught so I never forget what I ve learned. 1. We need reminders Right away Peter lets us know he will not neglect his role in reminding us. The phrase For this reason links this passage with the verses we studied last week. Peter knew there were plenty of false teachers. Peter knew the best way to combat false teaching is build a solid foundation of truth. If you know what is true you can spot what is false. It s like people who handle money. You touch it, and feel it and get to know it. As you handle money, you realize the paper it is printed on is quite different. It is a special paper that doesn t feel at all like any normal paper. Today we have such high quality printers, it is difficult to spot counterfeit money just by looking at it. But if you know what real money feels like, it will be easy to spot the false, counterfeit money. Peter takes that approach. He reminds us of one of the big lies false teachers try to spread. Your Christian life is incomplete and you need something else, something new. But Peter faces the false teachers head on and says in verse 3, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness 2

3 We have everything we need to live a godly life. We have false teachers today who are still spreading this lie. Don t buy into it. My friends, we need nothing else to live a successful Christian life. We are complete. Today there are people who still say, that the Bible is incomplete, we need some new teaching. That is a lie. Some people still say Jesus Christ was a good teacher, or a wise prophet but He was not God the Son, 100% man and 100% God. My friends, that is not true. Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. Some people still say we need to abide by certain laws or rituals, which will make us acceptable to God. The list of false teachings is long. But if you know the truth, you will be able to tell the counterfeit. Peter will continue this warning about false teachers in chapter two. Peter will warn about their destructive teaching, and the punishment they will be given. He will describe how evil and deceitful they are. We need reminding and Peter will always be about this role. Almost 2,000 years after his martyrdom, he is still incessantly, perpetually fulfill his role. Peter took his role seriously. He may have even felt a larger than normal drive to fulfill this role. I believe his failure at heeding Jesus warning may have flamed this desire. Do you remember this situation? In Matthew 26 we find Peter and the other disciples are with Jesus for the Passover. Then Jesus warns them in verse 31. Jesus said to them, All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night. Peter replied, Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble. In verse 34 Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times. Peter impetuously denies it again and says, Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You! As we se this unfolding, the Marine in me is, Yes!! Go Peter! Stay strong! Further into the story, we see Christ being betrayed by Judas and then led off to an illegal trial at the high priest s house. Peter followed. I m sure many emotions were running through him. Then someone outside of the house noticed Peter and said, He was with Jesus. Peter denied it. Later another man said the same thing and Peter denies for the second time. Then a third man accuses him of being a follower 3

4 of Christ and Peter denies it for a third time. As Peter denied he was a follower of Christ, the rooster crowed. It s as if an alarm went off in his head. Ding! Just like Jesus said. Jesus warned Peter this would happen. But Peter, in his pride, was sure he d never deny Christ. But the rooster crowed and Peter knew instantly he d blown it. In Luke 22, we learn even a few more details. As the rooster was crowing, Jesus turned and looked at Peter. I m sure it was probably a look of concern for Peter, but I think this look led Peter to heap more coals of guilt and shame on himself. Jesus warned Peter, you will be tempted, but I am praying you will be strong enough to pass the test. Peter gave into temptation, fear ruled in his normally fearless heart, and we find Peter crushed. He left the high priest s house weeping bitterly. He knew he failed the test. He gave into fear. He was not able to overcome the temptation, and he denied his friend, and teacher in his hour of need because of fear. Have you ever been trough a similar circumstance? You know, where you were warned about something coming down the road, something bad, and yet you either ignored the warning, and gave into temptation, or just plain forgot about the warning because the temptation was so inviting? We give into temptation. I have ignored reminders. My guess is you have too. When I have been through circumstances like Peter s, I find myself even more ashamed of my failure. You know what I m saying? If we fail at something we just don t understand, well that stinks but it can be expected. But to fail when you ve been warned How about you? Have you ever felt that way? I can tell you, when those situations have come up in my life, I do my best to never repeat them. Failure can be a great teacher, right? Jesus knew how Peter was feeling and in John 21 you can read about Jesus restoring Peter back to fellowship and giving him a new role, the role of feeding His sheep. We see that here in Peter s life. He had failed to heed Christ s warning once. Now, he was going to do everything in his power to fulfill his new role. He was going to continue to feed Jesus sheep to the best of his ability, because he had been warned and failed. Now he wanted to warn anyone who would listen so they would not have to fail like he did. Will we listen to Peter s reminder? We need reminders. I need to remember what I ve been taught so I never forget what I ve learned. 2. Even if we already know the truth- We need reminders, even if we already know the truth. That s what a reminder is right? A reminder is intended to recall 4

5 some facts, or a memory. Verse 12 in 2 Peter 1 reads, though you know and are established in the present truth. They already knew what Peter is telling them. It wasn t new news to them; they had an intuitive, complete knowledge. This intuitive knowledge comes from previous teachings they heard, here specifically peter s first letter. But it also comes from the Holy Spirit. Did you know that Biblical truth is not readily available to everyone who reads the Bible? It s true. The Holy Spirit reveals biblical truth to believers. So people who do not have the Holy Spirit do not necessarily understand what is revealed in the Bible. But Peter s readers were believers and they did know the truth. In John 14 Jesus says, But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. His audience was already aware of the facts he was giving them. Peter was just jogging their memory, just like the roosters crow that morning had jogged his. The word established adds weight to this idea of complete knowledge. It carries the idea to make firm, stable, solid or beyond doubt. It s like this table or the supports here in the sanctuary that stabilizes the ceiling. They make our ceiling firm, unwavering, and keep it solidly in place. This understanding wasn t some idea that they thought they knew or had a little bit of knowledge about. It was a belief they held firmly. Yet Peter knew they would need reminding. They would need reminded when faced with cares, doubts and fears. Peter reminds them that what they are grounded on is the truth. This word truth means without concealment. What you see is what you get. Nothing is being concealed, hidden or falsified. They weren t snookered, or bamboozled. No one pulled the wool over their eyes or got them to buy into a bunch of lies. They knew and firmly believed the truth. Would you like to know the truth and have it as the foundation of all of your decisions? Then accept Christ as your Savior and dive into the Word of God. Refresh yourself with Christ s teachings. Listen to these verses. In John 1:14 we read, And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of 5

6 the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:17 says, For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the truth. If you want to know the truth, get to know Jesus. If you want to have your life firmly based on truth, accept Christ as your sin bearer today. There is this funny truth about most people. Often we do not like reminders. Especially when we did not set them up personally. If somebody else reminds us, we tend ignore them. Sometimes it is unwanted advice, but most of the time we think we already know this and we just check out. We go on a mental break. We daydream, and take a braincation. We may think about eating a meal, or what we need to do later today. If you have slipped away for a moment from our message, which we can all do, pull yourself back in. You may have heard something like this before but remember, it is a reminder. For those of us who are not new Christians we need to fight this urge to check out. Don t let truth become so familiar it drones on in your ears like the voice of Charlie Brown s teacher. Wah wah wah wah wah. Listen! Heed the reminder! Let it keep you on your toes so when temptations come, you are ready. Reminders can warn us of possible consequences, but they can also encourage and exhort us. My reminders typically do not carry a high level of warning. But I do need to heed them. Take for example, my reminders about anniversary gifts. My reminders will say something like, Do not buy NFL Sunday Ticket. Buy Chocolate. Why is NFL Sunday Ticket a bad idea for an anniversary gift? I m not sure, it sounds like a good idea to me. But listen, I have tried gifts like that in the past so I know Beth, my wife, doesn t appreciate them. But I know if I buy her chocolate, she will like it. Don t you think I better heed my reminder? If I do not listen to my reminder, Beth will remind me personally why it s a bad idea. Reminders are often encouraging. We can remind people whom we love how important they are to us on their birthday. We can bake cookies for pastors, I mean our loved ones and give them to them on their birthday. You know the Bible is full of encouraging reminders. Sit back and let me remind you of a few of them. Take 2 Peter 1:3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. If you are a believer, you lack nothing you need to live the Christian life. You are complete! Even though we rarely feel complete, we are. The power that created the universe and raised Christ from the dead is in you if you have put your faith in Jesus Christ. Or listen to Psalms 134:14, I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully 6

7 made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. Every time I look in the mirror and see my body made by bacon, I remind myself of this truth and Thank God my wife has poor vision. But seriously, we can struggle with poor self-image. If this is one of your struggles, remember, God doesn t make junk. You are His workmanship! You and I, we are His masterpieces! Or what about Ephesians 1:5, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. If you are a believer, God chose you. He picked you, you are not a mistake and He is not stuck with you. He loves you and He wants you! Listen to this verse from Hebrews 4, Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. The writer of Hebrews is urging us to boldly go to God with our request. When we do, we will find mercy and grace when we need it. Or what about in Philippians where Paul tells us we can have God s peace if we do not worry but go to Him in prayer. Or even in 1 Peter where Peter reminds us to cast our cares on Him because He cares for you. We forget these promises when we re sinking in the cares of life, but they are still true, Remember them! I have another exhortation for you, if Jim Sheese ever gets a hold of one your picture, it may look like this. Lol He is very good at working picture over and they make me laugh. I need to remember what I ve been taught so I never forget what I ve learned. 3. Reminders Are Meant to Motivate Us - Reminders are meant to motivate us. Peter writes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you. When Peter says, I think it is right, he is really saying he has given it careful consideration, and it is fitting. Another way of translating it would be I consider it my moral and ethical duty. The phrase, As long as I am in this tent refers to his life. We could say, as long as I am alive This phrase to stir you up means to awaken, arouse or stir. It can mean to awaken physically after sleeping. We see this in Matthew 1:24, And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, It can also be used metaphorically, to arouse the mind from inactivity, like in the passage we are studying today. Sometimes it is even used to describe a sea that is now tumultuous after being calm. We find this in 7

8 John 6:18, And the sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. The main idea of to stir up is activity or action. Peter wants his readers to heed his reminders and then take action while remaining grounded in the truth. Peter knows our human tendency towards inactivity. We forget so much, or let it lay there dormant and never use it. This verse could be restated like this, As long as I am alive it is my moral and ethical duty to awaken your minds by sending you these reminders. As I was studying, I looked at different versions of our passage. The message puts it like this, This is the post to which I ve been assigned keeping you alert with frequent reminders and I m sticking to it as long as I live. The NIV says, I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, You know what s crazy? I remember so much useless knowledge. I remember lines from movies, songs, facts that are absolutely useless and bad jokes. Like, What s black and white and red allover? Come on! Don t leave me hanging. I know you know this one. A newspaper! I have a hard time remembering Bible verses. I can remember something utterly useless and yet forget the things that can help me get through life. Peter knew this tendency and he wanted to waken our minds Peter uses some similar statements in his first epistle. In 1 Peter 1:13 he writes, Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; Gird up what? I didn t know my mind had those? Let s look at this verse in another version. The ESV says it this way, Therefore, preparing your minds for action,[a] and being sober-minded, set your 8

9 hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Girding up your loins was a Jewish way of saying prepare for action. In early Jewish society men wore long robes. The robes were actually ankle length. So if a man was going to battle or run a race he would have to pull the robe up between his legs and tuck it into his belt so they were ready for action. I would show you but I don t want to scar your memory for life. So let s move on. In essence he is saying, Get your mind s ready, be calm and collected in your spirit and set your hope fully on the grace that will be in brought to us when Christ comes again. In 1 Peter 5:8 he writes Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Here he is saying, be calm and collected and watch out! As we get ready to close our time this morning, in verses 14 and 15 Peter is telling them he knows he is going to die soon. Knowing he is going to die soon increases Peter s sense of urgency. He knows he doesn t have long so he is reminding his readers and us. He goes on to say that this is such an important role that he is fulfilling he that he will make arrangements for these reminders to go on reminding believers after he has passed. I d say he did a good job at it. Here we are almost 2,000 years later still be reminded by him. 9

10 By the way, we take this ministry of reminding very seriously at Edgewood. We too understand how important it is and are being very careful to fulfill that role. We want to make sure we do our best to keep all these great truths in here (HEAD) and here (heart). I need to remember what I ve been taught so I never forget what I ve learned As we wind down I want to let you know we will commission our Go Team who is going to work weekend at Camp Forest Springs. If you are going to Camp Forest Springs I will ask you to come up front after the invitation. But right now, a very serious question needs to be asked by all of us. What does this message mean to me? 1. In a very real sense we all need reminding, from every day events like appointments to Dr. visits to spiritual truths. So how are you being reminded? Are you making it a priority to Gather weekly at one of our worship services? If not, you need to make that a priority. It s so easy to get out of the habit of coming to a weekend worship service. Decide today that every weekend for the next month you will attend one of our worship services and get back in the habit. Maybe you are gathering weekly, but you ve never taken the step of believer s baptism. If that is you and you d like to discuss that with a staff member, please indicate it on your connection card or come forward during the invitational song we d like to talk with you about that. 10

11 2. We also need to understand and be established firmly in the truth. What steps are you taking to have a firm understanding of Biblical truth? If you are Gathering weekly for a weekend worship service, have you taken the next step to Grow and join a small group? We have ABF classes, Life Groups and Bible studies where this can take place. If you need more information about one of these groups, please indicate so on your connection card. Small groups are a great way to learn truth and connect with others. Another great way to be established in the truth is to participate in the Take 15 in 2015 Bible Reading program. Just 15 minutes a day and you can read the whole Bible through in a year. If you haven t started yet, you can find the plans in the foyer by the prayer cards. You can also go online and find them on our website, edgewoodbaptist.net or on our app. 3. The purpose of reminders is to stir us up, to waken our minds and bodies. If you are already Gathering and Growing here at Edgewood, let s take the next step. The next step would be to Give back what God has given you. There are many ministries where you can serve and give back of the talents God has given you. If you d like to explore some service opportunities, just indicate so on the back of tour connection card and one of the staff will call you next week and talk about it. The next step for you could also be to Go and share the gospel with your neighbors, friends and family. What better way to show the urgency of the message and fulfill your responsibility as you remind your loved ones, remember, time is short! As the band comes forward to play our song of invitation, maybe you re not sure what to do. If you are sitting there and all this talk about knowing Christ isn t making any sense to you, then today would be the day for you to talk to one of the pastors about salvation. If you d like to come forward and talk about believer s baptism or membership, feel free to come forward during the invitation song. Maybe God is working in your heart to get serious about a sin issue and you just need to come forward to pray. If that were you we d love to pray with you up front. Pray- Sing Thank you band. If you are here today and you are Going to Camp Forest Springs, can you please come up front? If there are any Deacons present in this service, could you please come forward and lay your hands on our team? At Camp we will preform 11

12 a bunch of different tasks to get the Camp Ready to minister to young men and women. We will do things like. This group represents the group of 28 who will be going to camp to serve Christ. Let s give them a round of applause for their servant s hearts. There isn t enough room for all of us to lay hands on them as we pray, but we can symbolically do this as a church as I pray for them. Pray 12