Feb 3,12 2 Peter 1:16-21 WORDS TO LIVE BY Faith is the mainstay of being a Christian. To believe in the words from Scripture it takes faith. The Bible written by so many, inspired by the Holy Spirit, though written by man, is God s Word for his people in order to have words to live by. For centuries people have questioned the Bible. Some accept part of it, some only a little of it, some say it is for yesterday, some say it is for today. Why one president cut things out he didn t agree with. If some of us did that we wouldn t have much of a Bible left. God s words are not to be taken lightly, but to be read in order to live a good life walking in the footsteps of Jesus. Timothy tells us All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, SO THAT the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. In other words, God s word in Scripture is the same yesterday, as it is today, as it will be in the future. We may struggle with it, embrace it, doubt it at times, not completely grasp its meaning, and afraid to read it because we think we aren t smart enough, but it s still the Word of God for the people of God. The Bible is one way God speaks to us through history, through many generations and happenings. That s why we are encouraged to read his word, especially in a translation you can understand. And those stories are there for us to know because they also show God in action, the good, the bad, the ugly. God doesn t pull any punches. Angry brothers, murder, adultery, stealing, killings, it s all there. Good people, bad people, sickness, envy, poor people, rich people, true believers, false believers, evil kings you can find it in Scripture. But you also find love, mercy, grace, forgiveness and the gift of salvation leading to eternal life. This morning Peter has words for us to live by. Peter the big fisherman, Jesus right hand man, the one Jesus entrusted so much, the one he gave the keys to the kingdom, the one who tried to keep Jesus from going to the cross, the one who denied him three times, the one who one day spoke before the religious leaders,
who healed people, who preached the first sermon following being filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost where over 3,000 found salvation and the church began. It is that Peter who we hear from today as he writes in one of his letters to the church: We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were EYE WITNESSES OF HIS MAJESTY. For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased. We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. God s word from 2 Peter chapter 1 for we who have gathered on this communion morning. Let God s faithful say, amen! Did you grasp the first few words? We did not follow cleverly invented stories. What are cleverly invented stories? We would call them lies, stories that aren t true. Fables! Myths! The word fiction comes to mind too. Peter, in his testimony through this letter is writing the truth through his eyes. After all he was an eye witness to many of the things that happened in Jesus live those three years, and then after right up until he died. He was there at his arrest, his trial, and maybe just maybe at the cross though looking from afar. He was there in the upper room when they were told of his upcoming death. He was in the garden when they came for Jesus. He ran to the tomb to find it empty. He was there when Jesus came after the resurrection and appeared to them. He was there at the sea side when Jesus told them to cast out their nets to find the fish. He had breakfast with Jesus after the resurrection. He was in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came upon 120 of them. So yes, Peter was an eye witness of miracle after miracle that Jesus performed and saw lives changed and people healed and lepers cleansed. What is an eye witness? It s someone who saw something with his own eyes. It s not hearsay, but factual. They saw it, or experienced it. In crimes they are always looking for eye witnesses in order to solve a crime or bring a criminal to justice. Lately on TV we have seen eye witness accounts of tornadoes, floods,
shootings, accidents, and so much more. Now a day s people use their cell phones to take eye witness accounts, or record things that happen and put them on U Tube and stuff. This makes things believable, lot less undeniable. Peter, a faithful servant of Jesus for three years had lots of eye witness accounts of his journey with Jesus and the disciples. Luke records in the Book of Acts how Peter had a vision one day telling him that it was okay to eat all kinds of meat that his faith said not to. The point was that what God declares good, is good. At that same time 3 guys were knocking at the door of the place Peter was staying wanting to see Peter. They had come because a Roman centurion name Cornelius, a God fearing Greek, was told by God in a dream that he was sending Peter to him so he could hear the story of salvation. The centurion of course was a Gentile, and Jews didn t fellowship with non Jews. But in this dream Peter was told to go and follow these guys because someone was waiting for him to share the message of salvation. Peter followed and sure enough, Cornelius was waiting for him and when Peter crossed over the threshold, he shared the story of Jesus and through that event Cornelius and others found salvation. Why is this story important? Because it shows that God offered salvation to the whole world, not just the Jewish nation. Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the whole world, not just the Jewish people. So stories like that help us understand God s love. They help us know the Father in heaven and how people who embraced him found faith, forgiveness, mercy, grace and his love. In this particular passage Peter is telling about his eye witness account, though briefly, of his journey to the Mount of Transfiguration with James and John. It was there they saw Jesus transfigured right before their eyes as he became white as snow. And then Moses and Elijah could be seen by all three of the disciples as they talked with Jesus as Jesus prepared for the last leg of his journey to the cross. On this mountain was where Peter wanted to stay. He wanted to build a shelter for them to remain there, out of harms ways, out of the chaos of their world, away from the
anger of the religious leaders, the doubts of those to whom Jesus preached. They were the closest they could get to heaven without actually being there. Now no one might believe all this thinking it was just a dream. But they all experienced this and it solidified their belief of who Jesus was. And to top it all off was the voice they heard while they were on their knees in awe. It was the voice of God. This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased. The one line that Peter leaves out for some reason for me is the clincher to the whole Mount of Transfiguration story. For God finished by saying, Listen to him. Listen to him Peter when you get down from this mountain. Listen with your head. Listen with your heart. Listen with your brain. Listen to his every word, for you must continue on after he is gone. You must gather your thoughts together and remember his words because they are words to you to live by in the coming days, and months, and years. Listen to him carefully because these are the stories you will share with the world after he is gone. Listen to him Peter for you are his eye witness in all these events. Isn t that why we come Sunday after Sunday to worship? We want to hear from God. We want to hear the stories of faith and hope in order to strengthen our own faith and hope. We want to hear the truth. We want to hear the promises and know that they are for us as well as for others. Will he forgive me? Yes! How do I know this? Because he tells us he will. How many times? Many times. How do you know. Because John wrote that Jesus said if you will continually confess your sins, he will continually forgive you. That s what communion is all about. Can we trust his promises? Yes. How do we know? Because he told us we could. So when it is all said and done here is a good thing to remember. Listen to God s voice. And by the way, as Jesus has stated, and James reminds us, it isn t just listening that needs to be done, but to do what he says. So don t turn a deaf ear to God s voice. Don t tune him out, but tune in to him to get the clear sound of his voice. Amazing! We need to know these stories, these words that God speaks to us through these stories and the stories of hymn writers, and even stories of people
who have found salvation and who tell the world about their change. This proves God still works today. Miracles happen today. Divine healings happen today. Signs become signs to the world that Jesus continues to guide the world. The I Am of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the I Am of the burning bush experience with Moses is still the Great I Am today, in the year 2013. I ve been reading the Upper Room devotional since we began getting them and in those pages you find stories that come from people of all walks of lives, from all parts of the world. They have a story to tell to the nations about Jesus, about God, about the works of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They share an eye witness account on how Jesus transformed their lives one day and how they found strength, grace, mercy, healing, and salvation. Those of you who picked up a copy and read them know their stories though briefly shared, that help someone else understand the God of yesterday is the same today. That is why we can sing We ve a story to tell to the nations, that shall turn their hearts to the right, a story of truth and mercy a story of peace and light, a story of peace and light. For the darkness shall turn to dawning, and the dawning to noonday bright, and Christ s great kingdom shall come on earth, the kingdom of love and light. These words of one of our hymns help us know the stories that help our faith. Truly we have learned words to live by when we have read God s stories, or read Christian books, or listened to Christian music. God uses all kinds of media to get his message across to his people. So this morning we are getting ready to come to the communion table to hear God s voice as we receive the bread, the staff of life, and the juice from the grapes, which represents his blood, his sacrifice on our behalf. It s not a myth. It s not a fable. It s the truth that God loved the world and gave us his son so that those who believe can have eternal life. He had come to redeem the world through that love, through that cross that held him. For these elements remind us too of something that is life changing. For the words of consecration are these Take this bread and eat
for this is my body. Take this cup and drink from it, for this is my blood. Do this often in remembrance of me. So may it be this morning. For these words are truly wonderful words to live by. And remember this. God s voice to us today. This is my beloved son Listen to him. May it be so.