Message Title: Who Will You Believe?
Passage: 2 Peter 1:16-21
Did God really say?
In Genesis 3, the serpent in the garden asked the question: “Did God really say…?” The more I think about that question and the more I look at our world, I see how mundane our Adversary is, yet how effective. Satan is not creative. Yet the questions he asks and the doubt he creates are very effective.
Over the years and even here today, if we’re honest, we struggle with questions like “Did God really say? What did God really mean? Can we even know? Does it even matter?” And as we’ll see throughout our study of 2 Peter this causes huge issues in the church. This is the great concern in the church that Peter is addressing in his day and also in our own.
4 Key Reminders
1. Jesus is not a
Peter knows his time is coming to a close. He writes this last letter as one final reminder to the church. If there be any question, remember this, we’re not telling stories. Peter here is writing on behalf of all the apostles, those who saw and walked with Jesus.
2. Jesus is
Peter along with James and John were eyewitnesses of the transfiguration of Jesus. That he is God’s Son. He is the Messiah who has come. He is the “seed” who will ultimately defeat Satan. The eternal King from the line of David. And it is to this, to him, Peter says we were eyewitnesses, eyewitnesses of his majesty. Jesus is king!
This is so important to the meat of this letter, to the problem Peter is addressing. It is so important to us today! Because we struggle with this! We struggle with who is king in our lives.
3. Jesus confirms
Peter uses some poetic language to point to the reality that the Old Testament prophesied about the coming Messiah. Jesus confirmed it. We have it more fully confirmed to us. And Peter exhorts the church to pay attention to this reality.
Pay attention to the reality that we were lost in darkness, in our sin, separated from God, but then the light of Christ came and shone his light in our darkness. Yet that light has not fully dawned until the ultimate Day of the Lord when Jesus returns and eradicates all sin and evil from the whole of creation.
4. Jesus and Scripture are
Peter is addressing false teachers who were making stuff up. Making up doctrine as they go, based on their own interpretation. And Peter is saying, this is not so with us. This is not so with Jesus. This is not so with the Old Testament prophecies. No prophecy, no Scripture was ever produced by what man wanted to say. But they were led by the Holy Spirit and spoke from God!
So what about us?
We should ask: what about us? How do we apply what Peter is writing to our day? A key question we should ask ourselves is: who will we believe?
Peter may have written his letter 2000 years ago, but we are yet living in that reality today. All of this builds as we’ll study in the final exhortation Peter gives, which is to be careful! Watch out! Don’t go their way, don’t be enticed by the myths, by the false teachers, the false narratives of those around you. Listen to the eyewitnesses of King Jesus!
What story, what narrative are you going to listen to and base your life upon? Man’s story? Or God’s?
2 Practical Ideas
1. Establish a
We live in a fallen broken world. None of us live in a bubble. Our days are full of work, family, hobbies, play, running here and there. Not to mention we have information constantly coming to us from our phones, TVs, radio, email, and the list goes on and on.
In the midst of all this, we need to establish a rhythm for reminders. We are doing one right now this morning. Gathering together as the church every week is a good start. Yet we have 168 hours in a week. You are asleep for maybe 56 of those. Which means you have 112 waking hours this week. You spend maybe 1 to 3 at church. That can’t be the only reminder you have throughout your week. Those numbers don’t add up. What they add up to is you and I forgetting the message of Jesus, losing sight of who he is, what he has done, and being carried off living out the narrative of the world around us.
2. Catch your “
It’s ok to share your thoughts, ideas, opinions. It’s ok to share where you’re at on a particular subject or something that’s happening in your life. But I have been increasingly challenged with “Ok, this is what I think. But what does the Bible say?”
What I think is very possibly in error at many points. I know that.
So, what does God say? What does His Word say? And does what I think line up with that? Or do I need to change what I think? Do I need to surrender and submit what I think to what God thinks? Often the answer is yes! And I don’t need to beat myself up about it. I just need to realize, repent, and change, or work on changing.
This is a good thing! Because our loving Father only wants the best, the greatest good for us. Do you believe that? So, when His Word checks my error and I realize I’m wrong, I should joyfully change my mind.
This same principle can and should be applied to the world around us. The stories we see and hear, the narratives being told. Again, we don’t need to be mean or angry, but when we hear what someone thinks or what someone is proposing as the truth, we should hold that up to God’s Word. What does God say? It doesn’t matter what Joe thinks, what does God think?
Turn to God’s Word. Turn and behold who Jesus is. He is faithful and true. Believe him!