This is the sixth sermon in a series of messages on the book of 2 Peter. In this message covering 2 Peter 1:12-21, Pastor Les talks about the Apostle Peter's desire to accurately and faithfully communicate God's message to his readers. He also stresses the divine authorship included in their message.
Written Excerpts:
2 Peter 1:20-21 (NKJV) knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
Introduction:
Communication
in all aspects of life is absolutely essential. Think of any kind of
relationship you wish, and you will probably conclude that it could not exist
without some level of successful communication. (Family; marriage; social
community; governmental; etc., etc.)
In
order for communication to occur the speaker must speak with clarity and the
listener must understand clearly what has been said. Even when there is no
“language barrier” sometimes the message intended doesn’t get communicated.
Reminds
me of a joke…
Pastor
was taking prayer requests one Sunday and a member asked if they could pray for
his hearing. The pastor called him up front and began to pray for the Lord to
restore his hearing back to normal.
When
the prayer was finished, the pastor asked, “How’s your hearing now, Fred?”
Fred
replied, “I don’t know, it isn’t scheduled until next Thursday at 9:00.”
Today’s
message from 2 Peter relates to the matter of effective communication and
focuses on the role of the messenger.
When
we started this series of messages on 2 Peter several weeks ago I talked a
little about the occasion and purpose of the letter. It
would appear that the purpose of this letter was to refute some false teachers
that had infiltrated the church or emerged from within the churches. The
false beliefs and practices consisted of a claim to superior knowledge that
freed them from requirements of morality, respect and obedience to authority, and
advocates of speculation about angels and the return of Christ.
Here
at the end of chapter one we see Peter’s emphasis on his ministry and purpose
to communicate the truth and know that his readers are not only reading/seeing
the truth, but that they will intentionally live out the truth.
God
has always faithfully chosen messengers to communicate His Word of truth to
humanity, and Peter is asserting his own authority and passion for God’s
message to them. As
we look into this portion of the Word today, I want us to grasp three
characteristics of those whom God has called and used as messengers of His
truth.
Faithful messengers provide motivation
(12-13)
1.
Part of the
motivation is by reminding them of truths they already know. (12)
Someone
has said that preaching is very often reminding a person of what he already
knows. (Barclay quoted in Reasoner)
Hebrews
2:1 (NKJV) Therefore
we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift
away.
The
natural human tendency is to drift away and forget important truths.
Peter
wants to remind them of truths that they were taught earlier by himself and/or
others, so that they keep focused and keep motivated toward the goal.
Men
and women of God down through the years unto the present have consistently
reminded Christians of the important truths of the gospel lest we forget. So that we don’t ever forget the basis for
our own salvation. Also, so that we are equipped to
accurately tell others what they need to know about the gospel and salvation.
2.
The purpose
of reminding them is to “stir them up.” (13)
“stir
up” – similar to the image portrayed in John 6:18 “the sea arose because a
great wind was blowing.” This was the storm and event when they saw Jesus
walking on the water. The sea was stirred up.
To
stir someone up is to cause the “sea to rise” in their minds and hearts. That
is, to cause a swelling of response.
Many
people do not appreciate anyone trying to “stir them up.” Sometimes
it is necessary to intentionally “shock” people into thinking about God’s truth
and how it needs to be applied in our everyday lives; not just fanciful,
dreamy, or unreal imaginations.
Faithful messengers leave a legacy
(14-15)
1.
The messenger
will not always be here. (14)
2
Peter 1:14 (NKJV) knowing that shortly
I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus
Christ showed me.
The
next thing Peter addresses with his audience is the fact that his life is going
to end; maybe soon. Every
human messenger has to grapple with his/her own mortality and temporary life
and seriously strive to make sure the life and message will continue to be lived
in the disciples/students.
“shortly”
– a word that probably indicates quickly rather than soon.
“tent”
– temporal, physical body
2.
The messenger
leaves the right kind of impact. (15)
2
Peter 1:15 (NKJV) Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you
always have a reminder of these things after my decease.
Peter
cares about what the people will remember about him and carry on without him.
The
very purpose of Jesus’ ministry to the twelve disciples was to relationally
instill within them the principles they would need to remember and live out
after He was no longer with them in body.
Faithful messengers communicate divine
truth (16-21)
Peter
had already been hinting at the issue of the divine origin of his writing, but
now in these next verses he is more directly addressing the issue of divine
inspiration.
The
Word of God has always been under attack. Ever since the Devil questioned the
accuracy and authority of God’s word to Adam and Eve, the enemies of God have
persistently undermined the accuracy and authority of God’s Word. I’ve
been astounded in recent years to hear and read about denominations and church
leaders who have previously stood firmly for the authority and reliability of
the Bible, but now are apparently caving into the skepticism of the anti-God scientific
or academic world.
1.
There’s a
difference between hearsay and eyewitness accounts – fables vs. truth/evidence.
(16)
2
Peter 1:16 (NKJV) For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.
“fables”
– stories that were “cleverly invented.” (Tyndale)
“power
and coming” – debated whether it is referring to the transfiguration (as
referenced in the following two verses), or if it is referring to the second
coming. The
second coming was an important topic covered by Peter later in this same
letter, so it is probably a combination of both, with a possible stronger
emphasis on the second coming.
Peter’s
point is, he and the other apostles did not make up stories about the power,
majesty and future return of Jesus, because they saw first-hand a sampling of
it on the mountain.
2.
What was
witnessed was supernatural. (17-18)
2
Peter 1:17-18 (NKJV) For He received from God the Father honor and
glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." And we heard this
voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.
(Tyndale
N T Commentaries) – The Synoptic Gospels
all see the transfiguration as a foretaste not so much of the resurrection as
of the [second coming] of Jesus. In all three Gospels it follows immediately on
the promise of Jesus that some of his hearers would not taste death until the
kingdom came with power.
3.
The testimony
has the power to instill spiritual life. (19)
2
Peter 1:19 (NKJV) And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which
you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns
and the morning star rises in your hearts;
Peter
witnessed the transfiguration and burning glory of Christ on the mountain, so
he prays for this same glory to be instilled in a spiritual way in their hearts
or in their very life.
4.
The message
conveyed is of divine origin. (20-21)
2
Peter 1:20-21 (NKJV) knowing this first, that no prophecy of
Scripture is of any private interpretation, for
prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of
God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.
“private
interpretation” – probably talking about origin of the Word/prophecy, esp. as
seen by the explanation following.
“men…spoke”
– human instrument was involved.
“moved
by Holy Spirit” – lit. carried along by the HS. Same picture of a wind in a
sail.
Interestingly,
spirit, breath and wind are all usually from the same Hebrew or Greek word.
Gives
us a strong hint for the necessity of the Holy Spirit to anoint and empower the
messenger even today as he/she proclaims the Word of God with the authority of
God.
Conclusion:
You’ve
heard me say repeatedly that God, the Creator, the Sovereign Authority of this
universe, desires to have relationships and desires to be known. In
order for Him to be known it is necessary for Him to communicate to us about
Himself, for it is impossible for finite beings to grasp and understand the
infinite. So,
the whole idea of revelation is about God’s self-disclosure to humanity in
spoken word, written word and incarnate Word (His Son).
Even
though we believe that the written revelation of God is closed – there are no
new books of the Bible being inspired or written – it is still necessary for
the Holy Spirit to anoint and empower God’s messengers to accurately and
effectively communicate God’s Word and God’s message.
Vic
Reasoner states, “Those who have regard
only for the written Word tend to become rationalists [i.e. cold, dead,
academics]. Those who have regard only for the inner witness tend to become
fanatics. Deuteronomy 19:15 teaches that a matter must be established by the
testimony of two or three witnesses. Faith becomes certainty when we have the
dual witness of the Word and the Spirit.”
My
passion is to always communicate the Word of the Lord with accuracy and the
anointing of the HS so it will persuade listeners to become more and more
dedicated to Christ and His will for them.
If
God has faithfully spoken to us by His prophets, His Word, and His Son, then we
have an awesome responsibility to listen and obey.
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