Father, we thank Thee again for
allowing us to gather together, allowing us to be here together,
and pray that You would minister to us through Thy Word, O Lord.
Oh, it's wonderful that we can come and fellowship together
as believers, looking at Thy Word and rejoicing at the wonderful
truths that we find here as the Holy Spirit reveals them to us,
O Lord. Let us take the things that we hear today, and may they
equip us for the week and for what's coming, Lord. May we glorify
you and magnify you and what we say and do in Jesus name.
Amen. Open your Bibles, if you would, to second Peter, chapter
one, second Peter, chapter one. Continue our study here and in
second Peter. The name of the message is Remembrance.
Remembrance. We'll read verses one to 15. Simon Peter, a servant and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious
faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied
unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord,
according as his divine power hath given unto us all things
that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him
that hath called us to glory and virtue. whereby are given
unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might
be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption
that is in the world through lust. And beside this, giving
all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge,
and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and
to patience godliness, and to godliness, brotherly kindness,
and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you
and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he
that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see afar off,
and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore,
the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election
sure. For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. For an entrant
shall be ministered unto you abundantly, into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 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 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, my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has
showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that you may be able, after my
decrease, to have these things always in remembrance. So note
there's a word that in those verses there, those last few
verses that's repeated, it's the word remembrance. Remembrance. Last week in our study in this
wonderful epistle, looked at how those who have
obtained like precious faith, spoken of in verse 1, those who
are truly born again by the Holy Spirit of God, those who profess
the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, are able to make our
election and calling sure, because it's in Christ, in Christ alone.
And we looked at how there are countless people who profess
Christ, but are not born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And
we are to examine ourselves, the scripture says. We are to
examine ourselves to see if we're in the faith. And we're to do
this with diligence, which means to use speed, to use prompt or
earnest. And we looked at how we do that,
as the true believer trusts only in the complete, finished work
of Christ and Christ alone. The false professor adds their
own works to that which Christ has completed. Now they may not
outwardly say that, but inwardly they think that. They think that
they are somehow gaining merit and favor with God by what they
do. And they examine themselves against
other people. Well, if we examine ourselves
against other people, my, we can always find fault in other
people, can't we? That's what Brother, I read a
great article about Henry, this Brother Henry wrote. He said
it's easy to find fault in other people, but the grace of God,
the grace of God helps us to look at the good in people. and
our brothers and sisters in Christ, not to look at the faults, because
we're all, we all have faults, we all have weaknesses, we all
fail. Oh, my. So we look at Christ and look
to Christ alone, because he is the only one who is our savior. He's the only one. He's the perfect
atonement, the perfect sacrifice. And he has done all the work.
all the work. So examine yourself. Do you believe
you are saved by Christ alone plus nothing? Do you believe
that? Do you truly believe that? That it's Christ alone plus absolutely
nothing you do. Nothing you do. Do you believe
that? Then rejoice, because not everybody believes that. Not
everybody, but God's people do. They believe that. They add nothing
to the perfect, complete, redeeming work of Christ. Nothing. We simply look to him. Now the
religionists adds their works, adds something that they do,
something that they do, not the believer in Christ. So we are
to make our election and calling sure. We're to examine ourselves
to see if this is true of us. Do we really believe that? Do
we really believe that? The believer in Christ believes
what God says in the scriptures. We believe that we were born
dead in trespasses and sins with no hope. And we believe that
without Christ, we'll perish. We'll perish in our sins. We
believe what the scriptures say. We believe that salvation is
all of God. We believe that faith and repentance
is a gift of God. He gives it to us. And we believe
that we're saved by the divine power of God, not by our own
will, not by our own strength, but only by what God has done.
the life giving power of God in him alone. And it's all according
to his mercy and grace, which is bestowed upon us in Christ
Jesus, our Lord. And we know from the scriptures
that this was bestowed upon us. We didn't even know from before
the foundation of the world because we were chosen in Christ. And
it just makes us marvel. Now when we hear the gospel,
we're reminded, aren't we? We're reminded of what Christ
has done for us. And we need to be constantly
reminded as God's people. We need to be, because we forget.
We forget. We get busy in the world, we
get doing things, we get doing things in our own strength, and
we forget. We forget that without Him, we
can do nothing. That's what the scripture says.
Without Him, we can do nothing. So when we hear the gospel, we're
reminded of what Christ has done for us. We're reminded of what
he's doing for us now. We're constantly reminded, beloved,
constantly reminded that he's our shepherd, that he takes care
of us. When we partake in the Lord's
Supper, what are we to do? This do in remembrance of me.
were to take the Lord's Supper in remembrance of what Christ
has done for us, of what he's done for us. When we see someone
get baptized, we're reminded that Christ was buried and that
he rose again for our justification. We remember that. We rejoice
in our brother and sister professing Christ and following a believer's
baptism, we rejoice in that. But it's a constant reminder
for us, beloved, of what Christ has done for us. A constant remembrance
of what Christ has done for us. And notice how Peter brings forth
here that we are to put in remembrance the things that he's bought forth
so far. The things that he's bought forth so far. The preaching
of the gospel is a proclamation of the wondrous work of redemption
of the Lord Jesus Christ, what he did for his people, what he's
accomplished. For each believer can say what he's accomplished
for me, what he's accomplished for me. A proclamation of what
he's done, redemption, which is only found in Christ Jesus,
accomplished, finished. And what does it do? It causes
us to remember when we hear the gospel preach of what Christ
has done for us. And the Lord's people, that's
what we want. We want to hear about what Christ
has done for us. We want to hear the wondrous
things that God has done for us. And what does it also do? It also brings to remembrance
the great cost of our salvation. the great cost of our salvation,
that God himself became a man and shed his precious blood to
redeem our souls. It's a constant reminder. It's constantly being brought
to our remembrance, beloved. Let's read verses 12 to 15 again. Wherefore, I will not be negligent
to put you always in remembrance of these things. So Peter's gonna
constantly bring forth Christ to them. Constantly, constantly. Though you know them, even though
you know them, we're gonna constantly bring them forth. Every gospel
preacher, we constantly bring forth the gospel, beloved. We
constantly set it before you. Constantly. That's what the gospel
preacher's to do. To constantly bring forth Christ. Though you know them, even though
you know them, and be established in the present truth. Because it's good for us, beloved. It's good for us. Each week we
go out into the world, and every time we come to church, we're
reminded of what Christ has done for us. We're reminded that He's
our shepherd. We're reminded that He ever cares
for us. And it gives us strength, doesn't
it, beloved? It gives us strength. And then
He says, yea, I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle,
and what He means there, as long as I'm in this body, to stir
you up by putting you in remembrance. So in other words, I'm going
to just keep preaching the gospel to you. That's what I'm going
to do. And that's what every gospel
preacher is called to do, and that's what every gospel preacher
does. Constantly bringing forth Christ. Constantly setting Christ
before the hearers. Constantly. Knowing that shortly
I must put off this, my tabernacle. Every believer knows that our
life is like a vapor. We all know that. Even as our
Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor
that ye may be able, after my decrees, to have these things
always in remembrance." He says, even after I die, I want you
to have these things in remembrance. And what does God do? He keeps
sending preachers, doesn't he? So that God's people can be in
constant remembrance of the great things that Christ has done for
us. So we need to be constantly reminded of what we already know,
lest we forget, because we are forgetful. The situation comes
up and we rely on our own strength. No, we need to just look to Christ. We need to be reminded, the Lord
is my shepherd. I shall not want. Oh, he takes
care of us, beloved. He takes care of us. So we are
to grow in the knowledge and truth of Christ. We need to be
constantly, as believers, we need to be constantly established
in the truth. Constantly established in the
truth. We need to have Christ brought forth constantly before
us. Constantly. Established in the belief of
the truth. So, you know why? Do you know why we need to be
constantly established in the truth? So that we won't be shaken
by any wind or doctrine that comes our way. That's why. That's why. So we're saying,
no, this is the truth. This is the truth. We'll not
be cast around by every winded doctrine or false teacher who
comes our way. And Peter's going to address,
and the reason I bring that up though, is because Peter's going
to address false preachers in chapter 2. So what he's doing,
is he does like Paul, he just gets them focused right on Christ.
Right on Christ. And then he's going to deal with
some false teachers. So the reason we need to keep constantly hearing
the gospel is to be reminded of the great cost of our salvation,
the great cost of the Lord Jesus Christ leaving the glories and
splendor of heaven to redeem our souls. and also so that we
will not be shifted around by false teachers in every wind
and doctrine. Oh, that would be established
in Christ. In verse 13, we see Peter bring forth that as long
as he lives in this tent of the flesh, he will stir you up. He will stir up the born-again
believer, the blood-washed saint of God, to faith and godliness
by preaching Christ and Him crucified. And this is true of every preacher.
Every preacher. Look, yea, I think it meet as
long as I'm in this tabernacle. To stir you up by putting you
in remembrance. To constantly set forth Christ.
Christ and Christ alone. Christ crucified. Only Him. Only Him. Look at verse 12. 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.
Now we know that the Holy Spirit is all-knowing. And we know that
He's fully aware. of who has been established in
the truth. We know that. And it is by His power that we're
established in the truth. It's by His power and His power
alone. We're born again by the Holy Spirit of God. And it is
He who reveals the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to us.
To us. Now Peter is moved by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God to pen these words. These words
of caution to the believer. He's writing to the saints of
God of the importance of keeping our minds, keeping the keeping
every believer's mind upon Christ and Christ alone. And how is
he going to do it? By setting forth Christ and for
them to be under the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. To cause us to be in remembrance
of what Christ has done for us, for us. And it's wonderful. And
then think of that as a believer. We have the privilege of rejoicing
together around the gospel. It's absolutely incredible. It's
absolutely incredible. We're we're a chosen generation,
beloved, chosen out of our generation. It's absolutely amazing. And
we hear the gospel. We're told when we hear the gospel,
we're told of what our wonderful savior has done for us. We're
told that he lived a perfect life. That he lived the perfect
life that not one of us could ever do. We're told that. We're
told that. We're told of how he went to
Calvary to die in the place of his people. How he's the great
substitute. And we know from the preaching
of the gospel, we've been taught by the Holy Spirit of God that
we have no hope outside of Christ. None at all. No hope outside
of him. We have no way to save ourselves.
We hear of a wondrous savior who died before God in our place. He paid all that God demanded
for the ransom of our eternal souls. That's what we hear when
the gospel is preached. That's what we hear. We're told
of how he rose again from the grave. Why? For our justification. For our justification. We're
told of how he's now in glory and he's the one mediator between
God and man. And what do we do as believers?
We rejoice in these truths. We rejoice and we're... Peter
says, I'm going to just keep putting these before you. I'm
just going to keep putting... Even though you know them, I'm
just going to keep putting these truths before you. And God's people
rejoice over these truths. They absolutely rejoice over
them. It's wonderful. It's wonderful. And then we're
stirred as we hear the gospel. We're stirred to be in remembrance. that Christ did this, as every
born-again believer can say, that Christ did this for me. That's when it really comes home. What a wondrous work of salvation
Christ has wrought out for His people. And the reason Peter
again is going to bring these forth continues because we're
all prone to forget. We're all prone to forget. And
this is why the Lord instituted the Lord's Supper. So that we
would remember. That we would remember the great
things He's done for us. We remember His death, don't
we? When we take the Lord's Supper, we remember His death. We remember
His burial. And we remember His resurrection.
And we sing praises to Him. We sing praises to Him. So the
preaching of the gospel reminds us that the most high and sovereign
majesty, our great God, has shown us such favor. That the majestic,
sovereign God has shown much favor to His people in and through
Christ. In and through Christ. Such mercy
and grace has been given to God's people
through Christ. And all who trust in Christ are
made free from what? The wrath of God. The wrath of
God, why? Because it fell upon Christ in
our place. My. That which we justly deserve.
For our sins. Fell upon the great substitute.
My. And we know that we're redeemed
not with silver and gold, but with the precious blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ. And when the gospel is preached,
we are constantly reminded that we could never buy our salvation,
never work out our salvation, never merit our salvation. But
it all comes to us through the grace and mercy of God in Christ
Jesus. What happens when this is brought
to the remembrance of the blood-washed saint of God? We're overwhelmed. It fills us with joy. Joy fills
our souls. Now, as I mentioned earlier,
Peter is writing these words as he's moved by the Holy Spirit
of God. He's also writing these words
from a new heart. From a new heart. A new heart
that God had given him. A heart which is full of loving
concern for God's chosen blood-bought people. And God's called, sent
gospel preachers have a concern for God's elect. We see this
brought forth as Peter knew that his time of departure from this
life was close. Look at verses 13 and 14. Our
Lord had told him he'd be put to death by his enemies, by the
enemies of the gospel. Look, 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
my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. Turn, if you would, to John 21.
John 21. Peter there in verse 14, he knew
his departure was close at hand. And we know, we know that we
could breathe our last breath today or tomorrow if the Lord
wills, right? We have no idea. Look what the Lord told Peter
over here in John 21, verses 18 and 19. Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
when thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkest whither
thou wouldest. But when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch
forth thy hand, and another shall gird thee and carry thee whither
thou wouldest not. This he signifying by what death
he should glorify God. And when he had spoken this,
he saith unto him, follow me. But when thou shall be old, thou
will stretch forth thy hands and another shall gird thee and
carry thee, whither thou wouldest not. Think of this when the Lord
mentioned that brought that up to Peter. The Lord speaking to
Peter here about his death. Only God knows our departure
from this earth. Only God knows how we're going
to die and only God knows when we're going to depart from this
world. We all have an appointed time, we know that. We know that,
the scripture tells us. But right here with the Lord
saying this, do you know what we have here before us? The fact
of our Lord's divinity. The fact of our Lord's divinity. It's manifest right here before
us in that text because none but God knows our departure from
this world. He's just manifesting his divinity
right there. Who he is. He's saying, Peter,
you're gonna die this way. And he did. So Peter, as long as he's with
the saints in this life, he knew that they needed to have their
hearts stirred up by reminding them of the gospel. By bringing
Christ before them constantly. Constantly. By bringing gospel
truths constantly before them. Let's go back to our text. We
see that in verse 13. Yea, I think it meet as long
as I am in this tabernacle, he means in this body, to stir you
up by putting you in remembrance. To just keep preaching Christ.
To just keep preaching Christ. Knowing that shortly I must put
off this my tabernacle even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed
me. We saw that over in John 21. Peter knew that his life as all
believers' lives, as all of ours, is short. It's like a vapor.
He knew that the saints needed to have their hearts stirred
up by the preaching of the gospel. And Peter knew that after this,
his decrease, which is his death, that he would have these two epistles to remind
those who he's writing to. He didn't know they were going
to be included in the scriptures. You didn't know that the Holy
Spirit was the one who authored these words, but God did. God did. And now we have these
epistles to remind us of the wondrous things that God has
done for us. To remind us of the glorious
truths of the gospel in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. To remind
us that we have obtained life precious faith as a gift from
God. To remind us that we're saved
by Christ and Christ alone and the shedding of his precious
blood. Now, we who are believers on the Lord
Jesus Christ are reminded of the truths of the gospel today.
just as Peter wrote the saints here. And we're just as forgetful
as them. Scripture says there's nothing
new under the sun. We're prone to forget. But when the Lord ascended on
high, he gave gifts to his preachers. The scripture declares this for
the preaching of the saints For the work of the ministry, for
the edifying of the body, till we all come in the unity of faith
and the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man, unto
the measure of a statue of the fullness of Christ. That we henceforth
be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with
every wind of doctrine by the sleight of man and cunning craftiness,
whereby they lie in wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love
may grow up unto him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.
Ephesians 4, 8, 15. so the preaching of the gospel
is to stir the believers up into remembrance and that we might
not be tossed to and fro by every wind and doctrine by the slight
of man and by the cunning craftiness and the scripture again says
whereby they lie in wait to deceive oh how many people are deceived
by religion by religion but God's people are established in the
truth And this is why Christ must be constantly bought before
us, beloved, to establish us in the truth. And the true gospel of God's
amazing grace bestowed upon hell-deserving sinners through the perfect redeeming
work of Christ is so profound that the worldly wise, they stumble
over it. They stumble over it. It's so
simple that a child can understand the gospel when enlightened by
God the Holy Spirit. And some people are ever learning
and never coming to the knowledge of truth. Some know doctrine
in their heads, but not in their hearts. Not in their hearts. And when a sinner is born again
by the Holy Spirit of God, number one, they embrace Jesus Christ
as Jehovah, as God. God, the God man who became flesh
to deliver us from the curse of the law. They embrace Jesus
Christ as the one who walked in perfect obedience to God,
the Father, establishing a perfect righteousness for us. And we
learn these things, don't we? And we are constantly reminded
through the preaching of the gospel. And we believe these
things. God's people believe these truths.
believe these truths. And we embrace Christ as our
only blessed redeemer who purchased us with his own precious blood.
And that's constantly being bought before us through the preaching
of the gospel. Constantly. We embrace the Lord
Jesus Christ as the exalted God-man, King of kings and Lord of lords.
And that's again is being bought forth in gospel messages. And God's people embrace the
Lord Jesus Christ and the precious truths that are in the scripture.
Why? Why do we embrace these precious
truths? Because we're taught by the Holy Spirit of God. He's
the one who teaches us. We did not know these truths
before. We did not embrace these truths
before the Lord saved us. But now, oh my, they are precious
to every believer. They're precious to us. And the
gospel constantly reminds us of these precious truths. And
it's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. And
then we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Bible believer has no problem believing what the Bible says. Now, we might have before the
Lord saved us. I know that. Yeah, I did. But not now. We
bow our knee to what the word of God says. We bow our knee
to what the word of God says. God's people are taught by the
Holy Spirit of God, and they have no problem believing in
the Trinity. Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.
No problem at all, because that's what the scripture brings for.
We're taught by the Holy Spirit of God to embrace the work of
God, the Father, and choosing a particular people to be recipients
of his mercy and grace through the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid
the ransom price for everyone. We're taught those truths by
the Holy Spirit and we embrace those truths. We embrace them. We embrace them. And we're taught by the Holy
Spirit of God to embrace the work of God, the Son, meeting
all the conditions of the eternal covenant of grace. He, by himself, removed all of
our sins from God's sight. And we're constantly reminded
of that through the preaching of the gospel. It constantly
brings to remembrance before us this precious truth. And by Christ removing our sins
from God's sight forever, it enables God to be just and the
justifier of all who believe. Oh, it's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. And we're taught by the Holy
Spirit of God that we were dead in trespasses and sins and had
no hope. But now we're born again by the Spirit of God. the Holy
Spirit of God, we're given a new heart. We're granted faith and
repentance to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. To believe
the truths of the scripture concerning the Lord Jesus Christ. And through
the preaching of the gospel, they are constantly being bought
before us. Because we're to be in remembrance of these things.
To be in remembrance of these truths. And the believer in Christ
says, tell me about Christ. Tell me about Christ. Tell me
more and more and more about Christ. Tell me more about what
He's done for me. Keep me in constant remembrance
of Him. Keep me in constant remembrance of what He's done. Tell me of
where I'll be shortly. Tell me that one day I'll be
in His presence. All because of what He's done.
Tell me. It's honey to my soul. Is it
honey to yours? It's absolutely wonderful. And these God-honoring truths
are all in the scriptures. This book is all about Christ,
beloved. It's all about Christ. He's in
type and shadow and picture in the Old Testament. He himself
said, search the scriptures. Search the scriptures, for in
them you think you have eternal life, and they are they which
testify of me. The scriptures testify of Christ. You know how to fill up a building?
Just tell people you're going to have a prophecy conference.
There'll be people busting out to get in the place. For the gospel preacher, we constantly
bring forth Christ. Constantly preach Christ. Constantly
bring him before the ears. And God's people love to hear
it. And God When he's pleased, he brings in his lost sheep to
hear the preaching of the gospel. And he regenerates them and they
rejoice over the truths of the gospel along with the other blood-bought
saints who have been born again. Oh my. And it's absolutely wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. When our Lord spoke these truths
of when he said, search the scripture for the end, then you think you
have I have eternal life and they are they which testify me.
When he spoke these words, beloved, there was no New Testament. He's
talking about the Old Testament, search the scriptures, search
the Old Testament, they testify of me. Of Christ. New Testament proclaims the one
the Old Testament said was coming. New Testament proclaims him as
Messiah. The Old Testament said he is Messiah and Savior of the
peoples coming in the New Testament proclaims. He's come. He's come. And he saved his people from
their sins. Praise be to our great God. Oh, my. He is a wonderful savior. Let's read verses 13 to 15 again. 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 my tabernacle,
even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. Moreover, I endeavor
that ye may be able to, after my decrease, to have these things
always in remembrance. So we see Peter call this body
a tabernacle. In verses 14 and 15. Our body
is going to be put off. This tabernacle is going to be
put off. This weak, frail tent, beloved. This weak, frail tent
is going to be put off. As one grace preacher said, just
like we take clothes off at night, it's going to be gone. It's going
to be gone. The nearness of death for the
apostle Peter makes him all the more diligent in his business
of eternal life to preach the gospel. As we looked at it, John
21, 18 and 19, the Lord had told Peter of his martyrdom. He knew
it was coming. He knew it was coming. He knew
that his life was like a vapor. Look at what Peter writes in
verse 15. He says this. He has a concern that even after
his death, they would remember the things that he preached to
them. Look at this. Moreover, I will endeavor that
she may be able after my decrease to have these things always in
remembrance. To keep these things in remembrance,
even after I'm gone, he says. His hope was that they would
keep these things in remembrance and all of God's preachers know
this. This is so, so we endeavor to
bring to you the remembrance of the things that Christ has
done for you through the preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We preach a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the
Lord Jesus Christ, who is right now seated on the sovereign throne
of majesty, of glory, ruling and reigning, and having all
things visible and invisible subject to Him right now. Right
now. And because He lives, beloved,
we will live too. Because He's the head and we're
the body. And the gospel preacher, we stand
up and we preach the gospel over and over and over again. Over
and over and over again. There's only one gospel. There's
only one gospel. And what does that gospel do?
Well, it shuts us up. It shuts us up to only wanting
to hear that gospel. It shuts us up to all the other
false noise that's out there. It shuts us up right to Christ,
doesn't it? Right to Christ, right to him. And all we want
to hear is about our sovereign savior. We want to hear about
the sovereign mercy of God, the sovereign grace of God, which
comes to us through the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's close with Galatians. We'll
just turn there and we'll look at Galatians here. Galatians
chapter 1. We'll read verses 6 to 10. All God's preachers know that
our Lord Jesus Christ has appointed a time of our departure from
this life. And this is true for every believer. We don't know
when the time will come, but we know it's coming and we trust
our Lord Jesus Christ both in life and in death. Galatians
1 verses 6 to 10. I marvel that ye are so soon
removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ
into another gospel, which is not another, but there be some
that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. Remember
the Judaizers had come in and they said you must be circumcised
to be saved, adding to the finished work of Christ. But though we
or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you, then
that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As
we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any
other gospel unto you that you may have received, let him be
accursed. For do I now persuade man or God, or do I seek to please
man? For if I yet please man, I should
not be the servant of Christ. Peter, like every gospel preacher,
we just set forth Christ. We just set forth Christ. That's
what we're called to do, and that's what we do. We have one
gospel to preach, and that's salvation in and through the
Lord Jesus Christ in him alone. And God's people, oh, we rejoice,
don't we? We rejoice every time we hear
it. Every time it's brought to our remembrance, the great things
that God has done for us. Glory to his name. Heavenly Father,
we thank you for allowing us to gather together, to be here
together. Oh, we pray that you would, your word would be effectual,
that go forth with power, oh Lord, and all that draw in your
lost sheep, let it be your will, and build up your saints, Lord.
We pray you be with our dear sister Dee too during this time
of loss, that you comfort her heart, give her grace and strength,
and also be with the family as well, we pray, in Jesus' name,
amen.