We're going to be in 2 Peter
chapter 1. Our text is going to be verses
15 to 21. 2 Peter 1, 15 to 21. And our title is, Moved by the
Holy Ghost to Jesus only. Moved by the Holy
Ghost to Jesus only. And we'll have three divisions.
We'll look at what Peter is putting us in remembrance of. Being put
in remembrance, and then hear Christ, and then the Spirit's
witness. Now let's read the first two
verses in our text. In 2 Peter 1, 15 and 16, Peter
writes, Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able, after my
decease, to have these things always in remembrance. For we
have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto
you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. were eyewitnesses
of his majesty. Now, Peter and the other apostles,
they were faithful witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ and
they were made faithful because they were given by the Spirit
of Christ. They were given life. They were
given spiritual life by the Spirit of Christ. And without spiritual
life, without that spiritual life in us, without the Spirit
of Christ, no man, no woman can savingly see the Kingdom of God. We can't see or know things by
our own natural faculties, our own natural abilities, to see
and understand how to worship God, how to know Him, how to
be pleasing to God. We just don't know it savingly.
As Christ said in John 3 verse 3, Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. He can't even see it unless
he's born again. And the reason is that that which
is born of the flesh is flesh and that which is born of the
spirit is spirit. So that if we need to first believe
on Christ, if God's looking to us to first believe him before
he will save us, before he'll do a work for us, then that would
mean it would have to come from our flesh. Because we don't naturally
have the spirit. And that which is born of the
flesh can only produce flesh. But this is a spiritual work.
It's a spiritual work in order to even see the King of God.
So it must be done by the spirit. Christ so That spiritual birth
is something that God must do for the sinner. We don't do that
for ourselves We don't initiate and fire up the engines of faith
by some work of our faith it's it's a work of the Spirit of
God in the sinner as As you wrote in John 1 13 which were born
those that are saved were born of not of blood. It doesn't matter
what our lineage was, nor of the will of the flesh. It's not
by my own will. I don't have a free will just
to suddenly, savingly understand and recognize that Christ is
all and that he's my savior. I don't have that ability in
the flesh. nor the will of man I can't no one can believe you
can't believe for your own children they have to be given this this
this life by the spirit of Christ themselves but they're born of
God born of God so being born again spiritually there will
be fruit God is going to bear fruit in his people as it says
in John fourteen twenty three Jesus answered and said unto
him if a man Love me that's fruit. That's fruit born in in someone
by the spirit of god if a man love me He will keep my words
and my father will love him and we will come unto him and make
our abode with him so we see that there's going to be a manifestation
of spiritual fruit in the believers they're going to believe christ
and they're gonna it's gonna be visible in us and they're
gonna follow Christ, they're gonna grow up in Christ because
the Father and the Son dwell with them. So he's gonna teach
them and he's gonna grow us in Christ. And this is further witnessed
by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost in us that bears these
fruits out, that makes these fruits of what he's doing in
us evident. Evident to others, but mostly
evident to us. And it says in John 14, 26, but
the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send
in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things
to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Now because
the spirit was dwelling in the apostles right as he does for
all believers because the spirit was in them and using them they
were preaching salvation by the Lord Jesus Christ they were faithfully
preaching salvation by Christ not by man's works it's a it's
what Paul said when when as our brother read on Thursday from
first Corinthians two verse two for I determined not to know
anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified." So
they understood what was revealed to them by God, because it was
given to them by revelation. God revealed it to them, and
they saw They had the Old Testament, and then God made it alive to
them so that they understood what was being said. They saw
Christ, they knew Christ, and they heard His words as He was
teaching them. And then they had the indwelling
power of the Holy Spirit making application, helping them to
understand what they were to understand. They declared and
preached Jesus Christ and today now we have the epistles that
they were moved by the Holy Spirit to write. We have their epistles
so we can see how the apostles understood the Old Testament
how they understood what Christ was saying and they wrote these
things down and made them known to us as Peter said. I'm endeavoring
that you may be after I die when I am deceased and gone that you
will have these things always in remembrance. And so we do. We have them here. We have the
scriptures. They were faithful. And now we
have these these things whereby we are put in remembrance of
what Christ has done for us. So you know you can see it. You know the Lord's done a work
here in Missouri and he's he's he's brought these people here
together and we endeavor to see the Lord's work be established
and to grow here and you have a heart and a desire for your
children to be established in the gospel as well. And we know
that sometimes when men die, when the pastor dies, the work
dies with them, the work goes away. And it's not because they
weren't faithful, it's just sometimes the work dies and sometimes it
goes on. Sometimes the Lord blesses the
work and puts another pastor in there and the work goes on.
But if we're not even preaching the truth what hope do we have
if we don't if we don't preach and declare Christ. So it begins
by us just like the apostles were faithful to preach Christ. So we endeavor to do the same
thing to preach the Lord Jesus Christ. If Paul if Paul was determined
to preach nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified that's our
endeavor. We are endeavoring the same thing
to preach and declare Jesus Christ because that's what God is revealing
to us that's all the scriptures speak and declare Christ they're
all declaring to us how that God is merciful to sinners how
that he saves sinners and calls them to himself so we want to
build on this foundation precious with with precious materials
many of you men work with your hands and you know what it is
if you have um garbage materials if you have a nice foundation
but you start building up a house and it's all junk well then what
good is the house going to be so you use good materials on
that that that precious foundation as Christ as Paul said to the
Corinthians in first Corinthians three eleven through thirteen
For other foundation can no man lay, then that is laid, which
is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this
foundation gold, silver, precious stones, and then he goes on to
wood, hay, and stubble, every man's work shall be made manifest,
for the days shall declare it. because it shall be revealed
by fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort
it is. So when the fire puts these things to the test that
we're building on, if it's wood, hay, and stubble, those things
don't last very long in the fire. They get burned up very quickly.
But that which is precious, the gold and the silver and the precious
stones, the truths, Christ that he is our salvation these things
last because Christ these precious things are in in our declaration
that he's our righteousness that he's our hope that Christ is
our peace and our reconciliation with God so we're putting the
brethren in remembrance of these things as it says in Isaiah 40
where he says comforty Comfort ye my people. Speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem. We can do that now. We can speak
comfortably to the brethren because of what Christ has done. He says,
cry unto her that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity
is pardoned, for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for
all her sins. So that God is now speaking comfortably
to us in Christ because Christ has accomplished our salvation.
We're no longer trying to work out our salvation to work out
a righteousness for ourselves and to make ourselves acceptable
to God. We are accepted with God in the Lord Jesus Christ
because he himself is our righteousness. He himself Came in in the likeness
of our flesh and was perfect in everything that he did and
he laid down his life He shed his blood to make atonement to
make propitiation For the sins of the people put them away so
that god doesn't look at our sin anymore He doesn't see our
sin in our iniquity. We're forgiven of our debt and
our sin because christ paid that debt full and having paid that
debt he made reconciliation with us and God so that God accepts
us now he receives us we come to him in the Sun and so Christ
did that and Peter says in verse 16 we've not followed cunningly
devised fables when we made known unto you the power and the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ but were eyewitnesses of his majesty
And you think of what what John said in 1st John 1st John 1 verses
1 through 5 where he says that which was from the beginning
which we've heard which we have seen with our own eyes which
we've looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life
for the life was manifested and we've seen it and bear witness
and show unto you that eternal life which was with the father
and was manifested unto us. It was manifested when Christ
came in the flesh, and they saw Christ, they saw him. That which
we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may
have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with
the Father, and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And these things
write we unto you, that your joy may be full. All right, the
apostles, they wanna put us in remembrance, in remembrance of
Christ, of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says, this then is the
message which we have heard of him and declare unto you that
God is light and in him is no darkness at all. So, you know,
and he goes on to show how that we're bearing witness that he's
our forgiveness. If we sin, we don't look back
to the law to make ourselves righteous. We look to Christ
who is given to us by the father because he has made atonement
for us. He has Delivered us from our
sins and that corrupting power of sins that we keep looking
to Christ. He's our forgiveness He's our
joy. He's our hope that in him. We're not we don't look back
to the flesh ever We continue to look to him and trust him
and we see the warfare that goes on in our own hearts knowing
what we are In our nature and the weakness and the infirmity
of this flesh But he's given us a spirit so that we don't
get turned away from Christ Remember, I need the Lord Jesus Christ.
And where else can I go? I can't make a righteousness
for myself. He's shown me that. He's convinced
me of it. And we are brought back again
to look to the Lord Jesus Christ, who was given to save us, to
set us free from the power and destruction of sin and it says
what what Peter and John said for we cannot but speak the things
which we have seen and heard so each of us here have seen
this and we've heard this he's shown us this to us so that we
know it's Christ it's all in Christ and that's what we are
to remember and to declare all right so now our second point
here which is hear Christ Now the reason why we're so persistent
is that in our text what what Peter says is in verses 17 and
19. He says for he received from
God the father honor and glory. Speaking of Christ when there
came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is
my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which
came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the Holy
Mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy. Where unto
ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth
in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in
your hearts. Now, Peter's referring to what
they count in the Gospels of what we call the Mount of Transfiguration,
where the Lord took Peter, James, and John, and he brought them
up onto that mountain. And there he was transformed.
He was transfigured before their eyes. He was changed. He was
changed before their eyes. They saw him in his glorious
appearance. They saw him in how he looks
in glory. He was brilliant and beautiful
and shining forth gloriously. If you turn over to Matthew 17,
Matthew 17 and verse 1, And it says, after six days,
Matthew 17, 1, after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and
John, his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain
apart. Verse 2, and was transfigured before them. He was changed. Luke records it this way. He
says, the fashion of his countenance was altered, so that his face
did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
And behold, Matthew 17, 3. And behold, there appeared unto
them Moses and Elijah talking with him. Luke said that these
two, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glory. They appeared in glory. They were glorious. to behold
and what what what how they were transformed by the Lord Jesus
Christ and he tells us what they speak of that they that they
spoke of his deceased which he should accomplish at Jerusalem
and Luke goes on to say that Peter and they that were with
him were heavy with sleep and when they were awake they saw
his glory so that it's probably what what what John was thinking
of when he was writing the gospel of John in chapter one When he
said the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld
his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the father Full
of grace and truth and john went on to say for the law was given
by moses but grace and truth came by jesus christ he excels
moses he excels the prophet so We're to hear Christ and we're
to look only to Christ for our revelation for our hope for our
forgiveness for our deliverance before The father so and you
know their sleepiness, you know when they say that they were
heavy with sleep it's such a picture of how it is when when when all
we were under was the Old Testament and all we had was the Old Testament
and we looked at it and all we could see was types and shadows
and pictures and if you don't have the spirit of Christ you
don't even understand what's being said and you don't see
how it all points to Christ so you could see how they're coming
out of this sleepiness they're coming out of this darkness and
and looking at these things through a glass dimly through a dark
glass where you don't see clearly what's being revealed to us here
in the Old Testament until the divine power comes and breaks
us out of it and gives awakens us and helps us to see and to
know what's being said and declared to us and so coming out of this
the sleep, Peter answers and says unto Jesus, Lord, it's good
for us to be here. If thou wilt, let us make here
three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for
Elijah. And that sounds nice. I'm going
to make three booths for you each to stay in. And it sounds
good. It sounds great, especially in
religion. It sounds good. In doing that, he's making Christ
equal with Moses and equal with the prophets. And Christ isn't
equal with Moses and equal with the prophets. Christ is one with
the Father. He's equal with the Father. He's
the Son of God. There's no man like Christ. There's
no man like him. It can't be that we have Jesus
and Moses and the prophets because they're not equal Christ excels
all and that's exactly what Was revealed to Peter it says while
he gets baked behold a bright cloud Overshadowed them in verse
5 and behold the voice out of the cloud would said this is
my beloved son in whom I am well pleased hear ye him Don't be
looking back to Moses. Don't be looking to the prophets.
Hear Christ. Hear my son, the one whom I provided
to give you salvation. And when the disciples heard
it, they fell on their face and were sore afraid. And Jesus came
and touched them and said, arise and be not afraid. Right. We've
nothing to fear in Christ. We don't have to be afraid of
the father coming to him in the blood of the son. There's nothing
to fear because he's made peace between God and men. He's made
peace for his people and reconcile them to the father. And when
they lifted up their eyes, verse eight, they saw no man save Jesus
only. And that's what we're to look
to. Jesus only. We're not to be looking to It's
not about religion. It's not about this being religious
people. That's not what the scriptures
are teaching. They're not teaching us how to be religious. They're
teaching us that we can't save ourselves, but God in mercy and
grace and kindness has poured out abundantly his salvation
through the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As Peter said in Acts,
to him give all the prophets witness. through his name whosoever
believeth on him shall receive remission of sins it's all about
the lord jesus christ and that's why it's imperative that we preach
christ only as paul said i determine not to know anything among you
save jesus christ and him crucified because that's who we're to hear
christ only we're to hear the lord jesus christ so peter's
reflecting on this he's reflecting on the mount amount of transfiguration
there and you can just see how tender Peter is, how he's moved
considering that he's going to be dying soon and his care and
love for the brethren and for the church that they not be moved
off of Christ. And we see how the church or
the so-called church at large that goes by The name Christ,
but how they've been moved off. It's just the religious. It's
just religion now. It's no different from What it
was in under the Old Testament under under the Old Covenant
where they look to the law to be saved But no one was saved
by the law not even the Old Testament Saints. They were all saved looking
to Christ everyone at that the Lord Delivered they were delivered
looking to and trusting the promise of the Messiah that should come
and put away their sin Even though they saw it in types and shadows
and they didn't have the clarity perhaps but they saw Christ Abraham
saw Christ day. He was looking to Christ and
he was saved by faith So was David. So were all the prophets
and all the Old Testament believers that were saved. They were saved
looking to Christ. And it's no different for us.
But you could see the abundance of religion. You could see the
abundance of the scaffolding and and and stones that are just
rejected because they don't believe they're not looking to the Lord
Jesus Christ. So he goes on. in verse 19 saying
we also in 2nd Peter 119 we have also a more sure word of prophecy
he's saying we got the message God showed it to us he said look
to my son don't be looking anything else but to my son Jesus Christ
where unto Peter writes ye do well that you take heed we got
the message you get the message it's all about the Lord Jesus
Christ As unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day
dawn and the day star arise in your hearts That's Christ Christ
must arise in our hearts So we stay upon him look to him hear
his words Until the Lord is pleased to cause him to rise in your
hearts and you see him and and know him and and rejoice in him
So speaking of the word of God, which was made flesh and dwelt
among us, John said in 1, 4, and 5, in him was life. And the life was the light of
men, and the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended
it not. That is, the darkness, which
we are by nature, doesn't comprehend these things until the day dawn
and the day star arise in your hearts. Then you see the light
of God. Then you see the light that he's
provided in his son, Jesus Christ. Before all that, before all that
the scriptures teach, we're in darkness and we don't know Christ. We don't even desire to know
Him or to seek Him. As it says in John 3, 19 and
20, that this is the condemnation, that light is coming to the world,
but men love darkness rather than light because their deeds
were evil. For everyone that doeth evil
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved. Because once it's out there in
the open, everybody sees the sin, including you. You see the
sin and we're ashamed for what we do in secret and those things
that we hide and don't want anybody else to see. We're ashamed of
those things. So we don't want to come before God. We want to go
on believing. that our religious shenanigans
and our religious charade is good because we're not uncomfortable
then. We like being in that darkness. But once it's exposed, it's uncomfortable. And there's nothing we can do
except God have mercy on us. And man never thinks to turn
to God and beg him for mercy and forgiveness. He always thinks,
well, what now do I have to do to be saved? What do I got to
do now to correct this and make it right? And that's nothing.
There's nothing you can do. We look to Christ. It's him. It's his mercy and his grace. But after Christ is risen in
the heart, once his divine power has come upon us and given us
life, it says in John 3, 21, but he that doeth truth cometh
to the light. And we come to the light that
his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. Not wrought in the flesh. Not
that he turned things around and did a 180 and now he's got
his life together. No, it's all been worked and
wrought in Christ so that we rejoice and give Him all the
praise. in glory. So Peter says, remember
this after I passed away. I want you guys to remember these
things that it's all about Christ. We must know him as our personal
Lord and Savior. It's not enough to know that
there is a God that Jesus is the Savior of men. Is he my Savior? Is he your Savior? Do you know
him? Do you love him? Has he shown
you your need of him? And do you see that he alone
is the fit Savior? that you must have him. If there's
no love, beg him to give you love, to shine his love in your
hearts and make you to see him and rejoice in him. And Paul
wrote All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself
by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation. So that's why we're preaching
Christ. That's why we continue in hymn. It's not just to be religious. We have the word of reconciliation
given to us. through Christ. And so we declare
Him. That's our ministry. That's our
focus, is to preach Christ so that other sinners know and hear
that this is the way of salvation through the Son, Jesus Christ.
All right. I just want to touch on these
last two verses in 2 Peter 1, 20 and 21. Verse 20 says, knowing
this, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. Those those scriptures of any
private interpretation. And so what he's affirming here
for us is that it's not it's not just about religion. The
Bible isn't given for us to you know for clever men and women
to come to the scriptures and see what they want to see and
have validated what they've already come to with their preconceived
notions. People take the word of God and
then they they work out they trace out their own way their
own form of goodness in their own religion and how they They
say we're to come to God, and they make up all kinds of religious
ceremony and various things that a man or woman has to do to get
right with God, to get themselves saved, or to be right. But that's
a private interpretation. That's saying, oh, this is just
a religious book to teach me how to be religious. No, it's
not. It's about Christ. It's showing
us the Lord Jesus Christ. So it's not a private interpretation.
How do I know? How do I know that that's not
my own private interpretation? Because you look at Christ and
you hear what he himself said concerning the scriptures. Paul
said, We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord in
ourselves, your servants for Jesus' sake. For God who commanded
the light to shine out of darkness has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. That's what he's shown us. It's
not about religion and there's so much religion in the world
and we have it to overflowing coming out of our ears and every
orifice. So it's just it's just everywhere
and it's all it doesn't profit us at all. Christ alone profits
the child of God and Christ himself confirm this saying and if you
turn over to Luke twenty four Luke twenty four verse twenty five. It says, Then Christ said unto
them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets
have spoken. Luke 24, 26, Ought not Christ
to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory?
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto
them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. So that We see through this that
Christ is the one who's been provided for our salvation. It's
not just about being religious. It's not about having this human
form of faith and just believing and having hope that God is somehow
pleased with us just trying to work up some sort of a faith
in ourselves and hope in ourselves. We're looking to the Lord. Jesus
Christ because religion is not going to save us law is not going
to save us Christ alone is the one who saves his people So it's
it's what it's what the Apostles saw there on the mount that when
they had lift up their eyes They saw no man. They saw nothing
else save Jesus Christ Only that's exactly what we're meant to see
that they saw Jesus only that's what we're to see Jesus Only
you do well Peter said to take heed to this to this thing and
he was talking about What was revealed to them on the mount?
It's about the Lord Jesus Christ and then turn over to Luke 24
verse 44 Luke 24 verse 44 and he's talking to the other Apostles
now and And he said unto them, these are the words which I spake
unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses and in the
prophets and in the Psalms concerning me. It's all about Christ. Then
opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
scriptures. That is, that we might understand
what the apostles understand to see the things concerning
Christ, to look unto him. And he said unto them, verse
46, thus it's written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer
and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in his name among
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem, And ye are witnesses of these
things. Has Christ opened your understanding? Do you see that you're a sinner,
that you can't please God? No matter what you do, you can't
work a righteousness for yourself. And as you open your understanding,
you see that He's the one that God has provided to make reconciliation,
to make atonement for your sins. Do you see how the necessity
of Him and how precious He is? Do you hope in Him and believe
in Him and desire Him? To take away your sins and to
make you righteous to stand before God as you put that in your heart
well back in in 2nd Peter 1 21 it says for the prophecy came
Not an old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost So the way that we're moved
to Christ, the way that we see Christ and declare him and speak
of him is by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the one who
comes upon us and gives us life that we may see the kingdom of
God, to see that it's all about Christ and that he has made satisfaction. He has put away our sin. And you'll know it when all you
can do is think Lord have mercy on me. I need the salvation that
you've provided in your son have mercy upon me. It's not about
walking an aisle it's not about saying a special prayer he'll
bring that out he'll he'll cause you to cry out to him. It's looking
to Christ and he gives that to his people to look to him to
see him and trust him and rest there in him so that once we're
set free That's all we'll rejoice in him and we'll give him all
the thanks and the praise because the Daystar will have risen in
our hearts all by his power and grace I pray the Lord will bless
that to your hearts and and help us to look to Christ and rest
in him. Let's pray Our gracious Lord we thank you father for
Your mercy and gathering this people here to hear your word
Lord. Let us not take it for granted
that Lord help us to hear what burden Peter so so much in his
heart that after he died that we would be put in remembrance
of Christ our Savior and we would hear him and look to him Lord
we pray that you would cause the day to dawn upon us and that
the day star your son Jesus Christ would rise in our hearts and
that we would see Jesus only and be covered in his blood and
Receive that forgiveness which you've provided for your people.
We pray this in Jesus name our Lord and Savior. Amen