Alright, 2 Peter chapter 1. The title of the message is Remember
the Prophecy. Remember the Prophecy. Now, verse
12. Peter says, Wherefore, I will
not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things,
though you know them, and be established to the present truth.
Yea, I think it meet. It's fit. It's right. As long
as I'm in this tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in
remembrance. All of God's preachers are just
like Peter. We remind believers of the truth that they already
know. I'm not a terribly original person,
which I guess is a good thing. Henry said the only thing original
about man is sin, so I guess that's a good thing. But we preach
the same message over and over and over again. You're not going
to hear anything new this evening. I mean, you already know that.
But if all preaching is, is saying the same thing, saying the same
words, saying the same phrases over and over and over again,
you're going to get bored pretty quickly. You're going to quit
coming to listen because just repeating the same words over
and over and over again is not what it means to preach the same
message over and over and over again. If we preach the word
of God, The Word of God is always fresh and new, just as fresh
as the day Peter wrote it. And we preach God's Word over
and over again. See, there's a difference between
preaching the Word and reminding you of the Word and repeating
that words and phrases and so forth. If you look in Isaiah
62, this is the job of God's preachers to remind God's people
of the truth that they already know. In Isaiah 62, Verse 6, I have set watchmen upon thy
walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace, day nor
night. Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silent. And that, if your Bible is like
mine, you've got a little four there beside the word make. You
that are the Lord's remembrancers, keep not silent. That's what
God's preachers are. They're remembrancers. And if
I don't keep reminding us of these things, Peter says I'll
be negligent. Negligent homicide. If I'm not
faithful to remind you of these things, people are going to die.
Be put to death spiritually. That's negligent homicide. Men
will put you in jail for that. What do you think God will do?
So Peter says it's right that I remind you of these things.
I won't be negligent about this. And being reminded of the truth
of Christ. will make you established in
the present truth. The present truth. And Matthew
Henry had a very good point he made about this present truth.
This present truth is reminding people of the points of truth
that are under particular attack in our day. You're not contending
for the truth. If you're not contending for
the truth, where the battle rages the hottest. And we must remind
people, we must remind them of the truth. They already know
they don't fall under the attack of the day. The best believer,
I mean think about it, the best believer just knows in part,
don't we? The best believer is prone to
forget. So it's good for us to be reminded.
It's not grievous, it's safe for us to be reminded so we'll
be established. And being reminded of Christ
It stirs up faith in Christ. It stirs up love in Christ. And
it stirs up love for God's people. Now be reminded, you all have
heard of total depravity before, haven't you? Well, let me remind
you of our lost condition in Adam. When Adam fell, every son
of Adam died. We lost spiritual life. All of
it. We lost the ability to do anything
but sin. We're totally depraved, unable,
and we have no ability to do anything to please God. Now,
being reminded of our sin and our inability establishes our
faith in Christ. Because when we're reminded of
that, we remember, oh, I've got no hope but Christ. You've heard
of God's electing love before, but nothing new. But let me remind
you that God and His sovereign right chose a people to redeem
out of Adam's fallen race. God did that just because it
seemed good in his sight for no other reason. God elected
some to salvation and he passed others by. That's God's crown
rights because he's God. And hearing that truth stirs
up our love for God. What wonderful love that God
would choose to save a sinner like me. It boggles the mind. That stirs up our love for Him,
doesn't it? You've heard a particular redemption before. But would
you let me remind you one more time that Christ did not die
for everyone. Christ didn't die to make salvation
possible for as many people as might decide to accept Him. He
knew nobody would because they're dead. They don't have the ability
to make that decision. Christ died for a particular
people. He didn't die for the sins of everybody. He died for
the sins of God's elect, those that God gave him. Their names
were engraven on his breastplate. They were on his heart. And the
death of Christ makes salvation sure and certain for all those
people that God chose and gave to him. There's no possibility,
none, that anyone for whom Christ died will perish because he already
died for them. Now, that stirs up a believer's
love. that stirs up our love for Christ and stirs up, establishes
us in faith and obedience to Christ. You've heard of salvation
by the blood of Christ alone many times. But would you let
me remind you one more time of the power of the blood of Christ
to cleanse from all sin. No amount of religious activity
on our part, nothing we can do could ever scrub away the stain
of sin. But I'm telling you, there's
power in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look in Isaiah
chapter 1. There's power in the blood. A
sinner is washed white as snow in the blood of Christ. Isaiah 1 verse 18. Come now, let's reason together,
saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet,
they should be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson,
they should be as wool. They shall be white as snow and
as wool in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, you remember
that, don't you? You remember that the blood of
Christ cleanses you from all of your sins. Well, that establishes
you in faith, doesn't it? That cements you in trusting
and relying on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you remember the blood,
Your love for Christ is going to be stirred up. What love? That Christ would shed His blood
and give up His life for sinners like you and me. But that's what
He did. To put our sin away under His
blood. That stirs up our love. You've
heard before, you must be born again. Now the new birth is under
attack in our day. So let me remind you. When you're
born again, that old man is not improved in any way. He's not
improved. That old man is dead in Adam.
He'll never be anything but dead flesh. All he can do is stink.
And you cannot educate the old man into faith, no matter how
well thought out your sermon may be. You can't scare the old
man into faith, no matter how graphic your sermon might be.
You can't make an emotional plea and get the old man to come to
Christ no matter how sappy your sermon may be. You cannot appeal
to the mind of the old man. You can't make him understand. And we do appeal to the minds
of men, but you can't make them understand because his mind's
dead. His understanding is darkened
by sin. You can't appeal to the emotions
of that old man. His heart's dead. His heart is
stone. You can't do anything with that
old man as far as salvation is concerned because he's dead.
He's dead. You must be born again. And God
in His power does that for His people. He makes a new man to
be born from new seed, from the Word of God. Every child that's
born is born from seed, the seed of our Father in our first birth. is a birth of death. We're born
dead in trespasses and sins because we're born from the sinful dead
seed of our father Adam. But that second birth is a live
birth. It's a live birth every time.
Because in that birth we're born from the incorruptible seed,
the incorruptible sinless seed, the Word of God. And that new
man lives. He has spiritual life. God gave
it to him. That new man believes God, believes
God's Word. Now our messages ought to be
well thought out. They ought to be prayed over.
They ought to be worked diligently over. We still normally stumble and
bumble around and just feel so inadequate. But I'm telling you
what, that new man is going to believe the Word of God in spite
of the preacher because God's given him faith. That new man
is going to understand God's Word in spite of the preacher
because God's given him the mind of Christ. That new man's heart
is going to react. His heart's going to be drawn
to Christ in spite of the preacher because God's given him a new
heart. Now, that's never an excuse for poorly thought-out sermon,
a sermon that's not worked over and prayed over, but never an
excuse for a bad message. Our messages must be clear and
simple and easy to understand and straight to the point. The
point of the Lord Jesus Christ. But here's my comfort. It's not
our commentary that saves. It's the Word. So preach the
Word. We're going to remind each other
of the Word. It's the Word of God that saves.
You must be born again. And if it happens, it's going
to be from this Word. So we're going to preach the Word. You've
heard before, salvation is by grace through faith. You've heard
that. But let me remind you. Not of
a doctrinal point. Let me remind you of the sweetness
of God's grace. The sweetness of grace for the
guilty. Let me remind you of the glorious
gift of God's free grace that He gives His people faith in
His Son. That's a whole lot different
doctrine, isn't it? For by grace are you saved through faith,
and that not of yourselves, it's the gift of God. Not of works,
lest any man should boast. Doesn't that stir up your heart?
You've heard before, the Lord's coming again. Let me remind you,
the Lord's coming. And I don't remind you so you'll
be scared into making a decision or you're kind of trying to live
better, you know, because you think the Lord might come. Let me remind
you that the Lord's coming again, so you'll be established. Christ
is coming again to gather his people to himself. He's going
to make a new heaven and a new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.
He's coming. And at that time, your salvation
will be complete. Body and soul redeemed. to be
forever with the Lord. Now, that'll stir up a new man
to hang on loosely to the things of this world and to look to
Christ and to live for Christ. The Lord's coming again. Now,
real soon, this thing's going to be over. It's going to be
over soon. So don't get too high when everything's
going your way and don't get too low when you're going through
trial and affliction. The Lord's coming back. It's
going to be soon. Look in Ephesians chapter 2.
Aren't you glad to be reminded of these things? That stirs up
our heart. It will establish us. Ephesians 2 verse 11. Now wherefore remember, don't
forget this, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh,
who are called uncircumcision by that which is called a circumcision
in the flesh made by hands, that at that time you are without
Christ. Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the
covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the
world. But now, in Christ Jesus, ye
who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Wherefore remember that." Look in 2 Timothy 2. Now consider what I say, and,
Lord, give thee understanding in all things. Remember that
Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead
according to my gospel, wherein I suffer trouble as an evildoer,
even unto bonds, but the word of God is not bound. Therefore
I endure all things for the elect's sakes, that they may also obtain
the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Now
that is a faithful saying, for if we be dead with We shall also
live with him. Wherefore, remember, remember
that reading those things that don't make you want to say, say
it again, Sam. Just remind me of that again.
Remind me of that again. And, you know, if you look back
in our text, Peter's preaching this to himself, too. This is
the ground, the sure ground that Peter's standing on himself.
He's not telling somebody to do something. This is his ground
of salvation, his hope. Look at verse 14. Knowing that
shortly, I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord
Jesus Christ has shown me. Now, Peter calls this body of
flesh. It's just a tabernacle. It's a tent that you fold up
and put away when you're done with it. And when a believer
dies, that's all that happens. God just folds up this tabernacle.
You're done with it. You don't need it. You don't
want it anymore. He puts it away. You're done with it. The Lord
must have shown Peter that the time was near for him. Just like
the Lord showed the Apostle Paul the same thing. Paul knew the
time of his departure was at hand. And that's what death is
for a believer. We're just folding up his tabernacle.
It's a departure. When I'm at the airport, I'm
awful thankful when the time of departure is at hand. I mean,
I walk in the door looking. Is the thing on time? What time
is it taking off? I constantly look back up that little screen,
you know, is it still on time? What time are we leaving? And
they say the time of departure is at hand. Yes, He's first in
line. Let me on. Because I'm telling you what,
I want to depart. Where I'm going is a whole lot
better than this holding pen they got me in. I'm ready to
depart. The Lord says the time of departure
is at hand. Let me in line. Let me in mind, that's all it
is, is a time of departure. Just put off this tabernacle. We don't know, you and I don't
know, Peter knew, Paul knew, we don't know when the time of
our departure will be at hand. But I know this, it won't be
long. It sure won't be long. We ought to be serious about
this matter of our relationship with Christ. Serious about the
gospel. Serious about this matter of
faith. and love for Christ. And if you look in verse 15,
that's the way Peter felt. He wants this for us. He says,
moreover, I'll endeavor that ye may be able, after my decease,
to have these things always in remembrance. More than anything,
what I want is for you to know Christ. I want that more than
anything. I pray every day. God will save
people. This congregation in this town
every day, what I want more than anything is for you to know Christ. I want you to have Christ in
your heart. I want you to have Christ in your mind. I want you
to recognize the gospel when you hear it. I want you to recognize
a false gospel when you hear it. So you run away from it.
I want that. That's so important. And I don't
want you to be dependent on me. I don't want that or any preacher.
I want you to be dependent on a man. I want you to be dependent
on Christ. So that when the time comes,
my departure is at hand and I'm getting in line. You won't be
left without help, you won't be left without hope, you won't
be lost because you're depending on Christ, not on the preacher.
This is how I got my notes, someone once, but many times someone
has accused me of just just following Henry. Well, I hope not. Now, I'll tell
you this. I follow him as he follows Christ.
I mean, absolutely. But I'm not just following Henry.
You're not either. Where were we being when he had
to move? We're following Christ. You be
dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ. You follow Him. You follow Christ. And you follow His servants as
they follow Christ. And be serious about this now.
I'm telling you, this matter of knowing Christ Knowing his
word, knowing the difference between truth and error is too
important to be deceived. Look at verse 16. For we've not
followed cunningly devised fables when we've made known unto you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we were eyewitnesses
of his majesty. Now the gospel told throughout
the scripture is not a fable. It's the truth. It's not a cunningly
devised story and invention of man. False prophets preach a
fable. Jeremiah said they preach their
dreams. Whatever they dream, that's what they say. They're
just preaching a story made up from their imagination. And people
either like it or they can leave it. They really don't care if
the man's preaching a fable. It doesn't make them mad. It
doesn't make them angry. The truth does, doesn't it? But the
fable doesn't. It's okay if the enemy preaches
a fable. They don't get upset. And many
of them will believe it. But look at Titus chapter 1.
The gospel is not just fable. I want you to know the truth.
So, verse 14, Titus 1. that you won't give heed to Jewish
fables and commandments of men that turn from the truth. Every
false gospel is a fable. It's a Jewish fable. It's an
Armenian fable. It's a Catholic fable. It's whatever
it is, but it's a fable. It's not the truth. The gospel
is the truth. The gospel is not made up of
truths. The gospel is the truth. You think about why would the
apostles Make up a fable that would make people hate him, make
people persecute him, and ultimately make people kill him. If I was
going to make up a fable, I'd make up a fable to make people
like me. What do you do? Peter is either a crazy man for
making up a fable that's going to cost him his life, or God
taught Peter the truth. One or the other. And Peter wants
us to know it's the latter. God taught Peter the truth of
God's Word. Look at verse 17 in our text.
For he received from God the Father honor and glory, for there
came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Now, Peter is referring
to the Mount of Transfiguration, when the Lord's face did shine
as the sun In our study of the tabernacle, Sunday mornings,
we've talked about the Shekinah glory of God dwelling between
the cherubims above the mercy seat. That Shekinah glory of
God shone from the body of our Lord Jesus Christ. It shone through
His body in glorious brightness. And Moses and Elijah appeared
from the dead. Appeared there, standing there
talking with the Lord. That's the law and the prophets.
Moses represents the law. Elijah represents the prophets.
The Law and the Prophets had the same message. They appeared
with the Lord and His glory shining forth. Well, what do you reckon
they talked to the Lord about? Why don't they come back, you
know, from glory and they come back and they're talking to the
Lord. What are they talking to Him about? The same thing they
always talked about. The same thing they always wrote
about. They're talking about what He would accomplish in His
death at Jerusalem. Brethren, that's the message
of the whole Bible. What Christ accomplished in his death at
Jerusalem. His death was not defeat. His
death was victory. The victory over sin and hell
and death. And Peter and James and John,
they saw that. They saw it with their own eyes.
Moses and Elisha go away. I mean, Peter's just flabbergasted. Oh, this is a special night.
You know, let's build us three tabernacles. One to the Lord,
one to Moses, one to Elisha. Then God spoke from heaven and
he said, this is my beloved son. You hear him. God taught Peter
something. He made it clear. God's not going
to share his glory with anyone. He has no rivals. Even Moses
and Elijah are not rivals to the glory of Christ. Christ gets
all the glory and salvation. Well, of course he does. He gets
all glory in all things. So hear Him. And if you're going
to hear Him, you're going to hear Him from the Word. The Father
said He's well pleased with the Son. Wouldn't it be a good idea
to hear Him then? Hear what He has to say? Oh,
I pray God will make us pleased with the Son. The Father's pleased
with Him. I can tell you by God's grace, I'm real pleased. I am very pleased with the Lord
Jesus Christ. In eternity past, the Father
was pleased with the Son. Christ is the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. God's always been pleased with
the sacrifice of His Son. During His earthly ministry,
the Father was pleased with the Son as He worked out a perfect
righteousness, not for Himself, but for His people, that He would
freely impute to His people. The Father was pleased with the
Son. It pleased the Lord to bruising. It pleased the Lord because the
death of Christ satisfied God's justice. Satisfied God's justice
against sin. The Father was pleased with the
Son as He lay in the tomb. He must have been, He raised
Him from the dead. After His resurrection, the Father was
pleased with the Son. He brought Him back to glory
and said, at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.
Pleased with the Son. And at this very moment, Roy,
he's pleased with the Son as He makes intercession for us.
Oh, doesn't that stir your heart up? I'm so thankful he's pleased
with the Son as He ever lives making intercession for His people.
And the Father, now get a hold of your seats. The Father is
pleased with His people in His Son. If you're in Christ, the
Father is as pleased with you as He is His own blessed Son. That's good news from a
far country. That's how a sinner is saved.
That's how a sinner is accepted before the Father in the beloved. Now remember that. Don't let
it slip. Remember that. Don't forget.
Good for us to be reminded. And we preach this Word. Christ
is our only message. We don't ever get a message anywhere
other than from God's Word. Why treat this as serious? Why do you put so much emphasis
on these services and worship? Why is it so serious to you?
Because this Word is the actual Word Spoken by God Himself. This is God's Word. You remember
this now. You remember this. I don't care
how far man thinks he progresses in technology and knowledge and
all this stuff. You'll never find any other revelation
of God other than this Word. You'll never have any other revelation
of how God saves sinners other than the Word of God spoken by
God to His prophets. This word is even better than
if you audibly heard God speak from heaven. Look at verse 18. For 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 wherein to you do well
that you take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place
until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. Peter
said, I heard God speak from heaven. Gee, that's pretty good
testimony. I heard God speak from heaven. You know what? We've got something
better. We have something better than
what Peter had. We've got the whole Word of God. The prophecy here that Peter's
talking about is a prophecy of our Lord's second coming. Now,
at that second coming, everyone without exception is going to
see the Lord. Much like Peter saw him on the Mount of Transfiguration
when his glory shone forth. We're going to see the Lord Jesus
Christ in his full glory and his glory will be so bright. It'll blot out the sun. His glory
is going to be so much brighter than the sun. You just won't
see the sun, just like you don't see a birthday candle in the
noonday sun because the sun is so much brighter. The glory of
Christ is going to be so bright, you just won't even see it. I'll
shine the sun. Now, people say, oh. Now, if
I saw that, I'd believe, if I could just see that, that'd be evidence
that I'd believe that. No, you wouldn't. No, you wouldn't.
Scripture says when people see it, they're not going to believe.
They're going to call the mountains and rocks to follow them. People
say, oh, no, no. Now, if I saw that, I would believe.
No, you wouldn't. In your life, you're holding
something more glorious than that. That's what Peter says.
The word of God is more glorious than seeing that glory of Christ
that he peeled back and let him see for a few minutes. Hearing
God speak from heaven. This word is better testimony
than that. It's more sure. The light, this
is talking about the second coming of Christ. The second coming
of Christ doesn't mean a thing to you. Unless the first coming
of Christ means something to you. The second coming of Christ
is not going to be a blessing, do you? Unless the first coming
of Christ is a blessing. This light that Peter is talking
about, this light that God has put in the heart of his people.
God has put in the heart of his people the day star. Now the
day star is the forerunner of greater light that is coming,
that is following. Well, God has shined in your
heart the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. You have got the day
star. And this is what you know. A
brighter light's coming. A brighter light's coming. I
cannot wait till it appears. I'm looking for it. I'm waiting
for it. Because a brighter light's coming. You long for that because
then you'll see Christ face to face as a friend. You long to
see that light. And you can only know the light
of Christ through His Word. He's only revealed in His Word.
Now always remember that. Look at verse 20. Knowing this
first. That no prophecy of the scripture
is of any private interpretation. And no part of the scripture
is of any private interpretation. What does that mean? It just
means this, no verse of scripture stands alone. The only way you
can interpret scripture is by other scripture. The only way
you can understand scripture is in light of other scripture.
If you look in 1 Timothy chapter 4, I'll show you an example of
this. 1 Timothy chapter 4. Verse 8, for bodily exercise profiteth
little. Now, people take that verse and
they say, well, no need to exercise, you know, lift weights and run
and, you know, do push-ups and pull-ups and that kind of stuff.
There's just no point in taking care of your body and exercising
and stuff because it's just a waste of time. That's what God's Word
says. Well, now, I know that's what that says, but that's not
what that means. It's not. Now you take care of
your body. God gave it to you. Take care
of it. But don't get carried away with
it either now, because no matter what you do to it, it's still
going to die. But take care of it as long as you got it. And
do you believe your body is the temple of God? God dwells in
you. It's by His Spirit. So use common
sense and take care of your body. God gave you. Jan told me one
time, God gave you one body and a mind. Take care of it. Use
your common sense. But Paul's not talking here about
bodily motions of exercise, running and jumping and that kind of
stuff. He's talking about the bodily motions that were required
by the law in the Old Testament. Now, there's no profit in that
stuff. None. We were in Mexico. We went into the, it's the oldest
cathedral or something in the Western Hemisphere. Very impressive,
I mean, architecture, impressive building. People are kneeling,
they've got these little things, you know, where you can kneel
and stand, kneel and stand, you know, stand up, I said it, stand
up, sit down, fight, fight, fight. Most of the people are praying
to these ceramic statues and stuff. That might look impressive to
the flesh, but that's just utter bondage. There's no benefit in
that whatsoever. Look back at verse 7, here in
1 Timothy chapter 4. Interpret Scripture with Scripture.
But refuse profane and old wise fables, and exercise thyself
rather unto godliness. Paul here is talking about exercising
yourself in faith and love for Christ. Now there's profit in
that. There's eternal life in that. See, you interpret Scripture
with Scripture. Look in Acts chapter 2. Here's
another one that people have taken and just twisted that you
can't even recognize it. Acts 2, verse 38. Then Peter said unto them, Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost. Now, I know that says, I can
read the English language, I know that says, be baptized for the
remission of sins. And people take this verse by
itself and create a whole doctrine around it and say when you're
baptized, the water of baptism washes your sins away. Now, I
know that's what that says, but that's not what that means. You
know that's not what that means. Well, then what does it mean?
Look at 1 Peter chapter 3. The only way we'll understand
what this means is by interpreting Scripture with Scripture in the
light of other Scripture. We find out what Peter was saying
there. Verse Peter 3, verse 21, For even here unto where ye called,
because Christ also suffered the like figure whereinto even
baptism doth also now save us, not the putting away of the filth
of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Baptism is not the putting
away the filth of sin and of the flesh. In Mexico, I've heard this while
I was down there, when someone dies, they bathe them with water. You know, they say it's washing
away the sins. And they take that water and
they make Kool-Aid out of it, like punch, and give it to people
to drink. And you're helping them. You're
drinking it now. They're free of their sin, but
you're drinking it in. So I guess somebody's got to
bathe you and drink Kool-Aid made from your sins, you know.
It's the same thing when people talk about baptism. It's washing
away the filth of sin. Kevin Gruber didn't know what
that was. He drank two glasses of it. It didn't hurt him. I mean, I
guess unless the woman was dirty. No benefit to that whatsoever.
Baptism does not wash away the filth of sin. That work is showered
work. That's not it. Baptism is the
answer of a good conscience toward God. Baptism doesn't wash away
the filth of sin. Baptism is a confession that
Christ washed away the filth of your sin. Through his death,
his burial, his resurrection. See, you interpret Scripture
with Scripture. And you're baptized because your
conscience is clear. Christ put my sin away. I've
got no guilt. I've got no sin. It's the answer
of a clear conscience. Christ put away my sin. No scripture,
as is of any private interpretation, you understand the meaning of
scripture by reading other scripture. Now, verse 21 in our text, 2
Peter 1. For the prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Now, preaching the Word is so
important because this is the actual word spoken by God himself. The writers did not take what
God said and give us their impression or their own interpretation.
They wrote exactly, word for word, what the Holy Spirit moved
them to write. When I was in Mexico, I'd never
preached or spoken or anything through a translator before.
I wanted to make it go as good as it could, you know, so people
could understand. And I asked Cody, what can I
do to make this go better? And he said, just speak in smaller
chunks and then pause and wait for me. Because I want to say
exactly what you say. He said, if you get carried on
and go too long, I can't remember every word and I'm going to have
to give people my impression of what you said. I don't want
them to hear my impression. I want them to hear an interpretation
of what you said. That's what God's word is. The
writers did not give their impression of what God said. They gave the
exact interpretation of what God said. John Hill says that
this phrase should be translated, no prophecy of the scripture
is of man's own impulse or composition. It's the word spoken by God himself. Now look in Psalm 22. I'm going
to give you two illustrations of this. Psalm 22. David here wrote the Word of
God. Psalm 22, verse 1. David writes,
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so
far from helping me from the words of my roaring? Now, is
that David speaking or is that Christ speaking? Which is it?
Do you think David felt forsaken by God? I'm sure he did. Do you feel forsaken by God sometimes?
Now, if you're a believer, you're not, but have you ever felt that
way? Well, David probably felt that way. But at the same time,
David knew that he was writing of Christ dying for sin, forsaken
by his father. He knew that. He knew that the
father was going to accept that sacrifice for the sin of his
people. If you're looking at Acts 2, I'll make good on that.
David knew what he was writing. Acts 2, verse 27. Because thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see
corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life. Thou
shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. Amen, brethren,
let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that
he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us into
this day. being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with
an oath to him that of the fruit of his loins, according to the
flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. He, seeing
this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was
not left in hell, and neither his flesh did see corruption."
David was writing of Christ. He was giving the exact word-for-word
interpretation of what God gave him. He came down from Mount Moriah.
He was rejoicing, wasn't he? Now, was he rejoicing because
Isaac was with him and he didn't have to kill Isaac on top of
that mountain, quarter his son's body and watch the body of his
son burn? Absolutely he was. But I'm telling you this, Abraham
was rejoicing because he saw past that day. Abraham saw to
the day of the death of Christ as the substitute for sinners.
Abraham understood that ram. that was slain in the stead of
his son was a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ being sacrificed
as a substitute for the sin of his people. I know he did. Our
Lord said, Abraham saw my day and was glad. The day he's talking
about there is the day of Christ's sacrifice for sin. These writers
of the Old Testament knew they were writing of Christ. They
wrote the words, the exact words given to them by the Holy Spirit.
Well now, wouldn't we do well to take heed and believe and
listen to it? I hope God would give us the
faith to believe. Enable us to remember what we've
been taught from God's Word. Don't let it slip. Just slip
through like water does through a colander. And be established
in the present truth. Peter talked about the present
truth. The truth that we've read from God's Word tonight It's
just as present and fresh and necessary as 2,000 years ago
when Peter first put those words on paper. Just as fresh. And
you children, let me give you this in closing. You're going
to hear things as you grow up that are out and out lies. People
lie on God. They lie on how sinners are saved. They lie about how you can be
accepted before God. Well, how do you know? How do
you know when somebody's telling you the truth and somebody's
lying to you? How do you know? It's real simple. Does it match the Word of God?
Just look and see if it matches. If it matches, it's the truth,
because this book is the truth. If it doesn't match it, they're
lying to you, and you run from them. Isn't that right, Dale?
You run from them. All right. Well, hope the Lord
bless that to you. Let's bow and pray. Our Heavenly Father, how we thank
you for your Word. How we thank you for the faith
that you've given to believe the Lord Jesus Christ, to see
the incarnate Word in the pages of this written Word. And Father,
we pray for the grace to remind one another of the Word, to preach
the Word, to look to Christ, to rest in Christ alone. He's
worthy of all worship. and adoration. We need no other
witness. We need no other evidence other
than the Word of God. We pray that you give us an understanding,
that you give us more of an understanding, that you enable us to keep coming
back, to be fed from the Word, to be reminded of the truth of
our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, in his precious name
we pray and give thanks.