Turn with me please in your Bibles
to 2 Peter chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 1. 2 Peter chapter 1 and we're going
to read from verse 1. 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 Saviour 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 so an
entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Wherefore
I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of
these things, though ye 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 hath showed me. Moreover, I will
endeavour 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, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the
Father honour and glory 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, whereunto 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. Knowing
this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private
interpretation, for the prophecy came not in old time by the will
of man, but holy men of God speak as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost. Amen. May God bless to us this
reading from his word. Our Lord Jesus Christ, as we
read in these opening verses of Peter's second epistle, it's
called the General Epistle, it's for all of us to read together
rather than being addressed to a particular church. But this
epistle, this letter that Peter has written, it is written with
this desire, that the Lord Jesus Christ might give grace and peace
to his beloved people. Grace and peace. You know, I've already remarked
that it's a privilege to be back amongst you. I count it a real
delight to be here. I rejoice greatly that the Lord
has seen fit to bring us into one another's fellowship awareness,
company, and for some reason has reinforced the natural reasons
for Jill and I to be here, close by where you worship, simply
because of the family ties that we have. And certainly we delight
to come across to Australia and to visit family. And as you know,
we've got a brand new reason for doing so. But it is a greater
joy to have that union of fellowship, to have that deep experience
of brotherly love, one for another with the Lord's people. And he
has brought us together. I see the hand of providence
in this. in a most extraordinary way,
that we have from opposite sides of the world, yet this affection
and familiarity for one another that allows us to come together
and rejoice in this glorious gospel which we have learned
together. And I count it a privilege to
be here amongst you because of this grace and this peace that
the Lord Jesus Christ has afforded us. He has taught us grace and
he has taught us peace. And that is good news. And it is that good news that
we seek to share together, that message of redemption, that message
of reconciliation, that message of God's gift to our needy people,
that prompts and motivates us to worship and to come together
to hear the gospel declared. And I have every confidence that
these truths, this faith that we have been given, which Peter
talks about here in the opening verse, this precious faith, Simon
Peter says in introducing himself, a servant and apostle of Jesus
Christ to them that have obtained like precious faith with us. and it is a joy to be able to
share together with those who have this precious faith. How did we obtain this precious
faith? How did it come about? Is this
precious faith that we possess together, that is the ground
of our fellowship and acquaintance and love one for another, is
this precious faith that we have a gift from God or a reward for
our labours? Is this precious faith that binds
us together, is it due to our works and our efforts or to God's
mercy towards us? Is it because we have received
what we deserved for obedience to God's commandments? Or is
it because He has been merciful to us in spite of our disobedience
to His commandments? And surely you know these things
who have tasted this precious faith. Surely you know that it
could never be because you have deserved these things. But as
Peter says in the third verse here, it is according as his
divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto
life and godliness. That divine power has given us
these things. It is God's goodness, out of
His magnanimity, out of His love, out of His desire to gather a
people to Himself. In mercy, He has bestowed that
precious faith upon a people who did not deserve it. The Lord
Jesus Christ gives grace and peace, and he gives it to a people
beloved of God, and oh how we need to experience that grace
and that peace. That grace and peace which is
the foundation of the precious faith that we possess. I want to nail something down
for you, if I may, right at the very beginning of these few weeks
of meetings that we are eagerly anticipating and this opportunity
for fellowship that the Lord has given us. If God gives us
his grace, then there can be nothing of works in that relationship. If it is God who gives us these
things out of his grace and mercy, there can be nothing of man's
effort in the equation by which we deserve his goodness. The Apostle Paul says in Romans
chapter 11 and verse 6, if it's by grace, then it is no more
of works. So that if there is any degree,
if there is any extent to which we endeavor in our understanding,
in our life's experience, to mingle these two things, these
two opposites, grace and works, if there's any way in which we
try to merge them together and produce a doctrine, a theology,
a life view, a world view, a religious practice, that in some way draws
God's goodness to us because of something that we do. We've
missed the whole point of what grace means. They are mutually
exclusive. And the whole emphasis of Paul's
doctrine, the whole emphasis of the New Testament teaching,
this apostolic message, is to show us that these things come
to us according as his divine power hath given unto us all
things pertaining to these great promises, this life and godliness
that we possess. Our justification before a holy
God is due to his grace towards us. Our sanctification is due
to his grace and his goodness. The reconciliation that we have,
though we are opposed to him and sinners by nature, is because
of his grace. That union that we have with
the Lord Jesus Christ all flows from his grace. And if God gives us peace, then
there can be no more room for our efforts or our works or our
labor. No more wearying to see if we
are righteous enough. No more worrying about whether
we are holy enough. No more anxiety about whether
we are acceptable to God or not. no more concern about whether
we are being faithful enough, because our view is lifted by
possessing this divine gift of peace, away from ourselves, away
from our works, away from our energies, to see rather that
which he has accomplished. Our standing, and that is what
makes this faith precious, our standing before a holy God is
because the Lord Jesus Christ has made us righteous, has made
us holy, has made us acceptable, and has made us faithful to God. The Lord Jesus Christ gives rest
from labour. Rest is peace. and to experience
the peace that God gives is to know perfection and it is to
know what it is to commit everything to Him. If thou wilt keep him
in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he
trusteth in thee. It's Isaiah chapter 26, verse
three. And that perfection isn't a perfection
of morality, isn't a perfection of lifestyle, isn't a perfection
of deeds and doing in our flesh. We're never going to attain to
that. but it is a perfection of resting in Christ. It is knowing that our salvation
is assured because his work is done. Because when he said it's
finished, he meant it and it's true. And we who trust in that
perfect work know a perfection of peace in our hearts and in
our lives. But I want to draw your attention
in these opening verses, and I'm actually going to spend a
little bit of time in a verse further down in this passage,
but just for the sake of introduction here, I want to draw your attention
also to the fact that Peter says in this second verse that he
desires for us that grace and peace will be multiplied. So he's asking for more. He's
asking for an addition. He's asking for a greater experience
of these things. And he is asking that the Lord
would be generous in the dispensation of these blessings to us. I don't know about you, but I
constantly find myself Come away and you're welcome, good to see
you. I constantly find myself shaking
my head at myself and thinking, why don't you just believe these
things? Why is it so hard for you simply
to believe what the word of God says when it says it? Here's
what I'm going to show you, and maybe you'll say to yourself,
we know all this. This is all old stuff for us. Well, so be it. But you know,
when the penny drops, it's sometimes good to let other people know
about it as well. And here's the thing. Peter says,
Peter says, He's asking, he's saying, grace and peace be multiplied
unto you. In John chapter 14 and verse
13, there's a little phrase, a little verse, which you will
be all familiar with, and it says this. It says, whatsoever
ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may
be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask anything in my
name, I will do it. Now who was the Lord speaking
to when he said that? He was speaking to his disciples.
That's John chapter 14. That's where he talks about the
fact that there's a house in heaven, many mansions in heaven,
and he's going to prepare a place for them and he will come again.
But he says, when I go, if there's anything that you need, if there's
anything that you want, if there's anything to be done, then just
ask and I'll do it for you. And who was there when that statement
was made? But Peter. Peter heard the Lord
saying those very words. And Peter proved the faithfulness
of Christ in the fulfilment of those things. The Lord had said,
ask in my name and I will do it that the Father will be glorified
in the Son. So what did Peter do when he
went up to the temple and there at the beautiful gate where that
lame man lay? He said, I don't have any alms
to give you, I don't have any money, I don't have any silver
and gold to give you, but I will give you what I have. In the
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk. and that man
was healed. That beggar that lay at the beautiful
gate because Peter had proved that the Lord's promise to him
in John chapter 14 was true. little later, Peter had gone
down to Joppa, and there in that town was a lady, a lady called
Tabitha, Dorcas, and she had died, and she had been very much
an integral part of the fellowship there, and there was much lamentation
about the fact that this lady had died. And they called on
Peter, if there was anything that he would have been able
to do to ameliorate their grief and their concern. And we're
told that Peter went to another room and he knelt down beside
that woman's body as she lay dead, and he prayed. And turning
him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes. She opened her eyes, sat up and
looked at Peter. Now, Peter saw amazing things
happening in his life. He saw that lame man rise because
in the name of Christ, as he had been promised, he saw a miracle
take place. He saw that dead woman brought
to life because in the name of Christ, that miracle was performed. So here's Peter asking for something
else. He's asking for something. This
time it's not that a lame man might have his legs fixed or
that a dead woman might have her life back. No, here he says
something else. He says, grace and peace be multiplied
unto you through the knowledge of God and the Lord and Jesus
our Lord. Grace and peace be multiplied. I think Peter's request for grace
and peace multiplied, enlarged, granted, will come to pass. Because this is how the Lord
is glorified. This is how the father delights
to glorify his son, by granting these gifts, these blessings
to his people. So when Peter says here, grace
and peace be multiplied, he's writing to those who already
have tasted these gifts, who already know something of this
grace and this peace, who have heard the gospel, who are possessors
of this precious faith. But he knows that there needs
to be this enlargement. There needs to be a deepening
of these experiences, of these graces, of these virtues in the
lives of the Lord's people. And so he asks the Lord if he
would give more grace, grant more peace. give greater understanding,
build up our knowledge, grant us wisdom in these truths, deepen
our appreciation, and lead us into a deeper and greater experience
of these things of the Lord. And how does this happen? How
does this happen but that we hear these truths spoken, rehearsed,
repeated, taught, conveyed in the gospel when we come together. We come together to hear about
the Lord Jesus Christ. We gather together to worship
him. We gather in order that the Lord
in his death and his resurrection in his accomplished works of
salvation will be made more and more knowledgeable to us. And it doesn't matter whether
we are younger or whether we are older. It doesn't matter
whether we have been in the Christian life for many years or we've
come to it very recently. The place where our knowledge
of Christ is deepened and extended and enlarged is under the sound
of the gospel. That is why these meetings are
so important. That is why coming together to
worship in this way is most important. The apostle says, grace and peace
be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus
Christ our Lord. So he is asking the Lord to create,
to generate an appetite in the hearts of his people for a deeper
understanding of his truth and a greater experience of these
things, of the grace of God and the peace of God in our lives. He says in verse 3, according
as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain
unto life and peace through the knowledge of him that hath called
us unto glory and virtue. Do you see the emphasis that
there is here in knowledge? You know, it just won't do for
us to be ignorant Christians. It's just not acceptable. It
just doesn't work. People who come and say, you
know, well, I don't know about that. I've just got a simple
faith. I don't know anything about that
doctrine. I don't know anything about these
things. These things are all just too much. I'm happy to leave
that to the preacher. I'm happy to leave that to the
minister. I'm happy to leave that to the church. That won't
do. The reality is that the people
of God have an appetite for the gospel. This grace and peace
that Peter requests, that Peter asks for, on behalf of the church,
on behalf of those who are possessors of this precious faith, this
gospel, this gospel is desired after. The knowledge of this
truth is sought after. We gather here in order to learn
of Jesus, to learn of his accomplishments, because we know that's what gets
us through the day, that's what enables us to live our lives,
That's what helps us in our relationships. That's what teaches us where
our hope is to be placed. That's what gives us a view of
eternal life. That's what enables us to face
the difficulties of our existence. That's what supports us in those
times of greatest hardship and sorrow and distress, when the
things that we look to around about us in this world seem to
be slipping away and crumbling around about us. And we all know
those experiences, we've all had those hard times. And if
you haven't had them very much, well, they're coming down the
line to meet you. But this grace which sustains
us, this peace that comforts us, it comes from a knowledge
of Jesus Christ. It comes to us through the preaching
of the gospel, that knowledge, that deepening of our understanding
and our awareness. And so in verse 4 of this, he
says, whereby, that is through the knowledge of him, we are
We are given exceeding great and precious promises, that by
these exceeding great and precious promises, we might be partakers
of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust. Those then that are given this
grace, this peace, they are a people who have knowledge of the truth,
who have a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. by hearing about
him in the gospel, by receiving his grace through the mediation
of God the Holy Spirit, by having their hearts touched, by believing
the exceeding great and precious promises that God has made. Promises of grace, promises of
glory, promises of love and mercy, promises of life and salvation,
promises that sustain us in the dark times and equip us for the
challenges of our life. We call these great and exceeding
promises, we call them, these precious promises, the covenant
of God's purpose, the covenant of his grace, of the covenant
of his peace. This is the promise of peace
to the hearts of men and women like us. And we learn of them
by hearing about Jesus Christ, by His testimony being set before
us, His works being presented to us. Christ speaks to us, the
risen Christ speaks to us in the Gospel, through His ministers,
through His preachers. And that's why this fellowship,
that's why our worship together, that's why these occasions of
preaching are so important. Look at verse 16 with me, if
you will. Peter is getting to be an old
man, and we're told in verse 14 that he is aware that shortly
he must lay down this body, he calls it this tabernacle. He
needs to lay down this body. It's a lovely little passage
that, there's such an earnestness in it, the way that Peter speaks,
even about his own demise. He's very easy about his death. You notice that before, he's
very easy about the fact, very matter of fact, the way in which
he speaks about his soon to come death and the ending of his life. And perhaps there's a little
lesson in there for us as well, as we think about our own lives
and our own health and our own well-being. He says, Knowing
that shortly, verse 14, I must put off this my tabernacle, even
as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. So he has a message
that he wants to bring to the churches, to the Lord's people. He has this message, he wants
them to be certain that he is understood. So he says in verse
14, So verse 16, For he received from God the
Father honour and glory 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. The Apostle is eager that at
the end of this apostolic age, the Church will be equipped,
the Lord's people will be provided with those truths, those teachings,
Those doctrines, those revelations which have come from Christ that
will sustain them and lead them into the future. He knows that
his own life is coming to an end and so he wants to set forth
these great truths. And he says, that we have also
a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto you do well that ye
take heed. In the imminent absence of the
apostle from this scene of time, his translation into glory, the
laying down of this fleshy tabernacle, he wants to say one more time
to these people who it is that they have to look to, where it
is they have to find their sustenance, who it is will give them and
grant them this grace and peace, this precious faith that they
require for their daily lives. So when Peter was getting ready
to lay down his life, He knew that these people would be looking
for help in the future, and he directs them where to look, where
they are to give heed. Now remember, when Peter was
writing this, there was just still the Old Testament scriptures. The prophets that spoke of the
Lord Jesus were the scriptures that the people had at their
disposal. And though the Lord had come
and his ministry had gone out, the Gospels, as it were, and
these epistles of the apostles, they were still very young. They were still being brought
together and being written. And so he says that he wants
to write to the people to give them one last time this testimony. And he says this, we have a more
sure word of prophecy. This is the message which he
has. We have a more sure word of prophecy. The Old Testament Scriptures
were what the people had. The prophets were those men with
whom they were familiar. But Peter says, listen, we've
got a more sure word of prophecy. A more sure word of prophecy
than that which was given to Adam. In Genesis chapter three
and verse 15, We're told there in the unfolding of the episode
of the Garden of Eden, where Eve took the fruit at the behest
of the serpent, and she ate that fruit and gave it to her husband,
and together they were disobedient to the command of God. And the
Lord came and he spoke to them and he spoke in terms of judgment. This is what he says in verse
15 of chapter 3, he says, I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, speaking to the serpent, and between thy seed and her
seed. It shall bruise thy head and
thou shalt bruise his heel. Right there at the very beginning
of the history of the world, a prophecy was made that spoke
of one who would come who would bruise the serpent's head. Now
that was a word of prophecy and Adam and Eve and their children,
and the generations after who studied these words, who heard
the prophetic words of the Lord there in the garden as it was
written down by Moses and passed down through the ages, they knew
that God promised that at some stage in the history of the world,
someone would come of the seed of the woman who would bruise
the serpent's head. But we have a more sure word
of prophecy than that which was spoken to Adam. We have a more sure word of prophecy
than that which was spoken to Abraham. In Genesis chapter 15,
verse 5, we read these words. And he, that is the Lord God,
brought him, Abraham, forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven,
and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them. And he said
unto him, So shall thy seed be. This was another prophecy that
was given, another promise, a promise given to Abraham, a promise that
said there will be a mighty nation, there will be a great family,
this family of faith, this people that will be gathered in. And
Abraham, you may just be one man and you may just be a small
band, but you look at the stars because I testify, says God in
prophetic promise that I will make a people of faith that are
more numerous than the stars of the sky. And we have a more
sure word of prophecy than that which was given to Abraham. We
have a more sure word of prophecy than that which was given to
Moses. In Exodus 33, verse 19, we read, and he said that as
God, speaking to Moses as he went up into the mountain, God
said to him, I will make all my goodness pass before thee,
and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee, and
I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show
mercy on whom I will show mercy. And here the Lord God spoke to
Moses and he told him that he would form a people for himself,
that he would be the one who would give grace, that he would
be the one who would show mercy, that it would not be of man's
will, But it would be God's will. And that revelation, that showing
Moses in the cleft of the rock there where he was positioned,
where he was made secure, that showing Moses something of the
glory, something of the person of God, a glimpse of the nature
of God, is revealed in these simple words, that I am sovereign. I will give grace to whom I will
give grace. I will give mercy to whom I will
give mercy. That's the God I am. That's the
nature of my sovereign purpose. And that was a word of prophecy
given to Moses. But we have a more sure word
of prophecy than that which was given to Moses. We have a more
sure word of prophecy than that which was spoken to David, who
says in 2 Samuel 23, verse five, although my house be not so with
God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure. For this is all my salvation
and all my desire, although he make it not to grow. These promises
that God had given, whether it was to Adam, or whether it was
to Abraham, or whether it was to Moses, David says, this is
a covenant, this is a promise from God, and it is an everlasting
covenant, and it is ordered, and it is sure. And we know that
that covenant God who makes these everlasting promises will fulfill
them for his promises are yea and amen. And yet we have a more
sure prophecy than that which was given to David. We have a
more sure prophecy than that which was given to Isaiah. In
Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6 we read, For unto us a child is born,
unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his
shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
It was still hundreds of years before that prophecy would be
fulfilled. but fulfilled it was in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we can see it evidenced in
the New Testament scriptures time after time how he fulfilled
all of the elements and all of the aspects of this glorious
promise that was given to Isaiah. who also said in chapter 55,
verse 1, so, the Lord speaking here, so shall my word be that
goeth forth out of my mouth. It shall not return unto me void,
but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall
prosper in the thing whereunto I sent it. These Old Testament
men knew. They knew the gospel, they knew
these great promises, these exceeding great promises that were given
to them throughout the history of the Old Testament people.
And God showed His sovereignty and God showed His purpose to
them. Such that there was a people
at the time of the coming of Christ waiting faithfully in
Jerusalem to see these things revealed. We know of some of
them, only a few, and yet that testimony was maintained. But we have a more sure prophecy
than that which was given to Isaiah. More sure than the prophecy
that was given to Ezekiel. In chapter 11, verse 19, and
I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within
you, and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and
I will give them a heart of flesh. that they may walk in my statutes
and keep mine ordinances and do them and they shall be my
people and I will be their God. And we have a more sure word
of prophecy than that which was given to Ezekiel. The church would be formed. The
power of God would go forth in the work of God the Holy Spirit
and a people would be gathered from the four corners of the
earth. And the Old Testament saints knew that this is what
God was going to do. And we have a more sure word
than that which is spoken to Malachi. You can see that we're
getting near the end now. Because the words that were spoken
to Malachi in the immediate run-up to the revelation of the Lord
Jesus Christ and the coming of Christ in the incarnation spoke
of a day that was to come. In Malachi 4, verse 1, there
we are told, For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as
an oven, and all the proud yea, and all that do wickedly shall
be stubble. And the day that cometh shall
burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave
them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name
shall the son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings,
and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. in the midst of the judgment
of this world for all of its sin and all of its wickedness
and all its rebellion against God, there would be a deliverer,
there would be a redeemer, there would be a savior who would arise
with healing in his wings. And we have a more sure word
than that which was given to Malachi. We have a more sure
word of prophecy than all of these, for we have Christ's own
testimony. Christ has spoken, and that's
what Peter is saying here in this opening chapter. He's saying,
I was there, I heard it. This old body of mine, it's about
to go to the grave. My opportunity to speak to you
about these things are now few and far between. This may be
the last time I get to speak to you. But I want to tell you
that we have a more sure word of prophecy because we have the
words of Christ and I've heard him speaking. I know what he
has done, I know what he's accomplished and I know because I was there
that the very voice of God himself was heard on the holy mountain
declaring, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. We have the gospel of the Lord
Jesus Christ. That's it. That's what we've
got. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. So when this man comes to you
week by week and brings you the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ,
it's better than what Adam got. It's better than what Abraham
got and what Moses got. And what Isaiah got, and David
got, and Ezekiel got, and Malachi got, and Jeremiah got, and all
of them got. Because this is the Gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a more sure prophecy
than all of these. Brethren, sisters in the Lord,
those of you who possess this precious faith, those of you
for whom grace and peace are a living reality in your hearts
and souls, this is the gospel that will comfort us and strengthen
us and lead us every day of our life. It is this gospel that
we are called to give heed to. Peter says, we do well to take
heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place. You know what
it's like when you go out on a dark night and you can hardly
see anything, but what does your eye get drawn to? He gets drawn
to the light. And Christ is that light. Christ
is the light that has come into the world. Christ is the one
who illuminates. Christ is the one who sheds understanding
and knowledge on these great purposes of God, this great sovereign
purpose of God and the decrees of God to accomplish prophetically
these things which have been declared. This is a light that
shines in a dark place, that shines in a dark world, and yet
it draws the eye and it draws the ear of those who have been
touched so that we might understand and have knowledge of the things
that have been done. The Lord Jesus Christ, we're
told in Luke chapter 1, was sent to give light unto them that
sit in darkness, in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet
into the way of peace. And that's what the Lord Jesus
Christ does, and that's what we look for him to grant to us. As Peter prayed on our behalf,
Lord multiply their grace and multiply their peace. So as we
hear the Lord Jesus Christ's more sure word of prophecy, These
blessings are enlarged and reinforced in our life's experience. This
gospel is our salvation. This gospel is our salvation
in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is God's promise to us of
eternal life. It is his promise that he will
grant us the fullness and the reality of all those things of
which Christ spoke. The Lord Jesus Christ says to
his people in the gospel, I will not leave you comfortless. I
will come to you. Sometimes we feel as if this
world is too much for us. It's overwhelming. The responsibilities,
the tasks, the duties, the hardship, the loss, it's just too much
to bear. But the Lord Jesus Christ has
promised that he will not leave us comfortless, and that's a
more sure word of prophecy than anything else that was ever given
before, for Christ himself has made that promise to us. He says,
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. He says, I will
come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am, there
ye may be also. Why was Peter so easy at the
imminent passing of his life from this life to eternity? Because
he knew that these promises were sure. He knew that there was
laid up for him in heaven. A reception of Jesus Christ himself
and that he would enter into all that the Lord had prepared
for him in that place. This gospel was real in his life. It was a living reality. And
those of us who have that precious faith, those of us to whom the
Lord Jesus Christ has spoken these words of comfort, can lay
hold upon them and allow them to carry us through the days
of our life and into that great promise of eternal hope which
he has for us. This is a more sure word of prophecy. Truly, they are exceeding great
and precious promises that we have been given. Brethren, they
are ours, ours to feed upon, ours to dwell upon, ours to lay
hold upon. They teach us of Him. We hear them in the Gospel and
we rest in that great salvation which has been declared to us.
May the Lord grant us grace to believe, peace in trusting his
glorious gospel, and a knowledge of the everlasting Word, who
is our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.