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Well, let me ask you a question and this is a little bit loaded in case you don't know that. Can God speak to you. Is God speaking to you? Can God give you an impression? Can someone you know be giving given a message of God for you?
Somebody you know praying at home and all of a sudden they have a message God told me Steve This is what you need to do. What do you think the answer to that is if I say can God Do something? I think the answer is generally yes.
He can. I mean there isn't much that he can't do right? What are some things God can't do? He can't sin and he can't do anything Contrary to his nature or contrary to his revelation, which would be contrary to his nature.
But can God do X or Y? In this particular case, can God speak to us can God give us an impression is Not the question that a child of God ought to be asking himself or herself the question should be What has God told me?
What has God said? What has he given me that I might listen to now a man? Recently told me that God had told him to do something and he said I knew it was God because I didn't want to do. And in my gentle pastoral voice.
And it was a gentle pastoral voice. Not a gentle question. I said What did God sound like? And he said well. That that's a pretty stupid question and he went on for a little while and I said well Let me tell you why I don't think it's a dumb question.
Because if I heard a voice speaking to me Steve I Want you to do this or I want you to do that. The first thing I would do is figure that Mike was pulling a gag on me and I'd look for speak. You know, I'd be looking for speakers.
It's not that he does things like that, but I've been looking for speakers. I'd be trying to figure out what the source of that voice was and If I didn't find anything like that. Then I might start worrying about my Physical health.
I might consider Satan and demons. But if I don't hear a voice and I have a sense I have a feeling I have an impression. That God wants me to do this or he wants me to do that. My issue is always going to be this.
I know me. I know Steve. I don't know Steve as well as I should but I know him pretty well. And I know that Jeremiah 17 9 applies to me that my heart is deceitful and wicked and cannot be trusted. So How would I know that this impression this sense this?
Almost voice in my head not a voice but The almost voice in my head. Was God? Or if I was just deceiving myself or if it was just something I wanted, how would I know? The problem we have in the christian church today.
The evangelical church say there's one church if you drive by, you know, God is still speaking. My question would be of course, what does he sound like? God has spoken we have his word. And the problem is that christians aren't satisfied with that.
They want something more. Jesus himself might well tell the church today that those who desire something more than the revealed scripture Are building their house upon sand. Please open your bibles to second peter.
Second peter chapter 1 verses 16 through 21. And just to catch us up with the context that we're in. In the book of second peter peter has expressed his desire for his Readers to as he greeted them to grow in grace and peace and it's interesting that he does that through the knowledge of christ.
Knowing christ knowing about him is vital to grace and peace. He goes on to give them some insights into the nature of the promises of god to his children. He encouraged them to grow in several aspects of spiritual life not for the sake of salvation.
He doesn't say do this this this and then you'll be saved. He doesn't do that at all. In fact, he wants he says if you see yourself growing in these areas. Then you will have your salvation made more sure in other words.
You will know you will not doubt your salvation and therefore you will not be susceptible to false teachers. When they come along and tell you that you have to do something else to be saved you won't fall for it.
Why. Because god has already told you what your life will look like and you can see it not perfectly. But you can see it forming in your own life. And the last time I taught in second peter. We saw that peter promised to keep reminding his readers of things.
They already knew. Why? Well, first of all, he said it was the right thing to do. Verse 13 of second peter 1 he says I consider it right as long as I am in this earthly dwelling to stir you up by way of reminder.
He knew that his time on earth was limited that he was getting ready to go to his eternal reward. And he wanted believers to be able to remember what he had taught them. Long after he was gone. Look at verse 15.
I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind. Remember remind. I'm going to tell you these things over and over and over again. There are a lot of reasons why but the first one is just because we forget things.
We forget things all the time. It's often true that the last thing we heard is the first thing that we remember. It is important to be reminded of the truth and so we Close in on our context this evening.
Second peter chapter 1 verses 16 to 21. For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our lord jesus christ. But we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from god the father such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory.
This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. And we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. So we have the prophetic word made more sure. To which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place.
Until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will.
But men moved by the holy spirit spoke from god. Now this evening I want to draw your attention to six commands that i've drawn from the text. So that you will rely completely upon the word of god in every area of life it addresses.
Peter wanted to inoculate his readers from false teaching. By commanding them by urging them by exhorting them to recognize the word of god for what it is. Not the mere meanderings musings of men. But the revealed word of god, I want you to have that same high view of the bible first command found in verse 16.
Reject myths. Reject myths. It's hard to say myths fables. Look at verse 16 for we did not follow cleverly devised tales. That's what that is. It's myth. And really it carries the idea of kind of snake oil.
How many have you ever seen those kind of old movies? We don't we don't have these problems anymore, but we're traveling salesmen with their little horse-drawn wagon would drive around and they would sell snake oil which was Good for whatever you had.
If it was a common cold it cured that. If it was a cancer it cured that. If you need more sleep it cured that. Only problem is it didn't cure anything. It was a hoax. That preyed upon people's desires for some kind of solution to their problem.
And that's what false teachers would push then and what they're pushing today. One commentator notes that this word for cleverly devised was a term applied to quack doctors. Kistemacher says that a myth is a story which man has formulated.
To express his own desires without any reference to reality. That is the world that we live in now, this is what people do. The word tales. In our text is the root. As I said of the word myths and they are pure fiction invented by clever Clever minds intent upon duping of fooling those who are open to being duped.
Peter may have had in mind the pagan myths of the gods descending to earth in human form. Aliens coming to earth in human form. That was a popular myth back then. I mean, this was what many of the religions if you look at the egyptian religions, they were kind of half man half Beast things and these were their gods.
And you might be thinking how absurd how could anyone possibly believe that aliens? Came down from earth and took on the form of man. Well Actually a lot of people believe that. There are people who believe that aliens taught the mayans about the solar system Down in mexico and south america and helped them construct an accurate calendar.
Some hypothesize that aliens are involved in the creation of crop circles or the construction of the great pyramids. And there's a whole religion. There is a religion based on aliens from outer space.
And among its followers are some very popular entertainers household names as a matter of fact. Aren't we still surrounded by myths? Fables. Think about it at schools. Our children are taught the universe was not created but that it exploded into its current form.
It will contract again and the whole cycle will repeat itself. There's no evidence for that. It can't be recreated. No one ever saw it. But that's what's presented as scientific truth. Many popular books are written denying the existence of god and insisting on the inherent goodness and ability of man.
That's a myth. How many men or women in the history Of the earth since since the time of christ have claimed to be christ or have claimed to be god. I've run into a few of those myself. How many have claimed to have a new truth or restored word from god a renewed truth?
Even in christendom. The god who is often worshiped. Is a cleverly devised tale not the god of the bible. A god who is only love. Who is only Nice who would never judge anyone. And that's just a myth.
It's a god who doesn't exist. And that is what peter wrote this to Insulate his readers from. He wants to make it clear that he is not among those Who seek fools that will swallow cleverly? Devised tales.
Carefully constructed falsehoods. What did jesus say many will be on the broad road that leads to destruction? And peter wants to assure his readers that he's not someone who's going to put them on that broad road.
You must reject myths because you will surely hear them. Second truth. You must receive the truth about jesus. Again, look at verse 16 when we made known to you the power and coming of our lord. Jesus christ the apostles who are the we Didn't make up some cleverly devised tale.
They didn't stay up late night late nights working on marketing schemes. They didn't get a bad bunch of grapes and fall into a fever. The verb we made known. The definition of it is It well in the new testament.
It is a word that is most frequently used to announce or to make publicly known. Or explicitly known and at times communicate in a solemn solemn way it generally Refers to the revelation of the salvation from god that comes through jesus christ.
It's about announcing or proclaiming Salvation that is available in christ and that's what peter says they were doing in other words rather than peddling some kind of self-invented scheme some false tale.
The apostles were proclaiming the gospel god himself had revealed to them. Now, what did the apostles make known? Well first they made known the coming of christ. A word that we don't often study that we sometimes mention.
I read it a lot. But it's the word parousia it's a compound noun from the from the preposition para to be alongside of or close to and a noun. That is a form of the verb to be so that it literally means to be alongside or to be present.
That's what the coming means. Parousia and it depicts the nearness with which we ought to think about the return of the lord. It means he's right here. He could come at any second now. He's right alongside us.
It is meant to convey a sense of urgency. And it always refers to what his his birth his second coming his second coming. When he returns. When he when the parousia comes to be. He will manifest his glory fully which is why the apostles and we here at this church teach.
What is called ethical eschatology? That is we believe that we ought to live every moment. Like our lord could return at that very moment. Why? Because he could return at any moment. And in fact, I often wish for it almost every time before I preach I go lord.
Now would be a good time for you to come back. I'm always in favor of the second coming always every single moment. They preach the power and the coming the power of christ. When he comes again, what's going to happen?
When he returns what is going to happen if we read revelation 19, we would know. The lord will unleash his power. He will vanquish his foes. He will establish his kingdom the supernatural power. The supernatural power of god.
The god who raised jesus from the dead will be on full display. He'll hold back. Nothing this parousia this coming. Will be a coming in full power and glory. So there are two important truths there in verse 16 about jesus.
First. He is all powerful and secondly he is returning. Every christian must believe these truths. You must first reject myths. Second Receive the truth about jesus. Third command. Receive the eyewitness affirmation of the apostles about the lord.
The apostles were eyewitnesses. They saw the majesty of god. They saw the majesty of christ. Look at verse 16, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. Peter james and john. It's interesting because in matthew 17, it doesn't say that they walked up.
With jesus it says they were taken by jesus up the mount of transfiguration and they saw his majesty. This word eyewitnesses is interesting as so many of the words here are in second peter because they are uh Hoppock's legomena, in other words, it's the only time in the new testament they appear and it's right here.
This is the only time in the new testament it appears. And it basically has a sense of a spectator. It means that they they had a first-hand up front seat. They saw the whole thing. They had an acquaintance with something with the implication of a special privilege.
It was like they were in the box seats the presidential seats. They were in the seats of honor. May I suggest that they were spectators in another sense because they really just didn't know how to act.
If we were to walk through that text in matthew 17, we'd see that it was a fairly Discombobulating experience. But it was a special Special privilege. In fact, I would argue that it is the greatest experience anyone has ever had.
Think about well, let me ask you. What are some of the things that some of the miracles that peter saw during his life? Water to wine. Healing of lepers. Pretty good. Feeding the 5 000 good. Healing the blind.
Resurrection better. Transfiguration, that's what we're talking about. So i'll go with that one. Anything else. Walking on water that's one of the ones I had too. I mean, I would think that was pretty good.
Calming the storm. Yep, all those things. But think about this only three living people saw it. Only three peter james john. And they saw the glory of god revealed. As it literally almost burst out of the humanness of christ.
They saw the glory of god and they lived that is a great experience. And he doesn't and we'll see why later, but he doesn't appeal to any of those other miracles as great as they were I think even in peter's mind.
This was probably the greatest miracle he ever experienced. Now i'm going to get a little risky with this water here but the actual term majesty is tied or is linked with the deity of christ. Commentator hebert says this the transfiguration Was the highest manifestation of christ's splendor.
So they actually got to see this majesty. They got to see his splendor. They got to see as it were the deity of jesus christ. The apostles were also eyewitnesses of the father's pronouncement about the son look at verse 17.
And 18. For when he received honor and glory from god the father such an utterance as this was made to him by the majestic glory. This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased. And we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.
Now our text tells us That jesus received honor and glory from god the father kistemacher says. Glory is a quality that belongs to god And is shared by christ. Honor is the recognition of someone who has attained a position through his labors and achievements.
So here we have jesus inextricably Linked or joined with the glory of god. And to confirm what peter james and john had seen with their own eyes, they were further privileged to hear a voice A pronouncement of pleasure With by the father with his son.
It says our text says that utterance was made To jesus and again, the apostles were bystanders. They were there. They heard it. They were witnesses and that utterance was made by the majestic glory, which was a euphemism.
For god. Commonly the jews instead of saying god they will even today if you read something written by a jew It might say instead of spelling out god. It'll be g Blank d. Because they don't want to spell it out if you go and you read hebrew with.
Some jews they will say instead of where the text says yahweh in the old testament. They will say adonai. Because they do not want to take the name of the lord in vain. Which they take some of them take to mean if they even sneeze During saying that so they're very careful about the name of god.
And so that's what peter's doing here. It's it's just a reminder of his jewish heritage. But this was the father saying He was well pleased but it's not like Uh, if I if I said to my son Hey, good job mowing the lawn little buddy.
I'm really proud of you. It's not that sense at all. It wasn't like jesus had Been given some superfluous task to do some menial task to do and that somehow the father was surprised that he had done it.
I mean if we think about it this way the father and the son true or false before all time Before time even began were in perfect harmony with one another true so the son Does the will of the father comes to this earth.
Is there still perfect harmony. I think so. I think there's still perfect harmony at the time of the transfiguration. This is a statement By god of his absolute pleasure in the son. MacArthur writes this.
In one concise statement god declared a relationship of both holiness within the godhead. And his complete satisfaction with everything Jesus said and did. I am well pleased in all that he has said and done.
This is just a little freebie. But one writer rejects explicitly explicitly rejects the idea that peter wrote second peter. And I just look at this and I go I see in verse 18. We ourselves and Peter actually has to put that word we in there or ourselves in there.
It's it's an emphasis. He's putting in there for emphasis. It's we ourselves. It's a personal experience. He was there. He heard it and he wants to make sure that we understand it is his personal testimony.
Now if the writer of second peter Wasn't peter and he says we ourselves were on that mountain. We ourselves heard the voice from heaven. If that wasn't peter. Then we need to throw that book away. But it was peter.
That's why he makes that claim. He wants he's standing on his own Authority on his own experience. He wants people to understand that he's not like these false teachers. He's not after their money. He's not after anything from them.
He's trying to protect them from them. He's proclaiming the truth. And he cites this experience so that they'll understand. The insights that he has. Now here's the question for you. Where was the holy mountain?
Where was it? Anybody know? Good answer because nobody knows. It is the answer is wherever the event occurred peter wasn't keeping a little map and you know. Announcing geography. This isn't a geography lesson.
His point here is when god appeared on that mountain that mountain became holy. There wasn't some inherent holiness in the mountain. It was god's presence there that made it holy. Same with the temple mount.
If you go to the temple mount today, is it a holy place? It's a place that makes me angry. Why. Because we got that dome of the rock on it, but The temple itself was holy only because God himself dwelt in the holy of holies.
Not because of the land there was nothing holy. Set apart. I guess we could say it was set apart, but there was nothing especially holy about The land there or the mountain. Fourth command. You must receive the lamp of god.
Look at verse 19. So we have the prophetic word made more sure. To which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place. When you see the the the phrase there prophetic word, you could just think of it this way.
This is talking about old testament scripture. This is the old testament. Not just what the prophets wrote but the whole thing. Now was The prophetic word made more sure by the experience that peter had on the mountain.
Thus fulfilling many prophecies. I mean this did fulfill a number of prophecies. Did it make the old testament more true? I don't think so. However, if we follow the the flow of peter's argument his emphasis on doctrine.
And reminding his believers of what they already know remember. He said he was going to remind them as long as he basically as long as he had breath. He was going to keep reminding them. And his desire to protect the church from false teachers and the emphasis on paying close attention to scripture.
To the old testament scripture I believe it is better to understand. Understand peter is saying that scripture is more reliable Than even the greatest experience any man woman or child ever experienced.
It is the more sure word. It's more sure than what? Than being up there on the mountain of transfiguration. Then of hearing the voice of god then of seeing the glory of christ by the way. It's not just the old testament that you can rely upon because in second peter three he goes on to compare the letters Of paul to say to put them in the same category of scripture.
Scripture as a whole is that lamp and that's. It's the prophetic word made more sure Than any experience. That verb to pay attention to which you do well to pay attention to pay attention Is to give something?
Uh to pay close attention to something to give heed to to follow or. This is one. I really like to occupy oneself with to be consumed by something. That is a striking proposition. I wonder how many of us are occupied are consumed with scripture.
It is no small matter that you ought to be occupied with scripture. One writer said this evidently. Note the sarcasm here, and I know from the writing that this is old. Evidently peter had no thought that his brethren In taking heed to the prophetic word were showing themselves presumptuous or Unpractical or prematurely interested in Unseasonable an unseasonable subject or misspending their time on hopeless barren riddles.
Let me just break that down. Let me exposit what this man just said presumption he says. Peter gave no thought to the fact that his readers might be presumptuous by spending time in scripture. Well, what do believers often hear?
If you start confronting someone with scripture, you'll hear this. Well, you just think you're better than everyone else. You know, you've got a real holier-than-thou attitude. You'll hear how impractical it is.
I remember one person in my family wished me. Well when I told them I was going to seminary but cautioned me that I should learn Something practical while I was in school, too. That's how they see it.
On the idea that it's premature. Well, the idea is that somehow you can afford to wait till you're older. How often do you hear that you're talking to somebody and they're like, you know all that god stuff.
I'm gonna wait till later. I'm gonna have my fun now. And you know sometime down the road i'll consider that. That's presumption. That's presumption we don't know if we have tomorrow the concept of hopeless barren riddles empty riddles.
How often you hear this? The bible can mean anything, you know. You can get different people with different opinions and you can't make anything out of that muddled mess. That's why so many people twisted so many people use it for their different means.
This is how people look at scripture unbelievers. But let me be clear. There is nothing less presumptuous. And more indicative of a humble heart than paying attention. Heeding the word of god. There is nothing more practical for a christian than studying the revealed will and mind of god.
When everything else is taken away from you. When you have nothing else if you have the word of god, you are a rich man. When everything else is gone the word of god will stand. There is nothing Untimely or premature about studying today?
The word of god as I said every moment is a vapor. Your next breath is not guaranteed. There is nothing unclear there is no barren riddle to be found in scripture. One of the principles to arise from the reformation was the perspicuity or clarity of scripture that is that it can be understood.
It can be known. That people distort it is not an excuse for you not to study. You must study it. It is a lamp and we're going to talk about that picture of scripture as a lamp as a light. And it is an interesting one, but I think they really get it.
We have to look at what it means what darkness means. What does the bible mean? What does peter mean when he writes a dark place? Where is this place? Where is this dark place where a lamp resides? Where is that dark place?
It is this world. The entirety of it the whole world. Listen to what hebert says. However high its secular civilization may be this world in its willful alienation from god. Who is light? God is light.
Lies in the darkness of sin ignorance despair and death. What is the dark place? It is this world that is all about us. This again is the only time in the new testament this word dark place appears. And it means generally dry murky.
But here we need to see dark or gloomy. This is the only place that's used here. And this is how they have translated it and it evokes. One commentator says an image of squalid conditions. Of people who are living in spiritual darkness.
Is this a world filled with spiritual darkness? Is it? Subjectively, what would you say? Spiritual darkness. See what the bible says and this is just a fraction of the passages that deal with this Colossians 1 12 to 13.
You don't have to turn there. I'll read them. Colossians 1 12 to 13. Paul writes giving thanks to the father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints. Listen in light. For he rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved son.
John 1 5. The light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it talking about christ being the light the world being the darkness. 1st john 2 11. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness is in that moral abyss the world system.
And walks in the darkness. He lives in it and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. The unsaved man has no capacity to navigate through the darkness because he is blind himself.
He has no lamp to see. The concept of darkness refers to the plight of the unbeliever. Usually in this world, but it also in the bible talks about what? Eternal darkness that is hell the ultimate destiny of those who will not bow the knee to christ.
So we have this lamp this more sure word to illumine our way to show us how to navigate in this darkened world. That is why peter urges believers every single one of you to pay attention to be occupied with scripture.
To focus on the lamp. Why. Because it's the only way you can transverse this darkened world. So first you need to reject myths. Second you need to receive the truth about jesus. Third. You need to receive the eyewitness affirmation of the apostles.
Fourth you need to receive the lamp of god. And fifth you need to anticipate the return of the lord. Look at verse 19. Until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. Listen what one man says he says at his second coming.
Christ will replace the perfect temporal revelation of scripture. What does he mean there? He's talking about the bible the perfect temporal revelation. In other words what we have now of scripture. With the eternal revelation of his person He will fulfill the written word and write it forever on the hearts of the glorified saints.
Why will we no longer be carrying around bibles in heaven? Because we'll be living with the living word. We'll no longer need the written word. A better time is coming and peter wants us to know about it.
The darkness will be banished completely. We will no longer be forced to rely on the lamp of scripture as great as it is. Because we will be in the presence of the sun s-o-n jesus. With whom no darkness will dwell.
And that greek word for morning star. Is the same word that from which we get the word phosphorus. And the morning star is the one that reflects the sun's rays s-u-n. Reflects the sun's rays right before the sun comes up so that we know that the sunrise is coming.
So when peter says The morning star arises in your hearts. He points to an assurance of salvation an eager anticipation. Of the light coming of the full light coming. When writer said this such a living hope must have a transforming impact upon daily life.
How can that be? How can? How can it be that that should change the way we think well as simple as this? Think of all that the lord's return means to believers. What are some of the things that we're looking forward to when the lord returns?
What are you looking forward to? No more pain. I'm looking forward to that scott. We'll see him face to face. How about no more sin? How about no more tears. How about no more mortgage? I'm looking forward to that.
This is the culmination the fulfillment of all that you first sense remember when you first got saved. When you were relieved when you finally understood who jesus was and you knew that he'd paid for your sins.
And you knew that that hope of a resurrection. Was there for you that you would one day be conformed into his image. This is the final form of salvation once for all. Finally delivered from the presence of sin and conformed into the image of the sun.
Six command. You must recognize the source of scripture. Recognize the source of scripture. It is first of all not something that the prophets invented. It's not something they made up. Look at verse 20, but know this first of all that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation.
Calvin said they did not blab their inventions of their own accord or according to their own judgments. The word interpretation pictures. Letting loose an explanation. In other words, these prophets received something that needed interpreting.
A divine revelation that they had to figure out how to put into human words into understandable language. If we were to consider the dozens of writers who wrote scripture the thousands of years Over which it was written the different locales from which they wrote.
The lack of technology. I mean the prophets apostles their associates. They didn't confer via email about how they were going to pull this whole scripture thing together. Some of them were dead, you know, they couldn't have done all this.
So, how does it cohere? How does it? How does it mingle together? How does it stay together? How does it work together? How does it not contradict each other itself? How is it infallible, how is it inerrant?
Because. No prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation. And peter tells us that this is a matter of primary importance. They didn't just make this stuff up. They did what god directed.
The source was the holy spirit. Look at verse 21. For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will. But men moved by the holy spirit spoke from god. In fact, there were many occasions where the writers didn't even fully comprehend.
The the import the impact of what they were writing. Peter wrote in first peter chapter 1 verses 10 through 12. As to this salvation. The prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries they studied they wanted to know what it meant.
Verse 11 seeking to know what person or time the spirit of christ within them was. Indicating as he predicted the sufferings of christ and the glories to follow. Verse 12 it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves.
But you in other words, you're not going to understand this isaiah. This isn't for you. This is for some time down the road. Sorry jeremiah. You're not going to get all this ezekiel Daniel now if you think about it logically.
If these men separated by time by space by cultures. Had been making this stuff up if they had been doing it on their own initiative. There would have to be contradictions. What else what other problems might arise.
Well, how about unfulfilled prophecies? Someone makes a uh a prediction that doesn't come true. We would expect that sort of thing if it were human generated. But that's not the case. That's not the case.
Was by men born along by the spirit of god. There would be errors of fact. Think about what the science of history would have said about the earth. You know, we might have the bible saying that the earth is flat.
What does it say? The bible says that the earth is A sphere. The bible says that it is suspended on nothing. Everything that is in scripture is true. How's that possible. It wasn't written by scientists.
We might argue was made by the source of science. It was written by the the source of all truth. Who wrote scripture men or the holy spirits? You all know the answer to this? Yes is the answer. Yes is the answer.
It was men. They moved their pens but they were Moved or literally born along carried along by the holy spirit. It was their personalities of the men their idioms their idiosyncrasies of writing. Their education or lack thereof.
But his superintendents the spirit superintending exactly what these men would write. That's how it hangs together. That's how it coheres. That's why it doesn't contradict each itself. Because the bible is spirit wrought that is produced by the holy spirit.
We can trust it entirely. Bb warfield says this. The stress is laid here not on the spiritual value of scripture. Though that too is seen in the background but on the divine trustworthiness of scripture.
That's peter's emphasis. He wants us to know because it is from the holy spirit. We can trust it entirely and we can trust it more than even the greatest experience in history. That divine origin of scripture is in stark contrast to the false stories that these false teachers would dream up in the ancient world.
And these False teachers who still infest our world today who have so-called prophetic words that are nothing more Than appeals to the greed and the sensuality of their followers. No group of men would have written the bible.
No group of men would have written the bible. Why. Because the hero is always god and the villains are always men. Even the best men are flawed. They're prone to failure. Moses abraham david solomon peter the disciples.
No man would write the story of samson. I mean he has all the physical strength any man could want but the spiritual strength. Of a charles atlas failure 98 pound weakling. He had nothing. The source had to be divine.
The greatest experience any human being ever had witnessing the transfiguration the glory of christ shining through. And peter extols the word of god over and above. His own eyewitness testimony says listen.
I was there but let me tell you about something even better more sure than My personal experience, which I know I heard I saw james and john were there with me. Shouldn't that tell us a lot? About trusting experiences.
About seeking experiences. About listening to our hearts. About following impressions. About believing god is telling us to do something. Just because we have the sense in our mind that you know, I think god wants me to do this or he wants me to do that.
Your heart your thoughts your feelings your intuition your sense of right. These things cannot be trusted. Why. Because you're tainted by the fall. You're tainted by a sin nature. Your heart cannot be trusted.
You have no guarantee of divine inspiration. God is not literally breathing out through you as Second timothy 3 16 would say about scripture. It's your thoughts your desires. Your impressions are not thea new stas.
They're not inspired by god. Your thoughts are not even from this passage second peter one. Are not moved along or born along by the holy spirit. To any discernible extent. I mean if they are how can you know?
How can you know? This is what we have. This is the lamp to which we've been commanded to pay close attention. This is the lamp that will lead us through the darkness that surrounds us. We live in a darkened world.
He's given us this word as a lamp to guide us to teach us. And it will never steer us wrong. You do well to be occupied it with it. To use the word of god exclusively as your guide for every issue it addresses.
The word of god is that which all other so-called truths and competing philosophies must be compared to. Don't cheat yourselves. Don't abandon solid ground for the sand of foolish speculation. Let's pray father it is difficult to Fully grasp what you have given us in your word.
Lord, we do know this. We know that we live in a world That is filled with darkness that is filled with idle speculations. That is filled with False teachers and those that would lead us away from you.
Father blind guides. Who would lead us down dark alleys? Lord would you so fix our minds on scripture on your god-breathed God-given illumined Word over and above any experience. So-called knowledge that we might have.
Father would you make us diligent students of your word that we might follow you as we ought? And father give glory and honor to your son. In whom or of whom the scriptures speak for it's in his name we pray.
Amen.