Men Die, But the Word of God Lives

Turn with me to 2 Peter, as we continue our wonderful study, 2

Peter. What I'd like to do here before I read our text today, verse 12 to 15, this will be a three -part series on the

Word of God. On the Word of God. Today we'll be looking at men die, but the

Word of God lives. Men die, but the Word of God lives. Verse 12 through 15.

Lord willing, next week will be part two. We're going to look at experiences fade, but the

Word of God remains. Experiences fade, but the Word of God remains in verse 16 through 18.

And then last, we'll look at part three, the Word, I'm sorry, the world darkens.

The world darkens, but the Word of God shines. It shines on, doesn't it?

And that's in verse 19 through 21. So with saying that, please open your

Bible if you're already there, and we're going to be reading verse 12 through 15, verse 12 through 15, of 2

Peter, chapter 1. This is our text today. Men die, but the

Word of God lives. Holy Scripture. God breathed words through the

Apostle Peter. He says this, hear the word of the living God. For this reason, for this reason,

I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth.

Yes, I think it is right. As long as I am in this tent, speaking of His body, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly

I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.

Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

Some translation says after my exodus or my departure.

Let's bow in prayer and ask our Lord to help us within this hour of study as we look at this wonderful text.

Our Father and our God, I can only take your word to the hearing of the ears, but Lord, only your

Holy Spirit can give us understanding to perceive in our hearts the spirit of truth.

Father, we thank you. We worship you. We thank you most of all for this holy, inspired, inerrant, infallible, all sufficient word.

As your son said, heaven and earth will pass away, but your word remains, abides forever.

Lord, show us your ways, as the psalmist said and prayed. Teach us your paths.

Lead us, O Lord, in your truth and teach us, for you are the

God of our salvation. He even cried out, Remember, O Lord, your tender mercies, your loving kindnesses, for they are from of old.

And do not remember the sins of our youth and nor our transgressions. And according to your mercy, remember me as the thief prayed.

O Lord, for your name's sake. So, Father, the prayer of the psalmist resounds true to us.

And we know that this is all answered in and by the precious blood of the

Lord Jesus Christ that was shed on Calvary's cross 2 ,000 years ago. Our eyes are upon him.

Our eyes are upon the Lamb of God, your grace, by your grace and faith that you've given unto us, we lay hold of the

Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. So, Lord, for he alone has the words of eternal life.

He is our only hope in this world and for all eternity. Jesus and Jesus alone, none other.

For there is no other name under heaven whereby men could be saved, but through Jesus Christ, by that precious name.

So, Lord, we thank you. We praise you that you have spoken that last days. In various ways and times past by the fathers to the fathers, by the prophets, spoken.

But now you have spoken to us through your Son, the one that you have appointed, heir of all things, through whom also he made the worlds, being the very brightness of your glory and the express image of your person.

Father, he's the one that upholds all things by the word of his power, purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high.

So now, Father, we call on your help and your grace to help us, Lord, not only to perceive the truth of your word, but also,

Lord, that we may apply it to our personal lives. Help us, Lord, because we fall so short of this.

The standard is high, but great is your grace. Great is your grace that can help us apply these truths and teach us to be more like Jesus.

We would ask this in your name for your honor and glory. Amen and amen. There's an

Old Testament truth and Old Testament passage

I'd like to touch on to tie in to everything that the Apostle Peter is speaking to us in this text before us.

You can turn to it. I know you're familiar with it, but it's actually a powerful verse of scripture.

It's just one, but you can read the whole chapter. Matter of fact, I'll probably read back drop a little bit so that we will understand the picture of what's taking place.

But it's from the book of Hosea, Hosea chapter three.

Let me read chapter three and I want to read that chapter. Then I want to go to verse four and I'm sorry, verse six and chapter four.

Chapter three says, Then the Lord said to me, go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover is committing adultery, just like the love of the

Lord for the children of Israel. Who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans.

So I brought her for myself and 15 shekels of silver. She's been purchased and one and one half homers of barley.

And I said to her, you shall stay with me many days and you should not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man.

So, too, I will be toward you. Here, God is speaking to the prophet to do something that's absolutely incredible.

Because it's a picture of the children of Israel and harlotry going astray from himself.

But yet he speaks to the prophet to marry this harlot.

He says in verse five, afterward, the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king and shall fear the

Lord and his goodness in the latter days. And then the word of God is spoken.

Now, notice in chapter four, hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel, for the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land.

Notice what he says here. And this is where Peter goes, because it very much ties into a lack of the knowledge of God.

A knowledge of the truth and people for God's people forgetting those truths in which

God has given. Notice what he said. What does he say here?

For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land. There is no truth or mercy. And notice what he says or knowledge of God in the land.

Folks, we're there. This is where the church is. We're just not talking about the nation.

We're talking about the church, which is, as Whitfield said, the sins of the church are far more offensive to God than the sins of the nation.

A matter of fact, I was visiting my barber yesterday and you could tell I got my ears lowered and he he cut my hair.

And he as often he was talking about the sins of the nation and they are great.

He was talking about the wickedness of the leadership. And I said, there is definitely a judgment there that God has given us.

Romans chapter one of the wicked leaders in which God is allowed to be put in office.

This is wicked leaders. But God has allowed this to happen because the sins of the nation, but not only the sins of the nation, but the sins of the church.

This is where we fail. And does it not say Peter himself even said judgment begins where?

In the house of God. That's where it first begins. So in relating to everything, what

Hosea says, notice what he begins to say in verse two by swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery.

Notice the list of sins. They break all restraint. This is judgment.

With bloodshed upon bloodshed. Is this not defined? Does this not define our nation?

The church as well. Therefore, the land will mourn and everyone who dwells there will waste away with the beast of the field.

The birds of the air, even the fish of the sea will be taken away. And notice what he says.

Then God says now, now this is God speaking. Now let no man contend or rebuke another for your people are like those who contend with the priest.

Therefore, you shall stumble in the day. The prophet also shall stumble with you in the night.

And I will destroy your mother. And here's the verse. I'm really I'll stop right here and then we're going to go to our text and for second

Peter. And he says, my people are destroyed for what?

For the lack of knowledge, for the lack of knowledge and the knowledge he's talking about here is the knowledge of God.

We see this amongst us today, there is a lack of the knowledge of God.

The fear of the Lord is no longer before the people's eyes. And we're just not talking about the nation.

We're talking about the church. Where is the fear of God? My people are destroyed or another translations perish.

For lack of knowledge and notice what he says. Why? He rejected knowledge.

How many people in the churches are rejecting the knowledge of the truth?

Did not Paul, the apostle, say and in second Timothy that people will have a desire to turn away from the truth?

They would not be able to endure sound doctrine, but they will have a desire to have teachers basically telling them what they want to hear.

In other words, they got itching ears. They will not want to hear the truth.

And the truth is what we desperately need. The knowledge of God, the truth are like hand in glove.

You cannot separate. They are together because you have rejected knowledge. This is

God speaking. And I also will reject you from being priest for me. And here it is because you have forgotten the law of your

God. I also will forget your children. That's a judgment. This is where we are.

There's nothing new under the sun. And here, as Peter opens up this particular section and this and the opening of his epistle, he's shown us so far as we've looked at that in the knowledge of Jesus Christ that has been given, all that is needed for life and godliness has urged an increase of this knowledge by the development of Christian virtues.

We looked at those virtues and those virtues are basically found from verse five to verse seven.

But also for this very reason, he says, given all diligence and to your faith, virtue, to virtue, knowledge, to knowledge.

There is the word knowledge. It's the key word, self -control, temperance, to self -control, perseverance, to perseverance, godliness, to godliness, brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness, love.

And then he says in verse eight, for if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren, that means useless, you will not be useless, nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our

Lord Jesus Christ. So how important is knowledge here? How important is the knowledge of the truth? It's extremely important.

So these virtues, these Christian virtues, by the way, not just a good moral person.

We talk about born again, spirit filled, God fearing

Christians that has these virtues so that they may be provided an entrance into the heavenly kingdom.

We already looked at it's not by doing these things. These things are as you are born again. They're there, but you grow into them.

They grow in maturity. And then he now he promises to aid the readers to keep these truths in mind.

And he assures them that their knowledge of the truth is well supported by the testimony, by the way, of the inspired apostles and the prophets.

That's right. Actually, the heart, let me say this in footnote as we in this introduction, the very heart of 2

Peter is in chapter two and we're heading there. We'll be there,

Lord willing, in a few more weeks. But chapter two is basically, as you will see, that whole chapter,

Peter deals with warning God's people of the dangers of false teachers and their heretical teaching.

Look about us today. Look at the false teachers. They are everywhere.

That's what people want to hear. I've been speaking to an elderly. He says he's a

Christian. I found I come to find out here recently. I asked him,

I said, who's your pastor? And he got on the phone and he showed me his pastor and he went right to.

So if I could pronounce this right, Cephalodollar, Creflo, Creflo dollar.

He said, this is my pastor. I knew right then. I haven't told him yet, but you're listening to a heretic.

You're listening to a false teacher. And he's, and this particular guy's always quoting me.

Every time I walk in the door, he's always quoting this one verse. What verse is he quoting? Verse three.

He knows it by memory, by the way, as his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness.

And he stops right there. And then he basically, he's already, as I already shared with you, he basically believes what they do.

They twist that verse that man is his own God, that the

Christian is his own God. In other words, what he's saying is God has given us everything pertaining in his power pertaining to life and godliness.

So in other words, we're little gods. And he doesn't look at it as like God has given us stewardship that God is to give her.

And I came back the other day and I knew exactly, I asked God to help me without being too direct, but in a roundabout way of asking him questions.

So he was asking me questions as we walked in. And as I walked into service, I'm there to service milk, not to have a theological debate, but he brings this up.

The truth is everything. It's more important than milk. But since he brings it up, I'm going to bring it up too.

So I said, okay, I said, my friend, you quote that verse from second

Peter chapter one verse three. He even knows the verse by memory.

I said, but have you ever thought about that divine power that God gives that pertains to life and godliness?

Have you ever really thought that it's through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue that by the way, which he does not finish that verse.

I said, did you ever think about verse two? That let's,

I said, let's put this in context. And I said this lovingly. I said, my friend, I said, what does verse two say?

Grace, not our merit, but God's grace and peace be multiplied to you in what?

In the knowledge of God and of Jesus, our Lord. Oh, he stopped right there.

And he said, yeah, you're right. You're right. I said, no, I'm not right. God's right.

I said, God is the one has given us all these things through the knowledge of Jesus.

This is not about you. This is about Jesus. He pulled away and I just left it at that.

I said, I pray. Oh, spirit of God, show this man the real truth. And of course, then he cut on his phone and he started listening to his heretical teacher and I'm thinking, okay,

I want to do my thing. Well, we can't force these people, right? But there's a lack of knowledge of God that this, this has come to me personally.

I said, it's unbelievable. This man's right there in second Peter. I said, I'm a pastor. I've been preaching to this.

Here it is. Here's a man. He's in the false teaching. Listen to false teachers. And he doesn't have the slightest idea what the knowledge of God really is.

Where's the fear of God that, you know, Hosea, that's what God was telling the people of Israel.

You have forgotten me. You have forgotten my fear. And it's grievous to see these things.

And you know this as well as I do. I don't want to have to say this to you, but you know it.

Peter here does not propose to teach new truths. There's no new truth.

The heretics will go there and say, oh, I got a new truth from God or I have a new revelation.

I have a new illumination. Amen. It's from the devil. There's no new truth.

It's the old past. And you know, that's why

Peter says, he basically says, be ready always to put his readers here in remembrance of the truth in which they are already established in the truth.

And we'll look at this later on, but he's not condescending upon them. He's an apostle and he's not belittling.

He basically says, you know this. He regards this as his duty before God, before he leaves this world, before his departure, especially because of his own death that is soon to approach, as he says, to putting off of my tabernacle, my tent, my body.

This is coming swiftly. He understood the brevity of life. His body is like a tent which the spirit will soon leave and he's going to be, as Paul says, absent from the body, present with the

Lord. I will be with my Lord Jesus. He's absolutely sure of this because he's now far in advance in age as he writes this epistle.

And I really believe this was his burden for the church. But also, more importantly than anything else, it was the burden of the

Lord Jesus Christ, the head of the church. Jesus told him that when he is old, he should die a martyr's death.

Jesus predicted this. We'll look at this. It's amazing, isn't it? How can people deny the deity of Christ right there?

He knew, Jesus knew all these things. He knew his future, predicted it precisely.

And it happened exactly that way. Now, the main thing is, here he tells his readers to call these things to remembrance.

It brings us to speed, up to speed, by the way, to the text today. And now we come to something

I think is somewhat of a bridge. This is a bridge. I like to use that analogy because this is exactly in this time of this writing of the epistle.

This is a bridge. The main body, and let me explain why it's a bridge, because of the instruction that begins in chapter two, as I mentioned about false teachers.

And it does not end actually until we will get to chapter three, verse eighteen.

But Peter uses chapter one, verse three through eleven as a foundation, and this foundation is so important because it launches into a discussion of false teachers.

In chapter two, because you notice, he's bringing out what the true believer looks like in the knowledge of God before he gets into warning against false teachers.

Now I love that. Why is that so important? Because it's like this, the truth, as they say,

I'll use an illustration, people who study the genuine like money, will take money, like so many people are familiar with, they will study the real, the authentic, the genuine, so that they would know how the false counterfeit looks like.

And this is what Peter's doing. The Spirit of God is leading him in this truth and said, this is the way the truth looks like.

The truth is paramount. The truth is everything. Truth is everything.

The living truth, Jesus Christ, and the written truth in the scriptures. So we will know how to discern what the false looks like.

You know, I've heard of preachers studying the false to know the false. That's how you go astray.

That's how you backslide. You don't study the false to know the false.

You study the truth to know the false. And this is what Peter is saying. So the believer's response in chapter three.

So what lies between chapter one and verse 12 to 21 is basically a necessary bridge, like I said, which contains

Peter's purpose statement for this letter. And then here we are, verse 12 through 15.

He gives the assurance, and by the way, it's a blessed assurance, right? A biblical, sound doctrine.

Don't you love sound doctrine? Sound doctrine basically means it's wholesome. It's healthy.

It's like, am I going to eat healthy food? I have to say for my dear wife, she's really into healthy food.

And naturally, because there's so much unhealthy food, and I am bad about eating unhealthy food a lot of times.

It has salts and sugars in it, and we know sometimes those things, it's not too good for our body, right?

Even though I like it, but it doesn't mean it's good for me. There's a truth there.

We should go after the healthy, the wholesome, and that's the same with the truth. And how we're going to find this, it's through the pages of the 66 books of the

Bible. Only here, reading through this Bible, which so many people were talking about this morning on the way here,

Brother Willem and myself and my daughter and wife, we were talking about people are so lazy. They don't read.

And what they read is garbage. But they don't read the good, healthy, wholesome word of the living

God. I like what Spurgeon says, read many good books, like the Puritans. He said, but live in the

Bible. Got to live right here, folks. If we're going to know the truth, and if we're going to know how falsehood looks like, we got to know right here.

And this is why so many people go astray. They don't know the Bible, nor do they know the God of the

Bible. It's sad. So here he brings structurally the verses before us from a half,

I'm sorry, forms a half of the necessary and the main argument. And there's something more here, by the way, in chapter 1 here, verse 12 through 15, our text.

It reads like also Peter's last will and testament. You notice that?

It's almost like this is his last will and testament. Like Paul's last will and testament, which is found in 2

Timothy chapter 4. Brother Keith read this morning before Paul's departure. Paul knew his time was short.

And you see in chapter 4 of Paul's pastoral epistle, he's passing the torch to Timothy, and he's basically giving these warnings.

And notice Peter's doing the same thing. There's warnings and notice where he goes to false teachers coming within the church like a leaven, like a like a cancer, like a disease that will eat away

God's people. It must be dealt with.

It must be plucked out. These teachers must be exposed. People say that's harsh.

No, it's great love. It's great love for God's people. We're talking about these false teachers.

They have a knowledge of the truth somewhat, but they go on apostate. They are they are basically on purposely willfully going against the truth.

The cause of their willful love for themselves, not the truth.

They think they're a God within themselves. And that's what I'm saying. You notice what I mentioned. That's what these people in the charismatic movement basically teaches.

You're the source of your own truth. That's blasphemy. I'm telling you, folks,

God is the source of truth and God alone and everything he gives here.

And that's why Peter mentions about divine power as given to us all things that pertain to life and God is through the knowledge of him, not the knowledge of us.

Well, beloved, God has a reason to remind us. There's a reminder and I like to use these.

This is not my outline, but I thought about those repetition here. There's reminding. There is remembrance.

Those three hours. And there's a reason that God himself gives us these reminders.

Why? Because people and I say all people include ourselves. We all have a tendency to forget.

Did you know a study within they prove this truth within an hour after hearing a spoken message up to 90 percent, 90 percent of everything that's said, including this message today, will be forgotten.

Think of that. You see how forgetful we are. God does not want us to forget.

The covenant language that we saw this last Lord's Day is what that thief, that dying thief, that believing thief said to Jesus, remember me.

That's covenant language. Jesus says when we are to celebrate his remembering his death, what did he say?

Do this in remembrance of me. That's covenant language. How many times do we see this?

Go with me to Deuteronomy chapter 6 very quickly. Deuteronomy chapter 6.

And by the way, Deuteronomy is a foundational book. It's one of the books of the

Pentateuch. The book Pentateuch actually means five. It's one of the first five foundational books.

And by the way, you can read this and study it, but when you read the life of Jesus Christ himself, the master, he quoted more from Deuteronomy than any other book.

He quoted from Psalms. He quoted from Genesis. But I believe more than any other book he quoted from Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy chapter 6. I want you to notice this. Look at verse 4. Hear, O Israel, the

Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength.

And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. Notice the importance of it.

You shall teach them diligently. I like that word diligently, don't you?

Peter uses it. To who? Your children. And you shall talk of them when you sit in your house.

How practical is that? When you walk by the way, when you go walking with them, when you lie down, when you rise up, you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as four frontlets between your eyes.

You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates. In other words, Scripture is to be paramount everywhere from sun up to sun down.

Scripture, Scripture, Scripture. So it shall be. This is God speaking.

And when the Lord your God, Moses is speaking, your God brings you into the land in which you swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build.

Houses full of all good things which you did not fill. Hewn out wells which you did not dig.

Vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant when you have eaten and are full.

How good is God? You see that? God is the provider. Then beware.

Listen to this. And there it is. Verse 12. Then beware. What are we to beware of? Least you forget.

Folks, I'm telling you, people have forgotten God. Least you forgot the

Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage.

All these things God blesses us with and His goodness and He gives.

And He said, don't you forget me. In verse 13, you shall fear the

Lord your God. There it is. You shall fear the Lord your God and serve

Him and shall take His oaths in His name. In other words, you to be devoted to Him.

You shall not go after other gods and the gods of the peoples who are all around you.

Why? Because for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you.

In other words, you are His possession and He is to be everything. He is jealous of you a holy jealousy because He purchased you.

He purchased His people with the precious blood of the Lamb. Listen to this. Least the anger of the

Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.

Oh my, how important it is that we do not forget God. Now, we go back to the text and Peter.

You see where Peter, a lot of this ties right into what everything Peter is saying.

In verses 12 through 15, Peter leaves the main subject for a moment, temporary, in a vigorous speech in a subject of salvation and he drops into a statement about the importance of reminding

God's people of the essential truths, the old paths. Do not forget these truths.

Do not forget God. They are essential. Again, it is not a new truth.

It is the truth. It is the old paths as Jeremiah mentions in chapter 16.

God's words reveal a passionate reminder to us and Peter is very pastorial in this and he gives four important motivations and I got this from MacArthur's commentary and I love him.

I will use him. I will give him credit here. First, in verse 12, there is an urgency.

Second, there is kindness in verse 12b. Third, there is faithfulness in verse 13 and in fourth, we will see there is brevity in verse 14 and 15.

Very simple. There is urgency. There is kindness. There is faithfulness. There is brevity.

May we not forget those words. Urgency. What's urgency?

Let's look at the first, verse 12. For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things.

Do not be negligent to remind you always of these things. There is an urgency. Then ASB says therefore

I will always be ready to remind you of these things. For this reason, or the word therefore as you well know refers to the back, back to the greatness of God's salvation in verse 1 -4 as we already read.

The blessedness of assurance in verse 5 -11. And by the way, these themes are so crucial.

They are so critical. They must not be forgotten, beloved. That's the thing about it. We must not forget these truths.

That's why we are to saturate ourselves with the word of God. We must renew our mind daily by the word of God.

We must hide, as David says, God's word in our heart that we may not sin against God.

You notice that? That's why we sin against God. It's not treasured in our heart. We may have it in our mind.

By the way, it's got to go through the mind before it goes to the heart. But we must treasure it within our heart.

I like that word hide, because in a sense treasure it means there's going to come a day that you and I are going to be tempted, and if you haven't already, and I'm sure you have, just as Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, how did

He combat Satan? As a man, with the word of God. This is

Christ. This is the living Christ. This is Jesus. And He combats, here's the living word, combating

Satan with the written word. And believe me, He pulled the sword out, unsheathed it and let it go.

And He won the battle. And folks, He won a battle there for us as well.

Isn't it wonderful? Again and again, again, after one wave of temptation after another.

And these temptations were critical. That's another sermon, right? Very critical.

Jesus comes back. It is written. It is written. It is written again. And as we know that Satan knew the word, but he was taking it out of context.

He was twisting it. By the way, notice the similarities between Satan and false teachers.

They pick and choose what they want, and they take it and they twist it, and they make it sound so good through, like a motivational speaker.

Oh boy, this is great. Your best life now. And it's nothing but a lie from hell.

And Jesus said, what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul?

Try that for your best life now. You see? You see how the word of God can just stabs right to the falseness of that person, what they believe in their heart, because it's a lie from hell what they believe.

And they're deceived. They don't know. Just like this man I'm talking with. He's up in age.

He's, I don't know, he's in his mid -70s, still working. My hat's off to him.

He's out there still working and laboring. But this poor man, I'm thinking, this man, he should know better.

He's listening to false teachers. And I'm thinking, you should know better.

But these false teachers are convincing, aren't they? But we know better, because we know the truth.

They say they got the truth, but they don't have the truth. They pick and choose what they want to choose, just like Satan does.

Well, Peter goes on. These are critical truths and they are not to be forgotten.

There's an urgency here. So Peter did not want his readers to forget that they were saved in verse 9.

We looked at that, didn't we? Nor the blessings of the salvation in verse 3.

Now, and contrary to beliefs of some, by the way, and as I've already mentioned, there's no brand new spiritual truth.

It's a lot of falsehood in the name of truth. And Satan's very clever.

He appears as an angel of light. Now, you know, we know that he comes as a roaring lion at times, but I think he's more effective as coming as an angel of light.

How many cults do we have today that Satan or some fallen angel has appeared?

And I don't deny that they did see a phantom, an angel of light.

It was really a demon that was disguising itself as an angel of light. Oh, you need more than the

Bible. We have another testament here. There's another new truth.

And therefore, cults are born. I was thinking about this the other day.

How many millions of people have fallen prey to this? All these millions of souls.

And I can name them off. You know what I'm saying? Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Sepulchre of Venice.

Sad, isn't it? There's no brand new spiritual truth.

There's only a clearer understanding of the timeless truths, folks. And that's what people has forgotten.

You know why they've forgotten the truth? Because they've forgotten God. That's why.

It's sad. Listen to God's Word in Isaiah 48. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the

Word of our God stands forever. We looked in 1 Peter.

I believe Peter quoted the same thing, did he not? What did he say in 1

Peter chapter 1? Notice what he says in verse 23 through 25.

Having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible through what?

The Word of God, which lives and abides forever. And when he said that by the

Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God placed on His... That's the way the Spirit of God will always confirm what

He says. He will go to the other Word of the Prophet because the Spirit of God is breathing upon the

Prophet and they compliment one another. And He says, because, and He quotes

Isaiah, all flesh is of grass and all the glory of man is the flower of the grass. The grass withers and the flower falls away, but the

Word of the Lord endures forever. Notice that God goes to nature. Have you ever noticed grass, how it fades and will go away?

It comes for a short time and then the next thing you know it's burned up, it's gone. It's like the glory of man.

It's the flower of the grass. It comes, it goes, it withers. Then He says a flower falls away, but the

Word of the Lord endures forever. It will never pass away. And He says this is the

Word by which the Gospel was preached to you. What about Jesus? Jesus our Lord on the

Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5 verse 18. He says, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all be fulfilled.

Think about what He's saying there. A jot refers to the smallest Hebrew letter, the

Yoda, Yoda, I think I said that right, which is a meager stroke of the pen.

It's like an accent mark of an apostrophe. Then the tittle, what's the tittle?

It's a tiny extension of a Hebrew letter, like the serif in the modern typefaces.

Think of that like the dotting of the I and the crossing of the T. Every stroke of it, every dotting of it,

Jesus says will not pass until all is being fulfilled. Jesus would know.

Well, let's go to the second. Kindness, kindness. He says though you know and are established in the present truth.

Don't you love that? Though you know and are established in the present truth.

You notice how Peter as an apostle is being very pastoral here?

Don't miss this. As a kind shepherd, as a tender shepherd, a gentle shepherd, that's the way shepherds are, they would be gentle, kind, meek, tender towards his sheep as the great shepherd of the sheep demonstrated, but yet firm in the truth.

Though you know and are established in the present truth. Notice that, it's pastoral. What is he doing?

He's acknowledging to his readers that you know this, you possess this, you have the truth, you have this truth, and he was encouraging them.

He's not condescending like a lot of preachers we know of that are being indifferent, that they're way up there on Moses' seat and they're making you feel intimidated.

But basically this is the apostle Peter encouraging them, saying you know this truth, you have a devotion to Jesus Christ.

So they already are established, they believe in this present truth. He said you know this. And by the way, that word established in the

Greek basically means firmly established. There's a firmness.

They are firm in the truth. Lord, give us firm believers in the truth, amen?

Or it means to strengthen, to strengthen. It's a perfect passive participle indicating a settled condition.

It's settled. It's like concrete. And they gave evidence of their faithfulness that the true gospel was strongly present with them.

So he's not condescending above. He says you know this truth. He's being very pastoral.

He's being very kind and he's being a shepherd. He's leading them and he's affirming them.

Let's go to the third. So there's an urgency, right? There's kindness and there's faithfulness.

Look at verse 13. Verse 13 says, yes, I think it is right as long as I am in this tent to stir you up by reminding you.

Now doesn't that say volumes? I think it's right. As long as I'm in this tent.

In other words, basically saying, this is a godly shepherd and you know what he's doing? He's reminding them.

He's stimulating his flock primarily by the way of reminder. Reminding you.

I'm stirring you up. I want to stir you up. I want to, yes, flan you.

I want to flan the flame. And that's the way we should be doing to one another. As Brother Keith mentioned this morning, loving one another in a sense, in a godly way, provoking one another to good works.

To love one another. Can't have enough of that, can we? And we're talking about love.

We're talking about love of the truth. We're not talking about love for love as you see this garbage today.

We're talking about the agape love of God that loves the truth. That loves

Jesus. When next we see faithfulness, look at verse 13.

I'm sorry, that is verse 13. He's reminding them. So he's realizing their familiarity can breed contempt, right?

I thought about that. The whole counsel of God. We must have the whole counsel of God.

Major things of doctrine, commands of scripture. Again, we can't pick and choose what we like or what we don't like.

Paul preached the whole counsel of God. And by the way, it doesn't mean, and I remember hearing this years ago, this particular radio station, and I won't call these folks out by name, okay?

I'm not saying they're not Christian, but they didn't like this particular chapter. And guess what chapter it was? They were going through the book of Romans 6, 7, and 8.

I said, wow, 6, 7, 8, Romans? This is the pinnacle. Next day,

I said, hot dog, I'm heading to work. I get to listen to chapter 9 on the work. Guess what? Brother Ben's father said he played hopscotch.

Brother Brian said he played hopscotch. He jumped right over chapter 9.

I said, now isn't that something? They didn't want to hear chapter 9. What does chapter 9 deal with?

God's complete sovereignty and salvation and election. Let me know right then what these people believe.

They're just not Armenians. What do you say, Ben? Pelagians? Semi -Pelagians? That's right.

That's the proper word. Brother Bill knows what I'm talking about. Semi -Pelagians.

Well, we know that language, don't we? Isn't that grievous, honestly?

I know we chuckle about it, but why do they skip chapter 9 of Romans?

We must love the whole counsel of God. And I'm telling you what, this is what people of God, a lot of God's people don't want to, they want to only pick and choose what they like.

But I'm telling you, as I myself and you, or you know what I'm talking about, you yourself as well, we get to Romans 9 and I tell you what, it destroys our pride.

And you know something? God, let it be. Bring me down because we are nothing.

God is God and we're not. And God hates pride with a vengeance that we don't understand.

That's one of the first on the list, the things that God hates. Six things what

God hates, seven is abomination. Number one, a haughty look. That means pride. I think second is shedding of innocent blood.

But you know, there's a reason. We must love the whole counsel of God.

Now, let me go, my time's running out. Let's go to the fourth and final one. And I'm going to, we're running right toward a conclusion here.

The fourth and final is brevity. Notice 14 and 15. Knowing that shortly

I must put off my tent just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

In other words, after my departure, my exodus. Now go with me very quickly to John chapter 21.

We're going to see the words of Jesus. I'm going to read this very quickly as we head toward conclusion.

John chapter 21 is this is right after Jesus is resurrected.

He has come and he has eaten breakfast with the apostles.

In verse 12 he says, come and eat breakfast. He invites them. Isn't it wonderful? Jesus invites us to come and dine.

Jesus in verse 13 came and took bread and gave it to them and likewise to fish. Now this is the third time

Jesus showed himself to his disciples after he was raised from the dead. And then in verses 15 through 17,

Jesus is restoring Simon Peter to the flock. Basically he's restoring him because notice three times

Peter denies Christ. Now Jesus comes three times with the question, do you love me?

Notice what he says. He says to Simon Peter, Simon son of Jonas, use his fleshly name there, do you love me more than these?

Do you love me more than these? Gets right to it. The great shepherd of the sheep being so pastoral is a perfect shepherd.

And Peter responds, yes Lord, you know that I love you. You know that I have affection for you.

That's what he's saying. I have affection for you. And what does

Jesus say? Feed my lambs. That's the little ones. That's the little children.

Jesus says, let the little ones come to me for such is the kingdom of God.

You remember how the disciples would be in big shots and pride and Jesus gives them an example, an illustration of humility, true humility of the kingdom of God.

They have no credentials. Doesn't that melt your heart? Jesus says, let them come.

This is the way the kingdom of God is. This is the way you come into the kingdom. You've got to be bankrupt and simple as a child looking to Jesus.

Disciples wanted to be big shots and Jesus has given them a lesson. This is such is the kingdom of God.

This is wonderful. He said, feed my lambs, feed the children. He's talking about give them the truth.

Remember what Deuteronomy said? Teach your children, son up to son down.

Along the path when you walk with them, tell them about God and His goodness. Tell them about the

Lamb of God who died for them. Children because they believe it.

They're not like adults. They get educated and messed up from cemeteries and seminaries.

You see what I'm saying. It's the pureness and the innocence. That's the way we're to be.

Verse 16, he said to him a second time, oh wow, he blows his mind. He comes back, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?

The same question. And Peter said, yes Lord. You know that I love you.

Can you feel Peter's frustration in a sense here? He said to him, but Jesus is restoring him.

He's pulling him in. And he said to him, now you tend to my sheep like a shepherd.

And guess what? In 1 and 2 Peter, that's what he's doing. He's loving the persecuted believers.

He's pastoring them. He's loving them as Jesus did.

Now in 2 Peter, he's reaching out to them, warning them lovingly. He's tending to his sheep.

And this third one in verse 17 is incredible. He said to him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?

Can you imagine Jesus asking you three times? Peter was grieved.

Rightly so, I see why. But remember this, that this is the apostle

Peter that denied his Lord. And Jesus is saying, do you love me?

This is deep, folks. And he said to him, Lord, you know all things.

You know all things. You know that I love you. Jesus said, feed my sheep.

Notice the pattern, feed my lambs. Tend my sheep.

Feed my sheep. I'm telling you what, if this pastor ever falls away from doing this, you fire me.

Get me out. And any pastor or so -called pastor that's not doing this today, they need to be gone.

Because it's all about the truth. It's all about Christ. It's all about Jesus and loving

Him and loving one another. In verse 18, most assuredly I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself, listen to this, walk where you wished.

And when you were old, you stretched out your hands and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish. And he spoke signifying by what death he would glorify

God. This is what Peter's referring to. And when he spoke of this, he said to him, follow me, follow me.

Peter turning around saw the disciple whom Jesus loved, that's John, who also had leaned on his breast at the supper and said,

Lord, who is the one who betrays you? Peter seeing him said to Jesus, but Lord, what about this man?

He's talking about John. What about him? Jesus said, what will that he remain till I come?

What is that to you? You follow me. Let me put that in today's language.

You don't worry about him. You don't worry about brother so -and -so and sister so -and -so.

You follow me. You see how Jesus gets to the heart of the thing?

He goes personal. He said, you don't worry about that. You worry about your own soul. You follow me.

That's what he's saying. Very quickly, my time is gone. How we need to love our

Lord, be diligent, view the brevity of life, serve our

Lord Jesus Christ. And I close with this powerful psalm that opens our eyes to the brevity of life.

And that is a psalm of Moses. And you know where I'm going, it's

Psalm 90. And I'm going to close with this. Notice what he says. And this is such a wonderful psalm because this is a man of God that understood the brevity of life.

The Spirit of God showed him this. And notice what he says. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations before the mountains were brought forth.

Wherever you have formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are

God. You turn man to destruction to say, return, O children of man.

Listen to how sobering this is. For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night.

How fast, James says, life is like a vapor. You're here for a short time, you're gone into eternity.

Verse 5. You carry them away like a flood. They are like a sleep. In the morning they are like grass.

Once again, there's the grass which grows up. In the morning it flourishes and grows up, and in the evening it is cut down and withers.

That's the way life is, folks. For we have been consumed by your anger and by your wrath we are terrified.

You have set our iniquities before you. Boy, listen to this. Our secret sins in the light of your countenance.

For all of our days have passed away in your wrath. We finish our years like a sigh.

In the days of our lives are 70 years, and if by reason of strength they are 80 years. Yet their boast is only labor and sorrow.

How many of us has felt that? It is soon cut off. Isn't it soon?

We fly away. I believe that old song, I'll fly away,

O glory. That's where they got it right there. Who knows the power of your anger? As the fear of you, as the fear of you, so is your wrath.

So what does he tell us? So teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Return, O Lord, return. How long? And have compassion.

Earlier he was talking about wrath. Now he's talking about, Lord, have compassion on your servants. O, satisfy us early with your mercy that we may rejoice and be glad all of our days, and make us glad according to the days in which you have afflicted us, the years in which we have seen evil.

Don't we feel this? Don't we see this? And let your work appear to your servants, and your glory to their children.

There it is again. And notice how he closes it. Folks, may this be our prayer.

Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us. That's his holiness. The beauty of God's holiness.

Moses understood that, didn't he? Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us and establish, just like Peter says, establish the work of our hands for us.

And then he says it again, that we may not forget, least we forget, yes, establish the work of our hands.

Let's pray. Father, we thank you once again in your goodness.

You have met us with your word and your Holy Spirit. Lord, this is far surpasses any emotions we have within us because it strikes the very core of our being.

Lord, help us not to be forgetful. Help us to be reminded of these things,

Lord, and be reminded and not forget. And Lord, help us to remember to remember your truth.

We do not depend on traditions of dead men. As great as these great men were, we do not lean on tradition.

Rather, we depend on the truth of the living God. All summed up in this great verse in which

Jesus quoted in the temptation in the wilderness to Satan, as Satan was saying, make these stones turn to bread.

And Jesus knew our Lord knew, Lord, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Lord, help us to live like this every day of our life. Help us Lord by your spirit to apply these timeless truths to our lives and to teach them to our children that you may be glorified, that you may be honored.