2 Peter: Growing Grace and Knowledge

2 Peter, chapter 1, starting to read at verse 12. So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that after my departure, you will always be able to remember these things. For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, But we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

He received glory and honor from God, the father, when the voice came to him from the majestic glory saying, this is my son whom I love. With him, I am well pleased. We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it. As to a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Above, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophets' own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human spoke from god as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. This is the Word of the Lord. K. Thank you very much, Daryl.

And please do keep that passage open in front of you. We're also a little bit later on going to be having a look at Mark chapter 9, so you might want to be ready to turn up Mark chapter 9 for when we when we turn there a bit later on. It's worth just saying as well as a for a for a quick notice. 1 of our students who's been with us for some time, Rijo, is is going back to India, and this is his last service, isn't it? Rijo, it's been great to have you.

It's wonderful because Rijo's family are Christians, and he's going back to a church and to a Christian family, and so he's going to have opportunities to continue to grow in the lord Jesus, but it's been lovely to have you amongst us for the time that you've been here studying. Let's come to God and pray and ask for his ask for his help again. Father, we do thank you that these apostles who wrote about the Lord Jesus did not just invent things about him, that they saw him and they heard him and they touched him, and they saw your glory. And we thank you that what we have here is not cleverly invented stories and myths, but this is eyewitness history. This is true truth.

About the lord Jesus. And we pray that you would help us this morning as we think about that subject. To not just leave this place, Convinced that your word is reliable, but that we would be those who pay attention to its message, that you would help us because it is true to shape our lives and our beliefs around it. Lord, we desperately need your help in order to do this. Because we come here this morning as people who are weak and needy and sinful.

We come here this morning as those whose minds and hearts are clouded, and perhaps we already have reasons in our minds, not to listen, not to engage perhaps the business of the day or what's to come this week or all the things that went wrong last week are filling our minds and distracting us, and we know that our enemy, the devil, roams around like a lion seeking for someone to destroy. He wants to like the bird, fly down and pluck the good seed away from our hearts. And we just pray then, by your spirit, you would help us whoever we are. To listen to you. We thank you that you are the God of all comfort who comes through your word to comfort those who are weak.

We thank you that you are our refuge and our shield and our strength, and you come to us through your word to provide refuge and strength. We thank you that you are a good father who loves to discipline your children, and that you come to us through your word to discipline us, to show us our sin and to lead us in repentance. We thank you that you are a God of grace, and you come to us through your word graciously in your son, pointing us back to him. That we might find forgiveness and new life. So please lord help us to hear and to see this morning in Jesus' name.

Oh, men. Oh, men. Did God really say? Those are the first recorded words of Satan in the bible. Did God really say.

How do you know that you have remembered his word correctly, and how do you know it's even true? Did God really say? And let's say that it is true, how do you know that it's actually good for you? That what he said is actually the right way for you to go. Did God really say, and how do you know it's good for you?

In Genesis chapter 3, where we read those words, we are introduced to Satan through his lies. As soon as he shows up and ever since then, he wants us to doubt or deny or distrust the word of God. And on 1 level, every time we sin, we believe that lie. That's all that sin really is. God, at this moment, your word is either not good or it's not true, what I think is good and what I think is true, and therefore I'm going my way.

But it's not only sin which carries the lie, this is how false teaching works. Now, false teaching can and does and has taken many different forms throughout history, but at 1 level it's all the same, isn't it? False teaching works on that basis. The message that you have heard about Jesus is either not true or it's not good. Or more likely, the people that you heard it from are either not true or not good, and therefore you can't trust what they're telling you.

That is basically how it works. Have a look up on the screen at 2 Peter chapter 3. This is what some of the false teachers were saying at the time Peter was writing. Above all, you must understand that in the last days, scoffers will come. Scoffing and following their own evil desires.

They will say, where is this coming that he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has. Since the beginning of creation. Now in our day, you could mistake this person for an atheist, couldn't you? Because this is the kind of mocking that we might receive from secular people.

You believe that Jesus is coming back again? I can accept that he might have existed in history, but this idea that he was God who will come again, you really believe that? Well, where is it then? Where is this coming that he promised? But although it sounds secular, actually, when you read through this letter, As I say, you see these are not atheists, these are false teachers, and what are they saying?

The apostles tell you that Jesus is coming again, so where is he? Where is he? And how do you know? Or as 1 ancient commentator put it, did God really say that. So you see in 2 Peter, we have a group of Christians who are well established in the faith, but they are surrounded by the voice of the evil 1, a voice which doubts, and distrusts and denies the promises of God.

And it might be that we are here this morning, and on 1 level, we are we are open to that voice. Where is this coming that he promised? If Jesus is coming again, then why does everything basically carry on as it always has? How do we know that what we have here in our hands when we hold a Bible is not only true, but it is good, and that it really is God's word. Because in some ways, that is the most important question of this series.

So in session 1, we spent time just bathing in God's kindness to us in Christ in verse 1 to 4. In the second week, we looked at how God's grace to us ought to produce a kind of hardworking effort when it comes to godliness. But if none of it is true, And if this is just another helping of fake news, then how can we be sure of God's grace to us in Christ? How do we know that the life Peter describes is actually the life that pleases God? All the things that we've said so far in the past 2 weeks, depend on whether this is true and whether it is good.

And the rest of chapter 1 is really designed to answer that kind of objection. Peter is now at the end of his life He knows, and you can see it in his own words, in verse 12 and 13, you can see that he is aware that his life is coming to an end. Most people think he was in a Roman jail at this time. The lord Jesus during his ministry had described what kind of death Peter was going to endure, and it wasn't pleasant, Church history records that he was probably crucified upside down, so he is about to go through an execution of a terrible kind. He is at the end of his life, but before he signs off, he's writing to give these Christians and us rock solid confidence in the word of God.

Yes, Jesus Christ is coming again. It is true, and here's why that it is true. So last week, we had a sandwich as our main image. If you were here last week, you remember it was a subway to be precise. We had the bread and the filling, and that was in some way trying to describe how God's grace produces the Christian life.

But today, we are going to take the old Bailey as our illustration, the courtroom. And I want you to imagine in chapter 1 that Peter is the barrister and he's making a case for the gospel. He's making a case for the return of Jesus Christ about why it's true and why we should pay attention to it. And in the court, he's got 2 dynamite witnesses to call. He's going to call 2 witnesses, and then although we mustn't see ourselves of the judges in this illustration, then it's up to us.

What are we gonna do with the evidence? That he provides. And the first main witness he's going to call is the testimony of the apostles. So this is the first point, the lord Jesus was seen and the father was heard. The lord Jesus was seen and the father was heard.

Have a look with me at verse 12. So I will always remind you of these things. Even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, because I know that I will soon put it aside as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me, and I will make every effort to see that after my departure, you will always be able to remember these things. Martin Lloyd Jones a welsh preacher of the last century said that the business of the church and of preaching is not to present us with new and interesting ideas, It is rather to go on reminding us of certain fundamental and eternal truths.

Peter definitely knew that. As we saw last week, he doesn't have any new teaching for them. He is not in his prison cell, saying, I've just had a new I've just had a fresh revelation. I've just had a new dream. There's some new information from God.

Quick, I've got to scribble it down and give it to you. There's no sense of that. They have what they need to know, they just need to remember it. And the reason they need to remember it is because it's eternally true. It's true.

How do we know? You can imagine, can't you? The opposition, jumping in the court at that point. Peter has made his opening statement. Your Honor, I'm going to remind you of these truths because they're true.

The opposition chimes in anything to say, well, how do you know, Peter? It all sounds good, isn't it? But we used to take your word for it. How do we know? Great question.

Have a look at verse 16 with me in in your bibles. For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. He received honor and glory from God the Father, when the voice came to him from the majestic glory, saying, this is my son whom I love with him, I am well pleased. We ourselves herdged this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. In other words, you should believe it, your honor, because we saw it.

We were eyewitnesses. And at this point, what he's doing is he's referring or looking back to the mount of transfiguration. And if you know the story in the gospel, this was a very incredible moment for a small group of disciples who were called up the mountain and saw Jesus transfigured before them. They saw the glory of Jesus Christ on the top of that mountain, that special place. But the question is, why does he go there?

Given all that Peter experienced in his life, he could have gone somewhere else to prove his point, couldn't he? I mean, why didn't he go to the calming of the storm? That was a pretty impressive thing to have witnessed. We were out on the boat, you know what it's like, the storms were terrible, with just 1 word, be still. Everything went calm?

Or why not go to the resurrection accounts? I mean, that was a pretty significant moment, wasn't it? When they saw the risen Jesus Christ who was crucified, still bearing his wounds, but had come to life again. If you wanted to prove your point, that would be a powerful testimony to draw upon. But he doesn't He chooses this moment, the amount of transfiguration.

Why? Well, if you'd like to turn with me to Mark chapter 9, This is 1 of the few stories which turns up in Matthew, Mark Luke, and there's even hints of it in John, and we're gonna look at what Mark says, in verse 2 of chapter 9. Why does he turn to this particular moment in his life? Mark 9. After 6 days, Jesus took Peter, James and John with him, and led them up a high mountain where they were all alone.

There he was transfigured before them, His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. And there appeared before them, Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. So who have we got then? We've got Peter, James, John Jesus, with Moses and Elijah. And that is not an accident.

They weren't just randomly drawn from history. Moses stands for the Old Testament Law of God, The law that God gave to his people came through Moses, and he stands as a representative of that law. And with him, Elijah, and who does Elijah represent? He represents the prophets God's word to his people through his spokesman. So, here on the mountain are some fairly significant characters from church history, and together, they represent all that God has said to his people in the Old Testament, the law and the prophets.

But you notice, Who were they with? Who were they always pointing to? Who were they writing about? Who was the heartbeat of their message? Who was sent to stage in God's words?

Jesus Christ. Jesus. Was the heartbeat of their message. And in 1 sense, they can go now because the very theme and substance of their word has come. But that's not all.

The first reason he goes there is because in this moment, Jesus Christ is confirmed as the grand theme of the old testament, and we'll see why that's important later on. But there's another reason he goes there. Have a look in verse 5 of Mark 9. Peter said to Jesus, and notice he leaves this little bit out of his count in 2 Peter. Peter said to Jesus, rabbi, it is good for us to be here.

Let us put up 3 shelters, 1 for you, 1 for Moses, and 1 for Elijah. He did not know what to say. They were so frightened. Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud. This is my son whom I love, listen to him.

And in the courtroom, this is the clincher, I think. This is the clinching moment. It's a bit like if you've ever been to a modern art gallery, don't know if you visit those regularly, but very often, they will not provide a description of what they have created. So you'll be standing there with a friend in front of beautiful piece of art, a sculpture perhaps, and it might tell you what it's made of, but it won't tell you what it means or why they did it. And that's intentional because it's up to you and your friend or whoever you're with to stand there and look at it, and you can decide what it means for you.

You can talk about what you think was behind the sculpture, what lessons you've learned from it, and your opinion is as good as anybody else's. You're free to interpret it as you like. But imagine you're in that gallery having a chat about what you think it means for you, but then the door to the gallery opens, the artist comes in, stands beside the piece, and says to you, here is what I produced. Here's the influences that led to it. Here's what it means.

Here's what you should take away from it. The artist comes out and gives you the interpretation. And that is exactly the sort of thing that's going on here. Peter is saying, look, we had this amazing experience on the mountain, but it wasn't left up to us to draw out the interpretation. We didn't see it and then go down and say, guys, guess what guess what we saw.

This is what Peter thinks it means. Well, this is what John thinks, this is what James thinks it means. They weren't at liberty to do that because the artist came out of the gallery, from the majestic glory, and he gave them the explanation. This is my son who I love. Listen to him.

In other words, they had an experience and an explanation. They saw, and they heard. This was this was the first ever AV experience. This was an audiovisual experience. They saw and they heard.

And really, as you read through the new testament, it is very difficult to understate just how important this is. We've seen it in our studies in 1 John, and the first part of that will be well known to us now, but I put it on the screen there. And just just as we're reading, try to try to kind of mentally look at all the words which point to a sight sound experience. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched. This we proclaim concerning the word of life.

The life appeared, we have seen it and testified to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard. I reckon that's 10 times 10 times in 3 sentences. We have seen, we have heard, he appeared, We looked at, we saw, we heard, we, honestly, we had an AV experience of Jesus. It was audiovisual.

He appeared to us, we saw him, and we had the explanation, and this is the Jesus that we proclaim to you. And this isn't just in the in the letters either. Look what Peter says right at the beginning just after Jesus had gone back to heaven. He was dragged I haven't put it on the screen, unfortunately. But when Peter was dragged before the Jewish council in acts chapter 4, and when they are commanded, you must not preach in this name anymore, what is their defense?

They say we cannot help speaking about that which we have seen, and heard. Acts for verse 20. So there's 2 reasons he goes back there. Because Jesus is seen as the fulfillment of God's word because they had an AV experience, but there's a third reason. Look back to mark 8 and verse 38, to the conversation just before the mountain.

Mark 8 verse 38. If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, In this adulterous and sinful generation, the son of man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his father's glory, with the holy angels. So what are they talking about right before the mountain? And by the way, this is the exact same conversation in Matthew, and in Mark, and in Luke. Before the mountain, they are talking about this thing in every case.

It is the return of Jesus Christ, which is the big theme of 2 Peter. So again, this is not an accident. And this really struck me this week, that that in Peter's mind, what he saw on the mountain top was a snapshot of what we will all see 1 day. The old testament had been promising a day when God would come for a great day of judgment and salvation, and the mount of transfiguration is a little foretaste of what is to come. Peter is saying, look, when we when we declared to you the coming of the Lord Jesus, we were not inventing stories Believe me, because in a sense we've already seen it.

We we saw something of what it will be like when he returns on that mountain. We had a pre second coming experience, and we know it's not a story. This is what it will be like 1 day. His face will shine before the world. His clothes will be as brighter as anyone could bleach them.

We will see him on his glory, Yeah. How do you know, Peter? You made it up. No. We've seen it.

We've seen it. We saw something of it on that mountain. And 1 day, everyone we'll see too. So your honor, I hope you can see. This is not this is not just a story that we heard in the pub.

This is not just something someone told us about a friend of theirs who'd seen something and it could be true because normally that friend is trustworthy. It's not a myth, it's not a fable. Peter is saying we actually saw the majesty of Jesus Christ. We heard the voice of the majestic glory, and we proclaim his coming because in 1 sense we've already seen it. We know it's true.

But you and you can imagine him turning to the opposition in the court, you false teachers. You may be powerful speakers. You may be able to worm your way into people's homes, but you are not. And you were not. I witnesses to the Majesty of the Christ that we proclaim.

There is only 1 group of people telling stories here and it's not us. See how he describes them in 2 peter 2 verse 3. Not an accidental description. In their greed, these teachers will exploit you. With fabricated stories.

Their condemnation has been long hanging over them. And their destruction has not been sleeping. So again, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, there we have it. The first reason for confidence in the gospel and in the return of Christ is this. The book that we hold is eyewitness, ear witness, testimony about Jesus.

But before you make your decision, can I call my second witness, shorter point? Can I call my second witness? Let's look at verse 19 and see who that is. Secondly, the holy spirit inspired and the prophets spoke. So the Lord Jesus was seen and the father was heard, the Holy Spirit inspired and the prophets spoke.

First 19. We also have the prophetic message of something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it. As to a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts. Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophets' own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God, as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

2 years ago, a movie called Dunkirk came out, then if you saw that film, but it was all about the, well, the Dunkirk evacuation of World War 2, where based it's an amazing moment in history, where basically hundreds of very ordinary ships, fishing boats, and pleasure boats, and sailing boats and yachts, across the channel to evacuate our soldiers and to bring them home. And in the film, which depicts it really well. It's it's a very moving moment because you've got loads and loads of these different ships that are very different. Most of them are not military vessels. They are ordinary pleasure craft or fishing boats, and yet they are going across the channel with the same mission with the same fuel in their tanks, or with the same sail in their winds, take it's wind in their sails, sorry, taken along by the same currents They are so different, and yet they were carried along in the same way towards the same goal.

And I think that is just 1 1 way of thinking about the prophets. They were very very different characters, different sizes, different shapes, different personalities, and God did not bypass their personalities, so they were not just keyboards on which God was was typing. It didn't matter what it was. He was just typing a message through them. He didn't do that.

He used them in their character, but they were all carried along by the Holy Spirit, As they spoke, and as they wrote, God was the wind in their sails. So that what we have today, as we open our old testament, and read about the prophets, is nothing less than the word of the Holy Spirit. It's like the modern art thing again, isn't it? The the prophets did not give their own interpretation. So they didn't see a famine or a war or a great king coming to exile a nation and think, well, what do you think guys?

What do you think that's about? Should we make up our own interpretation? Isiah? What do you think? Well, no.

You know, what what do you reckon? I reckon God might be angry. What do you think? Yeah. Let's go with god's angry.

It wasn't up to them to provide the interpretation because once again, the author came into the gallery and told them what was going on. The Holy Spirit spoke through the prophets. So this passage is 1 of the most important passages for understanding the bible. What we have in the bible is 66 books that were written over 1400 years in different countries by authors some of whom never met each other, and yet the finished product is without error Without contradiction, it is clear, it unites around Jesus Christ, and it is all the word of God. And for Peter, this is just so crucial because he wants us to know that what he saw on the mountain was not random.

It was the word of the prophets confirmed insight and sound. What he saw was not just a sudden entrance of God doing a new thing. The prophets had always been looking to the day when the Messiah would come and then come again. And he says, yes, what we saw was what they spoke about. What we saw with our eyes was just the word of the prophets confirmed, Why?

Because there is a unity to the word of God, it's all about Jesus. And as I say, although, it's not up to us to to kind of stand above this word and to judge it. We're not the judges here, we don't decide whether this is true, now that the evidence is in, now that the testimony of the 2 witnesses has been heard, What are we going to do with the evidence? That's the question. And the third point then is this.

We need to pay attention to the reliable message. Third and last point. And I hope you can see, first of all, that that this is really great news for us today, because we live in a world where it is hard to know what is true. 1 day caffeine is good for you, the next day it's very bad for you. 1 day going vegan is gonna save the planet, The next day going vegan is going to deprive you of crucial nutrients.

1 day something is powerful, the next day it's weak, 1 day something is good, the next day it's bad, we we are swamped with opinions, we are swamped with news, so much of it is fake, and you get to the point where basically you feel that you can't believe anything, You can't trust anything. When someone says, oh, come and look at this photo. It's incredible. Now I reckon that's photoshopped. That's a fake.

And you think, oh, okay. Well, alright. What picture can I look at then? Well, someone says, you just read this article in the papers. Just fantastic.

Oh, no. They were talking about that on the radio. It's rubbish, apparently. Know, honestly, they had an expert on, they said it's rubbish. And you think, well, what do I what do I do?

I mean, it's hard to know, isn't it? Living in our culture is like living in a house on wet sand. It it just slides around all the time. There's nothing stable, nothing sure, what is good today, is bad tomorrow, what is powerful today, is dust tomorrow. What do we do?

And then you think of the bigger myths, which surround our culture, the myths about who we are, the secular myth, The belief that everything came from nothing, at its heart, that everything came from nothing, that all of the life and complexity of our world came from darkness and chaos. It is amazing how many people believe that story of creation and that somehow we appeared in that mess. That nothing gave birth to everything. Where is the evidence for that? Who saw that?

How do you know that? Tell me about that. What hard evidence have you seen that persuades you of that? That makes you think that's a good explanation of who you are. It is a secular myth, which doesn't add up.

Or you take other religions, if you think about if you think about other religions, Lots, lots and lots of them depend on myths, which really cannot be pinned down. They contain distant worlds and and strange gods who came to places that we don't really know at times that we can't really identify in forms that don't really make sense, but they have some kind of lessons for us today. But they can't be pinned down, they depend on myths, or even something like Islam, which cares more about locating itself in history, doesn't seem to do a very good job. If you've ever read through the Quran or part of it, it is very hard to work out. When did this actually happen?

And where did it happen? And who saw this? And who actually heard that? And when did he live? And who was he?

It's really just a book that dropped out of the sky into a cave with lessons about God and about history, which are very, very hard to really pin down. But the bible is so very different. It is eyewitness testimony You can locate it, you can see how things happened, you can see where they happened, and who saw them, you can see how many people saw it, and then you can compare their accounts. You see, 1 of the criticisms that people often level against the bible is you can't use the bible to prove the bible, because that's a circular argument. You can't just say the bible is true, How do you know?

What's the bible says so? Yeah. But how do you know it's true? What's the bible says it's true? Yeah.

But how do you know the bible's true? What's the bible says it's true? It's a circular argument. People often say that. But that argument misunderstands what the bible is.

The bible is not just 1 book that floated down from heaven, In fact, the word bible isn't even in the bible. All that the bible is is 66 ancient documents, most of them eyewitnesses that point to Jesus Christ. And God says, here you go, here's a wealth of evidence. Look what Matthew said about Jesus. He was an eyewitness.

Now, what about John? You could read his account and you can compare them. You can have a look for yourself at the eyewitness documents. Well, to put it another way, when people say that the bible is just all 1 book, you can't use the bible to prove the bible. In 1 sense, they're acknowledging that there is 1 author.

Aren't they? You can't use the Bible to prove the Bible, what so you admit that the Bible would prove the Bible, that there is 1 author? So these arguments don't stand up. And then when it comes to history, you can cross reference with other historians. And the point is that what we have in our hands, the eyewitness testimony of the apostles, the word of the prophets, it stands up in a world of myths and fables and wet sand, it stands up.

And therefore, we must pay attention to it. That's the direct application in verse 19. We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it. As to a light shining in a dark place until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts. Because it's true, we must pay attention to it.

And then he uses this wonderful image. It's like Imagine you're in your house and there's a power cut. It's dark outside. It's now dark inside, it is pitch black. But in 1 of your sockets, you've got a 3 watt night light.

Now, the power is out, but it's just swapped over to batteries. And as you look at it, just a small 3 watt light in the darkness. You are amazed at how that light transforms the darkness that you are looking at. Suddenly, it is incredibly bright and incredibly clear and it lights up your way in the darkness. And the word of God is like that.

Very soon, Jesus Christ will return. The morning star will rise. The day will dawn. And we won't need the night light in the same way anymore. But for now, we do.

And this is it. The word of the apostles and the word of the prophets transforms the darkness. It brings us into the truth about who we are and about who God is. It shines a light on Christ and is coming, and is dying for our sins, and his resurrection and glory and his return in power, it makes sense of our world. I mean, you can't argue that that we are so confused about so many things in our world, about gender and who God has made us to be, and what marriage is all about and what human sexuality is, that there there are these building blocks which have held us up forever which are now crumbling all around us in a sea of confusion.

But the bible stands as the true word of God, as the light in the darkness, which is gonna lead us through the night until the day dawns. And so brothers and sisters, can I ask, are you paying attention to this reliable message? You see, sometimes people will say, well, look, how can you trust this book? There's no evidence for this book. It's just myths but most of the time it's just a smoke screen.

The truth is they've actually got no good reason not to trust it. And no good reason to believe whatever else they're believing. The truth is we don't want to pay attention to its message. We don't want to surrender our lives to Jesus and live for him who died for us. It's a smokescreen.

Or even as Christians, we might say, yes, well, I do trust it. But when the rub comes, we don't pay attention to it. It is very scary, isn't it? If you know your own heart as a Christian, how easy it is to stand above the book and say it is a reliable testimony, but not actually to pay attention to it in our lives, to see the night light, and then to take the batteries out. And that is why whoever we are this morning, as we consider this message about Jesus, Let's ask for help so that verse 19, have a look finally with me.

We will pay attention to it. That we will pay attention to it. As to a light, shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the morning star rises in your hearts. Let's have a moment of quiet just to reflect on the things we've read and heard from God's word. And maybe you'd like to take verse 19 and just to turn it into your own prayer.

And to ask that it would be true of you and your brothers and sisters around you. Father God, we thank you that this message that we have in the prophets and in the testimony of the apostles is a reliable, true message. We thank you that these words are the words of the Holy Spirit. That this is your living enduring word, that though the flowers fade and the grass withers, the word of the lord will endure forever. And in a thousand years time, if you haven't come back, The kingdoms which look so powerful now will be dust.

What was believed and guaranteed to be true may well be seen to be false. But the word of the lord will still be here. It will still be enduring. It will still be true. It will still be proclaiming Jesus.

It will still be calling us to repentance and faith. It will still be urging us to get ready for the coming of Jesus. And we thank you lord that this word is not just a myth that fell from heaven, that this word was seen and experienced and heard, and that we can trust it in everything that it says. Thank you that it is true and without error and without contradiction, and it is clear about our lord Jesus. And we pray that you would help us, not to be guilty of just looking at it and acknowledging that it's true, but functionally ignoring it in our lives.

How foolish we would be to actually come away thinking the bible is true, but then not to listen to it. Not to pay attention to it. Help us lord, we pray, to see your word like a light, a light that is shining in the darkness. As we wait for the morning star, the Lord Jesus to rise, as we wait for the day of the new creation to dawn, Help us to pay attention to this precious light in the darkness. And we ask it in Jesus' name, amen.