Nothing But The Truth2 Peter 1:12-21

There is a prominent question that is looming in the minds and hearts ofAmericans today. It doesn't have anything to do with the stock market, whowill win the NCAA basketball crown, or if the movie "Star Wars" will meeteveryone's expectations. You will never hear the question asked out loud atthe mall, sitting in the stands at your son or daughter's game, or standingin line at the grocery store, but don't be fooled - the question is outthere, crying out at us from every angle. Who is Jesus? Is He some guruwho has come to alleviate everything that ails us, all that gnaws at oursoul in the quiet of the night? Is He some kind of motivator? RichardSimmons, Anthony Robbins, and Laura Schlessinger rolled into onefine-speaking, self-esteem building, faith-affirming mystic? Is He a greatteacher of the likes of Plato? Who is Jesus and can we trust what is beingsaid about Him?How can we know who or what to believe? Does possessing a seminary education dictate that we believe everything that someone says about Jesus? Does watching TBN legitimize what a person has to say about Jesus? Doeshaving Dr. or Rev. or Bishop preceding one's name validate everything that aperson states about Jesus?All kinds of people are talking about Jesus these days, but not too manyare saying much of anything. Some say that Jesus was a fine teacher. Othershave said that Jesus was a good man. Madonna says that she is drawn to Jesusbecause she thinks the image of a man hanging on a cross naked is sexy. TedTurner says that Jesus is for losers. Tony Campolo has said,Our society has taken Jesus and recreated him in our own cultural image.When I hear Jesus being proclaimed from the television stations across ourcountry, from pulpits hither and yon, he comes across not as the biblicalJesus, not as the Jesus described in the Bible, but as a white, Anglo-Saxon,Protestant Republican.... God created us in his image, but we have decidedto return the favor and create a God who is in our image. (Tony Campolo)In our society today we see that many different things are being said aboutJesus, but most of what is being said is a far cry from what Jesus saidabout Himself or what the Biblical authors said about Him. It seems thatthose who dismiss Jesus as less than who He claimed to be are given a freepass to say anything they want to say about Him, but those who takeseriously Jesus' claims are ridiculed and labeled as narrow-minded bigots.Josh McDowell once said, "Why is it that you can talk about God and nobodygets upset, but as soon as you mention Jesus, people often want to stop theconversation? Why have men and women down through the ages been divided overthe question, Who is Jesus?" (Josh McDowell)If Jesus was just a misguided mystic who came in from the desert forconversation with the common folk then we've nothing to lose if we simplydismiss Him. If Jesus was delusional about His claim to be God then we havethe option of picking and choosing what we like about Him. If Jesus isn'tGod come to save us from our sins then there are no consequences for ourignoring Him. On the other hand, if Jesus did not have His tongue in Hischeek when He made His claims then there are dire, even eternal consequencesfor those who are unwilling to bow their knee to Him and cry out, "My Lordand my God."With all of the confusion concerning who Jesus is and why He came to earthI came by this morning to clear the air. I have not come here as someauthority or as some wise sage to dispense wisdom to all of you. I have noauthority whatsoever and wisdom has never been one of my strengths. Theonly thing I have to offer you this morning to clear the air for all of ushere is the Word of God, the Word of life. Let's take a look.12So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them andare firmly established in the truth you now have. 13I think it is right torefresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14because Iknow that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clearto me. 15And I will make every effort to see that after my departure youwill always be able to remember these things. 16We did not follow cleverlyinvented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our LordJesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he receivedhonor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from theMajestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am wellpleased." 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we werewith him on the sacred mountain. 19And we have the word of the prophets mademore certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lightshining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises inyour hearts. 20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripturecame about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had itsorigin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried alongby the Holy Spirit.(2 Peter 1:12-21)This is such a powerful section of God's Word, a compelling statement offaith that is meant to stop us in our tracks so that we might give fullconsideration to the claims made by Jesus and the entire Bible. The entiremessage of God to us, from the Old Testament through the New Testament isfound in these eleven verses. Jesus claimed much more than simply theability to teach. He claimed more than simply the ability to heal ourbrokenness. He claimed more than simply the ability to give us direction andpurpose. Jesus claimed more than simply the ability to be our moral compass.Jesus claimed to be "the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6) Jesusclaimed to be God in the flesh come down from Heaven to forgive us of oursins. (John 14:9) Jesus claimed to be the "Bread of Life." (John 6:46)Jesus does not leave us room to simply say that He was a great teacher, amoral authority, or one of the ways to God. He forces us to make adecision - Is He who He claimed to be or was He insane. C.S. Lewis oncewrote about Jesus' claims concerning Himself and our assessment of Hisclaims. He writes,A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn'tbe a great moral teacher. He'd be either a lunatic-on a level with a man whosays he's a poached egg-or else he'd be the devil of hell. You must makeyour choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madmanor something worse. (C.S. Lewis 1898-1963)I have served as your pastor for almost nine years now and I think it issafe to say that anyone who has been around Britton Christian Church for anyamount of time has a clear understanding of where I stand when it comes toJesus. Jesus is my only Hope, He is my Savior, He is my Lord, my Healer,Provider, He is the One who forgives me of my sin, and He is the One whocontinues to call me to a deeper walk with Himself.I know that I sound like a broken record as week after week I challenge us,encourage us, and entice us to learn more of His wonderful ways. I don'tworry about sounding like a broken record, as a matter of fact, this week Ihave found good company in Simon Peter. Peter wrote to the people of hisday and he said in verses 12-15,12So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them andare firmly established in the truth you now have. 13I think it is right torefresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14because Iknow that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clearto me. 15And I will make every effort to see that after my departure youwill always be able to remember these things.Peter was writing to a group of Jesus' followers who were rooted in theTruth, but he still felt compelled to "refresh their memory as long as helived" because the Truth is that important.Reading Peter's statement caused me to stop and think about us at BrittonChristian Church. Are we rooted in the Truth? Stop for a moment and askthe Lord to reveal to you how rooted you are in His Truth. Please don'tmake the mistake of simply arriving at how you "feel" about the Truth,genuinely ask the Lord to show you whether or not you are rooted in theTruth. If you know that you are not rooted in the Truth then you need toknow that you have the opportunity to grow in your walk with the Lord.There are many opportunities for you to grow at Britton Christian Church.If all of us are willing to face the truth then we will come to learn thatwe are all in different places. Some of you humble me with your grip onGod's Word. Others are like me, we don't understand all of God's Word, butwe want to grow and learn. Still others are searching to find meaning andunderstanding concerning God's Word and it's message about Jesus. For thoseof us who understand that Jesus is who He claimed to be we need to askourselves if we are exercising the Truth in our lives or if we are merelygiving mental assent to the Truth. Croft Pentz once said, "Too manyChristians keep the truth on ice instead of on fire." (Croft M. Pentz, TheComplete Book of Zingers (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1990)The great Bible teacher A.W. Tozer once wrote, "Unused truth becomes asuseless as an unused muscle." We must live in the Truth of God's Word. Wemust exercise the Truth and share it with everyone we meet.The fact that Peter was writing to continually remind a group where all ofthe people were rooted in the Truth causes me to want to continue to remindus of the Truth every opportunity I get. I have heard, during the years,various people say, "Oh, I've already studied this or that." My responseis, "You can never study God's Word enough." If I live to be 200 years old,it will not be time enough to plumb the depths of God's riches contained inHis Word!In verses 16-18 Peter wants his readers to know that he has not gottencaught up in some emotional trip over Jesus. He hasn't bought into some popculture phenomenon. Peter has his feet planted firmly on the ground when hewrites,16We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about thepower and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of hismajesty. 17For he received honor and glory from God the Father when thevoice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom Ilove; with him I am well pleased." 18We ourselves heard this voice that camefrom heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.There are many "cleverly invented" stories circulating about Jesus today.I shared with my Bible study last Sunday night about a man who attended achurch I know of who had bought into one of these cleverly invented stories.He had become a member of a Urantia group in the city where he lived and onmore than one occasion he brought his Urantia book with him to church. Thebook was clever because it gave all of the information that you would everwant to know about the first thirty years of Jesus' life. When we study theBible there is not much information about these early years of Jesus outsideof His birth, His dedication at the Temple, and His teaching at the Templewhen he was twelve. The Urantia book on the other hand will give youdetailed information about Jesus' early life. Clever, but not truth.There is a difference between clever and truth. There is nothing cleverabout Jesus' life or the Word of God, but they are true. We need to beseeking after the heart of truth today instead of the latest fad to sweepthe nation or the church.Peter says that he and the other disciples were eyewitnesses of the powerand coming of Jesus into the world. They were eyewitnesses of His majesty!They were there on the spot. The question that I have for Peter is, "Whatdid you see? What did it all mean? Who was Jesus?" Peter says, "I am soglad you asked." In verses 17-18 we read,17For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came tohim from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with himI am well pleased." 18We ourselves heard this voice that came from heavenwhen we were with him on the sacred mountain.Peter says that Jesus received glory and honor from God the Father. Theywitnessed the confirmation of Jesus' ministry by God when God said, "This ismy Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." Glory and honor alonebelong to God, but God bestowed His glory and honor upon Jesus and Himalone.There were actually two different occasions when Jesus heard the voice ofGod thunder, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."John the Baptist was down at the river baptizing those who were repenting oftheir sins when all of a sudden Jesus came to the riverbank. Even thoughJohn said that he should be baptized by Jesus, Jesus insisted that Johnbaptize Him. After Jesus was baptized God spoke and said, "This is my Sonof whom I love: with Him I am well pleased."The second time Jesus heard those wonderful words was when He had gone towhat we know as the Mount of Transfiguration. Let me read to you how it allhappened. Turn to Matthew 17:1-9 and follow along.1After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother ofJames, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2There he wastransfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothesbecame as white as the light. 3Just then there appeared before them Mosesand Elijah, talking with Jesus. 4 Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good forus to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters-one for you, onefor Moses and one for Elijah." 5While he was still speaking, a bright cloudenveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom Ilove; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!" 6When the disciples heardthis, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. 7But Jesus came andtouched them. "Get up," he said. "Don't be afraid." 8When they looked up,they saw no one except Jesus. 9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesusinstructed them, "Don't tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Manhas been raised from the dead." (Matthew 17:1-9)On the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus was met by Moses, the representativeof the Law, and by Elijah, the representative of the Prophets, as He heardGod's voice speak of His pleasure and love for His Son. Moses, Elijah, andthe Disciples were present to see firsthand the Truth of Jesus' life and Hispurpose for coming to earth. They were there when God confirmed that Jesuswas the Savior sent to deliver us from our sins, the One on whom God wasbestowing His glory and majesty upon.Not only did Jesus hear the majestic voice of God, but Peter, James, andJohn were there to hear it. They were not hallucinating. They didn't dreamup a scheme to try and change the world. They heard the voice of God andthey fell on their faces terrified.Oh how we need to hear the voice of God confirming the Truth of Jesus'life, calling us to follow Him alone, and inviting us to walk with ourblessed Savior! Oh how we are in such desperate need of an experience ofthe Father that clears all of the confusion concerning Jesus and drives usto our faces in humble worship and reverence of God!There is a word of caution for us when it comes to experience. We need tohave daily experiences of the presence of God confirming His Truth andcalling us to walk in deeper intimacy with Jesus, but the things that wegain from our experience need to align with God's Word. There are manytoday who will tell you and me what God wants for us, they will share withus what God has "told" them, and we are expected to accept these thingswithout reservation. I want to caution you to always examine what you feelGod is speaking to you.God's Word is Truth. It does not "contain" truth, but it is Truth. Fromcover to cover we find the Truth of God given to us to enable us to know theheart of Jesus and to live in God's will. God's Word is much like a ruler.If you bring a truckload of boards to me and tell me that the boards havebeen cut in the exact lengths that I need to build my house I can acceptthat as true. It may or not be true. I could assume that you are right andcontinue on with my project of building a house. The fact of the matter isthat if you are wrong and the boards are off by even a little bit, then thehouse will never stand the tests of time. It would be much better for me totake a tape measure and actually the measure the boards to find out if theymeet the requirements needed to build the house.Any carpenter can fully appreciate the need for Truth. Carpenters who areworth their salt take painstaking measures to assure that things are square,measurements are precise, and to disregard how they may "feel" in order tofind the truth.We should take the tape measure of God's Word to all of our experiences andthe things people tell us about God in order to make sure that they are fromthe heart of God. Luke wrote in Acts about a group of people who didexactly this. Take a look at Acts 17,10As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea.On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Bereans wereof more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received themessage with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see ifwhat Paul said was true. (Acts 17:10-11)When Peter writes and tells of us of his experience with Jesus on the Mountof Transfiguration he then turns and says in verse 19,19And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will dowell to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, untilthe day dawns and the morning star rises in your heartsPeter found in his study of the prophets a firm foundation for hisexperience with Jesus. Peter's experience wasn't contrary to Scripture, itwas an affirmation of all that he had read about the coming Messiah.Whatever you learn or hear about Jesus must align with God's Word.In verses 20-21, Peter writes about the validity of God's Word. Let's readtogether.20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about bythe prophet's own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in thewill of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the HolySpirit.Just last Sunday night we were talking in Bible study about why the Bibleis different than any other book ever written. The answer to the questionis, "Man did not write God's Word." Peter says, "Men spoke from God as theywere carried along by the Holy Spirit." God used His servants to write HisWord, His will and passion for His people, but it was God who gave them thewords to write. The Bible speaks God's Truth to us.You and I have the opportunity cling to the Truth of God or to stumblealong by believing whatever the latest fad is circulating about Jesus.God's leaves that choice to us, but our choice does not change the fact thatthere is truth. There have been times throughout history when people havetried to silence the truth, but the truth lives on. There have been thosewho chose to cling to the truth and it cost them dearly. One such man livedin Germany half a century ago. His name was Dietrich Bonhoeffer and he wasa Lutheran pastor. Bonhoeffer failed in his attempt to assassinate AdolphHitler--and he was executed by the Nazis for treason. Astonishingly, notlong ago Bonhoeffer's reputation was resurrected when he was officiallyexonerated by a court in Berlin. Just what did Bonhoeffer do to provoke theire of the Nazi regime? He stood for the truth even though he knew he wouldhave to pay a price.It is important for us to know that holding fast to the truth concerningwho Jesus is and His call upon our life to surrender to Him as Lord andSavior of our lives may cost us dearly, even severely. I have no doubt thatthis is why so many today are choosing to play with games with the claims ofJesus and try to make Him out to be something much less than He claimed.Dietrich Bonhoeffer would cling to Jesus and Him alone and it wouldeventually cost him his life.In his book The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer paints a vivid picture ofwhat it was like to be true to the Christian faith under a hostile regime.Under persecution, Bonhoeffer discovered that, even though God's grace isfreely given, it also extracts a high cost.Because Bonhoeffer chose to not go along with the crowd he felt compelled toreturn to Germany and suffer with his fellow Germans when he could havestayed safely in America. It was his desire to walk faithfully with Jesusthat led Bonhoeffer to continue teaching and preaching the Word of God eventhough the Nazis tried to suppress his work. It was the pursuit of the truththat led Bonhoeffer to stand against a turncoat church that mixed Nazidoctrine with Christian truth. Along with other faithful believers,Bonhoeffer signed the Barmen Declaration, which boldly declared theirindependence from both the state and a co-opted church.It was his complete allegiance to Jesus that led Bonhoeffer to attempt tosmuggle Jews out of Germany, even though it led to his arrest. Costly graceled the young pastor to set aside his commitment to pacifism and join in theassassination plot against Hitler--which was what finally led to hisexecution by the Nazis. But even in prison, Bonhoeffer's life shone withdivine grace. He comforted other prisoners, who looked upon him as theirchaplain. He wrote many moving letters that were later collected into avolume called Letters and Papers from Prison.On the morning of April 9, 1945-less than a month before Hitler wasdefeated--Bonhoeffer knelt and prayed, and then followed his captors to thegallows, where he was hanged as a traitor. Now Bonhoeffer is finallyreceiving the official recognition to match the spiritual veneration he hasinspired in so many believers.The late British journalist Malcolm Muggeridge wrote a tribute toBonhoeffer in his book The Third Testament. Muggeridge, writing aboutWorld War II said:Looking back now across the years . . . what lives on is the memory of a manwho died, not on behalf of freedom or democracy or a steadily rising grossnational product, nor for any of the twentieth century's counterfeit hopesor desires, but on behalf of a cross on which another man died 2,000 yearsbefore."As on that previous occasion on Golgotha," Muggeridge goes on, "so amidstthe rubble of 'liberated' Europe, the only victor is the man who died. Asthe only hope for the future lies in his triumph over death. There cannever be any other victory or any other hope." The lesson of Bonhoeffer'slife and death is that bowing our knee to Jesus and choosing to listensolely to Him rather than the current conversation about Him is never easy.God's grace is never cheap. It demands from us everything--even our lives.But in return it gives us a new life that transcends even the mostoppressive political conditions. (Adapted from Chuck Colson's "Breakppoint"commentary. Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship Ministries)Today you and I have the opportunity to have the air cleared in our livesconcerning Jesus. All of the confusing talk about Jesus will continue, butwe do not have to be confused. God is calling us today to make a decision.Will we be swayed by the popular culture speaking of Jesus as a good man orwill we settle once and for all in our hearts that Jesus was God who came toman to save us, fill us, empower us, and claim us for His very own. Whichchoice will you make.