MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
Old Truth Never Gets Old | Pastor Will Hawk | July 13th, 2025
At the end of life, what truly matters? In this profound exploration of 2 Peter 1:16-21, we discover that Peter—facing his own mortality—chose not to impart new knowledge but to remind believers of timeless truths they already knew.
Against our culture's obsession with novelty and innovation, Peter presents a radical alternative: the gospel never grows old, no matter how familiar it becomes. He recounts his experience on the Mount of Transfiguration, where he witnessed Christ's glory firsthand and heard the voice of God proclaim, "This is my beloved Son." Yet remarkably, Peter suggests that Scripture provides even greater certainty than this supernatural encounter.
The sermon unpacks three foundations for unwavering faith: standing on what the apostles' eyes saw, what their lives proved through decades of persecution, and ultimately, the same thing they stood on—God's unchanging Word. As Charles Colson observed about the apostles' testimony: "Twelve of the world's most powerful men couldn't keep a lie going for three weeks during Watergate, yet twelve apostles maintained their testimony for forty years despite torture and death."
For those struggling with spiritual doubts or difficulties, this message offers profound comfort. We don't necessarily need new truths to navigate life's challenges—we need to recall the old ones that have sustained generations of believers. Like a lamp shining in darkness, God's Word provides just enough light for our next step.
The message concludes with Winston Churchill's remarkable funeral planning. After "Taps" signaled day's end, a second bugler unexpectedly played "Reveille"—time to wake up. While mourners witnessed his life's sunset, Churchill wanted to remind them he was experiencing the dawn of something new. What stories of God's faithfulness will you share before your own sunset comes?
If you want to learn more about the MidTree story or connect with us, go to our website HERE or text us at 812-MID-TREE.
Please turn in your Bibles to 2 Peter 1, 16-21, which is on page 1018 in the Pew Bibles, and follow along as I read God's Word, for we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty, for when he received honor and glory from God, the Father, and the voice was born to him by the majestic glory. This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. We ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain and we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention, as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this, first of all, that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. This is the word of the Lord.
Speaker 2:Amen. Thank you, liz. What's up guys? Excited to be hanging out with you this morning. Hope you've had a really good week.
Speaker 2:Good weekend, as we sort of hit mid summer, late summer, I'm going to kick us off, recognizing that summer is the time when we sort of come and go. It's one of the reasons we picked a smaller book of the Bible. I'm going to give you just three quick trivia questions as we get ready to go. So we're in. 2, peter.
Speaker 2:Question number one you can answer out loud. You can compete with the people next to you matters, not to me. Question number one is Peter at the beginning, middle or end of his life as he writes. 2 Peter, I'll give you five seconds to think. Beginning, middle or end. Five, four, three, two one he is at the end of his life. Okay, good job. People who weren't on vacation two weeks ago. Awesome, all right question number.
Speaker 2:By the way, I was a history major, so I love this kind of stuff. Making what some people might call boring fascinating is one of my favorite things in the world, which is why the Bible is one of my favorite books. The fact that it is dusty always blows me away in so many homes, because I think it's fascinating. All right, question number two If we know that Peter is writing, you're going to have to sort of not look in your Bibles, for this Is this letter at the end of Peter's life, long or short? Five, four, three, two, one. It's incredibly short. I had an entire sermon point In fact you could build an entire sermon off of this that I just cut which was we learn so much about what God thinks about the family of God by the fact that we know that Peter was married and we know almost nothing else about his family. But we know a. Peter was married and we know almost nothing else about his family, but we know a lot about his feelings toward the spiritual family. When he writes this goodbye letter, which, by the way, is 61 sentences, 20 paragraphs and only three chapters long. When he writes this little bitty letter, we see more, held by the spirit of God, on what Peter has to say to you than what he would say to his blood family at the end of his days.
Speaker 2:All right, last trivia. This is more of a history question. It will connect, I promise. Who is this? Don't answer out loud. Five, four, three. You better get this. One, two, one. Who is it? Winston Churchill. Okay, let me tell you why. I want to start with Winston Churchill. Winston Churchill had what? Why are y'all laughing at me? What did I do wrong? I did it right. That is Winston Churchill, right? Okay, all right. I'm like guys, my Googling is strong. Okay, don't doubt my Google. Are y'all laughing that? He's doing a peace sign with a cigar in his mouth at church? Y'all can deal with that. Y'all can deal with that. That's between you and a vertical conversation right there.
Speaker 2:I picked that one on purpose, one because it was my favorite, but two because of how this man ended his life, in a way that reminds me of how Peter ended his. He actually planned his own funeral. No surprise that a man who planned war victoriously would also plan something as consequential as his own funeral and the way his funeral went. Here's a couple of pictures. Big Ben went silent for a period of time. St Paul's was packed out. I think it was one of the first funerals attended by the royal family of somebody who was not in the royal family, but he did something fascinating in the planning of his funeral that I think we would do well to remember.
Speaker 2:But before I point to that, I want to bring us right back to the text that Liz read for us. Peter, as he is giving his final words. Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, Though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it's right, as long as I am in the body, as long as I'm alive, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon. I know this because our Lord, jesus Christ, made it clear to me and I will make every effort. I may be approaching the autumn or the winter of my life, but I am going to make every effort so that, after my departure, you may be able, at any time, to recall these things. It is my intention to be pretty upbeat today. I'm not trying to take you to a deep, dark place. It's summer. I'm pumped that you guys showed up to church on a summer Sunday.
Speaker 2:I do think it would be wise for us to just take a moment's pause and ask this question If you had only a few days or weeks left, what would you write down? Who would you write to? Don't make it rhetorical. Actually think about it. You don't have to answer out loud who would be in the top three of the people that you would want to leave something written behind? Probably your spouse, probably your children, best friend, closest friend, person who led you to the Lord.
Speaker 2:If you had only three pages to do that on and you had to edit it down, what would you make sure to include? When we look at Peter, you can hold the whole letter between two fingers with almost no space in between. In some of your Bibles it will literally be two pages. If that is all you have to convey to an onlooking world preserved by the Holy Spirit for millennia, what would you leave behind? What would you say? You may say things that thus far have been left unsaid. That, by the way, would be a good moment's pause to not wait to have some conversations you may be waiting on.
Speaker 2:I think most of our minds would go there. What do I need to say to my dad before I go if things aren't right with him? What do I need to say to that relationship that was broken, that I never actually repented of? Is there somebody that I ever told that I loved them, that I appreciated what they were, who they did, what they meant for me? But I want you to notice what Peter does. He says hey, I'm at the end of my life and the best thing that I can do in fact, I'm going to spend every drop of my effort I'm not going to tell you one new thing.
Speaker 2:A TED Talk, youtube, tiktok generation does not like this verse. We want something new. Hey, will, if this is going to be a good Sunday, you better throw some Greek up. You better teach me something. There better be something that hits home, so that I'm either crying or laughing when I'm on my way to the car.
Speaker 2:Peter says hey, I just want to remind you of something. And while I'm reminding you of something, let me remind you that I just want you to be reminded. This is the way that Peter is approaching the end of his life. I intend to remind you not just of that. I want you to know what you are already established in. I want to remind you of things that you already know, and this is the right thing for me to do, to stir you up, to remind you of things that you already know. And this is the right thing for me to do, to stir you up, to encourage you. I want to give you a vision and a hope for the future, but not with something new. I want to give you something you already know and something you already are establishing.
Speaker 2:Peter walked with Jesus. What is it that Peter realized? Never got old, the fact that God sent his son. Never got old to Peter, the fact that he got to walk with Jesus and experience what we read about in the New Testament, these incredible happenings and sayings and miracles. Peter's at the end of his life and he's like I long for heaven and I look forward to it. I mean, heck, I'd love to give you something new, but the best thing that I can do is remind you of the life of Christ, the sacrifice of Christ, the fact that he resurrected from the dead, proving that death does not get to hold him, and if we are in him, it doesn't get to hold me either. That's a promise he left me with.
Speaker 2:And if you look at these things and you're like well, I kind of know that, I know that, read about that in the second grade. I kind of know this. I would maybe give us one more convictional thought as we dive into this text. Should it ever get old for us to see God's relentless generosity, his unmatched holiness. Generosity, his unmatched holiness, undeserved mercy, unstoppable power, the fact that God has the best intentions for the most unworthy among us Should that really ever be old news? I tell you what you tell me when you get tired of hearing those things, and I will tell you when your heart has become cold, when your heart has become more built on knowledge than built on enjoying the God who created the world and you. There's a let me just hit pause on this and move out of preaching tone for a minute. Own for a minute.
Speaker 2:There's a problem when we think our pursuit of God lives here. There really is. This isn't just Will's two cents or his opinions. There is something that happens in the heart of a Christian and I think for churches that like work expositionally through books of the Bible, we have high appreciation for lots of dead guys. If you like dead guys' writings more than living guys' writings, you're the people I'm talking to. By the way, you're my people. Okay, you know what I like about dead people. They don't shipwreck their life and cause me to question everything they've said thus far. That's the best part of a dead guy who loved Jesus really well. I don't have to worry that he's about to do something screwy and now I have to be like well, can I read this? Can I enjoy that book? Can I sing that song? I love it when people die in the Lord and they die well, and I can just enjoy everything that they've said.
Speaker 2:There's something that happens to us when we feel like our pursuit of God lives here, and that's what Peter started us with last week. Hey guys, I want you to supplement your faith with knowledge. Please don't begin there. I want you to be led by this thing and I know it's scarier, I know that you have a little bit less clarity. I want you to be led by faith, not by sight. I want you to be led by faith, not by clarity. How many of us are constantly praying that God would give us clarity, when what we really need is faith to walk and trust him? These are things that never got old for Peter, by the way. If you feel like knowledge has hardened your heart, you need to show up next week. If you know that that is true of people in your life, you need to show up next week, because Peter goes into the paint and it would be worthwhile, but for Peter, the good news was never going to be supplanted by newer news.
Speaker 2:In fact, paul puts it this way in Galatians he looks at people who are finding new knowledge and Paul says this hey guys, I am astonished. Little pause there. What does it take to astonish the apostle Paul? I'll just tell you, I don't find myself surprised a lot anymore. Maybe it's because I'm in my 40s, maybe because our family operates off of a safety third model, as many of you know. Maybe it's because I happen to be a risk taker. But maybe it's because I hang out and pastor a church and I get to hear all your fun stories of faith and not so much faith.
Speaker 2:But what does it take for the apostle Paul to be astonished? This is what surprised him. I'm astonished that you're so quickly deserting him, who called you in the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel. And then Paul's like well, wait, real quick time out. Not that there is another, there is no other gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. Here's what blew Paul away.
Speaker 2:How could you hear the good news of Jesus? How could you hear who he is, what he's done, how he's lived, the invitation he gives to you to receive forgiveness of sins, the indwelling of the spirit, a vision for a life of meaning and purpose. How can you hear that and be like, yeah, but where's Christianity? 2.0? What about 3.0? How can I graduate Like, give me something new, give me something new. And Peter's like I got nothing new to give you. All the old stuff is the best stuff you will ever be given.
Speaker 2:And Paul says look, man, even if we are an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preach to you, let him be accursed. If all of a sudden, an angelic, looking being pops up and says, hey, the real way to heaven, just work really hard, clean up your life, make it look good. Even that, paul says ignore it. If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be cursed and put to the side. I point out Peter and Paul's just strength in looking backward to maybe ask you this how often do you revisit what you already know to be true? Or in your faith, is it just a knowledge that sort of gets locked up and tucked away and I only pull it out if I feel like I sort of need it in the day. Are you stirring others up by way of reminder, or let me get y'all's eyes on this one or are you feeling like to encourage someone? You have to tell them something they've never heard before. Can I alleviate you of that pressure?
Speaker 2:We went, Karen and I went, and hung out at the WESAC MCG on Wednesday and I don't know if they did this on purpose or not, but none of the leaders led the conversation. When the pastor showed up, they looked at Tim. Where's Tim? He's usually very easy to find. Okay, they looked at Tim and they're like hey, will's coming, you're going to lead the conversation. And I got there and we sat down and had the meal and you know all the pleasantries and catching up and fellowship and stuff like that. And as soon as Tim sat down, I said, all right, guys, let's open up our Bibles. I said, hey, tim, high expectations, very high expectations. Blow me away, man, just to mess with him.
Speaker 2:Are you stirring other people up by way of reminder, christian, or do you feel like you need to have some new knowledge to give them? I'll tell you who I think about in moments like this. I think about the fact that I had three or four heavy phone calls yesterday and I almost apologized to the folks I was talking with and I said you have 40-year-old problems and I have second-grade answers for you. Probably because I've been reading this and I didn't feel any pressure to offer something new. You're having 40-year-old problems. I have second-grade answers for you. Is God good? Has he always been good? Have you witnessed that he is good? Has he ever let you down? Has the son ever sat and not risen in his goodness to you? I've got second grade answers to 40 year old problems, because Peter had second grade answers to 40 year old problems.
Speaker 2:If you lead a Bible study, if you lead an MCG, if you are a parent with children, if you are a parent sitting next to your children right now, do you feel the pressure to give them something new? Or do you feel the strength of God's word saying remind, remind, recall? And when you are struggling, are you going to the Lord saying I need something new from you, lord, or are you able to say I'm holding a book that is 2,000 years old and I could spend another 2,000, and these things will never stop amazing me? We need to remind ourselves that we are made new in old truths, not just in new ones. And Peter goes on.
Speaker 2:He says look, guys, we didn't follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus. We were eyewitnesses of this. Do you want to know why? I want to remind you, remind you, tell you to recall, because I was an eyewitness of all of that list of things in Christ. He says. I just want to point back to the time when I was walking with Christ, what I experienced with Christ, what the Holy Spirit has done in me. Guys, I'm not here to give you myths.
Speaker 2:This is the Greek word mythos and it comes from the concept or the idea of sort of a legend or a tale, something not based in fact. And Peter says, guys, we ought to be a storytelling people if God is the one writing our story. And do you wanna know one of the coolest stories I ever got to be a part of? Peter says let me tell you, verse 17,. Y'all remember this. When Jesus received honor and glory from God the Father, when a voice was born to him, birthed by the majestic glory, and we heard this this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased we heard this very voice, birthed out of heaven. We were on the holy mountain with him.
Speaker 2:What is Peter talking about? It starts with a T and ends with an figuration. What's happening here? Yeah, okay, if you're not a churchy person, the word that I'm referring to is the transfiguration. If you didn't grow up in the church, that's okay. You're not going to get bonus points for knowing that word, but it is a time in the life of Christ where Peter he was there. That's why he's talking about it in his last letter.
Speaker 2:Peter and James and John were invited with Jesus up a mountain. They didn't know what was about to happen. Peter started talking a bunch, which was always his problem, but while they're up on the mountain, jesus is transfigured before them. Here's the story. You can read it in Matthew, mark and Luke, but here it is in Mark. Oh goodness gracious, do you know what I did when I made my notes that? Oh goodness gracious, do you know what I did when I made my notes? That's Galatians. That's the Galatians one. Still good, not what I'm looking for, though. Karen Ann, would you make a note? But I need to fix that slide. All right, you're already doing it. Thank you, mark 9. I hope that I have the verses right, okay. And after six days, mark 9 too.
Speaker 2:And after six days, jesus took with him Peter, james and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves and he was transfigured before them. And his clothes. Way to go, tech team Love it. And his clothes. I way to go, tech team love it and his clothes. I know like, let's be honest, we don't usually get to praise the tech team for being a step ahead, do we? So this is, yeah, all right way to go.
Speaker 2:Uh, verse three and his clothes became radiant, intensely white, and as though Mark needed you to know what that meant whiter than any bleach could bleach them. And there appeared Elijah with Moses, and they were talking. Peter goes on and he says this is a beautiful thing. Verse seven and a cloud overshadowed them. A voice came out of the cloud this is my beloved son. I don't want you to miss this because I can't circle it Right in the middle. This is my son, my beloved son. I don't want you to miss this because I can't circle it Right in the middle. This is my son, my beloved son, my only son.
Speaker 2:Listen to him. How often in your younger faith did you say God, you give me this moment and I will never doubt my faith again. You give me the mountaintop moment, whether it's lights flickering, or if you could just make this song play in the background. If somebody sends me a text message with a verse, then I will know God, could you just give me from you something incredible like this? And when it happens in Peter's life, he says never forgot that. I never forgot what God said. And he only said two things. That's my kid and I love him. I want you to be my kid too. Listen to him, listen to what he is saying.
Speaker 2:But there was a message, more than just listen. They watched Jesus change. If you'll go back and throw it back to me, they watched Jesus change. If you'll go back and throw it back to me. This is the Greek word for what we see in the text of transfigured before them. It's where we get the term metamorphosis from.
Speaker 2:What's happening here in Peter's life is he is seeing something that he's never going to forget. He's going to remind you, remind you. I want you to recall, with all of the energy he has in the fleeting days he has left, if you want to stand when others stray. Here are the three things I think Peter wants you to know. We stand on what their eyes saw. I know you want to see it. I want to see it One day, I will see it. But what Peter wants you to know is that if Jesus wanted to bring 12 people up top of the mountain, he could have. If he wanted to bring 200 up the mountain, he could have. If he wanted it to be, peter, james and Tommy. That's what we would be reading in the gospels. But we don't reading in the gospels. But we don't.
Speaker 2:And Peter says what I saw is sufficient for your faith. We stand on what their eyes saw. What did they see? A promise that was fulfilled. Who has believed what he has heard from us? Who believes what they have heard from us? Who believes what they have heard from us? God's word is sufficient in this form to rescue your soul. It is sufficient in this form to rescue your soul. It is sufficient in every form to rescue your soul.
Speaker 2:The question is to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Have you seen the goodness of God in your life and called it that, or are you waiting for more? Have you seen the goodness of God in your life and called it that, or are you waiting for more? Have you forgotten the goodness of God? So your faith has depleted? Because here was the promise.
Speaker 2:And what they saw on top of the mountain, for he being Jesus, grew up before him like a young plant, like a root out of dry ground. We didn't expect this. I didn't expect to be on a mountain. I didn't expect to see Jesus in his glory. I didn't expect to be on a mountain. I didn't expect to see Jesus in his glory. I didn't expect to hear God's voice come down. It was like a root coming out of dry ground. He had no form, no majesty that we should want to look at him at all. That's who Jesus was. He had no beauty that we should desire him.
Speaker 2:The crowd saw a seed, small, unimpressive. The crowd saw a seed, small, unimpressive, planted in dry Galilean soil. But Peter, in that moment, saw a tree, saw full stature, saw the fruit, saw the glory that was hidden in that seed. All along Jesus walked and everyone else saw an earthbound creature crawling through the dust, but not Peter, not James. They saw, past the cocoon to the colors, the wings of the reality of a savior that was sent. They, in that moment, had a glimpse of what was real. The world saw sheet music, black dots on white paper. But in that brief moment, peter, james and John saw in Christ a symphony, and they heard it. When Peter saw it, when John saw it, when James saw it, it changed everything. John would talk about it. He would say beloved, we're God's children. Now, don't get it wrong. If you have trusted in Christ, you're his kid.
Speaker 2:What we're going to be has not yet appeared. You don't know what you're going to look like. This is one of my favorite questions. How old are we going to be in heaven? Everybody has an opinion on this. In fact, just share it with the person next to you. If you had to guess what age you are in heaven, you got three seconds's. What you said, what you just shared, was your peak. If any of you were in the 40s, I want to hang out with you. John's like guys. I don't even know what it's going to look like. Am I going to look at Ellis and him be 16? Or is he going to five? Is he gonna be as old as me? That's gonna be a little weird. How's that gonna work out? I don't know, but what I will tell you is this when he appears. We get to be like him because we're gonna see him as he is.
Speaker 2:This was written by somebody who saw Jesus as he was. You see, we are able to stand when others may stray from the faith, not only because we stand on what their eyes saw. We stand on what their lives proved. I've got another little I don't know trivia for you. This one's going to be harder. I will literally give you a book if you can tell me who this is. It is not Greg Despain's dad. Take that one off. Am I wrong? I mean, am I wrong? I'm not wrong. I love watching the history buffs with the gears spinning. Oh, does anybody want to try to earn a book? By the way, did somebody say Bob Saget Need to pray for you, josh? This is a guy by the name of Charles Coulson.
Speaker 2:Charles Coulson was the first guy that was put in prison during the Watergate scandal with Nixon. Here is what he says. By the way he's thrown in prison. I made it sound very Old Testament. I'm sure it went through a due process and all of those things. He's in prison. I made it sound very Old Testament. I'm sure it went through a due process and all of those things. He's in prison and actually receives Christ. I think as a result of that incarceration His life changes and in his middle age responds to the gospel and then begins a prison ministry that goes international.
Speaker 2:But here is what Charles Coulson would say I know the resurrection is a fact and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead. Then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years. Remember Peter's words With all of my effort, never once denying it. Everyone was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. Some had their heads cut off, some were crucified, likely upside down. They would not have endured that if it weren't true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world. I just want you to consider the 12 men who were trusting in Christ and the 12 men embroiled in Watergate. And they couldn't keep alive for three weeks. You're telling me 12 apostles could keep alive for 40 years. Absolutely impossible. These men who saw Jesus transfigured, the men who didn't make it to the top of the mountain but heard what they saw, the men who walked with Christ, were willing to spend decades being abused, mistreated and killed because they would never soften the fact of what they remembered, of what they recalled.
Speaker 2:I will tell you what I think would be wise for every Christian in the room today. When we stand to sing, go through your history with the Lord. When we stand to sing, go through your history with the Lord. When we stand to sing, remind yourself of the things that God has done in your life. What are the stories you have to tell? Be reminded of the glimpses of God that you have seen, the prayers that were unanswered, unexpected blessings you didn't even dare to ask for. And don't allow the troubles of today to crowd out the grace of yesterday.
Speaker 2:If you have not had a glimpse of Christ this is, by the way, why I picked the Isaiah passage, because it says to whom the arm of the Lord has been extended. I'm telling you now, the Lord is sharing this with you. If you're not a believer, if you're not sure, because he wants you to get a glimpse of Jesus, a glimpse truly from those who saw him with their word preserved for you today. And if you haven't had a glimpse of Jesus, a glimpse that changed everything, start praying now. Don't wait until I do the little wrap up and Bennett's playing in the background. Start praying now that God would impress upon your heart what is real, what is true, what is old but might be very new for you.
Speaker 2:When has God been good and you witnessed it? When has he been strong or constant? When have you seen his love, his healing, his salvation and not just salvation of your soul, but salvation from so many other things? When have you witnessed that? Let that run through your mind, let it make you confident over and over again. We stand not just on what they saw, but what their lives proved. But Peter says there's something even more sure than what he saw and the vision he had.
Speaker 2:This is the last thing that I've got for you this morning, but it stands out to me, so I would just hit pause and tell you something that many of you will not believe. It seems like what Peter is about to say is there is something more sure to him than the voice of God bellowing from the skies above. There was something more compelling than seeing Christ in all of his glory, and what was that? We ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven. This is a fact. We heard it, we were with him, we heard, we were with him on the holy mountain, and we have the prophetic word, more fully confirmed, to which you would do well to pay attention. How ought we pay attention to this? Three ways, like a light shining in a pay attention. How ought we pay attention to this? Three ways Like a light shining in a dark place. How we should pay attention to this until the day dawns, until the morning star that's pointing to Christ and his second coming, until it rises in your hearts.
Speaker 2:And the theologians go back and forth on this concept of more fully confirmed. Is Peter saying that because of this voice, because of this thing, he is more sure of all of the scriptures? Or is he saying, even with that, it was only one of the many promises God made? I just got to watch that one be fulfilled. But what Peter says is this you don't need a voice from heaven. What you need is the prophetic word fully confirmed.
Speaker 2:Let me give you the easiest question I'm going to ask. That is going to separate the way you live your life and how eternity plays out for you Believe it or don't believe it. Do you believe it or don't you believe it Because it will affect everything, from the way that you love difficult people, to what you put your value in, to what it is that you think you're going to say, when you stand before God, whether you believe there is a God who is actively involved in your life when good happens, when bad happens. Believe it or don't believe it. But Peter says I saw Jesus the way we're going to see him in heaven. I heard the voice of God and somehow was allowed to live. But do you know what I'm confirmed on? Yes, I'm confirmed that what God has been saying to us all along is true. God's word must and has become for him and for us, a light shining in the dark. You see, we don't just stand on what they saw or what their lives proved. We stand on the same thing that they did the word of God. That's it, christian. That is what you have more than anything else. This is what we have more than anything else, which is why we read this together.
Speaker 2:Your word God is a lamp to my feet. It is a light to my path. My kids always lose our flashlights. I have realized I yell more than I want to yell. I'm just confessing to y'all. I have realized I yell when my kids leave the door open in the summer. I feel justified in that. I don't need your conviction. I literally walked through the electric bill with two of them yesterday. I will yell at them if they leave the door open and if they lose some of my favorite flashlights when they go on their little exploits into the woods. When I find my tools rusty under what looks like a homeless encampment that they call a fort, I get a little flustered. This is not a 10,000 lumen LED backed up by a 20 volt lithium. God has all the power in the world.
Speaker 2:When we were praying for you today, what was prayed for you is God. May your people realize today that your word is a lamp, but many times it gives us just enough light for the next step? Just enough light for the next step? You still looking for knowledge or is faith enough? Because Peter would say it is. And if you're saying you're walking, don't miss what it means. I have sworn an oath. I have confirmed it with every effort. I am going to give my life to Christ to keep his righteous rules. And if that means that for 40 years I'm embroiled in being unappreciated by the people around me, unloved by the world, attacked by the enemy, I have taken this oath to love Jesus, which is why Peter says you would do so well to pay attention to this.
Speaker 2:One day, the lights will come on for all of us. We will see Jesus for who he truly is. It will be a pitiable day for those who do not know him, who see him in all of his glory, but for a moment and this is when I could preach to you about the terrors of hell, but instead I would just say this those who spend all eternity wishing to get back to that one glimpse of Jesus in the light, it's what makes it pitiable. What makes it pitiable is not that hell is horrible. What makes it pitiable is to see Jesus in all of his glory and then remember. Remember and recall where you could be, instead of being in darkness. But for those of us who know him, the day will dawn and it will never set. We will not be surprised by the presence of his glory, just the sheer volume of it. And though it might cause our eyes to squint, you've got all eternity to acclimate to the reality that you, you, me, are invited to be in the light with the creator.
Speaker 2:This is what Peter saw on the mountain and it changed his life. And he says this isn't my opinion, by the way. Guys know this. First of all, no prophecy of scripture comes from somebody's own interpretation. I'm not just giving you Peter's opinion and you need to verify with Paul. No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man. Men spoke. You're listening to them, you're reading their words as you flip through the pages. Men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. This is not an opinion or an interpretation. It's not produced by the will of man. This has been brought to your ears today for the past 2,000 years and the many thousand before, because God has been telling the same story.
Speaker 2:The question is are you looking at it from the outside or are you a part of the story that he is telling? If you had only a few days or weeks left, if you had only three pages to write, I wonder what you would talk about. I can't think of anything better than what Peter went with the stories of God's goodness to me. And aren't we glad that Peter didn't wait until the very end of his life? You can read a whole lot more from him if you would like to. He's got more if you want. But Peter ended his life by saying remember, because he had been sort of living the story all along, and maybe we shouldn't wait to tell ours either. Don't wait to remind your kids, don't wait to encourage a friend, don't wait to open the word of God. You're not too late. The morning star has not yet risen. How did Churchill end his funeral? It's one of the reasons I picked this sort of like peace. See you.
Speaker 2:Later, as the benediction to his funeral was closing out, they started playing taps signifying militarily, militarily, yeah that the day was over. But what people in St Paul's did not realize was about to happen was, as the service ended and a bugler played taps from one side. As soon as it finished, another bugler exploded into sound and he started playing reveille. It's time to get up. It's time. Did any of you guys know this? How cool is Winston Churchill? It's time to get up in the morning? Why? Because while they were mourning him, while they were watching the sunset of his life, he had the forethought to say you can mourn me, but can I tell you what I'm seeing? I am waking up, I am seeing new life. So mourn my sunset, but know that I am not. I am enjoying the best sunrise that anyone could ever have.
Speaker 2:If you are seeing Jesus and wanting your story to be changed.
Speaker 2:You simply need to ask for forgiveness and begin following him, and you can begin that right now, where you sit. You don't need a pastor card or you don't need to walk forward, even though we'll have people who would love to pray and hear what's going on in your life and celebrate with you or anything good or hard going on in your life. Anything good or hard going on in your life. Jesus wants to be seen as a glimpse, so that you would have stories to tell, because a glimpse of him will change your story and if it has, tell that story, tell it with every effort that you have left. Why? So that we would have a life Not full of regrets but full of remembrances. Remember what God did for me. It's not just something for you, it's something for the person next to you, it's something for the person that will be in your life in 10 years. Our God is a storytelling God and we ought to be a storytelling people. What do you need to remember? What do you need to recall? Let's go to him in that way.