A Timely Reminder

II Peter 1:12-15

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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 right, as long
as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the
putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.
And I will make every effort so that after my departure, you may be able at any
time to recall these things. Would you pray with me this morning? Father, we
thank you for the encouragement of your word, that we can come together as your
people to be reminded of what is truly and eternally important. So Lord, I pray
that your spirit would work among us and that Lord, you would renew our love for
Christ as a result of our time together in the scriptures. We pray this in
Jesus' name, amen. Why am I here? What's the point? What am I doing? These are
not only some of the big existential questions, but they're the questions I
frequently find myself asking at the grocery store. As I'm standing there trying
to remember what my wife asked me to pick up after work, I'm sure none of you
guys have been in that spot before. As I stand in the aisle, I think, okay, I
know she sent me here on a mission. I'm supposed to pick up like one thing, and
I've completely forgotten what that one thing was. And when I forget, I quickly
lose focus. And so I start to walk down the aisles, and I'm hoping that by
walking down the aisles, that'll kind of jog my memory, but then I see like a
package of EL fudges. And I think, you know what, it's been such a long time
since I've had an EL fudge. And then at tops, that random person who's wearing
their pajamas in the middle of the day, they pass me by. And that really brings
up some questions in my mind, like how did this person get to a point in their
life where they thought this was an okay idea? And so as I continue to kind of
wander my way down the aisles at tops, I end up finding myself at the most
important aisle, aisle 16, the ice cream aisle. And I see the Klondykes, and the
Breyers vanilla bean ice cream. And then I also see those little brownie, those
little tiny brownie guys that look like they're like muffins. I think, oh,
vanilla bean ice cream and brownies and life is looking really good. And by this
point, it's too late because I've not only forgotten, I've completely lost
focus. And in fact, I'm focused on something altogether different. And so
instead of remembering and staying true to the mission, the Colbert household
ends up with yet another needless container of ice cream. And why? Because I
forgot. And when I forget, I lose focus. Now the truth is a lot of us live the
Christian life this way. We've forgotten what it's all about. And so we lose
focus on what is eternally important. And in some ways it makes sense. We have
responsibilities. We have burdens. We have struggles. We have family, financial,
work pressures. And then you add to that the chaos and the distraction of media
and the online world. And it's no wonder that we so easily lose our way. And so
we come to 2 Peter. And I love this book because it encourages us and it reminds
us that the Christian life, really simple, is all about Jesus. The Christian
life is all about Jesus. Regardless of your age, regardless of your situation,
regardless of your circumstances, God's mission for you is to grow in the
knowledge and character of Christ. And so as we unpack the text this morning,
don't forget, don't lose focus. Remember, it's all about Jesus. And we see this
reminder in verses 12 through 13. And we see the reason in verses 14 through 15.
So let's begin with the reminder, verses 12 through 13. Peter says, therefore, I
intend always to remind you of these qualities, so you know them and are
established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in
this body, to stir you up by way of reminder. Now the passage begins with that
important word, therefore. So this reminder that Peter is giving to the church
is rooted in what he has just previously said in verses three through 11. So
it's important for us then to orient ourselves in the flow of what Peter's
talking about here so we can understand the importance and significance of this
reminder. So Peter writes this letter, in light of his impending death,
exhorting God's people to keep on growing. He ends with this exhortation to grow
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And so he
begins this letter by reminding us that God in Christ has given us everything
that we need for life and for godliness. And so as Tom exhorted us last week
from verses three through 11, because God has provided, we can and must pursue
after growth in Christlikeness. And so he says then, add to your faith. And he
gives a list of qualities. He's reminding us that it's not enough to just simply
be saved. Okay, I'm saved, great, I'm going to heaven, wonderful. There's so
much more to our salvation than our eternal address. Because when God saves us,
when he rescues us, when he redeems us from sin, he calls us into a life, an
ever increasing, ever deepening walk with Jesus that bears the fruit of the
Spirit as we grow in Christlikeness. And so having trusted Christ, we now grow
in Christ and we add, we supplement character. And adding to character
knowledge, not just knowing about, but a depth of relational knowledge, self-
control, steadfast faithfulness, godliness, a brotherly affection for the people
of God, and a self-sacrificing love. In other words, we grow in the knowledge
and character of Christ. And as we do that, we see four benefits emerging in
verses eight through 11. In verse eight, he reminds us that we will be effective
and fruitful in our walk with Christ as we're growing in Christlikeness. If you
know the Lord Jesus, there ought to be a desire, and there is a desire, the
Spirit implants within us, to be fruitful, to be faithful. And as we pursue
after Christlikeness, we become more and more fruitful in our walk with Christ.
We experience a greater assurance of our salvation. We experience greater
stability, and ultimately, there's the prospect of eternal reward. So growing in
the knowledge and character of Christ as he begins the letter is not only
possible, but it comes with the promise of great blessing. And this blessing is
present because the Christian life is all about Jesus. And so that being the
case, Peter then is eager to exhort us and to remind us of the importance and
blessing of growing in Christlikeness. He says, therefore, I intend always to
remind you of these qualities, these Christlike virtues, that you know them and
are established in the truth that you have. So Peter, as he comes to the end of
his life, his burden is not to impart to them something new, but to remind them
of what they already know, to remind them to keep growing, not to forget, but to
stay focused on what's truly important. The truth is, every day, every week, our
greatest need isn't something new, it's to be reminded. Whether in our own
private devotional life, or as we gather together as God's people, it's to be
reminded again of who God is, and what he has done for us in Christ, and then
how we ought to respond to his character and work by pursuing greater growth in
knowing, loving, and being more like Jesus. That's what we need, day by day,
week by week. Not something new, but to be reminded of what we know. And Peter's
emphasis here on remembering is in perfect alignment with the scriptures,
because the Bible has a lot to say about remembering and the role of reflection
in the life and health of God's people. For example, in Deuteronomy, God calls
Israel to remember their wilderness journey, recognizing that it was through
this process the Lord tested their hearts and their obedience. In Deuteronomy
eight, we read, "'You shall remember the whole way "'that the Lord your God has
led you "'these 40 years in the wilderness, "'that he might humble you, testing
you to know "'what was in your heart, "'whether you would keep his commandments
or not.'" In fact, when Moses reiterates the 10 commandments in Deuteronomy
five, he explains that the Sabbath day was a gift that God has given to his
people so that they would rest from their work to remember and reflect on God's
mighty acts of redemption. He says, "'You shall remember that you were a slave
"'in Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there "'with a mighty
hand and with an outstretched arm. "'Therefore the Lord your God commanded you
"'to keep the Sabbath day.'" This was to be baked into the life and rhythms of
God's people, setting aside time from their work to remember and reflect on
God's work. In the Psalms, we are continually exhorted to remember. In Psalm
103, "'Forget not all his benefits. "'Remember the deeds of the Lord. "'Remember
his wonders of old, to ponder all his work "'and meditate on his mighty deeds.'"
In the New Testament, this emphasis of reminders is brought back up again. As
Jesus institutes the Lord's Supper, he does that with a command to do this in
remembrance of Christ. As we partake of the Lord's Supper, even this morning, we
do this as a memorial, as a time to reflect and remember so that we don't stray
far in our thoughts and affections from the cross of Christ. Paul exhorts
Timothy to press on in the midst of great adversity and suffering. As he exhorts
his protege in the faith, in the middle of his exhortations, he gives him this
reminder, "'Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead.'" Timothy, you've got all
kinds of opposition. Timothy, you've got all kinds of responsibilities. But
remember, Jesus rose from the dead. It's gonna be okay. The first command given
in Ephesians is a call to remember that we once were separated from Christ and
from the covenant of promise. And in fact, as we come to the book of Revelation,
we see that Christ calls the church at Ephesus that had wandered from their
first love to remember and to repent. Why bring up all these scriptures? The
point is simple. Remembering is an important discipline in the Christian life.
In fact, in verse 12, we see that reminders keep us grounded. Reminders keep us
grounded. He said, I intend always to remind you of these qualities though you
know them and are established. The idea is firmly rooted in the truth that you
have. He says, listen, you know the truth and you know what it's all about.
You're already established. So keep growing to stay grounded. So remember, don't
forget. Don't lose focus. It will keep you grounded. I think we all know people
in our lives who started out well and yet they ended very poorly. They lost
their grounding in the truth because of moral or character compromise. We all
know people like that. They forgot. They lost focus. They lost their grounding.
This is why Paul later on would exhort Timothy to keep a close watch on yourself
and on the teaching. We must be reminded so that we stay grounded. So reminders
not only keep us grounded, but in verse 13, we see that reminders keep us
growing. He says, I think it right as long as I am in this body to stir you up
by way of reminder. Peter knows his time is running short and he says, as long
as I'm here though, I'm gonna remind you of the importance and blessing of
Christ likeness so that you will be motivated to keep on growing. This reminder
is not some kind of guilt trip, but rather uses the word to stir you up. The
idea there is to inspire, to get you going, to wake you up from sleep. Think
about a fitness trainer who's trying to inspire you to take that one extra mile.
Think about that pep talk before the big game. Think about a good coach. I was
probably about Josiah's age when I was playing football and I had a good coach
and he had a way to inspire us. And so if we made a good play in practice, if we
worked hard and we did something that was good, he gave us a reward. So my coach
loved bananas for some strange, weird reason. And so at the end of practice, he
would take the banana and he would start to slowly peel the banana and we knew
what this meant. You would get the banana peel as a reward for peeling off a
great play. That was his logo. So I remember he started to peel the banana and
we were all excited, we were all motivated. And I remember I made a good play in
practice. I didn't make very many of them, but I made a good play and the coach
gave me that banana peel as a motivating reward. And I was very, very inspired
by his banana peel. And so that was his way of stirring us up to keep on going
and to get better and to work harder. The truth is, we all need a little
motivation sometimes. And maybe we need individuals in our life that will
inspire us to pursue greater growth. You say, well, where can I find someone
like that? It's the church. The church was meant to be a community, a family of
God's people who were going after the same thing we're on the same team and
we're building one another up. The good news is we don't inspire each other with
banana appeals. If you try to do that with me, I'll think you're weird. But we
inspire people with hope. We inspire one another with motivation from scripture.
Friend, keep on going. There is great reward and blessing in Christ's likeness.
And so when we think about this need to keep on growing, we need these reminders
from within the body of Christ so that we will continue to pursue after Christ.
In Hebrews 10, we read, "'Let us hold fast the confession of our hope "'without
wavering, for he who promised is faithful. "'And let us consider how to stir one
another up.'" Same idea here. To love and good works. Not neglecting to meet
together as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more
as you see the day approaching. We don't need something new. We need to remind
you of what is truly important. It's all about Christ. It's all about growing in
the knowledge and character of Christ. And as we hear and give these reminders,
it keeps us grounded in verse 12. It keeps us growing in verse 13. So Peter
begins with this reminder. Keep going after Christ. Then in verses 14 through
15, we see the reason. Scripture reads, "'Since I know that the putting off of
my body "'will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. "'And I will
make every effort so that after my departure, "'you may be able to at any time
recall these things.'" There's an urgency about Peter's exhortation because he
knows he's about to die. Now Jesus had spoken about Peter's death in John
chapter 21. Perhaps Peter was recalling this prophecy, but it appears as Peter
faces the prospects of martyrdom at the hands of Nero, that the Lord may have
uniquely revealed to him that this letter would be his last. This would be his
final message to the church. So there's an urgency. Now notice here Peter's
perspective on death. He says, "'I know that the putting off of my body "'will
be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.'" He's not afraid. He's not
in denial. He's not pretending, you know what, this too shall pass. He looks
death square in the face of death. He looks death square in the face with an
eternal perspective. He refers to death as merely putting off of the old clothes
as he puts on the garments of immortality. Peter rightly understood that to live
is Christ and to die is gain because in death we gain more of Christ. Christ.
His perspective is healthy and good and godly. Now he's faithfully served the
church in life and now he's prepared to serve the church even in death. His
burden is to leave behind a godly legacy and a godly reminder that will
strengthen the church for years to come. And so as he faces death, here's his
burden. Keep on growing in Christ's likeness. He was burdened that they would
keep knowing, loving and becoming more like Jesus Christ. Now we live in a
culture that actively fights against the idea of death. We don't wanna deal with
it. We don't wanna think about it. We pretend as if it's something that's far,
far off. So we live as if there will always be a tomorrow. But contrast that
perspective that is so prevalent with the way the saints of old have thought
about death. For example, Jonathan Edwards once noted as a 20 year old young man
resolved to think much on all occasions of my own dying and of the common
circumstances which attend death. Is that the way we think? Is that the way we
talk? Is this perspective healthy to think much about death? Well to paraphrase
J.I. Packer, when we live with one foot in the grave, it will give us an
overwhelming clarity on what's important. And what's important? What's truly
essential? What is the one thing we cannot forget that we must not lose focus
on? It's Christ. It's growing in the knowledge and character of Christ. It's
knowing and loving and being more like Jesus. The reality is unless Christ
returns, we're all gonna die. And so to live with death as a imminent reality
will enable us and remind us of what's truly important so that we keep grounded
and keep growing. As we conclude, question. Have you forgotten and lost focus on
Christ? Maybe you used to be very animated by the love of Christ. You were
passionate about Christ. Come what may, regardless of the situation, regardless
of the circumstances, you just wanted to grow in the knowledge and character of
Christ. And you wanted others to know this great savior as well. It was really
simple, really sincere, and really focused. It's just about Jesus. But somewhere
along the way, in the midst of all the busyness, in the midst of all the
distractions, you kinda just forgot what it's all about. And your love for
Christ has become cold. Grace really isn't all that amazing anymore. You're more
passionate about things. You're more passionate about being right than maybe
just being with Jesus. John would remind us in Revelation 3, remember and
repent. So friends, regardless of your situation right now, regardless of the
circumstances that you might be facing, good or ill, regardless of the burdens
and the trials that you're going through, God's mission for you is very simple.
Grow in the knowledge and character of Christ. So friends, don't forget. Don't
lose focus. Remember, it's all about Jesus. Let's pray.