We’re on the eve of a new year. It’s that time where we think about resolutions. Some of us hesitate to make resolutionssince the most important issues that come up involve things like weight loss programs and breaking bad habits. For me that will last as long as a cake doesn’t come into our home or I can get past the restaurant’s desert tray to my seat and the desert menu on the table is hidden behind the salt and pepper. I’m sure the staff see me coming and scramble, "Quick, Dale’s coming! Get the desert menu on the table!"
In the last few weeks of 2007 I have been reflecting. I don’t know if it happens to everyone when a new year is approaching or if it’s a sign of my aging. I’ve been assessing the past year and my life’s experiences and ambitions. I wonder if I should be making resolutions and if so what types of resolutions deserve my attention. In searching God’s heart for me, my reading and study of different materials kept drawing me to 2 Peter 1:19...
Eventually, I was captured by the words of minister, moderator and theologian, Bishop Lesslie Newbigin. He was quoted as saying, "The key focus of the church’s mission is not the church but the world."
I believe that very much. Therefore, I am faced with a question. How can I maintain that focus? I am after all, the church. For some people, their only exposure to the message that Jesus is the Way to God is the evidence of Him they see in me. So I wonder how I can be faithful to that responsibility.
You must of course move the question beyond me to yourself and we all should evaluate the question within the context of the corporate expression of the Body of Christ which we call the church. Then we need to take that a step further to consider more especially what kind of Salvation Army Community Church God needs and desires for Kitchener/Waterloo.
To answer the question we turn to the text. I am first impressed with the attention I need to give to
1. THE PREVIOUS WITNESS
"And we have the word of the prophets made more certain and you will do well to pay attention to it." (v19)
Many of us have had an experience, at least one in our lives, that has changed us forever. It could have been a tragedy as a child, or a particular failure, or an experience that affected us very deeply. Its impact was so strong that it altered our lives and the person we are today is largely related to that moment in time. When Glenys was 15 years of age, she had an accident whereby a young boy threw a rock, striking her in the eye and eventually resulted in the lost of sight in her right eye and a prosthesis followed. It is not my place to tell Glenys’ story, other than to note that it shaped her life and faith in a very significant way.
The same was true for Peter. In our text we find Peter reflecting on the transfiguration on the mountain (v18 of Matthew 17). it’s the story of the time when he, James and John stood with Jesus on a mountain. Moses, the guardian of God’s Ten Commandments to humanity and the leader of 2 million or so Israelites from Egyptian bondage, appeared to Jesus as did Elijah, the Prophet, also a powerful spokesman for God during an Old Testament time. As Peter witnessed that moment, it changed his life forever. It not only provided evidence to the truth of Scripture and prophecies past but it spoke clearly to him that Jesus would return again - ADVENT! It was this knowledge that energized him, that inspired him to powerful work and ministry life.
We’re all familiar with the annual experience of Remembrance held on November 11 every yar. We know the history of attempted oppressions on the world. We know very well that had our forefathers not taken up arms and fought for the basic, God-given gift of life and choice, we would be an oppressed people, subject to dictators and iron rule. It is clear to us that because they fought - and won, we are free! That experience has left many veterans with painful, post-war trauma. That experience bridges the gulf between generations as children sit riveted in a classroom, eyes fized on the veteran telling his story.
Simlarly, Peter is telling us in this text that we must pay attention to "the word of the Prophets". Is is for no small reason that he says in verse 12, "I will always remind you of these things" and again in verse 13, "i think it is right to refresh your memory." Why Peter? It is necessary to be reminded because we tend to forget. But more than that I am drawn to realize that I must make room and give careful attention to the witness of the Scriptures. It is my attention to the Scriptures as the challenged, but undefeated Word of God that I will overcome the flood of doubts and opposition to my faith that will come in 2008. I need an anchor and that anchor is the Word of God. I must live the stated conviction of my soldier covenant that I believe the Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God. I must give it more than a passing glance every day. It must become my food, my meat, my drink. It is the Voice that must guide my priorities, my decisions and my living. I may as well read a comic book and be inspired by a superhero myth, as read the Word and not obey. We must REMEMBER and determine to know the WITNESS of the truth of God in the Word because it is the voice of God who calls us into relationship with Him. That Word is going to face increased opposition and criticism so we would do well to decide how important it is. I heard a slogan six years ago that I have tried to adopt as a personal slogan. NO BIBLE, NO BREAKFAST. It’s amazing what a man will do when he can’t eat!
Peter continues his teaching with an added statement to the first. "...pay attention to it as to a light shining in a dark place."
Theologian John Darby offers a synopsis of this verse. He says, "The apostle exhorts Christians to make their own calling and election sure - not evidently in the heart of God, but as a fact in their own hearts, and in practical life, by walking in such a manner as not to stumble; so that testimony to their portion in Christ should be always evident..."
A small room without light is still a dark place. It feels as much like a prison cell as any room when one cannot see or find any light to ease the suffocating experience of being in the blackness.
There are many dark places of the soul. Who has not known the journey of a believing heart that struggled with doubt as a result of experiences that defy human understanding and logic? How many of us would admit to quiet whispers of the heart that voice the same questions of teh skeptics and unbelievers as we struggle with the senselessness of world events and apparently unanswered prayers?
The knowledge of historical WITNESS is an anchor that will keep my focus sharp when my faith fails a little, whena light is needed in a dark place. The world is desperate for answers and hope. People have never been more open to explore and discuss spiritual things. They are even quite fascinated with jesus. What an opportunity presents itself if only we could, as Leonard Sweet says, "be about leading people to the source of Living Water...presenting Jesus in containers out of which postmodern people will be clamoring to drink." If this is to happen, it will only happen to the measure that we experience Christ. I speak in present tense. While the previous experienc ehas value and gets us going on this journey, it is not enough to sustain us or inspire us to make a difference for Christ today. Peter speaks of this in our reading which I’ve called
2. THE PRESENT AWAKENING
"...until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."
One source offers a thought. It offers that this dawning first took place when they were converted or believed on Jesus Christ and followed him "but which is envisioned here as a continuing phenomenon of their lives in Christ."
Evan Almighty is a fantastic, humorous movie of a young, budding senator who wanted to change the world. After heeding his wife’s encouragement to pray and get all the help he can with the huge task facing him, he prayed. It is worth the watch! The movie leads him to an experience of a modern-day Noah as he built an ark to save life from an impending flood -- enough said! What intrigued me most about the movie was the thought, "Dare I believe that God will show himself to be relevant in the 21st century?" But, beyond that, I found myself wishing and longing for a real-time experience of God every day that would impact my life with a constant "continuing phenomenon of my life in Christ." We often long for a sense of Christ in our lives and while that’s okay, we must not forget the reality of our lives in Christ! We must realize WE’RE NOT NORMAL!
We need a continuing mystery of God; a continuing experience that overwhelms to the point of being "wowed" with not a word left on our tongues. As I spent time reflecting on this message I was reminded of God’s teaching to me as I searched for a message for 2008. He said to me, through Hosea the Prophet, "I want you to know me..." (6:6) On the heels of that verse days later came the words of David, the poet of Psalm 143:10, "Teach me to do your will for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing." That will be my reality for 2008 so far as I hold on to the lesson of my life in Christ.
WRAP
The message is clear.
* I must cherish the evidence of the past and respectfully consider the faith of our fathers which is an anchor to my faith. However,
* I need a personal, dynamic experience of God for today.
* While we preach and teach "God is faithful" people need to hear me say, "God has been faithful to me. let me tell you my story."
"And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, 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."
