PASS IT ON
I love church picnics. They remind me of going to camp as a kid. One of the things I loved about camp was the chapel services. There is an old song that we used to sing. It said, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going. And soon all those around can warm up to it’s glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love, once you’ve experienced it. You’ll share His love with everyone. You’ll want to pass it on.” What do you want to pass on to others? As a father, one of the most important things I am called to do is to pass on my faith to my children. Who are you passing on your faith to?
2 Peter 1:12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things. 16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For 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." 18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain. 19 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. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
1. Remember (vs. 12-15) – passing it on
Peter knew that his life was coming to a close and wanted to make sure that everything which he had been entrusted with was passed on to the next generation. He says here 3 times – “remember”. In verse 12 - “I … remind you of these things”. In verse 13 - “it is right to refresh your memory”. In verse 15 – “remember these things”. Like Peter none of us is here forever. We need to do everything we can to pass on that which we have been given while we are still able.
Before the children of Israel entered the promised land, Moses took the time to remind them again – to pass on everything that had been spoken.
Buckling your seatbelt after a car crash does no good. Putting on the helmet after you have fallen off the bike does not help. Word unspoken before the funeral cannot be spoken after. It is too late. In order to pass on what you have seen and heard about Jesus it must be done now since tomorrow may be too late.
So what is that Peter wanted to pass on before his death. What was it that he was so eager to share and what is it that we likewise should share. He wants to share 2 things:
2. Subjective Experience (vs. 16-18) – sharing your testimony
A testimony is a story about how God has worked in your life. Peter shares briefly here his experience of Christ. He had walked and talked and lived with Jesus. He had heard the voice of God on the mount of transfiguration. He was an eyewitness to the majesty and glory of God.
Our English word WITNESS comes from the Old English word WIT which means knowledge. A WIT was a knowledgeable person. A person was called a HALF-WIT if they were considered to not be smart. In this way a WITNESS is someone who knows something and testifies to it. In the Greek the word eyewitness comes from the word TO SEE. Peter says he saw the truth. Testimonies are very powerful things. Often we do not have the time in church to have them but they are powerful because in a testimony we SEE the power of God at work. People can dispute theology but there is no debating a changed life.
John was born in London on July 24, 1725. His father was the captain of a merchant ship and his mother died of tuberculosis when he was young. In 1744 he was forced into military service on a man-of-war, the H. M. S. Harwich. Finding conditions on board intolerable, he deserted but was soon recaptured, publicly flogged and demoted to common seaman. Finally at his own request he was exchanged into service on a slave ship, which took him to the coast of Sierra Leone. He became the servant of a slave trader and was brutally abused. Early in 1748 he was rescued and ultimately became captain of his own slave trade ship.
On May 10, 1748 he was traveling homeward in his ship the Greyhound when they encountered a violent storm. When all seemed lost and the ship was taking on water he cried out to God and exclaimed, “Lord, have mercy upon us.” God spared his life. For the rest of his life he observed this day as the anniversary of his conversion, a day in which he subjected his will to a higher power. His name was John Newton, the man who would latter write Amazing Grace.
In the small cemetery of a churchyard in Olney, England, stands a granite tombstone with this inscription: “John Newton, pastor, once a sinner and slave trader in Africa, was by the rich mercy of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Faith he had long labored to destroy.” You may not remember his name, but all of us know the song he wrote as a testimony of his life: “Amazing Grace.”
In the New Testament many shared their testimony of what God had done. John wrote:
1John 1:1 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. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
When the Apostle Paul stood before King Agrippa in Acts 26 he spoke simply, logically, and clearly about his life before salvation, how he met Christ, and what his life was like after conversion. He shared everything he had seen and heard.
G. Campbell Morgan was a powerful British preacher whose four sons all became pastors themselves. One day, when his son Howard finished preaching, a reporter asked him, "Since you have five Pastors in your family who is the greatest preacher? Expecting the son to give the honor to his father, Howard surprised the reporter by saying, "My Mother!" Often people do not realize the powerful influence of a mother’s love, concern and teaching. Simple acts of love are often far more influential on people than anything else.
How about you? What is your testimony of Christ. What has God done in your life? Have you experienced the joy of salvation and the power of walking in faith? What experiences in your life can you point to as anchors of your faith? What has Jesus told you and how are you walking forward in that knowledge? Write out your testimony and then share it!
You can only share what you have first experienced. Make sure you are spending time each day together with God getting to know Him better and letting Him speak to you.
3. Objective Truth (vs. 19-21) – sharing the Word
Peter goes on to say that in addition to his own personal experience of Christ there were others who had heard from God also and were lead by the Spirit to write down what they had seen and heard. The result is the Bible. We share what we have learned from God’s Word. E.g. sermons. The bible really is an amazing book.
Scripture is like a river again, broad and deep, shallow enough here for the lamb to go wading, but deep enough there for the elephant to swim. – Gregory the Great in his Commentary on Job
You can study the bible all your life and barely scratch the surface on what it really says yet at the same time it’s message is so simple a child can understand.
Abraham Lincoln said: "I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book." Napoleon said: "The Bible is no mere book, but a living creature, with a power that conquers all that oppose it." The Bible has often been described as ‘Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth’ (B.I.B.L.E.) The Word of God is a road map of how to live life correctly.
Along with our personal experience of Christ we have the special revelation of God to us in the form of His word. Peter says that “prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”. The word used for “carried along” here depicts a ship being driven along by the wind. Those who wrote the Bible were driven by the wind (Spirit) so that what we have is inerrant (no mistakes) and infallible (absolutely true).
Paul used a similar terminology when he wrote in 2 Tim 3:6 that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”
Is your life built on the foundation of God’s word? What are you doing to build up your understanding and knowledge of it?
Peter declares here that the word of God is like a “light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts”. What a beautiful picture. God’s word goes out and as it shines the Holy Spirit draws us through the Gospel to a new relationship with God. As God’s truth enters into darkened hearts it brings a new dawn as the Spirit of God shines from within. What a wonderful picture of our jobs as parents. We are called to so shine the light of God in our homes that the light will take root and begin to shine in and through our children as well.
In order to pass on the message of the Bible we need to first understand it. The more you get the Word into you the more you will get the Word out into the lives of those around you.
Are you a student of the Bible? Are you reading it on a consistent basis? You will never become spiritually mature if your only source of spiritual input is Sunday morning or maybe a Wednesday night class. You have to be in the book daily and you have to know what it says.
A woman wanting to impress the pastor when he came to visit, said to her little girl, “Honey, go get the book that Mommy loves so much.” The little girl soon returned carrying the new Sears catalog.
George Whitefield asked a man, ‘Sir what do you believe? I believe what my church believes.’ What does your church believe? It believes what I believe. And what do both of you believe? We both believe the same thing!
Be a student of God’s Word. That means that you seek to know it more and more. Yet even knowing the Word is not enough, you need to be able to apply it. It is one thing to know what it says and another thing to be able to apply it’s truths to your life.
I like the story about a rather legalistic Seminary student who wanted to have a scriptural basis for everything he did. He felt he was on solid ground if he could quote Bible book, chapter and verse to okay his actions. He did all right with that until he began to fall in love with a beautiful girl. He wanted very much to kiss her, but he just couldn’t find a scripture to okay it. So, true to his conscience, he would simply walk her to the dormitory each night, look at her longingly, and then say "Good night." This went on for several weeks, and all the time he was searching the Bible, trying to find some scripture to okay kissing her good night. But he couldn’t find one, until finally he came across that passage in Romans that says, "Greet each other with a holy kiss." He thought, "At last, I have scriptural authority for kissing her good night." But to be sure, he went to his hermeneutics professor to check it out. After talking with the professor, he realized that the passage dealt more with a church setting than with a dating situation. So once again he simply didn’t have a passage of scripture to okay kissing his girl good night. That evening he walked her to the dormitory and once again started to bid her "good night." But as he did, she grabbed him, pulled him toward her, and planted a long kiss right on his lips. At the end of the kiss, the Seminary student gasped for air, and stammered, "Bible verse, Bible verse." The girl grabbed him a second time, and just before kissing him again, said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
What are you passing on to people around you? Do people see the truth of the Gospel in your life through your own personal testimony? Are you growing in your knowledge and application of God’s Word so that you are able to teach others as well. Paul says to Timothy the ability to teach others is a mark of Christian maturity.
