Evangelist Herman E. Wesley III
AS LONG AS I AM IN THIS TABERNACLE
II Peter 1:12-15
Prepared for Delivery at Southwestern Christian College
Annual Southwestern Lectureship / Graham-Kennedy-Farmer Auditorium
Tuesday, November 24, 1998 • 7:45 p.m. / Keynote Address
THE TEXT
"Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet,
as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;
Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle,
even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me."
PRELIMINARIES
In the wonderful name of the Lord Jesus, it is an honor and a pleasure to be standing before you this afternoon. To Dr. Carl C. Baccus, James Maxwell, Ben Foster, other members of the administration, staff, faculty, fellow Christian comrades, and visitors, we thank you for this opportunity and for your presence.
We bring you greetings from the State of Alabama, the capital city of Montgomery, and the saints of the NorthPointe Church of Christ, where I have been set to plant and minister, having been approved and accepted by the leaders and members of this wonderful, Spirit-filled, Jesus loving, Bible-believing, Preacher-supporting church.
Now, if you can’t get down to Montgomery to visit with us in person, we are pleased to announce that you can visit us from anywhere in the world on the world wide web. There we have an interactive site, where you can pull up the video of our chorus in concert, or Sunday morning service. You can reach us at www.northpointechurch.net. We’re taking the old time gospel to the whole wide world with modern, new technology...in the name of Jesus.
The text that has been assigned to me can be found in the Second Book of Peter, chapter 1 and verses 12-13. How many of you have Bibles tonight? I would appreciate it if you would read this along with me.
READ TEXT
The subject assigned to me comes from verse number 13, where Peter says:
AS LONG AS I AM IN THIS TABERNACLE.
(I’m taking this personal!)
INTRODUCTION
When the Apostle Peter penned his first letter, his aim was to comfort and encourage believers in the midst of suffering and persecution---Something that was happening externally. Three years later, in this letter containing his last words, he writes to them again, but this time the enemy is not from without. The enemy is from within. He is warning them of an internal attack--complacency and heresy. He writes of holding fast to the non-negotiable facts of the faith, of growing and maturing in the faith, and of rejecting all who would distort the truth. His words are just as powerful now, in 1998, as they were around 67 AD.
The truth of the matter as it relates to the church of the twentieth century is that we, too, must be watchful of the many changes afoot in the church. While some things are a matter of opinion, and are issues that simply highlight the differences in our own individual growth and study patterns, let’s not rock ourselves into a false sense of security! Just as the church in the early ages was able to fall away from the faith through subtlety, good words and fair speeches (Romans 16:18), the failure of many church members to study, and the so-called mental assent of a number of church leaders, can very easily have us moving in the same direction as the former Southern Hills Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma who took a vote and decided they no longer wanted to be a church of Christ! It is in the midst of the encroaching darkness of apostasy that Peter pens this letter.
Three things I want to deal with in this brief treatise on this passage.
I. TRUTH NEEDS TO BE REPEATED (verse 12)
II. PROCLAIMERS OF TRUTH NEED TO BE DETERMINED (verse 13)
III. TIME IS RUNNING OUT (verse 14-15)
Ya’ll got time for this tonight?
I. TRUTH NEEDS TO BE REPEATED (verse 12)
Peter starts out by saying:
..."I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things,
though you know them, and be established in the present truth..."
There are some things we need to be reminded of, even though we already know them. We are living in an age where some Christians have grown tired of hearing about:
• the plan of salvation,
• the essentiality of baptism,
• the distinctive plea of the church of Christ, and
• the exclusive nature of the church of Christ.
The spirit of the Athenians found in Acts 17:21 is running rampant in the church, for the Athenians spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell or hear some new thing.
But I’m here to tell you tonight that if we fail to understand that truth needs to be repeated, we will raise up congregations that are ignorant to the basic and simple truths of God’s Word. Peter has reminded his readers of the need for possessing Christian virtues in increasing measure (verse 8), he has reminded them of their participating in the divine nature (verse 4). He declares that he knows they have a settled conviction of "the present truth" (verse 12).
Well, what is this "present truth." I believe there is a relatively fixed body of truth. A body of recognizable, apostolic truth, that flows forth from Acts 2:42, where the Word is:
"...and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine... "
As Long As I Am In This Tabernacle, I want to preach what the apostles preached...
I want to continue steadfast in the apostles doctrine...
Peter said, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ
for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost..."(Acts 2:38)
I can preach that!
Philip preached the "things concerning the kingdom of God and the name
of Jesus Christ..."(Acts 8:12)
I can preach that!
Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ
liveth in me..." (Galatians 2:20).
I can preach that!
Paul wrote to the Ephesians that they oughtta sing and "make melody in their heart
to the Lord..." (Ephesians 5:19)
I can preach that!
To the Corinthians he declared...
"For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He
rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures..." (I Corinthians 15:3ff)
I can preach that!
To the Romans he declared...
"Salute one another with an holy kiss, the churches of Christ salute you! (Romans 16:16)
I can preach that!
I Still get excited when I hear Jesus say, on the coast of Caesarea Phillipi, ’upon
this rock I will build my church!’ (Matthew 16:18)
I can preach that!
And I still can’t close an evangelistic message without telling the sinner man that he must hear, believe, repent, confess and be baptized! I CAN PREACH THAT!
I can preach that, because I believe that! I believe that the Lord has built only one church (Matthew 16:18), and that He’s coming back for one church (Ephesians 5:27), and that one church is the church of Christ (Romans 16:16; Acts 20:28; I Timothy 3:15)!
THIS TRUTH, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, NEEDS TO BE REPEATED!
In an age of a multiplicity of churches and religious organizations, AS LONG AS I AM IN THIS TABERNACLE, wherever God may see fit to lead me, I will proclaim that there’s just ONE CHURCH!
• If I were from Finland, I’d say yksi kirkko, one church!
• If I were from Sweden, I’d say en kyrka, one church!
• If I were from Thailand, I’d say say-a-ning do-a, one church!
• If I were German, I’d say eina keerka, one church!
• If I were Spanish, I’d say uno iglesia, one church!
• If I were Japanese, I’d say kyoki eche’n, one church!
• If I were French, I’d say une e’glise, one church!
• If I were Chinese, I’d say yeko gou’ton, one church!
• If I were Zulu, I’d say esondo alenya, one church!
But I’m just a Black, African-American, Negro, Colored preacher from the State of Alabama, and the best way I know to say it is there’s just ONE CHURCH! AND AS LONG AS I AM IN THIS TABERNACLE... I CAN PREACH THAT!
WHICH LEADS ME INTO MY SECOND POINT...
II. PROCLAIMERS OF TRUTH NEED TO BE DETERMINED (verse 13).
In verse 12 Peter says "I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things"...and then he goes on in verse 13 to say:
"Yea, I think it meet [or necessary], as long as I am in this tabernacle,
to stir you up by putting you in remembrance."
I believe that there was a sense of urgency associated with what Peter was sharing with his readers. The force behind the idea of not wanting to be negligent, and the imperative associated with the necessity of stirring his readers up cannot be minimized. I know that we are living in a very education-oriented society, where peoples minds have been expanded from some of the basics and fundamentals of Christ and His Church. I know that for some people it’s embarrassing to always hear your preacher talking about:
• There’s not a reverend in town
• The Lord’s Church communes on the first day of every week
• The Baptist Church, Lutheran Church, Catholic Church
and Holiness Church are wrong...
I know it makes some of you good church folk squirm when the man of God declares:
• Tongue-speaking is not a present day gift of the Spirit
• Women have no right to mount a pulpit
• You can’t be saved by faith only...
But the man of God and the people of God must be determined to stand with the truth, no matter what the cost! I’m mighty afraid that in an effort to draw sell out crowds, many in our ranks have sold out the Gospel! In our admiration of denominational leaders like Frederick Price, Caesar Clark, T.D. Jakes, E.V. Hill (I know there are some witnesses in here!) many have strayed far from the tried and true paths. There was a time when we would use their stuff for gravy, but now we’re using their stuff for meat! There was a time when we were using their stuff for supplement, but now we are using their stuff for substance! Respected pioneers like J.S. Winston, G.P. Bowser, K.K. Mitchell, Levi Kennedy, R.N. Hogan, G.E Steward. S.T.W. Gibbs Sr, and Jr... these men preached and preach the old time gospel, but I want you to know we can go back further than that!
• We can go back to that great preacher to the Gentiles, Paul!
• We can go back to that redeemed servant of God, that delivered the message
of a risen and returning Christ to the Pentecostians, Peter!
• We can go back to the missionary minded preachers, Barnabas and Silas!
The message that we preach did not begin with Alexander and Thomas Campbell in the restoration movement...no, this message was preached since Jesus stepped on a cloud and ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9-11), and it’s the same message that must be preached until He comes back again!
I stand with the doctrine I have received since I was a child, taught in the scriptures, at the feet of brother (Eugene) Lawton! I believe that there is only one church! I believe that all of the saved are in it! I believe that the saved are not scattered throughout the denominational world, but are indeed abiding in the "doctrine of Christ", are "keeping His commandments" and are continuing "steadfastly in the apostle’s doctrine." Yes, some of us may be packing folk in, but packing folk in with what?
-You may fill up your building with another gospel, but you are not filling up the
household of God!
-You may be increasing your membership, but you’re not making a dent on
the heavenly roll!
-People may be changing churches, but the gospel is designed to change lives!
There was a time when it was rare to hear that a backslidden member of the church of Christ would be attending faithfully a denominational church. Even if they were not truly converted to Christ and His Church, they knew too much to feel comfortable in a denominational church, but nowadays you have members who consider themselves faithful, who will attend the services of a denominational church, and brag about it when they come back home!
Now, I know that each member has a personal responsibility as it relates to their personal commitment to Christ, but I would also caution that if we feed the church a diet that never deals with comparative preaching, the exposing of false and damnable doctrine, and the sanctity that truth commends on our worship, we will find ourselves nurturing a people that in reality has no clear understanding of the purity, simplicity, and safe assurances of the Word of God. THIS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, IS AN URGENT CALL!
In many corners across this great country of ours, we are one generation away, metaphorically, from a generation that knew not Joseph! We may not preach what we call fundamentals every Sunday, but help me somebody...we oughtta preach it sometime!
It’s not a popular message!
It causes people to have to reexamine and reevaluate their spiritual condition!
But it is scriptural, and it is sound!
AND AS LONG AS I AM IN THIS TABERNACLE, I AM DETERMINED TO STIR UP THE PEOPLE OF GOD AND THE SINNER MAN WITH THIS LIFE-SAVING, LIFE-CHANGING, LIFE-GIVING WORD!
Why did Peter feel this sense of urgency, this need to stir up, to wake up, to arouse the believers to the fundamentals of the faith? Because... III. TIME WAS (IS) RUNNING OUT (verses 14-15)
Peter says in verse 15 that he will "endeavor", "make every effort." To use an educational term, Peter wants his readers to "overlearn" the basic truths so that after his death they will never forget them. He intends to continue his ministry with all diligence until his death so as to strengthen the church.
Brethren, time is running out. We cannot move the church to higher ground by ignoring the distinctive nature of the church and true obedience to the commands of Christ as they relate to the apostles’ doctrine. I know we are living in a different era, but truth stays the same. Yes, there are secondary principles that we must excel in, and that have, arguably, been neglected over the years, but we cannot move ahead at the expense of our foundation! It was the "old time gospel" that brought people out of denominationalism in Keeble and Bowser’s era, and I’m a witness that it’s the old time gospel that will do it today!
I would suggest to you this evening that I am not a prophet, and I don’t subscribe to the Psychic Friends Network, but I’ve got a prediction for you tonight, and that prediction is simply “It is later than you think!” I don’t know the date, I don’t know the time, I don’t know the year, I don’t know the hour...the Son of Man doesn’t even know the hour...but I’m telling you this evening that TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
God does not ask your permission for you to die! God does not schedule a date in your Franklin, or your datebook for you to die! God is not concerned about your plans, and your appointments and your scheduled meetings... You have only one appointment that you can be certain of meeting, and that appointment is with death, and He ain’t calling before He comes!
“...it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment!”
(Hebrews 9:27)
Consider the words of King David:
“...Yet as surely as the Lord lives, and as you live, there is but a step
between me and death!”
( I Samuel 20:3)
• Your days are numbered!
• Your steps are numbered!
• Your breaths are numbered!
• Your words are numbered!
You may be healthy, wealthy and wise, but TIME IS RUNNING OUT!
For those of us who would dare to take up the mantle of being God’s messengers, we can ill afford to compromise the gospel message because of the changing winds of our times. It is in the midst of the darkness of apostasy that the true light of God’s Word shines brightest!
Indeed, the road to glory is paved with the dedicated and distinctive service of great soldiers gone by:
We cannot be angered because death has stilled the preaching Bible,
R.N. Hogan. Instead, we oughtta rejoice that as long as he was in his tabernacle,
he never failed to preach the ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM!
We cannot be angered because death has befallen the Dean of Preachers,
Grover C. Washington. Instead, we oughtta rejoice that as long as he was in
his tabernacle, he never failed to proclaim that JESUS CHRIST IS THE WAY!
We cannot be angered because death has hushed the strong voices of
J.S. Winston, G.P. Holt, and Melvin Chappell. Instead we oughtta
rejoice that as long as they were in their tabernacles, they never ceased to declare,
WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH AND IS BAPTIZED SHALL BE SAVED!
CONCLUSION
You see, I don’t preach what I preach just so I can get along with older preachers. I preach what I preach because I am a servant of God, and I have a God to please, who called me into this service, WHILE I AM YET IN THIS TABERNACLE, but lest you forget, I may need to remind you that the very nature of the TABERNACLE lies in the fact that it is only a temporary dwelling place! Just like Peter in the text, I KNOW THAT SHORTLY, I MUST PUT OFF THIS, MY TABERNACLE!
• I know that one day, the head of this, my tabernacle, will have to press
a dying pillow..
• I know that one day, the eyes of this, my tabernacle, will be sealed
with the mortician’s glue...
• I know that one day, the life that now animates this, my tabernacle, is going
to cease and desist! But I’m not worried about all that,
because there’s something else I know...
...I know...that if the earthly house of this tabernacle were dissloved,
I have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens!
(2 Corinthians 5:1)
...For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying
that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death
is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always
abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain
in the Lord (I Corinthians 15:53-58)!
AS LONG AS I AM IN THIS TABERNACLE!
