A Sure Light In A Dark Place
2 Peter 1:16-21
Two weeks ago I shared with you the third and final message in our series “The Heart of Worship.” In that message we found the disciples on Mount Tabor, the Mount of Transfiguration, with the Lord Jesus where they saw Him gloriously transfigured before their very eyes. Not only did His garments shine brilliantly, but they also saw Him as He stood in conversation with Moses and Elijah, two of the most prominent men in Israel’s long history.
The time is now 67 A.D.; some thirty-five years have passed after the magnificent transfiguration event. The apostle Peter is writing to Christians who are scattered in dispersion because of severe persecution. He is writing to men and women of God whose hearts are greatly discouraged because of their sufferings. He offers to them a message of hope and of faithful endurance until the end.
Peter is very quick to say that the hope he offers to them is not based upon cunningly devised fables. The story, no matter how unbelievable it may have sounded to some, was not fiction, but fact. It was based upon their eyewitness account of the glory of Christ.
Some thirty-one years ago when I worked for Texaco Oil Company in the oil fields of San Ardo, California, I found myself engaged in a discussion of the rapture of the church with an unbeliever. As I shared with him concerning the voice of the archangel, and the sound of the trumpet, and the descent of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the opening of the graves…he looked somewhat bewildered. When I had finished he said: “Man, that is, without a doubt, the biggest fairy tale I have ever heard!”
As I thought about it later, surely some things, which are precious spiritual truths to the believer, do sound like a fairy tale to the unbeliever. Without the illumination of the Holy Spirit to guide one into spiritual truth and understanding, some things just seem to make no sense at all, and even appear to be made up. But, as Peter wrote in verses 20-21: “The prophecy of scripture is not of any private interpretation. It does not come by the will of man, but by the power of God as Holy men of old were moved upon by the Holy Spirit.” In other words, men did not write the Bible as a figment of their own vain and foolish imaginations, but as they were led of God’s Spirit. For, as Paul wrote to young Timothy, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…”
As I think of Peter’s writings, I cannot help but feel that there were many other events of which he could have written. He had walked with Jesus during His three-year ministry and was eyewitness to all sorts of miraculous healings, and even saw Jesus raise men from the dead. But, it was this experience that stuck in Peter’s mind. It was this experience that convinced Peter that Jesus was the Christ…the Promised Messiah of Israel. And based upon what he had seen and heard first-hand, Peter declared to those who loved Christ, yet had never seen Him, that he had a confirmed word of prophecy that was a light that shined in the darkness.
Let’s consider, this morning, the fact that our world is, indeed, a dark place. Sin, lawlessness, and moral depravity abound as man has become a law unto himself. As I said last Sunday, we live in a day where our young people are being swallowed up by violence, drugs, social diseases, and every kind of addiction imaginable. The values and moral principles are not being shaped by the example of godly parents, but by Hollywood. We have become a calloused and insensitive society. A darkness envelops our world and it is a darkness that stems from Christ-less hearts and an ignorance of the Person and the Holiness of God.
Is our world any different today than it was during the time that Jesus walked upon the earth? Well, obviously it is in many respects, such as through modern technology; but, it is no different in regard to the heart of man. The sinful condition of man is revealed over and again from Genesis to Revelation! God declared through Jeremiah the prophet “the heart of man deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?”
Sometimes we just sit back and scratch our heads and wonder, “How is it that people can do the things they do?” Well, Jesus gave us the answer to that question in Mark 7: 20-23. He said: “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these come from within and defile the man.”
Sounds like a running commentary from the evening news doesn’t it? The things that are happening in the world today are things that have always been a part of our world because of the sinfulness and darkness of the human soul. But, God sent His Son to dispel the darkness, and to be unto lost mankind the Light of Life Everlasting; changing the world one life at a time as He cleanses us from sin and sets us upon a new course of direction.
John, in declaring the Incarnation of the Pre-Existent Christ, wrote of the Lord Jesus in John 1:4-5 saying: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”
All too often we are critical, and quick to judge the nation Israel. How could they have not recognized that Jesus was the Christ? Every characteristic of His Person, and every event of His life clearly spell out that He was the Messiah. Well, with what we know today, how is it that men still do not believe? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. He wrote: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to those that are lost: In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which do not believe, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”
Beloved, we know, without a doubt, that Satan is alive and well and living on planet Earth. He walks about as a roaring lion seeking to gulp down and swallow up in victory every soul that he can. He uses every tactic possible to darken the minds, and harden the hearts of men. He uses the tools of evolution, and humanistic philosophies, and man-made “make–me-feel-good-about-myself” religions to keep men from discovering the truth because he knows that the Truth is Light, and the One True Light, which is Jesus Christ, will set men free from the darkness of sin, because He is the Light and the Life of men.
One day a man was reading a book of illustrated Bible stories to his young son. The particular story he read was concerning Jesus being the “Light of the World,” and it was illustrated with the painting by Holman Hunt of Jesus standing at the closed door. As the father told the boy of the love and patience of the Lord who knocked over and again, the boy burst out with the question,
“Did He get in?”
“No, I don’t think so,” replied the father.
“Perhaps they did not hear Him knocking.”
“Oh, I’m sure they heard Him knock, but still He didn’t get in.”
The boy, now deep in thought and trying to reason in his mind why they did not answer the door, said:“But, Dad, they couldn’t have heard Him. Maybe they were living down in the cellar, and that’s why!”
Beloved, it may be that many who have heard the call of the Savior have been living way down in the cellar, in the lowest and darkest levels of life’s desire, and just do not realize the importance of answering the door to let in the Light.
As we look back to the text, Peter, again, declares that he has “a sure (confirmed) Word of prophecy. Peter knew that what he saw, heard, and believed concerning Jesus Christ was founded upon the Word of God. The Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and His crucifixion and resurrection were the fulfillment of prophecies that were spoken hundreds of years before His coming to earth.
The most well-known prophecies are found in Isaiah as he tells Israel that virgin shall conceive and bring forth a son, and “unto us a child is born, and unto us a Son is given….His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Again, Isaiah foretold that Jesus would be “bruised for our iniquities, and the chastisement of our peace would be upon Him.” These prophecies, fulfilled in the Person of Jesus Christ, were literally breathed out of the mouth of God and into the hearts of holy men of old.
Look again at verse 21. “For prophecy never came by the will of man…” That is not to say that man does not contrive his theories, for he certainly does; however, Peter’s message was founded upon the inspired and infallible Word of God.
Looking back to IITimothy 3:16 we find that Paul wrote to young Timothy and reminded him that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness.” The word “doctrine” means a set of beliefs, and ,indeed, we have our beliefs concerning the Person of Jesus Christ.
We believe……….
…He is the Son of God.
…He was born of the virgin Mary, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit.
…He was Pre-Existent in eternity.
…He was Creator of all things.
…He became the Incarnation of God that He might reveal to us the Father, and that He might give
His life to atone for the sins of man.
…He laid down His life on Calvary.
…He was raised on the third day by the power of God, and proved Himself to be alive many times
over a period of forty days.
….He ascended into the heavens and was seated at the right hand of the Father.
….He is coming again.
Our belief that these things are true is based upon the Word of God which cannot lie! It is the Word that has stood the test of time! Down through the years men, like the French atheist Voltaire, and women, like the American atheist Madelyn Murray O’Haire have tried to destroy it’s credibility and remove it from the earth, but they simply could not do it. Voltaire, who dipped his pen in the ink of atheistic skepticism, once remarked that he alone could prove the Bible unreliable and thus wipe Christianity from the face of the earth in less than 50 years. He died a miserable death pleading for his doctor to give him just six more weeks of life. After his death, the Bible still stands fast as the Word of God, as well as the number one best selling book in the world. Voltaire’s home in France became the distribution center for the International Bible Society. And, we all know what happened to Madelyn Murray O’Haire. She also died a tragic death at the murderous hand of the very man whom she hired to protect her.
When ever I think of foolish, sin-laden men, I am reminded of Paul’s words to the believers at Galatia (Galatians 6:7-8): “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that will he also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will also of his flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
In verse 19 of the text, Peter told the believers that they would do well to “heed” the light that shines in a dark place. To heed the light means to believe upon the One who is the Light, and receive Him into your heart by faith. Why? Because there is coming a day of judgment. Because God is a Holy and a Just God who must condemn sin in the flesh. Because there is no other way of salvation but through faith in Jesus Christ. Because Jesus has already bore the judgment of our sin in His body. And, because “whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Finally, Peter’s words of exhortation for men to heed the sure word of prophecy were spoken because of the glorious prospect of the reward of heaven. Peter said: “Heed the word as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
One day, and it may be sooner than we think, Jesus Christ is coming again! His coming will bring forth the day of redemption when we shall leave this old sinful world behind and begin to live for eternity in the presence of Jesus Christ our Lord, who loved us and gave Himself for us. What joy that will be!
As I close this morning, I wonder, do you have the Light of Life Everlasting within your own heart, lighting your way as you walk through this world? Can you say this morning that there has been a definite, specific time in which you humbled yourself before God, agreed with Him that you are a sinner by your very nature, and invited Him into your heart by faith to be both Savior and Lord? If you have not, then the Word of God declares with all the authority of heaven that you are lost and in darkness! You stand on the brink of a Christ-less eternity without hope. God is merciful and He does not want any one to perish, but that all should come to repentance and eternal life. Won’t you accept Him today?
With every head bowed and every eye closed…..
