Words Of Renewal: Refreshing Your Walk With God - 2 Peter 1:12-15 Series

For free audio or video download of this message, visit https://www.treasuringgod.com/sermons-by-scripture or my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@DarrellFerguson.

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 stir you up by way of reminder as long as I am in this tent, 14 because I know that the laying aside of my tent is imminent, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will also make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

Introduction

What if there’s something you already know—you’ve learned it, it’s in your head... —and that old truth is the key to revitalizing and rejuvenating your whole relationship with God? You might say, “If I already know it, why am I not already rejuvenated?” Because it got filed in some corner of your brain where your soul doesn’t pull it up in the moments when it is needed. So it’s there, but it’s not stirring up your spiritual life. That’s the situation, to one degree or another, for every Christian on earth. So Peter says this:

2 Peter 1:13 I think it is right to stir you up by way of reminder

Peter says, “I’m going to take something that’s already in your head and use that to stir up your spiritual life.”

Tonight’s passage, 2 Peter 1:12-15, is all about reminders. And it’s not a new topic for us. We talked about remembering and forgetting back in v.9, where Peter said if you’re not growing spiritually, it’s partially a memory issue.

2 Peter 1:9 If anyone does not have [the virtues], he ... has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

The Importance of Memory

When we studied that verse, we learned how spiritually deadly forgetting can be. And conversely, you can make great strides spiritually just by remembering certain truths. So all through redemptive history you see God providing reminders—... feasts, holidays, celebrations, monuments... —God commanded the Jews to sew reminders into their clothing, decorate their houses with them. Some of the OT laws that unbelievers make fun of—don’t wear clothes with two kinds of fabric, don’t plant two kinds of seed in the same field, kosher dietary restrictions... —those were laws designed to weave reminders of important spiritual truths right into the everyday grind of life. Reminders, reminders, reminders. You can hardly overstate the importance of remembering and the danger of forgetting in your walk with the Lord.

You Need Regular Reboots

And one reason for that is that truth, in your heart, is unstable. Over time, it degrades. Your spiritual life is kind of like those older versions of Windows that always needed to be restarted. You couldn’t just leave your computer on for days at a time because Windows would pick up glitches and more glitches until finally it wouldn’t work at all. But then you shut it off, reboot, and everything would work again.

You and I are like that. I learn something new, I’m all excited, that new truth changes me, and now I’m different. I’m Darrell Version 10.7. And I’m running like a top—for a while. But over time, I pick up some glitches. I learn another new truth, and when I try to integrate that with this one, this one gets a little distorted. I forget bits and pieces of it. Not heresy or anything—but not as clear as before.

And the part that gets lost is the insight—that perspective I had on that truth that got me so excited when I first learned it. Now I still remember the bones of the principle, but I’ve lost that beautiful perspective on it and insight into it that was the part that changed my life. So now, that principle I was so excited about kind of bores me. And the whole operating system of my faith starts to bog down. It still runs, but it’s slow and some of the programs won’t run at all.

That’s the natural course of every Christian’s experience. You get bogged down, you lose the relish of the truth, you lose your passion, and your zeal fades into routine duty. And when that happens, what you need is a refresh. And Peter wants to give you that refresh, and he wants to do it through reminders.

2 Peter 1:13 I think it is right to stir you up by way of reminder

So those weak Christians in v.9 who aren’t growing need reminders. Who else needs reminders? Strong Christians who are doing great spiritually.

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.