Tough & Tender - Week 2 - St. Peter - Pastor Tim Glende
Tough & Tender
Week 2.-St Peter
Pastor Tim Glende
Welcome to week 2 of our sermon series called “Tough and Tender”. Look at the words God inspired Peter and Jude to write. So the early century Christians still apply to us today. Tough words, tender words needed words.
I don't know about you, but as I look at the world today, experience the things going on, consider my life. This truth is evident. Nothing in life is certain. Two weeks ago, on Memorial Day weekend, I strategically decided not to get gas over the weekend because they jack it up over holidays and they lower it when it's done. To my surprise, I pulled into the Kwik Trip right up here is the price. Went up 30 cents from Monday night to Tuesday morning.
And then this week I have strategically thought to myself. It's got to go down, but again, another 30 cent hike and I'm paying $4.75. This upcoming week, we're taking a road trip to a wedding of some close family friends, and I can only imagine what it's going to cost me to drive to Kansas. Because gas prices are uncertain.
And that pales in comparison to the uncertainty life has when you consider the news each and every day over the last few weeks, and the people that you see talking before Congress, The parents of the children of Uvalde, Texas, as the story unfolds and continues to be highlighted and discussed. And I wish that was the only story of the last two weeks of the uncertainty of life when we consider it, so many shootings in so many different cities and hospitals, places of business, and city streets.
Life is anything but certain .
I think of, for my family over the course of the last year, when it comes to health and relationships, my father-in-law having a heart attack out of the blue unexpectedly, driving himself to the hospital and now dealing with life. After that, thankfully, he's doing well. I think of my son who a little less than nine months ago, after having dated the same young lady for two years, going off to medical school as she comes to visit for the first time they see each other in months. And unfortunately, she says, “I can't do this anymore.” Like in a snap of a finger.
The certainty of life is definitely something that is not an expectation. That's what I want you think about for just a second this morning, if you're taking notes, if you're thinking it through, or maybe put it in your brain, what in your life right now? Would you identify as uncertain? For those of you who are retired or those of you who are within a few years of retirement, is it financially uncertainty that has your heart and your minds is it relational?
The place that you're at in your marriage or in that relationship or with a sibling, or with a friend. Is there uncertainty? Maybe it's health-related. Maybe for you, you see things on the horizon or the last time you were at the doctor, they told you, things need to be addressed. And if not they can't guarantee where things will go. The truth is whether it's spiritual. It's emotional, its physical, it's relational, its financial. The odds are pretty good, you wrote down something, have something in your mind that reminds you that life is anything but certain and here's the thing about uncertainty.
It's scary.
We just think about what uncertainty brings to your life. The emotions that causes you to have uncertainty creates doubt. Am I making the right decisions? Am I doing the right things? Uncertainty? From a perspective raises questions.
Like questioning God's faithfulness and wondering if I'm being faithful.
Uncertainty creates anxiety, doesn't it? Over unknowns.
And think about one uncertainty, does the emotion, it causes people to sometimes. Have to withdraw to isolate.
And here's why uncertainty is scary because those different emotions and they happen. There were humans, when uncertainty is real to have doubts and to have anxious moments to maybe have spiritual questions, is is not wrong in and of itself, but the scariness of uncertainty is where those emotions lead us.
Like when we get anxious and times of uncertainty, do we micromanage and seek to get everything under our control? Even though we know we can't?
Or do you ruminate?
Or do you self-medicate?
I think about the scariness of uncertainty when it affects us spiritually. When we start to question God's love, God's presence, God's goodness.
Uncertainty, that can lead to isolating withdrawing causing us to not stay connected and do life with others. Most experts who understand the human mind and how it works. Say, that's the first step to something darker and even worse and sometimes depression,
Uncertainty is definitely scary.
And the truth is, we're living in uncertain times.
If the news. And the world in which we live today is filled with stories of war and shootings in schools inflation out of control.
Where do you turn? What's the answer? How do you deal with uncertainty?
That's why Peter was writing to the Christians. In those five different provinces 2000 years ago. They were living in uncertain times.
Their uncertainty was both spiritual and physical. The odds are pretty good that by this time maybe they saw it coming. It was becoming evident or maybe it already happened that That Christians were going to be under the persecution of the Roman Empire. This wasn't just the religious sect of Jews going after Christians, know the powerful Almighty ruling Empire of the time and their Emperor Nero was going to start persecuting Christians for their religion and maybe he had And so their life, their physical well-being was uncertain.
Which is scary.
But also spiritually, there was uncertainty. As we're going to see over the next few chapters, Peter starts to unpack the reasons why he was writing some strong words was because their faith was under attack. Both internally and externally.
And that's really the first issue he's going to go after today. That issue of uncertainty which was definitely in his mind scary. When I pray, you see, as we find in these words, of reminder and answer to from Peter himself, from God, as he inspired it, to help us face uncertainty, which can be so scary. Understand an issue. Peter wanted to speak into the lives of these Christians to bless them. So, let's continue our journey through 2nd Peter, and we're going to start with some what I'm going to call tough words first, even though they might not seem so at first, Peter continues from where we left off last week. So I will always remind you of these things. Even though, you know, them and are firmly established in the truth, you now have I, Is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body because I know that I will soon put it aside as our Lord. Jesus Christ has made clear to me. And I will make every effort to see that. After my departure, you will always be able to remember these things. Now, as you look at those words, if we leave them up there for a second, And look thought about Peter's life in that moment as he's writing these words. What do you believe would rise to the top of the list of scary things?
Repeater identifies, it's not uncertain but very certain to him that his life here on Earth is time that he's going to spend in the tent of his body is very short.
Like one of the scariest things that just about anybody would say that rises to the top of the list is death.
Like, there's so much unknown with death.
It's scary.
And yet that's not what scared Peter I mean, our eyes would gravitate to that, they grab our attention, like Peter, you're going to die, mention the early Christian Church, the ones he's writing to who knew him and cared about him and loved him. Hearing these words, they might respond in the same way Peter did when Jesus said I'm going to die. No, absolutely not fight back, don't do it, don't let it happen.
Peter wasn't scared about death.
What scared theater was going on in those Christians lives of faith.
And so he comes up front with the issue in his mind and speak some tough words. Now, for some of you, you look at that and go, that doesn't seem very tough. But just look what he starts with. I will always remind you of these things. I need to refresh your memory. Before I leave I'm going to make every effort to make sure you never ever ever forget these things
Like the kids who are in here kind of get this like when your parents just hammer you over and over and over and over and over and over again with the same thing, eventually you go seriously I get it.
It's like my wife does, my hygienist. Every time I go in. Are you flossing? Yes? No, you're not. Do it. I don't need you to tell me again. Yes, I do. Cause you don't do it.
But Peter knew, these tough words were needed. And he knew they were needed and he had to emphasize them, and he was going to do this because he was scared for their spiritual well-being that they would forget. Remember the things that Peter had just reminded them of like the beginning and of his book, his letter focused on Jesus Jesus. Jesus and their identity. As a result of who Jesus was, he had just gotten done, telling them to celebrate the faith God has given you. And by the power of the Holy Spirit, take that faith to the next level. Add to these things. Peter's words are, I'm going to remind you of these things. Jesus and grace, your identity as a result. It's life changing, it's vital, and important. I'm not going to stop reminding you of these things because Peter also knew the why right before these words. He said, if you don't do these things, you'll become ineffective and unproductive in your faith, it'll become spiritually blind. See, Peter understood. This simple truth that when uncertainty happens in our life, which can be so scary, from a spiritual perspective in the times of uncertainty, our minds, the distractions, the world that pulls us in. Well, sometimes it leads us down a path.
Fullness, if you're filling out your notes, Here's what Peter knew was very true for those Christians and is for us in the face of uncertainty.
We're prone to forget and he understood that forgetfulness is dangerous.
Dangerous.
I know I've used this before, but you understand this great supercomputer, we have in our brain. UCLA did a study on communication and listening. I use this in pre-marriage counseling classes all the time because communication is so important in relationships. The reality is, you only hear 50% of what is said. That 50% you only remember. 50% of that, you only believe 50% of what you remember and at the end of the day, you only retain, hold on.
Store away in your amazing supercomputer of a brain 50%. Now we got a math teacher over here and maybe someone else who can do the quick math. 6.5 percent is all that you are left with like we are forgetting things all the time. When God designed our brain, an amazing way, but as a result of sin 6.5%
Like as a communicator, that's really scary. I talk for 30 plus minutes and you're only going to take away six percent.
And so hopefully over the course of a message like this or in a classroom.
Peter said he needed to do. I'm going to remind you of these things. I'm going to focus on these things. I need you to remember these things. I'm going to come back to these things. The reality Peter understood that forgetfulness is so dangerous.
Like, you know, this from a worldly perspective, right?
Search for 20 to 30 minutes and finally find them. They can make you late for that interview, they can make you late for work. Get you in trouble with the boss. Think about forgetfulness being dangerous to relationships, like kids, when you forget your curfew and you show up late, and mom and dad are sitting there waiting, can do damage to your relationship. The trust or think about in your life forgetting mother's day, not good and anniversaries, not good. And from a spiritual perspective even more dangerous is that it can damage our relationship with God and Peter understood that. And he knew that was what those Christians were struggling with that he was writing to like in a time of uncertainty where would they run to? Where would they turn to or with? They forget when the false teachers were, we're telling them things that were different from what they had learned and what they had heard about God's grace and God's goodness. That forgiveness is found in Jesus alone that there were better ways or different ways in a few weeks we're going to hear some of the truths. They were undermining that caused red flags to go up in questions to be had by them. Is God faithful? Its can God deliver? And so Peter never wanted them to forget the truth about Jesus and the result that it meant for them in their identity is Peter understood how dangerous forgetfulness was first hand? And you know how easy it was to forget when things got uncertain, like the waves, how much he was walking or the questions that he was facing. Because in the snap of a finger in those uncertain moments when he probably considered life or death, you forgot and you and I are no different again. That's why those tough words are needed. I'm going to remind you and I'm going to remind you and I'm going to spend every waking breath of my life, reminding you until God calls me home. So that you remember these things because they are matters of life and death spiritually. Because if one thing certain uncertainty will always be in our present and our future decide of heaven, and, you know, who I like, like who likes certain uncertainty more than anybody else. The one who likes to create it, like to go back to the garden when everything was perfect. What was the line of attack that he used? It went down the path of creating uncertainty. And you know what he went after with Adam and Eve to try and create uncertainty, what he sought to undermine to weave doubt, what he poked at. So they would forget God's word. Did God really?
Been spiritual doubt, uncertainty in God and his word as faithfulness is goodness. Anatomy forgot.
So, Peter knew the danger of forgetfulness. He knew what uncertainty could do. How scary it was, which is why he wanted to give them an answer. So why he wants you to know the same answer, like those tough words that he was going to remind them of remind them of, he wanted them to understand and know where to turn to where to look to where they could find certainty and an uncertain world. And you know what to hear? Pointed them to next where he found certainty what he never wanted to forget a certain time, a certain mountain, and a certain person look at what Peter pointed those early Christians to as he would to us as well for we did not follow cleverly devised stories. One of those things that they were being attacked with that said the disciples and what they've come to you with is simply their version of a story when we told you about the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ and power. But we were, I witnesses of his Majesty. He received honor and glory from God. The Father, when the voice came from the majestic glory saying, this is my son, whom I love with him. I am. Well, pleased, we ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven. When we were with him on the sacred mountain, the Jesus I want you to I'm going to remind you of over and over and over again, that one I am certain of who he is, and what he did. Because I saw it with my own eyes. We're not following cleverly invented stories, it's not something. My grandpa told me that his grandpa passed on to him that he heard from his neighbor in his friend. No, I was there on that mountain. I'm certain of it. What I saw I am certain of Jesus and all is glory and I heard a voice reinforce the very important truth of who this man is and what he came to do. This is my son, whom I love with him.
At least Peter knew that.
For them to forget that truth because that certain truth was life-changing. Truth. The certainty of who Jesus was, what he came to do, was something he knew first hand and he wanted them to have and hold on to, to not walk away from because they were going to be under attack uncertainty, was going to be faced physically, spiritually. They're going to be tempted to forget and doubt, question God's faithfulness. Wonder about his goodness, is he really? Who he says he is and Peter said, I am certaine he is.
And that they're still was maybe a little question. Peter, I know you're convinced of it, you saw it but I didn't.
In 2,000 years later, maybe that's a question. Sometimes that the devil weaves into our head, isn't It out. Which is why I love where Peter goes next. Like he lays it out. He gives them the, the tender words that he held on to the the thing that he knew was so important in was the basis for a certainty, it was Jesus and who we was Jesus and what he came to do. Jesus God's one and only son in all his glory was the same one who went across, that wasn't glorious and paid the price that needed to be paid for every sin of doubt. For every time that we've wandered, for, every time that we've questioned for, for those times, when we spiritually forgot, because Peter says, I'm certain of it because I saw it, but I want you to be certain of it and know it. And remember this about God, we also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, 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 above all else. You must understand that no prophecy of scripture came about by the prophets, own interpretation of things for prophecy, never had its origin in the, the will of, man, but profits through though, humans spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Don't just take my word for it. Peter said like I was there on that mountain. I'm certain of it. What I saw I am certain of to die and Peter. So certain of those truths was willing to die for his Savior. But he said, we have the prophet prophetic message as something completely reliable. Literally in the Greek, something more certain.
The word that was inspired to to writers, like Moses 1500 plus years earlier, that stood the test of time and then passed on to profits like Isaiah whose 700 years. Before Jesus was born predicted and talked about what that birth would look like is death would be like and it came true. We have something more certain: the inspired word of God. You must understand prophecy. These words didn't come about by the profits, their own interpretation of things. Rather God, the Holy Spirit. Did the speaking we call that verbal inspiration. God used those men, their circumstances, their vocabulary. But he gave them the words that he longed for them to write using them, but all him. It's why Jesus could boldly and confidently. Say, to Peter, the night before he died, as he prayed to God and Peter, maybe even heard it. Lord sanctify them by the truth. Make them holy through your truth. Your word is truth.
See, here's the truth that Peter knew was so vital and so important to hold on to and to remember when uncertainty hits. Where can a Christian go, what could sort of Christian turn to when uncertainty is real? I was Peter, so strong in his words, tough in his message that he would not let go of the fact that he was going to do everything in his power to to ham.
Who's into their heads, repeat them over and over again because he knew the truth found in the pages of scripture were certain.
Like in an uncertain world when we face those fears and have those doubts, remember that the word is a certain forgetfulness thing. So in a time when there are questions, when you wonder when you're not sure, remember the word is certain the world will throw at you different ideas and make different statements about what is true and what should guide your life. But the word is certain. Jesus declares it. Peter reinforces it and time and history of only revealed that
That's so vital and important. The tears tender words you would do well to pay attention to it. It's why I want you to remember it.
Why I'm going to keep reinforcing it because it is like a light shining in a dark place if forgetfulness causes spiritual amnesia, if forgetfulness causes spiritual blindness to perhaps happen, Why I'm going to keep reinforcing it because it is like a light shining in a dark place if forgetfulness causes spiritual amnesia, if forgetfulness causes spiritual blindness to perhaps happen, Peter said this word that is certain will provide the light that is needed.
Maybe you're thinking right now of the famous Psalm, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and the light from my path.” Again, all you turn lights on in the dark so you can see so you can find your way when I think about the times when I get up at night and you know, I try not to turn on the lights or I turn on lights that won't distract anyone else. And sometimes if I get up during the night and I go to the restroom and I come out, I turn off the light before I go out the door so it doesn't hit my wife's eyes and wake her up, that's usually a fatal mistake because I'll run into something.
We don't take this book out with us in the dark to shine a light but spiritually speaking. This word, the certainty of it is the light that guides us and shows us the path to heaven. The only way to heaven, which is why Peter wanted them to remember why he was going to repeat it. Because the message of the Cross and the empty tomb,
Was the certainty that was required for eternal life.
Like a light shining in a dark place, you're going to be attacked. There's going to be doubt. Devil’s going to want you to forget when uncertainty hits you you're going to spiral and be distracted.
It's in those moments, God would say go to what certain which is why we as your pastor is why we as a ministry want. To be like theater.
Like beat the drum over and over and over again. To turn to the book. To be in the book.
So that you remember?
Because like Peter would say you would do well to remember these things. Which is why I want to leave you more ours, to help you remember better. Like when uncertainty hits in your life the word is certain for ours to help you remember better. I want you to remember this about the word that is certain. I want you to apply this and, and consider it when it comes to your roots for ours to remember better. It begins with revere to remember better begins with revering this word like have it be the first place you go to, not the last place you run to, revere it. Revere the word by making Sunday morning and worship and gathering a priority in your life, because it's here where the word of God. The means of grace are shared and talked about where Jesus is highlighted. And the certain word is shared, the promises of God are remembered Revere. The word in your homes moms and dads. Like, as much as you reverse sports, as much as you revere academics, as much as you revere. All those other things in your kids, life revered this with them. Prioritize it. Like if you want to remember to revere it, put it first, make it daily. And revere it and then read it. I can't put the book to my head and have the information go in. Need to open it. I need to read it like maybe begin with a gospel to remind yourself of Jesus. Maybe open the book of Romans to find a bunch of tough and tender words. Maybe go to the Old Testament and remember the story of God's people and how he made promises. And he delivered
Other than the people like Abraham, reading it to remember better requires reading it. Some people make it their annual goal to read through the whole thing each and every year great, some people make it their goal to read all four gospels on an annual basis. Great read it and read it and read it some more.
And when you revere it and when you read it, God would tell you to do what? Peter told his people to remember. It better rely on it, apply it. Like when the world tells you one thing, but the Bible tells you another, the word is certain. Rely on it.
When you're uncertain and you maybe have questions in your spiritually doubting if God is faithful. If there's something wrong with your faith, open up the book and rely on it, see what it says about God and his faithfulness. See what it says. About faith. When you're wondering how to address an issue, look, look it up, or contact one of your pastors and will turn you to the right page and tell you to read it. And maybe help you understand it. To remember better begins with revering. It requires reading, and it Calls for relying.
And then do this. Repeat it.
Like you know, one of the biggest dangers to our spiritual life. Is something we celebrate every year here at 922. I know Pastor Bill does a great job of emphasizing this. For a lot of people they think Confirmation Day means they know it all. They have it all. They don't need to review it or read it.
So dangerous.
Like that's just the foundational truth. You know, the truth build on the trees grow in the truth. I don't know where you're at in your spiritual life where your roots are at, but maybe apply these truths, they are, is to remember better as Peter wanted that for you and we want that for you and God wants that for you.
Because here's what I know will happen over the next few weeks for all of you. There will be some uncertainty, some way, shape or fashion, it might be financial. That might be relational. Might be physical. Probably going to be spiritual.
And that could be so scary and a breeding ground for the devil and Peter knew that which is why I would want you to hear what Peter said, I'm going to do everything in my power to Help you remember it?
Brothers and sisters.
Revere it because in here that word that is certain points you right there. The grace and Gospel of Jesus Christ.
He was certain of that.
But he was willing to die for.
Because he knew that promise of God, that awaited fear it, read it, rely on it and you'll be blessed.
Because when certainty hits this, my friends and the promises that contains our certainty.
