“Power and Authority”  2013

Psalm 119:97-105     2 Peter 1:16-21

 

Psalm 119:97-105

97Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long. 98Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me. 99I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your decrees are my meditation. 100I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. 101I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. 102I do not turn away from your ordinances, for you have taught me. 103How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. 105Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

 

2 Peter 1:16-21

16For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17For he received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” 18We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain. 19So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

 

A young woman’s faith had been nurtured by family and church.

            She was a leader, active in the youth group,

                and enjoyed participating in church activities & programs,

                                       and loved the new Bible presented to her

                                          which she kept in a special place on her shelf.

 

After graduating from high school, she moved on to college.

            There, away from home, church, and her youth group friends,

               her Christian beliefs and background were challenged.

Some professors were hostile and ridiculed religion & the Bible,

     and others mocked Christianity as hopelessly naïve & ignorant.

 

The social life at college strained her Christian values,

               and the strangely  new and different  ideas she encountered

                  were a stretch beyond    the faith-resources of her youth…

             …and she found herself ill-equipped to deal with her doubt,

                        or work through difficult questions raised by skeptics.

 

After being away at collage for a couple of years,

            her Christian faith had weakened and was faltering,

                and she wasn’t quite sure what she really believed anymore.

 

Now,  such doubt and questioning is not necessarily a bad thing,

    but can be a normal part of faith development toward maturity,

                  a process of deciding for ourselves what we truly believe,

                        and not just accepting what others tell us to believe…

 

            … for from the integrity of honest exploration & questioning

                        a more confident and secure faith of our own   can emerge;

                                    as in the case of the young college woman,

                                       eventually, she resolved her doubt, and returned.

 

The young woman was not the first Christian to doubt their faith.

            The focus of 2^nd Peter is about dealing with doubt

                        and answering difficult questions raised by skeptics.

 

The book of Second Peter was a late addition to the New Testament

    and was written when Simon Peter was a very old man.

By then, most of those who had actually known and followed Jesus

            had lived through severe persecution, many died as martyrs.

 

So the church was now, mostly 2^nd and 3^rd generation Christians,

    who were confused that the Second Coming still hadn’t occurred.

                   Since Jesus had still not yet returned,

                           some were doubting that it would ever happen,

                                and teaching that the disciples got the story wrong.

 

To doubt the truth of the Gospel promises was intolerable to him,

            and Peter was adamant to attest, that what he saw and heard,

                        was not “an imaginative myth”, or something made up,

                                    but truly the inspired and reliable word of God…

… as he explains in vs. 16.

            For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty.  

 

Peter’s argument is that

      they testified to the actual events, miracles and lessons,

            they themselves had witnessed while they were with Jesus.

                        and the stories about Jesus were not cleverly devised myths.

 

Then Peter moves on to the Transfiguration,  vs. 17~19

            For he (Jesus) received honor and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."  …  We ourselves heard this voice come from heaven, while we were with him on the holy mountain.  So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed.

 

This is my eyewitness and truthful testimony, which I know

            ^b/c I was there at the mountain of transfiguration with Christ

                            where we all heard God’s own voice declare:

                                    "This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."

 

Peter’s point --- don’t try to pass this off as cleverly devised myth.

            I was there – I know what I saw and what was said,

                    just as I know that Jesus will be coming back as promised.

In fact at Transfiguration, we saw Jesus in his glorified form,

            as a foretaste of when he returns in glory,  just as promised.

 

Peter’s second point was that  the Transfiguration also

       connected Jesus to the Old Testament prophecies of Scripture,

 

            and that hearing God speak to them on the mountain  wasà

                        the same process as when those who wrote the Scriptures

                                    were moved and inspired by the Spirit of God.

 

That is the heart and point of this passage, Peter’s message,  

          that the eyewitness testimony of the disciples of Jesus

                   and the Spirit-inspired witness of Scripture 

                        are all truthful and from God through the Holy Spirit;

                and are most certainly not

                        of human imagination or of one’s own interpretation.

vs. 20-21

            First of all, you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation,  because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

 

The word, “moved” as in  men and women  moved  by the Holy Spirit   

            derives from a nautical term used to describe

                        how the sails of a boat are moved or blown by the wind…

 

… the power of the wind   is the language and image Peter uses

            to describe the way God inspired the writers of Scripture…

                        -- saying that human authors wrote what God wanted said,

                                                so that through the Holy Spirit’s movement,

                                                     their writing ended up in the right place.

 

    That means that the authorship of the Bible

            was the Holy Spirit of God working through human beings

                        to reveal the truth and wisdom God wants us to have ---

    - in a mysterious way   God’s word was written down by mortals.

 

Today in our world, there are many skeptics who don’t believe,

            and who question, doubt or even deny the possibility

                   that Scripture is uniquely dependable & truly God’s word.

 

The most helpful,   compelling and convincing answer I know

            against the arguments of those who doubt the gospel writers

                        or claim they made up stories as, cleverly devised myths,

         is the life-testimony of the early Christians

               that contemporaries who actually knew & traveled with Jesus

                        were so totally convinced that the gospel is true.

 

Many of these eyewitnesses    were willing Christian martyrs,

            who preferred to die    even an agonizing and terrible death

                        rather than deny their faith in Jesus Christ their Lord.

 

Had Jesus   not actually died on the cross & been raised on Easter,

            surely those present and alive at that time would have known,

                        & would not have been so willing to die a martyr’s death.

The early Christians never would have chosen to follow,

            to endure persecution and even accept a painful death

                        for a known lie, or a hoax,  or some made up story or myth.

 

Other skeptics of our time claim that the historical Jesus

            is different than the Jesus portrayed in the New Testament,

                and that the Gospel writers mistakenly got the facts wrong.

                       

It strikes me as both foolish and terribly arrogant to suppose

            that centuries later I would know better or understand more

                        than the eyewitnesses who were present and experienced

                                    the events, and who were inspired by God’s Spirit

                                                to describe in their writings of Scripture.

 

Our task in reading and studying to understand biblical texts,

            is to wait upon the Lord to reveal God’s truth,

                  to hear it together as people of faith, and let God speak-

 

            - and it is not for us to try to judge it or decide

                        which parts we agree with, and will accept as truth,

                            & which parts are too difficult so we choose to reject.

 

The idea that centuries after the events have happened,

            and centuries after the eyewitnesses have testified,

                        that we are in a position to judge their truthfulness,

                                    that we decide its accuracy,  reminds me of a story …

 

… a story about some loud, obnoxious, and boisterous tourists

            making their way through an art museum

               offering their derogatory comments and ignorant insights

                    about the various works of art & masterpieces on display.

 

Then, on the way out, as they passed by a museum guard,

            one of them brashly commented,

                                    “I just don’t see what is so special

                                                about all those silly paintings and statues.”

 

That was finally too much for the guard  who said:

      “Sir, you don’t get it. It’s not your place to judge the art,

                  but rather, you are being judged

                        by your competence to understand and appreciate the art…

 

            … and the fact that you don’t get it, says more about you,

                        than any defect of the art  or deficiency of the artist.”

 

It is not for the Bible to be evaluated by our standards,

            but to evaluate ourselves, by the standards of Scripture.

 

The Bible, it’s writings that teach about God’s mighty acts

     accomplishes far more than just providing information as data.

 

The written word of God is intended, and powerful to change lives,

            and to motivate the reader by drawing us closer to the Lord.

 

            Scripture  is God revealing and speaking to humankind,

            it is the truth that transforms as a blessing given by God…

 

… and if Scripture truly is   the true and inspired word of God:

      then it is our reliable guide that we are called to obey,

            even when it’s not easy or in line with the ways of this world.

 

It is not for us to judge Scripture by our standards of reason,

            nor by the shifting values of our culture,   but ratherà

                  we and every aspect of our lives are judged by God’s truth,

                           and for God’s truth to lead and guide the lives we live.

 

During seminary, when I spent some time in Damascus, Syria.

            On the way to visit the ancient sultan’s palace and museum,

                  we had to pass through crowded streets of the marketplace.

 

Since none of us had any idea of direction or where we were going,

            our guide held up his red baseball cap, waved it and said,

                        “Just follow this, and you’ll end up in the right place.”

 

If I had tried to navigate my way through the crowd on my own,

            without staying focused on following the guide’s red cap,

                        I would have gotten hopelessly lost.

            Or if I hadn’t learned to recognize his red baseball cap

                        as different from all the other red hats and turbans,

                                    then I would have gotten lost.

 

God’s word and Holy Scripture are something like that ---

            - we have to know the Bible well enough

                        to recognize it’s truth and message   so we can tell

                                    if someone is trying to twist or distort it’s truth.

 

And we have to stay focused,

            for if we move away from the Gospel as it’s written,

                        then we will lose sight of who Jesus is,

                                    and distracted,  we will get lost, losing our way…

 

            … for the true authority of Scripture

                        is the authority of God   who speaks through Scripture.

 

According to research,

            24% of all Christians in America own at least 5 Bibles…

                   … but most just occupy a special place on someone’s shelf.

 

The Bible is  a most incredible gift we’ve received from God,

            in which the Lord reveals the truth …

                        … of who God is, who we are, God’s plan and purpose----

                                    --- and all we need to know

                                                            to live meaningful and satisfying lives,

                                                                        that fulfill our purpose for being.

 

But if we do not read God’s word regularly and carefully,

            then having all those Bibles does absolutely no good,

                        for we’ll have no idea what Scripture really has to say,

                           and will be susceptible to any passing whim of culture.

 

As we read earlier from Psalm 119:103~105

            How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

 

            If we are not engaged in regular Bible reading and study,

                        then our walk with God will probably not grow deeper ---

                                           --- for the word of God is really that important.

Next week,  the sermon I am planning and working on

            will focus on specific ways, methods and resources,

                        practical help for Bible study, and growing the Word …

            …  so that it’s power and authority, it’s promise and joy,

                        can strengthen,  help form,  and guide our discipleship,

                                    as our faithful response to God’s gracious love.

 

So in preparation, if you have a question about reading Scripture

            email it to  me  sometime today or early in the week,

                        and I will try to work it into the sermon…

… for when God speaks to us through Scripture and we listen,

            wonderful things start to happen and we start to change.

 

As the apostle wrote in 1^st John,

            We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes,  what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning  the word of life—  This is the message we have heard from him  and proclaim to you,  that God is light …   Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.