2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
No matter how wonderful the truth is, it takes remarkable power to convince people of it. That is because the adversary knows how to make people stubborn. That remarkable power is had by the Holy Spirit, and it is always capable of overcoming the lies of the adversary provided that people exercise their God-given free agency wisely. The other day, I made the point that God had to know whether people were obeying Him by their own choice rather than by force. That is why I believe He gave us our free agency in the first place. One way that God uses to convince the people is by the testimonies of others they respect. I must admit that I was not raised in a culture where people give their personal testimonies. It took some time for me to get used to this and to really see the value of it when it is done revealing the faithful heart of a true believer. I have since discovered for myself that personal testimonies done under these conditions can be a powerful tool in convincing others of God’s love and the value of His teachings in their lives. Peter’s testimony in 2 PET 1: 16-21, which we will examine today and tomorrow, is just such a compelling message. Today’s passage is 2 PET 1: 16-18, “We have not depended on made up stories in making known to you the mighty coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. With our own eyes, we saw His greatness. We were there when He was given honor and glory by God the Father, when the voice came to Him from the Supreme Glory, saying, ‘This is My own dear Son, with Whom I am pleased!’ We ourselves heard this voice coming from heaven, when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”
Before Christ began His public ministry, we heard the testimony of John the Baptist, His first cousin, telling the people, “Turn away from your sins, because the Kingdom of heaven is near [MT 3: 2]. ” It was no accident that John the Baptist came on the scene, as we can see from his own citation of IS 40: 3 and Malachi’s prophecy of MAL 3: 1. MT 3:3, “John was the man the prophet Isaiah was talking about when he said, ‘Someone is shouting in the desert, ‘Prepare a road for the Lord; make a straight path for Him to travel!’ “ MAL 3: 1, “The Lord Almighty answers, ‘I will send My messenger to prepare the way for Me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to His Temple. The messenger you long to see will come and proclaim My covenant.’ “ Left to stand alone, this message might not have been heeded, in spite of its huge importance. In John the Baptist, there is no ego, a fact that is revealed in MT 3: 11. “I baptize you with water to show that you have repented, but the One Who will come after me will baptize you with the Holy spirit and fire. He is much greater than I am; and I am not good enough even to carry His sandals.” The people being exposed to a whole new way of life here needed John’s testimony to go the one step further. John had been called to “prepare the way” for the people to receive Jesus Christ and His life-giving message.
We all know that Jesus did come, and that His connection to God could be seen in what happened at His baptism. MT 3: 16-17, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, He came up out of the water. Then heaven was opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God coming down like a dove and lighting on Him. Then a voice said from heaven, ‘This is my own dear Son, with Whom I am pleased.’ “ This is not the only time a voice from heaven would be heard giving that message. 2 PET 1: 16 clearly refers to the transfiguration described in MT 17: 1-5 at which Peter himself was actually present. “Six days later Jesus took with him Peter and the brothers James and John and led them up a high mountain where they were alone. As they looked on, a change came over Jesus: His face was shining like the sun, and His clothes were dazzling white. Then the three disciples saw Moses and Elijah talking with Jesus. So Peter spoke up and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, how good it is that we are here! If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.’ While he was talking, a shining cloud came over them, and a voice from the cloud said, ‘This is My own dear Son with Whom I am pleased-listen to Him!’ “ Later Christ told them in (9), “Do not tell anyone about this vision you have seen until the Son of Man has been raised from death.” Christ knew when the time would be right, and Peter obeyed Him, waiting until 64-65 AD to testify to what he had actually seen.
This matter of obeying at the time God commands one to do so is crucial to accomplishing God’s work. Inherent in this are two steps: 1) opening our hearts, eyes, and ears to accepting and understanding God’s commands, and 2) willingness to act on them when He directs (which is often after having to wait and/or at a time inconvenient in terms of our human agendas). Imagine how difficult it must have been for Peter to wait from sometime between 29-33 AD until 64-65 AD (dates approximated) to obey the Lord and testify to what he had seen! But God always knows best where timing is concerned. In MT 17: 12-13, we are given an inkling of God’s omniscience in this matter. “But I tell you that Elijah has already come and people did not recognize him, but treated him just as they pleased. In the same way they will also mistreat the Son of Man.’ Then the disciples understood that He was talking to them about John the Baptist [who by that time had been beheaded by Herod].” The disciples understood about John the Baptist, but not about what that meant for their beloved Lord Jesus yet [see LK 18: 31-34]. The ability to assimilate certain truths is, in my opinion, God-directed through the Holy Spirit to occur when God feels the time is right. God must have known the people were not ready to hear Peter’s testimony until he gave it in 2 PET 1. Had Peter not obeyed and had spoken of the transfiguration earlier, the people would not have been ready to understand the impact of what it meant to their lives (and to ours).
God also knows whose testimony can have the greatest impact in delivering the truth of His message. That is why each of us has the responsibility to let the example of how we choose to live our lives back up whatever we say about our personal experience with the Lord. JN 14: 21 reveals an important truth for our lives. “Whoever accepts My commandments and obeys them is the one who loves Me. My Father will love whoever loves Me; I too will love him and reveal Myself to Him.” When this message is imprinted in our hearts, we can go forth trusting and obeying the Lord. Our lives will reflect that attitude in a way others can observe. When we live this way and then give our testimonies, others who hear us will receive God’s message through us. That is one way the Holy Spirit can act to transform people through the renewal of their minds [see RO 12: 2], bringing them to faith.
PRAYER: O Lord, we have seen how a poorly educated, impetuous man like Peter could have his life transformed by Your awesome Spirit. His life testifies on its own to the power You are willing to impart to do Your work to those who show their love for You by being obedient. We must learn to trust in You as Peter did, even if it means making major adjustments in our lives. Those adjustments will allow us not only to listen for Your commands, but also to carry them out when You direct. Peter demonstrated this by offering his testimony of what he had actually seen at the time of the transfiguration all those many years after that event. By that time, he had gained the spiritual maturity You knew was necessary for him to be a fine and caring leader for the early church. When we can, as Peter did, demonstrate by our lives that we have made You the Lord of them, people will hear our testimonies, and those testimonies will be effective in faith-building. We dedicate ourselves to listening for Your commands and carrying them out at the times You direct. You are to be praised and thanked for making the testimonies we can offer effective tools for convincing others that they should want the many blessings You give Your children. We adore, worship, glorify, magnify, and honor You. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will continue looking at the rest of Peter’s testimony from 2 PET 1: 19-21. Every day of our lives, our Father in heaven and His Son offer us their love and guidance. When we listen, trust, and obey, we are truly a blessed people. My husband, Peter, and I also send you our love.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn