This morning, let's take our Bibles, go to the 2nd Peter in chapter number 1, the book of 2nd Peter in chapter number 1. Good to see you in Sunday school. If you're wondering why the teenagers are in here, it is because Brother John Glenn's under the weather. He's got some of that same crud that everybody's got that's kind of going around right now. And amazingly, the flu has come back. For some reason, I don't really remember why it was, but I think something happened here about two years ago that killed the flu. I don't remember what it was. Something with a 19 number or something like that. Anyways, but flu disappeared, now it's come back. Anyways, and yeah, how about that? Isn't that something? Must not be election time for general election. Have no fear, don't worry. COVID will be back in two more years. The next general election comes around and they need more mail-in ballots. Do not worry, it will be back. It'll be back. I just hope Trump's back, praise God, but don't bank on it. I've about lost hope in the elections. Let's talk about the Bible, not elections, amen. Let's talk about something, get our mind on heavenly things. That right there gonna make me mad and make you mad, praise God. Second Peter chapter number one. We've been getting started in this book I think we've only been in here about two weeks now and all kind of different things that begin with a That we're looking down at down through here about Peter's attitude in the first couple of verses last week We looked at Peter's assistance and Peter's addition Peter says in verse number five of chapter one beside all this giving all diligence add to your faith and we looked at all those things that Peter says we need to add to our faith and You don't quit adding things to your faith when you get saved. Faith starts at salvation. It doesn't end at salvation. And you're continuously adding things to your faith, not to be saved. Salvation is settled. That's settled. When you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, He has promised to keep that which we've committed unto Him against that day. That's settled. That's what they call the difference in standing and state. My standing is settled. Nothing can change that. But my fellowship, my status in this world, that fluctuates. Sometimes I'm living for God and sometimes I ain't as much as I should. Sometimes mine's on heavenly things and sometimes it's on earthly things. And how much you apply these things in your life will determine how much of a fruitful Christian life you'll have. According to Peter in verse number 8, let's just start there. Verse number 8, he said, for if these things be in you and abound, All these things in verses 5, 6, and 7, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things, a man who does not continually add to his faith, adding virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity, the things in those three verses, he that lacketh these things is blind, cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." Now, it's possible for a Christian to get to a place where he gets so messed up, he ain't even sure if he's saved anymore. And that's why Peter says what he says in verse 10. Watch verse 10, we're moving along here. "'Wherefore, the rather brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure. Now, let me say this, we covered these verses last week, and we're getting back to verse 11 where we stopped at, but let me just say this real quick. I would say this, a person whose life does not exhibit any of the these things of verses five, six, and seven, somebody who claims to be a Christian, but their life exhibits none of the virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, charity, If you claim to be a Christian this morning and your life exhibits none of these things, then you should apply verse number 10 to your life. You better make your calling and your election sure. Just be honest if I looked at my life and I exhibited Nothing that a Christian should exhibit after salvation in his life Those things are listed five six and seven those go right hand in glove with Galatians chapter 5 verse 22 the fruits of the spirit Love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance if my life exhibited none of that I would make sure it's one of two things one two things either you've gotten so messed up and You're like the man in verse 9. You're blind and you've forgotten your purge from your old sins. And verse 10, you've fallen. Not fallen out of Christ, but you've fallen like it said in 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. You've done messed up. So either you just backslid and you need to get right with God, or you're just plain old lost this morning. Now I can't answer that for you, and you can't answer that for me. But this is what I'm telling you, if you're looking at your life this morning and taking inventory of your Christian life and none of these things, 5, 6, and 7, none of these things are in you, you better make your calling and election sure this morning. I wonder to myself if that's what Peter was doing, making calling elections sure. Go back with me to Matthew. I wondered to myself when I was reading this if that's not maybe what Peter was doing after he denied the Lord in Matthew chapter number 26. Look at the end of the chapter. Y'all know the story. Jesus is about to be crucified, and he's at that trial. They're mocking him, and the trial is a sham. They railroaded it through. They had no evidence to condemn him. He was guilty of nothing that they claimed he was guilty of. And in Matthew chapter 26, Peter's denying the Lord. You know the story. We'll just start in verse number 74. Matthew 26, 74. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man, and immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus which said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And I watched the last part. And he went out and wept bitterly. There are other gospel accounts that record the exact same thing, that after he denies the Lord, he goes out and weeps. And I wondered to myself, maybe if Peter writes 2 Peter chapter 1 verse 10, or verse, what was that, 9 or 10 there, verse 10 about making your calling and election sure. I wonder if that's not maybe what Peter was doing. After he heard that cock crow, man, he just realizes, I've been acting like a lost man. I haven't acted that way or talked that way for three years. That's the way I used to talk when I hung out on the fishing boat and I was going to hell. I wonder maybe if Peter didn't run out somewhere and just start crying and say, man, You know how the devil does. Now, y'all know how the devil does. Now, here's where doubt will creep in, how the devil will mess with you. You'll slip up like Peter did, and then the devil come start talking to you and saying, you ain't even saved. Because a saved man wouldn't talk like that. Saved woman wouldn't talk like that. And the devil start trying to tell you, well, you ain't even saved. Peter might have been in that same spot. Maybe the devil come by and said you just let you ain't even say but I'll tell you what help Peter Peter says he starts going back in his mind. He remembers I remember when he made a change in my life. Yeah, I messed up. Yeah, I've messed up. But it's undeniable that he did something in my life that day in Luke chapter 5 when he come by my boat and I saw myself as a sinner and saw Jesus as the Savior and said, depart from me for I'm a sinful man, O Lord. He did something in my life. that Peter said, there's no doubt that he'd done something in me because I would have had no interest in leaving my fishing boat behind and walking with this preacher for three years. Why would I have done that if he didn't make a change in my life? Peter goes back to when he remembers he said things like this in Matthew chapter 16. Jesus said, whom do men say that I am? And the disciples said, well, some say you're Elijah, and some say you're John the Baptist, and some say you're one of the prophets. And Jesus said, but who do you say I am? And Peter goes back, while I imagine he's weeping and crying out there, he's denied the Lord, he goes back and he remembers, I remember when I stepped up, when I wasn't weak in the faith, but I stepped up and I said, we believe in our sure thou art, the Christ, the son of the living God. So, every once in a while, I'll be honest, it ain't a bad thing just to make a call in an election, sure. But when you go back looking in your life, there should be evidence somewhere. Somewhere, that appetite has changed. As newborn babes, desire, desire. You have a want to. Desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby. Has there ever been a time in your life where you can look back and see there was a new appetite? I'm not saying you didn't fall and get messed up at some point. I'm not saying you didn't backslide and turn out like Peter, deny the Lord, and cuss. I'm not saying you didn't, that's not what I'm saying. I'm just wondering, has there ever been a time at some point where there was a serious life change? Not that you never sinned since then or got backslid since then. I don't want to talk about it. I mean, just was there this appetite change where the things you used to love, you didn't love them no more, you started loving this? Because I will say this, I'm not very dogmatic about some statements when it comes to judging people's salvation and such as that. I can't look in your heart and tell. But from the scripture, I can do this much. If there's never ever at all, at any point, been any kind of appetite change, period, Trust me, you ain't saved this morning. I ain't trying to get you to doubt nothing. That's not my goal. What I'm trying to say is when that little baby right there come in the world, little Levi down there, Brother Bill has seen his baby. When it come in the world, you don't have to necessarily teach a child to start eating. It comes in the world. I remember all four of mine, they come out and not long after they got out, Brother Wayne, they was all, What are they doing? They're looking for the milk. They need something. They're hungry. And when a newborn baby in Christ comes into the family of God, he wants something. Now that ain't saying that he don't ever get out and get messed up. That's not what I'm saying. But some point, was there ever a desire at all? I was talking with somebody just the other day. John, it was your son. I was talking with Brother Jeremy. And he was asking me how my grandmother was doing. And I was telling him, you know, I went down Friday again to see her. She just, you know, from when I saw her a week ago until now, she's went downhill even more, which is kind of hard to believe. She was already downhill, but now she's just barely talking and kind of muttering. And she's just... She's 87, she's got stage 4 cancer, it's all over her body, and she's in the valley of the shadow of death. She ain't far from leaving this world and going to the next world. And Brother Jeremy asked, he said, well is she a saved woman? I said, yes, she's a saved woman. I said, my mama prayed for my grandparents to get saved, and we did too from the time I was a child. It was a constant prayer request. From when my mama got saved in 1982 until 2004, I believe it was, she prayed for them for all those years. That's 22 years. My grandparents were good moral people. They were business people. They owned businesses. Papa was an Air Force veteran of 25 years. Just as good a people as you ever want to meet as far as morality. Great people, but lost. Morality and getting you to heaven and just lost and I was just recounting this with Jeremy and I said and brother Jeremy I'm telling you I remember when they got saved when they both got born again. I said it was like immediate transformation. I said My papa had a he owned a bowling lanes and he had a bar in the bowling lanes I said it wasn't just a month or two after he got saved. He shut his bar down and I said, you know, I remember they never used to darken the doors of the church. We tried to get them to go to church with us all our life and they'd never go, but as soon as they got saved, they didn't just, I said, Brother Jeremy, they turned into Sunday school, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night Christians. And this is what, and I said, and then we started coming to their house and they'd have Bibles laid out and they'd be reading their Bible and asking us questions about the Bible, wanting to know. And this is what I said to Brother Jeremy, I said, Brother Jeremy, I mean, they really got saved. And he said, man, that's good, that's good. And he said, you know, He said, did you even just hear yourself? He said, ain't that bad we have to do that? I said, do what? He said, that you have to qualify. You know, somebody started Associating with the church every time the doors open they start reading their Bible. They started tithing They started giving the missions they started passing out tracks They got rid all and they started living for God and we have to qualify it by saying yeah, they really got saved Because we have so many people that come to an altar cry a few tears and claim to get saved and they exhibit none of that But can I tell you what I just told you about my grandparents? That's real salvation Not the salvation today that you cried a couple of tears and never had a desire for God. I That worries me. I don't know about all that. I know what happened to me when I got saved. I started wanting this, loving this, desiring this. Anyways, Paul said it like this in 2 Corinthians chapter 13. We're talking about make your calling and election sure. Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 13 5. He said, examine yourselves to see whether you be in the faith. Know you're not, that Jesus Christ is in you, except you be reprobates. Check yourself out. Don't get into this thing where you start examining yourself so much where you're like, am I saved? Am I lost? I don't know if I'm saved. I don't know if I'm lost. No, I ain't saying that. Get to a place where you've made it sure. Make your calling and election sure. I know whom I have believed in and am persuaded he's able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you therefore that ye may know that ye have eternal life. Just make it sure. Settle it, and then go on for God. Don't get into this vicious cycle where you always live, am I saved, am I lost, am I saved, am I lost? I'll tell you this, and I told you this before, if you'll get busy adding these things to your faith, you'll be so busy adding things, you won't have time to worry about what the devil's trying to make you doubt that you ain't got. Just get busy adding these things to your faith. All right, let's keep moving here. Verse number 11, 2 Peter 2, 11, for so, An entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, these things he said to add makes a difference in how you enter the kingdom. Please hear me. These things don't mean you're going to enter the kingdom or not. You know, well, I've got charity, and I've got godliness, and I've got brotherly kindness. I'm going to heaven. No, you're going to heaven because you trusted Jesus Christ. You got born again. But I'll tell you what these things do do. They determine what kind of entrance you're going to have into the kingdom. You realize that some people are going to go into heaven, and it ain't going to be no grand entrance. It's going to be a little bit shameful. You know, I know everybody wants to act like they're going to just be saved and then live any way you want to live. And then, you know, it's just going to be hunky-dory and happy-go-lucky when you walk into heaven as... No, no, no, no, no. You walk into heaven as a disgraced daughter or a disgraced son, there's going to be some chastisement about this. Don't believe it? Let me show it to you. 2 Corinthians, go with me to 2 Corinthians, chapter number 5. 2 Corinthians in chapter 5, I'm curious what kind of reception you're going to have when you get to heaven. 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 9, wherefore we labor that whether present or absent we may be accepted of him. Once again, we know Paul is not saying that we need to labor and work so that we can get to heaven. No. Paul clearly said in Ephesians, we are already, right now, accepted into the beloved. But this acceptance he's talking about is a different acceptance, because keep reading the context, verse 10. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. And that ain't the great white throne judgment where the unsaved dead stands in Revelation chapter 20. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." Still speaking to saved people. He ain't even talking to lost people right here. He is sticking with saved people. Verse 11, knowing therefore, watch what he says to saved people about the judgment seat of Christ. The terror of the Lord. We persuade men, but we're made manifest unto God, and I trust also made manifest to your conscience," so on and so forth. You see what Paul said might be waiting at the judgment seat of Christ? It could be a terrifying thing. You say, how is it terrifying? Look at the other reference to the judgment seat of Christ, 1 Corinthians chapter 3. Talking about what kind of entrance are you going to have into the kingdom. Obviously, there are some people that's going to heaven that when they get there, they will be ashamed. You say, how do you know that? Because John said this in the book of 1 John. John said that we need to live according to this way so that we don't have to be ashamed of him at his coming. In other words, there's some people when Jesus comes back or they go to meet him, they're going to be ashamed. Oh, was wasting my life. Should have prayed more. Should have served more. Should have loved more. Should have lived for God more. Instead I just lived my life for the here and now. Thought nothing about eternity. Ashamed of him at his coming. I don't want to be ashamed of him at his coming. When he comes, I want to be able to say glory to God. I'm not a perfect Christian, but Lord I was looking for you and I was living for you and I was trying to do something for you before you came. Could have done better? Absolutely. But I wasn't just running through my life with no thought whatsoever of my Lord coming back. 1 Corinthians 3 and verse number 11. First Corinthians 311, for other foundation can no man lay than that is laid which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, those are things that last, those are things that can abide the fire. Wood, hay, stubble, those are all things from dead things. What? Wood is from a dead tree, a tree that's cut down. Hay is from dead grass, something's been cut. Stubble, much the same stuff. Every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire. And the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. Did you notice that? The man himself is saved, but his works get burned up. Y'all, I don't want to stand before Jesus Christ and everything I've done since I've been born again in these past 20 years, all of it just goes up in smoke. Yeah, I'm going into the kingdom and I'm saved, but I have nothing to show for it. Should I not have something to show for a life lived for Jesus? Is he not worthy to give him something? I believe personally we know what this gold, silver, precious stones is. The Bible talks about what's waiting on us is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. W-E-I-G-H-T. The Bible said we're going to have crowns to throw at his feet. I believe the things we've done for Jesus Christ with pure motive of heart, doing it just for his glory, and helping the saints. The Bible said in Hebrews 6.10, God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love in that you showed toward his name, in that you minister to the saints and do minister. God doesn't forget when you're good to his people. I don't forget people that are good to my children. I'll be honest, nothing blesses me anymore, and you as a parent, nothing blesses you anymore than when somebody blesses your child. I didn't used to understand that, Brother Archie. I didn't. But since I got children, I would ten times rather watch my children get a gift or receive something good and watch them enjoy it than me get something. It blesses me beyond no end to watch my child get blessed. And I think the Lord's the same way. When somebody is good to one of his children, do good to all men, but especially they of the household of faith. When you're good to one of God's children, God, don't forget that. Some of you visiting shut-ins and calling folk, or texting folk, or take a pie, or take a cake, or take a casserole, help them pay a bill. Whatever it may be, God ain't forgot that. Nobody else may know it. God has not forgot. And it will follow you to the judgment seat. And so when I get there, I want to make sure I got something to lay at his feet. I mean, y'all, he deserves it. He wore my crown of thorns the first time he came. The least I could do is win him a crown of righteousness to throw at his feet And I'm not doing it so that we look good. Y'all realize them songs like Tony Gorin them son for years I mean, I love the song great song catchy. I like it, but it ain't Bible They said we'll put on a crown and walk around all over God's promised land. You ain't putting on no crown Did you read Revelation? It ain't your crown. I We win the crown to put the crown at his feet. And so then he puts that crown on, and when he comes back in Revelation 19, it said on his head were many crowns. What are those crowns? Your crown and my crown. So the first time he come, he wore my crown of thorns. But the second time he comes, he'll win my crown that I've won for him as a Christian. I want to give him a good one. Don't you? So just what kind of insurance are you going to have? That's what Peter's dealing with here in our text. So back to our text here, 2 Peter 1, 11. For so an insurance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I've talked about this before, and I might as well just say it again. I'll be honest with you. It ain't just about looking at the Lord. That's going to be bad enough on some of my lackadaisicalness as a Christian. You want to know what will also be highly convicting? It's, Brother Zeke, for us to have to look at some of them Christians that got martyred down through the dark ages. Who'd I loan that Fox and Book of Martyrs stuff to? Some of that stuff we've read about in them books? Reading about people who the Roman Catholic Church tied them up to stakes and then lit them on fire and they would not deny the name of the Lord. As a matter of fact, some of them, on their way to the stake, the Catholic Church knew that on the way to the stake they would start preaching and glorifying God even while the fire burned them. And and there was many times people would get under conviction Watching these people get burned because they'd be being burned and they would start witnessing for the glory of god So the catholic church stopped them from doing it. They literally would take this It was like an iron muzzle, but it clamped on the tongue And they would take these muzzles and clamp them on men and women clamp them on their tongue and sear their tongue And they laughed about it, and then they'd send them to the stake with their tongues almost severed or seared, and they couldn't say anything but just mumble. And they would laugh at them and say, are you trying to say something for your God now? They laugh at them. I'm going to look at people like that. You're going to look at people who mamas had their babies burned in front of their eyes because they wouldn't deny Jesus. You're going to look at people who had their children drowned in front of them. I'm talking about I can show you the books, I got them in my office, tortured to death simply because they believe in what you believe in this morning. And I'm going to have to look at them people and they're going to look at me and say, wait, wait, wait, hold on. You were a 2022 Christian. You lived in a land where there was no persecution. Nope, none. They didn't try and bust the doors of your church down and murder y'all? Nope, never had to worry about that. You were able to freely pass out gospel tracts and preach on street corners and tell people about Jesus? Yep. No threat of anybody stoning you or burning you or feeding you to a lion or nothing? Nope. Government protected us. And rain kept you from going to church? Yep. Sure did. Yep. Sure did. Okay. And because you was a little bit scared of what somebody would say about you, that's why you didn't pass out that track. Cause you were just, you weren't scared of getting burned or stoned or crucified. You were just scared. Somebody would call you a Christian. Yeah, I was, I was scared what they'd say about me on my job. Hmm, wow. Okay. Now, if you're okay with entering into the kingdom with all that on... God bless you. That scares me to no end. We are blessed. You should read some of that stuff that I'm talking about. It will help you, one, to be thankful for what you have, and two, desire to do more than what I do and what we do, because God's been so incredibly good to us. We have no idea what our forefathers and foremothers went through and the bloody seas they sailed to give us what we have today. And if we don't, let me just back up now and get on a different subject. If we don't take advantage of it, it's going to get taken from us. It'll get taken from us, y'all. Anyways, for so an entrant shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So now we've seen Simon's addition and Simon's What did I say? Simon's addition, his assistance, and his attitude changed. But now we're moving on to now Simon's awareness. There's a word he uses here, just like he uses the word knowledge over and over. There's a word he also uses four times through three chapters, and he uses it several times through these verses. It's the word remembrance. Watch his awareness. He wants them to be aware of something. Watch verse 12 here, 2 Peter 1, 12. I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them and be established in the present truth. Yea, I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that you may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance. See, three times in the span of four verses, he uses the word remembrance. Remembrance. The old song used to say, roll back the curtain of memory now and then. Show me where you brought me from and where I could have been. Lord, you know I'm human and humans forget. So remind me. Remind me, dear Lord. We're just like Israel. I read that Old Testament. You know what I find, Brother Ivy, when I read the Old Testament? I see me in them. We all think if we'd have been in that Old Testament and we'd have seen a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day and manna coming down and we'd have seen all that and the Red Sea parted, man, we wouldn't be forgetful like they was. Yeah, we wouldn't. You got food in your cabinet and a little bit of money in your pocket and a car you drove here. God's been good to us and how often do I forget him? All the time. I'd be right in the same boat with him. Some things never change. And one of the major indictments, Brother Matthew, that God keeps giving the children of Israel was, he said that they forget the Lord and His works. They forgot the Lord. I don't want to do that, but I'm prone, like what's that old song said? Prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Lord, I'm so prone to forgetfulness. I'm bad about it. I mean, you can ask Miss Sheila, Brother Michael, and some of these folk, my wife, Folk that are intrinsically around me a lot either in life or in ministry and all the time got things to keep up with, things to do. Brother, I'll tell you what I don't forget. Stuff like this I don't forget. I don't forget stuff like this, I don't know. Historical things I read, I don't forget them. I can read something one time and two years later I can be preaching a message and all of a sudden that date or that name or that thought will come up and I'll use it in a message. I don't forget that stuff. This stuff I don't forget. I appreciate that because this is my profession and my ministry. So I'm glad the Lord don't let me forget this stuff. But if it ain't to do with this, it might be a coin toss whether I'm gonna remember it or not, y'all. And don't think bad of me cause that that's just I'm just confessing my faults one to another this morning bad about that I I can't tell you they forget who it was See it there again Somebody wanted to join the church one time here in the last couple of years since I was here and And I said, yeah, next Sunday we'll do that. And it was literally like six months later, they came up to me on this very platform and they said, I mean, they were faithful, and it's probably one of y'all sitting here this morning. I can't remember which one it was. And they walked up to me and they said, preacher, did we do something wrong? I said, no, man, y'all great church members. Love y'all to death. Well, we're not members yet. You ain't. Remember you told us like six months ago. You'd let us join the church, but we've been sitting there all this time You never call us up. I am sorry I'm my bad. Um, it ain't you it's me. I'm sorry bad to forget and This is what Peter says over and over. He says remember remember remember we're bad to forget I ever forgot an anniversary I Don't every husband and every wife look at each other at one time. You ever forgot your wife's birthday? Yeah, I mean, you ain't got to say amen or nothing like that. Just kind of sheepishly nod. Don't let nobody know. I forgot my wife's first birthday when we got married. Yeah. Brother Dan, that's not a good thing. We've made it now 18 years, so I guess it all worked out. We was married on November the 6th. My wife's birthday is November the 10th. I mean, that's a setup for failure. I mean, that ain't right. You give a man a break. He never been married a day in his life. He's all Twitter-pated and he's on his honeymoon. You know, I ain't found out about no birthday. I just got married, brother Charlie. Got married on the 6th, it's her birthday on the 10th. We're on our honeymoon, I wake up one morning as a newly minted husband, you know, and I'm laying there in bed next to my wife, and she rolls over and looks at me and she says, you know what today is? Brother Cliff, I ain't even lying, this is what I said, hand to God, you can ask my wife when she gets in here after Sunday school. I looked at her and I said, Wednesday? Wrong answer. Wrong answer. It was Wednesday. It was Wednesday. But that was not the answer she was looking for. Yeah, the rest of that day didn't go so good. It's not Wednesday, it's my birthday. Cut me some slack, all right? I just got married. But we're bad to forget. So Peter says over and over, you need to remember, you need to remember, what are we supposed to remember? Verse 12, watch what he says. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of, here's that thought again, these things. Do you know, it is negligent of a pastor not to constantly remind people of the truths they already know. That's what he said. He said, put you in remembrance of these things, watch the next part, though ye know them. You know what part of my job as a pastor is? It is to constantly remind you of things you already know. How come he keeps saying that about this and that? Because I'm supposed to. According to that, I'm negligent if I don't constantly remind you of the truths of living for God. These things. Constantly remind you about virtue and knowledge and temperance and patience and godliness and brotherly kindness and charity. Told our boys in the institute, I tell y'all too, you know, there ain't nothing new under the sun. The old saying is, if it's new, it's probably not true. And if it's true, it's probably not new. I will say you can deliver truth in a new way, but you can't deliver necessarily new truth. Truth's just truth. Truth's old. It's old. Now, you may remember David was talking the other day about different truths. You may have a different perspective on the truth and see it a little different way, but as far as the truth itself, truth's old, y'all. I mean, you say, how old is truth? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things are made by Him. Without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and life was a lot of men. And it goes to talk about that He was the truth from the beginning. Jesus said, I'm the way, the truth, the life. Truth's old. The gospel we preach, it's 2,000 years old. Ain't y'all crazy? Y'all are. Y'all crazy. You know why you're crazy? Because I can stand up here and get me a little old simple text and go to hammering about the cross and a man dying and getting up from the grave and putting his blood on the mercy seat. You know what y'all crazy nuts do? Y'all start shouting and crying. You've heard that so many times. You know this. There's something about that old truth. It's like, man, it's like sometimes, Brother David, somebody's gonna preach it on that old story. I know what they're gonna say, but I sit on the edge of my seat like, tell it to me. Like I ain't never heard it. Like it's my very first time. Starving to get it. What is that? That's something God does. Y'all, look, look. I watched the dogs yesterday. Ended up 16 to 6. Wasn't nothing right home about it was what it was. But I'm sitting there in front of TV and hollering and jacked up and all that and y'all listen to me. I go back during the week, and I always normally watch the game at least one more time, because then I start analyzing it. Okay, that offensive lineman didn't do that. Okay, that, you know, freshman, he ain't doing so good. You know, that was an errant pass. He should have threw it over here. And then I'll break the game down for myself. But I'll tell you, I ain't never went back and watched the game again and had the same excitement that I did the first time I watched it. I know what's coming. Brother Xander, I've seen it. I don't start hollering at the TV again. Go! Go! Touchdown! I don't do that. But son, this truth. Brother Roger, I've heard it all my life. And I got born again out of it when I was a teenager. And to this day, a preacher starts going off on it. And son, preach! Glory! Hallelujah! I mean, it's like the first time I've ever heard it. So part of my job is to put us in remembrance in these things we already know, but they do us good to hear them. They do us good to hear them over and over and over, to remember them. Let's move on to verse 13. We've got to hurry here. I've got a couple more verses to cover. Yea, I think it meet as long as I am in this tabernacle. to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. Man, these things we're supposed to remember, it'll stir you up, get you all fired up. I like what Peter says there. That's a great little doctrinal nugget. The doctrinal nugget in verse 13 is the fact that he calls his body a tabernacle. Your body is nothing more than a house, building, temple, tabernacle, any of those words are good, they're all Bible words for your body. And all that shell is that you're sitting in this morning is just a habitation for your soul that's gonna live forever and the Holy Ghost, if you're born again, the Holy Ghost lives on the inside. You know, I mean, I really don't, I really have never seen you, truly, I've never seen Danny Russell. Brother Danny, I've never really seen you. I've seen your tabernacle, but the real you's on the inside looking out at me. That's just the shell that houses Brother Danny Russell. Because one of these days, if Jesus Terrius is coming, this old tabernacle gonna fall apart, decay, and then go to the ground. But me, this guy that's talking to you, he gonna keep living. One of these days, like that old preacher said, one of these days you're gonna hear that Cody Zorn died. Don't you believe a word of it? Don't you believe a word of that? He ain't died. I'll be more alive then than I ever have been. One of these days they're gonna say Cody Zorn drew his last breath and he's dead. No he ain't, no he ain't. His tabernacle got put off. He just laid aside, folded up that tabernacle, but he's still living. See, the Jehovah's Witnesses, Jehovah's Witnesses, poor deceived Jehovah's Witnesses, they believe this. They believe that the grave is hell. That when you die, that your body goes to hell, which is, they say, the grave. Everywhere they read hell in the Bible, it's a grave. I ain't never seen no grave with flames in it. Because Jesus talked about hell fire. The fires of hell, unquenchable fire. You ever stepped over a grave where you was putting somebody down and seen flames all up in that thing? No. So they believe that the grave is hell and they believe your soul sleeps, that when you die your soul just goes to sleep and it stays in the grave with your body until the general resurrection day when everybody gets up. That ain't true. Take your Bible, go to Genesis 35 with me. Genesis 35. We got to move quick here because we only got just a few minutes, so we're going to throw these references out real fast. We'll turn to them and read them. Genesis 35 and verse number 18, this is Jacob's wife, Rebekah, about to pass away here. or Deborah, one or the other here, either the nurse or one of them, read down through there and you can find. It's Rachel, excuse me, not Rebecca, Rachel. Verse 16 said, Rachel travailed and she had hard labor. Verse 18, watch it. And it came to pass, as her soul was what? For she died. Her body's dying, but her soul's leaving. Your soul don't stay. Paul said this, Philippians 1 verse 23, here's another reference you write down for this. Paul said in Philippians 1 verse 23, he said, For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart. and be with Christ, which is far better. In other words, I'm fitting to kill my body, but my soul's departing. Paul said over in Timothy in chapter number four, he said, for I'm now ready to be offered. I love this wording. I love this. And the time of my departure is at hand. Departure. I ain't never walked in the Charlotte airport, the Atlanta airport, or any other airport I've been in. What, they didn't have arrivals? Departures. You know what that baby is right there? That's arrival. ain't long arrived. You know what my grandma is not long from now? That ain't death. That's departure. She about to board the plane, son. Yeah, that helps me this morning. Watch what it said about Moses. Watch what it said about Moses, Deuteronomy and the last chapter. Deuteronomy is 30, 34. I'm not sure that's the reference I want. Deuteronomy 32, excuse me, the two chapters before. There it is, Deuteronomy 32, 50. The Lord tells Moses to go up into Mount Nebo. And look at the land, and verse 50 says this, and die in the mount, whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people. Now somebody reads that and says, well that just means, you know, his people is going to come get him and go bury him. Uh-uh. Did y'all read about Moses? His people didn't get him and bury him. God buried him. His burying place wasn't known to this day. His people didn't come get him. Who's the people he got gathered to? Them people that's in his family that went on to paradise and he was going to meet them. One of these days, I'm gonna depart and go gather with my people. In another world. Oh yeah, go back to our text here. Let's read another couple verses and be done. 2 Peter chapter 1, and he said this in verse 14. knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle. He likens it just like, you know, some clothes gonna fold up and put it away. Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me." Tabernacle, one of the greatest references for that is 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse number 1 said, for we know that if the earthly house of our tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building with God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. I'm going to get a new house. Get a new house, new body, new tabernacle. I love 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 1. That's the verse that when one of my heroes, General Thomas Stonewall Jackson, was going off to fight the war against northern aggression. When he went off to fight that war, he sat down in his parlor with his wife before he answered the call to defend his country. And he held hands with her and they read 2 Corinthians 5 verse 1. For our earthly house is a tabernacle where it is all we have, a building of God not made with hands. Matter of fact, that DVD we passed out to the vets, if you watch that, that scene is recreated in there. Him and his wife holding their hands and reading that verse of scripture. Anyways, that's a blessing. It is interesting too, a little interesting tidbit, verse 14. Peter says, knowing shortly I must put off my tabernacle. Then he said in verse 14, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. There's some sort of weird thing a lot of times down through history, and you might have even known somebody like this in your personal life. There's some sort of weird thing at certain points in people's lives that they kind of get a premonition that they're leaving before they leave. Has anybody ever known anybody like that? They kind of knew something was going on? Yeah. A lot of y'all have. If you read, you know, even in the Bible, there are some in the Bible that kind of knew something was going to happen before it did. And then you read history or maybe you knew a family member. Then I'm not talking about they were in this extended illness for a long, long, long time and fixing to die. But I mean like they just started getting this premonition or saying things like, I'm not going to live past this age. And then it comes true. I don't understand that. There's weird stuff that starts happening near death. That's a valley that's an odd place. My grandmother, y'all have seen stuff like this too. Me and my wife was talking about this the other day. My mama was telling me the other day before I got there, my grandmother, her mama's been dead for 30 plus years. Close to that. And here the other day, Brother Travis, she was talking to her momma like she was standing in a room. She said, my momma's over, I was talking to momma. That's weird stuff. There's something weird start, when a person starts getting near that valley of the shadow of death, I do believe that there's, God starts opening up another world. And I'll say this, I got books over there for this too. Dying Testimonies of the Saints and Sinners and Last Words, Last Words of Saints and Sinners and Dying Testimonies of the Saved and Unsaved. You don't see this much anymore because everybody's getting so doped up on their deathbeds now. So everybody's, you know, so pumped up with morphine and things that it takes away a lot of the deathbed experiences that you would see in people. But brother, back in the old days, there was a veil that started coming down in the valley of the shadow of death and you started seeing which world you was going to. Brother, I got testimonies over there and I've talked with people before. I talked to a nurse one time at Levine's Children Hospital in the foyer while I was up there with somebody having child surgery here a few years back. And she told me, I'm talking about a nurse up there that works on some of them floors, told me, she said, I have literally watched people beg me to pull them out of the flames and beg me to help them get out of the fire and such as that. Say, what is that? They started seeing where they was heading before they got there. And on the other hand, there's people, brother, that I've talked to that seen this happen and been around folk that, man, when they was fixing to depart, they said, oh, ain't that beautiful? Oh, look, isn't that beautiful? Oh, my, it's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. They'd say, what you talking about, mama? What you talking about, daddy? Oh, don't you see it? Don't you see how pretty that place is? So then they'd suck their last breath and go on home. Amen. That's how I want to go out. Know what I'm thinking to put off my tabernacle and then just depart. Amen. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your word. God, I pray that you'd give us assurance, give us confidence in the day of judgment, knowing that we've done the things we're supposed to do that brings you glory and honor. God, if there's somebody in here that doesn't have their calling and election, sure, they're not saved. Lord, I pray that this morning you'd deal with their heart, help them make their calling and election sure. Come to Christ to be born again. We'll thank you for it. Encourage your people now in the 11 o'clock hour. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. All right, you're dismissed.