Alright, if you would, turn in your Bibles. 2 Peter 1 will be in verses 12-21 here this evening. As we continue our study on preparing for persecution. Topics of utmost importance for us as we face or when we face persecution. So far we've looked at our unity in Christ and our assurance of salvation, but tonight we will look at the truth that endures. We'll look at as Josh said this morning, a sermon about the Bible from the Bible. So 2 Peter 1, we'll start by reading the Word of God in verse number 12. So let's stand in honor of the reading of the Word of God. 2 Peter 1, verse number 12. And I should say, before we even get started, the inspired, inerrant, infallible, all-sufficient Word of God says, Verse number 12, Wherefore, I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye 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 has showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that ye may be able, after my decrease, to have these things always in remembrance. For we have not followed cunningly devised fables when we made known unto you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in that holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereinto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in the dark place, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Let's pray and we'll get started. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, as we approach this passage, God, I pray that you would empower me with the Holy Spirit to preach these words of truth correctly, rightly. And God, that I pray that we would all leave here tonight with a deeper love, understanding, and appreciation for your truth. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You can be seated. As we approach tonight's passage, we are reminded that the book of 2 Peter is Peter's last words. Peter's final words. Soon he will die. He will be crucified upside down. And he knows this. He says that to us in this very passage. But I was thinking this week, have you ever considered what message you would leave behind as your final words? Suppose you are diagnosed tomorrow with a serious and terminal illness. What would you leave behind as your final word? Say you only have a few months to live. What are you going to leave behind? What do you say to your spouse? What do you say to your children? What do you say to your relatives? To your friends? To your church? I thought about it this week a lot for me. What would I do if I was in this situation? With only a matter of days or months left to live, what message would I leave for my kids who will grow up without a father? What message would I leave to my wife who will be devastated at the loss of her husband? I confirmed that with her before the sermon. That is true. What message would I leave for my parents who would lose their first born son? And I pondered that this week, and I thought, you know, one thing I would not say is, you know, I wouldn't say anything silly. Right? I wouldn't leave behind a message, a final word that's just full of silly stuff. I think in our day-to-day, there's a lot of conversation, and there's a lot of talk of just silliness, of just nonsense, of just things that have no real lasting meaning. I would want to leave something behind that had meaning. I would want to leave something behind that was impactful. I would want to leave something behind to teach them to avoid the mistakes that I have made and learn how to live life well. I would want to be like Solomon was in Ecclesiastes. We studied that recently. That's the type of last message I want to leave behind. And I really think that that's where Peter's at here in 2 Peter 1. We see it in verse 14. He says, knowing that I will shortly put off this, my tabernacle, he is shortly going to die. And I think Peter is trying to leave behind a lasting message, a message about truth that will endure. And, you know, perhaps Peter's not talking to his biological children. But I think he's probably talking to his spiritual children. People who he has seen come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And now, as he is on the precipice of death, he now leaves behind for them some final words. And we have to see this as we approach this passage tonight. We have to feel this. We have to feel the weight of what Peter is trying to say and trying to convey in these words here tonight. That these are his final words. That he could have picked anything to say. But these are the final words that will be said by him. And he even begins here in verse number 12 with a wherefore or a therefore. So really, this is just a continuation of all that he's been saying in chapter number one. So we've been talking about our unity in Christ. Well, he's going to say in tonight's passage, where do we learn of our unity in Christ? We learn about it in the truth that endures. And even the last time, we talked about our security in Christ. Where do we learn of our security in Christ? In the truth that endures. In the Word of God. So let's dive into our study here tonight, looking at this truth that endures. I have three points for you tonight, not eight. I'm way more loving than that. So I only have three for you tonight. Three S's for you tonight so you can look for those. But we're going to start with point number one, the significance of the truth. And Peter is going to begin here in verse number 12 by giving us four reasons why the truth is significant. Four reasons why we need the truth. And he says here in verse number 12, he says, Therefore, 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. So reason number one why the truth is significant, or reason number one why we need the truth, is that we need the truth fundamentally. It says there in verse 12, at the end of verse 12, we are established in the present truth. Truth is the foundation of the Christian life. Christianity is not a religion that is founded upon emotions or founded upon feelings. It's founded upon truth. In order to become a Christian, you must know some things. You cannot become a Christian and know nothing at all. You have to know some things in order to be saved. You say, well, what do you have to know? Well, you have to know the truth about who God is. You have to know the truth about who you are. You have to know the truth about what God has done for you. You cannot become a Christian and say, well, I don't even know who God is. I don't know what God's done for me. I don't know who I am. You have to know these things before you can become a Christian. It's foundational to the Christian life. And even as a Christian, as you are a Christian and you are abiding in Christ, you must continue to live in the truth. We grow closer and closer to God by learning more about Him. By learning more about Him, our lives are then shaped to be like Him. So truth is absolutely fundamental in the Christian life. And I think this is why Sola Scriptura was the battle cry of the Reformation. This is why men and preachers like Martin Luther would stand and say, my conscience is held captive by the Word of God. Because the truth is so foundational, so fundamental to the Christian life. So reason number one why you need truth, it is fundamental. Reason number two is that you need truth continually. It's still here in verse number 12. He says, Wherefore, I will not be negligent to put to you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them. So Peter here, he's talking about the truth and he's saying, this truth that I'm talking about, it's not something new. And we know that from Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 9, that there's nothing new under the sun. So when Peter here is talking about reminding them of these truths, he's not talking about some new truth. He's talking about a very old truth. The same old truth about who God is and what God has done. He's saying, you already know these things. I'll stop or digress for just a second and say, Christianity is in dire need of stopping trying to be innovative. There are so many people in Christianity today, they want to be innovative. They want to come up with something new, a new method, a new truth. No, that's not what Christianity is. Christianity is about old truths, foundational truths. And I'll be honest with you, I struggle with this in my life. I work, I'm a scientist, right? Working for a Fortune 500 company, we want to be innovative. That's what we want to do. We want to innovate. We want to create new chemicals and new molecules and new things all the time. It's new, new, new, new, new. We want to be out in front of the rest of the world. But I have to flip a switch when I open my Bible. I have to flip a switch when I come to church because I don't want anything new when I come to church. I want the same old truth that Christians have been believing for thousands of years. So let's not be innovative, but let's be founded in these old truths. And he says here, and we need them continually because we're forgetful. In verse 12, verse 13 and verse 15, he uses the term remembrance. He says he wants to put you always in remembrance in verse 12. Verse 13, putting you in remembrance. Verse 15, always in remembrance. We're forgetful people. And Peter is saying here, you need to be reminded of these old and glorious truths. I want to tell you something. Over the course of your life, you've probably forgotten more than you've remembered. You ever think about that? I pondered that this week, and we're just overloaded with information that we forget way more than we remember. I thought about this. I'll give you an example. I've been saved for nine years and have been faithfully attending this church for nine years. And I say this not to boast, but really just as an example, I'm pretty much here every service, Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. And by my calculation, that is well over 1,000 sermons that I have heard in nine years. I have heard Josh preach 1,000 times. That's a lot. How many of those sermons do you think I remember? I can tell you it's way less than a thousand. I mean, there's some that I remember parts and pieces or, you know, a really clever three points that were all the same letter. I mean, there's some that I remember, but for the most part, I don't. I mean, think about that in your life. How many sermons have you heard? I mean, some of you all have been saved much longer than I have. How many times have you read the Bible? And how much of that do you really remember? And I think Peter understands that here, that we need to be a people who remember things. It's nothing new, but it's just that same thing that we keep hearing, but we're forgetful. And we need to remember these things. We learn by repetition. How often are you good at something your first try? I mean, never, pretty much never. What did they say? In order to become really good at something, it takes 10,000 hours or whatever that might be. Do you think that you're going to be good at godliness on your first try? Or good at godliness with minimal effort? We have to be a people who are continually seeking and pursuing after the truth. Peter knew that firsthand, right? Luke chapter 22 verse 61 says, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord. Now, I want to give you some backstory. This is right after Peter denied Jesus. Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said, wow, I really wish I would have remembered what Jesus said before I denied him three times. Peter knows firsthand that we must be a people of remembrance. A people that remember what Jesus says. I mean, some other examples from the Bible. Think about the Passover. That was something that God established for remembering what He had done for them. Take it into the New Testament, the Lord's table. We are remembering the body and the blood that was shed for us by Christ. Remembering. God knows we're forgetful people and we need to remember these things often. You say, remember what specifically? I mean, I think it's God and the Gospel. It's the core truths of Scripture. You would think that we could get even the most basic, but we're still prone to forget those things. Some other Bible verses here. 2 Timothy 2.14 says, Put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they should strive, not about words to no profit, to the subverting of the hearers. John 15, 20, Jesus says, Remember the word that I have said unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. We have to be a people of remembrance. Over and over in the Bible, it's telling us, remember this, remember this, remember this. Oftentimes, the church desires revival and reformation, and I do as well. I would love to see revival here in this place, in this town, in this nation. But if we are going to see revival and reformation, we need to stop trying to be relevant and start remembering the core truths of Scripture. We need truth continually. That's number two. Number three, we're going to get through this. We need truth faithfully. In verse number 13, Peter says, yea, I think it meet. That word meet there is right. I think that it is right. I think that it is good that you would remember these things. I want to tell you something. This is going to sound really profound. Truth is good. I know, that one knocked your socks off, but truth is good. Here's another one for you. Lies are bad. I know, it's profound. And I shouldn't have to say that, but the world in which we live in today has everything distorted. Truth is ridiculed, lies are celebrated. So we need to, unfortunately, we need to say these basic things like, truth is good. And Peter goes on here in verse number 13 that he says, I think it meet that as long as I'm in this tabernacle to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. So Peter has a desire to stir these people up or to give them a wake up call. He's saying, don't be lax about the truth. This stir you up is the same word that's used when the disciples frantically woke up Jesus to calm the storm. So here you have the disciples and they're running to get Jesus to save us from the storm. Peter here is running to these people and saying, you must stand for the truth. You need to be faithful to the truth. We need to be people who will stand for the truth without compromise. We need preachers that will preach the truth and Christians that will believe and live out the truth. Just because times get hard, that doesn't mean you can compromise on the truth. As we prepare for persecution, hard times will come. That will be the real test on whether or not you stand for the truth. It's easier to stand for the truth when everything around you is going all fine and dandy, sun shines and rainbows. When hard times come, when persecution comes, will you still stand for the truth? We must be faithful to the truth. One final one here and then we'll move on. Fourth reason is that we need truth urgently. He says here several times in verse 12, he says, I will not be negligent. It means I will always be ready or on every occasion. I won't be caught off guard. In verse 14, he says, knowing that shortly, so Peter here shortly is talking about his life, that he only has a limited amount of time left. He's soon going to be martyred. He's urgent about this. As I said in the introduction, these are his final words. He understands the urgency of the truth. The truth cannot wait for later. We need the truth now. He describes his death here in verse 15 as his decrease. I think it's an interesting word. The word is exodus there, which is interesting. I think Peter understands, you know, he's not ceasing to exist. He's going from one place to the other. He's going from earth to heaven. And he calls it his tent, his tabernacle or his tent. Again, in other words, it's just conveying the temporal nature of life. Right? It's not a set structure, but it's a tent that they would move around. And when we think about the truth, you know, do you spend your time investing in temporal things or eternal things? The truth is an eternal thing. I think too many times Christians are just investing in all these things that will fade away. Temporal things, passing things, fleeting things. when we must invest in and stand for the truth. So truth will remain when the world's on fire. Amen? I had to put that in there. I felt morally obligated to obey my pastor and put that in there. But you need to prioritize, to love, and to live out the truth. It is of utmost importance, of utmost urgency utmost significance that you would stand for the truth. Now perhaps your next question is, well if the truth is so important, can we rely on it? That's a good question. I'm glad you asked that. Another way you could say that, or I could ask you, is why do you believe the Bible? Why do you believe the truth that you have? So that's going to be our second point. We're going to look at the spectators of the truth in verses 16 through 18. Verse number 16 says, So here we're going to see that the apostles, and it's not just Peter here because he uses the term we, so he said, for we have not followed these cunningly devised fables. So he's talking about the apostles. So it's not just Peter now, but he's saying that they are spectators of the truth. And more specifically, they're spectators. They're uncommon spectators. They're not spectators like the rest of the world. You say, how do you get that? Well, in verse number 16 he says, For we have not followed cunningly devised fables. Fables here means myths. That's what the world would do. The world is going to make up all these fables, all these myths, and that's what they're telling people. But Peter here is saying, that's not what we did. We didn't make up all these myths and all these fables. I read, when I was in seminary, I read a book called The Bible Among the Myths. And it was really focused on the Old Testament, but it was a pretty good book, and it was comparing the Bible versus basically every other ancient religious document. And it's funny how the world says, okay, well there's some similarities, the Bible must have copied from all these other things. The argument that's made here is that what's more likely is that all of these other religions copied their practices and their teachings from the Bible. But over and over again, we see the Bible is a historical reality. It's not some made-up myth or fable, but it is a reality. You say, why do you say that? The Bible would be absolutely impossible to fake. It would be. No one could do that. You would have to be divine to fake the existence of the Bible. And get this, the Bible is 66 books written over 1,500 years. I mean, over the span of 1,500 years, and it's the same message. How do you span 1,500 years and be consistent in your messaging? It was written by 40 different authors. We couldn't get 40 of us to agree on anything today. How could you get 40 people to have a consistent message flow throughout the Scripture? Not to mention three different languages, written on three different continents, 13 different countries, and one central message. God and His Gospel. It would be impossible to fake the Bible. So Peter says, we didn't do that. We didn't make up these fables and these myths. And he goes on, he describes them as cunningly devised myths, deceitful myths. And I don't think this is talking about mythology like you would think of Greek or Roman mythology. I think he's talking about something that's much more subtle here. I think that Peter is talking about false teachers within the church. And in chapter 2, we're going to talk a great deal about false teachers. And it's very important and very pertinent to us that we're talking about the truth today, because the truth is how we combat false teaching. So we'll talk about that in chapter 2. But there are false teachers here that Peter is combating. And I think that's what he's really talking about here. In verse number 16, for we did not follow cunningly devised fables. We didn't follow deceitful things, these deceitful false teachers who were only out for power and popularity. This is relevant to us today, right? I mean, anybody who comes to you and says, God spoke to me in a dream. That's the cunningly devised fables that we're talking to here. Or, I had a vision from God, or whatever that might be. That's what we're talking about here when he says, that's not what we did. We weren't making stuff up on our own. It wasn't a cunningly devised fable. Instead, they were eyewitness spectators. That's what he says, "...when we made known to you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty." They were eyewitnesses of Christ. They saw the miracles. They heard the teaching. They saw Jesus live a perfect, sinless life. They saw Him die on the cross. They saw the empty tomb. They saw Jesus ascend up into heaven. They were eyewitnesses. It's hard to lie when you have an eyewitness. I think Vaughty-Bockham puts this well. He talks about how science tries to disprove this. And they do so by applying the scientific method. And they say, well, none of that's reproducible. Well, neither is George Washington's life. I mean, it's a terrible argument for a historical event. Historical events are not proven by the scientific method. They're proven by what's called the evidentiary method. You prove historical events by evidence, evidence and eyewitnesses, not the scientific method. Because if we apply the scientific method, again, I can't prove that George Washington or Abraham Lincoln are alive because I cannot recreate their life. There's no repetition when it comes to life. It is a temporal one-time event. So science is very critical of things like eyewitness spectators, but this is exactly how you would prove a historical event. This is exactly how you would get up in court and you would call a witness. And you would say, you were there. All of these false teachers. who have these cunningly devised myths or bad teaching about Jesus and who he was, he would say, were you there? Because we know a guy who was there. Peter, come on up to the stand. What do you say? You were there. He was, they were eyewitnesses. More specifically, they were not just eyewitness spectators, but they were spectators of glory. It says there at the end of verse 16, but we're eyewitnesses of his majesty. Majesty there means magnificence or glory. And really what we're going to get to in verses 17 through 18 is a depiction of or mentioning of or reference to the transfiguration of Christ. Verse 17, for he received from God the Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, this is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mount. Now I think we know and we've studied recently about the transfiguration of Christ. You can find that in Matthew 17. in verses 1 through 8. We won't turn there for sake of time, and we've recently just been there on Sunday mornings. So here, in Matthew 17, or at the transfiguration of Christ, the glory of Jesus is revealed to him, and his face is shining, and there's this shining cloud that's coming down out of heaven, that's saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I'm well pleased, and Peter and John are falling down on the ground, and they don't know what's going on, they're scared to death. Peter speaks up, and he's like, maybe we should build a tent. for each of you, and it's a crazy event. But what's happening here is the Father is revealing the glory of the Son. And they are eyewitnesses to the transfiguration of Christ. This is the confirmation of the Son in nature and in essence, that they are being eyewitnesses to this once in a lifetime, once in a universe event that is happening here on this mountain. And so when they say that they are eyewitnesses of the majesty, not only did they run into Jesus once, But they are in the inner circle of who Jesus was. They have seen things that no one else in the world had possibly had the privilege of seeing. And they go on to say in verse 16, Peter says that, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. So this is talking about the second coming of Christ. The transfiguration is a foretaste of the second coming of Christ. So when Christ returns in glory, the transfiguration is not just the revealing of the glory of the Son or the confirmation of the Son. It is those things. But it's also a foretaste of the second coming. So because of the transfiguration, Peter and the rest of the apostles have been faithfully preaching the power and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And I really think that this is the specific false teaching that Peter is kind of combating here. I think the false teachers are saying something different. We don't know exactly what that is about the second coming of Christ. And Peter's saying, listen here, man. I was there. I was scared to death, you know, with my face planted in the ground on top of that mountain. I was an eyewitness of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ on the mountain. He was transfigured before my eyes. It's hard to, I mean, what do you say to that if you're the false teacher? Well, I thought something else. I don't know. So they were spectators of the truth. And I think all of this teaches us that we can rely on the truth of the Bible because we have eyewitness spectators. This was not written by, you know, some guy off the street who claimed to have a vision of God. But these were eyewitness spectators. So we can trust the truth because of that. But that's not all. It gets better. We actually have an even greater reason to believe the truth of the Bible than an eyewitness spectator. An eyewitness spectator is great, but we have something even greater. We depend not just on eyewitness testimony, but we also have divine inspiration. So let's look at the final point, the source of truth. starting in verse number 19. It says we have also a more sure word of prophecy. You say, well, what does that mean? What does that mean? A more sure word of prophecy. Truth is more important than experience. Truth is more important than experience. It's great. to have an eyewitness testimony. But even more than that, it's foundational truth. And again, Peter's writing all of this to combat these false teachers. I think that he could have challenged the authenticity of these false teachers. These false teachers probably said something like, Well, I had a dream, or I had a vision. And Peter could have said, you know, your vision's fake, or your dream's not real. But he doesn't do that. He doesn't challenge the authenticity of their experience, because he doesn't need to. You see, no matter what the false teacher's experiences may or may not have been, the Bible is more reliable than any experience. You say, well, but I mean, how is the Bible more reliable than Peter's eyewitness testimony? Than Peter, you know, living and walking with the Lord Jesus Christ? How is that really more reliable? Well, think about it. Not all of the apostles observed everything, right? I mean, some of the apostles saw some things. I mean, you know, it's only three of them on the mountain of transfiguration. And, you know, Matthew, he wasn't even up there. So, I mean, he didn't see everything. But in the Bible, we have the totality of God's revelation. In the Bible, we have all that God has seen fit to reveal to us. That's awesome. I mean, I think we get so caught up with the whole, hey, you know, I really wish I should have seen Jesus. There's an old southern gospel song that says, I wish I could have been there. I won't sing it to you because I really can't really remember how it goes, but it goes something like, I wish I could have been there when the thousands were fed, with two fish and some bread, and see the little boy that's packing up the rest. I wish I could have been there, yada, yada, yada. It's talking about all the events and the miracles of Jesus' life, but the concept of the song is, I wish I could have been there. And I think I can resonate with that, right? I wish I could have been there. But I think we overlook the fact that we have something better. We have before us the complete revelation from God. That's even better than being there. We have God's very Word. God could have placed us in that time and that place, but He didn't. He placed us here and He gave us His Word. He gave us the truth that transcends time. And we have that at our very fingertips. We have a more sure word. So we got to stop trying to get a voice from heaven. We have to stop trying to have dreams and visions, right? That's what's, I feel like that's placed on a pedestal in our culture of Christianity today. Things like that. We have something far better than a voice from heaven. We have the very Word of God. Let's cherish and enjoy and love the great gift that God has given us. He goes on in verse number 20, and he says, Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. Interpretation here, it's kind of a tricky word. It really means origin. So it's really saying, no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private origin. Really what he's saying here is that Scripture does not come from man. Scripture comes from God. Jack MacArthur, who is John MacArthur's father, he was also a pastor, said this. He said, this one verse explodes the idea that man had anything to do with inspiration. B.B. Warfield has also said that because of verses like this, the Bible is the very word of God in such a way that when the Bible speaks, God speaks. That's what we have to know. The Bible is not from man. It is from God. So there is no private interpretation. The interpretation of the Bible is not left up to you and to me. It's not private interpretation. We believe in proper interpretation. We believe that there is one correct way to interpret the Bible. We believe that the Bible is historical. That the church at Ephesus was a real church. That it's not some figurative church out there, but that it was a real church. That when the Bible was written, it was written to real people. So it's historical. And we believe that the Bible shouldn't be interpreted literally. Not symbolically, unless otherwise stated. I mean, there's some, clearly there's some symbolic things in the Bible, especially when we talk about, you know, some of the end time stuff, because the writers, their minds were blown, and they were like, it was like this, and like this, and we just don't have words to describe some of these events. But for the most part, the Bible should be interpreted literally. So there is a proper interpretation of the Bible. You don't get to interpret it however you want to. I don't get to interpret it however I want to. There is one right, correct way to interpret the Bible. It's also not a corporate interpretation. That's what happened in the Dark Ages. The Roman Catholic Church believed that there was a corporate interpretation of the Bible, and that the Bible interpretation was left up to them, and what the Bible said was whatever they said it was. Again, this is why the reformers protested and said, no, there is one right, correct interpretation of the Bible. So the Bible is not from man. It is from God. More specifically, he goes on in verse number 21 and says, For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God, as they spake, were moved by the Holy Ghost. They were moved by the Holy Ghost. They were carried by the Holy Ghost. That verb there means to blow the wind in your sails. It's the same thing as 2 Timothy 3.16 says, that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, or when translated literally from the Greek, that verse means all scripture is God-breathed. So, all scripture comes from men who were moved by the Holy Ghost. 3,800 times in the Bible it says, God says, or thus says the Lord. 3,800 times. Every word in the Bible. is inspired by God. All parts of the Bible are inspired by God. It's not just some words are inspired by God and some aren't. No, they're all inspired by God. It's not some parts of the Bible are inspired and some aren't. I think there's a lot of people in Christianity today who say, well, creation, that's not inspired by God, but the Jesus part, that was inspired by God. No, it's all or nothing. All Scripture is inspired by God. Every word is God-breathed. And this is not, we're not talking about dictation. So when the apostles wrote, they weren't just dictating verbatim, you know, word from word that they had no power over their pens. But God gave them the freedom to exercise some of their personality in their writings. Paul doesn't write the same as Peter does. That the four Gospels are not the same. And there's no problem with that. We see it from different perspectives. But at the end of the day, the Holy Spirit was superintending over each one of them. At the end of the day, the Holy Spirit was ensuring that nothing would be incorrect in what they were saying. That they would write down at the end of the day the exact thing that what God wanted them to write down. I already used this week as an example, maybe it's helpful for you, maybe it's not, as an escalator. It's like an escalator. It's like the Holy Spirit was an escalator. You were on the escalator, but the Holy Spirit was carrying you on that escalator and was ensuring that you got to the right place. You know, how much control do you have when you're riding an escalator over getting to the right place? You have zero control. The escalator is just taking you from point A to point B. Now, you're still on the escalator. You don't cease to exist on the escalator. You're still an individual person on the escalator. But, you know, carrying you along and ensuring the accuracy is all the work, or was all the work of the Holy Spirit. And because of this, because the scriptures do not come from man, and because the scriptures are inspired by God, there are some great glorious truths that we get to enjoy. We get to enjoy inerrancy, that the Bible is totally and completely free from error. Psalm 19, the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Get this. Just as Jesus, the incarnate Word, was free from sin, the Bible, the inspired Word, is free from error. Not only is it inerrant, it's trustworthy. We know that human language can convey truth. There are some people who would say, truth cannot be known. You can't know the truth. Because we're all human and we all err, it would be impossible for us to have any inkling or understanding of the truth. That's not true. Because of divine inspiration, we can have access to the truth. And the Bible is sufficient. 2 Timothy 3, 16 again, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for the doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." So the truth has authority. But not only that, we must obey the truth. He says that here in verse number 19. We also have a more sure word of prophecy wherein to you do well that ye take heed. So we have to take heed to this word of truth. We must believe the truth. We must obey the truth. We cannot be indifferent to the truth. In Ephesians chapter 6, we are instructed to put on the belt of truth as a part of the armor of God. And I've preached that passage before. But that belt is so foundational to our lives, to our spiritual lives. The belt in those times, for a soldier, it would secure your clothes so that you didn't trip over your own undergarments. They would have a long tunic. It was kind of like a flowing dress shirt thing. And if they didn't secure it in their belt, they would trip and fall. And really, they'd be defeating themselves when they went into battle. So this belt, it would ensure readiness. In the same way here, right? When we must take heed to the truth, we must put on our belts of truth. We must be ready when persecution comes. We must not be caught off guard, that we must live out and obey the truth of the Word of God. He goes on to call it a light that shineth in a dark place. Now again, we know that the incarnate Word of God, Jesus, was the light of the world. And here, the inspired word is also referred to as light. So no matter what happens, there will always be light shining into the darkness. That's wonderful, right? To know that there is light shining into the darkness. And that the darkness is unable to extinguish the light. But people prefer darkness over light. So we must be people like Psalm 119. People who say, you know, thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. We must take heed. We must be people who love and live for the truth, the word of God. And one final thing and then we'll be done. How long will the truth last? It says at the end of verse 19, He says, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. So how long will the truth last? This might sound wrong, but the Bible is not eternal. The truth is eternal, but the Bible is not eternal. It sounds wrong just to say that, but hang with me for a second. At the return of Christ, we will exchange the inspired word for the incarnate word. When Jesus returns, we will have the word. We will no longer have a need for the Bible anymore. That morning star here, it means the light bringer. It's really what it means there. Day star or morning star, it means the light bringer. And it is referencing the return of Christ. Revelation 22, 16 says, I, Jesus, have sent Mine angel, to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. He's talking about the return of Christ. So it says here, in verse 19, until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts. Until Jesus returns. Now, as we wait for the morning star, or the day star, I would encourage us to be like another Morning Star. I'm going to tell you about another Morning Star. John Wycliffe was referred to as the Morning Star of the Reformation. He was known as way before Martin Luther for translating the Bible, hundreds of Bibles into English by hand. So way before the printing press, I think it took eight to ten months to manually do that. And he and his followers translated hundreds of Bibles into English by hand because they desired to see the Bible get in the hands of the common people. They had a very high view of Scripture. They believed that the truth would endure. So for now, while we wait for the morning star to arise, let us be like John Wycliffe. Morning stars here with a high view of the truth. So since the truth or the source of truth is divine, we can count on it. So I hope you've seen tonight through our study that the Word of God is the truth that will endure when persecution comes. You need to be firmly rooted in the truth for the days ahead. When false teachers come, you need the truth. When doubt arises, you need the truth. When disunity sneaks in, you need the truth. When despair overwhelms you, you need the truth. In all times, in all places, you need the truth. The truth of the Word of God will endure forever. Now, perhaps you're still not sold on the truth. Maybe you need to get to know the incarnate Word before you can appreciate the inspired Word. You know, I don't think you'll ever appreciate truth until your heart is changed. You'll never love the truth with an old, dead, stony heart. So I would say if this is you today, I bid you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. And then believe on the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. Believe on Him that went to the cross and took on your sin so that you might have His righteousness. Believe on Him. Believe on the One who died in your place. And then, when you believe on Him, through the regeneration and salvation and through the power of the Holy Spirit, you will live and love of the truth. One final thing that I'm going to read to you because I can. You're not the one that's preaching, I am. I did this the last time I preached a sermon on the Bible. I want to read to you the Gideon Bible introduction by way of closing because I think it is one of the most phenomenal statements in all the world. on the Bible. Every time I read it, I want to go buy a printing press and print Bibles. I want to read my Bible cover to cover. It gets me fired up about the Bible, so I'm going to leave you with that. The Bible contains the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you. to support you and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler's map, the pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass, the soldier's sword, and the Christian's charter. Here, paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good the design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened at the judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and will condemn all those who trifle with its sacred. contents. Praise God for the truth that endures. Let's pray. Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you for your word. God, what a blessing your word is. It is so marvelous and magnificent to have at our very fingertips the inspired word of God. So, God, we thank you for it. And God, I pray that even in me, that you would instill a greater love and a deeper appreciation for your word. God, I pray that I would never abandon or become indifferent to your word. God, I pray that you would keep your word very close to our hearts, that we would have it when persecution comes. So God, help us with that. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.