When assembling the Corps, the President, President Jefferson, put together the Corps of Discovery. Lewis and Clark, by the way, Mary Weather Lewis was a Virginian, looked for men with a wide variety of skills. They looked for riverboat men, for hunters, for fishermen, for carpenters, for trappers, for trackers. They wanted men with some familiarity with the American Indian cultures and tribes. They wanted blacksmiths. They wanted coopers or men that knew how to make barrels and subsequently how to build canoes. They wanted gunsmiths and men that could journal, that could write. All these men, by the way, could read and write. Men that could journal and men that had drawing skills and they wanted some men that were cartographers or that were map makers. So it's interesting that out of this 44 to 45 men that set out in 1803, 1804, rather. Only one passed away, and he passed away within six weeks of the journey that started in St. Louis, and he died of appendicitis. All the remaining men survived the journey. All of the men were single, but Private John Shields, who was a Virginian, and he wouldn't see his family for over two years. Lieutenant Clark, who was from Ohio, took along a slave by the name of York. They were chosen for these skills and others and for their diligence and dedication to the Torson task at hand. Lieutenant Clark's slave, he was called York. His father was York and he was called York. He was indispensable during the journey, especially among the native tribes. Interestingly enough, this man not only spoke English, but he also could read and write some Latin and knew a couple of Indian dialects. And Lieutenant Clark freed him in 1816. So all these men chosen for their skill sets. and for their diligence and for their dedication to the Tolson task at hand. Punishment was severe. No slap on the hand. Two of the men, Privates John Miller and Moses Reed, were court-martialed because they failed to stay at their post while they were in Native American territory. They were made to run the gauntlet, and then each of them suffered 100 lashes across their backs due to desertion in the line of duty. They were demoted from their ranks, and they were removed from the Corps. Now, you're in thousands of miles from the next outpost. So what do you think these men did? Well, Captain Lewis said, you could stay with the Corps, but you will be our slaves. So they became the slaves to the Corps for the remainder of the journey. These men were accused of negligence and exposing the Corps to potential danger. Yet they continued the trip without any privileges and essentially became sleep. Whatever the other men did not want to do, these men did. Now, Peter says in verse 12, for this reason I will not be negligent. First slide, Brother Logan, is slide 71. In this verse, he says, I want to put you in remembrance of these things, the first 11 verses, and he says, so you know them and are established in the present truth. So, the grace and the truth. Diligence is one of the keys to 2 Peter. Peter stressed diligence, not negligence, in these first 11 verses. This diligence is due to God's grace, whereas negligence is due to forgetfulness. And folks, all of us forget. Peter urges the diaspora, again, that's just a name that is referenced for Christians that were scattered abroad, Asia Minor during that time, to exercise diligence. And we define that word as the ability to dispatch with eagerness and earnestness in matters of business and cares of life. In other words, there needs to be a focus and a deep attention to the matters at hand. We've taught you that diligence produces stability. And Peter has emphasized stability from God's grace, which produces security through the spiritual gifts of verses five through seven. And these gifts are a prescription, we've learned that. A prescription that provide assurance of our election to salvation. In the last sermon we preached, we preached on verses 10 and 11, which he says that he who lacks these things, verses 9 and 10, is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things, you will never stumble. For so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And then he says, I'll be negligent if I don't remind you of these things. Our sinful nature. means that we don't love the Lord Jesus as we should. In fact, we cannot love him unless the Spirit of God places within us a desire to love and a desire to have the biblical Christ, not a Christ of our imagination, but what is preached in truth in the Bible, to have him awakened in us. Now lacking these virtues, of course, that he's mentioned here in these verses, makes us blind, he says. And it also makes us forgetful. The magnitude of the Holy Spirit's change in the disposition of our hearts. So we forget these things, and that's what he's talking about in the verses leading up to this. And the only way that the Holy Spirit changes the disposition of our heart is if he calls us internally by the power of his might. So these things, Peter says, I want you to remember. Next slide, brother. One of the things that we need to remember as we go through 2 Peter, as we did in 1 Peter, there are no flaws in God's eternal decrees. God's not making a mistake. God's not forgetting something. So if you have true affection for Jesus, then your assurance is firm. God makes no mistake. And one of the best ways of gaining assurance of salvation is by understanding what salvation requires, what it consists of, and how it comes to pass. And we spent some time about a month ago looking at that. Peter has defined it for us in verses 9 through 11. Now, 1 and 2 Peter should be included in the pastoral epistles because they're very pastoral in nature. And Peter is not only highly practical, but he is a faithful pastor. And he desires for you and I and for these that he's writing to, to be diligent and not to be negligent. He finds it necessary to be repetitive. To remind people of truths of which they are aware. And most of us, if we've been in the Lord's house for any length of time, A lot of preaching and teaching is repetitive, and there's a reason for that, because we're negligent. You remember flashcards? I'm old enough to remember flashcards and spelling bees. I think they still have spelling bees. I'm not so sure they have flashcards. Maybe they do. But we learned the arithmetic tables with flashcards, the multiplication and the addition, subtraction, division, so forth. And then spelling bees as well learned how to spell or at least attempt to spell. I read a little bit of Lieutenant Clark's journal while we were gone. He journaled and Meriwether Lewis journaled as well along with others. And one of the things that prefaced Lieutenant Clark's journal was the little phrase, beware of Clark's spelling. It generally is not English. And he was horrible in his spelling. So you had to sometimes read words and say, well, what exactly is he saying? So I remember flashcards. I remember spelling bees, and perhaps you do as well. Peter said that if he failed to repeat these truths, he would be guilty of negligence. And as a pastor, pastor-to-be, preacher-to-be, teacher-to-be, whatever, failing to repeat the basic and fundamental truths of the Word of God is negligence. He reminds his readers of what they should know, because the Spirit is willing, but our flesh is always weak. No sooner do we learn something of the things of God than we become at ease in Zion. And we lose any sense of urgency found in the gospel. We are easily distracted. And social media is one of the prime culprits in being easily distracted. Jesus reminded Peter of his negligence and the ignominy of denying him. Peter declared shortly after the transfiguration there on the mountain north of Galilee that he would never deny Christ. Oh, how short his memory was. No sooner had he made that emphatic claim, that's exactly what he did. And not once, but three times. Next slide. After the resurrection, Jesus, and we've looked at this several times in John 21, asked Peter three times if he loved him. Now why do you think the Lord did that? Because he was being cruel? He was doing that to emphasize to Peter that his calling was far more important, and he needed to be reminded of what he had suffered because of Peter's denial. Peter affirmed his love, and the Lord told him, So to show your love, feed my sheep. So Peter did that. He forsook fishing and for the last 30 odd years of his life, he spent spreading the gospel message. Peter recalled this event all of his remaining life. He's mentioned it several times and will mention it again. It never left him. So what Jesus did made a viable imprint in his mind. So it wasn't cruel. It was a matter of conviction so that Peter would be diligent. Conviction for the believer is so that we might be diligent, not negligent. He recalls his witness of the transfiguration. He'll start to mention that in verse 16 here. Christ had admonished Peter, and that admonishment of Peter never left him. And that's okay. It's okay to be admonished by God. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Okay. We are his. We too, Because of the noetic effect of sin, that means that sin has a detrimental effect on our minds. Because it does have a detrimental effect on our minds, we must hear these truths repeatedly. Peter understood this, Paul understood this, Jesus understood this. Have I not told you, he mentioned to his disciples, on at least three or four occasions. So in verses 12 through 13 here this morning, remember to be established in the present truth. Again, transitioning from an emphasis of grace, although grace is found all the way through here, of course, to an emphasis on the present truth. In these verses, he says, for this reason, I'll not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. Yes, I think it is right. as long as I'm in this tent to stir you up by reminding you. So, under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, he writes these things, and before denying Christ, Jesus had said to Peter, in Luke 22, he says, when you, in fact, the beginning of this is, Solomon and I have prayed for you because Satan has desired to have you. to sift you like wheat. You know what Satan thinks of you? You know what Satan thinks of me? He thinks we're just wheat on the wind. But Jesus said, Simon, I prayed for you. He's prayed for me. He prayed for you. And he said, when you've turned again, Peter, establish your brethren. One of the words used here, the latter part of verse 12, is the word established. Peter remembered. Peter uses that same word in verse 12 here. His readers are established. in grace and in truth. And perhaps he did this because of his own ministry and obviously because of much of his ministry. Now the word established there means to be set fast. And so Jesus said, I want you to be set fast, Peter. I want you to turn and set your face in a resolute direction, in a certain direction. I want you to confirm and to fixate on your calling. And here Peter is using that same word to speak to believers, not just the preachers, not just the teachers, to every believer. Set your mind fast. Hold it in a certain direction. and make sure that you confirm and fixate on these truths that I'm teaching you. They are what God has used to change our souls. What's Peter teaching his readers? Well, beginning in verse 16 to the end of chapter one, he's gonna talk about the Word of God, how we receive the Word of God. We're gonna begin to look at that next Sunday. And then in chapter two, he's going to start a long diatribe against false teachers. And so Peter knows this, and he's saying, because there are false teachers, which broadcast continual and vicious lies about Jesus. Now remember this, if you're listening, say amen. If you're listening, say amen. A half-truth about Jesus is a lie. It must be the whole truth and nothing but the truth. When false teachers broadcast continual and vicious lies about the Son of God, they also are broadcasting lies about the truth of God. Remember, Peter says, the truth doesn't change. It's not being cast to the wind. You're not being sifted. Now Satan wants to sift the truth. He wants you to sift the truth. Peter says be established in the present truth. Remember, the truth doesn't change. I talked briefly about this at Brother Ray Meyer's gravesite on Thursday. That we live in a time where we have your truth. Then we have my truth. But there's very little talk about God's truth. It's amazing. We are to fixate on the truth. And we begin to see how he unfolds that in verse 16. Next slide. We cannot be established in the Lord Jesus Christ without remembering. And the word remember, Hupo Monescu, Monescu, Long word, but basically what it means is this. The word memnesco is the word remember. And when it proceeds with that H-U-P-O, which we use for hypo, H-Y-P-O sometimes. That's the English translation. That little phrase or the little verbiage there, H-U-P-O, means in time. You need to think about in time things you were taught before. Flashcards, spelling bees. We look at pictures. You got your phone. You probably have thousands of pictures on your phone. And sometimes you will be reminded, Facebook or one of these other social media platforms will send you something. Do you remember this happened several years ago? And you look at that picture and say, oh, isn't that wonderful? You've forgotten that. It's important for us to remember. The word that he uses here for remember means to recall in time to your mind. And that's what memory is. It's a looking back through time. Do you recall? Do you recall your conversion? Do you recall when you came to know the Lord Jesus as your savior? From this, he says, I want you to quietly contemplate. Now that's hard to do in astrocybe. Quietly contemplate in your mind. For memory is the recall in time of previous events. Previous truths in this case. So Peter uses the word remember or remembrance. He's emphasizing the diligence required for you and I to focus on what was learned as he taught them the truth of Jesus Christ. Almost every major doctrine, when we closed out 1 Peter 5, I mentioned to you that almost every major doctrine, Christian doctrine, is taught in 1 Peter. Many of them taught in 2 Peter. He's reiterating these truths over and over and over again. Three times in verses 12 through 15, he uses that word. So it's important to him. And one of the reasons he uses that word is because Peter's gonna pass away, and he knows it. Yahweh stressed remembrance to Israel in Deuteronomy 6, which we call the Shema, which is the first word of this passage, which is here. Here. The Lord our God, the Lord is one. These words I command you this day that they be on your heart. Talk about me when you rise up and when you sit down and when you lie down, when you walk in the way. Teach your children of me. Yeah, you need to teach the children a lot of things, but far and above everything else is teaching them the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And you need to have it in order to teach it. Teach your children, bind my law on your forehead between your eyes and on your arms and put it on the doorpost of your house. In chapter eight, he reiterates this again. You shall remember all the way which the Lord led you. A little further down in Deuteronomy 8, Moses writes, and if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. Like the nations the Lord makes to perish before you, so you shall perish because you wouldn't listen to the voice of the Lord your God. Hear, O Israel. Now we begin to see why the Lord Jesus, next slide, used that great phrase, he that has ears to hear, let him hear. First Chronicles, it is written, remember his wonderful deeds which he has done, his marvels and his judgments from his mouth. And all the prophets, all the minor prophets, all the major prophets, all of them, 13 of all of them chastise Israel for the lack of remembering. And Isaiah, he writes, and this is just one example. I could spend the rest of the message going through this. It's just one example. For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the rock of your refuge. Psalm 88, I used this this morning in the prayer, in verse 12. Are your wonders known in the darkness, talking about God's wonders, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? What a sad statement about Israel, who had the promises, who had the scriptures, who had all the advantages of knowing the covenant God of this universe, and yet, The writer of Psalm 88, the sons of Korah, some descendants of David, wrote, this is the land that forgets God. And if you go to Israel today, you'll see a land that is very prosperous, but a land that has forgotten God. And America certainly falls into that category. The admonitions from the Old Testament echo Christ's most often cited statement. Hear, O Israel, and Jesus said, if you have ears, hear. Let him hear. We have great memories for things that we really should forget. One of the problems in The divorce situation among married individuals is the fact that husbands and wives would rather remember all of the errors and mistakes and sins that their spouses commit rather than what God has blessed them with. One of the problems in some churches is this very thing. Oh, I can remember 40 years ago this one. Hey, can you remember to be established in the present truth? Why is it that the flesh wants us to remember trivia? Incidents and circumstances that are insignificant And the flesh fails to remember the truth which we should never forget. Jesus himself, in John 15, in the upper room, said some of the last words he said to his disciples, remember the word which I said unto you. this new and remembrance of me. Paul in Acts 20, there preaching to the elders at Ephesus said, remember the words of the Lord Jesus. Paul said to Timothy, remember Jesus Christ, born of the seed of David, risen from the dead according to my gospel. Remember, remember, remember. is your memory roused to think of the things of God. Next slide. Even the disciples forgot that Jesus would be raised from the dead. In John 2, and this is long before the crucifixion, John records, and John was an apostle, a disciple, an apostle. Therefore, when he had risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this. And they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had said. Peter in Acts 11 says, then I remembered the word of the Lord. talking about his vision that he saw in Acts chapter 10. If you're in II Peter, turn over to chapter three. He's closing out this epistle. Notice what he says. Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle, in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder that you should be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, knowing this first, and then he goes into a description of false teachers, that there'll be scoffers that will come in the last days. Have you forgotten this, he says? So soon that you've forgotten these truths. Much of the ministry of preaching is being reminded. Sometimes we may leave worship with the notion, well, I've heard that before. Indeed you have. Indeed you have. As a matter of fact, truth's not new. If it's true, it is not new. If I announce to you some new truth, or I come to you with some new revelation as an apostle of Jesus Christ, if I got some fresh word from God, it's time to kick me to the curb. Solomon, 3,000 years ago, wrote, there is nothing new under the sun. Preaching and teaching the Word of God is a ministry of being reminded of doctrinal truth, of moral responsibilities, and of being obedient. And it's that way, it'll be that way next Sunday, and the following Sunday, and the following Sunday, ad infinitum, till the Lord calls us home. Be established. in the present truth. In verses 14 and 15, he says, remember these things after my decease. Let's look at those, turn back to chapter one now, and he says, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me over, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. Now, both Peter and Paul and James and John and all of the disciples thought that Jesus would return before they passed away. But apparently it's dawning on Peter and on Paul that that's not gonna happen. So they're going to have to die. Peter knows his death is near. And apparently the Lord Jesus had mentioned this to him or had revealed this to him. And so he gives us, in these last two verses here, he gives us two clear and comforting implications for believers to make their calling and election sure. Next slide, brother. Two things that he implies. Number one, Peter is implying that when we die, we go to be with the Lord. In verse 14, he implies that the body is like a tabernacle, or it's like a tent. It's like a burial garment. Now he's thinking back to Jesus when he saw the garments that Jesus had laid out after he was resurrected. There was a change. And death means that we lay the outer garment, this flesh, aside. and then we leave this earth. That's a good thing. Jesus laid aside the burial garments when he was resurrected. In fact, the Gospel of John says that the napkin that they had wrapped around his head, he took off and he folded it up and laid it down And then, I'm out of here. Peter remembers that. It's amazing what our Lord's confrontation of Peter in John 21 caused him to remember now when he's probably in his 60s, close to 70 years of age. 2 Corinthians 5, Paul would write, we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. that the old fleshly garment wears out. And we don't carry the corruption, the flesh, to heaven. We will have a glorified, resurrected body, like our Lord Jesus Christ. And the second thing that Peter is implying here in verse 14 He implies that the death of a believer is planned for God's purposes and it's never random. Because we are finite, because we have limited knowledge, because we are emotional, because we are forgetful. We can look at events in the death of believers. Oh, this person died too soon, perhaps from our vantage point. The very first funeral that I officiated over was of a baby, an infant that was three days old. Think of the life that was gone. The death of a believer is planned for God's purposes. And nothing with God is ever random. No luck. John 21, we've talked about this. Jesus predicted the way that Peter would die. By crucifixion. They will stretch your arms and your legs out, Peter. Jesus knew and knows when and how Peter will die, because it was purposed by God. Purposed by God before the foundations of the world were laid. That's how intricate our God is. Nothing is left to the imagination, and nothing is willy-nilly. In Acts 12, we can read the story of where God sent an angel to let Peter escape while he was imprisoned in Jerusalem after James, the brother of John, had been murdered. The Bible says in Acts 12 that Herod sought Peter, had him caught and placed in prison And then there were folks that were praying for him and God sent an angel that opened the door and allowed Peter to escape. No matter how tragic the death of a believer seems, God has universal perspectives and purposes. I've seen that time and again in my life and in the lives of other people. As your pastor, I've seen it time and again, as a father, as a grandfather. Remember, one of the implications here is that the death of a believer is planned. Next slide, brother. Bill Piper. who is with the Lord now, he's John Piper, he was John Piper's father. You may not know this, maybe you know this, but John Piper's mother and the wife of Bill Piper was in the Holy Land back, I think, in 1983, and she was there on a tour of the Holy Land. In fact, she and her husband both were on a tour. And for some reason or another, In the providence of God, Bill, her husband, stayed at the hotel, I think he was ill or something, and she went on this bus trip. And the bus had an accident, she was killed. The wife of Bill Piper was a pastor, John Piper's father. And so he wrote a short poem. The title of the poem is A Short Poem of Mother and Praise of Memory. And he said, though now the pain has long since passed, the mysteries remain. How one so full of life and joy could suddenly be slain. How easily the heart cries, why? Why, Lord, why not me? The purpose of his sovereign will is difficult to see, yet in the shadow of his wings, one feels the love and care that mend the wounded broken heart and shatters grim despair. We're not gonna get a lot of answers in this life on the will and the plan of God, but we are to seek it and we are to obey it. Second Peter is Peter's last will and testament. In Acts 3 at the temple gate, there was a man that was crippled, and if you remember, Jesus said to the cripple, he asked for alms, and Peter and John were there, and Peter said, silver and gold have I none, but what I have I give to you. And he introduced him to Jesus. Far more precious than money. Back in verse four of chapter one, he says, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be protectors of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Peter still didn't have any silver or gold. But amazingly, the Lord took care of him and his wife, and perhaps their children, I don't know, we're not told that, but for 30 to 40 years. But what Peter had was infinitely more valuable and precious. And he wants his readers to remember it. He challenges the church to continue to be diligent with the virtues that he listed in verses five through eight, five through seven and eight. He reminds his readers and Flat Creek that a life barren of these gifts of the Spirit of God is reason to examine our life, to assure our calling and our election. There was a man by the name of Savonarola who lived in Italy in the 15th century. He lived a brief, amazing life, Christ. He was one of the first of the reformers. We hear a great deal about the German reformers, the Swiss reformers, the English reformers, Scottish reformers. This man was an Italian. He preached at the outset of his ministry. In his very first sermon, he said he believed that God would give him eight years as a preacher. He became known as the flaming voice of Italy. It was said that when he preached, his voice was like that of thunder. And his denunciation of sin was so terrific that The people who listened to him were half-dazed. They were bewildered and they were speechless. His audiences were so often in tears that the whole church resounded with their sobs and their weeping. He often would preach for five hours. All God's people said, five hours. You can't even sit and watch football game for five hours that you don't have to get up and get something to eat. The historian records that sometimes his face was illumined in his preaching, shattered Italy and the Roman Catholic Church. In 1498, By order of the Pope, he was burned at the stake. His last words were, the Lord suffered so much for me. And history tells us that he died exactly eight years after his first sermon. I would be negligent, Peter said. This man, this reformer, understood the limits and brevity of life. So did Peter, whose ministry was effective as long as he was in his earthly tent. And Peter left a legacy of remembrance so that we might be able today to recall the truths of our Lord Jesus to our feeble minds. Let's pray. Father, we thank you this morning for your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you for the Word. May the Word rouse us to remember. May we not become complacent in our dedication to the truth of the living God. And so my prayer is for those that are lost this morning that they may come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus. that they be reminded, Father, of their sins and be reminded there's a greater Savior than their sins. For believers, challenge us. May we not leave here with the thought that I've heard that before. Of course we have. We remember it every time we observe the Lord's Supper. So then, Lord, move in our hearts and souls according to your will this morning. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We're gonna sing a closing hymn this morning, and if the Lord's spoken to you, our desire is that you come to a saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're here and you do not know the Lord as Savior, this is the day that he set aside for you. And all that is necessary is for you to recognize that you're a sinner, to call out to Jesus as Savior, to repent of your sins, and in faith, Ask him to save you. Believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead. And the Bible says in the Book of Romans that you'll be converted. You'll be delivered. You'll be saved. As a child of God, if you're here today and the Lord is leading you into the fellowship of this church, perhaps you know the Lord has saved you. Maybe you need to follow the Lord and believe it's baptism. We encourage you to make that decision today. as a child of God. And if you're here this day, we are reminded of these things all the time. I'm reminded of them. I sit down and go through these, and I'm reminded of them every time I'm making notes. But it's the truth of God that is, there's a reason it's repetitious, and that's because We forget. What number, Ms. Shannon? 280. The Lord spoke unto you. Won't you stand and sing this verse?