2 Peter: The Power of Remembering

Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. What would life be like without the ability to remember? It would be chaotic and largely meaningless. Memory allows individuals to draw upon past events to frame their understanding and behavior in the present. What we remember also provides a framework for us to make sense of the present and future. Peter calls God's people to remember the gospel of Jesus as it was accomplished in history, because such memory provides stability, understanding, wisdom, and hope.

None of us can afford to leave remembering up to chance, like when a friend says to you, Well, if you happen to remember. We learn from the scriptures that worship is actually what stirs our capacity to remember the vital things. The psalmist proclaims, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Let's listen to this message titled The Power of Remembering from 2 Peter 1, 12-15. This is the last segment of a message first preached on July 2, 2023 at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem.

It's part of a series in 2 Peter called Live as People Who Remember. To hear the entire message, visit www.delightingrace.com. Hopefully by now you understand that worship of God doesn't just simply mean singing great songs in church. Are you communing with God? If you look at verse 10, go back to Deuteronomy 6, you look at verse 10 and following, God's challenge to his people says, you know, when I lead you into the promised land, you're going to be enjoying stuff that I've given to you. Long story short, what is God's challenge to them?

Remember, be careful that you don't forget me. And we have a tendency to do that. We want to enjoy God's stuff, but God's stuff is not my highest good and my deepest satisfaction. God is.

That's why my memory must be robust, to remember him. A survey, a study was done back in 2019 because there's an alarm today of all the young people that, you know, they grow up in the church and then they leave the church. And there was a study that was done of those that stayed faithful to Christ in the company of God's people. Five characteristics of their lives. Let me just write these.

This would be 18 to 29-year-olds, okay? And these are called resilient disciples. This is why they were resilient disciples. Number one, they experienced intimacy with Jesus. That's number one.

They experienced intimacy. They had a close personal walk with Jesus. That's number one. Number two, they practiced cultural discernment. Number three, they have meaningful spiritual relationships. Number four, they engage in counter-cultural mission. Number five, they have a sense of calling in their life and work. Now doesn't that perfectly reflect the benefits of a robust memory, the things we just talked about?

It does. We can learn from that. Family worship.

How do you develop a robust memory? Personal worship, number one. Number two, family worship. Do you worship as a family?

It makes a difference. Number three, work as worship. You say, Rich, I don't get that.

You know, I come to church on Sunday and then I go to work the rest of the week. I'm not seeing a connection there. There needs to be a connection. There must be a connection. Let me tell you why.

Because Paul says very clearly to the Colossians, in whatever you do, who are you serving? Jesus Christ. New paradigm for you. For those of you that are going to work tomorrow... I don't work on Mondays.

I'm just a pastor. I work only on Sundays, right? For those of you going to work tomorrow morning, you're going into work with this new understanding. I am serving Jesus Christ.

That will radically impact your work. What is it about work that you serve the Lord Jesus Christ? Does Jesus care about how you do your work?

Yes, He does. Absolutely. Are you doing it well? You're serving people. Are you doing it well? Are you doing it with a good attitude? Are you doing it with the proper humility and submission? Are there people where you work? Yes. How's your relationship with those people? Are you constantly in competition with each other?

Are you trading barbs with each other? Or do they know that you are so satisfied in God that no matter what they say to you, it's going to be water off your back? You serve Jesus Christ. Work as worship. This is what He says in Colossians chapter 3 verses 23 and 24.

It's up here. Whatever you do, work heartily. Say it with me. As for the Lord and not for men. That's a paradigm shift. You ready to obey this?

It will make a difference, a huge difference in your life. You are serving the Lord Christ. So whether you are in a field, in a cubicle, in an office, on stage, before a class, wherever you are tomorrow morning, behind a desk, you serve the Lord Jesus Christ.

Are you working to please Him? This is a contribution, a major contribution to a robust memory of the grace that has been lavished on you and the grace that is laid up for you. Lastly, well, let me quote 2 Corinthians 5 verses 9 and 10. Whether present or absent, we make it our aim to please Him, the Apostle Paul says. For we must all appear before what? The judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive what is done in the body, whether good or evil. You're going to give an answer to the gifts you had, to the work that you had, the things that God entrusted to you.

Did you use them for my glory or did you use them for amassing things for yourself and comparing yourself with other people? Lastly, corporate worship. Family worship, no, personal worship, family worship, work as worship. Lastly, corporate worship, that's what we're doing here this morning. We're making much of God, we're hearing God's word, corporate worship.

Is it a priority in your life? Have you made corporate worship a priority in your life? In other words, you don't get up Sunday morning and say, do I want to go to church today?

Well, let's see, is there anything else going on? Lastly, corporate worship. Family worship, no, personal worship, family worship, work as worship. Lastly, corporate worship, that's what we're doing here this morning. We're making much of God, we're hearing God's word, corporate worship. Is it a priority in your life? Have you made corporate worship a priority in your life? In other words, you don't get up Sunday morning and say, do I want to go to church today? Well, let's see, is there anything else going on? Somebody said, this is Jeremy, attendance is not a gift of the Spirit.

It's good, isn't it? Attendance is not a gift of the Spirit. Attendance is not a gift of the Spirit. You said that, didn't you, Jeremy?

Anybody can do that. Is corporate worship a priority for you? Do you come with expectation? What kind of expectation do you come with? I'm just going to sit and absorb and just be in God.

Well, your focus is off if that's the case. As we come together corporately to serve and to be changed, to speak into each other's lives, to encourage each other, corporate worship needs to be that priority. And this is a huge contributing factor to a robust memory. And lastly, we are here to remember. We celebrate, we remember, we have rights, we have rituals.

Why? Because they help us remember. They cause us to think about God again.

His grace lavished, His grace laid up. And we think about it, it informs our understanding, it transforms our affections and our attitudes and our actions. So that I am prepared for action, to engage my world, to get stirred up. So I need to walk the preeminence of Christ. It is a walk of the preeminence of Christ in my life. If I could draw a circle, and that circle is a tire, and there's a hub and there's all these different spokes, and all of those represent the different areas of your life, what is the point of preeminence?

It's that hub right there. Everything revolves around. Because what is preeminent in your life is what chiefly motivates you, and it is ultimately what you worship. This is why Paul says to the Colossians that in all things he may have preeminence. Am I a worshiper of God? Am I a follower of Jesus Christ? Am I in step with His Spirit? Is His Word dwelling in me richly?

Am I living for myself or am I living for Him? Let me bring it down to one practical point for us this morning in developing a robust memory. Aggressively replace a compartmentalized life with the preeminence of Christ. Aggressively replace a compartmentalized life with the preeminence of Christ.

There is, if Christ is preeminent in your life, there is no part of your life that is not directly connected to Jesus Christ. That's how you develop a robust memory. Peter calls us to that. Because if we don't have a robust memory, he knows we'll get carried away with trends, philosophies that are not true. We don't want to get carried away. We want to be true and faithful.

Stand with me, please. Father, we are grateful for your love for us, for your Word to us, your self-disclosure. Father, we want to be careful to build and maintain a growing and robust memory of who you are and what you've done and who we are in Christ. Father, we want to be stirred up, to be able to engage our world with discernment, with wisdom, with compassion, with confidence. So, Father, I pray that as we leave here this morning, we will resolve to live as a people who remember so that we are not carried away. Thanks for joining us here at Delight in Grace. You've been listening to Rich Powell, the lead pastor at Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Delight in Grace mission is to help you know that God designed you to realize your highest good and your deepest satisfaction in Him, the one who is infinitely good. We hope you'll join us again on Weekdays at 10 a.m.