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2 Peter 1:12-21 - Eyewitnesses, Not Fables · The Bible Explained with Jenn Kokal

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  Speaker 1: Life Audio. You are listening to The Bible Explained with
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  Speaker 1: Jen Koukl, a P40 Ministries podcast. Howdy there, faithful listeners.
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  Speaker 1: Welcome to The Bible Explained podcast on this lovely, lovely morning.
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  Speaker 1: I hope you have been having a great start to
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  Speaker 1: your week so far and that You've been enjoying the weather.
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  Speaker 1: For me, this is the first really cold week that
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  Speaker 1: we've had. My husband and I started a fire the
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  Speaker 1: other night for the first time. And honestly, last night,
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  Speaker 1: I probably could have had one as well because of
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  Speaker 1: how cold it got. But it warmed up a little
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  Speaker 1: bit today. So I will take whatever warmth is left
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  Speaker 1: before the frigid weather comes in and lasts for the
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  Speaker 1: next six months. Oh, it's not my favorite. It is
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  Speaker 1: not my favorite, you guys can tell. All right, before
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  Speaker 1: we dive into 2nd Peter, I'm going to play this
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  Speaker 1: first sponsored ad for you guys and I'll be back
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  Speaker 1: right after that. So just an aside, ever since I
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  Speaker 1: was a little kid, I really enjoyed those like squishy
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  Speaker 1: toys that are like fidget toys, I guess. And I
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  Speaker 1: had this dinosaur one that I used to fidget with
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  Speaker 1: all the time when I was recording the podcast. They
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  Speaker 1: ended up breaking and the goo on the inside of
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  Speaker 1: it just like went everywhere. So recently... For whatever reason,
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  Speaker 1: fidget toys have been really popular. And because I'm highly influenceable,
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  Speaker 1: I decided I needed to get one of those viral
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  Speaker 1: dumpling squishies that they have now. And so I was
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  Speaker 1: passing a Five Below the other day. And I was like, Mom,
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  Speaker 1: let's go in and let's see if there's any of
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  Speaker 1: those viral dumpling squishies. And she's like, why would you
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  Speaker 1: want that? And I'm like, I don't know. So I
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  Speaker 1: can squish it when I'm at my desk, I guess.
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  Speaker 1: And so we went in and I got one. And
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  Speaker 1: I'm not going to lie. It is... It is so stupid.
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  Speaker 1: I wasted my money on this thing. I'm squishing it.
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  Speaker 1: It's noisy. It already, I think, is breaking and I've
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  Speaker 1: only had it for a couple days. So I don't
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  Speaker 1: know how this thing went so viral, but here we are.
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  Speaker 1: And this is proof that not everything that goes viral
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  Speaker 1: is worth spending your money on. All right, but that
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  Speaker 1: story has nothing to do with 2 Peter 1 verses
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  Speaker 1: 12 through 21, which is what we're going to be
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  Speaker 1: reading today. And we're going to be covering a lot
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  Speaker 1: of topics today. Everything from false prophecy to the validity
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  Speaker 1: of the Old Testament scriptures and how not to neglect evangelism.
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  Speaker 1: even if evangelism is not your spiritual gift. So we're
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  Speaker 1: gonna talk about all of these things today in 2
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  Speaker 1: Peter 1, 12 through 21. So grab your Bible out
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  Speaker 1: of the version that you prefer and also your cup
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  Speaker 1: of delicious seven weeks coffee or your cup of tea
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  Speaker 1: for you crazy, crazy tea drinkers. And as we sip
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  Speaker 1: those hot beverages, let's give reverence to God's word together. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: I will not be negligent to remind you of these things,
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  Speaker 1: though you know them and are established in the present truth.
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  Speaker 1: I think it right, as long as I am in
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  Speaker 1: this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, knowing
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  Speaker 1: that the putting off of my tent comes swiftly, even
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  Speaker 1: as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: I will make every effort that you may always be
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  Speaker 1: able to remember these things even after my departure. For
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  Speaker 1: we didn't follow cunningly devised fables when we made known
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  Speaker 1: to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 1: but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received
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  Speaker 1: from God the Father honor and glory when the voice
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  Speaker 1: came to him from the majestic glory, This is my
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  Speaker 1: beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. We heard
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  Speaker 1: this voice come out of heaven when we were with
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  Speaker 1: him on the holy mountain. We have the more sure
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  Speaker 1: word of prophecy, and you do well that you heed
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  Speaker 1: it as a lamp shining in a dark place, until
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  Speaker 1: the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts,
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  Speaker 1: knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of
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  Speaker 1: private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will
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  Speaker 1: of man, but holy men of God spoke, being moved
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  Speaker 1: by the Holy Spirit. The first half of this chapter,
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  Speaker 1: if you guys remember, was talking about all of these
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  Speaker 1: different virtues that we can learn after we become a Christian.
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  Speaker 1: And there are several of them. So everybody starts with faith.
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  Speaker 1: That's like the first thing. Your faith grows into moral excellence.
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  Speaker 1: Your moral excellence grows into knowledge. Knowledge grows into self-control.
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  Speaker 1: self-control into perseverance, perseverance into godliness, godliness into brotherly affection,
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  Speaker 1: and lastly, brotherly affection into love. So love is essentially
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  Speaker 1: the highest virtue that any of us Christians can hope
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  Speaker 1: to achieve. But we are all called to achieve that
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  Speaker 1: highest goal of love. We are all called to love
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  Speaker 1: our neighbors. That is what Jesus told us many times
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  Speaker 1: when he was here on earth, to love other people.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, when we get into 1 John, which is
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  Speaker 1: the next book after 2 Peter, that's essentially what the
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  Speaker 1: entire book of 1 John is talking about. How if
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  Speaker 1: you don't have love, you are not really living the
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  Speaker 1: way that Jesus calls you to live. Now, that being said,
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  Speaker 1: none of these virtues that Peter listed can save us,
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  Speaker 1: but they are proof of our faith and they're good
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  Speaker 1: for us and good for other people as well, which
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  Speaker 1: is why Peter opens up his letter by talking about
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  Speaker 1: these virtues and how we should continue moving forward in
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  Speaker 1: not falling into our old sins again, but moving forward
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  Speaker 1: and learning how to love, learning to be more like Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: So now in verse 12, where we leave off today,
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  Speaker 1: he says, therefore, I will not be negligent to remind
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  Speaker 1: you of these things, though you know them and are
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  Speaker 1: established in the present truth. So he's like, look, I'm
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  Speaker 1: sorry if it feels like I am beating a dead horse.
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  Speaker 1: I know you guys know all of these things. I
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  Speaker 1: know that you are faithful. And that you do believe
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  Speaker 1: in Jesus and you're working towards these virtues. But I
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  Speaker 1: cannot be negligent. So I'm going to continue talking about
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  Speaker 1: these things, even if it's something that you guys already know.
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  Speaker 1: And that's a really important note. We are not supposed
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  Speaker 1: to be negligent in our work, even if it feels
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  Speaker 1: like somebody already knows something. these principles, it's still good
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  Speaker 1: to encourage them and remind them to continue moving forward
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  Speaker 1: in the faith. If we don't, it might actually be
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  Speaker 1: negligence on our part, and we don't want to be
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  Speaker 1: negligent with the gospel. Yesterday in the book of Job,
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  Speaker 1: we just talked about how Job considered it a sin
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  Speaker 1: to hide the words of Yahweh, to not declare his
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  Speaker 1: faith to his family or his friends or other people
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  Speaker 1: that he met. He considered that a sin. And Peter
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  Speaker 1: here considers it negligent if he doesn't speak enough about Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: So that's definitely something to keep in mind. If anybody
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  Speaker 1: listening to the podcast feels uncomfortable, I suppose, sharing your faith,
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  Speaker 1: which I completely agree. Understand that. I am not a
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  Speaker 1: good evangelist. In fact, I was just talking to my
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  Speaker 1: husband about this last night. I am a terrible evangelist.
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  Speaker 1: I know people who can go up to anybody, any
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  Speaker 1: person they just met and have a conversation with them
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  Speaker 1: and just start talking to them about Jesus. I know
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  Speaker 1: two individuals in my life who are very much like that,
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  Speaker 1: and I am not one of them. And evangelism is
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  Speaker 1: considered one of the spiritual gifts, meaning that some of
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  Speaker 1: us are just not going to have the gift of
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  Speaker 1: evangelism the way other people do. But Jesus still calls
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  Speaker 1: every single one of us to evangelize. So even if
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  Speaker 1: we don't necessarily have the gift of evangelism, where we
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  Speaker 1: can go up to anybody and start talking to them
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  Speaker 1: about Jesus, doesn't mean we're not supposed to evangelize or
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  Speaker 1: just be quiet in our faith. And you might be like, well,
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  Speaker 1: what do I do? Because I don't have the gift
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  Speaker 1: of evangelism. I'm very shy and I struggle to talk
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  Speaker 1: to anybody, let alone about Jesus. So what do I
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  Speaker 1: do in that situation? Well, you evangelize in the way
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  Speaker 1: that you are able to. You evangelize in the gifts
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  Speaker 1: that you have been given. So for example, if you
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  Speaker 1: have the spiritual gift of helps, that means you're just
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  Speaker 1: able to help people. And I know somebody who has
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  Speaker 1: that spiritual gift and it is such a wonderful spiritual gift.
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  Speaker 1: If you call him on the phone, he is there.
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  Speaker 1: He will just come over and he will help you
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  Speaker 1: with anything that you need. Last year, I was having
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  Speaker 1: trouble with my audio. I don't know if you guys
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  Speaker 1: remember that, where I had to switch back to my
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  Speaker 1: laptop for a while to record my episodes because something
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  Speaker 1: happened with my Focusrite and it caused a bug to
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  Speaker 1: go on my main computer. And he came over two
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  Speaker 1: separate times to look at my computer and figure out
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  Speaker 1: what the problem was. And he was able to eventually
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  Speaker 1: fix it, which was a godsend. And I can imagine
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  Speaker 1: that his gift of being there for people who are
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  Speaker 1: in need, that's an excellent way to evangelize to those people.
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  Speaker 1: You help them. And after a while, you strike up
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  Speaker 1: a conversation with them and you just say, oh, yeah, well,
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  Speaker 1: I'm a Christian. Or it could even be as simple as,
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  Speaker 1: leaving their house and before you leave, say, hey, God
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  Speaker 1: bless you. He really loves you. That's all you have
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  Speaker 1: to do. I mean, it's simple things like that. You
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  Speaker 1: are to shine your light. And when you shine your light,
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  Speaker 1: you are going to be an evangelist for Jesus. If
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  Speaker 1: you are not being negligent, that's what Peter says right here.
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  Speaker 1: He would consider himself negligent if he did not write
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  Speaker 1: these letters to these churches and remind them of all
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  Speaker 1: of these things. Once again, you can imagine, you know,
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  Speaker 1: if Peter had not felt a calling to write this
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  Speaker 1: last letter before he died, we would not have this
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  Speaker 1: book of the Bible, which is filled with so many
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  Speaker 1: wonderful things. Things that just complete the story of other
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  Speaker 1: things we've been told in scripture. So thank goodness that
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  Speaker 1: Peter was not negligent. He says in verse 13 right here,
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  Speaker 1: I think it right. As long as I am in
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  Speaker 1: this tent to stir you up by reminding you, knowing
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  Speaker 1: that the putting off of my tent comes swiftly. even
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  Speaker 1: as the Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. Yes,
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  Speaker 1: I will make every effort that you may always be
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  Speaker 1: able to remember these things even after my departure. That's
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  Speaker 1: why he's writing this letter. He feels an urgency because
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  Speaker 1: he knows it's been revealed to him that he is
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  Speaker 1: going to die very soon. He calls his body a tent,
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  Speaker 1: which this is definitely something we've seen before in 2
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  Speaker 1: Corinthians 5, verses one through five. Paul said the same
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  Speaker 1: exact thing about our bodies. He said, for we know
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  Speaker 1: that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved,
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  Speaker 1: we have a building from God, a house not made
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  Speaker 1: with hands, eternal in the heavens. For most certainly in
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  Speaker 1: this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation,
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  Speaker 1: which is from heaven. If indeed being clothed, We will
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  Speaker 1: not be found naked. For indeed, we who are in
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  Speaker 1: this tent do groan, being burdened, not that we desire
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  Speaker 1: to be unclothed, but that we desire to be clothed,
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  Speaker 1: that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
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  Speaker 1: Now he who made us for this very thing is God,
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  Speaker 1: who also gave to us the down payment of the Spirit.
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  Speaker 1: So that's probably a lot to talk about today. But
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  Speaker 1: essentially what Paul is saying there is that our bodies
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  Speaker 1: are these temporary dwelling places, just as a tent would
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  Speaker 1: never be considered somebody's permanent home. You know, when you
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  Speaker 1: live in a tent, you are considered to be homeless,
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  Speaker 1: even if you own the tent. You have to technically
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  Speaker 1: have an address in order for you to not be homeless.
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  Speaker 1: So our bodies are similar to tents. They are not
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  Speaker 1: our permanent home. But there is a permanent home waiting
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  Speaker 1: for us, an eternal one in the heavens. And all
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  Speaker 1: of us need to eventually rid ourselves from these tents
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  Speaker 1: and put on the immortal clothing, is what Paul says
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  Speaker 1: right here. And that immortal clothing is the new body
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  Speaker 1: that Jesus is going to give us when he returns
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  Speaker 1: once again. That's called the resurrection. And that is talked
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  Speaker 1: about at length in 1 Corinthians 15. So Peter considers
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  Speaker 1: his body just a tent. And eventually... Very soon, his
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  Speaker 1: tent is going to be destroyed and he's going to
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  Speaker 1: put on his new clothing and he's looking forward to that.
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  Speaker 1: But even so, he's going to be gone on this earth.
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  Speaker 1: So he feels this urgency that he needs to put
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  Speaker 1: effort into writing down everything that he told the church
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  Speaker 1: so that they can remember it throughout the generations. And
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  Speaker 1: so that's how we got the book of 2 Peter.
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  Speaker 1: Now in verse 16, he continues, For we didn't follow
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  Speaker 1: cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the
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  Speaker 1: power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but
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  Speaker 1: we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. So now Peter begins
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  Speaker 1: to talk about his authority, his ability to be able
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  Speaker 1: to teach these things to the Christians. It's kind of
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  Speaker 1: like his resume. He's not following after Aesop's fables or
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  Speaker 1: some other fable. He is following what he personally saw
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  Speaker 1: as he traveled with Jesus. He saw Jesus face to face.
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  Speaker 1: He touched Jesus on earth. He was with Jesus when
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  Speaker 1: Jesus was resurrected. He was there as an eyewitness. So
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  Speaker 1: this is not a fable. And the things that he
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  Speaker 1: teaches the church are not coming from fables, but from
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  Speaker 1: the risen Jesus himself. And he says, I know that
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  Speaker 1: Jesus is God because verse 17, He received from God
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  Speaker 1: the Father honor and glory when the voice came to
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  Speaker 1: him from the majestic glory. This is my beloved son
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  Speaker 1: in whom I am well pleased. We heard this voice
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  Speaker 1: come out of heaven when we were with him on
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  Speaker 1: the holy mountain. So that, of course, is talking about
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  Speaker 1: the transfiguration of Jesus that Peter had witnessed. I believe
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  Speaker 1: it was Peter, James, and John, if I'm remembering correctly.
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  Speaker 1: all went up to this mountain with Jesus. Actually, let's
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  Speaker 1: just read it. It's found in Matthew 17, verses one
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  Speaker 1: through nine. After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James,
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  Speaker 1: and John, his brother, and brought them up into a
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  Speaker 1: high mountain by themselves. He was changed before them. His
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  Speaker 1: face shone like the sun and his garments became as
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  Speaker 1: white as the light. Behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to
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  Speaker 1: them talking with him. Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord,
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  Speaker 1: it is good for us to be here. If you want,
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  Speaker 1: let's make three tents here, one for you, one for
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  Speaker 1: Moses and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, behold,
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  Speaker 1: a bright cloud overshadowed them. Behold, a voice came out
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  Speaker 1: of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son in
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  Speaker 1: whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. When the
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  Speaker 1: disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were
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  Speaker 1: very afraid. Jesus came and touched them and said, get
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  Speaker 1: up and don't be afraid. Lifting up their eyes, they
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  Speaker 1: saw no one except Jesus alone. As they were coming
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  Speaker 1: down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them saying, don't tell
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  Speaker 1: anyone what you saw until the Son of Man has
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  Speaker 1: risen from the dead. Jesus was transfigured before the disciples' eyes, right?
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  Speaker 1: And he became something different. His description of him is
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  Speaker 1: very similar to the one that John sees in Revelation, right?
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  Speaker 1: You know, Jesus being bright and white and his face
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  Speaker 1: shining like the sun and his garments are as light
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  Speaker 1: shining off of him. And then there's two men that
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  Speaker 1: appear with him, Moses and Elijah. And here's what's really
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  Speaker 1: interesting about that. You know, the Jewish people held Moses
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  Speaker 1: in such high regard. And Peter, not being in his
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  Speaker 1: right mind because he's freaked out over what he's seeing
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  Speaker 1: right now, ends up saying something like, kind of heretical,
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  Speaker 1: where he's putting Moses and Elijah on the same page
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  Speaker 1: as Jesus, because he's like, Jesus, let's build three houses
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  Speaker 1: for you. One for you, one for Elijah and one
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  Speaker 1: for Moses. And directly after Peter says that the voice
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  Speaker 1: from God, the father comes out of the sky and says,
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  Speaker 1: this Jesus is my beloved son. Listen to him. And
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  Speaker 1: this is something that Peter saw with his own two eyes.
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  Speaker 1: And now that Jesus has been resurrected, he has been
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  Speaker 1: given permission to talk about this story to all of
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  Speaker 1: us readers of 2 Peter. Because Jesus said, wait until
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  Speaker 1: I'm resurrected for you to tell everybody what happened here
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  Speaker 1: on the mountain. But that was Peter, James, and John
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  Speaker 1: given a vision of who Jesus was. He was God himself.
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  Speaker 1: Because the disciples were having a really hard time seeing
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  Speaker 1: past Jesus's humanity at this point in time. Even at
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  Speaker 1: the ascension of Jesus, some of them still doubted him
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  Speaker 1: is what it says, unfortunately. But Peter, who was an
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  Speaker 1: eyewitness of all of these things, is appealing to all
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  Speaker 1: of us. Believe in Jesus and believe in who he is.
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  Speaker 1: This is not made up fables. I saw it with
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  Speaker 1: my own eyes. And he's like, but you know what?
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  Speaker 1: If you don't believe my eyewitness account, then at least
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  Speaker 1: believe the prophets. That's what he says right here in
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  Speaker 1: verse 19. We have the more sure word of prophecy
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  Speaker 1: and you do well that you heat it as to
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  Speaker 1: a lamp shining in a dark place until the day
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  Speaker 1: dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. Knowing
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  Speaker 1: this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of private interpretation.
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  Speaker 1: He says, look, All of you guys, if you don't
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  Speaker 1: want to believe what I saw up on that mountain
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  Speaker 1: or what I saw of Jesus when he was doing
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  Speaker 1: his earthly ministry or even after he was crucified and resurrected,
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  Speaker 1: if you don't want to believe that, then believe the prophecies.
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  Speaker 1: And here's the thing. The Old Testament prophecies all prove
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  Speaker 1: Jesus is the Messiah. You're not going to find a
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  Speaker 1: single one that doesn't prove it. And these prophecies were written.
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  Speaker 1: thousands of years before Jesus even existed. That can't even
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  Speaker 1: be refuted. Historically, we know how old those prophecies are.
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  Speaker 1: And yet they talk about Jesus perfectly. For example, the
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  Speaker 1: book of Isaiah filled with beautiful prophecies about Jesus. Isaiah 53,
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  Speaker 1: one of my favorite prophecies, starting in verse four, it says,
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  Speaker 1: surely he has borne our sickness and carried our suffering.
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  Speaker 1: Yet we considered him plagued, struck by God and afflicted.
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  Speaker 1: but he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: for our iniquities, and the punishment that brought our peace
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: All we like sheep have gone astray, everyone has turned
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: to his own way, and Yahweh has laid on him
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, yet when
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: he was afflicted he didn't open up his mouth. As
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: a sheep that is before the shearers is silent, So
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: he didn't open his mouth. And it goes on to
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: just talk about Jesus further in this particular prophecy. Not
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: to mention all of the prophecies that we've been going
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: through in the Psalms that talk about Jesus. And there's
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: so many in the Old Testament. I can't remember the
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: exact number, but there are hundreds of prophecies about Jesus
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: that have been fulfilled. And a couple hundred that haven't
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: been fulfilled yet, but we know are going to be fulfilled.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: when he comes back again. So the prophecies are a
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: reliable way to know about Jesus, to know that he
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: is the Messiah. And that's what Peter asks all of
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: us to understand. If you're not going to believe his
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: eyewitness report about Jesus, then believe the prophets who prophesied
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: about him thousands of years before he was even born.
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: You know, the prophecies are a very reliable way to
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: witness even to this day, especially to our Jewish friends
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: and family members. because the Jewish people believe in the
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: Old Testament, but they don't believe in the New Testament.
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: So you can go through the Old Testament prophecies and
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: show how they relate and connect to Jesus. There's been
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: a lot of Jewish people that have come to faith
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: because of that exact thing. But lastly here, Peter wants
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: to make sure his audience knows that the prophecies are reliable.
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: He says in verse 20, knowing this first, no prophecy
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: of scripture is of private interpretation for no prophecy ever
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: came by the will of man. The holy men of
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: God spoke being moved by the Holy Spirit. So these
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: prophecies are reliable because they're not just made up fables
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: again from the prophet. He's not just writing down whatever
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: he feels. and deciding that's what it's going to be
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: and making something up. No, the prophecies that we have
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: in the Old Testament have come true because they were
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: inspired by the Holy Spirit himself. And these prophets were
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: not making things up. They were listening to the Holy Spirit.
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: It says in verse 21, no prophecy ever came by
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: the will of man, but holy men of God spoke
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: being moved by the Holy Spirit. So if you're not
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: being moved by the Holy Spirit, then you're not a
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: real prophet is what Peter says right here. And there
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: are several ways to know if a prophet is a
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: true prophet. I talk about this all the time on
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: the podcast because the rise of fake prophets are all
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: over the place today. The first way you can know
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: that somebody is a false prophet is if they do
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: something that is against the scriptures. So for example, everybody
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: right now, at least in the Protestant circles that I
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: listen to on YouTube, everybody's talking about Gior Davy. I
• 21:35
  Speaker 1: don't know if you've heard of him. but he's a
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: supposed prophet that is out in Africa. And without even
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: testing any of his prophecies, you can already know based
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: on what he does and how he lives that he
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: is a false prophet because he receives worship from his church.
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: He has women bow at his feet, handing him money.
• 21:58
  Speaker 1: He wears a crown to his church services. He tells,
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: encourages women his church congregants to call him father. People
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: have said to his face that he is like Jesus,
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: that he is like the Messiah to them, and he
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: has not corrected them. So without even knowing a single
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: prophecy that comes out of this man's mouth, you can
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: automatically know that he is a false prophet because he
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: is not giving glory to Jesus. He is taking glory
• 22:28
  Speaker 1: for himself. Now his words might say, hallelujah, praise Jesus,
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: all of that kind of stuff. But we all know
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: the old adage, actions speak louder than words. And if
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: you are accepting praise and worship from somebody, then you
• 22:42
  Speaker 1: are truly not directing the worship to the one who
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: deserves the worship. So that's the first way you can
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: know if somebody is a false prophet. The other way
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: is if their prophecies don't come true. That's pretty clear
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: in scripture. If a prophet's prophecy does not come true,
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: He is a false prophet. You do not have to
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: fear him. You do not have to listen to him
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: ever again. And that's interesting that you don't have to
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: fear him. I like that scripture says that because sometimes
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: these prophets come with these big, scary kind of prophecies.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: But if you've ever listened to them in the past
• 23:16
  Speaker 1: and something they said did not come true, you don't
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: have to be afraid of anything they say ever again
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: in the future because they are a false prophet. So
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: those are two simple ways you can tell if somebody
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: is a false prophet. If somebody is a true prophet,
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: it means that they are encouraging people to worship God,
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: encouraging people to turn away from their sins. Whatever they
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: say lines up with scripture, and it also comes true.
• 23:41
  Speaker 1: They are speaking the truth. And that is what the
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: Old Testament prophets were. They spoke the truth because these
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: prophecies came true about Jesus. And that's how we know
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: that the Old Testament is reliable. All right, faithful listeners,
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: I hope you guys enjoyed today's episode and we covered
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: a lot of topics. Everything from not being negligent with
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: speaking the gospel, how to evangelize in whatever way you can,
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: and also the validity of scriptures and how to determine
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: what a false prophet is. Lots covered today on the podcast.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: So I hope you guys enjoyed it and I appreciate
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: you sticking with me to the end. So before I
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: let you all go with a happy listening and God bless,
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: Please listen to this message from a sponsor. Well, faithful listeners,
• 24:30
  Speaker 1: thank you so much for going through the first chapter
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: of 2 Peter with me. And interestingly enough, we're already
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: a third of the way done with this book. 2
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: Peter is a very short book, and so we'll probably
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: be out of it in like a blink of an eye.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: But I know that there's so many great and wonderful
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: teachings in the book of 2 Peter that I'm definitely
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: excited to get into more with you, especially on Thursday
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: as we tackle the second chapter of 2 Peter. because
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: this chapter is going to talk about false teachers. And
• 24:59
  Speaker 1: you guys know, I love talking about false teachers and
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: false prophets and everything, because here's what I'm understanding in
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: scripture recently. It's almost like every warning that we see
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: involves some kind of false teaching or false prophecy or
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: incorrect belief that can keep you away from Jesus. So
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: if we think our churches are safe from this kind
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: of corruption coming in, we really need to think again,
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: because unfortunately, a lot of times these false narratives start
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: in the church and just kind of grow like a
• 25:34
  Speaker 1: disease that ends up overtaking the entire church and causing
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: so much corruption and problems. So that's what we're going
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: to talk about on Thursday in 2 Peter. So I
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: hope you guys tune in then, 6 a.m., or whenever
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: you choose to wake up and listen. And also don't
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: forget to tune in tomorrow because we are back in
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: the book of Job and going to talk about part
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: two of Job's first response to his friend Eliphaz and
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: just the laying it on that Job does to his friends.
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: It is great to discuss. So we will be doing
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: that over the next couple days, and I hope to
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: see you guys then. Faithful listeners, happy listening, and God bless.
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: I just want to take a second to thank the
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: team at Life Audio for their partnership with me on
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: the Bible Explained podcast. In fact, if you go to lifeaudio.com,
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: They've got shows about prayer, Bible study, parenting, and more.