Well, brethren, it's an unusual Sunday. As leaders of Cambodia Baptist Church, for many years we have resisted having two services on the Lord's Day, because we've always wanted the congregation to be one. And consequently, even when we have had a full auditorium, we have felt the best solution is to break down the walls rather than break down the congregation. In came COVID-19 and we've had no choice but to end up dividing the congregation into two. Our hope and prayer is that this is a temporal situation and that in due season we will be back to having one congregation fully packed here and so on. The change won't happen overnight, but step by step, let's see what the Lord would have us to do. Please stand with me in your Bibles to 2 Peter and chapter 1. 2 Peter and chapter 1. We will commence our reading from verse 5 and we'll go all the way to verse 15. 2 Peter chapter 1, beginning to read from verse 5. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, They keep you from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election For if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. For in this way, there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. And I will make every effort so that after my departure, you may be able at any time to recall these things. Well, brethren, as I came today to preach last Sunday, I was thinking that that was going to be the last message in the series, Christian Grow Up. I hinted at the fact that there was a possibility that I might add an extra semon, and that possibility has now been fulfilled. Because the more I read verse 12 to verse 15, the more I realized that it would be the right way to close the series. The reason is because it is primarily telling us that we need reminders about growing up. We need reminders about growing up. And it is true. Because a lot of individuals who begin their Christian lives, knowing that there are individuals around them who are real spiritual giants, what tends to happen in their own souls is that they say, I need to grow. And consequently, they begin to read Christian books. They really discipline themselves in prayer and in reading their Bibles, and so on and so forth. They put efforts into growth. But somewhere along the line, they forget. And that's the point. They forget. And in forgetting, they then simply begin to flow along, to just leave and exist. This is Christianity. One day we will die and we'll go to heaven. There is need to be reminded, to be urged over and over again concerning the need to grow up and to keep growing up and to keep making the effort to grow up. Last time when I was preaching we looked at the last implication of a life that is really making spiritual progress. And we saw that it was the glorious entry into heaven. I hope it has inspired you when you realize that this is where we are going to make that extra effort. so that you may have that glorious arrival in heaven when the Lord says, well done, good and faithful servant. Well, Peter, having said that, goes on to speak in verse 12 to verse 15 about needing to remind the brethren. Needing to remind the brethren. And you can't miss it because over and over again, between verse 12 and verse 15, Peter keeps saying, using the word, remind, remind, remind. Let's look at each one of those and see what it means to us. First of all, The reason why you need to be reminded is pretty obvious. It is our forgetfulness even with respect to what we already know. In other words, sitting in a Bible study and being asked the question as to the issues to do with spiritual growth, you are likely to give the right answer because in your head, this truth is very well known. The difficulty, though, comes in practice. In practice, that's where we tend to forget to do that which we know. Look at the way he puts it in verse 12. Peter says this, verse 12, therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth, that you have. There we have the first remind. I intend always to remind you. It's not just Peter who was fond of reminding the saints. We find the Apostle Paul doing the same thing. We find Jude doing the same. Let's quickly go to Romans 15 and verse 15. Romans 15 and verse 15. I begin to read from verse 14. The Bible says that, I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. There it is. Clearly, people like this, they know. But listen to Paul in verse 15. But on some points, I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder. By way of reminder. You know these things. He says there that you are filled with all knowledge. And yet he still says, by way of reminder, I have been rather bold in reminding you of some of these. The same thing in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 1. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 1. The Bible says that, now, I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preach to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by way of which you are being served, if you hold fast to the word I preach to you, unless you believed in vain. And then, in a very brief way, he summarizes the gospel. For I deliver to you, As of first importance, what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. So this is something they should know. After all, they are believers. It is based on this that they, in fact, continue in their Christian lives. And yet, Paul is still saying, let me remind you of this. We find the same in Jude, just before the book of Revelation. Jude and verse 5. Jude and verse 5. He says there, now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. I want to remind you. Again, it's something you already know, though you once fully knew it, I still must remind you. Well, friends, that's what Peter is doing here as well. Now, if Paul does it, Jude does it, and Peter does it, there's a simple point we are learning here, and it is this, we need to be reminded concerning certain aspects of the Christian faith. Even things we already know, we need constant reminders. Because you see, the Christian life, or better still, the mind itself functions more like the painting of a house. If you've been in a house for many years and it has been painted, and then it has been repainted, and then it has been repainted, you begin to lose the sense of the original paint, what it was, and maybe the second paint, what it was. It's the immediate painting that still grips you. So unless you are taken back to some old photos, then you begin to say, ah, yes, I remember. This is the way the house used to look. Wow. And so on. The things that's coming are fresh to you. But without those reminders, without those photos, you have moved on. And it is more the immediate painting that seems to be catching your attention. Well, friends, we need to be taken back again and again to the first court of pain. We need to be taken back again and again to the first principles of the Christian faith. The things that we've been learning in this chapter, remember the indicatives, the things that we already have in Christ, the imperatives, the thing that we must be using all our energies in order to add to our lives that we might grow to become giants in the faith. We need to be reminded of the implications, the kind of implications that we have already been seeing. Friends, we need these reminders. And isn't that what wall planks do for us? I remember many years ago, growing up, a lot of homes used to have this little signage in picture frames, and it would be something like, Christ is the head of this house, the unseen guest at every meal or something, the silent listener to every conversation. I remember growing up always thinking, oh, So, you know, any gossip in here, Jesus is listening, you know. It was a constant reminder. They seem to have disappeared completely from different homes. But it, you know, to have these things sticking somewhere as a regular reminder so that it seeps into our souls despite the things that we are seeing out there in the world. John Piper refers to this in the home that he was growing up in the book, Don't Waste Your Life, as he's talking in terms of what it is that finally made him focus on glorifying God. He says that in the house, in his parental home, the parents had this little wall plaque that said the words, only one life, it will soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last. Imagine growing up like that in your parents' home. And he says it's one of the statements that stuck upon his soul that even when he grew up and left his parental home and went to college or university, it was still burning within his soul that I've only got one life and it will soon be past. And that it's only what is done for Christ that will last. The house I grew up in, which I'm still living in now, my parents had something right on top of the door as we were going out of the house. And I've never forgotten it. It simply said, but God commends his love to us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Every day going out of that house was that statement on top of the door that God commends. And being a child in those days, I used to wonder what all that was about. But it all came back with saving impact upon my conversion. He commended His love towards us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. I wonder what you've put there that is meant to be a reminder to you. I hope it's not, you will never walk alone. If you understand what I mean. I hope there's something there that says something about You need to grow up, you need to love the Lord, or something. But as the first statement in the Shota Catechism, the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. I hope there's something like that, that ends up washing away the new paint that the world keeps bringing upon us through the media. Because every so often when you're sitting in the sitting room or eating together in the dining room or going out of the front door, it again removes this new paint and brings you back that which you need to be reminded of. Life is about glorifying God and enjoying him forever. Brethren, do something. I'm not necessarily suggesting it must be a war plague, but do something to keep bringing you back to the basic principles. Because even though you know them, you are prone to forget them. You are prone to forget them and end up being carried away with things that don't matter. Well, let's hurry on because that's the first aspect of reminder. We simply need to be reminded even though we know these things. Secondly, you need to be reminded about growing up through the ministry of living preachers. Through the ministry of living preachers. This is what Peter speaks about here in verse 13 and verse 14. I think it's right as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me." Now here, Peter is saying, you know, while I'm alive, I'm going to keep reminding you, while I'm alive, Because we all need the ministry of living preachers, living preachers. They have a way of, as it were, steering us up. To borrow the picture that he uses in verse 13 here, that while I'm in this body to steer you up by way of reminder. What is it that makes living preachers so effective? Well, first of all, it is because they can see the contemporary danger. They can address that which is today swallowing the attention of believers and making them forget the way they're supposed to be living. In the days of the Apostle Peter, It was persecution. The people of God were living under intense persecution. And you know, when your life is at threat, you forget the things you're supposed to do. I mean, right now, we have COVID-19, and so many people are so afraid that Christian responsibility and Christian duty have been thrown out of the window. You ask them, for instance, when did you last evangelize anybody? And, ah, you know, these days with COVID, it's very difficult and so on. They'll find every excuse throwing in COVID. And they need to be reminded by a living teacher, somebody who can confront them inside COVID itself. and say, it is still our responsibility, brethren. Souls are perishing. We must reach out to them using whatever avenue that flies above COVID. Let us do it. So you need living preachers like that. Similarly, we live today in a day of consumerism. In other words, the world and its media is all about get this, and get that, and get the other, and so on. There's just a rat race after getting, and getting, and getting. And unfortunately, we are being made to chase after things that perish with use. That the day you die, you can't carry them into eternity. And yet, the world won't want to remind us that we'll soon die and that only what is done for Christ goes with you across the grave. The world won't want to remind us about that, but that's where living preachers come in to tell us that ultimately, The way you spend your salary tells you where your heart is. Don't let anybody cheat you otherwise. Don't let anybody cheat you. And therefore, let your budget speak of where your heart truly is. But there's also the pathos that is with a living preacher. That's why he's able to stir you up. It's difficult to sense the the temperature of Peter on the written page. But I'm sure those who used to sit and listen to his preaching still remember the warmth, the pathos, the way he used to stir their hearts up and cause them to say, no, we can't go on living like this. God has spoken, we better do something about it. The pathos of a living teacher. Another reason is because, you know, a living teacher is the one who decides the subject. He's also the one who decides when you're going to hear particular messages. Whereas, when it comes to books, you choose, don't you? You sort of say, well, you know, me, my interest is in, you know, how to find joy. So you want to choose a book on where to find success. This is the one I want to read, and so on. That's what you do with books. You can't do so with a living preacher. He has come from a closet where he's full with the message of God. He has, as it were, filled the cannon and pressed the gunpowder in there. And when he fires away, you are scampering for cover. You know that it's not our choice. God himself has come to address us about the area that we desperately need to be addressed. And Peter is saying here, I think it's right as long as I am in this body to stay you up by way of reminder. That's the second reminder there. And brethren, what it simply means is we must deliberately ensure that we are available for the means of grace. We are available for the means of grace. One of the most disturbing realities about the period of COVID is simply the fact that they are most likely Christians who even now are still in bed because of COVID. And they are as relaxed as anything can be about the means of grace today. Maybe might have it on their phone and in the meantime sort of leave the phone in one end of the house and they're doing something else elsewhere and so on. You can't handle God's truth that way. You can't. But you see, that ends up being the laissez-faire attitude if you do not take seriously the means of grace and in the end, your spiritual life begins to go down and down and down and down. May God help us to treasure Bible studies, to treasure church services, to treasure those moments when there is a living teacher, fresh out of his closet, with the word of God upon his soul. We need it. But let me hurry on, thirdly and lastly, to the need to be reminded about growing up through the ministry of departed preachers, through the ministry of departed preachers. And that's where Peter ends in verse 15. He says there, and I will make every effort so that after my departure, you may be able at any time to recall these things. And how will he do it? Well, exactly what is that? Put it in writing. So that even when I'm dead, the brethren may still be able to read the things that I was saying to them. And no doubt, he wrote what was inspired. The Holy Spirit inspired this. But brethren, he made every effort. He puts it there himself. I will make every effort. In other words, it was not as easy as tweeting or sort of just throwing something onto Facebook. I mean, what he put here demanded a lot of planning. It demanded a lot of praying. It demanded a lot of effort in every way. These were not days when the brethren were using keypads in order to quickly type messages. They were using Quill. And then to multiply these books, there were no duplicating machines, no printers. There was a lot of extra care that was being made because the brethren realized that this was the word of life. It needed to be preserved. It needed to be multiplied. It needed to go from generation to generation so that long after the authors have died, the Christian church would not lose its way. Well, brethren, the effort has been made. The Bible is there for all of us. What I'm wondering is whether we are using it, whether we are going to this good old book in order to be reminded of first things first. And then beyond that, it has been Christian books, Christian books. Are we reading Christian books? Are we, brethren? Are we? I mean, these days with the television and the internet and everything else, we are losing out on being reminded through what others have written, those which have stood the test of time. concerning the things that really matter. Let me ask again, are you ready? Well, let me change it and put it this way. What book are you reading? Which Christian book are you reading today? I want to repeat. It's a very sad phenomenon that we are negligent of being reminded. So then, brethren, look at how much in Christianity is dependent on being reminded over and over and over again. And I fear that part of the reason why we have so many Christians who've been Christians for so many years and are now in autopilot. They are just merely existing. Having no impact for Christ in this generation. Hardly bearing any fruit for the kingdom of God is because They forgot it. They forgot it. They were not taking the time to be reminded over and over and over again. So I plead with you. Put it some way. Put it some way. Make every effort to grow up. Make every effort grow up and to keep growing up, that there is so much of a demand for this. And brethren, especially when you think, and with this I must close, of the price that Christ paid for us to bring us into glory, that he He gave his everything. His everything for us. How can we give him anything less? How? How can you say, well, you know, that's any other business. We'll meet him when we get to heaven. Now we are rather busy in consumerism. We are rather busy in hiding away from COVID-19. How? when your Savior gave you everything. Surely, we ought to be praying as we'll be singing in closing. I'm pressing on the upward way. New heights I am gaining every day. But I'm still praying as I'm homeward bound. Lord, plant my feet on higher and higher and higher ground. Let's pray. Our father in heaven, thank you for the reminder today about growing up. Thank you that for many of us, Although we know these things, we have realized afresh how we needed to be reminded again. Because so much has been painted over the original paint in our souls that urged us to pray more, to read the Bible more, to read Christian books more, to aim for excellence more, to be self-controlled and steadfast more, to be godly and loving more. Lord, help us to be individuals that cry to you for the rest of our lives, never forgetting the need to grow up. And therefore, being effective, being fruitful to our very dying day. In Jesus' name we pray.