Part Two:  "REMEMBER WHAT YOU KNOW"
                  2 Peter 1: 13
 
I closed Part one,  "Remember What You Know" with a question: "Do you need a stir up?" Then move out of "Your Comfort Zone," and I  ".. think it proper, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder;" "Remember What You Know;" walk in the way as He is the way, the truth and light. 

Peter says in  verse 13, that a person may have heard the truth, been established in the truth, but not be stirred by the truth. And that, my friend, is a scary place to be in because it leads to spiritual apathy! We need to remember the importance of what we believe.  You see, the Christian church is very little different from the nation of Israel. And when you look at the history of Israel, you see a constant repetition… a constant cycle… of forgetting to remember the ways of the Lord. Let’s just look at one example, from Deuteronomy chapter 8: 1-3.

All the commandments which I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.
 
There is no doubt that Godly people of past ages were faced with the same emotions we face today - depression,  suffering,  worry, anxiety, doubt and fear. I doubt that they had professional help, or a pill for every problem, so  how did they handle hard times in life? Maybe they didn't have it as bad as we do, so they didn't need medication and therapy. Or maybe, they had an answer that we have lost sight of.
 
So what does Moses say first? Easy… "I command thee this day shall ye observe to do, that ye may live, and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers. And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments..."
 
At this important point in their history, Moses is saying ‘Israel, you have got to remember. Don’t forget how God has led you… there has been many difficulties, many trials, many humbling times…God was testing you and teaching you His way. Don’t forget this!’ This is important for us. You may be feeling tried and stretched right now. You must remember! Don’t forget that the path of God does involve testings and trials. And also never forget verse 16 of this chapter. Any testing, and humbling, any trial from God, is ‘to do thee good at thy later  end’.
 
As a side issue, if you do have a bad memory and feel that you forget everything that you read in God’s word, you may like this story. A young believer went to his pastor and said ‘It is no use! No matter how much I read the Bible, I don’t retain anything of it. I’m like a sieve!’ The wise old pastor replied  ‘Well, if you hold a sieve under a  running tap, it’s probably not going to retain much of the water either. But at least you’ll have a clean sieve!’ And that is so true. If you don’t remember much of what you read, the word of God will still be active and you will be washed with the water of the word! 
 
One more thought found in 2 Peter 1: 13-15:  Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance;  Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath shewed me.  Moreover I will endeavour that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance.
 
There are a couple of things that made Peter very focused….  So Peter knew that his time was short.  Tell me, what would you be doing different in your life if you knew that the time of your departure from this life was at hand? Probably make you pretty focused on the things that really matter now wouldn’t it? The problem that we have is that we think we’ve got all the time in the world… and so we become hazy and unfocused on the things of eternity.

 Well let’s gain some clarity from a man who was focused. What was Peter focused on? He was focused on using his time to remind Christians of the truth of God’s word… and specifically the key truths that he writes about in this little book of 2nd Peter. May we too be reminded, and remind others, of these things.

 Don’t forget, "Remember What You Know!"  

><))):> In "HIS" Service
 Bro. Roy