2 Peter 1:12-13 – Remember – Bible study

2Peter 1:12-13, 9 Remember Today is Memorial Day. Some get Memorial Day confused with Veterans Day. Veterans Day is the day to thank all who have or are serving in the military. Memorial Day is the day to remember those who died for our country. Memorial Day is Remember Day. I have shared the history of this day before but it is worth repeating. Memorial Day started as Decoration Day on May 30, 1868. The Civil War had ended just three before, May 9, 1865. The first Decoration Day was held at Arlington Nation Cemetery. General James Garfield spoke to about 5,000 who had gathered and after, they decorated the graves of more than 20,000 Union and Confederate soldiers buried there. That Decoration Day was inspired by local ceremonies which had been done in like fashion at smaller cemeteries around the country for the last three years. As wars continued, so did the decorating. After World War I, all those who died in any battle were being remembered. In 1971, Congress declared the last Monday in May a national holiday and duped it Memorial Day. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/civil-war-dead-honored- on-decoration-day It is hard to know just how many we are remembering today. In some wars, figures just were not kept. In others, some want to count all that died during a war and others only want to count those who died as a result of hostile action. And for the last 70 years, our soldiers have been fighting and dying in campaigns that are not even considered a war. However, a round estimate is that America has lost over 43,000,000 in service to their country. https://www.infoplease.com/us/american-wars/americas-wars-us-casualties- and-veterans Memorial Day is not a Christian holiday. It has no roots in the Bible, but I think it is a good holiday. We need to remember. Why? 1. To be grateful for what we have. 2. To remind ourselves that freedom is not free. 3. To remember the individuals who died for us. Beyond saying thank you, I am not qualified to speak on our national Memorial Day. I did not fight in the military. I did not witness what the military does up close or even from afar. So instead I will speak on the topic, Remember. There are some things that both the saved and the lost need to remember on this day. REMEMBER! I. We all have enemies. A. Every American, whether they like it or not, has enemies. 1. Sadly, there are some that want to destroy us for no other reason than the fact we are Americans. 2. That is what radical Islam desires. a. It does not matter if you consider yourself their enemy or their friend. b. They consider you their enemy. c. This is what their Quran teaches that those who are not Muslim are infidels and must be converted or destroyed. (1) I understand that not all Muslims are followers of that philosophy, but some are. (2) They consider sympathetic Americans to be weak and foolish. d. To them, we are the enemy. B. So every human being has three enemies. 1. \#1John 2:16\ mentions two of them, the world and our flesh. 2. \#1John 3:8\ mentions the last, the devil. 3. Now, many people consider these three to be the enemy of the Christian, but they are in fact, the enemy of everyone. a. As some might consider the radical Muslims NOT to be their enemy, so some figure may figure the world, the flesh, and the devil are not their enemies. b. But in truth, these enemies consider those sympathetic to them to be foolish and weak. c. All people are THEIR enemies. C. These three enemies have the same goal for you. 1. They want to you to be destroyed. a. The devil is the mastermind of your destruction. b. Sin is the weapon of your destruction. c. Your flesh is corrupt and has betrayed you to destruction. 2. In the end, they all want your destruction. 1Pe 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Joh 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 3. I know these two verses speak only of the devil but he is the mastermind. Sin will be his weapon and your flesh will betray you to make it happen. Thats just the way it is. II. The enemies have goals. A. Every enemy has an objective. Quran (2:191-193) – "And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah [unbelief) is worse than killing but if they desist (believe), then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah [unbelief] and worship is for Allah alone. http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/pages/quran/violence.aspx B. What do our enemies want for us? 1. They want us damned to hell. a. That is definitely what the devil want. (1) That is obviously what the devil wants. (a) Why? (b) Because God loves you. (c) That is all the reason the devil needs to hate you. b. That is the goal of sin too. Romans 3:23 For the wages of sin is death. (1) What is death? (2) Separation from God. (3) What does sin always bring? DEATH. c. That is what you flesh wants too. Matt 18:8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 2. They want us miserable. a. They seek to destroy our family, our career, our health, our friendships, our finances, our happiness, our peace, anything that gives us true comfort or lasting joy. b. They do this by out and out destruction. (1) Adultery, pornography, and lust are home destroyers. (2) Addiction to liquor and drugs are health destroyers. (3) Jealousy, rage, envy are relationship destroyers. (4) Greed, lust, laziness are financial destroyers. (5) Worry and prayerlessness are peace and joy destroyers. (6) These are just a few but every one of these are: (a) Sins. These are some of the weapons of our destruction. (b) Habits of our flesh. (c) Temptations sent to us by the devil. (7) All of these are full-fledged attacks to make us miserablesaved or lost. c. They also seek to make us miserable by deceit. (1) I used to think that attitudes about right and wrong would only be changed from generation to generation but has been proven to be false. (2) Today, people are changing their minds about right and wrong in record numbers. (a) Gallop Poll released in May, 2017. revealed that 61% of Americans support gay marriage, a record high and a complete flip flop since 1999. In 1999, 62% of the American people believed gay marriage should NOT be legal. http://www.gallup.com/poll/191645/americans-support-gay-marriage- remains-high.aspx (b) By the way, the same poll revealed that less than 24% of Americans believe the Bible is the Word of God. Thats a record low. http://www.gallup.com/poll/210704/record-few-americans-believe-bible- literal-word-god.aspx (3) Many think "a little adultery" is good. It is fun to flirt, to lust, and do "a little" messing around. It shows we are attractive. It is why so many almost get dressed. (4) It is fun to get stoned! Our government thinks so. State of Alabama sells liquor and some states have legalized marijuana. Parents have it locked away and wonder why their children. (5) Anger and rage are applauded today. Go off on someone and you might go viral on Facebook. (6) Our enemies have tricked us into believing every bad thing is good and every good thing is bad. 3. They want our reputation ruined. a. For a Christian, that is your testimony. For an unsaved individual, it is your reputation. b. What people think of us is the platform from which we speak. (1) If we are trying to move people upward, you must have a good reputation. Otherwise, they will simply dismiss us. (2) If you are trying to move people downward, it doesnt matter what kind of reputation you have. (a) There are always fools that will follow a person going down and be happy to do it. (b) Look at entertainment. (i.e. Some of them are drunks, drug addicts, homosexuals, bi- sexual, trans-sexual, socialists, anti- patriots.) (c) How can any American who understands what Memorial Day is watch a team that has players on it who will not stand for the national anthem? 4. They want our life. a. Satan wants us dead. Sin wants us dead. Our own flesh betrays us to kill us. b. Satan wants us dead because he wants the battle to be over. (1) If you are lost and die, he gets his ultimate goal. You go to hell. (2) If you are saved and surrendered and die, you wont be able to cause him any more grief. (3) If you are saved and carnal and die, you cant flip on him and start serving God. (4) Death is a win for the devil no matter who you are. c. Sin is Satans weapon. It has only one effect. It kills. Romans 3:23 For the wages of sin is death. d. Our flesh wants us dead? That might be hard to believe but it is true. (1) Have you ever noticed that everything your body deems to be good is bad for you? (a) If you eat it and it tastes good, it is going to make you fat or give you cancer and heart disease. (b) If it taste like cardboard and leaves you as hungry as you were before you ate it, it is good for you. (2) How many of you like to exercise? Why doesnt your body like to exercise? Because it is good for you. (3) Why do you think people shoot drugs, smoke cigarettes, get drunk, drive recklessly, fool around with strangers? It is because the flesh likes it. (4) Like it or not, our flesh wants us dead. (a) Why? Because it has been corrupted. (b) It has betrayed us. (c) It has betrayed those who are Christians, sitting in this room. (d) How much more has it betrayed the lost people of this world? i. Their fleshly brain will not accept the reality or even the possibility that God is real. ii. Their fleshly brain will not accept the fact that they are created. aa. The Gallup Poll of May, 2017, only 38% of the people in the US have a belief in Creationism. http://www.gallup.com/poll/210956/belief-creationist-view-humans-new- low.aspx?g_source=Politics&g_medium=newsfeed&g_campaign=tiles bb. That is the lowest in 35 years. iii. Their fleshly brain cannot accept the fact that there is a spiritual war going on and they are losing III. There are two weapons we can use to defeat our enemies. A. Salvation John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 1. Salvation is the only weapon that will defeat the devil, nullify sin, and conquer the flesh. a. Some have given up on ever finding such a weapon. b. Others think they have tried it but it failed. 2. Im here to tell you that salvation is essential, powerful, and effective. Ro 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. B. Sanctification Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 1. Sanctification means to separate yourself from sin and to submit yourself to God. 2. This is not something that can be done apart from salvation and salvation is not something that is finished apart from sanctification. 3. These two go hand in hand. On this day, Memorial Day, we remember. As Americans, we remember the great price that has been paid for our freedoms. As Christians, we remember that an eternal war continues. I pray you will be one of those who comes home to the Fathers house.