[4 Slides] Last week we were in Matthew 17:22-27. That text says that [1] All the disciples were gathered together there. In v24 the collectors of the 2-Drachma Temple Tax questioned Peter about whether his teacher, Jesus, pays the tax. According to Exodus 30:14, [2] All who are 20 and older must pay the 2-Drachma Temple Tax. Jesus sends Peter to catch the fish that held a 4-Drachma coin in its mouth, and [3] Only Jesus and Peter pay the tax. So, [4] Jesus was a youth leader, with one adult sponsor!
But more importantly, Pastor Matt gave us 4 Needed Reminders from the text: [Slide]
1. A reminder about Jesus’ death
2. A reminder about our loyalties
3. A reminder not to offend
4. A reminder of Jesus’ miraculous power
Since what we know isn’t nearly as important as what we do about what we know, and since there are basically 2 kinds of people in the world: Those who need to be redeemed, and the rest who need to be reminded, there’s this passage in 2 Peter 1:12-15 – A Friendly Reminder. [Title Slide]
You’d think that after having tasted the reward of experiencing God from His word – seeing for yourself first- hand God proving Himself faithful to His own Word – that there would be no turning back. We all have stories of having established a routine at some time (and maybe you even tasted the reward and experience of God’s presence) yet found ourselves slipping off that routine. It’s because
Be reminded: It costs to follow Jesus, but it costs a lot more not to.
Even the most disciplined people need reminders. Reminders keep us on track. Without reminders we lose
our routine, and we lose sight of the reward.
– PICTURE – Under Armour Jersey – 199 [#1 Tom Brady Slide]
- Tom Brady watches 17 hours of practice film every single week – most of that of himself. He has a personal videographer who just videos…him! He watches this footage just to make sure he doesn’t pick up any quirks or sloppiness, anything that shouldn’t be in his mechanics. He watches himself practice. How boring would that be?
- He goes to bed at 8:30 pm every night and gets up at 5:30 am every morning.
- Check out his diet: He eats 80% vegetables, all whole grains and lean meats, and absolutely no sugar,
no white flour, and no MSG.
To live that routine, there has to be a huge motivation! Tom Brady lives each day with a reward in mind thathe has altered his entire life around. Christians, have you altered your life (at all?) to follow Jesus?
Tom altered his entire life so that he might actually experience the reward; and he’s still at it, as he announced in his HULU commercial during last week’s Super Bowl. Last year, at 41, he was the oldest QB to win the Super Bowl. He has 6 Super Bowl rings – more than anyone else, or any other football franchise, ever!
He’s played in 14 Pro-Bowls. He’s been awarded 4 Super Bowl MVP’s, and he has 3 NFL MVP’s!
Tom is a 42 yr old QB – the oldest in the game. But because he relentlessly pursues this routine, he is still one of the greatest quarterbacks in the NFL, if not the G.O.A.T.!
costs us something to maintain. Sometimes it can seem exhausting to the point where the cost seems greater
keeping a routine isn’t easy. It
than the reward, where the cost of following Jesus seems greater that who He really is. We need to be
reminded that this is false.
– Tom Brady
He doesn’t want to just look back with nostalgia at all those rings and trophies – at rewards of the past.
Q: since being drafted in 2000, do you think it’s gotten any easier for Tom as a 42 yr old QB to do what he
does?
But he sticks relentlessly to the routine because he wants to experience the rewards in the present and in the future. So in order to do that, he has reminders to constantly remind him that it’s worth it, so that he’ll actually stick to the routine, even when exhaustion makes it seem like the cost is greater than the reward.
Q: Does anyone know why his Under Armour jersey says 199? It’s a reminder that [#2 Tom Brady Slide] he was the 199th draft pick in the 6th round in 2000, that the NFL believed 198 others were better than him. And he is currently the greatest quarterback in the history of football with 21 more wins in the position than his closest rival, Peyton Manning.
He keeps himself reminded of his past, which drives him to his routine, in order to live the reward.
He also keeps himself reminded of where he wants to be. He believes and says it over and over in interviews that if he sticks to his routine, he believes he will be playing football late into his 40’s. In fact, in an interview last year he said, “If I keep my routine, I believe I can keep playing at this level when I’m 50, and if I can, I will.” He keeps reminding himself of the reward that he wants, and he alters his life in order to get there. But he has to have reminders along the way: Written schedules, diets, plans, and a trainer.
Have a routine with a reward in mind. In order to have something you’ve never had before, you’ll have to do something you’ve never done before.
But you’ll need reminders along your way to get there – guardrails in your life that will help keep you on the road towards a preferred story – not a guilt trip, but a road trip to a life worth living and sharing along the way.
.
2 Peter 1:12 [Slide] – So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.
“Always” – That’s a huge commitment! He wants us to see how serious and significant this is.
“ 
” – The things we have access to by the Holy Spirit as believers: The promises of God, the power . We bring these things to others. When we believe this and then receive
these things, we bring Heaven more to earth! So make every effort to pursue these things by making regular time for God! These are things worth being reminded we have access to!
If you know these things, the only reason you’d be bored or irritated with being reminded of these things is because you’re living like you don’t know them.
It’s convicting to be reminded of things you already know when you’re living like you don’t. So, Peter is telling us ahead of time that…
1. We need to be REMINDED of things we ALREADY know. [Slide]
Sometimes people will say things like, “We need to go deeper”, or that “Church is boring because we don’t go deeper”, academically speaking, when often the truth is that “those people” don’t want to be reminded of
This morning we want you to consider goals and routine in your life so that you might live with lasting life in
mind, starting now!
So, right now we are going to look together at the importance of reminders (which is one among many other
reasons why we keep coming back together here, week after week)
These things
of God, and the presence of God
If you want to see an amazing picture of what it actually looks like to pursue these things, to develop deeper
friendship with God, and to then be able to hear Him better, such that other people take notice and want in
on it as well, you need to see the movie, Harriet, the story of Harriet Tubman, just out on Redbox.
“these things” because we haven’t surrendered to what it takes to have them! Or they’ve just never seen “these things” for themselves and never really tasted that reward, so they don’t even know what they’re missing out on.
It’s a lot easier to deal with big things that are more general, with our heads up in the clouds – those things don’t hit as hard.
But it’s these things – the small things – that transform your life. Obedience – becoming what you believe – transforms you. That’s why we NEED to be reminded! Because we tend to drift away from these things!
But this is also why some of you are grateful for being here, because we actually help you understand what you believe and why. We want you to see the cause-and-effect of life in Christ vs no-life in drama.
We never outgrow the need to be reminded. I have to set reminders all the time. I used to have to set reminders to pick my boys up from school – most of the time I would.
2 Peter 1:13-14 [Slide] – 13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.
“Refresh” – To wake up – he’s saying, “I think it is right for me to wake you up!” It is right for us to wake people up who are spiritually sleepy!
Some of us here are spiritually sleepy, but God brought you here to wake you up! Spiritually sleepy people have lost sight of the routine and the reward.
Some of us are just worn out and tired. I want you look past your physical state right now and examine your spiritual state. Jesus was killed, but He rose to life to give you life wide-awake!
2. Reminders help us WAKE UP when we get spiritually SLEEPY. [Slide]
Peter’s saying, “As long as I’m in this tent, I’m gonna’ be sayin’ “Wake up church! Wake up church! Wake up church!””
Q: Do you like when someone wakes you up with cold water? Do you like to be woken up? Waking up a sleepy person is not enjoyable, but it’s worth it because you are worth it!
Peter didn’t care if they liked it, if they enjoyed it, or if it stung a little – God showed him that we are worth it, and we need to be reminded why we need the routine that leads to reward, else we won’t reach out to others, either.
[Slide] are startling to drive over, especially when you’re sleepy, but they re-direct you away from something deadly. That’s why the National DOT felt it necessary to
build these reminders into our national roadway system.
Some of us are rolling along the road of life, but we look like death the way we’re living, when compared to the things that bring us and others life. Some of us call ourselves Christian, but you’re living a dead, sleepy life. Wake up! Today might be like the bucket challenge of cold water being poured over you, but wake up!
Without reminders, we lose sight of these things that are outside of our routine, or these things when we’re with others who are living outside of our routine.
No one graduates from having to be reminded. You’ll always need an alarm clock, watch, calendar, or schedule. Our life’s foundation needs to be built around a system of reminders. Reminders are the foundation of a stable faith.
When we’re sleepy: We’re never at our best; we can’t think straight, we don’t make the best decisions, we forget stuff more, we’re more impatient, we’re more easily angered, we miss out on things we would not have if only we weren’t sleepy.
– Grooves on the side of the highway
Jesus died so that you might live something more than you are living!
2 Peter 1:15 [Slide] – And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to
remember these things.
He wants to make sure you will remember these things even when you’re not living them, so that you’ll at least remember why and be taken back to what matters most. So he says he’s going to set up things now while he can, even before you think you need them…even beyond the span of his life, so that you don’t miss out when you’re tempted to lose sight of what matters most.
God has spoken to us!!! Thru the Bible, even on our phones – how could we not listen? Make every effort to press in and not miss out!
Our influence for good can last beyond our life-span! Our influence already does. We can never be a church that is centered around or dependent upon a pastor.
Your relationship with Jesus is yours, and mine is mine. I can’t live any of this for you. Your pastors or friends can’t live any of this for you.
3. Reminders help us become more DISCIPLINED. [Slide]
Mature people put more and more reminders of the things that are important to them into their lives.
Q: You know what you call a goal that you don’t write down? A: A dream. It only becomes a plan when you write it down.
NEXT STEPS
1. Write down what you are going to do and start defining your routine. [Slide]
- Going to Sunday School
- Read and study the Bible
- Bring God up more with others
2. Decide what reminders you are going to put into your life. [Slide]
- Give someone else permission to hold you accountable for your own convictions – accountability
- Set an alarm to spend time with God, reading your Bible, praying, talking thru your plans with Him.
We must fight for being a
church who keeps people informed about a routine that leads us to the reward that Jesus is – His promises,
His power, and His presence – a church who keeps each other reminded of who we do it for and why we do
what we do. Jesus died that we might walk with Him in the Spirit.
