I’ve had conversations with numerous folks in the church
regarding the bombardment phenomenon.
It refers to times when the Lord hits you from all sides with the
same message. Perhaps the Sunday
sermon is on the same theme as an article you read or a topic you discussed
with a friend. Then a couple of
days later, one of the preachers on the radio is teaching on the same theme. Then you pick up the Bible and randomly happen upon the same teaching. It’s as if the Lord is bombarding you
with one message in a concerted effort to get your attention, teach you
something, or offer you comfort.
I’ve had a bombardment recently that I’d like to share with
you. We’ve been studying 2 Peter
on Wednesday nights and one of the themes in the book is the importance of
remembering. After spending the
first part of the first chapter exhorting the readers to pursue specific godly
qualities, Peter writes:
12 Therefore I intend
always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are
established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in
this body, to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting
off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And
I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time
to recall these things. (2Pet 1:12-15)
Peter believed it was so important for the readers to
remember these qualities that he dedicated himself to spending the last days of
his life reminding them and reminding them so that they would never forget. He did this “though you know them and
are established in the truth that you have.” In other words, great familiarity with the truth did not
dissuade him that actively remembering these things was essential.
This fixation on reminding the readers is evident throughout
2 Peter. In chapter 2, to encourage
them that God would judge the false teachers and rescue the godly, Peter
reminded them of three different OT examples of God doing those very
things. God was faithful in the past
and He’ll be faithful in the future.
Don’t forget.
Then in chapter 3 he writes: This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In
both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you
should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the
Lord and Savior through your apostles…(2Pet 3:1-2). Peter’s desire to remind them extended
back to his first letter to them, presumably 1 Peter. There is no other purpose for these two verses than to
communicate, “Hey! It’s super important that you remember!”
Throughout 2 Peter, when the apostle isn’t talking about reminding
them, he’s reminding them!
Now, if that was the only avenue through which I was
receiving that message, I would probably heed it, but in a bombardment its
never one avenue. It’s been a
while since I’ve listened to John MacArthur so I listened to his most recent
podcast over the last couple of weeks. Providentially, he was preaching through 2 Peter 1 a sermon series entitled, “RememberingWhat Not to Forget.” In it,
MacArthur jackhammered away at the same idea – the importance of
remembering. It’s been an amazing
series. I highly recommend it.
Yet another avenue of bombardment was the passage we studied together last Sunday morning (Matt 16:13-20), in which Jesus gently rebuked the disciples for their failure
to remember His past works and live accordingly. Also, I have been moved to read 2 Timothy repeatedly this
week. In it, Paul seeks to stir
Timothy up for continued faithfulness in ministry by reminding him of his
spiritual heritage, his upbringing in the Scriptures, and the mystery of the gospel.
Okay, I get the hint.
I need to remember. But
remember what? What is the object of our remembrance? Well, in each
passage involved in this bombardment the object of remembrance has been truth
about the Lord, ourselves, and what He calls us to. In 2 Peter, the apostle reminds the readers to pursue holiness, to
remember the predictions of the OT and the commandments of the NT, and to
remember that the past faithfulness of the Lord means He’ll be faithful in the
future. In MacArthur’s series, he
referenced many OT passages in which the people were exhorted to remember the
Lord and His past works. In
summary, the object of remembrance is the truth and how we should live in light
of the truth.
What is the means of our remembrance? What is the tool that helps to refresh
our memories about the Lord and how we should live? Consistently, the Word is held up as the primary means of
our recalling important truths. In
2 Peter 1, after detailing his own commitment to refresh the readers' memories, Peter
calls their attention to the “prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay
attention.” Then there is the
reference to his own previous letter, “stirring up your sincere mind by way of
reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the
commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles.” In other words, Peter wants them to be
reminded by returning to the Old and New Testaments.
For those of us who have read the Bible for years, it can be
tempting to think that we know the Word pretty well and therefore do not need
to re-read it over and over. The
apostles thought differently. In
addition to the exhortations from Peter already mentioned, in 2 Tim Paul calls
Timothy to continue in the Word,
noting its power for sanctification. He calls Timothy to this even though Timothy had been raised in the Scriptures (2 Tim 3:14-15). He also charges him to continue to preach
the Word. Psalm 119 is filled with
the idea that continual intake of the Word is essential for spiritual
health. Knowing the Word does not
change the fact that we need to be reminded of it constantly. As Peter wrote, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth…
We need to be committed to a constant stream of biblical truth no matter how well we know it.
What is the effect of our remembrance? According to Peter, we are stirred up by way of reminder. We are energized and eager for action. We are motivated to obey. That is what we saw in our message on
Sunday. In Deuteronomy 7-8, the people
were reminded of Yahweh’s actions in the past to motivate them to obey Him in
the present and future. 2 Tim3:16-17 teaches that the Word of God is the tool He uses to make us like
Christ, ready for good works. It
is simply the case that when we are devoting time to remembering – that is, spending quality time reading and meditating on the
Word – it is easier to walk in faithfulness.
I’ve been bombarded and wanted to share it with you. It's a crucial reminder: we’ve all got some remembering to do.
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