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Intro: 2 Peter 3:1-9
1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto
you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:
2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour:
The book of Peter is really a letter, written by Peter to the new Christian churches that were springing up everywhere throughout the Roman Empire and abroad.
He says in Verse 1 that both his first and second epistles, or letters, were written to remind you to keep in mind what was written before, which was the Old Testament, and what Peter, Paul, John, Matthew and other apostles had written recently, which we call the New Testament.
* I wonder if Peter knew that God was going to use these same letters, centuries later, for the Bible as we read it today? I doubt it, and rather believe that Peter was expecting to see Jesus return during his lifetime.
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the
last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming?
for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the
beginning of the creation.
As a gospel evangelist, Peter?s life was dedicated to telling others about Jesus and His soon return.
* Peter?s ministry was especially dedicated to the Jews, who already knew the Old Testament, and had witnessed the life of Christ amongst them. In comparison, Paul?s ministry was especially dedicate to the Gentiles, who were considered by the Jews to be outside of the church.
He says in Verse 4, Peter warns that, in the last days, there will be men who will try to convince you that Jesus? promise to return has expired.
I think that Peter had probably already heard men teaching that the promise of Jesus? return was bogus.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by
the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the
water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed
with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by
the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment
and perdition of ungodly men.
Peter points out that those same men who persuade you to disbelieve God?s promise are also well aware that God created the world. These are not ignorant worldlings, but men who, when they were young, learned about Creation on the felt board, and the picture scrolls in Sabbath School.
They believe in God, but it doesn?t seem like what He said is going to happen, in their opinion.
In Verse 7, Peter makes a very good point: It is the same word of God that holds the earth together today, that will rain fire someday.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing,
that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as
some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Here is the conclusion of the matter. If you forget everything else today, don?t forget these 2 things.
God keeps his Word
He?s an On-time God
About being an on-time God, in Verse 8, Peter gives us a metric for God?s timing as compared to our expectations of Him. In other words, when we study the fall of the Roman Empire for our history tests and pray that the Lord will give us wisdom, (do I have a witness?) all He would have to do is look to earlier in the heavenly week on his weekly planner to tell us about it.
In Verse 9, Peter explains that God is not slack concerning his promises. That means, Jesus is not sluggish as He prepares heavenly homes for us. He is not careless about answering our prayers. He doesn?t ?take his time? bringing his promises to pass because He?s slow, or because He is running late, but it?s like my Mom would do on Sunday morning. Sometimes, Mom would get up early in the morning and fix a big, delicious pancake breakfast, complete with all the hash browns, vege-sausage, fruit, biscuits and other fixings that you can find at a Shoney?s breakfast bar. And though she would have it ready to serve by 9 or 10 in the morning, some of the family would come to the table immediately, but she would still call toward our rooms a few more times to ?Come and get it!? Even after calling our names, she would often turn the stove on low and keep the food warm for a while as the smell of hot pancakes made its way throughout the house. The fact is, though the food was ready, and the call had been made, she would prolong breakfast for long enough wake anyone who might still be sleeping and catch the last helpings of the meal. That?s what God does for us.
*Longsuffering: Did you know that it costs God to wait on us? ?that He gets hurt when we put off His plans for us until tomorrow? I?ll show you what I mean, but don?t let me spend more than 2 minutes on this point, lest I hold up the rest of today?s sermon.
1 Samuel 15:1
1 Samuel
also said unto Saul, The LORD sent me to anoint thee to be king over his
people, over Israel: now therefore hearken thou unto the voice of the words of
the LORD.
2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, I remember that
which Amalek did to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the way, when he came
up from Egypt.
3 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all
that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and
suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
God gave Saul clear instructions to destroy every Amalekite and his Mama. Then look at Verse 7:
7 And
Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over
against Egypt.
8 And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites
alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.
9 But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best
of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that
was good, and would not utterly destroy them: but every thing that was vile and
refuse, that they destroyed utterly.
Didn?t God specifically say to kill EVERYTHING pertaining to the word Amalek? Saul didn?t tell God no, but he changed the plans just a little bit so that it for his own convenience. Saul had plenty of personal reasons to do what he did, but that?s another sermon. Now, God dealt with Saul in the rest of this chapter, but today, let?s look at how God suffered because of Saul?s disobedience.
Esther 3:1
1 After these things did king Ahasuerus promote Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, and advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes that were with him.
Can a volunteer help us understand the identity of Haman the Agagite?
Do you see the significance of Saul?s disobedience? The whole book and story of Esther, how the Jews were to be exterminated by royal decree, how her Uncle Mordecai had to fast in sackcloth and ashes, how Esther risked her life to approach King Ahasuerus and plead his consent: That entire conflict would have been unnecessary had Saul simply obeyed the word of the Lord.
Back to Verse 9, ?longsuffering: Saul in 1 Samuel is just one example. Did you know that the conflict in the Middle East, which since the United States has become involved, involves the whole world began in Genesis 16 when Abraham and Sarah tried to help God help them have a son? Take some time later on and look at Genesis 16:11, 12, and think twice before you decide to be halfway-obedient.
OK, Verse 9, for real. God is not willing that any should perish, and that?s why He waits, calling to those who are sleeping in their comfortable sins to wake up and smell the Postum. He?s coming soon and He wants to take you home with Him.
Now, lets talk about God keeping his word. By a raise of hands, how many of you have any doubt that God can keep his word?
Good, then I?m not even going to try to convince you of it. Instead, let?s talk about our part of God?s promises.
Matthew 21:22
22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
I want to pause now and publicly say how proud I am of the young people at Trinity. It makes me feel proud to see our young people searching the scriptures. They love playing our Bible-search games for Sabbath School, they ask questions about heaven and what the Bible says about it, and they say ?Children?s Chapel? really loud every week when we ask them. This part of the sermon is especially for the young people because they are willing to search the scriptures, and their minds are in a stage most willing to believe the Word.
The ABC?s of Prayer:
A ? Ask (Matthew 21:22)
B ? Believe (Matthew 8:13)
C ? Claim (1 John 5:14)
Matthew 8:13
13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour.
The Centurion didn?t know much about Jesus, but he believed. He didn?t have to know how it works, he just expected it to work. That?s all God needs in order to answer our prayers, too.
God knows what?s best for us, so He has to say ?no? to some things we ask. That?s what the C stands for: Claim
1 John 5:14
14 And
this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according
to his will, he heareth us:
15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we
ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
If you obey his Word, not just halfway, and believe He?s going to do it, He will.
It?s easier said than done, but let me give you an idea of how it has worked for me: I keep a journal (diary sounds girly, but that?s OK for girls), and after I write down important things that happen to me, or whatever I?m writing, I end my entry for the week with prayer requests. If I want God to work it all out, I put that down. I try to ask Him in such a way that gives Him enough freedom to do it His way, and specific enough that when it gets answered, I?ll know that He answered my prayer, and it didn?t just happen.
For example, just because I want to Lord to get some glory, I?ll tell you what I wrote down:
When I feel like it, I read the old entries, and I am often surprised at how God took care of a request that I had already forgotten and it makes me so happy, it?s usually late at night and I still get on the phone and call whoever else was involved and share with them how the prayer worked out.
In conclusion: He?s an on-time God, and He keeps his Word.
Review: God suffers when we say we?re going to obey Him, but we don?t.
Sin is so common and disobedience is so much easier to find, it makes those who are obedient and who would rather die than sin worth more than a diamond the size of a baseball to God.
* A Day In Space: We?re so valuable to Him, He?ll turn back time for us.
It?s the rarity of diamonds that make them so valuable, and it?s the rarity of a faithful man or woman that makes one so spectacular.
When God has to make another plan, He has to choose another man. Sometimes, as I once saw on a bumper sticker: ?The best man for a job is a woman.? When Saul failed to carry out God?s plans, God looked for another man to save the day. Esther was God?s choice, and Esther?s name means ?star.? Star has a symbolic meaning, too. You see, God could have killed Agag himself by making him sick, or causing the ground to open and swallow him up like in Numbers 16:32. But then, the story of Esther, a star for God, would have never been written as an example for you and I.
When men fail to obey God, He continues to search amongst you and I to find the next star to carry out his plans. First we are very special to Him because He made us. We are also very special to Him because when Satan and his angels chose to fully reject God and His love, it left a vacancy in Heaven.
Revelation 12:3,4
3 And
there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having
seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of
heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman
which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was
born.
We don?t often think about the struggle over sin from God?s perspective, but God wants you and I to get to know Him now so that we?ll be happy to obey Him in heaven.
God doesn?t want sin to last any longer than He has to, and He won?t put up with sin forever, but before it?s all over, He wants you and I to make up our minds: Either we want to do our own thing, have it our way, and sin as we please, or we want to live for God, our Creator, who designed us to get a kick out making Him smile.
Revelation 3:20
20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Will open the door for Jesus today? He?s looking for stars. You can be the next Star in the Crown of Life.
Suggested Hymn(s):
143 Silent Night
135 O Little Town of Bethlehem
218 When He Cometh
Suggested Special Music(s):
?It?s Gonna Rain?
?The Days of Yea & Nea?
?God Loves People More Than Anything?
Suggested Appeal Song(s):
?Tomorrow?
?I Know My Redeemer Lives?
?Time After Time?
A Missing Day in Space
Did you know that the space program is busy proving that what has been called "myth" in the Bible is true? Mr Harold Hill, President of the Curtis Engine Company in Baltimore Maryland and a consultant in the space program, relates the following development. I think one of the most amazing things that God has for us today happened recently to our astronauts and space scientists at Greenbelt, Maryland. They were checking the position of the sun, moon, and planets out in space where they would be 100 years and 1000 years from now. We have to know this so we won't send a satellite, up and have it bump into something later on its orbits. We have to lay out the orbits in terms of the life of the satellite, and where the planets will be so the whole thing will not bog down. They ran the computer measurement back and forth over the centuries and it came to a halt. The computer stopped and put up a red signal, which meant that there was something wrong either with the information fed into it or with the results as compared to the standards. They called in the service department to check it out and they said "what's wrong ?" Well they found there is a day missing in space in elapsed time. They scratched their heads and tore their hair. There was no answer. Finally, a Christian man on the team said, "You know, one time I was in Sunday School and they talked about the sun standing still." While they didn't believe him, they didn't have an answer either, so they said, "Show us". He got a Bible and went back to the book of Joshua where they found a pretty ridiculous statement for any one with "common sense." There they found the Lord saying to Joshua ,"Fear them not, I have delivered them into thy hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee." Joshua was concerned because he was surrounded by the enemy and if darkness fell they would overpower them. So Joshua asked the Lord to make the sun stand still! That's right--"The sun stood still and the moon stayed---and hasted not to go down about a whole day!" The astronauts and scientists said, "There is the missing day!" They checked the computers going back into the time it was written and found it was close but not close enough. The elapsed time that was missing back in Joshua's day was 23 hours and 20 minutes--not a whole day. They read the Bible and there it was "about (approximately) a day" These little words in the Bible are important, but they were still in trouble because if you cannot account for 40 minutes you'll still be in trouble 1,000 years from now. Forty minutes had to be found because it can be multiplied many times over in orbits. As the Christian employee thought about it, he remembered somewhere in the Bible where it said the sun went BACKWARDS. The scientists told him he was out of his mind, but they got out the Book and read these words in 2 Kings: Hezekiah, on his death-bed, was visited by the prophet Isaiah who told him that he was not going to die. Hezekiah asked for a sign as proof. Isaiah said "Do you want the sun to go ahead 10 degrees?" Hezekiah said "It is nothing for the sun to go ahead 10 degrees, but let the shadow return backward 10 degrees.." Isaiah spoke to the Lord and the Lord brought the shadow ten degrees BACKWARD! Ten degrees is exactly 40 minutes! Twenty three hours and 20 minutes in Joshua, plus 40 minutes in Second Kings make the missing day in the universe!
References: Joshua 10:8 and 12,13 2 Kings 20:9-11