Expect God's Patience

2 Peter 3:1–15 NIV

1 Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. 2 I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. 3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.

In January 2024 the New York Times published an opinion piece on the topic of Extinction Panic.

Doom and gloom over the state and future of humanity is prevalent and pervasive globally. A New York Times piece by Tyler Harper gives an excellent summary and overview over our existential anxieties:

The literary scholar Paul Saint-Amour described the expectation of apocalypse. It is the sense that all history’s catastrophes and geopolitical traumas are leading us to 'the prospect of an even more devastating futurity' — as the quintessential modern attitude. It’s visible everywhere in what has come to be known as the polycrisis. Climate anxiety ... is driving debates about 'the morality of having kids in a burning, drowning world.' Our public health infrastructure groans under the weight of a lingering pandemic while we are told to expect worse contagions to come. The near coup at OpenAI, which resulted at least in part from a dispute about whether artificial intelligence could soon threaten humanity with extinction, is only the latest example of our ballooning angst about technology overtaking us. There are serious concerns that the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine could spark World War III. Apocalyptic fears feed off the idea that people are inherently violent, self-interested and hierarchical and that survival is a zero-sum war over resources. What makes an extinction panic a panic is the conviction that humanity is flawed and beyond redemption. That it is destined to die at its own hand, the tragic hero of a terrestrial pageant for whom only one final act is possible. The irony is that this cynicism greases the skids to calamity. After all, why bother fighting for change or survival if you believe that self-destruction is hard-wired into humanity? Source: Tyler Austin Harpter, “The 100-Year Extinction Panic Is Back, Right on Schedule,” The New York Times (1-26-24)

How many of think that we are more than half way before Jesus returns?

How many of us think that He will likely return in the next 100 years?

How many of think that He will likely return in the next 25 years?

Article I quoted about speaks of the 100 year extinction panic being back. Meaning, according to the author we are in the midst of an extinction panic in our day, but that was also true 100 years ago in the 1920’s (Great War, destructive power of bombs and chemical weapons, advance in technology, a devestating pandemic (called the Spanish flu).... people also believed that the extinction of the human race was imminent....

…and we know historically at various times throughout history people in the church, as well as many others have felt that in their time, in their day, they were living in the last days, or the end of history.

Now that brings us to our text for this morning.....

Letter likely written in late 60’s....Peter likely was martyred in Rome in the late 60’s under the reign of emperor Nero.

speaking to 1st generation of Christians alive since Christ’s first coming.

we know from various places in the Bible that there seemed to be a sense in which the first generation of Christians including the authors of the NT believed Jesus may very well return in their lifetime.

[explain what Peter is doing..... encouraging and strengthening the church in the face of scoffers and mockers…]

the end is coming..... like a thief.....God can bring it about at any moment....like the creation of the world or like the flood of God’s judgement....

Christ will return.... and it will be a return of judgement and fire.....

2 Peter 3:3 NIV

3 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.

To explain how to understand “last days” I want to take us to Peter’s most famous sermon...

Last Days (2 Pet. 3:3)

Acts 2:16–17 NIV

16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

[Take us through Joel 1, 2, 3..... day of Lord, last days passages......]

Hebrews 1:1–2 NIV

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe.

2 Peter 3:10 NIV

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

Day of the Lord (2 Pet. 3:10)

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Day of the Lord

Day of the Lord. Expression used by OT prophets (as early as the eighth-century BC prophet Amos) to signify a time in which God actively intervenes in history, primarily for judgment.

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Day of the Lord

The final day of the Lord is characterized in the Bible as a day of gloom, darkness, and judgment. Associated with God’s judgment is language depicting changes in nature, especially a darkening of the sun, moon, and stars (Is 13:10; Jl 2:31; 3:15; Mt 24:29; Rv 6:12)

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible Day of the Lord

Following the judgment, the future day of the Lord will be a time of prosperity, restoration, and blessing for Israel (Jl 3:18–21).

The more explicit NT expressions—“the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 1:8), “the day of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor 5:5; 2 Cor 1:14), and “the day of Christ” (Phil 1:10; 2:16)—are more personal and more positive. They point to final events related to Christian believers, who will not experience the wrath of God (1 Thes 5:9).

For us today....

growing anxiety about the situation of our world..... “extinction panic”.....

OR a growing lack of expectancy or anticipation of his return..... don’t even long for it or pray for it, no eagerness for it..... OR no fear of it..... no sense of trembling.... of coming judgement....

1, 2 Peter, Jude (1. Scoffers Doubt the Coming Day (3:1–7))

The phrase “the last days” (eschatōn tōn hēmerōn) is rather common in the Scriptures (LXX Gen 49:1; Isa 2:2; Jer 23:20; 25:19; 37:24; Ezek 38:16; Dan 2:28; Hos 3:5; Mic 4:1; Acts 2:17; 2 Tim 3:1; Heb 1:2; Jas 5:3; cf. Jude 18). New Testament writers emphasized that the last days had arrived in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (see esp. Acts 2:17; Heb 1:2). Hence, there is no suggestion that the prophecy recorded here was still unfulfilled. Peter believed it was fulfilled in the false teachers that had arrived in the churches he addressed. We see the same phenomenon in 1 Tim 4:1–5; 2 Tim 3:1–9; and Jude 18. Paul himself prophesied that false shepherds would arise among the flock (Acts 20:29–30). Jesus also predicted that false prophets would emerge

Perhaps the reopening of Notre Dame is like a “day of the Lord” moment....??!!

“Tonight, the bells of Notre Dame are ringing again. And in a moment, the organ will awaken,” sending the “music of hope” to Parisians, France and the world.

For the first time since a devastating blaze nearly destroyed it in 2019, the towering Gothic masterpiece reopened for worship, its rebirth marked by song, prayer, and awe beneath its soaring arches.

The ceremony, initially planned to begin on the forecourt, was moved entirely inside due to unusually fierce December winds sweeping across the Île de la Cité, flanked by the River Seine. Yet the occasion lost none of its splendor. Inside the luminous nave, choirs sang psalms, and the cathedral’s mighty organ, silent for nearly five years, thundered to life in a triumphant interplay of melodies.

The Rev. Andriy Morkvas, a Ukrainian pastor who leads the Volodymyr Le Grand church in Paris, reflected on his first visit to Notre Dame in over a decade. “I didn’t recognize it,” he said. “God is very powerful; He can change things.” He expressed hope that the cathedral’s revival could inspire peace in his homeland, drawing strength from the presence of Ukraine’s president. “I think that will have a big impact,” he said. “I hope Notre Dame and Mary will help us resolve this conflict.”

The reopening of Notre Dame comes at a time of profound global unrest, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East.

For Catholics, Notre Dame’s rector said the cathedral “carries the enveloping presence of the Virgin Mary, a maternal and embracing presence.″

“It is a magnificent symbol of unity,” Dumas said. “Notre Dame is not just a French monument—it is a magnificent sign of hope.”

Anyone notice the Pope’s PROPHETIC PRAYER yesterday? ‘May the rebirth of Notre Dame be a prophetic sign of renewal for the Church in France,’ he said. These words rang out from Paris to the nations as world leaders gathered for the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral, five years after it burned down. And surely, hearing such a prayer from such a person in a place and at a moment like this, all those of us with faith must simply say, ‘Amen’? AWAKENING In many ways the entire ceremony was a powerful call to prayer. The words ‘rebirth’, ‘awakening’, ‘restoration’, and ‘resurrection’ were repeated again and again, often in awed tones. The ceremony began with the cathedral’s great 13 tonne ‘Emmanuel’ bell - named by Louis XIV - ringing out once again over Paris: ‘God with us’ - where everything begins - calling the city to prayer. Then the vast doors swung open to the sound of a choir singing Psalm 121: “My help comes from the Lord.” The Word of the Lord filling the building before the words of any of the world leaders gathered within. This was the spine-tingling first moment of public worship here since the destruction of 2019. Next the Archbishop of Paris processed and addressed the vast organ, dramatically calling it to "wake up its harmony”, whereupon its 8,000 pipes came alive. The First Lady, Jill Biden reached for the hand of her daughter, Ashley, visibly moved. MOURNING TO JOY The pope’s message positioned this as a moment marking a transition "from sadness and mourning to joy, celebration, and praise.” Once again those of us with faith - whatever our tradition - could only whisper “Amen”. Outside as dusk gathered, a single word was projected across Notre Dame’s famous facade: “Merci.” Heartfelt thanks to the brave firemen, to the hardworking builders, to the skilled craftspeople, and to those who gave money to make this ‘miracle’ possible. But thanks also to the Lord who first inspired those who built this cathedral, and whose presence will now continue to be felt by many of its 15 million annual visitors. He is the one who brings hope out of despair, and beauty out of ashes. And so we pray that this may indeed be a prophetic moment. That his church might be renewed, repaired, restored, revived, rebuilt, reborn, awakened - in France and throughout Europe in our day. ~ merci ~

Close with this Advent Prayer by Henri Nouwen

#ADVENT PRAYER by Henri Nouwen ~ Lord Jesus, Master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so many ways long for the complete joy of your kingdom. We whose hearts are heavy seek the joy of your presence. We are your people, walking in darkness, yet seeking the light. To you we say, “Come Lord Jesus!” Amen.