When They Least Expect it!
2 Peter • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 9 viewsNotes
Transcript
MIC
Pray
They say the average time for a laptop computer is 3 to five years. or in some cases even up to 6 years.
The average life for a washing machine is 10 - 15 years, but with a premium brand maybe 20 years.
a hot water heater 8-12 years… but in some cases with proper maintenance… maybe up to 15 years.
Let me ask you… Anybody here had to replace a laptop, or a washing machine, or a hot water heater?
I suspected so. Now we knew on the day that we bought it, it was not going to last forever. and wouldn’t it be nice if it just came with a date written on it. This machine will quit working on January 1 2028.
It isn’t like in real life. The day comes and it just stops working. That happened with the church computer last week.
Friends that is what it will be like when the Judgement Day comes. We are not going to get a letter in the mail telling us what day and what hour it will be. Jesus warns us....
Slide
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
But that does not mean that we have forever. Just because our computer was working on Saturday morning, does not mean that it will be working on Saturday afternoon and that is what Jesus is telling us in this passage.
In 2 Peter chapter 3, God is warning us about the coming day of judgment. Please open your Bibles to 2 Peter chapter 3 and I am going to start reading at verse 7.
6 Slides (ending vs 13)
7 But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
The day is coming and is fast approaching when God will judge this world and will destroy all ungodly men. Last week we left off with vs 8
Slide
8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
We pointed out at that time.. our God is a God who dwells in eternity. A thousand years is like a blip to Him. He will not be rushed, He takes his time to do things the right way. A way that is true to His character.
Is God Just? yes and so He must judge sin.
But is God also kind, and compassionate, and merciful? The answer to this is also yes.. and so He is working things out in a manor that is compatible with His character.
That is verse 9
Slide
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
The Lord is taking His time because He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Paul explained this same truth to us in
3 Slides
3 And do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?
4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
or as Jesus said… I did not come to judge the world but to save the world!
Yes … it has been almost 2000 years since Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins and since he rose from the dead for the benefit of our justification. But do not think that God is slow concerning His promises.
The word for slow is βραδύνω which means delayed or slow. God is not delayed. He is not slow. He has not forgotten about His promise to judge the world. He has a date set in stone.
The long period of time is.…
to give us time to repent.
time to turn from our sins… but He knows exactly when the judgment ax is going to fall. You do not want to be like the song says … 1 day to late.
As the next verse makes clear. The day of the Lord IS COMING!
It is coming like a thief. It will come at a time when you do not expect it.
and that is why I titled this sermon “When They Least Expect It!”
Paul describes it in
Slide
2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
Peter was just talking about the flood a few verses earlier in verse 6, I wonder if he was thinking about the words of Jesus
in Matt 24.
5 Slides (ending vs 39)
35 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words shall not pass away.
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
37 “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
38 “For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so shall the coming of the Son of Man be.
Judgment day will come with a giant roar. Think of it like the noise when a tornado is just outside your door… or the roar of a giant waterfall. The sound can be almost deafening. There will be no question that judgment day has come.… but unfortunately it will be too late to do anything about it at that time. Your fate will have already been sealed.
The elements will be destroyed with intense heat and the earth and all its works will be burned up.
What will the value of your house, or your car… or your savings account or job be in that day? They won’t be worth squat.
All those things that seemed so important will be doomed to the fire.
It is against this backdrop that Peter then asks us
Slide
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
What does Peter mean when He talks about our “holy conduct and godliness?”
IN 1st Peter, this concept was also brought up.
2 Slides
15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
16 because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Godliness means to be like God. and the same is true for holiness.
We are to be like God in our actions… yes.
but also in our character and attitudes.
I am reminded of the fruit of the Spirit
2 Slides
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
If we are holy… then worship with God will be a very high priority in our lives, just as it was with Jesus.
We will have had attitude of service. As servants of Christ… as His slaves the fruit of that service will show in our lives.
For example...
Slide
28 Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.
This means I cannot continue to live off of others day after day.
If my life gets turned upside down… there may be a period where I don’t have a job and I am on the public dole and the kindness of others.… but that is not where I stay.
I make it my number 1 priority to get a job so I can support myself. I rent an apartment or buy a home.. I also give my tithe to the church… that’s 10% of my income.
Every dollar that passes through the palms of my hand I give back to the Lord as Rich himself will tell you. This is all part of what it means to be holy even as He is holy. Let me continue with the idea of holiness and our money.
Let’s all turn to
3 Slides
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings.
9 “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!
10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.
and so we bring our whole tithes into the house of the Lord.
Instead of spending what is left all on ourselves, we also help those who are less fortunate.
We treasure our worship time with God, We do not make excuses to skip out. Heb 10.23-25 is near and dear to our heart.
3 Slides
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;
24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,
25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.
Be holy in all of our behavior also means that....
We forgive those who have wronged us and do not hold a grudge. Remember the words of Jesus...
Slide
10 ‘Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
Our goal is for God’s will to be done on earth even as it is in heaven… and that starts with me.
and then
Slide
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
On a regular basis we are asking God to take a look at our sins and how we treat others.… and we are asking God to forgive us in the same way we forgive or don’t forgive our worst enemy.
and Jesus does not stop here… we must not forget
2 Slides
14 “For if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15 “But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
When we talk about holiness and godliness these are the types of things we are talking about.
Is this you? Is this me?
That is the question that I have to ask myself.
That is the question that you have to ask yourself.
How does my life measure up?
Is this then a call for a moment of self-reflection ? I think it is. but more than that and I will get to that in a minute.
He began with a call for self-reflection back in chapter 1
Slide
10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
If you will remember at the beginning of 2nd Peter - we were reminded of God’s great and precious promises to us to become partakers of His divine nature.
We don’t have to be trapped by our lusts… lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life. Don’t let Satan make you believe his lie that you are trapped and there is no way out. there is a way out! How then do I get there?
I remind you again of
4 Slides (ending vs 8)
5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge;
6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness;
7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We begin by acting on what we know… and to that we add knowledge (Bible Study) and to knowledge self-control.
Let me put it another way.
We want to do what is right. We want to follow God… but sometimes I find myself falling back into old habits. What do I do?
First, I am going to ask you… do you really want to quit… or are you just saying that? We have to be honest with ourselves.
However, if I truly believe in Jesus.. if I really want to live my life for Him and to please Him…
and I believe that that is true for most of us.
Then I am ready for the next step.
I am going to confess my sin to Jesus. I will admit that what I have been doing is wrong. I ask Him to forgive my sin.. but not just forgive it.. but to change me on the inside.
God has told us
Slide
13 No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.
Along with the temptation… God has promised to provide us a way of escape. Do you believe it?
I do and I have found this to be true. However, I need to take the escape exit when it comes up.
It is like you are on a river heading to a narrowing of the river leading into a giant rock filled fall. There are signs along the river. You see a sign that says this is the last exit before the falls. You either take it or you don’t.
If you don’t, the next thing you will know is that you are in a steep canon with no exit and no way out. The river will carry you into the falls whether you want to go there or not.. It’s too late. You missed your chance.
Maybe you are already sleeping with someone you are not married to. Maybe it seems like once you go into the bar.. it is too late.. the temptation is too great, you are going to have that 1st drink and then the 2nd and so on.
You know that whenever you get together with let’s say your friend Tom, he is going to invite you over to his house.. and then the drugs come out and well.... , just the smell of his house has already got your head in a tizzy. What do you do?
In Celebrate Recovery we talk about the fact that I need to take a moral inventory. I have to write down what happens… but not just what happened right in the moment of my sin… I need to look at all the things that happened first.…
that led up to my actions and the other persons actions. The point of this is not just to create a written record.. In the process of writing it down I am looking for the escape hatch. Where along this path could I have gotten off the train.. where could I have gotten off the river onto dry land and to safety.
Maybe - I have to write Tom out of my life.
Maybe - I need to take an on-line Bible class from mid-night to 2:00 in the morning until I get so tired that I just fall asleep.
Maybe - I need to make arrangements with a friend that I can call in those times of temptation.
Maybe - I need to get together with a friend and we need to lay down some parameters so that we hold each other accountable. John Wesley formed class groups.. and each week they would meet and ask very blunt questions about their behavior this last week. Alice goes to weight watchers and you know what they do first thing she walks in the room at every meeting.… they weigh in. It is amazing how being held accountable will help us to straighten up our life.
Now we do not do this so we can say how righteous we are. We are all sinners saved by grace. We do this because our goal is to glorify Jesus in our life. We do this to honor His love for us… a love so great that He gave His life for us. How can we do less?
and why do we do all this?
2 Slides
12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
We do it because our desire is to hasten the coming of the day of God. We are looking forward to his 2nd coming. We are looking forward to the rewards that He will bring with Him. Our goal is our complete sanctification.
but more than that.… we are looking for the arrival of the new heaven and new earth. and I could add our new bodies that will never grow tired or be sick. There will be no more pain, or disease, or sin in the new heaven. There will be no need for police, or locks, or doctors or nurses, or drug stores. The old things will have passed away. It will be a new day dawning.
All this reminds me of the days of the pioneers...
In the days of the pioneers, when men saw that a prairie fire was coming, what would they do? Since not even the fastest of horses could outrun it, the pioneers took a match and burned the grass in a designated area around them. Then they would take their stand in the burned area and be safe from the threatening prairie fire. As the roar of the flames approached, they would not be afraid. Even as the ocean of fire surged around them there was no fear, because fire had already passed over the place where they stood.
When the judgment of God comes to sweep men and women into hell for eternity, there is one spot that is safe. Nearly two thousand years ago the wrath of God was poured on Calvary. There the Son of God took the wrath that should have fallen on us. Now, if we take our stand by the cross, we can be safe for all time and eternity.727
Have you taken your stand by the cross of Calvary? Have you accepted Christ as both your Lord and Savior.
Or are you just trusting Him to save you and figure you can deal with that Lordship thing some time later.
May I remind you of
Slide
36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
So what is our take away.
1) The Lord is not slow about His promises… but is being very patient with us and giving us time to repent. He does not want anyone to go to hell.
2) Nevertheless God has set a day for judgment and that day is coming sooner than we expect.
3) Therefore, God is calling each of us to exam our lives, repent, and spread the good news. God is coming and there will be rewards for those who are His bondservants... For those who do not make excuses, but… truly place their faith in Him and serve Him.
4) He has called us to be holy in all of our behavior and attitudes even as He is holy.
and 5) like me, I hope you as well are looking for the coming of the day of the Lord.
Let’s pray
