Needle in a Haystack

Significant Lessons from Second Letters

Remember, Peter’s last letter he wrote that we have.

The benefit of all his life’s experience. What’s most important that he think’s we need to remember. He wrote it down.

Needle in a Haystack

Have you ever found a needle in a haystack? Literally? Figuratively?

Our house in LR had a pool. We’d have the youth group over for parties and games. Youth pastor, wife, and volunteers would come too.

There was a couple who were volunteers and had just gotten engaged. Just got the ring, looooved the ring. Very proud of what her poor husband and given her.

And, she wore it to play in the pool. Volleyball, basketball, all sorts of activities.

Party is winding down, she gets out to dry off and notices.

The ring is gone. No idea how long, where, just gone.

We stop everything. Let the water calm down.

Couple of guys put on masks and dive to the deep end, around the drain. It was big enough it shouldn’t have gone down the drain. And, too heavy to get into the skimmers.

But, could it be in the big sand filter? It wasn’t in the pool.

Picture our back yard. The house is on a hill. Walk out basement to the pool, down some stairs. Behind the pool is a hedge, between the hedge and back fence is a gnarly ivy for ground cover to keep the topsoil from eroding.

Off the shallow end is a wood deck. Gaps between boards. But only a foot off the ground.

Off the deep end was a big magnolia tree. They shed big leaves. Mulch underneath to keep the grass and weeds out.

Then up by the house, more bushes and ground cover.

It’s gnarly, it’s thick, it’s deep, and that ring could be anywhere.

We’re all upset. But, you can imagine what’s going thru the young couple’s mind and heart. Her engagement ring. Represents so much. For them, expensive!

She’s heartbroken. More and more each time a search of a section of the pool and yard come up empty.

Then, one of the students gets ready to leave, walks up the steps to the door to the house, happens to look down at the base of the bush right next to her and sees something shiny.

What are the chances?!

Sometime, during a heated volleyball game, she took a swing at the ball and her ring flew off and landed right by the steps to house under that bush.

The trial was big. The stress was huge. And the relief for everyone produced tears.

That ring is like us. When we come to faith God makes us like a diamond wrapped in gold and we are precious to Him.

But, at times, we feel lost in a gnarly, mulch-rotting, snake and rodent infested, dirt eroding, dark under the deck place.

And we wonder, “Does God see us?” “Will He provide what I need to survive and protect me so I will?” “Will He ever rescue me?”

W/ the stresses and trials of all the gnarliness sometimes we give in to it. We don’t lose faith or stop believing, but maybe we start behaving in ways more like the rot than the ring.

Will God still rescue me?

Peter assures us that we might be that needle in a haystack, and the haystack might even be on fire. But, God knows exactly where we are, providing everything we need, protecting us for eternity, and with pin-point accuracy will lift us out and rescue us while everything else around us is rotting and destroyed.

You may feel lost, but God hasn’t lost you. God will certainly rescue you out of the rot and treat you like the ring He made you to be.

In the Greek, v.1-10a is one conditional sentence.

“If....then.”

v.1-8 are the ‘ifs’.

v.9-10 is the ‘then.’

Peter starts out ch.2 talking about where the gnarlyness and the rot are going to come from. It’s going to get hard.

“If....then.”

v.1-8 are the ‘ifs’.

From Within

2 Peter 2:1-3

2 Peter 2:1–3 NIV

But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

He just got done writing about the inspiration of the OT prophet and how God preserved their message. They wrote and spoke in a time when there were others claiming prophet of God status but were not.

God preserved His message.

Now, future tense, there will be more like those who claim godly status and divine authority but they are not.

Characteristic of these leaders and speakers, they come from w/in. It’s hard enough to stand up against those outside the church who try to divert us from walking w/ Jesus, maintaining high moral standards, and influencing others to join us.

But, when the opposition comes from w/in, it’s even harder.

It’s not that these mis-leaders are definitely Christian or not. But, they are misleading.

These doctrinal differences they promote don’t change over night. They are incremental, gradual, but eventually cross the line of fundamental and biblical Christianity.

Eventually, no, they will not be Christians, though recognized as church leaders.

And, characteristic of their message, just like those who opposed the OT prophets, will be one of supposed “good news.” But it isn’t.

They will teach peace and love, inclusion and tolerance.

But, the problem is they teach tolerance of ungodly behavior. Then, for those who try to live by higher standards, they will be considering hateful.

Hate-mongering. Hate speech. It’s going on now. It’s going to get worse.

Peter lists 8 points that profile these mis-leaders.

They are devious. Not openly defiant. Appear to be faithful and on board but introducing changes secretly, from w/in. They claim t/b supportive while introducing contradictory doctrine.

They perpetrate serious error. These aren’t minor doctrinal differences. Baptism, Tongues. These reflect rationalizing a lifestyle contradictory to biblical teaching. Denying Jesus as sovereign Lord. No reason to ask Him if it’s okay as if He’s Lord. No reason to worry that He will hold them accountable for bad behavior as king.

The outcome of their teaching is destruction. It’s the opposite of salvation, though they will couch in gospel language.

Their destiny is Hell, not Heaven. They and their followers who adhere to their teaching will be destroyed. They may think they are getting away w/ it. But, God is not asleep and ignoring them. At the right time He will drop the hammer.

Their popularity will be great. A majority will flock to their message of love and inclusion. No moral constraint. So called, freedom. No accountability. A participation trophy for be part of their movement.

Their impact will be disastrous w/in the church. They hurt the movement and momentum of those who preach Jesus and a message of salvation only for those who believe.

They will be motivated by greed, exploiting believers and those who want to believer their message is true. Not just monetary greed, but authoritative and influence.

The basis of their stories are made up. Not the truth described and taught in God’s word.

It will start w/ minor issues and minor disagreements. But, it will evolve into major doctrinal differences and those who adhere to Godly principles and lifestyle will be ridiculed and marginalized.

The pressure to participate in the rot and gnarlyness will be difficult to stand up to. Afterall, the teachers will be popular and the teaching will seem to be loving and accepting.

But, it’s not. Love has boundaries. These ppl will broaden the boundaries to the point they don’t exist.

From here, Peter gives 3 examples from the past of what it will be like in the future.

In the Greek, v.4-10a is one conditional sentence; ‘if this, then that.’

v.4-8 are the if’s. Well, in the Greek there’s 1. But, for us to understand better, our English translations provide 4.

There are 4 ‘ifs’ w/in 3 examples from the past how mis-leaders were reserved for judgment while the faithful were rescued for salvation.

3 Examples

2 Peter 2:4–8 NIV

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—

2 Peter 2:4-8

Angels, the ancient world, and Sodom and Gomorrah.

There’s a lot going here.

The ppl Peter was writing to were getting frustrated that the mis-leaders were having such and impact. They were popular and church members were putting pressure on those trying to maintain fundamental doctrine to loosen up!

The church was beginning to struggle, losing ppl, losing influence in the community, and there was pressure to approve and adopt these new lower standards for behavior.

So, he wrote this to encourage them by reminding them that God has dealt w/ this in the past and he will do it again. God will most certainly protect them and punish those who mislead.

First, angels. This is kind of weird. But, there’s a lot of weird stuff in the bible. Creation, Satan as a serpent, worldwide flood, a fish ate a man then vomited him out to go preach, and Jesus walked out of his grave then flew out of sight.

This is a reference to the angels and what happened in .

It appears, angels came to earth, married human women, had babies in an attempt to create a super race. Nephilim.

Why? Very quick history.

Lucifer tried to take over. Bel’d he’d be a better god than God. He thought he was more powerful, better leader, wiser, the whole deal.

God punished him by kicking him out of heaven and sent him to the outer edge of the universe. The slums.

Then, God basically said, you think you’re so powerful and smart, you won’t even be able to control everything in your slum.

Then, God put the earth and ppl right in the middle of Lucifer’s slum.

Ever since, Satan has tried to destroy mankind and God’s plan for us.

In the Garden he duped Adam and Eve. God said, I have a plan for that.

Satan then got all men together to build a tower that they were most proud of. And engineering marvel for the day. Thought it reached heaven. They were as good as God at constructing things. Made them proud of themselves and they worshiped themselves, and Satan.

God’s like, ya right. He build the universe. You built a building. God scrambled their language and sent them around the earth.

Satan comes up w/ another scheme to create a master race that humans will not be able to conquer. God’s like, nope, not going to let that happen.

The flood killed their offspring w/ everybody else.

And, the angels who were part of this have been put in a holding cell ever since waiting their final judgment and their final prison destination.

These are angels and God didn’t let them get away w/ this.

2nd example from the same time, Noah.

While this whole Nephilim thing was going on, the ppl had wondered way away from God all around the world.

Noah tried to tell them what God was telling him at the time.

As he built his boat the people ridiculed him. His reputation was trash. He was talked about as intolerant.

That was sort of true. He was intolerant of their ungodly behavior. It was a gnarly and rotten place to be. And, Noah and his family were right in the middle of it.

The stress to be in the minority and stand strong for godly behavior must have been intense.

Noah preached warnings while the rest preached tolerance.

Then it started raining.

Noah and his wife, their 3 sons and their wives got on the boat w/ all the animals. God plucked them out of the gnarlyness and rot and treated them like the rings he created them to be.

Everything else died.

Laser like focus, surgical precision, God protected and rescued the faithful no matter how few there were.

The 3rd example, Sodom and Gomorrah. Like the others, God waited for the right time, then sudden judgment.

God sent an angel to rescue Lot and his family. At first, he didn’t want to go. Remember, he wanted to settle there while Abraham went a different direction.

He was a believer, he got caught up in some of their gnarlyness, and God still graciously rescued him.Lot’s choices weren’t the best, but God still chose to rescue him.

The angel had to practically drag them out. Moments to spare. Reduced the cities to ashes. A picture of God’s judgment for ungodly behavior in the fire of judgement.

Lot’s wife turned and did more than look back. Her heart was drawn to the ppl, place and the lifestyle. Her heart was not w/ God, but w/ rot she left behind. And, God dealt w/ her severely.

Lot was far from perfect. He was tormented by the ungodliness around him. He struggled w/ it. Even tho’ he approved on some level, his heart was w/ God and ran to be rescued.

If God didn’t spare the angels; if God didn’t spare all mankind except Noah and his family; if God didn’t spare Sodom and Gomorrah; If God rescued Lot from it all.

then....what will he do now and in the future?

Rescue the Godly

2 Peter 2:9–10 NIV

if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings;

This is the ‘then’ part of the sentence.

The OT showed numerous time God intervened to judge sinners and save the faithful.

Then, in the c.1, Peter’s readers were among the godly. He reassured them that God viewed them as He did Noah and Lot.

They faced trials, challenges to their faith. They lived in an anti-Christian environment.

Today, we live in a post-Christian environment.

God will intervene.

Whatever happens to them, whatever happens to us, we will all be held in appropriate places while we wait our final judgment and ultimate assignment.

There is more than one place written about in the bible where we go. Jesus told the thief on the cross He’d see him in paradise that afternoon.

That’s what happens to us when we die now.

Later, much later, when Jesus brings the new heaven and new earth we all face our final judgement and are assigned a new place to spend the rest of eternity.

We don’t know a lot about all this.

Likewise, the unfaithful, those who don’t believe, are put in what amounts to holding cells while they wait for their final judgement and ultimate assignment.

These are the ppl who despise the Lord’s authority, will not submit to God’s wishes, and they give into their corrupt desires. Peter puts this in the context of Sodom and Gomorrah representing their corrupt desires.

These misleaders argued they could do whatever they wanted and God had to forgive them.

But He doesn’t. God forgives the faithful b/c of their faith. He does not forgive the ungodly for their behavior and they will pay a dear price.

We can relax and rest assured that God will punish those who are stubbornly rebellious while He protects those who believe and are faithful.

God is not standing by silent, letting bad ppl, misleaders, get away w/ stuff. He will certainly and suddenly judge their behavior.

As stressful as it may get to remain faithful and maintain high standards, we can relax and know that God will make it all right. No one is getting away w/ anything.

That sense of right and wrong we innately live w/ will ultimately be satisfied when God handles everything.

Don’t get caught up watching the waves and storm. Keep you eyes focused on Jesus.

He will rescue you out of the gnarlyness and rot and treat you like the ring He made you to be.

Applications

Imperfect

God is gracious. We don’t have t/b perfect, just faithful, like Lot.

Distressed and tormented by life. Caught up in the gnarlyness of the ground cover, the rot in the mulch, and the darkness under the deck, even on some level unwilling to leave it all behind; God will reach into it and pluck you out and rescue you.

Relax. Take a breath.

Where are you too hard on yourself trying to meet a standard God doesn’t hold you to?

Just be faithful.

Judge

Let God judge the misleaders. We don’t have to.

Is there someone you’re trying to point out to everyone else, maybe even them, how wrong they are?

Let God point out where they are wrong. Maybe you just need to love them even w/out participating in what they are doing wrong.

God will make it all right in the end. You don’t have to.

Study

You know the story how bank tellers and secret service learn to recognize counterfeits.

They study the real thing, not the fakes.

God’s word is reliable, valid, and authoritative.

Facts. History. Truth. Not made up stories or myths.

Some of it is easy, some of it is tough. It’s all true.

Study it well enough to know when someone else is trying to mislead or lead you into a gnarly or rotten situation.

Pay attention to God, not necessarily me. Remember the truth and remember where to find it when you forget it.

Peter assures us that we might be that needle in a haystack, and the haystack might even be on fire. But, God knows exactly where we are, providing everything we need, protecting us for eternity, and with pin-point accuracy will lift us out and rescue us while everything else around us is rotting and destroyed.

You may feel lost, but God hasn’t lost you. God will certainly rescue you out of the rot and treat you like the ring He made you to be.