In The Last Days Scoffers Will Come

Redeeming Grace Church iconRedeeming Grace Church

0 views

0 comments

00:00
In the next days, scoffers will come, in the last days, scoffers will come.
00:06
Please bow with me in prayer. Our Father, it's the song we have just sung to You in our worship, and as we continue to worship, as we come now to hear from Heaven, from Your Word, we thank
00:25
You, Father, for Your goodness and Your mercy toward us, undeserving as we are, how frail we are, but Father, we praise
00:37
You, and we thank You, and we bless Your most holy name, for most of all, for the great salvation that You have provided and accomplished through Your Son, the
00:52
Lord Jesus Christ. As He was nailed on Calvary's cross over 2 ,000 years ago, and purchased our redemption, and redeemed us from every lawless deed,
01:08
Father, this is Your one and only Son, and whom You are well pleased in, Jesus Christ, and may
01:15
He be praised this morning. Father, I pray that You hide me behind the cross, and Father, that we would decrease in Jesus' increase.
01:28
And Lord, help us this morning, I pray, by Your blessed Holy Spirit, that we would lean hard on Him, and His mighty power, in this time of worship,
01:39
Lord, sanctify us, cleanse us, and make
01:44
Your bride ready for that great marriage feast of the Lamb one day, that great day of God Almighty.
01:51
And Father, that You might present the church to Yourself, a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish, washed in the blood of the
02:07
Lamb. Father, we thank You, we praise You, and may the name of Jesus Christ be praised, and we pray all of this above His name that is above all names, and we pray in Jesus' name,
02:23
Amen and Amen. Well, if we studied so far in 2
02:30
Peter together, this wonderful second letter that he has written is only compiled of three chapters, but over the past few months, we have found that each chapter of this wonderful epistle has its own particular emphasis, and I would like to recap a little bit this morning, and thank
02:55
God again for Brother Keith, as he presented a very good overview last Lord's Day, and breaking this open to us in this last chapter, and so important.
03:09
But if we have seen in the first chapter of 2 Peter, the emphasis was on the sufficiency really of Jesus Christ, His atoning work for us, and His redemption and salvation.
03:23
Also the Apostle Peter, well you remember mentioned that in Jesus Christ, we now have all things that pertain to life and godliness by faith, which is found in 2
03:34
Peter 1 -3. That you might say that this is a focus on the finished work of Jesus, and that was accomplished for us in the past.
03:47
Now this is the order, God's order, if you noticed in all the books of the
03:53
Bible, whether it be a prophet or an apostle, that was moved by the
04:00
Spirit of God as they wrote God's words, as God was breathing upon them and directing them by His Spirit.
04:07
There's always perfect order. And it's like Peter begins in chapter 1 by looking at the past, then he goes present, and then he goes future.
04:20
Chapter 1, past, present, future. Chapter 2, chapter 3, and actually like I said, this is a stressing this glorious past act of our
04:33
Lord for us in chapter 1, that Peter then urged his brothers and sisters in Jesus, the church, to rise up and faithfully build upon the foundation of faith, which is in Jesus, in Jesus alone, and the riches that they have through Jesus Christ.
04:55
It's tremendous. We saw that in chapter 1. Then in chapter 2, which actually flows from the first chapter with a much different emphasis, chapter 2,
05:10
Peter urges strongly to his brothers and sisters in Christ, the church, in a very urgent way, warning the church to be on alert, to take heed against the false teachers who would arise from within the church.
05:30
We saw that. False teachers are bred within the church, not outside the church. They come within the church.
05:38
They cloak themselves with sheep's clothing. They're deadly, very deadly.
05:45
And he speaks about these false teachers would arise from within the church and corrupt, and he warns them to be careful that they would not corrupt your faith that is in the sufficiency of Christ.
05:59
You might say that this was the focus on the present need in chapter 2, as Peter was stressing this present situation.
06:14
Now, as we studied the book of 1 Peter, it was basically to the people of God in Asia that was dispersed.
06:27
This is interesting, isn't it? So there's a dispersion. It was scattered. So it goes in all different directions.
06:35
So there was persecution from the outside, and as we well know, second persecution was if Peter is actually, there is warning against false teachers from within.
06:53
But Peter was urging them to stay true in the second letter to the doctrine of faith that was once delivered unto the saints, as Jude says, and as they were taught.
07:10
And not let themselves be drawn away from the purity that's within the gospel.
07:17
This is very critical. So chapter 2 is really loaded. It's the heart of the message, isn't it?
07:22
Because he just, I mean, unleashes God's wrath, in a sense, on these false teachers.
07:31
Very serious. These false teachers are apostate. Apostate. They've tasted of the good word of God, as Hebrews says, and it's almost as if they're gone way over the edge.
07:48
It's an unforgivable sin, actually. It's very serious.
07:57
And as we looked in chapter 2, it's almost like they're better off dead than alive.
08:04
They're so dangerous to the church. That's how much God cherishes the purity of the church.
08:10
And you see this when the revelation of who Jesus Christ, when He took His disciples alongside
08:16
Jesus, takes His disciples, and we know that Peter himself, Peter, God reveals, the
08:24
Father reveals to Him, not flesh and blood, who Jesus is. And directly after that, after He makes the confession that Jesus Christ is the
08:35
Son of the living God, thereafter Christ, the Son of the living God, Jesus says, flesh and blood didn't reveal this to you, but my
08:42
Father in heaven revealed this to you, and then immediately the first instructions that Jesus gives about His church is the purity of the church.
08:52
The purity. And we see what corrupts the church within.
08:58
False doctrine. False teachers. And this is what has happened, it's almost as a cancer comes within a body and begins to break it down to kill it.
09:10
It's a critical thing. Now, as we come to the third chapter, as Brother Keith broke ground last week,
09:18
I thank God for that. We find that this builds on the warning about false teachers, and in the previous chapter, but we find that it has its unique emphasis,
09:31
I appreciate Brother Keith bringing out the exhortation, I still remember those three
09:36
R's, Brother Keith. Remember the word, ridicule will come and rebuke the scoffers.
09:44
Remember, remember, rebuke, I'm sorry, remember, ridicule and rebuke, those three R's, I get the word right.
09:52
And that's a good reminder to us, isn't it? Now, I'm going to just build on that one word, remember, today.
09:59
And we will see that the focus of this chapter is primarily the focus is on the blessed hope of the future.
10:09
And this is everything, folks, to the Christian life. And actually, we don't, even within the church today, how often do you really hear messages about the day of the
10:21
Lord? How often do we hear, I mean, powerful messages about the blessed hope of His second coming?
10:30
And the early apostolic church took this very serious, very, very serious, and we're going to see this.
10:39
This has everything to do with the promise of His glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ and His ultimate judgment to come, by the way.
10:47
It's glorious to the saints, right? It's the day in which the saints look forward to, but the false teachers dread this day because it will be a day of doom to them.
10:57
Judgment will come to them. It's a day of doom and final destruction to them, and the present order of things, and as Scripture speaks of, the creation of the new heavens and the creation of the new earth.
11:14
The entire universe in which God created will be renewed.
11:22
It's incredible. This is really big, folks, and I'll tell you, it's going to take us a little time to get through chapter 3, because as we make our way, we march our way to 18 verses through this chapter, right in the middle of it speaks about the day of the
11:41
Lord. We're going to have to take some time in that, because as you well know, as you read the Bible, as a student of the
11:47
Bible, the day of the Lord and the prophecies is pointed out consistently throughout the
11:55
Scriptures. So we need to look at that with God's help, but I believe it's very important that we don't rush through this too fast.
12:04
We need to get this. We need to heed the words. And what's
12:09
He speaking of, really? And you mentioned this today among people of the world.
12:20
This is the first thing they talk about, and this is the first thing they want to know about is the end of time.
12:26
The end of the world, right? That reminds me, when I was in basic training in boot camp, speaking about this,
12:35
Brother Daniel, and Ben's been there as well, in my basic training days in the army,
12:41
I remember several men, and these guys were not saved, but they had an interest, and they knew that I was a
12:49
Christian, and they wouldn't come to me and ask me, how can
12:54
I be saved? That would be really the question. No, that wasn't the question.
13:02
The question was, tell me what the end of time says. Tell me what the book of Revelation says.
13:10
Tell me how everything's going to end. And I said, actually, it is in the book of Revelation.
13:16
God wraps it up. It's the conservation of everything. I would kind of give them a few details about judgment, and then they'd pull away.
13:24
I don't want to hear this no more. It sounds pretty terrifying. So, it is terrifying to those that don't know
13:30
Jesus, and that's why I said, I think really the question should be, how can I come to know Jesus Christ, and repent, and confess my sins, and turn away from this, and turn toward God?
13:43
No, they want to know about the end times. Now, the conservation of all things. So, actually, we're going to be seeing this.
13:52
And chapter 3 stresses the great truth that the Apostle Peter is calling his brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ to keep looking, by the way, with expectation of the second coming of Jesus, the promise that He made, that He will come one day as the great
14:09
Savior and God, and to, once and for all, set everything straight.
14:20
He does so, and He will so. And He actually warns them that not themselves to be drawn away from this blessed hope.
14:32
Now, I want you to think about what I just said. It's very important because, thus, this is what the false teachers were doing.
14:40
They were trying to plant seeds of doubt within the church, to draw people away from this blessed hope of the gospel that's found in Christ.
14:55
So, with that being said, now let us hear the words of the living God. I'm going to read this in chapter 3 of 2
15:02
Peter, beginning with verse 1. And I like to read to verse 9. We're not going to get through all this today, but I like to read it.
15:10
And we're going to break some down and see what we can see by God's help.
15:17
And let the Holy Spirit teach us. Hear the word of the living
15:23
God. I'm reading from the New King James Version this morning. And I, again, like to read just verse 1 to 9.
15:30
Verse 1 to 9. And then if it's later on, we'll see. Verse 10 to 13 speaks of the day of the
15:37
Lord. And then He gives the conclusion, verse 14 to verse 18.
15:43
But, hear God's word. Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle, in both in which
15:51
I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder, that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the
15:59
Holy Prophets and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. Know in this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lust.
16:14
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 creation.
16:25
For this they willfully forget, that by the word of God, the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with the water.
16:43
But the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same words, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
16:56
But beloved, but beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the
17:04
Lord one day is a thousand years, and a thousand years is one day.
17:09
And the Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long -suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
17:28
And there you have the great promise that God is not slack.
17:36
He's not slack, is He? He's very patient. Oh, the patience of God.
17:43
For one day His patience will run out. You see this. Tables turn, and then in verse 10
17:51
He says, But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. We'll look at that later, but that's when
17:58
God's patience runs out. But right now God's patient. Now I want you to think about this as we look at this chapter.
18:08
At the time of Peter's epistle here, and when he wrote this, it's basically dated,
18:15
I looked this up, and you can look it up yourself in your Bible commentary, that when he wrote this, it was somewhere between A .D.
18:25
64 and 67. Somewhere in between those years. Now I want you to think about this, that perhaps this is some 30 to 35 years, or may have elapsed since the
18:39
Lord's ascension into heaven, and the promise of His return in glory.
18:46
Just 30 to 35 years. And the scoffers were coming on and saying, Where is
18:51
His coming? Where is the promise of His coming? 30 to 35 years.
18:59
Now how many years has it been now? Since this letter, this epistle has been written?
19:07
It's been over roughly 2 ,000 years. But with God that's like two days.
19:16
It's like a weekend. Because God inhabits eternity. We're going to look at that in a minute. The timetable to God is completely different to humanity's timetable.
19:29
But here it's only 30 to 35 years since our Lord Jesus has gone back up into heaven and His ascension.
19:38
This account, by the way, turn with me to Acts chapter 1. I want you to see this. It's a few verses
19:44
I like to draw from this in the opening. But I think it's very important for us to get the grasp of what
19:51
Peter is leading into. Because what he warns us again is against scoffers, mockers, in the last days.
20:00
And right at the time in Acts chapter 1, that Jesus ascends into heaven.
20:07
And I like to read, let me pick up verse 9 to 11. Then I like to backtrack on some other verses. And notice what it says.
20:14
And this is Luke. Luke wrote it. Luke recorded this. Now when
20:20
He had spoken these things, what things did He speak? You back up to verse 8.
20:26
But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem and all
20:34
Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth. He's given the promise of the
20:39
Father there. He's speaking of that. Which is very significant because the importance of it is they need power to evangelize and to go out.
20:50
And notice they started in Jerusalem at the home base. And then it started spreading through Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the whole entire earth.
21:00
And that was what God's plan was. But notice in verse 9. Now when He had spoken these things, and that's what
21:05
He spoke. While they watched. What did they watch? They watched Him as He was taken up.
21:12
That's what He says. He was taken up. Literally lifted up.
21:19
And the scripture says, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. It was quite high at the time.
21:25
And then in verse 10. While they looked steadfastly toward heaven. It's almost like an amazement if we saw that ourselves.
21:33
We would be doing the same thing folks. Like wow. And they looked steadfastly toward heaven.
21:41
As He went up. And scripture says, Behold two men. Of course we know that these are angelic beings.
21:49
That I would take it they escorted the Lord back to heaven. Two men stood by them in white apparel.
21:57
And they stood by them. And also said, Men of Galilee. Now this is somewhat of a loving rebuke.
22:06
Men of Galilee. Why do you stand gazing up into heaven? The same
22:13
Jesus. The same Jesus. Who was taken up from you into heaven.
22:19
Will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven. Let me stop right there.
22:27
Very interested in Jesus ascension. And the promise is given by these angelic beings.
22:36
These two men. And He tells them of Galilee. Men of Galilee. Why are you standing gazing up into heaven?
22:44
This same Jesus was taken up from you into heaven. He's going to come back in the like manner.
22:51
That which you saw Him go into heaven. Now back up a little bit with me.
22:58
You notice in verse 6 and 7. There's a question and there's an answer.
23:04
Now, these are not angelic beings. This is before Jesus ascended into heaven.
23:11
And we don't know which one of the disciples asked this. All we know is that the disciples were there.
23:19
And notice in verse 6. Therefore when they, they had come together.
23:26
That's the disciples. They come together. They, again, the disciples asked
23:32
Him. Saying, Lord, will you at this time. Notice, they're talking about time here.
23:39
Restore the kingdom of Israel. And I just absolutely love the
23:46
Lord's answer here. Because notice what He emphasizes. Verse 7.
23:51
And He, speaking of Jesus, said to them. It is not for you to know the times or seasons.
24:00
Which the Father has put in His own authority. That's the answer. They asked the question.
24:07
They're concerned about the times. And when God's going to consummate and restore Israel. And all things.
24:14
And why Jesus came. Being the King. From heaven. And He comes.
24:19
Because He is the King of Israel. And here He's talking about the consummation.
24:25
And of all things. But it's not for you to know the times or the seasons. Which the Father has put in His own authority.
24:32
This is interesting. Because Jesus did not correct His disciples' views. Concerning the restoration of the kingdom of Israel.
24:39
Did He? It says in verse 6. See. In which they asked that question.
24:47
The answer is given in verse 7. And instead He corrects them. For the views concerning the timing of the event.
24:55
That's what He corrects them on. Is the timing. Now notice with me.
25:00
Jesus says in verse 7. Let's look at it again. And He said to them. It is not for you to know.
25:07
Now that really humbles us. Doesn't it? It's not for you to know. The times or the seasons.
25:14
Which the Father has put in His own authority. And these words He speaks to them.
25:21
And He gives. Actually He speaks to the issue of the timing. Differently.
25:27
Times here refers to chronology. The chronological order. The duration of time.
25:35
How long. How long. Seasons refers to epochs.
25:40
Or the events. Which is to come. And have you noticed today in our day. People get caught up in the times.
25:47
And the epochs. And the events. That's why they made series on television.
25:54
The left behind series. And people get so curious about these things. Like they got to know somehow.
26:00
But the Bible still says. We will not know the day or the hour. Only God the
26:06
Father knows. And Jesus now knows. But that was not revealed. When He was here on earth.
26:12
And the disciples asked. And basically. I thank God that only
26:17
He knows. Because today will be like a thief. A thief never tells you when he is going to break into your house.
26:23
Does he? It comes unexpectedly. And that's what Jesus is basically saying.
26:30
But see these disciples were concerned about how long. The seasons. And the epochs.
26:35
And the events. The timing. So the disciples were not to know how long.
26:41
It would be before Christ set up His kingdom. At His second coming. Nor were they to know what events would transpire before the establishment of it.
26:51
Now I want you to think about this. Peter's point. He points out here that even the
26:57
Old Testament prophets. Did not know the timing between the sufferings of Jesus.
27:02
And the glories that would follow. Chapter and verse. Well we studied it. Remember? Look at 1
27:09
Peter 1 .11. 1 Peter 1 .11. You can jump back to 1 Peter. But the scripture says here.
27:16
Searching what or what manner of time. The spirit of Christ who was in them.
27:23
Was indicating when He testified beforehand. The sufferings of Christ.
27:29
And the glories that would follow. So you think of it as the Old Testament prophets. Would speak about the promise of Jesus' first coming.
27:39
And at times He spoke about the second coming. It kind of mingles in between. We'll see that later on.
27:44
But talking about His first arrival. His advent. When He comes to this earth. They did not know exactly the time.
27:51
They didn't know the time period. But the spirit of God was breathing upon them. Moving them.
27:57
To write these words. And He's going to come. And it's the same now.
28:03
He's coming back. We don't know when. But we do. Yes, there's hints of the earth.
28:11
And what is going on. But we still do not know the exact day and the hour. But think of this.
28:20
Now you look back at our text. In 2 Peter chapter 3. Jump back to chapter 3. We see that Peter returns to the exhortation.
28:28
As Brother Keith pointed out. It's almost like he needfully had to warn the church. Against the false teachers.
28:35
And their damnable heresies. And now he comes back to the believers. After he warned against the deadly, damnable teachers.
28:42
The teachings and the false teachers. He addresses the church. And that's why he says beloved.
28:48
Beloved. Beloved of God. I now write to you this second epistle.
28:54
We know. If you remember. In the introduction.
29:01
I mentioned of 2 Peter. There's a lot of liberal theologians. That do not believe that the apostle
29:06
Peter wrote this. But it clarifies right here. Now I write to you this second epistle.
29:13
Peter. It can't be any more clearer than that. He says.
29:21
I now write to you this second epistle. In both which I stir up your pure minds.
29:30
By way of what? Reminder. I'm going to remind you of something.
29:36
This is what Peter is saying. And this is where the spirit of God is leading him. He said. I'm going to remind you of something very important now.
29:43
I'm going to jolt your memory. I'm going to stir you up. I'm going to stir up your pure minds. And the key word is reminder.
29:52
It's a reminder. We need to be reminded. Because. We forget.
29:58
We need to be jolted. About the second coming of Jesus Christ.
30:04
The final chapter of the second Peter by the way. Which will be Peter's last written words. To the church.
30:09
His last will and testament. If you please. Almost like 2 Timothy chapter 4.
30:15
Paul's last words. That's like his last will and his last testament. This is Peter's last will and his last testament.
30:22
In other words. It's extremely important. All of it's important of course. But what he's saying here is.
30:28
We're talking about the second coming of Jesus. And he exhorts the church.
30:35
And he seeks to stir up their pure minds. To stir them up. To what?
30:43
To what? I think that's a fair question. That's a good question. What's it going to stir up their minds?
30:49
By reminding them to give heed. To the words of the prophets.
30:54
And the words of the apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ. So that first of all. Here he points out.
31:00
This is my first point. Remember the words spoken before. By the holy prophets and the holy apostles.
31:10
Remember the words spoken before. By the holy apostles and the holy prophets.
31:16
Notice in verse 2. That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before. By the holy prophets and the commandment of us.
31:24
And the apostles of the Lord and Savior. Folks I'm going to tell you. This is extremely important. Especially to us today.
31:31
But as Peter wrote to the church back then. The only way. And I say again.
31:37
The only way. I cannot emphasize this enough. That Peter's readers could recognize the erroneous teachings.
31:45
And the errors. And the heretical teachers. Which in which to compare their teaching. With the teaching of the prophets and the apostles.
31:53
Was to know the bible. To know the scriptures. To know what the prophets say.
31:59
What the apostles says. And that's why there is no other revelation today. That was given in these 66 books.
32:06
Right here. Compiled in the bible. That's what we believe here. And if anyone else says there's other books.
32:13
The book of Judas. Or the book of Maccabees. Those are probably historical books.
32:19
The book of the Hebrew children. You could go on and on about it. Which a lot of the Catholics believe. I'm telling you.
32:24
They were not inspired of God. They're not within the canon. In which was closed.
32:30
Our early fathers. The early Christians closed this for a reason. Because when they searched within the apocrypha.
32:38
Even though it was historical. They saw that there was errors. That does not line up consistently with the scriptures.
32:46
As a whole. They made those decisions. I've read the apocrypha.
32:51
It's interesting. There's some things. There's even the. I believe the wisdom of Solomon. One of the books there.
32:57
And I said. Wow. That's really good. But as I'm reading that. I'm saying to myself. This is not inspired by God.
33:04
This is inspired by God. This is the sufficient scriptures. And by the way. This is a plenty enough revelation.
33:11
What is it about people? They always want something more. Is not this enough for us? Everything we need to know.
33:19
About God. About Jesus. About everything that pertains to life and godliness. Is found right here in this book.
33:26
I'm telling you. We need to heed. And this is what Peter is actually saying. You heed what the apostles.
33:33
What we the apostles teach. And what the holy prophet. What the holy prophet spoke of. Oh by the way.
33:40
First Peter once again. Chapter 1. Verse 20 and 21.
33:47
Listen to this. Knowing this first. That no prophecy of scriptures. Of any private interpretation.
33:54
For prophecy never came by the will of man. We need to underscore that. Don't we?
34:00
It's not by man's will. It was not man that invented. It's not man that came up with this.
34:07
This was the will of God. For prophecy never came by the will of man. But holy men of God.
34:13
Spoke as they were moved. That means they were directed by the Holy Spirit. No mere mortal man.
34:20
Chose to utter these thoughts. If you read this book. It's eternity in it. You know no mortal man.
34:26
Has said what God has said. It is completely separate. Thoughts as though they were just.
34:35
You know mortal man just did not. Choose to utter his own thoughts. As though they were God's.
34:43
Rather on the contrary. God himself chose these holy men of God. He spoke through them. He directed them.
34:49
He moved through them. As spokesman as a mouthpiece. Uttered thoughts.
34:56
Given directly. To them by the Holy Spirit of God. It's incredible. But it's true. And we believe it.
35:02
Don't we? Remember the words. Spoken before. Remember the words.
35:08
So Peter writes this second epistle. To stir up their pure minds. And wave a reminder. Thank God for that.
35:15
When I read that. I'm thinking. Lord stir up my mind.
35:20
And oh that word. Pure mind. Oh. Isn't that convicting?
35:27
I want a pure mind. As Jesus said. Blessed are the pure in heart. For they shall see God. But the scriptures talks about.
35:33
You got to have a pure mind too. I believe that comes in sanctification. It doesn't come overnight.
35:40
But he's talking to God's people. That are sanctified. That are regenerated. Because sanctification is part of the process.
35:46
And we're going to see this. Now to be mindful of the holy prophets. And the apostles. And the commandment.
35:52
No that's interesting isn't it? Commandment. There's two interpretations to this.
35:58
One is. Peter is referring to the warnings. Which he and the other apostles have written. Concerning the judgment to come.
36:04
I believe that would. That was one interpretation. I think that's a good one. The other one is the commandment. Can refer to the commandment.
36:11
That Jesus Christ gave to the apostles. Before he ascended into high. Now both of those.
36:18
Could be. Very well the meaning. But. You could look that up. I would.
36:24
I would. I would think. Personally. And check me on this. On scripture. It's not what my opinion means.
36:30
By the way. It's what scripture says. Right? But it ties into Jude 17. Look at Jude 17.
36:37
If you're there. Because Jude. The book of Jude. And the book of 2 Peter.
36:42
Goes hand in glove. He says verse 17. But you beloved. Beloved. Almost the same identical words.
36:49
Remember. Again he says. Remember the words. Which were spoken before.
36:54
By the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. So he ties that in.
36:59
So the words of the holy prophets. And the apostles. What are they? What is he talking about?
37:06
Well I would say. Because they. These words. In which the holy prophets.
37:12
And the holy apostles spoke of. Was expressing the will of God. God's will.
37:20
Not man's will. And it says it in the text. And also we must.
37:27
Is to have a discerning spirit. If you look at Jude. 18 and 19.
37:35
And notice what he says. How they told you. How. Who's they?
37:41
The apostles. Now here. Here. He's. One of the.
37:49
Lord's own as well. Writing. He says. How they told you.
37:55
That they were. They would be mockers. In the last time. Who would walk according. To their own ungodly lust.
38:03
Their own ungodly desires. We saw that. In chapter 2. They walk according to the flesh.
38:09
According to the ungodly lust. You see this. This is what false teachers.
38:14
Is all about. They. It's very evident. Isn't it? Look at their life.
38:21
Not only what they teach. But look at their life. And the. And the false teachers today.
38:28
Notice. It's. Absolutely appalling. They take these people's money. And they. And I mean.
38:33
They buy airports. And Learjets. And they live lavishly.
38:39
Because of their greedy ungodly desires. That's what they're all about.
38:46
The love of money. The praise of men. But let's go on.
38:51
Look at verse 19. Jude says. These are sensual persons. Sensual.
39:01
The perverted. They walk according to the flesh. They're sensual persons.
39:07
Who cause divisions. And boy this sets it straight. Not having the spirit.
39:16
That's straight. Black and white. They don't have the Holy Spirit. They're not regenerated.
39:22
The Spirit of God doesn't dwell in them. Anyone claiming to speak for God.
39:30
The only sure standard for evaluation is the Holy Bible. Is the
39:36
Word of God. And those who attack the central truths of the Scriptures. In which we have.
39:41
There's many. Of false teachers that do attack. The Gospel. Concerning God.
39:49
Who God is. Concerning who Jesus is. Concerning salvation by grace through faith alone.
39:56
About the purity of the Gospel. Folks these people must be avoided. They must be avoided at all cost.
40:04
And we must warn people. About their damnable teachings. Now. The reason
40:09
I'm saying this. If you go back to 2 Peter 3. Notice how Peter begins. Knowing this first.
40:16
That scoffers will come. In the last days. Walking according to their own lust. Their own desires.
40:22
Almost the same thing as Jude says. In verse 4. In saying.
40:27
What's the question they say. Here is the promise of His coming. For since the fathers fell asleep.
40:34
All things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. Uniform.
40:40
Uniform Territism. I believe that's the right word. We looked a little bit about that. Brother Keith brought that out to us last
40:45
Lord's Day. But the primary. You know. This is what I love about this. The primary motivation for righteous living.
40:53
Was really the expectation of the return of Jesus Christ. Should that not motivate us to live righteous.
41:00
And godly. And holy. Let me give you a few scriptures on this.
41:06
Look at 1 John 3. Go with me to 1 John 3. This is a wonderful verse.
41:12
There are so many verses. I want to just touch on a few. 1 John 3. Chapter 2.
41:19
I'm sorry. Chapter 3. Verse 2 and 3. Beloved. Now we are children of God.
41:25
And it has not yet been revealed. What we shall be. But we know that when He. Jesus is revealed.
41:31
We shall be like Him. For we shall see Him as He is. This is referring to the second coming.
41:37
And everyone who has this hope. In Him. Purifies himself.
41:43
Just as He is pure. The second coming of Jesus. Should motivate us to live righteous.
41:50
Righteous and holy. And that is sanctification folks. Right there. Though we do not know.
41:56
All the details of our future existence. According to the scriptures. Paul even says in 1
42:01
Corinthians. Chapter 13. A little hint. Though we see through a. A mirror dimly.
42:08
We see through a mirror dimly. But we do know this. That when. We will have a glorious body.
42:17
When Jesus Christ comes back. He is going to raise everything up. By the.
42:23
By the power of His word. He has. All He has to do is speak the word. Again.
42:29
When Jesus. Stood at Lazarus tomb. If He did not speak just Lazarus name.
42:35
If He just said come forth. Every one of those bodies. Would have come out of the grave. And out of the tombs.
42:42
But He. Said Lazarus. Calling by name. Come forth. And after this.
42:47
Man was. Supposedly decaying. Almost. What was it?
42:53
Five days. I believe. The Lord was it late. He allowed this to happen. The glory of God.
42:59
And He raised them from the dead. All He has to do is speak the word.
43:07
A glorified body. Now Lazarus had to die again. Right? And He did.
43:14
And His remains is. On the Middle East. Somewhere over there. As all the remains.
43:20
Of all that believed in God. And all the remains of mankind. That lays in the earth. And dust and ashes.
43:26
No matter how they are. God. All God has to do. And through Jesus Christ. Is to say the word. And everything.
43:32
Comes to life. Because He is the resurrection. And the life. We die.
43:37
I really believe. The church has lost. The majesty of God. In such a way. Of who God is.
43:42
All He has to do. Is speak the word. And it happens. Look at creation. And that's what
43:48
Peter is talking about. Now Paul said this. In Philippians 3. 21.
43:53
Who will. He will. Who will. Transform our lowly body. That it may be conformed. To His glorious body.
43:59
According to the working. By which He is able. Even to subdue. All things to Himself.
44:05
In other words. Paul. Guarantees. That there will be. A change. In appearance. As believers.
44:12
Lowly body. Because in 1 Corinthians 15. 20. 80. He says. Now when all things.
44:17
Are made subject to Him. Then the Son Himself. Will also be subject to Him. Who put all things under Him.
44:23
That God may be. All in all. All this. And. Will be fulfilled. When Jesus Christ.
44:29
Comes again. What about the blessed hope? Here's another.
44:34
Wonderful verse. Titus chapter 2. Look at Titus 2. And I love this.
44:40
Titus 2. 11 through 15. For the grace of God. That brings salvation. Has appeared to all men.
44:48
What does God's grace teach us? It doesn't teach us to live loose. It doesn't teach us.
44:53
To have license to sin. No. It teaches us. That denying ungodliness. And worldly lusts.
44:59
We should live soberly. Righteously. And godly. In this present age. Right where we are.
45:08
And then verse 13. Looking. With expectation. For that blessed hope.
45:13
And glorious appearing. Of our great God. And Savior Jesus Christ. Notice He calls Him. The great God. And Savior Jesus Christ.
45:20
Because He is God. Who gave Himself for us. That He might redeem us. From every lawless deed.
45:26
And purify for Himself. Listen to that. Purify for Himself. His own special.
45:32
People. Zealous. For good works. And He says.
45:37
Speak these things. Exhort. And rebuke. With all authority. Let no one despise you. So the first time.
45:45
Jesus Christ came. In grace. He came. As Savior. The next time. He is coming.
45:50
As Judge. The first time. He came. In grace. As Savior. To save men from their sins.
45:57
And as AWP says. The second time. He comes. In glory. He is coming. He is coming to slay men. In their sin.
46:04
That is going to happen. And He will reign forever and ever. King of kings.
46:11
Lord of lords. King of kings. Lord of lords. He is going to reign.
46:18
Now notice. Next. In the next verse. 2 Peter chapter 3. Look at.
46:25
The sky speaks of scoffers. They will come. They will come. What are they going to say? Where is the promise of His coming?
46:34
The foreseen delay. What has happened? Now this is like I said.
46:40
Roughly 30 -35 years. Since Jesus departed. Now we are looking at 2 ,000 years.
46:46
There is more false teachers than ever. Saying. Things as continuing as they are.
46:51
Look. He hasn't even come. It has been 2 ,000 years. Does that mean
46:56
He is not coming? Why the delay? Why the delay? Well. It is unfortunate.
47:03
But God knows in His providence. That the delay has escalated. And produced more scoffers than mockers.
47:10
But that doesn't mean that God. Is slack concerning His promise. Because if you read the scriptures.
47:16
It is actually. The reason why He delays. Is because. He is long suffering.
47:24
He is patient. Because. He is not willing that any should perish.
47:29
And He has His elect. And He is going to get everyone of His elect. And we are going to look and see how that ties in.
47:35
Because. Actually. The verse. Verse 9. Does not come against the doctrine of election.
47:42
And we will look at that. That is at another time though. Well. The scoffers come.
47:49
They are mockers. They ridicule. And in this case. What are they talking about? They are casting doubt on the blessed hope of Jesus' coming.
47:56
The scoffers. Much can be said. Let me go to point.
48:03
Two. Remember the world. That was destroyed before.
48:10
Remember the world. Which was destroyed before. Look at verse 5 through 7. For this. They willfully forget.
48:16
That by the word of God. The heavens were of old. And the earth standing out of the water. And in the water. By which the world.
48:21
That then existed. Perished. Being flooded with water. Verse 7.
48:27
But the heavens and the earth. Which are now preserved. By the same word of reserve. For fire into the day of judgment.
48:32
And perdition of ungodly men. This is a mouthful. Let me just basically summarize this.
48:39
Into something here. These false teachers.
48:44
These scoffers. These mockers. Willfully forget the final day of judgment by fire.
48:51
I want you to think about that. Why did they do this? They know.
48:58
It's doom for them. It's the day in which we look for. God's people looks for this.
49:06
But on that day. It will be destroyed. Destruction. Just like in Noah's day.
49:13
And I'm sure. Once it started raining back in Noah's day. And the floods bursted out of the ground.
49:20
And the floods came out of the heavens. There was people that was just. Beating themselves on that ark.
49:27
And we don't know that for sure. I'm assuming it. But I'm telling you. There was a whole world that perished folks.
49:32
And the only way to safety was in that ark. And Noah and his family.
49:38
The eight. Was in the ark. Destruction came. And Peter is reminding them.
49:45
This was the judgment. Of that day. It was through water. And then he goes.
49:51
From water to fire. Interesting isn't it? Water and fire. Very very interesting.
49:59
Is necessary for life. But it's also necessary for destruction as well.
50:06
God. What does God do through water? It's almost like he cleansed the earth. The next time with fire.
50:13
He's going to purify it. Water cleanses. Fire purifies. God created both.
50:20
And he has a purpose. And it's amazing. What water and fire can produce. Those jewels.
50:28
Rocks. That are. In water. Extreme cold temperature. And then you got extreme hot temperature.
50:34
And you got those beautiful rocks. What do you call them? That you open them up. And they get beautiful crystals. Yeah geodes.
50:41
Thank you. I love the geodes. But I think every time when I see a geode.
50:47
I said that came through. Pressure. And water. And time period. And then hot.
50:53
And a lot took place. But God's going to do great things. On the day of judgment.
51:00
It's going to be. It's going to be. Destruction for those that don't know. Now how do we know this is going to happen?
51:07
Well if you read the Bible. And Acts. Look at Acts chapter 17.
51:14
I don't have time to break this down. But if you look at this one. How we know for sure.
51:20
That Jesus is going to be the judge. And Jesus is going to be the one. That's going to come back.
51:26
And raise everybody up. Because Paul says this. In verse 30. Truly these times of ignorance.
51:32
He's preaching actually. On Mars Hill. To a very intelligent people.
51:38
That had a tomb. By the unknown God. And then he gives them the gospel.
51:45
And he said. Times of ignorance God overlooked. But now commands all men everywhere to repent. Why? Because he has appointed a day.
51:52
On which he will judge the world. In righteousness. By who? By the man.
51:58
Capital M. Whom he has ordained. And he has given assurance. Of this to all.
52:04
By raising him from the dead. That assures us. That Jesus is coming back. Not only because he gave his word.
52:12
He keeps his word. He's true and faithful. But God the Father raised him from the dead. Just gave assurance.
52:20
And the reaction was. The same reaction we get today at times. And when they heard. Of the resurrection of the dead.
52:27
Some mocked. While others said. We will hear you again on this matter. There's assurance it's going to happen.
52:37
Hebrews. Chapter 1. God upholds everything. By the word of his power. He's the sovereign
52:44
Lord of the universe. God is God. Right? We have my third point.
52:50
And I'm going to come to a conclusion here. We go back a second
52:56
Peter. Like I said. We're only touching.
53:02
Touching here and there. This is part one. And we'll look at more into this. Because there's so much that can be said.
53:09
Remember the Lord's timelessness. And long suffering. His patience. There's no way
53:16
I'm going to have time. To break this down. But I like to conclude. With this thought. That God is very patient.
53:24
Isn't it amazing how God is so patient? He's patient toward us. He's patient.
53:32
This is why he has delayed his coming. But beloved do not forget this one thing.
53:39
That. With the Lord. One day is a thousand years. And a thousand years is one day.
53:45
Isn't that an incredible verse? The Lord is not slack concerning his promise. As some count slackness.
53:52
But his long suffering. Toward us. Not willing that any should perish. But that all should come to repentance.
53:58
That's what God desires. Why the delay? He gives us the answer.
54:07
Because he's long suffering. He's patient. But one day his patience will run out.
54:15
We see that in verse 10. Let's look at the eternity. You know there's many scriptures that speak.
54:21
Especially in Isaiah. That God abides. And he dwells within eternity. He came in time.
54:30
He interrupted time. And Jesus. The second person of the
54:36
Trinity. Entered into this world. Changed everything forever.
54:41
Didn't he? And gave us hope. Because he is the living hope. Now we're talking about the blessed hope.
54:46
Take out Jesus. You've taken out everything. You've taken away our hope. You've taken away our living hope.
54:52
You've taken away our blessed hope. Without Jesus. There's nothing but dead religion.
54:58
And that's what a lot of people have. Unfortunately. Brother Keith reminded us this morning.
55:05
About Psalm 90. Moses said this in Psalm 90 verse 4. For a thousand years in your sight.
55:12
Are like yesterday. And when it passes by. In the night.
55:21
That tells us. God's perspective on time. Is much much different. Than ours. If you go to Psalm 102.
55:31
Look at verse 12. That you oh
55:37
Lord. Shall endear forever. And the remembrance of your name. To all generations. God endears forever.
55:43
His word. Endears forever. Look at 24. Through 27.
55:50
I said oh my God. You take me away. In the midst of my days. Your years.
55:56
Are throughout all generations. Of old you laid the foundation of the earth. And the heavens are the work of your hands.
56:02
They will perish. But you will endure. God's eternal. Yes they will grow old.
56:09
Like a garment. But like a cloak. You will change them. And they will be changed. But you are the same.
56:17
Isn't that wonderful? God's immutable. God never changes. He needs no change.
56:23
He doesn't change from better. To better and better. And gets better. He is the standard.
56:29
It does not get any higher. That's why the scripture says. Most high God. The most.
56:37
The infinitude of God. It blows my mind. God. His immutability.
56:46
His infinitude. He doesn't change in his mercy. He never changes in his love.
56:52
It doesn't warm. It doesn't cool. Like ours does. With our affections here and there.
56:58
God is the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. And it says it right here.
57:04
You are the same. And your years will have no end. Isn't that glorious? Well what about application?
57:14
Let me give a quick application. What really matters in life then?
57:22
Our years is like a shadow. And it passes by like a vapor. It's here and it's gone.
57:28
And shouldn't we be investing in things eternal? If you look back in 2
57:36
Peter. Look at what he says later on. We will be looking more into this later.
57:43
But notice in verse 11. I think really tells us. What really matters. Therefore since all these things will be dissolved.
57:51
He is talking about at the day of the Lord. What manner of person. What manner of persons ought you to be.
57:56
In holy conduct and godliness. That's a good thought. And what kind of persons are we ought to be?
58:05
We ought to be holy. In our conduct. That covers a lot of ground doesn't it?
58:11
Our walk with God. Our walk toward one another. And godliness. You know the primary purpose of prophetic teaching.
58:21
Is so many people get called up in. And the curiosity. It's not to satisfy our curiosity.
58:27
Is it? Like these end time events. And people get called up.
58:33
I got this one particular person. I'm not going to call her by name. But she loves to talk about.
58:39
End times, end times, end times. And it's almost like the end time events. Is a god of it's own.
58:45
And she's forgotten. All about the true and living God. Jesus Christ.
58:53
And what kind of persons. Are we ought to be? We are not.
59:01
This is not to just satisfy our curiosity. Is it? But that we may change. God doesn't need any change.
59:07
We need to change. We need to repent day to day. And repentance is part of the whole entire
59:13
Christian life. Our lives are to be godly. And holy. More kind.
59:19
More loving. Full of the fruit of the spirit. Love. Joy. Peace. Goodness.
59:25
Long suffering. Kindness. Patience. Everything that God is.
59:31
We are to be like God. As we follow Jesus Christ. Didn't Paul say.
59:39
Set your things on. Things eternal. Colossians chapter 3. If then you were raised with Christ.
59:48
Seek those things which are above where Christ is. Sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above.
59:54
Things on the earth. For you died. And your life is hidden with Christ in God. And then he says.
01:00:00
When Christ who is our life appears. Then you will also appear with him in glory.
01:00:06
He talks about his second coming doesn't he? And while in the meantime. What does he say? What are we to do? We are to be sanctified.
01:00:12
Therefore put to death. Mortify your members which are on the earth. Fornication. Uncleanness.
01:00:18
Passion. Evil desire. Covetousness. Which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.
01:00:27
In which you yourselves once walked. When you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off these.
01:00:36
Anger. Wrath. Malice. Blasphemy. Filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another.
01:00:42
Since you have put off the old man with his deeds. And have put on the new man. Who is renewed in the knowledge according to the image of him who created him.
01:00:50
Isn't that sanctification? That covers a lot of ground of sanctification. Well.
01:00:58
Let me give you one more verse and I'm out of time. Matthew 25. Very quickly. With expectation we should be like these virgins.
01:01:09
That were pure. Waiting with expectations. Now isn't this interesting?
01:01:16
Brother Keith read last Lord's Day. Chapter 24. That speaks about.
01:01:22
That is more revelation. And Jesus gives the longest answer of the question of. When will his coming be?
01:01:30
Do you not. He speaks about the temple. And we know that in AD 70.
01:01:36
There was judgment that came and Titus destroyed the temple. And that was a fulfillment of prophecy.
01:01:42
But we won't go there. I don't have enough time. To break that down. But Jesus speaks about.
01:01:49
You know. You got one stone left here upon another. And there shall not be thrown down.
01:01:54
It's all going to be torn down. There's judgment that's going to come. Then he talks about the signs of the times and the end of the age.
01:01:59
And gives that tremendous. Category of. Everything that's packed in chapter 24.
01:02:06
But in chapter 25. He speaks about the coming of the Son of Man. I'm going to read it.
01:02:12
Then I'm going to close with this. Verse 1 in chapter 25. When the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten versions.
01:02:19
Who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise and five were foolish.
01:02:28
Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them. But the wise took oil.
01:02:35
In their vessel with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed. You get that?
01:02:42
Why he's delayed. Why is he delayed? He's patient. He's long suffering.
01:02:49
But what happened? They all slumbered and slept. Isn't that where the church is folks?
01:02:57
Slumbering. Slept. Just like the disciples in the garden as Jesus was praying.
01:03:04
The disciples fell asleep. The most important time in history. And here he says.
01:03:11
They all slumbered and slept. Verse 6. And at midnight.
01:03:18
At midnight. A cry was heard. Behold the bridegroom is coming.
01:03:25
Go out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.
01:03:32
The foolish said to the wise. Give us some of your oil. For our lamps are going out.
01:03:38
But the wise answered saying. No. At least there should be not enough.
01:03:44
For us and you. But go rather to those who sell and buy for yourselves.
01:03:49
Did Jesus said this in Revelation? Yeah. Verse 10.
01:03:54
And while they went to buy. The bridegroom came. It was too late. What a warning.
01:04:02
This is sobering. While they went out to buy. See they waited. They put it off too late.
01:04:09
And then the bridegroom came. And those who were ready went in with him to the wedding.
01:04:15
And the door was shut. Just like the door of the ark.
01:04:23
And afterward the other virgins also came saying. Lord. Lord. Open to us.
01:04:29
But he answered and said. Surely I say to you. I do not know you. Too late.
01:04:37
Too late. And verse 13. Watch.
01:04:42
Therefore. Watch. Therefore. For you know. Neither.
01:04:52
The day. Nor the hour. In which the son of man. Is coming.
01:05:00
He shall come like a thief in the night. But as he delays.
01:05:06
We can thank God for his patience. He's so patient. Isn't he? Saints. He's so patient.
01:05:13
Amen and amen. Let's pray. Father in heaven. We thank you for your word. What a comfort it is to hear your blessed words.
01:05:21
And to be reminded. Lord. Of the blessed hope. That Jesus Christ.
01:05:26
Your son. Will soon return. An imminent return. Physical return. In all power and glory.
01:05:32
With all the holy angels. Lord. Help us to be watching. Laboring. And praying.
01:05:41
And telling other people about. The wedding feast. And invite them to come.
01:05:48
Lord help us. We need your power. We need your grace. To help us in these days. That tries men's souls.