2 Peter 3 - Living Like a Last Days Christian

[Music] find your way to second Peter we're gonna finish the book here this evening and take a look at 2nd Peter chapter 3 2nd Peter chapter 3 Peter concludes his epistle here and he concludes it really very strongly by speaking to a theme that kind of runs through both his letters first Peter and 2nd Peter really drawing our minds and our hope once again to heaven and the heavenly hope that we have so 2nd Peter chapter 3 now beginning at verse 1 beloved I now write to you this second epistle in both of which I stir up your pure Minds by way of reminder that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior so Peter already spoke in this letter in chapter 1 verses 12 and 13 12 and 13 about the importance of believers being reminded by the way this is something that we need as believers we need to be reminded I would just caution you against this kind of mentality it should be a little bit of an alarm bell that goes off in your mind if you catch yourself saying often in the critical look of course occasionally no big deal but if you find yourself often saying in the Christian life well I've heard this before well I've heard this before I've heard this before well the things we need to know the most important things we need to be reminded of them all over again so he's speaking by way of a reminder I write to you in the second epistle in both of which I stir up your pure ways by way of reminder now notice what he says here in verse 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets this is a fascinating phrase what Peter does in verse two that I find absolutely interesting is he speaks of the holy prophets and the commandments of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior think about that when he mentions the holy prophets who do you think he's referring to he's referring to the writers of the Hebrew Scriptures which we often call the Old Testament holy prophets refers to the writers of the Old Testament and what he does is he puts the authoritative declaration of the New Testament apostles on an equal level look at that in verse two by the holy prophets and of the commandments of us the apostles of the Lord and Savior which you got to admit it's a pretty bold claim he placed the messengers of the New Covenant on the same level as the messengers of the Old Covenant and Peter understood something here that the New Testament as we understand it has Authority and Peter understood this even as it was being formed you know sometimes we wonder were the gut with the the scripture writers aware that they were writing Scripture well I'm sure they weren't always aware of it but there were other times when I think they knew they were sure sounds like Peter knew it doesn't it to you Peter says listen what comes forth from the holy apostles and by the way this isn't just some kind of run-of-the-mill apostles notice what he says here in verse 2 if there is such a thing he says the apostles of the Lord and Savior he's talking about those authoritative ones Peter being chief among them Peter understood that Jesus gave His apostles in the first century the inspired authority to bring forth God's message to a new covenant community he gave the Apostles authority if you want to speak in rabbi terminology to bind and loose to set the order for a new covenant community Peter understood that he was writing Scripture and bringing this but notices Peter saw this authority invested in look at the phrase in verse to the Apostles plural Peter didn't say well after all I am the first Pope it's just me Peter didn't say that he understood that God brought this revelation through a community of the Apostles of which Peter of course was a prominent part of now keep that thought in mind because a little bit later he's gonna talk about Paul but just keep that in mind Peter understood that God was using him and his apostolic commit companions to bring forth holy scripture all over again now I don't know - do I do I need to say this maybe I do sometimes to think you don't need to say or the things most important for you to say there's no more Holy Scripture being brought forth we're done with that if somebody introduces themselves to you as mr. holy apostle who brings forth new holy scripture no thank you now listen there's a valid discussion to be had about a distinction between sometimes we say apostles with a capital A and then apostles with a small letter a a different category okay we can have that discussion but there's no more new scripture being written period there's no one who has the authority to speak to the churches the way that Peter had or Paul I'm not answering anybody's apostolic authority that way so whatever there may be in modern-day apostles or Michener's to delegate that okay that that's another discussion that if you want have with me personally I'd love to discuss it with you all day long but I do want to emphasize this point there's nobody writing scripture today the the scriptures are closed it's given to us as a as God's eternal word and there's no new set of apostles giving us new revelation on par with Scripture now verse 3 knowing this first that scoffers will come in the last days walking according to their own lusts since saying where is the promise of his coming for since the father's fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation so first you have this idea that God brings forth his written revelation in both the Old Testament and the New Testament but against God's written revelation come what come the people that Peter calls the scoffers knowing this first scoffers will come and I love how Peter phrase is that in verse three knowing this first just know it scoffers will come I wonder if we do a good enough job teaching our young people that scoffers will come sometimes it is an enormous challenge for young people for example and I'm just kind of painting a hypothetical case but it's a hypothetical case that's been you know demonstrated over and over a young person who's raised in Sunday school and in youth group and they go off to college and they're at their college they are confronted with really smart people who deny the truth of the Scriptures and before maybe they kind of lived a little bit of a sheltered existence and all the smart people they knew believed the Bible now they're confronted with genuinely smart people who don't believe the Bible at all and sometimes they're they're really tripped up by that how can they be so smart and you said listen Peter tells us no this first scoffers will come in the last days by the way in the sense that Peter means it here the last days began when Jesus ascended into heaven when that marker happened since that time we haven't rushed towards the end of the age we're sort of running parallel with it it's as if this as if until the Ascension of Jesus history moved this way and if we want to think of the end of the platform I'm not going to jump off the platform if we want to think to the end of the platform be the end of the age history rushed forward to it but then at the Ascension history took a turn and started running parallel with the edge we're ready to go off anytime but we're in in this sense the last days in the sense that Peter means it in the big picture scoffers will come in the last days walking according to their own lusts by the way doesn't this remind us of something that usually I won't say always but usually scoffers do not only have an intellectual problem with God in his word now they may have an intellectual problem I can't figure out how God can do this I can't figure out this and listen there's legitimate questions that we should have an answer for and that we can address but when you boil it all down oftentimes probably even most the time the problems scoffers have with God's Word and revelation is not only intellectual its moral walking according to their own lusts ladies and gentlemen it is a heavy thing to truly recognize that there is a God enthroned in heaven who created me and I am responsible too and mankind rebels against that knowledge mankind is anxious to put that knowledge away from them dot recognizing that we do have a creator not recognizing that the one who created us is the one who offers us Redemption and the one before whom we're gonna have to answer on the last day it's a heavy thing and it's within the rebellious nature of men and women to push that knowledge away we want to reject the lordship of Jesus Christ over our life we want to reject the idea that he has any claim over us whether it's the claim of creator the claim of Redeemer the claim of ultimate judge and what do they say oftentimes they say look at this in verse 4 where is the promise of his coming you know you guys have said Jesus is coming for an awfully long time and he ain't here yet where is the promise of his coming now ladies Jenna I just want to call your attention to something according to Peter this is the message of scoffers it should not be the message of believers I have run across in my days and perhaps you have two believers who just feel burned out on the idea that Jesus is coming again and they just kind of don't to think about and talk about it yeah you know I believe Jesus was coming in the 70s and then I believe Jesus coming in the 80s then I thought Jesus is coming in the 90s and we're seasoned well whatever I just forget about it now they said that's the attitude of a scoffer it should not be the attitude of a believer and sometimes well where's the promise of his coming how come he delays you see we should not grow weary in the idea that Jesus has not yet come back because he has a reason for whatever we perceive to be a delay of course we know what God's big picture astir know no delay God doesn't delay on anything he runs perfectly according to his own timing but isn't it true that from our perception we wait a long time and there's a delay well even for the perceived delay there's a good reason for it but this is what else they say they say where's the promise of his coming and then notice the other thing they say in verse 4 all things continue as they were from the beginning creation the scoffers base their message on the idea that things have always been the way they are right now and that God has not and will not do anything new and his plan for creation these young God loves to do some new things and now Peter's gonna expose the error of the scoffers beginning out verse 5 look at verses 5 6 & 7 for this they willfully forget don't forget that phrase they willfully forget that by the Word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of water and in the water by which the world that then existed being flooded with water but the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and the perdition of ungodly men notice how he begins there in verse 5 for this they willfully forget scoffers mockers whatever you want to call them they presume upon the mercy and the long-suffering of God insisting that because they have never seen a widespread judgment of God well there must never going to be one you keep talking about the judgment of God David where is it I've never seen it and they think that because God doesn't display his judgment immediately and in the most extreme forms well it's never gonna happen ladies and gentlemen that's a foolish way of thinking it's a way that presumes upon the mercy and the long-suffering of God they willfully forget that God created everything and that God poured out judgment upon the earth in the days of Noah now I'm tempted to talk about the whole account of the flood and how universal it is among ancient cultures that they have a flood story it's one of the most fascinating researchers in history that sprinkled around the entire globe and I'm talking about ancient Mayans ancient Africans ancient Chinese agent all over the world there is a common flood story this is embedded within the psyche of humanity and we have done our absolute best to push it out but we should never forget that at one time the world got so bad that God imposed the most radical judgment on the world you can imagine sometimes people have phrased it like this and I think there's some you know valid phrasing to it you you you you think of a children's Sunday School room and and there's a painting on the wall and it's the animals going into the ark and there they are you know two elephants are going to the ark and two giraffes are going to the ark and two bumblebees to go in there and what's it look they look great big smiles on their face they're all going and they are lazy there was nothing happy about the ark the ark was a tragic rescue operation when God brought the most devastating judgment imaginable upon the entire earth there is something so deeply profound and I'll say it disturbing about the judgment that God brought and when we deny it we deny that God has the right and the authority to judge but in the bigger picture allow me to say this a literal belief in creation a literal belief in Adam and Eve a literal belief in Noah's Flood I believe these things to be an essential aspect of a true understanding of God's working both now and in the past to deny these things is to deny the very foundation of our faith and I have to say it is incredibly sad today that its many professed Christians who willfully forget these things I have to say that it is sad to report that it is many Christians it is taught at our Christian colleges and universities much less our seminaries that Adam was a myth that there was no person known as Adam that he's just a construct the literary form a metaphor for some kind of primordial man ladies and gentlemen I don't have time to go in all the details but that is an extremely dangerous thinking it's a way of thinking so dangerous that I would describe it like this that that isn't a slippery slope that's off the cliff to deny a literal Adam I think is a serious air and I regard it as being a tripwire to say something has gone very wrong I don't see how you walk back the teaching and the integrity of Jesus if you say that Adam was not a real person I don't see how you walk back that the teaching in the integrity of the Apostle Paul if you say that Adam was not a real person I don't see how you established God's plan in the covenants and for the ages if you say that Adam was not a literal person it's a deep deep tragedy and great concern that this is wilfully forgotten among many professed Christians today again what do they forget verse five that by the Word of God the heavens were of old the Bible clearly teaches that the active agent in creation was God's Word God spoke and creation came into being look I I I recognize that pastors can get themselves into a lot of trouble when they start talking about science because I'm gonna be very straight with you I am NOT a scientist and you're saying David that's the most obvious fact in the world you don't have to tell us that that you're not a scientist well I'm not a scientist and the other thing I'm aware of is that it's not like it was 10 or 15 years ago where I could just throw out some scientific you know statement and you well okay he said it he's on the platform is it no you know what I start throwing out some scientific statement today and you know what people are doing immediately they're looking it up on their on their smartphone oh yeah you're trying to make it look like you're looking at a passage of scripture but I know you're searching you're trying to see what I'm saying whether or not it's right but let me say this well I don't think I can speak with authority on the scientific aspects of creation there's some very gifted people can do that I can tell you this that the matter of creation and origins is not just an issue for the scientists it is also an issue for the philosopher it's also an issue for the historian it's also an issue for the theologian and from the realm of philosophy I can tell you this you cannot have a creation without a creator you cannot have a beginning without a beginner and these are some of those fundamental truths you cannot have an effect without a cause and so to willfully forget this is to rebel against God as creator but not only that notice what he says here in verse six that the world then existed being flooded with water Peter's point is that things on this earth have not always continued the way that they are now the earth was different when God first created it and then it was different again after the flood therefore no one should scoff at God's promise that he's going to make the earth different once again God has promised to bring in new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness Wells God has promised to establish the kingdom of Jesus reign him over this earth in a way that we can barely comprehend right now on this side of it happening God has promised to utterly transform not only the ecology but the moral nature of the entire world that we live in and you and I think well how could that ever happen later Jonah God has done such radical changes in the world before and pre flood and post flood is an example of it that Peter instructs us with you see the same word of God that created all matter the same word of God that judged the world in a flood will one day bring a judgment upon this earth and so there's no place for us to be scoffers or mockers of this truth verse eight but beloved do not forget this one thing that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day the Lord is not slack concerning his promises as some count slackness but is long-suffering toward us not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise and the elements will melt with fervent heat both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up you know I think well things never change things continue on just as long everything's going along the way it is pieces no no this what you're forgetting you're forgetting that notice what he says here in verse 8 that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day what seems forever for us is but a short time for God and an hour may seem like an eternity for a child but a moment for an adult that's the same pattern isn't it well just expand that by about 10,000 times and you have the analogy of God's relationship with time and our own Peter seemed to quote this idea from Psalm 90 verse 4 where it says for a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past and like a watch in the night God is eternal we are bound by time and we don't exactly understand how the eternal connects with the time bound or the temporal but it does like what Charles Spurgeon said he said this quote all things are equally near and present to his view the distance of a thousand years before the occurrence of event is no more to him than would be the interval of a day with God indeed there is neither past present nor future he takes for his name the I am he is the I am I am in the present I am in the past and I am in the future just as we say of God that is everywhere so we may say of him that he is always he is everywhere in space he is everywhere in time that is the God we serve now what I do want to stress in this though is that Peter did not give us here some prophetic formula saying that somehow a prophetic day equals a thousand years he instead communicated to as a general principle regarding how we see time and how God sees time when people use this as some rigid prophetic key so when it says thirty days it really means thirty thousand years now that that's totally misguided this is a general statement regarding how God sees time and how we see time but get the point here verse 9 the Lord is not slack concerning his promise the truth is that God will keep his promises and he will keep them without delay according to his timing any perceived delay on our part and did what did I say did I say delay no I said perceive delay there's no delay in God's work but we perceive delays when we wait a long time do we not any perceived delay in God's work is due to his long-suffering maybe I could put it to you this way many of those who are Christians today many of you in this room you're pretty happy that Jesus Christ did not return 10 years ago you would have been on the wrong side of that equation but but now it's like well great now come really quickly Jesus that's just the way we think isn't it all right now that I'm right with you come now it's like the people you know you've moved to Santa Barbara okay nobody else move here it's good that kind of thinking good now I want to be the last one nobody else again we just got to relax on that thinking a little bit there is a compassionate purpose in God's timing why look at verse 9 again because he's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance Peter here reveals some of the glorious heart of God and he's telling us why at least from our perception the return of Jesus isn't sooner why because God wants all to come to repentance because God is not willing that any should perish there's a couple things I want you to notice here first of all we understand that phrase God is not willing that any should perish not in the sense of a divine decree in other words God has not decreed none will perish because the Bible tells us that some will they will perish and spend eternity in separation from God the Bible tells us that this is true no God has not decreed that none will perish but the affection and attitude of his heart is I don't want anybody to perish I want and I love the phrasing and the thing that I really want to point out to you here in verse 9 I want what that all should come to repentance that's what God wants in other words oftentimes I in the weakness of my flesh I just say Jesus just give me a ticket to heaven you don't want me to perish swell give me a ticket to heaven and what does Jesus is I want you to repent that's the will for my life your my will for your life are you wondering about God's will for your life well listen I may not be able to tell you who God wants you to marry I may not be able to tell you what job he wants you to have I may not be able to tell you the street then he wants you living but I can do this God wants you to repent I could say that but this is God's will for every one of us and to live lives that stay in a repentant attitude this is God's will for us and his will for all of the earth but verse 10 the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night though the Lord's long-suffering love to the Lost makes it seem like he delays his coming the truth is is that one day he will indeed come and when Jesus does come he will come at an hour that surprises many people like a thief in the night of course the thief doesn't call you up and make an appointment before he comes to your house he comes at a time to surprise and the ultimate result of his coming is going to be a complete transformation of this present world the heavens will pass away with a great noise the elements will melt with fervent heat God won't destroy the earth again as he did in the days of the flood how did God destroy the earth in the days of the flood with water and he put a bow in the sky to say I'll never do that again the next time he judges the earth it'll be with fire not with water now verse 11 therefore I should just pause right there in light of the fact that the world we live in is passing away and lie to the fact that we should live in anticipation of the return of Jesus and light of the fact that we see God's great love and hearts for the world in light of all of that now look at verse 11 therefore since all these things will be dissolved what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness looking for in hastening the coming of the day of God because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire and the elements will melt with fervent heat nevertheless we according to his promise look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells listen because we know that this world is passing away we should live our lives seeking first the kingdom of God and it's righteousness that is we should live lives of holy conduct and godliness you know this world is gonna pass away but you know it's not going to pass away two things that you have access to every day are eternal in your everyday life God's Word is eternal so you said heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away this is the Word of God that endures forever this is eternal you know what else is the people around you the people around you're gonna be around forever that doesn't make sense to invest a lot of time into God's Word and the people around you just just people eternal beings and with this mentality we can be look at this it fascinates me in verse 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God okay the day of God that's speaking of the return of Jesus the establishment of his kingdom all over the earth the day of God okay do you know what it means to be looking for the return of Jesus okay looking for what does it mean to hasten hasten means to hurry along to make something come quicker do you realize that here Peter and I can hardly get my head around this Peter says that you yeah I'm talking to you you can hurry along the day of Jesus's return if you would just get busy and do this Jesus might return sooner well no there's almost a bit of that sense there we can actually do things that will affect the return of Jesus and in the immediate context how does Peter say that we will hasten the Lord's coming by our holy conduct and godliness I don't know exactly how our holy conduct and godliness hasten the return of Jesus but I can think of it applying in a couple ways number one we can also hasten the Lord's coming through evangelism there's a fascinating phrase that the Apostle Paul used in Romans chapter 11 verse 25 he said that God's prophetic plan will be furthered it'll advance to the next step they'll go to the next stage when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in in other words there is some predetermine number or selection of Gentiles that God has said when these come into the kingdom I will advance my plan and the sooner we reach those ones the sooner Jesus returns I wish Jesus would just put a great big green stripe down each one of those right now and we could just get him at this moment but until he does we'll just have to preach the gospel to everybody that we can but we can also hasten the Lord's coming through prayer in Daniel chapter 9 the prophet Daniel prayed for a speedy fulfillment of prophecy regarding captive Israel so we can also pray come quickly Lord Jesus and that isn't an empty prayer God hears it well the ultimate result of this is verse 13 a new earth in which righteousness dwells that's the most glorious characteristic of the new heaven and the new earth it's a place where righteousness dwells now verse 14 therefore beloved looking forward to these things be diligently to be found by him in peace without spot and blameless and consider the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation look forward to the coming of Jesus be diligent Jesus come soon Jesus I want to serve you with all my heart until you come but at the same time enter into this thinking and now I'm reading from the first part of verse 15 consider that the long-suffering of our Lord is salvation again he's cautioning us against that mentality that says okay Jesus now that I'm right with you come right away but note Jesus is long-suffering isn't just shown to you and me it's shown to those who have yet to come into his kingdom so understand that's the long-suffering of Jesus now pick it up in the beginning excuse me in the middle of verse 15 as also our beloved brother Paul according to the wisdom given to him has written to you as also in all his epistles speaking in them of these things in which some things are hard to understand which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction as they do also the rest of the scriptures that little verse and a half is a gold mine okay look at it picking up at the middle of verse 15 he says as also our beloved brother Paul listen folks I love it that Peter called Paul his beloved brother I love it first of all because you'll find some modern critics of the Bible who say Peter and Paul they don't agree they don't agree they're at odds with they don't see it's the same theology listen apparently Peter got along just fine with Paul that's what he tells us but secondly I think it's fascinating that when we read Galatians chapter 2 we find out that Paul at one time had to publicly confront Peter over some compromise in Peters actions I won't get into the whole affair you can read it for yourself in Galatians chapter 2 but I'll tell you when you read galatians chapter 2 and when you actually envision this public confrontation that had to happen between Paul and Peter you think awkward how awkward that must have been Oh Paul and Peter are fighting you know out in front of everybody I don't know if it was much of a public fight but but Paul had to publicly dress down Peter because he was compromising at a very critical point you know what this shows us I don't know how Peter felt at the time but Peter was just fine with it later god bless my brother Paul he confronted me publicly but he did it in love god bless my brother Paul he confronted me publicly but I know he did it for the good of God's work that's a beautiful attitude from Peter but notice this he says that Paul wrote verse 16 in which are some things hard to understand Peter goes man I read Paul's letters and sometimes those things are hard to understand aren't you happy that Peter wrote this have you ever found things in the Bible that are hard to understand well you're qualified to be a pope right there the first Pope Peter says sometimes I read what Paul wrote and it's hard to understand how comforting that is now I wonder I wonder if Peter and Paul were having a discussion if Paul might say well Peter I know what your problem is you're just a fisherman I'm a well-trained theological student trained at the feet of the most famous rabbis and Judaism you're a fisherman and then Peter would say well I did have those three years with Jesus himself you know you could imagine quite a little conversation going back and forth there but listen don't feel bad if sometimes the Bible is difficult for you to understand I know many people feel very unspiritual very guilty about that sometimes you'll hear a teacher who will point out things from the Bible that you never saw and it makes you feel terrible I must be the worst Christian in the world because he taught on this passage and he brought up all these things I never saw any of them before the I must be at would you that is the devil playing bongos on your conscience just get rid of that thought listen Peter read Paul and said there's some tough things in there to understand now that's the one fascinating thing I see but the other fascinating thing I see is there in verse 16 look at it again he also says are some things hard to understand which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction as they do the rest of the scriptures do you realize what Peter just said about Paul's writings that there's Holy Scripture because he said they twist Paul's writings as they do the rest of the scriptures the rest of the Bible is that fascinating Peter looked at Paul's writings and publicly said Holy Scripture which brings us back to the idea we had at the very beginning the chapter there was at least some conscious awareness that God was using these early apostles to bring forth Holy Scripture now I do have to say one thing matter of fact I'll read a quote from Adam Clarke about this word twist to twist the scriptures again I like what Adam Clarke said about this let me read this quote to you he says I may just add that the verb twist which the Apostle uses here signifies to distort to put to the rack to torture to overstretch and to dislocate the limbs and hence the persons here intended are those who proceed according to no fair plan of interpretation but force unnatural and sophistical meanings on the Word of God the reason why I like to read that quote to you from Adam Clarke is I have read the writings of many went men and a few women for that matter who put the scriptures on the rack and twist them and torture them and stretch them and dislocate them far outside of their intended meaning it's a very fashionable thought in our post modern age very fashionable but it fits in just fine with our postmodern ages what does this book mean whatever you want it to mean ladies Jenna it's not true there is a proper understanding of Scripture now I will say this there are certainly some passages of Scripture where there may be some legitimate you know disagreement as to exactly what it means lately I've been studying in Ezekiel chapter 11 and there's a phrase and they're having to do with pieces of meat in a cauldron and I've been studying it very carefully and and there's some legitimate debate what exactly does it mean by this okay some side ancillary point that maybe if we lived in the times it was a proper we know but we just don't know now but listen that that is a pure side discussion in the main in the hole as a whole the scriptures are clear for us to understand clear for us to receive and we can trust in the clarity of the scriptures again I don't want to exaggerate I don't want to talk about its each and every point but if you believe that this book means whatever you want it to mean and laser generally that's the wrong way to approach scripture all together you're putting it upon the torture rack let it be the Lion of God's Word all right let's conclude the letter here verses 17 and 18 we read this you therefore beloved since you know this beforehand beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness being led away with the error of the wicked but grow in the Grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to him be the glory both now and forever a men all right just like you said in verse 17 you know it beforehand you know it you you know the importance of coming to scriptures as the authoritative Word of God you know the importance of believing in God as a creator as a judge as a redeemer you know the importance of valuing the scriptures in our holy conduct in these last days we can't go along and live as if we don't know these things we know them beforehand so what should we do we should I love what it says in verse 18 grow in the Grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ please Jim it's not as if grace gets bigger but our experience of grace gets bigger he doesn't say grace grows but our knowledge our experience of God's grace goes it's like grace is a mighty ocean the Pacific Ocean do you ever stand and look out at the ocean and just kind of let your mind trip out over how big it is you think thousands of miles away there's China there's Japan there's all these other places if you think about all the water it's as if God's grace is a mighty ocean we don't need His grace to be bigger we just simply need to grow in our knowledge and our reception of what he has already provided and when we do all that look at all this in verse 18 to him be the glory when we're ready and in this steadfast and this Grace and knowledge of the Lord it will give God glory and see us through to heaven indeed father this is our prayer I pray that for myself and everyone here this evening that we would grow in the Grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we think of Jesus and His grace to us as being like a mighty ocean that is absolutely inexhaustible in its volume in its presence the Lord we don't want to be guilty of just standing on the shore of such a mighty ocean dipping our toe in for an occasional you know wedding of the foot or up to the ankle Lord we want to dive in and so I pray God for anyone here who is somewhat short on their experience of your grace here this evening Jesus I pray that as we turn our heart and our mind our attention towards Jesus himself now and the great things he has done for us draw our hearts towards your grace that we may feel it and swim in it and dive into it and grow in it day by day hour by hour we pray this Lord in Jesus wonderful name amen

Channel: David Guzik

Views: 10,272

Rating: 4.7411766 out of 5

Keywords: Peter, Scoffers, Last Days, Christian Life, Prophecy, Second Coming, New Earth

Id: SiUSVc0psso

Length: 46min 17sec (2777 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 01 2018