Scott Pace | What Are You Waiting For? | 2 Peter 3:11-18

it's great to be with you tonight it's always a privilege to preach god's word especially meaningful to do so as we share together is the college at southeastern southeastern seminary and extended southeastern family online if you have your bibles i invite you to turn with me to second peter chapter three we're going to be wrapping up our series our semester-long series uh that we've been walking through this letter and as we've looked at this letter there's been some profound truths and i hope you found it practical and encouraging as well as convicting i also hope that it's the same result tonight that it's practical encouraging and according to god's word convicting as well as you're turning there i want you to think uh with me imagine what it would be like to be in a waiting room now you probably don't have to think hard about that we've all been in different waiting rooms but i want you to imagine in particular a specific type of waiting room this is not a waiting room in a doctor's office this is not a waiting room at the dentist office this is not even a waiting room waiting for general admission to the hospital but a waiting room where there are people family members and friends who are awaiting news an update about a loved one a loved one who is somehow uh you know experienced some severe trauma someone who is walking through or or experiencing at that moment a life and death surgery someone who may be in intensive care for an extended stay and if you've ever been in one of these waiting rooms you know that it's unique it's somber it's quiet it's very sobering in fact as you uh kind of make your way around one of these types of waiting rooms and you talk to family members and friends there is a growing sense of anxiety that kind of builds with the unknown and the longer they have to wait in anticipation of news for someone to walk through the door and share with them some soul-changing soul-shattering update you realize that the longer they wait the more hopeless they become as they wait in a situation like that they begin to imagine the worst they begin to think well you know this is not going to end well why how come we haven't heard anything yet what's everybody waiting on why is it taking so long as they begin to think that way as they begin to wonder that way they almost give into the thought that this is not going to turn out the way i had hoped in fact they began bracing for the worse and in some cases you might actually find people begin living as though they've already resigned themselves for the worst to the worst possible outcome and as they begin to do they do lose sight of that hope because everything that was hanging in the balance now seems to be in their mind lost now if you would kind of maybe shift a little bit in your mindset and imagine waiting in a different room imagine if you were invited to a surprise party you were invited to be a part of the surprise party perhaps you've been in this type of experience and you've been standing in a living room as you were preparing to welcome a guest of honor maybe it was for a birthday maybe it was for a graduation maybe some sort of return from deployment or retirement and as you await at a surprise party standing in the living room oftentimes people are watching out the windows looking with excitement looking for that guest to arrive as they were waiting in that room there's preparations that are being made there's decorations around the kitchen there's food that are laid on the table there's gladness and there's gifts and as the excitement and enthusiasm builds the longer it goes the more eager they become for that guest of honor to arrive because they know when they arrive there will be joy there will be celebration and they're anticipating this they're expecting this and they beginning to operate and live according to what they know at any time is an imminent arrival these two very different rooms have two very different perspectives have two different mindsets but it's oftentimes the two different mindsets that characterize believers as we look forward to the return of christ there are some people based on the circumstances that we live in in this world things we're experiencing situations we're involved in tragedies we're walking through doubts we begin to have our faith begins to waver we begin to feel hopeless and we become overwhelmed with despair as we anticipate that christ is supposed to be coming back but yet we continue to witness the demise of the culture around us we begin to wonder with maybe even some of the minor prophets how long oh lord will you delay hopelessness begins to set in and we begin to doubt this is some of what was happening in the believers that peter was writing to and in fact they had false teachers trying to entice them and convince them that that was the right mindset give up hope so that you can give in to sin at the same time there are other believers who are clinging closely to the truth embracing with all of their heart even in the midst of tragedy and heartache that there is a guest of honor that is coming to arrive and when he arrives he will set everything straight jesus is coming back his kingdom will be established he will rule and he will reign and we will enjoy life with him together again this is the dichotomy of the people that peter was writing to they were stuck in these two scenarios and if you carry the analogy into our current context the text we're going to look at tonight actually forces us to ask a question and even to answer it individually are you living in the waiting room or are you waiting in the living room are you living in the waiting room that's filled with despair that's overcome with hopelessness or are you waiting in the living room with enthusiasm excitement anticipation for the one who will be honored and whose return is imminent it really boils down to a even more simple question what are you waiting for what are you waiting for are you waiting for bad news are you waiting for good news are you waiting for destruction are you waiting for deliverance this is the context that peter is writing to this is the audience that there this is what the audience has experienced as peter writes to them the final words in the passage that we're going to look at tonight and in this pastor passage peter addresses these readers to help them understand and to meet them where they are how they should interpret this delay this perceived delay how they should prepare for christ's return and what it means for them and the world around them so if you found your place there in second peter chapter 3 join with me in reading and following along in god's word starting in verse 11. since all these things are thus to be dissolved what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of god because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn but according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteous righteousness dwells therefore beloved since you are waiting for these be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish and at peace and count the patience of our lord as salvation just as our beloved brother paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters there are some things in them that are hard to understand which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction as they do the other scriptures you therefore beloved knowing this beforehand take care that you are not carried away by the error of lawless people and lose your own stability but instead grow in the grace and knowledge of our lord and savior jesus christ to him be the glory both now and to the day of eternal eternity amen would you pray with me heavenly father we thank you for your word god we thank you that it does meet us right where we are and it even uncovers some of the bubbles of doubt that sometimes arise in our hearts as we try to make sense of and process the world around us the situation and the context in which we live and as we try to somehow bring that in line with the truth of your scriptures in anticipation of christ's return god we need your wisdom we need your understanding we need your direction so god i pray now that by your spirit through your word you would speak to us and give us that understanding in jesus name amen you know as you look at this passage it's pretty obvious what the point of it is in fact while the world around us is trying to convince us that we should in fact give up so that we can give in that christ isn't coming back this passage tells us otherwise in this passage we are reminded that we can live with confidence and assurance with expectation and with anticipation and it teaches us that we can do so and what we should be doing in preparation for his arrival this passage really god shows us three ways to stand firm and to live in preparation for christ's arrival three ways to stand firm and live in preparation for christ's arrival i want you to notice something because it's part of what we do is we understand and interpret god's word properly when you look at this passage there are actually three sections it's clearly divided by kind of the subject matter and they're complementary subjects to the main idea or the thrust of the passage the first one is really focused on the lord's promise and it's explicitly stated there in verse 13. the second section is focused on the lord's patience as it's alluded to and referenced in verse 15. and the final section is about the lord's people as he describes to us that while we are being patient and the lord is being patient in anticipation of his return according to his promise how should we live each of these sections is marked by a transitional phrase which is obvious as well you look in verse 11 and it begins since all these things therefore verse 14 you see the second uh transitional phrase which marks the beginning of the second section therefore beloved since these things therefore then you see again down in verse 17 you therefore beloved knowing this therefore he gives us the instruction based on these things and in fact under each subject area under each section there is a positive and a negative principle for reinforcement and calls for action let's look at them together the first one that we understand the first principle we see in terms of how we can live for christ and stand for him as we await his return is this as we wait for christ we should be distinctively holy as we wait for christ we should be distinctively holy in this passage peter uses the term waiting three different times he mentions it in verse 12 he uses it in verse 13 and again in verse 14 this term highlights for us the the season of redemptive history in which we live we live in a season of waiting it's an extended season of advent as we're anticipating the return of christ this is not abnormal it's normal the false teachers were approaching the believers that peter is addressing here and trying to tell them that it was somehow abnormal in fact if you back up into verse 4 when you see earlier in chapter 3 they're posing the question where is his coming if he was going to come he would have already been here by now they're doing so to justify their own behavior according to verse 3 so that they may follow their own sinful desires but peter tells us that you are living in a season of waiting and as you wait for christ how then should you live well he tells us we should be distinctively holy first as we look at this passage and peter's beginning to contrast what the false teachers were saying they were saying you should live this way because christ isn't coming instead in this passage peter says because he is coming god reminds us how we in fact should live god reminds us how we should live starting in verse 11 he says since all of these things are be to be dissolved he's referencing there the previous verses where he's talked about the heavens and the earth all dissolving and all passing away and he uses it in a present tense participle since these things are happening not it's a future sense but because there is an eternal destiny that they are ultimately set for how should they respond now they are currently in the state of dissolving in parallel fashion because of our eternal destiny we should live according to a present standard he then uses a rhetorical device to say what type of people ought you to be i'll mark it very clearly this is not a question that peter doesn't know the answer to he's using a rhetorical assertion with a logical conclusion it's not what sort of people should you be while you wait it's what sort of people ought you to be if this is true if this is true this is of course how you should live it's definitive exhortation what type of people ought you to be there's only one corresponding way we should live in light of this truth you ought to be those that are characterized by holiness and godliness holiness and godliness why are these the characteristics that he chose could he have chosen some other attributes should he have chosen some other actions in fact he uses these closely related words and he does so in plural fashion because literally they mean holy acts and behavioral godly behaviors their actions they're what we're doing he says this should be what distinguishes your life from the dissolving world around you this should be the distinct mark of believers holiness and godliness but again why holiness and godliness think about who we're waiting for we're waiting for jesus what characteristics what attributes best summarize who he is holy and godly jesus is in fact the son of god the bible tells us that in him all the fullness of god dwells in bodily fashion because of that we know that jesus and by his nature was holy and so we should be holy because first and foremost it represents and reflects jesus nature but doesn't just reflect his nature it reflects his life when jesus was here on earth what kind of life did he live holy and godly we know that he was perfect in every way without sin god made him who knew no sin to become sin for us though he was tempted in every way as we are yet he was without sin he was holy holiness reflects the nature of christ and it reflects the life of christ but it also reflects our salvation in christ what type of people are we when we come to faith in christ peter said in 1st peter chapter 2 in verse 9 he actually let us know our new identity for you are now a chosen race a holy nation a royal priesthood a people of god's own possession this is who we are so it reflects the nature of christ and the life of christ and our salvation in christ you know what else it reflects it reflects our ultimate redemption in christ god has saved us for one purpose and according to ephesians 1 4 he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him well if it reflects the nature of christ and it reflects the life of christ and reflects our salvation in christ and reflects our ultimate redemption in christ what sort of people are we to be those who are marked by holiness and godliness this is the nature of it this is what he said in his first letter if you'll remember in first peter chapter one he said as obedient children this is who you are don't be conformed any longer to the patterns of sinfulness to your desires which marked you in ignorance but instead as the one who has called you is holy you also be holy in all of your conduct since it is written be holy for i am holy holiness should be the distinguishing mark of believers god reminds us how to live in light of the one we are waiting to return but he doesn't just remind us how to live he reminds us what will last he reminds us what will last look there in the next verse it says he now begins to look forward to that return he says we are waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of god hastening theirs we're anticipating christ's return has kind of a speeding up connotation to it but not in a way that disrupts the divine timeline it doesn't undermine god's sovereignty it simply means this that we if we are living according to the kingdom that will come and the king who is coming it ultimately welcomes him and ushers his kingdom in so we're waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of god he's referring here to what he had previously called the day of the lord back up in verse 10. throughout the letter he referred to it as the day of christ here he says the day of god that will ultimately come with judgment in other words god is telling us we should live a certain way because we know this world is not going to last regardless of where you fall on the divine timeline of when christ will return one thing we know his return will usher in judgment of the lost and of this world in its present state he describes it here in an echo of what he had described in previous verses because of which the heavens will be what set on fire and dissolve the same word he used in verse 11 since they are all thus to be dissolved or are dissolving they will one day be set on fire and dissolve completely and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn they will not last what this does for us is it undermines some of the philosophies of the world and even some of the pursuits that we would maybe chase after in this world the bible tells us we can't be consumed with a world that will one day itself be consumed some of the philosophies this undermines that are prevalent in today's world may be things like materialism hedonism and even nationalism why because all of these things are inextricably connected to a world that will not last possessions pleasure power we cannot find our satisfaction in them because they're not going to be part of the ultimate new creation he says instead verse 13 according to his promise and we know that when god promises according to titus chapter 1 he cannot lie according to his promise we are waiting for what the new heavens and new earth well when did god promise this well all the way 700 years before christ even came in isaiah 65 27 he said behold i will make i will create a new heaven and a new earth the apostle john saw this in revelation 21 1 when he said behold i saw a new heaven and a new earth because the old heaven and old earth had passed away therefore according to the promise of the new heavens and new earth we live this way according to that promise because in which we will dwell when in and with righteousness what will be the distinguishing mark of the kingdom righteousness holiness godliness why because the righteous judge who will be the righteous king will grant us a crown of righteousness will robe us and clothe us in righteousness and we will dwell in righteousness it will be a kingdom that's marked by righteousness therefore what kind of people ought we to be those who are marked by distinctive holiness you know i grew up in north carolina as dr whitfield referenced and i actually grew up down near the coast and because of that i developed an affinity for the beach and our family has kind of followed that same pattern we love the beach and if there's ever a time during the right season of the year that we can go and enjoy the beach guess what we do we go enjoy the beach and we have some routines because we actually lived at a beach for a few years and we visit so frequently to the beach we kind of have a routine so if our kids know we're going to the beach guess what they do they get up the uh that morning and they start putting on their swimsuits i mean from the from the minute they get up that's what they start putting on the swimsuits mom oftentimes especially with the little ones will begin to lather them up in sunscreen she'll also begin to pull together a cooler with drinks and refreshments and snacks so that we can enjoy it while we're at the beach meanwhile dad's downstairs trying to pack up the car all the chairs all the body boards all the buckets and and toys for the beach and all those types of things making sure we have room and they're all positioned it doesn't get the car too sandy all that kind of stuff we're doing it we're prepared we're ready everybody comes out all right let's go to the beach you know what we do we get in the car and what if they looked up and they're all dressed and ready and they look and there's dad sitting there in his not his swimsuit but his sunday suit and they say uh hey dad i thought we were going to the beach i say we are look at all the stuff in the car but dad you're not dressed and ready for the beach well why not and i asked my son why don't you think i'm ready for the beach he says dad because you and i like to go bodyboarding a lot and we throw the football a lot and you can't do that in that you can't wear a suit to do that well okay well i asked our younger daughters why don't you think i can wear a suit to the beach and say well we like to kind of build sand castles and you do that with us and chase minnows and the tide pools and all that kind of stuff you can't do that in a suit i say huh well i look at my wife and i look at our older oldest daughter and i say what do y'all think and they say well listen the point of going to the beach is to bask in the glory of the sun and you can't do that in that when it comes to eternity the ultimate goal really is to bask in the glory of the son and if we're going to be preparing for that shouldn't we be dressed in readiness shouldn't we be prepared to dwell in the presence of the one who is holy and godly and righteous as we wait for christ we should be living this way the bible tells us that we should take it seriously in fact in second corinthians 7 verse 1 it says therefore since we have these promises let us purify ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit perfecting holiness out of reverence for god while we wait for christ we should be distinctively holy there's a second thing we should do to stand in preparation and waiting for christ's return as we wait for christ we should be distinctively holy and as we watch for christ we should be eternally hopeful we should be eternally hopeful in the second section here starting in verse 14. paul shifts his attention to what we might describe as a hopeful tone he doesn't use the term explicitly but everything in this section in these verses builds towards and describes the hope that ought to characterize the people of god he says therefore beloved since you are waiting for anticipating again now the third time he uses this phrase stressing its importance while you are waiting for this be diligent that's an important term he says be devoted to it actually references what he started with in chapter one when he said be diligent to confirm your calling he says here now be diligent to be found in him and if we're going to be a people who are marked by and characterized by eternal hope we must first and foremost confirm our hope in the gospel tonight one of the main points of reflection for you and for i as we wait on christ's return is that we have an extended opportunity to examine ourselves to see that we are in the faith this is what he says here be diligent to be found by him it's not a searching term to be found by him it's actually a judicial term that says when he evaluates you when he assesses your life when he looks into your heart as he sees you for who you really are be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish he's not describing here a moral perfection but it's actually in the pursuit of that perfection and the persistence of it that we see genuine faith he says be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish the terms here without spot and blemish are really interesting when you study peter's letters in fact earlier in chapter 2 he had described the false teachers with the opposite of this he said they are spots spots and blemishes on the body of christ they're blots and blemishes we should be without spots or blemish well how can we do that we can't simply achieve that by striving to do better and being morally uh perfect in our own strength of will no it's actually by another use of these same two terms it's actually in peter's first letter that we were not redeemed with perishable things like gold or silver but with the precious blood of a lamb without spot or blemish the lamb of god jesus christ himself and because we've been cleansed by the blood of the lamb who was without spot or blemish positionally before god we are without spot or blemish and our actions in our lifestyle should reflect the pursuit of that same truth he says make sure that you were found by him without spot or blemish and at peace interesting that he adds that here but that peace is describing ultimately do we have confirmation what will confirm our salvation in christ it will be marked by a peace you see hope and peace are related throughout the scriptures and in fact hope evolves from a peace peace with him brings peace within and that peace within is where hope begins to blossom the bible says in romans chapter 5 since we've been justified by faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ and we rejoice in this but not only in this but we rejoice in our tribulations we rejoice in hope because our tribulations lead to perseverance perseverance to character and character to hope and hope does not disappoint us that peace that we have with god through our confirmed understanding of our trust in the gospel gives us peace with god and peace within but it's not just that we confirm our own hope in the gospel we must also carry the hope of the gospel here he then begins to describe that this this time of waiting is giving us an opportunity to confirm that we have trusted the lord he's extending that invitation to us so that we can then extend that same invitation to others verse 15. therefore count consider mark it down that the patience of the lord is salvation it provides salvation it is as we saw a few weeks ago holding the door open for those who are lost in need of saving faith in christ therefore those who have in fact confirmed our hope in the gospel should carry the hope of the gospel there's an urgency there and whether it's the brevity of life or the frailty of life or the mortality of life there is an urgency that those who are without christ need him in fact the end is awaiting the opportunity them for them to come to christ jesus himself said that when the gospel this gospel is preached to all the nations then the end will come this is an opportunity that the patience of the lord is extending to all those and therefore we should confirm our hope in the gospel and carry the hope of the gospel but this hope then also while we continue to carry the hope in this lost and dying world is going to face tribulation and struggle it's going to even face attacks from the enemy it's going to be undermined by our circumstances and those who want to disarm or dismantle our faith therefore we don't just confirm our hope in the gospel and carry the hope of the gospel we must cling to the hope of the gospel he describes it there at the end of start in verse 15 count the patience of the lord as salvation just as our beloved brother paul also wrote to you in other words peter says if you don't believe me let me appeal to my brother paul he reinforces what we've said is true trust in the truth beloved paul also wrote to you it's an unspecified letter and in fact it's not a single letter at all it's multiple times he wrote to you according to the wisdom give it to him as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these things in other words paul addressed all this paul tells us that the assurance of christ's return is guaranteed paul tells us that the patience of the lord is an opportunity because god is desiring that no one would perish peter said it earlier in chapter 3 but paul said it in first timothy chapter 2 this is good and pleasing in the sight of god of god our savior that all men would come to a saving knowledge of the truth god is extending that we can understand that paul has reinforced it peter has told us that it's true therefore we can cling to this truth and understand that it's right he acknowledges there are some things in them that are hard to understand but the danger is not in the difficulty the danger is in the distortion because the false teachers bring it in then they try to undermine see the tragedies that are happening around you see the confusion that's happening around you it can't be true cling to the hope of the gospel because we know that it's true there are some things in them that are difficult he says but the ignorance those who are unaware and the unstable those who are insecure in their faith prone to deception they twist them they distort them they deceive us to their own destruction this is not a point of discipline here but ultimate destruction and damnation they do so not only with paul's writings as they do with the other scriptures this puts paul's writing in the category of the divine truth that paul spoke of when he said that all scripture is god breathed now we see peter saying what the wisdom that paul had qualified what he wrote as scripture peter even earlier in this letter it said that no prophecy of scripture ever came about by one's own interpretation but holy men of god were carried along by the holy spirit as they recorded the word of god therefore he when he says paul who wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him these things are scripture their truth you can bank on them you can cling to them and you should in fact cling to these things in the context it seems right to understand what jesus said about the word of god he said in mark 13 heaven and earth will pass away didn't we just read that but what will stand forever my word will stand forever in the midst of an unstable world we can cling to the truth and the hope of the gospel what is biblical hope biblical hope is trusting as a present reality that which is a future certainty trusting is a present reality that which is a future certainty because god has said these things are true we can live as though we're not waiting for them to happen but as they as if they've already occurred therefore we live with that same hope and we can join with paul's prayer may the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you can overflow with hope by the power of the holy spirit we in fact as we wait for christ should be distinctively holy and we should be eternally hopeful we move into our final couple of verses we see the third characteristic of how we should wade and how we should live as we anticipate christ's return in addition he says that we should also as we walk with christ we should be spiritually healthy we're not just waiting and watching for christ in the meantime we should be walking with christ and that should be marked by a spiritual health in these final two verses he really gives a complimentary caution and challenge they're both marked by imperatives that you see in verse 17 and in verse 18. look in verse 17. first herman the esv is you and rightly so because it has the place of emphasis in the original it's contrasting us as believers with those who are ignorant and unstable you therefore beloved this is the fourth time he's used this term in chapter three you beloved of god know this beforehand because you know this beforehand you can see the enemy's punch coming this doesn't mean that you should let your guard down and this is paul's exhortation instead we should keep our spiritual guard up if we know the traps of the enemy if we can see the ambush it doesn't mean that we can walk and we say well i know what it's coming so i don't have to worry about it no you know what it's coming and because of the danger you should recognize keep your spiritual guard up he says you know this beforehand take care this is kind of a soft interpretation of what really does mean guard yourself take care or guard yourself that you are not carried away that you don't drift that they don't entice you and deceive you somehow bewitching you that you might kind of fall prey to a spiritual vertigo and you don't know which direction is up that you might be enticed and misled by their teaching but you can recognize their sleight of hand because of the truth don't be carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability he's not saying here that it's possible to lose your salvation in fact you see that he distinguishes the error from the people this is the error of lawless people but the error of the lawless people causes you not to become one of the lawless people but to lose your own stability this grounding this strengthening this is at the heart of what peter's letter is he writes to them for this point and says it in chapter 1 verse 10 and in one verse 12 he uses the same term this is the goal that we would be spiritually stable that we would keep our guard up he now looks for what has become his launching point and to his landing pad he focuses on this strength and if we keep our spiritual guard up he gives us one final commendation that we should also keep our spiritual growth up look in verse 18 but instead grow in the grace and the knowledge of our lord jesus christ this contrast between taking care and guarding yourself and instead growing mixes the two together in a modern sports terminology we might say it this way the best defense is a good offense to put it in sanctified biblical terms perhaps we could say it this way the best defense against deception is discipleship the best defense against deception is discipleship so as you are not carried away you're going to avoid that by continuing to grow how should we grow this is the nature of spiritual growth in first peter 2 2 he had said that we should crave the pure spiritual milk of the word so that by it we may grow in respect to our salvation as we continue to grow what are we growing in grow in the grace and knowledge of our lord jesus christ how do you grow in grace isn't grace what saves us you can't become any more saved well in a justification sense you're right but in a sanctification sense we are being saved we're in that process and therefore we grow in the same grace that saved us we grow by that same grace in our sanctification grace doesn't just save us according to titus 2 it sanctifies us according to second timothy 2 grace enables us to stand and ultimately according to second corinthians chapter 12 grace sustains us it sustains us it supplies all of these things well how do you experience more grace by positioning yourself beneath the flow of grace because from christ's fullness we have received grace upon grace like waves of the seashore crashing in and through the spiritual disciplines we position ourselves to experience that divine grace oftentimes what forces us beneath that grace is hardship and difficulty this is why paul was able to say that i will gladly boast in my struggles and my weaknesses and my difficulties because in my weakness god's strength is perfected because god's grace is sufficient for me be strong in the grace and knowledge of the lord jesus christ it's interesting because this parallels the nature of christ himself full of grace and truth therefore we should grow in grace and knowledge of that truth this knowledge speaks of a personal intimacy with christ that we would know him more what paul elevated above all things considering everything a surpassing loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing christ jesus is lord we're growing in our gray and the grace and knowledge of our lord jesus christ every day through that growth we guard ourselves from being deceived we prepare ourselves to continue to walk during this time of waiting then paul peter excuse me offers the final verse of doxology he says to him jesus himself to him be the glory he gives him the glory that he deserves and says that he will be glorified in our lives but it's interesting how he applies that doxology and is appropriate for the letter and even the conclusion of the passage to him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity that christ will usher in when he returns how should we live as we anticipate christ's return as we wait for christ we should be distinctively holy as we watch for christ we be eternally hopeful and as we walk with christ we should be spiritually healthy i conclude with just two final thoughts that i want to encourage you to consider we focus on the waiting and watching in this passage from our perspective it's certainly appropriate the text directs us to do that but understand some of the phrases like the patience of the lord indicate to us that we're not the only ones waiting and watching that god himself as he looks down the portal of eternity into our lives and in our world is in fact waiting he's waiting for all of those that he's holding the door open for those who would choose christ and trust him he's waiting for them to do so he's also watching he's watching his beloved creation spiral into a deeper and darker depravity meanwhile he's watching his people who continue to wait for him and watch for him and walk with him in holiness and hopefulness and in humility and honor and spiritual health so one final point of conclusion and maybe even a question the one we started with when we boiled it down we asked the question what are you waiting for are you waiting for bad news or are you waiting for good news perhaps we can ask the same question but understand it in a different way as we conclude tonight what are you waiting for what are you waiting for perhaps you know that god is calling you and drawing you into a relationship with christ and you know in your own heart you don't have that when you heard confirm within yourself the hope of your salvation you know you don't have it what are you waiting for today is the day of salvation trust christ and be saved for some of you who haven't been walking in holiness and godliness what are you waiting for jesus is coming prepare now for the kingdom that we will one day inherit live in righteousness and holiness and godliness what are you waiting for perhaps you're mindful of someone else who's missing the hope of the gospel that you need to share with them what are you waiting for won't you share with them today the brevity of life the frailty of life the mortality of this life demands that we do so what are you waiting for when you look at your own life and you recognize the spiritual deficiencies in your own walk when you recognize that you have been enticed and begun to be carried away that you would compromise your convictions in the truth grow in the grace and knowledge of our lord jesus christ grow what are you waiting for what are you waiting for would you pray with me heavenly father we thank you so much for your great love for us we thank you for the power and the truth of your word we thank you for its conviction on our lives but also for the healing that it provides through the gospel thank you for the power of the holy spirit that not only brings salvation to those who are lost but conforms us to the likeness of your son father i pray for that one who's here tonight who knows in their hearts that they don't know you as lord and savior they've never been truly converted and born again perhaps they're watching online or listening in some form or fashion and god they know in their hearts that they're waiting god i pray tonight the waiting would be over that through faith in you you might save them god for all of those who have been prolonging decisions sharing the gospel growing in their own relationship with you pursuing holiness oh god i pray that you would light within us a fire that is spurned by the eminence of your return that we would no longer live in the waiting room but that we would in fact wait in the living room with enthusiasm excitement and anticipation hastening the day as we love your appearing and look forward to it in jesus name we pray amen you

Channel: Southeastern Seminary

Views: 588

Rating: 4.5999999 out of 5

Keywords: Southeastern, Baptist, Theological, Seminary, Chapel, Message, Jesus, Preaching, God, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Gospel, Danny, Great Commission, Training, Education, Southern, Boyce, SBTS, Al, Mohler, MWBTS, NOBTS, Gateway, Universtiy, ERLC, Matt, Chandler, B21, IMB, NAMB, SBC, SBC20, NCSU, ECU, UNC, Duke, Divinity, School, Platt, Greear, JD, David, Whos, Your, One, Midwestern, Akin, RDU, Conversations, That, Matter, New Orleans, Critical, Race, Theory, Orlando, Florida, Coronavirus, COVID-19

Id: 5pLTbkJKHmE

Length: 42min 21sec (2541 seconds)

Published: Fri Nov 13 2020