WEBVTT 00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:06.660 Hey all, Pastor John here. Thanks for tuning 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:09.759 in to the weekly sermon podcast. We pray this 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:12.519 message encourages you, strengthens your faith, 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:15.080 and helps you to take your next step with Jesus. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.239 If this content blesses you and you'd like to 00:00:18.239 --> 00:00:20.339 be a part of helping us continue to bring the 00:00:20.339 --> 00:00:22.739 gospel to life, we'd love for you to consider 00:00:22.739 --> 00:00:25.739 supporting the ministry of Village. Your generosity 00:00:25.739 --> 00:00:28.339 makes it possible for us to keep creating and 00:00:28.339 --> 00:00:31.510 sharing resources like this podcast. You can 00:00:31.510 --> 00:00:35.250 give safely and easily by visiting sacvillage 00:00:35.250 --> 00:00:39.109 .org slash give or by heading to our website 00:00:39.109 --> 00:00:43.130 at sacvillage .org. Thanks again for listening. 00:00:43.350 --> 00:00:54.289 Now let's dive into this week's message. Amen. 00:00:54.369 --> 00:00:58.859 Well, this is the last Sunday of the year. The 00:00:58.859 --> 00:01:01.939 last Sunday of 2025, and this time of the year 00:01:01.939 --> 00:01:06.400 always invites us to reflect, doesn't it? To 00:01:06.400 --> 00:01:09.959 reflect back on the year. What changed in 2025 00:01:09.959 --> 00:01:14.920 for you? What didn't change in 2025 for you? 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:18.939 What had you hoped would be different by now, 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:24.019 but is still the same? And what are you still 00:01:24.019 --> 00:01:28.870 waiting on? The turning of the calendar has a 00:01:28.870 --> 00:01:32.709 way of reminding us that time keeps moving whether 00:01:32.709 --> 00:01:37.489 we're ready for it or not, amen? And that's why 00:01:37.489 --> 00:01:41.430 Advent is such a gift because every year at the 00:01:41.430 --> 00:01:44.890 season of Advent, it invites us to look backward 00:01:44.890 --> 00:01:49.590 to a promise made and a promise fulfilled, to 00:01:49.590 --> 00:01:56.049 a savior who arrived, a moment in history. when 00:01:56.049 --> 00:02:01.930 God stepped into our world in humility. But the 00:02:01.930 --> 00:02:05.170 Christian doesn't just look backward, do they? 00:02:05.609 --> 00:02:09.370 No, Christians have always looked backward, but 00:02:09.370 --> 00:02:14.319 we also look forward. After Jesus' resurrection 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:18.300 from the grave and right after his ascension 00:02:18.300 --> 00:02:20.939 to heaven, he had spent some time with the disciples 00:02:20.939 --> 00:02:24.099 and the disciples had followed him all the way 00:02:24.099 --> 00:02:26.139 to the mountain and he gave him the great commission. 00:02:26.139 --> 00:02:28.479 We know it in Matthew 28, where he said, go into 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:31.400 all the world and make disciples, baptizing in 00:02:31.400 --> 00:02:32.860 the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit 00:02:32.860 --> 00:02:35.699 and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has 00:02:35.699 --> 00:02:38.599 commanded us. And then it says that Jesus was 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:41.699 then taken away. up into the clouds and hidden 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:44.500 by a cloud as he ascended to heaven. And you 00:02:44.500 --> 00:02:47.379 can imagine being there as the men and women 00:02:47.379 --> 00:02:50.159 who were his disciples followed him to that mountaintop. 00:02:50.180 --> 00:02:52.580 And then they had just lost him to the grave, 00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:54.860 right? But then he resurrected, he's back. It's 00:02:54.860 --> 00:02:57.560 like, we got Jesus back. He's with us for 40 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:00.340 days and he hangs out and teaches them. And then 00:03:00.340 --> 00:03:02.180 pretty soon he leads them to this mountaintop 00:03:02.180 --> 00:03:07.680 and Jesus ascends back to the Father. And while 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:09.840 they're standing there with their eyes, to the 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:14.020 sky, looking intently at where Jesus had been, 00:03:14.120 --> 00:03:17.520 an angel appears to the disciples and says, men 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:20.580 of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:24.400 the heavens? This same Jesus who has been taken 00:03:24.400 --> 00:03:27.860 from you into heaven will come again in the same 00:03:27.860 --> 00:03:32.800 way that you have seen him go into heaven. This 00:03:32.800 --> 00:03:35.699 same Jesus who was taken for you will come again 00:03:35.699 --> 00:03:39.060 in the same Wait, so the same scriptures that 00:03:39.060 --> 00:03:42.199 told us about Christ's first coming, the advent 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:45.099 of Christ also tell us about his final coming. 00:03:46.039 --> 00:03:48.879 And that's why on the last Sunday of every year, 00:03:49.060 --> 00:03:52.939 I like to spend time in a sermon that I usually 00:03:52.939 --> 00:03:55.520 call either the last advent or the final advent. 00:03:56.169 --> 00:03:58.509 And today we're going to turn to a text like 00:03:58.509 --> 00:04:01.289 2 Peter chapter 3. So if you have your Bibles, 00:04:01.310 --> 00:04:04.189 you can open that up to 2 Peter chapter 3. It'll 00:04:04.189 --> 00:04:07.110 also be up here on the board as we move chunk 00:04:07.110 --> 00:04:10.129 by chunk through that chapter. But a little back 00:04:10.129 --> 00:04:13.849 story on 2 Peter chapter 3. The apostle Peter 00:04:13.849 --> 00:04:18.170 is writing to believers who are living in the 00:04:18.170 --> 00:04:22.410 space between. The space between, the in -between. 00:04:22.470 --> 00:04:25.180 A promise had been given. A promise had been 00:04:25.180 --> 00:04:28.100 fulfilled, but there were still promises to come 00:04:28.100 --> 00:04:31.680 or a promise still to come. Have you ever been 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:34.959 in the in -between, between a promise and its 00:04:34.959 --> 00:04:38.579 fulfillment? That in -between time where you're 00:04:38.579 --> 00:04:40.600 waiting for the promise that you heard, that 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:42.980 you knew, that you believed, but you're waiting 00:04:42.980 --> 00:04:46.860 for its fulfillment? Well, the believers that 00:04:46.860 --> 00:04:49.680 Peter is talking to are in that in -between time. 00:04:50.439 --> 00:04:53.220 Jesus had come and he was a promise that was 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:55.939 delivered upon. And he had lived his life, but 00:04:55.939 --> 00:04:57.779 now he had gone. But when he had gone, he had 00:04:57.779 --> 00:05:01.420 also promised that he would return. And they're 00:05:01.420 --> 00:05:04.860 waiting. And they're asking the same questions 00:05:04.860 --> 00:05:07.300 you and I might ask if we were in that same situation. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:14.100 Like, how long will he be, right? What's taking 00:05:14.100 --> 00:05:17.959 him so long? Like, what's the delay, right? Or 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:22.519 is God still at work in the world while Jesus 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:29.060 is away? And around the disciples and the folks 00:05:29.060 --> 00:05:31.779 that Peter is writing to, around them there are 00:05:31.779 --> 00:05:35.139 these voices that also have questions and statements 00:05:35.139 --> 00:05:36.759 that they're making. And they're saying things 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:39.540 like, nothing is really ever going to change. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:43.540 Things have always been this way and things will... 00:05:43.819 --> 00:05:46.980 always be this way. If God was going to act, 00:05:47.319 --> 00:05:49.639 if God was going to return, he would have done 00:05:49.639 --> 00:05:53.879 so already. And so you have this conflict of 00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:56.300 believers who are in the in -between, a promise 00:05:56.300 --> 00:05:58.759 made but waiting for its fulfillment, and others 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:00.860 who are saying, ah, nothing's going to happen. 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:02.980 If it would have happened, it would have happened 00:06:02.980 --> 00:06:06.339 already. We're past the deadline. It's a promise 00:06:06.339 --> 00:06:10.160 unfulfilled. And what Peter does is he doesn't 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:14.920 panic. But instead, he helps to reframe time 00:06:14.920 --> 00:06:19.220 itself. And he reminds the church of something 00:06:19.220 --> 00:06:22.899 we need to hear at the end of a year like this. 00:06:23.839 --> 00:06:28.540 The delay of Christ's return is not a failure 00:06:28.540 --> 00:06:32.720 of God's promise. It is evidence of his patience. 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:37.120 The delay... of Christ's return is not a failure 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:40.079 of God's promise, but it is an evidence of his 00:06:40.079 --> 00:06:41.779 patience. And we'll see that as we walk through 00:06:41.779 --> 00:06:44.100 the scripture. Because the first advent tells 00:06:44.100 --> 00:06:47.779 us how God came and the last advent tells us 00:06:47.779 --> 00:06:52.399 that God will finish what he started. And that 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:55.480 truth doesn't lead us to fear the future. Instead, 00:06:55.740 --> 00:06:59.279 if you are in Christ, it should lead us to wait 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:02.990 with hope. So if you're taking notes, I've got 00:07:02.990 --> 00:07:05.709 three points today. The first one is a world 00:07:05.709 --> 00:07:09.610 that doubts. Number one, a world that doubts. 00:07:11.189 --> 00:07:13.589 Second Peter chapter three, we're going to begin 00:07:13.589 --> 00:07:17.910 in verse one. Dear friends, this is now the second 00:07:17.910 --> 00:07:20.810 letter I've written to you. In both letters, 00:07:20.850 --> 00:07:23.430 I want to stir up your sincere understanding 00:07:23.430 --> 00:07:28.149 by way of reminder so that you recall the words. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:31.459 previously spoken by the holy prophets and the 00:07:31.459 --> 00:07:33.699 command of our Lord and Savior given through 00:07:33.699 --> 00:07:38.399 your apostles. Above all, be aware of this. Scoffers 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:41.480 will come in the last days, scoffing and following 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:44.740 their own evil desires, saying, where is his 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:48.240 coming that he promised? Ever since our ancestors 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:51.339 fell asleep, all things continue as they have 00:07:51.339 --> 00:07:55.480 been since the beginning of creation. They deliberately 00:07:55.480 --> 00:07:59.670 overlook this. By the word of God, the heavens 00:07:59.670 --> 00:08:02.509 came into being long ago and the earth was brought 00:08:02.509 --> 00:08:06.209 about from water and through water. And through 00:08:06.209 --> 00:08:09.089 these, the world of that time perished when it 00:08:09.089 --> 00:08:12.910 was flooded. By the same word, the present heavens 00:08:12.910 --> 00:08:16.250 and earth are stored up for fire, being kept 00:08:16.250 --> 00:08:19.750 for the day of judgment and destruction of the 00:08:19.750 --> 00:08:24.610 ungodly. We're going to stop there for right 00:08:24.610 --> 00:08:27.689 now. We'll pick up in verse 8. on the next point, 00:08:27.790 --> 00:08:32.990 but Peter begins by inviting his hearers to remember. 00:08:34.889 --> 00:08:37.929 He said, I want to stir up your sincere understanding 00:08:37.929 --> 00:08:42.230 by way of a reminder so that you recall the words 00:08:42.230 --> 00:08:44.950 previously spoken to you by the prophets and 00:08:44.950 --> 00:08:48.330 by the apostles of Jesus. And that's because 00:08:48.330 --> 00:08:52.539 when faith weakens, It is most often not because 00:08:52.539 --> 00:08:55.740 we've learned something new, but oftentimes it's 00:08:55.740 --> 00:08:59.100 because we've forgotten something old or something 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:02.940 we already knew. In my time in ministry, in my 00:09:02.940 --> 00:09:05.659 time in ministering to people, more often than 00:09:05.659 --> 00:09:08.240 not, I'm having to remind them of what they already 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:12.039 know is true than I'm having to argue or fight 00:09:12.039 --> 00:09:14.700 against some new thought or new belief that they 00:09:14.700 --> 00:09:17.909 have. But it's reminding them of what has already 00:09:17.909 --> 00:09:21.490 been spoken. And Peter says that there are scoffers 00:09:21.490 --> 00:09:26.850 in their day. Not just doubters, not just people 00:09:26.850 --> 00:09:30.370 with questions. We all have questions and we've 00:09:30.370 --> 00:09:32.649 all experienced doubt at times. But these are 00:09:32.649 --> 00:09:35.870 scoffers, he says. And what is a scoffer? Well, 00:09:35.889 --> 00:09:39.570 a scoffer is someone who mocks or ridicules or 00:09:39.570 --> 00:09:44.190 shows contempt for God and his wisdom and his 00:09:44.190 --> 00:09:48.450 way. They mock or ridicule or show contempt for 00:09:48.450 --> 00:09:53.389 God, his wisdom, and his way. And listen to what 00:09:53.389 --> 00:09:56.129 he says, or what they say. This is what scoffers 00:09:56.129 --> 00:09:59.929 say, Peter says. He says, they'll say, where 00:09:59.929 --> 00:10:04.909 is his coming that he promised? Ever since our 00:10:04.909 --> 00:10:07.690 ancestors fell asleep, all things continue as 00:10:07.690 --> 00:10:10.389 they have been since the beginning of creation. 00:10:12.240 --> 00:10:15.320 In other words, nothing ever really changes. 00:10:16.019 --> 00:10:20.259 God doesn't intervene. History is just a closed 00:10:20.259 --> 00:10:23.620 loop that repeats itself cycle after cycle on 00:10:23.620 --> 00:10:28.159 into eternity. This world just keeps going. And 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:32.019 it's the assumption that what we see is all that 00:10:32.019 --> 00:10:39.519 there is and what has been will always be. And 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:42.179 Peter says this kind of skepticism, this kind 00:10:42.179 --> 00:10:48.559 of scoffing is not morally neutral. He tells 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:50.860 us the scoffers are actually following their 00:10:50.860 --> 00:10:56.679 own evil desires. Peter is saying that belief 00:10:56.679 --> 00:11:03.279 and behavior are always connected. What we believe 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:07.059 about the future shapes how we live in the present. 00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:11.299 You know this, right? You've probably seen a 00:11:11.299 --> 00:11:13.659 movie or heard a narrative or maybe even experienced 00:11:13.659 --> 00:11:16.059 this in your own life with someone you know or 00:11:16.059 --> 00:11:19.700 yourself. If I was to tell you that you had one 00:11:19.700 --> 00:11:22.139 year to live and you would die on this day next 00:11:22.139 --> 00:11:26.639 year, would that not, and you believed it, would 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:28.980 that not change your behavior for the next year? 00:11:29.860 --> 00:11:33.000 You would not live 26 the same way, would you? 00:11:33.480 --> 00:11:36.379 If you knew it and you believed it, it would 00:11:36.379 --> 00:11:41.580 change. How you behave. And what we believe about 00:11:41.580 --> 00:11:44.440 the future shapes how we live in the present. 00:11:44.639 --> 00:11:47.240 And Peter is saying there are scoffers who are 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:48.779 standing around saying he'll never come, but 00:11:48.779 --> 00:11:50.340 what they're really wanting to do is they want 00:11:50.340 --> 00:11:53.379 to feed their evil desire. They want to feed 00:11:53.379 --> 00:11:55.559 their desire to do what is wrong. They want to 00:11:55.559 --> 00:11:59.860 feed their desire to not do what is right. And 00:11:59.860 --> 00:12:03.600 so, if there is no second coming... if there 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:06.720 is no judgment of belief, if there is no judgment 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:09.360 of actions, if there is no judgment of words, 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:15.860 well, then what's the big deal? I can live however 00:12:15.860 --> 00:12:20.120 I want. If there is no judgment of beliefs or 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:23.320 actions or words, then there is no urgency to 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:29.559 live a life of holiness, is there? And if there 00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:33.320 is no coming renewal, around is just going to 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:38.840 burn and you and I are just worm food, well, 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:43.360 then there's no reason for hope. And Peter says 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:47.720 the scoffers maintain their arrogance by forgetting. 00:12:48.919 --> 00:12:52.279 What do they forget? Well, he says they forget 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:56.899 that the world was created by the word of God. 00:12:58.700 --> 00:13:01.580 And he says the scoffers forget that the world 00:13:01.580 --> 00:13:07.039 was once already judged by the word of God. And 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:09.519 they forget that the world is presently being 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:12.980 sustained by the word of God. You see, the world 00:13:12.980 --> 00:13:15.720 is not self -running. It is not self -sustaining. 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:19.379 It is not some closed loop of laws, but instead 00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:22.360 it is held together moment by moment by the word 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:27.039 of God. And Peter reminds them of the flood during 00:13:27.039 --> 00:13:32.070 Noah's days. Not as some random historical fact 00:13:32.070 --> 00:13:36.090 or claim, but as a theological point. There was 00:13:36.090 --> 00:13:38.769 a time when people believed that nothing will 00:13:38.769 --> 00:13:41.309 ever change. Tomorrow will be just like today. 00:13:41.429 --> 00:13:44.929 God won't act. We can live however we desire. 00:13:45.250 --> 00:13:52.929 And they were wrong. And Peter's point is not 00:13:52.929 --> 00:13:57.350 to frighten the church. His point is to expose. 00:13:58.409 --> 00:14:03.509 A false confidence. A confidence that says God 00:14:03.509 --> 00:14:07.730 won't intervene. God won't judge. God won't keep 00:14:07.730 --> 00:14:16.149 his word. And the danger for us, we may not mock 00:14:16.149 --> 00:14:20.009 the promises of Christ's return, but we can live 00:14:20.009 --> 00:14:25.889 as though it really won't matter. We can functionally 00:14:25.889 --> 00:14:30.159 believe that there's always more time. There's 00:14:30.159 --> 00:14:38.379 no urgency. I'll get serious later. I know how 00:14:38.379 --> 00:14:42.779 God desires me to live, but I'll just continue 00:14:42.779 --> 00:14:46.460 to live however I want because there's time. 00:14:47.379 --> 00:14:51.720 I can always change my mind later. And Peter 00:14:51.720 --> 00:14:56.340 says, be careful. Be careful because forgetting 00:14:56.340 --> 00:15:00.840 God's past, And here's the thing about faithfulness. 00:15:00.899 --> 00:15:04.600 We love that fluffy word, don't we? We love it 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:06.480 when people are faithful to us. We love when 00:15:06.480 --> 00:15:08.120 people say what they're going to do and then 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:10.740 they do it. But when the Bible talks about faithfulness, 00:15:10.779 --> 00:15:14.139 it talks about the rock solid follow through 00:15:14.139 --> 00:15:17.720 of God. And you see, faithfulness can be applied 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:19.759 to a lot of things in the Bible. And one of the 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:22.000 things it's applied to is the promise of hope. 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:25.460 God is faithful for his promises of hope. He 00:15:25.460 --> 00:15:28.389 will. pull through. He will follow through. He 00:15:28.389 --> 00:15:30.990 will bring them to be. But you know what else 00:15:30.990 --> 00:15:34.529 God is faithful? He is absolutely faithful to 00:15:34.529 --> 00:15:40.029 his promise of judgment. 100%. As faithful as 00:15:40.029 --> 00:15:43.629 he is to his promise of hope, he is 100 % faithful 00:15:43.629 --> 00:15:46.250 to his promise of judgment because God is faithful. 00:15:48.330 --> 00:15:51.960 Promise of hope, promise of judgment. And if 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:54.820 we forget that God's past faithfulness, both 00:15:54.820 --> 00:15:57.179 to his promise of hope and to his promise of 00:15:57.179 --> 00:16:00.019 judgment, both shown in the Old Testament through 00:16:00.019 --> 00:16:02.679 his word, if we forget that, it leads us to doubt 00:16:02.679 --> 00:16:06.320 God's future promises. And so we live differently 00:16:06.320 --> 00:16:11.940 today than we ought. And when we forget the promise, 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:17.259 we stop waiting, we stop watching, we stop longing. 00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:23.039 Which is why Peter, begins here. He exposes the 00:16:23.039 --> 00:16:25.620 lie that says nothing is really going to change, 00:16:25.779 --> 00:16:31.000 so it doesn't matter how I live. Advent, both 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:34.600 the first Advent and the last and final Advent, 00:16:34.820 --> 00:16:39.440 declares the complete opposite. God has acted, 00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:47.860 God is acting, and God will act again. If you're 00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:51.559 taking notes, number two, A God who is patient. 00:16:53.200 --> 00:16:56.759 A world that doubts and a God who is patient. 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:01.700 2 Peter chapter three, verse eight. Dear friends, 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:07.539 don't overlook this one fact. With the Lord, 00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:10.640 one day is like a thousand years and a thousand 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:14.700 years like one day. The Lord does not delay his 00:17:14.700 --> 00:17:18.200 promise as some understand delay, but is patient 00:17:18.200 --> 00:17:21.940 with you. not wanting any to perish, but all 00:17:21.940 --> 00:17:27.799 to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord 00:17:27.799 --> 00:17:31.880 will come like a thief. On that day, the heavens 00:17:31.880 --> 00:17:34.579 will pass away with a loud noise and the elements 00:17:34.579 --> 00:17:37.019 will burn and be dissolved and the earth and 00:17:37.019 --> 00:17:44.380 the works on it will be disclosed. So after exposing 00:17:44.380 --> 00:17:47.420 the scoffers and their false promises, Peter 00:17:47.420 --> 00:17:49.680 turns directly to the question that kind of sits 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:52.059 beneath it all, which is why the delay then? 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:56.900 Why the delay? And before Peter explains what 00:17:56.900 --> 00:18:00.299 God is doing, he reminds us all of who God is. 00:18:00.619 --> 00:18:03.279 And he starts by saying, dear friends, don't 00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:05.799 overlook this one fact. And I want you to notice 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:09.259 that. Dear friends, Peter is not rebuking enemies 00:18:09.259 --> 00:18:13.059 here. Peter is shepherding a church of people 00:18:13.059 --> 00:18:17.490 just like you and me. He's not rebuking enemies, 00:18:17.549 --> 00:18:19.750 those people out there. He's talking to you and 00:18:19.750 --> 00:18:23.549 me about the day. He's talking to you and me 00:18:23.549 --> 00:18:26.150 about the patience of God. He's talking to you 00:18:26.150 --> 00:18:28.730 and me about repentance, a life of repentance. 00:18:32.069 --> 00:18:36.549 And when he says about the Lord, one day is like 00:18:36.549 --> 00:18:39.269 a thousand years and a thousand years is like 00:18:39.269 --> 00:18:41.430 one day. And let me just say, Peter's not giving 00:18:41.430 --> 00:18:45.470 you some formula or decipher. key or something 00:18:45.470 --> 00:18:48.230 to try to figure out when Jesus is coming back. 00:18:48.289 --> 00:18:51.509 That's not his point. That's not his point at 00:18:51.509 --> 00:18:54.990 all. What Peter's point is in pointing out that 00:18:54.990 --> 00:18:57.349 one day is like a thousand years and a thousand 00:18:57.349 --> 00:18:59.509 years like one day to the Lord. What he's trying 00:18:59.509 --> 00:19:01.569 to say is he's trying to remind us that God is 00:19:01.569 --> 00:19:06.769 not trapped inside our experience of time. God 00:19:06.769 --> 00:19:10.210 is never rushed. He's never behind and he never 00:19:10.210 --> 00:19:14.289 is panicked by the calendar. Anyone ever popped 00:19:14.289 --> 00:19:16.009 on your calendar and went, oh my goodness, that's 00:19:16.009 --> 00:19:22.309 next week? Never with God, never. We measure 00:19:22.309 --> 00:19:26.430 time by clocks and calendars. God measures time 00:19:26.430 --> 00:19:32.130 by purpose. What he's trying to accomplish, what 00:19:32.130 --> 00:19:36.390 he's doing. And then Peter says this kind of 00:19:36.390 --> 00:19:39.609 central claim. The Lord does not delay his promise. 00:19:40.140 --> 00:19:43.039 as some understand delay, but is patient with 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:46.359 you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come 00:19:46.359 --> 00:19:49.039 to repentance. In other words, what looks like 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:52.819 delay to us is not delay to God. What looks like 00:19:52.819 --> 00:19:56.160 absence is not neglect. What looks like silence 00:19:56.160 --> 00:19:58.940 is not indifference. This is one of the most 00:19:58.940 --> 00:20:01.119 hope -filled verses in all the New Testament. 00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:06.160 The delay is not because God has forgotten his 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:10.849 promise. The delay is not because God has forgotten 00:20:10.849 --> 00:20:14.529 his promise. Jesus returning is not delayed because 00:20:14.529 --> 00:20:19.789 God got busy cleaning the house. The delay of 00:20:19.789 --> 00:20:24.970 Jesus' return is because God is still wanting 00:20:24.970 --> 00:20:31.190 to extend mercy. That's why he's delayed. God 00:20:31.190 --> 00:20:36.420 is still wanting to extend mercy. And that means 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:39.359 the time in between, between the promise and 00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:42.500 its fulfillment, between Christ's ascension and 00:20:42.500 --> 00:20:44.700 the angel saying he will surely come back this 00:20:44.700 --> 00:20:47.920 way and Christ's actual return from glory with 00:20:47.920 --> 00:20:50.220 all of the angels of heaven and the glory of 00:20:50.220 --> 00:20:52.579 God shining around him. The time in between that 00:20:52.579 --> 00:20:59.779 you and I live in, it's a time of mercy. Every 00:20:59.779 --> 00:21:04.079 passing year is not evidence that God has failed. 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:08.500 It is evidence that God is still inviting one 00:21:08.500 --> 00:21:18.160 more. Every sunrise is grace. I've spent many 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:20.759 sunrises, many times in the morning, cup of coffee, 00:21:20.799 --> 00:21:23.740 and just a silent prayer, thanking God for another 00:21:23.740 --> 00:21:28.779 day. Thanking God for another day to live. But 00:21:28.779 --> 00:21:31.140 this verse reshapes that prayer a little bit. 00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:34.859 Now I want to spend every morning remembering. 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:39.000 If I see another sunrise, I want to remember 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:41.460 the grace and mercy of my God. And I want to 00:21:41.460 --> 00:21:43.660 remember and catch the next sunrise and remember 00:21:43.660 --> 00:21:48.900 that it only came up today again because God 00:21:48.900 --> 00:21:51.400 still wants to display his mercy to someone. 00:21:54.259 --> 00:21:58.000 Every breath and opportunity, every moment is 00:21:58.000 --> 00:22:04.440 repentance still being offered. But yet, even 00:22:04.440 --> 00:22:07.599 in light of that, and as wonderful as that sounds, 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:11.420 Peter refuses to let us turn God's patience into 00:22:11.420 --> 00:22:17.059 complacency. Because the very next verse, after 00:22:17.059 --> 00:22:19.180 he says God is patient with you and he wants 00:22:19.180 --> 00:22:21.900 you to come and he wants no one to perish but 00:22:21.900 --> 00:22:23.900 everyone to come to repentance, the very next 00:22:23.900 --> 00:22:27.480 verse says, but the day of the Lord will come 00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:34.309 like a thief. What does he mean? Well, when Peter 00:22:34.309 --> 00:22:38.309 talks about the day of the Lord, he's not introducing 00:22:38.309 --> 00:22:42.490 some new idea. He's drawing on a phrase that 00:22:42.490 --> 00:22:46.150 runs all the way through Scripture, in the prophets, 00:22:46.630 --> 00:22:53.130 in the apostles' writing. The Bible talks about 00:22:53.130 --> 00:22:56.930 the day of the Lord as not just a date on a calendar. 00:22:58.160 --> 00:23:02.619 But it is a moment of divine intervention. And 00:23:02.619 --> 00:23:06.599 really, it's a final moment of divine intervention. 00:23:07.980 --> 00:23:12.099 It's the day when God finally confronts evil. 00:23:12.720 --> 00:23:16.940 It's the day when God exposes every person's 00:23:16.940 --> 00:23:22.140 works and words. It's the day when God sets right 00:23:22.140 --> 00:23:27.299 what is wrong. And for some, the scripture says 00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:32.359 that the day of the Lord will be terrifying. 00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:37.019 That's what the scripture says. The day of the 00:23:37.019 --> 00:23:40.359 Lord will be terrifying to some. Some will run. 00:23:40.400 --> 00:23:43.140 This is the image they use. Some will run to 00:23:43.140 --> 00:23:46.480 the hills to escape the glory of the Lord and 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:49.819 his descent to come and judge the world. They'll 00:23:49.819 --> 00:23:52.819 run to the hills. and try to find some clave, 00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:55.079 and they'll begin to pray that the rocks would 00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:57.940 fall in on them to hide them from the glory of 00:23:57.940 --> 00:24:01.599 God in his judgment. For some, the day of the 00:24:01.599 --> 00:24:10.140 Lord will be terrifying. It will mean judgment 00:24:10.140 --> 00:24:16.819 has finally come. It will mean every day that 00:24:16.819 --> 00:24:20.569 they spent saying, I've got time. He's not coming. 00:24:20.769 --> 00:24:24.609 He doesn't care. He doesn't see. I'll do whatever 00:24:24.609 --> 00:24:28.789 I want. All of that will come to its fulfillment. 00:24:29.730 --> 00:24:34.589 All of that will fill full and meet judgment. 00:24:35.869 --> 00:24:38.150 And the day of the Lord for some will be terrifying. 00:24:39.650 --> 00:24:43.190 And then the Bible says, but for God's people, 00:24:43.329 --> 00:24:50.259 the day of the Lord will be good news. Because 00:24:50.259 --> 00:24:54.619 it means deliverance. It means justice finally. 00:24:55.400 --> 00:24:59.539 It means all wrongs right. It means total restoration 00:24:59.539 --> 00:25:03.980 of fallen creation. The day of the Lord is of 00:25:03.980 --> 00:25:09.680 great joy, even as it is for some a day of judgment. 00:25:09.920 --> 00:25:12.319 So when Peter says the day of the Lord comes 00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:15.220 like a thief, what he's saying is it comes unexpected, 00:25:15.579 --> 00:25:22.279 it's decisive, And it's inescapable for all humanity. 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:30.400 And the hope of the Christian is not that this 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:33.240 day will never come. Oh Lord, please don't ever 00:25:33.240 --> 00:25:36.279 bring that day. The hope is the Christian is 00:25:36.279 --> 00:25:42.859 that when the day comes, you and I will be found 00:25:42.859 --> 00:25:48.079 in Christ. Not found in the cleft of a rock. 00:25:49.019 --> 00:25:53.500 hiding from judgment, but found in Christ, the 00:25:53.500 --> 00:25:59.079 lamb who was slain for our sin. The day of the 00:25:59.079 --> 00:26:02.579 Lord is not the end of the whole story, but it 00:26:02.579 --> 00:26:05.900 is the day that God finally brings all of history 00:26:05.900 --> 00:26:12.759 to completion. God's patience does not cancel 00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:16.880 out his justice. God's mercy does not negate 00:26:16.880 --> 00:26:23.549 his holiness. The delay is real, but so is the 00:26:23.549 --> 00:26:29.309 day. And Peter holds these together. God delays 00:26:29.309 --> 00:26:32.589 because he is merciful, but God will come because 00:26:32.589 --> 00:26:40.630 he's faithful. The promise has not expired. It's 00:26:40.630 --> 00:26:42.490 not been abandoned. It hasn't been weakened. 00:26:42.549 --> 00:26:47.789 It is simply not yet complete. If God has been 00:26:47.789 --> 00:26:51.250 patient with the world, then imagine how patient 00:26:51.250 --> 00:26:57.130 he has been with us. Patient as we grow slowly. 00:26:58.430 --> 00:27:03.710 Patient with our repeated failures. Patient with 00:27:03.710 --> 00:27:10.390 our unfinished repentance. The reason that Christ 00:27:10.390 --> 00:27:13.869 has not yet returned is because he has not yet 00:27:13.869 --> 00:27:18.700 run out of mercy. But we cannot take that for 00:27:18.700 --> 00:27:23.299 granted. We cannot live our lives shrugging our 00:27:23.299 --> 00:27:27.339 shoulders. But it should lead us to gratitude 00:27:27.339 --> 00:27:34.299 and humility, to holiness and hope. Number three, 00:27:34.299 --> 00:27:38.299 the final point, a future guarantee of hope. 00:27:39.339 --> 00:27:43.359 A world that doubts a God who is patient. and 00:27:43.359 --> 00:27:46.319 a future guarantee of hope. 2 Peter 3, beginning 00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:49.619 in verse 11. Since all these things are to be 00:27:49.619 --> 00:27:52.460 dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort 00:27:52.460 --> 00:27:55.900 of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness. 00:27:56.299 --> 00:27:59.119 as you wait for the day of God and hasten its 00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:02.160 coming, because of that day, the heavens will 00:28:02.160 --> 00:28:04.660 be dissolved with fire and the elements will 00:28:04.660 --> 00:28:08.339 melt with heat. But based on his promise, we 00:28:08.339 --> 00:28:12.180 wait for new heavens and new earth where righteousness 00:28:12.180 --> 00:28:16.759 dwells. Therefore, dear friends, while you wait 00:28:16.759 --> 00:28:19.099 for these things, make every effort to be found 00:28:19.099 --> 00:28:22.680 without spot or blemish in his sight at peace. 00:28:23.599 --> 00:28:27.180 Also regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:30.140 just as our dear brother Paul has written to 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:32.799 you according to the wisdom given to him. He 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:35.019 speaks about these things in all his letters. 00:28:35.140 --> 00:28:37.299 There are some things that are hard to understand 00:28:37.299 --> 00:28:40.099 in them and the untaught and unstable will twist 00:28:40.099 --> 00:28:43.200 them to their own destruction as they also do 00:28:43.200 --> 00:28:46.200 with the rest of scriptures. Therefore, dear 00:28:46.200 --> 00:28:50.000 friends, since you know this in advance, be on 00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:52.680 your guard so that you are not led away by the 00:28:52.680 --> 00:28:56.099 error of lawless people and fall from your stable 00:28:56.099 --> 00:28:59.759 position. But grow in the grace and knowledge 00:28:59.759 --> 00:29:02.819 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be 00:29:02.819 --> 00:29:05.839 the glory both now and to the day of eternity. 00:29:08.720 --> 00:29:12.400 After walking us through... the doubts and the 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:15.519 scoffers and reframing the delay of Christ's 00:29:15.519 --> 00:29:18.400 return as mercy. Peter now gets our eyes on the 00:29:18.400 --> 00:29:22.039 future that we are actually waiting for. If you 00:29:22.039 --> 00:29:24.519 are in Christ, there is a future we are waiting 00:29:24.519 --> 00:29:27.440 for, we are looking to, we are longing for. And 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:29.839 he begins with, since all of these things are 00:29:29.839 --> 00:29:31.880 to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what 00:29:31.880 --> 00:29:34.180 sort of people you should be in holy conduct 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:38.980 and godliness. And that word sense matters. It 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:41.960 matters because Peter believes all of this is 00:29:41.960 --> 00:29:46.119 clarifying for the Christian. It brings our purpose 00:29:46.119 --> 00:29:50.400 and our work into focus. And when the future 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:53.440 is secure, the present no longer needs to be 00:29:53.440 --> 00:29:59.000 frantic. Christian hope is not passive waiting. 00:29:59.720 --> 00:30:05.480 It is active anticipation. But notice what Peter 00:30:05.480 --> 00:30:08.200 does not say. He does not say, escape the world, 00:30:08.299 --> 00:30:13.099 abandon creation, withdraw in fear. Instead, 00:30:13.240 --> 00:30:21.059 he said, we wait. We wait. Based on his promise, 00:30:21.140 --> 00:30:26.240 we wait for new heavens and a new earth where 00:30:26.240 --> 00:30:31.880 righteousness dwells. The Christian story. does 00:30:31.880 --> 00:30:35.759 not end with God throwing the world away. It 00:30:35.759 --> 00:30:39.640 ends with God making the world right. It ends 00:30:39.640 --> 00:30:43.500 with the promise in Isaiah fulfilled of a new 00:30:43.500 --> 00:30:46.640 heavens and a new earth where righteousness dwells. 00:30:46.700 --> 00:30:50.599 It ends with the prophet's hope of a restored 00:30:50.599 --> 00:30:54.259 creation and the gospel's destination, which 00:30:54.259 --> 00:30:58.359 is a new heavens and new earth. A world where 00:30:58.359 --> 00:31:02.079 righteousness is no longer resisted, no longer 00:31:02.079 --> 00:31:06.140 mocked, no longer set aside or partial, but right 00:31:06.140 --> 00:31:12.079 at home. It dwells there. And because that future 00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:15.339 is coming, Peter says, we live now in holiness 00:31:15.339 --> 00:31:20.579 without panic. And we live in godliness without 00:31:20.579 --> 00:31:23.779 terror. And we live in peace rather than anxiety. 00:31:24.819 --> 00:31:28.779 And while we wait for these things, we make every 00:31:28.779 --> 00:31:34.720 effort. What does every effort mean? How much? 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:38.880 Every effort. All that is within your power. 00:31:39.789 --> 00:31:44.650 Make every effort to be found without spot or 00:31:44.650 --> 00:31:51.329 blemish in his sight at peace. That's where you 00:31:51.329 --> 00:31:56.569 and I want to be when the clouds rend open and 00:31:56.569 --> 00:31:59.769 the glory of the Lord shines and the Lord with 00:31:59.769 --> 00:32:03.049 10 ,000 times 10 ,000 angels begins to descend 00:32:03.049 --> 00:32:05.990 on this earth. You want to be found spotless 00:32:05.990 --> 00:32:08.390 and blameless at peace in the presence of Jesus, 00:32:08.450 --> 00:32:11.559 I promise you. That's what you want, that's what 00:32:11.559 --> 00:32:17.640 I want. And Peter says, make every effort, every 00:32:17.640 --> 00:32:25.640 effort to be found there. Peter acknowledges 00:32:25.640 --> 00:32:27.539 that scripture can be hard to understand. He 00:32:27.539 --> 00:32:29.640 even highlights Paul, which is funny, right? 00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:32.039 If some of you have ever read Paul, Galatians 00:32:32.039 --> 00:32:34.140 or Romans or whatever, and you went, man, this 00:32:34.140 --> 00:32:35.940 guy's weird and I don't understand it, right? 00:32:36.299 --> 00:32:39.109 Peter's like, yeah, me neither sometimes. But 00:32:39.109 --> 00:32:41.509 it's okay because, you know, just keep reading 00:32:41.509 --> 00:32:43.890 it. Let the Spirit speak. Let the Spirit move 00:32:43.890 --> 00:32:46.190 in your heart. But whatever you do, you cannot 00:32:46.190 --> 00:32:50.029 dismiss it. Not understanding the Scripture does 00:32:50.029 --> 00:32:51.869 not give you permission to twist it or drift 00:32:51.869 --> 00:32:55.369 away from it. And instead, it actually says, 00:32:55.450 --> 00:32:58.170 we should grow in the grace and knowledge of 00:32:58.170 --> 00:33:02.329 Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. And notice 00:33:02.329 --> 00:33:06.430 he does not just knowledge, but grace. And not 00:33:06.430 --> 00:33:11.329 just grace, but knowledge. Some of us love to 00:33:11.329 --> 00:33:13.309 grow in grace, but we don't grow in knowledge 00:33:13.309 --> 00:33:16.630 at all. You might call some of us intellectually 00:33:16.630 --> 00:33:20.650 lazy. We simply, yeah, that's for someone else. 00:33:21.309 --> 00:33:24.529 I just want to sit in the grace of God and just... 00:33:24.529 --> 00:33:28.130 And others, man, you grow in knowledge. You got 00:33:28.130 --> 00:33:30.549 the newest, best doctrine. You read the book, 00:33:30.569 --> 00:33:32.269 right? And you can slam someone and tell them 00:33:32.269 --> 00:33:34.069 how incorrect they are, but you have no grace. 00:33:35.430 --> 00:33:38.289 Peter says, grow in grace and grow in knowledge. 00:33:38.960 --> 00:33:42.059 Growing grace. Well, why growing grace? Because 00:33:42.059 --> 00:33:47.000 a growing faith is a stable faith. A growing 00:33:47.000 --> 00:33:50.960 faith is a faith whose roots go out and go deep 00:33:50.960 --> 00:33:53.519 and stay rooted even when the storms of life 00:33:53.519 --> 00:33:55.960 come, even when the scoffers come, even when 00:33:55.960 --> 00:33:58.740 those who come to twist the word. If your roots 00:33:58.740 --> 00:34:02.160 are deep and settled, if you grow in grace and 00:34:02.160 --> 00:34:05.339 you grow in knowledge, you can spot what is false. 00:34:06.089 --> 00:34:08.429 You can call it out and you are not blown here 00:34:08.429 --> 00:34:11.110 or there by every wind of teaching that comes. 00:34:13.750 --> 00:34:16.269 Actually this year, and we'll be talking about 00:34:16.269 --> 00:34:18.110 it in a little bit, but this year we're gonna 00:34:18.110 --> 00:34:20.309 be launching in a couple months something called 00:34:20.309 --> 00:34:22.150 Growth Tracks. And Growth Tracks are just an 00:34:22.150 --> 00:34:24.389 opportunity for anyone here at Village to kind 00:34:24.389 --> 00:34:27.130 of hop in the stream and begin to grow in grace 00:34:27.130 --> 00:34:29.369 and knowledge. And we'll grow together and we'll 00:34:29.369 --> 00:34:31.090 keep growing and we'll grow. You never graduate. 00:34:31.170 --> 00:34:33.730 You always grow in grace and knowledge. And we're 00:34:33.730 --> 00:34:35.849 gonna give an opportunity that's gonna come out. 00:34:35.889 --> 00:34:38.349 We'll talk a little bit more about it in January, 00:34:38.389 --> 00:34:41.070 January 11th. But growth track's coming up so 00:34:41.070 --> 00:34:46.250 that we grow stable in our faith. And where does 00:34:46.250 --> 00:34:48.090 Peter close this? Well, he closes it with worship. 00:34:48.789 --> 00:34:52.630 To him be the glory both now and to the day of 00:34:52.630 --> 00:34:58.860 eternity. where the sermon will end, because 00:34:58.860 --> 00:35:04.000 the first advent reminds us that God came in 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:07.940 the flesh. And the last advent, and advent is 00:35:07.940 --> 00:35:11.139 just another word for the coming, the arrival. 00:35:11.679 --> 00:35:15.679 The last arrival assures us that God will finish 00:35:15.679 --> 00:35:19.539 what he started. And that the same Jesus who 00:35:19.539 --> 00:35:22.480 entered our world in humility will return in 00:35:22.480 --> 00:35:26.230 glory. And the same Jesus who came to forgive 00:35:26.230 --> 00:35:33.449 will come again to judge and restore. The same 00:35:33.449 --> 00:35:35.510 Jesus who stepped into darkness will one day 00:35:35.510 --> 00:35:40.469 remove darkness forever. And so we who are in 00:35:40.469 --> 00:35:43.889 Christ, we do not fear the turning of the calendar. 00:35:43.969 --> 00:35:48.170 We do not fear another year come. We who are 00:35:48.170 --> 00:35:53.059 in Christ do not dread the future. We wait. We 00:35:53.059 --> 00:35:57.199 wait not with anxiety. We wait not scoffing, 00:35:57.199 --> 00:36:01.820 but we wait in hope. And while we wait, we make 00:36:01.820 --> 00:36:06.960 every effort to remain spotless and blameless 00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:09.719 at peace in the presence of Jesus.