2 PETER 3 STIR UP YOUR MIND TO REMEMBER2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 2 Peter 3 Stir Up Your Mind To Remember

You are listening to Fervent Word, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2017.

This morning, as we look at 2 Peter chapter 3, Peter is talking about some things that we have known but need to be reminded of.

I've titled the message this morning, "Stir Up Your Mind to Remember." It's not some new radical truth that you've never heard before that is the secret to everything that you need in life coming easily and without suffering and without any hurt or heartache or everything to just, you know, happen easily without effort for you.

That's not what Peter has to share. Instead, he wants to remind us of the things that we've already heard and already learned. There used to be the practice way back in the day where you would tie a string around your finger. Now, when I say way back in the day, I mean even before my time. So, but of old,

in the 1800s, it's, you know, it was a common thing, they say, that you would tie a string around your finger, and it would serve as a constant reminder that, oh, yeah, there's a string on my finger. Why is there a string on my finger? Oh, I need to pick up milk, you know, on the way home, or I need to make sure I get that done. Or someone looks at you and says, hey, why is there a string on your finger?

Well, you know, here's, it's a reminder. And I forget the name of the book that I think at first that phrase first occurred, and it was something like My Wife's Full of a Husband, that kind of, you know, that kind of. So, like, wives would tie strings around the husband was the point that, you know, honey, I need you to remember this is what needs to be done.

And so it would be this constant reminder throughout the day. Oh, yes, I have to make sure to get that done. And what Peter is asking us to do is something similar. He's saying, look, I'm tying a string around your finger. He says in verse one, I've written the second epistle and the first epistle, both of them, to stir up your minds by way of reminder,

to remind you of things that you have learned and things that you have known. Reminders were really important to Peter. In 2 Peter chapter one, just a couple of chapters earlier, he talks about the importance of reminders. He says in verse 12, he says, I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things,

though you know and are established in the present truth. He says, you know the truth, and you're even established in the truth, but I'm making it my mission to remind you of those things that you know. And he says it'sright in verse 13 of 2 Peter chapter one, as long as I'm in this tent, this body, he says, to remind you.

But he also goes on to say, I know I'm going to die soon. And so he says in verse 15 of 2 Peter one, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease. Peter says, I'm going to die. I'm not long in this life. I have just a short time left.

And so I'm going to keep reminding you for the short time that I have left. But I'm also going to make sure to set up that you have reminders so that after I'm gone, you still get reminded of these things. And how did he do that? Well, he did that by writing out 1 Peter and 2 Peter.

He gave them reminders so that they could look back and remember the truths that they had known and been taught. And I think our tendency would be that, oh, we would love it if there was some radical new secret truth, that all you got to do is just learn this truth, you know, learn this one thing, these three secrets,

and then your life is just beautiful and without pain and without difficulty and without hardship. And, you know, if you just would learn this one new thing that's, you know, never before been revealed, but now here it is. And of course, we would be drawn to that. We would love that. But there's an old saying that goes like this, if it's true, it's not new.

And if it's new, it's not true. The reality is that what we need most is to hold on to the things that have already been revealed. And that's what Peter is saying. He's saying, look, you guys know the truth, you have the truth, and you have what you need.

But there is a tendency to forget those things and for those things to be lost in the busyness of life and in the pressures that we face, that those truths that we have known and heard are lost. And there needs to be that stirring up, that reminding ourselves of the things that we know to be true, that we would hold fast to them.

And so this morning, I want to encourage you to stir up your mind to remember and hold fast to those things. And Peter gives us five things to remember as we work our way through this passage here in 2 Peter chapter three, five things to remember, starting with the first one found in verses one and two. Remember the words that the Lord has spoken.

Remember the words that the Lord has spoken. Again, Peter says, I'm writing in verse one, he says, Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle, in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder. Peter wants to stir them up. He wants to have them. You remember those things that you learned?

They're kind of just like laying there dormant. You kind of need to shake it up, stir up, bring those things back to the top. They've kind of settled on the bottom. They've settled on the back burner. They've settled, you know, on the back shelf, and they're not being used. You're not living according to the things that you already know to be true.

You've kind of forgotten those things. And there needs to be a stirring up, a shaking up, that those truths would be once again on the forefront of your mind and the focus of your heart. And what is it that he wants to stir up in our minds? It is the scriptures, the word of God. He says in verse two,

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. He says, I want to shake up your mind. And when your mind is shaken up, here's what it should be full of.

It should be full of the words that the Lord has spoken. What should be on your mind? The word of the Lord. He says, be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets. In that, Peter is referring to what we would call as the Old Testament.

There we have the record of what the prophets of the Lord brought forth to the nation of Israel. We have the record of Moses in the first five books of the Bible, the Old Testament. There we have, you know, the record of the nation of Israel and their being brought into existence and how God delivered to them his commandments and brought to them the plan of salvation.

We have the history of the nation of Israel and the prophets who called Israel back to repentance and all the while paving the way for the Messiah, Jesus Christ, to come, the holy prophets. We have their writings. We have their works here in the Old Testament. And Peter says, I'm here to stir you up,

to remind you of what the Old Testament says. I'm here to remind you and stir up your mind that you would be mindful of the words of the prophets. That's important. You need to be mindful.

And I would ask you to consider what can you do to be mindful of the words of the prophets? Is there any way that you can keep their words in your mind? Is there any way that you can keep their words on your heart?

Is it possible at all? And a simple answer to that is yes, because we have it recorded. And by reading what they have written, we can be reminded of what they have said. Radical new truth,right? I mean, this just blew your mind.

You mean I can read the Bible? Yes, you can read the Bible, and it will help you to remember the things that you have learned and been taught and need to be freshened in your mind and to be alive in your heart once again. Not only that, but he talks about the New Testament. He says to be mindful of the words which are spoken,

not just by the holy prophets, but also by the apostles of the Lord and Savior, the apostles of Jesus Christ. We have their writings as well. We call it the New Testament. We have the record of the life of Jesus in the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and John. We have the record of the early church and what the apostles did in the book of Acts.

And then we have the writings of the apostles and all the letters that follow, including this one here, 2 Peter. We have their words. And so what can we do to be mindful of the words of the apostles? Is there any way that we can know what they said and be reminded of what they said? And yes, absolutely.

We can be reminded of these truths by reading what was written for us, both in the Old and in the New Testament. And we need both. There is a tendency sometimes for us as believers to just kind of stick with the New Testament, to just, you know, stay in that area.

And that is better than not spending time with God and his word at all. But it's also not the complete picture. I understand the Old Testament takes some effort to read and to work through, but Peter would say, but you need to be reminded. You need to put in that effort.

It's going to take some effort on your part to understand the progression of the revelation of God. And as he reveals himself to the nation of Israel and the work that he does, yes, it takes some effort to understand the context. But Peter says, I need to remind you of these words that are contained there. There's important truths about God.

There's important things that you need to understand about the nature and character of God from what the prophets wrote, as well as what the apostles wrote. I like the way that A.W. Tozer puts it. He says, nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian. This is what we need to be a whole Christian, to be complete.

We need the whole scriptures, the things that were written by the holy prophets, as well as the things written by the apostles. Both are the words of the Lord. And so Peter says, remember the words the Lord has spoken. You know, it's that time of year again.

We're finishing up November. We're heading into December. 2018 is justright around the corner. It's not even like around the corner. It's just like the next step. You know, we'reright there on the edge of this new year.

And every year around this time, I begin to call us to be thinking about what is your Bible reading plan for this coming year?

Because I think this is something really important for us to be paying attention to and to be intentionally planning out that we would have a purposeful plan to read through the scriptures on a consistent and regular basis. We are working our way through the Bible in three years currently as a congregation.

And some of you have joined in with us. Some of you have not. Some of you were with us, but have fallen out. And that is just part of, you know, life, that there is the comings and goings of people and their commitment to spending time in God's word.

But now we have a new opportunity, and I want to encourage you to be thinking about and planning and preparing what does God want you to do as far as interacting with his word and spending time with him in his word as we head into this new year? Like I said,

we're going to be finishing the Bible in three years in this next month. And that's exciting. So we have, you know, 2015, 2016, 2017. We've been working our way through from Genesis through Revelation. And I would encourage you to be praying about one option. One opportunity is, well, we're going to be starting that over.

And once again, in January, starting the book of Genesis and from 2018 to 2020, 2018, 2019, 2020, going through the Bible in three years again. And by the end, if you go through it with us, you'll have 2020 vision in 2020 as you finish reading through the Bible in three years, that you'll have gone through,

spiritually speaking, you know, the whole council of God. And it's a great opportunity for you to be reminded of what the holy prophets, as well as the apostles, have written.

This is important for all of us. We need to be engaged in the word of God and have these things refreshed in our minds. Now, as we head into this new year and this new starting again, the Bible in three years, we are also working on some alternate options. And so there's going to be a few different ways.

And so, you know, different, you don't have to. That's not the only, you know, authorized plan of God to read through the Bible. There's many plans of God to read through the Bible. But the main thing is for you to seek the Lord on what he wants for you. What does God want you to do in relationship to his word? What does he want you to do in spending time with him?

Whatever you choose to do, make sure you set yourself up to remember the words that the Lord has spoken. Remember what Paul wrote in 2 Timothy chapter three, verse 16. He says, all scripture is given by inspiration of God. And your mind is just blown,right?

This was a verse you never knew was in the Bible before, ever. You haven't even ever read this verse. This is the first time you've ever read this verse in your whole life,right? Probably not. You've probably read this verse hundreds of times, perhaps. And yet it's a truth that we need to be reminded of. Listen, all scripture is given by inspiration of God,

not just your favorite scriptures, not just the most pleasant scriptures, not just the scriptures that you love or the ones that minister to you the most you feel. Or all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable. You need it. It's beneficial. It is necessary for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness,

that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work, complete and thoroughly equipped. This is what the scriptures are for, that you and I would be built up and ready for whatever God has for us and whatever this life holds.

It's the word of God that prepares us for those things and gives us what we need to handle the situations that we face. All scripture is given by inspiration of God. So remember the words that the Lord has spoken. If you've read the Bible before, don't get it in your mind that great.

You completed that. Check that off. Now I don't need to read the Bible anymore. Now we need to go back and remember and then go back and remember and go back and remember. It's going to be a lifelong endeavor of stirring up our minds to remember what the Lord has spoken.

So again, I would ask, what is your Bible reading plan for 2018? What are you going to do? How are you going to work your way through the word of God, spending time with him and remembering what he has said? Well, moving on to verses three through six, we have point number two, and that is, remember that God has judged the world before.

As you remember what the Lord has spoken, as you remember what the holy prophet said, and remember the things that the Lord has said, Peter says, you also need to remember that there has been a worldwide cataclysmic judgment that has taken place before. Now, it's particularly important to remember this because, well,

Peter is talking about scoffers that will come ridiculing this whole idea of judgment by God. Check out verse three. He says, knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts and saying, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep,

all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. So he says, you need to remember, stir up in your mind and grab hold of these truths that the holy prophets and the apostles have spoken, because there is going to be opposition. There is going to be scoffers who come against these truths,

who come against what God has said and mock it and ridicule it.

And it's not going to be popular, and it's going to be scoffed at. As the people say, where is the promise of his coming? The scoffers, those who would mock or question or ridicule, they say,

look, Jesus said that he would come back,right?

Let me check the time. Yeah, it's been over 2000 years since he said he would come back. Where is he? He's not coming back. Are you crazy? You're crazy for believing that. You're crazy for thinking about that. You're crazy for living your life that way. And scoffers will come, Peter said. And that is the reality.

He said this 2000 years ago also, that scoffers would come. And well, that is proven to be true. There are scoffers and those who come against and mock and ridicule this idea of Jesus Christ coming again.

As they scoff and they ridicule, they say, look, since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. Things are just carrying along. God's not intervening. There's no massive judgment.

There's no, you know, intervention from God to deal with wickedness or to deal with these situations that that's not really happening. And there's this scoffing, there's this mocking at this promise of God, of the return of Jesus Christ and the judgment that is to come.

Peter says, you need to know that in advance and be thinking about that in advance, because as they come against you, well, it's going to be a challenge to hold on to those truths. And you're not going to need to stir up and remember these truths because it's not going to be the popular thing. And there's going to be opposition to what God has said.

Peter gives us a little bit of insight about these scoffers, though. He says in verse three, he says, scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts. Here's the core issue for the scoffer.

It's not so much how hard it is to believe that there is a God or that he has said he's coming again. It's not the difficulty in believing, but it is the difficulty in submitting to that God. The scoffers scoff and they walk according to their own lusts.

They walk according to what they want and their desires and their ideas, and they refuse to be submitted to the will and the word of God. Pastor David Guzik puts it this way.

He says, scoffers do not only have an intellectual problem with God and his word, they also have a clear moral problem, wanting to reject the lordship of Jesus Christ over their lives. And this is the heart of the issue. And there might be some intellectual issues.

There might be some, you know, mental things and some difficult things to believe.

But those are typically just excuses and reasons for them to not feel so guilty about not believing so that they can pursue their own lusts and pursue what they want and be unsubmitted to God and his word. He goes on in verse five to say,

for this they willfully forget, that by the word of God, the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the water and in the water. These scoffers willfully forget, Peter says, they forget something on purpose. They choose not to think about something.

Now he's calling us to choose to think about things and to stir up our memories. While what these scoffers do is they, they, they repress those memories and try to forget and try to forget about the reality that God is the creator of the heavens and the earth.

The psalmist said that the heavens declare the glory of God. Paul tells us in Romans chapter one that all men must give account because of creation. It testifies of the existence of God. But the scoffer, whatever exposure they have to the word of God,

the scoffer willfully forgets the reality that there is a God so that they will not be

submitted to that God. And so they question God's word. They intentionally forget the earth was created at God's word. Here, Peter refers back to Genesis chapter one in verse five, as he says, they willfully forget that by the word of God, the heavens were of old, the earth standing out of water and in the water.

He's referring to Genesis chapter one, verse six. It says, then God said, here comes the word of God.

Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters, describing the formation of the earth. How did it happen? How did it take place? God spoke it into existence.

He spoke it into formation. He, by his word, brought forth all of creation, all of the universe and this world that we live on.

But the scoffers willfully forget that it was by the word of God that these things were brought into existence. He goes on to say in verse six, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. By God's word, the world was brought into existence. He spoke it into existence. And then at God's word,

the world was destroyed with a flood and tells us in Genesis chapter seven, verse 11, in the 600th year of Noah's life, in the second month, the 17th day of the month. On that day, all the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened.

And there it describes the flood that was poured out upon the earth that covered worldwide. The whole earth destroyed very clearly as you read Genesis chapter six, seven, and eight, that the purpose and the whole reason for the flood was because man's heart was evil continually. It was a clear judgment for the wickedness of mankind.

But the righteous man, Noah, was preserved there in the ark, while the rest of the world was judged for their sin and their rebellion against God. Peter says, the scoffers willfully forget. They intentionally forget.

They forget on purpose that it was the very word of God that spoke creation into existence, that also spoke and brought forth this destruction in response to the wickedness of mankind.

They willfully forget as they mock, as they ridicule the promises that God has given that he would return. Remember, he says, that God has judged the world before. You know, it can be pretty easy for us to feel what the scoffers say. It can be easy for us to feel like,

yeah, things just continue and we can enter into this attitude, this mindset that things are just going to keep on continuing, keep on going, just like they always have been. And from our perspective, a very limited perspective, it looks that way. It feels that way.

And that's why it's so important for us to stir up in our minds and be reminded. It's not that way. There is a God and we will give an account to him, and he will deal with the wickedness and unrighteousness that exists on this earth. We must remember we are God's creation,

existing at his word, and he will intervene.

Can you think of any way that we could remember the accounts of creation and the flood? Is there anything that we can do to have these things in our mind again and have them stirred up? We've heard them, we know them. But is there anything that we can do? Let me give you some radical new truth.

Yes, you can read the Bible. Read the Bible. Read through Genesis and be reminded and be refreshed and have those truths stirred up again, because those truths are being challenged.

And there's a lot of pressure around us to forget those truths and to forget those realities. But this is the truth. God spoke the world into existence.

And when it came to a point that mankind was wicked continually, he brought an absolute and utter destruction by the flood upon the earth. And that's really important. As you look at other things that God has said, to see that God's word is fulfilled exactly the way that he says it will be fulfilled.

He said, let there be light. You know what happened? There was light. He said, let the earth be separated from the waters and the waters from the earth. And you know what happened? The earth was separated from the waters and the waters from the earth. He said, I'm going to destroy the earth with a flood. You know what happened?

He destroyed the earth with a flood. He also promised to come again. You can see the track record of God. He is fully and completely consistent with his word. He does what he says he will do. And so that's why as we head into verse seven through ten, we get the third thing to remember,

and that is remember that God promised to judge the world again. Here's why it's important to remember what God has said and what has happened, what God has done already, because he's, well, he's also said other things that have not yet been fulfilled, but you can count on them to be fulfilled.

In verse seven, he says, but the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved, notice, by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. Notice, he says, by the same word.

Peter is reminding us about what we need to be reminded of and the things that need to be on the top of our mind. And it really centers around the word of God. Again, in verse two, he says that you may be mindful of the things or the words which were spoken by the prophets, by the apostles, the things which were spoken, the words of the Lord through his messengers.

He says, the scoffers in verse five willfully forget that it was by the word that the heavens were of old. And it was by that same word that the world then perished, being flooded with water. And it's that same word which preserves the heavens and the earthright now as we read these things.

And that preserving that's happening, it's a reservation. It's a waiting time until the day of judgment. You know why mankind hasn't completely destroyed ourselves and destroyed the planet yet? You know why we haven't done that yet? Because God is reserving and he's preserving for his time for that day of judgment.

It's not going to happen before God's plan is fulfilled. It's not going to happen. It can't happen. It's going to happen when God has planned for it and the way that God has planned for it. It's the same word of God that spoke all creation into existence, that brought the worldwide flood, and that preserves all creation until the day of judgment that he will bring by his word.

The point is, you can count on this, this future judgment that God has declared. It is for sure. No doubt about it. Absolutely certain. This earth, all of creation, is being reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

There is an appointed day, a day of judgment. There's a lot of detail that we could get into, you know, about prophecy and the return of Jesus Christ and the rapture of the church and the timing of all those things. But regardless of all of the details and about how all those fit and how those might fit together, the absolute thing is that it will take place.

We might disagree or have some conversation about some of the little details about the exact timing and sequence of things.

But regardless of those minor differences, the reality is they will all take place. Everything that God has said, his promise to return for the church, that is going to take place. His promise to return and establish his kingdom here on the earth for a thousand years, that is going to take place.

His promise to completely wipe out the heavens and the earth and bring them forth brand new, that is going to take place. The word of God is for sure. We need to be reminded of that because, well, there was a flood, but the world has recovered from the flood.

And you know, a lot of time has passed. Mankind has spread out all throughout the world. And because so much time has passed, it is easy to begin to think, maybe that didn't really happen. That's not going to happen.

Come on, God's going to judge the world with fire. That's not going to happen. It's easy for there to be scoffers who come on the scene, who do not want to submit to God and say, nonsense. That's silliness. Willfully forgetting that there have been previous judgments.

We can get tripped up sometimes about the amount of time that has passed.

Even if we think, yeah, God said it. But you know, oh, that was so long ago.

If I said I was going to take out the trash 30 years ago, you're not going to walk up to me today and say, Jerry, 30 years ago, you were ten years old. You said you would take out the trash. You didn't take out the trash. You're not going to hold me accountable for something I said for 30 years ago,right?

That it's just a lot of time has passed.

Sometimes we feel that way about the things that God has said. Well, yeah, he said it, but that was a long time ago. Peter here is saying, look, it doesn't matter how long ago God said it. His word is true and it will be fulfilled. Check out 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 promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

As Peter is saying, hey, be reminded and stir up and be mindful of the things that God has said. He also says, now, don't forget. Here's something that you must not forget. With the Lord, a day can be like a thousand years and a thousand years can be like a day.

This speaks to us about the perspective on time that God has, and it's different than our own. And we can understand that a little bit because, well, our perspective of time changes, doesn't it?

When you get older, you look back and go, man, those years just flew by. Remember your teenage years? Just like gone. Just like, whoa. But if you will rewind in your mind and relive some of those teenage moments,

you'll remember at that time it felt like this is never going to end. I am never going to get out of high school. I'm never going to get a girlfriend. I'm never going to get a job. You know, like this class is never going to end. You know, you're just sitting and watching the clock and it's like time has stopped. Takes forever. Your parents say, yeah, we're going to do that next year.

Next year I might as well be dead. I mean, it's like that's never going to happen.

Now you say we're going to do that next year. Like, allright, that soon. That's great. Awesome. You know, your perspective on time changes.

God has a different perspective on time than we do. And so, yeah, he might have said something a thousand years ago. He might have said something two thousand years ago. He might have said something six thousand years ago.

But then it's never that he treats it as, well, that was a long time ago. I said that. I didn't really mean it when I said it, you know? So that's not the way that God works. It's not a long time as far as God's concerned. What are you talking about? It's been a long time. It's only been a couple thousand years. You know, that's God's perspective is quite different than our own.

But the point is, don't forget that and start to think that God is not going to fulfill his word. God's not going to do what he said because so much time has passed. No, Peter says, God is not slack concerning his promise. He's not forgotten that promise. He's still holding on to it.

You remember Abraham and Sarah,right? God had promised them a son.

About ten years goes by and they're like, still no son. Hmm. Maybe God forgot. Maybe God needs help. And so they came up with their own plan, gave Hagar, Sarah's handmaiden, to Abraham to have children that way and produce Ishmael. And God said, that's not what I had planned. Here's Isaac.

Here's the fulfillment of what I originally promised. Yeah, a decade passed, but that didn't eliminate the promise that I had given. That didn't change what I had said I would do. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise. Even if a decade passes or a thousand years pass, God's not slack.

Instead, he's long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. God has promised that he would judge the world again. It will be judged with fire and iniquity and sin and wickedness will be dealt with. Why hasn't God done that yet?

Because he's long suffering, Peter says, because he is incredibly patient with us. He's not anxious to bring judgment upon the wicked. He's not eager and excited, like, I can't wait to beat those guys.

He is giving people every opportunity that he can to come to repentance and receive his mercy and grace and escape that judgment. And so he is incredibly patient. He's long suffering. He will be fulfilling his promise.

It is going to happen. It's guaranteed. But he's waiting for theright time where the maximum amount of people will respond to his message and his offer of forgiveness. I like what Charles Spurgeon said about this. He says, we are puzzled at the long suffering which causes so weary a delay.

One of the reasons is that we have not much long suffering ourselves. We think that we do well to be angry with the rebellious. And so we prove ourselves to be more like Jonah than Jesus.

That one deserves a little bit of meditation, I think. Maybe jot that down and consider that this week. We prove ourselves to be more like Jonah than Jesus. Remember Jonah? God said, hey, go bring this message of judgment to the Ninevites. The Ninevites were a wicked people. They deserved God's judgment.

And Jonah, he would not go. He ran the other way. And he tells us why. He says, because God, I knew you're gracious and long suffering. And if they repented, that you would give them that opportunity to repent and you would not bring judgment. And I want them to be judged.

So many times we can be more like Jonah than Jesus. I don't want people to have the opportunity for repentance. I want them to be judged. But Jesus is long suffering. He's made a promise. He is going to bring judgment.

But he is so patient because he wants people to be saved. God said in Ezekiel chapter 33, as I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live, turn, turn from your evil ways.

For why should you die, O house of Israel? That's God's heart. That's why he waits. It doesn't negate his promise. It doesn't water down his promise. He will fulfill his promise. And don't forget, God has promised to judge the world again.

In verse ten, he says, 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.

This day of the Lord is going to come and there's going to be a great fiery judgment. When God flooded the earth, he said, never again will I destroy the earth with a flood. The next time he destroys the earth, it's going to be with fire. He said it.

He's promised it. It's going to happen. And Peter says, it's going to come like a thief in the night. That's a specific illustration that's used throughout the scriptures to say it's going to be a surprise. The thief in the night does not call you ahead of time and say, hey, I just want to let you know, 2 a.m., I'm going to be there.

It'd be nice if you guys just kind of cleared out, maybe go to stay at a hotel or something. I'm going to go in. I'm going to take what I want. The thief doesn't schedule it and notify you in advance. You know, you don't get a notice on your door. They just come in. It's a surprise. You're not expecting it. That's how the Lord's going to come back.

The fulfillment of this promise, it's going to be a surprise. It's going to catch people off guard.

And they're going to think, yeah, it's been so long. They didn't have their minds stirred up. They didn't remember that God had promised this. Remember that God has promised to judge the world again. Jesus has promised to come again. After that, the world is going to be judged with fire. These promises were given a long time ago,

but it doesn't change how sure they are. They are still for sure. They are still guaranteed. They are still going to take place. Thomas Constable, the commentator, says, it doesn't matter if he gave his promise yesterday or a thousand years ago. He will still remain faithful and fulfill every promise.

That is the word of God. You can count on that.

Can you think of any way that you could be reminded of the promises that God has given? Is there anything that you can do to take the promises that God has given and put them in your mind again and think about them again and stir them up and have them be fresh in your mind? Is there any way that you can do that?

Again, I would ask you to consider what's your Bible reading plan as we head into this new year? Get into the word of God. You need to be reminded of these truths, not only because they're easily forgotten, not only because there's opposition and scoffers who come against it, but number one, they are true.

They are for sure. It's going to take place. And so we need to be prepared for what God has said. And that leads us now to verses 11 through 16 for the fourth thing to remember. And that is, remember to be ready for Jesus.

Listen, it's important to be reminded of these things and be engaged with the word of God so that the words that the Lord has spoken are on your mind and the promises that he's given and the ways that he's worked in the past.

All of this is really important for us to help us be prepared for the return of Jesus Christ. Check out verse 11. He says, therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and 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.

Why should we remember all these things? Why should we put these things on our minds? Why should we work our way through the Old Testament and the New Testament? Because it helps us to prepare for Jesus. He says, since all of these things will be dissolved, since all of this is going to take place,

since this is what God has said and this is what's going to happen, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness? You see, knowing these things and being mindful of these things help you to have holy conduct. It affects the way that you live.

I was thinking about the psalmist in Psalm chapter 73. He says, you know, my feet had almost stumbled. My steps had nearly slipped.

He said, as I looked at the wicked, it really looks like they're getting away with everything. They're ripping people off. They're doing what they want. They're living how they want. And they've got money and their death is easy and painless. And they've got, you know, everything that they could wish for. And they don't have real issues or difficulties like the righteous have.

And they don't have the persecutions like the righteous have. And they don't. And he's looking at the condition and the status of those who rebel against God. And he's comparing it to himself. He's like, I work hard and I'm just barely hanging on by a thread. And here's the wicked person who's just like living it up and has the time of his life every day. Can do whatever he wants.

And he says, my foot almost slipped. I was really discouraged. I was ready to quit. I was ready to give up on God because look how easy they have it and look how hard I have it.

But then the psalmist goes on to say, until I went into the sanctuary of the Lord, and then I understood their end.

You see, understanding their end, understanding what God has declared and what God has said helps us

not only to do what'sright, but to keep on doing what'sright, even when it's so hard. And the people who don't even care about God, don't even walk with God, have it so easy. We can look around. We can find ourselves in the same position as the psalmist in Psalm 73 and be like, it's so hard.

Jerry, you're talking about like reading through the whole Bible. That's so hard. My coworker next to me, he doesn't read the Bible at all. And look, he's getting the promotion. And you know what I mean?

Like, we can easily use that comparison, but we need to understand the end. And when we understand the end, when we understand the promises of God and we remember what God has said, it helps us to live holy lives.

It helps us to be godly as we look, he says in verse 12, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.

As we look forward to the idea of hastening is the idea of an eagerness that we are excited and eager for eternity, for the things that God has said and the things that God will fulfill. There are many times a Christian can be really caught up and perplexed.

Why am I struggling with this issue? Why am I struggling with this unholy conduct? Why am I stuck in this sin? You know, I want to be out of it. And yet many times it happens that every conversation that they have is about their struggle, the things that they read about,

the things that they talk about, the things that they focus on. Everything's about me and my struggle and how hard it is for me and how difficult a time I have. And it's all about me. Where are you looking? Where are you looking?

Are you looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God because you've been stirred up and reminded of his promises?

Ah, there's many times a discouraged person comes. Oh, I blew it. I failed. You know what the Bible says? Confess your sins. He is faithful and just to forgive you. Yeah, but I blew it really badly. Yeah. Confess your sins. He's faithful and just to forgive you. No, no. But I like,

I knew what I was doing and then I did it anyways. I don't think God could forgive me. If we confess our sins, he's faithful. What are you looking at? You see, I'm looking at me and how terrible I am. And that's not helping. Where are you looking? Are you looking at what God has said,

what God has declared, the promises that God has given? You will be complete. He will finish the work that he began in you. He will finish that work. You will be delivered from that issue. You will be set free. Those are what God has said. But do you take what you feel and what you think and what you struggle with as more important than what God has said?

Listen, where you look is where you're going to go. And if you keep looking at your sinfulness and looking at your issue, you're going to keep dwelling and waddling in that. You got to take your eyes off of the muck and put it on what the Lord has said and declared and set your hope there. He says in verse 13, nevertheless, we, according to his promise,

look for a new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. You see, where are we looking? To the new heavens and the new earth. And what is that? It's where righteousness dwells. We're not looking forward to the judgment. God has promised judgment.

The earth is going to be destroyed with fire. And we don't go to all giddy go. Oh, yeah, I can't wait for all those people to be destroyed. No, no, no. If that's your heart, you are not like God. You're like the devil. Okay. That is serious. No, we are looking for what we are looking forward to is the new heavens and the new earth where righteousness reigns,

where God's will is done, where God is glorified. That's what we're looking forward to. We're not excited about the judgment, but the glory that follows, the new heavens and the new earth that God will establish in his righteousness. Again,

in verse 14, he says, therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace, without spot and blameless. As you stir up in your mind this promise of God, of his return, and how he's going to deal with wickedness and unrighteousness, here's how to respond to that.

Be diligent to be found by him in peace and without spot and blameless. Get yourself ready as you hold on to the promises of God and the words of God and what he has said.

As you stir those things up and allow them to be on your mind, it will help you to get yourself ready for the return of Jesus Christ, that you would be found without spot and blameless when he comes.

The Apostle John tells us in First John chapter three, verse three, everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure. When we have this hope of the return of Jesus Christ and being with him, it has this effect on us of purification. So many times we want to set our eyes on the purification.

Allright. What steps do I got to do? Give me the process. Give me the procedure. You know, and I'm trying to purify myself. The Lord says, look to me. Set your hope fully on the glory that is to be revealed to you at the return of Jesus Christ. Stir up in your mind the words of God, the promises of God. Set your eyes on things above, not on things of this earth.

Look to eternity, to look to the Lord. And the result is the purifying of yourself. The result, it impacts your life.

It changes your conduct as you're reminded, as you stir up in your mind the things that God has said. In verse 15 and 16, he kind of gives a little bit of a side note. He says, and consider that the long suffering of our Lord is salvation, 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 are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the scriptures. Peter says, think about the long suffering of our Lord.

It's for salvation. God is extremely patient that we might have opportunity to repent and to come and getright with God. And he says, you know, our brother Paul has written about this also, and he's got a lot of wisdom, so much so that sometimes the things he writes are really hard to understand. Peter says, isn't that interesting?

Sometimes you read the words of Paul and you're like, what does he say? Well, that's what Peter said, too, when he read the words of Paul, that some of those things are pretty difficult. There's a lot of wisdom there, but it requires some patience and seeking the Lord to understand what is being revealed through that. And he says,

you know, some people who are untaught, who are unstable, they twist Paul's words to their own destruction. Paul himself said, people say of us that word teaching that you may as well sin that grace may abound. And Paul says, that's a twisting of my words.

It's a twisting of that's not what I'm saying. Just keep on sinning that grace may abound.

Grace abounds where sin abounds. Grace abounds much more. But that's not a license to just continue living in sin and there'll be more grace. No, that's a twisting. That's a perversion of the truth. So Peter is saying, watch out for those guys. But notice what he says.

He says, they twist to their own destruction as they also do the rest of the scriptures. Here in chapter three, Peter's talking about all these reminders. And intertwined with that is the word of God. He talked about the scriptures in the holy prophets back in verse two,

the Old Testament, the things that the apostles of the Lord Jesus commanded and wrote, and referring to the New Testament, and then now also lumps Paul's letters into that. And so we have the totality of scripture here, the Old Testament and the New Testament, the holy prophets,

as well as the apostles, including the apostle Paul and his letters to the churches found in the New Testament. These are the scriptures. These are the words of God. And again, I would ask, what is your Bible reading plan?

What's your plan to spend time with God and his word as we go forward so that you would remember to be ready for Jesus? Well, let's finish it up. Point number five, found in verse 17 and 18, is to remember to grow in grace and knowledge. Verse 17 says, 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. Amen. He says, okay, guys, beloved, you know this beforehand.

I'm telling youright now, there's going to be scoffers. There's going to be opposition. There's going to be temptation to let those truths settle and be put on the back shelf and be out of your mind.

And that's a dangerous thing because, well, he says, beware, lest you fall from your own steadfastness. There's a danger of being led astray with the error of the wicked.

But he also provides the means, the way to protect yourself from that.

How do you protect yourself from being led away with the error of the wicked? How do you protect yourself from this opposition and pressure? How do you protect yourself? Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The way that you protect yourself from falling away is to grow,

to grow forward, to go forward, to develop in your relationship with God and in your walk with God. And as we finish out 2017, we come towards the end, I would ask you to consider, have you grown this year? Has your relationship with Jesus changed? Are you better?

Are you more developed? Are you more mature? Have you grown in your walk with God this year? How do you grow? Well, let me tell you this radical new secret truth, this key to spiritual growth that will change your life. You never have to do anything. You just have to repeat these five words. No, that's not the way that it works.

How do you grow? Peter tells us in First Peter chapter two, verse two, as newborn babes desire the pure milk of the word that you may grow thereby. How do you grow? By spending time with God in his word.

What's your plan? How are you going to grow this coming year? How are you going to develop? Are you going to spend time with the Lord? Notice he says, grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I think it's important and interesting to note that these two are combined, grace and knowledge.

There's many who grow in knowledge, but not in grace. And sometimes growing in knowledge can turn into legalism, can turn into self-righteousness, like the religious leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And that self-righteousness, we know the word. We know what God said. You know, and there's this self-righteousness that comes with it,

which really perverts the way and the walk with God. But to grow in grace as well as knowledge, we need to grow in knowledge. We need to develop. We need to get to know God more. We need to have a better understanding of who God is. But as we do, and as we learn the scriptures,

as we read through the scriptures, as we allow these things to be stirred up in our minds, there also needs to be the growth in grace.

It's God's goodness towards us that we don't deserve. We never grow out of that place of needing God's grace. We come to the Lord in God's grace, and we must continue in God's grace and always be reminded of our need for God's goodness towards us that we don't deserve.

But then also that grace needs to be extended from us. And that's another area of growth, that we would extend grace to the people around us. Again, like Spurgeon said, we don't even know what long suffering is. That's why the Lord's long suffering is so perplexing to us. We're more like Jonah than like Jesus.

Let's be more like Jesus. Let's grow in grace and knowledge. That's what we need. So what's your plan? How are you going to grow?

How are you going to be reminded of these things that are so essential and so important for us, especially in light of the days that we live in the opposition to the word of God and the things that God has said? How are you going to stay the course and maintain? The only way to do it is to grow, to spend time with God,

to be intentional and deliberate,

filling your mind with what God has said. Remember the words the Lord has spoken. He has judged the world before. He's promised to judge it again. So remember to get ready, investing in your spiritual walk in your life with the Lord, growing in grace and knowledge that you would be without spot and blameless when Jesus returns.

And I've been asking you, what's your plan for 2018 to read? But don't wait till then. Don't wait. You don't have to wait till then. We're going to start over in then. And so in January, but you can startright now. Jump into the word of God. You need to startright now.

It's important that you fill your mind with the things that God has spoken. Let's pray. Lord, as we consider this exhortation from Peter and this call to remind ourselves and be reminded of the things that you have declared, I pray,

Lord, that you would give each one of us a great sense, Lord, of the value and importance of your words and your promises. And Lord, how you do what you say you will do 100% without fail. God, I pray that you would help us to appreciate the value of your words,

Lord, that we might spend time with you reading your words, considering your words, and allowing your word to take root in our lives. Lord, you tell us that your word is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword. It's fresh, even though it was written thousands of years ago.

In many cases, Lord, even though we've read these things and known them many times, Lord, you enable your word to come alive in our hearts and to stir up within us the reminders that are necessary and the truths that we need to hear once again.

And Lord, you're so amazing in how you time that deliberately and perfectly so that we receive from you what we need, the truth that we need for the situations that we face. I pray, God, that you would help us to value your word, but that we might spend time with you in it.

Help us to grow. Help us to seek you. Help us to be ready for your return. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.