What We Really Know # 4

Series: What We Really Know # 4

Review – Prophecy has two functions - to warn, and to encourage!

A. Jesus Christ will come again. If you are not living in fellowship with Him, if you love this present world and are a captive of its pleasures and illusions, then the prophecy is a source of fear for you. But, it need not be. Rather the promise should encourage you, should give you reason to live sacrificially with great devotion.

B. Evil must increase. The spirit of Anti-Christ is already at work in the world and the Bible teaches that as we approach the Coming of the Lord, the man of sin will be revealed to the world.

C. Judgment is a divine appointment that awaits all. For believers it is a time to give an account for the way we used the gifts God gave us. For the unbeliever, it will be a recognition of Who they have rejected and an eternal alienation from God and good!

All Things NEW!

Cars are my weakness. Unlike most people, I enjoy the hunt for a new car. The whole test drive, negotiation, and closing the deal is, to me, a lot of fun. But the best part is getting into that new machine and driving it off the lot. I try to keep the new look as long as possible, but inevitably scratches appear, dents develop, or somebody runs into my car! It’s not just cars that suffer this fate!

Everything from cars, to homes, to relationships, to organizations, to cultures ... will lose the splendor of newness over time! Disintegration and/or decay is part of this fallen world. I’m not real happy when I look in the mirror and see that older guy staring back, but people older than I am tell me, “Deal with it. It’s not going to get better!”

In this series about things in God’s Plan that we really know, there is a promise for each of us. I invite you to turn to the text with me today.

TEXT - 2 Peter 3:3-14 PB 1896

READ

That passage contains Peter’s ‘last words’ to the Church. He uses this chapter to ‘wrap it up.’ He’s a little like like your wife who says, just as you’re headed out the door for a trip, “Did you remember everything?” Then, she runs a list - passport, wallet, tickets, shaving cream ...

Peter says, “Now disciples, I want to leave you with this!”

First, he says, “There will be many who scoff at the idea that Christ will return. Don’t listen to them.” He explains that the promise stands but God is patiently bringing about the fullness of His plans.

Ah, friend, don’t we need to hear that today? So many are letting themselves be tricked into thinking that the here and the now is all there is. If we allow ourselves to get wrapped up in the PRESENT it is entirely likely that we will we lose sight of eternity!

Second, he says, “The Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” This is a theme of the Bible! The ‘day of the Lord,” is a way to speak of that moment when He calls all things to a conclusion. Last week, I spoke about the judgment of that Day. Peter tells us that the first step is desolation.

The Message, a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible, says it this way: "But when the Day of God’s Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment."

Sobering, isn’t it? Many speculate about that moment- how it will come about, will it be a so-called natural disaster like a giant meteor striking the earth, or will it be a nuclear war that consumes civilization? Such speculation is just that! God says that part of His plan is wiping the slate clean, bringing the world as we know it to an End!

At this point, Peter pauses to apply the Truth.

“It’s all going to burn, so attach yourselves to that which is lasting, live holy lives!”

Disciple, we need to hear this - again and again - to keep ourselves from being deceived by the passing things of this world. Beauty, wealth, prestige, comfort, pleasure — as good as they may be, are not the meaning or purpose of life. Those cars that get scratched and break down, those lines on your face - should be a constant reminder of the ephemeral nature of the life you are living!

It is what Peter says next that I want to make our focus this morning, for it is a wonderful promise, a great hope, and a powerful motivator to faithful, Christian living.

Re-read v. 13

Fire is often a symbol of purification in the Scriptures. God is said to cleanse from sin with fire! Peter sees beyond the fire to the renewal and what does he see? “A new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteous.”

The decay that sin introduced to this present Creation will be eliminated, burnt up by the fire of God. And, He’ll build us a home that is brand new!

In the book of the Revelation, John picks up that theme.

TEXT - Revelation 21:1-6 PB 1937

Believer, eternity has been much maligned by people who attach a lot of very silly ideas to the concept of our heavenly home! It is simply wrong to think about sitting around on clouds, strumming harps. It is equally wrong to think that we will be in an endless church service! Then, there are many who conceive of their eternal as a kind of retirement city, where everyone has a house facing the first hole on a golf course rivaling Pebblebeach!

What are we told about that glorious place?

1. It is a place PREPARED for us! Jesus told us, “I go to prepare a place for you and if I go, I will come and take you to be with me where I am.” - John 14 My grandsons came to visit this weekend. We don’t get that privilege very often, so Grandma and I were thinking ahead about how to make their visit fun. I got their little Jeep charged up so they could ride it around the yard. I bought them some things they would enjoy eating. Grandma planned her schedule so she devote more time to them. In short, we made preparations! God is anticipating having us in His home!

2. It is a place where God is always PRESENT and ACCESSIBLE to us!

Our ability to perceive God, to know Him, is subject to many interfering factors, isn’t it? Fatigue, pain, temptation are just a few things that can hinder our ability to worship Him. We all have endured the so-called ‘silences of God,’ when prayer is flat, worship is just an obligation, and the guidance of the Spirit hard to discern.

The fact is that HE is the same, always present. In a Psalm, David says - "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." (Psalm 139:7-10, NIV) And yet, there are those moments, days, sometimes weeks or months, when we cannot perceive His Presence. In the new heaven, God will live among us! We will know Him face to face. It is hard even to imagine.

3. It is a place where God provides PERFECT PEACE and COMPLETE RIGHTEOUSNESS!

Heartbreak is so much a part of our lives, isn’t it?

Love goes wrong. Power corrupts good leaders. Sickness creeps in, death separates. Businesses go broke, floods come.

In our eternal home, John says it beautifully - “God will wipe every tear from our eyes!”

The prophet Isaiah was allowed to see that wonderful time and he said of those who are with God,

“They will not toil in vain or bear children doomed to misfortune; for they will be a people blessed by the Lord, they and their descendants with them. Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear. The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.” (Isaiah 65:23-25).

The corrupted, the sinful, the fallen will be gone. The dents, dings, and disappointments that take the shine out of life will be gone in that new creation! Eden will exist once again — unspoiled by human sin. Everything false will disappear, and everything good and true will prevail. The Bible says, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:27). Time is book-ended by He who declares Himself the “Alpha and Omega” or better to for our understanding, “A to Z” - beginning and end.

Go back with me to Peter’s letter as I close this message.

"So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him." (2 Peter 3:14, NIV)

Are you able to respond to that passage with an affirming nod, with an amen of agreement?

One of the more tragic things that is true of too many Believers is that they have lost sight of the Second Coming and/or of the Promise of Eternal Life. They are earthbound, natural, and without a beacon to guide them through the dark times!

The sure knowledge that Heaven waits is one of the most powerful motivations for godly living. Peter says, “Make every effort to be found....”

If you have ever been part of a legal proceeding you may have experienced something called, “discovery.” The lawyers for both sides take testimony, assemble evidence, and prepare their cases. In the vast majority of cases, the process of discovery ends the suit, with a settlement following as each side realizes the strength and weaknesses of it’s case!

At the return of Christ, we will be ‘found,’ our lives opened like books, our thoughts, words, and actions evaluated by the Court of Eternity, the Perfect Judge. That moment will surely come, Peter says.

So, what does mean for life - right here, right now?

“Be spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him.”

A. God would have us to be free of vice, without blemishes to character brought on by willful disobedience to His Word. Is there willful sin that you are tolerating? Are you abusing Heaven’s grace?

B. God would have us to be without need for correction, with nothing in our lives that would cause us to need to conceal our true lives. Is there reason for accusation, parts of your life that are lacking even the appearance of holiness and/or integrity? Would you want Him to find your in that place?

C. God desires that we live ‘at peace,’ meaning not so much the kind of peace that finds us on the beach on a sunny Summer day, but the kind of peace that is the absence of argument or conflict with others. Are you fighting with God today? Would you want Him to find you in that state?

Disciple -

This world is passing away, but a new heaven and earth are promised!

Jesus Christ offers you a place there, a reservation - confirmed today. Will you accept it?

PRAYER

Benediction:

“Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city."

(Revelation 22:12-14, NIV)

"The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life." (Revelation 22:17, NIV)

"He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."

(Revelation 22:20, NIV)

Jerry D. Scott,