Monday, July 25, 2011
Faith, Heaven, and Your Future, Part 16 of 20
TEXT: "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.' For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water" (2 Peter 3:3-5).
IDEA: Those who live by faith must live by faith in God's time.
PURPOSE: To help listeners recognize that they must live with the reality that God's time is not like our own.
Have you ever had someone mock your faith to your face? What was it like? Did it bother you? Why?
I. Many non-believers think of Christ's second coming as nonsense. Why?
In 2 Peter 3:3-5 Peter responds to taunts that could easily have been uttered last week:
"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.' For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water."
Skeptics argue that Jesus' promise to return to earth again is absurd for two reasons. What are they?
Nothing changes. History isn't going anywhere. It's ridiculous that God would interfere with the smooth running of history.
Deists believe in God, but they don't believe He had much to do with history.
Jesus' promises are empty. Peter's audience could say, "It's over thirty years since Jesus was here and He hasn't come back yet."
Today it has been 2000 years since He made the promise of His return. Does it ever make you wonder if He will return at all?
II. How does Peter respond to those scoffers? He makes two arguments.
God has acted in history and history has changed because of His intervention.
God acted in creation and changed the world from a shapeless mass to order.
The flood made a huge difference when God broke into history to judge the world in Noah's day.
God's past action assures us that God can act in judgment again.
Investment funds have a disclaimer: "past performance does not guarantee future results."
In the case of God, past performance DOES guarantee future results.
God's calendar differs from our calendar.
Calendars mark off what the user wants to keep track of:
Some calendars mark off 15-minute segments of the day.
Most calendars mark off 24-hour periods in the days of a year.
Could you have calendars that mark off months or decades?
God's calendar marks off a 1,000 years as a day. So it has been only two days by God's calendar since Jesus was here.
III. What difference might it make to realize that God's calendar differs from our calendars?
God isn't slow. He is patient. It's dangerous to confuse the two.
We don't get a look at God's calendar. His tomorrow may be today.
