He writes it to the Beloved. He said, this second letter,
Beloved, I write unto you in both letters. I want to stir
you up, your pure minds, by way of remembrance. I want to remind
you of something. Now, he's writing to believers
because he addressed it to them in both letters. Peter, the first
letter, he says, Peter, an apostle, to the strangers scattered throughout,
strangers to Him, people He didn't know, but God knew. He calls
them the elect, according to the foreknowledge of God, through
sanctification of the Spirit, under obedience and sprinkling
of the blood of Christ, those that have been chosen by God. In chapter 2, I mean, the second
letter, He says, this is to them that have obtained like precious
faith with them. This is not to everyone. This
is not to the world. This is not to all men and women. That's the great, great error
that men perpetrate in applying all of God's Word to all people.
It doesn't apply. Most of it applies to God's people. Certainly the epistles did. He
calls them beloved, beloved of God. That's Christ's beloved. He is the beloved and they are
too. Beloved. And he says, I write unto you
in the first and second epistle. And he said, Paul also in his
epistles, in every one of his epistles. Remember that over
there? He said every one of his epistles
he writes the same thing. These must be things we need
to know, things we need to be reminded of. And he said, I want
to stir up your pure mind. That means a mind that's been
purged from, your conscience been purged from dead works,
that truly trust Christ, knows the truth and trust Christ. That means a mind that's not
mixed with race and work. That means a mind that's not
double-minded, like James talked about. A sincere mind. not leavened, but unleavened,
sincerity and truth, true worship. And he said, I want to stir you
up. We need stirring up, don't we? We get lethargic. We get complacent. And God forbid that we do get
lukewarm sometimes. God said, I would that you were
cold or hot. But we, to our shame, we do get
complacent and lethargic, especially when everything's just going
okay. He said, I want to stir you up
by way of remembrance. Look at chapter 1, verse 2. He
said, I'll not be negligent to put you always in remembrance
of these things. Chapter 1, verse 12. I want to
put you always in remembrance of these things. And look at
verse 14, he says, knowing I must shortly put off this my tabernacle
as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. He's going to die.
So his last words here are to us to remind us of some things. And he said in verse 15, I will
endeavor that you may be able after my decease to have these
things always in remembrance. How are you going to do that,
Peter, when you're dead and gone? But I'm going to write this down,
and I'm going to pray that the Lord will not let it be destroyed,
and that the Lord will always bring this up to God's people. We've looked at this one chapter,
chapter 3, more than 15 times since I've been here. That's
over once every two years. That's how important it is. Because
Simon Peter said, you need to always be mindful. Always remember,
don't forget these things. We forget, don't we? We'll hear
a message and it's not a few hours later, we've almost forgotten
it. Alright, verse 2, he says that you may be mindful. Keep
these things in mind, in your mind, in your thoughts. Think
on these things. Isn't that what Paul wrote? Think
on these things. Once everything is pure, just,
holy, Right, a good report. Think on these things. Set your
affection on these things. Be mindful of the words spoken
by the holy prophets and the commandment of us, the apostles
of the Lord Jesus, Lord and Savior. Always be mindful of God's Word,
that's what he's saying. Think on the Word of God. Verse 3, now here's the first
time. Know this, know this, that there
shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts."
The last day. These are the last day. You know
this. You know these things. Didn't
he write that? He said, you know these things. You know these
things before, but I'm going to keep telling you anyway. The
way you remember things is by keep being reminded of those.
Keep being reminded of these things. Keep bringing them up.
Know this first, that there shall come in the last days. These
are the last days. And our Lord said we should be
able to discern the face of the sky very clearly. When you see
the skies red and glowing, you know something's up. He said you ought to be able
to discern the face of the sky clearly. Now since our Lord came,
it's the last day. Alright, that was 2,000 years
ago. People, it's the last of the
last days. There's no doubt about it. I know people have thought
it was the very last days for millenniums, perhaps. But our
Lord in Matthew 24 plainly said, when this gospel is preached
in all the world, it's over. Isn't it? And it's only been
in our generation that this gospel has truly been preached to every
tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation under heaven. Right? Right now. Nobody anywhere hadn't heard
this truth. And we are certainly living in a day of more scoffers
and mockers than I guess in the history of the world. Oh yeah,
you know it's so. You look at some of these... I tell you, I wish I didn't,
but sometimes I do look at all these comments that people make. Or talk, you know, the internet
is just full of people expressing their opinion. Have you read some of the stuff
that they say about religion? They scoff. Have you read some
of it? I advise you to read it and not
read it. You've read it and you know,
it just makes you cringe what they say about God. They say
it's a fantasy, it's a figment of your imagination, it's a foolish
thing. All this religion, this God that
they've made up. Never been a generation, just
50 years ago, nobody would say things like that. You know that?
Just 50 years ago, right? Nobody would say, you can't believe
the things that are going on right now, can you? Just 50 years
ago. Things that are now just blatant. were unheard of. These are the
last days. And our Lord spoke of them plainly,
didn't He, in Matthew 24 and 25, as in the days of Noah? Alright, these are the last days.
Be mindful of that. And that's what He's going to
go on to tell us, that if we really think that these are the
last days, what manner of persons we ought to be. What should we
be doing, thinking about? That's the whole purpose of this.
It's over. For some of you, my, my. And
you're 70. But, you know, all of us, our
days are numbered, aren't they? We don't know. I may go before
Henry. I may go before my dad. It's
happened many times, hasn't it? Right in our midst. We don't
know. The fact of the matter is we
have just a few days, all of us. It's certainly not long before
our Lord comes, so He's reminding us of what we should be thinking
about, give our affection to and our thoughts to. Well, they
say, where's the promise of His coming? Since Abraham and Isaac,
Jacob and all the fathers, David, they fell asleep or died, everything's
the same. It says in verse 5, they're willingly
ignorant of creation. Willingly ignorant. Science is
the greatest hoax ever perpetrated, the so-called science of evolution
and much of biology and geology is the greatest hoax perpetrated
on the human race ever. I'm telling you what, they base
all their findings and their so-called discoveries of man's
origins on a tiny piece of bone about that big. and construct
it into a skull and say, there he is, a pig-head man. In the end, they thought, sir,
I'm telling you the truth. I've studied it long and hard
and they'll find a little piece of bone like that. And the government
is giving these fellas digging up bones. They're giving them
a blank check. So you know they've got to find
something. It's a great hoax. Perpetrated
on the foolish. Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? His creation makes utterly foolish
the so-called findings of this world. Every day they come up
with something else. New planet, earth-like planet
found. Right? Why is that? Why are they doing
it? They don't want to believe there's
a God. A Creator who owns us, who rules
over us, who is sovereign over us, who we answer to, who will
judge sin. Don't want? Don't want to believe. In spite of the clearest of evidence,
they're willingly ignorant. That's what Paul wrote in Romans
1, didn't he? The things that are made are
clearly seen. Without excuse. Without excuse. But, no. They didn't glorify
God, they weren't thankful, it became vain in their imaginations,
their foolish heart was darkened, professing themselves to be wise,
they became fools, changed the glory of God. Worship and serve
the creature, man, more than the Creator who is blessed forever.
Amen to that. So God gave them up. It's all
written right there in Romans 1 why things are the way they
are. Clearly written. God gave them up to themselves. Oh my. Don't be ignorant of that. God made these things. You see
it, don't you? You clearly see it. He blinded the minds of the
people of this world. And then the flood, verse 6,
they're willingly ignorant of, refuse to believe that there
was a flood on the earth and God destroyed all flesh. They've
refused to believe. They believe it's just some kind
of allegory or fable made up, Jewish fable, about some man
gathering animals into the ark. Honestly, that's what probably
90% of the people believe. And you and I, was that a hard
thing for God to do? Gather those animals? And what
a picture. What a picture that is of Christ.
My, my. And he says in verse 7, now what
that was, the ark, and I heard that fool, Robert Shuler. He's dead now, isn't he? No,
not Robert Shuler. Yeah, Robert Shuler. He's dead
now, I think. His son is head of that crystal
cathedral out there. I heard him say one time that
ark is a symbol of God's love to humanity. That's with the religious leaders
of this world. He was the most watched man on
television. Oh, it's a symbol of God's love,
but not to all humanity. It's a symbol of God's love to
His chosen people. It's a symbol of His love. Where
is the love of God found? In Christ, in the heart. The
heavens, verse 7, are now by the same word of God. You know,
God gave the word, let there be light. God gave the word,
let there be a firmament. God gave the word. And God gave
the word for the flood, let it rain. Let man be destroyed. And God gave the word. And so
now the same heavens are kept in store, waiting, reserved unto
fire. against the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men. Now, our Lord Jesus Christ spoke
of this often, didn't He? Fire and brimstone. People scoff
and mock at all talk of fire and brimstone, don't they? They
think that's a wild, itinerant mountain preacher standing on
the corner preaching fire and brimstone, and only ignorant,
uneducated, Appalachian preachers stand up and preach fire and
brimstone. You know who talked about fire
and brimstone? Jesus Christ. the most merciful, and gracious,
and kind, and loving, and caring, and gentle, and meek, and mild,
and humble, and truthful. He is truth. But he said that. Fire and brimstone. It's going
to rain fire now. Well, that's ridiculous, they
said. But beloved, you're not ignorant of that, are you? You
believe that, don't you? Beloved, now look at this, verse 8, don't
be ignorant of this one thing. They say that, see, nothing's
changed. It's been like the same for thousands
of years and it just keeps going on and on and on. He's not coming. Don't you see? He's not coming. We met at a New Year's Eve service
around 2000, didn't we? And you know, when that came
and went, when the New Year came and went, 2000, I could hear
the whole world go, honestly. They didn't know. They
were scared. Oh yeah, they really were. And then 2005, in 2010, here
it is 2016. That's unbelievable. That was like yesterday, 16.
See, we weren't worried. See, He's not coming when you
think He's coming. He's in no hurry. A day is a
thousand years. A thousand years is a day with
the Lord. Time is of no essence. We're such creatures of time.
We have no patience at all. None. I'm 60 years old now and I don't
have any patience. When are we going to learn patience?
I don't guess ever. But the Lord is perfectly patient. He waiteth. And nothing anybody
says or does bothers Him. It's all already been purposed
and planned, and it's going to be carried out at the precise
time when He says it is. Just look at all of them there
hollering at you. I wish I was like that, don't
you? It doesn't mean what anybody says. He's not subject to time. We are. We're totally, completely
subject to and bound by time, not God. A thousand years is
a day. Psalm 90 says that, doesn't it? Our days are like a watch in
the night, like a sleep. A thousand years, and I said,
oh my. And a day is as a thousand years.
It's all the same thing. Verse 9, the Lord is not slack
concerning His promise that He said He's coming, as men count
slackness. But He's long-suffering to us-worth. To who? That's the key to this
verse. You know how people abuse this
verse right here? He's not willing that any should
perish. That's what all false preachers
quote, don't they? All of them quote 2 Peter 3 and
9, abuse it. See, God's not willing that anybody
should perish. He doesn't want you to perish.
He's not talking about everybody. He's talking to His beloved.
Beloved. Don't be ignorant of that. He's
not slack concerning His promise to us. All the promises of God
are what? Yea and Amen. Where are they?
In Christ Jesus. Well, who's in Christ Jesus?
His people. That's who they're to. That's
who they're to. He's not willing that any of
us, any of God's people should perish. And brethren, they won't.
He said, I give unto them eternal life. And what? They shall never
perish. Why won't they? He's not willing. He worketh all things after the
counsel of his will. So whatever he's not willing
to happen, it won't happen. Didn't he say that in John 6?
This is the Father's will. which hath sent me, that of all
that he hath given me I would lose nothing." They're not going
to perish. But look at this. All of them
must come to repentance. Every single one of them. Now,
this ought to give us hope. We want Him to come, don't we? We do. God's people all do. They
really do. We were singing that song, What
a Day. She said, I can't wait for that day. We're going to
have to. But we've got some people we
want to know the Lord. Well, He's not coming yet. So, He's going to bring somebody
else to repentance. He's waiting to be gracious. And I can't wait to see who it
is next. Can't you? Some prodigal son. Wouldn't that
be great? Some prodigal daughter. Wouldn't
that be wonderful? He's waiting to be gracious.
And they're going to come to repentance. They have to. Except
you repent, you'll perish. So he's not willing. And if his people should perish,
they're going to bring them all to hear the gospel. And they're
going to repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ as the Savior of their souls. What a day that'll be. But now, the day of the Lord
will come. See, He's not slack. Time is of no essence to Him.
He's waiting on His elect. Not waiting on them to do anything,
but waiting for the time when He shall bring them according
to His purpose. The day of the Lord will come
emphatically. He said, the day of the Lord
will come as a thief in the night. You remember when Paul wrote
to Thessalonians, he said, that day won't overtake you, we're
not in darkness as others, we're waiting. It's going to come on
people like a thief in the night. If you knew a thief was coming,
you'd be watching wouldn't you? Our Lord said, I'm coming. People
aren't watching. God's people are. And the heavens,
he said in verse 10, will pass away with a great noise. The
elements shall melt with fervor of heat. You know, most people
do believe, people in the world believe there's going to be some
kind of cataclysmic happening, catastrophic thing. Most people do believe that. Most people probably believe
some kind of nuclear Bomb or war is going to happen. No, that's
not what this is talking about. They shall melt with the fervent
heat. No. No, man is not going to destroy himself. God, the
Scripture says, is going to destroy them with the brightness of His
coming. That's what it says. Our God
is a consuming fire. And when He comes, Look at that,
let's see. That is 2 Thessalonians, look
at this, 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, I believe it is. No, no, 1 Thessalonians. If you find it for me, tell me. Oh, there it is. 2 Thessalonians
2, yeah. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 8. And
he says that the wicked will be revealed, and whom the Lord
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy
with the brightness of his coming. Look at the first chapter of
2 Thessalonians, verse 7. To you who are troubled, Oh my,
this world troubles us doesn't it? It does. Rest with us. Why? The Lord's coming. He's coming
for us. He'll be revealed from heaven
with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them
that know not God, that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.
But when He comes, oh my, He's going to be glorified and admired. Glorified in His saints and admired. No, there's not going to be a
second of fear for God's people. Not one second when He comes. Not one second. It will be like
waking up. It will be like waking up your
child and looking in their face Morning. Hello. It's you. Not one moment. But to the world, Scripture says,
men's hearts shall fail. They're going to cry. Bernard used to preach about
the greatest prayer meetings ever going to be held. It's when
the whole world collectively cries for the rocks and hills
to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him. We're already hidden in the rock,
Christ Jesus. And when we come to our death,
it's not going to be... No, no, no, no. He giveth His beloved,
what? Sleep. And He wakes them from the sleep.
And it's going to be glorious. They come to be glorified and
admired when He comes, but oh, for those who don't know Him.
That's why it's such an urgent message. That's what we get.
So, you know. Verse 11, seeing then that all
these things shall be dissolved, what matter of person ought ye
to be? He said, the earth and all the
works in it are burned up. Everything that man has ever
done, everything he's ever worked for, everything we have worked
long and hard for and built, our houses and our lands and
our homes, when you burn something, you will never recover it. It's
gone. Why would we spend so much time
and thought? That's what he said. What manner
of persons ought we to be, seeing that all these things are just
going to be right? I mean, just like that. Nothing wrong with
enjoying this thing. God giveth us all things richly
to enjoy. You know, I think about young
people, not married and want to be married. That's a good
thing. It's a wonderful thing. We witnessed a marriage and it's
a happy, happy occasion. It's a wonderful time. Our Lord
attended that marriage supper. Be happy. Hey, eat wine. Okay.
Make them some wine. They had a big time. This young
couple got married. We wish them well. Cole and Mary,
we wish them well. May they enjoy good things. May they have a happy marriage.
May they enjoy each other. Enjoy it while you can. But remember, it's that quick. Isn't it? That quick. My parents have been
married 70 years. 70 years. That's a long time,
isn't it? That's a love will last. Love
will last. It will. 70 years. But one of them is going to be
gone before the other. Unless. Wouldn't that be wonderful? I've
often thought of going over and turning their gas on. I better edit that. They would love it if I did that.
The point being they want to go together, don't they? Been
together 70 years. One of them is going to be gone. And that 70 years is going to
seem like that. Where did the time go? Where did the time go? And those years after that would
be the longest and the loneliest walk there. So who do we really need to be
married to? Waiting on our bridegroom. Waiting on our bridegroom to
come for us. Said he's coming. Looking in
all holy conversation and godliness, holy means devoted, consecrated
to God, thinking about the Lord. Conversation means you walk and
you talk and your conduct, it means your whole pursuit of what
you're pursuing, your walk, what you're going after and what you
talk about. Conversation means just that, what you talk about.
and godliness, Christ-likeness. Oh my, how our Lord filled every
day with service toward His people. And what a happy man He was.
What a content man. Most of our unhappiness is because
we serve ourselves. It really is. And it can't be satisfied. Verse
12, "...looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of
God, where the heavens will be on fire, dissolved, elements
melt with a fervent heat, looking for and hasting, Hasting, looking
forward to, talking about, conversing with one another about, and preparing
for, hasting the coming. When you're getting ready to
go on a vacation, a few couples are going to go to the Outer
Banks, and I bet you they're already thinking about it. I
know you are, because I was. But you're thinking about it,
aren't you? Women probably are packing their
bags. My wife packs her bag two weeks in advance. Stephen, you
and I, I know you. We pack it the night before,
don't we? And we forget things. We
forget our socks. But what it is, is you're so
anxious, you pack your bags, you're ready, you're waiting.
Our Lord said, provide bags. Didn't He? Pack your bags in
heaven. Provide things in bags that's
not old. Things you can carry with you. Not wood, hay and stubble, but
gold and silver and precious stone. Children of Israel, He
said, gird your loins on, shoes on your feet. We're leaving here.
We're leaving here. And then we're going to sojourn
a while. Verse 13, everything's going to be destroyed, but according
to His promise. You can't lie. We look for new
heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. And that's
what we looked at the other night, wasn't it? Oh my, I hadn't seen,
you hadn't heard, but God hath revealed them unto us somewhat
by His Spirit. A new heaven, a new earth, we
looked at that, what that means, wherein dwelleth righteousness, far eclipsing and exceeding the
glory of this first heaven and earth, and there'll be no possibility
of sinning. My, my. Oh, brethren, verse 14,
beloved, seeing that you look for such things, be diligent.
Peter said that. He keeps saying that. Give diligence.
He's serious about this. Make your calling and election
sure. If you do that, you won't fall.
I don't want to fall to you. I sure don't want to fall away.
Falling is bad enough. Falling to temptation, falling
into sin is bad enough. I sure don't want to fall away."
Well, he says, then, you know how to keep from falling? I'll
tell you. The closer you are to the
Lord, the more you lean on Him, He'll keep you from falling.
Do you remember Brother Bruce's message? Who is this kind of
leaning on his beloved? If you're leaning on Him, you're
not going to fall. If you're close to Him, you're not going
to fall. Draw an eye unto God, He'll draw an eye unto you. Read
on. So, beloved, be diligent, be
found of Him in peace. Now, you know what that means,
don't you? You know what that means. Found of Him in peace. How are you going to be found
of God in peace? Who is our peace? That's right. He is our peace. Paul said in
Philippians 2, didn't he? Oh, that I might be found in
Him. Keep looking to Him. Give diligence
to make your calling and election sure of it. You'll be found in
Christ. Not having your own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
righteousness which is of God, by faith, of Jesus Christ. Without spots and blameless. Well, Jude says he's the one
that's able to present us faultless before the presence of his throne. So how are you going to be without
spot and blameless? Only in Christ. That's what that
means. Oh, Jude did say, hate the garment
spotted with the flesh. He did say that. And we should. But I'm telling you, what this
Scripture is saying is just look to Christ. Keep looking to Christ
and you'll be, if you're in Him, you'll be without spot in blame.
And account, verse 15, that the long-suffering of our Lord is
salvation. Even as our beloved brother Paul,
according to the wisdom given unto him and written unto you
in all his epistles, he speaks these things. Oh my! See, he's
long-suffering to us. How long must he suffer with
us? Till the end of time. Until our days are over, that's
how long. Well, that's our salvation. How
long is he going to put up with us sinners? How long did he put
up with Jacob? All his days. That's our salvation. Keep that in mind. Keep that
in mind, that the Lord is long-suffering, gracious, full of mercy. Plenteous
in redemption. He delights to show mercy. He
waits to be gracious. Anyone that trusts Him will not
be ashamed. And He will put up with you all
the days of your life. Yeah, He will. Alright, verse
16, it says, Some people rest these Scriptures, like 2 Peter
3, 9, like God not willing to They should perish. They rest
these strains to their own destruction. But you, brethren, or beloved,
you know these things. See, and you know these things.
Beware. Beware. This message is, beloved, be
mindful. Think on these things. Don't
forget. Always remember these things. Think on these things.
And, beloved, beware. Beware, lest you also being led
away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness."
Beware lest you fall for the error of the wicked one. That's
who that's talking about. Satan is guiles. Paul told us, didn't he, in Ephesians
6, to put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to
withstand the wiles of the devil who holds captive most people.
He said, you beware, be wary of. How do you be wary of? The Word is a light. The Word
opens our eyes to see these traps and these pits. And hopefully
the Lord has given you a watchman to watch and to make us wary
of, to beware of, like Simon Peter was. Beware of the error
of the wicked. It's twofold. The error of the
wicked is the things of this world. This is how he tempted
the Lord Jesus Christ. The things of this world. Ooh,
look at this. Isn't this wonderful? It's the error of the wicked,
and most people fall to that. No, it's just a soap bubble.
These things are going to perish. Be mindful of that. And the error
of the wicked is false doctrine, false gospel, free will. Free
will. Beware. Stall from your steadfastness."
Oh my, we need to be grounded and settled, don't we? Settled,
unmoved. He says, if you continue in the
faith, grounded and settled, Christ came in the body of His
flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable, without
spot, and unreprovable in His sight. That's why He came. Now
if you continue in the faith, if you keep looking to Christ,
grounded and settled, be not moved away from the hope of the
gospel, That's what that says. Don't leave. Don't move. Don't
leave the gospel of the gospel. That's your only hope. Christ
is. But grow in grace. His dying words. Grow in grace
and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Grow in grace. Grow. How do you
grow? He plainly tells us, doesn't
he? Desire. the sincere milk of the Word
that you may grow thereby. Hopefully, you have grown a little
bit tonight. I have grown. Hopefully, we have
grown a little bit in knowledge of these things. Hopefully. And the knowledge
of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh my! And grow in grace. Oh, it's a good thing that the
heart be established with grace, isn't it? And grow more gracious. There's only one way to do that,
to look into Christ and imitate Him or ask Him to make you like
Him. To Him be glory both now and
forever. Amen. Stand with me.