Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. It is quite common these days
to hear various politicians and self-proclaimed environmentalist
experts warning us of the dire consequences of global warming.
Yet the destruction of this earth in a fervent heat is something
that the men of this world do not want to be informed of. They
prefer to ignore the warnings of Scripture rather than contemplate
an end to that for which they live and breathe. Peter said
that there would be many in the latter days who would scoff at
the promise of the Lord's coming, preferring to walk in their own
lust and relegating the truth of Scripture to the same status
as a fairy tale. Even though most all religions
speak of an afterlife, in most cases their concept of heaven
is really just like the earth in order to appeal to the flesh.
For the carnal man, the things that really make him happy are
the pleasures of this flesh and blood, whether it is some base
desire as the fulfilling of his sexual urges, or something as
benign as playing golf. But the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. To such a man, heaven would not be enjoyable unless
he could continue to indulge his fleshly desires. He envisions
heaven as a place where he can sit on the front porch in a rocking
chair with grandma and grandpa or visit his favorite fishing
hole. I'm not sure exactly what the activity of the sons of God
will be throughout the ages to come, but I am certain that Christ
will be at the center of it and that the chief desire of all
those who are gathered there will be to worship him in spirit
and truth. While we may not have a perfect
understanding of the order and nature of all the events that
will take place in the end of the age, we can be aware that
this world in which we now live is not eternal. It was created
by God for an exact purpose, and when that purpose has been
fulfilled, it shall be discarded. This event will take place to
the surprise of the vast majority of the earth's inhabitants. Peter
compares the coming of the day of the Lord to a thief in the
night. Of course, the Lord taught him this very concept when he
walked with his disciples. While the scripture plainly says
that the world in general shall be surprised and astonished at
his coming, yet the sons of God are not in the same darkness
that they should be either astounded or shocked. But ye, brethren,
are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a
thief. Ye are all children of light and the children of the
day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. In fact,
the scripture indicates that they shall be looking for him,
for our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. This event will take place only
when the elect have been brought to repentance. Peter said, The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness, but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Some have
assumed this verse to mean that the Lord keeps putting off this
inevitable destruction because he hopes that all men will repent,
and must in the end be disappointed when some perish in spite of
his best efforts. However, the all here is modified
and explained by the use of the word usward and the fact that
Peter addressed this epistle to the beloved, which is a reference
to believers. Clearly, what he is saying is
that the day of the Lord shall come when he has brought the
last of those for whom he shed his precious blood to a place
of repentance by his spirit, for he is not willing that any
one of them should ever perish. This event will take place, and
the contemplation of it is for the purpose of stirring up the
pure minds of God's children. Seeing then that all these things
shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in
all holy conversation and godliness? The man who is unconcerned with
his conformity, or lack thereof, to the way of Christ is a stranger
to grace, and has no reason to think that he has been born again.
We are hardly what we should be, but by the grace of God He
has brought us out of the darkness and into the light. He has placed
within the minds and hearts of those whom He has made new creatures,
a longing to be made in His image and to be obedient to His commands.
Now He that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who
also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are
always confident, knowing that whilst we are at home in the
body, we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not
by sight. We are confident, I say, and
willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with
the Lord. And to you who are troubled,
rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven
with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them
that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Even so come, Lord Jesus. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, Send an email to forthepoor at windstream
dot net.