second Peter chapter three. Pray that god will be pleased
to bless his word this morning. Peter tells us in verse one why
he wrote this epistle. We mentioned it in the reading.
He wrote it to stir up their pure minds by way of remembrance. He says, I'm not writing telling that you don't already know,
that you're not aware of. But Peter says, I'm just writing
to you to stir you up, to encourage you, to exhort you, and to warn
you. Don't forget these things. Don't
be neglectful of these things. It is true, by God's grace, we're
not of the world. He's chosen us out. But we're
still in the world. And being in the world, and still
having this old fallen nature, there is still a tendency in
us to forget. Because of this fallen nature,
it gives rise to what Paul calls that struggle of all struggles
that makes us cry, oh wretched man that I am. And therefore,
he said in another place, the spirit lusteth against the flesh
and the flesh against the spirit. So you cannot do the things that
you would. That's why you have the struggle.
And Peter says, be on your guard. There is a tendency in every
one of us, especially this man that's attempting to preach to
you right now, to forget these things. So Peter, as the faithful
under-shepherd of the sheep of Christ, exhorts and warns them. This letter he wrote is primarily
a warning against false teachers, false prophets. And it's not
only true to those to whom Peter wrote, it's true for you and
I today. The world abounds with false
prophets and every one of them this morning will stand and do
the same thing I'm doing and say they're preaching God's Word,
every one of them. They'll speak of a different
gospel, a different Christ, a different way of salvation, but they'll
say they're speaking as God's ambassadors. Turn back, if you
will, to chapter 5 of Peter's first epistle, just for a moment.
1 Peter chapter 5. Look what he says. What he does
in this epistle, what he's doing in his second epistle, Peter
describes for us in the first few verses of chapter 5, 1 Peter. The elders which are among you
I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings
of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. If we suffer with him, we shall
reign with him. and he exhorts the elders, the
pastors, feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the
oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy
lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords over God's heritage,
but being an example to the flock. And when the chief shepherd,
the chief shepherd, whose own the sheep are. When the chief
shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that
fadeth not away." Now, Peter does this very thing. He takes
the oversight. He's looking out for the flock.
And that includes teaching them, exhorting them, comforting them,
and as in chapter 3, or rather his 2nd epistle in its entirety,
that also includes warning them. He says, remember the words of
the chief shepherd. Remember what he told us. And
Peter, as the faithful under-shepherd, does the same thing. Remember
what our Lord said to Peter that night? When our Lord said, all
of you will deny me, all of you will forsake me, and Peter stood
to the forefront and he said, they will. James, John, yeah,
but not me. Not me. I'm ready to go with
you to death. I'm ready to stand with you and
die with you. There's no way that I'll deny
you. And our Lord said, Peter, before the clock crows twice,
you're going to deny that you've ever been acquainted with me.
You'll do it three times. And Peter said, it's not so. But remember what our Lord said
to him, Peter, when thou art converted, when I've turned you
again, When I've turned you back to myself again, strengthen thy
brethren." And that's exactly what Peter did. And I don't have
any doubt when he wrote these words, he thought of that night.
He thought of that exhortation, that command from the chief shepherd.
Peter, strengthen your brethren. Peter, feed the sheep. Are you still in chapter 5 of
his first epistle? Look what he writes in chapter
8. Be sober. Oh, I'm sure, as I said, Peter
thought of that night. He thought of that night when
he leaned upon the arm of flesh, when he wrote these words, verse
8, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as
a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour. We have an enemy. whom resist
steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are
accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. And Peter
wrote from experience as well when he wrote this, verse 10.
But the God of all grace, oh, but the God of all grace, I fail. but the God of all grace. I denied
that I ever knew Him, and He turned that night and looked
at me, and I went out and wept bitterly. Oh, but the God of
all grace, who had called us unto His eternal glory by Christ
Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish,
strengthen, settle you, to Him be glory and dominion forever
and ever. Amen. Look, if you will, in chapter
1 of 2 Peter. Look what he says on down here,
or rather in chapter 1, verse 12. By God's grace, he obeys
the command of his great shepherd. And he says in verse 12 of chapter
1, wherefore, I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance
of these things. Believers, Christians, though
ye know them, and be established in the present truth. Peter says,
I don't have a doubt about that. Yea, I think it meet, as long
as I am in this tabernacle, that is, in this present body, in
the flesh, as long as I'm alive, to stir you up by putting you
in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put off this my
tabernacle. I must lay down this body of
flesh. I must die even as our Lord Jesus
Christ has showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that
ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in
remembrance." Notice what he said in verse 13. I think it
is meet. Meet. The word means necessary. It's proper. It's fitting. It's
the right thing for me to do. It's necessary for you. That's why I warn you, Peter
says, because it's necessary for you. You need this, Peter
says. You need this. You need to be
warned. You need to be on your guard. And I borrow Peter's words as
my own. It's my duty to you as your pastor
to remind you and to warn you. Don't take your eyes off Christ. Don't be influenced by these
scoffers and mockers. We have them on every hand. Don't
be influenced by the false preaching and teaching that goes on today
in the name of God. Don't be influenced by those
many people that are doing nothing but making merchandise of immortal
souls. Keep your eyes on Love not the
world, neither the things that are in the world. This is what
Peter exhorts them to do. And by God's grace, this is what
I exhort you and myself to do. Remember what our Lord said.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away. In the reading, verses 3 and
4, we made mention of it. But these scoffers and mockers,
they come and say, oh, that's a fairy tale. Todd, what you
believe, this thing about God, and creation and eternity and
heaven and hell and immortal souls. That's an old wives tale. Nobody with good sense believes
that anymore. Oh no! Only foolish ignorant
people believe that. Oh if you were really smart you
would believe evolution. If you were really smart you
would believe that we were once little organisms stuck in the
mud and we flipped out, did a double back flip, laid there a million
years and then grew some legs and another million years we
crawled out and here we are. If you were smart you'd believe
that. Peter says they're willingly ignorant. Just ignorant. Doesn't that sound familiar?
They say, tell us anything but the truth. Anything. That's why
folks embrace that or at least profess to embrace evolution. Because that eliminates God in
their thinking. They say, no God. No God. If that be true, then there's
no God. And there's no Word of God. Then
there's no judgment. Then there's no eternity. Then
there's no hell. But that's not so. There is. There is. Peter says
God's reserved this present world just as he did the first before
the flood. And by that same mighty word,
he says it's reserved. God's holding it all in reserve. It's not an accident. It's not
just haphazardly twirling around in space? No, no, no. God's fulfilling
His purpose. The world stands because He's
calling out His elect. That's the only reason it stands. And once all the usward are called
to Him, He's going to wrap it up. He's going to destroy it. And then He's going to create
a new world, a new heaven, and a new earth by His same mighty
creation. reading, will, and word. And
you know what? Peter said, in this one dwelleth
righteousness. Thank God for his long suffering. Look at verse 10, if you will,
in chapter 3 of 2 Peter. He says, but the day of the Lord
will come. It will come. Meaning, he's coming
again. Joe, as certain as his first
coming, he's coming again. Will he not come for those he
came the first time to redeem? I go to prepare a place for you.
If this wasn't true, Jeff, he said, I will tell you. I'm telling
you the truth, he told them, and every believer. He says,
if I go prepare a place for you, you'll be in that place. Father,
he prayed after that. I will also that those whom you
have given Me be with Me where I am." Look what it cost Him. He laid down His own life for
us. He shed His precious blood for
us. And we'll all be with Him in
glory. He'll have what He paid for. Is that not a part of what the
prophet said? He shall see us develop His soul
and be satisfied? and he could not be satisfied,
never be satisfied, and to everyone Everyone that he shed his precious
blood for, and it's a multitude. It's a multitude that none can
number. Every one of them are with him
around the throne of God, and he can say, Father, they're all
here. I brought them all back to you.
All you entrusted into my hands in that covenant of grace before
the world ever was, I bring them back to you. I've lost none. Oh yes, the day of the Lord will
come. Will come. To gather his redeemed
ones to be with him. Peter says, as a thief in the
night. As a thief in the night. Now
a thief doesn't announce his coming, does he? I mean, a thief
want to break into your house, he doesn't knock on the door
and let you know about it. Oh, no, no. It'll catch the world
off guard. Nobody knows the day of the hour. But we're not completely in darkness,
Paul wrote. Let us walk as children of light.
We don't know the day or the hour, but we know that our Lord's
coming again. That's why he said in Matthew
24, watch and pray. Watch and pray, he told his disciples,
because in an hour that you think not, the Son of Man cometh. And it's not going to be a secret.
It's not going to be some secret rapture and then after that a
thousand years and after that another something or other. Oh
no. He said, as the lightning shineth
out of one part of heaven even to the other, so shall the coming
of the Son of Man be. Everybody's going to witness
this. Witness it. saved and lost, prepared and
unprepared, every eye shall see him. And our Lord said, all the
nations of the earth will mourn because of him when they see
the son of man coming in the clouds with power and great glory. Peter says, and all this that
we see now will be burned will be burned up. The heavens shall
pass away. Imagine that. The elements shall
melt, he says. The earth also and all the works
that's therein will be burned up. Why? Because God's through
with it. He's done with it. Remember?
It exists for the elect's sake till all his Noah's are brought
into the earth. Then what will be left? Turn,
if you will, to Hebrews chapter 12. What will abide? What will be left? Paul tells
us, the writer here tells us in Hebrews chapter 12, verse
25. Verse 25, Hebrews 12. See that
ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escape not who refused
him that spoke on earth, much more shall not we escape if we
turn away from him that speaketh from heaven, whose voice then
shook the earth, speaking of God Almighty. But now he hath
promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but
heaven, or also heaven. This is what Peter told us. And this word, it once more signifieth
the removing of those things that are shaken as of things
that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. There are some things that cannot
be shaken. Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom
which cannot be moved cannot be shaken, let us have grace
whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear,
for our God is a consuming fire. When I was a boy at home, living
up that challah that I've mentioned from time to time, my mother
would sometimes tell me, if I was the only one around, Larry, gather
up these rugs on the kitchen floor and take them out on the
back porch. I got to shake them out, got
to beat them. And I see those rugs and I think, they look fine
to me, Lester. I mean, what's the problem? But
I'd gather them up. I'd gather them up. And boy,
out there in the daylight, in the sunlight, she'd hold them
over that banister just like here. And man, all kinds of stuff
would fall out. This is what Peter tells us,
and this is what the writer in Hebrews that we just read up
tells us. God's going to take this world, this religious world,
and He's going to shake it. He's going to shake it. Are you
listening to me? And everything we just read,
everything that's not built upon Jesus Christ, Everything that's
not resting upon that one and sure and only foundation. Everything's going to shake out
into hell. Everything and everybody. Everything's
going to be burned up. Heavens, earth, elements, the
works therein, and only that which is resting upon Christ
the solid rock, that's the only thing that's going to be left.
Does that include you? Does that include you? Oh, if
it does, then rejoice in heart and sing on Christ the solid
rock I stand. All other ground, everything
else is sinking sand. Oh, but when God shakes this
world, I'll be safe. I'll be safe. Why? Rock of ages,
cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. In Matthew 24 again,
our Lord leaves the temple. This is His last week on earth,
or rather before His crucifixion. And He leaves the temple for
the last time. He's done with it. God's done
with it. Everything it represents is being
fulfilled. And the disciples, and our Lord
said as He left, all this will be destroyed. There won't be
one stone left upon another. And the disciples came to him
in private, we're told in Matthew 24, verses 1 and 2. And they
said, Lord, when shall these things be? And what shall be
the sign of thy coming and the end of the world? Three things
they asked. And he answered all three. Now,
I don't pretend to understand all that he said, but the first
thing, I find this very important, the first answer that came from
his mouth in answer to their question was this, take heed
that you be not deceived. Huh? In Matthew 24 and 25, he
said much, but the first thing he said to his disciples, take
heed that no man deceive you. And he repeated that over and
over throughout the chapter. Because many shall come in my
name, saying, I am Christ, and many will be deceived by them.
Many will be taken in by them. And if it wasn't for the elect's
sake, unless those days be shortened, even they would be deceived. Oh, but for the elect's sake,
Christ says, I will shorten these days. No wonder Peter issues
this warning and says, watch, watch. Now, beginning at verse
11, Peter makes application to everything he just said of what
he's written. In verses 11 and 12, he speaks
of that which is certain to pass away. heavens and earth. And in verse 15, he speaks of
that which is certain to arrive, which is certain to take its
place. One is it certain and as sure
as the other. Verses 11 and 12, seeing that. Verse 13, and looking for this. Seeing that and looking for this. Watching and waiting. Seeing that, verse 11. seeing
that all these things shall be dissolved what matter of persons
ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness. In view of these
things, if this is really true, if we're not like the scoffers
and mockers, but we really profess to believe these things, Peter
says, how should we live? If I claim to believe God, if
I claim to believe that all we see now, everything we can touch,
everything we think we possess, every human relationship, every
material possession, it's all gonna be gone. If I really believe
that, Peter's asking us, what kind of person ought I to be
while I'm living in this world? How should we live in this present
world? Every so often, far too often,
you have some nut comes along and tells us he's figured out
the exact hour of our Lord's second coming. And he's, in answer
to the question, how should we then live? He says, sell everything
you got and give it to me and move in a cave somewhere. Well,
we've seen how that's worked out time and time again. No man
knows the day or the hour. And these so-called prophecy
experts, they don't either. But we that are believers as
Peter addressed them in his first epistle, are strangers and pilgrims
in this world. And as such, as such, God help
us not to get too comfortable. Hear our master again, ye are
not of the world. Ye are not of the world. Brothers
and sisters, we're not of the world. Grace has made us to differ. That's why we're not. He's chosen
us out of the world. Grace makes us pilgrims and strangers
in this world. Don't you feel that itself? Don't
you feel that it's so? Be glad that you feel uncomfortable
in this world. Be thankful this world is not
your home. Be thankful that you're just
passing through. Be thankful that it will all
be gone one day and we'll inherit an eternity wherein dwelleth
nothing, nothing but righteousness. You're not of the world. If that's
so, then don't be influenced by the world's philosophy or
the world's mindset. It's wrong. Or the world's politics. Don't be influenced by it because
it's all going to be shaken out. It's all going to perish. Oh,
thank God our Lord said, because I have chosen you out of the
world. Turn back, if you will, to 1
Peter chapter 4. He expresses it very well. What
I'm trying to say here, in 1 Peter 4, verse 1, Peter writes and
says, For as much then as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh,
arm yourselves likewise with the same mind. For he that hath
suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin, that he no longer should
live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lust of men,
but to the will of God. And look what Peter says. For
the time past of our life may suffice us to have rocked the
will of the Gentiles when we walked in lasciviousness, lust,
excess of wine, revelings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries." Peter
says that's enough. That's enough. Before God called
us out of darkness, we spent enough of our life in those things. But now, since we're not of the
world, Peter says, let's not live like it. Let's not think
like it. Let's not be influenced by this
world. Again, he says, while you're
going through this world, what did our Master say? While you're
going through this world, preach the Gospel to every creature
in your capacity. men, women, every believer. As God gives you opportunity,
preach the gospel to every creature. Let me just mention briefly,
I read this article and wanted to put it in our bulletin about
dear brother Scott Richardson, who a few years ago went home
to be with the Lord. But listen to what he says. The
day will dawn when houses and lands will be as worthless as
a child's worn-out toy. In that day, the fame and the
honor and the glory of this world will be worth no more than faded
flowers and withered grass. That's exactly what God's Word
tells us. In that day, a man will be willing to trade all
that he knows and can imagine for the privilege, are you listening,
for the privilege of hearing one gospel sermon. That's a privilege. one hour of prayer, or one verse
of scripture. In that day, a man will be willing
to trade all the world for one grain of faith. He will curse
the day he was born. Oh, in the day of God's wrath,
what will a man give in exchange for his soul? So what a sobering
question. And then in view of these things,
we should encourage one another, help one another. Oh, forsake
not the assembling of yourselves together, we're exhorted, as
the manner of some is. Don't forsake your assembling
together. It helps us together with the
family, does it not? It helps us. It strengthens us.
And the writer said in Hebrews, don't forsake that as the manner
of some is. Well, the manner of some is.
That's their habit. Some come out of need. Some gather
because they need to, Joe. They want to. Even before you
met that pretty thing sitting next to you, you were making
that trip from Atlanta down here. Why? Now you got two good reasons. But before that, why? Because
you wanted to hear God's Word. You wanted to hear the Gospel.
You wanted to be around God's people, God's flock, and worship
Him who's altogether lovely. Peter says, keep doing that. Gather together out of the sense
of need to hear and to worship Him, to be stirred, to be helped
along the way. The psalmist said, I was glad
when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord.
Why wouldn't he be? Because our Lord promised where
two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them. Isn't that glorious? That's heaven
on earth, so to speak. He in our midst, gathering around
His throne and worshiping Him. Yes, thank God, some feel the
needs be together. Especially after spending so
much time in the world, they look forward to this. But sadly,
some don't. Some don't. Some who profess
to know Him, still they don't seem to have a need. They come
when it's convenient. And it's not convenient very
often. just once in a while. I warn you, you're walking on
dangerous ground. Something's wrong there. Why
would you not want to be, you've professed to know God, why would
you not want to be where God's people are? Why? Why would you
not want to hear at every opportunity the glorious gospel of the blessed
God? Why? Why? Verse 12. Peter says, looking for and hastening
unto the coming of the day of God. Oh, it's moving toward us
and we're moving toward it. And it's coming ever closer.
Now is our salvation nearer than when we first believed. My pastor
expresses it this way, standing on the tiptoes of faith. He's
coming. He's coming. The scoffers and
mockers say it's a fairy tale, but the one day is with the Lord
is a thousand years and a thousand years as a day. Then he's only
been gone two days. Oh yes, Peter says, hastening
unto that day. And then verse 13, let's look
at it. Nevertheless, Oh, yes. Watching and waiting, Peter says. Nevertheless, we, according to
his promise, look for a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Even though all this will be
burned up, even though all we see will be destroyed, he says,
we, we, nevertheless, we will not be losers by it. On the contrary,
On the contrary, in 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote, looking not at the
things which are seen, but the things which are unseen. Because
the things that are seen, all the possessions, everything,
are temporal and they'll perish. But the unseen, that's eternal. That's forever. Is it any wonder
our Lord said, lay up treasure in heaven? Because where your
treasure is, that's where your heart will be also. Peter says,
nevertheless, we look. Look for new heavens and a new
earth. Sin was in both. Oh, but God's
going to make all things new. We have something more and better
coming. Unlike this world, this is all
they have. This is all they have. This world. But not God's children. Not for
us. God give us grace to live what
we profess to believe. This world is not my home. Nevertheless, we look for new
heavens and new earth. Look what Peter says, wherein
dwelleth righteousness. Not like the old. Think about
that. Sin will have never entered this
new heaven and new earth, Louie. That's beyond me. That's beyond
me. My soul, what will that be like?
Sin will have never been there, will have never entered there.
He that sits upon the throne says, Behold, I make all things
new. No more sin. wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Dwelleth. It abides there. It'll always be there, Todd.
It won't be the exception. It'll be the rule. It'll be the
norm. Never sin. Never a thought of
sin. Never an act of sin. Never a
sinful motive. Never a sinful desire. That'll
be the delight of God's children. All God's children forever. Wherein
dwelleth righteousness for every one of them. Every one of them. Look what he says at verse 14
and we'll close. We'll wrap this up. He says,
wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, do what? Go to sleep? No. Eat, drink,
and be merry? No, no, no. Seeing then that
ye look for such things, be diligent. That's the motive. That's what
Peter wrote for. Be diligent that ye may be found
of him in peace without spot and blameless. Be about the father's
business because the time is short. This is the same motive
that John He said, Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it
doth not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he
shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as
he is. And every man, every man, He
speaks matter-of-factly. Every man that had this hope
in him purifieth himself even as he is pure. Turn if you will to Revelation.
Let's read a few verses there and we'll close the message.
Revelation chapter 21. This is what Peter spoke of. What we read up here, this certainty,
this absolute The blessed promise of new heavens and a new earth
for all the new creatures in Christ Jesus. Verse 1 of chapter
21, we read, and I saw new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no
more sea. And I, John, saw the holy city,
New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as
a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out
of heaven saying, behold, behold, what a sight. The tabernacle
of God is with men. and he will be with them and
they shall be his people. And God himself shall be with
them and be their God. Verse five, and he that sat upon
the throne said, behold, I make all things now. And he said unto
me, write, for these words are true and faithful. You can count on them. you can
rest assured of this. Trust your savior. Serve him. Honor him. Look to him. Amen.