Expect the Lord's Return Part 1 - 2 Peter 3:1-9

1:50And I have this recurring dream. Some of you may have one similar, and it's that dream of not being ready for the task at hand. And for me, it's preaching. I have this recurring dream that I am about to take the pulpit and I'm about to preach, and I realize I don't have anything to say. And I start putting things together, and then I think, look at all the people are here. And well, they're not going to be here next week because I'm not going to have anything to say.

2:25I think some of us may know that feeling of being expectant or being ready for something and not being ready. Well, Jesus tells us to be dressed in readiness. And by the way, Peter knew what it was like to fall in this area. He knew what it was like to hear his Lord's command say to be alert and for him to be asleep. So the question is, how do we make sure we are properly waiting for the Lord? What does expecting the Lord's return look like? Well, Peter answers this question, these questions, on a very personal level. He gives us nine exhortations that, if obeyed, will ensure that you will be ready to meet the Lord when he comes. Nine exhortations. We can even call these nine marks of the expectant believer. Are you an expectant believer? Are you waiting for your Lord to return? Then these marks will be true about you.

3:30So I want to put these nine exhortations. I want you to put these nine exhortations into practice so that you will be ready when Christ returns. I think that's exactly what Peter wants us to do. Put these exhortations that he gives at this final chapter in his life, put these into practice so that you will be ready when Christ returns. We're going to look at the first three today. I'm going to save the following six to next week. So let's just pick it up. I'll be looking at verses one through nine today. And let me read this to you. This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you, in which I am stirring you up, up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. Know this, first of all, that in the last days, mockers will come. With their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation. For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by his word, the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of godly men. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.

5:32Well, an expectant believer, how should you dress yourself in readiness? Well, first exhortation: expect the Lord's return by, first of all, remembering the right words. Peter tells us you need to be remembering the right words. You need to be calling to mind the right words. And in the first two verses, this is exactly what Peter tells his audience. Let's look back at verse 1. This is now, notice the address, beloved, special ones, these elect, as it's called in 1 Peter 1, special, very affectionate term. Notice this, beloved, this is the second letter that I am writing you, first being 1 Peter, in which I am stirring you up, I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder. He's saying, I am waking you up. I am stirring you up by way of reminder. You remember in Acts 20 and verse 9, as Eutychus was sitting listening to Paul preach, he fell asleep and fell out of the window. Oftentimes, we need to be wakened up, right? Or we can miss something or harm ourselves. It's the idea. I'm stirring you up by way of reminder. Someone who's drowsy needs to be awakened. And notice he says, I am stirring up your sincere mind. Peter writes to those who have already had a sincere mind. And those who are born of God possess a mind that has been wakened to purity and sincerity and devotion to Christ. However, notice there is still a need to recall truth in order to renew our strength and conviction. So he's stirring up those who already have.

7:30A pure mind, those who are already thinking rightly about the gospel, not that they are perfect in all their thinking, but they think rightly about God and His Messiah and have turned their hearts towards them. And it's really a term of common sense, but it's the idea of their mind has been turned, and so he is awakening by way of reminder. By way of reminder. And this is one of the main purposes of preaching and teaching, is to remind each other, to recall to mind. Our communal life together is one of constantly reminding one another of the things to a large part we already know. That is much of what gospel ministry is about. Certainly in the body of Christ, is reminding people of what they already know.

8:25You see, we have a tendency to become spiritually lazy, lethargic. And oftentimes we need to have those cobwebs blown out of our thinking. And we do that by being re-exposed to God's Word, that which is pure, that which is true. That's what refreshes. So Peter stirs them up, if you'll look back, by way of reminder. And he stirs them up to remember the right words, the right words. What are the right words? He wants them to recall what they had been previously taught. So they will not be carried away by unprincipled men. That's what verse 17 says. He doesn't want them carried away by unprincipled men.

9:10The false teachers, certainly of chapter 2. And he gives two categories of right words. The first category, if you look and look back there at the text, the words spoken by the holy prophets. And the holy is in contrast to those false teachers of chapter 2. And really what the whole purpose of his book is writing to stir them to reminder: don't be listening to the words of false men. Don't be dwelling on their words, but remember the words of the holy prophets. They are very different from those who are going to play upon your fleshly desires and lead you into a path of life that feeds your flesh. Those are the false teachers, pseudo-teachers.

10:04These are words that came into being by the Holy Spirit. It's what he said in 121. For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. Pay attention to these words. I think certainly Peter is implying all words that the Holy Prophets spoke. But as the context indicates, look at verse 10, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief. And the overall context indicates, Peter has specific words in mind. I think specifically the words that involve the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord, which the prophets write about so much in the Old Testament, is that ultimate expression of God's wrath. That ultimate expression. He's not trying to give in this chapter a blueprint to all the events that are going to take place in the final days, but in the last days, he speaks of this eschaton.

11:19We'll get there in a moment. Verse 3. But what he is doing is he's looking towards that one final expression, the great day of the Lord. You see, false teachers live as if there's no judgment, and that's what they are impressing upon our society and upon the church. Don't worry about the judgment, it's not coming, right? And Peter is saying, remember the words of the holy prophets. Don't be mulling around in your mind their thoughts, their arguments. You'd be mulling around. In your mind, the words of the holy prophets.

12:06Listen to just a few. If you look at the Old Testament prophets, they speak to Christ. They speak to Christ's first advent, and they speak of his second coming. They speak of his coming crucifixion, and they speak beyond to his final return. Listen to Isaiah 51:4-8. Pay attention to me, O my people, and give ear to me, O my nation, for a law will go forth from me, and I will set my justice for a light of the peoples. My righteousness is near, my salvation has gone forth, and my arms will judge the peoples. Lift up your eyes to the skies, then look to the earth beneath, for the sky will vanish like smoke, and the earth will wear out like a garment, and its inhabitants will die in like manner. But my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will not wane. Listen to me, you who know righteousness, a people in whose heart is my law.

13:12Do not fear the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings, for the moth will eat them like a garment, and the grub will eat them like wool. But my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations. Don't worry about the mockers. Isaiah is telling his generation. He goes on in 66. Isaiah says, For behold, the Lord will come in fire and his chariots like the whirlwind to render his anger with fury and his rebuke with flames of fire. For the Lord will execute judgment by fire and his sword on all flesh.

13:59Zephaniah 1:18, on the day of the Lord's wrath, and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of his jealousy. He will make a complete end, indeed, a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth. Malachi 4. For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff, and the day that is coming will set them ablaze, said the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the Son of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. And I could go on and on and on when you start surveying the weight of the Old Testament prophets and their interest in this event.

14:58They look for Christ. Return. The day is coming. That is the message of the holy prophets. There's two categories. Look back at the text there. Remember in verse 2, there's two categories of right words. First, there's the category of the holy prophets. Second, the commandments spoken by the Lord and Savior. The commandment. You see that in verse 2? The commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles. There are more references about Christ's second coming in the New Testament than there are chapters in the New Testament. Over 300 references to Christ's second coming. So from Matthew to Revelation, Jesus' return is reiterated over and over again. Peter is saying, don't miss this.

15:58Remember what these men have said. Remember Matthew 3, 12. You remember John the Baptist? He says, his winnowing fork, speaking of Christ, is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clear his threshing floor, and he will gather his wheat into the barn, and he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. Jesus himself says in Matthew 25, 31, but when the Son of Man comes and all his glory, Glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will put the sheep on his right, and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And in verse 41, he says, Then he will also say to those on his left, Depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Get the picture of what the New Testament is about. Revelation 19, John sees this day and gives us a picture, gives us a prophecy of it. Verse 11, and I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems. And he has a name written on him which no one knows except himself. He is clothed with the robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following him on horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it he may strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. And he treads the winepress of the fierce wrath of God Almighty. And on his robe and on his thigh, he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of Lords. So the second category is the commandment of this one who is coming, who has come, and will come.

18:33What is his commandment? Well, the command, it's already been mentioned in chapter 2 and verse 21. It signifies the gospel of Christ, his message, his commandment. And it is that commandment to repentance and faith. Remember, in Mark chapter 1, right after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came preaching and he said this, the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. Remember the commandment of our Lord. In fact, you can even, as we've spent some time in the book of Acts, you can see their message, the apostles' message, was this very same message. In Acts 2:38, Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the Gift of the Holy Spirit. And he goes on in chapter 4 and verse 12: And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved. What is his command? Be repenting, be believing, be turning away from your way of the flesh and those who would teach you and train you and lead you and lure you into that way. Turn your mind and heart to the words of the holy prophets and the commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ. Repent. Put your faith in him.

20:09It's interesting. If you look at verse 13, we know his commandment through his apostles, by the word of his apostles. It came through his apostles. You see, the substance of our worldview is just that. The holy prophets and the apostles of Christ. That's what we have. He's given us that body of material. Those, so that we can build our worldview around, so that we can build our faith and joy around this and understand, so that what the apostles have to say and what the holy prophets have to say shapes our confidence, shapes our understanding of God, and shapes our joy.

20:56That is ours in Him. You see, We are to constantly be calling them to mind. And this is what remembering is all about. In fact, if you don't turn to it, but I'll read to you Deuteronomy chapter 6. I love this. And in an Old Testament context, this may sound very hard to accept, but in the light of the New Testament community of faith, this is a beautiful picture. Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons, and you shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up, you shall bind them on a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. You get the sense that these words were part of their communal life, their home life, everything.

22:04That might sound very heavy. But when you understand them in the New Testament light and you understand what God is doing, these words are life. Build your life around this, these words. Build your schedule around these. Talk about them. Build your fellowship. You see what the life of the church is? Is about building our life. Let this be the occasion for our community. His words. Isn't that wonderful? It gives us something to talk about. Something holy and something good. What a joy. That's how we are to live. Centered around. And there is nothing that provides more nourishment, more life to our souls and our bodies and our minds than understanding the word of God. It's rich.

23:03Well, you show that you expect the Lord's return by remembering the right words, but you also show that you expect the Lord's return by anticipating mocking mockers. By anticipating mocking mockers. Look in verse 3. Know this, first of all, in the last days, mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts. They will come, mocking mockers. They will come. Look at the priority. First of all, know this: the main verb, mockers will arrive. They will come.

23:44It's as if to suggest that there's a greater degree and intensity. Notice that the word is in the last days, the eschaton. It's the word. That there is a coming advent of mocking mockers. Sure, they were around. In Peter's day, I'm sure. But there seems to be a statement here that Peter is saying that expect more of the expect this caste of individuals. And he literally identifies them by two words: mocking mockers. If you have an ESV, what is it? Scoffing scoffers, right?

24:24Is that what it says? But notice, look back. Notice what's going to drive them. Notice what's going to be pulling them along. They'll be driven by their own lusts. They'll be following after their own lusts. They have bought into a lie that pursuing their fleshly desires will bring about a happiness and a contentment. Yet, what it has done is it has enslaved them to it. And so, where their desires lead, they follow. It's like brute animals. They follow where their desires go. That's the way of error.

25:04So they will come. But notice what they will do. They will mock. Look at verse 4. And saying, where is the promise of his coming, Christ's coming? Something you need to understand about this cast of people is that mocking mockers can't be silent. It goes against their very grain. They cannot live and let live. They hate Christ because his His way is not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit of God. Christ is the king of the holy way. Their flesh is the king of the fleshly way. And these two worlds are in severe conflict.

25:48So freedom of religion is an impossibility for them. They hate all challenges to their lustful way of life, and so they mock. Mocking mockers. Get ready, Peter is saying. They will come. And guess what? They will mock. But look at the content of their mocking. Verse 4. Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation. Where is the promise of his coming? It's been a long, long time. Where is he? He hadn't returned. Give it up, you people. Stop believing in this Messiah that's going to come.

26:46But notice that they assert a kind of uniformitarianism. All continues just as it was from the beginning. The idea is that, as in Aristotle's thinking, that matter. Itself is eternal. What we see came from a substratum, and that substratum came from a substratum, etc. And so that everything is eternal. It just gradually changes over time. For ever since the fathers died, all continues just as it was. And what Peter does by quoting them, he's setting forth the cosmological worldview of these mocking mockers. God does not intervene in human events. That's their worldview. It's absurd. As things are, as things were, so they shall be.

27:51Divine intervention is ridiculous. You've probably seen the atheist bus sign campaign and billboard campaign that says there probably is no God, so go ahead and enjoy life. Probably seen that. So you get this idea: no God, no judgment, no judgment, no restraint. Do what you want. That is the theology and the thinking of those who are led by their flesh. And as the The tone of our society continues to grow more and more fleshly, so will its hostility to the way of righteousness. Expect it. They will come. They will mock. Expect it. Anticipate it. He's saying it's coming.

28:50But they will also be in error. They will come, they will mock, but they will be in error. God does intervene. He has intervened historically, and he will intervene again. In verses 5 through 7, look back. Peter gives three arguments that refute the mocking mocker's claim that God does not and will not intervene in the world. The first argument is in verse 5. For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the Word of God, the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water by water. The phrase it escapes their notice is way too soft.

29:35In the New American standard, it really there is a willful ignorance component. I think the King James has it right here. They willingly are ignorant of, or they deliberately forget. In other words, they are suppressing the truth. There is a willful closing of the eye and turning away of the evidence. And what Peter is saying is, God intervened initially in creation by creating it. So God did intervene in the first place by creating it. But they there, it's that, I'm not looking, I'm not here, I don't hear you, don't hear a word you're saying. It's that kind of idea. So their sin is against knowledge itself.

30:27But notice Peter's emphasis upon the word. By the word of God, the heavens existed. And if you spend any time in Genesis 1, it's all about what God said, isn't it? Genesis 1:3, God said. Genesis verse 6, and God said, verse 9, and God said, and verse 11, and God said, and verse 14, and God said, and verse 20, and God said, and verse 24, and God said, and verse 26, and God said, and verse 29, and God said.

31:04You get the picture. What God said came into being. And the theme isn't common elsewhere in the Old Testament. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, their starry hosts, by the breath of his mouth. Psalm 33, 6. But mockers willfully suppress the word of God so they miss the obvious. The world is here. It testifies and speaks of God's intervention. He does intervene in the course of human events. Look at verse 5. He formed out of water and by water. He formed the world out of water and by water. What an incredible description of the process that God created the world. The world was created initially out of a watery chaos, if you can call it that. Look at, I'll just read it to you in chapter 1 of Genesis in verse 2. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. And then in verse 6, so you get this big watery chaos, this deep. Verse 6, then God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters. God made the expanse and separated the waters which were below and above. You get this picture of water separating water from water.

32:46So initially, in this watery chaos, human life couldn't have existed, but God inserted Himself. Creation itself took its form and shape by God's Word. I remember speaking, we have some friends in here that are in the oil industry. I was speaking to a well driller, and he couldn't, as he looked at these oil, these drilling logs, he goes, I don't see how in the world this earth could be young. He said, the layers, it's incredible. The amount of material, and we know what kind of environment that these things have to be deposited in. They have to be water and different degrees of energy. And I'm like, yes, that's right. And that's exactly how the Word of God says the water came into being. And as a hydrologist myself, having spent much of my life dealing with sediment transport and water, I see this is an incredible description of how everything we see in the geological stratum would have come into being. Water, out of water, and by water. See, sediment transport out of water, by water, shapes, moves, and I mean on a colossal scale that boggles the mind.

34:20But Peter's point here is that God intervened in creation. We're here. Don't miss that fact. Second thing. Second argument that Peter brings up is: God intervened in history by destroying the earth by water in the past. Verse 6, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded by water. God intervened the first time by creating the world, and listen, he has destroyed it in the past. Through that same agent by which he created the world, he also destroyed the world.

35:01And in Genesis 6:17, remember, God said, I am bringing the flood of the water upon the earth to destroy all the flesh in which is the breath of life. You see, the generous, the generate, I can't say it now. The Genesis record tells us that God first spoke the destruction. It was announced by his word, and then it came. You know, and the fossil record that we study so much is a testament to a catastrophic event. And many of those fossils were deposited in Noah's flood. You know, we've seen some recent rains and floods here in Texas, haven't we?

35:53I can almost assure you that there weren't a whole lot of fossils created in that. I'm sure there were some. But I think the birds probably got out of there pretty safely. I'm sure there's a lot of the deer, a lot of the squirrel. You just look at it, they saw the water coming. For the most part, I'm sure they all, or the majority of them, got away. Very few fossil records. But when you look, when you're up on the mountains at 10,000 feet and you see fossils, and when you see stratum, I remember on a job site, we uncovered a mammoth. And I can remember having studied that layer in which that mammoth was found. And I remember being on site and I understood the scope of this layer. And I looked out on the horizon. I thought, how big of an event that can transport this much sediment and catch a mammoth like that?

36:54Mind-boggling. But the fossil record itself speaks of God's intervention. Noah's flood. But the bottom line is that God intervened in judgment and salvation once before. There were those who were judged, they were those who were saved in the ark. So Peter is saying God intervened in creation by creating it. He intervened in history by destroying the earth by water. And he says he will intervene again. Look at verse 7. But by His word, the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. Just as God intervened in the watery chaos and brought out physical order, so he is going to once again intervene in the moral chaos of humanity and bring in everlasting righteousness. That is the message of Daniel: a kingdom, everlasting righteousness.

38:01But mocking mockers are going to turn a blind eye. Expect it. God did not create, so they will say, or Noah's flood is a myth, and therefore future wrath is just a contrivance to manipulate people. What Peter is saying, remember the right words. Anticipate these mocking mockers, because they are going to come. But third, you can expect the Lord's return by knowing the purpose for his delay, knowing the purpose for his delay. Look at verse 8 and notice the comparison. But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. The phrase in Greek is literally, the phrase with the Lord is literally along. Alongside the Lord. So that a one day alongside the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years when compared to the Lord is like one day. It's not a literal statement, but a comparison that's being made. Now, just to kind of put this in perspective, let's take a drop of water and say that drop of water or a drop of Dr. Pepper. Let's do that since we're all Texans, right? Let's take a drop of Dr. Pepper and let's make the comparison between one drop of Dr. Pepper or one day and a thousand years. And what you would have, I did the math, certain volume that a drop of water occupies, one drop of water is going to be kind of like a, or it's going to be like a 16-ounce bottle of Dr. Pepper. So you can make this ratio: one day to a thousand years is like one drop of water to a 16-ounce bottle of Dr. Pepper. You get the picture, okay? Now compare these two quantities of water to an ocean. And what you would say is, there's no difference, right? In the scope of the ocean, whether you have a drop or you have a can of Dr. Pepper, it's really just no difference. And that's the idea that the same is true with time. One day is like a thousand years, and the light of eternity, as God reckons time. You see, but the importance. Important thing is, it's not the when of the Lord's return, but the that. It will come, and it's coming quickly. But how are you going to live in light of it? But there's a logical fallacy here that I think Peter is pointing out. Just because he delays doesn't mean he's not coming, right?

40:55Just because he takes a little longer than we think he might take doesn't mean he's not coming. So, notice the comparison, but I also want you to make sure you understand. And what Peter wants to make sure you understand is the reason he delays. Look in verse 9: The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. He is not slow about his promise, as perhaps the mocking mockers were asserting.

41:37The promise. He's not slow about his promise. He is going to come. The word for slow means delayed, late, preoccupied with something else. Well, Peter is saying, he is not delaying. God is not lacking ability. He has not forgotten his promise. He is working everything precisely. Precisely according to his perfect plan and schedule. He's not negligent at all. As he told Habakkuk in chapter 2 and verse 3, for the vision is yet future for the appointed time. It hastens towards the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it, for it will certainly come. It will not delay. So make sure you understand the reason why or the purpose for God's delay. He is not slow. It has nothing to do with that. So what is it about? Look back. He is patient. Verse 9. He is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. In other words, if he were to come in wrath, it's over. But he is patient. He desires that men will turn from their ways and turn to him.

43:02Word for patient is very interesting. It's the word large, great anger, or large with great anger. You can think about it. It's like he has a huge capacity for storing up anger before pouring it out. I've been to a water park, and one of my kids' favorite water features is this great big, old, huge bucket, and water pours into it, and it tips back and forth. And when it gets full, guess what it does? It pours out in this big avalanche or flood of water, and then it goes back and then it starts filling up again. Well, that's kind of a picture about God. He is slow to anger. He has a great capacity to handle anger.

43:49He is slow to anger towards you. He's patient towards you. God delays because he wants you and me to come to repentance. And the moment you look upon him in faith, get this picture in your mind. It's like that whole bucket of wrath pours out on Christ. That wrath that is stored up for you pours out on him. That's the idea of him taking in his body your sin. You've got a problem. Your sin, and God is holy, but he takes our sin. Look upon him, believe, and you will be saved.

44:41There's an interpretive issue here. I'm not going to spend the time in it. Come back to it next week. But I want to. Spend some time. I want to close by telling you. I mean, how much time do I have? What, none? I do have time because, but I'm going to come back to this. But I want to tell you about an event that happened in my business. This expression that God does not take pleasure in the death of anyone who dies is a statement of God's desire. God loves all people. In fact, Calvin, commenting on this verse, said this: So wonderful is his love towards mankind that he would have them all to be saved, and is of his own self prepared to bestow salvation on the lost. God loves them all. John Calvin.

46:05Another scholar, and I appreciate this, it's how he says this: Schriner, that great New Testament scholar at Southern Seminary, said, God really and truly desires that every person repent and turn to him. We should not retreat to God's decreed will to nullify and negate what the text says, nor should we use this verse to cancel out God's ordained will. Better to live with the tension. And the mystery of the text than to swallow it up in a philosophical system that pretends to understand all God's ways. God's patience and his love are not illusions, but neither do they remove his sovereignty. God is sovereign in salvation, and yet his desire is for all men to come to repentance.

46:55But if you look in context, it's not difficult to see what Peter is doing here. He's not trying to explain a profound mystery. What he is doing is exalting the character of God while explaining the purpose for his delay. God is good and kind. That is why he waits. There is perhaps nothing that makes me or tempts me to anger more than when someone harms my children or my wife. Even when one of them harms another one, not that that's ever happened, they know in my home that really gets dad. By the way, I'm going to go about another five minutes, okay? Just at ease.

47:39Maybe six. But anyway, I will get you out before noon. But there is nothing that makes me angrier than when I see one of my kids, if they ever would do this, harm somebody else or say something inappropriate to my wife. There's just something, and I think every dad has. That and every husband, it's like I don't want to fight with anybody, but if somebody harms my kids, I have to fight. There's something, and think about all that has been done to Christians through the ages. Think about the Bible refers to Christians as his children and his bride. And just think that all has been done to them, and yet he stores, he has this huge capacity to restrain himself. Why?

48:32Because he does not delight that any should perish, but that all would turn from their ways. That's the revealed heart of God, and it's no illusion. And it doesn't set aside his sovereignty in salvation. His love is wonderful. And this is what Peter is saying. God's delay is not to be used as an argument against him, but to be used as a reason to repent and turn to him. My years as an engineer, I had to hire a lot of people, and every once in a while I had to fire one. One particular employee was a receptionist. And sometimes it's hard to get a good receptionist. I really liked this girl. She's middle-aged, newly married, very cheery. She was one of those people that you could feel smiling over the phone. One of these, she was very thankful for the job, just a splendid personality. I just loved her disposition. She was what I wanted everybody to meet as soon as they came through the door. She had one problem. She kept running into walls.

49:56And, in fact, she would drink a lot on the job. And people would come to me and say, you know, I think she's drinking. Like, what are you talking about? She just ran into a wall, you know, and she got everything out of order. And she smells really bad. And that water bottle, I opened it up, it's not water. I'm like, no way. So I called her in, and I said, do you know anything about this? She goes, I absolutely would never drink. I used to have a problem with it, but I don't anymore.

50:36And she was so good, and I believed her. And I said, okay, well, great. So I thought I dealt with it because I figured she'd never go back to drinking, even if she was drinking, because she knew I was on to her, and that would end it. Well, after a little while, the problem returned. And so I had someone test her water bottle, and sure enough, It was moonshine on steroids or whatever. And so the day came that I had to fire her. And I brought her in to the office. And it was a big deal because she was with a labor agency. And if I have to give the reason why I let her go to the agency, and that would basically kill her job of getting placed anywhere else. And as I started telling her what we had done, she's like, My husband doesn't know. Please, I mean, it was just a horrible scene.

51:35But I had to let her go. You think I delighted in that? It was extremely painful. I wanted her, and I believed, I wanted to believe that something good can come out of this relationship could be salvaged, that this could be put behind, and that we could go forward, and that she would be an asset to the company. Didn't happen. But this is what God's purpose in waiting and delaying. It's salvation. He loves to save. He loves to save. He loves to save. Will you turn to Him today? Let's pray. Heavenly Father, indeed we give you thanks for your great goodness, for your mercy. And for your love, we thank you that you have this capacity to withhold your anger. And we are thankful that you have this capacity to pour that wrath out upon your Son so that there is none remaining, so that you can be just in having justified us, sinners. Father, we thank you that you have preserved your law.

52:57Thank you that you have preserved your mercy. Father, help us to live in light of your return and to remember your command and turn to you in Christ's name.