2 Peter Chapter 3 Verse 10

· What is “The Day of the Lord?” Thirty-four (34) times you find this phrase in the Bible, twenty-six (26) times in the Old Testament spoken of by folks such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Zachariah and Malachi. Eight (8) times we find this term in the New Testament. Once by Luke, (in the Book of Acts), five times by Paul and twice by Peter, and this is interestingly the last mention of this specific phrase in the Bible.

· Essentially as you read through the context of when and where this phrase is used, its very bad news for the world. Consistent with what Peter is saying here. Heavens pass away, the earth is burnt up, it and everything in it… And so, The Day of the Lord (in one explanation) is a reference to the final scene and moments of this world as we know it.

· We find this in Revelation Chapter 20 and into 21. Revelation Chapter 20, verses 11 – 15, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

· And we know at this point, what is left of the current heaven and the present earth is consumed as we read in Revelation Chapter 21 Verse 1, “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…” And so, as you read through the description given by the prophets of the Day of the Lord, this is that day… But also, The Day of the Lord, just taken literally, points to the Day of…Jesus.

· The Day that He was crucified by a world He came to save, and on that day, He was judged. As a thief in the night, He was tried by His accusers. On that day, the King of Heaven and earth passed away, and as He rendered His Spirit from His body, the earth shook with a the great noise of an earthquake…and on that day, my sin, your sin, my punishment, really my justice, melted away, burned up, being totally consumed and overwhelmed by the perfect and yet human blood of Jesus.

· And so, the coming Day of the Lord spoken of by the prophets and by Paul and by Peter is the consequence of in fact missing and rejecting the Day the Lord that has already come… And that is what we read in Revelation 20…that instead of being forgiven of your works, they are examined…

· And Peter writes here something that has caused many to stumble but there’s no reason to… That the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. That is not saying that Jesus is a thief, unless you count stealing my sins (HA), this just simply indicates that when the Lord returns, many will be taken by surprise and that makes me a little giddy. Why? Because the days in which anyone would be surprised that the world is coming to an end, those days in light of current world conditions…those days are running out if not already gone!

· But this taken by surprise, understand this is not the church. This is not the Bride of Christ, watching every day for the return of her promised groom! Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians Chapter 5:1-6, “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.” Which is exactly Peter’s next statement…

2 Peter Chapter 3 Verses 11 – 14a

· This whole system, this country, this state, this city, this house, this job, will all end one day, it all has an expiration date, so how then should we conduct ourselves? If everything that is material is going to pass away, then I would be a fool to focus solely on the material side of life. If you count your wealth by your material possessions, earthly/worldly success, position and power in your profession, or by your good looks, your svelte physique, smooth skin, perfect eye-lashes, (pumps and a bumps for all my 90’s people [HA]), and all of those things are going to dissolve, then you are a fool! In the end you will have absolutely nothing! (Chuck Smith new car story)

· And this is the reason why so many beautiful people struggle so much internally, mentally, relationally and even spiritually. The answer to Peter’s question is simple. If the spirit is what will endure, then we should be people that prioritize walking in the spirit in front of existing in the physical! And the Bible promises throughout…that is actually a secret and key to being beautiful people not only on the outside but also on the inside! And beautiful people on the inside are filled with love, joy, peace, kindness, longsuffering, goodness, patience, and self-control. We call that character!

· This may the main issue in many lives this morning. You love the Lord, you believe in Jesus with all of your heart, and yet you live after the flesh, not in a sinful way, but in a way of priority. And because of that one thing out of order, everything else is affected.

· I was driving to work on Friday and it was cold. I left the house before 7am and it was probably about 25 degrees. So, I had my seat warmer on, (you know, baking the buns), and I had the heat on and about 20 minutes into my drive, I was like, “man it’s cold outside! I am still cold.” So, I continued on for a while until I noticed I had left my sunroof cracked open the night before and the heat was apparently leaking out. So, I closed that and within 2 minutes my car was toasty!! And that is like so many lives. Such spiritual understanding and love for the Lord and Christian through and through, but never heating up for the Lord because the priority of life is out of whack!

2 Peter Chapter 3 Verse 14

· Hold “peace” and “without spot and blameless” aside for just a moment because none of those things are even in the realm of reachable without being diligent. Diligence is defined as having or showing care and conscientiousness in one’s work or duties. Allow me to use the word in a sentence. “Frankie found where many caves are located after a diligent search.” Let me restate diligence in a different light. Diligence is enabled through appropriate priority, and that’s it.

· So much struggle ensues really from a problem with diligence. Back in 1 Thessalonians 5, Paul continues in verses 6-11, “Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.”

· What manner of persons ought we to be, honestly, comforting and edifying towards one another. Not just in kindness and empathy but in diligence and faithfulness. Paul talks about diligence in hope, faithfulness, love…and that causes us, you and I, to not only be well prepared for the coming of the Lord but man just well prepared to serve the Lord even today… And here’s a bit of a secret. We don’t need to set our hearts to discipline in diligence. That will simply happen if we are hastening the coming of that day, if our priorities are appropriate to truth and reality!

2 Peter Chapter 3 Verses 15 – 16

· There are always those and really always times in the lives of all believers where we twist the truth and word of God to accommodate our low living… But we do it to our own destruction. And remember this, the fact that scripture can be twisted means that not everyone that is quoting scripture is speaking the truth…

· And this is an interesting couple of statements by Peter. Peter and Paul had their differences. Some are hinted at here and we also know that at one point there was a very public confrontation where Paul rebuked Peter (Galatians 2). But notice the maturity and vision of Peter here as he praises Paul… Putting really on display the “comforting and edifying of one another” himself being diligent… A screaming success of a man… Priorities aligned to those of the Lord.

2 Peter Chapter 3 Verses 17 – 18

· It’s not grow in devotion, grow in maturity, wisdom, service, church attendance, scripture memorization…its grow in grace. Grace is everything. God’s truth and your salvation…all founded upon and baselined in grace. And for you seasoned saint, grace isn’t merely how God draws us to Himself and saves us, but it is also the agent by which we hold steadfast to Him, to the truth, until the day, coming soon, that He calls us home.

· So, what kind of man ought I be in order to bring glory to God and fully prepared for the Day of the Lord? A man that prioritizes the things of the Spirt in my life…diligent…living within the laws and will of God, comforting and edifying towards others, ever growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.