3ABN Sabbath School Panel

Lesson 12: The Day of the Lord

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Pr John Lomacang (Host), Jill Morikone, Molly Steenson, Pr. Tom Ferguson, Shelley Quinn

Home

Series Code: SSP

Program Code: SSP000024A


00:01 The Bible tells us,
00:02 "In the beginning was the Word
00:04 and the Word was with God
00:05 and the Word was God."
00:07 It says, "To receive with meekness
00:09 the implanted word,
00:11 which is able to save your souls
00:13 and to be diligent to present yourself approved to God
00:17 rightly dividing the word of truth."
00:20 Join us now for the 3ABN Sabbath School Panel,
00:24 our study today is Feed My Sheep,
00:27 1 and 2 Peter.
00:31 Hello and welcome to our 3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
00:35 We thank you for taking the time to tune in
00:36 and join us for another
00:38 thought provoking study in the Word of God.
00:40 Amen.
00:42 With our Sabbath school lesson overall theme Feed My Sheep.
00:46 You know, when I think about that,
00:48 we have all either fed or been fed
00:51 because all we like sheep need to be fed.
00:55 And we're doing our part as God has called us
00:57 and equipped us to be able to share with you,
00:59 what comes from His Word,
01:01 there is no better food than the Word of God.
01:04 So get your Bibles,
01:05 if you have your Sabbath school lessons get those,
01:07 but if you don't have one go to these following website
01:10 absg.adventist.org
01:14 and download lesson number 12
01:17 that covers June 10 to June 16,
01:19 and the overall theme is The Day of The Lord
01:22 for that lesson study.
01:24 We want to thank you for taking the time
01:25 and your prayers and support of 3ABN
01:27 is always greatly appreciated
01:30 to allow us to do programs like this
01:32 and we thank you for all you do for the cause of God.
01:35 We have with our panel today,
01:37 faces that you may have seen before
01:39 because we're able to change
01:40 in throughout the study for this quarter,
01:42 but we are so thankful that Jill is with us today.
01:44 Good to have you here, Jill.
01:46 Thank you, pastor. Jill Morikone.
01:47 Pastor Tom Ferguson,
01:49 the pastor of the Marion district,
01:50 also in the Illinois Conference of call again ministry,
01:52 good to have you here.
01:53 Good to be here.
01:55 Mollie Steenson's been here at that anchor position
01:57 that nobody wants,
01:58 but we're thankful that you have humbly performed
02:01 what God has equipped you to.
02:02 Thank you, Mollie, good to have you here.
02:04 And Shelley Quinn, if I gave you hats,
02:07 you wouldn't have any place to put them.
02:08 You do so many things here at 3ABN,
02:10 we appreciate all of them. Loved every minute of it.
02:12 Thank you so much.
02:13 Shelley, as a matter of fact, before we get into our study,
02:15 would you have our prayer for us?
02:16 Surely. Okay.
02:18 Heavenly Father, we do come once again in the name of Jesus
02:20 and Father, we come this day to worship You in your Word.
02:24 We're just so grateful to you
02:27 that you didn't leave us as orphans,
02:29 You sent Your Holy Spirit and You gave us Your Word,
02:32 so that we could know You and we know that knowing
02:35 You is eternal life,
02:36 and knowing the one You sent Jesus Christ.
02:39 So as we come to this,
02:40 we ask now that we would be emptied of self
02:43 that You would send Your Holy Spirit
02:45 to be our teacher speak through us,
02:47 and Lord as always we pray
02:50 that You will give us ears to hear
02:52 what the Holy Spirit has to say,
02:54 and that You will give us the unction
02:57 to put these words into practice
02:59 in Jesus name, amen.
03:01 Amen. Amen.
03:03 The overall theme is the day of the Lord.
03:05 Now I wanted to just go ahead
03:07 and talk about the motive for a moment,
03:08 because it's amazing that Peter addresses
03:11 something that only a few New Testament writers address
03:14 The Day of The Lord.
03:15 There is a theme that's mentioned
03:17 quite a few times in the Bible
03:18 as a matter of fact to be specific,
03:19 if you put in the phrase Day of the Lord,
03:21 you'll find 26 references to The Day of the Lord.
03:24 Not the Lord's day,
03:25 it's quite a different story all together.
03:27 And it's not the end of...
03:29 it's not the second coming either,
03:31 it is a series of...
03:34 and when you read about it, it's thought provoking
03:36 but it's very humbling
03:38 to know that the day of the Lord is coming
03:41 and people are not preparing for it.
03:42 Matter of fact, I like to begin by going to the Book of Joel.
03:45 Joel probably says more about the day of the Lord
03:48 than Isaiah,
03:50 and Ezekiel, and Jeremiah,
03:52 and we also have the minor prophets like Amos,
03:54 and Obadiah, and Zephaniah,
03:56 they all talk about the day of the Lord,
03:58 but it is a frightening event when you really think about it.
04:02 Okay, let me get there now.
04:04 And when Joel starts in Joel 2,
04:09 I'm getting there now.
04:10 Okay, Daniel, there Joel, here we are.
04:12 When Joel talks about it,
04:14 he really walks us through a picture
04:16 that except you're kept by the power of God
04:20 this would take you to a Psalms 91,
04:23 where you would realize you need to have
04:25 a secret place of the most high,
04:26 ain't that right, Shelley?
04:28 Amen.
04:29 Because the theme here is just a one
04:31 that says to the parishioner,
04:33 listen for the sound of the trumpet,
04:35 to the preacher, blow the trumpet.
04:38 Isaiah 58, lift up our voice as a trumpet.
04:41 But Joel begins in Joel 2, here it says,
04:43 "Blow the trumpet in Zion."
04:46 That's what Peter is building on this trumpet
04:49 that was blown by the prophet Isaiah,
04:51 and Jeremiah, and Amos,
04:53 and Obadiah, and Zephaniah all these prophets,
04:55 "Blow the trumpet in Zion,
04:57 and sound an alarm in my holy mountain!
05:01 Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
05:03 for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand."
05:08 Jill, pick up on verse 2 and 3 for me.
05:11 "A day of darkness and gloominess,
05:13 a day of clouds and thick darkness,
05:16 like the morning clouds spread over the mountains.
05:18 A people come, great and strong,
05:20 the like of whom has never been,
05:22 nor will there ever be any such after them,
05:25 even for many successive generations.
05:28 A fire devours before them, and behind them a flame burns,
05:32 the land is like the Garden of Eden before them,
05:34 and behind them a desolate wilderness.
05:37 Surely nothing shall escape them."
05:39 Can you see that picture?
05:41 Joel is writing this in the context of locust,
05:44 when they see the fields they come in like a sand storm
05:47 and they leave absolutely nothing in their way.
05:50 And so he's saying in essence,
05:52 he's describing our fears out breaking of
05:55 what God unleashes for the day of the Lord.
05:59 In fact, the day of the Lord it comes upon all,
06:02 nobody's going to escape the day of the Lord.
06:03 It's right.
06:04 So when Isaiah, the prophet deals with the day of the Lord
06:07 and this is a motif, in fact,
06:09 it's a developing theme throughout
06:12 most of the Old Testament
06:13 and touched on by the New Testament writers.
06:15 And so Peter now, he takes us to the day of the Lord
06:18 and he says,
06:20 "In light of the fact of the day of the Lord is coming,
06:22 what shall we do?"
06:24 Matter of fact, I'd like to
06:25 go even a little further into this,
06:27 how is it going to affect a humanity?
06:30 Let's read verse 6.
06:33 Pastor Tom, do you have verse 6?
06:35 Go down to verse 9...
06:36 But where are we now? In Joel?
06:38 In Joel 2. Oh, okay.
06:40 If you don't have it I could...
06:41 I got it. You have it?
06:43 Joel 2:6-9, it's talking about the impact.
06:47 Yes. That's 6-9.
06:50 "Before them the people writhe in pain,
06:52 all faces are drained of color.
06:54 They run like mighty men,
06:55 they climb the wall like men of war.
06:57 Every one marches in formation, and they do not break ranks.
07:02 They do not push one another,
07:03 every one marches in his own column.
07:07 Though they lunge between the weapons,
07:09 they are not cut down.
07:10 They run to and fro in the city and they run on the wall,
07:14 they climb into the houses,
07:15 they enter the windows like a thief."
07:18 And, Mollie, pickup verse 10 and 11.
07:20 Verse 10 and 11.
07:21 "The earth shall quake before them,
07:23 the heaven shall tremble.
07:25 The sun and the moon shall be dark,
07:26 and the stars shall withdraw their shining
07:29 and the Lord shall utter His voice before His army,
07:32 for His camp is very great.
07:34 For He's strong that executeth His word.
07:37 For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible
07:40 and who can abide it?"
07:42 And so when Peter brings this out,
07:44 you know, the new king who can endure it.
07:47 Amen.
07:48 And so when you look at this,
07:49 if you said there was a storm coming,
07:51 just recently, you know, we have these storms,
07:54 they say well tornadoes here, a fire is here, floods here,
07:56 snow here,
07:58 but when you describe an event of such magnificent proportions
08:02 and say the entire world is gonna be affected by it.
08:07 It's amazing that people will put off preparation forward
08:11 and say, "Well, when it comes, I'll be just fine,"
08:14 because the day of the Lord is a motif
08:16 that's just amazingly powerful.
08:19 But I want to dive into 2 Peter 3,
08:20 because now he takes us and he reminds us
08:24 in the lesson on the line of authority.
08:26 How important it is
08:28 and I thought it was interesting
08:30 that he included in his writings,
08:35 and included in this lesson is a picture of Peter
08:39 as this young reluctant disciple.
08:43 This disciple that had to get out of himself
08:46 before he can get into the Lord.
08:48 And the Lord asked him a question three times,
08:51 and I want to go and read that.
08:52 I'm going to read John 21:15, 16 and 17.
08:56 And this is something that people have heard it
08:58 number of times before.
09:00 A wonderful exercise though,
09:02 because in order for the Lord...
09:05 It serves all of us.
09:06 In order for the Lord to be able to do anything for us,
09:11 He has to show us our need of him.
09:13 Amen.
09:14 We can't be filled with ourselves
09:16 and do the work of God,
09:17 so the Lord had to take Peter
09:19 to a place where he almost interrogated him
09:22 to some degree to get him to look
09:24 at what his condition in fact was.
09:29 So he says in verse 15,
09:31 "So when they had eaten breakfast..."
09:34 Lord made sure he had a full stomach.
09:38 "When they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
09:40 "Simon, son of Jonah,
09:42 do you love Me more than these?"
09:46 And this is casual right now.
09:48 He said to Him,
09:49 "Yes, Lord, You know I love You."
09:52 He said to him, "Feed My lambs."
09:54 That's kind of it begins in a nice way.
09:57 But then Lord says to him again the second time verse 16,
10:00 "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?'
10:04 He said to Him, "Yes, Lord, You know I love You."
10:08 He said to him, "Tend My sheep."
10:12 He said to him the third time...
10:14 And I can imagine Peter saying,
10:15 "Didn't you just ask me this twice?
10:18 Am I gonna give you a different answer?"
10:20 He said to him the third time,
10:21 "Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?"
10:24 Peter was grieved
10:25 because He said to him the third time,
10:28 "Do you love Me?"
10:29 And he said to Him,
10:30 "Lord, You know all things,
10:35 I love You."
10:36 Jesus said to him, "Feed My sheep."
10:39 And I thought to myself in this exercise
10:41 and you know, those of us
10:42 we get to the Greek and Hebrew
10:44 and all that that's a fun thing to do
10:45 because the first two times
10:47 that Jesus asked Peter, do you love me?
10:48 He said, do you agape me?
10:50 Do you agape me?
10:51 And Peter was not at that unconditional place yet.
10:54 Yes.
10:55 And you know we have to get people that are not at
10:56 that unconditional place room to grow.
10:59 So with the light of the day of the Lord coming,
11:02 He is saying,
11:03 "Where are you in your walk with me?
11:04 Do you love me unconditionally yet?"
11:07 And Peter finally answers, "Lord you know, I agape,
11:10 I mean, I phileo you.
11:12 I love you like a brother.
11:13 He said, "Okay, if that's where I'm gonna meet you, go ahead."
11:15 Because Peter had not yet been converted.
11:18 And later on you find that Peter was hesitant
11:21 about following the Lord by pointing to John and say,
11:24 "Well, what about him?"
11:26 The reality of it is when the Lord calls us
11:28 in order for us to follow the line of authority
11:30 and that's why I begin with this,
11:32 Peter had to understand that the line of authority
11:34 was Jesus first and him after that.
11:37 Amen.
11:38 It's never the other way around it,
11:39 the minister is not the line of authority,
11:41 the conference is not the line of authority,
11:42 it is only as we are under Christ.
11:44 Amen.
11:45 It is only as we follow His leading,
11:47 His Word that any line of authority
11:49 can be established.
11:50 Jesus had to let Peter know, I'm the line of authority.
11:52 Wherever I say to you go, you go.
11:55 If I say follow, you follow.
11:56 Don't hesitate, don't be lackadaisical.
11:59 And so we, I want to share a few things,
12:01 three practical things that came out in lesson
12:03 that I studied about the line of authority,
12:05 because the mission of the spiritual leader is...
12:08 four points I brought out,
12:10 to remind the members of the Word
12:13 that came from the holy prophets.
12:15 You know, Peter didn't have a Bible like we have today.
12:18 He had the Old Testament.
12:20 He had the writings of the prophets,
12:22 so when they communicated as Jesus did,
12:25 when he communicated, he communicated from the words
12:27 that were already established and reiterated
12:30 by the prophets of old.
12:31 So our job today,
12:33 in the generation we have phrases
12:35 like the New Testament Church, New Testament Christians.
12:40 Well, the Old Testament is often looked down upon,
12:42 we have to remind our members
12:44 and we have to remind each other
12:46 that the authority of God's Word
12:48 runs from Genesis all the way to Revelation.
12:50 Absolutely. Amen. That's right.
12:51 There's no break, there's no Old Testament
12:53 against New Testament,
12:54 or Paul against Jesus, Peter against John,
12:58 you notice how they oftentimes we say,
13:00 "Well, here's what Jesus said."
13:02 But then somebody said, but Paul said.
13:04 Well, here's what Jesus said, but Dr. Luke said.
13:07 You know, they baptized in Jesus name,
13:09 but I said what Jesus said
13:10 baptize in the name of the Father,
13:12 Son, and Holy Spirit, but Luke said
13:13 and we pit each other,
13:15 we pit Bible authorities against the words of Jesus,
13:19 trying to find that those are old things.
13:22 We have to remind people that there is no such thing as old
13:24 when it comes to God's Word.
13:26 So we have to point the church back to the Bible,
13:28 so let me give you three practical things.
13:31 Go to Acts 17:11,
13:32 three practical steps to guard
13:36 against eroding the truth of God's Word.
13:39 Three practical steps
13:42 against eroding the truth of God's Word,
13:44 because the controversies will come.
13:47 Acts 17:11, who didn't I have read yet,
13:49 we'll start with Shelly.
13:52 "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica,
13:56 in that they received the word with all readiness,"
13:59 speaking of the Bereans.
14:01 "And searched the Scriptures daily
14:03 to find out whether these things were so."
14:06 First very important point,
14:08 if you're not searching the scriptures
14:10 on a daily basis,
14:12 you're not ready for the day of the Lord.
14:13 Yes, okay.
14:15 If you're not searching the Bible on a day-by-day basis
14:17 'cause Peter said,
14:19 "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night."
14:21 So if you know the thief is coming,
14:23 you don't know when he's gonna come,
14:24 he's not gonna send an email,
14:25 he's not gonna send a prior notice,
14:27 he's going to come.
14:28 And all the events that he describes
14:29 in verse 10 and 11 of 2 Peter 3 will occur.
14:32 The one thing we can do to prepare for the day of the Lord
14:35 is search the scriptures daily.
14:37 To see whether what we're being told
14:39 is in fact supported by God's Word.
14:41 Second thing is 1 Peter 2:9, this is really important,
14:46 this is a most powerful one.
14:50 I'll have Jill read that one
14:52 because this is one of those beautiful passages,
14:54 and this is something we have to realize
14:56 about our position in God.
14:57 1 Peter 2:9? Yes.
14:59 "But you are a chosen generation,
15:01 a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
15:03 His own special people,
15:05 that you may proclaim the praises of Him
15:07 who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
15:10 When we consider the truth of God's Word,
15:13 it is not just light,
15:14 what kind of light is it say it together.
15:15 Marvelous. It's marvelous light.
15:18 Sometimes we don't estimate who we are in the sight of God,
15:23 we talk down about ourselves, we talk about our past,
15:28 we relish that's why I like when Jesus
15:30 asks the man at the pool, do you want to be made well?
15:34 To want to be made well, mean,
15:36 you have to understand who you are in Christ,
15:37 we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,
15:41 a holy nation and we would have not just been given light,
15:44 we've been given marvelous light.
15:47 Remind your congregants as teachers
15:50 and as leaders in the church,
15:52 remind your people that they are special
15:54 in God's sight.
15:55 He doesn't choose those who are throwaways.
15:59 He always brings us
16:00 to the place of a new birth
16:02 and a new standing in Him.
16:04 And then the other thing, encourage one another,
16:06 not just to know the truth but to love the truth.
16:08 Pastor Tom, 2 Thessalonians 2:10,
16:13 before we transition to the next part of our lesson,
16:15 which is the Scoffers.
16:17 2 Thessalonians 2:10.
16:20 Look at that. This is a danger here.
16:22 "And with all unrighteous deception
16:25 among those who perish,
16:27 because they did not receive the love of the truth,
16:29 that they might be saved."
16:30 Wow.
16:32 It's not enough to have an understanding of the truth,
16:35 you've got to love the truth.
16:37 If you don't love the truth,
16:39 you will fall into the category of being unprepared
16:42 for the day of the Lord,
16:43 and then you could become a scoffer,
16:45 which is what Jill is gonna talk about.
16:46 Yeah.
16:47 The scoffers were for that we're going to 2 Peter 3.
16:51 Yes.
16:52 2 Peter 3, we're going to look at verses 3 and 4 here.
16:56 Okay.
16:57 And you read 1 and 2
16:59 so we're picking up right after that.
17:01 "Knowing this first that scoffers will come
17:05 in the last days."
17:07 Wow.
17:08 I'm gonna stop there for just a moment.
17:10 In the last days the end of time we believe
17:13 that we're living in the end of time.
17:15 That's right.
17:16 That Jesus is about soon to come
17:18 if you think about that image from Daniel 2,
17:20 we're in the toenails.
17:22 You know, we're all the way down the head,
17:24 and the body, and the torso, and the legs, and the feet,
17:27 and we're down to the toes at the very end of time.
17:30 At the end of time, there is many scoffers
17:32 and we hear them about the second coming,
17:35 "Is Jesus really coming?
17:37 I've been waiting a long time
17:38 and I don't think He's been coming."
17:40 He hasn't come yet and everything continues
17:43 as it has from the beginning.
17:45 He's the God of love,
17:47 there's not gonna be any punishment of the wicked.
17:50 We hear scoffers on the Sabbath,
17:52 God's not that particular,
17:54 it does not matter what day you go to church on
17:57 or what day you worship on.
17:58 After all the Ten Commandments were nailed to the cross.
18:02 Why is God so fussy about what you do on the Sabbath?
18:06 We hear scoffers about marriage as long as,
18:08 he and I love each other, that's all that really matters.
18:13 I feel right about this,
18:14 God wants me to be with this person,
18:16 isn't God the author of Love?
18:19 God just wants me to be happy.
18:22 Dangerous teachings
18:23 when we start to scoff, we mock,
18:25 we make light of what the Word of God teaches.
18:30 So let's look at these scoffers.
18:31 We'll see an interesting connection
18:33 between the scoffers
18:34 and walking according to your own lust.
18:37 In the Greek, the word for scoffer
18:39 is a mocker or a scoffer,
18:41 but by implication it's a false teacher.
18:44 So we can say as we talk about these scoffers, who say,
18:47 "Where is the promise of Your coming?
18:48 All things have continued
18:49 as they were from the beginning."
18:51 We're talking about false teachers.
18:54 Then it continues, we're in 2 Peter 3.
18:59 They are "Scoffers come in the last days,
19:02 walking according to their own lusts,"
19:05 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?
19:08 For since the fathers fell asleep,
19:10 all things continue
19:11 as they were from the beginning of creation."
19:15 Walking according to their own lusts,
19:18 walking in lust can lead to false teachings,
19:21 and false teachers instead of submitting themselves
19:26 to the authority of the Word of God,
19:28 oftentimes exalt what they think
19:31 or their own preconceived notion or opinion
19:34 above the Word of God.
19:36 False teachers live like they want,
19:39 they do away with godly restraints,
19:42 it's like you become above the law.
19:45 I remember...
19:47 And you see this happen, unfortunately,
19:49 in many different denominations,
19:51 people who, I remember one gentleman pastor,
19:55 he stood in the pulpit preached the Word of God with power.
19:59 And was very strict in his interpretation
20:05 of what you should do?
20:07 How you should live?
20:08 How you should act?
20:10 And all of that almost to the point of the people
20:12 sitting in the pews would be discouraged.
20:15 Wow, where is Jesus giving me the power,
20:18 enabling me to do this...
20:20 this is a great deal of rules and I'm struggling with this.
20:23 And then just a little while later
20:28 behind closed doors,
20:30 who he really was came out
20:32 and he was walking
20:34 according to His own lust,
20:35 thinking himself above
20:37 even what he had preached from the Word of God
20:40 and putting his own thoughts,
20:43 his own opinions above the Word of God,
20:46 becoming above the law.
20:48 False teachers seek to gain recognition, honor,
20:52 and a following, they don't depend on God
20:56 but depend on what other people say.
20:58 So if Pastor John says,
20:59 "Jill, you did a really good job here."
21:02 And then what do you think,
21:03 you're starting to depend on what somebody else says
21:06 instead of depending on God.
21:08 So false teachers look
21:10 to maybe the people in their congregation,
21:12 to the accolades of other people,
21:14 they get propped up by other people,
21:17 instead of depending on the Lord Jesus Christ.
21:19 And the third thing, false teachers
21:21 also seek to gain their livelihood and security,
21:25 they sacrifice truth for security.
21:28 Now it's not a bad thing to want to support your family,
21:31 it's not a bad thing to want to gain a livelihood,
21:34 and that's a good thing.
21:35 A workman is worthy of his hire.
21:37 But in a special sense,
21:38 false teachers will be willing
21:41 to sacrifice truth in order to keep a job,
21:45 in order to have that financial gain
21:49 or financial security.
21:50 Let's look at 2 Timothy 4.
21:53 We mentioned this earlier, 2 Peter is like
21:56 Peter's last will and testament written before his death.
22:00 And 2 Timothy would be Paul's last will and testament
22:03 written before his death.
22:05 So 2 Timothy 4,
22:09 Paul's counsel to Timothy.
22:12 Now this is a counsel to stand firm for truth
22:15 and not become a false teacher.
22:17 That's right.
22:18 So let's read, Pastor Tom, you want to take first one?
22:22 Which verse now? 2 Timothy 4:1.
22:25 Verse 1, "I charge you therefore before God
22:27 and the Lord Jesus Christ,
22:29 who will judge the living and the dead
22:31 at His appearing and His kingdom."
22:34 Now it's a serious charge,
22:35 because he's charged before the Lord God.
22:38 Okay, Pastor John, verse 2? Yeah.
22:40 "Preach the word!
22:41 Be ready in season and out of season.
22:45 Convince, rebuke, exhort,
22:47 with all longsuffering and teaching."
22:50 You wanted to say King James, be instant in season
22:54 and out of season that King James wants to come now.
22:56 Exactly.
22:57 But to preach the Word of God
22:59 to be ready to share the Word of God,
23:01 to convince, rebuke, exhort,
23:03 there's nothing here about putting your own thoughts
23:05 above the Word of God.
23:07 There is nothing here about depending on other people
23:09 or being propped up by other people,
23:11 there is nothing here about sacrificing truth
23:14 or compromising truth to preach...
23:16 You know, I want to add because you open that door for me,
23:18 be instant.
23:20 Yes.
23:21 You know what instant, everything today is instant,
23:22 microwave.
23:24 In other words it says,
23:25 don't wait for the occasion to get you ready,
23:26 be ready for the occasion before it comes.
23:28 Amen, that's great.
23:29 Mollie, you want to do verse 3.
23:31 Verse 3, "For the time will come
23:33 when they will not endure sound doctrine,
23:36 but after their own lust shall they heap
23:38 to themselves teachers, having itching ears."
23:41 Verse 4 too.
23:42 "And they shall turn away their ears from the truth,
23:45 and shall be turned unto fables."
23:49 This is talking about people
23:50 who actually want to hear false teachers,
23:52 would you say that's accurate?
23:53 Yeah, that' right.
23:55 People sitting under and they want to hear false teacher,
23:57 so if you are...
23:59 We'll get to that in just a moment.
24:01 Shelley, let's read verse 5 and then I'll see that.
24:03 Verse 5, "But you be watchful in all things,
24:06 endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist,
24:09 fulfill your ministry."
24:11 So I just want to make an appeal to you at home,
24:14 whether you are a pastor, a leader, an evangelist,
24:18 a Sabbath school teacher,
24:20 whether you are training your children,
24:22 as you mentioned on another program.
24:24 That's right.
24:25 Whether you are in any position as an elder, or a deacon,
24:28 or a deaconess in any position of spiritual authority
24:31 sharing in the church,
24:32 do not become, do not become a false teacher
24:36 and do not let the opinions of other people,
24:40 private interpretation,
24:41 do not let what people say to you about you,
24:45 against you, sway you from the Word of God.
24:49 That's right.
24:50 Preach the word, be instant in season and out of season,
24:53 whether the people who are in your congregation want,
24:57 as Mollie read, want false teachings,
24:59 don't let that sway you,
25:01 be honest and faithful to the Word of God.
25:05 Be watchful in all things, there will be afflictions,
25:07 it says endure afflictions, there will come afflictions,
25:11 endure, do the work of an evangelist,
25:13 fulfill the ministry that the Lord Jesus Christ
25:17 has called you to do.
25:18 And we know if we are faithful...
25:20 That's right.
25:22 ..one day God will give us that crown of life.
25:24 That's right. Amen.
25:26 I want to look at one more verse.
25:27 This is we're going back to 2 Peter.
25:30 Okay.
25:35 2 Peter, where is the promise?
25:39 We're going back to a verse we read,
25:40 "Where is the promise of His coming?
25:41 For since the fathers fell asleep,
25:43 all things continue
25:45 as they were from the beginning."
25:47 And I know many times,
25:48 we as Seventh-day Adventist Christians
25:50 are looking forward to the coming of Jesus,
25:52 so don't be discouraged.
25:54 Don't say, "Oh, he hasn't come yet,
25:57 Mollie Sue and I've been waiting my lifetime.
26:00 Do the work God has called you to do today.
26:04 Make sure your heart and life is ready with God today,
26:08 reach out and evangelize.
26:10 Share with your neighbors with those in your community,
26:13 with your family, share Jesus Christ today
26:15 while you have time.
26:17 Amen. Wow.
26:18 Amen. Thank you, Jill.
26:19 Lot of provoking thoughts there
26:21 about how important it is to remember.
26:23 And then I thank you for bringing in the writings
26:24 of the Paul there in 2 Timothy, it's really, really good.
26:28 He's saying this to a young man
26:29 who's about to enter the ministry,
26:31 "Don't be discouraged, I'm about to leave the scene
26:32 but you have to take up the chorus."
26:34 Pastor Tom, a thousand years is a day.
26:38 Yes.
26:39 A thousand years...
26:40 Sometimes we want the Lord to move more quickly
26:42 than we do than...
26:46 Sometimes we want the Lord
26:47 to move more quickly than He does.
26:50 There we go. That's right.
26:51 That's what I'm trying to say.
26:52 And when it comes
26:54 to the mission of the Adventist church,
26:57 you know, it's been a long time since we say,
27:00 we're living in the time of the end
27:02 and the end of time is to be at hand
27:05 because there's a little difference
27:06 between the time of the end and the end of time.
27:08 There's a special gospel for this hour,
27:11 and it just seems as though there's been a delay.
27:14 As a matter of fact, during the delay
27:16 there have been these scoffers that have been mentioned.
27:18 That's right.
27:20 As a matter of fact some people say,
27:21 "Well, we don't even teach that anymore,
27:24 we don't even want to think about that."
27:25 It's been 173 years
27:28 since the beginning of the time of the end.
27:31 Now we know that Noah preached 120 years,
27:33 it's been more than that at this time
27:36 and as a result we're wondering,
27:38 why the delay, Lord?
27:39 Why will we have this mission, why this delay?
27:42 Well, I invite you to turn with me to Romans 15.
27:52 And, Jill, I was wondering if you could read verse 5.
27:56 Romans 15:5,
27:58 "Now may the God of patience and comfort
28:00 grant you to be like-minded toward one another,
28:03 according to Christ Jesus."
28:06 And He is the God of what?
28:08 Patience. Patience.
28:09 Patience.
28:10 He is a patient God.
28:12 It's one of those things that we have to develop is patience,
28:15 He actually develops that in us,
28:17 is the correct way to say that,
28:18 because we do want him to move more quickly.
28:20 Sometimes it's in reaching out to someone we care about,
28:23 sometimes it's changing our circumstances,
28:25 but you know, there's another reason why the delay.
28:27 Psalm 103:8,
28:29 "The Lord is merciful and gracious,
28:31 slow to anger, and abounding in mercy."
28:34 Yes.
28:36 And our Lord is not only patient
28:38 but He is abounding in mercy.
28:40 Amen.
28:42 Now I also think about what is God up to in the meantime.
28:46 Well, He has a commission for us.
28:47 I want us to turn to something that's familiar.
28:49 Let's go to Revelation 10.
28:53 Revelation 10
28:55 and we're gonna look at verse 11.
29:00 You know, as a Seventh-day Adventist Christian,
29:02 I realize that there is a force
29:06 constantly trying to get me off course.
29:10 Forgetting the main thing,
29:11 the main thing has to maintain...
29:13 It needs to continue to be the main thing in my walk.
29:17 And verse 11 of Revelation 10 says,
29:19 "And he said to me, 'You must prophesy again
29:21 about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.'
29:24 " And what they were to do is share a message
29:26 that no one had ever heard before.
29:29 Christ had move into the most holy place,
29:31 the judgment hour is here
29:33 and there is a message that must be shared.
29:35 And what happens is that message
29:38 is it needs to be focused on,
29:39 that message is something God has commissioned us to share.
29:43 Well, we know that, that message is found
29:45 in Revelation 14:6-11, three angels' messages.
29:50 But what is the enemy up to at the same time?
29:53 Let's turn to Revelation 16.
29:56 I like this revelation thing, my favorite book.
30:00 It's a Revelation of Jesus Christ.
30:01 As a matter fact, there's 404 verses
30:03 and 276 of them quote the Old Testament.
30:07 That's right.
30:09 So here we are in verses 13-16
30:11 of Revelation 16.
30:15 "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs
30:17 coming out of the mouth of the dragon,
30:19 out of the mouth of the beast,
30:20 and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
30:22 For they are spirits of demons, performing signs,
30:24 which go out to the kings of the earth
30:26 and the whole world to gather them
30:28 to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
30:31 'Behold, I am coming..."
30:32 By the way I want to stop right there.
30:34 This battle is waging
30:35 and I'll tell you when it comes,
30:37 we had a discussion off camera about media.
30:40 Boy, with this battle of Armageddon,
30:42 there's all kinds of ideas out there,
30:44 but it's the whole world warring against God
30:46 and His message and His children.
30:48 And verse 14,
30:50 "Behold, I am coming as a thief.
30:52 Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments,
30:55 lest he walk naked..."
30:57 What are those garments that they're are to keep?
30:59 Christ... Robe of righteousness.
31:01 Christ robe of righteousness. Amen.
31:02 Otherwise they see their nakedness
31:04 and they see their shame.
31:06 "And they gathered them together
31:08 to the place called in Hebrew, Armageddon."
31:12 This is not this little valley of Megiddo,
31:14 it is actually a battle,
31:16 a worldwide war that's going on.
31:18 There is a war of words,
31:20 there is a battle over the mind in the hearts of humanity.
31:23 Amen. That's right.
31:25 And there are two messages that are going out there.
31:28 One of them is the pure unadulterated message
31:31 that Christ has,
31:32 that those that have Christ's righteousness
31:34 are sharing in its totality,
31:37 and then there is Babylon,
31:39 there is the confusing message that is warring against it.
31:42 And every soul that hears
31:44 that has the opportunity to hear the truth,
31:47 God has given them an opportunity to hang on
31:49 to their life line,
31:50 the enemy goes in
31:51 with an attack of all this counterfeit to counter
31:56 what God is doing in their lives.
31:57 So there are two choices for humanity.
32:00 Now what is the final thrust of his message?
32:03 Revelation 18, the final thrust.
32:07 You know, there are people that have...
32:09 I remember being a child, it was in the 1970s,
32:12 and I think I was about 12 years old,
32:15 and I remember standing around the adult saying,
32:17 the Lord's going to come in five years,
32:18 I can just tell he's going to come from all the signs.
32:21 And here I am today,
32:24 and I'm not even sure if all of them are still alive,
32:26 they were saying that.
32:28 But there is a faithfulness to the message,
32:32 we must be faithful to the message
32:33 because Revelation 18:4 is going to be a reality.
32:36 "And I heard another voice from heaven saying,
32:38 'Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins,
32:40 lest you receive of her plagues.
32:42 For her sins have reached to heaven,
32:44 and God has remembered her iniquities.'"
32:46 Judgment is coming,
32:47 the time of the end is about to be at hand.
32:50 Now the message that God has for me
32:55 is not only the three angels' message,
32:57 but he wants to share that
32:59 with the power of the fourth angel,
33:01 which you see in Revelation.
33:03 As a matter of fact,
33:04 it's the elect that are sharing it,
33:05 is those that are in Christ,
33:07 those that are not drawn away
33:10 as a result of the delay.
33:13 There are reasons that God is delaying.
33:16 And number one I think, one of them is that message
33:18 is not being faithfully shared as it could be.
33:23 What's another reason for the delay?
33:25 Let's go to Revelation 7.
33:33 And I want to look at the first three verses, Revelation 7.
33:38 And, Mollie, would you be
33:40 so kind to us to read verses 1-3?
33:43 "And after these things I saw four angels
33:46 standing on the four corners of the earth,
33:48 holding the four winds of the earth,
33:51 that the wind should not blow on the earth
33:53 nor on the sea nor on any tree.
33:56 And I saw another angel ascending from the east,
33:58 having the seal of the living God.
34:01 And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels
34:04 to whom it was given to hurt the earth
34:07 and the sea, saying,
34:09 'Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees,
34:12 till we have sealed the servants of our God
34:15 in their foreheads."
34:16 That's right.
34:17 So God is in the work of transforming lives
34:22 and until that is complete, when I want him,
34:26 if my child is one of those that needs to be reached
34:29 and needs to be brought into the fold,
34:31 would I want him to hurry up and get here?
34:33 No.
34:35 It's to the degree of my love for Him
34:37 and for those that He longs to save,
34:41 that will help develop my patience.
34:43 That's right.
34:44 That very love that I receive from Him for each.
34:47 Now does anyone here know the day or the hour
34:50 that they're gonna close their eyes and sleep?
34:52 No. No.
34:53 If the Lord delays His coming,
34:55 that will be a surprise for everyone, right?
34:57 We don't know the day or the hour,
34:59 but there is a seasonal sometimes,
35:01 sometimes it happens suddenly, sometimes we see it coming.
35:04 I thought about Noah and his family entering the ark
35:08 and then the door shutting in seven days
35:10 and then the end came.
35:11 God does it's...
35:14 God's people are not as blindsided
35:15 as those that are caught up in the whirlwind
35:17 that's out there.
35:19 And I also think about another reason for the delay,
35:23 there are watchmen
35:26 that Ezekiel 3 and Ezekiel 33 talks about.
35:30 A faithful watchman will be sharing the truth,
35:34 sharing the message that the hearers need to hear,
35:38 and if they reject that message,
35:41 it's on the hearer.
35:43 If they accept it not only as the messenger
35:48 but also the one receiving that message is saved.
35:51 And if those that have
35:53 what God wants to share and do not share it,
35:57 and someone is lost as a result,
36:00 who does God hold accountable?
36:01 Yes. Yeah.
36:04 And I really know that the...
36:05 I believe that the enemy knows
36:08 how to trip us up and he wants to get us off the message,
36:11 so that we're not sharing it.
36:13 And so that not only are others lost but so are we.
36:16 There is something that God is up to
36:18 and He wants us to be in step with Him.
36:22 You know, another reason why the delay is
36:25 we're wrapped into time and God is not.
36:29 Amen.
36:31 There is a time for our beginning
36:32 and there is a time for our end,
36:34 and God is everlasting.
36:37 That's right.
36:38 And as a result His patience is everlasting.
36:42 He will do things in a perfect time.
36:45 Amen and amen.
36:46 Beautiful expounding on the delay, thank the Lord.
36:50 And, but we do know
36:53 that the day of the Lord is coming.
36:56 That there is the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
36:58 What I look at...
37:00 Now, Mollie, as you get into this,
37:01 I thought it was amazing,
37:03 how are you gonna handle a lesson entitled "So What?"
37:06 Is it all has to do with relevance.
37:08 Okay. So what?
37:10 And a young man had waxed eloquently.
37:15 As he witnessed to his own mother
37:18 about the death of the Lord Jesus Christ
37:20 and the promise of His soon return.
37:23 He was feeling quite proud of his self
37:26 because of how eloquent
37:28 he had presented the argument to her.
37:31 But you know what his mother said?
37:34 So what's that had to do with me, so what?
37:37 She was saying, how is that relevant.
37:40 Relevant, relating to our bearing
37:44 upon the matter at hand.
37:46 He had given her a beautiful truth,
37:49 a truth that every one of us hold to.
37:52 A true faith is intrinsic in the name of the denomination
37:56 that we're a part of the Seventh-day Adventist.
37:59 What is the advent?
38:01 What does that word mean? Second coming.
38:02 The soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ, "So what?"
38:06 she said.
38:08 The teaching of the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ
38:11 is foundational to us.
38:14 We all just take it for granted that everybody believes it
38:17 because without the return of the Lord Jesus Christ,
38:21 the whole gospel message falls to the ground.
38:25 Now we're going to look at how Peter addressed the relevance
38:30 of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
38:32 Okay.
38:33 But in the New Testament there are 260 chapters.
38:38 I like to do statistics, you all know what to...
38:41 260 chapters,
38:44 Christ return is mentioned 318 times,
38:48 statistically,
38:50 that is one verse over 25 pages.
38:53 Wow. Amen.
38:54 The Lord's return is mentioned or alluded to.
38:58 Now let's look in 2 Peter 3,
39:02 we're going to look at verses 10-13.
39:06 And the scripture says,
39:08 "But the day of the Lord will come."
39:10 This is Peter's expounding on the second coming.
39:14 "But the day of the Lord
39:15 will come as a thief in the night,
39:17 in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise."
39:21 You know, we talk about the secret rapture.
39:25 You ever heard of the secret rapture?
39:28 Have you ever read Thessalonians,
39:30 you know, Thessalonians is a very noisy book.
39:32 That's right.
39:34 And then I look here
39:35 and the heavens pass away with a great noise.
39:38 I don't think it's gonna be a secret to tell you the truth.
39:40 No. Not at all.
39:41 "And the elements will melt with fervent heat,
39:43 both the earth and the works
39:45 that are in it will be burned up.
39:47 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved,
39:51 what manner of person..."
39:53 Peter ask, "Ought you to be
39:56 in holy conduct and godliness,"
39:59 He's saying you better be ready.
40:01 Amen.
40:03 "Looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God,
40:06 because of which the heavens will be dissolved,
40:08 being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
40:13 Nevertheless, we according to His promise,
40:17 look for a new heavens and a new earth
40:19 in which righteousness dwells."
40:22 Now in Matthew 24,
40:25 we read a parable
40:28 about a wicked servant and a faithful servant.
40:33 But before we go to Matthew 24,
40:35 as a matter of fact,
40:37 you can go there if you want to,
40:38 but I want us to look at John 14.
40:43 Okay.
40:44 I'm going to read just the first 3 verses,
40:47 John 14.
40:50 This is Jesus speaking, He says,
40:53 "Let not your heart be troubled.
40:55 You believe in God, believe also in Me.
40:58 In My Father's house are many mansions,
41:00 if it were not so, I would have told you.
41:03 I go to prepare a place for you."
41:05 Now what is Jesus doing?
41:07 He is going to prepare a place for us.
41:09 Amen.
41:10 "And if I go and prepare a place for you,
41:13 I will come again and receive you unto Myself,
41:16 and where I am, there you may be also."
41:18 Now back to the parable that is in Matthew 14,
41:23 it seems that a master has gone away,
41:26 it's Matthew 24.
41:28 24. 24, okay.
41:30 Matthew 24, "A master has gone away
41:34 with the promise to return
41:37 but for some reason, His return has been delayed."
41:43 Now I wanted to read in John 14,
41:47 because we have a master has he gone away?
41:50 Has he promised to come again? Yes.
41:53 You know, what he's doing now, he's preparing a place for us.
41:56 And you looked at the delay of His coming
42:00 and we've expounded beautifully on the fact
42:03 that He is definitely going to return.
42:06 Now one of the servants was very diligent,
42:11 he was faithful and all of his responsibilities
42:15 and because of his diligence,
42:19 he was commended
42:21 and he was promised that he would be made a ruler
42:25 over all of the Master's goods.
42:28 Now what was he?
42:29 He was faithful and he was diligent.
42:32 Now the other servant and this is Matthew 24,
42:35 you can look in verses 48-51, I'll read that.
42:40 The other servant says in his heart.
42:44 Where does he say it?
42:45 In his heart. He said that in his heart.
42:48 "My master is delaying his coming,"
42:51 Do some people Jill say
42:53 that the Master is delaying in His coming.
42:54 Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
42:55 That was one of those false teacher teachings,
43:00 one of those that were trying to lead people astray,
43:04 He's delaying His coming.
43:06 "And he begins to beat his fellow servants,
43:10 and to eat and drink with the drunkards,
43:13 the master of that servant will come on a day
43:17 when he is not looking for him
43:19 and at an hour that he is not aware of,
43:23 and will..."
43:24 This is what's going to happen to him.
43:26 "And will cut him in two
43:28 and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites."
43:31 Wow.
43:32 "There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
43:36 So we need to say to our self,
43:39 "Do I want to be that faithful servant?"
43:41 Yes.
43:43 "Or do I want to be that evil servant?"
43:44 Now what is the lesson we can learn from this?
43:47 I think, it's a warning
43:49 that we shouldn't lower our standards,
43:52 that we've got to ever be fervently.
43:56 I like that word,
43:57 it's the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man
44:01 that availeth much.
44:03 We can't get lackadaisical and lukewarm...
44:07 That's right. Like that Laodicean Church.
44:09 We can't be lukewarm.
44:11 Christ is returning
44:13 and he's looking for faithful servants,
44:16 who are about their master's business,
44:18 there can be no complacency.
44:21 His coming is closer than it's ever been.
44:25 Now what is the relevancy?
44:27 That remember I used that word relevant,
44:31 the mother said, "So what?"
44:33 What is the relevancy, "So what?"
44:36 The relevancy is the coming of Christ is a reality.
44:39 He really is going to return. Amen.
44:42 If we're alive at the second coming,
44:46 we better be found faithful.
44:48 That's right.
44:50 But if we're not alive at the second coming,
44:53 if we've already fallen asleep,
44:56 we better have been found faithful
44:59 when we fell asleep.
45:01 You know there is no place
45:03 where you can be that evil servant
45:06 that loses his fervency.
45:08 Now I started to say,
45:10 we need to live our lives like the Lord
45:13 is returning tomorrow and I change that.
45:14 That's right, it's a very good point.
45:16 I changed it to we better live our lives
45:20 like the Lord is returning today.
45:23 And this is a question I wanted to leave you with.
45:27 If you knew, if we could just know
45:29 and all we wouldn't like to know
45:31 the day the Lord is returning,
45:33 what would you do different?
45:35 What if you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt
45:38 that the Lord was going to return
45:40 this afternoon at 2 o'clock?
45:43 What would you do different
45:45 than what you're doing right now,
45:47 what should be a bit different?
45:49 We should be just as vitally and fervently involved
45:53 in doing the work of the Lord
45:55 not knowing when He's returning,
45:57 then if we knew that He was returning immediately,
46:00 that's the relevancy.
46:02 That's "So what?" So what? Yes.
46:04 The Lord is really going to return
46:06 and it's sooner than it's ever been.
46:08 Wow. Amen and amen.
46:10 That's beautiful.
46:11 Which leads to the final appeal.
46:13 It does indeed.
46:14 You know, it's interesting
46:16 again what I love about Peter is throughout his letters,
46:20 Jesus Christ is his focus.
46:21 That's right.
46:23 You know, and he's in 1 Peter talking to people
46:26 who are being persecuted from without,
46:28 but now he's talking about the trouble with from within
46:31 and we could call that a form of persecution,
46:34 but essentially, he's just said...
46:37 as you've just said, you know,
46:38 since evil is going to be destroyed
46:41 at the day of His coming, and all the sinners,
46:44 and all the evil is going to be burnt up.
46:46 What Peter is now going on to say in this final appeal
46:50 is live holy lives and don't be swayed
46:55 by these false teachers.
46:57 So Thursday's lesson, the final appeal,
46:59 we're to look at 2 Peter 3:14-18,
47:05 so let's just begin here in verse 14,
47:08 that's 2 Peter 3:14.
47:11 "Therefore beloved..."
47:12 Now he's changing tones 'cause he's talking to those,
47:17 them in a precious way.
47:19 He says, "Looking forward to these things,
47:22 be diligent to be found by Him in peace
47:25 without spot and blameless."
47:28 You know, this is a second time in his writing,
47:29 that he has used this word diligent.
47:31 Remember, in this same epistle in chapter 1 and verse 10.
47:37 He said, "Therefore, brethren be even more diligent
47:41 to make your call and election sure,
47:43 for if you do these things, you will never stumble."
47:47 Well, what's the opposite of diligence?
47:50 You just said it, when you become complacent,
47:53 when we become lazy, we're not being diligent.
47:57 Apathy is a very dangerous heart condition
48:00 and we have to be careful.
48:02 So Peter is warning us,
48:04 them and us to live in eager
48:08 expectation of Christ's return.
48:11 Let's look at verse 15, 2 Peter 3:15,
48:14 "And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord
48:17 is salvation, as also our beloved Paul,
48:22 according to the wisdom given to him,
48:26 has written to you."
48:28 Mollie, why don't you look up Romans 2:4.
48:32 And Tom, why don't you look up 1 Timothy 2:4.
48:36 So here he's saying
48:39 that God's long suffering
48:43 is something that we're to be thankful for him.
48:45 And now he's mentioning Paul, it's interesting
48:47 that he's bringing in Paul's writings,
48:49 we'll address that in just a second.
48:51 And Paul did write
48:52 about the long suffering of the Lord.
48:54 In Romans 2:4, what does he say?
48:57 Romans 2:4, "Or despise thou the riches of His goodness,
49:01 and forbearance, and longsuffering,
49:04 not knowing that the goodness of God
49:06 leadeth you to repentance?"
49:08 Amen.
49:09 So it's God's goodness, this long suffering,
49:11 His patience is for our good.
49:13 And, Tom, 1 Timothy 2:4?
49:16 "Who desires all men to be saved
49:18 and to come to the knowledge of the truth."
49:20 See God is not going to shut down,
49:24 when we wonder why He hasn't returned,
49:27 the only reason God hasn't returned
49:29 is because He really had, the desire of His heart
49:31 is that all would be saved.
49:33 And so He is not going to close off the door of opportunity
49:38 till He knows that we've reached that point,
49:40 where people are not gonna turn to Him again, so Hallelujah.
49:44 Now in 2 Peter 3:16,
49:47 he's continuing to talk about
49:49 the beloved brother Paul and he says,
49:52 "As also in all his epistles,
49:55 speaking in them of these things,"
49:59 'cause Paul also wrote about the second coming
50:02 in the holiness required to the believer.
50:04 But he's then Peter says,
50:06 "In which are some things hard to understand,
50:10 which untaught and unstable people
50:14 twist to their own destruction,
50:16 as they do also with the rest of the Scriptures."
50:19 So he's speaking of Paul with great affection
50:22 and he's actually verifying that Paul,
50:26 you see here, he says,
50:27 "They do also with the rest of the Scripture,"
50:29 so he's comparing Paul's writings
50:32 to the rest of the Old Testament scriptures,
50:34 and he is giving him the validity
50:37 that he is God ordained and these are authoritative.
50:41 But do you think that Peter had problems
50:45 understanding Paul's writings?
50:48 No, he's not saying that he didn't understand,
50:51 he says which untaught and unstable people
50:57 misunderstand and twist.
50:59 So even though they had
51:01 very different backgrounds and personalities,
51:03 and even though they were preaching
51:05 from different perspectives
51:06 and Paul was God's ambassador of grace
51:09 and he really spent a lot of effort
51:12 in explaining righteousness by faith,
51:15 whereas Peter's talking more
51:16 about holy living and Christian service,
51:20 but they never ever contradict one another.
51:23 And as a matter of fact,
51:24 as we've been going through here,
51:26 through 1 and 2 Peter,
51:28 I think my eyes have been opened in a way
51:30 that I've not seen before as clearly before,
51:34 how much they have the mirror image
51:36 of this same message.
51:38 So it's just really powerful.
51:40 But he's saying that false teachers twist this,
51:44 they would take the message on grace
51:47 and then they would try to make it that,
51:50 oh, you have a license to sin now,
51:52 and that happens in all churches,
51:55 even in the Adventist church it can happen,
51:57 that somebody gets
51:59 an imbalanced teaching on grace.
52:02 As matter of fact, I heard about a "Grace messenger"
52:06 going into one church
52:08 and when he finished his series,
52:10 you'll be appalled at this."
52:12 But the head elder actually said,
52:15 "Well, praise the Lord,
52:17 I can come out of the closet about my pornography.
52:20 I'm saved by grace." Wow.
52:23 So the message,
52:24 see what we've gotta understand
52:26 is everything is by God's grace,
52:28 everything, but God's,
52:30 if you understand God's gifts of grace,
52:32 you'll understand the effects of grace
52:34 because His greatest gift is He gave His Son for us.
52:39 Amen. That's right.
52:40 Jesus is His greatest gift,
52:41 the Holy Spirit is another great gift of grace
52:44 as is the Word of God.
52:47 Amen.
52:48 So if you understand it's Christ
52:50 and the spirit in the word living in us,
52:52 this is God's grace.
52:54 Then you understand that grace is His divine assistance,
52:57 His supernatural power for salvation,
53:00 we can only obey by grace.
53:03 Paul who is God's ambassador for grace,
53:07 said in Philippians 2:12,
53:09 "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
53:12 I mean, he was constantly pointing,
53:14 but then he comes right back, in the next verse it says,
53:17 "But not in your own strength for it's God who works in you
53:20 to will and to do His good pleasure."
53:22 So we know that we can only obey by God's grace.
53:26 And then let's look at this Roman 6:15-19,
53:30 I think I have just enough time to read this,
53:33 because false teachers were promising liberty.
53:39 But people and they love to hear it,
53:41 you know, why the itching ears love to hear it,
53:43 because then they,
53:44 their cherished sin can be kept.
53:46 You know, it's kind of like,
53:48 oh, yeah, you can give me liberty here.
53:50 And people thought they had their favorite since justified,
53:53 but look what Paul said in Romans 6:15-19.
53:57 "What then shall we sin
53:58 because we are not under law but under grace?
54:00 Certainly not! Paul says.
54:03 Do you not know that to whom
54:04 you present yourselves slaves to obey,
54:07 you are that one's slaves whom you obey,
54:09 whether of sin leading to death
54:10 or of obedience leading to righteousness?
54:13 But God be thanked that
54:14 though you were once slaves of sin,
54:16 yet you obeyed from the heart
54:18 that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
54:20 And having been set free from sin,
54:23 you became slaves of righteousness."
54:25 Amen.
54:27 "I speak in human terms
54:28 because of the weakness of your flesh.
54:31 For just as you presented your members,"
54:33 he's saying in the past,
54:35 "you presented your members and slaves of uncleanness,
54:38 and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness,"
54:42 breaking God's law
54:44 leading to more breaking God's law.
54:45 "So now present your members
54:48 as slaves of righteousness for holiness."
54:52 That's right.
54:53 So we can see that Paul and Peter have messages
54:58 that echo Christ's teachings,
55:01 they echo the Old Testament prophets.
55:04 And now let's go on in 2 Peter 3:17
55:06 'cause I have such a little time.
55:08 He says, "You therefore, beloved,
55:12 since you know this beforehand,"
55:14 that all of this is coming.
55:16 "Beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness,
55:19 being led away with the error of the wicked."
55:24 You know, Peter or Paul wrote,
55:27 "Be careful lest you think you stand you fall."
55:30 So they're both saying the same thing.
55:32 And then he goes on and in verse 18, he says,
55:35 "But grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord
55:38 and Savior Jesus Christ.
55:40 To Him be the glory both now and forever.
55:43 Amen and amen." Amen.
55:44 The more we know about Jesus, the more we grow in grace,
55:49 and the smaller the chance will be
55:51 that we will be swayed
55:53 by false teachers to stand for truth,
55:58 we have to grow in the knowledge
56:00 and draw closer to Jesus Christ.
56:02 Amen.
56:04 Wow, Shelley, Mollie, Pastor Tom, Jill,
56:08 this day of the Lord lesson brought out so many
56:12 and so many things that we need to be reminded of,
56:14 and I summarize it in five really quick points.
56:18 I like the way you...
56:20 I summarize what you said, Shelley,
56:21 commit yourself completely...
56:23 Yes, amen. Amen.
56:25 To the Lord.
56:26 I like that, grow in grace not into grace.
56:30 We're already in God's saving grace,
56:32 grow into grace.
56:35 If you were given 10 more seconds,
56:37 what else would you add to that?
56:39 That it is as we exercise the power
56:43 that God gives us that we grow in grace.
56:45 That's right.
56:47 Mollie, what about you?
56:48 That everything is going to be destroyed,
56:51 everything we see is going to be destroyed,
56:54 everything that is wicked is going to be destroyed,
56:56 it's only by the grace and mercy of God
56:58 that we will stay in true in that end time.
57:00 Amen. Pastor Tom?
57:02 The delay is for our good. Amen.
57:05 And our perfect God has a perfect plan
57:08 that He will see to fruition.
57:10 That's right. Jill? Amen.
57:12 I'm blessed by reading Peter because I see where Peter was,
57:16 you look at the gospels and where God brought him...
57:19 That's right.
57:21 To see the transforming grace of God in his life.
57:22 That's right.
57:24 Remember these very important points,
57:25 Jesus is our only authority.
57:27 There is no other foundation other than Christ
57:29 we can build on.
57:31 The antidote of scoffing is the truth,
57:33 accept the truth and you will not become a scoffer and deny
57:37 the soon return of our Lord.
57:39 Pastor Tom, God is not in a hurry,
57:41 he has all the time in the world
57:42 but we don't unless we accept Him as our Savior.
57:45 And, Mollie, I like that.
57:47 What are we gonna do about it, "So what?"
57:48 You've heard all these challenges,
57:50 what are you going to do about it in your life.
57:52 And finally, Shelley, once again,
57:54 commit yourself wholly to the Christ,
57:55 that wants to commit everything
57:57 He has to not only our salvation,
58:00 but to His eternal gift.
58:02 May God bless you,
58:03 until we see you again in Christ.
58:06 Amen. Amen.


Home

Revised 2023-10-16