A recording of the sermon from the service live-streamed at 6pm on 11th February 2024, preached by Rev Ben Alexander, looking at 2 Peter 3:11-13.
Ding back into this passage in to Peter as a little review for where we’ve been and where we’re going we’ve been looking at this book in some depth and in the beginning we see that Peter is wishing Grace and peace on us because of what has been done in
Christ Jesus he reminds us of the truth that he has as an apostle the one who has seen and the one who has heard these great things and he warns us of the days in which are coming and or which are now here that he says in which there will be
Those who would come to undermine Christians in what they believe and seek to push them away from Christ himself and so he warns them that those times are coming and they are here here that even Christians in what they believe and how they practice in their purity and in their worship would seek
To be undermined but he says to be patient and to be steadfast in your Worship in the life that he’s given you because he’s coming again that is how he ends the book there a great Return of the King and that is the section that we find ourselves in
Tonight and so we will have 11 to13 this evening and Lord willing next Sunday night James will be preaching for us on verses 14 through the end of the book and bringing us home in that sense until we’re home in the truest sense and so in verse 11 beginning it
Says this since all these things are thus to be dissolved do you remember from last week what is he referring to when he says sense all of these things well first off he uses the word sense it’s a transition in his logical argument it’s a note for
You to make note of what is happening do not forget what I have said and so he says that these things are to be dissolved when I looked at this word and I began to think about it I said how is how am I to to think about this what
Does it mean for the world and the heavens all of these things to be dissolved and it brought me all the way back to my first year at University when I was looking at charts upon charts of verbs and nouns in the Greek New Testament and the first word
On the first chart was this little word called luo and luo was the word that meant what I thought would be absolutely unhelpful in the study of the Greek New Testament because even though it was the pattern by which you learned how all other verbs worked I’m saying it’s a word that means
Loosed how’s that going to be helpful in my study of the Gospel in the new Testament what does it mean to be loosed I’m thinking animals or cows or things like that like you undo their harness what is it mean to be loosed and how why
Should I be reminded of this every few moments because of the Endless repetition of the congregations this is our word the heavens are going to be dissolved they’re going to be loosed is how Peter says it he says they’re going to be un bound Peter knows that Jesus is the one
Who bound them up in the beginning of time he he knitted them together as I mentioned this morning and at this time they’re going to be loosed what does he mean by all of them he refers to them in verse 10 he says three sections will be loosed the
Heavens will pass away with a roar those are going to be loosed and he says number two the heavenly bodies themselves will be burned up they will be loosed they will be released from their orbits and then he says the Earth itself where we live our home that its Works shall be destroyed
And it will be loosed it will be dissolved now what a way to begin an encouraging sermon on a Sunday night at 6:30 right that’s what I thought too I think that you will walk away with this I think you will walk away with hope and encouragement you did not have
Before you entered in or maybe a greater abundance of it just give me a second but we have to go down a little bit before we go back up so we have these this promise that God is going to unbind that which he’s bound together that which he has
Made and everything is going to be destroyed and we say if we really think about it that’s not unlike what the world has been teaching us it’s not unlike what I learned when I was in elementary science because scientific theories all point to the fact that this world being
Wound up sort of speak as a as a clock if that were the mechanism by which it was made then it’s going to come to a point in which its spring has sprung the sun will burn out the Earth will disappear at some point there is no sense in which that which
Began by sheer chance shall not also End by chance at some undisclosed time it may be 10 billion years from now but it will end whether that comes by an orbital change in the heavenly bodies or that comes by the end of our sun that ceases to give us light and
Warmth it will end so not unlike what we’ve heard and then the other thing is that the end of these theories the end of this universe what are the implications if that is what we believe what are the implications for those who do believe these things one is and it’s quite
Sad that the future’s actually empty the future is going to happen but we won’t be there the second is that nothing survives there is nothing that continues well you say I’m not really fond of the scientific answer what about the philosophers what about even the early philosophers maybe they have a
Better answer someone that could help us a bit understand this even the ancient ones believe that life was cyclical or is cyclical that it continues to spin in a way that begins with life and then moves to death and then moves to destruction but then out of Destruction there is rebirth that’s
How the world works so all we have to do is wait for that cycle to repeat itself and then we can have life now the fantasy fiction ones that I have the little one sitting back there that’s erasing something right now while he’s listening to me which he’s paying
Uttermost attention um one of his favorite things besides dragons are phoenixes that’s how those came to be this idea of this creature that is born From the Ashes of Destruction is reborn from its ashes and comes back to be it’s from this this mythical philosophical idea that we just
Kind of go round and round there is no actual pathway forward but it is a continual Circle and in Peter’s day they actually they didn’t really know if men would Sur if the souls of men would survive those patterns maybe something else would emerge after that
Point I’m done with those things now you can you can come back with me but what I’m saying is there’s been a number of theories of explanations for what this means what is the trajectory what is the future that this physical place in which we inhabit and its place in the greater Universe
What is the meaning of these things what is the end what is the goal it’s been a question and what do we have here we have something wonderfully unusual about Peter absolutely wonderfully unusual because he has the courage that’s greater than a modern physicist even an AS astrophysicist and he can muster even
Greater courage than an ancient philosopher even a great one because he has the courage to see the destination of absolutely everything and yet believe in its Recreation being something infinitely more wonderful than its creation do I need to say that again maybe so because he sees that the recreation of this
World is infinitely more wonderful than it’s creation he’s looking forward in Hope and in Joy to the end that is to come that’s a change that is not someone who would say that life in the future is empty but he says life in the future is
Full it’s full of God’s goodness and I am full of Hope because of him he says to see the destruction of everything absolutely everything and to believe in its Recreation H where does he get that sort of Hope can we have that sort of Hope well he continues on in verse 11 he
Says it’s like he’s saying knowing this in the second part of verse 11 he says what sort of people ought you to be and he says you are to be people who live lives of Holiness and godliness it’s almost an odd statement to make after such a grand statement
About the future of the universe is it not well I think what he’s really getting at and what I’m pressing us toward is that the end is coming the great day of the Lord as it’s called in the scriptures a day when he comes again a day in which all will end
And then he will make new but that about more about that in a moment but if we know know that the end is coming we have two options and they come in various forms but I’m going to give you the most the two most basic options that we can
Have the first one is that you can be like me at 7 a.m. and you grab the other pillow and you play place it over your head and you pretend like it’s not morning and the morning hasn’t come because certainly I haven’t been asleep long enough and that’s how you live life you
Live life underneath the weight of your own pillow because certainly this is not the future and certainly this will never come this will never happen to me in my lifetime this will never happen to this modern advanced Society I’ve choose the pillow you can live in that
Way or you can live in the hope that the gospel calls us to in light of what God says will be the future coming just two options it’s just two options and so I say that Peter again courageously does something here something unexpected because what he
Does unexpected is he dares you and he dares me to make the connection to the depth and the space of the time in which we live that’s so much grander and broader and deeper than we could ever fathom to make the connection to those Limitless to this Limitless
Understanding of the universe and how great and how Grand God is he says connect that to who you are in your own personal lives he says connect your understanding to the greatness and grandness of God and marry it with the fact that I’m calling you to be holy and godly that’s the
Surprise that’s the surprise this is what Peter does because he’s already stated what’s going to happen he says that the clock is running it won’t start running to announce the end of days it’s actually begun to run actually that time has been counting down and and since
Jesus died and rose again and ascended into heaven because he said as he ascended into heaven I come I’m coming back and that time began to tick away that date is set no man knows that date but it’s been set and so for those who would say yes if the world ends no
There’s a time and a place that’s already been set and so our responsibility is to live lives of Holiness and godliness lies tied to him now not later not next year not when I get settled not when this season’s over not when I’m less busy tonight tonight this moment Peter Paul
Actually he reminds us of this those famous verses that God is working all things for good for those who love him do you know what comes right before that in verse 20 if you don’t consider this world as having a clock that is ticking toward God’s day Paul says for I consider the
Sufferings of this present time are not not worth comparing with the glory to be revealed to us for the creation Waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God he says that the creation is groaning is waiting for God to come and for it to be remade even the creation
Groans and waits so why the focus just on Holiness and godliness though does that Encompass why this Focus because it is the connection between who you are in Christ and who you always will be in Christ it’s a connection to the world to come the world that will be
Remade because in that world in that day what will be left only godliness and righteousness there will be nothing else so we live in light of who we will be in Holiness in godliness now look looking forward to that which we will have forever with him that’s why there will be no more
Death The Last Enemy that shall be destroyed on that day will be death there will be no more sin it will be as we learned this morning it will be as if a l leer were cleansed it will be cleansed and the only thing that will be
Left the only thing that will re be that will remain is pure gold is the Holiness and godliness that we have in Christ Jesus and it is that which We Will Walk and Walk and Walk and never faint and never fall that which we will dwell with him forever
I told you we’re working towards encouraging time here almost there but in verse 12 I have a question he says waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God we’re waiting for it yes I don’t know if we’re hastening towards it no so how do we wait for and hasten
Toward this day which is to come this day in which he comes again and the world and all that is within it and all that is around it shall be remade we understand till we are to wait vigilantly patiently Faithfully that was what Peter was driving home to
Us the last time that we met but how are we to hasten this day it says to hasten it no matter what your viewpoint on the last days may come to we have to deal with the fact that Peter is saying hasten it he’s saying speed it that’s
Exactly what he’s saying this is this is your speedometer this is it’s going to go all the way over to the right side that’s what is being called of Christians to do to speed the day of God Al along really yes really seems like Jesus said something
Similar to that he said in Matthew 24:14 the Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached to all the nations and then the end will come so the gospel going out into the Nations will hasten the coming of the Lord Jesus us how he measures and works
That out is according to his own good pleasure and will but it’s clearly here and it’s clearly in the Great Commission that we receive from him so do you remember me asking you a question about this after we prayed The Lord’s Prayer together Jesus taught us to pray your
Kingdom come your will be done what does that mean do you know what you’re praying When you pray your kingdom come do you know what I’m praying we are asking God to intervene in a final and climactic way we are asking that his kingdom would be firmly planted
Here that he would finalize the plan in which he has been enacting throughout all of human history and it will climax with the coming of his son not in loneliness and meekness not being born in a manger but this time he comes in power and in glory he comes as the king of
Kings and he comes for his bride who is his bride is you and it is I he comes for his own and he fiercely loves his own and his own will be with him always but where well Jesus in one of his Parables and we’re almost to the end of this
But he gives a parable in Matthew 22 and you can check this later but but he gives a parable of the wedding feast and it’s a parable of this time which is coming and he says go out and invite those to come so that they will be there
And if they will not come go out and invite others if some say we are too busy go out into the highway into the hedges go invite those that you would not have invited invite everyone to come because when the wedding Feast Begins the door will be closed that day will
Have ended and there will be no entrance in after that point and so there’s a fervency that we would be working as today is called today to see many come and to sit down and to be welcomed at the Feast of the king of kings on that great day when he comes again
And how does it end up I’ve been speaking about being remade what does that mean does the bible give us any hints of that well in Revelation 21 verses three and following he says I heard a loud voice from the throne saying Behold The Dwelling Place of God
Is with man he will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be as their God and he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and Death Shall be no more neither shall there be mourning or crying or pain anymore for the former things have passed
Away I heard a good friend of mine who was my professor speaking about this one time and his daughter loves horses and one of the terms that you deal with with equestrian studies is that sometimes horses need to be rehomed they need to find another place to live they need to find another
Pasture in which to graze we’re going to be rehomed in Christ but do you know whose address will change is God’s he is going to change H his address he is going to remake this world and we forever will dwell with him in his midst here his kingdom shall come
Here and his address will be here and his name will be glorified forever here and his people will be his people forever here and we will be family forever here that is the Hope and encouragement that is the boldness and the courageous claim that Peter is making through what
Seems to be and what starts to be what a dismal Prospect what a gracious hope it will be like Eden God will walk with us we will have fellowship with him we will be with him and no one can separate us from him what do you think of that
Prospect is that encourage your heart does that give you hope real hope for the future when someone says it’s the end you may say what end because you have no end in Christ all things will be made new and you shall be with him I think that’s just a little bit
About Peter what Peter’s trying to get at in this particular passage you’ll have to wait until next week to see exactly how he finishes but at this time let’s pray and let’s sing to him king of kings and Lord of lords Eternal hope of the Everlasting days