Music Welcome to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. The Lord Jesus has promised His followers that He will return. If you belong to Jesus, the thought of His coming may fill your heart with eagerness and expectation as you look forward to reconnecting with loved ones, being free from sin and pain, and most of all, meeting Jesus face to face.
Perhaps it is a sobering thought as well. There are many who still need the eternal life that can only be found through Christ and His sacrifice, and often a reminder of His imminent return shines light on the desires and loves that distract us from faithfully following Him. What does it look like to faithfully wait for Jesus? In today's text, the Apostle Peter instructs believers in what it looks like to wait for His return.
Let's listen in. Today, we continue in 2 Peter, chapter 3, verses 14 through 18. We count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you, according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters, when he speaks in them of these matters.
Amen. Let's pray. God, we thank you for the opportunity to gather openly to worship you, as many around the world do not have that same freedom. I pray that you would make your presence known to them as comforter and protector. I pray for us here this morning that our comforts would not find us complacent. We thank you that the same Holy Spirit that inspired these words to be written by Peter and preserved through the centuries to come to us this morning is the same Spirit that lives within us, helping us to understand these words and live them out. Open our hearts to receive your word this morning, and in Jesus' name I pray, amen. Thank you, Brent. Your copy of the scripture is open to 2 Peter.
The title of this series is Live as People Who Remember. We come to the last paragraph, last known writings of Peter as he, on this earth, Live as People Who Remember. You'll remember that a lot of this letter was a polemic against false teachers. And false teachers would have one thing, and that is to become rich off of your self-indulgence.
And that's true across the board, whether they're religious or secular. They want to become rich off of your self-indulgence. That's why Peter writes this letter. And so the title of this series as we draw this book, this letter to a close, this is the fifth series in 2 Peter, and it's called Live True and Free. Live True and Free. And part one is today, the title for today is Delight in Truth. Delight in Truth. Look with me again at verse 14, therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these things, what are these things? This is a quiz.
What are these things? A global warming like you've never seen before. All the elements will dissolve. It will be the consuming fire of Christ's presence as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
That day is coming. That's why Peter writes this letter, and all the false teachers are saying, you don't have to worry about God. He doesn't care.
He's not going to intervene. Just go on with life, live it up, even if you do it with a Christian label on it. Today that's called the prosperity gospel. It is heresy. That's what false teachers want. They want you.
They want to get rich off of your self-indulgence. But God will intervene. Christ will come.
That's what He's promised. That's what the Scriptures have promised all the way through. And so He says, since you are waiting for these things, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish and at peace. There is an assumed state of the follower of Jesus in this paragraph, the assumed state of the follower of Jesus. You are waiting for these things, and here it is, the genuine follower of Christ is awaiting His return. Now think about that. What does that mean?
What does that look like? Or are you one of those that will say to yourself, Christ is coming back, but I hope it's not today, I'm challenging you right now to overcome that. And the way you do that is by what we're going to talk about today. Because if you think what you have right now is the best it's going to get, your thinking is messed up.
It's messed up. For the unbeliever, this is the closest they will get to an eternity of heaven with God. This is it. Nobody wants this forever. The genuine follower of Christ is awaiting His return. But see, when it says awaiting, it means you're productively awaiting. You're not just killing time.
You're not just sitting in the corner, pulling yourself away from all the stuff that's happening in an unregenerate culture and society. You are productively waiting by preparing for that day, which he refers to in this letter as the day of the Lord. That day is coming. As sure as we know that Jesus walked out of the grave, that day is coming. That's the argument that Paul used in Acts chapter 17. Jesus walking out of the grave is the certification, the guarantee that that day is coming.
Are we living in preparation for that day? That is the assumed state of the follower of Jesus. So let's talk about today about the behavior of productively waiting. The behavior of productively waiting.
Two main points. The behavior of productively waiting, number one, is to pursue Christ to become like Him. Productively waiting for the day of the Lord looks like you and me pursuing Christ to become like Him. Now, some of you, your eyes are starting to glaze over. Yeah, I've heard that before.
Don't do that. Youth has a name, and that name is Jesus Christ. How many of you today might be, you might even be here for this very reason. You feel like you're doing God a favor. You're doing something for Him. And so you, your Christianity is focused on all the things I'm supposed to be doing as a Christian.
If you hear one thing today, if you hear one thing through the message of Grace Bible Church, it is this. You must be labor intensive in pursuing Christ. I'm not talking about doing things for Him. I'm talking about pursuing Him to walk with Him.
Do you see the difference there? What would my relationship be with my wife, Andrea, if all I did in our marriage was just do things for her? She wants me to pursue her. Guys, are you aware of this, about your wife? You see, if my relationship with my wife was only doing things, I do the dishes, I earn a paycheck, I do the yard, fix up the backyard, I, you know, I do stuff for her, but, but our interactions are minimal, don't express my love, I don't listen to her, but I'm doing things for her.
Tell me how my marriage is right now. Not very pretty, is it? You see how we tend, if we're honest, we think of God this way. We are consumed with the stuff we're supposed to be doing for Him. I have news for you, that's not why Jesus died for you. Jesus died for you so that you can be reconciled to God and know Him and walk with Him and delight in Him.
Think about it. God in heaven, holy, infinite, sovereign God did not stand aloof and send us a command to say, you must become holy so that you can be with me. He didn't do that.
What did He do? He sent us someone to follow. So my challenge to you this morning, are you pursuing Christ? Please note, I did not say, are you doing things for God?
I didn't say that. Are you pursuing Christ? You've been listening to Delight in Grace, the teaching ministry of Rich Powell, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Winston-Salem. To hear this message and others, check out www.delightingrace.com. To discover how to live by grace, tune in with us on weekdays at 10 a.m.
