Anticipation

Good morning.

It's great to see everybody today. I bring you greetings from Romania. I want to thank you for your prayers for our Go Romania team these last ten days.

We returned home last evening about 6.30. We had a wonderful team of Calvary members who were serving with our missionaries Gabriel and Emma Aran. Our team was comprised of four Romanians, the Yoch family, one Ethiopian, one Turk, and five born here in the United States. I love how this team represented the diversity that we have here at Calvary Church. We have over 50 different nationalities that are now a part of Calvary Church and join us each Sunday for worship.

And that doesn't count all the live stream nationalities that are represented as well. While we were in Romania, we served the Roma people group. This is a gypsy people group and we participated in church planting by doing some survey work in Constanza.

And then we worshiped and served a Ukrainian refugee group. And through it all, we expanded our view of world missions. Later on this fall, one night in September, then another evening in October, we've got about six different Go Trip teams that will be coming in to provide reports just to tell you what God is doing around the world through Calvary missions.

So I hope in the next few weeks as you see those dates announced that you'll place it on your calendar just to be a part of those reports. I also heard from Dr. Monroe, he and Goodney send their warmest regards, their golden anniversary. A trip has been a tremendous, I think encouragement to us all if you've seen it on Facebook. But they've had a wonderful trip and Lord willing, he'll be back in the pulpit next Sunday and he wanted me to let you know that he is not in any way thinking about retirement.

I think from all the — I think from all the photos he didn't want anyone to get the idea that that would become his new lifestyle. But he looks forward to coming back and remaining the pastor of Calvary Church and accomplishing all the tasks that God has planned for us. I do want you to know that when he did text me yesterday and let me know that he was praying for me as I preached today, I shared with him that I would be endorsing a presidential candidate this morning just to make sure he has something to do when he returns. Of course, that is not true.

That's not going to happen. Thank you for being here today for our time of worship. Let's pray together. Father, we're so grateful for the opportunity that you give us to come together this morning and to read your word and to hear your word. We recognize that your word is life. It provides for us the encouragement that we need. It provides for us, Father, the training that we need. And Father, for some that are here today, it will provide the message of life, how they can turn their life over to Jesus Christ as their Savior and as their Lord, and He can give them life, life that is abundant and life that is eternal. So we pray, Father, that today, no matter what brings us here this Sunday morning, that our hearts might be open and receptive to the moving of your Spirit in our lives and that we might leave this place today, Father, transformed because we've been in the presence of the Almighty God. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Have you ever anticipated something special coming?

I think you have. I think all of us throughout times in our lives, we anticipate different events that we have that takes place. As children and adults, we anticipate several special things that are coming. Some people count down the number of days and things that they anticipate. We anticipate sharing Christmas with family and friends. Here at Calvary, we look forward to our worship ministry's Christmas worship services and our Christmas Eve services.

I want you to know that there are 122 shopping days left until Christmas for those of you that might anticipate that. As a student, you anticipate school starting again, whether that's good or whether that's bad. It's something that you anticipate. Students anticipate making a team, making one voice, joining an organization. Probably the most anticipated time for a student is getting their driver's license.

It's pretty incredible to see that in Calvary's church parking lot that we have students that are practicing all the time and practicing and practicing their driver's test to get ready for that special occasion. They anticipate finally getting their driver's license. Parents anticipate the coming of a child.

There's all this preparation. There's showers, baby showers that take place. There are birth announcements. There are parenting classes that both the husband and wife attend. Joy. I mean, as a father, aren't they great?

I say that sarcastically. I think somehow I got roped into parenting classes. And after the first and second, when the third, fourth, and fifth children came, I think I had it made kind of understood at that time. But we anticipate as parents what's going to take place.

We purchase clothes, cribs, and other furnishings. And the anticipation gets to its greatest height in parenting when you take off and go to the hospital just before the baby arrives. Couples anticipate getting married.

There's all the preparation. There's a dress to purchase. There's a venue to reserve. There are, as a bridal party, there's a caterer.

There's a photographer. And the list goes on and on and on. There are so many things in life that we anticipate coming. I can remember Anna and I, my sweet wife, anticipating our wedding day. To tell you the truth, we anticipated it so much that we escaped all the wedding preparation and we just planned to take off and elope.

And I recommend it for everyone. We had planned to marry in the fall, but we talked about the places to reserve and the people that we wanted to invite and the people that we did not want to invite. And don't worry, you guys were all on the list. And then when the first of August came, we decided that we just wanted to run off and get married and forget all the craziness. So, we looked at our schedules and I was with Johnny and Friends during that time serving as their director and we had two weeks of family retreats. One the first week of July, of August.

One the second week in August. And then I was taking off to do some work in Dominican Republic or Guatemala for Johnny and Friends. And the only time we had was the weekend between two family retreats. So, we got our wedding license, our marriage license, and then the Saturday that we got married, the only day that we had, I sent a text to my team, to family and others that we wanted to invite and said, we're getting married at, I think, 11 o'clock today.

You guys are welcome to come and join us. And so, we gathered at a lake at Bon Clarkin Conference Center and the pastor was the camp pastor. He wore shorts and a t-shirt. What else do you wear as a camp pastor? And we, even though he was in shorts and a t-shirt, we are just as married as any of you that had a formal wedding.

Being a husband and wife is all that we could think about. And so, that anticipation pushed us to move our marriage sooner. Anticipation.

Let me ask you something. Do you anticipate the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Do you anticipate the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Is the return of Christ something that you continually think about? It is constantly on your mind.

So let me ask you again. Do you anticipate the return of Christ? Well, I hear you say amen, but sometimes I worry that our lifestyle is such that we live a life not in anticipation, but thinking about the cares of this world rather than the return of our Lord and Savior.

Excuse me. When you anticipate something, whether it's Christmas, whether it's getting married, whether it's a driver's license, whatever you anticipate, it is constantly on your mind. For the first century believer, they anticipated the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. They knew that Jesus had died for our sins. They knew that He was buried and that He rose on the third day. They were eyewitnesses perhaps to that event. They knew that Jesus had appeared to the twelve and many others.

Some were perhaps in Peter's audience that he wrote to. They knew that He had ascended to heaven and that Jesus promised to return again. And upon Jesus' return, He would come and He would take His own, those who were believers, and then He would bring judgment on the wicked.

Do you anticipate that today? That Jesus is going to come and He's going to take you away and that He's going to judge those who do not yet know Him as Lord and Savior. I think that these first century believers thought that Jesus could return any second. There were three days from His burial to His resurrection. There were just days before Jesus appeared to the disciples. There were days before Jesus ascended to heaven. You could see that these early believers, they expected the Lord to return at any minute. We can believe that they announced to family and friends the imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that if I had lived in the first century, and that I believed that Jesus could come at any moment, and that at that time He would take those believers away and punish the unrighteous, that I would witness to every friend and family members and plead with them to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior before it is too late. So let me ask you again, do you anticipate and live a life of anticipation of the return of our Lord Jesus Christ?

If we do, it will make a difference in the way that we live our lives and the way that we encounter others. Turn, if you would, to 2 Peter, the third chapter, and I want us to look at a few verses this morning. 2 Peter 3, and we're going to start today at verse 10, because this was the understanding of those that Peter was writing to.

Peter wrote it in about 67 AD, some 34 years after the death and resurrection of our Savior. 2 Peter 3, 10 says, but the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Now let's talk about anticipation again. What if what you anticipate does not happen in a timely manner? We said those first century Christians anticipated the return of our Lord, well they anticipated that it would happen within a few days after His ascension perhaps, but again, it's maybe 30 years down the road now.

I wonder what happened to those first century Christians' anticipation. Let's say Anna and I had planned to get married, and instead of moving our marriage up, Anna decided to move our wedding back, and then back a few more months, and then back a few more months. What would happen to our anticipation? Friends would start talking, maybe she really doesn't love you. Doubts would have developed.

Disbelief in her love for me would have replaced confidence and anticipation. And this is the setting for the text today. Here those first century Christians thought that Jesus would return immediately, but instead there had been days, weeks, months, and years before what they had thought would be an imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ, and doubts started existing within that first century church. Now let's start again by looking at the first seven verses of 2 Peter 3, because this is where Peter responds to those first century Christians who anticipated the Lord's return but started having doubts. 1 Peter, I'm sorry, 2 Peter 3, verse 1.

This is now the second letter that I'm writing to you, beloved. In both of them, I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder. So here's Peter reminding them that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing first of all that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own selfish desires, and they will say, where is the promise of His coming?

Then Peter kind of changes a little bit of pace here. He says, for ever since the fathers fell asleep, and those are the patriarchs, all things have continued as they were or were meant to be from the beginning of creation, for they deliberately overlooked this fact that the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water, and through water the word of God. Verse 6, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.

But by the same word, the heavens and the earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction for the ungodly. So here's Peter in these first seven verses trying to remind his readers that they could be certain of the return of Jesus Christ. And that's our first outline point, that we can be certain of Christ's return. We can be certain because the prophets predicted that Jesus would return. Now, if you're taking notes, you can find prophecies about the Lord's return in Ezekiel 30, in Amos 5, and in Joel chapter 1.

But I want to read from Joel chapter 2, verses 1 through 3 right now. It says, blow a trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm on my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. Like blackness, there is a spread upon the mountains, a great and powerful people.

There like has never been before, nor will there be again through all the years and generations. Fire devours before them, and behind them, a flame burns. And here's Ezekiel, prophesying that the day of the Lord will come. Peter is reminding these first century believers that the Lord is going to come. It's been prophesied, the day of the Lord, even by the prophets thousands of years ago.

Zechariah 14, verses 3 through 7. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day, his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives, that lies before Jerusalem on the east.

And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from the east to the west by a very wide valley, so that on one half of the mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. And on that day there will be no light, cold, nor frost. And there shall be a unique day which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but in the evening time there shall be light. Verse 8, and on that day living water shall flow from out of Jerusalem, half of them to the east sea, and the other half to the west sea.

And that shall continue in summer and in winter. And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will come and he will be one, and his name shall be one. The day of the Lord, the prophets of old prophesied that we can have certainty knowing that the Lord will return and there will be a time of judgment.

And Peter reminds his listeners of that. And then he comes and says that we can be certain about the Lord's return because Jesus himself has predicted his return. Turn if you would to Matthew the 24th chapter. And this is the chapter of scripture that you really need to know because here is Jesus predicting his own return. Matthew 24 verses 36 through 39 is where we'll begin but we'll hit several verses in this chapter. Verse 36, but concerning that day, the day of the Lord's return, judgment, and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, but only the Father knows. For as were in the days of Noah, and Noah is mentioned in this second Peter third chapter about the flood, about being destroyed by water, so will be in the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day when Noah entered the ark.

And they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. Verse 42, therefore stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. Then back to 31, verse 31, when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate one people from another as a sheep separates, as a shepherd separates sheep from the goats. Verse 33, and he will place the sheep to his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will come and say to those on his right, come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

Be certain, Jesus said, of his return. Then the apostles taught about the Lord's return in the day of the Lord. Turn if you would to 1 Thessalonians, the fifth chapter. We'll look at verses one through five. Again, this is a section of scripture that you need to know about the Lord's return in the day of the Lord.

1 Thessalonians five, verses one through five to begin with. Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you, for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying there is peace and security, then destruction will come upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they will not escape, but you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief, for you are children of the light, children of the day.

We are not of the night nor darkness. Verse nine, for the Lord has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep, we might live with Him. Now, we're not going to be a part of the wrath because we believe, but for those who are not believers, we'll be a part of the wrath that God has for them. We can be certain of the Lord's return as it has been predicted by the prophets, it's been predicted by our Savior, and it's been predicted by the apostles. To assure His readers, Peter lets them know that the Lord's return has been planned since the beginning of creation. Look back at 2 Peter again, chapter three, verses four and five, Peter reminds his readers that ever since the fathers fell asleep, that's the patriarchs, all things are continuing as they were planned from the beginning of creation.

So this just isn't something that happens the day of the Lord. This is something that has been planned since the foundations of the earth. Verse five, for they deliberately overlooked this fact that the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God. Here is Peter affirming that God is the creator and that since before the foundations of the earth that God had a plan for His creation and also for life, for life as we live it then and now.

All things are moving in according to the divine plan that God has put together since the foundations of the earth. And the day of the Lord, the day of judgment, has already been fixed on God's timeline of history. And as we read earlier in Matthew, that only the Father knows when that day of judgment will take place.

For the audience of old, these first century believers, in our audience today, we all need to be certain of Christ's return and pending judgment. Now I know that today in some churches it is popular to ignore that we serve a righteous God and that God's wrath is something that unbelievers can anticipate. They want to ignore that Christ will return and there will be a time of judgment. It's as though they think that surely God will not destroy those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

But why would God send His Son to suffer and to die if it was not necessary for our salvation? Peter reminds his readers that God has brought judgment upon the earth before. Look at chapter 3, 2 Peter, verses 6 and 7. And by this means, and that by means of these, the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. Just the flood is found in Genesis 6 and 7. By the same word, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction for the ungodly.

This is God's promise for the future. You know it was interesting this past week as we served in Romania. We served with a group of Romanian gypsies and they had never heard of the word of God. These children that we worked with, they lived, even though we were in a first world country, it's as though they lived in a third world community.

Across the street from the gated area that we were in, that's where the gypsies lived where there was murder, rape, theft, darkness every single day. Even while we were there conducting these Vacation Bible School for about a hundred children, we could feel the darkness that was there in the community just across the street. We could see it with our eyes. And the first day working with those children, Phil Comstock taught them that God created everything and He created it for us because He loves us. And then the next day, he dressed up as Noah and he taught them about sin and about the flood and how Noah built an ark and took his people in with him and they were protected because they were in the ark that God had provided for them. And Phil talked about how God loves us and provided an ark at that time and how now we had an ark, but it's Jesus who is our ark.

And if Christ is in us, then we are going to be safe from the judgment. And then on the final day, he talked about the prodigal son, how each of us can come to our Heavenly Father and ask for forgiveness through Jesus Christ and He forgives us and saves us from eternal judgment. It was an incredible week and these children came the last day saying, are you coming back because we want to know who God is. We want to know God.

Isn't that incredible? There's coming a time, there's coming a time when the Lord comes back and there are going to be children like these and their families who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and they will experience the wrath of God. There are going to be family members and friends that you and I have and when the Lord returns, if they are not safely in Christ, then they will experience the wrath of God. Let me move on.

I've got to move very quickly. Second point, God's patience will not last forever. Look at 2 Peter 3 verses 8 through 10. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness but He is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief and then the heavens will pass away with a roar and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Now, I can't remember how I was taught time but I know whenever I was teaching my kids, you would teach them that there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week, 356 days in a year, and that our lifetime might be 80 to 100 years.

I'm hoping for like 120 maybe or something. But God counts time differently. He says in verse 8, do not overlook this fact that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is a day. So let's do some math.

Peter wrote this in 67 AD. That's been 2,000 years since God gave the word to Peter. So how many God days is this? It's two, right?

It's two. So we start recognizing that God measures time differently and the return of our Lord, the day of the Lord is imminent. It could happen at any minute. Now I love the fact that it says that the Lord does not want any of us to perish. But notice it's almost conditional but that all should reach repentance. God's mercy is on full display on the cross of Calvary. God does not want anyone to perish but he wants each and every one of us to be saved. But it comes through repentance. John 3, 16 and 17 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. And verse 17 says, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. Now God has placed the responsibility for the world knowing him and knowing about repentance and knowing about his son. He's placed that responsibility on us. It's our responsibility to tell others about this wonderful salvation that God has provided through Christ.

Now let me move forward. So we know that Christ is coming at any minute and we know that his timeline is soon, that it's imminent that the Lord will return. So what are we supposed to do in the meantime as believers? Well we know that we're supposed to live a life that is a constant witness for Jesus Christ.

But look at 2 Peter 3 verses 14, 11 through 14. He says, in the meantime we are called to holy living. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, thus the world and the heavens and everything we know, what sort of people ought you to be? We should live lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God because of which heaven will be set on fire and dissolved and the heavenly bodies will melt away and burn. But according to his promise, we are all waiting for a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. And that's what God's going to complete for us. Therefore beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish and at peace. Now I love this part because I know that I should be a bold witness that the day of the Lord is coming. I've got to be a bold witness for him to make sure that those people I love and others do not perish. But in the meantime what am I supposed to do? I am supposed to live a life without blemish.

Do my best to live a life that is holy and without blemish. My grandmother, when she heard when I was a little boy that we were going to the movie theater, some of you will identify with this. She said, don't go to the movies. Nothing but evil happens on the screens of movie theaters. And she would say, you don't want to be caught in a movie theater when Jesus comes back.

Now there's a message in that. When we live a life of holiness, that means that we're supposed to be separate from the world. And our lives are supposed to be lived in such a way that when Jesus does come back, I'm not going to be ashamed of what I'm doing or where I am. But instead I'm going to live a life approved by him. Okay?

Approved by him. Real quick, Jesus warns in verses 15 and 16 that we're to watch out for false teachers. He says, and count the patience of the Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks of them in these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction as they do the other scriptures. So here we're warned by Peter to be careful in these end days that there are people that will twist scripture.

And there's a lot of false teaching that's out there. I do want to say something political. I don't believe anybody out there today because what I hear coming from both parties is not biblical. I'm looking for a candidate that will preach 2 Chronicles 7 14. If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. There is no political party that is going to usher in a utopia. It's only going to come when they and we all turn to our Savior and ask Him to forgive us.

That's the type of political candidate that I'm looking for. Then finally, I'm rushing through these last points but I've kept you too long. Peter calls believers then and now to grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord. He said in verse 17 and 18, 2 Peter 3, You therefore, beloved, know this beforehand.

Take care that you are not carried away by the errors of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity.

Amen. God does not want us to stay in the same place spiritually but He wants us to grow. He wants us when we're confronted by His Word to grow. To let the Holy Spirit change our hearts and to recognize that there's more that I need to do for Him.

It's my prayer that today, as you're confronted with the day of the Lord, that it's imminent that you might live your life in anticipation of the Lord's return. That you might witness to families and friends. That you might live a life that is separate, that is holy. That you might commit yourself to growing in the Lord.

That you might stay away from false teachers. And that you might live in anticipation. If we as believers at Calvary Church lived in anticipation of the Lord's return, this place would be full next Sunday because we'd be out there rescuing the perishing by telling them about Jesus. So are you going to grow in grace and His knowledge today or will you leave this place just like you came? I'm praying for transformation.

Let's pray. Father we thank you so much for your Word. And your Word teaches us today, Father, that you have a timeline for eternity. And on that timeline of eternity, you have it marked as to when the day of the Lord will come. And on that day, Father, our Savior will return and He will separate those who believe in Him and those who do not. You'll be reward, heaven, for those who believe. And there'll be punishment for eternity for those who do not. Father we pray that you may create a burden in our hearts to reach to the lost. To tell them about Jesus before it's too late. For it's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.