Monday, December 11, 2017

“The Day of the Lord,” 2 Peter 3.8-14, Dec. ‘17 series B





1.                   In the name of Jesus.  Amen.  Christmas is fast approaching. Are you ready? This time of year, our to-do lists grow in length: decorations, food, gifts, shopping, parties, and more. As we check each item off the list, we convince ourselves that we are more prepared to celebrate Christmas. Today, however, we encounter John the Baptist in the Gospel. John calls us to prepare for our Savior’s coming in a different way, a more significant way. John calls us to repent. Repentance is more than just something to check off our to-do list. It’s a change of heart that the Holy Spirit brings about. Look to the Lord this Advent for the repentance and forgiveness He gives as we prepare for His Son’s coming. That’s how to be truly ready for Christmas.  The Apostle calls us to this repentance in light of the coming of the Day of the Lord.  As we learned last week, the season of Advent recognizes the “coming” of our Lord, not only to the coming of the Christ child at Christmas, but also the Second Coming of Jesus on the Last Day.  The message is entitled, “The Day of the Lord,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2.                               It’s been said that there’s only one real difference between a man and a boy.  A man’s toys are more expensive.  There’s probably more truth in that saying that we’d like to admit.  It’s amazing how much time and money people spend on new clothes, sportier cars, flat screen TV’s and faster boats.  Especially when one morning we’re going to wake up and find that everything we have is all gone.  That’s the point that Peter wanted to make here.  He didn’t care that he’d provided insight into how the world will end.  He just wants us to know that, when “the heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire.”  All those material playthings we love so much will be all gone.  Of course, once we understand this, the Apostle Peter wants us to act appropriately.  “What kind of people ought we as Christians be?”  Peter answers saying, “You ought to live holy and godly lives,” as you look forward to a new heaven and a new earth.  Why clutch your playthings when tomorrow they’ll be gone?  All you’ll have left is you.  Why not invest that time with growing in holiness that can only come from the hearing and studying of God’s Word and the reception of God’s grace through our Lord’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.
3.                               Peter begins 2 Peter 3:8-14 by saying in verses 8-10, 8Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10But 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.”  If people in Peter’s day thought that God would never return, how much more uninterested are the people of today with 2000 years of getting comfortable with the “nothing will happen” mentality.  It’s important that we as God’s people understand why the last days have lasted as long as they have.  It’s not because God is forgetful, powerless or asleep.  It’s because He’s a patient God, slow to anger and abounding in love.  It’s because of us—he wants to give people like us a chance to repent and live.  The only reason the world has lasted long enough is that God still has people to gather into his church.  Let this patience stir in you not indifference but evangelism to tell others the Good News about Jesus.
4.                               It’s interesting to note that both the Old and New Testament speak of a final judgment when this present heaven and earth will be destroyed.  Isaiah the prophet said that this present universe will wear out like a garment and vanish like smoke in Isaiah 51:6.  The Apostle Paul pictured Jesus returning in “blazing fire” in 2 Thess. 1:7.  And the Apostle Peter here in 2 Peter 3 gives a powerful description of the universe being reduced to its basic atoms.
5.                               The Biblical picture of a universe with a beginning and end was strange to those who lived 2000 years ago.  In that age philosophers believed that matter was eternal, shaped by a craftsman god who was himself subject to natural law.  A God who could create the universe from nothing and melt it at will, was beyond their understanding. To them the world was, always had been and always would be.  In our day this  way of thinking isn’t all that different is it?  Some people are more concerned about climate change than they are about Christ’s Second return.  Scientists speak of a beginning of our universe, but deny a Creator.  All that exists is explained by evolution.  Whatever the future holds, no God will intrude in the orderly process of the ages to put an end to matter and then to raise the dead and judge them.  First century intellectuals scoffed in the name of philosophy.  2000 years later our intellectuals scoff at the Day of the Lord in the name of science.  But both are wrong. For God is, always has been and always will BE.  The material universe isn’t eternal, but destined for destruction as Peter says here in 2 Peter 3. 
6.                               2 Peter 3:10 says that to unbelievers the Second Coming of Christ will come like a thief’s attack.  Thieves just know when to steal.  Their act of theft is always unexpected, always a  shock and by the time we find out, it’s too late to prevent it.  When our possessions are stolen it leaves us feeling helpless and angry.  The Apostle Peter was probably remembering Jesus’ own words of warning and preparation from Tuesday of Holy Week, a few days before Jesus would suffer and die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.  The disciples had been babbling away about the timeless beauty of the temple in Jerusalem when Jesus gave this solemn prophecy in Matthew 24:29, 42-44, 29“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken… 42Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
7.                               For us who are believing Christians the Day of the Lord will come not like a thief, dreadful and shocking.  But, it will be like a beloved father who finally comes home from a lengthy business trip, bursting suddenly through the door, arms wide open to hug his children and his pockets bulging with treats.  His children’s hearts will be filled not with terror but delight.  “Father! You’re finally here!” they say.
8.                               2 Peter 3:11 & 13-14 says, 11Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 13But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.  14Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.”  As Christians we’re relieved from the terror of the end of the world by the blood of Jesus Christ, which cleanses us from all sin.  The wrath of God will pass over us just as the angel of death passed over all homes in Egypt that had been marked with the blood of the Passover Lamb.  We’re safe in God’s care.
9.                               So now what?  What difference does this knowledge of The Day of the Lord make in our daily lives?  Here the Apostle Peter is blunt.  He calls on people who are baptized, justified and sanctified to, “live lives of holiness and godliness.”  Peter doesn’t want the people in his congregations to be paralyzed by the thought of judgment day.  Knowing of the final destruction shouldn’t make people lazy and wasteful of God’s gifts.  God has invested heavily in us so that we can bring the blessings He’s given to us to other people.  Clear knowledge of the end will energize us to lead lives that worship God, obey His Word, and build Christian communities.
10.               The child who was born in Bethlehem came quietly in the night, unknown to many who lived near him, but he left prints behind in history. Like a thief, he shattered barriers that told us we were individuals and invaded our hearts.  Jesus didn’t come to steal and destroy, but to live in us and live in a world groaning in death, fear and suffering. He became human as we are that he might show us what it means to be truly human.  Isaiah 53:5 says, "He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. The Season of Advent reminds us that like a thief in the night, Jesus will come again. Let us therefore keep watch for The Day of the Lord.  Amen.

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