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What’s the Hold Up? (2 Peter 3:9)
13 Plays5 months ago
This week our Youth Pastor, his team of adult volunteers and the students left for Centrifuge camp in Jackson, Tennessee. All was going so well with their 5:45pm departure until their plane was delayed three hours causing an inconvenient interruption to their schedule, forcing their arrival at camp to be 1:15am. I can just imagine some of the comments that could have been made while they were sitting in the gate at Houston Hobby, “What’s the hold up? We have our boarding pass, why can’t we just board the plane and move on! I am tired of waiting around here!”
It crossed my mind how often those of us who are Christians may feel the same way about Christ’s promised return. We are ready to go, so why are we all still here on this Earth? The answer to this question was addressed by the Apostle Peter in his last letter, 2 Peter. I want us to focus today on one verse, 2 Peter 3:9 because it tells us the reason we are waiting is because of Who God is.
Peter wrote his second letter as a testament to his faith much like Paul had written 2 Timothy as a testament to his faith in Christ. Written shortly before his martyrdom (1:14), this letter reveals what was heavy upon his heart – false teaching spreading among the churches. These false prophets were promoting ungodly living by denying that Christ was going to return to judge sin and set up His reign.
Chapter three begins by reminding the relatively new believers of the words spoken by the Old Testament prophets (3:1-4). Then, he reminds them of the world that was once destroyed by water (3:5-7). Biblical history and biblical prophecy both should have been enough for these heretical teachers to repent and stop scoffing about the Lord’s delayed return. However, their mocking continued, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” (3:4).
The apostle known as the “Big Fisherman” gives his best answer to their erroneous statements with two amazing statements of truth – one regarding the timelessness of God (v. 8), the other concerning the tenderness of God (v. 9). This second answer tells us why God had not yet sent His Son back to this earth to rule and to reign. It also gives us such an inspiring glimpse into Who God is.
The Punctuality of God - “The Lord is not slow…"
The Promises of God - “…to fulfill His promise…"
The Perspective of God - “…as some count slowness…"
The Patience of God - “…but is patient toward you…"
The Preference of God - “...not wishing that any should perish…"
The Priority of God - “…but that all should reach repentance."
Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam Street
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
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Transcript
Introduction to First Baptist Church Ministries
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message. If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, FBCColumbusTX.org. And now take your copy of God's timeless word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
00:00:44
Speaker
Welcome to Growing Grace. So glad that you're listening today.
Sermon Context and Personal Story
00:00:48
Speaker
I have something from 2 Peter 3 and verse 9, just one verse, but I definitely would like to set the context. One context that happened for me personally is that this week, our student ministry, our youth pastor and the students, they're over at youth camp in Tennessee, actually, in Jackson, Tennessee, at ah Union University going to a camp called Centrifuge. But they loaded up on Sunday afternoon, and they ah drove over to ah Hobby Airport in Houston, and they were there well before their departure time, which was 5.40. And they thought they were going to get aboard the plane, but then they were told the plane there were some problems, some difficulties. So they had to wait, and they waited three hours, which put them a departure of about nine o'clock.
00:01:42
Speaker
And then by the time they flew to Memphis and then the bus from Bellevue Baptist Church was waiting on them there to take them to Jackson, which is another, let's say, hour and a half. It was after one o'clock a.m. when they got there. And so I got to thinking, what would those youth have been saying or thinking while they were waiting in the waiting room of that gate? What would they have been going through? And I could just picture them saying things like, hey, what's the holdup? Why are we waiting? Well, that's exactly what I feel like Peter was addressing in 2 Peter chapter 3.
Skepticism and God's Promises
00:02:20
Speaker
If you were to take the time to read the first eight verses, you would see that there were some people who were saying things like, hey, ah
00:02:30
Speaker
You know, the Lord promised that He was going to return, but everything has been the same. And so nothing's changing. Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. So in other words, some were really doubting whether Christ was going to return or not. They were thinking, maybe the promise isn't real. It's not true. But I think that Peter steps up to the plate and he first says, wait a minute, remember the words that were spoken in the Old Testament? That's what he deals with in verses 1 through 4. And then he also says, for those who are thinking, oh, I don't think that the earth will ever change. ah Human existence will never change. He says, don't forget about the flood.
00:03:20
Speaker
In verses five through seven, he says, remember, the world was destroyed already ah once. And so why would God say he's going to do that and not do it? So anyway, definitely moving right on through. But when he gets into verses eight and nine, it's like he moves into something else.
God's Timeless Nature and Patience
00:03:39
Speaker
He talks in verse eight about the timelessness of God, how God doesn't see time the way we do. He says, 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. Speaking of the timelessness of God, it's who he is. He doesn't move in time and space like we do. But when he goes into verse nine, he moves from the timelessness of God to the tenderness of God. I want you to know why we still have time to lead people to Christ, to bear witness to him, to share the gospel,
00:04:19
Speaker
Why are those who are not saved given a little more time to make that very, very important decision? Listen closely to verse 9, and then I'd like to break it down and share with you just some little insights that the Lord gave me this week on who is God based on this one verse. Listen to this. The 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." Let's just take that for example, and let's just look at it closely. Let's examine it together. The first thing I notice about God is the punctuality of God. It says the Lord is not slow. You know the word slow there that Peter chose to use is the word in Greek, braduno,
00:05:15
Speaker
Braduno meant a slacker. It meant someone who's sluggish. And so is God sluggish? Is God just slacking? Is that why he hasn't returned yet? That's not it at all. As a matter of fact, God is very, very precise in all that he does. So I want you to know that in this verse already, Peter is trying to establish the precision and the punctuality of God. He's saying he's never early, he's never late.
00:05:47
Speaker
Galatians 4-4, another biblical author there, the Apostle Paul, was inspired to write these words, but when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son to be born of a virgin. Yeah, can you imagine how long they waited for the Messiah to come? God promised the Messiah was coming, and why did it take so long for that to take place? Well, because God's precise. He's punctual. He's not early. He's not late. As a matter of fact, maybe in your life, you're struggling over some things that you're saying, God, please take this away. Lord, please help me move out of this season of dryness. Or Lord, please help us. The circumstances are so difficult. And maybe it remains, and you're wondering, I don't think God is in charge at all.
00:06:39
Speaker
But he is, my friend. You know, in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, it reminds us that to everything there is a season. And it shares with us several different seasons in life that the Lord Himself appoints. They're not the same. They're very different. But what I find interesting is what Ecclesiastes chapter 3 and verse 11 says about God. He has made everything beautiful in its time. I have a firm conviction in the sovereignty of God, that God is providentially over all of our lives and over this world and over human history. And so I just want you to know that it's not because God is sluggish or it's not because he's slacking in any way. He is definitely on top of it. And one day we will all see how on top of it he was all along.
00:07:36
Speaker
But there's a second observation that I have based on this 2 Peter 3.9, and that is, it goes on to say, the Lord is not slow to fu fulfill His promise. You know, the word promise there is when someone announces what they plan to do. They plan to do something, then ah maybe they tell you what it is, maybe they don't tell you when they're going to do it, but that word promise is mentioned throughout the New Testament. Do you know that 52 times the biblical writers were inspired to include the word promise? It's epigelio. And so God is a promise-making God.
00:08:21
Speaker
You know, that's why they're saying earlier, hey, what about the promise? Where is the promise of His coming? Is what they said in verse four. You know, 2 Peter was written because false teachers had infiltrated churches back then. And so some of those false teachers were saying, you know what, who cares about living a godly life? You can live as immoral life as you want. And because they were saying God's not going to hold anyone accountable, they were also saying, hey, and you can just forget that about the Lord ah coming back and about us standing before Him and so forth. But I just want you to know that God really has made several promises in the Old Testament about Christ, about His first coming and about His second coming. But it's one thing to make a promise
00:09:13
Speaker
It's quite another thing to actually keep a promise. Has anyone ever made a promise to you and they didn't keep the promise? That's heartbreaking, isn't it? When someone makes it him an important promise to us and we're counting on it and then they don't follow us through. Well, God's not like that at all. He will follow through. He is definitely a promise-keeping God. In our church on Sunday mornings, we just started a new series through the Gospel of Luke. And Luke is writing several different things under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, of course, but also based on his own personal research. I mean, this guy was a physician, and he was used to dealing with facts, not guesses, not opinions. he wanted to
00:10:01
Speaker
to get the facts straight. He wanted to get the medical history on his patients and so forth. But Luke really digs in and he says, you know what? What God said a long time ago in the Old Testament in Isaiah or in Micah or in a Psalm, you know, wherever, he said he fulfilled it right here at this time in Jesus' life. Do you know that Luke points out 21 Old Testament prophecies that have already been fulfilled in Jesus Christ?
Fulfilled Prophecies and Faithfulness
00:10:31
Speaker
I wonder what the odds of that happening in one person's life at one specific period
00:10:38
Speaker
in human history. What would that be? I mean, what would those odds be if God made the promise, let's say, 700 years or 1,000 years before, and yet that happened in his life, another one happened in his life, and so forth, until 21 different Old Testament prophecies and promises actually began to take place. so You know, if we only knew all of the fulfillment of God's promises that have already taken place, I think it it would take our breath away. And so I encourage you sometime to study the promises of God. But along with the promises of God and along with the punctuality of God, I think there's something else that we see in this verse 9 when it says, the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise
00:11:29
Speaker
as some count slowness as some count slowness hey you know let's face it everybody's not really good in math i'm not super good in math as a matter of fact i often joke with my friends being from tennessee uh from the hillbillies i tell them hey look if i can't count on my fingers and my toes i'm dead in the water but of course i'm joking so don't take me too seriously on that one but as some count slowness. You know that word there, to count, is Hegeomai. It's a mathematical term. It means that you consider something very carefully, and then you calculate, and then based on your consideration, your calculation, you arrive at a conclusion.
00:12:17
Speaker
So that's the word that we're talking about. And what he says basically is, maybe everybody else is counting things totally different than the way that the Father counts. Because remember what we read in verse 8 when I first started? But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." We can't say that, you know, as humans, but God can say that because He's eternal. So I got to thinking, isn't that amazing?
00:12:52
Speaker
You know, Acts 1.7, though, says something, you know, I know that it's advanced calculation, you know, because it's way beyond calculus, what we're talking about in, you know, a thousand years is like a day and the day is like a thousand years in God's sight. But in Acts 1.7, the disciples actually said, when are you going to restore things to Israel? And on and on they were asking Jesus these questions. And he said, it's not for you to know the times or the seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority. You see, sometimes it's like authorized personnel only beyond this point.
00:13:32
Speaker
And so there's a limitation that we as humans have in terms of understanding everything but the perspective of God. He put it all together. He already knows how it's going to end. He's in control from the beginning to the end. And so it's just wonderful thinking about how the Father is so in charge. As a matter of fact, from from the first time I read the book of Matthew, the Gospel of Matthew, I was so perplexed by Matthew 24, 36, because these are the words of Jesus, but what he says is no one knows the day or the hour when the Son of God is going to return to this earth. He says, not the angels and not the Son, only the Father.
00:14:19
Speaker
And so I thought, now that is classified information right there, if even the father knows, but he hasn't shared that with his son just yet. I'm thinking, okay, I don't understand that, but I take the word of God seriously and I believe it. But all I'm saying is, from God's perspective, maybe we're getting tired of waiting and we're thinking, why can't we go ahead and get going? Well, Psalm 90, verse 4 says, for a thousand years in your sight, are but as yesterday when it is passed, or as a watch in the night. All I can tell you is God works on a totally different time level with advanced math that we can never comprehend. But let's go to something we can comprehend because it's stated so clearly in this passage about our God.
00:15:10
Speaker
Yes, I think he's looking at all of life, all of history, all of circumstances. From a higher perspective, his ways are higher than our ways, his thoughts higher than our thoughts, but also the promises of God, the punctuality of God. But how about this one? The patience of God. Yeah, he says, but God is patient toward you. patient it It depicts someone who has a very long fuse. In your life, have you ever been around anybody that had a very short fuse? And it's like they were not long suffering and so forth. Well, one of the things with God, it says, is he is slow to anger.
00:15:50
Speaker
He has a lot of self-restraint, even in the face of provocation. And I noticed that it says, God is patient toward you. Hey, we're talking present tense. Aren't you glad that God is patient toward us and that He doesn't just one day just say, you know what? I've had enough from you, Victor Morrison, and we're we're done with you. And so He's finished. like He could destroy me, but He doesn't. And so I'm thinking, why doesn't He? because he's patient. You know, the Apostle Paul wrote about God's patient with him. And here's what he said in 1 Timothy 1, verses 15 and 16. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance.
00:16:34
Speaker
that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Of whom? I am the foremost, but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience.
God's Patience and Call to Repentance
00:16:53
Speaker
As an example to those who were to believe in Him, for eternal life. Wow. You know, that's what God is trying to say. Paul, your life is gonna be such a display of my patience that I did destroy you. Think about Abraham and how long he waited. You know, I'm sure that Abraham struggled with being patient, waiting on the birth of the son that God had promised to him through Sarah. You know, he waited 9,125 days for his son.
00:17:25
Speaker
Probably threw you a curveball there, didn't it? It's 25 years, okay? But what that equals is to 9,125 days. Well, I guarantee you it's probably counting the days. When am I ever going to have this child that God promised me through my wife, Sarah? And it was a long wait. What about the wait from Genesis 3.15? where God made a promise about the Messiah and how he was going to crush the head of the serpent someday through the descendants of Eve. Well, look how long they waited for that, thousands of years. The thing I want you to know is that God is a patient God. He's not impatient, and I'm so glad. As a matter of fact, I want to close with two more things about him that I think will really bless you and encourage you.
00:18:17
Speaker
The fifth thing we can learn from this one verse goes on to say, not wishing that any should perish. I think it's talking about not a decree from God, but a desire ah upon God's heart. It's the preference of God that I think he's addressing. You know, the word wishing here, not wishing that any should perish, it's the word, Greek word bulimai. Bulimai, it expresses an inward predisposition and bent from which volition proceeds. So maybe you're thinking, wait a minute, what did you just say? Well, let me just tell you in a nutshell what I'm talking about. Boula Mai and Thello both refer to someone's will, to something they want to do. They've got an idea, they've got a plan, they've got a goal, okay? Well, Boula Mai is whenever it's just a desire.
00:19:12
Speaker
It's an inner desire. It's an unconscious willingness. It's where way down below mercy and way down below long suffering, there's something down in there that motivates God to say, I'm going to give them a little more time. You know what that is? It's the preference of God. What is his preference? Oh, I'm glad you asked. He's not wishing that any should perish. But now you take the other word, not bulimai, but thello. Thello is a conscious willingness. It's an active resolution.
00:19:49
Speaker
You see, the fact is that God is always willing to save man, but man is not always willing to be saved. I know I struggled for a long time. And I thought about this word, perish, not wishing that any should perish. Do you know that Ezekiel 18.23 and Ezekiel 33.11 and Ezekiel 33.32 all tell us the same thing. that God has no delight in the death of the wicked. That doesn't get God charged up. What he does say is his delight in all three of those passages is that the wicked man would turn in repentance and turn to God.
00:20:31
Speaker
That's what God deeply, deeply wants and longs for. it He doesn't want us to perish. The word perish there is apulumi. It means destruction and yet not annihilation. It's where you ruin things of what he wants, but you're not finished. It's not completely over. Your existence is continuing. And so God is saying, look, I don't wish that any of you would perish. We know that the Bible says there's going to be a lot of people on the broad road that leads to destruction, so many are going to go down that way. But the fact is, God doesn't want that in his heart of hearts. I want us to look at not the preference of God, but the last part of this verse I feel tells us the priority of God.
00:21:24
Speaker
What is God's priority? He says, well, I'm not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. There's that word repentance again. You know, repentance is when, like in the military, let's say the troops are marching in a certain direction, Well, whenever they want them to march in the exact opposite direction, they call them with a certain command that means you pivot and you go 180 degrees in the opposite direction that you were just facing. And so they say, about face. And so that's when they turn. Well, that's what God is calling for all mankind.
00:22:06
Speaker
because we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We have all chosen to go in our own way to rebel against God, to resist him, and so forth. And so what he's saying is, I really want everyone to repent. That's what my priority is, is to get the gospel message to everyone that they would turn in repentance and place their faith in the Lord.
Analogy of Repentance and Faith
00:22:33
Speaker
I remember reading where Charles Haddon Spurgeon said about Acts 20-21, you know, whenever Paul said, everywhere I've gone, I've preached repentance and faith in Christ. That's such a perfect balance of the gospel message, calling us to doing about faith when it comes to living for sin,
00:22:54
Speaker
to turn and walk toward Christ. And so someone said to Spurgeon, isn't that like two things there? And he said, no, it's really like one thing. It's like one doorway. And he said, the door is repentance, and I'm going to close that door to repentance. But the post that the door of repentance hangs on is faith. And so that gives it stability. If you have a door with no door jam, no door frame, nothing holding it there, it's not going to hold out anything. But if you have a door jam, a post there, then it's going to be stable. Just like in 1 Thessalonians 1, verses 9 through 10.
00:23:37
Speaker
where Paul is recounting how the people in Thessalonica trusted Christ. And what he says is they turned from idols to place their faith in Christ. That's what he's saying. That's the repentance that's mentioned here. It's the word metanoia. It's ah actually 22 times in the New Testament, but it's a change of mind. It's a complete change of heart. a change of attitude, a change of interest, a change of direction. As a matter of fact, let me close with this one last thing. It says, but that all should reach repentance. What does that word reach mean? Well, the word reach there is correo.
00:24:19
Speaker
It means that you make room. It means that you receive. It means that you give place to something. So the unbeliever has the personal responsibility to make room for God's gift of salvation, for God's gift of repentance, for God's gift of grace. And so I have to make room for that. Have you made room for God? You know what he's been doing all this time? Do you know why Jesus has not returned and said, that's it. Time is up. I'm coming back. He has made room for you. You know, there's room at the cross for you. that's There's an old hymn that says that. There's room at the cross for you. But you know what we also have to do? That's God's part. But our part is we have to make room for Him.
00:25:11
Speaker
We have to say, OK, Lord, I will turn in repentance knowing that your son gave his life on the cross. He shed his blood for me. And this is a gift for me. And so that's my my last plea to you is please make room for God's gift of repentance and for God's gift of salvation and his gift of grace. and And on and on we could go. You know, the Lord loves you so much. And I want you to know that even though some of us, well, it's sort of like we already have trusted
Trust in God's Timing
00:25:46
Speaker
Christ. So in a way, we have our boarding pass. We're ready for the flight to take off. If Christ comes back today, there are many of us around the world who have already turned in repentance, placed our faith in Jesus Christ. And if the if the flight goes today, we're going. But do you know why we're all waiting
00:26:07
Speaker
We're all waiting. so that people like you, if you haven't trusted Christ, if you have, that's great. But I'm saying there are many who have not. And so if you have not yet done that, I want you to know the flight's waiting for you. That's why the father doesn't want to leave. This is who he is. This is what he's like. He has made promises. He plans to keep those promises. And he's very patient about fulfilling them. Let me just leave you with this thought.
00:26:38
Speaker
What if the Lord would have heard these people during the days of Peter saying, what about the promise that the Lord was going to return? Everything's continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. What if back in his day, the people would have gotten to the Lord, gotten underneath his skin, and the Lord said, that's it. I am so tired of hearing them questioning my patience and questioning my promises. I'm just going to send my son right now. What would have happened? You know what would happen? All of us that are alive, all ah all the people that have been born since Peter's day, we would not have been given a chance because we wouldn't have been born yet. Think about this. All of this has happened under the sovereignty of God. God is saying to you and God is saying to me and every person on this planet, look,
00:27:32
Speaker
Here's the offer, my son died for you. he He gave his life as an atonement for our sins. Why don't you come to Christ today? Let's close in prayer. Lord, I thank you so much for passages like this. They just remind us who you are. I mean, aside from your plans and your purposes and your time schedules and all of that, if there's nothing else we get from this passage, help us not miss who you are. You're revealing to us that you're a patient God. You're revealing to us
00:28:07
Speaker
that there's tenderness in your heart toward us who are still not yet saved. You're revealing to us that we may think that you're being sluggish and slow and all of that, but you're not. You're gonna keep the promises, but you're giving us time to repent and trust Christ.
Conclusion and Prayer
00:28:25
Speaker
So Lord, if any of my friends that are listening today have not turned in repentance and placed their faith in Christ, I pray that today would be that day. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Well, thank you so much for joining us again for Growing in Grace. I pray that you were blessed. Pray that you'll visit 2 Peter 3.9 anytime you want. It's right there for you to examine. Well, you have a great day. God bless. Bye-bye.
00:28:58
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.