Monday, December 5, 2011

ADVENT 2
December 4/5, 2011
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: 2 Peter 3:8-14

WHAT GOD WANTS!
1. Everyone’s Repentance.
2. A New Heaven and a New Earth.
3. Our Every Effort.

2 Peter 3:8-14 (NIV 1984) “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”

It was about 65 AD. The young Christian church was barely 30 years old. The people filling the pews those days were first generation Christians. The Apostles still walked the earth. They took the word of God, the promise that Jesus would come again very seriously. Some, many, were getting tired of waiting. They were getting discouraged. The Holy Spirit sent Peter into action. His second epistle encouraged waiting Christians. In the first part of chapter 3 Peter had talked about scoffers coming and saying “Where is this end of the world?” You wonder if Peter didn’t know that the biggest scoffer lives inside of each one of us too. We are waiting Christians. We know and believe Jesus’ promise to come again. Yet life goes on. We all have things to do and people to see. We easily settle into the routines of life celebrating the proper observances at the proper time. Today this word of God serves us by encouraging us to focus on what God wants in view of Jesus’ coming.
The first thing He wants is everyone’s repentance. “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” OK. It’s three weeks, 21 days until Christmas. Is that a long time or a short time? Well that depends on your perspective right? Children you have to wait 21 days to open presents. That seems like forever doesn’t it? I remember when a week was like a year. Parents 21 days until Christmas and we say, “Oh no! Are you kidding? It’s already here! I’ll never get everything done.” The end of the world is like that. The people in Peter’s time thought it was taking so long. That was their perception of time. Maybe we do too, if we even think about it. But look what God has in mind. The perception of time is meaningless.
What God wants is not. He wants everyone to repent. That’s what He is waiting for. Everyone gets their chance. God is patient. He doesn’t want anyone to perish. He wants repentance. Now I can’t give Him everyone’s repentance. Neither can you. What can we do? Well we can get the word out. We can do that personally with those we know. We can give money to support those who proclaim God’s Word here and elsewhere. We can pray for the repentance of all people. But we can also give to God our own personal repentance. That’s what He wants. Does He have it from you? If Jesus came today is there something on your cell phone you wouldn’t want Him to see? Anything hiding on your computer, in your house? Sin comes to all of us but repentant Christians will strive to make sure that it never finds a home with us. How about the home of your heart? Are you letting bitterness and jealousy dwell rent free? Who or what sits on the throne of your heart? If it is anything or anyone but Jesus, repent. That’s what God wants.
What God wants is a new heaven and new earth. We can relate. It’s nice when clothes have worn out to get something new. The world we live in is wearing out. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned it’s been fighting against itself, never functioning exactly like it is supposed to. Species become extinct. Fault lines slip with ensuing destruction of earthquakes and tsunamis. Try as hard as we want to be green we continue to pollute. It is inevitable. The world is getting worn out. God wants a new heaven and a new earth and he’s going to get it! “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”
When the last day comes and it will this world as we know it will be destroyed. Some people like to argue back and forth over whether or not God will just create everything new or rework the refined created matter into a new heaven and new earth that is the way it was supposed to be in the beginning. Not me! I hear new heaven and new earth and my eyes light up. On the Price is Right when they win the brand new car they don’t look to see how many parts were made out of recycled material. They whoop and holler and jump and scream because it’s new. That’s the attitude we get to have to as we wait for the Day of the Lord. And it’s what motivates us as Paul said “to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”
That’s also what God wants. Our every effort in living as Christians.“So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.” Spotless. Blameless. At peace with God. Brothers and sisters, these are not things that are going to happen by our doing. You and I know very well that our best efforts at holy living will fall short. We need to work hard at living holy and godly lives but guys even when we keep our computers clean they are still going to focus on the exposed cheerleaders during the football games. We will see that. And sisters you know very well how your heart or mouth is going to respond to some other woman’s words or actions. Probably not always taking them in the kindest possible way. Children when you look at why you are doing the things you are doing, how you act at school and at home there is a lot of selfishness there, isn’t there? Spotless. Blameless. How do we make every effort to be found that way?
By clinging to the only one who can and does make us spotless and blameless, Jesus Christ. That’s what God wants. Are you making every effort to do that? This past Thanksgiving after Thanksgiving worship my family traveled to La Crosse to be with family for Thanksgiving. Caused a little problem for me. See church gets over at about 10:30. Packer game starts at 11:30. WTMJ’s radio signal usually lasts until somewhere between Madison and the Dells. So I got online to find other stations that might broadcast. I asked phone people if there was a way to listen on the phone. I made every effort to hear that broadcast. Are you making every effort to hear the broadcast that tells you about Jesus? For the past few years your pastors have been concerned about worship attendance. We see a gradual decrease in our people coming to worship Jesus. Has that happened with you? Has every week changed into 3 out of 4? Has 3 out 4 then become every other? Now sure you can read the Bible on your own each day but are you? Are you practicing daily repentance, examining your heart and life so when you take the Lord’s Supper it is the blessing God intends and not the judgment that happens when one tires to play games with God who knows all and sees all. Is God getting your every effort? That’s what He wants as you wait.
Christmas is coming. We know that. We are waiting for it to happen. Will you get what you want? We’ll see. And why do you want those things? Probably for yourself. The Last Day, when Jesus returns, that’s coming too. Will God get what He wants? And did you notice that what He wants is for the good of others, not Himself? What He wants is everyone’s repentance, a new heaven and new earth for people to live in and our every effort to hold on to Jesus so we will be found spotless and blameless in that Day. Let’s strive to give it to Him. Amen.

No comments:

Post a Comment