The Day of the Lord is Coming
By Greg Johnson
March 25, 2007
http://www.LovingGodFellowship.org
2 Peter 3:1-18
We live in troubling times. North Korea has tested nuclear weapons. Iran is developing nuclear capabilities with spoken threats by their president of the annihilation of Israel. Terrorists are seeking nuclear devices to create "dirty bombs" to be set off in our cities and cities around the world.
In the midst of troubling times, please know that the day of the Lord is coming. I’m not presenting you with timetable. I’m not trying to scare you. I want to encourage you with the Word of God. The day of the Lord is coming. The prophets of the Old Testament warned about it. Jesus and the Apostles warned of it in the New Testament. Today, we are one day closer to it being reality.
WHY DOES GOD WAIT?
Why does God wait? To answer that question we must look to God’s Word. (2 Peter 3:1-10 NIV) "Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. {2} I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. {3} First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. {4} They will say, "Where is this ’coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation." {5} But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. {6} By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. {7} By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. {8} 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."
God waits because His heart is that no one perishes, but everyone come to Him in repentance through Jesus Christ. Today you may be going your own way and doing your own thing instead of denying yourself and following Jesus. God has waited just for you. He is waiting for you to die to yourself and come alive in Jesus Christ. He longs for you to humble yourself and fall at the foot of the cross and submit to Jesus’ lordship. It’s at the cross that you die with Christ to sin. It’s at the cross that you are baptized into Christ by the Holy Spirit. It’s at the cross that you are justified or declared righteous by God.
THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL COME SUDDENLY.
It is important to be right with God and following Jesus today because the day of the Lord will come suddenly. The Apostle Peter goes on to say (2 Peter 3:10 NIV) "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."
Some have said and prophesied that this will come about in our day by nuclear devices being detonated. We have heard the threats of Iran and North Korea and we have been shown the hearts of terrorists. My friend today is the day of salvation. Tomorrow may be too late. Don’t put off for tomorrow what can be done today. Repent today! Come to Christ today! God is patiently waiting for you!
WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS MEAN FOR THE BELOVED?
No matter how dark and evil our times may become, God has always preserved a remnant. They are the beloved. They have responded to and experienced the love of God and have answered His call to repent and submit themselves at the foot of the cross and become followers of Jesus Christ. With the coming of the day of the Lord imminent, what does it mean for the beloved?
Live holy and Godly lives. (2 Peter 3:11-13 NIV) "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."
Make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with God. (2 Peter 3:14-16 NIV) "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. {15} Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. {16} He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction."
Be on guard concerning false teachers, preachers and the doctrines of man. Those that teach a different Gospel than the one delivered and preached by the Apostles. (2 Peter 3:17 NIV) "Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position."
Draw close to Jesus! (2 Peter 3:18 NIV) "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."
Hallelujah! Beloved as you draw close to Jesus and keep your eyes fixed on Him (Hebrews 12:2) nothing will move you. Nothing will shake you. No matter what happens in this world, you are rooted and grounded in Jesus. You have chosen to build your house on the Rock and not on the sand. Your citizenship is in heaven and not of this world. As you see the day approaching, draw close to Jesus Christ and grow in His grace!
