August 9, 2020 “The Flood & the Fire”
August 9, 2020 “The Flood & the Fire”
2 Peter 3:3-11 Church Picnic at Sherwood
Unfortunately the power went out at the campground. The attempt to record the sermon on a smart phone was foiled by a software failure. So, the best I can do is give you the first 10 minutes and my sermon notes! (So this is Dawn’s spin on my dad’s sermon, hehe!)
2 Peter 3:3-11
3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
Vs 3:
Scoffers: ἐμπαῖκται in the Greek meaning mockers. These people make fun of criticize and don’t want to be judged for their “lust of the flesh” actions.
(Galatians 5:16-21 catalogues some of these awful ways to walk!)
Vs. 4. Many of these scoffers are in denial that Jesus will return, but our Church Fathers and Apostles warned of the second coming of the Lord Jesus.
Jesus, Himself, warned us of His return in Matthew 24:42-44:
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
Pastor shared a story from his childhood. “Every Friday my parents would leave on Friday evening for a few hours to buy groceries. We kids were given assignments by our Father. HOUSE CLEANING DUTIES! But what dad didn’t understand was the great shows that were on T.V. The minute he and mom were gone, ON went the T.V. and was it great!!! UNTIL dad came back because he forgot his checkbook!!! JUDGMENT WAS UPON US!!!
That is what will happen when JESUS returns. Shock! YOU need to BE READY for the Lord’s return! He is coming to judge sin! A dad spankin is NOTHING compared to what awaits the scoffers walking according to their lusts. Revelation 21:8 But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death. Revelation 22:12 For behold I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me to give to every one according to his (or her) work.
vs 4: These scoffers are saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
The moral of the story: Scoffers LIE!
The apostle Peter is the author of 2nd Peter. It is believed that Peter was martyred during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero before 68 A.D. He was warning of scoffers then. Why? Because there is NOTHING new under the sun.
There have been scoffers since the fall of man!
Did God really say???
vs. 4 “For since the fathers fell asleep all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.”
That is one of the lies of the theory of evolution which has been force fed to every public schooled child for decades. …everything has remained the same. slow change over bazillions of years.
But that, my friend, is FAKE NEWS!
Since creation, things have NOT continued as they were from the beginning.
Creation was GOOD until the fall of humanity when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Then the Good creation was now a cursed creation. Sin was officially official. (2 Peter 3:4 Difference #1:things have NOT continued as they were from the beginning of creation. SIN MARRED CREATION!)
vs 5-6 Then came CATASTROPHE! FLOOD! For this the scoffer is willingly ingnorant: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water. (2 Peter 3:4 Difference #2: The flood CHANGED EVERYTHING!)
Genesis 6-8 delivers the details of the first worldwide judgment—the flood! God rescued 8 people and 2 of every kind of animal in an Ark of wood.
2 Peter 3:6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
The first judgment was water!
The whole world was wiped out!
How do we know there was a worldwide flood? What would the evidence be?
“Billions of dead things buried in rock layers laid down by water all over the earth” by Buddy Davis. Click the link to watch the lyric video! So catchy!
Here are 6 Facts that prove there was a worldwide flood:
Sea creatures high above sea level
Mass rapid burial of plants and animals
Rapid deposit of sediment layers all over the world
Sediment transported long distances. The flood split the continents. They fit together like a puzzle.
Erosion between strata layers
No slow and gradual erosion
And for a bonus: all the major cultures of the world have flood legends.
In China, the Chinese language itself has flood clues (https://answersingenesis.org/genesis/chinese-characters-and-genesis/)
After CREATION, then CORRUPTION, then CATASTROPHE, we have CONFUSION at the tower of babel where God confused the languages.
Another Buddy Davis Song if you want to watch the lyric video!
That is why there are flood records in so many languages. EVERYBODY’S great great great great great great…grampa is NOAH! There is one race- the human race, but at the Tower of Babel, ethnicities, due to their common languages, became a reality.
What does God want to tell us?
The first time HE JUDGED THE ENTIRE WORLD, He did it with water. He made a way of escape for whosoever would climb into the ARK of safety. Only 8 people took Him up on His offer.
GOD DOES NOT WANT US JUDGED IN WRATH! HE made a way of escape in Noah’s day and He has provided a way of escape in our day as well.
We were all BORN WICKED! Separated from God because of our sin. Judgment is hanging over our heads! BUT GOD!
God sent JESUS His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should NOT perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
The second worldwide judgment promised by God is fire.
2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
It is the power of God that holds the tiniest atoms together. When He lets go and they split apart, it will be BIG! (The biggest Nuke we have is NOTHING in comparison to the fervent heat described in 2 Pet 3:10!)
Are you ready for the coming judgment?
First Advent (coming) Jesus came as a humble servant.
Second Advent (coming) Jesus will return as a MIGHTY Judge!
God prepared an Ark, the first time, to rescue humanity when He judged the world with a flood.
God sent Himself this time. Jesus is the only Ark of safety.
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Believing on Christ includes REPENTANCE. We must come to Him on His terms.
In Matthew 4:17, at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
μετανοέω strongs 3340 repent: to change one’s mind for the better, heartily to amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins, about face, go God’s way instead of your own way, JESUS BE THE BOSS OF ME!
When a ship is sinking, they start throwing heavy stuff overboard. Do you have any sin in the way? Get rid of it! Get right with God! Turn!
He paid the price for your sin on the cross over 2000 years ago. Won’t you receive His gift of salvation, the forgiveness of sin by grace through faith?
Look, now is the accepted time; look, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2b MEV
Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: