12/07/08 Flood And Fire

2PE 3:1 This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,

2PE 3:2 that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

Those are the words Peter uses

as we move into the third and final chapter

of his second open letter to the family of God.

So far in this letter

we’ve listened to him outline for us

our Lord’s simple but critical plan

for us to grow in our relationship with Him,

discovering who He is

as we share with Him the daily process

of becoming a partaker of the divine nature.

Then he went on to offer us first of all his own credentials as an Apostle,

and then a clear affirmation

of the absolute reliability and trustworthiness

of the written Word of God.

And then he used the entire second chapter, a full third of his letter,

to prepare us for the false prophets,

the false voices that will always exist within the church world,

teaching us how to recognize them

and how to respond to them.

And now, as he begins to bring his comments to a close,

he once again offers us a clear, simple call

to listen closely

both to the words of the true prophets who have come before him

and also to the words of those Apostles

who were appointed by Christ to establish His Church on the earth

and reveal to those of us who would come after them

what the Church is

and how it is designed to operate.

This will take us just a little bit off track here,

but in our world in which religious systems are everywhere,

masquerading as the true Church,

or at the very least

obscuring the true Church behind a fog of man-made forms and systems,

it is good for us to remind ourselves on a regular basis

what the Church really is.

Did you think this meeting you are involved in right now is the Church?

This is not the Church that was established by Christ when He departed.

It contains a portion of the Church,

but this, just like every other legally organized religious group within our society,

is not the Church as it is talked about in the New Testament.

What we have within our culture

are religious institutions, organizations that meet certain social and legal criteria

that then qualify them for special standing in the society.

I’m not saying that’s wrong,

I’m simply saying that there is a huge difference

between what our culture calls “a church”

and what Jesus Christ was talking about when He said,

MAT 16:18-19 "... upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."

I spent most of my childhood in Seattle.

During my Jr. and Sr. high school years

my parents built a vacation cabin in Eastern Washington.

To get there we had to go over Stevens Pass,

and on the way over that Pass

we went through several small towns on the West side of the Cascades.

In one of those towns,

right on the highway,

in the very center of town,

there was a church.

Sometimes when we would come back from the cabin on Sunday night

we could see the cars in the parking lot

and the people gathered inside.

The last time I traveled that road

I noticed that now that building is a sporting goods store.

It still looks pretty much the same on the outside,

but inside they sell specialty camping equipment and outdoor clothing.

Was Jesus wrong?

Did the gates of Hades overpower the church He had established?

Was His church destroyed within that community by the forces of evil?

NEVER!

The true church of Jesus Christ did not fail within that community.

All that happened was that a recognized religious organization

that, within our culture, we called “a church”

ceased to exist, and the building was bought and used for a different purpose.

Let me uncomplicate this as much as I can

by giving you the three foundation principles

of the true Church of Jesus Christ.

First, the true Church of Jesus Christ

is made up of all true believers in Jesus Christ who are on this earth at any given time.

Many of you who are here in this meeting this morning

are a part of that group.

As such, this organization that we call Peninsula Bible Fellowship

contains part of the true Church.

Some of you who are here this morning

are faithful members of Peninsula Bible Fellowship,

but you are not yet a part of the true Church.

You may simply be religious by nature, or by choice, or by training

and you happen to like the way we practice religion in this group.

Or you may be searching for understanding about your God

and you show up here because what we do seems to help you in your own pursuit of Him.

But at this point

you’re not yet ready to reach out in trust to your Maker.

Right now it’s still not personal between you and your God,

it’s just organizational, institutional.

To you, especially, I say keep listening...and don’t be afraid,

what your spirit hungers for does indeed exist

and you will find it when you are finally able to see beyond all religion

and into the heart of your Creator.

So, first, the true Church is made up of all true believers in Jesus Christ.

Second, every one of those true believers

is literally indwelt by the Spirit of God.

As Paul puts it,

EPH 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise...

Being a part of the true Church of Jesus Christ

is not an arrangement in which we come to God

and promise Him that we will faithfully attempt to do certain things for Him.

It is an arrangement in which He indwells each of us

and then lives out His life through us moment by moment, day by day.

I can’t explain how He does that.

Most of the time we’re not even aware of Him doing it,

but He does, and He does it far better than we ever allow ourselves to believe.

And third, the true Church is the literal, physical body of Jesus Christ on the earth here and now.

We are the means by which He loves the people around us.

We are the means by which

He is able to illustrate

the true nature of righteousness,

and compassion,

and kindness,

and gentleness.

We are the way He disperses truth throughout the world.

And through our lives

He calls people to Himself

and gives those who hear His voice a reason to trust Him.

But my point in all of this

is that it is healthy for us to always keep a clear mental distinction

between the true Church of Jesus Christ

and the countless social organizations that we typically refer to as churches.

Maybe I can illustrate this best with our own group here.

In 1983

Peninsula Bible Fellowship applied for and was granted official recognition as a church

by both the State of Alaska

and by the Federal Government of the United States of America.

For the past 25 years

we have functioned in this community as a church by the cultural definition of the term.

Now, project us as a group into the future.

I have no idea how much longer I will continue to serve as your Bible Teacher -

but the time will come when God will remove me from here.

OK, now imagine what would happen if you,

as a church organization, attempted to find another Pastor

and discovered that you simply couldn’t find anyone

who was willing to accept the role.

Some men would refuse to come because you don’t have your own property and building,

others would decline

because they felt as though the previous Pastor

had made such a royal mess of things

that it would take years to get things back the way they felt they should be.

Still others would back away

because they felt as though a lot of you were way too free thinking

and had far too much freedom to express your thinking

and you’d just plain scare them off.

But in the end

there simply was no one who would step in,

and the board made the decision to end Peninsula Bible Fellowship.

If that ever happened,

would it in any way end or hinder the continuing work of the true Church of Jesus Christ in this community?

Of course not!

Because the Spirit of God

would go right on living within each of you who belong to Him,

and He would continue to live His life out through each of you

in the way that perfectly matches who you are

to the needs in the lives of those around you.

When our King said,

MAT 16:18-19 "... and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven...",

He was telling us that the ongoing work of His true Church

is an absolute certainty on this earth until the day He returns.

It is a work He accomplishes through the minds and hearts and lives

of each of His people,

people who, in our culture, are dispersed throughout the whole spectrum of organized religious institutions,

and some of whom are not associated with any organized group whatsoever.

None of this should surprise us

because it is exactly what our Lord told us to expect.

Do you remember that parable we looked at last week?

MAT 13:24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

MAT 13:25 "But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away.

And do you remember the Lord’s response when His slaves wanted to remove the tares?

MAT 13:29 "But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.

What He’s saying is that there are times when we will get it wrong.

There are some tares that provide a very good imitation of the real thing,

and some of God’s people

who at times look very much like tares.

So if you’re looking for a group in which you are absolutely certain

that everyone within it is a true Christian

you’d better limit your membership to one - yourself.

But let me get us back to Peter.

He begins his concluding comments to us

with a final call to all of God’s people

that we pay close attention to the written Word given to us

through the Old Testament prophets and New Testament Apostles.

Then, in verses 3:3-10

he warns us about one other group of people

who will be hostile to our growth in true faith.

He’s just finished warning us about those within the church community

who will fight against the life of Christ within us,

and now he turns his attention to a group on the outside who will attack us as well.

He gives them a name - the mockers.

And what they were saying 2000 years ago

will sound remarkably familiar to what we hear today.

2PE 3:3-7 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water, through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water. But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

OK, a few observations here...

First of all, Peter wants us to know

that one of the key characteristics of the final days prior to our Lord’s return

will be that those outside the family of God

will consider it utter stupidity

that any rational, thinking person would reasonably expect and eagerly anticipate

the physical return of Jesus Christ to earth.

"Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."

In other words, everything that’s ever happened

from the very beginning of all that is

can be explained on the basis of cause-and-effect in a closed system.

There is a logical,

rational,

verifiable explanation for all of it.

Men and women can make choices

that then have either good or bad consequences,

but that’s the only variable in this whole thing.

Welcome to life in the willful blindness of man’s rebellion against God.

Have you ever watched a toddler playing hide-and-seek?

Have seen the way they will shut their eyes tight

and then think that, because they can’t see you,

it means you can’t see them.

That’s the human race’s relationship with our Creator.

Like Adam and Eve

we’ve run for cover in the undergrowth,

hiding behind all the chaos of our lives,

and then we’ve shut our eyes to our God,

and because we refuse to see Him

we’re just certain He can’t see us,

and probably He isn’t really even there.

Peter’s first response to this stupidity

is to point backwards

to a very significant historical event -

the first time God destroyed nearly the entire human race with water.

Peter is far more tactful then I would have been.

He says, ... it escapes their notice ...

Of course it escapes their notice

because they, just like our three year old,

have chosen to keep their eyes closed tight

to anything that might disrupt their hiding place.

By the way, did you also notice that Peter tells us why they choose not to see?

He tells us that these mockers are ...following after their own lusts.

You see, the reality of a Creator God is not an acceptable option to them

because with Him comes accountability for their own choices

and that simply cannot be.

They are willing to accept the concept of cause-and-effect consequences for choices,

but accountability to a living God is simply not an option,

and so they keep their eyes closed tight.

But then, after pointing us back in history

to a time when life as we know it nearly ceased on this planet,

he then points us forward

to the time when this earth will have served it’s purpose in God’s plan

and, like a Styrofoam cup tossed into the campfire,

the Creator will discard it and replace it with a new one,

but one that has not been so deeply ravaged by the consequences of the sins of the human race.

And I do hope you noticed that statement in verse 7.

2PE 3:7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

You know what he’s saying, don’t you?

Nothing and no one will ever bring civilization to an end

other than God Himself.

Not global warming,

not disruption in the ecological balance of the world,

not a collision with a massive comet,

not a nuclear holocaust,

not anything or anyone other than the One who brought it all into being.

And Peter’s comments are carefully worded here.

But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved...

It is a specific conscious ongoing act of God Himself

that keeps this earth functional

until it has served its purpose.

The more our scientific world learns about nature,

and the intricate, interrelated balance between all living things on this planet,

the more they become aware

of how delicate that balance is

and how one seemingly unimportant alteration in that balance

can set up a chain reaction that can be devastating.

It’s the stuff that gives birth to great causes

and intense religious fervor.

But our God wants us to know that this planet has survived

and will continue to survive until it has served His purposes perfectly

for just one reason -

because God Himself will make certain that it does.

He will keep it functional until its purpose is fulfilled.

Do you want to hear what God said immediately following the flood?

GEN 8:21-22 ...the Lord said to Himself, "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease."

And there is an even more significant underlying message here, too.

I’m not sure I can put this into words

in a way that makes sense,

but I’ll give it a try.

We have two massively different world views colliding in this verse.

First of all there is the commonly accepted world view,

the one we have been fed since the day of our birth,

the one that assumes a world that is, at least in part,

the result of a natural cause-and-effect random process over the course of millions of years.

Earlier this year

a 3.8 billion dollar particle collider was completed in Geneva Switzerland.

According to an interview with one scientist

this largest atom smasher in the world

was constructed with the hope that it can reconstruct the conditions that existed

a tiny fraction of a second following the “Big Bang”

that is widely accepted as the initial event that brought our universe as we know it into existence.

The assumption behind much of this

is that our universe,

our galaxy,

our solar system,

our planet,

and, of course, all living things on this planet including us

are the result of random cause-and-effect consequences over countless millions of years.

And thoughts or ideas about the existence of God

or His interaction with this physical world

are relegated to the realm of religion,

a realm that has no reasonable connection with scientific theories or reasoning.

In fact, that’s exactly the world view

that forms the foundation of these mockers that Peter warns us about.

2PE 3:4 "...For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."

And then you have a second

and radically different world view contained in Peter’s words.

It is a world view that recognizes the reality of a Creator God,

a God who has placed man at the center of His creative work,

and who brought everything else that exists into being

for our benefit.

It is a world view that assumes a relatively brief, predetermined time-frame for this world as we know it,

and assumes also God’s active involvement in keeping this world functioning for His purposes

until those purposes are fulfilled.

And once those purposes are fulfilled

He will discard it as we would discard a used tissue.

And Peter wants us to know

that those who reject the reality of their Creator

will do all they can do

to ridicule and attack, to mock those who recognize His existence.

Now, Peter says more about this whole thing,

and we won’t have time to look at where he goes with it until next week,

but I don’t want to leave this today

without bringing it a little closer to home.

You see, it is not just in our view of the physical creation

that these two world views collide.

It happens every day with every event that takes place in our lives.

Just as there is a whole world of people

who cling to the belief that this physical world is the result of random chance,

so those same people choose to believe

that their own personal lives

are the result of random chance as well.

How could it be otherwise?

Good stuff happens,

bad stuff happens,

some people win and others loose,

some get health, some get sickness,

some get wealth others get poverty,

and in the end it’s all just the luck of the draw.

And if we don’t aggressively fight against it

we can easily get pulled into the same hopeless belief system.

But let me tell you the way it really is.

You are not the product of random chance

and your existence is not without a clear Divinely established purpose.

God Himself chose to bring you into existence

and He did so first of all

because He seeks and highly values an eternal love relationship with you.

And for those of us who come to Him

our walk with Him is never the result

of meaningless, random chance.

Whether we are aware of it or not,

whether we act like it or not,

whether we rest in the reality of it or not,

just as our God carefully brought this world into existence

and actively keeps it in existence on a daily basis,

so He holds our lives,

our futures in exactly the same way.

Listen to the kind of relationship He has established between us and Himself.

JOH 10:27-29 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

Where do you think you are right now?

Do you think you are simply wandering through this world on your own,

one more unnoticed speck in the endless flow of humanity?

Do you know where you really are?

You are now and will always be

secure in the hand of God Himself.

And no one and nothing will every have the power to remove you from His hand.

And just as there has been clear divine purpose and direction for this physical world

since the day God brought it into being,

so there is clear purpose and direction for your life as His child.

It is a given of our life with Him.