Grosey's Messages

Sometimes getting some facts can turn some behaviour right around.
Peter was the cleaner and maintenance man at Canterbury Girls High School. He came to church one Sunday morning in Sydney and told me excitedly about a problem they were having at the Girls High school. Some of the girls were going into the Girls toilets each day, and with pink lipstick kissing the mirrors. There were literally thousands of pink kisses on the mirrors each day. And they were a real nuisance to clean off.
In agreement with the Headmistress she had called in the group of year ten girls who were the main culprits. She took them to the toilets where Peter met them.
“Look girls”, she said I want to show you how difficult it is to remove these pink kisses from the mirrors each day. Poor Peter has to do this every single day. And its not funny!” With that, peter got out his mop, carefully dipped it into the toilet, and scrubbed the lipstick from the mirrors. They never had a problem with pink lipstick on the mirrors again! A little knowledge can do mighty things!
A little knowledge can make mighty changes!
Prophetic truth is not for speculation, but rather for motivation.
Be diligent! That is the theme of the passage and also of the book.
2 Peter 1:5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; , 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: , 15 And I will also make every effort that after my departure you may be able to recall these things at any time.
In the Olivet Discourse Jesus told his disciples to watch for certain signs and moral conditions. The day of the coming of the Son of Man will find people doing the same things people were doing in the days just before the flood--marrying, eating and drinking. But you be alert, he told his disciples, just like the faithful servant who was put in charge of his master's household while his master was away. Be prudent, he warned, like the five virgins who waited for the bridegroom. Be faithful, like the servant who increased his talents while his master was away. Christ will return, yes, but when he returns will he find faith on earth? Be diligent to be found by him faithful, in peace.
Be Diligent To Do What’s Important.
Peter is reminding us to do what is important, and he’s giving us a little knowledge that will cause us to make some mighty big changes in our lives!

1. Be Diligent to Look For That Day 3x “look for”
2 peter 3:12 as you wait for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God,
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,
13, Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth,
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.

A Day Of Fury 10
2 Thess 1:7This will take place]at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels, 8 taking vengeance with flaming fire on those who don’t know God and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of everlasting destruction, away from the Lord’s presence and from His glorious strength,
12 Then I saw Him open the sixth seal. A violent earthquake occurred; the sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair; the entire moon became like blood; 13 the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a high wind;
14 the sky separated like a scroll being rolled up; and every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the military commanders, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 because the great day of Their wrath has come! And who is able to stand?”
Revelation 15: 7 One of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven gold bowls filled with the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.
Rev 19:15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

A Day Of Futility
10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that [day]the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.
Mark 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Sin is laborious, spending of self and hard-earned sub¬stance for the things that will perish with the using. When we get them what do we have? We have to leave them all behind. They turn to ashes, to gall, to bitter wormwood. There is no need of elaborating on that. We have all learned it only too bitterly, alas, too well. Go out into the highways and byways of life. Watch the faces of the devotees of Satan. See how strained they are. See what efforts they put forth in order to obtain the things of this world, when in their sober moments they know that every¬thing they do get will result in their harm, in their loss, in their spiritual death. The way of the trans¬gressor is hard. The wicked are like the troubled sea. The devil has no bargains. You pay a thousand, aye, ten thousand times over for every bit of shoddy that you obtain in his market place. He cannot even give you a deed in simple fee. He has no control over life, over death, over eternity. Only God can do that. Only God has that.
Sin is costly, more costly than any and every other pursuit, more expensive than any and every other engagement of life. It costs everything, char acter, influence, reputation, time, health, love, home, money. Finally it costs the soul and heaven Itself. "For what shall it profit a man If he gam the whole world and lose his own soul" On top of that you must remember, oh, I beseech you to remember, that the devil cannot, that the devil does not, that the devil will not, ever, give anyone the whole world in exchange for his soul He bought Judas for thirty pieces of silver. Before. that time and since that time, he has been buying the eternal welfare of men oft times for even less than that. Examine what the devil has to offer 'you and you will find that it is trash, that there IS nothing to it, that it is not even worth one millionth of the price the devil asks for it, that it IS painted up, perfumed over to make it attractive, that there IS nothing solid nothing worth while about It.
Sin is extremely unsatisfying. There is nothing in sin that makes us content for any length of time. It is bitter, biting, blighting. It blights like the burn¬ing open-doored furnace, like the blazing noontide heat. It brings pain to the body, pangs to the heart, punishment to the soul. It IS a whip of scorpions by day, a nightmare by night, the shadow of an inevitable doom hanging like the sword of Damocles over the head of the sinner. You lose yourself for awhile in its hectic preoccupation, but as soon as the moments of enchantment are over there comes the bitter sting of repentance, of remorse, of burning memories.


A Day Of Fear 10, 12
A Day Of Finality 13
we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will dwell.

Is your heart longing for Jesus to return? Are you looking for Him? I am. The coming of Jesus is really the only hope for this world. And when will that be? I don't know. It may be at morning when the clouds break open with sunlight and shadows of night recede from the sky. It may be at noon when the world is hustling and bustling. It may be at dusk when the birds are singing their evening song or at midnight when the stars will dim by the blaze of glory when He descends from the heavenlies. What joy fills my heart! Does it fill yours as well to think of that moment? Are you ready?

2. Be Diligent to Live For That Day
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness
“Our main business is not to see what lies dimly in the distance but to do what lies clearly at hand” W. Osler, Johns Hopkins University.
A. Live Holy Lives
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness
Put Time Into Being Holy Be separated from sin. Israel was a holy nation
Rom 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Phil 3:17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) 20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Put Time into Being Godly Be separated to God. Devoted to pleasing God.

B. Live Harmonious Lives
14 Therefore, dear friends, while you wait for these things, make every effort to be found in peace without spot or blemish before Him.
2 Peter 2:13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
Be diligent to be found by Jesus "spotless." The apostle has in mind Jesus as the spotless Lamb of God who was therefore acceptable to God as a sacrificial offering for sin. In his first letter, Peter reminded his readers to know that they were redeemed ". . . with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ" (1 Pet. 1:19). When we truly understand the significance of the life and death of the perfect Lamb of God we are motivated to live lives acceptable to God by the power of the Holy Spirit. He died so that we may live, being made sin for us in order to redeem us. That is why Peter said in his first letter, "As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behaviour; because it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:14-16). In contrast to the false teachers-- " stains and blemishes," as they were described by Peter in this second letter-- Christians are called to be "above reproach." John wrote, "And now little children, abide in Him, so when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming" (1 John 2:28).
Peter says, be diligent to be found by Christ "blameless." Here again we have the idea of the sacrificial lamb. "Blameless" here does not mean perfection. God deems the Christian to be blameless because the believer's sins are forgiven in Christ. On a human level, to be "blameless" has the idea that all wrongs have been righted and settled, thus reconciliation is possible.
Here is how Christians should be found by God, as Paul tells us in Ephesians, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him" (Eph. 1:3,4). Writing to the Philippians, the apostle says, "Do all things without grumbling or disputing; that you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world" (Phil. 2:14, 15). Christians are the light of the earth, the salt of the world.


C. Live Hearty Lives
15 Also, regard the patience of our Lord as an opportunity for salvation,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God,
Pray.. “Thy Kingdom Come”
Rev 8: 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. 5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
Passion adds Persuasiveness.
23 year old German girl came forward for baptism. To be interviewed by deacons, crying, out of concern for her brother who needed the Lord.
Deacon: “I move that we accept this young woman for baptism and after baptism into full membership of the church because she has already given ample and abundant proof of her salvation.”
As soon as she was on the Lord’s side she agonised over the lost.
Are you hearty about winning the lost?
There are four characteristics of persons who impact us the most. They are:
1. CONSISTENCY- that means we are not a flash in a pan. The consistent Christian is one who is unaffected by the fickle winds of popular opinion or political correctness. We ought to be a consistent people, consistent in our love, consistent in our offer of grace and mercy, and consistent in our belief in the presence and power of Jesus Christ to save and provide peace.
2. AUTHENTIC- I just recently saw a set of old Australian coins up for auction. On each one it had the statement: “this is a pretty good fake”. Who would have thought of trying to copy an Australian penny? I came across an old stamp on an envelope a 2d King Edward. I checked online if it was worth anything, and the announcement was that the faked ones were now worth more than the originals!
The certificate of authenticity for each Christian is the tangible and intangible effects of the Spirit of God in our lives. It means that we are real to the core, unhypocritical, not chrome plated and the genuine stuff right down to the nub.
3. TIRELESS- It is my belief that real Christianity exemplifies itself in a relentless determination to spend ones self. A person with spiritual impact is tremendously enthusiastic about their labor and unconcerned about obstacles. Are you tireless about winning the lost? I admire some of our older men and their consistency in witnessing to the lost at every opportunity.
4. UNSELFISHNESS- Those who impact us the most think of themselves the least. I was always told that the way to get everything you want is to make sure that everyone around you gets everything they want. You can only get that accomplished when you are absolutely self-less.

We Should Be Looking For The Lord's Return
We Should Be Living For Him Until He Comes
Holy godly blameless spotless lives.
We should be winning the lost until He comes.

20 Now some Greeks were among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 So they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and requested of him, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 “ I assure you: Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop. 25 The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. Where I am, there My servant also will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honour him. 27 “Now My soul is troubled. What should I say—Father, save Me from this hour? But that is why I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name!” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again!” 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him!”
30 Jesus responded, “This voice came, not for Me, but for you. 31 Now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
32 As for Me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all [people]to Myself.” 33 He said this to signify what kind of death He was about to die. 34 Then the crowd replied to Him, “We have heard from the law that the Messiah will remain forever. So how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 Jesus answered, “The light will be with you only a little longer. Walk while you have the light so that darkness doesn’t overtake you. The one who walks in darkness doesn’t know where he’s going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light so that you may become sons of light.” Jesus said this, then went away and hid from them.


The Anomalies Of God’s Purposes: Do You Want To See God Produce Life?
The principle of spiritual harvest and fruitfulness.
23 Jesus replied to them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 “ I assure you: Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop. 25 The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. Where I am, there My servant also will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honour him.
The principle of harvesting is obvious. You take some seed, you sow it and 6 months or 9 months later you harvest much more than you sowed.
The early pioneers nearly starved to death over that principle.
They had brought with them gain from England with the intention of sowing it around Botany Bay, Kurnell. But the land was too salty and marshy an infertile. So they moved the settlement to Sydney, to sow around Sydney harbour. But again, what they sowed they found they barely reaped anything worthwhile. The Total landed: 1373 had brought with them 448 Barrels of Flour and 60 Bushels of Seed Wheat, some banana seed some rice some apples 20 Bushels of Seed Barley, some pears some strawberries some lemon and orange seeds and some coffee seeds. Can you see the problem with the stuff they were trying to grow?
Livestock? 18 Turkeys 29 Geese 35 Ducks 122 Fowls 87 Chickens Kittens Puppies 4 Mares 2 Stallions 4 Cows 1 Bull 1 Bull Calf 44 Sheep 19 Goats 32 Hogs 5 Rabbits
It doesn’t go along way between 1400 people.
In just a few months, the food the First Fleet had brought with it had run out or was rotten. The convicts were almost starving and many people died.
While they were searching for suitable fertile land, they nearly starved to death eating the reserves of grain, grain that was meant to be sown for a harvest. Another 2 ships Suppy and Sirius had to be sent to Norfolk island to get more grain to sow, and the Sirius sank there. Food got scarcer, and no telephones or email, they didn’t know whether the Supply had made it or not. So they ate more grain. Finally a settlement at the Hawkesbury did ok. The Indian corn looked remarkably well; it was now ripening, and the Hawkesbury settlers supposed that they should have between thirty and forty thousand bushels of that grain raised among themselves.
There is anomaly here. TO eat flour they had to throw away their grain, instead of milling it to form wheat, and bury the grain in the ground. And when they did they would have more than ample to eat.
Similarly very little of the livestock, that was brought out got to breed. Most of it got to be eaten. It’s the anomaly, if you want to eat, don’t eat it! Here are three anomalies. If you want to live, die! If you want to find life, lose it. If you want honour and favour, don’t exalt yourself to get it, serve.
Most committees merit the well-known definition: A group of the uncommitted, appointed by the unwilling, to do the unnecessary.
The coming of the Greeks to Jesus symbolized the coming of the world to seek him. So he knew it was time now that he should face the cross and the time of his crucifixion was near at hand. He explained his crucifixion. It was not the death of a martyr, and it was not the slaying of a thief. Rather, it was a grain of wheat sown into the ground so that it must bear much fruit. Jesus enunciates this principle of spiritual harvest and fruitfulness.
1. Dying To Give Life
Choose Death
Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself. But if it dies, it produces a large crop. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone;but if it dies, it bears much fruit." {John 12:24 RSV}
Whenever Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you," it is a red light shining which says, "Pay attention. What I am about to say is of supreme importance. Don't miss this!" It is his invariable formula for indicating an important saying. The important statement follows, "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." What does he mean? This is the central parable of this study.
It is clear that he is speaking of himself. He is the grain of wheat. Here he is among men, unique, different. He is the Son of God, compelling, compassionate, living the life of God in the midst of men, and yet wholly as a man.
And yet, all that He is, until He dies, He is alone. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone." For the rest of eternity, though he would have been thronged with angels and all the other created beings of God's universe, he would have been alone. By His death He brings many sons to glory. He could have remained what he was. He did not need to die. He was no martyr to a failing cause. He himself said that he did not need to die. "No man takes my life from me," he said, "I lay it down of myself, and I take it up again of myself," {cf, John 10:18}. He was not forced to the cross.
The first thing is this: if I hate my life in this world and I am willing to die and fall in the ground and be covered up, then I will bring forth much fruit. Jesus says, the consequences first of all will be fruitfulness in the life of the believer. Fruitfulness in the life of Jesus was the reason he was dying. He was born to die. What if he had not died. He would be in heaven, but he would be alone. None of us would ever be there with him. Neither would Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, nor any of the Old Testament saints be there. He would be alone.
And for Jesus to have a gathering of fruitfulness into his life--if his life is to mean anything, he cannot preserve it. He must be willing to die. There is nothing in the Scriptures that tells us so much about how out of step with the world we are because the last thing the world wants to do is to die--die to itself.
Nobody wants to die to themselves. We have the idea that we must live and realize ourselves and come to the consciousness of all that we are within ourselves. Yet, the Lord comes along with direct contrary advice. He says, no, the life is not to be saved; the life is to die so that it can bring forth much fruit. If we are not being fruitful as we ought to be, it is simply because we have not yet learned how to die to ourselves.
You see, the secret of fruitfulness is that life comes out of death. Paul echoed this in 2 Corinthians 4 when he talks about his ministry. He says, we are always carrying in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. For while we live we are always being given up to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our mortal flesh. (Watch it in verse 12.) So death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
And I want to say to you that anytime life is working in somebody, it is only because death is working in somebody else. For anybody to live, to be born again, to be saved, it requires somebody to die. It required Jesus to die. Now for you and me to bear fruit and to win those who are lost, it requires the same thing of us—that we must die, die to ourselves, die to our own plans, wishes, and will, and to be covered up out of sight so that they no longer see me.
That’s the way it is, folks. Life comes out of death. Every time somebody is saved in your church, it is because somebody has died. They have died to convenience in order to pray. They have died to their time in order to visit. They’ve died to their embarrassment in order to share the gospel. Somebody has died. Until people are willing to die, there will be no fruitfulness. We can have all the conferences and conventions we want on why we are so barren, but the main reason we are so barren is because we are so alive to ourselves.
Can you imagine an army where every one sits around and says, “hey I’m not going up to the front, people die there!”
What makes a person go to the front well knowing he could die.
Do you remember the final scene from ANZACS where the young runner Mel Gibson and his mate, well knowing that the charge across the no man’s land in a bayonate charge against the Turkish forces will end in annihilation , runs with his men seeing how far they can get before they are cut down by the enemies bullets? Why do men do this?
Its because they know that in the end, whatever the cost may be, the love of their family and their country is worth more than their own lives.
Bobby was like hat, as a Special Forces Captain.
I have friends who were Army paratroopers, who wanted to get into the SAS “and parachute out of a plane at 40,000 feet and open their parachute at 200 feet” It takes a special kind of madness to want to do that! Too much adrenalin maybe! I think we ssaw some of that adrenalin last Sunday. Praise God for it! Occasionally!
32 As for Me, if I am lifted up from the earth I will draw all [people]to Myself.”
What does it mean to die to yourself? It means two things: First, it means a once-for-all decision; and secondly, a continuing series of choices. First, it is a surrender of the rule of your life to Jesus. It is a recognition that your life is not your own. The key words of the Christian faith are, "You are not your own, you are bought with a price," {1 Cor. 19b-20a}. Actually, you never were your own. That is an illusion perpetuated on us by our society. We are told that we belong to ourselves, that we have a right to ourselves. That is a lie. It's not true. It never was. "You are not your own; you are bought with a price."
This is the beginning of true life: To surrender your claim to yourself, to give up your right to run your own affairs, and to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus. There's no way around it. That hurts. It cancels out your own plans. It confounds your ambitions at times. It sometimes feels like death. It is death--the death of the autonomous self.
It also means that we follow up on that commitment to Christ every day. If you belong to Jesus, every day will have its cross. What that means is that every day will have something love calls you to do but you don't feel like doing. That is your cross. That is the moment in which the self must die. Every day has its moments of death in order that it might bring forth life. Every day we make decisions about whether we are going to live for ourselves, or give our lives away for others. It happens between husbands and wives, parents and children, at school, at work. It's the decision that confronts us every time we take out our credit card. It's the call that beckons every time we see someone who is hungry, or troubled, or lost.


2. Hating Life to Gain It
25 The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
In verse 25, he says, those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. He is talking about fullness of life. We already have eternal life. John speaks of eternal life on two planes. For instance, in John 10, Jesus said he came that he might bring life and life more abundant. There is life, and then there is life more abundant. And he says, there will be fullness of life, life abundant. But it is only for those who hate their life in this world; then they will keep it for eternal life. Those who love their life lose it. It is interesting that two different Greek words are used here to translate the word life. The first two words translated life is our word psyche. The last word in eternal life is zoa ?? (like zoology), the quality of life in general. But when he uses the verb psyche, he is talking about the ego. He is talking about the inner person. He is talking about the mind that makes decisions, makes plans, that charts its own course. He is talking about the inner will. He says, unless a person hates that inner will, he cannot enjoy the abundance of life that is in Jesus Christ. That is what dying is—taking your independent self, your wanting to do it your way, your plans, your vision, your ego and burying it in the ground and hating it. Here again, we are in such conflict with the philosophy of the world.
It is also interesting in this passage that he says, those who love their life lose it. It is really the present tense, those who love their life are already losing it. Phillips translates it destroys. Now, think about this for a minute. This is so paradoxical to man’s way of thinking. If you love your life, you are going to retain and guard your ego at any cost. You are actually, even right now, in the process of losing it, of destroying it.
Today, I invite you to do the most unreasonable thing imaginable: to give yourself away, to follow the way of Jesus, the way of the cross. Only then do we really find our lives.
St. Francis of Assisi’s prayer:
Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood as to understand; to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
Frank Laubach, the great missionary and father of the literacy movement, used to begin each day by praying these words: "God, what are you doing in the world today that I can help you with?" Laubach's prayer rooted his life in the soil of surrender. Every morning he inquired how he could honour God by living for more than just his own interests.
E. Stanley Jones wrote and spoke about victory through surrender. The victory is precisely in the venturing forth-the offering of our single life to God as a means of grace.
Take my life and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee; Take my moments and my days- Let them flow in ceaseless praise, Let them flow in ceaseless praise.

3. Serving to be Honoured
26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me. Where I am, there My servant also will be. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
Choose Serving
Shan Hackett was born in Perth in WA in 1910. His aprents were reasonably welathy and sent homt to london to univserity. Not a great student he joined the army and barely survived Operation market garden in the Battle of Arnhem during WW2. Hackett was severely wounded in the stomach, was captured and taken to the St. Elizabeth Hospital in Arnhem. A German doctor at the Hospital wanted to administer a lethal injection to Hackett, because he thought that the case was hopeless. However he was operated on and with the help of the Dutch resistance escaped.
General Sir John Winthrop Hackett after WW2 became Commandant, Royal Military College of Science where he wrote The Profession Of Arms. He was acknowledged as the cleverest soldier of his generation. In 1982 The Third World War: the untold story proved an interesting update predicting the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the strategic importance of oil in the Middle East.
He understood leadership as servanthood. He said that a commander who genuinely cared for his troops and sought their welfare above his own, would have men that would follow him willingly even if it meant the final sacrifice of their lives.
To Save A Life, 1995 Service before Self
Are you available To serve Christ? Milton Cummingham, a missionary, shares a time when he was convicted of his own failure to share the Good News. He had just settled in for his air flight from Atlanta to Dallas. Next to him was a young girl with Down's Syndrome. She turned to Milton and, in all innocence, asked, "Mister, did you brush your teeth this morning?" A little awkwardly, Milton answered, 'Well, yes., I brushed my teeth this morning."
"Good," the girl responded, "'cause that's what you're supposed to do."
Her next question was, "Mister, do you smoke?"
This one was a little easier on Milton. When he said no, the little girl answered with approval, "Good, 'cause smoking will make you die."
The third question was even easier to answer. The young girl asked, "Mister, do you love Jesus?"
Milton answered with confidence, "Well, yes, I do love Jesus."
"Good, 'cause we're all supposed to love Jesus," she replied.
Just then, another man settled into the seat beside Milton. He was intent on reading a magazine. Immediately, the girl urged Milton to ask the new fellow if he had brushed his teeth that morning. Milton wasn't about to disturb the stranger, but the girl wouldn't leave him alone. Finally, he gave in. He said, "Mister, I don't mean to bother you, but my friend here wants me to ask you if you brushed your teeth this morning." When the man noticed the girl, he realized that her question was innocent enough, and he answered that yes, he had brushed his teeth that morning.
With a sinking feeling, Milton realized where this was going. Next, the girl urged him to ask the stranger if he smoked. Milton and the man went through the second question. And sure enough, the girl wanted Milton to ask the third question: did this man love Jesus?
Milton protested that the question was too personal, that he just wouldn't be comfortable asking it. Remember, Milton Cunningham is a missionary. But something in him made him uncomfortable about sharing the Good News with his fellow passenger. But the young girl persisted, and so Milton said, "Now she wants to know if you love Jesus."
At this, the man's face darkened. He began to talk about his desire to know God. He was at a point in his life when he was searching for God, for meaning, for purpose in life. But he didn't know where to turn. So Milton Cunningham explained to the man how to have a relationship with God, and how to find salvation through Jesus. He was able to witness to a person in deep need, a person who was in need of God. And it all started with a simple question, asked by a child with simple, but sincere motives.
Choose Following
To be with Him! Eternally! In heaven!
Choosing Honour
There is something more “Well done thou good and faithful servant!” Now there is the meaning of life!
I love that song Ray Boltz sings entitled "Thank You." Are you familiar with it? The lyrics go like this.
I dreamed I went to heaven And you were there with me. We walked upon the streets of gold Beside the crystal sea We heard the angels singing Then someone called your name
You turned and saw this young man And he was smiling as he came
And he said friend you may not know me now And then he said but wait
You used to teach my Sunday School When I was only eight
And every week you would say a prayer Before the class would start
And one day when you said that prayer I asked Jesus in my heart
Thank you for giving to the Lord I had a life that was changed
Thank you for giving to the Lord I had a life that was changed
Thank you for giving to the Lord I am so glad you gave
Then another man stood before you And said remember the time
A missionary came to your church And his pictures made you cry
You didn't have much money But you gave it anyway
Jesus took the gift you gave And that's why I'm here today
One by one they came Far as the eyes could see
Each life somehow touched By your generosity
Little things that you had done Sacrifices made Unnoticed on the earth
In heaven now proclaimed
And I know that up in heaven You're not supposed to cry
But I am almost sure There were tears in your eyes
As Jesus took your hand And you stood before the Lord
He said, my child look around you For great is your reward I am so glad you gave
We have no idea of just how many lives we impact and influence along the way. One single seed "bears much fruit."
Here is how someone has put it. "I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do."

Everyone is invited this Sunday September 23rd, to hear Dr. Bobby Welch, President of the 17 million member Southern Baptist Convention of the USA who will be the guest preacher at the Newcastle Baptist Tabernacle at 10:30 am and 7:00 pm services.
Dr. Welch is a very highly decorated Vietnam Veteran, and Director of Global Evangelical Relations for the Southern Baptist Convention.
http://www.sbc.net/globalrelations/default.asp
All are invited and welcome to meet this highly celebrated pastor and teacher.

Isaiah 53 begins 1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
This is one of the most startling statements in the whole Bible from which John quotes as he speaks to us of the Messiah. It chills the blood, and stuns the mind with its fearful implications of eternal doom.
John Newton wrote: When our Lord appeared upon earth, though he came on the most gracious and important business, displayed the perfection of holiness in his conduct, and performed innumerable acts of kindness and. love, he met with little regard. He found many enemies, but few hearty friends. Especially those who were most eminent for riches, learning, power, or reputed goodness, disdained him; and most of those who followed him were either people in low circumstances, or whose character had been offensive. Publicans and sinners, fishermen, unlearned and obscure persons, were almost the only friends he had. The Lord Jesus, who was infinitely above the selfish views which are too apt to influence our little minds, was well satisfied with this event. He did not desire honour from men. "The souls of the poor were precious in his sight." (Psa 72:13-14) He spoke kindly to those whom men abhorred: and if he mourned over the obstinacy of the chiefs of the people, it was for their own sakes. The same spirit, which showed itself under our Lord's personal ministry, still subsists. The chief doctrines he taught, and for which he met with the fiercest opposition, were precisely the same with those which have awakened the scorn and rage of the world ever since.
First, The Divinity of Christ. When he spoke of himself as existing before Abraham, and said that God was his own father, (John 5:18) [He said that God was his own father; in a sense peculiar to himself, and exclusive of all others. The Jews well understood the meaning of this assertion, that thereby he made himself equal with God; and, therefore, as they did not believe in him, they charged him with blasphemy in a mere man, or in the highest archangel, to have spoken of himself in these terms. And this mystery is still hid from the natural man. No one can say, acknowledge, and believe, that Jesus Christ is Lord or Jehovah; that He who once hung upon the cross, bleeding to death, is God the Maker of all things, the rightful object of the supreme love, trust, and homage of men and angels; but by the Holy Ghost.
Secondly, Distinguishing grace. "When Jesus first preached at Nazareth, the eyes of all were fixed upon him;" (Luke 4:16-20) but when, making application to themselves, he touched upon this point, from the examples of Naaman the Syrian, and the widow of Sarepta, who were relieved when many lepers and widows in Israel were passed by, they were filled with indignation, and would have thrown him headlong down the rock. And it is to this hour an offensive doctrine to all who do not know the value and the need of it.
Thirdly, The new birth. When this was proposed to a master in Israel, he cried out, "How can these things be?" (John 3:9) And by many who are wise and prudent in their own sight, it is at this day accounted nonsense. A small acquaintance with the general strain of what is published either from the pulpit or the press, may prove that modern divinity has, for the most part, found a smoother path to tread than that by which Nicodemus was conducted to the knowledge of himself and his Savior. Such a doubtful inquirer might now be entertained with many ingenious essays on the beauty of virtue, the efficacy of benevolence, the excellency of the human mind, and other favourite topics. He would find teachers enough to encourage and improve the idea he has of his own importance, but he would hardly meet with many who would speak to him in our Lord's language, and refer him to the brazen serpent, and a new birth, in order to learn the means and the nature of the Gospel salvation.
Fourthly, The nature of the life of faith. When our Lord spoke of this, under the metaphor of eating his flesh and drinking his blood, many, who till then had professed themselves his disciples, "turned back, and walked no more with him." (John 6:66) And none can bear it now, who are not taught of God, to see such an excellency and sufficiency in Jesus, and such emptiness in themselves, as constrains them to cry out, with Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" (John 6:68)
The Stupidity of ScepticismJohn 12:37 Even though He had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in Him.
SCEPTICISM PREVAILS OVER PEOPLE
37 Even though He had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in Him.
10 Therefore the chief priests decided to also kill Lazarus, 11 because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them and believing in Jesus. Meanwhile the crowd, which had been with Him when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead, continued to testify.
18 This is also why the crowd met Him, because they heard He had done this sign. 19 Then the Pharisees said to one another, “You see? You’ve accomplished nothing. Look—the world has gone after Him!”
On the day when Jesus entered Jerusalem many people were enthusiastic about Him because of His great miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead; but within a few days they were crying out “Crucify Him!” John, taught by his great Lord and Master, put no great weight on signs and miracles for bringing in the kingdom of God. Chapter 12 is full of the unbelief of the Jews. Look, for example, at verse 34. Verse 37 is even plainer; it says Jesus left and “hid Himself from them. Though He had done so many signs before them, yet they did not believe in Him”. There it is in black and white!
7 Even though He had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in Him.
38 But this was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet, who said: Lord, who has believed our message? And who has the arm of the Lord been revealed to? 39 This is why they were unable to believe, because Isaiah also said: 40 He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so that they would not see with their eyes or understand with their hearts, and be converted, and I would heal them. 41 Isaiah said these things because he saw His glory and spoke about Him. 42 Nevertheless, many did believe in Him even among the rulers, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, so they would not be banned from the synagogue. 43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God.
Somebody wrote: I’ll live for myself , for myself alone, For myself and none beside!
Just as if Jesus had never lived, And as if He had never died.
Your heart could be hard because of sin.
Therefore they could not believe: It is possible to harden your heart to the place where you can not believe. Therefore we must believe while there is light. Our desire for the darkness of sin can be overwhelming. How many alcoholics want to stay alcoholics? How may our sins drive us away from God, even though we know its downright stupid! The Would Not believe. Then they could not believe.
Your heart could be hard because of Resisting Christ’s appealsI remember talking with a man in his 40’s in a hospital. He had worked as a cleaner for one of my deacons, and then as a salesman. My friend had shared the gospel with this man a number fo times. And suddenly, at 1 am I got a call to attend the hospital and speak to a man I had never met before. I left my young family in bed, and went down to the hospital. A nurse met me at the ward. “He is dying of cancer. His whole family is here now. They are too distressed to see him for the moment. Can you go in and talk with him? Can you prepare him for death?
I went in and sat by this tall man’s bed. His face was weathered and lined, and his pain was obvious. But his pain didn’t seem to be just physical. I asked him f he was prepared for death? He said he had been trying ..but could I help him. I told him of the Saviour’s love. Of the cross . That John 3:16 “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. We talked for about an hour.
He said “Yes.” he had heard that before often from Howard. I said “Well would you like to receive Christ as your Saviour right now?”
He said he had been trying, but his heart was too hard.
I told him how easy it was, just to pray and ask the Lord to be your Saviour. He kept saying he wanted to, but his heart was too hard, his heart was too hard. For the next 40 minutes he wept and cried in soul anguish, “My heart is too hard! My heart is too hard!”
At about 4 or 5 am he passed away, his family gathered around his bedside. A lost soul.
Your heart could be hard because of Pride
43 John makes a clear statement which is universal: “they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God”. Is that true only of Israel? Doesn’t it ring any bells in the 20th century? Do you not have friends, neighbours, or people in your church like that? Isn’t something like that lurking in your own heart? Isn’t it one of the most universal facts that people care greatly what other people say about them, but care little what God has to say? They turn away from hearing the gospel because they know people will laugh at them, and they find it easier to listen to men than to God. That is the tragedy of unbelief.
Your heart could be hard because of Fear of your friends.. your friends can laugh you into hell but never out of it.
42 says: “many even of the authorities believed in Him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, lest they should be put out of the synagogue”. We would never have known this if John did not say so; no writer of fiction would have said that among the people who were hounding Jesus to His death were some members of the Sanhedrin who were secretly persuaded that He was indeed the Messiah! John puts the record straight. Among the persecutors were some who were afraid to speak out for Jesus “for fear of the Pharisees”. That was their responsibility.
Your heart could be hard because of God’s judicial hardening.
He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart: There comes a place where God will strengthen us in our decision, whether for Jesus or against Jesus. Ultimately, before God, we get what we want, and those who push Jesus away will not have to endure eternity with Him. So astonishing, pathological, insistent and inexplicable was the unbelief of the Jewish people - who had the promises of God and so much preparation by the prophets - that John has to turn to the prophet Isaiah. In verses 39 and 40 he shows that long before Jesus came, Isaiah foretold that when He did come people would not believe in Him, that there would be a persistent refusal to receive Him as Messiah, and that He would be rejected. Isaiah said “Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Certainly not to Israel, although they were the people prepared for it!
Hyman Appleman came to preach in Australia in about 1950 He said “When I was pastor of a church in Dallas County, Texas, the pastor of the First Methodist Church in that great city, a gracious, victorious Christian man, preaching to a crowded congregation Sunday mornings and Sunday nights, told us of an experi¬ence in his life. It was on a Monday morning. The entire pastor's association of every denomination, of all that great territory, met in the Presbyterian City Temple. It was a time of reports, a time of some prayer, a time of some study. Dr. Martin came in almost at the end of the service. The pre¬siding pastor called on him for his report and for anything else he might have to say.
He stood up to• speak. " Brethren, " he said, "I can't talk much. I have been through hell this week.
I just came here because I knew of some of the im¬portant things you were going to discuss. I felt that I owed it to you to show my definite interest. I am sorry I am late. Brethren, I have literally gone through hell this week." We watched him. We studied him. We could not understand, of course, what he meant. We thought that perhaps someone in his own family had been sick, or that some other personal tragedy had taken place. After some seconds of pause, he continued. "I am sure you read the story of the death of George ... (I am not going to give you his last name for it is nationally known). Some of you know that he and I have been friends ever since baby¬hood. As a matter-of-fact, his father and my father were close friends. He and I attended Southern Methodist University together. He was really the best chum I had in the world. The anguish of what has happened has almost made me lose my mind.
We kept on listening to him. No one said a word. We could not quite visualize a preacher so torn to pieces. He went on. "George was driving Tuesday evening, just about o'1oaminO" time from Garland home to Dallas. He was racing along the Northwest Highway. He turned his car a bit to avoid a car coming along too close to his side. He did not notice what was ahead. Perhaps his lights were not on. His automobile struck the back of a loaded, parked, sand truck. It caved his own car in crushing him with it. By the time he was rushed to the hospital, he was almost gone. He was dying. He was haemorrhaging on the inside. There was not a thing that could be done. Several doctors rushed to the case. George was very rich, as you well know.
"After a while, knowing that he had not long to spare, he called for his wife, for his two children, members of my church-Christians-saved-child¬ren of God, glorious in their assurance. The man himself had never made any profession of his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course I raced to the hospital, greeted the family, greeted George, then walked out of the room with the doctor. The family physician told me definitely that there was no hope for my friend. I walked back into the room. The dying man called to his wife and children to say, 'Please leave the room for a little while. I want to talk to the preach¬er.' His wife and children went out sobbing. I came close to the bed saying, 'George, is there anything I can do for you l'
" , Yes,' said the hurt man. 'Martin, you and I have been friends all of our lives. I am leaving a great deal of money, of stocks, of bonds, or prop¬erty. I guess I am worth more dead than I am alive. You know my wife does not know a thing about business. My children are much too little to be of any great help. Martin, I want you to promise me that you will be a husband to my wife and a father to my children.'
" 'You don't have to ask me that,' I told him. 'You know I would have done it anyway. But, George, there is something infinitely more important than that.'
" 'What is it, Martin?'
" 'George, you are not a Christian, are you?'
" 'George smiled up at me sadly, saying, 'No, I am not, but it certainly is not your fault. You certainly tried hard enough to win me.'
" 'Never mind, George, never mind whose fault it is. Man, you are dying. There is no chance for you. The doctor says you are through. He tells me you know it. There is no cure for you, no operation that can help you. In God's name, man, won't you give your heart to Jesus Christ right now? Your wife is a Christian. Your children are Christians. Your parents, your brothers, your sis¬ters, they are all Christians. You do not want to go one way, while they go another.'
" 'I have been studying about it, Martin, ever since I was brought in here, but I just cannot seem to break through.'
" 'Nonsense, man, God loves you. Jesus died for you. All you need to do, as you very well know, is to accept Him as your personal Saviour.'
" 'Martin, I am not an infidel. I believe the Bible as definitely as you do. But I just do not seem to he able to break through the black blanket of mist between me and God.'
" 'George, do not talk that way. You are still in your right mind. You know .J olm 3 :16. You believe it, you say. Right this minute accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour. His blood will wash you from your sins.'
"In my agony, I dropped to my knees, began to pray aloud for my friend. The doctor came back. He said to me, 'Stop man, you are exciting him. You are killing him. You are shortening' his hours.'
"My lawyer friend raised his hand to say, 'Never mind, Doctor, I've got to die anyway. What's the difference-a few more minutes, or a few more hours. '
, 'I kept on praying, kept on weeping, kept on pleading, kept on begging, kept on beseeching. Fi¬nally, with the dark shadows of death beclouding his face, George raised his hand and whispered, 'Ah, Martin, I am sorry, but it's too late, it's too late.' I tried to speak again. George lifted his hand feebly to say once more, 'Wait a minute. I want to tell you the tragedy of it, the irony of it. Martin, if somebody had come to me ten years ago, ten months ago, ten days ago, ten hours ago, to say, "George you are going to die and go to hell," I would have said, "Man, you are crazy. I'm not an infidel. I believe in Christ. I expect to accept Him as my personal Saviour. Yet, here I am, dying a lost sinner, going to hell, because I just put it off, I guess.' "
The preacher stopped. Reaching for his hand¬kerchief, wiping the wild tears that poured down his cheeks, while we cried with him, his voice chok¬ing with emotion, he said, 'Brethren, the best friend I ever had in the world lived a Christless life. He died a Christless death. "We put him in a Christless coffin. We had a Christless funeral. We buried him in a Christless grave. I preached a Christless ser•• mono He will rise in a resurrection. He will face a Christless judgment. He will sink into a Christ¬less hell, because he put it off, because he put it off. " I do not believe I ever shall forget the sob in Dr. Martin's voice as, running his hands through his hair he wept out, "Because he put it off, because he put it off," and walked out of the room. Friends, I have told you nothing new. These things are revealed on every page of the Bible, in every life of every sinner. The criminality of sin is found in the facts that it defies God, that it denies Christ, that it destroys the soul forever in hell. But, thank God, that is not all there is to this matchless text. “

The Challenge to Conversion Hear Jesus’ callJohn 12: 44 Then Jesus cried out, “The one who believes in Me believes not in Me, but in Him who sent Me. 45 And the one who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me would not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears My words and doesn’t keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects Me and doesn’t accept My sayings has this as his judge: the word I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a command as to what I should say and what I should speak. 50 I know that His command is eternal life. So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

That these words are of profound importance we may gather from two considerations. The one is that our Saviour cried them (John 12:44). As a rule our Saviour did not cry. He did not cry nor lift up His voice in the streets. But now and then, in some exalted hour, the Gospels tell us that He cried (John 7:37). And in every instance when He cried, we have words that take us to the very heart of things.
You need to believe on Him because He is God, If you don’t you will be an enemy of God for eternity.

You need to believe on Him because He gives light. If you don’t you will remain forever in darkness.

Come to the light tis shining for thee, Sweetly the Light has dawned upon me;
Once I was blind but now I can see The Light of the world is Jesus!

You need to believe on Him because He Saves. If you don’t you will remain condemned for eternity.
Appleman made it plain in one phrase “Turn or you will burn!” Make a careful inquiry into your attitude towards the Christ of God. You may weep at His sufferings. You may feel some emotions of gratitude and joy at the greatness of His love. But do you love Jesus Christ more than all other things put together?
Will you express that sincere gratitude that deep affection that holy admiration by accepting Him as your Lord and Saviour and obeying Him from now on? If you don’t you will be ranked with the despisers of God’s Son. You will continue as a slave of Satan and your doom is recorded and sealed for eternity. Hell is enlarging tis borders to swallow up your soul. Come friend turn to Him right now. You have despised Him long enough. He will receive you with open arms.

You need to believe on Him because He gives everlasting life.


John Newton: “If, therefore, you feel yourself a lost sinner, see a beauty and sufficiency in Jesus, have a hunger and thirst after his righteousness, and are made willing to expect the blessing in his way; you may look upon this as a token for good. Such views and desires as these never are found in any heart till he communicates them. By nature we are averse and contrary to them. Give him the glory of what he has begun; and oppose your temptations, fears, and doubts, with this argument, drawn from your own experience, as the wife of Manoah formerly reasoned: "If the Lord had been pleased to kill us, he would not have enabled and encouraged us to call upon him; neither would he at this time have shewn us such things as these." (Jdg_13:23)


44 And Jesus cried out and said, "Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.
45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.
46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.
47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day.
49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment--what to say and what to speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me."

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.
He tells the godly that God's long patience will hasten their repentance
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.
and exhorts them to holiness of life
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.


Premill.. I believe the next great event of history will be the rapture of the saints out of this world.
Then the tribulation period in which the Antichrist sets himself up on the throne in a rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem and proclaims himself as God. At the end of that 7 year tribulation period, all the nations will surround Jerusalem for war, and the Lord Jesus will return place His feet on the Mount of olives, in Jerusalem and defend Jerusalem.
He will then commence His millennial reign in Jerusalem a thousand years of peace on earth. Satan at the end of that 1000 years will lead a rebellion at the end of which he will be cast into the Lake of fire for eternity. Then will commence the eternal reign of Christ with believers in a new heaven and a new earth.
The problem with this is that Peter seems to have a different view. He says that the Day of the Lord will see the heavens and earth completely destroyed by fire.
Lord Jesus aid in John 5 25 “I assure you: An hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26 For just as the Father has life in Himself, so also He has granted to the Son to have life in Himself. 27 And He has granted Him the right to pass judgment, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of judgment.
The old creeds said: Nicene Creed And ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead.
The Athanasian Creed 39. He ascended into heaven, he sitteth on the right hand of the Father God [God the Father] Almighty.40. From whence [thence] he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. 41. At whose coming all men shall rise again with their bodies; 42. And shall give account for their own works. 43. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting: and they that have done evil, into everlasting fire.
Daniel 12: There will be a time of distress such as never has occurred since nations came into being until that time. But at that time all your people who are found written in the book will escape.2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to eternal life, and some to shame and eternal contempt.
Zechariah 14:1 A day of the Lord is coming when your plunder will be divided in your presence. 2 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east.
Are we stuck with an irreconcilable problem? How do we reconcile these scriptures?
Is there going to be a tribulation time? Is there going to be a thousand year reign of Christ on earth? Or will there be a total renovation of the earth. Just one big day when the whole lot ends. CH Spurgeon said of election and human responsibility, these are not enemies to be reconciled, but friends to be understood. So here. The issue is the term in 2 Peter 3 “The day Of The Lord”
The day of the Lord Joel 2:1 Blow the horn in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the residents of the land tremble, for the Day of the Lord is coming; in fact, it is near— 2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and dense overcast, like the dawn spreading over the mountains; a great
Amos 5:18 Woe to you who long for the Day of the Lord! What will the Day of the Lord be for you? It will be darkness and not light. 19 It will be like a man who flees from a lion only to have a bear confront him. He goes home and rests his hand against the wall only to have a snake bite him. 20 Won’t the Day of the Lord be darkness rather than light, even gloom without any brightness in it?
Isa 61:2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn
Ezek 30:3 For a day is near; a day belonging to the Lord is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
The Day Of The Lord. When we read the word Day. We think wow one day very soon at one moment its all going to happen. But the term “Day of the Lord” has a very specific theological purpose and meaning. It indicates a period of time that begins on One day and extends for, I believe a little over 1000 years. The day Of The Lord includes the Rapture Ruin Revelation, reign Rebellion and renewal.
Rapture 1st Thessalonians 4:16 "The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God." Did you get that? "The Lord Himself shall descend." Not a substitute, not a spirit, not a saint, but the Lord Himself. The angels said to the disciples on the Mount of Olives, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into the heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven." And Jesus Himself said, "I will come again, and receive you unto Myself." " "the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." Who are the dead in Christ? Those believers who are now with the Lord. Why should they rise first? I don't know, unless it's because they're lower down than we are, for their bodies are in the sea and the soil. Then we who are still alive and remain on the earth shall be caught up. The words "caught up" are interesting. They mean "to carry off by force." The devil, who is the prince of the power of the air, and his demons, won't want to see us go or let us go. So the Lord Himself will come down, and with supernatural force He'll snatch us out and away, and will carry us off speedily to be with Him. Are you wondering, "How long will it take for this to transpire?" The Bible answers, "in a moment." We get our word "atom" from that word. It refers to that which can't be cut in two. So the Christians will be caught up in an atomic moment, in an instant of time so small that it can't be divided. What an experience that will be! One moment in grief, the next in glory; with a body that's perfect in health, holiness and happiness. Will you be "in the clouds" with the Christians? "Every year in the city of London, on the 9th of November," said Guy King, "we have a great procession called the Lord Mayor's Show." "One time," he continued, "I met a young fellow on the evening before the Show, and I mentioned that I was going to town to see it." "Look for me," he said. "Are you going to see it?" asked Guy King. "No," he answered. "I'm going to be 'in it.'" He was one of the musicians in the marching band. Both of them were going to be there. But there was a big difference between them. One was going to be "in it," and the other "at it." Are you going to be "in it"? Are you going to be caught up? You're not, if you're not a Christian. Become a Christian now by trusting Christ, won't you?
Ruin Tribulation time. 2 Thess 2:2 not to be easily upset in mind or troubled, either by a spirit or by a message or by a letter as if from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has come.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
RevelationZechariah 14:1 A day of the Lord is coming when your plunder will be divided in your presence. 2 I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be removed from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go out to fight against those nations as He fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east.
Revelation 19: 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a fiery flame, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knows except Himself. 13 He wore a robe stained with blood, and His name is called the Word of God. 14 The armies that were in heaven followed Him on white horses, wearing pure white linen. 15 From His mouth came a sharp sword, so that with it He might strike the nations. He will shepherd them with an iron scepter. He will also trample the winepress of the fierce anger of God, the Almighty. 16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out in a loud voice, saying to all the birds flying in mid-heaven, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and • slave, small and great.” 19 Then I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and against His army. 20 But the beast was taken prisoner, and along with him the false prophet, who had performed signs on his authority, by which he deceived those who accepted the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. Both of them were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword that came from the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh. Isa 2:11 Human pride will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted on that day. 12 For a day belonging to the Lord of • Hosts is [coming]against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—it will be humbled—
Reign Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Zech 14:16 Then all the survivors from the nations that came against Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord of • Hosts, and to celebrate the Festival of Booths. 17 Should any of the families of the earth not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, rain will not fall on them. 18 And if the people of Egypt will not go up and enter, then rain will not fall on them; this will be the plague the Lord inflicts on the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths. 19 This will be the punishment of Egypt and all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Booths. 20 On that day, [the words]HOLY TO THE LORD will be on the bells of the horses. The pots in the house of the Lord will be like the sprinkling basins before the altar. 21 Every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of Hosts. Everyone who sacrifices will come and take some of the pots to cook in. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the Lord of Hosts.
Rebellion Rev 20: 7 When the 1,000 years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 They came up over the surface of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city. Then fire came down from heaven and consumed them. 10 The Devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.11 Then I saw a great white throne and One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them. 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead; all were judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Renovation Rev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer
2 Peter 3: 10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that [day]the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. … 12 as you wait for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be on fire and be dissolved, and the elements will melt with the heat.13 But based on His promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will dwell.
RenewalRev 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea existed no longer. 2 I also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look! God’s dwelling is with men, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will exist no longer; grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer, because the previous things have passed away.5 Then the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.”
I remember a beat-up old house that one day was torn down. It was overdue. The place was a dump. There was no point in trying to fix one more thing. When it was demolished the rubble was taken away and the builders arrived to build a mini-mansion where the old cottage once stood. It was a huge improvement. I doubt that the residents ever think about the way it used to be. That’s what God promises to do. Our earth will reach a point where God will call it quits and create “a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.”
Peter’s Purpose is not to provided a chronology of the end times, but to remind believers that scoffers face judgement. He does this by reminding us that the world that we see is all passing away! This world does not last forever. Peter is arguing for an attitude. He’s not presenting a chronology. He is reminding us that it’s all going to burn.
Likewise, the Lord Jesus in John 5 is not presenting a plan as to how the end times will develop, He is presenting Himself as the Lord and Messiah who has the power over life and death, resurrection and judgement.
1. Be Precise About The Day Of VisitationAn Unexpected Hour Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
I know not in what watch He comes, Or at what hour He may appear.
Whether at midnight or at morn, Or in what season of the year; I only know that He is near. Matt 24:44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
An Undelayed Hour 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; 49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
"I am waiting for the dawning of the bright and blessed day,
When the darksome night of sorrow shall have vanished far away;
When forever with the Savior, far beyond the vale of tears,
I shall swell the song of worship through the everlasting years.
"I am waiting for the coming of the Lord who died for me;
Oh, His words have thrilled my spirit, 'I will come again for thee.'
I can almost hear His footfall on the threshold of the door,
And my heart, my heart is longing, to be His forevermore."
2. Be Persuaded Of The Day Of ViolenceHeaven Earth and Elements all to be renovated with fire.
1871 America experienced her most disastrous fire. It happened in Wisconsin. Some men were building a new railroad, and they started a brush fire. It was small, and no one paid any attention to it. But at noon the sun was hidden by the smog, and at nightfall a thin red line of fire was noticed on the distant hills. As the wind arose that night the smoke grew thicker. Suddenly there was a tremendous roar. The people ran into the streets and their hearts failed them with fear as the sky rained fire upon them. In a moment the sawdust streets, the pine sidewalks and the roofs of the buildings were on fire. In less than five short minutes fiery destruction rode through that lumber town. All villages in one million, two hundred eighty acres were wiped out, two billion pine trees were destroyed, and fifteen hundred people perished. But there's a worse fire that man shall witness. It's predicted in 2nd Peter 3:7, "But the heavens and the earth...are reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."
Mark the phrase, "the heavens and the earth are reserved unto fire." Had there been no foulness, there wouldn't have been the flood, and there wouldn't be the fire. Had there been no wickedness, no wrath would have been revealed. God is holy. Because He's holy, He hates sin. Because He hates sin, His anger burns against sin. God, who is the Sum of all excellency, can't look with equal satisfaction on good and evil, virtue and vice, wisdom and folly. He's infinitely holy, He can't disregard sin, nor drop the charges against sin. Calvary is a proof of that. By the blood that Christ shed on the cross, God says there's wrath for your wickedness.
Mark the peril. Deposits of highly flammable coal, natural gas and oil are deposited below the surface of our soil. Stores of sodium, that bust into flame on coming in contact with water, are hidden there. The deeper you descend toward the centre of the globe, the hotter it becomes. The temperature is estimated at 2000 degrees centigrade. And this is underneath the stores of highly flammable coal, gas and oil. Don't you see how the whole earth is a potential bomb! It's made up of materials that can burst into flame at any moment. Not only that, but the Bible says, "the elements shall melt with fervent heat." How can that be? Oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen compose the air we breathe. There's no fire without oxygen. Nitrogen is used in explosives like TNT. Hydrogen is highly flammable. If these elements are made to explode, the destruction will be beyond description. But that's not all. There's the man-made bomb. On seeing one explode, a professor from Harvard declared, "It was the nearest thing to Doomsday that one could possibly imagine." And he added, "I'm sure that at the end of the world the last man will see what I saw." By the word of the Lord the heavens and the earth were created. And by the word of the Lord they'll be destroyed by fire. One of these days the last minute of the world will tick, and the world will melt with intense heat.
3. Be Preserved From The Day Of Vengeance
Who'll experience the flaming fire? They're described in 2nd Thessalonians 1:7 to 10, "To you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power." The answer is found in verse 8 that reads, "them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." It's the unbeliever, not the believer.
4. Be Prepared For The Day Of Verdict




Death Be Not Proud Donne 1572-1631
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful,
for thou art not so;
For those whom thou think’st thou dost over throw Die not,
poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure - then,
from thee much more must flow;
And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones and soul’s delivery.
Thou’rt slave to fate, chance, kings and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war and sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well, And better than thy stroke.
Why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more.
Death thou shalt die.

http://www.forgottenword.org/literature.html

http://www.e-swordfiles.com/complete.html

http://www.mountzion.org/see.html

http://www.newtestamentbaptistchurchoh.com/links.htm

http://www.oldversion.com/

http://www.sermoncentral.com/

Open in Another browser window
http://www.tripod.lycos.com/bin/membership

Save this as a favourite for now ( in case you mess up and have to start all over again).

Click on the link on this page :
“Sign Up for tripod its free”
This will take you to a form

Username (type in the name of your church) i.e. GoldenGateChurch
Check its availability (if not available change the caps or add a number or add Bap Baptist or bappy or something)

Type in a password
(Now…why not find a small address book and devote a few pages to all your passwords for programmes.. write down the username and the password for this site).

You need to fill in all your account information

Uncheck all the spam you don’t want coming to your email box.

Read terms and conditions (you get unwanted adds at your site, be prepared to write a disclaimer).

Enter the registration verification numbers.


And you are ready to start.



Once you are signed in to the general page
See the headings Lycos Network… click on tripod.

This should bring you to your site management page.

You should see a heading that says
My Site Builder sites or something like that.. it may say you have no sites… there should be a link there “Create new”

Click on that and see what happens.


Create a new site choose a template.. have a look for a nice template that you want to stick with.

Go to gallery
A page “web site templates” should come up.
Press the orange tab, Organisations

Click on
Religious organisations



Choose a web site name and pages

You will know what you want to put in here.

From here on the whole thing is easy! Go for it.
Make it pretty by learning (through experimentation) to upload photographs to your site.


Remember to create links to your already existing blogs.

Blogs are a great free way of quickly updating your congregation on events related to particular areas of church life, and they also are a neat place to store your old sermons (computers crash, so do blogs occasionally).

The only thing I regret with tripod is the adds for stuff I would not want to support.

have fun
Steve

Franklin Roosevelt once said we had nothing to fear but fear itself. He neglected to mention Orson Welles. Because on October 30, 1938, a wave of mass hysteria seized millions of Americans when Welles and his popular Mercury Theatre on the Air presented a dramatization of H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. He said later that it was the Mercury Theatre's own version of dressing up in a sheet, jumping out of a bush and saying "Boo!" But for listeners who tuned in late, it was a little bit more. It seemed nothing less than a full-scale invasion of earth by hostile Martians As panic spread across the country from Grovers Mill, New Jersey (the first reported landing), hospitals treated people for shock and hysteria. Others gathered in churches in fervent prayer. New York families fled to nearby parks. And Boston families stood on roofs, straining for a glimpse of New York burning.
I guess as a society we are very cynical of anyone making any claims about anything whatsoever.
But there is one claim we must be aware of. It is the claim that Jesus Christ as Lord of lords and King of kings is going to come to judge the ungodly and bless those who follow him. This will not be some Halloween trick. Jesus will not be appearing in a white sheet and saying "Boo!" to the world. This will be the invasion to end all invasions, one that will make Star Wars look like child's play.
But many regard this return of the Lord Jesus with cynicism.
The Secular Mind Albert Einstein said, "I never think of the future It comes soon enough."
3 First, be aware of this: scoffers will come in the last days to scoff, following their own lusts, 4 saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they have been since the beginning of creation.”
Aldous Huxley, the philosopher and atheist, at least was honest about his reasons for attacking Christianity and the scriptures. He wrote, "The philosopher who finds no meaning for this world is not concerned exclusively with the problem of pure metaphysics: he is concerned to prove there is no valid reason why he personally should not do as he wants to. . . For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political." This man was an example of one who rejected Christianity so that he might be free to sin.
Where is the promise of His coming?" This query is put in a way that implies that the thing asked for does not exist.
In the Old Testament the prophets faced similar questions in their day. "Where is the God of justice?" asked the evil men of Malachi's day (2:17). "Where is your God?" asked the pagans of David's day (Ps. 42:3). "Where is the Word of the Lord?" asked the enemies of Jeremiah (17:15). "Where is the promise of His coming?"
The mockers of Peter's day were asking, Didn't he say he would rise again? Didn't he say, before he went away, that he would return? It's been 30 years. Where is he?"
Sometimes we Christians are our own worst enemies. How many times do we read of people selling all their possessions, donning white robes and heading for the hills to wait for Jesus, only to return again and admit their calculations were off? I have many accounts in my files of these people who only succeed in making themselves and other Christians appear foolish.
This can confuse us as Christians. And so most people in Australia stick their head in the sand about the second coming. They say “All will continue as it has in the past.”
Live for today. Don’t think about tomorrow.
The liberal commentator Donald Kaul loves the Second Coming as much as he does Newt Gingrich. (not much) In one column in 1991 he mentioned how he was approached by a Christian. He said the pleasant woman handed him a pamphlet. He thanked her, and read: "In the near future, many Christians will suddenly disappear from the Earth."
Right away that got Kaul's attention. Good news always does that to him, he added.
The pamphlet continued: "Such a wonderful event is called 'Rapture,' There will be quite a confusion in the world after Rapture: The families left behind will look for a large number of vanished people. The mass media will be busy with reporting this mysterious
event." Kaul imagined the headlines: "Religious Right Disappears, National IQ Surges."
then added, "But don't imagine that The Rapture will leave the rest of us sinners free to run around and have a good time, unencumbered by the harsh looks, to say nothing of laws, thrown our way by the virtuous. After The Rapture comes Seven Years of Tribulation, which hwill entail drought, hail, war, earthquakes, volcanic explosions, famines, plagues and "big disasters from heaven." Kaul thought this sounded a lot like California. It's interesting that Kaul feels morally restricted by Christians.
Peter himself says a big motivation of the scoffers is that they want to follow their own evil desires.
When these false teachers come along and they attack the Second Coming, Peter is saying, “I want to stir your sincere mind up so that you can meet that attack head on.” And so he says I do this by way of reminder.
1. Reminders from the Old Testament Make Us Watchful
2 so that you can remember the words previously spoken by the holy prophets, and the commandment of our Lord and Saviour [given]through your apostles.
Peter has already reminded them of the Old testament Prophets and their warnings about the second coming. 2 Peter 1: 19 So we have the prophetic word strongly confirmed. You will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dismal place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. 20 First of all, you should know this: no prophecy of Scripture comes from one’s own interpretation, 21 because no prophecy ever came by the will of man; instead, moved by the Holy Spirit, men spoke from God.
Peter is now going to tell us what some of these words are. He has reminded us that this is the Word of God. God’s warnings about the coming Judgement must be heeded because it is the Word of God


2. Reminders From The Lord Jesus Christ Make Us Watchful2 so that you can remember the words previously spoken by the holy prophets, and the commandment of our Lord and Saviour [given]through your apostles.

Next, Peter stirs up the minds of his readers by asking them to remember the word of God spoken through his Son Jesus Christ. The false teachers had denied "the Master who bought them," but that did not make Jesus any less Lord and Saviour, any less the God of creation, any less the Ruler over all of history, past, present and future--including his second coming.
In Matthew 24 and 25 we have what is known as the Olivet Discourse, when Jesus taught his disciples about what would happen at the end of the age. Many false Christs would appear, he said. There would be wars and rumours of wars. Famines and earthquakes would occur. Lawlessness would increase; love would grow cold; there would be great tribulation. Here are his words from Matthew 24:14: "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come."
Then, replying to the disciples' question about the sign of his coming, he said (24:29-31):
"But immediately after the tribulation of those days 'tine sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken,' end then the signs of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the 'Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky' with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angers 'wish a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other."'
Things are not getting better. Jesus will come at a time when the world is at its worst. "Therefore be on the alert," he said to the disciples, "for you do not know which day your Lord is coming . . . the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will." He will return; that is the issue. "When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne, and all the nations will be gathered before Him . . . and the judgment will begin . . . "
This is not an idea that sprang from the mind of man. No human wisdom was instrumental in bringing this revelation to light. This word came by direct revelation from God through his Son Jesus Christ. God has already told us through his word what will happen at the end. He has not, however, told us when these things will occur. Instead he leaves us with many warnings: be alert, don't be misled, remain faithful. If every word of prophecy concerning Jesus' first coming was fulfilled, be assured that every word of prophecy about his second coming in power and glory will likewise be fulfilled--despite what the mockers say.

3. Reminders From The Creation Make Us Watchful
Then thirdly remember that the world had a beginning, and all things were spoken into being with a word.
5 They wilfully ignore this: long ago the heavens and the earth existed out of water and through water by the word of God.
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,
Lanathium.. Lithium a drug to take away memories… for Bipolar.
They are willingly forgetful. They wilfully set aside historical facts which the whole world knew about. Everything has not remained as it was from the beginning. By God's word, the apostle says (and he makes no apology for saying so), heaven and earth were created (verse 5). God spoke and it was so. By his word the heavens and the earth came into being.
Remember this, because if God can speak the world into existence, He can also speak the world as suddenly out of existence.

4. Reminders From The Flood Make Us Watchful
Then fourthly remember God destroyed the world with the flood.
6 Through these the world of that time perished when it was flooded by water.
Again, "by God's word" the blessings he had bestowed on man became the means of man", judgment. In the great Flood, God used the very water which sustained life on earth to destroy all of life. God changed the natural laws and used the blessing of water as a judgment rod upon man. This, too, as Peter says, "escaped their notice." That's amazing. How can you possibly over look the Flood?
Here is another warning from Scripture, this time concerning the second coming of Jesus, in his own words: "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, they were marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark. And they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matt. 24:37-39).

5. Reminders From The Judgement Make Us WatchfulAgain, we read in verse 7, "by God's word" the final judgment will come: "But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men."
Knowing what God has done in history we should have no problem believing everything that God says about the future.
Then Fifthly remember that it is promised that this world will be destroyed by fire, which destroys more destructively, more powerfully, more finally than water.
7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth are held in store for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
We should remind mockers that there is a judgement day coming. We want them to escape it.
We should also remind ourselves regularly that there is a judgement day coming. That will help us keep ourselves in order.
Sometimes God gives us reminders of the temporary nature of this life, and the importance of the eternal.
A close friend of mine, while he was away, with his wife on holidays, returned to find that while he was flying home his house had been destroyed by a fire.
My friend had spent some years in Africa as a missionary, and while on holidays there, had taken to hunting and shooting in a game reserve. He had managed to bring home some trophies.
When they returned home, he stood in the ashes where his living room had been, and looked at the glass eye of a trophy he had hunted. It was obviously irreplaceable.
Tempted to shed a tear in the entry way, not because he was proud of them but because his wife loved them! Gone! All incinerated, just one glass eyeball looking up at him out of the ashes. His wife put it to him: “That’s what God thinks of your treasures!”
The fire illustrated for me the truth of this statement: things don't last. Things are revealed by being dissolved, by being burned up. The things that people put their time and money and efforts into frequently are gone in a flash. Certainly they will be gone when Jesus Christ comes back. Now, that is the point. The knowledge that all these things are going to be burned up some day ought to totally change our perspective on life. What do we give ourselves to, in view of that fact? It ought to change our attitude toward our clothes, our furniture, our houses, our buildings, our land, our cars, all the things that we invest our time and money and effort and thought in. As stewards we certainly ought to take care of them, but Peter's point is: let us not become preoccupied with them, because they are all going to burn up some day. How do we react when a piece of furniture gets gouged, or a favourite dress gets torn? That is Peter's appeal, and that is why he goes on in verses 11 and following to describe our duties, in light of the certain coming of the Lord. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness..

6. Reminders From God’s Own Nature Make Us Watchful
Then sixthly remember that God is eternal by nature.
8 Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: with the Lord one day is like 1,000 years, and 1,000 years like one day.
Then seventhly remember that God has a purpose in his delays.
But didn’t the Lord jesus say He would come quickly?
Revelation 1:1 begins: “The apokalupsis—the unveiling—of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must en tachei”—en tachei: what does that mean? In Revelation 22:6, that same avowal is made: The Lord God “sent his angel to show unto his servants the things which must en tachei… .” And then, verse 7: “Behold, I come tachu… .” And then, verse 12: “Behold, I come tachu… .” And then, in verse 20: “Surely—surely I come tachu… .” What does that mean? Tachos is the noun form and it means “swiftness, quickness, speed.” Tachei is the adjectival form; “speedy, quickly.” Tacheos is an adverb, meaning “quickly, speedily.” Tachion is another adverb, meaning “quickly.”
Tachu, the word used here, is an adverb, meaning “quickly, speedily.” “Behold, I come tachu”—quickly, speedily.
Now, if that is an adverb of time, it means He is coming quickly, soon. If it is an adverb of manner—of how He is coming—His coming is speedily, quickly.
It seems that the Lord delays His coming. In the twenty-fifth chapter of the Book of Matthew, there is the story of the bridegroom and the five foolish and five wise maidens. It says that the bridegroom “tarried”—he delayed his coming.
The reason for the writing of the 2Thessalonian letter was that they expected His coming tachu: immediately, quickly. And their people had died—some of their loved ones had perished. And it filled them with consternation and abysmal despair. And that’s why the 1st Thessalonian letter was written: because Christian people had died and the Lord hadn’t returned.
In the sixth chapter of the Revelation, under the fifth seal, he sees the souls of those who had been martyred for Christ. And they ask: “How long, O Lord—how long?”
And He hasn’t come yet. The delay is almost inexplicable to us. That’s why the bitter critics of the Bible say one of two things. Either the Lord Jesus was mistaken Himself—He didn’t know. He misunderstood; Or, second: the disciples misunderstood or misinterpreted. They didn’t know. But, in either case, Jesus made a mistake or the apostles made a mistake, or both.
The answer is found in God, as all answers to all human problems are found in the Lord. Time to God is not time as to us. In that third chapter of the second letter of Simon Peter, he wrote: “A thousand years is but a day to him… .” And in the beautiful Psalm 90, the prayer of Moses, it says: “A thousand years are but a day in your sight, and as a watch in the night.”
And we live by seasons and years and, finally, age and death. We are built and subject to time. We are imprisoned and held by it. But, when you think of time, even for us, it is grossly and immeasurably relative and, ultimately, is meaningless.
Look at it. If there is a mile to travel, a snail looks at that mile and says, “That’s a long time.” A stag or a hound could look at that mile and it’s shorter. A racing car can look at that distance and it’s still shorter. A jet plane can map out that mile and it’s almost in a second. For light, traveling at 186,000 miles per second, it is almost non-existent.

9 The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

7. Reminders From the Lord’s Parables make Us Watchful
10 But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that [day]the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.
Note that word “thief”
Matthew 24: 42 Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into. 44 This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
It’s the same word that Paul uses in 1 Thess 5: About the times and the seasons: brothers, you do not need anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 When they say, “Peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in the dark, so that this day would overtake you like a thief.

When He comes, he will come speedily. He will come quickly. The completion of history will be fast: one thing right after another. He comes speedily, quickly, when the conclusion of history arrives, then the events that close history will come speedily—quickly, one after another.
And the reason the Lord speaks to us about that is because He impresses upon us that when the finish—the climax of history—comes, there is no more time to prepare. It’s over.
When the end times come, the events that characterize the end times will follow one another quickly. Always it is that way. There is no time to prepare. The preparation has to be made before. And when the end times come, it is done and over for us. Our preparation must be made now. We don’t have time to prepare when the end times come.
Now, I said, my impression of the Bible, as I read it, is: without exception, all through the Word of God, the impression is made that the coming of our Lord is tachu—quickly, swiftly. The events happen one after another.
For example, in the seventeenth chapter of the Book of Luke, the coming of our Lord is like an eagle that swoops out of the sky. Or, in the twenty-fourth chapter of the Book of Matthew, His coming is like the forked lightning that strikes the earth. Or, in the same chapter, it’s like the flood that burst upon the earth. Or, in the same chapter, the coming of our Lord is like the fire and brimstone that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah—suddenly.
The clock of God is wound but once And no man has the power
To tell just when the clock will stop At late or early hour.
To lose one’s wealth is sad indeed. To lose one’s health is more.
To lose one’s soul is such a loss That nothing can restore

Mankind is divided into two groups of people, those who are in the process of perishing (the ungodly), and those who are in the process of being saved (the godly). Swift, certain judgment is coming. There will be no second chance. Our relationship to Jesus Christ is what will determine our eternal destiny. If we are found among the mockers, then we will inherit hell, torment and isolation. If we receive him as Lord and Saviour we inherit life, blessings, wholeness, peace and fellowship, now and forever. "Be reconciled to God through Christ."