Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
2 Peter 3:18 - …but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Acts 20:28-30 - Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
Acts 20:26-27 - Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.
2 Timothy 4:1-4 - I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
3 ways to protect your heart from false teaching
I. Let God’s Word Keep You Spiritually Sharp – vv. 1-2
Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
A. By placing value on being reminded
2 Peter 3:1 - This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder…
2 Peter 1:1 - Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ…
1 Peter 2:2 - …like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation…
B. By marveling at the unified nature of Scripture
2 Peter 3:2 - …that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.
1. The foundation of the Old Testament
2 Peter 3:2 - …that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets…
Isaiah 66:15-16 - For behold, the Lord will come in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For the Lord will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by the Lord will be many.
Malachi 4:1-3 – “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”
2. The validation in the New Testament
2 Peter 3:2 - …and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.
2 Peter 3:15-16 - …and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
II. Be Prepared to Answer Those Who Mock Christ’s Return – vv. 3-7
2 Peter 3:3 - …mockers will come with their mocking…
A. The characteristics of their ridicule
1. It’s timing
2 Peter 3:3 - In the last days…
2 Timothy 3:1 - But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2. Its motivation
2 Peter 3:3 - …following after their own lusts…
Acts 17:21 - Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.
“…a vicious form of intimidation that derides hope-filled Christians as silly and uninformed.” (John MacArthur, 2 Peter, p. 112)
3. Its content
2 Peter 3:4 - …and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?...
2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 - Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
4. Their rationale
2 Peter 3:4 - …and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
“Jesus Christ is coming back. Throughout the centuries, the reality of that wonderful promise has formed the crux of Christian expectation. It is the church’s blessed hope (Titus 2:11-14), her utmost longing (cf. Rom. 8:23), and the great climax of salvation history (Matt. 25:31-46) –a time of redemption for believers (Eph. 4:30) and a time of judgment for God’s enemies (2 Thess. 2:1-12). It also marks the inauguration of Christ’s earthly kingdom (Rev. 20:6), during which the saints will reign with Him in holiness (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10). The hope of bodily resurrection (1 Thess. 4:13-18), spiritual reward (cf. Matt. 25:21, 23), and a righteous world system (Isa. 9:6-7) are all tied to Jesus’ return. It is no wonder, then, that the early church found tremendous comfort in the second coming. After all, the readers of this epistle had already endured much persecution from outside the church (cf. 1 Peter 4:12–14). Now they were experiencing internal turmoil from false teachers. Thus, they longed for the return of their Savior – the Judge who would make all things right (cf. 2 Tim. 4:7-8).” (John MacArthur, 2 Peter, p. 110)
B. The error of their ridicule – what it ignores
1. The power of creation
2 Peter 3:5 - 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…
2. The horror of the flood
2 Peter 3:6 - …through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.
3. The certainty of eternal judgment
2 Peter 3:7 - But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
III. Understand Why Christ has Not Yet Returned
A. The uniqueness of the Lord’s perspective
2 Peter 3:8 - But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
B. The beauty of the Lord’s compassion
2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:4 - …and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
- Would you agree with me this am that sometimes the way we interpret a situation turns out to be significantly incorrect?...
- we thought we had the data – we truly believed we had drawn the proper conclusions…and we may even have acted on what we believed was true…
- but then later it was revealed that we had it wrong…
- we were seeing, but we weren’t seeing correctly…
- if you’re old like me, you may remember the movie Karate Kid…
- the basic plot is that a young man named Daniel moves to a new city and is being bullied, so he seeks out an elderly expert named Mr. Miyagi to teach him karate…
- Mr. Miyagi agrees, but when Daniel shows up for his first lesson, he’s told to wax Mr. Miyagi’s car, and sand his floor, and paint his fence…a series of menial tasks and eventually Daniel objects in anger because none of this has anything to do with karate…
- at least that’s the way Daniel interprets his situation…that’s the conclusion he drew…and even acted on that belief with anger and accusation…
- and, if we had been present…we might have agreed with Daniel…this old man is taking advantage of this teenager…he’s going back on the bargain…
- that’s when Mr. Miyagi reveals the purposes of the tasks and their connection to Karate…
- what just happened there?...Daniel realized how incorrect his initial interpretation had been…
- when you think about it – that’s the plotline of many books and movies…the author takes you down a particular path…and all the while you’re thinking – where’s this going, how’s this going to end…
- and you start drawing conclusions…the murder was committed by the butler…in the parlor…with a candlestick…
- and then you wait…and you keep reading…we even have a word for a book or a movie like that – it was a real cliffhanger…
- and how many times in the end did you get it right – and how many times did you get it wrong…
- we even have a saying for that dynamic – I surely didn’t see that coming…
- I was seeing, but I wasn’t seeing correctly…
- well, that’s fine in entertainment…in fact you kind of like it that way…who would want to read a book you could figure out in the first chapter?...
- but it’s not fine when it comes to our relationship with the Lord…because it’s very possible for us to look at what the Word of God says will happen…and then look at our circumstances where that promise isn’t being fulfilled and draw this conclusion…
- that must mean that either God doesn’t know, or God doesn’t care, or He’s not powerful enough to keep His Word…
- and because He’s not done it yet…He won’t do it ever…
- so we’re seeing, but we’re not seeing…clearly…
- the moment that happens…we’ve opened ourselves up for false teaching…
- With that in mind, please open your Bible to 2 Peter chapter 3…page 184 of the back section of the Bible under the chair in front of you…
- our church’s theme this year Hope for Everyday Life…
- one of our keystone verses is - Romans 15:13 - Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- we’ve developed this idea in all sorts of ways this year, and this fall we’re working our way verse-by-verse through the book of 2 Peter…where we’re Growing in Grace and Knowledge…
- which is based on the very last verse in the book…2 Peter 3:18 - but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
- that’s all well and good…but the hard news is – one element of growing in grace and knowledge is dealing with the issue of false teaching…
- and honestly, we may not like that…
- we might wish the Christian was all bubble gum and Lolli-pops – or banana cream pie and brisket…but it’s not…
- so we see warnings about false teaching from cover to cover in the Bible…
- and what’s especially troubling is – it’s not just the possibility of false teaching from without…it’s the possibility of false teaching from within…Paul said it this way to the Ephesian elders - Acts 20:28–30 - Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them.
- that’s why Peter spent all of chapter 2 highlighting the characteristics of these false teachers…that’s a lot of real estate in the Bible – and that’s also why 2 Peter is sometimes called the dark corner of the NT…along with the book of Jude…
- so we recognize that this hasn’t been “fun to listen to”…and quite honestly, it’s not been particularly “fun to preach”…
- but I think that begs this question…is the primary reason we come to church to have fun?...and should we avoid any places in Scripture that don’t meet that standard?...
- in fact, here’s what Paul said to the Ephesian elders in the 2 previous verses…Acts 20:26–27 - Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.
- the fun passages, the positive places in Scripture…and, sometimes the dark corner of the NT
- this is why Paul told Timothy…2 Timothy 4:1–4 - I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
- and on behalf of all of our pastors, we want to thank you for being a church family that wants to hear all of the Word of God…
- we have never said in a staff meeting…if we teach that from the Bible, people will stop coming…
- it’s really the opposite around here and we believe we’re quite blessed – it’s more like, if we stop teaching the Bible…people would stop coming…
- so let’s just keep doing what we’re doing…
- now here’s what happens in chapter 3…Peter reveals what this particular group of false teachers has been saying…and those words were chosen carefully…because there are other false teachers mentioned in other places in the NT who were teaching other kinds of false doctrine…
- but in chapter 3 – Peter reveals what this particular group of false teachers have been saying…and they’ve been a lot like Daniel the Karate Kid…they’re interpreting what they see in a particular way, and drawing very faulty conclusions about the character and plan of God…and then propagating those beliefs in ways that are very harmful to the church…
- and Peter comes along like Mr. Miyagi…and says, what you took for this…is really that…
- which allowed his readers, and allows you and me…to Celebrating God’s Patience…
- read 2 Peter 3:1-9
- So we’re talking this morning about Celebrating God’s Patience…and with the time we have remaining, let’s think about 3 ways to protect your heart from false teaching
I. Let’s God’s Word Keep You Spiritually Sharp – vv. 1-2
- that’s what the first 2 verses are all about…
- the more immersed we are in the Word of God, the less likely we’ll be to interpret our situation incorrectly…
- it’s as simple as Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
- and Peter says that we have to…
A. By placing value on being reminded
- 2 Peter 3:1 - This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,
- that’s been a consistent theme throughout this book, hasn’t it?...
- and we hope that as you faithfully attend church, you are leaning new things about your Bible…but honestly, a lot of it is being reminded…
- your presence Sunday after Sunday shows that you place a high value on that…
- now you might say – what does it mean to have a sincere mind, and how does one acquire that?...
- this goes all the way back to the way Peter introduced the book…
- 2 Peter 1:1 - Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
- the first step in all of this is admitting your need and placing your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord…and Peter explained one of the net effects of that is to be like…1 Peter 2:2 - like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
- so if you stopped people coming into the auditorium and asked – what are you doing, you could be anywhere right now – many if not all would say…I’m hungry…for the Word…I want to be reminded of what God has said…
- that’s keeps you spiritually sharp and protects your heart from false teaching…
- now please look at how Peter develops this in verse 2…we could say it this way…
B. By marveling at the unified nature of Scripture
- how hard is it to find both testaments in verse 2?...not hard at all…
- 2 Peter 3:2 - that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.
- there’s…
1. The foundation of the Old Testament
- 2 Peter 3:2 - that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets…
- the Lord’s second coming is mapped out in many places in the OT…
- Isaiah 66:15–16 - For behold, the Lord will come in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For the Lord will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by the Lord will be many. Malachi 4:1–3
- or – Malachi 4:1-3 - For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”
- so it’s not difficult at all to build an OT doctrine of the second coming of the Messiah… and Peter is saying – if you listen to the false teachers who are saying – Jesus isn’t coming back…
- you’re being like the Karate Kid…you’re interpreting what you see incorrectly…
- you’ve forgotten the foundation of the OT…but there’s also…
2. The validation in the New Testament
- now, the second half of verse 2 is very important…because Peter equates that the commandments of Christ as spoken by the apostles as being equally authoritative…
- 2 Peter 3:2 - …and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.
- that is an incredibly important affirmation of the unified nature of God’s Word…
- and to see it even more clearly – let’s peek into the passage we have for next week…
- 2 Peter 3:15–16 - and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.
- to what did Peter just equate the writings of the apostle Paul?…the rest of the Scriptures…and who, humanly speaking, penned a rather significant percentage of our NT?...the apostle Paul…
- friend – Let God’s Word keep you spiritually sharp, by placing value on being reminded, and by marveling at the unified nature of Scripture…
- and I am very thankful for a church family full of people who Sunday after Sunday after Sunday do exactly that…
II. Be Prepared to Answer Those Who Mock Christ’s Return – vv. 3-7
- what a powerful phrase in verse 3 – 2 Peter 3:3 - …mockers will come with their mocking…
- that’s not always the case with false teachers, but it certainly was here…and what can we learn about…
A. The characteristics of their ridicule
- how does verse 3 help us?...well…
1. It’s timing
2 Peter 3:3 – In the last days…
- now you might say – what does that mean?...we believe the last days began at the resurrection of Jesus Christ…
- so you could say – we’re some 2000 years into the last days…
- Paul used the same phrase in 2 Timothy 3:1 - But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
- there’s no doubt that the NT writers believed in the imminent return of Jesus Christ…
- I realize someone might say – well, Jesus seems to be a bit late for His return…
- be careful about that, lest you become like one of these mockers…Peter will explain in a few verses that the length of God’s days is a whole lot different than the length of ours…and by the way – that is really good news – we get to that in a minute (although the length of a pastor’s minute…might be a bit different than the length of a church member’s minute)…
- what about…
2. Its motivation
- 2 Peter 3:3 - …following after their own lusts,
- and that could be all sorts of lusts…
- we spoke a few weeks ago about some Christian’s desire to be thought of as novel or intelligent or insightful…just like the people in Athens that Luke spoke about in Acts 17 who…Acts 17:21 - (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)
- that lust to be thought of as intelligent, or well-reasoned, or Avant-guard can easily be the route through which false teaching comes into the church…
- or the lust to put someone else down…to make them feel foolish or uneducated because of one of their beliefs…that’s clearly the case here – John Macarthur described their tactics as – “a vicious form of intimidation that derides hope-filled Christians as silly and uninformed” (John MacArthur, 2 Peter, p. 112).
- it’s also likely, based on what’s been emphasized in this book that Peter was talking about sensual lusts – the Bible forbids a certain kind of behavior and so they try to undermine the Bible’s eschatological teaching about the future so we can ignore the Bible’s ethical teaching about the present…
3. Its content
- 2 Peter 3:4 - and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming?...
- in other words…Jesus is late…He hasn’t kept His promise…
- by the way – this is why we said earlier that there are several different kinds of false teaching highlighted in the Bible…
- for example, the book of 2 Thessalonians is given to address the opposite problem…2 Thessalonians 2:1–2 - Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
- so you can see how confusing this could become…there are some false teachers out there saying that Jesus already came…while others are mocking because He hasn’t come yet…
- and what was…
4. Their rationale
- 2 Peter 3:4 - and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
- philosophically that is known as uniformitarianism – which denies divine intervention throughout world history…therefore whatever natural process have operated in the past can be relied upon to occur in the future….
- and what’s tempting about that is that God has created natural processes in His world upon which we can rely…
- is anyone surprised that the leaves are changing colors?...no, because that occurs every fall…
- but does that suggest that God is unable to divinely intervene in a miraculous fashion that would be required to fulfill the promise of His second coming?...
- the false teachers said yes – and Peter says no, and now we can see why Peter has been so exercised throughout this book…why?...
- the doctrine of the second coming of Jesus Christ is a vital truth for the church of Jesus Christ…for all sorts of reasons…
- John MacArthur said it like this - Jesus Christ is coming back. Throughout the centuries, the reality of that wonderful promise has formed the crux of Christian expectation. It is the church’s blessed hope (Titus 2:11–14), her utmost longing (cf. Rom. 8:23), and the great climax of salvation history (Matt. 25:31–46)—a time of redemption for believers (Eph. 4:30) and a time of judgment for God’s enemies (2 Thess. 2:1–12). It also marks the inauguration of Christ’s earthly kingdom (Rev. 20:6), during which the saints will reign with Him in holiness (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10). The hope of bodily resurrection (1 Thess. 4:13–18), spiritual reward (cf. Matt. 25:21, 23), and a righteous world system (Isa. 9:6–7) are all tied to Jesus’ return. It is no wonder, then, that the early church found tremendous comfort in the second coming. After all, the readers of this epistle had already endured much persecution from outside the church (cf. 1 Peter 4:12–14). Now they were experiencing internal turmoil from false teachers. Thus, they longed for the return of their Savior—the Judge who would make all things right (cf. 2 Tim. 4:7–8) (John MacArthur, 2 Peter, p. 110)
- so, Peter cannot allow this attack on this all-important teaching from the Word of God to stand…there’s just too much at stake…so how did Peter point out…
B. The error of their ridicule – what it ignores
1. The power of creation
- 2 Peter 3:5 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,
- in other words…the Word of God is so powerful that the Lord can speak this world into existence in 6 literal days if that’s what He chooses to do…
- surely He is powerful enough to keep His promise to keep His promise to return for His people and judge the world He made…
- by the way – that word translated “it escapes their notice” could be translated even more strongly which is why the King James rendered it “they are willingly ignorant of”…
- that would certainly be consistent with what we read in Romans 1 about people who suppress the truth of creation in unrighteousness…
- this by the way is one of the doors through which false teaching could enter this church…moving away from the doctrine of a literal 6 day creation…
- some of you old-timers (I mean, more mature members) will remember Pastor Goode hosting seminars by organizations like the Creation Research Institute…
- aren’t you glad for former pastors and church leadership and a church family who would not budge one inch on such matters?...
2. The horror of the flood
- Peter has said a lot about this in his book…but now he adds…2 Peter 3:6 - through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.
- for anyone who says – Jesus Christ can’t return again because everything is the same as it was since creation – tell that to the mockers of Noah’s Day…after the rain started…things don’t seem to be “continuing just as it was from the beginning of creation” on that particular day…
- how high up your chest would the water have to get before you would conclude…God may be miraculously intervening in His world today…then there’s the…
3. The certainty of eternal judgment
- 2 Peter 3:7 - But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
- and you see the repetitive use of the phrase “by His Word”…
- the same Word that was on such prominent display in chapter 1…the false teachers are “playing with fire” – in this case quite literally when they suggest that God can’t and won’t keep His promise to one day judge this world…
- one of the questions that each of us should consider is…are we allowing any mockers to undermine our belief in what God’s Word says about the past., and the present, and the future…
- and if so, we would be wise to distance ourselves from such influences as soon as possible, and by that I mean, right now…
- and I would be less than a pastor if I didn’t at least ask this – is it possible that I speaking to one or more persons who have positioned yourself as a mocker of some aspect of Scripture yourself…and worse, are you having that kind of impact on someone else…
- our counsel to you would be to get on your knees and repent of that action right here, right now…while you have the opportunity to do so…
- now – where does all this lead?...
III. Understand Why Christ has Not Yet Returned
- one of the many problems with false teaching is that it could cause you to miss marvelous truth about the character of our God…and this is one of the best examples in Scripture that I can think to make that point…
- why hadn’t Christ returned in so many years?...
A. The uniqueness of the Lord’s perspective
- 2 Peter 3:8 - But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
- you don’t want a God who’s just getting started…he has peach fuzz on his face or is wet behind the ears…
- why?...because you want, and more importantly, you need a God who is eternal…and whose perspective on time is entirely different than yours…
- and what does that reveal about Him?...
B. The beauty of the Lord’s compassion
- 2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
- show me wax on, wax off…what false teachers mock actually demonstrates the patience of our God…toward who?...toward you…
- you may not be growing at the rate that God wants you to grow in all the areas you should (anyone want to stand in that line – I would) – and therefore aren’t the best and most consistent witness of the gospel for everyone in your life…aren’t you glad for God’s patience?...
- false teaching can rob us opportunities to rejoice in aspects of God’s wonderful character and attributes…
- Our God is patient with all of mankind, including us…
- sometimes that even comes out in the mundane details of life…
- last week I was in Los Angeles for board meetings and then a counseling conference…
- so in total I was gone 8 days and in that case I use off-site parking at the airport because it’s cheaper…
- you’ve probably done that – you drive to the place, park under one of their awnings…
- they pick you up in a little bus…give you a ticket as a reminder of the exact spot where you parked...and take you to the airport…
- I’ve developed a habit over the years as soon as I get on that bus to put my keys and that little card in a pocket inside my briefcase where I also keep my passports…
- so I did that…went to LA…then flew back and it was right around suppertime so I decided to grab a sandwich at the airport…
- so now I’m sitting down in the big common area at the airport and I reach into my briefcase and get my keys and my ticket so I’m ready to go…
- the challenge was I was wearing some sweatpants that didn’t have pockets…
- so when I get up to leave, I’ve got my briefcase over my shoulder…pulling my suitcase with one hand…
- and then in my left hand, I’ve got my wallet, my phone, my glasses, my keys, and the parking ticket…all good, right…
- I get down to where you catch the bus and there was an unusually long line…so I had to wait until a couple of buses cycled through to pick up the people in line before me…
- so now I get on the bus which is totally full…and there were 4 young ladies who appeared to be returning from some kind of exotic location…and the driver asked them for their ticket and they couldn’t find it…so they sort of remembered where they might have parked…so we headed that direction…
- we got to that spot and one of them yells out…I can’t find my car keys…
- to which all the rest of us respond with eye rolls to each other…like how much alcohol was consumed on that flight…
- now, please remind me…pride goes before a what?...a fall…
- because it was at that moment I looked in my left hand…and the good news is that I had my phone, wallet, glasses…and I had already given the driver my ticket…you know what the bad news was…no keys…
- so I started to casually look around…because I didn’t want anyone to think I was as irresponsible as…these young ladies…
- but the driver eventually got to my Jeep so I had no choice but to yell out and ask him to take me back to the airport…because I couldn’t find my keys…
- now the rest of the riders start giving me suggestions…are they in your pockets (I don’t have pockets)…and of course the infamous…do you remember where you had them last…
- so the driver lets everyone else off, and then picks up a batch of new riders…then we set off for the airport again…
- my working theory was…I bet when I was gathering up the trash from supper, I included my keys in the trash…which was bad because I distinctly remembered putting my trash not in a can, but in one of those trash compactors they have at the airport…
- and I’m thinking – I wonder what will happen when I put my arm in there and feel around?...
- so anyway, I decided to stop at the information booth right there in the center of the airport…and I asked the woman there if any keys had been turned in within the last 30 minutes or so…
- she smiles at me…picks up my keys from her desk but she doesn’t give them to me…she holds them just out of my reach and asks, would you like to know where you lost them?...
- I said – not if it makes me feel any more foolish than I do right now…in other words, not really…
- she wasn’t buying that – so she says loud enough for everyone in the area to hear…they were on the bottom of the escalator…
- a guy was coming around to get on the up escalator…he happened to look down at the bottom of the down escalator…and your keys were on the bottom step just bouncing around as the stairs went around…
- friends, it’s amazing how often God just looks after us…when we’re careless, when we’re foolish…when we’re a whole lot of bad things we shouldn’t be…
- and why is that?...because He is a patient God…
- 2 Peter 3:4 - and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
- 2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
- let’s never allow false teaching to rob us of opportunities to marvel and rejoice at the character of our God…
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