Part 2
There is an element we’re looking at and that is that he returns in fiery judgment. Jesus comes as the
king in blazing fire.
To prepare us for that Peter writes his last chapter and said this is how
you get ready. So that everything you live for doesn’t get burned up.
So the backdrop for the return of the King is Peter explaining this situation and basically
Peter most clearly explains the day of the lord’s second coming as king.
What we need is what he tells us to frame our understanding and not of how to survive that day.
We will not be in danger on the day of the second coming but how to live now. Because remember the
people he wrote this to-
II Peter 3:
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.
15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also
according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be
understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures,
unto their own destruction.
17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with
the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness.
-definitely weren’t there at Christ’s second coming that was 2000 years ago but the elements of how they were
supposed to live are what we’re supposed to pick up. What they picked up and they did live
so basically it’s all about avoiding the pitfalls.
The pitfalls that Peter tells us of materialism. So what are the pitfalls that we should avoid of materialism
and basically Peter tells us five of them in chapter three starting in verse one.
Now remember Peter is writing at the end of his life. It’s for the early church. They thought they were going to go
through fiery trials. That they were coming. So Peter says the fiery trials are here but he said
there’s something even more dangerous and it’s the glittering allurement of the world
of materialism.
So what he says number one is materialism blurs our purpose in life as disciples.
So avoid getting blurred in life by materialism away from what you’re called to do.
Against materialism we resist because we’re called to be disciples of Christ.
Those who are making disciples for Jesus Christ. So he says live redemptively go through life
not trying to acquire more material things but go through life trying to redemptively point
more people to Jesus Christ. In fact one of the greatest delights in life is to know you’re taking someone with
you to heaven. That means that you have prayed for a lost person. You have asked the lord to help you
share the gospel with the lost person. Share the gospel with the lost person. Help them as they reach out to Christ.
Then know that they have connected with him and their sins are forgiven that opportunity is the greatest
of all. I mean there’s nothing greater in life than actually taking someone with you to heaven.
About 90 percent of everybody that gets saved. Gets saved before they get out of high school.
Those vast teaming fields white under harvest are in the youth ministry.
So it’s something that we’re called to do. We are to live redemptively like the first nine verses we covered.
Secondly starting in verse 10. Materialism clouds our minds with the idolatry of coveting.
What happens is we’re supposed to have these minds that are in tune with what God wants but what if we’re
not careful. What happens is our minds get intoxicated and clouded by the idolatry of covetousness.
In Los Angeles, Calif you can’t see across four lanes of traffic because of the fires there.
So everybody there is starting to wear masks. So the people there are wearing them if you don’t you will
be breathing the ash in and you’ll start coughing and not be able to breath or talk.
You know you just get it all in your throat and you can’t talk what we don’t realize is because materialism
is invisible as far as the effects of it. We don’t realize that materialism begins to intoxicate and
blur people’s minds. They start thinking unbiblically. They start thinking about oh I don’t want to do
that because I can do this.
All of a sudden the things of earth draw them more than the things of Heaven.
So Peter says avoid that pitfall don’t let materialism cloud your mind with the idolatry of
coveting. Stay alert. Wear your mask. Guard against the pathogens.
Thirdly in verse 12. We see materialism clutters our lives with discontent. This is Idolatry.
My wife and I start out life with nothing. Then we start acquiring stuff. Then we acquire and we like it
so much we don’t want to get rid of it. So we start stuffing the closets and putting in the basement.
If we have one and then the garage until the car doesn’t fit in there. Then you know we feel as winter’s
coming we got to do something with all the stuff so we emptied it out and we put it in a mini storage.
Yes and park the car in the garage but then when spring comes car comes out. We fill it back up.
But we don’t get rid of it. Then we rent a mini storage room and then we get another one.
See that is why these people who own these mIni storage places are making a fortune because people once we get
stuff. We never get rid of it. Most of people never stop renting their mini storage.
They don’t even visit it. They just have it there and then they get another one and they put more in there.
It’s like our lives get cluttered. So Peter says watch out for materialism. It will clutter your life with
discontent.
You always want more and you’ll be working a second and third job to get another toy. You already have too
many toys to play with.
Peter says don’t do that, build fireproof. In other words don’t fill the mini storage of your life
with what’s going to burn up on this Earth.
Save the energy.
Materialism if we’re not careful blinds our eyes to Christ. What Jesus said is if our eyes are fixed on him
we will see clearly the King and his beauty. The land of Heaven is so far off and we will know his will.
We will be following it if we aren’t. He said there’s only two choices either we look at him and we seek him
or the things of earth and the treasures and all the pursuits of this world begin to draw us.
What we don’t realize is when we look at them it makes us Proud of what we have but people don’t realize it
blinds us to Christ to long after all the idolatry of things that are about us.
So materialism Peter is warning us about are those earthly treasures. So what we’re supposed to do is look up and
to turn our eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face.
When that happens we get blinded to the things of earth that grow strangely dim. We aren’t
so allured by them.
Then finally we’ll see materialism corrodes our wills. Why is that Jesus said you can’t serve two masters
either you will obey Christ or you will obey the god of this world.
In your materialistic pursuits and Christ says you can’t serve both.
What Christians try and do is they love Christ. They belong to him. They’re bought by him.
So they’re trying to do both. I know for a fact it’s corrosive to your mind and your love for Christ will dim.
You know when we live near the Ocean and this salt gets in even the smallest little areas and starts corroding.
kind of like in Ohio were I grew up. You know when the salt goes down the window wells and
pretty soon the cars rot from the inside out. The cars rust out.
That’s what materialism does if we’re not careful. Materialism corrodes our wills and instead of us
denying the the siren song of the world. Living for the things of the world lust the flesh,
lust the eyes and the pride of life. Instead of denying that we’re corroded from our serving our true master.
We’ll see basically that our challenge today is to be aware of spiritual blindness.
Peter is going to reflect starting in verse 14 on what that means so in your bible
second peter chapter 3 starting verse 14. Let’s read second Peter chapter 3 starting in verse 14.
Let’s listen to Peter’s heart as he is imploring this early congregation
don’t get blinded. What God wants for you. Don’t let earthly treasures be more
important than your heavenly Christ. This is what he says verse 14 therefore beloved
looking forward to these things be diligent to be found by him
in peace without spot and blameless verse 15 and consider that the
longsuffering of our lord is salvation as also our beloved brother Paul
according to the wisdom given to him has written to you as also in all his epistles speaking in
them of these things in which some things are hard to understand which untaught and unstable people twist
to their own destruction as they do with the rest of scriptures verse 17
you therefore beloved since you know this beforehand beware lest you
also fall from your own steadfastness being led away with the error of the
wicked.
As you read the verses of II Peter do not say that was interesting and go about your day.
May we truly allow you to speak into our lives to point out to
us areas that you’re talking about. Areas that we have allowed ourselves
to get blinded to your beauty. That you are not as beautiful to us not as
attractive as you used to be.
Help us to realize why that is that it’s our treasures on earth that slowly erode our sight
of you so I pray for sight and restoration for blindness to be healed by your spirit through your word
because we cry out to you to change us.
To understand the bible you have to look at the context and the context of Peter’s epistles would
be the gospel. Records of the Gospels are the context of these epistles.
Now remember Peter wrote first and second Peter but he wrote something else
and most of us don’t realize that because of the titles of the books if you think of the Gospels you think of
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Now in a lot of game shows. You know if they ever ask you the names of the Apostles
writers of the four Gospels? People would say Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
If the game show knew anything and they would say Mark and Luke aren’t Apostles.
Matthew and John were Apostles.
How did they get in there? Well the early church realized that as Peter got older.
John Mark became his close companion and he traveled with him. As Peter
recounted the gospel stories that Christ was reminding him of because
he promised he’d bring him back to his memory.
John Mark wrote down Peter’s eyewitness account.
That’s what became called the Gospel by Mark but everybody in the early church knew
it was Peter.
What they really knew is Peter didn’t know how to write very well. In fact if you ever have taken Biblical
Greek course. The worst books in the whole new testament to translate are
First and Second Peter. Some of the Greek words. It seems like he made some
of them up. You can not find them anywhere else in the bible.
It’s so hard because his grammar, his structure and the whole way that Peter wrote was very
unpolished compared to Luke and Paul and writers like that.
Peter had a vivid and captivating visual sight of events. So Mark gets that written down.
Before Peter wrote first and second Peter. He had already written down what we call the second gospel.
The gospel by Mark. That’s Peter’s account of Christ’s life using Mark as his scribe.
Peter captured the sights and sounds of those three plus years that just overflowed Peter’s heart and
his mind.
The amazing element of the gospel by Mark is the eyewitness dimension. In fact, it’s so neat when you
read Mark. Everybody says that all four gospels have the feeding of the five thousand.
Do you know what mark records? Peter talks about the people sitting at the feeding of the 5000. He said
and the greek word that he used that Mark wrote down is like flowers in a field. What Peter
was saying is he can still see the whole side of the hill was green and the people in their colorful robes
look like little pockets of flowers. That’s how he remembered the feeding of he five thousand.
Nobody else notes that. That’s the vividness of Peter’s view. He really had some scenes and he always remembered
what Jesus said in context. (1).
(1) “Said in context” means that a phrase or statement should be understood based on the surrounding words
and circumstances in which it was said, implying that taking the words out of their context could lead
to misinterpretation; essentially, it means to consider the full meaning by looking at the situation it
was said in.
Key points about “said in context”:
Context is crucial: The meaning of a statement can significantly change depending on the context in which
it was said.
Avoiding misinterpretation: By considering the context, you can avoid misinterpreting someone’s words.
Example usage: “The politician’s comments might seem harsh, but when said in context of the heated debate,
they make more sense.”
—
Only what’s done for Christ will last!”
Hoping to make the time I have left count for the glory of God.
—
Only what’s done for Christ will last!”
Hoping to make the time I have left count for the glory of God.