Consummation

1. "Much of life is lived in anticipation of the next. It's not if you'll wait, but how you'll wait. And God's people throughout history have always been marked by waiting."

2. "What should you do while you wait for Christ's return? Flee from false teachers and hold fast to the truth."

3. "Sin doesn't come into your room in the morning and say, okay, let's just end it all today. No, it's subtle. Sin's strategy is to work in increments. Sin doesn't yell at you, it whispers. It masquerades as comfort, but is actually cancer seeking to slowly kill you one day at a time."

4. "A small spark can create a great fire and a small leak can sink a great ship. Put your sin to death, because it's certainly trying to put you to death."

5. "It may feel like a kindness to affirm the spiritually dead and dying in their sins, but that is no kindness at all. The most loving thing that we can do is tell the spiritually dead and dying not to be comfortable in their sin, but how to find freedom from their sin."

6. "The cross is God's declaration of his hatred for sin and his love for sinners. And you will never understand God's love for sinners until you understand God's hatred for sin."

7. "Brothers and sisters, this world is temporary and it is fleeting and it will be burned up. And it should radically shape and alter how you live in the world. You are doing yourself no favors not to think about the end."

8. "When God dwells with his people here on the earth, there will be no violence and killings anymore. There will be no pandemics anymore. Parents will no longer bury their children. There will be no war, no cancer, no sin and death, because God will dwell among us and it will be good."

9. "It'd be far better for this church to close its doors than to compromise on the gospel."

10. "Jesus never promised it would be easy, but he did promise it will be worth it. You may have bruises and scars along the way, but I can promise you this: there are no wounds that heaven won't heal."

Observation Questions

1. Read 2 Peter 2:1–3. According to Peter, where do the false teachers arise from, what do they teach, and what are the immediate effects of their teaching on others?
2. In 2 Peter 2:4–10a, what three historical examples of judgment does Peter list, and how does God treat the righteous and the unrighteous in each example?
3. Looking at 2 Peter 2:14–15, how does Peter describe the hearts and eyes of the false teachers, and what Old Testament figure does he compare them to?
4. According to 2 Peter 2:18–22, whom do the false teachers especially target, what do they promise, and how does Peter summarize their final condition with the two proverbs?
5. In 2 Peter 3:3–7, what do the scoffers say about Christ’s return, and what key facts about creation and the flood do they “deliberately overlook”?
6. Read 2 Peter 3:10–13. What specific events does Peter say will happen on “the day of the Lord,” and what are believers “waiting for” according to verse 13?

Interpretation Questions

1. Why is it significant that the false teachers in 2 Peter 2:1 come “from among you,” and how does this deepen the danger they pose to the church?
2. How do the examples of angels, Noah’s generation, and Sodom and Gomorrah in 2 Peter 2:4–10a support Peter’s main point in verse 9 about God’s ability both to rescue the godly and to keep the unrighteous for judgment?
3. In 2 Peter 3:3–4, what is the underlying heart issue behind the scoffers’ denial of Christ’s return, and how does that connect to Peter’s repeated mention of “sinful desires”?
4. How does 2 Peter 3:8–9 correct a human misunderstanding of God’s “slowness,” and what does this teach us about the relationship between God’s patience and human repentance?
5. In 2 Peter 3:11–14, how does the coming dissolution of the present heavens and earth shape Peter’s vision of what kind of people Christians “ought to be,” and how does this relate to the sermon’s claim that “waiting is worth it”?

Application Questions

1. Based on 2 Peter 2:1–3, 14–15, what are some practical signs today that a teacher or influencer may be false (in life or doctrine), and how can you personally and as a church flee from such voices?
2. Peter warns that sin often works as a gradual “drift” rather than a sudden collapse (2 Peter 2:18–22). Where do you see subtle compromise or “small sins” edging you away from the Lord, and what concrete steps can you take this week to put them to death?
3. In light of 2 Peter 3:9 and the sermon’s emphasis on God’s purpose in His patience, how should God’s patience shape the way you pray for, speak to, and wait for non‑Christian family, friends, or coworkers?
4. Reread 2 Peter 3:11–14. If you really believed that everything in this world is temporary and will be exposed and dissolved, what specific changes might you make in how you use your time, money, and gifts in the coming month?
5. Peter calls believers to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). What one practice (e.g., time in the Word, fellowship, service, evangelism) do you sense you need to strengthen so that you wait for Christ’s return with greater stability and joy?

Additional Bible Reading

1. Numbers 22–24 — The story of Balaam illustrates how a religious figure can love gain from wrongdoing and lead God’s people into sin, echoing Peter’s warning about false teachers.
2. Ezekiel 33:10–20 — God declares that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but calls them to turn and live, shedding light on 2 Peter 3:9 and God’s heart in His patience.
3. Romans 9:14–24 — Paul explains God’s sovereign mercy and compassion in salvation, complementing Peter’s teaching about God’s purpose and freedom in showing mercy.
4. 1 John 2:18–27 — John describes “antichrists” who “went out from us,” reinforcing Peter’s warning that some who depart from sound doctrine once appeared to be part of the church.
5. Revelation 21:1–4 — John’s vision of the new heavens and new earth where God dwells with His people and wipes away every tear expands Peter’s promise of a world “in which righteousness dwells.”

Sermon Main Topics

The Significance of Waiting for God’s People

Flee from False Teachers

Hold Fast to the Truth

Exhortation to Faithful Waiting

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Detailed Sermon Outline

I. The Significance of Waiting for God’s People

• A. Waiting as a universal human experience

• 1. Childhood impatience for Christmas illustrates the difficulty of waiting.

• 2. Modern examples of waiting (e.g., job offers, test results, family reunions).

• B. Biblical foundation of waiting

• 1. God’s people have always waited (Genesis 3:15, Abraham’s 25-year wait, Israel’s 400-year slavery in Egypt).

• 2. Christians today wait for Christ’s return (2 Peter 3:12).

• 3. Waiting is not optional; it is how we wait that matters.

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II. Flee from False Teachers (2 Peter 2)

• A. Reason 1: False teachers reject Christ

• 1. They arise from within the church (2 Peter 2:1).

• 2. They deny Christ despite prior professions of faith (2 Peter 2:1, 20-22).

• a. Example of Balaam (Numbers 22-24) and his greed-driven betrayal.

• b. Warning against self-deception (1 John 2:19).

• B. Reason 2: False teachers boldly sin and deceive

• 1. They exploit others through sensuality and greed (2 Peter 2:2-3, 14).

• 2. They target vulnerable believers (2 Peter 2:18).

• a. Sin’s gradual corruption compared to C.S. Lewis’s “gentle slope to hell.”

• b. Contrast between affirming sin (cultural gospel) and offering true freedom in Christ.

• C. Reason 3: False teachers face God’s judgment

• 1. Historical examples of God’s judgment (fallen angels, Noah’s flood, Sodom and Gomorrah) (2 Peter 2:4-10).

• 2. God’s faithfulness to rescue the righteous (2 Peter 2:9).

• a. Eternal consequences for unrepentant sin (Luke 11:24-26).

• b. Urgency to warn the spiritually dead (Ezekiel 33:11).

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III. Hold Fast to the Truth (2 Peter 3)

• A. Truth 1: God has purpose in His patience

• 1. Scoffers deny Christ’s return, but God’s timeline transcends human understanding (2 Peter 3:3-5, 8-9).

• 2. God’s patience aims to extend mercy (2 Peter 3:9; Romans 9:15-16).

• B. Truth 2: Righteousness will dwell on the earth

• 1. Christ’s return will purify creation (2 Peter 3:10-12).

• 2. Promised new heavens and new earth (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1-4).

• a. Eternal restoration of God’s presence and eradication of sin.

• C. Truth 3: Waiting is worth it

• 1. Live in holiness, anticipating Christ’s reward (2 Peter 3:14).

• 2. Scripture as the foundation for endurance (2 Peter 3:15-18).

• a. Warning against twisting Paul’s teachings (2 Peter 3:16).

• b. Call to grow in grace and knowledge of Christ (2 Peter 3:18).

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IV. Exhortation to Faithful Waiting

• A. The cost of abandoning the wait

• 1. Historical churches as cautionary tales of compromise.

• 2. Better to close doors than abandon the gospel.

• B. Practical steps to wait well

• 1. Gather around God’s Word and prayer.

• 2. Serve, encourage, and pursue vulnerable believers.

• 3. Proclaim the gospel despite cultural pressures.

• C. Eternal hope in Christ’s return

• 1. “No wounds heaven won’t heal.”

• 2. Anticipation of the day when “righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:13).

How good are you at waiting? Now, I remember when I was a child, this time of the year was the most wonderful time of year, and also the most torturous time of year. Christmas is almost here, a few weeks away. I remember I couldn't wait for Christmas, really literally couldn't wait, so I would go and try to find my gifts every single year before Christmas Day. That did not prove like a good idea down the road.

Waiting is hard. How are you at waiting? When is the last time that you really had to wait on something that you wanted? Maybe it was for college graduation or waiting to receive the interview or the job offer. Waiting to get those test results.

Waiting to hear on if you got the house. Waiting to see your family again. Much of life is lived in anticipation of the next. It's not if you'll wait, but how you'll wait. And God's people throughout history have always been marked by waiting.

I mean, just go back to your Bibles and your minds to Genesis chapter 3. After the fall, God makes this promise that there would be one that would come and remove this enmity between God and man, who would it be? And immediately from the first child that is born, Adam and Eve are looking to see who will remove the curse. God's people have always been marked by waiting. Abraham waited 25 years for the promise to be fulfilled to him of a son being given to him and Isaac.

Israel was in slavery over 400 years in Egypt. They knew the promise that they would be God's people in God's place and yet they had to wait a long time. And we are really no different than these first century Christians that Peter wrote to. We are waiting on Christ's return, waiting for the end where Christ will return and judge the living and the dead. So our time in 2 Peter really is focusing on how to wait on the Lord.

It's not if we will wait, but how we will wait. The promise has been made, but now it's our job to wait to see it to be fulfilled. So the question I want us to consider today is what should you do while you wait for Christ's return?

What should you be doing while you wait for Christ's return? Well, I think in our passage today we see two things we all should be doing. Number one, flee from false teachers.

It's all of chapter 2. And I'll give you three reasons why I want you to flee from false teachers. I'll give those later. And the second thing we should do is hold fast to what is true. Hold fast to the truth, which would be all of chapter 3.

And there I will also give you three truths to hold on to. So what should you do while we wait for Christ's return, flee from false teachers, and hold fast to the truth? So if you have your Bible, I invite you to go ahead and grab them and turn to 2 Peter chapter 2. If you have a red Bible beside you, 2 Peter can be found on page 1018. Now, I don't know if you noticed this or not, but we have a lot to cover today.

Preparing this sermon was like how I go through a buffet at Thanksgiving. I got entirely too much. I'm like, I don't know how I'm going to eat this all. So I will say we won't be able to eat it all today. We will cover the highlights and kind of the main emphasis, but there will be some leftovers for you to consider this week.

And if I don't cover something you have a question about, I would love to talk to you afterwards. I'll be at that door. But primarily we'll be focusing on kind of the main emphasis of 2 Peter chapter 2 and 2 Peter chapter 3. Let's look at chapter 2 first. Look in your Bibles now with me.

This is what the Apostle Peter writes to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

But false prophets also arose among the people. Just as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment, if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly. If, by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes, he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. And if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked, for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard. Then the Lord knows how to rescue the ungodly, or how to rescue, excuse me, the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce blameless and blameless, judgment against them before the Lord.

But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions while they feast with you. They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls.

They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children, forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved to gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression. A speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet's madness. These are waterless springs, mists driven by a storm.

For then the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. For speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh, those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom. But they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person to that he is enslaved.

For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them to never know the way of righteousness Then after knowing, knowing it to turn back from the holy commandments delivered to them. What the true Proverbs says has happened to them. The dog turns, returns to its own vomit. But the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.

So here in chapter put, I'll put it very simply, Peter goes scorched earth on false teachers. Apparently, there was a group of false teachers who had come in among the church, were teaching lies about God's Word and Christ's return, and they were deceiving people to some success. They were going after weak and vulnerable sheep, and Peter, like the good shepherd that he was, like the good shepherd that Jesus had charged him to be in John 21, was tending to the sheep. He was gonna make sure that he did everything in his effort to guard and protect these sheep from wolves. See, HP see the way that Peter is pastoring here is the kind of pastoring you want from your elders who love you so much and care for you so much that they will do everything, that we will do everything in our power to protect you and to guard you from sheep.

Good thing to pray is that our elders would be like Peter right here warning these weak sheep against these false teachers. I don't know if you noticed anything when we read 2 Peter. He doesn't give any specific instructions to Christians here. He's specifically just addressing these false teachers. But I think the instructions are pretty clear.

Flee from false teachers. That is what Peter is saying here. Don't listen to them, have nothing to do with them. And I think he gives us three reasons why we should all flee from false teachers. Number one, because of what they've done.

They've rejected Christ. Number two, because of what they do. They boldly sin and deceive. And because of, number three, because of what will be done to them, they will experience God's judgment. So let's look at number one.

The first reason why we should flee from false teachers is because of what they've done. They have rejected Christ. Peter, we see here in verse 1 of chapter 2, he tells them that these false teachers will come from among them and have come from among them. Though it's future tense, I think he has the present situation in mind. He highlights the fact that false prophets, like they did in the Old Testament, as he references chapter 1, that arose among those prophets of old, and they'll do the same in our day.

They were already among them. How does Peter know this? Well, these were ones who denied the Master that bought them. He says that in verse 1. They were ones who had followed Jesus, who had a profession of faith of some kind, had shown evidence of being believers, had maybe gained a standing in the church, maybe were teaching and were influencing the church, and slowly but surely they began to reveal their true nature and character.

By denying Christ completely and turning away from him altogether for the sake of following their sinful passions. I think it becomes more clear that they were among the church because of verse 14 and 15 of chapter 2. He says, Accursed children, which is kind of a reference to people in the Old Testament who had abandoned God. Forsaking the right way, they've gone astray. They followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrong.

Here Peter mentions Balaam, which you can find the story of Balaam in Numbers 22 through 24. He was a prophet that the king of Moab, Balak, had sent to curse Israel and God in his mercy prevents Balaam from doing it. God strikes Balaam's donkey and the donkey speaks and Balaam stops. And yet though God was merciful to Balaam, Balaam turns from the Lord. You can see it in Numbers 31:16 that Balaam was later killed and he rejected God.

How did he reject God? Well, he instructed Israel, the men of Israel, to be given to sexual sin. He'd rejected the Lord for the purposes of gain. And then Peter says of these men in verse 20, Look, they're now for if after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome. The last state has become worse for them than the first.

Peter's saying, if these men had escaped, which clearly they hadn't, their last state is worse than the first. This echoes Jesus' teaching in Luke 11:24-26 about a demon leaving and seven coming in. He says, the last state is worse than the first. Let me be clear, Peter isn't teaching here that you can lose your salvation. That's not what Peter is saying.

Peter is saying that all, I think Peter has argued this throughout, that all those who are Christ will remain to the end. But there will be many who will profess Christ and who will not persevere to the end. I think what Peter's saying is exactly what John wrote in 1 John 2:19. 1 John 2:19, this is what John writes there. They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, They would no doubt have continued with us, but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

The message is clear, those who are Christ, those who are in Christ, those who have repented of their sins and entrusted in Christ for their salvation will persevere to the end, but those who haven't will eventually deny Christ and reject him altogether. Church, the application from this is that the threat did not come from the outside. The false teaching did not come from the outside, it came from within. This should teach us that we should never ever take lightly our membership here at this church. That we should take seriously about who we bring in.

That we should take seriously who we allow to become elders of this church. Did you notice what Peter says about these men, what has happened? That because of them the way of truth is blasphemed. To claim to be a follower of Jesus and then to deny Christ altogether hurts the witness of Christ in our community. So our members meetings are not just ways to fill up your calendar.

Our members meetings are where we are taking this very seriously, where we're doing everything that so far as it depends on us to make sure that we protect the gospel and Christ's witness in our community. That's what we're doing in those meetings, is we're trying to avoid making sure that these false professors don't come from within. Peter says that they have rejected Christ. Well, what have they rejected Christ for? Well, see my second point here.

What do they do? They boldly sin and deceive. They boldly sin and deceive.

We see this in verses 2 and 3, and you can look there now. Peter says, and many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed, and in their greed they will exploit you with false words. These men had denied Christ, and they had given themselves completely over to sin. Peter says that many will follow them because of their sensuality, meaning these men were completely given to sexual sin. What type, I don't know, but they were marked by it.

So it's who they were. We see in verse 10 that I think Peter's referencing them, that God will judge those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority. They rejected authority and they rejected God's command for how to live in his world. World. Verse 14 says, They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin.

These men weren't marked by struggling with sin, they were marked by loving their sin. So much so that Peter says in verse 19, They offer freedom, but they themselves are slaves. Instead of light, these men chose darkness. Instead of life, they chose death. They rejected the freedom that Christ offers to be slaves to sin.

I could be wrong, but I don't think these men woke up one morning thinking, yeah, I want to shipwreck my life today. I just want to end it all. I just want to give it all to sin. No, I think it was a slow fade, a subtle drift. Because that's not how sin works.

Sin doesn't come into your room in the morning and say, okay, let's just end it all today. No, it's subtle. Sin's strategy is to work in increments. Sin doesn't yell at you, it whispers. It masquerades as comfort but is actually cancer, seeking to slowly kill you one day at a time.

I don't know if anybody that's written better on this than C.S. Lewis in the Screwtape Letters. I know many of us have heard this quote, but it has been super helpful for me this week as I've considered it. Screwtape is the mentor demon who writes to his understudy on the strategy of using sin in the life of the Christian. He says this, you, will say that these are very small sins, and doubtless, like all young tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickednesses.

But do remember The only thing that matters is the extent in which you separate them from the enemy. Speaking of Christ, it does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the light out into the nothing. No, murder is no better than cards if cards do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one, the gentle slope, soft underfoot. Without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts.

Brothers and sisters, if Satan was going to take you out, how would he do it?

What sin would he use to lead you astray? How might he be doing that in your life at this very moment? I would encourage you to adopt the philosophy of J.C. Ryle. Never allow a little sin. A small spark can create a great fire and a small leak can sink a great ship.

Put your sin to death because it's certainly trying to put you to death. These men had followed the path of destruction to the point of no return. And they were not content just to do this on their own. They wanted others to come alongside them and to participate in their sin.

We see that they're enticing others, and Peter says here in chapter 2 with false words. He's basically saying they're making up stories, they're lying, offering up myths to lead them astray. They are twisting the words about Christ's return, and they're twisting Paul's words that we'll see at the end of chapter 3. To their own destruction and for their own gain to justify their sinful passions. These men lied to lead astray and apparently they were successful.

We see this in verse 18. He says this, for speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh, those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. Thank you, he says, those who are barely escaping. I think he's referencing new Christians. Of vulnerable people in their faith.

And we know this is the strategy of wolves, right? They don't attack the pack, they attack and isolate the weakest among us. And that's exactly what their strategy was. We don't need to be reminded of this today because false teachers, they don't wear name tags. They don't come to the meeting saying, hi, my name's Jim.

I'm a false teacher. My hope is to lead you down the path of destruction. That's not how that works. And to be fair, I think many of the false teachers of our day don't think they're being deceptive. I think they're just genuinely self deceived.

They think they may be leading people to truth, but they're actually leading them to bondage.

And just to be very clear, if you deny God's word about what God says about sin and judgment, it doesn't matter how genuine you are, you are a liar, you are a false teacher, you have rejected God's word to follow your own passions. And the way I think this will play out in our own day is that men and women who are very articulate, who have a great following on social media, and who even at points will sound so compelling when they talk about God's love, God's mercy, and God's acceptance.

However, they will never mention God's holiness, God's wrath, God's hatred of sin and the judgment that is to come. They preach a shameless and lifeless gospel of the culture, which is no good news at all. It does not bring liberation, but condemnation.

They seek to affirm the dead in their sins, to stay dead.

It reminds me of last year, Megan and I were watching just different documentaries of the 20th anniversary of 911. There was a lot of different footages that were coming out and interviews that we hadn't seen before. And one of the interviews was about a doctor who after the planes were initially hit, which I didn't know that once the planes were hit, a lot of people were killed and wounded from the debris from the plane itself before the buildings actually fell. And so there was a doctor who was just running around just trying to check on, see who's living, who was in critical condition and who he could potentially save. And he said there was one situation that has grieved him till this day.

There was one man that he ran up upon who was still living, but based on his injuries, he was certain he was going to die. And the man looked up and said, Am I going to live? And the doctor not knowing what to do in an awful, impossible situation says, yeah, you're gonna live, knowing the man would die. What do you say to the dying?

Better yet, what do we say to the spiritually dead and dying? It may feel like a kindness to affirm the spiritually dead and dying in their sins, but that is no kindness at all. The most loving thing that we can do is tell the spiritually dead and dying not to be comfortable in their sin, but how to find freedom from their sin. How to find forgiveness of their sin. False teachers, they offer freedom, but their teaching only leads to slavery and to the grave.

Brothers and sisters, never listen to those who claim to teach God's word yet affirm what God forbids. Never listen to those who affirm the things that God has clearly stated that He hates. They use all sorts of creative ways to justify their teaching, and yet it is a lie from the pit of hell. Run from those. Jesus did not come to affirm you in your sin, but to deliver you from it.

He wasn't pierced so you could be comfortable in your sin. He was pierced for your transgressions to make you right with God. A gospel that doesn't teach that Jesus took the wrath of God on the cross in place of sinners is no gospel at all. The cross is God's declaration of his hatred for sin and his love for sinners. And you will never understand God's love for sinners until you understand God's hatred for sin.

Just the reality of it. You can't separate those two things. These men boldly sinned and deceived others in doing the same. What would be their fate? Well, this brings me to my next point.

They will experience God's judgment. Because of what they have done, they will experience the judgment of God.

We see this primarily in verses 4 through 10. So to kind of help you understand the structure of this passage a little bit better, 1 through 16 functions kind of like a chiasm. And a chiasm in the Bible is kind of like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You have the two slices of bread, but the thing you're really after is that peanut butter and jelly in the middle. More jelly than peanut butter, amen?

And that's what you're after. So this is a chiasm. So 3, or 1 through 3, is talking about the false teachers and what they do. And then 11 through 16 is basically saying the same thing, but from a different dimension. The point of the whole passage, I think, is 4 through 10.

4 through 10. This is what Peter's after right here. And I think kind of the pinnacle verse of this chapter is verse 9, okay? Where Peter focuses on what will be done to those false teachers while God preserving the righteous. Peter isn't seeking just to talk about these false teachers and their immorality.

He wants to encourage these believers that God sees and will do something about their immorality. In 4-10, Peter uses God's judgment of sin in the Old Testament as a foreshadowing of the greater judgment that would come in the end when Christ returns. And he gives us three examples. You can look there now in verses 4-10.

First, he references these angels. Now there's much debate on who these angels are and I'm sure I know who they are. I think what the Bible teaches us about fallen angels is at one point in history there was a group of angels who rejected God and God's response to them is they are being judged and will be judged in the end. That's what's happening there. I can't speak on great certainty of who they are and what they did and when they did it but I can speak with certainty that God will judge them in the end.

And he's using these angels as an example, kind of arguing from the greater to the lesser. If God judged these angels, how much more will he judge these false teachers? He does that also with flooding of the earth. He says in verse five, if God didn't spare the ancient world, the world before the flood, how much more will God judge these false teachers? And the same thing with Sodom and Gomorrah.

He says, basically, if God did not He didn't spare Sodom and Gomorrah, but wiped it out completely. How much more will God judge these false teachers? God will do the same thing to them. They can act like God won't judge, but our own history as a people, the history of the Bible communicates those who wait on the Lord will experience mercy and forgiveness. Those who deny the Lord will experience judgment.

Peter's saying they neglect this. They have justified their actions by denying that God's judgment would come. I don't know if you noticed it when we read it earlier, verse 9. Let's look here, this again, kind of the pinnacle verse that Peter gives to comfort these believers. He says this, Basically, if God did these things, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment.

Peter's instructing these believers to keep trusting God. Regardless of what's going on around them in the world and in their homes and their communities, they trust God and he'll deal with the false teachers. Keep trusting them and he will take care of them. He will protect them from the fiercest of foes. For those who aren't Christians, the message of the Bible is consistent and clear.

Turn to God and live. Turn from your sin and experience his mercy. Reject his mercy and experience his judgment.

The way you don't experience this judgment is to be made right. So we're all sinners, every one of us here, but there's a group of us who are trusting not in our works, but in the works of another. We're trusting in the works of Jesus Christ, that we plead his blood, as Jonathan prayed earlier in the prayer. We're pleading based on his blood. We trust he is good enough.

To make me right before you, God, there's nothing in me. That's what the Bible has to offer. So if you want to know more about what it means to follow Jesus, think about who Jesus is and what he came to do. That's God's message to you for how you can be made right with them and how you can be forgiven of your sins. We'd love to talk with you more afterwards.

I'll be at the door. There'll be staff at the doors. There'll be members in the south room here. There'll be other members around. Don't be afraid to ask somebody the question, what does it mean to follow Jesus?

And how can I be made right with God? These false teachers will experience the judgment of God. They have turned to their sin and they will experience God's pouring out of wrath upon them. So not only should we flee from false teachers because of what they've done and what they do and what will be done to them in the end, but we should also hold fast to the truth. Hold fast to what is true.

We'll see this in chapter 3. Look there now, but I'll read the entire chapter and we'll kind of go back and walk through it.

Peter writes, this is now the second letter that I'm writing to you, beloved. In both of them I'm stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this, first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.' For they deliberately overlooked this fact, that the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God. And that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.

But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in the lives of holiness, and godliness, waiting and hastening, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn.

But according to His promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you're not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Starting here, there's three things that I want to tell you that Peter, three truths that I think Peter gives us that we should cling to while we wait on the Lord. First, God has purpose in His patience. Let's be verses 1 through 9 and verse 15. God has purpose in His patience. The second thing is that righteousness will dwell on the earth.

Righteousness will dwell on the earth. And the third thing is that waiting is worth it. Waiting on Jesus is worth it. So let's look at the first one. God has purpose in his patience.

Starting this chapter, Peter reminds them of why he's writing to them this second time. To encourage them and to strengthen them, to know what the holy prophets have said and to remind them of what they've received through the apostles. They are to remind them, he's trying to remind them of the Old Testament prophets predictions and commands of the Lord Jesus Christ.

That there would be some that would come in among them and lie about God and God's purposes for the world. I think the commands here could be a reference to the Great Commission. Jesus said, Go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that I've commanded. This also could be a reference that Jesus is saying, There will be some in the last days who will come and bring tribulation upon you, but take heart, I've overcome the world. Be faithful to the end.

Then Peter is highlighting basically what was at the heart of the teaching of the Old Testament prophets and the apostles had told them is that scoffers would come in. We see this in verse 3, knowing this first of all that scoffers will come in in the last days, scoffing and following their own sinful desires. What's interesting here is that these believers should not be surprised at all. That these false teachers would come. Peter had warned them and he's told them because God is kind to always tell his people what happens before it happens.

God has not left us alone in this world. He's given us a light that is his word to see the world rightly. He's already told us that there will be many who deny Christ. There will be many who seek to lead us astray. So don't be surprised by it.

Just trust that God's word has given us what we need. He's good. And He will sustain us to the end. So as Peter says in chapter 1 verse 19, it would do you a lot of good to pay attention to the word of God more than anything else in this life. God has already told you about all these things.

But what would these scoffers say? What were they saying? Well, we see this in verse four. He says, They will say, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.

At the heart of their message and the pursuit of their sinful passions, they deny Christ's second coming. Why should we live holy lives? He's not coming back. What would give them such confidence in making such an arrogant claim? What evidence did they have?

Well, for them, it was their own perception. They had perceived that things had not changed since Noah and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob fell asleep. They justified their lifestyles based on a gut feeling. Brothers and sisters, just to state the obvious, perceptions and emotions and gut feelings are really awful foundations to build your life on.

How you perceive things are to be doesn't mean they actually are that way. We are a fallen people and a fallen judgment. And a quick road to hell is to build your life based on perceptions. Trust in Christ's word instead. It is a sure foundation that will never fail you or flee from you.

Peter then gives in verses five through nine a few reasons why these false teachers are wrong. And with these examples, Peter is simply saying that God is the one who formed the world and sustains the world. That's what he's after here. So the first example he gives is in verse five of chapter three. He says that God created the world.

First, apparently these false teachers misunderstood how the world was created. The world has not always existed. The world has not been living alongside God for all eternity. It was created by God. And so here Peter goes back to Genesis 1:2, that the earth was water, it was formless, it was kind of chaotic without order, and God spoke and brought structure to it.

You can go read this this afternoon in Genesis 1. Then after that, God brought forth land out of the water for man to live on. Peter's using this example to say that God is not passive, he's active in the world. Not only has God created the world, God has already judged the world. We see this in verse 6.

He said, and they overlooked this fact. He goes back to Noah and the flood. As he mentions in chapter 2, he says here in chapter 3, He says, By these, meaning by water and word, the earth perished. That God flooded the earth. It was completely flooded and it perished.

In what sense did it perish? Well, all of the humans who lived on the earth who were not in the ark died. God judged them in that sense. Don't know how the earth changed after the judgment, but the Lord speaks in such a way that it perished. It was something different.

That when Noah got off the boat, he was kind of a new Adam, if you will. In a new earth. God had cleansed and purified the earth there. Not only did God create the world and God already judged the world, God will judge the world again. We see this in verse 7.

Look there now, he says this, But by the same word that created the world and already judged the world, the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. He's saying here lastly, God has created the world and God will judge the world. God loves the world and the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea. That is a guarantee. And these men have overlooked that fact.

They have denied God's word and so they misunderstood God's world. God is not some absentee landlord. He's not just created the world and walked away from it. He is actively involved in our lives and he's actively involved in sustaining this world. Then God's glory will dwell here at some point in the future.

Peter moves on from addressing these false teachers to speaking to believers in verses 8 and 9. Let's look there now. He writes, Do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. You notice here that Peter comforts these believers to let them know that God is not bound by time like we are.

He is the creator and sustainer of time. He transcends time and space. God has no past. He has no future. He is always present.

So Peter teaches these believers to evaluate and consider God's promises in light of God's essence of who he is, that he is faithful, that he has not changed, that what he said he will do, he will do. His word is as certain as his existence. And then in verse nine, he tells them that God is not slow. As some count slowness. He's not slow in fulfilling his promises, but he's patient.

Have you ever considered that God is patient? I mean, this is how God revealed himself to Moses. I am slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. God is patient. Why is he patient?

Well, he's patient towards you. Not wishing that any of you would perish. God's purpose in his patience is to extend mercy on more and more people. Here the word perish is referring to a kind of eternal judgment, not just a death on the earth, but an eternal judgment where you experience God's judgment. Now, I know verse 9 brings up a lot of questions.

What does it mean that God doesn't wish that any should perish, that all should reach repentance? If God wishes that none should perish, why do people perish?

And with a question like this, it's helpful to remind us that every verse you read and every chapter you read and every book you read, you should read it in light of the entirety of Scripture. What has the Scripture told us about God? Not just one verse, but in the entirety of the Bible. And Scripture teaches two things in particular about this. Scripture teaches that God does not delight in the death of the wicked.

That's Ezekiel 33:11, which is very similar to here to 2 Peter 3. Ezekiel writes, or this is what God says through Ezekiel, as I live, declares the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. So the Bible teaches that God takes no pleasure in the wicked dying, that he's patient towards them so they would reach repentance. But at the same time, God teaches This in Romans 9:15-16, where he says to Moses, going back to the law, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, meaning how we're saved, but on God who has mercy.

So salvation is the Lord's. So these truths are both true and they don't contradict one another, that God doesn't wish that any should perish and that God is saving a people for himself. He has mercy on whom he has mercy, and he has compassion on whom he'll have compassion, and yet he wishes that none should perish. This is how God has revealed himself in his word to us, and we should trust these are things are both right and true and good for us to know. The comfort we have in this as believers is with every sunrise, God is yet extending his mercy to another group of people.

With every day that passes, God is being merciful yet again to people, extending forgiveness and mercy to more. So while we wait on the Lord, let us rejoice and be glad in God's salvation. That all those for whom Christ died a multitude that none can number, they will be saved in the end. Every single one of them. There will be none missing.

The a hundred will make it home. Not only should we cling to the truth that God has purpose in His patience, the next thing we should cling to is that righteousness will dwell on the earth. Righteousness will dwell on the earth.

Coming right out of His teaching on God's patience, Peter then teaches that God's forbearance will come to an end in the earth. Very suddenly here, He transitions in verse 10. He says this in verse 10, But the day of the Lord will come. So God is patient. God is forbearing.

God is patient that none should perish. However the day of the Lord will come, that patience has an expiration date. This is exactly how Jesus said it, that the end would come. Though Jesus promised that He would be with us to the end of the age and that An age is a long time, the age will have an end. The time is coming and maybe soon now here where Christ will come.

We don't know when Christ will descend. Christ will come in the way he chooses, when he chooses. That's what we can trust in, not how it'll happen or when it'll happen, but that it will happen. And when he comes, the heaven and the earth will be utterly shaken. Let's go back and look at verse 10 through 13 here.

Kind of get a sense of what this will look like. Says this, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt away as they burn.

But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. This is what will happen when Christ returns. It seems kind of instantaneous, not like a process that is all going to happen in the end. When Christ returns, the heaven and the earth will be shaken. To what extent, I don't know.

You get a glimpse of what Peter writes here, that the heavens will pass away with a roar. Did you notice that when we're saying, Where shall I be? That's exactly what he's saying. When the first trumpet sounds, that's what this roar is about. This loud sound, it can have different meanings, but it'll be so loud it'll sound like something is burning.

It will be loud, like a loud rushing of water when Christ returns. The sky and the stars and the planets will be shaken. The heavenly bodies, meaning elements, that's what that word means, the first time you mentioned it, the elements of the earth, the things of the physical world will be burned up and dissolved. This is what will happen when Christ returns. It is a complete undoing and purification of the world as we know it.

That's what's going to happen in the end. Then Peter says here at the very end that the world and the earth will be, everything that's done on the earth will be exposed. It says that in verse 10 at the end there. He says, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. This is a picture of judgment, that all things that have been done in human history will be brought to light.

You can be on signal, but God still reads your text messages. He still sees them all. Every sinful sentence, every deceptive deed, every miscarriage of justice on that day will be brought to light. It will be tried and sentenced on that day. How are believers to live in light of that day?

Well, Peter instructs them in verse 11 and 12, Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God. Brothers and sisters, this world is temporary and it is fleeting and it will be burned up. And it should radically shape and alter how you live in the world. You are doing yourself no favors not to think about the end. It should be on your mind on a regular basis.

That's why we sing songs like, Where shall I be? And when we think about heaven, it's a reminder of our experience now is temporary. It is not eternal. So knowing that the end will come and dissolve all that many of us have worked for, How should that shape how you work in your office tomorrow? How should that shape you as a husband and a mother and a father?

How should that shape how you look at your bank account? How should that motivate your holiness and your zeal for godliness? The day of the Lord should affect all of our lives in every way. So when you go to work tomorrow, remind yourself the day of the Lord will come.

And when you're going through trials and afflictions, remind yourself the day of the Lord will come. When you're going through great pain and loss, remind yourself the day of the Lord will come. And live for things that will matter on that day. Yes, be faithful with all that God's given you, even the menial tasks. Work hard unto God in those things.

But especially give your best to the things that will last for all eternity. So your time serving our children's ministry is not wasted. Your time serving and encouraging one another, bringing meals to one another is not wasted. Your time picking up people who can't get to church is not wasted. Those are good things to invest in for eternity.

Sharing the gospel, encouraging the faint hearted and the weak, those are good things that we should invest in till the day. Peter encourages them to wait and then he says hastening that day. What does it mean to hasten? Well it means to speed up. I don't fully know what Peter means by this.

God is sovereign over all things. He's on his own timeline doing his own work. But in some sense he teaches that we are speeding up the day of the Lord by living lives of godliness and holiness. I mean this is exactly what Jesus taught the disciples to pray. Your kingdom come.

It's kind of a hastening of the day when you pray that. Come back. That's an eschatological prayer. Come back, Lord Jesus, come. He encourages them to hasten the day by living lives of godliness and holiness.

Wake up each day thinking, maybe if today is the end, I want to be proud to be how I'm found in that day. And Peter reiterates it in verse 12, Waiting and hastening for the day because it all will come to an end. Here's a picture of again, as he says at the end, verse 12, Because of which the heavens will be set on fire when the end comes and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn. Again, he's kind of reiterating what he said earlier in the chapter. Again, here's another picture of destruction and renewal.

And again, I don't know to what extent this earth is going to be judged. I don't think the Washington Monument's gonna make it though. It's great to look at. I don't think it's gonna be standing when Christ returns. The structures that we see in this world, I think they will crumble under the pressure of a greater glory.

That is God's glory when it comes to earth. It will quake at the weight of His glory. And it will flee. And that's what's happening here is the Lord is preparing the earth. It's not just destruction, it's preparation.

What is God preparing the earth for with this fire and this purification? What is He preparing it for? Well, Peter tells us in verse 13, We have this promise of a new heavens and new earth where what? Righteousness would dwell on the earth. This is a promise that God will dwell on the earth yet again.

So the newness about the new heavens and new earth is the fact that God will dwell with his people here on the earth. And when God dwells with his people, when he purifies, when he destroys, when he makes everything right, when we dwell with God there, There will be no violence and killings on this earth anymore. There will be no pandemics on this earth anymore. There will be no joblessness and homelessness and pain and affliction on this earth anymore. There will be no natural disasters.

Parents will no longer bury their children. When Christ returns, there will be no war, there will be no cancer, there will be no sin and death because God will dwell among us.

And it will be good and it will be right. Peter is saying, wait on the Lord and wait well for him, because righteousness will dwell here. Righteousness will dwell. All the hardships we experience in this life, all the challenges and the transients, they will cease. We're in the presence of our God and Savior who remembers our sins no more.

So the last truth I think Peter gives us that we should cling to is that waiting is worth it. Waiting is worth it. I think he explains this in verses 14 through 18, but we're going to primarily focus on 14 and 15 and 16.

In Peter's conclusion, he's again summing up everything he's kind of already said in the letter for the purpose that he wrote them. Was for these believers to remain faithful even in the face of great opposition with these false teachers. And something that I want to highlight here is what he says in verse 15. Look what he says in verse 15 and on. I'll just read 14 and on.

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish and at peace, and count the patience of our Lord as salvation. Just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote according to his wisdom given to him, to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. And did you notice that there? Peter encourages these Christians to remain faithful to the end.

And to listen to what he said and Paul said, why? Because Paul's words are scripture. They are inspired by God. He's saying God has given you what you need, not only in the Old Testament prophets, like we talked about in chapter one, but he's given you what you need in me as I'm speaking to you, as I'm speaking to you, God is speaking to you. And as Paul has written to you, God is speaking to you.

So you have what you need. I mean, the word of God is an absolute gift. It is an utter kindness of God. Because in the word of God, we learn who God is, how to be made right with God, and how to live in God's world. I mean, the word of God is functioning as a constant reminder to us of all that God has done for us in Christ and all that he has yet to do.

And the word of God is a constant reminder that waiting on Jesus is absolutely worth it. That's what the New Testament is saying in so many ways. That's what Jesus says in Revelation, to the one who conquers, to the one who waits for me and who doesn't turn for me, it will be worth it. That's what the word of God does for us. And we should give it, give ourselves to it because it teaches us that waiting is worth it.

You could argue that that 2 Peter is really just a book where Peter writes and says, Hey, some hard things are gonna come. Sin might be tempting, but keep waiting on Jesus, 'cause you're gonna really be grateful that you did. Just keep waiting on him. Don't give up, don't turn from your sin, keep trusting. That's why kind of the heart of the book here, I think, is verse 14.

He begins summarizing all that he said earlier. While you were waiting for these, meaning the end of all things, Be diligent, be active, be zealous, to be found by him without spot or blemish in that peace.

Peter is reminding these believers it's worth it because they like us are prone to forget, prone to wander, prone to believe that sin has a better promise than Christ does, prone to love the glory that comes from men more than the glory that comes from God. Prone to believe that maybe the Word of God is not true. And what the world says offers a better life than Christ does. Peter says, I promise, keep waiting, keep working, keep being holy, because the end will come, and the wait will be worth it. And that's what we all need to hear today as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Every time you're tempted to sin, you need to remind yourself that waiting on Jesus is worth it. Every time you're tempted to gossip, to steal, to lust, to anger, to greed, that is a battle where you're choosing either to say waiting on Jesus isn't worth it or it is. So every time you're tempted to sin this next week, remind yourself, This fight is temporary. The day is coming when this will be no more. When righteousness dwells on the earth, that sin that you hate, that you wish would be gone, it will be gone from you.

So we fight, looking to the end, knowing that the fight will be over and that waiting on Him is worth it. Peter writes to these Christians to tell them, Don't listen to those false teachers. Jesus is better so keep waiting on him.

So as I conclude my final sermon to you, as one of your pastors, my question is how will you wait?

It has been one of the greatest joys of my life. That's why these two years come, I love you. I'm so thankful to be a part of this church. You have shaped me in more ways than I can imagine. That you can imagine.

It's been a joy to watch you wait well for Jesus these last three years.

It will be forever seared in my mind, us miserably cold at Anacostia Park in the rain singing songs together, gathered around God's word.

The Lord has been utterly kind to us as a church, and I pray you'll never take it for granted. If you're ever tempted to not wait on the Lord or to take for granted what God has done, I would encourage you to drive around downtown DC and look at some of these old historic churches, these old Baptist churches that once were probably heralds of the gospel, where they have people gathering on Sunday, but there's no life in them. They're just a shell of what they used to be. They were spiritually dead. And every time you look at those churches, you need to ask yourself the question, what was the moment or the sequence of moments that Christians, people who claimed to follow Jesus, decided it wasn't worth waiting on him anymore?

What led them to make that decision? To say, you know what, the temptation seems too great, the pressure seemed too much, waiting on Jesus, trusting his word, submitting to his word, it isn't worth it anymore. God has been so gracious to us and never take that for granted. Do everything in your power to never let that be said of you as a church that you decided not to wait anymore. So keep gathering each week around God's word.

Keep expecting good sermons. Keep praying for good sermons. Keep encouraging one another and exhorting one another. Keep praying for one another. Keep pursuing the weak and vulnerable sheep among us.

Keep rejoicing with those who rejoice and keep weeping with those who weep. Keep proclaiming the gospel regardless of what it costs you. For the day will come when the pressures of the world will seem so great for you individually and as a church, and you'll be forced with the choice, will we compromise or not? But it'd be far better for this church to close its doors than to compromise on the gospel. So keep preaching, keep inviting sinners to the cross, to know Christ and to be made right with him.

Keep waiting well for Jesus, because I promise you, it is worth it, and your waiting will not be in vain. Jesus never promised it would be easy, but he did promise it will be worth it. You may have bruises and scars along the way, But I can promise you this, there are no wounds that heaven won't heal. Oh, keep brothers and sisters, just keep waiting on the Lord, because the wait will be over. We wait in faith, and one day we will see in sight, Christ will return, and everything will be made right on that day, and it will be said on that day, behold, This is our God.

We have waited for Him that He might save us. This is the Lord we have waited for Him. Let us be glad and rejoice in His salvation. Let's pray.

Father in heaven, we come before you thankful, grateful that you're not slow to fulfill your promises, but you're patient. And in your patience, you are extending mercy to more and more people. And we thank you that we are recipients of this mercy. We come to you not based on our good works, but on Christ's. And so Father, we pray for this church.

If it be your will, we will remain faithful to the end. Keep us Father from sin. Keep us from believing the lies of false teachers. Keep a staid on you. May we not lose a single one that you've entrusted to us.

Lord, we thank you for your kindness. We pray that you would send your Son soon. We pray that every right or every wrong would be made right. We pray that sin and death would be made no more soon and that you keep us faithful as we wait for that day. I pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.