Bible, 2 Peter, turning over now to chapter 3, 2 Peter 3. The previous chapter was about the dangers of false teachers, and in this chapter, Peter is encouraging us how to avoid falling into the trap of false teaching ourselves. This is God's Word. This is now the second letter that I'm writing to you, beloved. In both of them, I am 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 overlook 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 the earth that now exist by being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. This far we read in God's holy word. Chapter two is about the danger of false teachers, and here in chapter three, Peter's writing about the best way to keep ourselves from false teachings, and that is by reading the Bible, by thinking, and by remembering. In chapter two, the false teachers were the virus, if you will. In chapter three, Peter's giving the vaccine, if you will. Here, the vaccine is hold on to the truth, Think differently than others do. Think biblically. Think about the end of the world and avoid false teachers by finding truth teachers. Specifically, to think about, keep thinking about, remember, and keep remembering that Christ is coming. That's really his main idea here. Here in these verses, Peter's focused on the truth that Christ is coming. But you say, well, I already know that Christ is coming. I learned that one. I know that one a long time ago. I learned that. But you think that studying the coming of Christ is reserved for those who love debating theology, and those who specifically and especially love debating eschatology, which is the teaching about the last times, the end times, and how the world will come to an end. But that's not what Peter is saying. Peter is showing you something different here. The fact is that Christ is coming is a vaccine of truth for all of us. It's so important for all of us to reflect on and to remember, actively remember that Christ is coming. This one fact has a major impact on us to inoculate us against scores of false teachers and their teachings. Consider the vaccine of truth this way. The most significant thing that happened today I'm gonna pause there and ask you to think about that. What do you think is the most significant thing that happened today? Peter would have us say in this passage that the most significant thing that happened today is that Christ has not yet returned. That's how active our thinking should be about his second coming. If we're anticipating it and he hasn't come and he hasn't come, that is the most significant thing that happened today. Or to say it another way, when Christ returns, it will change everything. So you have to admit that that could happen any moment, and that it's significant, and if it hasn't happened, then that is the most significant thing that happened today. For many people, the end of the world doesn't seem real. The end of the world? But Christians think differently. Exactly because, precisely because the Bible tells us to, we think differently. Christians keep on remembering that Christ is real, that His coming is real, and it's imminent, coming any moment now. It's soon to come. And we're actively waiting, we're eagerly ready for it. Let me try to illustrate this. A philosopher was trying to get this idea across. A philosopher. So he tells a parable of a theater, a theater where there's a variety show. It's like a talent show. One skit after another, one drama skit after another is proceeding, and each show is more fantastic than the last, and the audience is loving it. They're applauding and applauding after each skit. and suddenly the manager comes forward on stage, and he apologizes for him interrupting, but the theater happens to be on fire, and he begged the audience to leave, and to leave right away, and to leave in an orderly fashion. There was a lot of intensity in his announcement, as you might guess. Well, the audience was so used to having an intense presentation to them, they thought it was the most amusing turn yet of the splendid evening, and they started to cheer thunderously. That was a really great presentation. He told us the building was on fire. And the manager quieted the crowd down again, and with great urgency implored them that the building is actually on fire. And they again applauded vigorously. They thought it was the best skit yet. And the manager finally couldn't do any more, and he himself left the building. And the fire raced through the whole building, and the fun-loving audience with it. Many people were hurt. And so our philosopher concludes about his little story, trying to get this point across. People in our day will go down in fiery destruction to the applause of a crowded house of cheering spectators. They don't think the second coming is real. But it is. I think that effectively illustrates the condition of people around us. And instead of them listening to us, we tend to listen to them. Again, dumbed down and not so eager, not so active about watching for the second coming of Christ. And at least remembering daily that He's coming. The letter of 2 Peter is about knowing Christ. We've covered that. To avoid false teaching now, here in chapter 3, Peter's teaching us to remember the core truth, Christ is actually coming again. So remaining always mindful that he's coming again, and the three points will cover it. We're living in the last days before Christ's return, what that means and what it doesn't mean. Secondly, scoffers will scoff. And thirdly, all the power is in God's word and his promises. So first, number one in our points, three points. Number one, we're living in the last days before Christ's return. Let me read again verses one to two. 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. So he's using this word, stirring up, to awaken. It's a figure of speech used to begin mental activity, like after your first cup of coffee. Start waking up and using your brain, mental activity, we're alert now, we're thinking clearly. Think, think, think, is what he's saying. And then he's saying, remember, remember, remember. And so in verse 1, when he says, your sincere mind, what he's stirring up is your sincere mind. And this is a phrase that means literally tested by sunlight to see how pure the motives are. A sincerely, pure, motivated mind with no hidden agenda, that you're open-minded about it and you're thinking, wholesome thinking as opposed to the false thinking of the false teachers. This Thinking is pure or sincere. The false teachers pull people in by their feelings. Peter's not about our feelings here. Peter reminds people about their mind. He says, wake up mind, wake up your mind, and wake up your mind specifically about your knowledge of the facts. False teachers get people into their falsehood by their desires and their passions. They want to do things, and the false teachers give them permission to do those wrong things. But true preachers, like Peter, get people to remember the truth with their minds. The mind is so important for the Christian. It's so important for the New Testament Christian. What truth, for starters, give me an example. The truth that we're living in the last days before Christ's return. Now let me explain last days, what it means and what it doesn't mean. The last days means we're living between the first coming of Christ at the first Christmas and the second coming of Christ at the end of the world. That's what it means to be living in the last days. Your whole life you've been living in the last days. Your grandparents were living in the last days. It's a giant block of time, the last days. Don't misunderstand when I say this, point one, to mean that we're closer and closer. Now, surely we must be closer because of the strange events of 2020. That's not what I'm saying. That's not what Peter is teaching. We're living in the last days, but not because of current events. Think. Think. Remember. Remember. Peter's not writing here that we're in the last days because of the presence of global pandemics, protests, violence, contentiousness, a divide politically, and other signs that make people feel that the coming of Jesus is closer, because that's tied to feelings. And Peter's saying, wake up your mind, not how you feel. It might feel strange this year, right? But wake up your mind, he says, not your feelings. Peter's pointing not to the current condition of the activity of the world to show that we're in the last days. Peter's pointing to the past to show that we're in the last days. He's pointing to the history. He pointed to the truth of God's prophets. Look at it. What I'm saying to you is right there in verse two. Predictions. You should remember the predictions of the holy prophets. This is in the Greek perfect tense, which means statements that were uttered in the past and those past statements are still valid in the present. We started electricity and we still have electricity, right? It's something that's launched in the past and continues to be valid in the present because it's from the holy prophets. Why would he use the word holy? To differentiate them from the false prophets we've been talking about. Holy prophets are true prophets. The prophecies of holy prophets are the one who speak from God. And their words have a divine origin. They come from God himself. And what are they teaching? about the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles. The rest of verse two. The commandment is to repent and believe in the Savior. The phrase Lord and Savior shows two things. One, that Christ is in control of all things. He's the Lord. And number two, that he's the Savior to whom all must turn to be saved. Lord and Savior. Jesus himself said in John 8, 32, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. The truth about the Lord Jesus and his commandment to repent and believe will set you free. Free. Salvation. Free from your sins by knowing the truth. What's the truth? That Jesus has come, and Jesus has died, and Jesus has arisen, and Jesus is coming again. He died on the cross for our sins, rose again, ascended to heaven, and he's coming a second time. That's the truth. Boiled down, pretty simple. We're living in the last days of the world, but it's not based on how you feel about the events of 2020. And you have lately become convinced that we must be getting closer to the end. That's feelings. The truth is what Peter points us to and the historical truth of what the prophets have been saying. Get into the word, not get into the newspaper. It's based on historical facts of the truth of the holy prophets in the Old Testament. And building on that, the apostles of the New Testament pointing our minds back to the basic truths of God in scripture. Forgetting basic truths is a major problem for God's people. Which is why false teachers present a real danger, and they always have. They had false prophets in the Old Testament pulling God's people away. We have false teachers in the New Testament pulling God's people away. Why? Because we keep forgetting basic truths. Consider the believers to whom Isaiah told basic truths, Isaiah 17.10. You have forgotten the God of your salvation. and have not remembered the rock of your refuge." And we fold our arms and we think, oh, those silly Old Testament believers. We would never, we would never forget the rock of our refuge. We would never forget the God of our salvation. And that's just modern pride, because of course we would forget the rock of our salvation. Of course that we would forget the God of our salvation and him as refuge. It's a common pitfall. That's why there's warnings here in 2 Peter 3 about false teachers. Consider Jesus who preached basic truths to his disciples in Mark 8.18 with these words, Having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets were left? Do you still not understand?" He's asking them this just moments after the miracle of feeding the 5,000. So Jesus worked miracles right in front of them, and moments later, they still were missing the basic truth. What's the basic truth? He's the bread of life. He's the bread from heaven. Have you eyes and still don't see? Have you ears and still don't? You ate the bread and still don't understand. It's basic truths, and you think, well, we're wiser than the Old Testament believers, and we're wiser than the initial disciples of Jesus. We would never forget basic truths, right? Believers in the New Testament churches did. They had a major problem of forgetting basic truths that it astonished Paul. Galatians 1.6, I'm astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you to the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Not that there is another gospel, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. Galatians 1.6-7. What surprises true teachers like Paul and like Peter, and like Jesus, is not that there are problems in the world, problems that come, worldwide problems, crazy type problems, activities among leaders, things that we're seeing in 2020. That doesn't surprise true teachers. What surprises true teachers is that God's people, living in those times, so quickly forget basic truths. Jesus came. Jesus came, died, and rose, and Jesus is coming again. Basic truths like that basic, Christians are forgetting. Another true teacher wrote in Hebrews 5.12, You need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food. Hebrews 5.12. So Jesus and all the apostles lamented that believers had a major problem about forgetting basic truths. So Peter used the word reminder here in verse one. He used the word remember in verse two because the believers who were scattered from each other, his audience, You could say that they were quarantined and separated and distanced, socially, in their own ways, in Peter's day, right? Those people needed reminders to use that time well, to use their quarantined, separated, dyspora time well, to think, think, think. to remember, remember, remember. Because these are the last days, Peter writes, between the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ. It's not just that we forget the facts. we actually forget how to link the basic truths like the second coming of Christ with how we should view the world right now, how we should look at things, with what lens we should view the current events, and how we should behave in such a world. We forget how the gospel of Christ shapes everything about our lives. And we can rejoice in Christ even while the world does seem to fall apart in a year like 2020. In our closing hymn today, we're going to sing, with that blessed hope before us, let no harp remain unstrung. Let the mighty Advent chorus onward roll from tongue to tongue. Christ is coming. Christ is coming. Come, Lord Jesus, quickly come. We actively serve Christ now remembering that he's coming because we're living the last days before his return. That was point one. Moving on to point two, that scoffers will scoff. Let me read verses three and four again. 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? So he's talking here about the last days. There's the phrase, last days, the New Testament age we've just explained. And then he says, first of all, that's something of top priority, top importance. Not a numbered list of items one to five and let me give you number one. No, no, no, no. Being alert to something that's the highest priority. So being alert and on guard against the false teachers and scoffers is a top Priority. Has that been a top priority for you lately? Being alert to the false teachers and scoffers? Being aware, remaining aware that the times in which we're living are the last days? And what does that mean? It means Christ could come at any moment, and it means scoffers will scoff. Scoffers will scoff. He literally writes this in verse 3. Scoffers will come with scoffing. They know God's Bible. They know the Revelation. They know the impending judgment. They know that Jesus is coming, but they mock it. Can you imagine being so bold? They have a habit of mocking, and they are familiar enough with God's scriptures to make fun of it, and kind of intelligently. They use the details of it. Mocking is not the same as jesting, you see. Jesting is making something light. What's far more heavy and wrong is mocking, it's scoffing, it's a sin that's deliberate or intentional, knowing it's true but making fun of it anyway. It's when people take a stand against God and a stand against God's Son and mocking shows contempt or dislike or hatred for God and the Son of God. The same thing they did right at the foot of the cross, they still do today. The scoffers of chapter 3 are the same as the false teachers of chapter 2. And verse 3 tells us they will come. It's a future tense from Peter's perspective, which means they'll be here today in our generation. The aspect of this that remains, we hear a prophetic note here. Scoffers are going to come in every generation, and we know this already. It's the last days before Christ returns, which is now. Numerous scoffers will ridicule us for our faith in Christ. Scoffers are apostates. in word and deed. Verse 3, he continues, following their own sinful desires. How are those scoffers living? Same as the false teachers, right? The same persons. They reject God's revelation. They choose to follow whatever sinful urges they come up with. They like to mock, so they mock. It's the opposite of doing the will of God. Instead of showing restraint, because this is the living God we're talking about. They don't have fear of God. They show no restraint. They show no self-control, no self-denial, no self-discipline. They give in to all the wrong appetites and thoughts, and if they want to rail against God, they rail against God. They want to fulfill their cravings, they fulfill their cravings. That's what he means when he writes in verse 3, following their own sinful desires. Christians, we are constantly saying no to ourselves. The scoffers are saying yes to themselves. They'll let themselves go. They'll let themselves do whatever it is that they think up to do. Verse four, what do the scoffers actually say? They will say, we have a quote here, this is an example of the type of thing that scoffers will say. Where is the promise of his coming? What does this verse mean? The scoffers will deny that the judgment day is coming, that Christ is coming. They scoff at the idea that they will have to give account for every word that they speak and every deed that they do. They mock the concept that Jesus will do what Jesus promised to do, to return and judge. And because it has not happened yet that Christ has come, they mock by saying to us, where is this coming that he promised? Where is this long-awaited coming? You keep talking about the coming of Christ. I don't see him. Where is it? Say the scoffers. Notice that the scoffers don't ask when. Isn't it interesting? Why are we given a quote of what the scoffers say so we can study it? They don't ask when because if they're actually even a little bit interested in Christ's coming, they might ask when. Or how soon is it with the underlying question that maybe we should repent and get ourselves ready now? But they're not interested. And instead, they're asking the scoffing question, where? As the underlying question is, we know he's not coming, so we're putting you on the spot. We called your bluff. He's not coming. Where is this coming? That's the tone. It's a scoffing tone. They doubt it's even going to happen at all. They're undermining the promise of Christ to return. They're acting like false teachers. They're getting you to doubt things. They're scoffing everything and making you feel shame about it. They doubt the truthfulness of the written word of God. They doubt the truthfulness of the spoken word of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Jeremiah 17, 15, the Jewish people in the days of the exile mocked and asked, where is the word of the Lord? Let it come. And again, Isaiah 5 verse 19, they say, These are just fearful things for me to even read, to think about being the person that says them. So fearful. What else do the scoffers say? Verse 4, they go on. In the days of Peter, believers were expecting Christ to return during their lifetimes. They got to see Christ, they knew people who had heard him, and they thought he was returning pretty soon, like before they themselves died in their lifetime. So that's what he's referring to here. When the time kept passing and believers started to die off, the believers who are still living asked the apostles about the timing of the return of Christ. But the scoffers are not struggling to figure these things out. They're making fun of it. They declare here in verse 4 that nothing has changed since the beginning of creation. You're believing in nothing, they're saying. Who are these fathers? Is she referring to church fathers, the early Christians? What does fell asleep mean? In the Bible, you know that fell asleep means sometimes that those persons died. So the scoffers are saying that death and dying hasn't even changed. People keep dying off. Even believers keep dying off. You still believe in this thing? You still believe in he's coming again? Even your own believers are dying off. They're mocking. And the scoffers are attempting to prove this by saying that the Christians were dying off. And by saying this, they're attempting to prove the gospel itself is powerless and irrelevant. And they're saying all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation, but the scoffers are dead wrong. All things are not continuing the same as they were at creation. Let me just list a few things that have changed since the beginning of creation. You ready? Number one, man has fallen into sin. Number two, man has been kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Number three, God promised to send a Savior for sinful man. Number four, later Christ came into the world, sure enough, born as a baby. Number five, Christ grew up and became a man. Number six, Christ had a ministry of teaching and miracles. Number seven, Christ died on the cross. Number eight, Christ rose again. Number nine, Christ ascended back to heaven. Number 10, Christ sent his spirit. And number 11, Christ promised to come again. That's just 11 simple things that I picked out from the Bible that tells us the world is different and has changed since creation. the scoffers are wrong. And so we can say to the scoffers, no, all things are not the same as they were at the beginning of creation, and you're making a very, very big error there. It's the error that hints in a subtle way that the person of Christ and the work of Christ has no bearing on the condition of ourselves in the world today. And the viewpoint of scoffers is the exact opposite of what Peter is saying here. Peter is writing just a few decades after the first coming of Christ, and Peter is making the point that the first coming of Christ has already changed everything. He died and rose again. He already changed everything. All that's left is that final step when he comes and clenches it all. You ever do one of those scientific experiments where you heat up chemicals and they all get dissolved into the liquid and then you cool it down? And then you add one more crystal and the whole thing clenches up. Just one more thing, just one more piece. When Christ comes, all of this truth will come into play. that He will come and judge, He will come and save. All of the things in this book will come fully true before your eyes. The most significant thing that happened today is Christ has not yet returned. Peter is building his logic of his letter on the fact that the second coming of Christ will bring about the biggest change ever made since the creation of the world. It'll be the great end of the world. It'll be the consummation, the summing up of all things that will happen when Jesus returns. So we answer the scoffers with the evidence and the proof about Christ's coming. But what is the evidence? How can you give proof to something that hasn't happened yet? How do you give proof to the scoffers about something that hasn't happened yet? Oh yes, he is coming. Oh no, he's not. Oh yes, he is coming. Oh no, he's not. How do you give proof? I'll give you proof. The Bible teaches that Jesus is coming a second time, and not just in a few places. The teaching about Christ's return is found in 23 out of the 27 New Testament books. The only books not mentioning the second return of Christ are Galatians, still a little bit surprisingly, Philemon, 2nd John, and 3rd John. All the other New Testament books teach that Christ will return. This is not some minor sub-point. This is a major theme in Scripture. Christ is coming. So now, Scoffer, you have to disprove the entire Bible. And so that was number two, scoffers will scoff. And I get a little worked up about scoffers scoffing. Number three, all the power is in God's word. Let me read verse five through seven. 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. Verses 5 to 7. For believers to not be fooled by false teachers, we must not allow our minds to be diverted from God's word. False teachers try to get us to focus on things emotional, things sensual, false forms of revelation. Maybe they look to scientific things or stuff like that. Peter says focus on the Bible. Don't worry, the science will line up with it. The tactics of the false teachers are the same as Satan in the Garden of Eden. We must see the tactics for what they are, casting doubt. Do you doubt that Christ is coming? Why do churches show videos in worship? Our lives are shaped by the truth of a book, not the emotion of a video. We read the Bible, we teach the Bible, we believe the Bible with our minds wide open. We dig into the Bible. That's the power against falsehood. I don't want a video. I want to know what the Bible says and more of it. Verse five, Peter answers the opponents by reminding them of two things they're trying to avoid. Number one, God ordered the world to be created and God ordered the world to be destroyed by a flood. Number two, God has ordered the future destruction of the world. They want to avoid those things. Peter writes in verse five, they deliberately overlook certain facts. So our job is to point them back to those facts as presented in scripture that God created. The fact that God now rules over his creation. The fact that God alone governs the course of the world in past, present, and future. And so what is Peter's point? That the power of God is in his word. His word spoken which brings it into creation. His word spoken which brings about the flood. His word spoken which says he's going to come again and there's nothing that can stop it. The God who made the world also has the right to uphold the world by the word of his power and still today has the power and the right to destroy it. The scoffers see the created world, they live in it, they're part of it. But they refuse to acknowledge the Creator when they refuse to acknowledge His authority. Think of it, Genesis 7-11 gave the command for the destruction of the earth by waters in a flood. It was a double method of adding water from two directions. Quote, all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens opened. Water came from two directions. It rained down, but did you know the water came up from underneath too? Water came from both below and from above, and the result was the water covering the earth in a worldwide flood. It's literal, it's what Christians believe, a worldwide flood. The whole ball was covered with water. The consequence of that? Genesis 7.22, everything on the dry land in whose nostrils was the breath of life died. It's saying more than the fact that the wicked humans were drowned in the floodwaters. We know that, but there's more. In addition, God's condemnation and destruction extended even to the animals, so that both man and beast were destroyed. And that's not even the whole of the damage. All the plants, all the trees were destroyed. Even though the ancient world was destroyed by water, this present world, now that God allowed it to dry up and regrow and all that, one day this present world as it now stands will be destroyed in another way. This time, instead of being destroyed by water, the world will be destroyed by fire. Just as the flood was universal, covering the whole earth, The same with the destruction by fire. Universal fire covering the whole earth. How do we know that? God said it. Look at verse 7 here of 1 Peter 3. After God says it, it comes true. God spoke as creator, all was created. God spoke as destroyer, all was destroyed in the great flood. One day God will speak as judge and all will be destroyed by fire, verse seven. But by the same word, the heavens and the earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. By the same word of the same God who created the heavens and the earth with verbal commands, and by the word of the same God who destroyed the earth by a flood, something else is coming. Namely, false teachers will be destroyed, but there's more. God distinguishes. God differentiates. Think about it. There's a worldwide flood. Why isn't everyone dead? Not everyone died in the flood. Remember that little boat? Remember that ark, the literal ark? Eight people were inside, and that's why you're sitting here. Right? By the same word of the same God who distinguished between Noah, those eight people, and the rest of mankind, So there will be distinguishing between God's people and the rest of mankind. God saved, believing no one in his family through Christ to come. And the whole world, the rest of the world perished. And when the world is damaged, God will save all of his believers. Verse seven, the heavens and the earth that now exist are stored up for fire. The present heavens, the present earth, reserved for fire. We take this phrase in Greek, bring it over into English literally. They are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire. So Peter's readers knew about God's destructive fire because of their knowledge of the Bible. The teaching about the fiery end of the world was already well known even in the days of Peter. By fire, God will judge the wicked. The day of judgment will bring fire. The day of the Lord will bring destruction by fire. God is patient, extremely patient. But when the patience of God has run its course and it has been fully completed, you will know. And when it's time, God will give the order through his word and his word alone. No one else can launch it. God will give the order to unleash his fiery judgment onto the scoffers. The time for destruction will arrive. The scoffers will finally receive their due reward and we will be ushered into His warm and glorious presence. What have we seen today? Remain always mindful that Christ is coming because we're living in the last days before Christ's return. Scoffers will scoff on all the powers in God's word. Four concluding lessons for you briefly. Number one, expect Christ to come. Expect it. Let that be part of your outlook, part of your DNA. Always be a person who expects Christ to come. Count on it, plan for it, organize your life around it. Christ is coming. The most significant thing that happened today is Christ has not yet returned. Expect that he will return. That's number one. Number two, don't be influenced by scoffers. Instead, pity them. Sinners want to enjoy the pleasures of sin with no consequences. False teachers tell them they can. What a terrible scenario. Don't let them influence you. Pity them. Pity the false teachers because of what's coming. Pity their followers. All of them will have to give an account to God for every word and every deed they've done. The scoffers have led many people astray. Don't let them lead you astray. Keep your mind awake. and alert and see what's really happening in the world. See it through the lens of the scriptures. Christ is coming and the scoffers are literally doomed. Our reaction to scoffers is not to fear them, not to be shamed by them. but to pity them. Don't be influenced by scoffers. Instead, pity them. That's number two. Number three, study the second coming. I know the second coming of Christ is maybe something that you think is esoteric. It's out there. It's just one of those theological topics. But it's not. It's not just for the extra time of those who maybe are retired and love mysteries and maybe a little speculation and they get together with other Christians who love the same things and they argue about eschatology and the teaching of the last things and all you want is dessert. But God's teaching, God's teaching on the end of the world is for all of us. Why is it in 24 out of 27 New Testament books? Because it's got to be part of your resume. It's got to be part of what you're interested in. You've got to be interested in studying the second coming of Christ. You have to abide in his truth. My people abide in my word, he says. God's truth teaches you you're free. His truth teaches you from his word. The antidote to the falsehoods are in the scriptures. So if you don't study the antidote, aren't you pray for the false teachers to bring you falsehood? Study the second coming is number three, my last one. Long for the day. Long for the day of Christ's coming. The end of the world is not some ominous idea for us. Not for Christians, it's not. I scared you about the scoffers, and that's right and true. For you, the day of the Lord is warm thoughts. Our precious shepherd is coming for us. He's taken us home. We're done with all this. We're out of here. We are so out of here. It's something to incredibly look forward to with all that's in you. It's beautiful and glorious. We long for it. Where do I get that from? The Bible, right? Because we echo the words from the end of the Bible. If you read the whole thing, you get to the end, this is what you read. Revelation 22, 20, come quickly, Lord Jesus. And what does Jesus say to our hearts? I am coming soon. Long for it, let's pray. Lord, keep us aware that the end is near. Help us to long for it, not be influenced by the scoffers. Organize our lives around his second coming, and to study it as your word presents it. In the name of Jesus Christ, the one who's coming, we pray. Amen. We'll sing number 324, Christ is coming. 324, and we'll stand to sing.