God Is Our Rescuer Series

God is our Rescuer

2 Peter 2:4-9

Rev. Brian Bill

May 23-24, 2015

Love Comes Down – Jill Henderson

When you have nothing left to hold onto

Love comes down when your heart is lost

When you need it most

Lift up your voice and let Him hear your cry

I lost my voice this week. I think it’s because I got pretty amped up preaching about false teachers last weekend. I was pretty quiet this past week so I could rest my vocal chords. Actually, I didn’t talk much because it sounded like I was in the middle of puberty.

It was a joy to attend the Moody Pastors Conference with Pastor Ed. On Tuesday for lunch we had burritos, much like Chipotle where you can tell the worker what you want included. Ed went first and asked them to hold the rice and double the chicken. They gladly did that for him. I tried to order the same thing but because my voice had no volume, and I don’t have near as much charm as Ed, they gave me twice the amount of rice and half the chicken!

It’s hard to communicate when you can’t talk. It was good for me to be quiet because I was able to listen to preaching from other pastors. Here’s a summary of what I learned.

• Paul Nyquist, president of Moody reminded us that storm clouds are forming against people of faith in our society. He challenged us to stay godly and gracious through it all.

• Erwin Lutzer, after doing a great Billy Graham impersonation, leaned forward and said, “We are headed for some really rough waters; dedicate yourself to total dependence on God for the unrelenting proclamation of the gospel.”

• Kevin DeYoung challenged us to keep speaking in the authoritative name of Jesus Christ: “If you speak with authority some will be intrigued and others will be incensed…but keep speaking anyway.”

• William Torgeson urged us to preach the Word in season and out of season because the time has come when people are no longer enduring sound doctrine: “There is no higher calling than to preach with precision, power and passion! Make it your all-consuming desire and devotion.”

• George Waddles nailed it when he encouraged us to persevere because ministry is not easy! Are you aware that 70% of pastors are burned out and 1,700 leave the ministry each month? He called us to have a departure perspective, to be aware of God’s divine presence and to trust His delivering power.

• Glenn Packiam put it all in perspective when he said: “We follow Jesus not for the sake of the call, but for the love of the One who calls.”

• J.D. Greear passionately proclaimed, “Pastors are not to measure seating capacity, but sending capacity.”

• Chip Ingram made this provocative statement: “The only group that can bring hope to America is the Church. And it’s the pastor that brings hope to the Church.”

• E. Dewey Smith preached a penetrating message as he challenged pastors to be more like King David then King Saul: “If we want repentance in the pew it must first begin in the pulpit.” When he gave an invitation, about 1/3 of the pastors came down front, including Pastor Ed and I.

Last weekend we looked at how to spot false teachers from verses 1-3 in 2 Peter 2. We’re to beware of false beliefs, faulty behavior and fake benefits. If you missed the message you can go to edgewoodbaptist.net and watch the video, listen to the audio or read the full-text manuscript.

The end of verse 3 describes the doom of false teachers: “for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.” In verses 4-9, we see that judgment is certain for those who teach falsehood. Here are a few observations before we dive in.

1. This is one long sentence in the original language. These white-hot words build in intensity. It’s as if Peter doesn’t even take a breath when describing where false teachers are headed.

2. This is a conditional sentence. Look at verse 4: “For if God…” and verse 9: “…then the Lord…”

3. Three “case histories” of judgment and rescue come from the Old Testament. That helps us see that all of Scripture is inspired. We can’t just pick and choose the verses we might favor. Specifically, these intense illustrations come from the Book of Genesis, a book that skeptics love to skewer.

4. Our society is similar to the societies of Noah and Lot.

Grab your Bibles and let’s dive in. Warning. This passage is not politically correct and is difficult to digest: “For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)—then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment.”