Do you ever wonder why God has not come again the second time already? Why does God delay judgment on this wicked world? You and I as Christians can look around and see how crazy and wicked this world has become, and wonder, why is Jesus waiting to come? We think now is the perfect time for Jesus to come again, but obviously He doesn’t, or He would have already come.
If God thought like Me, He might have come even before I was saved in 1976 and I would still have been an unbeliever. I am sure back then that there were Christian people in 1976 saying this world is crazy and Jesus, you need to come.
So, I need to remember this big truth. God does not think like me, so He has not come back yet, but make no mistake, He is coming back. So, Peter says let me make sure that this truth sinks into your head the certainty of His coming but let me share the reasons it has not yet occurred. And the reason Peter tells us can be boiled down to this: Jesus is not like us. And Peter goes on to tell us just how different we are from God.
Let’s read 2 Peter 3:8-10.
Scripture
2 Peter 3:8–10 (NIV84)
8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
1. You and I live our lives based on calendars, schedules, and peeks at our watches. Jesus has no calendar, schedule or watches.
8But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.
Jesus lives in eternity. In eternity, there are no calendars, schedules, or watches. All of time is before Christ. He can see the past, the present, and the future at any time. We can see only in a limited way the very present. We can remember a few things from the past but with age we forget a lot. Jesus sees the past in full detail. And we have no knowledge of the future, except for our limited understanding of prophecy revealed in the Word of God. Jesus sees the future clearly.
If we miss this truth of how God’s perspective of time differs from our perspective, you may come to some wrong conclusions about God. If you and I do not understand this truth, we might assume that people get away with a ton of wrong stuff and God does nothing about it. If you and I don’t understand this truth, we might conclude that Jesus did not come through for us when we needed Him. But in eternity whenever Jesus comes through, it is always the right time. I think about Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus who had died. Remember Martha telling Jesus John 11:21 (NIV84)
21“Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
And it turns out being four days late was the perfect time for Jesus to arrive as Lazarus came out of the tomb.
Time greatly affects us, but it does not affect God. Bro Greg has been showing a picture of Anne and I on the screen in the early years of our ministry here. You will notice a few changes in our appearance over those years! She’s still beautiful, but I’ve lost some hair and what I got left has all turned gray! If we live another twenty years, you will see even more changes, and they won’t be in our favor. But God never changes! He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
This truth that God don’t live in the same time restraints you and I operate in is a very practical truth, we need to understand. It would help us to endure pain, suffering, and disappointment. Bro Greg had preached a few weeks ago about Joseph being placed in prison because he refused Potiphar’s wife’s advances. While in prison, Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh’s baker and the cupbearer. As the cupbearer went out the prison door, Joseph pleaded with him to remember him before Pharaoh, so that he could get out of prison. But the cupbearer forgot!
An Egyptian dungeon is not a pleasant place to be at any point in life for one day or two years. I’m sure that Joseph must have prayed fervently each day, “Lord, get me out of here! I’m here because I obeyed You and resisted Potiphar’s wife’s advances. How long, O Lord?” “Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream ….” Why couldn’t God have given Pharaoh that dream after two weeks or two months? Why did God wait two full years? We do not know God’s reasons, but we know that God’s timing is not our timing. God’s timing was perfect, and Joseph was made second in charge of Egypt.
Peter’s point is that Christ’s return seems delayed, but only because God’s perspective on time is radically different than our perspective.
2. You and I show mercy sometimes, and other times we withhold mercy. Jesus always shows mercy to everyone.
9The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
First, mercy is I deserve something, but I do not receive it. When it comes to my relationship with God, I deserve death because the wages of sin is death. But instead, by Christ’s death and resurrection, I receive eternal life.
In our lives, people are going to hurt us somehow, maybe by their actions or by their words. And we feel they deserve our wrath. But here is the thing about you and me. There are some people to whom we will extend mercy, but to others, we may show no mercy.
I might extend mercy to a family member who hurt me in order to keep the peace in the family. I might extend mercy to a best friend who I have known for years and their friendship is more important than the hurt they caused. But an acquaintance who has hurt me, I may chose not to show mercy. I think they need to get what they deserve. In other words, we pick and choose who we will show mercy to.
God does not do that and that is what makes Him so different then us. The Scripture says that God does not want any to perish. It goes on to say He wants everyone to come to repentance.
Think of the most evil person in the world today. I am sure that Putin would get some votes. And think about this: Jesus has delayed His Second Coming for the possibility that Putin might one day accept Jesus as His Savior.
I saw on the news this week that Putin bombed a hospital. Now how sick is that! You and I would say, let him get what he deserves. Jesus is telling us that He is having mercy on Putin by not coming yet. Not wishing any should perish, but all come to eternal life.
Make no mistake when it comes to showing mercy, we are nothing like Jesus.
3.You and I are hit and miss with our faithfulness. Jesus is always faithful. If His Word says it then it is going to happen.
10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.
I want you to think about all the times that you tell someone I am going to pray for you. But you don’t, and saying that I forgot is not a good excuse. Call it for what it is: unfaithfulness.
I want you to think about the times that you told a friend you would help them and on that day they need help, you are no where to be found. That is called unfaithfulness.
How many times in my life have I put something else before God? Every time I do that I am being unfaithful because Jesus tells us first and foremost that we should love with all our heart mind and soul. When something else takes 1st place in my life over God that is called unfaithfulness.
Think about your life, how may times have God been unfaithful to me? None. And in our passage of Scripture Peter says: the day of the Lord will come. Jesus will be faithful to what He said.
You and I can not hold a candle to God’s faithfulness. He is always faithful; we are hit and miss. So, I am not like God when it comes to faithfulness.
Conclusion
Why has God not come back yet?
Answer: God is not like us.
1. God operates in eternity; I live by a watch.
2. God is always merciful; I pick and chose to whom I will show mercy.
3. God is always faithful; my faithfulness is hit and miss.
