Delayed Re-entry

Delayed Re-entry

2Peter 3:1-12

So Now that Christmas is over, how do you feel?

- Dissapointed with your gifts
- Happy to have had friends and family around
- Glad its over
- Cant wait till they undecorate?
- Logically we should think about Jesus and His life.
- Logically we should shift from Jesus’ 1^st coming to His 2^nd coming

He showed up once as prophesied and will do so again

Epiphany

What we celebrate: Jesus is for everybody, no matter which race they are.
This starts with the twelfth day of Christmas and we think of the visit of the wise men to Jesus after he was born possibility 2 years later. We remember that Jesus was shown to the gentiles (people who are not Jews) and that they worshipped Him

We move thru church seasons to bring us closer to worship to God. To realize that He is the Great "I AM" and we are not.

- Advent till Christmas
- Prepare for Gods coming among us
- Hear John the Baptist Matthew 3:1 In those days, John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

2 "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!"

3 For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight."

- His call was to Prepare you the Way
- We make our path straight
- We get our hearts & minds focused on Him
- Christmas till epiphany
- Celebrate the birth of Jesus God is with us
- He is still with us today
- Thru His Holy Spirit
- Epiphany till lent
- Jesus revealed Himself to the whole world
- Started with the Magi
- They had arrived they found Him / they left changed
- They worshipped Him with gifts
- Relates to Simeons prophesy Luke 2:32
- Magi were 1^st to acknowledge Him as KING proclaimed Him incarnate, God with us
- many saw John baptize Him
- saw the dove from heaven desend on Him
- Lent 40 days till holy week
- Starts on Ash Wednesday
- We look to our own role in His death
- Our sins & realize we are weak
- Turn to Jesus and God who is strong He can save, he can change us
- Holy week entry into Jersuelem
- Look to His entry into Jersualem
- The start of the Lords supper was a celebration
- His last commands
- His being siezed, tried, abandoned, executed
- Easter death and resurrection of Jesus
- Even death could not stop Him
- We killed Him but He forgave us
- That is amazing Grace
- Pentacost coming of the Holy Spirit
- He is our paraclete, our helper
- The one along side us
- The work that we should do
- Help lead others back to God
- Each leads us thru the life and work of Jesus as the Messiah
- Each should point us to God and our worship of Him
- Rest of the year we focus on Jesus life / teachings

So we are still in Christmas season / Christmastide

- What is the meaning of Christmas
- Is it just the nativity scene?
- Really should be more about the God that came to be with and like His people
- To draw them back to Him
- To have a reverence for God because He is God
- To help us refocus on spirituality, of us and others

We celebrate the 12 days of Christmas now

- Remembering what God has given to each of us
- Ends at epiphany as we look forward to the church mission
- Jesus was revealed to the Gentiles the Magi
- Gifts were given
- But now it’s time to let Him grow up
- To focus on what He became and who He is
- He is the light of the world

But we should Look to the Feasts and Seasons of the Lord

- Tool for education
- Teach us story of God and His actions with humans
- Shows Gods sacred times
- His timetable, His calendar of events
- Help heighten our spirituality and vitality
- Causes us to ponder, think on things Paul said:
- As Mary did Luke 2:19
- - She remembered she used her memory
  - Do you remember what Jesus did for you
  - Have you felt , known and believed until it is real to you
  - She kept them in her heart affections
  - Her affections held Him
  - She pondered them intellect
  - She meditated on them
  - We should in the Scriptures deeply dive in not just the surface
- Help in discipleship & training of others
- If you can’t understand Him embrace Him in affection at least
- As we move thru above seasons, they have association in a Feast
- Major event of Jesus life occurred during a feast
- - Passover, unleavened bread, pentacost, trumpets, atonement, tabernacles, ingathering
- Involved ALL the senses, sight, smell, touch, taste & hearing
- Was more than just preaching!
- They were commanded by God as HIS feasts, not Isreal, not the Jew, not the Gentile ,not you , not me HIS feasts / His timetable
- Those times when we should ponder what God has done
- Meet with God even more intimately

- They point us in the right direction
- Talk of His coming at Birth and again of His coming in the clouds

Leads us to the question: where is He? Why hasn’t He returned?

- Sounds skeptical doesn’t it?
- Peter foretold about this
- Said just as people ignored Noah’s flood warnings, we would do the same
- People forgot about God
- Did their own thing, immorality ran wild
- Look at today---just watch TV lack of wholesome TV
- Is it good ? Is it pleasing to God? What does it make you think of?
- Total lack of Fear of God then and there is today
- No one listened to Noah---until it started to rain----then was too late

So why hasn’t He come back? 2Peter 3:1-12

- Peter gives reason v8-9
- God doesn’t tell time like we do
- God views time from context of eternity
- Here not much difference between a day and 1000 years
- To God age of Grace we are in now is 2 days old
- He delays to give us time
- Time to repent
- Time to confess your sins
- Turn to Him
- Time to come to Him
- Time to learn of Him

- Now is the season of teaching, preaching this Age of Grace
- God is giving us all time! To teach, to learn
- Getting back to the things of God not Man
- Learning the ways of God
- Learning the things of God
- Keeping his commands doing what He said to do
- - Love God with all your heart soul and mind
  - Love is a verb has actions to it
- Be born again of the Spirit of God
- Get right with God
- Change the way your living no matter your circumstances
- Let Jesus be Savior and Lord of your life

Soon the door on the ark of the earth will be closed?

- Just as the door on Noah’s ark was closed
- Those that waited too long were taken away
- Only Noah and his family survived
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night.

3 For when they are saying, "Peace and safety," then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape.

4 But you, brothers, aren't in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief.

- Will you be on the inside with Christ Jesus? Or left in the dark?
- Or will you keep asking, were is He?
- This delay is temporary
- He comes as a thief in the night----don’t know exactly when but do know He will come
- We can know the season he will come, look to the Feasts of God
- With the sound of the Trumpet--1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God's trumpet.
- Will you be ready? Being ready is a journey!
- There are still stories to tell and lessons to learn and pass on

Invitations prayer