Title: Spiritual Tension / 2 Peter 3:8-13
Content Spiritual tension / 2 Peter 3:8-13
Title: Spiritual Tension
Text: 2 Peter 3:8-13
Dr. Horatius Bonar said at night as he closed the curtains and prayed, "Maybe tonight, O Lord!" It used to be my brain. And in the morning, he looked up at the sky and said, "Is it today? Lord!" He lived each day preparing for the coming of the Lord. It is a beautiful image of the saints who are spiritually tense.
There are two attitudes towards the day when Jesus will come again. The first is the attitude to predict the day of the Lord's coming, to set it up, and to prepare by surprise. Even 10 years ago, there was such a commotion in Korea. October 28, 1992 was the day that Jesus would come again. I don't know who else will make that claim in the future. However, this is not the right attitude. It is not the right attitude to do nothing, study, and only pray when Jesus is coming.
However, being indifferent is not the right attitude. Some are not interested in the return of Jesus. This is incorrect. They say that 2000 years have passed since Jesus said He would come again, and now what are you talking about? So the spiritual tension is released and I am living a morally loose life.
Like the former, it is a problem to predict the day when Jesus will come again and to prepare frantically, but it is also a big problem to not even pay attention to it and not be spiritually tense. Spiritual tension is necessary. Saints should be spiritually tense and prepare for the kingdom of God. Even the Saints today are morally lax because of the release of spiritual tension. It is a time when believers have nothing to say to non-believers. Today, to overcome this problem, I will focus on the text I read and speak under the title of "Spiritual Tension."
lasting love of grace
Let's read verses 8-9 together. “Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in his promises, which some consider slow, but is patient with you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. " Amen. The slowness of the Lord's promise means that the time of grace for all to repent and return is getting longer.
To the Lord a thousand years is like one day, and one day is like a thousand years. 2000 years have passed since Jesus went, but to the Lord, it is only two days. You have to think of time that way. So, you have to take it easy. We are too hasty. We try to fit God's work into our time schedule. And if it doesn't fit our timetable, I doubt it. complains. I'll have to think a little more slowly.
Some suspected that the Lord's promises were too slow. Then he would become increasingly indifferent. Peter said to this. He said this is not a delay, but a time of grace, patiently waiting for us to repent so that no one perishes but more be saved.
God is long-suffering. By our standards, he is incomprehensible. If it were us, we would have already judged the world over and over again. We are in a hurry. We can't stand it. So we mistakenly judge God's long-suffering by our own standards. It is misunderstood that God does not judge at all. Eventually, you will be able to release your spiritual tension and lead a morally loose life. This stems from a misunderstanding. God is not not judging, but waiting long for all to repent. Know this properly and do not slow down your spiritual tension.
The day of the Lord comes like a thief
The day of the Lord comes like a thief. If you are careless, your nose will be seriously injured. Great things happen when you relax your spiritual tension. Look at verse 10. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and on that day the heavens will depart with a loud noise…” It is telling you not to be vigilant. I'm telling you not to relax. You will be judged if you relax and live a life of debauchery as if you were being robbed while being vigilant. Therefore, you must be awake.
The Apostle Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3: “Brothers, you know in detail that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, that you have nothing to write about times and seasons. When they say, ‘Peace and safety,’ then the pain of childbirth will As the name says, destruction will come upon them suddenly, and they will not escape." Amen. Because we do not know when the Lord will come again, we are told to stay awake at all times.
However, some people misunderstand the words of 1 Thessalonians 5:4. "Brothers, you are not in darkness, and that day will not come upon you like a thief..." Based on these words, they believe that the Lord will announce the day when He will come again. It is a story that the children of light are informed of the day and the poem in advance. So they said they had received a revelation and told them to set a date and prepare.
This is an incorrect interpretation. To the children of light, that the day of the Lord will not come like a thief does not mean that the time will be announced in advance, but that if you are always awake, you will not be robbed like a thief. It's not about knowing when the thief will come. If you are always awake and guarding (always living in the light), you will not be stolen. It means that if we always live in the light, we can meet the coming of the Lord.
always be alert and awake
Therefore, you should always be alert and awake. It calls for spiritual tension. Look at the second half of verse 11 through the first half of verse 12. “What kind of people ought you to be? With holy deeds and godliness, look forward to the coming of the day of God and long for it.” Amen. He spoke well of the attitude of the saints waiting for the day of the Lord. As this verse says, we must live with holy deeds and godliness.
Holy conduct and reverence are the result of spiritual tension. A person who is spiritually alert and sober can lead a holy life and a godly life. When you release spiritual tension, you become morally lax. It's morally messed up. Do not relax spiritually.
The world we live in today is truly chaotic. Korea, which boasts 25% of Christians, is in a chaotic situation. It is said that only 5% of people with a certain idea create the spirit of the times. In ancient Rome, 7% of Christians made the Roman zeitgeist. But what about us? Far from creating the spirit of this age, aren't you acting like the world? That's unfortunate. Worry is like a mountain. I can't tell you all the problems because I'm embarrassed. I am afraid to tell you because I am afraid that it will be a blessing. Even now, believers must wake up and live righteously.
We need to restore the holiness faith, the tradition of Methodism. We must live with holy deeds and godliness. The Greek word for holiness is hagimos. This word is usually translated as 'holy', but its original meaning is 'different' or 'separated'. Holiness refers to something different from the world, another person from the world, and a life different from the world.
Leviticus says that we should be holy just as God is holy. However, Leviticus is to show the extent to which we will be holy. Leviticus tells us to separate what we eat. It tells us to be holy not only in religious holiness, but also in our bed and eating. Furthermore, we must also pursue the holiness of our social life.
We should not be reverent only during prayer time and worship time. Wherever you go, you must live with a spirit of reverence. We must always live a life free from shame toward God. We must live in the world, but we must live with the heart of the temple. Whatever you do, you must do it for the glory of God. We must worship not only with our lips, but with our whole life. Let's not relax and live until the day we go to heaven with holy deeds and godliness.
Look to the new heavens and new earth
The destination the saints go to is a new heaven and a new earth, that is, heaven. This world is not everything. This world is passing for a moment. A generational change is taking place in the world today. A generation passes quickly. Live hard in the world, but don't set big regrets. The more we have regrets in the world, the more we become spiritually disturbed. Look to the new heavens and the new earth. If you are looking to release spiritual tension and loosen morally, think of heaven. The place we will go is heaven.
Look at verse 13. "As he promised, we said that righteousness will dwell in the new heavens and new earth, where righteousness dwells. The world is full of evil and many sins are bringing about destruction, but the kingdom of God is a place full of righteousness. Those who prepare must prepare in righteousness.
This is the confession of a Japanese professor. He realized that after his wife went to heaven first, heaven was near. His eyes were opened and he looked to heaven. When I opened my eyes to heaven, my life changed. The desires of the world, hitherto so important, seemed trivial. I have learned that the pleasures of the flesh are nothing. I no longer wanted to fight with ahung-daung. He sent his wife to heaven first, and then began to see the kingdom of heaven, and when his eyes were opened to heaven, he learned to live a godly life.
Saints! Do not relax and always look to heaven. You should not have a relaxed heart just because God's judgment is slow now. You should always be nervous. It doesn't end with this world. We must prepare for heaven. We must be tense and live in holiness and godliness. Don't just look at the world, look at heaven. And keep being nervous. You must be spiritually tense to lead a righteous life.