Jesus Wins, Satan Loses pt. 2

Mark Finley: Who is righteous enough to stand before a righteous God? Here is the good news. We appear before God in Christ, not in our righteousness, but in his. This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message, Jesus Wins, Satan Loses, part two. Enjoy, and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley. Some time ago, my mother developed lung cancer. She had smoked two packs a day, a pack and a half a day, before she became an Adventist Christian. I was brought up in a home where my father was a Protestant, my mother was a Catholic. My father later became a Seventh-Day Adventist, and mom eventually quit smoking and became an Adventist. My parents were very committed Adventists. I became an Adventist when I was 17 years old. My mother developed lung cancer. It was a difficult time in our family. And I was traveling, preaching. This was just a few years ago. And I would call home, get out my cell phone. I have an international cell phone. In any place I was in the world, I'd call home. And I said to my father, "Should I come home?" He said, "No, we don't know. Mom may last a month, Mom may last two months." We decided to bring Mother home from the hospital. We didn't want her to die in the impersonal nature of a hospital. We wanted her to die at home. And so we took a hospital bed and we put it in the living room, and Mom was there. We wanted her to die with the family around, running their finger through her hair, and holding her hand, and quoting the promises of the Bible and singing the hymns of Heaven to her. So one day I was on a preaching trip, and I called and my sister answered and she said, "Mark, you better come. You better come quickly, because Mom is taking a turn for the worse." So my wife and I got on a plane, we flew back to Orlando, Florida. My mother was living and my father in DeLand, Florida, at the time. And I got in late at night, and I got in at 12:30, 1:00, and drove to the house. And I said to my wife, "We need to be really quiet when we get in." So we opened the door of the house and I tried to be very quiet. Mother's hospital bed was in the living room. You know, I remember it like it was yesterday. And in the darkness, she knew my footsteps. She had heard those footsteps since the time that I was a little boy and could walk. And she had heard those patter of those feet. She looked up at me. And she said, "Mark, I knew that wherever in the world you were, you would come. I knew you'd be here. I knew you would come." My mother knew that I would never let her go through that suffering alone. She had my word that I would be there with her. And I was not going to let her down. You have the Word of Christ that whatever suffering you are going through, whatever heartache you are going through, just as I had to be there at my mother's side, Christ through His Spirit is there at your side. He's there to strengthen you and to encourage you. He's there to hold your hand in your suffering. But He's there to whisper in your ear, "I am coming back for you. This is not some idle tale. This is not some make-believe elusive dream." Christ says, "I am coming for you. I have promised it. I have promised it." And we read that promise. The scoffers will say, "Where is the promise of His coming?" And you and I will say back to them, "It is in the Old Testament prophet's writings. It's in the New Testament teaching of the apostles, and it's in the Word of Christ Himself." Now, notice the three things the scoffers forget. Here, Peter takes these scoffers on. Second Peter chapter 3, verse 4. We now go on to verse 5. For this they willfully forget. You know, it's one thing to forget something, it's another thing to willfully forget it. This they willfully forget, that by the word of God the heavens were of old and earth standing out of the water and in the water. The first thing they forget is that God created the world. That God stepped into time at creation. That we're not merely skin-covering bone. We're not some genetic accident. We're not some abnormal anomaly because time brought together some chemicals that in some mysterious way. See, for the evolutionist, the great savior is time. You just have enough time and anything can happen. It causes a great you have to believe in a greater miracle than creation. We believe that an intelligent designer designed. And we believe that this intelligent designer that designed the world is an all infinite intelligence because if you look at His creation, you grasp His infinite wisdom and His omnipotence and His power. So here, Peter says they willfully forget, number one, that God acted in history, that there was creation. Number two, verse 5, the second thing they forget is the flood, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. They forget that God acted once. They forget that God allowed sin to go on and He said, "It is enough. It is enough." In the flood, God said, "Sin and wickedness have gone on enough." And one day God is going to say, "Enough. Enough crime, enough violence, enough war, enough famine, enough pestilence." God is going to say, "Enough divorce." God is going to say, "Enough immorality." God is going to say, "Enough." God acted in history at creation. God acted in history in the days of Noah. This is Peter's argument. Then he goes down in verse 7. But the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved unto fire until the Day of Judgment. Peter says God acted in history when He created the world. God acted in history in the days of Noah. And Jesus Christ is going to come, and one day sin and wickedness are going to be consumed by the fires of His presence and the glory. Then he says, verse 8, "But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." In other words, God views time differently than we view time. And the issue with God is not time. The issue is two things with God. You say, "Why doesn't Christ yet come?" Because the task is not yet finished. Why does not Christ yet come? First, before a waiting world and a watching universe, Jesus is developing a people that are totally sold out for Him. As the old song says, "Nothing between my soul and my Savior." Not of this world's delusive dream. God is looking for a people whose passion is for Him. All they want is what He wants. All they desire is what He desires. You remember of Jesus, it is written in Hebrews 10:7, "Lo, I come in the volume of the book, it is written of me, to do Thy will, oh God." How can you know if you're totally surrendered to Christ? How can you know for certain that there's nothing between you and your Savior? Here's the way. Is there anything in your life that you're not willing to give to Him if He asks you for it? Is there something deep in your life that you're holding on to? There is no test of surrender in our lives when we do what we want to do and that's God's will. For example, I have never smoked in my life. So for me to give up smoking is no temptation because I never smoked. I've never drunk alcohol in my life. Even when I was a non-Christian, I was an athlete. So I didn't want to defile this body. I wanted it to be in good shape. Look, those were no test for me. But I had a lot of other tests. A lot of other tests. Only me and God know them. This is not self-confession moment. But look, here's how you know if you're fully surrendered. When you have a great desire to watch that program on TV, but you have that little twitch inside that you know that that's not something that Christ would have you watch. You know you're totally surrendered when you get on your knees and say, "Lord, all I want to do is please You." When you are absorbed with a certain music style, articles of diet. You say, "Well, those are external standards." They are. But when we're saved by grace through faith, and the living Christ comes into our lives, it transforms our lives. We come to Christ just as we are. But we don't stay as we are. His grace is so good that it works. Paul speaks about the grace that leads to obedience. We are not saved by our works, but works become the result of knowing Christ. And anything that would displease Him, we do not want in our lives. What is Jesus waiting for? He's waiting for men and women that want nothing except what He wants. Whose hearts are one with His heart. And who are so transformed by His love, so charmed by the cross, so enamored with His grace that they have to share it with others. And they go out to a waiting world and a watching universe, passionate about sharing Christ. Notice verse 9. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us." That is, He suffers long with the sins of the world. Suffers long with the pain and suffering of this world. Why? "He's not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." We'll be right back with Pastor Mark Finley. We thank you for listening and hope you're enjoying today's message. Our mission is to attractively present the Christ-centered biblical truths of scripture in a practical, relevant way to people around the world, so that they may experience the abundant life that Christ offers, and effectively share with confidence His life-changing truths with others. You can support this ministry and help us reach even more by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, back to Pastor Mark Finley. There is a task before us. There is a mission to be accomplished. Coming to the cross, saved by grace, transformed by love, empowered by the Spirit, we share His love with others. He is not willing that any should perish. So in pain, in suffering, Education 263, "The cross is a revelation to our dull senses that pain from its very inception is brought to the heart of God." Every deed of cruelty, every departure from right brings grief to Him. "The world is a vast lazar house and we can hardly bear it all, but He sees it all." Think of the pain and the suffering in God's heart, as we mentioned the other night, because of the sins of the world. But He is willing to suffer long to save your son, to save your daughter, to save your neighbor, to save your working associate. He would rather experience the pain, the cosmic pain of the sin of the world, than come quickly and have some human being be lost. So the message of Christ is going to the ends of the earth and God is using consecrated men and women to share His love with others. I remember very well during the days of communism where we had secret typists. And I saw their consecration, their dedication. One of our typists, Olga Galon, usually we would organize them into groups of 12. They would type with one finger on one hand, not because they couldn't type with all their fingers. But they would type the Sabbath school lessons, they would type the Bible, they would type writings of Ellen White. Mrs. Olga Galon, one finger, one hand. Why did they type one finger, one hand? Because they typed 12 carbons at a time, and they would have to hit the keys so hard to get through the 12 pages at a time. We would we would bring to them secret typewriters. If we had a team of 12, not one would know the other ones. Why? Because if they were interrogated, they could tell everybody else, they could tell the authorities about everybody else that was typing. And we said to them, "Look, if you get caught, this is what we want you to do: Turn in the leader. We want you to do that. The leader will suffer your prison sentence for you. We will smuggle you another typewriter, move you to another house so you can keep typing." Mrs. Olga Galon typed 2,000 Desire of Ages. 2,000. The first 12 years she typed under a table in her living room. She would go there at 8:00 in the morning, sit underneath that table, there was a quilt that we put over the table. She would type. Why? Because if anybody heard the tick-tick of the typewriter, she would get arrested. The last eight years it became too dangerous. Her husband fixed up a thick quilt in the closet and she typed for eight years in the closet. She typed for 20 years and went blind. She typed 2,000 Desire of Ages. One of our best typists, one of our best typists, was a woman with cerebral palsy. She could type with one finger on one hand and the authorities never, never expected her. She turned out Sabbath school lessons, Bible passages that we bound and distributed. What is Jesus waiting for? Is He waiting for more wars? You think the angels are keeping score up there and saying, "Well, we've had 1,042 wars and now we got to have 1,052 before Jesus comes." You think Jesus is waiting for more people to starve to death so the famines can get greater? You think He's waiting for more earthquakes and tornadoes? What is He waiting for? Or does He just have some point in time where He says, "Well, I'm just going to come no matter what." If that's true, why didn't He do it 1,000 years ago? Why didn't He do it shortly after the cross? I mean, if that's your theology that He just has some point in time, why in the world would He ever let this thing go on for 2,000 years? See, there are three things that are happening simultaneously. Number one, wickedness is going to come to a point where before the whole universe, they will see the rising tide of wickedness and Jesus will say, "That's enough. Evil has come fully ripe." Secondly, righteousness will come fully ripe. God's people will be so sold out for Him that all they want is Him. And thirdly, as you see on this side, the rising tide of crime, violence, wickedness. This side, God's people on their knees praying, God's people on their knees seeking Him, and God's people with open hearts. As we see that on this side, He will pour out His Spirit with abundance. And the Gospel will go to the ends of the earth and Jesus will come. And He gives us an appeal here. Verse 10 and 11. Notice His appeal. "But the day of the Lord will come." Aren't you thankful for that? "As a thief in the night, in which He's going to come quickly, speedily, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. Both the earth and the works that are therein are going to be burned up." Notice, "Therefore." What is the "therefore" "therefore"? Why is it put there? "Therefore," He's tying together what's come before. He's coming as a thief in the night. He is long-suffering. The promise of His coming is burning in our hearts. "Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved." Since this is reality, this is no pipe dream, this is no make-believe. "What manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming and the Day of God?" In other words, what what kind of godly lives should you live in the light of the coming of Christ? The coming of Christ prompts us to be on our knees with our heart open. You see the Gospel, the Scripture has two great focal points. One is the first coming and the other is the second coming. Coming to the cross, our lives are transformed by His grace. Coming to the cross, we fall in love with the One that loved us with a love that is beyond imagine. Coming to the cross, we're changed. And changed at the cross, we long to tell the story. Because the cross points forward to the One that's coming. The One, the One that paid the price for us is coming to redeem us. We read that again, verse 13. "Nevertheless, we according to His promise, His what, everybody? Promise. Look for the new heavens and the new earth in which dwelleth righteousness." "Therefore," Notice, there's the "therefore" again. "Therefore," what's the "therefore" "therefore"? It's to connect what's come before. "Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found in Him in peace without spot and blemish." How in the world can sinful, decrepit humanity be found in Him without spot or blemish? Who is righteous enough to stand before a righteous God? Who is holy enough to stand before a holy God? Here is the good news. We appear before God in Christ, not in our righteousness, but in His. Everything we are not, He is. All we need is found in Him. Christ justifies us. In Him, we stand before God as if we never sinned. Christ sanctifies us. If we let Him, He'll make us like He longs for us to be. He works in our hearts to change us, to make us over again. In Christ, we who are accepted as His sons and His daughters. When He comes, we will be like Him. You say, "I don't know how Jesus could do that in my life." Do you believe the Bible? How many believe the Bible here? The Bible says, Hebrews 12:1 and 2, help me with this now. "Jesus is the author and the what?" "Finisher." "He is the author and the what?" "Finisher of what?" "Our faith." How many of you believe that Jesus has begun something in you? He's done a little bit in you, He's begun something in you. Do you believe that? Is He going to finish the work He began in you? Jesus is the author and He's the what? Finisher of our faith. "Behold, now are we the sons of God. But it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But when He doth appear, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is." Every man that hath this hope in him purifies himself, even as He is pure. So, I don't know how Jesus is going to do it in me, but I believe He's going to do it. Do you believe He's going to do it in you? Philippians chapter 1, verse 7. If we let Him, He will do a work in us that will make the angels sing. Because before the whole universe, in the last days of Earth's history, in this world that is a cesspool of sin, in the most degraded generation of all, He will manifest His grace before His people. He will manifest His power in their lives and through their lives. Philippians chapter 1, we're going to look there at verse 6, "Being confident." What's that word confident means? Can somebody give me that word? What's that word confident means? Being what? Sure. What's another word for sure? Certain. You got it. Being sure, being certain of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you. Who's the He that has begun a good work in you? Who's that? Jesus. He who has begun a good work in you will complete it unto the Day of Jesus Christ. You and I, with all of our folly, with all of our sinfulness, with all of our weakness can come to Him. And in the light of His soon return, we can say, "Jesus, I trust You. Jesus, I trust You. Jesus, all I want is what You want. You have given all to me, I want to give all to You. And Lord, when I look at my weakness and my folly, when I look at my failures and my faults, I don't know how You're going to do it, but I know You're working in my heart, Lord. I know I'm not what I was yesterday. I'm not what I was last year. Through Your Word and by Your Holy Spirit, You're doing something in my life. And Lord, I want to trust You to complete the work You've started." There's somebody here tonight that you've become discouraged. And you wonder if Jesus can ever complete His work in you. And here is the incredible good news. He started a work in you. And if you let Him, He'll finish it. He's begun something in you, and if you let Him, He'll complete it. You've been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, a final prayer from Pastor Mark. Let's pray together. Father, men and women have come to the altar tonight. They have come, many because they want a deeper faith. Father, thank You that in Christ, victory is ours, that in Christ, strength is ours. We praise You tonight, that You are all that we need. Everything that we've hoped for and all that our hearts long for. As we leave this altar and as we leave this meeting, we go tonight claiming the promise that You are the author and finisher of our faith, and You'll get the job done. We believe that in the name of Jesus. Amen.