(Message 7) Have you ever forgotten something on purpose? Maybe you've decided not to remember something you'd like to forget. We can do that with God. It's easy to "forget" the things we don't understand about God, or the things we may not like about Him. Join us as we Peter calls us to remember some very important things about God, things that will shape our future. #GCHoldFast
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2 Peter 3:1-7 NLT
This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them, I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles. Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment when ungodly people will be destroyed.
2 Peter 3:8-9 NLT
But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent.
2 Peter 3:11-14 NLT
Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
Deuteronomy 28:63 NLT
Just as the Lord has found great pleasure in causing you to prosper and multiply, the Lord will find pleasure in destroying you. You will be torn from the land you are about to enter and occupy.
Start talking. Find a conversation starter for your group.
- If you knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus was coming back at this time next week, what would you do this week?
Start thinking. Ask a question to get your group thinking.
- 2 Peter 3 mentions 4 major events on the end times calendar. Which event are you looking forward to the most? Why? Which event do you wish you had more information about?
- Read 2 Peter 3:8-9. Why do unbelievers scoff at the prophecies of Jesus’ 2nd coming? According to these verses, what is God’s reason for delaying the 2nd coming?
- Peter said that those who deny the 2nd coming and judgment have chosen to deliberately forget what God has already done in the world. Why do you think so many people have chosen to have selective amnesia?
- Read Deuteronomy 28:63. Is the justice of God unfair? How is God’s sense of justice different than mine? My friends’? My enemies’?
Start sharing. Choose a question to create openness.
- Discuss these quotes. The 1st is from Emma, the refugee from Congo. "You know Mark, I could never believe the gospel if it were not for the judgment of God. Because I will never get justice in this world. But I couldn't cope if I was NEVER going to see justice done.” The 2nd is from British pastor Mark Meynell, "We in the West often recoil from God's justice for a very simple reason: We've hardly had to suffer injustice. But most people around the globe recognize that God's justice is praiseworthy and great. Of course, his mercy and redemption are even greater, but we need his perfect justice as well.” Is it fair? Do you praise God for it? What if God’s justice was arbitrary like ours?
- Read 2 Peter 3:11-14. As we are waiting for these things to happen, what should be our game plan?
- Shirley Gilbert’s book, What are You Pretending Not to Know, has a fascinating title. As you go through this week, ask God to reveal areas in your life in which you currently have “Selective Amnesia". As He shows you, ask Him to give you the strength to overcome them and not slip back to where you were.
Start doing. Commit to a step and live it out this week.
- Commit to asking God to reveal areas in your life in which you currently have “Selective Amnesia.”
Start praying. Be bold and pray with power.
- Father, thank you for the truth that is in your Word. Please help us to seek you as to where in our lives we have “Selective Amnesia” and that we would be willing to address these things. In Jesus Name - Amen.
Start digging. For further study.
- Read the article, "What does it mean that God is a God of justice?" in Got Questions.
End-Times Events:
- Jesus returns
- Sin is judged
- The heavens and earth are destroyed by fire
- New heavens and a new earth
Selective Amnesia
What are you pretending not to know?
in the top right of the video.