2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
This promise is not about eternal life but about the second coming to set up His kingdom, 2Pe 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 2Pe 3:4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
The Lord is not slack about His promise and that promise is not about eternal life to the believer; it is the promise that He will come again. But what is the delay? Why is He waiting? Answer not willing that any should perish! The word perish here is physical death. In the tribulation there will be people without number that will die prematurely. It is not His will that the rapture comes and the tribulation where million die. What is the answer? Repentance. Repentance answer to physical death and not to eternal condemnation.
The Lord spoke of the need to repent to extend physical life, Matthew 12:41, Luke 13:3 and 5, Luke 15:1-32. Repentance is turning from one’s sinful ways [that is not the way to eternal life].
[cf. Jonah 3:10; 2 Peter 3:10-12 speaking of physical death -They were not given eternal life! Nineveh was spared from the physical destruction. See Jonah 3:5 So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.] What was the message that Jonah preached? Answer: That God was going to overthrow the city in forty days. [Cf. Jonah 1:2 “… for their wickedness has come up before me.”
“The Tribulation and the S.C. will not occur until the sins of the world are filled to the brim. Remember the flood? Remember the Ninevites? Remember the Kings and the children of Israel when they humbled themselves? “The point of 2 Peter 3:9b is that the Rapture and tribulation will not come until the World is filled up to the brim with sins.”[1] All people should hear the Spirit of God. They can because, He lights every person that comes into the world, [John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.]. Do I believe that many came to faith in God for Eternal life? Answer: Yes! That was a reason He spared the city, Jon 4:11 And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle? My opinion is that we are in that period of time that 2 Peter 3:9 calls the “Long-suffering of God” that both saved and unsaved can be ready for His Coming.
Jonah 3:10 does not mean that Nineveh received eternal life but they avoided premature death in the Judgment of God on the city. [Jon 3:6-10 For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. 3:7 And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.]
There is no doubt the LORD wants you to have a significant life. I don’t think you should spend your entire day listening to Preachers and Teachers. Many contradict the other. Do not misunderstand me: spend time with the LORD in His word, Worship Him {go to Church]. Do not let prayer cease from being a part of your life { 1 Thess. 5:18}. You mature in your life by being led by the Spirit of Christ. I am saying, you were made to create. Get up! Get out as much as possible. You are to take care of your home, enjoy the journey and the place that God has given you. We have a lot to take care in our duties of life. 1Ti 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 1Ti 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. You only keep what you give!. One of the reasons you work is to give but the main reason to work, it is commanded by God.
There are somethings you need to know: 1 ] God does not contradict Himself. When He promised you everlasting life that is what He gave you. That is not for a few days, few years but forever. Everlasting is Everlasting. 2 ] Everlasting life is at the moment of believing, Joh 1:9-13 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
You do not gain eternal security by believing in eternal security – You have eternal security by believing on Jesus Christ for everlasting life He promised, Joh 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
Why do things, heartbreaking things happen? Why does the LORD sometimes allow godly believers to die young? And so many more question along that line. I do not know the answers to explain fully but I know He has a purpose. Why was John Harper on the Titanic? The LORD wanted someone on that sinking Ship in the last hours of their life to tell people about the Gift of God, Acts, 16:31, “…Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,….”
Why did John Harper die at thirty- nine? Here is an article by the current Pastor of Moody Memorial Church: Erwin W. Lutzer
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[When I became pastor of The Moody Church in 1980, I knew one of the church rooms was named Harper Hall in memory of the Scottish evangelist who was on a journey to The Moody Church but drowned when the Titanic sank in April 1912. Only recently, however, did I learn the full story of this remarkable man.
Harper’s reputation as an evangelist was so well known that he was invited to speak at The Moody Church in 1910. I have in my possession a photocopy of a letter, in his own handwriting, which reads, “I have been in Chicago for three months, God gave us a very precious and wonderful revival of continuous services each day and sometimes even more often.” He went on to say that he now had been invited back to The Moody Church for another three months of meetings.
And so it was that John Harper, his sister, and his six-year-old daughter (his wife had died) found themselves on the great ship, the Titanic. Survivors later reported that as Titanic began to sink, Harper admonished people to be prepared to die. He made sure his sister and daughter were in a lifeboat even as he continued to share the Gospel with whoever would listen. And when he found himself in the icy water with a life jacket, floating near another man, Harper asked, “Are you saved?”
“No, I’m not saved!” the desperate man replied.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!” Harper shouted.
One report says Harper, knowing he could not survive long in the icy water, took off his life jacket and threw it to another person with the words, “You need this more than I do!” Moments later, Harper disappeared beneath the water. Four years later, when there was a reunion of the survivors of the Titanic, the man to whom Harper had witnessed told the story of his rescue and gave a testimony of his conversion recorded in a tract, I was John Harper’s Last Convert.
Before disappearing beneath the two and a half miles of water, John Harper shared, for the last time, the message of Christmas, which, in a nutshell, is that Jesus came to earth to die in our stead that we might be saved. This Gospel does not spare us from drowning in an ocean, but it does spare us from a far worse eternal destruction.
To complete the story: Harper’s six-year-old daughter and her aunt arrived safely in New York, rescued by the Carpathia, and only then learned of Harper’s death. And to the credit of The Moody Church, acting Pastor Reverend Woolley and a deacon traveled to New York to give them clothes and money so they could return to Scotland.
This past April, [2012] Rebecca and I were invited to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic with the congregation at the Harper Memorial Baptist Church in Glasgow. To our delight we discovered that this church, founded by Harper, is still preaching the same Gospel that he preached on the Titanic a hundred years ago. We also learned that his daughter later married a pastor. She died in 1986, but her daughter and grandchildren were with us for the celebrations! A reminder that there is no substitute for the torch of faith being passed from one generation to another through the influence of godly families.
We might wonder if it had been better if Harper had lived to preach at The Moody Church and other venues rather than be among those who perished on the Titanic. But God knows best. A hundred years after his death, we are still benefitting from the lasting effects of those final moments before he sank into the ocean. He left an example for tens of thousands of us who would never have heard of him if he had survived. God sees the big picture; we see but a small slice of time. “John Harper’s Last Convert by Erwin W. Lutzer ]
‘Titanic, the movie, as dramatic as it was, was still mostly fiction. Jack Dawson did not exist, except in the mind of the writer of the screenplay. There was no ticket won in a poker game, no heart of the ocean necklace, no near suicide attempt by Rose, and no final kiss between an English aristocrat and an American drifter. There is however, a true story that far outshines the screenplay both in dramatics and in spiritual substance. It is the story of the Scottish preacher, John Harper.”
[[2]Only six of the 1500 people in the water were later rescued. Steve Crain was one among the Six. He also identified himself as Harper’s last convert. (Steve Crain). This man had climbed on a piece of debris and Harper who was struggling in the water near him shouted.“Are you Saved?”Steve replied, “No”.
Harper shouted the words “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved“. Waves drifted them away for a moment, later the current brought them two together. Again, Harper shouted, “Are you saved”. He asked Steve to believe in Jesus. Then he slipped under the waves for the last time.]
God has a purpose for the path you have come – Eternal life is in the provision of the Cross, 1Co 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect 1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. V18 is written to the believer: consider the words {1Co 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
It is manna from heaven – It is the reality of Jesus Christ and the everlasting life He gives, “….Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,” 1] He loved you in your birth – 2 ]He loved you in your life, regardless of how ungodly, i.e., Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 3 ] He loved you on the Cross, 2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 4 ] He loves you today! Revelation 1:5, And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, [ Unto him that loved us: is a pasted tense love with a present tense meaning: He ever loves.]
And from eternity future He speaks to us, Rev 22:16 I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
Jesus is speaking to us in the Church age, I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches
I Jesus – the only time He identifies Himself in this manner. That is the name we know Him by. The Jesus of John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. We continue back in Rev. 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
There are three [3] invitation here: 1] The Spirit and the Bride say come, The Spirit and Jesus Christ are linked together in the messages to the seven [7] churches, i.e., Rev. 2: 7, He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. The Spirit and the Bride says to all “Come”
. 2] And let him that heareth say, “Come” It is God’s desire that every believer invite someone else to believe.
3] And I think the invitation changes somewhat here to cast an even wider net, And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. All who thirst and desires the water of life, the Bible says, “Come”. And whosoever is willing may take the water of life freely. Isaiah says it like this, Isa 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Why the Cross? 1] God Promised Eternal Life before the world began, Tit 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; 2Ti 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,
The Cross is seen in the giving of His Son, Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
The Cross was pictured in Gen 3:21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. A temporary fix that pointed to One Day He would come down from heaven as a permanent sacrifice, 2Co 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. ] He took away all sin forever, [John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. ]
There is no greater reason to believe on Jesus for salvation than His death and Resurrection! Have you believe His promise of life to you, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
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