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[0:00] This morning I'm going to tell you something very dramatically important. This message will solve all the world's main problems.! And just one short message, so you've got much in store here this morning.

[0:12] This message will solve all the world's major problems. And really it's an escape story. Who likes hearing escape stories? You know, stories of people escaping from a prisoner of war camp.

[0:24] Or maybe crossing the Iron Curtain. Maybe crossing across the Berlin Wall as it was at the time. Escape stories. You know, the Bible's full of escape stories.

[0:35] The grand escape. The greatest escape of all. When we think about escaping, we think of maybe escaping from a fire. A house on fire. Or escaping from imprisonment.

[0:47] Escaping from a state of misery. Of difficulty. And in place of that confinement, to find liberty and freedom. And release. There's all kinds of stories about escapes.

[1:01] And how people have escaped. Apparently in West Virginia, there was a man who escaped from a jail. By using a rope made out of dental floss. Imagine that. That would have taken him a while to make that rope out of dental floss.

[1:15] But somehow he used the dental floss to escape from jail. Now, in the Bible we read about Paul. That he escaped from the city of Damascus through a hole in the wall let down by a basket.

[1:28] And people talk about escape. People want to get away from it all. You might be hoping to have an escape, as it were. Some trip away. People want to escape. To break free.

[1:39] They want freedom. And they want to escape. There's a story told of a preacher one day. He was just fresh out of Bible training. And he said to...

[1:50] He went to preach in a prison. And he said to the men that were gathered there, I'm happy to see all of you here. You know, it was a captive audience. It was a group of prisoners in a prison.

[2:03] Another minister was preaching in a prison. And he started off with the text, How shall we escape? How shall we escape? You know, thank God we're not in a prison this morning.

[2:15] But I put to you, in some ways, we're living on a prison planet. A prison planet. And people are held captive without even realising it. It's a prison planet.

[2:26] And I put to you today, God's escape plan. God's escape plan. I might have to get the guys to turn the slides if they work. To the next slide. I'll leave it in your charge there.

[2:38] That's it. I present to you God's escape plan. If you could have a map, a plan in your hand. Some kind of way of finding a way out. We have got that right here.

[2:49] God's escape plan. The way out. The Lord Jesus has come to set the captives free. And the escape plan, God's rescue plan, is right here. For everyone that will receive it.

[3:01] And the Bible shows us how people are held captive, if you like, on this prison planet. And this is not just picturesque language. People are held captive. Captive on a prison planet.

[3:12] And the Bible shows us how. How we can escape. It's the most fundamental, important solution for planet Earth. And so, as I said earlier, I'm going to present to you in this one short message, the solution to the critical problems that face our world today.

[3:31] And 2 Peter's got three of these things. So we read of the first one here as we go to verse 4 of 2 Peter 1. It says 2 Peter 1. We'll start from verse 1.

[3:42] It reads, It reads, He says, He says, So Peter tells us, So Peter tells us, really, the first point about the world that we're living in, in this prison planet.

[4:36] He says there's corruption in the world through lust. Corruption. One of the main problems of our world I'll put to you today is corruption. The corruption that is in the world through lust.

[4:48] And Peter tells us how we can be one of those who've escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Lust speaks of evil desires, of fleshly ways, of covetousness, of greed.

[5:03] We see corruption in the headlines, don't we, where there's a premier at the moment facing accusation of corruption. Now, corruption is everywhere. It's throughout this planet.

[5:15] We have to guard ourselves personally from corruption. We have to guard our politicians, our public servants. They've got organisations that deal with corruption, accusations of corruption.

[5:28] And the world is corrupt. It's been corrupt since Adam. Sin and selfishness and selfish and fleshly ways have brought heavy burdens to bear. Troubles and sorrows because of corruption.

[5:41] Corruption. Friends, this world is destructive and it's headed for destruction. Corruption is a real issue. And so the Bible tells us, Peter says, that we can escape the corruption that is in the world through lust.

[5:55] How do we get out of this corruption, this corruption that is in the world? You have to let go of it. Escape it. Stop holding on to it. Have you ever had a rotten apple? Rotten food.

[6:06] It's something that spoils, that shrivels, that's ruined, decaying, thick with mould and maggots. That's what the world's like, people, isn't it? Corruption.

[6:17] Corruption is endemic. It's what's in our world. It's corrupted and it's decomposing like a mouldy piece of fruit. And this world is totally ruined because of man's sin.

[6:29] It's rotten to the core. And this corruption that is in the world, it speaks of how our society and its morals and standards are corrupt and destroyed. And as much as men might try to patch up this world, it can't be reformed or improved by man's efforts.

[6:46] It's beyond repair. We might elect the choicest of politicians to govern us, but they can't fix the problem of corruption. No medication can heal this disease, this festering sore.

[7:00] No politician can stem the evil tide engulfing this evil world because the world is rotten. And it will only get worse. It's doomed. And it is fit for the fire.

[7:12] And I put to you the answer for corruption really is what we really need is a new world order. The real one, the good one. The new world order that Jesus will bring as he comes as King of Kings.

[7:24] That new world order that will be under his domain and his reign. Peter tells how God has given us grace and peace through knowing him, through knowing Christ. He says we have obtained precious promises, wonderful promises from God.

[7:40] We've got precious faith and his divine power. He's given us all things that we need to live for life and godliness. And how is it? It's through the knowledge of him.

[7:51] And he has called us. It says he's freed us from corruption. He's delivered us. We talked about the delivering power of God in that song we sang. The deliverer wants to free us and bring us out of this corruption that is in the world through lust.

[8:11] And he's given us the escape route by his exceeding great and precious promises that we can be made partakers of the divine nature. So friends, this morning I put to you that escape is possible.

[8:25] It's his plan. He wants us to escape, to find escape. And so the answer is to give up the old world and its ways, the idols, the addictions, the lust, the false gods of this world.

[8:39] And instead we have a different spirit. It says in 1 Corinthians 2 verse 12, we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is God.

[8:51] He gives us a new spirit, a new life, new desires. The spirit of the world wants us to feed our lusts, our sinful appetite on that mouldy gone off food, the corruption that is in the world.

[9:05] It's mouldy, it's disgusting, the corruption that is in the world. But God gives us a different appetite, a different love. It says in 1 John 2 from verse 15, it says, love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.

[9:22] If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

[9:37] And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Friends, I put to you, we need to learn to hate the world and its toys and treasures.

[9:50] What the world values is nothing, it's without value, what the world would value. And rather put what the Bible says we should put our value upon, that which is for eternity.

[10:03] One lady woke up to the state of the world when she said of this throw away society, in this society we save the whales, we save the timber wolves or whatever exotic creatures are out in the forest, we save the coke bottles, yet everyone wanted me to throw away my baby.

[10:22] The world would throw away a baby, and yet try to recycle cans and bottles and such. Friends, it's a sick, godless world, that's the kind of values of our world.

[10:34] You might move into a lovely house and then see, in time you'll see the cracks and the faults. And so it is, as we see the society we're living in, it's cracking up, it's decaying, it's in disrepair, in ruin.

[10:47] And friends, the Bible says the world is going to pass away, and the lust thereof, but he that does the will of God abides forever. So I urge you today to find and follow God's escape plan, to escape.

[11:02] 1 Timothy 6 verse 10 and 11 talks about the love of money, that we should flee these things. 1 Corinthians 6, it says to flee fornication. In 2 Timothy 2 verse 2 it says flee also youthful lust.

[11:16] There's some things to escape from, to run away from, to steer wide from. And what we love, what we spend our time on, is something we've got to be mindful of.

[11:29] Sport is, it's been called America's newest and fastest growing religion. We could say that of Australia, I'll put to you, and this quote says, Far out distancing whatever is in second place.

[11:42] So said a professor of religious studies at Pennsylvania State University. He says it's not just like a religion, it is one. A fastest growing religion.

[11:53] It's the world isn't it? It's the corruption that is in the world. Really it's mouldy food, that's what it is. It's mouldy, it's mouldy food, it's a false god. And it's just one more sign of the corruption that is in the world.

[12:06] The world and its value systems are corrupt and warped and wicked. The world that we live in has got no answers for man. Some would even try, vainly try to think that for a hope beyond the grave, and they would use what's called cryogenics, where deceased people are going to be frozen in some hope of somehow being warmed up again.

[12:29] You know, put in the freezer, you know, you can book in for such a service if you want. When you curl up and die, you can ask to be put in a freezer, and it will cost you $120,000 for those services for your body to be put in a freezer in the vain hope that one day somehow they're going to warm you up and you can live again.

[12:50] And that's the kind of world that we're living in. It's a vain hope. It's not the resurrection that is in Christ as we saw, as heard from Brother Neil, of the risen life in Christ, of the risen, resurrected Saviour, the life-giving Saviour, but it is a world full of corruption and death and vain hope and no truly lasting life.

[13:09] Yet we have eternal life. So in Christ we can find something much more reliable and valuable and lasting that lasts forever. In the world we'll have corruption. In Christ we can have eternity with God, eternal life.

[13:24] In the world we can see the world is rotten to the core, but in Christ we see there's life eternal. So we see we should escape from corruption.

[13:35] The second thing that Peter talks about in 2 Peter, he talks about an escape from delusion, if you like. He writes in part here to Peter 3 verse 18. He says of them, some have escaped from them who live in error.

[13:49] There are some people who live in error. They live in delusion. It's another problem I put to you on our prison planet is delusion. There's delusion everywhere. Lots and lots of delusion.

[14:01] People living with this delusion, they can't see the truth. It's like their vision's clouded. They're misguided, deceived, seduced. Some people, in fact most people, waste their whole lives in error.

[14:13] They're following a false god, not ever coming to the knowledge of the truth. In 1 John 4 verse 6 it says there's a spirit of error and there's the spirit of truth. We've got to discern the two.

[14:24] The world is following largely, by and large, the spirit of error. There are multiplied false cults and false beliefs. We see in 1 Corinthians 3 verse 19 it says the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.

[14:38] You can be hyper-qualified. You can get the highest qualifications that they offer you. You might have a BA and a DD. It does no good.

[14:49] It's useless. Whatever philosophy, degrees or doctorates, the wisdom of this world it says is foolishness with God. It's a vain and empty hope.

[15:00] Because there's delusion in the world. It goes on in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 14 that some things we need to escape from again, to flee from idolatry.

[15:11] Paul was stirred in his spirit. He saw the city was wholly given over to idolatry. He defines idolatry in part as covetousness. You know, friends, our whole world, our whole city and suburbs, the city and suburbs of Adelaide is given over to idolatry.

[15:27] It's delusion. People are deluded everywhere. They're walking around deluded in error. People sacrifice their whole lives to this false god. 1 John 5, 4 it says, for whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world.

[15:41] And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. We need to, by faith, recognize the error and grab a hold of the truth. Faith does that.

[15:52] When we have true faith, we'll have victory. It's been said that people tend to worship their work, work at their play and play at their worship.

[16:03] They don't take God seriously. Faith is kind of downgraded, downrated. People don't care about the truth. And the master counterfeiter is at work. He's hard at work.

[16:14] He's mass producing counterfeits every which way. And the masses are being deceived into false worship and belief. Many are swept along by false teachers and misguided by false Bibles and false prophecies.

[16:27] We'll go to the next slide there. There's a real lack of discernment. There's fakes everywhere. Fakes everywhere. A lack of discernment. A lack of truth. Many are just jumping on the latest bandwagon without actually discerning is it true or not.

[16:43] Is it fake or real? Here's a quote from Moody. He says, Here's a picture here of a white water rafter.

[17:00] You know, some would think that the Christian life is all plain sailing. Just lay back in the boat and put your oars in and just let the tide take you where you will. But friends, as Christians, we're like this white water rafter.

[17:12] We're going upstream. We're fighting against the tide because the tide of this world is error and delusion. We've got to swim against the tide and go God's way to guard against false things.

[17:24] Here's a quote. In biblical days, prophets were astir while the world was asleep. Today, the world is astir while the church is busy with trivialities. You know, by and large, the church has missed the boat.

[17:37] One of the trends today, next one is church shoppers. You know, people, they're like, they treat looking for a church as if it's about finding what appeals on the shelf down at the shop.

[17:49] And there's no loyalty to a particular shop. It's just whoever's got the specials or the discounts of the day. And that's how some people treat church or worship. As if church is some consumer commodity.

[18:00] And worship services are not a place for us to serve God and neighbour, but a place where people can expect to purchase the best. Inspiring worship. Good music. Moving sermons.

[18:11] Quality childcare. You know, they've got a tick box thing. Does it tick all the boxes for me? As if we buy God and not vice versa. You know, it's about, not about church shopping, but is the truth there?

[18:25] Is the word there? That's what matters. And if it's not backed up by the word, then it's wrong. It's false. And the checklist we need is the word of God. To check things by this, the simple word of God doesn't line up with the scriptures.

[18:38] Peter tells us about escape. An escape from corruption. He says the world is rotten and to give it up. He talks about an escaping from delusion. How people are in error.

[18:50] There's much error. We need to wiser. And there's a third thing here. A third problem in this prison planet that we're living in is pollution. See 2 Peter 2 verse 20.

[19:01] Just back one. 2 Peter 2 verse 20. What Peter writes, that we can escape the pollution of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

[19:13] We need to escape from the world. It's a toxic waste garbage dump. Have a look at this one here, the next slide. Pollution. Now we're not talking about necessarily rubbish on the street or a litter and such.

[19:28] But truly the world stinks. There's a pollution problem. And that pollution problem is a contamination. And really it's sin and defilement. This world is foul. It's dirty.

[19:39] It's unclean. It's contaminated by a soul destroying disease. And friends, sometimes we miss that. That the fact that this world is spoiled and soiled.

[19:51] And there's a dirt and defilement of this world. And friends, as Christians we can still encounter that. Sadly, many Christians are foul mouthed and foul minded just like the world.

[20:03] Walked down the average street and the average home, the average Christian is watching the same TV shows. Or listening to the same filthy music as the average cinema does.

[20:15] Because there's no distinction. There's been a pollution. And they don't recognise the pollution. You know, sometimes we have in our land, Clean Up Australia Day.

[20:27] Maybe we need to clean up the church day. To clean up the church. And let God clean us. You know, individually clean us. Individually come. That the Lord clean us, cleanse us from all the dross, the muck, all the pollutions of the world.

[20:41] Friends, we can be such that we can escape the pollutions of the world. Through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. In contrast to pollution, the Bible actually offers the opposite of that, purity.

[20:56] In James 1 verse 27, James writes how we can have pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this. To visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

[21:11] Can we have that heart? A heart of love for the Father. A heart for pure religion. You know, pure faith. A faith that has a purity to it. That's got a righteousness to it.

[21:23] To be unspotted from the world. That's God's will for us. In the contrast, we see how we're constantly barraged with messages that defile.

[21:34] Television has been called the chewing gum for the eyes. You know, think of it. Friends, let's be honest. Television or, you know, probably more so screens of all kinds now. But someone has said this about TV.

[21:48] It's not just a vast wasteland. It's a toxic waste dump. The problem isn't there's nothing there. That would be bad enough. The problem is that there is something there and it's poisonous to the spirit.

[21:59] You know, we're constantly barraged with messaging, aren't we? Through screens of all kinds. And there's a constant barrage. I know some have compared like the TV messaging as kind of like a pipe into your lounge room.

[22:14] Spewing out this toxic stuff. You know, it's like someone said this. I know what Miss America looks like, but what about Miss Kingdom of God? You know, the world would paint a picture of what a desirable woman would look like as if someone flashy and showy and exposed.

[22:33] But what's the woman of God meant to look like? You know, modest and pure and righteous and godly in her appearance. But because of this pollution that is in the world, we're getting these mixed messages, these wrong messages.

[22:48] And we need to escape from that. Think of it, friends, today. If we were on our deathbed or if you were talking with someone who was a dying man, what would you talk to them about?

[22:59] Would you talk to them about sport or business or politics or some other crass subject? Or wouldn't you rather want to spend that time, those last moments of a lifetime, to realise we're standing on the brink of another world?

[23:15] You talk about the things of God. You talk about the things that really count. Friends, we are on the brink of another world. We are, as it were, on the brink of eternity. And we shouldn't be wasting our time on vanities, but rather what matters.

[23:30] There was a guy shipwrecked years ago who had never lived alone on this desert island. And one day he was excited to see a ship offshore. We'll go to the next side there, James.

[23:43] And he saw this signal flag of the ship and he waved the ship down and a dinghy came ashore. And the fellow rode to the island and handed the sailor a bundle of newspapers and told him, The captain sends you these papers about what's going on in the world and suggests you read them before you decide whether you want to be rescued.

[24:04] Now, sometimes living on a desert island, it may not be such a bad thing. You know, think of the rubbish of this world, friends. Think of the corruption. Think of the delusion. Think of the world that we're living in, the pollution of this world.

[24:19] Think of the world and think, where would you rather be? Would you rather be in that place with God or would you rather be consuming and feeding on the rubbish of this world?

[24:32] We'll go to the next one there, James. There was a man, Harry Houdini. People might have heard of him, the famed escape artist. He could get himself out of any jail cell in the country, he claimed, and set himself free.

[24:46] One time, something went wrong for Houdini. He went into this jail and they clanged the heavy metal door shut behind him. And he took from his belt a concealed piece of metal that was strong and flexible.

[25:00] And he set to work to try to pick the lock. But there's something unusual. For 30 minutes he worked and got nowhere. He was sweating and frustrated, trying to pick this lock and it just wouldn't open.

[25:11] And finally he was there after labouring for two hours. Harry Houdini just collapsed in frustration and failure. And he collapsed leaning against the door that he could not unlock.

[25:22] And then he realised it had never been locked at all. You know, he'd been there trying to unlock the door by his own effort, but the door was already unlocked. And friends, it's the same for you believers today.

[25:34] If you know Jesus as your Lord and Master and Saviour today, that escape is possible for you. It's not by you trying to pick the lock. It's by you letting him open the door. That you trust Christ.

[25:46] Simply trust Christ. Simply trust him for your escape route. And so there's friends, there's these things that we can see in this prison planet in which we are living. There's need for escape from these things that we've talked about.

[26:01] We talked about the corruption that is in the world. We talked about the pollution that is in the world. We talked about the delusion that is in the world.

[26:12] The escape route is Christ. We see fourthly another thing to escape from. It's not in 2 Peter, but Matthew 23. We see here the Lord says this to the religious crowd of his day.

[26:25] He said, you serpents, you generation of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell? Friends, another problem for this prison planet is the damnation of the world.

[26:38] The next slide there. There's damnation. We talked about pollution. We talked about corruption. We talked about delusion. Another problem is damnation. This world is damned.

[26:49] And this world is on the way to destruction. The ultimate escape that we can find, that we can know in Christ, that the Lord Jesus gives to us, is to flee from the wrath to come.

[27:02] To flee from the wrath. To flee from the judgment of God. To flee into the arms of the Saviour. It says in Romans 2 verse 3, that how shall thou escape the judgment of God?

[27:15] And Hebrews 2 verse 3, it says, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? You know, there's no other escape route. There's no other way to escape.

[27:26] There's no other way to rescue you than Christ. There's no other way than this so great salvation. He has made the way for us to escape. He has promised us his blessings of salvation.

[27:38] Our days on this planet are numbered. We're living on a prison planet. But we can know grace and truth and peace through Christ. And it's a precious faith that he would give us such grace to know and believe.

[27:54] He can rescue us from the power of this prison planet. He can rescue us and give us all things that we have need of for life and godliness.

[28:05] So friends, escape is possible through Christ. We've been talking about a prison planet. A planet that is in captivity. Multitudes in the valley of decision lost, held captive, not even realising they're captives.

[28:23] Escape is possible through Christ. It's through the knowledge of him. There is this escape route. If you would just find it and plug in as it were and follow the route. That Christ is the way, the truth and the life.

[28:35] He's the way to escape. He is the one who helps us to escape. He is the only saviour, the only one who can rescue us. This world is subject to pollution. And look, there's pollution, man-made pollution.

[28:50] There's all talk about kinds of pollution and climate change, whatever. But the real pollution, the foulest problem of the human condition is the heart of man.

[29:03] Our hearts can be fouled and defiled. Fouled up. And the rubbish can pile up on the inside of us. It's pollution. We see ultimately damnation looms.

[29:14] We see corruption as it began in the garden. As it began with man's disobedience. That corruption. It's in the world through lust. We want this. We want that.

[29:25] But what we really need is Christ. It's not about what we want. It's about not the corruption that is in the world through lust. Not gimme, gimme. It's receiving him.

[29:37] Our creator. Who wants the best for us. And the opposite of corruption is blessing, isn't it? It's knowing the true life that he wants for us.

[29:50] And then we see ultimately damnation. Damnation looms for the lust of this world. Friends, the Bible is very clear. Without Christ, we're on the road to damnation.

[30:01] But thankfully, we can escape the corruption, the delusion, the pollution, and ultimately the damnation that this world is subject to. If we can find Christ and know him.

[30:12] Him to know is life eternal. He's given us the escape route by his exceeding great promises. Truly they are precious promises. And it says, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

[30:25] It's by simple trust. We can be made partakers of the divine nature. So friends, the escape route, the escape plan is Christ. It's Christ. Flee to Christ today.

[30:38] God's rescue plan is that in Christ he died on the cross. Making the way for you that believe to trust him and know his saving grace. I urge you today, each one, whatever your standing, whatever your state.

[30:52] And as a believer, to refresh that. That love, that life of God in you. To know him. And to know his precious promises.

[31:03] To take heart in the word of God. And the escape route that you have. To flee to Christ today. Let us pray. Lord, we thank you that you are the saviour of the world. Even this prison planet that you came to.

[31:16] That you did. Deign to step down into. To take our place on that rugged cross. On Calvary's hill. And bear your heart.

[31:28] Lay down your hands to be nailed. To be pierced for us. Lord, to take the very penalty of our sin. The wages of it. Death. And then, as risen saviour, Lord, we know we can know you too.

[31:42] In our own personal way. We thank you for these exceeding great and precious promises. That we can know your grace and peace. We can escape the corruption. We can escape the pollution.

[31:54] We can escape the damnation. And we can find that wonderful peace. That is forever. And knowing your perfect plan. To flee to you.

[32:05] As saviour and Lord. We pray each one might have that trust. And that reassurance today. Of that wonderful blessing. That comes from knowing you.

[32:16]  And Lord, we pray each heart might have that trust. In Jesus' name. Amen.