Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,
and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today.
A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us. We're glad that you're here,
and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,
but because we're following Jesus together as one community, and as we follow Jesus together,
we become convinced there's no one so good they don't need God's grace,
and no one so bad they can't have it, which means that God has something to say to everyone in His Word.
He has something to say to people who have been Christians their entire lives.
He has something to say to those who have been Christians only for a short time,
and He has something to say to people who would not consider themselves Christians,
people who have doubts or questions or objections to Christianity,
and so it's for that reason that we turn every week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word.
We're continuing our series in 2 Peter, and you'll remember that 2 Peter is a letter written by a man named Peter.
He writes it to a church somewhere in the Roman Empire in the 60s A.D.,
and He writes it with one hope, one desire, that these people would grow.
We know that's His desire because that's how He both begins and ends the letter,
and He wants them to grow in two ways.
He wants them to grow in grace, and He wants them to grow in knowledge.
We've been discussing the false teachers since chapter 2 who are threatening both knowledge and grace,
and last week we looked at a question that we're going to continue this week.
It's the question that we receive in chapter 3, verses 3 and 4.
These false teachers, these scoffers, are asking,
why hasn't Jesus returned yet?
And since He hasn't returned yet, should we not doubt that He will ever return?
They're denying a variety of things in this book.
Remember, they deny the authority of the Bible.
They deny the reality that Jesus is coming again.
They use the denial of both of those to encourage people to live in sin, to celebrate sin.
And so last week we looked at that question,
why should we believe that Jesus is coming again?
And we believe it because of the signs.
And we had four signs.
The first and foundational one is that we believe in the Bible.
We believe that God's Word is our ultimate authority.
It is the match that lights.
And that was our foundation for the other signs.
The sign that God created the world.
He's so powerful.
And so, of course, He's going to be able to come back again.
The sign that He judged the world at the time of Noah.
And so, of course, He's going to be able to judge the world again.
And then finally, the fourth sign that He is, in fact, coming back.
We turn again to that question this week.
And Peter is going to give us some new answers to that question.
Some people believe the answers last week were answers directed to the scoffers, the false teachers.
And that these answers this week are directed to Christians, people who believe in the Bible,
but still need assurance that Jesus is, in fact, returning to this world.
Now, I'll warn you as we come to this passage.
We're in chapter 3, by the way, starting at verse 8.
We have some heavy sledding ahead of us.
So, there's some big theological topics we're going to have to cover.
To make sure we don't get off track, we're going to have a strategy heading in.
And our strategy is this.
We're going to focus primarily on verses 8 and 9,
because those are the verses that answer our question about Jesus' return.
We are going to touch on verse 10.
I am not going to talk about it in detail,
not because we're going to avoid it,
but because we want to do it full justice next week.
So, we'll look carefully at verses 8 and 9, a little bit at verse 10.
I haven't completely decided yet,
but I think we're probably going to spend two weeks in 10 through 14,
first focusing on Jesus' return,
and then second focusing on our lives of holiness.
With that, as we turn now together to God's word,
we are in 2 Peter chapter 3, starting at verse 8,
and I invite you to turn with me.
You can turn in your worship guide, or in your Bible, or in your phone.
No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's word.
And Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5,
tells us that every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
And so, that's why we read now, starting at verse 8.
But do not overlook this one fact, beloved,
that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years,
and a thousand years as one day.
The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise,
as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,
not wishing that any should perish,
but that all should reach repentance.
Verse 10.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief,
and then the heavens will pass away with a roar,
and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved,
and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.
Our Father in heaven, we thank you again,
that you have given us your word as a gift,
that you are a good father,
and so you haven't left us alone as orphans in a merciless universe,
but instead you speak to us.
And so we simply ask this morning that you would do that,
you would speak to us in your word.
You'd speak us words of encouragement,
and you'd speak us words of challenge,
and most of all, you would remind us of the grace that you offer
in your Son and our Savior,
in whose name we pray, the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Growing up, I was a huge fan of the TV show The West Wing.
I grew up right outside Washington, D.C.,
and so I had a lot of exposure to politics,
and I loved the fun of the show,
the wonderful banter that they had,
and it was known for the camera angles,
the walk and talk that the show is famous for,
and of course now people look back to The West Wing with longing
because it was an idealistic show,
and it showed us what politics could potentially be,
and as our country becomes more and more divisive,
the world that The West Wing portrayed
seems farther and farther away.
If you're familiar with the show,
you know the character, Leo McGarry,
who for most of the show is the chief of staff to the president,
but when we get to season seven,
Leo actually has the chance to run for vice president,
and so as he's running,
he has a media consultant helping him to deal with the press,
and his consultant reminds him,
if you receive a question,
and you don't like the question,
one of your options is just to reject the premise of the question.
Just decide you disagree with everything they've assumed before they asked it.
And of course I could give you a few examples of that today.
I could walk up to you and I could ask you,
what did you eat for breakfast?
What's my premise?
My premise is that you ate breakfast.
You could tell me,
I didn't eat breakfast.
You've rejected the premise of my question.
I could ask you,
what is your favorite kind of bread?
My premise,
you eat bread.
You could tell me,
you know what,
I reject the premise of your question.
I'm gluten free.
That is what Peter does here for these people
as they ask about why Jesus has not come back.
Where is the promise of his coming?
Verses three and four,
Peter rejects the premise of his question.
Your premise is this,
it has been a long time since Jesus went up to heaven.
But you know what?
I reject the assumption that it's been a long time.
I reject your definition of long.
Why?
Because verse eight,
God has a different view and experience of time
than you do.
His relationship with time is very different.
Now this raises all kinds of philosophical,
theological questions about God and time.
We are not gonna resolve all of those this morning.
And in fact,
when we get to questions like this,
we are in very deep waters.
And so it's important that we're very careful
about the way we talk about it
and what we articulate.
We don't wanna say more than what the Bible says.
We don't wanna get ourselves tied up into knots
we can't untangle.
And so I'm gonna rely this morning on one theologian
who lists four different ways the Bible tells us
that God's relationship to time
is different than our relationship to time.
He tells us this,
God's relation to time is very different from our own.
For the biblical God transcends a number of limitations
associated with our experience of temporality.
Now I'm gonna give you all four.
You don't have to remember all of these
because this verse only focuses
on one of our differences with God.
First of all,
God does not experience what he calls
the limitation of beginning and end.
We have a beginning and an end,
God does not.
God does not experience the limitation of change.
As we experience time,
we change throughout it.
God does not.
God does not experience the limitation of ignorance.
God knows perfectly what to us are past,
present, and future,
seeing them in effect with equal vividness.
He does see all events laid out before him
as one can see an entire procession
from a high vantage point.
I'm gonna read that last part again.
He does see all events laid out before him
as one can see an entire procession
from a high vantage point.
So we get a sense of God's experience of time.
He can see past, present, and future all at once.
And then finally,
this is the difference we're talking about this morning,
the limitation of temporal frustration.
In other words,
as this theologian explains it,
things don't happen too quickly for God
and they don't happen too slowly for God.
They happen sometimes too quickly for us,
sometimes too slowly for us.
Everything happens perfectly for God
according to his plan.
And so we must recognize God as Lord in time
as well as Lord above time.
God's relationship to time is different than ours.
Peter rejects the premise of the question.
It has been a long time
only from your human, earthly perspective.
It has not been a long time
from God's perspective.
The point is this.
As we come to the Bible
with large and tough questions,
we have to remember
how finite and small and limited we are.
There are things that appear difficult
and challenging to us
because, as the Psalms tell us,
we are only dust.
And so we remember that
as we come up against
hard and difficult questions,
feeling like it has been too long
since Jesus left.
God and his purposes
are much greater than anything
we can understand and see.
He sees all of time.
We only see a portion.
And so it's this fact
that God is so much greater than us
that causes some of our frustrations.
The limitation is not God's but ours.
This is part of why we have trouble
talking about certain theological concepts.
Just think about this for a second.
The Bible doesn't answer
all of our questions.
And even when it does,
we have hard time understanding.
The Trinity, for example.
God is three persons in one.
Why is that so hard to understand?
Because there's nothing else
that we experience
that's three in one.
We don't have another point of reference.
Not because God is limited,
because we are limited.
So that's why all illustrations
about the Trinity fail.
The Trinity is not like an egg, okay?
The egg is not three in one.
There is no other thing
that is three persons in one,
so it's difficult for us to understand.
Eternity, challenging for us to understand.
Not because God is limited,
but because we are limited.
We have no frame of reference
for something that never ends
and doesn't have a beginning.
Why?
Because we have a beginning
and an end.
So the Bible does not tell us
everything that we want to know.
Even the things it tells us
are difficult to understand.
That is not God's fault.
God's purposes, His plan,
His designs are far greater
and more wonderful
than we can understand and imagine.
We have to remember
the greatness of God
and the smallness of man
when we come up
against questions like this.
Isaiah chapter 55
spells it out for us clearly.
God tells them,
My thoughts are not your thoughts.
Neither are your ways my ways,
declares the Lord.
For as the heavens
are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Deuteronomy 29, 29
tells us something similar.
It says,
The secret things belong to the Lord.
God doesn't choose
to reveal everything to us.
We shouldn't expect Him to, right?
You don't reveal everything
about yourself to everyone.
Why would you expect God
to be any different?
And so God is so great,
He has such a different perspective
on the world
that He does not see slowness
in the same way that we do.
Remember in the book of Job,
Job has all these complaints
against God,
and then in chapters 38 through 41,
God comes back
and in those three, four chapters,
He basically says,
I'm God, you're not.
Who do you think you are?
I am much higher than you are.
There are things
you cannot understand.
And so that's Peter's
first answer for us here
about why Jesus hasn't come back.
He says basically this,
You think it's been a long time.
From God's perspective,
it has not.
His ways are higher than your ways
as the heavens are above the earth.
Have some humility.
Now we could come back
at this point, right?
And we could say,
Okay, you've rejected
the premise of my question.
However you define slowness,
let's just take that word out,
there's still been
so many generations.
Let's talk in terms of generations, right?
So we won't argue about premises,
we'll just say a fact.
There's been a lot of generations
since Jesus has come.
Why has He taken
so many generations
to return?
This is where Peter
gives us our second answer.
It's not just that
God has a different relationship
with time.
He rejects the premise again
here in verse 9.
God is not slow,
He tells us,
but patient.
He's not slow,
He's patient.
And we see this
as a character of God
throughout the Bible.
It's often talked about
as His forbearance.
God takes a long time
before He brings judgment.
That is part of what it means
to be God.
God delays,
delays,
He waits
to give people
a chance to repent.
He waits
because He's patient.
It's not that He's inactive.
It's that His character
is such
that He wants people
to have a chance
to repent.
We're told this
both in the New Testament
and in the Old Testament.
In the New Testament,
in Romans chapter 2,
verse 4,
we're told this,
Do you presume
on the riches
of His kindness
and forbearance
and patience,
not knowing
that God's kindness
is meant to lead you
to repentance?
God is waiting
for Jesus to return
to allow people
to repent.
We're told this as well
in descriptions
of God's character
in the Old Testament.
Exodus 34,
verse 6,
tells us
that God passed
before Him
and proclaimed,
The Lord,
the Lord,
a God merciful
and gracious,
slow to anger
and abounding
in steadfast love
and faithfulness.
And if you were
with us last spring,
near the end,
you'll remember
that we went
through the book
of Jonah.
Jonah has a complaint
against God.
Chapter 4,
verse 2,
O Lord,
is not this
what I said
when I was yet
in my country?
That is why
I made haste
to flee to Tarshish,
for I knew
that you are
a gracious God
and merciful,
slow to anger,
abounding
in steadfast love
and relenting
from disaster.
Jonah was angry
with God
because he held
back his judgment
on Nineveh
to give them
time to repent.
Now,
we've talked also
a lot about
the story of Noah,
both in 1 Peter
and in 2 Peter.
Remember,
Noah spent years
and years
building the ark.
We found out
earlier in this book,
in chapter 2,
that he was a herald
of righteousness.
And so,
even as God
was bringing
the judgment
that we saw last week,
the judgment
of the flood,
he was slow
to anger.
He had forbearance.
He gave people
years to repent.
He was not slow,
he was patient.
And so,
once again,
Peter here
is rejecting
the premise
of the question.
Yes,
God brought judgment
in the days of Noah.
He was also patient.
He also waited.
He gave time
for people
to repent.
Now,
I told you
we had some
heavy sledding
theologically today.
One of them
is God's relationship
to time.
One of them
is this next portion
of verse 9,
which has caused
great controversy.
It tells us here
we're going to take
a little bit
of a detour here
to address this section.
Not wishing,
this is the end
of verse 9,
not wishing
that any should perish,
but that all
should reach repentance.
What do we do
with the fact
that we're told
that God wants
all to reach repentance?
And we know
that all
don't reach repentance.
Does God,
this is the question,
somehow lack power?
Is he somehow
unable to bring
about what he wishes?
And this is something
people have spilled
an enormous amount
of ink over
to try to resolve.
I'm going to explain
it to you this morning
what I hope
will make it simple,
which is by way
of an analogy,
because I think
what makes this difficult
is the fact
that it's related
to salvation.
salvation.
We understand
this intuitively,
actually,
when it comes
to other things
that God wishes.
So I want you
to think about
the Ten Commandments
with me.
We have the Sixth Commandment,
which is don't murder.
Does God wish
that no one
should murder?
Yeah, of course.
It's the Sixth Commandment.
He's commanded
don't murder.
Do people murder?
Yes, people sin.
We live in a sinful world.
People don't always
do what God commands.
No one's having
a debate about that.
We understand
that God commands
things on the one hand,
and people don't always
follow it on the other hand.
Take that understanding,
transfer it over
to salvation.
Jesus commands,
Mark chapter 1,
verse 15,
repent and believe
the gospel.
Not everyone repents
and believes the gospel.
Of course,
he wishes
that all repent.
That's his command.
He wishes
that all would repent
in the same way
that he's commanded
and wishes
there will be no murder.
It does not mean
that God lacks power.
It means
that God
has given commands,
and because of sin
in the world,
man often fails
to follow them.
God's commanded
people not murder,
people still murder.
God has commanded
everyone to repent,
not everyone repents.
And so it's not
a problem for us
that we're told
that God desires
everyone's salvation.
not wishing
that anyone
should perish.
In the same way,
he commands
no one should murder.
In the same way,
seventh commandment,
he commands
no one should
commit adultery.
In the same way,
the tenth commandment,
he commands
no one should covet.
This is how
the world works.
But when it comes
to salvation,
it becomes
this difficult issue.
We just need
to take our understanding
from everything else
in the world
when it comes
to God and his commands
and transfer it over.
That's something
I believe all sides
of this argument
can agree about, right?
We can all agree,
whether you're an Arminian
or a Calvinist,
whether you're a dispensationalist,
you believe in covenant theology,
you know how the world works.
You know God commands things.
Not everyone obeys them.
Same thing is going on here.
Okay?
That is our theological
heavy sledding for the day.
And I'll point out also
that Peter knows
this is true.
He's aware of this
when he says it
because he's already told us
multiple times
that God is going
to judge the wicked.
So he tells us
on the one hand
God wishes all
to be saved,
all to reach repentance,
and he knows
they're not going to.
So we see things
like 2 Peter 2, verse 1,
the false teachers
are bringing upon themselves
swift destruction.
They're not going to repent.
2 Peter 3, verse 7,
we know the day
of judgment is coming.
What will happen?
The destruction
of the ungodly.
This is often
what's talked about
in theology
as God's two wills.
He has his
variety of terms for it.
Some people call it
his decretive will
or his preceptive will,
what he's declared
like the Ten Commandments,
and his secret
or hidden will,
what he's actually
foreordained
to come to pass.
The purpose, however,
of all this
is not
that we would
untie theological knots
and have
a wonderful
intellectual exercise,
but instead
that we would know
God's heart.
God has not
yet returned,
not because
he is inactive,
but because
of his love.
God has not
returned
because,
as we're told
in Ezekiel chapter 18,
I have no pleasure
in the death
of anyone,
declares the Lord God.
So turn
and live.
you long,
Christian,
for people
and your family,
your friends
who don't know Christ
to come
and to know him.
How much
more
has Christ
suffered
for the sake
of the world?
How much
more
has he hurt
for people
to come to him?
He
is patient
because of his love.
It is not
that God
has forgotten
us,
that he does
not return,
quite the opposite.
We're told
in 2 Corinthians
chapter 5
that he was
working to
reconcile
the world
to himself.
His patience
is part
of that.
In fact,
I want you
to think about
it in this way.
If you're
a Christian,
God's patience
has been
undoubtedly
for us.
Think about,
thought experiment,
if Jesus
had returned,
when the
recipients
of this
letter
wanted him
to.
What would
that mean
for you?
You
would not
be in
God's
kingdom
if he
had
returned
in 75
AD.
God's
patience
is good
news for
you if
you're
a Christian.
His
patience
means that
he brought
you into
his kingdom.
And so,
it is good
news.
If you
are not
a Christian,
perhaps
God's
patience
is for
you.
His
patience
is giving
you time
to repent.
If you
do not,
you will
not be able
to say
you didn't
have time.
If you
do not,
you will
not be able
to say
that no
one told
you.
We've
talked about
this a lot
in previous
chapters because
this is a
theme in
2 Peter.
no one
knows the
day or
the hour
of the
coming of
our Lord.
And so,
the time
to repent
is now.
If you're
a Christian,
God's
patience is
for you.
It has
allowed you
to be part
of his
kingdom.
If you
are not
a Christian,
you need
to wonder
and think
and consider
is God's
patience
for you
now allowing
you still
time to
repent and
to turn to
Jesus Christ
in faith.
I said
this a
couple weeks
ago.
Some of
you are
hanging around
the edges
of the
church.
Some of
you are
nibbling
around the
edges of
Christianity.
God is
patient with
you.
He will
not be
patient
forever.
The time
to repent
is now.
The time
to commit
is now.
Not only
do we not
know the
day and
the hour
of the
coming of
our Lord
Jesus Christ,
we do
not know
the day
and the
hour of
our own
end.
Do not
take
advantage
of God's
patience.
Let his
patience be
for you
now.
His
patience,
it tells us
here very
clearly,
is so that
all should
reach repentance.
That means
that everyone
would turn
away from
their sins
confessing
that they
have no
hope outside
of Jesus
Christ and
resting and
relying upon
him alone
for salvation.
That is
what God's
patience is
waiting for
from you
if you
are not
a Christian.
Waiting
for you
to repent
and trust
on Christ.
That leads
us to
Peter's
final point
here.
Remember
that the
point of
this passage
is to
answer the
question,
why has
Jesus not
come back?
Peter ends
by reminding
us he
has not
come back,
but he
will.
Verse
10.
The day
of the
Lord
will come
like a
thief,
and then
the heavens
will pass
away with
a roar,
and the
heavenly bodies
will be
burned up
and dissolved,
and the
earth and
the works
that are
done on
it will
be exposed.
I told
you we're
not going
to focus
on everything
in verse
10,
but I
want to
highlight a
few things
for you
this morning.
First,
the main
point is
this,
Jesus is
coming back.
God may
be patient,
he's not
patient forever.
Jesus will
return to
this earth.
when he
does,
it will
be like a
thief in
the night.
He will
come when
you don't
expect him.
Not only
will he
come like
a thief in
the night,
but he's
going to
come,
verse 10,
on the
day of
the Lord.
Remember,
we've talked
about the
theology,
the meaning
behind the
day before
when we
were earlier
in 2 Peter.
The day
is an idea
in the Old
Testament,
in the New
Testament,
that refers
to when
God will
come back
to bring
both salvation
and judgment.
God is
patient,
he will
not be
patient
forever.
Jesus
will
return,
he is
coming
back,
he will
be like
a thief
in the
night,
we will
not know
or be
able to
predict,
we will
be surprised
by the
timing of
his second
coming.
And when
he does,
he will
be patient
no more,
he will
bring full
and final
judgment,
and he
will bring
full and
final salvation.
salvation.
And so,
do not
make the
mistake
that Paul
warns us
against in
Romans chapter
2.
Do you
not know
that God's
kindness
is meant
to lead
you to
repentance?
For the
Christian,
then,
the encouragement
from Peter
is this,
take heart,
God has
not forgotten
you.
It may
seem like
a long
time,
and Jesus
is coming
back.
For the
non-Christian,
repent,
because God
has not
forgotten
you,
and he
is coming
back.
Just
because it
is delayed
does not
mean it
will not
happen.
And so,
for the
Christian,
live as if
Jesus is
coming back.
That is
your great
hope.
That is
what our
eyes are
focused
towards.
For the
non-Christian,
he will
come like
a thief
at a
time you
do not
expect.
Remember,
we talked
earlier about
the danger
of knowledge.
One of the
dangers is
that we
would become
numb.
Don't
allow the
knowledge of
Jesus'
return to
make you
numb.
Instead,
make it
move you
towards
repentance.
When the
day comes
like a
thief,
will you
be saved
or destroyed?
When the
day comes,
like a
thief,
will you
be saved
or destroyed?
Remember,
every sin,
not all
sins.
Every sin
deserves
God's
wrath
and
punishment.
Jesus
shows us
that this
is God's
will.
We talked
about that
God wishes
not that
any should
perish.
church.
I told
you in
Mark 1,
verse 15,
he commands
that we
repent and
believe in
the gospel.
And then
Jesus also
tells us a
story about
a thief in
the night.
Peter is
taking these
words from
Jesus who
taught him.
And Jesus
tells us in
that same
way about
his second
coming.
I'm looking
now at
Matthew 24,
starting at
verse 36.
This will
sound very
familiar to
what we've
just looked
at at
2 Peter.
Concerning
that day
and hour,
no one
knows,
not even
the angels
of heaven
nor the
Son,
but the
Father
only.
By the
way,
at times
like this
in our
world,
people like
to ask
pastors if
the second
coming is
soon.
The
appropriate
response is
not even
Jesus knows.
Verse 37,
for as were
the days of
Noah,
so will be
the coming
of the
Son of
Man.
Jesus,
like Peter,
focuses on
Noah.
For as
in those
days before
they were
the flood,
they were
eating and
drinking,
marrying and
giving in
marriage,
until the
day when
Noah entered
the ark,
and they
were unaware
until the
flood came
and swept
them away,
so will be
the coming
of the
Son of
Man.
God was
patient in
the times
of Noah.
He brought
judgment in
the time
of Noah.
Then two
men will be
in the field,
one will be
taken and
one left.
Two women
will be
grinding at
the mill,
one will be
taken and
one left.
Therefore,
stay awake,
for you do
not know on
what day
your Lord is
coming.
But know
this, that if
the master of
the house had
known in what
part of the
night the
thief was
coming, he
would have
stayed awake
and would not
have let his
house be
broken into.
therefore,
verse 44,
you also must
be ready for
the Son of
Man is
coming at
an hour you
do not
expect.
Who then is
the faithful
and wise
servant whom
his master
has set over
his household
to give them
food at the
proper time?
What is that
servant whom
his master
will find so
doing when
he comes?
Truly I say
to you, he
will set him
over all his
possessions.
Now listen to
this, but if
that wicked
servant says
to himself,
my master
is delayed,
or it's
familiar for us,
right, from
2 Peter 3,
he's become
lulled into a
false sense of
security because
Jesus hasn't
come back yet.
My master is
delayed and
begins to beat
his fellow
servants and
eats and drinks
with drunkards.
The master of
that servant
will come on
a day when
he does not
expect him and
at an hour he
does not know
and will cut
him in pieces
and put him
with the
hypocrites.
In that
place there
will be
weeping and
gnashing of
teeth.
Why has
Jesus not
come back?
Christian,
Jesus has
not come back
so that you
could be a
part of his
kingdom.
If you are
not a
Christian, it
is God's
patience that
means that he
still offers
for you to
be a part
of his
kingdom.
Do not
let the
day and
the hour
surprise you
because it
will come
like a
thief in
the night.
Let's pray.
Our Father
in heaven,
we thank you
again for
your word,
even when it
speaks to us
words that
wake us up,
words that
are uncomfortable.
Ask for
these people
here that we
would be like
a wise and
faithful servant,
knowing that
your return
is sure,
and so that
we would live
in light of
that, live
looking forward
to your
coming, ready
for you to
return.
Father, ask
for those who
do not know
you, that you
would use your
patience this
morning to
bring them to
repentance, that
they would have
faith and trust
and hope in
Jesus Christ.
It's in his
name that we
ask these
things.
Amen.