Judgement Past and Future

We're continuing our series in the book of 2 Peter, and you'll remember that 2 Peter is a letter.

It's a letter written by a man named Peter, and he writes it to a church somewhere in the Roman Empire in the 60s AD.

Peter writes this letter with one desire.

He wants these people to grow.

We know that because he tells us at the very beginning and at the very end of the letter.

At the very beginning in chapter 1, verse 2, he tells them that he wants grace to be multiplied to them through knowledge.

Multiply, a way of talking about growing.

He ends the letter in the very last verse in chapter 3, verse 18, by commanding them,

grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

And so we see that his desire for growth has two components.

He wants them to grow in knowledge, and he wants them to grow in grace.

We have ended chapter 2, which was all about the false teachers.

And the false teachers helped us understand why it was that Peter cares so much about this.

The false teachers threaten the knowledge that they have because they're teaching things that are not true.

And they threaten the grace that they have because this false knowledge is leading to poor and sinful behavior.

We're now continuing on this morning.

We're going to begin chapter 3.

We are not completely done with the false teachers yet.

And we're going to come up this morning with one of their objections, one of the ways in which the false teachers threaten knowledge.

In fact, we're going to be addressing this question for the next two weeks.

The false teachers raise an issue in verses 3 and 4 of this chapter.

They ask a question, why has Jesus not come back yet?

And if Jesus has not come back yet, isn't that clearly proof that we don't need to worry?

Remember, one of the doctrines that's under attack is the idea that Jesus is coming back to judge the world.

That's part of how the false teachers are able to justify the sinful behavior that they promote.

It doesn't matter what you do because Jesus isn't coming back.

And so now we have this very specific objection.

Again, this is in verses 3 and 4.

They're going to say, verse 4,

Where is the promise of his coming?

For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.

In other words, nothing's changed.

Century after century rolls by.

Jesus still has not appeared.

Of course, then, your hope is false.

And so it's going to be this morning that we respond to that objection.

The first response next week will be the second response.

And we're going to see some of the same themes that we've seen before.

We are going to see the idea of Scripture as being important,

which we also saw in chapter 1, verses 19 through 21.

And the same thing we saw in chapter 1, verse 13,

the importance of being stirred up by way of a reminder.

And so our question is the same question as that of these false teachers.

Why should we believe that Jesus is coming back?

Why do we believe Jesus is coming back?

And there's a question underneath the question,

which is why in the world would we trust and believe the Bible?

Why in the world would we trust and believe the Bible?

We looked at a couple answers to that question in chapter 1.

We're going to look at another answer here in chapter 3.

And so it's with that that I invite you to turn with me to 2 Peter 3.

We'll be looking at verses 1 through 7.

You can turn in your phone, you can turn in your Bible,

or you can turn near the end of the worship guide.

No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word.

And God tells us in Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5,

Proverbs 30:5

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 1.

This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved.

In both of them, I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder

that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets

and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles,

knowing this, first of all,

that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing,

following their own sinful desires.

Verse 4.

They will say,

Where is the promise of His coming?

For ever since the fathers fell asleep,

all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.

For they deliberately overlook this fact,

that the heavens existed long ago,

and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the Word of God.

And that by means of these,

the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.

But by the same Word,

the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire,

being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.

Our Father in Heaven,

we thank You that You don't leave us alone in this world to flail about,

trying to discover what's true and what's false.

But instead, You speak to us clearly in Your Word,

and You tell us everything that we need to know.

You tell us what we need to know about our state,

that we are sinners in need of Your mercy.

And You also tell us what we need to know about Your grace,

that Jesus takes the punishment for the sins of those who have faith in Him.

We ask that You would do that this morning,

that You would open our eyes,

You'd unstop our ears,

that You would clear our minds,

and that You'd soften our hearts,

that we would be able to see and hear and understand and believe

everything that is written about You in Your Word.

We thank You that we don't have to earn these things,

but instead we simply ask them in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Amen.

If you were here with us in December,

when we were going through the book of Zechariah,

you'll remember at the very end,

in chapters 12 and 13,

I told you a little bit from the book,

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,

written by C.S. Lewis in the series,

The Chronicles of Narnia.

And you'll remember in that story,

King Caspian was on this search for the seven lost kings of Narnia.

And as he was on this search,

there was a boy named Eustace who joined him,

and I told you the story about how they landed on an island.

Eustace was turned into a dragon.

Aslan had to come and peel the dragon skin off of him.

Okay, so this is review.

Now, next book, chronologically in the series,

we have The Silver Chair.

In The Silver Chair, we meet Eustace again,

this boy who's reformed.

He's no longer the punk that he was in Voyage of the Dawn Treader,

but we also meet a new character named Jill.

And Jill and Eustace are given a new mission.

It's been years since the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

King Caspian is now old.

We find out that King Caspian had a son, Prince Rillian,

who has disappeared and been gone for 10 years.

And so Jill and Eustace have one mission.

Their job is to go back and find Prince Rillian.

They have to recover him.

How are they going to find the lost prince

since no one knows where he is?

Well, Aslan, the great lion, is the one who sends them.

And when Aslan sends them, he gives Jill instructions.

He gives her four signs that she has to remember,

four signs that will help her to find Prince Rillian.

These are the only things she has to operate by.

And so after Aslan has given her the signs,

he also gives her this exhortation, this warning.

He says this,

but first, remember, remember, remember the signs.

Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning

and when you lie down at night.

And when you wake in the middle of the night.

And whatever strange things may happen to you,

let nothing turn your mind from following the signs.

And secondly, I give you a warning.

Here on the mountain, I have spoken to you clearly.

I will not often do so down in Narnia.

Here on the mountain, the air is clear

and your mind is clear.

As you drop down into Narnia, the air will thicken.

Take great care that it does not confuse your mind.

And the signs which you have learned here

will not look at all as you expect them to look

when you meet them there.

That is why it is so important to know them by heart

and pay no attention to appearances.

Remember the signs and believe the signs.

Nothing else matters.

Remember the signs and believe the signs.

Nothing else matters.

That is similar to what Peter is telling these people

in this church here.

We have already seen this theme in 2 Peter 1, verse 13,

2 Peter 1:13

where he tells them,

I think it is right as long as I am in this body

to stir you up by way of reminder.

Now, chapter 3, two chapters later,

we see almost identical language in verse 1.

I am writing to you, beloved, in both of them.

I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder.

Why is reminder so important?

Why do they have to remember these things?

Well, we know in the silver chair

why the remembering is so important.

It's the only way they're going to find Prince Rilian.

If they don't remember, they will be lost.

Here, in 2 Peter 3, it's something similar.

Memory is so important

because it is their protection against the false teachers.

Remember I told you at the very beginning,

the false teachers are raising this objection to Christianity.

They're raising this objection to Jesus' return,

which is that he hasn't come back yet,

therefore he won't.

They are telling them something false.

We see this again.

This is verses 3 and 4,

that they give this false teaching.

They ask this question, especially in verse 4.

They will say, where is the promise of his coming?

In other words, why hasn't Jesus returned?

For all things are continuing as they were

from the beginning of creation.

Nothing's changed.

The earth continues to move around the sun.

Rulers continue to come and go.

Companies continue to rise and fall.

Families continue to give birth and to die.

Nothing is changing.

Of course Jesus isn't coming back.

And we're told what their problem is in verse 5.

For they deliberately overlook this fact.

Why is it so important to remember?

Because that's the opposite of what the false teachers are doing here.

They are deliberately overlooking the things that they know.

And so their protection here,

the protection of these people receiving this letter,

is that they would remember.

That they would be the opposite of the false teachers.

They would hold fast to what is true.

We've talked about this fact before,

that when we look at this letter,

our situation is not the same as their situation.

They were dealing with false teachers in their midst

who were refuting Jesus' second coming.

Our situation is not the same

because I am not aware of anyone in this church

who is actively functioning as a false teacher

and telling people at Cheyenne Mountain

that Jesus is not coming back.

And so what do we do when we find ourselves

in a different situation than those of the original audience?

When they are given a negative,

that doesn't apply to us.

Remember the principle,

the application principle that we got before.

We look for the positive and we embrace it.

False teachers are forgetting.

We remember.

And so we hold fast to these things

that the false teachers are deliberately overlooking.

We are going to have,

remember I told you that Aslan gives Jill four signs.

It just so happens we are going to have in this passage

four signs as well.

Four things that these people need to remember

to protect themselves

from what the false teachers are telling them.

To know that although he has not yet,

Jesus will indeed come back.

So our first sign here is actually going to be

the foundation of all the other signs.

It encompasses all the others.

And we find it here in verse two.

At the very end of verse one,

we're told he's stirring up your sincere mind

by way of reminder, verse two,

that you should remember.

So we're told the first thing he wants to stir up in them,

they should remember the predictions

of the holy prophets

and the commandment of the Lord and Savior

through your apostles.

Now, this is a way of talking about

what we would now refer to as the Bible.

In verse two here,

the predictions of the holy prophets,

that's a reference to what we would call

the Old Testament.

So that we remember God's teachings

in the Old Testament.

Remember the New Testament

has not been fully formed at this point.

But we understand what he means here

by the commandment of the Lord and Savior

through your apostles.

That is, there are apostles

who are communicating what Jesus taught.

So that would be what we now refer to

as the New Testament.

You are to remember the Old Testament

and the New Testament.

That is your first sign.

That is the first thing that you have to hold onto.

This is the keystone to everything

that's going to come after in the letter,

the next three signs.

And so the question that rises at this point is,

do we trust the Bible or not?

Whatever happens, whatever comes,

do we believe that it's the word of God?

The second question would be this,

not just do we trust it,

do we know it?

Do we know it or not?

And that raises another question

that I want to discuss for a little bit,

which is this,

why do we trust the Bible?

Why is it?

It's that it's something

that we have confidence in,

that we believe in.

We saw a couple reasons

when we were in chapter one.

And one of the reasons,

the first reason I told you

we trust the Bible

is because of eyewitnesses.

Peter talked about,

remember this is,

I believe verses 19 through 21

of chapter one,

these are the things we saw.

He saw them.

He witnessed them.

Remember I told you

that the book of Luke,

the gospel of Luke,

begins by talking about eyewitnesses.

The second reason,

if you can go back

all the way to chapter one,

was not just eyewitnesses,

but fulfilled prophecy.

We have seen

that what the Bible says

would happen has come true.

And ultimately,

we've seen that in Jesus Christ.

And so those are two reasons

we trust the Bible.

I'm going to give you now

a problem with those reasons.

Those are good reasons.

They're just not the ultimate reason

we trust the Bible.

And I want you to think about that

with me for a second.

If we have to appeal

to another authority

to say that the Bible is true,

we're actually saying

that that authority

is the ultimate authority.

If eyewitnesses

are what make the Bible true,

ultimately,

then really we trust eyewitnesses.

We don't trust the Bible.

So eyewitnesses are good.

They're just not

our ultimate authority.

In fact, as Christians,

we believe that the Bible

is our ultimate authority,

which means that we can't

subordinate it to anything else.

We don't subordinate it

to eyewitnesses.

We don't subordinate it

to fulfilled prophecy.

Those things are good.

They are means that God uses

to give us confidence.

They are not

our ultimate authority.

The Bible actually

establishes itself

as our ultimate authority.

That, however,

raises some other questions,

some other problems.

Is not this

circular reasoning?

In other words,

isn't this a logical fallacy

to say the Bible

is our ultimate authority

because the Bible

is our ultimate authority?

Well, if we leave it at that,

we might fall into that.

However,

we have to consider

a few other things.

First of all,

we have to have

some sort of ultimate authority.

Everyone has

an ultimate authority.

By its very logic,

by its very definition,

there's nothing higher

that you can appeal to

than an ultimate authority.

We cannot escape,

in other words,

the fact that there's

going to be some type

of circularity there.

And so everyone in the world

has to choose

their ultimate authority.

Right now in our culture,

we're being told

that our ultimate authority

are our feelings

and our emotions.

There's nothing

that we can do

to disprove that.

There's nothing higher

to appeal to, right?

I can just state

this is the way I feel,

therefore,

it's true.

Everyone,

in other words,

rests in some way

on absolute faith.

You can't escape faith.

Everyone has it.

Even logic and reason

have to rest on things

you can't prove.

And so that's part

of our answer

to the objection

of circular reasoning here.

We have the Bible

as an ultimate,

absolute authority.

Everyone has an ultimate

and absolute authority.

And so at some level,

every absolute authority

has to authenticate itself.

And it has to be

self-authenticating.

It can't rely

on other things

to verify it.

This is the way

people talk in our culture,

by the way.

They don't think

that they need to say

anything else

other than I feel this way,

right?

That authenticates itself.

The discussion

is over at this point.

We talked about that

a couple weeks ago.

And so really,

the question is this.

If we all have

ultimate and absolute

authorities,

that there is

no higher appeal

than which absolute

authority do we trust?

And why is the Bible

the one that we choose?

Because think about it.

There's all kinds of claims

to be absolute authority.

There are other religions

that claim to have

absolute authority.

There are other religious books

that claim to have

absolute authority.

Is it not then,

the objection will be

somehow arbitrary

that we've happened

to choose the Bible

over these others?

Did we just throw a dart

against the wall

and it happened

to hit the Bible?

The answer is no.

And we could go

for several hours

on epistemology

and philosophy,

but I'll explain it

to you simply like this.

I want you to imagine

that you have

a variety of boxes

of match boxes.

Each box says

that it contains

matches in it.

Okay?

So that's a claim.

Let's say that's similar

to the claim

of absolute authority.

Now it's helpful

that the box says

it has matches in it.

That gives us

some guidance.

That's worth something.

It's not worth everything.

Can the match box

authenticate itself?

In other words,

if I strike it,

will it light?

The Quran claims

to be a word

from God.

It's like a box

on the outside

that says it has matches.

Can it deliver

on that claim?

The Book of Mormon

claims to be a word

from God.

Can it deliver

on that claim?

How do I know?

I have to strike

the match.

So when we come

against the claim

that something is true,

it's not just the claim

that matters.

It matters whether

it can back it up.

So if I'm striking

and nothing lights,

it doesn't matter

what it says

on the outside.

If, however,

I strike it

and it does light,

that match

has authenticated

itself.

It needs

no other source.

It has shown

by its very action,

its character

and its quality

that it is a match

with power.

Brothers and sisters,

we believe

in the Bible

as our absolute

authority

because when we

strike it,

it lights.

And when we

strike other claims

to have authority,

we find

that they fail.

And so it is not

that we are people

who have blind faith.

And it is not

simply that God's

word claims

to be from him,

although it does

and that matters.

but because it also

delivers on that claim.

It authenticates

itself.

The match

shows itself

to be a true match.

It needs

nothing else.

God's word

shows itself

to be

from him.

It needs

nothing else.

God's word

is enough.

It is an absolute

authority

and so it appeals

to nothing else.

It shows

itself

to be true.

Many books

claim to speak

for God.

Only the Bible

goes into flame

when we strike it.

If you are not

a Christian,

you doubt

whether the Bible

is true or not.

Strike the match.

Test it.

Francis Schaeffer

said,

as I've quoted

many times,

that the Bible

fits the hand

of reality

like a glove.

And so

what is

the flame

that the Bible

gives us?

Well,

it says

what it does,

what it says

it will do.

The match

box says there

matches,

the matches

light up.

It delivers

on its promises

and so its promises

are things like these.

Hebrews chapter 4

Hebrews 4:12

verse 12,

the word of God

is living and active,

sharper than any

two-edged sword,

piercing to the division

of soul and of spirit,

of joints and of

marrow,

and discerning

the thoughts

and intentions

of the heart.

The Bible pierces

to the deepest level

of people's hearts.

If you're a Christian,

you've experienced

that and you know

that.

You have seen

the match light.

We're told

in Psalm 119

that the Bible

is a lamp

to our feet

and a light

to our path.

It has delivered

on that promise.

If you're a Christian,

you know

that it has protected

your path

and it has shown

you the way to go.

I said at the very

beginning of this sermon

that Proverbs

Proverbs 30:5

chapter 30

verse 5

tells us

that every word

of God

proves true.

He is a shield

to those who

take refuge in him.

If you're a Christian,

you know

that is true.

We're told in Psalm 19

that the Bible

is more precious

than gold,

even fine gold.

And it is sweeter

than honey,

even the honey

that comes

straight from

the honeycomb.

the Bible

does what it says

it will do.

It is not just

a matchbook

because there are

many boxes

of matches

in this world,

but the matches

actually light.

Why do Jill

and Eustace

trust the signs?

Why do they believe them?

They believe them

because they trust

Aslan.

Aslan has done

what he said

he would do.

Remember,

he is the one

who freed Eustace

from the dragon skin.

He is the one

who has demonstrated

his power.

And so,

of course,

he is to be trusted.

Brothers and sisters,

the same is true

for us.

We have seen

God's power

through his word

authenticating it

as our ultimate

and absolute authority.

And so,

we also trust

what he tells us.

Other religious texts

claim to be from God.

The Bible

actually delivers.

And so,

there is no

higher authority

to which

to appeal.

Our first sign

then is this.

What are we to remember?

Verse 2.

The predictions

of the holy prophets

and the commandment

of the Lord

and Savior

through your apostles.

That is the foundation

that every other sign

rests on.

Nothing else

that I'm going to say

or Peter is going to say

here in this section

really matters

until we've decided

whether we believe

the Bible or not.

If we do,

then we have

three other signs

that help us

understand

why it is

that Jesus

is indeed

coming back

even though

he has not yet.

so our first sign

was this.

Our first sign

is to remember

the scriptures.

We have our second sign,

however,

in verse 5.

What is it

the false teachers

deliberately overlook?

They overlook

that the heavens

existed long ago

and the earth

was formed

out of water

and through water

by the word of God.

They overlook

that God

was so powerful

that he created

the heavens

and the earth

out of nothing.

That's how

powerful

God is.

He made the world.

Why do we believe

that Jesus

is coming back?

Well,

in part

because God

has that kind

of power.

And so that is

that simple

explains itself.

Of course

he's able to do that.

He made the world.

What can he not do?

How do we know

he made the world

through his word?

Because his ultimate

authority,

the Bible,

tells us.

That's sign 2.

Sign 3,

verse 6.

God didn't just

create the world

and by means

of these,

the world

that then existed

was deluged

with water

and perished.

Okay,

God created the world.

Guess what he also did?

Genesis chapter 6

Genesis 6 · chapter mention

through 9.

God destroyed the world

in a flood.

And he destroyed

the world

in a flood

as part of his

judgment on man

because of his

sinfulness.

So,

why do we believe

that Jesus

is coming back

again

to bring judgment

to the world

and salvation

to the righteous?

Well,

first of all,

he's that kind of God.

He's powerful enough,

right?

He created the world.

Second of all,

guess what?

He's done it before.

It's not just

that he's powerful

enough to create the world,

he's powerful enough

to judge the world.

He's demonstrated that.

He's also demonstrated

that he's willing

to do it.

God's not afraid

of judgment.

He doesn't shy

away from it.

In fact,

he brought it.

He's already done it.

He has demonstrated

his ability

and his willingness

to judge.

God created the world.

He's that powerful.

God judged the world.

He's also that powerful.

So,

that's sign 1,

sign 2,

and sign 3.

Sign 4,

verse 7.

Right now,

we're focusing

on things

that have happened

in the past.

Sign 4,

and verse 7,

tells us what's going

to happen in the future.

God judged the world

then by water,

verse 7,

but by the same word.

By the way,

notice the emphasis

on word here

throughout.

We're told in verse 5,

everything was formed

by the word of God.

In verse 6,

by means of these,

the world was alluished.

And then 7,

by the same word,

the same power,

in other words.

God's proved

his power in the past

by his word.

What's he going to do

with his word

in the future?

Well,

that heavens and the earth

that now exist

are stored up

for fire,

being kept

until the day

of judgment

and destruction

of the ungodly.

How do we know

that Jesus

is coming back

even though

he has not yet?

Because he's told us.

He's told us

and we trust him.

We trust him

because his word

is our ultimate authority

and we trust him

because he's demonstrated

his power

in the past

and so we should

have no doubt

that he will demonstrate

it in the future.

In fact,

John tells us about this

in John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

He gives us a picture

of what this is going

to look like.

Jesus is going

to come back.

He's going to judge

the world.

We're told at the very end,

John chapter 5,

John 5:28

verses 28 and 29.

He's going to be

the righteous

who are going

to go to be with Jesus.

He's going to be

the unrighteous

who are raised

to judgment.

There's going to be

two places

where people go

at the end of the world.

Salvation,

judgment.

It's the same thing

that we're told here.

God judged the world

in the past

through water.

He is going to judge it

in the future

by fire.

And when

that judgment happens,

there will be,

end of verse 7,

the destruction

of the ungodly.

And so,

the question

that this passage

leaves us with

is this,

will you be destroyed

or saved?

There are

only two options.

This is similar

to what we looked at,

identical to what we looked at

in our confession

of faith this morning.

Will you be destroyed

or will you be saved?

Those who are saved

are those who have

repented of their sins

and they have faith

in Jesus Christ.

They recognize

that they have no hope

outside of God's mercy

that he's expressed

through Christ.

That when Christ came

and lived as a man

in this world,

he lived the perfect life

that we should have lived

and he credits that

to our account.

He died the death

that we should have died

and he took the punishment

that we deserve.

Those that have faith

and follow after Jesus

in that

will be saved.

Those that do not

will face,

verse 7,

the day of judgment

and the destruction

of the ungodly.

In other words,

as I said earlier this morning,

hell is a real place

people are going there.

Heaven is a real place

people are going there.

The question is this,

which one will you be?

The application of this passage

for Christians

is this,

remember.

Take hope

in the authority

of the Bible.

Take hope

in what God

has done

in the past.

The application

for non-Christians

is this,

not remember

but repent.

Tremble

because of the authority

of the Bible.

it is a more

solid

and firm

ultimate authority

than anything else

to which you can turn

and you cannot

escape faith.

Everyone has faith

in something.

The question is

whether the object

of your faith

will deliver

or not.

So we know

that Jesus

is coming back

even though

he has

not yet.

How is it

that we remember?

Jesus tells us

in John chapter 10

John 10 · chapter mention

he says,

my sheep

hear my voice

and I know them

and they follow me.

I give them

eternal life

and they will

never perish

and no one

will snatch them

out of my hand.

Jesus tells us

that his sheep

will hear his voice.

How is it

that we know

ultimately

and recognize

that the Bible

is our ultimate authority?

It's because

Jesus' sheep

know what he sounds like.

And John

goes on to tell us

after that passage

in John chapter 10

John 10 · chapter mention

tells us in John

John 14 · chapter mention

chapter 14

that Jesus

is going to send

the Holy Spirit

and then in John 16

he makes this radical statement

Jesus does.

He says it's better

that Jesus would leave

so that we could have

the Holy Spirit.

Why?

There's a lot of reasons.

One of them is

it's the Holy Spirit

that allows us

to hear

the shepherd's voice.

1 Corinthians chapter 2

1 Corinthians 2 · chapter mention

says it's the Holy Spirit

that allows Christians

to understand the Bible.

He uses this phrase

helping those who are spiritual

understand spiritual things.

In other words

those who have the Holy Spirit

can understand

what God's saying.

For those without it

it is nonsense to them.

That's essentially

what Paul says

1 Corinthians 2

is about

verses 10 through 16.

And so it is not

that we are great people

who know how to listen

but it is that

we have a great God

who knows how to speak.

and he knows

how to speak

to his sheep.

He sends his spirit

that they would know

and recognize his voice.

In other words

it is by God's spirit

that we're able

to see

the match

light.

If you're familiar

with the story

of the silver chair

you know

that Jill

does a great job

at the very beginning

of the book

remembering

the signs.

And then she begins

to forget.

She forgets

to review them

and repeat them

to herself.

And so she gets

confused at times.

She believes

that she misses

some signs.

She doesn't heed

Aslan's warning

to constantly

be repeating it

to herself.

But as you look

back over the book

you see

that despite

Jill's

imperfections

and mistakes

Aslan is still

guiding them.

They still end up

where they need

to be

and it is

the fourth sign

that she does

not miss.

The fourth sign

is that they will

know they have

found the prince

that they're looking

for,

the lost prince

because he is

the first one

who will ask

them to do

something

in Aslan's

name.

When it matters

most,

they trust

the word

of Aslan

despite

all appearances.

Brothers and

sisters,

God has

commanded us

to remember

what he has

told us

in his word.

We will

not do it

perfectly.

But our

faith and

hope and

trust is

not in us

as the sheep

but in

Jesus as

our shepherd

who speaks

to us

and gives

us his

spirit so

that we

hear and

know and

understand.

What is

important,

what matters

is that we

recognize and

know and

follow the

name of

our Lord

and Savior

Jesus Christ.

Why should

we believe

and trust

that Jesus

is coming

back again

to judge

the earth?

We trust

it because

of this.

my sheep

hear my

voice and

I know

them and

they follow

me.

I give

them eternal

life and

they will

never perish

and no one

will snatch

them out of

my hand.

Let's pray.

Our Father in

heaven, we

thank you that

you are our

good shepherd

and our hope

is in you

and your

voice,

not in our

abilities as

sheep.

we ask that

you would

use your

word to

give us

tremendous

faith and

hope and

trust and

confidence in

you that we

would believe

what you have

told us and

we would

remember it

no matter

what.

We praise

you that we

don't have to

stir this up

in ourselves.

We don't have

to work these

things in our

hearts because

we know that

you are the

gardener who's

at work.

We ask that

you would do

it, that you

would do that

work in us

and that you

would conform us

more and more

into the image

of your son.

We once

again praise

you that we

don't have to

earn these

things but

instead we

ask them in

the mighty

name of

Jesus Christ.

Amen.