Sinking Ship. Patient Saviour

Well, this morning we're continuing on with our series,

All kinds of Prayer for All kinds of People.

Last Sunday, we talked specifically about praying for one another,

praying for our church.

This morning, we're going to turn our focus outward

and talk about how do we pray for unbelievers,

people who don't believe in Jesus.

Hopefully, you have some of those people in your life.

Most of us do.

What is God's will for the unbelievers in our lives?

We've talked a little bit about this already in this series so far,

and I think we all probably know the right answer.

God desires for all people to be saved.

But I think we wrestle with that at times.

We pray for people in our lives who don't know Christ

that they would be saved.

And we wait, and we pray some more, and we wait.

And sometimes we wonder, or start to wonder,

does God really desire to save all people?

If He does, why hasn't He saved the person that I'm praying for?

And so, we're going to dig into this a little bit this morning.

And we're going to try to anchor our thinking and our praying clearly

in the truth of God's Word.

And so, we're going to begin with the Apostle Peter in 2 Peter 3.

2 Peter 3.

If you have your Bibles, please open them up.

Beginning in verse 3.

Above all, you must understand that in the last day,

scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires.

They will say,

Where is this coming, He promised?

Ever since our ancestors died,

everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.

Peter tells us that

there will be people who mock us

for believing in Jesus.

There will be people who mock

the promise that Christ has given us,

that He is coming back.

It's been a long time.

Where is He?

Things just seem to keep going on and on,

just as they always have.

Where is He?

I'll tell you where He is.

Jesus is just the stuff of myth and legend.

That's why He's not coming.

That's why we haven't seen or heard from Him.

All of this stuff in the Bible,

that was just made up by people.

It's a crutch for the hopeless and the weak

to lean on to help them get through life.

But,

says Peter,

verse 5,

they deliberately forget

that long ago,

by God's word,

the heavens came into being

and the earth was formed out of water

and by water.

By these waters also,

the world of that time was deluged and destroyed.

By the same word,

the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire,

being kept for the day of judgment

and destruction of the ungodly.

Peter says,

they deliberately forget.

What does that mean?

Typically,

when we forget,

it's accidental.

It's unintentional.

We'd probably be happy most times

to remember everything.

Peter is talking about a different kind of forgetting here.

He says,

they deliberately forget.

There are people alive on our planet today

who don't know the truth about how the world began.

And the reason for it,

says Peter,

is because somewhere along the way,

their ancestors made a choice

to deliberately forget.

they knew the truth

and they made a choice

to cover it up,

to hide it.

We tend to do that,

especially when it comes to

things that show where we are at fault.

There's something in human history

that we're ashamed of

that looks bad,

that makes us look bad.

And if we just stop talking about it,

then hopefully in generations to come,

they'll completely forget about it.

In each generation,

God's people have proclaimed His word,

the truth that God created the world.

Jesus is the Messiah.

He is the one that we need.

And in every generation,

a new generation,

rises up to play their part

in deliberately forgetting.

Paul calls this

suppressing the truth

in unrighteousness.

Scoffing and mocking is difficult.

We don't want that.

But,

if I understand Jesus and the apostles,

there will be a time in the future

when it gets even worse

for those of us who believe.

Peter gives us a word of encouragement

for when that happens.

And for those moments,

he says this in verse 8,

but do not forget this one thing.

Dear friends,

with the Lord,

a day is like a thousand years.

And a thousand years is like a day.

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise.

As some understand slowness.

Instead,

He is patient with you,

not wanting anyone to perish,

but everyone to come to repentance.

We tend to measure the passage of time

by the span of our lives

or the span of human history.

But God's sense on how time is passing

is different than ours.

He's eternal.

He has always existed.

It's only been a couple days

by His sense of things

since Christ was first here.

And when Jesus comes back,

He will be right on time.

But we are not good at waiting.

We are not good when it comes to patience.

We get impatient

even when the website

takes a few seconds longer to load.

And as the persecution

and scoffing and mocking

gets even worse,

as we see that it may,

we may even come to the place

where we also are saying,

God, where is the coming

that you promised?

How long do we have to wait?

It's been 2,000 years already.

Why the delay?

Peter says,

listen,

the reason why Christ

doesn't come back yet

is not because

He's procrastinating.

It's not because

He's thinking,

oh,

yeah,

one of these days

I've got to go back

and deal with earth,

finish what I started there,

keep my promises.

He says,

no,

it's not procrastination,

it's because He is patient.

He is waiting for something,

says Peter.

Waiting for what?

He is waiting for more people

to be saved.

our world

is on a ship

that is sinking

towards judgment,

towards destruction.

And here we are

as believers

in the lifeboat.

We're safe

and we're saying,

come on, God,

let's get out of here already.

Let's go home.

Get us back to land.

And God is saying,

no,

not yet.

There are more people

yet to be saved.

In our impatience,

we just want to hit

the red button

and we've got lots

of people in the boat.

Let's go.

But the truth is

that the Lord

desires to save people

even more than we do.

He is committed

to saving people

even more

than we are.

Peter kind of summarizes

this truth

in verse 15.

He says this,

bear in mind

then

that

our Lord's patience

means

salvation.

That more people

will be saved.

Just as our dear

brother Paul

also wrote you

with the wisdom

that God gave him.

We already looked

a little bit

at what

Paul said

in his letter

to Timothy.

That's where we

started this series.

I want you to pray

all kinds of prayers

for all kinds of people.

Why?

For this is good

and pleases God,

our Savior,

who wants all people

to be saved

and to come

to a knowledge

of the truth.

Amen.

it's crystal clear.

The Lord's heart,

His desire

is that all

would be saved.

And so we can pray

with confidence

for the salvation

of people

in our lives

who don't believe.

If God

has clearly said

it is my

will

that

everyone

be saved,

then we can pray

with confidence

that God

would save

the people

in our lives

who don't believe.

Period.

In fact,

Paul actually

prays

for the salvation

of other people.

If you have

your Bibles with you,

turn to Romans

Romans 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10.

Romans chapter 10

Romans 10:1

verse 1.

Verse 1.

Paul says this,

Brothers and sisters,

my heart's desire

and prayer

to God

for the Israelites

is that they

may be saved.

He's been praying

for his fellow

Jewish people

that God

would save them

literally

for their salvation.

If Paul

prays that way,

so should we

with confidence.

Even

if it seems

like we've been

praying for years

and the answer

has not come.

Part of me

wants to end

the sermon there.

That's

kind of

the definitive

word,

the place

that we

need to come down on

when it comes

to the unbelievers

in our lives.

We should be

praying for God

to save them,

asking God

to save them.

That's his will.

But I know

that

we all have

that question

kind of rumbling

around somewhere

inside of us.

If God's desire

is to save

everyone,

why doesn't he?

why doesn't he

just do it?

God's desire

with the rest

of us

this morning

I'm going

to do my

best to

answer that

or to

point us

to the

answer

of that

question.

we start

with the

simple truth

that

not everyone

is saved.

Even though

God desires

to save,

that everyone

be saved,

not everyone

is saved.

There are some

people who believe

that everybody

will be saved.

They're called

Christian

universalists.

They believe

that at the

end,

ultimately,

Jesus is

going to

somehow

bring all

of humanity

into the

fold.

And everybody

will be

restored to

a right

relationship

with God.

And part

of the reason

they believe

that is

because

they just

how can

God be

loving

and yet

allow some

to perish?

They wrestle

with that.

And so

that's kind

of the

conclusion

that they've

come to.

The problem

with that

is that

it's not

what Jesus

taught.

Jesus

said this.

He said,

enter through

the narrow

gate,

for wide

is the gate

and broad

is the road

that leads

to destruction

and many

enter through

it.

But small

is the gate

and narrow

the road

that leads

to life

and only

a few

find it.

There is

another occasion

which Luke

records in his

gospel,

Luke chapter

Luke 13:23

13,

verse 23.

He was

asked,

Lord,

are only

a few

people going

to be

saved?

The question

doesn't really

get any

clearer than

that.

And Jesus'

answer was,

make every

effort to

enter through

the narrow

door because

many, I tell

you, will try

to enter and

will not be

able to.

And then he

goes on to

talk about how

there will

come a time

where it's

too late

and people

will be

turned away

from the

door.

The time

is up

and they

will be

sent away

into

everlasting

punishment.

the truth

that Jesus

taught is

clear.

Not

everyone will

be saved.

In fact,

relative to

the number

of people

that there

are in

our world,

only a few

will be

saved.

Many

will perish.

Should that

stop us

from praying

for God

to save

certain people?

Absolutely

not.

It didn't

stop Paul

from praying

for the

salvation of

people.

In fact,

if we go

back to

Romans 10,

right after

he tells us

that he

prays for

the salvation

of his

fellow

Jewish

people.

Not right

after,

but soon

after.

In chapter

11,

verse 25,

he says

this,

I do not

want you

to be

ignorant

of this

mystery,

brothers and

sisters,

so that

you may

not be

conceited.

Israel

has

experienced

a hardening

in part

until the

full number

of the

Gentiles

has come

in.

The

implications

of that

are

God

has

some

kind

of

a

plan

here.

He

has

a

number

of

people

that

he

desires

to

save

from

among

those

who

are

not

Jewish.

And

until

that

happens,

the

Jewish

people

are

going

through

a

hardening.

And

yet,

Paul

still

prays

for their

salvation.

God

has

to

be

to

God

to

God

to

God

can

keep

his

promise

when

it

looks

like

all

of

his

people

have

rejected

him,

mainly

the

Jews.

And

he

says

that

even

while

many

have

rejected,

there

is

still

a

remnant.

In

11,

verse 5,

he says,

so too

at the

present

time,

there

is a

remnant

chosen

by

grace.

There

are

some

who

have

believed

and

accepted

Jesus

as their

Messiah

from

among

the

Jewish

people

and

the

rest

have

been

hardened.

That

doesn't

stop

Paul

for

praying

that

God

would

save,

even

though

he

knew

that

it

wasn't

in

God's

plan

that

every

single

person

that

he

prayed

for

necessarily

would

be.

How

did

Paul

pray

for

the

salvation

of

other

people

I

want

you

to

look

for

a

minute

at

Romans

Romans 9:1

9

verse

1

this

really

moved

me

he

says

this

I

speak

the

truth

in

Christ

I

am

not

lying

my

conscience

confirms

it

through

the

Holy

Spirit

I

have

great

sorrow

and

unceasing

anguish

in my

heart

for

I

could

wish

that

I

myself

were

cursed

and

cut

off

from

Christ

for

the

sake

of

my

people

those

of

my

own

race

the

people

of

Israel

if

I

could

he

says

I

would

trade

my

own

salvation

my

own

place

in

the

life

boat

for

all

of

theirs

if

I

could

I

would

give

up

my

own

place

in

the

kingdom

of

Christ

for

all

of

theirs

that's

the

heart

and

the

attitude

of

Paul

as

he

prays

and

asks

God

to

save

his

fellow

Jewish

people

the

Jewish

people

he

knows

in

his

life

which

brings

us

back

to

that

question

if

God

desires

to

save

everyone

why

doesn't

he

why

doesn't

he

this

is a

difficult

question

and

the

answer

of

some

is that

the

reason

that

he

doesn't

is

because

in

some

sense

he

is

not

able

to

it's

up

to

the

individuals

to

choose

think

of

Jesus

on

the

life

boat

throwing

the

rope

out

to

the

people

that

are

sinking

on

the

ship

it's

up

to

them

to

grab

onto

the

rope

if

God

was

to

to

to

make

them

or

to

do

that

for

them

it

would

undermine

their

their

freedom

their

choices

would

no

longer

be

real

their

love

would

not

be

genuine

because

they

were

made

to

do

that

kind of

reduces

them

to

robots

some

have

said

God

is

a

gentleman

he

doesn't

force

anyone

to

do

anything

but

this

line

of

thinking

has

some

pretty

serious

implications

especially

when it

comes

to

praying

for

people's

salvation

what

is it

that

you

are

asking

God

to

do

when

you

ask

him

to

save

someone

if

you're

not

asking

God

to

intervene

in

that

person's

life

and

prevent

them

from

making

a

terrible

mistake

a

horrible

decision

if

you're

not

asking

God

to

change

their

heart

and

whatever

it

takes

to

pull

them

away

from

that

choice

that

they

would

make

then

what

are

you

asking

God

to

do

for

them

when

you

pray

for

their

salvation

in

all

my

years

of

being

a

Christian

I

have

almost

never

heard

anybody

pray

for

a

person

to

be

saved

like

this

father

in

heaven

I

pray

that

you

would

make

the

conditions

right

and

favorable

so

that

so

and

so

would

come

to

a

place

where

they

can

make

the

choice

to

believe

in

you

but

at

the

end

of

the

day

I

know

that

whether

they

are

saved

is

not

up

to

you

Lord

it's

up

to

them

and

so

at

least

make

the

conditions

right

so

that

it's

clear

in

their

minds

just

who

they

are

either

accepting

or

rejecting

but

thank

you

that

you

have

given

them

true

freedom

to

choose

between

eternal

life

and

eternal

punishment

I've

never

heard

anybody

pray

that

and

I

think

part

of

the

reason

is

because

nobody

deep

down

inside

really

believes

that

that's

how

it

is

between

God

and

us

this

picture

of us

on the

lifeboat

with

Jesus

throwing

out

the

rope

is

not

really

the

picture

of

the

New

Testament

the

picture

in the

New

Testament

that

we

get

of

salvation

is

Jesus

gets

out

of the

lifeboat

swims

onto

the

ship

sees

us

there

unconscious

dead

on

the

deck

ties

the

rope

around

us

brings

us

back

to

life

as

a

gift

of

grace

and

once

we're

alive

we're

too

weak

to

even

hold

on

to

the

rope

so

he

grabs

our

hand

in

his

and

squeezes

it

onto

that

rope

and

carries

us

all

the

way

through

till

we

get

back

to

safety

that's

the

picture

I

see

of

salvation

in

the

New

Testament

do

we

really

believe

that

God's

hands

are

somehow

tied

by

our

freedom

by

our

will

because

if we

do

the

implications

for

this

go

beyond

just

praying

for

salvation

they

ripple

through

to

praying

for

other

people

about

anything

I

mean

what

what

do

we

really

expect

God

to

do

for

people

if

he

can't

interfere

with

their

freedom

to

choose

can

we

pray

and ask

God

to

send

workers

into

the

harvest

if

ultimately

it's

not

up

to

him

whether

they

go

or

not

it's

up

to

them

can

we

pray

and

ask

God

to

change

someone's

heart

would

that

not

also

be

a

violation

of

their

freedom

to

choose

if

this

is

how

it

is

between

God

and

us

it

doesn't

make

sense

to

pray

and

ask

God

to

save

people

because

we

be

asking

God

to

do

something

that

he

can't

ultimately

in the

full

sense

do

for

that

person

wouldn't

it

make

more

sense

for

us

to

go

to

those

people

that

we

love

that

we

want

to

be

saved

and

to

ask

them

to

do

what

God

can't

do

for

them

and

receive

the

gift

I

think

Paul

does

give us

an answer

here

why

doesn't

God

just

save

everybody

God

his

answer

is

here

it's

specific

to

Israel

in

this

case

but

it

applies

more

generally

and

even

as

Paul

gives

us

his

answer

or

at

least

what

leads

to

the

answer

he

admits

that

we're

going

to

have

problems

with

it

that

we're

not

going

to

like

it

that

we're

going

to

have

objections

and

that

if

we

try

to

accept

what

he

says

what

he's

about

to

say

about

God

and

how

he

deals

with

us

we're

going

to

accuse

him

of

being

unjust

I'm

going

to

read

it

for

you

Romans

Romans 9:10

chapter

9

verse

10

these

are

Paul's

words

not

mine

Rebecca's

children

were

conceived

at the

same

time

by

our

father

Isaac

yet

before

the

twins

were

born

or

had

done

anything

good

or

bad

in

order

that

God's

purpose

in

election

might

stand

not

by

works

but

by

him

who

calls

she

was

told

the

older

will

serve

the

younger

just

as

it is

written

Jacob

I

loved

but

Esau

I

hated

what

then

shall

we

say

is

God

unjust

not

at

all

for

he

says

to

Moses

I

will

have

mercy

on

whom

I

have

mercy

and

I

will

have

compassion

on

whom

I

have

compassion

it

does

not

therefore

depend

on

human

desire

or

effort

but

on

God's

mercy

for

scripture

says

to

Pharaoh

I

raised

you

up

for

this

very

purpose

that

I

might

display

my

power

in

you

and

that

my

name

might

be

proclaimed

in

all

the

earth

therefore

God

has

mercy

on

whom

he

wants

to

have

mercy

and

he

hardens

whom

he

wants

to

harden

one

of

you

will

say

to

me

well

then

why

does

God

still

blame

us

for

who's

able

to

resist

his

will

but

who

are

you

oh

man

to

talk

back

to

God

shall

what

is

formed

say

to

the

one

who

formed

it

why

did

you

make

me

like

this

does

not

the

potter

have

the

right

to

make

out

of

the

same

lump

of

clay

some

pottery

for

special

purposes

and

some

for

common

use

as

I

said

before

many

don't

like

this

answer

there's

a

reason

why

many

choose

a

different

answer

to

the

question

of

why

God

doesn't

save

everyone

but

I

think

that

this

is

God's

answer

the

reason

he

doesn't

save

everyone

is

that

he

has

his

his

own