Hello and welcome
to "Books of the Book."
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My name Deyvy
Rodriguez and I'm very glad
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that you're able to join us
in this Bible study program.
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We're studying the
Books of 1 and 2 Peter.
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And today, we
conclude the 2nd Book of Peter.
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With us is Dr. Tom Shepherd.
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He comes from
Andrews University.
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Dr. Shepherd,
welcome. Thank you.
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I understand that you
were a director in some--
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in the
theological seminary there.
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Tell us more
this-- what you do there?
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Well, I'm a professor of
New Testament Interpretation,
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but I've also been asked to be
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the director of the
PhD in Religion Program
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and the ThD or
Doctor of Theology program.
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We have about 100
students in these two programs
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and besides
them we actually have
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several other doctoral programs.
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We have Doctor
of Ministry program,
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we have a new
doctoral program in Archeology
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and we have doctoral
program in Religious Education.
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The total group, I think
there's about 400 students
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who study in the DMin, the
Doctor of Ministry program.
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The other two programs, the
ones that I'm not directing,
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have a few stand for,
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well, maybe about 20 students.
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But the group that I take
care of is about 100 students.
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So it keeps me hopping
to care of these students.
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So it's a PhD and religion. Yes.
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And Doctorate
in Theology or ThD.
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ThD, right.
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Now what is the
difference between both?
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Well, it's very interesting.
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What's happened recently,
the doctor of--the PhD program
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focuses a person in one
particular field of study.
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We have five fields of study
that students can do the PhD
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and they can do it in Old
Testament or New Testament.
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They can do it in
theology or church history
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also linked up
with Adventist studies
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or in missions.
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And it focuses them
in that particular area
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with a cognate area and
so they become an expert.
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We are training
scholars and teachers
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for the Adventist
Church for the future.
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And the ThD program
is into disciplinary.
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So instead of being one
area that you become focused in,
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there are two areas
that you combine together.
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Now it used to
be that this program
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had basically two areas
that you could do studies in,
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biblical studies or
theological studies.
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But we recently revamped
it and have now opened it up
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to a whole variety of
like, seven different areas.
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You can combine-- you
can take the five fields
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and you can link them together.
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You could link
together New Testament
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and church history.
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And if you wanted to
do, it is interdisciplinary,
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so your thesis would also,
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your dissertation
also be interdisciplinary.
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So you might study the change
of the Sabbath for instance
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and it will link
well between New Testament
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and early church history.
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You might be
interested in the theology
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of an early
Adventist missionary.
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So you might link
theological studies and missions
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and put those two together.
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So we've made a whole
variety of new options.
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We have scholarships available
for students that help them
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through the expensive
matter of getting these degrees.
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But we are
pleased that this program
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that's been
around for about 30 years
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at the theological
seminary has produced
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and given to
the Adventist Church
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quite a number of
leaders, scholars,
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both leaders in
administration, teachers,
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university professors and
administrators and so forth.
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So it's a privilege to
be involved in doing that.
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And if there's
anyone viewing that says,
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you know, I'd just like to think
about the possibility of a PhD,
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go to our website
at www.andrews.edu
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and check the
theological seminary.
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You can find the PhDs, the
different doctoral programs
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that are there and
consider some extra training
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so that you can
serve the Lord better.
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And if they want
to talk to a person
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then they talk to
you. You are the man.
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They can email
me, they can call up
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and we can send
them information.
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Our application
process is actually all online.
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So people can go there
and check it out. Wonderful.
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Well, today we are
concluding our study
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in the Books of
2 Peter now. Yes.
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And we're doing
chapter 3-- Chapter 3:14-18,
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the last five
verses of the book.
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So we should read them. Okay.
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Sure, let's read them.
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And we're starting on verse 14.
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2 Peter 3:14-18.
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"Therefore, beloved,
looking forward to these things,
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be diligent to be
found by Him in peace,
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without spot and blameless,
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and consider
that the longsuffering
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of our Lord is salvation,
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as also our
beloved brother Paul,
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according to the
wisdom given to him,
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has written to you, as
also in all his epistles,
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speaking in
them of these things,
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in which are some
things hard to understand,
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which untaught and unstable
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people twist to
their own destruction
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as they do also the
rest of the Scriptures.
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You therefore, beloved,
since you know this beforehand,
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beware lest you also fall
from your own steadfastness,
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being led away with
the error of the wicked,
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but grow in the grace
and the knowledge of our Lord
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and Savior Jesus Christ.
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To Him be the glory
both now and forever. Amen."
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Amen. All right.
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Well, it's wonderful
to come to the conclusion
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of these beautiful books
that the Apostle has written.
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Verse 18, "Grow in grace
and knowledge of our Lord
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and Savior Jesus Christ,"
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that's a good
ending for letter in it.
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It's surely is. It surely is.
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How does this passage link to
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what we've been studying
before to the previous verses?
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All right, so in chapter 3,
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Peter responds to the
false teacher's teachings
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about the second
coming and he shows
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that they had a
mistaken view of the creation
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and of the time
since the creation,
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a mistaken view that gave
them a mistaken eschatology.
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He corrects that by correcting
their view of creation
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and then of course,
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getting their
proper view of eschatology.
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And then he goes on to teach
the Christians that God is--
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they are misunderstanding.
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Some people have misunderstood
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the teaching about
the second coming of Jesus
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and this apparent delay.
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It is God's patience.
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He's waiting for people
to turn to Him in repentance.
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So he outlines about
what will happen then
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when Jesus returns
and notes that all of this
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is a call to a holy life
and a call to repentance.
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Now specifically how does
verse 14 verse, where it says,
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"Therefore beloved,
looking forward to these things,
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be diligent to be
found by Him in peace,
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without spot and blameless,"
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how does this verse
link with the context?
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The previous context?
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Yes. Yeah.
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It's interesting
because there are
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quite a few words in this verse
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that we shall say
maybe ring the bells,
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ring the chimes
of previous verses.
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The first one is this
word for, he says waiting for.
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The Greek word is prosdechomai,
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means to wait for, look
for, to expect something.
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So these things that
they are supposed to wait for
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clearly includes the
second coming of Jesus,
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but it also appears to include
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the new heavens
and the new earth,
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because the term is
plural, these things,
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you're waiting for these things.
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What are you waiting for?
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The new heavens
and the new earth
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where righteousness dwells
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I think of a--
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well, I think back
some, quite some years ago,
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when we were
missionaries in Africa
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and I would come home from work
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and I always received
this amazing reception
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to my two children.
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Daddy is home, daddy has come.
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And they would come
running and then my daughter
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would throw her
arms around my knees,
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you know, daddy has come home.
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We are waiting for
Jesus to come back.
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We should have that
kind of expectancy that,
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like a little child
waiting for their parent
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or grandchild
waiting for grandpa
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or grandma to
come and just waiting,
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looking out the widow,
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hoping that
they'll be here soon.
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So the first word is
this idea of waiting for.
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Then he uses another term
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that's kind of
similar to what he used before
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and he talks
about being diligent,
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actually the
Greek word is Spoudazo
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that means to
hasten or to hurry,
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to be zealous or
eager, even to take pains
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or make every effort.
00:09:04.28\00:09:05.65
So it talks
about being diligent.
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It reminds us of this hurrying
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or hastening
the coming of Jesus.
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Being quick to repent,
you see, being diligent.
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More--looking
forward to is the waiting for
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and then this is what you're
going to do to help it come.
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You're gonna take pains,
you're gonna be diligent.
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I've said before we've
talked about this little bit,
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I'm a musician, I'm a cellist.
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And I like to play in
these musical programs
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that we have at the seminary.
00:09:39.34\00:09:40.84
But you have to prepare
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and you have to
prepare diligently,
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if you don't want to flub
it and you know, look bad.
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They usually say, you should
show them what you can do,
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not what you can't do.
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And so but you have
to play it over and over.
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I've brought my
cello with me here
00:10:00.43\00:10:01.83
and I've been practicing here.
00:10:01.86\00:10:04.23
You have to
practice over and over.
00:10:04.26\00:10:06.62
It's important to go
slowly enough to get it right,
00:10:06.65\00:10:09.35
because what the musician say is
00:10:09.38\00:10:12.30
practice makes permanent.
Practice makes permanent.
00:10:12.33\00:10:17.87
As your hand gets used to
doing things in a certain way
00:10:17.90\00:10:21.32
and if you do it the wrong way
that's the direction it will go.
00:10:21.35\00:10:25.22
So we have to be
very eager to take pains.
00:10:25.25\00:10:28.80
Then he uses two terms
spotless and blameless.
00:10:28.83\00:10:32.30
And those two terms remind
us of 1 Peter, 1 Peter 1:19,
00:10:32.33\00:10:37.19
where Jesus is the
spotless and blameless lamb.
00:10:37.22\00:10:41.15
And that kind of
terminology reminds us
00:10:41.18\00:10:43.91
that back in 1
Peter, Jesus is our example
00:10:43.94\00:10:48.31
that we are supposed to follow.
00:10:48.34\00:10:49.71
So like He is
blameless and spotless,
00:10:49.74\00:10:51.88
we are to make pains
to follow the pattern,
00:10:51.91\00:10:55.86
to walk in His steps.
00:10:55.89\00:10:57.99
Then finally, it's
really interesting,
00:10:58.02\00:11:00.87
he uses the word to be found,
00:11:00.90\00:11:05.27
to be found with Him
in peace at Christ return.
00:11:05.30\00:11:10.35
Now some people say, you
know, I didn't see the word find
00:11:10.38\00:11:14.96
back there in
the previous verses.
00:11:14.99\00:11:17.36
But it's actually in verse 10.
00:11:17.39\00:11:19.35
Would you read verse 10 again?
00:11:19.38\00:11:20.78
"But the day of the Lord
00:11:20.81\00:11:22.18
will come as a
thief in the night,
00:11:22.21\00:11:23.91
in which the heavens will
pass away with a great noise,
00:11:23.94\00:11:27.18
and the elements will
melt with fervent heat,
00:11:27.21\00:11:29.88
both the earth and
the works that are in it
00:11:29.91\00:11:32.22
will be burned up." Yes.
00:11:32.25\00:11:36.02
You didn't see the
word find there, did you?
00:11:36.05\00:11:37.67
I was looking for it, I
don't think I read it, no.
00:11:37.70\00:11:40.10
It wasn't there.
00:11:40.13\00:11:41.50
Let me read it
in this transaction
00:11:41.53\00:11:42.90
because it shows
a little bit better,
00:11:42.93\00:11:45.24
"But the day of the
Lord will come like a thief,
00:11:45.27\00:11:46.82
and then the heavens
will pass away with a roar,
00:11:46.85\00:11:49.21
and the heavenly
bodies will be burned up
00:11:49.24\00:11:51.00
and dissolved and the earth
00:11:51.03\00:11:53.02
and the works that are
done on it will be exposed."
00:11:53.05\00:11:58.96
And the Greek word is
Evrisko, it will be found.
00:11:58.99\00:12:02.83
It's like they
will be found out.
00:12:02.86\00:12:04.52
They will be shown
for what they are, okay.
00:12:04.55\00:12:07.07
Now notice that this
is a echo in verse 14,
00:12:07.10\00:12:10.98
"Therefore, beloved, since
you're waiting for these things,
00:12:11.01\00:12:13.24
be diligent to be found by him
00:12:13.27\00:12:16.22
without spot or
blemish and at peace."
00:12:16.25\00:12:18.88
The world's gonna be
found wicked and evil
00:12:18.91\00:12:21.71
and filled with evil things.
00:12:21.74\00:12:23.99
But you are to be found
00:12:24.02\00:12:26.80
spotless and
blameless in Christ.
00:12:26.83\00:12:29.31
You know, at peace with
Him, linked up with Him.
00:12:29.34\00:12:33.66
Remember he is
protecting the Christians
00:12:33.69\00:12:36.38
from the false ways,
00:12:36.41\00:12:37.78
from the false ways
of these false teachers.
00:12:37.81\00:12:40.38
And so He keeps building,
He keeps reminding them,
00:12:40.41\00:12:43.18
as He keeps coming back to this,
because over and over and over,
00:12:43.21\00:12:47.28
he wants to make these people
ready for the coming of Jesus.
00:12:47.31\00:12:52.82
What does verse 15 add here?
00:12:52.85\00:12:56.13
Ah, when we read verse 15,
00:12:56.16\00:12:57.78
"And count the patience
of our Lord as salvation,
00:12:57.81\00:13:00.52
just as our beloved
brother Paul also wrote to you
00:13:00.55\00:13:05.21
according to the wisdom
given to him." All right.
00:13:05.24\00:13:09.77
Well, these
terms all intimately--
00:13:09.80\00:13:13.78
the terms in verse 14,
00:13:13.81\00:13:15.18
all intimately tied together
to what Peter has said before
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that Christians are to
wait for Jesus to come,
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they're not supposed to be idle,
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they are supposed to
strive for holy character.
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Verse 15, turns to the divine
side of things of the equation.
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And in verse 14, we're
called to be ready and watching.
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In verse 15, we are told that
00:13:33.35\00:13:35.87
God provides and
His patience with us,
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we can count as salvation.
00:13:39.41\00:13:41.47
We'll talk a little
bit more about this verse.
00:13:41.50\00:13:43.72
But right now we'll just
take a break for a few moments.
00:13:43.75\00:13:46.21