God Who Knows How to Rescue the Godly from Trials

And Lot experienced all of this. So then what's the verdict? Well, the almighty God is competent. This is the then in these statements. Right? Peter, he stacked up the evidence. He's given us these three historical witnesses, and the dam's about to break. Verse nine. Then so if he can do this, if he did this, if he can do this, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment. The lord knows. That means he's skilled at it. He's an expert. He is two things. One, expert rescuer. [00:26:50] (41 seconds)  #ExpertRescuer

let anyone who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall. Don't be arrogant and think, oh, I'm good. I'm a mature believer in Christ. I don't have I can walk into temptation. No big deal. Nope. You're gonna fall. Take heed, lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. Here's the key. God is faithful. Say that. God is faithful. Say it again. God is faithful. Again, God is faithful. You're tempted. You're tired. You're tried. You preach to yourself. God is faithful, and he will not let me you be tempted beyond your ability. But with the temptation, he will also provide a way of escape that you may be able to stand up under it. You may be able to endure the temptation. [00:30:02] (59 seconds)  #GodIsFaithful

He's the expert keeper. He's got the ungodly in a holding cell. He's keeping them. Imagine a a criminal awaiting trial. Right? He's sitting in the holding cell. He's he's playing cards. He's laughing. He he thinks he's fine, but he's not free. The door is locked. The trial date is set. The judge has the evidence. The false teachers and the wicked who who seem to be winning because of our human earthly judge judgment gap perspective, justice gap, I said the wrong word, we think they're winning. He's just got them in a holding cell. Smile all you want. Laugh all you want. You can't get out. Judgment's coming. Judgment is coming. [00:33:38] (54 seconds)  #JusticeIsComing

And in verses four through 10, our passage today, Peter draws a sword and he starts or stops telling us that judgment is coming and telling us how he knows it's coming. So this is a passage intended to bring comfort to you believers. It's one massive long sentence like a legal brief that's designed to prove one thing, and that's this. God keeps his receipts, and his perfect time is coming. He knows the perfect time. The Lord is not bound by time as we know time. [00:05:30] (38 seconds)  #GodKeepsReceipts

And what he does then is he brings his evidence to the case, if you will. Three witnesses, which are these if statements that we see in verses four and five and then six through eight. The first witness that he calls to the stand is the angels in verse four. He's calling these witnesses to prove that nobody, no matter how your how high your status or how big your numbers are, is exempt from God's judgment, God's destruction. High status won't save you. You're an angel? Great. That doesn't save you from acting in ungodly ways. [00:06:07] (42 seconds)  #NoOneIsExempt

But God is faithful. He's provided an off ramp for you. Sometimes it's a slow off ramp, but it does eventually get off. Take it. Take the out. Well, if I leave right now, it's gonna be awkward. Be awkward in your holiness. Pursue the Lord. You may need to repent of something that you've been engaging in for a long time today, right now. Tell someone about it. Tell your husband. Like, well, what if they take heed lest you fall. Don't try to guard your pride. Strive to walk in holiness. You are able to stand up under temptation. God's the ex expert rescuer, preserver, and saver of souls, and he is the expert keeper. [00:32:43] (56 seconds)  #TakeTheOffRamp

His soul was tortured. That's the test of a true believer. It's it's how you check for a spiritual pulse. Listen. A dead body does not feel any pain. If you punch a corpse, it doesn't flinch. But a living body feels pain. And a follower of God is in pain when you put yourself in environments in environments to engage in sin or be close to those who are engaging in sinful living because you want to be their friend. More importantly, you you want them to look at you like their friend. Students, listen. There's a real sacrifice. Middle schoolers, high schoolers, elementary kids, there's a real sacrifice to following Jesus. [00:19:52] (62 seconds)  #SpiritualPulse

You see, as Christians, we're imputed with Christ's righteousness. God gave Lot the stamp of faith, faithful one. He was righteous because he walked in faith, not because he performed everything righteously. And what's interesting is this. You see this picture of Lot in Sodom? I mean, he chose to move to Sodom. Let's go there. It's got a good economy. That's where the good life is. Let's go. And then he hesitated to leave. And so the holy spirit here gives us this commentary on Lot in verse eight. [00:15:59] (47 seconds)  #RighteousByFaith