Are we there yet part 6 living ready in a world that mocks the truth

Devotional

Day 1: Mockers and Mercy’s Clock

The disciples faced scoffers who dismissed Jesus’ resurrection. Peter warned believers about those mocking Christ’s return, twisting truth to justify selfish desires. They jeered, “Where is this ‘coming’ He promised?”—echoing the same doubt Jesus heard at Calvary. Yet God’s silence isn’t absence; His delay is mercy, buying time for hearts to turn. [29:03]

Jesus told Nicodemus, “Light has come, but people loved darkness.” Mockers rage because truth exposes their rebellion. God’s patience aches for the prodigal, not the proud. Every day His clock ticks for the lost, not against the faithful.

When others dismiss your hope, remember: their anger often masks conviction. How can you respond to mockery with grace instead of defensiveness?

“Above all, you must understand that in the last days 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.’”
(2 Peter 3:3-4, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to soften one skeptic’s heart you’ll encounter this week.
Challenge: Share one reason for your hope with a coworker or neighbor today.

Day 2: Floods and Forgetting

Noah built an ark while neighbors laughed, dismissing centuries of divine patience. Peter warns that scoffers “deliberately forget” God’s past judgment—the Flood—and His promise to judge again. They bury truth like roaches fleeing light, inventing stories to erase their Creator. [39:42]

God’s judgment isn’t a myth; it’s a memorial. The Flood’s fossils shout His holiness. Yet culture digs deeper into denial, swapping Genesis for guesswork. Forgetting God doesn’t erase Him—it enslaves us to lesser gods.

What “modern explanations” do you subtly entertain that downplay God’s authority?

“But 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.”
(2 Peter 3:5-6, NIV)

Prayer: Confess areas where you’ve minimized God’s power to fit cultural comfort.
Challenge: Write down three ways God has proven faithful to you this month.

Day 3: Set Apart, Not Swept Up

Peter urges believers to live “holy and godly lives” as creation groans for renewal. Holiness isn’t perfection—it’s being set apart like a wedding ring, distinct from the world’s rubble. The disciples left nets; we’re called to drop distractions. [49:16]

Jesus’ holiness drew sinners but offended Pharisees. Being set apart means radiating His priorities: eternity over trends, service over selfishness. Our choices either amplify heaven’s signal or static.

What daily habit quietly pulls you toward the world’s rhythm?

“Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.”
(2 Peter 3:11-12, NIV)

Prayer: Pray for courage to cut one compromise that dulls your witness.
Challenge: Delete or fast from one media source that fuels discontent for 24 hours.

Day 4: Patience’s Harvest

A farmer waits for crops, knowing haste ruins the yield. God waits too, stretching days into grace for the lost. Peter says, “The Lord is not slow; He is patient.” Every sunrise is a soul’s chance. [45:34]

Jesus delayed visiting Lazarus, deepening faith through grief. His “late” became perfect. Our urgency often ignores His eternal calendar. While we itch for justice, God scripts redemption stories.

Who in your life needs more prayer than pressure?

“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are 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.”
(2 Peter 3:8-9, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for His patience in your past struggles.
Challenge: Text a praying hands emoji to someone still far from God.

Day 5: Roaches and Radiance

Jesus said, “Light has come, but people loved darkness.” Like roaches scattering at dawn, mockers flee truth’s beam. Yet disciples are lanterns, not lasers—steady glows disarming hate. [35:08]

The woman at the well met Light and ran to her village. Our consistency, not arguments, softens hearts. When darkness mocks, shine warmer.

Where can you replace debate with deliberate kindness today?

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
(John 3:19, NIV)

Prayer: Ask God to highlight one practical act of love you can do today.
Challenge: Buy coffee for someone who opposes your values, no strings attached.

Sermon Summary

Peter names the climate of the last days: “scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.” The text locates the mockery not in honest seeking but in hearts defending a lifestyle. The culture’s jab at the name of Jesus, and even the spiritual agitation that sometimes erupts when his name is spoken, exposes a kingdom collision between darkness and light. John’s word holds: light has come, but people loved darkness more than light. The mocker is not after clarity; the mocker is after cover.

Peter points to the deeper amnesia at work. The text says people “deliberately forget” that God has already judged the world in the days of Noah. That forgetfulness is not an oops, it is a push. When a culture pushes God out of the frame, it does not become enlightened, it becomes confused. Once the Word and even basic shared moral rails are removed, theft and violence get rebranded and common sense erodes. Truth becomes offensive when it challenges the desired lifestyle someone is trying to protect.

God’s timetable answers the taunt, “Where is the promise of his coming?” A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years like a day. God’s delay is not failure; God’s delay is mercy. The Lord sees the whole story at once and holds the clock until the last one he knows will repent comes home. In that window the Spirit is not some gas in the air; the Spirit indwells believers and reaches people through them with patient love, listening, and witness.

The day of the Lord will still come, suddenly, like a thief. Because the world is temporary, the text calls for holy and godly lives that actually “hurry it along.” Holy does not mean morally flawless; holy means set apart. Belonging to Jesus redefines all of life so that work, business, and ordinary relationships run under one banner, for God’s glory. That kind of life salts the air and makes people thirsty for God. Set-apartness also means refusing the world’s scripts. The world says truth is whatever one feels, identity is self-made, morality shifts, and the now is everything. God says truth is revealed in his Word, identity is received in Christ, his Word endures forever, and eternity orders the present. Building on that rock yields joy and a peace that outlasts the shaking.

Key Takeaways

1. Mockers follow their own desires [31:03] Honest questions make space for answers; scoffing shuts them down. Peter ties mockery to moral aims, not intellectual hunger, which is why argument rarely bears fruit. Discernment frees believers from chasing every taunt and keeps witness patient, clear, and unflustered. Security in Christ outlasts online trolls and street jeers. [31:03]
2. God’s delay is mercy [44:17] The clock of heaven is calibrated to repentance, not impatience. God sees the story end to end and withholds judgment for the sake of sons and daughters not yet home. Waiting, then, becomes an altar where prayer, love, and witness cooperate with divine patience. Frustration shrinks when the face of a not-yet-believer is placed inside the word delay. [44:17]
3. Holy means set apart [48:49] Holiness is first about belonging before it is about behavior. When life is consciously handed to God, ordinary work turns sacramental and public character points past the self. Such consecration makes people thirsty for the spring it drinks from. Moral growth follows relational surrender, not the other way around. [48:49]
4. Light exposes cherished darkness [34:18] John’s verdict stands: love for darkness is why light is hated. Resistance is often less about evidence and more about exposure, which is why the name of Jesus can agitate spiritual shadows. The church’s task is to shine, not to shout, trusting that unveiled faces eventually out-argue clenched fists. Kingdoms are chosen where light is either welcomed or fled. [34:18]
5. Hurry His coming by witness [48:03] Peter ties godly living and gospel witness to the pace of the end, not because humans control the clock, but because God counts souls, not sunsets. Each act of faithful love and clear testimony may be the final nudge for someone God has been pursuing. Urgency, then, is expressed as presence, patience, and proclamation. Holiness that loves well shortens the line. [48:03]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[20:24] - Connect and announcements
[21:41] - Midweek worship and hula
[22:47] - Offering and opening prayer
[25:23] - Living ready in a mocking world
[28:32] - Scoffers in the last days
[30:13] - Not debating scoffers
[34:18] - Light exposes loved darkness
[38:04] - Deliberate forgetfulness and the Flood
[43:53] - God’s delay is mercy
[47:06] - Day of the Lord like a thief
[48:49] - Holy means set apart
[50:46] - Set apart from the world’s scripts
[53:06] - Gospel invitation and prayer

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
2 Peter 3:3-13 (ESV)
John 3:19 (ESV)

Observation questions

According to 2 Peter 3:3-4, what two motivations drive scoffers in the last days?
What does Peter say people “deliberately forget” in 2 Peter 3:5-6, and how does this relate to the story of Noah?
In John 3:19, how does Jesus describe humanity’s response to the light? How was this illustrated in the sermon using the example of roaches fleeing light? [35:08]
What practical example did the sermon give to explain why people mock truth that challenges their lifestyle? [31:29]

Interpretation questions

Why might Peter connect mockery of Christ’s return to “following their own desires” (2 Peter 3:3) rather than intellectual doubt? How does this align with the sermon’s claim that mockery is about “defending a lifestyle”?
The sermon states, “God’s delay is mercy” [44:17]. How does 2 Peter 3:9-10 support this idea, and what does it reveal about God’s heart toward those who haven’t repented?
The word “holy” is defined in the sermon as “set apart” rather than “morally flawless” [48:49]. How does this distinction reshape our understanding of living for God’s glory in everyday work and relationships?
Why does light provoke agitation or hatred in some people (John 3:19), and how does this relate to the “kingdom collision” mentioned in the sermon? [34:18]

Application questions

Truth becomes offensive when it challenges a desired lifestyle. Is there an area in your life where you’ve felt defensive or resistant to biblical truth? What would it look like to surrender that area to Christ? [37:16]
“God’s delay is mercy” means his patience is tied to repentance. Who in your life have you been praying for? How could you intentionally show them patient love this week instead of frustration? [45:34]
Holiness is about being “set apart” for God’s purposes. What’s one ordinary task (work, chores, etc.) you could approach differently this week to reflect that you belong to Jesus? [49:16]
The sermon says believers “salt the air” with lives that make others thirsty for God. When has someone’s Christ-centered character or kindness made you curious about faith? How could you cultivate that kind of presence? [50:09]
The world says identity is self-made, but God says it’s received in Christ. Where do you feel pressure to “create” your identity (social media, career, relationships)? How might resting in your identity as God’s child change that? [51:16]
Peter ties godly living to “hastening” Christ’s return. What’s one step you could take to share your faith or serve someone in a way that reflects urgency and patience? [48:03]

Sermon Clips

34s

“The second thing we see is that oh, by the way, this is this is the bottom line here. Truth becomes offensive when it challenges the desired lifestyle we're trying to protect. So if somebody is trying to protect their lifestyle, they're just gonna be offended constantly. Right? You know, people are offended at the name of Jesus. You can say God all day long, but the moment you say the name of Jesus, people get offended. And you know why? Sometimes they get offended because they have demons that are with them and they react.”

44s

“Did you know we can he says, we can get here God here faster. Can we get God here faster? How how would we get God here faster? I mean, he has a schedule. Right? What's he saying? He's saying, just be a witness. Just be loving. Amen. The more people come into the kingdom, and then he's like, okay. We're done. I don't know when that is, but he's saying, live godly and holy lives. Do you know the word holy doesn't mean morally perfect? Let me say that again. The word holy, he says be holy. Holy doesn't mean be morally perfect.”

32s

“But the culture, you know, that forgets God, it doesn't become enlightened, it becomes confused. Right? When we push God's word away, what happens? You know, we used to have to study the bible or we used to have to I should have the 10 commandments up in public school until the nineteen eighties and then that went away. Right? They took it away. They sued to get it out of school. They sued to get all influence of the bible out of school because, you know, we don't wanna push religion on anybody, but it's okay to start pushing other religions now, isn't it? You know, we we see that happening.”

40s

“The world says live for now. God says live for eternity. The world says, follow your desires. God says, surrender your desires to Christ. Man, when you surrender to him, don't fight him. Surrender to him because what he has for you is not boring. It's pretty awesome. It's pretty amazing when you're walking in the will of God. He will fill you with the joy that you have not experienced before, A peace that passes all understanding, but it takes trusting in him, leaning on him.”

Ask a question about this sermon

Hope Chapel Westside This sermon · AI assistant

What causes people to mock biblical truth?

Why is God delaying final judgment?

How can believers hasten the day of God?