WHILE WE WAIT - 2 Peter 3:10-18 | Cam Stephens | August 30, 2026

Now, last week, Peter ended with the beautiful promise that God is patient, right? Do you remember that? And that the delay in his return or why he hasn't come yet already speaks to his love and kindness toward those who still have a chance to receive his gift of eternal life.

Verse nine said this, "'The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise "'as some count slowness.' but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Which is an incredible truth.

God loves that which he has created and he desires all to love him back.

And he gives us every chance to do so.

And this truth should spur us on to use this delay, this gift of time, to say that to as many people as we can.

God loves you and he desires you to love him in return.

However, where we pick up today in verse 10, Peter provides a but or a qualifier to this declaration of God's kind patience.

Verse 10, but the day of the Lord will come.

Peter says that while God is patient, his patience will not last forever.

Christ will return.

Friends, when God in his sovereignty determines that the time is right, Christ will come again and bring about his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.

And as we studied last week, this will be eternally good for his children, while it will be eternally devastating for those who have rejected him.

So what are the things that the end will be marked with when it comes, according to Peter in chapter 3? Well, the first thing that Peter tells us about Christ's return is that it will be sudden.

It will be sudden.

Verse 10 again.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.

You can circle that in your text there.

It will come like a thief.

You see, because God is patiently allowing everyone to have every opportunity to know him, and because we do not know the mind of God, it will come as a surprise to us.

Christ will return, Peter says, but we cannot know exactly when.

As Jesus says about the timing of his return.

But about that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father, Matthew 24, 36.

If Christ didn't even know the timing of his return when he was on earth in the flesh, then who are we to suggest that we do? And so, church, may we be careful not to circle our calendars, quit our jobs, Tell off our bosses as we buy into the speculation regarding Christ's return.

I was going to tell a story, but I'm not.