How Do We Respond?

We are half-way now, and before we go on, we’ll first proclaim some Scriptures. We turn to James 1:2, 3 and 4. But when we make a proclamation, if it says “you do that,” we say “we do it.” We make it personal. We line ourselves up with what the Scripture says.

“We count it all joy when we fall in various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces endurance. But we let endurance have its perfect work, that we may be complete and perfect, lacking nothing.”

How many of you want to be complete and perfect, lacking nothing? The key is endurance.

Now we’re going back to the theme that we began to deal with before, the shaking of all things which God has predicted through His prophets. God says, “I will shake all things, I will shake the heaven, I will shake the earth, I will shake the dry land, I will shake the sea, I will shake all nations, I will shake everything that can be shaken.” The purpose being that those of us who have received the kingdom that cannot be shaken may be, as it were, filtered out from the rest of humanity.

Now I want to deal with a practical response, how shall we respond? If we really believe that God is going to do what He so clearly says He is going to do, what are we going to do about it? Are we going to do nothing or are we going to seek from the Bible to know what the sensible and scriptural course of action is?

First of all, it’s obvious that if we want to remain unshakable, we have to build a foundation on the word of Jesus, hearing and doing His word. So all that I’m going to say now follows out of that. In other words, in what ways shall we hear and apply the teaching of Scripture?

I want to start with two verses in 2 Peter 3, a chapter which deals with this period, the period of shaking. I’ll read these verses, 11 and 12. 2 Peter 3:11–12:

“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God.”

Peter asks a very sensible question. The question is not first and foremost “what shall we do?”, but “what kind of persons ought we to be?” What we are is more important than what we do. And he gives a very simple outline answer which contains three elements. He says, first of all, in all holy conduct and godliness. Secondly, he says looking for. And thirdly, looking for the coming of the day of God. So there are three things that he speaks about: holy conduct and godliness, looking for the coming of the day of God and hastening the coming of the day of God. That should be our basic response: holiness, looking for the coming of the day of God and hastening the coming of the day of God.