Our church is growing and God is blessing. Prayers are being answered. It is quite a joy to be involved in the work of the Lord, is it not? And it's very humbling to see when God uses you in doing something, for we know it is the grace of God that's operative in our hearts and that he would choose to use. Folks like us just tells us how wonderful a God we have. But more people in church means more needs in church. Furthermore, as we look to the future, we think about what's going on in our country, the dangers and the terrors that will be faced in the months and years to come. It is very likely the Lord will continue to bring more and more people to churches all over the land, including to Hope Bible. And more people means even more needs. And more needs, of course, means that we need more workers. And that means that many of you who have dedicated to serve in the past need to rise up and be counted again and to serve the Lord and make sacrifices. That also means that many of you who are newer to hope need to draw closer, become discipled, and stand up and be counted also in service for the Lord. But how involved should you be in church? It's a question we ask a lot. We debate at home. issues involved in that, a lot of good principles from God's Word that we won't have time to get into this morning. We do know that we want our family to be cared for, our primary responsibility in the body of Christ to serve the family. We know that we want to keep the truth that we learned a few weeks ago, that we want to approach our Christian lives like a Mary, not like a Martha, and not neglect our devotional life before God, our prayer life. just because there's activities that need to be done. But along with our dedication to our worship before the Lord, along with our dedication to receiving from God's Word and being built up, it is clear from the Word of God that God wants us to count for Him in the area of ministry in the church. Thomas quoted this earlier, I'll quote it again. Paul said, I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, meaning as you understand how merciful God has been for you. that you present your body as a living and holy sacrifice. Sacrifice acceptable to God, which is your spiritual or even that could be translated reasonable service of worship. It's only reasonable that we offer ourselves to a God who sent his son and offered himself for us. See, after we sit at the feet of the Lord and we learn from his word and we absorb all of that, that's the priority. That's right. But we still have to rise up after that. and get busy serving the Lord, do we not? There's so much work that needs to be done. We are a church, just one local church. We're part of the universal church. Jesus left his church a commission. He left the church a mission that has to be fulfilled. And we don't want to be a church that's just this way or that way. We want to get our priorities right. We're strengthening our families. We're receiving the word of God. But after we do that, we still need to rise up and we need to be counted on to serve in the church. to help accomplish the mission that Christ left for us. Now, in our last message from 1 Peter chapter 4, we learned that we are supposed to live for the will of God. And that was compared with living for the lusts of men. In the world, we see around us so many that are living to fulfill their own desires, fleshly and evil desires. Peter showed why that is wasteful, a waste of a life. We're not to live for that, but to live for the will of God. Jesus Christ himself, according to 1 Peter 4 and verse 5, is ready to come back and he's ready to judge that evil kind of lifestyle, a lifestyle that does not live for God. Today, as we return to 1 Peter 4, we come to a portion of this great letter in verses 7 through 11, where Peter is now directly exhorting the believers to do the will of God and particularly to do the will of God by their service and by their ministry in the church. So he's urging the churches. Now that you've properly armed yourself with that attitude described back in verses 1 and 2, that you're willing to suffer for the sake of righteousness, you're not going to fulfill the lusts of the flesh, you're going to take whatever consequences come your way by standing for Christ. Now that you're armed and prepared for ministry that way, now you need to get busy serving the Lord. You need to do that. And of course, Peter's only passing on to the churches here that he's writing to in this letter of 1 Peter. what Jesus already told him that he was to do and the disciples that they were to do. Remember, the disciples met with Christ for three and a half years. He taught them, he trained them, he lived before them. He exemplified what a godly life was all about. And then he told them on the mountain, go into all the world and make what? Disciples, right? Make disciples of all the nations, planting churches and multiplying churches and building them up. So there is a call for a life that is dedicated to the building up of Christ's church. And, you know, the Apostle Paul did the same. As he was traveling and preaching, he'd grab one fellow, grab another fellow, and he'd train them. He'd bring them along with him, Luke, Timothy, Titus, Silas. And he would show them how to minister and how to serve in the church. And then he sent them back to the churches he couldn't be in. And he said, now, go back there and teach and serve. This devotion to the body of Christ and to ministry to the church is what Peter wants us to get in this passage here. this morning. So I just say, prepare your hearts for a challenge because that's what these verses are. They're a challenge, a challenge to the direction of our lives, where our priorities are, what we're counting for. They remind us that time is quickly passing away and how we live is going to determine what happens in the church and what will be our reward in the future. Now, follow along with me as I read 1 Peter 4, verses 7 through 11. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint, as each one has received a special gift. Employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks Let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God. Whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen." So he gets excited there. He doesn't end his letter right there, but he wants to put in a doxology and an amen because he's clearly excited about it. In light of the soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the passing away of this present world system, we should dedicate ourselves to labor for the advancement of Christ's church. That's his message. And to challenge us with that, Peter presents three truths to us about service in the church. Three truths here about service in the church. First, the timing of our service there at the beginning of verse 7. Next, in the bulk of the passage, the types of our service or even the priorities that we are to have. And then lastly, the target or the aim of our service, the timing of our service, the types of our service, the target or the aim of our service. First, as the Holy Spirit is speaking through Peter, He's urging us to consider the timing of our service. Look again at the beginning of verse 7. The end of all things is at hand. See, wisdom dictates that we understand the times in which we live. If we do not understand what actually is going on in the times in which we live, then we can't make the right decisions about what our priorities are and what we ought to be involved in. Can you, this morning, put your decisions for life in the proper context? Can you do that? This is the proper context, Peter is saying. The end of all things is at hand. What an incredible statement. All things, pantone, stands emphatically forward in the Greek sentence there, in the grammatical construction. Literally, it is all things the end of has drawn near. That's what he's saying. All things. emphatic, unqualified statement like that in scripture, having to do with the end times. It's designed to be all-inclusive. It's just designed to be wide in what it means, not limiting. Some have wrongly tried to limit the statement to refer to the end of the temple system in Jerusalem is coming, or the end of the Jews on the land is at hand, or something like that. It's always funny to me how people sort of squish into the context things that are not there. No, not just the end of some things is at hand, the end of all things is at hand. See, he's referring to the present world system, the way things are now. Life as you and I know it's coming to an end. Nature as it is now, that is. The peoples that are there, the government, schools, businesses, families, buildings, cities, wars, armies, whatever, it's going to come to an end. Everything is nearing its end. And that's why there's such an urgency to Peter's call for action here in the verses that follow. Is at hand means it has come upon us. It's already drawn very, very close. It's right there at hand, right within touching distance. That's how close it has come. This phrase was used to express the message of Jesus when he did his preaching. The kingdom of God, he said to the Jews, is at hand. Why? Because the king had arrived. He was there. Matthew 3, 2 and Matthew 10, 7. And here it's in the perfect tense showing the end is already drawn near. The end has already come. This is 2,000 years old, people, right? And it said it was already drawn near back then. It's just about to happen. What is the end that Peter is referring to? Well, the word end, telos, it doesn't just mean things are going to fizzle out. The word telos can also mean the goal of all things, the end as in the object of all things, where everything in human history is heading, it's coming, it's already at hand. And that intended end, has already drawn very, very close here, Peter is saying. You know, the New Testament writers and the whole early church had a conviction about the second coming of Christ. They really did. They believed it was an imminent return of Christ. At any moment, the Lord Jesus Christ could return. They believed that back then in 50 AD and 60 AD and 70 AD. They believed that and they taught that. In Romans 13, 12, Paul writes, the night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. See, same words. In other words, the faintest light of dawn is already on the horizon. We can begin to see it. Let us, therefore, lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. That's the response. Hebrews 10, 25 exhorts us, not forsaking our own assembling together, referring to the church, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another. And all the more, as you see the day drawing near, same verse. James 5, 8, you to be patient, strengthen your hearts for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Jesus said in Matthew 24, 44, for this reason, you be ready to for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think he will. In other words, as soon as you think he's not coming, whenever that settles upon people, that's probably when he is going to be coming right then and there. Be ready. The prophecies of Revelation and Revelation 22, 20, the last piece of prophecy given to the church He who testifies to these things says, yes, I am coming quickly. And it ends with an amen. Come, Lord Jesus. This truth about The close of this present age is something we need to really focus on, have burned into our minds because as we walk around here, we think about world events, we might just think it's just going to go on and on. And we look at the world in sort of a materialistic or earthbound way. We need to understand God's in control of everything and this is His agenda. And when He says, the end of all things is at hand, it really is at hand. And you know, there's a sense of victory in the statement as well. It's not a statement of fear, but it is drawing close. Christ meaning he's going to come and he's going to be victorious and we're going to be a part of that. And so then you think of what are the implications of that. Christ is about to break into the world once again. He's about to do that. We don't know the time, but we know he's about to do that. He's going to bring a righteous reign when he comes. And Peter's reminding the believers that only with this kind of a conviction are you going to serve God with the vigor and the energy and the purpose and the sacrifice that he really calls for in scripture. Often we think what we've done is enough, but it's not. When we read statements like that, if you knew Christ was coming back tomorrow, what would you be doing today? What would you be doing today? I know there's a sense of balance in which you have to pace yourself too. We've got a long distance run ahead of us. But nevertheless, there is a goal. There's energy that needs to be focused in one direction. There's so many frivolous things in life that distract us from what we need to accomplish. And you know, the passing of the century is in no way, in no way, invalidates this hope and this expectation, beloved. In no way should it in our minds say, oh yeah, he's not really coming. Shouldn't do that. That's not approaching the Word of God the way it's written. You know, to me, the fact that Jesus Christ already came, how many years did they wait for him the first time? A long time, but he came. They weren't ready for him. He comes again, he said, they're not going to be ready for him again. There are indications, many indications in prophecy that Christ's coming is nearer now. We just know because, well, it said it back then, and we're 2,000 years along, that means we're a lot closer now than they were then, right? I mean, we could be right at the 11th hour, 1159. We could be right there. Israel's back on the land as a nation after 1,800 years of being off. The church didn't have the confidence and faith in their system of theology to see a literal fulfillment of many of those prophecies for a long time because Israel was off the land. And how could you have those things happen again? It seemed just incredible. But now they're back on the land. They're there. These are impressive signs. Is it any coincidence at all that the focus of the entire world, except for this little North Korea thing going on over there, is on the Middle East? The Middle East. Why there? Because Israel's there. That's why. Coalition of the old Roman Empire. in the European Union is no coincidence of history either. Great apostasy, predicted as part of the end times in Matthew 24 10, has already occurred widespread throughout the European churches. Those great churches that are now just dead, don't even have the gospel. And here in America, this apostasy is going on before our very eyes. Great parts of the churches in Asia also, long time ago, apostatized from the truth and from the gospel. Modern technology makes the literal fulfillment of some of these somewhat strange prophecies that we see now can actually happen the way it says in Scripture. It should open up our eyes. It shouldn't make us dull to end times. It ought to make us alert to end times. Why hasn't Christ come back? 2 Peter 3, 8, 9. He's patient. He's forbearing. He's waiting for the fullness of His elect to come in, those whom the Father gave to Him. He's patiently bearing, waiting for them, not that any of those in the context should perish. I don't think we have to have a specific date to know that it is at hand, do you? It is at hand. That's what the Word of God says. It is at hand, the end of all things, and Christ coming. I think that should impact the way you and I think about our time, use of our talents, what we channel our family to get involved in, how we conduct ourselves at work, how we live all of our life. See, understand the times and then respond to them. Often we put our problems in the wrong context. We focus on ourself and we're not happy. We're discomforted. We forget that we're a part of a church that is there to glorify Christ. And when we put our lives, our struggles, and our trials in that context, it all makes sense. It all makes sense and it inspires us to serve the Lord more. You lose sight of yourself and you gain sight of that coming kingdom that's certain to come. See, the most important thing about your life as a believer, that's going to succeed because the kingdom is going to come. You're going to be a part of it. You're not going to lose out. See, I don't believe it's wise to sit on the sidelines during a time like this. With the end of all things at hand, it's not wise to sit on the sidelines and not do anything for Christ. That's just not understanding the times in which you live. Christ is coming. All that really matters in this age is what we render for Him. What we do in our work should be for Him. We should be active witnesses for Him. Whatever we do in the church, we should serve mightily for Him. We ought to have it as our goal to establish churches, to multiply churches, to be part of what Christ told us to do, to work with all of our energies towards that. Put your decisions, put your problems into that context. You'll see how it straightens out so much in life. And you know, you need to recognize, too, that Satan is not happy with faithful service to Christ. If you think that when you get going with something, and then you fizzle out, that, well, that's just you. That's not just you. There's spiritual warfare going on. Satan doesn't want to see you accomplishing anything. Satan doesn't want to see this church accomplishing anything. Of course he's going to make it difficult. Of course he's going to start things and stir up things, stumbling blocks thrown in the way. He's not going to give you a smooth ride. He's going to make it difficult. And that's why many of our problems come. We've got to stay focused on Christ and His kingdom. That's why Peter next spells out what it is we need to do. And he says, the types of our service, or if you want, the priorities, what we should be excelling at. Look at the last part of verse 7. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Notice the transition word. Peter's saying, therefore, let me tell you the implications of the fact that the end is at hand. And so he's going to give four actions, or you could call them four applications, four types of service that you and I should excel in. The first action. Or the first type of service is be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Those two commands are linked by the Chi. And I believe they're meant to go together because they're so similar. Sound judgment means be in your right mind. Be prudent. Think things through. In this context, it would mean weigh everything in your life carefully. Don't be sensational about events. But then again, don't be doubting either. See, know what is going on. Know what is about to happen and respond in your life and live accordingly. It's very similar to what he wrote back in chapter 1, verse 13. He said, therefore, gird your minds for action. Remember that? Those of you that were here? Gird your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit. Fix your hope completely where? On the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the grace that he will bring at that point in time. Be of sober spirit means don't be spiritually intoxicated. When you're in the fleshly lust and things like that, you're just, your mind's not thinking right about, you're not thinking clearly about what's going on around you. Don't be dull to spiritual realities around you, Peter means. Be alert. Know what's going on. Don't get all muddied in your thinking. Be clear, be sharp in your decisions. Understand what the will of God is. I find in this exhortation, frankly, the burden of my preaching ministry, and that is to make clear what God says. I don't want things to be muddied. I want them to be clear. I want to say what God says there because I want it to impact our lives and our hearts so we can be busy doing what God wants us to. I want to warn people of how Satan and his evil angels are constantly working to distract us and discourage us. I want it to be clear what's actually going on around us, the spiritual warfare that is here. And notice the particular action that comes from these attitudes is prayer for the purpose of prayer, literally for the prayers, the time of the prayers. That spiritual alertness and that sobriety makes things ring clear in your soul and then it feeds or enhances your prayers. In other words, your prayers are going to be strong and they're going to work well when you have your thinking correct, your spiritual sight and understanding correct. That's why you need to be alert. You know what to pray for, and you understand the urgency that you must pray only when you're spiritually alert, when you're sober in thinking. See, that spiritual clear thinking sort of opens the channels for you, and then you can be aggressive in your praying. You can be confident in your praying, and your prayer life deepens and becomes stronger because you understand. You see. You know what's going on. If you have weakness in your prayer life, at least part of it, I'm sure, is because you're not seeing properly. You're not understanding properly spiritual reality. This exhortation, I think, underscores just how important a ministry prayer is. Sometimes we think of prayer as one of the things we do as a Christian. It is also, and probably here he's speaking mostly of intercessory prayer on behalf of others, but the thanksgivings and confessions and praise is all part of that as well. Prayer is a ministry. It is something that we do to accomplish something. It is needed in this day and age so that the church can fulfill its mission. It's at the heart of what ministry is about. People sometimes think prayer is just a symbolic act, but it is a necessary and real ministry that we should be involved in. I remember one of my professors at the Master's Seminary saying, prayer is not part of the ministry, it is the ministry. Everything else that you do when you go out is to pick up the pieces that you won when you were on your knees praying and asking God for that through faith. When we run into things that we, obstacles we can't overcome, often it is because either we're prayerless or our attitude or faith in prayer is not what it ought to be. Prayer is not a lesser church activity. It is at the very heart of what the church's ministry is about. Prayer is not a chore to check off. Did my prayer today. You know? It is a privilege. Prayer is a privilege. It is a privilege to unleash the power of God at work among us. So it's important individually that you pray. It's important in families you pray. It's important corporately that we pray as well. And that we view that time where we gather together for prayer as very important. You know, where there's no prayer, there can be a lot of church activity. There can be a lot of church activity. But that doesn't mean that there are things that are being accomplished for God that are going to last. It doesn't mean that there are spiritual transformations that are occurring. It doesn't mean the church is advancing. The church can be doing a lot of activity and can actually be going backwards. not heading forward. It depends on our dedication to prayer. When we pray for the needs of the saints, when we pray for the salvation of the lost, the church then can accomplish its mission. It can fulfill its mission because it's praying. I know our church does not really believe this yet. I know that we understand, in one sense, that prayer is important, but I know just by the lack of dedication in our church to prayer that we don't believe this yet or understand this. And I just ask that God would speak to us as a church so we would understand the vital importance of prayer for what it is that we want to do for the Lord Jesus Christ. What a powerful gift that God has given us. You know, given the great difficulties, great difficulties that church work is, that spiritual ministry is, and given the vastness of God's resources, it's just not wise not to be praying. Christ is about to return. What are we going to accomplish? depends a large part on our devotion to prayer and being alert in that attitude. So we need to quit thinking of it as an extra burden and work very hard at it. Second action that Peter exhorts us to in verse 8, look at verse 8. He says, above all, keep fervent in your love for one another. I like how he just gets right to the heart of the things the church needs to be focused on these end times, love for one another. Above all, that accentuates this exhortation, doesn't it? Prime importance here. Love is very important. Drives forward much of the work in the church. And we are to keep fervent in our love. Fervent. Ectene. Stretched out to full capacity is what the word means. It was a word that was used of a horse strained at full gallop. Can you picture that? An athlete who is in full step and he's just straining with all of his energy. That's the idea. Loving one another fervently. That's stretched out completely for one another. That's how we should be loving one another. We are members of one another. Therefore, we must care for one another. It's that simple, isn't it? Isn't it that simple? We must care for one another because we are members of one another. Loving each other is central to what we do. It's absolutely central. We really can't proclaim a message of love when there's not love in here. You can't. You might as well keep your mouth shut. When there is love in here, you feel like telling everybody, God transforms people. Come to church with me. See what God is doing in sister so-and-so and brother so-and-so. Such a joy to see so many of you dedicated to caring for one another. When I see that here, it just warms my heart and encourages me, too, to make sure I'm more than just a talking head up here, you know, that I'm doing things to care for others, too. What an encouragement. The benefit of love, particularly here, is described by Peter because love covers a multitude of sins. Love is so beneficial that it covers a multitude of sins. This doesn't mean you're covering your own sins, right? It's not saying that your love is atoning to your own sins. No, Christ bore our sins, he already said in the letter, chapter 2, verses 24 and 25. It means that it covers someone else's sins, and particularly someone else's sins probably against who? Against you. Now, by the way, that doesn't mean that love approves of sin or condones sin. Doesn't mean covers it over in a sense of like, ah, you know, let's not talk about it. Let's just all enjoy our sin and not bring it up. It's not what it's talking about. 1 Corinthians 13, 6 says, love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth. This means that one's not going to go around exposing the shortcomings of other believers in church, right? But you're happy to forgive them, see, rather than holding on to something that they did against you as a card to play at the right time to get back at them, you know? A weapon to twirl in your fingers waiting to, you just wait, I'm going to let that one out and let everybody know about that one. No. In love, there's a covering of sin. It means burying the sin, forgetting about the sin, leaving it blanketed by love. The idea of love, love blankets these sins. It's gone. Forget it. See, Satan's the opposite, right? He wants to flip the covers back and drag it all out into the open again, right? They say, look, look what they did. Look how they are. See how they messed up. And he likes to slander us and put us to shame. We're going to be working the opposite. We're going to be covering all that. Love doesn't say, aha, you did that again. I saw that. No, it says, you know, God has forgiven me. God put a rich blanket over my sins. And now I forgive you. You just put that over there, you bury it, it's covered, and it's gone. That's the attitude. Now, sometimes people are not repentant of their sin. It's not talking about that. Some people are promoting their sin, they're vocal about their sin in the congregation. There is such a thing as church discipline. 1 Timothy 5, 20 gives instructions concerning the elders in the church. Those elders who continue in sin rebuke in the presence of all, it said, so that the rest also may be fearful of sinning. But this is referring to just when someone is done wrong, they know it, And let's just cover it, let's bury it so we can move on, so we can serve and work together. Proverbs 10, 12, hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions. Love can cover and forgive them all. We forgive because we were forgiven. Have a sense of what you were forgiven of. Picture that before God, what he buried. Very easy then to transfer that and forgive others. We need to be pulling each other up, okay? Because the world is working at pulling us down. We need to be each other's cheerleaders, caring for one another. Someone does wrong, it's not, ha, I'm a better church member than you. It's no, no, no. We're members together. If you hurt, I hurt. And so we're going to, I know you felt bad about that. I've done that kind of thing myself before. Just bury it. Let's move on with it. And that allows us to be able to work and serve together. See what wisdom there is from God's word here. I mean, let's face it. This is not a perfect church. There are times we are going to get on each other's nerves. We're going to say things we ought not to say. We're going to be neglectful, responsibility. You should have been there then, but you weren't. You failed somebody in the congregation. Somebody going to fail you, you're going to fail somebody else. This is the way it's going to be. There's a need for this in a church. There's a need for this constantly to be occurring. Once in a while, we're going to be too quick to judge one another. Then we have to come back and go, oh, I didn't know you were in that situation. Sorry. I guess if I were in that situation, I would have done worse. Has to be love covering all that. As long as there's going to be selfish people around, as long as we have the flesh, we're going to have the need of this exhortation. How many times did Jesus tell us to forgive each other? You know it, so this is what it's all about. And he didn't mean 490, he meant just keep going. Along with love is a third type of needed service here, and that is the third action here, be hospitable toward one another. Verse 9, be hospitable toward one another without complaint. This is connected grammatically to love earlier. Hospitality, in other words, is one concrete way of demonstrating love to each other. Romans 12, 13 links the two. Contributing to the needs of the saints, it says, and then it says, practicing hospitality. See how those go together? You see what the needs are, you love them, and then you practice hospitality. Hospitality, interestingly, or hospitable, is the word phallokzenoi. It means one who has an affectionate concern for strangers or those that were traveling and coming to town. Hospitality offers other brothers and sisters food and shelter, room and board when they are away from home. This hospitality was more than just a nice thing for the early church to do. For often church members had to travel from city to city to carry on business. They were evangelists and they had to stop somewhere. The inns were very places filled with a lot of vice, a lot of immorality. It was not a great place to be and so the homes of believers needed to be open to provide for them. Listen to 3 John, verses 5 through 8. Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever you accomplish for the brethren, and especially when they are strangers. And they bear witness to your love before the church, and you will do well to send them on their way in a manner worthy of God. For they went out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. That means the unbelieving Gentiles. Therefore, we ought to support such men, that we may be fellow workers with the truth. There it was. Someone's coming into town. They're a fellow worker of the truth. You open up your home, you're hospitable to them, and then they're sent on their way, and then they continue to serve the name. And there's a joy of practicing hospitality, getting to participate in the work that that man or that woman was involved in. Peter adds that all of this hospitality should be done without complaint. Oh, that's the hard part. They sometimes open the home, but then We get him in there, and then we let a few complaints out. That's what Martha was doing, remember? Not the Martha in our church, the Martha in the Bible. Just to cover Martha. You know, that's what she was doing. She opened her home, and then she started complaining. Sort of nullifies things, doesn't it? Big gracious heart to give, but then after you give, you're like, you know how much trouble this is causing me? Not to mention the money involved in that. Scrapes on the wall, dirtying the carpet, right? See, it can be inconvenient to be hospitable. He says, do it without complaint. That's going to destroy the joy that the recipient of that hospitality received, you know? It's going to feel like, well, maybe I shouldn't have stopped in here. Maybe I shouldn't have been here. Maybe I should have gone to another home. Comes back to town the next time, he'll pick somebody else. Won't be there. Because they feel like a burden, not a blessing in your home. See, some homes, they roll out the red carpet. Other people open the back door, tell you not to stay too long. You know, how do you apply this, though, is what I was asking. In an age where we have five-star hotels and we have cell phones to call for any needs that there are, great highway system, and travel is pretty simple. And often people who are traveling, they don't want to stay in someone's home. They'd rather stay in a Holiday Inn. They really would. They have more privacy. There are more facilities there for them, more flexibility with their schedule. They'd rather do that. I just thought of four quick ways, just quickly, how you can apply this principle today. If they want it, then get them the hotel. You know, that's one way of practicing, letting the hotel and payment for the hotel, letting them have that sort of as an extension. You're paying for their time. Do that for them. That is showing hospitality. I remember when Sue and I went up to New Jersey and I was invited to speak up there in a Calvary Baptist church. That's what they did. They put us up at the Hampton Inn, very nice room. We had the best of both worlds. We were there. We had this nice evening together. We came to church. And then after church, they invited us into someone's home. And we got the personal side of things as well. We got to eat with them, talk, and understand. We got both. That is a way still of showing hospitality. Also, secondly, you can use your home for ministry. You can open it up for events. Invite folks after church to come on over. Let your home be a center for fellowship. Invite Thomas till 3 in the morning. Use it as a place for Bible study, some training meeting that needs to occur, an outreach event. That's a big help, especially to a church like this that has no facility during the week. That's a great way for you to get involved in ministry, to open up, to make sacrifices. It's a big deal to a church like this. It really is. Some families in our church have set such a wonderful example in that area to the rest of us. Third, host missionaries who've come back and they haven't been able to make their long-term plans as they're back on furlough or for whatever reason that they're back. Help them to get settled in. Allow them to use your home as a base for gaining their support again before they head on back. Fourth, invite the poor or the lonely into your home, especially around the holiday time. Let your home be a place of blessing. So few people think of others at that time. Your home can be that way. See, if you're willing to let your home get a little worn and you're willing to lose a little time in your schedule, your home can be a great place of showing love to the saints, a great way of serving the body of Christ. And not just Hope Bible, but other people that are involved in other good ministries as well. Your home can be that way. Or putting them up for a night somewhere and checking in, driving by and seeing how they're doing. All of that can be shown as hospitality. That leads us to the fourth and final action here. Employ your gifts in serving one another. Verse 10, as each one has received a special gift, Employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. This is a great verse. Look at that verse again. It says, as each one has received a special gift. Now, the word special is not in the Greek. Each one has received a gift. Use it. Employ it. Get it busy in serving one another. That's the church again in the context. The gift refers not to the salvation gift, but it refers to ministering gifts. 1 Corinthians 12 refers to them as spiritual gifts. Here we could also call them grace gifts. And each one has received it. See, every believer, every believer in Jesus Christ has a gift to serve in the body. 1 Corinthians 12, 7. But to each one, each one in the body that is, is given the manifestation of the Spirit. Why? For the common good, for the benefit of all. See? That is why we need every single believer serving in some capacity in the church, whether it's formal or informal. There are no useless members in the body of Christ, and there should be no inactive members in the body of Christ. None. Each one has already been equipped to minister. You know, the only way that could happen is if everyone was given a gift at the time of their salvation. He couldn't say this to all of the believers if there were some believers who had some second experience, and after getting that second experience, then they were endowed with some spiritual gift. Won't work. Every believer already has, he says, at least a gift there. And so that means that the only way we could have all gotten it is when we got it at salvation. That's when you were equipped. That's when you were outfitted. Because that's when you were placed in the body of Christ. He wouldn't place you in the body without a function. He placed you in the body, and you had a function. You didn't even know what it was. You didn't know you were a finger or a toe, but you already were. And it takes time to discover that, and you learn that. By the way, this phrase does not mean that you have only one gift. It means at least one. And it can mean, some people believe, that it's a unique combination of the various gifts of the Spirit that are listed in the various places within the New Testament. A unique combination of them that God put in you so that you would be able to fulfill the things that He has called you to. And your service, I want you to notice too, just all these little pieces to put it together, should be according to the gifts that you receive. Literally, this is, according as each one has received a gift, use it. In other words, use your gift according to the kind of gift that you got. Be active within the body of Christ according to, or in accord with, how you were equipped in the body. That's what you should be doing. You shouldn't be in an area that you're not good at. Sometimes we have to do that, especially in a church plant. We do what we have to do. Many of you remember that, right? You do what you have to do. You wear 12 different hats. You're not really good at some of those hats, but you just do it because they have to get done. But you're very happy when someone else comes along and they say, what can I do in a church? Well, let me tell you. Step over here. Here's one of my hats. Boom, it's right on top of you. This is where we need you. It's on-the-job training. So notice that we are to employ it in serving one another, too. The service is meant to build up the church so the church can be healthy. We're talking about service this morning. We're talking about accomplishing the will of God in the midst of an antagonistic society. How do we do that? We build each other up. How do we do that? We use our gifts. We don't use our gifts. We're not built up. We're not built up. We're not healthy. We're not healthy. We don't accomplish the mission. It's just that simple. And also notice what manner we are to serve one another with these gifts. He says, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Christians are stewards of their gifts, not owners. They were loaned to us, given to us so that we would use them. That's the way God gave them to us. And we're supposed to be a faithful manager of the assets of the owner. That's what a steward is. 1 Corinthians 4.2 says, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy, something placed in your hand. Take care of this. This is not mine. You just take care of this. Use this. You get busy using that talent, not burying it. as the Lord said in his parable, but using it, multiplying, taking good care of it for the Master. The owner of the gifts is God. God decided which gifts you got. He decided, He sovereignly bestowed it, as 1 Corinthians 12 says. He tells you what your gift is, what your resources are, and He says, you need to get busy doing it. We should want to be good stewards of the gifts that God has given to us by employing and serving one another. Well, we are stewards of this wonderful wisdom of God, this manifold grace of God. You know what that word manifold literally means here? It means many colored, many colored. They came to have the idea of variety. The church has a lot of variety, a lot of color. That's not referring to skin color. That's referring to just variety of who we are. See, there are all kinds of different people in the church, and God did it that way. It's his manifold grace that's displayed. Multiple different kinds of ministries, an amazing institution, an amazing body the church is. What it is called to do is so broad in many ways. It's, you know, we're to care for the poor and for the sick, and some people are particularly gifted in that way. We're to trumpet the gospel before an unbelieving world, and some people are particularly gifted that way. We're to take care of needs and administrate things and make sure things flow nicely, where to teach, and different people are gifted in different ways. There's a manifold grace there. Some meet physical needs, some encourage hearts. There are many, many gifts of the Spirit operating in many different forms. The Lord of the church made sure the church was bountifully and diversely equipped. And really here, Peter just divides these manifold gifts into two very broad categories. Notice verse 11, whoever speaks, let him speak as it were the utterances of God. There's the first category. Whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies. Notice the speaking gifts first. There are many speaking gifts. Some of them passed away. The gift of prophecy, the gift of languages, which was basically prophecy in another language as well. They served their purpose for a time. They passed away. Now there's some leading gifts. There's a pastoral teaching gift, but not just from leaders, but other people have speaking gifts as well. Exhortation, word of wisdom, word of knowledge, even sometimes gift of mercy, the right kinds of words to say when you're speaking in that way. See? Anyone who's speaking within the church, using their gift in that way, that's a gift. They are to use that. And notice the one thing that Peter says to all of these speakers in the church is that when you speak, speak as it were the utterances of God, or literally the oracles of God. The word oracle is logion. It means the sayings of God, sayings of God received by men. and then written down for us. He doesn't mean that you're receiving directly new oracles of God, new revelation in your speaking. That's not what he means. In your Bible study, taking biblical principles, biblical teaching, biblical wisdom, and you pass that on to others, you're in church, in other words, and as you talk, and as you use your gift, don't just be passing on your own opinions. Know what it is that God says about it, and then pass that on. Let it be as it were, you're speaking the very words of God. This is very serious calling. Ministry and service is very serious, a serious purpose. Handle God's Word accurately, Paul says in 2 Timothy 2.15. You're to do that as you pass that on to others. Make sure what you say is not just spontaneous, first thing that comes to your head, but that it's accurate. It's what the Word of God says. Don't wrangle about useless words which are of no profit, Paul again writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy. See? So however you're speaking, Thomas came up and he served. You know, he chose his words carefully. He was up front and he gave his testimony this morning. And you serve, you do that carefully. When you minister in conversations to one another, when you're on the phone, you think carefully. I'm ministering my gift. Let it be as if God is speaking through me to this person. The very oracles of God are coming to the ears of this person. Let me serve that way, because if I serve that way, then it's going to bless the other person. You sing in the choir. Some of you are going to be up here soon. What comes out of your mouth should be a blessing. It should be the words of God, see, that which brings forth the word of God. You lead a Bible study, even to the wee little ones. You prepare for it. You get very prepared and you speak. with seriousness to the little one. And then Peter exhorts the other side, the other group. Whoever serves, let him do so by the strength which God supplies. These are not the speaking gifts, every other gift, maybe the doing gifts, you might say, including the givers, the servers, the helpers, and administrators, and many others. Obviously, again, the motive of love and ministry to the brethren is in mind. And what does Peter write to this second group? He says the one who ministers must not minister in his own strength. He must serve by the strength which God supplies. God is at work in him, giving him that energy. Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2.1, You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Relying on God is so crucial. And it also means that you have a sense of humility, because when something is accomplished before you and through you, realize that's God's strength, that's God's power that's working through you. Service rendered to the Lord in the church should be done aggressively, it should be done confidently, it should be done boldly, it should be done persistently. You're serving the Lord, and yet in the midst of all of that it should be done humbly, with an acute understanding it is the power of God that accomplishes all such things. See, service, when we do it in our own power, after a while that just begins to run out, does it not? Paul encouraged the Galatians in Galatians 6-9, let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary." God backs up his will with his power. Church work, beloved, ought not to be second-class, sloppy kind of work, you know? It ought not to be that way. Last-minute preparations, half-hearted attention to details, lackluster volunteer work, poor organization, that's not how church should be. Would an employer accept that for the pay that he wants to hand out? We serve the Lord of glory. We're his body on earth. We ought to be serving with excellence. Just because it's volunteered doesn't mean it's to be done in a second-hand kind of a way. Just because I'm not hovering over you and pounding you about, you know, you've got to do this better, doesn't mean you ought not to have some internal motivation to say, I want to do it well. I want to count for Christ and his church. See, often that's what so many offer to God is just second-hand stuff. Where's the zeal for what Christ left us in the world to accomplish in that? Where's the devotion to God's people in that? And I don't want to intimidate too much in that. I also want to say that if there's something that you haven't volunteered yet for and you're thinking about getting involved in it, there's patience, there's grace, there's development that needs to occur. Y'all have been patient with my preaching, allowing me to develop over these five and a half years. People develop. In other ways, you need to develop too. You need to step forward, you need to find what it is that God is stirring you on to do, and you need to begin to serve, because He will supply the strength, and He'll develop your gift as well. Lastly, we look at why, really, why church work must be done, and it must be done with excellence. And I really want to underscore that. See, if you understand what the church is, and what we are to accomplish down here, you will give your best effort here. Why? because of the goal or the target of our service there in the last part of verse 11. See, he says, whoever speaks, let him speak as it were the utterances of God. You might want to know why. Why so serious? Whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies. What's the big deal? So that in all things, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. This is why we serve. This is why we're doing what we're doing. This is what we're aiming for. This is our target, that in all things God may be glorified. Glorifying God means that we live in our lives and in the church in such a way that God's characteristics are magnified and are seen. The noun glory, doxa, refers to a radiant display of something, a bright, clear, dazzling, showing forth of something. That's glory. When God's beauty and God's holiness and God's attributes, His love, are seen and they're on display in the church, then God is glorified, you see. The church exists. It exists to bring glory to God. Indeed, God should be glorified, it says, in all things. This takes the glorifying beyond just the service in the church that was just mentioned. But in everything, all our lives should have the purpose of lifting up His name, magnifying His person and character. 1 Corinthians 10.31, very familiar, says, whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to what? To the glory of God. Do it all to the glory of God. See, glorifying God is not just with a mouth. We glorify God with a mouth, that's praise. We praise God and the words that come out of our mouth that is accentuating God and telling God how wonderful He is and singing about His characteristics, that's praise. But glorifying God goes beyond that. It goes to how we live and what other people see in our lives and even see in our church collectively. When we serve God's Church and the Church functions with Christ-like attributes, God is going to be glorified. When the Church languishes and is unproductive and is focused on its own problems, God is not glorified in that. See, you serve and do all things because you desire God's name to be lifted up high. That's why you're serving. That's why you're dedicating yourself to it. That's why you're doing it with excellence. Even when nobody is noticing, even when no one is coming next to you to do that, you understand what you're doing and why you're dedicated to it. And I want you to notice, too, that God can only be glorified, notice, through Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ, see, God has chosen to reveal His attributes in the person of Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapter 1 says that Jesus is the radiance of God's glory. See, the exact representation of God's nature. He who sees Christ sees God. There's no more of a perfect picture than Jesus Christ. And then we, the church, are what? We're the body of Jesus Christ on the earth. Let me put that a different way to you so you understand what that means. We are the embodiment of Jesus Christ in this world. 1 Corinthians 12, 27 says we are the body of Christ. It is now through the church that Jesus is seen. It is now through the church that Jesus is heard. That is how Christ is present in the world. He fills and indwells the church. He calls it his own temple in which he lives. Ephesians 2.22 says that God has chosen to make his dwelling place within the church. We literally are a temple growing up into a building in which God will be praised. And now God is revealing himself to this world still. Yes, through who? Through the church. Because the church exemplifies Christ, and Christ reveals God. And so now if the church is strong, and the church is Christ-like, and the church is mature, then God is seen. And then when God is seen, God can be what? He can be glorified, see? The church is the embodiment of this truth and of the gospel. And that's why we have to be healthy. And that's why we have to give such strength to our ministries. A proper witness for Christ is so important that in all things, God may be glorified. And then it says, to whom belongs the glory and the dominion forever and ever. He ought to get it because it belongs to him in the first place. This is not a pious wish on Peter's part. He's not saying, I hope that God will get the glory. He's saying the glory and the dominion does belong to God and to Christ forever. The glory, that doxa, that radiant display of His great character and His dominion, kratos, His power, His ability to rule, His reign, all of that belongs to God. He owns it. It's His. It's only right that it comes back to Him. You know, it's not ours. The glory is not ours, it's not man's. The power is not belonging to human armies or to human ingenuity. The glory and power does not belong to demons or to Satan. The doxa and the kratos, it belongs to God, right now. And God's kingdom is forever and ever, and it's going to belong to Him forever and ever. Really, that means unto the ages of the ages. As the ages unfold, there'll be other ages that come out of them, and they'll keep flowing, and forever and ever, in that sense, the glory belongs to Him. Revelation 5, 13, they really get excited there in heaven. And every created thing which is in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all things in them, I heard saying to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and listen, glory and dominion forever and ever. And Revelation 19, 6 says, Hallelujah for the Lord, our God, the Almighty. He reigns. That's what Peter's talking about. That's what he's talking about. And so he gives this appropriate doxological conclusion. He says, Amen. That's not just a little religious period at the end of a prayer, by the way. Amen means so be it. Truly, this must happen. Let this happen. It's an excited statement. Do you believe that? I believe in the glory and the power of God. You know, if that's true, we ought to dedicate ourselves to serving God. We ought to dedicate ourselves to serving God in His church. We ought to make His church strong. We ought to work hard to make sure the work of His church gets extended. This is Christ's design, people. This is not hope Bible church design. He has chosen to be revealed in this world through the church. And God has chosen to get glorified through his son and through his church. And so it is essential that we understand that we need to be busy serving, not in a second rate fashion, but in a dedicated fashion to make sure that his church is properly served. People are built up. One another is love. Prayers are said. People who speak, speak the utterances of God. People who serve draw on the power of God so that in all things, all things, Jesus Christ and God the Father may be glorified. We serve right now with the shadow of Christ's return over us. I really believe that. The shadow of Christ's return just lays over us. That's how close we are to His coming. And you have to have that in your mind or you're not going to be dedicated to the work. You're going to get drifted off into other things. You're going to be emotional after you hear this. You're going to go home, just going to drift away. But it is really true. You remember that. Christ is coming back. And he's coming back soon. How ought we to be serving him right now? What kind of energy ought we to be pouring out for his name? No one should be sitting on the sidelines, people. No one should be given half-hearted service. No one should be giving only convenient service to your own agenda and goals. Everyone ought to be serving Christ with their whole heart. I just say, if God is talking to you about that issue or another issue, after our service today, I invite you to come forward. There'll be prayer counselors to my right up here. Come and speak with them, would you? Talk with them, they'll pray with you, they'll give you advice, they'll encourage you to clear up confusions that you have. Let's close our service in prayer. Father, we ask that you would teach us to understand the great mission that we are on here. That as the devil distracts us and gets us concerned about petty things, Lord, you'll help us to shake free from that mindset and be sober and serious-minded. Lord, we will teach our young ones to pour their lives and their hearts out, not for some career they want to pursue, Lord, but that their only career would be to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in whatever form that takes in this world. That that would be the mindset of every one of your ministers and servants here in this room, whom, Lord, you have gifted and equipped. We pray it for the glory and the building up of your church in Jesus Christ's name.