Turn your Bibles to the book of 1 Peter. Alright, so it's good to be back preaching today. And yeah, I'm looking forward to continue with the preaching through the book of 1 Peter. started a while ago and has been some big gaps now but anyway we've made our way through to chapter 4 but before we go there I want to remind you that Peter is writing to Christians or the pilgrims of the dispersion if you just flick back to chapter 1 I remind you that Peter says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. To the pilgrims of the dispersion. Pilgrims are travelers through a land that is not their own. They are strangers to the land that they are in. And the term of the dispersion could refer to the dispersion of God's people throughout the world, or it could also refer to spiritual pilgrims. We're talking more about their spiritual status and thus being strangers to this earth as we are. We are here on this earth as pilgrims, but we are citizens of another city, of another country, another place that we're waiting to go to. We are pilgrims walking through a land, moving through a land that is not our own. It doesn't belong to us. We are temporary residents in a world that eventually will be destroyed. And it's important to be reminded of this because we get very comfortable here. We get very comfortable with what we do in our daily routines for this world, and we must glorify God in all that we do, yes, but we get so comfortable with this world and the things of this world that we can forget that we are actually temporary residents of this place and our home is somewhere else. And this is the first truth that Peter, when he wrote to these Christians that were dispersed all over the place, they were going through very tough times, he wanted them first to understand, to focus on this fact, that they are temporary residents of this place that we now think of as home. In verse three, Peter continues as he speaks to these pilgrims, to us as pilgrims, he says that we have a living hope to keep us, well, hopeful or positive, encouraged, strong as we pilgrim through this land. In verse 17, Peter tells us that we are to conduct ourselves throughout the time of our stay or pilgrimage or our temporary time here in fear, he tells us. Not fearing man, but in fearing God. Now, Pastor Edward reminded us all last Sunday in a very fiery sermon about the failure of how people have been fearing man more than they have been fearing God. But as we get through this pilgrimage, as we busy with this journey through a land that is not ours, we must not fear man. We need to fear God. That is how we're going to get through this, this pilgrimage. In Matthew chapter 10 verse 28, we were reminded again on Sunday, do not fear those who kill the body. but those that kill the soul. He who can kill the soul. In chapter two of 1 Peter, verse 11, Peter said, Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts that war against the soul. Verse 12, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. He continues to remind them of this theme that we're pilgrims, sojourners. Peter writes about us submitting to the righteous requirements of governments, yes, righteous requirements of governments, righteous requirements of bosses and husbands. Of course, he also reminds husbands that you have the most difficult job of loving your wives. Now if I'll stop there, that's a joke. But no, loving your wives just as Christ loved the church. Now that is a difficult task. going through with the wives. It's about how well and how much Jesus loved his church. That's how much we must love our wives. So these are all things, all reminders that the apostle Peter is giving his sojourners to say, these are the necessary items for you to get through this pilgrimage. And as a church reminds us, you must be of one mind. So he's kind of giving this, this, a step-by-step guide of how we need to be, what our focus needs to be, to get through this pilgrimage. I want to call him Paul. Sorry, Peter. I'll apologize one day. The Apostle Peter wrote more than my simple summary, of course, but the point I want to show is that Peter was writing us, and I want to kind of term it a survival guide or a practical how-to book on how to get through this temporary pilgrimage, what we need to focus on, what is important for us as Christians to get through this temporary land, this land that's not our own, but not only to survive or not only to get through this time, but also to glorify God in our stay here as pilgrims in a land that does not belong to us. So now we get to this morning's text. 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 7. 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 7. Let's read that. But the end of all things is at hand. Therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received the gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Verse 11. And if anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we tackle this text, Lord, we thank you for the work that the Apostle Peter has done, the lessons he went through in his lifetime and the books that he wrote for us. We know through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we thank you for the teachings. We thank you for these commandments that he's given us. And Lord, we know that we can't fully understand them without the Holy Spirit. that who we have been reminded again in dwells us and so lord i pray that the holy spirit will will be active this morning amongst us all that we might hear your word clearly your word and that lord your word will do its necessary work in our hearts and our minds so that we might be better pilgrims for you that we might be that are Christians for you, that we will glorify you in this time that we have, no matter how short or long it might be, and we will glorify you in all that we do. Thank you for this time in Jesus' name. Amen. The Apostle Peter is beginning to wind down his letter. He's beginning to start his closing remarks. And in our passage this morning, Peter's focusing on giving us some more commands that he wants us as pilgrims, us as Christians, to focus on while we wait for this pilgrimage to come to an end. Warren Wearsby, in one of his books, he speaks of this as the Ten Commandments of Peter. But actually, as I go through these verses, and through the next couple of verses that makes up the greater passage, I actually count more than 10 commandments. I count closer to 13 commandments. So I want to cover these 13 commandments over the next two messages. And so I'll cover seven commandments that Peter is giving us in this little section as he's kind of summarizing things. He's getting things down. He's giving us 13 commandments to focus on as we pilgrim through this land, as we are pilgrimaging as we are being pilgrims in this land. Anyway, as we journey through this temporary land. So the first seven that I want to cover this morning is, and I'll say them quickly, but obviously we'll spend more time, but be serious, watch and pray, have fervent love, Forgive, be hospitable, minister your spiritual gifts, and in all things, glorify God. And in the next occasion, I will cover the last six commandments that Peter gives in this section, which is, think it not strange, rejoice, be honorable, Do not be dishonorable, and you might think, well, that's a cheap shot at getting an extra point, but I'll explain when I get to it. Glorify God and commit yourself to God. So let us get us started with these 13 commandments in Peter's book of survival, part one. He says, be serious, first part of verse seven of chapter four, he says, but the end of all things is at hand, therefore be serious. The end of all things is an obvious reference to the imminent return of Jesus Christ. The next event on the Christian prophetic timeline. This is what we as Christians have been waiting for for around 2,000 years. The second coming of Jesus Christ, which begins with the rapture. and results with Jesus Christ returning physically to the earth at the end of the great tribulation to begin the millennial rule. So the rapture is the beginning of the second coming, but Jesus, the finality, complete fulfillment of the second coming is, of course, when Jesus Christ comes down to be here on earth. This is the end of all things that we're waiting for. This is what Pastor Edward has been preaching on in the book of Revelation. There's this period of great tribulation that begins with what Peter's referring to here and ends when Jesus Christ returns. That outpouring of God's wrath on this earth where we thank God that we won't be around to experience that as much as we can hear and we can read what the prophecies are, we thank God that we won't be around. But the end of times is coming soon. If it was coming soon in the time of Peter, how much sooner will it be in our times? Our time, it is coming very soon and therefore this guide is now more important than ever before. What we do now is more important than ever before. We must take our Christianity, our Christ-likeness more seriously than ever before. A few years ago, the verse I'm about to read was one of the most precious verses, one of the most loved verses in evangelical Christianity. Unfortunately, now it has become a very controversial verse. Unfortunately, because of those who are trying to justify their sinful reactions to worldly events that happened in the last few years. And I think some of you might know what verse I'm going to read, and that is Hebrews 10, 24 to 25. And it says in that verse, which we love and we read many times, and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. The author of Hebrews wrote this many years ago, thousands of years ago. He said, don't forsake assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhort one another and so much more. Why? As you see the day approaching. That was back then. We are now here. The day approaching, the end of all times, as Peter refers to it, is just over the, just, it's right here. It's so close. And so it's even more important for us to be gathering together. Not even more reason not to gather together, as unfortunately so many Christians have failed in this regard terribly. Even now, churches are not gathering because of the COVID epidemic, so-called epidemic. How? How can they not be gathering when the commandment was years ago, how important it was to gather because the times are coming to an end? Each new generation is closer to that day. Each new generation has more reason to meet and gather together than the previous generation, because each generation is getting closer to those days. And so the commandment to gather together, the encouragement to make sure you spend time together is even more important as the new generations come. not less important living as Christ wants you to aka otherwise known as obeying the scriptures which implies guys that you need to know the scriptures Kind of duh, but isn't that true? If you want to obey the scriptures, you better know the scriptures. So you better be working on knowing the scriptures, not once in a while, but all the time. So if you know the scriptures, you can obey the scriptures. Therefore you can be more like Christ. You can be more serious in your Christianity. This has been the call of the apostles and every form of church leadership since the time of Christ and the beginning of the church, which we are celebrating today. But today, the New Testament tells us it's even more important. It's even more important. Why? I've already said this over and over, because the time is coming to an end. Time is running out. Time's not running out for us. in the sense that we are not going to get to a point where, oops, we're in trouble. No. We will go to glory. We might not have as many crowns to put at his feet. We might be embarrassed for the little effort we made in our Christianity, but our glory, our time in glory, is settled because of the Lord Jesus Christ. But those we know who have rejected Jesus Christ or are currently rejecting Jesus Christ or ignoring him completely, the time is running out for them. And so therefore, as Christians, we need to take our Christianity so much more seriously. In the ESV, the English Standard Version, this verse 7 is translated, "...the end of all things is at hand, and therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded." What you think and what you do must be controlled by the Holy Spirit. It must be controlled by the word of Jesus Christ. This is the first commandment that Peter has written in this little summary or this little book of survival that he's given us with these 13 commandments. Warren Wears v. Wright, and I promise you this is the only quote from him now, one quote again. Although I love the man. He writes, the opposite of sober-minded is frenzy, madness. It is the Greek word mania, which is coming to our English vocabulary via psychology. If we are sober-minded, we'll be intellectually sound and not off on a tangent because of some new interpretation of the scriptures. We will also face things realistically and be free from delusion. The sober-minded saint will have a purposeful life and not be drifting and he will exercise restraint and not be impulsive. He will have sound judgment, not only about doctrinal matters, but also about the practical affairs of life. How did he know what we would experience now? Because it's like he's writing to us today. He's writing to us after this covert so-called covert pandemic that has changed turn the churches upside down Then they've gone main. They've become maniacs. They're not their frenzy Madness everything that the scriptures telling us we should be the opposite of And we're not sober-minded. There's so many Christians today who's not sober-minded. They don't have this purposeful life. They're drifting around. They don't have sound judgment about doctrinal matters and specifically and especially about their practical affairs of life. They've lost it because they're not taking their Christianity seriously. Peter's second commandment for us is to watch and pray, as we continue with verse seven. At the end of all things that is hand, therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. Now, not only should we be serious or self-controlled or sober-minded, as we saw these words can be used, in what we think and what we do, but we must also be serious and watchful in our prayers. Now, there are two ways of interpreting this verse. I think you've already kind of seen that. All right. We can see this plainly as we look in the New King James Version. It seems to be referring just to prayer. Therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers, where the ESV says, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Or the New American Standard Bible says, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. The one translation implies that our prayers must be serious, they must be under control and alert, and the second is that our thoughts must be under control and our prayers and communion with God will then be under control. It will follow then that our prayers will be under control, we'll be sober-minded. To say it in a different way, if our thoughts are confusing, then our prayers will be confusing. And to say it in the words of the New King James Version, if you want to be serious and watchful in your prayers, then you better be serious and watchful in your thoughts. And that's what I believe the thought is here that Pete is trying to get across to us. It starts with how we think. Everything starts with how we think. Our actions, what we say, what we do, how we pray, it is all dependent on what we think. And if our minds are messed up, if our thoughts aren't under control of the spirit and the word, then everything else is going to fall apart. Everything else is going to be outside of, not under control. Not serious. One Greek lexicon says of the word watchful, to be in control of one's thought process and thus not be in danger of irrational thinking, to be sober minded, to be well composed in mind. And the only way we achieve that is through the word of God. Peter would never forget these words because they were spoken to him by the Lord, his savior, in the garden of Gethsemane. In Mark chapter 14, verse 38, we read that Jesus came down again to the disciples as he was praying to the father. He stepped down to speak to the disciples. He said, watch and pray. He found them sleeping, watch and pray. Lest you enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Watch and pray. Think clearly, pray clearly. Peter will never forget those words. The flesh is weak. We can attest to that. We can all attest to that. And if left to its own thoughts, we will be a mess. Our prayers will be a mess. Our life will be a mess. If we left just to our flesh and the thoughts that come from the flesh. How could we possibly survive the time here on earth before Christ returns? If we don't watch, if we're not alert in our mind and our thoughts, and in our press. Excuse me. How do we watch today? Does it involve watching the news every day or watching the alternate news stations every day? Are we considered watchful by being inundated with the news of this world? which is all controlled by Satan. You do realize that. It doesn't matter where you get your news from. It's all controlled by Satan because it's his world. No, we're not watchful then. These sources are the last thing you want to be controlling your mind. The last thing you want your mind controlled by. There's only one source. One source that should occupy our minds every day. And you know what that source is. Apostle John says in chapter 17 of verse 17 verse 17 of chapter 17 of his book He says sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth Does it say your word and something else is truth? No, your word is truth. There is no source of truth out there but for the word of God. No source of truth but for the word of God. Even the most well-meaning authors, reporters, journalists can lie and misrepresent the truth deliberately or unknowingly. This world is not our own. We are a pilgrim that's going through this world. Why spend valuable time listening to any of these people when you could rather be in the word of God? The one and only true source of truth. The word watchful also means to guard the mind. Be very careful what you listen to and what you read because most things out there will corrupt and damage your thoughts. Proverbs 4.23, this is where Peter was quoting from. It says, keep your heart with all diligence. Sorry, I apologize, Peter wasn't quoting from Proverbs 4.23. Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. There's only one solution to the problem of today, the problems of today. There's only one solution to the problems in South Africa, in Europe, in Ukraine, in America. in Australia, in all the places we want to look at, there's only one solution, and that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's the only way to solve our problems today, is to give people the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the only truth we need to chase after, is the truth of the word of God, and that's what's going to change man and turn them from their evil ways. One truth of source, one source of truth one word of truth, one gospel message. Peter's third commandment for us is to have fervent love. Verse 8, he says, and above all things have fervent love for one another. Above all things indicates how important this is, this statement is. The apostle Paul in his writings to the Corinthians, the love chapter, chapter 13, the end of that chapter, which is verse 13, he writes, and now abide, faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these, one at the top, is love. The apostle Paul wrote in his letter to the Colossians, but above all these things, put on love. The greatest thing, the thing above all other things, is the love we need to have for our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is the badge that every true believer carries with them. John 13, verse 34 says, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Jesus is giving us a commandment to love one another. Turn around, look around each other. These are our one another's. We have to love each other. By this, by our love for one another, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another. This kind of love we know is the pure love. It stands out from that weak, emotionally backwards and forwards kind of love that the world has. The true love is more about what we do and what we say. It's less about how we feel. It does include how we feel, but it's less about what we feel. In other words, Christian love means we will love people we don't necessarily like. That's the reality of things. I might not like you. You might not be my best friend. but I must love you and I must do things for you that that love entails. So we have no excuse. We must, it's a commandment. It makes us stand out. It's one of the things that Peter says is the commandments we need to do to get through this time, to glorify him. We must love each other. And this love should be fervent. It gives an illustration of an athlete that is stretching themselves to great lengths in pursuit of their sport to get the fastest or the strongest or whatever the case might be. It's a strong, it's an intense, eager activity. This love that Jesus requires of us for each other is not something that is simple. It's not easy. It requires effort, great effort. That's what God wants us to do. That's how much we need to love each other. So let's move on to the fourth commandment. And that is one that we also don't like, but is necessary. And it's to forgive. Verse eight, and above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. Love and forgiveness go hand in hand. One doesn't exist without the other. The best known verse in the world, a passage, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. This passage, has many things to say, but amongst what he has to tell us and show us is the love of God and the forgiveness of God. He loved us so much that if he gave us our sins, those sins that were deserving of death, hell, through the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, through the righteousness, sorry, of Jesus Christ, he was able to, he is able to forgive us and save us for everlasting life. Love and forgiveness go hand in hand. 1 John 1 verse 9 says, of us speaking to God, it says, if we confess our sins, he, God, is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. But if it was to do with us, we would write it like this, we would say, if we confess our sins, there's a good chance he'll forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. It's according to how he feels. Because that's how we act, is it not? Well, I might forgive them. It's according to how I feel. I'm going to withhold that forgiveness until I feel like I can forgive them. God doesn't say that. If you confess He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. When we come to Him for salvation, doesn't He have the right to say, you don't deserve it? Of course He does. That's why He gives us our salvation with grace and mercy. We don't deserve His forgiveness. Most people that offend us don't deserve our forgiveness. Now here's where Peter's quoting from Proverbs. He's quoting from Proverbs 10, 12, where it says, stirs up strife, but love covers all sins. Now there are some differing opinions on what it means by cover all sins. We know that only God can forgive the eternal consequences of our personal sin. The gospel explains the whole process, we've all sinned, our sin deserves death, deserves eternal dwelling away from God in hell, and it's only God, through faith in Him, trusting in Him, and in His sacrifice, only therein can we find the eternal forgiveness, or the covering of our sins. So the writer of Proverbs and Peter is not talking of the forgiveness that only God can give and will only give according to his plan, but people can and do offend us, right? They can and they do offend us. And if we love them and we're commanded to love them, God commands us to love them, to love each other, our first thought should be not to become angry, not to be bitter, Not to hold it against them, not to gossip about it and tell others about it as often as we get the opportunity. No, our first thought must be to love them and forgive their offense to us. That's the Christian way. That's what Peter commands us to do as we pilgrim through this world, as we travel through this temporary world on our way to glory. If we want to glorify him, if we want to do it right, one of the things we need to do is forgive those who offend us. It does not mean we condone sin. No, it doesn't. But it does mean that we will not hold that sin against them for as long as we want. If someone sins and offends us, then we must forgive their offense to us. We must forgive them. But it doesn't end there. In the book, in his letter to Galatians, Paul says, in verse one of chapter six, brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, so if this sin that caused the offense to you, if it's a minor sin and is dealt with, great. But if this sin is a problem, you can't just, okay, I forgive you and I'm gonna forget about it. You need to help them. So verse one of Galatians 6 says, brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. You're a Christian, therefore you are spiritual, therefore you qualify to help people who are going to be overtaken or have been overtaken in their trespasses, in their sin. So instead of gossiping, instead of getting bitter, Instead of holding it against them, we should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness through the spiritual means that we have. We have the indwelling Holy Spirit. We have the Word of God. We must use this to help our brothers and sisters deal with the sin. Of course, we must deal with our sins as well. Christians are sinners saved by grace. If you're looking for the perfect church, you're wasting your time. You're looking for the perfect pastor, you're wasting your time. If you're looking for the perfect person to sit in front of you or behind you, again, you're wasting your time. There isn't such a thing. We're all going to sin. We're all going to offend. And we can either hold on to that and be bitter and ugly and be terrible. or we can do the Christian thing and forgive and love. So Peter's fifth commandment for us is to be hospitable. Verse nine, be hospitable to one another without grumbling. This is one of the many practical outworkings of the love that we should have for our believers, for our brethren, sorry, for the brothers and sisters in Christ. We should willingly and joyfully open our homes to our brothers and sisters. without any grumbling. Now in the New Testament and the Old Biblical times, New Testament and Old Testament times, there were very few inns Very few, you know, I'm forgetting what our hotels are called, but anyway, there's very few of those, and so it was very necessary for when travelers were going around that it was necessary for them to be invited into people's home and stay in these homes. Now that's maybe not so much today, there's so many places to stay, but the point is we should still be willing to open our homes to those who need a place to stay when they need it in their travels. They can't stay there for long. Chuck them out after a week, but we must be hospitable. We must be willing to open our homes and let people in. That word hospitable literally means to love strangers. That's an awful thing because we love inviting people to our house to eat and have, you know. have a braai or whatever the case is. But, of course, you enjoy having the people you enjoy, people you love you want around. That's cool. It's nice. It's fun. Who do you want me to invite? Who? It's those people that we must invite to our home if we want to be hospitable. So, Carol, you can come. I had to think of someone who was mature enough to handle that. Thanks, Carol. No, the word hospitable talks about strangers. It's not just about opening your arms to the people you love or the people you know. It may be that you don't love them. It's maybe that you don't even, you might not hate them. You just don't know them. But if they're believers in Jesus Christ, invite them. Invite them into your home. How wonderful that is. We all found, not on Sundays, by the way, at least not Sunday mornings or Sunday evenings, that we found in each other's homes, enjoying fellowship together, being hospitable to each other. Let's keep going. Sixth commandment. minister your spiritual gifts, verse 10 and 11. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies. As we consider how to get through this pilgrimage to the glory of God, what we should focus on, real focus should be while we're in this temporary journey called life. And one of those things is to exercise your spiritual gifts. Now, Every true believer in Jesus Christ has been given a specific spiritual gift from God. So I need to say that again, just in case you didn't know this. Every true believer in Jesus Christ has been given a specific spiritual gift from God. It's not a voucher, by the way. It's not a voucher you get that you can go into the shop and pick one. No, and some people teach that that's no all right. He gives you a spiritual gift. You don't get to pick it He gives it to you Romans 12 verse 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them. If prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith. Or ministry, let us use it in our ministering. He who teaches in teaching, he who exhorts in exhortation, he who gives with liberality, he who leads with diligence, he who shows mercy with cheerfulness. Don't you wish you could carry on? He doesn't, alright. Peter nor Paul, their list of spiritual gifts is not complete, I believe. Their point was not to list all spiritual gifts, but rather to show that whatever spiritual gift you have, it must be used through God, for God, and for his people. It must be for the benefit of others and to the glory of God. That's what the spiritual gift is for. It's not for your benefit. It's not for your excitement. It's not for your upliftment. Spiritual gifts are for the benefit of those around you, those brothers and sisters around you, your brethren, your brothers and sisters in Christ. I know this. Don't be ashamed. I know that if I took a poll here today, what your spiritual gift is, most of you wouldn't be able to tell me. I know that. And in a way, that's okay. That doesn't concern me. I'd be far less concerned about someone who doesn't know what their spiritual gift is, but they're using it, than someone who knows. I know what my spiritual gift is, but I don't use it. So, yes, it's good to know what your spiritual gift is, but it's even more important, and that's what the commandment is. The commandment isn't know your spiritual gift. The commandment is use your spiritual gift. How do you use that? Well, you stay home on a Sunday and watch TV. Unfortunately, some people believe that is true. How can you possibly use your spiritual gift staying at home and watching YouTube on a Sunday morning? Of course you can't. You must get involved. You must get involved in the ministries. Whatever it is. The ministries, the ministry at Calvary Baptist Church is not preaching, by the way. Okay, the ministry is not music. The ministry is not Sunday school. The ministry is not tea time. It's all of them plus everything else. The finances, the admin work, dealing with the library, whatever needs to be done is part of the ministry at Calvary Baptist Church. And the Lord has specifically gifted all of you for something. Something and it might just be patience. We were talking about it last night Maybe you're just a bit more patient than me because that's pretty good because I'm not a very patient guy Ask pastor. He knows I can get really lose my patience. So I know I don't have the gift of patience You know So sometimes it's easier to know what you don't have and what you do have but the point is use it which means Get off your bum and get involved in the ministries at Calvary Baptist Church. And if there isn't a ministry, thank you, then make one. Speak to us first, sign in all the forms, triplicate and everything else, but you know, do it, get busy, do things. That's what's important. It's also a good thing to spend time with godly people. in the ministry. It's those godly people. That was the first time I lost my socks. I was upset to no end. I was driving. I still remember I was driving home in Kiffel. That's our first little car, little Opel Kadett and I was upset. Someone said to me, I see you. Yeah, I see you preaching. I see you. I see you, you know, in a church and doing this. What? I left that meeting and I was driving home and I was upset. Because I didn't see that, but over time and years, time, I realized, okay, that's what the Lord wants me to use. Does that make me the best preacher or the best pastor? No, absolutely not, unfortunately. But that's when I started to realize how the Lord has gifted me by getting involved. And other people started to speak to me and say, well, I noticed this in your life. And I think pastors can say the same. I noticed this in your life and then you start realizing what your spiritual gifts are, but it means getting involved All right, so the final Commandment for us this morning is the seventh commandment and in that is in verse 11 the end of verse 11 It says in all things glorify God And that's what it says that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom belong the glory and the dominion of forever and ever, amen. Whatever we do, being serious in our Christianity, being watchful in our thoughts and in our prayers, loving each other, forgiving each other, being hospitable and ministering our spiritual gifts to each other, we do this all to glorify our Father in heaven. 1 Corinthians 10 31, you should know it. You should have it as part of your memory verses. Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Can you believe that? Why would the apostle think of that? Whether I eat or drink, there's far more important things in life than eating and drinking. How I dunk my biscuit in my tea, how do I glorify God in that? Well, that's the point. No matter how mundane, no matter how small your task, no matter how big your task, glorify God in all these things. Don't reserve the time to glorify Him when I get to this point or when I start doing these things. No, always, constantly be thinking about glorifying Him in everything, including feeding your animals and putting your socks on in the morning, which I don't do anymore. My wife does. Glorify God in all things. You know, in the most mundane, the most difficult, glorify him. Jesus, in the scriptures, he said that he chose to die in a way that glorified God. That the way he was going to die was to glorify God. Now, think about that. Now you'll say, oh, well, that was Jesus. I mean, you know, he had special abilities. Are you prepared to die in a way to glorify God? Or, to put it differently, do you think at that moment of your death, if it comes quickly or it takes weeks or months or years, are you going to glorify God in that process? Or isn't that rather a selfish thing to say? Because, I mean, death is so, you know, personal and intimate that surely I have the right to die as I want. No. Jesus died in a way that glorified God. in our greatest tragedies, and we've all had them, or we're going to have them, I'm afraid to say, we can glorify God. In our moments of the highest pain levels, we can glorify God. In our moments of much or little, we can glorify God. We must glorify God. Glorifying God is one of the top priorities in getting through our pilgrimage to this temporary world. Our focus must be to glorify Him, not self. So let's finish off. Peter's survival guide or practical how-to book to get through this temporary pilgrimage, we said, has given us 13 commandments, which we've looked at seven. This list is not complete, obviously. For the complete list, start reading at Genesis 1-1 and finish at Revelations 22-23. 23, chapter 23, minus one verse. That's where you'll find the entire list of commandments. But the Apostle Peter has given us a pretty good list that covers a lot of space, a lot of things in our life, okay? We must take our entire Christian walk very seriously. And we don't sometimes. When I say survive this time, I mean ending with the Lord saying, you good and faithful servant. Now, yes, that is part of a, a, uh, uh, goodness. I knew I was going to forget the word. I meant to write it down and parable. It was one of Jesus' parables that he gave in Matthew chapter 25. But the application applies to us, where he gave these servants different talents to do different things with him. When you read the parable, hopefully you've read it many times, and then he gets to the guy who said, well, you know, you're a pretty astute guy, you're a pretty, you know, mean guy, and sort of, so I thought, cool, I'm gonna take your talent, I'm gonna hide it in my handkerchief in the ground, and now look, I've got it for you. Okay, he wasn't called your good and faithful servant. If we spend our time in this pilgrimage, all right, not using our spiritual gifts, not thinking about glorifying God, not loving our brothers and sisters, all right, doing completely the opposite. As I want to, I will be bitter, I will be angry, I have right to do this, I have right to do that. And when we get to see him at the end of this time, we won't be called your good and faithful servants. Yes, our eternity is guaranteed, we won't lose that. Yes, we will enjoy glory forever, but there will be a moment at the beginning, I believe, that there will be a time of mourning, even very short, as we consider what we didn't do for our Savior the first time we meet him. Let's close in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you for the joy we have in you and in your word. We pray, Lord, that you will help us to glorify you in everything that we do. We pray, Lord, that we will listen to these commandments that Peter has given us to get through this time here on earth before it is over, that we will glorify you, that we will do all the commandments that we've been told to do. and that we won't waste our time, that we will be serious as Christians, and that we will do what's necessary, Lord, for you, not for us. So thank you for your word. I pray the Holy Spirit will continue to work in us and do its necessary work from your word. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We are grateful that you have chosen to listen to one of our sermons, and it is our prayer that you will be provoked to deepen your walk with Christ through this message. This sermon was recorded at Calvary Baptist Church, Sunny Ridge, Germiston, South Africa. For more information about our church and its ministry, please go to www.facebook.com forward slash Calvary Baptist Sunny Ridge.