First Peter chapter four, beginning in verse seven. 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 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, and in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. This is God's word. There are a lot of voices out there heralding the end of the world. But that's really nothing new. There's always been voices heralding the end of the world. Now, you can look around at the worldwide troubles that we're in and say, I could imagine it coming to an end soon. We look at the natural disasters that are all around us, plagues, economic collapse, food shortages, famine, wars. We have a new war added, it seems, weekly now. Rumors of war. Rumors of World War III. Back to rumors of nuclear war. We hear it daily now. Well, the scriptures do tell us that there's an end. And we come to one of those passages this morning. Scripture speaks of the end and tells us there are signs of the end. When you read of John's apocalypse in Revelation chapter 6, he talks about Christ opening those seals. And as he opens those seals, these tribulations fall on the earth. Death by war, death by famine, food shortages, persecutions, plagues. Masses amounts of the world suffering and dying. How should we prepare for the end? Or should we? Is there a way to prepare? Should we be preparing? And if so, if we should be preparing, then how do we do that? Well, that's the topic I want to consider this morning in this section that I just read. Let's look at it in three parts. First, we'll look at what the end is. Second, how to prepare for it. And third, the reason to prepare for it. So first of all, what the end is. Peter begins our section here in verse 7 with, but the end of all things is at hand. That's pretty comprehensive. The end of how much, Peter? Everything. He says the end of all things is at hand. Now what does Peter mean by this? The word end in Greek telos does not necessarily mean A chronological end where everything is finally just over, but rather as John MacArthur puts it, it says, instead the word means a consummation, a goal achieved, a result attained or a realization. So this word, when he says the end is at hand, he is saying that the aim and the purpose of all things is coming to a conclusion. History itself, human history is coming to a completion, God's completion. His purpose for creating all things. He's bringing it to an end. And he says this is at hand. And so you as Christians ought to live like that. That the world's not gonna go on forever as it is, but there is a definite plan and goal to the end of human history. Now, what is that? What is the end of all things? Well, in the context of Peter, what he's been speaking about, if you go back into Chapter 3, he was talking about the judgment that fell upon the people of Noah's day, that worldwide flood, that worldwide judgment that came down in Noah's day. So he was talking about that in Chapter 3. And then in Chapter 4, the section right before our passage, He's talking about the judgment of the last day, the last final judgment of the world, the judgment on the church's persecutors. He spoke of the judgment of the living and the dead. And so in this context, when he says it's the end of all things, it's coming to the end where Christ will return and there will be the final judgment. There will be a universal judgment that will actually be more universal than Noah's judgment. You say, how can it be more universal than Noah's judgment? Noah's, it was a judgment of the entire world. Well, did you notice what Peter said last week? He said, of the living and the dead. That's why it's even more universal is that everything will be judged in that final judgment. So Christ will return and there will be this final judgment of everyone and of everything. It is interesting to me that Peter makes these connections with Noah's day, both in this epistle, but also in his second epistle. He talks about Noah's day and the flood that came. And then he connects it oftentimes with that final judgment that's coming. He's saying, the world experienced a universal judgment back in Noah's day. Well, there's another one of those coming. He says that very clearly in second Peter. Let me just point that out. In 2 Peter chapter 3, beginning in verse 5, this section in 2 Peter chapter 3, he says that the last days are going to come upon us and there's always going to be scoffers who say, when is he coming? The day is always delayed. I don't really think it's going to come. I find more and more people in the church like that. Yeah, sure, it's a theoretical idea out there, but it's not, I don't know if it's really, I mean, they would never say that, but they act like it. It is interesting that almost every generation believe that Christ is gonna return, the end of all things is gonna be in their lifetime, and then we get to this generation, it seems like nobody thinks so. I mean, at least a lot of people, they just keep living like everything's just gonna go on forever. And that's what Peter is saying, is people act like this, And then he says this in verse 5, he says, for this they willfully forget. That's interesting. You forget it willingly. That by the word of God the heavens were of old and the earth standing out of the waters and in the water by which the world that then existed perished being flooded with water. So he refers back to the flood and he says, that old world, remember I've talked about this several times, that old world perished, it died. And when Noah came out of the boat, out of the ark, he entered into a kind of new creation, a new world, kind of like a new Adam. Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth. Because all the evil had been destroyed. Well, not all of it, because there was still sin and evil in the hearts of Noah and his family. But that old world was destroyed, he says, in verse 6. That world that existed perished. It was destroyed. But then he goes on to verse 7, and he compares it to the final judgment that's coming. He says, but the heavens and the earth, which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and the destruction of ungodly men. So see, he makes that connection. Peter says, The world was judged, that old world was judged and it perished, came out the other side, kind of a new creation, but this creation itself will also be judged one day, this time not with water but with fire. And so this one will be destroyed as well, this world, but there's hope. If you continue on in this chapter, he gets to verse 13, he says this, nevertheless, We, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. And so there's this promise that though the old world will perish, this life, this world that we're living in will perish. there will be a renewal of it, just like in Noah's day, into a new creation that will never perish. In fact, all unrighteousness will be done away with forever, and this new creation will be a place of total righteousness without the possibility of sin and the fall and corruption, sickness or death. this new creation is promised for us. This is the end of all things that Peter speaks of, the end of this old creation into this new creation where righteousness dwells, where evil is totally purged away forever. Noah's didn't purge it away forever, just for a moment, but this one will be forever. And so even as the Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter eight, that creation waits like, creation's almost personified, like it's waiting upon Christians to finally be glorified, to have their resurrected bodies, and when we are glorified, it will be renewed. And so creation itself groans and looks towards Christians so that it will experience a renewal at the resurrection when Christ returns. a new creation, the creation being redeemed from all that was evil and filled now with righteousness. And so that's what Peter says. What is this end? It's when Christ returns, the final judgment, the resurrection of the dead, the purging of all evil from this world. And so he says, but the end of all things is at hand. Now, he says, here's what you got to do. So church, that's what's coming. And you ought to live in light of that. But you say, well, How do I prepare for that end? Well, Peter gives us a number of things here to prepare. Two things in particular. The first thing is this, is that we ought to become a devotee of prayer. As we see the day drawing nearer, as we anticipate the day of Christ and this final judgment, we ought to be those who ardently devote ourselves to prayer. That's what he says here, verse seven, but the end of all things at hand, therefore, he's telling us, therefore, you need to do this, be serious and watchful in your prayers. Be serious and watchful in your prayers. First of all, be serious in your prayers. The word here has the idea of being sober minded, being clear headed. knowing what's going on, what's happening, and exercising self-control with your mind, with your life, not just living however you want to. Peter has already talked about this idea back in chapter one, verse 13, remember this, when he said, therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So he's saying you have to fix your hope upon that day. That should be your hope. You get up each day knowing there's an end to this world. There's an end. And one day I'll be there at that end. And so you're serious about this. And so gird up the loins of your mind and be sober and rest your hope fully upon the grace that's gonna come to you when Christ himself comes to us but I fear that we live in a time of great mental distraction. We are given so many distractions, I think beyond any generation. What other generation could hit 20 news sources in five seconds by reaching into their pocket? We are so distracted. We live in a time of great mental distraction. And we have an itch to be entertained. Entertain me. I want to be entertained. I don't want to be bored. You know, the Apostle Paul spoke about this to Timothy in 2 Timothy chapter 4 when he says, the time will come, and I wonder if that's now, when they will not endure sound doctrine or teaching. They can't think seriously. They can't handle real teaching, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers. And so, we live in such an age of this. And all of us, we could pride ourselves and say, oh, we have expository preaching and teaching. But no, how serious are we on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday? How serious am I in my thinking on those days? And do I devote myself to prayer because I'm thinking so seriously about everything? So he says, be serious in your prayer. Because I'm telling you, prayer is vital. in light of Christ's coming. It's vital. We have to be praying people. That's the only way we're going to be prepared for his coming is to be praying. Jesus taught a parable about this in Luke chapter 18. Remember the parable of the persistent widow? There's this widow that's an unjust judge and she continues to bring her case before the judge. And he keeps putting her off, but she's so persistent, she keeps bringing him back, back, back, until finally the judge says, okay, I'll deal with your case. And he deals with it. And the whole point of Jesus telling this parable is he says, you have to give yourself to prayer. And God says, no, I don't want you coming to me once or twice or even 10 times. I want you to keep coming until it's answered. of the important things, serious things, of what we heard about this morning in Sunday school, missions, the gospel going out to others, serious in our prayers. And so Jesus told this parable because he said that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. Don't lose heart. Keep praying, keep bringing it back. And at the end of the parable, what does Jesus say when he brings it home to us? He says, I tell you that God will avenge his people speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, see, it's in the context of his coming. He tells the parable in context of Christ's coming, of his own coming. I'm gonna come, and he says, but when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith? on the earth. What does faith look like? According to this passage, it's their prayer life. Because believing people, people with faith pray, and they pray a lot, and they keep praying, because they really believe he's there, he's listening, and he's active, and he's changing things. He's working. And so we have to be serious Peter says in our prayers, and be serious-minded people, not giving in to all the distractions and saying, entertain me, entertain me, but rather let me give my life to prayer. But the second thing he says about prayer is being watchful in it. So you have to be watchful. You have to be like a city watchman that's always alert to any danger. You see the danger there, and you're keeping your eye on it. Remember Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane when his disciples were tired, he said, watch and pray, watch and pray so you won't be led into temptation. There's such an importance of you have to be watchful and you have to be praying because there is a strong delusion in this world. I don't know if it's a strong delusion of 2 Thessalonians 2, how God will send in the last days, the days of Antichrist, a strong delusion upon everyone. And there'll be just the few that resist this strong delusion. But I see a strong delusion all around this world. I hope that I'm not deluded. And this is why you have to be serious and watchful in your prayers, that we ourselves won't be deluded, that we're not deluded. It reminds me of the parable that Jesus gave in Matthew 25 when he spoke of the 10 virgins. He told that in light of his second coming as well, right? The 10 virgins, there were five wise and five foolish, five with oil for their lamps, five that had little oil for their lamp. And so when the wedding banquet came, five could go in and five couldn't go. And he says at the end of the parable, listen to the word he uses, watch therefore. Remember I just said, Peter said, serious and watchful. Watch, therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." Watch. Watch, church. And so that's the very first thing he says. You say, well, how can I prepare for the end? I know the end is there. I'm keeping my eye on it. How can I prepare? Pray. Be this kind of person devoted to prayer. The second thing, though, And this is probably preparation par excellence. Actually, you say, how could it be more important than prayer? Well, Peter kind of says that here, right? And when he says in verse eight, and above all things have fervent love for one another, above everything else, here's what you do. Love one another, and he's speaking of the church, love the body of Christ, love the church. This is preparation for that day. One thing is we will assemble with the church. That's why we assemble with each other now in preparation for the day that we will assemble with him in the air when we join him. So love the church. Now he doesn't say just simply love. but says fervent love, have fervent love for the church. This word fervent means intent, constant, it doesn't change, it keeps going, strenuous, intense. I wonder, do you have intense love for the people sitting around you? For your brothers and sisters in Christ? Fervent love for one another. Now I wonder to myself, why did Peter say above all, things above everything else here it is love each other why would he say this is really I mean you really want to prepare for the coming of Jesus make sure you really love the brotherhood really love one other really love the church why would why would Peter stress that above all else before Christ left he really hammered down on some teaching and you read about this in the upper room discourse what did he say to his disciples before he left He was constantly saying to them, love one another. Love one another. So when Christ returns, will he find us obeying the command that he left us with? That we have loved one another. There's a passage in Hebrews, Hebrews 10, and you're probably quite familiar with it. And in Hebrews 10, the writer, makes a connection between love for the church and Christ's coming. Love for the church and Christ's coming. Listen to what he says here. In Hebrews 10, 24 and 25, he says, and let us consider one another. That's love, right? For me to consider you, to think about you. Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. Stirring each other up. not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another. So he says, listen, don't be forsaking one another, be exhorting one another. Don't be departing from each other, but be with each other. Well, why? He says, and to what extent? He says, and so much more as you see the day approaching. See, it's in light of the day. It's in the light of that final day, Christ's coming, that I say, I need to be about the work of loving the church because of the day. Because when my master comes, he's going to expect that I love my brothers and sisters really well, with fervent love. I mean, John says a lot about this in 1 John, that you're lying to yourself if you say you love God and you don't love the church. It's just not, it's not true. You don't really love God and you're an unconverted person. You may name the name of Christ, but you're lost. And the proof is in the fact that you do not love Christ's bride. You do not love his body. How can you say, you know, I love the head, but I don't love the body. That's impossible. They are one, they're united. And so Peter says, If you want to prepare for his coming, make sure you are loving the body. Love them fervently. Now, you say, well, how do you do this? Okay, so there's two things. I need to be a praying person and I need to be a loving person who's really loving the church well. But you say, how do I, how am I supposed to practically love the church? How do you do that? Well, Peter's very helpful here. He goes on to give us some very practical things that we can do. I would say practical love here. And I saw, Three things of practical love. The first is this. It is practical love extends forgiveness. It extends forgiveness. And there are so many passages to talk about. How can we not forgive one another if we've been forgiven by God? In fact, we're taught to pray that. We should be praying that daily. Lord, I want you to forgive me the way that I forgive all those who sin against me. Some of us say, I don't quite want that, but that's the goal that we should be pushing for is to say, I forgive, I forgive others because I'm forgiven. So he says here in verse eight, above all things have fervent love for one another for love will cover a multitude of sins. Now this comes from, is a quotation from Proverbs 10, 12. Like what MacArthur says about this verse, he says, it is the nature of true spiritual love, whether from God to man or Christian to Christian, to cover sins. He says it's the nature of true spiritual love to cover sins. That's what God does for us as his people, and that's what Christians do for one another. I cover your sin. That means I extend forgiveness to you. As we know Christ's love for us through the forgiveness he extends to us, it fills our hearts with love and therefore we love others and therefore because we love others we extend forgiveness to others. We cover their sins. Paul said there's, you know, love, in love there's no record of wrongs. We don't keep a record of It's a really bad sign when somebody pulls out all these things you've done against me. Well, I thought those were forgiven. You said you forgave me. No record of wrongs. You see, when you love fervently, offenses can't stop that love. I mean, if you have fervent love, then offenses can't stop it. It's too fervent, too constant to be stopped. And therefore, love covers those sins. try to get back at someone or becomes bitter. So this is one way that we love the church. We extend forgiveness to one another. I don't hold a grudge against another brother or sister. I forgive them from the heart. So that's one thing, practical love. How are you doing with that practical love, extending forgiveness and loving the church? The second practical love is it extends Hospitality, verse nine. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. So here's the second thing he gives. This is practical love, because Christian hospitality is love expressed in welcoming other believers into your life. I mean, literally, it's into your home, but when you invite someone into your home with true Christian hospitality, it is, I'm sharing with you not just my food or my table or my house, but everything, it's my life. I'm bringing you into my family. And so Christians are to practice hospitality. Come, let me take you into my home. Let me take you into my life. I don't hold you out and just see you on Sunday morning. But he says, love practices hospitality and extends hospitality. Now it's interesting to me that it says, Peter says, be hospitable to one another without grumbling. Grumbling is a kind of complaining, but it's usually internal complaining. Do I really have to do this? And you say, well, why would you be grumbling about hospitality? Because hospitality takes effort. And true Christian hospitality takes selflessness. It says, come in, see who I am, see my life, you're a part of my life, come in. It costs our comforts, doesn't it? There's all sorts of things we have to do to practice hospitality. I mean, real, genuine, true Christian hospitality. What's the conversation going to be like around the table? I'm uncomfortable with that. And I want to tell you something. This is not optional. This is a command. And it is not for, you know, we use these, dumb psychological categories of extrovert, introvert. Well, that's optional for those extroverts out there. No, it's not. No, it's not. Hospitality is meant for every Christian. It's not just, hey, I'd like to open my home. I'm a hospitable person. It's fun for me. No, hospitality, he does not give parameters on who this is for. This is for all Christians. You are to practice hospitality in some form or another. Welcoming people into your home, into your life, into your family. These are not optional, they're commands. Paul says the exact same thing in Romans chapter 12, verse 13. You say, well, but isn't it a qualification for an elder that he has to be hospitable? Yes, actually both. Paul says that to Timothy and to Titus. That's a qualification. Elders have to be hospitable. You say, well, that's the elder's job then. No, the elder's job are to be hospitable, so they give you an example of what you're supposed to be doing too. And I have to say, oftentimes, ow. because I'm supposed to be an example of welcoming people in and not grumbling. This is practical love, though, of taking each other into our lives. Extending forgiveness, extending hospitality, but then the last one. Practical love in service, verses 10 and 11, 10 and 11. Now, this is a little different. You don't have to practice every spiritual gift. That's true. You do have to practice hospitality. You do have to practice forgiveness to other believers. But in this, you just have to practice the gifts that God has given you. And he says that in verse 10. He says, As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. So every believer has a gift given to them, or maybe multiple gifts. That is an ability. Something to give to the church. Every Christian has a gift, it says that. As each one, not just certain ones, You know, only half our church is gifted. Only half our church has skills, you know, to offer. No, every single believer, every single person, part of a church has been given a gift. And what's it supposed to be used for? for others, for others. And I do fear the way that we think about gifts so often, people are like, oh, I want a gift, I want a gift, and it's all about themselves. And I was talking to a a Bible college professor about this once, and they were saying that it seems like everybody wants to know their spiritual gift around the school, you know, what am I going to do, how am I going to serve God and all this, but it seems so focused upon themselves and not on serving others. It's about like self-fulfillment rather than what gifts are supposed to be. And I would encourage you, you know, in this, particularly if you say, well, I'm not sure what I'm gifted in, don't sit around, particularly don't take spiritual gift inventories. But don't sit around just pondering this topic. Get involved in loving the church, and God will reveal those gifts. It just happens. When you become a part of a body and you're involved, you all of a sudden start using gifts. And then you start going, oh, well, that must be it, because this is what's happening. Because you're just practically loving the church, and God has directed you, and you're fulfilling now your call in the church. Now he mentions here in verse 10, as each one has received a gift, minister it to one another. So my gift's not for me. I would hope my gifts would be preaching and teaching and things like that nature and other things as well. But that gift shouldn't be for me. I shouldn't walk out of the pulpit and go, I really did a good job today. What? I should be focused on these people here and loving them and wanting them to see, be conformed to Christ's image and just use me however, Lord, to make sure that they're growing spiritually because it's about them. It's not about me. And that's how we ought to be using our gifts. And he goes on to say that you are to be good stewards of the gift. So if God's given you a gift, be a good steward of it because it's ultimately his that he's lent to you and you use it. And he says, be good stewards of the manifold grace of God. That is, manifold a variety of gifts. God has a variety of gifts, lots and lots of gifts. And a lot of times people will go to the New Testament and make spiritual gift lists, but I think those are not comprehensive. I think there's many, many, many spiritual gifts. And just as there is a body here, everybody has different gifts that are contributing to the body so that we are a healthy, thriving body, that people are built up and encouraged and strengthened. Now, he goes on in verse 11 to say, though there are probably, I mean, loads of gifts, there are two big primary categories that Peter speaks of in verse 11 when he says, 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. So he kind of breaks the gifts into two big categories, speaking gifts, preaching, teaching, that type of thing, speaking gifts, And then we could say ministering or serving gifts. We know in other places the Apostle Paul talks about ministering gifts like giving. Now every Christian is called to give, but there are certain ones in a congregation who are gifted at giving. And they give beyond themselves, it's a joy, and they do it, and they serve the body in a great way through their giving. There's others with mercy. Now, all of us are called to mercy. Again, in one sense, you can't say, well, I don't have the gift of mercy, so I can just go around being mean. Now, all of us, obviously, are called to mercy, but there are certain ones in our congregation that are very gifted in that. And what happens is they become examples and teachers to us of what mercy looks like so that we can grow in mercy too. Because we all want to grow in mercy. We need to grow in mercy. God calls us to mercy. But there are certain ones that are gifted in that, extremely gifted. And this is how a body functions so well when each one is using it. So are you stewarding your gift well, church? Church member, are you stewarding it well? Is the body benefited by you? If you say, you know what, not like it ought to, then bring it before God, confess that, and ask him for grace because he gives grace to the humble, acknowledging that I'm failing in this, Lord, and give me grace. And so that's how to prepare. We've talked about what the end is. We've talked about how to prepare, particularly through prayer and loving the church, and loving the church in very practical ways. But then the final point here is there's a reason to prepare. What is that reason to prepare? It's at the end of verse 11. And you would think the reason would be self-preservation, because we all have a sense of self-preservation. I want to make it through the judgment. I don't want to suffer loss when the judgment comes. And so I want to be prepared for that. I'm a little nervous about it, so I'm going to prepare." Well, that's not the ultimate reason to prepare for the end. The ultimate reason here Peter gives is at the end of verse 11 when he says this, after saying all of this, he says, that in all things God may be glorified. That's the purpose. Not, well, I want to be prepared because the end's going to come and I want to make it through the judgment and not suffer loss. No, I want God to be glorified. I want God to be glorified. That in all things, God will be glorified. So that's the higher purpose. And that higher purpose will motivate and strengthen you beyond self-preservation. Saying the glory of God, that is my ultimate goal. I want God to be glorified. So on that day at final judgment, I want him to be glorified because I've lived my life. I've sought to live my life like this, being prepared. for Him to be glorified. Why is the glory of God the highest end that we can aim for? Well, the reason is that His glory is at the heart of our very existence. Why do you exist? The highest goal of your existence is God's glory. He made you for Himself. And did you notice it's not just, it's just not us, but he says that in all things God may be glorified. So every single thing that exists, whether human beings or angels or animals or this earth, everything that exists is made for his glory, for his exaltation, for his great name. That's what it is completely about. It's as St. Augustine said in Confessions when he prays and says, you have made us for yourself, O Lord. Hear what he said? You've made us for yourself. And our heart is restless until it rests in you. See, Augustine knew that. I'm made for God. And so my heart's gonna be restless until I live for him because that's my purpose for existence. is to live for him. It is vitally important to live in line with our intended purpose. You know, imagine sled dogs. Imagine up in Alaska there's a team of sled dogs and a They have a litter of pups, and these pups were born and bred for working with a sled and pulling a sled. But one of them is sold down to Florida and is put in a condominium. I see this. Dog people are like, no, it's not going to work. It's not going to work. You say, well, I'm going to fill this dog's life with comforts and toys. I'm going to give them their own bed and and they're gonna sit up on the couch, they'll sleep on my bed at night, I'll give them all these toys, I'll give them all this stuff. Won't they be happy? Well, maybe sometimes, but not to the extent that they would be fulfilling their purpose of pulling that sled. Listen, we can fill ourselves with comforts and all sorts of toys in this life, but not reach fullness of joy. fullness of contentment. Load yourself up on comforts, on toys, but you will not reach fullness of joy with that. You won't. It's impossible. Peter has already said this in 1 Peter 1.8. He's talking about Christ coming back and he says, though now you do not see him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. There is inexpressible joy that's offered us in Christ. Joy that we can't even speak of. It is beyond our ability to talk about. It is too great. It's too full of glory. And that's the joy that comes from Christ. It comes from God because we were made for him. Now our sin ruins all of this because we pursue other things and therefore we don't have the joy or the contentment that we could have because joy and contentment is found in the one who made us and made us for himself. You know, again, it's as David says in Psalm 1611, at the end of that psalm, he says, to the Lord, in your presence is fullness of joy. Again, the toys and comforts of this world, oh, there's a level of maybe some joy or some happiness or, you know, I get joyful in this or I rejoice in this, but not the fullness. We're missing out on the fullness because it's in God's presence, there's fullness of joy, and in his right hand, pleasures forevermore. Or think about what Jesus said in his high priestly prayer in John 17, 13, when he prayed for us this. Listen to what he prayed. He says, but now I come to you, Father. I come to you. I'm leaving here and I'm coming to you. And these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in them. Jesus says the joy I have in you, Father, I want it to be in them. I want them to know what true joy is, fullness. fullness. And so Peter says that God may be glorified in everything in your life because he's after your joy and joy is found in his glory. But what supremely glorifies God the Father more than anything else? Well, look what he says in verse 11, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. The father is glorified by his son because his son is altogether perfect in who he is, what he's done. And the son has perfect joy in his father and we can have perfect joy in the Godhead. So this morning, are you preparing for the end? How's your prayer life? Is it serious? Is it watchful? How's your love for the church? Is it practical and beneficial? What is Christ calling you to this morning to prepare for His coming? What is He calling you to? You know, in the end of this section here, it's interesting because it looks like he's concluding the letter. He gives a little doxology and a benediction, and then it's like he goes on to say, oh yeah, I've got more things to write. And he keeps writing for a whole other chapter. Some people have pointed out, commentators point out, this looks like a conclusion. He's wrapping it up, and then all of a sudden he says, no, I've got more to say. But he's in doxology, he's praising God. He says, I'm glorified through Jesus Christ and to whom be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. The glory and the dominion belong to Jesus. The glory and the dominion, the rule, everything belongs to him. So he has the power and the authority to make you a prepared person. Do you believe that? He has all authority. He has all power. You say, but I'm so wrapped up in the things of this world. He can change that. He can. We have to look to him. Trust him. because to him belongs glory and dominion forever and ever. So, many times we have not because we ask not. And then maybe we ask but we don't keep on asking like the persistent widow. So keep asking. He is faithful. He will answer. Keep asking for those better things, the things we've talked about this morning. Why? Because the time is near. We're closer today to his coming than we were yesterday, true? A day closer to seeing Jesus. Let us be prepared to see our Lord.