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The end of all things may be
near, but behold, our God is seated on the throne. It's not
too often as a preacher I get a title like that right out of
the text to introduce a message. We do have handouts and they're
on the back if you haven't picked one up yet. Peter's opening statement,
the end of all things, may be conjuring up all sorts of emotions
and images even in our minds right now. In our day, Hollywood
has sought to entertain us by depicting over and over the world
literally ending. But Peter is going to offer hope
that Hollywood certainly cannot. One famous and early apocalyptic
movie I remember as a child, I wasn't around when it was first
made, but I saw the repeat, When the Worlds Collide. There's a
movie poster right there. But it just put in this vision,
the end of the world is near. New world that they fly off in
a spaceship to. There have been too many world-ending movies
to mention here, but Hollywood is not alone in crying out, the
end of all things is near. Politicians, religious figures
have been doing this for a long time. I just have a spattering
of quotes. 1520s, Martin Luther, we just
sang one of his songs. We have reached the time of the white
horse of the apocalypse. This world will not last any
longer than another 100 years. and was not quite as near as
it is. 1704, Isaac Newton. The times, times, and halftime,
that's a reference to Daniel, do not end before 2060. It may
end later, but I see no reason for it to end sooner. 1843, 1844, William Miller, known
as the Great Disappointment. I am fully convinced that sometime
between March 21st of 1843 and March 21st, 1844, Christ will
come. 1914, Charles Taze Russell, Jehovah
Witness founder, the time is at hand, the battle of the great
day of God Almighty is near. How about some other ones? 1940, Alistair Crowley, he's
an occultist, not someone that we would normally talk about,
but he said, the end of the world is coming and the great beast
will rise. He was actually looking forward
to that. Artist Bob Dylan, a hard rains are gonna fall. That was
a reference to a cold war with nuclear anxieties. 1973, the children of God called
David Berg, the United States will be destroyed by nuclear
war before 1985. That didn't happen, did it? 1980, many of you have read Hal
Lindsey's book. The 1980s could very well be
the last decade of history as we know it. Even Ronald Reagan
in the 80s said, we may be the generation that sees Armageddon. Just a couple more. Heaven's
Gate, you might remember that when the comet came through.
Our mission is to leave this planet for it's about to be recycled. And such, you know, quotes like
this from people who have followers doesn't end well for many. Jerry
Falwell, I believe Christ will return in my lifetime. We are
very near the end of the world. And of course, I could not resist
to include 2006 Al Gore, We only have 10 years left to save the
planet from irreversible damage due to global warming. While
not explicitly claiming the end is near, that statement carried
apocalyptic undertones. We've had some notable world-changing
events. We've had several world wars,
two nuclear bombs, Y2K, and yet we are still here. The end is
near, but it's not here. Some have commercialized and
preyed upon fears of an uncertain world. I couldn't resist showing
you this slide. One company sells the DEFCON
Bunkers Premium Bunker. This is our standard DEF-1 underground
bomb shelter, 8 by 16 by 20. Just a few pitches or facts about
this. Made of stainless steel, it comes
standard with water filtration, blast valves, a full bathroom,
bullet resistant doors, a 45 degree entrance, and many other
standard features. Our bunkers come with many standard
amenities that other companies consider upgrades, making DEF
CON 1 standard underground bunkers top of the line. However, this
is not a sales pitch to go underground. I couldn't find the price on
it. I really wanted to know. But this morning, Peter will
prepare us for the end of all things. But unlike Hollywood
or an end of a civilization bunker salesman, Peter is going to guide
us not to panic or run for the escape exit, but to live with
a confident purpose and faith knowing the end is near. So this morning, let us consider
three essential principles for living in the here and now with
a God-glorifying purpose, knowing the end of all things is near.
Three principles for living for the glory of God are here as
follows. Principle number one, it requires the right attitude
and the right actions. Principle number two is an insist
we love and show hospitality. Principle number three entails
serving as good stewards of God's gifts. So if you would, please
open up your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter four, and we're picking
up at verse seven. Now you probably noticed in the
last few weeks I'm trying to reduce the number of verses, therefore
reducing the length of the sermon. It's not working. It's going
to be a little bit longer. I have word count that stares
at me in the face every time I go into this. So if you would
bear with me, but I promise this will be very engaging. There's
some really neat things in here that Peter's going to reveal.
All right. So principle number one is because the end is near,
it requires the right attitudes and right actions. Peter writes,
the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound judgment. and sober spirit for the purpose
of prayer." Peter's opening statement is not in any way a cry of panic. It's a call to purpose, not doom,
but direction. The end for Peter and us, for
us the Lord's church and the bride, is a completion and conclusion. The verb is near means to come
closer or draw near. In the original language, Peter
is saying the end has already begun. So there's a period of
time before the ending finally comes. This is like a battery
draining its power over time. You're using up the remaining
charge, but then there's that moment, right? There is no charge. That's when the end comes. The
end that Peter has in mind is the end of the church age, leading
into the tribulation with the culmination of Christ's return
and reign and we with him. Peter is speaking to the church,
not to the law. So, with Peter's focus on the
return of Christ, this is not like Chicken Little crying, the
sky is falling, and everyone begins to panic. But rather,
it's about our Lord's return is near, and how you and I are
to sensibly live in light of that. James provides insights,
kind of fascinating, different ways that each author in the
Bible talks about the end. You too be patient, strengthen
your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near." These two
commands from James describe patience as self-control and
long-suffering in very difficult circumstances, and placing your
trust firmly in the Lord. Paul spoke in the same manner
about the end. Listen to this from Romans 13 11 do this knowing
the time that is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep
for now salvation is nearer to us than we believed there is
a tendency for some to disengage isn't there to pull back to withdraw
as if asleep and Paul says now more than ever that's 2,000 years
ago it is time to wake up and engage now you might be wondering
when did the end begin If we're not in the end and it's nearing,
when does the beginning of the end begin? As soon as Christ
came, complete his cross work, and ascended, that's when the
end began. These are described as the last
days in scripture. Now that you understand Peter's
statement, the end of all things is near, It changes your whole
perspective, doesn't it? It's not that the end is tomorrow.
It could be, but there's still much more to happen. So we're
not a people to be in fear, but instead we're a people of hope.
As time passes, each generation should be more hopeful because
Jesus is all the more near. This expectation and hope should
transform our thinking, our actions. And so Peter commands us, right
there in the text, with two commands, be of sound judgment and be sober. The underlying Greek word for
sound judgment is to be sensible, clear-minded. That's the opposite
of someone in panic. And the word, in other contexts,
means sane. It's not by accident Peter begins
with the mind, because that's where it all begins, right? It's
not by accident, like I said, the mind is a gateway to everything
else. Look around us. Everywhere we
look, fear is injected. In the news, on the radio, our
economy, movies, TV streaming, our health, the next pandemic,
it's even injected into our weather alerts. Though last time, I will
admit, I didn't see any. fear language, you know. But if we're
not careful, we may allow ourselves to be swept away in a tsunami
of fearful thoughts and emotions. What could be? What might be?
What may be? And in doing so, we become paralyzed,
crippled, dysfunctional believers, hindering and not helping in
the work of the kingdom. Don't forget, Peter is writing
to persecuted, dispersed, despairing, suffering believers who frankly
have tangible reasons to be fearful of physical harm, jail, and even
death. And yet Peter says to them, be
clear minded and don't let your emotions and anything else cloud
your sober judgment. It's really kind of a shocking
statement, isn't it? So how are you doing in your
thought life? Do you get anxious? Do you start
to dwell and focus and magnify those fears that each of us have?
Are you filtering those fears? Are you filtering your plans?
Are you filtering your decisions through the wisdom of God's word?
Are you grounding yourself in the unchanging truth of scripture?
I remember as an unbeliever, and I've shared many stories,
my life was a mess. and then getting saved, coming to the
word of God, and going, this is truth. They lied. People have
lied to me. This is truth. God cannot lie.
And boy, that brought peace and comfort. Do you seek biblical
wisdom from others to gain a godly perspective? That can happen.
It's amazing how you can be in a conflict and then someone from
the outside comes in and they just kind of like see everything
plain as day, you know, because they don't have all that emotions
and everything else in it. They're on the outside looking
in and they can be a little more impartial because let's be honest,
we can get very partial. Are you following through and
being diligent in your faith? Are you making the changes necessary
in your life to thrive? Peter's second command to be
of silver spirit is very much tied to the first, but it's different.
It's just one word in the Greek, and it literally means self-controlled. It's not by accident that the
thinking is tied to the doing. The opposite of someone who is
not self-controlled is unrestrained, not balanced, almost acting as
if they're under the influence of an intoxicating substance.
It's interesting because God is calling us, hey, be sober
and be self-controlled. The end is near. There's reasons
to be fearful, but you, believer. do this. Peter's not also describing
some cold, intellectual, emotionless, unfeeling, callous individual,
isolated and uncaring in the world. That is not the picture
here. It is a warm, thoughtful, emotionally balanced, loving
individual who's both empathetic and sympathetic, but here's the
key, clear thinking and responds biblically to the events of the
day grounded that God is sovereign no matter what happens. It's
interesting because Peter repeats himself. And back in, you might
remember when we were in 1 Peter 1.13, this is what he says. That's
the same thing. As the end is near, be of sound
judgment and sober in spirit. Paul describes the same concept
this way, Philippians 4.5, let your gentle spirit be known to
all men, the Lord is near. So there's this element of even
gentleness. The author of Hebrew recognizes
the importance of fellowship in these last days, Hebrews 10.25,
not forsaking our own assembly together as in the habit of some,
but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day
drawing near. We need each other in these challenging
times. Peter paints the picture of a
mature believer. Are we here always? No. Do we
struggle? Almost always. That's why we
need each other for fellowship. We must always guard our hearts
from being overwhelmed. We don't ignore reality, right? This isn't a disconnect from
truth. We don't run from reality. Still, we persevere through reality,
fixed upon how do I obey Christ in this moment, demonstrating
our trust in his sovereign rule and reign, no matter what the
circumstances are in our life. This doesn't mean it's easy.
As you're going to discover, we're going to need some strength
and help along the way. It's not easy. In the flesh,
it's impossible. But if we choose to yield to
God and His word, choosing to obey rather than disobey, we
will find help by the Spirit and we will have certain victory. Peter gives us this overarching
purpose for the sound judgment and the sober spirit. Prayer.
Kind of interesting, right? The end of all things is near.
Be a sober judgment, sound spirit, right? Or a sober spirit for
the purpose of prayer. Peer does not describe some panic
prayer or wishful thinking prayer. This prayer is tethered. It's
flowing from sound judgment, from self-control. Prayer of
this type is the exact opposite. of James' doubting, double-minded
man in James. Let me just read that as to remind
us. But he must ask in faith, without any doubting. For the
one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed
by the wind. See, that's no self-control.
That's not faith, that's doubt. We must face whatever we encounter,
Lord, with sound judgment and a sober, self-controlled spirit,
bringing everything before the Lord in prayer. Let me ask you,
can you think of someone in the Bible who experienced the end
of all things, so to speak, but had sound judgment, self-control,
and prayed? Now, this is a audience participation
moment. Anyone want to volunteer? Joe? OK. Turn this off. Can you hit the, yeah, there
we go. I'm not sure it turned off now.
Job is one. What's another one? David. Daniel. Stephen. Jesus. Yeah. Noah. How about Noah? Literally the
end of all things is near. All of those are good answers.
And the reason that all of them are good is because each one
had different endings for them. And that's how it can sometimes
be. We have our own individual endings. And of course, there
are some pretty major events like the flood. But I do like
Daniel, especially when you think about him in particular, so much
is written on him. And so I'm just going to hit
that example. But think about this. Daniel 6, that law to only
pray a certain prayer to a certain false god was changed. He remains
sober in judgment and he prays. He's arrested and he remains
sober in spirit with self-control. We don't see any text in there
how he fought it. He just went with them. He's tossed into the
very den of lines to be mauled and eaten and he prays. There
are so many opportunities, so many reasons and circumstances
for Daniel to just lose it. But Daniel's 80 plus years old,
and knowing his own life is nearing the end, he provides us with
an example of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose
of prayer. Daniel teaches us how to live
when, in this case, his end was very near. And let's not forget
though, he saw the very end of all things, and lived through
the fall of his own nation, the changing of several kings as
Babylon was reigning, then he saw Babylon fall, and he ends
up serving under the conquering nation, the Medo-Persians. I
can't think of anyone whose tomorrow was filled with so much national
uncertainty. But I also know Daniel was certain
who God is on the throne. And that's who he prayed to and
trusted. I think we could summarize this
with the words of Eliphaz, one of Job's friends. Now, I will
admit this question that Eliphaz, so-called friend of Job, I think
he asked this a little sarcastically or rhetorically, but it does
reflect Job's attitude. He says this in Job 4.6, is not
your fear of God your confidence? and the integrity of your ways,
your hope." You see that wonderful balance, confidence, integrity,
this obedience. We are to be like Job, who has
sound judgment and fears God, which is another way of saying
faith in God and reverence to God. Our actions are to express
a sober spirit with self-control, which is reflected by the integrity
of our actions. And all of this is how we stay
grounded in reality. Faith, confidence, integrity,
obedience, all reflect our hope and love in the sovereign, soon-to-return
God and Savior. You can't have hope and all these
things unless you have truth and you have a sovereign God
on the throne and you are trusting literally in Him. Now let's move
to verses eight and nine to explore principle number two. which insists
we love and show hospitality. Above all, keep fervent in your
love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another
without complaint. Peter does not use a command
here. keep fervent in your love. Instead, it's a verb with a constant,
continuing action, a challenge to not only love, but increase
in love to one another. He fronts this by saying, above
all, which means this is the idea to lead with love. Let it
be in the front or above. Let it be first or foremost,
in the foremost position. Let it permeate through all your
sound judgments and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Now,
why does Peter place such emphasis on love? Because we're living
in the last days. We can become hardened in the
last days. And listen to what Paul says.
This is him writing again 2,000 years ago, but this is a picture
of today's headlines. 2 Timothy 3, 1 through 5, but
realize this, that in the last days, difficult times will come.
Men will be lovers of self, lovers of money. And I could go and
read, you know, let's just read again. Boastful, arrogant, revilers,
disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable,
malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters are good, treacherous,
reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of
God, holding a form of godliness, although they denied its power.
Avoid such of these. That's today. And that can make
you hardened. That can make you like, don't
wanna deal with it. But our Lord and Savior, Jesus,
succinctly summarized the last days this way. And I think this
is the insight that we need to guard against, Matthew 24, 12.
Because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow
cold. So Christ, through Peter, gives us the antidote. We can't
do this. We have to say, no, while everyone
else's love is growing cold out there, we're going to warm up
that love. We're going to stoke the fire,
and we're going to love others. It makes sense, doesn't it? What
does someone need more than anything? Love. Look around at what's going
on in the world and in our own nation. Although there is still
kindness and compassion, there's also war, gangs, and crime. There
is a reason we lock our doors, purchase guns, and use wisdom
in where we go and when we go. Our Lord who loved his enemies,
and we were once enemies, and died for those who were hostile
toward him, we were hostile toward him, he gave us the example to
follow. As I've shared before, if we
are not the salt and light, unbelievers can't taste and see. the goodness
of the Lord. Peter explains the need for love.
This is interesting. Love covers a multitude of sins. Now let's be honest, Peter's
day was difficult for believers, and it's still difficult for
us in different ways for us. And since Peter is speaking to
believers in the church, he's acknowledging indirectly that
there's sin in the church. Otherwise, why do you need to
cover a multitude of sins? The word for cover literally
means to keep secret. But what does he mean? Should
we be hiding sin in the church? Ignoring sin? Should we all just
suffer under it, thinking there's nothing we can do about it? Let
me be clear. Absolutely not. That is not Peter's
point. Let me call upon the Apostle
Paul who defines love in that familiar passage read at most
weddings, 1 Corinthians 13, 4 through 8, which by the way is sandwiched
between the gifts and serving passages. So right in the middle
between serving the gifts is the love chapter. Love is patient,
love is kind, is not jealous, love does not brag, it is not
arrogant, it does not act unbecomingly, does not seek its own, it's not
provoked, it doesn't take into account wrong suffered, does
not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with truth. bears
all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
things. Love never fails. But if there's
gifts of prophecies, they will be done away. If there are tongues,
they will cease. If there's knowledge, it'll be done away. See, love
will face the sin. Love will work through the process
of repentance through change. I think Proverbs is helpful for
clarification on this, that we don't just hide it. Proverbs
20, 13, he who conceals his transgressions will not prosper. but he who
confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. So hiding sin
or not confronting sin has consequences physically, mentally. As King
David wrote about in Psalm 32, you know, remember my bones ached. I mean, he suffered hiding his
sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the sin of murdering Uriah,
her husband. So the idea of love covering
a multitude of sins is about addressing sin privately. And
when there's genuine repentance, following up with forgiveness
so relationships can be restored. That's the idea. This is the
purpose of church restoration, also known as church discipline.
Paul the Apostle dealt with sin regularly in the church and often,
and I should note that it's critically important to discern what sin
is, what's a personal preference, and what's an issue of conscience
while maintaining a balance between the weaker and the stronger believers. I want to share a message at
some future time digging deeper into these issues, so you can
pray for me on when that time would be. However, I think the
best example and expression of truth is shown by our Lord and
Savior. 2 Corinthians 5.21. How does
God cover The multitude of sins, 2 Corinthians
5.21, He, God the Father, made Him Jesus, who knew no sin, to
be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness
of God in Him, Jesus. How does God deal with sin? He
sent His Son as a sacrifice for our sin, thus dealing with sin,
and it was costly. Christ died for sin, was buried. Your sin was nailed to the cross,
and upon genuine faith and repentance, Your certificate of debt was
taken out of the way and Christ forgave you. It wasn't swept
under the rug, it was addressed. That's what it means for love
to cover a multitude of sins. This is the bearing of one another
through the process of repentance. And here's the key, following
the actual change from true repentance to true reconciliation, we don't
hold that sin against that person or bring up that sin again. Just
as God has removed our sins from the East and West, when we get
to that judgment seat of Christ, he's not gonna bring up your
sin. That's been dealt with. Now, he's gonna bring up your
stewardship and he's gonna reward you for what you were faithful
in and what you weren't, but you're not gonna have to face
your sin the judgment seat. Just as, like I said, God has
removed it from East to West, so we rebuild, when possible,
broken relationships from sin. This one-way love covers the
multitude of sins. Does that make sense? However,
if there is no genuine repentance, we still forgive them before
the Lord, standing ready you know, to repair the relationship.
However, that earthly relationship can't be fully restored until
there's acknowledgement and repentance. This is the other way that love
covers a multitude of sins. We don't hold it against them,
even when the relationship is not repaired. And is that easy?
No, you can't do it apart from the spirit of God. Now, let's
continue to verse 9, which at first blush, I think is a pretty
surprising shift by Peter. The word hospitable is to describe
caring for strangers. Hebrews 13.2, which is a fascinating
passage, affirms this truth, which reads, Do not neglect to
show hospitality to strangers. For by this some have entertained
angels without knowing it. Lot would be an example of that.
Everyone in the church, from leaders to congregation, is called
to serve in this manner. This may look different from
house to house, congregation to congregation, and culture
to culture. Even though the end of all things
is near, we should not be so hunkered down, so fearful to
turn inward, that we neglect to be hospitable to one another. Do you see the difference? Surprisingly,
Peter applies this to the church, to you and I, who are not strangers,
but a family. As you can see in the text, Peter
exhorts, do this without complaint. That is one of the easiest things
to do as a believer. Complain! It's also the easiest
thing to do as an unbeliever. The complaint in the original
language describes this whispering, a grumbling talk in private. Now let me be just candid here.
There's nothing wrong with you know, sharing your feelings,
trying to steer your rudder back. There's sometimes a need to share.
Look at the Psalms. There is tons of expressions
of David expressing his frustrations. That's appropriate. It's when
it starts to turn into slander and gossip. Well, now we've turned
a corner that's sinful. In other words, guard your heart.
Ensure you are loving others as you serve them sacrificially.
Let's remember that to put yourself in the shoes of back then at
Peter's day, right? There's all these cultural differences
because Rome was a mixture of people, different preferences,
different political alliances, different spiritual background,
probably different personal hygienes. It wasn't like they all had Mitchum.
to roll on deodorant back then. Other differences may make serving
others awkward and difficult, especially if the guest maybe
is lacking social skills or is uneducated or difficult to understand,
not self-aware, maybe even taking advantage of the situation. You
can imagine. It makes hospitality a little
difficult, doesn't it? These were some of the challenges
in our church, and I think there are some of those challenges
today. We're not all the same. We're not all from the same background.
We don't like the same things. That's OK. Celebrate the differences.
However, Peter is following a pattern. And I believe there's a connection
between love and hospitality. Like the previous example, there's
a thinking and doing component, an inward view and an outward
expression. Loving others begins from within.
and loving others should outflow without. We see this in the Gospels.
Remember Jesus? He got invited to so many meals. It's pretty cool. Think about
it. You know, I'm going to have Jesus over dinner tonight. They
had no idea. Some did. But Romans 12, 13 mentions practicing
hospitality after a long list of expressions of how we are
to be devoted to one another in brotherly love. The church
was to help a widow. if she had the reputation for
showing hospitality to strangers. I'm thankful at Good News Bible
Church that all of you do this in one form or another, whether
here at church, in our potlucks, or at home. It's a wonderful
thing to see. Regarding strangers, please use
discernment. Don't just pick anyone off the
road and take them in. Remember that even taking someone
out to a meal in a public place is a form of hospitality too.
All right, so let's move to our final principle, principle number
three, and that is which entails serving as good stewards of God's
gifts. 1 Peter 4.10 and most of 11. 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 is to do so who
is speaking the utterance of God, and whoever serves is to
do as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies.
As you study through Paul's letters and now Peter's letters, and
for that matter, any passage regarding the gifts, we continue
to see this theme of service in the church. It's unavoidable. The body simply can't function
without gifted believers using and serving with their gifts.
Just as a body needs every muscle and joint to work in harmony
and to move through life, the church is no different. It thrives
when believers contribute their God-given gifts. And that can
be time, talents, treasures, etc. We just can't check out. If we choose not to serve, we
will never experience the fruits of our labors, like the farmer's
first harvest. And although many passages speak
of the gifts, this passage is the last time the New Testament
mentions gifts. So we're looking at AD 64, roughly,
when Peter wrote this, before his martyrdom. Peter confirms
that every true believer receives a gift. A gift is minimally one
gift, but it may be multiple gifts, and it can be in different
proportions. Now, in the back of the handout,
if you flip it over, I have listed the spiritual gifts from the
Fundamentals of the Faith workbook that we're working our way through.
I thought that might be helpful. You have the temporary gifts
and you have the permanent gifts. Now, Peter's next point is significant.
Employ it in serving with one another. That word employ actually
means help. serve, to care for, to minister. It's actually the verb form of
deacon. And the gift may have come to you, but God intends
for you to use the gift for someone else. It's not just for you,
it's for others. In our culture, right, we receive
gifts for our personal pleasure. It's for me, and it's only for
me. I will admit, when I was a young boy, my mom and dad don't,
my dad's not alive, my mom would tell the story. It was a Christmas
I just didn't want to share with my brothers or sisters. I'm not
kidding you. And I told my parents, I'm not sharing. They said, well,
we're not going to give you any presents. And I held out to the
day before Christmas. And I found later, my mom's like,
man, we really thought you were going to go all the way through
Christmas. I was a pretty stubborn, rebellious, selfish, prideful,
arrogant little boy. But they had a plan, and they
had some gifts on the side waiting. They were able to get something,
and I end up sharing, so I learned my lesson. But that's what can
happen. Hopefully, you don't get in that
position, but this gift that God gives us is intended for
others, for the church, to someone who has a need. And Peter adds
this idea, good stewards of the manifold of grace. In other words,
you are manager. You're administrating the use
and deployment of this gift and one day there will be a judgment
of that stewardship at the Judgmency of Christ. For me, I have to
teach. I have to preach. It doesn't
matter where, it doesn't matter when, but if I stop teaching
and preaching, I'm in sin. Can you look at your own life
and your own gifts and ask yourself, what is the gift I have? And
am I using it? Am I deploying it? And if I don't
do this, do you see yourself in sin? That's how you have to
look at it. The beauty is, is if you start
serving, you're not in sin, you're being faithful and it'll change,
you know, so don't make it legalistic, but that's the idea. Um, you're
managing, you're administrating, you're discerning when and where
the appropriate time and use and how to do that. So you don't
burn out as well. It's a, it's a deployment. And
one day, like I said, we'll be before the Lord. And this manifold
of grace is another way of saying diverse, a wide spectrum. You could say that no two people
are gifted the same, and no two people express the giftedness
the same. This is how I picture it. It's like a picture of a
forest with wild flowers and trees and a whole ecosystem,
diverse life, and no part of that forest is identical. No two flowers, no two trees,
no area is identical, just as no two churches are identical.
Every church is different. Every believer is gifted differently. But in a forest, it all works
synergistically, right? We're all working and coordinating. And as a result, we can come
to the forest and we can enjoy the beauty of God. Well, if you
come to the church, we should enjoy the beauty of one serving
another. It is something to behold, God's
creation. and it is something to hold a
church that is serving one another. There's an article from MacArthur's
church, and it's titled something like 8,000 Servants, you know,
because in the 80s, it was a very vibrant serving church, and everyone
had a part to play, even such a big church as that one was.
So what does this gifted serving look like? We have some glimpses
in many passages in scriptures. Consider Joseph. I think that's
a great example of him being a faithful steward in where in
everything to Potiphar, and ultimately all was entrusted to him. Faithful
little, faithful much is a great principle. You don't start off
with. You may be fully equipped, but you're not fully functioning
just yet, right? There's some learning and some
process involved. A steward is not lazy, but is
hardworking. One passage with huge implication for stewardship
is Luke 12. I want to read this. It goes
on to say, who then is the faithful and sensible steward whom his
master will put in charge of his servants to give them their
rations at the proper time? Blessed is that slave whom his
master finds doing so when he comes. then I will say to you
that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But if
that slave says in his heart, my master will be a long time
in coming, the end is not near, and begins to beat the slaves,
both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk, the
master of that slave will come on a day when he doesn't expect
him, and at that hour, he does not know, will come and cut him
into pieces in the same place with the unbelievers. And that
slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act
in accord with his will will receive many lashes. But the
one who did not know it and committed deeds worthy of a flogging will
receive but few. For everyone has been given much,
much will be required. And to whom they have entrusted
much of him they will ask all the more." And each of you have
got to explore that and figure that out. And we're here to help
you do that. We also have the parable of the talents, Matthew
25, 14, revealing our accountability to the Lord and how we steward
our gifts. Proverbs speaks of this. Listen to this one, just
a few verses, Proverbs 24, 30. I passed by the field of the
sluggard and by the vineyard of the man lacking sense. Behold,
it was completely overgrown with thistles. Its surface was covered
with nettles and its stone wall was broken down. When I saw,
I reflected upon it and looked and received instruction, a little
sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
then your poverty will come on like a robber and your need like
an armed man. What a picture. The author of
Hebrews offers a valuable insight to remind us that the Lord is
just and we are to be diligent. Hebrews 6.10, for God is not
unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you've shown
toward his name. That's the hard attitude, right?
in the actual activity, in having ministered and is still ministering
to the saints. And we desire that each one of
you show the same diligence so as to receive the full assurance
of hope until the end." You get that picture again. So that you
will not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and
patience inherit the promises. In summary, we excel with excellence. As I've been sharing, I've been
going through the autobiography of Elon Musk. I'm somewhere in
chapter 18, 19 now. But his philosophy is nothing's
impossible, just go do it. Because when you do the impossible,
even if you fall short, you've accomplished more than if you
set to do nothing at all. It can be a little stressful
working for him from what I'm reading. Just so you know, I'm not planning
on leading the church with Musk philosophy, just in case you're
wondering. It's a helpful perspective, though, to remember that all
that we have is truly not on our own. It is the Lord's. We
forget that sometimes. We're mere stewards entrusted
by the Lord. Psalm 24, 1, the earth is the
Lord's and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in
it. You, me, everything. Romans 14.7 For not one of us
lives for himself, and not one dies for himself. For if we live,
we live for the Lord. If we die, we die for the Lord.
Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. Paul
summarizes another key aspect. 1 Corinthians 4 Let a man regard
us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the
mysteries of God. In this case, moreover, it is
required of stewards that one be found trustworthy. That's
the key when it comes to serving one another, because each of
us is our own steward before the Lord. There's a personal
responsibility to the Lord to serve proactively. If you see
a need, go and meet it. You don't need authority to do
it. Use wisdom and discernment. But
there may be times when it's appropriate to get counsel or
permission, and that's wise too. Serving others can require more
administration and planning, particularly if the need can't
be met by one individual. And the need may be ongoing.
These are bigger decisions and requires thoughtfulness. And
this requires a greater degree of wisdom and coordination with
prayer and counsel. We also must guard against being
deceived. All of us have probably encountered
someone trying to take advantage of our good intentions. I remember
one week coming out of seminary, I probably shared this story,
this guy pulls up in a car and he says, hey, I'm a painter,
I'm out of work, I need a little extra money for gas. Here's 10
bucks. I happen to be serving at another church a month later,
same guy, same car, same line. And I say, hey, I know you. You came by this church and asked
the same thing. You could see the look of panic
on his face and he drove off. So we have to have some personal
discernment. This is why personal responsibility is so important.
We also need to have limitations in place because resources are
limited. For example, the early church did not take care of all
widows, but specific widows who were qualified. 1st Timothy 5.9.
Another example is if a man chose not to work, he was not provided
with food. 2nd Thessalonians 3.10, for even with you, we used
to give you this order. If anyone's not willing to work, then he's
not to eat either. And we hear that some of you among you are
leading undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like
busybodies. So they're trying to avoid work
to do their own thing. That's a big difference. Now
such persons we command and exhort. Now this is assuming a person
can work. Now such a person we command and exhort in the Lord
Jesus Christ to work in a quiet fashion, eat their own bread.
But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary of doing good. The picture in the Bible is that
each of us are managing our house well enough that we have just
a little bit of excess. And that little bit of excess is there
when needs arise. That's the idea. Versus stewarding
the house just for ourselves. However, being a good steward
is more than just serving. It's serving well and serving
wisely. There's a lot more that can be
said, and we can discuss gifts more in the future, and we will.
So Peter wraps up this section on serving by categorizing the
gifts into two categories, speaking and serving. Now, keep in mind,
this is around 64 AD. This is much later, if not much
after many of the charismatic miracles and speaking gifts have
ended. All that is left is speaking and serving, which, interestingly,
is how we operate today. in the church. The key phrase,
utterances of God, means the saints of God. It is another
word for scriptures. In fact, sometimes it is literally
translated the oracles of God. This word would cover everything
from proclaiming the word in the pulpit, let's say, teaching,
preaching, to evangelizing. It has nothing to do with new
revelation, but it is the communication of what has already been revealed
in the Bible. And the word speak is always
connected with human speech, a known language, and its content
is always scriptures. Now, if you're wondering, could
it possibly include speaking in tongues of another language,
I'm going to show you it's not based on 1 Corinthians 14, 3-4,
a key verse. Listen to this. But one who prophesies
speaks to men for edification, exhortation, and consolation.
One who speaks in a tongue edifies himself. You see the difference? If you're tongue, you're doing
it for yourself, but one who prophesies edifies the church.
So Peter's talking about gifts in the context of serving others,
not serving self. The second category is serving.
It's the same word as employing. This kind of serving is wide,
it's varied. It really is just helping others who need assistance
or are unable to help themselves, which can range from a meal,
spending time, a phone call, et cetera. Peter makes sure that
we understand this can be difficult work. This is never easy and
it's never convenient. It is always a sacrifice. I think
if you start with that expectation, that will make it a little bit
easier. He uses this word strength to combine the ideas of capability
and power. In other words, God's going to
provide you everything necessary to accomplish the task at hand,
both the ability and the energy to accomplish the task. And I'm
telling you, I'm sure many of you have experienced this. You
know what it's like to do a secular job and you get tired, but you
know when you're doing something for the Lord, it's like, wow,
where'd all this energy come from? You know, I mean, I'm bivocational,
and I rely on this every week. This was probably the busiest
week I had, and I'm looking at this, I'm going, how in the world
did I get 6,100 words? You know, it's like, where does
this come from? But I'm convinced that if you're faithfully loving
the Lord, serving the Lord for the sake of others, he will supply
everything necessary to complete the task. Now, that doesn't mean
you don't have sacrifice along the way, get up early, stay up
late, those kind of things, but you will manage it. one way or the other. And again,
use wisdom. Don't burn yourself out. There's
only so much caffeine you should have in a day. Let me tell you,
there's limits. I know this personally. But there's no excuse, is there? Not to serve with your giftedness.
Paul adds another additional insight. Philippians 4.13, you
know this. I can do all things through him
who strengthens me. Now this word strengthen emphasizes
how God fortifies us from within. in order to continue to service
others in him. So God's helping us on the outside
with the physical stuff, he's helping us on the inside. And
Paul, is he not an amazing servant? It really is shocking what that
man accomplished through the Lord, but did he not truly sacrifice
in every way all the time? Even refuse to get married and
stay single so that he would have more time to serve. And
I'm not pointing that on any single people right now. That's
between you and the Lord. Now, I hope you can see that God has
given us everything to make a difference in the church and in the world
for the sake of the gospel. Ministry is impossible without
the Lord at the center of it. And it's impossible to do ministry
without engaging others. And it's impossible without consistent
commitment by faithful believers. Peter has placed a challenge
before us. How are you employing your gifts?
How and who are you speaking and serving? We've arrived at
our final portion. Told you a little bit longer,
but this is very quick. The final portion of our text, which reveals
the overarching purpose of what these three principles are for,
that God may be glorified. the rest of verse 11, so then
all things God may be glorified through Christ Jesus, to whom
belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever, amen. This
is such an important truth and reminder. God is the one who's
at the center of all the serving. He is the one who gets the praise.
He is the one who we look for our needs to be met. However,
we can fall into two and maybe more traps, but I can think of
two right offhand. First one is we feel underappreciated
when we serve. We feel undervalued. We can feel
that no one knows and no one cares. This can happen when we're
not acknowledged or what we do is something most people don't
know and don't see. Or we may be challenged. We may
even be critiqued in the way we serve. But remember, God knows. He always sees and will faithfully
and abundantly reward you for all your faithfulness later. If we look at Hebrews 11, the
hall of faith, many in this life, in their life, did not get any
earthly acknowledgement, even says the world was not even worthy
for them. But they remained at their post, they faithfully served,
they waited for the praise that truly matters in the end, and
that's the Lord's praise. Trap number two is we can get
prideful. We can over-inflate our importance and value and
start to think we are something when we are not. We want to be
first by excluding all others. We may actually hinder others.
I've seen this in Christian ministry. Jealousy and envy. John the Apostle
wrote to confront theotrophies who, as John put it, loves to
be first among them and doesn't accept what John the Apostle
says. Who are you, theotrophies? Peter knows about these kind
of traps because, let's be honest, Peter has fallen into those traps.
Remember, he was part of the argument, who's really going
to be first among the disciples? Or how about this, claiming,
I'll never betray you. They all will, but Lord, I will
not. Or being confronted by Paul for
his hypocrisy toward the Gentiles, acting one way versus another.
Peter has learned some hard lessons. He's gained some real wisdom
from the Lord and from the providential experiences. And in order for
the churches he's writing to, to serve each other and the Lord,
we must, and they must, avoid seeking to exalt themselves.
Instead, it's about exalting God. This is what Peter means
when he says, so that in all things, God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion,
which means power forever and ever. Let us consider this question. Who are you exalting in your
life? Yourself or the Lord? Peter's
short doxology, this little mini praise statement, is our doxology
too. When we serve, we must never
forget and draw upon God who supplies the strength, supplies
the opportunities. He makes the fruit. You can water,
you can plant, but he's got to cause the growth. He makes the
results. And since he's done it all, our
thoughts, our actions are to point to God. And hopefully in
that process, others will look at you and see God in you and
through you. And now they'll be pointed to
the Lord. That's how you can avoid pride. Let God get all
the credit. It's nice to have an encouraging
word, and we should do that on occasion, but just don't let
that go to your head. Philippians 2.12, so then my
beloved, just as you've always obeyed, I love the balance here
with Paul, not as in my presence only, I don't have to be here
to see it, but how much more in my absence? No one need to
tell them what to do. Work out your salvation with
fear and trembling, for it's God who's at work in you, both
to will and to work for his good pleasure. There's the balance.
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, so that you will
prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent children of God,
above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the
word of life, so that in the day of Christ, there is that
near, I will have reason to glory, because I didn't run in vain
nor toil in vain." In closing, the end is near. And it may seem
in your personal circumstances and trials, the end is even more
near. But instead of giving fear a
foothold that cripples, live by faith that strengthens. Instead
of fleeing your responsibilities, be resolute with real purposeful
change and contribution to the church and to the world around
you. And instead of falling short, choose to flourish and thrive
in the hope of Christ's return. So the principles in review,
well, the end is near, and it requires us to have the right
attitude and the right actions. It insists we love and show hospitality. It also entails serving as good
steward of God's gifts, all for the glory of God. May these principles
help you live in the present, knowing the end of all things
is near, and never losing sight of our God-glorifying purpose. And may each of you fulfill God's
will and purpose in your life. by the strength that he supplies
you through Christ our Lord for the glory of God. May we move
from survival to significance. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I'm humbled by this passage and
challenged by its text. It's never easy to examine yourself. It's never easy because we so
quickly can find every area where we fall short. All of us here
desire to be better, to do more, and yet the flesh circumstances
sometimes get in the way. But we don't want to use excuses,
Lord. We want to honor you. You have given us so much, the
least we can do. is love you back in serving those
that you have put in our lives. Help us to do this, Father, in
a way that's genuine, authentic. Let us, as Mike has shared so
many times, let us be a family, and let us enjoy the fruits that
come from serving one another. In Christ's name we pray, amen.
Well, thanks for letting me indulge you a little bit longer than
normal. We will continue in 1 Peter verses 12 and following. May
you be blessed this week in the Lord.
The End of All Things Is Near
Series 1 Peter
| Sermon ID | 112252126382665 |
| Duration | 54:40 |
| Date | |
| Category | Sunday Service |
| Bible Text | 1 Peter 4:7-11 |
| Language | English |
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