Almighty Father in heaven, you are infinite, infinite in space, omnipresent everywhere present. You are infinite in knowledge, omniscient, all-knowing. You are infinite in time, eternal, everlasting, forevermore. Blessed be your name, for your name alone Can we ascribe these things? Glory and dominion and power is yours forever and ever. Forgive us, oh Lord, when we doubt your infinite nature. For we are finite, limited in our understanding, in our place, in our time. All of these things, all of these things remind us of our frailty. We are foolish to doubt you, Lord. So as we come to your word this morning, grant us, I pray, your spirit that we may trust and rely on you, who is our provision, you who are our protection. For we are your people and you are our God. May we live forevermore. seeking your kingdom to come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our blessed Savior. Amen. The very last chapter of our confession is entitled, appropriately, Of the Last Judgment. The last paragraph of that last chapter gives us a reason why we are to so firmly believe in the Last Judgment. Listen with me, if you will, to this last paragraph of the last chapter, chapter 32, paragraph 3 of our London Confession of Faith. As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there shall be a day of judgment." The Lord wants us to be persuaded of this, both to deter all men from sin and for greater consolation or comfort of the godly in their adversity. So we're to be persuaded because it's to deter us from sin, but it's also to give us comfort during our adversity. So will He So will he have the day, the Lord will have this day, to be unknown to men. In other words, we don't know when that day is going to happen. Why? That they may shake off all carnal security and be always watchful. This is the reason that we may be always watchful, because you know not at what hour the Lord will come. and may ever be prepared to say, this is our prayer, come Lord Jesus, come quickly. So This last day of judgment is to sober our hearts, to persuade us away from sin, to deter us from sin, to comfort our hearts during adversity. It's unknown. The imminent nature of it is there. The surety of it is there. But the day is unknown so that we may shake off all carnal securities and be very watchful, knowing not when the Lord will come and always being ready, able to pray. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Well, this morning, this very theme of end times, last things, is here before us in verse 7. Notice the very first line of chapter 4, verse 7 of 1 Peter. The end of all things is at hand. This is what Peter is setting before God's people. And in this case, it is indeed to give them comfort in their time of adversity. They're living in a world that is pressing hard against them. And as we notice here in our passage that this passage that we're looking at this morning, though it's not broken up. if you will, correctly according to our chapters and verse numbers. Notice that the end of our text we're looking at this morning ends appropriately. Peter punctuates the end of our text with Amen, with Amen. Now, this is the end of the second major section of the book of First Peter. We've been working through this book together and we've been noticing how this The book is actually divided up into a handful of sections. This is the second section of this book. It began back in chapter 2, verse 11. And it began there with Peter. encouraging these elect exiles, calling them to himself and encouraging them to trust in their God. And he has affection for them, his desires to persuade them to trust in their Lord. And we see the affection that Peter had for these believers that were battered and beaten by the world around them. As he speaks in chapter two, verse 11, he begins this second section in the book of First Peter. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles. He's calling them with affection to move away from despair and not to be overcome with hopelessness, but instead to pursue and to look to with confidence this living hope that they have in Christ and His resurrection. His life and His suffering and His resurrection were to confirm to them that they, though beaten and battered and pressed on every side, that they are not to despair or fall into hopelessness, but they are to be encouraged. And Peter then, at the end of this section, he begins there in chapter 2, verse 11. He ends this section in chapter 4 by coming together, not speaking of Christ's life or even his death or resurrection, but now he is pointing them to the future, Christ's consummation, if you will, the end of all things, when he will reign as Lord in his kingdom. Peter appropriately then gathers all the different truths that are from chapter two, verse 11, all the way up to chapter four, where we are now. He's gathering all of those and he's placing them under the Lordship of Christ. And he's saying, now I want you to understand this and pay attention to this consummation, what Christ desires to do at the final time. And here in our text, he says, the end of all things is at hand. Peter had to encourage these saints. Why? Because they were not only being discouraged by the pressure that was being placed upon them from the world around them, but they were also being discouraged because they were promised such a great hope. And yet some of their very own, maybe family members, but definitely members of their congregation were dying. And the question is, is they lived their life and many of them maybe even gave their lives for the cause of Christ. And was it worth it? Is it worth it to to lay our lives down, to suffer and to and to sacrifice, excuse me, because of Christ? We see here in the verses just previous to ours here in chapter four, verse seven. Look with me at verses five and six of chapter four. It says, but they, speaking of the world, but they will give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. Peter is saying, don't let this fool you. They're living their lives as if this world is all there is to live for. But the Lord will come, the Lord Jesus Christ will come and judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached, Peter says in verse six of chapter four. Even to those who are dead, speaking of those who have died among this congregation, these people, these saints, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, meaning they die just like everyone else does, there's a distinction for those who are in Christ. He says they might live in the spirit the way God does. And so we see here that the suffering exiles, for the name of Christ, were giving their lives, dying, maybe even being put to death. And the question was, was their sacrifice worth it, or was it in vain? Will we be put to shame for living our lives before the Lord? Would their suffering, life, and even death prove to be shameful because they neither enjoyed the passing pleasures of the world that the world around them does, Do they have these promises? Are they sure? What's going to happen with our brothers and sisters who have gone before us? So Peter here reminds those saints and us here today that the end of all things is at hand. And we've been preaching this for 2000 years and it is still true. The end of all things is in hand. Why? It seems it's not at hand. It's not near. Well, brothers and sisters, let's not judge things by our finite lives, by our short vapors like lives that we have. But let's judge things as the Lord himself judges things. He is an eternal God. All things that he sees is in eternity. He's outside of time itself. And we must confess and believe what the saints have throughout the centuries. And that is our Lord's return is imminent and it is sure. We are living in the days now, these days, are days that are after Christ having come to this world, accomplished everything necessary for his kingdom not only to be established, but for it to grow and flourish through his life and suffering and death and resurrection. Now he is at the right hand of the Father. He's interceding for us now, and his kingdom is growing by his powerful work of the Spirit. We are living in these last days, the end of all things, when men and women and boys and girls during this time, during this period of time, the church age, are repenting and trusting in Christ, his finished work, and by so doing that are entering into their eternal promised rest. This is to give us and those of Peter's day confidence and also to pull away from the despair and hardship that they're in and know that the Lord is indeed still working. So when Peter states that the end of all things is at hand, he is saying Christ's return then is sure and it's imminent. And this is what he's calling us to this morning. He's saying live accordingly. Brothers and sisters, saints and sojourners, you're to live in ways that are not to be grasping for and groping for this world and the things of it and the pleasures that are here. No, we're to be living our lives in a way that's very different from the world. We're living our lives with our hearts rooted in his kingdom to come, the promises that he has afforded to us. What we believe then, let's be very clear, what we believe about how everything will end. And I want you to be sure of this this morning. I want you to make note of this. Each and every person here this morning, you sitting in your chair this morning, you have an understanding of how things are going to end and you're living accordingly. Now, you may be dismissing that end. You may be assuming that it will never happen. You know, death actually only happens to everybody else. It's never happened to me. So it never will. I've only gone to funerals. I've never been. I've never been the person in the funeral. Right. So I will never die. That's how some people act. You've been to funerals before. People are shocked. People are shocked. Have you ever gone to a funeral? And the people that are there at the funeral act like death never happens. And it does every day. Death only happens to someone else. That may be what you're believing this morning. Others think that Christ's kingdom is actually a fairy tale. It's a wishful thought. It's not something that is sure and imminent and promised by our Savior, who has never lied. What we believe about how things will end is defining every single day of our life. Whether we're dismissing it, or refusing to think about it, it is defining how we live. We will live then according to the kingdom of Christ and for his joy toward his end if we choose to turn our hearts to think about the things that he has called us to. So with Christ's promised kingdom as our joy and end, It will cause us then to focus and narrow our lives to do those things that are most important for the end that the Lord has created us for. Now, we hear these things in like productivity lectures and other things, right? Keep the end in mind. This is not a this is not a truth that they created. This is something that the Lord has told us to. We're to live our lives constantly keeping the end in mind, the end of all things. What is the Lord driving everything toward? And we need to make sure that our lives are in unison with this. We will live with more clarity and confidence and resolve. as the nations, our communities, and even our neighborhoods rage around us. in fixing our hope on Christ's return and consummation. We also are then able to say no to a thousand things and activities that may be distracting us and grabbing for our attention and instead turning our hearts to focus on the things that the Lord would have us to turn ourselves to. This is the way that the Lord has called us to live. So with the end in mind, so sure and imminent, it might seem then, as we see here in our passage, that Peter would call us to do some extraordinary thing, some epic, life changing, amazing thing in our lives. Some way of leveraging all of our resources, all of our lives, all of our days and moments, leveraging them to the most perceived impact and influence that we can have in this world. That may be what we think that Peter is going to do here. However, I want you to notice just how focused and how ordinary Peter is calling us to be this morning in our passage. Peter is not calling us to impact the world. He's not calling us to change Jacksonville. He's not calling us to make a difference everywhere. He's calling us to love the saints that God has put around us. It's not just focus, but it's also ordinary. Now, don't mistake ordinary with not demanding. These are very demanding things that we're going to see that Peter is calling this church to and us to this morning. But these are ordinary things that he's calling us to. And these ordinary commands, these ordinary ways that we're to live will be the four points that we're going to look at this morning from our texts. Four points. Now, last Lord's Day we had many of the children receive their Bible and they've got them open, I trust, in front of them this morning. Mom and Dad has helped them do that. And hopefully they have their notebook or journal or maybe their sermon notes there in front of them. I have mine up here with me, which I'm not gonna use, but nonetheless, if you have your sermon notes there, you can use that as well, kids. Here are the four words that I want you to write down that will be a good way that you can remind yourself when your mom or dad asks you at lunch today, what did the preacher say? What did Pastor Shane say in his sermon? Here are the four points, and I made them four words, and I made them small words for your sake, okay? And so let me give you these four words, which are the four points for the sermon. Living with the end in mind, we're to do this. Number one, pray. Number one, pray. And this is in verse seven. Number two, Peter here is calling us to love. Number one, pray. Number two, love. This is verses eight through nine. The number three, the number three word is serve, serve. This is verses 10 and 11. And then number four, point number four is glory, glory. This is the end of verse 11. Pray, love, serve, and glory. The question that we have before us this morning is how do we live with the end in mind, where we're to live with the end in mind by praying fervently, loving earnestly, serving variously, and glorying expressly. Now, that's for you adults that know how to spell longer words, right? That's our outline this morning. Now, as we go through this outline, these four commands, these four ways that Peter here is calling us to live with this end in mind, with Christ's consummation in mind, the aim then is twofold. One, I want to explain what Peter is telling his congregation and us this morning. I want to explain that. But then secondly, I want to use these commands so that we can then evaluate our own hearts. Are you and I living fervently, faithfully, carefully, with this end in mind, with this idea that Christ's kingdom is coming. It is imminent and sure. Are we living that way? So we're going to use these points not only to explain how we're to live, but then to then evaluate our own hearts and ask the Lord to grant us grace so that we can begin seeing in what ways are we pressing in and living for this end that is promised to us, this consummation of Christ. First, let's look at point number one, pray. Pray. You can see in our verse very clearly how Peter is reasoning. He says the end of all things is at hand. He's stating here a fact. He's not questioning this. He's not saying this is a suggestion or something you can think about or ponder. No, Peter is definitive. He's saying the end of all things is at hand. The Lord's return is imminent and sure. And then he makes a conclusion. He says there's there's a way stating now a way that if one believes with certainty that the end of all things is at hand, if you believe this truth, there are evident behaviors that are going to flow out of that belief. They're going to be sure and true of all of those who believe this very truth. And so Peter here is saying that some of the actions or activities that flow out of one who believes that the end is at hand is this. First, that we're going to pray. Notice what it says in verse 7. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, this is what flows out of that truth if we believe it. Be self-controlled and sober minded for the sake of your prayers. The way that the nations are raging today is the way that the nations have been raging forever. This is not a new thing, it's just we have now access to moment by moment attention to these things all over the world. The way that the nations are raging, the way our country is in chaos on these days, and even our neighborhoods then that seem more like war zones instead of flourishing communities, These things rightly cause many of us alarm. Now, add to this how our culture, even today, is becoming more and more antagonistic toward our faith and the morals that we seek to promote. You can see how then that today's day is not very different from Peter's day. These things aren't unusual or unique, but instead what we see here is that These things can then frustrate and even create fear, sometimes even anger or maybe cynicism in all of us. This is why Peter is calling the saints of his day and calling us today to root our hope in our hearts, not in the world and in the changing chaos and stirring of the world around us, but instead to root our hearts, to anchor our hope into his kingdom that is to come, to the promised end of all things that the Lord is ordering and orchestrating. These terms, then, that we have before us, self-controlled and sober-minded, you see those there before us? They speak both of our character. This is the self-control. Our character to be disciplined, alert, and aware of what's around us. That's the idea of being self-controlled. But then it also speaks of it also speaks of our conduct. This is what it speaks of here with this sober mindedness, how we're to respond to the world around us is with sobriety, with sensibleness, with measured consideration, not as if the things that are happening in our world have eternal. Epic consequences, but instead to see them for what they are. When we respond with our hearts becoming fearful and frantic, when we respond in ways that aren't fearful, but instead not with dismay and anger, but instead when we respond with prayer, do you see how that's very different from how the world responds to these things? In other words, when our hearts are fixed on the end, we don't have to respond to the world as the world does. But instead, it leads us to come before the Lord in prayer. And with self-control and sober mindedness, we can come to our prayers knowing that the Lord is ordering and orchestrating all things. Though it may seem chaotic and out of hand, the Lord is not up in heaven. He hasn't stood up one time during your lifetime or ever and started wringing his hands thinking, what in the world are we going to do now? Like so many of us do. Our text says that we are to be self-controlled. We're to be sober minded. We're to be disciplined and aware and alert of what's happening, knowing that it's under God's authority. We're to be sober minded, not frantic and fearful and anxious. But instead, we're to turn to the Lord, it says in our text, for the sake of your prayers. We're being called to be self-controlled and sober minded in such a way that our hearts aren't turned toward fear, but instead toward prayer. We can see this is the appropriate and right and faithful way for us to respond to the world that's around us and even how the world presses on to us that we come to the Lord in prayer. So listen now. Consider for a minute your own hearts this morning. Is your hope anchored in Christ and in his kingdom to come? When our hearts are not anchored in Christ's kingdom to come, then the chaos of the world around us and the hostility of the world towards us will pull and twist our hearts so that we are disturbed and frustrated and irritated, or maybe even fearful. This is how the world responds. This is the only way the world knows how to respond. Our hearts might become indifferent, maybe, or maybe even apathetic. Let the world and all that's in it burn. Or we may become fearful and anxious. But the Lord has called us to be self-controlled. Our hearts may become harsh or irritated or cynical. Instead of sober minded. No, the Lord has called us to be people who instead pray. along with all the other saints. The Lord has given us a clear and a wonderful prayer that in these times of turmoil and trial, we're to call out to our God together as his people, our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, where? On earth as it is in heaven. So my call to you this morning is think about your prayer life. Is your prayer life driven by the things of the world, the circumstances and situations that are around you? Is it only concerned about about the things that are within your reach? Are you praying for the Lord's kingdom to come, for him to do things that are bigger and beyond even your own life, your own struggles, your own concerns? And if your prayers are random and scattered, it may be due to the fact that you're you're hoping more in this world than in the things of God. Turn your hearts then to anchor your hearts, not in this disturbing, fluctuating, constantly moving and raging world, but root your prayers and your hopes and your heart in the things of the Lord, in his kingdom to come. Ask the Lord to give you a heart that desires these things. Our catechism, question 109, asks, what is being prayed for when we pray your kingdom come? Here's the answer. We pray that Satan's kingdom may be destroyed. Yes. And amen. May the Lord do that. May Satan's kingdom be destroyed and that the kingdom of grace may be advanced. Yes. And amen. Ourselves and others be brought into it and kept in it. And then finally, and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened, meaning that we pray for the Lord to come in his glory. The first thing that Peter is calling all of us who are looking to his return to do is to pray fervently. Second, I want us to notice that Peter is asking us the second fruit, if you will, or result of this this end time mindset is that we love earnestly. naturally grows out of this biblical understanding of Christ's sure and imminent return. We see here this love not being a casual worldly kind of love, but it is a constant and earnest kind of love that we are to have specifically for the saints. Notice what it says here in verse 8 and 9 of our passage. 1 Peter chapter 4 verses 8 through 9. Peter is here clearly, listen, clearly insisting that when one's hope is grounded in Christ's kingdom to come, Then loving the saints is not optional or preference or something you can align with all the other things that you're doing in your life. I mean, let me wedge that in somewhere under this and above that. No. What does it say? Above all, above all, our priority should be loving the saints above all in one's life. But not only is this love to be prioritized, but according to our passage, it is to be constant. It is to be always. Notice it says, above all, keep loving one another. Keep loving one another. It's supposed to be constant. And then it goes on and speaks of the intensity, the intensity of this love. Above all, keep loving one another. How? Earnestly, earnestly. The importance of loving the saints is something that Peter was aware that you and I and Christians throughout the history of the church would grow weary in doing and want to fudge from actually accomplishing as the Lord has called us to. This is why earlier in chapter 1, verses 22 and 23, Peter calls them to the same kind of love. He's reminding them. How can I keep my own heart going in the right direction? How can I keep my kid's heart going in the right direction? Well, you don't just say it once and then walk away. You have to keep repeating it, correct? So Peter says in 1 Peter 1, verse 22, having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth. In other words, they're purifying their souls. They're obeying God's word. What are they to do? For, this is why you're doing this, for sincere brotherly love. Love one another how earnestly from a pure heart since you have been born again, not a perishable seed, but of imperishable through the living and abiding word of God. You love those who love the Lord and love his word. This is something that's to be prioritized. This is something that is to be constant. This is something that is to be earnest. A love, it says here, he gives the reason why we're to love in this way, this amazing way. It says in our passage, since love covers a multitude of sins, he's given a reason here. Well, all of us are sinners. And so we need this love. We need to love in this way. Now, does this phrase mean that by loving others, our sins will be atoned for? Absolutely not. Nowhere in scripture is that spoken of. Scripture clearly says everywhere that the only way sin can be atoned for is by faith in Christ's death and cross and by the blood of Christ. So only through Christ is one's sin atoned for. So what does this verse mean then when it says, since love covers a multitude of sins? Well, this verse is actually likely being drawn or came to mind. And it was likely from Proverbs chapter 10, verse 12, where Solomon in his wisdom states in Proverbs 10, 12, hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. Proverbs 10, 12. And it is basically stating there in Proverbs that when people are together, strife and sin are inevitable. Now, is that true? That's absolutely true. Strife and sin is inevitable if people are together. They will either, in this strife and tension and sin, they will either grow to hate one another. Hatred stirs up strife. They will either grow to hate one another in their relations or out of love for one another they will choose to overlook and even work through offenses that come to them. In other words, don't bet on being a part of this congregation and never being sinned against. I would go as far to say, don't come to this congregation thinking you'll never sin against anyone. You will. We will sin against each other. And we need to understand that. We need to have that sober understanding. But are we going to grow to hate one another because of it? It stirs up strife. Or are we going to love one another and seek to cover these offenses and understand that we are indeed sinners seeking to live together under the Lordship of Christ? Our world knows very little, doesn't it? It knows very little of what it means to have a long, enduring, flourishing relationship. Very few in our world today have friends that they've had for many, many years and that they still spend time together and they love each other and care for each other and serve one another. This world defines love in a very different way. It's mostly an emotion. It's this thing that's here today and gone tomorrow. You can you can fall into and out of love. How foolish this is when we speak of in the scriptures, when it speaks of love we have in our Bible, specifically the ESV translation speaks of the hesed love of God, the steadfast love of the Lord. Not the flippant, casual, here today, gone tomorrow kind of love. In Christ, we're called to love one another in a very different way than the world loves one another. It's very far into the world for us to love each other in the way that Christ has called us to. Listen to how the Lord has called us to love one another. And if you've heard this before. But I trust that you have taken some time to meditate on this and to pray through this and to think about this in your own relationships. This is how we're to love one another in our congregation and as we're to love one another as believers. Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It's not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way. You hear that? It is not irritable or even resentful. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing. But rejoices with truth. Now, listen to these last four, because these you can spend your lifetime learning. Love bears all things. When that hits pay dirt, that is massive. Love bears all things. Love believes all things. Now, this one gets used a lot. Because we're quick to assume the worst of people. But when this passage says love believes all things, it means that we believe the best of others first. We don't automatically. I've seen this world. I've seen how they've acted. I understand how things are. I know my heart. I know their heart. This is why they were doing this. That is unloving. Because love believes all things. Love hopes all things. Love endures all things. The reason Peter is belaboring this kind of love for us this morning is because we will sin against each other over and over, especially as the world is pressing in around us and especially as we live with one another and struggle together to pursue Christ. And what Peter is here saying very clearly, he's saying, above all, He's saying he's saying in our passage, not only above all, but keep loving. He goes on and says earnestly. What is he saying? Peter is saying this. Love each other. Love each other. Love each other. It won't take long if you were a part of our church that you'll want to walk away. or circle your wagons and say, you know what, I've got my own problems, my own things I'm dealing with, so I'm gonna deal with those. You don't want to walk away, or even better, you know what, you're not gonna walk away because if you're not here, somebody's gonna call you out, so instead, you're simply gonna dismiss yourself. You're gonna be here, but you're not really here. You're gonna show up, but you really have no idea of those people that are sitting around you because you've long ago chose not to love anyone around you because it's too hard and too difficult. I'm dealing with my own stuff. And I have my loves of my own. Here's the distinction, this thing that I want us to understand is that the issue is not that you're loving, the issue is not just that you're not loving the church, it's that you're choosing to love so many other things that are not worthy. You will want to walk away. You will find it easier. You'll find it easier to quote unquote love those people who just want to hang out. And enjoy the things of the world that you enjoy. Is that true? I'm going to I'm not going to just I'm not going to not love my congregation. It's just I'm going to prefer those that I quote unquote love that they enjoy just hanging out and enjoying the things of the world. That way I'm not confronted by the things of the kingdom of God. Our great longing and our great hope should be for heaven and the things of the Lord. When it is, when it is our longing and our desire, when our heart is anchored in the end times, when we are looking toward the kingdom and we're desiring for his kingdom to come as will be done. Then those who long for these things are people that we want to be around because they're going to keep us on track. They're going to keep us going in the right direction. They're going to constantly be stirring our hearts to love and to walk alongside everyone who is seeking to love the Lord. And you can and many of you have in the past, you can find people who claim to be followers of Christ, but they're not of the serious sort. They go to other churches and they enjoy all these other things that really have nothing to do with the Lord. And in so doing, you're not loving the congregation that God has given to you. They won't enjoy, they won't address your sin and they won't do that very irritating thing called asking you, how can I pray for you? asking you to pray for them. Those who do not have Christ and his kingdom in mind are people that are easy to love because you're simply loving the things of the world together. This is a dangerous place to be. And yet we are to live with the saints the Lord has given to us and to encourage, and God has given them to us to encourage us more and more towards his kingdom. And it's not by mistake. You think, well, these guys just aren't doing it. I mean, I've seen this bunch. They're just really not together. Well, go somewhere where it is together, and I don't think you'll find any place. These are the people the Lord's placed you around. If you're a covenant member of our congregation, then all of these sinners that you're sitting around are the people that God has said in His wisdom and in His divine decree, He said that these are the people that are going to push you to Christ and encourage you in that way. Now, speaking of walking together with one another, Our selfish hearts will want to, and we spoke of this before, I've spoken of this before, our selfish hearts will want to define loving one another in unbiblical, self-centered ways that the world likes to define love. We will create a definition of loving the saints that says you never really need to pray for them or for them or along with them. You don't need to do that to really be loving them. You will create a definition of love that will say you can keep up with the church members through text and online. You never actually have to sit with them or talk with them and interact with them because they're strange and weird anyway. All they want to talk about is Jesus. If I'm on a text and I can just set the phone aside. But notice how our text here in scripture does not allow us to do this. Verse 9. Verse 9 makes it very real and practical. Verse 9 demands love. That means we actually have to be together with one another, eating together and relating to one another closely. Our passage in verse 9 says, show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Almost like we needed to hear that. Peter knows our heart. The scriptures x-ray us. It sees us better than we see ourselves. I pray the Spirit will cause this verse to confront your definition of love and redefine your definition to love the saints as the Lord intends for you to do. So we see here that Christian love is not merely an emotional sentiment like the world would like for it to be, but an extremely practical thing where we covenant together as a body of believers. And according to the back of our worship journal that you have there in your hand, it says the second item on the list says we will walk together how? In brotherly love. as becomes the members of a Christian church, exercise an affectionate care and watchfulness over each other, and faithfully admonish and entreat one another as occasion may require." Now, as I read that, some of you are sitting there this morning and you're saying, I need to think more about that. You know, Shane's saying some things that scripture is obviously saying. He's not saying anything more than what scripture is saying. I need to think about that. Some of you are sitting there this morning saying, I will not. I am not going to love anymore. And you've got good reasons in your own thinking that you have made. You're busy. You've got this. You've got that. God understands. And so you've chosen to clearly not obey the command that God's given to you. And then there's others here this morning, they're saying, how can I manage this with everything else? I want you to reflect for a bit about how the Lord has called us to love one another. And don't take my word for it. Listen, this is how the Lord wants us to love each other. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly. Since love covers a multitude of sins, show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Now, define that and order that in all kinds of ways so that you can remain comfortable and you will simply be disobeying God's command. Is your love constant and earnest? Is it a priority to you to love those that God has placed around you in this congregation? When your heart turns from Christ's kingdom to the world and the kingdom that you want to establish for yourselves, I promise you, your love for the saints will be sporadic and scattered, and your love will end up becoming cold, occasional, and often even a burden. instead of what it's supposed to be. And that is a constant warm joy, knowing that the Lord is loving others through you. And when you do give your occasional effort to love, I want you to know that if you step out today and say, I'm going to love somebody, as soon as you do, let me go ahead and prepare you. As soon as you take that step out there and be vulnerable, you're going to step out and love someone. And as soon as that happens, a difficult circumstance will happen. And you'll be sinned against. How dare they sin against me? When this happens, the Lord will be proving your faith in Christ and testing whether your love is actually genuine and from the Lord, or is it something that you're trying to work up for yourselves? Our true end times, prayer saturated love that covers a multitude of sins will sustain and keep us together only if we are in Christ. meaning that we are far better able to absorb the various ways that we offend one another, sin against one another by careless comments and thoughtless actions which abound in this congregation. When our hearts are wanting more than just a friend, we're wanting to see that brother and sister that's sitting around us have more of Christ. That's your aim. It's not I'm doing this so that they will love me. You're loving them so that they can love Christ more. Because that's really what we're after, that they love Christ more. And as they love us, that we may love Christ more because of their love for us. Nor do we insist on loving others only if we can organize and control the circumstances. Instead, by fixing our hearts on Christ's kingdom, our hearts will be moved toward and desire to love those who are loving and longing for the same thing, and that is His kingdom to come. We will be living together, and here's a summary of how we'll be living together. Romans 12, verses 12 and 13, we will rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, and seek to show hospitality. Romans 12, verses 12 and 13. Now, I took longer on that one than I will the others. Point number three. First was pray. Second is love. Third is a natural result or fruit of in time living, living with our hearts and minds rooted in Christ's kingdom is that we serve one another variously. Notice with me in verses 10 through 11. As each has received the gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace. Whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God. Whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies. In order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. Now, let's look at this for a moment and consider how we are to serve. Look at these aspects that are being brought forward. First is we need to notice that each, it says here, as each has received the gift, each and every person that is that has been regenerated and born again has a gift that is to be used uniquely and specifically. It says here they've received the gift. Each has received the gift. And it's important to note. that this gift is not some natural skill or interest, though it may be connected to those things. It's a unique gift given by God and His Spirit bestowed on each and every member of our congregation for the purpose of the flourishing of our body as a whole. And so if there's one here this morning who is a believer and a member of our church, you have a gift or maybe even multiple gifts that God has given to you. And if you're not using them, they're to the detriment to the rest of our body. I would discourage you then to go after what was a couple of decades ago, the spiritual gifts inventories. Those are less than useful. But I would encourage you if you're wondering, well, what is it that the Lord has called me to do? Let me encourage you to a few things. If you want to discern, well, how's the Lord calling me to use this gift that he's given to me spiritually? First, pray and ask the Lord to give you direction. Second, have conversations with those that are in our congregation. And as you have conversations with them and spend time with them and show them hospitality or spend time eating with them and spending time with them, watch and listen for the needs that are in our congregation. And as those needs begin to come forward, you're going to say to yourself, I can do that. I can love that person. I can serve in this way. I can do this particular thing. And you can move forward in that. How am I going to do this? How am I going to understand this? Is this really something that the Lord's calling me to do? Well, this is exactly why, brothers and sisters, the Lord has given us deacons and elders. so that we can walk with you through this process. As you're seeking to know, how is the Lord calling me to serve and to care for others and use this gift that the Lord's given to me? The Lord's given deacons and elders to help in this regard. Notice as we continue in this passage, it says these gifts are varied. This very grace is divided up in two categories, first speaking and then serving. See that there? Whoever speaks as one who speaks the oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies. Notice how particular and focused these are, how carefully directed these gifts are. We're supposed to be speaking in such a way as to speak only to oracles of God. We're to serve in such a way as to serve only with the strength that the Lord supplies. Now, in very real ways, I want to encourage you to not only look around and see what the needs are in our congregation, but also don't overlook the fact that the Lord has called all of us in unique ways. We are brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers. We're dads and moms. Some of you are children and you have siblings. We're to serve and love one another. And you may come to one of the deacons and say, I'm wanting to serve my family well and be faithful to my family in this particular way. Here's the things that I'm struggling with in way of serving my family. And a deacon can help a man, a young father maybe, in way of helping him know how can he serve his family well? How can he serve his congregation well? A mom may come to one of the elders and say, I'm trying to teach my children the word of God. And in the mornings when we start our day, Bring before them, speak the very oracles of God to them. How can I do that best? And the elder then can help you as you seek to serve in that way to know how you can best apply the word of God to your children. You see how these are ways that we should not overlook what God has called us to specifically and uniquely, but also how we can love one another in very, very real ways. Now, we're to do this always mindful that it is for the purpose of the gospel flourishing in our congregation. It's not just so that we can get attention drawn to ourself, but it's for the gospel to be propagated and promoted in our congregation and to those that are around us. If we choose to not speak the oracles of God, but instead choose to speak what we prefer or what maybe the world is suggesting is the best thing, let me find out how to find something online and give you the 10 best ways to do this or that. That's not what we're called to do as brothers and sisters in Christ. When we do decide to go toward preferences or worldly suggestions, when this happens, we become frustrated that the people around us are not listening. And then we turn so often, sadly, many of us, instead of the oracles of God, we turn to other ways and methods that will quote unquote work for us instead of persevering and speaking the word of God patiently and faithfully to one another. When we choose to serve in the strength of our own strength instead of the Lord's strength, many of us know exactly how that works. Soon we'll become frustrated, we'll be drawn out, we'll become bitter and angry because nobody's paying attention to us, and we'll choose to quit or leave the thing the Lord has called us to do ministry in or to serve in because we need somewhere where people are paying more attention to us. It is important for us to see how these varied gifts are given. We need to understand as well here that none of us have all of them. but that we need each other. There isn't anyone here, whether it's an individual or a family, that has all the gifts that the Lord needs to use in order to make you the follower of Christ and help you be what God's called you to be. And so know that we need each other. And so if you're sitting here this morning saying, what I do and my place in this church really has no relevance at all, that is not true. That is that is not scripture. That is not biblical. There are some heroes saying, how can I serve like that person over there that I see always everywhere doing all kinds of things? Well, that's what they're doing, but it's not what you're called to do. You need to serve in the way that God's called you to serve, to be able to discern how you can meet those needs and love the congregation that God's placed you in so that we can all do what? Not become the best me I can be, but for us to all go toward the kingdom as we are kingdom minded, thinking about the kingdom to come and what Christ said. Finally, excuse me, finally, number four, glory, glory. How are we going to be motivated to keep doing the very demanding commands that the Lord has given us to do? To pray fervently, to love earnestly the way our passage is telling us, to serve variously in various ways. How are we to be motivated to do these things? Notice with me at the very end of verse four, the very end of, I'm sorry, the very end of verse 11. First Peter chapter four, very end of verse 11. in order, we're doing all these things, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. That's the aim. That's the chief end of man, to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. This is why we do everything we do. You may be sitting there this morning and thinking, well, I'm not sure if my heart is riveted or rooted in that glory. I want to see God's glory. Well, you're rooted and committed to a glory. The question is, is that glory your own glory, your own preference, your own world? Or are you desiring for the Lord to be glorified, for him to be seen? The Lord displays his glory in so many ways. When the trees are blowing in the wind, they declare the glory of God. When the stars hang in the sky, they declare the glory of God. When a bug does what a bug does, it's declaring the glory of God. When the Lord is calling you to do what you've been called to do, each one very different, it is for the purpose of glorifying God. and you can take whatever hit the world may bring to you if you're confident it's bringing God glory. If you're confident that it is bringing God glory and it's what God has created you to do, where God has placed you to serve, you can be confident that it's glorifying God according to this, it says, in order that in everything, everything we do, God may be glorified, how? Through Jesus Christ. As we're trusting in him, as we're leaning on him, as we're pointing one another to him through our prayers, through our love, through our serving, we're glorifying our Savior, Jesus Christ, saying he is the one that we're doing all these things for. Why? Because to him belongs glory and dominion forever and ever. And these things are so very true that Christ deserves all glory and dominion forever and ever is so very true that Peter, inspired by the very by the very Holy Spirit of God, says I'm into this. I'm in. Do you live? Are you here this morning? Do you live in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ? If not, You might be sitting here this morning and have never turned from living for your own glory and end for your own kingdom to trust turn into trust in Christ and his kingdom. Your life might be marked then by apathy or maybe even cynicism if you live for your own kingdom. This is very evident because there's no reason for you to pray if you're living for your own kingdom. Well, unless you're wanting to pray for God to do something to promote your kingdom, which he never does. Your love for others is assessed and only given in relation to what that person can do for you because it's your kingdom that you're trying to grow. You're serving others in various ways according to your own plan and at the end of the day for your own glory. If you are not being venerated and esteemed, then you are bothered and you will go somewhere else and find someone else to do that for you. If this is you this morning, I want to call you to repent. To turn from your pursuit of your own glory and to turn to Christ. For Christ and His glory can be received by faith. repenting of our sin and turning to Christ by faith and giving yourself to him and to his glory this morning so that your prayer can be here in our passage. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. So let me end this way. Let me ask you this morning, do you believe in God, the Father Almighty? maker of heaven and earth? Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only begotten son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried? He descended into hell and the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. Listen, from there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. There's our end of the world consummation of everything. From there he shall come to judge the living and the dead. Do you believe that? Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body? And life everlasting. Do you believe that there's a life everlasting? The reason I'm asking this is because what you believe about the end will shape how you live and how you leave this place this morning. Come, Lord Jesus. Come quickly. Let us pray.