
Four Commands One Goal (1 Peter 4:7-11)
- please open your Bibles to 1 Peter 4:7, found on page
1365
- I should remind you that every week I provide an outline
of the message in the bulletin, with convenient space on the back to
doodle
- but I hope youll follow the outline if you feel
it can be a help to you
-
- I like people who dont beat around the bush
- I sometimes feel like saying, "Give me the bottom
line spare me the details!"
- I also like people who tell it as it is
- and thats why Peter is my type of person
- he doesnt dance around the issues he just
says what he wants to, cuts through the red tape, and gets down to business
-
- when Peter, the big fisherman, took up his pen to write
about suffering saints, he cut to the chase
- and when he addressed the reality of the end times,
he summed up his game plan in a one-two-three fashion
- no beating around the bush
- four commands, and one goal
- (1 Peter 4:7) The end of all things is near.
- as Peter contemplates the bizarre behavior of the emperor
Nero, the persecution looming on the horizon, and the probability that
he would not survive longer, he concluded that the end was near
- Jesus was coming back to bring a dramatic end to the
world and everything in it
-
- Peter knew that the next major event on Gods
calendar was the return of Jesus Christ
- Ive noticed today that we make two mistakes
when it comes to thinking about the second coming
- the first mistake is to think we have it all figured
out
- early in his ministry, Warren Wiersbe gave a message
on prophesy that tried to explain everything about the second coming
- a pastor friend came up at the end of his message and
said, "Brother, you must be on the planning committee for the return
of Christ!"
- Wiersbe got the point, but his friend added quietly,
"Ive moved from the planning committee to the welcoming committee"
- some make the mistake of thinking that theyve
got it all figured out
- I think its important to study the Word of God
and come to know everything we possibly can about the Second Coming
provided we do so with a large dose of humility
-
- the mistake that you and I make more often, though,
is to forget that Jesus is coming back again
- one out of every 30 verses in the Bible mentions the
subject of Christs return or the end of time
- of the 260 chapters in the New Testament, there are
well over 300 references to the return of Christ
- only 4 out of the 27 New Testament books fail to mention
Christs return
- one-twentieth of our entire New Testament is dedicated
to the subject of our Lords return
- Christ spoke of his return often, especially after
he had revealed his death never in vague or uncertain terms
- and those who followed his teaching in the first century
frequently preached and mentioned his return in their preaching and
in their writings
- we dont know when, and we dont know all
the details, but we do know that Jesus is coming back again
-
- one day the disciples visited Jerusalem
- it would be the equivalent of a prairie boy visiting
Toronto
- they were staring at the temple in modern terms,
it would be like looking in awe at the CN Tower, the bank buildings
- becoming enamored with faster computers, more amazing
technology, faster airplanes
- and Jesus told the disciples:
- (Mark 13:2) "Do you see all these great buildings?"
replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every
one will be thrown down."
- we need to hear that message today
- our condominiums, cottages, cars, bank buildings
everything is headed for the scrap heap
- Jesus is coming again
- the things we think are so important now are all going
to be gone career, mutual funds, retirement plans
- Christ will come again and in a climactic display of
justice and love will bring this world to its knees
- its guaranteed
-
- and when will this take place?
- Peter says, "The end of all things is near"
- its nearer now than when Peter wrote this
- (2 Peter 3:8) But do not forget this one thing, dear
friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand
years are like a day.
- (2 Peter 3:9) The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise,
as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone
to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
- (2 Peter 3:10) But the day of the Lord will come like
a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be
destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
- all the previous acts of redemptive history have been
completed
- the last great "last act" remains: the end
of all things
- the curtain could fall at any time, ushering in the
return of Christ and the end of the age
-
- somebody has said "
almost without exception,
when the coming of Christ is mentioned in the New Testament, it is followed
by an exhortation to godliness and holy living"
- I once lived boarded with a young couple
- one week the wife went away, and the husband lived
on a solid diet of pizza and pop the entire time
- in light of his wifes return, however, the husband
did a thorough cleaning of the house
- in the same way, Christs return prompts us to
be ready, specifically in four different areas:
- BE FOCUSED SO YOU CAN PRAY
- (1 Peter 4:7) The end of all things is near. Therefore
be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.
- if I were to tell you that the end was near, and you
really believed me, you would probably panic a little
- but Peter says, "Dont panic stay
clear-minded and self-controlled"
- dont be filled with anxiety
- dont quit your job
- Peter says that we need to remain sane, which
means that we think and evaluate situations maturely and correctly
- and we need to remain sober, which means that
we need to avoid intoxication with anything that inhibits our spiritual
alertness, whether alcohol or any other worldly concern
- in other words, keep a clear head and dont get
drunk on money, possessions, career, or anything else that keeps you
from praying
-
- you see, the reason given for staying sane and sober
is "so that you can pray" more effectively, and more appropriately
- when were alert to events and interpret them
correctly, well be able to pray more intelligently and appropriately
-
- I dont know if you struggle with your prayer
life, but many of us do
- one of the reasons why is that we lack sanity and sobriety
in our lives
- if we were really self-controlled and sober, as Peter
writes, we would automatically begin to pray better
- I think if we really understand how totally and completely
dependent we were on God, and how we can do nothing without him, we
would pray a lot more
- I think if we understood that the church is engaged
in a battle for souls, and that the stakes are higher than any of us
previously thought, we would pray with greater focus
- if we opened our eyes and saw the vast amount of people
who need the Lord and who are headed for judgment, we would pray more
- if we really believed that the end of all things was
near, we would pray I guarantee it
- so, Peter says, stay focused so that you can pray
-
- Peter gives a second command:
- (1 Peter 4:8) Above all, love each other deeply, because
love covers over a multitude of sins.
- LOVE ONE ANOTHER EARNESTLY
- youll notice a few things about this verse
- Peter begins, "Above all
"
- the expression "above all" speaks to the
priority and preeminence of love as a Christian virtue as we wait for
the Day of the Lord
- love is the MVP of Christian virtues it is given
top priority here and in other places in Scripture
- you can be a Christian with a thorough knowledge of
the Bible and theology, a sparkling church attendance record, a tax
receipt showing your generosity to the church and to the poor, and yet
if you dont have love youre nothing
- love is not a virtue that should characterize us in
the church, it is the virtue that should characterize us in the church
-
- the word translated "deeply" has the idea
of a strenuous, intense love in other words, it takes work
- we know it takes work because the proof of this love,
according to Peter, is forgiveness: "love covers a multitude of
sins"
- the community that loves one another is able to forgive
one another more rapidly when issues arise
- where love abounds in a fellowship of believers, many
small offences, and even some large ones, are overlooked and forgotten
- but when love is lacking, every word and action is
liable to suspicion and misunderstanding much to Satans
delight
- so love one another earnestly
-
- Ive said it before if you are lacking
in the love department, youre missing the key virtue of the new
life
- the Bible says that if you dont have love for
your fellow believers, you had better question the authenticity of your
relationship with God
- you had better love another fervently in light of the
end, and if that means forgiving some offenses, you had better go ahead
and forgive
- love is the perennial solution to problems in the Christian
community; it is the "above all" virtue
-
- Peter gives a third command:
- BE HOSPITABLE WITHOUT COMPLAINT
- (1 Peter 4:9) Offer hospitality to one another without
grumbling.
- the verse says "one another"
- it means that we need to be hospitable to not just
those who are loveable or friendly or fun to be with
- were to receive others into our homes, making
them feel welcome, meeting their needs, and providing them a place of
welcome and acceptance
- but Peter knows that people are better at conforming
externally than at doing something from the heart
- so he adds "without grumbling"
- then, as now, guests could overstay or otherwise abuse
their hosts welcome
- hospitality can be an exasperating, not to mention
expensive, chore
- so Peter says do it but dont grumble
- let love open the door, get your priorities in place,
and by all means, use your house to serve others
- we should say that any friend of Jesus is a friend
of mine, and theyre welcome in our house regardless of
their nationality, age, color, or social status
- if theyre a friend of Jesus, theyre a friend
of mine, and theyre welcome in my house
-
- your house, no matter how big or small, is a gift from
God to be used to serve others
- when was the last time you had somebody in your house?
- and was it just somebody that you know and enjoy being
with, or are you even inviting others you dont know to your house?
- Im convinced that Sunday morning Christianity
is just scratching the surface of what Christian community is about
- use your homes, invite people over, and when they come
and stay later than you would have liked, and leave dirty dishes on
the counter, and the kids have broken something dont grumble!
-
- stay focused to pray, maintain love as the MVP of Christian
virtues, be hospitable, and lastly:
- USE YOUR GIFTS
- (1 Peter 4:10) Each one should use whatever gift he
has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in
its various forms.
- (1 Peter 4:11) If anyone speaks, he should do it as
one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it
with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised
through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and
ever. Amen.
- Peter says here that every Christian has been
given a gift and is expected to use it
- verse 10 tells us that every single Christian has received
at least one spiritual gift and is to use it to serve others in the
church
- one of the problems in the church is that we have allowed
ourselves to believe that ministry is what the pastors do
- every person in the fellowship of believers is to use
their spiritual gift for the life of the church to serve one another
- the pastors job isnt to do the work of
the ministry; his job is to equip you to do the work of the ministry
- in other words, my job isnt to do the work; its
to get you to do the work
-
- I believe the health of a church is measured not by
the number of people who attend or the size of the offering, but by
how many people are involved in ministry
- the pastors cant do it alone
- in most churches, 20% of the people do 80% of the work
- but in a healthy church, every single believer knows
their spiritual gift and every single believer is active in ministry
- every single one of you should be able to identify
where God has gifted you, because God has given you, regardless of your
age, a spiritual gift that is vital to the functioning of Richview Baptist
Church
- Peter here lists two types of gifts speaking
gifts and serving gifts, but there is an almost limitless variety of
different spiritual gifts, all manifestations of the richly varied and
abundant grace of God
-
- if there are going to be two emphases in my ministry
here at Richview this fall, it is going to be prayer and lay ministry
- if you want to know my game plan for September to December
1998, its going to be to cry out to God for his blessing on this
church, and to give every single person in this church an opportunity
to discover and use their spiritual gifts
- but we need to understand right now that the church
is incomplete without every single person using their spiritual gifts
- in fact, not using your spiritual gift is displeasing
to God
-
- in Word War II, a little French town had a statue of
Christ in their town square
- and when the bombing came, the bomb got the statue
and pieces were broken off
- they stored the pieces, and after the war began to
rebuild the statue of Jesus
- it had cracks now, but they appreciated it even more
- to their dismay, the only pieces they couldnt
find were the hands of Jesus
- and that was tough on them, because the hands had the
nail prints and that was significant to them
- they thought they would have to take the statue down,
until one person slipped a gold plaque at the bottom of the statue that
said, "He has no hand but ours."
- all of a sudden the community began to understand something
- we are his hands and the extensions of his ministry
- Peter says, use your gifts
-
- these are the four commands
- NOTICE WITH ME THE ONE GOAL BEHIND THESE FOUR COMMANDS:
TO GLORIFY GOD
- (1 Peter 4:11)
so that in all things God may
be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for
ever and ever. Amen.
- imagine a church where everyone prays, people love
each other, theres hospitality going on, and people are using
their spiritual gifts
- that would be a church that is glorifying God
-
- I didnt tell you this earlier, but these verses
in 1 Peter are my life verses the ones that I keep going to over
and over
- they motivate me; they state my dream for ministry,
and my dream for Richview Baptist Church
- that we pray, that we love each other, entertain each
other, everyone uses their spiritual gifts, and God gets the glory
- I think youll agree with me that these four commands
are do-able; theyre real and achievable
- they constitute my dream for Richview, and quite honestly,
these commands only make sense given that the end is near
-
- so what are you going to do?
- which of these four areas are you going to begin working
on today?
- before you file this message away, you had better get
busy and invite somebody over to your house; forgive someone for a past
offense; love somebody earnestly; pray; and find and begin using your
spiritual gift
- what are you prepared to do?
- lets pray