Living in Light of the End (2): Jason Austin 12/12/2021

Well, good morning, everybody.

Living in Light of the End: The Call to Christian Conduct

Please turn with me to the book of 1 Peter. This morning, we continue our study of 1 Peter 4, verses seven through 11. Living our lives in light of the end, part two. The question that we've been seeking to answer is what is the appropriate response to the end of all things?

In light of the end, in light of the final consummation of the age, in light of the return of Christ, how are we to live? In other words, how should the return of the Lord Jesus Christ impact our lives today?

Let's read the text together. 1 Peter 4, verses seven to 11. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly since love covers a multitude of sins.

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a 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.

To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen.

Since therefore the end is near, believers should live according to the will of God. Practically speaking, this means four things. By way of reminder, point number one, in light of the end, we must keep alert in our prayers.

1 Peter 4, seven. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Peter here is admonishing his readers to be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of prayer.

Be self-controlled and sober-minded so that you can pray, so that you can pray more effectively. To pray in this manner is to pray in full control over your thoughts. It is to pray with full control over your emotions.

In light of the end, in prayer, you're not going to lose your head. You're not gonna be swept away by the end times hysteria. Rather, you will remain level-headed and evaluate all things through the lens of the scriptures.

The realization that history is coming to a close. The realization that the day of the Lord is fast approaching should compel each one of us to be wholly dependent upon the Lord God for everything. And our dependence upon the Lord God for everything is manifest by our prayers.

So keep alert in your prayers. Point number two, in light of the end, we must love one another earnestly. First Peter 4 .8, above all, keep loving one another earnestly since love covers a multitude of sins.

Peter's command to love one another is prefaced by the words above all. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly. Above all other things, before all other things, with a genuine and sincere heart, love one another.

In order of the greatest importance, be fervent in your love for one another. The highest and most supreme duty for the believer is to love one another earnestly. Our love for one another should be sacrificial.

Sacrificial love is the highest and most noble form of love. It is the love that gives. It is the love that seeks the highest good for another, no matter how great the cost. And then they deliver that good.

The greatest example of this love is the love that the Lord God has demonstrated to his children. Our Father God, through the Lord Jesus Christ, recognized our great need, our need for deliverance, our need for redemption, our need for forgiveness and reconciliation.

In love, the Lord God delivered this highest good to us by paying the greatest possible price, the blood of his son, Jesus Christ. Through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, our greatest need has been supply, salvation, peace with God.

Therefore, as the children of God, we are to imitate this love, and we must love one another in this same manner. Our love for one another must be sacrificial. We must pursue the highest good for another, no matter how great, no matter how high the cost.

To love one another in this manner will cover a multitude of sins. Now remember, this does not mean that our love for one another will excuse sin. This does not mean that our love for one another will ignore sin.

In the life of a believer, sin must be dealt with appropriately. Sin must never be ignored, but addressed according to the scriptures. Sin must be lovingly confronted, but when all the confrontation is done, when all the exhortation is done, when the proper steps of restoration are complete, then we cover that sin.

Then we bury that sin, and we remember it no more. Beloved above all, keep loving one another earnestly. Well, let's move on to some new material. Since therefore the end is near, you must keep alert in your prayers, you must love one another earnestly, and you must be hospitable to one another.

Christian Hospitality Without Grumbling

Point number three, in light of the end, we must be hospitable to one another. First Peter 4 .9. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Peter here builds on the foundation of prayer, which is our vertical relationship with the Lord God, and love, our horizontal relationship with one another, and he goes one step further, and he gives us the practical manifestation of love, which is showing hospitality.

Not only are believers to love and to open our hearts to one another, but we must also open our lives and our homes to one another. The Greek word translated hospitality is phalaxenos, which literally means to love strangers.

Implied in this term are generosity, the warm reception and welcoming of visitors, guests, and strangers into your homes. Hospitality is the expression of the earnest love that is shared amongst the people of God.

In the Old Testament, again and again, you see the Lord God's great concern for those who have little to nothing, widows, orphans, the poor, the sojourner, the stranger, and concerning these, the Israelites were repeatedly commanded to take notice of and to extend to them hospitality.

Deuteronomy 14 .29. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are within your towns shall come and eat and be filled that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

In the New Testament as well, this theme is just as prevalent. The Lord Jesus Christ often makes reference to being diligent in the care of others, especially to those who do not have the ability to pay you back, the poor.

The crippled, the lame, the blind. In the book of James, the example of hospitality is used to describe authentic and genuine faith. James 2 .14. What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled without giving them the things needed for the body,.

What good is that?

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. The Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 25 makes an astounding promise to those who practice hospitality. Then the king will say to those on his right, Matthew 25 .34, come, you who are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.

And the righteous will answer him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you? Or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?

And the king will answer them, truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me. In his earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus Christ was loving and compassionate towards the needy.

He was diligent to care for those who were destitute and he called his disciples to do the same. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons, sell what you have and give to the poor.

Freely you have received, freely give. As followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must demonstrate this same care and concern for our fellow brothers and sisters. During the time that first Peter was written, in hospitality was an absolute necessity for the expansion of the gospel.

One of the reasons why Peter was admonishing his readers to practice hospitality was due to the persecution that existed during this time. Remember to whom this letter was addressed, to the elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.

This letter was addressed to those who had been scattered throughout the empire due to persecution. At this time, Christians were often forced from their homes, they were expelled from their countries and many were living without the basic necessities of life.

These exiles would need a place to stay where they could be cared for and comforted and encouraged. For these exiles, staying at a local inn might have been a possibility but inns at this time were not like the motels and hotels that we have today.

One commentator described inns at this time as filthy, ruinously expensive and of low repute. In the work, The Frogs of Aristophanes, Dionysus asked Heracles when they're discussing finding lodging if he knows what inn has the fewest fleas.

Plato in the laws speaks of an innkeeper holding travelers to ransom. He actually compares them to pirates who hold their guests to ransom before he allows them to escape. When Theophrastus wrote his character sketch of a reckless man, he said that he was fit to keep an inn or to run a brothel.

He put both occupations on the same level. To the elect exiles, to those who had very little money, staying at an inn would be impractical but it could also be potentially dangerous and harmful. So for the gospel to spread, hospitality needed to be exercised by those within the church.

But not only was the opening of their homes a necessity, so also was the opening of their lives and the giving of practical help and aid to those in need, be they friend, stranger, believer or unbeliever.

To practice true hospitality to one another is simply a means to love strangers in a very practical and very constructive way. Benjamin Franklin was quoted as saying, in three days, visitors and fish smell.

Now this statement isn't scriptural, it's not inspired by God but it does ring a little true. And I think Peter understood the difficulty of practicing hospitality so he reminds us to show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Open your home and embrace someone with the love of Christ but do it without complaint, do it without murmuring, do it without any grumbling. Early in my marriage, I had an out of state friend stop by for a visit and I hadn't seen him in several years and I was looking forward to the visit.

The plan was for him to stay through the weekend which was about three days but he ended up staying with us for about three months. He wasn't working at this time, he wasn't really contributing or helping out around the house, he was there in the morning when I got up for work, he was there at home when I got home from work.

It was safe to say that he was always there. And after the first week or two, I was having a really difficult time looking at him and I was looking at him without anger, I wanted him gone. Now to alleviate the tension, my sweet wife took up the slack and she would often plead with me, be nice to him, spend time with him and just relax but I was not very good at hiding my true feelings so it was a very awkward three months.

Eventually, he did leave and I didn't hear from him again. A year or two later, I found out from a mutual friend that he had forsaken the Lord Jesus Christ. He had completely abandoned his faith and was apostate.

Even though he had been theologically astute, he had served in the church, he had evangelized and discipled men, he walked away from his faith entirely. Looking back, I have regretted the attitude that I had towards him during that time.

Even though I had given him room and board and put up with his quirks and his immaturity, I had failed to do it without grumbling. I had failed in sacrificially loving him. I had failed in loving him earnestly.

I failed to cover his sins with love and I failed in showing true hospitality. I was a complainer, I was a murmurer, I was a grumbler and worse, I had missed a divine opportunity to be used by the Lord God.

I had missed an opportunity to be an encouragement and to help a fellow brother who was struggling in his walk all because I didn't want him in my house. My comfort was more important to me than doing the will of God.

My comfort was more important than loving him earnestly and showing hospitality. As a church, hospitality must be one of our defining characteristics. As individuals, in Christ, we must be hospitable.

We must practice hospitality without grumbling. Well, practically speaking, how are we to do this? Let me give you a couple of suggestions. Take a moment and just look around the sanctuary. Is there someone here that you don't know?

Is there someone here that you recognize but you don't really know much about? Is there someone here who you'd like to get to know better? Is there someone here who is new and may not know many people?

Is there someone here who may be lonely or struggling with difficulty and in need of encouragement? Is there someone here who's not physically here and for medical reasons or old age is unable to be here?

Beloved, in love, reach out to that someone. Introduce yourself to them. Call them, text them, write them. Take an interest in their lives. Invite them over for a visit. Invite them over for coffee or dessert or dinner.

Invite them over to watch an old movie or to play Minecraft or Legos or a board game. Remember, the command to be hospitable applies to every Christian of every age. It's just not to adults. It's not just to adults.

So reach out and go for a walk with someone. Go shopping together. Share with them what you're learning when you read the scriptures. Spend some time in prayer for them or better yet, with them. Write them an encouraging note.

Beloved, there are so many different ways that we can be hospitable to one another. Commit to the Lord God that you will obey this command and pray that the Lord God will give you guidance and direction in how you're to carry it out.

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers and do this without grumbling. Beloved, in light of the end, we must show hospitality to one another without grumbling. We must love one another earnestly since love covers a multitude of sins and we must be sober-minded and self-controlled for the sake of our prayers.

Serving One Another as Stewards of God’s Varied Grace

Point number four, in light of the end, we must also serve one another. First Peter 4 .10, as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's very grace. Whoever speaks is one who speaks oracles of God.

Whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies. Upon receiving the Lord Jesus Christ, every Christian also receives a gifting from the Lord God. And this is a spiritual gifting. It is a divine enablement for ministering to one another within the body of Christ.

In other words, a spiritual gift is a God-given capacity through which the Holy Spirit supernaturally uses you to minister to the body. I have a spiritual gift and I must use my gift to minister to you.

You have a spiritual gift and you must use your spiritual gift to minister to others. John MacArthur remarked that each believer's spiritual giftedness is unique as if each were a spiritual snowflake or fingerprint.

It is as if God dips his paintbrush into different colors or categories of gifts on his spiritual palette and paints each Christian with a unique blend of colors. Not only does God grant spiritual gifts and arrange them in different ways, but he also gives believers the necessary faith to exercise them.

Now, Peter divides these spiritual gifts into two broad categories, speaking gifts and serving gifts. Speaking gifts are usually the more visible gifts, preaching, teaching, exhortation, evangelism. Serving gifts are usually the more behind-the-scenes gifts, such as good deeds, helping others, showing mercy, giving, administration.

It's important to note that both speaking and serving gifts are equally necessary within the body of Christ. Just because one gift may seem more visible, it does not necessarily mean that that gift is more valuable.

All spiritual gifts must be used to edify the body, and the exercise of each gift is absolutely essential to the health of the body. Paul makes this very clear in the book of 1 Corinthians. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 14 through 26.

For the body does not consist of one member, but of many. If the foot should say, because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it any less a part of the body.

If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them as he chose.

If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. Every true believer has at least one spiritual gift, and that spiritual gift is essential to the well-being of the body.

In fact, your spiritual gift is essential to the health of this body. First Baptist Church, Lemonster. Beloved, if you're a part of our church and you are not using your spiritual gift, then our body is deficient.

If you're not using your spiritual gift, then our body is not functioning as it was meant to function. First Corinthians 12, seven says, to each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good.

The spiritual gifts that have been given to us are to be used for the common good. Our spiritual gifts are to be used to build up the body of Christ, to equip the body of Christ, to mature the body of Christ.

And when each part is working properly, then the body will grow and it will be built up in love. Well, what if you don't know what your spiritual gift is? How do you determine your spiritual gift? Well, the best way to determine your gifting is to look for a need within the church and then seek to fill it.

Pray for opportunities, look for an open door to serve and then serve. You don't need to wait to be asked, but just jump in, get going and start serving somewhere. When I was 22, I was fairly certain that my spiritual gifts were only the gifts of help and the gifts of service.

I was always ready to help out others in any way possible and I always made myself available to help out in any physical area of ministry. Building maintenance, landscaping, lawn care, painting, cleaning, helping people move, those types of things.

And one Sunday morning I noticed that all of the children's Sunday school classes were being taught by women. And I was a little bothered that no men were willing to serve in this capacity. So as an extremely knowledgeable and zealous 22-year-old, I complained to the pastor.

Why aren't any men stepping up and helping out with the teaching of Sunday school? And his answer was, great question. Seeing that God has placed this on your heart, why don't you volunteer to teach one of those classes?

I walked right into that. So I volunteered, or more accurately was volunteered, to teach the fourth through sixth grade Sunday school class and I did so for two years. And then after two years I was asked to lead a communion service.

And eventually I was asked to teach a new believers class and then an adult Sunday school class. And in every church I've attended since, I have taught regularly in every church. Now I never would have imagined that I had the gift of teaching, not in a million years.

I was a horrible student, I was not a scholar, and I didn't even like speaking in front of people. But it wasn't until I used this spiritual gift that I knew that I had it. Beloved, if you don't know exactly where you're gifted, then just start serving somewhere.

Start serving anywhere. Start serving in some capacity and you will very soon find out your spiritual gifts. You know, our church has a lot of opportunities to serve, such as visiting shut-ins, or giving people rides to church or to other appointments, helping young mothers by serving in the nursery.

We have the food and clothes closet, the kitchen, the meal train, building maintenance, church security, the audio visual ministry, music, singing, helping organize church finances, helping other people with their finances, counseling, writing to and supporting missionaries, discipleship, the list goes on and on.

And maybe the Lord God has given you a very unique and specific ministry. Maybe the Lord God has placed something entirely new upon your heart. Beloved, each one of us is a steward or a manager of the resources that the Lord God has given to us.

And these resources are not to be squandered. They are not to be neglected, but they are to be used to serve the Lord's people for the Lord's glory. Beloved, we are to be good stewards of God's varied grace.

Charles Spurgeon remarked, whatever the gift is, whether it be money or talent or grace, even so, minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. God gives much to you that you may give it to others.

It is only meant to run through you as through a pipe. You are a steward, and if a steward should receive his Lord's goods and keep them for himself, he would be an unfaithful steward. Child of God, see to it that you faithfully discharge your responsibility as one of the good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Beloved, no gift is insignificant. And our church will only be healthy to the extent that every single one of our members are exercising their gifts as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. First Peter 4 .11, whoever speaks as one who speaks oracles of God, whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies.

In their service, the one who speaks must speak the oracles of God. Well, what does this mean? What are the oracles of God? The oracles of God refer to the divine utterances or the revelation of God. Now Peter's point is that if you are gifted to preach, teach, exhort, if you are gifted with wisdom, knowledge and discernment, then the words that you use had better not be your opinions, but rather the utterances of God, the oracles of God, the truth of the scriptures.

I once attended a church where there was a very diverse doctrinal background. Within the body, there were all sorts of different doctrinal backgrounds and preferences. And many times, well-intentioned people would often give their advice.

They would often give poor and unbiblical advice to others. And our response to the congregation was always the same. If you're going to give someone advice or counsel, biblical counsel, then there had better be a chapter and verse that goes along with it.

In other words, be able to back your preaching, your teaching, your admonition, your exhortation, your encouragement, your counsel with the truth.

Of scripture.

To speak the oracles of God is to bring people face to face with the authoritative truth of the Lord God. So beloved, speak the oracles of God. Do not speak the opinions of man. And the more time you're in prayer and the more time you're in communion with the Lord God before you're speaking or you're teaching, the more likely your message will line up with the utterances of God.

It will line up with the truth of the scriptures. To the one who serves, you must serve by the strength that God supplies. This points us to the need for conscious dependence upon the Lord God. No matter how small or how mundane the task may seemingly be, our service must be wholly dependent upon the Lord God.

Do you remember Paul's rebuke to the church in Galatia? Galatians chapter three. He says, you foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

Let me ask you this. Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law or by hearing through faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Both Paul and Peter emphasize the need to wholly rely upon the Lord God for strength.

Don't try to use your spiritual gifts in your own fleshly strength. Don't try to use your spiritual gifts in your own earthly power because the moment you do, your gift will cease to be spiritual and you will fail.

The branch cannot exist without the vine. Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, we can accomplish nothing in our service to one another. So don't be like the foolish Galatians. Your life was begun in the spirit and it must be lived out in the spirit.

And your teaching and your service must also be accomplished in the strength of the spirit. The exercise of your spiritual gifts must come from faith, obedience and submission to the control of the Holy Spirit.

We must exercise our gifts, wholly relying upon the strengthening grace that is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. In light of the end, you must be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

You must pursue love with others so that sin is covered. You must practice hospitality without grumbling. And you must serve one another in the strength that the Lord God so generously supplies. And do you know what it is that should motivate us to accomplish all of these things?

Our motivation in prayer, in love, in hospitality, in service must be the glory of God. First Peter 4 .11, in order that in everything, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever, amen.

Beloved, in our prayers, in our love for one another, in our hospitality for one another, in our service to one another, everything is to be done so that the Lord God may be glorified through the Lord Jesus Christ.

The glory of God should be our one supreme goal and passion in life. The Westminster Shorter Catechism, question number one, what is the chief end of man? Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.

First Corinthians 10 .31, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Revelation 4 .11, worthy are you, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things and by your will they existed and were created.

Beloved, if the glory of God is to be our chief end, if it is to be our one goal, our one aim, our one purpose, our one supreme passion in life, then we need to make sure that we fully understand.

The Glory of God as the Chief End of Man

The glory of God.

I've always been a little confused about the glory of God and I found it difficult to understand. How do you define the term glory? And what does it mean to glorify the Lord God? Well, the Old Testament word for glory comes from a Hebrew word that is used to describe weight or heaviness.

And the term implies both substance and importance. A helpful example for how this term is used is found in the book of Genesis. In Genesis 45, a very severe famine had struck and spread throughout the world.

And the only place to get grain was in Egypt. So Jacob commissioned his sons to travel to Egypt and to purchase grain. Now their brother Joseph, who they had sold into slavery, was now the second highest ruler in all of Egypt.

And all of the grain sales went through him. Funny coincidence, huh? As Joseph's brother stood before him to purchase grain, they didn't recognize Joseph. And after Joseph rang them through the ringer for a bit, he eventually reveals himself to his brothers and he says this to them.

Genesis 45, 13. You must tell my father of all my glory in Egypt and all that you have seen. Joseph wanted his greatness, his exalted position, his privileged status, his power, his authority to be reported back to his father.

He wanted Jacob to know of his value and his worth and his importance. He wanted his father to know who he was in the land of Egypt. In the New Testament, the word glory also conveys a similar idea. In Matthew 6 too.

Thus when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets that they may be praised by others. Truly I say to you, they have received their reward.

The phrase that they may be praised by others could also be translated that they may have glory from others. In the context of Matthew 6 too, a man's reputation is his glory. In the synagogues and in the streets, the hypocrites would make a huge production of their giving because they wanted the greatness of their generosity to be observed, to be known and to be praised by others.

The goal of their giving was to receive the praise and glory from men. So when the Bible speaks of the glory of God, it's referring to the public display of his infinite beauty. It refers to the public display of his infinite worth.

It refers to the public display of his honor and his greatness. The glory of God is the public display of God's infinite perfections and the significance of every single one of his attributes. In Isaiah 6 verses one through three, in the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the train of his robe filled the temple.

Above him stood the seraphim, each had six wings and with two he covered his face and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew. And one called to another and said, holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of his glory. Now, according to this passage, what is it that fills the whole earth? Is it his holiness? You might expect it to be from the thrice repeated holy, holy, holy. God is holy, holy, holy, but the whole earth is filled not with his holiness, but with his glory.

Beloved, it is God's glory that is the radiance of his perfections. It is God's glory that is the awesome brilliance that emanates from him and surrounds him. It is God's glory that publicly displays the sum total of who the Lord God is.

And it is his glory that fills the entire earth. And this is to be our chief end. This is to be our primary goal. This is to be our aim, our purpose, our ambition, our supreme passion in life. The glory of God and making that glory known.

Beloved, does your life reflect this passion? If you belong to the Lord God, it should. The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be self-controlled and sober minded for the sake of your prayers. Love one another earnestly since love covers a multitude of sins.

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. Serve one another in the strength that the Lord God has supplied. In order that in everything, the Lord God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. In order that everything you do, the Lord God may be known through Jesus Christ.

To him belong glory, honor, dominion forever and ever.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for this encouraging passage. And Lord, we confess that we're not always sober minded and self-controlled in our prayers. We confess that we don't always love one another.

We confess that we're not hospitable. We confess that we don't serve one another. We confess that we do not live for your glory. Lord, we pray that you would help us in this. We pray that your glory would be our all-consuming passion and that we would think about you all throughout the day, every moment of every day, and that we would evaluate everything we do in light of this truth.

Lord, I pray that our church would be a hospitable church, that we would be known for our hospitality. We pray, Lord, that we would do this without grumbling, recognizing that everything belongs to you and we are just your stewards.

We're just the managers. And Lord, that includes our gifts. So we pray that the gifts that you have given to us would not be squandered, but they would be used for the good of your people and the glory of your name.

Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name, amen.