First Christian Church, Owensville, IN
August 2, 2020
Bart W. Newton, Preaching Minister
A video of the sermon from 1 Peter 4:7-11 may be viewed by clicking on the following link: “Stewards of God’s Grace”
(Abbreviations for Bible translations that may be quoted: ESV = English Standard Version; NLT = New Living Translation; CSB = Christian Standard Bible; GW = God’s Word; Amplified Bible = AMP; KJV = King James Version; New King James Version = NKJV; The Message = MSG; KNT = Kingdom New Testament)
• When you watch, read or listen to local, state, national and international news these days, what comes to your mind? Chaos? Wickedness? Disgust? Hope or despair? Do you ask yourself questions like: What will happen if Pres. Trump is re-elected? What will happen if Pres. Trump is defeated in November? What will happen if the Democrats take control of the Senate? What will happen if the Republicans take control of the House?
• I hear some folks say, “The Lord is trying to tell us something.” Or “I think perhaps we must be living in the end times or last days.” (According to the New Testament, we have been since the resurrection of Jesus.)
• But do you ever think, “Yes, there is evil and wickedness and chaos, but you know, God is in control and is bringing His history—His story—to completion. And I and the rest of His church get to be a part of bringing His kingdom in its fullness which was inaugurated at Jesus’ resurrection!”
• In today’s passage, Peter reminds us of this and some of what we are to do as God brings His story to completion.
• Last week, we considered 1 Peter4:1-6. We Christians were encouraged by the apostle Peter to do two things:
1. For the rest of our earthly lives make doing God’s will our passion (vv. 1-3).
2. We must fortify ourselves with the same mindset as that of Jesus (4-6).
• Hebrews 12:2-3: 2 We must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith. He saw the joy ahead of him, so he endured death on the cross and ignored the disgrace it brought him. Now he holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. 3 Think about Jesus, who endured opposition from sinners, so that you don’t become tired and give up. (GW)
• Now let’s move onto the next paragraph of Peter’s first letter to us:
1 Peter 4:7-11: 7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 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. (ESV)
• Peter reminds his initial listeners who were facing persecution of a NT truth which should also serve as a wake-up call of encouragement and devotion for us:
7 The end of all things is at hand;…
• In the letter of James, the same encouragement is given: James 5:8: You, too, must be patient. Don’t give up hope. The Lord will soon be here. (GW)
• The apostles taught and lived as if the Second Coming of King Jesus was imminent. They seemed to believe that for the most part, everything was in place for Jesus to return to judge the world and fully consummate His kingdom.
• But even then, as now, there were doubters. Peter addresses this in his second letter and gives some perspective:
• 2 Peter 3:8-10: 8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. (He’s not only giving sinners opportunity to repent and turn to Christ, but He’s giving the church—Christians like you and me—to get on the ball and start living and proclaiming the gospel so, with the power of the Holy Spirit, people will turn to Jesus!) 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. (NLT)
• Let’s return to how we view current events in light of this verse. The idea behind it is how the Amplified Bible translates it:
• v. 7a, Amplified: The end and culmination of all things is near.
• The climax, the summit, the crescendo, the crown, the high-water mark of God’s story is near!
• I’d like to recommend a book that I think is timely and may help Christians get a clearer picture of how as citizens of heaven, we are to live within society.
• I don’t know that I agree with all of it. It’s liking eating good fish—swallow the meat but spit out the bones. There is lots of meat in it. It Biblically challenges the way most American Christians approach US politics whether we currently lean Democrat, Republican, Independent, Green Party, Libertarian, etc.
• The book is entitled Scandalous Christianity: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians. Author is Lee C. Camp, professor of theology and ethics at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN.
• Let me share a few quotes from it:
• “Human history is not one…meaningless thing after another… History has a goal, a direction toward a climax: the author of life shall write a tale, has written tale, in which all lies and greed and ugliness and war; prisons and lusts, oppression and hate; hostility, disease, contempt, and envy; all shall be undone and set right, and there shall come a triumph of truth and goodness and beauty, which no ear has yet heard, and no eye has yet seen.: --Lee C. Camp, Scandalous Witness: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians, p. 12
• “Historic Christianity insists precisely this: that history is headed toward a glorious re-creation the likes of which only poets can begin to voice.” Lee C. Camp, Scandalous Witness: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians, p.14
• “For Christians the resurrection of the crucified Christ is the central historical claim on which Christians stake their lives: it ushers in the end of history, vindicates the way of Christ, and inaugurates a new political possibility in the world. We are invited by the resurrected Christ to live according to the end of history already inaugurated, but not yet fully realized, not yet consummated.” Lee C. Camp, Scandalous Witness: A Little Political Manifesto for Christians, p. 22
• We are called to live in a way that cuts across the various grains of all political parties. Remember how we are to pray and live?
• Matthew 6:10: Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. (ESV)
• What was the context of Jesus’ Model Prayer for us? “The Sermon on the Mount,” Matthew 5-7. What does Jesus say at the end of the sermon?
• Matthew 7:24-27: 24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (ESV)
• What were some of His words within this sermon?
• Matthew 5:43-48: 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (ESV)
• What does He mean by being perfect like our Father? He does some good things for His enemies. Do likewise.
• So the point is, God is bringing His story to completion, so live like the partners in it that He’s called us to be.
• So, if the end of all things is near,
…therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
• V. 7, NLT: Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
Christians are to be a sober-thinking, self-disciplined people, just like Jesus was:
• 1 Peter 1:13: So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. (NLT)
• We do it to help us get around to praying instead of panicking and losing our cool and so on: GW, 7: …keep your minds clear so that you can pray.
• And one of the reasons we need to pray is so we can do what Peter says next:
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
• It takes a lot of prayer to do that doesn’t it? To choose to love one another in God’s family?
• v. 8, Amplified: …love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others].
• Not only does my choosing to love you despite your sins and faults enable me to look over them. My loving you earnestly helps you look over some of mine.
• Have you ever had a brother or sister do or say something to you that didn’t set right or was a bit offensive or hurt your feelings? But then they turned around did the most loving thing to or for you. Suddenly, you’re not quite so upset with them anymore.
• Proverbs 10:12: Hatred starts fights,
but love pulls a quilt over the bickering. (MSG)
• How can we Christians love our enemies if we fail to choose to keep earnestly loving one another all of whom have been covered by the same blood of Christ?
• Peter now comes to one of the greatest but least practiced ways to demonstrate love to fellow Christians in need:
9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
• What comes to mind when you hear the word hospitality?
• What about giving a fellow Christian in need of a place to stay a bed for a night or two or 30?
• When Peter wrote this the inns were known for being filthy and places of immorality. What was a traveling Christian to do?
• What if the church needed a place to worship and your house had the space needed?
• This kind of hospitality could be inconvenient and could result in financial expenses or all kinds of frustrations. So no wonder Peter says:
• V. 9, NLT: Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
• V. 9, MSG: Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully.
• My mother-in-law (a widow) does this kind of thing a lot, such as providing a room for summer interns with her church. (1 Timothy 5:10 says that’s one of the characteristics of a Christian widow who is worthy of the church’s financial assistance.)
• Hebrews 13:2: Don’t forget to show hospitality to believers you don’t know. By doing this some believers have shown hospitality to angels without being aware of it. (GW)
• Romans 12:13: When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. (NLT) (CSB: …pursue hospitality)
• Hospitality is to be one of the primary characteristics of an elder (shepherd, bishop, overseer) (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8).
• How was your hospitality going pre-COVID-19?
• “Those who live out radically ordinary hospitality see their homes not as theirs at all but as God’s gift to use for the furtherance of his kingdom. They open doors; they seek out he underprivileged. They know that the gospel comes with a house key. They take biblical theology seriously, as well as Christian creeds and confessions and traditions.” —Rosaria Butterfield, The Gospel Comes with a House Key, p. 11
• Hospitality is just one way to demonstrate love for one another in Christ’s name.
• All of us have been gifted in ways that are conducive to service:
10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:
• 1 Corinthians 7:7b: But each has his own gift from God, one person has this gift, another has that. (CSB)
• Romans 12:6a: In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. (NLT)
• v. 10, GW: Each of you as a good manager must use the gift that God has given you to serve others.
• V. 10: NLT: God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
• Some people are gifted in preaching, teaching, counseling, spiritual directing, etc. and should take it seriously:
11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God;
• NLT: Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you.
• Those of us who are teachers of God’s Word, what kind of Facebook posts are we posting?
…whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—
• NLT: Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies
• Why do we do all that Peter has just instructed us to do?
…in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
• The order that Peter wrote these things has a natural, logical progression doesn’t it? Read it one more time:
1 Peter 4:7-11: 7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11 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. (ESV)
• V. 11c, MSG: That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!
Let’s spend some time reflecting on what God’s Word has shown us, using the acronym SPECKS:
• Sin to confess?
• Prayer, promise or praise to hold onto?
• Example to follow?
• Command to obey?
• Knowledge to retain?
• Share the passage with whom?