1 Peter 4:7-11
This past Sunday as we held a memorial service here at the church, Lee Kidd got up and spoke and quoted that well-known saying,
“There’s no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole”
He was talking about how the man who had recently died wanted someone to pray with him before he went.
I remember about 3 years ago at Crawford, there was a man named Harold Nelson, who wanted nothing to do with God or the church, until he contracted west nile virus. When he reached the point of knowing death was imminent, his tune dramatically changed. He sent for me and eventually gave his life to Christ.
We see this even occur time and time again.
We even saw it in the Bible.
Luke 23:41-43
“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
There is something about having the end in sight that causes a person to zoom in on what is really important.
Of course we know this is the case for a lost person.
It is common for people who are lost to catch a view of the end and be moved to call on Jesus.
But the fact of the matter is, lost people aren’t the only people who should be motivated by the end.
In our text this morning, Peter is talking about how a Christian should have focus in the final hour.
Before Peter dives into the heart of his text, he makes this simple, yet sobering statement.
Verse 7, “The end of all things is near;”
Now let that statement sink in for a second.
DO YOU BELIEVE THAT?
Do you think the end is really near.
Peter thought it was nearly 2000 years ago when he penned this passage, how much nearer must it be now?
I want everyone in here to understand this morning that what Peter says is absolutely true.
We are not just talking about your end, although it is near, and we aren’t just talking about my end, although it is near, and we aren’t just talking about the end of some things.
We are talking about “the end of all things”
Most specifically Peter is referring to the return of Christ to judge the world and to reign over it.
This is something we as believers in our day and time had better come to grips with.
YOU SAY, “Ah preacher, Peter thought it was near and that was 2000 years ago, should I really expect this to happen in my lifetime?”
I want you to see what Jesus said.
Matthew 24:4-8
“And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many. “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.”
Did anyone else in here hear about the Tsunami that hit last December?
Did anyone else in here hear about the hurricane that hit New Orleans?
Did anyone else in here hear about the mudslides in the Philippines?
Did anyone else in here hear about the two terrorists that took out the twin towers?
Sounds like the beginning of the end to me.
Matthew 24:32-35
“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
Matthew 24:36-39
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Folks, I want you to understand what Jesus taught.
I realize it was 2000 years since Peter wrote these words, but in 2000 years look how real it has become.
“The end of all things is near”
And the reason the end is so scary is because of the finality that comes with it.
My son cries every night after he finishes watching his nightly movie. When the credits come, he cries, because he knows it is over.
He hates the finality that comes with the end.
That is precisely what is coming.
Hebrews 9:27
“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,”
Revelation 20:11-15
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
There is coming a complete and final end to this world.
An end that will consummate in judgment.
1 John 2:17a
“The world is passing away…”
I would not consider myself an environmentalist, but I believe in global warming.
I believe some day this globe is gonna get so hot, man won’t be able to stand it.
2 Peter 3:10-13
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”
The point I want you to realize is that not only is there an appointed end to this world, but that we are close to it.
Do you realize that any minute, Jesus is going to return, that judgment is going to sweep upon this world, that men are going to enter a time of tribulation so severe that if it weren’t cut short, even the elect wouldn’t survive. That hell is going to open wide her jaws and scores of lost souls will be forever bound in torment.
You think cancer is bad, cancer is like a wimpy little sister compared to death and hell.
Any minute, the choice will be gone, and eternity will be set.
I used to have a T-shirt that said,
“Judgment day, you stand before the throne of God, you’ve breathed your last breath. No more time, no more excuses; still no fear?”
It is imperative that believers and unbelievers alike understand that our days are numbered, and that “the end of all things is near”.
Now the reason it is so important to understand that, is because the closeness of the end ought to motivate us in a very deliberate way. Certainly it ought to motivate the lost to cry out to Jesus today.
But it also ought to motivate those who do believe.
Because we are so close to the end of the world and judgment of man, I am going to show you five attributes that we as Christians must have.
#1 A PROPER PERCEPTION
1 Peter 4:7b
“Therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.”
Peter says, the end is near, so pay attention.
“be of sound judgment and sober spirit”
“sound judgment” translates SOPHRONEO
it means “be in ones right mind” or to correctly assess yourself.
Romans 12:3
“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”
In other words, you had better make sure what you are.
Don’t pretend to be a disciple of Jesus if you really aren’t.
2 Corinthians 13:5
“Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test?”
“sober spirit” translates NEPHO
relates to being spiritually alert.
In other words, Peter is telling you to get real with yourself and recognize the times.
Jesus said it like this.
Matthew 24:42-44
“Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”
The command is simple.
Open your eyes and realize what is going on around you.
It does a Christian no benefit to be oblivious to the facts that are evident.
If you were on a sinking ship, it would do you little good to just refuse to recognize that the ship is going down.
Because of the distress of the times, it is imperative that Christians have a proper perception.
And there is a reason we need it.
“be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer”
You need to be perceptive of what is going on so you will know how to pray.
If you are unaware of the danger, you won’t be as quick to ask for help.
Christian the end is near we need a proper perception.
#2 A PROPER PERSPECTIVE
1 Peter 4:8
“Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.”
Not only do we need to rightly perceive the danger that is real, we not to have a proper perspective of ourselves.
And what Peter says is, “determine to place yourself and your needs behind the needs of others.”
There is something about reaching end. If a ticking time bomb was dropped into this sanctuary this morning, that read 30 seconds and counting, the initial fleshly reaction would be to take care of yourself first.
Of course there would probably be at least one person you would seek to help. Most would grab their children, or their spouse. Because they love them.
That is the idea.
The end is upon us, we must make sure to sacrifice ourselves for the safety of others.
Call it evangelism, call it world missions, call it ministry.
This whole world is going down, we must show love to others.
Why?
“because love covers a multitude of sins.”
Love has a unique ability to lead people to forgiveness. It is God’s love that led us, it is our love that leads others.
If you’ve seen the movie, or know the story behind Jim Elliot and the four missionaries that were speared to death in the 50’s. One of the influencing factors in the salvation of the Waodoni was the fact that Jim and his friends didn’t shoot when they could have.
It is the end, we must work on behalf of others.
Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church gives a peak into Paul’s loving heart.
2 Corinthians 4:7-12,15
“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you…For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.”
2 Corinthians 5:20-21
“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”
2 Corinthians 12:14-15
“Here for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I do not seek what is yours, but you; for children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?”
Paul gave himself for the Corinthians, we are to do the same for others.
For some reason, we as Christians often lose our desire for the lost.
It is as if we get our souls secured, and then aside from our children, we quit worrying about the rest who are perishing.
Folks, why do you think God left you here?
If all He was concerned about was getting you to heaven, you would already be there.
He was concerned about you helping get others to heaven, and it is because of your eternal security that you can literally lay it all on the line in order to help others.
It does a lost world no good when a Christian who is too in love with their own comforts, their own securities, their own possessions, their own self to be willing to show the love of God to others.
You weren’t left here to love and care for yourself. You were left here to love and care for others.
Oh how the church today needs a proper perspective of who to love.
The end is near, we need a proper perception and a proper perspective.
#3 A PROPER PROCESS
1 Peter 4:9
“Be hospitable to one another without complaint”
Of course this ties in very closely with the previous point.
Love is the motivation, hospitality is the action.
But the point to what Peter says here is to be hospitable “without complaint”
You see there is a right way and a wrong way to do things.
Peter doesn’t just want you to go through the motions of love, but to really love people.
1 Corinthians 13:1-3
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”
When we properly see that this world is going down, and we are motivated with love to save those in it, then we do it willingly, not while bearing a grudge with complaining.
I am always amazed at how quickly we as Christians can complain about the difficulties we think we face.
Mark Cahill wrote in his book, “One Thing You Can’t Do In Heaven”
“There are believers in China who literally walk six hours to go to church, and they don’t have “McChurch” for thirty minutes! They thoroughly worship the Lord, and then they walk six hours back home. We consider it “suffering” when we have to drive to church in the rain!”
We complain about everything in ministry don’t we?
Songs are too loud
Sermons are too long
Sinners are too disagreeable
Soul Winning is too intimidating
Singing is too tiring
Suffering is unheard of
We would do more, but it’s just too hard.
We would evangelize, but it’s too hard.
And if we do, we complain about it.
It’s time we start doing things correctly, like Jesus did it.
We need a proper process.
#4 A PROPER PARTICIPATION
1 Peter 4:10
“As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God”
