How Then Should We Live

We will go ahead and take your Bibles and turn back to one Peter chapter four, and we're going to pick up where we left off last week in our study of this very practical, helpful letter that Peter wrote to suffering saints and one century Asia, Asia Minor. That is one Peter chapter four, and we're going to be looking at verses seven through 11 today, one Peter chapter four, starting in verse seven. The end of all things is near, therefore be of sound, judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint as each one is received a special gift employed in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God, whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God, whoever serves is to do as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen. Father, we are so grateful for another opportunity to dive into your word. This is our food, this is our light, this is our sword, this is our well from which we draw so much. And Lord, there is a lot for us to get our minds around in this passage, but so practical. And so would you by your spirit illuminate our minds to understand what Peter meant by what he said here and how it relates to us, how it applies to us, or that we would be the kind of church that you intended us to be. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Well, last Sunday's message was titled Stealed for Suffering. And we looked at verses one through six and learned four ways to prepare for suffering and persecution that every true follower of Christ is bound to experience at some point in their life. Now today in verses seven through 11, Peter continued his preparedness training for persecution by reminding Christians of the essential role the church plays in our lives, particularly when we're called to suffer for the sake of Christ.

As you know, the church was ordained and established by Christ himself as a place for weary wanderers and persecuted pilgrims to find solace and support and strength during the arduous journey to our heavenly home. And I hope it encourages you to know that God never intended for you as a Christian to have to walk alone in this world, but he wanted you to travel together with fellow followers of Christ. And so he sent his son Jesus, not only to pay the penalty for our sin to provide us, but also to provide us a community where we can change and grow into the image of Christ, which we know as the body of Christ the church. And it is crucial for every Christian to be involved in the church, namely to not just be connected to a local church but be committed to a local church where we can live in the company of other believers who we can learn from, who we can lean on, especially when we face suffering and persecution for our faith in Christ.

And as we see the world becoming more and more hostile to Christ, his followers must band together all the more to pray for each other and to love each other and to serve one another and to care for one another all to the glory of God. And that's basically what Peter was exhorting his readers to do in these verses. He just got finished describing how we used to live our lives as unbelievers according to our lusts. Verse two, he says in verse three that we pursued a course essentiality and lust and drunkenness, carousing, drunken drinking parties, abominable, idolatries, all sorts of excesses of dissipation. Now he went on to describe how we should live now that we've committed our lives to follow Christ. In other words, here he contrasts how pagans live to how Christians should live. And today's text contains a series of urgent imperatives or commands that inform us and instruct us as to how we are to relate to one another as the body of Christ.

How are we to function within the body of Christ in light of Christ's imminent return? And so what I want us to see together are four priorities of a cohesive community of believers who brings glory to God, four priorities of a cohesive community of believers who brings glory to God and in order for God to be glorified in and through our church and in order for our church to provide us the solat and the strength and the support that each of us needs in times of suffering and persecution, all of us must be committed to practicing these four things. What are they? Number one, watchful prayer. Number two, merciful love. Number three, joyful hospitality. And number four, faithful service. Now, this is a lot of ground to cover and each one of these priorities could be a sermon of its own, but Peter mashed them all up in one text and so I'm going to try to mash 'em up in one sermon.

And so let's look first of all at watchful prayer, this first priority of a cohesive community of believers who brings glory to God. Notice verse seven, Peter transitions from what he just said with this line. He said, the end of all things is near again context. Verse five, he's talking about how God is going to come. Christ is going to judge the living and the dead for the gospel. Verse six, has for this purpose been preached even to those who are dead, that though they are judged in the flesh as men, they may live in the spirit according to the will of God. So when Peter goes on to say the end of all things is near, he's referring to the judgment day when we'll all stand before God and give an account of our lives, unbelievers will stand before Christ at the great white throne and be punished for their sin by being condemned to hell.

Believers will stand before Christ at the Beamer seat and be rewarded for their service and granite eternal life in heaven. If you're curious about that beam a seat judgment, you can read about it in one Corinthians chapter three and four, and also two Corinthians chapter five, verse 10. But Peter was referring here to the second coming of Christ when he said the end of all things is near. He was talking about the return of Christ, which is the next event on the eschatological calendar, which is a fancy theological term for end times. The phrase here, the end of all things. It doesn't mean the conclusion, but the consummation and culmination of God's plan of salvation and all the previous steps in the drama of redemption have been completed already. Creation fall, the calling of Abraham, the exodus from Egypt, the establishment of the kingdom of Israel in the promised land, their exile in Babylon and their return, the birth of Christ Christ's life, Christ's death, Christ's resurrection, his ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit. For the church age, there is only one thing left in God's plan of redemption and that is the return of Christ, or at least that's what initiates the end, which is ultimately the new heavens and the new earth where God recreates everything in its original perfection.

I find it interesting that when Jesus was talking about the end times, he said that he didn't even know the exact day and hour that God the father had ordained for him to return. It's Matthew 24 36. Peter was an eyewitness of Christ's ascension. He watched him go back into the clouds and he heard him say that it was not for them to know times or epics, which the father is fixed by his own authority, acts one, seven. But even though the precise timing of Christ's return is not known, Peter wanted us to know that is near. This is what we refer to as the mency of Christ's turn Christ return that Christ could come back at any moment. I appreciate how John MacArthur summarized this concept of imminence and I'm quoting here. He says, even though God wants believers to focus on the hope of Christ's return, he has chosen not to reveal its exact time. If they knew the specific data of the Lord's return was far off, believers could lose motivation and become complacent or if they knew it was near engage in frenzied panicked activity as the day approached. Imminence eliminates both extremes. So all Christians throughout the history of the church can live with biblically balanced expectancy.

So all we need to know about the return of Christ is that it is imminent, and that's how the believers in the New Testament live. They expected Jesus to return in their lifetime. And that's why when fellow believers died before Christ came back, they needed to be informed, they needed to be comforted. And Paul spent most of his first letter to the Thessalonians discussing this very subject, why? Because they were convinced that they were living in the end times and Jesus and his apostles leveraged this to inspire and motivate people to live their lives in light of the imminent return of Christ. In fact, Jesus himself said it this way. Luke chapter 12, verse 35, Luke 1235 be dressed in readiness and keep your lamps lit. You two be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.

And then Paul in Romans 13 verse 11 said this, do this knowing the time that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep. For now, salvation is nearer to us than when we believed the night is almost gone and the day is near. Therefore, let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of lights. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy, some very familiar language from one peter, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lusts. The writer of Hebrews said, not that we shouldn't forsake our own assembling together as is the habit of son, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing what near James five verse seven.

Therefore be patient brethren until the coming of the Lord, the farmer awaits for the precious produce of the soil being patient about it until it gets the early and late rains. You too. Be patient. Strengthen your hearts for the coming of the Lord is near. And then John in the book of Revelation verse one, chapter one, verse three, blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and the things which are written for the time is near and hear in one peter like his fellow apostles, Peter mentioned the nearness of Christ return in both of his letters in fact, and he used it to incentivize his readers to live their lives in a particular way. In fact, what Peter said, second Peter, I think provides a helpful perspective regarding the timing of Christ's return, especially for those of us who are recipients of a 2000 year old promise and may be tempted to think at times that it will never happen or at least we have plenty of time to get right with Christ before we return.

Look at it. Look at second Peter, chapter three, three, Peter's referring to the coming day of the Lord. He says, know this. First of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lust and saying, where is the promise of his coming? In other words, Jesus promised that he was going to come back. It's been 2000 years. What are you talking about forever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation. In other words, everything's just same old, same old for when they maintain this, it escapes their notice. However, that by the word of God, the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water through which the world at this time was destroyed being flooded with water. But by his word, the President, heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. But verse eight, do not let this one fact escape your notice. Beloved that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day.

So for us it may have been 2000 years, but that's just two days for God. It's just been two days since Christ came and lived and died and ascended back into heaven. It's just been a couple of days. Verse nine, I love this. The Lord is not slow about his promise as some count slowness, you might consider him a slow poke, but he's patient towards you not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. If anyone ever asks you why hasn't Jesus returned yet, the answer is very simple. He's waiting for more people to repent and believe in him. He's a gracious and merciful savior. And the fact that 2000 years have passed means that we are even closer to Christ's return, which should influence and impact the way we live. Realizing that our time is short should compel us to live pure and holy lives and to faithfully serve Christ with all our might.

And Peter had just got done challenging us not to live the rest of our time here on earth seeking to gratify our lust, but seeking to glorify God and do his will. And now he went on in these verses to explain exactly what God wants us to do and how we can bring the most glory to God and rather than wasting our lives pursuing the things of the world, we should prioritize this thing right here, the local church and invest our time and our talents and our treasure to building up the body of Christ until he comes or calls us home.

And so there are four practical priorities that we should give our lives to that will determine ultimately how Christ rewards us when he returns. So much of our reward from Christ will have to do with what we did with this right here. Again, that's what one Corinthians three is all about, that the church was founded among Christ and we are building on that foundation. So the first priority is watchful prayer. That was all for free by the way. We're actually getting to our first point now. The first priority is watchful prayer. Notice he says here at the end of all things is near. Therefore, in light of that be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer, in light of the fact that Christ could return at any moment, Peter called us to keep our heads to stay cool and avoid becoming a zealous fanatic who is overly obsessed with eschatology and sets dates and sensationalizes world events and speculates how they may relate to the end times and prophecy or perhaps even drops out of society to wait for Christ's return.

Like, well, if Jesus is coming back, this is all a big waste of time. I'm going to quit my job, I'm going to sell my house, I'm going to liquidate my assets. He said, that sounds crazy. Well, apparently that's how some of the believers in Thessalonika responded to Paul's teaching on the end times. And in two Thessalonians chapter three, he had to rebuke them for shirking their responsibility because they were not working. And he said, Hey, if anyone doesn't work, he shouldn't eat. And apparently these folks had quit their jobs and they were sitting on the roof waiting for the rapture to happen.

The word that Peter used here, sound judgment is also used in Mark chapter five, verse 15 of the Garris demoniac who was described there as being clothed and in his right mind, he went from being a crazy man and a maniac to somebody who was sane. In other words, we're not to act like some crazy person who's all panicked and stressed out about the future of the world and walks around wearing a placard that says the end is near. You Ever seen that cartoon? Right? Instead we're to have a sober spirit? Peter's already mentioned this in chapter one, verse 13. He said, therefore, prepare your minds for action. Keep sober in spirit. He is going to mention it again in chapter five verse Satan connection to how we should relate to Satan. He said, be of sober spirit. This is one Peter five, eight be of sober spirit beyond the alert your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring line seeking someone to devour.

So the word sober here is a call to alertness and readiness just like Jesus had exhorted Peter and James and John in the garden of Gethsemane, Matthew 26 41. Jesus said, keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. And he said that to them after he caught them sleeping three times they had fallen asleep. And so Peter knew what he was talking about because he had fallen asleep when he should have been praying and his lack of seriousness and soberness played a major role in his subsequent denial of Christ later that evening.

So the reason we must stay sensible and stay alert is so we can stay focused in prayer. We need to avoid distraction and drowsiness, which probably if you survey people and say, what is your biggest challenge when you pray? Those are probably the two biggest things survey says is I get distracted and I get drowsy. So he says, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer, which is how we communicate or commune with God and our communion with God. Our communication with God should be done seriously. It should be sensibly done sensibly, it should be done soberly.

And I think Peter was exhorting us to pray in both private and also corporately that prayer must be a priority in our lives. We should regularly pray alone and we should regularly pray with other believers. Prayer is how we as individuals and how we as a community express our dependence on the Lord. And there's no time that we must be more dependent on the Lord than when he calls us to endure suffering for his sake. And you know this to be true. If you've experienced any kind of suffering or ridicule or persecution for the sake of Christ, that prayer takes on a much higher priority when you're in those situations and there's no greater encouragement for our own souls than to pray. And there's no better way to encourage and support each other than by praying for one another.

This has become my favorite part of our grow group. Our grow group meets on Wednesday night and we usually start in someone's kitchen with some brownies or snacks of some sort and we're just hanging out for a half hour just catching up and getting to know one another better. And then we convene to the living room and we sit down and make a few announcements, but then we go around and share prayer requests and we ask how we can pray for one another and people begin to share requests and people pray for that request. Then we go to the next one and they share and then we have someone pray. And it's just become, to me, the most precious part of our group because our grow group is unlike most grow groups in the sense that most grow groups are people all the same season of life.

They're all very similar. They have a lot of things in common. Our group is not like that. It's very diverse and it's got people in all different stages of life and we have very little in common other than Christ. And yet when we pray together, that's what binds and knits our hearts together. It's so precious to hear someone share a burden in their life and then to s somebody their brother or sister in Christ who maybe doesn't even know them that well, just lifts up that prayer request and it intercedes for them. It's a beautiful, powerful thing and that's why we must be careful to never let anything hinder our prayers. Like Peter already said in chapter three verse seven about husbands right, making sure that they live with their wives in an understanding way and that they would honor their wives of a fellow of the graces of life so that their prayers would not be hindered.

So the first priority of a church and a community of believers who's seeking to glorify God and provide the solace and support and strength that we all need and that we get from one another is watchful prayer. Secondly is merciful love, merciful love. Verse eight, above all, keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins. So Peter again returns to that often repeated command throughout the New Testament to love one another, which is the key to maintaining strong, intimate, healthy relationships within the body of Christ. He's already said something very similar In chapter one verse 22, he says, since you have an obedience to the truth, purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren fervently love one another from the heart. Chapter two verse 17, he says that we should love the brotherhood. Chapter three, verse eight.

He says that we should be brotherly, which is the idea of loving one another like family members love each other. And again, Peter was just repeating what he had heard Jesus tell him and the other disciples specifically on that night in the upper room when he washed the disciple's feet, and this is what Jesus said, John 13 verse 34, A new commandment I give to you that you love one another even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you love, if you have love for one another. Paul said this in Romans 1210, be devoted to one another in brotherly love. He went on in Colossians chapter three, verse 14 to say beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. In other words, love is the super glue of the church. It's what keeps us stuck together and keeps us from getting torn apart.

And so Peter says, above all, keep fervent in your love for one another. That word was used to describe an athlete straining to break the tape or to clear the bar. Or if you've been watching the World Cup, as I know many of you have, it's that goalie that just lunges and is fully stretched out to make that save. Or maybe that defensive man who reaches out to slide tackle that ball and he's just extending out and his muscles are stretched to the limits. This word was also used to describe a horse running at full Gallup. And if you've ever ever watched a horse race like the Kentucky Derby or whatever, and you see these horses coming down the stretch and they're just like, just full on Gallup man, it's a thing to behold. And so Peter is saying that we should love others in that same way, the same way that God loves us unconditionally and sacrificially, which requires intense exertion.

This is something we need to work at because it doesn't come naturally. And let's be honest, some people are harder for us to love than others. You might be one of those people that is harder to love than even. So we're commanded to love one another even when it's difficult, even when it's inconvenient, even when it's uncomfortable. And typically what stretches our love to the limits is when someone sins against us and we struggle to forgive them like God forgives us. Ephesians 4 32 says, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. And because God is rich in mercy and because of his great love, he forgives our sins when we confess them to him. And this whole idea of sins being covered is the picture or the image of sin being forgiven. Psalm 32, 1, how blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered? Psalm 85, 2, you forgave the iniquity of your people. You covered all their sin. So when Peter said love covers a multitude of sins, he was not implying that we should ever condone sin or cover up the sin of others in a sense of turning a blind eye to it or sweeping it under the rug or acting like it never happened.

The Bible makes it very clear when we observe sins in someone's life or sin in someone's life, the Bible tells us not to ignore it, but to confront it in love and to seek to restore that person to a right relationship with God and anyone else that their sin may have affected. Galatians six, one, Matthew 18 where we find the steps of church disciplines, church restoration. Very clear there. James five 20, he who turns a sinner from the era of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. In other words, covering sin means you're dealing with sin, not dealing with sin. You understand confronting sin in another person's life is an act of love. It's the most loving thing that we can do. And when we refuse to confront sin in other people's lives, it shows that we love ourselves more than we love them because we're more concerned about what they think of us and what they may do to us and how they may treat us or respond to us.

So it's very appropriate, it's very necessary for us to confront one another in love, but the ultimate expression of love is being willing to forgive those who sin against us. You may remember right after Jesus got done teaching his disciples how to deal with sin in the lives of fellow believers. Matthew 18, Peter asked him how many times that we needed to forgive someone who kept sending against us, kind of doing the same thing over and over again like Jesus. How many times, like seven times He probably thought he was going to get an attaboy for that one. Like, oh wow, seven times. Way to go, Peter, you're very generous. Jesus said, no, multiply that by 70.

And he proceeded to tell the parable of the unforgiving servant, which the point of that story is that God expects forgiven sinners to show the same forgiving attitude toward fellow sinners that he has shown towards us and like God, we need to learn to forgive and forget. That's what he means when he says he puts our sin as far as the east is from the west, that he throws it behind his back, he bears in the deepest sea and it actually says that he does not remember our sin. Now, don't tell me an omniscient God can forget anything, but he chooses not to hold it against us. And we need to learn to forgive and forget in that once we forgiven someone, we shouldn't bring it up to them and hold it over their head, rub their nose in it. We shouldn't let our minds dwell on it and we should never mention it to anyone else.

Proverbs 10 12, some say Peter was quoting this or had this on his mind says, hatred, stirs of strife, but love covers all transgressions. Proverbs 79, he conceals a transgression seeks love, but he repeats a matter separates intimate friends. In other words, you see the proverb there is not saying that we just need to conceal sin. We need to hide sin. No, this is sin that has been dealt with you. Don't repeat it to other people, you cover it. It's like that Proverb 26 13, I didn't write it into my notes. Proverbs 26, I love this. I want to make sure I quote it correctly. 28 13, excuse me, he conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but you confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. So we're talking about the sin has been dealt with, but you don't repeat it because if you do, it causes division, it divides people, it creates conflict. True love doesn't keep track of other people's sins, nor does it publicize the sins and failures of other believers.

I'm sure that you're aware that there are some very hateful, hurtful Christian journalists and discernment websites who operate under the guise of reporting the truth and protecting the church. And it seems their mission is more to dredge up any mud they can find and expose the wrongs done by well-known pastors and ministry leaders in order to ruin them and ruin their ministries. And I will just say that it is ungodly, it is unbiblical and it is un-Christian Christians are not to respond to one another's sins in that way, I think a great illustration of how we should respond and deal with other sins is found in Genesis chapter nine, the account of Noah's sons. Verse 18. Now, the sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, ham and eth and ham was the father of Canaan, which by the way isn't a good thing if you're the father of Canaan because that means all your descendants are going to be wiped out and destroyed.

These three were the sons of Noah and from these the whole earth was populated. Then Noah began farming and planted a vineyard. This is after they came out of the ark. He drank of the wine and became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent ham. The father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father and told his two brothers outside. So apparently Ham saw this, thought it was funny, wanted to take advantage of it, went out to his brother, Hey, dad's in there drunk and buck naked. But Shem and J took a garment and laid it upon both their shoulders and walked backward and covered the nakedness of their father. And their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father's nakedness. They not only honored their dad, they honored the Lord and how they dealt with their father's sin.

Lemme take what Peter said here one step further, this idea of love covering a multitude of sins. I think sometimes people don't necessarily sin against us, but they hurt us in some way or offend us or they wrong us. And if we truly love them, we should be able to overlook that and move on and not let it affect our relationship with them. Proverbs 1911, I love this. A man's discretion makes him slow to anger and it is to his glory to overlook an offense. That's another way of saying be the bigger person and just move on. One Corinthians 13, in Paul's definition of true love, he says, love does not take into account a wrong suffered love bears all things and endures all things. So this is a very realistic, I think picture of love. Love is not blind. We see the faults and the imperfections and the flaws of our fellow believers. We're aware of one another's personality, quirks and idiosyncrasies that rub us the wrong way.

And yet we must strive to love one another despite our annoying and irritating habits. And we all have them. I've got 'em, you've got 'em. And we need to learn to overlook those things and let love cover those things. If I really love you, it doesn't matter that you have that irritating little thing. And hopefully if you love me, my little irritations and quirks don't bother you. Why? Because we just love each other and I'm not perfect and you're not perfect. So let's just be merciful to one another in our love. So watchful prayer, merciful love. Thirdly, joyful hospitality, joyful hospitality. Verse nine, be hospitable to one another without complaints.

I think one of the most practical, tangible ways we can express love for one another is to be hospitable to one another. The Oxford Dictionary defines hospitality as the friendly and generous reception of guests and strangers. Hebrews 13, two says, do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for by this sum have entertained angels without knowing it. We were driving back from our staff retreat this week and we stopped into Bucky's because that's the godly thing to do. And we were getting gas and a car pulled up next to one of our pastors and they asked them if they could help them buy some gas. And of course you always wonder, am I being taken advantage of? Is this a legitimate request or is this person trying to scam me? And so he asked them some questions and at the end of the day, he decided to air on the side of grace and mercy and he put some gas and the guy's tank and we got in our car and started heading out. And we kind of jokingly said to one another, well, you either just got scammed or you just met an angel. You never know, right? You never know.

Y'all may remember the series I preached a couple years ago on that short phrase in Romans 1213 practicing hospitality. I did this four part series called Hospitable God and His Hospitable people. I can't recall in the history of our church, another series that seemed to have an immediate noticeable impact on the life of our church than that one. And I didn't even see it coming, but even to this day, I will often hear new folks who visit our church say, man, this is like the friendliest church I've ever been to. And the first time I came here, man, I got swarmed by people. And it wasn't just the adults, it was like the teenagers came and met our teenagers and the children, the little ones came and met our little ones and it was like a full orb. The whole church came out to meet us.

And so I want to commend you for that, to hear the word of God preached and to seek to put it into practice in your life. And this is an opportunity for us again this morning just to excel still more in this whole area of hospitality. And if you remember, the entire series that I preached founded was founded on the premise that the hospitality that we showed to others is simply a reflection or an extension of the hospitality God has shown to us. God has a house, he has a home and he wants us to live in it with him forever. And God is graciously invited and receive sinners like us into his household at great cost to himself. He sent his son Jesus to deliver his invitation of salvation to us. Jesus befriended sinners. He presented himself as a gracious host who in the process, who was in the process of preparing a place for us in heaven and promised to come back to get us and to take us there someday to be with him.

And so as God's children who are waiting for that marriage supper of the lamb, we should be the most hospitable people on the planet. Why? Because we understand what it's like to be lovingly pursued and graciously welcome into God's household by God himself. Someone said it this way. The whole saga of creation from the garden to the new heaven and earth is a story of God's hospitality to wayward sinners. And he says, we can in a small way put that cosmic story on display through simply saying, Hey, you want to come over to our house for dinner tonight?

Someone invited Kelly and I to dinner this week in their home and it was a joy, it was a blessing. It was nothing special, but it was getting to spend time with a fellow brother and sister in Christ and get to know them better and hear their stories and meet their children and get to know them a little bit better way, a little deeper way. It's one of the simplest things we can do is just invite one another over into our homes. And there's just something you go next level in your relationships with people when you have them in your homes and perhaps in our day and age, hospitality is more of a nicety, whereas in Peter's day it was a necessity. I mean, if Christians traveled from city to city or were driven from their hometown because of persecution, there weren't a lot of options for them to find food and lodging.

They didn't have Kroger or they didn't have HEB, they didn't have Airbnbs and VERBOs. I mean ins were few and far between and those that existed were dangerous and had a bad reputation for being places of immorality. And so believers had to be ready and willing to provide food and lodging for fellow believers, perhaps complete strangers who are passing through town, especially traveling missionaries and evangelists. You can read about that in third John verses five through eight, how we have a responsibility to take care of ministers that are itinerant and they travel around sharing the word of God and sharing the gospel.

Back in those days, they didn't have church facilities like this. Churches met in homes, people's houses. That's why they call 'em house churches. And so Paul commended Aquilo and Priscilla and Philemon for their hospitality and opening up their home for the churches in their cities. And here Peter, notice exhorted us not just to practice hospitality, but to enjoy practicing hospitality, to do it without complaint, without grumbling, without murmuring. And if you're in the habit of doing it, being hospitable, serving one another with the things that the Lord has blessed you with or that's your home, your car, your goods, whatever, it requires a lot of time. It requires a lot of energy. It can be expensive, it can be exasperating. Things get dirty or broken and have to be cleaned and replaced.

Yes, might take advantage of your kindness, your generosity. It might overstay their welcome. And yet Peter is saying here, even so when that happens, we must joyfully and cheerfully continue to serve those in need knowing that any kindness that we show to our brother or sister in Christ, we're actually showing to none other than Christ himself and we will be rewarded accordingly. Lastly, number four, the fourth priority of a cohesive community of believers that glorifies God as faithful service, faithful service. Notice verse 10, as each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the grace of God. So God has given each one of us a spiritual gift or a combination of gifts. You can read about these gifts in Romans 12, one Corinthians 12, Ephesians four. These is where the three lists of spiritual gifts are found.

Romans 12, one Corinthians 12, Ephesians four. In other words, in the same way that a human body, and that's the analogy that Paul used in all of these cases, all these lists that a body is made up of hands and feet and eyes and ears and toes and the eye can't say to the ear, I don't need you. And the toe can't say to the hand, I don't need you. We all need each other and we all have something to offer. We all can contribute to the life of this church in some unique way and we will never be all that God wants us to be unless we are all doing our part, which means using our gift to serve one another.

He says, as each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. That expression, the manifold grace of God translates to kind of a multicolored, brilliant assortment and rich variety of gifts. It's as if God dips his paintbrush in his palette and he mixes up a distinctive group of colors and then he goes to painting us in all different shapes and sizes and colors. And our gifts are supernaturally given to us by God to be used to serve our fellow believers. We're merely channels through whom God pours out his grace to others.

In other words, our gifts don't belong to us. They're not to be used for our benefit, to bless us, to get attention or to get remuneration. We are merely stewards who like the household steward of Peter's day, was simply responsible for managing the affairs of his master. None of it belonged to him. And in the same way, we are responsible to faithfully manage the gifts that God has entrusted to us. Notice how Peter divided spiritual gifts into two broad categories, and this is his contribution to the whole subject of spiritual gifts in the New Testament is he divides them into two broad categories. They're speaking gifts and they're serving gifts. Notice verse 11, whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God, whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies.

So first of all, those who have the gift of preaching or teaching or exhortation need to realize that they're simply God's mouthpieces. And so they should speak forth what God has said in his word rather than their own thoughts, their own ideas, their own opinions. And if a preacher or a teacher is faithful to simply explain the Bible, then it is God talking, not them. And we're not just hearing the words of the preacher, but we are actually hearing the words of God. That was the conviction of the Thessalonians when they heard Paul's preaching and Paul commended them for this in one Thessalonians two 13. For this reason, we also constantly thank God that when you receive the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is the word of God, which also performs its work in those who believe. The prophet Jeremiah, when he was called by God, God said to him, I have put my words in your mouth.

So we are to act as God's mouthpieces. Whoever serves notice is to do so as one who's serving by the strength of the gods of lies. In other words, those who have the gift of helps or administration or mercy or giving or faith, which are more kind of behind the scenes gifts if you will, they must exercise that gift in complete reliance on God's power in provision rather than their own power in provision. And this is a great reminder because ministry can be very exhausting and we can grow weary and well-doing and our desire to serve can wane. And there's a reason why there are several times in the New Testament where we're told not to grow weary and well-doing because God knew we were going to grow weary and well-doing.

That's when we need to remember what Peter said here, that we need to serve by the strength which God supplies and what Peter said or what Paul said in Philippians four 13, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and my God will supply all your needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. In Colossians 1 29, Paul said this, I labor striving according to his power, which mightily works within me. And when we do all that, when we speak the utterances of God, when we serve in the strength of God, then God is glorified.

Notice the last phrase there, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. As I was just observing this text and reading through these verses in preparation for a deeper study, something jumped out at me that I'd never seen before, and that is the four times the name of God is mentioned here in verses 10 11, as each one has received a special gift employed in serving one another as good steward of the manifold grace of God, whoever speaks is to do so as one who is speaking the utters of God, whoever serves as do so, as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

You see Peter's point that when we realize that God is the one who gave us our gifts, God is the one who empowers and enables us to use them, then we realize then he's the one who should get all the credit for anything good that comes from our lives and ministries. It's all about God. It's not about us. And we should always speak and always serve in a way that draws attention to God rather than ourselves. And whenever we are speaking, whenever we're serving, it should be for the purpose of bringing glory to God, not to us.

And we should never become proud of how gifted we think we are or how effectively we think God is using us. We are nothing and we have nothing but that which we have received from God and we are what we are by the grace of God alone. And so that's why Peter, he got that. And so he offered this fitting benediction, much like the ones at the end of this letter, chapter five, verse 11, to him, be dominion forever and ever. Amen. And also in his second letter, two Peter three 18, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Beloved, this is what it looks like to be committed to the church, to be committed to community. And the question is, are you committed to this thing we call Lakeside Bible Church, or do you have other priorities, other things that are more important in your life than Christ Church? I'll end with a quote from Paul Gardner who has written a helpful commentary on one Peter called Christian Living in an age of suffering. He said this, in our ultra busy world, it would be good to see a transformation among Christians to a desire to make time for the building up of church, community life.

In other words, in a world where people are so busy doing so many other things, it would be nice to see that change that Christians would get committed to the church and they would make the church the priority of their life. He says, with such commitment comes the type of community that is deeply a attractive to outsiders. So this is not a matter of turning inwards and forgetting the world, but being so committed to each other that we are attractive to those who know such brotherly and sisterly love and commitment. And this fits perfectly into Peter's emphasis in this letter that ultimately it's about people seeing our good works. And as they observe them, they end up glorifying God in the day of visitation, the day when he returns. Let's pray. Father, we're grateful for this reminder of what we're to be about as a church.

This is a high calling. These are challenging priorities to establish and maintain for all of us. But I pray that we do it for the good of one another, knowing that how well we do these things will determine how well we support one another and provide solace and strength for one another as we pilgrim together on this planet. But it will also determine how much glory God gets from this church, and not just from this church, but this community as people see us loving one another in this way, serving one another this way, caring for one another in this way, praying for one another in this way. And they will be intrigued and they will want to experience this kind of community and it will draw them to Christ. And so would you do that for your glory? We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.