How to Prepare for the End of the World.

Steve Gentry

[0:09] We’ll go ahead and have a seat. [0:10] Welcome to Village Church. [0:11] This is your first time here. [0:12] My name’s Steve, one of the pastors here at Village Church. [0:14] And as always, I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. [0:18] If you have a Bible, go ahead and open it to First Peter, Chapter four.

[0:22] We’re going to be starting in verse seven this morning. [0:25] Just by way of reminder, First Peter was written [0:28] to the dispersed church, which is in what is now modern day Turkey. [0:33] These were mostly Gentile Christians who were scattered [0:37] throughout a few different cities in the Roman Empire. [0:40] But they were beginning to experience harsh persecution, exclusion

[0:44] and even isolation in the culture because of their faith in Jesus. [0:50] Peter wrote this letter to encourage them to endure, [0:54] to encourage them to prepare for what was ahead [0:57] and to remind them of the mission that God had given them [1:01] to proclaim the gospel to a very hostile culture. [1:06] And all of this has come with a constant reminder

[1:08] to face what could be discouraging circumstances and situations [1:13] with unveiled and unfazed optimism [1:16] because of the hope that they had in Jesus Christ. [1:20] God was going to use their suffering for his glory. [1:24] God was going to keep his promises of a future hope. [1:28] And God was going to endure them through absolutely everything

[1:31] they were going to face in that hostile culture in order [1:34] to actually grow their faith so they would become the people [1:37] that God had designed them to be, but also so that they could be prepared [1:42] for the day that they would meet Jesus face to face and worship him forever. [1:47] And so last Sunday, we looked at a section that warned them [1:51] against living like unbelievers in their sin.

[1:55] But this week, we actually look at the positive side [1:58] where he says this is not just about avoiding certain lifestyles. [2:03] You must also engage your faith and live in preparation for what was ahead. [2:10] You know, the end of the world is a popular topic, [2:13] both inside and outside of the Church of Jesus Christ. [2:17] Inside of the church, you have a few different viewpoints

[2:19] as to what the end is going to look like. [2:21] And outside of the church, it’s always zombies. [2:24] Every single time it’s zombies. [2:27] And one thing I can tell you, though, is if you’re eschatological scheme [2:31] involves zombies, well, you’ve departed from scripture. [2:34] All right. There aren’t going to be zombies.

[2:36] Some of you, that’s disappointing. [2:38] Others of you, you want to argue with me about that afterwards. [2:41] And I will not argue with you about zombies. [2:44] I’m sorry. I just didn’t learn about them in seminary. [2:47] So I’m ignorant on the topic. [2:48] But there’s wild speculation.

[2:50] There’s wacky ideas about how the world could end. [2:54] But everyone has an opinion. [2:56] Everyone has thoughts about how to prepare for the end. [3:01] But thankfully, God, through the Holy Spirit, inspired Peter to write. [3:05] What I believe is a very clear section of verses on that topic [3:09] between verses seven and verses 11.

[3:12] And I believe his advice may differ from what you might think, [3:16] but it is God’s plan for your life and how to prepare for the end. [3:20] And Peter instructs Christians to prepare for the end [3:25] through prayer, prayer that sets your direction in life, [3:30] prayer that sets your mindset in life, [3:33] prayer that helps you to love others properly,

[3:36] and prayer that focuses you on the glory of God above [3:41] absolutely everything else. [3:43] And so let’s start reading in verse seven of chapter four. [3:47] Peter writes and he says, the end of all things is at hand. [3:50] And that’s where many of you stop. [3:52] You want to begin to make cardboard cutouts with that written on the end.

[3:56] Some of you want to stand downtown holding those signs like a whack job. [4:00] But Peter continues. All right. He continues. Stop there. [4:03] He says the end of all things is at hand. [4:06] Therefore, or in other words, because that is true, here’s what you do. [4:11] Be self-controlled. That’s hard for many of you. [4:15] Be sober minded. That’s even more difficult for some of you.

[4:19] For the sake of what? For the sake of your prayers. [4:23] Number one, this morning, I want you to understand that prayer [4:26] drives action and mindset and vice versa. [4:31] You can also say mindset and action drive your prayers, [4:35] because both of those statements are true, because I believe both of those [4:38] statements really sum up what Peter says is how a Christian

[4:43] sets a standard for preparing for the end of all things. [4:48] And I think his basic point is anticipating [4:51] Christ’s return should energize your obedience. [4:56] That’s the effect it should have on you. [4:58] It’s not about speculation. [5:00] It’s not about having five gallon buckets of rice.

[5:03] That’s fine if you do. [5:04] It’s not about having dehydrated beans. [5:06] Of course, again, that’s fine if you do. [5:10] I would probably rather just die, though, than eat that. [5:14] I’m fancy. [5:15] My daughter says I’m bougie.

[5:17] I’m high maintenance. All right. [5:19] Got to have the fillet. [5:20] Some of you are like, well, that’s why you should have cows. [5:22] I live in the suburbs and I like it.

[5:29] But this passage goes a different route than that type of prepping. [5:36] This passage looks into the core of who you are [5:40] and says you can materially prep all all that you want to. [5:45] But is your soul prepared for the end of all things? [5:49] Some people, when we begin to talk about the end, [5:51] they start with the conspiracy theories, they start with the tin foil hats.

[5:55] But this passage goes the route of spiritual discipline. [6:00] Modern times have often looked at statements like this. [6:04] And this passage and immediately moved to giant charts [6:09] or maps of progression of evil towards the end of the world. [6:13] What’s happening in the Middle East? [6:14] Is Russia going to attack from the north or the south, from the east or the west?

[6:19] I forget where the bear and the eagle are in your dispensational schemes. [6:23] But what I have always found interesting [6:26] is that the Bible never leads us in those directions. [6:30] When statements about the future are made in the Bible, as one is made here, [6:34] there is never a call to overzealous eschatological extremism, [6:41] like date setting or undue preoccupation with world events.

[6:46] Instead, it’s always as it follows in the text. [6:50] It is a call to faithfulness to the gospel. [6:54] You see, first, John, chapter three, verses two through three [6:57] looks to the future with great optimism. [7:00] This is beloved. [7:01] We are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared.

[7:07] But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him [7:11] because we shall see him as he is. [7:15] And everyone who thus hopes in him [7:18] purifies himself as he is pure. See what the emphasis is? [7:23] The emphasis is on sanctification, becoming like Jesus Christ. [7:27] The emphasis is on worshipping Jesus, because you will see him face to face.

[7:32] And then he doubles down with an emphasis on purity of life [7:36] in preparation for the future. [7:39] It’s all about anticipation to see Jesus with a qualifier [7:45] that if you are anticipating meeting Jesus face to face, [7:50] you must prepare yourself through constant obedience to his commands. [7:56] That’s the posture that Peter takes in this passage.

[7:59] He juxtaposes what we talked about last week, [8:02] but he does it with the posture of a Christian saying, [8:06] your life should be markedly different than a non-Christian. [8:10] Christians do not look to the end and think to themselves, [8:14] I’ve got to get a little more self-centered pleasure while I can. [8:19] The Christian instead considers how to order his or her life

[8:24] to be more faithful to Christ every single day. [8:29] And I’m telling you, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, [8:33] that’s what the Bible says preparation for the end looks like, [8:36] and it doesn’t give us another picture. [8:38] Because he goes further to note that it is spiritual disciplines [8:43] that actually solve the problems that you’re facing as you anticipate the end.

[8:48] This is why he looks at the effect of lifestyle. [8:51] He looks at the effect of mindset on your connectedness to God in prayer. [8:56] He tells the Christian, be self-controlled, be sober minded. [9:03] Why? So that you can have an effective, so that you can have a meaningful prayer life. [9:09] What I find interesting about this is that those two things, [9:13] self-control, sober mindedness, have such a massive effect on your life.

[9:21] Have such a massive outcome for how you grow in your faith. [9:28] It basically says your life in Christ boils down to two things. [9:32] The actions that you choose and the process you follow in making those choices. [9:41] You see, the term for self-controlled, [9:44] the original language was a term used to describe being in control, [9:50] rather than being carried away with a false view of the self.

[9:55] It was used to describe avoiding uncontrolled emotions and passions. [10:02] Do any of you struggle with your emotions getting the better of you?

[10:07] That’s a self-control issue. [10:10] And what in Galatians does the scripture tell us [10:12] is a fruit of the spirit’s work in your life? Self-control. [10:17] You see, many of you think, [10:19] and I’ve talked to so many people over the years that believe this, [10:22] you believe you can’t control your emotions.

[10:25] You actually believe the iron law of life is that your emotions control you. [10:31] And that’s why you think it’s always chemical in the answer. [10:36] This passage leads you to understand, no, the answer is actually the Holy Spirit. [10:40] The answer is believing that God can actually empower you to repent. [10:46] Of your false emotions. [10:47] And that’s controversial in its face.

[10:49] Some of you don’t believe that you need to repent of being completely carried [10:53] around by your emotions all day, every day. [10:57] The Bible says, no, you control your emotions. [11:00] God will empower you to control your emotions. [11:03] And it’s the same idea that we see in Proverbs, Chapter four, verse twenty three. [11:07] Solomon writes, and he says, keep your heart with all vigilance,

[11:11] for from it flow the springs of life. [11:13] It’s the same type of linguistic thing going on. [11:16] We use the phrase, like, keep your heart. [11:19] What Solomon is saying is control the core of who you are, [11:26] because that’s what your life flows from when chaos flows from your life. [11:32] That is not a statement about external circumstances.

[11:38] That is a statement about internal problems [11:42] that you need to face. [11:45] And here’s the key. God says you can fix. [11:49] If I have no idea why that offends some people to say, hey, [11:53] you have a tough time controlling your emotions. [11:55] Good news. God says you can fix that. How dare you?

[11:58] How dare you give me hope?

[12:02] I say, it’s unbelievable that you don’t want to believe you can control. [12:06] And it’s not that you don’t want to control it. [12:08] It’s that you don’t want to take responsibility for your actions. [12:11] You don’t want to believe it [12:14] is your fault.

[12:17] But the key is God says your relationship with him [12:22] is going to be drastically affected by the degree to which you believe [12:27] the Holy Spirit can empower you to control yourself. [12:31] The self very much includes your emotions. [12:36] God sets a standard in his word that you must control them. [12:40] Now, the next term sober minded is similar,

[12:45] but it relates actually in the original language to controlling influences. [12:50] What that means is he’s asking the question, what triggers your mindset? [12:54] You see, this is certainly applicable to drugs and alcohol. Absolutely. [12:59] They talked about that last week. [13:00] But it’s deeper to the spirit of who you are [13:05] or who controls what you are.

[13:10] See, there’s always a who or a what that you believe is the determining factor [13:15] for how you live your life. [13:17] But when you connect it to prayer, like Peter does, [13:21] you realize it is about being under the influence of the Holy Spirit. [13:25] Again, the same thing. [13:26] He’s asking the question, are you under the control

[13:31] of unbelieving culture? [13:33] Are you under the control of unbelieving influences, unbelieving forces, [13:38] or are you under the control of the spirit of God in your life? [13:44] And what he’s ultimately saying is self control, sober mindedness. [13:49] They contribute to you having the ability [13:53] to focus your life on Christ

[13:57] or focusing your life away from Christ. [14:00] This is about having the right mindset. [14:03] This is about having the right lifestyle to live. [14:07] Every moment in communion [14:11] with God through what Paul calls unceasing prayer. [14:16] That’s why Philippians four eight is so vital.

[14:18] Commands you to think about the right things. [14:21] Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, [14:23] whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. [14:28] And I love the way Paul just starts throwing terms.

[14:32] There’s no rhyme or reason why he chose the terms that he did. [14:36] The Holy Spirit empowered him to do it. [14:37] But don’t just try to get minuscule. [14:40] And what specifically do those terms mean? [14:42] You don’t know what Paul’s doing here. [14:43] Paul’s just being exhausted.

[14:45] He’s just throwing a bunch of things at you. [14:47] What do all of these things have in common? [14:50] Well, first, all of them are positive. [14:53] Secondly, all of them are attributes of Christ himself. [14:57] All of them are the power that God wants to work into your life. [15:01] He says, if there is any excellence,

[15:05] there’s anything worthy of praise. [15:07] And some of you sit day in and day out, and you are condemned by a mindset [15:13] that says there is no excellence in your life. [15:16] There is nothing worthy of praise in your life. [15:20] You’re so overwhelmed by problems. [15:22] You’re so overwhelmed by all that you lack, all that’s wrong, all that’s terrible.

[15:29] And that is why we have had such an epidemic in even the last few weeks. [15:33] We’ve had a lot of evangelism to looking to the end of the world and saying, [15:37] well, everything’s going to have to be flushed down the toilet [15:40] because everything’s terrible. [15:42] That’s your whole view of the end times is awful, awful, [15:46] awful until the assassin, Jesus comes back and kills all the problems.

[15:53] That’s so unbiblical.

[15:56] The New Testament is about triumph.

[16:00] And he tells you, think about these things. [16:05] Friends, I will tell you, I am certainly not a name it and claim it person. [16:09] If you’ve been here any standard of time, you know, I hate the prosperity gospel. [16:12] It is from the pit of hell. [16:14] But I will tell you, if all that you have in your mind all day, [16:20] every day is negativity, you will not have an effective prayer life.

[16:26] You cannot have [16:29] communion with the Holy Spirit [16:32] and constant condemnation and negativity in your mind. [16:36] And those two things work together. [16:38] It just doesn’t work that way. [16:40] If you are not thinking about the right things,

[16:44] you will not be going in the right direction. [16:47] It’s that simple. [16:48] That’s why Second Corinthians 10, five concludes with the admonishment [16:52] that we take every thought captive to obey Christ. [16:57] Paul starts, he says, we destroy arguments. [16:59] And that’s my favorite part of the whole text.

[17:00] I love arguing. [17:02] I love it. [17:03] And I like destroying other people’s arguments [17:05] and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God. [17:09] And I love the way he finishes it because he finishes it with this great finale of [17:13] and you better get your life under the control of Jesus Christ.

[17:16] He says, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. [17:20] You have to direct your mind [17:22] to obeying the commands of Christ, because the mind is. [17:27] And I want you to understand this. [17:29] The mind is a battlefield. [17:31] No part of this is easy.

[17:33] That’s why the New Testament focuses so much on this key point for your life. [17:38] The mind is a battlefield, but the power of Christ [17:42] commands victory in the battlefield [17:46] through the power of the Holy Spirit. [17:48] See, as a Christian, the victory is yours. [17:51] You have it.

[17:53] But you must choose [17:55] to put those things into practice. [17:58] You must set your mind on Christ [18:03] and anchor yourself there. Be immovable. [18:07] It’s not that you’re never going to have problems. [18:10] You’re going to have problems all day, every day.

[18:13] It’s the nature of living in a cursed world. [18:16] But it is about never allowing those things [18:19] to discourage you from the hope that you have in Jesus Christ, [18:22] because my hope in Christ is greater [18:25] than any issue that I have in my life. [18:29] And Peter continues in verses eight, verse eight.

[18:32] This is what he says. [18:34] This is above all. [18:35] So we’ve got our mindset. [18:37] We’re self-controlled. [18:38] We’re sober minded. [18:39] We’re praying, which helps us to be self-controlled and sober minded.

[18:44] And then he continues, says, above all, [18:47] keep loving one another earnestly, [18:50] since love covers a multitude of sins, [18:54] show hospitality to one another without grumbling. [18:56] Grumbling is one of my favorite pastimes. [18:58] I’m not going to get up here and lie to you.

[19:00] I’m not going to be like, I got this under control. [19:02] Many of you know that I do not. [19:04] If it wasn’t for complaining, I would not be as happy as I am. [19:09] I do. If I have the opportunity to complain, I walk around. [19:12] I walk away with a smile. [19:14] It’s like, oh, I’m just glad I got that off my chest.

[19:19] Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. [19:22] As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another [19:25] as good stewards of God’s varied grace. [19:30] Again, isn’t it so strange that he’s talking about preparing for the end [19:33] and the directions that he goes are different than the directions [19:36] most of us would go?

[19:38] He says, I don’t prepare for the end. [19:40] As Jesus loves you, love other people. [19:44] Jesus has given us such a great love. [19:46] We must set our lives on the trajectory of growing [19:50] and applying what love is [19:54] to how we deal with people on a daily basis.

[19:59] And so verses eight through 10 truly set the standard [20:02] for what applying self-control and sober mindedness looks like. [20:07] So what is the result of a life in which your mind is communing with God [20:12] through prayer in the Holy Spirit is working through you? [20:17] You see, your faith in Jesus makes you more like Jesus. [20:20] That’s that’s a key component of Christianity.

[20:23] Discipleship is becoming more like Christ. [20:27] And you love others the way Jesus loves you [20:30] as you grow in your faith. [20:33] That means selfishness, self-centeredness, [20:36] self-absorption, et cetera. [20:40] Whatever you want to call it is incongruent with the Christian life.

[20:45] How do you prepare for the end? [20:48] Well, it’s the two great commandments Jesus gave to you. [20:51] Love God and love others. [20:54] But this is not theoretical. [20:56] Instead, Peter is calling them to literally posture their lives, [21:02] to cultivate mechanisms by which they can help others in specific ways.

[21:11] Peter advocates for an understanding of love [21:14] that helps other people endure in their faith as you are enduring in yours. [21:20] And so what is this about? [21:21] Well, sum it up, it’s about discipleship [21:23] as everything in the Bible is ultimately about discipleship. [21:26] The phrase love covers a multitude of sins.

[21:29] I love it. [21:29] It appears a few times in scripture and Proverbs, as well as the book of James. [21:32] It can be applied, though, at a few levels. [21:35] What does he mean by that? [21:37] It was probably many people believe just a a general phrase [21:42] from that era, like many general phrases from our era.

[21:45] And so it was easily understood for them. [21:48] It definitely for us does center on the love of Jesus Christ, [21:54] since that is the filter through which we have a definition for love. [21:59] And so he’s saying the only way that you can love others [22:02] is if you start by understanding love from Jesus. [22:07] That means that only Christians can actually truly love other people.

[22:11] Faith, then, gives you we talked about a few weeks ago, [22:15] a tethered definition for what love is. [22:18] Since God is love, it’s one of his attributes. [22:21] And he demonstrates his love for us [22:25] through the work of Jesus Christ in his life, death and resurrection. [22:30] That is the filter through which you always love other people.

[22:33] But it also describes the impact of showing love to other people. [22:38] And so when he says love covers a multitude of sins, he says, [22:41] if you live your life postured to help other people [22:45] because of the love that Jesus Christ has given you, [22:47] you need to understand it will bring them to Jesus Christ. [22:51] It’s about the atonement in that way.

[22:53] It says you will bring people to faith in Jesus Christ. [22:56] And I think James 520 expresses this idea well. [22:59] He says, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner [23:03] from his wandering will save his soul from death and will what? [23:08] Cover a multitude of sins.

[23:12] It’s so hard to stay positive in a world so cursed with sin, [23:18] so cursed with evil, so cursed with death. [23:20] And he says, what’s one way that you keep your mindset right? [23:24] You stay sober minded about sin? [23:26] He says, instead of just bemoaning all that’s wrong with the world, [23:30] you look at what’s wrong with the world and believe that Jesus Christ is the answer.

[23:34] You understand that the gospel is the answer for sin. [23:37] You understand that those sinners out there, [23:40] the ultimate thing that they need is to repent of that sin [23:42] and accept the love of Jesus Christ, so that the atonement [23:45] can be applied to their lives. [23:47] And so you stay very positive when you understand

[23:50] that the worst of sinners can still be redeemed from their sin [23:53] through faith in Jesus Christ. [23:55] That’s such an encouraging thing in a very discouraging world. [23:59] That is why it is loving. [24:00] Also understand, guys, and need you to understand that [24:03] that is why it is loving to confront error with truth.

[24:09] That is why it is loving to expose evil in soul and society. [24:15] Loving others always ends up being about proclaiming the gospel. [24:22] It always ends up being about discipling people to follow Jesus. [24:25] It always ends up being about cultivating environments of fellowship [24:29] where the cycle of faith and discipleship can happen repeatedly. [24:35] That is the mission of the church.

[24:38] That is love. [24:40] But the world won’t recognize it until they believe it. [24:44] See, you need to cultivate a lifestyle that actually helps others. [24:47] I believe that. [24:48] That’s why I started a church with the team that I started it with, [24:51] because I wanted to help other people come to faith in Jesus Christ.

[24:54] I believe verse nine then is vital. [24:57] Look at what verse nine says.

[25:00] Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. [25:03] As difficult as that is, I think it’s vital. [25:07] Now, there’s a way to read this where you over personalize it, [25:11] but it is personal. [25:12] And so I don’t want to reduce it to just this personal call [25:17] to you having dinner with friends.

[25:19] I’m so hospitable. [25:21] That is involved. [25:22] Don’t get me wrong. [25:24] But if that’s all you see here, you’re reducing the mission of Jesus [25:28] in your life, and you’re also being very reductionistic about the big picture [25:32] of what God is saying about his church.

[25:36] You see, when we love other people, [25:39] the gospel takes root in their life and churches are planted [25:44] to where the really only commonality that you might have speaking, [25:49] whether you’re talking about personality, whether you’re talking about [25:52] things that you like to do in the world, whether you’re talking about race, [25:54] whether you’re talking about ethnicity.

[25:56] When you talk about the Church of Jesus Christ, a lot of times [25:57] the only thing you’re going to have in common with people [25:59] is that you both have faith in Jesus Christ. [26:03] And so hospitality in the New Testament is often about the stranger, [26:07] the person you don’t really know. [26:10] And so a lot of times, if your church grows like ours has, well,

[26:13] there’s strangers all around me every Sunday. [26:16] All around me all week. [26:18] And the text says, do you really believe the gospel to where you’re willing [26:21] to show hospitality to those people? [26:23] And so when we form events like Sunday Funday, [26:27] it just so happened that this falls on Sunday Funday.

[26:30] That’s about us saying we want to be hospitable to people, [26:33] want to let them know that they can come, they can have a free meal. [26:36] There’s people that want to love them and talk to them. [26:39] And that’s the standard that we want to set on Sunday mornings as well. [26:42] We take every effort possible to make this a completely safe place. [26:45] We never want anybody to feel unwelcome

[26:48] to come and understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. [26:52] But it also sets a standard that hospitality comes with a gospel filter [26:56] where a hospitality is not about me [26:59] trying to recreate my friend group from college. [27:02] I think that’s the biggest struggle that people have with hospitality [27:05] is your motives are so dumb.

[27:07] You’re never going to be 20 again. [27:09] I just don’t don’t need to tell you that. [27:10] Like it’s never going to happen. [27:12] You need to grow up. [27:14] You need to understand that hospitality is not about you [27:16] finding the friend group that fills every void you have.

[27:19] I’d like for that to happen for you. [27:21] But hospitality is about the gospel. [27:24] Hospitality is about discipleship. [27:27] Hospitality is about making people understand that Jesus loves you. [27:30] And I want to show you the love of Jesus Christ. [27:33] Peter tells them that they must not grumble about the work of loving others.

[27:40] But sometimes we’re not grumbling because we’re not really being hospitable [27:44] because we’re only looking people looking for people just like us.

[27:49] You see, you need to find joy in the mission that Jesus has actually given you. [27:53] I’ll tell you, man, complaining is instinctive. [27:56] Most of us have advanced degrees in it. [27:59] If they had a graduate program in complaining, [28:02] I could finish it in a week. [28:04] I could write a dissertation that would you would not believe how good it would be.

[28:10] But that’s because it doesn’t really take any effort. [28:13] Complaining just happens. [28:15] My life, though, should be marked by loving others [28:18] with evidence to support the claim that I do. [28:22] It should not be marked by grumbling [28:26] with no work of love on the back end.

[28:29] Here’s the key. [28:30] None of us are perfect. [28:31] None of us do this perfectly. [28:35] And so some of you like, well, I grumble, so I guess I can’t be hospitable. [28:39] Well, now you need to overcome your grumbling with hospitality. [28:43] And here’s the key.

[28:44] You’re going to grumble sometimes while you’re hospitable. [28:46] But don’t use it as an excuse not to be hospitable. [28:49] Just go in the bathroom, look in the mirror and just for a second, [28:51] just say, I hate everyone and then walk back out and start loving people. [28:55] All right. Sometimes that’s what you got to do. [28:58] These jerks aren’t thankful for me.

[29:00] And then you go, hi, how are you? [29:02] Good to see you. Thank you so much for coming. [29:04] I’d never do that. All right. [29:07] That is not I’m not confessing to anything right now. [29:10] OK, I need you to understand that.

[29:15] It takes people. [29:17] And this is what the text in verse 10 is really honing in on. [29:21] It takes people with different giftings and abilities [29:24] to make hospitality happen. [29:27] We see that here week in and week out [29:31] from Sunday worship to community groups, to discipleship groups,

[29:35] to core classes, to personal meals with people that you just met [29:39] because you want to love on them. [29:41] Let me tell you, all of those things take a variety of spiritual gifts. [29:46] And I never want you to downplay the role of that in your life. [29:51] Look at what First Corinthians 12, four through seven, [29:53] because the New Testament is great at interpreting the New Testament.

[29:55] So if you want to know how hospitality happens is now there are varieties [29:59] of gifts, but the same spirit, there are varieties of service, [30:03] but the same Lord varieties of activities. [30:06] But it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone to each [30:11] is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good. [30:16] What’s the common good? Loving others.

[30:19] This is why you should never walk into a church [30:22] and look for people that are just like you.

[30:25] That would be an unhealthy church. [30:27] Everybody had the same gifting. [30:28] Everybody had the same ability. [30:30] Everybody had the same personality. [30:31] Everybody had the same mindset. [30:33] It would be a disaster.

[30:34] Nothing would ever get done. [30:36] One thing would get done really well, and no one knows what it’s going to be. [30:41] But the Church of Jesus Christ is God through the power of His Holy Spirit, [30:45] actually gifting His children with different abilities, [30:49] different ways of seeing things, different ways of doing things, [30:52] different abilities to do different types of things.

[30:56] And it all comes together and different levels of hospitality [30:59] happen under the power of the Holy Spirit. [31:02] As he says in the text, there are varied gifts, [31:05] but it’s the same spirit empowering all of those gifts. [31:09] Here’s the key. God gives some the gift to oversee [31:14] and organize large gatherings.

[31:17] And some to work the vision out on the ground [31:22] through one on one relationships and small gatherings. [31:27] The key is to involve yourself to the level to find that gifting. [31:32] But understand, it’s never about being selfish.

[31:36] Never if you’re somebody that’s just you just being one on one [31:39] is just so life giving and you will invest [31:43] hours and hours and hours in one person. [31:47] And then a person that doesn’t have that gifting [31:49] and only wants to give people about 15 minutes, [31:51] guess all the time you got.

[31:53] You look at them and be like, oh, well, you still love people. [31:56] Well, I love people. [31:58] I’m so much more loving. [31:59] It’s life giving to spend all day with one person. [32:02] And the other guy’s like, I have to organize like a thousand people. [32:06] If I give them all day, we’re all sunk.

[32:10] But the good news of Jesus Christ is that some people have the gift [32:13] of seeing the 15,000 foot view for everyone. [32:16] And some people had the 15 foot view of one on one. [32:20] The problem is when you sit there and you’re like, [32:23] I have no idea which one I am. [32:25] That means you don’t do anything.

[32:27] That’s the problem is you have to be engaged enough [32:33] for God to reveal to you what is the natural spiritual gifting [32:39] for life and for hospitality, for the manifestation of the spirit, [32:43] for the common good that he has gifted you in. [32:46] Only doing, though, [32:49] what comes naturally is actually faithless.

[32:53] It’s not faith filled. [32:55] It is God who empowers. [32:57] So I believe you should expect more from yourself [33:02] than what you think your giftings are. [33:05] The topic of spiritual gifts can get very unhealthy [33:08] and very self centered in a hurry.

[33:12] Now, it is true. [33:13] There’s a variety of gifts, but it is also true [33:16] that 20 years ago, when many of you took those spiritual gift tests, [33:21] that you manipulated the test into what you wanted it to say. [33:25] And so for 20 years, you’ve been opting out [33:29] and making excuses as to why you can’t do

[33:33] what the church actually needs at any given time. [33:37] Because that’s not my spiritual gifting. [33:40] Friends, that’s not the way spiritual gifts work. [33:43] You know what that is? [33:45] That’s actually what grumbling looks like on the ground. [33:48] That’s the worst form of grumbling.

[33:51] Some of you think, well, I never grumble, [33:54] but that’s because you don’t do anything. [33:56] So you don’t have anything to grumble about. [33:59] God has gifted you to love others. [34:03] What are you doing? [34:05] Where is it actually happening in your life, friend?

[34:08] Where are you sacrificing? [34:10] Here’s the way I love to put it. [34:13] Where are you sacrificing of your time? [34:17] To love other people.

[34:21] You see, the faithful life looks at the needs around them. [34:25] And the faithful one begs God, I don’t know what I’m doing, [34:30] so you better empower me. [34:32] I’ll never forget the first service we ever had a village church [34:35] right before I got up on the stage. [34:37] That was my prayer.

[34:38] It was not eloquent. [34:39] It was like, well, I’m this is terrible. [34:42] I shouldn’t have done this. [34:44] Why did I quit my job? [34:47] But I looked at God and I said, I have no idea what I’m doing. [34:49] I need you to empower me.

[34:52] And for 16 years, [34:55] he’s empowered me all week, every week. [35:00] You see, friends, spiritual gifting is not just about [35:03] what comes naturally to you. [35:04] Spiritual gifting is a supernatural thing. [35:07] It’s you love others and you want to make disciples

[35:11] and you know that it’s only a move of God through you [35:13] that is ever going to accomplish it. [35:16] To be a good steward of God’s grace means understanding [35:20] that because it was God who saved you. [35:25] You are responsible now for seeing how God can also work through you. [35:32] Friends, there are people to love.

[35:33] That means that there is work to do to ensure that that is happening. [35:38] And just the question there for you to think about, [35:42] how are you stewarding that responsibility? [35:45] Because that’s how your faith is actually seen. [35:49] But then in verse 11, he finishes, he says this.

[35:54] Whoever speaks as one who speaks, oracles of God, [35:59] whoever serves as one who serves by the strength that God supplies [36:04] in order that in everything, God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. [36:11] To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. [36:17] Number three, this morning, I want you to understand, [36:20] use everything you have to serve God.

[36:23] Use everything you have to serve God. [36:26] I I live my I’ve tried rather to live my life as though there are no other options. [36:33] That’s it. And it’s worked out pretty well. [36:36] But many of you have not set a standard in your life where serving God is concerned. [36:41] I was raised with a mindset that I exist to serve God. [36:46] Those are the and I have never considered an alternative lifestyle to that.

[36:50] I exist to serve God. [36:53] And so many of us have kind of gone off that track [36:58] and we’re raising a next generation that’s not off that track. [37:01] And so now we have all these different things that we can exist for. [37:07] And one part of it. [37:09] Is serving God.

[37:12] That’s not the text. [37:15] God is the whole standard. [37:19] Everything about me exists for that. [37:21] And verse 11 tells you form a mindset [37:26] that has a trajectory for where history is going. [37:30] If history is going to the glory of God, that’s how he finishes verse 11.

[37:35] He says it’s all for his glory. [37:37] It’s all about his dominion. [37:40] If the end is coming soon.

[37:46] It says, organize your life like that’s true.

[37:50] Organize your life like you’re under his dominion. [37:53] Organize your life like you exist to give him glory. [37:58] And that’s how you become self-controlled. [37:59] That’s how you become sober minded. [38:01] That’s how you form a lifestyle where you actively love other people and are hospitable. [38:06] You see, every Christian, I love to say this, is on the right side of history.

[38:12] Regardless of how you think things may look around you, [38:15] everything, according to Peter, is going to culminate in the glory of God. [38:18] The glory of God over all of his creation. [38:21] And the question is, are you proactively setting a standard in your life [38:25] that you exist to serve that God? [38:28] Do you realize even that everything in your life belongs to him?

[38:34] That’s why I love the examples that he uses. [38:37] Verse 11, he starts, he says, your voice, guess what? [38:40] It belongs to God. [38:43] He says, when you speak, do it as the oracles of God. [38:45] In other words, every time you open your mouth, [38:47] you understand that is an opportunity for God to speak through you.

[38:51] And that really gives me second thought about some of the things I say.

[38:56] But then.

[38:59] He says, your service belongs to God.

[39:04] Does it?

[39:06] The strength to do that, he says, belongs to God. [39:12] Peter’s point is that your life is meant to be pointed to God [39:18] in everything you say and everything you do. [39:22] And that’s fairly exhaustive.

[39:28] Every word, every action must be in service to God. [39:33] Peter wanted them to understand that they would be in the presence of God [39:36] sooner than they thought they were going to be. [39:38] And because of that, they needed to build the faith to realize [39:42] that there needed to be a standard for serving that God. [39:46] It is the most important commitment.

[39:49] But is it? [39:52] Is serving God the most important commitment you have? [39:57] And what does that look like in your life? [40:00] Because for many of you, serving self [40:03] is probably the most important commitment you have.

[40:08] But understand the context that these people were in.

[40:13] What they’re really going to apply this to is understanding that God [40:16] was going to use their pain for his glory, because that was the context they were in. [40:21] I love the phrase when he says, by the strength that God supplies. [40:25] This isn’t that fantastic. [40:27] This is an essential phrase to apply, because these people in the first century [40:31] were suffering, suffering specifically for their faith in Christ.

[40:34] And Peter’s encouragement to them is stay faithful to Jesus. [40:37] Disciple each other. [40:40] Make disciples, show hospitality. [40:43] And then he says, and that just means serve God. [40:47] You see, if you struggle to do these things when life is easy.

[40:53] How will you face days like these people? [40:57] How will you endure when it gets tough? [41:01] Peter wants them to understand that just because the situation is difficult, [41:04] that doesn’t change God’s call on your life, [41:08] nor does it change the future of God’s glory. [41:11] In Romans 1136, Paul writes it in his great pantheon of praise.

[41:15] He concludes, he says, for from him, through him and to him are all things. [41:19] To him be glory forever. [41:22] It is all about the glory of God all the time. [41:25] In good times, this is true. [41:27] In bad times, this is true. [41:29] But will you endure both with that mindset?

[41:34] That’s why I want to set a trajectory in my life for everything.

[41:39] I don’t want to hold anything back. [41:42] I want it all to be about him all the time. [41:44] And that is such a hard claim because we sit in our lives, [41:48] we look at what’s going on and we say, that is such a bogus thing for me [41:52] to say, because I can’t do it. [41:56] And that’s why he says.

[41:58] But the strength that God supplies. [42:03] Because it’s not about you, it’s about him doing it through you. [42:10] First Corinthians 1031. [42:13] It’s one of my three dozen life verses. [42:16] But it’s an anchor.

[42:20] Paul says this fanatical thing, [42:23] whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, [42:27] do all to the glory of God.

[42:32] That’s the goal.

[42:35] That’s it. [42:37] Every single thing I do needs to be for the glory of God, [42:42] because that is where my life is headed. [42:45] I want the gospel to be such a powerful movement in my life [42:49] that God receives the maximum amount of glory [42:54] that he can get out of me.

[42:56] Why would you settle for less than that?

[43:03] Take the governor off. [43:07] Push the throttle down for God’s glory in your life. [43:14] It’s just it’s a question that constantly is begged [43:17] and ministry for me. [43:20] Why are you limiting your life? [43:22] I can’t wrap my mind around it.

[43:24] It’s not that I’m doing it right. [43:27] It’s not that I’ve achieved, Paul, even himself, [43:30] it’s not that I’ve already attained, [43:32] but I press forward to the prize. [43:35] But really, for many of you, [43:38] you willfully limit your vision.

[43:42] You willfully set limits in your life for the glory of God [43:48] and you form a compartment where, well, this is his glory. [43:52] And I’m satisfied with that. [43:55] Now this, this is for me. [43:59] That’s not the Christian life.

[44:03] Many of you want to give him some glory. [44:06] But why? [44:08] Is it because you think a little selfishness serves you well?

[44:14] Peter warns us a little bit in his passage [44:16] because he wants us to understand [44:17] that it is all headed to God’s glory. [44:20] And because of that, I need to set a trajectory in my life [44:24] for where I am giving him all the glory [44:27] I can because Jesus is worth it

[44:33] and the end is coming. [44:37] A few application points this morning. [44:40] Prepare for the end through prayer.

[44:44] Connectedness to God, communion with the Holy Spirit, [44:48] that’s the key. [44:50] Secondly, control your mind with God’s power. [44:54] Refuse to accept that you cannot control your mind. [44:58] Refuse. [44:59] Fight the battle.

[45:02] Thirdly, love others with the gifts God gives you.

[45:07] He will gift you to do it. [45:10] Trust him. [45:11] And fourth, have the faith to serve God with everything.

[45:17] If you cannot find the glory of God in something, [45:22] move on to something else

[45:25] because it’s all free his glory.