Pilgrims in a Fallen World: Is there Hope? I Peter 4:7-9

Pilgrims in a Fallen World: Is there Hope?

I Peter 4:7-9

Introduction: Back in July we jumped ahead in our study of Peter’s first epistle and looked at I Peter 4:7-11 and the Maine* Idea that the task is urgent and the time is short, so we need to check our hearts and stay engaged in God’s mission, for the glory of God. Now that we have gotten up to this context I want to look again at the passage, but we’ll take it in two parts: this week focusing on verses 7 and 8, and on September 23^rd on verses 9 and 10 (next week I’ll be on vacation, we’re traveling to NJ for our grandson’s second birthday!). 

       I read this week a promo from Dr. David Jeremiah for a new book he wrote called “Is this the end?” As he spoke about the book, he reflected on another he had written in 2011 called “I Never thought I’d see the Day.”  Here is part of what he said…

…As I wrote in that book, I never thought I’d see the day when marriage would be obsolete, morality would be in free fall, and the church would become irrelevant to society.
      But now, only five years later, I almost think I wrote that book too soon. The changes that shocked me then were soon to grow even more appalling. In the ensuing half-decade since that book, those cracks that riddled America’s foundation have spread into gaping fissures, and many more have appeared.  Morality in the United States is no longer in free fall; it has hit bottom. In today’s America, anything goes. Christianity is no longer merely pushed aside; American Christians are now experiencing overt repression and even persecution. Civility in politics and tolerance of opposing ideas has disappeared. Corruption and dishonesty in government is rampant and open. Race relations are deteriorating, earnings are declining, civic disorder is accelerating, and the national debt is beyond control…  I find deepening anxiety and even fear that things cannot go on as they are for long. It is clear to many people that ominous clouds are darkening our future and events are coming to a head. Many are asking, “Is this the end?”

Dr. Jeremiah cautions against thinking that we can know the future or the details of God’s timetable,  “…some of the answers we seek are hidden in the mind of God. Only He knows whether the flickering ember of America’s flame can be fanned back to life. And only He knows the timetable for Christ’s return…” He does say, however, that we can have hope, not in the political parties that we must choose between, but hope in God, “…the only realistic, absolute hope that carries the promise of a certain outcome.” As Franklin Graham reminded us at the rally in Augusta this summer, our hope is not in a political party, our hope is in Jesus Christ. With that in mind we return to Peter’s first epistle. Before this passage, in verses 4:4-6 Peter called us to share the gospel, to be always ready to give a reason for the hope we have in Jesus. After these verses he’ll say we shouldn’t be surprised by the fiery trials that test us. We are in a war, the good news is the end is not in doubt, Jesus wins!

The Maine* Idea: The urgency of our mission should move us to prayer and motivate us to love.

I. The Task is Urgent, Look Up to God: As the culmination of God’s plan approaches we need, all the more, to diligently seek Him (7).

⁷ The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled [be in your right mind] and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

       Peter has been talking in this letter about suffering, about the reality that following Jesus in this fallen world will not only not assure that we won’t experience tribulations, it virtually guarantees that we will!  When Peter says, “The end of all things is at hand…” it is not meant as a threat, for the believer in Jesus it is a promise, it is good news!  In his second letter, Peter will come back to this idea in 2 Peter 3:3-10…

…scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires.  ⁴ They will say, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation."  ⁵ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God,  ⁶ and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished.  ⁷ But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.  ⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.  ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.  ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief…

The depth of human depravity is revealed everyday around us. Here is a News Flash: Everything is not going to continue like it now is. For the believer that means that you are not going to live forever in your fallen state. That is good news!  Whether we die and go to be with the Lord, and whether He returns in our lifetime, we have a future to look forward to, and it will be sooner than you think. We are citizens of heaven. Now.  We are already a part of the New Creation. We have been translated out of the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of the Son. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance in Christ.  So yes, scoffers have come, they are all around us, following their sinful desires. And yes, the Lord will return, at the time He has determined. 

       The urgency of the situation should move us to action. Thanks to satellite imagery and computer analysis, Hurricane Matthew didn’t catch us by surprise this week. Those who were warned, and were able to make preparations or get to safety were ready.  Most of the southeast coast of the US was ready, Haiti got hit hard again, the last I heard they now say 900 perished. If it is important to warn people about a coming storm, how much more important is it to warn of coming judgment?

       Peter says, “the end of all things is at hand…” The word telos doesn’t imply a terminal point, but rather the completion, or the fullness of something. Peter had used it, for example, in I Peter 1:9 when he spoke of “…obtaining the outcome [telos] of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” The telos in that verse was the result or the goal of faith, i.e., our ultimate salvation.  That is not the “end,” but rather the beginning of the life for which we were created! The same word appears a couple of times in the book of Revelation the most pertinent being Revelation 2:25-27,   “Only hold fast what you have until I come.  ²⁶ The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations,  ²⁷ and he will rule them with a rod of iron…” This may be closer to Peter’s sense here in our context, the end of the age, the culmination of God’s redemptive plan, which itself is a prelude to the age to come.  By the way, note that the climax of all history is found in the return of Christ. He is the Lord of all, and, as Paul said in his letter to the Colossians,

¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities- all things were created through him and for him.  ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together… (Col 1:16,17).

This gives us perspective, He is the Creator and sustainer of the Universe. Every-thing that was made was made by Him and for Him. He is the Lord of History, which means that “History” really is “His Story.” His claim on the universe will soon be vindicated, “The end of all things is at hand.” Therefore…

       “...have a clear mind and be sober...” The phrase “clear mind” in my translation of the word, is rendered “serious” in the NKJV, which doesn’t seem to get at the idea. It’s a word that only appears a few times in the New Testament, twice in the gospels it refers to Gaderene demoniac after he was healed by the Lord...

“And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid...” (Mark 5:15).

Paul uses the same word when he says to the Corinthians, “For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you...” (2 Cor 5:13). I don’t think the question is about mental illness in Peter’s context, but it is a call to be aware of what you are saying and doing, to act rationally, thoughtfully, wisely.  Sometimes circumstances can seem to overwhelm reason.  We could feel that way in this election cycle! But Peter is saying the time is short, we need to keep our heads, and as the psalmist said, lift our eyes to the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. We need to take seriously the importance of praying to the King of Creation.  God’s plan is moving toward it’s culmination… The urgency of our mission should move us to prayer… and motivate us to love.

II. The Time is Short, Look out for each other: Love for one another will allow us, the objects of God’s love and grace, to be gracious toward each other (8,9).

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”

        “Above all...” The NLT says, “Most important of all...” As we are evaluating our priorities, as we are considering the urgency of the hour, we are to “keep loving one another earnestly.”  The call is to continuing, deep, earnest love for one another. That, according to Peter, should be a top priority for believers. We have a packet full of reports available for our quarterly church meeting. We keep track of our attendance and our weekly offerings.  What if we could measure love?  It would tell us so much, because that is the key. Paul told the Philippians that he prayed for them to “abound more and more” in love (Phil 1:9). That is what Peter calls us to here.
       How important it is when people come and visit us, just how much they sense this aspect of abounding love.  Maybe we cannot measure love tangibly, but people know when there is a true fellowship of love. Got love? Yes. If you know Jesus you do. “He who does not love does not know God for God is love.” In fact, if you read I John, almost every chapter says that our love for one another demonstrates our love for God, and is the basis of our assurance that we belong to Him and have eternal life.  For example, we read in 1 John 4:12,   

¹² No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

But our love can grow cold. So Peter says, “Keep loving one another fervently, [earnestly, deeply].”  Why is it so important? Because “Love covers a multitude of sins.” That means we can be gracious and forgiving. It means being so committed to our relationships that we don’t take offense, we don’t allow a root of bitterness to grow. We need to extend grace, because we need grace. The urgency of our mission should move us to prayer and motivate us to love.

        One way we show our “fervent love” is by being involved in each other’s lives. The “one another’s” of the New Testament start with our heart attitude, including ungrudging hospitality (9).

⁹ Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

       Hospitality implies welcoming people into your home, sharing your time and space with others, the idea here is our attitude: “ungrudging hospitality.” In the early church, almost from the beginning, we see the church, by necessity, embracing this concept. The masses converted on Pentecost in Jerusalem seem to have extended their time there, until the persecution intensified after Stephen’s death and scattered the church (Acts 8:1,4).  The early church broke bread together from house to house, they took meals together. That kind of involvement in each other’s lives demonstrates the reality of our love for one another. It also provides a context where the “church” can carry out some of the “one anothers” we see in the New Testament: love one another, encourage one another, bear each other’s burdens, etc. 

       Ronald Reagan said, “All great change in America begins at the dinner table.” That speaks to our responsibility to shepherd our family, but also, through hospitality, to reach out to our friends and neighbors, our oikos, the people that God in His sovereignty has strategically placed in our close sphere of influence, and to show them Christ in our life and through our testimony. 

What is God saying to me in this passage? Is this the end? I am not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but the world is getting very hostile toward the Truth. As Peter said, “The end of all things is approaching.” While it is yet “day” we need to seize every opportunity to bring the message of grace to the lost. The Task is Urgent, Look Up to God: As the culmination of God’s plan draws near we need, all the more, to diligently seek Him; The Time is Short, Look out for each other: Love for one another will allow us, the objects of God’s love and grace, to be gracious toward each other. That’s the Maine* Idea: The urgency of our mission should move us to prayer… and motivate us to love.

What would God have me to do in response to this passage? Do you doubt that the clock is ticking, that the day of the Lord’s return is drawing near? We shouldn’t try to predict dates, but the promise that God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness motivates us in our mission.  Love is not just an emotion, in fact it is not primarily an emotion, it is a choice, a commitment to a relationship. It is not based on what we can “get” out of the other person, but what we choose to give. We want what is best for them. 

       In the church, among believers, that means we love one another, fervently. It means that we will seek to bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. We’ll have a chance to do that in our deacons’ fund offering today as we seek to help a bereaved family with their travel expenses.  That is the kind of “love for one another” that the world will notice. The urgency of our mission should also motivate us to be clear minded and sober in our prayers. We are not giving God a Christmas list of things we “want” when we pray soberly. We are too overwhelmed by what is urgent.

        We’ve been encouraging you to make a list of those people that God has placed in your life, those that you rub shoulders with on a regular basis, and to be praying for those people every day.  They aren’t necessarily all friends. You might not even like being with some of them! But there they are in your life, how did that happen?! Whoever they are, relatives, neighbors, co-workers, classmates, or friends, they see you and at least to some degree are getting to know you. God has sovereignly placed them, and you, exactly where you are. It is not just by chance.  Even if you haven’t said anything about your faith, you are already witnessing to them! You are God’s ambassador, His witness, His “undercover missionary,” and they are your primary mission field. You can start by writing down their names, and then begin praying for them: For the believers to stand firm, for backsliding Christians to come back to God, for unbelievers to see their need, and to turn from their sin to Him. Let’s be fervent in prayer and in love, and let’s see what God will do!   Together, we can impact this peninsula for the Lord, we can be a Lighthouse of God’s grace and truth.     AMEN.