Stewards of God's Grace (Part 1)

1 Peter 4:1-6 “1 Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. 3 For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.”

Stewards

Example—taking care of someone’s house while they are gone

In the summer of 2003, I was in between years at Moody Aviation

I had just finished my 4th year of school, going into my 5th

Heidi and I came back from TN to Iowa for the summer

And we needed a place to live

So, we borrowed a camper from some friends, and parked it out back of mom and dad’s place there on the farm and slept out there

Which was OK, but it was sort of an old camper, and wasn’t the most comfortable, and besides, it was HOT

Well, fortunately, some great opportunites came along

As happens in the summer, a lot of us travel

And it just so happened that Orvan and Rose and their family were planning to be gone for a week or ten days, and they said, “Why don’t you guys come and house sit for us.

That way you have a comfortable bed, air conditioning, etc.

So that’s what we did

While they were gone, we became “stewards” of their house, or caretakers

I believe we also stayed at Wilbur and Lucille’s place for a number of days that summer

But we were given a charge. To take care of their house.

They expected us, I think, to be comfortable there and enjoy our time there, which we did

But at the same time, we had to remind ourselves that this was not our house! We had a responsibility to live in such a way that when they came back, their house was in good of shape as when they left, or better shape

You know, God has also asked us to be stewards. or caretakers

We often talk about being stewards of creation. Taking care of it, and managing it.

But God has also given us the privilege and great responsibility of being stewards of His grace.

And for a title to this message, I have just “stolen” the title that my Bible uses for this passage of Scripture

“Stewards of God’s grace”

You know, if you look in Scripture you can find examples of men who did the job of a steward.

Maybe they weren’t specifically called stewards, but clearly they were acting like stewards

And a number of these examples are from the time when David was king

1 Chronicles 27:27 “27 and over the vineyards was Shimei the Ramathite; and over the produce of the vineyards for the wine cellars was Zabdi the Shiphmite.”

1 Chronicles 27:30 “30 Over the camels was Obil the Ishmaelite; and over the donkeys was Jehdeiah the Meronothite. Over the flocks was Jaziz the Hagrite.”

So, David had men who did the work of overseeing his property and possessions.

He entrusted them with his property

These men were stewards. They were to see to it that these things were put to the best possible use.

That David’s investment in these things was not in vane

You know, God has given us something

He has entrusted us with something extremely valuable

That was immensely costly for Him.

He has entrusted us with His grace

Jesus suffered and sacrificed Himself for us in order that God’s grace might be shed abroad to us, given to us

And now He has given us the opportunity and responsibility to be stewards, caretakers, overseers of that grace

He has put us in charge of seeing to it that His grace is managed well and that it does not return empty handed or void

And the question for us is, “Are you being a good steward of the grace that He has given us?”

Am I being a good steward?

And what does it look like to be a steward of God’s grace, or a caretaker of His grace?

Well, Peter talks about how this looks in this section of Scripture.

Well, here we find another one of Peter’s favorite themes

We’ve been talking about one major theme—suffering

Here is another one—Preparation

Being good stewards of God’s grace means living in a state of readiness, preparation

Arm yourself. In other words, get ready for a battle, for a struggle

Again, this is based on a condition. This is based on us considering something, thinking about something

That is, since Christ suffered in the flesh

This was the extension of God’s grace to us—Christ giving up His position at the right hand of God, and being born as a baby, experiencing suffering and rejection, to the point of dying on the cross

Since He suffered in the flesh

We need to arm ourselves with the same way of thinking that Christ had

Did you ever think about your attitude toward suffering as being a weapon in your arsenal?

We just had a week of VBS where we talked about the spiritual armor and the tools that we are given to fight the spiritual battle

Well, here is another weapon.

It is to arm ourselves with the same way of thinking that Jesus had when it comes to suffering and God’s grace

How is it that this is a weapon? How can our way of thinking about suffering and about God’s grace be a weapon in our arsenal

Well, because if there is anything that can turn the enemy’s plans inside out, it is this

It is a Believer who is so sold out to being a disciple of Christ, that physical comfort and safety is low on his priority list

Self-promotion is low on his priority list

And he is willing to go into the most difficult or hostile places, endure hardship and suffering for the sake of the Gospel

What does the devil have that can fight against that? Suffering? It’s expected. No surprise. Death? It’s welcome. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Bring it on.

Arm yourself with this mindset

Because those who suffer in the flesh have ceased from sin.

What? Wow, that’s pretty strong isn’t it? You mean if I’m suffering for the sake of righteousness, I will completely stop sinning?

Well, probably not. But those who suffer for the sake of righteousness are not living for sin anymore.

Sin and rebelliousness against God, living for self, these are things that suffering has a way of rooting out of you

You can’t live for self and suffer for righteousness at the same time

Suffering purifies us, it refines us

Recalling what we read in 1 Peter 1:6-7 “6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

So, here in chapter 4,

In the midst of suffering, you don’t live for the flesh

Your passion isn’t to satisfy the flesh, but to satisfy the will of God

So, being a steward of God’s grace includes arming yourself with thinking like Christ, assaulting the kingdom of satan by living day by day, moment by moment,

Not for the passions of the flesh, but for the will of God

How do you experience the battle against the enemy most keenly?

Is it when you hear that little voice saying “Go ahead, pass on that juicy bit of gossip”. Arm yourself with the mindset of Christ

Is it when you are tempted to take another look? arm yourself with the mindset of Christ.

in fact, STAY ARMED at all times with the mindset of Christ.

And that brings us to the second point

Recognizing the time. Being aware of the time

It says here, that The time has passed for living as the Gentiles do

How is that?

Sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, lawless idolatry

All of these are examples of living for human passions

That’s how the Gentiles live.

Who are the Gentiles? Well, we would be considered Gentiles.

But more specifically, the Gentiles are those who have not been Chosen. Who have not been called out and who are not living lives that holy and set apart

It’s those people who live for human passions, satisfying the cravings of the flesh

Is that who we are?

You know, it is the tendency of people, even Believers to ask the question of certain activities, “What’s wrong with this?”,

or to defend their actions saying, “There’s nothing wrong with doing this. I don’t know what people get so up in arms about”.

And sometimes, it’s difficult to make a case saying, this is absolute right or wrong

But I sometimes wonder if those kinds of questions are more an excuse defend our desire to fulfill our human passions

Rather, perhaps when we are trying to decide the “rightness” or wrongness of something is to asking the question

“What is right about this?”, or more to the point of what we are talking about today, “Is this the will of God that I should take part in this activity?”

Because this is the contrast that we are given here: the option of living for the flesh, or human passions AND living for the will of God

We see two different agendas going on here

Part of being a good steward of the grace of God is to realize that the time for living for human passions has passed.

And now there is a new agenda

And the response of those who are living on the agenda of pleasing the flesh are surprised when they meet someone who recognizes that the time for pleasing the flesh has passed

They are surprised when you don’t join them

Because in their minds, they are just simply doing what seems right to them

And you may not even have to step too far out of church, or out of the Body of Christ, to run into this response

You may have friends in the church, or who go to other churches who invite you to join them in an activity

And you say, sorry, I can’t

And they say, “Well, why not? ARe you saying that what I’m doign is wrong? Who are you to judge?”

And you say, “Im sorry, it’s just that I believe that this is outside of the will of God for me. You know, deep down I do kind of want to join you. It seems like fun, and I kinda want to join you. But know that if I joined you, it would be just me pleasing me, and I feel that God wouldn’t be so pleased”

So, sorry, I can’t

And folks may be surprised. They might not understand. And in some cases, they may even ridicule you

You might feel looked down on and mocked, even by other so-called Believers. God forbid that this happens, but it’s a possibility

But that’s OK because you are acting as a steward or a caretaker of the grace that has been shown to you. And you want to be found to be a faithful steward!

Recognizing that you personally are accountable to God

Vs. 5. They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead

If you are being a faithful steward of God’s grace, You don’t need to mind the ridicule of others

Because they have to give an account to God for their actions

They are personally accountable before God,

Maybe they were right in some of their criticism

Maybe their criticism was accusatory and off base

But it’s them who have to give an account before God for their own actions

But you know what? So are you! You are also accountable to God for your own actions

Everyone will die. The unjust and the just alike. We know that

but everyone will be held accountable for how they handled the grace of God

One of His costliest possessions

Like the parable of the rich man who went on a long journey and gave talents to his servants and told them to care for his possessions

And each one of these servants was responsible for how he handled his master’s money

And when the master came back, he did not demand an account from the one’s who did well for the one who didn’t do well

No, each one was accountable for how they had handled their master’s money

God is concerned with whether or not you personally are being a good steward of the grace that you have been shown

Now, we still need the Brotherhood. We still need the Body of Christ

And in the Body of Christ, we do encourage each other, and challenge each other and disciple each other

And this often includes some tough conversations with each other

But in the end, Jesus, the Righteous Judge, is not going to demand an answer from you for the actions of someone else

In the end, everyone will have to give an account of how well they stewarded the grace of God

We can say, like Peter did on the shores of the sea of Galilee, “Lord, what about him

And I believe the response of Jesus to us would be the same as his response to Peter

What is that to you? YOU follow me

Be good stewards of my grace. Encourage others to do the same. But in the end, each person will give an account

But the Gospel was preached, Peter goes on to say, that though, yes, there is still judgement for those who reject the Gospel

Those who choose not to be good stewards of the Grace of God

For those who do steward God’s grace well,

For those who receive the grace of God with humility and reverence and gratefulness and handle it well, there is life

There is life in the Spirit

So, the question this morning is

Are you being a good steward of the immense grace that has been extended to you?

Have you received His grace and accepted this responsibility of stewardship?

Have you armed yourself with the mindset of Christ

Are you aware of the time?

Are you prepared to answer personally to how you handled the grace of God?

Are you living for the will of God, or for human passions?

aRe you being a good steward?