Stewards of God's Grace (Part 2)

1 Peter 4:7-11 “7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

Reminder of what we talked about last week

We are talking about being stewards of God’s grace.

Remember a steward is one who, not just cares for the property of someone else, but invests it.

Works to make sure that there is a return on this investment

God has given something to us and asked us to be stewards of something that cost Him very dearly

That is His grace

And the very first thing that we looked at is this:

Being a steward of God’s grace means that we need to arm ourselves

Arm yourself with the mindset of Christ. This is a powerful weapon in our arsenal!

Being a good steward of the grace of God is to live in a state of readiness

Being aware of the battle that is raging around you and being ready at all times to engage effective in the battle

The battle between the kingdom of darkness and The Kingdom of Light so often takes place in the mind!

Live with purpose

The end of all things is at hand

We are very much aware of living in the end times, or the last days, aren’t we?

We have wars and conflicts, especially thinking about the incredible devastation in Ukraine and the thousands and thousands of lives that have been lost

We have serious concerns about what is happening socially and politically in our country…it seems like the hearts of men are inclined increasingly toward wickedness and the rejection of God

And we think, “LORD, how long? Even so, LORD Jesus, quickly come!” We think, certainly it can’t be long

But one of the unique things about the Christian faith is, that Believers have always lived with this expectation

All my life I have heard that the return of Christ is very soon

I think I have told you how when I was a young teenager, my great-uncle who was one of the ministers of our church in Delaware said that he believed the return of Christ would be in the next 5 years. Well, that was 40 years

But that’s OK. Because Even the very first disciples of Christ were looking for the return of Christ

And urging us to allow that expectation to inform, or to have an affect on the way that we live

“The end of all things is at hand”

In other words, people who have been chosen and called out know that their time is limited.

They live with a sense of urgency.

Not a sense of hurry and worry

But a sense of urgency

A sense of mission and direction

A sense of purpose

It’s like when we were preparing to go overseas

There were things that had to be done

Because we knew that when we got on that plane, it would be too late

People who are chosen live with that sense of mission “God has called us”

We are not to be like those in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 “3 While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

this is the kind of attitude that really does kind of generally describe our society today…living for the here and now. Living like there is no end, and no consequences

We, however, as God’s chosen people, are to live knowing that the end of all things is at hand

And with that in mind, we are to be

Be self-controlled and sober-minded

Sober-minded—not drunk

And I think, “Whew. Lucky for me, I don’t drink! I hate the taste of alcohol”

But Peter in this case is not making a statement about whether you should or shouldn’t drink alcohol, although that plays into this

Rather, the point here is to have a mind that is working well. That is thinking clearly

And some of us are thinking, Yikes, the older I get the more muddled my mind seems to be.

I don’t think that it is working clearly at all

But I believe that we are being reminded here to consider what we are putting into our minds…what it is that we are feasting our minds on

Because there is a very serious thing as stake here: Our prayers.

Be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers

And this is where the rubber meets the road for me. This is where things kind of get sort of unpleasant for me

Because there are tons of other things in our lives that can cloud our thinking…that can take over our mind. That can affect our minds to a point where we are not thinking clearly

There are a lot of other things that, when it comes to prayer, these things have the same effect on our minds that being drunk does!

And when we try to communicate with the Lord in prayer, these things are buzzing around in our heads

What about a steady diet of talk radio and news media?

What about pornography

What about an addiction to work

What about hear that is bound in pain and anger? A person who has never found healing and freedom from anger and bitterness?

For me, it is so often electronics. I am at the computer a lot studying and preparing for sermons, and it is so easy to get distracted

By this video clip

Or this interesting little article

Or that email

The list could go on and on of things that can overtake our lives and cloud our thinking

And I think this warning to be self-controlled and sober-minded is needed today more than ever

The number of things that can distract us and make us lose focus seems to be growing

And they affect our prayers. They hinder our prayers.

And I’m not just talking about our “quiet time” in the morning. That’s the easy part.

Whatever it is in our minds, we may be able to set that apart for a few minutes and say a quick, “Lord, thanks for this day. I pray that you will be with me today. Amen”

But the Bible tells us to pray without ceasing. To be in constant conversation with the LORD, in constant communication with HIm through the Holy Spirit

And this is where it gets really tough.

Because if you have a mind that is not clear, a mind that is being clouded by all kinds of things

It is really hard, if not impossible to maintain this kind of open communication with Him

Love one another earnestly. Because love covers a multitude of sins

Above all love one another earnestly!

If you remember, this is the second time that Peter has told his listeners to “love one another earnestly”

1 Peter 1:22-23 “22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, 23 since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;”

This love that he is talking about should be above all, because it is the mark of a person who has been truly regenerated…born again

One who is has received a new heart and is being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit

To love one another earnestly means

To love each other intensely, eagerly, continuously, without ceasing

This idea of a love that is intentional and purposeful

This is the kind of love that covers a multitude of sins

In the Body of Christ, A love that says, “despite our differences, I still love you as a brother. And I will do anything that I can to keep our relationship open and close”

Outside of the Body of Christ: There is no one too far from God that he/she cannot be loved by God and by His people

We often hear it expressed, “What would we do if “those” people came through the door and worshipped with us?

You know what? We love. Because love covers a multitude of sins. And we treat them with kindness and we ask God for wisdom

Because this is how Christ loved us. This was the grace that He showed us

This is a high indicator that you are taking seriously this commission to be a good steward of God’s grace. It’s how you love one another

[being a good steward of God’s grace means] Showing hospitality vs. 9

Stewarding God’s grace means that we share our time and possessions with strangers and with each other

I love seeing how when we have visitors on a Sunday morning, they always get talked to

They often get an invitation for lunch

I want to just encourage all of us to keep up the good work with hospitality

And if there’s any way that we can improve, to ask God to help us with that

And that we do it without grumbling…that we are eager to have opportunities to show hospitality

Being a good steward means using the gifts that God has given us and using those gifts to serve each other

Hospitality is actually one of those gifts

But there are other gifts, and as stewards of God’s grace we understand that God’s grace is varied. vs. 10

In other words, He shows His grace is different ways to different people. And, as we already talked about, we are all responsible for how we respond to that grace.

Do you have a gift of speaking?

Is this what God has asked you to do?

When I was young, and for most of my life, I would have never said that I have the gift of speaking

And that I should be the one up front speaking

I would have said that I am more musically inclined and that if I should be doing anything in church, it would be helping with music

But for this period of my life, God has asked me to speak publically.

I speak in front of the church, but all of us speak with each other and to each other

And some of you have a great way of communicating one on one with others

And in the Body of Christ, as we steward the grace of God, when we speak to each other, whether up front or one on one, speak to each other as you speak the oracles of God vs. 11

Oracle A divine message communicated through a human mediator to one or more human recipients.

A divine message. In other words, a message from God! That sounds like a huge responsibility, doesn’t it?

It is a BIG responsibility, but this gives us a clear reminder that our words are powerful and how we talk with each other needs to be done with care.

Paul reminded Titus in Titus 3:9 “9 But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.”

Ephesians 5:4 “4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”

Rather, when we talk to each other, especially in the Body of Christ, may our words be the kind of words that God would speak

When you enter into a conversation, or when you go to visit someone, remember that you bear the image of God. Ask Him what kind of words you should speak to this person.

Ask Him to help you speak in a way that is truthful and encouraging and that builds up

A steward of God’s grace speaks the oracles, or the message of God

do you have a gift of serving?

I know that many of you do!

Maybe some of our older ones wish they could do more in a physical way

But many times serving comes in the form of an encouraging word, or, “i’ve been praying for you”

Many times, probably most of the time, serving takes extra energy…we don’t know if we have the strength to do what is being asked of us

But he reminds us here: “Do it in the strength that God supplies”

When I read that statement, I had to think back to VBS again

I know that many of you would come to church for VBS straight off work. It had been a long day…some of you had some very frustrating days during that week

And keeping up with 50 young’uns takes a lot of energy

And you didn’t know if you had that much energy to give

But you really lived what this verse is talking about! You served with the strength that God supplies

Sunday school teachers, you might arrive on a Sunday not sure if you have the strength to teach and lead your class

You have been selected to serve your class and you know that it takes strength…sometimes the week has been long and busy, and you didn’t have the time to pepare that you would have liked to

but you come anyway and you serve your class in the strength that God gives

I can testify to this as well…most Sundays, in fact.

I don’t know if I have the strength to serve you as a church in the way that I need to

But I serve in the strength that God gives me

And this is how God wants us to be, isn’t it. Very conscious of our own weakness and unsure of whether or not we can serve the Body of Christ the way that we would like to

Because it’s in that state that we turn our eyes toward him, and cry out to Him

And in our weakness, HE becomes strong

That is being a good steward of God’s grace! Recognizing how much we need Him!

and we do all of this, we steward God’s grace well so that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ

Everything

That means that being stewards of God’s grace is an every day, every moment thing.

Not a Sunday thing. Not a “when other people are looking at me thing”. Not a “when I’m scared the bishop or the deacon is going to come knocking”,

It’s an all-the-time thing.

Like a co-worker of mine used to say, “The only time I speed is when I’m alone or with someone”.

Well, that’s what it’s like being a steward, a caretaker, an investor of God’s grace.

We do it when we are alone or with someone

And you know what? That takes real Holy Spirit power, doesn’t it?

Especially that “alone” part. It seems pretty straight forward a lot of times when you are with other church folks, or even with folks who aren’t church folks

But alone. Am I being a good steward even when I’m alone

How I use my time, what my priorities are like, where I let my thoughts go, all of that

In everthing, may Jesus Christ be glorified

So, church, let’s be good stewards of the grace of God that He has given us

Let’s invest, use His grace well and

Sara Wells, “Oracle,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).