Exiles and the End

Intro

Read 1 Peter 4:7-11

1 Peter 4:7–11 ESV

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.

As the End Draws near

1 Peter 4:7 ESV

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

Peter continues from last week

Arm yourselves with this way of thinking

The thinking that the end is drawing near

As Christians like we said last week we look forward to what comes next after this life

We should always consider that the end of days is near

We live our lives with revelation in the for front of our minds

We live in light of Eternity to come

We must love God like the end of days is near

We must evangilize like the end of days is near

We live expectantly

Come quickly Lord Jesus

And this should mean that

We are sober minded and self controlled

We arent to go around as crazy people shouting the sky is falling

but we live on purpose

Our minds are clear to the reality that the Lord will soon come to Judge the righteous and the unrighteous

Our minds are focused on what God wants

Our minds are clarified by the importance of the gospel message

We control our desires

We discipline ourselves we dont get pulled into the sinful behavior of unbelievers

We keep our thoughts and action under control

Christians live in light of eternity and the keep their minds focused on God’s will and they discipline themselves to live as God commands

Love triumphs over all

1 Peter 4:8 ESV

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

as we live in this last days with our minds focused on eternity we must not forget to Love

This is not an emotional love, but an action

this is not oh I love my friends

This is I choose to love these people because God has chosen to Love me

and as I live in light of eternity with heaven at the for front of my mind I realize that there are people who dont know this Love I have found

What does it look like to show them Love

1 Corinthians 13 (ESV)

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

This is what marks the Exile their Love for others. Fellow Exiles and to those who are far off.

They show their Love for each other by what

Serve each other

1 Peter 4:9–11 ESV

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.

Christian exiles stand out because of the way they show this love to each other

Christians/ Exiles live in light of eternity being self controlled and sober minded loving all and serving all.