Living in Light of the End
Notes
Transcript
Good morning, Gateway Chapel!
Happy Memorial Day weekend. If you are serving or have served in the military, thank you for your service to our country.
As you can tell we’ve got a full house today, every so often we give our kids ministry volunteers a Sunday off and it allows our kids to worship together with their families.
If you need space…
If you need an activity….
If we haven’t met….
Connect cards
Church Potluck
Membership Class
Compassion Clinic
Church in Hard Places
Pray - Church in Hard Places
The pastors going through the 2 year program - that they will be open to the Holy Spirit as He guides them into all truth.
Pastor Alfonso as he leads the training.
Funding for the Intensive for all the pastors that are participating in the training program.
The Intensive, that it will be a blessing and encouragement.
The churches that they are leading, that the pastors will be able to use what they have learned to build up the people in faith and love.
John teaches that the end is near—so near that it’s already here. Christ’s death and resurrection has inaugurated the last days (1 John 2:18; Heb. 1:2; Rev. 1:1–3), and only the Father knows when Jesus will return (Mark 13:32–33)—which means we don’t have to “decode” Revelation or pinpoint apocalyptic events. Yet this is precisely what many of its interpreters have tried to do.
We have a typical feature of New Testament eschatology here. Nowhere does the New Testament encourage the setting of dates or encourage idle speculation. Eschatology is invariably used to encourage believers to live in a godly way and be alert (cf. Matt 24:36–25:46; Rom 13:11–14; 1 Cor 15:58; Phil 4:4–9; 1 Thess 5:1–11; 2 Pet 3:11–16).
In fact, the end of the world has been variously calculated as the years A.D. 275, 365, 400, 500, 999, 1000, 1666, 1843, 1914, 1994, and 2000, just to name a few.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2024/april-web-only/solar-eclipse-christianity-end-of-world-prophesy-revelation.html
Intro
On April 8th, some people thought the world was going to end.
Remember what happened on April 8th? Probably not. We had a solar eclipse.
Not very excited in our neck of the woods but it was for some!
Conspiracy theorists and other such folks made predictions that this was the coming end of the world.
April 8th was supposed to be a day of terrorist attacks, biological warfare, and nuclear missiles.
Everybody, freak out! It’s all going down!
Well, it didn’t.
When we read 1 Pet. 4:7-11, Peter can sound like some weird conspiracy theorist yelling, “The end is near!”
It’s coming!
The last days, they’re here!
Repent!
And so on the one hand Peter is NOT a solar eclipse conspiracy theorist, he’s not your uncle who posts crazy stuff on Facebook, and yet, as plain as day in Scripture he tells us that the end is near.
When we hear Peter say, “The end of all things is at hand” How are we supposed to respond?
What is Peter up to by telling us that the end is near?
Why write this to the early church?
How are we to live in light of the end of the world?
Main Point: Because the end is near, live an ordinary life of love for God’s glory.
Because the end is near, live an ordinary life of love for God’s glory.
We’ll see that Peter is convinced that we’re in the end times (4:7), he shows us four ways to live an ordinary life of love (4:7-11), and then to what end we do this (4:11).
Body
1 Peter 4:7 (ESV)
7 The end of all things is at hand;
Peter wants us to see that the end is here.
Why does Peter say this?
Let’s remember 1 Peter is a letter written to give hope to persecuted Christians all around Asia Minor, or modern day Turkey. These Christians were afraid, anxious, and concerned because they were being shamed for their faith in Christ. They were finding it increasingly strange to follow Jesus in their world. And so Peter wrote to give them hope in following Jesus.
Our passage is in the middle of a section where he’s helping us see how to live in a hostile world. How do you live when you get push back for your faith? And the two main themes have been to submit and suffer because that’s the way of Jesus.
And last week Peter taught us to rethink suffering and live for God. And how did Peter give us hope to endure suffering? By remembering that there is a day coming of God’s judgment and the resurrection. So Peter has just finished talking about a coming day and in the same breath he says, “Those things are at hand.”
Kids, when your friends come over to play, or your family comes from out of town your parents probably didn’t say, “Your friends are at hand!”
They say, “They’re here!”
And that’s essentially what Peter is saying. The end of all things is here.
What does he mean by that?
The Jewish people believed that the world was divided into two ages.
The first age was the present age of sin and death. The age of world wars, poverty, and hatred.
And I think THAT is what Peter is talking about. The end of all the painful things of this world is coming to an end.
Then there’s the coming age when God will send the Messiah who will reign over the world from Jerusalem.
And so that HAS happened, but we’re still in the old age. So we’re both in the old AGE and the new AGE.
Jesus HAS come, he died in our place to forgive us, he rose again to beat sin and death, he now reigns as king of the world.
The new age of life is available today! To anyone who turns from their sin and trusts Jesus. That’s available this morning.
And he WILL come to bring about the end of all things. And that coming is soon.
Peter is repeating Jesus’ most well-known sermon.
17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Matthew says if you had to summarize all Jesus said, it’s the kingdom is at hand! Or as Peter puts it, the end of all things is at hand.
Like solar eclipse conspiracy theorists, the New Testament talks all the time about the end being near. (1 John 2:18, Heb. 1:1-3; Rev. 1:1-3).
Peter’s already talked about what is to come.
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.
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Peter talks about the end to bring us hope.
Are we in the end times?
Not in the sense of the April 8th solar eclipse folks. I don’t think Peter’s aim is to get us to speculate on when.
But yes we are in the end times because Jesus has come, died, rose again and now is the king of the world.
We ARE living in the end times. Just as Peter and these churches were 2,000 years ago.
So what do we do about it? Sell our houses and live on a commune and wait for the day? Quit our jobs and just wait out the clock?
I think Peter gives us four examples of how to live an ordinary life of love in light of the end.
7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
The end is here, so…
Freak out!
Overtake Nero!
Leave your spouse and just do whatever you want because it’s all gonna burn!
No, be self-controlled and sober-minded.
Self-controlled - be of sound mind, be reasonable, think clearly, stay alert.
Sober-minded - think clearly. Stay in the lanes of reality.
This is in contrast to what others are doing in the previous verses, living in sensuality, getting drunk, going to orgies, engaging in lawless idolatry. This is not seeing reality clearly.
For what purpose?
For the sake of your prayers.
How do we know if we’re being self-controlled and sober-minded?
We pray.
A praying life is a reasonable and clear life. When we pray, we see life rightly. When I am prayerless, I don’t see things clearly.
Jesus said something very similar about prayer and the end.
42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
The end of ALL THINGS is here.
God is going to do unimaginable things in the universe, AND we have a part to play: stay awake.
Your simple prayers are a correct response to living in the end of the world.
Live an ordinary prayerful life.
Be self-controlled and sober minded
Second…love one another.
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Above all
Before, in front of EVERYTHING
Love
Above saving for retirement. Love.
Above getting your to do list checked off. Love.
Above voting for the right person. Love.
Love who?
One another.
Peter says because the end is coming, love other believers.
God is going to reshape the universe at a subatomic level and WE are to love one another.
Love how?
Earnestly. Eagerly, consistently.
Peter says endure suffering together and remind one another that the end is near by consistently loving each other. Be there for each other as the people of God. Be for each other as chosen exiles.
By the way…one way to live an ordinary life of love during the end times is to do what you’re doing right now…come to church.
Classic, the pastor talking about church attendance.
Brunch is a much higher cultural value than church attendance, gym membership is leagues above church membership. It’s kind of odd to prioritize coming to church every Sunday.
We can’t love one another if we’re not with one another.
The author of Hebrews says something very similar.
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Love why?
Since love covers a multitude of sins.
It’s harder to sin when I’m focused on loving others.
It’s harder to judge someone who’s different than me when I’m trying to care for them.
You guys do this really well.
You value church attendance.
You don’t just come, but you stay!
I love watching you all hang out after the service.
I love to see people pray for each other.
About two thirds of the church is a part of a community group. So great!
It is the end of the world as we know it, and we are not called to be super heroes, but to live ordinary lives of love.
We do that by being self-controlled and sober-minded, by loving one another,
Third, by showing hospitality.
9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
What is hospitality?
We’ve got a hospitality team that sets up coffee.
It’s the relationship of a host to a guest.
The early church didn’t have Airbnb’s, nor did they have much money.
This is before church buildings so people gathered in homes.
Christians hosted traveling evangelists and it was costly because many of them were living day to day.
Peter says be welcoming and open to other believers without grumbling.
Even if it costs you. Even if they’re annoying. Even if they’re not your family.
Why? Because it’s a sign that the end is near.
Imagine how scandalous this kind of hospitality would have been between a Jew and Gentile!
Similarly, it’s not normal to share a holiday meal like Thanksgiving, Christmas, memorial day weekend with someone who is not your family. It’s odd in our society to be hospitable to people who don’t give you much in return.
But this is partly how we live in light of the end, by living ordinary lives of love.
We stay self-controlled and sober-minded, we love another, we are hospitable, and we serve each other.
1 Peter 4:10–11 (ESV)
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
Every believer has been given a gift from God that is meant to be used to serve one another.
We are the body of Christ and each one of us is meant to do our part to care for the body.
Brad and Kathi Lewis are tremendously hospitable people who open up their home to the church and those outside the church.
Rosie Ray is a gifted teacher and uses it to bless our kiddos.
Sam Michel is a finance wizard and helps our church function with his expertise.
When we use those gifts we are being good stewards or managers what God has given.
We know this, but it’s good to be reminded, your gifts are not from you, they’re from God!
So whatever you do, whether you speak, whether you serve, whether you cook, whether you teach, whether you are hospitable, whether you are encouraging…do it all as if it really were God doing it through you.
I think it’s amazing that Peter is asking these beleaguered and anxious Christians not to hunker down and survive, but to look outside themselves and serve.
They are to suffer AND serve.
Serve like it’s the end of the world.
I think Peter is saying, because the end is near, live an ordinary life of love.
God is doing the heavy lifting.
Jesus defeated death.
The end of sickness, death, and disease is coming.
And so we can ask, how can I do anything of consequence?
And Peter says the way you live out the reality of the coming end of the world is by living an ordinary life of love.
Blackholes will be reshaped for all eternity, but you are to pray.
Jesus is going to come and judge the living and the dead, so we are to love one another.
The world will be remade from top to bottom, so let’s be hospitable.
All heaven and earth will be made new, so let’s serve each other.
There’s a Steve Carrell movie called, “Seeking a Friend for the end of the world”.
I haven’t seen it.
But the premise is that at the end of the world, what matters is love.
And so we might ask, what’s the difference? What’s the difference between that and this?
Peter would say because the end is near, live an ordinary life of love for God’s glory.
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.
Our love bears witness to Jesus.
At the end of the world what matters IS love, but not because that’s just a nice thing to think as we die…but because at the end of the world is the God of love who showed his love in Jesus Christ! And that God is going to bring about a new world which we can join if we trust him.
We don’t love because that’s a nice thing to do before everything burns.
We love because God is love and he loved us through Christ.
Our ordinary lives of love bear witness to Jesus’ extraordinary life of love.
Think about it, everything Peter is asking us to do is exactly what Jesus did when he knew his end was at hand.
On the night before Jesus died, he was self-controlled and sober minded and prayed. Peter and friends were not and fell asleep.
On the evening before Jesus was crucified, he loved his disciples to the end.
That same night he was hospitable and set up a dinner with his friends, even the friend who betrayed him.
The night before he gave up his life for us and was humiliated on the cross, he lowered himself by being a servant and washed his disciples feet. Even Judas’ feet.
This was a man of extraordinary love who loved for God’s glory because he knew the end had come.
How can we not do the same?
What if the end is not meant to freak us out, but to motivate us to bear witness to the king of the world in our neighborhood through simple acts of love?
What if the end of the world is not just something that’s going to happen because of climate change, but because history is moving towards a day when the king comes to claim all that is truly his?
Have you considered that king loved you enough to die for you and is calling you to turn from your old way of life and turn to him in faith today?
Because the end is near, live an ordinary life of love for God’s glory.
The next solar eclipse will be on August 2, 2027.
And I’m sure people will say that is when the world is going to end.
But we remember today that the end is near and that’s not meant to motivate us to fear, but to live ordinary lives of love for the glory of God.
Bring it back to the eclipse