1 Peter 4:7-11 (Prayer & Praise)
Notes
Transcript
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.
When you think of those people who are standing on the side of the road,
With signs that say, “The end of the world is near” - what do you think?
Normal person, or insane person?
Typically, we think they are nuts
Because in cartoons and movies, they are usually nots!
And a lot of times they are nuts,
But it’s not because they believe the end of the world is near.
Because as Peter tells us that knowing the end is near is a mark of being clear minded -
The word clear minded means to be sane
In Mark chapter 5 and Luke chapter 8, it tells us of the story of the demoniac.
A demented man, who was living among the tombs and the hills, day and night,
And he would cut himself with stones and cry out.
But when Jesus healed him, the people found him seated, clothed, and “CLEAR MINDED”
The same word Peter uses here is sane…
The confusion and fog had lifted,
He was clear minded
He was sane
He was in touch with reality.
He now lived realistically in light of TRUE REALITY
That’s what sanity is.
Insanity is be blindfolded to the nature of true reality.
Or, to not even care about what reality truly is
But sanity is to care
which includes knowing and caring about who we are,
Why we are here,
How we got here,
And where we going
Our ultimate destination.
Do you see how polar opposite the wisdom of this world is with the wisdom of God?
The wisdom of this world says: “If you live like the end is near, you’re crazy!”
The wisdom of the Bible says: “If you don’t see that the end is near, you’re crazy!”
Only if you see that the end is near, and live that way, are you sane - are you “clear minded,” - as Peter says here.
How could this be?
It’s because,
if there’s a God, if there are moral absolutes,
If it’s really true, then there’s going to be a reckoning!
And to live as if there isn’t, is crazy!
I like how one pastor I listened to put it, he said:
“It’s one thing to embezzle money from your company.”
“But it’s another to embezzle the day or week before the books are going to be Audited.”
“And if you know that - it’s crazy to live and embezzle money.”
And the Bible tells us that if you don’t live like you know the books are about to audited, it’s crazy!
It’s living out of touch!
It’s not sober minded!”
If there are moral absolutes, and we live not caring discover or live by them, it would be crazy!
It would be like driving down the road with your eyes closed!
Was Peter wrong that Jesus was coming back soon?
This was 2,000 years ago
No, because Jesus Himself didn’t know when He was coming back!
Jesus’ point is to live as if Jesus can come back at ANY TIME!
And to not live that way, is foolishly!
How would we live if we believed Jesus was truly coming back at any time?
Self-controlled
Integrity
Loving other’s earnestly
Forgiving them “Love covers a multitude of sins.”
Hospitality without grumbling.
Serving others - v. 10
Using our gifts 11
For the Glory of God not man! v. 11
If don’t live lives as if Jesus is coming back soon - that the end is near - what is the result?
We won’t be self-controlled or sober-minded
Instead, we’ll believe the great lie that if we are going to be happy, we’ll have to sin to get it!
However, v. 7 - “for the sake of our prayers”
1 Peter: An Introduction and Commentary (i) Pray More and Love Each Other More (4:7–9)
The idea is not simply ‘so that you can pray’ (NIV), but ‘in order to pray more effectively, more appropriately’, Christians should be alert to events and evaluate them correctly in order to be able to pray more intelligently. Peter’s words also imply that prayer based on knowledge and mature evaluation of a situation is more effective prayer (otherwise there would be no relationship between being ‘sane and sober’ and one’s prayers). What this verse teaches could well be put into practice when reading the newspaper, listening to the news, travelling to work, and so on.
