Living for the Final Chapter
Notes
Transcript
There is perhaps no greater subject that captures the minds of Christians as the end times. The way the final events of history will unfold remains a bit of a mystery, and if we are not careful will lead us into an area of unfruitful discussion. Under the guidance of the Lord, we may discuss the end times through a sermon series one day, but until then, we will focus on the fact that Christ will return. There is a day on the calendar that we are unaware of in which Christ will return and bring about a conclusion to this most epic tale of good and evil.
The trouble is the longer we wait, the longer we think we have. This often leads to less of a sense of urgency, as if we have all the time in the world to do what God calls us to. The reality is we never get around to it and church becomes more about us than about him, and that is dangerous. The thing is, the early church believed that Jesus would come back within their lifetimes, which led to a sense of urgency in their actions. They were bold and modeled lives of excellence. The reality of the imminent return of Christ should direct us to remain vigilant and stay focused. The return of Christ is the next thing on God’s prophetic calendar. It is the final chapter. We should be living with that in mind. Let’s look at three things we must stay focused on to live for the final chapter of history.
Stay focused in personal devotion.
Stay focused in personal devotion.
The early church believed the return of Christ was imminent. They thought he was coming very soon, as in within their own lifetimes. It was when people started dying that they began to wonder what happens to those who die before Christ’s return, which Paul addresses in 1 Thess. 4. But here, Peter is reminding his audience,
The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
The end of all things is near. It’s coming. The end times are the next thing on God’s revelatory calendar. The problem for us is it has been 2,000 years since Christ ascended and he has not returned yet. When we wrestle with this, we sometimes buy into the idea that maybe he isn’t coming back in my lifetime, so maybe I don’t need to operate with such a sense of urgency. I’ve got time. When we begin to operate with that mindset, things like evangelism and missions are not as important because we have time to get to that later.
But Peter’s audience thought Jesus was coming back very soon. What if we lived with that mindset everyday? How would that shape our daily lives, our activities, or the conversations we have with people? Would we be more intentional? If we would, what stops us from doing that now?
What I want you to see here is that the end of all things is near. The return of Christ is 2,000 years closer than the day he ascended into heaven. It is now a day closer than it was yesterday. But because that is true, Peter’s call to action for his audience is to be of sound judgment and sober spirit. The English Standard Version says be self-controlled and sober-minded. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). As we live by the Spirit, we exhibit greater self-control. We give ourselves to our fleshly lusts and passions less often. Sober spirit (or sober-mindedness) is not just the abstaining from intoxication. It is about being focused, having a clear mind.
Have you been so convinced in your mind that the thing you are setting out to do is the right thing? We don’t always get crystal clear direction from the Lord. But there are times where we are so clear on the actions we must take that there is virtually no stopping us. Have you ever tried to talk someone out of what you thought was a bad decision, but they were dead set on doing what they envisioned? That’s what Peter means by being self-controlled and sober-minded. There is clarity in your thinking. We should strive to be that clear.
But for what purpose? He says for our prayers. Now, prayer is personal before it is public. I said once before that you should have a strong personal prayer life before you have a public prayer life. Do not pray out loud only to be heard by others and praised for your efforts. Prayer begins in the inner person, and it is no more than a personal conversation between you and the Lord. It is the time we spend in prayer and personal devotions that we begin to get clarity on what God would have us do.
Are you having a hard time deciding on what God would have you do? How often are you communicating with him? What is the Word of God saying about this topic? I want you to remember that you may not get a cut and dry answer to the question you might be asking. It could be that we have to employ biblical wisdom to choose not between a bad thing and a good thing, but between a good thing and a better thing.
Should you buy a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic? Both are good cars. The better question is how does God want you to use that car to achieve the purposes he has for you? Should you take job A or B? Both look good on paper. The better question to ask is how does God intend on placing you in that position so you can be a gospel influence to those around you? How do we discern the answers to such questions? We stay focused on personal devotion so we may hear God as clearly as we can. How do we adequately live for the final chapter? Stay focused on our personal devotion to Christ.
Stay focused in family life.
Stay focused in family life.
Now, I’m not talking about your immediate family. We understand family in this church as one another. We are all adoptees into the family of God where Christ is Savior, king, and brother. We are all brothers and sisters by virtue of the adoption that Christ has secured for us through the sacrifice he made. This isn’t just a nice sentiment, it is truth. You and I are eternally linked into the same family. We will be sharing the same dinner table for a long time! So as we look with anticipation to the glorious return of Christ, we should stay focused in family life right here and now.
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
Be hospitable to one another without complaint.
As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies...
The words one another appear three times in these verses. The focus has shifted from what one does personally to what the church does corporately. There are three things listed here that every follower of Christ should do with other followers of Christ. First, we are called to fervently love one another because love covers a multitude of sins. Pastor and Biblical Commentator, Dr. Roger Raymer wrote,
A Christian’s unselfish love and concern for others should be exercised to the point of sacrificially giving for others’ welfare.
Likening the love we ought to strive for as an athlete strains and stretches his muscles, our love for one another should go beyond anything like the world experiences. For God loved us so much that he sent his Son, that anyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life. How many times must we forgive our brother? Seven times? No, seventy times seven! We should be quick to resolve our differences in light of how much we have been forgiven. So let us have the courage to work through hurt feelings and champion healthy conflict resolution. May we model for the world what true unconditional live looks like.
The second is be hospitable without complaint. Philippians 2:14 says,
Do all things without grumbling or disputing;
I want you to consider the context for a moment. The audience lived in a day and age where there were no church buildings. The church met in people’s homes. In order to do church, one must be willing to open his home for the church to gather. Hospitality implies a clean, accommodating, and welcoming environment. It does not mean we open ourselves up to being taken advantage of, but that there is a spirit of taking care of one another, and the key is that it is done so without complaint. I believe there are some who are particularly gifted in this area. Many of them serve on our hospitality committee. However, hospitality is not practiced by only those who have a gifting for it. It is to be practiced by all.
How do you ensure that everyone feels welcome, whether that be in your home, this house, or just in your presence. Are you inviting, or do you shut yourself off? I see on Facebook groups all the time where one church is traveling on a mission trip and is looking to stop in some town and is looking for a church to stay in for the night. What is encouraging to me is that there is always someone in the group who is able to make a connection and ensure that a church who can supply a need is paired with the church seeking a need. That is hospitality. George West has used our Activity Center before for one of their events. Oakville still hosts basketball twice a week in our activity center. Our facilities have been designated as a reunification center for TRISD should they ever have to evacuate the whole school. These are ways in which we demonstrate hospitality for our community. But how do we demonstrate hospitality amongst ourselves?
We foster a welcoming environment in that anyone among us who might come from different socioeconomic backgrounds are not treated as outcasts, but are welcome to experience family life. We serve one another, we take care of one another, we make ourselves available for one another. Sometimes we get so caught up with being self-reliant that we forget we are supposed to do this stuff together, which leads us to the third thing.
We are called to serve one another with our gifts. Every believer receives one or two spiritual gifts in which we are then called to turn and use those for the betterment of the body. Paul has much to say about spiritual gifts and has lists of them in a few places, but Peter here boils it down to two main categories: speaking and serving. Let me make one thing clear. Everybody speaks and everybody serves. Some are uniquely gifted in one area or the other, but everybody does both. What this talks about though is way in which it is done. The way we communicate matters. This doesn’t mean that everything we say is equal to the utterances of God, but gives us insight into the importance of our speech. Words of wisdom amongst believers that are not God’s wisdom are not wisdom. We should strive to speak truth and be faithful to the gospel of Christ. In service, one cannot serve the body in his own strength. We are dependent on the Holy Spirit’s power to serve one another. Service devoid of the Spirit’s power is fruitless.
The point being made here is that all of this activity is done within the family life of the church. None of it is a solo effort and none of it is devoid of the Spirit. Stay focused on family life. It is not just about having a social life. It is about uniting ourselves to achieve the mission of God.
Stay focused on the glory of God.
Stay focused on the glory of God.
The latter half of verse eleven gives us the outcome of doing all that has been stated above. We stay focused in personal devotion and stay focused on family life so that God may be glorified. The reason we are still on this earth is for the glory of God.
...so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Peter ends this paragraph by offering up praise to the Lord. All glory and dominion belong to him. He has earned it all because he owns it all. We don’t do any of this for ourselves. We are not here to build our own kingdoms. We were rescued because we were duped into thinking we could. When we turn our lives over to Christ, turn it over not just for an eternal hope, but to his control in the here and now. Everything we do ought to be done having asked how our actions will glorify Christ and expand his kingdom.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is some of the greatest literature I ever read, and the movies are fantastic. The entire trilogy is an epic story of good versus evil. An original band of nine characters embark on a quest to destroy the one ring, which is the secret to the enemy’s power. All hope is believed to be lost until one of the characters, Aragorn, learns that Frodo and his best friend Sam are still alive and making their way into the heart of enemy territory to destroy the one ring. Aragorn has become the leader of the army and organizes a hail Mary at the black gate, the entrance to the enemy’s land. His goal: divert the attention of the enemy’s forces for long enough so Frodo can sneak in and complete his task. The black gate opens and the enemy’s forces surround them. These people know they are either victorious or they will perish in their fight against evil. Aragorn looks back at his army and says, “For Frodo.” Then he charges the enemy and his army follows.
In that moment, Aragorn, who was the heir to one of the most powerful kingdoms in the world, was not doing it for himself or even the men he was leading. He did it for the glory of another. In this case, it was for his friend Frodo who was marching into the heart of enemy territory to achieve victory for the whole world. We are like Aragorns. In that moment, he wasn’t in it for his own glory or to receive the praise of men. He was doing it for the glory of another knowing full well he may not survive the day. We must remember that we are here to bring glory to God.
I will raise my daughters for the glory of God. I will love my wife for the glory of God. I will not quit in trying to lead you to the glory of God. I will reach out to my community to build bridges between us and those who are far from God for the glory of God. I want to leave it all on the spiritual battlefield for the glory of God. And if the return of Christ should come after my life on this earth is done and history doesn’t remember my name, what of it? I’m already known by the king of kings!
So what about you? What do you say? Are you asking yourself how you can glorify God today? What about the rest of the week? What decisions might you make differently if you asked yourself how you can bring glory to God that day?
