THIS MAY BE THE YEAR

INTRODUCTION

-As we begin a new year, there is a hopeful expectancy, looking forward to all the possibilities of a change over the past two years, and the possibilities the new year offers in life

-Some of you, perhaps, are looking for a breakthrough in your career----you may be saying to yourself that this may be the year that you get that promotion or raise

-There may be some married couples who have had trouble in the past of adding little ones to their brood----they are saying this may be the year that our family expands

-In times of economic woe throughout the nation, there are people who are saying that this may be the year that their finances turn around

-Churches also come into a new year thinking of all the possibilities----maybe you are like me, looking at 2022 thinking that this may be the year that the great revival that is needed in the American church is going to come, and the 4th Great Awakening will begin

-But the greatest expectation that we might have as Christians is the expectation that Jesus Christ will return==and we look in the face of 2022 and we say THIS MAY BE THE YEAR that Christ returns; but then again, maybe not. But it could be.

~We’ve seen people try to predict the end of the world. Back in 2010 Harold Camping predicted it would definitely happen in 2011 and then in 2012, and it has not yet all these years later. Yet, we still live under the imminent return of Christ=He may return at any time, and 2022 may be the year (of course, it also may not)

-But in light of the possibility that 2022 may be the year of the Lord’s return, or the possibility that He might not, the question is how ought we to live? What are the implications for Christian living in light of the possibilities?

-As we study a passage in 1 Peter, we see that Peter himself in his day fully expected Jesus to return in his own lifetime, and if it seemed imminent to Peter, how much more, then, is His return imminent to us nearly 2000 years later?

-Peter longed for the Lord’s return, as I’m sure we all do; and if we’re alert, we’ll wake up every morning of 2022 saying, “This may be the year Christ will return. But maybe not. Either way, what are the implications for my life?” How should we live in light of the possibilities that we might be the last generation of Christians on earth? Peter wrote: “The end of all things is at hand …” And he went on to discuss five activities that should mark the lives of Christians in expectation of Christ’s return, no matter if it happens this new year or not.

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.

1) Be Sensible

-v. 7 says THEREFORE BE SELF-CONTROLED AND SOBER-MINDED, with other versions having a bit different translation

-Peter, in telling us to be SELF-CONTROLLED AND SOBER-MINDED in our lives, is not saying that absolutely no sense of humor is allowed—if that were the case, this church would be in a whole heap of trouble since we love to have a good laugh with one another

-What he is saying is that our lives should be marked by a clear mind and having sound judgment==the decisions/choices we make ought to be sensible in light of God’s Word

-Peter placed this in here at this point especially because he had the last days in mind----people in Peter’s day had a tendency that is still around today, where they start to become so obsessed with the nearness of the end of time, they begin to lose their heads and act irrationally—that is, when people begin to think the end is near, their mind is so absorbed by it they forget to live in the here and now for Christ, all they do is start making preparations for the end

-Some people are so obsessed by eschatology, that when some con-man comes and makes a prediction of the date, they get so irrational, they start selling stuff and do all sorts of crazy things

-I read the story of a 60-year old retired engineer in New York who fell for Harold Camping’s May 21, 2011 predictions, that he took his entire life savings to put ads all over the east coast warning people of the coming judgment day—the amount he spent was in the six figures, everything he had because he lived irrationally, without a clear-mind or sound judgment

-Back in those years, people were so irrational, they took what Camping said seriously. Why? Partially because they were ignorant of God’s Word, which is the guide for our lives and faith--and part of it was they got caught up in the frenzy they didn’t live according to biblical sensibilities

-Peter tells them and us to live sensibly according to what has been revealed to us in God’s Word…

2) Be Prayerful

-v. 7 says to be SOBER-MINDED FOR THE SAKE OF YOUR PRAYERS—again with many other translations in the other versions

-The term literally means to be self-controlled and well-balanced=keeping a clear head

-What in the world does that have to do with prayer? Well, when we come to prayer, we come to commune with God, so our minds need to be clear and ready for the task

-We can’t come to God with a mind that is clouded and fuzzy because it is immersed in the things of this world----if our mind is so obsessed with our favorite music or TV show, how can we commune with God

-If our mind is so obsessed with our problems that we can’t even think straight, how can we commune with God?

-When we come to God in prayer, we are to be focused and alert—prayer is serious and shouldn’t be approached flippantly—we are coming into the very presence of God

-Think of this: If you were invited to the White House to talk about some matters of national interest with the president of the United States, would you walk into that meeting with your head in the clouds and your mind preoccupied with other things going on in your life? Or would you rein in your mind to focus on the task at hand.

-I read one man’s observation that he thinks that God puts more value on our prayers than we do ourselves, and I believe he means that the average Christian prays so little, and even when he does his mind is not really focused on the task at hand, so it does little good—God seems to care more about prayer than we do

-if we were more serious about our prayer life, think of how much change we could see in our families, our church, our nation, our world

-I wonder sometimes if we aren’t serious in prayer because we think everything is going great in our lives that we don’t need God—we don’t need to wait for more disasters to strike for serious prayer to become part of our lives…

3) Be Charitable

-v. 8 ABOVE ALL KEEP LOVING ONE ANOTHER EARNESTLY, SINCE LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS

-God is love, and the world knows that we are His children because of the love we show for one another==but we ought not have just any love, but a fervent, intense, earnest love that will endure through every roller-coaster ride that puts it to the test

-Jesus had warned in Matt 24 that there will come a day when the love of many would grow cold----but in that day, the love of the believer ought to be as strong as ever, persevering through trial and tribulation

-An example of this fervent love is shown in an interesting saying in this verse: LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SINS

----in no way is this saying that if we love enough, somehow that covers the sins we commit----there is only one way for our sins to be covered, and that is through the shed blood of Jesus Christ

-what it is most likely saying is that when we agape love people like the Bible calls us to, we extend charity toward them when they wrong us in some way----because of our love, we are willing to forgive the faults of other because we know the forgiving grace that God has extended toward us

-This does not mean that we ignore sin, or justify sin, or condone sin—it doesn’t mean we don’t confront sin when it needs to be confronted—but it does mean we are open to forgive sin

-It also means that we don’t hold sin over somebody’s head—we don’t regurgitate it at a later date or use it as leverage, we allow the love of Christ within us to cover it—a supernatural love that Paul described as one that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. So, we live charitably toward one another

4) Be Hospitable

-v. 9 SHOW HOSPITALITY TO ONE ANOTHER WITHOUT GRUMBLING

-That is pretty self-explanatory, although there are several cultural nuances to be considered

-In Peter’s day, when people travelled, it isn’t like it is today where you drive somewhere or fly somewhere and then find a nice hotel to stay for the evening

-They didn’t have hotels like that back then—it wasn’t like you could stroll into Nazareth and stay at the Holiday Inn----the inns that were there were probably quite expensive

-So, for the Christian mission in that day, believers doing the Lord’s work relied on the hospitality of fellow believers to lodge them in their house while they were in that vicinity to do the Lord's work

-There was also the consideration of opening one’s home up for a church to meet in—in that day they didn’t have worship center, sanctuaries, fellowship halls, educational wings—the church met in homes, so somebody had to open their home up for weekly or daily meetings of various sorts

-Then there was also being hospitable toward strangers in the name of Christ—showing hospitality to open up a gospel witness

-So, things were a lot different back then, yet we can do much of the same in our day—we can welcome into our home missionaries who are far away from home.

~Several years ago, we had the privilege of having Sudhir Mekala from India who spoke at our church stay in our home for a weekend, and it was as much a blessing to my family as it was for him to learn about and support the mission work in India.

-Now, I know in our day and age we need to be careful about having strangers stay in our house, but it isn’t always a bad thing, it can be a God thing. I read in a newsletter from Calvary Chapel in Memphis about some ladies who were hospitable toward a homeless man. This 61-year-old man named Lloyd lived for 4 years in the woods in a depression era abandoned farm house. Through a chain of events, he ended up in a hospital and met these two wonderful Christian ladies who took Lloyd into their home for a short while, and eventually brought him to Calvary Rescue Mission to live and get back on his feet.

-Now, I’m not advocating let’s all go find us a homeless man to bring into our house without there being some sort of discernment in the whole matter, but you never know how God can orchestrate some things

-Not knowing if this may be the year, let’s be hospitable, but also…

5) Be Helpful

-v. 10 AS EACH HAS RECEIVED A GIFT, USE IT TO SERVE ONE ANOTHER

-When we were saved, the Holy Spirit graced us with a spiritual gift to be used for the blessing of ministering to others, and most importantly according to v. 11, for the glory of God

-We are not given spiritual gifts for our self-esteem or to be used for our own selfish reasons, but they are to be exercised in serving others

-Although Paul in his epistles specifically lists several such gifts of grace, Peter just gives two broad categories of gifts in v. 11: the gifts related to speaking, and the gifts related to service/ministry

-The gifts related to speaking are gifts like teaching, prophecy, and encouragement—but what we find is that these gifts are not used to pass on the wisdom or the knowledge that the person with the gift has within themselves----v. 11 makes it clear LET HIM SPEAK AS ONE WHO SPEAKS ORACLES OF GOD

-Those using the speaking gifts are to use God’s words and not their own----I preach the Word of God and not the own thoughts out of my head because, frankly, I don’t have anything worth saying that’s going to do anybody a lick of good----The Word of God is life, not the words of Al—using the speaking gifts in this way was described by one person that it is as if Christ Himself is using your mouth to speak His message

-Then there are the gifts related to service/ministry: giving, mercy, administration, helps, etc.—v. 11 says that the people with these gifts are to do them WITH THE ABILITY/STRENGTH THAT GOD SUPPLIES—they are not to rely on their own strength and power to accomplish something for God or the church—there is the HS power within each of us to draw upon to serve others

-If you know your gift, but haven’t been using your gift, seek out ways in the church to bless us with your gift----if you don’t know your gift, we have made a spiritual gifts test available to you, and complete it, and although they aren’t perfect, they can get you going in the right direction

-I would love to see 2022 be a year where everyone is using their gift in the power of the Spirit----don’t let your gift go to waste, because you never know, this may be the year the Lord returns and you will have missed your opportunity to make a difference before the end

CONCLUSION

-Since the new year has dawned, let us come to it with anticipation, thinking that this may be the year Christ returns—so let us live in light of that possibility as we are sensible, prayerful, charitable, hospitable, and helpful

-Christian, you may want to come to the altar to pray for yourself or for this church as this new year has arrived, and pray that God uses us in powerful ways for His glory

-Yet, the thought of Christ’s imminent return frightens some here because you know in your heart of hearts that you are not ready to meet Him—you know that if He came you would be condemned forever—don’t think that somehow you need to clean up your act before you place your trust in Him, because you can’t clean up your act until you place your trust in Him----Jesus loved you enough to die for you to pay the penalty of your sin—surrender your heart to Him today…