Living As Worshippers In Light Of The End: Love, Welcome & Serve One Another To The Glory Of God

Intro

I wanted to open this morning by giving you some highlights from the trip last week. For those of you who didn’t know, Shawn and Natlie and I and Joelle Parker and Shannon Hord — all of us piled into two vans and drove Tuesday to Cincinatti and came back yesterday. We went to see the Ark Encounter and Creation Museum, but in the evenings we helped out at Lakota Hill Baptist Church in West Chester, OH. We helped them with their VBS for four nights.

So, some highlights. Really, these will be thing we have learned about each other, about ourselves, and about God. Some of this we learned the hard way.

We learned that a 6.5 hour drive according to Apple Maps can easily become a 10 hour drive when you have small children and Shawn.

We learned that some people are scared being in the passenger seat no matter who’s behind the wheel.

We learned that Wendy’s is a restaurant for “old people” - and in this case “old” means 35 and up.

We learned that my son’s new word is “chicken.” You ask him how he is or what he’s doing later today or how he feels, he’ll just say “chicken.” At least he did on the trip. He’s definitely a teenager - no doubt about it.

We learned that you can steal Shawn’s hat off his head and stick it in your bookbag and he won’t ask for it back, like ever. I finally found it at the bottom of my bag 24 hours later and had forgotten it was there.

We learned that when you’re staying in an air BNB that was built just 20 years after the Civil War ended, you’re 20% less likely to die if you wear tennis shoes that really grip the wood.

We learned that my daughter cannot travel with too many accessories.

Some of us learned that God has called us to work with children!

We learned something about God’s greatness. After all, that’s the point of the ark, isn’t it? The point of the ark is that God destroyed the world for its wickedness but that He showed one family mercy. We learned that being shown mercy by God, like with Noah, we are freed up to live lives of worship.

The building of the ark was an act of worship. By building the ark, Noah and his family demonstrated that they really believed God would do what He said He would do; in other words, He was faithul and His word could be trusted. By building the ark, Noah and his family demonstrated that they really trusted in God’s protection, that He would preserve them through the flood, that He was a God both able and willing to save them from His own wrath. In other words, by building the ark, Noah and his family demonstrated not only their own obedience, but also that they saw God as worthy of worship — even an act of worship as seemingly out of place as buildjng an ark in the hot desert with no clouds on the horizon.

But what about the rest of us? God doesn’t have us building an ark. Can we still live lives of worship even though we’re ordinary people living ordinary lives?

Love One Another Earnestly

The first thing Peter does is he reminds us that history is coming to an end. In verse 7 he writes “The end of all things is near.” The day on which Jesus Christ returns for judgment rather than salvation, the day on which God will judge the secrets of men by Christ Jesus, the day on which the dead — young and old — will be raised — the day on which the Lord of history brings human history to a close — the end of this age and the beginning of the next — that day is near, Peter says.

The end of all things?

The second coming of Christ

The resurrection of the dead

The judgment of all people

The defeat of Satan

The destruction of this world

The creation of the new heaven and earth

Even non-Christians seem to have a sense that we are headed toward the culmination of history. How many movies in the last 25 years have been post-apocalyptic, dystopian movies? Since the late 1990s we’ve seen movies like War of the Worlds, Hunger Games, 2012, Deep Impact, Armageddon. I’m not saying the creators of these movies believe Christian doctrine. I’m saying that human beings in general seem to have an increasing sense that things cannot continue inevitably as they now are.

And for non-believers, this realization, this sense that history is headed toward an end point, must be a very unsettling feeling. How will it all end, right? But for believers, it’s an opportunity to live with a new sense of purpose.

This is what Peter says. Look again at verse 7: “The end of all things is near.” That’s the reality. Now he tells us to live a certain way in light of that reality. “The end of all things is near” — and look at this — “therefore” — in other words, because the end of all things is near, live a certain way. How? “Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.”

When I was in college I was part of a Christian group my first year. And an older guy who was a student brought in a long piece of paper, like 10 feet long, and he had written down this detailed timeline about when every single event described in the book of Revelation would take place. His thing was that January 1, 2000 would be the day Christ returned. In 2010, there were billboards along I-40 announcing the return of Christ on May 18. Obviously neither of those took place.

The NT does not tell us when Jesus will return. The NT in fact discourages us from being preoccupied with end-times events in terms of where or when and how. What the NT does encourage us to do? Overwhelmingly the Bible emphasizes that because Jesus’ return is coming, we are to focus not on timelines or charts but on being a certain kind of person. “What sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,” Peter asks his readers in his second letter, “waiting for and hastening the coming day of God?” (2Pet. 3:11-12 ESV). Here Peter says the proper way to live in view of the imminend end of all things is to be sober-minded, self-controlled.

Be sober-minded, Peter says. Keep your head about you. Understand the time in which you’re living. Have a mature and godly understanding of current events. Apparently some Christians during this time were sort of doing nothing or doing anything they wanted. After all, they thought, if the return of Christ is imminent, and if I’m saved and forgiven, then I can live it up. No, Jesus says; No, the apostles say; be sober-minded, be self-controlled.

You can easily see why this would be important. Be self-controlled, Peter says. Be careful not to be found in open sin when Jesus returns. Discipline yourself to do the things that matter because the time is short. You can’t do this without self-control.

Imagine Great Britain in spring of 1940. The Nazis are marching west across Europe. From Chekoslavakia to Belgium to France, the German army has overtaken every nation they’ve invaded almost without breaking a sweat. Great Britain is next. If Great Britain falls, Europe falls. Can you imagine how trivial a lot of the things we focus on must seem when you’re in that situation? The citizens of Great Britian had to collect themselves, prepare themselves for hard times, muster their endurance, and push through.

What are the things you engage in that would suddenly seem trivial or even wrong if you were to learn that you have just a few weeks or days left?

What are the habits you indulge in that you would not want to be found doing when Christ returns?

Thinking this way is what it means to live in light of the end.

[Loving in light of the end (slide)]

Love one another deeply (NIV)

Keep fervent in your love for one another (NASB)

Maintain constant love for one another (NRSV)

So Peter instructs us to be sober-minded and self-controlled, and then he gives us three ways that being sober-minded and self-controlled look like. The first, he says, is “love one another earnestly.” Living a life of worship in light of the end of all things begins with love. As the end draws near, we might increasingly be tempted to take care of our own. Why be generous if resources are in short supply? Don’t fall into that line of thinking, Peter says. Our Christian responsibilities do not change as circumstances change. We are still called to love one another. And when he says “love one another”, he means love fellow belivers, fellow Christians, fellow church members. “One another” in the NT almost always refers to believers within the church caring for one another. We care about and love our neighbor, Christian or not; and we have a special care and consideration for our fellow believers.

And notice he says love one another earnestly. Why does he attach that descriptor to it? Here’s why, I think: Jesus describes this time in which we live. He warns us that love will be in short supply: “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt. 24:12 ESV). I would argue that we’re seeing this play out right now before our eyes as we increasingly see even Christians hiding behind their phones and computer screens and eviscerating each other on social media, and if that were not enough, it makes us feel like we are being bold and brave and courageous, when in fact we are cowards.

Jesus says our love for other believers will be essential to our witness. “By this all people will know that you are my disciples,” Jesus promised, ”if you have love for one another.” Too much is at stake for us to forfeit our witness in the world just so we can be “right.” We must keep our witness alive, and strive even harder to keep and nourish Christian love as it becomes harder to do so.

God expects that we love one another. Jesus said the command to love God and love one another sums up the whole law. Failure to love is a transgression of the law of God. We have not loved as He demands. We love ourselves rather than God, ourselves rather than one another. And we deserve God’s condemnation. Instead, Jesus stepped in and willingly paid the price for our sin, so that all who trust Him are forgiven and made into children of God.

What does it mean to live as worshipers in light of the end? What does it mean to be self-controlled and sober-minded as the end of all things draws nearer and nearer? It means to love one another earnestly.

But living as worshipers in light of the end involves not just loving one another earnestly, but welcoming one another sincerely.

Welcome One Another Sincerely

Living as worshipers in light of the end means we welcome one another sincerely.

Here we’re talking about hospitality. Look with me at verse 9: “Show hospitality to one another with grumbling.”

We’re talking about hospitality. Opening up your home. Meeting practical needs. Making your guests comfortable. Have you ever visited with someone who was really good at this? My parents are really good at this. My wife and I have been together since spring of 2004. I can honestly say that since the beginning of our relationship, all through our engagement, and in our marriage up to this point, my mom and dad have welcomed Shannon as their own.

That included things like 2am airport pick-ups, clean sheets and a comfortable bed. It has included things like long conversations between Shannon and my mom, who has welcomed Shannon as her own daughter from day one, unwaveringly. It sometimes included things like my dad taking Shannon in his truck to move Shannon’s biological mother from her home into a hotel when she was evicted. It has included things like opening up their home some of our friends from DC, who they did not know and had never met, to stay in their home the night of our wedding day before they drove back.

My parents have always loved and been there for me, and if I loved Shannon, that was good enough for them. They’ve gotten to know her on her own merits obviously and they love her for who she is. But the initial welcome of Shannon into their home was because she was special to me. And if she was special to me, she was also going to be special to them, no questions asked.

Point is this: who are we called to show hospitality to? Verse 9? “Show hospitality to one another.” Again, fellow believers; fellow Christians; perhaps especially, fellow church members. Of course we will serve our non-Christian neighbor. We will do all that we can for them. But it is undeniable that in the NT there is higher emphasis placed upon loving one another, serving one another, welcoming one another. That’s the who.

It also means, finally, to serve one another dependently.

Serve One Another Dependently

Living as worshipers in light of the end involves serving one another dependently. Look with me at verse 10: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

Note first with me that everyone is gifted. Every believer is gifted by the Holy Spirit with at least one spiritual gift. “Each has received a gift.”

Now indulge me a little bit as I go back about a year into Buffalo history.

Remember “all hands on deck”? If you were a sailor on board a ship back in the olden days, each day was divided up into three watches. This is how they divided their time. And as a crew member, you would be assigned to a watch. This is how they split up their work. So at any given time, it’s not the whole crew on duty; it’s only the division of the crew assigned to that particular watch. The rest of the crew, well they’re doing whatever sailors do when they’re not on duty. Resting, eating, hanging out, talking, playing cards, writing letters, reading letters.

But there would be times at sea when that one division of the crew wasn’t enough. These would be times when there was some kind of emergency. If you’re on a warship, maybe it’s time for a battle with the enemy. All Hands On Deck. Maybe there’s bad weather coming. All Hands On Deck. Maybe there’s some special task that requires all 100 soldiers, rather than just 25 or 30. All Hands On Deck.

[SLIDE]

All hands on deck, part 1

You are gifted to serve, so you CAN do it

You are necessary for the well-being of this church, so we NEED you

All Hands On Deck means we need everyone involved. We need everyone active in what we’re doing if we’re to actually accomplish what we’ve set out to do. All Hands On Deck means there’s a time to rest and enjoy spending your time your way, but that time is not now. All Hands On Deck means your time is not your own, not right now anyway. All Hands On Deck means we need you.

Now, remember this? Not only do we need you to serve. You can serve, because you are gifted. And if you are gifted, I need you. If I am gifted, you need me.

[SLIDE: breaking down verses 10-11]

Now, notice with me the reason of our being gifted. Our gifts are about God and others, not us. Reading on in verse 9: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another.”

That means it’s not about realizing our full potential. It’s about bringing honor to God. It’s not about my own skills and how I’ve worked to develop them. It’s a gift, something I did not create or earn.

Notice with me next the purpose of our giftedness: Our gifts spotlight the multifaceted grace of God. Going on in verse 10: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Our gifts spotlight the multifaceted grace of God.

Did you notice the word Peter used to describe the grace of God in verse 10? “God’s varied grace.” You could translate it “God’s multifaceted grace”, “God’s many-sided grace”, “God’s multidimensional grace”. Like a diamond, God has gifted our church with a tremendous variety of spiritual gifts, and each one of them throw the spotlight on one aspect of God’s inexhaustible greatness and grace. Because not only is there a tremendous variety of spiritual gfits; there are also as many varieites of gfits as there are people, because no two believers are the same, and each person exercise their gifts differently from the others, to different effects and goals. The way we use our gifts are intended by God to spotlight this many-sided diamond we call God’s grace.

You see, there are some of us for whom our serving is about making us look good. For some of us, our serving by using our spiritual gifts is about personal fulfillment, so that we don’t want to have to do anything in the church that isn’t along the lines of our giftedness, like serve in the nursery. For some of us, our serving is about getting attention.

For some of us, we serve because it makes other people dependent on us. We want to be the helper. We don’t want to be helped because that would mean we have needs and aren’t fully mature. For some of us, the use of our spiritual gifts is the way in which we’ve come to make ourselves feel better about ourselves. In other words, we want to use our spiritual gifts to spotlight our talent; but the purpose God has given us our gifts for is that we might throw the spotlight on His greatness, and particularly His grace.

What does it mean to live as worshipers in light of the end? What does it mean to be self-controlled and sober-minded as the end of all things draws nearer and nearer? It means to love one another earnestly; it means to welcome one another sincerely; and it means to serve one another dependently.

This is what it means to live as worshipers in light of the end.

But there’s one aspect of this we haven’t examined yet. We are called to serve one another dependently. Why that word dependently? Why not serve one another faithfully or diligently or sacrificially? All those things are true. But the word dependently underscores these four truths. Are you ready? 1) We are expected to do all of these things; 2) we cannot do these things on our own; 3) God will forgive our failure; and 4) He will give us strength to do all of these things if we depend on Him.

We saw this in verse 10: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God” - in other words, if you’re spiritual gift involves teaching, prophecy, preaching, counseling, instructing, encouraging, do so with a sense of reverence and sobermindedness; it is his words you speak. Take it seriously. Think before you speak. Ask yourself: what if these people or this person actually ends up doing what I say they should do with this problem or that situation?

Then he says this in the second part of verse 10: “Whoever serves, as one who serves” - and here it is - “as one who serves with the strength that God provides.”

Friends, serving is an act of worship. Being a greeter is an at of worship. Serving on the security team is an act of worship. Serving as a deacon is an act of worship. Serving in the nursery or teaching children or doing landscaping or teaching SMBS — all of those things can be all an act of worship if you have the right mentality.

But those same tasks that can sometimes feel so insigifnificant can become the most significant and meaningful things you have ever done, because you are serving God’s people in God’s way with a gift God has given you, and you’re doing it all in dependence on Him to give you what you need to.

Man, that highlights God’s greatness and glory and grace.

This is not just true at church. How do you spend your day?

Ladies, do you work a job? Are you a stay at home mom? Both of these roles are sacred if you do them in dependence on God.

Are you disabled? Sick? Are you not able to go and do like you used to?

I know that is discouraging beyond measure. And yet, everything you do at home from getting up and getting dressed to scrounging something to eat that won’t take a lot of effort — all of that is sacred, it’s an act of worship, if you do it with God’s glory in mind and with His strength energizing you.

Are you a caregiver? Is it your spouse or your child or grandchild or sister or brother or parents? Oh, my friends, God sees you. He sees the work that you do. It is precious to Him. It is an act of worship. You are caring intimately for someone not only who is loved by you, but who is loved by God, who is made in His image, for whom Christ died.

What does it mean to live as worshipers in light of the end? What does it mean to be self-controlled and sober-minded as the end of all things draws nearer and nearer? It means to love one another earnestly. It means to welcome one another sincerely. And it means to serve one another dependently.

What about hospitality? Can showing hospitality be an act of worship? Can welcoming one another in the name of Jesus be an act of worship?

Welcome one another sincerely.

It can be an act of worship. Show hospitality to one another, Peter says, without grumbling. Without grumbling. Did you catch that? “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

This means to show hospitality sincerely. Love one another fervently meant love one another with affection, with your emotions engaged. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling means welcome one another with affection. We cannot do this without God’s help. We cannot do this apart from dependence upon God.

Now look, all of us have seen the phone ring and read the caller ID, and we see that it’s someone we know is going to ask a little something of us. And we wonder, “Do I want to get into this now?” There’s that moment of uncertainty - do I accept the call or do I send it to voicemail? We’ve all done that, myself included.

We want to keep becoming the kind of people who answer the call. We cannot do this apart from dependence upon God.

There may be timers when you have to “fake it till you make it”, right? In those times we just do what we know needs to be done, and we trust God to forgive our inconsistency; He will. And we trust that eventually He’ll honor our obedience by giving us the feelings, the “want to”. He will. He is good, He is forgiving, He is for us, He is committed to finish making us into the kind of people who want to do the things He calls us to do. And He will get us there. But we cannot do it apart from Him, which makes it an act of worship.

What about loving one another? Can that be an act of worship?

Love one another fervently

And note that he says “love one another earnest, love one another fervently.” This is not just willpower. This is not just a raw act of the will to do good to someone you can’t stand. Earnestly, fervently — those are words that describe emotion. We are to love one another with our minds and our hearts and not just our hands, we are called to love one another with genuine affection. This we cannot do apart from dependence on God. And that makes loving one another with affection an act of worship.

Conclusion and call for response

All of creation exists to worship and glorify God. Every entity in this universe obeys the word of God, even down to the roll of the dice, even down to how far the waves are allowed to roll up onto the shore. That is the purpose of every created thing. Verse 11: “so that in everything God may ber glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Human beings alone, you and I alone, have failed to give God the worship and obedience to Him. That is a debt we owe to God, and we defaulted on the debt.

This is what the Bible means when it says that we have all gone astray, the Bible says. It’s not just that we’ve committed sins; it is that we have robbed God of the glory and honor that is His alone, and worse yet, we have tried to put ourselves in His place, we have tried to usurp the glory and honor of God for ourselves. God is holy and must punish sin, the Bible says. We deserve death and hell and condemnation, the Bible says.

But here’s comes Jesus, who was cast out of the presence of God in our place, who bore our sin in our place, so that we might be ushered in to the presence of God. And we deserve God’s condemnation. Instead, Jesus stepped in and willingly paid the price for our sin, so that all who trust Him are forgiven and made into children of God.

And so, in Christ the same God who has the right to condemn us to hell has forgiven us, welcomed us, served us, and He promises eternal life to us. It’s not automatic. You must make a conscious decision to rest your hope for forgiveness and eternal life on Him alone. You must make a conscious decision to commit your life to Him for better or for worse. “If anyone would come after me,” Jesus said, “let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Luke 9:23 ESV). All who call upon the name of the Lord, no matter what they have done, will be saved.

What does it mean to live as worshipers in light of the end? What does it mean to be self-controlled and sober-minded as the end of all things draws nearer and nearer? It means to love one another earnestly. It means to welcome one another sincerely. And it means to serve one another dependently.

How can we do any of that that apart from dependence on God? How can we do any of that without an awareness of God’s love for us? We must turn to God for help. He alone can teach us and enable us to love and welcome and serve with affection as an act of worship. How will He teach us that? He will teach us what love is by introducing us to His Son. In Jesus, we are loved by the Father. In Jesus, we discover the same love we are called to give to others. And we will be enabled to love one another fervently, welcome one another sincerely, serve one another dependently.

“So near so very near to God, I cannot nearer be. For in the person of his Son, I am as near as He. So dear, so very dear to God, More dear I cannot be. The love wherewith He loves the Son, Such is his love to me.” [Quoted in Sanders, The Deep Things of God, p169]