SERMON TITLE: Serve: Faithful To The End
TEXT: 1 Peter 4:7-11 Sermon (ESV)
SPEAKER: Robert Tansill
DATE: 08-08/09-20
You can watch this sermon here.
Good morning, Gateway! I'm Robert Tansill, and it is great to be with you this morning. I also want to send greetings to the North Main Campus, and to those watching online. Josh reminds us every Sunday that God loves you! And there are no sweeter words than these because when we hear them, we are reminded of the sacrifice that was made on our behalf by a loving and gracious God who gave His Son Jesus to die for our sins. And because of that, we now have eternal life, which we accept by faith alone. This is the gospel!
And yet, we weren’t saved just so that we can live however we want. We were saved for a purpose. And what is that purpose? That’s the question we are going to answer this morning. And to do so, I want to begin by asking you to use your imagination for a minute as I describe a scenario to you. I know that this might be really hard to imagine. But try.
Imagine that you live in a place where life as you know it has been turned completely upside down. Where nothing seems normal anymore. All your routines have been disrupted, leaving you having to make each day up as you go. Also, life feels a lot more uncertain than it ever has before. Everything that you used to do now feels potentially “dangerous”; going to the grocery store, going on vacation to the beach, and even hanging out with family and friends. At times, it’s enough to make you not even want to leave the house at all. People seem to be agitated so you need to be more careful what you say and do, or it could cause trouble for you and your family. What does all this mean for you as a Christian? And how does all this impact your faith in God, and what He has called you to do?
In 1 Peter, we find a similar situation to the one I just described. Here’s how the ESV records Peter’s opening words in 1 Peter 1:1 as he begins his letter, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,”
For those Peter is writing to, they are “elect exiles of the Dispersion”. Or as the New American Standard Bible puts it, those “who reside as aliens scattered”. That’s what the word “Dispersion” means. Scattered. Why are they scattered? Because they were being persecuted for their faith when they were in Rome as a result of Nero’s accusation against Christians that they were the cause for the great fire that destroyed much of that city. And because of this, they fled Rome to start a new life all over again in the midst of a chaotic and uncertain world. So, what does Peter tell them to do? Well, essentially he calls them to remain faithful until the Lord returns. And how are they supposed to do that? Turn with me to our passage, which is found in 1 Peter 4, as we look at verses 7-11 together. This is the Word of the Lord.
In 1 Peter 4:7-11, Peter writes, "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.”
As Peter is writing to this group of “scattered believers”, there are three things that he wants them to do as they anticipate the return of Jesus. And the first thing he says could be summed up this way...
Point 1: Being Faithful To The End…
calls us to be intentional (v. 7)
Look again at what Peter says in verse 7, “The end of all things is at hand.” What does he mean by that? Well, since the resurrection of Jesus, we have been given the promise that He is going to come back to judge the world, and to create a new heaven and new earth for those who have placed their trust in Him alone for their salvation. And even though we don’t know when Jesus is going to return, we are called to live with the mindset that it could be at any moment. And that is what Peter has in mind when he says that, “The end of all things is at hand.” Here is how the translation called, The Message, puts it, “Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up.”
Folks, let me ask you a question. If you were fully convinced that, “Everything in the world was about to be wrapped up”, would you do anything differently than you are doing now? How would you prepare for Christ’s return? Listen to what Peter tells us to do, “therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded.” Why does he say that? Because, as believers, we are supposed to be living with intentionality and purpose. That’s why we have been redeemed! We weren’t saved so that we would live for ourselves. We were saved so that we would live focused on the Lord, and what He is doing in our midst to expand His kingdom. And yet, that is hard to do at times.
If you are like me, one of the hardest things to avoid is being impacted by current events. As you know, there is a lot going on in our world right now. And for some, it’s enough to make you feel scared, angry, anxious, depressed, or to even question whether God is really in control. And that is why Peter says what he does to his original audience, and to us. He doesn’t want us to be carried away by fear over what is going on around us. Rather, he wants us to do a couple of things. He wants us to think rightly about the situation we are in, and to be in control of our thinking so that we don’t respond irrationally to what is going on around us. In fact, as one commentator put it, “By using self-controlled and sober-minded together it has in mind the idea, “of being in complete control of oneself, resulting in calmness, sobriety, self-control, sensibleness, and steadiness.” (UBS Handbook of the New Testament)
And why should we pursue being self-controlled and sober-minded? Look at the end of verse 7. Peter simply says, “for the sake of your prayers.” What I believe Peter is saying is that, if you want to pray effectively then you need to be focused on the Lord and His Kingdom, which takes self-control. But you also need “think rightly” by remembering that He is sovereignly in control of all things, even the chaos of life. When those two pieces are not in place then it can become difficult to pray because we forget the larger purpose, being God’s Kingdom, and who is really in control, being God Himself. But when we remember those two things then we can pray with confidence as we anticipate His return. And to do that, we must be intentional.
But, that’s not all. There is a second thing Peter wants us to keep in mind as we strive to be faithful to the end, which we see in verses 8-11, and which can be summed up this way…
Point 2: Being Faithful To The End...
calls us to act (vv. 8-11a)
For Peter, writing to a group of people who have been “scattered” in a strange land, and to us as well, he says that in order to be faithful to the end, we are called to do three things. And what I want you to notice about these three things is that there is a progression as they each build off of the other, with the third thing being what is stressed the most. Also, these three things are so important that Peter uses the phrase in the ESV, “Above all…”, to stress the importance, which the New Living Translation interprets with the phrase, “Most important of all…”. So, what are these three things that we are called to act on as we strive to be faithful until the return of Jesus.
First, Peter tells us that we are to, “love each other earnestly”. As many of us have experienced, when someone is under stress they can begin to focus on themselves, and forget about those around them. For Peter’s original audience, they were just trying to survive while continuing to be persecuted for their faith. And because of this, there wasn’t much love going around as each looked out for their own interests. And it’s true in our day as well for believers and unbelievers alike.
Look at the news or jump on Facebook and see what people are saying. Can you feel the love? I can’t! And, honestly, I would expect that from the world. But what shocks me is that this also applies to those who are followers of Christ. In fact, I was going to define for you what “love” means here in our passage. But I don’t need to because we all know what it means, and even what it looks like. That is one of the things that makes the Christian faith unique. We know how love is defined because, not only have we seen it displayed by God giving His Son, but we have also experienced it firsthand by having our sins forgiven and having His Holy Spirit invade our hearts. So, the question is not, “Do we know what love is?”. Rather, the question is, “Are we putting it into practice?”
For Peter, because of what God has done for us in Christ, and because of the Holy Spirit who enables us, we don’t have any excuse to not show love. In fact, the text itself makes it clear that this isn’t just a one-time thing, but rather an ongoing act that we have to intentionally pursue. That’s what he means when he uses the word, “earnestly”. It literally means, “to persevere in an unwavering display of interest or devotion; to strain after; to be constant”. This is the love that God has for us, and this is the love he expects us to show to others.
And this is why Peter says at the end of verse 8, “since love covers a multitude of sins.” By that he means, as one scholar wrote, “We don’t go around looking for faults in others, but we do go around seeking to think the best of others. We don’t spend our time lingering over the past flaws of others. We always stand ready to forgive one another. After all, the end is near, and we are going to live with our brothers and sisters for eternity!” (Juan R. Sanchez, 1 Peter For You)
Folks, love is the fuel of our faith! It is what drives us. It’s rooted in God’s love given to us that is displayed in Christ’s sacrifice for us. It is something we possess because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, and it is meant to be shown by us to others. As theologian, Francis Schaeffer said, "It is possible to be a Christian without showing the mark of love. But if we expect non-Christians to know that we are Christians, we must show the mark." (Francis Schaeffer, The Mark of The Christian) So, Christian, are you making your mark? Or to say it another way, tampering with the lyrics of an old Christian song, “Will they know we are Christians by our love?”
But that is just the beginning. The second thing Peter tells us to act on as we strive to be faithful until Christ’s return is seen in verse 9 where he says, “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” Fueled by love, Peter is telling us to take a special interest in people that we don’t know. It could be a neighbor, a co-worker, someone you don’t know at church, or even someone you just got into a friendly conversation with that you just met. In fact, the word that Peter uses here for “hospitality“ is a combination of two words which are “philos”, meaning “to show a special interest in someone”, and “zenos”, meaning “stranger, or foreigner”.
To Peter’s original audience, he is basically saying to them that, even though they are being persecuted for their faith, “Continue to display God’s love as you wait for his return by opening your home up to strangers. Invite someone you don’t know into your house so they can experience the gospel firsthand.” That sounds great, doesn’t it! Who wouldn’t want to open up their home so that someone you don’t know can come in and sit at your table, eat your food, and even sleep in your bed? Who wouldn’t want to do it? Most of us!
And that’s why Peter has to add the phrase, “without grumbling”. What that phrase literally means is, “the utterance made in a low tone of voice that expresses discontentment or displeasure.” It is the sound I used to make on my way home after a hard day of work when I lived in New England, and my wife would call to say, “Honey, the So-in-So’s called and were in the neighborhood so I just invited them to join us for dinner. I hope that is alright.” And why do we respond that way? Because, as one commentator said so succinctly, “Practicing hospitality is often a demanding, irritating, and tiring task.” (UBS Translator’s Handbook) And it can be...if we are only thinking about ourselves. But it doesn’t have to be.
From Peter’s point of view, showing hospitality is more than just letting someone crash at your house, or making them a meal. It takes self-control and sober-mindedness by remembering that what is most important is God’s Kingdom, and not our comfort. And it’s an act that is fueled by love; the same love that God showed us.
And this is why we show hospitality to believers and unbelievers alike. It is an act reflecting the love that God has shown us. As author Rosaria Butterfield says in her book, “The Gospel Comes With a House Key”, “Radically ordinary hospitality is this: using your Christian home in a daily way that seeks to make strangers neighbors, and neighbors family of God.” (Rosaria Butterfield, The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World) This is how the love of God can impact us and others if we let it.
But there’s still one final thing Peter wants us to do as we anticipate the return of Christ. And we see it in verses 10 and 11, which I think is best interpreted from the New Living Translation, where it says this, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. 11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.”
In an almost paradoxical way, Peter calls the reader to do something that we might not be expecting which is this; to serve. Whether it’s believers who are being persecuted for their faith, “in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia” , or believers in Findlay, Ohio, in the middle of a Coronavirus, Peter tells us to continue to serve one another as we anticipate the return of Jesus. And this begs the question. How? How do we serve one another in the midst of a pandemic?
Looking again at verse 10 in the ESV, Peter writes, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Folks, if you are a Christian then not only has God given you the gift of salvation, but He’s also given you another gift, which is a spiritual gift. In fact, the word Peter uses here, which is the word, “charisma”, literally means, “gift of grace, or gracious gift.” This gift, that is specifically given to you by God’s grace and which the Holy Spirit works through you, is meant to be used for the benefit of the body of Christ. And every believer has one.
In fact, when I first became a Christian when I was in high school, one of the things that impacted me the most was realizing that we all have a part to play in the body. That was a new thought for me as a kid who had always gone to church. Up to that point, I thought that my only role was to show up for worship with my parents, attend Sunday School, and go to youth group when I felt like it; which wasn’t that often. Why did I think that way? Because that’s what everybody else did, except for a few “special folks” known as the “twenty-percenters”. These “twenty-percenters” were the ones who really kept the church running. They taught Sunday school, kept track of the finances, and provided meals for the sick. They did it all.
But you know what? As important a role as they played in the church, it wasn’t what God intended for that church, or any church. What God wants is for every believer to use the gift that he has graciously given them to serve for the benefit of others. When I realized this, it completely changed how I viewed the church. No longer did the church seem like a stagnant entity that I thought would eventually shrivel up and die, but an organism that is alive with purpose and intentionality as it carries out its God-given role to impact the lives of those inside and outside of the church as it awaits the return of Jesus. Made up of people who have been redeemed by the blood of the risen Christ, and fueled by the undeserved love that their Creator has shown them, they take the gift that God has given them, and use it wisely, “as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”
So, the question is, “Do you know the ‘gift of grace’ that God has given you? And if so, are you using it?” If you don’t know what your gift is, find out. Spend some time praying, and asking God to show you what it is, and how he wants you to use it in His church. Or go to the Gateway website, and take the “Spiritual Gifts Assessment”. It’s free! Once you have taken it, look at the top three gifts that stick out to you, and see what opportunities there are in the church to put those gifts into practice. There are numerous opportunities in this body for you to use your gifts. And we want you to partner with us in fulfilling what God has called us to. There is work that God has called us to do, and if we all participate together then the load that each person carries becomes lighter and easier. Plus, we are fulfilling one of the values of our church which is, “to serve the people in our church family”. This is who we are. People who have been redeemed, and called to serve by using their God-given gifts in His strength. As Peter says in verse 11 in the New Living Translation, “Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.”
Do you have the gift of teaching? Talk to me about teaching a short-term class. We need teachers. So, does Kidway. Do you have the gift of leadership? We need leaders for our Life Groups. Some of our leaders who have been leading for years are weary, and need a break. And if you have the gift of leadership, let Ed Grable, Scott Miller, or Kristi St. Amour know because we desperately need you. Do you have the gift of service, and are looking for a place to use it? There are plenty of opportunities available to use your gift. If you play an instrument and want to use that gift to serve the church, talk to Shaun Meloy. We especially need drummers and bass players. In fact, the need is so great that some of our staff are learning how to play just so they can help fill the gap. If you have limited time and availability, but have the gift of service, talk to Jon McKanna over at North Main who is always looking for ways to reach out to the community. Or talk to Cody Ohnmeiss, our “Go” director, who is looking for ways to partner with local ministries to help those in need in Findlay and beyond.
Folks, the point is this, if you are a Christian, then Peter tells us that God has given you a gift to be used by His grace and in His strength. And in doing so, you are fulfilling the role that God has called you to when He saved you. I know we are in the middle of a pandemic. I know it seems impossible for some to serve with all that’s going on. And I definitely don’t want you to go against your conscience. But do me a favor. Ask God how he would like for you to serve. Just ask Him. He may bring something to mind that you aren’t even expecting. One woman I know of in this church makes greeting cards for me to send to some of you in the church. Another woman makes cheese cakes that contribute to my weight gain! Each is serving in a unique way for the benefit of the body...literally.
How are you going to contribute to the call that God has placed on you as a believer for the benefit of this body? I can’t answer that question for you. But you are going to have to answer that for yourself. My prayer for you is that you would be intentional by keeping in mind the fact that Jesus is coming back at any moment as, “the end of all things is at hand.” And because of that, driven by the love of God that fuels your faith, you will choose to use the gift He has given you, in whatever capacity God has called you too, to serve the stranger and believer alike until He returns. Whether it is greeting someone at the door as they enter Gateway for worship, to going on a mission trip to Cuba, the call is the same. We have been redeemed by God and endowed with His Spirit to serve so that His Kingdom would continue to grow.
But there is an even greater reason to serve which we see in Peter’s words at the end of verse 11, and which we could sum up this way…
Point 3: Being Faithful To The End...
has God’s glory in mind (v. 11b)
Look again at Peter’s final words in verses 11 where he says this, "in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” Folks, from a biblical perspective, this is not only why we are called to serve, but why we even exist. Our whole purpose in life is to bring glory to God. And keeping in mind the context of our passage, it’s also why we show love and hospitality. We do all of this so that God would be glorified.
So, this begs the question. In what way are you serving that brings praise and honor to God? This isn’t one of those, “Oh, here comes the pastor trying to push us into serving” questions. This is God’s Word telling us all, me included, what we are called to do as we anticipate the return of Christ. This is how God has chosen to glorify Himself. And this is why the phrase, “through Jesus Christ” is so significant.
Of the fourteen times that this phrase is used in the New Testament, five of those times it has a direct link to the “glory of God” (cf., Rom. 16:27; Phil. 1:11; Heb. 13:21; 1 Pet. 4:11; Jude 1:25). And that is the point. God could choose to glorify himself any way He wants, even by having stones cry out in praise, as Jesus said to the Pharisees in Luke 19:40. But he doesn’t. Instead, one of the primary ways that God is glorified is through His people; people who have been purchased by the blood of Christ, have had their sins forgiven, stand in His righteousness, are filled with His Spirit, have His kingdom first and foremost on their minds, and serve for His glory.
Folks, we are called to model our Savior and Lord who said, “But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matt. 20:26-28; NLT) Just as Jesus glorified God through His life of servanthood, we are called to do the same. This is why we have been redeemed; “in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”
So, Christian, what are you going to do? You have everything you need. You have been redeemed, you have been made righteous, you have been given His Spirit, you have been given His gifts of grace, and you have even been given His strength and His energy. What else do you need to serve for His Kingdom and His glory? Please, I appeal to you as, “Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up”. If you haven’t yet made a commitment to do so, join with us in the call that God has given, not just Gateway, but His church in general, to serve. For in doing so, God will be most glorified. For to him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Father, as we leave this place, I pray that we would not leave without at least being confronted by the truth of what You have called us to; to bring glory to your Name by serving others by your grace and in your strength. Thank you for giving us everything we need in order to serve. Help us to find our place in this body using the gifts that You have given to us. For this is why we have been redeemed; to give glory to our God. To you alone, Father, belongs all the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.” - Eph. 3:20-21; NLT
You can find the notes for this sermon here.
Stories, news, and resources for things happening at Gateway Church.
