1 Peter 4:7

But the end of all things is at hand; therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers. Above all things, have a fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Father, as we turn now to Your word, we pray that You would open our hearts and our minds to receive from You by Your Spirit, Your word, which is living and powerful and able to transform. I pray that we would be transformed in some measurable way by the work of Your word and Your Spirit, that we would be able to more adequately and fully shine brightly as lights glorifying You. Wherever we find ourselves this week—on a school campus, in an office building, on a construction site, in our neighborhood—wherever we are, God, use us to display the glory of Your Son. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those who agreed said, Amen. You can be seated.

Well, the end of all things is at hand. This is just what many Christians want to talk about, isn't it? They love the discussion about the end times. There always seems to be someone who has something to say about the end of all things. However, you will find that the longer you are here with us at Cross Connection Church, we really only talk about this topic—the end of all things, the end times—when we come to it in the Scriptures, when we encounter a passage in the Bible that speaks about it.

That said, it needs to be understood that the Bible teaches and assumes an end of all things. It's important to understand that because not all faiths, not all beliefs, and not all worldviews hold this perspective.

There is an end to all things, and the Scriptures promote that concept. Not only do the Scriptures speak of the end of all things, but they also purport to know the nature of that end through what is called prophetic or apocalyptic literature, including apocalyptic Bible passages. The end of all things is not seen as a total mystery where the Scriptures are concerned.

That said, there are many aspects of the end of all things that remain mysterious, both in the Scriptures and in our understanding. If you ever meet someone who claims to know and understand all things related to the end times, they are either, number one, arrogant; number two, deluded; or number three, selling something. Often, there is something to be sold in relation to this whole topic of the end times.

We know that the matters surrounding the last things are mysterious because Jesus Himself told us they would be. In Acts chapter one, just before Jesus ascended into heaven, His disciples asked Him, "Will you now at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has placed under His care." This statement, made by Jesus to His disciples on the Mount of Olives 2,000 years ago, acknowledges that there are indeed mysterious aspects about the last times.

With that being the case, point number one on your sermon guide is that the Bible presumes an end to all things. While we acknowledge that there is mystery surrounding the future and the end of all things, we must recognize that there are things we can know and should know about the end. In fact, there is a lot we can learn about the last things because the Bible speaks extensively on this topic in prophetic and apocalyptic literature.

However, I want to let you know that we will not spend a ton of time discussing the end of all things today. Instead, we will consider five things that we in the Protestant church generally agree on regarding the end of all things. Unfortunately, after these five points, the church often splits into divergent paths concerning their views on the end times. Nevertheless, as we delve into this topic, there are at least five things we can affirm from the Scriptures, and I believe we can mostly agree upon them both within our church and with others.

Many other Christian churches in our day and time share similar beliefs. The first thing we can see from the scriptures is that there is an end of all things as we currently know them. It's important to recognize that this is the case. When you study the prophetic literature in the Bible that speaks about the end times, you will find that the end of all things is not the end of everything. It is the end of things as we know them, and this end is also the beginning of new things.

This is heartening and encouraging. Though there is an end spoken of, many people can become anxious or fearful about the end that will one day come. Even though we don't know when that end will be, we need to understand that it marks the end of one thing and the beginning of a new thing. The Bible describes a new heaven and a new earth, a place where righteousness will reign, where Christ will be in bodily form, and we will be there with Him.

So, the end of all things signifies the end of things as we know them, but it also heralds the beginning of new things, where there is no illness, no death, and every tear will be wiped away. When I read those passages in the Bible, a smile comes to my face because I am looking forward to that. The end of all things is the end of all broken things. We live in a broken world, and we should be looking forward to and championing the idea, the concept, the truth that there is a coming day when all broken things will be made right by our Lord.

If you talk to most Protestant Christians, you will find that we agree that the end of all things here is the end of those things as we currently know them. Secondly, as we study through the scriptures, we find that God knows when the end of all things will be, and He knows exactly how He will wrap things up. This too is encouraging to me. God knows when the end will be. Jesus said to His disciples that the days, times, or seasons are not for them to know, but that His Father in heaven knows when those things are.

This means that God will not be taken by surprise. He will not be surprised by strange political events happening in the United States in the 21st century. He won't be surprised by it.

Though you might get frustrated or freaked out by it, He’s not surprised. We need to always remind ourselves and remind other brothers and sisters who believe in Jesus that God is still on the throne, and these things don't take Him by surprise, though they may surprise us. This should give us great peace and hope. The end of all things is the beginning of new things. God knows how He will end things and when He will end things.

Thirdly, we who are followers of Jesus, Christians, are to live with an expectancy of the end of all things. We are to look forward to the end of all things because it is the beginning of new things. We should look forward with expectancy and not dread. A lot of times, when I talk to believers who find themselves reading books on the end times, they are filled more with fear than hope, more with dread than faith. When you read from the Scriptures, that is not the way these things were ever spoken.

In fact, Jesus, when He spoke of the end of all things, said to His disciples, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions, many dwelling places. Were it not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also." That passage is in John 14.

Now listen, in the discussion of the end of all things, it will be a dread if you don't get John 14:1, which says, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me." You should be rightly filled with dread when it comes to the end of all things if you do not believe in Jesus. However, if you have faith and trust in Christ, then you don't have to be troubled by the end of all things because we have the sure word of promise from Him: "I will go and prepare a place for you. And if I go, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

The Apostle Paul, when he spoke about the end of all things in Titus chapter two, said that we are looking forward to this great, glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. He also said in First Thessalonians chapters four and five, which speak about the end of all things, that he bookends that whole discussion with these words: "Comfort one another with these words." You see, the end of all things should be a comfort to us because we know that the end is the end of all the things as we have known them.

We know that our God has a plan that He is bringing about. Therefore, we don't have to live with dread, but with expectancy, looking forward to the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

One of the other things that we agree upon is that Jesus will one day return to the earth as He left it. This will commence the end of all things as we know them and the beginning of new things. All Bible-believing Christians have, for the last 2,000 years, believed in the bodily second coming of Jesus Christ. Just as He bodily rose from the dead and bodily ascended into heaven, He will likewise come again.

On the very day that Jesus ascended into heaven, it is recorded in the Book of Acts, chapter one, that His disciples were with Him in a place called the Mount of Olives, just outside of Jerusalem. He was taken up from them; He ascended into heaven, and the clouds received Him from their sight. They could no longer see Him, and they stood gazing up into heaven, amazed by what they had witnessed.

As they stood there, we read in Acts chapter one that two men in white apparel, probably angels, stood with them and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

We should not be filled with dread, but with anticipation of the end of all things. God has planned when this end will come and how He will wrap things up. This will not take God by surprise. Jesus will one day return to this earth. He said, "I will go and prepare a place for you, but I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."

The church agrees on this point: Jesus will one day return to the earth in the same way that He left and will begin new things.

The fifth thing that we agree upon is that the last days is a heading that the Bible places over the entire period of time between the ascension of Jesus to heaven and His return from heaven. The last days serve as a title, a banner placed over this entire period of time, which has lasted for 2,000 years so far.

The author of the Book of Hebrews writes in Hebrews chapter one, verse one, "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to our fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom He also made the world." You see, 2,000 years ago, the author of the Book of Hebrews said we were living in the last days. Paul, 2,000 years ago, could say with sincerity and conviction that he was living in the last days, just like we in the 21st century can say with sincerity and conviction that we are living in the last days. This entire period, from the ascension to the return, is the last times, the last days.

Now, you may be one who says, "Well, I think we're living in the last of the last of the last of the last of the last days." That's all well and good, but at least admit that you don't entirely know that to be the case. God has a plan. Jesus said we don't know exactly what that plan is, but He has a plan, and we can trust His plan.

Unfortunately, that is about the point where the church divides on the discussion of end times, or what we refer to as eschatology, which is merely the study of the last things. Sadly, from this point on, many people subdivide within the church into all kinds of different views or opinions on how the end times will come about and what exactly will take place. They look at all these obscure and apocalyptic prophetic passages like Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Revelation. It is oftentimes very confusing. I know that it's confusing because I myself have been confused by them. I also know that you're confused by them because I get your emails, or you come and talk to me and say, "Listen, Pastor, I've been looking at this passage in Revelation chapter 17, and I don't have a clue what it means."

I say, "Join the club." Like every other person who's been studying these things, we may speculate, but we need to have enough humility to admit that what we think we know is mere speculation. It might be good educated guesses; it might be built on biblical theology, but it's still speculation.

Here's the truth we need to hold onto when it comes to the discussion of eschatology: what you are absolutely certain about in times may be wrong. The only certainty is that Jesus will come back one day; He promised that He would.

A discussion with a friend at church or work who also believes in the Bible can lead to differences of opinion. You might be pre-millennial, while they might be all-millennial or post-millennial. You could be pre-tribulational, and they might be mid-tribulational or post-tribulational. At this point, you might be wondering what in the world this all means. God bless you, because there is a sense in this whole discussion where ignorance is bliss.

Here's the awesome thing: you may have a friend who says they are absolutely certain about how things will unfold. When the second coming happens, you might be able to say they were wrong, but they might equally say you had something backwards, and that's okay. Here’s the truth we stand upon: Jesus ascended into heaven 2,000 years ago, and He promised He would come again. We are looking forward to the blessed and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Most of the discussion surrounding what is called eschatology falls into a category of teaching doctrine known as non-essential doctrine. There is essential doctrine and there is non-essential doctrine. Now, saying that something is non-essential doesn't mean it's not important. Just like oil in your car is essential, the air conditioner is important but not essential. The topic of eschatology is important, but it is not essential.

So, what are essential doctrines? Essential doctrines are those beliefs that are crucial as they relate to salvation. They are necessary for salvation. What would those be? The deity of Christ, the incarnation, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, and the return of Jesus. These are essential doctrinal truths, the things that we largely agree upon within the church.

Then there are non-essential matters, such as pre-millennial, post-millennial, all-millennial, pre-tribulational, mid-tribulational, post-tribulational, and pan-tribulational views. It’s okay if you don’t know all of that. You can dig into it, and some people have even earned a PhD in it, but understand that you must hold these views with humility and grace. There are other people who are equally Christian and God-loving, yet they hold different views on the tribulation, and that is perfectly fine.

This last week, I had coffee with a good friend of mine who is a pastor down in Poway.

I have been friends with him for many years, and he knows that I hold a different view—a pre-millennial view on the second coming of Christ. He holds an all-millennial view on the second coming of Christ. That's perfectly fine; we have no problem with that. Sometimes we've joked with each other about it and challenged each other's views. But at the end of the day, we have no problem getting coffee together and having a good time talking and praying with each other. And that's the way it should be. We should not kill each other over these things.

Let me tell you, study church history. It's happened. And so, though we hold a pre-millennial view here at Cross Connection, you're not going to find that we spend a ton of time talking about it. Why? Because we're committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and that's essential. One of my concerns regarding the discussion of eschatology, the end times, is that oftentimes Christians, and pastors in particular, are guilty of spending too much time observing and interpreting these things and not enough time applying them.

What do I mean? Well, if you ever take a class called Inductive Bible Study, which we have taught from time to time in our school of discipleship here, you will learn that studying the Bible involves taking the Scriptures, observing what's there, interpreting what it means, and applying it to our lives. Observation, interpretation, and application.

To illustrate this, consider the following scenario: you turn on the news to see what the weather report is for tomorrow, and the weatherman says there's a huge high-pressure or low-pressure system moving into San Diego County. Although our weathermen are about 90% wrong in San Diego, they say there's a huge low-pressure system moving in. That's the observation. We can see it right here; it's moving in from the northwest. With this huge low-pressure system comes the interpretation: rain.

So, the observation is low pressure, the interpretation is rain, and the application is to leave 45 minutes early tomorrow morning because the 15 is going to be terrible. It's simply that: observation, interpretation, application. A lot of times, we can be seduced into spending hours, weeks, months, and even years observing and interpreting obscure and veiled metaphor passages of apocalyptic literature without ever moving to the point of application.

But notice what Peter does here in 1 Peter 4:7. He says, "But the end of all things is at hand; therefore..." Would you underline that word "therefore" in your Bible? Notice what Peter does not do.

He does not say the end of all things is at hand. Let me spend six chapters explaining what I mean by the end of all things is at hand. Most certainly, you could probably spend a whole bunch of time explaining what is meant by the end of all things being here. However, notice that Peter assumes his readers fully agree with this truth and concept. We are living in the last days, and the end of all things will one day come. He assumes that every one of his readers is on the same page with him regarding this idea and concept of the end of all things, and he doesn't explain any of it. Even though some readers might wonder what in the world that means, he jumps immediately into application.

He says, since the end of all things is at hand, this is how you should live. If you believe that Jesus died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and that one day He will return, that should change the way you live. Too often, I, as well as many others, have been sucked into this place of spending tons of time on the end of all things being at hand and never moving to the "therefore." How shall we then live? Listen, if today you believe in Jesus and trust that one day He will come back, then it should change the way you live.

How so? Well, the end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers. Point number two on your outline: the second coming of Christ should awaken our hearts to prayer. The second coming of Christ should awaken our hearts to prayer.

Now, notice for just a moment the adjectives and descriptives that Peter uses for the activity of prayer. He says, if you believe that the second coming will one day happen, then the New Living Translation says to be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. The New International Version says to be alert and sober of mind in the way that you pray. The English Standard Version says to be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. The HCSB says to be serious and disciplined for your prayer.

Look at all those descriptives: discipline, serious, alert, earnest, sober, and self-controlled, all describing the activity of prayer.

Now let me ask the tough and difficult question: Does that describe your prayer life? In all honesty, if I examine my prayer life, oftentimes it's more haphazard, casual, and unintentional. It doesn't tend to be the way that Peter describes it.

Here's the heavy challenge: My belief that the second coming of Jesus is actually true can be measured by the seriousness of my prayer. I can say all day long, "Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming. Jesus is coming." But if it doesn't influence, in some way, the way that I passionately and seriously pray and seek Jesus, do I really believe that He's coming?

Not only our prayer lives, but notice what Peter says in verse eight. If I believe in the second coming, then I should pray seriously. Secondly, above all things, have fervent love for one another. Point number three: The second coming of Christ should motivate greater love for others. The words here, "have fervent love for one another," could also be translated as "take great care to love others deeply and earnestly."

Why? Notice this in verse eight: "Above all things, have a fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins." Peter is reaching back to the Old Testament, about 3,000 years ago. He's referencing King Solomon, who wrote in Proverbs chapter 10, verse 12, "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins."

Now, the word that Peter used here for love in the original Greek is the word "agape." It's a word that is described by the Apostle Paul in First Corinthians chapter 13. If you're in the book of First Peter, turn to the left. You'll pass a whole bunch of little books like First and Second Thessalonians, Colossians, Philippians, and Ephesians. You'll come to Second Corinthians. Keep going to First Corinthians chapter 13. First Corinthians chapter 13 is the description of this kind of love.

Peter says we are to love others fervently. Paul writes in First Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 4, "Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. It does not parade itself. It is not puffed up. It does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."

Now, does that describe the way you love people? Never irritated, never rude, never provoked, never thinking evil? That is projecting upon someone else some sort of ill motive or ill intent. Is that the kind of love with which we love others? Absolutely. One hundred percent, all the time. I can say that because my wife's not here this morning. That's challenging.

Listen, if you're a follower of Jesus today and you believe that Jesus will one day return, then in light of eternity and His coming, which could be soon, we are to live with expectancy that it might be soon. This should influence us to have this kind of love for other people. Above all things, we should have this kind of love for others. Why? Because this kind of love covers a multitude of sins.

You see, we overlook the failings and the sins of those we love, especially our kids. The amazing thing is that because we love our children so much, we can almost be blind to their failings, to the point of disagreeing with people when they point out very clear things that are wrong. We might say, "Oh no, no, no. You just don't understand him. You just don't get him," because we overlook it.

Here, Peter says to have a fervent love for one another within the body of Christ because love will cover a multitude of sins. Now, I know at this point you're saying, "Well, wait a minute. At what point do we hold them accountable? Should we just gloss over their sins? At what point do we hold these people accountable for their failings?" That's a good question.

Here's the simple thing about what it means to cover a multitude of sins. It doesn't mean that we don't hold people accountable to grow, to change, and to become more Christ-like, but it does mean that we don't hold their failings against them. There may be a minor difference, but it's an important difference.

Covering a multitude of sins is not about not holding people accountable. It’s not about saying, "Because you did this, because you did that, because you've said that, because you've thought that, I will never trust you again." No, love covers a multitude of sins. It does challenge people to grow, but it doesn't mean holding them at arm's length. Every one of us is guilty of that.

Here, Peter says, "Listen, if you really believe that Jesus is going to come back someday, and He could come back at any time, any day, and there's nothing hindering Him from coming back, then at the top of everything, above all things, have a fervent love for one another, because love will cover a multitude of sins."

Look around the room. Do me a quick favor and just look around. The person sitting next to you? Sinner. Now, when you get done here today, find a mirror, look in the mirror, and say, "Sinner." I don’t know about you, but I need some people to lovingly cover a multitude of sins in my life. I fail. I feel like I fail every day, like fifty times before breakfast. We need this covering nature of love.

Proverbs 17:9 says, "He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats the matter separates friends." What does that mean? It’s when someone who is trying to connect with you hears you say, "No, no, no, because you did this and you did this, and you said this, I could never be your friend again." Jesus said, "If your brother sins against you seven times, you should forgive him." He went even further, saying, "Seventy times seven."

Now, I know there’s some astute person out there with a ledger book, counting up to 479, thinking, "We're getting close to that 490th, and then I'm going to let you have it." That’s not what Jesus meant. Love covers a multitude of sins. How many sins has the love of Christ covered in your life? It’s challenging.

So, if you believe in and trust that Jesus will one day come, then His second coming should awaken your hearts to prayer. His second coming should motivate greater love for others. Next, we find in verse nine that Jesus says His second coming should motivate greater love for others.

Peter says to be hospitable to one another without grumbling. Point number four: the reality of the second coming should encourage sincere hospitality. This is actually one of the truly lost expressions of sacrificial love in our culture today. We are not known as Americans in 21st-century culture to be a very hospitable people. In fact, we are very individualistic and tend to close ourselves off from others. This is a reality of American culture, especially here in Southern California.

I was talking with a group of pastors recently, and they mentioned how, 50 years ago, many pastors would make home visits to the people in their congregation or go door to door to share the gospel. We don't see that as much today because people have closed themselves off from such interactions. Generally, we are skeptical of any sort of religious person coming to our door. We live in a rather non-hospitable culture, but this is one of the values of the Scriptures. It is also one of the values that we seek to promote as a church. This is why we have our connect groups.

Unfortunately, at this point, we only have about a quarter of our church involved in a connect group. That means that many of you, most of you, are not involved in a connect group. However, connect groups are a place for hospitality. They are not merely home Bible studies; they are home groups for hospitality, fellowship, and prayer. We want to encourage and promote hospitality.

Notice that Peter says we need to be hospitable without grumbling. The phrase "without grumbling" is significant. The original word can be defined as being without secret debate, without secret displeasure, and not openly avowed. What does that mean? It happens like this: you meet someone at church, and you start to talk with them, wearing your Sunday smile because you are supposed to. As you converse, they say, "Hey, we should get together sometime." You respond, "Yeah, that's great," while internally thinking, "I don't want to get together with you."

You might say, "Let's plan something. How about next Friday?" You agree, "Oh yeah, let's do next Friday. Seven o'clock at your house?" You respond, "Oh yeah, that's great," while secretly wishing they wouldn't come to your house. Then, all week long, from Sunday to Friday, you find yourself thinking, "Oh, how can we get out of this?"

Oh, they're coming to our house. Oh my goodness, I don't want them here. They're going to eat my food, and they're going to be in my house. They're going to mess everything up. And then, ding dong. Hi, welcome! I'm so glad you're here. I hope they don't stay long. Be hospitable without grumbling.

I'm going to go a little further with this, but I believe it to be true. I'm absolutely convinced you will not know and experience the abundant life that Jesus came to give us until you live life in connection with others through genuine hospitality. So, if you're not involved in one of our connect groups, you're missing it. You're not experiencing the abundant life. Yes, it makes us vulnerable. Yes, it takes us out of our comfort zone, but that's exactly what God wants to do because we never grow in our comfort zone. We never experience true growth.

The Lord wants to bring us into this place of growing more and more like Him. He calls us to a new kind of life, a life that is filled with real, genuine, sincere hospitality. If you'd like to be a part of a connect group and you're not, just come talk to us at the connection point after the service. We'd love to plug you in.

In light of eternity, Peter continues in verse 10. He says this: "As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Point number five: The reality of the second coming demands faithful stewardship. This is a faithful stewardship of the gifts that God has given to you.

Now, at this point, there are some of you saying, "Well, I don't have any gifts." No, you do. You see, if you believe in Jesus today, the Scriptures make very clear that God has saved you and placed His Holy Spirit inside of you. You are indwelt by the Spirit of God. As one who is indwelt by the Spirit of God, the Spirit has given you, every one of you who are believers in Jesus, gifts. You say, "Well, no, I don't have any of those." No, you do. I promise you. Notice Peter says here, "As each one has received a gift," and it's not just Peter, but the Apostle Paul in the largest passage of Scripture on spiritual gifts in First...

In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, it says in verse seven that the manifestation of the Spirit, which is the gifting of the Spirit, is given to each one. Every one of us has been gifted by God. You may wonder, what are these gifts? There are many of them, some of which are listed in passages of Scripture like 1 Corinthians 12. These include the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, discerning of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues, among many others.

In fact, did you realize that hospitality is a gift given by God? Some of you possess this gift, yet you may not be using it. Notice what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:7: "But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all." What does that mean? It means that God has gifted you, and if you are a follower of Jesus, He expects you to use that gift for Him and for His kingdom, for the building up of His body.

Here’s the heavy reality: one day, when Jesus returns at the Second Coming, we will give an account to Him for how we have used our gifts. We will account for how we used our time, our talents, our treasure, and all the things He entrusted to us. He speaks of this in what is called the Parable of the Talents, where a master had three servants. He gave one servant five talents, a measure of money; to another servant, he gave two; and to the third servant, he gave one. After a period of time, the master returned and settled accounts with his servants.

The one to whom he had given five talents had multiplied it to ten. The one who had received two had multiplied it to four. However, the one who had received one talent had hidden it and did not use it at all. The two who had multiplied their gifts were given great blessings, but the other one faced great judgment.

So listen, God has gifted you. If you say, "I don't know what my gifts are," come talk to me or one of the other pastors. We would love to pray with you and ask the Lord to direct you and reveal your gifts, or perhaps even provide you with some tools to help you discover them.

But here’s the thing: if you have a gift and you’re not using it, you are being a bad steward of the grace of God. You can fix this, and you should fix this because there will be a day of accounting. God wants to use you to bless others within the body with the gifts He has given you. Yes, it will take breaking out of your comfort zone. Yes, He might call you to do something you have never done before. You may need to leave the seat you always sit in, not park in the parking space you always use, and perhaps even skip the donut you usually get when you come to church. You might consider staying for another service and helping as an usher.

As a greeter in children's ministry or when we do an outreach project, it might be uncomfortable. However, here's the thing: if you believe in Jesus and that He is coming again, it should compel you to serve Him. The end of all things here is the beginning of new things in eternity. Jesus said that he who is faithful over the little things here will be given greater authority and responsibility there.

What does that mean? I don't know all the ins and outs, but I do know this: the work doesn't stop when the end of all things comes here. As each one has received a gift, we are called to minister to one another. How? Look at the next verse, verse 11. If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as the ability which God has supplied, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Here's what Peter is saying: using the gifts that God has given to you—your time, your talents, your treasure—is continuing the ministry of God here. While Jesus is seated in heaven at the right hand of the throne of God, He is working in and through His church, and we are serving Him in His stead while He is in eternity. One day, He will return. Therefore, if anyone speaks the word of God, like I am doing right now, they are speaking as with the words of God. If anyone serves and ministers to the people of God, they are serving and ministering as God Himself is reaching out through them, empowering them to do that.

When we engage in these works, although they may be simple, we are actually doing the work of God in His place. We are not doing it by our own might or power, but by His Spirit. We are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything is being of ourselves; our sufficiency comes from Him. He enables us to be servants in His kingdom.

So, what is the purpose? What is the end game of all this service that He calls us to do on His behalf? Peter says it is that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. In anticipation of the second coming, we should live for the glory of God.

If we really believe that this life is just the pregame show to all that God has prepared in the next, then we should live for that life and for the glory of God, not necessarily for this life. Jesus said it like this: "Store not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and a thief may come in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in eternity, in the bank of eternal securities, if you will, where moth and rust will not destroy and the thief will not come in and steal."

Why? Because where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. For the person who believes and trusts that the second coming is real and that it will one day happen, when all turmoil occurs in this world—when Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump are your only choices—when all turmoil comes in this life, you will not be destroyed to the core. Why? Because your treasure is not here. One day, He is coming with the treasure.

So, God help us to pray fervently. God help us to love greatly and fervently. God help us to reach out hospitably. God help us to steward faithfully, and God help us to live for Your glory. Amen.

Let's stand and pray. God, would You help us? We all need Your help because in our own strength, we are feeble and weak to do the things You call us to do. So, Lord, enable us by Your power this week to be faithful stewards, to be serious prayers, to be loving and hospitable, and to glorify You wherever You take us. That they, the world, would see our good works and glorify You, our Father in heaven. Lord, work in us, we pray. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all those who are agreed say, "Amen." Amen.