7The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. ⁸Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. ⁹Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. ¹⁰Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. ¹¹If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:7-11 –NIV)

In today’s passage we are again being given instruction on how to very practically live our lives as God’s elect.

Just before this passage, Peter told us that God is ready to judge the living and the dead. Jesus is the judge. We know that Jesus will come back and will judge the living and the dead. He will judge those that heap abuse on us who live for the will of God because we don’t ‘plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation’ that they do. (1 Pet. 4:2-4) (Peter says that we did those same things at one time too—but no longer. Peter has also told us earlier that we should ‘live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse [us] of doing wrong, they may see [our] good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.’ (1 Pet. 2:12)  Now, guided by the Holy Spirit, Peter is reminding us that the judgment can come at any time. (And, by the way, even if you don’t believe that Jesus will come back soon—within our lifetime—you are going to die—and it’s appointed for men once to die, and after that, judgment  That was the King James version. Let me quote all of it from the NIV:

²⁷Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:27-28 – NIV)

The end of all things is near, but there is salvation through Jesus Christ!

“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” (verse 7) First of all, the reason we need to be clear minded and self-controlled is so that we can pray. God hears the prayers of those who are obedient and do his will. Peter says in chapter 3 verse 7, “Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” Also, quoting from David in chapter 3 verse 12, Peter says, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” And James says, concerning prayers for healing, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:12) How do you become a ‘righteous man’ (or woman)? You ask God to forgive your sins and then go and sin no more. God hears the prayers of those who are obedient and do his will. And the will of God is this: for us to trust him—to believe in his Son, Jesus, who gave his life for our sins. Everything else we do, every other command of God that we obey, follows from that.

“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.” To be clear minded and self-controlled—literally, to think rationally and not as one who is drunk—requires you to give careful consideration to everything you do. Do you make decisions based on whims or feelings, or by careful reasoning in consideration of the word of God and with prayer? Consider everything you do very carefully. Be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.

Verse 8 says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” This is the key verse. The very nature of God is love. Listen while I read 1 John 4:7, 8: “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

God is love. To love is to be like God. Loving others does not cancel sin. Only the blood of Jesus can do that! But when Peter says that love covers over a multitude of sins, he is telling us that it hides them. The lexicons say that the word translated covers over means to conceal, to cover over or to hide.

Earlier in his letter Peter told us that the way we live our lives as Christians is a testimony about God to unbelievers. I have already mentioned one place today, chapter 2 verse 12: “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” Now Peter is telling us that if we love each other deeply, that is what people will see, rather than our sins. They will see Christ through us. If we don’t love each other deeply, then they will see our sins.

Verse 9 is an example of loving each other: “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” I think that ‘without grumbling’ means not just without grumbling outwardly, but without grumbling in your heart also. Offering hospitality may require some sacrifice, but what Jesus did for us required the ultimate sacrifice of the universe—and he did it without grumbling. Where does it say that he did it without grumbling? Well, Isaiah 53:7 says, “...as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” But even if we did not have that scripture, I know that Jesus did not grumble because grumbling is a sin against God and Jesus was without sin. Do you grumble? Grumbling is complaining against God. The apostle Paul says, “We should not test the Lord, as some of them (the Israelites) did—and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.” (1 Cor. 10:9,10)

Let me tell you about the Israelites (and this is a digression, but I want to talk about it anyway). You know the Israelites were slaves in Egypt. (This happened 1500 years before Jesus was on this earth as a man.) The Israelites were severely oppressed by the Egyptians. They were given more work that they were able to do. All the male babies were ordered to be killed because the Egyptians were afraid the Israelites would grow so great in numbers that they would be able to overpower them. Then God rescued the Israelites from the Egyptians. He sent all the plagues—the ten plagues. After the first nine plagues, Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt would not let the Israelites go. Then there was the last plague. The last plague was the plague of the firstborn. All the firstborn male Egyptians died—even the firstborn of the animals died. But the firstborn of the Israelites did not die. They were protected by the blood of the sacrificial lamb painted around their door frames. When the death angel saw the blood painted around their door frames, he passed over the Israelites. After the plague of the first-born, Pharaoh, let the Israelites go and Moses led them out into the desert toward the land that God was going to give them.

Now, you would think after seeing God’s mighty power to rescue them, the Israelites would have trusted God to save them in any circumstances. But the first time they ran into trouble, they grumbled! Pharaoh had changed his mind and decided he shouldn’t have let the Israelites go. (Actually, it says that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart so that he could show the Egyptians that he was the Lord through Pharaoh and his army.)  Pharaoh pursued the Israelites with his army and they were backed up against the Red Sea with no place to go.

What should they do in such a situation? Should they trust God to rescue them? After all, this is the God who delivered them from Egypt with ten miraculous plagues that practically destroyed Egypt. What do you suppose they did? Listen while I read Exodus 14:10-12”

8The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” ⁹So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived. (Numbers 21:4-8 –NIV)

Jesus spoke of this incident, too, incidentally. He said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” (John 3:14, 15)

The reason I spent so much time talking about the Israelites’ complaining is because it’s a topic that is, so to speak, close to my own heart. I’ve had the same problem—the same sin—for a long time. I complain about what the government is doing, about the ads on the radio and TV and about my personal circumstances (not being able to get anything done). I really believe that complaining about circumstances is complaining against the Lord, who is sovereign over all circumstances. But, I believe that it’s a serious sin. I pray about it every day, but still complain.

However, a year and a few months ago, I sent an e-mail to around 50 people. It was a “Mooma update” e-mail reporting on Mooma’s health. In it, I also asked people to pray for me to be rid of complaining.  Then, for two or three days, even though I was still tempted, I overcame complaining pretty easily. After that, for quite a while, although it was a struggle, I was able to go for days at a time without complaining. Now, I feel that the day that I don’t at least complain about something is rare. However, Mooma says that I am complaining very much less than I did before. (I guess I was really bad.) But the point I really want to make is that we must not think that we should fight spiritual battles alone. We must ask for prayer and we must pray for each other. This is what God wants and this is what is essential!

And, by the way, I should point out that there are two kinds of complaining. There is grumbling and there are legitimate complaints. One test you can make to tell the difference is to ask yourself whether you believe the person you are complaining to is both willing and able to do something about your situation. If you complain without expecting the person you are complaining to to do anything about your situation, that’s grumbling—and it’s a sin against God. If you complain only in your mind, that’s definitely grumbling. If you bring your complaint to God, believing he will listen to you and that he is able to do something about it, that’s not grumbling, it’s prayer. It’s all a matter of the attitude of your heart.

Well, that was a long tangent, but Peter says, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” So, let’s offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. That’s one way we can show love.

Verse 10 in today’s passage says, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” Our ability to love and serve each other comes from God. It is his gift to us. He has given different gifts to different people so that no one person is indispensable. He has purposely designed it so that we need each other. God makes that clear all through the Bible, but especially in the New Testament. I think we tend to tune that fact out because of our culture of individualism. However, the gift you have received is not for your own benefit, but for the benefit of others. It is God’s grace to them through you, so use it faithfully in serving them. Remember especially to pray for others. And not just for their health, but for their faith—that they may “trust and obey and be happy in Jesus,” as the hymn says.

Verse 11a says, “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.” This is really a strong saying. Where the NIV says ‘the very words of God,’ some translators say ‘the oracles of God.’  The Old Testament prophets spoke the oracles of God. Can we somehow speak the way the Old Testament prophets spoke? God said that if someone claimed to be a prophet and he said something would happen and it didn’t—or, even if what he said actually did happen, but he was advocating other gods—he must be put to death. How can we speak as speaking the very words of God?

I’ve heard that the Jewish scribes that copied the Old Testament Scriptures would go through a very elaborate procedure to prepare themselves both ceremonially and practically before they would begin to copy Scripture. To prepare the message that I’m now delivering, I just sat down and started to do it. But I did do one thing. I prayed. But still, I realize that my attitude has not been to ‘speak as one speaking the very words of God.’  I think that God is telling us, through Peter, that we have to be extremely careful to not misrepresent God in any way by what we say. And I think that this doesn’t just apply to preaching and teaching, but to all that we say. How do you talk about God, or about his creation, or about his creatures—your bothers and sisters in Christ—or about anything else? Do you speak as one speaking the very words of God? Think very carefully about everything you say.

The rest of verse 11 says, “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” Our objective must be for God to be praised through Jesus. That’s Peter’s objective. Is it your objective too? Peter says to use the strength God provides. The fact is you don’t have strength to serve others. God provides the strength. But it’s your decision whether or not you use the strength God provides. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Let’s pray for God to put it in our hearts to use the gifts he has given us, as well as our whole lives, to love and serve others so that he may be praised and glorified through Jesus Christ. Amen. (And also, not to complain, but to trust in the Lord in every circumstance.)

Let’s pray for each other as well as for the whole church. Come and encourage your brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Love them.

[Prayer]