Are You Ready To Meet Jesus?

Being Ready

1 Peter 4:7-11

Online Sermon: http://www.mckeesfamily.com/?page_id=3567

“What a person believes about the future determines how they will live today.”

Douglas Moo

How does one respond to the statement that the end of the world is coming when Christ will judge both the living and the dead (2 Timothy 4:1)? For most this statement has little affect on how they live their lives for they don’t believe in Jesus and His judgement but instead believe that by making the right choices the world will get better and will someday “arrive at the Celestial City of our Optimistic Dreams!” While we Christians believe the day of the Lord will come quickly and the “heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bear” (2 Peter 3:10), are we truly living our lives in light of this truth? While countless predictions of the end of the world ought not throw us into a “eschatological frenzy” neither should we be like the pagans nor view the “divine end of history” as irrelevant. Even though God’s judgement is far from popular to discuss amongst today’s Christians this does not change the truth that the lamb who was slain is not only worthy open the scroll of seven seals of judgment upon this world (Revelation 5) but will also hold His own accountable for the things done in the body both good and bad (2 Corinthians 5:10)! Instead of being “weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life,” should not our final salvation and imminent judgement stimulate our faith and desire to glorify Jesus Christ in all that we think, say or do? If we are to be found faithful upon Christ’s return Peter states, we are to not see our time, talents, and treasures as mere things we take ownership of but instead as gifts from our gracious Father who expects us to take every opportunity to please He who bought us at the price of His very life (1 Corinthians 6:20)! “We are not just born to die” but also are to have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10)! The following sermon is going to encourage you to be good stewards of everything God has loaned you can be accomplished by heeding Peter’s “exhortations that we fill our lives with prayer, love, hospitality, and the exercise of our spiritual gifts!”

The End is Near

When Peter states the “end of all things is near” he means that on the day of the second coming of Christ “all human history will come to an end, the earth together with everything in it, will pass away, and Jesus Christ will rule as the victorious and triumphant king (compare 1:5, 6; 4:13, 17; 5:1, 10)!” Since all the major events of God’s redemptive plan such as “creation, fall, the calling of Abraham, the exodus from Egypt, the kingdom of Israel, the exile in Babylon and the return, the birth of Christ, His life, death and resurrection, His ascension into heaven, and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit to establish the church, have already happened;” many Christians have been trying to prove current events are signs that time is about to end! While it is certainly true that the Day of the Lord is drawing near (1 Corinthians 7:29; Hebrews 10:25), since no one knows the day or hour (Matthew 24:36) the only way to be found ready is to live with the assurance of one’s salvation and that of divine judgement! Sadly, living amongst this self-absorbed, me generation that shuns accountability and deifies the myth that through better methods, techniques, therapy, self-development, and science the world will hit a utopia grander than that of the Garden of Eden; too few Christians believe in an epoch of time will come in which Christ will pour out his wrath upon this world and judge His own! In today’s passage Peter tries to convince the exiles of the Dispersion to reflect on the end times not with the goal to paralyze them with fear but to motive them to live holy lives so that they might be found faithful upon Christ’s return. Since the end is inevitable and unpredictable, Peter implored the exiles to be alert and sober minded so that they might pray, love each other deeply, offer hospitality, and be good stewards so that they might become living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2) with the goal that God might be praised through Jesus Christ in all they think, say, or do!

Alert and Sober Minded to Pray

“Thinking that the end of history is at the door and the Judge is about to enter through it ought to energize and focus one’s prayers” on asking for and receiving power from God to become holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:16). To no longer be weighed down with the worries and pleasures of this world that is not our home, one must seek “complete control of oneself” so that in “calmness, sobriety, sensibleness, and steadiness” one might be able to clearly make one’s requests to God without anxiety (Philippians 4:6-7). To accomplish this, we must not allow our thoughts, words, and deeds merely happen but instead strive with all our being to only follow in the footsteps of our Redeemer (1 John 2:6)! To watch and pray so that we will not fall into temptation (Matthew 26:41) is not an easy task because we often forget our possessions here on this earth are on loan from God and as such are not meant to absorb our attention for in doing so it “can ruin prayer-life and spiritual relationship, both with God and with fellow Christians!” Peter told the exiles and is telling us today that life is full of complicated choices that need Spirit led and filled prayers not only to find the right path but also to obtain the divine strength needed to throw off the pressures to conform to the patterns of this world to embrace what is right in His sight! Remembering Jesus is about to return and He the perfect Judge will evaluate every choice one has ever made in life is a powerful motivator … for whom amongst does not want to hear the words “good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23)?