Be Fervent in your Love!
Prayer
Open with prayer … 1 Ki 4:29
As God gave to Solomon …
(wisdom, great discernment, breadth of mind)
Introduction
We will be looking at 1 Pet 4:1-11 …
1Pet 4:1-2
Jews- believed suffering was a great purifier.
Suffering tends to distract our focus from the many frivolous things we allow to occupy our lives.
It helps us to focus on what is really important, which hopefully is God and His Kingdom- doing His will
End of Chp 3- Peter is talking about water baptism.
Water baptism is a picture of …
-identifying w/Christ in His suffering/death, -
-being buried in a watery tomb, and
-then being resurrected into newness of life.
The end result being a life no longer lived for ourselves, but for God and His Kingdom.
1 Pet 4:3-5
All men will give- account to God for how they lived.
The time will come when- treasures that are eternal will be more important than- pleasures of this life.
We must adjust our perspective this side of the grave.
Eph 5:15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
We might ask ourselves this question …
Do the things we are involved in and the way we use/expend our time, have value and purpose?
Time-limited (valuable) commodity we are expending
Take time to judge- how are we expending our time?
2Ti 2:20-21
20 In a wealthy home there are dishes made of gold and silver as well as some made from wood and clay. The expensive dishes are used for guests, and the cheap ones are used in the kitchen or to put garbage in. 21 If you stay away from sin you will be like one of these dishes made of purest gold-the very best in the house-so that Christ himself can use you for his highest purposes. TLB
We can choose what type of vessel we want to be.
1 Pet 4:6
Bible- clear- all have sinned/fall short of God’s glory.
Bible- says-because of sin, death entered the world …
-death is a penalty for sin
-it is a form of God’s judgment
Jesus Christ has come to take away the sting of death and give us eternal life (1 Cor 15:56).
1 Pet 4:7
The end of all things is near
There is no doubt- we are living in the end-times.
The second coming- may be just around the corner.
1 Jn 3:3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
However, for each of us, regardless of when Christ is going to return, the end is near …
Heb 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
When we compare our life span against- thousands of years of human history- the end is of time is near.
Each of us needs to be examining how we are living our lives now, because the days are short.
Sound judgment …
-to be in your right mind, (wrong mind?)
-to have understanding about practical matters of life so you can live/act sensibly.
To live sensibly is to live w/our senses tuned to God-not so consumed w/life that- cannot hear His voice
Sober …
-to abstain from wine,
-to be free from the influence of intoxicants, therefore able to be watchful/aware.
Alcoholic- lives in major self-deception/gratification.
Like an alcoholic, we often engage in self-deception and justify the way we live our lives …
-I have worked all day, I am tired, I deserve to be able to sit back, relax, watch TV
-I have a right to be angry, bitter, unforgiving because of what someone did to me
We justify a lack of sobriety so we do not have to face life on God’s terms.
For the purpose of prayer
Purpose of having sound judgment/being sober- is so we can pray and hear God’s voice for our lives.
Do not allow- river life-sweep you along in its current and later look back/regret- having wasted your life.
Live your life with intent and purpose …
Eragon- young man- thrown in an adventure where he is suddenly thrust into a prominent role in his nation. At first he is living purely for himself/own personal desires. Even in his pursuit of those who killed his uncle, he is following his own purposes/desires.
As he faces difficulty, suffering, and loss, he begins to get a larger understanding of life. He shifts from living for himself to living for a greater purpose- for the sake of his people. He accepts that he been chosen as a dragon Rider to fight against the evil empire. As with Eragon, we have been chosen by God for purposes larger than our own small world/desires.
We are to be a Kingdom people, understanding there is an evil Kingdom determined to destroy us. As with Eragon- we start our walk w/God self-focused. Hopefully through the pain/suffering of life, we acquire a deeper understanding of life and why we were created and begin to live for God’s purposes and not just our own.
Look at what Peter feels- important at- end of time …
1 Pet 4:8
Keep fervent in you love for one another
Love- agape- self-sacrificing, give my life for others.
Fervent- to be strained or stretched,
When we are strained and stretched it causes us to focus on the situation we are in.
We are to focus our lives on loving others.
Being fervent- not passive, it speaks of action.
Love covers a multitude of sin
It is not always easy to love people.
Sandy Hancock- God asked her, on a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being bad/10 being good, where would you place Hitler? 1! Then He asked her, where would you place me? 10! Now, where would you place yourself? Compared to God, close to 1.
The longer we are Christians, the more we should be aware of our sin and how far we fall short.
We are only able to love others to the degree we understand how much God loves us/forgiven us.
Covering sin is not ignoring someone’s sin.
It is looking beyond the sin and …
-seeing the person God created and
-the great purpose God has for that person.
As we love others it covers them with God’s love and enables them to step free of their sin.
1 Pet 4:9
Hospitable- fond of guests, love of strangers.
We are to be hospitable w/o being begrudging about it. Hospitality, right now, almost seems optional.
As the days grow more difficult, we may be forced into living in much closer quarters w/one another.
As difficulties increase, individual needs will increase
We may need to show hospitality because some of us have and some of us do not have.
God may provide for you so you can help others.
Heb 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. NASU
As the days grow closer to the end, it is not a good idea to hoard, but instead- to learn to be generous.
Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment.
What are you doing with what God has given us?
1 Pet 4:10-11
Gift- charisma- spiritual endowment, miraculous faculty, something given to us by God.
Serving- to wait at a table- be a waiter/server.
By God’s grace He has freely given every believer a gift for the purpose of serving others.
The gifts are our tools for building God’s Kingdom.
We must learn to use our gifts for the sake of others.
Steward- overseer of another’s possessions.
Are we living our lives w/an eternal purpose?
Are we good stewards of what God has given to us?
Conclusion
We cannot exercise the gifts God has given to us in our own strength.
We need to be …
-connected to God, the source of divine grace
-to one another for encouragement/support.
Exercise …
-write down at least one gift God has given you.
-how can you bless the person in front of you with that gift?
-are you being a good steward of your gift or have you buried it in the ground?
(parable of the talents- Mtt 25)
-testimonies of the gift you see in someone else here/how they have used it to bless others
Be Fervent in your Love!
Write down at least one spiritual gift that you believe God has given to you:
How can you bless the person sitting in front of you with the gift(s) God has given to you:
Are you being a good steward of the gift(s) God has given you or have you buried them in the ground:
If you have not been a good steward of what God has given you, how can you use your gift to bless others:
Questions for Further Study
Be Fervent in your Love!
1. How do we identify with the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ? What does it mean to be baptized into His death?
(1 Pet 4:1-2, Rom 6:1-7)
2. If to be sober is to be free of all intoxicants, how do we as Christians walk in sobriety?
(1 Pet 4:7, 1 Pet 5:8)
3. How does love cover a multitude of sins? What has to happen in me before I can love others with a Christ like love?
(1 Pet 4:8, Pro 10:12)
4. What gifts has God given you and how can you use them to benefit the Body of Christ? The world?
(1 Pet 4:10, Rom 12:6-8, 1 Cor 12:4-11)
