There has been a lot of talk about the end of the world lately. Harold Camping is still predicting the end of the world on October 21, 2011, even though his predictions about the rapture of the church did not come true on May 21, 2011. Others are saying that the end of the world will come on December 21, 2012, when the ancient Mayan calendar runs out.
Now, most of us file these predictions in the garbage bin of our minds, and well we should, because Jesus said, “No one knows about that day or hour” (Matthew 24:36), but what if the end of the world should really come in the near future?
Paul Thigpen, in the book Holy Hilarity, describes how the news media would announce it. Sports Illustrated: “Game's Over!” Ladies' Home Journal: “Lose 10 Pounds by Judgment Day with Our New Armageddon Diet!” Inc. Magazine: “Ten Ways You Can Profit from the Apocalypse.” CNN: “World Ends; Women and Children Most Affected.” AOL: “System Temporarily Down. Try [Again] in 15 Minutes.” (Paul Thigpen, quoted in Holy Hilarity: Inspirational Wit and Cartoons by Cal and Rose Samra, Waterbrook Press, 1999, p. 15; www.PreachingToday.com)
Let me tell you: when the end of the world actually does come, there is no “try again.” So how do we prepare for the end, which the Bible says could happen at any time? At the very least, how do we prepare for the end of our lives, which for many of us could come much sooner than we think?
Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 1 Peter 4, 1 Peter 4, where the Bible tells us how to end well.
1 Peter 4:7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. (NIV)
Now, with all the persecution and suffering going on among the original readers of these words, the end of all things seemed very near. At the very least, many of them personally did not have long to live, because Nero was killing a lot of Christians in those days.
So Peter gives them and us some very practical advice on how to end our time on this earth well. This is the Bible: some Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth, and that basic instruction clearly says, “Don’t lose your head.” When you think the end is near, don’t go crazy. Instead…
BE SENSIBLE AND SOBER so you can pray intelligently.
“Be clear minded and self-controlled,” vs.7 says. The word for “clear-minded” is used in Romans 12 where it says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment” – i.e., with a clear. As the end approaches, the end of our lives or the end of the world, we must be careful not to overestimate or underestimate our own importance.
(illus.) As an eight-year-old boy growing up in Hawaii, Brian Clay dreamed of winning one of the most prized gold medals in the Olympic Games – the decathlon, which he did at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
In the decathlon, athletes earn points for their marks in ten events over two days. With a commanding lead going into the last event, the 1,500-meter run, Clay could have just coasted to the finish line and still earned the gold medal, but Clay was not one to coast. Afterwards, reporters asked him when he knew he had the decathlon wrapped up, and Clay responded, “In the last race when I was about 10 feet away from the finish line – that's when I knew I'd won.”
You see, Clay didn’t take anything for granted. He said, “I'd worked, trained, and competed for eight years to be able to … have the gold [medal] hanging around my neck. And if there was anything those eight years of competition had taught me it was that in competing against the best in the world in ten grueling events, anything can go wrong before you cross the finish line.” (Dennis Rainey, Stepping Up, Family Life: 2011, p. 180; www.PreachingToday.com)
Brian Clay was sensible and sober in the way he approached the end of the decathlon, and it’s the way we need to be as we approach the end of our time on this earth. We take nothing for granted. Instead, we do everything we can, in dependence upon God, to finish strong and to finish well.
The question is: How do we do that? How do we finish strong and finish well? Well, the answer is found in the following verses. Look at verse 8.
1 Peter 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. (NIV)
If we’re going to finish well, then more than anything else, we must…
LOVE DEEPLY.
We must give of ourselves sacrificially. We must make the effort to demonstrate compassion for one another.
The word for “deeply” in verse 8 literally means “stretched out,” and it was used in Bible days to describe the taut muscles of an athlete who strains to win a race. That’s the way we’re to love each other – not just when it’s easy, but also when we have to put forth some effort, especially towards those who sin against us.
Verse 8 quotes Proverbs 10:12 where it says, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.” You see, when we retaliate, or when we tell our friends how someone has wronged us, that only stirs up dissension. But that’s not the way love behaves. No!
If we truly love people, we will seek reconciliation with the person that has wronged us. We don’t go telling others about his or her sins. Instead, we address it directly with the one who has sinned.
Now, that’s going to take some effort, but it is always well worth the effort especially as we come to the end of our lives. We don’t want to leave this earth with any broken relationships if we can help it.
A grandmother, who was celebrating her golden wedding anniversary, shared the secret of her long and happy marriage. “On my wedding day,” she said, “I decided to make a list of ten of my husband's faults which, for the sake of our marriage, I would overlook.”
A guest asked the woman what some of the faults were that she had chosen to overlook. The grandmother replied, “To tell you the truth, my dear, I never did get around to listing them. But whenever my husband did something that made me hopping mad, I would say to myself, Lucky for him that's one of the ten!” (Leadership, Vol. 11, no. 2; www.PreachingToday.com)
In our relationships, we can choose to overlook a lot of wrongs, but if the wrongs are too great to overlook, then with God’s help, we can deal with them; we can address the issues between us and work them out.
If we want to finish well, then we must love deeply. That means we must pursue reconciliation in our broken relationships.
It also means we must reach out to strangers. Look at verse 9.
1 Peter 4:9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. (NIV)
The idea of “offering hospitality” literally means being friendly to strangers. In Peter’s day, hospitality was especially welcomed by believers who were forced out of their homes because of persecution, and that’s still part of what God calls us to do for each other today whether or not any of us are experiencing persecution.
In his book, Outlive Your Life, Max Lucado writes: “Long before the church had pulpits and baptisteries, she had kitchens and dinner tables. Even a casual reading of the New Testament unveils the house as the primary tool of the church. The primary gathering place of the church was the home. Consider the genius of God's plan. The first generation of Christians was a tinderbox of contrasting cultures and backgrounds. At least fifteen different nationalities heard Peter's sermon on the Day of Pentecost. Jews stood next to Gentiles. Men worshiped with women. Slaves and masters alike sought after Christ. Can people of such varied backgrounds and cultures get along with each other?
“We wonder the same thing today… Can divergent people get along? The early church did—without the aid of sanctuaries, church buildings, clergy, or seminaries. They did so through the clearest of messages (the Cross) and the simplest of tools (the home)…
“Do you have a front door?” Max Lucado asks. A table? Chairs? Bread and meat for sandwiches? Congratulations! You just qualified to serve in the most ancient of ministries: hospitality.
“Something holy happens around a dinner table that will never happen in a sanctuary. In a church auditorium you see the backs of heads. Around the table you see the expressions on faces. In the auditorium one person speaks; around the table everyone has a voice…
“Hospitality opens the door to uncommon community,” Mac Lucado comments. “It's no accident that hospitality and hospital come from the same Latin word, for they both lead to the same result: healing. When you open your door to someone, you are sending this message: ‘You matter to me and to God.’ You may think you are saying, ‘Come over for a visit.’ But what your guest hears is, ‘I'm worth the effort.’” (Max Lucado, Outlive Your Life, Nelson, 2010, p.55; www.PreachingToday.com)
I think it’s time we rediscover the power of hospitality in our churches today. It is a true expression of love especially for those who are feeling hurt or lonely in our churches.
If we want to finish well, then we must love deeply. That means #1, we must pursue reconciliation. #2, we must reach out to strangers. &
#3, We must serve each other. We must use whatever gifts and abilities God has freely given us to wait on each other, to minister to each other, to help each other in whatever way we can.
1 Peter 4:10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. (NIV)
God has graciously given every believer the supernatural ability to serve. It’s a free gift He has given every one of us along with the free gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23). Now, there are a vast variety of ways we can serve. The New Testament lists at least 14 of these spiritual gifts in various places, but Peter classifies them all into two categories: speaking gifts and serving gifts.
1 Peter 4:11 If 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. (NIV)
If God has made you a preacher, preach God’s Word. If God has made you a helper, help with His strength, so that He gets all the credit.
The speaking gifts include abilities like teaching, exhortation, and prophecy. The serving gifts include abilities like showing mercy, helping, and giving, along with the gifts of leadership and administration. No one has ALL these gifts, but everyone has at least one of these gifts. So find out what God has given you and use it to serve His people for His glory in His strength, which He abundantly provides.
The word for “provides” in verse 11 was used in Bible days describe paying for an entire chorus of professional musicians at public events (Strong, Lidell & Scott). This was an extravagant expense, so the word came to describe extravagant, lavish and abundant provision.
Well, that’s how God gives us His strength – not just a little bit, no. God abundantly and extravagantly provides the strength we need to do what He has gifted us to do. So there is no excuse for any of us not to be serving in some way in the Body of Christ, the church.
Dr. Scott Kurtzman, chief of surgery at Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut, was on his way to deliver an 8 a.m. lecture one day when he witnessed one of the worst crashes in that state’s history. A dump truck, whose driver had lost control, flipped on its side and skidded into oncoming traffic. The resulting accident involved 20 vehicles; four people died.
Thanks to years of emergency-room experience, Doctor Kurtzman immediately shifted into trauma mode. He worked his way through the mangled mess of people and metal, calling out, “Who needs help?”
After about 90 minutes, when all 16 victims had been triaged and taken to area hospitals, Dr. Kurtzman climbed back into his car, drove to the medical school, and gave his lecture – two hours late.
This kind of thing is typical for Dr. Kurtzman. He says, “A person with my skills simply can't drive by someone who's injured. I refuse to live my life that way.” (Hal Carp, Readers Digest, August 2006; www.PreachingToday.com)
You’ve got skills, my dear believing friend. You’ve got skills freely given to you by God Himself, so stop driving by those with needs. Refuse to live your life that way, and use the skills God has given you to serve Him in His strength for His glory.
Even if you are coming to the end of your days here on this earth, don’t just coast to the end. Instead, go out in a blaze of glory (His glory), and finish well.
If we want to finish well, then we must love deeply. That means we must pursue reconciliation, reach out to strangers, and serve each other with the gifts and strength God abundantly and extravagantly provides to every believer.
Freely, freely you have received. Freely, freely give! Sure it’s scary especially when times are tough, but it’s the only way to finish well.
I close with these words from C. S. Lewis. He says, “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to be sure of keeping your heart intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully around with hobbies and little luxuries, avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safely in the casket of your selfishness. And in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will not change, it will not be broken. It will become unbreakable, impenetrable and irredeemable. The only place outside of heaven where you can be perfectly safe from the dangers of love is hell.” (C. S. Lewis, The Four Loves; www.PreachingToday.com)
Please, don’t end your life that way. Instead, love deeply so you can finish well.
