CHANNELS OF GOD’S GRACE
1 PETER 4:1-11
EVERY DAY IS SUPPOSED TO BE JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY LAST SUNDAY IN SUTHERLAND SPRINGS, TEXAS. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY AT A COUNTRY CONCERT IN LOS VEGAS. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY ONE DECEMBER IN NEW TOWN CONNICUT, JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY AS STUDENTS WENT TO SCHOOL ONE SPRING DAY IN LITTLETON COLORADO. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY IN NEW YORK ON SEPT.11, 2001.
WHAT PETER IS TELLING US IN THIS PASSAGE IS THAT AS CHRISTIANS WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE AMBASSADORS OR CHANNELS OF GOD’S GRACE WHEN SUCH ORDINARY DAYS OCCUR. IN ALMOST ALL CASES OF NATURAL DISASTERS, AND AT SOME OF THE TERRIBLE MASS MURDERS, THE CHURCH HAS BEEN IN THE FOREFRONT, OFFERING PHYSICAL HELP, AS WELL AS COUNSELLING SERVICE TO THOSE HURT.
PETER IS ALSO TELLING US WHY WE SHOULD BE CHANNELS OF GOD’S GRACE. FIRST OF ALL, IT IS BECAUSE SOMEONE CHOSE TO BE A CHANNEL OF GOD’S GRACE TO US, AND WE NEED TO PASS IT FORWARD. SECOND, BECAUSE GOD HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO US, WE SHOULD WANT TO PASS IT FORWARD. THIRD, BECAUSE OUR TIME IS LIMITED IN THIS WORLD, THERE IS A DAY OF JUDGMENT COMING, WE NEED TO PASS IT FORWARD.
WE KNOW OF THE CARNAGE AND DEATH THAT OCCURRED ON THESE ORDINARY DAYS AND OTHER DAYS OF GREAT LOSS, BUT ONE THING THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON IS THAT EACH OF THE PEOPLE WHO DIED DID NOT KNOW THAT THIS WOULD BE THEIR LAST DAY OF LIFE ON THIS EARTH.
IF WE WERE TO STOP AND CONSIDER THE BREVITY AND UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE, I DOUBT IF ANY OF US WOULD WANT TO CONSIDER ANY DAY AS “JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY.”
JAMES 4:14-15:
WHY, YOU DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TOMORROW. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE? YOU ARE A MIST THAT APPEARS FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND THEN VANISHES. 15 INSTEAD, YOU OUGHT TO SAY, “IF IT IS THE LORD’S WILL, WE WILL LIVE AND DO THIS OR THAT.”
THE BIBLE IS CLEAR THAT THERE IS ALSO COMING A DAY OF JUDGMENT, WHEN THE LORD IS COMING BACK, AND THIS WORLD AS WE KNOW IT WILL END. OUR RESPONSIVE READING THIS MORNING TELLS US THAT ONLY THE FATHER KNOWS WHEN THAT DAY WILL BE. PAUL TEACHES:
1 THESSALONIANS 5:1-2:
NOW, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, ABOUT TIMES AND DATES WE DO NOT NEED TO WRITE TO YOU, 2 FOR YOU KNOW VERY WELL THAT THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL COME LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT.
WE HAVE NOT ONLY THE PRIVILEGE, BUT THE RESPONSIBILITY TO SHARE OUR FAITH WITH OTHERS. PETER IN THIS PASSAGE OFFERS US FOUR WAYS BY WHICH WE CAN BE CHANNELS OF GRACE TO OTHERS. HE ALSO REMINDS US OF THE BLESSING OF OUR SALVATION IN THE FIRST SIX VERSES OF THE CHAPTER.
POINT ONE: CONTEXT:
PETER WROTE THIS LETTER DURING A TIME OF GREAT PERSECUTION FOR MOST LIKELY EXILED CHRISTIANS UNDER EMPEROR NERO. CHAPTER ONE TELLS US THE DIFFERENT CONGREGATIONS WHO WOULD SEE THIS LETTER.
NERO BLAMED THE CHRISTIANS FOR THE BURNING OF THE CITY OF ROME. THOUSANDS WERE BRUTALLY EXECUTED, WHILE OTHERS LEFT THE CITY FOR THEIR OWN PROTECTION. THE AREAS THOUGH WERE STILL UNDER ROMAN RULE AND THE DANGER OF CAPTURE EVER PRESENT.
COMBINED WITH THIS IS THE FACT THAT THE CHURCH WAS NEW, AND PART OF THE CHALLENGE TO THE NEW TEACHING, WAS THE PRESENCE OF MANY GROUPS INVOLVED IN FALSE TEACHING, ONE OF WHICH HAS SURVIVED TO OUR PRESENT DAY.
THE WORD “THEREFORE” IN VERSE ONE INDICATES TO US THAT A CONCLUSION IS ABOUT TO BE REACHED CONCERNING THE MATERIAL OF CHAPTER THREE. CHAPTER THREE DEALS WITH CHRIST’S SUFFERING FOR US AND HOW HE WILLINGLY CHOSE TO DO SO.
PETER ACKNOWLEDGES THE FACT THAT THE CHRISTIANS HE IS WRITING TO MAY SEE THAT PERSECUTION, AND SO HE ENCOURAGES THEM TO HAVE THE SAME ATTITUDE THAT JESUS HAD CONCERNING HIS SUFFERING.
HEBREWS 12:2-3:
FIXING OUR EYES ON JESUS, THE PIONEER AND PERFECTER OF FAITH. FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM HE ENDURED THE CROSS, SCORNING ITS SHAME, AND SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF GOD. 3 CONSIDER HIM WHO ENDURED SUCH OPPOSITION FROM SINNERS, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT GROW WEARY AND LOSE HEART.
PETER REMINDS THEM THAT TRUE BELIEVERS LIVE THEIR LIVES FOR THE LORD. THEIR PERSECUTION THEN, WOULD BE A BADGE OF HONOUR, AS THE ONLY REASON THEY WOULD BE PERSECUTED WAS BECAUSE THEY WERE STANDING FOR THEIR FAITH JUST AS JESUS DID. PETER WAS TELLING THEM THAT THEIR POSSIBLE PERSECUTION WAS IN FACT A BADGE OF HONOUR.
THE SECOND ISSUE PETER WAS DEALING WITH WAS THAT OF FALSE TEACHING. THERE WAS A GROUP DURING PETER’S TIME CALLED THE LIBERTINES. THEY ARE ONLY MENTIONED ONE TIME IN SCRIPTURE.
ACTS 6:9: OPPOSITION AROSE, HOWEVER, FROM MEMBERS OF THE SYNAGOGUE OF THE FREEDMEN [LIBERTINES] (AS IT WAS CALLED)—JEWS OF CYRENE AND ALEXANDRIA AS WELL AS THE PROVINCES OF CILICIA AND ASIA—WHO BEGAN TO ARGUE WITH STEPHEN.
THEY ACTUALLY HAD THREE TEMPLES IN VARIOUS AREAS, ONE OF WHICH WAS CLOSE TO PETER AND FORCED HIS RESPONSE, IN THIS PASSAGE.
LIBERTINE’S BELIEVE WE CAN LIVE IN ABSOLUTE FREEDOM WITH NO RESTRAINT ON GOD’S MORAL LAW. THEIR PHILOSOPHY IS “I WANT TO DO WHAT I WANT TO DO WHEN I WANT TO DO IT, HOW I WANT TO DO IT, AND WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME ANYTHING. OUR SOULS ARE SAVED BY GRACE, SO WHAT WE DO WITH OUR BODIES, WHICH WILL ONLY PERISH, DOESN’T MATTER.”
THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST AND LIVING BY THE WORD OF GOD BECOMES THE KEY ISSUES. LIBERTINES DENY BOTH. THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE FORGIVEN BY GRACE, FOR NOW AND ALWAYS, SO THEY CAN GO OUT AND DO AS THEY PLEASE. THERE IS NO PENALTY FOR SIN, SO THEY CAN SIN ALL THE MORE AND STILL GO TO HEAVEN.
THERE ARE THREE TYPES OF LIBERTINE THOUGHT:
1. SPIRIT-CENTERED OR FALSE CHARISMATIC LIBERTINISM: WE ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT WHY SHOULD WE STUDY THE SCRIPTURE OR BE GOVERNED BY IT. DON’T WE HAVE FRESH NEW REVELATION. WE ARE BEYOND THE WRITTEN OBJECTIVE WORD OF GOD.
2. CHRIST-CENTERED LIBERTINISM: BECAUSE WE ARE IN CHRIST, GOD SEES NO SIN IN US. THUS WE CAN SIN ALL WE DESIRE.
3. DISPENSATIONAL LIBERTINISM: WE NO LONGER LIVE IN THE DISPENSATION OF THE LAW, WE ARE NOW UNDER THE DISPENSATION OF GRACE, THUS KEEPING THE MORAL LAW AS THE GUIDE TO CHRISTIAN CONDUCT IS NOT NECESSARY AT ANY STAGE IN OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE.
THIS GROUP COULD BE WHO PETER WAS REFERRING TO IN
2 PETER 2:1-3:
BUT THERE WERE ALSO FALSE PROPHETS AMONG THE PEOPLE, JUST AS THERE WILL BE FALSE TEACHERS AMONG YOU. THEY WILL SECRETLY INTRODUCE DESTRUCTIVE HERESIES, EVEN DENYING THE SOVEREIGN LORD WHO BOUGHT THEM—BRINGING SWIFT DESTRUCTION ON THEMSELVES. 2 MANY WILL FOLLOW THEIR DEPRAVED CONDUCT AND WILL BRING THE WAY OF TRUTH INTO DISREPUTE. 3 IN THEIR GREED THESE TEACHERS WILL EXPLOIT YOU WITH FABRICATED STORIES. THEIR CONDEMNATION HAS LONG BEEN HANGING OVER THEM, AND THEIR DESTRUCTION HAS NOT BEEN SLEEPING.
PETER IS TELLING THEM THAT IT IS THE CHANGE IN THEIR LIVES THAT CAN BE THEIR GREATEST TESTIMONY TO THE SAVING POWER OF CHRIST. IT IS THROUGH OUR CHANGED LIVES THAT WE BECOME CHANNELS OF GRACE TO OTHERS.
NONE OF WHAT THE LIBERTINES SAY IS TRUE, AND THERE IS NO BIBLICAL THOUGHT TODAY THAT CAN DEFEND IT.
THE BIBLE TEACHES IN FACT JUST THE OPPOSITE.
ROMANS 6:1-3:
WHAT SHALL WE SAY, THEN? SHALL WE GO ON SINNING SO THAT GRACE MAY INCREASE? 2 BY NO MEANS! WE ARE THOSE WHO HAVE DIED TO SIN; HOW CAN WE LIVE IN IT ANY LONGER? 3 OR DON’T YOU KNOW THAT ALL OF US WHO WERE BAPTIZED INTO CHRIST JESUS WERE BAPTIZED INTO HIS DEATH?
THE DOCTRINE OF ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE BELIEVER IS BASED ON THE LOVE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOD AND THE BELIEVER. IT SAYS THAT THIS RELATIONSHIP WILL GROW AND BE ENHANCED SO THAT THE BELIEVER WILL HAVE NO DESIRE TO END THIS WONDERFUL RELATIONSHIP. IT MAINTAINS THAT GOD WILL KEEP THOSE WHO LOVE HIM IN PERFECT PEACE.
ISAIAH 26:3-4:
YOU WILL KEEP IN PERFECT PEACE THOSE WHOSE MINDS ARE STEADFAST, BECAUSE THEY TRUST IN YOU. 4 TRUST IN THE LORD FOREVER, FOR THE LORD, THE LORD HIMSELF, IS THE ROCK ETERNAL.
PETER HAS TAUGHT US BY OUR ACTIONS AND ATTITUDES THAT WE CAN BE CHANNELS OF GOD’S GRACE TO PEOPLE IN TIMES OF PERSECUTION. IN VERSES 7-11 HE WILL SHOW US FOUR WAYS WE CAN BE CHANNELS OF GOD’S GRACE TO PEOPLE AS WE LIVE IN THE LAST DAYS BEFORE THE RETURN OF THE LORD.
POINT TWO: WE CAN BE A CHANNEL OF GOD’S GRACE WHEN WE ARE SANE AND SOBER IN PRAYER:
OUR SPIRITUAL VITALITY DEPENDS ON OUR PRAYER LIVES. IT IS WHEN WE ARE GOING THROUGH DIFFICULT TIMES THAT WE LONG FOR HEAVEN. THESE ARE TIMES WE CAN OFTEN BE SIDETRACKED, BY LOVED ONES IN PAIN, EVEN THOSE IN THE PROCESS OF DEATH CAN DISTRACT US
TO PRAY IN A SANE AND SOBER STATE IS TO NOT LET THE WAYS OF THE WORLD INTOXICATE YOUR THINKING. PRAYER ACCESSES ALL THE RESOURCES OF GOD AND WE CANNOT BE DISTRACTED BY WORLDLY PURSUITS, OR IGNORANCE OF DIVINE TRUTH AND PURPOSES.
WHEN WE PRAY IN A SANE AND SOBER STATE WITH OTHERS, WE WILL BE ABLE TO PRAY EFFECTIVLY, APPROPRIATELY, AND WISELY. WE WILL KNOW WHAT TO SAY. WE WILL KNOW THE HEARTS DESIRE OF THE PEOPLE WE ARE PRAYING FOR, AND COMMUNICATE THAT TO GOD.
POINT THREE: WE CAN BE CHANNELS OF GOD’S GRACE WHEN WE HAVE UNFAILING LOVE FOR THE CHURCH.
WE ARE REMINDED IN V. 8 THAT LOVE COVERS UP A MULTITUDE OF SINS. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME WE ARE TOLD THAT OUR ATTITUDE AND ACTION CAN BE A STRONG WITNESS FOR THE LORD. A CHRISTIAN’S UNSELFISH LOVE FOR OTHERS SHOULD BE EXERCISED TO THE POINT OF SELF-SACRIFICE FOR OTHERS. A GOOD TRANSLATION OF THIS VERSE MEANS TO LOVE WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH AND MAXIMUM EFFORT, IN SHORT TO GIVE IT ALL YOU HAVE.
WE EXPRESS THIS UNFAILING LOVE WHEN WE REALIZE THAT IT WAS FIRST OFFERED TO US BY GOD. WE NEED TO BE AS GENTLE IN CONFRONTING THE FAULTS OF OTHERS AS WE ARE OUR OWN.
HAVE YOU NOTICED WHEN WE FORGET SOMETHING, IT’S JUST A LITTLE SLIP OF THE MIND, WHEN SOMEBODY ELSE FORGETS IT’S GROSS NEGLIGENCE. WHEN WE SNAP AT SOMEONE, IT’S SIMPLY BECAUSE WE ARE HAVING A BAD DAY, BUT IF THEY SNAP AT US, WE SEE THEM AS BEING MEAN-SPIRITED. AND IF WE ARE LATE FOR AN APPOINTMENT, IT’S BECAUSE OF THE HECTIC DAY WE’RE HAVING. IF SOMEONE ELSE IS LATE, WE ACCUSE THEM OF BEING IRRESPONSIBLE.
OUR TASK IS TO BUILD PEOPLE UP, AND SHARE HIS LOVE WITH THE LOST WORLD. DO THIS AND WE CAN BECOME CHANNELS OF GOD’S GRACE TO OTHERS.
POINT FOUR: WE CAN BE CHANNELS OF GOD’S GRACE WHEN WE ARE HOSPITABLE AND UNCOMPLAINING:
ASK YOURSELF ONE QUESTION, WHAT IS THE PRIME REASON FOR HOSPITALITY? IS IT TO BE NICE AND ACCOMMODATING TO OTHERS? SURPRISINGLY THE ANSWER TO THIS IS NO. THE REASON FOR HOSPITALITY IS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF THE PERSON.
EVEN MORE IMPORTANT IS HOW HOSPITALITY SHOULD BE EXTENDED. IT SHOULD BE DONE WITHOUT GRUMBLING OR COMPLAINING. I GUARANTEE YOU, THEIR DAY HAS BEEN WORSE THAN YOURS.
PHILIPPIANS 2:14-16:
DO EVERYTHING WITHOUT GRUMBLING OR ARGUING, 15 SO THAT YOU MAY BECOME BLAMELESS AND PURE, “CHILDREN OF GOD WITHOUT FAULT IN A WARPED AND CROOKED GENERATION.” U THEN YOU WILL SHINE AMONG THEM LIKE STARS IN THE SKY 16 AS YOU HOLD FIRMLY TO THE WORD OF LIFE. AND THEN I WILL BE ABLE TO BOAST ON THE DAY OF CHRIST THAT I DID NOT RUN OR LABOR IN VAIN.
DURING THE AFTERMATH OF 911 SEVERAL PLANES WERE FORCED TO LAND IN NEWFOUNDLAND. PASSANGERS HAD NO PLACE TO STAY. NEWFOUNDLANDERS OPENED UP THEIR HOMES TO THEM AND TREATED THEM LIKE ONE OF THEIR OWN. THE PEOPLE ON THE PLANES MAY REFLECT ON THEIR ORDEAL, BUT THEY WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE KINDNESS OF THE PEOPLE ON THE ROCK.
POINT FIVE: WE CAN BE CHANNELS OF GOD’S GRACE WHEN WE LEARN TO SERVE ONE ANOTHER:
GOD HAS CUSTOM-DESIGNED YOU FOR A PURPOSE THAT ONLY YOU CAN DO. BEFORE YOU WERE BORN HE DETERMINED WHAT GIFTS YOU WOULD NEED TO COMPLETE THIS TASK AND GAVE THEM TO YOU.
1 CORINTHIANS 12:7: NOW TO EACH ONE THE MANIFESTATION OF THE SPIRIT IS GIVEN FOR THE COMMON GOOD.
I DON’T HAVE TO BE ABLE TO DO EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE, AND THERE IS TRUE FREEDOM IN THAT. WHAT I DO HAVE TO DO IS SUCCESSFULLY MEASURE UP TO GOD’S PLAN AS IT EFFECTS OTHERS, AND HE’S ALREADY GIVEN ME THE GIFTS TO ACCOMPLISH THAT.
D.L. MOODY SAID:
“I AM ONLY ONE, BUT I AM ONE. I CANNOT DO EVERYTHING, BUT I CAN DO SOMETHING. AND THAT WHICH I CAN DO, BY THE GRACE OF GOD I WILL DO.”
I CAN BE A CHANNEL OF GOD’S GRACE WHEN I AM WILLING TO WORK WITH OTHERS.
CONCLUSION:
WE NEED TO BE CHANNELS OF GOD’S GRACE BECAUSE LIFE ISN’T ALWAYS JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY.
I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF MEETING DR. W.A. CRISWELL PASTOR OF FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH IN DALLAS, WHILE I WAS ATTENDING ATLANTIC BAPTIST COLLEGE.
CRISWELL TOLD OF AN AIRPLANE FLIGHT WITH A WELL-KNOWN THEOLOGIAN, THAT FOR SOME REASON HE DESPERATELY WANTED TO TALK WITH. THE THEOLOGIAN LOOKED LIKE HE HAD THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD ON HIS SHOULDERS AND CRISWELL JUST TOOK HIS HAND AND SAID “TELL ME.”
THE MAN TOLD CRISWELL THAT HE HAD RECENTLY LOST HIS LITTLE BOY THROUGH DEATH. CRISWELL JUST NODDED HIS HEAD.
HE SAID HE HAD COME HOME FROM SCHOOL WITH A FEVER AND WE THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE CHILDHOOD THINGS, BUT IT WAS A VERY VIRULENT FORM OF MENINGITIS. THE DOCTORS SAID WE CANNOT SAVE YOUR LITTLE BOY. HE’LL DIE.
THE SEMINARY PROFESSOR SAT BY HIS SON’S BEDSIDE TO WATCH THE DEATH VIGIL. IT WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, AND THE LITTLE BOY WHOSE STRENGTH WAS GOING FROM HIM, AND WHOSE VISION AND BRAIN WAS GETTING CLOUDED SAID “DADDY, IT’S GETTING DARK ISN’T IT.” HIS DAD REPLIED “YES SON, IT IS GETTING DARK, VERY DARK.”
THE BOY THEN SAID “ DADDY, I GUESS IT’S TIME FOR ME TO GO TO SLEEP, ISN’T IT.”
HIS FATHER REPLIED “YES SON, IT’S TIME FOR YOU TO GO TO SLEEP.”
THE LITTLE FELLOW HAD A WAY OF FIXING HIS PILLOW JUST SO, AND PUTTING HIS HEAD ON HIS HANDS WHEN HE SLEPT, AND SO HE FIXED HIS PILLOW AND SAID “GOOD NIGHT DADDY. I’LL SEE YOU IN THE MORNING.” THEN HE CLOSED HIS EYES IN DEATH, AND STEPPED INTO HEAVEN.
THE FATHER LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW OF THE PLANE NOT TALKING FOR A LONG TIME, JUST BEING HELD BY CRISWELL, AND THEN, WITH TEARS RUNNING DOWN HIS CHEEKS SAID, “DR. CRISWELL, I CAN HARDLY WAIT TILL THE MORNING.”
YOU CAN BE A CHANNEL OF GOD’S GRACE FOR PEOPLE TODAY, AND YOU WILL BE READY, FOR THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS “JUST ANOTHER ORDINARY DAY”.
