When some Christians say that, it makes you wonder why they say that.
I say this because their life-styles do not reflect that they believe He is going to come very soon.
Many live their lives as we did as children.
Illus: If our parents had to go somewhere, before they left they gave us chores to do while they were gone. But once they were gone, we did pretty much what we wanted to do.
But then someone would say, “Here comes Dad and Mom!” All of a sudden we stopped doing what we wanted to do, and got very busy doing what our parents wanted us to do.
WHAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE?
Knowing WHO THEY WERE, and that they were COMING, is what made the difference!
And when God’s children truly come to realize WHO HE IS, and that He is COMING BACK, it will make a tremendous difference in how they live their lives.
As we have already learned, Peter is telling us to control our appetite for temporal things because all these things will soon pass away. Christ's coming is at hand.
Look at 1 Peter 4:7. He says, “But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.”
However, if any generation of people has a right to believe that they are the generation to be living when He returns, it is our generation.
If we truly believe that, it will cause us to live holy, fruitful lives.
However, if we are not the generation that will be living when He returns, then every day, we need to live our lives as the psalmist said in Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”
Illus: God had a purpose in creating us in such a way, that as we grow old, our bodies begin to show signs of wear and tear.
Each day, as we look at ourselves in a mirror to comb our hair, shave our beard, and to brush our teeth, we can see things, such as:
• New wrinkles
• That new gray hair
• We can not move as fast and freely as we once could
WHY DID GOD DESIGN THESE BODIES SO THAT AS THE YEARS GO BY WE CAN SEE THESE CONSTANT CHANGES OCCURRING IN OUR BODIES?
So we would be constantly reminded, "...the end of all things is at hand...".
That includes dispensations, and even life itself for us as individuals.
The Lord told Peter, "Feed my sheep!" That is, teach them that life is short, and that Christ is coming soon.
Let’s look at -
I. THE PREACHING OF GOD’S WORD
One of the reasons we know that many churches are not looking for Christ to return anytime soon, is because if they were looking for His return, they would be PREACHING and TEACHING His Word.
Two things to consider concerning God's Word:
(A) THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PREACHED
Look at verse 11. We read, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
Every time a Christian is given an opportunity to stand before others and teach or preach God's Word, he or she should "speak as the oracles of God…"
Illus: For example, during the Persian Gulf Crisis, Secretary of Defense, Dick Cheney, spoke often before the public, but he made it clear as he spoke that he was speaking for the President of the United States. He thoughtfully selected the right words to convey the message to the American people.
In essence, no one wanted to hear what Mr. Dick Cheney had to say; they wanted to know what President George Bush had to say as he spoke through the Secretary of State.
Likewise, it serves no purpose when a preacher expresses what he thinks, but when he preaches the powerful Word of God, people can know what God is saying.
One of the tragedies in our churches today is that so little of God's Word is being preached and taught. People are literally spiritually starving.
Illus: It was brought to the attention of Dr. Odell Belger, that a family had six children and one on the way. It is great to have a nice sized family, but the problem was that the mother was strapped down with all the children to take care of, and the husband was trifling and couldn’t keep a job for much more than several months before going on to another one. And the children in this home were literally starving. The mother and the children were a pack of bones. If the children got around food, they would stare at it, and the little ones actually would ask if they could have some. Every one of them, except the dad, hardly had any color in their body at all. They were pale and looked anemic.
In many churches, the Family of God is the same way. They are starving for spiritual food.
This is why I say that a lot of churches are not looking for Christ to return anytime soon. If they were, they would be serious about the PREACHING and the TEACHING of God’s Word.
These churches remind us of some of these new restaurants.
Illus: They build a nice building, hire nice waitresses that wear nice clean uniforms, and they advertise that they serve good food! So we go there and give our order to the waitress, and when she brings it to us, we look at the plate in disbelief. We want to ask her, “DID YOU EAT PART OF MY MEAL BEFORE YOU BROUGHT IT? THIS PLATE IS ALMOST EMPTY!”
The same is true in some churches. They have nice buildings, well-dressed people, and they advertise that they preach the Word of God. But people who are hungry for God's Word are wasting their time if they go there, because they are going to leave hungry and disappointed.
The greatest compliment that could be paid to any church is found in Acts 5:42. "And daily in the temple ... they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."
God would not hold us responsible for something we could not do, so evidently this is possible. He tells us to, "...speak as the oracles of God... “
In other words, Peter is saying what Paul said to young Timothy, “Preach the Word!”
We, as ministers and teachers of the Word of God, should strive to be the best SPIRITUAL CHEFS we can become.
Illus: The reason some of the ladies are such excellent cooks is that they work at it day after day. When they first started cooking, they could not cook as well as they can now.
Illus: Someone said, "The worst thing about accidents in the kitchen is that you usually have to eat them."
Some ladies knew very little about cooking when they first got married.
But after a woman has been married for a period of a time, if she cherishes the position of being a housewife, and loves her family, she needs to learn how to feed her family something besides peanut butter sandwiches.
Many a new wife could not cook, but her love for her family caused her to spend much time learning, so that she could properly take care of them.
Likewise, young preachers, to start with, do not know a great deal about God's Word. But if they cherish the position God has placed them in, and love the family of God, they will spend much time studying God's Word. Then when the family of God shows up for spiritual food, they do as the Lord told Peter, "Feed my sheep."
Peter says, "If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God." The implication here is, if he isn't going to speak as the "oracles of God," he should not be preaching or teaching.
Illus: While it is good that we have class discussion, it is sad that many Sunday school classes have nothing but discussions. This is because the teacher does not know the slightest thing about God’s Word.
By the time half a dozen people express their different views, everyone goes home as confused as a termite in a yo-yo!
Behind every pulpit, and in every Sunday school class, there should be those who are able to feed God's "sheep," by speaking "as the oracles of God."
We have looked at the MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PREACHED, but let us look at the-
(B) THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS RECEIVED
Look at 1 Thess. 2:13. “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.”
We all would concur that it is an awesome responsibility for teachers and preachers to properly preach and teach the Word of God.
It is awesome because they will give account to almighty God for what they preached and taught.
But may I say this also; it is also an awesome responsibility to hear the Word of God preached.
It is awesome because if it is not received, the hearer will have to give account to almighty God for rejecting the Word of God.
When professing Christians reject God's Word, it is a good indication they do not have any love and respect for it as THE ORACLES OF GOD.
We have looked at the PREACHING OF GOD’S WORD. Now let us look at –
II. THE PURPOSE OF GOD'S WORD
Look at 1 Peter 4:11 again. We read, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
We all have heard men say, “God uses men!” There is some truth to that statement, but it is not complete. It should be stated, “God uses men who preach His Word.”
But notice that God can only use him with the abilities he has.
Look at verse 11, we read, “…Let him do it as of the ability which God giveth…” Preaching and teaching God’s Word is not something everyone can do.
But notice that the emphasis should be placed on God’s Word, not God’s man.
Because the emphasis today is being placed on God’s men, we have people leaving church saying, “What a great preacher!”
What they should be saying is that God used that preacher to teach me the ORACLES OF GOD.
Illus: A preacher is like the water pipes in our homes. It is through those water pipes that water flows. But the only reason we have the water pipes in our homes to start with is so we can have the water that flows through them.
The purpose of the Word of God being preached, is to make God look great, not a preacher.
We stand in need of ministers today who will be like John the Baptist. He said in John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease."
It is when men are obedient and preach "The oracles of God”, that the purpose of God is carried out.
Some remind me of Ahimaaz, who was in King David's army when David was at war against his son, Absalom. It seems that Ahimaaz was a glory seeker.
In 2 Samuel 18:20-23, we read “And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead. Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran. Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready? But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.”
Evidently Joab felt Ahimaaz had not been in the battle enough to even know the details, but Ahimaaz wanted to run, since this could bring him some favor.
Joab told him, “Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready?”
Later Joab let him run and he out ran Cushi, who had seen what had taken place.
When Ahimaaz arrived, all he had was a greeting, he had very little to tell the king.
Many preachers and teachers are like this. They love to talk before people, but they do not know enough about God's Word to know what they are talking about.
To them preaching and teaching gives them an opportunity to be in the spotlight. However, this is not what God is pleased with.
He would have them "speak as the oracles of God ... that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ... "
It is going to be a sad day indeed, for many who have taken their God-given positions, and robbed God of the glory and praise that belongs to Him, while exalting themselves.
Conclusion:
What an awesome responsibility we preachers have, as do you who hear the word of God as it is preached!
I. THE PREACHING OF GOD’S WORD
A. THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PREACHED
B. THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE RECEIVED
II. THE PURPOSE OF GOD'S WORD
