LIVING LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW
1 Pet. 4:7-11
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. One day at the Church, Father O’Malley answered the phone, “Hello?” A voice said, “Is this Father O’Malley?” “Yes, it is.” “This is the IRS. Can you help us?” “Yes,” said O’Malley.
2. “Does a Ted Hooligan attend your church?” “Yes, he does.” “Did Ted Hooligan donate $10,000 to your church?” Father O’Malley answered, “He will!”
B. TEXT
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so 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. 1 Pet. 4:7-11
C. THESIS
1. We’ve been taught all our lives to make plans for the future, so we can live comfortably in old age. We’re told that the average life expectancy for women is 81 and for men is 77. We assume we’ve got lots of time.
2. So Peter’s warning that the end is near is shocking; it’s abrupt. Peter speaks as if this truth ought to change our thoughts and actions! Peter’s living life by a different paradigm!
3. A PARADIGM is “Something that serves as a pattern or model; a set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices that constitutes a way of viewing reality and dictates how our lives should be lived.” Peter’s worldview is that WE DON’T KNOW how long we’ve got, so we should live like all we have is TODAY!
4. The title of this message is “Living Like There's No Tomorrow.” First, we look at why it’s good to live this way and then look at Peter’s paradigm for living this kind of life: To live expectantly, purposefully, and focused on how Christ would live.
I. 5 REASONS IT’S GOOD TO LIVE ONE DAY AT A TIME
A. LIVING IN THE PRESENT MAKES SENSE
1. Living in the present makes sense. Many of us spend so much time worried about the future and stuck in the past, that the present moment passes us by. The problem with this is that the present moment is the only time we have to change what we do.
2. Living in the present liberates you from the mistakes of the past. Far too many of us say “If only I had...” or “What if I had...” We can NEVER CHANGE THE PAST. The best solution is to LIVE TODAY! Make TODAY your new, positive memory. Be a blessing to someone; touch someone in need. Help & heal others.
3. Lastly, this perspective is compatible with faith in God. In Matt. 6:25ff, the Lord Jesus talked about not worrying about what we eat, drink, or wear, because our heavenly Father will take care of us. He talked about how birds don’t worry or store up provisions, yet God feeds and takes care of them. Jesus tells us our trust in our Father ought to be like theirs!
B. IT CAN HELP YOU FIND YOUR PURPOSE
1. Living one day at a time can help you find your purpose. The Bible says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work...in the grave where you are going.” Eccles. 9:10.
2. Putting off your purpose until some future date is wrong. As we are useful today, God increases our usefulness and alters our purpose higher and higher. Joseph first managed a flock, then a household, then a prison, then all Egypt!
C. IT TEACHES YOU HUMILITY
1. Living one day at a time teaches you humility. It reminds us we’re not immortal; we’re just flesh & blood. We have a beginning and an end. We are limited.
2. But this gives us a healthy respect for God. He is unlimited, all-powerful, eternal, omnipresent, etc. He’s the only One whose worthy to be praised!
D. LIVING IN THE NOW MAKES YOU WORK HARDER
1. Living one day at a time makes you work harder. Since we only have today, we can be more motivated in the present.
2. When our attention is scattered over months and years, our minds can fail to focus. But when we only have this one moment to focus on, we can focus better on the task at hand.
E. IT MAKES THE BAD TIMES MORE BEARABLE
1. Living one day at a time makes the bad times bearable. If we have pain and know that our pain may continue for years, it can discourage us, but if we believe God will heal us, we can endure our pain for just one day.
2. Like someone said, “Life is hard by the yard, but a cinch by the inch!” It’s easier to do little things than big ones. Let’s just take it one day at a time!
3. So what was Peter’s idea of living like there’s no tomorrow? Three points:
II. PETER’S PARADIGM: LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW
A. LIVE LIFE EXPECTANTLY!
1. Just as surely as the members of that first church saw the resurrected Christ ascend into the heavens in the company angels, so we’ll have the honor of seeing Him appear in the clouds and call us upward to Himself!
2. How wonderful it is to have some awesome event to look forward to! Like a man whose been hired for a new high-paying job, or a lady dreaming of her approaching marriage, or an expectant mother who senses the new life growing inside her.
3. Imagine a person who’s won the lottery (secretly) and is working their last few days at a job they hate. Are they sad? No! They are happy, bubbly – even while the boss chews them out. Why? Because they have a secret source of joy – they know everything’s about to change for the better; everything about their life is about to change.
4. So should our hearts be filled with joy, even in trouble, because our Savior, who loves us more than life, is coming to take us to His heavenly home of joy & happiness forever!
B. LIVING LIFE PURPOSEFULLY
1. Peter said, “7 Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
2. The knowledge that Jesus is coming soon should make us watchful, be sober (serious), and keep us in prayer. In Matt. 24:48, it was the servant who said, “My Lord has delayed His coming” that began to live like the world and was NOT found ready when His Lord came.
3. ILLUS. NONE OF US KNOWS WHEN OUR END WILL BE.
a. Corporal McDonald, of the 22nd Regiment, was sitting writing a letter in the Army tent. The young corporal was about to end his tour of duty and was then scheduled to be married.
b. He was writing a letter to his fiancée and had just finished it and signed, "Yours until death," when he was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning. Just that quick, our lives can be over. Life is a gift, but a limited one. Our solemn responsibility is to be ready to depart when Jesus calls our names.
4. The Parable of the Talents (Mt. 25:14-30) warns us that we are to use our talents for the Lord. One person said, “I have many hidden talents; I just wish I could remember where I hid them!” It’s not a joking matter; there will be punishment for those who DON’T use them. Peter calls our abilities “gifts.” If we’re living like there’s no tomorrow, then we’ll use our gifts at every opportunity, each and every day!
C. FOCUS ON HOW CHRIST WOULD LIVE
1. What overturned the Roman Empire were a group of common people who exhibited an uncommon love – a love the world had never seen before! It was the love of Christ shining through people. They saw Jesus! They saw forgiveness and mercy and grace.
2. As we focus on letting Jesus live through us – showing forth the same love – people will see Jesus today. Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” Gal. 2:20.
3. We should speak God’s Word with power (vs. 11). As we tremble and keep it to the letter, they will be struck with awe and moved by the same godly fear, to obedience.
4. Jesus said He didn’t come “to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” Mk. 10:45. Serving others is one of the distinguishing marks of a child of God. People are always shocked when someone prefers others over themselves.
5. “Living like there’s no tomorrow” means that we live the same worldview as Jesus, who came to love, to fulfill His purpose, and to serve others.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: SAVED 30,000 REFUGEES FROM NAZIS
1. Aristides de Sousa Mendes was a Portuguese consul-general in the French city of Bordeaux. He defied the orders of Salazar, the Portuguese dictator, issuing visas and passports to refugees fleeing Nazi Germany, after the Germans successfully invaded France.
2. He told his family, “From now on I'm giving everyone visas. There will be no more nationalities, races or religions.” He said he’d heard a voice (either his conscience or God) which told him what course of action he should take, and that everything was clear in his mind."
3. When his visas were not being honored by the border guards, Sousa Mendes drove his diplomatic car to the French border town of Hendaye and personally escorted a huge crowd of refugees through to freedom.
4. He was stripped of his title, wealth, and possessions, and is family was blacklisted. Sousa Mendes died in poverty on April 3, 1954, owing money to his lenders and still in disgrace with his government. His children had to move to other countries in search of opportunities.
5. Sousa Mendes never regretted his action. "I could not have acted otherwise, and I therefore accept all that has befallen me with love." It has been judged as "perhaps the largest rescue action by a single individual during the Holocaust." He issued visas to about 30,000 people, of whom 10,000 were Jews.
6. For his efforts to save Jewish refugees, Sousa Mendes was recognized by Israel as one of the Righteous Among the Nations, the first diplomat to be so honored, in 1966.
B. THE CALL
1. He lived like there was no tomorrow and he changed his world. We still have the chance to make a difference. Will you adopt the worldview of the early church? “THE END IS NEAR!” Let’s think and act like it!
2. PRAYER for forgiveness and dedication.
[Section I quotes from “15 reasons it’s vital to live one day at a time (and how to do it!)” by Paul Brian. Thanks to T. Michael Crews for his thoughts and Matthew Henry.]
