1 Peter 4:1-11 "Life With Jesus at the Centre"

Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah. It is wonderful

that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah, either

by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray

for us that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself?

The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian, we really,

I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the Bible,

they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will

do what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a

non-Christian checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't

hesitate to send us questions. It helps me, actually, to know, as I'm preaching, how to

deal with the types of things that you're really struggling with. So God bless.

Just bow our heads in prayer for a moment. Father, we come to listen to your Word, and

Father, you know that we don't always acknowledge before you that your Word troubles us a bit if we

pay attention to it, and we sort of grumble about it, although maybe not out loud. And all we do is

grumble, don't inquire. So Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would help us to notice your Word

and to dig deep into it. And we thank you, Father, that you are a good Father in Heaven, that you love

us, that Jesus died on the cross for us to save us, that your Holy Spirit is a Spirit that leads us

into you as you live in us. And so, Father, lead us and guide us into all truth. Help us to trust your

Word. And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. Please be seated.

Amen. Please be seated.

Parts of the Bible we find sort of awkward and offensive. And one of the things I found as I've

been a Christian longer, and especially as I'm, in a sense, forced to think about the Bible text

because I'm going to preach on it, or I'm going to teach on it in another type of context, is over time,

with very few exceptions. And some of the exceptions are just really weird, like cultural things that you need

to give the cultural context to. But the parts of the Bible that offend us, or bother us, or make us embarrassed,

are actually probably the Bible texts that we need to listen to the most, because they have the most to teach us

in our particular situation. It shows that, in a sense, the spirit of the world and how the world thinks

has been greatly influencing us. And so we really need to, in a sense, rather than, as you heard in a prayer,

rather than just sort of grumble with it or skip over it, but actually dig deep into it and try to figure out

what it is that he's saying, why it is, in fact, a really good word.

You might not have listened to it or noticed it. If you're like me, you're sort of the Bible. You hear the Bible,

and you listen, but you don't really listen. But there's a part of that text, and we're going to look at it,

that, well, I don't know how many of you have heard the conversion story of Christopher Yuan.

He's written a couple of books. And obviously, there's a lot to it. Part of his whole conversion story,

you know, where he went to a, you know, a very, very, very, very chaotic gay lifestyle. Big drug dealer in the,

I think it was in the Boston area, gets arrested and all of that. And he had a praying mom and everything.

But his conversion story actually begins when he finds a Bible in the garbage.

And for some reason, he actually feels that he should read it. And that's actually the sort of the start of his conversion.

Anyway, imagine if you could, that maybe one of your neighbors has been cleaning out the attic or something of their grandmother or their great-grandmother,

and they come across an old Bible, and they happen to just pick it up and open it and read something.

And then they maybe come to you, because here you go to church, and they say,

look at this, look at what it says about people like me. Do you really think I'm as bad as all that?

And we'd probably have one of those deer-in-a-headlight moments.

We're not really sure what exactly to say to it. So we're going to look at that.

And so it's 1 Peter 4, and we're going to be looking at verses 1 to 11.

And if you have a Bible with you, and I encourage you to bring your own Bible when you can,

it's just helpful to be able to look at it and make your own notes, etc.

1 Peter 4, verses 1 to 11, and let's start reading it.

1 Peter 4:1–11

And just before we start reading it, just to remember...

Well, actually, here, we'll read it, and then I'll make the comments.

So 1 Peter 4, verses 1 to 11, and it begins like this.

1 Peter 4:1–11

Since, therefore, Christ, that's Jesus, suffered in the flesh...

Just sort of pause here.

It's sort of an unfortunate translation, flesh.

It's very literal and correct.

But really what we should think of here is body or physical,

that he physically suffered, that he suffered in his body.

Okay?

So since, therefore, Christ suffered physically in his body,

arm yourselves with the same way of thinking.

For whoever has suffered in the body, physically in the body, has ceased from sin,

so as to live for the rest of the time in his body, physically,

no longer for human passions, but for the will of God.

Now, obviously, there's a couple of odd things in there.

It makes you think of monks whipping themselves or wearing hair shirts,

and I'll get to that in a moment.

But the first thing about this to notice,

as I've said time and time again before,

Peter was one of Jesus' first disciples, one of his closest disciples.

He knows that Jesus died on the cross.

He didn't see Jesus dying on the cross because he had denied Jesus,

and he went away in despair.

But he definitely knows that Jesus died on the cross.

He knows that he was buried.

He knows that on the third day the grave was empty.

He saw the empty tomb, and he met the risen Jesus.

And within a couple of years of writing this,

Peter is going to die, and he's going to die a gruesome death,

and he could have avoided that gruesome death if he just said,

time out, fooled ya, it didn't really happen.

He could have avoided his painful death.

And he could have even done that and then gone on and said,

I fooled you, you really did die.

No, no, Peter would die for this.

So here's the first thing.

When he says arm yourselves with the same way of thinking,

there's something profoundly different about rooting yourself

in something which is historically true

than merely rooting yourself in a story.

You know, you could adapt the story of Santa Claus

or the story of the great pumpkin or the Easter bunny or,

you know, not even that.

If you took some of the great myths of the Oedipus myth

or anything like that, you can play around with them.

You can negotiate with them.

You can, you know, balance them with other types of things.

But there's something very, very angular and immovable

about basing yourself on something which actually happened.

And that's what's very significant here,

is that Peter is saying, listen, think about who Jesus was.

Think about what he taught.

Think about the suffering that he underwent.

Think about his death upon the cross.

Think about his burial and his resurrection.

And think about these things.

These are the things that you need to think about,

you need to remember,

and that they should form how you see the world,

how you understand yourself,

how you get your identity,

how you get value,

how you see things that are going on,

the things that you're going to do or not do.

Root all of these things in the true story,

the true story of what really happened to Jesus in reality.

That's how you base your life,

not just on stories,

but on this thing,

this particular story which is true.

And it's, you know,

like, you know,

one of the things there's,

some of us have maybe been troubled over the years by,

and if you're from outside the Christian faith,

you don't know that,

there's a whole group of people

who call themselves Christians

called health and wealth gospel people,

that, you know,

Christians are meant to only be wealthy

and only be healthy

and always to triumph

and everything like that.

And it can sound very appealing

and it can be very convincing

that the big problem with it

is they're not thinking about Jesus

who suffered and died on a cross,

didn't hit his 40th birthday.

There has to be something wrong about all that teaching.

You've got to think about Jesus.

So that's what he's saying,

you know,

first and foremost.

And Peter's going to bear witness to this by his death.

So think on this,

think through this,

and buy this.

But now what on earth does he mean

when he says,

for verse one again,

for whoever has suffered in the body physically

has ceased from sin

so as to live the rest of the time

in his body physically,

no longer for human passions

but for the will of God.

So this is an example of hyperbole.

He's really saying something far simpler

and something which we all recognize as true,

that every time you resist a temptation

to do something which is wrong,

you're thinking about Jesus,

thinking about what he did,

thinking about the fact

that it's not just a story about in the past

but that Jesus is with you

and that as you think about that

and it gives you the power

and the ability

to not do something which is wrong

where you know that you should do something that's right

and rather than avoiding doing the right thing

because it'll maybe cost you,

you actually do the right thing,

that every time you do that

in a very tiny way,

you snip the power

of rebellion against God in your life

and every time you don't do that

but give in to it,

you strengthen it.

Just a very, very simple thing.

Years ago,

there's this man in the congregation,

Tom,

he was very, very blunt,

plain spoken.

I mean, when he heard

that I was having a ninth child,

he asked me if I knew what birth control was,

like he's that type of guy,

very, very blunt, okay?

And one day I was just,

we were having lunch

and I just mentioned that something had happened

and I apologized to my wife

and he said,

I would never apologize to my wife for that

and I just had one of those Holy Spirit moments

and I said to him,

that's why you're divorced twice

and don't have anybody living with you now.

And because he was that type of blunt speaker,

he looked like he was going to be mad.

He said,

ah, you're right.

So, you know,

so here's the thing.

You know,

if I,

when I wrong Louise

and I do wrong Louise,

if I don't apologize,

but instead,

when confronted,

I just say,

no, no,

I was right to say that.

If that happens all the time,

I'm building habits

and a type of personality or character

that's going to make that more and more common.

But when I apologize,

it's creating a type of tender heart within me

that I'm going to notice when I've sinned

and I can apologize.

It's a very, very small way.

You can do it the same thing

with porn,

with power,

with generosity,

all those other things.

It's a very, very common truth.

You're given a choice

between living out of these passions

and passions here

mean something exorbitant and wrong.

So your passion for money,

your passion for selfishness,

your passion for pride,

your passion,

you know,

for sex outside of merit,

like all of those things.

If you either give into those things

and they get stronger

or because you're thinking about Christ

and remembering Christ

and you're realizing these things are wrong

and you say no to them,

you're building strength

in that other direction.

So that's all very simple,

basic moral teaching

and something, by the way,

that a psychologist or something

would say,

yeah, yeah, that makes sense.

You're either strengthening something

or weakening something, right?

It's very, very,

just good common sense.

But now we get to the very awkward

and difficult part

that once again,

if one of our friends

or co-workers

found their grandmother's Bible

and happened to open it up

and read it,

they'd say to you,

do you,

is this how you guys think about me?

Is this how Christians think

about guys like me

or gals like me?

And not only that,

they'd not only think that,

they'd think,

like, you can think that,

but I'm a better person

than you are.

And if you think differently,

you're just full of

fill in the blank.

Well, here,

listen to what they say.

It's verses 3 and 4

of chapter 4.

For the time that has passed

suffices for doing

what the Gentiles want to do.

Now just sort of pause.

I'm going to make the text

harder,

not easier.

But it's meant to be

hard,

not easy.

For Gentile here,

substitute the word

anybody who's not

a follower of Christ.

That's what it means

in this context.

So anybody who is not

a follower of Christ.

So in the times past,

you could live the way

people who don't follow

Christ want to do.

Living in sensuality,

passions,

drunkenness,

orgies,

drinking parties.

There really means

drinking parts,

the type of thing

like panda game

or something like that

afterwards,

where you have

drinking and carousing

that goes on

into the night

and involves also

probably the destruction

of property

and everything like that

and lawless idolatry.

Okay,

all people outside of Christ,

that's what they want to do?

Whoa,

I never noticed that

in the Bible before,

eh?

With respect to this,

they are surprised

when you,

Christian,

do not join them

in the same flood

of debauchery

and they malign you.

Now you can see

why a friend

who's maybe

a very,

very,

very,

very passionate

advocate for the poor,

somebody who's

just living

a really,

really,

really good life

and they read this

and they say,

really,

that's how you think

people who aren't Christians

that you're like,

that we're like?

And frankly,

a lot of us

would be uncomfortable

now that we notice it

because one of the things,

and if you're watching this

or if you're here

and you're not

a follower of Christ,

it's a very common thing

actually for Christians

to be troubled

by the fact

that many of their

non-Christian neighbors,

their neighbors

who don't follow Jesus,

are better than they are

and it's a source

of trouble

in terms of how

they think about themselves.

So this can be

a bit of a troubling verse.

So what's going on

in this particular verse?

Well,

there's a couple of things.

First of all,

actually people,

it is actually

sort of a very

common Canadian view.

I'm not going to talk

about other cultures,

but it actually is a bit

of a common Canadian view.

Just think about it

for a second.

If you told your neighbors,

let's say you're

a 25-year-old man

or a 25-year-old woman,

and if you told your neighbors

that you'd never had sex

outside of marriage,

would they think

more of you

or less of you?

They'd think less of you.

If you're a 25-year-old

young woman

and you're dating a fellow

and he wants you

to sleep with him

after the second

or third or fourth date

and you say no

because you're not

going to sleep with him

until you're married,

will he say,

oh, that's very admirable?

Or will he say,

boy, you're a weird freak.

You'll never be married.

You're condemned

to a terrible life

of singleness

and unhappiness.

If you were

a 28, 29-year-old man

or woman

and you told people

that you've actually

never done drugs

once in your entire life

and you've never been drunk,

will they say,

wow, that's a manly man

and a womanly woman?

What a model.

I wish I was like you.

No, they'll think

there's something wrong

with you.

Isn't that true?

So actually,

first of all,

there is something in here,

isn't there?

But the second thing

is this.

In fact,

if you study,

if you,

first of all,

like certain types

of depth psychology

would say that

if you just scratch

beneath the veneer

of somebody like me,

and I'm, by the way,

not a moral exemplar,

but if you scratch

beneath the veneer

of somebody who says

they're a devout Christian,

you're going to see

very dark passions.

And there's a whole

school of scholarship

that when they study

something like the Victorians

who are very concerned

about living proper

types of lives

and being good citizens

and having good marriages,

and there's an entire

academic

whole world

that says

that is always

looking at their letters

and their diaries

and trying to convince people,

and often correctly,

that if you just scratch

beneath the civilized veneer

and their self-righteousness

and their self-justification,

what you see

is actually

something very dark

and very, very,

just something

very dark and chaotic,

very different

from their public persona.

But finally,

the real thing about,

in other words,

what they're saying

is if you scratch

beneath things,

what you see

is what 1 Peter 4

1 Peter 4:3

verses 3 and 4

are saying.

And then,

but finally,

the real proof,

and this is very important,

I'm taking some time on it

because it's really important

for it,

and it's also important,

it's important,

you see,

one of the problems

we have with the Bible

is the Bible

is so deeply realistic

about real human life

that we turn away from it.

But one of the things

which is so beautiful

about the Bible

is it's so profoundly realistic

in helping us

to understand who we are,

yet at the same time,

not to lead us into despair,

but to lead us to Christ

and to give us hope.

So how do we know

that actually

non-Christians agree with this,

people outside the Christian faith

agree with this,

disaster movies.

Not just disaster movies,

but end-of-the-world movies.

So what happens

in every end-of-the-world movie?

It doesn't matter

if it's something like

the zombie apocalypse

is overwhelming

all of the institutions

in society,

so the veneer of civilization

is scraped away,

and you see what people

are really like.

Maybe it's an alien invasion,

and the aliens

are triumphing,

and you see

what most people

are like

when the veneer

of civilization

is scraped away.

Maybe it's some type

of virus outbreak

which is killing

99% of the population,

and you see

what human beings

are really like,

and what do you see

in all those movies?

Raping,

murdering,

pillaging,

drunkenness.

All of them.

Dark passions unleashed.

Nobody's going to arrest me.

Nobody's going to punish me.

So let's get drunk.

Let's rape.

Let's steal.

Let's destroy property.

That's what every disaster movie says.

In fact,

if you saw a disaster movie,

and as the zombie hordes

are overwhelming society,

and all they showed

was the people

not being infected

by the zombies,

was gathering

in communities

where they loved each other

and cared for each other,

and they nursed the sick,

and they gave

of their possessions

to help each other,

you would turn

to your neighbor

watching and saying,

this must be

a dream sequence.

It has to be

a dream sequence.

And in fact,

if the whole movie

ended like that,

what would the movie

reviewers say?

Boring

and unrealistic.

And it would be

a box office flop.

Why?

You scratch beneath

the veneer of human beings

and you get

1 Peter 4,

1 Peter 4:3

verse 3.

It gets worse.

Why do we like movies

like that?

Well,

there's a very simple reason

why we like movies

like that.

When we're watching

World War Z,

we don't say,

yeah,

I'd like that to happen.

I'd like an opportunity

to rape and get drunk

and pillage.

Like,

nobody says that.

If they did,

you'd go,

we'd think under our breath,

psychopath.

We wouldn't want to have

anything to do

with somebody

who says,

yeah,

I really love,

I love those parts.

I love those rapists

and murderers.

No.

We all think

we're Brad Pitt

and I apologize,

I don't know how

to pronounce her name,

Muriel Enos.

That's who we think

we are.

What are we saying?

I'm saying,

all of you guys

would be getting drunk

and raping.

Louise and me

are going to be the heroes.

You're watching the movie

thinking,

George and everybody else

are raping and pillaging

and we're going to be the hero.

In other words,

those movies show

your self-righteousness.

It shows that you believe

1 Peter 4,

1 Peter 4:3

verse 3,

but you think

you're different,

you think you're self-righteous.

Whoa.

Many people would say,

I didn't see that coming.

But then a very common

human response to that

would be say,

George,

that's a really bleak way

of understanding

human beings.

That's so bleak,

why on earth

would Jesus die

if that's true?

And then we can say,

now you're understanding

the beauty of the gospel.

All my self-righteousness

combined with my dark passions

and Jesus saw them all

and still he died for me.

Still he died for you.

Now you begin to see

the wonder and the beauty

of the gospel.

Just one final point

before we move on,

just to bring this home.

imagine for a moment

that,

we'll use me as an example,

God just says,

I'm going to take

the last 10 years

of everything

that George thought

and everything

that he imagined

and everything

he daydreamed about

and it's going to be

completely unfiltered

and it's going to be

shown on that screen.

I wouldn't want to be

anywhere near this room.

I'd probably try

to take enough money

to go hide

in some obscure part

of Alaska or Wyoming

in the wilderness

and hope that nobody

would change my name

and hope that nobody

would ever find me.

And friend,

that would be your response

too if it was your own life.

Why?

Because 1 Peter 4, 3 is true.

And now you can start

to understand

why it's so remarkable

that Jesus would die for you,

that he would see that.

He knows what went on

in your mind and mine

and still he loved you enough

to die on the cross for you.

And can't you see

how any idea

of your own self-righteousness

or self-justification

is like being stoned

on drugs

that has no connection

to the real you.

You need a savior.

You need a savior.

And I have wonderful news

for you.

There is a savior.

And he died for you.

Now what does this

last little bit mean

it sounds about

praying to the dead?

We're going to get

to the application

in a moment.

But just the

verse 5 and 6,

it seems this weird thing

about preaching the gospel

to dead people.

Look at what happens next.

But it really is just,

it's bringing home

the wonder of the gospel.

Verse 5,

but they will give account

to him.

In other words,

people who are maligning you.

Just remember I said,

what would they say

to a 25-year-old man

who's never slept out,

who's waiting for marriage

and hasn't slept around

or doesn't watch porn,

they wouldn't believe you

and they'd think there was

something lacking in you.

So they malign you.

But they will give,

verse 5 says,

but they who malign you

will give an account

to him who is ready

to judge the living

and the dead.

Jesus will come again.

Idi Amin died

without having to face judgment

for what he did,

but he has not escaped

God's judgment.

Stalin died without having

to give an account

for killing 50 million people,

but he has not escaped

God's judgment.

That's what it's saying.

No one escapes God's judgment.

Verse 6,

for that is,

this is why the gospel

is preached even

to those who are dead,

that though judged

in the body,

physically,

the way people are,

they might live

in the spirit

the way God does.

And what this is really

meaning is this.

There's a fellow

who was a minister

in Ottawa

for quite a few years

named John Pierce.

And after he was

forced to retire,

he went to Nova Scotia,

to rural Nova Scotia

to minister.

And after he was

forced to retire there,

he went,

I've told you

about him before,

he went into the middle

of nowhere in New Brunswick

where there's just

very poor people

and uneducated people

and nobody wants

to go there.

And he ministered there

up until about 10 days

before he died.

So he was healthy

for his whole life.

He died,

I think,

at 88 or 89

and he lived

a complete life

dedicated to being

with the lowly

and the poor

and the unimportant,

the lower working class.

He was spectacularly generous.

His financial advisor

kept warning him

that he would run

out of money

and he would die

a complete pauper.

And people could say,

looking at John,

like,

what a waste.

And he just died

like everybody else.

He did all that sacrifice,

but he just died

like everybody else.

And that's where

Peter wants to remind you,

no, no, no, no, no.

The gospel is always worth it

even if it changes

your life completely.

And people can't make

the judgment

that your life

was a waste

because all will appear

before God.

And God will say

to John,

John,

gosh,

way to go

with a smile.

We all appear

before God.

Death is not

the final word

about us.

Death is not

a judgment

on all human life

and endeavor.

The final word

about human life

and endeavor

is made

by the triune God,

by Jesus,

the same one

who redeemed you

is the one

who will judge.

So we need a Savior.

How should we live

in light of this?

Well, you know,

I could write down

some points,

but actually,

Peter gives you

how shall we then live?

And it's better

if you just hear

what he has to say

than me giving you

my lame points.

So let's look.

How do we live?

If Jesus really

did live,

he really did die

on a cross,

he really was buried,

he really did rise

from the dead

and the grave is empty,

that changes everything.

And if there really

is going to be

a return of Jesus

and a judging

of the living

and the dead,

that changes everything.

And if these things

are rock solid true

and they should be

how we think

and how we should

understand the world,

how do we live?

Well, Peter gives you

some ideas.

He gives you

some suggestions.

Look at it,

verses 7 through 11.

That's the end

of our text today.

This is the application.

How shall we live?

Look at verse 7.

The end of all things

is at hand.

That's what he's saying.

Just remember the end.

Therefore,

be self-controlled

and sober-minded

for the sake

of your prayers.

Now, by the way,

when I was setting

this list this week,

two things

were very eye-opening

and one thing

was very humbling to me.

I don't know

what it's going to be

for you,

but for me,

two things

were very eye-opening

and one thing

was profoundly humbling.

And this first thing,

this application,

that if you are basing

your life on Jesus

and the reality

of the judgment

and what God wants you

to do,

what he's going to form

in you,

what you need to ask

him to form in you,

as you see it being formed

in you,

you want to have it develop,

you want to have it grow,

you want to encourage

your brothers and sisters

in Christ to grow in this,

to go high-five,

way to go

when you can see it developing

and when you see them

not doing it

to pray for them

is that you're praying

that people would be

sober-minded,

sort of that they would

be self-controlled

and that they would

be sober-minded

and a better translation

is clear-minded.

And by the way,

most Canadians

would like to be,

have self-control

and most people

would like to have

clear minds.

In fact,

a way to insult

another person in Canada

would be to say

they lack self-control

or they don't have

a clear mind

and they'd be offended.

These are things

that we want.

But here's the thing,

if you look at the verse again,

this is the important application.

This was the thing

that sort of shocked me.

The end of all things

is at hand,

therefore be self-controlled

and sober-minded

for the sake of your prayers.

And they're both connected.

The whole point

of being self-control,

having self-control

is for prayer.

The whole reason

to be clear-minded

is for prayer.

Now let's be honest.

Many of us think

if we were to develop

real self-control,

I don't need to pray as much

because I got self-control.

I got to pray

because I'm losing

my self-control

and I've caused chaos

in my life

and I really need God

to come and rescue me.

I lack self-control

with my wife.

I lack self-control

with my boss.

I'm in trouble.

God help me

and rescue me.

And we sort of think

that if we had self-control,

we need less prayer.

Same as if we were

more clear-minded,

we would need less prayer.

But what this text

is saying to you

is if you have

self-control without prayer,

it's not self-control.

If you are clear-minded

without prayer,

it's actually not

clear-mindedness.

I mean, that's...

For me,

I was like...

I'm just...

This is just for me.

I thought, wow.

Like...

I guess I've just never

noticed it in the Bible before.

But, you know,

if you think about it

for a second,

if I was really clear-minded,

I know that I don't

know the future.

My culture and my ego

thinks I know the future,

but I don't know the future.

I have no idea.

None of us know

whether each one of us

will be alive

in 24 hours.

Like, not a single one does.

And being clear-minded

and having self-control

means that we can pray

with self-control

and we can pray clear-minded

and we're acknowledging

that God is sovereign,

that we need his help

and we need his guidance

and we need his wisdom

and we need to act

in terms of how he starts

to respond to us

as we pray.

So, what's another application?

That's verse 8 and 9.

Above all,

keep loving one another earnestly.

Another way to translate

the word earnestly

is constantly.

Since love covers

a multitude of sins

and show hospitality

to one another

without grumbling.

So, these are another

two things.

As we think about Christ,

as we think about his life,

as we think about

the last judgment,

one of the things

that Christ is going to

want to do within us

as we think about this

is that we live a life

which is more and more loving

and that we become

more and more hospitable.

And that's one of the things,

once again,

that we can be praying

for us as a church,

we can be praying

for each other.

If you're in our small group

or the women's group

or when we get the men's group

off the ground

in a couple of months,

that as a person can share,

you know,

I really struggle

with hospitality

and I think I'm starting

finally to get

a little bit less frightened

and less sort of

needing my private space

to show more hospitality

and we give high fives.

Way to go.

You celebrate that

because that's where

the Holy Spirit's

going to move you into.

And then this next,

this is verse 10 and 11.

This is the part

that really humbled me.

I don't know about

how the word of God

is working in your life.

God works differently

in each life,

but here's what he says,

verse 10 and 11,

more application.

As each has received

a gift,

now what it means here

is that God gives

spiritual gifts

and natural gifts.

Okay?

So a spiritual gift

might be,

a natural gift

might be the gift

of the gap.

A spiritual gift

might be to,

to be able to speak

in such a way

with the Bible

that people understand

the Bible better

and their lives better,

right?

So there's,

they're natural

and spiritual gifts.

As each has received

a gift,

use it to serve

one another

as good stewards

of God's very grace.

So it's God's gift.

It gives different gifts

to different people.

And then Peter divides

all of the gifts

into,

in a sense,

mouth gifts

and hands and feet gifts.

So whoever speaks

is one who speaks

the oracles of God.

In other words,

your speaking

is always controlled

by God's word.

And whoever serves

is one who serves

by the strength

that God supplies.

Now those are good things,

really worth memorizing

and meditating upon,

really praying

that God would help us

to understand

what natural gifts,

by the way,

like some people

are just very naturally

hospitable.

Well, use it

to the glory of God.

Some people

are just naturally

better at loving people.

You know,

we'll use that

to go visit the sick

or to minister

to shut-ins.

It's just a bit

of a natural thing.

Other people,

there's more spiritual

things that come in.

And we need

all of these gifts

to be exercised

for people to flourish.

But here's the next thing,

and this is the part

that was hard for me.

I'll read verse 11 again.

Whoever speaks

is one who speaks

oracles of God.

And whoever serves

is one who serves

by the strength

that God supplies,

excuse me,

in order,

in order

that in everything

God may be glorified

through Jesus Christ.

To him belong glory

and dominion

forever and ever.

Amen.

So the point

of all of this

is that in everything

God is glorified

through Jesus Christ.

Christ,

and that in fact

all glory belongs

to him

and all dominion

belongs to him

as it has been

in the past,

is now,

and ever will be

in the future.

And here's the part

as I was meditating

upon this text

this week

that the Holy Spirit

spoke to me

and convicted me.

Thought experiment

came to me.

Imagine,

and this is the,

somebody was praying

for me

because it just came

to me

like a bit

of a confrontation

of me

from God.

George,

imagine that God

shows up

and says to you,

I'm going to make you

a deal.

You have a choice,

one of two things.

I'm willing

to bless you

and work through you

in such a way

that this church

gets five times bigger.

You're used

to plant

20 churches,

lots of missionary

come from your church,

a ministry to the poor

is started,

you have,

the church

has a profound effect

on people's lives

as they're completely

transformed,

people who are

very, very far

from God

are completely

transformed,

and this will be

something that I will do,

but nobody will think

you had anything

to do with it,

and you will get

absolutely no credit.

Would you do it?

Now, I'll be honest,

I'd at least like

a footnote.

I'd at least like

a watch

or some type

of way to go.

Like, I realize

that I'd like

some little tiny bit

of credit,

but really,

God is going to work

in my heart

to this point.

Shannon's stepping down

from the Sunday school

position.

I'm going to announce

it.

I've sort of announced

it right now,

and maybe the next

Sunday school person,

if God was to come

to them and say,

we're going to send

200 kids to the church,

you're going to have

a Sunday school

that ends up being

the talk of all

of North America,

and nobody will remember

that you had anything

to do with it.

Will you do that?

And that's a hard thing.

And it might be

for some other types

of things.

Maybe God will bless

you in business

with spectacular generosity,

or God will bless you

in some other way

with profound wisdom,

but it'd be one

of those things,

gosh, there's these

really wise sayings,

but I can't remember

who said it,

but it was you,

and nobody ever remembers

it to you.

Would you do it?

Would you take it?

That's the challenge here.

That's how God

is going to work

in our lives,

but the fact of the matter

is, brothers and sisters,

there is a weight

of wanting to justify

yourself which crushes us,

which crushes me,

which crushes you.

We are so much lighter

and freer

to lose that,

to know that it all

comes from God.

As I've said before,

just pray that it's

actually really

existentially true

in my life.

I am nothing more

than a mirror

when I preach,

and I'll tell you,

my mirror is cracked,

it's missing a few pieces,

part of it's faded,

and part of it's warped,

and all I can do

is angle myself

to the light

that comes from God

so that my mirror

will be filled

and shine into your lives,

and I contribute nothing.

And pray that that

would really be true,

that how I understand

myself and understand

my ministry.

That's the humbling

part of this.

See, once again,

I want some of the,

that's why I need

a Savior.

That's why you need

a Savior.

Good news,

there is a Savior.

And He's for you.

He's for you.

He's for you.

Let's stand and bow our heads

and pray.

Let's stand and pray

in closing.

Father,

we give you thanks

and praise

that you know us

really perfectly,

and yet you look at us

with perfect love.

And we give you

thanks and praise

that you were very

clear-eyed

about each one of us.

And Jesus,

that you were clear-eyed

about each one of us

when you died

on the cross for us.

And we give you

thanks and praise

that you were

a wonderful Savior,

a beautiful Savior,

a deep Savior.

We give you

thanks and praise

that knowing

your knowledge of us

and your death for us,

that we can pour out

our hearts in prayer

to you.

We can confess

even the darkest things

about our lives

to you,

and you won't be offended,

and you won't be caught

by surprise,

and you won't say,

oh, if I knew that

about you in advance,

I wouldn't even want

to talk to you.

That, Father,

grip us with this

and grip us with these

truths of who Jesus is

and what he did

for us on the cross

and the miracles

he performed

and the teaching

he gave.

And, Father,

bring these truths

home to our lives

that this would be

how we think

and how we understand

the world,

and that we would

always remember

that Christ is coming

again and that all

human beings will be judged

and that our only hope

in that judgment

is Christ.

I have no hope.

We have no hope

apart from it.

And, Father,

we ask then that you

make Jesus real

to our lives.

And for those,

Father,

who may be listening

and they feel a pressure,

they've not given

their lives to Christ,

Father,

may your Holy Spirit

help them to say,

Jesus,

be my Savior.

we ask all these things

in the name of Jesus,

Father,

your Son,

and our Savior.

And all God's people said,

Amen.