Since the End Draws Near

A dear friend and brother, Marty Krause, he's come to us from Regina.

And he was actually my young adult pastor when I was just a youngling at Hillsdale Baptist Church in Regina.

And Marty and his wife Ruth, they ran the young adult ministry.

And I got to just enjoy the benefit of having fellowship with other Christians through that and growing in my faith.

And the Lord really did use their ministry in a big way to bless me.

And so it's my honor to welcome Marty to come and share the word with us this morning.

I was away at the BGC School of Orientation this week meeting with other pastors and just getting oriented to the Baptist General Conference, which we've now joined.

And so Marty was gracious to come and be willing to share the word with us this morning.

So come on up, Marty.

Am I on?

Good morning.

Yeah.

Really good to be here with you folks.

I have been reminiscing about Josh the last couple of days.

But we've known each other for a long time, at least as long since the days when I could comb my hair.

Yeah, those days are kind of gone.

But I consider this a real privilege to be here this morning.

I was visiting with Josh's parents last Sunday evening.

And they are thrilled with their son, as they should be.

But they're also thrilled with what's happening here at the church here in Davidson.

So they passed their hellos along.

And, yeah, so this is good to be here.

I've recently retired from formal pastoral ministry.

I was on our staff at Hillsdale for 25 years and just retired as of September 30th.

So we're kind of starting a new adventure here.

My role was kind of a visitation slash mentoring kind of a pastor.

I had a number of guys that I would meet.

I could still do that.

But I don't have kind of like, as our pastor would say, the caller of ministry has been kind of removed from me.

But it's always fun to get out and to do some preaching.

Bill, we were on holidays and Bill texted me and asked if I wanted to come up here.

It was a quick yes.

But glad to be here.

My spot at Hillsdale was always the, you know, that Sunday between Christmas and New Year's?

You know, the one where nobody comes?

That was my spot for 25 years.

And I guess it still is.

But interesting, I kind of joke about that.

I told people that on the 25th time.

I said, Pastor Bill's given me one more chance to get this right.

So hopefully with the number 25 I can do it.

But I also hold the record.

I also hold the record for the lowest giving on a Sunday morning on one of those.

I told them, I said, listen, take the offering before I preach.

Okay.

That's the way it should go.

But anyways, it's a real honor and a privilege to be here this morning.

And I really enjoyed listening to your worship and your testimony this morning.

And the praying, because that's part of what I want to share about this morning.

But all the requests and the heart behind them is so good and so critical as Christians to how we live and to what we do.

As a new believer way back in 1978, at the age of 22, I can still remember hearing a conversation between two Christian gentlemen.

I remember those days because anything that had to do with the Lord was so new to me.

And I was just eating everything up.

And the one thing that one gentleman said to the other was that preaching has to be the overflow of your life.

And I remember that.

And I can tell you quite honestly this morning that the message I have is that.

And we're going to be looking later at 1 Peter 4, 7 to 11.

1 Peter 4, 7 to 11.

But for months now, 1 Peter 4, 7 to 11 has been the overflow of my life.

I've pondered over it.

I've prayed over it.

I think of its contents often throughout my days.

And I'm really coming to you this morning to share what the Lord's been speaking to me about.

And my prayer this morning is that it might be helpful to you as well.

I have to tell you this, that I'm not a theologian.

I would probably describe myself as a hillbilly who reads his Bible.

What I would share from God's Word this morning comes directly from my devotional reading.

And it's simple, biblical, and hopefully practical enough that we can apply it to our lives and to your lives and anywhere else that the Lord may send us.

Just join me in a word of opening prayer here, okay?

Father in heaven, thank you so much for this privilege and opportunity to be here in Davidson today, this morning.

We thank you for this church.

We thank you that we're connected now with the BGC.

We're so thrilled in Regina about that.

We're so glad that Josh is here.

And we hear so many good things about the church here.

Father, the message this morning from 1 Peter 4, 7 to 11 is really about the church.

It's about us.

It's about this church and this community.

How it operates, what we pray it would look like, and the privileges that they have to do what they do.

Also the challenges.

There's many challenges to be the outpost of hope and faith in any community.

Peter, or Paul called the church the pillar and support of the truth.

The church of Jesus Christ is the only, is the only place anywhere that can stand for truth.

And so they're important.

This is an important place in Davidson.

So I pray your blessing on it.

Protect it and guide it.

And I pray that the words that we share together this morning might be helpful in their endeavor.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

All right.

Why don't we just take a second.

We'll read through 1 Peter 4, 7 to 11.

The end of all things is at hand.

Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace.

Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God.

Whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies.

In order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

To him be glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen.

Amen.

Just a couple of introductory comments before we look at the passage.

Among other realities of living in 2024, I've noticed in particular two things which I keep hearing from many people.

First is this, and it's about COVID.

That the COVID experience changed the world.

One change seems to be that people don't seem to be getting out together as much as they did before this event.

I'm not sure what happened, but I do see that as well.

Secondly, I hear many people seem to be certain that we're really living in the last days before the Lord's return.

Even many sound, credible, biblically solid and balanced Bible teachers seem to be indicating that to us.

I'm aware that end time scenarios have been around forever.

But many signs seem to indicate this is truly where we seem to be in history.

I still remember as a new believer in 1978 hearing things I had never heard before.

People were talking about the return of Christ and the rapture.

And I had never, ever heard growing up, I'd never heard anything about any of that at all.

And I found it thrilling and unbelievable, but very real.

And the anticipation of that has had an impact on how I live.

So we've come through the COVID era and are still anticipating the Lord's return.

With a changed and somewhat damaged world from COVID,

and with an anticipation of the return of Christ at any moment, how are we to live?

As I mused over those thoughts a few days ago, I was reminded of Hebrews 10.

I'll just read it here, Hebrews 10, 24 and 25,

which is a very familiar passage, probably to most of us, and it reads like this.

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,

but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

The question is this.

If the day of the Lord's return is near, what do we do?

The commands in Hebrews 10, 24 and 25 are echoed, actually, in 1 Peter 4, 7 to 11.

So let's examine the passage, and we'll go verse by verse.

In the first part of verse 7, Peter states this.

He says,

The end of all things is at hand.

And we must understand that Christ's second coming has been anticipated

in every generation for 2,000 years,

and was anticipated by the church in Peter's day.

God's design has been for it to be an incentive for holy living,

not a signal to sell your home and go to the mountain and sit

and wait for Jesus to come back.

Peter's message, in anticipation of Christ's return,

is not for the church to run and hide and to wait secretly for this.

There were many difficult days for the church to endure

that Peter was writing to,

and hiding might have made sense to them.

If we look at the surrounding chapters where 1 Peter 4, 7, 11 is found,

we can see that the church was enduring persecution and difficult times.

In 1 Peter 3, 14, just before the passage, it states,

Even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake.

And it goes on to that.

So they were suffering for that.

1 Peter 5, 9 and 10 states,

Knowing that the same kind of suffering,

and then it says,

And after you have suffered a little while.

So the church, where it was placed,

the church Peter was referring to,

had gone through difficult times.

So he's talking to them in the midst of that.

An initial human response to spiritual pressure,

producing suffering,

coming from an unbelieving world that surrounded them,

would have been to hide away

and to protect themselves.

But this is not the message God has for them.

What does the Lord command them to do?

In the second part of verse 7,

Peter states this,

Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded

for the sake of your prayers.

Firstly, Peter is emphasizing the importance of prayer in the church.

That blessed me to hear you folks pray this morning.

I love hearing that, you know,

where you go around and you get a bit of a feel where everybody's at,

and you can pray for everyone the way it is.

That is so important.

So that's so good to hear that.

Jesus said in Matthew 21, 13,

It is written,

My house shall be called a house of prayer.

If there was ever a time for followers of Jesus Christ

to be growing and consistent in their prayer life,

it's now.

Too often we think of prayer as an option,

but it's not.

Too often,

in the New Testament letters,

we see Paul requesting prayer for open doors.

We see Epaphroditus wrestling in prayer for the church.

We see Jesus spending nights in prayer

and rising early to pray.

Can we do any less?

We must learn to be consistent in our prayers

and believe that our prayers are important

and make a difference because they do.

I read about one pastor who was a man of prayer

and was asked by an unbeliever,

Don't you just think that answered prayers

are just a coincidence?

His response was,

I don't know.

All I know is this,

when I stop praying,

the coincidences stop happening.

We are commanded to be self-controlled

and sober-minded in our praying.

This would suggest that our lives are purposeful

and not impulsive about matters in life.

We don't, quote,

jump to the next trendy thing,

but have a consistent walk with God.

Be careful that we don't jump on bandwagons,

especially in things such as the end time events.

Balance in your prayer life is the key.

In the book of Daniel,

Daniel was aware of a conspiracy

to have him thrown to the lions

if he prayed to anyone but the king.

He was not threatened by this,

but prayed to God, quote as it says,

as was his practice.

In other words,

he was not thrown off by threats

or intimidating edicts,

but maintained his prayerful walk with God

as he had always done.

He maintained a sober consistency.

We must learn to be sensitive

to the needs and situations of those around us.

We must stay sharp and alert

and pray accordingly.

Again, I would refer back to your prayer time this morning.

You guys are staying sharp and alert

with your prayer requests.

That's so amazing.

So keep that up.

And it takes work and practice and commitment,

but it makes a world of difference in our praying.

So we need to be praying.

Let's look at verse 8.

It states,

Above all,

keep loving one another earnestly

since love covers a multitude of sins.

The picture of loving earnestly

is a picture of an athlete.

Paul's giving us a picture of an athlete,

or Peter's giving us a picture of an athlete

who is training,

training hard

to perfect his sport.

To love others this way takes work.

Have you ever been disappointed

in a gift someone gave you?

A gift that was nice,

but missed the mark?

A gift that indicated

that the person that gave the gift

really didn't know you very well?

I spoke to one gentleman

who told me that when he was 12,

he had asked his parents for a guitar.

Now, here's a question for you.

What kind of a guitar

does a 12-year-old want?

We kind of know what he wants.

He wants something that's going to rock,

that's cool.

So what happened?

His family gave him a huge,

plain,

classical guitar.

He was somewhat grateful,

but deeply disappointed.

But he was deeply disappointed

in the fact that the people

that should have known him best

and taken time to figure out

what it was that he really wanted

didn't seem to know that.

So it takes work.

It takes work to love.

Love means earnestly taking work.

It means we observe them

and meet the deep needs

because we know by observation

and prayer

what those deep needs are.

We were away about a year ago

and came back

and had our kids over

for Thanksgiving supper.

And my birthday's in September.

So we were gone during that time

and one set of our kids

had a gift for us

or a gift for me.

He said,

Dad, here's something for you.

We saw this and thought you'd like it.

And you know that Christmas time,

you know that the red truck

with the green Christmas tree

and all that

and all the lights.

I love that picture.

There's just something

that just touches me.

So they said,

here's a little something for you, Dad.

They gave me a bag

and opened it up

and it was three little

Christmas tree ornaments

but they were the truck,

the red truck with the green.

I just went ballistic.

I was so thrilled.

And they were watching me.

They were going,

ooh, what's wrong with this guy?

But I was so excited

about the fact

that somebody knew

exactly what I wanted.

And that's the picture here

of loving,

of loving people,

of knowing,

you know,

what can I do,

you know,

to help somebody out?

But it takes work.

Like an athlete works

at his craft,

his sports craft.

We need to work at knowing

how to love people,

observing,

making sure that we pick up

on little things

that could make a difference.

True love also covers

a multitude of sins.

You know,

we live in a culture

that unfortunately

loves to expose the sins

and weaknesses

of those around us.

I'm a baseball fan

and I always remember

the stories of some

of the old Babe Ruths

and things like that.

And it seems like

the fans from that era

always loved their heroes.

And we're aware

of the fact

that their lives

weren't perfect,

but they protected them.

And it's just,

it's sad to say

that we seem to live

in a world that's opposite

and that we love

to expose people.

And it's sad.

Imagine if God

displayed our sins

and weaknesses

on a billboard

for all other people

to see.

He has the power

to do that,

but he chooses not to

in his love for us.

So let's be a people

that accept one another

in spite of our imperfections

and protect

and guard one another.

I understand

that there's times

when disclosure

of sin is appropriate.

It is the right thing

to do at times.

But let's not be too quick

to do that

and let's protect,

let's protect one another.

Let's look at verse 9.

It says,

show hospitality

to one another

without grumbling.

Whether it be a COVID hangover

or just something

we haven't done

or maybe it's something

we don't like to do,

we must grow out,

we must grow in our

living together

outside of the walls

of our church.

Some of the deepest

and most meaningful

conversations with people

have come at a dinner table

or over a cup of coffee.

Billy Graham used to talk

about his crusades

and there was always

invitations given

to come forward.

But he said

most of those,

most of the responses

to his crusades

came with people

going out for coffee

afterwards.

They didn't actually

come at the event.

They came later on

in a kind of a more

quiet, warmer environment.

so important.

Our homes are given

to us as gifts

from the Lord.

We need our homes

to be places of refuge

but also to be places

to refresh other people.

How many have made decisions

to follow Jesus Christ

in someone's front room?

Let's pray and ask the Lord

to make our homes

places for God

to use for others.

We will receive

the blessing from God

in our own lives

if we do.

So you're kind of

getting the picture

of Peter challenging

the church

and saying

don't turtle

because of what's going on.

In other words

expand the church.

The church needs

to take charge

and be the church

and with one another

but also let the world

see what they're doing.

We come to verse 10 and 11.

They read

as each has received a gift

use it to serve one another

as good stewards

of God's very grace.

Whoever speaks

as one who speaks

oracles of God.

Whoever serves

as one who serves

by the strength

that God supplies

in order that

in everything

God may be glorified

through Jesus Christ.

To him belong glory

and dominion

forever and ever.

Amen.

Now rather than

dissect these verses

and their contents

I wanted us

to rather focus

on what I see

as one kind of

overriding theme

in these two verses.

The theme is simply

that our lives

need to be all about

Jesus Christ

and him living

his life

in us.

John 1.17 states this

that the law

was given through Moses

grace and truth

came through Jesus Christ.

We need to experience

the grace

and the reality

and the presence

of Jesus Christ

among us

and within our own hearts.

God gives us

abilities to do acts

which we cannot do

on our own.

To see a newly converted

former thief

do acts of service

and giving

creates wonder

and brings glory

to God.

This is how it should be.

Now I realize

that the topic

of gifting

brings up other questions

such as

what are my gifts

and how do I find out?

Those are valid questions

and time does not

permit us this morning

to venture into those.

However,

I would say

that if our heart

is to live

and to serve others

as we are commanded

and according

to his word

that the Lord

will help us

discover those gifts

as we go.

We're also commanded

to speak the oracles

of God.

Our communication

with one another

is enriching

and encouraging

when God's word

becomes part

of our communicating.

I have an example

in my own life

that I remember.

I had a friend

from our church

in Regina

that he just

for years

had stopped

coming to church.

He just felt

uncomfortable

and I met with him

week after week

after week

and we'd talk about it

and talk about it

and he always resisted.

He just,

something had happened

to him

which is a very

typical story

sometimes

where something

had happened

and he didn't

want to come.

And I just said,

you know,

you've got to

consider coming back.

And he wanted to

but he just

couldn't seem

to do that.

So one time

I was meeting

with him

and I had my Bible

with me

and in the course

of the conversation

I just,

I was reading

a particular passage

and it had nothing

to do with his

absenteeism.

It was just a passage

that I'd been reading

in my own devotions

and I read it to him

and I'm looking down

and looking

and then I looked up

and I looked at him

and he was a bucket

of tears.

He was crying

and crying

and crying

and he said,

you know,

I've wanted to come

back to church

so badly

but I couldn't.

My point is this,

it was the word

of God

that touched him.

My fine advice

and counsel

did nothing

for years.

It was good

that I was connected

with him

but I read one passage

in the word of God

and he's crying

his eyes out

and very soon

after that

came back to church

and I would tell you

this,

that he still comes

and he's a healthy

member of our church

and is doing amazing

but it was the word

of God

that brought him back.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

To bring balance

to this point

I realize

that we don't invite

people to come over

to our homes

and just read

and chat about scripture

to the exclusion

of everything else.

If you have a Super Bowl party

and all you do

is read scripture

it might not be

the best thing to do.

Not to say you can't

use the scriptures

but there is balance

that's needed as well.

However,

having said that

I do think we could

move to some degree

towards incorporating

God's word

into our times together

be it sharing verses

or meaningful experiences

as we grow in this area

we will bring more glory

to God.

I heard that this morning

with the testimony.

It's that sort of thing

where you just bring those

and to make those

a common part

of what we do.

Excuse me.

We need to experience

God's mighty hand

at work among us

and it'll come through

his word

and it will thrill us

when it does.

Just a few thoughts

to conclude

our time this morning.

I'm always amazed

that the word of God

is always current

and it's always relevant.

The needs in the church

in Peter's day

are the same as they are

in our day

2,000 years later.

Pressures from the world

has always had the potential

to make the church stronger.

As well,

anticipating the Lord

any moment in return

has had the same potential

to sharpen our focus

and to make us operate

as the Lord

has designed the church

to do

with laser-focused prayer,

sacrificial love,

hospitality,

serving one another,

all centered around

the word of God.

One final challenge

for us to consider

this morning.

We sadly remember

the tragic events

of 9-11.

I had heard

the testimony

of a preacher

who lived in New York City

at the time

of the event.

He said this.

He said,

for a year,

he said,

you couldn't find a Bible

in New York City.

He said,

churches were full.

Obviously,

people were responding

and were looking

for some answers.

A year later,

he said,

things went back

to normal.

His sad comment

on this was that

people were looking

for answers

in reaction

to this tragedy.

Sadly,

they never found it

in the local church,

so drifted away.

The church

had an opportunity

and just didn't do

with it

what they could have.

If the Church

of Jesus Christ

in 2024

can come to grips

with the directives

outlined in 1 Peter 4,

7-11,

what a testimony

this would be

to the outside

unbelieving world,

among whom are many

who are looking

for answers.

I pray that we are

up for the challenge

and for the opportunity.

Amen.

Let me just close this

in a word of prayer

with you, okay?

Father,

the church today

is such an important

part of any community.

And Father,

in Peter's day

it was the same.

it was under pressure.

And Peter's counsel

to them was

don't give in

to the pressure.

Become the church

more and more.

Be stronger

in your fellowship,

in your praying.

Do everything

more

than you used to do.

And Father God,

I pray that

the church

here in Davidson,

I'm so thankful

that this church

exists here,

Father God.

Use it for your glory.

And I pray that

all of the items,

the list that

is suggested

in 1 Peter 4,

7 to 11,

be sober-minded

for our prayers,

be praying,

be having fellowship,

having people

into our homes,

loving,

learning to love

in new ways

that's deeper.

Everything,

Father God.

and using

the word of God

more and more

and more

and using our gifts

to encourage

one another

and to build

the church up.

I pray that

Davidson Church

would be a church

that grows

in this area.

And I pray that

it would not only

strengthen the church

on the inside,

but that the outside

world looking

would wonder

about this place

and would want

to come in

and find out

what's going on

and find out

that the Lord

is here.

That's our prayer.

That's our prayer

this morning.

And Father God,

what an amazing thing

to be part of

the body of Christ,

especially in the days

we live in.

Use us and guide us

for your purposes

and your glory.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.