Two Ways To Live For God's Glory

Verse 7, Peter writes,

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.

Well, perhaps you've heard this question before.

Maybe you've entertained it.

In your mind at some point along the way.

But if you knew that you only had a short term left to live,

what would you do?

Who would you spend the rest of that time with?

What would you spend the rest of your time doing?

It's a common question, isn't it?

We hear it all the time.

We perhaps have asked that question before.

And a lot of people, most people maybe even,

have something of a bucket list mindset when they come to that question.

And they think, well, I've got all of these things that I would like to do in my life,

things that I would like to enjoy in my life.

And I guess if I knew that I only had a little bit of time left,

that the end of my existence here was drawing to a close,

I guess I'd start checking off the list, right?

Finding all the things that I've really wanted to enjoy in this life,

trying to get them done before it's too late.

Some may take maybe an opportunistic view of that,

which is I'm just going to make the most of my time here.

You only have one life, right?

Only one life to live.

I'm just going to make the most of it and do all the things that make me happy.

So an opportunistic view.

Some might take a philanthropic view.

You may say, you know, I only have a short time here.

I don't know why I'm here.

I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

But I know that at least when my life comes to an end,

I want to have left the world better than it was when I came into it, perhaps.

And maybe you just give the rest of your time to philanthropy.

You're just trying to help people, right?

Trying to leave the world a better place.

Some might take what we might call it a militaristic view.

We say, well, I recognize I only have a short time left to live,

and I'm going to be the one that beats it.

I'm going to be the one that beats it.

Everybody else may die.

Everybody else may have 70, 80 years, whatever it is.

I'm going to have a longer lifespan than that.

And so you spend your life doing everything that you can to beat the odds, right?

Maybe you're spending your time focused on hyperhealth living, right?

Very careful about the way that you're eating.

Very careful about the way you're treating your body, so on and so forth.

Just thinking, if anybody's going to beat the odds, I'm going to beat the odds.

Now, all of us would probably come to those three scenarios.

Maybe there's more of them that we would have.

And we'd say, you know, it's not entirely bad, is it?

And surely we want to enjoy the life that God has given us.

Isn't that what Solomon instructs us in Ecclesiastes?

Eat your cake.

Enjoy it, right?

God has given you a particular lot.

Make the most of it and enjoy it in God's blessings, right?

We might say, well, yeah, there's a sense in which we'd want to do that.

Surely all of us want to make some kind of significant impact on the world around us, or at least the community in which we live.

Surely we wouldn't come to that and say, well, no, that's a problem.

You shouldn't be living that way.

No, we'd say, no, that's pretty good.

Surely most of us would say, yeah, you know, we need to be good stewards of our bodies.

Maybe we can't completely beat the odds, but maybe we can make things a little bit better than the average person.

We'd say, well, that's not necessarily a poor pursuit either.

The problem is most people, when they're thinking of that question and they're answering it in those ways,

the one thing that they do have in common is that they believe that this life is really all that there is.

And that all that really matters in this life is just doing what makes you happy.

Just checking off that list.

Do the things that you want to do.

Help the people that you want to help.

Live the way that you want to live, because this is it.

You only live once, and once it's gone, it's gone.

And we would say, well, you know, that's where the problem really lies, isn't it?

This isn't all that there is.

What if there is more than this life?

What if death isn't really the end?

What if your existence here really isn't as purposeless and as meaningless as our culture tends to make it seem?

What if your life really isn't about you at the end of the day?

What if it's about something greater than you?

What if it's about someone greater than you?

And, of course, Christians would say, no, that's it.

The Bible tells us that all of this, everything that we see around us, this life that we have now, it's all going somewhere, right?

We're not here by accident.

We're not purposeless beings who are just here, and then we're gone, and then that's it.

No, the Bible tells us this is all going somewhere.

And the next big event on God's calendar is, of course, the return of Christ.

And we'd say that leads to the final judgment.

The final judgment where each and every one of us are going to stand before a holy God.

Shane helped us to think about that so briefly this morning as we look to God in our call to worship.

We see his grandeur.

We see God calling us to lift our voices in worship.

And then Shane said it.

He said, now that we've seen our holy God, we must now humble ourselves before him.

Now, why would we do that?

Because he really is a holy God.

Because he really is a great judge.

Because all of our lives are really to be lived for his glory and for his purposes.

And each one of us will stand before him.

And there's only one of two responses that you can have to that.

One is to be utterly terrified of it.

And there's a sense in which all of us should tremble to know that this life is not all that there is.

And I'm going to have to answer to God for it.

And maybe that's you.

Maybe when you think of the prospect that after death comes a judgment,

maybe what that does is it just scares you.

Because you're not exactly sure how you're going to stand when that judgment comes.

But of course, it's a comfort for those of us who know the Lord Jesus, isn't it?

We stand in fear and in reverence and in awe of our great God.

But we do so also with the tremendous comfort of knowing that Christ has redeemed us.

That he has paid on the cross for those things that would cause us to be judged by God in eternal hell.

And it brings us great comfort to know that actually this is not all there is.

Because this life is hard.

And while there's so many ways we'd like to live it,

none of those ways ever really fully satisfy our flesh, does it?

There must be something better to this.

And of course, Christians know there is something better.

There's a great comfort that comes to us when we think that,

oh, this is actually going somewhere.

There's a purpose here.

And much of Peter's letter has been setting our minds on that, hasn't it?

From the very beginning, he speaks to these Christians who are suffering,

who are in this existence that he has referred to as exile.

And what is it that he begins with at the very beginning?

He says, hey, bless God because he has a great inheritance prepared for you.

An inheritance that's unfading and imperishable.

It's undefiled.

He is keeping it for you.

What is Peter doing there?

He's saying there's something better.

And it's coming.

Surely, it is almost here.

Jesus is about to come back.

And now we're at this point in the letter where he's taking all of those wonderful truths

and now he's practically applying them to the way that we're supposed to live.

It's almost as if Peter has in his mind this idea that, okay,

we do only have a short time to live.

How are we going to use that time?

And he's instructing us on how to do that.

That's what he's on about in this paragraph.

It begins at verse 7.

He opens it up.

We talked about this at great length two weeks ago.

He opens it up.

The end of all things is at hand.

What does that mean?

Well, it means that we're in the final stage.

We're in the final stage of God's plan and redemptive plan in human history.

Jesus has come.

The kingdom was inaugurated in his first coming.

It's going to be consummated in his second coming.

And that time in between is where we are.

The Bible calls that the last days or the final days,

or as Peter refers to it here, the end of all things.

Peter says, look, you're in the final days.

The final countdown has begun to God's eternal plan.

Jesus will return.

Therefore, he says, as God's people,

there's some things that need to mark your life now.

The Bible tells us often, it's not shy about telling us,

that the reality of the return of Christ

and of our eternal home in heaven

is supposed to shape the way that we live now.

Here from Hebrews chapter 10, verses 24 and 25,

Hebrews 10:24

you probably know this verse well.

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

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

but encouraging one another.

Why?

All the more as you see the day approaching,

the day, the final day, the judgment,

the return of Christ.

What's the author of Hebrews getting at there?

He's saying, listen, the day is approaching,

so let's live in light of it.

And if we're gonna live faithfully in light of it,

we're gonna seek to stir one another up

and we're gonna meet together as God's people.

We're gonna encourage one another.

We're not gonna neglect the church, so on and so forth.

Let me give you another one.

1 John chapter three, verses two and three.

John says, beloved, we are God's children now.

And what we will be, that is what we will be in eternity,

has not yet appeared.

We don't know exactly what our existence is gonna be like then.

But we know that when Christ appears,

we're gonna be like him

because we shall see him as he is.

And then John says this,

everyone who thus hopes,

everyone who sets their minds on that,

everyone who sets their focus on what is coming,

purifies himself now as Christ is pure.

We could go to many more.

The New Testament constantly telling us

to live in light of the end,

live in light of the coming of Christ,

live in light of what will be true of us in eternity

if we're God's people.

And of course, that's what Peter is on about here.

And he gives us four exhortations here,

four marks of what our lives should look like

as God's people

as we're living in light of the end of all things.

We covered the first two,

two weeks ago,

and that was sober prayer.

We saw that in verse seven.

And sacrificial love,

which we saw in verse eight.

And we're gonna cover the second two this morning.

The next one that we come to

is what we might call sincere hospitality.

Sincere hospitality.

So we've had sober prayer.

We've had sacrificial love.

Now we have sincere hospitality.

We find that in verse nine,

this third imperative.

Peter says,

show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

And remember,

this is flowing out of that opening indicative in verse seven.

Because we're in the last days,

because Jesus is coming back,

show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

Of course,

hospitality is one of the marks

of the early Christian community.

And it might surprise you to know

that the New Testament repeatedly instructs believers

to participate in this.

And we might not always think about this.

We're thinking about,

well, what does it look like to be a Christian?

Lots of things may come to our minds.

We may be surprised how often the New Testament

answers that question

by saying something in relationship

to this idea of hospitality.

One of the biblical qualifications

for elders in the church

is that they are hospitable.

Why?

Not because it's more important for pastors

than for everyone else,

but because elders in the church

are to be examples

of what every Christian under their care

is to be and to do.

It's that important.

That God would say,

those who are going to lead my people

and shepherd my people

need to have this

as a key characteristic of their life

because everybody else in their charge

needs to look at them and say,

that's how I need to live my life.

That's how I need to follow

in the footsteps of Christ

just as my pastors do.

And here,

Peter exhorts Christians in exile

to focus on showing hospitality

as we seek to live in light

of Christ's return.

Think about that.

In context here,

he's putting hospitality

on the same plane

as our sincere prayer life,

as the sacrificial love

that covers a multitude of sins,

as we'll see in a few moments,

a servant-hearted stewardship

in our lives as well.

In other words,

we are to understand

hospitality as a significant

and vital pursuit

as we seek to be faithful

to Jesus in this life.

So here's the question.

What exactly is hospitality?

And how is it that we are to show it

if we're going to be obedient

to the Lord?

Well, the term,

it literally means

love for outsiders,

love for strangers.

And there's a cultural context

to this in Peter's day.

There's no Holiday Inns

or Marriott's or Hilton's

just around town, right,

for people and travelers

to come into.

A traveler would come into a town,

they'd make their way

to the town square,

and that's where they'd camp out

for the night

unless some hospitable person

comes along the way

and says,

why don't you come and stay

with me tonight

or the next few nights?

There's a cultural context to that.

So using this word hospitality

literally in their context

means loving strangers

in that way, right?

Peter adds something here

that helps us refine the idea.

He says that we are to show hospitality

to one another,

which means when Peter uses this term

for loving outsiders,

and yet it's one another,

it's those in the church,

what he's really getting at

is opening your heart,

opening your life,

opening your home

to those who are outside

of your family,

outside of those

who are already closest to you.

That's the idea here.

And of course,

it's an overflow of this love

that we're to keep pursuing

in verse 8.

Hospitality then is not

just hosting parties,

it's not planning events,

it's fundamentally

just loving other people.

It's loving others.

It's opening your life to them,

to outsiders for their good.

Peter says this needs to

mark our lives now.

So then love not only

covers a multitude of sins,

it also produces

this sincere hospitality.

And of course,

in this case,

it's referring especially

to those who are in the church.

Peter has believers

foremost in his mind.

hospitality then means

opening your life

to one another,

opening your home

to one another.

It is to open your heart

to all who need

a place of refuge,

a place of friendship,

a place to receive love.

The hospitable heart

rejoices at the prospect

of helping someone else

or providing a place

for them to belong.

And Christian hospitality

does that

all because of the radical love

that has been shown to us

in the person

and the work of Jesus Christ.

We just simply want to do

for others

what Christ has done

for us

and we can't help

but welcome

other believers

into our lives

for fellowship

and discipleship.

That's at the heart

of what Peter is saying here.

As we are approaching

the end,

as we are living out

this time of exile,

be hospitable

with one another.

Open your lives

to one another.

Open your homes

to one another.

But of course,

sincere hospitality

comes at a tremendous cost,

doesn't it?

Isn't it interesting

how everything Peter says here

is costly?

All four of these exhortations

are costly.

Showing hospitality

is going to cost you time

and energy

that you might

otherwise have used

for pleasure

or maybe just productivity,

getting things done.

It's going to cost you that.

It's going to cost you energy

often leaving you physically,

emotionally drained.

Because hospitality

isn't just for the extroverts

that are energized

by their time with people.

No, it's even for those of us

who are drained

by our time with people.

It costs us something.

It's going to cost you money.

It's going to cost you

other resources

as you make provision

for those who you welcome

into your home.

It's going to cost you privacy

as you open your life

to others in ways

that are often very difficult.

That's the cost associated here.

And yet, Peter says,

this needs to mark our lives.

Not only is it commanded

of us in the scriptures,

but notice what he says about it.

Show hospitality

to one another.

How does he finish?

Without grumbling

or complaining.

What does that tell us?

Well, it tells us that

God not only cares

that you do hospitality,

God cares about how you feel

about your hospitality.

He isn't interested

or pleased in us

merely performing hospitality

as a duty.

He actually cares

that we delight

to do all that we can

to open our lives

and our homes

to other people.

That's why Peter says

that we are to keep

loving one another

earnestly above all things.

Sincere hospitality

flows out of that

sacrificial love.

And this idea of God

actually caring about

the way we think about it

is prevalent

in the New Testament.

We can just give you

two other examples

to help you wrap

your mind around this.

Just set your eyes down

on chapter five

for just a moment.

We get to it

in a couple of weeks,

he's going to address

the elders in the church.

Notice what he says

in verse one.

I exhort the elders

among you

as a fellow elder,

as a witness

of the sufferings of Christ

and a partaker

in the glory

that's going to be revealed.

Shepherd the flock

of God that is among you

exercising oversight.

Now get this,

not under compulsion,

but willingly

as God would have you.

And what's he saying

to the elders

of the church?

That God isn't just

concerned

that you fulfill

the duty of an elder.

He's concerned

that you do it

with a particular spirit

about you,

that you delight in it,

that you delight

in leading

and shepherding

his people.

Perhaps we could think

back to Paul's writings

to the church

in Corinth.

Remember when he was

writing about giving?

He said that everyone

was to lay aside

something that they

could give

to a particular mission work

and that they were

to do so

as God has prospered them.

But then he says,

when the collection

comes,

they're to give

that willingly,

not under compulsion.

Why?

Because God loves

what?

A cheerful giver.

It's not that he just

cares that we give.

He cares that we

give cheerfully.

It's not that he just

cares that pastors

shepherd the flock.

He cares that pastors

shepherd the flock

has a delight

and has a joy

to serve the Lord

by serving his people.

And when we get

to hospitality,

Peter's saying

the same thing.

God doesn't just care

that you do it.

He cares about how you

feel when you do it.

He cares that you

delight in it,

that you have

joy in it.

But what could

possibly motivate us

to live like this?

This is asking a lot,

isn't it?

I thought my life

was meant for me.

You're telling me

that I've got to give up

so much of it

for other people.

Why would we do that?

Well, because it's

what Jesus did,

isn't it?

Will you turn with me

to Matthew 25?

Jesus models this

in so many ways,

but I want to show you

something that Jesus

said in Matthew 25

that I think will help us

be motivated

by this very thing.

Matthew 25.

Yeah, I want you

to look at

verse 35.

We're parachuting in.

This is in the middle

of some teaching.

Jesus is giving a picture

of the final judgment

and how he's giving

this illustration

of the king

who is going to

judge the people

that come and stand before him.

Of course,

Christ is the king here.

And there are believers

and unbelievers.

We're looking at believers

here in verse 35.

Jesus says,

for I was hungry

and you gave me food.

I was thirsty

and you gave me drink.

I was a stranger

and you welcomed me.

I was an outsider

and you brought me in.

You opened your heart to me.

I was naked

and you clothed me.

I was sick

and you visited me.

I was in prison

and you came to me.

And then the righteous

whom he says this to

will answer him

in return and say,

Lord,

when did we ever see you

hungry and feed you?

When did we ever see you

thirsty and give you drink?

When did we see you

as a stranger

and welcome you

or naked and clothe you?

When did we see you sick

or in prison

and visit you?

And the king

will answer them,

truly I say to you,

as you did this

to one of the least

of these my brothers,

you have done it to me.

You've done it to me.

Who are these

the least of his brothers?

Those are Christ's people.

Those are the people

that you can look around

in this room

and see sitting next to you

worshiping alongside

of you today.

This is the church.

And he says,

as you have opened

your heart

and your life

and sacrificed

and love

for the other people

in the church,

for other believers,

you've done it to me.

Piper says,

when we welcome

fellow believers

into our homes,

it's as if we welcome

Jesus himself

into our homes.

Now surely,

what could give

a genuine Christian

more joy

than to know

that they are serving Christ

as they expend

themselves for others?

That's what Christ

is calling us to here.

He's calling us

to that kind of radical,

love,

which by the way,

he modeled perfectly.

And he did it

in so many ways.

You say,

well,

I don't have a great place

to live to have people

into my home.

Jesus didn't have

any place to live.

And yet,

he still found ways

to show perfect hospitality,

didn't he?

He fed people

who were hungry.

He expended himself

physically

over and over

and over again

to be with people

and to teach them

and to provide

some kind of good

and care for them.

He modeled

how hospitality

might be the most

fruitful form

of evangelism.

Isn't that why

the Pharisees

hated him so much?

Because every time

they saw him,

he was sitting down

and having a meal

with the people

that they wouldn't touch.

Jesus models this

and then he says,

as you do this

for one another,

it's like you're

doing it for me.

And of course,

what greater love

for outsiders

has ever been known

than the love

of Jesus,

the righteous one,

as he hangs

on a cross

in the place

of the unrighteous ones

and then he says,

now come to me.

Now come to me

and find rest

for your souls.

That's what hospitality is.

Hospitality is not

by checking off a box

or hosting a bunch

of parties.

Hospitality is about

taking the gospel

of Jesus

and looking at other people,

especially those

in the church

and saying,

now come

and find some rest.

Come and find

some refuge.

Come and find

some friendship.

Come and find

some love.

Come and find

Jesus here.

That's what it means

to show hospitality.

And why is it important?

Because Peter's told us

in this letter

that we're living

a kind of exile

and that exile

is hard.

And you know

what we need?

Each other.

We need each other.

What do you do

when you're struggling

the faithfulness

of your life

is really only

being met

with ridicule

or hardship

in one way

or another?

Boy, it'd be real nice

to be able

to have somebody else

that understands

to say,

why don't you just come

and spend some time

with me?

Why don't you come

and sit in my home

for a while

and let's just

be together a bit?

I just want you

to know you're not alone.

That I'm right there

with you

and we're going

to go to heaven together

and I'm going

to help you get there.

Isn't that what this is?

Isn't that what

the church is?

Isn't that what

we're supposed

to be doing?

Peter says,

yeah.

And he says,

as we think about

the end of all things,

we think about

the return of Christ,

this needs to mark

our lives.

We're showing this

kind of hospitality

to one another.

But then he gives us

a fourth thing.

Verses 10 and 11,

we have what I think

is helpfully understood

as maybe servant-hearted stewardship.

Servant-hearted stewardship.

Let's just read the verses again.

Verses 10 and 11,

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

the 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.

In this final exhortation,

Peter is venturing

into the realm

of spiritual gifts,

which might be

a bit of a struggle

for some of us

to think about,

isn't it?

See, there are all kinds

of views on this

and all kinds of ideas

about this.

I actually think

what Peter does for us here

is helpful.

alongside of sober prayer

and sacrificial love

and sincere hospitality,

we find that exercising

our gifts in service

to one another

for the glory of God

is actually essential

to thriving in exile.

And Peter draws

our attention to it.

Because the end

of all things is at hand,

we must possess

a special focus

on serving Christ

in the context

of the church.

Each one of us

has been given

a stewardship,

Peter says.

And it should be

our desire for Christ

to find us faithful

at his return.

Let's just consider

this for a moment.

First, the nature

of these gifts.

What are they?

And then maybe we'll look

at the categories of gifts

and how exactly do

we display this kind of thing

or how can we understand them?

The first thing we see here

is that Peter affirms

that each believer

is equipped by God

to do his work

and serve his people.

Do you see that?

Right in verse 10.

As each has received a gift.

In other words,

all of you have it.

All of you have

a special endowment

from God

in the personal work

of Christ

through the working

of the Holy Spirit

in your life

to serve him

and to serve his people

in a unique way.

And Peter affirms

that for us here.

A lot of people

struggle to discern

exactly what that is.

What is that supposed

to look like

in their lives?

And I don't mean

to be offensive

in any way with this

but just to say

that the answer

is not in a Christian version

of a Myers-Briggs test

or an Enneagram survey.

That's not where

you're going to find

the answer here.

That's not what

it's meant to do.

In fact,

that might be actually

most unhelpful

to us at this point.

How God desires

to use your life

within the churches

is not some great mystery.

It's really not.

And Peter's approach

helps us.

Now there's a couple

of perspectives here.

If you don't get

anything else from this,

at least get this part.

I get this from Piper.

Notice the thing

that we're serving

in one another

is not the gift itself.

Right?

Sometimes we get that

in our minds.

We think,

well,

my spiritual gift

is really some kind

of uniqueness about me

and I'm going to bless

other people

by serving them the gift,

the gift that I have,

putting it on display

or impressing them

in some way

or whatever it may be.

Right?

We don't mean to be

prideful in that

but sometimes

that's the way

it comes out.

And that's not actually

what we're serving.

We're not serving people

the gift,

we're serving people grace.

The grace of God.

Piper says it this way,

grace is the food

food.

The gift

is the way

we're serving it

which means

that every one of us

in the church

has the same objective

with our spiritual gifts.

We're all doing

the same thing.

We are taking

the grace of God

and the goodness of God

and the truth of God

and the love of God

and the provision of God

and we're taking that

and we're serving it

to other people.

That's the objective.

We're all doing

the same thing.

But what God does

in his gracious work

is he endows

each of us

with a unique capacity

for doing that well

for his glory.

Because if we all

had the same thing

it wouldn't work,

would it?

It'd be problematic.

We need varied gifts

and that's exactly

what God does.

How good of him

to do that?

He sees there's some needs

that we have

in the church

and he says,

I'm going to endow

different people

with various capacities

for serving my grace,

for serving my love

and my truth

and my goodness

to others.

And your capacity

has a much broader

application

than a few options

on a list.

Your capacity

may even shift

or change.

Not every gift

needs to be thought of

as a permanent gift.

Maybe it's a uniqueness

for a specific time

in a specific situation

with a specific

group of people.

So the question

that we're asking here

in relationship

to our gifts,

we're not asking

necessarily at least

what is unique

about me

that I might lean into.

What we're really asking

is what personal capacity

has God equipped me with

to do his work

in this season

and with these people.

And that may change.

That answer

is going to be different

for Kayla

with a newborn

than it's going to be

for Miss Faye

retired

with a little more time

and a little more sleep.

Ornery husbands,

both,

but still different,

right?

Those capacities

are different.

They may have still

some of the same

proclivities

and some desires.

That's great.

Certainly that's good.

But their capacities

are different.

We're asking

different questions here.

How is it that God

has equipped me now

to serve his grace

to others?

And whatever that

unique capacity is,

Peter says it's a stewardship.

It's a stewardship

of God's grace.

In other words,

God equips his people

to do his work

and he expects

that we steward

that gift

faithfully.

meaning

the capacity

that God gives us

is fundamentally

a responsibility

for which we will

give an account

to him.

It's not about

highlighting

what's praiseworthy

in us.

That's what got

the Corinthians

in trouble,

wasn't it,

with Paul?

Is they made it

a prideful thing

and of course

we don't want

to do that.

What is it?

It's about serving

the Lord faithfully.

It's about being obedient

to him

and stewarding

the capacity

that he's giving.

And that all starts

to come together

when we see

that the function

of these spiritual gifts

is to serve one another.

Isn't that what Peter says?

As each has received

a gift,

serve one another

with it.

As a steward,

he says,

a steward is a

household manager

authorized by the owner

to give oversight

to various parts

of the household.

And as we've seen

in chapter 2,

the church is God's house,

isn't it?

And God has now

given each of us

a stewardship

for caring for that house,

a stewardship

for caring for his people.

And he's blessed

each of us

with the capacity

for serving one another.

And it's through that

that he blesses

his people.

Do you see that?

Do you understand

yourself to be

a conduit

of God's grace

to other people?

That's what you are.

And how amazing

that he would use us

in that way.

Before we start to ask,

well, what does this

actually look like

in a practical way?

We need to stop

and just consider

before we get there,

is this even

on my radar?

Not the gift,

but the responsibility.

Is this even

on your radar today?

Is it on your radar

that you've been given

a particular capacity

from God

to serve his church?

And are you using

that capacity to do that

or are you using it

for your own good?

Well, let's get

into the categories here.

That's what Peter gives us

in verse 11, isn't it?

There's places

in the New Testament

that give us lists.

Let me just say

those lists

aren't meant

to be exhaustive,

I don't think.

They're meant

to be representative.

So I want you

to be careful

not to go to

some of Paul's writings

in Romans

and to the Corinthians

and say,

okay, well,

the unique way

that God has gifted me

must fit

in this particular paradigm

because what are you

going to do

when you get to the end

of that list

and you realize,

I don't know

that I really fit

in any of these places.

Well, it's not meant

to be exhaustive, right?

It's representative.

Peter understands that

so it doesn't surprise us

that Peter

doesn't give us a list.

What does he do?

He gives us categories,

two of them.

Actually,

the first is speaking gifts,

gifts of communication.

In verse 10,

as each has received

his gift,

use it to serve

one another.

Whoever speaks

as one who speaks

the oracle of God,

the truth of God,

the word of God.

In other words,

God gives some people

a unique capacity

for communicating

well with others

and whoever has

that capacity

needs to use it

to speak the word

of God,

to speak the grace

of God,

to speak the truth

of God

because isn't that

what the gifts

are ultimately about?

We are serving grace.

We are serving

God's goodness

and truth

and love

to other people

and some of us

have been endowed

with a unique capacity

to do that

by word,

communication

and that may look

a lot of different ways.

Maybe it's public teaching

and preaching

in the church.

Maybe it's writing.

Maybe you're scared

to death

to be in front of people

but man,

you can really write

to help Christians

understand the love of God

and maybe what you're

using your gift for

is to sit down

week by week

and write notes

to people

to minister grace

and love

and truth to them.

Maybe it's some type

of visual communication

where you have

a unique giftedness

and capacity

for helping people

see the truth of God.

It's just,

it's speaking gifts, right?

It's word gifts.

It's,

that's one category

that Peter gives us

and underneath that category

there may be a lot

of different ways

that the Lord gifts us

to use it

but then there's

a second category

and it's the category

of serving.

Serving gifts.

So,

whoever speaks

as one who speaks

the oracles of God,

the truth of God

but then he says

a second category

is whoever serves

as one who serves

by the strength

that God supplies.

Now,

in Paul's list

this might be things

like leading

or mercy ministries

or giving

or helps

and encouragement.

Maybe it would all

fall underneath

this category

of serving

but we see

the Bible often

breaks this down

in word and deed,

doesn't it?

Word and deed

and we see that

in these categories.

God uniquely

gifts

his people

some

with word gifts

to communicate truth

some with

deed gifts

to serve people

in unique ways.

You have unique gifts

that I don't have

and the Lord

seeks to use you

in that way.

Now,

here's what all

of those gifts

and categories

have in common.

It's all

for the glory

of God.

Verse 11,

if you're speaking,

use your gift

to speak God's truth

not your own wisdom.

We all think

that our opinion

and our wisdom

is really going

to be the thing

that helps people

and it won't.

That's not what

you're called to do.

God hasn't gifted you

with word gifts

in order that you might

tell people

your own thoughts.

He's gifted you

with word gifts

so that you might

deliver his word

to others.

And those of you

with the serving gifts,

it's not about you.

It's not about

doing things based

on your own talent

and your own skills

and taking pride

in the work

that you do.

No,

it's serving

in the strength

that God supplies

so that in everything

Peter says,

everything that we're doing,

it is God

who receives the glory.

We are serving

fully on his truth

and in reliance

on his power,

thinking nothing

of ourselves

but giving all

the glory to the Lord

who equips us each

to do his work.

So not only

are we serving

one another,

but we're to do

so in such a way

that in everything

God is glorified

through Jesus Christ.

And so we see

these four exhortations here.

Peter says,

as we're looking

toward the end,

we recognize

at what point

in human history

we're at,

there's some things

that need to mark us

as God's people.

Sober prayer,

sacrificial love

and then flowing

out of that love

is this idea

of hospitality

and service

to one another

based on the unique

giftings

that God has given.

But then he closes

in a unique way.

He closes

not with an exhortation

but with a doxology,

a praise.

Do you see it there

in verse 11?

To him,

that is to God,

belong glory

and dominion

forever and ever.

To the triune God

belongs all the glory

now and evermore.

Which means

that all of our lives

are for his glory,

to be lived

for his glory.

And isn't that

what sets Christians

apart from everyone else?

What makes a Christian

husband a Christian husband?

That he loves his wife

and he leads his family

for the glory of God?

What makes a Christian

worker a Christian worker?

That they serve

their boss

and their company

with good ethics

and morals

for the glory of God?

What makes a Christian student

a Christian student?

That they work hard

and they do their best

so that they might

glorify God.

What makes a Christian friend

a Christian friend?

So on and so forth.

It's that all of our lives

are being lived

for the glory of God,

not for ourselves.

Peter reminds us

of that here.

Just think of the contrast

of the last two paragraphs.

Because of what Christ

has done for us

on the cross,

verse 1 of chapter 4,

we're no longer

to live for human passions.

We're to cease

from those things

that non-Christians

want to do.

The things that we did

before we came to know Christ.

No, we're stopping with that.

No more of that.

Instead,

we're to remember

that we're in the end.

Christ is coming back

and our hope is sure.

Therefore,

we're going to live

the rest of our lives

for God's will

and for God's glory.

And that looks like

these four exhortations here

in this passage,

at least in part.

So let's get busy doing it.