“The End of All Things Is Near” [Matt's Messages] ~ Matt Mitchell

“The End of All Things Is Near”

As Foreigners and Exiles - The Message of 1 Peter

Lanse Evangelical Free Church

February 6, 2022 :: 1 Peter 4:7-11

Last week, we entered into chapter 4 of 1 Peter where the apostle urged his readers to arm ourselves with the attitude of Jesus Christ, that is, to be willing to suffer for doing good and in doing so we would be effectively, decisively “done with sin.” Over it. To decide in advance to make a break with sin and to follow Jesus and to desire to do God’s will. To make a break with our past, expecting to take some flack for that from the world, but deciding in advance to not turn back.

Because it’s all worth it. Following Jesus is worth it. Forever!

Because of the gospel. Because Jesus Christ who is “ready to judge the living and the dead” was Himself dead and is now living! So that now, even if we become dead through persecution and martyrdom, we will always be living because of Jesus and His Spirit. And having brought up the final judgment, Peter now finds himself saying something about how near we all are to it.

He says in verse 7, “The end of all things is near.”

Perhaps somewhat ironically, this is the fourth time that I can remember preaching this particular passage to this church family.

On January 6, 2002, exactly twenty years and one month ago (241 months ago), I preached a message entitled, “What To Do When the End Is Near” as we walked through 1 Peter together back in the day. Then on November 27, 2005 I preached a message entitled, “The End Is Near” on this very passage. We were doing a study of the end times, and I said that this is how we should live in light of them.

And then on March 15, 2020, I preached a sermon with the very same title as my message today, drawn right out of verse 7, “The End of All Things Is Near.” And that was the last Sunday before we stopped meeting in person for 12 weeks. Remember that? Some of you were here that day and many of you were not.

In many ways, it felt like the end of the world.

Of course, it also didn’t feel like that on March 15, 2020. It felt like perhaps a great overreaction. At the beginning of that message I said, “I’m actually thinking that in a few months, we’ll all be worrying about something else than this novel coronavirus. We will have, Lord-willing, moved on. I hope.”

Sadly, I was wrong about that one. I am not a prophet nor the son of a prophet, and I work for a non-prophet organization (as the great Walt Kaiser is wont to say).

We have not moved on, though we have not been stopped. We continue to be on the move with our mission as we said last Sunday at our vision meeting.

If anything, that feeling that the end of all things is near has grown for many of us. These days, I am regularly asked by people if I think we are living in the end times.

And, of course, the answer is “yes.” We have been living in the end times for about 2,000 years. Peter wrote this nearly 2,000 years ago. “The end of all things is near.” The “culmination” of all things is at hand. Time is short. We are closer than ever to the day when God visits us (2:12).

And that was true when Peter wrote it.

And it was just as true when I preached it in 2002.

And it was just as true when I preached it in 2005.

And it was just as true when I preached it in 2020.

And it is just as true today. And maybe even true-er because we closer than ever.

Now, are we at the end of the end times? I have no idea. I do not know the day or the hour. And none of you do, either. Our Lord Jesus did not know when He was going to return when He taught us about His return! Of course, we don’t know when.

The New Testament emphasis on the nearness of the end of all things is not on date-setting but on godly living.

We know that it is coming and soon.

We don’t know when, so we live ready.

Because...“We’re almost home! We’re almost home.”

“The end of all things is near.”

Our inheritance is almost here. It can “never perish, spoil or fade.” It’s “kept in heaven for” us “who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1:4-5).

“The end of all things is near.”

People laugh that we have been saying this for 2,000 years. But it’s just as true now as ever and even more true because we are so much closer than ever. We are almost home, and “the end of all things is near.”

So, if that’s true then how should we live now? That’s what Peter gives us in the next five verses. These are some priorities we should set because the end of all things is near. And they might be little surprising to you and me. Not because they are so crazy, but because they are so...normal.

Let’s look more closely at them together. Verse 7 again.

“The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.”

I’ve got four points this morning, and they are all very simple even if they are not all very easy. Here’s number one.

The end of all things is near, therefore:

#1. THINK CLEARLY AND PRAY.

Does that sound kind of anticlimactic?

“The end of all things is near!”

Therefore, “Keep calm and pray on.” Like the red British posters?

“Keep calm and pray on.”

Peter says that his readers should be “clear minded and self-controlled.” They should keep their wits about them. They should be sober-minded.

In the Greek these words mean, “Don’t freak out!”

Not really, but that’s the basic idea. Don’t let yourself panic.

I think that that’s the exact opposite of what we think we ought to do when we’re living in the end-times!

Things are spinning out of control, so we should be out of control.

No, we should be self-controlled. The opposite of how the world acts (as we saw last week in verses 3 and 4).

Are we known for that?

Are followers of Jesus known for being clear minded and self-controlled?

Peter says that the goal of that kind of clear thinking is prayer. “So that you can pray.”

Don’t freak out. Focus.

Don’t panic. Pray.

How does that hit you this morning? Were you hoping for something a little more...exciting? Peter’s readers were suffering, and he reminded them what he’s reminding us, everything is coming to a head, and we need to stay clear minded and self controlled so that we can pray.

One of those sinful desires that wage wars against our souls is the desire to be frantic and anxious and worry and fret and let ourselves lose it over how bad things are. I have done it again and again.

But Peter says, “Settle down. Keep calm and pray on.” Not because everything is okay, but because everything is going to be okay. Right? Ultimately. You are loved and the One who loves you is in control. And He has invited you to pray to Him asking Him for things. He wants you to. So settle down and ask.

Anybody need to hear that this morning. Can I get an amen? Can I get a honk-amen?

The end of all things is near, therefore think clearly and pray.

#2. LOVE DEEPLY AND FORGIVE. V.8

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

That’s an interesting priority when the world is ending! “Love each other deeply.”

Peter says that this a top priority. “Above all...” Whatever you do as the world is coming to its end, make sure you love other Christians deeply, fervently.

The first one was internal and upward, right? Clear mind, prayerful heart.

This one is external and side-ward. Loving each other.

Look around at the people in this room right now. Go ahead.

If you are outside, look at the people in the cars next to you or across the way.

Peter says that end of ALL THINGS is near and because of that he wants you and me to show love to each other. One reason is because we’re all going to be together forever. We probably ought to start loving each other now!

And, remember, love is not primarily a feeling (though feelings are involved), love is a heart commitment to seeking the best for others even at a personal cost. This means action. This means doing stuff. Love is a verb. It’s something you do.

How are you showing love to the other Christians in your life right now?

Remember, we are foreigners and exiles, and foreigners and exiles gotta stick together. We need each other. How many used your church directory this week to reach out and show love to another Christian in your church family? How many sent a text or made a call? Or shoveled a walk? Or whatever?

Love takes many forms. For the last two years, it has often taken the strange form of keeping your distance or wearing a mask. And, of course, more often in history love has meant not keeping your distance and moving towards someone else to meet their needs. Seeking their best interests even at a personal cost. Just like Jesus did.

Notice how we are not supposed to be passive even if the world is falling around our ears. We don’t just sit back and grab the popcorn and watch the world end. We get busy loving each other.

The kind of love that Peter emphasizes here is a forbearing, forgiving love. Did you hear that in verse 8?

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

He doesn’t say that love “covers up” sins. This is not sweeping sin under the rug or making excuses for someone or hiding sins from those who need to know about them.

This is loving somebody and forgiving them, often before they even ask! He’s emphasizing how love overlooks an offense. I’ll bet that many of you have done that this morning already. Somebody has sinned against you, and you have already unilaterally forgiven them and are treating them freely as if they have not offended you. I’ll be that’s going on right now in this very room.

Love is a powerful force.

And eternity is really long.

And time is really short.

Too short to be nursing grudges.

King Solomon said, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs” (Proverbs 10:12).

Time is short. Whom do you need to forgive?

The third priority is another specific way of showing love to one another. Hospitality. Look at verse 9.

“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.”

Peter says the world is going to end so open up your homes.

#3. SHARE FREELY AND HOST.

Think clearly and pray.

Love deeply and forgive.

Share freely and host.

Peter tells his readers that they (and therefore we) ought to offer hospitality to one another.

And that means to open up your home and share your personal resources with others. In the first century, it often meant giving a fellow Christian a night’s lodging. Being a bed and breakfast for them as they journeyed. Offering hospitality means opening your hearts and your homes to other Christians.

Of course, this can take different forms in differ circumstances. And it doesn’t mean that every single time somebody needs a place to sleep or dinner that you have to open your door for them. But it does mean that we ought to regularly be opening our doors to other Christians! And sharing of personal resources.

This week, you all showed hospitality when you helped pay for a night in the Kwik Fill motel for a family that was just about stranded here traveling along route 80. I got a call on Friday about a family with 5 adults and 3 little ones (and 2 dogs) who had been burned out of their home in Massachusetts and were moving across country in a moving van pulling a truck behind them trying to get to Missouri where they have family. Anybody remember what the weather was like on Friday?

I got up there and met the folks and bought them dinner and a tank of gas from your compassion fund here and then they got back on the road the next day. That’s hospitality.

And Peter says that we need to show it “without grumbling.”

I admit that I did a little grumbling when I got that call. The weather is bad, and I have to go out in it because of these people? But I repented of that attitude and went and came back joyful and blessed.

“The end of the all things is near.” That’s scary, isn’t it? Well, we Christians need to stick together and pool our resources and host each other in our homes. As we are able and as it is loving to do, we need to have each other over.

Maybe you don’t have a houseful of people right now. Some of you will. But especially if you are meeting someone else’s need, open your hearts and open your homes.

Twenty years ago, when I first preached this passage we had not yet moved into our home in Lanse. It was almost done, and we were going to move in first week of February. And we couldn’t wait to open it up to you.

And you had just bought us a big dining room table as a housewarming gift. It opens up to 10 feet long! And over the years, it has been our joy to have so many of you around that table. And we look forward to many more.

Yes, hospitality is costly. And we don’t always feel like it. It’s easy to get tired of guests. Heather’s grandfather used to say that guests were a lot like fish. After 3 days they stink.

But Jesus opened His heart and His veins for us. We can open our hearts and our homes.

#4. SERVE FAITHFULLY AND PRAISE.

Apparently Peter’s emphasis on hospitality has prompted more thoughts about serving. Look at verse 10. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.”

The world is ending, and Peter wants us to serve each other.

Notice that he does not say, “if you have received a gift, use it.” He assumes that everyone has received a gift, and says that we are to use whatever gift we have received to serve others in love.

Our gifts, everybody’s got them, are not for ourselves. They are for others. My gifts are not for me. They are for you. Your gifts are not for you. They are for others. So we don’t use them selfishly, but faithfully. We are stewards of them. Managers. And we use them for the good of the whole body.

I love that it says that these gifts come in various forms. King James Version says, we are to be “good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

There are so many gifts in this room. You all have received gifts, not to hoard, not for yourself, but for the whole church.

Some are obvious up-front loud gifts. I’ve got some of those. And if you have them, too, we have a great responsibility in how we use them. V.11 “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God.” That’s a weighty responsibility!

But speaking gifts are only one kind of gift. There are lots of different gifts to be used in service of the Body of Christ. V.11 again. “If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” The gifts are from God and so is the strength to use them faithfully.

We trust in the Lord to empower us to serve others. Are you doing that? How are you using your gifts to serve other followers of Christ?

Church is not a spectator sport. We are not supposed to be fans in the stands, but players in the game.

Time is short. Really short. We don’t know how long.

And so we need all hands on deck. So that God gets all the glory.

Did you see how this all ends up? V. 11 again.

“If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things [like the end of all things? In all things...] God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” And that’s where all this is headed.

“To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.”

“This journey ours together

We’re almost home

Unto that great forever

We’re almost home

What song anew we’ll sing ‘round that happy throne

Come faint of heart

We’re almost home

Almost home

We’re almost home

So press on toward that blessed shore

O praise the Lord