1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,680 I’d be grateful if you would open your Bibles to 1 Peter and chapter 4. 2 00:00:04,640 –> 00:00:09,120 Remember that 1 Peter is really a manual of discipleship. 3 00:00:09,120 –> 00:00:13,280 It’s telling us everything that we need to know to live the Christian life. 4 00:00:14,160 –> 00:00:17,600 And we’ve been discovering in our journey through this book together 5 00:00:17,600 –> 00:00:22,320 that being a Christian involves first a new birth that leads into a new life, 6 00:00:22,320 –> 00:00:28,400 and that in this new life that God calls us to and leads us in there is a grand objective 7 00:00:28,400 –> 00:00:33,759 that He’s given to us, and we’ve seen how so much of what Peter has to say 8 00:00:33,759 –> 00:00:38,959 revolves around this objective that we are to live in such a way that people 9 00:00:38,959 –> 00:00:43,680 who are deeply resistant to the good news of Jesus Christ will come to glorify God. 10 00:00:43,680 –> 00:00:46,320 That’s chapter 2 and verse 11. 11 00:00:47,200 –> 00:00:52,639 And we have seen how powerfully this speaks to our lives today 12 00:00:53,520 –> 00:00:59,759 because we live for Christ in a culture that holds deeply different values. 13 00:01:01,040 –> 00:01:07,839 And around you, at work, at school, even within our own family circle, 14 00:01:07,839 –> 00:01:13,519 we can think of people who are deeply resistant to Jesus Christ. 15 00:01:14,559 –> 00:01:17,440 In fact, so much so that you can think right now, I’m sure, 16 00:01:17,440 –> 00:01:21,199 as I can people who you know and are even close to. 17 00:01:21,279 –> 00:01:25,519 And it’s hard to imagine them ever being followers of Jesus. 18 00:01:27,040 –> 00:01:32,639 And God says to us, you are my people, and I’m calling you to live in such a way that 19 00:01:32,639 –> 00:01:41,040 on the last day, some of these folks, the highly resistant ones, will come to glorify Christ. 20 00:01:42,559 –> 00:01:43,760 Now, that’s the challenge. 21 00:01:45,040 –> 00:01:46,800 It’s a huge challenge for us, 22 00:01:46,800 –> 00:01:52,400 not only in our personal circle but also in our culture, as we think of the calling of 23 00:01:52,400 –> 00:01:54,320 the whole church of Jesus Christ. 24 00:01:55,120 –> 00:02:00,959 Here we are one nation, and there’s a lot of people in this one nation that don’t even 25 00:02:00,959 –> 00:02:06,320 want to be saying that we are under God, and you know the reason for that? 26 00:02:07,199 –> 00:02:12,320 That if we were under God that would mean that there was someone who could tell us what to 27 00:02:13,119 –> 00:02:17,919 And there are many people who are deeply, deeply resistant to that. 28 00:02:19,199 –> 00:02:22,080 That’s why, of course, there is all the debate about the Ten Commandments. 29 00:02:23,360 –> 00:02:26,880 We don’t want that God with these commandments. 30 00:02:26,880 –> 00:02:28,160 That’s much too specific. 31 00:02:28,160 –> 00:02:32,399 If we’re going to be under God, let him be so vague that we can all read into him whatever 32 00:02:32,399 –> 00:02:33,199 we choose. 33 00:02:33,199 –> 00:02:36,800 Let’s have a God who endorses everything that we seek. 34 00:02:36,800 –> 00:02:42,960 And so, what happens, increasingly, in the culture is that—precisely 35 00:02:42,960 –> 00:02:47,600 what happened in the Old Testament—we ditch the God of the Bible and replace him 36 00:02:47,600 –> 00:02:49,600 with a God who blesses our own thing. 37 00:02:51,279 –> 00:02:56,479 I say these things again this morning, because it’s important for us not to get discouraged 38 00:02:56,479 –> 00:02:57,119 by this. 39 00:02:58,320 –> 00:03:01,679 For us to remember in this culture this is entirely normal. 40 00:03:01,679 –> 00:03:06,240 This is how it has always been in every culture throughout human history—resistance 41 00:03:06,240 –> 00:03:09,360 to God is the normal condition of this world. 42 00:03:09,360 –> 00:03:14,399 It is the natural condition of men and women, so don’t be surprised by it. 43 00:03:14,399 –> 00:03:16,320 Don’t get discouraged by it. 44 00:03:17,600 –> 00:03:22,240 What God calls us to do is to be salt and light in it and to live in such a 45 00:03:22,240 –> 00:03:27,839 way that people who are highly resistant will on the last day come to glorify God. 46 00:03:27,839 –> 00:03:29,600 Now, that’s a huge challenge, isn’t it? 47 00:03:30,720 –> 00:03:34,639 And, of course, when we understand the scale of the challenge, we ask the 48 00:03:34,639 –> 00:03:38,160 question, well, how in all the world are we to do this? 49 00:03:38,160 –> 00:03:44,000 And the heart of 1 Peter is setting out the strategy and we’ve been learning it together. 50 00:03:44,000 –> 00:03:45,039 Number one, 51 00:03:45,039 –> 00:03:49,039 if we are to live in this way, we must seek first to act redemptively. 52 00:03:49,039 –> 00:03:51,839 That’s chapter 2, verses 11 to 25. 53 00:03:51,839 –> 00:03:55,679 Second, we’ve got to be able to pray effectively. 54 00:03:55,679 –> 00:04:00,160 And then thirdly, we saw last time, we are called to speak courageously. 55 00:04:00,720 –> 00:04:04,160 God says to us, let the highly resistant world 56 00:04:05,440 –> 00:04:07,039 see Christ in you. 57 00:04:07,600 –> 00:04:09,600 That’s what acting redemptively is all about. 58 00:04:10,240 –> 00:04:13,600 And then let them hear Christ through you. 59 00:04:15,520 –> 00:04:18,399 And we got to the example of Noah last time, 60 00:04:18,399 –> 00:04:22,399 you remember Noah who was, of course, called to speak to the most highly resistant 61 00:04:22,399 –> 00:04:23,839 generation that has ever lived. 62 00:04:24,640 –> 00:04:26,320 And when he spoke about Jesus, 63 00:04:26,320 –> 00:04:27,760 Jesus spoke through him, 64 00:04:28,480 –> 00:04:30,880 and we ended last time with the picture of the ark. 65 00:04:31,119 –> 00:04:39,440 And Peter is using that as a wonderful picture to say, 66 00:04:39,440 –> 00:04:43,760 well, Christians are in Christ and as we bear witness to Christ, 67 00:04:43,760 –> 00:04:46,079 we have this confidence that on the last day, 68 00:04:46,079 –> 00:04:50,720 we will be carried in Christ safely into the new world. 69 00:04:50,720 –> 00:04:55,359 Well, that’s where we’ve got to, as we come now to 1 Peter and chapter 4. 70 00:04:55,920 –> 00:05:00,640 And having introduced this theme of Noah and what it meant for him to enter a new world, 71 00:05:01,279 –> 00:05:05,600 in Peter’s mind, there is this whole issue of the fact that that will happen 72 00:05:05,600 –> 00:05:11,279 for the Christian church one day too. And so we’ve entitled the seventh of our ten keys, 73 00:05:12,320 –> 00:05:16,079 A New Urgency. Let’s read from verse 1, 74 00:05:17,200 –> 00:05:23,760 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, 75 00:05:24,880 –> 00:05:30,320 because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 76 00:05:31,359 –> 00:05:34,640 I want to pause there for a moment. And I want to ask a question. 77 00:05:35,600 –> 00:05:41,119 How many in this congregation this morning are confident that they know what that means? 78 00:05:42,559 –> 00:05:48,640 He who has suffered in his body is done with sin. 79 00:05:49,279 –> 00:05:52,640 Could we just have a show of hands as to how many mature believers 80 00:05:52,640 –> 00:05:54,559 are confident that they know what that means? 81 00:05:55,760 –> 00:05:59,920 We have Dr. Barbieri here, he wrote a book on 1 Peter, he should know what it means, 82 00:05:59,920 –> 00:06:03,760 I don’t expect anyone else here to know what it means. I have to tell you, when I sat down 83 00:06:03,760 –> 00:06:08,239 and read this this week, I said to myself, what on earth does that mean? 84 00:06:09,519 –> 00:06:14,079 Now, I say that for this reason. Obviously, 85 00:06:16,720 –> 00:06:23,359 it does not mean that anyone who has had a broken leg, or anyone who has 86 00:06:24,720 –> 00:06:27,920 gone through treatment for cancer, someone who suffered in the body, 87 00:06:27,920 –> 00:06:31,279 it can’t mean that that gets you to the point where you never sin again, 88 00:06:31,279 –> 00:06:34,079 because that’s self-evidently not true. What does it mean? 89 00:06:36,399 –> 00:06:39,119 Well now, here’s the reason for me pausing there. 90 00:06:40,880 –> 00:06:48,720 Most of the Bible is wonderfully clear. This is the Word of God for ordinary people, 91 00:06:49,679 –> 00:06:54,799 and I think it’s very important for all of us to understand that God has spoken in language that 92 00:06:54,799 –> 00:07:02,079 ordinary folks can understand. The Bible belongs in the hands of the people. 93 00:07:03,279 –> 00:07:09,359 We deeply believe that. God has given His Holy Spirit to every believer in Jesus. 94 00:07:09,359 –> 00:07:14,959 The Holy Spirit opens our eyes, and He gives understanding through the Word. 95 00:07:14,959 –> 00:07:22,559 I want it to be clear in our minds. You can understand the Bible. As you read what God 96 00:07:22,559 –> 00:07:31,679 says to you, as you put it into practice, you will grow as a Christian. But just from time 97 00:07:31,679 –> 00:07:37,839 to time, you will come across something in the Bible that is hard to understand. 98 00:07:37,839 –> 00:07:44,559 I think that happens twice in 1 Peter. We covered one in 1 Peter 3, verse 19, where it speaks about 99 00:07:44,559 –> 00:07:49,760 Christ preaching to the spirits in prison through Noah. We kind of scratched our head and said, 100 00:07:49,760 –> 00:07:53,920 now, what does that mean? It’s not obviously clear. Here’s another statement in chapter 101 00:07:53,920 –> 00:08:00,959 4 in verse 1, where again there is not an immediate obvious understanding of what this 102 00:08:00,959 –> 00:08:08,000 means. I’m wanting to make the point this happens two times in this one letter. Don’t worry too much 103 00:08:08,720 –> 00:08:13,040 when you come across something in the course of your study of the Bible 104 00:08:13,040 –> 00:08:21,040 that you do not immediately understand. When you do come to that point, ask somebody who knows 105 00:08:21,040 –> 00:08:30,399 more than you do. And remember this, that some of the world’s greatest minds have wrestled 106 00:08:30,399 –> 00:08:37,679 with understanding the Word of God over thousands of years. So there is no question that has ever 107 00:08:37,679 –> 00:08:43,520 occurred to you in regard to the Christian faith that somebody else has not asked before. 108 00:08:44,479 –> 00:08:50,239 So I simply want to say be encouraged in your reading of the Word. God has spoken in language 109 00:08:50,239 –> 00:08:54,719 that we can understand. The Bible belongs in your hand, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, 110 00:08:54,719 –> 00:09:00,159 you can understand it. But you will occasionally come across things that make you scratch your head 111 00:09:00,159 –> 00:09:05,919 and you say, What on earth does this mean? Don’t panic when that happens. Ask somebody who knows 112 00:09:05,919 –> 00:09:12,640 more than you do. And if some questions are not immediately resolved, let that rest, 113 00:09:13,679 –> 00:09:18,159 because in the fullness of time, God will make all things clear. 114 00:09:19,039 –> 00:09:26,159 Well, having said that, I went to the books as best as I was able in this last week and found 115 00:09:26,159 –> 00:09:30,640 this verse, indeed, to be very fascinating. Let’s ask two questions to try and get 116 00:09:30,640 –> 00:09:38,159 to what Peter is saying here. He talks about suffering, and he talks, verse 1, 117 00:09:38,159 –> 00:09:42,719 about an attitude. So let’s ask two questions. What is the suffering? And then, what is the 118 00:09:42,719 –> 00:09:50,239 attitude? What is the suffering? Since Christ suffered in the body, arm yourselves with the 119 00:09:50,239 –> 00:09:57,039 same attitude. Because he who has suffered in the body is done with sin. Well, of course, 120 00:09:57,039 –> 00:10:01,200 if we look back to chapter 3, we see that Peter has been talking about the way 121 00:10:01,200 –> 00:10:08,320 in which Christians sometimes suffer for doing what is right. Verse 14, if you suffer for what 122 00:10:08,320 –> 00:10:16,400 is right. Chapter 3, verse 17, if it’s God’s will to suffer for doing good. So the suffering he’s 123 00:10:16,400 –> 00:10:22,640 talking about here is not breaking a leg or coming through some kind of illness. It’s specifically 124 00:10:22,640 –> 00:10:30,880 the price you pay for doing what is right. Now Jesus did what is right. In fact, that in verse 125 00:10:30,880 –> 00:10:36,559 18 of chapter 3 is why he’s described as the righteous one. He was the one who in every way 126 00:10:36,559 –> 00:10:45,119 did what is right, and look at the price he paid for it. He suffered for doing what was right, 127 00:10:45,119 –> 00:10:54,000 he paid the ultimate price to bring highly resistant people to God, and we now are his 128 00:10:54,000 –> 00:10:59,599 followers, and we are going to find that the same principle works out in our lives also, 129 00:10:59,599 –> 00:11:05,200 that there will be points at which we pay a price for doing what is right, 130 00:11:06,400 –> 00:11:12,320 and that will be part of the way in which highly resistant people come to glorify God. 131 00:11:13,280 –> 00:11:17,440 Now if that’s the suffering, what’s the attitude? Arm yourself with the same 132 00:11:17,440 –> 00:11:23,280 attitude Jesus had when he had to pay the price for doing what is right. He was ready to pay 133 00:11:23,280 –> 00:11:28,400 the price, that was his attitude. And so you are to arm yourselves with the same attitude, 134 00:11:28,400 –> 00:11:34,719 Peter says. In other words, come to the place where, like Jesus, you are ready to pay the price 135 00:11:34,719 –> 00:11:45,440 too. So the suffering is the price that we pay, the attitude is readiness to pay that price. 136 00:11:47,520 –> 00:11:52,320 See, the defining mark of an authentic Christian is not when you say a prayer or go forward at a 137 00:11:52,320 –> 00:11:59,119 meeting. It’s probably not even when you’re baptized in front of a crowd of applauding 138 00:11:59,119 –> 00:12:06,159 believers. The defining moment of a new Christian is when it costs you something 139 00:12:07,520 –> 00:12:15,119 to do what is right. When you make a decision for the first time that you made because you’re 140 00:12:15,119 –> 00:12:20,080 a follower of Jesus, and you wouldn’t have made that decision if you weren’t. 141 00:12:21,760 –> 00:12:28,479 When you pay a price for what is right, you have some skin in the game. 142 00:12:29,679 –> 00:12:37,119 And you value what you paid for. When you pay a price for your obedience, 143 00:12:37,119 –> 00:12:41,119 you lose a friend, you lose some money, because you did what was right. 144 00:12:43,359 –> 00:12:48,960 Then there will be a new clarity in your obedience, there will be a new decisiveness 145 00:12:48,960 –> 00:12:55,280 in your living for Jesus, it will change the way that you live the rest of your life. 146 00:12:55,840 –> 00:13:05,359 See, when suffering comes to the church, it halves its size and doubles its strength. 147 00:13:07,840 –> 00:13:15,840 And that’s what will happen in our personal lives, when we pay a price. Peter’s already said 148 00:13:15,840 –> 00:13:23,599 in chapter 1 and verse 7 that the trial of your faith proves its genuineness, now he’s telling just 149 00:13:24,159 –> 00:13:31,440 now he’s telling us here that the cost of your faith will increase its value in your life, 150 00:13:32,559 –> 00:13:39,039 it’s going to give direction to the way that you live. And the sooner that we get to that point of 151 00:13:39,039 –> 00:13:48,559 that kind of decisiveness, paid a price, I turned my back on the old life, I’m moving forward as 152 00:13:48,559 –> 00:13:55,919 a follower of Jesus and it’s clean cut. The sooner we get to that point the better, because 153 00:13:56,640 –> 00:14:06,320 verse 7, the end of all things is near. Now God has set a day when he will intercept the timeline 154 00:14:06,320 –> 00:14:13,039 of human history. He’s given us a limited amount of time to complete what he’s called us to do. 155 00:14:13,119 –> 00:14:20,159 And the best way for us to have a new sense of urgency in our living for Christ 156 00:14:21,039 –> 00:14:28,479 is for us to take a look at the time. You know, urgency is helped by taking a look at the time, 157 00:14:28,479 –> 00:14:36,239 always. Get on with it! Have a look at the time. Now I want to have a look at three clocks in our 158 00:14:36,239 –> 00:14:43,840 time this morning. Clocks that God gives to us to increase our sense of urgency 159 00:14:43,840 –> 00:14:53,599 in living this decisive kind of a life for Jesus Christ. When we have a sense of urgency, 160 00:14:53,599 –> 00:14:58,960 we’ve got no more time for messing about with sin. 161 00:14:58,960 –> 00:15:10,080 Three clocks. The first one I’m simply going to describe as your time. And it’s what Peter 162 00:15:10,080 –> 00:15:15,080 talks about in verse two and three. The one who is suffered in the body is done with sin 163 00:15:15,080 –> 00:15:20,419 and as a result he does not live the rest of his life for evil human desires, but rather 164 00:15:20,419 –> 00:15:25,659 for the will of God for you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose 165 00:15:25,659 –> 00:15:31,659 to do. Notice that he sees two ways in which a person can live. You can live for human 166 00:15:31,659 –> 00:15:38,900 desires or passions, you can live for the will of God. And we all face this choice that 167 00:15:38,900 –> 00:15:44,099 either we live simply at the level of what comes naturally or we live with an intentional 168 00:15:44,099 –> 00:15:51,099 commitment to pursue the will of God. And Peter is saying very simply, you’ve spent 169 00:15:51,099 –> 00:16:00,599 enough time simply drifting with natural inclinations. You’ve spent enough of your life compromising 170 00:16:00,599 –> 00:16:06,539 with sin. You’re coming to the point where it’s going to cost to follow Jesus Christ, 171 00:16:06,539 –> 00:16:11,659 be ready to pay the price as Jesus was, and get on with it because you spent enough time 172 00:16:11,659 –> 00:16:17,179 in a compromise second-rate kind of Christian life. That’s what he’s saying. 173 00:16:18,099 –> 00:16:22,500 When the day comes when we will stand before Jesus Christ, there isn’t 174 00:16:22,500 –> 00:16:27,000 one of us who wants to stand before him and say, you know I had a great life and 175 00:16:27,000 –> 00:16:33,840 I fulfilled all of my desires. I don’t want to say that when I stand in front of him, 176 00:16:33,840 –> 00:16:39,979 I want to be able to say, Lord I did your will, I did your will. 177 00:16:40,700 –> 00:16:48,840 Now none of us knows how long we have before that day comes. You’ve spent 178 00:16:48,840 –> 00:16:54,059 enough time. Peter’s talking about your time, he’s talking about the span of your 179 00:16:54,059 –> 00:17:02,500 lifetime, there’s a limited amount of time given to each one of us. I find it 180 00:17:02,500 –> 00:17:08,979 helpful actually to think of life as divided up into different stages. I find 181 00:17:09,000 –> 00:17:17,020 that brings greater clarity. There are your years in school and college, there 182 00:17:17,020 –> 00:17:22,699 are your years of building a career or raising a family, there are those years 183 00:17:22,699 –> 00:17:29,180 of midlife, there are those empty-nester years for some, there are the years of 184 00:17:29,180 –> 00:17:40,199 retirement. You don’t get to do any of them twice. You get one chance to live 185 00:17:40,199 –> 00:17:52,880 for Christ in high school. My chance to do that is long gone. You get one chance 186 00:17:52,959 –> 00:18:01,380 to be a sold out student for Jesus Christ at college. You get one chance to 187 00:18:01,380 –> 00:18:10,780 live your 20s to the max for Jesus. You get one chance to raise a family in a 188 00:18:10,780 –> 00:18:18,260 godly way. One chance. You get one run through the treacherous waters of 189 00:18:18,540 –> 00:18:25,260 mid-life complacency. One chance to overcome that dreaded, dreaded 190 00:18:25,260 –> 00:18:35,800 complacency. You get one chance to finish strong in the years of your 191 00:18:35,800 –> 00:18:42,140 retirement. And you know it’s so easy for us to go through life thinking that 192 00:18:42,140 –> 00:18:47,579 we’re really going to live fully for Christ in the next stage of life. But 193 00:18:47,640 –> 00:18:51,180 that in the meantime, we need to carve out a little bit of space for us to do 194 00:18:51,180 –> 00:18:56,619 our own thing. And Peter is saying, listen, you haven’t got the time to do 195 00:18:56,619 –> 00:19:02,680 that. And he gets specific about some of the things that we want to carve 196 00:19:02,680 –> 00:19:06,239 out a little bit of space to do our own thing with. Look at verse 3. 197 00:19:07,260 –> 00:19:16,780 Drinking. You know, it’s a bigger issue than some of us think. And you 198 00:19:16,859 –> 00:19:22,280 haven’t got time for that bottle. You spent enough time 199 00:19:22,280 –> 00:19:38,520 with it. Talks about lust. Talks about carousing. You haven’t got time for 200 00:19:38,579 –> 00:19:45,939 that. You spent enough time already doing what pagans do, don’t go back 201 00:19:46,380 –> 00:19:53,000 there—you haven’t got time for that bar. You haven’t got time for that 202 00:19:53,079 –> 00:20:02,000 nightclub. You haven’t got time for those parties, for a Christian who is 203 00:20:02,079 –> 00:20:07,140 messing about with sin is of no use in the purpose of God. 204 00:20:08,140 –> 00:20:15,140 Now, in ice hockey, you know when you commit a foul, you get put in — you call it the 205 00:20:17,479 –> 00:20:24,359 penalty box, don’t you? Penalty box. That sounds awfully proper to me. When we do an 206 00:20:24,359 –> 00:20:30,119 equivalent thing in Britain we call it the sin bin. That seems the wrong way around—you 207 00:20:30,119 –> 00:20:34,800 would think the British would say, the penalty box, and the Americans would say, Get in the 208 00:20:35,099 –> 00:20:42,099 game. If you’re in the sin bin you’re out of the game. And Peter says you’ve spent enough 209 00:20:45,560 –> 00:20:52,560 time there. God wants you back in the game. He’s got so much for you to do, for you to 210 00:20:55,199 –> 00:21:01,339 do. Here this Word is coming from God to you personally. He’s got so much for you to do, 211 00:21:01,459 –> 00:21:07,420 and there’s so little time for you to do it. So don’t make the mistake of letting one more 212 00:21:07,420 –> 00:21:14,420 day go by messing around with sin. You haven’t got the time for it. God has given to us this 213 00:21:15,540 –> 00:21:22,000 great objective, that each of us has a limited amount of time to make our lives count for 214 00:21:22,000 –> 00:21:28,739 God. You don’t want to stand before Him on the last day and say, I was intending to give 215 00:21:28,739 –> 00:21:34,540 myself wholly to you. Stop messing around with sin. Your time is short. 216 00:21:34,540 –> 00:21:41,540 Second. That’s the first clock, your time. But there’s another clock that’s ticking. 217 00:21:46,439 –> 00:21:53,439 I’m going to call it their time. Remember that our objective is to live in such a way 218 00:21:53,500 –> 00:21:57,479 that highly resistant people will come to receive the good news of Jesus Christ and 219 00:21:57,719 –> 00:22:04,719 glorify God? And their time—the time of highly resistant people—is also a clock 220 00:22:04,800 –> 00:22:11,800 that is ticking. Highly resistant people have a limited amount of time to come to Christ. 221 00:22:13,500 –> 00:22:19,000 Limited opportunity to do so. And so Peter draws our attention to the second 222 00:22:19,000 –> 00:22:23,839 clock. It’s not just your time that’s running down, it is their time that’s running down. 223 00:22:23,839 –> 00:22:28,680 Look at verse 4. They—that’s the highly resistant people he’s talking about now—the 224 00:22:28,680 –> 00:22:33,060 highly resistant people think it’s strange that you won’t plunge with them into the 225 00:22:33,060 –> 00:22:38,959 same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you, but they—verse 5—the highly resistant 226 00:22:38,959 –> 00:22:48,439 people will have to give an account. Now you think about that highly resistant person at 227 00:22:48,439 –> 00:23:00,780 the office, a person who pours out foul language at the school, that deeply antagonistic person. 228 00:23:00,780 –> 00:23:16,839 He, she, will give—he, she, will give an account to God. Think about that. Deeply resistant 229 00:23:17,119 –> 00:23:20,660 people will give an account, and their time is short. And so Peter says, verse 230 00:23:20,660 –> 00:23:27,660 6, that’s why the gospel is preached, even to those who are now dead. You see, remember 231 00:23:27,839 –> 00:23:34,640 it had only been about 30 years since the day of Pentecost, when Peter wrote this letter, 232 00:23:34,640 –> 00:23:38,640 and in that short space of time, the good news of Jesus Christ had come from one city 233 00:23:38,640 –> 00:23:44,280 in Jerusalem, it had come all the way over the Roman Empire, and highly resistant people 234 00:23:44,319 –> 00:23:49,160 all over the empire had come to faith in Jesus Christ. Churches had been planted, missionaries 235 00:23:49,160 –> 00:23:55,640 had been sent, then gradually the first generation of believers died. And Peter describes what 236 00:23:55,640 –> 00:24:00,560 happens when a Christian dies in two ways here in verse 6. First, he says, they’ve gone 237 00:24:00,560 –> 00:24:05,760 under the judgment of death, because of course death is the universal judgment on all human 238 00:24:05,760 –> 00:24:12,219 sin, but by the mercy of God and by the power of the Spirit they live. These believers, 239 00:24:12,619 –> 00:24:19,619 they died as men die in the body, they live as God lives in the Spirit. Now that, he says, 240 00:24:21,500 –> 00:24:27,780 is why the gospel is preached. The gospel is preached because people die, and the reason 241 00:24:27,780 –> 00:24:32,219 the gospel needs to be preached is so that when people die they’re gonna live. That’s 242 00:24:32,219 –> 00:24:39,219 what the gospel brings us to. The folks who live around you who are highly resistant to 243 00:24:39,239 –> 00:24:45,699 the claims of Jesus Christ are going to die. And when they die they’re gonna have to give 244 00:24:45,699 –> 00:24:50,540 an account to God—that’s why the gospel has to be preached, so that when they die 245 00:24:50,540 –> 00:24:57,079 they may live because they’ve come to faith in Jesus Christ. And the urgency of all of 246 00:24:57,079 –> 00:25:01,939 this is not just that my time to be involved in this ministry is short, but their time 247 00:25:01,939 –> 00:25:11,500 to receive this ministry is short. Think of all the folks you rub shoulders with today 248 00:25:11,500 –> 00:25:26,260 who you won’t have any contact with in five years’ time. This is your window of opportunity. 249 00:25:26,260 –> 00:25:35,180 Their time is short. Then there’s a third clock. First, my clock’s ticking. My time 250 00:25:35,180 –> 00:25:43,800 is short. The highly resistant people around me, their time is short. Thirdly, our time. 251 00:25:43,800 –> 00:25:49,640 I’m referring now to the body of Christ, the church of Christ. Our time is short. That’s 252 00:25:49,640 –> 00:25:55,079 why Peter says in verse 7, the end of all things is near, and of course, he’s speaking 253 00:25:55,160 –> 00:26:02,119 there about the great day when the Lord Jesus Christ will return in power and in glory. 254 00:26:02,119 –> 00:26:09,119 And the church of Jesus Christ, we together have until that day and not one moment longer 255 00:26:09,239 –> 00:26:16,020 to do what God has called us to do. That’s our time. The time given to the church is 256 00:26:16,020 –> 00:26:21,119 the time until Jesus returns, and Peter says the end is near. 257 00:26:21,239 –> 00:26:26,000 Now, nobody knows the day or the week or the month or the year of the return of our Lord 258 00:26:26,000 –> 00:26:32,199 Jesus Christ, but scripture makes plain that it will happen and that it is an event that 259 00:26:32,199 –> 00:26:42,000 could happen at any time. The whole of the Bible relates to us God’s strategic chain 260 00:26:42,160 –> 00:26:49,160 of events through human history. He created the world after the fall of mankind into sin, 261 00:26:50,040 –> 00:26:55,020 and the curse upon the ground and upon this planet, God made Himself known to Abraham 262 00:26:55,020 –> 00:26:59,800 and made wonderful promises to him. He made of Abraham a great nation. He brought them 263 00:26:59,800 –> 00:27:05,500 out of Egypt in the Exodus. He gave them the land that He had promised. He built of them 264 00:27:05,500 –> 00:27:10,479 a marvelous kingdom. They rebelled against Him. They were taken off into exile, He brought 265 00:27:10,479 –> 00:27:16,520 them back and then He fulfilled His promise by sending the Promised One into this line 266 00:27:16,520 –> 00:27:23,739 of people. His name was Jesus Christ. He came from heaven above. He was born as one of us. 267 00:27:23,739 –> 00:27:28,339 He lived that perfect life, He died on the cross. He rose from the dead, and after He 268 00:27:28,339 –> 00:27:36,060 rose from the dead, He ascended into heaven. Ten days after He ascended into heaven, the 269 00:27:36,060 –> 00:27:47,219 Holy Spirit was poured out upon all who believe, and that was the penultimate event in God’s 270 00:27:47,219 –> 00:27:57,420 calendar. Penultimate, the one before the last. All that remains now is for Jesus Christ 271 00:27:57,420 –> 00:28:07,219 to return in glory. And when that happens, it is the next event on God’s calendar. It 272 00:28:07,219 –> 00:28:15,180 has been so since the day of Pentecost. When that happens, Christian believers will be 273 00:28:15,180 –> 00:28:21,760 caught up, the Bible says, to meet with Christ and to enter into His presence forever. What 274 00:28:22,319 –> 00:28:28,219 to Jesus in the Ascension will happen to all of His people on that day. You see, we share 275 00:28:28,219 –> 00:28:32,420 spiritually in His death, we share spiritually in His resurrection, on that day we shall 276 00:28:32,420 –> 00:28:40,839 share physically in His Ascension. We shall meet Him in the air. It will happen in a moment, 277 00:28:40,839 –> 00:28:49,040 it will happen in the twinkling of an eye and we shall be changed. Now, this will not 278 00:28:49,040 –> 00:28:57,640 be the end of world history. The Bible speaks about other events that will continue after 279 00:28:57,640 –> 00:29:04,739 believers have been taken into Christ’s presence. This will not be the end of world 280 00:29:04,739 –> 00:29:16,400 history, but it will be the end of our time. God has given to us, the Christian Church, 281 00:29:16,579 –> 00:29:22,239 limited amount of time to bring the good news of Jesus to all people. We have a limited time 282 00:29:22,239 –> 00:29:29,520 space to do that, and that is what Peter is referring to here. The end is near. He’s urging 283 00:29:29,520 –> 00:29:38,119 the church to urgency in our task. So there are three clocks and they’re all ticking. There’s 284 00:29:38,280 –> 00:29:46,599 time, the amount of time that God gives me to be here. There’s the time that God gives 285 00:29:46,599 –> 00:29:53,079 to highly resistant people. There’s a time that God gives to his whole church till Jesus 286 00:29:53,079 –> 00:30:05,560 comes again. God has given a task to us, and we don’t have forever to do it. There is 287 00:30:05,560 –> 00:30:12,359 an urgency about bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to highly resistant people in 288 00:30:12,359 –> 00:30:19,599 these North West suburbs. There is an urgency about bringing the good news of Jesus Christ 289 00:30:19,599 –> 00:30:28,699 to our universities, to our businesses, to the Muslim world, to the Hindu world, to the 290 00:30:28,760 –> 00:30:37,339 Far East, to Central Africa. There is an urgency about this. The church was born an explosion 291 00:30:37,339 –> 00:30:42,540 of spiritual life on the day of Pentecost, an explosion of vitality by the power of the 292 00:30:42,540 –> 00:30:47,219 Holy Spirit. Persecution caused these believers to be scattered over the Roman Empire, and 293 00:30:47,219 –> 00:30:54,479 in 30 years, they took the gospel around that part of the known world. But now Peter’s 294 00:30:54,479 –> 00:31:02,839 writing to the church 30 years later, and the church is in danger of losing its edge. 295 00:31:02,839 –> 00:31:11,920 And here we are, 2,000 years later, and our danger is that we’ve settled into church 296 00:31:11,920 –> 00:31:19,300 being part of our routine and organized for our convenience, and we forget why we are 297 00:31:20,300 –> 00:31:30,160 Our time is limited. The end is near. Father’s the question. If we knew that we 298 00:31:30,160 –> 00:31:38,920 had one year until Jesus came again, what would we do? What should you do, when you 299 00:31:38,920 –> 00:31:43,859 know your time is short? That’s a good question, isn’t it? What should you do 300 00:31:43,859 –> 00:31:47,819 when you know your time is short? 301 00:31:49,300 –> 00:31:54,380 Peter gives us the answer. Look at it very simply, and with this we close. He 302 00:31:54,380 –> 00:31:58,439 sets out three priorities. When you know that the clocks are ticking, here’s what 303 00:31:58,439 –> 00:32:08,140 to do. Number one. Pray. Look at what he says. Verse 7. The end of all things is 304 00:32:08,140 –> 00:32:18,680 near. Therefore, be clear minded and self controlled, so that you can pray. 305 00:32:18,880 –> 00:32:24,079 The challenge that God has given to every one of us is so overwhelming that 306 00:32:24,079 –> 00:32:29,319 that must be the first priority. This is where to begin, and rush off into some 307 00:32:29,319 –> 00:32:35,819 kind of panic. Be clear-minded and get to prayer. 308 00:32:35,819 –> 00:32:43,099 Number two, verse 8. Love. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers 309 00:32:43,280 –> 00:32:53,280 over a multitude of sins. A husband and a wife are arguing. They say unkind words 310 00:32:53,280 –> 00:33:00,339 the next day he has a car accident and he’s gone. If they had known it was their 311 00:33:00,339 –> 00:33:05,280 last evening, they would not have argued, and if they 312 00:33:05,339 –> 00:33:13,640 did, they would have resolved it. You make different decisions when you know your 313 00:33:13,640 –> 00:33:23,599 time is short. There are many ways to resolve a dispute, but the quickest one 314 00:33:23,599 –> 00:33:31,760 is always to forgive. And you see, that’s what Peter says. I mean, we could argue 315 00:33:31,880 –> 00:33:37,359 about a lot of things for the next ten years. But if we had the sense that our 316 00:33:37,359 –> 00:33:39,560 time was short, we might think of taking this route, 317 00:33:39,560 –> 00:33:48,520 love covers over a multitude of sins. Let’s move on. Third serve, verse ten. 318 00:33:48,520 –> 00:33:53,319 Each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully 319 00:33:53,319 –> 00:33:59,099 administering God’s grace in its various forms. It’s a wonderful truth that every 320 00:33:59,219 –> 00:34:07,239 Christian has received a gift from God. You are gifted by God. That’s why we 321 00:34:07,239 –> 00:34:14,159 can’t afford to have believers in the Sin Bin. God has a place in ministry for 322 00:34:14,159 –> 00:34:17,500 you in the Body of Christ and the body has a limited amount of time to do its 323 00:34:17,500 –> 00:34:24,080 work. Time is short, so make sure you find your place in the body so that you can 324 00:34:24,080 –> 00:34:28,399 use your gift and then do it, he says, with all of your heart if you’ve got a 325 00:34:28,399 –> 00:34:32,199 gift of hospitality. Oh, there’s a fantastic thing. Some people are just 326 00:34:32,199 –> 00:34:37,600 wonderful in their use of their homes, and God has given you that love to do 327 00:34:37,600 –> 00:34:42,760 this and this gift to do this. Well now, open your home gladly to others. We talked 328 00:34:42,760 –> 00:34:47,800 last week about one way of doing that. Do it without grumbling. Do it a service to 329 00:34:47,800 –> 00:34:54,719 God. Do it. If someone’s given the gift of speaking, remember when you’re teaching 330 00:34:54,719 –> 00:34:58,060 that you’re—you’re not just spouting your own ideas, you’re speaking the word of 331 00:34:58,520 –> 00:35:04,399 God. You’re trusted with something that is of unfathomable value and of great 332 00:35:04,399 –> 00:35:10,560 urgency. And if you’re serving—he uses that general word—in some other capacity, 333 00:35:10,560 –> 00:35:16,280 do it in the strength that God provides. God will sustain you for everything that 334 00:35:16,280 –> 00:35:20,479 he calls you to do, and he will sustain you for as long as he is calling you to 335 00:35:20,580 –> 00:35:31,100 do it. But you see the vision that Peter has for the church of Jesus Christ here? 336 00:35:31,100 –> 00:35:39,659 See the vision that God has for us? There are highly resistant people all around 337 00:35:39,659 –> 00:35:50,419 us, and one day they will give an account to God. That is why they need to hear the 338 00:35:50,520 –> 00:36:01,739 gospel. So that when they die, they too can live. And they don’t have much time. 339 00:36:01,739 –> 00:36:07,860 God has called us to be his servants, but we’re not going to be much use as his 340 00:36:07,860 –> 00:36:11,600 servants so long as we’re messing around with sin. You’ve done that long enough, 341 00:36:11,600 –> 00:36:15,659 Peter says. God calls you to live the rest of your earthly life for his will. 342 00:36:15,659 –> 00:36:23,199 You don’t have time for messing about with sin. And the church body does not have much time either, 343 00:36:23,199 –> 00:36:29,860 for we have been given a great and overwhelming commission that by the power of the Spirit, 344 00:36:29,860 –> 00:36:39,000 God’s people, using their gifts, will bring the good news to all people. When the whole 345 00:36:39,360 –> 00:36:45,520 church sees the time is short, when that bears in on our souls and we believe it, 346 00:36:45,520 –> 00:37:00,760 then we’ll get praying, then we’ll be loving, and then we’ll be serving. And who knows just 347 00:37:01,100 –> 00:37:10,699 how many highly resistant people will one day thank God that we did. Let’s pray together, shall we? 348 00:37:10,699 –> 00:37:22,560 Lord, there are different sins that you speak to us about in the course of our lives and that we 349 00:37:22,760 –> 00:37:32,300 specific repentance from. Today, beneath your Word we feel that we need to repent 350 00:37:32,300 –> 00:37:41,639 of complacency – and we do so. Teach us to live as those who know that our time is 351 00:37:41,639 –> 00:37:51,879 short – those who know that the time of others around us who are resistant is short – and give 352 00:37:51,959 –> 00:37:55,979 us a perspective together as we think about the ministry of the Church of Jesus Christ, 353 00:37:55,979 — 00:38:02,679 that for all of us until that great day when you take us into your presence, that time is short. 354 00:38:02,679 –> 00:38:13,560 We can see, O Lord, that when that gets a group of us, we’ll be different in our praying, 355 00:38:14,479 –> 00:38:25,639 different in our loving, and different in our serving. Make us stewards of that which 356 00:38:25,639 –> 00:38:35,360 we have received, that we may do your will and that others may be glad on the last day that it 357 00:38:35,360 –> 00:38:41,760 was so. For Jesus’ sake, Amen.