I Peter 4:7-11
Good stewards of His Grace
“Would you open your Bibles with me to...”
1Pet. 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
1Pet. 4:8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
1Pet. 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
1Pet. 4:10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
1Pet. 4:11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Into
√ Last week we found that Peter called us who are saved by God's Grace to make a clean break with our sin.
Grace produces a heart that desires to serve God.
√ This week Peter turns his attention to how we put the gifts of His Grace into practice in our daily experience.
Ap. The Bible is meant to be lived!
Pray (vs. 7)
1Pet. 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers.
√ Called to pray
Peter begins his instructions regarding how it is that we are to use the gifts of God's Grace by calling us to pray.
Reminding us that prayer is the foundation for all ministry! It's through prayer that the servant of God…
Receives direction to use his gifts
Granted power to put his gifts into action
Reminded of the motivation for ministry
Puts on the mind of Christ to protect our heart from pride
To often Christians either do not use their gifts at all, or if they do, use them in a wrong way all because they have not come to God in prayer.
Ap. The mistakes you and I make in life can always be traced back to a lack of prayer - we didn't ask God! (or weren't listening!)
Ex. Moses and the Egyptian
√ Note the context of Peter's instructions to pray…
"But the end of all things is at hand"
That is, in view of the fact that we are living in the last days, not knowing whether or not this is our last day…
…we're called to pray with a watchful and serious attitude.
Ex. My prayer on a burning airplane is much more serious than in the comfort of my living room!
Peter's point is that we need to recognize that time is short, therefore, we must pray with sincerity and vigilance!
So much of our prayer is rote, or so casual, that if we spoke to other people the way we speak to God they wouldn't take us seriously!
Just noise!
Understand that prayer warriors are not any different that you and I, they simply take prayer seriously and actually believe that God is listening and willing to respond to their prayers.
Ex. Elijah
Jam. 5:13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms.
Jam. 5:14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
Jam. 5:15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
Jam. 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Jam. 5:17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
Jam. 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.
Ap. Pray like you mean it!
Love (vs. 8)
1Pet. 4:8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”
√ Fervent love!
Peter's next instruction moves us from the privacy of our prayer closest…
…to our relationships with people.
He tells us…
"And above all things have fervent love for one another"
Isn't that interesting!? Before Peter can address how it is that we use the gifts of God's Grace…
…he tells us that our first order of business is to love one another.
Why?
Because love is the mark of true Christianity!
The Bible is very clear that a person who has come into a relationship with Jesus Christ will be known first and primarily by the love they demonstrate toward other people!
No love = No relationship with Jesus
Note these scriptures:
Jesus declared…
Joh. 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John adds…
1Jo 3:10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.
1Jo 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death.
1Jo 3:17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
1Jo 4:20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
1Jo 4:21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.
True Christianity is practiced by loving the people God has placed in our lives.
Love that is demonstrated by…
Our attitude and behavior toward one another
Our willingness to forgive and overlook offences
Our commitment to stick together and work through our idiosyncrasies
Our care for one another
In short, treating one another the way that Jesus treats us!
√ The true manifestation of Grace
Note that Peter tells us…
“love will cover a multitude of sins.”
…which is a paraphrase of Prov. 10:12 which says…
"Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all sins."
Peter's point is that the true manifestation of God's Grace is that His love has covered our sins.
Therefore, we who are the glad recipients of God's Grace must also extend that same Grace to those around us.
Ap. How can I without grace to anyone when I have been forgiven such a great debt!
Ex. The parable of the unforgiving servant - Matt. 18
Mat. 18:35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Serve (vs. 9-11)
1Pet. 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
1Pet. 4:10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
1Pet. 4:11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
√ Serve one another with Grace
Note how Peter's instructions progress…
With a foundation of prayer we're now ready to go out into the world to share the love of God by using the gifts He has given us to serve one another!
More than that, Peter now tells us how we are to use the gifts, which God has given us.
√ Good attitude
First of all Peter reminds us that we're to use our gifts to bless others with a right attitude. Note that he says…
"without grumbling"
There's nothing worse than working with people who don't want to serve, or make everyone feel bad because they're serving.
Ex. Bad attitude - I'll only ask once!
Ap. It's a privilege to do anything for Jesus!
√ Faithful stewards
Note vs. 10
1Pet. 4:10 As each
one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God.
Peter reminds us of an important truth, which is…
…we are stewards of God's Grace (gifts).
A steward doesn't own the property, or the assets, which he oversees…
…rather, they belong to the Master and it is the job of the steward to use what the Master has given him to do the Master's will.
Ex. Joseph in Potifers house
Christians are called to faithfully use the gifts, which God has given them to do His will.
To serve others
To build up one another
To help each other
All of God's gifts are given in the context of His Body - the Church.
That is, with the exception of the gift of tongues, there are no gifts that God has given for our individual benefit!
Ex. Teaching
Need someone to teach. Hospitality, need someone to be hospitable to!
Christians who chose not to get involved in a local church are not good stewards of the gifts that God has given.
Ex. I don't open ministry opportunities to anyone who isn't accountable to a local church.
A lack of accountability is often one of the signs of a wolf. Someone who is looking to use their gifts for their own benefit and glory.
Ap. Use your gifts!
√ For God's glory
Finally, in vs. 11 Peter reminds us of our motivation for being faithful stewards of the gifts we've been given:
"that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ"
We're called to use our gifts to bring glory to Jesus Christ!
If we'll keep that perspective then we won't get hung up on all the things that so often concern us:
"I'm not good enough"
Numbers
I don't see any fruit
We're not called to evaluate the effectiveness of our gifting, rather, we're simply called to use our gifts as God directs.
If God's purposes are accomplished by my faithful service to one person - then I want use my gifts with all my heart, mind, soul and strength.
Ex. John Kern
Close
√ We're called to put God's Grace into practice in our daily life by…
Praying with a sincere & vigilant heart.
Practicing true love toward one another.
Faithfully serving God by serving one another through the gifts He has given.