INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• Have you ever found yourself totally unprepared for a meeting or some event?
• Have you have those dreams of having something come up that you were responsible for yet you were unprepared. That is scary to think about isn’t it?
• I still have reoccurring dreams of getting to the end of a semester at College and still not having term papers done, or being prepared for finals. (In truth that never happened).
• I wake up for a few moments in a panic over not having those assignments ready.
• This leads to what we need to consider this morning. This issue of living prepared, living prepared to see the Lord at any moment.
• We are not promised tomorrow so today we need to live life prepared! Let us turn to 1 Peter 4:7-11 together. Let us begin with verse 7.
• SLIDE #2
• 1 Peter 4:7(ESV) 7The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
• SLIDE #3
• Let’s begin with understanding that…
SERMON
Living prepared means you must be…
I. Prepared to pray.
• Peter is letting us know that the end of all things is at hand; this should give us a sense of urgency when it comes to living prepared.
• This verse gives the justification for all that has been started before.
• We are given attitudes and areas of service that we need to develop in our lives as we get near the “END”
• The word “END” can mean “goal” or “end”. If “GOAL” is the intent we know that every since the beginning, God has been moving history toward the goal of eternity.
• If we look at the word to mean “END” then it implies the final judgment is closer now than when Jesus was here. Both fit the context.
• Part of living prepared is having a vibrant prayer life. But having that kind of prayer life requires is to be prepared, and looking at verse seven we see a couple of things we need to do in order to be prepared to pray.
• Here are three of the ways we can be prepared to pray.
• SLIDE #4
1. Our life is to be one of self-control.
• We are told that we are to exercise self-control. This means that we think before we act, we think before we take a particular course of action. We are called to be aware of the eternal consequences of our actions or lack of action.
• When we are facing tough times or trying to help those who are facing tough times, we must make sure we do not lose our head and do something rash or encourage another person to do something they will regret.
• We have to understand what to say no to and why we need to say no, but we also need to know what to say yes to also and why we need to say yes!
• SLIDE #5
2. We are to be sober-minded.
• Secondly we are told to keep a sober spirit. This means we are to keep ourselves from allowing anything to dull our mind or our spirit.
• When a person consumes even a small amount of alcohol, it impairs their judgment and reflexes.
• We are not to allow anything that will cause of to be spiritually impaired.
• When we allow the world to take over our lives, we are not very focused on God.
• We cannot allow things to take our focus off of God.
• Verse 7 tells us to be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer.
• Next…
• SLIDE #6
3. We must realize the urgency of prayer.
• The word for “prayer” is plural in the original telling us we are to offer up multiple prayers. We never stop with our prayers.
• We need to know that the end is at hand and we need to be lifting up prayers constantly so that we can help others know Jesus, so we can help others grow in Jesus.
• Jesus could return at any moment or we could depart from this world at any moment also.
• SLIDE #7
• Matthew 24:36(ESV) 36“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son,£ but the Father only.
• Since we do not when Jesus is when we see a brother in Christ who is in the midst of a deep struggle, we need to be there for them.
• WE should pray fervently for them
• Let us turn to verse 8
• SLIDE #8
• 1 Peter 4:8(ESV) 8Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
• SLIDE #9
Living prepared means you must be…
II. Prepared to love one another.
• This is something we need to see as important because God loves us, we are to love others. We are family!
• Where do we turn when we are struggling? Where do we go when we are persecuted in some way? We should be able to turn to our church family.
• What do we do when we see a brother or sister in need? Do we pat them on the back and tell them it will be alright or are we willing to jump into the trenches and help them?
• It is fun to be a part of a family when all is well; it is challenging to be in a family when things are not going so well.
• We can be a blessing to be a blessing to one another as we all strive to live life in a state of preparedness!
• WE need to be prepared to love because…
• SLIDE #10
1. Loving one anther will require much effort.
• What do people need for other people? They need someone to stand back and be critical of them. They need someone to tell them, “I told you so.”
• When a brother or sister in Christ is struggling, they need someone to love them.
• Verse 8 starts with ABOVE ALL. When you have finished your prayers, when you have strengthened your relationship with God, give top priority to being fervent in your love for one another.
• The phrase “one another” shows the context of this section is how we are to help our brothers and sisters in Christ, this does not mean we are to ignore the hurting people of the world though.
• We are told to “KEEP” earnestly loving. The word “keep” is tied back to being of sound judgment.
• A Christian who is thinking clearly will keep on extending his love to others.
• The love we are to have is an earnest love. The word “earnest” was used to describe the strenuous effort a horse whom was at full gallop would exert or the sustained effort of an athlete who was trying to win a race would demonstrate.
• There are times when our brothers and sisters in Christ make it hard to love them. Maybe they have done something insensitive to you or they did something flat out mean to you.
• Sometimes disappointment from unfulfilled or unreasonable expectations gets in the way of our ability to love each other.
• The love we are to have is a love that causes us to do what it best for the other person spiritually.
• Why should we go to the heartache of loving someone especially if they wronged us?
• SLIDE #11
2. Loving one another will also bless you.
• I can love people then sin all I want then I will “pay” for my sins? NO
• This is one way this could be taken, but that would mean we earn our forgiveness from God.
• I believe this is directed toward the object of our love.
• If we love a person, our love will give them a lot of latitude. When we love a person, their faults are not a big a deal to us.
• We do not magnify or publicize the sins of the ones we love. Love is not blind, it is just that love demands we love the person the way they are.
• When we love others, we will not be critical of them. People who are always critical of others, most likely are not very loving people.
• Look at verse 9 with me.
• SLIDE #12
• 1 Peter 4:9(ESV) 9Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
• SLIDE #13
Living prepared means you must be…
III. Prepared to be hospitable.
• There are times when we need to open our homes to other Christians.
• The word hospitality literally means “to be friendly to strangers.” In Peter’s day that was very important since there were not Holiday Inns and the places to stay that were like it was usually hotspots of immorality.
• A couple of things we have pointed out to us concerning hospitality
• SLIDE#14
1. Hospitality puts love into action.
• When we are willing to put ourselves out a bit to help a brother in need, we are giving the opportunity to show the love God wants us to have for one another.
• Robyn and I have experienced the love and hospitality of other Christians and it is a wonderful expression of love.
• It is one thing to say you love another but it is another thing to SHOW them you love them!
• SLIDE #15
2. True hospitality should be done with joy.
• We are to experience joy when we can help a brother by showing them hospitality.
• If we have a bad attitude about it we would be better off not doing it because with God our attitude is as important as the actions!
• SLIDE #16
• Let’s pick up our final thoughts from verse 10-11
• 1 Peter 4:10-11(ESV) 10As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
• SLIDE #17
Living prepared means you must be…
IV. Prepared to serve.
• We are not called to sit and soak the messages at church, we are called to serve.
• Notice that…
• SLIDE #18
1. God gives us gifts for a reason.
• Notice verse 10 says “AS” each has received a gift. The strict context deals with the laying on of hands type of supernatural gifts.
• The word translated “AS” means “according as” which tells us not all were gifted with special gifts.
• But the principle is the same, why did God gift people and why does God endow us with talents and gifts?
• To SERVE others, not to bring attention to ourselves or to build ourselves up.
• Once again, this thought ties back to exhibiting sound judgment. As we do this, we will use our gifts for serving others because God gave them to us.
• We also see…
• SLIDE #19
2. God expects us to be good stewards of His gifts.
• We are told to employ the gifts we have as good stewards.
• A steward is one who manages another’s property. God has given us gifts and we are told to make wise use of them.
• God gives “varied grace” which mean He gives a variety of gifts and He expects us to use them wisely, we are to utilize the gifts to the max!
• SLIDE #20
3. Our speech should reflect our God.
• 11whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God
• Would it be wise for one blind man to ask another blind man how to get somewhere?
• There are going to be times when we have the opportunity to guide people, to give them advice about life.
• When we speak, we are to make sure what we say is Bible-centered, God- centered.
• We need to know the Word so was can share it with people, not only about salvation issues, but on issues of life.
• The word translated “oracle” was used as a when talking about the words of scripture. (Rom 3:2; Hebrews 5:12)
• SLIDE #21
4. Our strength to serve comes from God.
• as one who serves by the strength that God supplies
• There are going to be times when we do not feel we can serve. When we get that way we need to realize our strength comes from God.
• The word “serve” deals with practical deeds of Christian service.
• We are to serve in a spirit of humility with an awareness of God’s presence.
• And the final thought…
• SLIDE #22
5. We serve for His glory!
• Some people do things to get noticed and recognized. We should do what we do for the glory of God who has given us all we have and who saved us by sending His Son to die on the cross for our sins!
• Jesus holds dominion, this means He has the right to be held in the highest esteem and has the right to exercise sovereign rule over all!
• We serve Him to His glory!
CONCLUSION
• We ALWAYS need to be living prepared.
• Are you prepared?
