“Seeing Beyond Troubles” – “The End is Near” – 1 Peter 4:7-11

There is a story told by those who run marathons. The story is that in each marathon, every runner is going to hit “the wall.”

The wall is a point in the race when the runner’s legs seem to become incredibly heavy, when the body seems to scream out that it can’t go any farther. It usually happens about 20 miles into the run. When the runner hits the wall, he or she has to make a decision: do they listen to their body, or do they press on?

Of course, the answer is to press on. In order to complete the race—to run the final six miles or so of the race—the runner has to set his or her mind on the task at hand. For some, that means just placing one foot in front of the other until the body adjusts and they are able to push through the wall.

Most runners will tell you the way to overcome the wall is to focus on something else. If a person can focus on anything but the wall, they can succeed in completing the marathon and find a sense of accomplishment and relief.

It is probable that one of the things the runners focus on is that the race is mostly over. They can reason that they’ve already run roughly 20 miles—roughly three-quarters of the race—and to give up now would mean that the previous miles run were a waste of time and training. To realize that you’re close to the end of the race will give most runners that added boost of energy to give that final kick and complete the task of the run.

Peter’s words in today’s text remind us that the marathon of life and of our world is nearing an end, and that we, too, must make a mental determination of how we will respond to the realization that there is still a race to run, a life to be lived, and to look past any and all obstacles to gain the prize.

Background

The New Testament often refers to the pending end of time when Jesus will return. We read these words written over 2000 years ago, and may wonder what Peter, Paul and the other writers were thinking when they said, as Peter did in 1 Peter 4:7a: “The end is near.” Why would the Holy Spirit inspire such words to be written when He knew that Jesus’ return was so far off?

Remember Jesus’ words when He answered the disciples’ questions about the destruction of Jerusalem and Christ’s return. Jesus told them that no one knew when He was to return and then told them, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42).

The disciples took these words to heart, and they lived their lives as if Christ would return before their lives ended. It is the way each of us should live, because tomorrow is never guaranteed. Each day is a gift from God, but we also need to realize that Christ can come at any moment.

For this reason, we can say today what the apostles wrote so long ago: “The end of all things is near.”

Central Truth: Knowing that Jesus is coming soon must have an effect on the way we live.

Because the end is near:

1. We need to talk with God (7)

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

From before the beginning of time, God had a plan. Before He created our world, God determined that redemption and salvation would come through Christ (cf. 1 Peter 1:20; Ephesians 1:4). God knew before He created our world and us that we would sin, and that we would need to have our sins cleansed and forgiven through Christ. Ultimately, God planned to redeem and restore the world from the corruption of sin through Christ the Son. All this would take place when the end of time comes, and that will come when Christ returns from His glory.

Peter believed the end was eminent. He believed Jesus was to return perhaps within his lifetime. While it has been almost 2000 years since Peter wrote these words, the end of the world is eminent in the eyes of God. Peter reminded us in his second letter that, “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8b). I personally believe Christ will return in less than 50 years from now, if not within our lifetime, then certainly within the lifetimes of our children or grandchildren.

In light of the coming end, Peter wrote that there is one certain things we can do. He wrote that we are to be clear minded and self-controlled. The idea is to be sober and aware of our surroundings. We are to be the opposite of drunk, practicing self-control over our baser desires.

We do this in order that we can pray. Prayer is a crucial part of preparing for the end. We pray in order to learn God’s will and to be empowered to do that will as we give ourselves over to Him. In prayer we discern God’s plans for us specifically and for His plans for our lives as we live them out under the Spirit’s guidance.

Prayer is also how we convey our concerns and questions to the Father. It’s not that God does not know what is going on in our world and our lives, but we need to bring them to Him in prayer so that we can have our desires and fears addressed through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

This is particularly true as we near the end game of God’s great plan of redemption. Because the end is near, we need to talk with God. We need to pray.

2. We live out the Golden Rule (8-9)

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

When Jesus taught His disciples of the beginning of the end and of His return, He told them that wickedness in our world would only increase and become increasingly accepted as normal. As a result, Jesus said, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). He then went on to tell the disciples and us, “. . . but he who stands firm to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

How do we prepare for the end of the world as we know it? We counter the coldness of love by loving each other deeply. Again, remember that the love the Bible talks about is not an emotion so much as it is a way of living. The love we learn of in the Bible is an unconditional love and is expressed in action. It is a love that is extended to all people—our brothers and sisters in Christ and to those who are considered our neighbors (remembering how Jesus described the neighbor in the parable of the Good Samaritan).

Jesus told us in Matthew 7 that the best way to live out the Scripture was to treat people the way we want to be treated. The best way to live out the Golden Rule is to love others deeply.

Peter wrote that love covers over a multitude of sins. It’s amazing what we will endure or overlook when we love someone. Edith could live with Archie because Edith genuinely loved her husband and saw beyond the buffoonery and saw the man who Archie really was. Paul wrote that love is kind, but rejoices in the truth, always protecting, always trusting, always hoping, always persevering. Love never fails (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a).

Love as expressed in the Golden Rule means we are proactive in our dealing with one another. Just as you and I would be grateful for hospitality of strangers as we come to the end of a long weary day in a distant land, so we must be willing to offer hospitality to one another. When Peter was writing this, Christian men and women would travel from town to town to share the gospel, and they would need a place to stay overnight. Though many of Christ’s followers were poor, they nonetheless extended hospitality to these wandering evangelists.

Because the end is near, it is even more important that we live out the Golden Rule in our lives.

3. We let God be praised through us (10-11)

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

When a person comes to Christ in faith, upon our salvation, God sends the Holy Spirit to live within us. The Spirit allows us to discern God’s will and to communicate with the Father and the Son. By the indwelling presence of the Spirit, not only do we know the Father and the Son, but we are also given gifts that enable us to be used by God to strengthen His church. Paul wrote about these gifts of the Spirit in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. In this text, Peter mentioned only two of the gifts—speaking and serving.

In both instances, Peter urged his readers and us to use the gift with a keen awareness that God is using this gift to benefit others. So, if God imparts a word to us, we need to speak with the conscious awareness that God is speaking through us. Our words should reflect the glory and majesty of the Father, showing the love and compassion of the Son. Our service should also be done in a way that is consistent with the examples Jesus showed us in His earthly ministry.

The reason we are to be aware of how God is using us is so that we can focus on giving glory to God, letting Him be the focus of our praise and our living. When Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount that we are salt and light in our world, He wanted us to so live and act that others “may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

It is for this reason that God does not call us to do things for Him, but rather He calls us to allow Him to do things through us. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:19-20).

Because the end is near, we must live our lives in such a way that all we say and do points to God and gives Him praise and glory.

Conclusion

Let’s be honest. Almost all of us have crossed the half-way point of our lives. We are coming closer each day to the end of our days here on earth. Whether we live to see the coming of Christ or not, the end is coming for us all.

It is almost every believer’s hope that, when the end comes and we stand face-to-face with Jesus that we will hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and share your master’s happiness” (Matthew 25:21). What better way to do this than to spend our time in prayer, in living out the Golden Rule and letting God live through us for His glory and praise?