Latest / INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living / Hope Beyond Extremism Marching Orders for Soldiers of the Cross Msg 1217

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Hope Beyond Extremism Marching Orders for Soldiers of the Cross Msg 1217 · INSIGHT FOR LIVING: Biblical Wisdom For Everyday Living

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  Speaker 1: When the time is short, things get urgent, and I've
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  Speaker 1: also noticed that they get simplified. There's something about the
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  Speaker 1: brevity of time that adds urgency and simplicity. Think, for example,
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  Speaker 1: of a time in your life when a loved one
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  Speaker 1: you know has discovered that he or she hasn't long
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  Speaker 1: to live. Your visits are often much more urgent, and
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  Speaker 1: your discussions are Simple to the point. Basic. When you
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  Speaker 1: are only minutes from a hurricane or the arrival of
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  Speaker 1: a tornado that you can see in the immediate distance,
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  Speaker 1: you usually don't pull out a Monopoly game and sit
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  Speaker 1: down to play for a while. You don't set up
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  Speaker 1: plans for an exotic meal or some lengthy opportunity to
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  Speaker 1: serve your guests. You boil things down to survival. because
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  Speaker 1: the hour is short and there's urgency. There's the need
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  Speaker 1: for survival and simplicity. If you're driving home from church
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  Speaker 1: and you discover the moment it happens, an accident occurring
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  Speaker 1: in the other lane, and you are the only one
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  Speaker 1: there to assist, you don't worry about your clothing getting
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  Speaker 1: dirty or bloody. You're there to help. There's an urgency.
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  Speaker 1: There's a simplicity in the mission. The shortness of time
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  Speaker 1: requires both. I noticed when I come to the scriptures
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  Speaker 1: that Jesus himself modeled that particular fact. As long as
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  Speaker 1: there was time, he took time to eat with his disciples,
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  Speaker 1: to train his disciples, to minister to individuals spontaneously. And
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  Speaker 1: at their need, in the hour of their need, he
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  Speaker 1: would linger over a meal with friends. He would sit
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  Speaker 1: back and enjoy relaxed moments with individuals like Mary and
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  Speaker 1: Martha and Lazarus. But when the hour of the cross
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  Speaker 1: came near, there was urgency in his voice. And it
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  Speaker 1: seemed as though his attention was directed to those particular
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  Speaker 1: simple events that were in front of him. The same
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  Speaker 1: is true regarding his return. Let me show you, for example,
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  Speaker 1: from the gospel by Matthew over in the 16th chapter,
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  Speaker 1: the chain of events that led to that urgency and simplicity.
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  Speaker 1: Matthew 16, verse 21. Peter has just made the great
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  Speaker 1: statement regarding Jesus' identity. Verse 21, chapter 16. From that
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  Speaker 1: time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he
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  Speaker 1: must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the
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  Speaker 1: elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and
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  Speaker 1: be raised on the third day. Now, the same one
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  Speaker 1: who has just given this wonderful statement of faith rebukes
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  Speaker 1: the Lord Jesus for that statement. He's bothered by it.
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  Speaker 1: He's planning on a kingdom. He's not planning on a cross.
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  Speaker 1: He's looking for a crown, not suffering death. So Peter
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  Speaker 1: took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, God
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  Speaker 1: forbid it, Lord. I mean, can you imagine someone saying
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  Speaker 1: that to Jesus? I was watching a television program the
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  Speaker 1: other evening on the public television channel. It was entitled
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  Speaker 1: Ethics in America. Some of you may have watched it.
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  Speaker 1: It was an interesting program in that people like a
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  Speaker 1: four-star general that was in charge of the Vietnam War
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  Speaker 1: was there in civilian clothes. And right alongside him was
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  Speaker 1: a member of the House of Representatives. And alongside him
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  Speaker 1: was another individual, high-ranking officer. And they were all together
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  Speaker 1: in that scene. And as the hour intensified and as
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  Speaker 1: the issues grew, it became obvious that no one was
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  Speaker 1: worried about anybody's rank. And everybody got urgently involved in
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  Speaker 1: the issue that was being raised. And someone looked at
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  Speaker 1: General Westmoreland and sort of rebuked him. I wonder how
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  Speaker 1: many times a four-star general in the army has been
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  Speaker 1: rebuked by somebody else. But at that time, rank was
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  Speaker 1: stripped and it was the issue that was at stake. Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: right now, in Peter's mind, has lost rank. And Peter
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  Speaker 1: goes at the issue saying, how could you say such
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  Speaker 1: a thing? God forbid it, Lord. And I'll tell you,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus doesn't back down. He turned and said to Peter,
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  Speaker 1: get behind me, Satan. Can you imagine being told that?
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  Speaker 1: Get behind me, Satan. You're a stumbling block to me,
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  Speaker 1: for you are not setting your mind on God's interests,
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  Speaker 1: but man's. And that calls for such a rebuke. And
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  Speaker 1: then Jesus said to his disciples, let's get down to
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  Speaker 1: simple basics. Let's get down to the essential, simple requirements
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  Speaker 1: of discipleship. If anyone wishes to come after me, let
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  Speaker 1: him deny himself, take up his cross. And follow me
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  Speaker 1: and whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it.
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  Speaker 1: Whoever wishes to lose his life for my sake shall
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  Speaker 1: find it. We're down to urgent, simple demands. Why? Because
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  Speaker 1: the hour is short. He hasn't long. Same same gospel
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  Speaker 1: chapter twenty four. You'll see a similar scene or at
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  Speaker 1: least a similar urgency. Matthew twenty four. As Jesus was
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  Speaker 1: sitting on the Mount of Olives, verse 3, with the disciples,
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  Speaker 1: they came to him privately saying, tell us when will
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  Speaker 1: these things be and what will be the sign of
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  Speaker 1: your coming and the end of the age? And Jesus
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  Speaker 1: immediately gets down to basics. He doesn't sit around. He
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  Speaker 1: doesn't talk leisurely about what's in front of them. He
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  Speaker 1: goes right to the essentials. In verses 4 through 8.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, the whole balance of the chapter. He answered
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  Speaker 1: and said to them, see that no one misleads you.
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  Speaker 1: Many will come in my name saying, I am the Christ,
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  Speaker 1: and will mislead many. You will be hearing of wars
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  Speaker 1: and rumors of wars, so see that you are not frightened.
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  Speaker 1: Those things must take place, but that is not yet
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  Speaker 1: the end. Nation will rise against nation, kingdom against kingdom.
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  Speaker 1: In various places there will be famines and earthquakes. All
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  Speaker 1: these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. This
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  Speaker 1: doesn't mean that we have come to the ultimate end,
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  Speaker 1: but it means the beginning is over. I don't know
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  Speaker 1: if you remember the words of Winston Churchill. I believe
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  Speaker 1: it was while he was speaking to Parliament. And London
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  Speaker 1: had just about been bombed to smithereens. And the Britishers
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  Speaker 1: were losing heart. Seemed as though Churchill never did. I'm
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  Speaker 1: sure he must have had low moments, but his speeches
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  Speaker 1: don't reveal it. And he said to those people who
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  Speaker 1: sat in parliament as they were, I'm sure, quaking in
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  Speaker 1: their spirits. And he looked out the window and he
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  Speaker 1: saw the ruins. And he said, this is not the end.
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  Speaker 1: This is not even the beginning of the end. Ah,
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  Speaker 1: but it is perhaps the end of the beginning. I
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  Speaker 1: think that's what Jesus is saying. When you see these
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  Speaker 1: things occurring, it isn't the end. It may not even
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  Speaker 1: be the beginning of the end, but it is the
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  Speaker 1: end of the beginning. By the way, did you notice
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  Speaker 1: some things that were very relevant to where we live
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  Speaker 1: these days? Nations rising against nations, kingdom against kingdoms, famines, earthquakes.
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  Speaker 1: Just thought I'd mention that in case one happens tonight.
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  Speaker 1: Just remember, we're getting close. Look at Romans 14. From
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  Speaker 1: the words of Jesus, turn to the warnings of Paul.
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  Speaker 1: Romans chapter 14. Once again, the hour is short. Therefore,
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  Speaker 1: it's urgent and simple. 14 of Romans, verse 10. But you,
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  Speaker 1: why do you judge your brother? Asks the apostle. Or
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  Speaker 1: you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt?
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  Speaker 1: For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, that was a thought never very far
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  Speaker 1: from the apostle's mind. One of the reasons we do
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  Speaker 1: not judge one another is that we must all stand
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  Speaker 1: before the only one qualified to judge. And in light
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  Speaker 1: of his coming and our appearance before him, keep your
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  Speaker 1: judgment to yourself. We must all stand before the judgment
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  Speaker 1: seat of God. As I live, says the Lord, every
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  Speaker 1: knee shall bow to me. Every tongue shall give praise
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  Speaker 1: to God. So then, each one of us shall give
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  Speaker 1: account of himself to God. You can see this in
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  Speaker 1: every one of the epistles. I'll not take the time
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  Speaker 1: for each, but look at the next one. 1 Corinthians
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  Speaker 1: chapter 1. 4 and just one verse. Verse 5. 1
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  Speaker 1: Corinthians 4, 5. Therefore do not go on passing judgment
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  Speaker 1: before the time, but wait until the Lord comes, who
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  Speaker 1: will both bring to light the things hidden in the
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  Speaker 1: darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts, and then
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  Speaker 1: each man's praise will come to him from God. If
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  Speaker 1: you will live in the light of Christ's return every
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  Speaker 1: day of your life, it will do wonders to your
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  Speaker 1: habit of judging. It will silence your lip from gossip.
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  Speaker 1: If you realize that you must give account for every
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  Speaker 1: idle word and action when you stand before the Lord Jesus,
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  Speaker 1: it will do wonders to your conduct. It will also
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  Speaker 1: make you realize how many needless things we get involved
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  Speaker 1: in on this earth. Sort of like rearranging the deck
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  Speaker 1: chairs in the Titanic. Don't bother. Don't get lost in
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  Speaker 1: the details. He's coming soon. You see the urgency and
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  Speaker 1: the simplicity of the hour? I have many other references,
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  Speaker 1: but I won't take time. Look at 1 Peter chapter
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  Speaker 1: 4 as we return to this wonderful study we're engaged in.
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  Speaker 1: The apostle over in the Timothy letter refers to us
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  Speaker 1: as soldiers, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ. And here
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  Speaker 1: are some marching orders for soldiers of Christ. 1 Peter
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  Speaker 1: chapter 4. Now remember, Peter has been dealing with the
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  Speaker 1: suffering saints. Those who were being taken advantage of, those
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  Speaker 1: who could see no relief in sight. And when Peter
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  Speaker 1: came to the middle of this fourth chapter, he decided
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  Speaker 1: to remind them that this is all temporary. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: he says at the beginning of verse 7, the end
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  Speaker 1: of all things is at hand. Now remember what I
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  Speaker 1: said earlier? When there is brevity of time, things get
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  Speaker 1: urgent and things get simple. Look at the urgency and
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  Speaker 1: the simplicity in Peter's pen in the words that follow.
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  Speaker 1: Let me read the verses for you. The end of
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  Speaker 1: all things is at hand. Therefore, be of sound judgment
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  Speaker 1: and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. Above all,
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  Speaker 1: keep fervent in your love for one another because love
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  Speaker 1: covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another
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  Speaker 1: without complaint. As each one has received a special gift,
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  Speaker 1: employ it in serving one another as good stewards of
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  Speaker 1: the manifold grace of God. Whoever speaks, let him speak
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  Speaker 1: as it were the utterances of God. And whoever serves,
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  Speaker 1: let him do so as by the strength which God supplies,
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  Speaker 1: so that in all things God may be glorified through
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever
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  Speaker 1: and ever. Amen. Now here we are in the middle
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  Speaker 1: of a letter and he's already saying amen. It is
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  Speaker 1: like a preliminary benediction. It's like a brief doxology of
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  Speaker 1: praise to God right in the middle of this letter.
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  Speaker 1: What I find in these verses I just read are
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  Speaker 1: four commands and one goal. Take the time to notice
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  Speaker 1: the commands to begin with and observe how urgent and
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  Speaker 1: how simple peter keeps things command number one verse seven
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  Speaker 1: be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose
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  Speaker 1: of prayer let me paraphrase it this way use good
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  Speaker 1: judgment stay calm in a spirit of prayer you know
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  Speaker 1: how to live in light of christ's immediate return to
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  Speaker 1: begin with follow this command Use good judgment. Stay calm
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  Speaker 1: in a spirit of prayer. Let me spend a few
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  Speaker 1: moments analyzing those words. First of all, be of sound judgment.
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  Speaker 1: Be of sound judgment. Today we would say, keep cool.
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  Speaker 1: Stay cool. Be sober. It does not mean the opposite
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  Speaker 1: of intoxication. Get this. It means the opposite of living
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  Speaker 1: in a frenzy, in a maddening kind of extremism. For example,
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  Speaker 1: don't try to set dates regarding Christ's coming. That's an
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  Speaker 1: extreme reaction to prophecy. Here's another. Don't panic as if
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  Speaker 1: things are out of control. And another. Don't be filled
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  Speaker 1: with anxiety. Don't quit your job. And wait on some
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  Speaker 1: rooftop for Christ to come back. That's extremism. That's not
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  Speaker 1: facing it in a cool, calm manner. Here's another. Don't
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  Speaker 1: think you have to explain everything regarding the future. I
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  Speaker 1: know you read the works of Warren Wiersbe. I came
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  Speaker 1: across in his little book, Be Hopeful, a couple of
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  Speaker 1: interesting paragraphs. Made me chuckle. I know because I have
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  Speaker 1: been right there. He said, early in my ministry, I
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  Speaker 1: gave a message on prophecy that sought to explain everything.
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  Speaker 1: I have since filed it away. I filed away that
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  Speaker 1: outline and will probably never look at it except when
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  Speaker 1: I need to be humbled. A pastor friend who suffered
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  Speaker 1: through my message said to me after the service, brother,
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  Speaker 1: you must be on the planning committee for the return
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  Speaker 1: of Christ.
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  Speaker 2: Ha, ha, ha.
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  Speaker 1: I got his point, but he made it even more
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  Speaker 1: pertinent when he said quietly, you know, I've moved from
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  Speaker 1: the program committee to the welcoming committee. Then he adds,
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  Speaker 1: I'm not suggesting that we not study prophecy or that
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  Speaker 1: we become timid about sharing our interpretations. What I am
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  Speaker 1: suggesting is that we not allow ourselves to get out
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  Speaker 1: of balance because of an abuse of prophecy. There's a
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  Speaker 1: practical application to the prophetic scriptures that Peter's emphasis on
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  Speaker 1: hope and the glory of God ought to encourage us
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  Speaker 1: to be faithful today in whatever work God has given
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  Speaker 1: us to do. I think I want to warn you
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  Speaker 1: against feeling the need to wear a big placard, a
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  Speaker 1: big sign that says, the Lord is returning or doom
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  Speaker 1: is coming. You don't have to do that. Peter says,
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  Speaker 1: on the other hand, be calm, use sound judgment, and
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  Speaker 1: do it in a spirit of prayer. Men and women,
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  Speaker 1: there is nothing quite like prayer to sharpen our awareness,
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  Speaker 1: to keep us alert, and yet to remind us who
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  Speaker 1: has the controls. When I see people who are all
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  Speaker 1: out of sorts, full of anxiety, On the ragged edge
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  Speaker 1: of extremism regarding prophecy, I'm looking at a person who
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  Speaker 1: isn't spending enough time in prayer. Prayer calms your spirit.
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  Speaker 1: It doesn't make you indifferent. On the contrary, it reminds
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  Speaker 1: you he is in control. He has everything in control.
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  Speaker 1: Use sound judgment. Stay calm. Kenneth Wiest translates this Be
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  Speaker 1: calm and collected in a spirit with a view to
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  Speaker 1: giving yourself in prayer. Say, do you remember Peter who
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  Speaker 1: was told by the Lord in the garden to wait
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  Speaker 1: here and pray while I go over here to pray?
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  Speaker 1: Remember the Lord's returning. It's recorded in Mark 14. And
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  Speaker 1: he finds Peter asleep. right sound asleep and he said
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  Speaker 1: to Peter and to John and to the other he
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  Speaker 1: said couldn't you have waited with me for this hour
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  Speaker 1: you think Peter doesn't write with a sense of urgency
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  Speaker 1: he remembers that rebuke I left you to pray and
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  Speaker 1: you fell asleep that's why Peter would add with a
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  Speaker 1: real sense of understanding be of sound judgment and sober
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  Speaker 1: spirit and do it in a spirit of prayer That's
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  Speaker 1: the first command. Here's the second. Verse 8. Stay fervent
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  Speaker 1: in love. Fervent is a word that speaks of intensity
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  Speaker 1: and determination. It is an athletic term for stretching to
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  Speaker 1: reach the tape. I don't know if you've watched these
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  Speaker 1: fellows and gals who run the dash. When they come
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  Speaker 1: around that last turn and they're pressing for the tape,
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  Speaker 1: They'll get right to the end and then they'll lunge forward.
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  Speaker 1: I've even seen them fall right there on the track
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  Speaker 1: because they're pushing to reach the tape before the one
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  Speaker 1: they're competing against. It's the idea of intensity at the tape.
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  Speaker 1: Stretching yourself. Those who do the long jump. leap into
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  Speaker 1: the air and throw their feet forward and they, with intensity,
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  Speaker 1: stretch every muscle of their body to reach as far
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  Speaker 1: as they can. The same with the high jump or
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  Speaker 1: with the pole vault. They stretch there to the uttermost
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  Speaker 1: to reach the limit. That's the word fervent. He says,
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  Speaker 1: above all, be fervent. Keep fervent in your love for
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  Speaker 1: one another. You know, if there is ever a time
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  Speaker 1: we need to stay close, it is toward the end times.
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  Speaker 1: This is not a time to fall into the hands
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  Speaker 1: of the enemy and commit mutiny. This is a time
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  Speaker 1: we've got to stick together. Spend less time, less time
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  Speaker 1: criticizing other Christians. Don't waste your time. criticizing another church
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  Speaker 1: or some pastor. Don't waste your time talking about how
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  Speaker 1: much better your church is than another church is. Spend
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  Speaker 1: your time building up one another, staying fervent in love.
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  Speaker 1: Look at how the verse begins, above all, More than
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  Speaker 1: anything else. And I think it's really a compliment. He says,
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  Speaker 1: keep fervent. Which implies that they already were. Doesn't say,
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  Speaker 1: be fervent. He says, stay at it. You're doing it already.
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  Speaker 1: Stay at it. And what is it that reveals true love?
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  Speaker 1: Look at the rest of the verse. Because love covers
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  Speaker 1: a multitude of sins. You know that Peter is quoting
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  Speaker 1: from the ancient Proverbs chapter. He's quoting from Proverbs 10,
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  Speaker 1: verse 12. Check it for yourself. It reads, hatred stirs
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  Speaker 1: up strife, but love covers all transgressions. Nothing is more
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  Speaker 1: disturbing to the unity of the body than Christians who
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  Speaker 1: stir up and disturb other Christians. Don't think the unsaved
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  Speaker 1: aren't watching when we bash one another. They love it
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  Speaker 1: when we can't get along with each other in the family.
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  Speaker 1: It makes news. They love to quote one Christian who
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  Speaker 1: is after another Christian. It's as if the journalist leans
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  Speaker 1: back from his typewriter and says, aha, gotcha. The pacifistic
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  Speaker 1: leader of India for many years, Mahatma Gandhi, once said,
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  Speaker 1: I like your Christ. But I don't like your Christians.
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  Speaker 1: He then gave his reason. They are so unlike your Christ.
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  Speaker 1: What a rebuke. I like your Christ, but I don't
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  Speaker 1: like your Christians. They're so unlike their leader. Above all,
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  Speaker 1: keep fervent in your love. And if you want to
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  Speaker 1: prove how fervent, show me in your forgiveness. Someone has written,
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  Speaker 1: we are most like beasts when we kill. We are
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  Speaker 1: most like men when we judge. We are most like
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  Speaker 1: God when we forgive. I have never met a person
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  Speaker 1: Who didn't have the ammunition to blame someone else. Every
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  Speaker 1: person I know can blame somebody for something. And you're
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  Speaker 1: not excluded. I could blame several people for things that
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  Speaker 1: have happened in my life. And you could too. Don't
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  Speaker 1: waste your time. And I promise neither will I. Moffat
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  Speaker 1: states that this is a warning against loving others by
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  Speaker 1: fits and starts. It is a plea, he writes, for
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  Speaker 1: steady affection, persisting through the irritations and the antagonisms of
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  Speaker 1: common life in a society recruited from various classes of people. Now,
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  Speaker 1: before I move on, may I say one more word
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  Speaker 1: regarding this matter of fervency and love. Some people are
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  Speaker 1: so easy to love. You just naturally fall into their arms.
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  Speaker 1: Some people are so hard to love. You can love them,
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  Speaker 1: but you just don't like them very much, if you
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: know what I'm saying. There's something about their nature that's
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: just abrasive and irritating, and they are like opposite magnets.
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: They repel. But even they need your love. Perhaps they
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: more than the others. Did you get it? Love one another.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: It's very broad. No special classes. No special groups. There
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: are two more commands. Verse 9. Simple. Be hospitable. Are
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: you with me so far? First of all, have sound judgment.
• 24:44
  Speaker 1: Stay calm in a spirit of prayer. Second, keep fervent
• 24:50
  Speaker 1: in your love for one another. Third, be hospitable. I
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: notice this has the same object as the other. Love
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: for one another. And now verse 9, be hospitable to
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: one another. Same open end. Without complaint. Peter's a practical man.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: After all, he's married. Probably has kids. Maybe by now
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: a few teenagers. He knows what it's like to have
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: a busy home. What do you complain about when it
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: comes to hospitality? When he says be hospitable to one
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: another without complaint. Well, you can complain about the trouble
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: it is. It takes energy to have someone in. It
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: takes effort. It takes planning. They interrupt your privacy. But
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: he says be hospitable nevertheless. What else do you complain about? Well,
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: it takes money. It's a bit expensive. It's easier to
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: fix a meal for one than to fix a meal
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: for three or four. It's easy for just the two
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: of you to do well and to get along. But
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: when you add another two or three, it's expensive. It
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: also takes time. And it's easy to complain about the
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: time it takes to have people in. And to show
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: them kindness. I like the words of John Henry Jowett.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: True love, however, is a splendid host. It's amazing what
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: love does to hospitality. Speaking of Jowett, I have an
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: old book called The Epistles of Peter by Jowett. He
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: says some very quaint things. And he says them in
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: such a way that I don't think any of us
• 26:34
  Speaker 1: will forget them soon. I quote from his work. There
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: is love whose measure is that of an umbrella. There
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: is love whose inclusiveness is that of a great marquee.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: And there is love whose comprehensions is that of the
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: immeasurable sky. The aim of the New Testament is the
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: conversion of the umbrella into a tent and the merging
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: of the tent into the glorious canopy of the all-enfolding heavens.
• 27:06
  Speaker 1: Push back the walls of family love until they include
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: the neighbor. Again, push back the walls until they include
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: the stranger. Again, push back the walls until they comprehend
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: the foe. When was the last time you entertained someone
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: who was once your enemy? There is something about hospitality
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: that disarms the enemy. The quality of our love, says Jowett,
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: is determined by its inclusiveness. At the one extreme, there
• 27:44
  Speaker 1: is self-love, but at the other extreme, there is philanthropy.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: What is the tense, the stretch of my love? What
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: is its covering power, he asks. I do not wonder
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: that the apostle proceeds to indicate the magnificent cover afforded
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: by a magnificent love. Love covers a multitude of sins.
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: Not the sins of the lover, but the sins of
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: the loved. Love is willing to forget as well as
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: to forgive. Love does not keep hinting at past failures
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: and past revolts. Love is willing to hide them in
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: a nameless grave. When a man whose life has been
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: stained and blackened by a multitude of sins turns over
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: a new leaf, I love this. Love will never hint
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: at the old leaf, but will rather seek to cover
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: it in deep and healing oblivion. Love is so busy
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: unveiling the promises and allurements of the morrow that she
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: has little time and still less desire to stir up
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: the choking dust on the blasted and desolate fields of yesterday.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: I seldom address this, so that's why I'm camping here
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: for a few extra moments. Are you really hospitable? Do
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: you have room in your life to be interrupted? Can
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: people come close? They often feel the magnet of your
• 29:21
  Speaker 1: personal power because of Christ's presence. So many are inquisitive
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: as to the source of it. I don't know what
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: it is, but there's something about a cup of coffee
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: with someone or a sandwich for lunch. You eat all
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: your meals alone. I know some meals need to be
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: and you need time alone, but all of them or
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: even most of them. In the days of Peter, the
• 29:54
  Speaker 1: itinerant evangelists couldn't stay at the ends. The ends were
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: often brothels. Places of ill repute. The only place that
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: they could stay when they traveled and preached would be
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: in the homes of fellow Christians. Your home really open
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: to those in need. I heard the announcement made this
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: evening for these who are coming from Multnomah to stay
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: in homes. So did you did you let it pass
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: by or did you think, you know, we could do that?
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: I have seldom had it fail when people have told
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: me they've opened their homes. They've loved it after it
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: was over. Often they did it a little uneasy because
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: you've got a stranger in there. For all you know,
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: they may snore. Or they may keep you up a
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: little later. They never forget that evening in your home. Never.
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: I can remember homes I've stayed in and travels to
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: this day and events and the things that happened and
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: what people said. Think about it. In light of Christ's
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: soon coming, be hospitable to one another without complaint. Now
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: there's one more. Keep serving one another. Verses 10 and 11.
• 31:17
  Speaker 1: That's the fourth command. Keep on serving one another. As
• 31:22
  Speaker 1: each one has received a special gift. I love this
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: subject of spiritual gifts. Do you know, fellow Christian, that
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: you have at least one and probably more than one
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: spiritual gift? Are you even aware of the possible gifts?
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: Let me give you a list to put in the
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: margin of your New Testament or of your Bible right here.
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: These are the places in the New Testament where the
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: spiritual gifts are listed. Ephesians 4, 11 and 12. Ephesians 4,
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: 11 and 12. 1 Corinthians 12. 28 to 30 and
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: Romans 12, six through eight. It's a delightful study to
• 32:11
  Speaker 1: take the Ephesians and Romans and Corinthians and first Peter four,
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: 10 and 11 passages and compare them and come up
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: with a list of them. And then to ask yourself
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: sort of like working through an application for a job,
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: where would I best fit in this list? You're going
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: to find a spot. And if you don't find it
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: right away, keep pursuing. Keep thinking. Ask fellow Christians. Try
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: them out. Put them into action as you serve one another.
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: You'll discover what you do well. I will never forget
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: the time, and it finally dawned on me, that I
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: had a gift of teaching. I mean, you could have
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: knocked me over with a feather if you had tried
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: to convince me of that when I was younger. Me?
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: A teacher? Me? Somebody to instruct someone else? It came
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: to my attention very slowly, very deliberately, however. Here he
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: mentions not the gift of... Well, let's start with the
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: gifts he mentions. Verse 10. Employ it in serving one
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God,
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: whoever speaks. So there is one of the gifts mentioned
• 33:19
  Speaker 1: here called speaking. Perhaps it's the same one called elsewhere
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: the word of knowledge. Or the word of wisdom. Or
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: maybe it would be the same as the teaching gift.
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: Now when you speak for Christ, you don't speak your
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: own opinions. You speak his utterances. You represent the word
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: of God. So be a teacher of the Bible. If
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: that is your gift, make the scriptures the basis of
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: your teaching. You will be forever relevant if you do. Furthermore,
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: you won't have to scratch around and get a lot
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: of material from Time magazine and Newsweek and all the
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: other material that comes, the newspaper, especially not the newspaper,
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: and all the sources of information that are so unreliable.
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: Light years removed from the truth, many of them. But
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: go to the Bible and teach the utterances of God.
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: Serve the body by teaching. Some of you may maybe
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: ought to be engaged in teaching the young. You can
• 34:18
  Speaker 1: teach children. You can teach teenagers. You can teach adults.
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: You might teach people that are working where you work.
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: There might be an opportunity at the lunchtime to do that.
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: Or a special Bible class you could be involved in.
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: Keep serving one another, in this case, through the gift
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: of teaching. And here's another one. Whoever serves, let him
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: do so as by the strength which God supplies. Now
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: this might be called the gift of helping. The gift
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: of assisting. The teacher is up front, but the one
• 34:51
  Speaker 1: who serves behind the scenes is not. And the body
• 34:54
  Speaker 1: would be crippled without many people who are able to serve,
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: to help, to encourage. There's a gift of showing mercy.
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: That goes along with ministering to the ill. Now, doesn't
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: mean they're the only ones that ought to visit, but
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: they make the best visitors. They make the best people
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: to go to the hospital and encourage those that are
• 35:16
  Speaker 1: laid aside. Some don't have a gift of mercy. And
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: I tell them, just visit rarely. Just get in and out.
• 35:25
  Speaker 1: Just leave that for those that have got it. But
• 35:29
  Speaker 1: others have a gift of evangelism. And it's the easiest
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: thing in the world for them to lead people to Christ.
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: And they just do it naturally. It just flows. It's
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: part of their lives. Others don't have that gift. But
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: we're all to be engaged in the work of making
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: Christ known. There's no week of my life I don't
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: speak to someone about Christ. I don't announce that. I
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: don't broadcast it around the country. It's just a flow.
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: But I don't think I have the gift of evangelism.
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: I don't see phenomenal results in evangelism occurring. But you
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: and I could name people that do. And they're not
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: all the people that lead the crusades. They're individuals that
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: have the most natural way of winning friends. And before
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: you know it, they've turned the conversation to Christ. And
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: they've got that person panting to no more. And before
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: they're through, it seems like they've got a contact. if
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: not at that moment, later to lead them to Christ.
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: Serving other people. Get out of your own little tiny radius.
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: As Christ makes these final plans for return, be involved
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: in serving. It does wonders for your depression, for your
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: pity parties, for those times when you sit alone and
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: want to sing, woe is me, woe is me. Woe
• 36:44
  Speaker 1: is me. It's a very dull song. It can be
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: sung over and over and over and over again. Let
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: me give you the goal. It's the end of verse 11.
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: So that in all things, God may be glorified through
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ. The goal is to glorify God. You say,
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: that's so basic. Why even spend time on it? Because
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: without that, listen to me, your teaching becomes a drudgery.
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: Your helping leads to burnout. Your evangelism is an intense
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: thing that allows you to never rest. Or you try
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: to get the glory for all the people you lead
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: to Christ. No, when you have the glory of God
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: as your goal, it is amazing what it does to
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: your spiritual gift. It is amazing what it does to
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: your hospitality. It's amazing what it does to your love life.
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: Amazing what it does to your balance. All for the glory,
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: the glory of God. Since he gets the glory, we're
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: more comfortable leaving the results with him. Since he gets
• 37:52
  Speaker 1: the glory, our limited umbrella dimensions of love that Jowett
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: described are expanded. Since he's to be glorified, our interest
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: isn't in ourselves. It's in showing courtesy and hospitality and warmth.
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: It comes easier. Since he's to get the glory, our
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: spiritual gifts are exercised not as a chore or a duty,
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: But it's a gift. It is my gift to you
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: to teach. It is for God's glory. But it's my
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: opportunity to give. And whatever gifts I may have. You
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: want me to help you know what will make all
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: of this happen? We read over it rather quickly on purpose.
• 38:37
  Speaker 1: Go right back to verse 7. Put quotes around it.
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: The end of all things is near. At hand. I
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: know it sounds like a broken record. I talk about
• 38:55
  Speaker 1: it rather often, but it's in the book. And I
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: can only speak the utterances of God. His coming isn't
• 39:02
  Speaker 1: far away. Some of your and my friends who are
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: at this moment living with terminal diseases may not die.
• 39:10
  Speaker 1: Christ may come before they passed on. I think the
• 39:16
  Speaker 1: only time many people think of Christ's immediate return is
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: when bills come due. They think, oh, Lord, usually around
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: April 14. Oh, Lord, come quickly. We don't have forever.
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: He may come before this very night runs its course
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: this very night. And I'll meet you on the way up.
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: As the gospel song says, Jesus may come today. Glad day.
• 39:49
  Speaker 1: glad day. There's a song that I like even better.
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: It's not a song, it's a hymn. I want you
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: to turn to it.
• 39:59
  Speaker 2: Hymn 535.
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: There are, believe it or not, 17 to 25 verses
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: or stanzas to this hymn. We will limit it to
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: two this evening, but Take the time to look at
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: the theology of this great hymn of Christ's coming. The
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: sands of time are sinking. The dawn of heaven breaks.
• 40:29
  Speaker 1: The summer morn I've sighed for. The fair, sweet morn awakes. Dark,
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: dark has been the midnight, but day spring is at hand.
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: And glory, glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's land. The bride eyes
• 40:50
  Speaker 1: not her garment but her dear bridegroom's face. I will
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: not gaze at glory but on my king of grace.
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: Not at the crown he giveth but on his pierced hand.
• 41:03
  Speaker 1: Don't you love it? The land is all the glory
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: of Emmanuel's land. Our father we look So forward to
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: that day when we shall see the lamb with pierced
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: hands and pierced feet. And we shall worship him who
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: alone is deserving of all the glory. Worthy is the
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: lamb who was slain. See in our lives and hear
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: from our lips and know from our hearts as only
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: you can know how deeply we love you, our Father.
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: Keep us calm and cool in a spirit of prayer.
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: Give us a fervency in our love for one another
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: for that covers a multitude of sins. Find us to
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: be hospitable people who take time, who are accessible, available, caring.
• 42:28
  Speaker 1: And Lord, as our gifts are exercised, may we do
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: that for your glory. For the Lamb is all the
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: glory in Emmanuel's land. May these words we've heard make
• 42:44
  Speaker 1: a difference in the way we live And may the
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: difference be so significant that it is noticed. And we
• 42:53
  Speaker 1: have opportunity to give you the praise before others. We
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: pray in Jesus' wonderful name. Amen.
• 43:18
  Speaker 2: And the sound recording was copyrighted in 2011 by Charles R.
• 43:25
  Speaker 1: Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide.
• 43:29
  Speaker 2: Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.