A Church that Glorifies God

A Church that Glorifies God

“A Church that Glorifies God”

(1 Peter 4:7-11)
Series: Strength Through Adversity

Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD

Henderson’s First Baptist Church, Henderson

  • Take your Bibles and join me in 1 Peter, chapter 4 (page 816; YouVersion).

 

We’ve been preaching our way verse-by-verse through this short letter of Peter’s.  One of the main themes of this letter is suffering for Christ and how we as Christians are to live in this world, remembering this world is not our home.  In fact our time here is relatively short when we compare our time here with the time we will spend in eternity.

 

And every person this morning has a soul that will spend eternity in one of two locations.  Without Christ, we are separated from God because of His holiness and our sin.  If we die without Christ, we remain separated from God and spend eternity in hell.  God is perfectly just in saving no one.  This is what we deserve for our sin.  If, on the other hand, we have received Jesus Christ as Lord, having made a break with our sin and trusting in Christ’s perfect work on our behalf, culminating in His death, burial, and resurrection, then we have the assurance that our soul will live on with Him in heaven.

 

We left off in verses 5 and 6 of chapter 4 where Peter was writing about the final judgment.  He said in verse 5 that God is “ready to judge the living and the dead.”  No one escapes the judgment.  And if you have not trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior then today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your heart.  Turn to the Lord Jesus and receive Him as Number One of your life.  This is the most important decision you will ever make as you live your days on this earth.

 

Most of us in the room here are prepared to testify of our faith in the Lord.  We would say we are already Christians.  Perhaps that is true.  No one really knows a man’s soul except that man and His God.  But if, in fact, the majority of us are already believers, then how are we to go on living in light of the coming judgment?  That’s the question I’d like to ask before we read this passage.  How are we to go on living in light of the coming judgment?  Of course, Peter has been telling us how in this letter and he answers that question again most pointedly in the five verses of our passage this morning, verses 7-11, and he answers the question with the entire church body in view.  How is the church to live in light of the coming judgment?  Listen for the answer.

 

  • Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word.

 

7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 

8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 

10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 

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.

 

  • Pray.

 

Introduction:

 

The message is entitled, “A Church That Glorifies God.”  What does it mean to “glorify God?”  There are a number of ways God is glorified, but what exactly does that mean, to “glorify God?”  It seems to me the idea has much to do with pointing to God, pointing to Him as the One worthy of all praise, honor, and worship.  I don’t mean to sound overly simplistic with this idea of pointing but it just seems to me that this may be the best way to think of glorifying God–our lives point to Him as the grandest and greatest and most wonderful being in existence who alone deserves our worship, our praise, our dependence, our trust, and our obedience.  Our lives point to Him when we seek to show others the bigness of our God, and the goodness of our God.  And for this reason we live in such a way that by living we are pointing, mirroring our Creator, reflecting His attributes such as love, mercy, goodness, and forgiveness.  And when we rightly reflect God we glorify God.  Our lives are pointing to Him.

 

See there’s one goal here in the passage and it’s found at the end of the passage in verse 11.  It says at the end of that verse that we do all that we do so that–look for it there in the middle of verse 11– “so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.”

 

So Peter gives four points, like darts, that are thrown at one bullseye on the target.  The bullseye is the last part of verse 11, “that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”  So the bullseye of the passage is to glorify God.  That’s where our arrows are going this morning as we read this passage.  That’s where our sermon points are going.  How can a church glorify God?  How can Henderson’s First Baptist Church glorify God?

 

We ask Peter, “What does a church look like that glorifies God?”  His answer: First, it is a church that:

 

  1. Endeavors to Pray Carefully (7)

 

Look again at verse 7:

 

7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 

 

This phrase, “The end of all things is at hand,” is probably not a reference to Christ’s soon return as if Peter thought Christ might return in a few days, a few weeks, or even in his own lifetime.  After all, Jesus had told Peter how Peter would die (John 21:19), so Peter was not likely expecting Christ to return before his death.  And it’s also Peter who said in his second letter that, “with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8).” So it’s not very likely that Peter used this phrase to indicate Christ would be returning within Peter’s lifetime.

 

Rather this phrase, “The end of all things is at hand,” is a general way of saying, “Look, everything necessary to accomplish God’s salvation plan has been accomplished: Christ has come, He has died, He has risen, He has ascended to the right hand of the Father, and the Holy Spirit has been poured out at Pentecost. We’re now in the last days. We’re in the final chapter.  We now await Christ’s return and the final judgment because the end of all things is at hand.”

 

When I am asked whether I believe we are “in the last days” I will usually say something like, “Yes, we have been in the last days since Christ rose from the grave and ascended up to the right hand of the Father.”

 

So, with Peter, wee too may say, “the end of all things is at hand.”  There’s no other necessary component of God’s redemptive plan for the church and for the spread of the Gospel.  Everything has been accomplished.  We’re in the last days now.  And with each passing day, Christ’s return is nearer and the final judgment more immanent.  The curtain could fall at any moment.

 

So how are we to live in these last days?  Are we to just stand outside and gaze up into heaven and look for Christ’s return?  Should we gather together our maps and charts of “the last things” that we bought from some guy on eBay?  You know, maps, diagrams, and things, and just spend the rest of our days figuring out when we think Christ will return?  No, the New Testament never leaves us to wonder what we’re to do with our time in light of the coming judgment.

 

Again verse 7, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore; be serious (be sane, think clearly, have a sound mind) and watchful (be awake, be sober) in your prayers (that is, “Be sane and sober so that you may pray more effectively”).”

 

The two words, “serious” and “watchful,” are essentially synonymous in the original.  It is especially helpful to contrast these terms “be serious” and “be watchful” with the sins of non-Christians we studied last week.  Remember?  Back up in verse 3 Peter says, “For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries (1Peter 4:3).”

 

Rather than living that way, live in light of the truth that the final judgment is nearer today than it was yesterday.  Rather, verse 7– “Be serious and watchful in your prayers.”  Be sane and sober, think clearly, that you may pray more clearly, more carefully.

 

Rather than allowing the tug of the world to cloud our thinking–plunging us into the sins of non-Christians such as those mentioned back in verse 3– “lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties,” Christians will be sane and sober, thinking clearly that they may pray carefully and effectively.

 

Perhaps many of our prayers have more to do with the things of the world than the things of the Lord.  Maybe our prayers are more about personal comfort in this world, safety, status, job success, popularity, money, stuff, and so on.  Perhaps our prayers need to be more God-centered: “God, grant me wisdom to glorify you today at work, to share the Gospel today at school, to see your Hand in creation this morning, to worship You today in song, to live for you as a finger pointing to the only One deserving all praise, honor, and glory.”

 

**A God-glorifying church endeavors to pray carefully.  Number two: A God-glorifying church:

 

  1. Continues to Love Earnestly (8)

 

Look at verse 8:

 

8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

 

That last phrase, “love will cover a multitude of sins,” where’s that from?  Anybody have a study Bible?  Anybody know that?  Yeah, Peter is quoting from Proverbs 10:12.  Peter wasn’t a trained theologian.  He was a fisherman.  And he spent time in the Word.  He know Scripture, memorized it, meditated upon it.  He’s a good model for us.

 

So verse 8 says, “Above all things,” in other words, “this is the most important thing to do church when you think about glorifying God, above all things have fervent love for one another.”  Have fervent love for one another.

 

The idea here, given the grammar, is to “Keep on loving one another earnestly.”  That may be the best translation of verse 8, “Above all things, keep on loving one another earnestly.”

 

The command to love one another assumes, of course, that the church is gathering together for worship and encouragement.  In fact, you’ll see that phrase, “one another,” three times in the passage.  Verse 8, “have fervent love for one another,” verse 9, “be hospitable to one another,” verse 10, “minister…to one another.”  The Christian faith is a “one another” faith.  We live it out not in isolation, not at home because we’ve given up on finding the perfect church, but in the context of the gathered body of “one anothers.”

 

By the way, remember that if you think you’ve found the perfect church, don’t join it, because when you do it will no longer be perfect!  The church is composed of imperfect persons.  That’s what makes the church so wonderful–we’re all a bit nutty!  The church isn’t full of hypocrites; we always have room for one more.

 

“And above all things have fervent love for one another.”  If we’re going to love one another then we’ve got to be open to one another.  We’ve got to gather together with one another and risk having our heart broken, at times.  Listen to CS Lewis from his book, The Four Loves:

 

“…To love at all is to be vulnerable.  Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken.  If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.  Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.  But in that casket–safe, dark, motionless, airless–it will change.  It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable…The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and (distresses) of love is Hell.” (From the chapter, “Charity”).

 

Loving one another is risky, but it’s what Christians do.  We glorify God when we love one another the way He loves us.  Remember Ephesians 4:32: “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ Jesus forgave you.”

 

Where love abounds it’s easy to overlook offenses.  If I know you love me, I am more inclined to dismiss a hurtful comment you shared that could have been stated differently.  If you know I love you, it’s equally easier for you to overlook my mistake.  But where love does not abound, there is suspicion in every word spoken, a lens of bitterness through which every action is viewed, a foundation of mistrust, upon which we’ll allow nothing to be built.  But that’s not how Christians love.

 

Have fervent love for one another.  Keep on loving one another earnestly.

 

Remember the context: It’s easier to love people when you remember that “the end of all things is at hand.”  Right?  If you knew Christ were returning this evening, would you waste any time feeling animosity toward another believer?  Probably not.  So Peter says, “Live that way all the time.”

 

Love covers a multitude of sins. That doesn’t mean we’ll sweep sin under the rug and cover it up or or ignore it.  God always calls upon as the one sinning to confess his sin and repent of his sin.  If we have sinned against another person, we must go to that person and make it right.

 

Rather, Peter’s use of this phrase “love will cover a multitude of sins” has to do with a personal sin against you that you may–in love–forgive rather than insisting that your offender repent, or forever directing hatred toward the one who offended you.  The full quote from Proverbs 10:12 is, “Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins.”

 

How does a God-glorifying church continue to love one another earnestly?  Hear the familiar passage from 1 Corinthians and think about your role in this church family.  As you relate to others in the body of Christ, hear this:

 

1 Corinthians 13:4-7:

 

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;

5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

 

A God-glorifying church endeavors to pray carefully, and a God-glorifying church continues to love earnestly, number three, a God-glorifying church:

 

  1. Shows Hospitality Cheerfully (9)

 

Look at verse 9:

 

9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 

 

Hospitality towards other Christians was especially necessary during a time in the Greco-Roman world when traveler’s inns were not exactly the safest or most desirable places to spend the evening.  Christians should show hospitality to all persons, not just Christians, but non-Christians, too.  Remember the words of our Lord Jesus in Matthew 25:35-36:

 

35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;

36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

 

So if Christians are to show hospitality to all people, then they must especially show hospitality to other believers, to “one another,” after all, hospitality is merely an extension of love.  Be hospitable to one another.

 

Now I like what Peter goes on to say there in verse 9, “Be hospitable to one another without–what?–without grumbling.”

 

That word, “grumbling,” is the same word used by Paul in Philippians 2:14 where he tells the church to, “Do all things without murmuring and disputing.”  It’s the Greek word, goggusmw◊n.  I don’t normally cite the original Greek, but the word just sounds like grumbling, doesn’t it?!  Gongoozmone!  So church, Be hospitable to one another without “gongoozmoning” about it!

 

Without grumbling, invite someone to your house for dinner, without grumbling, give a brother or sister a ride somewhere.  Without grumbling, listen compassionately to one another.  Show hospitality cheerfully.

 

A God-glorifying church endeavors to pray carefully, continues to love earnestly, shows hospitality cheerfully and, number four, a God-glorifying church:

 

4) Blesses each other Uniquely (10-11) 

 

Verses 10 and 11 talk about how Christians use their God-given talents and abilities to bless one another.  Peter says in verse 10:

 

10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 

 

Every Christian has received at least one gift, a spiritual gift from God, that is to be used by the Christian in the gathered assembly of the church, to minister to one another.  There are four main passages in the New Testament that list some of the spiritual gifts God gives to Christians.  We’ll not take time to read those passages, but you may look them up later in Romans 12:6-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:28-30, and Ephesians 4:11.

 

Some of the spiritual gifts Christians may have include serving, teaching, preaching, encouraging, showing mercy, having wisdom, and administrating.  None of the lists is meant to be exhaustive and, in point of fact, any talent or ability any one of us has at all is because God has given it to us to use in the body of Christ, singing for example, working with our hands, and so forth.

 

Incidentally, if you’ve never taken our church’s “Spiritual Gifts Analysis,” visit our website this afternoon.  Go to frbchenderson.org and look to the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.  There’s a blue block there that says, “Discover Your Spiritual Gifts,” and you can click it and answer a few questions that will help determine how God has uniquely shaped you by giving you unique talents and abilities to bless others in the church body.

 

See verse 10 says, “each one has received a gift,” that we may, “minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold (or multi-faceted) grace of God.”

 

Because each of us is uniquely shaped of God, there are practically endless possibilities of ministry through the church body.  Maybe there’s one you need to start.

 

One of our members has recently taken the initiative to begin a cancer ministry in our church body.  Isn’t that wonderful?  You’ll be hearing more about that in the coming weeks, but she recognized an area where God could use her to administer a way to bless others in the body of Christ.

 

If we’re not using our gifts, talents, and abilities in the gathered body of believers then we’re not–verse 10– “being good stewards of the grace of God.”  We’re spurning the gifts God has given us.  God doesn’t give you gifts you can’t use.

 

I think I’ve shared with you before about Michele’s late and eccentric, French Grandmother, who used to mail us gifts–useless gifts–we simply could not use.  She would just clean things up from her attic or someplace and put them in a box and mail them to us.  It was always odd opening up that box and looking at all this clutter and stuff as though someone had dumped out their favorite junk drawer into a box and wrapped it.  It was a bit like the scene from Christmas Vacation where Aunt Bethany wraps up her cat!  Odd.

 

God doesn’t give you a gift you odd things.  God doesn’t give you gifts you cannot use.  He has uniquely shaped you for ministry and so you and I are to–verse 10–be “good stewards” of what He has given us.  Peter continues in verse 11:

 

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 (Jesus) belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

 

Peter says, “if anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God.”  Some think Peter has in mind preachers and teachers of the Word.  And certainly those who speak as preachers and teachers should, “speak as the oracles of God.”  Preachers and teachers–if doing their job rightly–are speaking the very words of God.

 

This is one reason I believe in the kind of preaching we do here, biblical exposition, simply opening up the Bible and reading through and studying through complete books of the Bible, one passage at a time, allowing the Word itself to “speak the very oracles of God.”

 

Yet, this phrase in verse 11, “if anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God,” may also mean anyone speaking at all in the context of using a spiritual gift–preaching, teaching, praying, prophesying, evangelizing, even singing and sharing testimonies.

 

Persons speaking in any way at all in the gathered assembly of believers should take seriously what they do when they open their mouths.  They should be as serious about what they say as though they were speaking the very words of God.

 

Think of it!  Do you sing that way?  Do you share the Gospel that way?  Do you give a testimony that way, taking it as seriously as if you were standing to speak God’s very words?  That may change the way many of us speak.

 

And each person ministers–verse 11– “with the ability God supplies,” that is, “not in your own strength, but in the strength of God.”  If you find serving in the church wearisome, it may be because you are not doing it “with the ability which God supplies.”  You may be doing it in your own ability.

 

Similarly, if serving in some way engenders pride, repent.  Use your God-given talents, gifts, and abilities so that–verse 11–“God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever.”

 

Our ultimate aim in all we do is to see God glorified through Jesus Christ.  That’s the bullseye.  As a church we hit the bullseye with four arrows, four things we do:

 

Conclusion:

 

A God-glorifying church:

 

  1. Endeavors to pray carefully
  2. Continues to love earnestly
  3. Shows hospitality cheerfully–without “gongoozmoning” about it!  And,
  4. Blesses each other uniquely.

 

  • Stand for prayer.

 

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