July 10, 2023

Teaching | Mission Update | Prayer

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This Week's Teaching: "The End Is Near So Do This"

Here's the question I have for today: If you knew your life was ending tomorrow, how would you spend today? If you knew for sure that your time was short, that the end was near, that you were going to leave this life tomorrow, how would you spend today?  

In first Peter, chapter four, he says, "The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray."  

You know, I hear people talking and it's a common thing. People say, "Ah man, I'd live it up. I'd party." And that's the language of foolishness. I get why people do that; we sort of catch it. But I wanna encourage you to be sober-minded and alert. The end is near. At the very least, the end is nearer now than it was yesterday. But the apostles have always held that the end is near.  

Now, in the context of first Peter, he's writing about suffering. We are going through much suffering. He says, don't be surprised at the fiery ordeal that you're having to go through. Don't be surprised. Like what I said last week: "After you have suffered a little while, the Lord himself will restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."  

And so that's the context of what Peter is writing. He says, "The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray."  

Now, I don't know about you. If I know that my life is over tomorrow, I don't know that I want to just get alone and talk with God. 

Too often we think of prayer as getting away and having a moment of concentration with God, and that's good. "Be alert and sober-minded so that you may pray." But I don't know that that prayer is necessarily "get away from the people in your life and just pray." I believe that it's "lean into the relationships."  

In fact, what he writes right after this is he says, "Above all..." So, "the end of all things is near so be alert and of sober minds so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins."  

And so this is the apostle that spent three years with Jesus, that denied Jesus, and then Jesus reinstated him and told him to take care of the other apostles, and of the church. And he says the end is near. So pray, don't just party hardy. Pray. But then he says, but above all, love each other deeply. And why? Because love covers over a multitude of sins.  

What are the reasons that you find it difficult to love other people? What are the reasons why you would just pull away from relationship and not invest yourself in love? Most likely is because of offenses that you have received or perceived that make it hard to wanna be in relationship with others. You've learned that to be in relationship with other people is to receive wounds, is to be frustrated, is to be disappointed, is to be made angry, is to receive injustice because others have received the same thing from you. It's the give and take of relationships that we end up wounding each other and then pulling away from relationship with each other.  

But Peter says, yes, you are gonna suffer much in this world. But listen, the end of all things is near so be alert and sober-minded so that you can pray. And then above all, love each other deeply, not just at a surface level, not just, "I like you." Not just hugs, not just the handshake of fellowship. That's great. But love each other deeply, deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. All the things that you have reason to pull back from people on.  

So Wendy and I are living in an RV on mission. I talked about it elsewhere. The last week we got to go back to Sarasota, where our home is and where we have family and close friends. And there was something about the reinstating of relationships, the sitting across from the table with dear friends, the looking each other in the eyes, the sharing stories, all that, that reminds me how much community, how much fellowship is a necessary part of a healthy faith, of a thriving faith. 

And that's key to what we're doing in X242, pulling people into closer fellowship, not just going to shows-- church shows-- and sitting facing forward and receiving a show. But actually facing each other in a room, facing each other where the circle is small enough that you can have chitchat, where the circle is small enough that you can actually know the people that you're making eye contact with. And they know you. 

And so that's what we're doing. The community, the fellowship, it's so meaningful. And for us to go back to Sarasota for a week and to have that fellowship was renewing. It's wonderful.  

And it reminds me: the end is near. I don't know if I will see them again. "The end is near so be alert and of sober mind so that you can pray, and above all, love each other deeply for love covers over a multitude of sins."  

I don't have any sense that I was wronged by anyone when we were back there. And I hope that no one feels wronged by me. But what I know is that loving each other deeply covers over those sins. As we read in Proverbs, " wisdom yields patience. It is to your glory to overlook an offense."  

And so he goes on: "Above all, love each other deeply because love covers over a multitude of sins." And then he gives application. Practical application.  

"Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." Receive them into your space and don't grumble about it. Offer hospitality. "Come on in." "Hey, come over."  

"Offer hospitality to each other without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others."  

Now, this goes against the witness of the world. You use the gift in order to get ahead. You use the gift in order to serve yourself. In this world systems, you use the gift to get ahead, to establish a nest egg. But Peter says, and God says, "Use whatever gift you have received to serve others," to bow, to get on your knees, to serve others "as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."  

And so when you use the gift that you've been given from God to serve others, you are actually a steward of God's grace. You talk about grace and all these different ways theologically, but when you serve someone with the gifts that you've received, you are a steward of God's grace to that person!  

"Above all, love each other deeply for love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in his various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength that God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen."  

So for you, if you knew that today was your last day, how would you spend it? The end of all things is near. Be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. And above all else, love each other deeply. Cover over those multitude of sins. If someone has wronged you, forgive them. And if you have wronged someone else, go and seek their forgiveness. This is thoroughly Christian. In fact, it is unchristian not to.  

Love each other deeply. Love each other deeply. Use whatever gift God has given you to serve others. 

This is not only the will of God, this is the invitation of God to a life of incredible blessing. What if you did cover over the multitude of sins against you by loving deeply? 

The end of all things is near. Be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. And above all, love each other deeply. Get at it. Go do it. Do it today.

​Amen.  

Mission Update

It was a joy to return to Sarasota for a week a half and to connect with family and friends.

We then drove back to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. I got to help lead worship at the church where I preached two weeks earlier. It was an outdoor service with potluck/BBQ following. The fellowship here has been sweet. 

This coming week we enter the phase of this journey that I think of as "raising the sails and letting the wind blow us west." For the next three weeks, we'll head west via Minnesota, then Fargo, North Dakota, then the Bad Lands in South Dakota. The next stay where we already know people is Billings, Montana. Everything in between will be looking for opportunities to bless people wherever we are. 

Please pray for good conversations as we travel!

Prayers

• Pray for the churches of Sarasota, FL (Mike, Shirley, Dan, Jeremy, Cody), Leavenworth, KS (Nate), and Beavercreek, OR (Trevor). 
• Pray for Mark and Linda's tiny church in Middleburg, FL.
• Pray for the churches in Harrisonburg, for Robert and Nancy, for Mike and Risha, for Jota, for Aaron, for Jason and Carmen, and for Curt.
• Pray for the churches in Holmes County, OH, for Dennis, Dan, Bruce, Lester, Erik, and Eric.
• Pray for Chris and Jaci's church in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and for Nate and Mary.
• ​Pray for eyes and hearts to see every opportunity, wisdom to plant seeds, and continued favor in this mission to encourage and connect believers around this simpler way of being church.