A dear friend and brother, Marty Krause, he's come to us from Regina.
And he was actually my young adult pastor when I was just a youngling at Hillsdale Baptist Church in Regina.
And Marty and his wife Ruth, they ran the young adult ministry.
And I got to just enjoy the benefit of having fellowship with other Christians through that and growing in my faith.
And the Lord really did use their ministry in a big way to bless me.
And so it's my honor to welcome Marty to come and share the word with us this morning.
I was away at the BGC School of Orientation this week meeting with other pastors and just getting oriented to the Baptist General Conference, which we've now joined.
And so Marty was gracious to come and be willing to share the word with us this morning.
So come on up, Marty.
Am I on?
Good morning.
Yeah.
Really good to be here with you folks.
I have been reminiscing about Josh the last couple of days.
But we've known each other for a long time, at least as long since the days when I could comb my hair.
Yeah, those days are kind of gone.
But I consider this a real privilege to be here this morning.
I was visiting with Josh's parents last Sunday evening.
And they are thrilled with their son, as they should be.
But they're also thrilled with what's happening here at the church here in Davidson.
So they passed their hellos along.
And, yeah, so this is good to be here.
I've recently retired from formal pastoral ministry.
I was on our staff at Hillsdale for 25 years and just retired as of September 30th.
So we're kind of starting a new adventure here.
My role was kind of a visitation slash mentoring kind of a pastor.
I had a number of guys that I would meet.
I could still do that.
But I don't have kind of like, as our pastor would say, the caller of ministry has been kind of removed from me.
But it's always fun to get out and to do some preaching.
Bill, we were on holidays and Bill texted me and asked if I wanted to come up here.
It was a quick yes.
But glad to be here.
My spot at Hillsdale was always the, you know, that Sunday between Christmas and New Year's?
You know, the one where nobody comes?
That was my spot for 25 years.
And I guess it still is.
But interesting, I kind of joke about that.
I told people that on the 25th time.
I said, Pastor Bill's given me one more chance to get this right.
So hopefully with the number 25 I can do it.
But I also hold the record.
I also hold the record for the lowest giving on a Sunday morning on one of those.
I told them, I said, listen, take the offering before I preach.
Okay.
That's the way it should go.
But anyways, it's a real honor and a privilege to be here this morning.
And I really enjoyed listening to your worship and your testimony this morning.
And the praying, because that's part of what I want to share about this morning.
But all the requests and the heart behind them is so good and so critical as Christians to how we live and to what we do.
As a new believer way back in 1978, at the age of 22, I can still remember hearing a conversation between two Christian gentlemen.
I remember those days because anything that had to do with the Lord was so new to me.
And I was just eating everything up.
And the one thing that one gentleman said to the other was that preaching has to be the overflow of your life.
And I remember that.
And I can tell you quite honestly this morning that the message I have is that.
And we're going to be looking later at 1 Peter 4, 7 to 11.
1 Peter 4, 7 to 11.
But for months now, 1 Peter 4, 7 to 11 has been the overflow of my life.
I've pondered over it.
I've prayed over it.
I think of its contents often throughout my days.
And I'm really coming to you this morning to share what the Lord's been speaking to me about.
And my prayer this morning is that it might be helpful to you as well.
I have to tell you this, that I'm not a theologian.
I would probably describe myself as a hillbilly who reads his Bible.
What I would share from God's Word this morning comes directly from my devotional reading.
And it's simple, biblical, and hopefully practical enough that we can apply it to our lives and to your lives and anywhere else that the Lord may send us.
Just join me in a word of opening prayer here, okay?
Father in heaven, thank you so much for this privilege and opportunity to be here in Davidson today, this morning.
We thank you for this church.
We thank you that we're connected now with the BGC.
We're so thrilled in Regina about that.
We're so glad that Josh is here.
And we hear so many good things about the church here.
Father, the message this morning from 1 Peter 4, 7 to 11 is really about the church.
It's about us.
It's about this church and this community.
How it operates, what we pray it would look like, and the privileges that they have to do what they do.
Also the challenges.
There's many challenges to be the outpost of hope and faith in any community.
Peter, or Paul called the church the pillar and support of the truth.
The church of Jesus Christ is the only, is the only place anywhere that can stand for truth.
And so they're important.
This is an important place in Davidson.
So I pray your blessing on it.
Protect it and guide it.
And I pray that the words that we share together this morning might be helpful in their endeavor.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.
All right.
Why don't we just take a second.
We'll read through 1 Peter 4, 7 to 11.
The end of all things is at hand.
Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace.
Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God.
Whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies.
In order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
To him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen.
Just a couple of introductory comments before we look at the passage.
Among other realities of living in 2024, I've noticed in particular two things which I keep hearing from many people.
First is this, and it's about COVID.
That the COVID experience changed the world.
One change seems to be that people don't seem to be getting out together as much as they did before this event.
I'm not sure what happened, but I do see that as well.
Secondly, I hear many people seem to be certain that we're really living in the last days before the Lord's return.
Even many sound, credible, biblically solid and balanced Bible teachers seem to be indicating that to us.
I'm aware that end time scenarios have been around forever.
But many signs seem to indicate this is truly where we seem to be in history.
I still remember as a new believer in 1978 hearing things I had never heard before.
People were talking about the return of Christ and the rapture.
And I had never, ever heard growing up, I'd never heard anything about any of that at all.
And I found it thrilling and unbelievable, but very real.
And the anticipation of that has had an impact on how I live.
So we've come through the COVID era and are still anticipating the Lord's return.
With a changed and somewhat damaged world from COVID,
and with an anticipation of the return of Christ at any moment, how are we to live?
As I mused over those thoughts a few days ago, I was reminded of Hebrews 10.
I'll just read it here, Hebrews 10, 24 and 25,
which is a very familiar passage, probably to most of us, and it reads like this.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,
but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
The question is this.
If the day of the Lord's return is near, what do we do?
The commands in Hebrews 10, 24 and 25 are echoed, actually, in 1 Peter 4, 7 to 11.
So let's examine the passage, and we'll go verse by verse.
In the first part of verse 7, Peter states this.
He says,
The end of all things is at hand.
And we must understand that Christ's second coming has been anticipated
in every generation for 2,000 years,
and was anticipated by the church in Peter's day.
God's design has been for it to be an incentive for holy living,
not a signal to sell your home and go to the mountain and sit
and wait for Jesus to come back.
Peter's message, in anticipation of Christ's return,
is not for the church to run and hide and to wait secretly for this.
There were many difficult days for the church to endure
that Peter was writing to,
and hiding might have made sense to them.
If we look at the surrounding chapters where 1 Peter 4, 7, 11 is found,
we can see that the church was enduring persecution and difficult times.
In 1 Peter 3, 14, just before the passage, it states,
Even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake.
And it goes on to that.
So they were suffering for that.
1 Peter 5, 9 and 10 states,
Knowing that the same kind of suffering,
and then it says,
And after you have suffered a little while.
So the church, where it was placed,
the church Peter was referring to,
had gone through difficult times.
So he's talking to them in the midst of that.
An initial human response to spiritual pressure,
producing suffering,
coming from an unbelieving world that surrounded them,
would have been to hide away
and to protect themselves.
But this is not the message God has for them.
What does the Lord command them to do?
In the second part of verse 7,
Peter states this,
Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded
for the sake of your prayers.
Firstly, Peter is emphasizing the importance of prayer in the church.
That blessed me to hear you folks pray this morning.
I love hearing that, you know,
where you go around and you get a bit of a feel where everybody's at,
and you can pray for everyone the way it is.
That is so important.
So that's so good to hear that.
Jesus said in Matthew 21, 13,
It is written,
My house shall be called a house of prayer.
If there was ever a time for followers of Jesus Christ
to be growing and consistent in their prayer life,
it's now.
Too often we think of prayer as an option,
but it's not.
Too often,
in the New Testament letters,
we see Paul requesting prayer for open doors.
We see Epaphroditus wrestling in prayer for the church.
We see Jesus spending nights in prayer
and rising early to pray.
Can we do any less?
We must learn to be consistent in our prayers
and believe that our prayers are important
and make a difference because they do.
I read about one pastor who was a man of prayer
and was asked by an unbeliever,
Don't you just think that answered prayers
are just a coincidence?
His response was,
I don't know.
All I know is this,
when I stop praying,
the coincidences stop happening.
We are commanded to be self-controlled
and sober-minded in our praying.
This would suggest that our lives are purposeful
and not impulsive about matters in life.
We don't, quote,
jump to the next trendy thing,
but have a consistent walk with God.
Be careful that we don't jump on bandwagons,
especially in things such as the end time events.
Balance in your prayer life is the key.
In the book of Daniel,
Daniel was aware of a conspiracy
to have him thrown to the lions
if he prayed to anyone but the king.
He was not threatened by this,
but prayed to God, quote as it says,
as was his practice.
In other words,
he was not thrown off by threats
or intimidating edicts,
but maintained his prayerful walk with God
as he had always done.
He maintained a sober consistency.
We must learn to be sensitive
to the needs and situations of those around us.
We must stay sharp and alert
and pray accordingly.
Again, I would refer back to your prayer time this morning.
You guys are staying sharp and alert
with your prayer requests.
That's so amazing.
So keep that up.
And it takes work and practice and commitment,
but it makes a world of difference in our praying.
So we need to be praying.
Let's look at verse 8.
It states,
Above all,
keep loving one another earnestly
since love covers a multitude of sins.
The picture of loving earnestly
is a picture of an athlete.
Paul's giving us a picture of an athlete,
or Peter's giving us a picture of an athlete
who is training,
training hard
to perfect his sport.
To love others this way takes work.
Have you ever been disappointed
in a gift someone gave you?
A gift that was nice,
but missed the mark?
A gift that indicated
that the person that gave the gift
really didn't know you very well?
I spoke to one gentleman
who told me that when he was 12,
he had asked his parents for a guitar.
Now, here's a question for you.
What kind of a guitar
does a 12-year-old want?
We kind of know what he wants.
He wants something that's going to rock,
that's cool.
So what happened?
His family gave him a huge,
plain,
classical guitar.
He was somewhat grateful,
but deeply disappointed.
But he was deeply disappointed
in the fact that the people
that should have known him best
and taken time to figure out
what it was that he really wanted
didn't seem to know that.
So it takes work.
It takes work to love.
Love means earnestly taking work.
It means we observe them
and meet the deep needs
because we know by observation
and prayer
what those deep needs are.
We were away about a year ago
and came back
and had our kids over
for Thanksgiving supper.
And my birthday's in September.
So we were gone during that time
and one set of our kids
had a gift for us
or a gift for me.
He said,
Dad, here's something for you.
We saw this and thought you'd like it.
And you know that Christmas time,
you know that the red truck
with the green Christmas tree
and all that
and all the lights.
I love that picture.
There's just something
that just touches me.
So they said,
here's a little something for you, Dad.
They gave me a bag
and opened it up
and it was three little
Christmas tree ornaments
but they were the truck,
the red truck with the green.
I just went ballistic.
I was so thrilled.
And they were watching me.
They were going,
ooh, what's wrong with this guy?
But I was so excited
about the fact
that somebody knew
exactly what I wanted.
And that's the picture here
of loving,
of loving people,
of knowing,
you know,
what can I do,
you know,
to help somebody out?
But it takes work.
Like an athlete works
at his craft,
his sports craft.
We need to work at knowing
how to love people,
observing,
making sure that we pick up
on little things
that could make a difference.
True love also covers
a multitude of sins.
You know,
we live in a culture
that unfortunately
loves to expose the sins
and weaknesses
of those around us.
I'm a baseball fan
and I always remember
the stories of some
of the old Babe Ruths
and things like that.
And it seems like
the fans from that era
always loved their heroes.
And we're aware
of the fact
that their lives
weren't perfect,
but they protected them.
And it's just,
it's sad to say
that we seem to live
in a world that's opposite
and that we love
to expose people.
And it's sad.
Imagine if God
displayed our sins
and weaknesses
on a billboard
for all other people
to see.
He has the power
to do that,
but he chooses not to
in his love for us.
So let's be a people
that accept one another
in spite of our imperfections
and protect
and guard one another.
I understand
that there's times
when disclosure
of sin is appropriate.
It is the right thing
to do at times.
But let's not be too quick
to do that
and let's protect,
let's protect one another.
Let's look at verse 9.
It says,
show hospitality
to one another
without grumbling.
Whether it be a COVID hangover
or just something
we haven't done
or maybe it's something
we don't like to do,
we must grow out,
we must grow in our
living together
outside of the walls
of our church.
Some of the deepest
and most meaningful
conversations with people
have come at a dinner table
or over a cup of coffee.
Billy Graham used to talk
about his crusades
and there was always
invitations given
to come forward.
But he said
most of those,
most of the responses
to his crusades
came with people
going out for coffee
afterwards.
They didn't actually
come at the event.
They came later on
in a kind of a more
quiet, warmer environment.
so important.
Our homes are given
to us as gifts
from the Lord.
We need our homes
to be places of refuge
but also to be places
to refresh other people.
How many have made decisions
to follow Jesus Christ
in someone's front room?
Let's pray and ask the Lord
to make our homes
places for God
to use for others.
We will receive
the blessing from God
in our own lives
if we do.
So you're kind of
getting the picture
of Peter challenging
the church
and saying
don't turtle
because of what's going on.
In other words
expand the church.
The church needs
to take charge
and be the church
and with one another
but also let the world
see what they're doing.
We come to verse 10 and 11.
They read
as each has received a gift
use it to serve one another
as good stewards
of God's very grace.
Whoever speaks
as one who speaks
oracles of God.
Whoever serves
as one who serves
by the strength
that God supplies
in order that
in everything
God may be glorified
through Jesus Christ.
To him belong glory
and dominion
forever and ever.
Amen.
Now rather than
dissect these verses
and their contents
I wanted us
to rather focus
on what I see
as one kind of
overriding theme
in these two verses.
The theme is simply
that our lives
need to be all about
Jesus Christ
and him living
his life
in us.
John 1.17 states this
that the law
was given through Moses
grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ.
We need to experience
the grace
and the reality
and the presence
of Jesus Christ
among us
and within our own hearts.
God gives us
abilities to do acts
which we cannot do
on our own.
To see a newly converted
former thief
do acts of service
and giving
creates wonder
and brings glory
to God.
This is how it should be.
Now I realize
that the topic
of gifting
brings up other questions
such as
what are my gifts
and how do I find out?
Those are valid questions
and time does not
permit us this morning
to venture into those.
However,
I would say
that if our heart
is to live
and to serve others
as we are commanded
and according
to his word
that the Lord
will help us
discover those gifts
as we go.
We're also commanded
to speak the oracles
of God.
Our communication
with one another
is enriching
and encouraging
when God's word
becomes part
of our communicating.
I have an example
in my own life
that I remember.
I had a friend
from our church
in Regina
that he just
for years
had stopped
coming to church.
He just felt
uncomfortable
and I met with him
week after week
after week
and we'd talk about it
and talk about it
and he always resisted.
He just,
something had happened
to him
which is a very
typical story
sometimes
where something
had happened
and he didn't
want to come.
And I just said,
you know,
you've got to
consider coming back.
And he wanted to
but he just
couldn't seem
to do that.
So one time
I was meeting
with him
and I had my Bible
with me
and in the course
of the conversation
I just,
I was reading
a particular passage
and it had nothing
to do with his
absenteeism.
It was just a passage
that I'd been reading
in my own devotions
and I read it to him
and I'm looking down
and looking
and then I looked up
and I looked at him
and he was a bucket
of tears.
He was crying
and crying
and he said,
you know,
I've wanted to come
back to church
so badly
but I couldn't.
My point is this,
it was the word
of God
that touched him.
My fine advice
and counsel
did nothing
for years.
It was good
that I was connected
with him
but I read one passage
in the word of God
and he's crying
his eyes out
and very soon
after that
came back to church
and I would tell you
this,
that he still comes
and he's a healthy
member of our church
and is doing amazing
but it was the word
of God
that brought him back.
Thank you.
To bring balance
to this point
I realize
that we don't invite
people to come over
to our homes
and just read
and chat about scripture
to the exclusion
of everything else.
If you have a Super Bowl party
and all you do
is read scripture
it might not be
the best thing to do.
Not to say you can't
use the scriptures
but there is balance
that's needed as well.
However,
having said that
I do think we could
move to some degree
towards incorporating
God's word
into our times together
be it sharing verses
or meaningful experiences
as we grow in this area
we will bring more glory
to God.
I heard that this morning
with the testimony.
It's that sort of thing
where you just bring those
and to make those
a common part
of what we do.
Excuse me.
We need to experience
God's mighty hand
at work among us
and it'll come through
his word
and it will thrill us
when it does.
Just a few thoughts
to conclude
our time this morning.
I'm always amazed
that the word of God
is always current
and it's always relevant.
The needs in the church
in Peter's day
are the same as they are
in our day
2,000 years later.
Pressures from the world
has always had the potential
to make the church stronger.
As well,
anticipating the Lord
any moment in return
has had the same potential
to sharpen our focus
and to make us operate
as the Lord
has designed the church
to do
with laser-focused prayer,
sacrificial love,
hospitality,
serving one another,
all centered around
the word of God.
One final challenge
for us to consider
this morning.
We sadly remember
the tragic events
of 9-11.
I had heard
the testimony
of a preacher
who lived in New York City
at the time
of the event.
He said this.
He said,
for a year,
he said,
you couldn't find a Bible
in New York City.
He said,
churches were full.
Obviously,
people were responding
and were looking
for some answers.
A year later,
he said,
things went back
to normal.
His sad comment
on this was that
people were looking
for answers
in reaction
to this tragedy.
Sadly,
they never found it
in the local church,
so drifted away.
The church
had an opportunity
and just didn't do
with it
what they could have.
If the Church
of Jesus Christ
in 2024
can come to grips
with the directives
outlined in 1 Peter 4,
7-11,
what a testimony
this would be
to the outside
unbelieving world,
among whom are many
who are looking
for answers.
I pray that we are
up for the challenge
and for the opportunity.
Amen.
Let me just close this
in a word of prayer
with you, okay?
Father,
the church today
is such an important
part of any community.
And Father,
in Peter's day
it was the same.
it was under pressure.
And Peter's counsel
to them was
don't give in
to the pressure.
Become the church
more and more.
Be stronger
in your fellowship,
in your praying.
Do everything
more
than you used to do.
And Father God,
I pray that
the church
here in Davidson,
I'm so thankful
that this church
exists here,
Father God.
Use it for your glory.
And I pray that
all of the items,
the list that
is suggested
in 1 Peter 4,
7 to 11,
be sober-minded
for our prayers,
be praying,
be having fellowship,
having people
into our homes,
loving,
learning to love
in new ways
that's deeper.
Everything,
Father God.
and using
the word of God
more and more
and more
and using our gifts
to encourage
one another
and to build
the church up.
I pray that
Davidson Church
would be a church
that grows
in this area.
And I pray that
it would not only
strengthen the church
on the inside,
but that the outside
world looking
would wonder
about this place
and would want
to come in
and find out
what's going on
and find out
that the Lord
is here.
That's our prayer.
That's our prayer
this morning.
And Father God,
what an amazing thing
to be part of
the body of Christ,
especially in the days
we live in.
Use us and guide us
for your purposes
and your glory.
In Jesus' name.
Amen.