Reading 1 Peter chapter 4, the first 11
verses.
For as much then as Christ hath suffered
for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise
with the same mind.
For he that hath suffered in the flesh
hath ceased from sin, that he should no
longer live the rest of his time in
the flesh to the lusts of men, but
to the will of God.
For the time past of our life may
suffice us to have wrought the will of
the Gentiles, that means the will of the
unsaved, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess
of wine, revelings, carousings, and abominable idolatries, in
which they think it strange that ye run
not with them to the same flood of
dissipation, speaking evil of you.
Who shall give account to him that is
ready to judge the living and the dead?
For this cause was the gospel preached also
to them that are now dead, that they
might be judged according to men in the
flesh, but live according to God in the
Spirit.
But the end of all things is at
hand.
Be ye therefore sober-minded and watch unto
prayer, and above all things have fervent love
among yourselves, for love shall cover the multitude
of sins.
Use hospitality one to another without grudging, as
every man hath received the gift, even so
minister the same one to another as good
stewards of the manifold grace of God.
If any man speak, let him speak as
the oracles of God.
If any man minister, let him do it
as of the ability which God giveth, that
God in all things may be glorified through
Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion
forever and ever.
Amen.
There's a phrase in verse 2 that is
somewhat disturbing.
It has a rather ominous sound to it.
The rest of his time.
I've marked it in my Bible, and I
hope that whenever I look at it and
see where it's marked, it'll shock me.
The rest of his time.
You don't know how long is the rest
of your time.
You see in verse 3 he talks about
time past.
He said we can look back and see
the past.
How we grew up, birthday parties, all that
we did, and the sins of the past.
But Peter is not the kind of a
person whose life is controlled by the past.
He wants our lives to be controlled by
the future.
And so he says you turn away from
the past and let's talk about the rest
of your time.
How long is it going to be?
You don't know.
Where will you be?
You don't know.
What is God going to do?
You don't know.
I don't know.
There are many Christians who live as though
the rest of their time is 50-60
years.
You don't know.
Now we're going to spend eternity with God.
He's not talking about that.
He's talking about the rest of our time
here on earth.
The work that we're going to do.
The lives that we're going to live.
That's a sobering thought.
The fact that one of these days time
is going to end for us.
Opportunities are going to end for us.
Relationships are going to end for us.
And how should we be living in the
light of the fact that we don't know
how long is the rest of our time.
Peter was quite conscious of this because he
knew that soon he was going to die.
Our Lord had said to Peter, now when
you get older, men are going to carry
you where you don't want to be carried.
You're going to be crucified.
He talks about this in 2 Peter chapter
1 verse 13.
Yea, I think it fitting, as long as
I am in this tabernacle, this body, to
stir you up by putting you in remembrance
knowing that shortly I must put off this
my tabernacle even as our Lord Jesus Christ
has shown me.
And so Peter is saying to me, I'm
writing this knowing how short my time is.
And you don't know how long your time
is.
Therefore, says Peter, get with it and spend
the rest of your time making life worthwhile.
His great concern is the attitude of our
mind.
He said, I want you to arm yourself
with the same mind that Jesus had.
He's concerned about our attitude, our outlook, as
we go toward the end of life.
You say, well you're being rather morbid tonight.
No, I'm not.
I'm being realistic.
A person is a fool to waste his
life or to spend his life as though
he's going to be here forever.
We live a day at a time, we
walk a step at a time, and we
have to live the rest of our time
with the right attitude.
Now in this section that I've read, 1st
Peter 4, 1 through 11, the Apostle Peter
describes four attitudes that you and I should
have if we're going to make the rest
of our time count.
Now some folks won't like this.
I'm sure some of Peter's readers did not
like it.
They didn't know what he's talking about.
He did know what he was talking about.
He was inspired by the Holy Spirit of
God.
Now what are these attitudes?
Verses 1, 2, and 3, we must have
a militant attitude towards sin.
Arm yourself with the same attitude Jesus had
towards sin.
Equip yourself, a militant attitude towards sin.
Verses 4, 5, and 6, a patient attitude
toward the lost.
Now we reverse that.
We're patient with sin and militant toward the
lost.
He says, no, I want you to have
a militant attitude towards sin.
I want you to have a patient attitude
toward the lost.
He explains why.
Then verse 7, I want you to have
an expectant attitude toward the Lord.
The end of all things is at hand.
Christ may come back.
And then 8 through 11, I want you
to have a fervent attitude toward one another.
Now it's so easy to remember, hard to
practice.
A militant attitude towards sin.
Let's fight sin in our lives.
A patient attitude toward the lost.
Let's be good witnesses.
An expectant attitude toward the Lord.
Let's live as though today he may come
back.
By the way, I will say this parenthetically,
which doesn't mean it's any less important.
One reason why I cannot accept the interpretation
of the Word of God that says Jesus
is coming in the middle of the tribulation,
or at the end of the tribulation, is
because then he can't come today.
I know good men disagree on this, and
I never make this a test of fellowship
or spirituality, but I believe Jesus Christ can
come back today.
I'm not looking for Antichrist, I'm looking for
Christ.
I'm not looking for tribulation, I'm looking for
glory.
An expectant attitude toward the Lord, and finally
a fervent attitude toward one another.
Now let's examine these four attitudes.
Verses 1 through 3, a militant attitude toward
sin.
For as much then.
Now what does the then refer to?
It refers to what he said back in
chapter 3 verse 18.
There's a long parenthesis in here about about
Noah and about the flood, but he goes
back to 3.18. For Christ also hath
once suffered for sin the just for the
unjust.
For as much then as Christ has suffered
for us, arm yourselves with the same mind.
Ideas are weapons, attitudes are weapons, thoughts are
weapons, and Peter is saying don't drift through
life putting up with sin, and certainly don't
walk through life committing sin.
It's wrong to commit sin, it's wrong to
condone sin.
What should we do?
We should be in conflict with sin in
our own lives.
I have noticed how easy it is to
be critical of things in the lives of
other people that I'm guilty of myself.
That must have been what Jesus meant when
he said you judge another, the same judgments
coming back to you.
We believers are very quick to judge the
sins of other people, and Peter says let's
begin with your own life.
When our Lord was here on earth in
a human body, he fought sin.
Where there was hatred, he came with love.
Where there were lies, he came with truth.
Where there was darkness, he came with light.
And where there was death, he came with
life, and it cost him his life.
Now, says Peter, as you face these last
days, you better have that same attitude.
You are not a child in a playground,
you are a soldier on a battleground, and
so when you step out of your apartment,
or your house, or you get out of
your car, or you walk out of the
elevator, arm yourself with this attitude, I am
going to fight sin.
Because Jesus did, and sin is the thing
that crucified Christ.
It amazes me that you and I can
condone sin in our lives, even cultivate sin
in our lives, when sin is what killed
Jesus.
As I turned the news on this afternoon
and got this terrible report that another one
of our CTA drivers had been shot and
killed, you know, I just stood there and
thought to myself, dear Lord, that's an awful
way to solve a problem, to kill somebody.
And yet when Jesus came to solve the
greatest problem in the world, the sin problem,
he had to die.
Now technically he was not killed, he laid
down his life, but he died.
Peter is saying to you and to me,
are we willing to die to self and
have a militant attitude towards sin?
Now he'd been talking about their baptism in
that previous chapter.
He said, you remember when you were baptized,
and every scholar of any repute admits that
in the New Testament baptism was by immersion.
He said, do you remember when you were
placed under the water and brought up from
the water?
It's a picture of death, burial, and resurrection.
Yes, we remember that, Peter.
That means you died to sin.
Have a militant attitude towards sin.
Now let's suppose that they do find who
killed this CTA driver.
Let's suppose they find the gun that did
it.
Do you think that the loved ones of
that driver are going to want that gun
to put it on the mantelpiece?
They're gonna say, oh we want that gun,
we want to put it on the mantel,
show all of our friends and relatives, here's
the gun that killed our loved one.
Why not?
They don't even want to see it.
We do this with sin.
Sin nailed Jesus to the cross, and yet
we Christians will take sin, and we'll have
it in our lives, and we'll cultivate it,
and we'll encourage it, and it killed Jesus.
That shows we don't have the same attitude
towards sin that Jesus had.
He came with a militant attitude towards sin.
He loved sinners, but he hated sin, so
much so that he died.
A militant attitude towards sin.
Now how can we tell when we have
the right attitude?
Well he says at the end of verse
1, he that has suffered in the flesh
has ceased from sin.
What does that mean?
Does it mean if you suffer you quit
sinning?
There are churches that teach that suffering helps
to do away with sin.
No, in fact many people suffering makes them
sin worse.
What he's saying is this, if you have
the same mind that Jesus had and you
live a holy dedicated life, they'll treat you
the way they treated him.
You'll suffer.
That's why he goes on to say that
people think it's strange that we don't run
with them and they speak evil of us.
I'll tell you friends, one of the tests
of a holy life is are there those
who lie about us?
Are there those who oppose us?
Are there those who speak evil against us?
Because Peter says when you start suffering for
sin, because you won't commit sin, it's a
sign that you're getting victory.
A militant attitude towards sin.
But don't stop there.
That's negative.
Let's be positive.
Verses 4, 5, and 6.
A patient attitude toward the lost.
Now unsaved people think we're crazy.
I've seen it happen over and over again
in nearly 30 years of ministry.
Somebody gets saved.
First one in the family to get saved.
He goes back home.
They think he's nuts.
He doesn't, he's lost two-thirds of his
vocabulary.
He doesn't curse and swear anymore.
He's not interested in the things that he
used to be interested in.
And they take him to a psychiatrist.
We've had cases here at Moody Church of
young people who have gotten saved and the
parents took them to a psychiatrist without realizing
that there are more psychiatrists who commit suicide
than any other profession.
And the psychiatrist says, well she's got religion.
She'll get over it, but she doesn't get
over it.
And she prays and she loves the Lord
and she lives a good clean life.
And her light shows up all the darkness
at home.
And then the persecution starts.
I've seen this happen over and over again.
Now what should our attitude be toward the
lost?
A patient attitude.
They think it's strange, verse 4.
Now we are strange, not odd, not peculiar.
Well some of the saints are peculiar.
But strange, that means we're strangers.
He tells us that in chapter 1 verse
1.
To the strangers who are scattered abroad, he
says as strangers and pilgrims in this world.
We are strange as far as the world
is concerned.
Why?
Well we have a new nature.
And that new nature has new appetites.
And verse 3 says we don't do the
will of the sinners anymore.
We're not concerned and interested in lasciviousness and
loss and excesses of wine and reveling and
carousing and idolatry.
They think you're crazy because you don't run
with them anymore.
Now our attitude toward the unsaved must be
very patient because you see they're blind.
You'd be very patient with a blind person.
I know you would.
I spoke at a seminary commencement last Tuesday
evening.
And I was happy to be there, not
to hear myself speak, but to see something
I had never seen at a seminary commencement.
A blind boy graduated, got his Master of
Divinity degree with a 4.0 average.
Now those of us with eyes that can
see had a difficult time even approaching that.
As he came across the platform with his
dog leading him, and the dog was wearing
a little mortarboard too, the entire group of
people just broke into applause and cheering.
Now if I had met that blind boy
out on the street and discovered he didn't
know where he was, I'd be very patient
with him.
Unsafe people are blind.
Your relatives and loved ones and neighbors and
friends, the people you work with, they don't
understand you because they're blind.
And explaining salvation and the Bible to a
blind person, it's like trying to explain a
flower show to a blind person over the
telephone.
How do you do it?
You just tell them they need to be
safe.
They are dead.
And because they are dead, their old nature
is rotting away and that old nature craves
all the garbage of the world.
We are sheep.
In his next letter, Peter compares unsaved people
to, please I didn't do it, he did
it, to pigs and to dogs.
Now why?
Because a pig goes after the garbage and
a dog goes after the garbage, but a
sheep is a clean animal that doesn't want
the garbage.
And so they think we're strange because we
live a different life from them.
Everything's changed.
Our outlook is different.
Everything about us is different.
So he says you be patient with them.
I say how can I do that?
Well, verses 5 and 6 give you the
answer.
In verse 5, Peter says they have to
give their account to God.
God is the judge.
Leave them with the Lord.
If they speak against you, don't you speak
back.
If they argue with you, don't you argue
back.
Leave them with the Lord.
Your job is to be the witness.
God's job is to be the judge.
Now don't switch that.
Sometimes you and I get the idea we
have to be the judge and we condemn
people.
No.
He said you just be the witness.
Don't worry about what they say.
God will judge them.
And in verse 6 he says God will
judge you.
Now verse 6 is not talking about going
preaching to people who are dead.
I was reading a commentator the other day
who was rejoicing over verse 6.
He said what a wonderful hope verse 6
is.
There's hope for the dead people who have
never trusted Christ.
Verse 6 doesn't say there's any hope for
dead people who've never trusted Christ.
If Peter wrote that then he's contradicting the
book of Hebrews.
It says it's appointed unto men once to
die and after that a second chance.
No.
After that what?
The judgment.
Verse 6 is saying there are people who
when they were alive trusted Christ and were
judged by man.
They died and now they're being judged by
God.
And God's judgment of them is different from
the judgment of men.
So what he's saying in verses 5 and
6 is don't be a judge.
Be a witness.
And don't worry about what they think of
you.
The important thing is what does God think
of you?
Be patient toward the loss.
Now our Lord Jesus is always the example
of this.
When I read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
I feel like crawling under the tile.
When I see how patient Jesus is with
the ignorant and the lost and even the
rebellious.
Those who opposed him.
Peter brings this up over in chapter 2.
Verse 21, for even here unto were you
called because Christ also suffered for us leaving
us an example that ye should follow his
steps.
Who when he was reviled, reviled not again.
When he suffered he threatened not but committed
himself to him that judgeth righteously.
He repeats it over here in verses 16
and 17 of chapter 3.
Having a good conscience that whereas they speak
evil of you as evil doers they may
be a shame that falsely accuse your good
manner of life in Christ for it is
better if the will of God be so
that you suffer for well-doing than for
evil doing for Christ also hath once suffered
for sins.
A patient attitude toward the loss.
Now he moves in verse 7 to a
third attitude and that is an expectant attitude
toward the Lord.
But the end of all things is at
hand be there for sober minded and watch
unto prayer.
The end of all things is at hand.
Peter wrote this centuries ago.
Centuries ago he said the end of all
things is at hand.
Hasn't ended yet.
Of course Peter knew that people would raise
that question that's why he wrote his second
letter.
Second Peter chapter 3.
This second epistle beloved I now write unto
you in both of which I stir up
your pure minds by way of remembrance that
you may be mindful of the words which
were spoken before by the Holy Prophets and
of the commandment of us the Apostles of
the Lord and Savior.
He puts the Apostles on the same level
of authority as the prophets.
Knowing this first that there shall come in
the last days scoffers walking after their own
lusts and saying where is the promise of
his coming?
For since the fathers fell asleep all things
continue as they were from the beginning of
the creation.
Verse 8 but beloved be not ignorant of
this one thing that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand years and a
thousand years as one day.
God is not punching a clock.
God has his schedule and God says I'm
gonna work out my schedule on time.
Then why is he waiting?
Why is he delaying his coming?
You unsaved people ought to be thankful that
he has.
Verse 9 the Lord is not slack concerning
his promise as some men count slackness but
is long suffering toward us not willing that
any should perish but that all should come
to repentance.
The reason he is waiting is to give
people an opportunity to trust Christ and be
saved.
His delay is not because he can't keep
his promises his delay is because he wants
you to trust his promises.
Verse 10 says but the day of the
Lord will come and when it comes the
unsaved world is going to find out that
God keeps his word.
An expectant attitude toward Christ.
Now how can Peter say the end of
all things is at hand and 2,000
years later we're still here?
For this reason when Jesus died on the
cross he ended the old age and he
introduced the new age.
Once at the end of the age he
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice
of himself and so when Jesus died and
rose again he ended the old age he
ushered in the new age we are in
the last times.
The last times began with the resurrection of
Jesus Christ.
God does not have to do one more
thing before he wraps everything up.
Nothing more has to be done before he
wraps things up.
Our Lord Jesus can return at any time
and then all those prophetic events begin to
take place.
God wraps it up.
So you and I must live in the
light of the coming of Christ.
Most Christians don't.
Most Christians when they get up in the
morning turn the radio on check their watch
well I guess my watch is right the
clock is right.
What's the weather going to be?
What is the traffic on Dan Ryan?
And we get all of our logistics straight
before we walk out the house.
This is good.
I wonder how many of us stop and
say this may be the day when the
Lord will come back.
You say what difference will it make?
Oh it'll help you in your life.
For one thing he says here the end
of all things is at hand.
Be sober minded.
That means have a sane outlook on life.
You know why people are falling apart today?
They're afraid of the future.
We have people today who are just coming
unglued.
No hope.
No future.
You saw in the Tribune this morning the
front page the number three cause of death
among teenagers is suicide.
Young people today have more than any generation
of young people have ever had except for
one thing a future and they're scared and
they're lonely and they're running afraid.
Now I'm not condoning what they do but
I'm understanding what they do.
You know what keeps you going?
Jesus is coming back.
Be sober minded.
Keep a sane level head.
Don't be a fanatic.
Just be sane and sensible.
Nothing to fall apart about.
Jesus is coming back.
Watch unto prayer.
That word watch means be calm.
Take time to be holy.
Be calm in thy soul.
Oh how many saints are all churned up
down inside.
They've got a blender down there.
It's always running.
It's blending all the problems down inside and
and they're sick.
Now dear friend God's Word says Jesus is
coming back.
You can be sane and you can be
calm and the best way to do this
is to pray.
Isn't that beautiful how he says you don't
know when the Lord's coming back but you
better be praying.
Watch and pray.
Prayer is a beautiful way to keep your
head sane, your heart calm.
In fact he's suggesting here that if I'm
not praying as I should pray I won't
be ready for Jesus to come back.
Oh I'll be ready to go to heaven.
That's the blood.
The blood takes care of that but to
meet him that's another story.
An expectant attitude toward Christ.
Now the final attitude in verses 8 through
11.
A fervent attitude toward the Saints and above
all things.
Here's the most important.
It's important to have a militant attitude toward
sin and it's important to have a patient
attitude toward unsaved people and it's important to
have an expectant attitude toward the Lord but
oh more than any of these things here's
number one priority.
A fervent attitude toward God's people.
It's too bad we've mixed all these up.
We have a militant attitude toward God's people.
Oh when you read some of the things
that are being printed in so called Christian
publications.
One saint fighting another saint.
One school fighting another school.
One radio preacher fighting another radio preacher and
the devil loves all that.
There are people who think they're being very
spiritual by militantly fighting the same.
Peter says you know if you want to
be militant be militant toward sin in your
life.
If you want to be fervent be fervent
toward God's people.
This word fervent is a beautiful word.
Above all things have fervent love.
Not just love.
Fervent love.
I used to think that word fervent meant
hot boiling but that's not what it means.
This word fervent was used by the Greek
people to describe an athlete who was straining
to do his best.
Now you folks know I'm not athletically minded
or athletically inclined but I can tell when
an athlete's not doing his best.
You go to a baseball game and the
fellas just giving up you know and he
just goes saundering up to the plate and
picks up the bat you know one two
three you sort of wish they'd hit him
with the ball you know wake him up
a little bit.
You want him to do his best fella
catches the the the pass and boy he
starts to run.
That's the word.
It's it's a picture of an athlete straining
and pushing to do his very best.
Do we ever strain to love people?
We don't.
We say I like him I don't like
him I like her don't like him don't
like her.
Loving is not liking.
Christian love means you treat other people the
way God treats you.
I'll confess you there are people I love
that I don't like.
I wouldn't want to take a vacation with
them.
Christian love doesn't mean that you have great
feelings down inside that overwhelm you.
Christian love means that we treat other people
the way God treats us.
And sometimes you have to strain like an
athlete to do that.
Peter says do it.
Have a fervent attitude.
The Greeks use that word fervent for a
second picture.
It's a picture of a horse running at
full gallop just chasing the the enemy you
know really running straining.
To put it in everyday language Peter is
simply saying work hard.
Use every effort you've got to love God's
people.
Now how can we tell if we really
love God's people?
Well verse 8 says we'll have an open
heart and above all these things have fervent
love among yourselves for love shall cover the
multitude of sins.
How do I treat sin in the life
of a Christian?
That shows whether or not I've got fervent
love.
Now there are some Saints if they hear
about a sin in the life of some
Christian they're on the telephone immediately.
They're writing letters immediately.
There are other Saints who when they hear
about it they just weep and say oh
I'm so sorry and they pray.
That's what Peter's talking about.
He doesn't say that love condones sin.
Even God and his love chastens when we
sin.
What he's saying is that love covers sin.
Why do we have to hang our dirty
wash out in public?
Why do we have to go out and
tell the unsaved and tell other Christians what
people have done that they shouldn't have done?
A fervent attitude toward the Saints means I
forgive sin.
Doesn't mean I condone it.
I want to help a person get right
with God but I can forgive.
I can cover.
Only God can cleanse.
Now Peter knew all about that.
Peter came to Jesus one day and he
said Lord how many times should I forgive
my brother when he sins against me?
Peter never thought that possibly he might sin
against his brother.
You see it's never we who sin against
other people.
They always sin against us.
You ever notice that?
Our Lord said what do you think Peter?
He said about seven times.
I can count that high.
I'll forgive him seven times.
Jesus said how about 70 times 7?
Love covers a multitude of sins.
Peter said well that's kind of extreme isn't
it?
But Jesus had to forgive him.
Peter sinned against the Lord and Peter sat
at breakfast that morning and Jesus said Peter
you boasted one night that you love me
more than they love me.
Do you love me more than they do?
He said Lord you know and Jesus had
to forgive Peter.
Now if my Lord not only covers my
sin but cleanses my sin surely I can
do the same for others.
A fervent attitude toward the Saints forgiving sin.
Verse 9 a fervent attitude among the Saints
sharing in needs.
Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
Back in those days hospitality was a very
important thing because they didn't have any Holiday
Inn, Marriott, hotels, McDonald's.
They didn't have any of these things and
here were some Christians who were chased out
of their homes.
They lost their jobs.
They're fleeing for their lives and they come
to a city and knock on the door
and they say we're believers can you take
us in?
Hospitality was very important back in those days.
Peter said if you really love God's people
you'll have your home open to them.
Now some folks can't do this they just
don't even have room.
They would if they could then make it
possible for somebody else to do it.
He's not only talking about opening your heart
in verse 8 but opening your home in
verse 9.
Use hospitality one to another and don't complain
about it.
Don't you hate to stay at somebody's house
they just they're so it's all sunshine and
roses then when you leave oh if you
could only hear what there's a boy am
I glad she's gone.
These are your relatives you know.
A fervent attitude toward the Saints forgiving sin
sharing in needs verses 10 and 11 helping
each other to grow.
Here's the third way we show our love
helping each other to grow.
You've got a gift minister it one to
another.
Notice three phrases here verse 8 among yourselves
verse 9 one to another verse 10 one
to another.
He's talking about Saint ministering to Saint believer
ministering to believer.
Too many of us are spectators.
Have you ministered to somebody face-to-face
heart-to-heart this past week?
Have you sat down with somebody and tried
to minister and use your gift to help
that person?
He said some people have a gift of
speaking then speak.
Some folks have a gift of serving then
serve.
Over in Romans 12 and 1st Corinthians 12
and Ephesians 4 he lists all of these
gifts.
He said now find out what gifts you
have and use it to build up other
people.
A fervent attitude toward one another.
You a whole lot.
That's why he says in verse 11 God
will give you the ability, God will give
you the strength that you need to serve.
I tell you friends ministering to the Saints
is not an easy thing.
Some of the Saints can be more demanding
than some of the sinners.
But he tells me in verse 11 glorify
God.
Don't ask for yourself.
Don't say what am I gonna get out
of it.
Glorify God by using the gift God's given
you and the strength God gives you to
minister to the church.
One of our sad situations in our churches
today is people say well we've got a
pastoral staff they'll solve all of our problems.
Well maybe we can solve some of them
but you're missing the blessing.
You're the ones who ought to be ministering
to other people, drying the tears, carrying the
burden, strengthening the weak to the glory of
God.
Well how are you gonna live the rest
of your time?
You say well if I knew I only
had two years I would do thus and
so.
No you wouldn't.
I'm sorry you wouldn't.
If an angel from heaven came down and
met you at the street corner tonight and
said hey you've got six months to live.
If it changes your life there's something wrong
with your life.
Can I repeat that?
It went over some of you.
If tonight you discover you only had six
months to live and it radically changed your
life something's wrong with your life because we
should be living every day realizing our time
is short.
We can't afford to waste time.
We can't afford to waste money.
Let the Christians laugh at us.
Let the unsaved laugh at us.
We don't care.
I can't run to every meeting.
I can't go to every dinner.
I can't attend every banquet.
God's called me to do some things and
I have to do them.
My time is short.
How do you know?
Everybody's time is short.
God gives me 80 years.
It still isn't enough time to do all
I want to do and you feel the
same way about your life.
I say it again.
If you found out that the rest of
your time was only six months and you
had to shift gears radically something wrong.
Start living tonight.
The rest of your time as though Jesus
could come back tonight.
You've seen that poster.
I see it often over Ibernot Point over
here at Wells Street.
Today is the first day of the rest
of your life.
It's a good thought.
Thomas Aquinas, no I'm sorry it wasn't Thomas
Aquinas, another one of the great saints, used
to say so live every day as though
it were the first day of your conversion.
That's good.
Live every day as though it were the
first day of your conversion.
Excited, filled, rejoicing.
But tomorrow morning should we awaken we say
to ourselves today is the first day of
the rest of my life.
I'm gonna live it as though it's the
last day of the rest of my life.
How am I gonna do it?
By having a militant attitude towards sin.
I'm gonna fight sin in my life.
I'm gonna try to witness to the loss.
I'm gonna look for Jesus to come back.
I'm gonna love God's people.
Now if we're doing that he can come
back anytime and we're ready.
If we're doing that we'll be using our
gifts and using our time to serve him.
And he won't look at us and say
why'd you waste your life?
Why'd you waste your opportunities?
Why'd you waste your money?
Oh I gave you all that.
You wasted it.
Instead he'll say well done.
Live the rest of your time my friend
as though the time is short because the
time is short.
If you're not saved tonight, if you sat
through this entire service and you've never trusted
Christ, you better trust him and then start
living the rest of your time for the
glory of God.
Haven't you spent enough time living for sin?
Haven't you spent enough time living for the
world?
Why not spend the rest of your time
living for the Lord?
Gracious Father, we want that tonight we shall
adjust our priorities and fix our sights on
things that really mean something in your will.
We don't want to drift.
We don't want to go backward.
We want to march forward to your glory
and live the rest of our time no
matter what it may cost, accomplishing your will.
May that be done tonight in hearts.
May there be decisions tonight that will change
lives for Jesus' sake.
Amen.