Living in the Last Days

Welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Monday, August 1st. When is Jesus coming back? Instead of focusing on when, the better question is, how should we be living until He returns? Here's more from the study of 1st Peter. I believe that the Apostle Paul and Peter and all those Apostles expected the Lord Jesus Christ to come in any moment.

I believe they live with that vibrant, intense expectation that at any moment the master could return. He told him he would. He told him about the things that they could expect before he came back. And so they lived with that burning in their heart at any moment the Savior could appear. Now there are lots of folks who would like to make predictions about the coming of Jesus and I want you to notice two or three things that our Lord said about that beginning in Matthew 24. You recall in the 24th chapter and the 36th verse He said, of that day and hour no one knows not even the angels of heaven nor the Son but the Father alone. And if you recall in Acts when He is giving them some last-minute instruction, in verse 6 of chapter 1, so when they had come together they were asking Him saying, Lord is it this time you're restoring the kingdom to Israel. Now when He says restoring the kingdom to Israel and coming again and all of these things sometimes they were confused about exactly what He was saying.

And their idea is to restore the kingdom of Israel to its previous a state of great power and wealth and control. And so He said to them, it's not for you to know the times or the epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority. He says, you know it's not for you to know those times.

So when somebody says they can predict the time there's no way to predict the time. He said He didn't even know while He was here. Only the Father knew the angels in heaven didn't know.

That's a great secret. Only the Father knew while Jesus was here. So it's not for us to predict the time but it is indeed our responsibility to be ready for His coming and likewise to be discerning enough to read the signs of the time. Now somebody would say as Peter says, what about all these predictions about the coming of Jesus? People have been believing this for years and years and years.

That's right. And it's getting closer all the time. But my friend there's signs today that there have never been.

Signs today that there have never been. So here's what He says. He says to these believers who are under persecution and are under going to undergo great persecution. He says there's some things you need to consider in these troublesome times in these last days. And so He says here's the attitude you ought to have and here the actions you ought to take.

So I want to briefly just go through these. He says first of all the end of all things is at hand therefore be of sound judgment and of sober spirit. Now in the King James I think it says it another way but these are two different Greek words here. It says sound judgment sober spirit which in essence really means to keep calm in your spirit and have sound judgment. That is don't get into a frenzy, don't get become fearful, don't start wringing your hands, don't get anxious. He says keep calm and a cool clear head. He says of sound judgment not impulsive and not reacting.

If somebody says well you know the signs of the times are that Jesus Christ is coming we need to get ready. That's true but you should remain this in this passage these words here implied discipline, stability, a cool head, a clear mind, thinking wisely, sound judgment, not blown off track by every wind that blows and all the threats that come our way. He says one of the ways of preparing for these days is to be of sound judgment and sober spirit for he says the purpose of prayer. Now you know when you get in the big frenzy and you're upset and you're anxious and you're all stirred up it's awfully difficult to get down quietly before God isn't it? And yet getting down quietly before God will help you get rid of some of this frenzy and all of this nervousness and what's going to happen and and all the uncertainties in life.

He says sound mind, sober spirit, stable, not impulsive, clear-headed in your thinking, sound in your judgment, cool-headed, you don't get upset, nobody's provoking you, you're not anxious and worried. He said for the purpose of prayer. God's people need to be praying people. You know what makes folks pray? Sermons don't get people to pray and I'm convinced of that.

Oh you may get stirred up for about a week. That doesn't make folks pray. Reading books don't make you pray. Sermons may give instruction and books may give instruction. You know what motivates people to pray?

Hot water. Brother you get in hot water you start praying. Amen? When things get tough you start praying. When things really get difficult nobody has to beg you to pray and plead with you to pray.

You get busy praying and what he's saying he says you know keep your mind clear for prayer. So the best motivation for praying is persecution. Hardship, hard times, troubles and trials and heartaches and burdens and what does that do? That drives us to praying and what does praying do? Focuses our attention upon God and God begins the work in our heart to clean us up and clean us out. We begin to get a whole new perspective our faith gets built and then you wonder why you have a hard time. You know why we have a lot of hard time? We force God's hand. So what happens? We have a hard time then we start praying oh God and God straightens it all the mess. Now what do we do? We go right back to prayerlessness.

Now I just told you a biography didn't I? That is exactly what happens to us and that's why what motivates us to pray must not be the outside but a relationship. A personal relationship to God and so he's saying here that our minds must be clear we must be stable he says for the purpose of prayer and then look in verse 8 he says above all that is first and foremost that he says this is the priority this is above everything else keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins. Now when he says love covers a multitude of sins what in the world is he talking about? Well notice he says in this passage above all keep fervent in your love for one another because love covers a multitude of sins. Well now how can love cover sin? Notice he says it's loving one another. All right 1st Corinthians 13 you remember what he says about what love is then he says in verse 5 love does not act unbecomingly it does not seek its own is not provoked does not take into account a wrong suffered does not rejoice in unrighteousness but rejoices with the truth bears all things believes all things hopes all things endures all things when he says love covers a multitude of sins here's what he's saying that you and I are to respond to other people in such a fashion that we make allowances listen we make allowances for their mistakes we make allowances for their sins toward us we make allowances for the things they say and do against us now a believer must be forgiving towards someone else because all of us live and walk in forgiveness we live and walk in the forgiveness of God we're never outside of the forgiveness of God's once we step in at the cross and salvation always living in the forgiveness of God now how can I hold anything against someone who is wrong to me when God has forgiven me no matter what I've done now when he says your love covers a multitude of sins that means when somebody wrongs you you make allowance for it you say I know what they're going through and I understand why they did that and it's okay it doesn't mean that they're right our love covering a multitude of sins does not deal with their relationship to God they're gonna have to deal with that but it deals with my relationship to the person and it deals with our relationship to God that we are able to take rebuffing we were able to take criticism and gossip and all the rest that goes with that and make allowance for it that is we're able to love them anyway and as it were to cover what they say it doesn't mean that you're covering it up and our forgiveness and our kindness doesn't get them right with God but as believers there's some things we overlook now you parents for example who have small children if you corrected your child every single time they did something wrong that child have a nervous breakdown time they were three years of age you overlook a lot of things now you know it wasn't the best thing that wasn't right so I discipline my children every point well God help your children because remember that's what they are their children and they're learning they're learning they make mistakes they say things they do things that are not right don't please you all the time but a lot of that you overlook you know they're growing up he says as believers we're to be fervent in our love that is our love is to be active an active love will cover a multitude of sins it just overlooks doesn't accused doesn't try to expose doesn't make the person look like less than they are or even look like what they're doing we pray for them we love them we ask God if he will use us to give us an opportunity to help that person but we don't expose them before the people and gossip about them and talk about them love doesn't do that and he knows when persecution comes it's gonna be tough loving so he says above all keeping fervent in your love for another because your love covers a multitude of sins then he says be hospitable that is a that is a word in the Greek it's two words really phileo Xenia phileo love Xenia which is stranger which is to love strangers that is hospitality in those days persecution it already set in people oftentimes had to go without didn't have a place to live didn't have a blanket at night undergoing all kinds of loss in their persecution he says in these last days keep a clear head stable in your spirit not impulsive quickly reacting given to prayer loving in spite of what's going on around you and reaching out to people who are in need and helping them then he says as if to say because he says now look each one of you has received a special gift employ it in serving the Lord serving one another and therefore serving the Lord as good stewards of the manifold grace of God all of us are equipped to do just what he's saying we're equipped to have a sound mind because we have the Holy Spirit living within us we're equipped to love the most unlovely people we're equipped to pray and pray with power seeing the results we are equipped to be loving and hospitable toward other people he says you've received a gift therefore he says employed in serving one another so how in the world can you serve God you can't send anything up there there's nothing he needs the only way you and I can serve God is by serving one another and what Peter is saying here is in trouble sometimes this is the spirit this is the attitude these are the actions that should prevail above everything else and notice they're all geared toward other people the praying the loving the hospitality and the serving is all geared toward other people so his idea of preparing for the last days is not looking at oneself and say how can I save my own hide but rather how can I be used of God to express godly love toward others and then he says now some will do this by serving in different ways and some by speaking he says whoever speaks let him speak as it were the utterances of God whoever serves let him do so as by the strength which God supplies so that in all things what God is glorified through Jesus Christ to whom belongs glory and dominion and power forever he says in these troubled sometimes when you're persecuted and this is what we said in the very beginning Peter's objective is to show them how to respond in difficult times in such a fashion even their persecutors and their critics will be forced to face and look at the God whom they serve because God will be glorified in those actions now I want to ask you two or three questions is there somebody tonight whom you just feel you absolutely cannot love you can't love them you can't serve them you can't show them any hospitality that is any kind of overture on your part of helpfulness to them anybody anybody you don't you so I'm not praying for him you don't want to pray for them you don't care to love them I'm gonna show them in a hospitable spirit she'll don't want to serve them in any fashion is there anybody like that so I just lay this on your heart tonight to ask yourself the question are we practicing these attitudes now are we waiting to have a great catastrophe the reason Peter wrote this is he wrote to the people in persecution the reason God inspired it to be written is not only for those folks but also for us are you employing your gift to serve other people or is the truth you're sort of apathetic about serving other people and you just rather come to church and sing and pray and give a little bit but don't ask you to do anything that demands a commitment I meet a lot of folks who are willing to come and pray and give and sing and listen but who are not willing to commit themselves to serve other people and therefore glorify God not willing to make a commitment you see it's not convenient it's just not convenient for me to serve the Lord that's not a suggestion he says you've been gifted therefore you have a responsibility to serve God in those days of persecution but in these days here and now have an obligation that's a command we've been equipped you know what the biggest problem is you know if you really love somebody you can't do enough for them when you love God when you love Jesus Christ and somebody asks you to serve him you're not gonna count whether it's convenient or not you're gonna get busy and so I wonder if you have been deceived by thinking oh yes I love the Lord but don't ask me to commit myself my friend you may like him and you may fear him and you may believe a lot about him but anybody who will not commit themselves to the Lord Jesus Christ to serve him does not love him love does not count the wrongs done to it nor does it count the cost it just acts so I ask you when you go home tonight and you pray I want you to say Jesus I love you you may say it two or three times then ask yourself a real hard question Jesus do I really love you let me ask you a question suppose God says to you in your spirit tonight no you don't really love me you have trusted me and you believe in me and you give to me and you serve me but you don't really love me you love what I'm doing for you you don't really love me let me ask you something if God spoke to your spirit and told you that what would you say how would you respond if he said you don't really love me I want to tell you something before I go to bed tonight I'm gonna get on my face before God and ask God to remind every single one of you tonight before you get in the bed before you go to sleep to pray that prayer God in Jesus name bring it to every single person's mind to say Jesus I love you and if it doesn't come out right I hope you'll have the courage to ask him Lord why not father teaches how to distinguish between what is real and what only appears to be real is my prayer in Jesus name amen thank you for listening to living in the last days if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or in touch ministries stop by in touch dot org this podcast is a presentation of in touch ministries Atlanta Georgia