Today on the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. Our world is not getting better. It's getting worse. And at any moment, the Lord Himself may come. How should we then live?
Let's learn, Peter tells us, how our future shapes how we live in the present. Welcome to the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. Are you drifting through life? Are your thoughts unfocused, emotions out of control, and relationships a mess? Today, Pastor John Monroe offers three life-changing principles that will sharpen your mind, strengthen your prayers, and transform how you love others.
Start living with purpose. Here's John with today's message, living at the end of time. When our Lord Jesus began his ministry, he proclaimed, the kingdom of God is at hand. With Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God has come. but it does not come in its fullness.
As Christ's followers were living in the last days, The age which was inaugurated by our Lord Jesus Christ and which points forward. to the age to come. The Apostle Peter writes, The end of all things is at hand. The perspective of the believer is totally different from the unbeliever. Our hope is not in this world.
what is in the world which is to come. We believe that at any moment our Lord Jesus may return. Ever the realist, Peter is going to give very direct help as we live today. In the light of that glorious and unending day.
Now Peter. in the few verses we're looking at today. It gives us some practical Christianity. This passage. Is easy to understand.
We've dealt with some very difficult passages, but this one is easy to understand. but difficult to put into practice. You're going to understand the challenge Peter gives us, but the question is: what are you going to do with the challenge?
So, first of all, let's read the Word of God. It's found in 1 Peter 2. Chapter four, and we're reading. Verses seven, eight, and nine. Peter says in 1 Peter 4 verse 7, 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.
First of all, we see That the end of all things is at hand, that Jesus Christ may come at any moment. The end of all things is at hand.
Some translations say the end of the world is coming soon. the consummation of all things are near. Do you think about that? Do you think that human history is going to continue forever and ever and ever? that the world as we know it is going to continue indefinitely into infinity as it were?
No. The end of all things is at hand.
One day, human history is going to come to an end. And Paul reminds us that in the last times, things will get very, very difficult. That is, doing the will of God is not easy. These first century readers knew that. They were persecuted for their faith.
But here Peter is reminding them that we as Christians live today in the light of that day. that Jesus Christ is returning. That is, the future impacts the present. How we live today for the Christian is lived in the light of that day, that great unending day, that eternal day when we see Christ. Because he's coming back.
You believe that Jesus Christ is returning? People argue over the circumstances of his Coming. They argue over the timing of his return. But this cannot be disputed. He's coming.
Back. Listen to the words, for example, of Jesus in John chapter 14. To his disciples. They're very troubled that he is going to leave them. He's going to the cross, they don't understand it.
And you know the wonderful words in John 14, verse 1: let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. Then he says that my father's house are many rooms if it were not so. Would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
Now notice verse 3. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again. and will take you to myself, that where I am. you may be also. I will Come.
Again, Jesus says, Paul in Philippians 3, verse 20 says, Our citizenship is in heaven. From it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian is awaiting our Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ and our citizenship. is in heaven.
Here again is Paul. to Christians, new converts in Thessalonica, 1 Thessalonians 1 verse Nine. He said, you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. and to wait for his son from heaven. whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
There is judgment coming, there is wrath to coming. But says Paul to these Thessalonians. Keep looking up. As they're waiting, they're serving. As they're serving, they're waiting.
What are they waiting for? God's son. From heaven. Titus chapter 2. Verse thirteen Again, Paul writes.
Waiting. for our blessed hope. What's our blessed hope? The appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus. Christ.
The Christian, then, in a very real sense, is waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. The end of all things is at hand.
In the last book. The last chapter of the Bible, the Revelation chapter 22, verse 7, Jesus says, I'm coming. Seven verse seven. Verse 12, Behold, I'm coming soon. Second, last verse of the Bible: Surely I'm coming soon.
Amen. And John writes, Come, Lord. Jesus. I believe that. I believe that our Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon.
You say, well, people have been saying that for 2,000 years, he hasn't come yet. That's true. Peter tells us that a thousand years with the Lord is as one day, and one day as a thousand years. No, we don't know when He's coming. But the fact of his coming is absolutely certain, and we are to live in this expectation that the end of all things is at Hands.
We're living Christian then is living in the final hour. It's five minutes to midnight, as it were. And that reality, if we believe that, as I do, If we believe that reality, we must live our lives and organize our priorities, not. By the ways of the unbelieving world, the pagan world. But in accordance with this divine reality, that soon we're going to be with the Lord.
Now look around our world. Do you think things are getting better or worse, spiritually speaking, morally speaking? Have we eradicated wars? Think of the focus of the world on Israel on Gaza. Think of it.
and Ukraine. in Russia. Think of the impact. of all of the people displaced in Sudan. Think of The thousands upon thousands who've been killed in Sudan, and it hardly reaches our newspaper, does it?
Our world is not getting better. It's getting worse. And at any moment They closed me up in. And the Lord Himself may come. The end.
of all things is at hand. How should we then live? Let's learn. Peter tells us how our future shapes how we live in the present. Three exhortations.
First of all, He says, be self-controlled. and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Here's the first one. Have a focused Minds. If the end of all things is at hand, it is imperative that we have a focused mind.
And there are three aspects of this that Peter mentions in verse 7. First of all, be self-controlled. Self-controlled. We talked in the previous Verses of those who were drunk. Of those who participated in these drinking parties.
So, this is the very opposite of being intoxicated. The Christian is to be fully alert. is to be self-controlled. Any area of your life that's out of control. Alcohol?
Drugs. Sex. Food. Your tongue. Your anger.
Fear, anxiety. We're not to be drunk with fear and anxiety and worry. We're not only to be controlled in how we act, we are to be controlled in our thinking. The Christian is to be self-controlled. Many people make poor decisions in life because of a lack of clear Focus In their mind.
What gives us that focus, an eternal perspective?
So often, our decisions are made on the basis of worldly attitudes and pressures. The Christian is one who is to be characterized by being watchful. who's characterized by being alert, having a focused mind. How are we to be focussed?
Well, Be sober-minded, he says. Verse 7, be self-controlled. Secondly, be sober-minded. The battle is one of the mind. This individual has a sensible judgment, a clear mind, not a fuzzy mind.
Our minds are to be protected by the truth of God. Transformed, Paul says, by the renewing of our minds. Our minds, our thinking is to be controlled by the Word of God and the Spirit of God, so that our reactions and our decisions are balanced and focused. That we're thinking from a spiritual perspective. That's the point.
The end of all things is at hand.
Therefore, be self-controlled. Be sober-minded. Too many of us are all over the place emotionally. We allow our emotions, our feelings, to dictate our decisions. That's very foolish.
Be sober. Minded. You want peace. You want free of Anxiety. Listen to Isaiah.
You will keep him in perfect peace. whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord. For the Lord God Is an everlasting Rock. What is that?
A person who is at peace has their mind Stayed on the Lord. Paul talks about this peace which passes all understanding, as we take our anxieties and give them to the Lord. That's the point. The end of all things is at hand.
Therefore, don't allow the circumstances of your life to dictate how you live, to dictate your emotions. To respond at that level, have a focused mind. Self-controlled. Sober-minded. And then he says, Very interestingly, for the sake of your prayers.
You're to be self-controlled, you're to have a sober mind, and you're to be prayerful. For the sake of your prayers. The word prayers here is plural. A life lived in the will of God. flows from communion with the Holy God.
Prayer is fundamental. to a balanced Spiritual life. No prayer, no impact. And chapter three. Paul has told husbands.
to live their with her wives in an understanding way, remembering their fellow heirs of the grace of life and then he adds so that your prayers may not be hindered. Man, if you're not treating your wife. Properly If you're not living with your wife in a sensitive, understanding way, your prayers are being hindered. If I'm not living my life self-controlled, sober-minded, my prayers are being affected. You know as well as I do that to pray takes focus.
It takes concentration. It requires clear thinking. Mental preparation is required for prayer. We pray for God's will to be done. We pray for God's purposes to be fulfilled in our life.
We pray for others. We pray for the glory of God. We ask God for His power, His grace, His wisdom. in each situation in life. Pray.
for a daily dependence. on the Lord. Why? The end of all things is at hand.
Wake up. Stop just drifting through life. is the point. Stop living your life like the unbeliever. Stop worrying.
Don't be too concerned about that persecution. Peter is saying, because the end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be self-controlled, be sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.
So the first one is have a focused mind. Secondly, have a vervant love. Verse 8. Verse age. Above all, Keep loving one another earnestly.
since love covers a multitude of sins. How appropriate. to these first century believers. who are being persecuted, who are being isolated. And now is the people of God.
They must Practice this fundamental Christian virtue Love, a vervant love. It's amazing, isn't there? Many Christian homes seem to. Like love. They have arguments, they have distrust, they have sullenness, they have arguments.
It's not for the Christian home. Here is an injunction to you, brother, sister, father. Mother, children, love one another, yes, in your home. Peter is saying Keep loving one another. Earnestly, keep at it.
This is a love. which sacrificially meets the needs of others. This is the love by which we're to be known to the unbelieving world. By this, says Jesus, all men will know you're my disciples if you love one another. No church we're very blessed.
And we may pride ourselves On our doctrine, on our buildings, on our budgets, on our programs, on our heritage, on our gifts, on our outreach. But if we're not loving one another The Bible says we're nothing. That's the is the absolutely Basic. And he said, well, I wish people loved me. a bit more.
We all do, don't we? Don't wait for people to love you. Think of Christ's love. It wasn't that we love God, but that He first loved us, and now, because we've received the love of God, that love. Which has been experienced in our hearts flows out to other people.
And so Peter says: keep at it, keep loving one another. Earnestly, this is not superficial, this is not glib. This is a love that he speaks on in chapter one, verse twenty-three, but love which comes from a pure heart. Love. earnestly, love, vervently.
The picture is of the runner at full speed. Straining every muscle, every ligament to win the race. The picture is of the horse at full gallop. is running earnestly. This is a love which stretches us to the limit.
No, this is not just a handshake. This is not just a Phony hug, how you doing? A love which reaches out. to our brothers and sisters in Christ. You say that's difficult at times.
Yes, it is. You're sometimes difficult to love. I'm sometimes difficult to love. The love of others is sometimes difficult. Loving others is not always comfortable for us.
It stretches us. That's the point. It gets us out of our comfort zone. Crosses Over. to areas which We find difficult, we find challenging.
But that's the point. Keep loving one another. Earnestly, persevere, don't give up. And says Peter intriguingly, Keep loving one another since love covers a multitude of sins. See, this earnest love forgives.
I know. Overlooks the faults of others. It covers a multitude of sins. Peter is referring to Proverbs 10, verse 12, where Solomon says that love covers all offenses. No.
He's not talking about covering up sin. He's not talking about whitewashing sin. Or hiding sin, rather, The context is this. Here is a Christian community. Where is very tough going?
And now we come as brothers and sisters together. And there is acknowledgement. that we sometimes let one another's down. When we serve and worship together, inevitably there are different perspectives, there are different tensions.
Sometimes we're inconsiderate.
Sometimes we're insensitive.
Sometimes we let people down. But not a perfect church.
Some people here are going to let you down. There are people here that you're going to be frustrated with. And we may be frustrated with you. That's the reality, isn't it? Instead of emphasizing the false and failures of others when you're personally offended.
Would you overlook that fault in that brother, that sister? Will you stop gossiping about them? Yes, they've made a mistake. Do you have to tell the whole church about it? No, there is a love which covers a multitude of sins.
This love ends this situation. You ever had a situation where two people don't talk to each other? And they've been offended. And someone says, Wow, they don't talk to me. Oh, they don't talk to me.
They passed me in a gallery and didn't even look at me. Ever had that situation? And uh and there. Stop being so easily offended. Stop making everything about yourself.
No, this love which covers a multitude of sins, prevents A downward spiral in relationships. You've been friendly with someone, you've got on well with them, you've served with them here at Calvary, and then something happened. They said the wrong thing. They didn't meet your expectation. You didn't meet theirs.
There there's been a Bit of a separation. No, you're not fighting with each other. But you've kind of ignored each other. You avoid each other. Don't be like that.
The love of God The love that there should be in the church of Jesus Christ overlooks the faults of others. If you're married, that's a wise thing to do. It's not a wise thing in your marriage. to bring up every little I order Where your spouse offends you. You're gonna have a difficult marriage.
You don't need to mention every little petty thing, do you? Love. covers a multitude of sins. This is the verdict with Pastor John Monroe. and the first half of his urgent message titled Living at the End of Time.
John will continue this teaching to morrow, so don't miss it. As John reminded us, our world isn't improving. It's deteriorating rapidly. but that reality should motivate us, not discourage us. Christ's return could happen at any moment, which means every day we have is an opportunity to live with eternal purpose.
Developing a biblical big picture and better understanding God's prophetic calendar actually transforms your perspective on daily life. That's why we're pleased to offer you John's booklet, for the time is near. This discussion of key lessons from Revelation will help ground you, giving you confidence and direction when the world feels out of control. When you know how the story ends, you can live boldly in the present. Request your free copy at the end of the day.
the verdict.org. Your financial partnership with The Verdict helps spread this gospel message to people who desperately need hope and direction. Whether you contribute $40, $80, or any amount, you are investing in eternal impact. Give securely today at the verdict.org. Are you looking for a church family that takes God's word seriously?
We invite you to join us at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, where John serves as senior pastor. Located at Highway 51 and Rayroad, we offer in-person worship and also live streaming every Sunday. Discover more about our community and service times at theverdict.org.
Now, here's Pastor John Monroe with closing remarks.
Well, what's your verdict? Do you think about your eternal future? About the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. How is your living? In what meaningful way is the pure and certain hope of our Lord's return impacting you today?
Do you live each day mindful of eternity? Or Are you living only for the here and now? Living at the end of time begins with each of us living our personal lives as we remember that Jesus Christ is returning. Are you focused? God will help you when you're focused on eternal realities.
Thanks for joining us today on The Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
