New Year's Eve Message 1 Peter 4:7-10

The end of All things is at hand…1 Peter 4:7-11 by Ps Jeremy Wong

....Let us focus on our "focus"

Bible Text
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms.
7 萬 物 的 結 局 近 了. 所 以, 你 們 要 謹 慎 自 守, 儆 醒 禱 告 。
8 最 要 緊 的 是 彼 此 切 實 相 愛, 因 為 愛 能 遮 掩 許 多 的 罪 。
9 你 們 要 互 相 款 待, 不 發 怨 言 。
10 各 人 要 照 所 得 的 恩 賜 彼 此 服 事, 作 神 百 般 恩 賜 的 好 管 家 。

A Matured Focus by a Matured Apostle
The Peter writing these epistles is not the same Peter we know from the Gospels. No longer is Peter hung up with dates and timing and signs. Now, Peter seeks only to remind us that the "end of all things is at hand" and that we should live accordingly.

Our Lord Jesus refused to focus on the date His kingdom would be established and was unwilling to reveal the specific events immediately preceding the inauguration of His kingdom. What Jesus emphasised were the importance of watchfulness and alertness, a consistent readiness for the kingdom. He warned that His coming would catch most people unaware just as past judgments had done. He urged His disciples to be found faithfully carrying out the tasks He had given them to do in His absence. (See also Luke 17:26-30 26)
“And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; 29 but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed”

The Bible reference on the "End times" or the 2nd Coming of Christ
Matthew 24:45–25:13; 26:45-46;
Mark 13:33-37;
Romans 13:11-14;
1 Corinthians 7:29; 10:11; 15:20-58;
Philippians 4:4-6;
1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12;
2 Timothy 3:1-17; 4:3-4;
Hebrews 10:23-31; James 4:13–5:11; 1 John 2:18; Revelation 1:3; 22:12, 20.

These references are just a sample - there many more... but Jesus has promised that he will come back to judge the living and the dead.

What about the Mockers who has been mocking the Christians' claim of Christ Return?
We must interpret Peter’s teaching here in light of the rest of his teaching. From the rest of Peter’s teaching on the end times, we see he knows he is soon to die (2 Peter 1:13-15). From Peter’s words in 2 Peter 3:3-4, he seems to have expected a delay before all the prophecies were fulfilled. Some things are seen by Peter as yet future (see 2 Peter 3:3). Indeed, in 2 Peter, he feels the necessity of explaining the apparent “delay” in the fulfillment of prophetic promises. He sees this delay as consistent with past delays (see 2 Peter 3:5-6). Alos he showed us the concept that God is above and beyond the constraints of time and space. A 1000 yrs is but a day and a day to the Lord may seem a 1000 yrs to us humans!

Hence, Any apparent delays in prophetic events must be viewed from an eternal time frame rather than a merely temporal one (2 Peter 3:8). The delay is gracious (2 Peter 3:9). Peter also recognizes that prophetic revelation is difficult to understand and easy to distort (2 Peter 3:14-18).
We must also understand the difference between saying “the end of all things is near,” and “the end of all things is here.” Peter’s meaning of the term “near” is illustrated in Paul’s teaching in Romans 13:


HENCE IN CONCLUSION

Let us be Kingdom Minded People - Do you know that we are not just living on the eve of a New Year but actually ..."Living on the edge of Eternity"
Make no mistake - The kingdom is here and it reign and rule will certainly be fulfill in full measure

THERFORE, let us focus on .....
1. Prayer – self control, sobering focus
2. Love – each other deeply - a command ( remember John 21 - the last words of restoration to Peter?)
3. Use your gifts in service or you'll lose it!
4. Be hospital without grumbling - grumble and you'll lose the chance to enter teh promise Land!