Making Room for People: We were made to enjoy deep, healthy, long-term relationships. But this world is broken, and relationships can be just as much a source of pain as anything. What can we do? We should take a risk and make room for more people in our hearts, homes, and lives. Why? The unexpected answer is found…at the end of the world. Recorded on Sep 8, 2024, on 1 Peter 4:7-11 by Pastor David Parks.
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Make Room is a three-part sermon series considering the need to make room 1) for more of God in our lives, 2) for more people in our lives, and 3) for more people in our church. Why? Because more people need good news! More people need the life and love, the freedom and forgiveness, and so much more that is only found in Christ. Our prayer is that in the coming years, many more people will experience the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sermon Transcript
Well, today, we’re on part two of a quick, three-week sermon series called Make Room to talk about some of the Biblical foundations of our 2030 Vision. If you missed the start of this series last week, you can always go back and watch or listen to the podcast online or on the Church Center app. But as we said, the elder board spent months listening, learning, praying, and talking together about who we are as a church, where God is bearing fruit, and where we believe God is leading us in the next 5-7 years (leading up to 2030). Now, I don’t know about you, but it really feels like the start of a new chapter of life as a church, so this was a very timely process. But, one of the things that became clear is that we do not believe that God is leading us in a dramatically new direction. We don’t need to reinvent our mission, vision, or values. Instead, the phrase that kept coming up in this process was “make room.” We need to make room. We need to make room 1) for more of God in our lives, 2) for more people in our lives, and 3) for more people in our church. Making room is what our 2030 Vision is all about. Last week, we were warned against the trap of becoming lukewarm in our faith from Revelation 3 and were encouraged to let Jesus in. He’s standing at the door and is knocking because he wants to be let into every aspect of our lives. Today, we’re going to consider the need to make room for more people in our lives. Now, here’s something I’ve noticed over the years — it was especially obvious during the isolation/loneliness of Covid: People, in general (maybe this isn’t you!), are really bad at maintaining deep, healthy, long-term relationships. This is a huge struggle. One of my responsibilities as a pastor is to meet with people and offer Biblical counsel and spiritual direction as they navigate the difficult terrain of life. There are many different reasons why someone might want to meet. But far and away, the most common reason is because there’s some sort of conflict in a close, usually family-type of relationship. Maybe you can relate? Many can. But this kind of situation/conflict can be so painful and frustrating. And I get it: when you’ve experienced that kind of relational pain, I’m sure it is hard to put yourself out there again and invest in other close relationships, hoping they’ll be different. However, the solution is not to disappear into the woods, become a hermit, and never deal with people again. That would be disobedient to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ, which is to make disciples of all nations. And last time I checked, you can’t make disciples unless other people are involved. But neither is the solution to call Shoji Morimoto. I read about Mr. Morimoto a few years ago in an article from The Washington Post titled, Rent-a-stranger: This Japanese man makes a living showing up and doing nothing, (By Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Julia Mio Inuma, March 19, 2022). The article describes a man named Shoji Morimoto who makes a living by renting himself out to people who want a companion. People hire him when they want someone to be with them but don’t want to do the work or go through all the potential pain of an actual relationship with real companionship. His gigs have included attending dinner with people, helping them file divorce papers, being at the finish line of a race, waving goodbye at the train station, doing a surgery consult, and more. Now, this might be a bit more creepy than becoming a hermit. But the fact that Mr. Morimoto has been able to make a business out of this points to something fundamental to us as human beings. And how we’ve been made by God. That is, how much we need deep, healthy, long-term relationships. Maybe in light of all the painful conflict that relationships can bring, the question isn’t how do we get better at forming/maintaining this kind of rich relationship but why would we want to take that risk in the first place? These are big questions. But thankfully, the Bible has much to say about these things. If you have your Bible/app, please open it to 1 Peter 4:7. Let’s read through it first and then we’ll go back through and unpack it.
1 Peter 4:7–11 (NIV), “7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may 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 of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” This is God’s word. So 1 Peter is a letter from the Apostle Peter to the churches scattered around the Roman provinces that make up modern Turkey, including Galatia, Asia, and more. There were many places in the Bible we could’ve gone to today, but I love this particular passage because, on first reading, it seems so simple. It seems like he’s saying, “Be nice to people,” right? And yet, the more we understand how the first sentence of v. 7 relates to the rest of this passage, the more life/relationship-changing power we find here. Let’s look at that again.
1 Peter 4:7 (NIV), “7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray.” One of the consistent teachings of the Apostles of the early church is that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the ascension of Jesus back into heaven, and the giving of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, all these events marked the coming of the final age of this world. This age is marked by the bright shining light of the gospel of truth and the miraculous power of the Spirit but also by the growing darkness of a world that is bound by sin and death. But, as the prophets have said, this age will not last forever. We’re in the final days. We’re living in the end times. We don’t know the exact day or time when Jesus will return, but he has promised to return. Peter says, “The end of all things is near.” The Apostle Paul says, “The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here.” (Ro 13:11-12). We don’t know if Jesus will return tomorrow or another 2,000 years from now, but in his timing, he will return, the dead will be raised, and all will stand before their maker and give an account of their lives to him. Those who put their faith in Jesus for salvation will live forever with him in the glory of the new heaven and the new earth, the new heavenly Jerusalem, a whole world of love. But those who reject Jesus will be finally/utterly separated from the life, light, and love of God. This is what Hell is. According to the Bible, there are two ways to live: one path that leads to life and the other to destruction. And we’re approaching the precipice of history, the moment when those paths will come to an end. The end of all things is near. Now, someone’s probably thinking, “Wait, weren’t we talking about relationship problems? Why are we talking about the end of the world?” Hopefully, it’ll make sense in a minute. But first, what do we do about the end of the world? Should we dig a bunker? Should we stockpile weapons? Should we quit our jobs, stop paying our bills, and just wait for the end to come? That actually might sound appealing to some of you, but that’s not what Peter says, is it? He says the end of all things is near. “Therefore be alert and of sober mind [why?] so that you may pray.” How should we live in these last days? We must pay attention. We must not give in to the temptation to numb ourselves to the chaos and pain of the world around us. Whether it be through alcohol or drugs, through busyness, or through binge-watching TV or social media, there are many ways we try to escape reality. Instead, the Christian must be alert with a self-controlled, sober mind. Why? So we’ll be able to pray. We don’t have to face the end of the world in a panic but in prayer. This points back to our message last week. Jesus is standing at the door and is knocking because he wants to come in and have fellowship with us. He wants to be a real, personal, and powerful presence in your life. And so much of his power and presence comes into our lives as we pray. It’s out of this vibrant, life-giving, ongoing relationship with God that everything else flows in life. This is why Peter moves from our vertical relationship with God to the horizontal relationship that we have with other people in v. 8.
1 Peter 4:8-9 (NIV), “8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” The end of all things is near. Our eyes are wide open to the limited time we have left. And we’re connected to God by faith in Jesus and are walking in the strength and peace that consistent prayer and fellowship with Jesus brings. But, now what? Well, Peter gives two of what will be three instructions on how to relate to other people here at the end of the world. It really matters how we treat others. In fact, it’s because the end of all things is near that it matters so much how we live. So, first, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Now, did Peter know what it meant for love to cover a multitude of sins? Yes, he did. A few months ago, in our series from the gospel of John, we saw the utter failure of Peter to be a faithful friend to Jesus on the night he was arrested before he gave his life on the cross for the sins of the world. Not once, but three times, Peter denied even knowing Jesus when Jesus needed a friend the most. But how did Jesus respond to Peter? Did he rub it in his face? Did he give him the silent treatment or punish him in some other way? No. Jesus came to Peter — he spoke the truth in love, offered him forgiveness, restored him to friendship, and called him to repent and follow him once again. Here, many years later, Peter personally knew the weight that love lifts off your shoulders when you’re forgiven and you need it. And he encourages us to love one another like this. Now, this statement can’t mean that love allows you to overlook a multitude of sins. If sin could be overlooked or ignored, God wouldn’t be just, and the cross would’ve never been needed. However, Peter knew that love provides the motivation to do the work of repentance and forgiveness required for reconciliation. This is certainly difficult sometimes, but one of the beautiful things I’ve noticed is that the deeper the love, the more opportunities you’ll have to put this principle to the test on both sides (forgiving and needing forgiveness), and nothing strengthens a relationship like the refining work of true reconciliation. Second, Peter says, “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” The Greek word for hospitality literally means love for a stranger. Now, hospitality was a big deal in the ancient Near East, but it was especially a big deal in the early church. On the night before his death, during the Last Supper, Jesus taught his disciples that the defining mark for men and women who believed in him and followed him would be their love for one another. All the Apostles wrote about the need to extend hospitality, to open up your home, your dinner table, and your life to others. In both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, one of the character requirements for an elder/overseer in a local church is that they must be hospitable. I wonder how often a pastor/elder is disqualified from ministry for failing to be hospitable. Probably not very often. But according to God’s word, that would be just as much a moral failure as anything else. I’m not saying a pastor or elder can’t have time off. They surely need to rest just like anyone else. But a failure to be warmly welcoming, a failure to be generous with your time/attention/home, a failure to love the stranger is totally unacceptable for a minister of the gospel. The end of all things is near. So how should followers of Jesus live? Well, Peter’s council is very basic. We should love one another deeply and open our hearts and lives and homes in hospitality to others. But what else? Surely there must be more, right?
1 Peter 4:10–11a (NIV), “10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides,” So to love and hospitality, Peter adds that we should serve one another as faithful stewards of God’s grace in all its various forms. Again, this is just basic Christian-life kind of stuff. In 1Co 12 and Ro 12, and in Ephesians 4, which we preached on earlier this summer, and elsewhere, there are a number of NT passages that talk about the spiritual gifts that God gives his people. Everywhere it comes up, there are slightly different lists of gifts that are given. I think this means that God gives whatever gifts that are needed for the building up of his people, his body, in faith, knowledge, unity, and love as each person does their part. Here, Peter mentions two categories of gifts: gifts of serving and gifts of speaking. Commentator Thomas Schreiner writes, “The gifts of apostleship, prophecy, teaching, tongues, and exhortation are comprehended under speaking (Rom 12:6–7; 1 Cor 12:10, 28–30; Eph 4:11), whereas gifts like giving, leading, mercy, helps, healing, and miracles (Rom 12:8; 1 Cor 12:9–10, 28–30) fall under serving.” (TNAC, p. 215). As we say here, every member is also a minister. Every Christian has been given gifts of God’s grace and by the power of his Spirit. The reason God has entrusted these gifts to us is to minister/serve one another. So if you serve, be a faithful steward of God. If you speak, speak as if you speak the very words of God. But why? Why should we love others? Why should we offer hospitality to others? Why should we use our gifts to serve and speak in ministry of others?
1 Peter 4:11b (NIV), “…so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” The reason we are called to do these things, the reason we are called to take a risk and work to form or maintain real, deep, healthy, long-term relationships with other imperfect, beautiful, and yet flawed people, is to reflect what we have received first in Christ. Because, in the gospel, we discover that God was willing to pay the price of his one and only son in order to be able to deal with/forgive the multitude of our sins. In the gospel, we discover that Jesus was willing to die in our place and rise from the dead to make a way for us to have fellowship with him forever. That we might not only go from death to life by faith in Jesus’ name, but that we might be adopted into his family and have a seat at his table in his kingdom forever and ever. Talk about hospitality! And did Jesus grumble about this? No, it was because of the joy set before him that he endured the cross. Was he a faithful steward in serving our needs? Of course. Did he speak the very words of life to us? Absolutely. So in all things, above all, as the end of all things draws near, may God receive all the glory, honor, and praise in our lives and in this church. My challenge to you today is this: don’t run away from the messiness of relationships in this broken world. Don’t become a hermit. Don’t call Mr. Morimoto. But instead, take the risk and open your hearts, lives, and homes to others, loving and serving them as Jesus loved and served us. In doing so, you will reflect the light of the glory of the gospel of grace out into a world of darkness. And you might just make a friend. Our 2030 vision is all about making room. Making room for God. And making room for other people in our lives. This is who we are. And this is what we’re all about. Let us pray.
