On a physical level, life is prospered and lengthened by holiness. Summary of 3:8-4:6 On a physical level, life is prospered and lengthened by holiness. (3:8-12) On a spiritual level, even in suffering, life is blessed when it is lived in the Spirit to the will of God. (3:13-4:6)

Through service to glory 1 Peter 4:7-11 How to live in reality Through service to glory 1 Peter 4:7-11

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:7 The nearness of the end gripped early Christians. Whoever is not gripped by this conviction cannot truly live the Christian life.

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:7 The reality of how near the end is will be a motivation for almost every good and basic quality of the Christian life. The book has now come full circle.

Ascension Rapture Return Biblical Time Line Ascension Rapture Return Eternal Church Age Trib. Kingdom State OT NT 7 years 1,000 years We are here?

What is the rapture? The rapture is the coming of the Lord in the air for His saints. The Lord gives believers who have died and those who are alive new bodies. His coming can occur at any time.

When is the rapture? 1 Thess. 5:1-10 v. 2 - "thief in the night" ***key idea*** v. 3 - "sudden destruction" = v. 9 - "wrath" v. 10 - "salvation" from (temporal) wrath

Context = The end of the Age Matt. 24:29-41 Context = The end of the Age 1. The Sign of His (second) Coming - 29-31 2. The Fig Tree - 32-35 ("all these things" - signs!) 3. The Days of Noah - 36-41 "day and hour" = "time" (Mk. 13:32-33)

Matt. 24:42-44 = Jesus' application "Watch...for you do not know..." "...if the master of the house had known..." "...be ready...at an hour when you do not expect Him"

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:7 1. Seriousness and prayer (v. 7) 2. Love and hospitality (vv. 8-9) 3. God-honoring service (vv. 10-11)

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:7 Saving your lives involves a realization of what is going on in the world. There is no guarantee that we have tomorrow.

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:7 To live in reality and save our lives we have to understand the seriousness of the world. We need to watch over life with prayer.

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:7 How would you live if you lived as though you were dying? How would you treat others if you knew they were dying? NO GUARENTEES!

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:8 Love is to get our highest attention. Love is to be "boiling", "fervent". Love doesn't stir up problems, but instead covers sins. Pr. 10:12

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:8 James 5:19-20 = Covered for deliverance from sin's ruin. Here, covering for them for eternal reward! We are to help others save their lives!

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:9 We should welcome others into our homes and make them feel welcome. That can create a type of pressure. Hospitality involves personal sacrifice and should come without complaining.

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:10-11 The primary focus of this section is the use of our gifts. But, notice that service flows out of serious prayer and love (vv. 7-9)

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:10-11 Peter assumes every believer has a gift. 1 Cor. 12:7 Gifts are a "manifestation of the Spirit" in our lives and the purpose is "for the common good".

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:10-11 Interestingly, all of this flows from the baptism of the Spirit 1 Cor. 12:12-13 Notice what follows: Think of the gifts and their use based on the Body of Christ and what love dictates!

How to live in reality - 1 Peter 4:10-11 There are two basic kinds of gifts; speaking gifts and serving or "doing" gifts.

Speaking gifts - 1 Peter 4:11 The idea in vs. 11 was used of "short sayings originating from a divinity". The idea of the speaking gift is to speak with divine authority as God's mouthpiece.

Serving gifts - 1 Peter 4:11 The word "supplies" originally meant "to lead a chorus" or "to pay expenses for training a chorus". Then, generally, it was used "to defray expenses of something", "to provide, to supply in abundance"

Serving gifts - 1 Peter 4:11 If we expend energy in serving God, he takes care of the expenditure by providing the strength.

The ultimate aim of all ministry is to glorify God. God's Glory The ultimate aim of all ministry is to glorify God. His glory and rule will last forever and ever. Now THAT is an investment worth making!

We serve, not for personal glory, but for His! Serving gifts - 1 Peter 4:11 We serve, not for personal glory, but for His!