Revelation 1:7-8, “BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’“ Revelation 22:13, “Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
So as the Bible comes to a close in the book of Revelation, God wants us to know for certain that…
History is His-story.
He preexisted it all. He began it all. He has been sovereign over it all from the beginning. And this is still His-story and He will bring it to its conclusion. As He was the beginner of it all, He will also be the ender of it all.
And the ending, like the ending of all great stories, will be awesome.
The good guys will win. The wrongs will be righted. The mysteries revealed. The problems solved. Every single human being who has ever lived will be dealt with righteously according to their deeds. All will be right and good. We will all bow before the great Author and praise Him for how He ends His-story. The only disappointment in the end may be in ourselves for not choosing to be better characters in it. That’s the purpose of the lesson here, so that when that ending comes, we’ll be so glad we were who God would have us to be in His-story.
Peter says, along with the book of Revelation and the rest of the NT, that…
We entered the final chapters of His-story when Jesus came into the world.
It had been like a long dark night since the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, but with the first coming of Jesus it’s like the glow of light (of the coming day) hit the horizon. And folks, we are now well into those early morning hours just before sunrise.
It’s like the world had this long pregnancy with God’s children, but soon after Jesus ascended to His throne, the birth pangs began. Jesus told His disciples when you hear of wars and rumors of wars and nation rises against nation and kingdom against kingdom and in various places there are famines and earthquakes, these are the beginning of birth pangs. And folks, we are now well into the birth pains.
We don’t know exactly how many pages are in His-story, but we know we are well into the final chapters and the marvelous ending will come suddenly and unexpectedly, like a thief in the night.
We’ve studied the first half of a paragraph in I Peter 4 about what we’re to do because of where we are in His-story, how we’re to go about life in these final chapters so that we are ready for the great ending that can come upon us at any moment. And we’re going to finish looking at that paragraph this morning. But let’s read it first, I Peter 4:7-11, “The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer. 8 Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Be hospitable to one another without complaint. 10 As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Much of what Peter says in this paragraph simply condenses into some briefs instructions what Jesus explained in greater detail and illustrated with parables about how to be ready for His second coming. And certainly that is the case with the instructions in v10-11 about using our gifts.
Do you remember Jesus’ parable that we call…
The Parable of the Talents
Jesus said, “It’s like a man about to go on a journey. So he called his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. They were to work with what they were entrusted to try and make more for the master. To one he gave five talents (talents were large amounts of value). To another, he gave two talents. And to another, he gave just one. He gave to each according to their ability to handle. And then he went on his journey. The servants entrusted with five and two talents, immediately got to work with what they were given. They traded and did business with it and eventually doubled what the master gave them. When the master came back and called his servants to give an account, they each said to him, “Master, you entrusted this much to me and see, I have doubled what you gave me.” And the master said to each of them, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things, now I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”
“But the servant entrusted with one talent, rather than trying to do anything with it that might benefit his master, he took it out to a lonely place in the countryside, made sure nobody was looking, dug a hole, buried it, marked the spot so he could find it later. “Okay, it’s eight paces from that palm tree over there.” Then presumably he just relaxed and did whatever he wanted until the master came back. Then he went back out there and dug it up and brought it to the master when it was time to give an account. He explained his actions. “Master, I knew you to be a hard man. You reap where you don’t sow, gather where you scattered no seed. You benefit at others’ expense. So I didn’t think you’d take too kindly if I tried to do business with your money and lost some of it or all of it. I was afraid I’d mess up and cost you if I did anything with it. So I hid the talent in a safe place until you returned. And here it is, you have what is yours. No harm, no foul. I didn’t do any damage.” The master said, “You wicked, lazy servant. Why didn’t you at least put my money in the bank where I would have received it back with some interest?” He said take the talent away from this slave, give to the one who has ten, and throw out this worthless slave into the outer darkness.”
There might not be a more needed understanding in American churches today.
Lifeway research did a study just a few years ago of 7,000 churches in the United States. Their conclusion was that the majority of people in the majority of churches are unengaged in meaningful service or mission for the Lord. They concluded around 70% are passive spectators and 30% are active participants in the mission of God. I don’t know exactly how they came up with their numbers. What questions they asked? Are they over-looking some people who actively serve in more quiet, behind-the-scenes ways? I don’t know, but I think certainly it is true, that the one talent slave mentality is pervasive.
I think it’s a common misconception, “As long as I don’t go get entangled in sinful behaviors again, as long I stay away from the loose women and boozing and fighting and lying and such, the Lord will accept me. That’s what the one talent guy thought, “As long as I don’t do anything real bad or lose the master’s money, I’ll be fine.”
But you know, not doing bad things is only half of repentance. Repentance is not just a turning away from sin, but also a turning to serve God, a turning to follow in the steps of Jesus who went about doing good, serving to the point of giving His life to benefit man and glorify God.
Is this relevant to all of us? Is this relevant even to you? Notice in I Peter 4:10, certainly that is the case with the instructions in verses 10-11 about using our gifts.
“As each one has received a gift…”
Who’s he talking to? Well, he wrote to Christians scattered throughout five provinces of the Roman Empire. It sounds like each Christian has at least one gift. But I decided to do a little word study on the original language for the word translated “each one.” What’s that really mean in the Greek text? I consulted some Greek lexicons and looked at how this word was used in the NT and other ancient literature, and I discovered that this word translated “each one” actually means… Are you ready?… Each one, everyone. It really doesn’t give room for any of us who are Christians to wiggle out of this. We all have at least one gift that can be used in service to one another and for the glory of God.
Notice at the end of the verse he calls us “stewards of the manifold grace of God.” A steward is someone who’s been given something temporarily that belongs to somebody else. So they have this thing temporarily and they are to use it in ways the owner wants it to be used. Manifold means various, diverse. It indicates there is a great variety of gifts that God distributes or develops in His people.
So what is your gift? Or what are your gifts?
You have at least one.
I think there’s a common misconception today about our gifts. I read a number of articles about spiritual gifts and I found people commonly saying, “To see what your gift or gifts are, consider what you enjoying doing for others.” Here’s a quote from one article, “The best way to discover your unique spiritual gifts is to consider the things you enjoy doing. When serving in different ministry positions, ask yourself what gives you the most joy.” But I really think that’s the wrong question to ask. The one talent slave did not think he would enjoy using what had been entrusted to him. I think of Moses, who wasn’t too excited about the ministry God called him to and I don’t think he found it too enjoyable leading two million grumbling Hebrews in the desert. If you know about Jeremiah, he certainly didn’t find exposing sin and proclaiming God’s judgment to a bunch of sinful people who wouldn’t listen, enjoyable. And Timothy in the NT had a gift for preaching and teaching, and yet Paul wrote the letter of II Timothy to him because it appears he’d gotten discouraged in it and wasn’t enjoying himself. Paul told him to fan back into flame the gift of God that was in him. So our gifts are not necessarily what we enjoy doing, though you can enjoy it. Using your gift will lead to joy, as you see you are blessing others and being used by God. But our gifts are more the ways in which we can significantly, efficiently be a blessing to the church. It’s things we can do to benefit the body of Christ that we are good at. So I think probably better questions than what do you enjoy doing, is what needs do you sense in the church or in families or in people’s personal lives that you can supply? Or what have other Christians affirmed that you’re good at? Have you been told, “You really did a good job and helped those people by what you did there.”
Let me give you some examples of the gifts some of us have. These come out of a list of gifts in Romans 12. I think we can see from this list that many of us have a mixture of gifts.
- He mentions the gift of service. I think that’s simply the ability to identify and effectively care for physical needs, being apt to prepare food, to clean things, fix things, build things, etc. Did you know that’s a gift? It’s God who gave you hands and feet and health and strength and helped you develop the skill to do those things. Many of us have that gift.
- Then he mentions the gift of teaching. The ability I think to understand Scripture and organize your thoughts, simplify, illustrate, clearly explain, and apply the truths of God’s word.
- Then there’s the gift of exhortation or encouragement, which I think is the ability to motivate others to do the will of God by providing timely words of counsel or encouragement and you seem to know how to say things in a way that stirs people’s hearts to respond the way they should.
- There’s the gift of giving. The ability to significantly contribute material resources to meet the needs of others and advance the gospel. Did you know having a bunch of money or a high paying job is a gift? Deuteronomy 8, Moses told the Israelites that when God brings them into the good land of Canaan and drives out their enemies and settles them in that land and they build nice houses and their flocks and herds multiply and their gold and silver multiplies, then they’ll be tempted to think real highly of themselves and say, “My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.” He told them, “You shall remember it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to make wealth.”
- Then he mentions the gift of leadership or management, the position and ability to see how a group will work best in the service of God and can delegate tasks well and motivate people to do their tasks and work in harmony and accomplish goals together.
- And then there’s the gift of showing mercy, which I think is the ability to deeply empathize with people who are suffering physical, mental, or emotional distress; or maybe even to deeply empathize with someone struggling with a sin, and know how to comfort them. Those with this gift may show concern and kindness to the people who are often overlooked.
There are other lists of gifts in the NT that mention other gifts. None of the lists are exhaustive. They just give some examples of the gifts that Christians can have.
Now notice in our text that however we are equipped to contribute to the cause of Christ in the world…
What we have received is not simply a responsibility or burden, but a gift.
It is to be used for others and for God and we may not enjoy it yet, but it is a blessing for us.
I remember reading a magazine article a few years ago that I decided to stash away in a file for future reference. The article was entitled “The Science of Being Happy” subtitled “Simple suggestions for loving your life.” Which, by the way, they miss a lot of the best advice which we have here in I Peter. I Peter 3:10ff, “For,“The one who desires life, to love and see good days, Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.11 “He must turn away from evil and do good; He must seek peace and pursue it…” [So basically, obey God, that’s the best way to go about it.] Their suggestions for living a happy life were things like “think young,” “view stress as a challenge not a threat,” “cultivate a positivity bias” (focus on the positive), and “sing” was another suggestion. But their biggest suggestion was “find meaning.” If you want to be happy, find meaning. The article explained, “The ongoing Memory and Aging Project from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago has found that the biggest predictor of older people’s health and life satisfaction as they age is their own self-reported sense of purpose in life. Possessing a strong sense of purpose was associated with increased ability to perform day-to-day activities and greater physical mobility. Seniors who had this strong sense of intention also had a lower risk of cognitive impairment and a slower rate of cognitive decline. They outlived their peers.” It goes on to say that according to one of the researchers, “finding meaning and purpose in life is the key component to being happy… Yes, meditate and find flow and get coffee with friends and exercise and all those other proven positivity and well-being boosters, but do so with a sense of purpose that makes them more than just feel-good activities. That’s the difference between a pleasant life and a truly happy one…” Then they give some suggestions of things you could live for, “making the world better through your work or volunteerism,” or “taking care of your children and family” or “creating art” or “appreciating nature and helping with conservation efforts” or “simply being an active and contributing member of your community.” Which are all fine things, but if you’re not in some way helping people to know and trust and love God, then whatever you are doing only has temporary value. But if it contributes to peoples’ happiness to live for those purposes, how much more to live for a purpose that has unending value; to live for THE purpose for which you were made, to bring glory to God, to be used by Him to bless people in ways that will benefit them forever and that you will have joy over forever.
The deepest joy is found in living for the purpose for which you were made, serving your creator and being used by Him. And by God giving us abilities and resources and positions by which we can impact and influence people for Him, He has given us opportunity to have a life of the greatest joy. So they’re not burdens, they’re gifts, they’re blessings to us. They make us useful. I don’t know about you, but I’m miserable after a day in which I felt useless. But I have joy when I am useful.
Now, our text tells us…
How to use our gifts
“As each one has received a gift, employ it [Don’t bury it. Don’t hide it. Use it.] in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”
In verse 11 he divides our manifold gifts into two general categories. There are those who speak and those who serve. There’s verbal ministry (preaching, teaching, counseling, personal Bible study), and there’s not so verbal ministry (all the rest, the more hands-on perhaps). Of course there’s overlap between the two, but he’s speaking in general.
A lot of commentaries think Peter is giving us kind of a technique for using our gifts. That is, when you go to speak make sure you are speaking the utterances of God. Don’t use your own ideas, but speak God’s word. And when you go to help someone don’t use your own strength but use God’s strength in doing that. Well, I don’t think that’s what he’s saying. In fact that second idea doesn’t even make much sense. Maybe you don’t share my perspective. But when I go to help someone, how do I help them by God’s strength and not mine? If I just start helping, am I supposed to go, “Oh, wait sorry. I’m doing it. But I have to instead let God do it. I’ve got to do this in His strength not mine.”?
I think rather what he is saying is whatever you do, do it with the understanding that you are a steward and you do it to bring glory to your master and not yourself; because the strength you have, the skill you have, all comes from God. And if one speaks, do it as one who realizes that their voice and the message and wisdom they have to share, is not their own but it’s been given to them by God. So you speak not to impress people with you, but to impress them with God. You speak to increase His greatness in their minds, not your greatness. And if you serve, serve as one who understands that I’m not really due any credit for this because the strength I have to do this, the energy, the time, the money, the skill, is all from God. You speak and serve to help people to know and trust and love God. Because to Him, all glory belongs.
What will we say?
Our master is coming back soon. What will we tell Him? “Master, I know you gave me this gift, but I had all these kids and we were so busy. We had gymnastics, football and soccer, and ballet and homework every night and cub scouts. I just didn’t have time to use this gift. Here, you have back what is yours.”
I can imagine how that would go, “What those kids needed far more than academic or athletic success or having their every whim catered to, was to learn to serve Me alongside their mom and dad. But you taught them, everything else comes before that.”
Or will we say, “Master, I know you gave me this gift, but I finally retired. I worked all my life and finally retired. I needed some time to just sit back and enjoy myself. I deserved it.”
I can imagine how that would go, “No, what you deserved, I took on a cross. And I offered you all of eternity to be retired. I told you to work with this for a short while until I come back.”
Or will we say, “Master, you entrusted this little bit to me and I’ve been using it till you got here. These people, I was able to bless more with what you gave me.”
And He will say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master.”
-James Williams