Well, we're going to talk a little bit about the second coming this morning, the consummation of all things. Mark was talking about those who deny Christ and deny his coming. We've been studying that in 2nd Peter in our Thursday night Bible study. And the reason why people deny that, want to get rid of the idea that Christ is coming back, is because it removes accountability. 

We see that with false teachers who teach that Jesus is not coming back, even in the church, and that goes with licentiousness and sexual sin and all kinds of problems. So his coming is our hope. I remember Pastor Krenz used to ask me quite often when we'd meet for study together. He'd say, "Have you thought about the rapture today?" 

We talked about how we often don't think about the rapture; we don't think about the coming of Jesus Christ. Very often, we're just enjoying the very good life that God, by his grace, has given us. Sometimes we wander together if we liked our life here and now a little too much and didn't think about Jesus coming and our eternal life with him.

One thing is for sure: when you read the New Testament, we as believers in Jesus Christ are to be living in expectancy. We are to be looking up, looking for Jesus to come. I want you to listen to the words of Romans 13 at verse 10. Paul says, "Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, love, knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts."

Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Jesus is coming, my brothers and sisters, and his coming is imminent, meaning it could be now or now or now. The Bible does not teach that his coming is soon. We're not looking for signs; the Bible teaches that his coming is imminent. 

We will see that in our text this morning. This word means that there's nothing else that must happen before Jesus comes to take us to be with him. We are not instructed to look for signs, to map out the process, or to seek to establish the timing of his coming. In fact, we are warned against these things. We are to be looking for Jesus; we are to be looking up. 

What this means practically speaking is that the imminent return of Christ is not about sensationalism; it’s not about signs and prophecies. The imminent return of Jesus is all about living with expectancy, and this means holy living. This means a life of witness. This means, in all that we do, bringing glory to God. 

I want to emphasize this because I believe it's easy to become confused when we read about the consummation of all things, which is what Peter means when he says that the end of all things is at hand. It has come near; it's beside us; it's upon us. 

The consummation of all things, the imminent coming of Christ, the day being at hand, the last hour, the last days in which we live. We see two things in the scriptures. First, we see a clear warning about the sinfulness and debauchery of the world and the danger of false teachers. Perilous times will come. 

Men will be deceivers; men will be mockers, following after their own lusts. They will draw away many after themselves. Peter and Jude warned so clearly about these false teachers in the church. Paul warns about these times in 2nd Timothy 3. We always see an ever-increasing sinfulness and deception in the last days passages. 

Secondly, we see a clear instruction to believers, to the church, to love, to minister to one another, and encourage one another to live a holy life in the midst of a hostile world and to be a witness rescuing men from the fire. Looking for Jesus, looking up, living with expectancy means living a holy life in the midst of this world, looking unto Jesus, and telling men about the glorious truth of his gospel. 

This is why we are here. This is our purpose and our commission. These are the things that we must fix our minds upon as we abide in Christ by faith, as we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, as we walk in the spirit. Thus, we're growing. We're bearing fruit and abounding in all things that God may be glorified in our lives.

Look at verse 7, 1st Peter 4. Peter says, "The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, what do we do, Peter? Be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things, have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If anyone speaks, as the oracles of God, if anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

I've got 25 outlines sitting on my table at home, but I'll tell you the five points that are on them: first, the end of all things; second, one mind; third, love; fourth, minister your gift; and fifth, speak the words of God. 

In 1st Corinthians 10:31, Paul said, "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, and whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." All things, even the most everyday sort of mundane things—eating and drinking—do all things, he says, to the glory of God. 

Have you ever thought about that? Even how you eat and drink, where your food comes from, what it does to your health? It's very much a part of your witness. All things, everything you do, how you do it, why you do it, should be to the glory of God. It's an attitude. It's a series of choices we make; it's how we live.

I was out cutting hay Friday afternoon. What a beautiful sunny day! The grass was high in this particular field in spite of the drought. The Sun was shining; the tractor was running great; the haybine was working. I didn't even hit any rocks very hard. 

Now, for the lost farmer in Adam, that kind of day might just be like any other. He may be thinking about all the problems of his life, cursing under his breath, worried about this or that, or even just going through the motions to get it done. But for the man in Christ, that kind of day should be a spiritual experience. 

In fact, every day should be a spiritual experience—praising God, glorifying God, seeing him in all things: the creation, the abundance, the provision, his glory in the myriad of colors, the flowers, and the little fawn and his mother on the edge of the field. 

Even the bed in the field where that fawn was lying having a little nap—you see all these things from the seat of the tractor and feel the breeze and warmth of the Sun. This is what 2nd Corinthians 5 means when it says we are a new creation. Because it says, in explanation of what it means to be a new creation, "Now all things are of God." 

In all things, we give him praise; we give him glory. We see God's hand in all things, and we think about him and his goodness and his glory. In our text this morning, Peter comes to a very consistent and prevalent theme in the New Testament, and that is how much more we should focus on God, how much more we should set our mind on eternal things, on holy living, and on witness in view of the fact that the consummation of all things is at hand. 

The second coming is a motivation to us for holy living. I have to tell you, sometimes I think we miss this. I hear preachers expounding all the signs of our world, the happenings in politics, and the world events. I hear them sensationalize and speculate about how all of these things are signs that Jesus is coming soon. 

I even listened to a message the other day where the preacher quoted the passage in Mark 13 where Jesus said no one knows the day or the hour. And this preacher said that was true when Jesus said it, but after he rose from the dead, he had a conversation with the Father, and then the Father gave us the revelation of Jesus Christ to tell us the day and the hour. So through our study of Revelation and other scriptures, we can determine the time of Christ's coming, and then he set out to do that. And that's when I quit listening. 

Peter, in verse 7 of our text, gives us not an instruction to watch the world and the politics and the world events to determine when Jesus is coming, but rather a motivation for holy living in light of the fact that his coming may be today. 

You see, the whole point is that there are no events—get this—no events that must precede the coming of Christ. It's the point and purpose of God that we do not know the timing of his coming. We could look at a myriad of scriptures in Jesus’ teaching and his parables. 

The whole point concerning his coming and the consummation of all things, or as it says in our text, the end of all things, is that we are not to know the time of his coming. Why? Because if you knew it was 10,000 years from now—and it might well be; we do not know—then our tendency would be to be lazy, to live for today, to cruise along, knowing his coming is very far off. 

Or if you knew without a doubt that his coming was next Tuesday, it would tend to cause us to go into some sort of panic, running to and fro, acting all crazy. 

The prevalent and consistent teaching of the entire New Testament, of our text before us, is that God has determined not to tell us the timing of the second coming of Jesus but rather give us assurance that he is coming and make his coming imminent for very specific purposes. 

Jesus said if you know you do not know when your master returns, then how do you live with expectancy? Keep the yard mowed and trimmed; keep the grounds in nice order; the floor swept, the dishes done. Maybe in your youth you had the experience of your parents going away on vacation, and you were just old enough to finally not have to go stay with an Edna. 

They go out the door for their week's vacation and the place is yours. I don't know what that meant for you, but you get the idea. Four days into the vacation, the house is a wreck—the dishes are piled up, laundry, pizza boxes strewn about. Maybe you had a few friends over. But if they're returning Saturday morning, then Friday night becomes an imminent situation.

Or maybe as a husband you've experienced this—when your wife goes away, she's due to be back Sunday at 6 p.m. What do you do after church? What do you talk to all your man friends at church about? After church, clean the house, do the dishes, and laundry; tidy things up, get ready for her return. 

Our brothers and sisters, if you knew when he was coming, you would get your life in order just in time. The whole point is that you do not know when he is coming, and thus we are constantly, continually to be living in a state of expectancy. 

For practical application, this means to be living in light of his coming, living a holy life, loving one another, ministering our gifts in the body, encouraging one another, and preaching the gospel to every man so that when he comes, he might find us faithful. 

This word, "The end" or "the consummation," entails all the events that are to come, where God brings everything together to fullness in Christ. The consummation is at hand. Do you see? This is not watching for signs and events; it's watching for Jesus. 

The very definition of eminence is that there are no events that must precede his coming, the beginning of the consummation of all things. We're to be watching for Jesus, and this means living in light of his coming. 

That's why the verses that follow Peter's statement, "The end of all things is at hand," the consummation, the coming of Christ, is just as much at hand now, today, this morning, as it was when Peter wrote these words. 

The question is: what does this mean for me today and each day as I live this short life? My life is like a vapor. We understand that more and more the older we get. What does it mean for me and my time here on this earth? 

I could spend all of my days and hours trying to figure out all the prophecies and the timing of his coming, but what good does that do the church? What good does that do the body, my brothers and sisters in Christ? What good does that do my family, my wife and children and their spiritual walk? What good does that do to my witness, my commission, and calling? 

I'm an ambassador for Jesus. He has entrusted me with the words of reconciliation. Who am I loving? Who am I pointing to Jesus? It's not that we're not to study these things or that we're not to think about them; we are. But they are to give us assurance that he is coming. They're not for us to piece apart and figure out what day he's coming.

The heart of the application for us, as we've seen in the rest of our text, is not to watch the signs and sort out the prophecy to have some sort of better feel for when he might arrive, but rather the heart of the application of the truth of the eminence of his coming is that I must be serious and sober today. 

I must live out who I am today and for the purpose for which God has me here. Look at the words of our text again, verse 7: Peter makes a stunning statement. He says, "The end of all things is at hand." And again, that word at hand means that it has drawn near; it is upon us. 

Therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things, have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 

And if anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

Jesus is coming again. The end of all things is at hand. What do we do, Peter? What does this mean? It doesn't mean we should quit our jobs and sit on the roof in our pajamas—figuratively or literally. They had this problem in Thessalonica; people quit working because Jesus was coming. 

But it also doesn't mean I should live my life without thinking about his coming and living in that state of expectancy. Peter says, "Here's what you should do in light of the fact that Jesus might come today: you should love one another. You should be hospitable without grumbling." 

This word means fond of guests—spend time with people, get to know them, minister to their needs for lodging or food or whatever, and tell them about Jesus. And do it without grumbling, he says. God has given you gifts by his grace. Use them to minister to others, especially in the body of Christ. 

Speak the words of God to one another. Quit talking about the weather. I'm speaking to myself now—quit talking about the weather and the Packers and your problems, and start talking about Jesus. 

Tell them how good God is and how faithful he is, and the hope and promises that we have in him. Speak the words of God for his glory, and let the imminent coming of Christ be a motivation for holy living and witness. 

What does Paul say about this? Let's go back to that Romans 13 passage. Turn to Romans 13, verse 11. These are just two examples of many that all say the same thing. What does Christ's imminent coming mean to me in my life today? Verse 11: "And do this, love, knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than we first believed. The night is far spent; the day is at hand. Therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light."

Okay, our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The day is at hand, just like Peter said—imminence, expectancy. What do we do, Paul? Verse 10: "Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." 

Verse 13: "Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lust." 

Let's ask Jude what he thinks about these things. He writes a blazing epistle about false teachers in the church, deceiving the believers, drawing them away—the seriousness of these last days and the dangers. What are we to do in light of all these perilous times? 

Look at Jude 17, chapter 1, verse 17. There's only one chapter. He says, "But you, beloved, in light of all that's going on, as bad as it is, and the false teachers and all the problems of the world—all the wickedness ruling and reigning—but you, beloved, remember the words which were spoken before that by the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ, how they told you that there would be mockers in the last time who would walk according to their own ungodly lusts. 

These are sensual persons who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction, but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh." 

What are we to do, Jude? We're to remember the words of God; we're to build ourselves up on our most holy faith; we're to keep ourselves in the love of God; we're to look for Jesus and live in the light of his coming; and we're to be a witness, rescuing the perishing through the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

What does this life of expectancy of his coming look like? In the very short time that I have on this earth to live for him and fulfill my purpose, this life looks like Christ-likeness, holy living. It looks like love for God and men. It looks like ministering my gifts by God's grace and power; that is a focus on others, and it means being a witness.

So in this true statement of Peter in verse 7 of our text, "The end of all things is at hand," we find these great applications for daily living in Christ— for the focus and purpose of our life. 

Now I want to go back to verse 1 of 1st Peter 4, just for a little context, as we see "one mind." 1st Peter 4:1, "Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God."

We looked at this great practical passage last time, but I just want to come back to this command to have one mind. What is this one mind? It's the mind of Christ. As we come back to the broader context of our text in the first epistle of Peter, we remember that the mind of Christ was one of willingness to suffer unjustly in order to fulfill the plan and purpose of God. 

We saw this vividly in chapter 2, where Peter says, "You were called to suffer." Each one of us were called to suffer because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow in his steps. What was his example? He committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth; who, when he was reviled, did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously.

So the mind of Christ was a mind of total trust in the purpose and plan and grace of God—entrusting oneself to the one who judges righteously. It's a selflessness; it's a dependency on God and a passion for his will and purpose. 

Look again at verse 2 of chapter 4. What does this one mind, the mind of Christ, mean for our life, how we walk? "That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God." 

We only have a short time here in the flesh, some of us shorter than others. What should we do? We should live for the will of God. And what is the will of God? Again, we see holy living in consistency with who we are in Christ, and we see witness—the preaching of the gospel that men might live eternally. 

There's no question that we are here to live a holy life among the pagans, as Peter says; that we are here to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ so that God might be glorified and men might be saved. This is where the rubber meets the road; this is the one mind we are to have: a spotless church, holy and without blame, a chaste virgin living as a witness in this world. These are the things that matter. 

This should be the effect of living in expectancy of His coming. Listen to the words of John in 1st John 3. He says, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. Therefore the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He is revealed"—that's his coming—"we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." 

Now listen to verse 3: “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” That's the effect, the motivation of the imminent coming of Christ. We must be concerned with purity, holiness, a passion to be like Christ, to have His mind, and to be a witness. 

This is God's will, and we are here to live for the One who died for us—not for the will of men, but for the will of God. Next, we see in our text that the single greatest way that the grace and transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ is manifest in our lives is by love, agape love.

1st Peter 4:7: "But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. And above all things, have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins." 

Do you know the one thing that the man in Adam cannot do? He cannot love. The essence of the cross, the essence of the Christ life, is love. God demonstrated His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Love is the hallmark of the Christian in this world. It is the contrast with the world and religion in the man in Adam. 

Jesus said, "By this they will know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another." I want you to turn over to Romans 8 with me, please. Romans 8—let's look at chapter 7, verse 23 first. 

In 7:23, it says, "But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members." Here we see a picture of the man in Adam. He desires to do good, to be good. Often the pursuit of his life in religion, such as Paul—the zealous Jewish leader—is to keep the law, to earn his righteousness. 

But what he finds is that he cannot; that he continually fails to live up to the standard because he is in captivity to the law of sin in his members, and dwelling sin overpowers him and causes him to manifest sin out through his members. He lies with his tongue; he steals with his hand.

Now, look at chapter 8, verse 1. Paul says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh. On account of sin, He condemned sin in the flesh."

What the law could not do because of the weakness of this physical body controlled by indwelling sin—as we saw in verse 23 above—what the law could not do, God did. And He did it by sending Jesus to conquer sin and death and hell and deliver us from the power of indwelling sin through regeneration and the new birth. We were united with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection to a new kind of life. 

Our old man was crucified for the express purpose that we might no longer be slaves to sin, that this body would no longer be dominated and controlled by indwelling sin. God did this so that, if you look at verse 4 in Romans 8, "the righteous requirement of the fulfillment of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

Now, if you go back over to that Romans 13 passage that we looked at earlier, you'll see something very interesting. In 13:8, Paul says, "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law." Love is the righteous requirement of law. Love fulfills the law. 

He goes on in verse 9: "For the commandments, you shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not covet"—and if there is any other commandment—it is all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 

And in verse 11, he says, "And do this—love—why? Knowing the time that now it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now our salvation is nearer than we first believed. The night is far spent; look what he says, the day—the day—is at hand." Same thing Peter said—therefore, let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 

My friends, it is love that builds the church as we minister to one another. It's love based in truth—true biblical love—that glorifies God. It's love that brings men to Christ as they know that we are His, that we are genuine, that there's something real and powerful in the gospel that cannot be found in the world. 

Paul says in Romans 2 that it's the goodness of God that leads men to repentance. The gospel is a power that transforms men, changes lives, and makes us like Christ. Peter says love one another. Jesus is coming; it might be today. What should we do? Love one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. 

The end of all things is at hand; therefore, having the mind of Christ, love one another. Give of yourself, your time, your home, your hospitality. Love one another; show the love of Christ; tell them about Jesus. This is what the Christian life is about; this is what brings glory to God. 

We see that this has worked out and manifest as we minister our gifts by the grace of God to one another and as we speak the words of God in truth. The Bible teaches us that God has given to each believer gifts, and that these gifts are meant to be used to minister to one another in the body, in the church. 

We are to teach each other; we are to encourage one another, we are to pray for one another, help, exhort, and comfort each other. In all these things, we are to point one another to Jesus. Ephesians 4 tells us that God gave gifts to the church in the form of pastor-teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, and this by the preaching and teaching of the Word of God—speaking the truth in love. 

It's in this way that we can mature, as Paul says, come to a perfect or mature man—a place of discernment—so that we're not tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. Turn over to that passage in Ephesians 4 with me, Ephesians 4:11. 

"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastor-teachers for the equipping of the saints, for the work of ministry, for the edifying or building up of the body of Christ, until we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." 

"That we should no longer be children tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. But, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things unto him who is the head, Christ."

Now I want you to look closely at verse 16. Here's how this works: "From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes the growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." 

In order to grow, in order to fully function as the body and to be fruitful for the glory of God, we must each do our part, do our share in the body, minister our gifts to one another so that we might grow and be edified together. 

This is God's plan; this is God's purpose for the church—that we might do the work of ministry, that is to go out and preach the gospel to love men and to lead them to Christ. 1st Peter 4:11: "If anyone speaks, let him speak as the words of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ." 

In Ephesians 4:15, we just read, it ends with Christ; and then it says, "From whom the whole body, joined and knit together." Jesus is the source. Jesus has given you gifts; you're to minister those gifts in the body. 

In our text this morning, we find a motivation for holy living—the consummation of all things is at hand. We see that we are to love God; we are to love one another. We see that we are to minister our gifts and speak the words of God for edification so that we might grow and be witnesses and glorify God in all that we do. 

My brothers and sisters, set your mind on eternal things, not on the things on the earth. God's got all that under control; evil men are going to do what they're going to do, they're going to wax worse and worse until Jesus comes. Jesus is going to take care of all. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. 

Think about the coming of our Lord and know that he always keeps his word. I love the comforting words of John 14 where Jesus said to his very nervous disciples after he told them he was leaving, "Let not your heart be troubled." This is a troubling world; there are all kinds of things going on; we don't know what's going to happen. 

It reminds me of what Paul said—we don't know what's going to happen except for the Holy Spirit says in every city, "I'm going, bound in chains," right? We don't know what's going to happen, but it doesn't look good for the world, but it’s good for us. 

"Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me, and my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you." Now listen to what Jesus says: "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself; that where I am, there you may be also." 

"If it were not so, I would have told you," he says. It is so; he's promised; he's coming again. A friend of mine gave me a hat the other day; it says, "Normal is never coming back, but Jesus is." Jesus is coming back. Let's live for the one who died for us.

Closing prayer:

Father, we thank you, thank you for the promises of the gospel, what you've done in our lives, how you've brought us here to this place for our fellowship, for the Word of God preached, taught, and spoken among the people here. Thank you for the passion that people have to know you through your Word. 

Father, I just pray that you would help us to understand that what you have for us in our time here is to live for you, to glorify you, to be a witness for you, and to trust you—trust you with all of these things that tend to trouble us so much. Help us to be faithful. 

Help us to be who we are because of what you've done by your grace and power as we abide by faith in Jesus one day at a time. In His name we pray. Amen.