Sermon Cloud

Introduction
What if you knew the day you were going to die? How would it change the way you live your life now? What would you change if you knew when you were going to die? It would change how you live, how you use your time, who you hang out with and how you spend your money, wouldn’t it? Why would it do that? Why would it change us? It would change us because it would force us to think about something that we never think about. Our culture teaches us to do everything we can to avoid thinking about the End. It makes us uncomfortable. It frightens us. It forces us to deal with the big questions in life and re-evaluate everything. So we avoid it. We focus on the right-here and the right-now so that we don’t have to think about what lies ahead. But while our culture encourages us to avoid the reality of death God calls us to confront it. God calls us to focus on the End – to focus on it – every day, and to live every moment of every day in light of the End. When I say “the End” I don’t mean that we can know the exact date of our death. When I say “the End” I don’t mean anything weird like you might have read in a Left Behind book or seen on late-night Christian television. By the End I simply mean the return of Jesus Christ when he comes to complete what he has already begun. Whether that happens tomorrow or in 1,000 years is irrelevant. What matters is that it will happen. And God expects the inevitability of the End to impact how we live as we focus upon it. And again, not in the weird way you might think of. God doesn’t want us to respond to the End by selling all of our possessions and fleeing to the mountains. He doesn’t want us to respond to the End by stocking up on canned foods and withdrawing from culture. He wants us to respond to the End by living how we ought to already be living every day. Let’s look at this together in 1Peter 3:8-12.  

Living in Harmony Because of the End
Over the past two weeks we have seen that God calls his people to submit to him in every relationship – whether with government, or your employer, or your spouse etc… Now, Peter tells us to submit to God in our relationships with each other. This is why his first word is “finally,” because he’s connecting this passage with what has come before it. When we are submitted to God that will be reflected in how you and I relate with each other. Verse 8 says this will cause us to live in harmony with one another. Let’s talk about that for a minute. What does it mean for us to live in harmony with one another? Think about that word harmony, what does it imply? Does it imply unity? Yes, but it implies something else, too. It implies differences. It implies diversity. Musically speaking harmony occurs when different notes with different sounds blend together to create one unified sound. To have harmony is to have unity and diversity, unity in diversity, unity through diversity. And this is the word Peter uses to describe our relationship together as Christians. If we are submitted to God we will live in harmony with one another.

That’s hard for us, isn’t it? It’s in our human nature to pursue unity with those who are most like us. We love spending time with people who look like us. We love spending time with people who dress like us. We love spending time with people who think like us. We love spending time with people who are the same age as us. We love spending time with people who like what we like, hate what we hate, enjoy what we enjoy, play how we play, work how we work, vote how we vote, talk how we talk and so on. It’s not hard to feel unified with these people. It’s easy. It’s natural. Most of us choose our friends like this. Most of us choose what community we live in like this. Most of us choose what schools we attend like this. Most of us choose what church we attend like this. The truth is that all of us are most comfortable when we are around people who are most like us. But God doesn’t call us to live in unison with people who are most like us he calls us to live in harmony with people who are different than us. And we’d be lying to ourselves if we didn’t admit that this was difficult for us. We’d be lying if we didn’t admit this goes against our nature.

I know some of you are feeling this difficulty at this church. You’re feeling like you are having difficulty really connecting with people. You’re feeling like you are having difficulty really opening up with people. You’re feeling like you are having difficulty feeling comfortable around everyone here. You’re feeling awkward in conversation with certain people. You’re feeling awkward when you go to David’s house or my house for home community. You and I know why this is the case. It’s not because there’s something wrong with them that’s not wrong with you, it’s not because they are less genuine than you, it’s not because they are not loving people. It’s because all of us are struggling to develop relationships with people who are different than us. Even though you know this there is still a part of you that wants to go to another church because you know that it would be easier for you to connect with people. You know it would be easier for you to open up with other people. You know it would be more comfortable and less awkward. You miss the way it was so easy to develop relationships at your last church. But you’re still here. You’re still here because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the gospel that has brought all of us weirdos together. It is the gospel that has placed you in the same small group as those people you don’t know how to interact with. It is the gospel that has placed you black people next to you white people. It is the gospel that has placed you Latino people next to you Asian people. It is the gospel that has placed you older people next to you younger people. It is the gospel that has placed you tattooed people next to you preppy people. It is the gospel that has placed you more-educated people next to you less-educated people. It is the gospel that has placed you urban people next to you suburban people. It is the gospel that has placed you married people next to you single people. It is the gospel that has placed you hip-hop people next to you country people, you Republican people next to you Democrat people, you smoking people next to you non-smoking people, you Baptist people next to you Pentecostal people, you shy people next to you outgoing people, you “lower-class” people with you “middle-class” people. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ that has taken all of your differences and stuffed them into this one community. And you will be uncomfortable for a while. Because the goal of the gospel is not to make you comfortable. The goal of the gospel is to glorify God by making you more like Jesus Christ. Can I say that again? The goal of the gospel is not to make you comfortable. The goal of the gospel is to glorify God by making you more like Jesus Christ.

To live in light of the End is to live in light of this. We may not know the day we will die but we know that the End is coming and we know what the End will look like. We know that Jesus Christ will complete what he has already begun. He will complete the new humanity he has created. A new humanity that is reconciled to God and each other. A new humanity that is made to be like Jesus. A new humanity made out of people of every tribe and tongue and people and nation. A new humanity that will forever glorify God in fellowship with him and with each other. I don’t know when I’m going to die. But I know that when I do die I will be like Jesus and I will live eternally in perfect fellowship with every type of person imaginable. This is only possible because of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. And if I know that this is what awaits me at the End it will change how I live today. It shouldn’t make me focus on myself and spend my remaining time doing everything I want to do that I’ve never done. It should make me focus on Jesus and his people and spend my remaining time growing in relationship with him and you – doing the normal things of everyday life.

And that’s the only way that you and I can live in harmony with one another. Only by looking back to what Jesus has done and forward to what Jesus will complete. Only through Jesus can we be restored to a right relationship with God and, as a result, a right relationship with each other. You see Jesus has done what any good composer does. When a composer begins arranging his song he already has a picture in his mind of what that completed song is going to sound like. As the composer makes decisions to place a certain note here, and a certain instrument there, he is doing that because he knows what he wants the end product to sound like. Well, Jesus is the composer of this community. And he has chosen to place each of you in this community because he likes the unique note that you play. He takes pleasure in the unique pitch that you sound. He enjoys the unique texture you bring. Because each of these things reflects his image in you. But he is not content with allowing you to sound your note over there while I sound my note over here. Because he’s not just interested in the beauty of your individual note. He’s interested in the beauty of the entire song. And though your note is beautiful the harmony of all of our notes together is far more beautiful and provides a much greater picture of the beauty of who Jesus is and what he has done.

Harmony Illustration  

Do you hear the difference here? It’s tremendous. There’s nothing like true harmony. I know that none of you would ever settle for music where every note was the same, no matter how beautiful that note was. So I hope and pray that none of you will ever settle for a church community where every note is the same. I know that most of us have come from churches like that. But I pray that we will never return to that. I pray that we will settle for nothing less than the harmony – the unity in diversity – that Jesus makes possible as he reconciles us to God and each other. I pray that as we struggle to feel comfortable with one another we will stay focused on the End. When we focus on the End – when we focus on spending eternity united to Jesus and each other – we find our motivation and our power to live in harmony with one another. And when we live in harmony with one another everything else that Peter mentions in verse 8 comes naturally. We can be sympathetic with one another, we can love one another, we can be compassionate and humble.

Repaying Evil with Good Because of the End
Peter goes on to show us how focusing on the End also changes how we respond when we are mistreated. It changes how we respond to evil in general. In verse 9 he tells us to “not repay evil with evil or insult with insult.” Instead, he tells us, “repay evil with blessing.” Now if living in harmony is difficult this may be even more difficult. It is so contrary to our nature. We do not like to be victims of evil. We do not like to be victims of insult. It would be nice if we could avoid these things altogether but we can’t. We are citizens of two cities. We live in the city of God and the city of man at the same time. For that we will be insulted. For that we will be victims of evil. In fact, it’s safe to say that every one of us has been a victim of evil and every one of us has been on the receiving end of insults. I think it’s also safe to say that every one of us wants to respond with something other than blessing. How many of you have been a victim of evil or insults this month? And how have you wanted to respond to that? I imagine responding by blessing them was not your first choice.

But why is that? Why is it that we are so compelled to repay evil for evil and insult for insult? Why does this come so naturally for us? Of course the easy answer is because we are sinners. And that’s true. But we can be more specific than that, can’t we? Why is it so natural for you to want to repay evil for evil and insult for insult? I can think of three reasons why I react this way. Number one is pride. I don’t like being a victim. It makes me feel weak. It makes me feel inferior. It makes me feel vulnerable. And my pride – my sinful, arrogant, pride – does not like that. So I react by trying to become the victimizer instead of the victim. I react by trying to appear strong rather than weak. I react by trying to be the aggressor so I don’t appear vulnerable. And I do this just as much to convince myself as I do to convince anyone else. And you do, too. The second reason I act this way is pain. Being on the receiving end of evil or the receiving end of insults is painful. It hurts. And like you, I don’t like to feel pain. I don’t like to hurt. So I try to minimize my pain by returning evil for evil and repaying insult for insult. A part of me thinks that this will somehow medicate my pain. Somehow it will make me feel better. And you do this, too. The third reason I act this way is justice. Evil is evil and wrong is wrong and you and I know that intuitively. It doesn’t matter what our worldview is, it doesn’t matter what our theology is, all of us want evil to be punished and good to be rewarded. It’s instinctive to us. So when we are on the receiving end of evil or the receiving end of insult we respond by repaying evil for evil and insult for insult. Because we want justice. And sometimes it feels like the only justice we can bring is to respond with evil and insult.  We don’t have the power to bring true justice so we bring the closest thing to justice we can bring, which is repaying evil for evil and insult with insult.

And we are stuck. We are stuck in this vicious cycle of evil for evil and insult for insult. We’re stuck here because we are sinners who so easily worship things and people other than Jesus. We are stuck here because of our pride, our pain, and our desire for justice. So what is the solution? How do we break free from this vicious cycle? How do we learn to repay evil with good and insult with blessing? Peter says that the answer is to look to the End. In verse 12 he reminds us that there is a judge. And this judge sees all. And he will reward the good. And he will punish the evil. Verse 12 says, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” God is reminding us that justice is not in our hands. Justice is in his hands. And he is the perfect judge. He judges impartially. Because he sees everything, down to the very motivation of our hearts. This judge is not corrupt or even corruptible. He is wholly good. And when we look to the End, when we remember that Jesus Christ is returning to judge the earth, we no longer have to repay evil for evil and insult for insult. We no longer have to be vigilantes trying to obtain justice for ourselves. Because perfect justice will reign through King Jesus who will judge every man and every woman – even you. I imagine this image bothers some of you. You don’t like to think of God as judge. You prefer to think of God as love. But God is both. Judgment is not the opposite of love. Hate is the opposite of love. Judgment and love are complimentary. True judgment gives people value and dignity. True judgment protects the weak that cannot protect themselves. And true judgment is the only way we can break free from this vicious cycle of evil for evil and insult for insult. If you have ever been a victim of true evil – I’m talking horrific, horrible evil. If you or your child has been molested or raped. If someone you love has been murdered. If your best friend has stolen your spouse. If you’ve watched a man abuse your defenseless mother. The only way that you can be free to not retaliate is if you believe that there is a Divine Judge who will one day bring perfect judgment. That is the way – that is the only way – that we can repay good for evil and blessing for insult. Only when we know that Jesus will bring true and complete justice can we be free from the desire to provide justice ourselves.

Can you see that? Only by looking to the End can we live the way God commands us to live today. When we focus on the End we are also free from the other things that keep us in this vicious cycle of retaliation. When we feel the pain of evil or insult we don’t have to try to medicate the pain by responding in the same way. Because when we look to the End we see that Jesus Christ will present us as acceptable to God because of what he has done on our behalf. And at that moment we are told that God will wipe every tear from our eyes and completely heal every bit of our pain. We don’t have to try to medicate our pain now with retaliation because our pain will not only be medicated, but completely eliminated, the moment we die and see Jesus Christ face to face. What has been done to us by others will be washed away by what has been done for us by Jesus. When we look to the End we no longer have to retaliate to defend our pride, either. Because when we look at the End we don’t have to convince ourselves that we are victorious – Jesus became victorious for us. You don’t have to convince yourself you’re not a victim – Jesus became a victim for you. You don’t have to convince yourself you’re not weak – Jesus became weak for you. You don’t have to defend yourself – Jesus defended you by not defending himself. When we look to the end – when we see that – we don’t have to retaliate. We don’t have to repay evil for evil or insult with insult. We can repay evil with good and insult with blessing.

Using Our Resources for Others Because of the End
Living with a countercultural focus on the End also changes the way that we use our resources. Let’s jump ahead to 1Peter 4:7-11. “The end of all things is near.” And because of that, we should live differently. Again, our culture would tell us that as the End approaches we should live for ourselves.  But God says that as the End approaches we should live for him and for one another. We’ve already seen that when we have a countercultural focus on the End it will help us to live in harmony with one another, and it will empower us to repay evil with good and insult with blessing. Now we see that it should change the way we use our resources. The first resource it changes is our use of time. We see that in verse 7 which says that because the End is approaching we should pray. Think about that. What about the End should motivate us to pray? For one it should motivate us to worship God in prayer because he has redeemed us and will complete our redemption when Jesus returns. Also it should motivate us to pray for others who are still at odds with God. We should pray that they would embrace Jesus before it is too late. The End should motivate us to pray for wisdom because we see that every moment and every decision of our lives is terribly crucial as the End approaches. Most of all, the End should motivate us to have present communion with the God who we will commune with for all of eternity! The End changes the way we use the resource of our time. The End also changes the way we use the resource of our possessions. Verse 9 commands us to offer hospitality to one another.  And it’s not enough to just do it. We are called to do it joyfully without grumbling. How does looking to the End empower us to do this? Because at the End Jesus Christ will show us the Ultimate Hospitality. He will welcome us into a home we have no right to enter into. He will welcome us into the eternal city of the living God. Into his dwelling place we will be welcomed, forever! Knowing that makes us want to open our home for others – including those who can do nothing for us – because Jesus’ love flows through us. Focusing on the End changes the way we use our resource of time, and the resource of our possessions, and the resource of our talents and gifts. That’s what Peter tells us in verses 10 and 11. These verses make it clear that every one of us has been given gifts. Our gifts are different. But all of our gifts are equally valuable. Because all of our gifts are to be used for the same purpose – to serve others and bring glory to God through Christ. When we look to the End we see that everything we have now and everything we will have then is a gracious gift from a generous God. When we see all that he has given us, including unity with him and eternal life with him, we want to offer everything back to him, using the gifts he has given us to serve others and glorify God through Jesus Christ.

Conclusion
The Scriptures are very, very practical. They tell us how we ought to live. Peter tells us specifically how we are supposed to live as citizens of two cities. He tells us how to live as citizens of the city of God who live in the city of man. He tells us how to live in the midst of a hostile environment. And as practical as his instructions are we cannot follow them. We can’t. If we could then we wouldn’t need to have this talk tonight. But we cannot do it. Left to our own strength, our own motivation, and our own nature we cannot do any of the things we just talked about. But Jesus has done these things. And because Jesus has done these things we can do these things as we trust in Jesus Christ. We can do these things as we look to the End, putting our faith in Jesus who came once to redeem us and will come again to complete what he has begun.

So you can live in harmony and be united with all of these people who are different from you. How? Because Jesus has united you to him. And there is no one more different from you than Jesus. If he can unite you to himself he can unite you with anyone.

You can repay evil with good. How? Because Jesus did that very thing for you. You insulted him. You cursed him. You did evil to him and to others. And he did not retaliate. No, he made himself cursed in your place. He made himself condemned in your place. He made himself sin in your place. He made himself judged in your place. He repaid your terrible evil with the Ultimate Good. He reconciled you to God.

You can repay insult with blessing. How? Because Jesus Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. He will judge impartially and he will judge in truth and in righteousness. You don’t have to retaliate because he will bring perfect justice to the entire earth.

You can be hospitable to people who don’t deserve it. How? Because Jesus Christ has been hospitable with you, and you don’t deserve it. He has risen from the dead and ascended into heaven where he is preparing a place for you. When you die he will welcome you into his presence, you will see him face to face, and he will present you to God as acceptable. Because of Jesus you will dwell in the house of God forever.

You can use your gifts to serve others instead of using them to serve yourself. How? Because Jesus Christ has given the Ultimate Gift to serve you. He temporarily laid aside his eternal glory so he could come to earth, become like you, and be killed by you. He gave his own life in your place. He died the death you should have died. He gave you the perfect gift of his life so that you could use your gifts to serve others and glorify God.  

You can obey God. You can obey God. How? Because Jesus has obeyed God perfectly for you. He has lived the life you could not live. And he has given you his righteousness. He has made you acceptable to God. Now you can obey – not out of fear, not to get something – you can obey because you have already been accepted by God through Jesus Christ. If your faith is in him you have been given a new heart, new desires, new power, and a new Lord.