May it please almighty God to
bless us together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let's turn to the first epistle
of Peter, chapter four, and we'll read verses seven and eight. The first epistle of Peter, chapter
four, and reading verses seven and eight. But the end of all things is
at hand. Be therefore sober, and watch
unto prayer, and above all things have fervent charity. Among yourselves
poor charity shall cover the multitude of sins. In God's mercy and providence,
the Word of God we do find there are quite a number of texts which
direct us very clearly to the end of all things. And when we
think that of course the epistles and gospels were written some
2,000 years ago, and at that time it was spoken in these terms,
these things are at hand, We must therefore realise that,
having passed through 2000 years, that such times are much nearer
than they were all those years ago. And how good it is if the
Holy Spirit comes and rightly influences us to meditate and
to consider and to think on these great and important issues. The statement really is very
clear isn't it? Peter tells us the end of all
things is at hand and because of that he instructs us as to
how we should think and what we should do. Again these points
are very sanitary to us and he says therefore be sober and watch
unto prayer and above all things have fervent charity or fervent
love among yourselves for love for charity shall cover the multitude
of sins. So these are the words which
the Lord directed Peter to write so many years ago. therefore they must be more relevant
to us now than they were then. And we seek therefore that we
might recognize the great truth of this as a very very similar
verse that we can read in the first book of the Corinthians
and the seventh chapter and the 28th and 29th verses. This is
what it says But this I say, the time is short. It remaineth
that both they that have wives be as though they had none, and
they that weep as though they wept not, and they that rejoice
as though they rejoice not, and they that buy as though they
possess not, and they that use this world as not abusing it,
for the fashion of this world passeth away. Well, we see the
Apostle Paul in this instance, therefore, directs us really
in a very similar way. And in both these occasions,
the whole thrust is to direct our thoughts to the shortness
of time. And if we are directed to the
shortness of time, We must really in necessity be directed to that
which follows, which of course is the eternal state of our souls. And it will be a good and a blessed
consideration to meditate upon these truths because they are
so true and they are so important and they are so relevant to us
today. Well, then as the Apostle Peter
says, but the end of all things is at hand and therefore be sober. We are to consider these things
in a sober way and not to pass them over. Not to think, well,
of course the world's been continuing for all these many years and
therefore what is referred to as a short time clearly means
a long time and therefore I didn't have to worry too much because
everything is going to carry on as it is. Well we should never
make such an assumption because such an assumption could be totally
inaccurate and we know not when the Lord will come but we are
told as we read together further on in this fourth chapter For
the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. And if it first begin at us,
what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? The Lord has ordained that such
words should be placed in the Bible to give us a concern and
a care that The time will come when there will be that judgment.
And indeed, the Lord does judge his people. He judges those false
believers who pretend to be Christians and who are not. That's why the
judgment must begin at the house of God because in one sense,
it's the very worst condition for those who have sat and heard
the gospel, perhaps week after week, perhaps all their life,
and yet have never heard it. The truth of God has never entered
into their heart. Somehow they passed it off, somehow
they haven't really taken heed to it, and yet the time will
come when they would indeed be judged. They'll be judged for
the evil heart of unbelief. And may we not find ourselves
among such people. May we not be categorized among
them. The word of God has a description,
and it's this, whited sepulchers. That means Something that looks
very nice outside, but what's in a sepulchre? Dead men's bones. No life. No life. You see some wonderful sepulchres,
don't we? Sometimes beautifully carved and wonderful marble.
It means nothing, does it? And you see the illustration
therefore is that there are some who are just like that and very
magnificent. the outside, but inside they're
just dead men's bones, no life. Well we have these warnings really
in the Word of God to alert us to the truth of God's Word. And again in Peter's epistle,
the second epistle, he warns us about being ignorant of these
things. You know, we can be ignorant. Many people are ignorant. And
it's a very tragic scene, isn't it? For those who are ignorant. Because all those who are ignorant
will pass out of time into endless eternity in hell. What a terrible
consideration. The Apostle tells us, but beloved,
be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord
as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is
not slack concerning his promise. Now some men count slackness,
but it's long-suffering to us warred not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance. How necessary
it is that you and I, as we spoke on Lord's Day, are convicted
by the Spirit of God to stand guilty before a holy God, with
no righteousness in and of ourselves, All we are is filthy rags, yet
then look out of ourselves to look to the Saviour and to look
to His righteousness and to desire that we might be clothed with
it. That righteousness which is spotless and pure, which is
given to the whole Church of God. No one would arrive at the
gate of glory without that wedding garment, that wonderful dress,
the robe of Christ's righteousness, pure and spotless, no sin. What a mercy, therefore, if that
is true of us. And if we are, therefore, convinced
of our guiltiness convinced of our unworthiness, may that indeed
direct us to that true state and that true condition of repentance
before a holy God. We all stand, all of us, every
one of us, before a holy God. And that God, His eye looks into
our hearts. It's not what we are outwardly,
although it's important what we are outwardly, it's what we
are inwardly before Almighty God. And so may we be very concerned
of our state. That's really why the apostle
speaks in the way he does when he says, you know, those that
have wives, well, it's good to have a wife, but you see that
won't support us in the day of our death, and we might weep. There are those who weep, but
not with true repentance. They just weep sometimes to be
thought well of by their fellow countrymen. I remember when I
was a boy, I may have said this recently, but I'll say it again.
I remember when I was a boy, worshipped in London and there
were a couple of quite old ladies, quite frail, and one of them
would often be weeping, but the reality was there was no true
evidence of the life of God in her soul. She never really spoke
of the things of God. She never spoke of the preciousness
the Saviour. And yet to someone who may have
passed by, she may have appeared to be a gracious woman. But you see, tears do not save
us. And as we read here, and they
that weep as though they wet not, and they that rejoice as
though they rejoice not, Again, there are those who rejoice falsely
and they rejoice perhaps in what they've done rather than in what
God has done. And they're taken up with an
outward performance of religion. They're taken up with all the
razzmatazz and all the singing and everything rather than having
a quiet humble and sober spirit. See how the Word of God is very
dividing. And then it goes on, and they
that buy as though they possess not. It won't matter how much
money we have in the bank. It won't matter how much we can
buy. It won't matter how generous
we are in our giving. You know, all these things may
be good in their way, but they are not saving. And as Paul said, the time is
short. The time is short. We need to
be blessed with spiritual realities. We come back then to that blessed
position of true repentance. The word of God tells us this,
a repentance. that is not to be repented of. That really means a true and
not a false repentance. A true and not a mock repentance. People can say they repent. They
can act they repent. Repentance touches the heart.
What a mercy therefore if that is so. And that we're not therefore
amongst those who buy as though they possess not. and they that
use this world as not abusing it for the fashion of this world
passes away yes all the fashion all the good looks that we may
think we have all the nice clothes that we may possess it passes
away when we die well we can't take any of those things with
us Sometimes people are dressed up in their best clothes to lie
in the grave, but they'll soon rot. They'll soon perish. It
won't do them any good on that great day of the resurrection.
What a sad thing it is then, if we are found amongst those
who are most concerned about the fashion of this world. Well, what a mercy it is that
God has given us these great truths to consider because our
direction will really be centred upon the only one worthy of any
notice, and that of course is the great and glorious Saviour,
the Lord Jesus Christ. I read just now that verse in
1 John 4, from time is come The judgment must begin in the house
of God, and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be
of them that obey not the gospel of God? It's quite a striking
word, isn't it? It's quite a full word, isn't
it? And we live in a day and age when there are many people
who think they can carry on in their own way without bowing,
without bending down, whether and not obeying the gospel of
God. We'd all be guilty if we failed
in this great favour, and how therefore we need to pray for
that grace, to obey the pattern set before us in God's word.
And we are told this He giveth more grace. What a mercy that
is. We don't produce it, we don't
manufacture it ourself. It's that which God gives, his
favour, his blessing. And as he grants it to us, what
reason we then have to truly rejoice and to truly praise God. And we must then be directed
to the suffering Saviour, to realise that now all our need
has been satisfied, the Holy Law of God satisfied, when Christ
died upon that cross at Calvary. You know, it's a blessing for
us tonight to be able to see in our spiritual lives the lights
of the glorious Gospel which shone into our hearts, as by
faith we stood before the cross. Oh, bless God, if you and I had
been found there, because that would have been a situation of
true worship. That won't be pseudo-worship,
because flesh doesn't go there. The Spirit of God draws us there. We see a wonderful attraction. We realize the blessed need there
is of coming and viewing by faith the suffering Savior dying upon
the cross. And indeed the words of the dying
thief will be appropriate, Lord remember me. Pass me by. Do not pass me by. Think of Bartimaeus, you know,
that blind man. He cried out, didn't he? He cried
out, Jesus of Nazareth. He wanted the Lord to come. He
wanted the Lord to hear him. And he wouldn't be silenced.
People tried to silence him. He wouldn't be silenced. What
a blessing it is, when perhaps the devil may say, it's no good
you crying to God. You're just too bad. You just
sinned too greatly. Indeed, you sinned against light
and knowledge. You can forget God have mercy upon you. Well,
you can quote to the devil, the blind Marty, my ass. And his
cry was heard. And God came. He was brought
to the Savior. And he was blessed indeed. His
sins were forgiven. His sight was given. What a blessing,
therefore, for us today in a spiritual sense. We need just the same,
don't we? We need just the same favour.
We need just the same blessing. And so we're thankful for what
the Scriptures tell us and warn us about. When Paul wrote to
the Church of Rome, he wrote many wonderful epistles, but
he wrote to the Church of Rome, and in the 13th chapter, verses
11 and 12, he says, and that knowing the time, that now it
is high time to awake out of sleep. Are we sleeping? Are we sleeping? Oh, my friends,
what a blessing it is. the Spirit of God wakes us up,
this side of eternity wakes us up. The Apostle goes on and says,
it is high time to awake out of sleep, for now is our salvation
nearer than when we believe. The night is far spent, the day
is at hand, Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness
and let us put on the armour of light. The difference between light
and darkness is very great naturally. The difference between light
and darkness spiritually is even greater. But what a mercy it
is therefore if the Lord has brought us into the wonderful
light. And remember, we don't know how
much longer you and I have on this earth. The time is short. The time is short. The Apostle
James said, whereas you know not what shall be on the morrow,
you and I don't know. For what is your life? What is it? It is even as a vapor. It appears for a little time,
and then vanishes away. It's a good illustration, isn't
it? You and I see a kettle boil.
We see the steam, the vapor, come up from it, and well, it
just disappears into the atmosphere, doesn't it? Turn the kettle off,
the vapor stops, and it's gone. And that's the illustration to
depict our life. It's just so fleeting, so rapidly
disappears. Well, remember this then, the
end of all things is at hand and therefore be sober. Consider these things carefully
and prayerfully. That's it, well, I'll think about
them perhaps when I'm a bit older. I'm very young at the moment.
And even if you're older, you might think, well, I'll just
think about it tomorrow. I've got these things to do today.
No, we should soberly consider these things and to seek unto
the Lord. There may be that wonderful evidence
in our hearts, in our soul, that Jesus Christ, God's Son, died
for us. upon that cross at Calvary, to
atone for all our sins. And therefore, to be sober and
to watch unto prayer, to be often in prayer. It's a sign, isn't
it, of spiritual life. No prayer, no life. Prayer, life. Prayer is not easy. Prayer never has been. The devil
would never want you to pray. He always hates you praying. He'll do all he can to stop you
praying. But you see, God gives grace
to press on, to press on. That's why the Lord gives us
the whole armour of God. We may put on, by his grace,
the whole armour of God, but we truly may be able resist the
devil, that he may flee from us. He's a frightful foe and
he tries to frighten us away. He tries to cause us to realise
there's no hope, we're lost. There's no hope, well there's
no hope in ourselves, but there is hope in the finished work
of the Saviour. So may we be found indeed looking,
look into Jesus, look into that glorious Saviour. And then just
briefly, and above all things, you see, realizing that the end
of all things is at hand, therefore he says, above all things have
fervent love among yourselves. Let not be anything to separate
us from the love of Christ, which is in Christ Jesus. See, if Christ has loved us,
unworthy sinners, we ought to love one another. We ought to
demonstrate our love one for another. And we ought to love
one another more than ourselves. Fervent, fervent love among yourselves. Then he says, for charity or
love shall cover the multitude of sins. That produces the ability
to overlook sins in others. What do we see? We see the love
of Christ in them. We see that unity in Christ's
love, which links us together, which joins us together. It's
a wonderful binding element, the love of Christ, is rich and
free. None of us can say, well, I'm
worthy of it more than that person. No, we're all lost and none of
us deserve it. But if Christ has shown his love
to us, we ought to love one another. And above all things, have fervent
charity among yourselves, for charity shall cover the multitude
sins and then he says the word of God tells us in Colossians
set your affections on things above and not on things on the
earth the devil will tell us the opposite he will tell us
set your affection for the things on the earth not on things which
are to come which may not the attempt is therefore to in this
way. Remember the devil was and always
is a liar and yet the Word of God is true. The Word of God
endures forever and what a mercy therefore if you and I understand
this great truth because the world passes away and the lusts
thereof but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Well, may you and I be constantly
reminded that the shortness of time, the time is short, the
end of all things is at hand. May all of us be concerned to
be found ready when that time shall come to take us out of
time into eternity, indeed to be with Christ, which is far
better. Amen.