Good morning. We're going to be in
1 Peter chapter 4, verses 9-11. We're going to read those verses.
1 Peter 4, verses 9-11. use hospitality one to another
without grudging, as every man hath received the gift, even
so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold
grace of God. If any man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God. If any man minister, let him
do it as of the ability which God giveth, that God and all
things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise
and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Now we saw last week how
that the Lord served his people in the end of the days of his
flesh. Having loved his own, he loved
them to the end and we saw how he served and minister to the
people, to the apostles, as an example for us that we might
know how to love and serve our brethren. And to a degree, we're
going to carry that same thought forward as we look here at hospitality
and at the gifts that the Lord works in the hearts of his people
to serve them and to serve the Lord while they're here. So this
morning's message will pick up that contemplation of gifts.
And our title this morning is The Gift. The Gift. And we'll have three divisions.
We'll look at hospitality, then we'll consider the gift, and
then we'll see examples of gifts in the scriptures. So our text
this morning begins in verse 9 saying, use hospitality one
to another without grudging. Right? And so carrying forward
from last week, we see that this all stems from the grace and
the mercy and the power by the Spirit of the Lord work in us,
whereby we serve one another in love and in joy by His Spirit. And so he works these things
in us irresistibly and they always come forth for the purpose which
he purposed it to serve and that's why he sends it. So hospitality
is a gracious work that the Spirit of Christ works in the hearts
of his people. Now in the scriptures we see
it first spoken of among the pastors of the Lord. It says
in 1 Timothy 3, 2, 1 Timothy 3, 2, it says, a bishop or a
pastor then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant,
sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach. So as there's need and occasion,
the pastor, the bishop or the pastor here should be showing
hospitality to his brethren and to those that care for him as
well. And then in Titus 1, 7 and 8,
it says it again, for a bishop must be blameless as the sword
of God, not self-willed, not soon angry, not given to wine,
no striker, not given to filthy lucre, but a lover of hospitality,
a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, and temperate. Now, as
your pastor, I wish I could stand here. I realize I've only been
here for a little bit of a time and we're getting settled, but
I do wish I could stand here and say, well, look at all the
examples I've had you all over for a meal and spent lots of
time with you. And I have to be careful with
my studies, but I don't have a good example of having you
all over all the time and ministering. to you in that way and everybody's
threshold of hospitality might be a little different, you know,
in some people and whatnot. I certainly would never turn
you away, but I certainly, you know, hear what the scripture
is saying and thinking about it and praying about it that
I might do what is right for you brethren as well. And, but
as far as, you know, being able to boast, I'm very thankful. I'm very happy to say that for
each of you, I can boast and brag on each of you, every one
of you. I have an example. I was able
to think of how you provided some hospitality for me and or
my family so that when I was coming out here to preach for
you, every one of you, there was many of you that kept me
in your homes and provided a place for me to sleep and food for
me to eat. Since we've been here, some have
had us over for dinner and a meal with you. And if you didn't do
that, you still paid for one of my meals when I was here at
a restaurant. So every one of you have shown
me and my family hospitality as well. So I can certainly brag
and boast of what the Lord has done in your hearts and for one
another and for me as well. For some, hospitality comes very
easily, and it's a gift that the Spirit works in the hearts
of His people. It's a gift that He gives to
some of His people in particular, where you can see that they go
above and beyond and are oftentimes shown hospitality. But it's a
gift that differs as the Lord you know, gives it out and provides
that spirit for his people. It says, Romans 12, 6 says, having
then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to
us. And then he went on to say, Paul
did in verse 13, distributing to the necessity of saints, given
to hospitality. But even though it's a gift that
the Lord works in the hearts of his people, it's not an effortless
thing, right? It takes energy, it's your resources,
you know, it's your time that you're devoting to prepare and
also the cleanup afterwards of providing for the people. It's
also, it's your resources as in like your food and your money,
you know, because it costs money to provide all those things for
someone else. It's your time as well. Instead
of doing this thing, you're doing something else for another and
providing for them that they might have a nice time, but there's
definitely effort in it. But turn over to Matthew 10.
Matthew 10, and look at verse 38. Matthew 10, 38. And notice here the relation
that we see with death to self and serving others. He says in
verse 38, and he that taketh not his cross and followeth after
me is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall
lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me
receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in
the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward, and he that
receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall
receive a righteous man's reward. And whosoever shall give to drink
unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the
name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise
lose his reward. So that brethren, as we entertain
and provide for one another and serve and minister to one another,
there is a debt to self in that, but also there's a blessing that
when you have someone over and you're fellowshipping with them
in the spirit, as the Lord has blessed their heart and given
them a word, as he's taught them and comforted them, as you're
fellowshipping with one another and speaking of the things that
the Lord has filled your heart with, that joy, you may be ministered
to as you're providing food and a nice time for them, and they're
just thankful for what the Lord has done there and given you
that heart for that, and they speak the things that have comforted
them in the Lord, it blesses and ministers to you. The Lord
may use it for them to speak a timely word that is a comfort
to your heart and a joy to your heart in service to them. And
think about what our Lord did Himself in that He literally,
physically went to the cross bearing the sins of His own people
that we, through Him, might have an abundance of entrance into
the kingdom of God, to sit down at the marriage supper of the
Lamb and to feast upon our Savior, on the bread of His body, on
the blood of His life that He provided for us, that we might
know Him and have fellowship in Him. So we see how our Lord
died to self, that he might minister grace and mercy and that sweet
fellowship with the Father to us and provided that for us. And Paul reminds the Ephesians,
when he was speaking to them in Acts 20, when he said, remember
the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it's more blessed
to give than to receive. And then that word to the Hebrews,
which says in Hebrews 13, 2, let brotherly love continue.
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have
entertained angels unawares. And there's a sweet example of
that if you turn over to Luke 24. In Luke 24, we see that there
were two brothers, two brethren, in the body of Christ that were
walking on the road to Emmaus, and the Lord came upon them unawares. He came upon them. They didn't
recognize that it was the Lord, and they're speaking together
about the things that had happened recently in Jerusalem, how that
Christ was crucified, and they had hoped that he would be, that
this indeed was the Christ, that he would arise for them and establish
the kingdom, because they didn't understand yet what the Lord
had accomplished in his death. And it says in verse 28, Luke
24, 28, And they drew nigh into the village, whither they went,
and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained
him, saying, Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the
day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with
them, And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he
took bread, and blessed it, and break, and gave to them. So that
we see them receiving. the righteous man's reward. That
reward of Christ, who is the righteous man, who is the prophet
sent of God, He blessed them. He opened to them. He opened
to their minds and their hearts the Scriptures so that they could
understand the things that were being said in the Scriptures. And it says in verse 31, their
eyes were opened and they knew Him and He vanished out of their
sight. And they said one to another, did not our heart burn within
us while he talked with us by the way and while he opened to
us the scriptures? So that they received that reward
and their hearts were warmed by it and their hearts overflowed
with joy and gladness in what the Lord had showed to them.
And so they rose up immediately and went all the way back to
Jerusalem, which I believe is something like six miles. And
they went all the way back to Jerusalem just to tell the brethren
what the Lord had done in appearing to them. And they said, yeah,
they wrote verse 33, they rose up the same hour and returned
to Jerusalem and found the 11 gathered together and then that
were with them saying, the Lord has risen indeed and at the peer
to Simon. And they told what things were
done in the way and how he was known of them in breaking of
bread." So we see there how the Lord uses that hospitality and
that breaking of bread together and sharing with the brethren
as a time where our hearts are warmed, especially as we're mindful
and thinking of and rejoicing what the Lord has done for us.
And when we speak that word, that's a timely word in a timely
manner, and maybe it seems insignificant to us, but to the hearers, they
rejoice in it and are glad for having heard just that word of
Christ, the righteous man, to hear what he's done in the hearts
of his people. So we should indeed pray when
we are going to be with one another, If nothing else, at least not
a stumbling stone to our brethren, but also just to be glad and
thankful, have a thankful heart that the Lord has worked that
in the hearts of his people. And when you're thinking of the
Lord and mindful of what he's done for you, it makes you that
much more willing and glad and open to share what the Lord has
worked in your own hearts. All right, now back in our text,
let's look at the gift. In verse 10, Peter writes, in
1 Peter 4, 10, as every man hath received the gift, even so minister
the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace
of God. So the gift that we receive is
the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. Christ himself is the
gift. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians,
In 2 Corinthians 9.15, thanks be unto God for his unspeakable
gift. So Christ himself is the gift.
It's the refreshing that Christ provides to the believer. It's
the forgiveness of sins that he reveals to us in our heart. It's that healing that he gives
to us in our conscience and relieving us and releasing us from the
guilt of our sin and our iniquity and the punishment which we deserve
as we think about those things and it weighs heavily on us,
we see that Christ came and he bore the punishment of sin to
relieve us of that guilt and to relieve us of that pressure
and that desire and that drive to try and fix things ourselves
and undo all the crimes that we've done, but rather we see
how he's worked our salvation, that he's accomplished our forgiveness
and our salvation so that we rest in him and we no longer
strive and try to do works to undo the damage that we've done
by our own sinful acts and our own works. We rest in the Lord
Jesus Christ. We rest in Him and trust that
He is sufficient and provided all things. So Christ Himself
is the gift and because of Christ, because of what He's done, God
the Father pours out blessings upon us. It's all in Christ. It's all in Him. It's not that
We enter through Christ and then leave him behind. And now because
of our good works and our attempts to try and please God that now
He blesses us, that's not how it works at all. Our blessing
is only and ever continues to be because of Christ. It's only
in the Lord Jesus Christ. So it's not because you did something
or you didn't do something, it's because of Christ. And that's
what we see in Ephesians 1, 3 where it says, in heavenly places, in Christ. In Christ. So it's always in
Christ. All our blessings are in the
Lord Jesus Christ. So that he himself is our fellowship,
he himself is our reconciliation to God, he's our adoption, our
acceptance in the beloved, and he himself is our inheritance.
He's everything. to the believer, and God continues
to pour out his blessings upon us in revealing himself to us,
in opening the scriptures to us, all because of and in the
Lord Jesus Christ. It's never apart from him. There
was a powerful message that Peter preached to the brethren in Acts
3. In Acts 3 verse 14 it says, But
ye denied the Holy One and the just, and desired a murderer
to be granted unto you. Verse 15, he goes on, "...and
killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead,
whereof we are witnesses." But now listen to the tenderness,
the encouragement, the encouraging word that he provides to them,
because the Lord has his sheep there. in that crowd. He has his sheep and he's going
to speak a word for them that should be a tremendous encouragement
to the sheep of the Lord, to his people. He says, but those
things which God before had showed by the mouth of all his prophets
that Christ should suffer, he had so fulfilled. And think about
that. You who struggle with guilt and
being weighed down and burdened with your sin, and you think,
surely I've done it this time and the Lord has cut me off and
there's no hope for me. He charged these men and women
in that crowd with crucifying the Lord himself. There were
some there whose voices were lifted up in agreeing with the
Pharisees and the scribes to crucify him, and yet he says,
the Lord did all these things. He's showing you, he's showing
you, he's showing each and every one of you who know your sin. He lets you know your sin. He
lets you know your weakness and causes you to feel it and to
see what sinners we really are, so that we might see and understand
and rejoice in the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ,
that He's provided that great of a salvation, that though you
are a sinner and I'm a sinner and deserving of hell, He makes
us to know it, that we might rejoice in just how freely He
provides the salvation for His people and the Lord Jesus Christ.
So if you're disengaged because you think, I'm just so guilty
of a sinner and not worthy of His life, don't, don't pause,
don't let that keep you from coming to Him. He shows you what
a sinner you are, let you feel it so that you might see how
great a salvation He has provided for His people. If He's shown
you that He really is the only salvation, that He's provided
for man, that there's no other way for us to be saved, then
keep on moving forward. Keep going towards the Lord Jesus
Christ. Keep looking to Him, and trusting Him, and rest in
Him, because that's why Christ came. He didn't come to make
you feel good about yourself, in the sense that you're so confident
now you don't even think about the Lord. He allows you to feel
the infirmity of your flesh. He allows you to see the deadness
and the darkness of your own heart, that you see what a merciful
and gracious and kind and willing Savior we have provided for us
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He's provided all those things. And he says, repent ye therefore
and be converted. God's fulfilled the covenant.
He provided the Son, just as he promised all the way back. It was about 4,000 years earlier
when he promised that he would send the seed of woman to provide
salvation for his people. He provided him, and he's saying
he's fulfilled that word now. 4,000 years spoken earlier that
he would provide the Christ. Now he's provided it. Christ
has come. And he says, repent ye therefore
and be converted. Because they were hearing what
the Pharisees were teaching. And they were looking to those
things. And they were trusting in the works of their flesh.
And he's saying, be turned from that. Don't trust in your works.
God fulfilled the covenant by providing the salvation in his
Son. Trust him. Just be turned from
these wicked works. because he's provided the one
in whom there alone there is salvation in the Lord Jesus Christ.
So he says, repent ye therefore and be converted that your sins
may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from
the presence of the Lord and he shall send Jesus Christ which
before was preached unto you. So Christ himself is the gift
that God has provided, that in which God freely forgives his
people. not looking to any work that
they've done for or against what Christ has done. It doesn't matter.
He destroys all the works of the flesh. Everything that we've
done, whether we think it's good or we think it's bad, he destroys
those things because he himself is the one work, the one work
that God has provided to save his people, the Lord Jesus Christ
himself there on the cross. blessed of God to come in the
Lord Jesus Christ before the throne of God, covered in the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, and free of our sin and the fear
of those things. He says, whom the heaven must
receive. If you come in Christ, the heavens
must receive you. because you're not coming in
your own works, you're coming in the work that Christ has done.
The heavens must receive Christ until the times of restitution
of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his
prophets since the world began. So we have this gift, the Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom we enter into the heavens, by whom we
enter into that throne room rejoicing and resting that we are accepted
of him because we come in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
that he's given that to us and brought us forth by the blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ. So he says, every man hath received
the gift, as every man hath received the gift, even so minister the
same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. So we're ministering to one another
in that spirit because of what Christ has worked in us and revealed
to us and shown to us that he's accomplished our salvation, that's
the spirit in which we minister to one another and speak to one
another and serve one another and show hospitality, which is
a service, to one another. It's in that spirit of what he's
done as good stewards of what he's ministered in our own hearts.
Now, turn over to Matthew 25. Matthew 25. in verse 14. He says, For the
kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country,
who called his own servants and delivered unto them his goods.
And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another
one, to every man according to his several ability and straightway
took his journey. Now those talents are basically
what they call a piece of money. So he was giving them a piece
of money, but we can understand them as gifts which he has given
to us. It's of his goods, of his goods. Then He that had received the
five talents went and traded with the same and made them other
five talents. And likewise, he that had received
two, he also gained other two." So that the trading that's going
on is what occurs here between brethren in service, in the church. This is the type of trading that's
going on where we have opportunity to serve one another and do for
one another. You see that, right? In the keeping
of the nursery, when the women take their time and they go back
and miss a message that they might help care for the children
and to provide so that the young mothers get an opportunity to
hear the message once in a while as well. You see it just in the
setting up and the breaking down of this place and pushing the
couches and the chairs away and then pushing them back here again
when all is over, setting up that wall, this wall, putting
the sign out there, preparing the music. All those things are
ministering They're to create an environment in which we can
just freely worship the Lord and rejoice in Him. So don't
despise that little thing that you do. Just thank the Lord that
is giving you a heart and willingness to do that little thing. And
the Lord blesses it because it all enables your brethren and
your brothers and sisters just to sit and hear the word. So be thankful, you know, just
for those little opportunities. That doesn't happen when you're
sitting on the couch at home all by yourself listening to
a message. You don't have that same opportunity
to minister the gifts that Christ has worked in your heart. And
you who sat on the couch, myself included, and listened to messages,
you know there's no real exchange going on there with your brethren.
You're not serving them. You're just hearing a good message,
perhaps, but it's not the same thing as when you come here and
make that sacrifice to serve one another. Verse 18, but he that had received
one went and digged in the earth and hid his Lord's money. And
after a long time, which is actually a comfort to me when I think
about how long it's been since the Lord was here, that he's
letting us know it's a long time before the Lord returns. The
Lord of those servants cometh and reckoneth with them, verse
20. And so he that had received five talents came and brought
other five talents, saying, Lord, Thou deliverest unto me five
talents. Behold, I have gained beside
them five talents more. His Lord said unto him, Well
done, thou good and faithful servant. Thou hast been faithful
over a few things. I will make thee ruler over many
things. enter thou into the joy of the
Lord." And then again, he does that with the one who had two
talents. In verse 24, then he which had
received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee,
that thou art in hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, gathering
where thou hast not strawed, and I was afraid and went and
hid thy talent in the earth. Lo, there thou hast that is thine. Its Lord answered and said unto
him, thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I
reap where I sowed not and gather where I have not strawed. Thou
oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and
then at my coming I should have received my own with usury. Take
therefore the talent from him and give it unto him which hath
ten talents. And there is a sense in which we do see that, right?
Sometimes we you know, are asked to do something, we have an opportunity
to do something, and we withdraw, we think, I don't feel like I'm
qualified to do that, or if I have the talent to do that, and so
we pull back, and who ends up picking it up? But one who has
many talents usually says, oh, there's something else to do,
give it to me, I'll do it, I got it, no worries, we'll just fill
in the gap, and they pick up the slack, and they take it,
but, you know, because it says, run to everyone, hath shall be
given and he that and he shall have abundance but from him that
hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath and he
cast the unprofitable servant out in the darkness but we do
see those things even even here among brethren and but you know
just to clarify lest you be afraid because that's to be afraid but
He's speaking of the natural man. The one who has one talent
is the natural man. That's his one thing by nature.
That's all he has is his nature and he's the unprofitable servant. He's the one who knows the truth
of God and yet denies the truth of God and just hides away in
the dust that he is and the dirt that he is and does nothing that's
profitable or beneficial whatsoever to the Lord's people, or for
the Lord's people. He does nothing to serve the Lord, so he's just
an unprofitable servant. So everyone who's left to themselves
in a state of nature is just an unprofitable servant, and
doesn't bring forth that which is pleasing to the Lord. But,
you know, that's why it says, they that are in the flesh cannot
please God. But I would encourage you, though,
if you're asked to do something, just trust the Lord. Just trust
Him. Just settle it in your heart.
If you're asked, Just trust that the Lord has done it for a purpose
and had you do that because in serving your brethren, there
is a blessing in it. There's a joy in it and the Lord
teaches us through that. I didn't start off preaching. It was just a little something
here and a little something there, just a willingness and a desire
to serve the Lord. He used that and grew it as he
would grow it. So just don't be afraid, because
if you look to your flesh, your flesh is never going to say,
yeah, I'm ready to do that. Sure, I can do that. I'm fit
to do that. No. Every one of the brethren
who does anything in the Lord's work knows that they're unfit.
and unworthy to do anything like that. So just trust him that
he'll use it and grow you and strengthen you in that work and
that he'll profit it to the brethren. All right now, the third one,
examples of gifts. Turn over to Ephesians 4. In verse 7 it says, But unto
every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the
gift of Christ. So let's see what the Lord accomplishes
in the hearts of his people by his grace and mercy, that it's
of his grace and not of any merit in us. Verse 8, Wherefore he
saith, when he ascended up on high, He led captivity captive
and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some apostles, and
some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers
for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in
the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God
unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the
fullness of Christ. And that's what Peter was saying
back in our text when he says in verse 11, if any man speak,
let him speak as the oracles of God. If any man minister,
let him do it as of the ability which God giveth. that God in
all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise
and dominion forever and ever. Amen. So what we see is that
the Lord is the one who provides all the gifts that we have in
the church. He's the one providing it and
working it in the hearts of his people and giving them that strength
and that ability. And they're all gifts that are
there to edify in the instruction of the Lord Jesus Christ. As
I was saying earlier, just even putting out the hymnals, it's
all there to ensure that your brethren can just come in, sit
down, and be ready just to sing and rejoice in what Christ has
done for us. So don't despise even that little work that the
Lord's laid on your heart, that he's given you a joy to do for
your brethren and one another. You know, think about it. It's
really, it's having a hospitable spirit, even in that service.
It's the Lord's work in that, so that you can just sit down
and be nourished in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be nourished and
feed upon His body, upon the bread of His body and His blood,
and just rejoice in that work that He's done, so that you don't
need to worry about it and stress about it or get delayed in it. The Lord provides all that for
you. and you see the hospitality and the ministration of his spirit
being worked for his people. All right, turn over to Romans
12, and this will be our last text. Romans 12, verse 1. Romans 12, 1. Paul says, I beseech
you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service. And he's saying we're not trying
to make any big deal out of it. He's just saying the Lord has
laid down his life for his people. He's provided all things for
us. And so therefore, just that service that we provide for one
another, he says, it's just reasonable. It's just doing that which is
reasonable. The Lord provided for you. Just do that which you're
able to do by His Spirit. And he says, verse two, be not
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind that you may be able to prove what is that good
and acceptable and perfect will of God. And you know that as
well. When our hearts are set upon
this world and we have all these goals that we want to accomplish
in the world or things that we want to do on the weekend, that's
when all of a sudden it becomes a hard thing in the flesh just
to serve the brethren and to part with our resources and our
goods for the brethren because our hearts are set on the world.
It's just an easy thing to see and understand. It's the Lord's
grace and mercy when our hearts are set upon Him, when He warms
our hearts and breaks that bread to us then any service that he
calls us to do becomes a whole lot easier, because now it's
not in the flesh, it's done in the Spirit, in the new man which
he's created. Verse 3. So I say through the
grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to
think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to
think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure
of faith. Right? So there's that. As he's ministered
it to us, as he's revealed himself to us, to whatever degree He's
comforted you in your hearts is the degree by which you'll
be willing to serve your brethren and willing to do that when you
see the opportunities and the need arise. For as we have many
members in one body and all members have not the same office, we
understand that, so we being many are one body in Christ and
everyone members one of another, right? And you understand your
foot does a different job than your hands do, which is different
than what your eyes do, which is different than what you use
your mouth for. And, you know, it's all different gifts that
we have in the body that have different parts. Same thing among
the people, among the brethren. We all have different gifts that
the Lord works in us. Verse six, having then gifts
differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether
prophecy or preaching, let us prophesy or preach. according
to the proportion of faith. Our ministry let us wait on our
ministering, or he that teacheth on teaching, or he that exhorteth
on exhortation, he that giveth let him do it with simplicity,
he that ruleth with diligence, and he that showeth mercy with
cheerfulness. And he goes on in verse nine,
let love be without dissimulation, abhor that which is evil, cleave
to that which is good, be kindly affectioned one to another with
brotherly love, in honor preferring one another, not slothful in
business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in
hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer,
distributing to the necessity of saints, giving to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you,
bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice,
and weep with them that weep." And the Lord works all that in
his people as he grows us together, settles us in what Christ has
done for us and reveals that to us, He works all those things.
It won't be a strive and a burden for us to serve one another and
to care for one another and to provide for one another in that
way. Just trust Him and pray. Pray,
be watching in prayer and trust that the Lord will open up that
opportunity for us to serve. Just trust Him, that He'll work
all these things in us. and pray about them, and the
Lord will reveal it. But I pray the Lord will bless it to our
hearts and help us as we grow here in the grace and in the
gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Our
gracious Lord, we thank you for what you do in the hearts of
your people. Lord, that you've provided a
full, free, and sufficient salvation for all your sheep and all your
people. And Lord, that it pleases you
to work different gifts in the hearts of your people and different
talents and different ways that we can serve one another. And
Lord, we lift up especially that brother or sister who struggles
and is afraid, Lord. Just reveal Christ in the heart
to see that they are free and delivered from their sin. that
we would not be burdened down with guilt, that we would rejoice
in what Christ has done for his people. We pray this in Jesus'
name, our Lord and Savior. Amen.