Before I jump into my message I wanted to take a moment to recognize our military veterans. If you are a veteran, could you stand for a moment? There are many great things to admire about our veterans. At the top of the list is their willingness to suffer on behalf of others. If you are a veteran, you are in good company! 1 Peter 4:1 (ESV) says, "Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin..." A willingness to suffer is a mark of Christ-like character. Veterans, you have our admiration! We need to be more like you, not less like you. Give your thanks to our veterans. Be kind and generous to them. Hold the door open for them. Give them your place in line. Show them gratitude.
In your outline I wrote down some questions for us to consider. Nowadays, people are always talking about having a bucket list. A bucket list is a list of things that we want to do before we die. How many country music fans do we have? Maybe you're fond of that Tim McGraw song, "Live Like You are Dying."
It begins with him singing, "I was in my early forties, with a lot of life before me, when a moment came that stopped me on a dime. I spent most of the next days looking at the x-rays, talking 'bout the options and talking 'bout sweet times."
But as the reality sinks in he asks his doctor what he would do. And you know the rest of the song. It says, "I went skydiving. I went Rocky Mountain climbing. I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu. And I watched an eagle as it was flying."
But the good stuff is when he sings, "And I loved deeper. And I spoke sweeter. And I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin'. I was finally the husband that most of the time I wasn't. And I became a friend, a friend I would like to have. And all of a sudden goin' fishin' wasn't such an imposition. And I went three times that year I lost my dad. I finally read the good book, and I took a good long hard look at what I'd do if I could do it all again."
But here is the question. What would it look like for you to live like you were dying? In 1 Peter 4:7 (ESV) that's exactly what Peter invites us to contemplate when he says, "The end of all things is at hand..." What if the end really was near? What if you treated every tomorrow like a gift, instead of taking it for granted? What would you add to your bucket list? What would you remove? Would you even have a list that mattered?
Peter mentions five attitudes that we should have as we live each day as if we were dying.
Live Counter-Culturally
1 Peter 4:1-3 (ESV) says, "Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry."
Christ had one way of thinking, yet our culture has an entirely different way of thinking. Christ's way of thinking is that the will of God ought to be so supremely important to us that we ought to willingly to suffer for it. This is not unlike the mentality of our veterans, who consider the will of our nation and the will of our leaders to be so supremely important that they'd willingly suffer for it. The difference, of course, is that God's will is indeed holy, perfect, righteous, and good, whereas the will of man is not always so holy, so perfect, so righteous, and so good. Our willingness to suffer demonstrates that God's will is the guiding or controlling ethic in our lives.
Now, our culture has a different way of thinking. Instead of the will of God, the passion of the flesh is the controlling ethic. And personal indulgence, not suffering, is also the guiding ethic. We don't suffer in the flesh. We live in sensuality. We live for our passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, lawless self-worship, idolatry, and aggrandizement. Our attitude is to let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.
But if tomorrow you really were to die, how much more would the will of God suddenly matter? How much less important would the flesh and its pleasures be?
Live Cautiously
1 Peter 4:4-6 (ESV) says, "With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does."
This is the second attitude that Peter speaks about. Call it what you want. Live cautiously or live accountably. At any moment, any one of us, young or old, healthy or sick, could stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
This past Sunday I was talking to a couple who run a funeral home here in town, and they were describing how doing services for young people is so painful. A carload of kids drive home from a party thinking that their whole lives are ahead of them, and then the unthinkable happens. Or a young person glances down for a split second to read a text. This father, who is a funeral director, told his son, "If ever you're drunk, call me. I will come get you wherever you are. I won't say a word. I'd rather get your call than a call from an Illinois State trooper. I'd rather sit in silence, knowing you're safe, than sit in silence knowing you're dead. No drinking and driving. No texting!"
By the way, did you hear about that tanker truck driver who was driving down the road while logged into the internet, allegedly fumbling with his wallet, paying for porn, when suddenly he crashed into a bunch of emergency vehicles which were responding to a whole other accident? He lived, but a young officer and his canine did not.
Death doesn't discriminate. Peter says that we will have to give an account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. And this is why the gospel was preached. So that you might live in the spirit the way God does. We have to be ready to give an account of our life at a moment's notice. On that day, nothing will be hidden and everything will be laid bare before him to whom we must give an account. God knows everything, every thought, every act, every click, and every image.
Live Mindfully
1 Peter 4:7 (ESV) says, "The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers."
The idea of living mindfully is to live mind-fully. Living mind-fully means two things; being self-controlled and being sober-minded. When you're self-controlled, you are in control of your faculties, choices, and actions. Or more properly, the Spirit is in control! But more often than not, we're not in control. We're governed by our passions, our fleshly impulses, our emotions and fears, peer pressure, and corrupt desires. What is sin? Sin is anything that governs and controls your life. Sin is anything that you're unwilling to suffer to stop. This is why Peter says, "... whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin." When sin controls, you don't say no. You just keep saying yes!
In addition to self-control, or flesh-control, mind-fullness also entails sober-mindedness. So how can you lose your sobriety? Well obviously, you can lose your sobriety physiologically by getting drunk, getting high, popping pills, or shooting drugs. And by the way, if you like to get wasted, you have the support of virtually every political leader in our state and federal government, but you do not have the support of God!
You can also lose your sobriety by letting your mind run free. There are people who are so drunk with bitterness, rage, jealous, anger, envy, lust, greed, and evil desires that they can't put two spiritual words together, let another pray to God. The opposite of being mindful is being a zombie. It's being a walking-dead person who has has vacated his mind, while continuing the same path he's always walked.
Live Generously
1 Peter 4:8-10 (ESV) says, "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace..."
If you want to test whether the flesh or the will of God is of supreme value and the controlling ethic of your life, look no further than 1 Peter 4:8-10. A person controlled by the flesh might do a loving act now and then. But they certainly can't love earnestly, persistently, patiently, nor sacrificially. Nor can they be inconvenienced by other people. The more fleshly you are, the more impatient and intolerant you are of others. When you have these attitutdes, the more you close you life off and your home off to others. But the more spirit-minded you are, the move earnest your love, the more deep your hospitality, and the more generous your service to others!
Peter says that living generously and letting love flow covers a multitude of sins. But whose sins? Ours? Or other people's? Maybe it's both. When you love, sin no longer has power over your life. And when you love other people, sin no longer has power in that relationship either. And when you love other people, sin in that other person's life becomes a little less powerful.
Live Powerfully
1 Peter 4:11 (ESV) says, "... whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies-- in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
I love this verse. Speak as one speaking the oracles of God! Serve as one manifesting the power of God! Let God's glory become the greatest, most visible, most powerful reality in your life. Let your life be a window into the very throne room of God, where Christ reigns in glory! If you feel empty inside, you'll never feel so full as when you live for the glory of God.
Five attitudes of the mind. As we continue in worship, take your ink pen and circle just one of these attitudes you most want to shape in your life. Pray about that thing!