This transcript was generated by whisper.ai. (upbeat music) Welcome back for day three of our look through First Peter chapter four. In this chapter we are looking at a different way to believe about suffering. We've just finished talking about the first of three truths in this chapter. Suffering is necessary. Jesus suffered to pay the price for our sin. When you recognize that in this world suffering is necessary there will be no suffering in eternity. No more tears, no more crying, no more grief. But in this world because of sin suffering is necessary. When you recognize that truth then there's a new humility that comes into your life. But there's a second truth to be aware of when it comes to suffering and that is suffering is short term. It's not going to last. Verse seven, the end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray. Peter is talking here about an entirely different perspective on this world. The end he says of all things is near. History, the history of this world is not like a circle going around and around and around the circle of life where it stops nobody knows. No, history it's like a book. It has a beginning, it has an end. If I can talk philosophy for just a moment it is linear. God says the end of all things is near. So what do we do with this perspective? Do we have to be afraid of it? No, because we know at the end we're going to be with him in his glory. The consistent, the powerful witness of scripture is that suffering is only short term for the believer. That in comparison to eternity we suffer but for a moment while we're on this earth. An incomparably short moment on this earth. It is short term. And it is a short term suffering that leads to a long term glory, an eternity of glory. Suffering is so much better when some kind of future benefit is assured. Even minimal suffering. We see it in little things like getting a tooth drilled so that it won't ache anymore or getting your ears pierced that moment of suffering so that you can wear pretty earrings. Not me, I haven't had my ears pierced but some of you have I know that are listening to this. We see it in little things. We see it in the birth of a baby. There's great suffering for those few hours but then there's great joy in the birth. And we see it more significantly than anywhere in the second coming of Christ. That the end of all things is near. That the suffering that we face on this earth it is not going to last. Now Peter's perspective on this is very important. Many people when they look at the second coming of Christ they see it as only the promise of a release from suffering and it certainly is that. This release from suffering that we're looking forward to. But as Peter looks at the second coming of Christ the end of all things is near. He sees it as a motivation for service. Because it's only short term this suffering he's saying let's live above our suffering because we don't have much time. Now is the time to serve. Because you don't have much time, now is the time to serve. And in the following verses Peter talks about several ways that we can serve each other and he begins with prayer. He says therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray. The end of all things is near so make sure you're ready to pray. Because it's one of the ways that you serve other people. By the way this is the second time we're told in the book of Peter that our actions, our attitudes deeply affect the quality of our prayers. He had told husbands earlier make sure that you treat your wives well for the sake of your prayers. For God listening to your prayers. And here he says be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray. To pray well you have to think well and live well. Anybody can pray anytime but Peter is saying here to pray well you have to think well and live well. Let's look more deeply at this. Be clear minded, be self controlled. First he says be clear minded so that you can pray. When you are focused on your selfish agenda it clouds your mind. It makes it difficult to pray. But when you're focused on the Lord it clears your mind. It has a lot of great benefits this clearing of your mind. Let me just mention two of them. One is you want to pray. It clears your mind so that you desire to pray. When you're selfish minded you intuitively know that God might have something to say about your selfishness. So you tend to shy away from prayer. I don't really want to talk to God unless it's a real emergency because he might have something to say about the direction I'm going right now. When you're clear minded you want to talk to the one who loves you the most. And who has the greatest plan for your life. It makes you want to pray but when you're clear minded it also helps you to know what to pray when you pray. Instead of being focused on what you want you become more focused on what God wants. And with that comes a world, an absolute world of possibilities to pray about. If you ever get in a time of prayer and think I just can't think of anything to pray about. I've had that happen many, many times. And usually it's because I'm focused just on me. I'm just thinking about what do I need right now. Well open your mind to God's will. All that he wants to be happening in this world. The key to being clear minded is focusing on God. Your mind is clouded when you're focused on yourself, your selfish agenda, it clears up when you focus on him. So be clear minded so that you can pray. He also says here be self controlled so that you can pray. There's a certain amount of discipline that's required to take the time to pray. I want to say let's just stop acting like prayer comes easily and naturally to everyone who loves the Lord. The truth is it takes discipline. Prayer takes discipline. It always has and it always will. If you've been feeling guilty that somehow you didn't have enough want to to pray, let me just share with you that every saint, every follower of Jesus of every age, if we're going to pray it takes discipline. I have to set aside what I want, I have to set aside my activities, my agenda to take time to pray. Now self control gives you time to pray. Because you haven't used your time on other things. That's the key, be self controlled so that you have time to pray. You have time to pray because you've said obviously no to some sinful actions. When you say no to sinful actions, you leave those things out of your life, it gives you more time to pray, more time to talk to God. But did you realize that it's also true of good opportunities? Self control also calls you and causes you to say no to some good opportunities in your life. If you totally fill your schedule with activities, I'll tell you right now, you are pressing out relationships. If you're busy all day, every day, that means you don't have time to talk, you don't have time for people. Oh, you can give them 30 seconds here or a minute and a half there, you can fit it into your schedule, but guess what? People don't always fit into your schedule. So you gotta give some space in your schedule for relationships. When you give space, you have the self control to say no to some of those activities. I know, some of you, this is going to drive you crazy because you always want to be doing. You ever wonder why? Why do you always have to be doing? One of the reasons we always have to be doing is we don't want to face the truth maybe about ourselves or our pain or our grief. But when you're self controlled, you say no to some things, you have time to pray. And when you face the truth about those things and the activities that you're doing all day long, every day, they're going to have far more power to them. They're going to be not just activities to escape a pain, to escape a relationship in your life, they're going to be activities that grow out of God's healing of your pain, that grow out of God's healing of strengthening of a relationship in your life. That makes all of the difference in the world. So he says, the end of all things is near. Let's serve others because of that. Let's take the time to serve. One of the ways you can do that is by praying, by being clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray. So let's pray. Lord, right now, we pray together that we would allow you to clear our minds. We'd allow you to do that by focusing on you and not just ourselves. Focusing on your will and not just our will, your plan and not just our plan. And Lord, we pray for self control in our lives. We can pray for that because you've told us it's the fruit of your spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. So Lord, we pray that that self control to say no to sins in our lives, but also to say no to seemingly good activities so that we have space in our lives to pray. Space in our lives for relationship. We ask for those two things in our lives so that we would be having the time, having the heart to pray, to talk to you. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen. Tomorrow, we're going to look together at two more ways that Peter says we can serve other people.